EP1524224B1 - Cutting machine for blanks - Google Patents

Abstract

The machine has a supply compartment (10) for receiving stockpile of inserts (8). The compartment occupies a volume situated between a waste evacuation belt (11) and a base of the machine. The supply compartment has an elevator mechanism (12) for assembling the stockpile to progressively insert the inserts between piled borders of paper sheet. The mechanism has stop unit for positioning the stockpile according to their dimension.

Description

The present invention relates to a machine for cutting blanks in sheets of paper, cardboard or the like, comprising a sheet feed station, a feeder, a cutting station, a free waste ejection station, a poses separation and reception station, a poses-related waste evacuation station and a device for inserting inserts between poses as they are stacked, from a storage stack of these inserts .

This type of machine is well known in particular in the field of the manufacture of cardboard boxes for packaging obtained by folding the poses along fold lines and gluing using gluing tabs formed on the poses.

Such a machine is described in particular in WO 90/06838.

To ensure the stability of the piles of poses, despite the low seating surface of each stack, there are inserts that cover all stacks of poses, whenever a fixed number of poses has been stacked. The set forms a complete stack consisting of several layers of stacks of poses and insets.

Given the number of inserts used and their small thickness, these inserts are stored in a drawer. Since these inserts are gripped by suction cups whose vertical stroke is necessarily limited, the depth of the drawer is limited to a few centimeters, which does not generally pose a problem with respect to the autonomy of the reserve of inserts, provided that that their thickness remains low.

However, there is a double evolution, on the one hand, the machines are going faster and faster, so that the consumption inserts increase proportionally, reducing the autonomy of the insert reserve, on the other hand, it may be advantageous, in some applications, to insert inserts substantially thicker, then decreasing the autonomy of the reserve of inserts. Inserts that can contain a conventional drawer, so that the capacity of the latter would no longer become sufficient for normal use of the machine. The driver of a machine has indeed multiple tasks to perform, so that with a drawer inserts of the order of 8 cm deep and insets of several tenths of a millimeter thick each and a machine producing over 8000 sheets per hour, most of his time would be spent filling the inserts storage drawer, which is obviously not permissible.

It is also important for the users of these machines not to substantially modify the size of the machine, not only the size of the machine alone, but also the size including the spaces necessary for its loading and unloading. Indeed, it is important to be able to replace in an existing machine cutting machine by a new machine occupying substantially the same surface including loading and unloading.

The object of the present invention is to provide a solution that can substantially increase the autonomy of the inserts feed device to maintain substantially the same size as the previous machines performing the same job of cutting and separation of poses .

For this purpose, this invention relates to a machine for cutting blanks in sheets of paper, cardboard or the like material according to claim 1.

Without changing the design, or substantially the size of the machine, this invention allows for a dramatic increase in the autonomy of the reserve of inserts, which can approach the duration of a day's work.

This considerable increase in insert storage volume without increasing machine footprint is due to the use of a volume located beneath the poses-related waste disposal station, which was relatively poorly used by different components of the machine. mechanism of the machine such as compressed air pumps, aggregate lubrication, electrical panel, which can take place in other parts of the machine without generating additional space.

Thanks to the volume thus released, it becomes possible to provide a real compartment for housing the stack of inserts and a lift mechanism, which thus allows to constantly put the upper surface of the battery within reach of the inserter insertion inserts in piles of poses. As a result, the same inserter insertion mechanism as used with the usual drawer can be used.

Thanks to this feature, not only does the inserter insertion mechanism remain unchanged, but this also allows for two versions of the same machine, one with the usual drawer, for users who do not need a storage device. inserts with larger capacity, the other with the compartment that occupies the volume located between the poses disposal station and the base of the machine, for users interested in increasing the autonomy of the loading station. inserts.

Advantageously, the loading can be achieved by an opening in the transverse wall of the machine housing located at the output end of the machine, using pallets and pallet trucks as for feeding the leaves to be cut and unloading as soon as poses.

Preferably, this opening is closed by a security door whose opening causes the stoppage of the machine and this door advantageously has a window allowing the driver to check the remaining height of insets.

The upward movement of the stack of inserts is preferably controlled by a servo system detecting the upper level of the stack, as in the case of the sheet feed stack.

• La figure 1 est une vue en élévation latérale montrant très schématiquement cette formé d'exécution;
• la figure 2 est une vue en perspective du compartiment de stockage de la pile d'encarts sans le carter entourant la machine;
• la figure 3 est une vue partielle en plan de dessus du mécanisme élévateur disposé dans le compartiment de stockage de la pile d'encart de la figure 2;
• la figure 4 est une vue en perspective semblable à celle de la figure 2, montrant le carter entourant le compartiment de stockage.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description which follows and which is made with the aid of the accompanying drawings which illustrate, schematically and by way of example, an embodiment of the machine for the cutting poses, object of the present invention.

• Figure 1 is a side elevation showing very schematically this embodiment;
• Figure 2 is a perspective view of the storage compartment of the stack of inserts without the housing surrounding the machine;
• Figure 3 is a partial top plan view of the elevator mechanism disposed in the storage compartment of the inset stack of Figure 2;
• Figure 4 is a perspective view similar to that of Figure 2, showing the housing surrounding the storage compartment.

Figure 1 shows, in an extremely schematic manner, the various workstations of the machine for cutting blanks, object of the present invention. The feeding station 1 sheets to cut, cardboard, paper or other material having similar characteristics, comprises a stack of sheets 1 placed on a pallet. A known lift mechanism, not shown to the extent that it is not necessary to understand the present invention, raises the stack 1 as the consumption of sheets, so as to maintain the top of this stack 1 to range of the feed device (not shown) of these sheets.

This feeding device successively brings the sheets to a margin table 3 where they are aligned for the cutting operation.

A transport device 4 of these sheets comprises, in known manner, two chains forming two endless loops, arranged respectively on both sides of the machine, between which extend gripper bars intended to grip the front edges of the sheets to be cut. , to transport them in successive steps with intermediate stops to perform the operations, from one station to another machine.

The margin table 3 is followed by a blanking station 5 and a waste ejection station 6 which are not related to the poses. To maintain the different poses related to each other, certain portions of the sheet, in particular the front edge held by the clips of the clip bar, or even a cardboard grid formed between the poses, remain linked to the poses by connection points. . Thus, at the exit of the waste ejection station 6, there will remain only the poses and the portions of sheet connected to the poses.

Next, there is the poses receiving station 7 which comprises a separating device (not shown) of the poses 7 which are stacked in as many stacks as there are blanks cut in a sheet 1. It is obvious that the smaller the poses 7, the lower the stability of the batteries, hence the need for the inserts 8, which are often constituted by smears covering all the stack of poses 7 and which are interposed at regular intervals.

The insertion of these inserts 8 is performed by an inserting device 9 of known type. However, unlike the known inserting devices, the inserts 8 are not stored in a drawer a few centimeters deep which can not contain many inserts, especially if they are thick. In the machine according to the present invention, the space under the inserting device 9, is entirely occupied by a feed compartment 10 of inserts 8, large capacity. The inserting device 9 is itself located under a waste disposal station, comprising a carpet 11 (FIG. 3) for the disposal of the waste associated with the layers 7 and which have been released during the separation of the waste products. poses 7 at the separation station. This arrangement of the supply compartment 10 under the waste disposal mat 11 makes it possible to occupy a large space without substantially modifying the total size of the machine, since the carpet 11 for disposing of waste exists anyway.

Since a conventional inserting device 9 using suction cups for gripping the inserts 8 to make them available on a system to insert them between the poses 7 of the different stacks can only enter inserts if they are located at levels that do not vary by more than a few centimeters, the feed compartment 10 must then comprise a lifting mechanism 12, as for feeding the sheets to be cut 1.

This lift mechanism 12 of known type comprises a support platform 13, illustrated in FIG. solid in the low position and in broken lines in the high position. This platform 13 carries a stack of inserts 8. This platform 13 has four arms 14 arranged at the four corners and which protrude laterally from the two lateral sides of this platform 13. Each arm is suspended at the end. a chain 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d. These chains are also engaged with toothed gears integral with a shaft 16, which is connected to a drive motor 17 by an endless chain 18. The control of this motor is performed by the machine control device. to cut.

This lifting device 12 further comprises abutment means for positioning the stack of inserts 8 according to their size. For this purpose, it comprises a fixed front stop formed by two vertical plates 19. It then comprises two movable lateral stops formed by two vertical rulers 20a, 20b adjacent to the fixed front stop 19. These movable stops 20a, 20b are engaged with a displacement mechanism located on the other side of the fixed front stop 19 and which makes it possible to bring them closer together or to move them away from each other, so that the space which separates them remains constantly centered on the axis longitudinal center of the cutting machine, to maintain the stack of inserts 8 centered, regardless of the transverse dimension of these inserts 8.

This displacement mechanism is visible in part in Figure 2, but completely in Figure 3. It comprises a manual control wheel 21 secured to a control rod 22. At its other end, this control rod 22 carries a conical pinion 23 engaged with a conical pinion 24 of the actuating means comprising, in this example, a first drive member of the lateral centering stops 20a, 20b formed by a rod 25 which has, in the middle, a pinion engaged with an endless transmission chain 26 (FIG. 2) and intended to transmit the movement of the control rod 22 to a second drive member of the lateral centering stops 20a, 20b formed by a rod 27, parallel to the first rod 25 and which also has in its middle a pinion for engaging with the endless transmission chain 26.

Each of these rods 25, 27 of the actuating means comprises two threaded sections 25a, 25b, 27a, 27b (FIG. 3) with respective threads in the opposite direction to one another. The stops 20a, 20b are each engaged with two nuts 28a, 29a, respectively 28b, 29b respectively engaged with the threaded sections 25a, 27a, 25b, 27b. Two horizontal slots 19a (FIG. 2) are formed through the plates of the fixed front stops 19, parallel to the upper actuating rod 25 and two horizontal slots 19b are formed through these same front fixed stops, parallel to the rod of FIG. lower actuation 27. These slots 19a, 19b make it possible to establish the connection between the abutments 20a, 20b and the nuts 28a, 29a, respectively 28b, 29b, these abutments 20a, 20b on the one hand and these nuts, on the other hand located respectively on either side of the fixed front stop 19.

With this arrangement, the two movable stops 20a, 20b are displaced in opposite directions from one another when the control rod 22 is driven in one direction or the other by the control wheel 21. Therefore these stops 20a, 20b move while remaining parallel to each other, moving towards or away from each other of equal but opposite values with respect to the median longitudinal axis of the machine cutting.

This device also comprises a rear stop 30 formed of a horizontal arm in the rest position, pivotally mounted on a pivot shaft 31 and sliding on the same shaft 31 and a second shaft 32 (Figure 2). The sliding of this rear stop 30 is performed manually and clamping means (not shown) are provided to immobilize it in the desired position. This rear stop 30 is still slidably mounted relative to a detection rod 33 connected to the pivot shaft 31 by two flanges 34a, 34b. This detection rod is still kinematically connected to the pivot shaft 31 by the rear stopper 30. A detector 35 makes it possible to detect any rotation of the detection rod 33 around the pivot shaft 31 and therefore any raising of the stop rear 30 from its horizontal rest position, indicating by lifting, that the stack of inserts 8 is not positioned correctly against the fixed stop before 19.

The elevator mechanism 12 of the feed compartment 10 further comprises a detector 36 of the upper level of the inset stack 8, which receives a light beam 37 emitted by a light source 38. When the detector 36 no longer receives the light beam because that it is cut by the top of the stack of inserts 8, it emits a signal that stops the drive motor 17 of the elevator mechanism 12.

As illustrated in Figure 1, a retractable support 39 of known type is provided to receive the poses 7 during the introduction of an insert 8. This retractable support 39 is removed and the poses that have accumulated on it are deposited on the respective piles during the withdrawal of this support 39.

As illustrated in Figure 4, the housing that surrounds the machine has a door 40 on the back cover, or downstream of this housing if we take into account the direction of scroll sheets 1 to be cut. This door 40 gives access to the supply compartment 10 and is intended to allow the replacement of an empty pallet by a new pallet carrying a stack of inserts 8 on the support platform 13 of the lifting mechanism 12. This door 40 has a window 40a for to allow the machine operator to see where the level of the stack of inserts 8 is located without having to open the door 40. This is, advantageously, a safety door which actuates a switch (not shown) for stopping the machine as soon as it is opened.

Claims (6)

1. Machine for diecutting blanks from sheets of paper, cardboard or similar material, comprising a sheet feed station (1), a feeder (3), a diecutting station (5), a stripping station for unattached waste (6), a station for separating and delivery of the blanks (7), a discharge station (11) for the waste attached to the blanks (7) and an insertion device (9) for inserting inserts (8) between the blanks (7) as they are stacked, from a storage stack of said inserts (8), characterized in that it comprises a feed compartment (10) to receive the said storage stack of said inserts (8) which occupies the volume situated between the discharge station (11) for the waste attached to the blanks (7) and the base of the machine and a lifting mechanism (12) to raise said storage stack of inserts (8) as inserts (8) are inserted between the stacked blanks (7).
2. Machine according to claim 1, wherein a door (40) is situated on the downstream transverse face of a casing surrounding the machine to enable the storage stack of inserts (8) to be inserted.
3. Machine according to claim 2, wherein said door (40) comprises an observation window (40a).
4. Machine according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said door (40) is a safety door intended to control stoppage of the machine in the event of its being opening.
5. Machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said feed compartment (10) comprises a fixed front stop (19), two movable lateral centring stops (20a, 20b), an actuation device comprising two members (25, 27) for driving the said lateral centring stops (20a, 20b), comprising means (25a, 25b, 27a, 27b) to engage said lateral centring stops (20a, 20b) and move them simultaneously by identical lengths and in opposite directions to one another.
6. Machine according to claim 5, wherein the said feed compartment (10) comprises a rear stop (30) having a position of rest, articulated about a horizontal pivot shaft (31) and a detector (35) for detecting any pivoting of said rear stop (30) about said pivot shaft from its position of rest.

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