Patent Application
20190291985
The object of this application is the registration of a belt-based insertion assembly for the continuous feeding of laminar elements into a graphic printing station.
More specifically, the invention proposes the development of an insertion assembly for the continuous and automated feeding of laminar elements into a graphic printing station, without the involvement of roller elements in the process, with the possibility of adjusting the distance between the laminar elements, such that adjacent laminar elements may be positioned very closely, regardless of their length, with the laminar elements in a stacking area for laminar elements arranged in at least one column.
The use of flexography to print sheets of cardboard intended, for example, to form boxes, is currently known. This technique consists of passing cardboard sheets or laminar elements on a horizontal plane between rollers installed in a digital printing station.
To do this, the use of an insertion device to feed laminar bodies (of different sizes) into a graphic printing station like the one described above is known, and is described in the Spanish patent no ES 2 547 473 granted to this applicant.
Traditionally, pairs of cylinders have been used as the pulling elements after the insertion device to finish inserting the cardboard sheet into the line for printing, die-cutting, folding, etc. The pulling of the cardboard sheets such that they pass through a defined space between two cylinders results in the lamination of the sheets to a certain degree, which, in the specific case of corrugated cardboard sheets, may generate an undesired effect of loss of mechanical properties in regard to strength.
In addition, the applicant has no knowledge of any invention at the present time that is equipped with all of the features covered in this description.
The present invention has been developed for the purpose of providing an insertion assembly that represents a novelty within the field of application and resolves the drawbacks mentioned above, also providing other additional advantages that will be evident based on the description included below.
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide an insertion assembly to feed laminar elements into a graphic printing station, with the laminar elements located in a stacking area for the laminar elements arranged into at least one column, which is characterized in that it comprises:
In this way, a laminar element is carried from the stacking area to the graphic printing station through the insertion device and the pulling device, with the speed of the rotating belt of the pulling device remaining constant, and equal or essentially equal to the speed of movement of a series of movement means in the printing station, on which the laminar element will be moved during the operation thereof.
To do this, the development of an insertion assembly is proposed for the automated feeding of laminar elements, such as sheets of cardboard, into a graphic printing station without the involvement of roller elements in the process, and which also allows the adjustment of the distance between the laminar elements in question, such that adjacent laminar elements may be positioned very close to each other regardless of their length.
According to one embodiment, the insertion device includes a lifting means that raises the laminar element with respect to the rotating belt, with the movement of the lifting means synchronized with the suction means.
According to one embodiment, the insertion device includes a lifting means that raises and lowers the laminar element with respect to the rotating belt, depending on the operating stage, with the movement of the lifting means synchronized with the suction means.
Preferably, the aforementioned suction means include a series of valve means that are integrally joined to the lifting means, such that when the valve means are open, the lifting means is in a bottom position, whilst when the valve means are closed, the lifting means is in a top position.
According to another aspect of the invention, the suction means housed in the insertion device have two suction chambers, while the suction means housed in the pulling device have three adjoining suction chambers.
According to another characteristic of the invention, the belt system of the insertion device comprises a plurality of pulleys on which a belt slides, with one of the pulleys driven by conventional motor means.
Likewise, the belt system of the pulling device also comprises a plurality of pulleys on which a belt slides, with one of the pulleys driven by a series of conventional motors.
Beneficially, the lifting means is kinematically connected to an eccentric mechanism and a series of elastic means, with said eccentric mechanism acting on the valve means, which are integrally connected to the eccentric mechanism. This construction configuration provides a simple way to guarantee synchronized coordination between the suction means and the lifting element.
According to another aspect of the invention, the lifting means comprises a support plate that has a first horizontal section that is intended to support a laminar element, and a second section that extends downward, which is in contact with the elastic means and the eccentric mechanism.
Other characteristics and advantages of the insertion assembly that is the object of the present invention will be evident based on the description of a preferred, though non-exclusive, embodiment, which, by way of a non-limiting example, is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
In light of the aforementioned figures, and according to the adopted numbering, the figures show a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, which comprises the parts and elements that are indicated and described in detail below.
As the insertion assembly to feed laminar elements into a graphic printing station has been represented in the schematic drawings, with the laminar elements in a stacking area for laminar elements, for example made of cardboard (which will be used to form cardboard boxes), arranged in at least one column, mainly comprises an insertion device, generally indicated with the reference (1), and a pulling device, generally indicated with the reference (2).
More specifically, the insertion device (1) includes a rotating belt system on which the laminar elements (3) can be moved horizontally, and suction means, with the insertion device (1) connected to the stacking area (4) which includes a positioning wall, shown in the figures with reference (5).
Likewise, the pulling device (2) includes a rotating belt system on which the laminar elements (3) from the insertion device (1) can move horizontally, and suction means that will be explained below, with the pulling device (2) connected to a graphic printing station (not shown) equipped with a rotating belt (6), with said pulling device adjoining the insertion device in a direction of forward motion (indicated with the arrow fin
In this manner, a laminar element (3) is carried from the stacking area to the graphic printing station through the insertion device (1) and the pulling device (2), with the speed of the rotating belt (72) of the pulling device (2) constant and equal or essentially equal to the speed of movement of movement means in the printing station, on which the laminar element (3) moves during the operation thereof.
The aforementioned belt system of the insertion device (1) essentially comprises a series of pulleys (61) on which the belt (71) slides, with one of the pulleys driven by motor means (not shown), such as, for example, a step electric motor, etc. Moreover, the belt system of the pulling device essentially comprises a series of pulleys (62) on which a belt (72) slides, with the pulleys driven by motor means (not shown).
Both the insertion device (1) and pulling device (2) each include a lifting means (81) and (82), respectively, that lifts the laminar element (3) with respect to the rotating belt, with the movement of the lifting means (81, 82) synchronized with the suction means.
Now making reference to the suction means of both devices (1) and (2), these include valve means (91, 92), a butterfly valve in this embodiment, which are integrally joined to the respective lifting means (81), (82), such that when the butterfly valve is in an open condition, i.e. in a suction or intake condition, the corresponding lifting means (81, 82) is located in the lowest position.
In the case of the insertion device (1), the suction means include two suction chambers, while in the pulling device, the suction means have three adjoining suction chambers.
Each one of the lifting means (81, 82) is kinematically connected to an eccentric mechanism (111, 112) and includes elastic means, with said eccentric mechanism acting on the valve means, such that the valve means are integrally connected to the eccentric mechanism (91, 92). The lifting means can adopt two positions, with a top or raised position and a bottom or lowered position.
As shown more clearly in
The aforementioned elastic means arranged on the insertion device (1) and the pulling device (2) may be a spring (10) that is in contact at one end with the second section (801) of the lifting means (81, 82), such that the support plate is in contact at all times during the operation with the eccentric mechanism (111, 112).
The next section describes the operation of the insertion assembly described above, specifying in each one of the stages the positions that are adopted by the butterfly valve, support plate, and the belt speed. The expression “Vm” will be used to indicate that one of the belts, either of the insertion device or the pulling device, has the same speed as the belt in the graphic printing station.
Consequently, in the first stage (see
In stage two (see
In stage three (see
In stage four (see
In stage five (see
In stage six (see
In stage seven (see
Note that during stages six and seven, the laminar element that is inserted follows a specific acceleration condition (see the graph in
In stage eight (see
The following section describes the operation of the invention as a whole as shown in
In stage one of operation (see
In stage two (see
In stage three of the operation (see
In stage four of the operation (see
In stage five of operation (see
In stage six of the operation (see
In stage seven of the operation (see
Note that during stages five and seven, the laminar element that is inserted follows a specific acceleration condition (
Lastly, in stage eight of the operation (see
The following section describes another mode of operation with sheets of sufficient length.
For sheets (laminar elements) with a length greater than or equal to the distance between the start of the operational suction chamber of the insertion device (1) and the end of the chamber (2c) of the pulling device (2), the support plate corresponding to the lifting means (82) could be left permanently in the highest position, and consequently without suction in chambers (2a) and (2b).
This means that the laminar elements (3) must meet before the support plate of the pulling device (82) finishes and the inserted sheet must be pulled by the belt of the insertion device (71) until it reaches the end of suction chamber 2c, at which time the suction force on the belt of the pulling device (72) is sufficient to pull the laminar element (3), such that the support plate of the insertion device (81) can now be raised and the suction operation can be disconnected in suction chambers (1a, 1b) and the insertion belt (71) can be stopped.
This mode of operation is recommended to reduce energy consumption and wear on the mechanical elements. In another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in
The details, shapes, dimensions and other accessory elements used in the manufacture of the device of the invention may be conveniently replaced with others which do not depart from the scope defined by the claims which are included below.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| P201630647 | May 2016 | ES | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/ES2017/070322 | 5/17/2017 | WO | 00 |
