U.S. patent number 3,705,719 [Application Number 05/075,902] was granted by the patent office on 1972-12-12 for article handling apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Xerox Corporation. Invention is credited to Albert G. Enskat, Neil A. Polit.
United States Patent |
3,705,719 |
Polit , et al. |
December 12, 1972 |
ARTICLE HANDLING APPARATUS
Abstract
An automatic loading apparatus especially designed to handle
folded articles such as newspapers, the apparatus including a
supply conveyor for bringing newspapers forward to a feeder-hopper,
the hopper being below and extending beyond the discharge of the
supply conveyor; means to place the articles in shingled
relationship before the articles reach the supply conveyor
discharge; a pressure roller disposed to rest on the supply
conveyor adjacent the discharge thereof to assure sustained driving
contact of the articles' trailing end with the supply conveyor as
the articles pass from the supply conveyor to the feeder-hopper;
and means to drive the pressure roller in unison with and at
substantially the same speed as the supply conveyor.
Inventors: |
Polit; Neil A. (Cary, IL),
Enskat; Albert G. (Barrington, IL) |
Assignee: |
Xerox Corporation (Stamford,
CT)
|
Family
ID: |
22128668 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/075,902 |
Filed: |
September 28, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
271/3.03;
271/132; 271/198 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H
83/02 (20130101); B65H 29/22 (20130101); B65H
3/122 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65H
29/22 (20060101); B65H 3/12 (20060101); B65h
003/08 (); B65h 029/22 () |
Field of
Search: |
;271/44,76,89,DIG.7,3 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Wegbreit; Joseph
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In an apparatus for supplying folded articles such as newspapers
and the like to a feeder hopper for refeeding thereof, the
combination of:
an article supply conveyor, said conveyor being arranged so that
said articles are discharged outwardly and downwardly by said
conveyor into said feeder hopper;
means adapted to place said articles in shingled relationship
before said articles are discharged from said conveyor to
facilitate proper stacking of said articles in the feeder hopper,
and
means cooperation with said conveyor to restrain lifting of said
articles as said articles leave said conveyor whereby to assure
sustained driving engagement of said articles with said conveyor
and assured feed of said articles into said feeder hopper and
subsequent feeding therefrom, said restraining means including a
combination pressure and creasing roller adapted to rest on said
conveyor adjacent said conveyor discharge and under which said
articles pass, said roller being adapted to hold said articles in
driving engagement with said conveyor and to crease said articles
longitudinally to facilitate subsequent refeeding of said articles
from said feeder hopper; and drive means for positively rotating
said pressure roller.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said feeder hopper
includes vacuum feeder means for feeding said articles from said
hopper; and means for mounting said pressure roller substantially
in alignment with said feeder means whereby said roller creases
said articles in preparation for feeding of said articles by said
vacuum feeder means.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said drive means
includes a power transfer means for driving said roller from and at
the same speed as said conveyor.
Description
This invention relates to an article handling apparatus, and more
particularly, to a handling apparatus for relatively bulky or
folded articles such as newspapers.
In high speed mailing or labeling systems for processing folded
articles such as newspapers, the folded nature of the articles
renders handling thereof difficult. As can be readily envisioned,
the folded portion of the article is normally somewhat thicker and
more rigid than the unfolded portion thereof, and as such may
interfere with subsequent feeding of the article through the
inability of the feeder to effectively engage the article. For
example, where a vacuum type feeder is used, the curved or folded
portion of the article may interfere with displacement of the
article into physical contact with the feeder and thereby prevent
the feeder from effectively gripping the article. This may result
in a total failure of the article to feed or a delayed or out of
phase feeding of the article.
During handling, the normally loose trailing edges of articles such
as newspapers tend to lose driving contact with the conveyor as the
articles pass over the conveyor discharge end and into the
feeder-hopper. This loss in driving contact between the article and
the conveyor may so reduce the impetus imparted to the article by
the conveyor as to prevent the article from fully entering the
supply hopper. This problem is even more prevalent in arrangements
where the article itself is relied upon to lift or raise a supply
control finger, which for effective operation, is normally biased
downwardly against the articles. In this latter arrangement, the
impetus of the entering article must be sufficient to overcome both
the finger bias as well as the friction force between the finger
and the article.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a new
and improved article handling apparatus.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an
improved high speed apparatus for reliably handling folded articles
such as newspapers.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a high speed
loading apparatus for folded material incorporating means to
sustain driving engagement between the relatively loose sheets of
the material and the supply conveyor to assure proper loading of
the material.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
newspaper handling mechanism with a driven roller at the output of
the supply conveyor to stack the newspapers in a feeder hopper
against the bias of the stack height sensor.
It is an object of the present invention to provide means to break
folded articles along the fold to assure reliable feeding
thereof.
This invention relates to an apparatus for supplying folded
articles such as newspapers and the like to a feeder hopper, the
combination comprising, an article supply conveyor, the conveyor
being arranged so that the articles are discharged outwardly and
downwardly by the conveyor into the feeder hopper; means for
placing the articles in shingled relationship before the articles
are discharged by the conveyor to facilitate proper stacking of the
articles in the feeder hopper; and means adapted to restrain
lifting of the articles as the articles leave the conveyor whereby
to assure sustained driving engagement of the articles with the
conveyor, and assured feed of the articles into the feeder hopper
and subsequent feeding therefrom, the restraining means including a
pressure roller adapted to rest on the conveyor adjacent the
conveyor discharge and under which articles pass, the roller being
adapted to hold the articles in driving engagement with the
conveyor and to crease the articles longitudinally to facilitate
subsequent refeeding of the articles from the feeder hopper; and
drive means for rotating the pressure roller.
Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the ensuing
description and drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view partially in section showing the article
handling apparatus of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a top view of the article handling apparatus of FIG.
1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the apparatus pressure
roller; and
FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the driving
arrangement for the pressure roller of FIG. 3.
Referring to the drawings, there is shown the improved article
handling or supply apparatus, designated by the numeral 10 of the
present invention. As will appear, the article handling apparatus
10 functions to supply loose, folded articles 12 such as newspapers
to a feeder hopper 14. In the exemplary arrangement shown, the base
portion of hopper 14 comprises a vacuum assisted reciprocable
shuttle 15 adapted to carry one article 12 at a time forward under
gate 27 and into the nip of transport 18. Transport 18 may serve to
carry the articles 12 to a suitable article processor or user, such
as a labeling machine (not shown).
Article handling apparatus 10 includes a suitable support or base
19 having a substantially flat table-like surface 19'. A slot-like
opening 20 in surface 19' has shuttle 15 disposed therewithin.
Shuttle 15 consists of a plate-like part suitably supported for
reciprocable sliding movement on base 19. A perforated vacuum plate
25 is provided adjacent the discharge end of shuttle 15, plate 25
communicating with a suitable source of vacuum (not shown) through
vacuum line 26. The surface of shuttle 15 is substantially flush
with surface 19' of base 19 and cooperates therewith to form a
support on which articles entering hopper 14 rest.
Shuttle 15 is reciprocated by a suitable crank mechanism 21 in a
manner known to those skilled in the art. To facilitate feeding of
newspapers 12, suitable needlelike projections 22 may be provided
on shuttle 15. As can be understood, needles 22 serve, on forward
movement of shuttle 15, to engage the bottom side of the lowermost
article in hopper 14 and, together with the vacuum holddown effect
of plate 25, carry the article forward under gate 17 to transport
18.
Gate 18 serves to prevent feeding of more than one article at a
time. Gate 17, which may be rectangular in shape, is suitably
supported above shuttle 15 adjacent the inlet to transport 18 by a
distance designed to limit feed to one article 12 at a time. Gate
17 is preferably mounted for vertical adjusting movement to enable
the space between the bottom of gate 17 and the top of shuttle 15
to be varied to correspond with the thickness of the particular
articles being fed.
Upstanding side edges 27 are provided on either side of shuttle 15.
Sides 27 are preferably arranged for transverse movement to enable
the effective width of the feeder hopper 14 to be varied in
accordance with changes in the width of the articles being fed.
Vertical guides 28 are disposed between belts 42 of supply conveyor
38. Guides 28, which are supported by the conveyor frame 39, are
disposed slightly inside conveyor belts 42 at the discharge end of
conveyor 38. Guides 28 serve to limit backward movement of
newspapers in hopper 14 as may be occasioned by retraction of
shuttle 15. An article support 31 having inclined edge 32 is
mounted on surface 19' of base 19 on each side of shuttle 15. The
inclined edge 32 of supports 31 serve to support the articles 12 in
tilting fashion, with the folded edge down, in hopper 14. This aids
in offsetting the tendency of the folded articles 12 to stack
unevenly when resting on a horizontal plane.
The article handling apparatus 10 includes a suitable supply
conveyor 38. Supply conveyor 38 comprises one or more endless
transport belts 42 supported by driven and idler rollers 43, 44
respectively. Rollers 43, 44 are suitably journaled in sides 45 of
the conveyor frame 39. Frame 39 is in turn supported from base 19
by means of a pair of rod-like projections 47. This construction
permits the spacing between the discharge end of conveyor 38 and
gate 17 to be varied to accommodate changes in the size of the
articles being handled.
Supply conveyor 38 is disposed above feeder shuttle 15 and hence
articles 12 are discharged therefrom both outwardly and downwardly
into hopper 14 and onto shuttle 15. As will appear, supply control
ski 65 responds to the level of articles 12 in hopper 14 to
maintain a proper supply of articles 12 in hopper 14 during
operation of the article handling system 10.
Spaced shingling gates 48 are supported above conveyor 38, the
lower edges thereof cooperating with belts 42 of conveyor 38 to
form a restricted passage through which articles 12 on conveyor 38
pass to feeder hopper 14. Gates 48, which are preferably inclined,
are suitably supported on a transversely extending shaft.
Preferably, gates 48 are adjustable to enable the height and
spacing of gates 48 to be varied. As will be understood, gates 48
serve to rearrange the stacks of articles 12 supplied to conveyor
38 into shingled or overlapping relationship before discharge of
the articles into hopper 14.
Supply control ski 65, which is mounted above feeder hopper 14, is
designed to regulate operation of the article handling apparatus 10
in accordance with demand to provide an assured quantity of
articles 12 in hopper 14 at all times. A suitable housing 66,
conveniently supported on the inside wall of discharge gate 17 for
limited vertical adjusting movement, encases the operating
components of control ski 65 including switching means (not shown)
for starting and stopping supply conveyor 38 in response to the
level of articles 12 in hopper 14 as sensed by an inclined ski-like
member 65. A more detailed description of control 65 may be found
in copending application Ser. No. 774,957, filed Nov. 12, 1968 in
the name of Donald W. Watson.
To assure contact of ski 65 with articles 12, to obviate any
tendency for ski 65 to bounce or over-react as each article 12 is
discharged thereunder from supply conveyor 38, and to sustain the
creasing action initiated by pressure roller 70 as will appear, a
relatively strong downward bias is placed on ski 65 by suitable
spring means (not shown). The heavy bias on ski 65 however tends to
increase the braking tendency of ski 65 on the articles 12. As can
be understood, the force of the articles 12 entering hopper 14 is
relied upon to raise ski 65 against both the weight of ski 65 and
the spring bias thereon. The effective force of articles 12 is
however directly related to the velocity with which articles 12
enter hopper 14. If the article velocity is inadequate, the
articles are incapable of lifting ski 65.
With folded articles such as newspapers, applicants have found that
the loose trailing portions thereof tend to lift or float as the
article approaches the discharge end of conveyor 38. This may
result in a premature loss or reduction in driving impetus from
conveyor 38. There results a corresponding reduction in the
velocity with which articles 12 enter hopper 14 so that the
articles may not have sufficient force or impetus to raise the pass
under control ski 65.
While each shingled article tends to hold the loose trailing edge
portion of the preceding article in contact with conveyor 38, the
downward thrust imparted by the succeeding article is not always
sufficient to prevent slippage between the article and the conveyor
38. And, shingling gates 48, although limiting the maximum height
to which the articles 12 may rise, cannot be relied upon to
exercise the necessary downward thrust.
The reciprocating shuttle 15 employs vacuum to temporarily couple
the article being fed thereto as the shuttle 15 moves forward.
Since folded articles such as newspapers feed folded edge first,
the shuttle vacuum works against the relatively rigid article fold
in attempting to draw the lower surface of the article into
physical engagement therewith. However, the inherent curvature of
the articles along the folded edge thereof may render effective
engagement between the folded article and the vacuum plate 25
difficult or impossible to obtain.
To assure requisite driving contact between articles 12 and
conveyor 38 throughout the article length and particularly adjacent
the loose ends of folded articles while at the same time
facilitating vacuum holddown by the shuttle, a pressure roller 70
is provided.
Pressure roller 70 consists of a relatively large diameter roller
70, preferably formed from a relatively hard rubber or rubber-like
material, swingably suspended above the discharge edge of conveyor
38 adjacent conveyor driven roller 43. As will appear, pressure
roller 70 is suspended from drive shaft 71. Roller 70 includes a
drive pulley 72 fixed to one side thereof and coaxial therewith.
The roller-pulley combination 70, 72 is journaled for rotation by a
shaft 74 supported between arms 75, 76. Arms 75, 76 are in turn
rotatably journaled on drive shaft 71. A drive pulley 78 secured to
shaft 71 and connected to pulley 72 by means of drive belt 79,
serves to drive roller 70.
Drive shaft 71 is itself rotatably journaled at one end by link 80
and, at the other end by side plate 51. The end 71' of shaft 71
extends past plate 51 and has drive pulley 81 affixed thereto.
Journal link 80 is supported by a cross shaft 49 carried in side
plates 51. As will be understood, roller 70 by virtue of the
journaling connection between arms 75, 76 and drive shaft 71, is
free to swing or pivot about drive shaft 71 and ordinarily rests,
due to its own weight, on conveyor 38 adjacent roller 43 thereof.
Spring 82 is provided between shaft 49 and pin 83 on arm 75, spring
82 serving, when roller 70 is in the position shown in FIG. 3, to
bias roller 70 in a clockwise direction and into pressure contact
with conveyor belt 42.
Pin 83 is located on arm 75 to enable spring 83 to act as an
overcenter spring. On upward swinging of roller 70 (in a
counterclockwise direction) beyond the spring center line, spring
82 serves to bias roller 70 upwardly and away from conveyor 38.
This construction facilitates clearing of any jams and other
service work.
As best seen in FIG. 4, pulley 81 is connected by means of drive
belt 84 with pulley 85. Pulley 85 is rotatably supported on stub
shaft 86 mounted on conveyor side plate 51. Pulley 85 carries gear
88 which in turn meshes with gear 89. Gear 89 is mounted on
extension 90 of conveyor drive roller 43. By this arrangement,
roller 70 is driven in unison with conveyor 38, the various
gear-pulley ratios being chosen so that drive roller 70 rotates or
turns at substantially the same speed as conveyor 38.
As articles 12 on conveyor 38 move under shingling gates 48 and
pressure roller 70, the weight of roller 70 serves to press the
articles downward into physical contact with conveyor 38. This
action helps obviate any tendency for the article loose ends to
float or slip on conveyor 38 as they pass into hopper 14. The
positive drive to roller 70 reduces any tendency for the various
leaves or pages of the folded articles to slip or slide one with
respect to the other.
At the same time, the pressure generated by roller 70 on the
article midportion serves to crease or break the articles
longitudinally. This initial creasing facilitates secondary
creasing of the articles by the ski 65 which assures effective
driving engagement between the articles and shuttle 15 during the
feeding cycle.
While the invention has been described with reference to the
structure disclosed, it is not confined to the details set forth;
but is intended to cover such modifications or changes as may come
within the scope of the following claims.
* * * * *