US3446103A

US3446103A - Sheet transfer and stacking device

Info

Publication number: US3446103A
Application number: US640127A
Authority: US
Inventors: William Vivian Foster
Original assignee: American Can Co
Current assignee: Georgia Pacific Consumer Products LP
Priority date: 1967-05-22
Filing date: 1967-05-22
Publication date: 1969-05-27
Anticipated expiration: 1986-05-27

Description

y 7, 1969 w. v. FOSTER 3,446,103

SHEET TRANSFER AND STACKING DEVICE Filed May 22, 1967 Sheet of 4 FIG. I

INVENTOR WILLIAM VIVIAN FOSTER HIS ATTORNEYS y 27, 1969 w. v. FOSTER 3,446,103

SHEET TRANSFER AND STACKING DEVICE Filed May 22, 1967 Sheet 2 FIG. 4

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SHEET TRANSFER AND STACKING DEVICE Filed May 22, 1967 Sheet 4 of 4 FIG.9

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mveu ron WILLIAM VIVIAN FOSTER HIS ATTOR N EYS United States Patent Ofi ice 3,446,103 Patented May 27, 1969 3,446,103 SHEET TRANSFER AND STACKING DEVICE William Vivian Foster, Menasha, Wis., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed May 22, 1967, Ser. No. 640,127 Int. Cl. B2611 7/06; B65h 29/14 US. Cl. 83-96 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sheet transfer and stacking device wherein flexible sheet materials are fed from a rotary cutter to a first conveyor having a cantilevered end with provisions for finger-like rods or wands on a second conveyor to sweep through the cantilevered end region of the first conveyor and, thereafter, support and transport the sheet materials. At the end of the second conveyor, the rods or wands rotate the sheet materials through an arc to impart a sufficient velocity to the sheet materials to project or throw them onto a stack of the sheet materials from whence they may be removed as desired.

Background of the invention This invention relates to a sheet transfer and stacking device and more particularly to such a device for transferring and stacking sheet material which is lacking in body stiffness or rigidity so that it cannot be slid over itself or pushed over a smooth horizontal surface. The device is especially useful in the textile industry where flexible knitted material is difficult to handle with conventional sheeting apparatus.

Heretofore, it has been customary to provide apparatus for handling sheet material in which the individual sheets were cut by a rotary cutter, fed to a conveyor, and then spewed therefrom directly onto a stack of the sheet material. This mode of operation is not compatible with sheet material when the latter is extremely flexible or is lacking in rigidity to such an extent that it cannot be slid over itself or even pushed along a smooth surface. It is, of course, desirable to provide means for handling such flexible sheet material whether it be fabric, paper, or other flexible material so that there is no appreciable gap between successive product articles in feeding them from a rotary cutter to either a reciprocating or rotary transfer mechanism.

According to the present invention, the difficulties in handling extremely flexible textile fabric or other flexible sheet materials comprise the use of a pair of conveyors mounted end to end with the first of the conveyors having a cantilevered end and being provided with laterally spaced cantilevered belts so that a series of rods or wands on a second conveyor may sweep through the cantilevered end region of the first conveyor so as to support and transport the sheet material from the first conveyor onto the second conveyor in a substantially horizontal plane. When the sheet materials supported on the rods or wands arrive at the end of the second conveyor remote from the first conveyor, the rods or wands are rotated about a sprocket at the end of the second conveyor until a point is reached at which the sheet material is flung downward with a velocity imparted to it by the wands and onto a suitable stacking device. With a plurality of laterally spaced rods or wands engaging an individual sheet, it has been found that there are suflicient air resistance and friction due to the acceleration of the wands through their arcuate travel to hold an individual sheet in place until the wands change change their travel direction so that a consistent and predictable point of departure from the rods or wands occurs.

Any suitable stand may be used to receive the sheet ma terials. After depositing an individual sheet atop the stack, the rods or wands are withdrawn substantially horizontally.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a sheet transfer and stacking device which will handle flexible sheet material at rotary cutting speeds.

It is another object of the present invention to provide for a transfer of flexible sheet material from a first conveyor to a second conveyor without requiring any substantial longitudinal spacing between the individual sheets in order to effect transfer thereof to individual elements on the second conveyor where the sheets are individually handled and controlled.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a sheet transfer and stacking device which is compatible with existing transfer equipment.

These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed specification which follows.

Summary of the invention A sheet transfer and stacking device wherein flexible sheet materials are fed from a rotary cutter to a first conveyor having a cantilevered end with provisions for fingerlike rods or wands on a second conveyor to sweep through the cantilevered end region of the first conveyor and thereafter, support and transport the sheet materials. At the end of the second conveyor, the rods or wands rotate the sheet materials through an arc to impart a suflicient velocity to the sheet materials to project or throw them one a stack of the sheet materials from whence they may be removed as desired.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a schematic drawing of the transfer and stacking device of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view with certain parts removed illustrating the cantilevered construction of one end of one of the conveyors;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the sheet transfer and stacking device of the present invention;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the transfer and stacking device of FIGURE 1 with parts removed for purposes of clarity;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary side elevation view partially in cross section illustrating the sheet-supporting and rotating device;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary side elevation view, partially in cross section, further illustrating a detail of the trolley construction;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary side elevation view illustrating the trolley and sheet-supporting device in several of its positions;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary side elevation view taken along the line 88 in FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary side elevation view taken along the line 99 in FIGURE 4.

Description of the preferred embodiments While the various features of this invention are hereinafter described and illustrated as being particularly adaptable to handle very flexible knitted material, sometimes referred to as wipes, it is to be understood that the various features of this invention can be used singly or in any combination thereof to provide transfer and stacking for other sheet materials.

As a preferred or exemplary embodiment of the instant invention, FIGURE 1 illustrates a web of sheet material 10 being paid off from a roll, indicated generally at 12, by means of a pair of cooperating nip rolls 14, 16.

The Web of material is fed down an inclined slide 17 into a cutting device 18, indicated schematically. Thus, cutting device 18 may have a pair of cooperating knives 20, 22 with knife 22 providing an anvil in severing individual sheets 24 from the web of sheet material 10. Cutting device 18 may consist of either a rotary cutter with cooperating knives 20, 22 as shown or alternatively a combination of a slitting means and cutting knives as is conventional for such cutting devices. The inclined slide 17 is provided with a slot or other suitable opening 23 to accommodate either cutting knives 20, 22 or a slitting device and knives 20, 22.

At the bottom of slide 17, the individual sheets 24 initially contact the continuously moving upper reach of a first conveyor, indicated generally at 26, from where they are fed toward a second conveyor, indicated generally at 28. In order to obtain a satisfactory conveyance, the individual sheets 24 are contacted and guided in the course of their travel by a third conveyor positioned vertically above first conveyor 26 and second conveyor First conveyor 26 has rollers 32 at its lead-in end and pairs of

rollers

34, 36 at its opposite end with the latter suspended from cantilever rods 38. The cantilever rods 38 are attached to a cross plate 40. Individual belts 42 pass over rollers 32 at one end and pairs of

rollers

34, 36 at the other end to engage the underside of individual sheets 24 in transferring the latter along a desired predetermined horizontal path.

The third conveyor 30 has a belt 31 which passes over rollers 33 and with belt 31 adapted to engage and guide individual sheets 24 after they have been presented to the individual belts 42 of first conveyor 26. The third conveyor is mounted to the frame 46 by means of angle supports 37, such as is partially indicated 11 FIGURE 3.

Referring to FIGURE 3, it will be observed that cross plate is rigidly attached to rigid angle frame members 44 on each side of a frame, indicated generally at 46.

Referring once again to FIGURE 2, the cantilever rods 38 are spaced laterally on cross plate 40 a sufiicient distance to provide

clearance openings

48, 50 and 52 between individual belts 42.

The second conveyor 28 is shown in FIGURE 1 to consist of sprockets 54 carried on an axle suitably journalled on one end at 55 in FIGURE 3 and sprockets 56 at the opposite end of conveyor 28 which are carried on an axle suitably journalled at 57 in FIGURE 3. Sets of rods or wands 58 are carried on cross bars 59 which are attached to parallel chain link drives, indicated generally at 60. Connecting links 61 provide the specific attachment between individual cross bars 59 and the parallel chain link drives 60.

Referring now to FIGURES 59, pairs of trolleys, indicated generally at 62, support the opposed ends of cross bars 59 with the aid of set screws 64. Each trolley has two

wheels

65, 66 which ride on

trolley guide rails

68, 70.

In order to smooth the travel of the wand 58 during pickup and discharge of the sheets 24, earns 74, 76 are formed in rail 68 and

cams

78, 80 in rail 70. These cams, upon which the

wheels

65, 66 ride, facilitate smooth pickup and stacking of the sheets 24 by decreasing the whip-like action of the wands 58 at each end of the conveyor 28.

As the wand 58 rotates upwardly to pick up a sheet 24 from the first conveyor 24, the rear wheel rides on the cam 78 to guide the wand 58 into contact with an advancing sheet 24. As the wand approaches the horizontal, the front wheels 66 ride on the cam 74 to assist in pickup of a sheet 24.

A stand 72 is diagrammatically illustrated in FIG- URE l for receiving individual sheets 24 which are deposited there by the sets of rods or wands 58 as they rotate following the trolley guide rail 68, and, in general, the contour of sprocket 56. It will be observed that the third conveyor 30 terminates some distance to the left of sprocket 56 as illustrated in FIGURE 1 so as to permit the individual sets of rods or wands 58 to carry the individual sheets 24 through a sufiicient arc to impart a vertically downward velocity to them, thereby causing them to be flung downwardly onto the stack of sheets on a suitable stand 72.

When depositing a sheet 24, the rear wheel 65 rides on the cam as the wand 58 begins its downward arcuate movement. At the bottom of the rail 68, the front wheel 66 rides on the cam 76 preventing the wand from whipping around and striking the stack 72.

The flexible sheets 24 are retained on the sets of rods or wands 58 by a combination of rotary acceleration of the wands plus air resistance and friction. After depositing the individual sheets 24 on the stack or stand 72, the individual sets of rods or Wands withdraw substantially horizontally to the lower flight of second conveyor 28.

The

conveyors

26, 28, and 30 are driven at the same speed as rotary cutting device 18 and nip rolls 14, 16 so that the operation can be performed continuously and without the aid of any accumulator.

Reference to FIGURE 4 illustrates a number of individual sheets 24 spaced laterally along a set of rods or wands 58 to indicate that the web material 10 can first be slit by cutting means 18 and then cut into individual sheets across the width of the sheet feeder and stacking device.

The stand 72 may be of any conventional form such that the height of a stack of sheets 24 may be automatically adjusted either in timed sequence with the conveyor means or in proportion to the Weight of the stack of individual sheets 24 placed thereupon.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description. It will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing its material advantages, with the forms hereinbefore described merely being preferred embodiments thereof.

I claim:

1. In a sheet transfer and stacking device, the combination comprising the first convey-or means having a plurality of laterally spaced belt means for receiving and advancing sheet means along a predetermined path, second conveyor means adjacent one end of said first conveyor means for continuing the advance of said sheet means along said path, a plurality of sheet-supporting devices carried by said second conveyor means, and said one end of said first conveyor means being cantilevered whereby said plurality of said sheet-supporting devices may enter the space between said belt means of said first conveyor means to eifect transfer of said sheet means from said first conveyor means to said second conveyor means.

2. A sheet transfer and stacking device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sheet means is supported substantially horizontally as it travels along said first and second conveyor means and wherein said sheet-supporting devices rotate said sheet means through an arc to impart suflicient velocity to said sheet means to cause said sheet means to be flung downwardly to form a stack of said sheet means adjacent an end of said second conveyor means.

3. A sheet transfer and stacking device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said plurality of sheet-supporting devices comprises at least a first set of laterally spaced rod members and at least a second set of laterally spaced rod members, with said first and second sets of laterally spaced rod members being longitudinally spaced with respect to each other on said second conveyor means.

4. A sheet transfer and stacking device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said plurality of sheet-supporting devices comprises at least a first set of laterally spaced rod members and at least a second set of laterally spaced rod members, with said first and second sets of laterally spaced rod members being longitudinally spaced with respect to each other on said second conveyor means.

5. A sheet transfer and stacking device as claimed in claim 1 including a third conveyor means positioned above said first and second conveyor means and serving as guide means to insure that said sheet means continues along said predetermined path.

6. A sheet transfer and stacking device as claimed in claim 2 including a third conveyor means positioned above said first and second conveyor means and serving as guide means to insure that said sheet means continues along said predetermined path.

7. A sheet transfer and stacking device as claimed in claim 3 including a third conveyor means positioned above said first and second conveyor means and serving as guide means to insure that said sheet means continues along said predetermined path.

8. In a transfer and stacking device, the combination comprising:

a roll of sheet material in web form;

pay-oil means to pay off said web from said roll;

cutting means to cut said web of sheet material into individual sheets;

first conveyor means having a plurality of laterally spaced belt means for receiving and advancing said individual sheets along a predetermined path;

second conveyor means adjacent one end of said first conveyor means for continuing the advance of said individual sheets along said path;

a plurality of sheet-supporting devices carried by said second conveyor means;

and said one end of said first conveyor means being cantilevered whereby said plurality of said sheetsupporting devices may enter the space between said belt means of said first conveyor means to effect transfer of said individual sheets from said first conveyor means to said second conveyor means.

9. A transfer and stacking device as claimed in claim 8 wherein said individual sheets are supported substantially horizontally as they travel along said first and second conveyor means and wherein said individual sheet-supporting devices rotate said individual sheets through an arc to impart velocity to said sheets to cause said individual sheets to be flung downwardly to form a stack of individual sheets adjacent an end of said second conveyor means.

10. A transfer and stacking device as claimed in claim 8 wherein said plurality of sheet-supporting devices comprises at least a first set of laterally spaced rod members and at least a second set of laterally spaced rod members, with said first and second sets of laterally spaced rod members being longitudinally spaced with respect to each other on said second conveyor means.

11. A transfer and stacking device as claimed in claim 8 including a third conveyor means positioned above said first and second conveyor means and serving as guide means to insure that said sheet means continues along said predetermined path.

12. A transfer and stacking device as claimed in claim 9 including a. third conveyor means positioned above said first and second conveyor means and serving as guide means to insure that said sheet means continues along said predetermined path.

13. A transfer and stacking device as claimed in claim 10 including a third conveyor means positioned above said first and second conveyor means and serving as guide means to insure that said sheet means continues along said predetermined path.

14. A transfer and stacking device as claimed in claim 8 including inclined slide means to assist in transporting said web material from said pay-off means to said cutting means and said sheet material from said cutting means to said first conveyor means.

15. A transfer and stacking device as claimed inclaim 8 wherein said cutting means includes means to slit said web material axially as well as means to out said Web means transversely into individual sheets.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Hodgman 271-76 ANDREW R. JUHASZ, Primary Examiner. FRANK T. YOST, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.