Loading patent…
AssigneeHeidelberg Finishing Systems, Inc.
InventorsMichael C. Buschhaus, Richard B. Hawkes
Estimating the term…
A rotating separator disk is movable between sheet material articles in a stack of sheet material articles. A variable speed drive which is connected with the separator disk and rotates the separator disk. The variable speed drive is operable to vary the speed of rotation of the separator disk between a high speed and a low speed during each revolution of the separator disk. First and second restrictor members engage a sheet material article in the stack of sheet material articles. A suction applicator head is operable to disengage one sheet material article from the first restrictor member. A leading edge of the rotating separator disk is then moved between the one sheet material article and an adjacent sheet material article. As this occurs, the speed of rotation of the separator disk is increased and the one sheet material article is disengaged from the second restrictor member by the separator disk.
An apparatus for use in handling sheet material articles, said apparatus comprising hopper means for supporting a stack of sheet material articles, separator means for sequentially separating edge portions of sheet material articles from adjacent sheet material articles in the stack of sheet material articles, and feed means for sequentially feeding sheet material articles in the stack of sheet material articles from said hopper means, said separator means including a rotatable separator disk which is movable between a side surface of one sheet material article in the stack of sheet material articles and a side surface of a next adjacent sheet of material article in the stack of sheet material articles while at least a portion of the side surface of the one sheet material article is disposed in engagement with at least a portion of the side surface of the next adjacent sheet material article, and variable speed drive means connected with said separator disk for rotating said separator disk in one direction through a plurality of revolutions relative to the stack of sheet material articles and for varying the speed of rotation of said separator disk between a high speed and a low speed during each of the revolutions of the separator disk relative to the stack of sheet material articles.
A method of sequentially feeding sheet material articles from a bottom of a stack of sheet material articles, said method comprising the steps of moving a portion of a rotating separator disk between a lowermost sheet material article and a next adjacent sheet material article in the stack of sheet material articles to deflect an edge portion of the lowermost sheet material article downward, changing the speed of rotation of the rotating separator disk between a high speed and a low speed during each revolution of the rotating separator disk, gripping the downwardly deflected edge portion of the lowermost sheet material article in the stack of sheet material articles with a gripper, and moving the gripper away from the stack of sheet material articles to pull the sheet material article gripped by the gripper from the stack of sheet material articles.
An apparatus for use in handling sheet material articles, said apparatus comprising hopper means for supporting a stack of sheet material articles, separator means for sequentially separating edge portions of sheet material articles from adjacent sheet material articles in the stack of sheet material articles, and feed means for sequentially feeding sheet material articles in the stack of sheet material articles from said hopper means, said separator means including a rotatable separator disk which is movable between a side surface of one sheet material article in the stack of sheet material articles and a side surface of a next adjacent sheet of material article in the stack of sheet material articles while at least a portion of the side surface of the one sheet material article is disposed in engagement with at least a portion of the side surface of the next adjacent sheet material article, and variable speed drive means connected with said separator disk for rotating said separator disk through a plurality of revolutions relative to the stack of sheet material articles and for varying the speed of rotation of said separator disk between a high speed and a low speed during each of the revolutions of the separator disk relative to the stack of sheet material articles, said variable speed drive means includes a plurality of noncircular gears.
An apparatus for use in handling sheet material articles, said apparatus comprising hopper means for supporting a stack of sheet material articles, separator means for sequentially separating edge portions of sheet material articles from adjacent sheet material articles in the stack of sheet material articles, and feed means for sequentially feeding sheet material articles in the stack of sheet material articles from said hopper means, said separator means including a rotatable separator disk which is movable between a side surface of one sheet material article in the stack of sheet material articles and a side surface of a next adjacent sheet of material article in the stack of sheet material articles while at least a portion of the side surface of the one sheet material article is disposed in engagement with at least a portion of the side surface of the next adjacent sheet material article, and variable speed drive means connected with said separator disk for rotating said separator disk through a plurality of revolutions relative to the stack of sheet material articles and for varying the speed of rotation of said separator disk between a high speed and a low speed during each of the revolutions of the separator disk relative to the stack of sheet material articles, said variable speed drive means is operable to rotate said separator disk at a maximum speed of X and a minimum speed of 1/X during rotation of said separator disk.
An apparatus for use in handling sheet material articles, said apparatus comprising hopper means for supporting a stack of sheet material articles, separator means for sequentially separating edge portions of sheet material articles from adjacent sheet material articles in the stack of sheet material articles, and feed means for sequentially feeding sheet material articles in the stack of sheet material articles from said hopper means, said separator means including a rotatable separator disk which is movable between a side surface of one sheet material article in the stack of sheet material articles and a side surface of a next adjacent sheet of material article in the stack of sheet material articles while at least a portion of the side surface of the one sheet material article is disposed in engagement with at least a portion of the side surface of the next adjacent sheet material article, said separator means further includes a suction applicator head for applying suction to a portion of the one sheet material article in the stack of sheet material articles prior to movement of said rotatable separator disk between the side surface of the one sheet material article and the side surface of the next adjacent sheet material article, and variable speed drive means connected with said separator disk for rotating said separator disk through a plurality of revolutions relative to the stack of sheet material articles and for varying the speed of rotation of said separator disk between a high speed and a low speed during each of the revolutions of the separator disk relative to the stack of sheet material articles.
A method for use in handling sheet material articles, said method comprising the steps of forming a gap between a portion of one sheet material article and a next adjacent sheet material article in a stack of sheet material articles, moving a portion of a rotating separator disk into the gap between a portion of the one sheet material article and the next adjacent sheet material article in the stack of sheet material articles, and increasing the speed of rotation of the separator disk while performing said step of moving a portion of a rotating separator disk into the gap between a portion of the one sheet material article and the next adjacent sheet material article in the stack of sheet material articles, said step of increasing the speed of rotation of the separator disk includes increasing the speed of rotation of the separator disk to a speed of X, said method further including the step of subsequently decreasing the speed of rotation of the separator disk to a speed of 1/X.
A method for use in handling sheet material articles, said method comprising the steps of forming a gap between a portion of one sheet material article and a next adjacent sheet material article in a stack of sheet material articles, rotating a separator disk in a first direction about an axis extending through a base portion of the separator disk, moving a portion of the rotating separator disk into the gap between a portion of the one sheet material article and the next adjacent sheet material article in the stack of sheet material articles while continuing to rotate the separator disk in the first direction about the axis extending through the base portion of the separator disk, and, thereafter, increasing the speed of rotation of the separator disk in the first direction about the axis extending through the base portion of the separator disk while a portion of the rotating separator disk is disposed in the gap between a portion of the one sheet material article and the next adjacent sheet material article in the stack of sheet material articles.
A method for use in handling sheet material articles, said method comprising the steps of rotating a separator disk through a plurality of revolutions in a first direction, said step of rotating a separator disk includes increasing the speed of rotation of the separator disk in the first direction from a low speed to a high speed and decreasing the speed of rotation of the separator disk in the first direction from the high speed to the low speed during each revolution of the plurality of revolutions of the separator disk in the first direction, and moving a portion of the rotating separator disk between a portion of one sheet material article in a stack of sheet material articles and a next adjacent sheet material article in the stack of sheet material articles, said separator disk being rotated at the high speed in the first direction when the portion of the separator disk is between a portion of the one sheet material article and the next adjacent sheet material article.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.