US3404883A

US3404883A - Pile elevator

Info

Publication number: US3404883A
Application number: US523307A
Authority: US
Inventors: Nick R Grabowski; Richard P Neiden
Original assignee: Harris Intertype Corp
Current assignee: Harris Graphics Corp
Priority date: 1966-01-27
Filing date: 1966-01-27
Publication date: 1968-10-08
Anticipated expiration: 1985-10-08
Also published as: FR1508726A; GB1142432A

Description

Oct. 8, 1968 GRABOWSKI ET AL 3,404,883

PILE ELEVATOR Filed Jan. 27, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet l N VE N TORS NICK R. GRABOWSK/ RICHARD ENE/DEN FIG-5 BYWW M ATTO NEYS Oct. 8, 1968 GRABQWSKI ET AL 3,404,883

FILE ELEVATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 27. 1966 M sm w Y R D E 0 N T B NAN R E R m V6 T Na R A 7 Km m m NR F Oct. 8, 1968 N, GRABOWSKI ET AL 3,404,883

PILE ELEVATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 27. 1966 FIG.8

S s N V. RKE E mmm L. M E o VMN W W W P A @w R Km Wm R United States Patent 3,404,883 PILE ELEVATOR Nick R. Grabowski and Richard P. Neiden, Par-ma, Ohio, assignors to Harris-lntertype Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 27, 1966, Ser. No. 523,307 16 Claims. (Cl. 271-62) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pile elevator for supporting a pile of sheets to be fed one at a time to a machine for operating on the sheets including a pile support which is comprised of two plates which are movable to adjust the pile along a line of adjustment relative to the guide means for the pile and relative to each other to effect angular adjustment of the pile. Each of the members is operated by an individual fluid pressure device.

The present invention relates to a pile feeding mechanism operable to support and elevate a pile of sheets as the top sheets are periodically removed therefrom.

Sheets to be fed to a machine, such as a printing press, are commonly disposed on a pile elevator which supports the pile and elevates the latter as top sheets are removed therefrom to maintain the top of the pile at a predetermined level so that the mechanism for removing the sheets may operate properly. In such elevators the pile of sheets is supported on a hoist and a side of the pile commonly engages vertically disposed pile guiding means which guide the pile as it is being elevated. In pile elevators used with sheet feeders for printing presses, the side of the elevator defined by the vertical guide means, or front guides, is generally termed the front, or forward, end of the elevator and the sheets taken from the top of the pile are moved forwardly over the top of the vertical guide means to the printing press.

Pile elevators are commonly loaded from the side and the elevators have had an adjustment for adjusting the pile sideways along the front guides. Problems sometime have been encountered in such elevators in obtaining proper engagement of the front side of the pile with the front guides as a result of angular misalignment between the front side of the pile and the guides, which may occur during loading of the pile of sheets on the elevator.

In pile elevators which have heretofore been provided it has been somewhat difficult to correct angular misalignment between the front side of the pile and the pile guides. Correction of angular misalignment in commercial feeders has frequently been accomplished by hitting a skid on which the pile is supported with a sledge hammer until the pile is suitably engaged with the guides. This procedure for aligning the pile of the sheets with the guides is unsatisfactory for several reasons including lost machine time and inconvenience to the operator of the machine.

Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved pile feeding mechanism which is so constructed and arranged that a pile of sheets is elevated thereby and wherein the support for a pile of sheets may be shifted to angularly shift the pile relative to a generally vertically extending planar guide means to move the side of the pile into engagement with the guide means.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved pile elevator including vertical guide means for guiding one side of the pile as the latter is elevated and in which the elevatable load support of the elevator mounts a pile supporting platform for angular movement of the pile relative to the load support as well as for movement of the pile toward and away from the guide and for sideways movement parallel to the plane of the guide means.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved pile elevator for elevating a pile of sheets relative to a planar pile guiding means, the pile of sheets being movable horizontally toward and away from the guide and along the plane of the guide to precisely position the pile for feeding and which is so constructed and arranged that parts of a support for the pile sheets may be moved relative to one another to move the pile angularly relative to the guide means and position a side of the pile square with respect to the guide.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved pile elevator for supporting and elevating a pile of sheets and operable to move the pile of sheets horizontally toward and away from the pile guiding means and which includes independently movable pile supporting members movable horizontally toward and away from the pile guiding means and which is so constructed and arranged that a side of the pile of sheets may be moved into planar engagement with the guide means upon relative movement between the pile supporting members.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof made with reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the present specification and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a pile feeder having an elevator embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, horizontal sectional view taken approximately along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken approximately along line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken approximately along line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken line 6-6 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a detail, fragmentary elevational view, taken approximately from line 7-7 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 1 with parts thereof cut away;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary enlarged view of a part of FIG. 2 showing an adjustment for side shifting the load on the elevator.

The present invention 'has been shown as embodied in a pile elevator 10 of a pile feeder for elevating a pile of sheets as the top sheets are removed therefrom. The top sheets may be removed from the pile by any conventional sheet separating and forwarding mechanism and, since such mechanism is well known to those skilled in the art and does not, per se, form a part of the present invention, the separating and forwarding mechanism has not been shown in the drawings and will not be further described. Sufiice it to say that the elevator 10 is operated to elevate the sheet pile to maintain the top thereof at a predetermined level as the top sheets are removed and forwarded from the pile.

The pile which is to be elevated is normally supported on a mill skid 12 and the mill skid is positioned on a hoist 13 of the elevator. The sheets being taken from the top of the pile are forwarded to the left as the elevator is viewed in FIG. 1 over the top of vertical front guide means 14. The vertical front guide means 14 may comprise a plurality of front stakes or guides spaced across the front end of the elevator, i.e., the left-hand end as viewed in FIG. 1, between front side frames 15. As the sheet pile is being elevated, the front side of the pile is maintained in engagement with the front guides 14, in

approximately along order to properly position the front edge of the sheets for the sheet separating and forwarding mechanism.

The hoist 13 includes structure which provides for adjusting movement of the pile sideways of, and toward and away from, the front guides 14.

In the preferred and illustrated embodiment, the mill skid supporting the pile is placed on first and second load supporting plates 16a, 16b which are supported for independent movement on a framework 17 interconnecting spaced

cross rails

18, 19 extending across the elevator at the front and rear thereof generally parallel to the plane of the front stakes or guides 14. The front and

rear rails

18, 19 are angle members having vertical flanges 20 and horizontal flanges 21. The cross rails are supported at their ends by stirrup members 23 suspended by flexible connections 24, which are cables in the illustrated embodiment. There is a stirrup member 23 adjacent each end of the

cross rails

18, 19 and each end of the

rails

18, 19 has a tongue 22 fixed to the vertical flange 20 of the rail and extending lengthwise of the rail from the flange to be received in the adjacent stirrup member 23. Each stirrup member is a block and the adjacent tongue 22 is received in a vertically extending, transverse slot-like opening 25 which extends through the block and which also opens into the bottom thereof. The stirrup members also have a horizontal slot 26 opening inwardly from the top of the member and extending from the front to the rear of the block as the latter is disposed in the feeder, and the depth of the slot 26 is such that it intersects the vertical slot-like opening 25. The cable 24 for a stirrup member is fastened to a pin 27 received in the opening 25, the pin abutting the upper end of the opening and having an enlarged portion 27a which is received between the sides of the slot 26 to limit the pin and stirrup member 23 against relative movement endwise of the pin. The stirrup, therefore, merely hangs on the pin 27.

The tongue 22, received by each of the stirrup members, rides on a roller 28 which is supported on a pin or stud 29 that extends between the side walls of the vertical opening 25 of the stirrup member. The clearance above the tongues 22. allows the rails to be rocked relative to the stirrup members with the rollers as fulcrums.

The stirrup members 23 on the near side of the elevator, as the latter is viewed in FIG. 1, are tied together by a side rail 30 and the stirrup members on the far side are tied together by a side rail 31. The rail 30 extends generally perpendicularly to the plane of the front guides 14 and is comprised of

channel members

30a, 30b spaced and interconnected by blocks 30c disposed therebetween. The webs or bottoms of the channels in the

members

30a, 30b lie in vertical planes and face each other and the stirrup members 23 at each end of the rail 30 are disposed between the channel members and pivotally connected thereto by screws 32 which pass through respective holes 33 in the

channel members

30a, 30b and thread into the lower portion of the stirrup member received between the channel members. The openings 33 are large enough to receive washers 34 disposed about the shanks of screws 32 and the screws 32 have heads each of which engage an outermost washer 35 of larger diameter than the holes 33 so that the washer overlies the bottom of the adjacent channel member. The structures are such that the washers 34 prevent the washers 35 from engaging the channel members so that the screws cannot clamp the outer washers tightly against the channel members and hold the stirrup members against pivotal movement.

The structure of the side rail 31 and the connection of the stirrup members 23 thereto correspond to the described structure for side rail 30.

The stirrup members 23 at the forward ends of the side rails 30, 31 have guide fingers fixed thereto and the fingers extend lengthwise from the forward ends to be received in vertical guide grooves 41 in the adjacent side frames 15. The guide fingers 40 limit the movement of the stirrup members and rails 30, 31 in a forward direction, as well as against sideways movement, and guide the rails in their vertical movement.

Each of the stirrup members 23 at the rear ends of the rails 30, 31 have fixed thereto a yoke 43 which includes a U-shaped portion 44. The U-shaped portions 44 open to the right, as viewed in FIG. 2, and fit over an adjacent rear post 46 of the framework of the elevator. The posts 46 and the yoke 43 function to guide the elevator vertically and the U-shaped portions 44 limit the adjacent ends of the rails against lateral movement relative to the posts 46 in all directions except the forward direction, the elevator being limited against movement in the forward direction by the engagement of the guide fingers 40 with the bottom of their guide slots 41. Consequently, the rails 30, 31 are constrained to move in a vertical plane.

The framework 17 interconnecting the front and rear cross rails 18, 19 comprises a plurality of inverted channels 53, the ends of which are fixed to the flanges 21 of the rails. The channels 53 are disposed in spaced relationship along the length of the cross rails 18, 19 and are welded or otherwise connected to the cross rails. The open bottoms of the channels are closed by reinforcing plates 53a welded to the sides of the channels. Each of the inverted channels 53 supports a plurality of rollers 54 disposed along each of the sides of the channel, with the upper portions of the periphery of the rollers extending above the tops of the channels 53. The rollers 54 along each channel are arranged in pairs with the pairs being spaced from each other along the length of the channels 53 and the rollers of each air being disposed on opposite sides of the supporting channel therefor and being mounted on a shaft 55 extending through and outwardly of the side walls of the supporting channel 53. The rollers 54 define load-supporting surfaces on which the load plates 16a, 161; are supported and the rollers 54 provide for independent movement of the load plates 16a, 16b relative to the framework 17 in a direction toward or away from the front guide means 14. The load plates are spaced apart and constrained against movement in a sideways direction relative to the framework 17 by spaced gibs 59 on the underside of each of the plates 16a, 16b adjacent the outer side of each of the outboard channels 53 as well as adjacent an inner side of the inboard channels 53. The gibs engage the adjacent channels 53 to prevent movement of the plates relative to the channels transversely of the channels but do not interefere with movement lengthwise of the channels.

The load plates 16a, 16b are moved toward and away from the front guides by air actuators 60a, 60b mounted on the outer side of the vertical flange 20 of the rear cross rail 19, the vertical flange extending upwardly to a position above the load plates 16a, 16b and the air actuators 60a, 6012 each having a movable element connected to the rear edge of each of the load plates 16a, 16b. As is apparent from the drawings, the load plates 16a, 16b have a front-to-rear dimension which is less than the spacing between the vertical flanges 20 of the

rails

18, 19 so that the plates may be shifted forwardly and rearwardly relative to the supporting framework.

As is shown in the drawings, the preferred and illustrated embodiment utilizes air actuators in the form of a cylinder 62 which receives a piston to which a piston rod 61 is connected and which is preferably a double-acting air cylinder. The cylinder 62 is fixed to the outer side of the flange 20 of the cross rail 19 and the piston rod 61 extends through a hole in the flange to connect to a bracket 63. The air cylinders are preferably controlled by suitable four-way air valve 65, also fixed to the other side of the flange 20 of the cross rail 19, the air valve having respective positions in which air is applied to a respective side of the pistons in the actuators 60a, 60b and the other side is connected to drain or exhaust. Alternatively, the actuators may be associated with individual valves with movement of the load plates 16a, 16b independently effected thereby.

The framework 17, as pointed out hereinbefore, can be shifted sideways relative to the rails 30, 31 and stirrup members 23 and, in the illustrated and preferred embodiment, a ball screw 67 is supported by the side rail 30 and extends transversely of the side rail 30 and is connected to a bracket 68 fixed to the channel 53 nearest the side rail 30. The end of the screw 67 connected to the bracket 68 is rotatably received in the bracket 68 but is limited against axial movement with respect thereto.

The screw 67 is received in a nut 70 of the recirculating ball type. The nut 70 is supported between the

channel members

30a, 30b and is fixed against rotation and against axial movement relative to the side rail 30. The outer end of the screw has a clevis-type bracket 72 which mounts a handle 73 that may be used to rotate the screw 67 to thread the screw into or out of the nut 70 to, in turn, shift the framework 17 sideways and the

rails

18, 19 endwise. The shifting of the framework 17 sideways will cause the load plates to move sideways therewith to shift a pile thereon sideways relative to the front guides. The handle 73 is pivoted and may be moved to a position in line with the ball screw, as shown in the drawings, so as not to interfere with pile loading.

Preferably, the load plates 16a, 1612 are always returned to a centered position when the hoist is lowered to receive a new pile. To this end, cam rollers 75 are supported on respective studs 76 extending perpendicularly to the vertical fiange of the cross rail 19 and mounted in respective brackets 77 fixed to the flange. A roller 75 is adjacent each of the air actuators 60a, 60b and, when the hoist is lowered, each roller is received between a respec tive pair of spaced cam members 80 extending upwardly from the floor and having inwardly and downwardly inclined cam surfaces 81 forming the top inner surfaces thereof. If the load plates 16a, 1612 are displaced from a centered position when the hoist is being lowered, the cam rollers 75 will engage one of the cam surfaces 81 and the surface will shift the rollers to a centered position to be received between the corresponding pair of cam members 80. In addition to the rollers 75 supported on the flange 20 of the cross rail 19, a similar roller 75 is mounted on the front cross rail 18 and cooperates with corresponding spaced cam members 80. It will be noted that the ball screw 67 is a reversible connection which will allow the rollers 75 to shift the load plates 16a, 16b.

Preferably, the pile-supporting means of the hoist is received in a shallow recess 82 in the floor supporting the elevator when the hoist is lowered. The recess is best shown in FIG. 1 and the front guides 14- and the cam members 80 may extend upwardly from the bottom of the recess while the rear posts of the elevator may be supported on the floor proper.

It can now be seen that the described structure provides a thin but strong pile-supporting means for the pile which will accommodate sideways movement of the pile and movement of the pile toward and away from the front stakes, and that the present invention has provided a pile elevator including an elevatable pile support means which comprises a first support in the form of the

rails

18, 19 and the framework 17, including the rollers 54, for supporting the first support for movement in one direction relative to the front stakes or front guide means, and a second support in the form of the elevatable stirrup members 23 and the tie rails 18, 19 which supports the first support for movement in a horizontal direction parallel to the plane of the front guides 14. In addition, the pile can be moved toward and away from the front guides 14 by operating air cylinders 60a, 60b which are connected to load support members in the form of the load plates 16a, 16b which are independently supported on the first support by rollers 54 for movement parallel to the tie rails 30, 31. Moreover, movement of the load plates 16a, 16b relative to each other will effect angular movement of the pile relative to the front guide 14. The pile can be held against the front guides by maintaining a fluid pressure in the cylinders. Furthermore, the pile can be adjusted sideways by operating the ball screw 67 and the load plate will be automatically centered insofar as its sideways position is concerned when the pile-supporting platform is lowered. As is apparent from the above description and the drawings, the support, which is provided by the stirrups 23 and the tie rails 30, 31, to which support cables 24 are connected, is constrained to move in a vertical path by the guide fingers 40 and the yokes 43, and the cross rail 18 is constrained to move in a vertical plane spaced from the front guides 14. This means that the pile being elevated must overhang the cross rail 18 in order to engage the front guides 14. As pointed out hereinbefore, the pile to be elevated is supported on a skid 12 and the skid 12 has a fiat board top 85 and front and rear depending legs 86 which are spaced inwardly of the front and rear sides of the board top 85. The skid 12 is positioned on the load plates such that the front and rear legs on a side of the skid are supported by one of the load plates. When the skid 12 with the pile thereon is placed onto the load plates 16a, 16b the load plates 16a, 16b are in a retracted position and the skid is placed so that the front legs 86 are adjacent the front edge of each of the load plates and so that the front portion 85a of the boardlike top which overhangs the front leg 86 extends outwardly beyond the load plates 16a, 16b. The overhang of the portion 85a is sufiicient so that when the actuators 60a, 6% are supplied with air to move the load plates 16a, 16b toward the front guides 14, the front edge of the pile will engage the front guides 14 before the limit of movement of the load plates 16a, 16b have been reached. The front edge of the skid 12 will normally also engage the guides 14 at the same time the side of the pile moves into engagement therewith since the edge of the skid is generally flush with the front side of the pile. If the skid 12 has been loaded on the plates 16a, 16b in a position where the front side of the pile is not square with the front guides 14, one corner of the pile will engage the guides 14 as the actuators 60a, 6% move the pile forwardly. When this occurs, movement of the load plate supporting the engaged corner of the pile is resisted, while the second load plate continues to move forwardly relative thereto. As the second load plate moves forwardly relative to the first load plate, the unengaged corner of the pile moves forwardly therewith so that the pile is moved angularly relative to the front guides 14. When the front side of the pile is square with the guides .14 and in engagement therewith, relative movement between the load plates ceases due to the substant-ially equal resistance to motion of the plates caused by engagement of the front side of the pile with the guides. Air pressure is preferably maintained on the load plates 16a, 16b while the pile is is being elevated to assure that the pile remains against the front guides 14.

It will be noted that the provision of the movable plates 16a, 161) not only enables the pile to be moved angularly relative to the guides to bring the pile into engagement therewith and held against the front guide by power-actuated means, but also enables the plates 16a, 16b to be shifted rearwardly to a position which allows the skid 12 and a pile thereon to be loaded onto the load plates from the side of the feeder. It will be noted that the cables 24 prevent a load from being moved onto the elevator from the side with the front edge of the pile adjacent the plane of the front guides. Since the front cable 24 is disposed rearwardly of the front guides 14, the skid 12 must be initially positioned rearwardly of the front guides, and the load plates 16a, 16b then provide means for moving the pile against the front guides.

As shown in the drawings, the cables 24 pass over respective pulleys 89 supported by overhead framework extending betwen the front side frames 15 and the rear post 46 on each side of the feeder. Only the pulleys 89 on the near side of the elevator, as viewed in FIG. 1, are illustrated, but it is understood that the pulleys are duplicated on the other side of the elevator. In pile elevators embodied in sheet feeders, the front pulleys 89 are conveniently adjustable in a vertical direction so that either of the front corners may be raised or lowered to adjust the level of the front edge of the pile, The front pulleys may each be supported by a member 90 which is pivotable about a horizontal axis and which can be moved about its pivot through the operation of a handwheel 91 which is geared to rotate a lead screw 92 that threads into a nut 93 supported by the member 90. The nut is fixed against rotation with the screw and is supported in an elongated slot 94 which accommodates the arcuate movement between the nut and member 90. Such structure is conventional and well known in the art and will not be further described in detail.

When one corner of the pile support is raised, there is a natural tendency to produce binding forces in the pile support and to cause binding between the cross rails 18, 19 and the supports therefor which provide for endwise movement of the rails. The fact that the tongues 22 of the

rails

18, 19 are supported on rollers 28 and have clearance thereabove so they may rock on the rollers 28 and the fact that the stirrup members 23 are pivotally connected to the tie rails 30 accommodate the raising of one corner, with the detrimental effects normally associated with the raising of a single corner of the support minimized.

It can now be seen that a thin, high strength pile support structure has been provided which is operable to shift a pile of sheets along perpendicularly related horizontal lines relative to a pile guiding structure, and which includes structure for shifting the pile angularly relative to the guide. While angular shifting of the pile of sheets has been illustrated and described as being accomplished by the provision of independently movable plates supporting a skid which carries the pile, it should be appreciated that other parts of the pile support structure might be split to accomplish the desired angular movement of the pile of sheets. Moreover, the actuators could be pivoted to a single plate, such as might be supported by an air bear ing, to effect angular shifting of the front side of the pile relative to the guides.

While the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in considerable detail, it is hereby our intention to cover further constructions, modifications and arrangements which fall within the ability of those skilled in the art and within the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. A pile elevator including a hoist for moving a pile of sheets to be fed into a sheet handling machine and guide means disposed in a generally vertical plane along a side of said pile and adapted to engage the side of said pile, said hoist including a generally horizontally disposed pile support means supporting said pile of sheets and comprising movable means providing for movement of said pile relative to said plane and the hoist, and actuating means operatively associated with said pile support means for moving said pile of sheets in opposite directions along a horizontal line to adjust the position of said pile relative to said guide means and for effecting angular movement of said pile in a horizontal plane relative to said guide means.

2. A pile elevator of the type defined in claim 1 wherein said movable means includes a pile support for supporting said pile and said support means comprises a support structure supporting said pile support for movement to effect said angular movement of said pile and movement of said pile along said line selectively, and said actuating means includes means connected between said support structure and said pile support to effect movement of said member relative to said structure.

3. A pile elevator of the type defined in claim 1 wherein said movable means includes first and Second members for supporting said pile and said support means comprises a support structure supporting said members for movement relative to said support structure to effect said angular and linear movement, and said actuating means includes first and second means connected between said structure and said first and second members respectively to effect movement of said members relative to said support structure as a unit and to each other to effect said angular movement.

4. A pile elevator of the type defined in claim 3 wherein said members are movable toward and away from the plane of said guide means.

5. A pile feeding mechanism comprising a hoist for supporting and elevating a pile of sheets to be fed into a sheet handling machine and guide means disposed in a generally vertical plane along a side of said pile and adapted to engage the side of said pile, said hoist including a generally horizontally disposed pile support means supporting said pile of sheets for horizontal movement relative to said guide means, said pile support means including first and second members providing a support for the pile which is movable in opposite directions along a horizontal line to adjust the pile position relative to said guide means, and means supporting said members for said horizontal movement relative to said guide means and for relative movement therebetween in said horizontal direction to move said pile angularly relative to said guide means.

6. A pile feeding mechanism as defined in claim 5 including power actuated means for moving each of said first and second members individually and as a unit selectively along said horizontal line to effect adjustment of said pile along said line and angular adjustment of said pile selectively.

7. The mechanism as defined by claim 5 and further including actuating means for moving said members relative to said guide means.

8. The mechanism defined by claim 7 wherein said actuating means includes actuating elements operatively connected between each of said first and second members and a part of said support means for effecting individual movement of said members relative to said part of said support means and said guide means.

9. The mechanism as defined by claim 7 wherein said actuating means includes means for moving one of said members relative to the other member to effect said angular movement of said pile of sheets.

10. The mechanism as defined by claim 9 wherein said actuating means is operable to move said members toward and away from the plane of said guide means.

11. The mechanism as defined in claim 10 and further including means for moving said members in opposite directions along a generally horizontal line parallel to said guide means.

12. A pile elevator comprising a hoist for supporting and elevating a pile of sheets to be fed to a sheet-handling machine and vertical guide means defining a generally vertical plane along one side of said hoist and adapted to be engaged by and to guide one side of a pile being elevated; said hoist including: generally horizontal pilesupporting means for supporting the pile for movement along the first line in opposite directions perpendicular to the plane of said vertical guide means and for adjustment in opposite directions along a horizontal line which is generally parallel to the plane of said guide means, said pile-supporting means comprising a generally horizontal support structure; and first means for elevating said support structure and supporting said horizontal support structure for movement along one of said lines, said first means including means for effecting movement of said support structure along said one of said lines comprising a second structure vertically movable with said support structure and constrained against movement along said one of said lines, one of said structures comprising indi vidually movable members movable horizontally relative to each other and said guide means to effect angular movement of said pile of sheets relative to said guide means.

13. The pile elevator as defined by claim 12 and further including means interconnecting said structures for effecting movement of one of said structures relative to said guide means.

14. The pile elevator as defined by claim 13 wherein said interconnecting means is operable to move said members along said first line.

15. The pile elevator as defined by claim 14 wherein said interconnecting means includes means operable to move one of said members relative to the other member and efiect said angular movement.

10 '16. The pile elevator as defined in claim 15 wherein said means for moving one of said members relative to the other comprises first and second fluid actuated means connected to said first and second members respectively and interconnecting said first and second members with one of said support structures.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,172,658 3/1965 Kastelie 271-62 EDWARD A. SROKA, Primary Examiner.