US2871638A - Sheet handling apparatus - Google Patents

Description

F. F. GOODWIN SHEET HANDLING APPARATUS Feb. 3, 1959 I 6 Sheets-Sheet 1.

Filed July 23, 1953 llllll III I, 1

mm Q3 QQ I 1 IN VEN TOR. Pu. F. GOODWl/V fid aakfiM? RTTORNE rs Feb. 3, 1959 F. F. soonwm 2,871,638

SHEET HANDLING APPARATUS Filed July 23, 1953 v 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. F/L F, Gown 0v HTTORNEKS Feb. 3, 1959 F. F. GOODWIN SHEET HANDLING APPARATUS Filed July 23, 1953 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR. M P. 'oopwuv 3 @WuM? ATTORNEYS Feb. 3,1959 F. F. eoonwm SHEET HANDLING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 23, 1953 INVEN TOR. F74 F. Gown/w ATTORNEYS sneer HANDLING APPARATUS Fil F. Goodwin, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Burroughs Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application July 23, 1953, Serial No. 369,820

43 Claims. (Cl. 53-32) The present invention relates generally to sheet material handling apparatus and has to do more particularly with instrumentalities for use with a high speed wrapping mechanism adapted to perform, automatically and at high speed, operations which previously had tobe performed manually.

The dispensing mechanism of certain types of currency dispensers capable of dispensing both coins and paper currency requires that the paper bill or bills that make up the sums of money to be stored in the various magazines be made up in firm cylindrical packages of certain uniform diameter in order to insure proper operation thereof. It has in the past been proposed to use rigid cylindrical containers for holding the paper money, but this entails considerable cost and inconvenience in procuring and storing the containers and in collecting the containers from customers after use. Unless the ends of such containers be sealed there is always a possibility that the contents may fall out or may be tampered with.

It has also been proposed to reversely wrap the paper currency in a self-sealing wrapper within a cylindrical cage, whereby a cylindrical package of sufiicient rigidity is formed to be used in dispensers. The wrapping operation mentioned is very rapid, but a considerable amount of time is consumed in placing the wrapper in wrapping position, in collecting and sorting the wrapped packages and in placing them in appropriate containers. it is contemplated by the present invention to employ instrurnentalities to be used in conjunction with a mechanism capable of performing the wrapping operation mentioned that are adapted to provide a sheet handling apparatus wherein the various operations incidental to the wrapping process are performed automatically and rapidly.

Accordingly one object of the present invention is to provide a novel and efficient sheet handling apparatus whereby a wrapper is automatically fed into wrapping position in the wrapping mechanism after a package has been wrapped therein and ejected therefrom.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device wherein sheet materials wrapped into sealed cylindrical packages are automatically loaded into a replaceable container.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel, automatic sheet handling apparatus in which sheet materials are reversely wrapped in a self-sealing wrapper torn from wrapper stock as an incident to the wrapping cycle, the arrangement being such that the Wrapped package is ejected from the wrapping mechanism, is deposited on a receiving shelf, is loaded into a replaceable container, and the. wrapper stock strip is advanced by the length of one wrapper.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel automatic sheet handling apparatus for rapidly reversely wrapping sheet materials in a flexible wrapper while tearing the Wrapper from a strip of wrapper stock and for feeding a new wrapper into wrapping position and then clamping the next wrapper in the strip in position atent to permit the first wrapper to be torn therefrom as an incident to the wrapping operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel automatic sheet handling apparatus for reversely'wrapping sheet materials in a self sealing flexible Wrapper and depositing the wrapped package on a receiving shelf, for receiving and holding in place a removable magazine of a currency dispenser, and for transferring the wrapped package from the shelf into the magazine.

Another object is to provide a novel automatic sheet handling device wherein the various parts are operated from a single drive source.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a single source drive arrangement for an automatic sheet material handling device which requires a number of sequentially timed operations. I

Still another object of the invention is to provide a single cycle drive arrangement operated from a con tinuously rotating source for operating various mech anisms thereof in a predetermined timed relationship.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel and eirlcient strip feeding arrangement.

A still further object is to provide a novel wrapper strip feed mechanism for a sheet handling device wherein the feeding mechanism is actuated upon completion of the operation upon sheet materials to be handled but during the same cycle of operation to feed a new wrapper into operative position in the device.

A still further object is to provide a novel feed mechanism for a wrapper strip operated in timed relationship with a sheet handling device to feed a new length of the wrapper strip into the device and then clamp the strip behind this length in position to enable the device to tear off the latter as an incident to the operation of the device.

A still further object is to provide a novel feed mechanism for a wrapper strip which frictionally engages the wrapper strip to advance it by a predetermined length and then frictionally clamps the strip in place behind this length to permit the latter to be torn ofi without thereby displacing the wrapper strip.

A still further object is to provide a novel feedmechanism for a wrapper strip which positively engages the wrapper strip'to advance it by a predetermined length and then frictionally clamps the strip in place behind this length to permit the latter to be torn off without thereby displacing the wrapper strip.

A still further object is to provide a novel and efficient package loading mechanism.

A still further object is to provide a novel package load ing mechanism suitable for use in conjunction with a wrapping device adapted to wrap packages and to eject the wrapped packages therefrom and operating in timed relationship therewith for automatically engaging the ejected packages and push them into a receiving container.

A still further object is to provide a novel package loading mechanism for use in conjunction with a wrapping device adapted to wrap packages and to eject the wrapped packages, for automatically engaging the ejected packages.

and displace them into a receiving container, and operable from a drive source in common with the wrapping device to operate in timed relationship therewith.

A still further object is to provide a novel sheet bandling device wherein sheet materials are wrapped into,

packages and the packages are loaded into a container,

and wherein the packages loaded into the container arecounted.

A still further object is to provide a novel sheet hanthe counting mechanism may be temporarily disabled to make up for misoperation of the device.

A still further object is to provide a novel sheet handling device for Wrapping sheet materials into packages, loading them into a container, counting the number of packages loaded into the container and for automatically disabling the. device when a predetermined number of packages has been loaded into the container.

Still another object is to provied a novel method of ports 12. Side walls '14 and16 are attached to the base wrapping sheet materials in a self-sealing wrapper to form a cylindrical package and of handling packages so formed.

These and other objects and advantages will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art from the following description taken together with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the sheet handling device in accordance withone. form of the present invention with-portions ofthe cover broken away to show the position of parts normally covered thereby;

Fig. 2. is awvertical sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

i Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the wrapping and loading mechanism;

Fig. 4 isanexploded perspective view of the wrapper feed roller drive and latching mechanism therefor;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the wrapped currency package as ejected from the wrapping mechanism;

Fig. 6.is an .elevational view of the front end of the automatic wrapping and loading device with the front cover removed;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along lines 77 of Fig. 6 showing the single cycle clutch;

Fig. 8. is a perspective view of another form of the invention differing from that shown in Fig. 1 mainly by being provided with a different type of feed and guide mechanism and additionally by having provisions for automatically shutting off the motor after each cycle of operation, and counting the number of wrapped packages and including means for automatically disabling the apparatus after a predetermined number of packages sufficient to load a magazine have been wrapped;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view of the wrapper stripused with the form of invention shown in Fig. 8;

Figs. 10 and 11 show the wrapper strip engaging portion of the wrapper strip feed mechanism, Fig. 10 showing the feeding portion at the-end of a feeding operation, and Fig. 11: showing it at the beginning of a feeding operation;

"Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the wrapper strip feeding mechanism with parts broken away, and of the drive mechanism therefor;

.Fig. 13 is an exploded view .of the bracket for clamping' the wrapper strip engaging portion of the feed mechanism to the drive belts;

' Fig. 14 is a side view of the counter mechanism and the cut-out switch associated therewith; and

"Fig. 15 is a side view of the single cycle clutch similar to that shown in Fig. 7 but having a modified actuator mechanism.

Sheet material handling machines embodying the present invention have many and varied applications but for the sake of illustration the invention will be described in terms of its application as a paper currency handling machine. The paper currency handling machine hereof comprises generally the combination of a mechanism for automatically feeding a self-sealing currency wrapper intowrapping position, a device for wrapping paper currency withthe wrapper that has been fed the wrapped package being of cylindrical form, a mechanism for ejecting the wrapped and sealed package into a receiving compart-- ment, a transfer or loading device for loading the wrapped package into a magazine suitable for use with a currency dispenser, and a mechanism driven through a single cycle clutch from a single source of power for operating the foregoing mechanisms. in the proper timed sequence.

The machine is shown as being supported n a flat base with the drive and clutch mechanism enclosed within a generally rectangular box structure attached to the base, the paper handling parts being exposed and accessible from the top. The base is made up of a pair of members l0 and 11 supporting, respectively, the front and the back of the machine and extending transversely thereof as shown in the cross-sectional-view of Fig. 2. The base members are provided with cushioning mounting supmembers by means of suitable screws 18. Wall 16 is shaped so as to extend along the side and rear of base member 10 to cover these sides of the transferor loading section of the machine. A pair of end plate members 20 and 22 are suitably secured to the side and base members to form the front and back walls of the closure. A cover plate 24 extends over the front end of the machine in front v,of'thecxposed, portions of the wrapper and transfer mechanism. The 'remainder of the cover for the machine includingztan irregularly shaped cover plate 25 is designedfor cooperation with the wrapper strip feeding mechanism and will be described in connection therewith.

The wrapping mechanism disclosed is of the type disclosed and claimed in the vcopending application of Marvin G. .Schaar, Serial Number 276,754, filed March 15, 1952, 1 and entitled, Package Machine (now abandoned) to which reference is made for a more detailed description of the wrapping mechanism than given herein. As better seen in the perspective view of Fig. 3, the wrapper comprises generally a bifurcated mandrel 30 rotatable within. a forming cage made up of a plurality of circumferentially spaced, freely rotatablerollers 31 encircling the mandrel. A self-sealing wrapper is fed between the legs of the mandrel. as indicated in dotted lines (Fi 3) and the material to be wrapped is .piaced between the mandrel legs on top of the wrapper. l'he mandrel is now caused to rotate rapidly to reversely wrap the wrapper and material thereabout into a sealed package as shown in Fig. 5 whereupon an ejector mechanism is actuated to slidethe wrapped package off the mandrel, while the latter is still rotating, intothe position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 for transfer to a magazine in a manner. to be described later.

Mandrel 30is journaled inbearings (not shown) disposed in a bearing support-32; Fig. 6, mounted on the side panel 14 by means ofvscrews 32a. Thebearings are spacedito accommodate therebetween a. pinion gear 33 exposed by means of a cutout 34. in the bearing support for engagement with a driving sector gear to be described in connection with the description of the driving mechanism. A mandrel-cage supporting plate 35 is secured to the bearingsupport by means of a pair of screws 36 (Fig. 2) and by means of spacer bars 37 which are provided with reduced diameter threaded ends that screw into holes tapped inthe face of the bearing support. A third spacer bar 38 is bolted onto the supporting plate 35 intermediate the others as shown. The spacer bars have secured to the other end thereof a roller cap 39. Four rollers 31 which together constitute the upper half of the mandrel cage are somewhat shorter than the spacer bars and have reduced diameter end portions thereof journaled in suitable apertures in the supporting plate 35 and cap 35 The four rollers which constitute the lower half of the mandrel cage are similarly journaledin plate 35 and inan end plate Ail secured to an internal wall 41 which extends parallel to the side walls 14 and 16 for the entire length of the machine and is secured to the base by means of screws 42 passing through a degree offset 43 as shown in Fig. 6.

A pair of guide rods 44 extend between internal wall 41 and .a bracket 45-secured to the underside of bearing support 32. The guide rods Mr'serve as'guideways for an ejector carriage 46 slidably mounted on the guide rods and carrying an ejector ring 47 and having a plate member 48 also slidably mounted on the guide rods secured to the end thereof by means of screws 49 (Pig. 3). The carriage is movable between the position shown in Fig. 6 wherein the ejector ring is against roller supporting plate 35 and a position wherein it will force a wrapped package off the end of the mandrel onto a receiving shelf to the right of internal wall 41. The central opening of the. ejector ring 47 is somewhat larger than mandrel 30 and the outside dimension thereof is somewhat smaller than the circular opening formed by rollers 31. The ejector ring is centered with respect to the mandrel and rollers so as not to interfere with the operation thereof as seen in Fig. 2. The ejector carriage 46 is operated through a lever arrangement to be described later, after the mandrel has made a sufiicient number of revolutions to completely wrap up materials placed between the legs thereof into a roll.

Fig. 3 shows in perspective the mechanism for depositing an ejected wrapped package taken from the position indicated in dotted lines on a flat receiving tray or shelf 50 into a magazine 52 adapted to receive a plurality of wrapped packages. Shelf 50 is formed by a generally flat plate member having upturned portions 53 and 54 for securing the member to internal wall 41 and side wall 16, respectively, by screws 55 as better seen in Fig. 6. Upturned portion 54 is extended upwardly to form a stop or barrier for the wrapped bundles ejected from the wrapper mechanism. Portion 53 is beveled downwardly and away from wall 41 so as not to catch the edge of the ejected package and prevent it from assuming its proper position on the receiving shelf 50. The distance between upturned portions 53 and 54 is somewhat larger than the length of the wrapped package. In order to guide the wrapped package when it is transferred to magazine 52, the rearward edges of portions 53 and 54 are provided with inwardly bent extensions 56 and 57, respectively, and inorder to prevent packages transferred to the magazine from rolling back onto the shelf the latter is provided with a pair of upwardly extending leaf springs 58 which pass through opening in the shelf and are suitably fastened to the underside thereof.

The loading or transfer mechanism for pushing the wrapped packages from the receiving shelf 50 into magazines 52 is shown in perspective in Fig. 3 and from the front in the'right-hand side of Fig. 6. Pusher bar 60 is mounted between the ends of a pair of horizontally extending pusher arms 61 and 62 of a pair of pusher bar levers 63 and 64 which, as better seen in Fig. 6, are offset toward each other and then extend straight downwardly. The ends of levers 63 and 64 are pivotally mounted on a shaft 65 that extends betwen side plate 16 and internal wall 41. The pusher bar is preferably formed with a cylindrical contact surface of a radius about the same as that of a wrapped package so as to exert a uniform pressure over a substantial portion'of the surface of the package. Thiswill prevent deformation of the package by the pusher bar and will assure that the package will be correctly positioned within the receiving magazine 52 between the two sides and parallel with the ends thereof. Also pivotally mounted on shaft 65 is a U-shaped actuating member 66 for levers 63 and 64 disposed therebetween and extending parallel therewith. The ends of actuating member 66 are bridged by a pin 67 which serves as a cam follower for the actuating cam which will be described later. The actuating member is biased toward the front of the machine by means of a tension spring 70 secured at one end to a lug 72 in the actuating member and at the other end to a lug 74 fastened to the base member 10. The legs of the actuating member are provided with a pair of laterally extending ears 76 disposed behind levers 63 and 64 to normally urge them and hence pusher arms 61 and 62 to the left as viewed in Fig. 3 to position pusher member 60 out of the way of wrapped packages ejected from the wrapper mechanism as shown. Lever 64 and actuating member 66 are resiliently coupled together by means of a tension spring 78 fastened to a pin 79 on the lever and an car 86 extending outwardly from the actuating member to normally bias lever 64 against car 76 on the actuating member.

The loading mechanism is operated by means of a cam mounted on a cam shaft 86 which makes one complete revolution in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3 for each cycle of operation of the machine. The cam 35 will, when the 'shaft is rotated, engage cam follower pin 67 thereby displacing actuating member 66 in a clockwise direction about shaft 65 and, through spring 78, carry with it lever 64 which also pivots about shaft 65, and pusher bar 60. The pusher bar will be moved across shelf 50 to engage the wrapped package resting thereon and push it across resilient stop fingers 58 into the magazine 52.

The mechanism for operating cam shaft 86 will be described in detail later, but it will be pointed out here that the timing thereof is such that the shaft will be stopped in the position shown in Fig. 3 wherein the cam 85 has just cleared cam follower pin 67 and the pusher mechanism has been withdrawn to rest position by means of return spring 70 after each operating cycle. The trailing edges of the cam is so shaped that the cam follower 67 will tend to rotate shaft 86 in a clockwise direction by the force of return spring 70. This is of importance for reliable operation of the machine in that it applies a constant torque to the shaft against a positive stop provided therefor and prevents chatter of the shaft in its home position to thereby eliminate the possibility of inadvertently releasing the single cycle clutch mechanism to be described later.

Magazine 5'2 for holding currency packages may be of a type suitable for use with the automatic currency dispenser disclosed and claimed in the copending application of Hiland B. Noyes, Serial No. 167,607, filed June 12, 1950, now U. S. Patent No. 2,805,675. The central portion of one side of the magazine is cut away along the entire length thereof to render a releasing mechanism of a follower disposed within the magazine accessible and in order to be able to ascertain visually the number and value of the wrapped packages contained therein. The wrapped packages are loaded into the same end of container from which they are dispensed.

.The magazine is supported in its loading position by means of a pair of spaced rollers 90, 91 disposed below the magazine and one roller 92 above. These rollers are located between sidewall 16 and internal wall 41 and journaled therein by means of reduced diameter end portions. A pair of guide studs 93 are secured in the respective walls (only the stud in internal wall 41 being shown) in order to aid in correctly inserting the magazine in loading position.

The loaded wrapped packages are retained in the magazine when the latter is removed by means of a spring biased lock bail 94 rotatably mounted by its ends to the sides of the magazine. The lock bail is swingable from a position wherein it will extend across the end opening of the magazine to the position shown wherein it permits free access thereto. A pin 95 (only one is shown in Fig. 3) is provided on each side of the magazine for engaging a leaf spring 96 which is secured at one end to the side of the lock bail and has the other end thereof in slidable engagement with a slanting end surface of side plates 97 to bias the lock bail toward a position wherein the arms thereof will engage and rest against an extension of the respective side plates. Pins 98 are provided on the inside surfaces of walls 16 and 41 for engaging cam surfaces 99 on the lock bail to automatically swing it out of the way of the opening when the magazine is pushed into loading position.

The magazine is provided with an internal weighted follower and guide-100, Fig. 1, which will rest on top of the stackedpackages' to insurethat .the lowermost-pack- 'age is properly seated .in thedispensing cradle when the magazine is in operating position in the currency dispenser disclosed'in' the above identified vl-Iiland B. Noyes application, Serial No. "167,607. The follower is provided with a unidirectional movement mechanism to prevent it.andthe'currency packages from sliding within the magazine if. the latter 'should 'be inverted, for example when removed for safekeeping whenthe dispenser is not being'used. This unidirectional mechanisrn includes an arm 102 rotatably mounted on the follower by pin .Zttldand movable between a position indicated in dotted lines in engagement witlrthe side wall of the magazine and a position shown in full lines wherein the arm will be in engagement with a stop pin 106. An overscenter biasing arrangement is provided for maintaining the armeither in its inoperative full line positionshown or in. its operative dohdash' line position comprising a tension spring lili connected between stop pin 1% and a pin'l08 on an offset extension of the arm. With the arm in its inoperative position, spring 197 will bias arm 102 in a'clockwise direction against stop pin M36 permitting free sliding movement of the follower within the magazine. With the arm in the operative position indicated in dotted lines the spring will belocated on the other side of the pivot point of arm 162 and will bias it in a counter-clockwise direction into engagement with the side wall of the magazine. The side wall is provided with spaced apertures 109 for receiving the end of arm Hi2. These apertures will not interfere with sliding movement of the follower 1% in'the magazine to .the left, as viewed in Fig. l, with the arm in operating position, but will prevent movement of the follower in the opposite direction. The follower will, therefore, maintain the rolled currency packages in alignment with the magazine regardless of the position of the latter.

in order to prevent the follower 100 from accidentally sliding out from the ends of the magazine a depressible stop pin Elli) is provided which pin is secured to the follower in such a position that it will engage alimit stop 111 formed at each end of the magazine by inwardly extending portions of the inner edge of the upper surface of the magazine as viewed in Fig; 1. may be used for magazines in which stops 111 extend from the other sideby mounting pin 119. in a hole 112 provided for this purpose. The pin 110 may be depressed against a compression spring (notv shown) when it is desired to remove the follower 1% from the magazine.

The machine is also provided with means for advancing a strip 'ofwrapper' stock so that a newwrapper is automatically fed into wrapping position near the end of an operating cycle, and means for. clamping the next wrapper in position during the wrapping operation so that each wrapper will be torn from the next as an incident to the wrapping operation. The individual wrappers used in sealing the wrapped packages are preferably cfthe self-sealing type disclosed a'ndclaimed in the copending application of Frank G. D edek and Marvin G. Schaar, Serial No. 272,604filed FebruaryZO, 1952, now U; S. Patent No. 2,732,063. A preferred form of the wrapper disclosed in that application is shown in strip form in Fig. 1 wherein a wrapper 12%) is in wrapping position and a wrapper 12.1 is in clamped position in the wrapper feed mechanism generally indicated at 122. The wrappers are connected together along a weakened portion 123 where they will separate as the wrapper 129 is pulled into the wrapping cage while wrapper 121 is clamped in position. The wrapper stock may be kept on a suitable supply reel, but in order to reduce the force necessary for withdrawing the wrappers and, in order to avoid the necessity for protecting the dry adhesive. areas of the wrapper it has been found preferable .tostore the wrappers in a supply The follower i bin 124 wherein the wrappers are stored folded upon themselves in a pack. When folded'in this 'manner the dry adhesive areas provided on opposite sides of the Wrapper near one end thereof will not come into contact with each other or with adhesive areas of other'wrappers. The dry adhesive used is of a kind that will only adhere to a similar adhesive and no adhesion 'betweenthe wrapperswill therefore take plae. The bin 124 shown partly broken away in Figs. land 2 isof sufiicient size toreceive the wrapper pack and is mounted-on the top cover of the of mounting flanges 125 thereof.

The wrapper strip feeding and clamping 'meanscomprises generally a pair of cooperating rollers "12.6 and 127 and amechanism operated from the main'drive shaft for rotating roller 126 by an amount that will advance the wrapper strip-exactly'the length of one wrapper'and for locking this roller in the position assumed. Roller 126 is fixedly mounted on a shaft 128 which is rotatably journaled in side wall 14 and internal wall 41 bymeans of reduced diameter end portions. Roller 126 is mounted so that it is located below and substantially tangent to the ticket strip supporting surface and disposed transversely of the direction of movement of the strip. Follower roller 127 is journaled in a frame pivotallymounted on the cover and spring biased to press thisroller against roller 126. As seen in Figs. land 2,- roller 1-27 is rotatably iournaled by a shaft 129 in a pair of parallel side'portions 13d of a bail 132. The legs 134 of thebail are formed as apart of the sides thereof and are pivotallyconnected by means of screws 137 to the side port-ions 136 of a U-shaped bracket E38 spanning the wrapper strip. The bracket is provided with mounting flanges 1 .39 secured to the top cover by means of screws as shown. The cross member of the bracket is provided with a downturned flange Mil which cooperates with a similar downturned flange 141 on bail 1312. to support compression springs 142 therebetween which will bias the bail in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig.2. The springs are kept in place by means of retainer pins ld3 depending from the flanges.

The wrappers shown in Fig. l are provided with sealing areas 144 coated with dry adhesive. The sealing areas are located on opposite sides of the wrappers, longitudinally spaced but-approximately in the center of the width dimension thereof. Although the dry adhesive used is of. a kind which will only adhere to itself, some of it would nevertheless rub off and adhere to the rollers if it were )errnitted to make contact therewith. In order to avoid contact between the feed rollers and the adhesive on the wrappers, the rollers 126, 127 are each provided with a rectangular, circumferential groove M5, 146, respectively, half way between the ends thereof and of sufiicient depth and width to clear the sealing areas of the wrappers.

The operating mechanism for rotating feed roller 126 from the main cam shaft 86 during a certain portion of a revolution thereof is shown in Fig.2. A pinion 147 is rotatably mounted on shaft 128 and connected to roller .126 by means of a one-way drive connection to be described later whereby the pinion can rotate this roller only in a counterclockwise or feeding direction. Pinion 146 meshes with a sector gear 148 mounted for rotation about a shaft 149 supported between side wall 14 and internal wall if. Sector gear 14% is coupled to. main drive shaft 86 by. means of a push rod 159 connectedby means of a pin 1:31 to an operating lever 152. Tubular spacers 153 are provided to prevent axial displacement by lever 152, pusher bar levers 63, 64 and actuating member 66. Operating lever 1 5?. carries a cam follower 154 which cooperates with a cam 155 mounted on cam shaft 86. Lever 152. is pivotally mounted on shaft 655 on the right-hand side of the internal wall ill, as viewed in Fig. 6. Internal wall 41 is omitted from fig. 2 in order to render visible parts that would otherwise be hidevice by means of screws passing through a pair den. Inasmuch as sector gear 148 is disposed on the other side of this wall, push rod 150 is offset laterally, as indicated by shaded lines in Fig. 2, so that it will extend through an aperture (not shown) provided in wall 41.

Push rod 150 is connected to sector gear 148 through a lost motion connection comprising a pin 157 on the gear sector extending through an elongated slot 158 in the push rod to permit the push rod to move a distance sufficient to unlock the feed roller 126 by a mechanism to be described, prior to applying a force to the sector gear to the right when actuated by cam 155. The push rod is spring biased to the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, by means of a tension spring 159 connected between a pin 153 on the push rod and a pin 156 on the internal wall 41.

In order to provide means for adjusting the angular movement of sector gear 148 to thereby determine the amount of wrapper strip material fed by rotation of feed roller 126 for each cycle of operation of the machine, there is provided an eccentric stop 166) provided with a threaded shank 161 extending through an opening in the internal wall 41 and provided with a locking nut 162. The eccentric stop 160 bears against the left-hand radial frame member of the sector gear 148 and by rotatably adjusting the stop the extent of clockwise travel of the gear sector in response to movements of push rod 156 may be set very accurately.

The locking mechanism, releasable by push bar 150, for locking feed roller 126 positively against counterclockwise rotation except when actuated by the feed mechanism in order to clamp the wrapper strip in position to enable the wrapper mechanism to tear off the foremost wrapper 120 along the weakened portion 123 between this wrapper and wrapper 121 during the wrapping operation will now be described. The locking mechanism comprises a detent member 163 pivotally mounted on the sector gear 148 by means of a pin 164 and carrying a detent in the form of a hook 165 for cooperating with a ratchet wheel 166 fast on shaft 128. Detent member 163 is normally spring biased into engagement with ratchet wheel 166 'by means of a tension spring 167 disposed on the remote side of the sector gear 148 as viewed in Fig. 2 and connected between pins 168 and 169 carried, respectively, by the detent member and the sector gear. Return spring 159 for push bar 150 is made somewhat stronger than detent return spring 167 to ensure that sector gear 148 will be seated against stop 160.

The detailed construction of the detent hook and the ratchet wheel, and the manner of mounting the latter on the feed roller shaft 128 is better seen in the exploded view in Fig. 4. Ratchet wheel 166 is prvided with a centrally located, flat-sided opening 170 for receiving a correspondingly shaped mounting portion formed on the end of the shaft.

The one way drive mechanism between pinion 147 and feed roller 126 is also shown in the exploded view in Fig. 4. Pinion 147 which is meshed with sector gear 148 is secured to or integrally formed with a ratchet wheel 171 that fits within an axially extending recess in the end of the feed roller 126 forming an annular rim 172. A drive connection between the ratchet wheel 171 and the feed roller is provided by a ratchet pawl 173 mounted within the recess by means of a shank received by a mounting hole 174 provided therefor in the end of the roller. The pawl is formed integrally with a cylindrical base member and extends between the ratchet wheel 171 and the rim 172. The pawl is biased in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4 by a wire spring 175 having one end thereof received in a radially extending hole in the pawl and formed as shown. The relative positions of the parts of the one way drive mechanism and the locking detent are shown in Fig. 2. When pinion 146 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, pawl 173 will engage the teeth of ratchet wheel 171 to establish a driving connection between the pinion and feed roller 126. Countcrclockwise rotation is, of course, imparted to the pinion by clockwise rotation of the sector gear 148 meshed therewith.

Cover 25 is irregularly shaped and comprises portions that extend from the wrapper mechanism on each side of the wrapper strip 126, 121 to form a guide therefor, a cross portion joining the side portions in the back of the feed rollers and a portion 76 extending laterally to wall 14 and forming a partial cover for the loading mechanism. Extension 176 is provided with a bent edge 177 which cooperates with a corresponding bent edge 178 on front cover 24 to guide wrapped packages ejected from the wrapper mechanism into loading position on shelf of the loading mechanism described above.

Wrapper strip supporting plates 179 and 180 are attached to the underside of the respective portions of cover 25 that form the wrapper strip guides. Plates 179 and 180 are separated by a distance just sufficient to permit the sealing areas on the underside of the wrapper strip to pass therebetween without coming in contact therewith. A plate member 181 for guiding the front end of the wrapper strip into the wrapping mechanism is disposed above thecover 25 in justaposed relationship to wrapper strip supporting plates 179 and 180. Plate 181 is provided with a centrally located longitudinal slot of sufficient width to clear the adhesive areas 144 on the upper side of the wrapper strip and of such length that it will extend beyond the adhesive area on the upper side' of the foremost Wrapper 120 when the latter is in wrapping position, as shown. The direction of pull on the wrapper by the wrapper mechanism is such that very little frictional force is developed between the sealing area on the top of the wrapper strip and the bridging portion on plate 181. Furthermore, friction deveioped between the wrapper and dry adhesive deposited on the underside of plate 181 between the end of the slot therein and the wrapping mechanism will be of very little consequence because of the large pulling force applied by the wrapper mechanism to this wrapper during wrapping operation. Such frictional impeding force would, however, be very objectionable when the wrapper is being in order to guide the leading edge of the wrappers between plate 181 and plates 179, 180. A pair of stops 184 are provided for positioning correctly the material to be wrapped.

A brief description of the operation of the wrapper strip feed and clamping mechanism will now be given with reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 4. As stated above the wrapper feed mechanism is brought into operation after a package has been Wrapped and ejected, and after man- Y drel fork 31 has come to rest. When cam shaft 86 has been rotated clockwise as viewed in Fig. 2 somewhat less than a complete revolution, the leading edge of cam will engage cam follower 154 on cam follower lever 152 to displace push rod 156 to the right against return spring 159. The lost motion connection consisting of pin 157 and elongated slot158 will, as previously described, permit push rod 150 to displace detent lever 163 against return spring 167 by an amount sufiicient to free ratchet wheel 166 and hence feed roller 126 from detent 165 before sector gear 148 is actuated. Further movement of the push rod will displace sector gear 148 which in turn will rotate pinion 147 in a counterclockwise direction to drive the feed roller through the one way coupling comprising ratchet wheel 171 and ratchet pawl 173 to feed the wrapper strip to the left. The total displacement made by sector gear 148 has been set by means of eccentric stop so that the wrapper strip will be advanced by exactly the length of one wrapper to feed a new 11 wrapper into wrappingposition in the wrapping mecha- IllSIIl.

When cam follower 154 passes over the peak on the cam, return spring 159 for push rod 150 will rapidly return the wrapper feed mechanism to its initial position shown in Fig. 2.

There is provided, in accordance with the present invention a common drive unit for the wrapping, ejecting, loading, and wrapper strip feeding and clamping mechanisms described above. This drive unit is operated from a continuously rotating motor 200 (Fig. 2) which is mounted on the base member If; by means of a bracket 202. The'motor shaft 203 is connected to a worm shaft w t-through a friction clutch 2% which may be of a conventional design. The friction clutch illustrated is of a type described and claimed in the copending application of Thomas M. Butler, Serial No. 196,844, flied No vember 21, 1950, now U. S. Patent No. 2,644,637, for Accounting Machine, but other types may be used just as well. Worm gear 2'37 is, preferably, integrally formed on shaft 294 which is journaled in a pair of spaced downwardly extending portions 2&8 and 209 of a bracket 212. Bracket 212 is supported by a standard 214 to which it is suitably secured, for example, by screws'2l5. Standard 214 is mounted on base member and, as better seen in Figs. 6 and 7, is secured thereto by means of screws 215 passing through an angular offset 216, which forms the base for the standard. Worm gear 267 is in driving engagement with a worm wheel 217 rotatably mounted onmain cam shaft 86 and fastened to or integrally formed with a toothed wheel 218.

A single revolution coupling mechanism is provided for drivably connecting cam shaft 86 to the continuously rotating toothed wheel 218 when actuated. This coupling mechanism may best be seen by reference to Fig. 7. Rotatable with main cam shaft 86 is a plate member 220 provided with a hub 222 secured to the shaft by means of a pin as indicated in dotted lines. Member 220 has an extension 224 carrying a pin 225 for pivotally mounting a C-shaped coupling member 226. The coupling member is in juxtaposed relationship with toothed member 2.18 and one arm 227 thereof extends in a semicircle from the pivot point to the left, as viewed in Fig. 7, to a point approximately opposite shaft 86, and carries an internal tooth 23$ for engaging toothed Wheel 21%.

The coupling member is normally held in a disengaged position with respect to the toothed wheel by an operating lever 232 pivotally mounted on a forwardly extending portion 233 of standard 2% by means of a pin 234. Lever 232 is biased in a counterclockwise direction by a spring 236 connected between a pin 237 on arm .238 of the lever and a pin 239 secured to standard 214. Pin 239 also serves to limit the clockwise movement of the lever 23?. by engagement with arm 238 thereof. Lever 232 is normally in the position shown with arm 238 in engagement with pin 239 and with the end of the arm abutting the end of arm 227 of coupling member 226 to maintain the latter disengaged from the continuously rotating toothed wheel 21%. The coupling member 226 is spring-biased towards engaging position by means of a spring 240 connected between a pin 241 on the coupling member and a pin 242 on member v229. Lever 232 is provided with an operating key 2-l3 connected thereto by means of a push bar 244. Member .220 is provided with an inwardly-turned car 245 which normally abuts the end of coupling member 226 extending to the right from the pivot point to limit the extent of counterclockwise movement ofthe coupling member thereabout.

The operation of the single revolution coupling will now be described. Motor 200 will be assumed to be energized to continuously rotate toothed wheel 213. When the operator depresses or pushes operating key 243 inwardly, the lever 232 will rock in a counterclockwisedirection about pivot pin 234 against the opposing force of tension spring 236. When arm 238 of this lever is i2 moved out of the way iof the end of-arm227 of coupling rnember:226,'the 'latter will, be'permitted to rotate ina counterclockwisedirection about pivot point 225 by tension spring 246. This will bring tooth '230 of the coupling member into engagement with the toothed wheel 218. As mentioned above, this wheel is rotating in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig.7, and main cam shaft 86 will, through its coupling therewith as described, also be rotated in a counterclockwise'di rection. As soon as the operator releases the operating button 243, spring236 will tend to retur'nfltheleverf232 to the position shown in Fig. 7. "ArmJZSS of the lever will, however, engage and ride on the external surface of coupling member 226 to the end thereof. "When the cam shaft has been rotated somewhatless'thanone complete revolution, the end of arm 238 will again engage the end of arm 227 of the coupling member tojdisengage the latter from wheel 218. 'Theengagementpf the turned-in ear 245 of member 220 with the other end of the coupling member will cause the cam shaft 65 to be positively stopped at a predetermined fixed position. It was mentioned'above under the description of the loading mechanism shown in Fig. 3 that camshaft 86 is urged in a clockwise sense by the engagement. of the spring-biased cam follower pin 67 against the trailing edge of cam 85, i. e., in a counterclockwise sense, as viewed in Fig. 7, so as to prevent chatter of the coupling mechanism and possible misoperation thereof.

Cam shaft 86 (Fig. 6) carries a cam 25b for operating the wrapping mechanism, a cam 252 for operating, the ejector mechanism, the cam 155', previously mentioned, for operating the wrapper-strip feed mechanism, and the cam for operating the loading mechanism. These cams are so shaped and so arranged on thedriveshaft with respect to each other that they will operate the associated mechanisms at the proper instant and for the required length of time. The wrapping mechanism Will first be actuated and permitted to operate for a period of time sufficient to complete a wrapping operation andbefore the ejector cam will actuate the ejector mechanism to slide the wrapped package off the wrapping mandrel and out of the wrapping cage onto the receiving shelf of the loading mechanism. The loading mechanism, is actuated at a time interval later suflicient to assurethat the wrapped package has come to rest on the receiving shelf 50 of the loading mechanism in front of the pusher baroti thereof. The operating cam for the wrapper feed mechanism is arranged to operate the latter atnearly the end of the operating cycle to give the wrapping mandrel 30 time to come to rest so as to permit,,the wrapper strip 120, .121 to be fed between the iegsof the mandrel.

The wrapping mechanism is operated by a sector gear 2% pivotally mounted on side wall 1 3 by means of a pivot pin 256 and maintained in spaced. relation. from the wall by a spacer 257 to align it with the drive pinion33 for the wrapper mechanism. The sector gear ZSScan-ies a cam follower 250 that cooperates with cam 25%). The relative positions of the sector gear, the cam, and the cam follower justmentioned may be seen in Fig. 2, partly in dotted lines. The left hand edge of the'frame sector gear 255 is recessed to ciear the cam shafttiti indicated.

In order that thesector gear shall always be brought to rest'in a position so that the opening in the forked mandrel of the wrapping mechanism will be in position to receive the wrapperand material to be wrapped,-there is provided an eccentric stop 26d mounted on wall 14. T he eccentric stop is provided with a threaded shanlritfill which extends through an opening in the mounting wall. The stop is locked in the desired position by means of a locking nutZdZ. Sector gear 255 is provided with a re turn spring 263 connected between a pin on the sector gear and a pin on wail'l i. Cam ZStland the other cams to be described are each provided with ahub, asshown, for mounting them on the cam shaft 86, the hubs being 13 securedto the shaft by suitable means such as by pins 264 as indicated in the drawings.

Cam 252 for the ejector mechanism operates upon a cam follower 265 carried by a cam follower lever 266 pivotally mounted on a bracket 267 about a pivot pin 268. Bracket 267 is formed integrally with the base 216 of standard 214. Cam follower lever 266 is bent to clear the coupling 205 between the worm gear shaft 204 and friction clutch 20 6 and is provided with a slotted end 269 for receiving a pin 27%) extending transversely from side to side of the ejector carriage 46. Cam 252 is so shaped and is so arranged on the main drive shaft 86 that it will engage cam follower 265 and displace lever 266 ina clockwise direction about its pivot pin 268 before sector gear 255 has completed its forward movement so that the ejector carriage 46 will be slid to the right, as shown in Fig. 6, on guide rails 44 while the wrapping mandrel 30 is still rotating. The axial resistance on the wrapped package by the wrapping cage formed by rollers 31 is greatly reduced by thus performing the ejecting operation while the wrapped package is still rotating within the wrapping cage. The ejector mechanism is returned to its initial position by a tension spring 271 connected between the cam follower lever 266 and an angle bracket 272 secured to the base of standard 214.

Cam 85 for operating the loading mechanism is shown in Fig. 3. It will be noted that this cam is shaped so that it will actuate the loading mechanism at very nearly the end of the cycle of operation of the cam shaft 86 by displacing cam follower pin 67 and, with it, actuating member 66, and pusher bar levers 63 and 64. This will move pusher bar 64? across shelf 50 to engage and push in front of it a wrapped package lying on shelf 50 in the position indicated by dotted lines. The extent of inward movement of the pusher bar 61) is sufficient to push the wrapped package past the flexible fingers 58 protruding from the shelf. The operation of the pusher mecha nism is described in detail above and will not, therefore, be repeated at this point.

No sequential movement is necessary between the operation of the loading mechanism and the wrapper strip feeding mechanism. However, as pointed out above, the Wrapping mandrel must be permitted to come to rest in its initial position before a new wrapper is fed into wrapping position. It will be evident by comparing the shapes of cams 85 and 155. (Figs. Sand 2) that the loading of a wrapped package and the feeding of the Wrapper strip will take place about the same time.

The operations of the separate component mechanisms of the machine were explained in connection with the description thereof and the description of the operation of the machine will, therefore, be more in the nature of a summary.

The machine is initially in the condition shown in the drawings. A magazine 52 for storing cylindrical pack ages containing paper currency is placed in the position shown in Fig. 3, resting on supporting rollers 90, 91 and kept in place by bar 92 and'pins 93. Pin 98 on wall 16 will engage cam portion 99 of the retainer bail 94 and force the bail out of the way, as shown, when the magazine is pushed in place against the receiving shell 5i) to permit wrapped packages to be loaded from this end of the magazine. The follower 100, Fig. l, in the magazine is released by moving lever 102 to its full line position from its normal operative dot-dash line position in engagement with the side wall of the magazine. This will permit the packages to displacethe follower to the right as they are loaded into the magazine.

A wrapper 120 will be in wrapping position, as shown in Fig. 1, and the second wrapper 121 attached thereto by a weakened section 123 is clamped in position by the feeding mechanism, as described above. The operator now inserts one or more currency bills between the beveled ends of the legsof the wrapping mandrel 30 and between the upper and lower halves of the wrapping cage '14 i made up of rollers 31 on top of the wrapper against alignment stops 184,.

The operator now presses operating button 243 to connect the main cam shaft 86 to the operating motor 200 through the single cycle coupling mechanism described above so that the cam shaft will be given a rotational movement of exactly one revolution. Cam 250 will first engage cam follower 258 toturn sector gear 255 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2, to rapidly rotate wrapping mandrel 30 in a counterclockwise direction through pinion 33. This will cause the Wrapper and the paper currency to be reversely wrapped Within the wrapping cage made up of rollers 31 to form a cylindrical, sealed package as shown in Fig. 5. The sealing areas 144 on the opposite sides of the wrapper are so spaced with respect to the size of the wrapping cage that they will make contact with each other. The centrifugal force caused by the rapidly rotating wrapping mandrel will cause them to adhere securely to each other to form a strong seal. While the wrapped package is still rotating within the mandrel cage under the influence of the wrapping mandrel, the ejector mechanism will be actuated. The ejector carriage 46, Fig. 6, will be, moved to the right on guides 44 to carry with it ejector ring 47. The wrapped package will be guided by the down-turned edges 177 and 178 of the top covers 24 and 175, as better seen in Fig. 1, to the loading shelf 50 in front of the pusher bar 60 of the loading mechanism seen in Fig. 3. Shortly thereafter cam follower 258 will have passed the peak of cam 250 to permit the sector gear 255 to be returned to its initial position against stop 260 by return spring 263.

Cam 155 (Fig. 2) for the wrapper strip feed mechanism will now engage cam follower'154 on cam lever 152 to displace push rod 156 to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, to first release feed roller 126 by engaging the detent lever 161. Further movement of the push rod to the right will carry with it sector gear 147 to rotate feed roller 126 in the counterclockwise direction so as to feed another wrapper into wrapping position as shown in Fig. 1. During the operation of the feeding mechanism cam (Fig. 3) will engage cam follower 67 to push the wrapped package into the magazine which is in loading position.

The operations described above will take place during one revolution of the main drive shaft. When the drive shaft is returned to its original position, arm 238 of lever 232 (Fig. 7) will engage the end of coupling member 226 to disengage it from the rotating toothed wheel 220 whereupon the driving shaft will be stopped in the posi tion shown. The entire operation described is very rapid and the essential limitation on the number of packages that can be wrapped by a single operator within a certain period of time is the time required by the operator to place the required number of currency bills in wrapping position on the wrapper, as indicated in Fig. 1, and to replace a filled magazine with an empty one.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 8 to 15, the wrapper strip feeding mechanism is of a type that will positively engage the strip during the feeding operation to reduce the maintenance and adjustments necessary to an absolute minimum, and the clamping mechanism has been modified so as to clamp the wrapper strip in place more securely during the wrapping operation. This embodiment is additionally provided with means for limiting the operation of the driving motor to one packaging cycle only and for counting the number of packages wrapped including means for disabling the machine after a predetermined number of packages has been packaged.

In order to facilitate comparison between the two embodiments of the invention, identical parts are given the same reference numbers therein. The wrapping mechanism per se is the same in the two embodiments and the description thereof will, therefore, not be repeated. The storage bin for the wrapper strip may be constructed and arranged as shown in Fig. 1 and described above in con oneness l5 nection therewith and is merely indicated by its mounting portion 390 in Fig. 8. The top cover 332 extends from the wrapping mechanism generally indicated by reference number 303 to the rear end of the unit and forms the supporting surface for the wrapper strip as the latter is fed from the storage bin to the wrapper mechanism. A slot 304 in the cover extends for at least the length of one wrapper in a direction of the movement of the wrapper strip and midway between its side edges to permit movement of a wrapper engaging feed mechanism which will be described in detail below. The slot is made sufficiently Wide to avoid physical contact between the cover and the adhesive areas on the under side of the wrapper strip. The path of the wrapper strip from the storage bin to the wrapping mechanism is definedby two spaced guide members 306 and 307 placed on opposite sides of the strip in front of the storage bin, a. pair of folded-over guide members 3% and 309 disposedon opposite sides of the wrapping mechanism 363 but on the same side of the wrapper strip, and a vertical olfset somewhat greater than the thickness of the wrapper strip in a guide plate 310 secured to the top cover. The guide plate 313 extends over the wrapper strip but short of the adhesive areas on the upper side of the wrapper strip and extends substantially from the wrapper mechanism to the wrapper strip clamping-means generally indicated at 312. The end of the plate guide adjacent the clamping mechanism is rounded upwardly in order. to guide the wrapper strip between the cover and the guide plate.

The clamping device 312 comprises generally a wedgeshaped clamping member 314 pivoted by means of pins 315 in a pair of fixed brackets 316 and 317 secured to the cover 392. A forked lever 313 is secured to oneend of the clamping member 314 by means of a bent-over ear 320 fastened to the top surface of the clamping member. The upper arm 322 of the forked lever 313 extends above the top cover and is provided with a bent-over finger portion 323 that may be engaged for manually releasing the clamping mechanism. The lower arm 324 of the forked lever 318 is indicated in dotted lines and extends through a slot v325 in the top cover.

The lower arm 324 isprovided with a portion 326 extending therefrom atvan angle and having at the end thereof an outwardly projecting car 327. A lever 328 is pivotally mounted on the internal wall 41 by means of a pivot pin 330, and one arm 331 thereof is provided with an outwardly extending ear 332. Atension spring 333 is connected between ear 332 of lever 323 and ear 327 on the clamping lever 318 toform a resilient connectionbetween these two levers. Lever 323 has an arm 334 which extends towards the front of the machine and is provided with a cam follower portion .335 that cooperates with a cam 336 mounted on the main cam shaft as. I This cam also serves to operate the wrapper strip feed mechanism through a cam follower 337. Lever arm 334 is laterally offset as shown and passes through an aperture in the internal wall 41 to permit the cam 336 and the cam followers to be mounted to the right of wall 41 when viewed from the front of the machine.

The modified form of the paper strip feed mechanism is seen in Fig. 12 and includes a reciprocable feed member 338-adapted to engage the Wrapper strip when it moves in the feeding direction, i. e., in a direction toward the wrapping mechanism, and is disengaged from the wrapper strip during its return movement. The reciprocal movement of the feed member 338 is furnished by the main cam shaft through cam 336 which operates upon the cam follower 337 to impart an oscillatory movement to a sector gear 340 in mesh with pinion 342 mounted on a shaft 344-. The sector gear 343 is pivotally mounted on internal wall 41 by means of a pivot pin 346 and is mechanically connected to the cam follower plate 3457 by means of a link 343 connected to the plate 347 by means of a pin 349' and to thesector gear bymeans of a pin 3549. The cam follower plate 347 is pivotally mounted about pin 352 in the internal wall 41; The sector gear is biased in a counterclockwise direction'as-viewed in Fig. -12 by means of a-tension spring 354 connected between apin 355 on the sector gear and an angle bracket 356 secured to the base 10 of the machine. counterclockwise movements of the sector gear 34-0 are limited by an adjustable eccentric stop member 358 having a threaded shank 359 which passes through an opening in the internal wall 41. The eccentric stop 358 may be secured in place by means of a lock nut (not shown) threaded on the shank 359 and may be adjusted by means of a screwdriver inserted in a slot 359a in the end of the shank.

Shaft 344 which is driven by the sector gear 340 through pinion 342 secured to the shaft furnishesthe 1 drive forthe' paper strip feed mechanismthrough a pair of pulleys 36d and 361 secured thereto in spaced relation. Shaft 344 is journaled by means of reduced diameterend portions in internal'wall 41 and in a U-shaped mounting bracket'3d2 secured to. the left-hand side wall 14. A pair of cooperating pulleys 364 and 365 are mounted'on a shaft 363m alignment with respective pulleys 364 and 3M. Shaft 366 is journaled between a pair of mounting strips 363 and 369' which are adjustably secured to the side walls 14- and internal wall 41, respectively. A seen in Fig. 12, strip 369 is .pivotally mounted about one end thereof in internal wall 41 by means of a screw 374) and is secured in adjusted position by a screw 371 which passes through an arcuate slot 371a in the wall. Mounting strip 368 is secured to side wall 14 in a similar manner. Apair of endless flexible belts 372 and 373 pass over respective pairs of pulleys 363, 364 and 361, 365 as shown. The belts 372 and 373 are preferably made from asuitable belt material such as corded rubber and are shown as being provided with internal square teeth or lugs 374 to beengag'ed by corresponding teeth or lugs on the pulleys. This insures a positive, nonslipping drive between the drive pulleys 363, 3M and the respective belts. The tension of the belts may be adjusted by adjustments of the mounting strips 363 and 369.

The Wrapper strip engaging member of the feed mechanism is flexibly supported by a carriage 375 vclamped onto and between belts 372 and 373. The manner inwhich the carriage is clamped onto the belts is better seen ,in the exploded view in Fig. 13. An upper clampingmemher 376 extends across and-is provided with bent flange portions which extend downwardly on the outside of the belts. A lower clamping member 376a is provided with lateral extensions .377 and .378 that fitbetween two adjacent teeth 374 on the respective belts and is clamped to the upper member'by means of a pair of fastening screws 379. It will be seen that the position of the carriage on the belts may be adjusted in steps equal to the size of the teeth. Clamping member 376 is provided with a lug 33% disposed substantially midway between the belt for-pivotally mounting a lever 382. One arm 383 of lever 382 extends sub tantially vertically downward and a forked arm 334 extends forwardly with the legs thereof spaced vertically as seen in Figs. 10, 11 and 12. A wrapper strip engaging pin is mountedon a flexible spring member 3,86 secured to upper clamping member 375 by the, screws 379. The flexible stripis provided with a slot 337 for receiving the upper leg of forked arm 384 of lever 382 and'the strip will rest upon the lower arm which serves as afulcrum therefor. -A pair of guide pins 333 and 339 areformed integrally with the strip engaging pin'385 and extend laterally from the base thereof and serve to position thepin in itselevated strip engaging position in the forward movement of the strip feeding carriage and in inoperative position spaced from the paper strip in the return. movement of the carriage. A pair of spaced guide'strip 390 and 391 are secured to the underside of the top cover 302 on each side of the slot 334. These strips are formed so that the guide surfaces thereof are spaced from top cover 302 by 17 a distance suflicient to receive guide pins 388 and 389 on the flexible strip 386. i

A flexible trip member 392 positioned so as to engage the downwardly extending arm 383 of lever 382 when the carriage approaches the limit of its forward movement where the guide pins 388, 389 Will clear the forward ends of the guide strips 390 and 391. The trip member includes a flexible spring portion 393 extending rearwardly and downwardly between and somewhat in front of the forward ends of guide members 390 and 391 and a laterally offset mounting portion 394, which is secured to the internal wall 41. A second trip member 395 is also mounted on the internal wall 41 and extends in front of pulleys 364 and 365 in the path of arm 383 of lever 382 and is adapted to engage this arm and to 'turn the lever in a clockwise sense somewhat before it reaches the limit of its rearward travel.

The operation of the wrapper strip feeding and clamping mechanism described above is as follows:

The feed carriage is shown in Fig. 12 in the position it assumes at the end of a wrapping cycle. It will be noted that cam 336 mounted on the main cam shaft is so arranged and shaped that its maximum point or peak will be positioned against follower arm 335 so that the lever arm 328 will be in its extreme counterclockwise position. Arm 328 will, in this position, exert a pull in a clockwise direction on arm 324 of lever 318 through tension spring 333 and thereby bias clamping member 314 (Fig. 8) against the wrapper strip supported on the top cover 302 to hold it firmly in place.

It will be recalled from the above description of the operation of the entire machine that the wrapping mechanism tears off a wrapper at the very beginning of a wrapping cycle. Cam 336 (Fig. 12) is so designed that it will maintain maximum pressure on the wrapper strip clamping mechanism through lever 328, spring 333 and lever 318 until the foremost wrapper of the strip has been severed therefrom by operation of the wrapping mechanism as described above under the description of the operation of the device shown in Fig. 1.

A the cam 336 continues to rotate, cam follower will follow the cam surface to its minimum. point at an about 90 degree angular displacement of the cam and thereby permit spring 354 to bring sector gear 340 against eccentric stop 358. This will cause wrapper strip feed pinion 342 to rotate in a clockwise direction to thereby move the feed carriage toward the rear of the machine. The manner in which this slight rearward movement of the carriage will shift the wrapper strip feed pin 385 from its lowered to its elevated'operative position is better seen in Fig. 11.

The position of pin 385 at the completion of an operating cycle and while the machine is at rest is shown in dotted lines. The lateral guide pins 388 and 389 will be disposed below guide surfaces 390 and 391. As the carriage is moved to the rear (to the right as viewed in Fig. 11) stationary trip member 395 will be engaged by arm 383 to rotate the lever 382 in a clockwise direction and will thereby bias spring 386 upwardly. Further rear- Ward movement of the carriage will bring guide pins 388 and 389 past the rear ends of the guide strips 390, 391 and the tension on the spring 386 will permit the pin 385 to assume the position shown in. full lines in Fig. 11 wherein the pin will pass through a feed aperture 398 (Fig. 9), provided for this purpose about in the center of each individual wrapper in the wrapper strip. The wrapper strip is also provided with severing apertures 397 at the junctures between the individual wrappers in order to weaken these points to facilitate tearing the wrappers from each other. Further movement of cam 336' (Fig. 12) will displace the cam follower 337 a small amount and thereby move the sector gear 340 in a clockwise direction through pivoted cam follower plate 347 and link 348. Such movement of the sector gear 340 will rotate pinion 342 sufficient to move the carriage 375 forward by an amount suificient'to advance pins 388 and 389 onto the guide surfaces 398 and 391. It will be noted from Fig. 12 that almost half of the rotational movement of the cam 336 is devoted to shifting the feed carriage 375 from inoperative to operative position in order to insure proper operation.

The drive for the wrapping mechanism is designed so that the forked wrapping mandrel 30 will have been brought to rest in home position with the spaced legs thereof one above the other as seen in Fig. 8'after about 270 degrees of rotation of the cam shaft 86 and will thus be in position to receive the wrapper strip, between its legs. Further rotation of cam shaft 86 and cam 336 Will bring the strip portion of the cam surface against camfollower 337 to thereafter rapidly displace it in a direction to cause the feed carriage 375 to move forwardly and bring the wrapper strip with it through its positive engagement therewith by pin 385 to insert the foremost wrapper in the strip into wrapping position. At this point it should be noted that the cam 336 will permit the cam follower 335 to move sufficiently to release the clamping force on the wrapper strip after about 90 degrees rotation'of the cam or before the wrapper strip engaging pin 385 is moved into operative position.

The manner in which the pin 'is moved out of'engagement with the wrapper strip at the end of the forward movement of the carriage is better seen in Fig. 10. As the pin 385 approaches the position shown in dotted lines, trip spring 392 will engage the downwardly extending arm 383 of lever 382 which will tension the spring by displacing it from its dotted line to its full line position. As further forward movement of the carriage will cause the guide pins 388 and 389 to clear the ends of guide strips 390 and 391 and the feed pin 385 will assume the position shown in full lines in Fig. 10 away fro-m the wrapper strip. Spring 393 has been sufficiently flexed to maintain the guide pins 388 and 389 below the guide strips 398, 391 until the carriage 375 has been moved rearwardly by a distance sufiicient to cause the guide pins to pass underneath the guide strips. In this embodiment there is also provided a modified actuating mechanism for the single cycle clutch 400 as seen in Fig. 15 whereby the motor is automatically stopped at the end of each operating cycle and energized by movement of the same operating lever 401 that engages the single cycle clutch but prior to such clutch engagement. By referring to Fig. 7 it will be observed that the single "cycle clutch illustrated therein and the mounting therefor have not been modified. The modified form of the Wrapper strip feed mechanism necessitates the relocation of the driving motor 290 which in this embodiment is mounted directly on the base'10. The output shaft 2030f the motor is connected to the worm gear shaft 204 of the clutch by means of a belt drive comprising motor driven pulley 402, a drive belt 403 and a driven pulley 404 mounted on the worm gear shaft.

The clutch itself operates in the manner described in connection with Fig. 7 but the modified actuating mechanism therefor will now be described with reference to Fig. 15. Arm 238 on lever 44138 which serves as the stop member for the clutch is not operated directly from the operating key 243 as is the case in the embodiment shown in Fig. 7 but is indirectly operated through an operating lever 401 pivoted thereto by pin 412. Lever 401 is biased in a clockwise direction about this pin by a biasing spring 413 connected between a pin 414 near the end of the operating lever 401 and the pin 237 on arm 238. Lever 401 is provided with an offset 416 that extends across the upwardly extending arm 417 of lever 408. Push bar 244 carrying operating'key 243 is connected to the upper end of lever 401. .A microswitch 420. for controlling the power circuit for motor 200 is mounted on a bracket 422 secured to the base member 10. The contact operating arm 424 of the switch extends across and to the right of the lower arm-of operating lever 401 so that counterclockwise movement of the latter will engage switch arm 424. to close the switch contacts (not shown) to energize the motor.

In order to maintain the operating lever 401 in operated position to keep the switch contacts (not shown) of switch 420 closed during the full operating cycle of themachine, there is provided a camv member 426 which is secured to hub 222 keyed to the main cam shaft 86, by means of screws 427. Cam 426 is formed with a recess 428 for receiving a cam follower 429 carried by an arm 430 on the operating lever 401 to permit the latter to assume the position shown in Fig. in home position of the camshaft 426 and the main cam shaft 86. The remainder of the cam surface is circular and of such diameter as to displace cam follower 429 and with it operating lever 401 by an amount sufficient to maintain the arm 424 of microswitch 420 actuated after the operator releases. key 2 43 upon having once depressed it.

The modeof operation of the clutch and motor switch operating mechanism described immediately above will now be summarized. The parts will initially be in the position shown in Fig. 15 and the motor 200 will be deenergized. To initiate a cycle of operation the operator depresses key 243 to move the upper arm of lever 401 inwardly, i. e., to the left as viewed in Fig. 15, independently of lever 4498 for a distance depending on the spacing between arm 417 of lever 408 and offset portion 416 of lever 401. It should here be noted that spring 236 connecting pin 237 on lever 408 to pin 239 on the stationary support is stronger than spring 412 so that the latter will flex first permitting initial relative movement between levers 408 and 401. This initial movement is sufiicient for lever 401 to engage switch contact arm 424 to close the contacts of switch 420 and thereby energize the motor 200 prior to any movement of clutch releasing lever 408. Further movement of lever 401 caused by an operator depressing key 243 will cause offset 416 to engage arm 417 to rotate lever 408 counterclockwise sufficiently to move arm 238 out of the path of clutch member 227. As described above, this will permit driving engagement be tween toothed wheel 218 connected to the output of motor 200 and driven member 227 for one complete revolution of cam shaft 86. Lever 401 is prevented from returning to the initial position shown by the displacement of the cam follower 429 caused by the circular cam surface of cam 426 until the cam shaft 86 has made a complete revolution and cam follower 429 again enters recess 428 on the surface of cam 426. This in turn will permit the lever 401 to return to the position shown to release the contact arm 424 of switch 420 to thereby deenergize the motor. At the same time the end of arm 238 of lever 408 will engage the end of clutch member 227 to release the clutch as described above in connection with Fig. 7. The operator, therefore, when momentarily depressing key 243, will first energize the motor by closing switch 420 and then a short moment later engage the single cycle clutch 4th) whereupon the key will remain depressed until the termination of the operating cycle when the clutch will automatically be disengaged and the motor automatically deenergized.

Means is also provided for counting the packages Wrapped and visually indicating such count, and for automatically disabling the machine at a predetermined count which ordinarily is the maximum number of packages a dispensing magazine may accommodate. Referring particularly to Fig. 8, a register 500 is shown in dotted lines in its number 4 position, the numeral 4 indicating this position being visible through an opening or window 592 in the top cover 24. A finger key 504 is provided for resetting the machine for a new counting cycle after the machine has once counted to its maximum and then deenergized the machine. A push button 5% isv also provided which, when depressed, will disable the counting mechanism for one cycle so as to enable the operator to make up for a misoperation or a dry run.

2.0 The construction, of the, counting and disabling mechanism just referred to will now be described with reference to Figs. 12and l4. A e-am iltl mounted on the main camshaft 86: is provided for actuatingthe counting mechanism through a cam follower 512 carried; by a register advancing lever 514. Lever 514 and the counting register 515are journaled about a shaft 516 which ismounted between side wall 16 and internal wall 41. A spring 518 connected between lever 514 and a pin. 520 in side wall 16 biases the cam follower 512 into engagement with cam 51o. Lever 514 carries a register operating, dog 522 pivoted thereto by a pin 523 and biased into engagement with a ratchet wheel 524 of the register 5.15 by means of a spring 525. It will be evident that as cam 51% rotates, it will impart reciprocating motion to lever 514 which,

through dog 522., will advance the register ratchet wheel 524 one number position for each revolution of the cam shaft 36.

A normally closed microswitch53t is connected in the circuit of motor 200 and is operable through an actuating arm 532. The switch is mounted on a bracket 5314 secured to base 16 so that the actuating arm 535 of the switch extends to a point closely adjacent the cylindrical surface of the register 515. A limit stop 536 is attached to the surface ofthe register at thepoint where it will engage actuating arm 535 of the microswitch to open the contacts thereof and thereby open the power circuit of the operating motor when the maximum' count desired, as indicated in window 5132, has been attained. in Fig. 14 the maximum count is indicated as being 25, which means that after the machine has performed 25 complete operating cycles, limit stop 536 Will get to a position wherein it will engage the switch arm 532 and open the contacts of switch 530.

The resetting mechanism is shown in Fig. 14 as including a lever 540. pivotally mounted about a pin 541 on a bracket 542 secured to the front panel of the machine. Finger piece 504 is attached to the outer arm of the lever Whose other arm 543 extends through a slot 544 in the front panel to a point directly underneath limit stop 536 when the latter is in its switch actuating position. Lever 549 is biased in a clockwise sense by a tension spring 5455 connected between arrn 543 -and a pin 546 secured to the front panel. When it is desired to reset the register 515 to zero and at the same time enabling the machine for operation, finger piece 5% is depressed to move lever arm 543 against limit stop 536 and advance the register to its zero position to thereby release the switch arm 532 and close the motor circuit.

The-side ofthe register ratchet wheel 524' is provided with a recess or indentation 548 at each number position. A spring pressed ball detent 549 is mounted on the side wall 16 for engaging recesses 545 to positively position the register in each number position.

A manually operable push button 506 which, when depressed, is adapted to disable the counting mechanism for a single operating cycle is alsoprovided. Button 5% is mounted on an axially displaceable stem 554) which extends a distance inside of Wall 16 a little short of a chamfered pin 551 secured to cam 5 10. Stem 550 is in alignment with the path of the pin 551, but pin 551 will, in rest position of the machine, be somewhat past the position wherein it will be aligned with stem 55%). A spring detent mechanism 552 (Fig. 8) includes a spring pressed ball 553. (Fig. 12) normally seated in an annular groove 555 in stem 550.

In the event that actuating button243 of the machine has been accidentally depressed tocause the machine to go through one cycle of operation and advancing the count by one without having inserted a wrapped package into the magazine or if the machine has misoperated so that an imperfect package that has to be discarded has been produced, it is necessary to disable the counting m c an m for one m c neoperation in order to obtain t 21 correspondence between the count and the actual number of packages loaded into the magazine. To disable the counting mechanism button 506 is pushed inwardly so that ball 553 will be forced out of groove 555 onto the smooth surface of stem 550 permitting the latter to be advanced into the path of. lever 514, i. e., to the right thereof as viewed in Fig. 14 behind pin 551 on cam 510. In thenext cycle of operation, the cam 510 will go through a complete revolution but cam follower lever 514 will be prevented by the end of stem 550 from following. As the cam nears a complete revolution, the chamfered surface of pin 551 will engage the end surface of stem 550 and cam it outwardly to a position wherein spring detent ball 553 will again enter the groove 555 to releasably lock the button 506 in its retracted or inoperative position shown. It will beseen that although lever 514 will have moved from its maximum clockwise position to the stop position defined by stem 550, this reciprocal movement will be of insufficient extent to permit dog 522 to advance the ratchet wheel of the register. Thus by depressing button 506 the counter is caused to skip a count to indicate correctly the actual number of packages wrapped.

It is believed that the construction and operation of the invention as well as the objects and advantages above stated will readily be appreciated from the foregoing description.

I claim:

1. A sheet handling device comprising in combination means for wrapping sheet material and a wrapper into a cylindrical package, means for feeding a wrapper strip to said wrapping means, a container for receivingand retaining a plurality of wrapped packages in parallel relation, means for releasably holding said container, means for delivering wrapped packages from said wrapping means including means for laterally displacing wrapped packages into said container and operating means for operating said wrapping means, feeding means, and delivering means in a predetermined timed relationship.

2. A sheet handling device comprising in combination means for wrapping sheet material and a wrapper into a cylindrical package, means for feeding a Wrapper strip to said wrapping means, a container for receiving and retaining a plurality of wrapped packages in parallel relation, means for releasably holding said container, means for delivering packages to said container including ejecting means for ejecting packages from said wrappingmeans in an axial direction, means for receiving packages ejected from said wrapping means, and means for laterally transferring packages from said receiving means to said container, and means for operating said wrapping means, feeding means, ejecting means and transferring means in a predetermined timed relationship.

3. A sheet handling device comprising in combination means for interwrapping sheet material and a wrapper into a cylindrical package, means for feeding a wrapper strip to said wrapping means, a container for receiving and retaining a plurality of wrapped packages in parallel relation, means for releasably holding said container, means for delivering packages to said container including ejecting means for ejecting packages from said wrapping means in an axial direction, means for receiving packages ejected from said wrapping means, means movable across said receiving means to engage a package resting on said receiving means and displace it laterally into said container, and means for operating said Wrapping means, feeding means, ejecting means, and saidpackage displacing means in a predetermined timed relationship.

4. A sheet handling device comprising in combination means for interwrapping sheet material and a wrapper into a cylindrical package, means for feeding a wrapper strip into said wrapping means, means for delivering packages to a point of collection including ejecting means for ejecting, packages from said wrapping means in an axial direction, means for receiving packages ejected from 22 said wrapping means, means movable across said receiving means to engage a package resting on said receiving means and laterally displace it to the point of collection, and means for operating said wrapping means, feeding means, ejecting means, and said package displacing means in a predetermined timed relationship.

5. A sheet handling device comprising'in combination means for interwrapping sheet material and a Wrapper into a cylindrical package, means for feeding a wrapper strip into said wrapping ,means, a container, means for delivering packages to said container including ejecting means for ejecting packages from said wrapping means, means for receiving packages ejected from said wrapping means, means movable across said receiving means to engage a package resting on said receiving means and displace it into said container, resilient means associated with said receiving means arranged to permit free movement of the package from said receiving means to said container but to prevent return movement of the package, and means for operating said wrapping means, feeding means, ejecting means, and said package displacing means in a predetermined timed relationship.

6. A sheet handling device comprising in combination means for interwrapping sheet material and a wrapper into a cylindrical package, means for feeding a wrapper strip into said wrapping means, a container, means for delivering packages to said container including ejecting means for ejecting packages from said wrapping means in an axial direction, means for receiving packages ejected from said wrapping means, means for guiding ejected packages to said receiving means, means movable across said receiving means to engage a package resting on said receiving means and laterally displace it into said container, and means for operating said wrapping means, feeding means, ejecting means, and said package displacing means in a predetermined timed relationship.

7. A sheet handling apparatus comprising means for interwrapping sheet material and a wrapper into a cylindrical package, means for feeding a Wrapper strip to said wrapping means, means for delivering packages from said wrapping means to a point of collection, means for counting the number of packages delivered to the point of collection, means for disabling said counting means for a single cycle of operation to cause said counting means to skip a count and operating means for operating said wrapping means, feeding means, delivering means and counting means in a predetermined timed relationship.

8. A sheet handling apparatus comprising means for interwrapping sheet material and a wrapper into a cylindrical package, means for feedinga wrapper strip into said wrapping means, means for delivering the package to a point of collection, counting means for counting the number of packages delivered to the point of collection, operating means for operating said wrapping means, feedingmeans, delivering means and counting means in a predetermined timed relationship, and drive means for driving said operating means, said counting means including means for disabling said drive means upon reaching a predetermined count, and manually operable means adapted to disable said counting means for a single operating cycle. 1

9. A sheet handling apparatus comprising Wrapping means for reversely interwrapping sheet material and a wrapper into a cylindrical package, a normally continuous strip of wrappers interconnected by weakened sections, means for feeding the foremost wrapper of said strip to said wrapping means, a container, friction clamping means arranged, when actuated, to clamp the next to the foremost wrapper of said strip in place with the foremost wrapper in wrapping position, means for loading each package wrapped into said container, and means for operating said wrapping means, clamping means,

loading means, and feeding means, said operating means being adapted to operate said wrapping mechanism while actuating said frictionclamping means to maintain said wrapper next to, the foremost wrapper in place thereby enabling the wrapping means to tear the fore most wrapper from said. strip of wrappersas an incident to the wrapping operation, to operate said loading means to load the wrapped package into said container, and to operate said feeding means while releasing said friction Clamping means to cause said feeding means to advance said wrapper strip toward the wrapping mechanism by a distance equal to the length of an individual 3-."

wrapper.

10. A sheet handling apparatus comprising a wrapper mechanism including a rotatable forked mandrel for reversely interwrapping sheet material and self-sealing wrapper, a normally continuous strip of wrappers interconnected by weakened sections, a wrapper strip feed mechanism including wrapper strip clamping means p erable to feed a wrapper length of a wrapper strip into said wrapper mechanism and then clamp the wrapper strip in position behind the foremost wrapper length, an ejector mechanism operable to eject a wrapped package from said wrapper mechanism in an axial direction, a container adapted to hold a plurality of packages, a loading mechanism including means for receiving an ejected package and means operable to transfer a package laterally from said receiving means into said container, operating means for operating said wrapper mechanism, said ejector mechanism, said loading mechanism and said wrapper strip feed mechanism in a predetermined timed relationship, motor means and single cycle clutching means operable to connect said motor means to said operating means.

11. A sheet handling apparatus comprising in combination means for interwrapping sheet materials and a self-sealing wrapper into a cylindrical package, means for feeding a wrapper strip into wrapping position in said wrapping means, means for ejecting a wrapped package from said wrapping means, means for receiving an ejected package, a container adapted to hold a plurality of packages, means for loading a package into said container comprising a pusher member engageable with a package resting in said receiving means and movable to displace said package into a container held in a receiving position adjacent said package receiving means, actuating means for said pusher member, a resilient connection between said actuating means and said pusher member, and resilient stop means associated with said receiving means permitting unobstructed passage of a package from said receiving means to said container but preventing passage of a package in the opposite direction, actuating means common to said wrapping means, said wrapper strip feeding means, said ejecting means, and said actuating means for said pusher member of said loading means for causing operation thereof in a pre determined timed relationship, motor means, and means operable to connect said drive means for a single cycle of operation to said motor means.

12. A sheet handling apparatus comprising in combination means for interwrapping sheet materials and a self-sealing wrapper into a cylindrical package, a normally continuous strip of wrappers interconnected by weakened sections, means for advancing said wrapper strip to feed the foremost wrapper to said wrapping means and including means for clamping said wrapper strip in position at a point behind the foremost wrapper in the strip, means for actuating said wrapper strip feed mechanism including means for disabling said cramping means during feeding operation, a container, loading means for transferring wrapped packages to said container, common drive means for operating said Wrapping means, said wrapper strip advancing means and said loading means in a predetermined timed relationship, a driving motor, means operable to connect said drive means to said motor for a single operating cycle, and means for manually,

operating said connecting means.

13 A sheet handling apparatus comprising wrappitlgv means for'iriterwrapping sheet material and a wrapper, means for feeding a wrapper strip to said wrapping means, means for delivering the package from said wrapping means to a point of collection, operating means for operating said wrapping means, feedingmeans and delivering means in a predetermined timed relationship, a normally deenergized motor, switch means controlling energization of said motor, single cycle clutch means operable to connect said motor to said operating means, and common actuating means for said switch means and said clutch means, said actuating means having an initial movement for closing said switch means and energizing said motor and a subsequent movement for actuating said clutch means.

14. A sheet handling apparatus comprising wrapping means for interwrapping sheet material and a wrapper, means for feeding a wrapper strip to said wrapping means, means for delivering the package from said wrapping means to a point of collection, operating means for operating said wrapping means, feeding means and delivering means in a predetermined timed relationship, a normally deenergiz'ed motor, switch means controlling energization of said motor, single cycle clutch means operable to connect said motor to saidoperating means, and common actuating means for said switch means andsaid clutch means, said actuating means including means for actuating said switch means to energize said motor prior to actuating said clutch means, said clutch means including means for maintaining said actuating means in switch actuating condition for theduration of the operating cycle.

15. A sheet handling apparatus comprising wrapping means for interwrapping sheet material and a wrapper into a cylindrical package, a Wrapper strip, means for feeding said wrapper strip into said wrapping means, said feeding means including a pair of feed rollers adapted to engage frictionally a strip passing therebetween and arranged for rotational movement in a direction to move said wrapper strip toward said wrapping means, package receiving means, ejecting means adapted to eject a package wrapped by said wrapping means axially to said receiving means, a container adapted to hold a plurality of packages, loading means for transferring packages laterally from said receiving means to said container, and means for operating said wrapping means, ejecting means, loading means, and feeding means in a predetermined timed relationship.

16. A sheet handling apparatus comprising a wrapping mechanism for interwrapping sheet materials and a self sealing wrapper, wrapper strip feed mechanism adapted to feed a normally continuous strip of self-sealing wrappers interconnected by weakened sections into said wrapping mechanism, clamping means operable to clamp the wrapper strip at a point thereof behind a wrapper disposed in wrapping position in said wrapping mechanism, and means for rendering said clamping means effective during operation of said wrapping mechanism and ineffective during operation of said wrapper strip feed mechanism. v

17. A sheet handling apparatus comprising a wrapping mechanism adapted to interwrap sheet materials and a wrapper to form a cylindrical package, a normally continuous strip of wrappers interconnected by weakened sections and having feed apertures therein, a wrapper feeding mechanism including a carriage, means for mounting said carriage for reciprocal movements toward arid away from said wrapping mechanism, wrapper strip engaging pin resiliently mounted on said carriage and including guide means therefor, guide ways for supporting said guide means in strip engaging position for substantially the length of an individual wrapper, trip means adjacent the end of the guide Ways remote from the wrapping mechanism adapted to move said guide means of said pin within said guide ways and insert said pin through a feed aperture in said wrapper strip, second trip means disposed adjacent the other end of the guide ways adapted to remove said guide means from said guide ways and to disengage said pin from the wrapper strip, and clamping means arranged selectively to clamp and immobilize said wrapper strip at a point on the second wrapper of the wrapper strip when the first wrapper thereof is disposed in wrapping position in said wrapping mechanism. r

18. A sheet handling apparatus comprising a wrapping mechanism adapted to interwrap sheet materials and a wrapper to form a cylindrical package, a wrapper strip having feed apertures therein, a wrapper strip feeding mechanism including a carriage, means for mounting said carriage for reciprocal movements toward and away from said wrapping mechanism, means for operating said carriage, a wrapper strip engaging pin resiliently mounted on said carriage and including guide means therefor, guide ways for supporting said guide means in strip engaging position for substantially the length of an individual wrapper, trip means adjacent the end of the guide ways remote from the wrapping mechanism adapted to move said guide means of said pin within said guide ways and insert said pin through an aperture in the wrapper strip, second trip means disposed adjacent the other end of the guide ways adapted to remove said guide means from said guide ways and to disengage said pin from the wrapper strip, and common drive means for said wrapping mechanism and said carriage operating means adapted to operate said feeding mechanism to feed a wrapper into the wrapping mechanism upon completion of each wrapping operation of the latter.

19. A sheet handling apparatus comprising a wrapping mechanism for wrapping sheet materials and a wrapper to form a cylindrical package, a normally continuous strip of wrappers interconnected by weakened sections, and a wrapper strip feeding mechanism for feeding the foremost wrapper of said wrapper strip into said wrapping mechanism upon completion of each wrapping operation of the wrapping mechanism, said wrapper strip feeding mechanism including wrapper strip advancing means disposed intermediate said wrapping mechanism and a wrapper stock supply, said wrapper strip advancing means being arranged for reciprocal movement toward and away from said wrapping mechanism for at least the extent of the length of individual wrappers in the wrapper strip and adapted to engage and advance a wrapper strip in its movement toward the wrapping mechanism but to be disengaged from the wrapper strip in its return movement, strip holding means adapted, when actuated, to hold said strip against movement at a point behind the foremost wrapper length when the latter is in wrapping position in said wrapping mechanism, and drive means for operating said wrapping mechanism, said wrapper strip advancing means and said holding means in a predetermined timed relationship such that said holding means is ineffective during the strip advancing operation of said advancing means and eifective to hold the wrapper strip in place during wrapping operation of said wrapping mechanism to enable the latter to tear off the foremost wrapper from the remainder of the strip as an incident to the wrapping operation. 1

20. In a sheet handlingapparatus including a wrapping mechanism for interwrapping sheet materials and a wrapper, wrapper strip feed mechanism adapted to feed a continuous strip of wrappers interconnected by weakened sections into saidwrapping mechanism, clamping means operable to clamp'the wrapper strip at a point thereof behind a wrapper disposed in wrapping position in said wrapping mechanism, and means for rendering said clamping means effective during operation ofsaid wrapping mechanism and ineffective during operation of said wrapper strip feed mechanism.

21. In a sheet handling apparatus including a forked wrapping mandrel rotatably mounted within a wrapping 26 g cage and having a predetermined rest position, for reversely interwrapping sheet materials and a self-sealing wrapper, wrapper strip feed mechanism adapted to feed a continuous strip of wrappers interconnected by weakened sections between the legs of said forked mandrel when said mandrel is in its position of rest, clamping means operable to clamp the wrapper strip at a point thereof behind a wrapper disposed in wrapping position between the legs of said wrapping mandrel, and means for rendering said clamping means effective during operation of said wrapping mechanism and ineffective during operation of said wrapper strip feed mechanism.

22. In a sheet handling apparatus including a wrapping mechanism for wrapping sheet materials and a wrap-' per to form a cylindrical package, a wrapper strip feeding mechanism for feeding a wrapper into the wrapping mechanism upon completion of each wrapping operation of the wrapping mechanism comprising wrapper strip advancing means for engagement with a wrapper strip and disposed intermediate said wrapping mechanism and a wrapper strip supply, means for locking said strip advancing means, means for actuating said strip advancing means, a lost motion connection between said actuating means and said strip advancing means, said actuating means including means for disabling said locking means as part of the lost motion movement thereor" and prior to its application. of force to said strip advancing mechanism.

23. In a sheet handling apparatus including a wrapping mechanism for wrapping sheet materials and a wrapper into a cylindrical package, a wrapper strip feeding mechanism comprising a wrapper strip feed roller, a follower roller resiliently biased into engagement with said feed roller, reciprocating gear means including a one-way drive for rotating said feed roller in strip feeding direction only, actuating means for said reciprocating gear means, a lost motion connection between said actuating means and said reciprocating gear means, means for locking said feed roller against rotation in feeding direction, and means associated with said actuating means for disabling said locking means as a part of the lost motion movement of said actuating means.

24. In a sheet handling apparatus including a wrapping .mechanism for interwrapping sheet material and a self-sealing wrapper into a cylindrical sealed package, a wrapper strip feed mechanism for feeding a wrapper strip. having a row of adhesive areas extending lengthwise along each side thereof into said wrapping mechanism comprising a pair of feed rollers, means for rotating saidrollers in such a direction as to advance the wrapper strip disposed therebetween into said wrapping mechanism, each of said rollers having a circumferential groove so positioned and of such depth and width as to clear the adhesive areas on the associated side of the wrapper strip, wrapper stripv guide means extending between said feed rollers and said wrapper mechanism including strip supporting means having a slot extending a substantial distance between said rollersand said wrapper mechanism, said slot being so disposed as to provide clearance for the adhesive areas on the under side of the wrapper strip, means for guiding the edges of the strip, and a cover plate spaced from said strip supporting means and provided with a slot extending a substantial distance toward said wrapper mechanism so disposed as to provide clearance for the adhesive areas on the upper side of the wrapper strip.

25. In a'sheet handling apparatus including a wrapping mechanism for interwrapping sheet materials and a wrapper into a cylindrical package, a wrapper strip feed mechanism for feeding a continuous strip of wrappers to said wrapping mechanism comprising a feed roller, a pressure roller resiliently biased against said feed roller, means for rotating said feed roller to advance a wrapper strip disposed between said rollers by he en h of On w pper qlwa d said W app mechafiisrn' 'cornprising a pinion rotatably mounted coaxially withsaidfeed roller, a directional drive connection between "said feed'roller 'and'said pinion to establish a positive driving connection therebetween in the strip feeding direction of said feed roller but to permit said pinion'to rotate free of said roller in the opposite direction, reciprocable gear means in driving engagement with said pinion, lockingmeans for said feed roller normally preventing rotation thereof in a strip feeding direction, "actuating means for said reciprocating gear means, a lostmotion Connection between said actuating means'and'said gear means, said actuating means including means operative to disable said locking means in the lost motionmovement thereof and to maintain it disabled during the strip feeding operation, and adjustable stop-means for said gear means for regulating the extent of movement thereof in response to said actuating means to in turn regulate the extent of advancement of said Wrapper strip."

26. In a sheet handling apparatus including a wrapping mechanism for interwrapping sheet materials and a wrapper into a cylindrical package, a wrapper strip feed mechanism for feeding a continuous strip of wrappers to said wrapping mechanism comprising a feed roller, a pressure roller resiliently biased against said feed roller, means for rotating said feed roller to advance a wrapper strip disposed between said rollers by the length of one wrapper toward said wrapping mechanism comprising a pinion rotatably mounted coaxially with said feed roller, a unidirectional drive connection between said feed roller and said pinion to establish a positive driving connection therebetween in the strip feeding direction of said roller but to permit said pinion to rotate free of said roller in the opposite direction, reciprocable gear means in driving engagement with said pinion, locking means for said feed "roller normally preventing rotation thereof in a strip feeding direction, actuating means for said reciprocating gear means, a lost motion connection between said actuating means and said gear means, said actuating means including means operative to disable said locking means in the 'lost motion movement thereof and to maintain it disabled during the strip feeding operation, adjustable stop means for said gear means for regulating theextent of movement thereof in response to said actuating means to in turn regulate the extent of advancernent of said wrapper strip, a rotatable cam shaft carrying an operating cam for each of said wrapper mechanism and said actuating means for said gear means, said cams being so positioned and shaped as to operate said mechanisms in predetermined timed relationship, a drive motor, and a single cycle coupling for connecting, when actuated, said cam shaft to said motor to operate said shaft to impart to said apparatus one cycle of operation. I

"27. In a sheet handling apparatus including a Wrapping mechanism for wrapping sheet materials and a wrapper to form a cylindrical package, 'a wrapper strip feeding mechanism for feeeding a wrapper length of a continuous strip of wrappers into wrapping position in the wrapping mechanism upon completion of each Wrapping operation thereof comprising carriage means reciprocally movable for at least the length of one wrapper length in the length direction of the wrapper strip, strip engaging means carried by said carriage normally disengaged from the wrapper strip and adapted to engage the wrapper strip positively, guide means for maintaining said strip engaging means in engagement with the strip for a distance substantially equal to the length of an individual wrapper, means adapted to move the strip engaging means into operative relationship with said guide means near the completion of themovement of said carriage away from said wrapping mechanism, and means adapted to move the Strip out of operative relationship with said guide 28 means near the completiofn" of the movement of said carriage towardsaid wrapping ineclianis'r'n.

28. In"a sheet handlingapparatusincluding a wrapping mechanism for wra pin sheet materials and. a wrapper to form a cylindrical package, a wrapper strip feeding mechanism for feeding 'a' wrapper length of a continuous strip of wrappers into the wrapping mechanism upon completion of each wrapping operation there f comprising wrapper strip advancing means reciprocally movable toward and away from the wrappingmechanism, and including means adapted to render said strip advancing means operative to' engage positively the wrapper strip during movement of said strip advancing means toward said wrappingmechanism to displace the wrapper strip by a distance equal to one wrapper length and to render said strip advancing means inoperative and disengaged from the wrapper strip during movement of said strip advancing means away from said wrapping mechanism, strip locking means adapted to lock the strip against movement at a point behind the foremost wrapper length when the latter is in wrapping position in the wrapping mechanism, and means for seque'ntiallyopcrating said wrapper strip advancing means and said locking means. i

29. In a sheet handling apparatus including a wrapping mechanism for wrapping sheet materials and a wrapper to form a cylindrical package, a wrapper strip feeding mechanism forfeeding a wrapper length of a continuous strip of wrappers into the wrapping mechanism upon completion of each wrapping operation thereof comprising Wrapper strip advancing means reciprocally movable toward and away from the wrapping mechanism, said strip advancing means including strip engaging means, means operative to cause said strip engaging means to engage the wrapper strip during movement of said strip advancing means toward said wrapping mechanism to displace the wrapper strip by a distance equal to one wrapper length and to cause said strip engaging means to become disengaged from the wrapper strip during movement of said strip advancing means away from said wrapping mechanism, strip locking means adapted to lock the strip against movement at a point behind the foremost wrapper length when the latter is in wrapping position in the. wrapping mechanism, and means for rendering said locking means ineffective during movement of said wrapper strip advancing means toward said wrapping mechanism.

30. In a sheet handling apparatus including a wrapping mechanism for wrapping sheet materials and a wrapper to form a cylindrical package, a Wrapper strip feeding mechanism for feeding a wrapper length of a continuous strip of wrappers into the wrapping mechanism upon completion of each Wrapping operation thereof comprising a carriage, means for mounting said carriage for reciprocal movements toward and away from said wrappingmechanism, strip engaging means on said carriage, means operative to cause said strip engaging means to engage the Wrapper stripv during the wrapper strip feeding movement of said carriage toward said wrapping mechanism to displace the wrapper strip by a distance equal to one Wrapper length and to disengage the wrapper stripduring movement away from said wrapping mechanism, strip locking means adapted to lock the strip against movement at a point behind the foremost wrapper length when the latter is in wrapping position in the wrapping mechanism, and common operating means for said'carriage and said locking means, said operating means being adapted to maintain said locking means in released condition during the paper strip feeding movement of said carriage and to actuate said locking means after the completion'of such wrapper strip feeding movement. i

31. In a sheet handling apparatus includinga wrapping mechanism for"wrapping sheet materials and a wrapper to form a cylindrical package, a wrapper strip feeding

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