US545863A - Paper-feeding machine - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

L. C. HOPKINS. PAPER PPPDING MAG-HINP.

Patented Sgpt. s, 1895.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L. C. HOPKINS.

APER FEE-DING MACHINE. V Y No. 545,863. Patented Sept. 3, 1895.

e Z Y Z4 24' t al zz 0 2; 244/ (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet' 3.

L. e. HOPKINS. PAPER FEEDING MACHINE.

Patented Sept. 3, 1895.

LINTON C. HOPKINS, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

PAPER-FEEDING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 545,863, dated September 3, 1895. Application filed July 31| 1894i Serial No. 519,224. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern):

Be it known that I, LINTON C. HOPKINS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Sheet-Feeders 5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to figures of reference marked thereon, whichform a part of this specification. K

This invention is shown in the accom panying drawings in a form particularly adapted to feed a cylinder press, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the discharge end of the device, the same being on the right as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section through the paper-table, showing the feed and retaining mechanism. Fig. 4 is a detail of the cam operating to impart the pendulous motion to the sticker-arms. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the mechanism for moving sheets to the side guide. Fig. 6 is a detail of the cam operating the sticker-arms in their vertical movements. Fig. 7 is a section showing the feed-rollers, bands, grid, and feed-table. Fig. 8 shows the mechanism for automatically elevating the paper-table. Fig. 9 is a plan of the left-hand -half of the device, as seen in Fig. 1.

construction to adapt it be secured upon orV near the press or other machine to be fed. Two uprights or a slotted single upright 2 are secured on each side of the frame 1, anda cross-head 3 is seated and has vertical movement in each. Extending between and secured to these cross-heads is a bar upon which rests the paper-table 4, provided, if desired, with sides 5, forming a two-sided box. The cross-heads slide in or on the uprights and are vertically adjustable by means of a lead-screw 6, running in a nut on each cross-head, its upper end being preferably squared at 7 for the application of a wrench. In order to make the upward movement of the paper-table continuous, a bevelgear is mounted on the lower end of each of these lead-screws, and a transverse shaft 8, carrying a bevel-gear 9, meshing with the gear 7', is suitably journaled and is revolved by connecting in any approved manner with some of the operative parts. The form shown is as shown in Fig 8, wherein is shown an oscillating lever lO, carrying a pawl engaging the teeth of ratchet-wheel l1 on the shaft 8, and said lever l0 being actuated in its oscillation by a pitman 12, connected with eccentric 13 on the main shaft 14. Uprights 15 have bearings near their lower ends for the shaft 14, and the same is driven by belt on the pulley 16, so proportioned as to properly synchronize the feeder and the machine fed. A shaft17, having one or more feed-rollers 18 thereon, is journaled on the brackets 19 in about the position relative to the paper-table shown in Fig. 3, while idler or presser rollers 20, which are preferably separately journaled in blocks 2l, are secured to a bar 22, which is bolted rigidly to the upper ends of the brackets 19 and serves to brace them. A shaft 23 is journaled on the uprights 2 above and transversely of the paper-table. Arms 24 are pivotally secured at one endto the shaft 23, and on their distal extremities the sticker-arms 25 are secured at about their middle and stand in approximately a vertical position upon the rod 26, which is pivotedin and connects the arms 24 extending from one to the other. The plungers 27 are mounted and have vertical movement in the guides 28 on the side of the upright 15 on each side of the machine, the lower ends resting upon the periphery of the cams 28 on the main shaft. (See Figari, 6, and 9.) A rod 24 extends from the outer side of each arm 24 and rests in the bifurcated upper ends of the plungers 27. In the construction shown the rod 24 extends beyond and between the arms 24, which simplifies the construction, the rigidity of the said rod taking the place of an expensive setting of an outwardly-projecting pin in each arm 24. By means of the revolution of the cams the plungers, and hence the stickerarms, have vertical movement. On rollers 29, revolubly secured to the lower ends of the sticker-arms, is placed a band 30 of an adhesive material. Consequently, when the sticker- IOG arms ascend one sheet of paper is carried therewith and freely released when pulled upon by said rollers 18 and 20. The rollers 29 revolve freely on their journal-pins on the lower ends of the stickerarms 25 Hence, as the paper is drawn forwardly by the rollers 18 and 2O a ready separation of the sheet and rollers takes place, for the reason that the point on the rollers to which the paper was adhered by pressure rolls upwardly away from the sheet and no pressure is present to cause an adherence of the sheet to any other point 0n the roller.

In order to feed the papers between the rollers 18 and 20, a pendulous motion is imparted to the stickerarms by means of a pitman 31,pivotally secured by pins 26 to near the upper end of one arm 25 on each side ot" the machine, which pitman is bifurcated at its opposite end, straddling the shaft whereby it is guided, and being provided with a pin 32, which may carry an antifriction-roller, if desired, engaging the cam-groove 33 in the wheel 34 on the aforesaid shaft 23. The shaft 23 is caused to revolve by a pulley 35 and a belt 36 running thereon and also on a correlatively-placed pulley on the main shaft. As the shaft revolves, the wheels 34 also revolve, which produces a reciprocation of the pitman 31 and a consequent pendulous movement of the sticker-bars, the cam-groove being of such form and its movements so timed that the upward movement of the sticker-bar precedes its pendulous movement toward the feedrollers and thereverse on its descent. Cranks 37 are on each end of the shaft 23, for the purpose presently seen.

Journaled in bearings on the upper ends of the uprights 38, which slide on the frame 1, is a shaft 39, which carries, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 9, two cams 41 and 42. The shaft 39 is caused to revolve by connection of approved kind with the shaft 23; but as the two shafts should be synchronized, the preferable form of connection is that shown, consisting of the cranks 37 on the shaft 23 and the cranks 42 on the shaft 39, which are set quartering and connected on each side of the machine by a pitman, which should have adjustable connection with one of the cranks 42', in order to provide for the sliding of the uprights 38 in adjusting the device for feeding different-sized sheets. Arms 43 are pivoted on the rod 44, extending between and bracing the uprights 38, and rest intermediately upon the cams 40 on the shaft 39, whereby they are given an oscillating motion. These arms 43 carry sticker-arms 45 on their ends, like the arms 25 hereinbefore described, and, like those arms, serve to pick up the paper, and at the same time, in order to prevent drawing forward a free sheet by the forward movement ot' the top sheet, a gripperfoot- 46, carried on the end of a bell-crank lever 47, grips the paper normally, rising and releasing same as soon as the sheet is touched by the rollers on the sticker- arms 25 and 45, and again being spring-pressed upon the remaining paper after the top sheet is elevated and before it is moved forward bythe pendulous movement of the arms 25. This leveris actuated by the cani 41, and, in order to move it in the slot 49 in the paper-table, its pivot.- ing-block is mounted in a cross-bar 50 between the uprights 38 and movable with them. Vhere necessary, a table 51 is secured to the frame in any approved manner, and above it is a grid 52, composed of end bars 53 and a plurality of bars 54 extending therebetween, the said grid lying parallel to and extending substantially over the table 51. The upper bar 53 is provided with a knife-edged guidelip 55, which extends to a point slightly above the point of exit of the paper from between the feed rollers and guides the edge of the paper issuing from between same below the grid. By means of screws 56, passing through the ends of the bars 53 and into the table 51 this grid is adjusted in its distance above said table. A shaft 57 is mounted between uprights 58 on the frame 1 and rollers 59 are secured thereto. Tapes 60 run on the rollers 18 and 59, their forwardly-moving halves being above the table and hence between it and the grid. These tapes carry the sheet forward, and the grid acts to press it against the tapes and hence affords friction sufficient to prevent a sheet from sliding down faster. than the tapes run and prevents any displacement of said sheet whatever. A ta ble 60 is placed at thelower end of the aforesaid table and is provided with running bands 6l, carried on rollers 62 at the lower end of this table 60 and the rollers 59 just described, the rollers 62 being driven from the main shaft by belts G3 and 64 and an idler step-'pulley 65 and the rollers 59 by the tapes 61 from said rollers 62. The table 60 eX- tends to such a point relatively to the machine to be fed as to deliver the sheet to the grippers or equivalent parts of the fed machine.

On the upper surface of the table and near either edge thereof, as may be required, is a side guide 68, and oblong openings are cut inl K A bed-plate 69, Fig. 5, is mounted 1 the table. so as to slide vertically in guides 70, and a series of shafts 71 are journaled on said plate in such a position that the rollers 72 on said shafts will enter the oblong holes in the table, pass through the same, and project their peripheral surfaces above the table and into contact with the sheet thereon when the plate 69 is elevated, which is done by reciprocable Wedges 73, seated between said plate 69 and the frame 1 and reeiprocable therebetween by pitmen 74, connected to the strap 75 of the eccentric 76 on the main shaft of the machine, by means of which the rollers 72 are caused to be intermittently elevated above the table 60 and into contact with the sheet of paper on said table.

IIO

the shaft 78, between the gears 8O and 8l, is,

omitted for clearness of the drawings.

The operation of this device is as follows: The paper is placed in the box-table 4, which is lowered to the desired point, whence it is picked up, one sheet at a time, by means of the oscillating sticker- bars 25 and 45, the clamp 46 on the lever -t7 preventing the paper in the pile from being moved by the operation of lifting the top sheet, and a pendulous movement of the bars 25 inserting the sheet be-` tween the rollers 18 and 20, by means of which it is inserted between the tapes 60 and the grid 54 and carried to the lower table 60', where it is moved against a side guide by the rollers 72 and fed to the press by the bands 6l.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a sheet-feeder, a paper-holding table, levers pivotally mounted thereover, a rod eX- tending between and pivotally secured to the free ends of said levers, bars secured to said rod between said levers and carrying freely revoluble on their lower ends wheels, adhesive bands secured to the periphery of each of said wheels, means for causing said levers to move upwardly and downwardly on their pivotal points and for causing said bars to move pendulously.

2. In a sheetfeeder, the paper-table, a revoluble shaft journalled thereover, carrying wheels provided with cam-grooves on one side of each, bars pivoted upon said shaft, a rod pivoted in and extending between their free ends, bars pendent from about their middles from and secured to said rod, means for engaging a sheet on their lower ends, a pitman connected with the upper ends of the end members of the series of the pendent bars, bifurcated and straddling the shaft, a pin in each of said pitmen engaging the cam-groove in the correlative wheel, and means for lifting the free ends of the first named bars substantially as and for the purpose specilied.

3. In asheet feeder, the combination of a paper-table and means for feeding paper therefrom, with the lever pivoted and carrying a presser-foot over said table in a position to contact with the back edge of the paper thereon, a spring adapted to hold said presser foot in contact, a second pivoted lever carrying on its free end a pendent arm provided with a sticker on its lower end, a shaft, a cam thereon adapted to be revolved in contact with and vibrate the latter named lever vertically and a striker cam adapted to be revolved and vibrate the first named lever from contact with the paper upon the depression of the sticker, all combined arranged andv operating substantially as and forthe purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LINTON C. HOPKINS.

Witnesses:

A. P. Woon, HARDIE L. Keira.

Images