US2195849A - Cutting means - Google Patents

Description

April 1940- F. M. CARROLL 2, 95,849

CUTTING MEANS Original Filed Jan. 26, 1937 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 I N V EN TOR. FREDM CARR0LL NEYS.

April 2, 1940. I c o 2,195,849

CUTTING MEANS Original Filed Jan. 26,. l93'7 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 nob 23 p. g Is 4 g a N g 15 INVENTOR.

FREDMCAIZRoLL A TTORNEYS.

April 2, 1940.

F. M. CARROLL 2,195,849

CUTTING MEANS Original Filed Jan. 26, 1937 7 Sheets- Sheet 5 INVENTOR- FREDMCHRROLZ By WW4 J ATTORNEYS.

April 1940. F. M. CARROLL 2,195,849

CUTTING MEANS Original Filed Jan. 26, 1937 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 F IG.5. we

IN VEN TOR.

BYFREDM Qmnozz ATTORNEYS.

April 2, 1940. F. M. CARROLL CUTTING MEANS Original Filed Jan. 26, 1931 7 Sheets-Sheet -6 b 0 T 4% 49 w w o 4 M4 1 a 4 1|! l 4 Q I O I I II o a l c 0 Pi 9 \h\ K 6 r M 8] K mm 6 6 2 .l w o m w INVENTOR. Fm M Canaan.

A TTORNEYS.

April 2, 1940. F. M. CARROLL 2.195.349

CUTTING MEANS Original Filed Jan. 26, 1937 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR. FnsvM. CmmoLL M1 TTZRNEYS.

Patented Apr. 2, 1940 to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N.. Y., a corporation of New York Original application January 26, 1937, Serial No.

122,360. Divided and this application 1938, Serial No. 205,923

v v 10 Claims. This case relates to the cuttingmeans of a machine for operating on a web to produce printed record cards therefrom; and is a division of my application Serial No. l22,360,fi1ed January 26, 1937 and issued as Patent No. 2,181,935, dated December 5, 1939.

Themachine operateson a blank continuous strip of material, i. e., the web, to printrecord forms thereon which are cut apart to form card lengths, each bearingone printedform. vThe particular record. produced is knownasa tabulating card which in subsequent use is punched to control automatic bookkeeping or'accounting machines.

The invention is not restricted to a machine for producing printed record cards, but may be utilized wherever it is found necessary to cut material accurately and rapidly into individual lengths.

The object of this invention is to provide novel means for cutting material into individuallengths. Further, the object is to provide novel'means for cutting the material into individual lengths while the; material is moving.

Still further, the object is to cut material, for example a web, along a line atright angles to its direction of feed without interfering with the continuous feed of the material.

Another object of this invention is to provide novel means for cutting off a corner of a card.

It is also an object to provide means adjustable for selectively cutting off either of the corners of an edge of a card or the like.

Further objects of the instant invention reside inany novel feature of construction or operation or novel combination of parts presentin the embodiment of the invention described and shown in the accompanying drawings-whether within or without the scope of the appended claims and irrespective of other specific statements as to the scope of the invention contained herein.

In the drawings: I

Fig. 1 is a side view of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a front view partly in section and with parts broken away to show the normally con- I the cutters coacting to cut the web into a card length;

Fig. 6 isa section on line 66 of- Fig: 4inlever l8 added to the weight of roller 22, is such May 4,

eluding the cutters at a later stage of operation I after the card hasbeen cut apart from the web;

Fig. '7 is a detail plan view of the cutters; Fig. 8 is a vertical section through the upper left hand part of Fig. 1 showing the corner cutter and associated parts; Fig. 9 is an enlargementof the mechanism;

Fig. 10-is a section on line Ill-l0 of Fig. 8; .Fig. llis a section on line H--ll of- Fig. 8; and

corner cutting scale.

Fig. 12 shows a tabulating card on a reduced Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the supply roll Ill of blankqcard material C is carried by a two-part spool ll located on a shaft l2 fixed to a leg of the frame. The spool H is located between friction washers l4 and I5, the former encircling the neck of a collar 16 removably-secured to the outer endof'the shaft 12 adjacent the spool, and thewasher l5 encircling the neck of a collar 'l'l keyed to shaft I 2. Surrounding shaft l2 and engaging the side of collar ll. opposite friction washer I 5 is the hub of a lever 18, the hub having an internally threaded nut portion l9 coacting with the threaded, portion 20 of shaft I2. The outer .end of lever I8. carries a guide roller 22 for the web of material C coming off the supply roll The distribution of weight of the arms of as to impart a tendency tothe lever to swing clockwise (Fig. 1). drop unless supported by the web looped around the bottom of the roller. The roller thus exerts force on the web C to maintain it under tension.

As long as the web is feeding properly ofi the roll l0, it, will act on roller 22 to support the roller 22 and lever I 8 in upper position, limited by engagement of the lever with a fixed stud 23. In the upper position of lever 18, the spool II is free to rotate .between friction washers l4 and Accordingly, roller 22 would I5. When theweb stops feeding from the supply roll or is cutoff above the roller 22 in a manner to release the tension of the web on roller 22, then lever l8 drops and'by the coaction of its nut portion 19 with threaded portion 20 of shaft l2, the hub, of the lever is moved towards spool I I, thereby compressing the spool between washers and 15, which act to brake the spool and stop rotationof the supply roll l0 due to momentum.

Theweb of material C is led from roll l0 over top of the roller, and consequently with the direction of feed of the web as it leaves the guide roller. Thus, the top of the roller will have substantially no lateral tilting movement so that the web will be directed thereby in a predetermined, constant, path. The rest of the roller below the top is laterally tiltable to follow the side weave of the Web as it comes off the supply roll, while the top of the roller is effective to direct the web in a straight, predetermined path. The action of roller 24 may be clear if it be considered that the roller is always tilted in the direction which the web takes as it leaves the supply roll I0.

From roller 25, the web is threaded through the horizontally extending slot of a plate 27 formed on the upper arm of a lever 28 (see Figs. 1 and 3) which forms part of a web thickness gage, fully described in my parent application.

From the thickness gage, the web proceeds over a guide roller 37, around previously'rnentioned web-tensioning roller 22, and around guide rollers 37a and 31b. From roller 311), the web is passed between the bottom of a roll 38 and the top of a plate 39 (Figs. 1 and 2) tangentially disposed relative to roller 38, The web passes between roller 38 and plate 39, then proceeds upwardly along a convex guide plate 40, having side flanges to engage the sides of the web and prevent lateral movement of the web. The web proceeds along curved, flanged, guide plate 46, past a knife blade I2 (Fig. 1) but Without touching the latter and into the grip of feed rollers I3. The curve of the web against guide plate 46 stifiens it sidewise or transversely so that pressure exerted by the sides of the web against the web-confining side flanges 40 of plate 40 will not tend to bend or crimp the web vertically. The flanges thus engage the opposite sides of the web to guide it properly in its upward travel.

The feed rollers "I3 feed the web upwardly between a type roller I4 and a platen roller '15 which constitute a printing couple. Ink is supplied to type roller I4 by an inking roll I6 which is part of an inking unit K (Fig. 1), similar to the inking unit disclosed in my Patent No. 1,563,014. As the web passes through the printing couple, successive duplicate impressions of card forms are made on a face of the web.

After leaving the printing means, the Web passes between a pair of plates 01 (see Figs. 1 and 2). The plates 81 and the means connected thereto comprise a jam or kink detecting mechanism to stop the machine and cause the cutting off of the material below the feeding rollers by knife '52, in the event a kink, jam, or bend in the web is detected above the printing means, all as described in my parent application.

Feed rollers I3 have now fed the web past the printing means and past the jam detector. The feed rollers continue to feed the web, after leaving the jam detector between a pair of rotating and coacting cutter devices. One of these cutter devices comprises a shear holder sleeve I00 fixed to a spindle I0! and rigidly carrying a shear blade I02 (see Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7). The coacting cutter device includes an integral member comprising end flanges or collars I03a snugly embracing a spindle I04 and fast to the spindle. Integrally connecting the end flanges I03a is a bridge piece I031) concavely curved concentrically with but radially distant from spindle I04. Confined between collars I03a and extending along the length of bridge piece I031) is a sleeve I05 rotatably embracing spindle I04. Sleeve I05 is prevented by engagement of its ends with the confining collars I03a from moving axially along spindle I00, but the sleeve may rock to a limited extent relative to the spindle. Sleeve I05 rigidly carries at one side a shear blade I 06 for coacting with blade I02 to shear the web. At the opposite side, collar 5 05 is formed with a tail I07 projecting above the rear, fiat, surface of bridge piece I032). Between the latter and tail I0! is a spring I08. The spring I08 urges collar I05 clockwise (as viewed in Figs. 5 and 6) until the bottom of shear blade I06 engages the top of a screw I09 adjustably set in bridge piece I03b.

Spindles IOI and I04 of the coacting cutter devices are parallel to each other and to the web, but inclined, as may be understood from Figs. 2, 3, 4 to the direction of feed of the web. Blade I02 is disposed at an angle to its holder and substantially at right angles to the direction of web feed. Blade I06 is disposed along a line inclined to the horizontal and divergent from the incline of its holder I05 so that it is slightly more inclined to its holder than blade I02 to its holder. Each blade is thus wrapped around its holder in the manner of a helix. The upper cutting face (as viewed in Fig. 5) of blade I02 is ground spiral so as to define a line exactly at right angles to the length of the web during rotation of its holder I00 and during uninterrupted feed of the Web. Blade I06 is ground flat along its lower surface to act as a die or abutment against which blade I02 shears the web. When the corresponding facing points of the coacting blades I02 and I06 reach the line of tangency of the circles of holders I00 and I 03a, then these facing points are in engagement to out the web. The different corresponding points of blades I02 and I06 from right to left (Fig. 4) along the lengths of the blades reach the line of tangency successively during rotation of their holders. As the holders rotate, the blades travel at the same speed as the web is feeding, and the right hand ends of the blades meet first and start cutting the web at the right hand side. Then, as the shear holders rotate and the web feeds, the blades wipe each other progressively from right to left and shear the web progressively along a straight line from right to left as though by a pair of scissors blades. Due to the slight difference in angularity of the blades I02 and I 06 there is a true point contact between the blades as they wipe each other and due to this difference in angularity of the blades and to the blade I06 overlapping the blade I02, the blade I02 during the cutting operation lifts blade I06 against the resistance of spring I03. This insures a positive engagement of the blades at every point of their line of contact with each other and enables blade I02 to determine the line of cut across the web to be at exactly right angles to the length of the web.

In above manner, while the web is feeding upwardly continuously, the blades I02 and I06 cut the web along a straight line at right angles to the direction of feed. of the web and to the length of the web. The blades are timed to cut the web at intervals such as to separate the successive impressions of duplicate card forms from each other. The portion of the web above the cutter and which has just been severed along its bottom edge from the rest of the web is now a completed, printed, individual tabulating card T (Fig. 12).

At the completion of the cutting operation, and as may be understood from Figs. 5 and 6, the card just formed is no longer under the influence of the feeding rollers 13 or the feeding means he- 10w the cutting devices. The web below the last-formed card, however, is being fed positively by the feeding rollers I3 and-the upper edge of the web, just formed by the cutting operation is now beginning to move above the cutter blades which are at the same time moving apart and out of cutting coaction (see Fig. 6); The-overlap of the cutting blades results, 'to someextent, during the cutting operation in blade I06 forcing the lower part of the card being formed to the right (Figs '5; and 6) and out of the plane of the web below. As indicated in Figs. 5 and 6, carrier cylinder I is-recessed to provide a pocket directly above the working face of blade I02, and into which pocket the blade I06 may push the cut edge of the card inwardly of the cylinder and transversely out of the way of the following web whereby the web may overtake the lower portion of the card.

Thus, at the end of the cutting operation, the

. move past the blades but is not in the same plane may be moving at a slightly slower rate.

asthe card above. Hence, the 'web may move past the lower edge of thecard without interference from the latter. This enables the web to be fed uninterruptedly at a constant rate without hindrance from the card just formed which Thus, exact synchronism in the rate of feed of the card and the web are made unnecessary. The

' automatic shifting'of the card out of they plane of the web below is effected to some extent by the cutter blades I02 and I06 due to their overlap and tomovement of blade I02 to the right v (Fig. 6), as explained. The main mechanism for shifting the card transversely will now be de-. scribed. "1 Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 4, and 6, located above the shearing devices is a card guiding structure comprising a pair of parallel vertically disposed fluted rollers IIO. Each roller includes an upper section 011 and, a lower section Il0b, bot-h sections of a roller being fixed to a shaft H2 which is journaled on the frame. The two sections of each roller have their flutes I Iflc in vertical alinement, so as to form linear continuations, one of another. .The lower, entrance, ends of the flutes of each section are flared to facilitateentry of the card into the flutes. Helical interdental notches II3 are out in the ribs of the upper sections 0d, for cooperating with worms Il l fixed to a horizontal continuously rotating shaft II5 which extends across'the back of the fluted rollers. At one end, shaft II5 has a gear I I0 operatedby the driving means. As the shaft rotates, worms H4 thereon coact with notches II3 to rotate the fluted rollers H0 in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4. 1

Secured to the frame, between the rollers H0, is a flat vertically disposed guide plate I I! which is inclined slightly to extend further forward at the upper than at the 'lowervend.

The normal plane of feed of the web of card material through the feeding rollers I3, printing couple Ht-+15, and the circular portions of elements I00 and 3300 of the shear devices extends centrallyof' the fluted rollers IIO. Flutes 00 of each roller Il0 will', during rotation of tween successive flutes on a-roller.

the rollers, successively arrive at and then pass the normal plane of web feed. A pair of facing flutes. H0 0, one of each roller, will thus be disposed momentarily along the normal plane of web feed.- These two facing flutes are closest to each other atthe plane of web feed, and then' during continued rotation of therollers, move forwardly and further apart in divergent direc tions. -When the two facing flutes are closest to each other, at the plane of web feed, they are spaced apart, horizontally, the width of the web plus a slight clearance.

Now, as the web emerges a short distance above the shearing devices, the-upper end of the web enters the two facing flutes IIOc momentarily along the planeof web feed. As the web continues' toYmove" upwardly, before being sheared, the opposite sides of the web are moving within and upwardly along the pair of flutes which have received the web. This'pair of flutes'thus guides the web during its movement above the shear-ling devices. As rollers IIO rotate in divergent directions, the pair of flutes engaging the sides of the web move forwardly, thereby forcing the portion of the web above theshears forwardly. The flutes are deep enough to maintain their engagement with the sides of the web during rotation'of the fluted rollers through an anguar distance slightly greater than the distance be- At the beginning of the feed of the Web portion along the facing flutes which have received the web portion, the latter is inthe normal plane of.web

fed, and then as the web portion moves further upwardly alongthe flutes, it is shifted more and more forwardly by the flutes. For this reason, the guide plate I I 'I' is tilted forwardly at the upper end to maintain guiding engagement'with the web portion between the flutes during the feed of the web portion along the entire length of the fluted rollers. The guide plate III thus prevents the web from bowing or curving rearwardly between the flutes,

When the upper end of the .web portion nears the upper ends of the fluted rollers, the shearing blades I02 and I06 begin shearing the web portion to form an individual card T. The shearing of the web portion to form the individual card is completed when the upper end. of the web portion has moved beyond the upper ends of the fluted rollers. During the shearing operation, while the lower edge of the card is still being formed, the portion of the web which is to form the card and which is now above the shearing devices has been bent forwardly or to the right (Fig. 5) by the fluted"rollers. Consequently, when the shearing operation is complete and there is nothing further to restrain the lower portion of the card just formed from moving forwardly to a position above the shear blade I02, the lower portion of the card snaps for-. wardly out of the normal plane of web feed, and the card thus straightens out, in a plane determined by the, positions of the flutes now receiving the vertical sides of thecard just formed. The lower edge of the card then rests on a point of the shear blade I02, as indicated in Fig. 6,

and as the blade continues its clockwise rotation,

Inthe above manner, the card just formed ing devices and overtaking the card, as indicated in Fig. 6. When the upper edge of the latter web portion reaches the lower ends of the fluted rollers, the pair of facing flutes I I following the ones guiding the last-formed card are in central position, in the plane of web feed, to receive the sides of the web portion. Thus, successive flutes I I00 of the rollers IIO successively come into the plane of web feed to successively receive and guide the web as it moves above the shearing devices.

After the web has beencut to form the individual card and while it is being fed upwardly by the blade I02, gripping means come into play to grasp the card at opposite sides and to thereafter continue the feed of the card for a short distance. The card gripping means will now be described, with reference particularly to Figs. 4 and 6.

Above each fluted roller section I I011, the frame rigidly carries a bracket I20 for rotatably supporting a shaft I22 to extend transversely of the plane of the card T and inclined slightly upwardly towards the card. Mounted on shaft I22 is a yoke I23 which is integral with a gripper .1 arm I23 to which is pinned, by a rivet I24, a coacting gripper arm I25 of thin spring steel. The rear end of arm I25 is formed to straddle shaft I22 and a tongue member I26 locks arm I25 to shaft I22 for commonrotation, thereby indirect- T ly locking yoke I23 and its arm I23 to shaft I22.

. Yoke I23 is pivotally connected to a dependent bar I21, the lower portion of which is slidably guided in the frame, and the lower end of which engages a cam I28 on shaft II5. A spring I20 connected to bar I2! urges the bar downwardly towards cam I28. Cam I28 is so shaped as to rapidly reciprocate bar I27 which, in turn, oscillates yoke I23 and gripper arms I23 and I25. Since shaft H is continuously rotating, the gripper assembly is constantly oscillated.

Gripper arm I25 is formed at its free end with a V-shaped offset which may be considered as the gripping jaw I25. The inherent resiliency of arm I25 urges it constantly towards arm I23 to engage jaw I25 with the side of arm I23, to grip the card between them. In order to permit the card to enter freely between the jaw I25 and the adjacent gripping end of arm I 23, arm I25 is held away from the side of arm I23 until the gripper assembly is about half-way through its rising stroke, or in the lower dotted position shown in Fig. 4. To effect this result, bracket I20 journals, below the gripper assembly and at right angles to shaft I22, a pivot I30 on which is mounted a gripper release lever I 32. A hairpin spring I33 between the frame and the bottom edge of release lever I32 urges the latter to rock counterclockwise (Fig. 6) until the rear end of the release lever abuts a ledge I 34 of bracket I20. The forward end of lever I32 is bent to form an angular tip I35 which is in the path of movement of a tab I35 integrally formed with and projecting transversely from the springy gripper arm I 25. In the lowermost position of the gripper assembly shown in full lines in Figs. 4 and 6, tab I36 is engaging the horizontal part of tip I35 and by such engagement is holding release lever I32 down in opposition to the urge of spring I33 to move the lever I32 up. Also, the free side edge of tab I36 is abutting the generally vertical part of angular tip I35, and because of this engagement, gripper arm I25 13 held away from gripper arm I23 to permit the upper end of the card to freely enter between jaw I25 and gripper arm I23. Now, as the gripper assembly rises, spring I33 causes lever I32 to rise with its tip I35 following and maintaining engagement with tab I35. During such engagement, the gripper arms I23 and I25 remain spaced apart to freely receive the card. Due to the arcuate path of tip I35, the latter gradually recedes from tab I36, permitting gripper jaw I25 to gradually move towards gripper arm I23 and to finally grip the card just before the gripper assembly reaches its mid-position, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4. At this time also, the rear end of lever I32 strikes ledge I34 of bracket I20 and can rise no further. Tab I36 of arm I25 now departs from tip I35 of lever I32, and when the gripper assembly is at about the mid-point of its rise, the tab I36 is completely above the vertical part of tab I35 (see Fig. 4).

The card is now gripped at opposite sides and near its upper end by the two gripper assemblies, one above each fluted roller. At the same time, the lower edge of the card is still on shear blade I02 which has meanwhile been feeding the card upwardly after the shearing operation. Cam I28 is of such contour as to cause the gripper assemblies to initially rise at the same speed as the card is being elevated by shear blade I02. Thus, the upper portion of the card, which enters freely between the gripper arms when the latter are in their lower position follows the gripper arms at the initial speed of the latter and remains in position between the arms to be gripped thereby when they close at about the mid-point of their rise.

The gripper assemblies after gripping the card accelerate their speed, thereby instantly withdrawing the lower edge of the card entirely above the locus of rotation of blade 502. This prevents the lower edge of the card from being bent by the shear blade I02 as it rotates rapidly past the plane of the lower portion of the card.

The gripper assemblies deliver the card to a rotary conveyor. Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the conveyor comprises a wheel or drum M0 fast to a shaft I42 which rigidly carries a gear I43 meshed with the driving mechanism. The driving mechanism, acting through gear I43, continuously rotates drum M0. Spaced equal distances around the circumference of drum I40 are clips I44 (see also Figs. 6 and 8). each to clamp a card against the periphery of the drum. The forward end of each clip is bent away from the drum to facilitate entr of a card into position between the drum periphery and the clip jaw. The clip M5 is pivotedto the rim of the drum by means of a wedge-shaped tip IMc at the rear end of the jaw IM seating in a V shaped bearing notch formed in the rim of the drum, there being enough play between the tip and its seat to permit the clip to rock about tip I I la. relative to the drum. Ears M472 of the clip straddle the sides of the drum rim and are connected to each other by a wire spring I45 (see Figs. 6 and 8), the central portion of which engages an inwardly facing annular rib MB of wheel I40. Spring M5 is bowed by its engagement with rib I46 so as to tend through clip ears H142), to rock the clip clockwise about tip IMa, to engage the face of the clip with the drum periphery.

Shaft I42 of conveyor drum I40 is parallel to messes when in lower, full line position (Fig. 4:) are open the general plane of movement of the web .and of thelast-formedcard, and the drum is so 10 cated and of such size thatthe right hand arc' "of travel of thedrum periphery is substantially a continuation of the plane of the card being fed upwardiyby the intermediate delivery gripe pers I2 3.I25. Thus, the clips I44 will successively pass through the plane of feed of the card to reacha position for receiving a card from the cardv delivery grippers.

Just prior tor-caching: the card receiving position, the clip face is moved away from the periphery of drum I 40'. For this purpose, each clip [44 has one of itsears I44?) formed with an ex.- tension I49 for cooperatingwith the bottomof a horizontalflug I48 integrally formed at" the upper end of a bar I48 fixed to the frame (see Figs. 4. and 6). As the clip nears card receiving position, its extension I49; moves below lug I48) Then, as the clip continues to rise, the free; beveled end of the extension engages the bottom I of lug F43 and is thereby camrned to the .right (Fig. 6), causing the clip to rock counterclockwise about, pivot edge 1414a against resistance of spring I4. "Asa result, the clip faceis moved awayfrom the periphery of the conveyor drum and ,to open position for enabling the upper end of the card tomove between the clip face and the drum periphery. The clip. remains open while it is moving through cardreceiving position andthen as it continues to rise, extension I49 moves to the right along the. bottomof lug I48 gradually permitting the clip to close. By the timethe extension has ridden off the bottom of lug I48, as indicated in Fig. 6, the cliphas closed] and the face of the clip is gripping the card against the drum periphery. f I Ashas been explained previously, the pair of card deliverygripper assemblies I23-I 25 gripped the last-formed cardwhen about half-way along the grippers. con-v tinue to rise, the. openlgl p-Ifl comes to cardtheir ascending stroke.

reeeiving position,.in which the 'spacebetween the clip face andthe drum; periphery is directly above and in line withthejcentralwidth of the eard extending between thepair, of gripper as-.

semblies... Thus, as the card is fed upwardly by the gripper assemblies now moving through the upper half of their rise, the upper portion of the card, extending between thefpair of spaced gripper assemblies moves into the space between the clip face andthe drum periphery. The'gripper assemblies continue to. rise and move the card further along the clip face whilethe latter moves through and slightly past card-receivingposi tion. The gripper assemblies gripped the card about'half through their. rise or when in the lower dotted position indicated in Fig. 4.. After gripping the card, the assemblies continue to rise until they reach the upper dotted position. From the'lower. to the upper dotted line positions, the gripping ends of the. gripper arms. 23 and I25 move through an arc receding from the sides-of the. card; Thus, while the grippers are rising and feeding the card upwardly, they are. also slipping .off the card..- About half-way between and receive the upper part of the card at each side of the latter. Then while movingfrom the full line to the middle,dottedline, position, the

grippers travel at substantially thespeed of the card whichis moving upwardly due to its own momentum and the engagement of its lower end.

with the rising knife blade Hi2. Whenthe gripperS grip thecard, they start movingjmorerapidly so as to snap the card completely away from the path 0i knife blade 32. After gripping the card, the grippers feed it into thebite. of a clip I44 and while so doing move morerapidly than the clip so as to efiectively advance the 'card further into the range of the clip face.

Then the clip grips the card, and during the in{ terval in which both the clip and the grippers 523-425 grip the card, the grippers move at substantially the speed of. the clip. The different speeds of the grippers jare obtainedby properly shaping cams I28 which control the rise of the grippers...

In above'manner, the cardsare delivered to the successive clips, I44 of conveyor wheel, I40 to be conveyed by them away from the card printing and severing. section of the machine. The successive cards carried by clips I44 after rollers I Ina-1| Ifib= have released the sides of the cards and while along the upper right quadrant 'of the locus of travel .of the conveyor drum I40 hang down from the clips and lie in divergent planes.

These planes v diverge because, .the cards are gripped at difierent points of. the drum to which .the cards tend to lie tangent Further, the-cards are held in divergent planes, positively spaced apart by engagement between the under side of one card with the outer face 'of'the. clipbeneath the card and following the clip which is gripping the card at its upper end... The cards" continue counterclockwise with the conveyor drum I40.

' When they arriveat the left side .of' the locus of the conveyor wheel, thecards extendupwardly from their holding clips. I44 .(see Figs..1 and 8).

' While a cardis thusstanding vertically with its inner edge gripped by a clip, the clip, extension I49 .rides .onto an upper, inclined, surface of a block I60 whichflcams against-the clip extension to rock the clip counterclockwise (as viewed'in Fig. 8), thereby opening the clip slightly- The clip thus releases its grip on the lower end of the card, 1 permitting the card to 'drop by gravity until the lower, inner edge of the card abutsv the then.

upper edges of the clip ears I442 In abovejmanner ,as a clip passes block IEO it opens sufficiently to permit the .card to drop to -.a definite, predetermined,-positionon'the clip. 'When the clip extension I49 .rides off the upper inclineds'urface of block I60, thespring I45 'recloses. the clip to again clamp the lower end of the card- Thus, after the clips pass block I60,the cardsare. set in the clips in definite, similar predetermined, positions; The outeredges of the cards new ride along a-.curved plate I62 which prevents the cards, due to their weight, from flexing or bending downwardly about the. clamped in'ner end,

and maintains them substantially tangential rel-. ative to. the periphery of the conveyor drum I4Il..

The purpose of -setting the cards in definite positions relative to their holdingclips I44 is to cause. each ;card to extend the sa ine predeter mined distancefrom the rim of the -conveyor wheel I .40 when the, card arrives at a, corner clip ping mechanism. Referring to Figs. '1, 8,9; 10; and 11, the;c0rner clipping mechanism includes a easing I65-,Jforme,d with. bosses lfifi slidably ernbracing a rod I61 rigidly carried by the frame. Casing IE5 is also provided below bosses 166 with a lug I68 forked to straddle and rest on a fixed rod I69. The coaction of. lug 68 with rod I69 prevents rotation of casing 65 about rod I61. One of the bosses E66 is split with the furcations tied together by a bolt I18. Thus, the casing I65 may be slid along rods I61 and I69 to either of two extreme positions and then retained in the adjusted position by turning bolt I15} to tighten the split boss firmly on rod I61.

The sides of casing I65 are integrally bridged by a brace H2 to the top of which a shear 1116-1. ber I13 is secured. The shear member is inclined at opposite ends to provide two oppositely inclined stationary cutting edges l13a and I13b (Figs. 10 and 11).

The opposite sides of casing I65 are formed with bosses I14 and I15 in which are fixedly set bushings I16 and I11 to journal a crank shaft I18. The end of shaft I18 journaled in bushing I1 extends outside casing I65 and has fixed thereto a gear I19 meshed with a wider gear I35 of the driving train (also see Fig. 3). Crank shaft I18 is shouldered to engage the interior sides of bushings I16 and I11, as indicated in Fig. 10. Thus, crank shaft I18 is unable to move axially relative to casing I65. As a result, the horizontal adjustment of casing I65, previously explained, serves to correspondingly move shaft I65 and its gear I19.

Rotatably mounted on the eccentric, central, portion I18 of crank shaft I18 is the hub I82 of a movable shear holder I83. At opposite ends of the eccentric portion of crank shaft I18, the latter is flanged to abut the sides of hub I82 to constrain the hub I82 and shear holder I83 to move bodily with shaft I18 in an axial direction. Thus, when casing I65 is moved horizontally for adjustment, it similarly moves shaft I18 which, in turn, forces shear holder I83 to move therewith.

Secured to oppositely inclined sides of shear holder I83, and set in V-formation, are two blades I85a and I852). Blade IBM is movable in a, vertical plane including therein stationary blade II3a while blade I851) is movable in a vertical plane including therein stationary blade I131). Thus, blades H31) and I851) are adapted to coact to out off the left hand outer corner of a card (as Viewed in Fig. 11) While blades H311 and I85a are adapted for coaction to cut off the right hand outer corner of the card.

The horizontal position of casing I65 deter mines which card corner is to be cut off. When casing I65 is at the right hand limit of its horizontal range of adjustment, as shown in Fig. 11, then the pair of blades I13?) and I851) are in position for cutting off the left outer corner of the card. When the casing is set at its left hand limit, as indicated in dot-and-dash lines in Fig. II, then blades I13a and I85a. coact to cut off the right hand upper corner of the card.

Gear I which through gear I19 rotates crank shaft I18 is of sufficient width to maintain-mesh with gear I19 throughout the range of horizontal adjustment of casing I65.

Shear holder I83 is rotatably mounted on the eccentric portion I18 of crank shaft I18. At its lower end shear holder I83 is connected to one end of a link I86 which at the other end rotatably embraces a rod I81 carried between the sides of casing I65. The connection of shear holder I83 to link I86 constrains the movable shear blades Ia and 7.), during rotation of crank shaft I18 to move in the locus of an ellipse, with its long axis extending along an incline substantially within the inclined plane of the card T engaging the top of stationary shear mem-- ber- I13. The positions of the knife blade 3511 at diiferent points of its elliptical path are shown in dotted lines in Fig. 9. Thus, during rotation of shaft I18, the movable shear blades (85a and b move rapidly down to wipe the stationary shear blades I13a, then retreat along the lower half of the elliptical locus thereby withdrawing completely from the stationary blades, and finally move through the upper half of the elliptical locus towards, above, and then againinto cutting coaction with the stationary blades. Due to the inclined major axis of the elliptical path of blade I85a being coincident with the plane of the card being cut, the knife blade changes direction as it cuts through the card. Thus, the cutting blade strikes the card substantially at right angles to the plane of the card, to provide a clean predetermined out. Further, the elliptical path of the movable cutters is such as avoid encounter of the blade with the card above the one in cutting position, and without requiring the two cards to be spaced as far apart as if the cutters moved in a circular path.

It has been explained that the cards before reaching the corner cutter have been moved within their holding clips I44 to a definite and predetermined position and that their outer edges are then moving along plate I62. This plate engages the card until the outer end of the card enters the casing I65. As the card moves further, its outer end momentarily rests on the flat top of stationary shear member I13. In accordance with the horizontal adjustment of casing I65, either the left or right hand stationary blade- I13a and H32) is underlying a corner of the outer end of the card. As the card lies on shear member I13, the movable shear blade I85a and I851; come down rapidly, and one of them, depending on the adjustment of casing I65, coacts with the stationary blade underlying a card corner to shear off thiscorner. As indicated in Fig. 11, the left hand blade I13b is underlying the left outer corner of the card so that the left hand blade I851) coacts therewith to cut off the left outer corner of the card. The remaining portion of the outer end of the card is remote from the shear blades I13a and I85a.

The card is continuously in motion while its corner is being cut but the descent of the movable blade is so timed and so rapid that the cutting operation is practically instantaneous, and always cuts off a definite predetermined cornerlength of the card.

The chips cut off by the corner cutter drop down the interior of the casing I65 and out of the machine. A chain I88 is carried by link I86, the agitation of the chain helping to clear the casing of chips. A cover I89 is hinged to casing I65 and may be opened to expose the interior of the casing and provide access to the parts therein. 7

After its corner is cut off, the card continues downwardly, with its outer edge riding along the incline of a guide plate I90 (see Figs. 1 and 8). The successive cards drop into a stacker mechanism 230 which is fully described in my parent application, and need not be explained herein.

The machine is powered by an electric motor M (Figs. 1, 2, 3) mounted on a base plate 315 hinged by a rod 316 to the top of the frame. A pulley 311 on the motor shaft is connected by a driving belt 318 to a pulley 319 on a. shaft 388.

Pulley 319 drives the various gear trains for actuating the several mechanisms of the machine describedhereinbefore. A manual drive for the different mechanisms is also provided by a hand crank ,381 (Fig. 1) connected to shaft 389 on which a gear 390 (Fig. 3) is fixed. Gear 390 is in a train of gearing leading to shaft 380 of driven pulley 319. Thus operation of crank 381 actuates shaft 380 to manually drive the'various mechanisms of the machine. I

Summary rollers 13. The latterfeed the web through the ,of delivery grippers I23--I25. then in their lower'position and now start their As the grippers rise, the card due.

printing couple 14-15 which prints successive card forms on a face of the web. The web then proceeds'throug-hplates 81 of the jam detecting device, then between rotary shear devices including blades I02 and I06 (Fig. 6), and into a pair of vertical guide flutes I I00 of spaced, fluted, rollers -,I I0a-IIOb. As the web is moving upwardly, blades I02 and I06 coact with a scissors action to shear the web and form a separate tabulating card T, now above the cutting blades. Due to the momentum of the card and to the engagement of the top of blade I02 with the bottom of the card, the card continues its upward feed and the card, as its out is completed, en-

ters at its upper end between the now open jaws The latter are rising stroke. to its velocity and to feeding action of blade I02 follows and remains in position between the jaws of the grippers. Before the latter reach the mid-position of their rising stroke, their jaws close and grip the card to continue upward feed of the card. The upper end of the card is then gripped at opposite sides by the pair of delivery grippers I23-I25. While this is happening the flutes IIOc guiding the web above the cutters are moving the web forwardly and out of the plane of the web below the cutters. Delivery grippers I23-I25- deliver the card to a clip I44 on a conveyor drum I40 which, continuously rotates counterclockwise (Fig. 1)

As a card reaches a position at the upper left side of the conveyor drum locus, a cam block I60 acts on extension I49, of the clip I44 holding the card, for opening the clip. The card then' drops by gravity to a definite position relative to the periphery of the conveyor drum I40. The card then proceeds to a corner clipper adjustable to clip either. left or right hand upper card corner;

After passing the corner clipper, the card is guided'into stacking mechanism 230.

While there has. been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a single modification it will be understood thatvarious omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

.What is claimed is:' 1 1. In a; machine of the class'descr'ibed; a cutter blade having its'cutting edge constantly facing in one-generalv direction; means to convey cards, one behind another and with their outer edges spaced apart, past the cutter blade; and means for repeatedly interposin'g the blade between the outer edges of successive pairs of cards and thenacross the leading card of each pair, to cut off an outer 3. In a machine ofthe class. described; a con; I

ve'yor having means to grip successive cardslby their inner edges, leaving their" outer edges free of the gripping means and spaced apart, to a cutting position; cutting means including a stationary ,dieand a movable cutting blade, and means for moving the blade between the outer edges of a pair'of successive cards as the leading card of the pair arrives at the cutting position and then across the latter card to coact with the die for cutting off an outer edge portion of the leading card.

4. In a machine of the class described; a conveyor having means to grip successive cards by their inner edges, leaving their outer edges free J and spaced apart, cutting means, and means for moving the cutting means repeatedly between the outer edges of the pairs of successive cards While the cards are in motion and then across the leading card of each pair to cut oif an outer edge portion thereof.

5. -In a machine of the class described; means to move cards successively past a cutting position, a corner cutting unit for cutting ofi a corner of an edge of each card as the latter traverses the cutting position, and means for mounting the cutting unit for movement lengthwise of said card edge for selectively locating the unit for cutting-off either corner of said card edge.

6. In a machine of the class described; means to move cards successively pasta cutting position,

respondingly located dies for coacting with the cutting edges, one coasting cutting edge and die being adapted to cut off one corner of one edge of each card and the other cutting edge and die being adapted to cut off the opposite corner of said card edge, and means for mounting said cutting unit for adjustment lengthwise of said card edge for selectively locating either one of the pairs of companion. cutting edges and dies for cutting off a card corner.

7. In a machine of the class described; a cutter to cut out an edgeportion of a card, a conveyor to successively convey cards one behind and spaced from another to a cuttingposition, and means for moving the cutter in one direction between adjacent cards to a location across the card in cutting position and then in another direction across the edge of the card in cutting position to cut out an edge portion or the latter card. 8. In a machine of the class described; a corner cutting blade to cut oil" a corner of a card, a conveyor to convey cards, one behind and spaced from another, to a cutting position, and means for moving the cutting blade in an effectively elliptical path, from a position external to the locus of the card edge to be cut, into the space between the card at the cutting position and the following card, then across a corner of the card at the cutting position to cut off said corner, and then rearwardly out of the path of the cards.

9. In a machine for forming cards; a movable card conveyor having a plurality of spaced clips, each gripping one edge of a card, to hold the card on the conveyor with the opposite edge extending free, means for cutting out a portion of the free edge of each card as the conveyor successively moves the cards past a cutting position, and means for temporarily releasing the grip of a clip on a card to enable the card to be set on the conveyor in a definite position relative to the cutting means prior to the cutting operation.

10. A machine for cutting a continuously fed web into lengths, comprising a rotating carrier provided with afixed blade, a rotating shaft. a member carried thereby and formed with spaced, circular end flanges and a bridge connecting the flanges and extending parallel to the shaft, a blade holder rotatably mounted on said shaft and formed with. a tail facing a rear portion of the bridge to limit rearward rotation of the holder with respect to the member, a blade fixed to the front end of the holder and abutted by the other blade during rotation of the carrier and the member for thereby cutting the web, and a spring between said tail and said bridge for normally maintaining said holder in forwardly rotated position with respect to the member, with the bottom of the blade carried by said holder engaged with a front portion of the bridge, said spring enabling the holder and blade to be rocked rearwardly, by engagement with the other blade, to an extent limited by effectual engagement of said tail with the rear portion of the bridge.

FRED M. CARROLL.

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