US2862629A - Inverting mechanisms - Google Patents

Description

R. AIBERLE I INVERTING MECHANISMS Dec. 2, 1958 2' Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 5, 1954 FIG.

FIG. 2

' 1 INVENiOR. Q M

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 5. 1954 INVENTOR. 2, M0,

United States Patfiflt INVERTING MECHANISMS Roy Aberle, Gray, Maine, assignor' to Southworth Machine Company, Portland, Maine, a corporation of -Maine Application February 5, 1954, Serial No. 408,421

1 Claim. (Cl. 214-1) ing on one side to turn over by hand relatively small groups of sheets in the printed automatically piled stack of such sheets in order to print on the opposite side. This was a tedious, time consuming, and ineflicient' operation, particularly in the case of sheets of paper of large dimensions, say of the order of two feet wide by three feet long, in which each groupof say five or ten sheets of a stackof perhaps several thousand sheets of paper had to be individually turned over by hand. I

The problem of preventing damage was especially serious. in specialty printing industries involving relatively expensive high quality multi-color printing operations. In the greeting cardindustry, for example, the turning over of each individual small group of sheets after printing-so that each sheet could be printed on its opposite side was almost invariably necessary, and the labor involved represented a substantial item of operating expense: out of line with the otherwise automatic feeding, printing, a n d stacking operation, Furthermore, even the turning over by hand of theonce printed sheets was itself a source of damage, and the damage so caused represented a further substantial operating expense. 7

Accordingly, to deal with these problems which have longbeenconsidered a necessary evil inthe printing industry, I have provided a novel inverting mechanism for inverting bodily a stack of paper or the like by which I am enabled quickly and easily to invert a stack of several thousand sheets of paper of large dimensions, so that it is no longer necessary individually to turn over the paper by hand.

It is a feature of my novel mechanism that it practically eliminates the damage to the printed sheets of paper caused by turning them over.

For the purpose of describing still further features of a preferred embodiment of my novel inverting mechanism, reference is made to the followingtdetailed description thereof, together with the accompanying drawings, in which: I

Fig. l is a side elevational view, partly broken away, of the novel inverting mechanism of my invention in a raised position;

Fig. 2 is an en elevational view of the mechanism of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view, partly broken away, of the mechanism of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevational view of the mechanism of Fig. l in a lowered position.

Referring to the drawings, the inverting mechanism of my invention includes a lower frame 12 having a pair of spaced, generally horizontal fixed track members 14. Mounted on said track members for rolling movement therealong is provided a rolling frame 16 having a pair of generally quadrantal rolling members 18 adapted to roll along said track members. The rolling members 18 are preferably provided with peripheral studs 20' adapted to engage sockets 22 in said track members 14 to elimi nate slippage between the rolling members 18 and the track members 14. v

A supporting clamp structure for supporting a stack of paper or the like to be inverted is mounted on the rolling frame'16 for rotation about an axis generally perpendicular to the rolling axis of said frame 16, said structure including plate member 24 fixed on a shaft 26 rotatably mounted on rolling frame 16, said shaft being perpendicular to the rolling axis of frame 16 and generally parallel to the radial lines defining the rearward end of the quadrantal rolling frame members 18. Plate member 24 is provided with two pairs of opposed clamps at opposite sides thereof, said clamps being slideably mounted at the rear of said plate member for movement toward and away from one another in a direction perpen dicular to the rolling axis of said rolling frame 16. Each of said clamps comprises a generally L-shaped member having its clamping portion 28 extending generally per-' pendicular to the flat working face of plate member 24 with its operating portion 30 at a right angle thereto slideably mountedbehind said plate and having a rack portion 32 engaging a pinion 34 rotatably mounted on the rear of'said plate, each pair of said clamps being operated by said pinion with their opposed rack portions 32 engaging opposite sides thereof so that rotation of said pinion will simultaneously move said clamping portions 28 toward one another to clamp a load generally centrally ofplate member 24, suitable slots 36 being provided in the working face of plate member 24 for free movement of the clamping portion 28 of said clamps.

Each of the pinions 34 is power operated by a worm wheel 38 mounted on plate member 24 for rotation with pinions 34, each of said worm Wheels 38 being operated by a worm 40 mounted on a common worm shaft 42 rotatably supported on plate member 24 for driving both of said worms. The worm shaft 42 is driven by a motor 44 through a pulley 46 mounted on said motor shaft and driving a pulley 48 mounted on the worm shaft 42 through a belt.50, said motor preferably including an overload coupling mechanism which will permit slippage when maximum clampingforce is applied to maintain the clamps resiliently against the stack of paper clamped therebetween. A spring lock device 52 may be provided on rolling frame 16 to lock plate member 24 in a selected rotary position, said spring lock device being operated by a handle 54 to selectively engage one of the sockets 56 at opposite diagonal corners of plate member 24.

To provide for movement of the plate member 24 between a horizontal and a vertical position by moving the axis of shaft 26 from its raised vertical position as shown in Fig. 1 to its lowered horizontal position as shown in Fig. 4, as well as the reverse, I have provided mounted on fixed tracks 14 and lower frame 12 a winch mechanism including a pair of operating cables 58 attached to the rearward end of rolling frame 16 at opposite sides thereof, said cables being wound up on drums 60 on a common shaft 62 mounted in suitable bearings at the rear of lower frame 12, said cables thus in effect extending between rolling frame members 18 and fixed track members 14. The shaft 62 is driven through its pinion 74 by a reversible motor 64 through a belt 66 and speed reduction gearing comprising a worm 68 and worm wheel 70, said worm wheel having a pinion 72 which drives said pinion 74.

With such cable drive arrangement, it is essential that the center of gravity of the rolling frame supporting clamp structure including a load thereon be somewhat displaced Patented Dec.2, 1958f nllhl drums lun i e i 1 ;is a ae yi horizontal lowered position, plate member 2 i 1thenbeing e t sa w th. st t rd t .ifl. rs ,adiaq nt th t ivr nd i wt ask mm @r 1 n. 1 wi tt q clamping p i c ..t e.,. amp enerall h r z n ilu i l am a e n uslytopenedut ..t r u l t xtentbr pa s n v a itable of each pair of cl arr psll AsecondpalletP is then placed on top of the steel; of paper S and ;the clamps are again operated by -their-motorflfl lto close said clamps and clamp thestack of paper S with its pallets P ,therebetween generally .centrallyf of platernernber 24.

The cable motor 64 is then operated ,to wind up cables 58 on their, drums ,60; and to roll framemcmbers 18 along track members 14 .until plate member 24 has been raised to a substantially horizontal position parallel to and above said ftrack members 14, ,as shown in Fig. 1, with its shaft 26 generally vertical. Spring lock 52 is then released from .soc ket. 56 andplatenmember 24- rotated through 180 .ito invert bodily saidstack of paper. S and there again;docked by spring lock 52 in the. diagonally r- ."v ufl." P t ember? h n Pla ed. JPQ-IJ a qwerm clamps,

opposit e; sock et 56, Plate member; 24 may then be lowered by operating motor to unwind cables 58 from their drurns GO, as be fore. until said frame members 18 have rol led along'trac k members 14 so that plate;rnem-,-

her 24 is again in a substantially vertical'lowered vposition. Theclamps may then be opened and the inverted staclc of paper S between pallets P removed therefrom, the mechanism then being ready to receive another stack of paperto be turned over.

Thus v it will; be seen that-1 have .provided a relatively simple; and eifective inverting mechanism particularly use-V ful forinvertingsheet material such as, for example,.paper,-

sheetmetal, plastic, and the like,r by, which mechanism a stack ofseveral thousand sheets of material of large dimensions may v.bequickly and easily inverted bodily without damage thereto, it-being, understood that my 7 novel mechanism may readily be used for inverting still other types. of material. It will betapparent to those skilled in this art that various modifications of my novel mechanism maybe madewithin thespirit of theinventio rand the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

An inverting mechanism including generally horizontal fixed track means, a generally quadrantal rolling frame mounted for rolling movement along said track means, supporting clamp means mounted on said frame for rotation about an axis generallyperpendicular to the rolling axis of said frame said supporting clamp means including a plate lying in a plane generally perpendicular to the axis of trotation of said supporting clampvmeans, means I for positioning and looking said plate in only eithenof two selected rotary positions 180 degrees from one, another, said positioning means including sockets positioned in opposite diagonal corners of said plate and a springurged pin mountedcn said frame, and opposed clamps mounted on said plate, said clamps extending generally perpendicularly to the face of said plate and being movable toward and away from one another in a direction perpendicular to .the rolling axis of said frame withsaid platein either of said seleetedrotary positions, means for moving each said opposed clamp toward and away from V one another to clamp a stack of material therebetween including opposed racks on .each of said opposed clamps mounted for sliding movement on said plate means with I said clamps, a pinion rotatably mounted on said plate between and engaging said opposed racks for simultaneously moving said racks, and power means mounted on said plate for driving said pinion, and means for rolling said "frame along said'track means to move said plate between V a lowered horizontal position with one end thereof adjacent said .track meansand a raised vertical position gen{ erally parallel to and above said track means, [said means i;

for rolling said frame including cable means'extending "between said rolling frame and said fixed track means, and winch means for winding up and unwinding said cable.

ReferencesCiled in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 568,369 Randolph Sept; 29,1896" 1,018,862 Ayres Feb.'27-, 1912" 1,525,45l- Kurtz Feb. 10,1925 1,878,994 Abbe Septl'27, 1932 e r 2,417,553 Jensen Mar. 18,1947" 2520;252 Mutchler Aug. 29-, 1950' I RE GN ENT 151,976 Australia Jan. 24,1952

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