Sheet feeding or delivering – Delivering – To receiver for pack of sheets
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-24
2004-07-20
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3651)
Sheet feeding or delivering
Delivering
To receiver for pack of sheets
C271S294000, C270S052190, C270S052250, C270S052240
Reexamination Certificate
active
06764073
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention lies in the field of printing presses. The present invention relates generally to a sheet-conveying apparatus, for example, for conveying newspapers, and, more particularly, to a sheet conveying apparatus having collating pockets moving on a track. In particular, the invention relates to an adjustable gripping device for holding folded sheet material sections in such a collating pocket and for separating folded ends of the sections from one another to allow nesting of inserted other sections.
2. Background Information
Sheet-conveying devices, in particular, devices for conveying newspapers, are required to be able to insert or nest or collate various sets of sheets inside one another. Specifically, to create a finished newspaper, a first folded section of the paper, taking the form of a folded sheet section, is opened and at least one second section of the newspaper is inserted between the two sides of the folded sheet section. It is possible that the second section is, itself, a section having third, fourth, or more other sections nested therein in the same manner as the first section. To process such sheets, in particular, newspapers, prior art conveying devices have an angle-shaped pocket that first picks up a first section, opens the first section, and then conveys the opened first section to a delivery station. Prior art systems including pockets include, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,521 to Müller and U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,318 to Newhall. A delivery unit drops the second section into the opened first section to create a nested paper with two sections. This process can be repeated for many different sections to create an entire newspaper.
There is a difficulty associated with the pocket properly opening the first section to the appropriate opening position. To facilitate proper opening, each section is formed with a lap. In other words, the two ends of the folded sheet section are not even. Typically, in a sheet-processing direction, the forward-most end of the folded sheet section is longer than the rear-most end of the folded sheet section. Thus, if the fold of the sheet section is at the bottom of the pocket, when viewing the ends of the folded sheet section in the pocket from above, the forward lap is higher than the rear lap.
In such a position, the folded sheet section can be opened if the forward, higher lap is secured by a device (applying a physical contact and/or air suction) and the pocket or folded sheet section is moved or tilted to allow gravity (possibly assisted with suction) to let the rear lap fall away from the forward lap. After the rear lap has fallen or is moved away from the forward lap, there exists an opening into which a second section can be inserted. Accordingly, a second section can be inserted into or nested within the first section. This combined section can then be inserted into a further section, and so on, to create a multiply nested set of sheets, typically, forming a common newspaper.
The securing device typically takes the form of a finger-shaped gripper. In the opening process, such a gripper is rotated or lowered onto the forward lap to secure the forward lap, and the forward sheet section, to a front wall of the pocket. Some examples of prior art gripper systems in such pockets include U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,770 to Seidel et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,086 to Schlough, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,432 to Thünker et al. However, lap sizes are neither consistent nor equal. Therefore, there is a need to adjust such grippers in a vertical direction with respect to a pocket so that the forward lap is gripped in the most efficient place. Prior art pocket systems solve this positioning problem by vertically adjusting the lowermost surface of the pocket holding the folded sheet section. If such a surface is lowered, the folded section resting thereon is also lowered. Similarly, if the lowermost surface is raised, the folded section resting thereon is also raised. What is needed is more precise lap-gripping adjustment system that is independent of the lowermost surface of the pocket.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,416 to Klopfenstein describes a sheet material conveying apparatus with a plurality of pockets moveable around a track to accept sheet material from sheet material feeders. These pockets permit, for example, a first outer section of a newspaper to first be fed into the pockets by a first sheet material feeder, and then an inner newspaper section to be inserted between the folds of the first outer newspaper section. The Klopfenstein apparatus uses a lift cam
20
to move a semicircular actuator gear
150
to rotate a drive shaft
110
so as to set a height for pocket feet
90
disposed on racks
80
. A pawl and ratchet mechanism prevents the pocket from opening. The sheet material can then be accepted and inserted into the pockets. To deliver the sheet material, a trip cam
22
can release the pawl and ratchet mechanism. Tracks
80
move to a lower position through a biasing spring, so that feet
90
release through operation of a driver cam
130
. The sheet material in the pocket can, thus, move out of the pocket from the bottom to be further conveyed or to be stacked. The entirety of Klopfenstein is hereby incorporated by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,888 to Eugster purports to describe pockets moveable along an endless path. Each pocket is provided with two vertically adjustable stops
14
mounted displaceably in a pocket carrier
8
. A guide member
28
purportedly can be set to vertically adjust the stops
14
as the pockets are moved along the endless path.
Other examples of adjustment devices for the bottom of a pocket can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,202 to Kircher, U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,710 to Hansen et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,968 to Linder et al.
These prior art pocket systems do not provide an adjustment device for setting placement of grippers at the top of the pocket or at the gripper location itself.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an adjustable gripping device for adjustable sheet-receiving pockets and method for adjusting sheet-receiving pockets that overcome the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and that better separates the forward lap from the rearward lap by adjusting grippers in a vertical direction with respect to a pocket so that the forward lap is gripped in the most efficient place.
Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/662,277, entitled “SHEET MATERIAL CONVEYING APPARATUS WITH INDIVIDUALLY-ADJUSTABLE POCKETS” filed on Sep. 14, 2000, describes a plurality of manually-adjustable pockets, each having a setting device for adjusting a height of the pocket.
Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/702,012, entitled “SHEET MATERIAL CONVEYING APPARATUS WITH HEIGHT-ADJUSTABLE POCKETS” filed on Oct. 30, 2000, describes a plurality of manually adjustable pockets, each having a setting device for adjusting a height of the pocket so as to define a set height.
Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/178,651, entitled “ADJUSTABLE GRIPPING DEVICE FOR ADJUSTABLE SHEET RECEIVING POCKETS AND METHOD FOR ADJUSTING SHEET RECEIVING POCKETS” and filed concurrently herewith, describes a different gripper adjusting system
70
having an adjustable gripper
71
with two main parts, a gripper body
72
and an adjustment device
73
including a pivot
75
, a cam follower
77
, and an adjustment body
79
in the form of a two-arm rocker. Depending on a placement setting of a vertically adjustable cam
26
, the adjustment body
79
pivots and moves a nose
74
of gripper body
72
along the surface of upper front wall
52
away from or towards the uppermost edge of the rearward lap
63
.
Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/178,642, entitled “LAP SEPARATOR FOR SHEET-RECEIVING POCKETS AND METHOD FOR SEPARATING LAPS IN SHEET-RECEIVING POCKETS” and filed concurrently herewith, describes a lap separator system
70
Kaya Mehmet Oktay
Luxem Heiner Philipp
Deuble Mark A.
Ellis Christopher P.
Greenberg Laurence A.
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Mayback Gregory L.
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