US3061303A - Self-centering parallel guide assembly - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 30, 1962 D, A. GLASER ET AL SELF-CENTERING PARALLEL GUIDE ASSEMBLY VL/Z Filed Feb. 21, 1961 60 INVENTORS. Dana/d A. Glaser zeonard 6. Warren ill United States Patent Ofiice 3,061,303 Patented Oct. 30, 1962' 3,061,303 SELF-CENTERIWG PARALLEL GUIDE ASSEMBLY Donald A. Glaser and Leonard C. Warren, Emporia, Kans., assignors to Didde-Glaser, Inc., Emporia, Karts, a corporation of Kansas Filed Feb. 21,1961, Ser. No. 90,774 4 Claims. (l. 271-61) This invention relates to structure for providing parallel guide means thereon for use, for example, with stacks of sheet material and, more particularly, to structure having shiftable guide members thereon which remain in parallelism as the spacing between the members is altered. It is sometimes desirable to provide such a sheet guiding means for use, for example, in sheet collating machines.

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide a parallel guide assembly for positioning and centering materials being handled, which assembly is provided with a pair of parallel guide members which are shiftable relative to a predetermined center line therebetween, so that the members are always equally and oppositelyspaced from the said line.

Another important object of the present invention is the provision of a parallel guide assembly having a pair of elongated, relatively shiftable guide members thereon, and means interconnecting the members for spacing the same equally on both sides of a predetermined reference line whereby the members remain equally spaced from the line upon being shifted relative to the latter.

Still another important object of the present invention is the provision of a parallel guide assembly having a pair of elongated guide members swingably mounted on a support, and crank and linkage means interconnecting the members so that the same are always equally spaced from a predetermined reference line on the support disposed between rthe guide members and substantially parallel therewith.

Other important objects of the present invention relate to the provision of a plurality of elongated legs pivotally mounted on the support and the guide members at opposed ends thereof for swingably mounting the members on the support whereby the same may be shifted relative to said support; to the provision of elongated guide members having sides adapted to support sheet material whereby the sheet material may be placed in a stacked condition on the members and guided by the latter while being moved relative thereto; and to the provision of a pair of cranks, one for each guide member and each having an arm connected to a leg on the corresponding guide member, which arms are pivotally interconnected by an elongated element whereby the guide members are simultaneously shifted and are maintained equally spaced from a predetermined imaginary center line on the support.

Other important objects of this invention will become apparent as the following specification progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary plan view of the instant device illustrating the shiftable guide members thereon adapted to engage sheet material to be stacked;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the device illustrated in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the parallel guide assembly illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The parallel guide assembly which is the subject of this invention, is broadly denoted by the numeral and comprises a support 12, a pair of elongated guide members 14, leg means 16 interconnecting guide members 14 with support 12 and interconnecting means 18 for interconnecting guide members 14, whereby the latter with a collating machine for providing a means for stacking sheet material for use with the machine, and further provides a means for stacking sheet material of various sizes such as are used with machines of the above description. I

Support 12 comprises an elongated plate 20 having a pair of opposed faces 22 and 24, providing upper and lower surfaces therefor, plate 20 as shown in the figures being normally horizontally disposed, but it is clear that the same may be vertically disposed, as well as angularly disposed. Plate, 20' is further adapted to be placed upon a worktable or the like, or may be supported by a plurality of legs much in the nature of a table top for operation thereby, with a suitable device such as a collating machine. The center line 26 of plate 20, intermediate opposed side edges 28 and 30 thereof, provides a reference line for a purpose hereinafter described.

A plurality of leg means 16 comprise a plurality of elongated legs 32 pivotally mounted at one end thereof to the upper face 22 of plate 20, and longitudinally spaced on opposed sides of reference line 26 and proximal to a corresponding side edge of plate 20. To pivotally mount legs 32 on the upper face 22 of plate 20, a pair of longitudinally extending, laterally spaced, U-shaped beams 34 are secured to the lower face 24 of plate 20 in any suitable manner, such as by welding, so that beams 34 are substantially parallel with the bight portions thereof facing outwardly in opposed directions.

Secured to beams 34 at spaced points thereon, are a plurality of sleeves 36 having vertically disposed apertures therethrough for receiving elongated pins 38 therethrough, which pins 38 extend upwardly through plate 20 and project above upper face 22 of the latter. Pins 38 are provided with enlarged extremities 40 thereon which rest on upper face 22 of plate 20 to secure pins 38 against downward travel through plate 20, and respective ends of legs 32 are connected to pins 38 adjacent the extremities '40 thereof for rotation therewith by virtue of the rotation of pin 38 relative to sleeves 36. The opposite ends of legs 32 are adapted to be pivotally secured to guide members 14 in a manner to be described.

Guide members 14 are substantially transversely L- shaped and extend longitudinally of plate 20 on either side of reference line 26 on the latter. Guide members 14 may be uilized to support sheet material in a stacked condition as the same is disposed prior to use thereof in a collating machine. Guide members .14 are each provided with a plurality of U-shaped brackets 42 secured thereto in any suitable manner, such as by welding or the like, it being clear that the bight portions of brackets 42 face outwardly from the respective guide member 14 so that legs 32 corresponding thereto, may be received between the opposed sides thereof. As is clear in FIG. 3 of the drawing, the opposed ends of legs 32 are disposed in the region between the spaced sides of brackets 42 and are pivotally mounted thereto by virtue of pins 44 passing through aligned apertures in legs 32 and the corresponding opposed sides of brackets 42.

By virtue of the aforementioned construction, guide members 14 are pivotally mounted on plate 20, and by choosing the correct lengths of legs 32 and the parallel disposition of lines interconnecting pins 38 on each side of reference line 26, guide members 14 are thereby rendered parallel andmaintained in this condition as guide members 14 are shifted relative to plate 20.

Interconnecting means 18 comprises a pair of arms 46. each secured rigidly to pin 38 corresponding to one end of beam 34 on each side of reference line 26. Arms 46 extend outwardly from the respective pins 38 and are pivotally interconnected by an elongated element 48 by virtue of pins 50 passing through aligned openings in arms 46 and element 48 at respective ends of the latter. As is clear in FIG. 2 of the drawing, one of arms 46 extends in one direction relative to beam 34 associated therewith, whereas the other arm 46 extends in the direction opposite to that of the one arm 46 so that the arms 46 and element 48 form a substantially Z-shaped structure for interconnecting guide members 14. It is, therefore, evident that when one of guide members 14 is shifted toward or away from reference line 26, the other guide member 14 is shifted toward or away from the same line and, by virtue of the correct lengths of arms 46, guide members 14 are always equally spaced from reference line 26 regardless of the spacing between members 14.

As viewed in FIG. 1, as the guide members 14 move outwardly from reference line 26, the arm 46 adjacent side edge 30, is rotated in a counterclockwise direction and the arm 46 adjacent side edge 28 is rotated in a clockwise sense about the respective pin 38 thereof. Conversely, as guide members 14 move toward reference line 26, arm 46 adjacent side edge 30, moves in a clockwise sense and arm 46, adjacent side edge 28, moves in a counterclockwise sense.

To secure guide members 14 in fixed positions relative to reference line 26, one of pins 38 secured to an arm 46, is provided with an extension 52 thereon, extending upwardly from the corresponding leg 32 to provide a pivot for a substantially triangular plate 54 having an arcuate slot 56 therein in alignment with a screw 58 carried by a U-shaped supporting member 60 rigid to upper face 22 of plate 20 in any suitable manner, such as by welding.

A head 62 is threadably mounted over the upper end of screw 58 and engageable with the upper surface of plate 54 for forcing the latter into engagement with one side of supporting member 60 to preclude rotation of plate 54 and thereby extension 52 of pin 38 adjacent side edge 30 and one end of beam 34. By preventing the rotation of plate 54, and thereby the associated pin 38, guide means 14 are prevented from shifting relative to reference line 26 and, therefore, the same are held in a fixed position for utilization thereby with sheet material of a given size.

It is clear therefore, that when guide members 14 are free to shift relative to reference line 26, the spacing between line 26 and each guide member 14, remains the same as the spacing between reference line 26 and the other guide member 14, regardless of the position of members 14 relative to plate 20. Assembly 10 may, therefore, be used with sheet material of various sizes, thus making it especially suitable with collating machines or the like.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a parallel guide assembly, a support; a pair of elongated guide members; a plurality of spaced legs rotatably carried by said support and pivotally secured to said members for mounting the latter on said support in parallel spaced relationship, said members being shiftable toward or away from a predetermined line parallel therewith and disposed therebetween, there being an extension rigid to one of the legs secured to each member and disposed at an angle thereto, the outermost ends of said extensions being in spaced relationship; and elongated means operably coupled with the outermost ends of the extensions on said legs for interconnecting the latter to space the members by equal increments of distance from said line and to maintain said members equally spaced from said line as said members are shifted relative thereto.

2. In a parallel guide assembly, an elongated support having a substantially flat surface; a pair of elongated guide members; a plurality of elongated, longitudinally spaced legs for each member and pivotally mounted at the ends thereof to the support and the respective member for shiftably mounting the latter on said support, said members being substantially parallel and movable toward and away from a predetermined line therebetween and parallel therewith; a pair of elongated arms each rigidly secured at one end thereof to a leg on one of said members for rotation therewith; and an elongated element pivotally secured at the ends thereof to the opposite ends of said arms to interconnect said members with the latter spaced equal increments of distance from said line, said members being maintained equally spaced from said line by said element as said members are shifted relative to the line.

3. A parallel guide assembly comprising an elongated support; a pair of elongated guide members; a plurality of spaced legs rotatably carried by said support and pivotally secured to said members for mounting the latter on said support in parallel spaced relationship, said members being movable toward and away from a predetermined line therebetween and parallel therewith; a pair of arms each rigidly secured at one end thereof to a leg on one of said members for rotation therewith; and an elongated element pivotally secured at the ends thereof to the opposite ends of said arms to interconnect said members with the latter spaced equal increments of distance from said line, said members being and maintained equally spaced from said line by said element as said members are shifted relative to the line.

4. A parallel guide assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein is included means on one of the legs for securing the latter and thereby said guide members in a fixed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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