Machine element or mechanism – Mechanical movements – Rotary to or from reciprocating or oscillating
Utility Patent
1998-11-20
2001-01-02
Herrmann, Allan D. (Department: 3682)
Machine element or mechanism
Mechanical movements
Rotary to or from reciprocating or oscillating
C074S828000, C074S838000
Utility Patent
active
06167768
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to an apparatus for lifting a pile of flat products, especially a pile of sheets or signatures.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the technology of building books including booklets, magazines, newspapers, periodicals, and so on, he use of collating systems is well known. These systems typically have a transporting device on which individual flat products such as signatures or sheets are gathered to build a book-block set, which then is finished and bound. The transporting devices may be of any kind, such as flat-backs, saddle conveyors or pocket feeders. Pocket feeders typically comprise a plurality of pockets in which the book block is build up or to which additional sheets or signatures, so-called inserts may be added typically a number of hoppers is arranged along the transporting device where each of the hoppers comprises a feeding mechanism for feeding an individual flat product from a pile of signatures onto the transporting device, in order to progressively build up the book-block set or to insert a supplement sheet into a pocket of a pocket feeder or into a newspaper arranged in the pocket. As the individual sheets or signatures are fed from the bottom of the pile it is necessary to provide an apparatus to maintain the lowermost flat product in the pile where this apparatus is able to lift the pile during the feeding operation.
A lifting apparatus of this kind is already known in the art and described in connection with FIG.
4
. The lifting apparatus
10
according to the prior art can be spilt into three sections: a pivoting shaft
12
, an adjustment link
14
and a pile lifting finger
16
movable along a roller
16
′, and having an arm
19
′ with a slot that cooperates with a roller attached with an arm
19
″. The adjustment link
14
is clamped to the pivoting shaft
12
as well as a cam follower arm (not shown). The can follower arm is connected to a cam on a main hopper drive shaft and actuates the cam follower arm. When the arm pivots it rotates the pivoting shaft
12
and the adjustment link
14
respectively. A roller
18
which is mounted on the adjustment link
14
pushes up and guides down the lifting finger
16
. The pile lifting finger
16
therefore is movable along a path indicated by the arrow between positions “A” and “B”. The lifting height of the pile lifting finger
16
can be adjusted by rotating the knob
15
which in turn rotates the adjustment screw
19
. A locking knob
17
is used to fix this position.
It is obvious that the present design does not allow to adjust the height during operation as the adjustment mechanism itself moves up and down during operation. Furthermore, it is also necessary to provide a separate guard around the adjustment as the adjustment moves during operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and to provide a lifting apparatus for lifting a pile of flat products, especially a pile of sheets or signatures in a hopper unit, where the adjustment mechanism does not move together with a movement of the pile lifting finger.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lifting apparatus where the amount of lift can be adjusted to higher and lower position during the operation of the lifting finger (“on the fly”), preferably without the use of any tools.
Now, in order to implement these and still further objects of the invention which will become more apparent as the description proceeds, the apparatus of the present development is manifested by the features that it includes a lift lever, a cam follower arm having a first and second end and being coupled to said lift lever at its first end. Furthermore, a cam follower is connected to the cam follower arm and a drive link is coupled to the second end of the cam follower arm. A drive link roller is connected to the drive link and a guide ramp is provided for guiding said drive lint roller.
By virtue of this arrangement significantly low mass has to be moved during operation of the apparatus. Furthermore, it is possible to adjust the amount of lift without defecting the downward position which results in less impact of the systems components against other hopper components. This again results in less noise and less wear.
REFERENCES:
patent: 490308 (1893-01-01), Pitceathly
patent: 4235130 (1980-11-01), Dulgar et al.
Bechler Russell Alan
Limbert Edward James
Burns Doane Swecker & Mathis L.L.P.
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Herrmann Allan D.
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