Patent US3675522A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3675522A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method and apparatus for stacking sheets
Assignee: HSP ACQUISITION CORP A CORP OF IL
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Filing: 1970-05-13
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Granted: 1972-07-11
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Expires: 1990-05-13
Abstract
Abstract A method for stacking and aligning sheets, as during the manufacture of unexpanded honeycomb blocks, in which a long strip of the sheet material is moved towards and past a shear and grasped so that the lateral position of the sheet material strip determines the lateral position of the grasped sheet material portion. Thereafter a section of the sheet material including the grasped portion is severed and the severed section is moved from the shear to above the stack in alignment with the sheets previously deposited on the stack and the sheet is released for placement on the stack.
Inventors
- 👤 Harold Robert Hull
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 17:08
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65H; B65H29/00; B65H29/38; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S271/00; Y10S271/90; Y10T; Y10T83/00; Y10T83/04; Y10T83/0405; Y10T83/202; Y10T83/2033; Y10T83/2037; Y10T83/2046; Y10T83/2048; Y10T83/205; Y10T83/2057; Y10T83/2092; Y10T83/2094; Y10T83/2183; Y10T83/2185; Y10T83/219; Y10T83/323
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
147 words
A method for stacking sheet sections with parallel lateral and transverse edges which are severed from a length of sheet material having lateral sides which define the lateral edges of the sheet sections, the method comprising the steps of: moving the sheet material at a constant speed parallel to the lateral sides, applying a vacuum over substantially the full transverse extent of the material to at least one side of the sheet material at a point aft of a free end of the sheet material, moving the vacuum in a forward direction with respect to the material towards the free end thereof until a leading edge of the vacuum is aligned with the free end to remove wrinkles, creases and unevenness in the material, thereafter severing the section from the material while the vacuum continues to be applied, and releasing the section onto a stack of sections.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
147 words
A method for stacking sheet sections with parallel lateral and transverse edges which are severed from a length of sheet material having lateral sides which define the lateral edges of the sheet sections, the method comprising the steps of: moving the sheet material at a constant speed parallel to the lateral sides, applying a vacuum over substantially the full transverse extent of the material to at least one side of the sheet material at a point aft of a free end of the sheet material, moving the vacuum in a forward direction with respect to the material towards the free end thereof until a leading edge of the vacuum is aligned with the free end to remove wrinkles, creases and unevenness in the material, thereafter severing the section from the material while the vacuum continues to be applied, and releasing the section onto a stack of sections.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of moving the vacuum comprises the step of moving the vacuum with respect to the material along a circular path.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
133 words
A method for producing unexpanded honeycomb blocks comprising the steps of transporting a long length of sheet material past a cutting mechanism, controlling the lateral position of the sheet material, grasping the sheet material at the cutting mechanism after a leading edge of the material has passed the cutting mechanism and while the leading edge forms an integral part of the sheet material so that the relative lateral position of the grasped sheet material portion remains controlled, grasping the sheet material successively closer to the leading edge until the leading edge and the grasped portion coincide, severing a section of the sheet material including the grasped portion from the length of sheet material, moving the section over a stack, and releasing the section when its sides are aligned with sides of the stack.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
133 words
A method for producing unexpanded honeycomb blocks comprising the steps of transporting a long length of sheet material past a cutting mechanism, controlling the lateral position of the sheet material, grasping the sheet material at the cutting mechanism after a leading edge of the material has passed the cutting mechanism and while the leading edge forms an integral part of the sheet material so that the relative lateral position of the grasped sheet material portion remains controlled, grasping the sheet material successively closer to the leading edge until the leading edge and the grasped portion coincide, severing a section of the sheet material including the grasped portion from the length of sheet material, moving the section over a stack, and releasing the section when its sides are aligned with sides of the stack.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
33 words
A method according to claim 3 wherein the step of grasping comprises the step of applying a vacuum to the sheet material which extends over substantially the full lateral extent of the material.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
125 words
A method for building sheet stacks comprising the steps of continuously feeding sheet material off a roll of such material in a forward direction, intermittently moving a vacuum chamber between first and second points at a speed which decreases from the first to the second point and which exceeds the web speed at the first point and which is less than the web speed at the second point, contacting a side of the web aft of a leading edge thereof with the vacuum at about the first point, severing a sheet section from the web when the speed of the web and the speed of the vacuum are substantially equal, and releasing the vacuum at the second point to deposit the web on the stack.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
125 words
A method for building sheet stacks comprising the steps of continuously feeding sheet material off a roll of such material in a forward direction, intermittently moving a vacuum chamber between first and second points at a speed which decreases from the first to the second point and which exceeds the web speed at the first point and which is less than the web speed at the second point, contacting a side of the web aft of a leading edge thereof with the vacuum at about the first point, severing a sheet section from the web when the speed of the web and the speed of the vacuum are substantially equal, and releasing the vacuum at the second point to deposit the web on the stack.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
155 words
Apparatus for stacking honeycomb sheets severed from a long length of sheet material in mutual alignment to form an unexpanded honeycomb block comprising: means for laterally positioning the sheet mAterial, a vacuum chamber including a vacuum opening communicating the chamber interior with the exterior for grasping a side of the sheet material, means for rotating the chamber about an axis thereof, means defining a circularly arcuate support surface disposed about and concentric with the vacuum chamber for supporting the sheet section in spaced relation from the vacuum chamber, means for intermittently severing sections of the sheet material having a pre-determined length while the sections are grasped by the vacuum chamber, whereby the rotating chamber carries the section into alignment with edges of a stack of sections, and relatively thin, elongate, flexible members constructed of a resilient material and assuming a normally straight position secured adjacent the support surfaces for biasing the sheet towards the stack.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
155 words
Apparatus for stacking honeycomb sheets severed from a long length of sheet material in mutual alignment to form an unexpanded honeycomb block comprising: means for laterally positioning the sheet mAterial, a vacuum chamber including a vacuum opening communicating the chamber interior with the exterior for grasping a side of the sheet material, means for rotating the chamber about an axis thereof, means defining a circularly arcuate support surface disposed about and concentric with the vacuum chamber for supporting the sheet section in spaced relation from the vacuum chamber, means for intermittently severing sections of the sheet material having a pre-determined length while the sections are grasped by the vacuum chamber, whereby the rotating chamber carries the section into alignment with edges of a stack of sections, and relatively thin, elongate, flexible members constructed of a resilient material and assuming a normally straight position secured adjacent the support surfaces for biasing the sheet towards the stack.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
30 words
Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the circularly arcuate support surface is defined by a plurality of axially spaced, relatively thin ribs extending over an arc of less than 360*.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
27 words
Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the ribs extend from the vacuum chamber in an aft direction with respect to the direction of rotation of the chamber.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
18 words
Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the ribs also extend from the vacuum chamber in a forward direction.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
152 words
Apparatus for stacking honeycomb sheets severed from long length of sheet material in mutual alignment to form an unexpanded honeycomb block comprising: a forward vacuum chamber and an aft vacuum chamber, each chamber having at least one separate vacuum opening, means for laterally positioning the sheet material adjacent the vacuum openings for grasping the sheet material so that its lateral position with respect to the openings is controlled by the remainder of the sheet material, means for intermittently severing sections of the sheet material while the sections are grasped by the vacuum in the chambers, means for moving the chambers from the severing means to the stack for placing the grasped section on the stack in alignment with edges of the stack, and means for selectively releasing the vacuum in the forward chamber when at least a portion of the opening in the forward chamber is not covered by the sheet section.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
152 words
Apparatus for stacking honeycomb sheets severed from long length of sheet material in mutual alignment to form an unexpanded honeycomb block comprising: a forward vacuum chamber and an aft vacuum chamber, each chamber having at least one separate vacuum opening, means for laterally positioning the sheet material adjacent the vacuum openings for grasping the sheet material so that its lateral position with respect to the openings is controlled by the remainder of the sheet material, means for intermittently severing sections of the sheet material while the sections are grasped by the vacuum in the chambers, means for moving the chambers from the severing means to the stack for placing the grasped section on the stack in alignment with edges of the stack, and means for selectively releasing the vacuum in the forward chamber when at least a portion of the opening in the forward chamber is not covered by the sheet section.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
176 words
A sheet transfer mechanism comprising means for advancing a web past a cut-off point, a relatively narrow, elongate vacuum chamber having a length at least about equal to a width of the web, means for rotating the chamber about an axis located adjacent a narrow side of the chamber so that the chamber extends radially away from the axis, vacuum openings in another, opposite narrow side of the chamber, means positioning the chamber so that the vacuum openings pass past the cut-off point closely adjacent the web and thereby engage the web for transfer of the web to a stack of webs along a circular path, and web support surfaces trailing the chamber and the openings defined by a plurality of relatively narrow, axially spaced ribs secured to the chamber and terminating in a circular web support surface to provide web supports spaced intermittently across the width thereof when the vacuum openings draw the web towards the stack whereby web damage during high speed operation is prevented while the transfer mechanism has low mass and inertia.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
176 words
A sheet transfer mechanism comprising means for advancing a web past a cut-off point, a relatively narrow, elongate vacuum chamber having a length at least about equal to a width of the web, means for rotating the chamber about an axis located adjacent a narrow side of the chamber so that the chamber extends radially away from the axis, vacuum openings in another, opposite narrow side of the chamber, means positioning the chamber so that the vacuum openings pass past the cut-off point closely adjacent the web and thereby engage the web for transfer of the web to a stack of webs along a circular path, and web support surfaces trailing the chamber and the openings defined by a plurality of relatively narrow, axially spaced ribs secured to the chamber and terminating in a circular web support surface to provide web supports spaced intermittently across the width thereof when the vacuum openings draw the web towards the stack whereby web damage during high speed operation is prevented while the transfer mechanism has low mass and inertia.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-07-11 | 1976-01-10 | 1976-07-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-07-11 | 1980-01-10 | 1980-07-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-07-11 | 1984-01-10 | 1984-07-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |