Title: Device for pushing a stack of printed products from a table
Abstract: A device for pushing a stack of printed products from a table on which the stack is stacked has a stacking receptacle provided on the table and receiving the printed products for stacking. The stacking receptacle is defined by four lateral edges of the printed products and has two opposed lateral guide walls viewed in a pushing direction of pushing out the stack of printed products. The guide walls each have vertical guide rails moveable along the guide walls in the pushing direction. The guide rails on the opposed guide walls are positioned opposite one another in guide rail pairs forming a forward receptacle boundary and a rearward receptacle boundary in the pushing direction. The rearward receptacle boundary in the pushing direction is a pushing device for the stack of printed products.
Patent Number: 6,966,743 Issued on 11/22/2005 to Eugster
| Inventors:
|
Eugster; Albert (Strengelbach, CH)
|
| Assignee:
|
Müller Martini Holding AG (Hergiswil, CH)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
440558 |
| Filed:
|
May 15, 2003 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Current U.S. Class: |
414/790.3; 414/788.9; 414/789; 414/789.1; 414/900 |
| Intern'l Class: |
B65G 057/00 |
| Field of Search: |
414/7883,788.9,789,789.1,790.3,791.3,791.4,900
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 3532230 | Oct., 1970 | Gutberlet et al.
| |
| 3595370 | Jul., 1971 | Fujishiro.
| |
| 3599807 | Aug., 1971 | Hedrick et al.
| |
| 4055245 | Oct., 1977 | Sundberg.
| |
| 4068567 | Jan., 1978 | Allison et al.
| |
| 4103785 | Aug., 1978 | Wiseman.
| |
| 4725180 | Feb., 1988 | Kasamatsu et al.
| |
| 4749077 | Jun., 1988 | Sjogren.
| |
| 5433582 | Jul., 1995 | Medina.
| |
| 6692220 | Feb., 2004 | Pluss et al.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 567996 | Oct., 1975 | CH.
| |
| 0153983 | Sep., 1985 | EP.
| |
| 2806396 | Sep., 2001 | FR.
| |
Primary Examiner: Hess; Douglas
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Kueffner; Friedrich
Claims
1. A device for pushing a stack of printed products from a table on which the
stack is stacked, the device comprising:
a stacking receptacle provided on a table and receiving the printed products
for stacking;
wherein the stacking receptacle has two opposed lateral guide walls viewed in
a pushing direction of pushing out the stack formed of the printed products;
wherein vertical guide rails are moveable along the guide walls, respectively,
in the pushing direction;
wherein the guide rails on the opposed guide walls are positioned opposite one
another in guide rail pairs forming a forward receptacle boundary and a rearward
receptacle boundary in the pushing direction;
wherein the rearward receptacle boundary in the pushing direction forms a pushing device;
wherein the guide rail pairs each are connected to pulling means driven in circulation
about vertical axes, in the pushing direction, the guide rails of the forward receptacle
boundary and of the rearward receptacle boundary having an upper end and a lower
end and are fastened with the upper and lower ends to the pulling means, respectively,
and wherein the pulling means neighbour the lower end and the upper end of the
guide rails provided for the forward receptacle boundary and the rearward receptacle
boundary, respectively.
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the pulling means are configured
as toothed belts.
3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the guide rail pairs forming the
forward receptacle boundary or the rearward receptacle boundary have drive devices
correlated therewith, respectively, wherein the drive devices are controlled synchronously
for ejecting and separately for displacing.
4. The device according to claim 3, wherein the drive devices have a drive shaft,
respectively, having an upright axis, wherein on the drive shaft of a first one
of the drive devices two deflection rollers are fixedly fastened and are connected
by the pulling means to two freely rotatable deflection rollers arranged on the
drive shaft of a second one of the drive devices.
5. The device according to claim 3, wherein on the pulling means provided for
the forward and the rearward receptacle boundaries, respectively, two of the guide
rails correlated with one of the guide walls are fastened uniformly spaced to one
another, respectively.
6. The device according to claim 3, wherein the pulling means and the guide rails
forming the forward and the rearward receptacle boundaries, respectively, are drivingly
connected with one of the drive devices, respectively.
7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the guide rails forming the pushing
device have one of the drive devices.
8. The device according to claim 6, wherein the drive devices have a motor and
are configured as a toothed belt gear circulating about vertical axes.
9. The device according to claim 6, wherein the guide rails forming the forward
receptacle boundary have one of the drive devices.
10. The device according to claim 3, wherein the pulling means circulate about
vertical axes located at ends of the guide walls viewed in the pushing direction.
11. The device according to claim 10, wherein two of the vertical axes of the
guide rails positioned opposite one another in a direction transverse to the pushing
direction are correlated with one of the drive devices, respectively.
12. The device according to claim 10, further comprising a support frame having
a guide arrangement and supports movable transversely to the pushing direction
on the guide arrangement, wherein vertical axes correlated with one of the guide
walls are arranged on one of the supports for changing a spacing of the guide walls
relative to one another, respectively.
13. The device according to claim 12, further comprising a spindle drive having
oppositely acting spindle rods, wherein the supports of the support frame are in
driving connection with the spindle rods.
14. The device according to claim 13, wherein the drive devices have a motor,
respectively, wherein the motors are connected to guides arranged on the support
frame and telescopingly movable parallel to the movement of the supports.
15. The device according to claim 14, wherein the motors are connected to the
supports of the support frame and are movable, proportionally to a change of a
spacing of the guide walls, by means of a gear connected to the spindle drive.
16. The device according to claim 15, further comprising a rotary frame driveable
in rotation about a vertical axis of rotation, wherein the support frame is fastened
by the guide arrangement to the rotary frame.
17. The device according to claim 16, wherein the pulling means circulate about
vertical axes located at ends of the guide walls viewed in the pushing direction,
wherein the motors are drivingly connected by a toothed belt gear to two of the
vertical axes positioned opposite one another in a direction transverse to the
pushing direction, respectively.
18. The device according to claim 17, wherein the toothed belt gear is in driving
connection with deflection rollers supported on the two vertical axes positioned
opposite another and with rollers supported on the rotary frame or on support rollers.
19. The device according to claim 18, wherein a section of a toothed belt of
the toothed belt gear between the two vertical axes positioned opposite one another
and a section of the toothed belt between one of the two vertical axes and a drive
wheel of the motor form a compensation loop that is variable as a function of a
spacing between the guide walls.
20. The device according to claim 1, wherein the pulling means are link chains.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for pushing a stack of printed products off
a table out of a stacking receptacle determined by four lateral edges of the printed products.
2. Description of the Related Art
EP 0 153 983 B1 discloses a device of the aforementioned kind in which the individually
fed printed products are stacked on a table in a stacking receptacle and are removed
from the table as a stack.
This device requires a relatively high expenditure for adjusting and converting
a cross-section of the stacking receptacle, viewed in the loading direction, as
well as of the auxiliary pushing device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device of the aforementioned
kind which makes it possible to simplify the adjustment and conversion of the cross-section
of the stacking receptacle and realize this without requiring manual action and
to combine the pushing action with the stacking receptacle.
In accordance with the present invention, this is achieved in that the staking
receptacle, viewed in the pushing direction, is provided with two oppositely positioned
lateral sidewalls along which a vertical guide rail can be driven, which forms
together with the oppositely positioned one a leading (forward) or rearward receptacle
boundary, and in that the rearward guide rail pair, viewed in the pushing direction,
is formed as a pushing device. In this way, the stack is guided and secured across
the entire pushing length over its entire stack height. Accordingly, when pushing
out the stacks from the stacking receptacle, the stacks can be guided by the stacking
receptacle itself.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
In the drawing:
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the device according to the invention;
FIG. 2 shows a magnified perspective illustration of the device according to
the invention for forming a stack from printed products;
FIG. 3 shows a plan view onto the device according to FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 shows a perspective illustration of a drive device of a device forming
a stacking receptacle provided for pushing out the stack from the stacking receptacle; and
FIG. 5 shows a plan view onto the drive device illustrated in FIG. 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 illustrates a device
1 for pushing out a stack of printed products
3 stacked on a table
2 at the end of a stacking receptacle
5,
wherein the stack
4 is illustrated in dash-dotted lines. The end of the
stacking receptacle
5, from where the printed products
3 can be removed
in two opposite directions F, F′, is comprised—viewed in the pushing
direction F, F′—of two opposite lateral sidewalls
6,
7,
which must not be mandatorily provided as complete solid walls. Along the sidewalls
6,
7, vertical guide rails
8,
9;
10,
11
are driveable in the pushing direction F, F′; the guide rails form together
with the oppositely positioned guide rails a forward (leading) and rearward receptacle
boundary. In the pushing direction F, the guide rails
8,
9 form a
forward receptacle boundary and the guide rails
10,
11 form a rearward
receptacle boundary or a pushing device
12. In the opposite pushing direction
F′, the guide rails
8,
9 form the rearward receptacle boundary
or the pushing device.
The table
2 forming a support for the stack
4 is a roller table
2 comprised of several conveying rollers
14, which are positioned
sequentially behind one another in the pushing direction F, F′ and are freely
rotatably supported in a frame
13. The table
2 is provided with lateral
support rails
15 and forms a planar support surface between the sidewalls
6,
7.
The roller table
2 is supported on a rotary frame
16 to be described
in the following.
The guide rails
8 through
11, which match at least the stacking
height, circulate about vertical axes that, viewed in the pushing direction, are
located at the ends of the sidewalls. For this purpose, the upper and the lower
end of a guide rail
8 through
11 is attached to an endless toothed
belt
17,
18 or
19,
20 or a link chain, respectively,
which are guided on driven deflection rollers
21 through
28 or
21′
through
28′. On the upper end or the lower end of a vertical axis
correlated with one of the sidewalls (guide walls)
6,
7, deflection
rollers
21 through
28 or
21′ through
28′
are positioned on the opposite sidewalls
7,
6 correlated with the
toothed belt
17 through
20 for the guide rails
8 through
11
forming the leading receptacle boundary or the rearward receptacle boundary. This
is illustrated in FIG. 2.
In FIG. 1 as well as in FIG. 2, with respect to the pushing direction F, the
lowermost
and the uppermost deflection rollers
21,
22 and
25,
26
or
21′,
22′ and
25,
26′ are provided
for the guide rails
8,
9 forming the leading receptacle boundary,
while the deflection rollers
23,
24,
27,
28 or
23′,
24′,
27′,
28′ directly neighboring the
deflection rollers
21,
22,
25,
26 or
21′
22′
25′
26′ are correlated with the rearward
receptacle boundary or the pushing device
12. The guide rails
8,
9 or
10,
11 forming the forward receptacle boundary, respectively,
or the rearward receptacle boundary or the toothed belts
17 through
20
or
17′ through
20′ are connected to a drive device
29,
30, respectively. The drive devices
29,
30 have
a toothed belt gear
31,
32 and are driven in a controlled fashion
synchronously or separately, i.e., they have drive motors
33,
34
which have a rotary angle control. FIG. 3 shows both drive devices
29,
30,
while FIGS. 4 and 5 show the drive device
30 separately.
In order to be able to employ the circulating toothed belts
17 to
20
or
17′ to
20′ in an optimal way, at half their length
further guide rails
8′ through
11′ are attached, respectively,
so that after a pushing-out step the following guide rails
8′ to
11′ form a stacking receptacle.
Each sidewall (guide wall)
6,
7 of the stacking receptacle
5
has arranged at the ends viewed in the pushing direction F, F′ two pulling
or traction means
17 through
20 or
17′ through
20′,
respectively, which circulate about vertically extending axes. One pair is arranged
at the upper end area and at the lower end area of the guide rails
8 through
11 or
8′, respectively. The pulling means
17 through
20 or
17′ through
20′ circulate on deflection
rollers
21 through
28 or
21′ through
28′.
The guide rails
8,
9,
10,
11 forming the forward
and rearward receptacle boundaries, when viewed in the pushing direction F, F′,
are connected drivingly to both drive devices
29,
30 and can be used
synchronously for the pushing process and independently for the adjustment of the
receptacle to the product size in the pushing direction F, F′. In FIGS.
1 and 2, the deflection rollers
22,
22′ and
26,
26′
are fixedly connected to the drive shafts
37′,
38′,
while the deflection rollers
25,
25′ that are drivingly connected
by the pulling means
17,
19,
17′,
19′
to the deflection rollers
22,
22′ and
26,
26′
are arranged freely rotatable on the shafts
37,
38. The drive shafts
37,
38 are fixedly connected to the deflection rollers
23,
27 and
23′,
27′ while the deflection rollers
24,
28 and
24′,
28′, drivingly connected
to the pulling means
18,
20 and
18′,
20′,
are arranged freely rotatable on the drive shafts
37,
38′.
Of course, the deflection rollers
24,
28 and
24′,
28′ can be connected with the drive shafts
37′,
38′.
The toothed belt gears
31,
32 of the drive devices
29,
30
are arranged on the underside of the rotary frame
16 by means of bearing
supports
35,
36 and about two drive shafts
37,
38,
37′,
38′ of the guide rails
8 through
11
or
8′ through
11′ positioned opposite one another in
a direction transverse to the pushing direction F, F′; two deflection rollers
39,
40,
39′,
40′ are drivingly connected
thereto, respectively. On the bearing supports
35,
36,
35′,
36′ freely rotating support rollers
43,
44 are supported
which support a toothed belt
41,
42.
The drive motors
33,
34 of the toothed belt gears
31,
32
are suspended by means of an intermediate gear
45,
46 from a support
47 (not visible,
48) that is connected to the rotary frame
16.
The supports
47,
48, in turn, are connected to a support frame
49
which has a support
50,
51 correlated with the sidewall
6,
7, respectively. In the supports
50,
51, the drive shafts
36,
36′,
37,
37′ of the guide rails
8
through
11 are supported. They are movably supported on guide rods (not
illustrated) of a guide arrangement that are arranged in a direction transverse
to the pushing direction F, F′ and are anchored in the rotary frame
16.
FIG. 2 shows bores
53,
53′,
54,
54′
which are penetrated by the guide rods fastened on the rotary frame
16 for
movement of the supports
50,
51. The supports
50,
51
of the support frame
49, for changing the spacing between the sidewalls
6,
7, are driven by a spindle drive
55 for approaching one
another and moving away from one another. For this purpose, a telescopically driven
guide device
56,
57 is provided which is comprised of two guide parts
58,
59 or
58′
59′ that are relatively
movable on one another. One (
58,
58′) forms a guide groove
for receiving the other. The guide parts
58,
59 and
58′,
59′ are connected to the support frame
49, and the guide part
58,
58′ are suitable for attachment of the supports
47,
48 on which the drive motor
33,
34 of a drive device
29,
30 is suspended so that the toothed belts
41,
42 remain tensioned
by compensation upon adjustment of the guide walls
6,
7.
For the adjustment of the guide walls
6,
7 such that uniform lateral
spacing relative to the removal axis of the stack
4 is provided, the spindle
drive
55 is provided (see FIGS. 1 through 3). It is comprised of a gear
motor
60 fastened on the rotary frame
16; a shaft
61 supported
on the rotary frame
16 in a position extending transversely to the pushing
direction F, F′ is in driving connection with the gear motor
60 (FIG.
3). On this shaft
61, a pulley
62,
63 for a lateral adjustment
of the guide walls
6,
7 and of the stacking receptacle
5 is
provided, respectively. The pulleys are drivingly connected by means of toothed
drive belts or a chain
64,
65 with a spindle rod
66,
67
provided for moving the guide walls
6,
7, wherein the spindle rods
66,
67 have oppositely acting threads, i.e., a left-handed thread
and a right-handed thread. Because of the oppositely oriented movements of the
guide walls
6,
7 or of the supports
50,
51 of the support
frame
49, the toothed belt
41,
42 guided through a compensation
loop remains tensioned.
FIG. 1 also shows a device
1, which is embodied as a compensating stacker,
having at its underside a drum
72 that is fixedly connected to the rotary
frame
16 and is supported on a machine frame
73 and in driving connection
with a stationary electric motor
74. The stacked partial stacks which are
stacked alternatingly in an arrangement rotated by 180 degrees, can be pressed
before being moved out by lifting the roller table
2 against counter elements
75 that can be moved by the guide walls
6,
7 into the stacking
receptacle
5. For this purpose, the roller table
2 can be lifted
and lowered.
On the sides of the guide rails
8 through
11 facing away from a
stake
4 of printed products
3 positioned in the stacking receptacle
5, support members
76 are fastened at the top and at the bottom;
the support members
76 are positioned, when the stack
4 is pushed
out of the stacking receptacle
5, on the side of the guide walls
6,
7 facing the stack
4.
The drive shafts
37,
38 and
37′,
38′
correlated with one of the guide walls
6,
7, respectively, are supported
at their upper end in a plate
77 connecting the drive shafts.
While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in
detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention
may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.
*
