US2540162A - Feeder bar for feeding sheets of cardboard or the like - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 6, 1951 W. E. BOWERSOCK FEEDER BAR FOR FEEDING SHEETS OF CARDBOARD OR THE LIKE Filed March 13, 1948 IN V EN TOR.

W/LBER BOWERSOGK HIS A TTOR/VEY Patented Feb. 6, 1951 OFFICE FEEDER BAR FOR FEEDING SHEETS OF CARDBOARD OR THE LIKE Wilber E. Bowersock, Rochester, N. Y.

Application March 13, 1948, Serial No. 14,656

Claims. 1

This invention relates to feeder bars, and, more particularly, to the variety adapted for feeding the lowermost sheet or blank of cardboard or the like from a quantity thereof stacked in a hopper, of a box blank folding machine, for example, one object of the invention being to provide an improved feeder bar of this type having a construction capable of operating in a more efficient and reliable manner.

Such feeder bars require a minimum thickness in order to insure sufficient strength and rigidity. On the other hand, they are subject to employment for feeding relatively thin sheets and it not infrequently happens that such sheets, particularly of the corrugated board variety, are inadvertenty crushed at their edge portion, so as to materially reduce their thickness at such an edge. As a, result, it commonly happens that the ordinary feeder bar overlaps and feeds two sheets or blanks at a time, which jam or even injure mechanism, so as to recuire stoppage of the machine for clearing it of spoiled blanks or adjusting or repairing its parts. Another object, therefore, is to provide a feeder bar of substantial thickness and "strength in a form of construction adapted for feeding blanks of minimum thickness, equal to or less than the thickness or height of the bar itself, in a reliable manner, one at a time, so as to avoid interference with the operation of the machine.

To these and other ends, the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novehfeatures being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a gripper bar embodying the present invention;

i Fig. 2 is an enlarged, transverse,.sectiona1 elevation of the bar bolted to a feed plate and showing the same about to feed a blank having a thickness substantially equal to that of the bar;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the blank being fed by the bar;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the bar about to feed a blank of substantially less thickness than that of the bar, and

Fig.1?) is a view similar to Fig.4, but showing the blank being fed by the bar.

The embodiment of the invention at present preferred and herein disclosed, by way of illustration, comprises a feed bar I0 made of carbon steel and of substantially minimum thickness or height of, say, 0.100 of an inch": Such a bar is transversely of the usual feed plate [3, which is reciprocated by any suitabe means (not shown) beneath a stack of blanks in a hopper of a blanlr feeding machine, for feeding the bottom blank forwardly at each forward reciprocation of the feed plate, as well understood in the art.

The feed bar of the present invention is formed at its forward side with an upright or vertical feeding shoulder i5, preferably of the same height as the bar, as shown, and extending continuously from end to end, except as interrupted by a series of pointed teeth I 6 extending forwardly from the bar and spaced from each other longitudinally thereof, for penetrating the edge of the sheet to be fed and elevating the superposed sheets, as hereafter described.

Each tooth i6 is formed by opposite side and top and bottom surfaces converging to a point,

as shown. The opposite side surfaces I1 and I8 preferably converge at equal angles of inclination with the feed shoulder l5, while the under or bottom surface 19 of the tooth lies in a plane spaced above and parallel with the bottom surface 28 of the feed bar. This under surface l9, containing the tooth point 2|, is spaced above the. bottom of the bar and the upper surface of the feed plate by a distance which is no greater than the minimum height or thickness of the edge of the board to be fed in a state of maximum crushing. In other words, the point of the tooth. is disposed at such a distance above the feed plate that the point will always penetrate the sheet in or below the upper surface thereof, in

any condition of crushing to which it is likely tobe subjected, so as to engage only'the lower sheet and pass under the next sheet above. This distance in the present embodiment, for example,

is 0.640 of an inch.

The upper surface 22 of the tooth is inclined from its point upwardly and rearwardly to an interrection with the top surface of the bar in a line 23 spacxl somewhat forwardly of the feed tom facing sheets, 25 and 26, respectively, while the edge of the board is engaged by the feed shoulder l5, so that the lower board only is fed forwardly from beneath the stack, as shown. If the edge of the board is presented in crushed condition, its upper surface will be level with or above the points 2| of the teeth of the feed bar, so that the tooth point will pass under the superposed board and .cam it, together with the 'whole stack, upwardly to position to be cleared by the top of the feed bar.

The same feed bar is shown in Fig. 4 in position for feeding a blank 2'! having-a thickness or height substantially less than that of the feed-bar but greater than the height of the point of the bar above the feed plate, so that when the feed bar is advanced, as shown in Fig. 5, the tooth again penetrates between the top and bottom liners of the lower blank only. The portion of the blank, however, immediately above the tooth, is' cammed upwardly by :its inclined upper face 22 raises "also the superposed blanks of the stack, so that as -the lower blank (only is advanced, the feed bar clears and passes under the superposed blank with'out feeding it. The blank is shown with a normal edge, but it is evident that if its edge were crushed to the maximum extent permitted by'the thickness of its componentmateria ls, its top surface would still lie level with or above :the point of the tooth, and the latter would penetrate and feed the lower blank only and pass under the superposed blank.

"The disclosure therein of particular dimensions of the bar is intended in a merely illustrative way, as it is obviousthat the same advantageous principles may 'beappliedto a series of bars ranging in size in accordance with the thickness of the sheets to be fed. :It is evident that the princip'les of construction herein disclosed provid: a bar which can be made in the thickness required for strength and rigidity, while being adapted to feed blanks having an edge thickness substanti- Jlessthat the thickness of the bar, the blanks being fed one at a time, in a reliable manner, so as to avoid interruption in the operation of 'th: blank folding or other machine with which the feeder bar is associated.

' It will thus be seen that the invention accomplishesiits objects and 'while it has been herein disclosed by reference to the details of a preferre'd embodiment, it is to be understood that such disclosure is intended in an illustrative, rather than a limiting sense, as it is contemplated that various modifications in the construction and arrangement :of the parts will readily occur 7 said bar having on the side thereof lying in the direction of feed an upright feeding shoulder for engagement with the edge of a bottom sheet to be fed and having at said shoulder a series of pointed teeth extending forwardly in the direction of feed and spaced longitudinally along said bar, the points of said teeth being arranged at a height intermediate the top and bottom of said barand of said sheet to be fed and the upper surfaces of said teeth being inclined upwardly and rearwardly to a height at least equal to that of said shoulder for raising the superposed sheets to enable said :bar to clear and pass under the same and thereby feed single sheets having a thickness equal to or less than that of said bar.

2. A feeder bar as specified in claim 1 in which *said upper surfaces of said teeth are inclined upwardly and oppositely to the direction of feed to a height equal to that of said shoulder at a line spaced in advance of the line of said shoulder. 3.. nifeeder bar :as specified in claim 2 in which he :under surfaces of said teeth lie in a plane passing substantially through the points thereof and above and parallel with the bottom surface of said bar.

i. A feeder bar as specified in claim 3 in which said shoulder is substantially equal in height to the height of said bar.

5. A feed r bar adapted to be reciprocated for feeding sheets of corrugated cardboard and the like singly from the bottom of .a stack thereofi. said bar having on the side thereof lying in the direction of feed a yerticalifeeding shoulder substantially equal in height to said bar for engagement with the ed e of a bottom sheet to be fed and having a series of pointed teeth extending forwardly in the direction of feed from the upper portion of said shoulder and spaced from one another longitudinally of said bar, the points of said teeth being arranged at a height less than :at of said bar and intermediate the top and bottom of said sheet to be fed, said teeth having their uppzr surfaces inclined upwardly and rearwardly to a height equal to that of saidshoulder 1' at a line sr'aced'forwardly in advance of the forthrough the points thereof and above and parallel with the bottom surface of said bar.

WILB'ER E. BOWERSOCK.

REFERENCES CITE-D The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 551,453 Crowell Dec. 17,1895 1,150,210 Langston Aug. 17,1915 11,592,367 .Hren et al. July 13,1926 2,158,5G5 Horgan May 16,1989'

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