EP1321410B1 - Method and device for transporting flat products - Google Patents

Abstract

The conveying process involves gripping the products (10,10') at their leading edges at their leading edges to pass them to at least one conveying device (2) in at least one transfer point so that each product at least partly overlaps the previous one. The leading edges (10a,10a') of the products are spaced out from each other.

Description

The invention relates to a method for conveying flat products according to the preamble of claim 1 and to an apparatus for carrying out the method with the features of claim 9.

Modern printing machines process printed products with a throughput of approx. 40-60'000 products per hour in so-called single production. By contrast, in the production mode "double production" the production rate is doubled to 80-120'000. The products are taken over at the output of the printing machine by a conveyor and conveyed to a processing station. The conveyor usually comprises a gripper conveyor with a plurality of grippers moved along a conveyor rail. In order to protect the products, it is desirable that they be carried away at a speed that does not exceed a certain maximum speed. Furthermore, the products should preferably be conveyed away in both operating modes of the printing machine at the same speed, but with optionally doubled delivery rate. It is known to combine the products in pairs, in which the products are arranged congruent or staggered and which are taken up by a respective gripper and further promoted. The disadvantage of this is that each other completely overlapping products after transfer to a further processing station, such as another conveyor, must be separated again, since the later processing is done individually.

The invention has for its object to provide a method for conveying flat objects, in particular printed products, specify in which the articles are conveyed at a high throughput and processed so that the individual product remains directly accessible. The invention is further based on the object to provide a corresponding conveyor device available.

The object is achieved by a method having the features of claim 1. The object is further achieved by a device for carrying out the method with the features of claim 9. Advantageous developments of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims, the description and the drawings.

According to the invention, two or more products in the region of their leading edges are gripped by grippers of a gripper conveyor in such a way that their edges are mutually spaced apart. The products are conveyed by the grippers and transferred to at least one transfer conveyor in at least one transfer area. The transfer takes place in such a way that each product at most partially overlaps the products previously transferred to the removal device, the leading edges of the transferred products being spaced apart from one another. The staggered position of the products in the gripper is therefore advantageous for producing a regular or irregular scale formation or otherwise isolated or easily isolable Used product arrangement that can be further processed easily. The Wegfördereinrichtung is a gripper conveyor whose gripper is in each case take a product. In this way, when moving away a regular scale formation can be realized.

The device according to the invention comprises a gripper conveyor with a plurality of grippers, which are capable of gripping two or more products in the region of their leading edges in a mutually offset position. It further comprises at least one control device which is capable of opening the grippers in at least one transfer region, and at least one removal device with which the transferred products are fed to a further processing station. The device is adaptable to the two operating modes. In simple production, each gripper only grips one product, in the double production two each. Thus, the conveying speed can be kept constant when doubling the flow rate.

The transfer of a plurality of products, preferably of two products, to the gripper conveyor is carried out, for example, as described in EP-A 0 330 868. The products arrive on a conveyor belt in an imbricated formation and are picked up in pairs by individually controllable grippers at the end of the conveyor belt. The grippers have a depth which is greater than the distance between the leading edges of at least two printed products in the supplied scale formation. If the distance of two products in the imbricated formation is greater than the depth of the grippers, then two or more products can be pushed together by suitable means already in the imbricated formation. In question comes, for example, an accompanying with the conveyor auxiliary conveyor, which has the products decelerating or accelerating driver.

According to the invention, the products are deposited on the removal conveyor so that the individual product remains accessible on at least one edge.

In an advantageous development of the invention, the transfer takes place at two removal facilities, so that two product streams are generated. In this way, it is advantageously possible to reduce the product flow so that the further processing station can process it without reducing the overall throughput of the system.

Fig. 1

Eine Vorrichtung, bei der sämtliche Produkte in einem einzigen Übergabebereich an eine Wegfördereinrichtung übergeben werden;

Fig. 2, 3

eine Vorrichtung, bei der in einem Übergabebereich jeder zweite Greifer geöffnet und die davon gehaltenen Produkte an eine Wegfördereinrichtung übergeben werden;

Fig. 4

eine Vorrichtung, bei der in einem Übergabebereich jeder Greifer geöffnet wird, jedoch nur eines der gehaltenen Produkte an eine Wegfördereinrichtung abgibt;

Fig. 5

eine Abwandlung der Vorrichtung aus Figur 4;

Fig. 6-8

Möglichkeiten zum Aufteilen des mit der Wegfördereinrichtung aus Figur 1 weggeförderten Produktestroms in zwei Produkteströme.

Examples of the embodiment of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and described below. It shows purely schematically:

Fig. 1

A device in which all products are transferred in a single transfer area to a removal device;

Fig. 2, 3rd

a device in which opened in a transfer area every second gripper and the products held thereby are transferred to a removal device;

Fig. 4

a device in which each gripper is opened in a transfer area, but only one of the held products delivers to a removal device;

Fig. 5

a modification of the device of Figure 4;

Fig. 6-8

Possibilities for dividing the conveyed away with the removal device of Figure 1 product flow in two product streams.

FIG. 1 shows a first device for carrying out a method according to the invention. Each two products 10, 10 'are detected by a gripper 3 and are moved with the corresponding gripper conveyor 1 along a guide rail 9. Within the gripper 3, the front edges 10a, 10a 'of the products 10, 10' offset by a distance A from each other. The trailing edges 10b, 10b 'slide on a base 8. At least in a transfer area 4 is below the gripper conveyor 1, a removal device 2, which is also a gripper conveyor with a plurality of grippers 6 here. In the transfer area 4 all grippers are opened at a trigger point by a suitable control device 5, which may be a mechanically fixed control link here. The trailing edges 10b, 10b 'of the released products 10, 10' are gripped by a respective gripper 6 of the removal device 2. This is closed by a control device 7, which may also be a control link, as soon as the trailing edge 10b, 10b 'in the mouth of Gripper 6 is located. There may be aids, for example a correspondingly designed gripper or a suction device, which facilitate that a gripper 6 of the removal device 2 actually receives only one object 10 or 10 'in each case. The sliding into different grippers 6 can be further supported by gravity by the guide rail 9 of the gripper conveyor 1 is inclined from the horizontal. An example of this is shown in FIG. When the products are conveyed lying as shown in Fig. 1, it is not necessary to close the grippers 6. Instead of the gripper therefore U-shaped sliding elements can be used.

The distances a, b of the grippers 3 and 6 and the conveying speeds of the gripper conveyor 1 and the removal device 2 are preferably adapted to each other so that both conveyors 1, 2 have the same total conveying capacity. If, as in the present example by the gripper conveyor 1 two products 10, 10 'are conveyed in a gripper 3, the number of grippers 6 of the removal device 2 per time interval is twice as large as the corresponding number of grippers 3 of the gripper conveyor 1. In the present case is the Distance a of the gripper 3 of the gripper conveyor twice as large as the distance b of the gripper 6 of the removal device 2. The products 10, 10 'are after the transfer to the removal device 2 in an imbricated formation S, in which their leading edges 10a, 10a' are offset by A 'against each other. However, the products can also be conveyed in another position, as shown for example in FIG. 6:

Instead of the gripper conveyor can be used as a conveying device 2, a conveyor belt on which the products 10, 10 'are placed when opening the gripper 3.

FIG. 2 shows a further device for carrying out the method according to the invention. The gripper conveyor 1 is in the illustrated area substantially identical to the gripper conveyor of Figure 1. In the present case, only every second gripper 3 is opened in the transfer area 4 for transfer to the removal device 2. The remaining grippers remain closed and transport the products 10, 10 'to a further transfer area, not shown here. The second removal device provided there may be designed like the removal device 2 shown in FIG. In the present case, the path conveying device 2 has half the conveying capacity of the gripper conveyor 1. The distances a, b and the conveying speeds are adapted to one another such that the same number of grippers 3, 6 moves past a specific point in a time interval. In the present case, the conveying speed and the distances a, b are the same. The products 10, 10 'carried away with the removal device 2 are present in an imbricated formation S with a mutual offset A'. With the variant shown in Figure 2 manages a simple way of dividing the original product flow.

In the present case, the guide rail 9 of the gripper conveyor 1 and the guide rail 17 of the removal device 2 are inclined in the transfer area 4 from the horizontal, whereby two released products 10, 10 'in different grippers 6 of the removal device 2 slide. This is supported by the fact that the grippers 6 have a gripper arm 6a, which is so long that it lifts two held by the same gripper 3 products 10, 10 'in conveying one another. If now the gripper 3 of the gripper conveyor 1 in the transfer area 4 is opened by the control device 5, the lower product 10 'slides into the opened mouth of the gripper 6, while the upper product 10 slides over the gripper arm 6a into the following gripper 6. The products held by the unopened grippers 3 are pulled over the already delivered products and can be stored in a further transfer area, which is not shown in a similar manner.

FIG. 4 shows a further variant of the method according to the invention and a corresponding device. The gripper 3 of the gripper conveyor 1 are present 2-point gripper, which are two items to grab and individually letting capable. In the present case, an additional gripping arm 14 is present in addition to the two gripper arms 3a, 3b, which can be opened and closed like scissors. While both products 10, 10 'are held in the gripper 3 by the normal gripper arms 3a, 3b, only the lower product 10' is fixed by the additional gripper arm 14. In the transfer area, the gripper arms 3 a, 3 b are moved apart, so that the upper product 10 is released and slips over the held by the additional gripping arm 14 lower product 10 'in a gripper 6 of the removal device 2. The held lower products 10 'are transported to a further transfer area and stored there by opening the additional gripper arm 14 on a further removal device. On the removal device 2, a scaly formation S arises from the upper Products 10, where upper and lower products are usually indistinguishable. For the conveying capacities of the gripper conveyor 1 and the removal device 2, what has been said about FIG. 2 applies. In the present case, the conveyor speeds and the distances a, b are the same.

FIG. 5 shows a possibility of carrying out the method shown in FIG. 4 without equipment of each individual gripper 3 with an additional gripping arm 14. For this purpose, an auxiliary gripper conveyor 11 is present in addition to the gripper conveyor 1, the gripper 12 are moved in the transfer area 4 parallel to the movement path of the gripper 3 of the gripper conveyor 1. The control device 5 simultaneously opens the main gripper 3 and closes the auxiliary gripper 12, which is also moved in synchronism with it. Alternatively, the auxiliary gripper can also be closed before the transfer region 4. The auxiliary gripper is configured to grip only the leading edge 10a 'of the lower product 10' and thus hold it in the main gripper 3 while the upper product 10 slides out. By a further control device 13 of the main gripper 3 is closed again after the delivery of the upper product 10 and the auxiliary gripper 12 is opened. Thus, only the lower products 10 'are transported further with the gripper conveyor 1 and can be stored in a further transfer area on a further removal device.

In the devices shown in Figures 4 and 5, the Wegfördereinrichtung 2 can be replaced by a belt conveyor, if the products are to be transported substantially lying in a scale formation S, because in the transfer area 4 only one product is stored at regular intervals.

FIG. 6 shows a possibility for dividing the product stream transferred to the removal device 2 into FIG. 1 into two product streams. Every second product is transferred in a further transfer region 19 to a further removal device 15, here likewise a gripper conveyor with grippers 20. For this purpose, every second gripper 6 of the removal device 2 is opened by a control device 16 and a synchronous thereto moving gripper 20 of the further conveyor 15 by a control device 18 substantially simultaneously closed. Every second product is therefore discarded. In the present case, the conveying speeds in the conveying devices 2, 15 in the further transfer area 19 are substantially the same. The distance c of the gripper 20 is twice as large as the distance b of the gripper 6.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show further examples of the distribution of the conveying flow transferred to the removal device 2, for example according to FIG. 1. The removal devices 2 each have a plurality of grippers 6 which are offset from each other along two guide rails 17, 17 which are initially parallel and then diverging 'are led. The products 10, 10 'are alternately taken by grippers of the left and right guide rail 17, 17', so that the flow is pulled apart like a zipper.

Claims (10)

1. Method of conveying sheet-like products (10, 10'), in particular printed products, in each case two or more products (10, 10') being gripped together, in the region of their leading edges (10a, l0a'), by grippers (3) of a feeding gripper conveyor (1) such that the edges (10a, 10a') are alternately spaced apart from one another, and the products (10, 10') being conveyed by the grippers (3) and, in at least one transfer region (4), being transferred to at least one removal arrangement (2) such that each product (10, 10') at most partially overlaps the product (10, 10') previously transferred to the removal arrangement (2), and the leading edges (10a, 10a') of the products (10, 10') are spaced apart from one another, characterized in that the at least one removal arrangement (2) is a further gripper conveyor of which the grippers (6) each receive just one product (10, 10').
2. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that a single transfer region (4) with one removal arrangement (2) is provided, the conveying capacity of the feeding gripper conveyor (1) essentially coinciding with that of the removal arrangement (2).
3. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that two transfer regions (4) each with one removal arrangement (2) are provided, every second gripper (3) of the feeding gripper conveyor (1) being opened in the first transfer region and the rest of the grippers being opened in the second transfer region.
4. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that two transfer regions (4) each with one removal arrangement (2) are provided, each gripper (3) of the feeding gripper conveyor (1), in the first transfer region (4), transferring a product to a first removal arrangement and, in the second transfer region, transferring a further product to a second removal arrangement.
5. Method according to Claim 4, characterized in that the feeding gripper conveyor (1) has grippers (3) each with two individually actuable gripper arms (3a, 14), one of the gripper arms being capable of retaining in each case all of the products (10, 10') gripped by the gripper (3) and the other gripper arm being capable of retaining in each case the foremost product arranged in the gripper (3).
6. Method according to Claim 4, characterized in that auxiliary grippers (12) are moved along with the grippers (3) of the feeding gripper conveyor (1) in the first transfer region (4) and grip in each case the foremost product arranged in the gripper (3), the gripper (3) being opened in order to discharge the further products when the auxiliary gripper (12) has gripped the foremost product in the gripper (3), the gripper (3) being closed once the further products have been discharged, and the auxiliary gripper (12) being opened and removed.
7. Method according to one of Claims 3 to 6, characterized in that the conveying capacity of each of the removal arrangements (2) corresponds essentially to half the conveying capacity of the feeding gripper conveyor (3).
8. Method according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the spacings (a, b) between, and the speeds of the grippers (3, 6) of the feeding and removing gripper conveyors are adapted to one another such that each product can be received by a single gripper (6) of the removing gripper conveyor.
9. Apparatus for implementing the method according to one of the preceding claims, having a feeding gripper conveyor (1) with a multiplicity of grippers (3) which are capable of gripping together in each case two or more products (10, 10'), in the region of their leading edges (10a, 10a'), such that the edges (10a, 10a') are alternately spaced apart from one another, having at least one control arrangement (5) which is capable of opening the grippers (3) in at least one transfer region (4), and having at least one removal arrangement (2) by means of which the transferred products (10, 10') are fed to a further-processing station, the removal arrangement (2) being a further gripper conveyor of which the grippers (6) each receive just one product (10, 10').
10. Apparatus according to Claim 9, characterized in that two transfer regions and two removal arrangements are provided.

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