DK159648B

DK159648B - APPARATUS AND PROCEDURES FOR PREPARING AND SEPARATING CARTON PUBLISHES IN TWO DIFFERENT FLOW COURSES

Info

Publication number: DK159648B
Application number: DK167684A
Authority: DK
Inventors: John Harry Ayres
Original assignee: Chambon Ltd
Priority date: 1983-03-31
Filing date: 1984-03-26
Publication date: 1990-11-12
Also published as: EP0121432A2; DE3468002D1; JPS59224331A; GB8309038D0; ES531439A0; DK159648C; ATE31284T1; EP0121432A3; DK167684D0; ZA842392B; DK167684A; ES8503619A1; IE840773L; CA1204405A; IE55066B1; EP0121432B1; KR840007921A; SG15488G

Abstract

Apparatus (B) for guiding and separating blanks (1) comprises first and second conveyors (E and F). The input ends of the conveyors (E and F) are positioned on opposite sides of the feed path of a stream of a plurality of rows of blanks (1) to the guide apparatus (B). Each of the conveyors is constituted by a plurality of laterally-spaced suction belt means (3). Each suction belt means (3) is aligned with the feed path of a respective row of blanks (1). The conveyors (E and F) are such that some of the blanks (1a) are conveyed by the suction belt means (3) of the first conveyor (E), and the rest of the blanks (1b) are conveyed by the suction belt means (3) of the second conveyor (F).

Description

1 DK 159648 B1 DK 159648 B

Opfindelsen omhandler et apparat af den i krav l's indledning angivne art til fremføring og adskillelse af kartonemner i to forskellige strømningsbaner, der forløber i hver sin retning.The invention relates to an apparatus of the kind specified in the preamble of claim 1 for conveying and separating carton blanks in two different flow paths, which run in each direction.

Sådanne apparater er nødvendige i anlæg, hvor enten 3 kartoneemnernes tilgangshastighed er så stor, at de på hinanden følgende emner kolliderer, når de udstødes på en enkelt transportør således, at bagkanten på det ene råemne ikke har tid nok til at gå fri af forkanten på det følgende emne, eller hvor kartonemnerne lejres, drejes 13 eller påtrykkes på en sådan måde, at de skal opsamles enkeltvis.Such apparatus is needed in systems where either the speed of the carton blanks is so great that the consecutive blades collide when ejected on a single conveyor so that the trailing edge of one blank does not have enough time to disengage from the leading edge of the carton. the following item, or where the carton items are stored, rotated 13 or printed in such a way that they must be collected individually.

Der kendes styreapparater af denne art, som benytter mekaniske emnedeflektorer eller oscillerende valsepar, der 15 leder emnerne skiftevis opad og nedad. Disse styreapparater er ikke særlig driftssikre, og de er vanskelige at tilpasse til betjening af emner med forskellig udformning.Controls of this kind are known which employ mechanical workpiece deflectors or oscillating roller pairs which guide the workpieces alternately upwards and downwards. These controllers are not very reliable, and they are difficult to adapt to operate items of different design.

Of)of)

Fra US patentskrift nr. 3 659 840 kendes et styreapparat, som benytter to divergerende transportbånd, der kan bestå af et par sugebånd. Via en skifteventil føres der vakuum til enten det ene eller det andet transportbånds sugebånd, så at tilført arkformet materiale skiftevis trans- pc porteres af de to transportbånd. Her kræver adskillelsen af de enkelte ark ret komplicerede styremidler, bortset fra skifteventilen, indbefattet styresignaler og et organ til frembringelse af disse. Desuden kan dette apparat ikke adskille ark, hvis længde er væsentlig mindre end 30 transportbåndenes længde.US Patent No. 3,659,840 discloses a control apparatus which uses two divergent conveyor belts which may consist of a pair of suction belts. Via a switching valve, vacuum is applied to either the suction belt of one or the other conveyor belt, so that fed sheet material is alternately transported by the two conveyor belts. Here, the separation of the individual sheets requires rather complicated control means, other than the switch valve, including control signals and a means for producing them. In addition, this apparatus cannot separate sheets whose length is substantially less than the length of the conveyor belts.

Opfindelsen har til formål at tilvejebringe et apparat af den indledningsvis angivne art, der kan anvendes til at adskille kartonemner, som er driftssikkert, og som er let 35 at indstille til behandlingen af emner med forskelligThe invention has for its object to provide an apparatus of the kind mentioned in the introduction which can be used to separate carton blanks which are reliable and easy to adjust for the treatment of blanks with different

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2 størrelse og form.2 size and shape.

Dette opnås ifølge opfindelsen ved et apparat med den i krav l's kendetegnende del angivne konstruktion.This is achieved according to the invention by an apparatus of the construction as defined in claim 1.

55

Opfindelsen omhandler også en fremgangsmåde til fremføring og adskillelse af kartonemner, hvilken fremgangsmåde er ejendommelig ved de i krav 10' s kendetegnende del angivne foranstaltninger.The invention also relates to a method for advancing and separating carton blanks, which is characterized by the features of claim 10.

1010

Opfindelsen forklares nærmere nedenfor i forbindelse med tegningen, hvor: fig. 1 er en afbildning fra siden af apparatet ifølge 15 opfindelsen, fig. 2 er en perspektivisk afbildning af apparatet ifølge opfindelsen, 20 fig. 3 er et forstørret længdesnit igennem et af sugebåndene i apparatet på fig. 1 og 2, og fig. 4 er et forstørret tværsnit igennem sugebåndet på fig. 3.The invention is further explained below in connection with the drawing, in which: FIG. 1 is a side view of the apparatus according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus of the invention; FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section through one of the suction bands of the apparatus of FIG. 1 and 2, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-section through the suction belt of FIG. Third

2525

Fig. 1 viser et apparat ifølge opfindelsen, omfattende en tilgangssektion A, en efterfølgende styresektion B, et efterfølgende første par af overlapningsenheder og C2, samt et efterfølgende par af overlapningsenheder og 30 D2. Tilgangssektionen A fremfører en kontinuert strøm af kartonemner 1 til styreapparatet og består af et antal valsepar 2. Tilgangssektionen A er anbragt efter (ikke viste) udstansnings- og foldningsenheder, der udstanser og folder kartonemner ud fra en kontinuert kartonstreng.FIG. 1 shows an apparatus according to the invention comprising an access section A, a subsequent control section B, a subsequent first pair of overlap units and C2, and a subsequent pair of overlap units and D2. The access section A feeds a continuous stream of carton blanks 1 to the controller and consists of a plurality of roll pairs 2. The access section A is arranged after (not shown) punching and folding units which punch and fold cardboard blanks from a continuous cardboard string.

3535

Som vist på fig. 2 tilføres de forud tildannede kartonemner 1 til styreapparatet i tre sideløbende rækker.As shown in FIG. 2, the pre-formed carton blanks 1 are supplied to the controller in three parallel rows.

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33

Endvidere er kartonemnerne i hver række skiftevis "højrehånds" emner la og "venstrehånds" emner lb. Emnerne la og lb er identiske, men indbyrdes drejet 180°. Ved den skiftevise anbringelse af emnerne la og lb opnås et mindre 5 tab af affaldsmateriale, end dersom alle emnerne fremføres som enten emner lå eller emner lb i hver tilgangsrække .Furthermore, the carton blanks in each row are alternately "right-handed" blanks 1a and "left-handed" blanks 1b. Subjects 1a and 1b are identical but rotated 180 °. The alternate placement of blanks 1a and 1b results in a lesser loss of waste material than if all the blanks are advanced as either blanks or blanks 1b in each access row.

Styreapparatet B består af et øverste sæt transportbånd E 10 og et nederste sæt af transportbånd F, se fig. 2. Hvert sæt E og F omfatter seks transportbånd, og styreapparatet er således indrettet, at to transportbånd i hvert sæt -ligger over for sidekantpartierne af emnerne la eller lb i hver af de tre emnerækker. Som vist på fig. 1 diverge-15 rer de to sæt af transportbånd E og F i forhold til fremføringsretningen af kartonemnerne. Hvert transportbånd E eller F omfatter et endeløst, indvendigt fortandet bånd, se fig. 3, som drives af et par tandhjul 4 og 5 med udvendige tænder.The control unit B consists of an upper set of conveyor belts E 10 and a lower set of conveyor belts F, see fig. 2. Each set of E and F comprises six conveyor belts, and the controller is arranged so that two conveyor belts in each set lie opposite the side edge portions of the blanks 1a or 1b in each of the three blanks. As shown in FIG. 1, the two sets of conveyor belts E and F diverge relative to the feed direction of the carton blanks. Each conveyor belt E or F comprises an endless internal toothed belt, see FIG. 3, which is driven by a pair of gears 4 and 5 with external teeth.

2020

Til hvert transportbånd 3 er der knyttet et kasselignende kammer 6, hvis indvendige overflader er lukket ved hjælp af (ikke viste) krumme, i længderetningen opspaltede pla der. Transportbåndene E og F er således opbygget, at 25 hvert transportbånd 3 passerer hen over den krumme, opspaltede flade for det tilknyttede kammer 6. Hvert af kamrene 6 er forbundet med en (ikke vist) vakuumpumpe via et tilgangsforgreningsrør 7 og et par tilgangsrør 8.To each conveyor belt 3 is attached a box-like chamber 6, the inner surfaces of which are closed by means of curved (not shown) longitudinally split plates. Conveyor belts E and F are constructed such that each conveyor belt 3 passes over the curved, split surface of the associated chamber 6. Each of the chambers 6 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) via an inlet manifold 7 and a pair of inlet pipe 8.

Hvert transportbånd 3 er forsynet med fire sæt sugeåbnin-30 ger 9 beliggende jævnt fordelt langs transportbåndene, og hvert sæt omfatter to sugeåbninger. Hver sugeåbning 9 består af en åbning 9a i det tilhørende transportbånd 3 og af et til båndets yderflade fastgjort pakskivelignende hoved 9b. Når transportbåndene 3 passerer hen over de op-35 spaltede plader for kamrene 6, underkastes sugeåbningerne 9 således det partielle vakuum i kamrene, hvorved ethvert kartonemne 1 i berøring med sugeåbningen vil fastholdesEach conveyor belt 3 is provided with four sets of suction openings 9 located evenly distributed along the conveyor belts, and each set comprises two suction openings. Each suction opening 9 consists of an opening 9a in the associated conveyor belt 3 and a packing disk-like head 9b fixed to the outer surface of the belt. Thus, as the conveyor belts 3 pass over the split plates of the chambers 6, the suction openings 9 are subjected to the partial vacuum in the chambers, whereby any carton blank 1 in contact with the suction opening will be retained.

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4 imod transportbåndet. Hver af åbningerne 9 kan afspærres fra det partielle vakuum i det tilhørende kammer 6 ved hjælp af en tilhørende skive 9c, der snaplåses i den pågældende åbnings skiveformede hoved 9b, se fig. 3 og 4.4 against the conveyor belt. Each of the openings 9 can be blocked from the partial vacuum in the associated chamber 6 by means of an associated disc 9c which snaps into the disc shaped head 9b of the respective opening, see fig. 3 and 4.

5 Herved kan transportbåndene 3 let indrettes til at regulere antallet af ibrugværende åbninger 9.5 Consequently, the conveyor belts 3 can easily be arranged to control the number of openings 9 in use.

Transportbåndene 3 drives synkront ved hjælp af et (ikke vist) fælles drivorgan via (ikke viste) tandhjul. Endvi-10 dere er sugeåbningerne 9 således anbragt på transportbåndene, at når rækkerne af emner 1 tilføres til styreappa-ratets B tilgangsende, optages skiftende emner i hver række af transportbåndene 3 i transportøren E og skiftende emner af transportbåndene 3 i transportørerne F. Her-15 ved kan emnerne la optages af transportbåndene 3 i de øverste transportører E og emnerne lb optages af transportørerne 3 i de nederste transportører F. Herved adskilles emnerne la fra emnerne lb, så at på hinanden følgende emner ikke kan interferere under deres videre frem-20 føring efter styreapparatet B.The conveyor belts 3 are driven synchronously by means of a (not shown) common drive means via (not shown) cogs. Further, the suction openings 9 are arranged on the conveyor belts so that when the rows of blanks 1 are fed to the access end of the control unit B, alternating blanks are accommodated in each row of conveyor belts 3 of conveyor E and changing blanks of conveyor belts 3 of conveyors F. 15, the blanks 1a can be accommodated by the conveyor belts 3 of the upper conveyors E and the blanks 1b are taken up by the conveyors 3 of the lower conveyors F. The blanks 1a are separated from the blanks 1b so that successive blanks cannot interfere with their further progress. guidance after the controller B.

Ved udløbsenderne fra transportørerne E og F tilføres emnerne la og lb til de første overlapningsenheder henholdsvis og C2· Disse enheder er standardenheder, hvis 25 hastighed er lidt mindre end halvdelen af tilførselshastigheden for kartonemnerne la og lb. Herved sker der i enhederne og C2 en overlapning af kartonemnernes la og lb for- og bagkanter på en kort strækningslængde. Efter udløb fra overlapningsenhederne og C2 passerer kar-30 tonemnerne la og lb til de andre overlapningsenheder henholdsvis og D2. Enhederne og D2 er også standardenheder, og de drives med en langsom hastighed, så at kartonemnerne la og lb kommer til at overlappe hinanden langs næsten hele deres fulde længde i disse enheder. De 35 to sæt overlapningsenheder C og D virker således til at formindske leveringshastigheden af kartonemnerne la og lb til at foretage en indledende opstablingsoperation, så atAt the outlet ends of conveyors E and F, blanks 1a and 1b are supplied to the first overlap units and C2 respectively. These units are standard units whose speed is slightly less than half the feed rate of carton blanks 1a and 1b. In this way, the units and C2 overlap the front and rear edges of the cardboard blanks 1a and 1b over a short stretch. Upon expiration from the overlap units and C2, the carton blanks 1a and 1b pass to the other overlap units and D2, respectively. The units and D2 are also standard units and are operated at a slow speed so that the carton blanks 1a and 1b will overlap one another along almost their entire length in these units. Thus, the two sets of overlap units C and D act to decrease the delivery rate of the carton blanks 1a and 1b to perform an initial stacking operation so that

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5 emnerne efter deres udløb fra de sidste overlapningsenheder og D2 er klart til en umiddelbar opstabling enten manuelt eller ved automatiske organer.The 5 items after their exit from the last overlap units and D2 are ready for immediate stacking either manually or by automatic means.

5 Apparatet ifølge opfindelsen er særligt egnet til at adskille på hinanden følgende kartonemner, som er lejret, anbragt eller påtrykt således, at de skal opsamles hver for sig. Ved anvendelsen af sugebånd styres emnerne langs hele længden af styreapparatet, hvilket ikke var muligt 10 med de kendte apparater med deflektorplader eller oscillerende valser. Fastholdelsen af emnerne ved sugebånd langs deres modstående sidekanter under emnernes passage gennem apparatet tilvejebringer en særlig god og driftssikker styrefunktion.The apparatus according to the invention is particularly suitable for separating consecutive carton items which are stored, arranged or printed in such a way that they must be collected separately. With the use of suction tapes, the blanks are controlled along the entire length of the control apparatus, which was not possible with the known apparatus with deflector plates or oscillating rollers. The retention of the blanks by suction bands along their opposite side edges during the passage of the blanks through the apparatus provides a particularly good and reliable control function.

1515

Sugebåndene 3 kan forsynes med indbyrdes forskellige antal sæt af sugeåbninger 9, men der foretrækkes et lige antal sæt af sugeåbninger. Hvert sæt af sugeåbninger 9 kan også omfatte en eller flere sugeåbninger, ligesom 20 hvert sugebånd 3 kan forsynes med en kontinuert række af ækvidistant beliggende sugeåbninger 9. Under drift, og afhængigt af den særlige udformning af de styrede kartonemner kan de fleste af sugeåbningerne 9 da afspærres ved hjælp af skiverne 9c, så at kun de i en forudbestemt af-25 stand langs sugebåndene 3 beliggende sugeåbninger 9 anvendes til fremføring af emnerne. På denne måde kan de samme sugebånd anvendes til fremføring af mange forskellige typer kartonemner, idet man blot skal afspærre forskellige sugeåbninger 9 for de enkelte emnetyper.The suction belts 3 may be provided with different numbers of sets of suction openings 9, but an equal number of sets of suction openings are preferred. Each set of suction apertures 9 may also comprise one or more suction apertures, just as each suction band 3 may be provided with a continuous series of equidistant suction apertures 9. In operation, and depending on the particular design of the controlled carton blanks, most of the suction apertures 9 may is closed by means of the washers 9c so that only the suction openings 9 located along the suction belts 3 are used for advancing the blanks. In this way, the same suction tapes can be used for conveying many different types of cardboard items, simply blocking different suction openings 9 for the individual item types.

30 Når apparatet anvendes til at styre emner med en forholdsvis stor bredde, kan der også tilvejebringes tre eller flere sugebånd 9 for hver række af råemner, der tilføres apparatet. Hvis kartonemnerne er meget smalle, vil 35 der tilsvarende kun være behov for ét sugebånd 3 for hver række af kartonemner.When the apparatus is used to control workpieces of relatively wide width, three or more suction tapes 9 may also be provided for each row of blanks supplied to the apparatus. Similarly, if the carton blanks are very narrow, only one suction band 3 will be needed for each row of carton blanks.

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66

Det ovenfor beskrevne styreapparat kan også anvendes til at adskille visse emner i en kontinuert strøm af et antal emnerækker fra resten af emnerne. Når eksempelvis sty-reapparatet anvendes efter en påtrykningsenhed, der an-5 vender en trykvalse med tre periferisk adskilt beliggende matricer i hver række af flere side om side beliggende rækker, kan den ene matrice i hver række indrettes til at påtrykke et andet kartonemne end de to andre matricer i den pågældende række. I dette tilfælde skal sugebåndene 3 10 i transportørerne i det ene af sættene E eller F indrettes til at fremføre hvert tredie emne, mens sugebåndene 3 i transportørerne i det andet sæt skal styre resten af emnerne. På denne måde kan forskellige emner adskilles fra den kontinuerte strøm af begge emnetyper på 15 en driftssikker måde.The control device described above can also be used to separate certain items in a continuous stream of a plurality of workpieces from the rest of the workpieces. For example, when the control apparatus is used after a printing unit using a printing roller with three circumferentially spaced matrices in each row of several side by side rows, one die in each row can be arranged to print a different carton blank than the two other matrices in that row. In this case, the suction belts 3 10 of the conveyors in one of the sets E or F must be arranged to advance every third item, while the suction belts 3 of the conveyors in the second set must control the rest of the items. In this way, different items can be separated from the continuous stream of both item types in a reliable manner.

Apparatet ifølge opfindelsen kan også anvendes til at adskille alle emnerne i en given række fra alle emnerne i en hosliggende række. Med andre ord kan emnerne i et 20 antal emnerækker adskilles både i tværretningen og i længderetningen. Dette er især nyttigt, når emnerne er stærkt sammengribende kant mod kant.The apparatus of the invention can also be used to separate all the blanks in a given row from all the blanks in an adjacent row. In other words, the blanks in a number of blanks can be separated both transversely and longitudinally. This is especially useful when the subjects are strongly competing edge to edge.

Det er også muligt at anvende apparatet ifølge opfindel-25 sen til adskillelse af emnerne i et antal emnerækker i tværretningen i forhold til emnernes fremføringsretning.It is also possible to use the apparatus according to the invention for separating the blanks in a number of blanks in the transverse direction in relation to the blanks direction of the blanks.

I dette tilfælde skal sugebåndene (normalt et antal par af sugebånd) i hver transportør divergere i tværretningen (såvel som i lodret retning) i forhold til fremførings-30 retningen.In this case, the suction belts (usually a plurality of pairs of suction belts) in each conveyor must diverge in the transverse direction (as well as in the vertical direction) relative to the feed direction.

Det forstås, at apparatet ifølge opfindelsen også kan anvendes til at fremføre og adskille andre emner med ringe dybde, såsom trykte etiketter og lignende.It is understood that the apparatus of the invention can also be used to convey and separate other items of low depth, such as printed labels and the like.

3535

Claims

An apparatus for advancing and separating blanks (1) and 5 comprising a first and a second conveyor (E, F), whose inlet ends are located on either side of an inlet path for a stream of a plurality of rows of blanks (1a, (lb) to the apparatus, which conveyors (E, F) each consist of a number of lateral suction belts (3), each 10 facing the access path for a respective series of blanks and each provided with a plurality of suction openings (9) and is operated synchronously by positively engaging drive wheels (4, 5), characterized in that a continuous suction pressure is applied to the suction openings (9) in the suction belts (3) in the two sets of conveyors (E, F) 15 and is positioned so that some of the blanks (1a) in each row of blanks are received by the suction openings (9) in the suction belts (3) of the first conveyor (E), while the remainder of the blanks (1b) in each row of blanks are accommodated by the suction apertures (9). 20 the belts (3) of the second conveyor (F).

Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the conveyors (E, F) are arranged so that the parts (1a, 1b) in each row are conveyed alternately by the suction belts 25 (3) in the first and second conveyors (E, F).

Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first and second conveyors (E, F) diverge in a direction away from their inlet ends and in the direction of delivery of the items 30.

Apparatus according to claims 1-3, characterized in that each of the suction belts (3) consists of a pair of suction belts which are spaced apart in a direction transverse to the feeding direction of the blanks. DK 159648 B J

Apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that in each of the conveyors (E, F), three pairs of suction belts (3) are spaced apart in the transverse direction.

Apparatus according to claim 4, or 5, characterized by means (9c) arranged to be able to block at least one suction opening (9) in at least one suction band (3).

Apparatus according to claims 4-6, characterized in that each of the suction bands (3) is connected to a box-like chamber (6), the portion of each chamber (6) facing the associated suction band (3) being closed by means of of a curve, provided with a longitudinal slit plate, and that the chambers (6) are connected to a vacuum pump 15 via an inlet manifold (7), the arrangement being such that each suction belt (3) is guided in operation over the associated curved plate. so that the suction openings (9) in the belts can be continuously supplied with an atmospheric vacuum.

Apparatus according to claims 4-7, characterized in that each suction band (3) has an equal number of sets of suction openings (9).

Apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that there are four sets of suction openings (9).

Apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that each set of suction openings (9) comprises at least one suction opening. 30

Apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that each set of suction openings (9) comprises two suction openings.

Apparatus according to claims 4-11, characterized in that the sets of suction openings (9) in each suction band (3) are equidistant.