US2659437A - Cutting and gripping mechanism for printing machines - Google Patents

Description

W. F. HUCK Nov. 17, 1953 CUTTING AND GRIPPING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 4, 1947 C W N R M m I M. m U LY WIB Nov. 17, 1953 w. c 2,659,437

CUTTING AND GRIPPING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES Filed March 4, 194' 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 PHPER 1w:

/NVEN7'OR \Nu-L/AM F Hucmw. F. HUCK 2,659,437

MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES Nov. 17, 1953 CUTTING AND GRIPPING 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 4, 1947 n a K A V mm MV//////////////////// .mmwm

a. x m ya Patented Nov. 17, 1953 UNITED STATE 9 CUTTING AND GRIPPING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINE S William F. Huck, Forest Hills, N.

Y., assignor to This invention relates to high speed web printing machines and more particularly to a cutting,

delivery mechanism,

speed.

Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved combined cutting, folding and slow-speed delivery mechanism that can advantageously be used with modern high speed printing machines of the type that are generally used to print newspapers, magazines and other printed. products and which will not have the above undesirable features.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved web cutting mechanism.

Still another object of the invention is to pro- Vide an improved folding mechanism. 7

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved delivery mechanism.

Other important objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and appended claims Portions of the invention not claimed herein are described and claimed in a divisional patent application Serial No. 206.159, filed January 16, 1951.

For a complete understanding of this invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. i is a vertical cross sectional View taken ting and gripping mechanisms embodying this invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic View of the mechanism as seen in the direction of the arrows and taken substantially along the broken line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of cu ting and gripping mechanisms shown in Fig. 1;

Figs. 4 and 5 are views similar to Fig. 3 but showing advanced stages of the cutting and gripping operations;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion of the folding mechanisms shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a View similar to Fig. 6 but showing an advanced stage of the folding operation;

Fig. 8 shows a detail of one of the cutting knives; and

Figs. 9 and 10 invention.

Referring to the drawings, this invention has show a modified form of the propelling roller l2, second and third rotatable propelling rollers I3 and it, a rotatable cutting roller I 5, a rotatable collecting cylinder l6, a rotatable folding cylinder down roller It, a pair of non-rotatable stationary a plurality of pivotally mounted adjusting shafts 23, 23' and 23".

The rollers supported in a pair of ee- 25 and 25 which in turn are rotatably supported in frames II and H respectively. Each bearing box 25 and 25 is proshaft 23, 24. By turning the handle 24, the eccentric boxes 25 and 26 the cylinder 16.

As the web W passes beyond the roller l4, it is acted upon by coacting cutting knives 35 and 36, the collecting cylinder |6 supporting three knives 36, whereas, the cutting cylinder supports two knives 35. It will be understood that the cylinders l5 and I6 are driven in a manner hereinafter described and at such speeds that one of the knives will always coact with one of the knives 36. Each of the knives 36 on the cylinder |6 is positioned entirely cylinder l6 and each blade has a straight cutting edge that is parallel with the axis of cylinder l6. Each of the knives 35 on the cylinder |5 are V-shaped, as best seen in Fig. 2. By this arrangement, which is known as involute cutting, the knives start to cut the web W simultaneously at both outer edges as the knives start to engage, and the cutting progresses inwardly from the edges of the web until the two cuts join at the center of the web, at which instant a sheet bethe web W. This method of cutting produces a perfectly straight cut. Each of the knives 36 is mounted for limited pivotal movement by means of a fulcrum groove 3| (Fig. 3) that cooperates with a fulcrum tongue 39 formed on one side of a support bar 34 that is secured to the cylinder 3 by a plurality of bolts 40, and by having a compression spring 31 that biases the knife 36 against a stop 38 formed on the bar 34.

Each of the knives 35 has the form of an involute throughout the portion of the are that is used for cutting. However, the tips 35' (Fig. 2) at both ends of the blade 35, outside of the paper range, are rounded to a smaller radius in order 4 to provide for easy engagement of any one of the knives 35 with any cooperating knife 36, which is also provided with similarly rounded edges of smaller diameter. The smaller radius tips on the blades 35 and 36 lie outside of the shearing portion of the knives. With this arrangement, it is possible to co-act different pairs of knives for each engagement without adjusting any of the knives to a great degree of accuracy. When the two knives 35 and 36 are engaged, the knife 36 moves pivotally on the tongue 39 against the bias of the springs 31, and is forced against the knife 35. Firm shearing action between the knives 35 and 36 is obtained by resiliently mounting one of the knives. In the embodiment illustrated this is accomplished by pivotally mounting one of the knives and biasing it by spring 31. Other resilient means may be employed, however.

The cylinder I6 is provided with a plurality of clearance spaces each being located in a leading position ahead of each of the knives 36. As the web is severed by the knives 35 and 36 (Fig. 3) the trailing cut edge St of the sheet S being cut off is forced by the forward face of the knife 35 to enter the recess 43 (see Figs. 3 and 4). At the same time the leading cut edge W1 of the web from which the sheet is being cut is forced by a tucking blade 46 (Fig. 4) into a position leading the gripper 41. This position is in a recess 53 formed in the cylinder l6 in a position trailing the knife 36. (The tucking blades 46 are carried by the cutting roller |5 in a parallel trailing relationship to the knives 35 and are held in position by the bolts 42 which are the same bolts that hold the knives 35 in place.) A short time thereafter a row of fingers 49 (Fig. 4) which are made of spring metal and carried by the roller |5 in an angled relationship to the blades 46, press and hold the leading cut edge W1 of the web W, from which the sheet is being out against below the surface of the set of grippers 41 will be open as the surface of the cylinder I6, and thus assist momentarily in forwarding the leading edge of the web. It will be realized that the cut trailing edge of the sheet S is bowed with respect to the cylinder l6 during the time the cut is being made. This is due to the fact that the knives cut the web from the edges progressively toward the center. The cylinder I6 is provided with three sets of equally spaced grippers 41, and each gripper 41 is positioned approximately radially with respect to the cylinder l6 and no part of said grippers extends beyond the peripheral surface of said cylinder. Each gripper 41 is supported from a shaft 48 that is pivotally mounted on the cylinder |6. Each set of grippers 41 is opened and closed at the proper instant by a lever 52 having a cam roller 50 which is acted upon by a cam 5| supported from the frame II by bolts 54. The shape of the cam 5| is such that each they approach the point of cutting. This allows the tucking blade 46 to press the leading edge We of the web into the recess 53. The grippers 41, under control of the cam 5|, close (Fig. 5) to press the leading edge W1 of the web against the trailing side of the knife 36. It should be noted that the bite of the grippers is substantially radially disposed on the cylinder l6, that the grippers grip the paper on the side that is toward the cylinder, and that each gripper is substantially below the surface of the cylinder and therefore underneath the paper. Preferably the grippers will remain closed for the remainder of the revolution of the cylinder l6, opening only at a point just prior to the cutting operation as hereinbefore described, and, as will be better understood when the remainder of this description has been read, the sheet is pulled from the grippers while the cam is holding them closed.

In addition to the above described mechanism, the cylinder |6 carries three sets of flexible folding blades 59, the supported ends of which are securely bolted to the cylinder IS. The unsupported ends of the blades 59 may or may not, as desired, protrude slightly above the surface of said cylinder l6, and these blades are positioned substantially radially with respect to this cylinder. The blades 59 cooperate with a jaw seat 6| and a jaw blade 62, two sets of which are carried one-hundred eighty degrees apart on the folding cylinder |1. Each seat 6| is secured to the cylinder H by a bolt 58 and, like the folding blade 59, may or may not protrude above the surface of the cylinder l1 and is positioned substantially radially with respect to the cylinder |1.'

Each jaw blade 62 is pivotally carried on the cylinder H by being secured to a pivotally mounted shaft 66 and each blade 62 may or may not protrude slightly above the surface of the cylinder l1. The shaft 66 carries an abutment arm 86 and a cam arm 65, the latter supporting a cam roller 64. The shaft 66 and the blade 62 are under control of the cam roller 64, which rides in a cam groove 63 supported from the frame As the center So of the sheet S or collated sheets, which are held to the cylinder l6 by grippers 41, arrives at the bite between cylinders l6 and i1, one of the jaw blades 62 (Fig. 6) gradually folds the paper around the folding blade 59, and finally presses this folded edge against the jaw seat 6|, thereby, securing the center fold of the cut sheet S onto the cylinder H. The travel of the jaws 6|-62 around the cylinder |1 (Fig. 7) carries the sheet with them and pulls the leading edge S1 of the sheet from the grasp of gripper 47. In Fig. 1, it will be noted, that the pull on the sheet by the jaws Bi- 2 tends to open the gripper ll.

pull of the sheet on the gripper blade blade to the open position. As the cylinder 2? to turn and carry with it the folded the sheet, the leading edge S1 and edge S of the cut sheet or sheets become lined up or collinear.

The cylinder H, in addition to the jaws 6I$2, also carries a pair of slow down rollers it, these being spaced one-hundred eighty degrees (180) apart around the cylinder. Each roller ill is rotatably driven, by gears presently to be described, to rotate in such directionthat their peripheral surfaces will move in a direc tion opposite to that in which the peripheral surface of the cylinder l? moves. This results in a surface carried by the cylinder if that in relation to a fixed point rnoves slower than does the surface of the said cylinder ll. The roller l8, that is driven at a peripherial speed of approximately one-eighth 4;) the peripherial speed of the cylinder ll, cooperates with the pair of rollers l6, and in the preferred mechanism the relative peripherical or surface speed point on the cylinder id is equal to the surface portion of the trailing speed of the roller it when the two are adjacent one another. The roller it is spaced from the surface of the cylinder ll a sufficient distance so that the surface of the roller it does not cntact the surface of the cylinder ll. In fact, this spacing is of such magnitude that the folded product S can pass between the surfaces of the cylinder I! and the roller is without being pressed therebetween except when one of the rollers it is opposite the roller I8. Thus, when one of the rollers ill and the roller it are opposite each other they pinch the collinear trailing edge or tail Sit-S1 of the folded product with firm contact and due to their relatively slow speeds they pull the leading folded edge So of the product from the fast moving jaws iii-2, which at the proper instant are opened by the action of the cam 63. Thus the folded product is slowed down to approximately one-eighth of its original speed, and since the product is slowed down only by the rollers 18 and Hi acting on the trailing or rear unprinted margin thereof, the product is in no way damaged, cut or punctured as is the case in many prior art devices. The position of the roller 18 can be adjusted laterally with respect to the cylinder I7 and the rollers '58. This is accomplished by a pair of eccentric bearing bushings 'II and 12, the shaft 23" and a handle 24" in much the same way as the rollers it and it are adjusted with respect to the cylinder It. When belt conveyor 56 that is driven at slow speed and in either direction desired by a motor or other means not here shown.

The various rollers and cylinders, hereinbefore described, are driven in the following manner. A main drive gear '53 is driven by a motor or other prime mover (not shown), and this gear is in mesh with a gear M that is keyed to a shaft 75 that mounts one end of the folding cylinder H. The opposite end of the cylinder ll has a hollow shaft '35 which has secured to it a pinion 16 that is in mesh with a gear ll keyed to a shaft 18 for the roller ill. Keyed tothis same shaft 18 is a gear 8| that meshes with a pinion 86 keyed to the end down rollers 78. The gear 74, in addition to driving the shaft 75, meshes with and drives a gear 87 that is keyed on the end of a shaft 88 gear 89 keyed on shaft 99 of the cutting roller l5. also meshes with a gear 97 keyed to the end of the shaft for the roller [4, the roller it being driven in a similar, though not shown, manner.

and It, will be equal. It is frequently the practice to imprint a web W so that the printed. matter is repeated. vWhen edge S1 of the first the rollers I 2 and the cylinder l6, itis positioned are removed from the cylinder, as hereinbefore set forth for the sheet 5 when only one sheet was being gripped.

Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate a second preferred embodiment of the invention, which is identical with bolts Hi l, only one of which is shown in the drawings. The shaft 163 is pivotally supported between the two side frames H and H keyed to it an adjusting lever 535. The lever N36 is adjustably held between a pair of adjusting screws if that are threaded into bosses its, protruding from one of the peripherial speed tion to the surface speed of the cylinder I on equal to and opposite in direc'-' which they are mounted. This results in the provision on the rotating cylinder H of a surface that is stationary relative to the stationary stop plate NH and shoe I02, when the said surface is opposite the said shoe I02. Thus, when the trailing unprinted margins St and S1 of the sheet S are caught between the rollers and the stationary shoe (02, the folded product S will be pulled from the grip of the jaws 6 1-62, which are opened at this instant by the cam 53 acting on the cam roller 64. This results in the speed of the folded product being reduced to zero. As the roller 10 moves beyond its position opposite the shoe I02, the stationary product S drops onto the conveyor belts 56. The means of driving the rollers 10 is somewhat similar to that previously described. A pinion, not shown in Fig. 10 but equivalent to pinion 80 of Fig. 2, drives gear Bim which is rotatably mounted on an extension M38 of the adjusting shaft 33. The gear Tim is likewise rotatably mounted on the extension W9. A pin III is threaded through a hole in the gear 8lm and into a hole in gear 11m, thereby causing the two gears to rotate in unison. The gear 11 drives a gear, not shown in Fig. 10 but which is equivalent to the gear 16 shown in Fig. 2, and from this point on the two drives for the rollers 10 are similar except for the speed ratios previously described.

While I have illustrated and described two preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that the invention may be otherwise embodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a cutting and gripping mechanism for use with high speed web printing machines, a pair of web cutting knives, a collecting cylinder on which one of said knives is mounted and said cylinder having a recess trailing said knife, a gripper carried by said cylinder in said recess and being positioned entirely below the surface of said cylinder, and means for causing said gripper to press the leading end of said web against the trailing surface of said knife.

2. In a cutting and gripping mechanism for'use with high speed printing machines operating on a web, a large diameter cylinder around which said web is wrapped, a straight edged cutting means carried by said cylinder and positioned entirely below the surface thereof, a V -shaped cutting means arranged to coact with said straight cutting means, radially positioned grippers carried by said large diameter cylinder, and tucking blades associated with said V-shaped cutting means; said tucking blades being arranged to tuck the leading end of said web beneath said grippers.

3. In a cutting and gripping mechanism for use with high speed web printing machines, a straight edged cutting knife, a large diameter collecting cylinder carrying said cutting knife and having a recess trailing said knife, and said straight edged cutting knife being positioned entirely below the surface of said cylinder, a second cutting knife arranged to coact with said straight edged cutting knife; said second cutting knife being vshaped in form and arranged to sever the web by starting simultaneously at both edges and finishing the cut at thev center of the web, a gripper being carried by said collecting cylinder in said recess and being positioned entirely below the surface of said cylinder, andmeans for cans.- ing said gripper to press the leading end of said web against the trailing surface of said cutting knife.

4. In a cutting an gripping mechanism for use with high speed printing machines operating on a web; a first cylinder rotating in a predetermined direction; a second cylinder adjacent said first cylinder and rotating in the opposite direction so that the surfaces of said two cylinders move in the same direction, a first cutting knife carried by said first cylinder; a second cutting knife carried by said second cylinder, said second cylinder having a recess trailing said second cutting knife, and said cutting knives being arranged to cut a sheet from said web; a gripper carried by said second cylinder and operating in said recess in said second cylinder; a tucking blade carried by said first cylinder and arranged to tuck the leading end of said web from which the sheet is cut into said recess in said second cylinder; a finger also carried by said first cylinder and arranged to hold the same leading end of said web against said second cylinder; and means for operating said gripper in such a manner that the said gripper grips the leading end of said web.

5. In a cutting and gripping mechanism for high speed web printing machines, a first cutting knife; means for rotatable mounting said first cutting knife; a second cutting knife cooperating with said first cutting knife for cutting a sheet from the leading end of a web and thereby providing a new leading end for the web; means for rotatably mounting said second cutting knife; a pressing finger carried by said means for rotatably mounting said second cutting knife, said pressing finger having a forward end which engages the new leading end of the web and presses said new leading end against the means for rotatably mounting said first cutting knife; a tucking blade also carried b said means for rotatably mounting said second cutting knife, said tucking blade having a forward edge which projects and engages the new leading end of the web, thereby bending the new leading end of the web adjacent said first cutting knife; and a gripper carried by said means for rotatably mounting said first cutting blade, said gripper having a forward portion adjacent the new leading end of web as said new leading end is bent by said tucking blade; and means causing said gripper to grip the new leading end of said web.

6. A cutting and gripping mechanism constructed in accordance with claim 5 and wherein, said tucking blade is located in a position trailing said second cutting knife and said pressing finger is located in a position trailing said tucking blade.

'7. A cutting and gripping mechanism constructed in accordance with claim 5 and wherein, said gripper is located in a position trailing said first cutting knife. 7

8. A cutting and gripping mechanism constructed in accordance with claim 5 and wherein, one of said cutting blades is an involute blade, and wherein one of said blades is V-shaped in form and is arranged to sever the web by starting simultaneously at both edges and finishing the cut at the center of the web.

9. In a cutting, and gripping mechanism for use with high speed web printing machines, a pair of cutting edges for severing the web, a collecting cylinder on which one of said cutting edges is mounted and said cylinder having a recess trail.- ing said cutting edge, a gripper and an anvil carried by said cylinder in said recess and being posiweb has been severed by said cutting edges.

WILLIAM F. HUCK.

References Cited in the file Of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 162,607 Biedinger Apr. 27, 1875 880,465 Price Feb. 25, 1908 1,139,528 Hufiman May 18, 1915 Number

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