EP0640529A1 - Machine for banding printed products - Google Patents

Abstract

A machine for banding copies of printed products has a stacking device, in which the copies can be stacked to form a stack (64) on a bottom (30) movable vertically up and down. Furthermore, there is provided a pressing device which can be brought above the formed stack (64) and on the underside (40) of which the upper end of the formed stack (64) can be pressed for the compression of the stack (64). Furthermore, a banding device for enclosing the stack (64) circumferentially by means of a band (49) is provided. In order to bring about a reduction in the overall height, whilst at the same time maintaining the continuous feed of the copies, it is proposed that a top side (42) of the pressing device (14) be designed as a further bottom, on which a part stack (68) of copies (66') is stacked during the pressing and banding operation, and that the part stack (68) be capable of being transferred from the pressing device on to the raisable and lowerable bottom (30). <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a device for banding copies of printed products, with a stacking device, in which the copies are stacked into a stack on a vertically up and down movable floor, with a pressing device that can be brought over the stack formed, on the underside of which the upper end of the formed stack can be pressed to compress the stack, and with a banding device for circumferentially enclosing the stack with a band.

Such a device is known from DE 37 42 787 C2. In such a known device for banding, the copies of printed products, for example brochure sheets or the like, are fed from a preceding station to the stacking device, this usually being done via conveyor belts. The individual specimens are piled up in a stack on a floor that can be moved up and down vertically. For lateral guidance of the stack, either angular strips arranged around the floor or lateral guides, for example baffle plates or the like, are provided. The floor is gradually lowered in accordance with the increase in the height of the stack, so that the specimens placed or falling into the ground each have approximately the same fall height, whereby a uniform stack is gradually formed. If the stack has reached the desired height or the desired number of copies have been stacked to form a stack, which can be detected, for example, by counting devices or light barriers, a pressing device is brought over the stack. The pressing device in the above-mentioned device consists, for example, of laterally retractable pressing bars, on the underside of which the top of the stack is pressed in that the bottom, together with the stack accommodated therein, is moved from below to the pressing bar and is thereby pressed together. This pressing together is necessary because the specimens falling individually into the stacking device are piled up quite loosely, so that when a band is placed around such a loose stack there would be difficulties in banding or there is a risk that specimens would subsequently fall out of the banded loose stack .

A band is then placed around the stack of specimens pressed in between the base on the one hand and the press beam on the other hand, and the band is welded by means of welding punches and thereby separated from the remaining band. The bottom is then lowered and the banded stack is removed.

Since it is an effort in the field of packaging to run such devices as continuously as possible, since the copies are usually delivered continuously from an upstream station, for example a printing press, and the aforementioned processes, namely pressing, banding and removal, take a certain amount of time to claim, it is provided in the establishment of the type mentioned above to provide another floor above the actual floor and above the pressing and banding device on which copies are stacked during the pressing, banding and removal process to form a partial stack. The correspondingly provided partial stacking device or the floor on which the partial stack must be stacked is roughly the same as the actual floor, i.e. with the appropriate side guides or edge limits. It is also equipped with movement mimics to move the floor out of the vertical chute, on the one hand while the specimens fall onto the actual floor, and on the other hand when the stack on the actual floor has reached its stack height and has to be pressed, to quickly move the partial stack floor into the chute in order to be able to accommodate the continuously fed copies.

Under this condition, it is then possible to run the stream of supplied specimens continuously and only interrupt them for a short time until the floor for the partial stack has been introduced into the chute. Because of this Process can take place in a matter of seconds, it is not necessary to stop the conveyor belts or the like, but rather a lock is only briefly placed on the conveyor belts, which causes a brief scaling of the foremost specimens, which are then transferred to the partial stack floor after the lock is released .

A disadvantage of such a device is that two floors must be provided with the appropriate movement facial expressions, so that the device is quite complex, and also builds very high in the vertical direction, since at the time when the pressing and banding processes on the actual floor take place in the same chute the partial stack floor must be able to accommodate the copies fed from the conveyor belts unchanged in the feed level. This means that the overall height of the two stacking devices arranged one above the other requires a considerable amount of installation space. Furthermore, the stacking devices arranged one above the other are difficult to reach in the event of a malfunction or for inspection purposes.

Another problem is that the partial stack stacked on the bottom of the partial stacking device has to be transferred to the actual bottom of the stacking arrangement arranged underneath, which is done in the device mentioned at the outset in that the partial stack base is formed in two parts and the two partial halves are removed in the opposite manner during transfer be, whereby the entire partial stack falls vertically down on the actual stack floor over a considerable distance. Due to the free fall distance, individual copies can detach from the partial stack and get tangled, so that unsightly stacks are formed which are also difficult to band afterwards.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve a device of the type mentioned in such a way that a simplified construction, in particular a lower overall height, is achieved while maintaining the continuous feeding of the specimens.

According to the invention the object is achieved in that an upper side of the pressing device is designed as a further base, on which a partial stack of copies is stacked during the pressing and banding process, and that the partial stack can be transferred from the pressing device to the raised and lowered floor.

The pressing device now has a double function, i.e. the underside of which serves that the stack picked up on the bottom of the stacking device is brought up for compression, but at the same time on the top of the pressing device, since this is now designed as a bottom, the partial stack can be built up.

This eliminates the need for a partial stacking device with a corresponding partial stacking floor with separate drive mimics and the necessary components, such as edge strips or side boundaries. As a result, a significantly smaller number of components is necessary, and at the same time the overall height of the device is considerably reduced. Since the pressing device only has to have a relatively low overall height, it is thus possible, for example, to build up the partial stack a few centimeters above the top of the compressed stack, with the result that the transfer distance of the partial stack to the floor is then also significantly less, so that the risk of Tangling or the like is greatly reduced.

The task is thus completely solved.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the floor can be raised and lowered in such a way that it can be moved vertically into the pressing device, thereby lifting the partial stack resting on the top of the pressing device, after which the pressing device comes out of the vertical movement shaft of the floor that can be raised and lowered is feasible.

This measure now has the additional considerable advantage that the transfer of the partial stack formed on the top of the pressing device to the actual floor takes place with the complete exclusion of the risk of tangling or crushing of individual copies because this partial stack runs through the floor that can be moved into the pressing device is gently lifted from the top. At the same time, the pressing device can then be removed without the upper side of the pressing device having to move along the bottom copy of the partial stack, thus also eliminating the risk that this bottom copy will be damaged or moved.

In a further embodiment, the pressing device has pressing bars which can be moved laterally onto the stack, and the lowerable floor can be moved vertically between the pressing bars in order to lift the partial stack.

This measure now has the further considerable advantage that it makes a further contribution to the reduction in overall height, namely that no additional space in the vertical direction in the area of the chute of the specimens is necessary due to the side entry, this entry can be carried out so quickly that the flow of supplied specimens is not blocked at all or this blocking process is at most in a fraction or in the range of one second. When removing the pressing device, it is then no longer necessary at all to temporarily shut off the supply flow, since the partial stack is taken over in the vertical direction, i.e. by lifting off the upper side of the pressing device, so that further copies are continuously carried out on the upper side of the partial stack during this process can be hung up.

In a further embodiment of the invention, welding punches of the banding device can be brought over the stack in the same direction as the pressing device.

This measure now has the advantage that the facial expressions and control can be synchronized with the pressing device or its retracting and extending movements, which enables a further reduction of the components, in particular no additional components in the vertical direction are necessary.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the welding punches are arranged between two outer press bars, and the overall height of the welding punches is such that they extend vertically between the top and the bottom of the pressing device.

This measure has the considerable advantage that the welding punches have a space immediately above the uppermost copy of the pressed punch, which ends at the bottom of the pressing device and below the lower copy of the partial stack arranged above it. This ensures that the banderole is guided and welded directly above the top copy of the lower pressed stack can, however, at the same time in no way be impaired by the movement of the welding stamp in the horizontal direction of the stack formed in the meantime on the upper side of the pressing device or its lowest copies.

This is another contribution to reducing the overall height in the context of the task.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the top of the pressing device is designed as a roller base, and the pressing device can be pulled off to the side, the bottom of the stacking device being liftable approximately at the same level as the roller base, and that when the pressing device is pulled off the side, the partial stack formed thereon can be retained and onto the floor the stacking device can be stored.

This measure now has the advantage that the transfer of the partial stack resting on the upper side of the pressing device can be carried out by means of a lateral pull-off by the configuration as a roller base, whereby the upper side of the pressing device can travel along the underside of the bottom copy of the partial stack by the rollers without impairing, slipping or moving this copy. Thus, for example, the partial stack can be placed on the floor by the pressing device without the floor and pressing device having to move into one another.

It goes without saying that the features to be explained above and below can be used not only in the combinations mentioned, but also alone or in other combinations, without leaving the scope of the present invention.

Fig. 1

stark schematisiert eine Seitenansicht einer erfindungsgemäßen Einrichtung;

Fig. 2

eine ausschnittsweise Darstellung im Bereich der Stapelvorrichtung von Fig. 1 in einer ersten Betriebsstellung;

Fig. 3

eine der Fig. 2 entsprechende Darstellung in einer zweiten Betriebsstellung;

Fig. 4

eine der Fig. 2 entsprechende Darstellung in einer dritten Betriebsstellung;

Fig. 5

eine der Fig. 2 entsprechende Darstellung in einer vierten Betriebsstellung;

Fig. 6

eine der Fig. 2 entsprechende Darstellung in einer fünften Betriebsstellung;

Fig. 7

eine der Fig. 2 entsprechende Darstellung in einer sechsten Betriebsstellung;

Fig. 8

einen Schnitt längs der Linie VIII-VIII in Fig. 6, und zwar in einer Übergangsstellung zwischen der Betriebsstellung von Fig. 6 und Fig. 7; und

Fig. 9

eine der Fig. 8 vergleichbare Schnittdarstellung entsprechend der in Fig. 7 dargestellten Betriebsstellung.

The invention is described and explained in more detail below on the basis of a selected exemplary embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Show it:

Fig. 1

highly schematic a side view of a device according to the invention;

Fig. 2

a partial representation in the area of the stacking device of Figure 1 in a first operating position.

Fig. 3

a representation corresponding to Figure 2 in a second operating position.

Fig. 4

a representation corresponding to Figure 2 in a third operating position.

Fig. 5

an illustration corresponding to Figure 2 in a fourth operating position.

Fig. 6

a representation corresponding to Figure 2 in a fifth operating position.

Fig. 7

an illustration corresponding to Figure 2 in a sixth operating position.

Fig. 8

a section along the line VIII-VIII in Figure 6, in a transition position between the operating position of Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. and

Fig. 9

a sectional view comparable to FIG. 8 corresponding to the operating position shown in FIG. 7.

A device according to the invention shown in FIG. 1 is provided with the reference number 10 in its entirety.

The device 10 has a stacking device 12, a pressing device 14 and a banding device 16.

A transport belt 18 and a transport roller 20 and a further transport belt 22 are assigned to the stacking device 12 in order to feed copies of printed products, for example brochures or folded sheets and the like, from a preceding station. The combination of the two conveyor belts 18 and 22 in cooperation with the transport roller 20 serves for synchronization and controlled feeding of the specimens to be stacked in the stacking device 12.

An foremost end edge 24 of the conveyor belt 22 in the transport direction lies along a side edge of a shaft 26 which is approximately rectangular in cross section, the contour of which roughly corresponds to the contour of the specimens to be stacked.

In the region of the edge 24 of the conveyor belt 22, a pivotable lock 28 is arranged, which can be lowered from the releasing position shown in FIG. 1 to the top of the conveyor belt 22, in order to continue transporting copies there at short notice while the conveyor belt 22 is still running to block, as will be explained below in connection with the operation of the device 10.

The stacking device 12 has a base 30 which can be moved up and down vertically in the shaft 26 by means of facial expressions, not shown here, as is indicated in FIG. 1 by an arrow 31. The facial expressions for moving the floor 30 are in themselves Known in the field of packaging technology, therefore does not need to be described in more detail, for example by vertical chain guides, vertically extendable stamps or the like.

The shaft 26, seen in the transport direction of the conveyor belts 18 and 22, is provided with a rear limiting rail 32, a front limiting rail 34, and two lateral limiting rails 36 and 37 (see also FIGS. 8 and 9), which thus cover the floor 30 on all of them surround four sides, and serve for lateral guidance of specimens stacked on the floor 30, as is also known per se in this field.

The pressing device 14 has two pressing bars 38 and 39 arranged laterally next to the shaft 26 (see also FIGS. 8 and 9), which are driven by a drive (not shown here) from the position shown in FIG. 1, in which it is next to the shaft 26 are arranged, horizontally, in the representation of FIG. 1 to the left in the shaft 26 can be moved in or out again, as indicated by a double arrow 41. The pressure beams 38, 39 can also be driven again by suitable means known per se in this field, such as chain guides, piston-cylinder units or the like.

The press bars 38 and 39 are each provided with the same lower sides 40 and the same upper sides 42.

The upper sides 42 of the press bars 38 and 39, if the press bars 38 and 39 are moved into the region of the shaft 26, form a further base 44, as will be explained in more detail below in connection with the mode of operation.

The banding device 16 has a roll 48, which is pivotably received on a lever arm 46 and on which a band 49 is rolled up.

The banderole 49 leading away from the roll 48 is guided over guide rollers 50 and 51, between which the banderole 49 sags, over a welding stamp 58 and over the top of the bottom 30 through the shaft 26, then runs around a further guide roller 52 and a guide roller 53 on the opposite side. The banderole 49 is guided from the guide roller 53 to a further guide roller 54, the banderole 49 also sagging between these two approximately equal guide rollers 53 and 54 for compensation purposes. The banderole 49 leads from the guide roller 54 to a roller 56 and is also rolled up there.

Such a band guide is also known per se from the prior art.

Opposite the welding stamp 58, which in the illustration of FIG. 1 is arranged to the left of the rear boundary rail 32 of the shaft 26, another welding stamp 60 is arranged at the same level to the right of the shaft 26 and next to the front limiting rail 34.

Both welding punches 58 and 60 can be moved back and forth horizontally, as indicated by arrows 59 and 61.

The overall height of the welding punches 58 and 60 in the vertical direction is such that it extends between the underside 40 and the top 42 of the pressure beams 38 and 39, the purpose of this construction being explained in more detail below in connection with the mode of operation.

From FIG. 1, a receptacle 42 is also provided somewhat to the right below and laterally offset of the shaft 26, which is used to hold a banded stack discharged from the shaft 26, as will also be explained in more detail below.

The device 10 described in FIG. 1 operates as follows:
The base 30 is brought into the basic position shown in FIG. 1 and the band 39 is brought onto the top of the base 30 and overflows it approximately in the middle.

The conveyor belts 18 and 22 bring copies of copies 66 of printed products to be banded, for example a one-page advertising brochure.

In Fig. 1, such a copy 66 is shown in free fall, i.e. it was thrown into the shaft 26 by the conveyor belt 22 and now falls onto the floor 30 and onto the section of the band 39 lying on the floor.

In order to bring about an approximately equal fall height of the supplied specimens 66, the base 30 is gradually or continuously lowered depending on the number of specimens 66 supplied. The lowering of the base 30 is of course dependent on the height or the thickness of the specimens, ie depending on whether it is one-sided specimens or folded ones made of cardboard-like material, that is to say thick-fitting specimens 66. At the same time, a counting device, not shown here, is provided in order to count the number of copies to be stacked into a stack 64.

2 now shows an operating position in which the base 30 has now gradually lowered and on which a stack 64 of a certain number of copies 66 has been stacked.

The band 49 lies around two opposite sides and of course around the underside of the stack 64, or, conversely, the stack 64 has sunk into the band 49.

For this purpose, the areas sagging between the guide rollers 50 and 51 and the guide rollers 53 and 54 shown in Fig. 1 were provided, i.e. to provide this additional part of the banderole 49, which is known per se.

As already mentioned, the stack 64 has reached its desired stack height in the operating position shown in FIG. 2, so that no further copies are briefly fed into the shaft 26. For this purpose, the lock 28 is lowered and holds another copy 66 'without the conveyor belt 22 having to be switched off. At the same time, the drive of the press bars 38 and 39 is now put into operation, i.e. 2, to the left, as indicated by an arrow 43, the pressure beams 38 and 39 are moved over the top copy 66 of the stack 64. This run-in can be accomplished in a range of less than one second.

3 shows the situation in which the press bars 38 and 39 have moved over the stack 64, the uppermost specimen coming to rest at a distance below the underside 40 of the press bars 38 and 39, respectively.

After the press bars 38 and 39 have been retracted, the lock 28 releases the further feeding of copies, it being shown in FIG. 3 that the copy 66 'retained in FIG. 2 by the lock 28 is temporarily on the top 42 of the press bars 38 and 39 was filed.

Since the stack 64 lying on the floor 30 in FIG. 3 is piled up relatively loosely, the floor 30 is raised and moved to the underside 40 of the pressure beams 38 and 39, this working position being shown in FIG. 4.

During this period, additional copies 38 and 39 can be placed on the top 42 of the press beams, i.e. be fed to the shaft 26.

The two welding punches 58 and 60 now move laterally into the shaft 26 and pull the sleeve 49 over the top of the compressed stack 64.

The laterally moving press rams 58 and 60 are arranged in a top view of the shaft between the two pressing beams 38 and 39 resting on the lateral edge area of the stack 64, of course at the level of the band 39, so that they pull them along when they are retracted. So that the retracting welding punches 58 and 60 neither touch the top of the uppermost copy of the pressed stack 64 nor the bottom copy 66 'of the partial stack 68 formed in the meantime on the top 42 of the press beams 38 and 39, their overall height is such that they differ from the The underside 40 of the press bars 38 and 39 extend to a maximum of the upper side 42 thereof.

This then ensures that the band 49 is pulled tightly over the top of the uppermost copy of the pressed stack 64.

At the point where the welding punches 58 and 60 meet, the banderole 49, which is looped circumferentially around the pressed stack 64, is welded and at the same time the loop is cut off, as is also known per se from the prior art.

This situation is shown in Fig. 5, from which it can be seen that the welding punches meet somewhat offset from the center. It is of course possible to move the meeting of the two punches 58 and 60 further in the middle or further to the edge region of the stack, depending on how the local conditions make this appear most favorable.

After welding and severing the welded banderole 49, the welding punches 58 and 60 move back laterally and the banded stack 64 is transferred laterally from the stacking device 12 into the receptacle 62 by lowering and tipping the base 30, as shown in FIG. 6.

It can be seen from this that the welding point 70 can be seen on the upper side of the banded stack 64 or the corresponding welding point 72 on the remaining area of the band 49.

The processes described above in connection with FIGS. 2 to 5 of the lateral retraction of press bars 38 and 39 and of welding punches 58 and 60 were described in a time-decoupled manner, this also serves essentially for the sake of clarity, in practice the lateral retraction of the pressure beams 38 and 39 and the lateral retraction of the welding punches 58 and 60 together with the welding process will run approximately synchronously in order to complete this process in the shortest possible time, for example in to let it run for two or three seconds.

Returning now to FIG. 6, it can be seen that the floor 30 is raised, as is indicated by an arrow 57, the partial stack 68 on the upper side 42 of the press bars 38 and 39 being built up in the meantime.

The construction depth, in the representation of FIGS. 1 to 7, of the base 30 is such that it can move in between the spaced-apart press beams 38 and 39, so that the base 30 forms the partial stack 68 formed on the upper side 42 of the press beams 38 and 39 stands out from this.

This is shown in more detail in FIGS. 8 and 9. In Fig. 8, the bottom 30 is raised so far that it has just applied to the band 49 from below, and is inserted into the space between the laterally spaced guide bars 38 and 39. By further raising the floor 30, as shown in FIG. 9, the floor 30 lifts the partial stack 68 from the upper side 42 or 42 'of the press beams 38 and 39, which up to this point has been used as another floor 44 for the partial stack 68 served. After the partial stack 68 has been lifted off, the press bars 38 and 39 can be pulled off laterally, as is indicated in FIG. 7 by an arrow 59. During the processes described above, specimens are continuously fed into the shaft 26 and the partial stack 68 is built up.

The floor 30 is now gradually lowered until the partial stack 68 which it has meanwhile taken over has reached the stack height shown in FIG. 2.

Subsequently, the processes then take place again as described above.

In a further constructive alternative, it is provided that the upper sides 42, 42 'of the press bars 38, 39 are designed as roller bottoms, so that the partial stack 68 can then be transferred from the press bars 38 and 39 by quickly pulling them off to the side and thereby fall on the floor 30 raised immediately below, without this then having to move between the two press beams 38 and 39, respectively.

Claims (6)

Device for banding copies of printed products, with a stacking device (12), in which the copies (66) are stacked to form a stack (64) on a floor (30) that can be moved vertically up and down, with one over the stack (64 ) bringable pressing device (14), on the underside (40) of which the upper end of the stack (64) formed can be pressed to compress the stack (64), and with a banding device (16) for circumferentially enclosing the stack (64) with a band (49), characterized in that an upper side (42) of the pressing device (14) is designed as a further base (44) on which a partial stack (68) of specimens (66 ') is stacked during the pressing and banding process, and that the partial stack (68) can be transferred from the pressing device (14) to the raised and lowered floor (30). Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottom (30), which can be raised and lowered, is designed such that it can be moved vertically into the pressing device (14), and thereby the partial stack resting on the upper side (42) of the pressing device (14) (68) lifts, after which the pressing device (14) can be brought out of the vertical movement shaft (26) of the floor (30) which can be raised and lowered. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the pressing device (14) has pressing bars (38, 39) which can be moved laterally onto the stack (68), and in that the lowerable floor (30) for lifting the partial stack (68) between the pressing bars (38, 39) is vertically retractable. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that welding punches (58, 60) of the banding device (16) can be brought over the stack (68) in the same direction as the pressing device (14). Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the welding punches (58, 60) are arranged between two outer lateral pressure beams (38, 39), and in that the height of the welding punches (58, 60) is such that they are vertical between the upper side ( 42) and underside (40) of the pressing device (14) extend. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the upper side (42) of the pressing device (14) is designed as a roller base, and that the pressing device (14) can be removed laterally, that the bottom (30) of the stacking device (12) can be raised approximately at the same level as the roller base, and that when the pressing device (14) is pulled off laterally, the partial stack (68) formed thereon can be retained and placed on the floor (30) of the stacking device (12).

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