Drive mechanism for a sheet feeder device

Claim 1

A sheet feeder drive for transferring paper sheets from a pile thereof to a feeder device by means of pneumatic suckers, comprising: a pair of spaced apart vertically oriented side walls straddling said pile of paper sheets; first and second slides mounted adjacent the top edges of respective ones of said side walls; a horizontal main drive shaft mounted for rotation in bearings affixed to one of said side walls, said drive shaft being disposed adjacent said first slide; a drive gear rotatably and slidably mounted on said drive shaft; elongated support means disposed above said pile of paper sheets, connected between said side walls, and slidably coupled to said slides for horizontal movement in a direction parallel to said side walls; housing means slidably mounted on said support means; a driven shaft rotatably mounted to said housing means and parallel to said drive shaft; a driven gear mounted on one end of said driven shaft; a transmitting gear engaging said driven gear; a connecting shaft parallel to said support means and extending between said one of said side walls and said housing, said connecting shaft being rotatably mounted to said first slide at one end thereof; a coupling having a first end slidably coupled to the other end of said connecting shaft and a second end supported by a swing out bearing disposed in said housing, said coupling being connected to said transmitting gear adjacent said second end thereof; means comprising a guide screw connected between said support means and said housing for effecting movement of said housing in a vertical direction; chain means for effecting coordinated movement of said first and second slides; a control shaft rotationally supported by said side walls; a pair of rollers mounted to said control shaft adjacent opposite ends thereof for driving said chain means; said drive gear having a circumferential groove on the hub thereof; and a carrier fixed at one end thereof to said first slide and being forked at the other end thereof, said forked end engaging said groove.