EP1880961A1 - Sheet material stacking method and sheet material stacking device - Google Patents
Sheet material stacking method and sheet material stacking device Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP1880961A1 EP1880961A1 EP06745729A EP06745729A EP1880961A1 EP 1880961 A1 EP1880961 A1 EP 1880961A1 EP 06745729 A EP06745729 A EP 06745729A EP 06745729 A EP06745729 A EP 06745729A EP 1880961 A1 EP1880961 A1 EP 1880961A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- holder
- sheet material
- bundle
- backpressure
- unit
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H31/00—Pile receivers
- B65H31/04—Pile receivers with movable end support arranged to recede as pile accumulates
- B65H31/06—Pile receivers with movable end support arranged to recede as pile accumulates the articles being piled on edge
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
- B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
- B65H2301/42—Piling, depiling, handling piles
- B65H2301/421—Forming a pile
- B65H2301/4214—Forming a pile of articles on edge
- B65H2301/42146—Forming a pile of articles on edge by introducing articles from above
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
- B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
- B65H2301/42—Piling, depiling, handling piles
- B65H2301/422—Handling piles, sets or stacks of articles
- B65H2301/4223—Pressing piles
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2513/00—Dynamic entities; Timing aspects
- B65H2513/40—Movement
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2515/00—Physical entities not provided for in groups B65H2511/00 or B65H2513/00
- B65H2515/30—Forces; Stresses
- B65H2515/34—Pressure, e.g. fluid pressure
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a method for accumulating a sheet material, such as a printed sheet, and a sheet material accumulating apparatus.
- a printed sheet accumulating apparatus for performing works: accumulating printed sheets (printed matter on which no processing of bookbinding etc. is performed) that are printed by a rotary press, are overlapped being shifted gradually, and are conveyed continuously from the above into a rectangular parallelepiped in a state where being aligned in orientation, being arranged for the four corners, and being made to stand; and binding an accumulated bundle of printed sheets with binding band (Patent documents 1, 2).
- the printed sheet accumulating apparatus for performing such works has an accumulation plane on which the accumulated bundle of printed sheets is placed in a stand-up state, support means adapted to support the printed sheets that are afresh conveyed and added to one end of the bundle so that it may not fall down, and a holder for preventing the bundle of printed sheets from collapsing at the other end of the bundle of printed sheets.
- the accumulation plane is a conveyance face of a belt conveyor having a plurality of thin belts, for example.
- the patent document 2 discloses a printed sheet accumulating apparatus such that a belt conveyer having a plurality of thin belts is installed at one end of a bundle of printed sheets so accumulated that its conveyance plane may move from the above to a lower part and conveys the a new printed sheet to the accumulation plane, and a supporting device (auxiliary guide plate) is provided slightly in the rear of the belt. Moreover, also the patent document 2 discloses a holder (support) that moves so as to go away from the supporting device as the bundle of printed sheets accumulated on the conveyance plane becomes large.
- the present invention is made in view of the above-mentioned problem, and has as its object to provide a sheet material accumulating method and the sheet material accumulating apparatus whereby proper accumulation producing no defective in the next process can be performed even when an overlap condition of the conveyed sheet material, such as printed sheets, varies.
- a sheet material accumulating method is a sheet material accumulating method for accumulating a sheet material continuously conveyed from the above while a part of the sheet material is overlapped, with the sheet material standing on a lower horizontal table, wherein a backpressure from a bundle applied to the holder for preventing a head side collapse of the bundle of sheet materials accumulated on the table and a movement of the holder in an accumulation direction is controlled so that the backpressure may maintain a predetermined magnitude.
- This control is performed both in an accumulation process during when the bundle of sheet materials grows and in a retreat process of retreating an accumulated bundle of printed sheets in order to bind it.
- detection of the backpressure from the bundle is performed by detecting a load current to the electric motor for moving the holder, and control of the movement of the holder is performed by controlling an applied current to the electric motor.
- a sheet material accumulating method is a sheet material accumulating method for accumulating the sheet material continuously conveyed from the above while a part of the sheet material is overlapped, with the sheet material standing on a lower horizontal table, wherein in a process of retreating the bundle in order to perform afresh accumulation of the sheet material after the bundle of sheet materials has grown to a certain size, a head side of the bundle to be retreated is supported by a first holder, a back end side of the bundle is supported by a second holder, a backpressure from the bundle applied to the first holder and a backpressure from the bundle applied to the second holder are detected, and movements of the first holder and the second holder are controlled so that the respective backpressures may maintain respective predetermined magnitudes.
- detection of the each backpressure is performed by detecting a load current to the each electric motor in order to retreat the first holder and the second holder, and a control of movements to retreat the first holder and the second holder is performed by controlling applied currents to the respective electric motors.
- a sheet material accumulating apparatus is a sheet material accumulating apparatus that accumulates the sheet material continuously conveyed from the above while a part of the sheet material is overlapped, with the sheet material standing on a lower horizontal table, having: a holder for preventing a head side collapse of the bundle of the sheet materials accumulated on the table; backpressure detecting means adapted to detect a backpressure from the bundle applied to the holder, holder moving means adapted to make the holder move in the accumulation direction of the sheet material; and control means adapted to control an operation of the holder moving means; wherein the control means is configured to control the movement of the holder caused by the holder movement means based on a backpressure detected by the backpressure detecting means.
- the holder moving means has an electric motor
- the backpressure detecting means has a load current detecting device of the electric motor
- the control means is configured to control the movement of the holder caused by the electric motor based on the load current detected by the load current detecting device.
- the electric motor is a servomotor
- the control means is configured to control the applied current to the servomotor based on the load current detected by the load current detecting device.
- a sheet material accumulating apparatus is a sheet material accumulating apparatus that accumulates a sheet material continuously conveyed from the above while a part of the sheet material is overlapped, with the sheet material standing on a lower horizontal table, having: a first holder for preventing a head side collapse of the bundle of sheet materials accumulated on the table; a second holder for supporting a back end side of the bundle; backpressure detecting means adapted to detect one or both of a backpressure from the bundle applied to the first holder and a backpressure therefrom applied to the second holder; first holder moving means adapted to make the first holder move in an accumulation direction of the sheet material; second holder moving means adapted to make the second holder move in the accumulation direction of the sheet material; and control means adapted to control one or both of operations of the first holder moving means and the second holder moving means; wherein the control means is configured to control one or both of movements of the first holder and the second holder by the first folder moving means and the second holder moving means
- the first holder moving means and the second holder moving means each have an electric motor
- the backpressure detecting means has a load current detecting device of the each electric motor
- the control means is configured to control the movements of the first holder and the second holder caused by the electric motor based on respective load currents detected by the load current detecting means.
- the "head side of the bundle of sheet materials” in the above means a side on which the sheet material first conveyed in the accumulation direction is accumulated.
- “is made to retreat” and “retreat” mean that the bundle of sheet materials accumulated to a predetermined size is made to move to a position at which the bundle no longer hinders growth of the bundle of another sheet material being afresh accumulated and such a movement, respectively.
- a sheet material accumulating method and a sheet material accumulating apparatus making it possible to perform proper accumulation that produce no defective in the next process even when an overlap condition of the conveyed sheet material, such as the printed sheets, varies.
- Fig. 1 is a view showing a sheet material accumulating apparatus 1 according to the present invention
- Fig. 2 is a view of Fig. 1 in a direction of an arrow A-A
- Fig. 3 is a view showing a state where a fixture 2 is fixed to a driving belt 3
- Fig. 4 is a view showing the outline of a conveyance unit 4.
- the sheet material accumulating apparatus 1 includes an accumulation unit 5, a conveyance unit 4, a torque control unit 6, etc.
- the accumulation unit 5 includes a table 7, a first holder unit 8, a first holder driving unit 9, a second holder unit 10, a second holder driving unit 11, a fork unit 12, and a fork driving unit 13, etc.
- the table 7 is a place on which the sheet material, such as printed sheets W, is accumulated as a bundle, and is made of two thin belts 14, 14 of the belt conveyer.
- the left-hand side in Figs. 1 and 2 is called a downstream or a downstream side
- a right-hand side is called an upstream or an upstream side.
- a longitudinal direction in Fig. 2 is called an accumulation direction.
- the first holder unit 8 includes a support unit 15, a pair of support arms 16, 16, holders 17, 17, sliders 18,..., 18, a fixture 2, etc.
- the outer shape of the support unit 15 is formed to a rectangular frame and is disposed perpendicularly to an accumulation direction.
- lower ends of the two support arms 16, 16 are mounted on positions that are at a distance in the horizontal direction and at which their movements in the vertical direction are not hindered by the two belts 14, 14.
- the support arm 16 is in the form of a crank and its upper end extends to an upper part of an upstream side. Each upper end is integrated with the holder 17.
- the support arms 16, 16 each have a sliding unit that can slide in a trench provided vertically in the support unit 15 in the vertical direction in its lower end, and make vertical movements simultaneously being connected with a slider of a rodless cylinder fixed to the support unit 15.
- the holder 17 is made up of a rectangular plate with its end in the longitudinal direction becoming thinner gradually, and is integrated with the support arm 16 in the lower end thereof so that the holder 17 may become parallel to the support unit 15 and an edge point becoming thinner may become an upper part.
- the sliders 18,..., 18 are arranged at four corners of the support unit 15 and are integrated it.
- Each of the sliders 18,..., 18 has a hole that penetrates in the accumulation direction and each of guide bars 19,..., 19 goes through the each hole in a freely slidable manner.
- the guide bars 19,..., 19 are arranged parallel to the accumulation direction, two of them being in an upper location and two of them being in a lower location, and fixed to a rack, and guide the sliders 18,..., 18 and make the first holder unit 8 perform a stable reciprocation in the accumulation direction.
- the fixture 2 includes a serrated toothed plate 20, a backup plate 21, etc. referring to Fig. 3.
- the serrated toothed plate 20 is such that one of its surrounding sides is provided with a tooth capable of engaging with a tooth form of a later-described driving belt 3 that is for making the first holder unit 8 performs a reciprocation in the accumulation direction.
- the backup plate 21 has the surrounding side that can connect with the plane of the serrated toothed plate 20 on which a tooth is formed and is fixed to the support unit 15.
- the backup plate 21 is integrated with the serrated toothed plate 20 with bolts 22,..., 22, while the driving belt 3 is made to engage with the tooth of the serrated toothed plate 20, being sandwiched between the plate 20 and the backup plate 21.
- the first holder driving unit 9 includes a motor 23, a driving pulley 24, a driven pulley 25, and the driving belt 3.
- the motor 23 is fixed to the rack of the accumulation unit 5 in the downstream side of the first holder unit 8.
- a servomotor is used for the motor 23.
- the driving pulley 24 is a timing pulley directly coupled with a driving shaft of the motor 23.
- the driven pulley 25 is disposed on an upstream-side end of the accumulation unit 5 so that its rotation shaft may be parallel to a driving shaft of the motor 23 in a horizontal plane including the driving shaft of the motor 23.
- the driven pulley 25 is a timing pulley capable of freely rotating around the rotation shaft.
- the driving belt 3 is for coupling the driving pulley 24 and the driven pulley 25 and a timing belt is used for this. As explained above, the driving belt 3 is sandwiched by the serrated toothed plate 20 of a fixture 2 and the backup plate 21, and is fixed and integrated with them.
- the driving belt 3 is driven by rotation of the motor 23 (driving pulley 24)
- the first holder unit 8 with which the fixture 2 is integrated will move in the actuation direction.
- an external force applied to the first holder unit 8 is transmitted to the driving pulley 24 through the driving belt 3.
- the second holder unit 10 includes a support unit 26, support arms 27, 27, holders 28, 28, sliders 29,..., 29, a fixture 30, etc.
- the second holder unit 10 is disposed on the upstream side of the first holder unit 8.
- the outer shape of the support unit 26 is formed to a rectangular frame, the support unit 26 is disposed perpendicularly to the accumulation direction, and a plurality of driving belts 3,31, 39 go through the inside of the frame.
- lower ends of the two support arms 27, 27 are mounted on positions that are at a distance in a horizontal direction and at which their movements in the vertical direction are not hindered by the two belts 14, 14.
- the support arms 27, 27 are straight columnar bodies, and lower ends thereof are mounted on the support unit 26 in a vertically movable manner so that their longitudinal directions lie in a vertical direction.
- the holder 28 is integrated with each support arm 27 near the upper end thereof.
- the support arms 27, 27 have each a vertically movable sliding unit that slides in a trench running vertically provided in the support unit 26 in a lower end, and moves vertically simultaneously by being connected to a rod of a fluid pressure cylinder fixed to the support unit 26.
- the holder 28 is made up of a rectangular plate with its end in the longitudinal direction becoming thinner gradually, and is integrated with the support arm 27 in the lower end of the holder 28 so that the holder 28 may become parallel to the support unit 26 and the edge point becoming thinner may become the upper part.
- the sliders 29,..., 29 are arranged at for corners of the support unit 26, each of the sliders 29,..., 29 has a hole that allows it to go through, a guide bar 19 goes through the each hole, and the second holder unit 10 reciprocates stably in the accumulation direction by the sliders 29,..., 29 being guided by the guide bars 19,..., 19, which is the same as in the first holder unit 8.
- a structure of the second holder driving unit 11 is substantially the same as a structure of the first holder driving unit 9. That is, the second holder driving unit 11 includes a motor 32, a driving pulley 33, a driven pulley 34, and the driving belt 31.
- the motor 32 is disposed beside the motor 23 of the first holder driving unit 9, and is fixed to the rack.
- a servomotor is used for the motor 32.
- the driving pulley 33 is a timing pulley directly coupled with the driving shaft of the motor 32.
- the driven pulley 34 is disposed on an upstream-side end of the accumulation unit 5 so that a rotation shaft may be parallel to a driving shaft of the motor 32 in a horizontal plane including the driving shaft of the motor 32.
- the driven pulley 34 is a timing pulley that can rotate freely around the rotation shaft.
- the driving belt 31 couples the driving pulley 33 and the driven pulley 34, and a timing belt is used for this.
- the driving belt 31 is sandwiched by a serrated toothed plate of the fixture 30 and a backup plate, and is fixed and integrated with them movably. Therefore, the second holder unit 10 moves in the accumulation direction by rotation of the motor 32 like the first holder unit 8.
- the fork unit 12 includes a support unit 35, sliders 36,..., 36, a pair of forks 37, 37, a fixture 38, etc.
- the fork unit 12 is disposed on an upstream side of the second holder unit 10.
- Structures of the support unit 35 and the sliders 36,..., 36, are the same as structures of the support units 15, 26 in the first holder unit 8 and the second holder unit 10 and structures of the sliders 18,..., 18, 29,..., 29, 36,..., 36, respectively.
- a guide bar 19 goes through each of holes of the sliders 36,..., 36, and the fork unit 12 is configured to be movable in the accumulation direction, which is also the same as the first holder unit 8 and the second holder unit 10.
- the forks 37, 37 are each in the form of a crank and their lower ends are fixed to an upper part of the downstream-side support unit at a distance in a horizontal direction, respectively.
- the forks 37, 37 are disposed at positions at which they can move vertically between the two belts 14, 14 and, when each of them rises, each movement in the accumulation direction is not hindered by a conveyance belt 45 and by an inner belt 46 both of which will be described later.
- either of the forks 37, 37 is disposed slightly on the inner side of the holders 17, 17 in a plan view so as not to overlap the holders 17, 17 of the first holder unit 8.
- Each of the forks 37, 37 is connected to a slider of a rodless cylinder fixed to the support unit 35, and is simultaneously configured to be movable vertically.
- the fixture 38 includes a backup plate, a serrated toothed plate having a tooth engageable with a tooth profile of the driving belt 39, etc. These constituents sandwich the driving belt 39 and are integrated with bolts to be fixed to the support unit 35, which is the same as in the first holder unit 8 and the second holder unit.
- the fork driving unit 13 is fixed to the rack, while its motor 40 is disposed beside the motor 32 of the second holder driving unit 11.
- the motor 40, a driving pulley 41, a driven pulley 42, and the driving belt 39 are substantially the same as counterparts of the first holder driving unit 9 and those of the second holder driving unit 11.
- the driving belt 39 is fixed and integrated with the fixture 38 movably and the fork unit 12 moves in the accumulation direction by rotation of the motor.
- the conveyance unit 4 includes a drum 43, a motor 44 for rotating the drum 43, the conveyance belt 45, the inner belt 46, an outer belt 47, a tension adjusting actuator 48, etc.
- the drum 43 has a horizontal rotation shaft perpendicular to a conveyance direction and makes counterclockwise rotation in Fig. 4 by the motor 44 linked therewith by a driving belt 49.
- the conveyance belt 45 links the drum 43 and a roller 50 on an upstream side of the drum 43, and circulates an outside of the drum 43 so that rotation of the drum 43 makes a conveyance plane 51 move from an upstream side to a downstream side.
- the conveyance belt 45 conveys printed sheets W in a state where an end part of the printed sheets W located on an upstream side overlaps on an end part of the printed sheets W located on a downstream side on the conveyance plane 51.
- the conveyance belt 45 is made up of a plurality of thin belts each having a spacing to the others. Since the conveyance belt 45 is driven by a rotation of the drum 43, a conveyance speed is the same as a circumferential speed of the drum 43.
- the inner belt 46 is in contact with one fourth of an outer circumference of the drum 43 so that an angle of contact with a topmost part of the drum 43 as a starting point may become approximately 90°. Moreover, the inner belt 46 is wound around an outer circumference of the drum 43 in each space between two of the plurality of conveyance belts 45. While keeping a constant spacing without overlapping with the conveyance belt 45, the inner belt 46 is disposed being supported by the plurality of rollers to be able to circulate the outside of the drum 43 so as to surround the drum 43.
- the outer belt 47 is wound around the drum 43 to overlap a portion where the inner belt 46 contacts the drum 43, and is disposed being supported by the tension adjusting actuator 48 and the plurality of rollers to be able to circulate the upper outside of the drum 43 so as to surround the drum 43.
- the outer belt 47 leaves the inner belt 46 immediately after leaving the drum 43 in a lower part of the drum 43.
- the outer belt 47 performs a function of sandwiching printed sheets W conveyed by the conveyance belt 45 with the inner belt 46 at a portion where the outer belt 47 is wound around the drum 43, changing its conveyance direction of the printed sheets W, and sending it out to the accumulation unit 5 provided in a lower part.
- the tension adjusting actuator 48 increases/decreases a tension of the outer belt 47 with a tension roller 53 through an expansion/contraction operation of a pneumatic cylinder 52, and adjusts a clamping force when the outer belt 47 and the inner belt 46 convey the printed sheets W.
- the torque control unit 6 includes a computer, a servo controller (amplifier), etc.
- FIGs. 5 through 9 are views showing operations of the accumulation unit 5.
- the support arms 16, 16 of the first holder unit 8 are elevated so that the holders 17, 17 may be able to support an end of the bundle P of the printed sheets W, and a support arm of the second holder unit 10 and a fork of the fork unit 12 are retreated into under the table 7.
- the first holder unit 8 moves to the downstream side according to the amount (thickness) of the bundle P of the printed sheets W that increases by being accumulated.
- a movement of the first holder unit 8 to the downstream side is performed while a force pressing (pushing) the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W by the holders 17, 17 is kept constant or maintained in a predetermined range so that an accumulation of the printed sheets W to be continuously conveyed from the conveyance unit 4 may be performed smoothly and the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W may not collapse.
- the force that the holders 17, 17 push the bundle P of the printed sheets W is also a force F (hereinafter referred to a "backpressure F") that the bundle P of the printed sheets W pushes the holders 17, 17 back.
- the torque control unit 6 makes the first holder unit 8 move, while controlling a driving torque of a motor 23 (a driving torque is a product of a force F' (F' is nearly equal to F) applied to the fixture 2 and a pitch circle radius R of the driving pulley 24) so that it may become a predetermined value (Fig. 3).
- the control of a movement of the first holder unit 8 by the torque control unit 6 is performed in such a way that a set load current value (load torque) of the motor 23 inputted into the servo controller beforehand may become constant, or that it may be maintained in the predetermined range (torque control). That is, the torque control unit 6 detects a load current (armature current) of the motor 23 with the servo controller, feeds back the detected load current, and determines a current value to be applied to the motor 23.
- load torque armature current
- a torque control is performed as follows.
- the printed sheets are conveyed when several sheets overlap completely in part following the printed sheets W that overlap with a normal shift and are conveyed continuously to the accumulation unit 5 from the conveyance unit 4, or in the similar case, since a growth of the bundle P of the printed sheets W is quick, the backpressure F applied to the holders 17, 17 rises.
- the fixture 2 is integrated with the driving belt 3 fixedly, and the backpressure F at that time is transmitted to the motor 23 through the fixture 2 and the driving pulley 24. Since a load increases in the motor 23, a load current flowing through the motor 23 increases.
- the torque control unit 6 detects an increase in the load current, makes a servo controller decrease an applied current so that the driving torque of the motor 23 is decreased to attain a predetermined value, and thereby promotes a movement of the first holder unit 8 to a downstream side. Moreover, in a case where a mutually overlapping part of the conveyed printed sheets W and the printed sheets W becomes smaller than usually or in similar cases, the growth of the bundle P of the printed sheets W becomes slower, and accordingly a backpressure F applied to the holders 17, 17 decreases. Then, the load torque of the motor 23 will decrease and a load current will decrease.
- the torque control unit 6 detects that the load current is decreased, controls the applied current so that the load current may increase, and delays a movement of the first holder unit 8 to the downstream side so that the force of the holders 17, 17 pushing the bundle P of the printed sheets W may become an appropriate magnitude.
- the sheet material accumulating apparatus 1 by controlling the backpressure F from the bundle P of the printed sheets W applied to the holders 17, 17, i.e., by controlling the load torque of the motor 23 at a constant value, an accumulation environment, for example, resistance when the printed sheets are newly inserted in the accumulated printed sheets W etc. can always be made constant. As a result, even when an overlap condition of the printed sheets W conveyed from the conveyance unit 4 varies, an accumulation of the printed sheets W can be stably performed, and it is possible to obtain a well-ordered bundle P of the printed sheets W. Moreover, when the load torque falls quickly, it is also possible to move the first holder unit 8 to the upstream side in order to recover a predetermined load torque.
- a fluid pressure cylinder will expand in the fork unit 12, and the forks 37, 37 will rise, as shown in Fig. 6, and support the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W at the upstream side.
- the fork unit 12 moves to the downstream side to a position at which the holder 28 of the second holder unit 10 retreats.
- the first holder unit 8 moves to the downstream side together with the fork unit 12.
- the second holder unit 10 expands a fluid pressure cylinder to make the holder 28 move to the upstream side of the bundle P of the printed sheets W, and supports the bundle P of the printed sheets W.
- the bundle P of the printed sheets W already accumulated is supported by the first holder unit 8 and by the second holder unit 10 at both ends thereof, respectively, and moves to the downstream side of the table 7.
- the moved bundle P of the printed sheets W is bound with binding band etc. at a movement destination.
- the newly conveyed printed sheets W are accumulated between upstream-side planes of the forks 37, 37 and the inner belt 46, as shown in Fig. 8.
- Whether the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W reaches a predetermined quantity is determined by checking whether the first holder unit 8 reaches a predetermined position, and a detection of the first holder unit 8 reaching the predetermined position is performed by a limit switch attached to the guide bar 19, for example.
- a fluid pressure cylinder of the first holder unit 8 and a fluid pressure cylinder of the second holder unit 10 perform contraction operations, respectively, and make the holders 17, 17 and the holders 28, 28 move into under the table 7.
- the second holder unit 10 moves to the location in which it was located in an initial stage of the accumulation work, and the first holder unit 8 moves to a position at which upstream-side planes of the holders 17, 17 are abreast with upstream-side planes of the forks 37, 37 (a plane that supports a newly accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W).
- the support arms 16, 16 of the first holder unit 8 are each in a shape of extruding its upper end to the upstream side and the forks 37, 37 are each in the shape of extruding its upper end to the downstream side, as shown in Fig. 9, changeover of the support of the bundle P of the printed sheets W from the fork unit 12 to the first holder unit 8 can be performed smoothly without causing the support arms 16, 16 and the forks 37, 37 to interfere with each other.
- the first holder unit 8 and the second holder unit 10 move to the downstream side, while supporting the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W by sandwiching it (Fig.
- the sheet material accumulating apparatus 1 can perform a torque control so that forces with which the holders 17, 17 push the bundle P of the printed sheets W may be a previously set value or be within a previously set range, respectively.
- the torque control may be performed in such a way that a force with which the fork pushes the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W may become a previously set value or be within a previously set range.
- a backpressure by the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W can be controlled by other methods.
- a strain gauge installed between the holder and the support arm may detect a backpressure applied to the holder, and driving of a motor of the first holder driving unit may be controlled so that the backpressure may be within a predetermined range.
- the first holder driving unit 9, the second holder driving unit 11, and the fork driving unit 13 may be driven by a rotary screw and a drive nut, or by a rack and pinion, not by the belt driving described above. Detection of the backpressure, movement of the first holder unit, etc. may be performed by methods other than the above-mentioned method.
- the sheet material accumulating apparatus 1 as well as construction, shape, dimensions, number, material, etc. of each component or the whole of the sheet material accumulating apparatus 1 may be altered and changed appropriately in adherence with the spirit of the present invention.
- the present invention can be used for a sheet material accumulating method and apparatus for conveying a sheet material, such as the printed sheets W, in a state where overlapping is shifted to the downstream side of the conveyance direction and accumulating it.
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Abstract
Provided are a sheet material accumulating method and a sheet material accumulating apparatus capable of performing a proper accumulation of a sheet material that does not produce a defective in the next process even when an overlap condition of a conveyed sheet material, such as a printed sheet, varies.
Provided is a sheet material accumulating method for accumulating the sheet material (W) continuously conveyed from the above while a part of the sheet material (W) is overlapped, with the sheet material standing on a lower horizontal table (7),including the steps of detecting a backpressure (F) that a bundle of sheet materials applied to a holders (8) for preventing a head side collapse of a bundle of sheet materials accumulated on the table during an accumulation process; and controlling a movement of the holder in an accumulation direction so that a backpressure may maintain a predetermined magnitude.
Description
- The present invention relates to a method for accumulating a sheet material, such as a printed sheet, and a sheet material accumulating apparatus.
- There is disclosed a printed sheet accumulating apparatus for performing works: accumulating printed sheets (printed matter on which no processing of bookbinding etc. is performed) that are printed by a rotary press, are overlapped being shifted gradually, and are conveyed continuously from the above into a rectangular parallelepiped in a state where being aligned in orientation, being arranged for the four corners, and being made to stand; and binding an accumulated bundle of printed sheets with binding band (
Patent documents 1, 2). - The printed sheet accumulating apparatus for performing such works has an accumulation plane on which the accumulated bundle of printed sheets is placed in a stand-up state, support means adapted to support the printed sheets that are afresh conveyed and added to one end of the bundle so that it may not fall down, and a holder for preventing the bundle of printed sheets from collapsing at the other end of the bundle of printed sheets. The accumulation plane is a conveyance face of a belt conveyor having a plurality of thin belts, for example.
- The
patent document 2 discloses a printed sheet accumulating apparatus such that a belt conveyer having a plurality of thin belts is installed at one end of a bundle of printed sheets so accumulated that its conveyance plane may move from the above to a lower part and conveys the a new printed sheet to the accumulation plane, and a supporting device (auxiliary guide plate) is provided slightly in the rear of the belt.
Moreover, also thepatent document 2 discloses a holder (support) that moves so as to go away from the supporting device as the bundle of printed sheets accumulated on the conveyance plane becomes large. - Patent-document 1:
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.2000-118511 - Patent-document 2:
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI10-35984 - Note that in a printed sheet accumulating apparatus for continuously conveying the printed sheets to an accumulation plane in a lower location from the above and accumulating the printed sheets, normally an overlap condition of the preceding and following the printed sheets is constant, but in an actual accumulation work, various causes may produce a variation in an overlap condition of the printed sheets. However, since the holder supporting one end of the accumulated bundle of printed sheets moves at a constant speed based on the premise that the bundle of printed sheets grows at a constant speed; when the overlap condition of the conveyed printed sheets varies, a growth rate of the bundle of printed sheets varies. Then, when the growth rate of the bundle of printed sheets and the moving speed of the holder lost a balance, nonconformities as follow sometimes occurred: a part of the printed sheets might jump out from the bundle of printed sheets accumulated in order until then; or a part of the printed sheets might bend and be sandwiched among the bundle of printed sheets.
- Such nonconformities deteriorate an appearance of the bundle of the printed sheets, hinder a stable conveyance of the printed sheets, and cause an occurrence of defectives in bookbinding process etc. in the next processing.
The present invention is made in view of the above-mentioned problem, and has as its object to provide a sheet material accumulating method and the sheet material accumulating apparatus whereby proper accumulation producing no defective in the next process can be performed even when an overlap condition of the conveyed sheet material, such as printed sheets, varies. - In order to attain the object, the following technical means were adopted in the present invention.
That is, a sheet material accumulating method according to the present invention is a sheet material accumulating method for accumulating a sheet material continuously conveyed from the above while a part of the sheet material is overlapped, with the sheet material standing on a lower horizontal table, wherein a backpressure from a bundle applied to the holder for preventing a head side collapse of the bundle of sheet materials accumulated on the table and a movement of the holder in an accumulation direction is controlled so that the backpressure may maintain a predetermined magnitude.
This control is performed both in an accumulation process during when the bundle of sheet materials grows and in a retreat process of retreating an accumulated bundle of printed sheets in order to bind it. - Preferably, detection of the backpressure from the bundle is performed by detecting a load current to the electric motor for moving the holder, and control of the movement of the holder is performed by controlling an applied current to the electric motor.
- A sheet material accumulating method according to other aspect of the present invention is a sheet material accumulating method for accumulating the sheet material continuously conveyed from the above while a part of the sheet material is overlapped, with the sheet material standing on a lower horizontal table, wherein in a process of retreating the bundle in order to perform afresh accumulation of the sheet material after the bundle of sheet materials has grown to a certain size, a head side of the bundle to be retreated is supported by a first holder, a back end side of the bundle is supported by a second holder, a backpressure from the bundle applied to the first holder and a backpressure from the bundle applied to the second holder are detected, and movements of the first holder and the second holder are controlled so that the respective backpressures may maintain respective predetermined magnitudes.
- Preferably, detection of the each backpressure is performed by detecting a load current to the each electric motor in order to retreat the first holder and the second holder, and a control of movements to retreat the first holder and the second holder is performed by controlling applied currents to the respective electric motors.
- A sheet material accumulating apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is a sheet material accumulating apparatus that accumulates the sheet material continuously conveyed from the above while a part of the sheet material is overlapped, with the sheet material standing on a lower horizontal table, having: a holder for preventing a head side collapse of the bundle of the sheet materials accumulated on the table; backpressure detecting means adapted to detect a backpressure from the bundle applied to the holder, holder moving means adapted to make the holder move in the accumulation direction of the sheet material; and control means adapted to control an operation of the holder moving means; wherein the control means is configured to control the movement of the holder caused by the holder movement means based on a backpressure detected by the backpressure detecting means.
- Preferably, the holder moving means has an electric motor, the backpressure detecting means has a load current detecting device of the electric motor, and the control means is configured to control the movement of the holder caused by the electric motor based on the load current detected by the load current detecting device.
- Further, preferably, the electric motor is a servomotor, and the control means is configured to control the applied current to the servomotor based on the load current detected by the load current detecting device.
- A sheet material accumulating apparatus according to other aspect of the present invention is a sheet material accumulating apparatus that accumulates a sheet material continuously conveyed from the above while a part of the sheet material is overlapped, with the sheet material standing on a lower horizontal table, having: a first holder for preventing a head side collapse of the bundle of sheet materials accumulated on the table; a second holder for supporting a back end side of the bundle; backpressure detecting means adapted to detect one or both of a backpressure from the bundle applied to the first holder and a backpressure therefrom applied to the second holder; first holder moving means adapted to make the first holder move in an accumulation direction of the sheet material; second holder moving means adapted to make the second holder move in the accumulation direction of the sheet material; and control means adapted to control one or both of operations of the first holder moving means and the second holder moving means; wherein the control means is configured to control one or both of movements of the first holder and the second holder by the first folder moving means and the second holder moving means based on the backpressure detected by the backpressure detecting means.
- Preferably, the first holder moving means and the second holder moving means each have an electric motor, the backpressure detecting means has a load current detecting device of the each electric motor, and the control means is configured to control the movements of the first holder and the second holder caused by the electric motor based on respective load currents detected by the load current detecting means.
- Here, the "head side of the bundle of sheet materials" in the above means a side on which the sheet material first conveyed in the accumulation direction is accumulated. Moreover, "is made to retreat" and "retreat" mean that the bundle of sheet materials accumulated to a predetermined size is made to move to a position at which the bundle no longer hinders growth of the bundle of another sheet material being afresh accumulated and such a movement, respectively.
- According to the present invention, there can be provided a sheet material accumulating method and a sheet material accumulating apparatus making it possible to perform proper accumulation that produce no defective in the next process even when an overlap condition of the conveyed sheet material, such as the printed sheets, varies.
-
- [Fig. 1] Fig. 1 is a view showing an outline of a sheet material accumulating apparatus according to the present invention.
- [Fig. 2] Fig. 2 is a view in a direction of an arrow A-A in Fig. 1.
- [Fig. 3] Fig. 3 is a view showing a state where a fixture is fixed to a driving belt.
- [Fig. 4] Fig. 4 is a view showing the outline of a conveyance unit.
- [Fig. 5] Fig. 5 is a view showing an operation of an accumulation unit.
- [Fig. 6] Fig. 6 is a view showing an operation of the accumulation unit.
- [Fig. 7] Fig. 7 is a view showing an operation of the accumulation unit.
- [Fig. 8] Fig. 8 is a view showing an operation of the accumulation unit.
- [Fig. 9] Fig. 9 is a view showing an operation of the accumulation unit.
-
- 1 Sheet material accumulating apparatus
- 2 Backpressure detecting means (Fixture)
- 3 Backpressure detecting means (Driving belt)
- 6 Backpressure detecting means, Control means (Torque control unit)
- 7 Table
- 8 Holder, First holder (First holder unit)
- 9 Holder moving means, First holder moving means (First holder driving unit)
- 10 Second holder (Second holder unit)
- 11 Second holder moving means (Second holder driving unit)
- 23 Electric motor, Servomotor (Motor)
- 32 Electric motor (Motor)
- F, F' Backpressure
- P Bundle of sheet material (Bundle of printed sheets)
- W Sheet material (Printed sheets)
- Fig. 1 is a view showing a sheet
material accumulating apparatus 1 according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a view of Fig. 1 in a direction of an arrow A-A, Fig. 3 is a view showing a state where afixture 2 is fixed to adriving belt 3, and Fig. 4 is a view showing the outline of aconveyance unit 4.
In Figs. 1 and 2, the sheetmaterial accumulating apparatus 1 includes anaccumulation unit 5, aconveyance unit 4, atorque control unit 6, etc. - The
accumulation unit 5 includes a table 7, afirst holder unit 8, a firstholder driving unit 9, asecond holder unit 10, a secondholder driving unit 11, afork unit 12, and afork driving unit 13, etc.
The table 7 is a place on which the sheet material, such as printed sheets W, is accumulated as a bundle, and is made of twothin belts
Hereafter, the left-hand side in Figs. 1 and 2 is called a downstream or a downstream side, and a right-hand side is called an upstream or an upstream side. Moreover, a longitudinal direction in Fig. 2 is called an accumulation direction. - The
first holder unit 8 includes asupport unit 15, a pair ofsupport arms holders sliders 18,..., 18, afixture 2, etc.
The outer shape of thesupport unit 15 is formed to a rectangular frame and is disposed perpendicularly to an accumulation direction. A plurality of drivingbelts support unit 15, lower ends of the twosupport arms belts - The
support arm 16 is in the form of a crank and its upper end extends to an upper part of an upstream side. Each upper end is integrated with theholder 17. Thesupport arms support unit 15 in the vertical direction in its lower end, and make vertical movements simultaneously being connected with a slider of a rodless cylinder fixed to thesupport unit 15.
Theholder 17 is made up of a rectangular plate with its end in the longitudinal direction becoming thinner gradually, and is integrated with thesupport arm 16 in the lower end thereof so that theholder 17 may become parallel to thesupport unit 15 and an edge point becoming thinner may become an upper part. - The
sliders 18,..., 18 are arranged at four corners of thesupport unit 15 and are integrated it. Each of thesliders 18,..., 18 has a hole that penetrates in the accumulation direction and each of guide bars 19,..., 19 goes through the each hole in a freely slidable manner.
The guide bars 19,..., 19 are arranged parallel to the accumulation direction, two of them being in an upper location and two of them being in a lower location, and fixed to a rack, and guide thesliders 18,..., 18 and make thefirst holder unit 8 perform a stable reciprocation in the accumulation direction. - The
fixture 2 includes a serratedtoothed plate 20, abackup plate 21, etc. referring to Fig. 3. In the serratedtoothed plate 20 is such that one of its surrounding sides is provided with a tooth capable of engaging with a tooth form of a later-describeddriving belt 3 that is for making thefirst holder unit 8 performs a reciprocation in the accumulation direction. - The
backup plate 21 has the surrounding side that can connect with the plane of the serratedtoothed plate 20 on which a tooth is formed and is fixed to thesupport unit 15. Thebackup plate 21 is integrated with the serratedtoothed plate 20 withbolts 22,..., 22, while the drivingbelt 3 is made to engage with the tooth of the serratedtoothed plate 20, being sandwiched between theplate 20 and thebackup plate 21.
The firstholder driving unit 9 includes amotor 23, a drivingpulley 24, a drivenpulley 25, and the drivingbelt 3.
Themotor 23 is fixed to the rack of theaccumulation unit 5 in the downstream side of thefirst holder unit 8. A servomotor is used for themotor 23. - The driving
pulley 24 is a timing pulley directly coupled with a driving shaft of themotor 23.
The drivenpulley 25 is disposed on an upstream-side end of theaccumulation unit 5 so that its rotation shaft may be parallel to a driving shaft of themotor 23 in a horizontal plane including the driving shaft of themotor 23. The drivenpulley 25 is a timing pulley capable of freely rotating around the rotation shaft.
The drivingbelt 3 is for coupling the drivingpulley 24 and the drivenpulley 25 and a timing belt is used for this. As explained above, the drivingbelt 3 is sandwiched by the serratedtoothed plate 20 of afixture 2 and thebackup plate 21, and is fixed and integrated with them. Therefore, when the drivingbelt 3 is driven by rotation of the motor 23 (driving pulley 24), thefirst holder unit 8 with which thefixture 2 is integrated will move in the actuation direction. Moreover, an external force applied to thefirst holder unit 8 is transmitted to the drivingpulley 24 through the drivingbelt 3. - The
second holder unit 10 includes asupport unit 26,support arms holders sliders 29,..., 29, afixture 30, etc.
Thesecond holder unit 10 is disposed on the upstream side of thefirst holder unit 8.
Like thesupport unit 15 in thefirst holder unit 8, the outer shape of thesupport unit 26 is formed to a rectangular frame, thesupport unit 26 is disposed perpendicularly to the accumulation direction, and a plurality of drivingbelts support unit 26, lower ends of the twosupport arms belts - The
support arms support unit 26 in a vertically movable manner so that their longitudinal directions lie in a vertical direction. Theholder 28 is integrated with eachsupport arm 27 near the upper end thereof. Thesupport arms support unit 26 in a lower end, and moves vertically simultaneously by being connected to a rod of a fluid pressure cylinder fixed to thesupport unit 26.
Theholder 28 is made up of a rectangular plate with its end in the longitudinal direction becoming thinner gradually, and is integrated with thesupport arm 27 in the lower end of theholder 28 so that theholder 28 may become parallel to thesupport unit 26 and the edge point becoming thinner may become the upper part. - The
sliders 29,..., 29 are arranged at for corners of thesupport unit 26, each of thesliders 29,..., 29 has a hole that allows it to go through, aguide bar 19 goes through the each hole, and thesecond holder unit 10 reciprocates stably in the accumulation direction by thesliders 29,..., 29 being guided by the guide bars 19,..., 19, which is the same as in thefirst holder unit 8.
A structure of the secondholder driving unit 11 is substantially the same as a structure of the firstholder driving unit 9.
That is, the secondholder driving unit 11 includes amotor 32, a driving pulley 33, a drivenpulley 34, and the drivingbelt 31.
Themotor 32 is disposed beside themotor 23 of the firstholder driving unit 9, and is fixed to the rack. A servomotor is used for themotor 32. - The driving pulley 33 is a timing pulley directly coupled with the driving shaft of the
motor 32.
The drivenpulley 34 is disposed on an upstream-side end of theaccumulation unit 5 so that a rotation shaft may be parallel to a driving shaft of themotor 32 in a horizontal plane including the driving shaft of themotor 32. The drivenpulley 34 is a timing pulley that can rotate freely around the rotation shaft.
The drivingbelt 31 couples the driving pulley 33 and the drivenpulley 34, and a timing belt is used for this. The drivingbelt 31 is sandwiched by a serrated toothed plate of thefixture 30 and a backup plate, and is fixed and integrated with them movably. Therefore, thesecond holder unit 10 moves in the accumulation direction by rotation of themotor 32 like thefirst holder unit 8. - The
fork unit 12 includes asupport unit 35,sliders 36,..., 36, a pair offorks fixture 38, etc.
Thefork unit 12 is disposed on an upstream side of thesecond holder unit 10.
Structures of thesupport unit 35 and thesliders 36,..., 36, are the same as structures of thesupport units first holder unit 8 and thesecond holder unit 10 and structures of thesliders 18,..., 18, 29,..., 29, 36,..., 36, respectively. Aguide bar 19 goes through each of holes of thesliders 36,..., 36, and thefork unit 12 is configured to be movable in the accumulation direction, which is also the same as thefirst holder unit 8 and thesecond holder unit 10. - The
forks forks belts conveyance belt 45 and by aninner belt 46 both of which will be described later. Moreover, either of theforks holders holders first holder unit 8. Each of theforks support unit 35, and is simultaneously configured to be movable vertically.
Thefixture 38 includes a backup plate, a serrated toothed plate having a tooth engageable with a tooth profile of the drivingbelt 39, etc. These constituents sandwich the drivingbelt 39 and are integrated with bolts to be fixed to thesupport unit 35, which is the same as in thefirst holder unit 8 and the second holder unit. - The
fork driving unit 13 is fixed to the rack, while itsmotor 40 is disposed beside themotor 32 of the secondholder driving unit 11. Themotor 40, a drivingpulley 41, a drivenpulley 42, and the drivingbelt 39 are substantially the same as counterparts of the firstholder driving unit 9 and those of the secondholder driving unit 11. The drivingbelt 39 is fixed and integrated with thefixture 38 movably and thefork unit 12 moves in the accumulation direction by rotation of the motor.
Referring to Fig. 4, theconveyance unit 4 includes adrum 43, amotor 44 for rotating thedrum 43, theconveyance belt 45, theinner belt 46, anouter belt 47, atension adjusting actuator 48, etc. - The
drum 43 has a horizontal rotation shaft perpendicular to a conveyance direction and makes counterclockwise rotation in Fig. 4 by themotor 44 linked therewith by a drivingbelt 49.
Theconveyance belt 45 links thedrum 43 and aroller 50 on an upstream side of thedrum 43, and circulates an outside of thedrum 43 so that rotation of thedrum 43 makes aconveyance plane 51 move from an upstream side to a downstream side. Theconveyance belt 45 conveys printed sheets W in a state where an end part of the printed sheets W located on an upstream side overlaps on an end part of the printed sheets W located on a downstream side on theconveyance plane 51. Theconveyance belt 45 is made up of a plurality of thin belts each having a spacing to the others. Since theconveyance belt 45 is driven by a rotation of thedrum 43, a conveyance speed is the same as a circumferential speed of thedrum 43. - The
inner belt 46 is in contact with one fourth of an outer circumference of thedrum 43 so that an angle of contact with a topmost part of thedrum 43 as a starting point may become approximately 90°. Moreover, theinner belt 46 is wound around an outer circumference of thedrum 43 in each space between two of the plurality ofconveyance belts 45. While keeping a constant spacing without overlapping with theconveyance belt 45, theinner belt 46 is disposed being supported by the plurality of rollers to be able to circulate the outside of thedrum 43 so as to surround thedrum 43.
Theouter belt 47 is wound around thedrum 43 to overlap a portion where theinner belt 46 contacts thedrum 43, and is disposed being supported by thetension adjusting actuator 48 and the plurality of rollers to be able to circulate the upper outside of thedrum 43 so as to surround thedrum 43. Theouter belt 47 leaves theinner belt 46 immediately after leaving thedrum 43 in a lower part of thedrum 43. Theouter belt 47 performs a function of sandwiching printed sheets W conveyed by theconveyance belt 45 with theinner belt 46 at a portion where theouter belt 47 is wound around thedrum 43, changing its conveyance direction of the printed sheets W, and sending it out to theaccumulation unit 5 provided in a lower part.
Thetension adjusting actuator 48 increases/decreases a tension of theouter belt 47 with atension roller 53 through an expansion/contraction operation of apneumatic cylinder 52, and adjusts a clamping force when theouter belt 47 and theinner belt 46 convey the printed sheets W.
Thetorque control unit 6 includes a computer, a servo controller (amplifier), etc. - Next, operations of the sheet
material accumulating apparatus 1 will be explained.
Figs. 5 through 9 are views showing operations of theaccumulation unit 5.
In an initial stage of the accumulation work of the printed sheets W, as shown in Fig. 5, thesupport arms first holder unit 8 are elevated so that theholders second holder unit 10 and a fork of thefork unit 12 are retreated into under the table 7. Thefirst holder unit 8 moves to the downstream side according to the amount (thickness) of the bundle P of the printed sheets W that increases by being accumulated. - A movement of the
first holder unit 8 to the downstream side is performed while a force pressing (pushing) the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W by theholders conveyance unit 4 may be performed smoothly and the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W may not collapse. The force that theholders holders
In order to maintain the backpressure to be a magnitude within a predetermined range, thetorque control unit 6 makes thefirst holder unit 8 move, while controlling a driving torque of a motor 23 (a driving torque is a product of a force F' (F' is nearly equal to F) applied to thefixture 2 and a pitch circle radius R of the driving pulley 24) so that it may become a predetermined value (Fig. 3). - Specifically, the control of a movement of the
first holder unit 8 by thetorque control unit 6 is performed in such a way that a set load current value (load torque) of themotor 23 inputted into the servo controller beforehand may become constant, or that it may be maintained in the predetermined range (torque control). That is, thetorque control unit 6 detects a load current (armature current) of themotor 23 with the servo controller, feeds back the detected load current, and determines a current value to be applied to themotor 23. - For example, a torque control is performed as follows.
In a case where the printed sheets are conveyed when several sheets overlap completely in part following the printed sheets W that overlap with a normal shift and are conveyed continuously to theaccumulation unit 5 from theconveyance unit 4, or in the similar case, since a growth of the bundle P of the printed sheets W is quick, the backpressure F applied to theholders fixture 2 is integrated with the drivingbelt 3 fixedly, and the backpressure F at that time is transmitted to themotor 23 through thefixture 2 and the drivingpulley 24. Since a load increases in themotor 23, a load current flowing through themotor 23 increases. Thetorque control unit 6 detects an increase in the load current, makes a servo controller decrease an applied current so that the driving torque of themotor 23 is decreased to attain a predetermined value, and thereby promotes a movement of thefirst holder unit 8 to a downstream side.
Moreover, in a case where a mutually overlapping part of the conveyed printed sheets W and the printed sheets W becomes smaller than usually or in similar cases, the growth of the bundle P of the printed sheets W becomes slower, and accordingly a backpressure F applied to theholders motor 23 will decrease and a load current will decrease. Thetorque control unit 6 detects that the load current is decreased, controls the applied current so that the load current may increase, and delays a movement of thefirst holder unit 8 to the downstream side so that the force of theholders - In the sheet
material accumulating apparatus 1, by controlling the backpressure F from the bundle P of the printed sheets W applied to theholders motor 23 at a constant value, an accumulation environment, for example, resistance when the printed sheets are newly inserted in the accumulated printed sheets W etc. can always be made constant. As a result, even when an overlap condition of the printed sheets W conveyed from theconveyance unit 4 varies, an accumulation of the printed sheets W can be stably performed, and it is possible to obtain a well-ordered bundle P of the printed sheets W.
Moreover, when the load torque falls quickly, it is also possible to move thefirst holder unit 8 to the upstream side in order to recover a predetermined load torque.
Now, when the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W reaches a predetermined quantity, a fluid pressure cylinder will expand in thefork unit 12, and theforks fork unit 12 moves to the downstream side to a position at which theholder 28 of thesecond holder unit 10 retreats. At this time, thefirst holder unit 8 moves to the downstream side together with thefork unit 12. - As shown in Fig. 7, the
second holder unit 10 expands a fluid pressure cylinder to make theholder 28 move to the upstream side of the bundle P of the printed sheets W, and supports the bundle P of the printed sheets W. The bundle P of the printed sheets W already accumulated is supported by thefirst holder unit 8 and by thesecond holder unit 10 at both ends thereof, respectively, and moves to the downstream side of the table 7. The moved bundle P of the printed sheets W is bound with binding band etc. at a movement destination. In the meantime, the newly conveyed printed sheets W are accumulated between upstream-side planes of theforks inner belt 46, as shown in Fig. 8.
Whether the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W reaches a predetermined quantity is determined by checking whether thefirst holder unit 8 reaches a predetermined position, and a detection of thefirst holder unit 8 reaching the predetermined position is performed by a limit switch attached to theguide bar 19, for example. - When binding of the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W is completed, a fluid pressure cylinder of the
first holder unit 8 and a fluid pressure cylinder of thesecond holder unit 10 perform contraction operations, respectively, and make theholders holders second holder unit 10 moves to the location in which it was located in an initial stage of the accumulation work, and thefirst holder unit 8 moves to a position at which upstream-side planes of theholders forks 37, 37 (a plane that supports a newly accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W). The movedfirst holder unit 8, as shown in Fig. 9, elevates the upstream-side planes of theholders
Subsequently, in thefork unit 12, the fluid pressure cylinder performs a contraction operation, which makes a fork move into under the table 7, and thefork unit 12 moves to a retreating position on an upstream side of theinner belt 46, as shown in Fig. 5.
A series of operations of the sheetmaterial accumulating apparatus 1 explained above forms one bundle P in which the printed sheets W are accumulated. - Since the
support arms first holder unit 8 are each in a shape of extruding its upper end to the upstream side and theforks fork unit 12 to thefirst holder unit 8 can be performed smoothly without causing thesupport arms forks
In addition, when thefirst holder unit 8 and thesecond holder unit 10 move to the downstream side, while supporting the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W by sandwiching it (Fig. 8), the sheetmaterial accumulating apparatus 1 can perform a torque control so that forces with which theholders fork unit 12 supports the printed sheets W on its upstream-side plane and makes it accumulate (Fig. 8), the torque control may be performed in such a way that a force with which the fork pushes the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W may become a previously set value or be within a previously set range. - In the above-mentioned embodiment, a backpressure by the accumulated bundle P of the printed sheets W can be controlled by other methods. For example, a strain gauge installed between the holder and the support arm may detect a backpressure applied to the holder, and driving of a motor of the first holder driving unit may be controlled so that the backpressure may be within a predetermined range.
The firstholder driving unit 9, the secondholder driving unit 11, and thefork driving unit 13 may be driven by a rotary screw and a drive nut, or by a rack and pinion, not by the belt driving described above.
Detection of the backpressure, movement of the first holder unit, etc. may be performed by methods other than the above-mentioned method.
In addition, the sheetmaterial accumulating apparatus 1 as well as construction, shape, dimensions, number, material, etc. of each component or the whole of the sheetmaterial accumulating apparatus 1 may be altered and changed appropriately in adherence with the spirit of the present invention. - The present invention can be used for a sheet material accumulating method and apparatus for conveying a sheet material, such as the printed sheets W, in a state where overlapping is shifted to the downstream side of the conveyance direction and accumulating it.
Claims (9)
- A sheet material accumulating method for accumulating a sheet material continuously conveyed from the above while a part of the sheet material is overlapped, with the sheet material standing on a lower horizontal table, comprising the steps of:detecting a backpressure from a bundle applied to a holder for preventing a head side collapse of the bundle of the sheet materials accumulated on the table; andcontrolling a movement of the holder in an accumulation direction so that the backpressure may maintain a predetermined magnitude.
- The sheet material accumulating method according to claim 1, wherein
detection of the backpressure from the bundle is performed by detecting a load current to an electric motor for moving the holder, and
the control of the movement of the holder is performed by controlling an applied current to the electric motor. - A sheet material accumulating method for accumulating a sheet material continuously conveyed from the above while a part of the sheet material is overlapped, with the sheet material standing on a lower horizontal table, wherein
in a process of retreating a bundle of sheet materials in order to accumulate afresh the sheet material after the bundle of sheet materials has grown to a predetermined size,
a head side of the bundle to be retreated is supported by the a first holder and a back end side of the bundle is supported by a second holder,
a backpressure from the bundle applied to the first holder and a backpressure applied from the bundle to the second holder are detected, and
movements of the first holder and the second holder in an accumulation direction are controlled so that the respective backpressures may maintain respective predetermined magnitudes. - The sheet material accumulating method according to claim 3, wherein
detection of the respective backpressures is performed by detecting the load currents to the respective electric motors for retreating the first holder and the second holder, and
control of movements to retreat the first holder and the second holder is performed by controlling applied currents to the respective electric motors. - A sheet material accumulating apparatus for accumulating a sheet material continuously conveyed from the above while a part of the sheet material is overlapped, with the sheet material standing on a lower horizontal table, comprising:a holder for preventing a head side collapse of a bundle of sheet materials accumulated on the table;backpressure detecting means adapted to detect a backpressure from the bundle applied to the holder;holder moving means adapted to make the holder move in an accumulation direction of the sheet material; andcontrol means adapted to control an operation of the holder moving means; whereinthe control means is configured to control a movement of the holder caused by the holder moving means based on a backpressure detected by the backpressure detecting means.
- The sheet material accumulating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
the holder moving means has an electric motor,
the backpressure detecting means has a load current detecting device of the electric motor, and
the control means is configured to control a movement of the holder caused by the electric motor based on a load current detected by the load current detecting device. - The sheet material accumulating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein
the electric motor is a servomotor, and
the control means is configured to control an applied current to the servomotor based on the load current detected by the load current detecting device. - A sheet material accumulating apparatus for accumulating a sheet material continuously conveyed from the above while a part of the sheet material is overlapped, with the sheet material standing on a lower horizontal table, comprising:a first holder for preventing a head side collapse of a bundle of sheet materials accumulated on the table;a second holder for supporting a back end side of the bundle;backpressure detecting means adapted to detect one or both of a backpressure from the bundle applied to the first holder and a backpressure applied therefrom to the second holder;first holder moving means adapted to make the first holder move in an accumulation direction of the sheet material;second holder moving means adapted to make the second holder move in the accumulation direction of the sheet material; andcontrol means adapted to control one or both of operations of the first holder moving means and the second holder moving means; whereinthe control means is configured to control one or both of movements of the first holder and the second holder by the first holder moving means and the second holder moving means based on a backpressure detected by the backpressure detecting means.
- The sheet material accumulating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein
the first holder moving means and the second holder moving means each have an electric motor,
the backpressure detecting means has a load current detecting device of the each electric motor, and
the control means is configured to control movements of the first holder and the second holder caused by the electric motor based on the respective load currents detected by the load current detecting devices.
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JP2005141776 | 2005-05-13 | ||
PCT/JP2006/308801 WO2006120913A1 (en) | 2005-05-13 | 2006-04-27 | Sheet material stacking method and sheet material stacking device |
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EP1880961A4 EP1880961A4 (en) | 2010-09-01 |
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EP (1) | EP1880961A4 (en) |
JP (1) | JPWO2006120913A1 (en) |
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JP5448740B2 (en) * | 2009-01-13 | 2014-03-19 | グンゼ株式会社 | Signature collecting device |
FR2983464B1 (en) | 2011-12-05 | 2014-06-27 | Solystic | STACKING DEVICE FOR SINGLE STACKED FLAT OBJECTS AND POSTAL SORTING MACHINE |
US20140001932A1 (en) * | 2012-06-29 | 2014-01-02 | Nathan L. Westby | Modular Outdoor Enclosure and Gravity Damper System |
DE202016102779U1 (en) * | 2016-05-25 | 2017-08-28 | Bobst Bielefeld Gmbh | Device for actuating a hydraulic carrier bar of a rotary printing machine |
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EP0364790A2 (en) * | 1988-09-30 | 1990-04-25 | Omron Tateisi Electronics Co. | Paper sheet delivery/stacking apparatus |
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Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPS5874455A (en) * | 1981-10-26 | 1983-05-04 | Toshiba Corp | Paper sheets accumulation device |
JPH01231735A (en) * | 1988-03-09 | 1989-09-18 | Sharp Corp | Residual quantity of paper detector for lift type paper feed cassette |
JPH0753110A (en) | 1993-08-19 | 1995-02-28 | Dainippon Printing Co Ltd | Printed sheet accumulating device |
JP3443172B2 (en) * | 1994-06-22 | 2003-09-02 | 大日本印刷株式会社 | Printing book accumulator |
-
2006
- 2006-04-27 CN CN200680016222A patent/CN100594170C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2006-04-27 US US11/918,863 patent/US20080265494A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2006-04-27 WO PCT/JP2006/308801 patent/WO2006120913A1/en active Application Filing
- 2006-04-27 EP EP06745729A patent/EP1880961A4/en not_active Withdrawn
- 2006-04-27 JP JP2007528225A patent/JPWO2006120913A1/en active Pending
Patent Citations (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0364790A2 (en) * | 1988-09-30 | 1990-04-25 | Omron Tateisi Electronics Co. | Paper sheet delivery/stacking apparatus |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
---|
See also references of WO2006120913A1 * |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
CN100594170C (en) | 2010-03-17 |
JPWO2006120913A1 (en) | 2008-12-18 |
US20080265494A1 (en) | 2008-10-30 |
EP1880961A4 (en) | 2010-09-01 |
WO2006120913A1 (en) | 2006-11-16 |
CN101175683A (en) | 2008-05-07 |
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