DK145455B - APPARATUS FOR CARRYING THE SHEET - Google Patents

Description

(19) DENMARK (¾¾

lp (12) SUBMISSION WRITING (n> 145455 B

DIRECTORATE OF THE PATENT AND TRADEMARKET SYSTEM

(21) Application No. 924/73 (51) IntCI.3 B 65 H 3/06 (22) Filing Date 21 Feb. 1973 (24) Race day 21. February 1 973 (41) Aim. available 23 Aug 1973 (44) Presented 22 Nov. 1982 (86) International application no.

(86) International filing day (85) Continuation day - (62) Master application no. -

(30) Priority Feb 22 1972, 227847, US

(71) Applicant BRANDT INC., Watertown, US.

(72) Inventor George P. Mclnerny, US.

(74) Associate Company Chas. Hude.

(54) Sheet feed device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to an apparatus for conveying sheets from a stack to one embodiment, whereby the sheets are fed to this site one after the other, and thereby separating the trailing edge of the sheet that is last fed to the embodiment. forward to the embodiment, the apparatus comprising a feeder funnel adapted to support several sheets arranged in a stack, and at one end comprising an output channel for receiving at least the lower sheet and at the bottom has an opening, · d- Ω d- t 3 U5455 2, and where there is a continuous rotating drive means for engaging the bottom sheet in the stack and at least feeding the bottom sheet (s) against discharge point.

There are many areas of application within which document feeders and / or document separators are either required or advantageous to use. In e.g. banks or other similar institutions, it is advantageous to use apparatus for accurately counting large stacks or bundles of banknotes (ie paper money). One of the problems associated with counting banknotes stacks or banknotes at a relatively high rate is that some or many of the banknotes can be either slightly or very worn or damaged, so they require special care and handling or even such damaged banknotes must first be removed from the banknotes stack. because known supply and separation devices cannot count such notes. In addition, banknotes which may be completely intact, but heavily folded or curled, require special handling processes, during which the banknotes must be very accurately and gently pressed or smoothed out before they can be handled by the existing supply and counting apparatus.

In addition, banks and other similar institutions even handle large amounts of checks of varying size, thickness, unevenness and the like. As a result, checks with the same dimensions and thickness have first to be sorted into stacks or bundles before they can be counted, thereby substantially increasing the number of handling operations required to handle such documents.

Another natural area of application for feed, separation, counting and stacking or bundling devices is the coupon area. Coupons of many different sizes exist, e.g. those which are printed in newspapers and / or magazines and which are usually cut out before being used. Coupons may even be placed as part of a package containing a product and may even be of different types of paper in terms of thickness, weight and / or size, and unevenness. Undertakings using such coupons will surely find it advantageous to be able to handle coupons that have different dimensions, sizes and unevennesses, while at the same time counting stacks of such different coupons very accurately and at a high rate. The above-mentioned cases are only examples and, of course, there are a large number of other cases in which apparatus which can separate and count documents having different sizes, weights, thicknesses and unevenness can be used with great advantage. '

The disadvantages of the known apparatus are avoided and the above-mentioned objects are met by the fact that the apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that it has an eccentric member which projects at least partially through the bottom of the feed hopper and which is adapted to intermittently convey in the at least the bottom sheet of the stack against the discharge channel, that it has in the vicinity of the discharge channel and the driving means a continuously rotating peeler adapted to rotate in the same direction as the driving means, that the sheet or sheets are affected in an opposite direction, and the sheets passing in between the pusher and drive means are individually advanced toward the place of execution, and the pusher and drive means are so cooperative that they together give the sheet or sheets advanced between them a waveform in a direction transverse to the sheets. feed direction.

This provides a simple construction which is nevertheless suitable for conveying and separating sheets having different thicknesses, weights, dimensions and unevennesses, allowing a very accurate counting of a stack of such sheets. This advancement, separation and counting takes place at speeds that have not hitherto been achieved by conventional apparatus. A large stack of sheets of various dimensions, thicknesses, weights and unevenness can be placed in the feed hopper. No particular accuracy is required with regard to the arrangement of the stack or the placement of the sheets in the feed hopper, which greatly facilitates the sheet feeding and separation operation.

The means for intermittently advancing at least the lower sheet of the stack performs two functions, namely to advance at least the lower sheet of the stack towards a peeler and a driving means, and to lift and lower or shake the whole stack to facilitate separation. of the sheets in the stack.

The fact that the peeler and the drive means are arranged to give the treated sheets a waveform across the feed direction of the sheets causes the sheet or sheets to be stiffened and forced to make lateral offsets, as a result of which it is substantially easier to separate the sheets. when two or more sheets are inserted into the region between the peeler. The puller means pushes the upper sheet back into the feed hopper, thereby preventing more than one sheet at a time from being fed, allowing for counting.

According to the invention, the driving means and the pulling means may comprise at least one roller and the surfaces of these rollers along the periphery have different coefficients of friction, the friction coefficient of the roller being greater than the friction coefficient of the pulling roller and the rollers being displaced relative to each other in a direction transverse to the feed direction and the distance. between the centers of rotation of the rollers be smaller than the sum of their radii. Hereby a particularly simple embodiment of the peel and drive means is obtained, which is extremely suitable for giving the sheets the desired stiffening waveform. The various coefficients of friction of the pulleys and drive wheels ensure, by appropriate selection, that the lower sheet becomes the first sheet to be guided from the operating area of the drive wheels and the pull wheels towards the place of execution, without regard for the leading edge of the next sheet to be driven to the pull wheels and drive wheels. the leading edge of the lower sheet.

According to the invention, the adjacent edges of the drive and pull-off rollers may be spaced apart so that the sheet (s) passing between the drive and pull-down members is clamped between the closely-spaced edges. This promotes the formation of the waveform mentioned above, so that the arc separation is particularly effective.

In addition, according to the invention, the drive means may be arranged so that it engages with the first feeder sheet before the trigger means engages with it, and independently of the number of sheets advanced from the stack to the trigger member and the drive member. This promotes the peel operation as the sheets are effectively prevented from first engaging the peel rollers, which could otherwise result in the sheets being pushed back in a straighting opposite to the feed direction and the desired feed and peel operation prevented.

Furthermore, according to the invention, the apparatus may further comprise a device for pivotally suspending the pulleys, which is arranged to press the pulleys against the drive means. This results in that the peel roller displaceably, almost fluidly, touches the sheets advanced by the drive wheel, which in turn causes the paddle wheel to automatically adjust its bearing relative to the sheet fed to the drive wheel, so that the apparatus can feed and pull sheets. at high speed, while being able to adapt to documents that have different thicknesses, weights, dimensions and unevennesses.

According to the invention, the apparatus may further comprise a deflection member disposed between the driving means and the embodiment site to simultaneously deflect each sheet leaving the driving means towards the embodiment site and to ensure recovery of the sheets affecting said deflection member and which have been guided. crooked. This ensures alignment of sheets that have been skewed forward without any significant reduction in the feed rate of the sheets.

145455 6

In addition, according to the invention, the apparatus may have an accelerating means located between the driving means and the embodiment, and comprising continuously rotating pairs of cooperating rollers for receiving a sheet advanced to them by the driving means and advancing this sheet towards the embodiment with a higher speed so that a final gap is formed between the separated sheets. Hereby, the individual sheets are quickly advanced to the place of execution, while providing a definitive distance between the successive sheets advanced from the drive and peeler to allow accurate counting of the sheets before stacking.

according to the invention, the accelerating means may preferably be located at a predetermined distance from the driving means, and this distance may be less than the length of the shortest document which can be handled by the apparatus, which length is measured in the direction of advance. Hereby it is achieved that a sheet advanced from the drive means can engage the accelerator before the sheet is released from the drive means to ensure acceleration of each sheet.

According to the invention, the drive and pull rollers can be mounted on a drive and pull shaft, respectively, and the position of the rollers along their shafts is adjustable so that they can receive sheets of different thicknesses, and the rollers can be adjusted to compensate for ordinary wear.

Finally, the apparatus may, particularly conveniently according to the invention, comprise a means for recording the space between the trailing edge of a sheet or document advanced by the accelerating means and the leading edge of the closest subsequent document advancing towards the accelerating means, where this recording means produces a impulse when detecting a gap, at the same time as the apparatus comprises a means for counting these pulses as well as an adjustable means coupled to the counter capable of activating a clutch and a braking means when the number of is counted in the counter, approaches the value (n) set on the adjustable member so that the speed of the (n + 1) document advancing toward the accelerator is reduced while the nth document is allowed to reach a stacking device. The clutch selectively disconnects the pull and drive means from the drive source of the apparatus, while the brake means suddenly stops the rotation of these wheels.

The invention is explained below with reference to the drawing, in which fig. 1 is a side view of an apparatus according to the invention; FIG. 1a shows a part of a bundling or stacking device in FIG. 1, in the direction of the arrows la-la of the arrows, fig. 1b part of the apparatus of FIG. 1, which portion comprises a gate mechanism; FIG. 1c is a block diagram of the gate mechanism of FIG. 1a, FIG. 2 is a section through a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1 in the direction of arrows 2-2 in which only those parts which are considered to be important for understanding the functioning of the mechanism are shown; 2a shows a part of a peeler assembly in FIG. 1 and 2, in perspective,.

FIG. 2b shows an intermediate wheel assembly in FIG. 1, in more detail, FIG. 3 shows a part of FIG. 2, which clearly shows the way in which several sheets are separated in the drive and extractor assembly; FIG. 3a and 3b show other embodiments of the drive and pull wheels of FIG. 2 and 3, FIG. 4 shows a further preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, in which this embodiment is provided with a feed hopper with the feeding of the sheets above, FIG. 5a-5c show different embodiments of the portion of the feed hopper utilized to support the leading edges of the stacked sheets; 6a and 6b show another embodiment of the pull-away wheel assembly, seen from the side and the front respectively; 7a-7c side view of the pull and drive wheel assembly to clarify the optimum arrangement of the puller assembly.

The FIG. 1 shows a housing 11 having a bottom part 12 for supporting the apparatus 10 on a suitable surface, e.g. a table or counter. The relative small dimensions and light weight of the device make it easier to move and to use in virtually any location.

The housing 11 comprises a front wall 13 having at the top a control panel with actuators (for clarity not shown) for switching off the machine and a visually visible presentation of the number of documents handled by the apparatus, etc., with the number and the types of presentation mechanisms and maneuvers that depend solely on the particular application needs.

The front wall 13 forms part of the front of the housing 11, which is also provided with a feed hopper 14 comprising a stacking table 15 and a front support member or a plate 16. A stackable sheet is arranged in the feed hopper 14 as shown in FIG. 1, a portion of the weight of the stack being substantially supported by the upwardly facing surface of the plate 16. Placing the hopper 14 and especially the bottom plate 15 and the support plate 16 in an inclined position serves to hold the stack in the hopper without exposing the stack to any top weight. The portion 15a of the plate 15 located at the far right of the figure is disposed at an angle greater than the adjacent portion 15b of the plate. These two parts are arranged to form a unit. Placing the entire feed hopper in an oblique position causes the leading edges of at least some sheets of the stack S to rest on the plate 16. The principle of sheet feeding and separation mechanism is that no particular accuracy is required with respect to the preparation of a stack before placing it in the feeding funnel. It is e.g. it is not necessary that all the leading edges of the sheets of the stack in the stack be aligned one after the other to rest on the outward facing surface of the plate 16, and therefore a portion of the sheets of the stack S are shown with their leading edges a distance from the surface 16.

The surface portions 15a and 15b are assembled into a unit at a knee portion 15c located at a predetermined distance D from the portion 16a of the plate 16. Preferably, the distance has a size selected substantially less than the width på of the smallest document intended. to the funnel. While the sheets in the stack are being fed in the direction of arrow A, some of the lower sheets are moved in the direction of arrow A so that their trailing edges move downward along the inclined portion 15¾ of plate 15. The other portion of stack S rests with their posterior portion on the right end of the oblique portion 15a (Fig. 1). This arrangement causes the weight of the rear end of the stack to be removed from the group of sheets (usually a number of 1-5) which is displaced away from the higher portion of the stack, thereby greatly facilitating the feeding and separation.

A sorting wheel 19 is mounted on a shaft 20 (Fig. 2). This shaft 20 is mounted at its ends 20a, 20b. The left end of the shaft 20 (Fig. 2) extends through the machine frame F and is provided with a pulley 21 attached to the shaft 20 to drive the sorting wheel in a manner that will be described below.

The portion 15b of the plate 15 is provided with an opening (not shown) so that the upper portion of the sorting wheel 19 can be pushed up through it. The inclination angle of the surface 16a is such that the surface 16a can take up part of the weight of the stack, thereby freeing the lower group of sheets from this weight section, so that the feeding of the sheets from the hopper to the next processing step is facilitated. The weight of the sheets can be represented by a force vector C whose direction is vertically downward. This force can be represented by the force components and C1, which are perpendicular to and parallel to the surface 16a, respectively. The surface 16a counteracts the force component 0χ, thereby relieving the lower sheets from this force component. Furthermore, there is some frictional force between the leading edges of the sheets and the surface 16a, so that the effect of the force component C2 on the lower sheets is reduced. This frictional force can be increased by machining or otherwise shaping the sheet bearing surface of the portion 16a so that it becomes rough. Alternatively, the portion 16a may be corrugated 16a1 (Fig. 5a), have a step-like shape 16a "(Figs., 5b), or an evenly curved shape 16a" '(Fig. 5c).

145455 10

The sorting wheel 19 is provided with an insert 19a along a portion of its periphery. This insert 19a is made of a material with a significantly higher coefficient of friction. It extends a certain distance beyond the other part of the wheel 19. The drive belt (shown for clarity schematically as a dash-dot line 142) extends around a drive wheel pulley 139 and pulley 21 for the sorting wheel 19 to rotate at a constant rate. Wheel 19 rotates in the direction of arrow 22. The raised portion 19a, which has a greater coefficient of friction than the other part of the circumference of the wheel 19, serves to shake or vibrate at least the small group (of 5 or 6) sheets located in the lower portion of the stack 6, thus the sheets are shaken or vibrated apart to reduce the frictional grip between them and at the same time to easily pick the lower sheet and accelerate it in the direction of the arrow B, after which this sheet is advanced against the pull-off and separation mechanisms.

The up and down effect of the sorting wheel also causes the stack to be pushed upwards and in a forward direction. This serves to move the leading edges upwardly against the surface portion 16a to lift the weight of the front end of the stack S from the lower sheets so that those unloaded for a substantial portion of the weight of the stack must slide freely down the plate 15 against a drive wheel.

The circumferential or tangential speed of the sorting wheel is of such magnitude that the insert 19a touches only the largest document that can be handled in the apparatus, once per second. rotation, the critical sheet dimension being the length of the document measured in the feed direction.

In cases where the document length (critical dimension) is the same for all sheets being handled, the circumference of the sorting wheel> should preferably be slightly larger than the critical length. For example, if the critical length of the document. is 50 mm, the circumference of the sorting wheel must be approximately 53 mm. Preferably, the sorting wheel must also have its raised portion 19a in contact with the document being fed, at least until the leading edge of the document touches the periphery of the drive wheel. This feature can be achieved by adjusting the circumference of the sorting wheel and / or the length P of the raised portion 19a.

The peripheral speed of the sorting wheel is preferably less than that of the drive wheel, so that the documents will not be loaded faster than they can be passed on by the drive wheel.

il U5455

The lower sheet 1 of the stack is pressed forward against the drive wheels 23 mounted on a shaft 24 mounted in the machine frame P near its ends. One end of shaft 24: is provided with a pulley 25 for a belt (for clarity not shown) extending around a drive wheel and pulley 25 to rotate shaft 24 and drive wheels 23 in the direction of arrow 26. The portion 15d of the feed plate 15 is formed integrally with the portion 15b about a double bend or crack 15e of the plate 15. The forward end of the plate 15b (Fig. 1) is bent downwardly at 15e and upwardly at 15f, in such a manner. that: part -15d lies a little below part 15b. The plate portion 15d is provided with the aperture (for clarity not shown) so that a portion of the periphery of the wheels 23 can extend up through them (Fig. 1).

The centrally located wheels 23a and 23b are at a small distance from one another, while the distance between wheels 23 and 23a and 23b and 23c: is considerably greater than the distance between wheels 23a and 23b. This arrangement allows a paddle wheel assembly to be adapted in a manner that will be described below.

The double bend in the region in which the circumferences of the wheels 23-23c extend through the plate portion 15d support the friction engagement with the lower sheet advanced to the drive wheels 23 by means of the sorting wheel 19 due to the leading edge of the lower sheets sink down over the bend in plate 15, thereby ensuring a better frictional engagement between the sheet and the periphery of the rollers 23-23c. Λ

A peeler assembly 30 is positioned above the drive wheel assembly. The assembly 30 has a shaft 31 'one end of which 31a is mounted in a longitudinal opening in the machine frame F. A nut 31c is screwed to the end of the shaft 31 which is threaded. The elongated aperture in the machine frame accommodating the shaft end 31a allows the paddle wheel assembly to be adjusted so as to ensure a parallelism with the drive wheel assembly. The other end 31b of shaft 31 fits into an opening in the machine frame and is secured to this rack by a nut 31d.

A means 151 (Fig. 2a) for adjusting the peel wheel depth comprises an aperture 152 which accommodates the shaft 31 which is either adapted thereto by a press fit or is provided with a JuSter screw (not shown) for locking the shaft 31 in relative to the member 151. An adjusting screw extends through an elongate slot 12 in the member 151 and through a threaded opening in a portion F ^ extending inward from the machine frame. A screw spring 156 surrounds the adjusting screw 153 and abuts with its ends against the projection F1 and the arm 151a of the member 151. This assembly (by adjusting the screw 153) controls the angular position of the shaft 31 and thus the depth of penetration of the pulleys between the drive wheels. The spring 156 prevents the screw 153 from moving.

A pair of support plates 32 and 33 of the pulleys are secured to each other by means of a transverse arm 34 (Fig. 2) and provided with openings for bearings 35 and 36 which allow the arms 32 and 33 to move freely with respect to the shaft. 31. The assembly 30 further comprises a U-shaped member 37, whose arms 37a and 37b are provided with openings for the shaft 31. Adjusting screws 37c and 37d in the arms 37a and 37b lock the member 37 relative to the shaft 31 for the member 37 to engage. the same angular position as the shaft 31. Between the arms 37a and 37b is a pulley 38 which can rotate freely on the shaft 31. The pulley 38 is provided with a pair of wreaths 38a and 38b extending around the pulley. A cylindrical bush (not shown) is preferably mounted between the pulley 38 and the shaft 31 to facilitate the free movement of the pulley.

A shaft 39 above the pulley 38 has bearings 40 and 41 near its free ends, so that the shaft 39 can be mounted in the machine frame F in such a way that it can rotate freely. The shaft 39 is provided with a pulley 42 for a belt 140 (for clarity shown schematically as a dash-dot line) extending around a drive pulley 138 and pulley 42, whereby the shaft 39 can be rotated in the direction of arrow 43 ( Figure 1). A pulley 44 is secured to the shaft 39 substantially between its ends. A belt 45 extends around the pulley 44 and pulley 38 (between the wreaths or rings 38a and 38b) so that the shaft 39, pulley 44 and pulley 38 can rotate. The belt 45 is shown as a dash-dot line between the pulleys 38 and 44 of FIG. 2. The pulley 38 rotates in the direction of arrow 46 (Fig. 1).

The puller assembly 30 comprises a shaft 47 mounted on the front free ends of the arms 32 and 33 by means of bearings 48 and 49, which allows the shaft 47 to rotate freely relative to the arms 32 and 33 · A belt 50 (FIG. 1) extends around the left portion of the pulley 38 and a pulley 51 of the shaft 47. The belt 50 is shown with a dash-dot line in FIG. 2 and is fitted between collars 51a and 51b on the pulley 51. The shaft 47 further comprises a pair of pulleys or wheels 52 and 53 attached to the shaft 47 and arranged so that their periphery extends slightly below the drive wheels 23-23c periphery, as clearly seen in FIG. 1 and 2. The rotation of the shaft 39 and pulley 44 is transmitted to the pulleys 52 and 53 which rotate in the direction of arrow 54 (Fig. 1). The wheels 52 and 53 are adjustable in the lateral direction along the shaft 47 as well as the drive wheels 23-23c along their shaft 24, so that the assemblies can be adapted to sheets of different thicknesses and stiffnesses: while providing a periodic adjustment due to normal wear of the wheels.

The pulleys 32 and 33 of the pulleys are mounted on the common shaft 31 in such a way that they can move freely thereon, so that the pulleys can exert downward force on a sheet which! enters the area between the drive wheels 23-23c and the pull-off wheels 52 and 53 · The magnitude of this force is a function of the weight of -ar in men 32 and 33, shaft 47, bearings 48 and 49, pulley 51 and in it ··. at least part of the belt 50 and a cross arm 55, and the counterbalancing effect of the rear part of the support arms 32 and 33, the cross arms 34 dg the rear part of the U-shaped member 37. The downward force exerted by the pull-off wheel assembly is furthermore a function of the length of the arms 32 and 33 between the shafts 31 and 47 (Fig. 2). The force can therefore be changed by using arms 32 and 33 with different heights or by using adjustable arm parts between shafts 31 and 47. r

It is important to note that the downward force exerted by the puller wheels is completely independent of the rotational drive force exerted on the puller wheels 52 and 53, because the assembly allows wheels 52 and 53 to "ride" on the sheets. passing under the wheels and pivoting or rotating about the shaft 31 completely independent of the thrust mechanism.

The maximum amount of pull-out wheels 52 and 53 can penetrate between the drive wheels 23-23c is adjusted by means of the adjusting means 151 and the adjusting screw 153, which enables a fine adjustment.

The depth or portion to which the pulleys 52 and 53 can be lowered between the drive wheels 23-23c is further controlled by means of an adjusting screw 37e (Fig. 1) screwed into an opening provided with threads. and located in the member 37 so that its lower end extends downwardly toward the upper surface of the transverse arm 34. The rotation or pivoting of the arms 32 and 33 about the shaft 31 in a direction against the arrow 46 is controlled by adjusting the screw 37e. The member 37, the adjusting screw 37e and the member 34 allow for a coarse adjustment of the penetration depth.

The arms 32 and 33 may be spring loaded to limit their movement about the shaft 31 clockwise by a spring 170 disposed between the transverse arm 34 and the U-shaped member 37 by means of the fastening means 37f and 37e. This reduces the free movement of the pulleys.

For applications where one wishes to handle sheets the thickness of which falls within a moderate range (i.e., narrow) relative to the wide range of thicknesses that the peeler assembly is designed to handle, a strip 171 (shown with dashed lines) may be applied. dotted lines) around the U-shaped member 37 and the transverse arm 34 (instead of the spring 170) to substantially lock the pulleys in a position (relative to the drive wheels) so that the machine's handling of sheets of thickness within the predetermined narrow area is optimized.

FIG. 6A and 6B show another embodiment of a pull-off wheel 30 'for handling documents whose thickness falls within a fairly moderate range (i.e., from the thickness of banknotes to the thickness of hole cards). Only one half of the assembly is shown in FIG. 6b, the opposite half of the assembly being a mirror image of the half shown which will be described below.

The shaft 172 is housed in bearings 173 of the machine frame F. By means of an adjusting screw 174, a member 151 'is fastened to the shaft 172, which is substantially identical to the member 151 of FIG. 2a. An adjusting screw 176 extends through an opening in the member 151 'and rests against a fixed projection 177 extending inward from the machine frame F.

A support arm 178 for the pull wheels is secured to the shaft 172 by an adjusting screw 179 and holds the pull wheel shaft 180 in such a way that the shaft can rotate freely relative to the support arm. The frame F is provided with a slot 181 which allows the shaft 180 to be adjusted by means of a pair of adjusting screws 176 so that parallelism between the pulleys 52-53 and the drive wheels 23-23c is maintained.

15 145455

A shaft 182 secured between the side walls of the frame P and located below the member 178 (Fig. 6A) is provided with an adjustable screw 183 extending towards a stop member 178a which extends downwardly from the member 178 This adjusting screw 183 allows adjustment of the part of the pull-down wheels can be lowered. The ends of the shaft halves 172 and 172a extend at a distance from the machine frame F in a telescoping manner into a hollow cylindrical tube 172b which holds the shafts 172 and 172a substantially in alignment with an imaginary longitudinal axis A allows independent rotation of shafts 172 and 172a about axis A by their fine tuning means 151 and 151f.

The shaft 180 is provided with a pulley 184, and the drive wheel shaft 24 (Fig. 2) has a pulley 185. An elastic belt 186 of the 0-ring type extends around the pulleys 184 and 185 for rotation of the drive wheel and pull wheel shafts as well as regulate the separation between the drive and pull-off wheels.

When adjusting the pusher assembly, the angular connection between the pusher wheels 52-53 and the drive wheels 23-23c and angular; the orientation of the center lines CL on the arms 32 and 33 relative to the feed direction. If the angle α (Fig. 7c) is increased beyond a predetermined value, the sheets may be wedged or pinched. If the angle α is reduced to less than a predetermined value (Figs. 7b and 7a), the pulleys can spring back. By choosing a suitable positive angle α (relative to a horizontal line H), the peeler achieves a self-acting pressing effect, eliminating the possibility of a kickback while avoiding any wedge or pinching, facilitating the handling of sheets having many different thicknesses, stiffnesses and unevenness.

The angle α is a function of the friction coefficient of the friction wheel periphery, so that α can be made smaller by increasing the friction coefficient and vice versa.

The angle β between the feed direction and the pull wheel 52 (Figs.

6a and 7c) are also important. If β is too small, the wedge-1 effect will occur. However, the angle β can be significantly reduced (by increasing the diameter of the wheel 52) due to the opposite direction of rotation of the pull wheels.

16 145455

The peel wheel 52 (Fig. 6A) should ideally be arranged such that a line L from a point X on the surface of the wheel is tangential to the line L 1, the line L coinciding with the plane of movement of the sheets in the feeding direction. The line must also be perpendicular to the direction of movement of the sheets and extend through the center of rotation of the drive wheel 23. The point X need not lie on the surface of the wheel 23.

FIG. 7a-7c show the different orientations the arms 32, 33 can have.

In FIG. 7a, the shaft 31, which carries the lugs 32 and 33 in such a manner that they can be rotated, is located below the line FL representing the direction in which the sheets are moved. The rotation direction of the peeler wheel 52 and its coefficient of friction relative to the pivot point 31 tend to lift the peeler wheel 52 up from the sheet in the direction of the arrow F

When the arms 32 and 33 are aligned with the "neutral" bearing (i.e., the center line CL is parallel to the plane of the sheets in Fig. 7b), the opposite rotation of the wheel 52 exerts a force along the center line CL. This force is substantially neutralized thus; that the pull-off wheel can spring up freely.

The orientation of the arms 32, 33, when the pivot point 31 is above the plane of the sheets, causes the rotary wheel 52 to tend to be held down against the sheets, preventing the pull wheel from springing up, providing the aforementioned self-acting pressing effect.

Thus, the device for rotating the pulley 44 and the pulleys pulley 51 provides for the necessary rotation of the pulleys 52 and 53 without having any effect on the orientation or downward force exerted by the pulleys on the sheet located between the pulleys 52 and 53 and the drive wheels 23-23c.

The drive wheels 23-23c are made of an elastic material which provides a periphery with a high coefficient of friction. The wheels 52 and 53 are made of a material which is less elastic than the material of the wheels 23-23c, although it has some elasticity. The wheels 52 and 53 have a smaller coefficient of friction than the wheels 23-23c. The lower parts of the periphery of the wheels 52 and 53 lie slightly below the periphery 145455 17 of the wheels 23-23c (FIG. 2), causing the sheet ST to assume a wavy or wrinkled shape. The periphery of the wheels 52 and 53 is curved (Fig. 2), which causes the shape of the sheet S to follow the shapes of the curved peripheries. The extent of the waves in the sheet Sf is essentially a function of the distance between the wheels 23 and 23a and the wheels 23b and 23c, the width of the wheels 52 and 53 and the thickness of the sheet S and the inner strength. Thinner sheets will, of course, cause the pull-down rollers to sink further down the gap. : L. 't.

the drive wheels 23-23c.

The pull and drive wheels (Figs. 2 and 3) can be replaced by wheels of the one shown in Figs. 3a-3b. FIG. 3a shows a drive wheel 23 * with a wave-shaped track 23a 'which cooperates with the pull-off wheel 52, so that the sheet S takes on a wrinkled shape. The drive wheel 23n of FIG. 3b has a pair of grooves 23a and 23bM. Raised portions 52a 'and 52bT of the peeler wheel 52' help the sheet S to get its wrinkled shape. Several pull-off and drive wheel pairs may be mounted according to FIG. 3a and 3b on their shafts. The wheel 23 M may also be provided with a greater number of tracks (three or more). The wheel 23 'may be mounted on the pull-out wheel shaft 47 and the wheel 52 may be mounted on the drive wheel shaft 24. A similar change can be made with the wheels 23 "and 52' in FIG. 3b.

When only one sheet (i.e., the bottom sheet) enters the area. between the pull-down rollers 52 and 53 and the drive rollers 23-23c, the difference of the coefficients of friction of these rollers will cause the rollers 23-23c to have the primary effect on the sheet conveyed thereto, causing the sheet to move in one direction. forward and down towards an accelerator wheel 60, which will be described below. The friction coefficients of the pulleys will cause these wheels to slide relative to this sheet. This effect is further supported to some extent because the peel wheel island is provided with a bias downward on the individual sheet due to the weight of the peel wheel assembly, and therefore the peel wheels can move freely upwards under the action of the sheet while passing through. The wrinkle of the sheet stiffens the sheet as it passes between rollers 52-53 and 23-23c, so that a significant increase in the effective frictional engagement between the sheet and rollers, 52-53 and 23-23C is achieved.

18 145455

The most effective friction engagement is exerted by the "adjacent edges" of the adjacent drive and pull wheels (i.e., edges 52a and 23d), which act together to clamp the sheet between them and then exert their opposite directed forces.

When a pair of sheets is fed to the drive wheels 23-23c and the pull wheels 52 and 53 (Figure 3), the drive wheels and pull wheels will give the pair of sheets a wave shape (Figure 2). In the regions adjacent to the spaces G and G ', the effect of the pulleys, at least partially located between the drive wheels, occurs and causes the sheets S' and S "to slightly separate, thereby reducing the surface contact between the sheets. the drive wheels lie in the area where the adjacent curved edges of the wheels are closest to each other, i.e., areas P (Fig. 3). The separation of the sheets in the areas next to the spaces G and G 'facilitates the significant removal of the sheet S "from sheet S1. . The coefficients of friction on the pulleys 52 and 53 are greater than the coefficient of friction between the surfaces which touch each other on the two sheets S "and S ', which causes the peel wheel to throw the top sheet S" backward against the feed hopper while the sheet S' advances towards acceleration wheels.

The coefficients of friction on the periphery of the drive wheels 23-23c are greater than the coefficients of friction between the intersecting sheets, which is why the drive wheels push the lower sheet S 'towards the acceleration wheels. Although the two sheets S 'and S "are aligned precisely with respect to each other as they are inserted between the drive and pull wheels, the pull wheels will still pull the top sheet from the bottom sheet, and as a result it will be only that. bottom sheet advanced toward the accelerator wheels.

Peel-off wheels 52-53 cause the sheet in contact with their periphery to be pushed back, forcing the sheet back against the stack. Since most of the weight of the stacked sheets is removed from the substantially "weight-free pocket" in the bottom region of the hopper 14, the backward movement of the sheet retracted against the hopper will occur without exposing the backside of the sheet to folding or bending.

The above-described handling of two sheets advanced simultaneously occurs even if the sheet touching the drive wheels first is not the lower sheet (for example, in the case where the device of Figs. 1 and 2 is bottom-fed). . This sheet will be pushed forward by the drive wheels (while the pull wheels touch the sheet during sliding) until the leading edge of the lower sheet touches the drive wheels. As the lower sheet is moved forward so that portions of both the lower sheet and the sheet above it are between the peel and drive wheels, the peel wheels will have a greater effect on the sheet they are in contact with so that this top sheet is moved. back against the feeding funnel. When the lower sheet is no longer under the action of the drive wheels 23-23c, the drive wheels now exert their main effect on the sheet between the drive wheels 52-53 and 23-23c, so that it is pushed forward to the acceleration wheels after the sheet previously lower. This ensures the loading, separation and stacking of sheets in the same order as the one in which the sheets were placed in the feeding funnel.

The acceleration wheels (Fig. 2) consist of individual wheels 60-60c mounted on a shaft 61 and attached thereto so that they rotate with the shaft. This shaft is mounted in the machine frame F in bearings 63 and 64 so that it can rotate freely relative to the machine frame. The left end of the shaft 6l is provided with a pulley 62 which acts together with a belt 63 (shown by dash-dot line in Fig. 2) for rotating the acceleration wheels.

The acceleration wheels cooperate with several sprockets or sprockets (for clarity only shown in Fig. 1). The peripheral outer rollers have a smaller coefficient of friction than the intermediate rollers which interact with the acceleration wheels 60a and 60b. One intermediate roller is aligned after each accelerator wheel 60-60c. The intermediate rollers are preferably mounted independently of one another, as is most clearly seen in FIG. 2b.

The rollers 60a and 60b are arranged close to the center of the shaft 61, while the rollers 60 and 60c are located at a relatively large distance from the rollers 60a and 60b. The periphery of rollers 60a and 60b has a greater coefficient of friction than rollers 60 and 60c. Due to the small distance between rollers 60a and 60b at the center of shaft 61, these rollers will not promote an oblique position of a sheet which is in contact with these rollers. In order to prevent the outer rollers 60 and 60c from contributing to the sheets a certain skewness, the intermediate rollers die cooperate with the acceleration wheels 60 and 60c are positioned a little further forward in the direction of movement of the sheets relative to the intermediate rollers acting together with the acceleration wheels 60a and 60b. FIG. 2b shows the wheel 60 mounted on the shaft 61. All the rollers 60-60c are aligned. The intermediate roller 65a (shown in dash-dotted line) represents the intermediate roller touching the wheel 60a. The middle roller 65a tan-. forming a line that coincides with the direction of movement of the sheets (arrow in Fig. 2b). The middle roller 65 (drawn line) has its axis of rotation further forward in the direction of movement of the sheets than the axis of rotation X of the roller 65a. All the intermediate rollers are mounted by means of an elastic U-shaped member, the yoke of which is secured to the plate 16 by means of a fastening means 302. The arms of a U-shaped member 301 carry a shaft 303 on which the intermediate roll is mounted. The U-shaped member 301 presses its center roller down against the associated acceleration wheel.

If a sheet is inclined, its movement lands against the acceleration wheels, the intermediate rollers, which cooperate with the acceleration wheels 60 and 60c, are arranged so that the leading edge LE is to hit the surface of the intermediate roll 65 (for example) at a distance from that point ( X2) where it touches the periphery of the wheel 60. This either causes the document to be straightened up or the skew significantly reduced. The leading edge will then be directed toward the point X2 so that it is accelerated by the wheel 60 and the middle roller 65.

In the event that a sheet has some skewness even after it enters between the wheels 60a-60b and the associated intermediate rollers, the outer wheels 60 and 60c and their associated intermediate wheels ensure that the end portion of the rear edge of the sheet is affected the furthest of the acceleration wheels. will be pushed forward to a stacking device.

The feed hopper plate 16 is provided with a portion 16b extending integrally with the plate portion 16a and spaced at a certain distance from and parallel to the plate portion 15d of the feed hopper plate 15. The plate portion 16b is provided with suitable openings sufficiently large to a portion of the periphery of the intermediate roll 65 may extend through them in the manner shown in FIG. 1 so that it can come into contact with the periphery of the accelerator wheel 60. The rear end of the portion 16b, together with the member 15, forms a narrow discharge channel for defining the number of sheets which can be advanced to the drive wheels 23-23c. The center of rotation of the accelerator wheels 60 is located at a distance G from the center of rotation of the drive wheels 23. The stretch G is preferably smaller than the width of the smallest sheet which can be accommodated by the feed and separation mechanism in order for the acceleration and intermediate wheels to be able to grip the sheet before its rear edge leaves the drive wheels. However, the distance may be greater if desired, since the drive wheels give the sheet passing them a sufficiently high speed to ensure that it is advanced to the acceleration wheels. The peripheral speed of the acceleration wheels 60 is substantially greater than the peripheral speed of the drive wheels 23-23c, in order for the sheet advancing to be able to move at a greater line speed when the leading edge of the individual sheet enters between the acceleration wheels 60 and their cooperating intermediate rollers 65 · The trailing edge of the sheet between rollers 60 and 65 will be clearly separated by a finite distance from the leading edge of the next sheet advancing to rollers 60-65 by the drive wheels 23-23c. The space between successive sheets between the drive wheels 23-23c and the acceleration wheels 60-60c can be exploited with great advantage by providing a detector assembly which can be used for counting purposes. A light source 71 (Fig. 1) can e.g. is used to emit a light beam directed through appropriate apertures (for clarity not shown) in the plate portions 16b and 15d. After passing the light through such openings, it may affect a photosensitive photocell 72. The effects of the light rays will occur over a time interval between the passage of the trailing edge of a sheet advancing to the acceleration wheels 60 and the leading edge of the next sheet leaving the drive wheels 23-23c. These light pulses are converted into electrical signals and can be collected by a counter (not shown).

A gate assembly 200 in FIG. 1b and 1c can perform statistical take-out and control operations and include a gate means 201 attached to a shaft 202. One end of shaft 202 extends through one side wall of the machine frame (not shown) and is provided with a lifting arm 203> that is stuck on it. A relay 204 is attached to the machine frame at 205 and has an anchor 204a secured to the arm 203 by a shaft 206. When a solenoid 204 is not actuated, a spring 207 between 205 and 206 will normally hold the gate and arm in the positions 201 'and 203', respectively, shown in dotted lines. If the relay 204 is activated, the gate and the arm will be moved against the actuating force of the spring 207 to the positions 201 and 203, respectively, shown in full lines.

22 145455

For counting a large number of sheets while maintaining only a statistical extraction of the sheets (i.e., every hundred sheets), the gate is held in the position 201 'shown in dotted line. This causes the sheets from the acceleration wheels to be inserted between belts 207 and 208 around roller pairs 209-210 and 211-212, respectively. The belts 207 and 208 feed the sheets in the direction of the arrow 213. A bent plate 214 deflects the movement of the counted sheets forward so that they are inserted into a discard container 215. When the trailing edge of the 99th sheet has passed the gate 201 and entered between the belts 207 and 208, the gate relay 204 for switching the gate to the bearing 201 so that the hundred sheets are deflected to the stacking device 80. When this sheet has passed the gate means 201, the relay 204 is disconnected so that the next sheet will be inserted between the belts 207 and 208. Each hundred sheets will thus be retained as a sample, while the other sheets will be output.

Thus, any statistical sampling can be carried out by an adjustable circuit breaker 216. When the space between the sheets (sheets S1 and S2) is recorded, the sensitive organ advances the number counted by the counter 217. The total number counted in counter 217, is compared to the setting of the adjustable circuit breaker 216 by means of a decoder 218 capable of activating a drive circuit 219, which can then activate the gate relay 204 for each N th document to be extracted, where "N" may be any any real integer. A clutch and brake mechanism as described above can be activated by an "N1" signal and an "N + 1" signal to ensure the presence of a gap G of sufficient length between the sheet prior to the "N th" sheet and the sheet after the "N-th" sheet to obtain sufficient time for the physical movement of the gate 201. The circuit in the decoding device 218 produces an "N1" signal as the trailing edge of the sheet passes before the "Nth" sheet passes the sensor 72. This signal disconnects the drive, pull, and sort wheels from the drive source so that they suddenly stop and the " N-te "document slows down. Gate 201 is rescheduled and the brake and clutch mechanisms are disconnected again so that the feeding of the sheets can continue. When the trailing edge of the "N-th" sheet is detected, the above operation is repeated again so that the gate can be switched to position 201 *. The feed continues until the sheet to be removed next passes the sensor 72. The door assembly can also be used for comparison. Each "odd" sheet (one original) is stacked e.g. in a stack, and each "straight" sheet (i.e., a carbon copy) is stacked in a separate stack by switching the port as above between each sheet advanced through the apparatus.

An endorsing or stamping wheel may be arranged after the acceleration wheels 60. The plate portion 16b is preferably extended to accommodate an endorsing roll and a cooperating elongated intermediate roll for stamping or "endorsing" the sheets as they pass through the endorsing assembly. After leaving the endosage step, the documents are stacked in a manner that will be described in more detail below. 1

The plate 16 is further provided with a plate portion 16c which extends integrally with the portion 16b and which forms an acute angle with that portion 166 at a bend 166. This plate portion 16c causes the individual sheets accelerated by the wheels 60 (see arrow 74) to slightly deflect so that they move in the direction of arrow 75 toward the stacking assembly 80. The surface 16c aligns the sheets affecting this surface on a slightly, in that it slows down the speed of the end of the leading edge striking the portion 16c, thereby advancing the leading edge uniformly in the direction of advance.

A preferred pulley arrangement is shown in FIG. 2. An engine M (Fig. 1) comprises an output shaft 129. A pulley 130 attached to the shaft 129 drives the acceleration shaft 6l by means of a belt extending around the pulleys 130 and 62. At the opposite end of the shaft 61 is pulleys 133 and 134. The pulley 133 is secured to the shaft 61 and drives the wheel shaft 65 by means of a belt 132 extending around the pulley 133 and a pulley 89 attached to the shaft 85. An elastic belt 132 of the ring type is arranged to form an eight number. This causes the shaft 85 to rotate in a direction opposite to the rotational direction of the shaft 6. When the motor M is activated, the shafts 61 and 85 also rotate.

A clutch 131 is mounted on the shaft 61 and when activated, the pulley 134 mounted on the clutch 131 is rotated. When the clutch 131 is broken, it causes the pulley 134 to rotate freely relative to the shaft 61. The belt 135 extends around the pulleys 134 and 136. The latter pulley 136 is locked on one end of the drive shaft 24. The opposite end of the drive shaft 24 U5455 24 is provided with two pulleys 25 and 158, both of which are locked to the shaft. The belt 142 extends around the pulley 25 and a pulley 21 fixed to the sorting wheel shaft 20. The belt 140 extends around the pulley 158 and pulley 42 attached to the center wheel shaft 69. The shaft 59 causes the pulleys 52-53 to rotate.

The pulleys 155 and 89 are provided with semi-circular grooves in their surfaces to accommodate a rubber ring 152 of the 0-ring type. The other pulleys are equipped with toothed surfaces which engage teeth with the belts, commonly called "tooth belts".

An electromagnetic brake 157 is attached to the machine frame and coupled to one end 20a of shaft 20. When this brake 137 is actuated, it will quickly stop rotation of shaft 20 and when disengaged, shaft 20 is allowed to rotate.

The shafts 61 and 85 rotate whenever the motor M is running. Clutch 137 selectively connects the drive wheel shaft 24, clearance shaft 39, and sort wheel shaft 20 from engine M when clutch 137 is actuated. Coupling 131 and brake 137 are activated substantially simultaneously to disengage and suddenly brake shafts 24, 39 and 20 even when the motor M is running.

The new features of this construction are most clearly apparent from the description of the port assembly, which is particularly advantageous for stacking or bundling operations, i.e. operations by which an exact number of sheets must be placed in separate stacks. To prepare separate stacks or bundles of 50 banknotes in each, counter 217 (Fig. 1b) is set to activate clutch 131 and brake 137 after counting the 50th banknote so that the pull, drive and sort wheels are brought to stop abruptly. The 50th banknote is moved to the stacking device (since the impact wheels and acceleration wheels are still running), while the 51st banknote is prevented from reaching the stacking device. The bundle of the 50 banknotes can then be moved away from the stacking device 80 and a continuation button (for clarity not shown) is pressed to reset counter 217 and disconnect clutch 131 and brake 137 so that another bundle of 50 banknotes can be formed. The size of the bundle to be provided depends only on the setting of the adjustable current switch 216 (Fig. 1b).

Each sheet is inserted into the region between a plate l6e and a plate 81 on a movable member 112 forming part of the stacking assembly 80 (Figs. 1 and 1a), and is pushed down against a base plate 83 of the stacking assembly by means of the stacking wheels 84. 84c mounted on the shaft 85 disposed in bearings 86 and 87 and rotating freely relative to the machine frame F. The shaft 85 is driven by the pulley 89 using an appropriate drive belt (not shown) to rotate the rod. the guide wheels (arrow 91 in Fig. 1) so that the leading edges of the sheets advanced to the stacking device by means of the acceleration wheels 60-60c are pushed down against the base plate 83. Elongated strips 83b spaced apart and parallel to each other the upper surface of the base plate 83 (Fig. 1a) is provided with polished surfaces to achieve a smooth surface. The belts 83 reduce the size of the areas in contact with each other between the leading edges of the sheets and the base plate 83. The wheels 84 have the same coefficient of friction as the wheels 23-23c. The stacking device 112 is pressed on by means of a spring and pulley mechanism 95 and 96 respectively in the direction of arrow 97. As the sheets arrive at the stacking device, the movable stacking means 112 is moved in the direction of arrow 98 against the load of spring 95 so as to form a uniform, compressed bundle. The hook-shaped end 95a of the spring is attached to a rod R, which is part of the machine frame, by means of a fastening means 103. The hook-shaped end 95b is arranged in an eye 104 on the holder 105, which carries a pulley 106 on in such a way that it can rotate. Another pulley 107 is also rotatably mounted to the holder 108 which is secured to the left end of the base plate 83 by means of an L-shaped holder 109. A thin band 110 having one end thereof between the yoke of the holder 108 and the arm 109 - as shown at 109a - extends around the pulleys 106 and 107 and is secured at the other end between the downwardly extending projection 112a of the member 112 (extending into a slot 83) and the plate 111 which itself is attached to the projection 112a by by means of a fastener 111a. The holder is attached to the underside of the stacking member 112. This member moves within an elongate guide slot 83a of the base plate 83 and is prevented from being lifted out of this slot. The use of a block and pulley arrangement provides a mechanical advantage in that the pulley 106 only moves half as far as the stacking member 112 moves, which allows for a shorter but more powerful spring (95).

The portion 16e of the plate 16 is formed integrally with the plate portion 16c so that the movement of the sheets is deflected from the direction of arrow 75 to the direction of arrow 76. Each sheet is pushed down against the stacking base plate 83 and abruptly pressed against the surface of plate 81 so that its trailing edge (Fig. 1, trailing edge T on sheet S "') moves away from the plate portion 16c so as to provide a suitable clearance for the next sheet. arriving at the stacking assembly.

Due to the high speed at which the sheets are passed through the apparatus 10, they are often subjected to a certain charge of static electricity which will cause the sheets to be attracted to the surface 16c. The thrust wheels 84, however, serve to overcome this attraction by driving the sheets down against the plate 81. In addition, the thrust wheels will push the leading edges of the sheets down against the base plate 83 so that a uniform stack or bundle is formed. The load of the spring 95 causes the member 112 to be pushed forward in the direction of the arrow 97 so that the stack produced is compressed. The plate 81 can be removed, causing only the member 112 to be used to carry the sheets in the stack. The ends of the sheets along the 112 sides of the body are not subjected to any forces and therefore form a "butterfly" pattern. However, stacking takes place just as efficiently as when plate 81 is in place. Removing the plate 81 facilitates the removal of all the sheets in the stack or bundle, as the plate 81 encloses the stack and there is a possibility that one or more of the sheets will not be removed at the same time as the other sheets in the stack and therefore may not be discovered.

The peel and drive wheels (Fig. 2) are centrally located and the influence exerted by these wheels is exerted essentially on the central areas of the sheet S1. Since the edges E and E 'of the sheet S' can extend a considerable distance beyond the central region C (Fig. 2), the plate part 16b of the plate 16 is provided with a pair of free-hanging flaps 99 which are mounted in suitable openings in the plate part. 16b. The lower edges 99a of the flaps extend downwards and into the supply opening between the plates 16b and 15b. The means 99 hang downwardly due to their weight and exert a control effect on the sheets fed to the drive wheels 23-23c by the sorting wheel 19, so as to provide an arrangement of any oblique sheets which are advanced to the drive and pull-out. 27 145455 wheels. It has been found that the peel and drive wheels are capable of advancing only a single sheet to the acceleration wheels, even in the case where the leading edge of the sheet (or sheets) is skewed during movement to the peel and drive wheels. It has also been found that they can safely advance the individual sheets towards the acceleration wheels and that a gap of finite length is formed which is sufficiently large for the counting operation to be performed. FIG. 2 shows the relative position of the flaps 99 with respect to the pull and drive wheels.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the invention with top feed, wherein the same components as in the embodiment of FIG. 1-5 have the same reference numerals.

The apparatus 10 'in FIG. 4 is mounted on a suitable base portion 120 forming part of the apparatus stand. Between a pair of vertical side plates (for clarity not shown), a movable shelf 121 'is disposed and between the base plate 120 and the shelf or plate 121' a biasing device is mounted. This device may consist of several springs 121 pushing the plate 121 * vertically upwards. A stack S of sheets is placed on plate 121 which is pressed far enough downward that the top sheet of stack S can be released from the sorting shaft 19. Then the stack is released and springs 122 will push the stack of sheets upwards. The raised portion 19a of the sorting wheel 19, which has a large coefficient of friction, causes the stack of sheets to vibrate and pushes the first sheet forward toward the drive and peel rollers. An opening in the plate 123 allows the sorting wheel 19 to extend therethrough. The topsheet (or sheets) is pushed forward by the sorting wheel 19 (arrow 134) so that it advances toward the drive rollers 23. A portion of the periphery of the pull-down roller 52 breaks through an opening in the lower guide plate 124. the plate 124 is provided with a knee 124b adjacent a vertical portion 124a. The knee 124b, together with the upper guide plate 123, forms a narrow orifice area 125 which limits the number of sheets pushed to the drive and peel rollers.

The feed and pull operation is essentially identical to that previously described. The mounting assembly of the pull-off wheel can be modified in such a way that a biasing force is obtained by means of a spring 126 mounted between each arm 32, 33 in FIG. 2 (for clarity, only one arm is shown in Fig. 5) and plate 124. The force of spring 126 exerts the pull rollers in the direction of arrow 126a about the shaft 31. The drive and pull rollers give the sheet or sheets a wavy or wrinkled shape like earlier. Although FIG. 2 shows two pull rollers 52 and 53 and four drive rollers 23-23c, it is clear that any other number of rollers can be used and that the number of pull rollers may be greater than the number of drive rolls if desired. A preferred embodiment of the invention has at least several peel rollers and several drive rollers such that the sheet or sheets located between the rollers achieve a wavy or wrinkled shape which stiffens the sheets and reduces the areas in contact with each other. to the greatest extent possible. A single peel roller with its periphery spaced between a pair of drive rollers significantly reduces stiffening of the sheets between the drive and pull rollers and even allows the single sheet or sheets to be pushed as far down into the space between the adjacent drive rollers (or pull rollers if that is) that the efficiency of the drive and pull operations is significantly reduced.

The drive rollers move a single sheet forward toward the acceleration rollers 60 (for clarity only one is shown in Figure 4). The acceleration rollers and their associated freewheel rollers 65 rapidly increase the speed of the individual sheet advancing between them, so that a definite gap is formed between the trailing edge of the sheet located between the acceleration and intermediate rollers and the leading edge of the next sheet.

The apparatus in Fig. 4 may be provided with a stacking device of the type shown in FIG. 1. The leading edges of the sheets advanced by the acceleration roller 84 in the direction of arrow 134 hit the plate 136 and deflected downwardly in the direction of arrow 135. The impact wheels 84 cause the sheets to move forwardly in the direction of arrow 137 and are impacted against the base plate 83 and stacked uniformly. The surfaces 136 and 83 act as anti-warping plates in the same manner as has been described in connection with the embodiment of FIG. 1. The surfaces 136 and 83 interact with the thrust wheel 84 so as to form a uniform stack of sheets. The embodiment of FIG. 4 simplifies the feeding of single sheets to the drive and pull-down rollers, since the weight of the stack S

Claims (24)

An apparatus for advancing sheets from one stack (S) to one embodiment (80), whereby the sheets are fed to that site one after the other and thereby separating the trailing edge of the sheet last fed to the embodiment site at least a small distance from the leading edge of the next sheet being advanced to the embodiment, the apparatus comprising a feed hopper (14) adapted to support several sheets arranged in a stack (S), and at one end comprising an output channel (between 15e and 15b) for receiving at least the bottom sheet and at the bottom has an opening in which, near the discharge channel, there is a continuously rotating drive means (23) for engaging the bottom sheet in the stack, and advancing at least the bottom (s) sheets against the embodiment (80), characterized in that it has an eccentric member (19) which projects at least partially through the bottom of the feed hopper (14) and is adapted to intermittently convey at least the lower year in the stack against the embodiment channel, that it has in the vicinity of the embodiment channel and the driving means (23) a continuous rotating pusher (30) arranged to rotate in the same direction as the driving means (23), that the sheet or sheets are affected. in an opposite direction, and the sheets passing in between the peeler (30) and the drive means (23) are individually advanced toward the embodiment (80) and the peeler and the drive member are in such a cooperative form that they together provide the sheet (s) which is advanced between them, a waveform in a direction transverse to the direction of feeding of the sheets. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the driving means and the pulling means comprise at least one roller (23 and 52, 53 respectively) and that the surfaces of these rollers along the periphery have different coefficients of friction, the coefficient of friction of the roller (23) being greater than the pulling roller (52). 53) coefficient of friction, and that the rollers are displaced relative to each other in a direction transverse to the feed direction and that the distance between the centers of rotation of the rollers is less than the sum of their radii. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the edges of the drive and pull-off rollers (23 and 52, 53) which are adjacent to each other are so spaced apart that the sheet or sheets passing between the driving means and the pull-out means are squeezed between the closely spaced edges. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive means (23) is arranged so that it engages with the first conveyed sheet before the peeler (30) engages with it and independently of the number of sheets. which is advanced from the stack (S) to the peeler and drive means. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that at least the parts of the drive roller (23) and the pull-out roller (52, 53) constituting the periphery are made of material having different hardnesses and the hardness of the driving roller is greater than the hardness of the pull-off roller. 31 145455 Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the peel roller (52, 53 in Fig. 3 or 52 in Fig. 3a) has a convex periphery which is curved in a direction transverse to the direction of feeding of the sheets. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the drive roller (23 'in Fig. 3a) has a convex periphery which is curved in a direction transverse to the feed direction of the sheets. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that it further comprises a device (32, 33) for pivotally suspending the pull-out roller (52), which is arranged to press the pull-down roller against the drive means. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a deflection means (16c) is arranged between the driving means (23) and the embodiment of substantially simultaneous deflection of each sheet leaving the driving means in the direction of the execution site and restoring the sheets which strikes this deflection member and which has been skewed forward. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it has an accelerating means (60, 65) located between the driving means (23) and the embodiment, and comprising continuously rotating pairs of cooperating rollers (60, 65) for receiving a sheets advanced to them by the drive means and advancing this sheet toward the execution site at a higher rate so that a definite gap is formed between the separated sheets. Apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that the accelerating means (60, 65) are preferably located at a predetermined distance from the driving means (23) and that this distance is less than the length of the shortest document that can be handled by the apparatus. which length is measured in the feed direction. Apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that one of the cooperating rollers (60, 65) is a free-running roll 32 145Λ55 (65) and comprises a device (M, 130, 63, 62) which is thus arranged to cause the second of the cooperating rollers (60) to rotate at a greater rotational speed than the rotational speed of the drive roll (23). Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive means (23) comprises at least one drive roller (23 'or 23 ") with an annular concave groove (23a') along its periphery, and the pull-out means (30) comprises in it at least one roller (52) having a convex curved periphery (52 or 53) extending at least partially into the groove of the driving roller, such that the distance between the center of the driving and pulling roller is less than the sum of the outer radii of the roller . Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive means (23) comprises at least one drive roller (23 ") with a plurality of annular concave grooves (23a", 23b ") along its periphery, and the pull-out means (30) comprises in it at least two rollers (52, 53) which have convex circumferences (52a1, 52b1) and which are separated from each other by a central gap and extend at least partially into corresponding grooves in the drive roll (23 ") in such a manner , that the distance between the centers of the drive and pull rollers is less than the sum of their outer radii. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the drive and pull-off rollers (23 and 52, respectively) are mounted on a drive and pull-off shaft (24 and 47, respectively) and that the position of the rollers along their shafts is adjustable. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the peeler (30) comprises a device (32, 33) for pivotally mounting the peel roller, and that the angle (a) between this mounting member and a horizontal plane is such that the pulleys are obstructed. in jumping up and that there is no wedging of sheets between the pull and drive rollers. 145455 33 Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the pull-out member (30) comprises a means (31) for pivotally mounted the pull-down roller, that the drive and pull-down rollers (23 and 52, respectively) are mounted on drive and pull-off shafts (24, respectively). 47) that the stripper roller assembly (31) is adapted to carry the stripper shaft (47), that the stripper and drive pulley (51 and 25, respectively) are mounted on the stripper and drive shafts and that the apparatus is provided Bread a device ( M, 130, 63, 62, 61, 134, 135) to rotate one of the shafts, and an elastic strap (45, 50, 135, 140) is arranged around the drive and pulleys by means of which belt the other of the shafts can be rotated and the shafts can be pressed against each other. Apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that it further comprises a single drive device (M) and a means (62, 63) so interconnected between said drive device (M) and the accelerator (60) that it can bring the accelerating means for rotating, and a coupling (131) is arranged between the accelerating means and the driving means, for selective rotation of the driving means when the coupling is activated, and the apparatus further comprises means (135, 136, 24, 138, 140, 141, 42 , 39, 44, 45, 38, 50, 51) capable of coupling the drive device (M) to the pusher (52) in such a way that the pusher rotates when the clutch (131) is actuated. Apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that it comprises a brake member (137) which is coupled to the trigger member (52) and which can be actuated to brake the trigger member and the drive member when the coupling (131) is disengaged. Apparatus according to claim 19, characterized in that it comprises a means (71, 72) for recording the space between the trailing edge of a document advanced by the accelerating means (60, 65) and the leading edge of the nearest subsequent document. advanced to the accelerating means, wherein said recording means generates an impulse when it detects a gap, and the apparatus further comprises a means (217) for counting these pulses as well as an adjustable means (215, 218, 219), which is coupled to the counter and which can activate the clutch and the brake means (137) as the number enumerated in the counter approaches the value (s) set on the adjustable means so that the speed of it ( The n + 1) document advanced toward the accelerator is reduced, while the nth document is allowed to reach a stacking device. Apparatus according to claim 19, characterized in that it comprises a means (71, 72) for detecting the space between the trailing edge of a document advanced by the accelerating means (60, 65) and the leading edge of the next document being advanced. advancing towards the accelerating means, wherein the recording means generates an impulse when it detects a space, and the apparatus further comprises a means (217) for counting these pulses and an adjustable means (216, 218, 219) coupled to the counter, and which can activate the clutch (131) and the brake means (137) as the number counted in the counter approaches a value (n-1) that is one less than the value (n) set to the adjustable means, thereby reducing the speed of the (n + 1) document advancing toward the accelerating means, while allowing the nth document to reach a stacking device and further comprising the gate means (201 ) placed between the accelerating means and carrying out said position, which comprises a pivotally mounted gate having a first position (201 ') in which it can prevent a sheet advancing against said gate member from being deflected against said embodiment, and a second position (201) wherein sheets advancing toward the gate means are deflected toward the embodiment and this gate means includes a relay (204) interconnected between the gate and the adjustable member (216, 218, 219) in such a way that it can switch the gate (201) to the second position (201) after the pulse representing the (n-1) document is generated and to the first position (201 ') after the pulse representing the n -the document is produced and that the adjustable means comprises a means (219) capable of breaking the brake and the clutch for a predetermined time interval after the relay has switched the gate to the second position and that the relay (204, 207) ) is arranged so that it resets the gate to the first position after counting the clay has produced an impulse representing the nth document. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive means (23) has continuously rotating rollers (23, 23a, 23b, 23c) provided with circumferences arranged for slidingly engaging a sheet which is fed thereto, and that the trigger means (30) comprises at least one arm (32), a first shaft (31) for pivotally mounting the first end of the arm, a second shaft (47) mounted on the other end of the arm on such means that the shaft can freely rotate, that each shaft is provided with a pulley (38, 51), the second shaft is provided with a pull-off roller (52), a rotary drive pulley (44), a first clutch member (45) which is disposed between the drive pulley and the first shaft pulley, and a second clutch member (50) disposed around the pulley of the first shaft (38) and the second shaft pulley (51), whereby the first and second clutch members act together so that they can transfer rotational movement from the drive pulley (44) to the roller (52) of the second shaft, with the same arm (32) can pivot about the first shaft (31) completely independently of the peel roller being rotated, whereby the drive pulley (44) rotates the peel roller (52) so that the sheets move in a direction opposite to the direction in which the pulleys move them. Apparatus according to claim 22, characterized in that the pusher (52) comprises a means (186, Fig. 6a) for pressing the pusher roller against the pusher (23). Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the pull-out member (30) comprises a pivotable support member (178) which can pivot about a first end (172) and which at the opposite end has a means (180) for rotatably mounting