GB2340825A

GB2340825A - Signature feed

Info

Publication number: GB2340825A
Application number: GB9818113A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Thomas Hazell; Mehmet Oktay Kaya; Ian Ralph; Gary Frank Rogers; Kathryn Elaine Skipp; Andrew Malcolm Smart; Martin Brewster; Keith Arthur Bromwich; Paul Edgley
Original assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Current assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Priority date: 1998-08-19
Filing date: 1998-08-19
Publication date: 2000-03-01
Also published as: EP0980839A2; EP0980839A3; GB9818113D0

Abstract

A signature 10, or sheet feed, comprises a rotating drum 14 which grips the signature by vacuum to remove it from a bottomless holder 12, and by movement in direction B carries it to a conveyor 38 onto which it drops when released by the drum. The signatures are supported by a battery of preferably driven rollers 22 moving linearly with the drum. The holder may be vertical. As shown the conveyor is a saddle chain, but may be a pocket feeder or flat-back conveyor.

Description

Dumeur 13.08.98 2340825 FEEDING APPARATUS The present invention relates to

an apparatus for feeding single flat products, such as sheets or signatures, from a pile of flat products to a transport device.

In & technology of building books including booklets, magazines, periodicals and so on, the use of a collating system is well known. These systems typically have a transporting device on which individual signatures are gathered to build a book block set which then is finished and bound. Typically, a number of hoppers is arranged along the transport device, where each of the hoppers comprises feeding means for feeding an individual signature from a pile of signatures onto the transport device, in order progressively to build the book block set. The collated book block set then is transported to one or more further working stations where it may be bound and trimmed.

Primarily, there are three kinds of transport devices on which the individual sheets or signatures are gathered, where the first is a socalled flat back on which signatures or individual sheets are fed lying flat on one of their sides on the transport device which normally has the form of a flat conveying belt. Such a system is for example known from US 3,717,337. For gathering individual signatures a plurality of hoppers is arranged above or alongside the transporting belt. In each of the hoppers a so-called pile of individual signatures is arranged and each hopper comprises a transport mechanism for transporting individual signatures drawn from the pile onto the transporting belt in flat form.

A further known transport device, especially for gathering and transporting signatures, is known as a so-called saddle gatherer which comprises a support in the form of an inverted V. The folded sheets or signatures are fed from a pile arranged in a hopper, to the inverted V-shaped support, the so- called saddle. Generally, each hopper is loaded with a pile of signatures with their folded ends downwards and comprises a feeding mechanism which spreads the open end of the signature and drops them onto the saddle. Such a mechanism is for example known from US 3,809,384, where individual signatures are gripped by a gripper of a feeding drum on their folded ends, rotated to a stop position, delivered to a set Dumeur A 02297 13.08.98 -2- of opener drums which spread apart the open ends of the signature and drop the signatures onto the saddle.

In a third kind of transpor-t device the individual sheets or signatures are delivered from a pile of signatures being arranged in a hopper to one of a plurality of sheet material assembly which travel in a continuous path and, subsequently, pass beneath the hoppers. A transport device of this kind is for example known from US 4,988,086, where a plurality of sheet material assemblies, so-called pockets, travel in a continuous path beneath a plurality of hoppers being arranged along the path of the sheet material assembly. Each hopper is bottomless and comprises a pile of sheet material. The sheet material assemblies include at least one belt which supports the piles of the sheet material in the bottomless hopper and which move with the sheet material assembly. The upper ends of the belt moves in the opposite direction to the sheet material assembly and at the same speed as the sheet material assembly so that the upper ends of the belts are stationary relative to the piles of sheet material. When a sheet material assembly passes under a bottomless hopper, a single sheet of the pile of sheets arranged in the hopper is fed from the pile to a pocket.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved feeding apparatus for feeding one flat product from a pile of flat products to a transport device wherein marking of the flat products during feeding is avoided and where the feeding apparatus can be used for different kinds of transport devices.

The problem underlying the present invention is solved by a feeding apparatus according to claim 1.

Generally, the present invention provides a new and improved feeding apparatus for feeding flat products from a pile of flat products to a transporting device where the apparatus separates a single flat product from a pile. The feeding apparatus comprises a rotatable separation drum which is rotatable about an axle extending through the drum. The axle furthermore is movable linearly along a predetermined linear path such as a straight or curved line. The rotatable separation drum moves linearly together with the axle and Dumeur A 02297 13.08.98 -3 - rotates in the opposite direction during this linear movement. The combination of the rotary movement of the separation drum with the linear movement of this drum along a predetermined path leads to a smooth peeling of one of the signatures from the pile as the combined linear and rotary movement makes it possible to reduce the speed of peeling off the flat product from the pile to essentially 0 when the drum rotates in the direction of its linear movement. The smooth peeling is achieved by a working procedure of the feeding apparatus where the separation drum rotates, grips one flat product of the pile and pulls one edge of the flat product down. Upon further rotation and simultaneous linear movement of the separation drum in the same direction, the flat product is peeled from the bottom of the pile and wrapped around the drum. Simultaneously with the rotational movement the, drum moves for-ward along a predetermined path as an axle extending through the drum moves along this path. The drum continues moving along the predetermined path and rotating until the flat product is peeled from the pile completely. Finally the drum reaches a position over the transporting device where it can release the flat product, in order to deliver it to the transport device.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the feeding apparatus comprises a bottomless signature holder and a linearly movable shuttle. This linearly movable shuttle has means for covering the bottom of the pile during its movement and preferably takes up the rotatable separation drum.

As the feeding apparatus according to the present invention has only one drum for separating and opening a signature it comprises short make-ready time. Furthermore it is easy to load and gives a good placement of the flat products on the transporting device.

Several preferred embodiments of feeding apparatus according to the present invention are now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. I is a schematic side view of a first embodiment of the feeding apparatus, Dumeur A 02297 13.08.98 Fig. 2 is a schematic side view of the feeding apparatus of figure 1 at a first position relative to a transport device, Fig. 3 is a schematic side view of the feeding apparatus of figure 1 at a second position relative to a transport device, Fig. 4 is a schematic side view depicting the feeding apparatus of figure I at a third position relative to a transport device, Fig. 5 is a schematic side view depicting the feeding apparatus of figure 1 at a fourth C> position relative to a transport device, Fig. 6 is a schematic side view depicting the feeding apparatus of figure 1 at a fifth position relative to a transport device, Fig. 7 is a schematic side view depicting the feeding apparatus of figure 1 at a sixth position relative to a transport device, Fig. 8 is a schematic side view of an alternative embodiment where the feeding apparatus moves vertically, Fig. 9 shows a perspective schematic side view of a feeding apparatus for feeding flat products to a flat back, and Fig. 10 shows a perspective schematic side view of a feeding apparatus for feeding flat products to a pocket feeder.

In the embodiment of Fig. 1 a pile of signatures 10 is placed in a signature holder 12. The feeding apparatus 20 comprises a rotatable separation drum 14 and an axle 16 extending through the rotatable drum 14. The feeding apparatus 20 is arranged alongside a transport device 18 in the form of a saddle conveyor to which one of the signatures from the pile of Dumeur A 02297 13.08.98 - 5 - signatures 10 shall be delivered. Instead of a saddle conveyor, the transport device could be a flat-back or a pocket feeder, as shown in figures 9 and 10.

The signature holder 12 is bottomless and the bottom of the pile of signatures 10 is supported by cover elements, which are part of a movable shuttle and may for example be guide plates. However, as shown in Fig. 1, it is preferred to use a plurality of rollers (a socalled roller battery 22) to cover the bottom of the pile. The rollers are arranged parallel to the separation drum 14 and are able to move linearly with it. The rollers of the roller battery may be driven so that their surface does not slide across the signatures or be freely turning and rotating by friction as they move across the base of the pile. The preferably freely running roller battery 22 consists of a plurality of spaced apart single rollers 24 which are arranged side by side. The roller battery 22 is divided into a first part 22a and a second part 22b where the first part is separated from the second part by the separation drum 14. A combination of a fixed lever arm 26 and a drive unit 28 makes the arrangement of the first and second part of the roller battery 22a, 22b movable along a predetermined linear path together with the separation drum 14 where the drum rotates during its linear movement in the opposite direction to the linear movement.

Referring now to Fig. 2 the first and second parts 22a, 22b of the roller battery and the separation drum are preferably arranged in a shuttle 30 and are kept in fixed positions relative to each other. Both the drum 14 and the roller battery 22 are in their initial position at which the drum begins to rotate about an axis defined by an axle 16 in the sense or direction given by the arrow A. The second part 22b of the roller battery supports the bottom of the pile of signatures 10. As soon as the drum 14 begins to rotate, the first and the second parts 22a, 22b of the roller battery begin to move linearly along a predetermined path across the bottom of the pile 10 together with the axle 16 of the drum 14 in the direction given by the arrow B. The drum 14 therefore rotates and moves linearly, respectively. The linear movement of the drum 14 causes it to grip the bottom most signature of the pile of signatures 10 at the folded edge or spine of the signature with a gripper 34 mounted on the drum 14 and preferably being of a vacuum type.

Dumeur A 02297 13.08.98 -6- As schematically shown in Fig. 3 the signature 32 is peeled from the pile 10 and wrapped around the drum 14, while the drum 14 is moving forward and rotating about the axle 16. The first and second part of the free running roller battery 22a, 22b follow the movement of the drum and support an empty square under the signature pile 10 until the drum arrives at its final position.

When the open end of the signature 32 has been peeled off, the inner side of the end of the signature is held by a lap gripper or end vacuum pad 36 on the drum 14, as shown in Fig. 4. The drum continues moving linearly along the predetermined path towards the saddle chain 38 and is still rotating until the open side of the signature is over the saddle chain 38. In order to reduce the length of the course over which the drum 14 has to be moved linearly the rotating speed is increased as soon as the drum 14 has cleared the end of the pile 10. This can be achieved by changing the ratio between the speed of the linear movement of the axle 16 and the speed of rotation of the separation drum 14. The rotary movement of the drum 14 and its linear movement can be coupled. For this purpose e. g. a belt and pulley mechanism, a rack and pinion mechanism or a planetary gear system can be used. By changing the number and distances of the teeth of the belt or rack, the desired change of the ratio of movements can be achieved. It is also possible to drive the linear and rotary movement independently from each other. In this case the change of the speed ratio can easily be achieved by increasing the linear speed or decreasing the rotary speed by the corresponding drive.

Referring now to Fig. 5, the final position of the linear movement of the drum is shown. As soon as the end of the signature releases from an adjustable guide plate 40, the outside of the signature is released while the inside edge remains held by the gripper 34, which may be e. g. a vacuum cup. At this point, the free edge moves over the saddle chain and both linear and angular movement stop.

The shuttle 30 now starts return, which means that the linear movement of the first and second parts of the roller battery 22a, 22b and the axle 16 starts in the direction given by the arrow C, opposite to the direction of arrow B (Fig. 2). At this time, the inside edge of Dumeur A 02297 13.08.98 -7- the signature 32 is released from the lap gripper 36 and the rotational movement of the drum 14 is reversed simultaneously. This pulls the open signature 10 downwardly onto the saddle chain 38 where it is released as shown in Fig. 6. A feeder pin (not shown) on the saddle chain 3 8 pushes the signature 10 forward to the next feeding station where another signature may be delivered to the saddle chain transporting device.

Upon further movement of the shuttle 30 in the direction of arrow C, the first part of the roller battery 22a closes the open area under the pile of signatures 10. The separation drum 14 continues rotating in the sense given by the arrow D and the shuttle continues moving linearly back across the bottom of the pile of signatures 10 until it is in position to pick up the next signature spine as shown in Fig. 7. At this time, linear and rotational movement stop and the shuttle 30 starts to move forward again. As this position corresponds to the position given in Fig. 2 the separation drum 14 simultaneously starts to rotate in the direction given by the arrow A and to peel the next signature from the pile 10.

Whereas in the embodiments of Fig. I - 7 the feeding apparatus is arranged horizontally with respect to the transporting device 18, 38 it may alternatively be arranged vertically as shown in Fig. 8. A plurality of signatures is arranged in a pile 10 where the signatures stand vertically on their folded ends. A separation drum 14 rotates in the direction given by the arrow A around an axis 16 extending through the drum 14. According to the description of Fig. 2 to 7, the first signature 42 of the pile of signatures is peeled from the pile 10 upon a combined linear movement B and rotary movement A of the drum 14.

Furthermore, the apparatus may comprise means for supporting the pile on its open end and for closing the open area of the pile facing the separation drum 14. As shown in Fig. 2 to 7 this means is movable linearly together with the axle 16 and, as a consequence, the separation drum 14 respectively. Although it is possible to use guide plates which preferably have some equipment for reduction of the friction between the signature and the plate or a combination of guide plates and rollers, it is preferred to use a plurality of rollers, a so-called roller battery, where the rollers are arranged parallel to the separation drum 14 and moving linearly with it. The rollers of the roller battery may be driven so that their Dumeur A 02297 13.08.98 -8- surface does not slide across the signatures or be free turning and rotating by friction as they move across the base of the pile. As soon as the signature 42 has reached a position above the saddle 38, the drum 14 releases the signature, and the spread open sheet falls onto the saddle chain 38.

Although the feeding device has been described with respect to a saddle chain it may alternatively be used with any other transporting device such as a pocket feeder or a flatback conveyor. A possible embodiment in connection with a pocket feeder is shown in Fig. 9. The feeding device 20 has a bottomless signature holder 12 and a pile of signatures 10 is to arranged in the holder. The feeding apparatus furthermore comprises a rotatable separation drum 14 and an axle 16 extending through the rotatable drum 14. The feeding apparatus 20 is arranged alongside a pocket feeder 44 having a plurality of pockets 48 to each of which one of the signatures of the pile of signatures 10 shall be delivered. To deliver a signature 42 to the pocket it has to be fed downwardly with the folded edge leading. This can be achieved by adjusting the timing of the grippers mounted on the separation drum, where the grippers or vacuum pads 34 and 36 co-operate in a way to release the signature when the folded edge is in a leading position downwardly.

However the signature 42 could also be fed to the pocket with its folded edge leading as described in Fig. 2-7 if the signatures are arranged in the holder 12, such that the separation drum 14 does not grip the folded edge but the open edge of the signature. Corresponding to the description of Fig. 2 to 7, the signature 42 is fed to a position above the pocket but with the folded edge facing downwardly.

The feeding apparatus according to the present invention can also be used in co-operation with a flat-back conveyor as schematically shown in Fig. 10. Again, the the feeding device 20 has a bottomless signature or sheet holder 12 and a pile of signatures or sheets 10 is arranged in the holder 12. The feeding apparatus 20 furthermore comprises a rotatable separation drum 14 and an axle 16 extending through the rotatable drum 14. The feeding apparatus 20 is arranged alongside a flat-back conveyor 46 having the form of a belt and having feeder pins 50 secured to the belt. To guarantee a precise delivery of the signature Dumeur A 02297 13.0898 -9or sheet 42 to a receiving location 52 on the belt, a single signature 42 is peeled from the pile 10 as described above with reference to Fig. 2-7. The belt conveyor 46 however is arranged close to the final position of the drum 14 so that the signature 42 may be delivered onto the belt properly.

It will of course be understood that the present invention has been described above purely by way of example and that modifications of the detail can be made within the scope of the invention.

Dumeur A 02297 13.08.98 - 10-

Claims

1. An apparatus for feeding a single flat product, such as a sheet or signature from a pile of flat products to a transport device said apparatus comprising a drum for gripping one of the flat products of the pile, the drum being rotatable about an axis extending through the drum and means for moving the drum along a predetermined path during the rotation of the drum.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, and further comprising a holder for holding the pile of flat products, having an opening for peeling one of the flat products from the pile, and movable means for supporting the pile at the opening during the movement of the drum.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the movable means for supporting the pile comprises a roller battery having plurality of rollers arranged parallel to the drum and movable together with the drum.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the rollers of the roller battery are driven by a separate drive means.

5. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the rollers of the roller battery are freely turning and rotating by friction.

6. An apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the roller battery comprises a first and a second part, wherein said first part is separated from said second part by the drum.

Dunieur A 02297 13.08,98

7. An apparatus according to any one of claims I to 6, comprising means for rotating the drum, wherein said means for moving the drum is coupled to said means for rotating the drum.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said means for moving the drum comprises a rack and pinion mechanism.

9. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said means for moving the drum comprises a belt and pulley mechanism. to

10. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1-6, comprising means for rotating the drum wherein said means for moving the drum and said means for rotating the drum are driven independently from each other.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said drive means is a servo motor

12. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said drive means is a rack and pinion mechanism.

13. An apparatus for feeding flat products, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. A bindery line comprising a product feeding conveyor and further a plurality of apparatuses according to any one of claims 1-13 being arranged alongside of said conveyor.

15. A method for feeding flat products, such as sheets or signatures from a pile of flat products to a transport device comprising the steps of Durneur A 02297 13.08.98 - 12- - rotating a separation drum in a first sense around an axis extending through the drum in a first direction, the drum being arranged on an accessable side of the pile and gripping one of the flat products of the pile, - peeling one of the flat products from the pile and wrapping the flat product around the drum while simultaneously moving the drum from a starting position to a final position along a predetermined path.

16. A method according to claim 15, the method further comprising the steps of - stopping the movement of the drum and the rotation of the drum at said final position, - delivering the Oat product to a transporting device while moving the drum towards the starting position and simultaneously rotating the drum in a sense opposite to the first sense.

is

17. A method aecord ing to claim 15 or 16, wherein the ratio between the speed of said movemen. of the drum and the speed of rotation of the drum is constant.

18. A method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the ratio between the speed of said movemc-n. of the drum and the speed of rotation of the drum is variable during the movem,l-ri,, of the drum and the rotation of the drum.

19. A method.,cci.-ding to claim 15, said metli,)J heing substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompa-i i n drawings.