US3651724A

US3651724A - Method and apparatus for producing card sets

Info

Publication number: US3651724A
Application number: US9820A
Authority: US
Inventors: Harold W Huffman
Original assignee: Hamilton Tool Co
Current assignee: Hamilton Tool Co
Priority date: 1970-02-09
Filing date: 1970-02-09
Publication date: 1972-03-28
Anticipated expiration: 1989-03-28

Abstract

The machine accepts a multilayer perforated paper web of indeterminate length from a collating machine, and rapidly cuts off, without waste, individual parcels, packets or card sets so accurately dimensioned that cards included in the sets may be used as data cards in automatic high speed data card handling equipment without supplemental sizing or finishing treatment. The register perforations of the web are used as guides to ensure accuracy of the cutoff.

Description

[451 Mar. 28, 1972 [Inited States Patent Huffman 83/346 X .....83/346 X ...83/323 X 2,172,414 9/1939 Sherman...... 3,174,372 3/1965 Huck [54] METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING CARD SETS [72] Inventor:

.......83/98 Molins................................,......83/98 Assignee:

The Hamilton Tool Company, Hamilton, Ohm Primary Examiner-James M. Meister Attorney-J. Warren Kinney, Jr.

Feb. 9, 1970 [22] Filed:

[21] Appl. No.: ABSTRACT The machine accepts a multilayer perforated paper web of indeterminate length from a collating machine, and rapidly cuts off, without waste, individual parcels, packets or card sets so [51] Int. 29/26 .83/23, 24, 94, 98, 99, 88, 83/115, 116, 121, 122, 322, 323, 346, 347, 422;

accurately dimensioned that cards included in the sets may be [58] Field of Search.......................

used as data cards in automatic high speed data card handling equipment without supplemental sizing or finishing treatment.

l2l/30 The register perforations of the web are used as guides to ensure accuracy of the cutoff.

20 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS Pap e................

Pmmmmze m2 3,651,724

SHEET 1 [1F 6 IIVVENTOR HAROLD W. HUFFMA PAIENIEUMAR 28 m2 1, 55 51 ,7 2

saw 3 UF 6 IN VE/V TOR HAROLD w. HUFFMAN PATENTEUHARZB I972 3,651,724

sum u 0F 6 INVENTOR HAROLD W. H UFFMAN PATENTEDHAR28 I972 3, 51,7

sum 6 UF 6 INVENTOR HARQLD W. HUFFMAN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING CARD SETS machinery. In addition, the demand for such cards has been increasing at a rapid pace beyond the capacity of existing production machinery to supply the demand therefor promptly, economically, and with the critical accuracy of dimensions and uniformity presently necessary for proper operation of modernized card handling machinery.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved method and apparatus for attaining unusual accuracy and uniformity in the production of multilayer data card sets or packets at an unusually high rate of speed.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for achieving the desired high speed production of card sets characterized by great uniformity and accuracy, with superior reliability and economy of operation and without the production of waste materials.

Another object of the invention is to minimize the production of rejects in the high speed manufacture of high quality card sets, and to ensure proper feeding and disposition of the finished card sets for easy stacking and packaging for shipment.

A further object is to produce card sets or card packets of the character referred to, as a continuous operation beginning with a multilayer web of infinite length in which the sheets constituting the layers are accurately superposed and cementedto one another along a common edge in advance of a cutoff operation herein disclosed.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved cutoff method and means which is operative upon a continuously rapidly advancing multilayer paper web, to produce severed parcels having a common measurement between two cleanly cut edges, with a variance not exceeding 0.005 inch.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein and illustrated upon the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary end view of the new machine, which includes a cutter roll, an anvil roll receiving a web from a pinband collator conveyor, and a discharge conveyor beneath the anvil roll.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross section of FIG. 1 taken on a plane which includes the axes of the cutter roll and the anvil roll.

FIGS. 3 through 10 illustrate a succession of steps whereby a parcel is substantially severed then stripped from a rapidly advancing web, and finally laid onto a discharge conveyor with other parcels in echelon fashion preparatory to counting, stacking, and boxing for shipment.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary plan view taken on line 11ll of FIG. 10, of a marginally perforated multilayer web upon which the present machine is operative.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the anvil roll assembly.

It should be understood at the outset, that the web 14 has a side margin 16 defined by a line of through slits 18 whereby the marginal portion 16 might at some remote time be detached from the body portion 20 of the web. A line of perforations 22 extends lengthwise of the web from end to end, and all such perforations are accurately and uniformly sized and spaced apart.

The web comprises a plurality of sheets, perhaps as many as six or eight, superposed flatly upon one another and glued or cemented together along the extreme outer edge of marginal portion 16, to maintain always an accurate matching of the constituent sheets and their respective perforations 22. The sheets of the web are all coextensive in length and width, and some may be characteristically different from others. That is, some of the sheets may be of card stock, others may be of relatively thin paper, and still others may be data transfer or carbonized sheets interposed for making copies by impression.

Those sheets of the web which are of card weight, may be of short grain or l-lollereth" stock, which is a type of paper notably preferred for use in IBM and similar data processing equipment. The web will usually, though not necessarily, embody one or two card stock sheets of the Hollereth type, and parcels or packets resulting from severing the multilayer web at spaced intervals therefore will each include at least one card available for data processing purposes. The Hollereth type card substantially retains its dimensions and stiffness under varying atmospheric conditions.

The multilayer web 14 as above described is usually assembled on a collating machine at high speed, with corresponding perforations 22 of all the constituent sheets in perfect registry. As before stated, the perforations 22 are accurately sized and spaced apart. Thusly, the web 14 may be advanced toward the cutoff elements of the machine of FIG. 1, by the pin band conveyor 24 of a collator, with the pins 26 thereof engaging the perforations of the web to thereby positively and accurately advance the web as a multilayer strip of infinite length. The width of the strip or web may vary, as will be explained hereinafter.

The primary purpose of the apparatus and method herein disclosed, is to very accurately sever successive card sets, parcels, or packets from the continuously advancing multilayer web at high speed, and to reliably and uninterruptedly deposit the severed sets, parcels or packets in echelon formation upon a discharge conveyor 28 (FIG. 10) for easy counting, stacking, and boxing for shipment.

Before revealing the mechanical details of the machinery involved, it is proposed to outline the steps of the method whereby the machinery acts to produce individual accurately dimensioned packets or card sets as previously mentioned. It is necessary to note that the machinery involved includes a knife or cutter cylinder 30 and an anvil cylinder 32, rotatable at equal peripheral speeds in opposite directions as indicated by arrows upon FIG. 3. The cutter cylinder carries elongate fixed cutoff knives or cutters 34 projecting beyond the periphery of the cylinder and spaced apart uniformly in para]- lelism about the periphery of the cylinder. The distance between cutters determines accurately one dimension of each packet or card set produced.

On FIGS. 3 and 4 are shown

air nozzles

36, 36 carried by cylinder 30, for directing momentary streams of pressured air radially outwardly toward the periphery of cylinder 32, for the purpose of forcing the web 14 into flatwise abutment against constituent parts of the cylinder 32 just prior to and at the time of severance of the web by the cutters. The nozzle openings are located close to and in trailing relationship to each cutter, with reference to the direction of rotation of the cutter cylinder. One or several nozzles may be located along the length of each cutter.

Each nozzle of a transverse row of air nozzles is adapted to register momentarily with an air supply manifold 38, which manifold is kept charged with pressured air during rotation of the cutter cylinder. The arrangement is such that every web cutoff operation is accompanied by a brief air blast directed against the web toward cylinder 32.

For each cutter of knife 34 there is provided upon cylinder 32 an anvil 40 against which the cutter may impinge while severing the web 14. Each anvil may be substantially coextensive in length with the length of a cutter, and will be exposed at the periphery of the anvil cylinder except when covered by the web. The anvils may be fixedly mounted upon cylinder 32, as by means of screws or other fasteners 33, FIG. 12, or they may be cushioned for slight yielding retraction when subjected to impact of the cutters. The anvils may be in the form of blocks of metal or other suitable material mounted in recesses 42 provided in the anvil cylinder.

lOlO29 0174 The periphery of the anvil cylinder is provided with a row of extending pins 44 spaced apart in exact correspondency with the spacing of the web perforations 22, FIG. 11. The pins are diametrally dimensioned to enter and leave the perforations 22 with slight clearance, so as to preclude any shifting of the web relative to the peripheral face of the cylinder, particularly at the time of cutoff. The row of pins 44 completely encircles the cylinder 32, and the pins are dimensioned and spaced apart in exact correspondency with those of the collator pin band conveyor 24, FIG. 1.

Between successive anvils 40 about the periphery of cylinder 32, the cylinder is provided with a series of tiltable platelike strippers 46 which, like the anvils 40, extend lengthwise of the cylinder in parallelism with the cylinder axis. Each stripper 46 has a toe 48 and heel 50 disposed adjacent to two successive anvils, that is, each stripper substantially spans the space between two anvils. The number of strippers on cylinder 32 is equal to the number of anvils thereon.

At a point approximately midway between its toe 48 and heel 50, the stripper is pivoted so as to be rockable in opposite directions about an axis which is parallel to the cylinder axis. Accordingly, the stripper may rest normally, according to FIG. I, with its toe 48 and heel 50 forming part of the periphery of cylinder 32; or, the stripper may be tilted as in FIGS. 4, and 6, to project the toe 48 outwardly beyond the periphery of cylinder 32; or, the stripper may be tilted in a reverse direction to project the heel 50 outwardly beyond the periphery of cylinder 32 according to FIGS. 7 through 10.

A cam track or groove 52, acting upon individual cam followers 54 associated with the several strippers 46, initiates the aforesaid tilting movements of the strippers. The cam track or groove 52 is so located at one end of the anvil cylinder 32, that tilting movements are imparted to a stripper only as a stripper advances from the web cutoff station (see FIG. 4), to the delivery station shown by FIG. 10. In this regard, it is noted from FIG. 3 that the stripper 46 has not been tilted from the normal position; but soon after the adjacent cutter 34 penetrates the web, as in FIG. 4, the stripper begins to tilt so as to complete severance of the web by tearing, in the event of failure of knife 34 to perform a clean perfect cut. This function is assisted by an air blast from nozzle 36 acting upon the web at opposite sides of the line ofcutting.

As the cylinders rotate farther, the stripper 46 is cammed to the fully tilted position of FIG. 5, at which position the stripper toe 48 directs the leading edge ofa severed parcel or packet P away from the periphery of cylinder 32, causing said leading edge to ride along the underface 56 of a stationary and serrated inclined packet or parcel deflector 58. During this phase of the parcel advancement, the parcel remains impaled upon the pins 44 until it is lifted from the pins by the action of the stripper toe and the serrated deflector 58. Until the parcel reaches the deflector, it is kept impaled on the pins 44 by an arcuate retainer member 60 which bears lightly against the outer ends ofthe pins.

At a location in advance of the deflector, a fixedly mounted spring metal flipper finger 62 bears against the outer face of the advancing packet, FIGS. 5 and 6, holding the packet against the outer periphery of cylinder 32 except at its leading edge L which has advanced onto face 56 by the deflector. The free end of the flipper finger may be located very close to the lower end ofthe arcuate guide or retainer member 60.

In FIG. 7 is shown the packet P advanced to the point of leaving the lower end of retainer member 60. At this stage, the packet is about to move beyond the flipper finger, while at the same time the stripper 46 has been cammed to a counterclockwise direction of tilt, causing the heel 50 of the stripper to apply pressure to the trailing edge T of packet P against the flipper finger which as in FIG. 8 flips the packet away from cylinder 32 and from the register pins 44.

The impetus thus given to packets P causes them to be projected downwardly, as suggested by FIGS. 9 and 10, with a tendency toward rotation and an approach toward horizontal disposition, while falling onto discharge conveyor 28. The leading edges L of all the descending packets successively will strike an upright stationary backstop plate or member 64, which locates successive packets upon one another, in echelon fashion as conveyor belt 28 advances continuously. The packets so advanced may pass a station at which the packets are counted, collected as a unit, and boxed or otherwise packaged for shipment.

It may be noted that the stripper 46 shown at the right in FIG. 10, having completed its part in the depositing of a packet upon conveyor 28, is about to be cammed to the normal position at which the opposite ends 48 and 50 thereof rest at substantially the peripheral limit of cylinder 32, (see FIG. 1.).

The drawings show eight strippers and anvils on cylinder 32, but in practice the number of such elements may be either increased or decreased as desired. The number of knives carried by the cutter cylinder will of course correspond to the number of anvils or strippers on cylinder 32.

Details of the apparatus for producing the multilayer packets, parcels or card sets, are illustrated principally by FIGS. 1, 2 and 12 of the drawings. The knives 34 of cutter cylinder 30 are set in elongate parallel recesses 66 formed in the periphery of the cylinder, and may be held firmly in place by means of backup plates 68 and screws 70, or other suitable means. The knives may be notched as at 72, FIG. 2, to avoid interference with the locating pins 44 fixed upon and extending radially from the periphery of anvil cylinder 32.

FIGS. 2 and 12 show two rows of pins 44 on the anvil cylinder, indicating that the machine can be made to handle more than one multilayer web ifdesired. In that event, the web advanced by collator conveyor 24 of FIG. 1 may be quite wide, and may be characterized by opposite edges each marginally perforated and slitted (see FIG. 11 for one-edge treatment). The web with both edges perforated and slitted could be continuously slitted and divided lengthwise at a location intermediate its side edges while entering or before entering the present machine. Further, if desired, two separate webs could be fed simultaneously into the present machine, each web being marginally perforated to register with the pins of both rows shown upon FIG. 2. In the example given in the preceding explanation, the assumption was for a single web feed wherein one row of perforations 22 was provided, and each web was of limited width so as to overlie only one of the two rows of pins 44 shown upon FIG. 2.

The frame 74 of the machine carries

bearings

76, 76 in which are rotatably journaled the shaft ends 78 of anvil cylinder 32. The shaft ends of the cutter cylinder 30 may be similarly journaled upon the frame.

The shaft 78 of the anvil cylinder may carry a gear 80 to be driven in synchronism with the collator conveyor 24, for ensuring a proper feed of web material to the register pins 44 of the anvil cylinder. The cutter cylinder may be driven by means ofa gear 82 fixed upon an end of the cutter cylinder and meshing with a gear 84 fixed concentrically with the shaft of the anvil cylinder by means of bolts 86 or otherwise. The gearing serves to drive the

cylinders

30 and 32 in opposite directions of rotation but at a common peripheral speed. All shaft bearings may be lubricated in accordance with accepted engineering practice.

Attention is now directed to the construction of the anvil cylinder 32. As was previously explained, a cam track or groove 52 is responsible for various tilting or rocking motions ofthe strippers 46 relative to the anvil cylinder. The cam track or groove 52 may be carried by a circular cam disc 88 which is fixedly mounted on the machine frame, as by means of bolts or screws 90, and in concentric relation to the anvil cylinder.

Ad indicated upon FIG. 2, the periphery of the cylinder exposes the several strippers 46, each of which comprises a serrated elongate platelike member having a plurality of toes 48 and heels 50. An end view ofa stripper 46 is shown upon FIG. 3. In plan, the stripper may be said to resemble a coarsetoothed comb, (46, FIG. 2). Cylinder 32 which carries the strippers 46, includes radial recesses 92 into which the toes and heels of the strippers may dip as the strippers rock or tilt, (46, FIGS. 6 and 7), as was previously explained.

Each stripper may include an elongate body-element 94 adapted to swing within the confines of a channel 96, which channel extends lengthwise of the anvil cylinder axis. A channel 96 is provided for each body element 94, and permits a limited swinging movement thereof corresponding to the tilting movement of a stripper 46. The strippers are all identical to one another and each is securely fixed to a body element such as 94.

For tilting the strippers and their associated body elements in accordance with the sequence of FIGS. 3 through 10, the body elements each have a crank connection with a cam follower 54, (FIG. 2), which as previously explained, is activated by the tortuous shape of a groove or track 52 in cam disc 88. The cam disc is fixed relative to the machine frame, as by means of the screws 90, wherefore the camming action upon the followers results from relative rotation of the cylinder 32 carrying the strippers and their cooperative body elements 94. The cranks for the body element and stripper assemblies are denoted 98. The cranks are fixed upon studs 100 provided at the opposite ends of each stripper/body element assembly. The studs are fixedly related to the body elements, and may be integral therewith if desired.

From the disclosure of FIG. 2, it will be noted that only one cam 88 is required, and accordingly, cam followers need be furnished only upon those cranks 98 which are adjacent to the cam. The remaining cranks 98 at the opposite, or right-hand end of the cylinder in FIG. 2, perform merely as means providing a pivotal journal 102 about which the stripper/body element assembly may tilt while performing the sequence steps of FIGS. 3 through 10. The numeral 104, FIGS. 1 and 12, indicates a bore in the crank to accommodate a drive pin 105 of drive disc 103, for ensuring rotation of the crank bodily with cylinder 32. Each drive disc 103 may be mounted upon an end ofcylinder 32 for rotation therewith.

From the disclosure of FIG. 1, it is apparent that the cam track 52 has three humps, denoted 106, 108, 110, which activate the cam followers 54 in succession to produce the sequence of stripper movements suggested by FIGS. 3 through 10. The numeral 112 indicates a bracket which may support the retainer member 60 and flipper finger 62.

The apparatus of the present invention is especially adapted for operation at high speed and will deliver individual multilayer parcels, packets or card sets accurately dimensioned across opposite leading and trailing edges, within a tolerance of b 0.005 inch. Such accuracy of dimensions renders suitable for automatic high-speed data processing, the card or cards of each set.

By altering the design of the cutter and anvil cylinders of the machine, card sets of various types and sizes can be produced from a common source of multilayer web material, with great economy, speed and precision. The machine moreover is so constructed as to operate in a substantially noisless manner without noticeable vibration. The machine operation also is inducive of trouble-free continuous service with a minimum of maintenance expense.

As was previously mentioned, the machine will produce without waste, parcels, packets or card sets from webs having and desired number of plies or layers, at a high rate of speed and without the production of rejects which can seriously interfere with subsequent use of the packet cards in automatic data card handling equipment. The attribute of accuracy in card dimensions is of vital importance in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus operative upon a continuously advancing multilayer web having uniformly spaced register perforations formed in a line along a side margin of the web, said web includin g at least one layer of card stock, the apparatus comprising: a pair of rotary cylinders each having opposite ends and a peripheral face; means for rotating said cylinders in opposite directions at equal peripheral speeds with the peripheries thereof spaced apart in parallelism; a series of spaced transverse cutters on one of said cylinders; a series of spaced transverse anvils on the other cylinder so arranged that successive anvils are struck by successive cutters during rotation of the cylinders; a row of extending pins on the periphery of the anvil cylinder spaced apart in correspondency with the spacing of the register perforations of the web, said web advancing onto the periphery of the anvil cylinder incident to said cylinder rotation, with the pins extending through the perforations of the web margin, said web upon entering the space between the cylinders being severed transversely by said cutters penetrating the web and striking an anvil; means for precluding displacement of the web margin from association with the pins during and subsequent to severance of the web, said last named means having a terminal end, and operative means to flip the severed parcel toward a horizontal position in the direction of said parcel receiving means as the severed parcel leaves said terminal end, and means for receiving the parcels severed from the web by said cutters.

2. Apparatus as defined by claim 1, wherein the means last mentioned includes a belt conveyor; said apparatus including means to compile the severed parcels in echelon fashion upon said conveyor.

3. Apparatus as defined by claim 1, wherein is included a movable web conveyor for feeding the web to the anvil cylinder, said web conveyor including a row of pins movable therewith to engage the perforations of the web margin during feeding of the web to the anvil cylinder.

4. Apparatus as defined by claim 1, wherein is included means operative during severance of the web by a cutter, for directing a stream of air toward the anvil cylinder periphery and onto the web adjacent to the line of severance.

5. Apparatus as defined by claim 1, wherein is included a succession of tiltable strippers located at the periphery of the anvil cylinder between successive anvils, said strippers each having a toe and a heel movable alternatively outwardly beyond the limit of the anvil cylinder periphery incident to tilting of the stripper; means supporting each stripper for tilting movement about an axis which is parallel to the axis of rotation of the anvil cylinder; means for partially tilting a stripper toe outwardly against the web and away from the anvil cylinder periphery at the approximate instant of the web severance, in order to ensure complete detachment of a severed parcel from the web along the line of severance; a retainer means temporarily precluding displacement of the severed parcel from the pins of the anvil cylinder, said retainer means having a terminal end at which the severed parcel is released; a flipper element disposed adjacent to the terminal end of the retainer means; a parcel deflector having an edge spaced from said terminal end and disposed closely adjacent to the anvil cylinder periphery near said parcel receiving means, said deflector having a surface for deflecting severed parcels away from the periphery of the anvil cylinder and toward said receiving means; means for tilting the partially tilted stripper toe farther outwardly as the leading edge of the severed parcel approaches the deflector edge aforesaid, thereby to direct the leading edge of the parcel onto the deflecting surface of the deflector; and means for thereafter tilting the stripper for extending the heel thereof outwardly beyond the periphery of the anvil cylinder, to flip the trailing edge of the advancing parcel away from said anvil cylinder and said flipper element, thereby to deposit said parcel upon the receiving means.

6. Apparatus as defined by claim 5, wherein said receiving means includes a belt conveyor driven at a speed such that parcels successively deposited thereon overlap in echelon fashion.

7. Apparatus as defined by claim 5, wherein is included means operative during severance of the web by a cutter, for directing a blast of air toward the anvil cylinder periphery and onto the web adjacent to the line of severance.

8. Apparatus as defined by claim 7, wherein said air directing means includes a series of nozzles carried by the cutter cylinder, at least one nozzle being located adjacent to each cutter and arranged to direct an air blast substantially radially outwardly from the periphery of the cutter cylinder.

9. Apparatus as defined by claim 7, wherein is included means for terminating the release of air immediately following complete severance ofa parcel from the web.

10. Apparatus as defined by claim 2, wherein said belt conveyor is movable in one direction of advancement to transport said parcels; and the aforesaid means to compile the parcels in echelon fashion includes a stationary backstop arranged transversely of the line of travel of the belt conveyor, to position the leading edges of all parcels uniformly relative to the conveyor.

11. Apparatus as defined by claim 5, wherein is included a movable web conveyor for feeding the web to the anvil cylinder, said web conveyor including a row of pins movable therewith to engage the perforations of the web margins during feeding of the web to the anvil cylinder.

12. Apparatus as defined by claim 5, wherein said receiving means includes a belt conveyor driven at a speed such that parcels successively deposited thereon overlap in echelon fashion.

13. Apparatus as defined by claim 12, wherein is includes a stationary backstop arranged transversely of the line of travel of the belt conveyor, to intercept and position the leading edges of all parcels uniformly as said parcels approach the belt conveyor.

14. The method of producing individual parcels from a multi-layer web having uniformly spaced register perforations formed in a line along a side margin of the web, said web including at least one layer of card stock, said method comprising: advancing the web continuously to the periphery of a rotatable cylinder having a row of extending pins thereon to engage the perforations of the web; driving a knife transversely onto the web to sever a parcel therefrom; advancing the severed parcel while same remains impaled upon the cylinder pins; advancing the severed parcel still farther and dislodging it progressively from the cylinder pins, leading edge first; then flipping the trailing edge away from the cylinder to rotate the parcel toward a horizontal disposition for deposit upon a moving discharge conveyor.

15. The method as defined by claim 14, wherein at the approximate time of severance, a stream of air is directed toward the cylinder periphery and onto the web in the region of the line of severance, to ensure complete detachment of the parcel from the web.

16. The method as defined by claim 15, wherein at the approximate time of imposition of the air stream, the trailing end of the severed parcel is forced out of coplanar alignment with the web edge remaining as the result of the severance.

17. The method as defined by claim 16, wherein the leading edges of all parcels progressively deposited upon the discharge conveyor are directed to a state of spaced parallelism, with the parcels flatly overlapping one another upon said conveyor.

18. The method as'defined by claim 14, wherein the said continuous advancement of the web toward the periphery of the rotatable cylinder, involves driving the web by way of its marginal perforations.

19. The method as defined by claim 16, wherein the said continuous advancement of the web toward the periphery of the rotatable cylinder, involves driving the web by way of its marginal perforations.

20. The method as defined by claim 17, wherein the said continuous advancement of the web toward the periphery of the rotatable cylinder, is by way ofa moving collator pin belt the pins of which engage the marginal perforations of the advancing web.

Claims

1. Apparatus operative upon a continuously advancing multilayer web having uniformly spaced register perforations formed in a line along a side margin of the web, said web including at least one layer of card stock, the apparatus comprising: a pair of rotary cylinders each having opposite ends and a peripheral face; means for rotating said cylinders in opposite directions at equal peripheral speeds with the peripheries thereof spaced apart in parallelism; a series of spaced transverse cutters on one of said cylinders; a series of spaced transverse anvils on the other cylinder so arranged that successive anvils are struck by successive cutters during rotation of the cylinders; a row of extending pins on the periphery of the anvil cylinder spaced apart in correspondency with the spacing of the register perforations of the web, said web advancing onto the periphery of the anvil cylinder incident to said cylinder rotation, with the pins extending through the perforations of the web margin, said web upon entering the space between the cylinders being severed transversely by said cutters penetrating the web and striking an anvil; means for precluding displacement of the web margin from association with the pins during and subsequent to severance of the web, said last named means having a terminal end, and operative means to flip the severed parcel toward a horizontal position in the direction of said parcel receiving means as the severed parcel leaves said terminal end, and means for receiving the parcels severed from the web by said cutters.

9. Apparatus as defined by claim 7, wherein is included means for terminating the release of air immediately following complete severance of a parcel from the web.

13. Apparatus as defined by claim 12, wherein is included a stationary backstop arranged transversely of the line of travel of the belt conveyor, to intercept and position the leading edges of all parcels uniformly as said parcels approach the belt conveyor.

18. The method as defined by claim 14, wherein the said continuous advancement of the web toward the periphery of the rotatable cylinder, involves driving the web by way of its marginal perforations.

20. The method as defined by claim 17, wherein the said continuous advancement of the web toward the periphery of the rotatable cylinder, is by way of a moving collator pin belt the pins of which engage the marginal perforations of the advancing web.