Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6213463
-
Patent Number
6,213,463
-
Date Filed
Friday, August 20, 199924 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, April 10, 200123 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Ellis; Christopher P.
- Tran; Khoi H.
Agents
- Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 271 184
- 271 189
- 271 190
- 271 192
- 271 205
- 271 82
- 271 314
- 271 151
- 271 216
- 198 4603
- 198 4701
- 198 4751
- 198 4781
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
The conveying apparatus has a transport belt (10) which is intended to feed flexible, flat articles (12) arising in imbricated formation (S), resting freely, to a conveyor (14). The transport belt (10) is led around a deflection drum (16) and, together with the latter, forms a deflection and conveying gap (26) for the imbricated formation (S). On one side, an edge section (21) of said imbricated formation projects beyond the deflection drum (16). The circulation path (104) of the conveyor (14) runs alongside the drum. Said conveyor is equipped with grippers (20) which are intended to grip the deflected imbricated formation (S) in the edge section and to transport it further.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to conveying apparatuses for flexible, flat articles arising in an imbricated formation according to the preamble to claims
1
and
10
.
Conveying apparatuses of this type are disclosed by Swiss Patent No. 559692 and by the corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,564. A continuously revolving driven conveying mechanism has a roller chain and endless rubber sections fitted to both ends of the link pins of this roller chain. These sections form a support for the imbricated stream to be transported. At the start and at the end of the transport section, the conveying mechanism is led around sprockets. Fastened to the chain at a distance one after another are guide carriages which are led between the sprockets in hollow rails. From each of the guide carriages, there extend, to either side, a sleeve-like gripper outrigger to whose free ends movable gripper jaws are hinged. Fixed jaws arranged on the gripper outrigger, and the movable jaws, are intended to grip the imbricated formation at the two lateral channel sections. A transport belt is intended to feed the imbricated formation, resting freely, to the conveyor, the conveying mechanism coming to bear on the free flat side of the imbricated formation in the region of the sprocket. Connected directly downstream of the transport belt is a further conveying mechanism, which is designed in the manner of a chain-roller belt, driven so as to circulate and, together with the conveying mechanism deflected around the sprocket, forms a conveying and deflection gap for the imbricated formation. In the region of the conveying gap, the relevant grippers are then closed to transport the imbricated formation further. At the end of the conveying section, the transfer to a further transport belt is designed symmetrically in relation to the equipment at the start of the conveying section. In the deflection around the sprocket at the start and at the end of the conveying section, the endless conveying mechanism itself forms the support for the imbricated formation. Said mechanism must therefore be driven in the region of the sprockets and also between the latter at the same speed as the transport belts and, in addition, the grippers must clamp the products firmly in the plane of the conveying mechanism in order to avoid damage to the articles. The known conveying apparatus needs a considerable amount of space, in particular in the region of the deflection, and places close limits on the construction of the conveyor.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a generic conveying apparatus which, with a small space requirement, permits a great deal of flexibility in the construction of the conveyor.
This object is achieved with a generic conveying apparatus. Deflection takes place around a drum which is separate from the circulation path of the grippers. In the region of the deflection, it is thus possible for the grippers to have a different speed from that of the imbricated formation; the conveyor having the grippers is not tied to the deflection which permits different embodiments of the conveyor. The conveying apparatus can thus be adapted in a simple way to the most diverse requirements.
The invention will be described in more detail using an exemplary embodiment illustrated in the drawing, in which, in purely schematic form:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
shows a side view of part of a conveying apparatus; and
FIG. 2
shows, in the view in the direction of the arrow II in FIG.
1
and partly sectioned, the same part of the conveying apparatus.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The conveying apparatus has a transport belt
10
which is driven in the feed direction Z and which is intended to feed articles
12
arranged in an imbricated formation S—in the present case printed products, such as newspapers, magazines or parts thereof—resting freely to a conveyor
14
connected downstream. Arranged above the transport belt
10
is a deflection drum
16
whose axis of rotation
18
runs in the horizontal direction and at right angles to the feed direction Z. The transport belt
10
runs tangentially up to the deflection drum
16
and wraps around the latter by approximately 90°. As viewed in the feed direction Z, the conveyor
14
, which is equipped with controllable grippers
20
, runs laterally alongside the deflection drum
16
. Said conveyor is intended to use its grippers
20
to firmly clamp the imbricated formation S deflected around the deflection drum
16
in a lateral edge section
21
and to transport it further in the conveying direction F, see in particular FIG.
2
.
In the example shown, the transport belt
10
is formed by seven tapes
22
arranged beside one another in the manner of a tape conveyor
23
. Five of these tapes, as viewed in the direction of the axis of rotation
18
, are located in the region of the deflection drum
16
, engage around the underside of said drum and drive it. The remaining two tapes
22
are located outside the region of the deflection drum
16
underneath the conveyor
14
. The five tapes
22
led around the deflection drum
16
form a driven conveying mechanism
24
which, together with the deflection drum
16
, bounds a deflection and conveying gap
26
for the imbricated formation S.
The deflection drum
16
has a circular disk-shaped plate
28
along whose periphery uniformly distributed rods
30
running parallel to the axis of rotation
18
are fastened. Said rods all project from the plate
28
on that side facing away from the conveyor
14
and form a drum-like deflection cage which is open on its side opposite the plate
28
. A drive shaft
34
which is coaxial with the axis of rotation
18
and is mounted on a machine frame
32
passes freely through the center of the plate
28
. In the interior of the deflection drum
16
, a bearing element
36
is seated on the drive shaft
34
, is connected on one side to the latter by a frictional connection and to the front of which, on the other side, the plate
28
is fastened. The bearing element
36
acts with the drive shaft
34
in the manner of a loose drive, for example via a frictional connection, in order to carry along the deflection drum
16
in the direction of rotation D of the drive shaft
34
. However, it should be mentioned that the deflection drum
16
can also be mounted such that it rotates freely.
On the end region of the drive shaft
34
that faces away from the deflection drum
16
, a sprocket
38
and an output drive wheel
40
are rotationally fixedly seated on said shaft. A drive chain
42
, which is driven in the direction of rotation D by a drive motor (not shown), engages around the sprocket
38
.
Via a drive belt
44
, the output drive wheel
40
drives a drive wheel
48
arranged on an intermediate shaft
46
. The intermediate shaft
46
runs in the feed direction Z, upstream of the deflection drum
16
, in the direction at right angles to the feed direction Z, between the runs of the tapes
22
. Arranged on said intermediate shaft is an intermediate wheel
50
which is rotationally fixedly connected to the drive wheel
48
and is connected to a further drive wheel
54
by a drive belt
52
which is crossed so as to run with a reversal of the direction of rotation. Said drive wheel
54
is rotationally fixedly seated on a drive shaft
56
, on which, at the upstream end of the transport belt
10
, the deflection wheels
58
for the tapes
22
are keyed. The five tapes
22
whose active run engages around the deflection drum
16
run upward from the deflection drum
16
in an approximately vertical direction and are led around freely rotatably mounted upper deflection wheels
60
. From the latter, the return run runs downward in the vertical direction to lower deflection wheels
62
, from where it runs back to the further drive wheels
54
. The lower deflection wheels
62
are freely rotatably mounted on an axle arranged on the machine frame
32
. Also mounted on this axle are the downstream deflection wheels
62
for the two tapes
22
arranged laterally outside the deflection drum
16
.
The upper deflection wheels
60
are freely rotatably mounted on an axle
64
, which is arranged on a pivoting lever
66
. The latter is pivotably mounted on the machine frame
32
, adjacent to the axle of the lower deflection wheels
62
, and can be moved in the direction of the arrow U from a deflection position, shown by continuous lines in
FIG. 1
, into a passage position
68
, in which, as indicated by dash-dotted lines in
FIG. 1
, the active run of the transport belt
10
no longer engages around the deflection drum
16
, or only to a much lower extent. As a result, the conveying apparatus can be used in the manner of a diverter, for example, for separating out rejects.
Between the deflection drum
16
and the sprocket
38
, a cam wheel
70
is rotationally fixedly seated on the drive shaft
34
. Engaging around said cam wheel
70
is a guide rail
72
of C-shaped cross section, which has a clothoid shape in the region of the cam wheel
70
. In the region of the cam wheel
70
, the base connecting the side legs
74
of the guide rail
72
is penetrated so that the cam wheel
70
can engage in the interior of the guide rail
72
which is open to the outside in the radial direction.
Arranged one behind another in the guide rail
72
are carrying elements
76
, which, on one side, are guided via guide wheels
78
in the interior of the guide rail
72
and on the other side are guided by means of further guide wheels
80
on the mutually facing ends of the side legs
74
which are bent toward each other. On the side which is opposite the guide wheels
80
and thus faces the cam wheel
70
, the carrying elements
76
have tooth-like projections and depressions which are intended to interact with identically shaped teeth on the cam wheel
70
. The carrying elements
76
are thus driven in the region of the deflection by means of the cam wheel
70
. Downstream of the cam wheel
70
, the drive takes place in a jerky manner because of the carrying elements
76
resting on one another at their ends. A gripper
20
is arranged at each nth, for example fourth, carrying element
76
. For this purpose, a support
84
, from which an outrigger
86
running at right angles to the conveying direction F projects, is seated on the axles for the guide wheels
80
. A fixed gripper tongue
88
is arranged on said outrigger on that side which faces away from the support
84
and thus from the carrying element
76
, and is free in the direction of the outside. This tongue may be provided with a frictional covering.
On that end of the outrigger
86
which faces away from the deflection drum
16
there is seated a gripper housing
90
, on which a corrugated, spring-like, movable gripper tongue
92
is mounted about a pivot axis
94
running in the conveying direction F. A hold-open spring
96
, which is likewise fastened to the gripper housing
90
and is designed in the manner of a leaf spring, acts on the movable gripper tongue
92
in the direction of opening of the latter, so that when it is opened, it is arranged approximately at right angles to the fixed gripper tongue
88
. The pivot axis
94
, to which the movable gripper tongue
92
is fastened at one end, is connected in the interior of the gripper housing
90
to a closing lever
98
which is mounted on the latter. Freely rotatably mounted on said lever
98
, at its free end, is a control roller
100
, which is intended to interact with a fixed closing striker
102
in order to move the movable gripper tongue
92
from the open position into the closed position. Also arranged in the gripper housing
90
is a latching element of a generally known type, in order to latch the pivot axis
94
moved into the closed position. In order to release the movable gripper tongue
92
, this latch can likewise be unlocked in a generally known way, for example by means of an opening striker.
The guide rail
72
defines a movement track for the grippers
20
, said track being separate from the deflection drum
16
. As viewed in the conveying direction F, the movement track runs in the direction from top to bottom toward the deflection drum
16
, then around the cam wheel
70
and the drive shaft
34
and, approximately parallel to that section of the tapes
22
which runs downstream of the deflection drum
16
, in the direction from bottom to top. The guide rail
72
is designed in such a way that the circulation path
104
, along which the gripper tongues
88
are moved, bears from the inside on the imbricated formation S, laterally alongside the deflection drum
16
, in the region of the deflection of the imbricated formation S around the deflection drum
16
. For this purpose, the edge section
21
of the imbricated formation S, as can be seen from
FIG. 2
, projects beyond the deflection drum
16
on the side facing the conveyor
14
. This edge section
21
is supported by the two tapes
22
running rectilinearly past the deflection drum
16
.
The peripheral speed of the cam wheel
70
and thus the speed of the carrying elements
76
and grippers
20
is selected such that, in a section of the guide rail
72
which runs rectilinearly, these move at least approximately at the circulation speed of the transport belt
10
and thus of the tapes
22
. In the example shown, the grippers
20
thus move, in the region of the deflection drum
16
, with a higher speed than the imbricated formation S, but on the other hand these two speeds are at least approximately identical downstream of the deflection drum
16
. The closing striker
102
begins to act at the downstream end of the deflection and conveying gap
26
. In any case, the grippers
20
are closed before the articles
12
to be gripped and held by the latter have left the deflection and conveying gap
26
.
The apparatus shown in the figures functions as follows. The articles
12
arising in imbricated formation S, which rest freely on the transport belt
10
, come to bear on the deflection drum
16
with their free flat side
106
which faces away from the transport belt
10
, and are deflected in the upward direction in the shortest space in the deflection and conveying gap
26
. In the region of this deflection, at specific intervals, in each case the fixed gripper tongues
88
of the grippers
20
come to bear on the imbricated formation S in the edge section
21
on the radially inner flat side. At the downstream end of the deflection and conveying gap
26
, or shortly thereafter, the gripper
20
is closed by the movable gripper tongue
92
being pivoted into the closed position, so that it grips the imbricated formation S in the lateral edge section
21
and holds it firmly for further transport.
The distance between successive grippers
20
is preferably selected in such a way that it is slightly smaller than the length, measured in the conveying direction, of the articles
12
to be transported, so that each article
12
in the imbricated formation S is held by at least one of the grippers
20
. In a preferred way, by selecting the distance between successive grippers
20
, it is ensured that none of the articles
12
is held by three or more grippers
20
. This makes it possible to transport the imbricated formation S around curves which are located in the surface of the imbricated formation S.
The cage-like design of the deflection drum
16
makes it possible for the radially inner parts of the articles
12
, the radially inner sheets in the case of newspapers or magazines, to escape in a wave shape between the rods
30
in the region of the deflection. This embodiment ensures non-damaging deflection of the articles
12
, with the smallest space requirement. A further contribution to this is made by the loose drive for the deflection drum
16
. Forces which run in the peripheral direction and which could have an influence on the articles are at least approximately avoided. It is of course possible for the deflection drum
16
also to be designed with a closed outer surface. This is particularly the case when thin articles with a relatively small mutual overlap are to be transported.
In principle, it is also conceivable to drive the grippers
20
in such a way that their speed is lower in a rectilinear section of the guide rail
72
downstream of the cam wheel
70
than the speed of the tapes
22
and of the deflection drum
16
. This leads to the situation in which the articles
12
held firmly by a gripper
20
are bent in a wave shape between this gripper and the downstream end of the deflection and conveying gap
26
, the peaks and valleys of the wave running at right angles to the conveying direction F. This makes it possible to transport the articles
12
without damage around curves transverse to the surface of the imbricated formation S.
The conveying apparatus can be designed to be exactly the same at the end of the conveying section as is shown, using
FIGS. 1 and 2
, at the start of the conveying section. The only difference is that the conveying direction F and the direction of rotation D are reversed, and the direction in which the transport belt
10
carries articles away is opposite to the feed direction Z. Furthermore, instead of the closing striker
102
, there is an opening striker to open the grippers
20
.
It is of course also conceivable to design the conveyor
14
differently. As a result, because of its independence of the deflection drum
16
, the widest possible range of options is provided.
In the example shown, the deflection and conveying gap runs around the deflection drum
16
through about 90°. This wrap angle may be selected to be greater or smaller. This permits simple adaptation to the physical conditions.
The deflection drum
16
may be freely rotatably mounted on the drive shaft
34
.
Claims
- 1. A conveying apparatus for flexible, flat articles, such as printed products, arriving in an imbricated formation, said imbricated formation having a flat side (106) and a lateral edge section (21), comprising:a transport belt (10) for feeding the imbricated formation (S); a conveyor (14) having a circulation path (104) that functions to move the imbricated formation in a conveying direction (F), said conveyor (14) being arranged downstream of the transport belt (10), said conveyor (14) having grippers (20) which are arranged one behind another and are controlled to grip said lateral edge section (21) of the imbricated formation (S); deflection means, that bears on said flat side (106) of the fed imbricated formation (S), comprising a deflection drum (16); a driven conveying mechanism (24), said driven conveying mechanism (24) forms with said deflection drum (16) a conveying and deflection gap (26) for the imbricated formation (S) and engages around said deflection drum (16); said lateral edge section (21) of the imbricated formation projects beyond said deflection drum (16) and said circulation path (104) is independent of said deflection drum (16) such that the grippers (20) are free to move laterally past the deflection drum (16) on the side where said lateral edge section (21) projects from the deflection drum (16).
- 2. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transport belt (10) functions to convey the imbricated formation (S) resting freely thereon, the deflection drum (16) bears on said flat side (106) of the imbricated formation (S) which faces away from the transport belt (10), and the conveying mechanism (24) engages around the underside of the deflection drum (16).
- 3. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the conveying mechanism (24) imparts drive to the deflection drum.
- 4. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the deflection drum (16) includes a plate (28) that is mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation (18), a plurality of rods (30) carried by said plate (28), said rods extending parallel to said axis of rotation (18) to form a cage with plate (28).
- 5. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conveying mechanism (24) and the transport belt (10) are formed by a single belt conveyor (23) that is comprised of multiple belts, belts (22) running around the deflection drum (16) and additional belts (22) located beyond the deflection drum (16) as viewed in the direction of its axis of rotation (18), said additional belts adapted to support said lateral edge section (21) of the imbricated formation (S), said additional belts run rectilinearly past the deflection drum (16).
- 6. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein, downstream of the deflection drum (16), the conveying mechanism (24) is led around a deflection wheel (60), which can be moved from a deflection position, in which the conveying mechanism (24) runs around the deflection drum (16), into a passage position (68), in which the conveying mechanism (24) runs mainly rectilinearly past the deflection drum (16).
- 7. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circulation path (104) of the grippers (20) when adjacent the deflection drum (16), as measured in the radial direction from the axis of rotation (18) of the deflection drum (16), runs inside the conveying path of the imbricated formation (S).
- 8. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conveyor (14) includes a guide channel (72), in which carrying elements (76) are movably guided in the conveying direction (F), and the grippers (20) are carried on elements (76).
- 9. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein said guide channel (72) runs around the axis of rotation (18) of the deflection drum (16).
- 10. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the deflection drum (16) is carried by a drive shaft (34), a drive wheel (70) of the conveyor (14) is carried by said drive shaft 34.
- 11. A conveying apparatus for flexible, flat articles, such as printed products, arriving in an imbricated formation and to be conveyed in a conveying direction (F), said imbricated formation having a flat side (106) and a lateral edge section (21), comprising:a conveyor (14) for feeding the imbricated formation (S), said conveyor (14) including grippers (20) which are arranged one behind another to move along a circulation path (104), said grippers (20) being controlled to grip a lateral edge section (21) of the imbricated formation (S); a transport belt (10), said transport belt (10) being arranged downstream of said conveyor (14), and functions to lead the imbricated formation (S) away in the conveying direction (F); a deflection mechanism that bears on said flat side (106) of the fed imbricated formation (S), said deflection mechanism including a deflection drum (16); a driven conveying mechanism (24) forming with said deflection mechanism a conveying and deflection gap (26), and engaging around said deflection drum (16); said lateral edge section (21) of said imbricated formation (S) projects beyond said deflection drum (16), said circulation path (104) being independent of said deflection drum (16) such that the grippers (20) are free to move laterally past the deflection drum (16) along the side of the lateral edge section (21).
- 12. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the transport belt (10) functions to convey the imbricated formation (S) resting freely thereon, the deflection drum (16) bears on said flat side (106) of the imbricated formation (S) which faces away from the transport belt (10), and the conveying mechanism (24) engages around the underside of the deflection drum (16).
- 13. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the conveying mechanism (24) imparts drive to the deflection drum.
- 14. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the deflection drum (16) includes a plate (28) that is mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation (18), a plurality of rods (30) carried by said plate (28), said rods extending parallel to said axis of rotation (18) to form a cage with plate (28).
- 15. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the conveying mechanism (24) and the transport belt (10) are formed by a single belt conveyor (23) that is comprised of multiple belts, belts (22) running around the deflection drum (16) and additional belts (22) located beyond the deflection drum (16) as viewed in the direction of its axis of rotation (18), said additional belts adapted to support said lateral edge section (21) of the imbricated formation (S), said additional belts run rectilinearly past the deflection drum (16).
- 16. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein, downstream of the deflection drum (16), the conveying mechanism (24) is led around a deflection wheel (60), which can be moved from a deflection position, in which the conveying mechanism (24) runs around the deflection drum (16), into a passage position (68), in which the conveying mechanism (24) runs mainly rectilinearly past the deflection drum (16).
- 17. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the circulation path (104) of the grippers (20) when adjacent the deflection drum (16), as measured in the radial direction from the axis of rotation (18) of the deflection drum (16), runs inside the conveying path of the imbricated formation (S).
- 18. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the conveyor (14) includes a guide channel (72), in which carrying elements (76) are movably guided in the conveying direction (F), and the grippers (20) are carried on said carrying elements (76).
- 19. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein said guide channel (72) runs around the axis of rotation (18) of the deflection drum (16).
- 20. The conveying apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the deflection drum (16) is carried by a drive shaft (34), a drive wheel (70) of the conveyor (14) is carried by said drive shaft 34.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
1818/98 |
Sep 1998 |
CH |
|
US Referenced Citations (4)