Feeder system for feeding object-carriers with objects, in particular for printing machines, and a printing machine equipped with the system

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6568895
  • Patent Number
    6,568,895
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, March 8, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 27, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
A feeder system for feeding objects to object-carriers of a machine for processing the objects, in particular a printing machine, includes a reciprocating finger for pushing each object directly towards an object-carrier to place the object on the object-carrier; the finger being carried by a reciprocating carriage slidably mounted on a chassis and rotatably mounted on the carriage so that it can occupy at least an operational position in which it can push an object when it is moved and a retracted position in which it can avoid an object when it is moved.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates generally to machines for processing objects, for example printing machines including a turret, which can rotate about its axis and which carries a plurality of object-carriers radially at its periphery via supports which are in turn rotatably mounted on the turret, and a plurality of workstations distributed circumferentially around the turret, in line with the trajectory of the object-carriers, and some of which are printing stations while others are processing stations, for example drying, varnishing, flame treatment, dust removal or other stations.




DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART




The printing machines are used to print circular objects, for example, such as flexible tubes made of synthetic or other materials and to be printed with several different colours in succession; in this case the object-carriers are cylindrical mandrels onto which the objects are threaded.




Feeder systems are of course provided for feeding the object-carriers with the objects.




Until now the feeder systems have included a finger, generally of cylindrical shape, reciprocating along its axis and adapted to push each object directly towards an object-carrier.




Although these systems operate well, they nevertheless have the disadvantage that, to access the next object to be pushed, the finger must be retracted by a distance at least equal to the length of the object, and that it is only after this movement, which frees the space for the next object, that the next object can take up its place.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The subject matter of the present invention is a feeder system in which the next object to be pushed takes up its place before the finger has effected its retraction stroke, which increases the feed rate.




In accordance with the invention, a feeder system for feeding objects to object-carriers of a machine for processing the objects, in particular a printing machine, said system including a reciprocating finger for pushing each object directly towards an object-carrier to place the object on said object-carrier, is characterised in that said finger is carried by a reciprocating carriage slidably mounted on a chassis and is rotatably mounted on said carriage so that it can occupy at least an operational position in which it can push an object when it is moved and a retracted position in which it can avoid an object when it is moved.




Said finger is advantageously also subjected to the action of spring means which urge it towards its retracted position and locking means are provided for temporarily retaining the finger in its operational position against the action of the spring means.




The finger is preferably fastened to a shaft rotatably mounted on the carriage and the spring means comprise a spiral spring wound around said shaft.




The locking means advantageously comprise a plunger mounted to slide in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis of the finger.




In the position of the plunger in which the shaft is locked relative to the carriage the outside surface of the plunger preferably cooperates with a flat surface formed on the shaft.




The plunger advantageously has a peripheral groove which in the position in which the shaft is unlocked is in line with said flat surface.




The carriage preferably reciprocates between two abutments carried by the chassis.




The plunger is advantageously adapted to cooperate with the abutment in its locking position and with the abutment in its unlocking position, the carriage being in line with said abutments in each of those positions.




The finger preferably includes an operational position selector ramp adapted to cooperate with a fixed roller carried by the chassis.




The invention also provides a machine, in particular a printing machine, including object-carriers and a feeder system for feeding the object-carriers with objects, characterised in that the feeder system is a system as defined above.




The objects are advantageously carried by an inclined table.




The objects are preferably retained by a rim of the table and the rim is parallel to the rotation axis of the finger.




Said finger is advantageously generally C-shaped and straddles said rim.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




To explain further the subject matter of the invention, an embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings will now be described by way of purely illustrative and non-limiting example.




In the drawings





FIG. 1

is a partial elevation view of a machine equipped with a feeder system according to the invention;





FIG. 2

is a partial view of

FIG. 1

showing in section a carriage carrying a finger;





FIG. 3

is a partial bottom view relative to

FIG. 1

showing a drive link of the carriage;





FIG. 4

is a partial view as seen in the direction of the arrow IV in

FIG. 1

; and





FIGS. 5

to


10


are views analogous to

FIG. 4

showing various steps in the operation of the feeder system.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




The figures show, by way of example, the application of the invention to the situation in which the objects to be printed are flexible tubes, for example, intended to contain a more or less paste-like product, such as cream, which tubes include a body and a bottom. The body is globally cylindrical and its cross section is substantially circular.




The printing machine used to print these objects, only part of which is shown in the figures, is of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,199, for example, and globally comprises, as known in the art, a turret which is rotatable on a frame about is axis, which in this instance is a vertical axis, and which carries radially at its periphery a plurality of object-carriers each of which is in turn rotatably mounted on the turret by means of a respective support, their rotation axes being orthogonal to the axis of the turret in this example, and therefore horizontal.




The turret is generally a simple circular contour plate rotatably mounted on a table that is part of the frame. This is known in the art.




The turret is driven stepwise in rotation by a motor associated with an indexing device. This is known in the art.




Because the objects to be printed are flexible tubes, the object-carriers are cylindrical mandrels onto which the objects are simply threaded.




The corresponding arrangements are well known in the art and are not described in more detail here.




The printing machine includes a plurality of workstations which are circumferentially distributed around the turret in line with the trajectory of the object-carriers and some of which are printing stations while others are processing stations. This is known in the art.




The system is completed by a loading and offloading station and workstations for processing the objects before they are printed, for example a flame treatment and dust removal station and a varnishing station followed by a drying station.




The machine includes a feeder system shown in

FIGS. 1

to


4


adapted to feed objects to the object-carriers.




The cylindrical objects


10


are perpendicular to the plane of

FIGS. 1 and 2

and are placed on an inclined table


23


; they are caused to come into contact with each other by their weight alone, with the first object


10


A abutted against a transverse rim


24


of the inclined table


23


.




A feed finger


11


is carried by a carriage


12


slidably mounted on a chassis


13


. The carriage


12


reciprocates; to this end, it is fastened by arms


26


to a sled


27


in turn slidably mounted on a rail


28


; the sled


27


is coupled to a link


29


in turn coupled to a crank


30


(see

FIG. 3

) fastened to the shaft


36


of a motor incorporated in the machine.




Accordingly, when the shaft


36


turns, the sled


27


is moved on the rail


28


with a reciprocating motion that is transmitted by the arm


26


to the carriage


12


.




The finger


11


is cut and bent to shape from sheet metal and includes a plane body


31


and a plane beak


32


in a plane perpendicular to the plane body


31


; the beak


32


and the body


31


have a generally C-shaped configuration so that the body


31


and the beak


32


can be placed on respective opposite sides of the rim


24


of the inclined table


23


; the body


31


is parallel to the rim


24


and the beak


32


is transverse to the objects


10


.




The carriage


12


includes a bore


33


in which is rotatably mounted a shaft


16


fastened to the plane body


31


, in this example perpendicularly to said body


31


, and therefore fastened to the finger


11


.




The shaft


16


incorporates a cut-out whose back defines a flat surface


17


parallel to the axis of the shaft


16


(see FIG.


2


).




The shaft


16


is surrounded by a spiral spring


14


one end of which is carried by the plane body


31


of the finger


11


and whose other end is fastened to the carriage


12


; accordingly, the spiral spring


14


bears against the carriage


12


and urges the finger


11


to rotate in the direction which raises the beak


32


, as explained below.




The axis of a cylindrical passage through the carriage


12


is orthogonal to the axis of the bore


33


and tangential to said bore


33


; a plunger


15


is slidably mounted in said passage; for the plunger


15


to be able to serve as a locking member for immobilising the shaft


16


relative to the carriage


12


in the bore


33


, its diameter is such that it is tangential to the flat surface


17


on the shaft


16


; to unlock the shaft


16


, the plunger has a groove


18


(see

FIG. 2

) whose depth is such that when said groove


18


is in line with the flat surface


17


, after the plunger


15


has been moved to bring this about, the shaft


16


is free to rotate inside the bore


33


.




As it reciprocates, the carriage


12


moves between two abutments


21


and


22


carried by the chassis


13


, in this example by means of a spacer


25


; one abutment


21


is the inside face of a plate


42


fixed to the end of the spacer


25


and the other abutment


22


is the inside face of one flange of an L-shaped bracket


42


fixed to the top face of the spacer


25


.




In this example the spacer


25


is parallel to the rail


28


and inclined at an angle equal to the angle of inclination of the table


23


, as can be seen in

FIGS. 1 and 2

. This is not necessarily the case, however.




The length of the plunger


15


is greater than that of the passage through the carriage


12


in which it is housed, so that in each extreme position of the carriage


12


, in line with the abutment


21


or


22


, the plunger


15


is adapted to cooperate with each abutment and to be moved one way or the other; when it is cooperating with the abutment


21


(

FIG. 4

) the plunger


15


is in the position which unlocks the shaft


16


, and the groove


18


is in line with the flat surface


17


, and when it is cooperating with the abutment


22


(

FIG. 8

) the plunger


15


is in the position which locks the shaft


16


, and the groove


18


is no longer in line with the flat surface


17


.




This is how the feeder system according to the invention works.




In

FIG. 4

, the finger


11


is at the end of its operational stroke and the beak


32


of the finger


11


has threaded the hollow cylindrical object


10


A onto the object-carrier mandrel, not shown; the plunger


15


is cooperating with the unlocking abutment


21


and the shaft


16


can be turned in the carriage


12


by the spiral spring


14


; in this example it is preferred that the finger


11


rest momentarily in this position, a heel-piece


34


of the finger


11


cooperating with a roller


35


at a greater distance from the abutment


21


than the rotation axis of the shaft


16


, and said roller


35


being carried by a support


44


attached to the end plate


41


.




During its return stroke (

FIG. 5

) the finger


11


turns about its axis, progressively freeing the passage for the next object


10


B to take up its position; at about the half-way point of its return stroke (

FIG. 6

) the heel-piece


34


leaves the roller


35


and the back of the finger


11


abuts against a roller


20


at the end of a boom


43


carried by the L-shaped bracket


42


.




Note that in this position the next object


10


B is ready to be threaded onto the object-carrier even though the finger


11


, i.e. the carriage


12


, is only at the half-way point of its travel.




As the return movement of the carriage


12


continues, a ramp


19


on the finger


11


cooperates with the roller


20


to return the finger


11


to its operational position against the action of the spring


14


(see FIG.


7


).




The cooperation of the plunger


15


with the locking abutment


22


(

FIG. 8

) immobilises the shaft


16


, and therefore the finger


11


, in this position, which it retains until it takes up the object


10


B (FIG.


9


); the operational travel of the carriage


12


continuing, the plunger


15


comes into contact with the abutment


21


(

FIG. 10

) and then unlocks the shaft


16


while the object


10


B is threaded onto the object-carrier: the situation is therefore that of

FIG. 4

again, and a new cycle begins.



Claims
  • 1. A feeder system for feeding objects to object-carriers of a machine for processing the objects, said system comprising:a reciprocating finger (11) for pushing each object (10) directly towards an object-carrier to place the object (10) on said object-carrier, said finger (11) being carried by a reciprocating carriage (12) slidably mounted on a chassis (13) and is rotatably mounted on said carriage (12) so that it can occupy at least an operational position in which it can push an object (10) when it is moved and a retracted position in which it can avoid an object (10) when it is moved, said finger (11) being also subjected to the action of spring means (14) which urge it towards its retracted position; and locking means (15) provided for temporarily retaining the finger (11) in its operational position against the action of the spring means (14), wherein the finger (11) is fastened to a shaft (16) rotatably mounted on the carriage (12) and the spring means (14) comprise a spiral spring wound around said shaft (16), the locking means (15) comprise a plunger mounted to slide in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis of the finger (11).
  • 2. A feeder system according to claim 1, characterised in that in the position of the plunger (15) in which the shaft (16) is locked relative to the carriage (12) the outside surface of the plunger (15) cooperates with a flat surface (17) formed on the shaft (16).
  • 3. A feeder system according to claim 2, characterised in that the plunger (15) has a peripheral groove (18) which in the position in which the shaft (16) is unlocked is in line with said flat surface (17).
  • 4. A feeder system according to claim 3, characterised in that the carriage (12) reciprocates between two abutments (21, 22) carried by the chassis (13).
  • 5. A feeder system according to claim 4, characterised in that the plunger (15) is adapted to cooperate with the abutment (22) in its locking position and with the abutment (21) in its unlocking position, the carriage (12) being in line with said abutments (21, 22) in each of those positions.
  • 6. A printing machine, including object-carriers and a feeder system for feeding the object-carriers with objects, characterised in that the feeder system is a system according to claim 1.
  • 7. A machine according to claim 6, characterised in that the objects are carried by an inclined table (23).
  • 8. A machine according to claim 7, characterised in that the objects (10) are retained by a rim (24) of the table (23) and the rim (24) is parallel to the rotation axis of the finger (11).
  • 9. A machine according to claim 8, characterised in that the objects (10) are retained by a rim (24) of the table (23) and the rim (24) is parallel to the rotation axis of the finger (11).
  • 10. A feeder system for feeding objects to object-carriers of a machine for processing the objects, said system comprising:a reciprocating finger (11) for pushing each object (10) directly towards an object-carrier to place the object (10) on said object-carrier, said finger (11) being carried by a reciprocating carriage (12) slidably mounted on a chassis (13) and is rotatably mounted on said carriage (12) 50 that it can occupy at least an operational position in which it can push an object (10) when it is moved and a retracted position in which it can avoid an object (10) when it is moved, said finger (11) being also subjected to the action of spring means (14) which urge it towards its retracted position, and locking means (15) provided for temporarily retaining the finger (11) in its operational position against the action of the spring means (14), wherein the finger (11) includes an operational position selector ramp (19) adapted to cooperate with a fixed roller (20)carried by the chassis (13).
  • 11. A printing machine, including object-carriers and a feeder system for feeding the object-carriers with objects, characterised in that the feeder system is a system according to claim 10.
  • 12. A machine according to claim 11, characterised in that the objects are carried by an inclined table (23).
  • 13. A machine according to claim 12, characterised in that the objects (10) are retained by a rim (24) of the table (23) and the rim (24) is parallel to the rotation axis of the finger (11).
  • 14. A printing machine, including object-carriers and a feeder system for feeding the object-carriers with objects, characterised in that the feeder system is a system comprisinga reciprocating finger (11) for pushing each object (10) directly towards an object-carrier to place the object (10) on said object-carrier, said finger (11) being carried by a reciprocating carriage (12) slidably mounted on a chassis (13) and is rotatably mounted on said carriage (12) SO that it can occupy at least an operational position in which it can push an object (10) when it is moved and a retracted position in which it can avoid an object (10) when it is moved, said finger (11) being also subjected to the action of spring means (14) which urge it towards its retracted position, and locking means (15) provided for temporarily retaining the finger (11) in its operational position against the action of the spring means (14).
  • 15. A machine according to claim 14, characterised in that the objects are carried by an inclined table (23).
  • 16. A machine according to claim 15, characterised in that the objects (10) are retained by a rim (24) of the table (23) and the rim (24) is parallel to the rotation axis of the finger (11).
  • 17. A machine according to claim 16, characterised in that said finger (11) is generally C-shaped and straddles said rim (24).
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
00 03030 Mar 2000 FR
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5695044 Morikiyo et al. Dec 1997 A
6012893 Drei et al. Jan 2000 A
6106219 Newsome et al. Aug 2000 A
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Number Date Country
2 670 759 Jun 1992 FR
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2 174 667 Nov 1986 GB
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