Rotary drum of folding device

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6740022
  • Patent Number
    6,740,022
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, January 8, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 25, 2004
    20 years ago
Abstract
A rotary drum of the folding device includes a reference portion having a rotating shaft and a basic body rotated integrally with the rotating shaft an adjusted portion able to be rotated integrally with the reference portion and arranged so as to be displaced with respect to the reference portion; an adjusting operation mechanism having a driving source for displacing the adjusted portion with respect to the reference portion, a power source arranged in the reference portion, a control board additionally arranged in the driving source and having a wireless receiving function, and a wireless operation machine for wirelessly transmitting an operation signal to the control board; and an adjusting transmission mechanism for transmitting a movement of the driving source to the adjusted portion; wherein electric power is supplied from the power source to the driving source, and the driving source is operated by a wireless signal from the adjusting operation mechanism.
Description




CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS




Japan Priority Application 2000-240778, filed Aug. 9, 2000 including the specification, drawings, claims and abstract, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This application is a Division of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/906,736, filed Jul. 18, 2001 U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,409, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




This invention relates to a rotary drum of a folding device of a rotary press having an adjusting mechanism necessary to make an adjustment during, e.g., a gripper drum of able to adjust the distance between a fixing side and an open-close side of a gripper mechanism, and a folding drum able to adjust an outside diameter of the drum.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The construction of a folding device is complicated and its failure probability is high. Further, since electric power and a control signal are supplied by mechanical contact, sparks and noises are caused and a fire is caused and an error in operation of a control circuit is caused.




A gripper drum able to adjust the distance between a fixing side and an open-close side of a gripper mechanism is arranged in a device shown in Japanese Patent No. 2848982 (prior art 1).




In the prior art 1, two drum portions are arranged on the same axis as a shaft of the gripper drum and can be rotated around this shaft. The open-close side of the gripper mechanism is arranged in one of these two drum portions, and the fixing side of the gripper mechanism is arranged in the other. A spur gear is arranged in the shaft of the gripper drum, and a helical gear is arranged in one drum portion. These gears are individually engaged with each other. The shaft of the gripper drum and one drum portion can be integrally rotated through gears integrally rotated. The integrally rotated gears are moved in parallel with their rotation central line. Thus, one drum portion is connected to a portion around the shaft of the gripper drum by the action of a torsion angle of the helical gear such that this one drum portion can be angularly displaced. The other drum portion is arranged in a disk integrated with the shaft of the gripper drum, and is integrally and rotatably connected to the shaft of the gripper drum and the one drum portion through a gear group arranged between the one drum portion and the other drum portion. The other drum portion is also connected to a portion around the shaft of the gripper drum in a direction reverse to the one drum portion so as to be angularly displaced in accordance with thee angular displacement around the shaft of the gripper drum of the one drum portion.




Helical gears having torsion in directions reverse to each other are separately arranged in accordance with the spur gear formed in the shaft of the gripper drum in the one drum portion and the other drum portion. These, i.e., the spur gear arranged in the shaft of the gripper drum, and the helical gear arranged in the one drum portion and the helical gear arranged in the other drum portion are individually engaged with each other. The shaft of the gripper drum and the two drum portions can be integrally rotated through gears integrally rotated. Further, the integrally rotated gears are moved in parallel with their rotation central axis. The two drum portions are connected by this movement to each other around the shaft of the gripper drum so as to be angularly displaced in directions reverse to each other by the action of a torsion angle of the helical gear.




A folding drum able to adjust its outside diameter is known in Japanese Patent No. 2788321 (prior art 2). In a device described in the prior art 2, an outer circumferential face of the folding drum having plural folding mechanisms in equal divisional positions is divided into two portions between two adjacent folding mechanisms. A portion adjacent to an upstream side of the folding mechanisms in a rotating direction of the folding drum among these two divided portions is rotatably supported with an axis parallel to that of the folding drum as a center. A rear end portion of this outer circumferential portion is movably arranged toward a radial outer side by an adjusting device as an eccentric shaft. The remaining outer circumferential portion is fixedly arranged.




In a state in which the rotation of the folding drum is stopped, the diameter of the folding drum is adjusted by individually rotating the eccentric shaft by a tool. A gear is attached to an end portion of the eccentric shaft, and a rack portion engaged with this gear is arranged. Further, an adjusting ring having a rotation center common to the folding drum and able to be rotated with respect to the folding drum is arranged. The adjusting ring is rotated with respect to the folding drum by an electric motor having this adjusting ring within the folding drum, and the respective eccentric shafts of the plural folding mechanisms are simultaneously rotated so that the outside diameter of the folding drum is adjusted.




The devices shown in the prior arts 1 and 2 have the following problems to be solved. In the device shown in the prior art 1, the two drum portions can be simultaneously rotated as if these two drum portions were integrated with the shaft of the gripper drum. Further, it is necessary to arrange a relatively large gear having the same pitch circle diameter in the gripper drum shaft and the two drum portions so as to angularly displace the rotating two drum portions around the gripper drum shaft from an outer side of the gripper drum in directions reverse to each other. Furthermore, it is necessary to arrange plural gears individually engaged with these gears and integrally rotated around the same rotation center, and arrange a mechanism for displacing these plural gears along their rotation center line while these plural gears are rotated. Therefore, the device construction becomes complicated, and failure probability is increased. Further, maintenance is complicated since many parts are assembled into a narrow space between the gripper drum and a frame. Furthermore, the number of parts is large, and processing and assembly are complicated so that a relatively large number of processes are required, and manufacturing cost is high.




The device disclosed in the prior art 2 solves the problems caused by complication of the construction of the prior art 1 and a large number of parts. However, in the construction adjusted by a manual work using a tool, it is necessary to stop the rotation of the folding drum every adjustment, and working efficiency is extremely low. In the construction for operating the adjusting mechanism by the electric motor arranged within the folding drum, it is difficult to supply electric power to the electric motor and supply a control signal to the electric motor so that there is a fear that no accurate adjustment is made. Namely, in the construction for operating the adjusting mechanism shown in the prior art 2 by the electric motor arranged within the folding drum, there is no special device for supplying electric power to the electric motor arranged within the folding drum of a rotating body and supplying the control signal. Accordingly, it is considered that these electric power and control signal are supplied by using a general slip ring. However, this slip ring is used to supply electric power and the control signal by mechanical contact using a brush. Therefore, there are many cases in which sparks and noises are caused. Accordingly, there is a fear of generation of a fire and an error in operation of a control circuit is caused. Further, the slip ring is low in durability of the mechanical contact using the brush. One slip ring for high speed rotation sold at a market is about 300 r.p.m., and has only 20000 thousand rotations in durability. Accordingly when this slip ring is used in the folding device of the rotary press, it is necessary to exchange or maintain the slip ring every half a year in an operation in which the folding device is operated for six hours per one day. Therefore, in the meantime, the operation of the folding device is stopped so that working efficiency is reduced.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




To solve the above problems, the present invention proposes a rotary drum of a folding device comprising a reference portion having a rotating shaft and a basic body rotated integrally with the rotating shaft; an adjusted portion able to be rotated integrally with the reference portion and arranged so as to be displaced with respect to the reference portion; an adjusting operation mechanism having a driving source for displacing the adjusted portion with respect to the reference portion, a power source arranged in the reference portion, a control board additionally arranged in the driving source and having a wireless receiving function, and a wireless operation machine for wirelessly transmitting an operation signal to the control board; and an adjusting transmission mechanism for transmitting a movement of the driving source to the adjusted portion; wherein electric power is supplied from the power source to the driving source, and the driving source is operated by a wireless signal from the adjusting operation mechanism.




The present invention also provides a rotary drum of a folding device comprising a reference portion having a rotating shaft and a basic body rotated integrally with the rotating shaft; an adjusted portion able to be rotated integrally with the reference portion and arranged so as to be displaced with respect to the reference portion, and having a shaft arranged in the basic body and displaced by a torsion spring in one direction, an eccentric portion arranged in the shaft, a block member arranged rotatably with respect to the eccentric portion, and an outer circumferential member spanned between a pair of block members; an adjusting operation mechanism having an electric motor as a driving source for displacing the adjusted portion with respect to the reference portion, a power source arranged in the reference portion, a control board additionally arranged in the driving source and having a wireless receiving function, and a wireless operation machine for wirelessly transmitting an operation signal to the control board; and an adjusting transmission mechanism having a worm arranged in an output shaft of the electric motor to transmit a movement of the electric motor to the adjusted portion, a worm wheel engaged with the worm and attached so as to be rotated integrally with the rotating shaft, a first gear able to be rotated with respect to the rotating shaft and attached to the electric motor, and a second gear engaged with the first gear and attached so as to be rotated integrally with the shaft; wherein electric power is supplied from the power source to the electric motor, and the electric motor is operated by a wireless signal from the adjusting operation mechanism.




Further, the present invention provides a rotary drum of a folding device comprising a reference portion having a rotating shaft and a basic body rotated integrally with the rotating shaft; an adjusted portion able to be rotated integrally with the reference portion and arranged so as to be displaced with respect to the reference portion, and having pairs of first and second side plates arranged rotatably with respect to the basic body on both sides of the basic body, a third side plate attached to the other side of the basic body from outer sides of these first and second side plates and able to be rotated integrally with the basic body, an adjusting shaft rotatably arranged in the basic body and the third side plate, a first eccentric cam attached through a first slip member movable only in a radial direction of the first side plate in a position of the adjusting shaft corresponding to the first side plate, a second eccentric cam attached through a second slip member movable only in a radial direction of the second side plate in a position of the adjusting shaft corresponding to the second side plate, an angular displacement shaft able to be angularly displaced and spanned between the first side plates, a displacing member attached to the angular displacement shaft, and a fixing member fixedly arranged so as to be opposed to the displacing member between the second side plates; an adjusting operation mechanism having an electric motor attached to the third side plate as a driving source for displacing the adjusted portion with respect to the reference portion, a power source arranged in the reference portion, a control board additionally arranged in the driving source and having a wireless receiving function, and a wireless operation machine for wirelessly transmitting an operation signal to the control board; an adjusting transmission mechanism having a worm arranged in an output shaft of the electric motor to transmit a movement of the electric motor to the adjusted portion, and a worm wheel engaged with the worm and attached so as to be rotated integrally with the adjusting shaft; wherein electric power is supplied from the power source to the electric motor, and the electric motor is operated by a wireless signal from the adjusting operation mechanism.




In the above rotating drum of the folding device, the power source can be constructed by a generator constructed by a magnet externally fixed and a winding portion surrounding the magnet in a state close to a peripheral portion of the magnet such that the winding portion can be rotated together with the reference portion. The power source can be also constructed by a rotary transformer in which a coil is wound around each cut iron core portion, and one side is set to a fixing winding portion externally fixed and able to supply electric power from the exterior, and the other side is a rotation winding portion able to be rotated together with the reference portion.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a cross-sectional view schematically taken along an arrow I—I of

FIG. 2

in parallel therewith in a first embodiment mode of a rotary drum of a folding device in the present invention.





FIG. 2

is a cross-sectional view taken along an arrow II—II of FIG.


1


.





FIG. 3

is a cross-sectional view schematically taken along an arrow III—III of

FIG. 4

in parallel therewith in a second embodiment mode of the rotary drum of the folding device of the present invention.





FIG. 4

is a partial sectional view taken along an arrow IV—IV of FIG.


3


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




A first embodiment mode of a rotary drum of a folding device in the present invention will be explained on the basis of

FIGS. 1 and 2

.

FIG. 1

is a cross-sectional view schematically taken along an arrow I—I of

FIG. 2

in parallel therewith.

FIG. 2

is a cross-sectional view taken along an arrow II—II of

FIG. 1. A

second embodiment mode of the rotary drum of the folding device of this invention will be explained on the basis of

FIGS. 3 and 4

.

FIG. 3

is a cross-sectional view schematically taken along an arrow III—III of

FIG. 4

in parallel therewith.

FIG. 4

is a partial sectional view taken along an arrow IV—IV of FIG.


3


.




First, the first embodiment mode of this invention will be explained on the basis of

FIGS. 1 and 2

. A folding drum


1


as a rotary drum has a reference portion, an adjusted portion, an adjusting operation mechanism, and an adjusting transmission mechanism. The reference portion has a basic body


10


and a rotating shaft


11


. The adjusted portion has shafts


14




a


,


14




b


able to be rotated integrally with the reference portion and arranged in the basic body


10


so as to be displaced with respect to the reference portion. The adjusted portion also has an eccentric portion


15


, a block member


16


, an outer circumferential member


17


and a torsion spring


18


. The adjusting operation mechanism has an electric motor


31


as a driving source for displacing the adjusted portion with respect to the reference portion, a generator


34


as a power source arranged in the reference portion, a control board


32


additionally arranged in the driving source and having a wireless receiving function, and a wireless operation machine


33


for wirelessly transmitting an operation signal to the control board


32


. The adjusting transmission mechanism has a warm (i.e., worm)


19


, a warm (i.e., worm) wheel


20


, a first gear


21


and a second gear


22


to transmit a movement of the electric motor


31


to the adjusted portion.




The basic body


10


is formed between side plates


12




a


and


12




b


arranged on both axial sides of the basic body


10


such that plural grooves


13


parallel to the rotating shaft


11


are opened to an outer circumferential face of the basic body


10


. In this embodiment mode, the number of grooves


13


is set to three. In each of the three grooves


13


, a pair of shafts


14




a


,


14




b


are supported between both the side plates


12




a


and


12




b


and are also supported by an intermediate support plate


12




c


so as to be angularly displaced. One end of each of the shafts


14




a


,


14




b


is projected outward from the side plate


12




a


. A rotatable second gear


22


is arranged in a projecting portion of each of the shafts


14




a


,


14




b


projected outward from the side plate


12




a


, and is angularly displaced integrally with each of the shafts


14




a


,


14




b


. The eccentric portion


15


is arranged between the intermediate support portion


12




c


of each of the shafts


14




a


,


14




b


and each of both the side plates


12




a


,


12




b


so as to be angularly displaced integrally with the shafts


14




a


,


14




b.






Plural block members


16


are arranged in the eccentric portion


15


of each of the shafts


14




a


,


14




b


so as to be rotated with respect to the eccentric portion


15


. In this embodiment mode, the number of block members


16


arranged in the eccentric portion


15


of each of the shafts


14




a


,


14




b


is set to six. Each of the block members


16


is relatively arranged with respect to the pair of shafts


14




a


,


14




b


. An outer circumferential portion is spanned between the pair of corresponding block members


16


and


16


. Each outer circumferential member


17


has an outer circumferential face approximately aligned with a columnar outer circumferential face of the basic body


10


in a state in which the outer circumferential member


17


is attached to the pair of block members


16


,


16


.




A torsion spring


18


is attached to each of the shafts


14




a


,


14




b


and gives biasing force for displacing each of these shafts in one direction at any time. Further, in a state in which the second gear


22


arranged in an end portion of each of the shafts


14




a


,


14




b


projected onto an outer side of the side plate


12




a


is engaged with the first gear


21


, rotating phases of the two shafts


14




a


,


14




b


every pair are set to be approximately in conformity with each other. The height of an arc outer circumferential face of the outer circumferential member


17


attached to three pairs of the shafts


14




a


,


14




b


through the block member


16


is approximately conformed to that of the columnar outer circumferential face of the basic body


10


.




The reference portion is constructed by the basic body


10


having the columnar outer circumferential face and the rotating shaft


11


rotated integrally with the basic body. The worm wheel


20


and the first gear


21


are attached to the rotating shaft


11


. The worm wheel


20


is rotated integrally with the rotating shaft


11


and is set to an origin of the adjusting transmission mechanism. The first gear


21


can be rotated with respect to the rotating shaft


11


and constitutes one portion of the adjusting transmission mechanism. The worm wheel


20


and the first gear


21


are sequentially arranged from a frame Fa side. The rotating shaft


11


is rotatably supported by frames Fa, Fb, and a driven gear


2


is attached to one side of the rotating shaft


11


projected outward from the frame Fb. The rotating shaft


11


is rotated by driving force from an unillustrated driving means through the driven gear


2


.




The electric motor


31


as a driving source is attached to a side face of the first gear


21


opposed to the frame Fa. The control board


32


able to wirelessly transmit and receive signals is additionally arranged in the electric motor


31


, and is operated on the basis of a control signal from the external wireless operation machine


33


as one portion of the adjusting operation mechanism


3


. For example, the electric motor


31


has a speed reduction function, and uses a type having a feedback function in which a rotating amount can be fed back to the wireless operation machine


33


through the control board


32


additionally arranged.




The worm


19


constituting the adjusting transmission mechanism is attached to an output shaft of the electric motor


31


, and is engaged with the worm wheel


20


. Since the worm


19


is engaged with the worm wheel


20


, the first gear


21


can be rotated integrally with the rotating shaft


11


through the electric motor


31


, the worm


19


and the worm wheel


20


.




The adjusting operation mechanism


3


has the electric motor


31


as a driving source, the control board


32


additionally arranged in the electric motor


31


and having a wireless transmitting and receiving function, the wireless operation machine


33


operated by a wireless operation signal from the exterior, and the generator


34


operated by rotating the folding drum


1


as a rotary drum.




The generator


34


has a columnar magnet


36


fixed to the frame Fa through a sleeve S and a support case


37


so as to have the same center line as a rotation center line of the rotating shaft


11


. The generator


34


also has a winding portion


35


attached to the rotating shaft


11


as the reference portion of the rotary drum through the support member


38


, and rotated integrally with the rotating shaft


11


around the same center line as the rotating shaft


11


. The winding portion


35


surrounds a peripheral portion of the magnet


36


. Electric power is generated in the winding portion


35


by rotating the winding portion


35


around the magnet


36


as the rotating shaft


11


is rotated.




In

FIGS. 1 and 2

, the generator


34


can be also replaced by a transformer, e.g., a rotary transformer, etc. When the generator


34


is replaced by the rotary transformer, a primary coil side is set to a fixing winding portion externally fixed, and is arranged such that electric power can be supplied from the exterior to this primary coil side. A secondary coil side is arranged as a rotation winding portion able to be rotated together with the rotating shaft. When electric power is supplied to the primary coil side constructed in this way, electric power determined by winding numbers of both the coils is obtained in the secondary coil irrespective of the rotation of the rotating shaft


11


.




In this embodiment mode, the electric motor


31


is a pulse motor with a speed reduction gear. The electric motor


31


is operated by the wireless operation machine


33


having a wireless transmitting and receiving function for operating the electric motor


31


through the control board


32


. A radio wave is generally utilized as a wireless communication medium between the wireless operation machine


33


and the control board


32


, but various kinds of communication means such as an ultrasonic wave, light, etc. can be also used.




The folding drum


1


has a paper holding mechanism, a folding blade driving mechanism, a timing adjusting mechanism, etc. although such mechanisms are not illustrated. The paper holding mechanism holds overlapped paper as a folded object to introduce this paper onto the outer circumferential face of the folding drum


1


. The folding blade driving mechanism pushes up a folding portion of the overlapped paper by a folding blade projected from the outer circumferential face of the folding drum


1


. The timing adjusting mechanism adjusts operation timings of these mechanisms.




An operation of the rotary drum in the first embodiment mode of this invention will next be explained. The folding drum


1


as the rotary drum is rotated by the driven gear


2


rotated by an unillustrated driving means, and folds overlapped paper in cooperation with an adjacent drum such as a gripper drum, etc. In this operation, the worm wheel


20


attached to the rotating shaft


11


is rotated in alignment with the basic body


10


. The first gear


21


rotatably attached to the rotating shaft


11


is connected to the electric motor


31


attached to a side face of the first gear


21


, the worm


19


attached to the output shaft of the electric motor


31


, and the worm wheel


20


engaged with the worm


19


. Accordingly, the first gear


21


is rotated at the same angular velocity as the worm wheel


20


, i.e., is rotated integrally with the rotating shaft


11


. Further, since the second gear


22


engaged with the first gear


21


is attached to the basic body


10


rotated at the same angular velocity as the first gear


21


, no second gear


22


itself is rotated, and no shafts


14




a


,


14




b


attached to the second gear


22


are rotated.




In this state, when it is necessary to adjust an outside diameter of the folding drum


1


in accordance with a thickness of the overlapped paper folded by the folding drum


1


, the adjustment is made by the adjusting operation mechanism


3


as follows. Namely, a predetermined desirable operation signal is first wirelessly transmitted to the control board


32


of the electric motor


31


using the wireless operation machine


33


. The control board


32


receiving the operation signal outputs an operation signal for controlling an operation of the electric motor


31


to the electric motor


31


in accordance with the received operation signal. The electric motor


31


is rotated in accordance with the operation signal. The electric motor


31


outputs a feedback signal proportional to an operating amount of the electric motor


31


by an unillustrated attached rotary encoder. This feedback signal is converted by the control board


32


to a signal relating to a rotating amount of the electric motor


31


, and is wirelessly transmitted by the control board


32


, and is used to notify the rotating amount of the electric motor


31


to an operator through the wireless operation machine


33


.




Electric power for operating the electric motor


31


and the control board


32


is supplied from the generator


34


or a transformer (rotary transformer) additionally arranged in the folding drum


1


. Namely, the magnet


36


fixed to the frame Fa is surrounded through the support case


37


and the sleeve S in the generator


34


, and the winding portion


35


fixed to an end portion of the rotating shaft


11


through the support member


38


is rotated as the rotating shaft


11


is rotated. Thus, an electric current flows through the winding portion


35


moving across a magnetic line. This electric current is supplied to the control board


32


and the electric motor


31


by a conductive lead


39


, and is used as electric power for operating the control board


32


and the electric motor


31


. When the electric motor


31


is rotated, the worm


19


attached to the output shaft of the electric motor


31


is rotated and begins to rotate the worm wheel


20


engaged with this worm


19


. However, the worm wheel


20


is attached to the rotating shaft


11


so as not to be rotated. In contrast to this, the electric motor


31


attaching the worm


19


thereto can be rotated with respect to the rotating shaft


11


through the first gear


21


. Therefore, the worm


19


, the electric motor


31


and the first gear


21


are rotated and displaced integrally with the rotating shaft


11


. While the worm


19


, etc. are rotated and displaced, the worm


19


is engaged with the worm wheel


20


and is displaced along a circumferential face of the worm wheel


20


.




When the first gear


21


is rotated and displaced with respect to the rotating shaft


11


, a rotating phase of the first gear


21


is changed with respect to the rotation of the basic body


10


. Thus, plural second gears


22


engaged with the first gear


21


are simultaneously angularly displaced with respect to the basic body


10


, and plural shafts


14




a


,


14




b


attached to the second gears


22


are angularly displaced. When the shafts


14




a


,


14




b


are angularly displaced, the block member


16


is moved in a radial direction of the basic body


10


by an angular displacement action of the eccentric portion


15


arranged integrally with the shafts


14




a


,


14




b


. Therefore, the outer circumferential member


17


attached to the block member


5


is also moved in the radial direction of the basic body


10


. The outside diameter of the folding drum


1


is adjusted by this movement of the outer circumferential member


17


in the radial direction.




Next, a second embodiment mode of this invention will be explained on the basis of

FIGS. 3 and 4

. In the second embodiment mode, the rotary drum is a gripper drum


4


, and the adjusted portion is a distance adjusting mechanism of a gripper plate


50


and a gripper jaw


51


.




The gripper drum


4


as the rotary drum has a reference


15


portion, an adjusted portion, an adjusting operation mechanism and an adjusting transmission mechanism. The reference portion has a basic body


40


and a rotating shaft


41


. The adjusted portion has a pair of first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


and a pair of second side plates


43




a


,


43




b


. The pair of first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


and the pair of second side plates


43




a


,


43




b


can be rotated integrally with the reference portion, and are arranged so as to be angularly displaced with respect to the reference portion, and can be arranged on both sides of the basic body


40


so as to be rotated with respect to the basic body


40


. The adjusted portion also has a third side plate


44


attached to the other side of the basic body


40


from outer sides of these first and second side plates and able to be rotated integrally with the basic body


40


. The adjusted portion also has first eccentric cams


45




a


,


45




b


, first slip members


46




a


,


46




b


, second eccentric cams


47




a


,


47




b


, second slid members


48




a


,


48




b


, an adjusting shaft


49


, a gripper plate


50


as a displacing member, and a gripper jaw


51


as a fixing member. The adjusting operation mechanism has an electric motor


31


as a driving source for displacing the adjusted portion with respect to the reference portion, a generator


34


as a power source arranged in the reference portion, a control board


32


additionally arranged in the driving source and having a wireless receiving function, and a wireless operation machine


33


for wirelessly transmitting an operation signal to the control board


32


. The adjusting transmission mechanism transmits a movement of the electric motor


31


to the adjusted portion, and has a worm


53


and a worm wheel


54


.




The reference portion of the gripper drum


4


as the rotary drum is constructed by the basic body


40


and the rotating shaft


41


rotated integrally with the basic body


40


. The basic body


40


has a columnar outer circumferential face and a flange portion


40




a


in a side face portion in a rotating axis direction. The rotating shaft


41


is rotatably supported by frames Fa, Fb. A driven gear


5


is attached to one side of the rotating shaft


41


projected outward from the frame Fb. The rotating shaft


41


is rotated by driving force from an unillustrated driving means through the driven gear


5


.




The electric motor


31


as a driving source is attached to a side face of the third side plate


44


opposed to the frame Fb. The control board


32


able to wirelessly transmit and receive signals is additionally arranged in the electric motor


31


, and the electric motor


31


is operated on the basis of an operation signal from the external wireless operation machine


33


as the adjusting operation mechanism


3


. For example, the electric motor


31


has a speed reduction function and uses a type having a feedback function in which a rotating amount can be fed back to the wireless operation machine


33


through the control board


32


additionally arranged.




The worm


53


as one portion of the adjusting transmission mechanism is attached to the output shaft of the electric motor


31


, and is engaged with the worm wheel


54


projected from the third side plate


44


. The worm wheel


54


is fixed to an end portion of the adjusting shaft


49


.




The respective distances between the first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


and the second side plates


43




a


,


43




b


as adjusted portions are constantly maintained by unillustrated suitable stays. A gripper plate shaft


52


attached to the gripper plate


50


as a displacing member is spanned between the first side plates


42




a


and


42




b


. The gripper plate shaft


52


as an angular displacement shaft is supported such that this gripper plate shaft


52


is angularly displaced. The gripper jaw


51


as a fixing member is fixed between the second side plates


43




a


and


43




b


such that the gripper jaw


51


is opposed to the gripper plate


50


. One end of an arm


55


is fixed to an end portion of the gripper plate shaft


52


extending through the first side plate


42




a


on one side. A cam follower


56


is rotatably attached to the other end of the arm


55


through a pin parallel, to the gripper plate shaft


52


. The cam follower


56


is attached such that the cam follower


56


follows a groove cam


57


arranged in a sleeve S. Torsion springs


58




a


,


58




b


are attached between the gripper plate shaft


52


and the first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


, and prevents a free displacement of the gripper plate shaft


52


due to a play caused by errors in processing, assembly, etc.




The adjusting shaft


49


is rotatably supported between the basic body


40


and a flange portion


40




a


arranged on one side of the basic body


40


. The first eccentric cams


45




a


,


45




b


coming in close contact with the first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


are arranged in the adjusting shaft


49


in positions corresponding to the first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


through the first slip members


46




a


,


46




b


movable only in a radial direction of the gripper drum


4


. The second eccentric cams


47




a


,


47




b


coming in close contact with the second side plates


43




a


,


43




b


are arranged in the adjusting shaft


49


in positions corresponding to the second side plates


43




a


,


43




b


through the second slip members


48




a


,


48




b


movable only in the radial direction of the gripper drum


4


. The first eccentric cams


45




a


,


45




b


are eccentrically arranged by the same size in the same direction with respect to a center of the adjusting shaft


49


. The second eccentric cams


47




a


,


47




b


are eccentrically arranged by the same size as the first eccentric cams


45




a


,


45




b


in a direction reverse to that of the first eccentric cams


45




a


,


45




b


with respect to the center of the adjusting shaft


49


.




Accordingly, when the adjusting shaft


49


is rotated, the first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


and the second side plates


43




a


,


43




b


are angularly displaced in directions reverse to each other around a center of the rotating shaft


41


, and the distance between the gripper plate


50


and the gripper jaw


51


can be adjusted in accordance with the thickness of paper to be gripped. Further, the worm wheel


54


engaged with the worm


19


attached to the output shaft of the electric motor


31


is rotatably attached integrally with the adjusting shaft


49


at the other end of the adjusting shaft


49


from which the third side plate


44


is projected.




The adjusting operation mechanism


3


has the electric motor


31


as a driving source, the control board


32


having a wireless transmitting and receiving function additionally arranged in the electric motor


31


, the wireless operation machine


33


operated by a wireless operation signal from the exterior, and the generator


34


operated by rotating the gripper drum


4


as the rotary drum.




The generator


34


has a columnar magnet


36


and a winding portion


35


. The magnet


36


is fixed to the frame Fa so as to have the same center line as a rotation center line of the rotating shaft


11


through the sleeve S and the support case


37


. The wiring portion


35


is attached to the rotating shaft


11


as a reference portion of the rotary drum through the support member


38


. The winding portion


35


is rotated integrally with the rotating shaft


11


around the same center line as the rotating shaft


11


. The winding portion


35


surrounds a peripheral portion of the magnet


36


. Electric power is generated in the winding portion


35


by rotating the winding portion


35


around the magnet


36


as the rotating shaft


11


is rotated.




In

FIGS. 3 and 4

, the generator


34


can be also replaced by a transformer, e.g., a rotary transformer, etc. When the generator


34


is replaced by the rotary transformer, a primary coil side is set to a fixing winding portion externally fixed, and is arranged such that electric power can be supplied from the exterior to this primary coil side. A secondary coil side is arranged as a rotation winding portion able to be rotated together with the rotating shaft. When electric power is supplied to the primary coil side constructed in this way, electric power determined by winding numbers of both the coils is obtained in the secondary coil irrespective of the rotation of the rotating shaft


11


.




In this embodiment mode, the electric motor


31


is a pulse motor with a speed reduction gear. The electric motor


31


is operated by the wireless operation machine


33


having a wireless transmitting and receiving function for operating the electric motor


31


through the control board


32


. A radio wave is generally utilized as a wireless communication medium between the wireless operation machine


33


and the control board


32


, but various kinds of communication means such as an ultrasonic wave, light, etc. can be also used.




In addition to the above mechanisms, a timing adjustment mechanism for adjusting operation timing of the gripper plate


50


, etc. are arranged in the gripper drum


4


although this arrangement is not illustrated.




An operation of the rotary drum in the second embodiment mode of this invention will next be explained. The gripper drum


4


is rotated by the driven gear


5


rotated by an unillustrated driving means, and folds overlapped paper in cooperation with an adjacent drum such as a folding drum, etc. In this operation, when the rotating shaft


41


is rotated, the basic body


40


and the third side plate


44


forming the reference portion together with the rotating shaft


41


are integrally rotated. The first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


rotatably attached to the basic body


40


are connected to the basic body


40


through the first slip members


46




a


,


46




b


, the first eccentric cams


45




a


,


45




b


coming in close contact with the first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


through the first slip members


46




a


,


46




b


, the adjusting shaft


49


attaching the first eccentric cams


45




a


,


45




b


thereto, the worm wheel


54


attached to the other end of the adjusting shaft


49


, the worm


53


engaged with this worm wheel


54


, the electric motor


31


having the output shaft attached to the worm


53


and attached to the third side plate


44


, and the third plate


44


. The second side plates


43




a


,


43




b


rotatably attached to the basic body


40


are connected to the basic body


40


through the second slip members


48




a


,


48




b


, the second eccentric cams


47




a


,


47




b


coming in close contact with the second side plates


43




a


,


43




b


through the second slip members


48




a


,


48




b


, the adjusting shaft


49


attaching the second eccentric cams


47




a


,


47




b


thereto, the worm wheel


54


attached to the other end of the adjusting shaft


49


, the worm


53


engaged with this worm wheel


54


, the electric motor


31


having the output shaft attached to the worm


53


and attached to the third side plate


44


, and the third side plate


44


. Accordingly, the first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


, the second side plates


43




a


,


43




b


, and the respective constructional members for connecting these side plates to the basic body


40


are rotated integrally with the reference portion at the same speed as the basic body


40


.




In this state, when it is necessary to adjust the distance between the gripper plate


50


and the gripper jaw


51


of the gripper drum


4


in accordance with the thickness of the overlapped paper to be folded, the adjustment is made by the adjusting operation mechanism


3


as follows. Namely, a predetermined desirable operation signal is first wirelessly transmitted to the control board


32


of the electric motor


31


using the wireless operation machine


33


. The control board


32


receiving the operation signal outputs an operation signal for controlling an operation of the electric motor


31


to the electric motor


31


in accordance with the received operation signal. The electric motor


31


is rotated in accordance with the operation signal. The electric motor


31


outputs a feedback signal proportional to an operating amount of the electric motor


31


by an unillustrated attached rotary encoder. This feedback signal is converted by the control board


32


to a signal relating to a rotating amount of the electric motor


31


, and is wirelessly transmitted by the control board


32


, and is used to notify the rotating amount of the electric motor


31


to an operator through the wireless operation machine


33


.




Electric power for operating the electric motor


31


and the control board


32


is supplied from the generator


34


or a transformer (rotary transformer) additionally arranged in the folding drum


1


. Namely, the magnet


36


fixed to the frame Fa is surrounded through the support case


37


and the sleeve S in the generator


34


, and the winding portion


35


fixed to an end portion of the rotating shaft


11


through the support member


38


is rotated as the rotating shaft


11


is rotated. Thus, an electric current flows through the winding portion


35


moving across a magnetic line. This electric current is supplied to the control board


32


and the electric motor


31


by a conductive lead


39


, and is used as electric power for operating the control board


32


and the electric motor


31


. When electric power is supplied from the exterior to a primary coil in the transformer (rotary transformer), electric power determined by a ratio of winding numbers of the primary coil and a secondary coil is obtained on the secondary coil side, and is supplied to the control board


32


and the electric motor


31


by a conductive lead connected to the secondary coil, and is used as electric power for operating the control board


32


and the electric motor


31


.




When the electric motor


31


is rotated, the worm


53


attached to the output shaft of the electric motor


31


is rotated, and rotates the worm wheel


54


engaged with this worm


53


. Thus, the worm wheel


54


is angularly displaced with respect to the third side plate


44


, i.e., the basic body


40


so that the adjusting shaft


49


attaching the worm wheel


54


thereto is angularly displaced. When the adjusting shaft


49


is angularly displaced, the first eccentric cams


45




a


,


45




b


and the second eccentric cams


47




a


,


47




b


integrally attached to the adjusting shaft


49


are angularly displaced. Force in a direction perpendicular to a radial direction is then applied to the first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


through the first slip members


46




a


,


46




b


by the angular displacements of the first eccentric cams


45




a


,


45




b


. Further, force in a direction reverse to the direction of the force applied to the first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


is applied to the second side plates


43




a


,


43




b


through the second slip members


48




a


,


48




b


by the angular displacements of the second eccentric cams


47




a


,


47




b


. As a result, the first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


and the second side plates


43




a


,


43




b


are angularly displaced in directions reverse to each other around a rotation center of the basic body


40


, i.e., a rotation center of the rotating shaft


41


.




The distance between the gripper plate


50


and the gripper jaw


51


of the gripper drum


4


is adjusted by the simultaneous angular displacements of the first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


and the second side plates


43




a


,


43




b


in the directions reverse to each other. The gripper plate shaft


52


is displaced by rotating the first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


in accordance with the rotations of the first side plates


42




a


,


42




b


. Thus, the cam follower


56


attached to the gripper plate shaft


52


through the arm


55


is moved and displaced along the groove cam


57


. The gripper plate shaft


52


is angularly displaced by this displacement of the cam follower


56


through the arm


55


. The gripper plate


50


is slightly changed by this displacement of the cam follower


56


in timing of an open-close operation with respect to the gripper jaw


51


, but there is no influence on a gripper action.




This invention relates to the rotary drum of the folding device, and a driving source for operating an operating portion is arranged in the rotary drum so as to operate the adjusted portion arranged in the rotary drum during rotation, and its driving power source is arranged in the same rotary drum. Further, the driving source is operated by a wireless signal from the exterior of the rotary drum. Accordingly, it is not necessary to arrange a supply system in which there is a fear that sparks and noises causing a reduction in durability are generated by mechanical contact of a slip ring, etc. in each of the supply of electric power for operating and the supply of an operation signal from the rotary drum to the adjusting operation mechanism.




In this invention, it is possible to remove a relatively complicated mechanical construction for operating an adjusting portion of the rotary drum of the folding device from the exterior. Further, the rotary drum having the adjusted portion can be simply constructed by a small number of parts, and initial cost can be reduced.




Since the mechanism becomes simple, defects caused in the mechanism are reduced, and the mechanism is easily maintained so that the burden of a worker is reduced and running cost can be reduced. Further, since there is no system using the mechanical contact in the supply of electric power and the supply of the control signal to the driving source of the adjusting operation mechanism, no contact portion is mechanically worn and the generation of sparks and noises can be removed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce a machine stopping time for maintenance of a portion of the power supply and the supply of the operation signal and exchanging parts so that working efficiency can be greatly improved.



Claims
  • 1. A rotary drum of a folding device comprising:a reference portion having a rotating shaft and a basic body rotated integrally with the rotating shaft; an adjusted portion able to be rotated integrally with the reference portion and arranged so as to be displaced with respect to the reference portion; an adjusting operation mechanism having a driving source for displacing the adjusted portion with respect to the reference portion, a power source arranged in the reference portion, a control board additionally arranged in the driving source and having a wireless receiving function, and a wireless operation machine for wirelessly transmitting an operation signal to the control board; and an adjusting transmission mechanism for transmitting a movement of the driving source to the adjusted portion; wherein the adjusting operation mechanism is configured to adjust a distance between a gripper plate and a gripper jaw, and wherein electric power is supplied from the power source to the driving source, and the driving source is operated by a wireless signal from the adjusting operation mechanism.
  • 2. The rotary drum of the folding device as defined in claim 1, wherein the power source is a generator constructed by a magnet externally fixed and a winding portion surrounding the magnet in a state close to a peripheral portion of the magnet such that the winding portion can be rotated together with the reference portion.
  • 3. The rotary drum of the folding device as defined in claim 1, wherein the power source is a rotary transformer in which a coil is wound around each cut iron core portion, and one side is set to a fixing winding portion externally fixed and able to supply electric power from the exterior, and the other side is a rotation winding portion able to be rotated together with the reference portion.
  • 4. A rotary drum of a folding device comprising:a reference portion having a rotating shaft and a basic body rotated integrally with the rotating shaft; an adjusted portion able to be rotated integrally with the reference portion and arranged so as to be displaced with respect to the reference portion, and having pairs of first and second side plates arranged rotatably with respect to the basic body on both sides of the basic body, a third side plate attached to the other side of the basic body from outer sides of these first and second side plates and able to be rotated integrally with the basic body, an adjusting shaft rotatably arranged in the basic body and the third side plate, a first eccentric cam attached through a first slip member movable only in a radial direction of the first side plate in a position of the adjusting shaft corresponding to the first side plate, a second eccentric cam attached through a second slip member movable only in a radial direction of the second side plate in a position of the adjusting shaft corresponding to the second side plate, an angular displacement shaft able to be angularly displaced and spanned between the first side plates, a displacing member attached to the angular displacement shaft, and a fixing member fixedly arranged so as to be opposed to the displacing member between the second side plates; an adjusting operation mechanism having an electric motor attached to the third side plate as a driving source for displacing the adjusted portion with respect to the reference portion, a power source arranged in the reference portion, a control board additionally arranged in the driving source and having a wireless receiving function, and a wireless operation machine for wirelessly transmitting an operation signal to the control board; an adjusting transmission mechanism having a worm arranged in an output shaft of the electric motor to transmit a movement of the electric motor to the adjusted portion, and a worm wheel engaged with the worm, wherein the worm wheel is fixed on an end portion of the adjusting shaft; wherein electric power is supplied from the power source to the electric motor, and the electric motor is operated by a wireless signal from the adjusting operation mechanism.
  • 5. The rotary drum of the folding device as defined in claim 4, wherein the power source is a generator constructed by a magnet externally fixed and a winding portion surrounding the magnet in a state close to a peripheral portion of the magnet such that the winding portion can be rotated together with the reference portion.
  • 6. The rotary drum of the folding device as defined in claim 4, wherein the power source is a rotary transformer in which a coil is wound around each cut iron core portion, and one side is set to a fixing winding portion externally fixed and able to supply electric power from the exterior, and the other side is a rotation winding portion able to be rotated together with the reference portion.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
2000-240778 Aug 2000 JP
US Referenced Citations (7)
Number Name Date Kind
3710694 Ehlscheid Jan 1973 A
5772571 Marcle-Geller et al. Jun 1998 A
5846177 Mayr Dec 1998 A
6110093 Slusarz Aug 2000 A
6283906 Kostiza Sep 2001 B1
6398704 Shibuya et al. Jun 2002 B1
6685616 Raueiser Feb 2004 B2
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number Date Country
2-788321 Jun 1998 JP
2-848982 Nov 2001 JP