Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor system for establishing and moving a group of items – Subdivides continuous item stream into longitudinally spaced...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-31
2001-10-16
Oberleitner, Robert J. (Department: 3613)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor system for establishing and moving a group of items
Subdivides continuous item stream into longitudinally spaced...
C198S461200, C271S264000, C271S198000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06302260
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for correcting the position of flat objects, in particular printed products, arriving overlapped on a conveyor.
An apparatus of this type is disclosed by CH-A-677 778. A position changing device is arranged in the downstream end region of a first conveyor, between conveyor tapes forming the conveying plane. It has two disks which are arranged beside each other in the conveying plane and driven in opposite directions, on which a displacement cam is situated eccentrically in each case. These displacement cams are intended in each case to come into contact with the trailing edge of each object arriving on the first conveyor in an overlapping stream and to accelerate said object in the conveying direction and feed it to the second conveyor. The latter is assigned a braking device which is intended to brake the objects accelerated by the rotation of the discs to the conveying speed of the second conveyor. By coordinating the circumferential speed of the displacement cams to the conveying speed of the first conveyor and the distance between the printed products in the overlapping formation fed, it is possible to achieve the situation in which the distance between the printed products is made uniform, and the printed products can be conveyed away at a phase angle predefined by the further processing means. Connected upstream of the position changing device is a restraining device constructed as a circulating driven pressing band, in order at least to secure the following printed product, in contact with the printed product accelerated by the displacement cams, against being carried along as well. In addition to the risk of damaging the printed products because of the high speeds, accelerations and retardations associated with this apparatus, in particular at a high processing capacity, there is the risk that if there is a very small distance between the trailing edges of successive printed products, the restraining device is ineffective and the printed product following the printed product on which influence has been exerted will be carried along out of synchronism.
An apparatus which can be employed more universally and with careful handling of the objects is disclosed in the earlier international patent application No. PCT/CH98/00561. It has a displacement element which is moved along a movement path by means of a drive, a working section of the movement path extending at least approximately rectilinearly and at least approximately in the conveying direction of the flat objects, such as printed products. In the working section, the displacement element is driven without retardation at a speed which, at the downstream end of the working section, as the objects are transferred to a second conveyor, is at least approximately equal to the conveying speed of this second conveyor. The frequency with which the displacement element is moved through the working section in the conveying direction F is approximately 1.2 to 1.4 times as high as the quotient of the first conveying speed, at which the objects are fed to the working section, and a permissible minimum distance between the trailing edges of successive objects in the overlapping formation arriving. If the distance between the trailing edges of successive objects in the overlapping formation arriving falls below the permissible minimum distance, there is the risk that the next object, following an object too closely, will be carried along and conveyed onward in an uncorrected manner because of the frictional forces.
It is an object of the present invention to develop the apparatus of the generic type in such a way that the security against inadvertently carrying objects along when correcting the position of objects is increased.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above and other objects and advantages of the invention are achieved by the provision of an apparatus for correcting the position of flat objects as they are conveyed in an overlapping stream, and which comprises a first conveyor and a second conveyor mounted immediately downstream of the first conveyor. A position changing device mounts a plurality of displacement elements which move along a movement path so as to feed the objects on the first conveyor one after the other to the second conveyor by striking a trailing edge of the objects.
A restraining device has, downstream of the displacement element, a restraining element which projects into the movement path of the leading edge of the objects and is moved out of this position outside the region of the movement path of the leading edges only when an object may move past in the correct position. The restraining element forms, so to speak, a lock which in each case permits an object to pass through only at precisely defined times. An object which is not in the correct position is held back until the restraining element releases it in correct phase. As a result of the interaction between the restraining element and the displacement element, both as a result of action on the leading edge and/or trailing edge, it is ensured that in each case only a single object is fed to the second conveyor, and this in correct phase. In addition, in this way the objects are kept in a controlled mutual position during displacement. It is not possible for an adjacent object to be influenced by frictional forces.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3834288 (1974-09-01), Behrens et al.
patent: 4007824 (1977-02-01), Reist
patent: 5100124 (1992-03-01), Pouliquen
patent: 5394974 (1995-03-01), Reist
patent: 5722655 (1998-03-01), Reist
patent: 677778 A5 (1991-06-01), None
patent: WO99/35072 A1 (1999-07-01), None
patent: PCT/CH98/00561 (1999-07-01), None
Alston & Bird LLP
Ferag AG
Kramer Devon
Oberleitner Robert J.
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