EP2316766B9 - Diverter station for cardboard blanks and method for producing and diverting cardboard blanks - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a discharge station for carton blanks with the features of the preamble of claim 1, an apparatus for producing and / or processing carton blanks with the features of the preamble of claim 7 and a method for discharging defective carton blanks with the steps according to the preamble of claim 8 ,

In the production and processing of cardboard products such as cardboard packaging, so-called carton blanks are produced from a variety of cardboard materials in a series of processing stations. Such carton blanks usually go through in manufacturing plants stations in which they are cut, punched, folded, glued or printed. In these processing steps, it can happen that errors in the carton blanks arise or carton blanks with poor quality arise. Therefore, it is known in such manufacturing plants for the production of cardboard blanks to provide a so-called discharge station at the end of the production line, by means of which Defects in the carton blanks or carton blanks are detected with inadequate quality and by means of which these carton blanks can be automatically removed from the manufacturing process. The discharge station is regularly at the end of the various processing stations and before a stacking station, on which the carton blanks produced are transported. In this way it is avoided that defective carton blanks or carton blanks are stacked with damage from the manufacturing process on a stack, so that a subsequent individual quality inspection is no longer necessary. The systems for producing such carton blanks are driven at an increasingly high speed, whereby the throughput and thus the production efficiency are improved. Due to the increased process speeds, however, there is a problem that relatively little time is left for quality inspection and, in particular, rejection of defective carton blanks in modern carton blank manufacturing machines.

A known such discharge station for defective carton blanks is in the DE 43 17 042 C1 described. The discharge station known therefrom has a series of upper and lower conveyor belts, between which the carton blanks are conveyed along a conveyor line. In order to lead out defective carton blanks from the manufacturing process, a second conveyor line is provided here, which branches off at an acute angle from the main conveyor line, as well as a mechanical flap, which can be opened by means of a pivot drive to herauszuschleusen the identified as defective carton blank in the second conveyor line. The flap is coupled to an opposite guide element, which is moved together with the flap via a pivot drive in the first conveyor line so that the carton blanks in a Ausschleusstrecke, ie a second and thereof angled off branching conveyor line, are passed. This known discharge station with an interposed between the trigger belts and the conveyor belts flap mechanism works satisfactorily at relatively low processing speeds and flexible carton types. At higher transport speeds and stiffer cardboard blanks, as used for example for cardboard packaging for large appliances such as washing machines and the like, this known discharge station does not work satisfactorily. In these cases, there is often a situation in which defective carton blanks or carton blanks with quality defects are recognized, but they can not be brought out in time by the discharge station from the process. The reason for this is on the one hand that stiffer blanks with wall thicknesses of, for example, a few centimeters at high transport speeds, such as on the order of 5,700 mm / s and more, not in time can be derived by the flap mechanism. The distance between successive individual carton blanks is usually only a few centimeters, for example of the order of 100 mm, so that such a flap of a mechanical discharge station would have to open in 18 ms at the speed indicated above. For this purpose, the flap mechanism of this known Ausschleusstation is too slow, so that in such cases incorrect carton blanks are unintentionally stacked by the subsequent stacking station on a stack together with error-free carton blanks.

Out DE 10 2008 010 987 A1 a device for discharging defective printed carton blanks is known, in which an upper pivotable deflecting element and a lower, opposite deflecting element are operated together via a servo motor and an eccentric. The lower deflector is provided with a spring so that it is directly actuated against the spring force by the pressure from the upper deflector. The deflection elements are connected to each other here by means of a shaft. The jointly actuated two deflection elements provide an exact and well reproducible discharge path. However, this known discharge device has disadvantages in terms of speed in the reaction and the efficiency of discharging differently sized carton blanks.

In the DE 36 17 920 A1 A method for rejecting unacceptable sheets is described, in which a deflecting device in the form of a mechanical flap is provided after various processing stations for producing corrugated board and a plurality of error detectors. On the basis of the detectors, the discharge device is controlled in dependence on the time required for adjusting the flap.

DE 10 2005 055 364 A1 relates to an apparatus and a method for conveying arched objects that can be stored on different storage stacks. For this purpose, an adjustment of the conveyor belt is provided in different pivot positions so that can be changed from a first discard pile to a second discard pile when the maximum and detected by sensors stack height is reached.

The present invention is based on the object to provide a discharge station for manufacturing equipment carton blanks and a corresponding method and a manufacturing device, which allow safe even at increased transport speeds and stiffer cardboard blanks of rejected as defective cardboard blanks.

This object is achieved with a discharge station with the features of claim 1, a manufacturing device with the features of claim 7 and by the method with the steps according to claim 8 solved. Advantageous embodiments and modifications of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

The discharge station according to the invention for a production apparatus for producing and / or processing carton blanks has at least one upper conveyor belt and a lower conveyor belt, between which the carton blanks are conveyed along a conveyor line, and at least one upper take-off belt and a lower take-off belt, which in the direction of the conveyor line lie behind the conveyor belts, as well as means for detecting defective or with poor quality produced carton blanks, with a Ausschleusstrecke diagonally branched off from the conveyor line. The discharge station according to the invention is characterized in that at least one of the conveyor belts is provided with a deflection, by means of which the conveyor belt is at least partially adjustable as a kind of flap band from the direction of the conveying path in the direction of the Ausschleusstrecke. Since by means of the deflection of at least one of the conveyor belts is directly adjustable as a kind of flap band in the direction of the Ausschleusstrecke and no longer a separate flap or deflection mechanism between the conveyor belts must be operated, the discharge process can be performed at high speed and low inertia, so that too at higher speeds of the conveyor belts and thus high throughput the production machine for carton blanks a safe removal of defective carton blanks is guaranteed. The deflection causes an at least partial adjustment of the direction of at least one of the conveyor belts. By adjusting the conveyor belt or flap band directly in the direction of the Ausschleusstrecke a safe discharge is achieved even with thicker and thus stiffer carton blanks, since the conveyor line can be adjusted in total even in the manner of a flap band. The at least one deflection, which causes an adjustment of the conveyor belt, can be realized, for example, as a deflection roller or the like which can be pivoted about an axis of rotation. A kind of kicker in the form of a circumferential hook can be used as an alternative to a handlebar for this purpose. In order to accomplish the adjustment of the conveyor line from the actual direction of the conveyor line in the direction of the Ausschleusstrecke, the cooperating with the conveyor belt deflection is provided with corresponding adjustment as a drive motor or the like. Conveyor belts or take-off belts in the sense of the present invention are also roller conveyors or roller conveyor sections, as well as analogous means with which carton blanks can be transported.

In the discharge station according to the invention, both the lower conveyor belt and the upper conveyor belt on a deflection, by means of which the conveyor belts as a kind of flap band in the direction of the Ausschleusstrecke adjustable are, wherein the lower deflector and the upper deflector are formed to operate independently of each other can. Due to the upper deflection and the lower deflection, which can be operated independently of each other, the conveyor belts of the discharge station, which are adjustable as flap bands, can be flexibly folded in the direction of the removal path. In this way, the reaction time for the discharge of defective carton blanks can be further increased. For example, if a faulty carton blank is detected, the lower deflector and thus the lower conveyor belt can be moved immediately in the direction of the Ausschleusstrecke, even if the upper deflector still remains in the home position to the previous "good" carton blank, which is with a rear end still at the level of the discharge station, not to be damaged by the adjustment. Thus, even at relatively short intervals between individual carton blanks a safe removal of defective carton blanks can be accomplished. The independent actuation of the respective deflections, which are advantageously designed as swiveling steering elements and interact via rollers or the like with the conveyor belts, can be flexibly controlled depending on the situation.

According to the invention, the lower deflection on the lower conveyor belt on three pivotable arms, which are individually and independently adjustable. With the independently adjustable three arms of the lower deflection the lower conveyor belt, the Ausschleusweg can be flexibly adjusted to allow adaptation to different sized carton blanks. For example, with relatively short carton blanks, only the foremost handlebar or preferably only the two foremost handlebars can be adjusted while the rearmost of the three links of the deflector remains in its basic position. For larger carton blanks can be adjusted with the discharge station according to the invention, the third link, so that a larger opening in the direction of the Ausschleusstrecke is provided. In addition, due to the individual adjustability of the individual handlebars, an example of a curved path in the direction of the Ausschleusstrecke can be realized, which is also for a safe removal of particular stiffer and usually thicker carton blanks also beneficial. According to the invention, more than three links can be provided.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the take-off belts of the discharge station are adapted to be operated at least temporarily at a higher speed than the flap or conveyor belts. Due to the higher speed of the take-off belts or take-off rolls in relation to the conveyor belts in front of them, the carton blank, which is in each case in the conveying direction, is literally pulled off the following carton blank. This leads to an automatic and advantageous enlargement of the intermediate distance between the rear end of the one Carton blank and the beginning of the next carton blank. The increased distance between successive carton blanks also increases the amount of time within which the rejection operation must occur. Even with this measure, overall higher process speeds than in the prior art can be realized, and critical carton blanks, such as carton blanks having a large thickness or longer blanks, can be effectively led out of the process quickly upon detection of a defect.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the discharge station according to the invention means are provided for detecting the relative position of cardboard blanks. The means for detecting the position of the carton blanks may preferably be provided as non-contact optical sensors. The position detection means according to the invention serve on the one hand for detecting the position of the respective carton blanks within the discharge station and in particular for detecting whether a rear end of a carton blank is still at the level of the conveyor belts or flap bands or is already fully retracted outside into the subsequent take-off section. Depending on the particular position of the previous carton blank, the conveying path can be adjusted in the direction of the removal path directly and quickly for the subsequent defective carton blank. The Position detection sensors according to the invention also serve advantageously for determining and determining a distance between two successive carton blanks in order to be able to calculate the existing reaction time for carrying out the rejection process.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the discharge station according to the invention, a control is provided by means of which the conveying speed of the take-off belts of the take-off section can be temporarily increased in response to input signals. For example, information from the position detection means can serve as input signals. For example, if a distance between two successive carton blanks is too small, the distance can be increased to a sufficient size with the temporary increase in the conveying speed of the take-off belts. In particular, the signals from a quality monitoring station can serve as input signals for the control for increasing the conveying speed. If, for example, an error is detected on a carton blank via an optical camera or the like, the speed can be increased in a targeted manner for a short time in order to facilitate and facilitate the rejection of this defective carton blank.

The invention also relates to a device for producing and / or processing cardboard blanks, in particular for Packaging cartons, comprising at least one processing station and with a subsequent discharge station, via which defective carton blanks can be discharged, wherein means for automatically detecting defective carton blanks are provided and wherein the device is characterized in that it comprises a discharge station according to one of claims 1 to 6 has. Because of the discharge station according to the invention, the device can be operated at a higher conveying speed than has hitherto been possible in the prior art, so that the output capacity of the production system as a whole can be increased. Nevertheless, a safe and effective quality inspection with a discharge of all defective carton blanks is made possible with the invention.

The invention also relates to a method for discharging defective carton blanks with the features of claim 8. With the method according to the invention defective carton blanks within a machining and / or manufacturing process, for example in the production of packaging cartons safely be discharged, the carton blanks after a Be examined for their quality and possible errors and automatically be removed from the process in the detection of errors or quality defects. For this purpose, means for detecting the relative position of the carton blanks branch off from one of the conveyor line Ausschleusstrecke provided as well as at least partially pivotable flap bands or conveyor belts in a transport section and downstream discharge belts in a withdrawal section of the discharge station, the method being characterized in that the withdrawal belts are at least temporarily operated at a higher speed than the flap or conveyor belts. By operating the take-off belts at a higher speed than the conveyor belts, the carton blanks are literally pulled out of the conveyor belts, thereby automatically increasing the distance between successive carton blanks as needed. Due to the greater distance between the individual carton blanks, a longer reaction time is made available even at a relatively high conveying speed, within which the rejection of defective carton blanks can be carried out. In this way, higher overall processing speeds can be used, or even longer and stiffer carton blanks can be safely led out of the process if errors are found.

According to a related advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention, a distance or a gap between successive carton blanks is calculated, and an increase in speed of the take-off belts is controlled as a function of the calculated gap. As a result, the speed increase in the Triggered tapes, so that in normal operation and no finding errors or relatively short carton blanks the process can be driven normally without the speed increase.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention, the position detecting means detect the beginning and / or the end of the conveyed cardboard blanks, and depending on the error detection and a pivoting of the flap portion of the conveyor belts for discharging defective carton blanks is controlled. Non-contact optical sensors with which the beginning and the end of the respective carton blanks can be determined precisely can serve as position detection means. Other types of sensors can also be used. This avoids that an early adjustment of the hinged conveyor belts takes place. This serves to ensure safe removal of all defective carton blanks. The ejection process is made possible in a relatively short time, so that even at high process speeds all defective carton blanks can be safely led out of the process.

Fig. 1 bis 5

schematische Seitenansichten eines ersten Ausführungsbeispiels einer erfindungsgemäßen Ausschleusstation für kurze Kartonzuschnitte in verschiedenen Stadien;

Fig. 6 bis 10

schematische Seitenansichten eines zweiten Ausführungsbeispiels einer erfindungsgemäßen Ausschleusstation für längere Kartonzuschnitte in verschiedenen Stadien; und

Fig. 11

eine perspektivische Ansicht eines Ausführungsbeispiels einer erfindungsgemäßen Ausschleusstation mit geöffnetem Gehäuse und Gestellrahmen.

The invention will be described below in more detail with the aid of exemplary embodiments, which are shown in the attached drawings. In the drawings show:

Fig. 1 to 5

schematic side views of a first embodiment of a discharge station according to the invention for short carton blanks in various stages;

Fig. 6 to 10

schematic side views of a second embodiment of a discharge station according to the invention for longer carton blanks in different stages; and

Fig. 11

a perspective view of an embodiment of a discharge station according to the invention with an open housing and frame frame.

In the Fig. 1 to 5 is shown in respective schematic and partial side views of a first embodiment of a discharge station according to the invention for as poor or incorrectly recognized carton blanks 1, wherein the Fig. 1 to 5 show different stages of the discharge process, as explained below. The discharge station 10 according to the invention comprises, in a first section, an upper conveyor belt 2 and a lower conveyor belt 3, between which carton blanks 1 are conveyed in the direction of a conveying path 6 (see arrow in the figures). The conveyor belts 2, 3 are guided over pulleys and guide means to a horizontal conveyor line 6 for the carton blanks 1 to form, and are driven by means not shown in the figures drive means, as is well known in plants for the production of cardboard blanks. In the direction of the conveyor line 6 lying behind there are an upper take-off belt 4 and a lower take-off belt 5, which detect the carton blanks 1 from the conveyor belts 2, 3 and pull it off in the direction of the conveying path 6 in order to unstack them in a stacking device (not shown), for example , At the entrance of the discharge station 10 according to this embodiment, an inlet sensor 14 is provided, and in the region of the conveyor belts 2, 3 shortly before the start of the withdrawal section of the withdrawal belts 4, 5, a second non-contact sensor, the flow sensor 15, is provided. By means of the inlet sensor 14 and the flow sensor 15, the carton blanks 1 conveyed in the discharge station 10 can be detected and, in particular, the respective beginning and the respective ends of transported carton blanks 1. By means of the inlet sensor 14 and the flow sensor 15 it can be determined in particular Relative position, the carton blank 1 is within the discharge station 10, respectively, for example, to determine a residual path for a rear end of a carton blank 1, this must cover to completely in the withdrawal section of the discharge station 10, ie between the upper take-off belt 4 and the lower Dump tape 5 to be fully retracted. This serves in particular to the in the Following described discharge process optimally and with the shortest possible time to control.

The discharge station 10 or an upstream station, for example, a carton blank manufacturing plant is also equipped with means for monitoring the quality of carton blanks and for detecting errors in carton blanks to weed out and eject defective carton blanks 1 from the manufacturing process and to prevent them in one stacked downstream stacking station. In the Fig. 1 is a first flawless carton blank 1 shown with the license plate A. This was detected by the quality control means as error-free and is therefore in the horizontal direction (from left to right in the Fig. 1 ) conveyed along the conveyor line 6 by the upper discharge belt 4 and the lower discharge belt 5 detect the front end and pull out the carton blank 1 from the conveyor belts 2, 3. This can be done at the same or higher speed. According to an advantageous aspect of the discharge station according to the invention, the take-off belts 4, 5 can be operated at least temporarily at a higher speed than the conveyor belts 2, 3, so that after grasping the carton blank 1 by the take-off belts 4, 5 of the carton blank 1 from the transport or . Flap section is pulled out formally and so increases the relative distance to the subsequent carton blank 1 (letter B).

According to the invention, the discharge station 10 has at least one deflection 8, 9, by means of which the conveyor belts 2, 3 or at least one of the conveyor belts 2, 3 in the form of a so-called flap band at least partially from the direction of the conveyor line 6 in a direction of a Ausschleusstrecke 7 can be folded out as it is with the arrow in the Fig. 1 to 5 is shown schematically. In the illustrated first embodiment of the Fig. 1 to 5 the lower conveyor belt 3 is provided with a lower deflection 8 in the form of a pivotable element with rollers, and the upper conveyor belt 2 is provided with a corresponding pivotable upper deflection 9, both independently of each other in the Fig. 1 shown basic position can be pivoted downwards (see rotation arrows in the Fig. 1 and 2 ).

Once a carton blank 1, in the case of in the Fig. 2 to 4 shown embodiment of the marked with B subsequent second carton blank 1, is recognized by the quality monitoring means as defective or of poor quality, the lower deflector 8 is first pivoted downwards (see. Fig. 2 ), so that the lower conveyor belt 3 is adjusted from the direction of the conveyor line 6 in the direction of an inclined downwardly extending Ausschleusstrecke 7. In this stadium ( Fig. 2 ) is the "good" carton blank 1 with the license plate A already partially between the trigger belts 4, 5, where one more Restweg A remains, the rear end of the carton blank A must be retracted. Nevertheless, even now the lower conveyor belt 3 is pivoted in the direction of the Ausschleusstrecke 7, so that the recognized as bad subsequent carton blank with the indicator B can be deflected in good time and at high conveying speed from the conveyor line 6 in the Ausschleusstrecke 7. After the "good" carton blank A has been pulled completely into the withdrawal belts 4, 5, which are now operated at a higher speed in this example, the upper deflection 9 of the upper transport belt 2 is also adjusted, as indicated by the arrow in FIG Fig. 2 is marked, is pivoted down about an axis of rotation. This takes place only when the "good" carton blank A is outside the range of conveyor belts 2, 3 or flap bands, so that it is not damaged. This is advantageously determined by the flow sensor 15, which is coupled to a corresponding controller. In the Fig. 3 the discharge station 10 is shown in the stage of a discharge, in which the flap bands or the conveyor belts 2, 3 are pivoted in the direction of the Ausschleusstrecke 7 at an acute angle to the horizontal downwards, so that the defective carton blank B can be removed from the process , As it is in the Fig. 3 is shown, the carton blank B is detected by two opposite Ausschleusrollen 16, 17 and derived in the direction of the Ausschleusstrecke 7, so that it is not carried on in the direction of the stacking station.

In the Fig. 4 Then the next stage in the discharge process for defective carton blanks 1 is shown. The found to be bad and discharged in the direction of Ausschleusstrecke 7 carton blank B has exceeded the rear end of the position of the flow sensor 15, and only a residual path B to the end of the range of conveyor belts 2, 3 is to go through. A subsequent "good" carton blank C has with its front end still a residual path C to the beginning of the take-off belts 4, 5 cover. At this stage, the lower conveyor belt 3 via the central pivotable arm 12 and the front pivoting arm 13 can be zurückverstellt back to the starting position, as is the case with the rotation arrows in the Fig. 4 is marked. By the individually operable pivotable arm 11, 12, 13 of the lower deflector 8 and the upper deflector 9, a return adjustment can be made as soon as a carton blank 1 outside of the corresponding arm 11, 12, 13 is located. As a result, the discharge station can be returned to its basic position in a faster reaction time, as described in the Fig. 5 is shown, so that the following shortly after carton blank 1 with the letter C, which in turn was determined to be error-free, can be transported directly in the direction of the conveyor line 6. The controller (in the Fig. 1 to 5 not shown) according to this embodiment is preferably designed according to the invention such that the temporary Increasing the speed of the withdrawal belts 4, 5 and / or the adjustment speed of the lower deflection 8 and the upper deflection 9 in dependence on the respective positions of the carton blanks 1 within the discharge station 10 takes place. In this case, 14 relative distances and residual distances A to C can be determined by means of the flow sensor 15 and the inlet sensor, depending on which then the adjustment of the pivotable arm 11, 12, 13 and the upper deflector 9 is controlled. The discharge operation can also be controlled by means of further input signals by the controller, such as the cardboard thickness or the instantaneous conveying speed of the conveyor belts.

According to one embodiment of this method according to the invention for controlling the discharge process, either a required acceleration or a required speed during the adjustment of the conveyor belts 2, 3 or their deflections 8, 9 is calculated in the following manner:

Once the pass sensor 15 is free or a remaining distance of a carton until the beginning of the take-off belts 4, 5 divided by the speed of the conveyor belts 2, 3 equal to a minimum movement time for the lower deflector 9, the required acceleration or speed for adjusting the deflection is the eighth calculated and started. The path s, the deflection 8, 9 and the handlebars 11, 12, 13 must perform in this embodiment is 180 ° of Crank mechanism of the swivel axes. The time predicted at the time of start, until a front edge of the subsequent carton blank abuts the position of the beginning of the take-off belts 4, 5, is taken for the inventive control of the acceleration or the speed of an adjustment.

Alternative A acceleration calculation:

A required acceleration of the adjustment of the deflections 8, 9 is determined, which accelerates the handlebar 13, for example, by 90 ° and decelerates by 90 ° so that a symmetrical sequence of movements results without a constant speed, with the following formula: $$\mathrm{a}\mathrm{=}\mathrm{4}\mathrm{s}\mathrm{/}{\mathrm{<figure-callout\; id="2"\; label="t"\; filenames="imgf0001.png,imgf0003.png"\; state="\{\{state\}\}">t</figure-callout>}}^{\mathrm{2}}$$

At t = 50 ms and s = 180 ° results in a required acceleration of 288,000 degrees / s ² .

Alternative B speed calculation:

The adjustment of the deflections 8, 9 always takes place with the same acceleration. The necessary movement time results from the limitation of the final velocity, which is calculated with the following formula: $$\mathrm{V}\mathrm{=}\mathrm{at}\mathrm{/}\mathrm{2}\mathrm{-}\mathrm{\surd }\left({\left(\mathrm{at}\right)}^{\mathrm{2}}\mathrm{/}\mathrm{4}\mathrm{-}\mathrm{Sat.}\right)$$

At t = 50 ms and an acceleration of 350,000 degrees / s ² and s = 180 ° results in a speed of V = 5.067 degrees / s.

While the first embodiment of the discharge station according to the invention, based on the Fig. 1 to 5 has been explained, refers to relatively short carton blanks in particular a size of less than 870 mm, will now be a second embodiment of a discharge station 10 and its control for larger carton blanks, especially greater than 870 mm, based on the Fig. 6 to 10 being represented.

The construction elements and components of the discharge station 10 according to this second embodiment substantially correspond to those of the first embodiment and are not repeated. They are also identified by the same reference numerals. In Fig. 6 is the discharge station 10 in its normal position, so that both the conveyor belts 2, 3 and the discharge belts 4, 5 point in the direction of the conveyor line 6 and a good than found longer carton blank 1 with the letter A from the trigger belts 4, 5 is detected and is conveyed toward a stacking station or the like. In the subsequent stage, as in the Fig. 7 is shown, the carton blank A found to be good then follows a longer, defective carton blank B whose distance from the rear end of the previous carton blank A is relatively low. Therefore, according to the invention at this stage, the take-off belts 5 operated at times with an increased speed, in particular at a much higher speed than the speed of the conveyor belts 2, 3. At the same time, the lower deflection 8 by means of the pivotable arm 11, 12, 13 in the direction of Ausschleusstrecke 7 and the discharge rollers 16, 17 adjusted, so that there is a slightly curved discharge path (see. Fig. 8 ) and sufficient time is available to remove the "bad" carton blank B from the plant. According to an advantageous aspect of the invention, the take-off belts 4, 5 are operated at an increased speed only if the gap between the carton blank A and the subsequent carton blank B is too small. For this purpose, residual routes A and B (cf. Fig. 7 and 9 ) of the cardboard ends to the transition between transport section and withdrawal section of the discharge station 10, which can be calculated in particular by the detected edges of the cardboard blanks 1 by means of the flow sensor 15.

At the stage of Fig. 9 is shown that the subsequent carton blank C was again recognized as a "good", ie error-free carton blank, and immediately the pivotable arms 11, 12, 13 of the lower deflector 9 are returned to their original position, which in the Fig. 10 is shown, so that the carton blank C is conveyed in the direction of the conveying path 6 and the withdrawal belts 4, 5 can be detected. The advantage of the discharge station 10 according to the invention is that with individually operable deflections 8, 9 both the upper conveyor belt 2 and the lower conveyor belt 3 can be operated as so-called flap bands directly, but also independently, so that a mechanical flap construction is not required. In this way, the discharge can take place with a relatively short reaction time. If the distances between the individual cardboard blanks are no longer sufficient for a discharge or if the system will be driven at higher speeds, advantageously the speed of the withdrawal belts 4, 5 is temporarily increased, so that even then a safe discharge of defective carton blanks 1 is possible.

The Fig. 11 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a discharge station 10 according to the invention, which is shown with one side open housing 19 and within a frame 18. The discharge station 10 can be used in a modular manner within a manufacturing plant or processing plant for carton blanks. The upper conveyor belt 2 and the lower conveyor belt 3 are operated via respective drive means 20 separately from the drive means 20 of the take-off belts 4, 5. A control device allows the temporary increase in speed of the drive means 20 of the take-off belts 4, 5 in relation to the speed of Conveyor belts 2, 3, so that a discharge of defective carton blanks is ensured by means of the discharge station 10 at a very short reaction time. In the in the Fig. 11 the configuration shown is the discharge station in the basic position, ie that the conveyor belts 2, 3 adjustable as flap bands are set in the direction of the conveying path 6. The discharge station 10 according to the embodiment of the Fig. 11 can be moved on the frame 18 flexible to allow adaptation to different types of carton blanks. Also, several discharge stations 10 can be arranged side by side to handle carton blanks of different widths or more complex carton blanks, such as L-shaped blanks.

Claims (11)

1. Rejection station (10) for a manufacturing apparatus for producing and/or processing cardboard blanks (1), by means of which faulty cardboard blanks (1) can be automatically rejected from a manufacturing process, comprising at least one upper transport belt (2) and one lower transport belt (3) between which the cardboard blanks (1) are conveyed, also comprising at least one upper withdrawing belt (4) and one lower withdrawing belt (5) arranged, in the direction of a conveying path (6), behind the transport belts (2, 3), also comprising means for detecting faulty cardboard blanks (1) and a rejection path (7) which branches obliquely from the conveying path (6), wherein at least one of the transport belts (2, 3) is provided with a lower deflection (8) by means of which said transport belt is at least partially adjustable, as a kind of flap belt, out of the direction of the conveying path (6) into the direction of the rejection path (7), characterised in that the upper transport belt (2) comprises an upper deflection (9) by means of which said belt can be adjusted, as a flap belt, in the direction of the rejection path (7), that the lower deflection (8) and the upper deflection (9) are drivable independently of one another and that the lower deflection (8) comprises three pivotable deflectors (11, 12, 13) which are individually adjustable independently of one another.
2. Rejection station according to claim 1, characterised in that the withdrawing belts (4, 5) are adapted to be operated, at least partially, at a higher speed than the flap belts and/or the transport belts (2, 3).
3. Rejection station according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that means (14, 15) are provided for detecting the relative position of cardboard blanks (1).
4. Rejection station according to claim 3, characterised in that the position detecting means (14, 15) are configured in order to determine a distance between successive cardboard blanks (1).
5. Rejection station according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that the position detecting means (14, 15) comprise an inflow sensor (14) at the height of the input to the rejection station (10) and a throughflow sensor (15) at the height of the rejection path (7), by means of which the start and the end of the cardboard blanks (1) being conveyed are detectable.
6. Rejection station according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that a control system is provided by means of which, depending on input signals, the conveying speed of the withdrawing belts (4, 5) can be temporarily increased.
7. Device for manufacturing and/or processing cardboard blanks, in particular packaging boxes, comprising at least one processing station and a rejection station (10) adjacent thereto, by means of which faulty cardboard blanks (1) can be rejected from the production process and comprising means for automatically detecting faulty cardboard blanks (1), characterised in that a rejection station (10) according to one of the claims 1 to 6 is provided.
8. Method for rejecting faulty cardboard blanks (1) within a processing and/or manufacturing process, in particular for manufacturing packaging boxes, wherein the cardboard blanks (1) are tested for quality and errors following processing and, if errors or quality defects are detected, said cardboard blanks (1) are automatically rejected from the process, having means (14, 15) for detecting the relative position of the cardboard blank (1) before a rejection path (7) branching off from the conveying path (6), having flap belts (2, 3) which are pivotable at least partially via an upper deflection (9) and a lower deflection (8) in a transport section and, having withdrawing belts (4, 5) arranged therebehind in the conveying direction in a withdrawing section, characterised in that the withdrawing belts (4, 5) are driven at least temporarily at a higher speed than the flap belts and/or the transport belts (2, 3) and that the lower deflection (8) and the upper deflection (9) can be driven independently of one another, wherein the lower deflection (8) comprises three pivotable deflectors (11, 12, 13) which can be adjusted individually and independently of one another.
9. Method according to claim 8, characterised in that a gap or a separation is calculated between successive cardboard blanks (1) and a speed increase is controlled depending on the gap.
10. Method according to one of the claims 8 or 9, characterised in that the position detecting means (14, 15) detect the beginning and the end of the conveyed cardboard blanks in the rejection station (10) and, depending thereon, and depending on the error detection, pivoting of the flap section is controlled for rejecting the faulty cardboard blanks (1).
11. Method according to one of the claims 8 to 10, characterised in that the required adjustment speed or acceleration is calculated for timely adjustment of the flap belts or transport belts (2, 3) in the direction of the rejection path (7).

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