EP0564812B1 - Method and device for opening folded printing products - Google Patents

Abstract

The printing products (20) are transported in the conveying direction (F) whilst being suspended by being held at their fold (22) by transporting clamps (14) of the conveying device (10). Their end region (28) rests on the supporting member (30) and the upper-lying product part (32) projects with its edge section (34) beyond the underlying product part (36). The two product parts (32, 36) are each assigned a gripper (38, 40) of the opening device (24), which are each arranged on a drawing member (42, 44), driven in a circulating manner. The clamping tongue (64) of the first gripper (38) engages under the edge section (34) and, upon running onto the opening link (78), lifts off the product part (32) from the underlying product part (36). The second gripper (40) seizes the lifted-off product part (32) in the edge section (34) and, upon lowering of the clamping tongue (64) into the closed position, the latter firmly clamps between itself and the clamping jaw (66) of the first gripper (38) the product part (36) at the end edge (36'). Since the first gripper (38) runs around at greater speed (v1) than the second gripper (40), the two product parts (32, 36) are lifted off each other in the conveying direction (F). <IMAGE>

Description

7. The present invention relates to a method and a device for opening folded printed products, in particular newspapers, magazines and parts thereof, according to the preamble of claims 1 and 7, respectively.

From EP-A-0 095 603 and the corresponding US-A-4,489,930 it is known to hold eccentrically folded printed products with transport clips when the fold runs transversely to the conveying direction and to transport them obliquely to the rear. Below the conveyor is an opening device with an endless belt driven at the conveying speed of the conveyor, on which grippers are arranged at a distance from the transport clamps. The active run of the belt runs parallel to the conveying direction and a support element is connected upstream of the belt to support the printed products in their trailing end area opposite the fold. When viewed in the conveying direction, the belt is adjoined by a small conveyor belt which rotates at a higher speed with respect to the conveying speed of the conveying device. The upper part of the product has an edge section in the end region, which projects beyond the shorter, lower part of the product. This edge section is gripped by a gripper of the opening device and clamped between itself and the belt, and the shorter, lower part of the product is moved in the direction of conveyance by the faster running small conveyor belt moved away from the held part of the product with bulging and thus opened the printed product. A collecting bar of a collecting device runs into the opened printed product between the separated parts of the product and after the release of the printed products by the transport clips, they fall astride the collecting bars. According to the known method and with the known device, only printed products can be opened that are transported with the trailing end region and the upper edge section. Reliable opening of the printed products is only possible if the paper has a low intrinsic stiffness and the underlying part of the product has a certain weight and the sheets do not stick to each other.

Furthermore, EP-A-0 208 081 and the corresponding US-A-4,684,117 disclose a method and a device for opening eccentrically folded printed products with a fold trailing in the conveying direction and a leading edge region opposite the fold. When folding, the printed products are held by individually controllable grippers of a conveying device and transported with the conveying direction running obliquely from top to bottom. An opening device is provided below the conveying device and has grippers arranged on a rotating drive element. A fixed support plate is provided to the side of the traction element and this is preceded by an endless support belt driven in rotation in order to support the printed products in the leading end region. Are the printed products transported in such a way that the product part with the edge section projecting beyond the shorter product part lies at the bottom the corresponding gripper is moved into the open position and the relevant transport clamp of the conveying device is opened briefly, so that the edge section slides into the mouth of the gripper. The lower part of the product held at the edge section is now moved away from the other part of the product not held when the pulling element is deflected by a deflecting wheel in a direction transverse to the conveying direction. A collecting conveyor is inserted from below between the product parts, which are partially lifted off each other, onto which the printed product falls astride when the transport clamp is opened.

If, on the other hand, the printed products are transported overhead with the product part having the edge section, when the gripper in question is opened, the edge section under which a clamping tongue of the gripper is raised is raised and the relevant transport clamp is briefly opened so that the shorter product part below slides into the effective area of the gripper. After the gripper has been closed, the shorter product part held thereby is in turn deflected in a direction transverse to the conveying direction when the gripper rotates around the deflection wheel and is moved away from the non-held product part located above to open the printed product. It is only intended to use this known method and the corresponding device to open printed products which are transported with a trailing fold and leading end region and a conveying direction which runs obliquely downwards from above. Furthermore, the secure opening of the printed products can be questioned if they have a very low inherent rigidity and stick to one another.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to develop the generic method in such a way and to create a corresponding device that an opening which is independent of the position and the nature of the printed products is reliably guaranteed.

This object is achieved by a method and a device which have the features of claims 1 and 7, respectively.

The abutting product parts of the printed products supported in their end area are lifted away from each other transversely to the conveying direction. This only has to be done in a small area so that the product parts are gripped by corresponding grippers of the opening device without any problems. Due to the grippers driven at different speeds, the end edges of the product parts are now moved away from each other in the conveying direction. Since the product parts are held by the grippers, a forced separation of the product parts from one another is ensured, even if they should stick to one another. Since the grippers are moved in the conveying direction, there is a considerable amount of time available for opening. Furthermore, at least one of the product parts is bulged or brought into a position that is more stretched with respect to the other product part, so that the product parts are lifted from one another not only in the end region but up to the transport clamp.

Of course, this does not have to stand out from each other across the entire width of the print products , it is often sufficient to separate the printed products from one another with a side edge adjoining the fold.

In a preferred manner, the product part located at the top is raised, which can take place when the gripper assigned to the product part located at the bottom is opened by its moving clamping tongue engaging under the upper product part. The opening device can thereby be particularly simple. If the product part with the edge section lying on top, it is easy to reach under the edge section, especially if the end edge of the printed product is brought into abutment against a stop on the gripper. The position of the end section is then precisely defined with respect to the clamping tongue.

In order to ensure that the clamping part engages under the top part of the product when the bottom part has the projecting edge section, the bottom part of the product is bulged against the top part so that the top part lifts off from the bottom part due to its inherent rigidity. Since this lifting only has to take place along a small section of the end edge of the product part, it is also guaranteed for printed products with low inherent rigidity. The bulging of the underlying product part of printed products that are held in their fold and are supported in the end area in such a way that they are bent can be done in a simple manner by bending the edge section on one side towards the bottom and with its end edge in the direction is pushed against the end edge of the overhead product part. It is possible that the top part of the product is now gripped directly by the corresponding gripper, without that being raised further by means of the clamping tongue of the gripper assigned to the bottom part of the product.

With the method according to the invention and the corresponding device, printed products with a leading or trailing end region and a top or bottom edge section can be opened safely.

Further preferred embodiments of the method according to the invention and further preferred embodiments of the device according to the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

Fig. 1 und 2

in Ansicht eine Ausbildungsform der erfindungsgemässen Einrichtung zu zwei um einen halben Arbeitstakt voneinander verschiedenen Zeitpunkten;

Fig. 3

die Einrichtung gemäss den Fig. 1 und 2 in Seitenansicht;

Fig. 4 und 5

je einen Teil der als durchsichtig angenommenen Oeffnungseinrichtung in einem Schnitt entlang der Linie IV-IV bzw. V-V der Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 bis 9

in Draufsicht bzw. in Schnitten entlang der entsprechenden Linien der Fig. 6 einen dem jeweils untenliegenden Produkteteil zugeordneten Greifer der Oeffnungseinrichtung;

Fig. 10 bis 13

in Draufsicht bzw. in Schnitten entlang den entsprechenden Linien der Fig. 10 einen dem jeweils obenliegenden Produkteteil zugeordneten Greifer der Oeffnungseinrichtung;

Fig. 14 bis 18

die in den Fig. 6-13 gezeigten Greifer beim Erfassen eines Druckereiprodukts mit obenliegendem vorstehendem Randabschnitt zu fünf verschiedenen aufeinanderfolgenden Zeitpunkten;

Fig. 19 bis 23

die Greifer beim Erfassen eines Druckereiprodukts mit untenliegendem vorstehendem Randabschnitt zu fünf verschiedenen aufeinanderfolgenden Zeitpunkten;

Fig. 24

eine Seitenansicht der Einrichtung gemäss Fig. 3 beim Oeffnen eines Druckereiproduktes mit untenliegendem vorstehendem Randabschnitt;

Fig. 25 und 26

in Ansicht eine weitere Ausbildungsform der erfindungsgemässen Vorrichtung zu zwei um einen halben Arbeitstakt verschiedenen Zeitpunkten beim Oeffnen von Druckereiprodukten mit nachlaufendem Endabschnitt;

Fig. 27 und 28

in Ansicht eine weitere Ausbildungsform der erfindungsgemässen Einrichtung zu zwei um einen halben Arbeitstakt verschiedenen Zeitpunkten beim Oeffnen von Druckereiprodukten mit vorlaufendem Endbereich;

Fig. 29

in Ansicht und stark vereinfacht eine weitere Ausbildungsform der erfindungsgemässen Einrichtung beim Oeffnen von Druckereiprodukten mit nachlaufendem Endbereich; und

Fig. 30

in Ansicht und stark vereinfacht eine der Ausführungsform gemäss Fig. 29 sehr ähnliche Ausbildungsform der erfindungsgemässen Einrichtung beim Oeffnen von Druckereiprodukten mit vorlaufendem Endbereich.

The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the drawing. It shows purely schematically:

1 and 2

in view a form of training of the inventive device at two times different from each other by half a work cycle;

Fig. 3

the device of Figures 1 and 2 in side view.

4 and 5

each a part of the opening device assumed to be transparent in a section along the line IV-IV or VV of FIG. 3;

6 to 9

In plan view or in sections along the corresponding lines in FIG. 6, a gripper of the opening device assigned to the product part located at the bottom;

10 to 13

In plan view or in sections along the corresponding lines of FIG. 10, a gripper of the opening device assigned to the product part located at the top;

14 to 18

the grippers shown in FIGS. 6-13 when gripping a printed product with the projecting edge section at the top at five different successive times;

19 to 23

the grippers when grasping a printed product with the protruding edge section below at five different successive times;

Fig. 24

a side view of the device of Figure 3 when opening a printed product with the underlying projecting edge portion.

25 and 26

in view a further embodiment of the device according to the invention to two different by half a work cycle Times when opening printed products with trailing end section;

27 and 28

in view a further form of training of the device according to the invention at two times different by half a work cycle when opening printed products with a leading end area;

Fig. 29

in view and greatly simplified, a further form of training the device according to the invention when opening printed products with a trailing end region; and

Fig. 30

in view and greatly simplified, an embodiment of the device according to the invention that is very similar to the embodiment according to FIG. 29 when opening printed products with a leading end region.

As can be seen in particular from FIGS. 1-3, the device has a conveyor device 10 of a generally known type with transport clamps 14 arranged one behind the other at a fixed distance A on a chain conveyor 12 indicated by dash-dotted lines. The conveyor chain 12 is guided in a C-shaped channel 16 which is open towards the bottom and extends in the horizontal direction. The transport clamps 14, which are driven continuously rotating in the conveying direction F at a conveying speed v, have a downward direction in the vertical direction Clamping mouth 18 with which they hold a folded printed product 20, preferably a multi-page newspaper, magazine or parts thereof, at the fold 22 running at right angles to the conveying direction.

Below the conveying device 10 there is an opening device 24, which has a support element 26 running parallel to the conveying direction F, on which the printed products 20 lie flat with their end region 28 facing away from the fold 22. The printed products 20 hanging freely on the transport clamps 14 are bent backwards when they run onto the support element 26, which in the present case is formed by a fixed support member 30, as can be clearly seen from FIGS. 1 and 2.

The printed products 20 are folded off-center. The one longer product part 32 has in the end region 28 an edge section 34 which protrudes over the other shorter product part 36. In the example shown in FIGS. 1-3, the printed products 20 are conveyed in such a way that the shorter product part 36 is leading and thus in the region of the support member 30 the longer product part 32 with the edge section 34 is on top. Of course, the opening device 24 is only so far from the conveying device 10 in the vertical direction that the printed products 20 can rest against the support element 26 with their end region 28. In order to be able to process printing products of different formats 20, the opening device 24 is adjustable in the vertical direction.

In the following, the opening device 24 is now under 4-13 described in more detail. 1-3, the relevant reference numerals are only given to the extent that this is necessary for the understanding of these figures.

The opening device 24 has the respective lower product part, in the present case the first gripper 38 assigned to the shorter product part 36 and the respective upper product part, in the present case the second gripper 40 assigned to the longer product part 32. A plurality of first grippers 38 are arranged on an endless first pulling element 42, preferably a chain, at a fixed distance B which is greater than the distance A between the transport clips 14 (FIG. 1). Likewise, a plurality of second grippers 40 are arranged on a second traction element 44, likewise preferably a chain, at a fixed distance C, which corresponds approximately to the distance A between the transport clips 14. The traction elements 42, 44 run in mutually parallel planes and the active strands run side by side and parallel to the conveying direction F. The traction elements 42, 44 are each by three deflection wheels 46, 46 ', 48, 48', 50, 50 'which are mounted on the same axis. guided, the deflecting wheels 46, 48 'and 46', 48 'delimiting the active strands 42', 44 'in the present case having the same diameter, whereas the deflecting wheel 50, around which the rear strand of the first pulling element 42 is guided, has a larger one Has diameter than the deflection wheel 50 'around which the rear run of the second tension member 44 runs. The ratio of these diameters is equal to the ratio of the distance B to the distance C. Since the deflection wheels 50, 50 'are seated on a common drive shaft 52 in a rotationally fixed manner (FIGS. 4 and 5), the ratio is the circulation speed vl of the first pulling element 42 and the first grippers 38 to the speed v2 of the second pulling element 44 and the second grippers 40 is equal to the ratio between the distance B between the first grippers 38 and the distance C between the second grippers 40.

One deflection wheel 50 or 50 'or both deflection wheels 50, 50' can be arranged on the drive shaft 52 so as to be adjustable in the direction of rotation in order to adjust the phase position between the first and second pulling elements 42, 44 and the conveyor device 10, so that in each case at the desired location, Viewed in the direction of conveyance F, a first gripper 38 and a second gripper 40 are located next to one another in the initial region of the active strands 42 ', 44', as is clearly shown in FIG. 1.

As can be seen in particular from FIGS. 6-9, the first gripper 38 has a gripper body 54 through which an essentially cylindrical passage 56 runs. The axis 56 'of the passage 56 extends at right angles to the first traction element 42, which is indicated by dash-dotted lines in FIG. 7. The gripper body 54 is non-rotatably connected to the first pulling element 42 by means of two fastening bolts 58 which pass through the gripper body 54 through corresponding bores 60. A shaft 62 is guided in the passage 56 so as to be displaceable in the direction of the axis 56 '. At its upper end, a sheet-like clamping tongue 64 protrudes from the shaft 62 and interacts with a clamping jaw 66 formed on the gripper body 54. The clamping tongue 64 and clamping jaw 66 form a gripper jaw 68 which, in the opening device 24 according to FIGS. 1-4, is directed forward in the conveying direction. Like this To be described further below, the first grippers 38 can be arranged reversely on the pulling element 42, so that the gripper mouth 68 is directed against the conveying direction F. The clamping tongue 64 is pretensioned in the closing direction by means of a compression spring 70 which engages around the shaft 62 and is supported on the top on a shoulder 72 of the gripper body 54 and at the bottom on a counter shoulder 74 on the shaft 62. The closed position of the first gripper 38 is shown in FIG. 9. In its lower end region, a control roller 76 is freely rotatably mounted on the shaft 62 about an axis 76 'running at right angles to the axis 56' and at right angles to the conveying direction F. By means of an opening link 78, the shaft 62 can be raised at right angles to the conveying direction F against the force of the compression spring 70, so that the clamping tongue 64 can be moved into the open position shown in FIG. 7. A stop is indicated at 79, which limits the gripper mouth 68.

The second gripper 40 is constructed similarly to the first gripper 38, as can be seen in particular from FIGS. 10-13. A gripper body 80 also has an essentially cylindrical passage 82, the axis of which is designated 82 '. A shaft 84 is also guided in the passage 82 so as to be displaceable in the direction of the axis 82 ′. In the upper end region of the gripper body 80, the gripper body has a fixed gripper jaw 86 which, viewed in the conveying direction F, projects like a nose. Adjoining the gripper jaw 86 in the gripper body 80 is a guide slot 88 which extends in the direction of the axis 82 'and in which a clamping pin 90 is guided which penetrates the shaft 84 at right angles to the axis 82'. Of the Clamping pin 90 acts as a movable gripper jaw with the fixed gripper jaw 86, these form a gripper jaw, designated 92, which, in the opening device 24 according to FIGS. 1-5 viewed in the conveying direction F, is directed forward in the region of the conveying strand 44 '. These second grippers 40 can also be arranged on the second pulling element 44, so that the gripper mouth 92 is directed counter to the conveying direction F, as described below in connection with FIGS. 27 and 28.

The upper end of the clamping pin 90 supports a closing spring 94 designed as a compression spring, which engages around the shaft 84 and is supported at the bottom on a gripper body shoulder 96. The closing spring 94 urges the clamping pin 90 against the fixed gripper jaw 86 in the closing direction. The closed position of the second gripper 40 is shown in FIG. 13.

In the lower end region, a bearing shaft 98 protrudes radially from the shaft 84, which penetrates an elongated hole-like opening 100 in the gripper body 80 and on which a control roller 102 is also freely rotatably mounted outside the gripper body 80. By means of a further opening link designated 104 (FIG. 12), the clamping pin 90 can be moved into the open position shown in FIG. 11 against the force of the closing spring 94.

The gripper body 80 is fastened to the second pulling element 44 by means of a single fastening bolt 106 (see also FIG. 5), the fastening bolt 106 fastening the gripper body 80 penetrates through a bore 108, the axis of which is perpendicular to the axis 82 'and perpendicular to the conveying direction F. The bore 108 is offset forwards in the conveying direction F with respect to the center of gravity of the second gripper 40, so that the second gripper 40, which is pivotably arranged in the second traction element 44, has the tendency in the region of the active run 44 ′ to move backwards, counterclockwise swivel. Therefore, the gripper body 80 is designed in its lower end region 80 'as a sliding shoe which interacts with a swivel link 110 provided in the region of the active run 44'.

The shape and position of the opening link 78 interacting with the first gripper 38 and the opening link 104 and pivot link 110 acting on the second gripper 40 can be seen in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5. The pivot link 110 begins in the direction of conveyance F following the deflection wheel 46 'and extends into the region of the deflection wheel 48'. In the initial region of this swivel link 110 and above it, the opening link 104 is provided for the second gripper 40. The opening gate 78 for the first gripper 38 is located adjacent to the opening gate 104.

At the end of the active strands 42 ', 44' in the area of the deflection wheels 48, 48 ', further opening scenes 78', 104 'are provided in order to open the first or second grippers 38, 40 there and the product parts 32, which they hold. 36 to release.

The opening device 24 has two cross members 114 interconnected bearing plates 116, on which the opening links 78, 78 ', 104, 104' via the shaft of the deflecting wheels 48, 48 'and the pivoting link 110 are optionally adjustably attached. As can be seen in FIG. 3, a guide rail 118 is supported on the cross members 114, in which the traction members 42, 44 designed as chains are guided in the area between the deflection wheels 46, 46 'and 48, 48'. The support member 30 designed as a support plate 120 is also fastened by this guide rail 118 and on the bearing plate 116 on the left in FIG. 3. This supports the printed products 20, as shown in FIG. 3, from the left side edge 122 to the first grippers 38, which act on the printed products 20 adjacent to their right side edge 122 '. The support plate 120 has a slot running in the conveying direction, which is penetrated by the second grippers 40 when they are in the region of the active strand 44 '.

The first traction element 42 is guided in the region of the active run 42 ′ in such a way that the clamping jaw 66 of the first grippers 38 is approximately aligned with the upper surface of the support plate 120. The fixed gripper jaw 86 of the second gripper 40, viewed in the vertical direction, is at a greater distance from the support plate 120 than the upper end of the first gripper 38. However, if the clamping pin 90 of the second gripper 40 is in the open position, it is seen below the upper one in the vertical direction Arranged end of the first gripper 38. The path of movement of the gripper mouth 92 when the second gripper 40 is closed therefore runs above the first grippers 38; this is always seen in the area of the active dreams 42 ', 44'.

In the vertical direction between the opening device 24 and the conveyor device 10 and laterally outside the area of the printed products 20 there is a hold-open device 124 with hold-open elements 128 arranged on an endless chain 126 forth between the product parts 32, 36 which are lifted from each other by means of the opening device 24 in the region of the side edge 122 '. The endless chain 126 is driven in the circumferential direction U at a speed which corresponds to the conveying speed v of the conveying device 10 or preferably at a higher speed in order to keep the opened printed products 20 open during further transport and, if appropriate, the leading product part 36 even further from the trailing product part 32 to take off.

The opening device 24 is followed by a collecting device 134 which has a plurality of collecting webs 136 which rotate in the direction of rotation D about a common rotational axis, not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. A collecting web 136 engages from below into a printed product 20 opened by the opening device 24 and kept open by the holding device 124, and after opening the corresponding transport clamp 14 by means of an opening device 138, the printing product 20 in question straddles the saddle-shaped collecting web 136 in question. The collecting webs 136 can have means of transport in order to shift the stored printed products 20 in their longitudinal direction.

The operation of the opening device 24 according to FIGS. 1-5 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 14-18. These each show the first gripper 38 and the second gripper 40 in the initial area of the pivot link 110 and in the area of the opening link 78 and 104 at five successive times. The position shown in FIG. 14 is taken up by the grippers 38, 40 in the initial area of the active dreams 42 ', 44', as is also the case in FIG 42 ', 44' can be seen. The clamping tongue 64 of the first gripper 38 is in the closed position, whereas the clamping pin 90 of the second gripper 40 has already been transferred to the open position. As a result of the action of the opening link 104 on the control roller 102 and its eccentric mounting with respect to the fastening bolt 106, the second gripper 40 assumes a rearward inclined position. Due to its speed v1, which is greater than the conveying speed v of the conveying device 10, the first gripper 38 now picks up the printed product 20, which rests with its end region 28 on the support plate 120, so that the end edge of the overhead product part 32 on the stop 79 of the gripper body 54 comes to rest, as shown in FIG. 15. Now the clamping tongue 64 of the first gripper 38 is moved into the open position as a result of the action of the opening link 78, whereby it engages under and raises the edge section 34 of the product part 32 located above, as shown in FIG. 16. At the same time, the second gripper 40 runs onto the pivot link 110, whereby it is pivoted forward in a clockwise direction, into a position in which the axis 82 '(compare FIGS. 10-13) runs approximately in the vertical direction and thus approximately at right angles to the conveying direction F. As a result of this pivoting movement, the gripper mouth 92 now catches up with the edge section 34 in order to clamp it between the gripper jaw 86 and the clamping pin 90 when the second gripper 40 is subsequently closed. Approximately simultaneously or shortly thereafter, the clamping tongue 64 is transferred into the closed position, as a result of which the product part 36 located below is clamped at its end edge 32 '. It should be noted that due to the relative speed between the conveying device 10 and thus the end region 28 of the printing product 20 in question and the first gripper 38, the end edge 36 'of the product part 36 has come to rest against the stop 79, as shown in FIG. 17 shows. The first gripper 38 now moves more and more away from the second gripper 40 in the direction of conveyance F, as can be seen from FIG. 18 and FIGS. 1 and 2 with the aid of the grippers 38, 40 in the central region of the opening device 24. The product part 36 located below is bulged as seen in the conveying direction F and is lifted off from the trailing product part 32 located above. A hold-open pin 130 is now inserted into the opening along the side edge 122 ′ (see also FIG. 3). In the area of the deflection wheel 48, the first gripper 38 is then opened due to the action of the opening link 78 'and the product part 36 is released (FIG. 1). As soon as the relevant second gripper 40 is then deflected by the deflection wheel 48 ', its gripper mouth 92 is opened under the action of the opening link 104' and the other product part 32 is released (FIG. 2).

19-23 is the same process as in Figs. 14-18, but a printed product 20 is opened, which is held by the transport clips 14 in such a way that when the end region 28 slides on the support plate 120, the longer product part 32 with the edge section 34 is located at the bottom. For this purpose, the first gripper 38 has a bending member 142 designed as a pivot cam 140, as can be seen from FIG. 3 and FIGS. 19-24. The double-armed swivel cam 140 is pivotally mounted on the rear fastening bolt 58 of the gripper body 54, as seen in the conveying direction F, and by means of a swivel link 144 (FIGS. 3 and 24) from a rest position (FIGS. 21-23) into a working position, as shown in FIGS. 19, 20 and 24 is shown, pivotable. For the sake of completeness, it should be mentioned that the pivot link 144 can be moved out of the area of action on the pivot cam 140 and the mode of operation of the first gripper 38 is exactly the same as that described above with reference to FIGS. 1-18.

As shown in FIG. 19 in comparison to FIG. 14, the pivot cam 140 brought into the working position generates a stop which is leading in relation to the stop 79 on the gripper body 54. This causes an impact force on the end edge 32 'of the edge section 34 and, as a result of the front edge of the swivel cam 140 which is sloping towards the rear, the edge section 34 and a region adjoining it are bent downward along the side edge 122' and forward in the conveying direction F. pressed. This results in bulging of the underlying product part 32 in the upward direction, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 24. This bulge extends from the first gripper 38 to the area of action of the second gripper 40. As a result, the clamping tongue 64 previously brought into an intermediate position between the clamping and open positions can engage under the shorter product part 36 located above, by engaging in the opening 145 created as a result of the bulging of the lower product part 32 (FIGS. 20, 24) ). By completely lifting the clamping tongue 64 into the open position, the overhead product part 36 is raised above the first gripper 38 and the second gripper 40 now catches up on the end edge 36 'of the product part 36 due to its pivoting movement in a clockwise direction and can clamp it (FIGS. 21 and 22). At the same time, the swivel cam 140 is brought into its rest position, so that the end edge 32 'of the product part 32 comes to rest against the stop 79 of the gripper body 54 and the edge section 34 is clamped by the first gripper 38 when the clamping tongue 64 is moved into the clamped position. The print product 20 is now subsequently opened in the same manner as described above.

25 and 26 show an embodiment of the opening device 24 which is very similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-24. Two differences are that the deflection wheel 46 for the first traction element 42, viewed in the direction of conveyance F, is connected upstream of the deflection wheel 46 'of the second traction element 44 and thus the active dreams 42', 44 'are only in the area between the deflection wheel 46' and the deflecting wheels 48, 48 'mounted on the same axis overlap, and that the second grippers 40 are no longer pivotable on the second pulling element 44, but are arranged in a fixed manner. A pivot link for the second gripper 40 is therefore no longer required and the opening link 78 for the first grippers 38 and the opening link 104 for the second grippers 40 are located in the region of the deflection wheel 46 '. Viewed in the direction of conveyance F, at the end of the opening device 24 are the further opening scenes 78 'and 104' in order to release the product parts 32, 36 of the opened printed product 20. The conveyor device 10 and the grippers 38, 40 are otherwise of exactly the same design, as described above.

25 and 26 is as follows: The folded printed products 20 are transported hanging from the transport brackets 14 with the conveying direction F running in the horizontal direction, and since the end region 28 of the printed products 20 on the support element designed as a support plate 120 26 is sliding, the printed products 20 are bent backwards. The longer product part 32, with the edge section 34 protruding beyond the shorter product part 36, is thus overhead and trailing as seen in the conveying direction F. Since the first grippers 38 rotate at a speed v1 that is greater than the conveying speed v of the conveying device 10, a first gripper 38 in each case fetches a printed product 20 in the area between the deflection wheels 46 and 46 ', the end edge 32' coming to the end Stop 79 to the system (Fig. 25 and 26 first gripper 38, far left). In the case of the deflection wheel 46 ', the first gripper 38 is opened by means of the opening link 78 by the clamping tongue 64 being raised. Since this engages under the edge section 34, the overhead product part 32 is raised. At the same time, a second gripper 40 swivels around the deflection wheel as a result of the deflection 46 'into the area of the active strand 44'. Since the gripper jaw 92 protrudes beyond the second pulling element 44 as seen in the radial direction, the second gripper 40 catches up with the printed product 20 and, with its gripper jaw 86 and the clamping pin 90 which is moved into the open position by the opening link 104, engages around the edge section 34 (see FIG. 26 , Gripper 38.40 in the region of the deflection wheel 46 '). As a result of the relative speed between the first gripper 38 and the conveying device 10, the end edge 36 'of the product part 36 lying below comes to rest against the stop 79 of the first gripper 38 and becomes when the first gripper 38 runs from the opening gate 78 between the clamping jaw 66 and the clamping tongue 64 clamped. Approximately simultaneously or shortly beforehand, the second gripper 40 has also run out of the relevant opening link 104, as a result of which the edge section 34 is now held in the gripper mouth 92. As a result of the higher speed v1 of the first gripper 38 with respect to the speed v2 of the second gripper 40, the printing product 20 in question is now opened by moving the end edges 32 ′, 36 ′ away from one another in the conveying direction F. As a result, the leading and underlying product part 36 is bulged in the conveying direction F and finally released by the first gripper 38, as shown on the far right in FIG. 26. As soon as the second gripper 40 reaches the area of the opening link 104 'at the deflection wheel 48', the trailing, overhead product part 32 is also released. The further processing of the printed products 20 can be carried out in exactly the same way as is explained with reference to FIGS. 1-3.

The speed v2 corresponds to the second gripper 40 approximately the conveying speed v of the conveying device 10.

27 and 28 show an embodiment of the opening device 24 for opening printed products 20 with an end region 28 leading in the conveying direction F. In this case, the support element 26 is designed as an endless support belt 146 connected upstream of the opening device 24, which at its effective end by a deflection wheel 46 'coaxial deflection roller 148 is deflected. The support belt 146 is driven at a speed v3, which is at least the same size, but preferably greater than the conveying speed v of the conveying device 10. The printed products 20 transported by the fold 22 by the transport clamps 14 with an approximately horizontal conveying direction F lie forward with them curved end region 28 flat on the support band 146. The longer product part 32 with the edge section 34, which protrudes over the shorter product part 36, is overhead. The first traction element 42 with the first grippers 38 is deflected around the deflection wheel 46, which, seen in the conveying direction F, is connected upstream of the deflection wheel 46 'for the second traction element 44 and the deflection roller 148. The distance B between the first grippers 38 is the same as the distance A between the transport clamps 14 or less. The active strand 42 'of the first tension member 42 runs from the deflection wheel 46 to the deflection wheel 48 and thus overlaps the active strand 44' of the second tension member 44, which extends from the deflection wheel 46 'to the deflection wheel 48 coaxial with the deflection wheel 48'. The distance C between the second grippers 40 is greater than the distance B between the first grippers 38. The rotational speed v2 is correspondingly greater of the second pulling element 44 with respect to the rotational speed v1 of the first grippers 38. These different speeds v1, v2 are generated in that the driven deflecting wheel 50 for the first pulling element 42 is correspondingly smaller in diameter than the deflecting wheel 50 'of the second pulling element 44. Completeness for the sake of sake it should be mentioned that the ratio of the speeds v1 to v2 behaves the same as the ratio of the distances B to C.

The grippers 38, 40 are of exactly the same design, as described above and shown in FIGS. 6-13. Only the gripper jaw 68 of the first gripper 38 and gripper jaw 92 of the second gripper 40 are directed against the conveying direction F. Otherwise, the structure of the opening device 24 corresponds to the forms of training already described above. Exactly the same reference numerals are used for functionally identical parts and they are only entered in FIGS. 27 and 28 to the extent necessary for the following explanation of the mode of operation.

In the area between the deflection wheels 46 and 46 ', a printed product 20 comes into contact with its leading end edge 32' of the product part 32 at the stop 79 of the first gripper 38. Since the first grippers 38 are closed in this area, the clamping tongue 64 engages under the projecting edge section 34 and lifts it when the clamping tongue 64 is moved into the open position in the region of the deflection wheel 46 'as a result of the opening link 78 (FIG. 28, first gripper 38 for the deflection wheel 46 '). A second gripper 40 which just before the end edge 32 'of the Product part 32 intersects the path of movement of the radially outer end of the second gripper 40, reaches the area of the active strand 44 'and is pivoted backwards in the counterclockwise direction in the direction of conveyance F as seen by the dash-dotted pivot link 110 in order to open the edge section with its open gripper mouth 92 34 to embrace. When running off the opening link 104, the clamping pin 90 is raised and the edge section 34 is clamped between the latter and the gripper jaw 86. When the first gripper 38 runs from the corresponding opening link 78, the clamping tongue 64 is brought into the closed position and clamps the product part 36 between it and the clamping jaw 66, which was pushed into the open gripper mouth 68 by the support band 146. As a result of the different speeds v1, v2 between the grippers 38, 40, the overhead product part 32 is now moved away from the bottom product part 36 in the conveying direction F and thereby transferred into a more extended position, as can be seen in particular from FIG. 28. The product part 36 maintains its bend or is bent even more if the speed v1 of the first grippers 38 is lower than the conveying speed v of the conveyor device 10. With the opening gate 104 'or 78', the second gripper 40 becomes first and later in time the first gripper 38 is opened in the region of the deflection wheels 48, 48 '. The further processing of the printed products can be carried out in exactly the same way as is shown in FIGS. 1-3.

If the first grippers 38 are equipped with a bending element 142, the opening device 24 can be used as they are 27 and 28, printed products 20 are also processed, which are fed to the opening device 24 with the leading end region 28 and the lower edge section 34. The lifting off of the two product parts 32, 36 then takes place in an analogous manner, as shown in FIGS. 19-23 and described further above.

The clamping tongue 64 and the bending member 142 form separating means in order to lift the two product parts 32, 36 from each other transversely to the conveying direction F. The two product parts 32, 36 can thereby each be securely gripped by the corresponding grippers 38, 40.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 29, the deflection wheel 46 'for the second pulling element 44 with the second grippers 40, seen in the conveying direction F, precedes the deflection wheel 46 for the first pulling element 42 with the first grippers 38. In the area between the deflection wheel 46 and the deflection wheels 48, 48 ′ with the same axis, at the end of the opening device 24, the active dreams 42 ′ and 44 ′ overlap. The traction elements 42, 44 are driven in the same manner as described above via deflection wheels 50, 50 '(compare FIGS. 25, 26), which are no longer shown in FIG. 29. The speed v1 of the first grippers 38 and the distance B between these grippers 38 are correspondingly greater than the speed v2 of the second grippers 40 and the distance C between these grippers 40. Furthermore, the speed v2 is at least as great as, but preferably greater than the conveying speed v of the transport clamps 14 of the conveying device 10; the distances are a matter of course A and C matched accordingly.

The support plate 120 has a step 120 'falling in the conveying direction F in the deflection wheel 46. Up to this step 120 ', the support-active surface of the support plate 120 is above the clamping pins 90 of the opened second grippers 40, but of course below the gripper jaw 86. In the direction of conveyance F following the step 120', the support-active surface of the support plate 120 is aligned with the clamping jaw 66 the first gripper 38. In this embodiment too, the movement path of the gripper mouth 92 runs above the first grippers 38.

The structure of the grippers 38, 40 is exactly the same as described above and shown in FIGS. 6 to 13; however, the second grippers 40, like the first grippers 38, are fixed, i.e. are not pivotally arranged on the tension members 42, 44. For the sake of clarity, the opening scenes 78, 78 ', 104, 104' described above are not shown in FIG. 29; their position can be seen from the following functional description of the device according to FIG. 19.

The printed products 20, which are held approximately vertically hanging by their clamps 22 by transport clips 14, are transported with their end region 28 resting on the support plate 120 at the conveying speed v. The longer product part 32 with the edge section 34 is trailing and overhead with respect to the shorter product part 36.

Between each two printed products 20 pivots when Deflection wheel 46 'an already opened second gripper 40 into the active run 44' and pulls up to the stage 120 'the leading printed product 20, so that the edge section 34 reaches the open gripper mouth 92. The clamping pin 90 engages under the edge section 34 and lifts it when the second gripper 40 closes. The longer product part 32 is partially lifted from the shorter product part 36 below and when passing over step 120 'the end edge 36' and the adjoining region of the product part 36 falls down onto the support plate 120 while lifting off the product part 32 held above An open first gripper 38, which is pivoted about the deflection wheel 46 into the region of the active run 42 ′, so that the end 32 ′ comes to rest against the stop 79. When the clamping tongue 64 is subsequently lowered against the clamping jaw 66 into the closed position, the product part 36 located below is clamped and moved away from the other product part 32 in the conveying direction F. In the area of the deflection wheels 48, 48 ', the grippers 38, 40 are then opened one after the other, so that they release the product parts 32, 36 which are lifted from one another.

The structure of the opening device 24 shown in FIG. 30 is extremely similar to that of the opening device according to FIG. 29. In the following, only the differences are referred to, insofar as this is necessary for understanding. The deflection wheels 46, 46 ', 48, 48', 50, 50 'are arranged exactly the same and the traction members 42, 44 are guided in the same way as in FIG. 29, but the gripper jaws 68, 92 are directed towards the rear in the direction of conveyance F. The speed v1 of the second grippers 40 is approximately the same large as, but preferably lower than the conveying speed v. The speed v1 of the first gripper 38 is lower than the speed v2. Correspondingly, the distance A between the transport clamps 14 is also the same as or greater than the distance C between the second grippers 40, and the distance B between the first grippers 38 is smaller than the distance C.

The support belt 146 is driven at a speed in the conveying direction F which is at least the same size, preferably greater than the conveying speed v, in order to feed the printed products 20 lying thereon with their end region 28 with the leading edge section 34 to the second grippers 40. The support band 146, which runs in a gap in the support plate 120 and projects with its active upper run over the support plate 120, is guided around a roller, not shown in FIG. 30, which is mounted coaxially with the deflection wheel 46, so that it is in front of the deflection wheel 46 '' is supportive and supportive until the deflection wheel 46.

The traction elements 42, 44 are synchronized in such a way that in one area, beginning with the deflection wheel 46 until after the falling step 120 'in the support plate 120, the first gripper 38 in each case leads the corresponding second gripper 40 and then before reaching the deflection wheels 48, 48 'The second gripper 40 overtakes the first gripper 38.

30 works as follows. The printed products 20 are conveyed by the transport clamps 14 hanging in the fold 20 approximately in the vertical direction. The longer product part 32 is compared to the shorter one Product part 36 each leading, so that due to the support band 146, the end region 28 leading and the edge portion 34 is overhead. In the case of the deflection wheel 46 ', a second gripper 40, which is opened by means of the opening backdrop, not shown, swings in between two printed products 20 in each case. Since the end region 28 is moved at a higher speed than the second gripper 40, the edge section 34 runs into the open gripper jaw 92, so that when the gripper 40 closes on the deflection wheel 46, the edge section 34, which is gripped by the clamping pin 90, is raised and clamped in the gripper jaw 92 . After passing over step 120 ', the shorter product part 36 lying below falls further away from the upper product part 32 with its section adjoining the leading end edge 36' and reaches the mouth 68 of the first gripper 38, for example when this is overtaken by the corresponding second gripper 40 . By lowering the clamping tongue 64, the product part 32 is clamped and then, due to the relative speed between the grippers 38, 40, the product parts 32, 36 are lifted further apart in the conveying direction F. Of course, the path of movement of the closed gripper mouth 92 runs above the first gripper 38. With the deflection wheels 48, 48 ', the grippers 38, 40 are then opened to release the product parts 32, 36 which are lifted from one another.

In the embodiment of the opening device 24 shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, the clamping pin 90 and the step 120 'in the support plate 120 form the separating means in order to lift the mutually abutting product parts 32, 36 transversely to the conveying direction.

Of course, the grippers can have a different design. It is also conceivable not to drive them around, but to move them back and forth.

The traction elements 42, 44 can also be driven individually. This enables simple synchronization and adaptation to different formats of the print products to be opened.

Depending on the arrangement of the opening device 24 with respect to the conveying device 10, the printed products can be opened on the left, in the middle, or on the right. It is also conceivable to arrange two identical opening devices 24 next to one another, so that the printed products are opened simultaneously in two areas.

Claims (18)

1. Process for opening folded print products, in particular newspapers, magazines and parts thereof, having a product part (32) which, in the end area (28) facing away from the fold (22) of the print product (20), protrudes with a marginal section (34) over the other product part (36), in which the print products (20) are held suspended by the fold (22) running transversely to their direction of conveyance (F) and are conveyed supported at their end area (28), and in which, for opening the print products (20), the one product part (32;36) is temporarily held, by its end edge (32',36') lying opposite the fold (22), by a gripper (38;40) driven approximately in the direction of conveyance (F) and the other product part (36;32) is moved away from the held product part (32;36) approximately in the direction of conveyance (F); characterized in that the two product parts (32,36) bearing against each other are lifted apart in the end area (28) transversely to the direction of conveyance (F) and also the other product part (36;32) is grasped and temporarily held at its end edge (36';32') by a further gripper (40;38); and in that, for opening the print products (20), the end edges (32',36') are moved away from each other in the direction of conveyance (F) by the grippers (38,40) driven at different velocity (v1,v2).
2. Process according to Claim 1, characterized in that the uppermost product part (32;36) is gripped underneath by a clamping tongue (64), movable transversely to the direction of conveyance (F), of the gripper (38) assigned to the bottommost product part (36;32) or by a movable gripper jaw (90) of the gripper (40) assigned to the uppermost product part (32), and is lifted by this from the bottommost product part (36;32).
3. Process according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the print products (20) are brought to bear, with the end edge (32') of the product part (32) exhibiting the marginal section (34), against a stop (79) of the gripper (38) assigned to the bottommost product part (36;32), and the two product parts (32,36) are then lifted apart.
4. Process according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the print products (20) are conveyed, preferably roughly in the horizontal direction, in approximately vertical suspension, and are supported by means of a supporting element (26) running approximately parallel to the direction of conveyance (F), such that the end area (28) of the print products (20) rests flatly upon the supporting element (26) and the product part (32) having the marginal section (34) is uppermost.
5. Process according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the print products (20) are conveyed, preferably roughly in the horizontal direction, in approximately vertical suspension, and are supported by means of a supporting element (26) running approximately parallel to the direction of conveyance (F), such that the end area (28) of the print products (20) rests flatly upon the supporting element (26) and the product part (32) having the marginal section (34) is bottommost; and in that, as a result of action upon the marginal section (34), the bottommost product part (32) is bulged in order to form an opening (145) between the two product parts (32,36) in the marginal area (28) and, where appropriate, for the further raising of the uppermost product part (36) this is gripped underneath at the opening (145) by the clamping tongue (64) of the gripper (38) assigned to the bottommost product part (32).
6. Process according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the print products (20) are opened at least along a lateral edge (122') adjoining the fold (22) and are held open, during onward transportation, by a holding-open mechanism (128) which runs jointly along and engages, preferably from the side, between the product parts (32,36) which have been lifted apart.
7. Device for opening folded print products, in particular newspapers, magazines and parts thereof, which exhibit a product part (32) having a marginal section (34) protruding, in that end area (28) of the print products (20) facing away from the fold (22), over the other product part (36), having a conveying device (10) exhibiting transporting clamps (14) revolving in the direction of conveyance (F), which are intended for holding the print products (20) by the fold (22) running transversely to the direction of conveyance (F), and having an opening device (24) disposed beneath the conveying device (10) and exhibiting a supporting element (26) running approximately parallel to the direction of conveyance (F) and configured to support the print products (20) in their end area (28), the opening device (24) exhibiting a gripper (38;40), moved approximately in the direction of conveyance (F), for grasping and temporarily holding the one product part (32;36) by its end edge (32';36') lying opposite the fold (22) and means for moving the other product part (36;32) approximately in the direction of conveyance (F) away from the held product part (32;36), characterized in that the opening device (24) exhibits separating means in order to lift the two product parts (32,36) apart in the end area (28) and a further gripper (40;38) for grasping and temporarily holding the other product part (36;32) by its end edge (36';32'), and the grippers (38,40) for opening the print products (20) are driven in the direction of conveyance (F) at different velocities (v1,v2) in order to move the held end edges (32',36') away from each other.
8. Device according to Claim 7, characterized in that the first gripper (38) assigned to the bottommost product part (36;32) exhibits a clamping jaw (66) and a clamping tongue (64), which is movable transversely to the direction of conveyance (F) in order, when the first gripper (38) is opened, to grip underneath the uppermost product part (32;36) by means of said clamping tongue and lift it from the bottommost product part (36;32) and, when the lower gripper (38) is closed, to clamp the bottommost product part (36;32) between the clamping tongue itself and the clamping jaw (66).
9. Device according to Claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the first gripper (38) assigned to the bottommost product part (32;36) exhibits, for the end edge (32') of the product part (32) exhibiting the marginal section (34), a stop (79) running transversely to the direction of conveyance (F), and the uppermost product part (32;36) can be raised above the first gripper (38), preferably by means of the clamping tongue (64).
10. Device according to one of Claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the second gripper (40) assigned to the uppermost product part (36;32) exhibits a preferably fixed gripper jaw (86) above the first gripper (38) and a movable gripper jaw (90) which interacts with said first gripper jaw and is disposed, when the second gripper (40) is opened, in the area of the first gripper (38) viewed transversely to the direction of conveyance (F).
11. Device according to one of Claims 7 to 10, characterized in that a plurality of first grippers (38) are disposed on a continuous first drawing member (42) at a reciprocal first distance (B) and a plurality of second grippers (40) are disposed on a continuous second drawing member (44) at a reciprocal second distance (C), the two drawing members (42,44) are continuously driven at different velocities (v1,v2) the ratio of which is inversely proportional to the ratio of the distances (B;C) between the corresponding grippers (38,40), the active strands (42',44') of the drawing members (42,44) overlap in the direction of conveyance (F), in the area of this overlap the path of movement of the mouth (92) of the second grippers (40) runs above the first grippers (38), and the movement of the drawing members (42,44) is synchronized such that, viewed in the direction of conveyance (F), in a starting area of the overlap a first and a second gripper (38,40) are respectively located side by side in order to grab hold of the corresponding product parts (32,36).
12. Device according to one of Claims 7 to 11, characterized in that the mouth (18) of the transporting clamps (14) is directed approximately vertically downwards and the direction of conveyance (F) preferably runs roughly in the horizontal direction; and in that the supporting element (26) exhibits a supporting mechanism (30,120) on which the print products (20) slide with a trailing end area (28), in that the mouths (68,92) of the first and second grippers (38,40) are directed in the direction of conveyance (F) and the second grippers (40) assigned to the uppermost product part (32;36) are driven at a velocity (v2) corresponding to or less than the transport velocity (v1) of the transporting clamps (14) and the first grippers (38) assigned to the bottommost product part (32;36) are driven at a greater velocity (v2).
13. Device according to one of Claims 7 to 11, characterized in that the mouth (18) of the transporting clamps (14) is directed approximately vertically downwards and the direction of conveyance (F) preferably runs roughly in the horizontal direction; and in that the supporting element (26) exhibits a continuous supporting belt (146) which is revolutionally driven at at least the transport velocity (v) of the transporting clamps (14) and upon which the print products (20) bear with a leading end area (28); in that the mouths (68,92) of the grippers (38,40) are directed counter to the direction of conveyance (F) and the first grippers (38) assigned to the lower product part (36;32) are driven at a velocity (v1) corresponding to or less than the transport velocity (v) and the second grippers (40) assigned to the uppermost product part (32;36) are driven at a greater velocity (v2).
14. Device according to Claim 10, characterized in that the clamping tongue (64) of the first gripper (38) and the movable gripper jaw (90) of the second gripper (40) are pretensioned in the closed position and can be transferred into the open position by means of preferably crank-like control mechanisms (78,78';104,104').
15. Device according to one of Claims 7 to 14, characterized in that the first gripper (38) assigned to the bottommost product part (36;32) exhibits a controllable bending mechanism (142) in order, when the product part (32) exhibiting the marginal section (34) is bottommost, to bend outwards said product part and create between the product parts (32,36) an opening (145) into which the clamping tongue (64) can be engaged so as to grip underneath the upper product part (36).
16. Device according to one of Claims 7 to 15, characterized by a holding-open device (124) having revolving holding-open mechanisms (128) which are intended to move in from the side into the print products (20) opened by means of the opening device (24) along a lateral edge (122,122') adjoining the fold (22), and to hold these open during onward transportation.
17. Device according to one of Claims 7 to 16, characterized in that a drum-like collecting device (134) having collecting lengths (136) revolving about an axis running transversely to the direction of conveyance (F) is connected downstream from the opening device (124), a collecting length (136) can in each case be inserted from below into an opened print product (20), and above the collecting device (134) there is provided an opening mechanism (138) for opening the transporting clamps (14).
18. Device according to Claim 7, characterized in that the second gripper (40) assigned to the uppermost product part (32) exhibits a fixed gripper jaw (86) and a gripper jaw (90) which can be moved transversely to the direction of conveyance (F) in order, upon the second gripper (40) being closed, to grip underneath the uppermost product part (32) by means of said movable gripper jaw and lift it from the bottommost product part (36).

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