US689919A - Sheet-delivery mechanism for printing-presses. - Google Patents

Description

No. 689,919. Patented Dec. 3|, I90I. W. SCOTT.

SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PBESSES.

(Application filed Aug. 13, 1898.)

(No Model.) 3 Shuts-Sheet I.

f k amawbom 331 mic mam I m: ucnms PEYERS co, Puma-Luna WASHINGTON u c.

Patented Dec. 3|, I90l. W. SCOTT.

SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM FDR PRINTING PRESSES.

(Application filed Aug. 13, 1898.)

(No Modal.) 3 Sheets-$heet 2.

@q QHoqwqWM No. $893K]. Patented Dec. 3!, IBM. W. SCOTT.

SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

(Application filed Aug. 13, 189B.)

SheetsSheet 3.

(N0 Model.)

THE NORFHS PETERS ca, mmaunmq wmmnaton. D c.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

WALTER SCOTT, OF PLAINFIELD, NE\V JERSEY.

$HEET-DELIVERY MECHANISM FOR PRINTING-PRESSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 1 dated De m r 31, 1901- Application filed August 13, 1898. Serial No. 688,531. (No model.)

To all whom zit may concern:

Beitknown that I, \VALTER SCOTT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Plainfield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Delivery Mechanism for Printing-Presses, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates more particularly to delivery mechanism for printingpresses wherein the sheets are laid or delivered flat with their freshly-printed sides uppermost. Suchprinting-machinessometimes have continuously-revolving impression-cylinders. In other cases the impression-cylin der oscillates, and in yet other cases the impression-cylinder revolves in one direction while taking an impression and is at rest during the time the reciprocating bed is returning or during the non-printing strokes of the bed. The present invention may be used in conjunction with presses of any of these and other classes for delivering the sheets printed by such machines.

The primary object of the present invention is to deliver the sheets with their freshlyprinted sides uppermost and piled uniformly and evenly upon the delivery-board and to improve the action of the sheet-d elivery mecl1- anism.

Another object is to provide a means for the ready and easy adjustment of margintapes to suit sheets of different widths, and other objects, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

To these ends the invention includes features of construction and combinations of devices hereinafter described,and more particu larly pointed out in the appended claims.

The preferred form of theinvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a side elevation. of so much of a bed-and-cylinder printing-press as includes that part thereof to which the present invention is applied and showing this invention in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a "ertical transverse section through the to-and-fro-moving carriage of the delivery mechanism and showing driving mechanism therefor. Fig. 3 is a side View on an enlarged scale, showing the carriage of the delivery mechanism, part of vices, and certain features of the present invention. Fig. 4 is an end view from the right of Fig. 3 and on the same scale, showing one end of said carriage and the gripper-operating devices in end elevation. Fig. 5 is a side view, on the scale of'Figs. 3 and 4c, of the gripper mechanism at the moment it is opened to release the sheets. Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view of a shaft, a pulley or tape-Wheel thereon, and grooves and a spring for bolding the pulley in position against endwise displacement on theshaft and permitting ofthe ready endwise adjustment of the pulley on the shaft. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the devices shown in Fig. 6.

The same part will be found designated by the same character of reference in the various views of the drawings in which it may be shown.

The reference-letter A designates a suitable framework for supporting the various parts of the machine, and B marks a suitable framing for the support of the delivery mechanism, the frame B being suitably attached to and supported by the frame A.

C is the impression-cylinder, (and also the pitch-circle of the driving-gear for the impression-cylinder,) which is shown as being provided with grippers 2, though any usual or suitable form of sheet-retainers may be used thereon, as may be also sheet-lifters for directing the sheets from the impression-cylinder upon the fixed guides 3, adjacent the cylinder at the delivery side thereof. The impressioircylinder may be prevented from touching the form or forms on the reciprocating bed (not shown) in any suitable way, as by being lifted. In the present instanccthe cylinder 0 is driven by a gear or pinion 4, jo'urnaled in the framing A beneath the cylinder and which is driven in any suitable way. The sheets are fed to the grippers 2 by hand or in other ways. The printed sheets are run by the guides 3 upon the tapes 5, running on pulleys or rollers 6 7. The pulleys 6 are carried bya shaft 8, which is 'journaled in brackets J, bolted to the frame A at each side ofthe machine, and the pulleys 7 are carried by a shaft 10, which is journaled in the frame B at each side of the machine and preferably at a height somewhat above that of the shaft 8. Adjunctive devices above the tapes 5 may be used, if desired, to insure that the sheets shall not lift or rise as they are run forwardas, for example, a set or pair of tapes 11, which may bear only on the margins of the sheets. The tapes 11 are carried by rollers or pulleys 12 13, the first of which are carried by a shaft 14, journaled in the brackets 9, and the second of which are carried bya shaft 15, journaled in the frame B at each side of the machine or in boxes 16 on rods 17. By having the tapes 11 at a little distance from the tapes 5, which distance may be varied by suitable means, the operation of drawing the sheets from between the two sets of tapes is much facilitated,especially if, as may be the method of operation in some cases, the tapes 5 and 11 are stopped or are at rest all or part of the time during which the sheets are pulled from between them.

The devices thus far described are or may.

be of usual or suitable construction.v

From the pulleys 7 and 13 or the tapes 5 and 11 the sheets pass to the delivery mechanism shown. This mechanism includes a to-and-fro-moving carriage 18, which is provided with rollers 19, running on suitable guides or ways on the frame B. The carriage 18 is composed of end pieces 21, to which the rollers 19 are connected by theirjournals and the arms supporting said journals, and two cross-bars 22 23. The cross-bar 22 consists of a shaft, which is bolted or otherwise secured to the ends 20 21, as by the set-screws 24, which pass through and engage threaded holes in the ends 20 21 and bear against the shaft 22. (See Fig. 3.) The cross-bar23 consists of a bar having a flat top 25 and is bolted or otherwise secured to lugs 26 on the end pieces 20 21. with bearings 28 for a transverse shaft 29, and this shaft is provided with equal spur-gears 30 31 at or near its ends and fast to the shaft. These gears respectively mesh with the racks 32 33, fixed to the frame B. These racks 32 33 afford convenient ways or tracks for the rollers 19 of the carriage 18, which run upon" their smooth tops or backs. At one end the shaft 29 is provided with a sleeve, which may be an extension or hub of the gear 30, and on this sleeveaspur-gear 34 is made fast. The pinion 34 meshes with a to-and-fro-moving rack 35,

which is suitably guided on the frame 13, as indicated in Fig. 2. The gear 34'is of a width sufficient to take up about one-half the width of rack 35 only. A gear 36, fast on a shaft 37, which is journaled in the frame 13, meshes with the rack 35, the gears 34 and 36 being in the instance shown in different planes with respect to the rack 35. The shaft 37 is providedwith a second gear 38, fast thereto,which gear meshes with a reciprocating rack-bar 39, movingin aguideway 40, secured to the frame B in an oblique position. The shaft 37 has a collar 41 fast thereto, which lies between the gear 36 and the frame B, thus preventing the These end pieces are provided.

shaft from moving in one direction endwise, while the gear 38 prevents the shaft'from moving endwise in the other direction, the gear 38 and collar 41 being at opposite sides of the piece of frame B in which the shaft is journaled. I

The rack-bar 39 is preferably moved to and fro by the following means: A shaft 42 is journaled in the framework Anear the base thereof andis provided with a gear 43, fast thereto. The pinion 43 is driven from the gear4 through the pinious 44 45, fast on ashaft 46, which is journaled in the frame A, the pinion 44 meshing with the pinion 4 and pinion 45 meshing with the pinion 43. As proportioned in the drawings, the pinion 43 is equal to the gear on theimpression-cylinder C, while the pinion 44 is twice the size of the pinion 45. The size of the gear 4 is immaterial. The shaft 42 is ,provided with a crank 47, which is integral with or attached to a disk 48, fast on the shaft 42. A strengthening-arm 49 may be formed on the disk between the hub thereof and the crank-pin 47. The shaft 42 is preferably journaled in the framework A relatively to the line of motion of the rack 39 in such wise that that line extended passes to one side of said shaft. The result of this arrangement is that the time of movement of the rack-bar 39 (and the parts operated thereby) in one direction is greater than its time of movement in the other direction. WVith the rack-bar 39 engaging the top or upper side of pinion 38 on the side thereof toward the cylinder 0 and the shaft 42 on the same side of the line of motion of the rack-bar 39 as the gear 38, it follows that the return movement of the carriage 18 toward the cylinder 0 is its slower movement, while its outward movement is the faster. This arrangement provides for the slow dropping or laying of the sheets upon the delivery-board 50 in an even or uniform pile. The crank 47 has one end of a pitman-rod 51 pivotally connected therewith, and the other end of the rod 51 is similarly connected at 52 with a lever 53, which is preferably pivoted to the framework A, as at 54, on the same side of the line of motion of the rack-bar 39 as the shaft 42. The lever 53 is connected to the rack 39 by a pitman-rod 55, which is pivotally connected to the lever at 56 and to the rack at 57. The crank 47 moves to the left in Fig. 1, (see arrow ct.) and the lever 53 continues to move downwardly until the crank 47 reaches the position indicated by the dotted line Z), which is more than a half-revolution of the crank from the position shown in full line or that position of the parts in which the centers of shaft'42, crank 47, and pivot 52 are in line in the order named. As shown by the dotted line 0, the pivot or hinge 52 reaches the limit of its motion downward when the centers of 'crank 47, shaft 42, and pivot 52 are in line in the order named, (in which case the rod 51 lies across the disk 48,) at which time the carriage 18 is nearest the cylinder 0. The sheet-support shown in the drawings "consists of a web or ribbon of fabric 58, hav

ing one end thereof fast to a bar 59, which is secured to the frame B, closely adjacent to *the pulleys 7, in such relation thereto that the sheets when run out by the tapes are run upon the top of the fabric 58. The other end of the fabric 58 is fast to a hollow roller 60, which is loose on the shaft 29 aforesaid, and the fabric is wound on and unwound from said roller during the excursions of the carriage 18 toward and from the cylinder 0. The bar 23 is provided with an extension 61 at its top, whose edge is very nearly in contact with the fabric 58 when the latter is rolled up on the roller 60, thus insuring that the heads of the sheets shall run upon the top of the bar or gripping member 23 asthey are delivered thereto by the tapes 5. The fabric 58 is wound upon the roller 60 by means of a tape 62, which is fast at one end to the roller 60 and at its other end to a roller 63, journaled at 64 in an arm from the frame B. This roller 63 may be loose upon the shaft or stud 64 and be connected thereto or to the frame 13 by means of a spiral spring coiled around the shaft and having one end fast to the shaft or frame B and the other end fast to the roller 63, as in my prior Letters Patent of the United States, granted July 9, 1901 No. 678,044, upon an application filed the 19th day of May, 1897, Serial No. 637,173, thus providing for the automatic taking up of any slack in the fabric 58 during the operation of the mechanism. The tape 62 winds on the roller 60 at one edge of the fabric 58 as the fabric winds off the roller 60 and unwinds therefrom as the fabric 58 winds up on the roller 60, or I may use two such tapes 62 and rollers 63, one set being at one edge of the fabric 58 and the other set being at the other edge of said fabric.

Thesheet-gripping mechanism herein shown includes the bar 23 and a set of grippers 65, each gripper being provided with a gripping or working face 66 for coaction with the top 25 of the bar 23, and each gripper being by preference provided with a stop 67, preferably at right angles thereto, for the sheets, and said stops preferably being integral with the grippers 65. The sheet-stops 67 are shown as arranged to drop in front of the bar 23, and they may or may not touch the same. The grippers are fast on and move with a shaft 68, which is journaled in arms 69, extending downwardly on the cylinder side of the shaft 22 from the same. The shaft 68 has an arm 70 fast thereto, which arm is preferably provided with a side lug or projection 71 and with a roller 72 at one side thereof, by means of which the arm 70 and shaft 68 are operated. The hub 73 of the arm 70 has a second arm 74 projecting therefrom, and the end piece 20 is provided with a lug 75. Arod 76 is pivotally connected with the end of arm 74 at 77 and passes loosely through a perforation in the lug 75. A spring 78, coiled about the rod 76, bears at its ends against the lug .the sheets are run.

Fig. 3.) In this last position of the faces 66 115 and a collar or other stop of the rod. The rod 76, lug 75, and shaft 68 are so arranged relatively to each other that the force of the 70.

expansive spring 78 tends to rotate the shaft in either direction, according as the center 77 is above or below the line joining the centers of lug 75 and shaft 68. The rotation of the shaft 68 in one direction is limited by the 75 faces 66 of the grippers 65 coming in contact with the top 25 of the bar 23 and in the other direction by a suitable stop. (Not shown.) Mechanism for rotating the shaft 68, so as to bring the center 77 above and below the line So joining the centers of shaft 68 and lug 75, will now be described.

The frame Bis provided with a lug or standard 79 on one side and at the end next the cylinder 0. This lug 79 extends into the path of the arm 71 and may be employed to operate the arm 70 and shaft 68; but I prefer to operate said arm and shaft by an adj ust-able stop, as by a screw-bolt 80, which engages with a threaded perforation or hole in the lug 9o 77 has passed the center line joining the shaft 68 and lug 75 in its downward movement, (see dotted lines din Fig. 3,) and this stop curves downwardly to allow the spring 78 to move the, grippers 65 downwardly toward the bar 23,

(see position 6, Fig. 3;) but the working face of the stop 82 becomes parallel with the line of motion of the carriage 18 at such point, as 83, as will prevent the grippers 65 or their working faces 66 from gripping the heads of the sheets against the top of bar 23, but will? no leave a small space, as the thirty-second or sixteenth of an inch, between said top and said working faces 66, into which the heads of (See position marked f,

relatively to the top of the bar 23 the sheetstops 67 on the grippers extend in front of the head of the sheet and stop the same at or in a predetermined position relatively to the front edge of the bar 23, or rather the speed of the sheets and of the carriage 18 is brought into unison by the stops. The stop 82 ends at a point 84, and there the roller 72 drops off the delaying guide or stop 82 and the grippers close and grip the sheet firmly against the bar 1 25 23. It will thus be seen that one function of the stop 82 is to delay the closing of the grippers 65 until such time as the heads of the sheets are in proper or desired relation with respect to the stops 67.

closed and draw the sheets along over the support 58 until the carriage 18 reaches the end of its outward movement, when the roller 72 is acted upon by a cam or lifter to rock the To prevent un- 5 The grippers remain 1 o shaft 68 to bring center 77 above the line join ing the centers of shaft 68 and lug 75, thus opening the grippers and moving the stops out of the way ofthe sheets. I prefer to have the lifterfor the arm ,70 a movable one, so as to quickly open the grippers and release the sheets at the instant the carriage 18 ceases or ends its movement. I therefore show a lifting-arm 85,;which is fast to shaft 86, journaled inthe frame 13' or-in suitable bearings 87 88, attached thereto. This shaft 86 is provided with an arm 89, with which one endof a pitman-rod 90 is pivotally connected, the other end of the rod being similarly connected with one end of a lever 91, which is pivoted,

at 92to the frame A or to a bracket thereon. The other end of the lever 91 is provided with an antifriction-roller 93, which is in position to be acted on by a cam 9f on the aforesaid disk 48 to lift that end of lever 91 and, through the described connections, to lift the arm85 at the moment carriage 18 reaches the limit of its outward movement and is at rest, and thus torelease the sheets, as aforesaid.

In some cases when the sheets used are of a sufficient thickness or stiffness the grippers 65 may be formed to engage the bar 23 at an angle instead of flatwise, thus providing acute openings, into which theheads of the sheets are run and jammed or held by the grippers and bar, thus avoiding the necessity for the second drop-motion of the grippers to close them.

The stop 82 is preferably detachable from andadjustable along the top of the frame B, as by slots 95 in the stop and the headed screw-bolts 96, which pass through the said slots and engage with threaded holes in the frame B. Washers 97 under the bolt-heads maybe used, if desired.

In order to capacitate the press for the production of copies of various sizes or widths and to adjust the tapes 11 so as to coact only with the margins of sheets of various widths, I provide means whereby the pulleys .12 13 may be readily and accurately adjusted along their respective shafts. The novel means employed for this purpose are shown in Figs. 6 and 7 and will now be described. Theshafts 14 15 are shown as being round in cross-sectionand are shown as being provided with two or more grooves 98, which extend circumferentially thereof. These grooves arepreferably circular or rathersemicircular in crosssection and are at distances apart such that various regular widths of papers used for printing upon correspond thereto. provide two or more of these grooves for each pair of pulleys 12 13, or Imay provide them for only one pair of such pulleys 12 13, or I may provide them on but one shaft and pulleys on that shaft and employ a roller instead of pulleys on the other shaft for the tapes 11. The pulleys 12 13 which it is desired to adjust are each provided with internal grooves in their hubs, such grooves being marked 99 in the drawings and being sufficiently deep I may to wholly receive the (round) wire springs 101 when these'are forced outward thereinto. The springs 101 normally tend to close into the grooves 98 and project into the grooves 99 in the hubs 100, being of a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the grooves 98. The pulleys are connected with their shafts by spline 102 and corresponding groove. The spline may be on either part and the groove on the other part, as will be understood. The pulleys are thus held against rotation independent of their shafts. is desired to adj ust the pulleys and their tapes along their shafts,the pulleys are pushed endwise of their shafts with force sufficient to causethe springs 101. to expand and jump out of grooves 98 into the grooves 99 and onto the outer surface of their shafts, whereupon When it the springs and pulleys may be slid along the shafts tothe next grooves, where the springs snap into the grooves 98 and bring the pulleys to a stop. In this way the pulleysmay be adjusted along the shafts from one to another of said grooves and carry their tapes along with them. In case a roller be used for the tapes, and the said adjustable pulleys be used for them at the other end, the adj ustmeut of the pulleys in the described manner causes the tapes to slide along the roller to the new position for the tapes. It will thus be seen that this feature of my invention includes a grooved or notched shaft, a recessed pulley orwheel, and a'spring-detent for connectingwheel and shaft through the medium of the grooves or notches and recess.

The operation of the abo ve-described deliverymechanism will now be described. The positions of the parts shown in Fig. 1 are those occurring in a two-revolution cylinder printing-press at the end of the first revolution of the cylinder 0, as during a forward or printing stroke of the bed. The carriage 18 has just reached the limit of its outward movement, and the grippers 65 have just been opened. As the cylinder 0 moves from the position shown and as its grippers 2 approach the guides they are opened by suitable means, and the sheet upon the cylinder is directed upon the guides 3 and by the guides 3 to the tapes 5-. The returning carriage 18 delivers the sheet thereon, as hereinafter set forth. The sheet from cylinder 0 is run out by tapes 5 andbetweeitpulleys 7 and 13 and onto the fabric 58. During the second revolution of the cylinder (land while the tapes 5 are carrying the sheet out the carriage18 is returning to the left in Fig. lor toward the impression-cylinder C by the described mechanism. As the carriage 18 reaches the end of its return movement the arm or lug 71 comes in contact with and is moved by the fixed abutment 80, and the arm 70, shaft 68, and grippers 65 are moved into the position indicated in dotted lines at the left of Fig. 3, in which position the center 77is just below the line joining the centers 68 and 75 and in which the action of spring 78 tends to close the grippers 65 on the bar 23.

The grippers are prevented from closing down on the bar 23 at this time, however, by the delaying-stop 82, with which the roller 72 comes in contact and by which the roller and arm are arrested, as indicated in Fig. 3, (position marked 01.) As the carriage 18 reverses its motion and moves away from the impression-cylinder O and the position d the roller 72 rolls oif or down the inclined top (2 of stop 82 onto the portion of the stop which is parallel with the path or line of movement of the carriage 18. At this time the grippers 65 are very close above the top of bar 23-say the thirty-second of an inch therefrom-and the stops 67 are in position in front of the bar 23 to stop the sheet as it is run out. (See position marked fin Fig. 3.) By the time the roller reaches the point 84: the sheet has overtaken the stops 67 and is stopped thereby, or rather the sheet and stops are now moving at the same speed, and the grippers close down on the sheet and firmly grip it against the bar 23, since the roller 72 is now freed from control and the spring 78 can operate to close the grippers. During the further outward motion of carriage 18 the sheet is drawn out from between the tapes 5 and 11 by the said gripping mechanism and is drawn over the unrolling support 58. As the carriage 18 reaches the limit of its outward movement the cam 94 operates the lever 91, and through the described connections the shaft 86 is rocked and causes arm to lift roller 72, and thus to rock the arm 70 and shaft 68 until the center 77 passes above the lines of centers 68 and 75, whereupon the spring 78 completes the motion of the parts andmoves the grippers 65, arm 70, &c., into the positions shown in Fig. 5. By preference this opening of the grippers and release of the sheets occurs at the moment the carriage 18 comes to rest at the end of its outward movement. Of course the parts may be so adjusted or timed as to cause the release of the sheets just before or just after this particular moment or position. During the relatively slower return of the carriage toward cylinder 0 the roller 60 winds up the support 58 and the sheet falls head first onto the board 50 and against the pivoted springpressed stops 102 While I have shown an extensible collapsible sheet-support operated by certain means, I do not limit myself to such support or to such means, for in so far as certain features of my invention are concerned other forms of support and other operating means may be used without departing from my invention. Also I am aware that equivalents may be substituted for features and elements shown and that many modifications and variations of What is shown and above described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a sheet-delivery, the combination of means forsupplying print-ed sheets, ato-andfromoving member having an upper face, a gripper moving with and movable independently of said member and shaped to coact therewith to grip sheets against said face,and a downwardly-extending tang or finger on said gripper acting as a stop for the sheets before the gripper closes down upon said surface or the sheet thereon, substantially as described.

2. In a sheet-delivery, a gripper having its front end bent downwardly to form a sheetstop, in combination with a second gripper member with whose upper face said gripper coacts and in front of which said bent end passes, substantially as described.

3. In a sheet-delivery, a bar provided with a flat top, and one or more grippers adapted to coact with said top to grip sheets and provided with downwardly-extending sheet stop or stops which pass in front of said bar as the-gripper or grippers close down on said bar, all in combination, substantially as de scribed.

4. In sheet-delivering mechanism, the combination of means for supplying sheets, a toand fro moving sheet deliverer provided with a fiat-top bar a movable gripper for coaction with said top to grip sheets and a sheetstop carried by said gripper, and mechanism for closing said gripper in two steps to first bring the stop into operation in front of said bar and then to close the gripper to grip the sheet, substantially as described.

5. In a sheet-delivery, the combination of a to-and-fro-moving flat-top bar, a forwardlyprojecting gripper provided with a sheet-stop and coacting with said bar to grip sheets, mechanism for operating said gripper to first bring the stop only into operation in front of said bar to stop the sheet and then to close the gripper, and means for opening the gripper to release the sheets and move the stop out of the way of the sheet, substantially as described.

6. In a sheet-delivery, the combination of a to-and-fro-moving flat-top bar, a pivoted gripper having a horizontal sheet-gripping face for coaction with said top and provided with a downwardly-extending sheet-stop beyond said bar, and mechanism for closing said gripper in two stages or steps in the first of which the gripper is slightly above said bar and the stop is in its operative position and in the second step the gripper is wholly closed, substantially as described.

7. In a sheet-delivery, the combination of a to-and-fro-moving flat-top bar, pivoted grippers provided with sheet-stops, mechanism for throwing the grippers with their stops in each direction, spring mechanism for retaining and throwing the grippers in each direction or position, and astepped fixed stop for stopping the grippers at a distance from said bar with their stops in position in front of said bar to stop the sheets beneath the grippers and then releasing the grippers and allowing them to close and v grip the sheets against said bar, substantially as described.

8. In asheet-delivery, sheet-supporting devices, a relatively fixed gripper member moving with said devices, an independently-movable grippingmember also moving with said devices and coacting with said relatively fixed member and provided with a sheet-stop, and mechanism for operating said movable member to close the same in two stages or steps in the first of which the stop is positioned to stop the sheet under the independently-movable gripper member and in the second step the gripper member is closed down to hold and draw the sheets along, combined, substantially as described.

9. In a sheet-delivery, the combination of sheet-supporting mechanism provided with a relatively fixed gripper member, an independently-movable gripper for coaction with said fixed member,a sheet-stop rigid with said movable gripper, means for moving and holding said movable gripper in each direction, and a stop for dividing up or controlling the closing movement of said movable member to first position it with its stop in front of the fixed member and then closing or allowing'it to close to grip sheets, substantially as described.

10. In a sheet-delivery mechanism,the combination of a to-and-fro-movable sheet support, a reciprocating rack and connections for operating said support or carrier, a pitman rod or link pivotally connected to said rack, a crank pivoted at one side of the line of motion of said rack, and connections between said crank and said pitman, whereby the said carrier moves faster in one direction than in the other, substantially as described.

11. In a sheet-delivery, the combination of a to-and-fro-moving sheet support or carrier, a reciprocating rack and connections therefrom for operating said carrier, a pivoted lever or arm, the pivot or fulcrum of said lever or arm being at one side of the direction of motion of said rack, a pitman or link connecting said rack and said lever or arm, a crank pivoted or journaled at the same side of the direction of movement of said rack as said pivot or fulcrum, and a rod connecting said lever and said crank, substantially as described.

12. In a sheet-delivery, the combination of a to-aud-fro-movable carriage provided with a relatively fixed gripper member or bar, a shaft journaled in said carriage, grippers borne by said shaft and coacting with said member, an arm on said shaft, a spring for moving and holding said shaft either side of a center position, a fixed stop or lug on the stationary framework for operating said arm and shaft, and a lifter also on the stationary framework for operating or moving said arm and shaft in the direction opposite that in which said lug moves them, substantially as described. 13. In a sheet-delivery, the combination of a to-and-fro-movable carriage provided with a relatively fixed gripper member or bar, a shaft provided each with a circumferential groove inside its bore to register with a groove on its shaft, spline connections between each pulley and its shaft, a segmental spring for each wheel or pulley and resting in the groove therein and in a groove of the shaft of said wheel or pulley,and a sheet moving or guiding tape on said pulleys or wheels, substantially as described.

15. The combination of parallel shafts each having a number of circumferential grooves, a pulley or wheel for each of said shafts and connected therewith by a spline and provided with a circumferential groove within the bore thereof to register with a groove of its shaft, a circular spring for each Wheel and resting in the groove thereof and in a groove of the shaft for said wheel or pulley, substantially as described.

16. The combination of parallel shafts each havinga number of circumferentially-extending grooves or notches, a pulley or wheel for and splined to each of said shafts, a spring within each of said wheels or pulleys for engaging with the notch or groove of the shaft thereof, and sheet moving or guiding tape on said wheels or pulleys, substantially as de scribed.

17. The combination of parallel shafts each havinga numberof grooves extending at right angles to the axis thereof, a pulley or wheel for each shaft and having independent motion endwise thereof only, springs for connecting said wheels and notches or grooves, and a tape on said pulleys or wheels for moving or guiding sheets, substantially as described.

18. The combination of parallel shafts each havinga number of grooves extending at right angles to the axis thereof, a pulley for each shaft and having'independent motion endwise thereof only and a groove or notch within itself, springs in said wheel or pulley and shaft-grooves, and a sheet moving or guiding tape on said pulleys, substantially as described.

19. The combination of parallel shafts each having a number of circumferential grooves, a pulley for and splined to each shaft and provided with an internal groove, a curved wire spring resting in a groove of each shaft and extending into the groove of the corresponding pulley, and a sheet moving or guiding tape on said pulleys, substantially as described.

20. In a sheet-delivery, the combination of a to-and-fro-movable carriage provided with a relatively fixed gripper member or bar,a shaft journaledin said carriage, grippers borne by said shaft and provided with sheetstops, a spring for moving and holding said grippers on either side of a center position, an arm on said shaft, a fixed abutment in the path of said arm or a projection therefrom for operating said shaft to close the grippers, and a delaying-stop in the path of said armor a projection therefrom for arresting the closing movement of the grippers after the sheetstops are in position to stop sheets and before the grippers close against said member and for afterward releasing said grippers and allowing them to grip the sheets, substantially as described.

21. In a sheet-delivery, the combination of a to-and-fro-nlovable carriage provided with a transverse flat-top bar, a shaft jonrnaled in said carriage in rear of said bar, forwardlyextending grippers borne by said shaft and provided with downwardly-extending sheetstops ahead of said bar, an upright arm on said shaft provided with a side lug and a roller, a fixed adjustable abutment for coaction with said lug, and a delaying-guide adja cent the abutment in the path of the roller as it is swung over by said abutment and armlug, whereby the grippers are prevented from wholly closing when the stops are brought into position to stop the sheets and are afterward allowed to close and grip the sheets, substantially as described,

22. In a sheet-delivery, the combination of an extensible collapsible sheetsupport, a gripper-bar in front thereof and moving to and fro therewith, and a pivoted gripper moving to and fro with said bar and having a working face for coaction with the top face of said bar and a sheet-stop at an angle to its working face and passing in front of said bar as the gripper closes down, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two witnesses, this 2d day of August, A. D. 1898.

WALTER SCOTT.

Witnesses:

RICHARD W. BARKLEY, GUs. O. I'IENNING.

Images