Signature gathering machine with disc separator

Claim 1

In a signature gathering machine of the type which has a line of signature supply hoppers each containing signatures stacked adjacent one another with their edges forming an exposed side of the stack, conveyor means adapted to receive and accumulate signatures from said hoppers, signature transfer means operatively associated with each hopper to deliver successive endmost signatures from the forward end of the stack to the conveyor, and suction means to bend a corner of the exposed edge portion of the endmost signature in the stack forwardly away from the balance of the stack to provide a gap, improved separator means for penetrating the gap to deflect the bent away edge portion of the endmost signature into the transfer means for separation from the stack comprising, in combination: a shaft adjacent and parallel to the exposed side of the stack of signatures; means for rotating said shaft; and a transverse separator disc on said shaft which occupies a plane immediately forward of and parallel to the forward end of the stack, said disc having a body with generally planar front and rear faces, said body having a radially narrow clearance portion which clears the exposed side of the stack and the circumferential extent of which is great enough that the disc is clear of the stack during a part of each revolution, said body also having a radially extended transversely arcuate separator portion which trails the clearance portion as the disc rotates and penetrates the gap behind the forwardly bent corner of the endmost signature, said separator portion including a peripheral circumferential front cam lug which projects forwardly from the planar front face and has an inclined leading surface, and a peripheral circumferential rear cam lug which projects rearwardly from the planar rear face generally in register with the front cam lug and has an inclined leading surface which joins that of the front cam lug along a rounded nose, so that the leading end of the separator portion is generally wedge shaped in cross section and extends forwardly and rearwardly from the plane of the disc, said cam lugs wedging between the bent endmost signature and the balance of the stack to deflect the bent away edge portion of the endmost signature into the transfer means and substantially sImultaneously move the forward portion of the balance of the stack toward the rear to relieve pressure at the endmost signature.