DE1761935

1,179,006. Feeding sheets. FERAG, FEHB & REIST A.G. 31 May, 1967 [3 June. 1966], No. 25103/67. Heading B8R. Opening folded sheets; gripper mechanism.- Folded sheets Z, Fig. 1b are fed at position 41 so as to drop on to a ledge 78a, Fig. 4, of a bracket carried by chains rotating in direction A, the bracket carrying grippers 76, 77 normally closed as in Fig. 3, and opened by cams which also cause the gripper 76 to move backwards to the position of Fig. 4, whereafter the grippers close to grip the sheet by its ends opposite the fold. The sheet is carried round within a guide plate 56, the gripper 76 being moved forwards again. Several gripper units 33 are carried by the chains. In the position of the unit 33 on the left of Fig. 1b the gripper 77 is opened, and the gripper 76 is again retracted, moving downwards the outer half of the sheet so as to form a bulge at the fold. The gripper 77 then closes on the upwardly projecting inner half of the sheet and the gripper 76 opens, the released outer half moving upwardly and along the curved outside of the gripper 77, whereupon said outer half is engaged by a cam-operated gripper mechanism 62 carried on chains 60, Figs. 1a and 15b. Supplemental sheets B1 and B2, which have been fed upwardly and allowed to fall back on to rakes 34a carried on the chains so as to be enclosed in a space between the chains and slats 63 on further chains 61, are released by the cam-actuated retraction of the rakes so as to fall into the fold of the sheet in Fig. 15b. Before the sheet assembly reaches the upper end of the chain run, the chain 60 approaches the main chain so as to close up the assembly, whereafter the gripper 77 opens and the assembly falls back on to pins 34a on the main chain with a jerk which completes the insertion of the supplemental sheets. The pins then push the sheet assembly under a guide plate 58 to a delivery station 42. The chains are divided by the gripper units 33 into five sections 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, each section having a leading half, behind the unit 33, comprising slats 31, and a trailing half having slats 32 set further outwards from the chain links. Stationary cams 46-52 for controlling the members 76, 77, 34 are positioned within the chain runs.