US2793857A - Section stacker - Google Patents

Description

May 28, 1957 Filed June 11, 1954 w. F. RAUSQHENBERGER 2,793,857

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.May 28, 1957 w. F. RAUSCHENBERGER 2,793,857

SECTION STACKER Filed June 11, 1954 s Shets-Sheet 2 y 1957 w. F. RAUSCHENBERGER 2,793,857

SECTION STACKER Filed June 11, 1954 3 She'ets-Sheet 3 l N VE Pl T0 R Will/am Wan (11h Rauszh en berjei".

A Horne United States Patent SECTION STACKER William Franklin Ranschenberger, Bunker Hill, Ind.

Application June 11, 1954, Serial No. 436,071

4 Claims. (Cl. 271-88) This invention relates to a device for'receiving sheets suchv as signatures or sectionsfrom a printing'press, fiat plates, steel, wood, plastic, and the like, wherein: such sections or sheets are stacked one above the other'and aligned so as to have their edges in substantially perfect register and to deliver the stacked sheets from the device in the stack for subsequent operations asmay be desired.

A primary object of the invention is to replace the heretofore universally employed hand labor in taking such sections or sheets or plates from a delivery mechanism such as a conveyer and stacking them by hand; Such hand operations necessarily demanded the use of several men or boys at the end of the conveyer in order to keep up any sizable production, and even so, theresults were subject to human error in addition to the costly procedure.

A further primary object of the invention is tostack the various members in a precise alignment so that there is no over-lapping or under-lapping, and the outer edges are in perfect alignment all without the necessity of using' hand labor in any respect.

A still further primary object of the invention is to provide a structure of the nature indicated which will be extremely simple in its operation as well as in its construction, and which Will occupy the minimum amount of space, all without having to alter in any respect a printing press, or other unit which dispenses or discharges sheets to be stacked.

One immediate important use of the invention will be found in printing plants where sections or signatures are conveyed from the press by an endless conveyer, wherein the signatures are delivered in an overlapping arrangement. The device constituting the invention is positioned immediately at the discharge end of the conveyer, so that the signatures, for example, will be discharged directly into the device.

The invention has many other important objects and advantages over and above those above enumerated, all as will become apparent to those versed in the art, and as will further become apparent in the following description of one particular form of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation and partial section of a structure embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail on an enlarged scale in sectionon the line 22 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail in vertical elevation and section of an aligning element;

Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation and partial'section; and i Fig. 5 is a view in top plan.

There is a vertically disposed bed plate havinga central T slot 11 extending throughout its vertical length and preferably centrally disposed thereacross laterally. This plate 10 may be suitably supported in a. vertical position by any means herein shown as by a pair of vertically disposed channel irons 12 and 13.

2,793,857 Patented May 28, 1957 Oneach side:of.the plateltl there is carried an endless chain. 14 and.15 having. itsfront flight 16 in each instance disposed substantially in the plane. of the front face of the plateltl. Thesechains 14-and 15 are carried around upper and lower sprockets respectively 17, 18-, and'19, 20, these'respectiveupper; and loyer sprockets-being located at the respective-ends of theplate' 10.

Thesetwochains 14 =and.15.have fixed thereto apluralityof tables, herein shown as'three in number, and designatedby the 'numerals.21;.22, and 23. These'tables are spaced.substantially equidistant apart, and are afiixed to the" chains in suchmanner as to extend horizontally therefrom except when. the tables are carried around the respective. upper and lower sprockets.

Each ofrthese tables 21, 22 and 23, carries a head design-atedim common by the numeral 24 which will fit within the T slot 11 with asliding fit so that the table in each instance as it'traverses'the plate 10 from top to bottom as-will .be-thegeneral direction of travelin respect to'the: front 'faceof that plate10,'the head 24 will maintain the table in afixedhorizonta'l position throughout its travel' across-"the' plate. That is, the head 24' fits snuglywithin the-T slot 11'"with. a sliding fit as best indicated in-Fig. 5.

The two chains 14 and 15 are driven in unison by any suitable drive; hereinshown as by a belt 25 driven by a motorZG-anda-pulley 27 fixedon the shaft 28which carries -the'lower sprockets 1'8 and20'. The two sprockets Hand 20 are'fixed to'the shaft 28, and the drive of the motor 26 is in thatdi'rectionwhich will carry the flight 16; Fig: 4; downwardly.

A frame 29"hereirr shown as being generally rectangular-in shape is provided at'the upper portion of the plate 10"to'exten'doutwardly therefrom andto provide clearance for the respective tables 21, 22, and 23 to pass freely' downwardly therethrough'. To one side of the frame'29'; thereis fixeda plate or'back 'wall3tl to extendf vertically" therefrom, and'to be so locatedthat the tables21; 22?. and'23rnay pass freely thereover.

On one side of the frame 29', there are a pair of upwardlyextending'posts'32' and 33 which carry horizontally'thereacross'a' cam shaft 34. Encircling the shaft 34 are a-"pair'of horizontally" spaced apart cam followers 35 and 36' of'a cylindrical'nature, and these followers 35 andi36'arein turnfixed to'a pair ofupright aligning arms 37 and38i Therlowerend portions of these arms 37 and38 are fixed to a horizontally disposedshaft 39 spacing the members 37 'and'38 'apart'afixed distance along the shaft 34. The shaft 39 has=endportions extending outwardly respectively from the'sides of the members 37 and 38 to be receivedwithin-guides 40 and 41 which are in effect simply-inverted U-shaped' brackets carried by the frame 29, all. as indicated in:Eig... 1. Within eachof the followers 35 and 36 is a cylindrical cam member42 as illustrated in Fig. 3, the cam member in each instance being fixed to the shaft 34.v

The shaft 34 is power. driven by any suitable means such as by a motor 43 driving the shaft at a reduced speedby' any suitable means such as through the belt drive 44 to the pulley 45 fixed to the shaft 34.

The action of the members 37 and 38 set up by rotation of'th'eshaft 34'is best illustrated in Fig. 3, wherein an arm 38 for' exampleis'shown on an enlarged scale in solid lines at? an innermostposition of travel. Here it is substantially vertieallydisposed; Then'as the cam 42' is revolved with the shaft 34, i'thecarn 42 'can'turn around and carry the member 38- ina rocking manner, and also in an 3 T lifted from the solid line position. When the cam 42 is turned in the direction of travel as indicated by the arrow, the member 38 will not only advance by its upper portion particularly to the right, but it also will have a slight downward travel. This unique motion of the arm 38 and likewise of the arm 37 serves to align the various sections, sheets or plates, as the case may be, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

In like manner there are a pair of aligning arms 47 and 48 disposed in generally vertical directions on the side of the frame 29 directly opposite to the upright wall 30. That is, the members 47 and 48 are in a plane at right angles to the plane of the members 37 and 38. Between the members 47, 48 and 37, 38, the wall 30, and the plate 10, there is defined a rectangular opening through which the various tables 21, 22, and 23 will pass.

The aligning members 47 and 48 are mounted on the lower spacing shaft 49 which is carried in the brackets 50 and 51 permitting vertical travel, and the cam followers 52 and 53 are fixed to the backs or outer sides of the members 47 and 48, through which followers the drive shaft 54 extends, carrying a cam 42 inside of each of the followers 52 and 53. The shaft 54 is revolved in any suitable manner, herein shown as being interconnected in a driving relationship with the shaft 34 through the gears 55 and 56, Figs. 1 and 5. Thus, the members 47 and 48 are given motions identical to those of the members 37 and 38.

Each of these members 37, 38 and 47, 48 is fitted with a spacer bar 57 on its inner side as a means of varying the spacings from the plate in respect to the members 37 and 38, and from the wall 30 in respect to the members 47 and 48 so that the travel of the aligning members will be such that the sheets being aligned against the wall 30 and the plate .10 will not be damaged, but will be shifted into alignment. These members 57 may be adjusted in respect to their spacing from the aligning members in any suitable manner, herein shown, Fig. 2, as having a screw 59 screw-threadedly carried through a nut 60 fixed on the back of the member 38, and rotatably engaging the spacer bar 57. By advancing or retracting the screw 59 through the nut 60, the spacer bar 57 may be accordingly spaced from the member 38.

Where the material to be aligned and stacked consists of signatures or sections as in a printing plant, there is preferably provided means for pressing down on the fold of each signature so as to pinch that fold to make the sheets lie flat. One particular means for so squeezing together on the fold side of the signatures is herein shown, and consists essentially of an angle bar 62 extending horizontally across on the inner sides of the members 37 and 38 (may be placed on the other two members 47 and 48 equally as well depending upon how the signatures are fed) Figs. 1 and 2. As indicated in Fig. 2 primarily, the angle bar 62 is turned so that there is a horizontally disposed leg 63 extending inwardly beyond the spacer bar 57. The other leg 64 of the angle iron 62 is in the present form turned upwardly along the members 37 and 38, and there is a tongue or bolt 65 extending from the angle iron 62 through a slot 66 in the member 38 for example. This slot 66 carries a spring 67 bearing between the upper end of the slot and the top side of the tongue 65 so that the angle iron 62 is normally urged downwardly, but may be carried upwardly yieldingly under pressure of contact on the pile of signatures carried by any one of the tables 21, 22, and 23. The leg 64 is held against the member 38 by means of the tongue being riveted over by a head 68 onto a washer 69 which has a diameter greater than the width of the slot 66.

There is a conveyor generally designated by the numeral 70 which will carry the sheets to the device so far described, and there is a second conveyor generally designated by the numeral 71 which will carry the stacks of sheets from the device.

Operation device from any one of the four sides whichever side may be most convenient in setting up the device in the plant. The conveyer 70 is preferably of that type wherein there is a table 73 herein shown as being in the three sections 74, 75 and 76 which may be lifted periodically to retard the flow of members from the upper side of that conveyer 70 into the device. By rocking the table upwardly as indicated by the dash lines in Fig. 1, the members coming along the conveyer may be stopped and allowed to remain stationary as the conveyer continues to travel thereunder. In the case of the delivery of signatures, these signatures will come one signature overlapping the next ahead signature to a degree, and under such a condition, some of the signatures may become stacked on the table 73 while the conveyer 70 continues in operation.

Before proceeding further with the description of the operation, the mechanism for lifting and lowering this table 73 may assume different forms, but is herein shown diagrammatically as consisting of a chain 77 driven from the shaft 78 on which the upper sprockets 17 and 19 are fixed, driving a jack shaft 78' in turn driving a cam follower 79 through a cam 80 fixed on the shaft 78, and finally a vertically disposed pitman rod 81 interconnected with the table 73 so that at given distances of travel of the respective tables 21, 22 and 23, the conveyer table 73 will be lifted and lowered. This is particularly necessary in view of the fact that the tables 21, 22 and 23 each in turn have to go around and under the lower end of the plate 10 and come up the back side of the plate 10 and come over the tops of the sprockets 17 and 19 and then down between the aligning arms and the plate 10 and the wall 30. It is during this interval of the travel of each respective table around the upper sprockets until it becomes horizontally disposed in relation to the wall 30 and plate 10, that the conveyer table 73 is lifted. It will be dropped as soon as the table in each instance comes into its horizontal position within the space defined as above indicated between the wall 30, the plate 10, aligning arms 37, 38 and 47, 48.

Then as the signatures are discharged over the table 21 for example which is descending in relation to the plate 10, in the present showing, the aligning members 37, 38 and 47, 48 are continuously being rocked inwardly and outwardly in relation to the signatures resting on the table 21, as well as being lifted and lowered to give the peculiar action of tapping the individual signatures or sheets into their aligning positions and at the same time pulling downwardly on those edges. This peculiar motion not only serves to shift the sheets one over the other horizontally, but serves to retain them frictionally one against the other so that they do not become misaligned when the aligning members are retracted therefrom. Also as the aligning members 37, 38 and 47, 48 drag downwardly, this dragging action serves to further push in the sheets from the two directions which may not have occurred under the tapping action of the first contact of those members with the sheets. The sheets are thus aligned against the wall 38 and against the plate 10.

The sheets are continuously being discharged from the conveyer 70 as the table 21 descends, until finally a next appearing table such as the table 23, Fig. 4, comes around over and into position to start receiving the sheets Following the table 21 on downwardly, this table 21, will pass on through the end of the lower conveyer 71 by reason of the fact that each of the tables is provided with a pair of spaced apart slots 83 and 84 to permit belts 85 and 86 of the conveyer 71 to be substituted for the support of the pile of sheets on the table, thus transferring the load from the table to these belts as the table traverses the conveyer 71 and goes on around under the plate and comes up the back side thereof. That is to say, the conveyer 71 consists of a pair of parallel belts 85 and 86 spaced one apart from the other a suflicient spacing to receive and support the pile of papers which have been aligned on the respective table coming down across the end of that conveyer. The conveyer 71 is of sufficient length to carry the stacked pile of sheets from the device to any desired point.

Thus it is to be seen that the aligning and stacking device constituting my invention is one which may be continuously operated automatically in an exceedingly simple but yet most effective manner. While the device has been shown in a diagrammatic mamier, it is obvious that structural changes may be employed such as in the driving mechanisms, the timing mechanisms, and other actual mechanical mountings and the like, all Without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I therefore do not desire to be limited to that precise form beyond the restrictions which may be imposed by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an aligning and stacking device of relatively flat sheets, a plurality of tables; means carrying the tables approximately horizontally disposed in substantially vertical, downward travel, one table spaced from the others; a wall alongside which said tables travel and against which said sheets are to be aligned; an aligning arm opposite and spaced from said wall a distance to permit the tables to pass therebetween; a guide for the lower end of said arm substantially constraining said end to vertical travel; and means cyclically rocking the upper portion of the arm toward and away from said wall, downwardly and thence upwardly; said means comprising a cam; a cam follower on the arm; said lower guide being fixed in position in relation to said wall; means interconnecting said arm with said guide to effect said vertical path travel; said cam and said follower constituting said arm rocking means; and means driving said cam.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said cam is cylindrical and said cam follower surrounds the cam and is fixed to a lower portion of the arm; said arm and guide interconnecting means comprises a member fixed to said arm and vertically, slidingly engaging said guide; said cam having an eccentric offset axis fixed in relation to said wall; said cam driving means turning the cam continuously in one direction of rotation about its axis in said directions of rocking the arm upper portion.

3. The structure of claim 2, in which said arm is substantially rigid throughout its length; and said arm fulcrums in its said rocking on said guide.

4. The structure of claim 2 in which said arm and cam are duplicated in pairs at two sides of said table; said cams in each pair are mounted on a common shaft to have said arms parallel one with the other in each pair; and said arm fixed member is a bar fixed to each of said arms in each pair adjacent their lower ends, and said guides are slotted to receive and retain portions of said bar in sliding engagement therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,535,678 Miller Apr. 28, 1925 1,701,760 Patten Feb. 12, 1929 1,942,172 Johnson Jan. 2, 1934 2,341,021 Curtis Feb. 8, 1944 2,375,241 Lindgren May 8, 1945 2,477,830 Sandberg Aug. 2, 1949 2,506,550 Morrison May 2, 1950

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