Patent US3897053A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3897053A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Sheet feeding apparatus and method
Assignee: Crown Packaging UK Ltd
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Filing: 1973-04-25
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Granted: 1975-07-29
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Expires: 1993-04-25
Abstract
Abstract The invention relates to the feeding of a succession of sheets of rigid or semi-rigid material to associated equipment such as a printing press, and provides an infeed conveyor which receives the sheets one at a time and delivers them to the said equipment in predetermined orientation and correct register which is obtained by use of moving side lays which travel along the conveyor with the sheets, at the same time adjusting the register of the sheets.
Inventors
- 👤 George Victor Guy
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 12:00
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65H; B65H9/00; B65H9/10; B65H9/101
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
386 words
Apparatus for feeding a succession of sheets of rigid or semirigid material to associated sheet-receiving equipment in predetermined orientation and alignment, said apparatus comprising a conveyor which comprises a main frame; sheet advancing means disposed longitudinally on said main frame for moving a succession of said sheets along a path on the conveyor in predetermined orientation; at least one pair of side lays, each side lay being disposed transversely opposite the other side lay of the same pair with the sheet advancing means disposed intermediately between the side lays of each pair; means, carrying said side lays and mounted on said main frame, for advancing the side lays along the conveyor simultaneously with said sheet advancing means; and side lay guide means carried on said main frame for gradually converging the appropriate side lays towards and into engagement with opposite side edges of each sheet when the side lays are so advancing, whereby each sheet may be brought by the side lays gradually into a predetermined transverse register, the sheet advancing means including pusher means for engaging rear edges of the sheets, a plurality of endless flexible carrying members engageable with the undeRsides of the sheets, first means for advancing the pusher means, and second means for advancing said flexible carrying members, said second means being movable at a speed less than that of said first means whereby the flexible carrying members urge the sheets continuously backwards against the pusher means, said first means for advancing the pusher means comprising a plurality of flexible drive members of the pusher means, said pusher means also comprising pusher dogs carried by said flexible drive members and arranged to engage the rear edges of said sheets, said apparatus comprising tension-adjusting means mounted on the main frame for adjusting the tension in the said flexible drive members during operation, the flexible drive members being endless and arranged to define a longitudinal top run thereof supported from below by longitudinal guides, the said tension-adjusting means comprising a movable said guide extending along at least part of the length of said top run of each flexible drive member, and actuating means for moving said movable guides into and out of frictional engagement with the pusher means of said flexible drive members so as to control the tension in said flexible drive members.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
386 words
Apparatus for feeding a succession of sheets of rigid or semirigid material to associated sheet-receiving equipment in predetermined orientation and alignment, said apparatus comprising a conveyor which comprises a main frame; sheet advancing means disposed longitudinally on said main frame for moving a succession of said sheets along a path on the conveyor in predetermined orientation; at least one pair of side lays, each side lay being disposed transversely opposite the other side lay of the same pair with the sheet advancing means disposed intermediately between the side lays of each pair; means, carrying said side lays and mounted on said main frame, for advancing the side lays along the conveyor simultaneously with said sheet advancing means; and side lay guide means carried on said main frame for gradually converging the appropriate side lays towards and into engagement with opposite side edges of each sheet when the side lays are so advancing, whereby each sheet may be brought by the side lays gradually into a predetermined transverse register, the sheet advancing means including pusher means for engaging rear edges of the sheets, a plurality of endless flexible carrying members engageable with the undeRsides of the sheets, first means for advancing the pusher means, and second means for advancing said flexible carrying members, said second means being movable at a speed less than that of said first means whereby the flexible carrying members urge the sheets continuously backwards against the pusher means, said first means for advancing the pusher means comprising a plurality of flexible drive members of the pusher means, said pusher means also comprising pusher dogs carried by said flexible drive members and arranged to engage the rear edges of said sheets, said apparatus comprising tension-adjusting means mounted on the main frame for adjusting the tension in the said flexible drive members during operation, the flexible drive members being endless and arranged to define a longitudinal top run thereof supported from below by longitudinal guides, the said tension-adjusting means comprising a movable said guide extending along at least part of the length of said top run of each flexible drive member, and actuating means for moving said movable guides into and out of frictional engagement with the pusher means of said flexible drive members so as to control the tension in said flexible drive members.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
160 words
Apparatus for feeding a succession of sheets to associated sheet receiving apparatus, said apparatus comprising sheet advancing means for advancing sheets along a sheet path, said sheet advancing means including a flexible drive member and a plurality of pusher members for engaging rear edges of sheets, connecting means connecting said pusher members to said flexible drive member at spaced intervals for movement along a predetermined path a portion of which generally corresponds to a portion of the sheet path, said connecting means being of the pivotal mounting type and mounting said pusher members for pivotal movement generally normal to the sheet path, guide means underlying a part of said predetermined path portion for engagement by said pusher members to control the tilting thereof and support means resistingly supporting said guide means for limited movement in response to pivoting of said pusher members in response to the resistance of a pushed sheet engaging sheet receiving apparatus to absorb the shock thereof.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
160 words
Apparatus for feeding a succession of sheets to associated sheet receiving apparatus, said apparatus comprising sheet advancing means for advancing sheets along a sheet path, said sheet advancing means including a flexible drive member and a plurality of pusher members for engaging rear edges of sheets, connecting means connecting said pusher members to said flexible drive member at spaced intervals for movement along a predetermined path a portion of which generally corresponds to a portion of the sheet path, said connecting means being of the pivotal mounting type and mounting said pusher members for pivotal movement generally normal to the sheet path, guide means underlying a part of said predetermined path portion for engagement by said pusher members to control the tilting thereof and support means resistingly supporting said guide means for limited movement in response to pivoting of said pusher members in response to the resistance of a pushed sheet engaging sheet receiving apparatus to absorb the shock thereof.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said support means includes a deflectable support member.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said support means includes a deflectable support member in the form of a piston and cylinder type fluid actuator.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said support means includes a deflectable support member of the type having a settable resistance to the deflection thereof.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
378 words
Apparatus for feeding a succession of sheets of rigid or semirigid material to associated sheet-receiving equipment in predetermined orientation and alignment, said apparatus comprising a conveyor which comprises a main frame; sheet advancing means disposed longitudinally on said main frame for moving a succession of said sheets along a path on the conveyor in predetermined orientation; at least one pair of side lays, each side lay being disposed transversely opposite the other side lay of the same pair with the sheet advancing means disposed intermediately between the side lays of each pair; means, carrying said side lays and mounted on said main frame, for advancing the side lays along the conveyor simultaneously with said sheet advancing means; said side lay guide means carried on said main frame for gradually converging the appropriate side lays towards and into engagement with opposite side edges of each sheet when the side lays are so advancing, whereby each sheet may be brought by the side lays gradually into a predetermined transverse register, each side lay including a body member, a support element, means mounting said support element for movement with said body member and for transverse movement relative to said body member, first roller means carried by said support element for engagement with a respective one of said side lay guide means for transversely shifting and positioning said support element, and second roller means carried by said support element for engaging a side edge of a sheet, said sheet advancing means including a flexible drive member and a plurality of pusher members for engaging rear edges of sheets, connecting means connecting said pusher members to said flexible drive member at spaced intervals for movement along a predetermined path a portion of which generally corresponds to a portion of the sheet path, said connecting means being of the pivotal mounting type and mounting said pusher members for pivotal movement generally normal to the sheet path, guide means underlying a part of said predetermined path portion for engagement by said pusher members to control the tilting thereof, and support means resistingly supporting said guide means for limited movement in response to pivoting of said pusher members in response to the resistance of a pushed sheet engaging sheet receiving apparatus to absorb the shock thereof.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
378 words
Apparatus for feeding a succession of sheets of rigid or semirigid material to associated sheet-receiving equipment in predetermined orientation and alignment, said apparatus comprising a conveyor which comprises a main frame; sheet advancing means disposed longitudinally on said main frame for moving a succession of said sheets along a path on the conveyor in predetermined orientation; at least one pair of side lays, each side lay being disposed transversely opposite the other side lay of the same pair with the sheet advancing means disposed intermediately between the side lays of each pair; means, carrying said side lays and mounted on said main frame, for advancing the side lays along the conveyor simultaneously with said sheet advancing means; said side lay guide means carried on said main frame for gradually converging the appropriate side lays towards and into engagement with opposite side edges of each sheet when the side lays are so advancing, whereby each sheet may be brought by the side lays gradually into a predetermined transverse register, each side lay including a body member, a support element, means mounting said support element for movement with said body member and for transverse movement relative to said body member, first roller means carried by said support element for engagement with a respective one of said side lay guide means for transversely shifting and positioning said support element, and second roller means carried by said support element for engaging a side edge of a sheet, said sheet advancing means including a flexible drive member and a plurality of pusher members for engaging rear edges of sheets, connecting means connecting said pusher members to said flexible drive member at spaced intervals for movement along a predetermined path a portion of which generally corresponds to a portion of the sheet path, said connecting means being of the pivotal mounting type and mounting said pusher members for pivotal movement generally normal to the sheet path, guide means underlying a part of said predetermined path portion for engagement by said pusher members to control the tilting thereof, and support means resistingly supporting said guide means for limited movement in response to pivoting of said pusher members in response to the resistance of a pushed sheet engaging sheet receiving apparatus to absorb the shock thereof.
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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) | 1978-07-28 | 1979-01-27 | 1979-07-29 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-07-28 | 1983-01-27 | 1983-07-29 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-07-28 | 1987-01-27 | 1987-07-29 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |