EP1547948B2 - Apparatus for shingling letters - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for processing flat material, according to the preamble of claim 1.

Such a device is for example off DE 193 1 189 U known.

Similar devices are well known from the processing of mass mailings. In all devices, the same problems occur time and again, which can be overcome with known measures difficult. These problems result from the special properties of the material to be processed. Thus, the delivered letters have varying formats, unequal strengths and different weights. Occasionally, letters are damaged or improperly glued so that dog-ears protrude and other letters get caught. Such problems complicate the transport and especially the separation necessary for further processing. Because of all these problems, the preparatory actions from the emptying of the sacks to the inputting of the stacked and filed mail in standard cases, with which the further processing is done, are still done by hand.

All the known means by which these problems have so far been addressed were relatively complex and can only be implemented at great expense. Because of the great complexity, they are particularly prone to failure. Thus, they offer only moderate security and do not contribute to the improvement of the service life.

Object of the present invention is therefore to provide a device for the preparatory processing of stagnant slab, which can be technically simple and therefore inexpensive to implement and the high service life and processing speeds with further staff savings possible, which easily implements such a method that works reliably and which gently treats the slab while avoiding multiple withdrawals.

These objects are achieved by the device according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are mentioned in the respective subclaims.

The basic idea of the device according to the invention lies ultimately in further fanning the flat material rising on the conveyor belt formed as underfloor belt during transport by applying it on both sides and thus preparing it for separation. It is essential here first of all the braking of the incoming in the row stack of letters, which are shingled over each other. According to the invention, this series of individual pieces, while being driven from below through the lower conveyor belt, on the one hand braked by the braking device and on the other hand taken by the laterally arranged drive device and accelerated towards the individual trigger. Due to the negative acceleration of the one hand acting on the slab braking device and the positive acceleration of the other hand acting on the slab drive device, the shingled contiguous individual pieces are fanned out to another piece.

The conveyed by the conveyor belt flat material is guided in particular before reaching the individual trigger with a flat side against the braking device. While the conveyor belt initially forwarded the letters of the middle layers of the flat material, the letters applied to the braking device are decelerated relative to the conveying speed of the conveyor belt. So shingles the individual pieces even further ("shingling") as it was already the case. On the opposite side of the slab according to the invention of a further drive device, in particular a driven sideband, taken in such a way that a gripped individual piece is accelerated towards the individual trigger. This measure also contributes to a further diversification. It is not necessary that both measures are exercised simultaneously on the same section of the conveyor belt. You can also act on the letters in a row.

The device according to the invention is characterized by a arranged laterally of the conveyor belt braking device, which is thus part of one of said guide structures and the one located in the respective outer layer of the flat individual piece that applies to the braking device, decelerates in relation to the speed of the conveyor belt , According to the invention, the guide structure arranged on the other side of the conveyor belt is formed by the drive device, which accelerates a single piece located on the other outside of the flat material in relation to the speed of the conveyor belt. Thus, the already "before" shingled slab is applied to both sides and schindelt to a further.

According to the invention, it is particularly advantageous for the further processing, in particular the following individual deduction, if the parameters relating to deceleration (negative acceleration) and / or (positive) acceleration and / or transport speed are set in such a way that the individual pieces lying one above the other fanned out another piece, the distance between the leading edges of the individual pieces and thus the amount of fanning after processing does not fall below an adjustable minimum. Preferably, the said parameters are set so that the distance between the leading edges at the end of machining is at least 5 cm. Thus, the individual piece located at the top of the row formed by the slab has a projection of at least 5 cm in front of the subsequent single piece, before it is withdrawn from the series by the single trigger. This is a reliable single deduction possible without multiple copies.

It should be noted that for the purposes of the patent application the term "slab" a batch of letters is subsumed, the individual pieces do not need to cover each other superimposed, but - as it is observed in the case of letters to be conveyed - in a row offset from each other to be processed. They are only brought into abutment with respect to their lower edge (orientation edge) on which they rest. The series can be more or less fanned out (shingled). A "single item" is a part of the quantity "letters". If individual pieces from the original stack are meant to be transported to a neighbor without overlapping, they are also referred to as such.

The advantages of the invention are that with the device at this "sensitive" point of carriage and sorting letters a high throughput while avoiding the known problems is ensured. This processing speeds of at least 3 to 4 m / sec and a throughput of up to 40,000 letters per hour can be achieved, the device with these settings is still not reaching its limits.

Despite the high processing speed, the flat product is still treated carefully and undergoes no damage. The particular advantage is also to be seen in the fact that the device can be realized inexpensively in a compact design. This makes it easy to integrate into existing systems. The invention guarantees at this stage of processing a special flexibility against different formats and weights to be processed, which occur within the flat material, in particular within the usual mixed mail.

Another peculiarity lies in the fact that the invention fulfills two functions: on the one hand ensures that the letters on the freewheeling or calming section completely settling on their orientation edge ("settling"), since they do not, as usual, between two bands be relatively firmly pinched. On the other hand, the invention prepares the separation of the letters, which proceeds smoothly after the "shingling" according to the invention. The invention thus ideally combines the so-called "settling" with the separation.

In order to support the settling, it is advantageous if slab material standing upright on the conveyor belt is transported freely within a freewheeling section with a certain lateral guidance, in particular by adjoining adjoining individual pieces, but nevertheless without lateral clamping. For successful settling, the two opposing guide structures, in particular the brake and the drive device, are so far apart within the freewheeling distance that even the individual pieces are transported freely in the middle of thicker packs without lateral clamping by the guide structures and completely with the lower edge can hang up on the conveyor belt. The length of the freewheeling track in a particular embodiment is such that it constitutes a relatively large portion of the transport channel. This leaves sufficient time for settling, during which the individual pieces located on the freewheeling track have the possibility of resting completely on the conveyor belt with their lower edge. Due to the so-supported settling, the lower edge becomes the defined orientation edge, which is fundamental for ideal further processing.

In this case, the braking device is formed by a wall with a high coefficient of friction against which the individual pieces located on one side of the flat material with one side. In practice, the wall may be formed by a plate part or a guide plate, the surface of which is provided with a friction lining. The friction lining may be a rubber-like material to which the letters are stuck. It should be noted that the larger the contact area between the individual piece and the wall, the greater the braking force, the strength of the clamping, so the pressure on the wall, also plays an essential role. Such a braking device is self-regulating insofar as it slows the outer individual pieces further because of the higher clamping in a thick stack of flat material, which, as required in this case, leads to a stronger shingling and a larger buffer effect. If the contact pressure decreases with the reduction of the stack, the adjacent letters are released and are transported in the direction of the individual trigger. In a non-claimed embodiment, the braking device can be formed by a slow-moving sideband whose surface has a high coefficient of friction. This is advantageous to guarantee the even wear of the surface and thus to increase the service life.

The braking effect can be supported by the fact that the wall is mounted displaceably or pivotably approximately perpendicular to the transport direction. The displacement of the wall can be caused by appropriate means, with a regulation to be provided on the amount of slab to be processed. It is particularly simple and inexpensive, however, if the movement is caused by a spring force, which acts in the direction of the conveyor belt. Thus, the transport channel widens automatically upon arrival of a thick stack and the contact pressure remains by tracking the wall even during the reduction of the stack. The strength of the spring force is advantageously adjustable. It is also advantageous if the movement of the brake device in the direction of the conveyor belt is limited by a stop, so that the channel always has a certain cross section. The displacement of the wall can operate switches and / or be monitored by sensors.

Singling is particularly effective when the two-sided guide structures, in particular the sideband and the wall of the brake device, at an acute angle of a few degrees, in particular from 1 to 5 degrees, are arranged to each other, the guide structures merge funnel-shaped in the transport direction. The angle and the distance is advantageously adjustable. Thus, the incoming slab is braked in a kind of funnel, whereby the letters are accelerated from the one side of the drive belt. Furthermore, it is advantageous if the two-sided guide structures have approached before the individual trigger to the average expected strength of a few, in particular less than three, individual pieces. This achieves a wedge effect at the end of the free-running section.

The device described in the context of this application can be used particularly advantageously at a very early stage of the processing of mail, which is accomplished today essentially by manual labor. At this early stage, the letters are delivered directly from the mailbox in bags, the contents of which are poured onto a conveyor belt. From this mixed mail delivered as piled flat goods, manual large-format shipments are initially sorted out. The remaining consignments must then be bundled and packed with respect to their longitudinal edges (orientation edges) in suitably formatted and standardized boxes. The letters that are neatly packed in the boxes can then be further processed. With the method and the device, the letters for the introduction into the box can be prepared ready. This work has so far been done by hand.

In particular, to support this processing, it is advantageous if the lying in more or less irregular heaps on the conveyor belt letters are fed to a chute, over which they slide lying in a gutter. The individual pieces meet with an edge on the bottom of the channel and are held by the correspondingly closely spaced walls of the channel in the vertical position. In this way a putting up of the letters took place. At the bottom of the gutter is a conveyor belt which conveys the standing letters along the gutter in the direction of the device. Now the letters lie at least partially shingled together and can be further processed.

It should be emphasized at this point that this type of preparation is independent of the later processing by the device according to the invention and can justify their own invention with their characteristics.

It is particularly advantageous if the speed of the located at the bottom of the channel and in particular occupied with a high friction friction lining conveyor belt is set so high that the incident of the slide and / or the already standing letters are tilted to their orientation edge. The letters striking the narrow edge are, so to speak, pulled away from the ground under their feet, so that they automatically fall onto the edge, which ensures the lowest possible center of gravity.

This tendency is advantageously further supported by the fact that the conveyor belt is arranged at the bottom of the channel by an angle of more than 30 ° in particular rising. The letters standing on the narrow side have an even stronger tendency to tilt backwards. The particular advantage of the channel and the conveyor belt lies in the fact that the letters have a certain amount of time to sit completely on the orientation edge. It is advantageous to design the length of the conveyor belt and thus the channel sufficient to ensure setting of the letters can.

Figur 1

eine Draufsicht auf die erfindungsgemäße Vorrichtung,

Figur 2

eine Ansicht der erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung nach Figur 1,

Figur 3

eine Draufsicht auf eine andere, nicht beanspruchte Ausführungsform und

Figur 4

eine Ansicht einer Rampe mit schräger Rinne.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying FIGS. 1 to 4 explained in more detail. Show it:

FIG. 1

a top view of the device according to the invention,

FIG. 2

a view of the device according to the invention FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3

a plan view of another, not claimed embodiment and

FIG. 4

a view of a sloping ramp.

In FIG. 1 the device according to the invention for the preparation of batch-wise heaps of flat goods delivered, in particular letter packs 1, is shown prior to separation into individual letters. The device has an underfloor belt 2 ( FIG. 2 ) as a conveyor belt on which on the sub-perspective of the longitudinal edge (orientation edge) upstanding letters 1 are transported in the direction of arrow A (letter direction). The conveyor belt 2 is bounded on both sides by guide structures via a guide path, wherein the conveyor belt and the guide structures form a transport channel 3, in which the letters 1 are held against falling over. As FIG. 1 shows, the letter box 1 is fanned out in the transport channel 3 to a series of shingles superimposed letters. The guide line ends up in a single deduction 4, which takes each of the incoming letter 5 at the head of the series and deducted.

The guide structure arranged in this case on the right side is formed by a braking device 6 which decelerates a letter located on this side of the letter box 1 in relation to the speed of the conveyor belt 2. The brake device 6 has a wall with a high coefficient of friction, against which are located on the right side of the letter box 1 Create letters with offset. The wall 6 is held on a mounting plate 7, which can be adjusted by running in slots 8 screws 9 in an inclined to the transport direction A acute angle. The holder of the wall 6 is done by means of two elements 10, which are held displaceably in the direction of arrows B. These elements 10 are acted upon by springs 11, so that the wall 6 can automatically adjust to different levels. The right side in this case is thus movably mounted, wherein the movement in the direction of the conveyor belt is limited by a stop.

The guide structure arranged on the left side in the direction of transport A is formed by a drive device which accelerates a letter located on the left side of the letter box 1. The drive device has a driven sideband 12, which has the same running direction A but a higher speed in relation to the conveyor belt. By the sideband 12, the adjacent letters are accelerated to the individual deduction 4 out. The sideband 12 wipes the individual letters, so to speak from above from the stack.

The sideband 12 is mounted and driven in a known manner on rollers 13. The rollers 13 are mounted on a belt plate 14, which can also be set via screws 16 running in slots 15 at a distance from the wall 6 and at an angle. The once selected setting, however, remains during operation.

In this case, the side band 12 and the wall 6 are arranged at an acute angle of about 2 degrees to each other and converge funnel-shaped in the transport direction. The sideband 12 and the wall 6 have approached before the individual deduction 4 except for the average expected strength of a few letters. Within the freewheeling section, the wall 6 and the sideband 12 are spaced so far that located within the letter envelope 1 letters are transported freely without lateral clamping and invest with the orientation edge completely on the underfloor belt, not claimed.

FIG. 3 shows a modified, unclaimed form of the device after FIG. 1 , Again, indicated by the arrow A, the direction. The letters, not shown, are transported on an underfloor belt, not shown, and guided between two speed-aligned side belts 20a and 20b. So conveyed get the letters on a driven by motors 27 underfloor belt 21 and above in a braking device. In this case, the braking device in addition to the accelerating sideband 22 on a braking sideband 23, which rotates slowly in the transport direction about the rollers 24 and 25. The side band 23 has a high coefficient of friction and is pivotable about the axis of the roller 24 in the direction of the arrow B perpendicular to the transport direction. It is acted upon by a spring force against the letters. The slow movement of the sideband 23 leads to a uniform wear of the friction lining. Behind the braking sideband 23, a further side band 26 is arranged, which leads the letters to the trigger.

FIG. 4 shows a ramp with an inclined channel. On a conveyor, not shown, piled letters 32 are fed to a chute, which in this case has two bevels 30 and 31, wherein the chamfer 30 has a smaller inclination than the chamfer 31. The letters 32 slip in the direction of the arrow C in any orientation down into a groove 33. The letters 32 meet with an edge on the located at the bottom of the channel conveyor belt 34 and are of the correspondingly closely spaced walls of the channel 33 in the vertical Location kept. The conveyor belt 34 carries them at high speed in the direction of the arrow D. By the fast moving in the direction of arrow D conveyor belt 34, the letters 32 sit on their long orientation edge. This tendency to face the orientation edge is aided by the fact that the conveyor belt is inclined at the bottom of the channel by an angle 35 upwards.

Claims (10)

1. A device for further fanning out bundled material, namely a stack of letters, and for preparation for it's separation, wherein the device has a conveyor belt (2) for conveying the stack of letters (1) that is on an edge, wherein the conveyor belt (2) is limited along a guide path on both sides by guide structures (6, 12), wherein the conveyor belt (2) and the guide structures (6, 12) form a conveyor canal (3), wherein the stack of letters (1) in the conveyor canal (3) is fanned out into a row of shingle-like letters lying one against the other, wherein one of the guide structures is formed by a drive device (12) that accelerates a letter located on its side of the stack in relation to the speed of the conveyor belt (2),
   characterised in that
   a braking device (6) that forms the other of the two guide structures and that slows a letter located on its side of the stack (1) in relation to the speed of the conveyor belt (2), wherein the braking device (6) is mounted displaceably and/or pivotally perpendicular to the conveyor belt (2),
   wherein the braking device (6) has a wall with a friction lining against which abut the letters located on the one side of the stack.
2. The device as specified in claim 1,
   characterised in that
   the device leads into a single discharge (4) that respectively engages an individual item (5) arriving at the head of the row and removes it.
3. The device as specified in claim 1 or claim 2,
   characterised in that
   a free running section that makes up at least a portion of the conveyor canal (3), wherein the guide structures or the braking device (6) and the drive device (12) are so distanced within the free running section that the individual items located in the sheet material can be freely transported without lateral jamming and can lie with the orientation edge fully upon the conveyor belt (2).
4. The device as specified in any one of claims 1 to 3,
   characterised in that
   the drive device has a driven side band (12) that during greater speeds has the same direction of travel as the conveyor belt (2), wherein individual items abutting against the drive device are accelerated in the direction of the single discharge (4).
5. The device as specified in any one of claims 1 to 4,
   characterised in that
   the two-sided guide structures, in particular the side band (12) and the wall of the braking device (6) are arranged at an angle of 1-5 degrees with respect toone another, wherein the guide structures come together in a funnel-shaped manner in the direction of conveyance.
6. The device as specified in claim 5,
   characterised in that
   the two-sided guide structures (6, 12) have been approached by few, in particular fewer than three, individual items prior to the single discharge (4) with the exception of the average thickness to be expected.
7. The device as specified in any one of claims 1 to 6,
   characterised in that
   the braking device (6) is impinged upon by spring force in the direction of the conveyor belt (2).
8. The device as specified in any one of claims 1 to 6,
   characterised in that
   a chute (30, 31) by means of which the lying, piled individual items (32) as delivered sheet material fall into a channel, wherein the individual items meet with an edge on the floor of the channel, wherein the channel has walls (33) that hold the individual items in an upright position, wherein a conveyor belt is located on the floor of the channel, which conveyor belt conveys the upright individual items along the channel toward the conveyor canal.
9. The device as specified in claim 8,
   characterised in that
   the conveyor belt (34) on the floor of the channel is inclined at an angle of, in particular, more than 30°.
10. The device as specified in claim 9,
    characterised in that
    the length of the conveyor belt is sufficiently long enough to ensure a settling of individual items prior to the introduction into the conveyor canal.

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