US635792A

US635792A - Sheet-feeding machine.

Info

Publication number: US635792A
Application number: US67044198A
Authority: US
Inventors: James W Mansfield
Original assignee: STANDARD MACHINERY Co
Current assignee: STANDARD MACHINERY Co
Priority date: 1898-02-15
Filing date: 1898-02-15
Publication date: 1899-10-31
Anticipated expiration: 1916-10-31

Description

No. 635,792. l Patented Oct. 3|, |899. J. W. MANSFIELD.

SHEET FEEDING MACHINE.

(Application filed Feb. 15, 1898.)

IIE:

(No Model.)

n N l@ na/ZM CP/J @da Tus Nonms Evans co. Pnorollmo., WASHINGTON. n. c,

"i NrrEn STATES "EriceS JAMES w. MANSEIELD, OE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSICNOE TO THE STANDARD MACHINERY COMPANY, OE MYSTIC, CONNECTICUT.

SHEET-FEEING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 635,792, dated October 31, 1899.

Application led February 15, 1898. Serial No. 670,441. (No model.)

To CLZ whom, t may con/cern:

Be it known that I, JAMES W. MANSEIELD, of Boston, county Of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Feeding Machines and I do hereby declare the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same, to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

The invention relates to that class of machines in which a body of combed-Out or feathered sheets is placed upon an upper supply-table and is slowly fed' from the same to alower feed-table,where the individual sheets are separated from the body of sheets and advanced to registering devices by which each sheet is brought into the correct position to be taken by the grippers of a printing-press or transferred to other mechanism for furtherl manipulation of the sheets. The bank or body of sheets passes from the supply-table to the feed-table through a curved throat, which reverses the position of the bank, so that the bottom of the bank upon the supply-table becomes the top of the bank upon the feedtable. The top sheet upon the feed-table is acted upon by combing-rolls, which separate said sheet from the bank and advance it between revolving rolls, which deliver said sheet to the registering devices. With this class of machines the mechanism for separating the sheets from thebank is located under the supply-table and near the curved throat through which the sheets pass, and it has been customary to pivot the supply-table at its front end, so that said table can be swung up when access is desired to the separating mechanism or other parts below the supply-table. lVhen the supply-table is thus swung up, there is nothing to retain the sheets upon the table, and it is therefore necessary to remove the sheets which have not their ends so far Y advanced through the curved throat that they will not be withdrawn by their own weight when the table is swung up. Vhen the feathered bank of sheets has been thus separated in the curved throat, it is impossible to replace the removed portion of the bank in the correct relation with the portion remaining, and it is therefore necessary to exhaust that portion of the bank remaining upon the lower feed-table and in the throat and then thread a new bank of feathered Sheets through the throat.

It is accordingly oneobject of the presentin- Vention to provide a construction in which access may be had to the separating and other devices under the supply-table without disturbing that portion of the bank of sheets which is in the curved throat between the supply and feed tables, and this is accomplished by forming the supply-table in sections which are pivoted together. lVhen access is desired to the mechanism beneath the supplytable, the bank on the supply-table may be folded upon itself and be supported by the forward section, while the rear section is swung up.

With the above class of machines it is sometimes found after threading up the machine or after running forsome time that the sheets are not being delivered in the proper relation to the side registering devicesthat is to say, the sheets may be delivered too far from the side guides and will not therefore be brought against the guides by the devices for moving the sheets laterally, or they may be delivered too near the side guides and will then be crippled against the side guides by the laterally-moving devices, and in either case the sheets will not be delivered to the printingpress 0r other machine in proper register. Heretofore when this has occurred it has been customary to stop the machine and to work the bank of sheets upon the tables laterally in relation tol the feeding and separating devices, and this was repeated whenever the sheets were being fed out of proper relation with the registering devices.

A further object of theinvention is to provide means for conveniently and quickly adjusting the position of the bank of Sheets with relation to the side register devices, and this is accomplished by making the feeding-table in sections and rendering the rear section, which supports the supply-table and the separating mechanism, laterally adjustable.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section of so much of a feeding-machine as is necessary to illustrate the application of the present improvements IOO thereto. Fig. 2 is a partial plan view of the lower feed-table with the supports for the separating mechanism and the upper supply-table removed, and Fig. 3 is a detail of the connection between the sections of the upper supply-table.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the cylinder of a printing-press provided with the usual front guides 2. The feed board or table 3 is arranged with its delivery end. over the cylinder and in position-to be engaged by the front guides 2. Near the delivery end of the feed-table are the side register devices 4, which may be of any usual construction-as for instance, of the construction shown in Patent No. 562,797, granted June 30, 1896. The sheets are delivered to the side register devices and the front guides by the deliveryrolls 4-and 5, located on opposite sides of the path of the sheets. The feathered bank ot' sheets rests upon the feed-table in the rear of the rolls 4 and 5, and the sheets are separated from the bank and fed successively to these rolls by the action of combing-rolls 6, which may be operated in any suitable and. wellknown manner. The bank of feathered or combed-out sheets is delivered upon the feedtable from an upper supply-table, which is arranged above the feed-table with its front end over the rear end of the feed-table. The bank of sheets passes from the supply to the feed table through a curved throat formed between the feed-wheels 7, located at the end of the supply-table, and the curved guides 8, secured to the rear end of the feed-table. Pressure-rolls 9 are located above the feedwheels and act to press the sheets against the feed-wheels and insure a positive feeding of the bank of sheets. The bank upon the supply-table rests upon endless bands 9, which extend along the upper face of the table, around the feed-wheels, and back over guide 10 and roll l1. The feed-wheels and pressure-rolls may be operated in any well-known manner to advance the bank of sheets through the curved throat and to the separating devices.

The supply-table is formed in two sections 12 and 13, the front section of which is pivoted to standards 14 at 15 and is supported at each side by a brace 16, pivoted at 17 to the rear end of rib 16, secured to the under side of the section. The brace 16 is also pivoted to a link 1S, which is in turn pivoted to the standards 14. The lower end of the brace 16 rests upon a stop 19 on the link 1S. The rear section 12 of the supply-table is provided at each side with a `supporting-bracket 13a, pivoted at 17 below the surface of the front section. Each bracket 13L is provided with depending arms 20, which engage the braces 1G, and thus support this section,while allowing it to be readily swung up into the dottedline position, Fig. 1. lVhen it is desired to gain access to the parts under the supply-table without disturbing the bank of sheets in the curved throat, thatpart of the bank which is upon the rear section is folded over onto the front section and the rear section is swung into the dotted-line position, where it is supported in a vertical position by the engagement of its front edge with the top of the front section. In setting up the machine for a new class of work, at which time there is no bank of sheets upon the tables and through the curved throat, the upper table may be swung up about the pivot 15, the rear section being rst swung up about its pivot, so that the table may be more conveniently handled and will occupy less space.

rlhe upper supply-table, the feeding devices for transferring the bank of sheets to the lower feed-table, and the devices for separating the individual sheets from the bank are all supported by the standards 14, mounted upon the rear portion or section of the lower feed-table. This section 21 of the feed-table, which also supports the front end of the banks of sheets, is so mounted that it maybe adjusted laterally with relation to the front portion or section of the feed-table which carries the registering devices. As shown, the rear section 21 rests upon transverse bars 22, secured between the side rails 23, and said section is guided by bars 24, secured to its under surface and engaging the sides of bars 22. A nut 25 is secured to the under surface of the section 2l and is engaged by a screw-rod 26, journaled in the side rail 23 and provided with a squared outer end for receiving a wrench or operating-handle. By turning the rod 26 the bank of sheets and the devices acting thereon may be adjusted laterally while the machine is running and the sheets presented to the delivery-rolls and register devices in the proper manner.

The front portion of the feed-table may be hinged, as at 27, to plates 28, secured to the side rails,23, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The front part of section 21 is cut away, as at 29, Fig. 2, to allow the lateral adjustment of said section.

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

1. The combination of a supply-table comprisin g a front section and a rear section pivoted thereto, a feed-table below said supplytable, a curved throat leading from the front of the supply-table to the rear of the feedtable, and mechanism for feeding a bank of feathered sheets from said supply-table through said throat, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a supply-table, comprising a front section and a rear section pivoted thereto, a feed-table below said supplytable, a curved throat leading from the front of the supply-table to the rear of the feedtable, mechanism for feeding a bank of feathered sheets from said supply-table to said feed-table, and mechanism for separating the sheets from the bank on the feed-table, substantially as described.

3. The combination with mechanism for IOO IIO

feeding and reversing a bank of feathered sheet-s, of a supply-table having a front section pivoted adjacent said means, and a rear section pivoted to said front section, substantially as described.

4. The combination with mechanism for feeding and reversing a bank of feathered sheets, of a supply-table, having a front section, and a rear section pivoted to said front section below the surface thereof, substan- 1 tially as described.

5. The combination of a feed-table having afront section and a laterally-adjustable rear section registering devices carried by the front section, and mechanism carried by the rear section for separating sheets from a pile of feathered sheets, substantially as described.

6. The combination of a feed-table, having a front section and a laterally-adjustable rear section, registering devices on the front section, a supply-table supported by said rear section, and mechanism supported by said rear section for feeding a bank of feathered sheets from said supply to said feed table, and

mechanism for separating individual sheets from the bank on the rear section of the feedtable, substantially as described.

7 The combination of a feed-table having a front and a rear section, registering devices on said front section, mechanism on the rear section for feeding a bank of feathered sheets and separating individual sheets therefrom, and means for adjusting the rear section laterally, substantially as described.

8. The combination of a feed-table having a front section and a rear section, a supplytable supported by the rear section, a curved throat leading from the front of the supply` table to the rear of said rear section, feeding- Wheels forming one side of said throat, comb ing-Wheels supported by said rear section, and means for adjusting the rear section laterally, substantially as described.

JAMES W. MANSFIELD.

Vitnesses:

S. K. WHITE, GEO. E. GRINNELL.