EP0255684B1 - Sheet feeding device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to devices for conveying flat objects, of the belt and pulley type, allowing treatments or operations on these objects during their journey.

These flat objects are for example postal folds. A conveyor device of the type referred to above is used to ensure their routing between a destacker, which delivers them individually, and a plurality of compacting modules of a sorting station which ensures their routing and stacking, according to their destination. During this journey, from the destacker to the sorting modules, a processing station, upstream of the sorting station, determines the destination of each of the successive folds.

Such an organization is as such known. The processing station can be read by the address by an operator and with manual control of indexing of successive folds with possibly printing of destination barcodes on these folds, for batches of folds not bearing such destination codes . It can be automatically read destination codes on the envelopes, for batches of envelopes bearing such codes. It can also be read from an address by an operator and with command to readdress letters by computer, in response to input information produced by the operator after reading the address and to a corresponding stored re-addressing information, possibly printing the new address and the new destination bar code.

Document USA 1919 169 discloses an object conveying device comprising a first so-called main section for guiding objects, a second so-called terminal section, substantially orthogonal to the first, at a first end of this main section, and an endless belt for driving objects along one and then the other of these two guide sections. Return pulleys and a pulley at the transition between the two sections maintain the strip against both of the sections. The terminal section is pivotally mounted on the first end of the main section to position itself selectively opposite different external conveyors, ensuring selective communication of the main guide section with these external conveyors.

By simply reversing the direction of drive of the endless belt, the pivoting end section constitutes an outlet for selective distribution of the objects it receives from the main section or an input selectively supplied with objects which it delivers to the main section.

This device allows selective distribution of objects to different output conveyors, which thus constitute a sorting station, but its number of possible destinations remains however very limited. Furthermore, its arcuate transition with a relatively small radius of curvature is ill-suited to semi-rigid objects, such as thick postal folds. Its size is important.

The sorting station can also be formed by a series of compacting modules mounted along the conveying device, with each module consisting of a pallet for retaining an evolving stack of plies on an advantageously inclined base plane and a switch entry into the module.

On the conveying device, these processing and sorting stations require that the folds have at each of them speeds compatible with the operation or operations that they perform. Thus, for example, the address reading by the operator is carried out on a fold stopped in a reading position, the printing of the destination barcode, done by an inkjet printer, is carried out on folds driven at a speed of the order of 0.4 m / s. On the other hand, in the sorting station, the proper insertion and packing of the folds in the packing modules requires that these folds arrive at a high speed of the order of 3.5 m / s. The conveying device therefore consists of several individual conveyors with belts and pulleys having their own speed and defining between them a continuous path for the folds.

For reasons of compactness, it is sought to give the conveying device a trajectory having arcuate portions, for its folding, between rectilinear portions at the level of the processing stations. Thus, in a mail indexing and sorting machine, the address reading and indexing station (s) can be mounted in front of the operator and the sorting station be lateral. A long arcuate transition with a large radius of curvature on the rear of the indexing station can be adopted, but it leads to a large bulk and to an overturning of the objects which may be incompatible or detrimental to the subsequent processing to be carried out.

The object of the present invention is to avoid these drawbacks by allowing objects separated from each other to be transported with very good reliability and without risk of damage along a folded-back conveying path leading to congestion. minimal.

The subject of the present invention is a device for conveying flat objects, with belts and pulleys, comprising a first inlet conveyor, of substantially linear trajectory, having an object inlet at a first of its ends and an outlet for objects at its second end, a second conveyor, also substantially linear in trajectory and orthogonal to that of the input conveyor, itself having an object inlet at a first of its ends, and means for coupling the outlet of the inlet and inlet conveyor of the outlet conveyor, characterized in that the outlet conveyor has a plurality of selective outlets along its path, in that the outlet of the inlet conveyor and the inlet of the conveyor outlet are arranged substantially side by side and in that said coupling means comprise a pivoting chute, articulated substantially around a first of its ends distant from said conveyors urs of entry and exit and having its second end, called entry / exit of objects from the chute, movable in front of the exit of the entry conveyor and the entry of the exit conveyor, between a rest position, for which the chute extends the outlet of said inlet conveyor, and a transfer position, for which the chute extends the inlet of said outlet conveyor, and control means in one direction and the other of the chute for the transfer of each object from the inlet to the outlet conveyor.

According to another characteristic, the chute carries a lateral roller cooperating in guiding said objects during their insertion into the chute in the rest position and ensuring with one of the belts of the output conveyor the ejection of said objects out of the chute in position transfer.

The characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become apparent during the description of an embodiment given by way of example and illustrated in the attached drawing. In this drawing:
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the conveying device according to the invention, used in an indexing and pre-sorting machine for postal folds with automatic feed,
FIG. 2 is a partial view of the conveying device according to the invention, corresponding to the transition zone of the device according to FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 shows, seen from above, the transition element belonging to the conveying device,
FIG. 4 is a front view of the transition element, according to arrow IV of FIG. 3,
FIGS. 5 and 6 are two sectional views of the transition element, do according to lines VV and VI-VI of figure 4.

In Figure 1, there is shown very schematically an indexing and pre-sorting machine for postal envelopes using the conveyor device according to the invention. This machine is automatic feeding. The folds to be sorted are initially loaded in a stack in a magazine 1 equipped at the end with a head 2 for unstacking. The unitary folds from the unstacking head are quickly removed and then pass through an address reading station 3 and an indexing station 4, they are then routed through a pre-sorted station 5.

At the address reading station 3, each fold is stopped for the reading of the address it carries, carried out by an operator.

At the indexing station, successive folds receive a barcode according to their destination, which has just been read. The operator has for this purpose a keyboard 6 entering the destination information read in an inkjet printer 41 belonging to the indexing station 4 and printing the corresponding barcode on the fold concerned.

This indexing station 4 can also deal with folds to be redirected. In this case, as shown, it includes a label printing unit 42 receiving the new address, followed by a label application unit 43 on the fold concerned, before the barcode printer, and a control unit 44. The new address is determined in the control unit 44 in response to the corresponding information read, which is then transmitted to it from the keyboard 6, and that of re-addressing stored locally or remotely, it is supplied to the printer with the corresponding barcode 41.

In the pre-sorting station 5, the successive folds are directed towards one of the compacting modules 51 which it comprises, depending on their destination, each compacting module constitutes a stacking magazine of evolving capacity as and when of the fold reception and is associated with an input switch 52 controlled from the indexing station and with means for inserting the deviated folds, shown diagrammatically at 53.

For reasons of minimal space, the pre-screening station is mounted transversely to the assembly formed by the magazine and its unstacking head, the address reading station and the indexing station.

A conveying device, according to the invention, ensures the routing of the folds through this series of stations.

A so-called input conveyor 8 is assigned to the conveyance of the folds, coming from the unstacking head, through the address reading and indexing stations. A so-called outlet conveyor 9 is assigned to the conveyance of the plies through the sorting station, the input switches of the various compaction modules ensuring or not the deflection of the plies on this outlet conveyor.

These inlet 8 and outlet 9 conveyors are due to drive and friction belts and pulleys. They have drive speeds compatible with the operations carried out in the stations they pass through. Thus, the input conveyor 8 is formed by several individual conveyors 81, 82 one after the other, along a substantially linear path. The individual conveyor 81 has a relatively high speed, of the order of 1.5 m / s, to clear the folds it receives from the unstacking head. It crosses the address reading station where an erasable barrier shown diagrammatically at 83, with a given opening period from the unstacking head, is associated with it, for the temporary stopping of the folds in the address reading position. The individual conveyor 82 passes through the label application and bar code printing units of the indexing station. It is of slow speed, of the order of 0.4 m / s, for these operations. The output conveyor 9 also has a substantially linear trajectory; on the other hand, it is of high speed, of the order of 3.5 m / s, to give the different plies sufficient insertion force in the corresponding compaction modules.

In the machine, the outlet of the inlet conveyor 8 the inlet of the outlet conveyor 9 are substantially side by side and the ply conveying device comprises, in addition to these conveyors 8 and 9, a pivoting chute 10 ensuring their connection. This chute is placed substantially in the extension of the outlet of the inlet conveyor 8, to receive each fold which occurs there, and in the extension of the inlet of the outlet conveyor, to transfer each fold it receives.

The chute 10 is slightly longer than the length of the longest folds it can receive. It is carried by a fixed axis 11 around which it pivots according to the double arrow 12, between a rest position and a transfer position in which it is shown in solid lines and in dotted lines. Control means shown diagrammatically at 13 ensure that it is placed in one or the other of these two positions.

The outlet of the inlet conveyor 8 and the inlet of the outlet conveyor 9 each have, advantageously, a bend with a large radius of curvature allowing a small angular clearance of the chute for its alternative placement in their extension , without deformation of the folds at their entry into the chute and at their exit from the chute.

In FIG. 2, the part of the conveying device has been illustrated on a larger scale and in a more complete manner, at the level of the chute 10 for connection between the outlet of the inlet conveyor 8 and the inlet of the outlet conveyor 9 .

We see there, for the input conveyor 8, a driving belt 84 on a final return pulley 85 and a tension pulley 86 and a terminal friction belt 87 mounted on a final return pulley 88 and on guide pulleys and of tension 89. These belts define between their strands in pressure one against the other, which appear in bold lines, the slightly arched exit path of the input conveyor 8 emerging substantially opposite and at a short distance from the inlet / outlet 15 of the chute 10 in the rest position.

The friction belt 87 partially engages in the inlet / outlet 15 of the chute 10 in its rest position; it provides training and guidance for the insertion of each ply into the chute.

In this same FIG. 2, we can see, for the output conveyor 9, a drive belt 91 mounted on a pulley 92, an end return pulley 93 and guide pulleys 94 and a friction friction belt 95 also made drive. This friction terminal belt 95 is mounted on a pulley 96, a terminal pulley of reference 97 and guide or tension pulleys 98. The drive pulley of the belt 91 is not illustrated, it is in the pre-module. The pulley 96 is coupled to the pulley 92 for driving the belt 95 at the same speed as the belt 91.

One of the deflection pulleys 98 carries a coding wheel 90 making it possible to take information reflecting the speed of driving of the plies on the output conveyor 9. This information is used for the control of the pre-screening station (FIG. 1).

The strands pressing against each other, shown in bold lines, of these two belts 91 and 95 define the slightly arched entry path of the exit conveyor 9, facing and at a short distance from which the entry opens. outlet 15 of chute 10 in its transfer position. The friction belt 95 engages in the chute in the transfer position, over a significant part of its length. It ensures the drive out of the fold chute which is present there, as well as its guidance, or its transfer into the outlet conveyor 9, and is called the ejection belt.

In this same FIG. 2, the axis 11 has been identified around which the chute 10 pivots as well as the control means 13. The latter consist of an electromagnet acting on the end part of the chute opposite its inlet / outlet , for placing and maintaining the chute in its transfer position. The electromagnet 13 is itself controlled for its excitation or not from a logic circuit 14. A return spring 16, acting opposite the electromagnet on the chute, ensures the setting and maintaining the chute in its resting position, when the electromagnet is not excited. A stop 17 cooperates with the spring 16 for the correct positioning of the chute in the rest position.

In Figure 2, the spring 16 is mounted on the side of the inlet / outlet of the chute to make it appear more clearly. It can be located next to the electromagnet and thus be outside of any possible fold path. Alternatively, the stop 17 can be replaced by a rubber washer, on the axis of the electro-like.

On the output of the input conveyor 8, a lamp 18a and an associated photoelectric cell 18b detect the successive folds. Sure the input of the output conveyor 9, another lamp 19a and another photoelectric cell 19b which is associated with it detect the folds at their level. These cells 18b and 19b control the electromagnet 13 through the logic circuit 14: cell 18b excites it at the end of the detection of each fold, after a few milliseconds of delay allowing the fold to be fully entered into the chute, cell 19b cuts the excitation of the electromagnet when it detects each fold.

The more precise description of the chute 10 is given in particular with regard to the two views from above and from the front of the chute given in FIGS. 3 and 4, and / or the two sectional views given in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The chute 10 is U-shaped; it has one of its vertical legs identified by the reference 20 of height close to that of the largest folds and says large leg of the chute. The other leg identified by the reference 21 is of low height and says small leg. With reference to FIG. 2, the belt 87 of the inlet conveyor 8 cooperates with the large leg of the chute for its partial insertion with its terminal return pulley 88, into the inlet / outlet of the chute in the rest position; on the other hand the ejection belt 95 of the output conveyor 9 cooperates with the small leg whose level is lower than that of this belt to allow its passage under this belt, during due pivoting of the chute to its transfer position, and therefore partial insertion of the belt 95 in the path of the chute in the transfer position.

The large jamb 20 has a set of ribs 22 on its inner face, reinforcing its rigidity and reducing the friction of the folds. On the inlet / outlet side 15 of the chute; it has a window 23, open at the end and after cutting, in which partially engages the final return pulley 88 carrying the belt 85 of the input conveyor 8, when the chute is in the rest position. In the innermost part of this same window 23 is housed a roller 25. This roller 25 is an idler roller, it is carried by a vertical axis 26 mounted between two horizontal tabs 27 on the outer face of the large leg 20 of the chute , resulting from the formation of the window 23. Its periphery projects from the internal face of this large jamb; the folds from the input conveyor 8 arrive substantially tangentially against the roller 25, when the chute is in the rest position. This roller is applied against the ejection belt 95 when the chute is in the transfer position; it is mounted substantially at mid-height on the large leg 20, at the level of the ejection belt 95 of the outlet conveyor 9.

A deflector flap 28 is attached to the external face of the large leg 20 of the chute, it extends along the chute, substantially from its inlet / outlet 15, where it has its terminal end slightly folded towards this large jamb, up to 'at least its middle part, in front of the axis 11. This deflector flap forms at the same time protective cover for the roller 25. When the chute 10 is in the transfer position, the flap 28 is located at the front of the pulley 88 ; it guides, for their ejection, any folds which would then come from the input conveyor 8, avoiding that a jam can be caused during the return to the rest position of the chute.

The inlet / outlet 15 of the chute 10 is flared in V. Its legs 20 and 21 have for this purpose their end portions 30 and 31 folded and slightly folded outwards.

Beyond the deflector flap 28, a support block 32 is fixed to the large leg 20 of the chute. The block 32 is crossed by the vertical axis 11 fixed on a spacer 33 of the frame running under the chute and carrying the axes of the pulleys of the conveyors. It is mounted to rotate freely on the axis 11 by means of bearings 34. This block is substantially two-thirds of the length of the chute, taken from its inlet / outlet 15.

On the bottom of the chute, substantially at the level of the inlet / outlet 15, a lug 35 resulting from a puncture in the bottom ensures the hooking of one of the ends of the return spring 16 of the chute towards its rest position. The other end of this spring is fixed on an axis 36 carried by the frame spacer 33.

The small jamb 21 is free of any insert over its entire length. Only the electromagnet 13 has its shaft which forms a retractable control stop 37 against this small leg, substantially at level of its end opposite the inlet / outlet 15 of the chute. At this end opposite the inlet / outlet of the chute, a tab 38 after folding the leg 20 is folded down to close the internal path of the chute.

A bracket 39 fixed on the frame spacer 33 carries the electromagnet 13. On this same bracket 39, is also fixed the stop 17 (Figure 2), serving as a buffer when the chute returns to the rest position then the electromagnet is released.

The operation of the conveying device according to the invention is as follows:
- the successive folds delivered by the unstacking head are taken care of by the inlet conveyor 8;
each fold passes and stops, if necessary, in the processing stations mounted along this input conveyor and is conveyed to the exit of the conveyor, at the speed or at the speeds that this conveyor gives it;
- At the output of the input conveyor 8, each fold is detected by the cell 18 b;
- When the rear edge of the detected fold escapes the cell 18b, a triggered delay, of a few milliseconds, allows the fold concerned to be in the chute 10 in the rest position, the belt 85 having driven it until the back edge of the fold escapes him;
- the electromagnet 13 excited from this elapsed time delay rotates the chute in the transfer position; during this passage into the transfer position the small leg of the chute passes under the belt 95 of the outlet conveyor 9 and the roller 25 applied against the belt 95 comes to grip against this belt the fold contained in the chute;
- at the arrival of the chute in this transfer position, the roller 25 forms a counter-roller associated with the ejection belt 95 for the ejection of the fold from the chute and its handling by the belts 91 and 95 ; for this correct clearance, without rebound, the distance between the pinch point of the fold between these two belts 91 and 95, at the entrance of the conveyor 9, and the roller 25 allows the belt 95 to accept an arrow compatible with the maximum possible thickness of folds and with the force of the electromagnet always keeping the chute in the transfer position;
- Detection of the rear edge of the fold supported by the conveyor 9, by the cell 19b, cuts the excitation of the electromagnet;
- The return spring 16 returns the chute to the rest position, while avoiding with the stopper 17 any rebounds, the chute is thus ready to receive the new fold from the conveyor 8 for the transfer thereof;
- The successive folds on the output conveyor 9 are driven at the high speed given to them by this conveyor; during this training they are directed and stored in the compaction modules corresponding to the respective destinations they carry, from commands received from the indexing station.

During this operation, the folds liable to appear tiled at the exit from the inlet conveyor 8 are seen as a single fold by the cell 18b; they are treated as such by the chute for their transfer to the outlet conveyor 9. The folds capable of being delivered by the inlet conveyor 8 while the chute is in its transfer position are ejected out of the conveyor path by the deflector flap 28.

The logic circuit 14 connected to cells 18b and 19b also makes it possible to minimize any possible jamming problem at the level of the chute due to insufficient spacing between folds on the output of the input conveyor. Such a possible jamming takes place when two folds are present on the outlet of the inlet conveyor 8 separated from each other but in a first case extremely spaced apart and in a second case not entirely spaced apart.

In the first of these cases, the processing circuit inhibits the excitation command of the electromagnet at the end of the time delay which followed the detection of the trailing edge of the first of the two folds, so that the second fold and the first are considered as two tiled folds, the second fold is then treated with the first in the chute. The occultation of cell 18b, from the passage of the front edge of the second fold, while the time delay which follows the rear edge of the first fold has been started but is not finished, makes the end of this time delay without effect in order not to excite the electromagnet to prevent this second fold from starting to enter the chute at the start of its pivoting towards its transfer position.

In the second of these cases, the processing circuit 14 inhibits the excitation cut-off of the electromagnet controlling its return to the rest position, so that the second of the folds considered is ejected out of the conveying path. The occultation of cell 18b by the second fold while cell 19b is still obscured by the first of the folds being transferred to the output conveyor inhibits the excitation cut off given by cell 19b for detecting the rear edge of the first fold, during the occultation time of cell 18b followed by the time delay associated with it, so that this second fold is considered to be ejected.

Thus, if we consider that the normal spacing between plies is of the order of 100 mm:
- folds separated by a distance equal to or greater than 100 mm are transferred from the conveyor 8 to the conveyor 9 by the chute,
- the tiled folds are treated as a single fold,
- two separate folds with a value less than or equal to 3 mm are treated as tiled folds therefore as a single fold,
- two folds separated by a distance between 3 to 100 mm are for the first normally transferred and for the second ejected out of the conveying path.

This conveying device has many advantages, in particular:
- it leads to a minimum trajectory length, without an arcuate transition detrimental to the fold between the individual conveyors which it comprises, therefore to a minimum bulk,
- it avoids a reversal of the folds conveyed, which could also be detrimental to the processing carried out along the outlet conveyor,
- it allows a connection between the individual conveyors which it comprises and having very different speeds,
- It is reliable and fast to operate due to its simplicity, the low inertia and the short anular travel of the chute, the roller 25 carried by the chute ensuring the guidance of the incoming fold and with one of the belts of the output conveyor driving the fold present in the chute for the release of this fold.

For the conveyance of mail in an indexing and pre-sorting machine, it is further specified that the device is particularly suitable for broad spectrum mail, having maximum dimensions of the order of 292 mm in length, 156 mm in height and 6.35 mm in thickness, minimum dimensions of the order of 127 mm in length, 89 mm in height and 0.17 mm in thickness and a mass of between 85 and 2.8 grams.

The present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated embodiment. It is of course possible to modify it in detail and / or replace certain means with other equivalents, without going beyond the ambit of this invention.

Claims (11)

1. A belt and roller conveyor device for flat objects, comprising a substantially linear input conveyor (8) having an object input at a first of its ends and an object output at its second end, a substantially linear output conveyor (9) orthogonal to said input conveyor and having an object input at a first one of its ends, and means for linking the output of the input conveyor to the input of the output conveyor, characterized in that the output conveyor (9) comprises a plurality of selectable outputs (52) along its path, that the output of the input conveyor (8) and the input of the output conveyor (9) are disposed substantially side by side and that the linking means comprise a pivoting chute (10) which is adapted to pivot substantially about a first one of its ends away from the input and output conveyors and whose second end, called input/output (15) can be moved in front of the output of the input conveyor and the input of the output conveyor between an idle position in which the chute is aligned with the output of the input conveyor (8), and a transfer position, in which the chute is aligned with the input of the output conveyor (9), and control means (13, 16) adapted to pivot the chute in one direction or the other in order to transfer each object from the input conveyor to the output conveyor.
2. A conveyor device according to claim 1, characterized in that said chute (10) comprises a lateral roller (25) partially projecting into said chute and substantially aligned with the output of said input conveyor (8) when said chute is in said idle position, and substantially aligned with the input of said output conveyor (9) when said chute (10) is in said transfer position.
3. A conveyor device according to claim 2, characterized in that said chute (10) is generally U-shaped and has a high side (20) carrying said roller (25) and a low side (21) below the level of said output conveyor (9), and that said output conveyor (9) includes an ejector belt (95) extending beyond the input of the output conveyor and partly into said chute (10) when in said transfer position, in which said roller (25) is pressed against said ejector belt.
4. A conveyor device according to claim 3, characterized in that said high side of said chute comprises a window (23) at the input/output end of said chute and one belt (88) of said input conveyor is inserted partially into said window when said chute is in said idle position, said roller (25) being disposed further inside said window.
5. A conveyor device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that said high side of said chute comprises a deflector flap (28) on its outside substantially flush with the output from said input conveyor (8) when said chute is in said transfer position.
6. A conveyor device according to one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that said high side of said chute comprises a support (32) attached to its outside substantially beyond its median part relative to the input/output (15) of said chute, and adapted to rotate freely about a fixed spindle (11) defining the pivot axis of said chute.
7. A conveyor device according to claim 6, characterized in that said control means comprise a retractable abutment member (37, 13) bearing externally against said low side (21) of said chute substantially at the end opposite said input/output (15) thereof, return means (16) opposing the action of said retractable abutment member fixed to said chute (10), and a first detector (18a, 18b) adapted to sense said objects at the output of the input conveyor (8) and to place said retractable abutment member in its non-retracted position.
8. A conveyor device according to claim 7, characterized in that it includes a second detector (19a, 19b) adapted to sense said objects at the input of said output conveyor (9) and to place said retractable abutment member in its retracted position.
9. A conveyor device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that it comprises a buffer abutment member (17) associated with said return means (16) and mounted with said retractable abutment member in front of said low side (21) of said chute.
10. A conveyor device according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the conveyor comprises a plurality of individual conveyors (81, 82) disposed in series, having respective different speeds and passing through successive operator stations (3, 4), and that said output conveyor has a speed higher than that of the upstream individual conveyor (82) to which it is linked by said chute (10).
11. A conveyor device according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises a logic circuit (14) coupled to said first and second detectors (18b - 19b) and adapted to delay actuation of said retractable abutment member to prevent transfer of an object from said input conveyor (8) to said chute (10) while said chute is moving from its idle position to its transfer position or vice-versa.

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