Claims
- 1. A method of transporting away flat flexible products stored in stack form, especially printed products, in which, in its leading edge region, each individual product is bent away downward from the underside of the stack of products by means of a suction element and is then transported away by means of a gripper that grips the leading edge region, the direction of movement of the gripper in the region of the underside of the stack of products running substantially from the leading edge region to the trailing edge region of the products in the stack of products, characterized in that each individual product, after being bent away by means of the suction element, is transferred directly from the suction element to a gripper, so that each product is continually held either by the suction element or by the gripper while it is being bent away and while it is being transported away immediately thereafter.
- 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the action of drawing the product out of the stack of products begins only after the bent-away product has been gripped by the gripper.
- 3. The method as claimed in claims 1 or 2, characterized in that a second product is attracted by a suction element before a first product, previously bent away, has been drawn completely out of the stack of products or before the procedure of drawing out a first product previously bent away begins.
- 4. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the leading edge region of the product is gripped and bent away in its central section by the suction element while the product is supported from below in its lateral regions.
- 5. The method as claimed in claims 1 or 4, characterized in that the product is bent away through an angle of between 60° and 120°, especially over a deflection roll, before it is gripped by the gripper.
- 6. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the stack of products rests with some portions of its underside on at least one rotating supporting disk which has at least one release cutout, a product being bent away when the leading edge region comes to lie in the region of the release cutout.
- 7. The method as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that the stack of products rests with some portions of its underside on two supporting disks, which preferably rotate in opposite directions and each have at least one, especially two, diagonally opposite release cutouts, a product being bent away when the central section of the leading edge region comes to lie in the region of a release cutout in each supporting disk in each case.
- 8. The method as claimed in claims 6 or 7, characterized in that a product is bent away over the boundary line of the release cutout.
- 9. The method as claimed in claims 6 or 7, characterized in that the central section, located in the region of at least one release cutout, of the leading edge region is supported by an actively or passively moved supporting finger immediately before being bent away.
- 10. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the stack of products rests with its underside on supporting means which move in the direction from the leading edge region to the trailing edge region of the products in the stack of products and are provided with release apertures, a product being bent away when the leading edge region comes to lie in the region of the release aperture.
- 11. The method as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the stack of products rests with its underside on a number of carrier rolls, which are fixed to a conveying element and, by means of the latter, in the region of the stack of products are moved from the leading edge region to the trailing edge region of the products in the stack of products, the release apertures being formed between two adjacent carrier rolls or carrier-roll groups.
- 12. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the suction element assigned to a product and the gripper assigned to the same product move on a common conveying path or on conveying paths that run parallel to each other during the transfer of the product from the suction element to the gripper.
- 13. The method as claimed in claims 1 or 12, characterized in that the suction element assigned to a product and the gripper assigned to the same product move approximately centrally along the underside of the stack of products during the transfer of the product from the suction element to the gripper.
- 14. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the suction element is pivoted between picking up the product from the stack of products and transferring the product to the gripper.
- 15. The method as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that the pivoting of the suction element carried out for the purpose of transferring to the gripper is oriented in such a way that a transfer is made to a gripper that follows in the transport direction, it being possible for a product to be picked up by an opening gripper that leads in the transport direction, especially following further pivoting of the suction element in the opposite direction.
- 16. The method as claimed in claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the stack of products is acted on, at least in some portions of its underside, by an upwardly directed intermittent force, in order in this way to achieve loosening of the stack of products.
- 17. A device for transporting away flat flexible products stored in stack form, especially printed products, especially for implementing the method as claimed in one of the preceding claims, characterized by
a plurality of grippers that can be moved along a gripper conveying path running underneath a stack of products, a plurality of suction elements that can be moved along at least one suction element conveying path running underneath a stack of products, at least some portions of the suction element conveying path running along or parallel to the gripper conveying path, and a supporting device, which supports some portions of the stack of products on its underside and has at least one release cutout or release aperture.
- 18. The device as claimed in claim 17, characterized in that a suction element transport wheel and a gripper transport wheel are provided, which convey suction elements and grippers along the respective conveying paths.
- 19. The device as claimed in claim 18, characterized in that the suction element transport wheel and the gripper transport wheel are designed as a single transport wheel for conveying both the suction elements and the grippers.
- 20. The device as claimed in claim 17, characterized in that the supporting device; comprises at least one rotating supporting disk which has at least one release cutout and which supports some portions of the underside of the stack of products, and also has a support table, which is provided to support the stack of products at its underside in a region not supported by the supporting disk.
- 21. The device as claimed in claim 20, characterized in that two supporting disks each having at least one, especially two diagonally opposite, release cutouts are provided, and rotate in opposite directions in such a way that in each case a release cutout in each supporting disk comes to lie simultaneously in the central section of the leading edge region of a product.
- 22. The device as claimed in claims 17 or 20, characterized in that, in the region of the central section of the leading edge region, an actively or passively moved supporting finger is provided to support the stack of products.
- 23. The device as claimed in claims 17 or 20, characterized in that, in the transport direction of the suction elements and of the grippers, a deflection roll is provided with an offset with respect to the leading edge of the stack of products, its axis extending at right angles to the transport direction of the suction elements and of the grippers.
- 24. The device as claimed in claims 17, 18, 19 or 20, characterized by means for producing a periodic movement oriented at right angles to the underside of the stack of products.
- 25. The device as claimed in claim 20, characterized in that supporting disk and/or support table are provided on the side of the stack of products with friction-reducing means, especially with compressed-air outlets.
- 26. The device as claimed in claim 17, characterized in that the supporting device; comprises a number of carrier rolls which are fixed to a conveying element and form a type of roller carpet, on which the stack of products rests with its underside, release apertures being present between two adjacent carrier rolls or carrier-roll groups.
- 27. The device as claimed in claim 26, characterized in that in each case a flexible drive element provided with the carrier rolls is arranged on both sides of the stack of products, the carrier rolls of the two flexible drive elements being oriented toward each other in the region of the stack of products.
- 28. The device as claimed in claim 27, characterized in that the flexible drive elements run in a plane parallel to the suction element conveying path, the carrier rolls in each case being freely rotatably mounted on a carrier arm of an angled lever that is fixed pivotably to the flexible drive element, and in that there are guide elements for pivoting the angled lever and the carrier rolls into a position that releases the transport away of the products.
- 29. The device as claimed in claim 27, characterized in that the flexible drive elements run in a plane that forms an angle with the suction element conveying path, the carrier rolls being freely rotatably mounted on carrier arms that are firmly connected to the respective flexible drive element and form an angle with the flexible drive element plane.
- 30. The device as claimed in claim 26, characterized in that means are provided by means of which the freely rotatably mounted carrier rolls are set rotating in a direction opposite to the onward movement of the flexible drive elements in the area of contact with the underside of the stack of products.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
1999 1998/99 |
Nov 1999 |
CH |
|
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of PCT Patent Application No. PCT/CH00/00530, filed Sep. 29, 2000. The application claims priority from Switzerland Patent Application No. 1998/99, filed Nov. 2, 1999.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
PCT/CH00/00530 |
Sep 2000 |
US |
Child |
10136133 |
May 2002 |
US |