Patent Application
20200130981
The present invention relates to a knife-type folding machine in which a sheet is folded by a knife blade,
A conventional knife-type folding machine has a frame provided with a conveying path of a sheet (The technical term “sheet” means a signature as well as a sheet of paper.), a conveying unit attached to the frame so as to convey the sheet along the conveying path, and a stopper attached to the frame and extending across the conveying path at a right angle in such a way that the sheet is positioned at a predetermined folding position on the conveying path by coming into contact with the stopper at a leading end thereof (see, for example, JP 2007-261726 A and WO 2011/086700 A1).
The conveying unit consists of a pair of a drive roller and an idle roller which are attached to the frame and extend perpendicularly to a conveying direction at upstream and downstream ends of the conveying path, a conveyor belt extended between the drive roller and the idle roller, and a motor circulating the conveyor belt. A transport surface of the conveyor belt is positioned in the conveying path.
A pair of side guides are attached to the stopper and extended in a conveying direction on both sides of the folding position. One of the pair of side guides acts as a reference guide for positioning the sheet in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, while the other of the pair of side guides is elastically biased by a spring and positions the sheet in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction at the folding position by pushing one side of the sheet entering the folding position toward the one of the pair of side guides so as to contact the other side of the sheet with the one of the pair of side guides.
The knife-type folding machine also has a pair of folding rollers attached to the frame and extending along the conveying path under the folding position, and a knife blade extending parallel with the pair of folding rollers and opposed to a gap of the pair of folding rollers above the pair of folding rollers.
Furthermore, the conveying path is provided with an opening through which the knife blade can pass in a vertical direction, and a slider crank mechanism is attached to the frame so as to reciprocate the knife blade in a vertical direction between a first position in which the knife blade is arranged above the folding position and a second position in which the knife blade comes close to the gap of the pair od folding rollers under the folding position.
Thus each time the sheet is positioned at the folding position, a crank of the slider crank mechanism makes a turn, and during the one turn of the crank, the knife blade fixed to one end of a rod which is connected to the crank performs a reciprocating motion in which the knife blade moves downward from the first position to the second position and moves upward from the second position to the first position. When the knife blade moves downward from the first position to the second position, the sheet passes through the opening of the conveying path while being folded in two by the knife blade and is inserted between the pair of folding rollers, and then the sheet is folded in two by the pair of folding rollers while the knife blade moves upward from the second position to the first position.
It is possible to increase productivity in this knife-type folding machine by conveying the sheet to the folding position at high speed and matching timing of folding of the knife blade with the conveying speed, but as the conveying speed increases, the sheet becomes difficult to stop exactly at the folding position because of bounce of the sheet from the stopper.
Therefore, some of conventional knife-type folding machines have an anti-bounce roller unit arranged at an upstream end of the folding position to prevent bounce of the sheet from the stopper.
The anti-bounce roller unit includes a roller support arranged above the folding position, at least one slide guide extending in the conveying direction above the conveying path, the roller support being slidably attached to the at least one slide guide, a support drive mechanism sliding the roller support back and forth, and at least one roller attached to the roller support so as to rotate around a horizontal axis extending at a right angle to the conveying direction while being pressed against the conveyor belt of the conveying unit.
A position of the at least one roller is set by hand before operation of the knife-type folding machine. In this case, when the at least one roller strongly contacts with a tail end of the sheet abutting on the stopper, the pair of side guides stops working and resistance is created at insertion of the sheet into the pair of folding rollers by the knife blade, which causes inclination of the sheet to the stopper.
On the other hand, when the at least one roller is located away from the tail end of the sheet abutted on the stopper, no bounce prevention effect is obtained.
Consequently, an operator sets the at least one roller in a manner such that an outer surface of the at least one roller adequately contacts with the tail end of the sheet positioned at the folding position by repeating fine adjustment of the position of the at least one roller while visually checking the contact condition between the outer surface of the at least one roller and the tail end of the sheet abutted on the stopper.
However, this setting work of the at least one roller of the anti-bounce roller unit takes much time, which contributes to the decrease in work efficiency.
Furthermore, recently, there are some knife-type folding machines capable of automatically setting the position of a roller or rollers of an anti-bounce roller unit based on length information of a sheet and setting position information of a stopper, but even if the sheet length is the same, a position at which the roller or rollers adequately contact with a tail end of the sheet fluctuates according to thickness of the sheet (in a signature, the number of stacked sheets).
For this reason, when higher accuracy is required, the position of the roller or the rollers of the anti-bounce roller unit automatically set should be fine-adjusted by an operator so that work efficiency decreases as above.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a knife-type folding machine facilitating rapid setting of a roller or rollers of an anti-bounce roller unit.
In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a knife-type folding machine comprising: a conveying unit conveying a sheet along a conveying path; a stopper extending across the conveying path at a right angle, the sheet being positioned at a predetermined folding position on the conveying path by coming into contact with the stopper at leading end thereof; a knife-type folding unit folding the sheet positioned at the folding position in a conveying direction; and an anti-bounce roller unit arranged at an upstream end of the folding position to prevent bounce of the sheet from the stopper, wherein the conveying unit includes a pair of drive and idle rollers which are arranged at upstream and downstream ends of the conveying path, a plurality of conveyor belts extended between the pair of drive and idle rollers, conveying surfaces of the plurality of conveyor belts forming the conveying path, and a roller drive mechanism rotating the drive roller, wherein the anti-bounce roller unit includes a roller support arranged above the folding position, at least one slide guide extending in the conveying direction above the conveying path, the roller support being slidably attached to the at least one slide guide, a support drive mechanism sliding the roller support back and forth, and at least one roller attached to the roller support so as to rotate around a horizontal axis extending at a right angle to the conveying direction while being pressed against the plurality of conveyor belts of the conveying unit, the sheet entering the folding position while passing through the at least one roller and the plurality of conveyor belts, an outer surface of the at least one roller contacting with a tail end of the sheet when the sheet abuts on the stopper, characterized in that the knife-type folding machine can switch operation between a normal operation mode and a setting mode, and, in the setting mode, the plurality of conveyor belts of the conveying unit are continuously rotated at a constant speed so that the sheet is conveyed to the folding position and positioned at the folding position while the knife-type folding unit is kept on a standby state, wherein the knife-type folding machine further comprises a sensor detecting a rotational speed of the at least one roller of the anti-bounce roller unit, a roller rotational speed monitoring unit receiving a detection signal from the sensor and sending an appropriate position arrival signal in the setting mode when the rotational speed of the at least one roller starts to change, and a roller position setting unit operatively connected to the support drive mechanism of the anti-bounce roller unit and activating the support drive mechanism in the setting mode so as to move the at least one roller from an upstream or a downstream of a tail end of the sheet positioned at the folding position toward the tail end at a constant speed and stopping the support drive mechanism when the roller position setting unit receives the appropriate position arrival signal.
Here, the technical term “sheet” means a signature as well as a sheet of paper (the same applies hereafter).
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sensor has a plurality of elements to be detected fixed to one end face of the at least one roller in such a way that the elements to be detected are arranged at a constant angular pitch along a circumference around a rotation axis of the at least one roller, and a proximity sensor fixed to the roller support in such a way that the proximity sensor faces the elements to be detected and detecting the elements to be detected.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sensor has a disc to be detected fixed concentrically to one end face of the at least one roller, a plurality of through holes being formed on the disc to be detected at a constant angular pitch along a circumference of the disc to be detected, and a pair of photoelectric elements attached to the roller support in such a way that the photoelectric elements are arranged opposite each other across the through holes.
According to further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sensor is a rotary encoder or a potentiometer attached to the rotation axis of the at least one roller of the anti-bounce roller unit.
According to the present invention, in the setting mode of the knife-type folding machine, the plurality of conveyor bells of the conveying unit are continuously rotated at a constant speed so that a sheet is conveyed to the folding position and positioned at the folding position while the knife-type folding unit is kept on the standby state. Further, the at least one roller of the anti-bounce roller unit is moved from an upstream or a downstream of a tail end of the sheet positioned at the folding position toward the tail end at a constant speed, and a rotational speed of the at least one roller is monitored while the at least one roller is moved, and the at least one roller is stopped moving when the rotational speed of the at least one roller starts to change. At this stop position, an outer surface of the at least one roller contacts adequately with the tail end of the sheet positioned at the folding position.
Thus the setting of the roller(s) of the anti-bounce roller unit is carried out automatically so that work efficiency greatly improved.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be explained below with reference to accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The knife-type folding machine also comprises a knife-type folding unit 4 folding the sheet S positioned at the folding position P in a conveying direction (indicated by an arrow X).
The conveying unit 2 has a pair of drive and idle rollers 5 and 6 attached to a frame F at upstream and down stream ends of the conveying path 1 and extending at a right angle to the conveying direction (arrow X), and a plurality of conveyor belts 7 extended between the drive and idle rollers 5 and 6. Conveying surfaces of the conveyor belts 7 form the conveying path 1.
A plurality of elongate support plates 8 and 8a (only some of the support plates are shown in the drawings) are attached on the frame F under the conveyor belts 7 so as to support the underside of the conveying surfaces of the conveyor belts 7 and extended along the conveying path 1.
The conveying unit 2 further has a motor (roller drive mechanism) 9 attached to the frame F so as to rotate the drive roller 5.
The drive roller 5 is rotated by the motor 9 and thereby the conveyor belts 7 are circulated, so that the sheet S is conveyed along the conveying path 1.
The stopper 3 slidably attached to a pair of slide guides 10a, 10b fixed to the frame F on both sides of the conveying path 1 and extended in the conveying direction (arrow X). The stopper 3 can be fixed at a desired position on the slide guides 10a, 10b and thereby, a position of the stopper 3 can be adjusted in the conveying direction (arrow X).
A pair of side guides 33a, 33b is attached to the stopper 3 and extended in the conveying direction (arrow X) on both sides of the folding position P.
One side guide 33a of the pair of side guides 33a, 33b functions as a reference guide for positioning the sheet S in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction (arrow X), while the other side guide 33b of the pair of side guides 33a, 33b is elastically biased by a spring (not shown) and pushes one side of the sheet S entering the folding position P toward the side guide 33a in such a manner that the sheet S contacts with the side guide 33a at the other side thereof so as to be positioned in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction (arrow X) at the folding position.
The pair of side guides 33a, 33b can be independently moved in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction (arrow X) by a drive mechanism (not shown) and therefore, the position of these side guides 33a, 33b can be adjusted automatically according to the size of the sheet S.
The knife-type folding unit 4 has a knife blade 11 and a pair of folding rollers 12a, 12b which face each other in a vertical direction across the conveying path 1.
The pair of folding rollers 12a, 12b is attached to the frame F and extended in the conveying direction (arrow X) under the conveying path 1 (a central support plate 8a), and the knife blade 11 extends parallel with the pair of folding rollers 12a, 12b and is arranged opposite to a gap between the pair of folding rollers 12a, 12b above the pair of folding rollers 12a, 12b. The support plate 8a is provided with an opening 13 through which the knife blade 11 can pass in a vertical direction.
The knife-type folding unit 4 also has a knife drive mechanism 15 attached to the frame F through a support arm 14 so as to reciprocate the knife blade 11 in a vertical direction between a first position in which the knife blade 11 is arranged above the conveying path 1 and a second position in which the knife blade 11 comes close to the gap between the pair of folding rollers 12a, 12b under the conveying path 1.
Thus each time the sheet S is positioned at the folding position P, the knife blade 11 reciprocates in a manner such that the knife blade 11 returns from the first position to the first position via the second position.
During this reciprocation, when the knife blade 11 moves downward from the first position to the second position, the sheet S is inserted between the pair of folding rollers 12a, 12b through the opening 13 while being folded in two by the knife blade 11, and then the sheet S is folded by the pair of folding rollers 12a, 12b when the knife blade 11 moves upward from the second position to the first position.
In this embodiment, the knife-type folding machine further comprises an anti-bounce roller unit 16 arranged at an upstream end of the folding position P to prevent bounce of the sheet S from the stopper 3.
The anti-bounce roller unit 16 includes an inverted U-shaped bracket 1 extending across the opening 13 above the folding position P, and a roller support 19 composed of a rectangular block 18 fixed on an upper surface of the bracket 17.
The block 18 has through holes extending in the conveying direction (arrow X) on both sides thereof and a screw hole passing through the block in the conveying direction (arrow X) at the center thereof.
The anti-bounce roller unit 16 also includes a pair of slide guides 20a, 20b extending in the conveying direction (arrow X) above the conveying path 1 and inserted through the through holes, and a threaded shaft 21 extending in the conveying direction (arrow X) and supported by the frame F so as to be rotatable around an axis thereof at a fixed position. The threaded shaft 21 is screwed into the screw hole of the block 18 at one end thereof. The anti-bounce roller unit 16 further includes a motor 22 fixed to the frame F. A drive shaft of the motor 22 is connected directly to the other end of the threaded shaft 21.
The threaded shaft 21 and the motor 22 configure a support drive mechanism. A position of the roller support 19 can be adjusted in the conveying direction (arrow X) by the threaded shaft 21 being rotated by the motor 22 forward and reverse.
Referring to
A torsion spring 27 is arranged between the screw 24 and the lever 23a, 23b so as to elastically bias the lever 23a, 23b in a direction that the roller 25a, 25b is pressed against the conveyor belt 7.
In this case, the strength of pressure of roller 25a, 25b against the conveyor belt 7 can be adjusted by adjustment of tightening force of the screw 24.
Furthermore, a disc 28 to be detected is fixed concentrically to an end face of one roller 25b of the rollers 25a, 25b which faces the associated lever 23b. The disc 28 to be detected is composed of a disc-shaped body 28a, and a plurality of protrusions 28b formed at regular intervals on an outer periphery of the disc-shaped body 28a.
On the other hand, a proximity sensor 29 is fixed on a surface of the lever 23b which faces the disc 28 to be detected and corresponds to the protrusions 28b so as to detect the protrusions 28b.
Thus when the roller 25b rotates, the protrusions 28b of the disc 28 to be detected are sequentially detected by the proximity sensor 29 and a detection signal as pulse signals is output from the proximity sensor 29, and a rotational speed of the roller 25b can be detected by monitoring these pulse signals.
A pair of guide plates 30a, 30b is attached to the frame F and extends in the conveying direction (arrow X) on both sides of the opening 13 above the conveying path 1. The sheet S is conveyed to the folding position P while passing through a gap between the conveying path 1 and lower ends of the guide plates 30a, 30b.
The knife-type folding machine can switch operation between a normal operation mode and a setting mode.
In the setting mode, the plurality of conveyor belts 7 of the conveying unit 2 are continuously rotated at a constant speed so that the sheet S is conveyed to the folding position P and positioned at the folding position P while the knife-type folding unit 4 is kept on a standby state in which the knife blade 11 remains in the first position).
The knife-type folding machine further comprises a roller rotational speed monitoring unit 31 receiving the detection signal from the proximity sensor 29 and sending an appropriate position arrival signal when the rotational speed of the roller 25b starts to change in the setting mode, and a roller position setting unit 32 operatively connected to the motor 22 of the anti-bounce roller unit 16 and activating the motor 22 (and the threaded shaft 21) in the setting mode so as to move the roller 25b from an upstream or a downstream of a tail end of the sheet S positioned at the folding position P toward the tail end at a constant speed and stopping the motor 22 (and the threaded shaft 21) when the roller position setting unit 32 receives the appropriate position arrival signal.
Next, an operation of the roller rotational speed monitoring unit 31 and the roller position setting unit 32 will be explained in detail.
Referring to
From the time the roller 25b starts moving until the roller 25b contacts with the tail end of the sheet S, the roller 25b contacts with the conveyor belt 7 rotated at a constant speed so that the roller 25b rotates at a constant rotational speed according to the difference between the movement speed of the roller 25b and the rotational speed of the conveyor belt 7. Consequently, during this time, the proximity sensor 29 outputs pulse signals (detection signal) with constant frequency.
As shown in
The appropriate position arrival signal is received by the roller position setting unit 32 and the roller position setting unit 32 stops the motor 22 (and threaded shaft 21).
At this time, the outer surface of the roller 25b contacts adequately with the tail end of the sheet S positioned at the folding position P.
Alternatively, referring to
From the time the roller 25b starts moving until the roller 25b comes down on the conveyor belt 7, the roller 25b contacts with the sheet S which is at rest so that the roller 25b rotates at a constant rotational speed according to the movement speed of the roller 25b. Consequently, during this time, the proximity sensor 29 outputs pulse signals (detection signal) with constant frequency.
As shown in
The appropriate position arrival signal is received by the roller position setting unit 32 and the roller position setting unit 32 stops the motor 22 (and threaded shaft 21).
At this time, the outer surface of the roller 25b contacts adequately with the tail end of the sheet S positioned at the folding position P.
After completing this setting of position of the roller 25b of the anti-bounce roller unit 16, the sheet S is accurately positioned by the stopper 3 and the pair of side guides 33a, 33b and does not tilt with respect to the stopper 3 when the sheet S is inserted between the pair of folding rollers 12a, 12b by the knife blade 11.
Thus, according to the present invention, the setting of the roller 25b of the anti-bounce roller unit 16 is carried out automatically so that work efficiency greatly improved.
While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been set forth for purposes of illustration, the foregoing description should not be deemed a limitation of the invention herein. Accordingly, various modifications, adaptations and alternatives may occur to one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the present invention.
For example, although the sensor for detecting the rotational speed of the roller 25b of the anti-bounce roller unit 16 is composed of the disc 28 to be detected and the proximity sensor 29 in the above embodiment, the sensor for detecting the rotational speed of the roller 25b may comprise a disc to be detected fixed concentrically to one end face of the roller 25b, a plurality of through holes being formed on the disc to be detected at a constant angular pitch along a circumference of the disc to be detected, and a pair of photoelectric elements attached to the roller support in such a way that the photoelectric elements are arranged opposite each other across the through holes.
Also, the sensor for detecting the rotational speed of the roller 25b may be a rotary encoder or a potentiometer attached to the rotation axis of the roller 25b.
According to another embodiment, the roller rotational speed monitoring unit 31 comprises a display showing the rotational speed of the roller 25b and a button for transmitting the appropriate position arrival signal. Then an operator monitors changes in the rotational speed of the roller 25b while watching the display, and, when the rotational speed changes, he pushes the button so as to send the appropriate position arrival signal to the roller position setting unit 32.
In this embodiment, the setting of the roller 25b of the anti-bounce roller unit 16 is semi automated.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-202498 | Oct 2018 | JP | national |
