GB1320684A - Feeder apparatus for sheet material - Google Patents

Abstract

1320684 Feeding sheets G J COKE [trading as GECO MFG CO] 21 Oct 1970 [21 Oct 1969] 51630/69 Heading B8R In apparatus of the kind known as a suspension feeder which operates by suction to lift a top panel from a stack and hold it suspended against an endless conveyer by which the suspended panel is transported to a processing machine, a vertically-movable switch-actuating rail 40, Fig. 3, extends along the length of a suction box and is lifted, at least, at one end by a suspended panel being transported and drops when the rear edge of the panel clears the rail, the dropping of the rail causing the switches to be actuated so as to restart a lifting operation of the stack table. A suction box 25 connected to a fan 12 and having suction nozzles 29 is supported at its corners by springs 14 and has at its ends brackets 33 supporting rollers 31 around which pass the conveyer belts 34, there being one belt between two adjacent rows of nozzles 29. As the stack table 50 is raised, e.g. by mechanism as described in Specification 1,107,622, the top sheet of the stack is engaged and held by the suction nozzles 29 and the structure 13 comprising the box 25 and belts 31 is raised against the action of springs 14. This causes plates 20 at the corner supports to actuate switches (19, Fig. 2) which first stop the stack raising and then cause a slight lowering of the stack, so that the top of the stack does not interfere with forward movement of the separated sheet. If there is more than one stack on the table 50, a sheet is separated from each of the highest stacks of the same height. The separated sheet or sheets engages and lifts the rail 40 from the position shown dotted, Fig. 3, to the full line position. Near its ends, the rail 40 is attached to rods 41 carrying plates 47 each of which operates a switch 48 so arranged that when the sheet is held by suction against the belts 34, a motor 37 is actuated to drive the belts and feed the sheet to a conveyer 17. When the trailing edge of a sheet (or the trailing edge of the last sheet of simultaneously separated sheets if there is more than one stack) passes beyond the rail 40, the rail drops to actuate all the switches 49 causing the drive to the conveyer belts to be stopped and the stack-raising devices to be rendered operative to start another cycle of operations. The table 50 may be one of a pair which can be slid alternately on rails 52 into feeding position or into a reloading position. Means, not described, may be provided to avoid jamming if an underneath panel sticks to that panel separated by the suction devices, by stripping off the adhering panel or stopping the feeder.