US3779545A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Delivery arrangement
Assignee: Roland Offsetmaschinenfabrik Faber and Schleicher AG
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Filing: 1972-07-07
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Granted: 1973-12-18
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Expires: 1992-07-07
Abstract
Abstract A delivery arrangement including a conveyor and take-off mechanism for delivering a series of printed sheets onto a pile, in which nozzles are provided distributed along the width of a sheet for directing a jet of air in a direction opposite to sheet movement. A guide plate spaced under the sheet and extending upstream from the region of the nozzles serves to confine the jet. Interposed between the guide plate and the sheet path are a series of longitudinally extending friction or land members toward which the sheet is drawn during the course of transport, the jet and friction members serving, together, to decelerate the sheet as it is removed by the take-off mechanism. The guide plate is longitudinally slit at intervals to form windows defining extensive struck-out portions and intervening frames, the struckout portions, bent downwardly from the frames, being utilized to confine the jet while the intervening frames provide the frictional engagement. The nozzles are fed by a manifold which is divided into zones which are fed by separate controllable valves in accordance with the width of the sheets being handled. Such nozzle and guide plate assemblies are preferably used in successive sections of the sheet conveyor for control of the sheet during change of direction and to eliminate flutter.
Inventors
- 👤 S Schuhmann
- 👤 C Simeth
- 👤 E Wegel
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 12:35
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65H; B65H29/00; B65H29/68; B65H29/686; B65H9/00; B65H9/08; B65H2801/00; B65H2801/03; B65H2801/21
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
212 words
In a delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a delivery pile, the combination comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor for conveying sheets by their leading edges longitudinally along a sheet delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for taking the sheets from the conveyor and for decelerating the leading edges thereof for depositing them on the pile, a source of air under pressure having elongated nozzle means, the nozzle means being located adjacent the pile below the level of the sheet path and extending along the width of a sheet so that a jet of air is directed substantially parallel to the underside of the sheet in a direction upstream of sheet movement, a guide plate spaced under the sheet path and extending from the nozzle means in the upstream direction tending to confine the jet of air under the sheet, and laterally spaced land surfaces interposed between the sheet path and the guide plate so that when the sheet is drawn downwardly by the effect of the jet it engages the land surfaces in light frictional engagement to apply frictional drag to the body of the sheet.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
212 words
In a delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a delivery pile, the combination comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor for conveying sheets by their leading edges longitudinally along a sheet delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for taking the sheets from the conveyor and for decelerating the leading edges thereof for depositing them on the pile, a source of air under pressure having elongated nozzle means, the nozzle means being located adjacent the pile below the level of the sheet path and extending along the width of a sheet so that a jet of air is directed substantially parallel to the underside of the sheet in a direction upstream of sheet movement, a guide plate spaced under the sheet path and extending from the nozzle means in the upstream direction tending to confine the jet of air under the sheet, and laterally spaced land surfaces interposed between the sheet path and the guide plate so that when the sheet is drawn downwardly by the effect of the jet it engages the land surfaces in light frictional engagement to apply frictional drag to the body of the sheet.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the guide plate is substantially coextensive with the nozzle means and is bent downwardly to flare away from the sheet path in the direction upstream of the sheets.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
197 words
In a delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a delivery pile, the combination comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor for conveying sheets individually along a sheet delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for taking the sheets from the conveyor and for decelerating them for depositing on the pile, a source of air under pressure having elongated nozzle means, the nozzle means being located adjacent the pile below the level of the sheet path and extending along the width of a sheet so that a jet of air is directed parallel to the underside of the sheet in a direction opposite the sheet movement, a guide plate extending from the nozzle means upstream of the sheet tending to confine the jet of air into a well defined layer under the sheet so that the sheet is attracted in the direction of the plate, and friction means interposed between the sheet path and the plate and toward which the sheet is drawn into light frictional engagement to assist in the deceleration of the sheet.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
197 words
In a delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a delivery pile, the combination comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor for conveying sheets individually along a sheet delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for taking the sheets from the conveyor and for decelerating them for depositing on the pile, a source of air under pressure having elongated nozzle means, the nozzle means being located adjacent the pile below the level of the sheet path and extending along the width of a sheet so that a jet of air is directed parallel to the underside of the sheet in a direction opposite the sheet movement, a guide plate extending from the nozzle means upstream of the sheet tending to confine the jet of air into a well defined layer under the sheet so that the sheet is attracted in the direction of the plate, and friction means interposed between the sheet path and the plate and toward which the sheet is drawn into light frictional engagement to assist in the deceleration of the sheet.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
26 words
The combination as claimed in claim 3 in which the friction means extends longitudinally in the upstream direction thereby to inhibit flutter of the engaged sheet.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
27 words
The combination as claimed in claim 4 in which the plate and friction means are smoothly curved downwardly away from the sheet path in the upstream direction.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
44 words
The combination as claimed in claim 4 in which the longitudinal friction means is in the form of narrow tongues which are smoothly divergent from the plate in the upstream direction and which merge with the plate in the region of the nozzle means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
223 words
In a delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a delivery pile, the combination comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor for conveying sheets individually along a delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for taking the sheets from the conveyor and for decelerating them for depositing on the pile, a source of air under pressure having elongated nozzle means, the nozzle means being located adjacent the pile below the level of the sheet path and extending along the width of a sheet so that a jet of air is directed parallel to the underside of the sheet in a direction opposite to the sheet movement, a guide plate extending below the sheet path from the region of the nozzle in a direction upstream of the sheets, said guide plate being longitudinally slit at intervals along the width of the sheet to provide divergent upper and lower portions integral with one another, the lower portions, with the underside of the sheet, tending to confine the jet into a well defined layer, the upper portions merging smoothly therewith in the region of the nozzle means and forming tongues for frictional engagement of the sheet as it is drawn downwardly by the jet.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
223 words
In a delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a delivery pile, the combination comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor for conveying sheets individually along a delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for taking the sheets from the conveyor and for decelerating them for depositing on the pile, a source of air under pressure having elongated nozzle means, the nozzle means being located adjacent the pile below the level of the sheet path and extending along the width of a sheet so that a jet of air is directed parallel to the underside of the sheet in a direction opposite to the sheet movement, a guide plate extending below the sheet path from the region of the nozzle in a direction upstream of the sheets, said guide plate being longitudinally slit at intervals along the width of the sheet to provide divergent upper and lower portions integral with one another, the lower portions, with the underside of the sheet, tending to confine the jet into a well defined layer, the upper portions merging smoothly therewith in the region of the nozzle means and forming tongues for frictional engagement of the sheet as it is drawn downwardly by the jet.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
244 words
In a delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a delivery pile, the combination comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor for conveying sheets individually along a sheet delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for taking the sheets from the conveyor and for decelerating them for depositing on the pile, a source of air under pressure having elongated nozzle means, the nozzle means being located adjacent the pile below the level of the sheet path and extending along the width of a sheet so that a jet of air is directed upstream along the underside of the sheet and in a direction generally parallel thereto, a guide plate under the sheet path and extending upstream from the nozzle means, said guide path having struck-out portions which are spaced along the width of the sheet separated by relatively narrow longitudinally extending tongues, the struck-out pOrtions being smoothly bent downwardly relative to the tongues and together serving to confine the underside of the jet to form it into a more well defined layer under the sheet so that the sheet is attracted toward the tongues for frictional engagement with the latter, the impingement of the jet and the friction at the tongues combining to decelerate the body of the sheet as the leading edge of the sheet is decelerated by the take-off mechanism.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
244 words
In a delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a delivery pile, the combination comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor for conveying sheets individually along a sheet delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for taking the sheets from the conveyor and for decelerating them for depositing on the pile, a source of air under pressure having elongated nozzle means, the nozzle means being located adjacent the pile below the level of the sheet path and extending along the width of a sheet so that a jet of air is directed upstream along the underside of the sheet and in a direction generally parallel thereto, a guide plate under the sheet path and extending upstream from the nozzle means, said guide path having struck-out portions which are spaced along the width of the sheet separated by relatively narrow longitudinally extending tongues, the struck-out pOrtions being smoothly bent downwardly relative to the tongues and together serving to confine the underside of the jet to form it into a more well defined layer under the sheet so that the sheet is attracted toward the tongues for frictional engagement with the latter, the impingement of the jet and the friction at the tongues combining to decelerate the body of the sheet as the leading edge of the sheet is decelerated by the take-off mechanism.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
216 words
In a delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a delivery pile, the combination comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor for conveying sheets individually along a sheet delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for taking the sheets from the conveyor and for decelerating them for depositing on the pile, a source of air under pressure having an elongated nozzle means, the nozzle means being located adjacent the pile below the level of the sheet path and extending along the width of a sheet so that a jet of air is directed upstream parallel to the underside of the sheet, a guide plate extending from the nozzle means upstream under the sheet, said guide plate being slit about a three-sided path to form a series of laterally spaced windows defining struck out portions and frame portions, the struck out portions being bent downwardly from the frame portions so that the struck out portions, taken together, form a lower wall tending to confine the air jet so that a passing sheet is drawn downwardly into at least partial engagement with the frame portions for frictional engagement thereof to assist in deceleration of the sheet.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
216 words
In a delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a delivery pile, the combination comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor for conveying sheets individually along a sheet delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for taking the sheets from the conveyor and for decelerating them for depositing on the pile, a source of air under pressure having an elongated nozzle means, the nozzle means being located adjacent the pile below the level of the sheet path and extending along the width of a sheet so that a jet of air is directed upstream parallel to the underside of the sheet, a guide plate extending from the nozzle means upstream under the sheet, said guide plate being slit about a three-sided path to form a series of laterally spaced windows defining struck out portions and frame portions, the struck out portions being bent downwardly from the frame portions so that the struck out portions, taken together, form a lower wall tending to confine the air jet so that a passing sheet is drawn downwardly into at least partial engagement with the frame portions for frictional engagement thereof to assist in deceleration of the sheet.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
167 words
Delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a delivery pile, comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor for conveying sheets individually along a sheet delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for taking the sheets from the conveyor and for decelerating them for depositing on the pile, a source of air under pressure having elongated nozzle means, the nozzle means being located adjacent the pile below the level of the sheet path and extending along the width of a sheet so that a jet of air is directed in a layer parallel to the underside of the sheet in a direction opposite to sheet movement, thereby to assist in the deceleration of the sheets, the sheet delivery path having successive sections extending along different directions and separate nozzle means for each section to keep the sheet in control as it changes direction between the sections.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
167 words
Delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a delivery pile, comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor for conveying sheets individually along a sheet delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for taking the sheets from the conveyor and for decelerating them for depositing on the pile, a source of air under pressure having elongated nozzle means, the nozzle means being located adjacent the pile below the level of the sheet path and extending along the width of a sheet so that a jet of air is directed in a layer parallel to the underside of the sheet in a direction opposite to sheet movement, thereby to assist in the deceleration of the sheets, the sheet delivery path having successive sections extending along different directions and separate nozzle means for each section to keep the sheet in control as it changes direction between the sections.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
226 words
In a delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a sheet delivery pile, the combination comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor including means for conveying sheets individually along a sheet delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile being synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for engaging the leading edges of the sheets to remove them from the conveyor and for decelerating the leading edges of the sheets for depositing on the pile, a manifold extending the width of a sheet and located adjacent the pile below the level of the sheet path, the manifold having means for supplying air to it under slight pressure, nozzle means extending along the manifold for receiving air from the manifold and for directing it in the form of a jet parallel to the underside of the sheet and in a direction upstream of the sheet thereby to assist in the deceleration of the body of the sheet, the manifold having compartments arranged end to end, with each of the compartments being connected to the source of pressurized air via a separate conduit, and with means being provided for controlling the flow of air through the conduits thereby to tailor the width of the jet to the width of the sheets beIng acted upon.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
226 words
In a delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a sheet delivery pile, the combination comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor including means for conveying sheets individually along a sheet delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile being synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for engaging the leading edges of the sheets to remove them from the conveyor and for decelerating the leading edges of the sheets for depositing on the pile, a manifold extending the width of a sheet and located adjacent the pile below the level of the sheet path, the manifold having means for supplying air to it under slight pressure, nozzle means extending along the manifold for receiving air from the manifold and for directing it in the form of a jet parallel to the underside of the sheet and in a direction upstream of the sheet thereby to assist in the deceleration of the body of the sheet, the manifold having compartments arranged end to end, with each of the compartments being connected to the source of pressurized air via a separate conduit, and with means being provided for controlling the flow of air through the conduits thereby to tailor the width of the jet to the width of the sheets beIng acted upon.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
78 words
The combination as claimed in claim 11 in which the nozzle means is formed by a nozzle plate spaced above the manifold to form an extended nozzle, the plate defining with the sheet an induced air entryway to permit access of incoming air the flow of which is induced by the jet so as to form a film of moving air above the nozzle plate to limit the degree of contact between the sheet and the nozzle plate.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
231 words
In a conveying and delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a delivery pile, the combination comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor for conveying sheets individually along a sheet delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for taking the sheets from the conveyor and for decelerating them for depositing on the pile, a source of air under pressure having elongated nozzle means, the nozzle means being located below the level of the sheet path and extending along the width of a sheet so that a jet of air is directed generally parallel to the underside of the sheet in a direction opposite the sheet movement, a guide plate extending from the nozzle means upstream of the sheet tending to confine the jet of air under the sheet so that the sheet is attracted in the direction of the plate, and land surfaces interposed between the sheet path and the plate and toward which the sheet is drawn into light frictional engagement to assist in the deceleration of the sheet, the land surfaces being distributed in the width dimension of the sheet and extending longitudinally of the path of travel thereof to inhibit whipping and flutter of the body of the sheet as it is drawn by the conveyor.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
231 words
In a conveying and delivery arrangement for a sheet-fed printing press for delivering sheets onto a delivery pile, the combination comprising means for supporting a pile of sheets, a conveyor for conveying sheets individually along a sheet delivery path to a position above the pile, a take-off mechanism at the delivery pile synchronized with the arrival of the sheets for taking the sheets from the conveyor and for decelerating them for depositing on the pile, a source of air under pressure having elongated nozzle means, the nozzle means being located below the level of the sheet path and extending along the width of a sheet so that a jet of air is directed generally parallel to the underside of the sheet in a direction opposite the sheet movement, a guide plate extending from the nozzle means upstream of the sheet tending to confine the jet of air under the sheet so that the sheet is attracted in the direction of the plate, and land surfaces interposed between the sheet path and the plate and toward which the sheet is drawn into light frictional engagement to assist in the deceleration of the sheet, the land surfaces being distributed in the width dimension of the sheet and extending longitudinally of the path of travel thereof to inhibit whipping and flutter of the body of the sheet as it is drawn by the conveyor.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
30 words
The combination as claimed in claim 13 in which the guide plate flares in a direction away from the sheet path for progressive increase in the thickness of the jet.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-12-17 | 1977-06-18 | 1977-12-18 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-12-17 | 1981-06-18 | 1981-12-18 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-12-17 | 1985-06-18 | 1985-12-18 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |