Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6612567
-
Patent Number
6,612,567
-
Date Filed
Monday, June 24, 200222 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, September 2, 200321 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Walsh; Donald P.
- Kohner; M
Agents
- Greenberg; Laurence A.
- Stemer; Werner H.
- Locher; Ralph E.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 271 204
- 271 206
- 271 205
- 271 85
- 294 116
- 294 1191
- 294 1031
- 198 8039
- 198 8037
- 270 5219
- 270 5214
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
An adjustable gripper system for releasably holding at least one sheet against a surface includes a pivotable gripper shaft with a pivot axis and at least one gripper having a gripper body defining a plunger cavity, the gripper body connected to the shaft for pivoting the gripper about the axis, a gripper plunger slidably disposed in the cavity and holding the sheet against the surface, and a cam follower actuated by a cam. The cam follower is connected to the gripper plunger to displace the gripper plunger along the cavity dependent upon a position of the cam. The system can be part of a sheet-collating pocket having a forward wall and a rearward wall pivotally connected thereto and, together, defining an opening for receiving the sheet, which can be part of a sheet-collating machine having the cam, a conveyor, at least one sheet feeding device, and many of the pockets.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention lies in the field of printing presses. The present invention relates generally to a sheet-conveying apparatus, for example, for conveying newspapers, and, more particularly, to a sheet conveying apparatus having collating pockets moving on a track. In particular, the invention relates to an adjustable gripping device for holding folded sheet material sections in such a collating pocket and for separating folded ends of the sections from one another to allow nesting of inserted other sections.
2. Background Information
Sheet-conveying devices, in particular, devices for conveying newspapers, are required to be able to insert or nest or collate various sets of sheets inside one another. Specifically, to create a finished newspaper, a first folded section of the paper, taking the form of a folded sheet section, is opened and at least one second section of the newspaper is inserted between the two sides of the folded sheet section. It is possible that the second section is, itself, a section having third, fourth, or more other sections nested therein in the same manner as the first section. To process such sheets, in particular, newspapers, prior art conveying devices have an angle-shaped pocket that first picks up a first section, opens the first section, and then conveys the opened first section to a delivery station. Prior art systems including pockets include, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,521 to Müller and U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,318 to Newhall. A delivery unit drops the second section into the opened first section to create a nested paper with two sections. This process can be repeated for many different sections to create an entire newspaper.
There is a difficulty associated with the pocket properly opening the first section to the appropriate opening position. To facilitate proper opening, each section is formed with a lap. In other words, the two ends of the folded sheet section are not even. Typically, in a sheet-processing direction, the forward-most end of the folded sheet section is longer than the rear-most end of the folded sheet section. Thus, if the fold of the sheet section is at the bottom of the pocket, when viewing the ends of the folded sheet section in the pocket from above, the forward lap is higher than the rear lap.
In such a position, the folded sheet section can be opened if the forward, higher lap is secured by a device (applying a physical contact and/or air suction) and the pocket or folded sheet section is moved or tilted to allow gravity (possibly assisted with suction) to let the rear lap fall away from the forward lap. After the rear lap has fallen or is moved away from the forward lap, there exists an opening into which a second section can be inserted. Accordingly, a second section can be inserted into or nested within the first section. This combined section can then be inserted into a further section, and so on, to create a multiply nested set of sheets, typically, forming a common newspaper.
The securing device typically takes the form of a finger-shaped gripper. In the opening process, such a gripper is rotated or lowered onto the forward lap to secure the forward lap, and the forward sheet section, to a front wall of the pocket. Some examples of prior art gripper systems in such pockets include U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,770 to Seidel et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,086 to Schlough, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,432 to Thünker et al.
However, lap sizes are neither consistent nor equal. Therefore, there is a need to adjust such grippers in a vertical direction with respect to a pocket so that the forward lap is gripped in the most efficient place. Prior art pocket systems solve this positioning problem by vertically adjusting the lowermost surface of the pocket holding the folded sheet section. If such a surface is lowered, the folded section resting thereon is also lowered. Similarly, if the lowermost surface is raised, the folded section resting thereon is also raised. What is needed is more precise lap-gripping adjustment system that is independent of the lowermost surface of the pocket.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,416 to Klopfenstein describes a sheet material conveying apparatus with a plurality of pockets moveable around a track to accept sheet material from sheet material feeders. These pockets permit, for example, a first outer section of a newspaper to first be fed into the pockets by a first sheet material feeder, and then an inner newspaper section to be inserted between the folds of the first outer newspaper section. The Klopfenstein apparatus uses a lift cam
20
to move a semicircular actuator gear
150
to rotate a drive shaft
110
so as to set a height for pocket feet
90
disposed on racks
80
. A pawl and ratchet mechanism prevents the pocket from opening. The sheet material can then be accepted and inserted into the pockets. To deliver the sheet material, a trip cam
22
can release the pawl and ratchet mechanism. Tracks
80
move to a lower position through a biasing spring, so that feet
90
release through operation of a driver cam
130
. The sheet material in the pocket can, thus, move out of the pocket from the bottom to be further conveyed or to be stacked. The entirety of Klopfenstein is hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,888 to Eugster purports to describe pockets moveable along an endless path. Each pocket is provided with two vertically adjustable stops
14
mounted displaceably in a pocket carrier
8
. A guide member
28
purportedly can be set to vertically adjust the stops
14
as the pockets are moved along the endless path.
Other examples of adjustment devices for the bottom of a pocket can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,202 to Kircher, U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,710 to Hansen et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,968 to Linder et al.
These prior art pocket systems do not provide an adjustment device for setting placement of grippers at the top of the pocket or at the gripper location itself.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an adjustable gripping device for adjustable sheet-receiving pockets that overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and that better separates the forward lap from the rearward lap by adjusting grippers in a vertical direction with respect to a pocket so that the forward lap is gripped in the most efficient place.
Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/662,277, entitled “SHEET MATERIAL CONVEYING APPARATUS WITH INDIVIDUALLY-ADJUSTABLE POCKETS” filed on Sep. 14, 2000, describes a plurality of manually-adjustable pockets, each having a setting device for adjusting a height of the pocket.
Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/702,012, entitled “SHEET MATERIAL CONVEYING APPARATUS WITH HEIGHT-ADJUSTABLE POCKETS” filed on Oct. 30, 2000, describes a plurality of manually adjustable pockets, each having a setting device for adjusting a height of the pocket so as to define a set height.
Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/178,645, entitled “ADJUSTABLE GRIPPING DEVICE FOR ADJUSTABLE SHEET-RECEIVING POCKETS AND METHOD FOR ADJUSTING SHEET-RECEIVING POCKETS” and filed concurrently herewith, describes a different gripper adjusting system
70
where each gripper
71
is individually adjustable through a gripper plunger
73
having a plunger body
75
with a nose, a rod
76
, and a cam follower
77
attached to the end of rod
76
. The nose directly contacts and holds forward lap
61
of a section
6
, or holds the entire section
6
,
61
,
63
. Depending on a setting of a vertically adjustable cam
26
the nose moves away from or towards an upper edge of the rearward lap
63
.
Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/178,642, entitled “LAP SEPARATOR FOR SHEET-RECEIVING POCKETS AND METHOD FOR SEPARATING LAPS IN SHEET-RECEIVING POCKETS” and filed concurrently herewith, describes a lap separator system
70
for extending a window of time for allowing grippers
53
,
55
to engage a forward lap
61
. The lap separating system
70
includes at least one lap separator
72
moveably disposed on a lap separator carrier system
74
, preferably in the form of an endless belt that follows pockets
10
, but moves at a different speed. Lap separator
72
contacts a rearward side of upper rear wall
54
and forces it against upper front wall
52
, thereby clamping a folded section
6
therebetween. As lap separator
72
is traveling with but faster than pocket
10
, it first lets go of upper rear wall
54
, then of rearward lap
63
, and, finally, of upper front wall
52
by dragging over the uppermost edge of each, similar to a fanning of a deck of cards.
A setting device of some of the commonly assigned applications is manually operated by an operator, who turns a knob gear and sets a lock ring for a desired pocket height. It may be desirable to provide a less time consuming, one-step setting device for each pocket.
Each of these commonly assigned applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the invention, an adjustable gripper system for releasably holding at least one sheet against a surface, including a pivotable gripper shaft with a pivot axis and at least one gripper having a gripper body defining a plunger cavity, the gripper body connected to the gripper shaft for pivoting the gripper about the pivot axis, a gripper plunger slidably disposed in the plunger cavity and configured to hold the at least one sheet against the surface, and a cam follower to be actuated by a cam, the cam follower connected to the gripper plunger to displace the gripper plunger along the plunger cavity dependent upon a position of the cam.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the gripper is a plurality of grippers spaced apart from one another on the gripper shaft.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the gripper body is releasably connected to the gripper shaft.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the gripper plunger has a nose for holding the sheet against the surface.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the cam follower has a follower to be actuated by the cam and a cam rod connecting the gripper plunger to the follower.
In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, the plunger cavity has a plunger body portion with a given diameter and a cam rod portion having a diameter smaller than the given diameter, the gripper plunger has a plunger body with a body diameter, the cam rod has a cam rod diameter smaller than the body diameter, the plunger body is slidably disposed in the plunger body portion, and the cam rod is slidably disposed in the cam rod portion.
In accordance with yet a further feature of the invention, there is provided a bias device connected to the gripper body and the plunger body, the bias device biasing the plunger body with respect to the gripper body. Preferably, the bias device is a spring.
In accordance with yet an added feature of the invention, the bias device is disposed in the plunger body portion.
In accordance with yet an additional feature of the invention, the gripper body has a wall between the plunger body portion and the cam rod portion and the bias device is disposed between the wall and the plunger body. The bias device can also be disposed around the cam rod. Preferably, the wall is disk-shaped.
In accordance with again another feature of the invention, the cam rod has an end and the follower is a wheel and an axle rotatably connecting the wheel to the end.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a sheet-collating pocket, including a forward wall having an upper end portion, a rearward wall pivotably connected to the forward wall for moving towards and away from the forward wall, the rearward wall and the forward wall together defining an opening for receiving at least one sheet, and an adjustable gripper system for releasably holding the sheet against the forward wall, the gripper system disposed at the upper end portion and having a pivotable gripper shaft with a pivot axis and at least one gripper having a gripper body defining a plunger cavity, the gripper body connected to the gripper shaft for pivoting the gripper about the pivot axis, a gripper plunger slidably disposed in the plunger cavity and configured to hold the sheet against the forward wall, and a cam follower to be actuated by a cam, the cam follower connected to the gripper plunger to displace the gripper plunger along the plunger cavity dependent upon a position of the cam.
In accordance with again a further feature of the invention, the pocket travels in a given direction and the forward wall is disposed downstream of the rearward wall with respect to the given direction.
In accordance with again an added feature of the invention, the upper end portion is an upper third, an upper fourth, or an upper fifth of the forward wall. Preferably, the forward wall has a top and the gripper system is disposed substantially at the top.
With the objects of the invention in view, in a sheet-collating pocket having a top, a forward wall, and a rearward wall pivotably connected to the forward wall, the rearward and forward walls together defining an opening for receiving at least one sheet from the top, there is also provided an adjustable gripping system for setting placement of grippers at the top of the pocket, the gripping system including a pivotable gripper shaft with a pivot axis and at least one gripper having a gripper body defining a plunger cavity, the gripper body connected to the gripper shaft for pivoting the gripper about the pivot axis, a gripper plunger slidably disposed in the plunger cavity and configured to hold the at least one sheet against the forward wall, and a cam follower to be actuated by a cam, the cam follower connected to the gripper plunger to displace the gripper plunger along the plunger cavity dependent upon a position of the cam.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a sheet-collating machine, including a conveyor traveling along a transport direction, at least one sheet feeding device disposed at the conveyor for feeding at least one sheet towards the conveyor to a plurality of sheet-collating pockets, and a cam having an adjustment device placing the cam in different positions with respect to the pockets, the cam disposed at the conveyor and selectively contacting each of the pockets as each pocket respectively passes thereby. Each of the pockets is connected to the conveyor, receives the sheet from the sheet feeding device, and transports the sheet along at least a portion of the conveyor in the transport direction. Each of the pockets has a forward wall with an upper end portion, a rearward wall pivotably connected to the forward wall, and an adjustable gripper system for releasably holding the at least one sheet against the forward wall. The rearward wall and the forward wall together define an opening for receiving the sheet. The gripper system is disposed at the upper end portion and has a pivotable gripper shaft with a pivot axis and at least one gripper having a gripper body defining a plunger cavity, the gripper body connected to the gripper shaft for pivoting the gripper about the pivot axis, a gripper plunger slidably disposed in the plunger cavity and configured to hold the at least one sheet against the forward wall, and a cam follower actuated by the cam, the cam follower connected to the gripper plunger to displace the gripper plunger along the plunger cavity dependent upon a position of the cam.
In accordance with again an additional feature of the invention, the conveyor is an endless conveyor.
In accordance with still another feature of the invention, the sheet feeding device is disposed above the conveyor and the pockets.
In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, the forward wall is disposed downstream of the rearward wall with respect to the transport direction.
The present invention permits the grippers to be set to a set height while moving and to operate for a relevant distance at the set height. To change a gripper height, a movable setting cam is set for a new height and may also include a lock engagement device. The present invention provides a simple device for resetting gripper height and allows for manual re-setting of the gripper height.
“Rod” as defined herein can be any elongated structure. “Slide gear” as defined herein specifically includes any type of slidable interlocking structure, and may include a gear with an exterior star gearing, a single key or tooth exterior structure, or any other structure with which a ring gear may be fixed rotationally and with which a lock ring may be selectively fixed or free to rotate, include one having a ball-detent mechanism.
Other features that are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in an adjustable gripping device for adjustable sheet-receiving pockets, it is, nevertheless, not intended to be limited to the details shown because various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a diagrammatic perspective view of a sheet material conveying apparatus according to the invention;
FIG. 2A
is a side view of a pocket according to the invention with certain elements omitted for clarity;
FIG. 2B
is a side view of an enlarged detail of a gripper of the pocket of
FIG. 2A
;
FIG. 3
is a fragmentary perspective view of the pocket of
FIG. 2A
with certain elements omitted for clarity;
FIG. 4
is a different, fragmentary perspective view of the pocket of
FIG. 3
;
FIG. 5
is a fragmentary, partially exploded, cross-sectional view of a setting device for setting a finger height according to the invention;
FIG. 6
is a fragmentary, exploded, perspective view of the setting device of
FIG. 5
;
FIG. 7
is an enlarged side view of a detail of the setting device of
FIG. 5
;
FIG. 8A
is a diagrammatic, partially cross-sectional, side view of a gripper system according to the invention; and
FIG. 8B
is a diagrammatic, partially cross-sectional, side view of the gripper system of
FIG. 8A
in a different cam-adjusted position.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly to
FIG. 1
thereof, there is shown a diagrammatic representation of a sheet material conveying apparatus
100
having an endless track
101
for transporting a plurality of pockets
10
in transport direction
17
. Each pocket
10
includes moveable fingers
90
for defining a pocket height, an individual height setting mechanism
8
, and a releasable lock mechanism
9
for height setting mechanism
8
.
At a setting area
1
, each pocket
10
can be set manually by setting mechanism
8
to move fingers
90
to at least one of two desired heights, for example, a setting for receiving 10½-inch folded products. Pockets
10
are stationary during setting, and the setting can occur outside setting area
1
as well, for example, by an operator moving about track
101
.
Alternatively, pockets
10
can be moved to setting area
1
, the apparatus can be stopped, and each pocket can be set. An automated robot for interacting with setting mechanism
8
also could be located at setting area
1
to move each pocket
10
to the proper height, as a pocket
10
is moved to and stopped at setting area
1
.
After a pocket is set to a desired height, setting mechanism
8
is then locked in place by lock mechanism
9
so that the pocket height is set. After all the pockets
10
are set, the pockets are moved to pass beneath a first sheet material feed station
2
where, for example, a folded cover section
6
of a newspaper or other printed product, also referred to as a jacket, is delivered into pocket
10
. At a second and optional sheet material feed station
3
, a second section
7
may be inserted between forward and rear portions of cover section
6
to form a final printed product
12
. This process can be repeated for any number of feed stations
2
,
3
to create a final product
12
having many nested sections
6
,
7
.
After receiving sections
6
,
7
, pockets
10
can then pass a release station
4
, which releases lock mechanism
9
. Setting mechanism
8
, which is, preferably, spring-loaded, then releases fingers
90
so that the bottom of pocket
10
opens, and finished products
12
are delivered, for example, to a conveyor belt
11
.
As pockets
10
continue past release station
4
, pockets
10
pass through a reset station
5
, which can include a movable incline reset ramp
25
for interacting with a reset cam follower
156
(see
FIG. 3
) of setting mechanism
8
and a lock engagement device
35
for locking lock mechanism
9
. Pockets
10
, which are preferably all set to a common height, are then reset to the common height by reset ramp
25
, and locked into place by lock engagement device
35
engaging lock mechanism
9
.
FIGS. 2A
,
3
, and
4
show more details of pocket
10
.
Pocket
10
has an upper rear wall
54
and an upper front wall
52
, in between which is an opening
56
for accepting sheet material, for example, cover section
6
. Pocket
10
also has a side wall
44
. Pocket
10
also may have a lower rear wall
64
and a lower front wall
62
.
FIG. 2B
is an enlarged view of the upper portion of pocket
10
illustrated in FIG.
2
A.
FIG. 2B
shows the area where forward lap
61
of a cover section
6
is held. To hold cover section
6
in place, a set of grippers
53
,
55
are located at the top of upper front wall
52
. Grippers
53
,
55
are shown coaxially disposed on a single shaft
57
, albeit in different rotational positions. However, alternatively, different sets of grippers can be disposed on different shafts, each being independently controlled. For example, grippers of one set can be longer than grippers of another set. Also, grippers
53
,
55
are shown at the top of upper front wall
52
. However, grippers
53
,
55
can be located at the upper third, fourth, or fifth of upper front wall
52
, depending upon the distance between the top of section
6
and a top of upper front wall
52
.
A non-illustrated control device pivots the shaft
57
holding the grippers
53
,
55
between an engaged position and a disengaged position. In
FIG. 2B
, one gripper
53
is shown in the disengaged position and the other gripper
55
is shown in the engaged position. In the engaged position, the gripper
55
holds the forward lap
61
of the cover section
6
so that it is fixed with respect to the upper front wall
52
. A cover section
6
being so held is shown diagrammatically in
FIG. 2B
with a dashed line. See also
FIGS. 8A and 8B
.
When the cover section
6
is first deposited in the opening
56
, the bottom (lowermost) edge of the cover section
6
rests at the junction between the fingers
90
and the upper rear wall
54
. In the open position of the pocket
10
shown in
FIG. 2A
, gravity causes the cover section
6
to rest entirely against the upper rear wall
54
. To grip the cover section
6
with the grippers
53
,
55
, the upper rear wall
54
is pivoted about axis
51
to contact the upper front wall
52
. Alternatively and/or additionally, the entire rear wall
54
,
64
can be displaced towards the front wall
52
,
62
. When the cover section
6
rests against the upper front wall
52
, the grippers
53
,
55
can be rotated into the engaged position and hold the cover section
6
in place against the upper front wall
52
. If the grippers
53
,
55
are adjusted so that they extend no further than the top edge of the rearward lap
63
of the cover section
6
(see FIGS.
8
A and
8
B), then the grippers
53
,
55
only grip the forward lap
61
of the cover section
6
. After engaging the forward lap
61
, when the upper rear wall
54
is moved back to the position shown in
FIG. 2A
, the forward lap
61
is held against the upper front wall
52
and gravity carries the rearward lap
63
of the cover section
6
along with the upper rear wall
54
, thus creating an opening between the forward lap
61
and rearward lap
63
for receiving another section
7
therein, for example, from the second sheet material feed station
3
.
Slidable with respect to upper front wall
52
is a rack
80
, on which the fingers
90
are supported. The fingers
90
are supported on the rack
80
by a pivot
96
attached to a first section
92
of the finger
90
. A second section
94
of the finger
90
can define a pocket bottom when the fingers
90
are in a closed position (as illustrated in FIG.
2
A). As most clearly shown in
FIG. 4
, rack
80
includes teeth
82
that interact with a gear
122
of a pinion
120
(FIGS.
3
and
4
), which also includes a release cam
130
. Pinions
120
are located on a shaft
110
rotatably supported in wall
44
and wall
46
(only partially shown in FIG.
4
).
At the wall
46
, an end
111
of shaft
110
passes through a setting ring gear
140
, of which only a first part is shown in FIG.
3
. Ring gear
140
has an interior surface that ensures rotation of ring gear
140
in a fixed relationship with a slide gear
180
(
FIG. 5
) that is in a fixed rotational relationship with shaft
110
. Slide gear
180
, however, can slide axially with respect to shaft
110
for selective interlocking with the lock ring
160
(interior to gear
140
and visible in
FIG. 6
) that forms part of lock mechanism
9
. Lock mechanism
9
also includes a pawl
209
for interacting with a single ratchet
164
on the exterior of ring
160
. Ring gear
140
is shown in
FIGS. 2A
,
3
, and
4
only in part, with a second outer gear section
182
(
FIGS. 5 and 6
) for interacting with a non-illustrated setting rod. The details of slide gear
180
and its interaction with ring gear
140
and lock ring
160
will be described in more detail with respect to
FIGS. 5 and 6
.
FIG. 3
shows how fingers
90
extend through the front wall. Release cam
130
can interact with a release surface
100
(
FIG. 4
) of finger
90
located in an opening
86
between teeth
82
when fingers
90
are fully lowered, so that the fingers
90
rotate away from the rear wall
54
,
64
and release any products in the pocket
10
. Release of the fingers
90
is similar to the release of the feet in U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,416 to Klopfenstein, which has been incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 2A
shows ring gear
140
interacting with a semicircular setting gear
150
. On one side of semicircular gear
150
is a reset cam follower
156
held rotationally at an axis
154
. The setting gear
150
pivots about an axis
152
.
As shown in
FIG. 4
, the semicircular gear
150
is attached to a spring
158
to spring-load the gear
150
in a direction
151
, as also shown in FIG.
2
A.
FIG. 5
shows an exploded view of certain details of the setting mechanism. End
111
of shaft
110
fits, passing through interior holes in ring gear
140
and lock ring
160
, into an interiorly toothed hole
147
of slide gear
180
. End
111
is fixed to a screw
145
that abuts slide gear
180
through a spring
146
. Thus, slide gear
180
can be moved against the force of spring
146
in the direction of arrow
240
so as to slide axially with respect to shaft
110
, however always remaining rotationally fixed with the shaft
110
.
Slide gear
180
has exterior star gearing
141
that matches interior star gearing
183
of ring gear
140
. Slide gear
180
and ring gear
140
thus rotate together at all times. Interior to slide gear
180
and ring gear
140
is lock ring
160
, which selectively engages, through an interior star gear
163
, exterior star gearing
141
of slide gear
180
when slide gear
180
is not moved axially against the spring force of spring
146
.
When moved axially against the spring force in direction
240
(see FIG.
5
), slide gear
180
releases from lock ring
160
, which then is held only by pawl
209
but is freely rotatable with respect to shaft
110
due to a smooth inner surface section
162
that rests on shaft
110
.
Slide gear
180
has a raised portion
142
for interacting with a disengaging device of a non-illustrated setting rod to permit the slide gear
180
to be moved against the spring force of spring
146
.
Ring gear
140
has external gear teeth
181
for interacting with semicircular gear
150
(FIG.
2
A), as well as external gear teeth of the second outer gear section
182
for interacting with the setting rod.
Lock ring
160
has a single ratchet
164
on an external surface, which interacts with pawl
209
, as shown in FIG.
7
. An extension
210
extends outwardly from pawl
209
, for permitting pawl
209
to move between an upward and a downward position. The pawl
209
may be spring-loaded to favor one position, or to click into both positions.
As stated above, after a pocket
10
is set to a desired height, the setting mechanism
8
is then locked in place by the lock mechanism
9
so that the pocket height is set. After all the pockets
10
are set, the pockets
10
are moved to pass beneath at least one sheet material feed station
2
,
3
where, for example, sections
6
,
7
of a newspaper or other printed product are delivered into the pocket
10
.
Once the pocket
10
is set to a desired height, it typically cannot be adjusted to account for variations in the size of the sections
6
,
7
being placed therein. Prior art devices have been created to adjust for such variations by only adjusting the level or location of the bottom of the pocket. Thereby, raising or lowering the section
6
,
7
placed therein from below. However, no prior art device has used an adjustment of the grippers
53
,
55
to compensate for section
6
,
7
size variation.
As set forth above, up until the invention, there was a difficulty associated with separating the forward lap
61
of a first section
6
from the rearward lap
63
to create a pocket therebetween into which the second section
7
can be inserted or nested.
The invention adds a new adjustment mechanism to the grippers
53
,
55
.
FIGS. 8A and 8B
diagrammatically illustrate a gripper adjusting system
70
. A single gripper
71
is depicted in
FIGS. 8A and 8B
for the sake of clarity. Nonetheless, system
70
can be expanded to many or all of the grippers used to grip forward lap
61
in a pocket
10
. Gripper
71
has a gripper body
72
, a gripper plunger
73
, and a reset spring
74
. Gripper plunger
73
includes a plunger body
75
with a nose, a rod
76
, and a cam follower
77
. The nose directly contacts and holds forward lap
61
of a section
6
, or holds the entire section
6
,
61
,
63
. Gripper body
72
is attached, preferably, fixedly but adjustably, to gripper shaft
57
, which is diagrammatically illustrated in
FIGS. 2A and 2B
. Thus, when shaft
57
rotates about its axis
58
in either rotation direction
59
, gripper
71
is rotated as well, and the nose of plunger body
75
either lifts away from upper front wall
52
to let go of or make room to grasp forward lap
61
or moves towards upper front wall
52
to grasp forward lap
61
of section
6
.
Gripper body
72
defines a cavity
78
having forward and rearward openings (with respect to an insertion direction of gripper plunger
73
). The larger forward opening is sized to slidably fit the outer circumference of plunger body
75
. The smaller rearward opening is sized to slidably fit the outer circumference of rod
76
. Cavity
77
also has a rear, disk-shaped wall
79
to hold the rearmost end of reset spring
74
. Thus, while reset spring
74
can slidably fit into cavity
78
, it can only be inserted until it hits rear wall
79
. Alternatively, reset spring
74
can be integral with rear wall
79
.
Rod
76
of gripper plunger
73
is inserted into cavity
78
. Rod
76
has an outer diameter that is smaller than an inner diameter of reset spring
74
and, therefore, rod
76
passes through reset spring
74
unobstructed. Rod
76
also passes rear wall
79
and exits the second smaller opening of cavity
78
to project out of the top (with respect to the views of
FIGS. 8A and 8B
) of gripper body
72
. A cam follower
77
is attached to the end of rod
76
.
The other, forward, end of reset spring
74
contacts a rearward disk-shaped wall of plunger body
75
. As such, when plunger body
75
enters cavity
78
, reset spring
74
is compressed. In such an embodiment, plunger body
75
is biased to travel out of cavity
78
.
The rod
76
and cam follower
77
combination and connection can take various forms. For example, rod
76
can have an axle hole (extending into the plane of the views of
FIGS. 8A and 8B
) for receiving an axle or shaft that is then attached to a wheel-shaped cam follower
77
. Other equivalent attachment embodiments can be used as well.
FIGS. 8A and 8B
illustrate how gripper system
70
works. A vertically adjustable gripper bite adjustment cam
26
is placed in the path of pockets
10
as they travel in transport direction
17
. Adjustment cam
26
is placed in a position similar to incline reset ramp
25
, in that, a portion of pocket
10
must contact adjustment cam
26
as the portion passes thereby. Before any pocket
10
reaches adjustment cam
26
, the bias of reset spring
74
pushes plunger body
75
out of the cavity
78
, for example, until the connection of rod
76
and cam follower
77
abuts the upper surface of gripper body
72
or to the fullest extent of an uncompressed reset spring
74
, whichever is smaller. In such a position, the nose of plunger body
75
is disposed at a given first distance
65
from the end of rearward lap
63
. Such an embodiment is illustrated in FIG.
8
A.
Adjustment cam
26
can be set to any vertical distance with respect to gripper body
72
.
In the view of
FIG. 8A
, adjustment cam
26
is set to a lowermost activating position. In such a position, when pocket
10
, including gripper system
70
, passes by adjustment cam
26
, cam follower
77
merely rolls along the upper surface
27
of adjustment cam
26
and does not contact ramp
29
. Such a position is called a lowermost activating position because adjustment cam
26
has no affect upon cam follower
77
if adjustment cam
26
is lowered any more than that shown in FIG.
8
A. In the lowermost activating position, the nose of plunger body
75
is at a distance
65
from the uppermost edge of rearward lap
63
.
In the view of
FIG. 813
, adjustment cam
26
is set to a position Δh higher than the lowermost activating position. In such a raised position, when pocket
10
, including gripper system
70
, passes by adjustment cam
26
, cam follower
77
first contacts ramp
29
and then rolls up and off ramp
29
onto upper surface
27
of adjustment cam
26
. This raised position of adjustment cam
26
has a specific affect upon cam follower
77
—cam follower
77
, attached to rod
76
, pulls rod
76
and, therefore, plunger body
75
further into cavity
78
of gripper body
72
. As such, the nose of plunger body
75
is raised vertically along the surface of upper front wall
52
to a distance
67
away from the uppermost edge of the rearward lap
63
.
In the lowermost activating position of
FIG. 8A
, the nose of plunger body
75
is shown at a distance
65
from the uppermost edge of rearward lap
63
. However, it is possible, due to a variation in size of rearward lap
63
, that the nose of plunger body
75
actually contacts rearward lap
63
and prevents rearward lap
63
from falling away from forward lap
61
to create the pocket for receiving an inserted section
7
. In such a situation, the printing press operator can use the invention and prevent this undesired condition by raising adjustment cam
26
such that the nose of plunger body
75
no longer contacts rearward lap
63
. Therefore, the invention allows an operator to raise a gripper system
70
of each of pocket
10
without having to manually adjust each gripper
71
of each pocket
10
.
The gripper system
70
shown is a linear raising system. In other words, if adjustment cam
26
is raised by Δh, then plunger body
75
will be pulled into cavity
78
along a distance equal to Δh. Thus, the difference between
65
and
67
is Δh. Gripper system
70
does not have to be a linear raising system, however. It is envisioned to have, if desired, a more complex lever system such that a small raising of the adjustment cam
26
results in a correspondingly larger or smaller raising of the plunger body
75
.
Ramp
29
of adjustment cam
26
is depicted as being relatively small and shallow. Of course, ramp
29
can have any length or be at any angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees. However, preferably, the length of ramp
29
is at least equal to a radius of the cam follower
77
. Also preferable is for the ramp angle to be between 30 and 60 degrees, in particular, to be between 30 and 45 degrees. Adjustment cam
26
is also shown in
FIGS. 8A and 8B
with a flat front surface
30
. In alternative embodiments, the forward-most end of the ramp
29
can be even lower than the illustration of
FIGS. 8A and 8B
. Preferably, the forward-most end of ramp
29
is approximately level with lower surface
28
of adjustment cam
26
and, where cam follower
77
is wheel-shaped, the forward-most portion
30
of adjustment cam
26
is rounded to permit smooth contact between ramp
29
and cam follower
77
.
Vertical movement of the adjustment cam
26
, therefore, determines how far gripper plunger
73
is pulled into cavity
78
, thus, pulling the nose of plunger body
75
upward along front upper wall
52
and upward along section
6
, preferably along forward lap
61
.
Vertical movement of adjustment cam
26
can be effected by any device that can raise or lower rod
76
.
In the embodiment shown, the bottom of cam follower
77
contacts upper surface
27
of adjustment cam
26
. Alternatively, the top of cam follower
77
can contact lower surface
28
of adjustment cam
26
. The above-noted example including an axle hole and wheel-shaped cam follower
77
can be used both for contacting upper surface
27
and bottom surface
28
of adjustment cam
27
. But, an embodiment can be made so that cam follower
77
only contacts lower surface
28
. For example, rod
76
can have a groove with a width and cam follower
77
can be a wheel rotatably disposed in such a groove, the wheel
77
having a width less than the groove width. Wheel
77
can be attached to rod
76
with an axle and cotter pin assembly, for example. In such an embodiment, the reset spring
74
could be positioned not to bias the gripper plunger away from the cam follower
77
, but, instead, to bias the gripper plunger
73
in the direction of the cam follower
77
. Alternatively, the reset spring
74
could have an adjustment device that limits a bias thereof.
The invention better separates the forward lap from the rearward lap by adjusting grippers in a vertical direction with respect to a pocket so that the forward lap is gripped in the most efficient place.
Claims
- 1. An adjustable gripper system for releasably holding at least one sheet against a surface, comprising:a pivotable gripper shaft with a pivot axis; and at least one gripper having: a gripper body defining a plunger cavity, said gripper body connected to said gripper shaft for pivoting said gripper about said pivot axis; a gripper plunger slidably disposed in said plunger cavity and configured to hold the at least one sheet against the surface; and a cam follower to be actuated by a cam, said cam follower connected to said gripper plunger to displace said gripper plunger along said plunger cavity dependent upon a position of the cam.
- 2. The gripper system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one gripper is a plurality of grippers spaced apart from one another on said gripper shaft.
- 3. The gripper system according to claim 1, wherein said gripper body is releasably connected to said gripper shaft.
- 4. The gripper system according to claim 1, wherein said gripper plunger has a nose for holding the at least one sheet against the surface.
- 5. The gripper system according to claim 1, wherein said cam follower has:a follower to be actuated by the cam; and a cam rod connecting said gripper plunger to said follower.
- 6. The gripper system according to claim 5, wherein:said plunger cavity has: a plunger body portion with a given diameter; and a cam rod portion having a diameter smaller than said given diameter; said gripper plunger has a plunger body with a body diameter; said cam rod has a cam rod diameter smaller than said body diameter; said plunger body is slidably disposed in said plunger body portion; and said cam rod is slidably disposed in said cam rod portion.
- 7. The gripper system according to claim 6, including a bias device connected to said gripper body and said plunger body, said bias device adapted to bias said plunger body with respect to said gripper body.
- 8. The gripper system according to claim 7, wherein said bias device is disposed in said plunger body portion.
- 9. The gripper system according to claim 8, wherein:said gripper body has a wall between said plunger body portion and said cam rod portion; and said bias device is disposed between said wall and said plunger body.
- 10. The gripper system according to claim 8, wherein:said gripper body has a wall between said plunger body portion and said cam rod portion; and said bias device is disposed: between said wall and said plunger body; and around said cam rod.
- 11. The gripper system according to claim 8, wherein said wall is disk-shaped.
- 12. The gripper system according to claim 7, wherein said bias device is a spring.
- 13. The gripper system according to claim 5, wherein:said cam rod has an end; and said follower is a wheel and an axle rotatably connecting said wheel to said end.
- 14. A sheet-collating pocket, comprising:a forward wall having an upper end portion; a rearward wall pivotally connected to said forward wall for moving towards and away from said forward wall, said rearward wall and said forward wall together defining an opening for receiving at least one sheet; and an adjustable gripper system for releasably holding the at least one sheet against said forward wall, said gripper system disposed at said upper end portion and having: a pivotable gripper shaft with a pivot axis; and at least one gripper having: a gripper body defining a plunger cavity, said gripper body connected to said gripper shaft for pivoting said gripper about said pivot axis; a gripper plunger slidably disposed in said plunger cavity and configured to hold the at least one sheet against said forward wall; and a cam follower to be actuated by a cam, said cam follower connected to said gripper plunger to displace said gripper plunger along said plunger cavity dependent upon a position of the cam.
- 15. The pocket according to claim 14, wherein:the pocket travels in a given direction; and said forward wall is disposed downstream of said rearward wall with respect to said given direction.
- 16. The pocket according to claim 14, wherein said upper end portion is an upper third of said forward wall.
- 17. The pocket according to claim 14, wherein said upper end portion is an upper fourth of said forward wall.
- 18. The pocket according to claim 14, wherein said upper end portion is an upper fifth of said forward wall.
- 19. The pocket according to claim 14, wherein said forward wall has a top and said gripper system is disposed substantially at said top.
- 20. In a sheet-collating pocket having a top, a forward wall, and a rearward wall pivotally connected to said forward wall, the rearward and forward walls together defining an opening for receiving at least one sheet from the top, an adjustable gripping system for setting placement of grippers at the top of the pocket, the gripping system comprising:a pivotable gripper shaft with a pivot axis; and at least one gripper having: a gripper body defining a plunger cavity, said gripper body connected to said gripper shaft for pivoting said gripper about said pivot axis; a gripper plunger slidably disposed in said plunger cavity and configured to hold the at least one sheet against the forward wall; and a cam follower to be actuated by a cam, said cam follower connected to said gripper plunger to displace said gripper plunger along said plunger cavity dependent upon a position of the cam.
- 21. A sheet-collating machine, comprising:a conveyor adapted to travel along a transport direction; at least one sheet feeding device disposed at said conveyor for feeding at least one sheet towards said conveyor; a plurality of sheet-collating pockets, each of said pockets: connected to said conveyor; adapted to receive the at least one sheet from said at least one sheet feeding device; and adapted to transport the at least one sheet along at least a portion of said conveyor in said transport direction; a cam having an adjustment device adapted to place said cam in different positions with respect to said pockets, said cam disposed at said conveyor and adapted to selectively contact each of said pockets as each pocket respectively passes thereby; and each of said pockets having: a forward wall with an upper end portion; a rearward wall pivotally connected to said forward wall, said rearward wall and said forward wall together defining an opening for receiving the at least one sheet; and an adjustable gripper system for releasably holding the at least one sheet against said forward wall, said gripper system disposed at said upper end portion and having: a pivotable gripper shaft with a pivot axis; and at least one gripper having: a gripper body defining a plunger cavity, said gripper body connected to said gripper shaft for pivoting said gripper about said pivot axis; a gripper plunger slidably disposed in said plunger cavity and configured to hold the at least one sheet against said forward wall; and a cam follower actuated by said cam, said cam follower connected to said gripper plunger to displace said gripper plunger along said plunger cavity dependent upon a position of said cam.
- 22. The sheet-collating machine according to claim 21, wherein said conveyor is an endless conveyor.
- 23. The sheet-collating machine according to claim 21, wherein said at least one sheet feeding device is disposed above said conveyor and said pockets.
- 24. The sheet-collating machine according to claim 21, wherein said forward wall is disposed downstream of said rearward wall with respect to said transport direction.
US Referenced Citations (16)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
WO 8907571 |
Aug 1989 |
WO |