US3218060A

US3218060A - Sheet feeding apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3218060A
Application number: US268298A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles H Harbison
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-03-27
Filing date: 1963-03-27
Publication date: 1965-11-16
Anticipated expiration: 1982-11-16

Description

Nov. 16, 1965 c. H. HARBISON 3,218,060

SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS Filed March 2'7, 1963 INVENTOR.

Charles H Harbison W (at, H w

Affomeys 3,218,060 SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS Charles H. Harbison, 5821 34th St. N., Birmingham, Ala. Filed Mar. 27, 1963, Ser. No. 268,298 7 Claims. (Cl. 271-4) This invention relates to sheet feeding apparatus and more particularly to such apparatus which shall be adapted for feeding sheets of flexible material singly and successively at spaced intervals from a plurality thereof in stacked formation.

An object of my invention is to provide sheet feeding apparatus of the character designated which shall be adapted to feed automatically sheets of flexible material upon demand, whereby the apparatus is particularly adapted for feeding forms, envelopes, printed matter and the like.

Another object of my invention is to provide sheet feeding apparatus of the character designated which shall be adapted to receive individual sheets from either top feed units or bottom feed units.

Another object of my invention is to provide sheet feeding apparatus of the character designated which shall align the sheets of material both accurately and positively for subsequent operations, such as printing and the like, whereby such subsequent operations may be carried out While the sheets of material are within my improved apparatus, thus eliminating the necessity of having to stop the operation and align the sheets of material before subsequent operations.

Another object of my invention is to provide sheet feeding apparatus of the character designated which shall be trouble free in operation and one in which there are no cumulative errors due to the fact that upon interruption of the dispensing of sheets of material, the operation of the apparatus is stopped immediately at that point.

A further object of my invention is to provide sheet feeding apparatus of the character designated which shall be compact whereby the apparatus requires a minimum of space.

A further object of my invention is to provide sheet feeding apparatus which shall be adapted for mechanical operation throughout or may embody a minimum of electrically operated components.

A still further object of my invention is to provide sheet feeding apparatus which shall be simple of construction, economical of manufacture and one which may be timed to suit any feed requirements with a minimum of effort and one which requires a minimum of maintenance for satisfactory operation of the apparatus at all times.

Heretofore, in the art to which my invention relates, various forms of demand feeders for dispensing sheets of material have been proposed. However, such feeders have required considerable maintenance to assure satisfactory operation thereof and cumulative troubles are encountered.

To overcome the above and other difficulties, I provide sheet feeding apparatus which may be completely mechanical in operation and one which feeds a single sheet of material on demand whereby the sheets are fed singly and successively at predetermined spaced intervals from a stack thereof. To provide positive and trouble-free operation of the apparatus, I employ feed mechanism in which the sheet literally feeds itself. That is to say, the sheet of material being fed through the apparatus actually forms a part of the feed mechanism whereby certain components of my apparatus will not operate in the absence of a sheet of material.

Apparatus embodying features of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing the apparatus at rest;

States Patent FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing a sheet of material being fed through the apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view showing the apparatus immediately after a sheet of material has been dispensed therefrom; and,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmental view, partly broken away and in section, taken generally along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawing for a better understanding of my invention, I show a plurality of sheets of material 10 arranged in stacked formation adjacent a driven feed unit indicated generally at 11, which may be any conventional type friction driven feed unit for delivering sheets in succession from the source of supply. In the drawing, I show the feed unit as comprising an upper separator roll 12 and a lower feed roll 13. An annular recess 14 is provided in the lower feed roll 13 for receiving a flexible drive member, such as a belt 16.

Mounted in spaced relation to the feed rolls 12 and 13 is a drive shaft 17. Mounted for free rotation on the drive shaft 17 is an idler roll 18 having a reduced diameter central portion to provide an annular groove 19 for receiving the flexible drive member 16, as shown in FIG. 4. Preferably, the outer surface of the idler roll 18 at opposite sides of the annular groove 19 is covered by a suitable resilient material 21, such as rubber or the like.

Mounted for rotation with the drive shaft 17 at opposite sides of the idler roll 18 are rollers 22 which are secured to the shaft 17 by suitable means, such as set screws 23. The outer surface of each roll 22 is covered with a resili nt material 24, such as rubber or the like. It will thus be seen that the axially spaced rolls 22 rotate with the shaft 17 as it is driven from a suitable source of power, not shown, while the idler roll 18 is adapted for independent rotation relative to the shaft 17.

Mounted for rotation on a shaft 26 at one side of the rolls 22 and idler roll 18 is a roll 27 which extends from one roll 22 to the other roll 22, as shown in FIG. 4. The roll 27 is provided with reduced diameter portions opposite the enlarged diameter portions of the idler roll 18 covered by the resilient material 21 to provide annular recesses 28, whereby the idler roll 18 is closely spaced relative to the roll 27 and is still adapted for free rotation relative thereto so long as there is no sheet of material interposed between the idler roll 18 and the feed roll 27. As shown in FIG. 4, the outer surface of the feed roll 27 is coated by a suitable resilient material 29, such as rubber or the like.

Mounted for rotation at the opposite side of the rolls 22 and idler roll 18 from the feed roll 27 is another feed roll 31 which is supported by a shaft 32. It will be apparent that the

shafts

26 and 32 are supported by suitable bearing members, not shown, in a manner well understood in the art. The roll 31 is also provided with reduced diameter portions to provide annular recesses 33 opposite the larger diameter portions of the idler roll 18 whereby the idler roll is closely spaced relative to the feed roll 31 and still rotates freely relative thereto so long as there is no sheet of material between the idler roll 18 and the feed roll 31. The outer surface of the feed roll 31 is also covered by a suitable resilient material 34, such as rubber or the like.

Mounted adjacent the delivery side of the

rolls

22 and 27 is a sheet receiving unit indicated generally at 36. As clearly shown in FIG. 1, an actuating member 37 projects upwardly through suitable slots 38 provided in the sheet receiving unit 36 to define a stop for the individual sheets of material 10 fed therein and also to provide means for moving a sheet of material forwardly between the subjacent pair of rolls 22 and 31. The actuating member 37 is mounted for pivotal movement as at 39 and may be moved about its pivot point by suitable means, such as a solenoid 41. While I have shown the actuating member 37 as being actuated by a solenoid, it will be apparent that other suitable means may be employed, such as a cam member or the like. That is to say, any suitable means may be employed for moving the sheet of material forward between the rolls 22 and 31 after it has been deposited in the sheet receiving unit 36.

From the foregoing description, the operation of my improved sheet feeding apparatus will be readily understood. The individual sheets of material It!) assume the position shown in FIG. 1 while the apparatus is at rest. To dispense a sheet if], the actuating member 37 is moved toward the rollers 22 and 31 whereby the leading edge of the sheet 16 within the sheet receiving unit 36 moves into engagement with the rolls 22 and 31 whereupon the sheet is pulled between the rolls 22 and the roll 31 by the frictional engagement of the

resilient surfaces

24 and 34. As the sheet 10 passes between the rollers 22 and 31, the sheet 10 also engages the idler roll 18, thereby imparting rotary motion to the idler roll. That is, one side of the sheet of material it) engages the resilient surface 21 of the idler roll 18 while the other surface thereof engages the resilient surfaces 34 of the roll 31 whereby a positive drive is provided between the idler roll and the roll 31 so long as a sheet of material 10 is being fed therebetween. Upon rotation of the idler roll 13, the flexible drive member 16 drives the lower feed roll 13 of the feed unit 11 whereby another sheet of material 10 is fed between the

rolls

22 and 27, as shown in FIG. 2.

After the lowermost sheet of material 10 has passed from between the rolls 22 and 31, rotary motion is still imparted to the idler roll 18 by the uppermost sheet of material 10 passing between the

rolls

22 and 27. That is to say, one surface of the sheet of material 10 engages the enlarged, resilient portions 21 of the idler roll while the other surface thereof engages the resilient portions 29 of the feed roll 27. Accordingly, the uppermost sheet of material 10 continues to drive the idler roll 18 and the feed unit 11 until the uppermost sheet of material 10 has been dispensed into the sheet receiving unit as, as shown in FIG. 1. The apparatus then remains at rest until the actuating member 37 is again moved toward the rollers 22 and 31 whereupon the cycle of operation is repeated. It will thus be seen that the cycle of operation may be repeated at any predetermined time interval by merely controlling the time interval that the actuating member 37 is actuated.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have devised improved sheet feeding apparatus in which sheets of flexible material may be fed on demand singly and successively at predetermined spaced intervals from a stack of such sheets of material. By providing apparatus in which the sheet of material itself actually forms a part of the driving mechanism, the apparatus is positive in operation and only operates while the sheets are being fed properly through the apparatus. Also, by providing a demand feeder which may be entirely mechanical in operation, I eliminate malfunctioning of the apparatus and the maintenance problems which are encountered with conventional type electrical sheet feeding apparatus. Furthermore, by providing a demand feeder which requires a minimum of moving parts and one which is positive in operation, my improved apparatus requires a minimum of maintenance and is trouble free in operation.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus for feeding sheets from a supply thereof having a driven feed unit for delivering said sheets in succession from said supply,

(a) a drive shaft,

(b) at least one roller mounted on said drive shaft for rotation therewith,

(c) an idler roller mounted for free rotation on said drive shaft,

(d) a third roller mounted adjacent said one roller in position to be driven thereby and positioned in closely spaced relation to said idler roller and in position to receive successively therebetween sheets from said feed unit to drive said idler roller by the sheets delivered between said third roller and said idler roller,

(e) a sheet receiving unit mounted in position to receive the sheets after they pass between said third roller and said idler roller,

(f) a fourth roller mounted adjacent said one roller in position to be driven thereby and positioned in closely spaced relation to said idler roller and in position to receive successively therebetween sheets from said sheet receiving unit to drive said idler roller by the sheets delivered between said fourth roller and said idler roller, and

(g) drive means operatively connecting said idler roller to said driven feed unit to drive said feed unit upon rotation of said idler roller.

2. Apparatus for feeding sheets as defined in claim 1 in which the means operatively connecting said idler roller to said driven feed unit comprises a flexible drive member.

3. Apparatus for feeding sheets as defined in claim It in which actuating means is associated with said sheet receiving unit to move the sheets delivered into said receiving unit between said fourth roller and said idler roller.

4. 1n apparatus for feeding sheets from a supply thereof having a driven feed unit for delivering said sheets in succession from said supply,

(a) a drive shaft,

(b) a pair of axially spaced rollers mounted on said drive shaft for rotation therewith,

(c) an idler roller mounted for free rotation on said drive shaft between said pair of axially spaced rollers,

(d) a first feed roller mounted adjacent said pair of axially spaced rollers and said idler roller in position to be driven by said pair of axially spaced rollers and positioned in closely spaced relation to said idler roller and in position to receive successively therebetween sheets from said feed unit to drive said idler roller by the sheets delivered between said first feed roller and said idler roller,

(e) a sheet receiving unit mounted in position to receive the sheets after they pass between said first feed roller and said idler roller,

(f) a second feed roller mounted adjacent said pair of axially spaced rollers and said idler roller in position to be driven by said pair of axially spaced rollers and positioned in closely spaced relation to said idler roller and in position to receive successively therebetween sheets from said sheet receiving unit to drive said idler roller by the sheets delivered between said second feed roller and said idler roller, and

5. In apparatus for feeding sheets from a supply thereof having a driven feed unit for delivering said sheets in succession from said supply,

(a) a drive shaft,

(c) an idler roller mounted for free rotation on said drive sh it between said pair of axially spaced rollers and having an annular groove therein,

(d) an endless flexible drive member engaging said annular groove and operatively connecting said idler roller in driving relation with said driven feed unit to drive said feed unit upon rotation of said idler roller,

(e) a first feed roller mounted adjacent said pair of axially spaced rollers and said idler roller in position to be driven by said pair of axially spaced rollers and positioned in closely spaced relation to said idler roller and in position to receive successively therebetween sheets from said feed unit to drive said idler roller by the sheets delivered between said first feed roller and said idler roller,

(f) a sheet receiving unit mounted in position to receive the sheets after they pass between said first feed roller and said idler roller, and

(g) a second feed roller mounted adjacent said pair of axially spaced rollers and said idler roller in position to be driven by said pair of axially spaced rollers and positioned in closely spaced relation to said idler roller and in position to receive successively therebetween sheets from said sheet receiving unit to drive said idler roller by the sheets delivered between said second feed roller and said idler roller.

6. Apparatus for feeding sheets as defined in claim 5 in which said first and second feed rollers are provided with enlarged diameter portions opposite and in spaced relation to the endless flexible drive member which engages said annular groove in the idler roller.

7. In apparatus for feeding sheets of flexible material singly and successively at spaced intervals from a plurality thereof in stacked formation,

(a) a driven feed unit for withdrawing single sheets from the stacked formation,

(b) a drive shaft,

(0) at least one roller mounted on said drive shaft for rotation therewith,

(d) an idler roller mounted for free rotation on said drive shaft,

(e) a third roller mounted adjacent said one roller in position to be driven thereby and positioned in closely spaced relation to said idler roller and in position to receive successively therebetween sheets from said feed unit to drive said idler roller by the sheets delivered between said third roller and said idler roller,

(f) a sheet receiving unit mounted in position to receive the sheets after they pass between said third roller and said idler roller,

(g) a fourth roller mounted adjacent said one roller in position to be driven thereby and positioned in closely spaced relation to said idler roller and in position to receive successively therebetween sheets from said sheet receiving unit to drive said idler roller by the sheets delivered between said fourth roller and said idler roller,

(h) drive means operatively connecting said idler roller to said driven feed unit to drive said feed unit upon rotation of said idler roller,

(i) actuating means associated with said sheet receiving unit to move each sheet delivered into said receiving unit between said fourth roller and said idler roller, and

(j) means to actuate said actuating means at predetermined spaced intervals.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS RT B, REEVES, Primary Examiner.

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, SAMUEL F. COLEMAN,

Examiners.

Claims

1. IN APPARATUS FOR FEEDING SHEETS FROM A SUPPLY THEREOF HAVING A DRIVEN FEED UNIT FOR DELIVERING SAID SHEETS IN SUCCESSION FROM SAID SUPPLY, (A) A DRIVEN SHAFT, (B) AT LEAST ONE ROLLER MOUNTED ON SAID DRIVE SHAFT FOR ROTATION THEREWITH, (C) AN IDLER ROLLER MOUNTED FOR FREE ROTATION ON SAID DRIVEN SHAFT, (D) A THIRD ROLLER MOUNTED ADJACENT SAID ONE ROLLER IN POSITION TO BE DRIVEN THEREBY AND POSITIONED IN CLOSELY SPACED RELATION TO SAID IDLER ROLLER AND IN POSITION TO RECEIVE SUCCESSIVELY THEREBETWEEN SHEETS FROM SAID FEED UNIT TO DRIVE SAID IDLER ROLLER BY THE SHEETS DELIVERED BETWEEN SAID THIRD ROLLER AND SAID IDLER ROLLER, (E) A SHEET RECEIVING UNIT MOUNTED IN POSITION TO RECEIVE THE SHEETS AFTER THEY PASS BETWEEN SAID THIRD ROLLER AND SAID IDLER ROLLER, (F) A FOURTH ROLLER MOUNTED ADJACENT SAID ONE ROLLER IN POSITION TO BE DRIVEN THEREBY AND POSITIONED IN CLOSELY SPACED RELATION TO SAID IDLER ROLLER AND IN POSITION TO RECEIVE SUCCESSIVELY THEREBETWEEN SHEETS FROM SAID SHEET RECEIVING UNIT TO DRIVE SAID IDLER ROLLER BY THE SHEETS DELIVERED BETWEEN SAID FOURTH ROLLER AND SAID IDLER ROLLER, AND (G) DRIVE MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTING SAID IDLER ROLLER TO SAID DRIVEN FEED UNIT TO DRIVE SAID FEED UNIT UPON ROTATION OF SAID IDLER ROLLER.