US2977115A - Front register mechanism - Google Patents

Description

March 28, 1961 J. E. VANDEMAN FRONT REGISTER MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 10, 1958 INVEN TOR. J2 5 VANOEMAN March 28, 1961 J. E. VANDEMAN 2,977,115

FRONT REGISTER MECHANISM Filed June 10, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. JACK f. VANDEMAN Arromvsys United States Patent FRONT REGISTER MECHANISM Jack E. Vandeman, Berea, Ohio, assignor to Harris- Intertype Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Filed June 10, 1958, Ser. No. 741,443

18 Claims. (Cl. 271-53) This invention relates to improvements in front registering mechanism for sheet feeding machines, and has to do primarily with nipper or feed roll mechanism adapted to feed relatively stiff, heavy sheets such as cardboard to a sheet handling machine. This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 569,- 830, filed March 6, 1956, now abandoned.

One of the most successful types of front registering mechanism comprises a cylinder which has several gauge pins carried thereby and several grippers for receiving a sheet and passing it to another cylinder of the machine. The means for feeding sheets against the gauge pins to apply final front registration of the sheet against the gauge pins consists of a plurality of nipper or feed rolls, certain ones of which are generally aligned with the gauge pins in the direction of sheet feed. Such a device is shown in Harris U.S. Patent 1,307,969 for example. Mechanism of this sort is capable of handling either paper or cardboard sheets provided the front edges of the sheets, especially cardboard sheets, are fairly true. Paper sheets vas received from a paper mill are ordinarily accurately trimmed and thus can be fed as purchased. Cardboard sheets as usually received from the paper mill have somewhat irregular edges. This makes it diificult, when feeding the latter, to obtain accurate registration for high quality printing or subsequent registration in a cutter and creaser or other machine having front registration means not identically matching the several gauge pins. Where quality is of great importance, cardboard sheets can be used on presses having the conventional feed roll registering mechanism and several gauge pins only if the sheets are given preliminarily a rather expensive trim.

It is known that untrimmed cardboard sheets can be registered satisfactorily when only two front registeringpoints are used. This is not true however when the two points are a pair of gauge pins on the cylinder and when numerous feed rolls are used to drive the sheet against the gauge pins and overfeed it at a speed greater than cylinder speed at the time of registration. In the latter case, those feed rolls other than the ones generally aligned with the gauge pins in the direction of sheet feed, buckle and bow the sheet about the two gauge pins, thus making it difiicult for the grippers to take the sheets and also to reregister them later, since the amount of buckling or bowing may be different. Further, since the bowing may be diiferent from one sheet to the next, the probability of misregister of the printed image with the front edge of the sheet is increased. This would result in complications when later trimming, cutting, etc.

Under certain circumstances satisfactory registration can be obtained with the two gauge pins on the cylinder while using only two feed rolls in line with those gauge pins. A difiiculty arises here, however, since sheets are ordinarily at rest when first gripped by the feed rolls and must be accelerated to a speed higher than cylinder speed.

If the sheets are relatively heavy, and only two feed rolls are used, there might be slippage between the feed rolls Patented Mar. 28, 1961 and the sheet while the rolls are bringing itto speed. This, of course, increases the possibility of misregister.

According to a main feature of this invention, two gauge pins are provided on the cylinder and several sets of feed rolls are provided, two or more of which are generally aligned with the gauge pins, that is to say one set may be directly in line with each gauge pin or a set may be disposed on each side of but close to that line. All of the rolls across the width of the machine are adapted to grip the sheet while it is at rest and to commence feeding it toward the gauge pins, and all rolls but those aligned with the gauge pins are adapted to release the sheet before its front edge reaches the gauge pins. Final registration of the sheet against the gauge pins is accomplished by overfeeding with only the rolls in line with the pins. Another feature of this invention is to provide means for adapting a conventional paper feed roll registering device of the type mentioned earlier with the above improvements for feeding of cardboard having relatively irregular edges.

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide feed roll means for feeding untrimmed sheets to gauge pins on a rotating cylinder and to register the sheets against the pins.

Another object of the invention is to adapt a plurality of pairs of feed rolls to positively grip andcommence feeding relatively stiff sheets against a pair of gauge pins on a cylinder, only said rolls in line with the pins providing the driving force for final registration 'of the sheet against the gauge pins. 7

Another object of the invention is to provide mechanism comprising a plurality of gauge pins on a cylinder and a plurality of pairs of feed rolls for use in registering paper sheets against the gauge pins, means being provided and said gauge pins and feed rolls being so adapted when feeding untrimmed cardboard sheets that all of said feed rolls take and commence feeding a sheet toward the gauge pins, all but two spaced pairs of feed rolls aligned in the direction of feed with two gauge pins on the cylinder release said sheet as it approaches the gauge pins, and final registration of the cardboard sheet against said two gauge pins is accomplished by said two feed rolls aligned therewith.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method of utilizing conventional feed roll registering mechanism for feeding and registering stiff, heavy sheet material having relatively irregular edges.

Another object is the provision of two diiferent sets of upper and lower nipper rolls which, when arranged for cardboard feeding, cause one set to accelerate the sheets and then let them go, while the other set embodying only two pairs of nipper rolls, continues to exert a forwarding action advancing the sheets gently into contact with two gauge pins on the cylinder in line with the second named pairs of nipper rolls.

Other objects and features of novelty will appear as I proceed with the description of those embodiments of the invention which, for the purposes of the present application, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a simplified perspective view of front register mechanismembodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic elevational view showing the front stops and side register means on a feed board witha sheet front and side registered and about to be advanced by nipper rolls into a printing or other sheet handling machine.

' Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are fragmental schematic views of the front registering mechanism arranged for the feeding of cardboard sheets and showing successive stages of sheet movement.

Figs. 7, 8, and 9 are fragmental schematic views of the means.

awaits 3 mechanism adjusted for the feeding of paper sheets and showing successive stages of movement of a sheet as it is advanced into engagement with gauge pins on a revolving cylinder. I r

Fig. is a perspective view similar tothat of Fig. 1, showing a modification wherein all of the upper nipper rolls are of the same size, and wherein certain of the lower nipper rolls, after being in operative relation with the upper rolls, drop down before the sheet strikes the gauge pins on the cylinder.

Figs. 11, 12,13 and 14 are fragmental schematic views of the front registering mechanism of Fig. 10 arranged for the feeding of cardboard sheets and showing successive stages of sheet movement.

Figs. 15, 16, and 17 are schematic views of the Fig. 10 mechanism arranged for the feeding of paper sheets, and showing successive stages of movement of a sheet as it is advanced into engagement with the gauge pins on a revolving cylinder.

The construction of the present invention follows the prior art in some respects. It comprism a feed board down which sheets are moved by tapes or equivalent Front stops rise from below the sheet path to stop and preliminarily front register the sheet. Immediately thereafter the sheet is drawn sidewise against a side gauge. While the sheet still bears against the front stops it is gripped between top and bottom nipper or feed rolls which are station'ar'y'at that instant. The front stops then drop out of the way and the nipperrolls'begin to accelerate for driving the sheet forward. The sheet is driven forward until its front edge contacts gauge pins ona revolving cylinder which has a surface speed slightly less than that of the nipper rolls at the timefso that the'sheet is forced against the gauge'pins to properly finallyfront register, it, whereupon the grippers onjthe cylinder close and the nipper rolls release the sheet.

After that it is carried into the'press or'othersheet haudling machine under the control of that machine"'exclusively.

A preferred form of the present invention departs from the known art as above outlined in that the upper nipper rolls are in two different sets, one set comprising a substantial number of pairs of upper and lower nipper rolls extending transverselyof the machine and 'the'sec- 0nd set consisting of two pairs of nipper rolls only spaced laterally upon opposite sides of the center of the 'sheets to be forwarded, The upper rolls of the second set are so constituted thatja'rear portion of their feed sectors may remain effective after the feed sectors ofthe other set have passedthe lower "nipper rolls; in other words, after the sectors of the first set have rotated out 'of contact with the sheet. However, the timing of the nipper roll shaft carrying the upper rolls may be set forward or backward to make the rear portions of the feed sectors of the second set effective, as when feeding cardboard sheets, or ineffective as when feeding'paper sheets. 'Preferably this is accomplished by making the front ends of the feeding sectors of all upper nipper rolls even across the machine and making the feed sectors of the second set longer than those of the first set. However, as one indicated at 21 in Fig. 2. His acylinder whichmay be driven at non-uniformspeed, as by mechanism disclosed in Wood Patent No. 2,746,312, dated May 22, 1956,

with two different constant speed periods and intervening periods of acceleration,anddeceleration.

12 is a shaft which has bearings in the machinev frame disposing it parallel to cylinder 11 and above feedboard 10. On, the shaft 12 aset of nipper orfeed rolls 13 are fixed. These rolls for the greater part of their periphery it. are cut away to leave active feed sectors of uniform radius which have a given length or angle. They are similarly disposed angularly of the shaft so that their action is uniform across the width of the machine.

A series of lower idler nipper rolls 14 of circular contour are mounted beneaththefeed board and beneath the nipper rolls 13. Rolls 14 are carried at the free ends of short arms 15 which swing upon pivots 16. By suitable mechanism known in the art and not herein shown, the arms swing up to pinch each sheet betweenthe nipper rolls 13 and 14 at a time when a sheet is stopped and front registered against front stops 17. The arms swing down to move the rollers 14 out of contact with the sheet at a later point in the cycle. The rolls 14 are spring urged toward rolls 13 and have an upper limit of travel a few thousandths of an inch above normal sheet-contacting position. I p

The front stops 17, of which there are at least two although preferably more, move up and down in conventional manner about fixed pivots 18. As soon as a sheet is front registered against stops 17 it is drawn sidewise by side registering mechanism which may embody upper 'cxtent of sidewise movement.

Shaft 12 is driven in a non-uniform manner to have a short stationary period during which the lower nipper rolls 14 rise to press a sheet against the'outer perimeter of'therolls 13, an accelerating period during which the sheet reaches a surface speed somewhat greater than the speed of cylinder 11 at the moment for driving the sheet forward against gauge pins on the cylinder, an idler "period and a further period of rotation to bring the rolls backto the Fig. 2 position. Thus the shaft has acceleration and deceleration periods and different stationary periods for each complete revolution, and there is one such revolution for each sheet fed. At all times except when lower idler nipper rolls 24, the latter being mounted to "move up'anddown simultaneously with the lower nipper rolls 1'4 in'the embodiment shown. Nipper'rolls23 have feed sectors the forward ends of which are even angularly with-the forward ends of rolls 13-. Rolls 23, however, have longer feed sectors than rolls 13, so that they project behind rollers 13.

Shaft 12 is adjustable relative to its driving mechanism so that it may assume either of two different angular positions. Its driving mechanism which may be'associated with the non-uniform driving mechanism for cylinder 11 to impart the periods of constant rotation and those of acceleration and deceleration to the upper nipper rolls previouslymentioned, may comprise a pair of gears 25, 26 rotating in a non-uniform manner. One end of shaft 12 is fixed to a circular plate 27 which is adjustably mounted on'gear 26 by means of screw and slot connections 28, 29. When the drive is to be adjusted for feeding'cardboard, as in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, screws 28 are loosened and shaft 12 and plate'27 are rotated clockwise with respectlo gear 29 after which the screws v In the feedingof cardboardsheets, as in Figs. 3 too ,inolusive, the nipper rolls on shaft 12 become effective later in the cycle, that is the forward ends of the sectors of the upper nipper rolls extend alcertain distance beyond .lthe lower rollers 14, 24 when shaft 12 is stationary and the lower rolls rise to grip the sheet as indicated in Fig. 3.

The sheet S is then accelerated by the nipper rolls 13 and 23 through the position of Fig. 4. Shortly thereafter the feed sectors of the nipper rolls 13 will have passed beyond lower rolls 14 so that the feed sectors of rolls 13 will be ineffective for pushing the sheets forward somewhat before the position of Fig. 5 is reached. However, at that position the feed sectors of the nipper rolls 23 are still effective and the sheet is pushed forward by those sectors alone until it contacts gauge pins 30 on cylinder 11 in line with the nipper rolls 23. Immediately thereafter sheet grippers 31 on the cylinder close upon the sheet and the rolls 24 drop as in Fig. 6. The sheet is now under the control exclusively of the grippers on the cylinder. The gauge pins 30 are mounted in the gap of the cylinder. When feeding cardboard it is desirable to front register on the cylinder at two points only, and these points are preferably directly in line with the two nipper rolls 23 which affect the final front registration of the sheet after the accelerating effort from nipper rolls 13 has ceased. These particular gauge pins are shown in full lines in Fig. 1. Other gauge pins 30 shown in dotted lines are used additionally when feeding paper sheets.

If all of the nipper rolls were eifective to advance a cardboard sheet into contact with the two spaced gauge pins, there wouldbe a tendency for the sheet between the two gauge pins and on the far sides of the gauge pins to advance beyond them, which would distort the sheet by buckling and bowing and interfere with accurate registration of a printed image thereon This undesirable effect is absent, however, where the final push to the sheet is in line only with two selected gauge pins.

Now assuming that it is desired to operate the machine for feeding paper sheets, the operator adjusts shaft 12 and plate 27 counterclockwise to its other angular position. He also places into gauging position the gauge pins 30 shown in dotted lines. Such angular repositioning of the shaft causes both sets of rolls 13 and 23 with their corresponding idlers 14 and 24 to effectually grip and drive the sheet forward against all of the gauge pins 30. The sheet then continues to be gripped and fed forward until about the position of Fig. 9 at which point the sheet will have contacted all of the gauge pins 30 and the sheet grippers 31 will have closed upon the sheet. The lower nipper rolls 14 and 24 will now drop to discontinue .driving the sheet forward. Hence the final portion of the feed sectors of the nipper rolls 23 will be ineffective and the same feeding effort will be experienced as though all of the nipper rolls had the same length of feed sectors.

Other modifications are within the purview of this invention. In all cases, howevenit is necessary when feeding cardboard sheets that the sheet be started from rest all across the machine but that the forwarding impulse be stopped before the sheet strikes the two spaced gauge pins except at points in line with the gauge pins, the forwarding impulse being continued at those points until the sheet strikes the gauge pins.

In the modification of Figs. to 17 inclusive, a similar result is obtained by a different arrangement of somewhat different elements. In this embodiment of the invention the shaft 32, similar to shaft 12 of the first embodiment, is driven in any suitable manner from the shaft of cylinder 11 so as to have a stationary period, an acceleration period, and a deceleration period, the sheet being in engagement with stops 17 during the stationary period, being forwarded during the acceleration period, and being out of contact with the nipper rolls during the deceleration period. The shaft 32 functions in a manner similar to that of shaft 12, but need not be adjustable as is the latter shaft.

On the shaft 32 there are fixed a series of upper sector shaped nipper or feed rolls 33 and 34, which may be identical in shape and size, the various rolls 33 and 34 having the same angular positions all across the width of the machine. The sector shaped nipper rolls in longitudinal alignment with the gauge pins 30 are distinguished from the other similar upper nipper rolls by being numbered 34 rather than 33.

Under each sector shaped nipper roll 33 there is a cooperating circular nipper roll 35, while beneath the sector shaped nipper rolls 34 there are circular nipper rolls 36. The various lower rolls 35 are each mounted at the forward end of an arm 37 that is pivoted upon a transverse rod 38 mounted in'the frame of the machine.

The rolls 36 are mounted at the forward ends of similar arms 39. At the rear end of each arm 37 there is an approximately vertical operating bar 40 which moves up and down in timed relation. The bars 40 are moved to lowered position to raiserolls 35 to operative position at the beginning of the forwarding action of the nipper rolls when a strong acceleration effort is desired, as indicated in Fig. 11. Shortly thereafter these bars *40 rise to depress rollers 36, as indicated in Fig. 12. The forwarding impetus of the rolls 35 is then discontinued. However, the rolls 36 which are raised simultaneously with rolls 35 continue in operative position'as illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13 and continue to drive the sheet forward and up against the gauge pins 30 until the sheet is taken by the grippers 31. For this purpose vertical operating bars 41 are pivotally connected to the rear ends of the arms 39 which carry the rolls 36. After the sheet is gripped, the bars 41 rise and the rollersf36 descend, the sheet then being under the control of the grippers 31 only. The bars 40 and 41 may be raised and lowered to accomplish the operation of rollers 35 and 36 by any suitable means properly related to the irregular rotation of the cylinder 11.

In Figs. 15, 16, and 17 the sheets being fed are of ordinary paper stock, and the problem of eliminating buckling and bowing is not present, as it is where cardboard is being fed. In the case of paper sheets there is no necessity for lowering the nipper rolls 35 before the sheet strikes the gauge pins. In fact, in paper feeding the gauge pins illustrated in dotted lines may be brought into operative position and all of the pairs of nipper rolls actuated to give the sheet a forwarding impetus throughout its width, and to continue that impulse until the sheet strikes the gauge pins. Hence, the operating bars 40 and 41 may maintain the rolls 35 and 36 in upper operative position until the sheet is grasped by the sheet grippers 31, as shown in Fig. 17, whereupon the bars 40 and 41 may be raised in unison to release the sheet, which is thereafter in control of the press or other sheet handling machine exclusively.

Thus, it will be observed that in the feeding of cardboard sheets, according to the first described form of the invention, the sheet forwarding impulse other than that behind the two gauge pins is relieved by making the sectors shorter than those behind the gauge pins, while in the second described form a similar result is accomplished by v holding the lower nipper rolls in operative relation with the sectors behind the gauge pins for a longer time than those which are positioned beneath the remaining sectors. In both cases, the final push to the sheet takes place only from the nipper rolls in line with the gauge pins, thereby avoiding distortion or buckling and bowing of the sheet because of a feeding impulse imparted to it at points not directly behind the gauge pins.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In the method of feeding sheet material to a rotating 7 cylinder having grippers adapted to hold a sheet after it has been registered against a pair of spaced gauge pins mounted on the cylinder and wherein a sheet moving toward the cylinder is stopped and preliminarily front and side registered and the stopped sheet .is then gripped top and bottom at a plurality of spaced points across its width and near its front edge and moved toward the gauge pins on the cylinder to feed the sheet, the steps comprising releasing the grip on said sheet atv all points across its width not generally aligned with said gauge pins in the s-semis "pins, completing the feeding of the sheet to the gauge pins at a speed relatively higher than cylinder speed at that time'to finally front register the sheet against the gauge pinsbygripp ing the sheet only at points in generalaligm "inent with the gauge pins, and releasing the sheet at the latter points in general alignment'with the gaugepins after finally registering the sheet against the gauge pins.

2. In the method of feeding r'ela'tivelystiif sheet material to a rotating cylinder having grippers adapted 'tohold a sheet after it been registered against a plurality of spaced gauge pins mounted 'on' the cylinder and wherein the sheet is moved toward registry against the gauge pins by gripping the sheet at aplurality -of closely spaced points across .its width and near its front edge, the steps of releasing the grip on said sheet at all points acnoss its width not generally aligned with said gauge pins in the direction of feed as the front edge of the sheet approaches the gauge pins and continuing the feeding of a sheet with the latter grasped only at points in general alignment with the gauge pins and at a speed relatively higher than cylinder speed to overfeed the sheet and perform final front registration of the sheet against the gauge pins, grasping said finally registered sheet with said cylinder grippers, and thereafter releasing the sheet at the points in general alignment with said gauge pins.

3. Mechanism for feeding sheets from a stationary position on a feed boardto a rotating sheet handling cylinder, comprising two gauge pins onsaid cylinder, one on each side of the center of the sheet path, a first plurality "of upper and lower feed rolls arranged and operated to grip a sheet while stationary and drive it toward the gauge pins on said cylinder and thereafter release the "sheet before it reaches said gauge pins, a second plurality of sets of upper and lower feed rolls arranged transversely of sheet movement and operated to grip the sheet and drive'it toward said cylinder while said sheet is gripped by said first plurality of upper and lower feed rolls, said second plurality of feed rolls continuing their forwarding of the sheet after the first plurality of feed rolls have released it and until the sheet engages said gauge pins, and grippers on said cylinder arranged and operated to grip 'the forward edge of the sheet after it has been thus registered against said gauge pins, said second plurality of feed rolls releasing the sheet after it has been thus gripped.

'4. In mechanism for registering sheet material on a cylinder carrying a plurality of grippers, a pair of gauge pins mounted on'said cylinder slightly in advance of the gripping ends of said grippers, said gauge pins being spaced along said cylinder on opposite sides of a center line through the sheet handling machine, a feed board the forward end of which closely' approaches the cylinder, means for stopping and preliminarily front and side registering a sheet approximately at the forward end of the 'feed board, a shaft extending parallel to said cylinder and operating once for each cylinder revolution, a plurality of closely spaced rolls on said shaft adapted to engage the stopped sheet and commence driving it toward the gauge pins on the cylinder, certain of said rolls being generally aligned with the gauge pins on said cylmder,

said rolls driving said sheet forward at an-accelerating speed, all of said driving rolls except those aligned with the gauge pins releasing the sheet before o verfeeding takes place, the final registration being accomplished only by aligned with the gauge pins releasing said sheet after it has been taken by the cylinder grippers.

5. Mechanism according to claim 4 wherein said driving r'olls are nipper rolls having feed sectors, the sectors of those rolls aligned with the gage pins disengaging the sheet later in the feed cycle than the remaining driving 6. Mec'hanisrn'according to claim 4 wherein said shaft is on a fixed axis, and wherein an idler nipper roll is provided for each driving roll, said idler rolls being'movable into and out of's'heet engaging position'to assist the driving rolls in feeding sheets to the gaugepins.

7. In mechanism for registeringsheet material to a pair of spaced gauge pins on a cylinder of a sheet handling machine, grippers on said cylinder, said grippers being capable of beingopen'ed to receive a sheet and closed'to hold the sheet for subsequent delivery to other holding means of said machine, means for stopping and preliminarily front and side registering a sheet with its front edge closely adjacent the cylinder, an intermittently driven shaft parallel to said cylinder, a plurality of rolls on said shaft adapted to engage and drive the sheet preaches the gauge pins and comprising also a pair of rolls each one of which is aligned with a respective one of said gauge pins in the direction of sheet feedeach of which latter rolls has'a feed sector the driving periphery of which remains in engagement with the sheet after the former rolls releaseit to provide final front registration of the sheet against the gauge pins and each of which ends abruptly to discontinue driving engagement with the sheet after it has been registered and gripped by said grippers, and means for driving said shaft to effect the aforementioned operations.

8. In mechanism for registering relatively stifi sheet material against'a pair of spaced gauge pins mounted on a rotating cylinder, grippers on said cylinder capable of opening and closing to receive and grip sheets respectively, a feed board the forward end of which closely approaches said cylinder, a set of driving rolls on a fixed axis parallel to said cylinder, a set of idler rolls one for each driving roll, one of said sets being above and the other being below said feed board, said idler rolls being movable toward and away from said driving rolls where by a sheet may be pinched therebetween for subsequent driving to the gauge pins for front registration, there being a driving and idler roll aligned with each gauge pin in the direction of sheet feed, and means driving said driving rolls when a sheet is pinched to commence feeding of the sheet toward said gauge pins, all of said driving rolls and idler rolls but those aligned with said gauge pins being separated and thus prevented from having feeding action on the sheet as the front edge thereof approaches the gauge pins, the remaining rolls driving said sheet forward overfeeding it to said gauge pins and thus providing front registration thereagainst, said grippers closing upon said sheet after it has been front registered.

9. In sheet registering and feeding mechanism adapted for selectively feeding either paper or cardboard sheets to a rotating cylinder equipped with more than two spaced gauge pins and a plurality of sheet grippers, a feed board the forward end of which closely approaches the cylinder, nipper rolls aligned in the direction of sheet feed with certain of said gauge pins, all of said nipper rolls being closely adjacent the feed board and engageable with a sheet on the feed board, means driving the rolls to feed the sheet toward the gauge plus, all of said gauge pins being utilized for registration when feeding paper but all except two pins toward the ends of the cylinder being disabled when feeding cardboard, and adjustable means for causing all of said rolls to engage and drive the sheet against all of said gauge pins when feeding paper and for eausingall 'ofsaid feed rolls to commence feeding but only those rolls aligned with the two gauge pins to continue feeding the sheet to final position against the gauge pins when feeding cardboard.

' 10. Mechanism according to claim 9 wherein said driving nipper rolls are provided on an intermittently driven shaft having a fixed axis, and wherein an idler nipper roll is provided for each driving nipper roll, said idler rolls being moved in timed relation into and out of sheet engaging position.

l1. Mechanism according to claim 10 wherein, when said mechanism is adapted for feeding paper, all of said driving and idler rolls grip the sheet until after the cylinder grippers take the sheet and said rolls are then separated, and when said mechanism is adapted for feeding cardboard, all of said driving and idler rolls commence feeding, those driving and idler rolls other than the ones aligned with the two gauge pins separating as the front edge of the sheet approaches the pins, and the rolls aligned with the gauge pins providing final registration against the gauge pins, said latter rolls separating after the cylinder grippers take the sheet.

12. In a sheet registering mechanism adapted for the feeding selectively of either paper or cardboard sheets to a cylinder equipped with a plurality of gauge pins and a plurality of sheet grippers, a feed board the forward end of which closely approaches the cylinder, a shaft extending parallel to the cylinder adjacent the feed board, means for turning said shaft once for each revolution of said cylinder, and a plurality of nipper rolls on said shaft each of which has a feed sector, two of said nipper rolls located on opposite sides of the center of the shaft having their feed sectors so arranged as to leave the sheet path after the other sectors have left it, said last named nipper rolls being aligned in the direction of sheet feed with a correspondingly spaced pair of said gauge pins, the drive means for said shaft and the shaft itself being relatively adjustable angularly to advance the rear portions of those rolls other than said last named nipper rolls from their paper feeding positions to make them ineffective during final registration of the cardboard sheets against the gauge pins.

13. In a sheet registering mechanism adapted for the feeding selectively of paper or cardboard sheets to a cylinder equipped with a series of spaced gauge pins and a series of sheet grippers, a feed board the forward end of which closely approaches the cylinder, a shaft extending parallel to the cylinder adjacent the feed board, means for rotating said shaft once for each rotation of said cylinder, a plurality of nipper rolls each having a feed sector on said shaft adapted to feed sheets to said cylinder and against said gauge pins, two of said nipper rolls located on opposite sides of the center of the shaft having their feed sectors so arranged as to leave the sheet path after the other sectors have left it, said last named nipper rolls being in the feed paths through a correspondingly spaced pair of said gauge pins, the driving means for said shaft and the shaft itself being relatively adjustable angularly to make the rear portions of said 'last named nipper rolls effective after the other nipper rolls have left the feed path, whereby the gauge pins other than said spaced pair may be disabled for the feeding of cardboard sheets and whereby the said two spaced nipper rolls only function for the final feeding of the sheets against said two spaced gauge pins.

14. In a sheet registering mechanism adapted for the feeding selectively of either paper or cardboard sheets to a cylinder equipped with a plurality of gauge pins and a plurality of sheet grippers, a feed board the forward end of which closely approaches the cylinder, a shaft extending parallel to the cylinder above the feed board, means for turning said shaft once for each revolution of said cylinder, a plurality of nipper rolls on said shaft having feed sectors of a given angle and two nipper rolls having feed sectors of a greater angle, said last named sectors being in the feed paths through a spaced pair of said gauge pins, the forward portions of all of said sectors having the same angular position on said shaft, the drive means for said shaft and the shaft itself being relatively adjustable angularly from a position in which the feed sectors of all of said rolls drive a sheet against all of the gauge' pins for feeding paper, to a second position in advance of said latter position for feeding cardboard in which the feed sectors of all of said rolls commence, feeding a sheet toward said gauge pins but the rear portions of said sectors of said given angle are ineffective during the final registration by the feed sectors or greater angle as they drive a cardboard sheet against said spaced pair of gauge pins.

15. In a sheet registering mechanism, a shaft disposed above the sheet path, means for turning said shaft one revolution for each feed cycle, a plurality of nipper rolls on said shaft having equal short feed sectors adapted to advance sheets into a printing press or other sheet handling machine, a second set of two nipper rolls having long feed sectors mounted on said shaft spaced laterally in each direction from the center of the shaft with their forward ends even with the forward ends of said short sectors, lower nipper rolls adapted to pinch sheets against said short and long feed sectors, means for dropping said lower rolls at a given point in each cycle, and means for adjusting said shaft angularl-y relative to its drive means to cause either said short sectors or said long sectors to pass said lower nipper rolls when they drop, whereby the sheets may be released either at the time the short sectors leave the sheet path or later at the time the long sectors leave it.

16. In a sheet registering mechanism adapted for the feeding selectively of paper or cardboard sheets to a.

cylinder equipped with a series of gauge pins and a series of sheet grippers, .a feed board the forward end of which closely approaches the cylinder, a shaft extending parallel to the cylinder above the feed board, means for rotating said shaft once for each rotation of said cylinder, a plurality of nipper 'rolls on said shaft having equal short feed sectors adapted to advance sheets to said cylinder and against said gauge pins, a pair of long sector nipper rolls on said shaft on opposite sides of the center thereof with their forward ends even with the forward ends of said short sectors, said long sector rolls being in line with certain of said gauge pins, lower nipper rolls adapted to pinch sheets against said short and long feed sectors, means for dropping said lower rolls at a given point in each cycle, means for adjusting said shaft angularly relative to its drive means to cause either said short sectors or said long sectors to pass said lower nipper rolls at the instant they drop, whereby in the feeding of paper sheets the sheets may be released to the sheet grippers at the time the short sectors leave the sheet path or whereby for the feeding of cardboard sheets the gauge pins not in line with the long sectors may be disabled and the sheets may be released to the sheet grippers after the short sectors leave the sheet path, the long sectors only driving the sheet against the two remaining gauge pins.

17. Mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the upper feed rolls of the various pairs have equal length sectors, and wherein the timing and the length of operation of the driving impulse of each pair of feed rolls is controlled by the movement of the lower feed rolls of each pair upwardly and downwardly into and out of said gripping position.

18. In mechanism for registering sheet material to a pair of spaced gauge pins on a cylinder of a sheet handling machine, grippers on said cylinder, said grippers being capable of being opened to receive a sheet and closed to hold the sheet for subsequent delivery to other holding means of said machine, means for stopping and preliminarily front and side registering a sheet with its front edge closely adjacent the cylinder, an intermittently driven shaft parallel to said cylinder, a plurality of rolls on said shaft adapted to engage and drive the sheet toward 'tl'iezgauge pins on the cylinder at a speed greate than cylinder speed at the time the sheet reachesr the pins, an idler roll cooperating with each driving roll and 'being movableto and from engagement with the sheetto cause the sheet to be'pinched' between each idler roll and its correspondingdriving roll to render the driving roll effective to forward the sheet, saiddriving rolls'co'mprising a' plurality of rolls whichdiscontinuedriving'engagement with the sheetas the front edge thereof approaches the gaugelpins and a'pair of rolls each one of which -is 1 effect the 'afore-mentioned operations, and the movement of the idler rolls being timed to pinch the sheet and impart a forwarding impulse to it throughout its Width at --the'-start of the feeding operation, and those idler rolls rin longitudin'al alignment-withithe gauge pinseontinuing 'tospinelr the sheet and impart a forwarding impulse thereato until the sheet strikes the gaugepins, while the remain- -ing'idl'er'rolls are timed to release the sheet before it strikes the gauge pins.

'References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Gegenheimer July 12, 1955 -Fors 'Aug. 30, 1955 t -a i

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