Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor section – Load simultaneously engaged between and moved by a plurality...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-03
2001-07-17
Hess, Douglas (Department: 2167)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor section
Load simultaneously engaged between and moved by a plurality...
C198S484100, C198S732000, C198S803130
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260690
ABSTRACT:
The present invention refers to a transport and gathering system of the type used e.g. in paper processing operations. By means of such a system, packs as well as individual sheets can be transported, gathered and transferred to a subsequent machine for further processing, in a start/stop operation at a high cycle rate.
Paper transport and gathering systems are primarily used by large enterprises, banks, insurance companies, service-rendering enterprises, etc. In these enterprises, the transport and gathering systems serve to process large amounts of paper, such as invoices, reminders, statements of account, insurance policies, cheques or advertising leaflets.
Normal transport and gathering systems are provided with a continuous, driven chain or a driven transport belt, which serves to transport e.g. packs of paper sheets. The endless transport belt has arranged thereon pusher lugs arranged behind respective packs in the direction of transport. When the packs are decelerated, spreading out must be prevented by means of holding-down devices for the paper in such a transport and gathering system. The processing of different densities of packs can only be carried out by resilient or movable holding-down devices. The less uniform the density of packs is, the more critical is the processing. The endless belt or the continuous chain having the pusher lugs secured thereto must be lengthened depending on the size of the system. When the system is in operation, such lengthening is often difficult, since this has the effect that the compartment distances between the pusher lugs vary.
The transport rolls or transport belts used in known transport and gathering systems for holding down packs on the transport means are unsuitable for accelerating and decelerating thick packs or packs of different thicknesses, since, when held down by such transport rolls or transport belts, thick packs spread out when they are acclerated and decelerated. Furthermore, such holding-down devices cause dynamic problems when packs of strongly varying thicknesses are being transported.
A further disadvantage of the known transport and gathering system is to be seen in the fact that a central drive must be provided for the whole gathering path. This central drive must be designed for the maximum performance of the system. Such a transport and gathering system can no longer be enlarged when it has reached a certain degree of enlargement. All the drive elements used must be designed for maximum power transmission. This requires a very massive and heavy structrual design, e.g. due to the use of chain drives. From a certain cylce rate onwards, these known systems are, in view of their high mass, no longer suitable for a start/stop operation.
Furthermore, such a known transport and gathering system must be accelerated slowly and decelerated slowly. In the start/stop operation, this takes place over a plurality of cycles. This is the reason for the fact that an optimum through-feed rate is not achieved in the case of different collecting amounts and different cycle times resulting therefrom. When a malfunction occurs, the system is not capable of stopping immediately due to the massive drive, and this can result in a destruction of several packs located on the transport and gathering system.
Starting from the above-mentioned prior art, it is the object of the present invention to provide a transport and gathering system for moving a material to be fed in a direction of transport, said transport and gathering system being modular and theoretically expandable without limit, and the drives used in said transport and gathering system being exclusively low-mass drives.
This object is achieved by a transport and gathering system according to claim
1
.
The present invention provides a transport and gathering system for moving a material to be fed in a direction of transport, comprising a plurality of transport modules having input-side and output-side end sections, each transport module having the following features:
a transport means in the form of at least one endless means guided over a front and a rear roll;
at least one drive for driving the transport means; and
a plurality of pusher means attached to the transport means at predetermined intervals;
wherein said plurality of transport modules is arranged relative to one another in such a way that a respective input-side end section of a first transport module and a respective output-side end section of a second transport module define an overlapping area in which, at least over part of the length of said overlapping area, a respective pusher means of the transport modules defining said overlapping area engages a material to be fed that is to be transported;
and wherein the pusher means engaging the material to be fed and belonging to the rear transport module in the direction of transport is guided in such a way that it tilts away in a direction opposite to the direction of transport when it dives downwards upon reaching the front roll of the rear transport module in the direction of transport.
Preferably, each transport module comprises in addition a plurality of stopper means, each stopper means being attached to the endless means ahead of a pusher means, when seen in the direction of transport, and at a predetermined distance therefrom. The transport means of each transport module consists preferably of a plurality of endless means which are guided over rolls and which are arranged side by side in the direction of transport, whereas the pusher and stopper means consist of a plurality of pushers and stoppers, each pusher and stopper, respectively, being attached to a separate endless means.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the transport means of each transport module comprises two endless means having pushers attached thereto and two endless means having stoppers attached thereto. The overlapping area is preferably formed in that the endless means of a first transport module are arranged in a first structure, gaps being formed between said endless means, and in that the endless means of a second transport module are arranged in a second structure. The respective endless means of the second transport module arranged in the second structure fit into the gaps formed by the endless means of the first transport module which are arranged in said first structure, and vice versa. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the individual transport modules are secured to a carrier unit such that they can be lowered in such a way that the endless means of the various transport modules can easily be interengaged for forming the overlapping area.
According to the present invention each transport module is provided with a separate drive for driving the transport means. The transport modules represent operational modules which can be pretested and which can easily be integrated e.g. in paper handling systems even subsequently at the customer's premises. The number of modules united in one system is not limited. The drives for the individual transport modules must only be designed for the performance in their transport module. Hence, the drive is of very low mass. For this reason, a start/stopp operation can be realized in a very high performance range. An optimization of the through-feed rate in the case of varying amounts of material fed, e.g. due to different collecting amounts, can be realized in the start/stop operation in an optimum manner. According to the present invention, it is not necessary to adapt the through-feed rate to the longest feed time. Idle cycles are not necessary either. When malfunction occurs, the transport and gathering system according to the present invention can be stopped at each cycle end.
The transport and gathering system according to the present invention has a modular structural design. Using two types of transport modules, which are shown in a sectional view in
FIG. 2A
, a transport and gathering system of arbitrary length can be composed. For the purpose of servicing and assembly, each transport module is
Beyer Weaver & Thomas LLP
Bowe Systec AG
Hess Douglas
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