Claims
- 1. An apparatus for forming a score line on a sheet goods blank, comprising:a machine frame; a rotation drive; a drive shaft connected to said rotation drive; a scoring blade roller that is rotatably supported on said machine frame and mounted on said drive shaft to rotate said scoring blade roller with said drive shaft; and a counter roller that is rotatably supported adjacent to said scoring blade roller and that is mounted on said machine frame so as to be tiltable, adjustable and fixable at a selected adjusted position relative to said scoring blade roller so as to contact and cooperate with said scoring blade roller; wherein said scoring blade roller includes at least one scoring blade adapted to cooperate with said counter roller to form a score line on a sheet goods blank, and a suction shell that is mounted on said drive shaft and that extends on a first angular portion of a circumference of said scoring blade roller; and wherein said suction shell has a plurality of suction holes in an outer arcuate surface thereof that are adapted to be connected to a suction vacuum so as to suction hold said sheet goods blank onto said suction shell to engage and transport said sheet goods blank on said scoring blade roller.
- 2. An apparatus for forming a score line on a sheet goods blank, comprising:a machine frame; a scoring blade roller rotatably supported on said machine frame; a counter roller rotatably supported adjacent to said scoring blade roller; a rotation drive; and a drive shaft connected to said rotation drive, with said scoring blade roller being mounted on said drive shaft to rotate said scoring blade roller; wherein said scoring blade roller includes at least one scoring blade adapted to cooperate with said counter roller to form a score line on a sheet goods blank, and a suction shell that is mounted on said drive shaft and that extends along a first angular portion of a circumference of said scoring blade roller corresponding to about 120° of said circumference; and wherein said suction shell has a plurality of suction holes in an outer arcuate surface thereof that are adapted to be connected to a suction vacuum so as to suction hold said sheet goods blank onto said suction shell to engage and transport said sheet goods blank on said scoring blade roller.
- 3. An apparatus for forming a score line on a sheet goods blank, comprising:a machine frame; a scoring blade roller rotatably supported on said machine frame; a counter roller rotatably supported adjacent to said scoring blade roller; a rotation drive; and a drive shaft connected to said rotation drive, with said scoring blade roller being mounted on said drive shaft to rotate said scoring blade roller; wherein said scoring blade roller includes a first pair of support rings fixed onto said drive shaft, a second pair of support rings rotationally adjustably clamped onto said drive shaft, a third pair of support rings rotationally adjustably clamped onto said drive shaft, a fixedly mounted first scoring blade and an adjustably mounted second scoring blade that are respectively adapted to cooperate with said counter roller to form respective score lines on a sheet goods blank, and a suction shell that is mounted on said drive shaft and that extends on a first angular portion of a circumference of said scoring blade roller; wherein said fixedly mounted first scoring blade is secured to said first pair of support rings, said adjustably mounted second scoring blade is secured to said second pair of support rings, and said suction shell is secured to said third pair of support rings; wherein said first scoring blade is fixedly mounted at a non-adjustable circumferential position relative to said drive shaft, and said second scoring blade is adjustably mounted at an adjustable circumferential position relative to said drive shaft, relative to said non-adjustable circumferential position of said first scoring blade, and relative to said suction shell; wherein said suction shell has an adjustable circumferential position relative to said drive shaft, relative to said fixedly mounted first scoring blade and relative to said adjustably mounted second scoring blade; and wherein said suction shell has a plurality of suction holes in an outer arcuate surface thereof that are adapted to be connected to a suction vacuum so as to suction hold said sheet goods blank onto said suction shell to engage and transport said sheet goods blank on said scoring blade roller.
- 4. An apparatus for forming a score line on a sheet goods blank, comprising:a machine frame; a scoring blade roller rotatably supported on said machine frame; a counter roller rotatably supported adjacent to said scoring blade roller; a rotation drive; and a drive shaft connected to said rotation drive, with said scoring blade roller being mounted on said drive shaft to rotate aid scoring blade roller; wherein said scoring blade roller includes at least one scoring blade adapted to cooperate with said counter roller to form a score line on a sheet goods blank, and a suction shell that is mounted on said drive shaft and that extends on a first angular portion of a circumference of said scoring blade roller; wherein said suction shell has a plurality of suction holes in an outer arcuate surface thereof that are adapted to be connected to a suction vacuum so as to suction hold said sheet goods blank onto said suction shell to engage and transport said sheet goods blank on said scoring blade roller; and wherein said first angular portion is in a range from 20° to 180°, said suction shell has an arcuate length extending entirely along said first angular portion, and at least some of said suction holes are angularly displaced from one another by an angle within said range of said first angular portion.
- 5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said first angular portion is in a range from 90° to 140°.
- 6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said first angular portion is in a range from 110° to 130°.
- 7. An apparatus for forming a score line on a sheet goods blank, comprising:a machine frame; a scoring blade roller rotatably supported on said machine frame; a counter roller rotatably supported adjacent to said scoring blade roller; a rotation drive; and a drive shaft connected to said rotation drive, with said scoring blade roller being mounted on said drive shaft to rotate said scoring blade roller; wherein said scoring blade roller includes at least one scoring blade adapted to cooperate with said counter roller to form a score line on a sheet goods blank, and a suction shell that is mounted on said drive shaft and that extends on a first angular portion of a circumference of said scoring blade roller; wherein said suction shell has a plurality of suction holes in an outer arcuate surface thereof that are adapted to be connected to a suction vacuum so as to suction hold said sheet goods blank onto said suction shell to engage and transport said sheet goods blank on said scoring blade roller; and wherein none of said suction holes are located within a clearance angle of at least ±20° from any one of said at least one scoring blade.
- 8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said clearance angle is at least ±30°.
- 9. An apparatus for forming a score line on a sheet goods blank, comprising:a machine frame; a scoring blade roller rotatably supported on said machine frame; a counter roller rotatably supported adjacent to said scoring blade roller; a rotation drive; and a drive shaft connected to said rotation drive, with said scoring blade roller being mounted on said drive shaft to rotate said scoring blade roller; wherein said scoring blade roller includes at least one scoring blade adapted to cooperate with said counter roller to form a score line on a sheet goods blank, and a suction shell that is mounted on said drive shaft and that extends on a first angular portion of a circumference of said scoring blade roller; and wherein said suction shell has a plurality of suction holes in an outer arcuate surface thereof that are adapted to be connected to a suction vacuum so as to suction hold said sheet goods blank onto said suction shell to engage and transport said sheet goods blank on said scoring blade roller; wherein said suction holes comprise plural separate groups of said suction holes; and further comprising means for selectively communicating said suction vacuum to only a single selected one of said groups of said suction holes continuously as said single selected one of said groups rotates with said scoring blade roller through a suction-holding rotational angle of at least 120°.
- 10. A combination of a sheet goods blank comprising an individual pre-cut piece of a flexible non-stretchable material, and an apparatus for forming a score line on said sheet goods blank, comprising:a machine frame; a scoring blade roller rotatably supported on said machine frame; a counter roller rotatably supported adjacent to said scoring blade roller; a rotation drive; and a drive shaft connected to said rotation drive, with said scoring blade roller being mounted on said drive shaft to rotate said scoring blade roller; wherein said scoring blade roller includes at least one scoring blade adapted to cooperate with said counter roller to form a score line on said sheet goods blank, and a suction shell that is mounted on said drive shaft and that extends on a first angular portion of a circumference of said scoring blade roller; wherein said suction shell has a plurality of suction holes in an outer arcuate surface thereof that are adapted to be connected to a suction vacuum so as to suction hold said sheet goods blank onto said suction shell to engage and transport said sheet goods blank on said scoring blade roller; wherein said blank is curved and lies against a circumferential surface of said scoring blade roller along a circumferential arc of at least 120°; and wherein only a leading edge margin of said blank is held to said suction shell and a body portion of said blank is not held to said scoring blade roller.
- 11. An apparatus for forming a score line on a sheet goods blank having a leading edge margin portion and a body tail portion, said apparatus comprising:a machine frame; a scoring blade roller rotatably supported on said machine frame; a counter roller rotatably supported adjacent to said scoring blade roller; a rotation drive; and a drive shaft connected to said rotation drive, with said scoring blade roller being mounted on said drive shaft to rotate said scoring blade roller; wherein said scoring blade roller includes at least one scoring blade adapted to cooperate with said counter roller to form a score line on the sheet goods blank, and a suction shell that is mounted on said drive shaft and that extends on a first angular portion of a circumference of said scoring blade roller; wherein said suction shell has plural rows of suction holes in an outer arcuate surface thereof; and further comprising means for controlledly applying a suction vacuum to at least a selected one of said rows of suction holes for suction holding only said leading edge margin portion of said sheet goods blank onto said suction shell and simultaneously leaving said body tail portion of said sheet goods blank freely movable and not held to said scoring blade roller to engage and transport said sheet goods blank on said scoring blade roller only by holding and pulling said leading edge margin portion.
- 12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said suction shell is adjustably mounted on said drive shaft so as to have an adjustable position in a circumferential direction on said drive shaft.
- 13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said rows of suction holes are grouped into respective groups of suction holes, and wherein said groups of suction holes are each respectively individually and selectably connectable to said suction vacuum by said means for controlledly applying said suction vacuum.
- 14. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a vacuum source that provides said suction vacuum, wherein each one of said groups of suction holes respectively consists of a respective single one of said rows of said suction holes extending parallel to a rotation axis of said scoring blade roller, and wherein each said single row of suction holes is respectively individually and selectably row-wise connectable to said vacuum source by said means for controlledly applying said suction vacuum.
- 15. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said means for controlledly applying said suction vacuum include a main vacuum channel provided in said drive shaft, and a plurality of suction channels in said suction shell that respectively extend parallel to an axis of said drive shaft and that are respectively connected to ones of said rows of said suction holes and that are each respectively selectably connectable to said main vacuum channel.
- 16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said means for controlledly applying said suction vacuum further include an adjustable suction air selector ring having therein a first radial hole connected to and communicating with said main vacuum channel, a second radial hole selectively connected to and communicating with a selected one of said suction channels, and a circumferentially directed internal groove that interconnects and communicates said first radial hole with said second radial hole.
- 17. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said counter roller is coupled to said scoring blade roller so as to be rotationally driven by said scoring blade roller.
- 18. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said scoring blade roller further comprises a plurality of support rings, and wherein said suction shell and said at least one scoring blade are mounted on said support rings.
- 19. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said at least one scoring blade is arranged on a second angular portion of said circumference of said scoring blade roller, and wherein said second angular portion is displaced circumferentially from said first angular portion.
- 20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said first angular portion and said second angular portion together make up a full 360° of said circumference of said scoring blade roller, there is no scoring blade arranged in said first angular portion, and there is no suction hole provided in said second angular portion.
- 21. A method of using the apparatus according to claim 11, for forming a score line on said sheet goods blank, comprising the following steps: holding said leading edge margin portion of said sheet goods blank on said scoring blade roller and rotating said scoring blade roller to transport said blank by pulling said blank in a transport direction between said scoring blade roller and said counter roller to form said score line on said blank, and loosely guiding said body tail portion of said blank downstream of said score line relative to said transport direction without holding said body tail portion fixedly to said scoring blade roller so that said body tail portion remains freely movable on said scoring blade roller to allow compensating movement of said body tail portion while said score line is being formed.
- 22. The method according to claim 21, wherein said step of holding said leading edge margin portion comprises applying a vacuum suction to a front edge margin of said leading edge margin portion of said blank so as to hold and guide said blank onto said scoring blade roller so as to pull said blank in said transport direction.
- 23. The method according to claim 22, wherein said blank is a letter envelope blank having a body and a back flap portion, and wherein said front edge margin is an edge margin of said back flap portion.
- 24. The method according to claim 21, wherein said blank is a letter envelope blank having a body and a back flap portion, and wherein said step of holding said leading edge margin portion comprises holding, guiding and pulling an edge margin of said back flap portion.
- 25. The method according to claim 21, excluding the formation of a fold, a pleat or a loop in said blank.
- 26. The method according to claim 21, wherein said blank is a pre-cut individual piece of a flexible, non-stretchable material and is not a continuous web, and wherein said pulling of said blank and said forming of said score line do not comprise stretching said material.
- 27. The method according to claim 21, wherein said step of holding said leading edge margin portion of said blank comprises applying a vacuum suction to said blank only on a leading edge margin of said blank along a leading edge of said leading edge margin portion of said blank in said transport direction, and wherein said method does not comprise applying a pushing force to any part of said body tail portion.
- 28. The method according to claim 21, wherein said transporting of said blank is not carried out with said blank traveling along a flat plane between said scoring roller and said counter roller.
- 29. The method according to claim 21, wherein said transport direction comprises a curved arc path along a portion of an outer circumference of said scoring blade roller, and wherein said transporting of said blank comprises curving said blank along said curved arc path to lie flushly on said portion of said outer circumference of said scoring blade roller.
- 30. The method according to claim 29, wherein said portion of said outer circumference extends over an angle of at least 90° about a rotation axis of said scoring blade roller.
- 31. The method according to claim 29, wherein said portion of said outer circumference extends over an angle of at least 120° about a rotation axis of said scoring blade roller.
- 32. The method according to claim 29, wherein said portion of said outer circumference extends over an angle of more than 180° about a rotation axis of said scoring blade roller.
- 33. The method according to claim 21, wherein said rows of suction holes are organized as groups of suction holes, and wherein said step of holding said leading edge margin portion of said blank comprises applying suction to a single selected one of said groups of said suction holes and not applying suction to said groups of said suction holes other than said single selected one of said groups.
- 34. The method according to claim 33, wherein said applying of said suction to said single selected one of said groups of said suction holes comprises continuously applying said suction to said selected one of said groups during said rotating of said scoring blade roller through a rotational transport angle from a first rotational position at which said selected one of said groups of said suction holes first suction-engages said leading edge margin portion of said blank to a second rotational position at which said selected one of said groups of said suction holes releases said leading edge margin portion of said blank.
- 35. The method according to claim 34, wherein said rotational transport angle is at least 120°.
- 36. The method according to claim 34, wherein said rotational transport angle is at least 180°.
- 37. The method according to claim 33, wherein each said group is a respective one of said rows of said suction holes extending parallel to a rotation axis of said scoring blade roller, and wherein said single selected one of said groups is a single one of said rows.
- 38. The method according to claim 37, further comprising adjusting said scoring blade roller to form a score line on a different blank having a different format size, wherein said adjusting comprises selecting a different one of said rows of said suction holes and applying said suction to said different one of said rows of said suction holes.
- 39. The method according to claim 33, wherein said applying of said suction to said selected one of said groups of said suction holes comprises applying said suction at a circumferential position on said scoring blade roller that is circumferentially spaced from said scoring blade by at least 30°.
- 40. An apparatus for forming a score line on a sheet goods blank, comprising:a scoring roller having at least one suction opening and at least one scoring blade; a counter roller cooperating with said scoring roller; means for rotating said scoring roller and said counter roller and forming a nip therebetween; means for taking up and holding a forward edge margin of a sheet goods blank onto said scoring roller at a first rotational position by applying suction to said forward edge margin through said at least one suction opening of said scoring roller, without holding a body portion and a trailing edge portion of said sheet goods blank downstream of said forward edge margin; means for transporting said sheet goods blank by continuing said rotating and said holding and thereby pulling said sheet goods blank along with said rotating of said scoring roller while curving said body portion and said trailing edge portion of said sheet goods blank to lie against a portion of a circumference of said scoring roller; means including said at least one scoring blade for forming a score line on at least one of said body portion and said trailing edge portion by pressing said sheet goods blank between said scoring blade and said counter roller while carrying out said transporting to pull said sheet goods blank through said nip between said scoring roller and said counter roller; and means for discontinuing said applying of said suction and thereby releasing said holding of said forward edge margin at a second rotational position of said scoring roller that is rotationally displaced from said first rotational position by at least 120°.
- 41. An apparatus for forming a score line on a sheet goods blank having a forward portion and a tail portion, said apparatus comprising:a scoring roller including a scoring blade; a counter roller arranged adjacent to said scoring roller to cooperate with said scoring blade; means for rotating said scoring roller; means for holding said forward portion of said sheet goods blank on said scoring roller to transport said blank by pulling said blank by said forward portion in a transport direction between said scoring roller and said counter roller so that said scoring blade forms a score line on said blank; and means for loosely guiding said tail portion of said blank following downstream of said score line relative to said transport direction without holding said tail portion fixedly to said scoring roller so that said tail portion remains freely movable on said scoring roller to allow compensating movement of said tail portion while said score line is being formed.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
196 40 042 |
Sep 1996 |
DE |
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of copending prior U.S. application Ser. No. 08/940,863 filed on Sep. 30, 1997 now abandoned the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
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Foreign Referenced Citations (8)
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DE |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08/940863 |
Sep 1997 |
US |
Child |
09/472075 |
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US |