Sheet feeding or delivering – Delivering – Rotary conveyor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-26
2003-09-16
Walsh, Donald P. (Department: 3653)
Sheet feeding or delivering
Delivering
Rotary conveyor
C271S069000, C271S202000, C271S204000, C271S216000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06619651
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a process for forming an imbricated stream of first and second printed products, in which in each case a first and a second printed product are located substantially congruently one upon the other (double imbricated formation), and to an apparatus for carrying out the process. The invention also relates to an apparatus for forming and removing an imbricated stream of printed products at optionally a first transfer region or a second transfer region, located downstream of the first transfer region.
Printed products, e.g. newspapers, periodicals, magazines, leaflets and the like, are often conveyed, during production, from one process station to the next in a so-called imbricated arrangement. In an imbricated arrangement, one printed product partially overlaps the printed product which is located beneath, further forward in the conveying direction, with the lateral edges of the printed products, as seen in the conveying direction, terminating essentially flush with one another. In the case of folded printed products, a distinction is made between a forward imbricated arrangement, in which the folded edge of each printed product is located at the front in the conveying direction, and a rearward imbricated arrangement, in which the fold is located at the rear in the conveying direction. The folded edge here may be located at the top or bottom.
Imbricated arrangements are formed, for example, by printed products being individually gripped from a processing drum or from a printed product stack and deposited at regular time intervals on a conveying belt of the removal conveyor, which moves continuously at a predetermined speed. EP-A 0 686 463 and EP-A 0 753 386, and corresponding U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,715,737 and 5,826,476, for example, disclose the operation of individual printing products coming from a processing drum being gripped by grippers arranged at regular intervals on an intermediate conveyor.
For some applications, it is desirable for the printed products not to be conveyed at regular intervals from one another, in which case each printed product just partially overlaps with the one in front and the one behind (single imbricated formation), but to be combined into small groups as a double or multiple imbricated formation. In each case two or more printed products in this case essentially overlap one another, e.g. by being positioned substantially congruently one upon the other. One group, in turn, then only partially overlaps the following group of printed products.
The invention has an object of providing a process and an apparatus for forming an imbricated stream of groups of printed products. The intention, in particular, is to provide a process and an apparatus for forming a double imbricated stream, in which such a group comprises two printed products.
The invention also has the object of further developing a known apparatus for forming an imbricated stream such that it is possible to achieve a higher level of flexibility in respect of the transporting direction and of the type of imbricated formation removed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above and other objects and advantages of the invention are achieved by the provision of a process and apparatus for forming an imbricated stream of first and second printed products in a double imbricated formation, wherein, first and second printed products are individually gripped alternately by an intermediate conveyor and deposited on a conveying belt of the removal conveyor. In each case, a second printed product is fed to the removal conveyor such that it comes to rest substantially congruently, i.e. with maximum overlap, on a first printed product which has already been deposited on the removal conveyor and overlaps the preceding printed product in an imbricated manner. The “first” printed product referred to hereinbelow in each case is the first deposited printed product, which is located at the bottom in a group of printed products. The “second,” printed product referred to is that which rests with maximum overlap on the first printed product. First and second printed products may, although not necessarily, be different. They are different, for example, when different sub-products are grouped to produce a main product and are the same when all that is required is further processing of stacks.
As the intermediate conveyor, use is preferably made of a gripper conveyor with grippers arranged one behind the other in the conveying direction. The “first” grippers referred to are the grippers which grip a first printed product, and the “second” grippers are those for accommodating a second printed product. The first and second grippers may be of identical construction. According to the invention, first grippers with first printed products gripped thereby alternate with second grippers with second printed products gripped thereby. If the intention is to form an imbricated formation with more than two printed products per group, then “third”, “fourth”, etc. printed products are correspondingly positioned on the first and second printed products.
According to the invention, the first and second printed products, which come from a processing drum or from a printed-product stack for example, are individually gripped one behind the other by the intermediate conveyor, which conveys at a conveying speed V
1
. In this process step, a stream of printed products which are spaced apart from one another approximately by the same conveying spacing d is formed. The grippers of the intermediate conveyer preferably run along a closed circulatory path. In a second process step, in a transfer region, in each case a first printed product is fed, for example with the associated first gripper opening, to a conveying belt of the removal conveyor, which conveys at a conveying speed V
2
. In a third process step, in each case a second printed product is fed to the conveying belt such that it comes to rest congruently on a first printed product which has already been deposited.
In order for first and second printed products to be positioned congruently one upon the other, either first and second printed products are released at two transfer locations spaced apart from one another in the conveying direction. For this purpose, the spacing (x
2
−x
1
) between the transfer locations is adapted to the conveying speeds V
1
, V
2
of the intermediate and removal conveyors, the conveying spacing d in the transfer region and the conveying directions relative to one another. x
1
, x
2
are the x coordinates of the first and second transfer locations, respectively, the alignment of the removal conveyor defining the x axis. It is preferably more or less the case that
D
(
V
1
−V
2
)=
V
2
d,
where V
1
, and V
2
, with the same conveying directions, have the same signs. With pronounced curvature of the circulatory path of the intermediate conveyor in the transfer region, V
1
is the speed component in the conveying direction of the removal conveyor.
As an alternative, all the printed products are transferred at a joint transfer location. In this case, in each case a second printed product is pushed congruently onto a first printed product in each case by means of an additional conveyor, which conveys at least substantially at double the conveying speed V′=2V
2
of the second conveyor.
The apparatus according to the invention contains at least one intermediate conveyor with grippers which are moved along a circulatory path and are intended for gripping printed products and supplying the printed products to a transfer region, and a removal conveyor which is designed as a belt conveyor with a conveying belt and is intended for receiving the printed products in the transfer region and removing the printed products, for example, to a further processing station. The apparatus according to the invention also contains at least one initiating means for initiating in each case two successive grippers of the intermediate conveyor in the transfer region, initiation operations taking place at the same tr
Alston & Bird LLP
Ferag AG
Kohner M.
Walsh Donald P.
LandOfFree
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