The present invention relates to the field of paper handling, in particular to a filling station for filling an envelope, to a paper handling system, and to a method of filling an envelope in a filling station.
Various enveloping principles are known from conventional technology. U.S. Pat. No. 7,475,522 B2 shows a filling station with direct feeding of the envelopes from above. Coming from the envelope leader, an envelope moves against a stop, is received by two worm wheels, is separated and is vertically inserted into the filling plane. Once the envelope has been opened and filled, the stop is opened and the envelope is transported out of the filling station. EP 1 275 523 A describes an approach to inserting a material into an envelope, the envelopes being fed from above, separated by worm wheels and fed to the filling station by means of the movement of the worm wheels. EP 1 473 173 A describes an enveloping machine wherein the envelopes are fed to the filling station from below. Feeding is performed by means of worm wheels, which are enabled for envelope output subsequent envelope filling.
The above-described filling stations for enveloping machines have short travel paths in the feeding of the envelopes to the filling station. In order to transport a subsequent envelope into the filling station, it is useful to bridge a movement path, which essentially corresponds to the thickness of the envelope and/or to the spacing of a screw channel. While the filled envelope is removed, the next envelope is already available for envelope opening. Avoidance of long travel paths and of the long dead times resulting therefrom enables that feeding of the envelopes to the filling need not be performed at high speeds; rather, low speeds may be used. Therefore, said approaches are suitable for large cycle outputs. U.S. Pat. No. 7,475,522 B2 relates to an embodiment of a filling station wherein the cycle output may amount to 30,000 envelopes/h. The short travel paths and the low speeds also enable compact design of the system.
However, the above-described known approaches or solutions are disadvantageous in that two of the three known solutions, namely the approaches described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,475,522 B2 and in EP 1 275 523 B1, disclose feeding of the envelopes from above. This is disadvantageous since in case of feeding being performed from above, a subsequent envelope can get caught in the window of the preceding envelope.
In addition, the three above-described approaches, wherein envelope filling is performed into an envelope with the flap located at the top and the throat opening located at the bottom, involve increased effort for preventing a collision of the material being introduced at the throat opening, and thereby significantly restrict format and shape flexibility. In addition, all of the above-described solutions provide a approaches without any lateral guide and/or without the envelope being spread open in the filling process, which considerably reduces process reliability and lowers the filling limit. Moreover, design and operation are expensive due to the worm wheels used.
According to the three solutions described above, opening the envelope as well as keeping it open are performed exclusively by means of blow air. However, this is reliable to a limited extent only, since, on the one hand, already minor adhesions on the inside of the envelope make it significantly more difficult to open the envelope by means of blow air only, and, on the other hand, keeping the envelope open by means of blow air only may result in that the filling material is partly or even completely “blown out” of the envelope.
According to an embodiment, a filling station for filling an envelope, the filling station being configured to receive a filling material and an envelope, may have: a filling area including at least one filling aid; an envelope feeder configured to receive an envelope and to arrange the envelope at least partly at a position outside the filling area; and a transport device configured to move an envelope, which is arranged in the envelope feeder, into the filling area; the envelope feeder being configured to receive a subsequent envelope during a movement of the preceding envelope from the envelope feeder into the filling area and/or during filling of the preceding envelope, and to keep same outside the filling area, and the envelope feeder being configured to receive the subsequent envelope below a position where an envelope is filled.
According to another embodiment, a paper handling system may have: one or more paper handling components for providing a filling material; a filling station as claimed in claim 1; and a controller effective to control the paper handling component and the filling station.
According to another embodiment, a method of filling an envelope in a filling station which receives a filling material and an envelope may have the steps of: moving an envelope from an envelope feeder in the direction of a filling aid of the filling station, inserting a filling material into the envelope, and during movement of the envelope from the envelope feeder to the filling aid and/or during filling of the envelope, receiving a subsequent envelope in the envelope feeder such that at least part of the received envelope is arranged outside a filling area, the subsequent envelope being received below a position wherein an envelope is filled.
The present invention further provides a paper handling system comprising one or more paper handling components, such as a cutter, a merger, a collating station, a folding unit and/or a gathering web having one or more insert leaders in order to provide a filling material, and comprising a filling station in accordance with embodiments of the invention, a controller being additionally provided which is operative to control the paper handling component and the filling station.
In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the transport device is configured to move an envelope from the envelope feeder in such a manner that the envelope is pulled up onto the filling aid.
The envelope feeder may be configured to receive an envelope below a position wherein an envelope is filled, it being possible for the envelope feeder to be configured to hold an envelope bottom in a downwardly deflected manner in relation to the rest of the envelope while the envelope is being transported into the envelope feeder and/or while the envelope bottom is arranged in the envelope feeder. The envelope bottom may be held, e.g., by being received in a bay so as to effect the deflection, without which bay the envelope bottom is fixed in place within the receptacle. In other embodiments, provision may optionally be made for providing a clamping element for fixing the envelope bottom in place. Before filling of the envelope has been completed or before filling of the envelope is started, the envelope bottom is released, so that it is no longer downwardly deflected. In accordance with one embodiment, the envelope feeder includes a support consisting of one or several parts and comprising an end which is remote from the filling aid and is arranged below the position in which an envelope is being filled, so that an envelope bottom of an envelope being moved into the envelope feeder is downwardly deflected in relation to the rest of the envelope. In this manner, opening of the envelope throat may be assisted.
In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the filling aid may be arranged in a movable or stationary manner. The filling aid is operative to spread the envelope open and to protect the material being introduced against hitting an envelope side or the envelope bottom and against envelope adhesion.
In accordance with further embodiments, the filling station includes a further transport device configured to feed an envelope to the envelope feeder; the further transport device may be configured to feed an envelope to the envelope feeder in the material transport direction, perpendicularly to the material transport direction or counter to the material transport direction. Moreover, the further transport device may be configured to receive a plurality of envelopes in a shingled manner. In accordance with embodiments, the further transport device includes a suction-belt transport device, which is deactivated while an envelope is being moved from the envelope feeder onto the filling aid, and which is activated while an envelope is being filled. The suction-belt transport device may be configured to arrange the envelope within the envelope feeder outside the filling area. Alternatively, the further transport device may also include a segment transport device comprising active and non-active portions. The transport and the segment transport devices are controlled, or configured, such that an envelope ready to be moved into the envelope feeder has a non-active portion of the segment transport device associated with it while the transport device moves an envelope onto the filling aid, and such that the envelope ready to be moved into the envelope feeder has an active portion of the segment transport associated with it while an envelope is being filled.
In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the transport device may include a cylinder segment roller, so that when the envelope is being moved to the filling aid while using the cylinder segment rollers, a flap of an envelope which is already located within the envelope feeder or of an envelope being moved into the feeder is not impeded.
In accordance with further embodiments, the filling station includes a removal unit for removing a filled envelope, the removal unit being activated once the filling material has been inserted into the envelope.
In accordance with further embodiments, the filling station includes at least one filling slide so as to insert a filling material into the envelope pulled up onto the filling aid; the filling slide may further be provided to remove a filled envelope from the filling station.
In accordance with further embodiments of the invention, the filling station is implemented to receive a filling material which is being moved in a first direction, and to receive an envelope which is received from a second direction running counter to the first direction. The envelope feeder is configured to receive an envelope from a third direction, for example from a direction perpendicular to the first direction.
The envelope feeder may include a sheet metal, a wedge, a movable separation aid, one or more fingers or a guide so as to hold the envelope bottom downwardly deflected in relation to the rest of the envelope.
The filling aid may include a guide, one or more fingers, a sheet metal, or a packing bag.
The filling station may additionally include at least one further element, which opens an envelope for being filled and/or keeps an envelope open during filling; and further, a means may be provided for opening a throat of the envelope prior to pulling the envelope up onto the filling aid, i.e. to separate the envelope underside from the envelope top side, for example by means of one or more fingers or by means of blow air provided by one or more blowing nozzles.
The further transport device for feeding an envelope to the envelope feeder may also be implemented in the form of a pliers transport device, a finger transport device, or a roller transport device.
The filling station may include at least one means for avoiding a changing direction between an envelope during transport into the envelope feeder and an envelope during transport onto the filling aid. Moreover, a means may be provided for fixing the envelope in place at a filling position, for example while using one or more segment roller, one or more suction units acting upon the envelope flap from above or from below, one or more pliers, one or more lateral guide rails and/or a suction unit acting upon the envelope body from above. The suction unit may be configured as a suction ledge or as a suction sheet.
Embodiments of the invention thus provide a new approach to filling envelopes at a high cycle output within a wide format spectrum, the advantages of the known solutions having been retained, in particular, while their disadvantages have been eliminated. In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the envelope is transported “towards” the material in order to be filled and is pulled up onto the filling aid; in operation, at least two envelopes are located one above the other simultaneously, one within the filling area and a further one within the envelope feeder. In these positions, the envelopes are arranged in an at least partially overlapping manner when viewed from above. In addition, filling aids are employed for ensuring the filling process. Active elements such as worms or transport wheels, which are used by the known solutions, are replaced by passive elements and/or alternative embodiments; for example, instead of the worms/transport wheels, a passive element is employed for separating the at least two envelopes located within the filling station, e.g. an element in the form of a slope, a holder or an edge or the like.
In accordance with further embodiments of the invention, envelope feeding is performed such that a window of an envelope faces downward, so that guidance for the filling material, e.g. adaptation to the throat opening shape, is easier to implement. In addition, the envelopes to be filled are arranged to be positioned one below the other, which results in the next envelope being ready to be filled already once the filled envelope has been removed.
One advantage of the inventive solution consists in that an enveloping machine is provided which has a high cycle output, can process a large format spectrum, comprises a low number of components and functional parts that may be used, comprises compact system space and/or little enclosed space, comprises short travel paths of envelopes and filling material, and shows no decrease in performance as the format height of the envelope increases.
One advantage of embodiments of the invention consists in that the windows and the flap of the envelope are located at the bottom, so that the resulting problems as were discussed above in conventional technology no longer exist. Moreover, a compact dimensions of the filling station results which comprises only low filling speeds and short cycling times and, thus, large cycle outputs. In addition, the filling station is characterized by a small number of components and by the fact that the feeding performance of the envelopes is independent of the envelope height.
Embodiments of the present invention will be detailed subsequently referring to the appended drawings, in which:
In the following description of the embodiments, elements which are identical or have identical functions are provided with identical reference numerals.
The filling aid 100 is arranged within a filling area 102 which starts from the filling aid 100 and extends along the material transport direction RG by a distance which essentially corresponds to an envelope height KH (=dimension of the envelope between the envelope bottom and the hinge line=edge where the flap of the envelope is attached to the envelope body) of an envelope pulled up onto the filling aid 100. A filling plane EF is defined essentially by a plane wherein the fingers of the filling aid 100 extend and/or wherein the top surface of the envelope pulled up (=side where the flap is arranged) is disposed.
The filling station further includes an envelope feeder 104 for receiving an envelope. The envelope feeder 104 includes a support 104a, 104b and 104c consisting of several parts for receiving an envelope which has been fed in. The support includes a first portion 104a in the form of a sheet, upon which a top portion of a fed-in envelope rests, as well as a back portion 104b configured to downwardly deflect an envelope bottom in relation to the rest of the envelope. The portions 104a and 104b define an envelope feeding plane EZ arranged below and in parallel with the filling plane EF. The filling area 102 extends vertically up to the support and/or the plane EZ. Depending on how a subsequent envelope is fed in, said envelope may be arranged to be offset in relation to the envelope currently being filled, so that the longitudinal and/or transverse sides of the envelopes are not aligned. That area wherein the envelopes are arranged to completely or partly overlap is considered to be the filling area.
The envelope feeder 104 further includes a flap support 104c which extends from the suction-belt transport device 106 counter to the material transport direction RG and is arranged below the filling aid 100 and the material feeding sheet 101. An envelope arranged in the envelope feeder 104 is held by the portions 104a and 104b on its envelope body, and the envelope flap rests upon the support 104c. An envelope is fed to the envelope feeder by means of a suction-belt transport device 106, the suction-belt transport device 106 being arranged, in the embodiment shown, at a position located downstream from the filling aid 100 in the material transport direction RG, so that a top end of the envelope is contacted for transport purposes. In accordance with the envelope shown, the suction-belt transport device 106 feeds an envelope from an envelope transport direction RK to the filling station, the envelope transport direction RK being perpendicular to the material transport direction RG.
The filling station further includes a transport device 110, which in the embodiment represented is formed by two segment rollers 110a and 110b arranged one behind the other in the material transport direction RG. The segment rollers 110a and 110b are configured such that the roller has a first radius along a first portion 112 of the circumference of same and has a second radius along the second portion of the circumference, the second radius being larger than the first radius. The transport device 110 serves to move an envelope arranged in the envelope feeder 104 counter to the material transport direction RG and to pull same up onto the filling aid 100, as will be explained in more detail below. In accordance with the embodiment shown, the envelope is transported by activating the transport rollers 110 engaging with an envelope flap, the envelope flap being arranged between the rollers 110a and 110b, specifically between their portions 114 and counter rollers 116a, 116b. The rollers 116a and 116b interact with those portions of the segment rollers 110a and 110b which have the larger radius. Thus, a movement of the transport rollers 110 causes a movement of an envelope, located within the envelope feeder 104, in the direction toward the filling aid 100 such that a throat opening arranged at the position 108 within the envelope feeder is displaced counter to the material transport direction RG, so that the filling aid 100 may engage into the throat opening of the envelope and so that, therefore, filling of the envelope is assisted.
The filling station further includes a lateral material guide 118 as well as a blowing nozzle (not shown) to support initial opening of the envelope throat when the envelope is being pulled up onto the filling aid 100.
A filling material 122 is moved along the material transport direction RG by means of a filling slide 124. In the embodiment shown, the filling slide 124 serves to supply filling material, on the one hand, and to remove the filled envelope from the filling station, on the other hand.
In addition, the filling station includes a clamping element 125, e.g. in the form of a clamping roller (segment roller) serving to fix a flap of an envelope in place during filling. Alternatively, a suction unit, which is arranged, e.g., in or on the material feeding sheet 101, may also be used. In accordance with other embodiments, no additional clamping element 125 is provided; instead, its function is taken over by the transport rollers 110 which, once an envelope has been pulled up, remain in their positions and retain the flap between the rollers 110a, 110b and the rollers 116a, 116b. The flap is released once the filling process has been completed.
Starting from the situation shown in
The functionality of the filling station described by means of
The envelope 128 thus transported into the filling station is gripped, after positioning has been effected by the cylinder segment rollers 100a, 110b, as a function of the maximum envelope flap, by the envelope flap 128b by one or more cylinder segment rollers 100a, 110b and is transported on a predetermined travel path in the direction of the filling material (counter to the material transport direction RG) and is pulled up onto the filling aid 100 and a lateral material guide which may be present. In this manner, the envelope bottom 128c is released and is transported completely into the filling area of the filling station. To enable transport in this direction, the suction-belt transport device 106 is deactivated; instead of the suction-belt transport device a segment transport device having active and non-active areas may also be provided alternatively.
Once the envelope has reached its final position, it may be fixed in position, during filling of the envelope, for example by the roller 125, by suction ledges mounted at the bottom of the envelope guide, and/or via suction ledges mounted on the lateral material guides. Filling of the envelope is effected by means of the filling slide 124, which conveys the filling material 122 into the spread-open envelope. Once filling of the envelope has been completed, fixation of the envelope is released, and the envelope may be removed from the filling station via the filling slides, for example.
Whereas the first envelope in the filling station is gripped by the segment rollers and pulled up onto the filling aids, a second envelope is transported into the filling station below the first envelope. By suitable means, such as blow air, start-up slopes, edges or traps, for example, damaging of the envelope during feeding is prevented. Collision with the transport elements of the filling station is avoided in that the transport elements are configured as cylinder segment rollers which do not impede feeding of the flap of the new envelope. Preferably, a maximum of two envelopes are positioned one below the other in the filling station.
Performing the above-described processes, namely filling/removing and feeding a new envelope, in parallel enables that a further envelope is available immediately after filling and prior to completion of removal of the filled envelope, whereby high performances are achieved. In contrast to known solutions, the inventive approach is advantageous since the envelope height has no influence on the feeding performance. The envelope height is that dimension of the envelope which extends from the envelope bottom to the edge where the flap of the envelope is attached to the envelope body, the so-called hinge line. This independence of the envelope height is achieved in that inward transport of the envelope is performed at the height of the hinge line. In
By means of the following figures, a description will be given of an operational sequence for filling an envelope while using the inventive filling station. The following operational sequence will be presented below for the following conditions: envelope feeding is effected from the side, the feeding being clocked, and the envelopes having predetermined distances. The windows of the envelopes point downward, and two envelopes are arranged one below the other in the filling station at the same time. One envelope is pulled up onto the filling aid by a predetermined distance, a suction unit for opening the envelope being dispensed with. The following description is based on a functionality wherein a next envelope is not transported into the filling station until the preceding envelope has reached the filling position, and a filled envelope is not output until the new envelope has been completely transported into the filling station, so that movement overlaps are avoided.
In the above-described embodiment, a subsequent envelope 130 is not transported in until the preceding envelope 128 has been pulled up onto the filling aid 100 so as to avoid movement overlaps in two directions, i.e. in the direction of the material transport and in the direction of the envelope transport. The filled envelope 128 is not output until the subsequent envelope 130 is completely transported in, as is shown in
The filling aids are advantageously displaceable in the format area and are configured such that no gaps or edges will form where the envelope flap being supplied may abut or get caught.
Even though some aspects have been described within the context of a device, it is understood that said aspects also represent a description of the corresponding method, so that a block or a structural component of a device is also to be understood as a corresponding method step or as a feature of a method step. By analogy therewith, aspects that have been described in connection with or as a method step also represent a description of a corresponding block or detail or feature of a corresponding device. Some or all of the method steps may be performed while using a hardware device, such as a microprocessor, a programmable computer or an electronic circuit. In some embodiments, some or several of the most important method steps may be performed by such a device.
While this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments, there are alterations, permutations, and equivalents which fall within the scope of this invention. It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing the methods and compositions of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations, permutations and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2011 004 344 | Feb 2011 | DE | national |
This application is a continuation of copending International Application No. PCT/EP2011/074296, filed Dec. 30, 2011, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and additionally claims priority from German Application No. 102011004344.6, filed Feb. 17, 2011, which is also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20130333330 A1 | Dec 2013 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/EP2011/074296 | Dec 2011 | US |
Child | 13969444 | US |