Sheet feeding or delivering – Feeding – Separators
Utility Patent
1999-03-19
2001-01-02
Skaggs, H. Grant (Department: 3651)
Sheet feeding or delivering
Feeding
Separators
C271S095000, C271S107000
Utility Patent
active
06168148
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an apparatus for separating flat products from a pile of flat products, the apparatus comprising a sucker mechanism having an upper and a lower part.
In the technology of building books, including booklets, magazines, periodicals, and the like, the use of collating systems is well known. Those 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. Typically, a number of feeders are arranged along the transporting device, each of the hoppers comprising a feeding mechanism for feeding an individual flat product from a pile of signatures onto the transporting device, in order to gradually 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. Such feeding mechanisms typically employ a sheet-separating device for separating a sheet or other single flat product from a pile of flat products which is arranged in each hopper. The single flat products are drawn from the pile at its bottom end.
A sheet-separating device of this kind is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 3,988,016. That document discloses a high-speed paper inserting apparatus for insertion of supplements into newspapers. The inserts are placed to form a stack and a vacuum gripping member grips the lowermost insert from the stack and carries it to a pair of nip rollers which transport the insert to an opened newspaper. A single sheet requires a different sucker stroke than a 120 page or pre-inserted section. The different sucker motion requirements are due to the way the sheets or sections have to be positioned and controlled for proper singulation. Generally, the bottom of the stack of heavy sections is elevated to eliminate followers. This is accomplished by repositioning the lift hook and restrictors. When these adjustments are made the vacuum cup motion must be changed. To raise the sucker motion so that it properly engages the pile requires the sucker bar to stroke through a greater angle. The sucker adjustment is very critical. It is desirable to make fine adjustments on the fly. The “on the fly” adjustment also facilitates faster initial set-up. It is therefore necessary that the maximum upward position of the sucker cup for each type of section at any time during a production run. Overdriving the sucker into single sheets and light sections will cause bouncing of the pile and evasive feeding/singulation.
To eliminate these problems, some efforts have previously been made to design a lifting sucker and a lifting sucker drive having means for adjusting the maximum position of the sucker cup. German patent DE 976 134 discloses a suction device having a lifting sucker and a lifting sucker drive. As the sucker separates the individual signatures from the top of a pile of signatures, the maximum lower position of the lifting sucker is adjusted by the drive including adjusting means. This is achieved by changing the angular position of two lever arms which are coupled to each other by a cam lever.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to improve the sucker position of the sheet-separating device. It is further an object to improve the sealing effect of vacuum applied to the lowermost product of a pile of products to be fed from the pile, especially to the grippers of a gripper drum which takes over the flat products for further movement.
Briefly summarized, according to one aspect of the present invention an improved apparatus for separating flat product from a pile of flat products is suggested. The apparatus comprises a sucker mechanism having an upper and a lower part and a central lever with an axis extending through said lever, said axis being movable along said central lever. The central lever is rotatable about the axis and has a first and a second end and a first link located on the first end and a second link located on the second end, the upper part of the sucker mechanism being coupled to the first link and the lower part being coupled to the second link.
Providing a movable axis which extends through the central lever makes it possible to adjust the maximum upward position of the sucker which is the position that requires adjustment depending on the product to be sucked. As some products require an adjustment of the sucker cups to a higher or lower position to better achieve a vacuum seal, the present invention provides an apparatus which meets this demand easily. Due to the geometry of the design and the individual linkages being coupled to other linkages, the maximum height of the cups is adjustable without influencing the maximum lower position of the cups. It is therefore possible to simply adjust the maximum upper position of the vacuum cups by moving the axle which corresponds to the pivot point of the central lever. Shortening the setup time by an adjustment without tools is a further advantage of the present invention, as well as the chance to adjust the cups “on the fly”.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a sheet separating device, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3695606 (1972-10-01), Wirz
patent: 3980293 (1976-09-01), Shelmire
patent: 3988016 (1976-10-01), Merker et al.
patent: 4148473 (1979-04-01), Johnson
patent: 4358101 (1982-11-01), Janecek et al.
patent: 5284334 (1994-02-01), Yamamoto
patent: 5308055 (1994-05-01), Binnen
patent: 5738347 (1998-04-01), Tognino
patent: 5895037 (1999-04-01), Baureis et al.
patent: 976134 (1963-03-01), None
Bechler Russel Alan
Hawkes Richard B.
Bower Kenneth W
Greenberg Laurence A.
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
Lerner Herbert L.
Skaggs H. Grant
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