US609968A

US609968A - Sheet-separator

Info

Publication number: US609968A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1898-08-30
Anticipated expiration: 1915-08-30

Description

No. 609,968. Patented Aug. 30, |898. E. LARSON.

SHEET SEPARATDB.

(Application led Dec. 3, 1897.)

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(No Model.)

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fe We No. 609,968. Patented Aug. 30, |898. E LABSN SHEET SEPABATUR.

(Application led Dec. 3, 1897.)

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(No Model.)

E. LAWSON.v

SHEET SEPARATOR.

(Application filed Dec. 3, 1897.)

Patented Aug. 30, i898.

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SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 609,968, dated August 30, 1898. v

Application filed Ileoem'bei` 3, 1397. Serial No. 660,629. (No model.)

.T0 all whom t 11m/y concern:

Be it known that I, EMIL LARsON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in

the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have" invented a new and useful Improvement inr Sheet-Separators, of which the following is a speciiication. A

My invention relates tol an improved attachment for sheet-feeders which feed sheetsof paper or the like toprinting, ruling, or folding machines, the attachment operating as a sheet-separator to hold all but the top sheet of a pack, and thus prevent more than one sheet at a time from being removed from the pack by the feeding mechanism.

My object is to provide sheet-separating mechanism to be employed as an attachment to sheet-feeding devices of any style and which shall be of simple and durable construction and particularly effective in its operation.

In the drawings, Figure l is a broken top plan view of my improved sheet-separating device mounted adjacent to the feed-table of a sheet-feeder; Fig. 2, a sectional side elevation of the device and end portion of the feedtable, the section being taken on line 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3, a broken plan section taken on line 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a sectional detail view of presserfinger mechanism forming part ofthe construction; Fig. 5, abroken view showing a pack of sheets to be fed one at a `cam-surface s2, provided at one end with a cam projection s3, and an inner cam-surface e4 beyond the cam-surface s2. The cam de- `vice C3 is rigidly but adjustably secured to the shaft C by means ofa set-screw S5. Loosely surroundingthe rock-shaft C in the yokepieces C C2 are sleeves E E. On each yokepiece is a backward-extending arm t', having a threaded opening through it to receive an adjusting-screw t2, and on each sleeve E E' is a backward-extending arm q in position to be engaged by the end of the adjusting-screw. Also, on each sleeve is a downward-extending arm Q', to which is connected one end of a coiled spring p, which at its opposite ends connects with a tensioning-screw p', working in a bracket B2 on the table Bin the position shown. On each of the screws p', as shown, isa tensioning-nut p2. Each o f the sleeves E E is provided with an outer lug q2 and an intime and illustrating a stage in the operaner lug g3, forming bearings for horizontal tion of my improved separating mechanism; pins g4 q". s

Fig. G, an enlarged broken perspective view of a separating-finger detail of the construction, and Figs. 7 and 8 broken and brokensectional detail views of parts of the separator mechanism.

A is the table or platform of a sheet-feedingmachineordevice. Thisfeeding-machine may be of any suitable construction and re quires no illustration in the present connection. It will suffice to say that the table A rises intermittingly a distance approximating the thickness of one of the sheets X to be fed when the friction-rollers or other sheet-engaging means employed remove a sheet from the pack.

B is a table or support upon which are mounted toward opposite sides similar standards B', of which only one is shown in Fig. 2.

F F are presser devices, each comprising a `bell-crank lever having the"-downwardex tending arm n, backward horizontally-disposed arm n', and plate or frame n2, secured, as by means of screws n3, to the arm n', as shown in Fig. 2. Each frame n2 consists of a thin flat plate of more or less springy metal, having the segmental cross-pieces n4 n.5, with a segmental recess n between them, and the toe or projection nl. Connected ,with the lower ends of the arms n are coiled springs ns, connected at their oppositeends to adjacent screws a9, working in the brackets B2 and provided with tensioning-nuts n10, as shown. The sleeves E E are provided with downwardextending arms g5, forming stops, against which the arms 'n of the presser devices are caused normally to bear by the springs a8.

IOO

It is to be understood that when the parts are in the position shown in the figures the rockshaft C is turned to the limit of its movement in the direction from left to right, which has caused the set-screws t2, carried by the yokes, to impinge against and bear down upon the arms q of the sleeves, turning the latter to press the stops Q5 against* the arms n and lift the presser devices F F against the resistance of the springs as to raise the presser devices from the surface of the pack X, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

On eachsleeve E E is a pair of lugs QG, one above the other, forming bearings for vertically-disposed pins Q7.

G G' are buckling devices, each in the form of a bell-crank lever, having a short arm m and a long arm m. Journaled on the short arm m of the buckler G is a roller m2, projecting into the adjacent cam-recess s, and on the arm m of the buckler G is a roller m2, projecting into the cam-recess s. The bucklers are pivoted to the pins Q7 to swing in the horizontal plane toward and away from each other at their free end portions. On the said free end portions of the bucklers are downwardextending scraper-blades m3 m4, adapted to straddle the segmental bars n.5 of the presser devices, whereby the blade m3 moves in the recess or slot ns and the blade m1 beyond the bar 015.

kH is the separator mechanism. Fastened upon the fixed shaft or rod D in the positions shown are collars Z Z, held in place by means of set-screws Z2. On the collar Z is a stop projection Z3. Loose upon the shaft D is a sleeve 7a, provided in its end adjacent to the collar Z with an elongated recess 7c', into which the stop Z1"v projects. Surrounding the shaft and connected at opposite ends, respectively, with the collar Z and sleeve 7a is a spring 7a2, which tends normally to press the sleeve at one end of its recess 7e against the stop Z3. Fastened against the under side of the sleeve to form a substantially integral part thereof is a downward-extending rod 7c3, provided at its lower end with a head or block 7a4. Pivoted at one end to the block 7.31 is a rod or stem 7:55, provided at its free end with a head k6, (see Fig. 6,) from which extend a pointed separating finger or prong 797 and a prong or strip 7.58, preferably of thin springy metal to be yielding. The strip 7.98 is above and longer than the finger 7d, and they are separated by a space or recess 79, which Ain practice is, say, about one-sixteenth of an inch in height. On the rod 7a3 is a collar 7010, and 7511 is a counterbalancing-spring fastened at one end to the collar 7610 and at its opposite end to the rod 7c5.

Il is a presser or clamping device comprising a bell-crank lever of the shape shown most clearly in Fig. 2, having the arms t' i" and fulcrumcd upon a bearing or bracket B3, fastened to the table B. On the free end of the arm z' is a roller Z2, which rides upon the cam-surface s2 and cam projection s3. EX- tending through a vertical opening in the free end of the arm c" is a loose pin 2'3, having a head i4, which rests normally against the upper surface of the arm c, being held down by a spring '75, surrounding the pin and confined between the lower surface of the arm and a nut i on the pin. On the upper end of the head i4 is a laterally-extending finger i7, which extends over the head 766. On the side of the block 7a4, at the lower end portion of the rod 7c3, is a swinging arm 7012, pivoted to the block at 7613 and carrying a laterallyextending antifriction-roller 7014 in the path of the cam-surface s4. The arm 7512 is held normally against a stop 7616 on the side of the head by means of a light spring 7015.

As before stated, the rock-shaft C is operatively connected with the driving mechanism ofthe feeding-machine, to which the separating device is applied, and the shaft is oscillated upon its axis about one-third of a revolution with each operation. The drawings show the parts in the position they occupy just after a sheet has been removed by the feeding mechanism from the pack X. The buckling devices G G and presser devices F F/ are raised from the pack, and the separator H is pressed down upon the pack by the pressure of the cam s3 against the roller Z2, which has swung the bell-crank lever to cause the pin or finger Z7 to bear down upon the head k6 and cause the latter to clamp the pack. In the next movement of the roekshaft C the cam deviceis swung in the downward direction, (to the left in Fig. 2,) causing the cam s3 to release the roller Z2 and the latter to ride upon the cam-surface s2. The spring 7c nearly, but not quite, balances the weight of the rod h5 with its head 7a6 and the weight of the arm r and attendant parts, so that when the pressure of the finger Wis taken off the head 7c the separating prong orfinger 767 will rest very lightly upon the pack and be raised by the buckling of the top sheet. 1 In the initialtu rning of the rock-shaft and yokes C C2, carried thereby, the arms t and setscrews Z2 are lifted away from the arms q, carried by the sleeves E E, whereby the said sleeves are swung by the springs p to lower the bucklers G G upon the upper surface of the pack, where they are held yieldingly by the springs p. At the same time the stop projections or arms Q5 on the sleeves are moved away from the arms n of the presser devices, whereby the springs u8 operate to swing the presser devices down and hold them yieldingly upon the upper surface of the pack. At the same time the cams s s swing the arms m of the buckling devices in the direction of the shaft C, whereby the arms m are swung in the direction of each other-that is to say, toward the toes a7 of the presser devices. The blades m3 m1 of the bucklers are pressed by the tension of the springs p upon the top sheet of the pack at opposite sides of the bars 01,5, and in the movement of the bucklers toward each other they slide with slight contact upon the upper sheet, the pressure theyy IOO IIO

exert being sufficient to buckle one or more of the upper sheets between the toes p7, as indicated in Fig. 5, and cause the top sheet in buckling to raise the separator. To insure proper operation of the blades without injury, however, to the top sheet of the pack, they are sharpened slightly from one side, as indicated in Fig. 5, and rounded off at the corners. The toe portions 'a7 of the presser devices are curved upward, as indicated in Fig. 5, to afford guides which insure the proper buckling of the top sheet. The operation of the bucklers, owing to the presser devices, is such that the top sheet of the pack will always and without fail be separated at its edge from the sheet next below it a distance greater than the height of the recess or socket 769 of the separating device. vIn the further movement of the cam device C3 the cam s4 engages the roller 7614 on the separator and swings the lower end of the rod 753 in the direction of the shaft C against the resistance of the spring k2 on the shaft D. This drives the rod 795 and attendant parts in the direction of the shaft C until the point of the prong or finger 757 passes the edge of the paclnwhen the rod 705 and attendant parts drop upon its pivot, causing the strip or prong 768 to rest lightly on the top of the buckled upper sheet. The cam device moves in the direction stated until the cam s4 wipes past and releases the roller 7514, permitting the spring 7a2 to recoil and move the rods 7a3 705 in the direction away from the shaft C to the position shown in Fig. 2. In this movement the strip or prong 768 moves along the upper surface of the top sheet, upon which it rests, and theprong or finger k7 moves beneath the saidtop sheet, as indicated in Fig. 5. When the cam s4 has released the roller 7a11, as described, the shaft reaches the limit of its movement in the direction described and starts upon the return movement to move the cam device to the position indicated in the figures. In this movement the bucklers G G slide away from each other to the position indicated in Fig. l. As the cam moves to the position shown in the figures the roller 7914 slides on the outer surface of the cam s4, the pivotal arm 77:12 yielding against the resistance of the spring 71:15. NVhen the cam passes up beyond the roller 7614 and releases it, the arm k12 is turned to the stop 7616 by the spring, moving the roller 7014 to normal position. When the shaft has nearly completed its movement to the position indicated, the yokes O1 C2 at their setscrews t2 engage and swing the sleeves to raise the presser and buckling devices, as before described. At about the same time the cam s3 engages the roller i2 on the clamping device H', causing the pin t7 to bear down upon the separator and clamp all but the top sheet of the pack, leaving said sheet loose and free to be moved from the pack by the feeding device.

When the paper to be fed is very thin, the toes n1 of the presser devices G G should be 'close to each other, as indicated in Fig. 5, to insure the proper buckling of the paper. When the paper is heavier, the distance between the toes rf should be increased to insure perfect operation. This increase of distance may be effected by moving and adjusting the yokes C C2, and consequently the sleeves E E' and attendant parts, in the direction away from each other on the shaft C.

The gist of my invention lies more especially in the construction and operation of the separating mechanism H, in combination with means for buckling the top sheet, and while I prefer to construct myimprovements throughout as shown and described they may be variously modified without departing from the spirit of my invention as defined by the claims.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a sheet-separator for sheet-feeding devices, the combination of a buckler, and a separator, coperating with said buckler, having a separating projection supported to be ,i

raised by the buckling of the top sheet moving means operating to move the separator at its said projection past the edge then unv 2. In a sheet-separator for sheet-feeding i devices, the combination of a buckler having she'et-engagers and operating means for caus- IOO ing the sheet-engagers to approach and rei cede with relation to each other, and a separator, between and coperating with the sheet- IIO sheet-engagers and operating means for causing the sheet-engagera to approach and recede with relation to each other, presser devices across which the sheet-engagers move, and a separator, between and coperating with .the sheet-engagers and presser devices, having a separating projection supported to be raised by the buckling of the top sheet moving means for the separator operating to move it at its said projection past the edge then under the top sheet to be separated, and means for clamping the under sheets down, substantially as andv for the purpose set forth;

1L. In a sheet-separator for sheet-feeding devices, the combination of a buckler having sheet-engagers and operating means for causing the sheet-engagers to approach and re-` an upper prong and a shorter lower prong,

and reciprocating and clamping means operating to move the separator at its lower prong past the edge of the buckled top sheet whereby it drops to cause the upper prong to rest upon said sheet, and then move the lower prong under the sheet to be separated and clamp the under sheets down, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

G. In a sheet-separator for sheet-feeding devices, the combination of a buckler having sheet-engaging surface portions, means for raising and lowering the buckler at said sheetengaging portions and for moving them to approach and recede with relation to each other, a presser device for guiding the sheet as it is buckled, means for raising and lowering said presser device, and a separator cooperating with the buekler and presser device resting lightly upon the sheet to be separated and having a separating projection, and reciprocating and clamping means operating to move the separator at its said projection past the edge then under the sheet to be sepa-rated and clamp the under sheets down, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a sheet-separator for sheet-feeding devices, the combination of a buckler having sheet-engaging arms and means for causing said arms to move toward and away from each other, presser mechanism at each of said arms having upturned sheetguiding edge portions, raising and lowering mechanisms for the said buckling-arms and presser mechanism, a sheet-separator resting at one end portion lightly upon the sheet to be separated between the presser mechanisms and there provided with an upper prong las and a lower shorter prong 707 separated by an opening ki), means for reciprocating the separator to move it at its lower prong past the edge then under the sheet to be separated, and clamping mechanism for the separator, all arranged to operate substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In a sheet-separator for sheet-feeding devices, the combination of a buckler, and a separator cooperating with said buckler comprising a nearly-counterbalanced bar to rest lightly at its free end portion upon the buckled sheet to be raised thereby and there having an upper yielding prong and a shorter lower prong, and reciprocating and clamping means operating to move the separator at its lower prong past the edge of the buckled top sheet whereby it drops to cause the upper yielding prong to rest upon said sheet, and then move the lower prong under the sheet to be separated and clamp the under sheets down, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

EMIL LARSON.

In presence of- M. J. FRosT, R. T. SPENCER.