Patent EP0159676A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0159676A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Forms feeding apparatus
Assignee: Precision Handling Devices Inc
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Filing: 1985-04-19
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2005-04-19
Abstract
Abstract An overhead unit used with a printer having a platen for feeding continuous, fan-folded, edge perforated forms. The tractors which engage the feed perforations on the forms are driven with the platen. The unit automatically bursts the side perforations along the margins of the forms where the feed perforations are located by the use of flexural members which extract energy from the forms feed and oscillates to shear the side perforations. Bursting of the cross perforations which separate successive forms is carried out by a pivotally mounted, lever actuated bar which engages the platen and forms a toggle therewith to engage the successive forms against the platen just below the cross perforations; the toggle being arranged to tighten and increase the clamping force, as the form is pulled away from the platen when bursting the cross perforations. Precision feeding of the forms so as to enable printing of high quality precise images on the forms is facilitated by a roller assembly including rollers engaging the outside of the loop on the infeed or upstream side of the platen to remove any platen wave due to differential displacement of the forms as they travel with linear motion through the tractors and with rotational motion around the platen. These rollers also steer the form to counteract lateral meandering thereof on the platen. Other rollers on the infeed side of the tractors wrap the forms to at least a 90° arc to eliminate positive tents at the cross perforations. Backlash is removed by a diagonally split collet and tapered sleeve which controls the clearance between the tractor drive shaft and the sprockets of the tractors. Additional rollers on the drive shaft and the support shaft for the tractors, which can be used together with fingers extending from the support shaft, stiffen the forms between the tractors to facilitate bidirectional feeding thereof and bursting by the shearing flexures.
Inventors
- 👤 Leo J. Kerivan
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 01:49
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J11/00; B41J11/66; B41J11/26; B41J11/30; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T225/00; Y10T225/10; Y10T225/14; Y10T225/16; Y10T225/30; Y10T225/336; Y10T225/343; Y10T225/35
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 26
Claim 1
Independent Claim
311 words
Continuous forms feeding apparatus for use with a platen which comprises tractors engagable with feed perforations along margins of the forms which are partially severed by side perforations, successive ones of the forms being defined by cross perforations which also partially sever the forms and enable them to be stacked in fan folded configuration, means connecting said tractors and platen in conjointly driven relationship for feeding said forms around said platen and through said tractors, shearing means for bursting said side perforations, said shearing means being defined by flexural members and portions of said tractors, said flexural members being disposed in the path of said forms to oscillate in response to energy derived from said forms and repetitively shear said side perforations, means for enabling the bursting of said cross perforations operative for clamping said forms against said platen upstream of said cross perforations in the direction of movement of said forms between said platen and said tractors and including a bar having a longitudinal edge engagable with said platen and pivotally mounted to define a toggle with said platen to increase the clamping force of said bar edge against said platen when said form is pulled in said downstream direction to burst said cross perforations, means disposed upstream of said platen between said platen and said tractors yieldably biasing the side of said forms opposite to the side which bears against said platen into an arc sufficient to compensate the relative displacement of said forms linearly fed by said tractors and rotationally fed by said platen, flexurally supported means disposed upstream of said tractors on the opposite side of said tractors from said compensating means for inverting tents at the cross perforations in said forms, and means for bowing said forms to increase the stiffness thereof in the region thereof driven by said tractors and sheared by said shearing means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
311 words
Continuous forms feeding apparatus for use with a platen which comprises tractors engagable with feed perforations along margins of the forms which are partially severed by side perforations, successive ones of the forms being defined by cross perforations which also partially sever the forms and enable them to be stacked in fan folded configuration, means connecting said tractors and platen in conjointly driven relationship for feeding said forms around said platen and through said tractors, shearing means for bursting said side perforations, said shearing means being defined by flexural members and portions of said tractors, said flexural members being disposed in the path of said forms to oscillate in response to energy derived from said forms and repetitively shear said side perforations, means for enabling the bursting of said cross perforations operative for clamping said forms against said platen upstream of said cross perforations in the direction of movement of said forms between said platen and said tractors and including a bar having a longitudinal edge engagable with said platen and pivotally mounted to define a toggle with said platen to increase the clamping force of said bar edge against said platen when said form is pulled in said downstream direction to burst said cross perforations, means disposed upstream of said platen between said platen and said tractors yieldably biasing the side of said forms opposite to the side which bears against said platen into an arc sufficient to compensate the relative displacement of said forms linearly fed by said tractors and rotationally fed by said platen, flexurally supported means disposed upstream of said tractors on the opposite side of said tractors from said compensating means for inverting tents at the cross perforations in said forms, and means for bowing said forms to increase the stiffness thereof in the region thereof driven by said tractors and sheared by said shearing means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
53 words
2 . The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein said shearing means each have a pair of blades, one of said pair being defined by an edge of said portion of said tractor which extends in the direction of travel of said form and the other by an edge of said flexural member.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
54 words
The apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein said portions of said tractors are the lids thereof, said plates being mounted on said lids with said ramps extending past edges of the sides of said lids facing said forms, said edges being the blade defining edges of said shearing means provided by said tractor portions.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
99 words
The apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein said cross perforation bursting enabling means includes means defining a lever for pivoting said bar and connected thereto, said lever being disposed outwardly of said forms for actuation manually by one hand while the portion of one of said forms from which the margins are burst at said side perforations is grasped by the other hand, pulled in said downstream direction and torn along said cross perforations away from the form adjacent thereto which is clamped to said platen, the pulling increasing the clamping force applied to said form by said bar.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
124 words
The apparatus according to Claim 4 wherein said bar is pivotally mounted on a pivot axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said platen, said pivot axis being disposed to define in a plane perpendicular to said pivot axis and said platen axis a triangle the base of which is between said pivot axis and said platen axis and the sides of which are between the point of engagement of said longitudinal edge of said bar said pivot axis and said platen axis, respectively, said sides defining the links of said toggle, said sides extending in the upstream direction from said base so as to bring said links together to increase said clamping force when said forms are pulled in the downstream direction.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
79 words
Continuous forms feeding apparatus which comprises tractors engagable with feed perforations along margins of the forms which are partially severed by side perforations, means for feeding said forms through said tractors, and shearing means for bursting said side perforations, said shearing means being defined by flexural members and portions of said tractors, said flexural members being disposed in the path of said forms to oscillate in response to energy derived from said forms and repetitively shear said side perforations.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
79 words
Continuous forms feeding apparatus which comprises tractors engagable with feed perforations along margins of the forms which are partially severed by side perforations, means for feeding said forms through said tractors, and shearing means for bursting said side perforations, said shearing means being defined by flexural members and portions of said tractors, said flexural members being disposed in the path of said forms to oscillate in response to energy derived from said forms and repetitively shear said side perforations.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
56 words
7 . The apparatus according to Claim 6, wherein said portions of said tractors are the lids thereof, said plates being mounted on said lids with said ramps extending past edges of the sides of said lids facing said forms, said edges being the blade defining edges of said shearing means provided by said tractor portions.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
143 words
Continuous forms feeding apparatus for use with a platen which comprises tractors engagable with feed perforations along margins of the forms, successive ones of the forms being defined by cross perforation which also partially sever the forms and enable them to be stacked in fan folded configuration, means for feeding said forms around said platen and through said tractors, means for enabling the bursting of said cross perforations operative for clamping said forms against said platen upstream of said cross perforations in the direction of movement of said forms between said platen and said tractors and including a bar having a longitudinal edge engagable with said platen and pivotally mounted to define a toggle with said platen to increase the clamping force of said bar edge against said platen when said form is pulled in said downstream direction to burst said cross perforations.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
143 words
Continuous forms feeding apparatus for use with a platen which comprises tractors engagable with feed perforations along margins of the forms, successive ones of the forms being defined by cross perforation which also partially sever the forms and enable them to be stacked in fan folded configuration, means for feeding said forms around said platen and through said tractors, means for enabling the bursting of said cross perforations operative for clamping said forms against said platen upstream of said cross perforations in the direction of movement of said forms between said platen and said tractors and including a bar having a longitudinal edge engagable with said platen and pivotally mounted to define a toggle with said platen to increase the clamping force of said bar edge against said platen when said form is pulled in said downstream direction to burst said cross perforations.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
126 words
9 . The apparatus according to Claim 8 wherein said bar is pivotally mounted on a pivot axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said platen, said pivot axis being disposed to define in a plane perpendicular to said pivot axis and said platen axis a triangle the base of which is between said pivot axis and said platen axis and the sides of which are between the point of engagement of said longitudinal edge of said bar said pivot axis and said platen axis, respectively, said sides defining the links of said toggle, said sides extending in the upstream direction from said base so as to bring said links together to increase said clamping force when said forms are pulled in the downstream direction.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
94 words
Continuous forms feeding apparatus for use with a platen which comprises tractors engagable with feed perforations along margins of the forms, means connecting said tractors and platen in conjointly driven relationship for feeding said forms around said platen and through said tractors, and means disposed upstream of said platen between said platen and said tractors yieldably biasing the side of said forms opposite to the side which bears against said platen into an arc sufficient to compensate the relative displacement of said forms linearly fed by said tractors and rotationally fed by said platen.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
94 words
Continuous forms feeding apparatus for use with a platen which comprises tractors engagable with feed perforations along margins of the forms, means connecting said tractors and platen in conjointly driven relationship for feeding said forms around said platen and through said tractors, and means disposed upstream of said platen between said platen and said tractors yieldably biasing the side of said forms opposite to the side which bears against said platen into an arc sufficient to compensate the relative displacement of said forms linearly fed by said tractors and rotationally fed by said platen.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
67 words
11 . The apparatus according to Claim 10 wherein said forms define a loop around said platen, said tractors engaging the feed perforations in said forms at the opposite ends of said loop, and said compensating means extending into said loop between one of said opposite ends and said platen to increase the tension in said loop and wrap said forms into driving engagement with said platen.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus according to.Claim 11, wherein said arc is 90° or the arc formed by said forms around said platen, whichever is less.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
34 words
The apparatus according to Claim 12, wherein said spring means comprises a flexural member rotatably mounted at one end to said roller and fixedly mounted at the end thereof opposite to said one end.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
76 words
Continuous forms feeding apparatus which comprises tractors engagable with feed perforations along margins of the forms which are partially severed by side perforations, means connected to said tractors for feeding said forms through said tractors, and flexurally supported means disposed upstream of said tractors on the opposite side of said tractors from said compensating means for inverting tents at the cross perforations in said forms and relieving the starting load of said forms on said tractors.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
76 words
Continuous forms feeding apparatus which comprises tractors engagable with feed perforations along margins of the forms which are partially severed by side perforations, means connected to said tractors for feeding said forms through said tractors, and flexurally supported means disposed upstream of said tractors on the opposite side of said tractors from said compensating means for inverting tents at the cross perforations in said forms and relieving the starting load of said forms on said tractors.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
56 words
15 . The apparatus according to Claim 14 , wherein said inverting means comprises at least one roller and spring means for biasing said roller against one side of said forms, said spring means and roller being disposed to contain a section of said forms which occupies an arc of at least 90° around said roller.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
51 words
Continuous forms feeding apparatus which comprises tractors engagable with feed perforations along margins of the forms, means connected to said tractors for feeding said forms through said tractors, and means disposed between said tractors for bowing said forms to increase the stiffness thereof in the region thereof driven by said tractors.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
51 words
Continuous forms feeding apparatus which comprises tractors engagable with feed perforations along margins of the forms, means connected to said tractors for feeding said forms through said tractors, and means disposed between said tractors for bowing said forms to increase the stiffness thereof in the region thereof driven by said tractors.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
154 words
17 . The apparatus according to Claim 16 , wherein said forms are engageable with a platen and further comprising drive and support shafts extending laterally of said platen parallel to the rotational axis thereof, said tractors being mounted in driven relationship with said drive shaft and on said support shaft, said tractors having belts on which one side of said forms are disposed and from which pins extend into said feed perforations, a frame and at least one sprocket through which said drive shaft extends, said frame and sprocket defining the radial distance from said one side of said forms to the axis of said drive shaft and the axis of said support shaft, said bowing means comprising at least one roller mounted on and rotatable with said drive shaft, said roller being disposed between said tractors and having a radius sufficiently greater than said radial distance to bow and stiffen said forms.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
106 words
Continuous forms feeding apparatus comprises tractors engagable with feed perforations along margins of the forms, said tractors having sprockets and belts with pins extending therefrom into said feed perforations of said forms, said drive means having a drive shaft, said sprockets having a hole of and a journal through which said hole extends for receiving said drive shaft in driving relationship therewith, a pair of longitudinal slits in said journal intersecting diagonally opposite corners of said hole, and a tapered sleeve on said journal for controlling the cross sectional area of said hole in said journal and the clearance between said drive shaft and said hole.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
106 words
Continuous forms feeding apparatus comprises tractors engagable with feed perforations along margins of the forms, said tractors having sprockets and belts with pins extending therefrom into said feed perforations of said forms, said drive means having a drive shaft, said sprockets having a hole of and a journal through which said hole extends for receiving said drive shaft in driving relationship therewith, a pair of longitudinal slits in said journal intersecting diagonally opposite corners of said hole, and a tapered sleeve on said journal for controlling the cross sectional area of said hole in said journal and the clearance between said drive shaft and said hole.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
48 words
The apparatus according to Claim 17, further comprising support means extending from said roller towards said platen adjacent to the region where said forms leave said platen for engaging the same side of said forms which engages said platen to maintain said bow in proximity to said platen.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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