EP0453935B1 - Method and device for transporting stacked sheet material from a delivery field to a feeding field in a cutting machine - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates first of all to a method for transferring material, which has been cut into transverse strips and is located in an exit field of a device for cutting stacked, sheet-shaped material, to an input field of the device for the purpose of cutting this material into longitudinal strips, the device comprising a cutting table with a table surface, which has a working field, above which there is a cutting knife and a press beam, behind which the input field for receiving the material to be cut and in front of it the output field for receiving the material to be cut, and a feed device assigned to the input field for the material to be cut is provided.

It is known for the subsequent longitudinal cutting of material cut into transverse strips by rotating them on the starting field by 90 °, so that the cut transverse strips are now longitudinally oriented and then the material over the working field, that is to say under the cutting knife and the press beam to be pushed back into the input field in order to then allow the mechanical cutting process to take place again, in which the feed device pushes the material located on the input field into the area of the working field for the purpose of the next useful cuts, where the cuts are made at defined intervals using the cutting knife. In addition to the fact that pushing back the stack of cut goods usually present in the form of a cuboid has so far been carried out manually and this requires considerable effort, there is an additional risk to the operator since they have to work constantly in the area of the cutting knife and the press beam. Apart from this, the operator must align the material to be cut from the exit field on the entry field, so that the alignment process is extremely complicated.

From DE-A-2 911 473 a method for cutting stacks from leafy material is known, in which the material to be cut is fed to a cutting unit, positioned, pressed and cut, the feeding process taking place in such a way that the stack is outside pressed into the cutting unit and fed to the cutting unit in the pressed-in state and then the cutting process takes place. A device for carrying out the method has, on the rear side of the cutting unit, a receiving table which can be moved and pivoted at least in the direction of the cutting unit and transversely thereto, a pressing device being assigned to the receiving table and being movable therewith. The material to be cut can thus be pressed in in the area of the rear of the cutting unit and can be moved and pivoted relative to the cutting knife.

It is the object of the present invention to initially provide a method which enables a work flow in the longitudinal cutting of stacked, sheet-like material following its transverse cutting.

The object is achieved in a method of the type mentioned at the outset in that the material present in transverse strips and to be cut in longitudinal strips is moved from the starting area onto a thin-walled, plate-shaped transport pad, and the transport pad together with the item over at least a table arranged to the side of the device, the table surface of which can be arranged at the same level as that of the cutting table of the device, is fed to the input field of the device and is taken there, aligned with the input field, from the transport document, the material present in transverse strips to be cut into longitudinal strips when being brought onto the Transport pad or together with the transport pad or after removal from the transport pad before longitudinal cutting from the transverse direction in the longitudinal direction.

According to the invention, after the cross sections have been made, the material to be cut in its longitudinal direction is moved to the side of the device from the exit field to the entrance field. While the material is being moved from the exit field to the input field, material placed on the input field can already be cut, so that the cutting machine integrated in the method can be operated continuously.

It is considered to be particularly expedient if the material present in the transverse stripe is placed on the transport base, rotated in the longitudinal direction. The material to be cut thus takes its final orientation before the transport pad moves from the work field to the input field, so that it is essentially only necessary to ensure that the material is oriented in a defined manner on the input field so that it is fed to the work field by means of the feed device can be. In this sense, the transport pad is expediently positioned on the table adjacent to the starting field and a first alignment stop arranged parallel to the cutting plane and a second alignment stop arranged perpendicular to this are lowered onto the transport pad. The rotated goods are aligned at these two alignment stops and, after the stops have been moved from their contact positions to the goods, the transport document with the goods is moved into the area of the entry field. Advantageously, the transport pad with the goods should be moved onto the input field against a side stop assigned to it and a stop should be moved behind the goods in the direction of movement of the transport pad, the transport pad being pulled out from under the goods in the opposite direction of movement. Which behind the goods laying stop should make such a movement that he clamps the goods already aligned in the area of the exit field, thus before the transport document is moved, between himself and the side stop assigned to the entry field, the orientation of the goods on the entry field in the vertical finally done by means of the feed device.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the surface of the transport pad is not completely loaded with goods and the movement of the transport pad takes place by means of suction, gripping devices or the like which act on the transport pad in the unoccupied area thereof.

The table arranged on the side of the cutting table can be made in one part or in several parts. In a multi-part design it is provided that the table surfaces of the table parts can be raised and / or lowered with respect to their level with the table surface of the cutting table. This may be desirable, for example, if auxiliary units for accomplishing the cutting process are arranged in particular to the side of the working area, which make it necessary to transport the transport pad above the auxiliary unit or units. In the event that the width of the auxiliary unit (s) is small, the gap formed between the table parts arranged to the side of these can be bridged by means of the transport pad with the goods located thereon. In the case of a larger gap, on the other hand, the surface of the respective auxiliary unit itself has to be designed as a table surface and the neighboring table parts with their table surfaces have to be brought to their level.

The invention further relates to a device for cutting stacked, sheet-like material, with a cutting table, with a table surface, a working field, above which there is a cutting knife and a press beam, behind an input field for receiving the material to be cut and an output field in front of it Has recording of the cut good, and is provided with a feed device assigned to the input field for the good to be cut. With such a Device is proposed according to the invention that a further table is arranged on the side of the cutting table, the table surface of which can be positioned at the same level as the table surface of the cutting table, one end of the table being arranged adjacent to the exit field and the other end of the table being adjacent to the input field and a thin-walled, plate-shaped one Transport document for transferring the goods from the exit field to the entrance field is provided. If the table surfaces of the cutting table and the other table are positioned at the same level, goods that are cut transversely can be guided laterally past the actual cutting machine and fed into the entry field of the cutting table without it being necessary to move the goods over the working field, i.e. under the To move the cutting knife and the press beam. The further table advantageously has a first table part on the side of the exit field and a second table part on the side of the entry field, the table parts being positionable in one plane and arranged adjacent to one another and to the cutting table. A region of a table part can be designed as a side feeder that can be raised and lowered and is assigned to the working area, the upper surface of which, in the lowered position, forms a plane with the table surface of the remaining region of this table part. To align the material, the first table part is expediently provided with an alignment stop arranged perpendicular to the cutting plane and a further alignment stop arranged parallel to the cutting plane. If the alignment stops are in the direction of movement of the goods when being transferred from the exit field to the entry field, they should be removable from the area of the goods, in particular they can be raised, lowered or moved horizontally. In addition, the second table part can be provided with an alignment stop arranged parallel to the cutting plane for the material to be cut. Finally, for the final alignment of the material on the input field of the cutting table, this is provided with a side stop arranged perpendicular to the cutting plane.

Further features of the invention are shown in the description of the figures and in the subclaims, it being noted that all individual features and all combinations of individual features are essential to the invention.

1 to 10 show a possible method according to the invention with regard to a conceivable device variant, without being limited to such.

Figure 1 shows a plan view of the device shown in a highly simplified manner. A cutting table 1 has a horizontal table surface 2, which is composed of an input field 3, a working field 4 located in front of it and an output field 5 located further ahead. The table surface 2 is rectangular. In a portal 6 extending above the working area 4, a cutting knife is mounted, the cutting plane of which extends perpendicular to the sheet plane through the line 7, and on the side of the cutting knife facing the input field 1, a press beam is also mounted in the portal 6. On the side of the input field 3 facing away from the portal 6, a feed saddle 8, which can be moved in the longitudinal direction of the table surface 2 and whose contact surface 9 for the material to be cut is arranged parallel to the cutting plane 7, adjoins this.

A table part 11 with its narrow side 12 is arranged on its side 10 adjacent to the output field 5, the latter only partially overlapping the side 10. The table part 11 has a rectangular table surface 13 and, with its longitudinal side 14 arranged parallel to the cutting plane 7, is arranged at a slight distance from the portal 6, so that the table part 11 lies directly against the cutting table 1 over the greatest length of the side 10 of the exit field 5. The table surface 13 of the table part 11 usually forms a plane with the table surface 2 of the cutting table 1, but the table part 11 can be raised.

A second table part 15, which also has a rectangular table surface 16, is arranged adjacent to the input field 3. The longitudinal edge of the table part 15 is directly adjacent to the input field 3. Corresponding to the width of the portal 6, the two table parts 11 and 15 are spaced apart, the space between the table parts 11 and 15 occupies a housing 18 in which a side feeder which is movable in the immediate vicinity of the cutting plane 7 in the longitudinal direction of the portal 6 is mounted in the space between the cutting knife and the press beam. The housing 18 is flat at the top and thus represents a further table part with a table surface 19. The table parts 11 and 15 can be raised to the level of the table surface 19 with their table surfaces 13 and 16.

Arranged on the side of the table part 11 facing the housing 18 is a stop 20, which extends parallel to the cutting plane 7 and can be lowered onto the table surface 13 and is oriented perpendicular to the table surface 13. A further stop 21 is located perpendicularly to this above the table part 11. In the longitudinal direction of the table part 11, thus in the direction of the cutting plane 7, another portal 22 can be moved, which is arranged in the transverse direction of the table part 11 and seen over its length with several suction elements 23 is provided. Another portal 24 can be moved in the longitudinal direction of the table part 15, thus perpendicular to the cutting plane 7 above this table part and the housing 18 up to the table part 11. The portal 24 extends in the transverse direction of the table part 15 and likewise has various suction elements 25 over its length. In the transverse direction of the table part 15, a clamping device 26 can be moved from the side of this table part facing away from the input field 3 to the feed saddle 8. The clamping device 26 has two clamping elements 27, which are arranged at a distance from one another, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the table part 15. On the side facing away from the table part 15, the cutting table 1 is provided with a side stop 28 in the area of its input field 3.

The method according to the invention for transferring the goods is described below:
It is first on the table surface 2 in the area of the input field 3 with the feed saddle 8 retracted an untrimmed Placed stack of sheet-like material and aligned with the side stop 28. The untrimmed stack can be moved from a vibrating table via the table part 15 to the cutting table 1 via a gripper system. The feed saddle 8 is then brought into contact with the stack and this is pushed into the working area 4. Then there are successive cuts in which the stack is broken down into several horizontal strips. In the illustration in FIG. 1, these transverse strips are designated by the reference number 32. The table surface 13 of the table part 11 is positioned at the same level as the table surface 2 of the cutting table 1. A thin-walled, plate-shaped transport pad 29 is placed on the table part 11 and protrudes a certain distance beyond the long side 14 of the table part 11. The long sides 30 of the transport pad 29 are aligned parallel to the long side 14 of the table part 11 and the transverse sides 31 of the transport pad 29 parallel to the narrow side 12 of the table part 11. At the height of the long side 14 of the table part 11, the stop 20 is lowered onto the transport pad 29. The stop 21 abutting against the stop 20 and positioned perpendicularly thereto is also lowered onto this. The portal 22 is positioned above the half of the table part 11 facing away from the exit field 5 and its suction elements 23 are lowered onto the surface of the transport pad 29.

The resulting transverse strips 32 are successively pushed over the table surfaces 2 and 13 forming a plane onto the thin-walled transport pad 29 and at the same time rotated by 90 ° so that, as can be seen with respect to the table part 11, they lie perpendicular to the cutting plane 7 come. The transverse strips 32 can be moved from the exit field 4 of the cutting table 1 to the table part 11 manually or by means of a rotary gripper. The individual transverse strips 32 are aligned one after the other at the stops 20 and 21. While the transport pad 29 is being loaded, it can be positioned under the stops 20 and 21 lying loosely in the longitudinal direction of the table part 11 by means of the suction elements 23 are moved so as to facilitate the task of the individual transverse strips 32 on the transport pad 29.

FIG. 1 shows a loaded transport pad 29 on which seven transverse strips 32 are positioned and aligned with the stops 20 and 21. Together with the portal 22 and thus the suction elements 23, the associated stop 21 is then moved away from the exit field 6 until the transverse side 31 of the transport pad 29 assigned to the exit field 5 is aligned with the longitudinal edge 17 of the table part 15. The table parts 11 and 15 are then raised to the level of the table surface 19 of the housing 18, with reference to the viewing direction A according to FIG. 1, the lowered state is shown in FIG. 2, the raised state in FIG. 3. Before that, the stop 20 is horizontal from the Area of the transport pad 29 moved out and the suction elements 23 assigned to the portal 22 have been raised. Simultaneously with this lifting movement, as can be seen from the illustration in FIG. 2, the portal 24 arranged in the region of the second table part 15 is moved with the suction elements 25 in the direction of the first table part 11 and the suction elements 25 there onto the area protruding beyond the table part 11 33 of the transport pad 29 lowered. As can be seen from the illustration in FIG. 4 from the same viewing direction A, the transport pad with the goods 34 located thereon is then pulled completely onto the table part 15, after which the table part 15 is lowered again to its initial level and the suction elements 25 are disengaged the transport pad 29 are brought. On the side of the transport pad 29 facing away from the input field 3, the clamping elements 27 of the clamping device 26 grip the transport pad and push it onto the input field 3 of the cutting table 1 until the foremost transverse strip 32 abuts the side stop 28. A stop 35, which is arranged parallel to the side stop 24, is then lowered exactly behind the material 34 pushed over. These relationships are shown in part in the illustration in FIG. 5, which shows the situation from viewing direction B in accordance with FIG. 1. After lowering the stop 35 on the transport pad 29, the clamping device 26 moves again in the direction of the table part 15, whereby the transport pad 29 is pulled out from under the good 34 formed from the individual transverse strips 32. When viewing direction B is maintained, these relationships are illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. The last-mentioned figure also illustrates that after reaching the starting position, the first table part together with the transport pad 29 is in turn raised to the level of the table surface 19 of the housing 18. Then the terminal strips 27 are released from the transport pad 29. FIGS. 8 to 10 in turn show the further method steps from the viewing direction A for transferring the transport pad 29 into its initial position. According to FIG. 8, the suction elements 25 are lowered again onto the transport pad 29, which is then moved to the first table part in its starting position. The portal 24 with the suction elements 25 is returned to its initial position, then the two table parts 11 and 15 are lowered to the level of the cutting table 1 and the stop 20 is extended again. Then the transport pad 29 is loaded again with transverse strips 32. During the described movement back of the transport pad to the first table part 1 and after the stop 35 has been raised, the contact surface 9 of the feed saddle 8 is in contact with the rear side face 36 of the goods 34 which are now to be cut brought and the goods are advanced according to the desired thickness of the blocks created after the cut.

Claims (12)

1. A process for conveying material cut into transverse strips, which is situated on the output field of a device for cutting stacked sheet material, to an input field of the device for the purpose of cutting this material into longitudinal strips, wherein the device comprises a cutting table with a table area which has a field of action above which a cutting knife and the crosshead of a press are situated, with the input field behind it for receiving the material to be cut and with the output field in front of it for receiving the cut material, and a forward feed device associated with the input field is provided for the material to be cut, characterised in that the material (34) which is present in transverse strips (32) and which is to be cut into longitudinal strips is taken from the output field (5) on to a thin-walled plate-like conveying base (29), and the conveying base (29) is fed together with the material (34) to the input field (3) of the device via at least one table (11, 15) disposed at the side of the device, the table area (13, 16) of which table can be disposed at the same level as that of the cutting table (1) of the device, and is removed there from the conveying base (29) which is aligned in relation to the input field (3), wherein the material (34) which is present in transverse strips and which is to be cut into longitudinal strips is rotated from the transverse direction into the longitudinal direction, when it is taken on to the conveying base (29) or together with the conveying base (29) or after its removal from the conveying base (29), before the longitudinal cut.
2. A process according to claim 1, characterised in that the material (34) which is present in transverse strips is taken, rotated in the longitudinal direction, on to the conveying base (29).
3. A process according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the conveying base (29) is positioned adjacent to the output field (5)' on the table (11, 15) and a first alignment stop (20) disposed parallel to the cutting plane (7) and a second alignment stop (21) disposed perpendicularly to the first stop are lowered on to the conveying base (29), and the material (34) is aligned at the stops (20, 21), and after the stops (20, 21) have moved from their initial positions to the material (34) the conveying base (29) is moved with the material (34) into the region of the input field (3).
4. A process according to claim 3, characterised in that the conveying base (29) is moved with the material (34) on to the input field (3) towards a lateral stop (28) associated with the latter and a stop (35) is moved behind the material (34) in the direction of movement of the conveying base (29), and the conveying base (29) is withdrawn below the material (34) in the opposite direction of movement.
5. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the surface of the conveying base (29) is not completely occupied by material (34), and the movement of the conveying base (29) is effected by means of suction- (23, 25) and/or gripper devices (27) which act on the unoccupied regions of the conveying base (29).
6. A process according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the table (11, 18, 15) is of multi-part construction and the table areas (13, 16) of the table parts (11, 15) can be raised and/or lowered in relation to their level with respect to the table area (2) of the cutting table (1).
7. A device for cutting stacked sheet material, with a cutting table with a table area which has a field of action above which a cutting knife and a crosshead of a press are located, with an input field behind the field of action for receiving the material to be cut and with an output field in front of the field of action for receiving the cut material, and with a forward feed device, which is associated with the input field, for the material to be cut, characterised in that an additional table (11, 15) is disposed at the side of the cutting table (1), the table area (13, 16) of which additional table can be positioned at the same level as the table area (2) of the cutting table (1), wherein one end of the table (11, 15) is disposed adjacent to the output field (5) and the other end of the table (11, 15) is disposed adjacent to the input field (3), and a thin-walled, plate-like conveying base (29) is provided for conveying the material (34) from the output field (5) to the input field (3).
8. A device according to claim 7, characterised in that the table (11, 15) comprises a first table part (11) at the side of the output field (5) and a second table part (15) at the side of the input field (3), wherein the table parts (11, 15) are arranged so that they can be positioned in a plane and adjacent to each other and to the cutting table (1).
9. A device according to claim 7 or 8, characterised in that a region (18) of one table part (11, 18, 15) is constructed as a raisable and lowerable lateral placement device associated with the field of action (4), wherein its upper surface forms a plane with the table area (19) of the remaining region (18) of this table part (11, 18, 15) when the table parts (11, 15) are lowered.
10. A device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterised in that the first table part (11) has an alignment stop (21), which is disposed perpendicularly to the cutting plane (7), for the material (34) to be cut.
11. A device according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterised in that the first table part (11) has an alignment stop (20) for the material (34) to be cut, which alignment stop is disposed parallel to the cutting plane (7).
12. A device according to claim 11, characterised in that the alignment stop (20) is raiseable and lowerable.

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