Abstract A vertical stack of stiff sheets is received by the hopper of the feeder with the sheets in a forwardly inclined condition and is supported beneath its lowermost sheet by a series of gripping rollers which are driven by a common shaft. A one-way clutch coupling the shaft with an oscillatory drive element causes the rollers to be driven only during one stroke of the element, at which time the leading end of the lowermost sheet is forced against the front of the hopper to bend the sheet and direct the same down and out the hopper outlet for introduction between a pair of rapidly rotating delivery rollers. The delivery rollers pull the sheet from the gripping rollers at an increased speed, and a friction clutch associated with the gripping rollers retards the freewheeling tendencies of the gripping rollers during this period. A retaining member having an abrasive or irregular outer surface projects into the hopper outlet to prevent more than one of the sheets from being fed at the same time.
In combination with a newspaper feeding machine having open bottom hopper means and a rotary gripping assembly beneath the hopper means oscillatable up into the latter from alternate, opposite directions to first buckle the lowermost newspaper of a stack thereof within the hopper means to pull a leading edge of the newspaper free from the stack and to then unbuckle the newspaper to displace the leading edge forwardly, an auxiliary insert article feeder mounted within said hopper means in lieu of the newspapers comprising: a frame; an insert article hopper secured to said frame for receiving a stack of the articles; an article gripper rotatably mounted on said frame in disposition for engaging and feeding from the article hopper the lowermost article of the stack; and one-way clutch mechanism operably coupling said article gripper with said gripping-assembly of the newspaper feeding machine for intermittently driving the gripper in a feeding direction during oscillation of said assembly to successively feed the articles from the article hopper.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
165 words
In combination with a newspaper feeding machine having open bottom hopper means and a rotary gripping assembly beneath the hopper means oscillatable up into the latter from alternate, opposite directions to first buckle the lowermost newspaper of a stack thereof within the hopper means to pull a leading edge of the newspaper free from the stack and to then unbuckle the newspaper to displace the leading edge forwardly, an auxiliary insert article feeder mounted within said hopper means in lieu of the newspapers comprising: a frame; an insert article hopper secured to said frame for receiving a stack of the articles; an article gripper rotatably mounted on said frame in disposition for engaging and feeding from the article hopper the lowermost article of the stack; and one-way clutch mechanism operably coupling said article gripper with said gripping-assembly of the newspaper feeding machine for intermittently driving the gripper in a feeding direction during oscillation of said assembly to successively feed the articles from the article hopper.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
81 words
The article feeder as claimed in claim 1, said newspaper feeding machine further having means for removing each article from the gripper at a faster rate than the article is shifted by the gripper, said clutch permitting the gripper to freewheel in said direction about an axis extending transversely of the stack in response to removal of the article by said removal means; and a friction clutch associated with said gripper for retarding freewheeling thereof as the article is being removed.