Abstract:
A printing apparatus wherein imprinted sheets are provided with cuts surrounding selected areas of the sheets and wherein the cutouts corresponding to such selected areas are thereupon bodily separated from the remnants of the respective sheets during travel between two rotary drums has a sheet transporting unit wherein two endless chains entrain a succession of sheet gripping devices so that the gripping devices engage successive sheets at a station located upstream of the drums and deposit the remnants of sheets downstream of the drums. The gripping devices are normally guided by rails which define therefor an endless path. A portion of each chain and portions of the rails can be pivoted between an operative position in which the endless path is completed and an inoperative position in which the endless path is interrupted. The pivoting takes place about an axis which is parallel with and adjacent to the axis of one of the drums, and such drum moves sideways and away from the other drum in response to pivoting of the movable portions of rails so as to afford access to the space between the drums. The system for moving the portions of rails employs a worm drive having a fixedly mounted worm wheel, a worm which meshes with the worm wheel and is secured to a frame for movable portions of the rails, and a reversible motor which can rotate the worm wheel in two directions.