EP0894758B2 - Device for forming a collator for paper material - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a new and improved apparatus for forming sheet material assemblies.

Devices for forming sheet material combinations are out US 5,100,118 ; US 5,186,443 ; and US 5,499,803 known. A collator for the production of newspapers is in US 5,186,443 disclosed. This patent describes a gathering and conveying device having a sheath feeding station where the sheaths of the newspapers are successively fed into the upwardly open pockets. Inserts are sequentially inserted into the respective cases at a plurality of insert feed stations. The full newspapers are delivered to a delivery system in which the newspapers are sequentially picked up and transported to a receiving location for further processing.

The patent application EP 0 727 379 A2 discloses another apparatus for forming sheet material assemblies. The apparatus comprises a plurality of boxes which are arranged along a conveyor belt and which contain newspaper sheets, which are placed at intervals in pockets of the conveyor belt. For this purpose, the conveyor belt has a plurality of subdivisions, wherein the newspaper sheets can be stored out of the boxes between each two subdivisions. The period of time after each new page from a newspaper box on the conveyor belt is variable and is influenced by a control that adjusts the time to the speed of the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt is driven by a motor, which also serves as a motor for driving the boxes that carry the newspapers onto the conveyor belt. The drive shaft of the conveyor belt and the drive shaft of the boxes is connected to each other by a so-called phase change device, which is driven by a stepper motor. Thus, the speed with which the boxes convey their newspaper sheets onto the conveyor belt can be changed in comparison to the speed of the conveyor belt, but all the boxes have the same operating speed.

Also from the registration EP 0 709 331 A2 shows an apparatus for forming sheet material compilations. This device also has a conveyor belt, which receives sheets between spacers from different boxes, wherein the boxes are arranged parallel to the conveyor belt. The mechanisms of the boxes, through which the leaves from the boxes reach the conveyor belt, are thereby driven by the same motor, which also drives the conveyor belt. In order for the boxes to be able to slide their newspaper sheets onto the conveyor belt at different speeds, the mechanisms of the boxes can be adjusted in such a way that the operating speed can be switched to a first or a second gear by means of a gearbox on the boxes.

The font JP 0 4-269594 discloses a mechanism which is also used in devices for forming sheet material assemblies. The disclosed mechanism is for transporting sheets from a box, which is arranged parallel to a conveyor belt, out of the box onto the conveyor belt. The mechanism has a large gripper drum which pulls the sheets out of a box and then passes them on to two smaller drums which, by their cooperation, convey the sheet fed from the gripper drum onto the conveyor belt. Both the gripper drum and the two smaller transport drums are driven by their own electric motors. Furthermore, a controller is provided which can adjust the rotational speed of the gripper drum to the speed of a drive motor for the conveyor belt.

The present invention relates to a novel and improved apparatus for forming sheets of material according to claim 1. Although the apparatus is preferably to be used for the compilation of newspapers, it is intended that the apparatus for sheet material compilations of other products, such. For example, to use magazines and brochures or to collect signatures. It is envisaged to use an apparatus for forming sheet material assemblies of the well-known type of inserter with hopper and recirculating conveyor for the production of newspapers. But it can also be a device with a circumferential saddle-shaped collation system. Likewise, it may be a device in which the products are located with the flat back on the conveyor.

The sheet material assembling apparatus comprises a plurality of product feeders arranged along a conveyor. The conveyor is operated to move product receiving points successively past the respective feeders. The operating speed of control motors in the product feeders is varied by control units for the device. The operating speed of a control motor in a drive device for the conveyor is varied by the control units for the device.

With each of the receiving points on the conveyor and each of the product feeders, a receiving position sensor is connected in each case. The pickup location sensors generate output signals when the associated pickup location is in a predetermined positional relationship with a product feeder. Further, each is a feed sensor with each of the product feeders connected. The feed sensor generates an operating signal when the associated product feeder is in a predetermined operating condition. The control units control the operation of the product feeders determined by the output signals from the pickup location sensors and the feed sensors.

It is contemplated that during operation of the apparatus, the product feeders will occasionally fail to supply a sheet material product to a pickup location on the conveyor. For this purpose, a Zuführfehler sensor is provided which detects the failure of the product feeder and thus the absence of a product at the receiving point. When a feed error sensor detects that a sheet material product has not been fed, the control units cause the intervention of a motor in a rework supply device to feed a sheet material product to the pickup location which does not supply sheet material product from any of the sheet material feeders has been.

The invention will be explained in more detail in the following description of preferred embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings listed below.

Fig. 1

einen schematischen Aufriß einer Vorrichtung gemäß vorliegender Erfindung;

Fig. 2

eine schematische Draufsicht entlang der Linie 2-2 der Fig. 1;

Fig. 3

einen schematischen Ablaufplan, der einen Teil der mit der Vorrichtung der Fig. 1 verbundenen Steuerschaltung zeigt;

Fig. 4

eine schematische Darstellung einer Bogenmaterial-Zuführeinrichtung und Steuerschaltung in der Vorrichtung der Fig. 1;

Fig. 5

einen Funktionsablaufplan der Steuerschaltung für eine Bogenmaterial-Zuführeinrichtung in der Vorrichtung der Fig. 1;

Fig. 6

(auf Blatt 3 der Zeichnungen) ein Flußdiagramm, das einen Teil eines Steuerungsprozesses mit anschließender Steuerschaltung für die Vorrichtung der Fig. 1 zeigt; und

Fig. 7

(auf Blatt 1 der Zeichnungen) eine graphische Darstellung, die einen Prozentsatz des Vorschubs der Zuführtrommel bezüglich der Geschwindigkeit der Taschen-Förderanlage zeigt.

Show it:

Fig. 1

a schematic elevation of a device according to the present invention;

Fig. 2

a schematic plan view along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3

a schematic flowchart that forms part of the device with the Fig. 1 connected control circuit shows;

Fig. 4

a schematic representation of a sheet material feeder and control circuit in the device of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 5

a functional flowchart of the control circuit for a sheet material feeder in the apparatus of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 6

(on sheet 3 of the drawings) is a flow chart illustrating part of a control process followed by control circuitry for the apparatus of the present invention Fig. 1 shows; and

Fig. 7

(on sheet 1 of the drawings) is a graph showing a percentage of the feed drum advance with respect to the speed of the bag conveyor.

general description

An apparatus 20 for forming sheet material combinations is shown in FIG Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 shown. The present invention may be used to form a variety of sheet material combinations, however, the apparatus 20 includes a conveyor 22, which also allows complete newspapers 23 to be assembled. Each of the newspapers 23 has a cover or an outer cover part. During the compilation of full newspapers 23 inserts are placed in the cases.

Stationary sheet material product feeders 54 are arranged along the conveyor 22. The conveyor 22 has a delivery station 24 where the assembled newspapers 23 are transferred to a gripper conveyor 26. The conveyor 22 is located above the gripper conveyor 26 as in FIG Fig. 1 shown. The gripper conveyor 26 transports the newspapers to receiving conveyors or other locations for further processing.

The gripper conveyor 26 includes a plurality of identical grippers 32 which are interconnected by a conveyor chain (not shown). The conveyor chain is moved along a path 34 at a constant speed. The grippers 32 are closed sequentially to grasp the newspapers 23 at the delivery station 24. Thereafter, the grippers 32 are moved by the delivery station 24 along the path 34.

Drive of the conveyor and control units

A main control unit 40 ( Fig. 3 ), preferably a microcomputer, is connected to a drive circuit 42 of the motor associated with the conveyor. The conveyor motor drive circuit 42 is connected to a drive motor 44 for the conveyor 22. The conveyor motor drive circuit 42 is also connected to an electrical energy source (not shown).

The conveyor motor drive circuit 42 supplies electrical power to the conveyor drive motor 44. A device suitable for use as a conveyor motor drive circuit 42 is commercially available from the Indramat Division of Rexroth Corporation, USA. A motor suitable for use as drive motor 44 is available from the Indramat Division of Rexroth Corporation, USA. The use of other known motor drive circuits and motors is also possible.

The main control unit 40 ( Fig. 3 ) sends electrical control signals to the conveyor motor drive circuit 42, which in turn controls the speed of the conveyor drive motor 44. The conveyor motor drive circuit 42 controls the speed of the conveyor drive motor 44 in response to control signals generated by the main control unit 40. A home position sensor 45 generates an output to the main control unit 40 when the conveyor 22 is in a home position relative to the sheet material product feeders 54.

The conveyor drive motor 44 (FIG. Fig. 3 ) is operatively coupled to a pocket conveyor 46 through a reduction gear 48 and a conveyor drive 50. The conveyor drive means 50 is connected to a conveyor 22 having the same general construction as in FIG US 5,709,375 disclosed. Alternatively, the conveyor 22 may have a construction which is in the US 5,186,443 disclosed equal.

A motor output shaft position sensor or signal generator 52, a known rotary encoder, is operatively connected to the conveyor drive motor 44. The engine output shaft position sensor 52 (FIG. Fig. 3 ) is electrically connected to the conveyor motor drive circuit 42. The engine output shaft position sensor 52 generates an electrical return signal indicative of the position of the output shaft of the conveyor drive motor 44. The conveyor motor drive circuit 42 has an internal encoder emulation circuit (not shown) that receives the feedback signal, ie, a series of pulses, from the motor output shaft position sensor 52.

If desired, the engine output shaft position sensor 52 may be a resolver. If the motor output shaft position sensor 52 is a resolver, the internal encoder emulation circuit in the conveyor motor drive circuit 42 converts the voltage and phase feedback signals into an electrical pulse signal.

When the main control unit 40 is first turned on, a motor position counter (not shown) in the main control unit 40 is set to zero. The pulse signal from the internal encoder emulation circuit of the conveyor motor drive circuit 42 is sent to the main control unit 40 as a feedback signal for regulating the speed at which the conveyor drive motor 44 operates. The internal encoder emulation circuit in the conveyor motor drive circuit 42 generates 10,000 pulses per revolution of the output shaft of the conveyor drive motor 44. The counter in the main control unit 40 counts the pulses to determine the position of the output shaft of the conveyor drive motor 44. After each completed revolution of the conveyor drive motor, i. the counter counts 10,000 pulses, the counter in the main control unit 40 resets to zero.

The speed of the conveyor drive motor 44 is determined in the main control unit 40 by summing the number of pulses with respect to time. This allows the main control unit 40 to regulate the operating speed of the conveyor drive motor 44 by the conveyor motor drive circuit 42. It is known that the number of pulses per revolution may vary from 10,000, depending on the desired resolution of the motor position. Of course, other known rotary encoders may be used as the motor output shaft position sensor 52.

The bag conveyor 46 of the conveyor 22 has a plurality of interconnected pockets or sheet material receiving points 60 forming an uninterrupted oval conveyor circle ( Fig. 2 ). The interconnected pockets 60 are carried by wheels 62 running on rails 64. The rails 64 form a continuous, usually oval, path along which the wheels 62 and pockets 60 are moved by the conveyor drive motor 44 and the conveyor drive means 50.

Each of the identical pockets 60 is a downwardly opening pocket. When the pocket 60 is over the delivery station 24, a cam opens the bottom of the pocket and the newspaper 23 drops out of the pocket 60 onto a gripper 32. The gripper 32 holds the newspaper 23 and transports the newspaper to a pickup location.

As the identical pockets or sheet material receiving stations 60 are moved along the sheet material product feeders 54, sheet material products are fed into each of the pockets. Each pocket 60 must be accurately positioned relative to a sheet material product feeder 54 when the sheet material product feeder begins to feed a sheet material product, ie a wrapper or slip for the newspaper 23 into a pocket 60 Fig. 3 only a single sheet material product feeder 54 is shown, assume that a plurality of identical sheet material product feeders 54 are in an oval configuration along the conveyor 22 ( Fig. 2 ).

A pick-up sensor device 59 ( Fig. 4 ) generates an output when a pocket 60 is in a predetermined positional relationship to a sheet material product feeder 54. The pickup sensor device 59 includes a plurality of bag landing plates 61. Each of the bag landing plates 61 is fixed with one each the pockets 60 connected and attached to the respective associated pocket 60. Further, the pickup sensor device 59 comprises a plurality of bag sensors 63. The bag sensors 63 are fixedly mounted in predetermined positions relative to the sheet material product feeders 54. Thus, there is a pocket sensor 63 on each of the sheet material product feeders 54, respectively.

When one of the pockets 60 is moved to a predetermined position relative to one of the sheet material product feeders 54, the pocket landing plate 61 on that one pocket moves to a predetermined position relative to a pocket sensor 63 on that sheet material product. feeding. When this happens, the pocket sensor 63 recognizes that the pocket landing plate 61 is in the desired position relative to the sheet material product feeder 54. A sheet material product, i. a newspaper supplement, then begins to move into the pocket.

It is contemplated that the pickup sensor device 59 may have a variety of different constructions. So is in the in Fig. 4 illustrated embodiment, the bag-Aufläläläche 61 a piece of metal with a diameter of about 0.25 inch. The pocket sensor 63 is an inductive proximity sensor. A suitable inductive proximity sensor or pocket sensor 63 is commercially available from Turck Inc., USA.

Although it is believed that one embodiment of the pickup location sensor device 59 having a plurality of inductive pocket sensors 63 for detecting a metal pocket picking plate 61 is preferred, other known types of sensors may be used if desired. If desired, for example, a retroreflector sensor may be used. Suitable retroreflector sensors are commercially available from Banner Engineering Corp., Inc., U.S.A.

Drive the feeder and control units

How out Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 As can be seen, each of the identical sheet material product feeders 54 includes a sheet material feed control unit 80, such as a microcomputer. The sheet material feed control unit 80 is controllably connected to the main control unit 40 through a communication network 82. Although in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 In each case only a single sheet material product feeder 54 is shown, it is to be assumed that there are a plurality of sheet material product feeders 54, which are arranged in an oval grouping ( Fig. 2 ). Each of the sheet material product feeders 54 has the same structure and is connected to the main control unit 40 through the communication network 82.

Preferably, the communications network 82 is configured in a ring shape. It is known that other types of configuration of communication networks can be used to provide communication between the various controllers, e.g. as a star or priority chain network. Communication networks are known and will therefore not be explained further.

The sheet material feed control unit 80 is connected to a feed motor drive circuit 84. The feed motor drive circuit 84 is electrically connected to a feed motor 86 and an electric power source (not shown). The feed motor drive circuit 84 supplies electrical power to the motor 86. A device suitable for use as the feed motor drive circuit 84 is available from the Indramat Division of Rexroth Corporation, U.S.A. A motor suitable for use as a feed motor 86 is available from the Indramat Division of Rexroth Corporation, U.S.A. It is known that other known servomotor power supplies and motors can be used.

A specific embodiment of the sheet material feed control unit 80 sends electrical control signals in a range of 0 volts to 10 volts to the feed motor drive circuit 84, which in turn controls the speed of the feed motor 86.

The 0 volt command signal corresponds to the lowest desired engine speed and the 10 volt command signal corresponds to the highest desired engine speed. The feeding motor driving circuit 84 controls the rotational speed of the feeding motor 86 by supplying the feeding motor 86 with pulse width modulated current in response to the control voltage signal generated by the sheet material feeding control unit 80. Other embodiments of the sheet material feed control unit may utilize different electrical control signals, such as the digital controller.

In the feed motor drive circuit 84, the desired range of operating speeds of the feed motor 86 is selectively sized. In one embodiment, the operating speed of the feed motor 86 is sized for the range of control voltage provided by the sheet material feed control unit 80. For example, a desired supply engine operating speed range of 0-2000 rpm can be selected. In the example, this operating speed range would correspond to the control voltage range ranging from 0 volts to 10 volts of the control voltage values transmitted to the feed motor drive circuit 84 by the sheet material feed control unit 80. When the sheet material feed control unit 80 transmits a volt command signal to the feed motor drive circuit 84 in this example, the associated pulse duration modulated one Drive current is applied to the feed motor windings by the feed motor drive circuit 84 to drive the motor at 1000 rpm.

The main control unit 40 operates the conveyor drive motor 44 to drive the pocket conveyor 46 (FIG. Fig. 3 ) at a desired speed. At the same time, the main control unit 40 effects the operation of the feed motors 86 in the sheet material product feeders 54 (FIG. Fig. 2 and 3 ) at the same speed. Although the operating speed of the feed motors 86 is different than the operating speed of the conveyor drive motor 44, the operating speed of the feed motors 86 is related to the operating speed of the conveyor drive motor 44. Thus, the main control unit 40 selects for a selected conveyor drive motor speed. Operating speed, a feed motor operating speed, which causes a correct feeding of the sheet material products to the pockets 60.

The scaling factor or a cam function routine for the feed motor drive circuit 84 and the feed motor 86 may be selected so that the command voltage communicated from the main control unit 40 to the conveyor motor drive circuit 42 is the same command voltage that is required to operate Feed motor drive circuit 84, the feed motor 86 at a speed for a correct timing for feeding the sheet material 94 (FIG. Fig. 4 ) into the moving pockets 60. In the above example, when the main control unit 40 transmits a command voltage of 5 volts to the gathering and conveying motor drive circuit 42 for driving the conveyor drive motor at 900 rpm, a 5 volt command signal also goes to the sheet material feed control unit 80 is sent through the communication network 82 and the sheet material feed control unit 80. The sheet material feed control unit 80 uses the 5 volt command signal from the main control unit 40 as the basic command voltage signal. The 5 volt basic command voltage signal is communicated to the feed motor drive circuit 84. This causes the feed motor drive circuit 84 to supply the correct pulse duration modulated drive current to the feed motor windings for driving the feed motor 86 at the correct speed to coordinate the speed of the feeder 90 and the pocket conveyor speed Feeding sheet material 94 into the moving pockets 60.

It is to be understood that the scaling factor of one to one has been stated for the feed motor drive circuit 84 and the feed motor 86 for purposes of clarity of description only. Other scaling factors or cam functions may be used. It is also to be understood that the foregoing ranges of engine operating speeds and ranges of electrical control signals have been presented herein for purposes of clarity of description only. It should not be assumed that the invention is limited to a particular scaling factor, engine operating speed range and / or control signal value ranges.

A feed motor position sensor 88 is operatively connected to the feed motor 86 and electrically connected to the feed motor drive circuit 84. Preferably, the feed motor position sensor 88 is a rotary encoder. The feed motor position sensor 88 generates a series of electrical signals indicative of the position of the output shaft of the feed motor 86. The output signals from the feed motor position sensor 88 are transmitted to the feed motor drive circuit 84. The feed motor drive circuit 84 has a native encoder emulation circuit (not shown) which converts the position signals from the feed motor position sensor 88 into electrical pulse signals indicative of the position of the output shaft of the feed motor 86. The pulse signal from the encoder emulation circuit in the feed motor drive circuit 84 is sent to the sheet material feed control unit 80 in the form of a feedback signal used to control the rotational speed of the feed motor 86.

The rotary encoder in the feed motor position sensor 88 generates 10,000 pulses per revolution of the output shaft of the feed motor 86. During system initialization, a counter (not shown) in a feed drum registration function 120 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) of the sheet material feed control unit 80 is set to zero, as described below. The counter counts the pulses from the encoder emulation circuit in the feed motor drive circuit 84 to determine the position of the output shaft of the feed motor 86. At each completed complete revolution of the feed motor 86 (FIG. Fig. 4 ), ie the counter counts 10,000 pulses, the counter is set in the feed drum registration function 120 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) of the sheet material feed control unit 80 returns to zero. The speed of the feed motor 86 is determined by summing the number of pulses with respect to time. The feed motor 86 is operatively connected to a sheet material feeder 90.

The sheet material feeder 90 comprises a feed drum 93 (FIG. Fig. 4 ), which is connected to a feed drum drive shaft 102. The shaft 102 is disposed along a central longitudinal axis (not shown) of the feed drum 93. The shaft 102 is connected to the output shaft of the feed motor 86 by a reduction gear (not shown). In a particular embodiment of the invention, the reduction gear provides for a reduction of 10 to 1 of the rotational speed of the output shaft of the feed motor 86th

The feed drums 93 in each of the sheet material product feeders 54 (FIG. Fig. 2 ) must be in a triggering of the supply of a sheet material product in predetermined positions relative to the pockets 60, that is, a cover or supplement for the newspaper 23 in a pocket 60. Along with the sheet material product feeders 54 are a variety of Feeding sensor devices 103 available. Thus there is in each case a respective feed sensor device 103 for the respective corresponding sheet material product feed device 54. The feed sensor devices 103 produce an output signal when an associated feed drum 93 (FIG. Fig. 4 ) is in a predetermined position relative to a hopper 96. When the feed sensor device 103 indicates that the feed drum 93 is in the predetermined position relative to the hopper 96, the feed drum may be considered to be in an initial position.

The feed sensor device 103 includes a home position target 104 mounted on the feed drum 93. The home position pad 104 is a metal disk of about 0.25 inch diameter for biasing a home position inductive proximity sensor 106. The home position sensor 106 is electrically connected to the sheet material feed control unit 80. The home position sensor 106 is operatively mounted adjacent to the feed drum 93 to generate an electrical signal when the home position target 104 is within the working distance of the home position sensor 106.

The pocket sensor 63 is electrically connected to the sheet material feed control unit 80. The pocket sensor 63 is operatively mounted adjacent the pocket conveyor 46 to generate an electrical signal when one of the pocket landing plates 61 is within the working distance of the pocket sensor 63. A suitable device for the home position sensors 106 and the pocket sensors 63 is available under model number Ni 8U-M12-AN4X-H1141 from Turck Inc., U.S.A. Inductive proximity sensors and associated impact plates are known in the art and will not be further explained. It is known that other types of sensors and targets may be used to generate an electrical signal indicative of the position of the pocket or feed drum relative to the sensor.

A sucker device 114 (FIG. Fig. 4 ) is electrically connected to the sheet material feed control unit 80. The sucker 114 grips a piece of sheet material and uses a vacuum to pull the sheet material 94 from a hopper 96. The feeder 90 has grippers 92 attached to the feed drum 93 for receiving and gripping sheet material 94 drawn from the hopper 96 by the sucker device 114. The grippers 92 release the sheet material 94 at the right time, thereby delivering it into the pockets 60, as indicated by an arrow 98.

A feed error sensor 110 is operatively attached adjacent to the feeder 90 and electrically connected to the sheet material feed control unit 80. The feed error sensor 110 detects when a sheet material insert 94 is not fed into the pocket 60 and generates an electrical signal indicative of a feed error to the sheet material feed control unit 80. A suitable device for the feed error sensor 110 is available as Model Number Q45BB6LVQ5 from Banner Engineering Corp., U.S.A.

In Fig. 5 For example, the functions performed internally in the sheet material feed control unit 80 are shown in the form of a flowchart. The sheet material guide control unit 80 includes the feed drum registration function 120, a feed motor setting function 122, a lock function 124, a feed error function 126, and the internal memory 127 for the various functions in the sheet material feed control unit 80.

The feed drum registration function 120 is electrically connected to the home position sensor 106, the pocket sensor 63, the feed motor drive circuit 84 and the leading or trailing control unit 112 from which it receives signals. The feed drum registration function 120 is electrically connected to the feed motor adjustment function 122 and transmits electrical control signals thereto.

The feed motor adjustment function 122 is controllably connected to the main control unit 40 through the communication network 82. The feed motor adjustment function 122 provides electrical signals and receives electrical signals from the main control unit 40. The feed motor adjustment function 122 is controllably connected to the feed motor drive circuit 84 which supplies electrical power to the feed motor 86.

The lock function 124 is controllably connected to the main control unit 40 by the communication network 82. The disable function 124 communicates electrical signals and receives electrical signals from the main controller 40. Control signals are communicated from the disable function 124 to the sucker device 114. Depending on the desired content of a newspaper, a particular sheet material product feeder 54 may be prevented from feeding sheet material 94 from its hopper 96 into the pockets 60 of the pocket conveyor 46. Although in Fig. 5 For example, if the functions of only one of the sheet material feed control units 80 are shown, it will be understood that the other sheet material product feeders 54 comprise identical sheet material feed control units that function in the same manner and have the same construction as the sheet material feed control unit in Fig. 5 ,

A particular sheet material product feeder 54 may be assigned to serve as a rework sheet material product feeder. A rework sheet material product feeder 54 is ready to feed sheet material into a particular pocket 60 when an upstream sheet material product feeder does not supply sheet material to the pocket. The rework sheet material product feeder 54 is disabled for feeding supplements until instructed by the main control unit to correct a feed error. Thus, the feed motor 86 in the rework sheet material product feeder is kept in the off state until an instruction is given from the main control unit 40.

The feed error sensor 110 is operatively connected to the feed error function 126. The feed error function 126 is controllably connected to the main control unit 40 by the communication network 82. The feed error function 126 communicates signals and receives signals from the main control unit 40.

When the feed error sensor 110 detects a feed error from the feeder 54, an electrical signal indicative of the feed error is transmitted to the feed error function 126 in the sheet material feed control unit 80. The feed error function 126 transmits through the network 82 an electrical signal to the main control unit 40 indicating (i) the occurrence of a feed error on a particular one of the pockets 60 and (ii) the sheet material product feeder 54 at which the feed error has occurred , Main control unit 40 then transmits a touch-up signal to the correct downstream rework sheet material product feeder.

Each of the sheet material product feeders 54 designated as a rework sheet material product feeder is connected to one or more of the upstream sheet material product feeders 54. A rework sheet material product feeder 54 may include sheet material products that are identical to the sheet material products in an associated sheet material product feeder. Alternatively, the repair sheet material product supply means may include a generic sheet material product that may replace a missing sheet material product in any one of a plurality of upstream sheet material product feeders 54. To provide a feed motor 86 in a rework sheet material product feeder 54 with time to shift from an off state to an on state and reach the desired operating speed before a pocket 60 attaches to an upstream sheet material product Feeder 54 has not supplied sheet material product reaching rework sheet material product feeder 54, there are a plurality of sheet material product feeders 54 between the rework sheet material product feeder and an associated upstream sheet material product feeder ,

When instructed by the main control unit 40, the feed motor adjustment function 122 in the post-rework supply device initially provides a base voltage control signal from the main control unit to the feed motor drive circuit 84 of the rework supply device. The feed motor drive circuit 84 provides the correct pulse duration modulated power supply to turn on the feed motor 86 to synchronize the rework sheet material product feeder 54 with the pocket conveyor 46. Thus, the feed motor 86 is operated in the rework mode. Sheet material product feeder 54 is turned on and accelerated to a desired operating speed before a rework sheet material product is supplied.

The lock function 124 in the rework sheet feed control unit 80 receives a control signal from the main control unit 40 for feeding the rework sheet material into the proper bag. The disabling function 124 communicates a control signal for turning on the sucker device 114 to feed a copy of the sheet material 94 into the pocket 60 where the delivery error has been detected.

control process

The reference to Fig. 6 combined with Fig. 5 facilitates understanding of part of the control process of the present invention. In step 200 ( Fig. 6 ), the control process of the sheet material feed control units 80 (FIG. Fig. 5 ), in which a self-diagnosis of the control units is performed, timers reset, memory cleared, etc., as is well known to those skilled in the art. The main control unit 40 also executes an initialization process.

In step 202 ( Fig. 6 ), the feed drum 93 (FIG. Fig. 4 ) is rotated by the feed motor 86 to an "exit" position and stopped where the home position target 104 is detected by the home position sensor 106. The feed drum registration function 120 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) sets the above-described feed motor position counter to zero. When the feed drum 93 has been rotated to the "home" position and stopped there, it is also said that the feed drum 93 is in the absolute "zero" position.

In step 202, the pockets 60 become "home" positions moved and stopped where the home position target 61 ( Fig. 4 ) is located on each of the pockets 60 next to a pocket sensor 63. A conveyor position counter is then set to zero. Thus, both the conveyor 22 and the sheet material product feeders 54 are moved to a "zero" or "home" position and stopped there.

The main control unit 40 then instructs the conveyor motor drive circuit 42 to turn on the conveyor drive motor 44. At the same time, the main control unit 40 instructs the sheet material feed control units 80 in each of the sheet material product feeders 54 to turn on the feed motors 86. The main control unit 40 instructs the conveyor motor drive circuit 42 to accelerate the conveyor drive motor 44 to a desired speed. At the same time, the main control unit 40 instructs the sheet material feed control units 80 in the sheet material product feeders 54 to accelerate the feed motors 86 to a desired speed.

When the conveyor drive motor 44 has been accelerated to the desired speed and the sheet material feed motors 86 have been accelerated to the desired speed, the pickup sensor devices 59 and the feed sensor devices 103 indicate when the conveyor drive motor 44 is in synchronism with the feed line. Motors 86 is running. In the case that the feed motors 86 do not operate synchronously with the conveyor drive motor 44, the feed motor adjustment function 122 in the sheet material feed control units 80 causes a change in the operating speed of the feed motors 86 in such a manner the feed sensor devices 103 in each of the sheet material product feeders 54 indicate that the feed drums 93 are operating synchronously with the pockets 60.

In step 204 ( Fig. 6 ) transmits the main control unit 40 ( Fig. 5 the basic command motor speed control voltage signals to (i) the conveyor motor drive circuit 42 and (ii) the sheet material feed control units 80. The conveyor motor drive circuit 42 supplies pulse width modulated current to the windings of the conveyor drive motor 44 for driving the conveyor motor 44 at the predetermined engine speed. The conveyor motor position sensor 52 transmits signals indicative of the rotational position of the output shaft of the conveyor drive motor 44 to the conveyor motor drive circuit 42.

The main control unit 40 receives pulse feedback signals from the internal encoder emulation circuit of the conveyor motor drive circuit 42. The pulse signals transmitted from the conveyor motor drive circuit 42 to the main control unit 40 indicate the position of the output shaft of the conveyor drive motor 44. The main control unit 40 counts the Number of pulse signals from the encoder emulation circuit in the conveyor motor drive circuit 42 with respect to the time to determine the operating speed of the conveyor drive motor 44. The feedback signal from the conveyor motor drive circuit 42 to the main control unit 40 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) is used for setting the command voltage signal which is transmitted to the conveyor motor drive circuit 42 and the sheet material feed control units 80.

The main control unit 40 sends the pocket motor speed command signal voltage to the feed motor adjusting functions 122 in all the sheet material feeding control units 80 arranged along the collating and conveying device 22. The feed motor position sensor 88 generates signals indicative of the rotational position of the output shaft of the associated feed motor 86. The encoder emulation circuit in the sheet material feed control unit 80 transmits pulse signals to the main control unit 40 indicating the position of the output shaft of the feed motor 86. The main control unit 40 counts the number of pulse signals from the sheet material feed control unit 80 with respect to the time to determine the operating speed of the feed motor 86. When the bag conveyor 46 and the feed drums 93 are synchronized, the feed motor adjustment function 122 in the sheet material feed control units 80 transmits the feed-back-adjusted conveyor motor speed command voltage signal from the main control unit 40 to the feed motor drive circuit 84 ,

In step 206, it is detected whether the pocket sensor 63 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) has generated a signal indicative of the position of a pocket target 61 ( Fig. 4 ), which is within the working range of the pocket sensor 63. If the detection in step 206 (FIG. Fig. 6 ), the process returns to step 204. The feed motor adjustment function 122 (FIG. Fig. 5 Further, it is understood that the main control unit 40 transmits the base command voltage signals (or motion command signals in a digital system) to the sheet material feed control units 80, and that many command quantities from the main control unit 40 are received by the sheet material feed control unit between the occurrence of signals from the pocket sensors 63.

If the determination in step 206 (FIG. Fig. 6 ) indicates negative and indicates that a pocket impact plate 61 ( Fig. 4 ) has passed the pocket sensor 63, the process moves to step 208. In step 208 (FIG. Fig. 6 ) determines the feed drum registration function 120 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) the sheet material feed control unit 80 the error angle α ( Fig. 4 ). If the pocket target is detected before the feed drum reaches the "zero" position ( Fig. 4 ) happens, this will be a lag called the feed drum 93 behind the bag 60, and the sheet material is supplied late in the bag. When the pocket 60 is detected by the pocket sensor 63 after the feed drum 93 passes the "zero" position, this is called advancing the feed drum in front of the pocket, and the sheet material is prematurely fed into the pocket.

The feed drum registration function 120 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) determines the angle error α ( Fig. 4 ) between a position 105 and the "zero" position of the feed drum corresponding to the position of the home position sensor 45. The position 105 represents the motor position when the feed drum registration function 120 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) has received the pocket position sensor signal and that signal has been received by the motor prior to passing the "zero" position. In other words, when a delay of the feed drum is indicated.

When the pocket target 61 ( Fig. 4 ) within the working distance of the pocket sensor 63, the position of the feed motor 86 in the feed drum registration function 120 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) is detected by reading the number of pulses counted in the counter at the time when the sensor signal is generated by the pocket sensor 63. The angle error α ( Fig. 4 ) is related to the motor position when the pocket sensor signal is received. The number of times by the feed drum registration function 120 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) counted engine position pulses indicative of the angular error α is referred to as an angle error count value. It should be recalled that 10,000 pulses are generated for each revolution of the feed drum 93 and that the counter resets to zero after each complete revolution of the motor. Thus, the angular error count corresponds to each motor position count value which is not zero at the time the pocket sensor generates a signal. When the feed drum registration function 120 reads the angle error value, the process shifts to step 210 (FIG. Fig. 6 ).

In step 210 it is determined whether the error angle α ( Fig. 4 ) represented by the above angle error value is within a predetermined tolerance range. The acceptable range of angular error α corresponds to the position of the pocket target 61 which is within plus or minus 1/16 inch of an optimal feed position of the feed drum 93 corresponding to the "zero" position described above and is indicated by an arrow 98 in Fig. 4 demonstrated. The feed drum registration function 120 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) compares the angle error value with a predetermined tolerance value range. If the angle error value is within the predetermined tolerance value range, the error lies within the tolerance. For example, if the angle error value is greater than 9900 or less than 100, including zero, the angle error is within a window defining a tolerance range and the process returns to step 204 (FIG. Fig. 6 ), in which the feed motor adjustment function 122 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) continues to control the feed motor drive circuit 84 with the basic command voltage value provided by the main control unit 40. It is known that the tolerance range of the angular error values depends on the particular collating conveyor and feeder, ie, the circumference of the feeder drum, motor and conveyor speeds, the distance of the pocket proximity sensor from the optimum feed position, etc.

If the determination in step 210 (FIG. Fig. 6 ) is negative and indicates that the angular error value is outside the predetermined tolerance range, the feed drum registration function 120 transmits (FIG. Fig. 5 The error command signal indicates that (i) the angular error count is out of tolerance and (ii) whether the error is a lagging or leading error. For example, if the angular error count is less than 9900 and greater than a predetermined intermediate count, eg, 5,000, the feed drum travels toward the pocket at a rate to be adjusted. If the angle error count is greater than 100 and less than the intermediate count, ie 5000, the feed drum advances to the pocket at a rate to be adjusted. Thus, the motor position count indicates that the angle error is out of tolerance and whether this angle error is behind or ahead. The process then changes to step 212.

In step 212 ( Fig. 6 ) is determined by the main control unit 40 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) is provided to compensate for the angular error, if outside the tolerance range, adjusted by the feed motor adjustment function 122. When the error command signal indicates that the feed drum 93 (FIG. Fig. 4 ) lags the pocket, the feed motor adjustment function 122 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) a feed motor command voltage corresponding to a 10% increase added to the basic command voltage signal transmitted from the main control unit 40, that is, 110% of the basic command voltage signal. While the basic command voltage signal continuously changes, the supply motor command voltage is continuously set to correspond to 110% of the basic command voltage signal.

The percentage value of the increase of the base command voltage to provide the adjusted supply motor command voltage is determined empirically for a specific conveyor system. It is known that other empirically determined percentages for adjusting the delivery engine speed depend on the specific delivery systems and the desired delivery engine speed compensation time can be used. The 10 percent increase in the supply motor command voltage, which is greater than the basic command voltage value, is continuously communicated to the supply motor drive circuit until the angular error count is within the tolerance range.

When the error command signal indicates that the feed drum 93 (FIG. Fig. 4 ) moves ahead of the pocket, the feed motor adjustment function 122 (FIG. Fig. 5 ), a feed motor command voltage that is 10 percent less than the base command voltage signal provided by the main control unit 40, ie 90% of the base command voltage signal. The supply motor command voltage, which is 10 percent below the base command voltage value, is continuously transmitted to the feed motor drive circuit until the angular error count is within the tolerance range. The process then returns to step 204 (FIG. Fig. 6 ) and continues traversing the loop as described above.

It should be understood that there is more than one delivery of sheet material per completed revolution of the feed drum 93. For example, it may have multiple groups of fingers 92 ( Fig. 4 ) for feeding one piece of sheet material per half turn of the feed drum, ie, every 180 degrees of a feed drum revolution. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in such systems, there will be further optimum feed positions of the feed drum. If there are two sets of sheet material fed per revolution, the motor position counter in the feed drum registration function 120 sets (FIG. Fig. 5 ) after counting 5,000 pulses. The window defining the tolerance range for angular error counts is adjusted accordingly.

Regarding Fig. 4 For example, there are circumstances in which it is desirable to supply sheet material 94 from hopper 96 either earlier or later than the optimum feed position indicated by feed arrow 98. For example, as newspapers are assembled along the conveyor, the pocket volume is filled with sheet materials that lie along the left interior surface of the pocket 60, as in FIG Fig. 4 shown. As the pocket continues to fill, it is desirable to feed the sheet material to the pocket earlier, as indicated by an arrow 99.

A control unit for leading / trailing work 112 ( Fig. 4 ) is electrically connected to the feed drum registration function 120 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) of the sheet material feed control unit 80. Leading / trailing work control unit 112 is used by a machine operator to advance or feed the feed drum feed position by setting a "relative home" position that is different from home, which is the absolute "zero". Position set during system initialization in step 202 above. To preload or retrace the home position relative to its absolute "zero" position set during system initialization, the operator "taps" the feed drum in the desired direction using the leading / trailing operator operator control unit 112 ,

The leading / trailing operator control unit 112 communicates an electrical signal to the feed drum registration function 120, which in turn transmits a corresponding jog command signal to the feed motor adjustment function 122. The feed motor set function 122 transmits a jog command voltage signal to the feed motor drive circuit 84. The feed motor drive circuit 84 supplies electrical power to the motor windings of the feed motor 86 to drive the feed drum 1/32 inch for each jog command to move in the desired direction.

For the sake of convenience, let it be assumed that each jog command corresponds to one motor revolution which is equivalent to a position count value from the internal shaft encoder in the feed motor drive circuit 84. When an operator drives the feed drum 93 (FIG. Fig. 4 ) advances to the leading position by 5 motor position counts, the feed drum registration function 120 centers (FIG. Fig. 5 ) the angle error count tolerance window at the new "relative output" position of 5 counts. For the tolerance range centered on the new 5-count "relative home" position described in the above example, the angle error is within the new angular error tolerance window centered on the new relative home position if the angle error count is greater than 9905 or less than 105 , including zero, is. If the angle error count is within the shifted tolerance range, the process returns to step 204 where the feed motor adjustment function 122 further controls the feed motor drive circuit 84 with the base command voltage value communicated from the main control unit 40. If the angle error count value is out of the offset tolerance range, the feed motor adjustment function 122 transmits the respectively required adjusted feed motor command voltage to the feed motor drive circuit 84.

It is also contemplated that the feed motor 86 may be set to a new " relative home " position in response to a signal indicative of the bag-conveyor speed by the main control unit 40 for advancing or trailing work. The main control unit 40 is characterized by the in Fig. 5 shown plant 130 controllably connected to the feed drum registration function 120. If the bag conveyor works at a higher speed, For example, it is desirable to feed the sheet material inserts into the moving pockets earlier than the optimum feed position.

If you look at Fig. 7 Thus, a graph is shown showing the percentage of desired advancing operation of the feed drum with respect to the bag-conveyor speed. The main control unit 40 has a look-up table of values stored in an internal memory (not shown) corresponding to that in FIG Fig. 7 shown graph. The conveyor motor drive circuit 42 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) transmits motor position pulses to the main control unit 40. The main control unit 40 determines the speed of the pockets 60 in response to the sum of the number of position counts with respect to time. Once the pocket speed is determined, the main control unit 40 operates the look-up table to determine the desired percentage correction to the lead-in task.

The percentage correction for the advance command is provided by the main control unit 40 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) of the equipment 130 is transmitted to the feed drum registration function 120 in the sheet material supply control unit 80. A new "relative home" position is determined by the feed drum registration function 120 in response to the percentage correction for the advance command. The feed drum registration function 120 then determines values for the shifted tolerance window for the motor position angle error counts.

For example, a correction command transmitted by the main control unit 40 for work progressing by 0.1 percent causes the feed drum registration function 120 (FIG. Fig. 5 ) the center of the angle error count tolerance window is shifted from absolute "zero" to the new "relative output" position of 10 counts. The new angle error tolerance range for the angle error count is a count that is greater than 9910 and less than 110 counts. A motor position count within this tolerance range does not require adjustment of the feed motor command. The actual relationship between the desired percent correction bias and the number of offset counts for the new "relative home" position is determined empirically for a specific gathering and conveying system.

Once the new "relative home" position is determined by the feed drum registration function 120, the system operates as described above. It should be understood that as the pocket conveyor speed changes, the main control unit 40 updates the percentage correction for the advance command communicated to the feed drum registration function 120. When the percentage correction signal for the preprocess command changes, the feed drum registration function 120 determines an updated "relative output" position. The counts for the offset angle error count tolerance window are also updated. The main control unit 40 may provide signals for the percentage correction command causing the feed position of the feed drum to trail.

The above description is in the context of a device 20 used to assemble newspapers 23. However, it should be appreciated that many different known types of apparatus can be used to form sheet material assemblies. For example, the present invention may be used to produce magazines and / or brochures. While the present invention is described herein with a conveyor 22 having pockets 60, it is contemplated that the present invention may be used in conjunction with either a revolving saddle-shaped conveyor system or a sheet material receiving station conveyor system attached to a flat back or pad move along. It is also to be understood that various features of the present invention may be used alone or in combination with one another.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

20

Apparatus for forming sheet material combinations

22

Conveyor

23

newspapers

24

delivery station

26

Gripper-conveyor

32

grab

34

train

40

Main control unit

42

Conveyor motor drive circuit

44

Conveyor drive motor

45

Home position sensor

46

Pocket conveyor

48

Reduction gear

50

Conveyor drive means

52

Motor output shaft position sensor

54

Sheet material article feeder

59

Receiving location sensor device

60

Sheet material receiving location

61

Pocket target

62

bikes

63

Pocket sensor

64

rails

80

Sheet material feed control unit

82

communication network

84

Feed motor drive circuit

86

Feed motor

88

Feed motor position sensor

90

A sheet material feeding

92

grab

93

feed drum

94

sheet material

96

hopper

98

arrow

99

arrow

102

Feed drum drive shaft

103

Zuführsensoreinrichtung

104

Home position impingement

105

position

106

Home position proximity sensor

110

Misfeed sensor

112

Control unit for leading or trailing work

114

suction device

120

Feed drum registration function

122

Feed motor adjust

124

lock function

126

misfeed

127

Internal memory

130

Pocket conveyor

Claims (11)

1. A device (20) for forming bow material compositions, comprising the following characteristics:

   a conveyor (22) having a plurality of bow material intake locations (60):

   a plurality of product feed devices (54) being disposed along the conveyor (22) for feeding the bow material products to the bow material intake locations (60), wherein each of the product feed devices (54) each comprising a variable speed motor operated for varying the operating speed of each product feed device (54); wherein each of the product feed devices (54) comprises a feed drum (93),

   a drive for the conveyor (22) for operating the conveyor (22) in order to move the bow material intake locations (60) relative to the plurality of product feed devices (54),

   characterized in that

   the drive for the conveyor (22) comprises a variable speed motor (44) operated for varying the operating speed of the conveyor (22), and that a control device for varying the operating speed of the variable speed motors is provided in the plurality of product conveyors (54), and the operating speed of the variable speed motor is provided in the drive for the conveyor, and in that a control unit (112) is provided for advancing or trailing work electrically connected to a feed drum registration function (120) of a bow material feed control unit (80), and the control unit (112) is embodied in order to allow a feed position of one of the feed drums (93) to work in an advancing or trailing manner, in that a relative base position is set, which differs from that base position, which corresponds to an absolute zero position, which is set during a system initiation.
2. Device according to claim 1,
   characterized in that
   each of the product feed devices (54) comprises a feed drum being moved by one of the variable speed motors, and effects the feed of the bow material products, and comprising a unit for producing signals showing the position of the feed drum, wherein the operating speed of the respective variable speed motor is varied in the respective product feed device according to the signals by means of the control unit.
3. Device according to claim 1,
   characterized in that
   further a unit is provided, which transmits signals to the control unit showing the positions of the product intake locations relative to the product feed device.
4. Device according to claim 1,
   characterized in that
   further a sensor unit is provided for detecting a feed error at one of the bow material intake locations by means of the plurality of product feed devices, wherein the work of a feed motor in a product feed device by means of the control unit is actuated from a non-operational state into an operational state in response to the detection of a feed error at one of the bow material intake locations by means of the sensor unit.
5. Device according to claim 1,
   characterized in that
   the operational speed of the variable speed motor in a plurality of product feed devices relative to the operational speed of the respective variable speed motor in others of the plurality of product feed devices is changed by means of the control unit.
6. Device according to claim 1,
   characterized in that
   each of the product feed devices comprises a feed drum (93) being moved by one of the variable speed motors in the product feed devices and executes the feed of bow material products, as well as a sensor unit for generating a base signal when the feed drum is in a pre-determined position, wherein the operational speed of at least one of the variable speed motors in the product feed devices is varied by means of the control unit in accordance with the base signals transmitted from the sensor unit.
7. Device according to claim 6,
   characterized in that
   the sensor unit comprises a first component being moved with the feed drum (93) relative to a second component of the sensor unit, wherein a base signal is generated by means of the sensor unit, when the first component of the sensor unit is located in a pre-determined position relative to the second component of the sensor unit.
8. Device according to claim 1,
   characterized in that
   further a sensor unit is provided for generating base signals, when the intake locations are located in pre-determined positions relative to the product feed devices.
9. Device according to claim 8,
   characterized in that
   the sensor unit comprises first and second components, wherein the first component of the sensor unit is moved along with the intake locations relative to the product feed device and the second component of the sensor unit, wherein a base signal is generated by means of the sensor unit, when the first component of the sensor unit is located in a pre-determined position relative to the second component of the sensor unit.
10. Device according to claim 1,
    characterized in that
    the product feed device comprises a feed drum (93) being moved by means of one of the variable speed motors in the product feed device, and executes the feed of bow material products, as well as a device for transmitting signals to the control unit displaying in sequence the position of each of the product intake locations relative to the feed drum (93) of the respective product feed device, wherein the control unit comprises a device for detecting whether or not the product intake locations and the feed drums in one of the product feed devices are located at a desired relationship, and a device for varying the operational speed of the variable speed motor in the respective product feed device for changing the position of the feed drum (93) in the respective product feed device in accordance with the detection by the control unit such that the product intake locations and the feed drum are each in the respective product feed device at a different relationship than the desired relationship.
11. Device according to claim 1,
    characterized in that
    the control unit comprises a main control unit controlling the operational speed of the variable speed motor in the drive for the conveyor, as well as a plurality of bow material feed control units, being connected to the main control unit, wherein each of the bow material feed control units is connected to one of the variable speed motors in one of the product feed devices and to the main control unit.

Images