EP0089591A2 - Device for feeding staple wire to a staple-forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

In the case of a device for feeding staple wire to a staple forming device with a stationary cutting nozzle (13), which is penetrated by the staple wire and has at least one passing knife (14) as counter knife, which removes the staple wire that can be removed from a supply roll (16 or 17) by means of an upstream feed unit (1) can be fed, the time to carry out a roll change can be reduced significantly by the fact that receiving devices (15) are provided for two supply rolls (16, 17), of which the clamp wire (18) fed to the cutting nozzle (13) or a clamp wire (19) held during its processing with its front end (20) in the waiting position in front of the feed unit (1) and which is followed by a changing unit (22) which has two drive devices (23, 24) which can be activated in opposite directions of one of the clamping wires (18 or . 19) are penetrated and can be brought into drive engagement with the respectively assigned clamp wire in order to accomplish the roll change and the drive direction is reversed after each roll change.

Description

The invention relates to a device for feeding staple wire to a staple forming device, in particular a stapler attached to a folder arranged downstream of a rotary printing press, with a stationary cutting nozzle, which is penetrated by the staple wire and assigned at least one passing knife as a counter knife, and which uses a staple wire to remove the staple wire upstream feed unit can be fed.

In known arrangements of this type, only one supply roll is provided. After using up on this After the wire has been taken, the wire residue reaching to the feed unit must be pulled out of the guide channel leading to the feed unit and the used roll removed. Then a new supply roll has to be put on and the beginning of the wire has to be inserted into the guide channel. The roll change that takes place during the running production therefore takes a very long time. In the products manufactured during this long interim period, however, the clip to be produced with the associated clip-forming device is missing, which leads to the creation of waste. With high-speed machines of the type built today, there is therefore a very high amount of waste, which has a negative impact on economy.

Proceeding from this, it is therefore the object of the present invention, while avoiding the disadvantages of the known arrangements, to provide a device of the type mentioned at the outset which allows an almost flying change of supply roll and with the aid of which the amount of waste caused by the roll change can be largely reduced.

This object is achieved in that receptacles are provided for two supply rolls, of which the staple wire fed to the cutting nozzle or a staple wire held during the processing of the staple wire fed to the cutting nozzle can be unwound with its front end in waiting position in front of the feed unit, and of which a replaceable unit is subordinate, which has two oppositely activated drive devices, each of which one of the the supply rolls of unwindable binder wires are penetrated and can be brought into drive engagement with the respectively assigned clamp wire to bring about a roll change and the drive direction is reversed after each roll change.

With the help of the changing unit, the no longer processable remaining piece of the wire running out of the used roll can be withdrawn and at the same time the beginning of the wire which can be unwound from the unused roll can be advanced. This process can be carried out within a short time. The number of products with a missing bracket therefore advantageously remains very low. After the roll has been changed, the used supply roll can be removed and replaced with a new one, whereby the wire which has been pulled off can already be put on hold. The time required for this does not have a detrimental effect on production. As a result of the reversal of the direction of the drive device of the changing unit, this is automatically in the correct starting position with each roll change. Despite the reduction in the time required for a reel change, however, it is ensured that the remaining piece of the used wire is removed from the guide channel and does not have to be pushed out through the cutting wire through the subsequent wire, which ensures a high degree of functional reliability and freedom from faults. The advantages that can be achieved with the invention can therefore be seen in particular in excellent economy.

In an advantageous development of the higher-level measures, the drive movement of the drive device can lines of the interchangeable unit are expediently limited so that the feed path to be accomplished in each case corresponds at least to the distance of the front end of the staple wire which remains in the waiting position from the wire engagement area of the feed unit. These measures have a very user-friendly effect, since this automatically ensures that the staple wire, which remains in the waiting position, comes into reliable engagement with the feed unit and is therefore transported exactly. At the same time, the remaining piece previously engaged with the feed unit is withdrawn by the same distance. Collisions in the area of the feed unit are therefore reliably excluded.

A particularly simple embodiment of the interchangeable unit can consist of a drive roller arranged in the region between the tangent clamp wires, which can be driven in different directions of rotation, and two pressure rollers which can be adjusted together, by means of which the drive roller can be used to engage with the clamp wires enclosing them is feasible. The drive roller, which is reversible from roll change to roll change, together with the two pressure rolls results in two feed devices with opposite transport directions, which can be reversed by reversing the direction of rotation of the drive roll. The end position of the drive roller that is reached with each roll change is therefore also the starting position for the next roll change. Conversion between two roll changes is therefore advantageously dispensed with.

A further advantageous measure can consist in that the feed unit and the drive devices of the interchangeable unit can be activated or passivated in opposite directions at the same time by means of respectively assigned actuating elements which can be controlled by means of a common control element. These measures result in a further simplification of operation and therefore allow a further saving of time. At the same time, these measures also make it easy to automate the entire roll change.

A further expedient measure can consist in that a wire brake device is arranged in the area of each wire passage passing through the exchange unit. This ensures that the wire that remains in the waiting position cannot be transported by vibrations and the like, but is held exactly in the predetermined waiting position.

Further advantageous refinements and preferred further developments of the superordinate measures result from the following description of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawing in conjunction with the remaining subclaims.

• Figur 1 eine schematische Darstellung einer einem Heftapparat zugeordneten Drahtzuführung teilweise im Schnitt und
• Figur 2 ein Beispiel für einen einfachen Antrieb der Antriebsrolle des Wechselaggregats der Anordnung gemäß Figur 1.

The drawing shows:

• Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a wire feeder associated with a stapler, partly in section and
• Figure 2 shows an example of a simple drive the drive roller of the interchangeable unit of the arrangement according to FIG. 1.

The structure and mode of operation of staplers for stapling interlocking folding products by means of wire staples are known per se and therefore do not require any further explanation in the present context. For each stapling device, a staple wire drawn off from a supply roll is fed to such a stapler. The wire feed shown in Figure 1 consists of a feed unit 1 and a roll holder 2. These assemblies are attached by associated carriers 3 and 4 inside or outside of the side wall 6 of the stapler provided with a coaxial wire passage 5. The feed unit 1 is provided with two driven feed rollers 7 and 8, between which the wire to be processed runs. In the illustrated embodiment, the one feed roller 8 is received on a pivotally mounted lever 9, which is held down by means of an adjustable pressure spring 10 to bring about mutual roller engagement and by means of an actuator 11 designed as a lifting cylinder for lifting the feed roller 8 from the stationary feed roller 7 against the Effect of the spring 10 is pivotable. By activating or passivating the actuator 11, the wire feed can therefore be interrupted or started without interrupting the drive of the feed rollers 7 or 8. In the inlet nip of the feed rollers 7, 8 there is an inlet sleeve 12, via which the start of a wire to be inserted between the feed rollers 7, 8 is reliably brought into engagement with the feed rollers. On the enema Bush 12 opposite side is a so-called cutting nozzle 13 also formed by a bush, the end face of which cooperates as a stationary counter knife with a knife moved past it, indicated at 14. The wire feed in the intervals between the successive cuts corresponds to the wire length required to form a clamp.

The trestle forming the roll receptacle 2 is provided with receiving devices 15 for zeei supply rolls 16 and 17 formed here by mandrels. These consist of simple plastic drums that can be freely rotated with their hub onto an assigned mandrel. The supply rolls 16 and 17 are processed alternately, so that the one supply roll can be prepared while the other is being used. In the operating position on which FIG. 1 is based, the supply roll 17 is processed. The wire 18 drawn off from this is therefore in engagement with the feed rollers 7, 8 of the feed unit 1. The wire 19 that can be unwound from the other supply roll 16 is held in its waiting position in front of the feed unit 1. As soon as the current supply roll 17 is finished, the wire feed is stopped, the remaining piece still in engagement with the feed unit 1 is pulled backwards out of the feed unit and at the same time the beginning 20 of the wire 19 that can be unwound from the supply roll 16 is inserted into the feed unit 1, so that with the subsequent activation of the drive rollers 7, 8, the supply roller 16 is now processed. The wire fed to the feed unit 1 runs between Feed unit 1 and roll receptacle 2 in a wire guide 21 which is expediently made of tubular material and which is forked outside the stapler side wall 6 into two branches 21 a and 21 b leading to the two supply rolls 15 and 16, respectively.

To accelerate the roll change, a change unit 22 is provided which is penetrated by the two wire guide branches 21 a and 21 b and is assembled here with the roll holder 2. In the exemplary embodiment shown, this consists of a drive roller 23 arranged in the area between the wire guide branches 21a and 21b forming a fork, which cooperates with two diametrically opposed pressure rollers 24, through which the wires 18 and 19 tangent to the drive roller 23 the drive roller 23 can be pressed and thus brought into drive engagement. By rotating the drive roller 23 about its axis, one wire is advanced and the other is withdrawn. The direction of rotation determines which of the two wires is advanced and which is withdrawn, so that the wire running from the finished supply reel can always be withdrawn and the wire from the new supply reel, which is in the waiting position, can be advanced. The direction of rotation of the drive roller 23 changes from roll change to roll change, since the processed supply roll and then the new supply roll is picked up on each of the two receiving devices 15.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the drive roller 23, as shown in FIG. 2, is via a shaft 25 connected to a handwheel, which has a crank handle 26 and a disc 28 resting on the housing 27 of the interchangeable unit, which is provided with a segment groove 29 into which a housing-fixed pin 30 engages. A rotation of the drive roller 23 is thus only possible until the pin 30 runs against one or the other end of the segment groove 29, ie at a fixed stop. A further rotation in the same direction is then no longer possible, only a rotation in the opposite direction. This ensures that the drive roller 23 is moved with successive actuation with different directions of rotation. The length of the segment groove 29 also results in a limitation of the drive movement of the drive roller 23, so that the wires 18 and 19 acting thereon are withdrawn or advanced by a defined distance.

The diameter of the drive roller 23 is so large that the angle of rotation given by the length of the segment groove 29 results in such a feed path that the beginning 20 of the wire 19 which remains in the waiting position is brought into reliable engagement with the feed rollers 7, 8 and at the same time the remaining piece of the wire 18 is reliably pulled out of the cutting nozzle 13 and the inlet sleeve 12. This is accomplished if the distance between the end faces of the cutting nozzle 13 and the inlet bushing 12 facing away from one another is somewhat smaller than the distance between the front end 20 of the wire 19 which remains in the waiting position and the engagement area of the feed rollers 7, 8, due to the angle of rotation and the diameter the drive roller 23 of the change unit 22 is predetermined. To the war To be able to precisely determine the position of the front end 20 of the wire to be put on hold, the required insertion length in the area of the wire guide 21 is determined and marked on the wire, here the wire 19, by a clamp 31. The wire can then simply be pushed into the wire guide 21 up to the stop of the clamp 31 on a fixed counter bearing, here on the housing of the interchangeable assembly 22. Then the terminal 31 can be removed. But it would also be conceivable to provide the wire guide 21 with a viewing window or to produce it entirely from transparent material. In order to avoid an unwanted advancement of the waiting wire, here the wire 19, for example due to vibrations or shocks and the like, a wire brake device 32 is provided in the area of each wire guide branch 21 a or 21 b. In the illustrated embodiment, these each consist of a pair of rollers with slightly stiff brake rollers 33, between which the respectively assigned wire is passed and which are pressed against one another by means of a pressure spring. One of the brake rollers can advantageously be lifted against the force of the pressure spring from the counter roller, which facilitates the introduction of a new wire. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the roll in question is simply arranged on a correspondingly displaceably mounted rod 34.

The pressure rollers 24 assigned to the drive roller 23 are mounted on pivoting levers 35 arranged in the manner of pliers, which here are provided with actuating tabs 36 which extend beyond the pivot point. To the pressing the pressure rollers 24 on the associated pressure roller 23, the actuating tabs 36 are spread apart. For this purpose, an actuator 37 fastened to one of the actuating tabs 36 is provided, which here is simply designed as a lifting cylinder, the piston rod of which can be brought into engagement with the opposite actuating tab 36 when acted upon. The supply lines 38 leading to the lifting cylinders forming the actuators 11 and 37 are turned on and off by means of a common control valve 39. With appropriate activation of this control valve 39, the feed roller 8 is thus simultaneously lifted from the assigned feed roller 7 and thus the feed unit 1 is passivated and the pressure rollers 24 are pressed against the drive roller 23, so that when the drive roller 23 rotates, the desired wire feed or simultaneous wire retraction takes place. The decrease in diameter of the supply roll, from which wire is unwound, in the operating state of the supply roll 17 on which FIG. 1 is based, is monitored by means of a suitable push-button device, which can be designed as a light barrier or the like. In the exemplary embodiment shown, a mechanical push-button 40 is simply provided for this purpose. As soon as this button gives a corresponding signal, the control valve 39 is actuated. As a result, the further advance of the wire 18 unwound from the supply roll 17 is stopped. At the same time, the wires 18 and 19 are pressed onto the drive roller 23, which is then rotated counterclockwise in the exemplary embodiment shown, as a result of which the wire 18 is pulled out of the feed unit 1 backwards and the wire 19 is advanced so far that its start 20 engages comes with the feed rollers 7, 8. The control valve 39 is then actuated in opposite directions, as a result of which the wires 18 and 19 are released in the area of the exchangeable assembly 22 and the feed of the wire 19 now fed to the feed assembly 1 begins. The wire residue belonging to the supply roll 17 can then be completely pulled out of the wire guide 21. The processed supply roll 17 can then be replaced by a new supply roll, the wire of which can be inserted into the wire guide 21 during ongoing operation up to the waiting position of the front wire end defined at 20. During the subsequent roll change, this wire is fed to the feed unit 1 and the wire 19 is withdrawn accordingly, the drive roller 23 being rotated clockwise. The change of direction is facilitated by the segment groove 29.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the control valve 39 should be designed as a manually operable valve. To accomplish automation of the roll change, a solenoid valve could also be provided, which can be activated by means of the monitoring device 40 together with a drive motor assigned to the drive roll 23. A drive motor which can be assigned to the drive roller 23 can simply be a synchronous motor which can be switched from left to right and vice versa. To limit the drive movement of the drive roller 23, an actuatable limit switch can be provided, which switches off the relevant drive motor and switches to the new direction of rotation and at the same time passivates the control valve 39.

Although a particularly preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention has been explained in more detail above, this is not intended to imply any limitation. For example, it would be readily possible to replace the central drive roller 23 and the pressure rollers 24 associated therewith, which together form counter-rotating reversible feed devices, by a two-armed swivel lever which is provided with wire engagement devices in the region of both arms and interacts with a reversible swivel drive.

Claims (10)

1. Apparatus for feeding staple wire to a staple forming device, in particular a stapler attached to a folder arranged downstream of a rotary printing press, with a stationary cutting nozzle (13), which is associated with a stapling wire and has at least one passing knife (14) as counter knife, which is provided by a supply roll (16 or 17) removable clamp wire (18 or 19) can be fed by means of an assigned feed unit (1), characterized in that receiving devices (15) are provided for two supply rolls (16 or 17), of which the cutting nozzle ( 13) supplied staple wire (18) or a staple wire (19) held during the processing of this staple wire (18) with its front end (20) in the waiting position in front of the feed unit (1) and which is followed by a changing unit (22), which has two oppositely activated drive devices (drive roller 23, pressure rollers 24), the one of the clamp wires (18 or 19) which can be unwound from the two supply rolls (16 or 17) and which can be brought into drive engagement with the respectively assigned clamp wire to effect a roll change and whose drive direction is reversed after each roll change. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive movement of the drive means (drive roller 23, pressure rollers 24) is limited, the drive movement of the drive means (drive roller 23, pressure rollers 24) of at least the distance of the front end (20) of the waiting position the remaining clamp wire (19) from the wire engagement area of the feed unit (1) corresponds to the corresponding feed distance and the distance of the front end (20) of the standby clip wire (19), the insertion length of which can be fixed by means of a clamp (31) that can be attached thereon, from the wire engagement area of the feed unit (1) is greater than the throughput path of the wire in the area of the feed unit (1). 3. Device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the interchangeable unit (22) is arranged in the area between the penetrating clamp wires (18 or 19) associated wire guide branches (21a or 21b), which can be driven in different directions of rotation drive roller (23 ) and two pressure rollers (24) that can be adjusted together, by means of which the drive roller (23) can be brought into engagement with the clamp wires (18 or 19) that enclose it. 4. The device according to claim 5, characterized in that the drive movement of the drive roller (23) by means of a in a segment groove (29) engaging stop pin (30) is limited, wherein the drive roller (23) is preferably connected to a disc (28) having the segment groove (29) into which a stop pin (30) engages, which is preferably provided with a drive crank (26). 5. The device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the feed unit (1) and the drive devices of the change unit (22) by means of respectively assigned actuators (11 and 37) which are controllable by means of a common control member (39), simultaneously can be activated or passivated in opposite directions. 6. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the pressure rollers (24) are received on a respective pivot lever (35), and that the opposite pivot levers (35) can be actuated simultaneously by means of the actuator (37), which is preferably designed as a lifting cylinder. 7. The device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the feed unit (1) has two feed rollers (7 or 8), of which at least one on a by means of the preferably designed as a lifting cylinder actuator (11) actuated pivot lever (9) is recorded. 8. The device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the interchangeable unit (22) with a drive switchable from clockwise to counterclockwise and vice versa Motor is provided, which can be activated together with the control member (39) by means of a monitoring device (40) scanning the running supply roll (17), the movement of the drive motor preferably being limited by a limit switch which moves the drive motor down and in the other direction of rotation switches and the control element (39) passivated. 9. The device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the region of each of the interchangeable unit (22) penetrating wire guide branch (21a or 21b) a wire brake device (32) is arranged, which is preferably a pair of rollers (33) with a resilient to the Has counter roll pressing roller. 10. The device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the feed unit (1) supplied clamp wire (18 or 19) runs in a preferably designed as a guide channel (21) which extends to the roller holder (2) in the branches (21a or 21b), respectively assigned, picked up on the supply rolls (16 or 17) received thereon.

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