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US 4,966,521 AGranted
Tail stopping and knockdown device
AssigneeBeloit Corporation
InventorsKenneth G. Frye, Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Donald R. Grody
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device for slowing cut sheets in seriatum flow by nipping the trailing edge of the sheets as they leave a high-speed conveyor system is provided whereby the sheets pass to a stacking pile at a slow speed. The nipping device is provided in several embodiments including a brush carrying roll, an oscillating roll on a lever arm and an air jet. Ream removal apparatus are also provided to remove reams of paper from the bottom of the stacking pile.
Claims19
An apparatus for slowing and collecting in stacks sheets delivered in seriatum flow from a sheet carrying surface of a high speed conveyor, said apparatus comprising:
- a slowdown roll assembly for receiving the sheets from the high speed conveyor, including a continuously rotating roll and a drive means for rotating said roll at a substantially constant speed slower than the high speed conveyor system, said roll having a sheet engaging surface for advancing sheets nipped there against while allowing said roll to rotate freely beneath sheets resting unnipped thereon without advancing the resting sheets;
- a combination tail knockdown and nipping means operating intermittently for depressing the tail ends of sheets leaving the high speed conveyor and for periodically forming a nip with said rotating roll for advancing sheets nipped to said continuously rotating roll, said knockdown and nipping means being controlled to allow the leading edge of a sheet to pass unrestricted over the depressed tail of a sheet immediately preceding it;
- a collection unit adjacent said slowdown roll assembly including upstream and downstream walls defining a stack collecting area for receiving sheets advanced by said slowdown roll assembly directly from said slowdown roll assembly;
- and
- ream removing means for automatically and continuously removing reams of sheets from the bottom of the pile formed in said collection unit, said removing means including a spear means for separating a ream from the pile, pusher means for urging a separated ream from the pile, movable support means for supporting the bottom of the stacking pile and conveyor means for transporting the separated ream to a distant point.
2 more elements
A tail stopping and knockdown apparatus for use in conveying sheets between a high speed conveyor and a stacker, said tail stopping and knockdown apparatus comprising:
- a slow down roll means disposed adjacent the stacker and below sheets leaving the high speed conveyor for advancing such sheets at reduced speed directly into the stacker;
- said slow down roll means including a sheet engaging surface for advancing sheets nipped thereagainst while freely rotating beneath sheets resting unnipped thereon without advancing non-nipped sheets;
- drive means for rotating said slowdown roll means continuously and at a speed slower than the speed of the high speed conveyor;
- and
- a combination knockdown and nipping means for physically depressing the tail end of a sheet below the leading edge of the immediately following sheet, thereby allowing the leading end of the immediately following sheet to advance over the tail end of the depressed sheet, and for intermittently forming a nip with said slow down roll means, thereby placing the tail end of the depressed sheet and the leading end of the immediately following sheet into driving engagement with said slowdown roll means, said combination knockdown and nipping means having a non-nipping relationship to said slow down roll means after the tail end of the depressed sheet is advanced off said slow down roll means, allowing the partially advanced immediately following sheet to rest unnipped on said slow down roll means without advancing thereover until again nipped thereto.
2 more elements
A method for slowing sheets entering a stacker from a high speed conveyor, said method including:
- providing a rotatable roll between and adjacent the high speed conveyor and the stacker;
- rotating said roll continuously at a speed slower than the high speed conveyor;
- passing sheets from the high speed conveyor over the rotating roll;
- forcing the rail end of each sheet downwardly toward the rotating roll as the sheet passes over the rotating roll;
- passing the leading edge of an immediately following sheet over the tail end of the sheet after the tail end has been forced downwardly;
- causing each sheet to rest relatively stationarily on the rotating roll as the leading edge of the immediately following sheet passes thereover;
- forcing the immediately following sheet downwardly against the sheet resting relatively stationarily on the rotating roll;
- causing the lowermost of the then overlapped sheets to be driven from its resting position into the stacker by said rotating roll;
- and
- causing said immediately following sheet to assume the relatively stationary position previously occupied by said first mentioned sheet, thereby permitting a sheet immediately following said second mentioned sheet to advance thereover while said second mentioned sheet rests in nonadvancing position on the continuously rotating roll.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.