US 4,641,555 AGranted

Paper handling system

OwnerDewey A. Johnson, Gregory P. Hamlin +1inventors

InventorsDewey A. Johnson, Gregory P. Hamlin, Gary W. Schukar

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Abstract

Disclosed are an apparatus and method for cutting paper sheets into smaller sheet sections and collating the sheet sections. The apparatus includes a table having a longitudinal section, followed by a transverse section. Chains just below the table move a sheet stack longitudinally past a first blade which cuts the stack longitudinally, after which one of the stack portions is elevated above the other and placed on top of the other to combine the portions into a second stack. A second pair of chains moves the second stack in the transverse direction past a second blade which cuts the second stack transversely. One of the stack portions formed by the second cut is elevated above, then placed on top of, the other portion to form a further reduced sized third stack, which then is moved transversely to a third cutting station at which it is cut in the transverse direction. Again, one of the portions created by the third cut is elevated above and placed on the other portion to form a final stack of sheet sections.

Claims23

Dependent claims

An apparatus for dividing sheets of material into pluralities of comparatively smaller sheet sections, and for collating the smaller sheet sections, including:

means forming a longitudinally directed first path, and a transversely directed second path beginning at a downstream end of the first path;
a first conveying means for moving a first stack longitudinally on said first path, each stack including at least one sheet of material with all sheets in the stack aligned in a predetermined orientation;
a first cutting means along said first path for cutting the first stack in the longitudinal direction to form two first stack portions;
said first conveying means further adapted for moving the first stack portions simultaneously and longitudinally on said first path from said first cutting means to a first collating station at the downstream end of the first path, thereby to elevate one of said first stack portions above the other first stack portion;
a first alignment means at the first collating station for vertically aligning said first stack portions, with the elevated first stack portion directly on top of the other first stack portion, to combine said stack portions into a single second stack, said first alignment means including a second conveying means for moving the second stack in the transverse direction on the second path;
a second cutting means along said second path for cutting the second stack in the transverse direction to form two second stack portions;
said second conveying means further adapted for moving the second stack portions simultaneously and transversely on the second path from the second cutting means to a second collating station, thereby to elevate one of the second stack portions above the other second stack portion;
and
a second alignment means at the second collating station, including a pre-merging means for moving the elevated second stack portion toward the other second stack portion in the longitudinal direction to cause the elevated second portion to at least slightly overlap the other second stack portion, said second alignment means further including a merging means downstream of said pre-merging means for merging the second stack portions to form a single third stack of sheet sections.

6 more elements

A process for dividing sheets of material into pluralities of comparatively smaller sheet sections, including the steps of:

aligning one or mroe substantially equally sized material sheets in a first stack and in a predetermined orientation;
conveying said first stack in a longitudinal direction to a first cutting station, and cutting said stack in the longitudinal direction to form two first stack portions;
conveying said first stack portions, simultaneously and longitudinally, to a first collating station, and elevating one of said first stack portions above the other first stack portion;
pushing a first longitudinal edge of the elevated first stack portion in a transverse direction onto the other first stack portion and aligning and combining said first stack portions into a single second stack;
conveying the second stack in a transverse direction to a second cutting station, and cutting said second stack in the transverse direction to form two second stack portions;
conveying said second stack portions, simultaneously and in the transverse direction, to a second collating station and elevating one of the second stack portions above the other second stack portion;
pushing siad elevated second stack portion in the longitudinal direction toward the other second stack portion to cause at least a slight overlap of the elevated second stack portion over the other second stack portion;
and
after further movement of said second stack portions in said transverse direction, simultaneously pushing said second stack portions toward one another in the longitudinal direction thereby to merge the second stack portions into a single third stack of sheet sections.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.