US2940754A - Apparatus for mounting films and other inserts in cards - Google Patents

Description

4 5 7, 0 4 9, 2 m A FWN FHM OGC www OWS oww TME sam T mr .Sm S wT MO A ..H A 9 1 ,Q M m J 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 29, 1957 June 14,- 1960 s. T. s'rooTHoFF 2,940,754

APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING FILMS AND OTHER INSERTS IN CARDS Filed March 29, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR STANLEY T. STOOTHOFF ,5am d J/ ATTORNEYS June 14, 1960 s. T. sTooTHoFF 2,940,754

APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING FILMS AND OTHER INSERTS IN CARDS Filed March 29, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

STANLEY T, STOOTHOFF am and x/ ATTORNEYS 2,940,754 Patented June 14, 1 *960 United States Patent mi@ APPARATUS Fon MOUNTING FILMS OTHER lNsl-:Rrs nv CARDS Filed Mar. 29, 1957, ser. No; 649,372 A s Claims. (ci. 271-36) This invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus and more particularly to a feeding apparatus adapted to feed cards to an apparatus for producing classification cards, and other cards, each having an image bearing frame of micro-film mounted in an aperture in the card and secured to an adhesive sheet carried by the card and extending over the aperture, whereby each card may advantageously contain a representative visible image or picture record of the data recorded or to be recorded, and each film frame may be conveniently filed, indexed, and classified as to subject matter.

One object is to provide an improved and simplified feeder of the friction separator roller type which is particularly, but not exclusively, adapted for feeding cards one after another from a supply stack thereof.

Another object is to provide `an improved feeder of the friction separator roller type wherein the hopper for supporting a supply stack of blanks, such as cards, in fanned-out relation is adjustable about an arc concentric with the axis of rotation of the separator roller so that the angle of ilow of the blanks toward the separator roller is always approximately tangent. to said separator roller in all positions of adjustment of said hopper, whereby accurate and continued feeding of blanks one after another from said stack may be achieved and feeding of only single blanks is assured.

Another object is to provideva Vfeeder of 'the above character having a feed roller and pressure rollers cooperating with and spaced axially of said feed roller, wherein said pressure rollers are, mounted in. a novel manner for adjustment independently as to pressure, and collectively as to location with respect to said feed` roller, so that uniform straight-line forward movement. of the blanks thereby is assured.

A still further object is'to provide novel means for releasably and drivably connecting an annular member, such as the' separator roller of a friction type feeder, to its operating shaft. l

The above and further objectsand novel Vfeatures of the present invention will more fully appear froml the following detailed description when' the same is read' in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as 'a 'definition of the limits of the invention. In the drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views,

gear box being broken away for purposes of clearer illustration;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of said gear drive mechanism, said View being taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and l Fig. 6 is an enlarged detailed elevational view, partly in section, of the card feeder and the driving and operating means therefor as seen from the far side of the machine as shown in Fig. 1.

The apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention and chosen for the purposes of illustration is particularlyV adapted for feeding cards of the type commonly employed in connection with statistical, tabulating and record card sorting systems and machines and wherein said cards are fed to an apparatus adapted to mount individual image bearing frames of the microlm therein. It is to be understood that the invention is not so limited and that the principles herein described are applicable to the feeding of a variety of different materials.

A supporting base and main driving mechanism is best shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 5.

The supporting base 12 rests on the machine foundation of suitable structure to hold and maintain said apparatus in the desired position. The movable parts of the mechanisms for producing the card having a microlm mounted therein, together with the card feeder 14 and conveyor 15, are all preferably driven by the driving mechanism 13 which includes an electric motor 25. The motor 25 is carried by the supporting base 12 beneath the platform 22, and is preferably mounted on said base in a suitable manner for pivotal up and down movement for a purpose to be presently described. The motor 25 which is of the single phase type is supplied with electrical current from a suitable source and is controlled for starting and stopping purposes by a suitable manually operated switch which will be later explained in connection with the description of the electrical control circuit illustrated in Fig. 58, for the machine.

Fixed on the armature shaft of the motor 25 is a pulley 26' which is preferably of the well-known variable diameter or speed type whereby the speed of operation of the machine may be regulated, as desired, through raisingxor lowering of said motor'. Passing around and driven by the pulley 26 is a belt 27 which also passes around and drives' a larger diameter pulley 28. This pulley. 28 is loosely mounted on a short shaft 29 which extends longitudinally of the machine and is journalled in suitable bearings provided in the opposed walls of a gearbox 30 and in a bracket 31 which is located outwardly of and spaced from said gear box. The pulley 28 is thus driven continuously by the motor 25 when the latter is started. The bracket 31 is bolted or otherwise suitably secured to the adjacent standard 24 of the base 12, and the gear box 30 is mounted on and bolted to the platform 22 of said base. To facilitate locating of the gear box 30 in proper longitudinal and lateral positions inthe machine, the platform 22 has secured to the upper surface thereof an elongated transversely extending key 32' and a stop block 33 disposed at right Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the card feeding apparatus, said view being taken substantially along the line 1 1 of Fig. 3; l FigLZ is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along' line V2- 2 of Fig. 3, with certain portions broken away' for purposes of clearer illustration;

Fig. 3 is 'atop plan view of the card feeding apparatus; Fig.'4 is an enlargeddetailed top plan of the gear drive mechanism for said card feeding mechanism, the iop plate thereof ibeing removedand portions of said immovably bolted to the platform 22.

tud 82 which is slidably engaged in and projects through an arcuate slot 83 which is formed in the bracketv81 concentric with the groove S and with the axis of rotation of the separator roll 63. A nut 84 is vthreaded on the outwardly projecting end of the stud 82 and tightened against the bracket 81 to rmly hold the bracket 77 and the magazine side pans 72 and 73 in all angular positions of adjustment thereof.

It will thus be apparent that by virtue of the described mounting for the magazine side pans 72 and 73, said pans are, through engagement of the pins 79 in the groove 80, caused to tilt to a greater or lesser degree of inclina- -tion when raised and lowered, respectively, and that said tilting movement of said side pans occurs substantially about the periphery of the separator. roll 63, thus maintaining the upper surfaces ofthe base portions 74 of the sidepans 72 and 73 substantially in tangential relation to the separator roll 63 in all positions of angular adjustment of said side pans. The shelf 76 of the bracket 77 has suitably secured to the forward edge thereof a tongue 85 of resilient material, such as clock-spring steel for bridging the gap between the magazine side pans 72 and 73 and the separator roll 63 and for directing the foremost cards of the supply stack into position for feeding action of the separator rolll 63 thereon. l Disposed below and cooperating with the separator roll `63 in the feeding of the cards 5 successively from the supply stack is a retard pad or element 86 made of friction material, such as rubber, which serves to provide between it and said separator roll a feed throat for the passage of single cards only and to retard or hold back a second or succeeding-card against feeding movement simultaneously with a rst or preceding card. The retard pad 86 projects through a suitable opening 87 in the tongue 85 and is normally spaced from the separator roll 63 a distance substantially equal to or slightly` less than the thickness of a card 5.

In order to provide for accurate spacing of the retard pad 86 at any time from the separator roll 63, and positioning of said pad at the proper feeding angle, there is provided a lever 88 having a rearwardly projecting arm 89 and -a forwardly and upwardly projecting arm 90 which is bifurcated at the free end thereof. The lever 88 is pivotally mounted on a stud 91 in a block 92 which is secured in a suitable manner to the lower surface of the shelf 76. The retard pad 86 is cemented to a block 93 which is disposed within the free end of the armr90 of lever 83 and is pivotally mounted on a stud 94 in said arm, said stud being threaded into one side of the arm and utilized to also immovably clamp said block in its adjusted angular position to said arm. Connected to the free end of the arm 89 of lever 88 is one end of a coil extension spring 95 the opposite end of which is connected at 96 to the shelf 76. This spring 95 continuously tends to move the retard pad 86 downwardly away from the separator roller 63, said movement, however, being limited and regulated by an adjustable screw 97 threaded through a suitable opening in the arm 89 and engaging against the lower surface of the shelf 76. The adjusting screw 97 is normally held against rotation by the expanding action of a coil compression spring 98 surrounding said screw and `disposed between the arm 89 and an Loperating head 99 on the screw. It will thus be apparent that an exceedingly accurate adjustment of the clearance between the retard pad 86 and the periphery of the separator roll 63 to permit only a single card to pass therebetween may be achieved by rotating the adjusting screw 97 in the proper direction by means of its operating head 99. When this adjustment has been made, the retard pad 8'6 wil'lbe maintained in its adjusted position by the 'contracting action of the spring 95 until such time lthat readjustment of .the clearance is required to compensate for the wearing of said retard pad -by the cards through continued feeding of the same thereover.

'- -`The separator roll 63 is intermittently rotated at timed intervalsV in a counter-clockwise direction-asA viewed in Fig. 8 to feed the cards 5 one after another in timed relation from the supply stack thereof. For this purpose, the cam shaft gear 49 within thev gearbox 30 (Figs. 5 `and 6) has secured thereto orformed integrally therewith a spur gear 100 which meshes with and drives a spur gear 101. This gear 101 is xed on one shaft 102 offa conventional angle gear drive unit 103 which is disposed Within the gear box 30 and is bolted or otherwise suitably secured to a bracket 104. The angle gear unit 103 is of well-known construction needing no detailed description herein and includes another shaft which is disposed at right angles to the shaft 102. The gears 100 and 101 are of the same size and, hence, the shaft 105 of the angle gear unit 103 will also make one complete revolution for each cycle of operation of the machine. The bracket 104 is bolted or otherwise suitably secured to the gear box 30 exteriorly thereof and projects into said gear ybox through a suitable opening therein to receive said angle gear unit.

Keyed or otherwise suitably secured to the shaft 105 of the angle gear unit 103 is a crank disc 106 to which is pivotally connected by a stud 107 the lower end of a connecting rod 108. The connecting rod 108 extends upwardly through a suitable clearance opening 109 in the plate 51 and is pivotally connected at its upper end by a stud 110 to the free end of a lever 111. This lever 111 is engaged over and keyed to the hub of one member 112 of a conventional unidirectional wedging roller type of clutch 113. The clutch member 112 is loosely mounted on the separator roll shaft 60, and the clutch 113 is of well-known construction having internal elements (not shown) one of which is keyed or otherwise suitably secured to said shaft and is connected with and rotated by the clutch member 112 upon rocking movement of said member in one direction only. In the illustrated embodiment, the shaft 60 and the separator roll 63 thereon will be rotated only on the down stroke of the lever 111 and will not be rotated on the up stroke of said lever, and as viewed in Fig. l0 which is a rear view of the card feeder 14, the active down stroke of the lever 111 and resulting rotation of the shaft 60 and separator roll 63 occurs in a clockwise direction. It will thus be apparent that upon and during each active down stroke of the lever 111, a card 5 will be -advanced from the top of the supply stack by the separator roll 63 through rotation thereof and frictional contact of the same with said card. The series of holes 114 in the crank disc 106 provides for placingof the stud 107 in any one of said holes to thereby adjust the time of operation of the separator roll 63 if deemed necessary or desirable. As shown in Fig. 7, the cards 5 are placed in the magazine 'facef wise with the adhesive sheet 7 at the top and with their longer dimension extending in the feeding direction and so that the transverse edge or shorter dimension nearest the adhesive sheet is leading.

The extent of rotation of the separator roll 63 upon each operation thereof as above described, is suicient to advance the uppermost card 5 from the supply stack a short distance and present its leading edge between a ,continuously driven lower feed roll 115 and cooperating Vupper pressure rollers 116 which complete the withdrawal of the card from the supply stack and further advance the same to the conveyor 15. It is to be noted that when the separator roll 63 has advanced the leading edge of a card 5 between the roll 115 and rollers 116, said separator roll, due to the described overrunning clutch drive therefor, will be rotated independently of said drive by the card as the same is pulled from beneath the separator roll by the advancing action of the feed roll 115 and pressure rollers -116 thereon. Under these conditions, -the separator roll 63, due to the momentum gathered thereby, will continue to coast after the card has `been advanced Ifrom between the same and the retard pad 86, and by such action a second card would very likely 'be adjacent the. disc 11-7" threaded portion of said-shaft.

' 7 advanced` prematurely: and out Vofv time, Novel brake means isi therefore'provided to stop rotation of the separat'or roll 63-as -soon afs ian Vadvancing' card' has passt-d-V ont of the -iniiuencef of said roll. 1

'As-showmsaid-brake means'cornprises ai disc 117 of a suitable friction material',such asber, which `freely snr- Yyie'ldingly andV continuously pressed againstfthe'disc 117 and the latter, in turn, is sopressedaagainst the bracket portion 58 by -a deformed washer-like spring 122 which is loosely engaged overthe shaft 60 and lis disposed bet tweenY the -hub ofthe disc 118 and apair of'adjusting and lock nuts 123 and 124, respectively, Ythreaded'on a rllhe pressure of the discs 117 and 118 is' adjusted s'o that the frictional drag imposed thereby upon thefshaft 60 isV just sufficient to instantly stop rotation of said shaft and the separator roll 63ias the-trailing edge-of yan advancing card leavesv said f separator roll.

j Since the Vdise-118 4operates against 'the dsc'117, and the latter operates against thebracket porand, hence, Va or `relativelyr light pressure is only required `for the dcscribed'pnrposef-thus avoiding any 's trainffon the described driving means Vfor the `separator roll 63. 'Y Y n -The 'feed roll 115 extends transversely of the feeder bracket 56jandis formed -at opposite ends thereof lWith shaftflike extensions 125 of reducedrdiameter which extend through suitable clearance 4openings'forrned lin the portions Y57, Y58 and :59 of said bracket, said'openings being of a diameter in excess of the diameter ofthe feed j rollt115 to provide for initial mounting of; said feed roll in the bracket vSti through either side thereof. The feed roll 115 isY jonrnalled `at one 'end thereof in 'a suitable antifriction bearing 126 which is 'caniedby and retained in a tsuitable manner in `the bracket portion VS7. The mounting 'for Vthe antifrictionV bearing 126 is -preferably ehosenso that said bearing may be engaged over and removed 'fromfthe `feed roll shaft V125 Vthrough Vthe outer surface of the bracket portion 57, thus enabling Aand facilitating 'subsequent rem'ovalof'the feed roll 115 .from the feeder through the bracket portion 57 for repairs or replacement purposes.V In order to provide increased feeding `traction'of thefeed rollr115 on the cards 5, said roll vis provided 'with 'two axially'spaced narrow sleeves or tires 127 of soft rubber which "are pressed over and Vsuitably bonded to reduced portions Qof'said feed roll.

The idler pressure rollers 116, of which there are two 'in the` illustratedV embodiment, coact with the 'rubber Vsleeves 127 of `the 'feed roll .115 'toV further 'advance 'the 'cards '5 Vkilelivered successively 'thereto by the separator roll6'3'. f lThese pressure rollers, 116 'are mounted in a novel 'manner `'so as to provide' for 'adjustment thereof in- Y ftion58, there is provided-infeii'ect ya double braking action dependently 'as to the *pressure applied thereby on the cards, and collectively Vin 4the 'plane Aof the 'top of the `feed roll'115'to proper Aoperating position' with respect zto said ffeed Toll.' Accordingly, 'each 'pressure roller 116 is journalled'on afstud Y128 'securedinrthe lower'free end "of aniiuvertedJL-shaped lever 129. V'The levers 129 for b'o'th'pressurerollers 116 are pivotal'ly mounted -at their Y rearwardly projecting endsf'on a round cross bar 139 -rnillelat ateach :end `thereof Vas indicated-at '131. The :cross bar 1.130 rests fon top of 'rthe portions 557v and Y'58 of the-bracket 56 with theatfiens '131, thereof vengaged upwardly vtprojectir'tg,lugs v:132Lfornied.. on each t thus; be'apparent that by simply loosening.v certainof the;

sen-screws. 1213`v and Vtightening others thereof, the cross: barf1305, the. 1eversf129, and other partsicarried by Said; cross bar to be hereinafter described, may beV moved asi a small increments relativeto the bracket 56 not onlyj back-and'forthxin'a directionI longitudinal of the machine, :but may also bei inclined ina. horizontal plane,; if necessarygto accurately locate the idler pressure rollers L16 in proper operating position on the feed roll 115.i The cross bar `:held against upward displacementl from theV bracket 56 and is yimmer-ably clamped in ad-n justed position to said bracket by the knurledf operating heads .134 of clamp screws which lare engaged; in clearance slotsv 136 V,formed in the dat ends '131, ofy the crosszbar 130 and are threaded into the bracket portions 57Yrandi58. Disposed betweenV the levers 129 and clamped tothe cross bar 130'is an Varm 137 which,V in plan view, is T-shape'd so'as to overlie said levers `at points Ysubstantially .directly overA the idlerY pressure rollers 116. This. arm 137 has threaded in suitable :threaded openings lin the laterally extending branches thereof adjustable hollow screws 138 which arey provided Vwith springpressed plungers 139 that project through the :lower ends of saidV screws into yieldingV engagement with the forward kends of the levers 129V V.The idler pressure rollers 116 are thus yielding'ly pressedvagainst the feed roll 115 independently of each. other through engagement of the plungersV 139 withV the respective levers l129,'and the pressure of said rollers on said feedroll may be independently adjusted by rotating `the respective screws V138 which are provided with knurled operating heads 140 `for this purpose. The knurling on the heads 140 of screws 138 is of the straight type-and thus provides spaced minute teeth around 'the peripheries .of said heads so as to receive in the spaces between said teeth resilient detentsV V141 'for yieldingly holding said screws in the adjusted positionsthereo said `detents being suitably secured to the varm 137. The 'levers 129 .are held in spaced relation bygthe iarm 137, and

-against axial -outward displacement by collars V142 which Yare releasably secured to the cross bar 130.

Bunching of the farmed-out cards 5 inl and at the dis# charge end of kthe `supply magazine is prevented by a hold-'down roller 143 which is iournalled at one'end of a'rod144. The rod 144 extends longitudinally-of the card supply magazine and is vslidably engaged-in a 'suitable clearance opening formed'in one end of atransverse-stud 145 which is slidably and rotatably engaged in a suitable clearance opening for-med in an upward extension 146 of the rarm`137. The stud 145 has threaded on the other end thereof a Wingnut Y147 which is engaged with the adjacent surface of the arm extension 146 so as to move lsaid stud axially .toward 'said arm extension and'thereby releasably clamp ythe rod 144 against the latter in the adjusted position thereof with Yrespect to the cards 5 `in Vthe supply magazine. Y Y Y The feed roll 115 Vis driven-continuously and at a surface :speed faster than-that at which'the 4separatorroll 63 `is rotated in `feeding, the cards '5 successively from the 'supply stack. lnfthisY manner, each card 5 .presented to the feed'roll 115Y and pressure rollers 116 by the separa- -tor roll Air-will be rapidly Vand completely VVwithdrawn .from'the supply stack before the separator roll 63"]5 again operated .to feed 'the' next card '5 from the 'supply stack in `:the .next feeding cycle and, hence, the Asuccessively fed 'cards 5 will follow each futher. a predetermined distance apart; 'l "hefeed1rol.l 115V isdrivenin the .mannerdescribed from the gear boxz30, :and for this purpose, theshaft-M of lsaid vgear box has also .fixed .thereon .a spnrlcltet 148 around which passes. ;a chain 149. The chain .extends upwardlyv from the1sprocketp148 -threughaesuitable i i clearance 150 in the'plate v51 and also passes around a sprocket 151. This sprocket 151 is keyed or otherwise suitably secured to one shaft `152 of a conventional angle gear drive unit 153 having another shaft 154 which is disposed at right angles to the shaft 152. The angle gear unit 153 is located so that the axis of its shaft 154 is coaxial with the axis of the feed roller 115,*and is bolted or otherwise suitably secured in such position to the base of a vertical bracket or standard 155. The bracket or standard 155 is bolted or otherwise suitably secured to the upper surface of the plate 51 and is utilized to support one end of the card stacking conveyor, as shown in Fig. 1, to be hereinafter described. Slack in the chain 149 is compensated for by a small diameter sprocket 156 which is located within lthe gear box 39 and is engaged with said chain The sprocket 156 is jour-nalled on and at the free end of an arm 157 which is adjustably clamped to a stud 158 secured in any suitable manner to the gear box 30. The shaft 154 of the angle gear unit, 153 has keyed or otherwise suitably secured thereto one part 159 of a conventional couplingY 160, the other part 161 of which is keyed or otherwise suitably secured to the outwardly projecting end of the feed roll shaft 125, thus completing the drive from the gear box to the feed rolland effecting continuous rotation of said feed roll.

Although the feeder 14 has been primarily described above in connection with the handling of cards therein and the use thereof in a machine for preparing cards and mounting inserts therein, it is to be understood that said feeder is not limited to such articles or to such use, but that the same has application in other arts and that the described principles thereof are applicable to the feeding of sheets, envelopes, letters, and other relatively thin articles of a variety of different sheet materials to various machines for the performance of operations thereon. i

In the normal operation of the feeder 14, the cards are separated and advanced successively at timed intervals from the supply stack by the separator roll 63 and presented by said separator roll to and between the feed roll 115 and pressure rollers 116, said feed roll and pressure rollers serving to further advance the cards in succession and deliver them in like manner to the card conveyor which serves to advance and present said cards successively to the mechanism for producing a card hav ing a micro-film mounted therein.

While only one embodiment of the present invention has been described in the foregoing specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in connection with one specific purpose, it will be apparent that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the machine illustrated and its operation may be made by -those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is not intended, therefore, that the present invention shall be limited to the embodiment shown nor otherwise than by the terms of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a feeder of the friction type for cards, sheets and the like articles, a support, an inclined magazine arranged adjacent said support at the rear thereof for supporting a supply stack of such articles in fanned-out relation with the first article of said stack at the top thereof and leading, continuously driven article advancing means arranged at the front of said support and adapted to grip an article and advance it forwardly of said magazine, a shaft extending transversely of said support and journalled therein, a separator roll secured to said shaft for rotation thereby and arranged to frictionally contact the topmost article of said supply stack, driving means for intermittently rotating said shaft and therewith said separator roll an extent to feed the topmost article from said supply stack to said advancing means, said driving means providing for free rotation of said shaft and said separator roll by the fed article through advancing movement thereof by said advancing means, and brake means for stopping a 16 rotation of said' shaft and said separator' roll stilista i:ttially'L the instant that the trailing edge of the advancing article s clear of said separator roll, said brake means comprising a brake'disc mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith and for limited axial movement relative thereto toward said support, a friction disc disposed between Said Support and said brake disc and loosely receiving said shaft, and

resilient means surrounding said shaft and continuously acting on said brake disc to yieldingly press the same against said friction disc and the latter against said support. i

2. In a feeder of the friction type for cards, sheets and the like articles, a support, an inclined magazine arranged adjacent said support at the rear thereof for supporting" a supply stack of such articles in fanned-out relation with the iirst article of said stack at the top thereof and leading, article advancing means arranged at the front of said support and comprising a continuously driven feed roll and pressure rollers cooperating therewith for advancing an article forwardly of said magazine, a shaft extending transversely of said support and journalled therein, a separator roll secured to said shaft for rotation thereby and arranged to frictionally contact the uppermost article of said supply stack, driving means including an overrunning clutch for intermittently rotating said shaft and therewith said separator roll an extent to feed the topmost article from said supply stack to and between said feed roll and said pressure rollers, and brake means for stopping rotation of said shaft and said separator roll substantially instantaneously with the movement of the trailing edge of the advancing article out of contact with said separator roll, said ybrake means comprising a brake disc mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith and for limited axial movement relative thereto toward said support, a friction disc loosely receiving said shaft and disposed between said brake disc and said support and loosely confined in a recess formed in said support, and resilient means surrounding said shaft and continuously acting on said brake disc for yieldingly pressing the same against said friction disc and the latter against said support.

3. In a feeder as dened in claim 1 wherein said article advancing means comprises a driven feed roll extending transversely of said support and jourualled thereon, a cross bar mounted on said support for adjustment horizontally toward and away from said feed roll and angularly in its plane with respect to said feed roll, at least two levers pivotally mounted on said cross bar in spaced relation, pressure rollers journalled on said levers and engaged with said feed roll, an arm fixed on said cross bar and disposed between said levers, spring-pressed plungers adjustably mounted in said arm and engaged with said levers for applying a yielding pressure thereon in the direction of said feed roll, means adjustably mounted on said support and engaged with the opposite ends of said cross bar at opposite sides thereof for eecting said horizontal and angular adjustment of said cross bar, means mounted on said support and engaged with said cross bar for releasably clamping the same to said support.

4. In a feeder for cards, sheets and like articles, an inclined magazine for supporting a supply stack of such articles in fanned-out relation with the irst article of said stack at the top thereof and leading, a support adjacent the discharge lower end of said magazine, a separator roll rotatably mounted in said support and capable of feeding said articles from said supply stack through frictional contact of said roll with successive articles, a retard element disposed in an opening in said magazine and in opposed relation to said separator roll, means mounting said magazine so that the upper surface of the supply stack supporting base thereof is parallel to and spaced from a plane which is tangent to the periphery of said separator roll and providing for bodily adjustment of said magazine to various angles of inclination about the axis of said separator roll, continuously driven article advancingnrneansarranged at theV front; of said support.' and, Y aaptedito Vgrip an article and advance .itrvforwardly `of said-magazine, drivingV means f or intermittentlyr rotating,

Y saidse'paramrrdl an extent to feed the topmost article ffrrom, said supply stack to said advancing means, said driving means providing for free rotation of said separator rollby the fed article through,` advancing movement oithelatterrby said advancing means, and brake-means for 'stopping rotation fof said separator rollV substantially Vthe instant that the trailing edge of thel advancing article is Vclear of said separator roll.

V5. A sheet feeder as defined in claim 4 wherein said article advancing means comprises a driven lower feed V,roll and a pair ofrupper pressure rollersr cooperatingwith Vsaid, feed roller, and means for supporting said pressure rollers so as to enable independent vertical adjustment ofthe pressure applied by each pressure roller upon said feed roller and vhorizontal adjustment of said pressure rollers Vas a unit relative to and transversely of the axis of said feed roll.

References Cited in the le ot this patentY UNITED YSTATES PATENTS 891,359 Morse June'23, '11908 1,897,484 l Y2,033,736, Y

12 Y La Bombardiet al. -.72 May ,58, '11 Labombardeafelg. 148;, 33

Perrymau Mar. LQ,-

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