U.S. patent application number 10/818665 was filed with the patent office on 2004-10-21 for handling system.
This patent application is currently assigned to GAMMERLER AG. Invention is credited to Gammerler, Gunter, Kunz, Peter, Meisel, Ronald, Schubart, Ralf Peter.
Application Number | 20040207149 10/818665 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32892425 |
Filed Date | 2004-10-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040207149 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gammerler, Gunter ; et
al. |
October 21, 2004 |
Handling system
Abstract
A system for the handling of paper products has a cross-stacker,
a pressing module and a dispensing module which are arranged along
a straight conveying path. A rotation device which permits a
rotation of a stack of paper products by 180.degree. is
provided.
Inventors: |
Gammerler, Gunter; (Gelting,
DE) ; Meisel, Ronald; (Kochel am See, DE) ;
Kunz, Peter; (Geretsried, DE) ; Schubart, Ralf
Peter; (Kochel am See, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FITCH EVEN TABIN AND FLANNERY
120 SOUTH LA SALLE STREET
SUITE 1600
CHICAGO
IL
60603-3406
US
|
Assignee: |
GAMMERLER AG
|
Family ID: |
32892425 |
Appl. No.: |
10/818665 |
Filed: |
April 6, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
271/207 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 31/3054 20130101;
B65B 27/08 20130101; B65H 2701/1932 20130101; B65H 2402/351
20130101; B65H 29/66 20130101; B65H 2301/4223 20130101; B65H
2301/42112 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
271/207 |
International
Class: |
B65H 005/00; B65H
031/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 17, 2003 |
DE |
103 17 948.8 |
Claims
1. A system for handling of paper products supply in an overlapping
stream, comprising: a cross-stacker for forming a stack of paper
products with a plurality of part layers respectively rotated by
180.degree.; a pressing module adjoining the cross-stacker and
comprising a rotation device which permits rotation of the stack by
180.degree.; and a dispensing module for presentation of the stack,
wherein the cross-stacker, the pressing module and the dispensing
module have conveying devices, which convey the stack from the
cross-stacker along a straight conveying path up to the
presentation.
2. A system in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the
cross-stacker has a conveying device which supplies the overlapping
stream in the direction of the straight conveying path.
3. A system in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the
pressing module has an expulsion which extends at right angles to
the straight conveying path.
4. A system in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the
pressing module has an electrostatic blocking device.
5. A system in accordance with claim 1, comprising a strapping
device in the region of the pressing module or following the
pressing module.
6. A pressing module for a system in accordance with claim 1,
comprising a pressing device to press the stack in the vertical
and/or horizontal direction, wherein the conveying device conveys
the stack along the straight conveying path inside the pressing
module.
7. A pressing module in accordance with claim 6, comprising an
expulsion path which extends at right angles to the straight
conveying path.
8. A pressing module in accordance with claim 6, comprising an
electrostatic blocking device and/or a strapping device.
9. A method for handling of paper products supplied in an
overlapping stream, comprising the following steps: a) conveying a
plurality of products of a product stream of paper products into a
cross-stacker and forming a stack including an even number of part
layers arranged rotated by 180.degree.; b) conveying the stack from
the cross-stacker into a pressing module and compressing the stack
and rotating the stack by 180.degree.; and c) conveying the stack
from the pressing module to a dispensing module and presentation of
the stack, wherein the conveying of the stack from the
cross-stacker up to the dispensing module takes place along a
straight conveying path.
10. A method in accordance with claim 9, characterized in that the
stacker in the pressing module is expelled at right angles to the
conveying path in case of malfunction.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a system for the handling
of paper products supplied in an overlapping stream.
[0002] Such systems are generally known and serve to convey paper
products provided with a fold, such as brochures or magazines, and
to form stacks from the paper products which are subsequently
presented for palletization or for further transport.
[0003] It is known in this connection to use so-called
cross-stackers to form individual part stacks arranged rotated by
180.degree. when forming the stack so that the paper products
provided with a fold form a uniform stack in total. It is also
known to compress the paper products formed into a stack which have
left a cross-stacker with the help of a pressing device and,
optionally, to strap them in order to obtain compact product stacks
which can subsequently be palletized by a palletizing device, for
example by a palletizing robot.
[0004] The overlapping stream of paper products conveyed to a
cross-stacker is generally conveyed such that the products are
oriented in the conveying direction with the fold to the front. If
a stack is subsequently formed on the cross-stacker which includes
an even number of part layers, this has the consequence that the
fold of the bottommost part layer is oriented counter to the
conveying direction. If the stack were conveyed out of the
cross-stacker in such an orientation, this could damage the
bottommost product layer since the bottommost paper product is open
to the front, i.e. in the direction of transport. It is therefore
necessary to rotate the already completely formed stack by
180.degree. again in the cross-stacker so that the fold of the
bottommost layer is oriented toward the front in the conveying
direction.
[0005] It is the object of the present invention to provide an
apparatus and a method for the handling of paper products supplied
in an overlapping stream with which an increased speed of handling
is possible and reduced space requirements are needed for the
installation of the handling system.
[0006] This object is satisfied by the features of the independent
claims.
[0007] In accordance with the invention, the system for the
handling of paper products has a cross-stacker, a pressing module
adjacent to the cross-stacker and a dispensing module, with the
cross-stacker, the pressing module and the dispensing module having
conveying devices which convey the stack formed in the
cross-stacker from the cross-stacker along a straight conveying
path up to being presented in the region of the dispensing module.
In other words, the stack is conveyed only in a linear manner in
the region of the system, without a deflection of the stack by
90.degree. taking place. Furthermore, a rotation device which
permits a rotation of the stack by 180.degree. is provided in the
pressing module which is adjacent to the cross-stacker. The
rotation procedure which is required when a stack has been formed
with an even number of part layers can hereby by carried out
outside the cross-stacker, whereby the cycle time can be
substantially shortened. Since a further rotation of the formed
stack which is carried out outside the cross-stacker in the
pressing module can be omitted in accordance with the invention,
the cycle time inside the cross-stacker, which is decisive for the
handling system, can be reduced by approximately 25% so that an
increase in the total cycle time by approximately 25% is possible
with the system in accordance with the invention. At the same time,
a particularly gentle handling of the product is ensured and only
small space requirements are needed, since the stack of paper
products formed in the cross-stacker is conveyed only along a
straight conveying path which has no corner turns, curves or the
like.
[0008] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in
the description, in the drawing and in the dependent claims.
[0009] In accordance with a first advantageous embodiment, the
cross-stacker has a conveying device which supplies the overlapping
stream in the direction of the straight conveying path. With this
variant, a particularly gentle product treatment results, on the
one hand, and particularly low space requirements, on the other
hand, since--starting from the conveying device--all handling
modules are oriented along a straight line.
[0010] In accordance with a further advantageous embodiment, the
pressing module can have an expulsion path which extends at right
angles to the straight conveying path. It is advantageously
possible hereby to expel product stacks to the side if a
malfunction occurs in the region of the subsequent conveying path
such that it is not necessary to stop the printing machine.
[0011] The pressing module in accordance with the invention has, in
addition to the rotation device for the rotation of the stack by
180.degree., a pressing device which compresses the stack in the
vertical and/or horizontal direction.
[0012] The present invention will be described in the following
purely by way of example with reference to an advantageous
embodiment and to the enclosed drawings. There are shown:
[0013] FIG. 1 a plan view of an embodiment of a system for the
handling of paper products; and
[0014] FIG. 2 a perspective view of a pressing module.
[0015] FIG. 1 shows a system for handling paper products supplied
in an overlapping stream comprising a cross-stacker 10, a pressing
module 20, strapping devices 40 and a dispensing module 50. As FIG.
1 shows, in this process all modules are arranged along a straight
conveying path.
[0016] The cross-stacker 10 has a conveying device 12 which
supplies the overlapping stream of paper products in the direction
of the straight conveying path with the fold at the front. The
paper products then fall into a collection chute in the region of a
stacking chamber 14 provided with a rotation device 15 and are
stacked on top of one another there, with a plurality of part
layers each rotated by 180.degree. being formed with the help of
the rotation device 15. Such cross-stackers are sufficiently known
from the prior art. Purely by way of example, reference is made in
this connection to the German patent application 198 00 162.2 of
the present applicant whose content is taken into this application
by reference.
[0017] The stack formed in the cross-stacker is conveyed by a
conveying device, for example an ejector 16, provided in the region
of the cross-stacker 10 in the direction of the straight conveying
path to the pressing module 20 which compresses the stack of paper
products and rotates it by 180.degree. as required. The compressed
stack is subsequently passed on to the strapping devices 40 with
the help of conveying devices 24 (cf. FIG. 2) provided in the
region of the pressing module, said strapping devices strapping the
stack and conveying it on along the straight conveying path to the
dispensing module 50 which presents the stack for palletization in
the region of the straight conveying path.
[0018] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the pressing module 20 in
FIG. 1. The pressing module 20 has a base rack 22 which is provided
with a plurality of conveying elements 24 to convey a product stack
along the straight conveying path. A pressing unit 26 is provided
in the upper region of the pressing module 20 and compresses the
stack in the vertical direction after it has previously been
aligned in the horizontal direction by lateral alignment plates
28.
[0019] A rotation device 30 is provided in the region of the
pressing module 20 and permits a rotation of the stack located in
the pressing module 20 about a vertical axis. In this process, the
stack can be rotated by 180.degree..
[0020] An expulsion path 32 is provided at right angles to the
conveying direction of the conveying devices 24, i.e. at right
angles to the straight conveying path, and product stacks can be
expelled with its aid onto an expulsion table 34 (FIG. 1) if a
malfunction occurs subsequent to the pressing module 20 such that
the printing machine does not have to be stopped. In this case, a
product stack located in the region of the pressing module 20 is
ejected transversely to the straight conveying path into the
expulsion path 32 by an ejector.
[0021] An overlapping stream of paper products is conveyed via the
conveying device 12 into the cross-stacker 10 with the fold at the
front using the system shown in FIG. 1 for the handling of paper
products, with a stack being formed from the individual paper
products there which has a plurality of part layers each rotated by
180.degree.. As soon as the stack formed inside the cross-stacker
is complete, the stack is ejected from the stacking chamber 14 of
the cross-stacker 10 with the help of the ejector 16, irrespective
of whether the bottommost part layer is oriented with the fold to
the front or to the rear.
[0022] The stack is subsequently conveyed into the pressing module
20 with the aid of the conveying device 24 of the pressing module
20 following the cross-stacker 10, is laterally aligned with the
aid of the alignment plates 28 and is vertically compressed with
the help of the pressing unit 26. If it is a case of a stack with
an even number of part layers, the stack located in the pressing
module 20 is rotated by 180.degree. with the help of the rotation
device 30 such that the bottommost part layer is oriented with the
fold to the front and is not damaged on the further transport along
the straight conveying path.
[0023] The stack is subsequently conveyed along the straight
conveying path into the region of the strapping devices 40 with the
help of conveying devices and is there strapped in the longitudinal
direction and/or in the transverse direction.
[0024] After leaving the strapping devices 40, the stack moves via
conveying devices 52 into the region of the dispensing module 50 in
which the stack is presented for palletization with the help of the
palletization device 60.
[0025] If a malfunction occurs in that section which follows the
pressing module 20, every stack located in the region of the
pressing module 20 is ejected into the expulsion path 32 at right
angles to the straight conveying path and from there to the
expulsion table 34. This is carried out until the malfunction has
been eliminated.
[0026] The present invention is not limited to the embodiment
shown. The pressing module 20 can, for example, also be provided
with a combined blocking device with the help of electrostatic
devices. It is also possible to integrate strapping devices into
the pressing module 20.
[0027] Reference Numeral List
[0028] 10 cross-stacker
[0029] 12 conveying device
[0030] 14 stacking chamber
[0031] 15 rotation device
[0032] 16 ejector
[0033] 20 pressing module
[0034] 22 base rack
[0035] 24 conveying device
[0036] 26 pressing unit
[0037] 28 alignment plates
[0038] 30 rotation device
[0039] 32 expulsion path
[0040] 34 expulsion table
[0041] 40 strapping devices
[0042] 50 dispensing module
[0043] 52 conveying device
[0044] 60 palletization device
* * * * *