US3907281A

US3907281A - Paper catcher device

Info

Publication number: US3907281A
Application number: US451501A
Authority: US
Inventors: Theodore R Mckenzie
Original assignee: GEORGE R HALL Inc
Current assignee: HALL PROCESSING SYSTEMS AN OHIO PARTNERSHIP
Priority date: 1974-03-15
Filing date: 1974-03-15
Publication date: 1975-09-23
Anticipated expiration: 1992-09-23

Abstract

A portable auxiliary paper catcher or stacker device for particular use in newspaper printing lines of the type where the printed newspapers are continuously moved at high speed from the printing press area to conventional counter-stacker apparatus by means of a conventional conveyor system. The new paper catcher or stacker comprises a vertically elongated cabinet type arrangement positionable close to the conveyor system adjacent the counterstacker apparatus. A paper receiving basket or platen is disposed within the cabinet to be selectively movable from a normal position disposed adjacent the cabinet top end to a second position spaced toward the cabinet bottom end. Spring biasing means are employed to continuously urge the platen toward the normal position with the urging force of the biasing means being overcome by the weight of papers received on the platen. During line operation, should the counter-stacker apparatus become temporarily jammed or otherwise inoperative, the flow of papers may be temporarily diverted to the new paper catcher for temporary stacking and storage until the entire printing line may be shut down. This avoids the waste which has previously been experienced when papers moving toward the jammed counter-stacker have been manually removed from the line and thrown onto the floor or any other area available, until such time as the presses could be shut down.

Description

United States Patent [191 McKenzie [451 Sept. 23, 1975 PAPER CATCHER DEVlCE Theodore R. McKenzie, McConnellsburg, Pa.

[75] Inventor:

[22] Filed: Mar. 15, 1974 [2]] App]. No.: 451,501

[52] 11.5. C1. 271/219 [51] B6511 5/16 [58] Field 01 Search 271/64, 219, 207, 213; 2 14/6 H [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,694,638 12/1928 Borrowdale 271/219 1,717,858 6/1929 Thomas 271/64 1,928,923 10/1933 Anderson. 271/219 2,904,335 9/1959 Rabinow 271/219 3,189,342 6/1965 BOCOCk 271/64 3,429,239 2/1969 Murchison et al 271/64 Primary ExaminerJames B. Marbert Att0rney,-Agen!, or FirmFay & Sharpe [57] ABSTRACT A portable auxiliary paper catcher or stacker device for particular use in newspaper printing lines of the type where the printed newspapers are continuously moved at high speed from the printing press area to conventional counter-stacker apparatus by means of a conventional conveyor system. The new paper catcher or stacker comprises a vertically-elongated cabinet type arrangement positionable close to the conveyor system adjacent the counter-stacker apparatus. A paper receiving basket or platen is disposed within the cabinet to be selectively movable from a normal position disposed adjacent the cabinet top end to a second position spaced toward the cabinet bottom end. Spring biasing means are employed to continuously urge the platen toward the normal position with the urging force of the biasing means being overcome by the weight of papers received on the platen. During line operation, should the counter-stacker apparatus become temporarily jammed or otherwise inoperative, the flow of papers may be temporarily diverted to the new paper catcher for temporary stacking and storage until the entire printing line may be shut down. This avoids the waste which has previously been experienced when papers moving toward the jammed counter-stacker have been manually removed from the line and thrown onto the floor or any other area available, until such time as the presses could be shut down.

18 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet 1 of2 3,907,281

Sheet 2 of 2 3,907,281

US Patent Sept. 23,1975

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n w w m PAPER CATCHER DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention pertains to the art of material handling and more particularly to the handling of printed paper documents in a printing line.

The invention is particularly applicable to use in newspaper printing lines and will be described with particular reference thereto; however, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention has much broader applications and may be used in any number of environments where, for example, printed materials are continuously moved from a press or other supply source toward other processing equipment for eventual paper distribution. As used hereinafter, the term papers refers to any type of printed or nonprinted materials and is not deemed to refer exclusively to what is commonly known as newspapers.

In the newspaper printing industry, sophisticated printing and processing machinery is now employed in order to meet the circulation demands and to print papers in an economical fashion. Generally, this machinery is substantially automated from the stage of feeding paper to the printing presses through the stages of cutting, folding and stacking for subsequent distribution. Accordingly, the printing lines are able to operate at high speed to put forth a continuous supply of newspapers at the output end of the line. In conventional processing lines, the newspapers are passed along a conveyor system in a continuous lapped" fashion to a paper counter-stacker for bundling. The papers are then moved for distribution to customers. In this lapped condition, each newspaper rides over a portion of the adjacent newspaper for ease of handling and conveying.

At the end of the final conveyor system, and with the newspapers in the final printed, cut and folded condition, they pass into a sophisticated piece of equipment for counting and stacking. Oftentimes, because of the nature of the newspapers, this apparatus becomes jammed. blocked or otherwise inoperative. This condition requires specific attention by an operator or maintenance employee. When the counter-stacker apparatus becomes inoperative, the supply conveyor, printing presses and other supporting equipment, normally continue to function for an interval of time, and produce additional newspapers until the lines can be shut down. Since newspaper printing lines run at high speed, the number of individual newspapers printed during the period prior to shut down can be rather substantial. The large number of papers which pile up once the counter-stacker becomes inoperative have heretofore merely been removed from the line by hand and thrown onto the floor or elsewhere, and thus become scrapped. Obviously, this reduces the overall efficiency and profitability of the operation, and produces as well undesirable housekeeping and safety problems.

The present invention contemplates a new and improved apparatus which overcomes problems of the type described and which provides means adaptable for use in conjunction with printing lines which is simple, economical, reduces scrap during a printing operation, aids in reducing down time for printing lines and which is readily adaptable for use in a number of other environments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an improvement for a paper printing line of the type including a conveyor system for continuously moving printed papers from a printing press toward paper processing equipment disposed adjacent the end of the line. The improvement comprises a paper catcher or stacker disposed along the line adjacent the paper processing equipment for selective alternate use in temporarily receiving and stacking papers if the paper processing equipment should become inoperative. Means are also included for selectively diverting the flow of papers along the conveyor system from the processingequipment to the paper catcher or stacker.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the paper catcher or stacker is adapted to receive and stack a plurality of individual papers in a generally vertically disposed face to face condition. The device comprises a stacker frame having spaced apart side walls and a rear wall extending between the side walls to define an elongated paper receiving area having at least an open top end and a bottom end. Disposed within the receiving area is a paper supporting basket or platen which is selectively movable between a first normal position disposed adjacent the frame top end and a second position spaced from the first position toward the frame bottom end. Biasing means continuously urge the platen toward the first position and are designed such that the weight of papers received on the platen overcomes the force of the biasing means to move the platen from the first position toward the second position. Means are also included to automatically stack papers on the platen in a desired consecutive face to face condition.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the platen has an upper paper supporting surface which provides automatic stacking means. In this respect, the upper surface is angularly disposed downwardly from the front of the receiving area toward the rear wall of the catcher frame so that papers received on the supporting surface are biased toward the rear wall to effect proper stacking.

In accordance'with still another aspect of the present invention, the biasing means comprises elongated compression springs operatively mounted between the platen and catcher frame. These springs are in a compressed condition when the platen is in the first position and in an increasing expanded condition as the platen is moved toward the second position.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, the catcher frame further includes a front wall spaced apart from the rear wall and adapted to extend between the side walls. This front wall is selectively movable between a first opened condition providing access to the receiving area and a second closed condition enclosing the receiving area.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved paper catcher or stacker device for use in a paper processing line.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved paper catcher or stacker device which is simple in design.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new and improved paper catcher or stacker device which is reliable in operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES .The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangements of parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be described in detail in the specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and wherein:.

FIG. 1 isaview of the subject paper catcher device positioned for use in its principally intended environment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the new paper catcher device;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a paper catcher with the side wall of the catcher frame removed for ease of illustration;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the catcher taken along lines 44 of FIG. 3; and,

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the catcher taken along lines 55 of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention only and not for purposes of limiting same, FIG. 1 shows paper catcher A disposed adjacent paper processing apparatus comprising a conventional paper counter-stacker apparatus B along a conventional conveyor system C.

More specifically, and with reference to the other FIGURES, paper catcher A is comprised of a vertically elongated catcher frame generally designated 10. Frame is comprised of a pair of spaced apart

side walls

12, 14, a rear wall 16 and a front wall 18 so as to have an open top end 20 and a closed bottom end 22. Conventional casters 24 are disposed at the corners of the bottom end 22 to provide means of movement of the paper catcher for reasons which will become more readily apparent hereinafter. Positioned within the catcher frame and spaced from

side walls

12, 14 and rear wall 16 are

inner side walls

26, 28 and inner rear wall 30 which define an elongated cavity area utilized for purposes which will become more apparent hereinafter. It should be noted that the spacing between these inner walls is such that they will fairly closely receive the paper materials desired to be stacked within the catcher itself. Thus, the spacing may be varied for use in different environments although in the newspaper printing industry the cavity size will be fairly standard.

Front wall 18 comprises a door or removable wall assembly which, in the preferred embodiment, is conventionally hinged along the side thereof adjacent side wall 14 in order that it may be selectively moved between opened and closed positions. This front wall further includes an elongated vertical opening for the purpose of allowing operators to view the stacking operation within the catcher as it proceeds and a plexiglass window generally designated 32 is conveniently received in the opening to provide selective total enclosure for the catcher. The door arrangement may also include a conventional latch arrangement (not shown) opposite from the side which is hinged to the stacker frame for locking the door in a closed position.

Adjacent open top end 20,

inner side walls

26, 28 diverge outwardly from each other as at

beveled side walls

36, 38 respectively. Each of

inner side walls

26, 28 also includes elongated longitudinally extending through-

slots

40, 42 and 44 for association with the paper supporting basket or platen for guiding and stabilizing purposes as will hereinafter be more fully described.

Side walls

12, 14 each includes an access door disposed adjacent the upper end of the catcher frame with the access door in side wall 12 being generally designated 46. This door may be conveniently hinged along one side thereof to'be opened and closed as desired to gain access to the inner workings of the paper catcher itself. A similar door in side wall 14 is not shown.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the catcher frame hereinabove described is primarily constructed from 16 gage sheet metal with angle iron supports and base frame components where necessary or desired to facilitate ease of frame construction. Obviously, other materials and gages may be employed without departing from the intent and scope of the present invention.

Closely received in the elongated vertical cavity defined by

inner side walls

26, 28, inner rear wall 30 and front wall 18 is a paper supporting basket or platen generally designated 50. In the preferred embodiment of the invention here under discussion, this basket or platen is preferably constructed from aluminum although other materials are deemed suitable. Platen 50 is comprised of an upper paper supporting surface 52, a front wall 54,

side walls

56, 58 and a rear wall 60. As will be particularly noted from viewing FIG. 3 where the platen is shown in dashed lines, upper paper supporting surface 52 is angularly disposed relative to the horizontal from front wall 54 to rear wall 60. This particular design provides an automatic stacking device to assure proper paper stacking as individual papers are continuously fed into the paper catcher as will hereinafter be more fully described. Although the particular angular disposition of the upper paper supporting surface may vary, an angle ranging from 20 to 25 has been found to be particularly suitable when the subject invention is employed in the newspaper printing industry.

Platen side walls

56, 58 each includes a pair of guide pin receiving areas (not shown) for receiving combination support and guide pins. These receiving means may take any of a number of configurations, but in the preferred embodiment, it is contemplated that the receiving means will take the configuration of tubular shaped releasable pin receivers to permit ease of removal if necessary for maintenance or replacement purposes.

Platen biasing means generally designated are p0- sitioned in the area defined between

side walls

12, 14 and their

respective'inner side walls

26, 28 and which may best be seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. It is intended that these biasing means will supply a constant upward biasing force to paper supporting basket or platen 50 so that the basket or platen has its first, normal position located adjacent the uppermost end of the paper catcher frame. In this regard, detailed description of the pressure means will be made with reference to one side of the paper catcher device, it being understood

springs

72, 74 having one end conveniently mounted to I a particular desired orientation so that the only movement permitted is in the vertical direction between the top and bottom ends of the catcher frameitself. To assist in retaining compression springs 72, 74 in position frame mouting bracket 76 positioned on thepatcher.

frame at beveled side wall 36 and theother endaffixed to a platen mounting bracket 78 interconnected with platen 50. In a normal unweighted condition, springs 72, 74 are fully compressed to draw platen 50 to the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3 adjacent open top end 26 of the paper catcher frame. In a weighted condition, the springs are stretched under the weight of the papers received on the platen at upper platen supporting surface 52 toward the position shown in phantom in FIG. 3 adjacent bottom end 22. The specifics-of this operation will be 'more fully described hereinafter; however, it should be noted that the spring tension is such that the platen continuously moves downward with its receipt and support of additional newspapers so that the uppermost level of the newspapers remains substantially constant at a position adjacent open top end of the catcher frame. It will be appreciated that other biasing means could be employed in practicing the concepts of the present invention without departing from the scope and intent thereof. For example, elongated, self contained hydraulic, pneumatic or mechanical cylinders could conceivably be employed. Although such an arrangement would add cost to catcher device A, there may be applications where such addition isjustified.

Located adjacent to and associated with the platen biasing means are guide means generally designated 80.

As with the platen biasing means, one of these. guidev means assemblies is associated with the side of the catcher frame and description will again be made with reference to just one of these means, it being understood that the other is substantially identical thereto. Specifically, the guide means comprises a pair of

ball type bushings

82, 84 mounted to the outermost ends of the platen mounting bracket 78. These bushings are closely slidably received over elongated

polished rods

86, 88 extending in a substantially vertical direction from adjacent open top end 20 to adjacent bottom end 22. The rods themselves are maintained in position at the top end by separate upper mounting

brackets

90, 92 affixed to inner side walls 26 and at the lower end by a common lower mounting bracket 94 also affixed to inner side Wall 26. For positive retention of the rods in the position, the ends are drilled and tapped to receive conventional bolts which pass through

brackets

90, 92 and 94. As will be seen, bracket 78 is slidably received, through means of

bushings

82, 84, on

polished rod

86, 88 so that it may freely travel between the upper and bottom ends of the frame but for the continuous upward urging exerted thereon by spring biasing means 72, 74.

To retain basket or platen 50 in position withinv the frame cavity, mounting and stabilizing

pins

100, 102

extend outwardly from

bushings

82, 84 on each side of the frame through

slots

40, 44, respectively and into side walls56, 58 of the paper receiving basket or platen maintenance or replacement purposes. With the above described structure, the basket or platen is retainedj'in of the dump gate may conveniently be made to be and for guiding them during periods of expansion and contraction generally V or U-shaped spring guides 104, 106 are disposed longitudinally along the outwardly facing surfaces of both

inner side walls

26, 28.

In utilizing the above described paper catcher device in the newspaper printing industry, attention is particularly directed to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. FIG. 1 shows a typical use of the paper catcher in a conventional paper printing line. In such a line, newspapers are continually passed in the direction of arrow a along conveyor system C in an overlapped or lapped condition toward conveyor end 108. At end 108, under normal operation conditions, the newspapers continuously pass through chute or smaller conveyor 110 into the conventional counter-stacker apparatus B. Such apparatus is known in the art and as it does not form a part of the present invention, it is not described in detail herein. It should be noted, however, that such counter-stacker apparatus .is employed to first count and stack a predetermined number of newspapers in a face to face condition and then to bundle that stack together by convenient means as, for example, wire, twine or the like. The bundles are then moved from the counter-stacker apparatus to be transported to a loading dock for distribution.

Inasmuch as the newspapers are in a flat face to face condition as they enter the stacker and since the printing line operates at a high rate of speed, oftentimes there are malfunctions at the counter-stacker apparatus. At such occurances, it is necessary to stop the entire line as soon as possible. Because of the time lag in detecting the malfunction and shut down of the line, a substantial number of newspapers back or pile up on the final leg of conveyor system C. These papers necessarily have to be removed from the line before it can once again be made operative. To this end, backed or piled up newspapers on the last leg of the conveyor system have in the past been merely pulled from the conveyor by hand and deposited onto the floor or any other convenient location. This, of course, creates an unsightly condition as well as unnecessary and undesirable scrap papers. This occurs since, in the usual course, those papers thrown on the floor require more 'labor to restack and place back on a conveyor than is cost-justified. Moreover, those papers on the floor and elsewhere are usually damaged from operating personnel stepping on and walking over them. The scrapped papers amount to a substantial loss when considered in terms of the number of times the problem is encountered and the volume of papers printed on a daily basis.

The above described problems, however, are substantially eliminated when using the subject paper catcher where, with reference to FIG. 1, it is located immediately adjacent counterstacker apparatus B along conveyor system C. In the preferred embodiment here under discussion, the stacker is disposed in an operative relationship with an auxiliary chute or conveyor 112 at the conveyor end 108 so that the flow of papers may be diverted by a dump gate from toward counter-stacker apparatus B to paper catcher A. Operation automatic as, for example, through the use of limit switches and so on. These conventional devices may be easily installed in Conjunction with the counter-stacker apparatus to immediately detect the apparatus malfunction. In the alternative, the dump gate may be man-' ually operable by one of the printing line operators.

In any event, and assuming that a malfunction has oc-- curred in the counter-stacking apparatus and that the dump gate is diverting papers toward chute or conveyor 112 until the entire line can be shut down, description will now be made of paper catcher A in operation. Papers P issuing from the outermost end of chute or conveyor 112 pass into open top end 20 of catcher frame 10. From the outermost portion of top end 20,

beveled side walls

36, 38 act to guide the paper toward paper supporting basket or platen 50. Under normal operating conditions, the papers pass along conveyor system C with the top or bottom edge leading so that when they are diverted toward catcher A, a side edge of each paper engages inner rear wall 30. The papers, of course, drop onto the platen in a consecutive face to face condition so as to stack upwardly toward the open top-end. Since the upper paper supporting surface 52 is angularly disposed downwardly from front wall 54 toward rear wall 60, the papers will be biased toward inner rear wall 30 of the catcher frame. This arrangement thus assures that the papers will be stacked in a neat fashion for later removal and subsequent bundling and since the flow of papers is quite fast, this automatic stacking means is even more desirable.

As papers are received on the platen, they add weight to the overall platen structure. This weight results in forcing the platen downwardly from adjacent open top end 20 toward bottom end 22 in order that additional papers may be received. Because each platen biasing means 70 comprises elongated compression springs 72, 74, a continuous upward biasing force is placed against the platen and the spring characteristics are such that the uppermost level of the stacked papers is disposed adjacent open top end 20 of the catcher frame. Plexiglass window 32 in front wall 18 provides easy viewing of the stacking operation within the paper catcher structure. It should be noted that the subject paper catcher is particularly designed for use as an interim measure to reduce paper scrap in the press room until the printing line operation can be completely shut down. Again, because of the complexity of the printing operation, there is normally a lag time between the discovery or sensing ofa malfunction at or adjacent apparatus B and line shut down.

Once the line has been shut down, counter-stacker apparatus B repaired and the line again operating in a normal manner, paper catcher A may be easily removed from the line by means of casters 24 and, for example, replaced with another, identical catcher to act as an auxiliary measure should there again be a malfunction. Papers P stacked in the original catcher may v newspaper printing facilities.

The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment. Obviously, modifications I and alterations will occur to others upon the reading and understanding of this specification. It is my intention to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

Having thus described my invention, I now claim: =1.- A paper' catcher device adapted to receive and stack a plurality of individual papers in a generally vert'icallydisposed'face'to face-condition, said device comprising:

a catcher frame having-spaced apart side walls and a rear wall extending between said side walls to define a paper receiving cavity having at least an open top end and a bottom end;

a paper supporting platen disposed within said cavity for selective movement between a first normal position adjacent said top end and a second position spaced from said first position toward said bottom end;

operative means disposed between said platen and at least one of said walls forlocating said platen in said receiving cavity, said locating means guiding said platen between said first and second positions;

biasing means for continuously urging said platen toward said first position with the weight of said papers being received on said platen being sufficient to overcomethe urging of said biasing means to move said platen from said first position toward said second position; and,

means for automatically stacking said papers on said platen in a consecutive face to face condition.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said automatic stacking means comprises a portion of said platen and said top end of said catcher frame further includes means for guiding said papers into said receiving cavity, said guiding means comprising at least said frame side walls tapering inwardly toward each other from said top end to adjacent said first position, the width of said frame at said top end being greater than the width of the papers to be stacked.

3. The device as defined in claim 2 further including a front wall for said stacker frame spaced apart from said rear wall and adapted to extend between said side walls, said front wall being selectively movable between a first opened position providing access to said receiving cavity and a second closed position enclosing said receiving cavity.

4. The device as defined in claim 3 wherein said front wall is hinged to one of said side walls for pivotal movement between said first and second positions.

5. The device as defined in claim 2 wherein said platen has an upper paper supporting surface which includes said stacking means, said stacking means comprising said upper supporting surface being angularly disposed downwardly toward said rear wall from the front of said receiving cavity whereby papers received on said supporting surface are biased by gravity toward engagement with said rear wall to effect desired paper stacking.

6. The device as defined in claim 5 wherein said biasing means comprises compression springs operably mounted between-"said platen and said frame. said springs beingin a substantially compressed condition when said platedisin' said first position and in an increasinglycxpanded condition as said platen is moved toward said s'econdpos ition.

7. The device as defined in claim 6 wherein a pair of said springs are disposed outboard of each side wall in an operative mechanical association with said platen.

said locating means comprising generally rigid members extending between said frame top and bottom ends and slidably interconnected with said platen, said side walls including elongated slot means for receiving the interconnection between said rigid members and said platen with the uppermost ends of said slot means defining said first position and the lowermost ends of said slot means defining said second position.

8. The device as defined in claim further including a front wall for said catcher frame spaced apart from said rear wall and adapted to extend between said side walls, said front wall being selectively movable between a first opened position providing access to said receiving cavity and a second closed position enclosing said receiving cavity.

9. The device as defined in claim 8 wherein said front wall is hinged to one of said side walls for pivotal movement between said first and second conditions.

10. in a paper processing line of the type including a conveying system for continuously moving papers from initial processing apparatus toward final processing apparatus, the improvement comprising:

a paper catching device disposed in communication with said line along said conveyor system for selected use with said line in receiving and stacking said papers when said final processing apparatus becomes temporarily inoperative, said catcher device comprising a catcher frame having spaced apart side walls and a rear wall extending between said side walls to define a paper receiving cavity having at least an open top end and a bottom end; a paper supporting platen disposed within said receiving cavity for selective movement between a first normal position adjacent said top end and a second position spaced from said first position toward said bottom end; operative means disposed between said platen and at least one of said walls for locating said platen in said receiving cavity, said locating means guiding said platen between said first and second positions; biasing means for continuously urging said platen toward said first position with the weight of said papers received on said platen being sufficient to overcome the urging of said biasing means to move said platen from said first position toward said second position; means for automatically stacking said papers on said platen in a consecutive face to face condition; and, means in said line for selectively diverting the flow of said papers from toward said final processing apparatus to said paper catcher.-

11. The improvement as defined in claim 10 wherein said automatic stacking means comprises a portion of said platen and said top end of said catcher further includes means for guiding said paper into said receiving cavity, said guiding means comprising at least said frame side walls tapering inwardly toward each other from said top end to adjacent said first position, the width of said frame at said top end being greater that the width of the papers to be stacked.

12. The improvement as defined in claim 11 wherein said platen has an upper paper supporting surface which includes said stacking means, said stacking means comprising said upper surface being angularly disposed downwardly toward said rear wall from the front of said receiving cavity whereby papers received on said supporting surface are biased by gravity toward engagement with said rear wall to effect desired paper stacking.

13. The improvement as defined in claim 12 wherein said diverting means comprises a dump gate disposed along said conveyor system for selectively diverting said papers to said paper catcher, said line further including means for selectively actuating said gate.

14. The improvement as defined in claim 13 wherein said biasing means comprises compression springs operably mounted between said platen and said frame, said springs being in a substantially compressed condition when said platen is in said first position and in an increasingly expanded condition as said platen is moved toward said second position.

15. The improvement as defined in claim 14 wherein a pair of said springs are disposed outboard of each side wall in an operative mechanical association with said platen, said locating means comprising generally rigid members extending between said frame top and bottom ends and slidably interconnected with said platen, said side walls including elongated slot means for receiving the interconnection between said rigid members and said platen with the uppermost ends of said slot means defining said first position and the lowermost ends of said slot means defining said second position.

16. The improvement as defined in claim 12 further including a front wall for said catcher frame spaced apart from said rear wall and adapted to extend said side walls, said front wall being selectively movable between a first opened position providing access to said receiving cavity and a second closed position enclosing said receiving cavity.

17. The improvement as defined in claim 16 wherein said front wall is hinged to one of said side walls for pivotal movement between said first and second positions.

18. In a paper catcher device adapted to receive a plurality of individual papers on a paper receiving platen wherein said catcher device includes a catcher frame having side walls and at least a rear wall defining a paper receiving cavity with said platen received in said cavity and adapted for generally vertical movement therein such that the uppermost level of said papers remains substantially constant relative to said device, the improvement comprising:

said platen having a paper supporting surface which includes automatic stacking means for stacking said papers in a desired face to face condition as they are received on said supporting surface. said stacking means comprising said supporting surface being angularly disposed downwardly toward said rear wall from the front of said cavity whereby papers received on said supporting surface are biased by gravity toward engagement with said rear wall to effect desired paper stacking.

Claims

1. A paper catcher device adapted to receive and stack a plurality of individual papers in a generally vertically disposed face to face condition, said device comprising: a catcher frame having spaced apart side walls and a rear wall extending between said side walls to define a paper receiving cavity having at least an open top end and a bottom end; a paper supporting platen disposed within said cavity for selective movement between a first normal position adjacent said top end and a second position spaced from said first position toward said bottom end; operative means disposed between said platen and at least one of said walls for locating said platen in said receiving cavity, said locating means guiding said platen between said first and second positions; biasing means for continuously urging said platen toward said first position with the weight of said papers being received on said platen being sufficient to overcome the urging of said biasing means to move said platen from said first position toward said second position; and, means for automatically stacking said papers on said platen in a consecutive face to face condition.

6. The device as defined in claim 5 wherein said biasing means comprises compression springs operably mounted between said platen and said frame, said springs being in a substantially compressed condition when said plated is in said first position and in an increasingly expanded condition as said platen is moved toward said second position.

7. The device as defined in claim 6 wherein a pair of said springs are disposed outboard of each side wall in an operative mechanical association with said platen, said locating means comprising generally rigid members extending between said frame top and bottom ends and slidably interconnected with said platen, said side walls including elongated slot means for receiving the interconnection between said rigid members and said platen with the uppermost ends of said slot means defining said first position and the lowermost ends of said slot means defining said second position.

8. The device as defined in claim 5 further including a front wall for said catcher frame spaced apart from said rear wall and adapted to extend between said side walls, said front wall being selectively movable between a first opened position providing access to said receiving cavity and a second closed position enclosing said receiving cavity.

10. In a paper processing line of the type including a conveying system for continuously moving papers from initial processing apparatus toward final processing apparatus, the improvement comprising: a paper catching device disposed in communication with said line along said conveyor system for selected use with said line in receiving and stacking said papers when said final processing apparatus becomes temporarily inoperative, said catcher device comprising a catcher frame having spaced apart side walls and a rear wall extending between said side walls to define a paper receiving cavity having at least an open top end and a bottom end; a paper supporting platen disposed within said receiving cavity for selective movement between a first normal position adjacent said top end and a second position spaced from said first position toward said bottom end; operative means disposed between said platen and at least one of said walls for locating said platen in said receiving cavity, said locating means guiding said platen between said first and second positions; biasing means for continuously urging said platen toward said first position with the weight of said papers received on said platen being sufficient to overcome the urging of said biasing means to move said platen from said first position toward said second position; means for automatically stacking said papers on said platen in a consecutive face to face condition; and, means in said line for selectively diverting the flow of said papers from toward said final processing apparatus to said paper catcher.

18. In a paper catcher device adapted to receive a plurality of individual papers on a paper receiving platen wherein said catcher device includes a catcher frame having side walls and at least a rear wall defining a paper receiving cavity with said platen received in said cavity and adapted for generally vertical movement therein such that the uppermost level of said papers remains substantially constant relative to said device, the improvement comprising: said platen having a paper supporting surface which includes automatic stacking means for stacking said papers in a desired face to face condition as they are received on said supporting surface, said stacking means comprising said supporting surface being angularly disposed downwardly toward said rear wall from the front of said cavity whereby papers received on said supporting surface are biased by gravity toward engagement with said rear wall to effect desired paper stacking.