FI105673B - Grapples for conveying device for feeding single or multilayer printed articles - Google Patents

Abstract

The two gripper parts (5, 6) of a gripper are pivotably mounted on a shaft (12) which for its part is rotatably mounted in a mounting (13). A closing lever is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to this shaft (12), which closing lever bears at its end a follower roll which interacts with stationary closing links. A support part (16) for a compression spring (18) is further connected to the shaft (12) via an expanding ring (17) so as to be rotationally fixed. Said compression spring (18) is supported at its other end on a bearing part (15) which is in one piece with one gripper part (5). A pivot movement of the closing lever results in a corresponding pivoting of the support part (16) in the counterclockwise direction, effecting, via the compression spring (18), a pivoting of one gripper part (5) into the clamping position. This one gripper part (5) is locked in its clamping position in which the compression spring (18) is compressed and exerts a corresponding clamping force. <IMAGE>

Description

105673

Conveyor gripper for feeding single or multi-page printed matter

The present invention relates to a grab for a conveyor for feeding single or multi-page printed products such as newspapers, magazines and parts thereof, which includes two movable grasp portions, at least one of which, the first grasp portion is pivotally supported and to hold the printed matter.

10 For example, GB-A-2 043 599 discloses such a staple known per se.

The gripper according to the invention is characterized by the following combination: a) a pivotally mounted locking lever for rotating the first hook member from an open position to a press position to cooperate with at least one fixed locking bolt, b) a locking device for latching and d) a spring element disposed between the pivoting support member and the first latch member 20, which is tightened upon closing the latch member, which moves the latch bolt to the first latch portion of the first latch member when the latch is engaged.

Preferred embodiments of the gripper according to the invention are set forth in the dependent claims.

In the following, exemplary embodiments of the subject matter of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which the following is purely schematic. Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of the conveyor for transporting printed matter in the receiving area, Figs. 2 and 3 show the latches of the conveyor of Fig. Sa in an open and closed state, Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the latch of Figs. 105 673 2 Figure 5 shows a section along the line 4 W, Figure 6 shows a side view of the grippers in Fig of the four arrow direction, Figures 7 and 8 show Figures 2 and 3, respectively, of the grippers, which is opened and closed pivot position of the second state, and 5 Figures 9 -12 show various conveying equipment in which the latch is disposed in different ways.

Fig. 1 shows a receiving area of a conveying apparatus with grippers 2 attached at regular intervals to an endless articulated chain guided in a chain channel 3 not shown here. They are guided in the receiving area around the swivel 410. The grippers 2 moving in the direction of arrow B along a closed orbit.

Each of the latches 2, the structure and operation of which is explained in more detail with reference to Figures 2-6, has a first latch portion 5 and a second latch portion 6. When the latch 2 is open, each latch portion 5, 6 forms a latch 7 which points backwardly. transport-15 with respect to direction B.

Each gripper 2 engages the leading edge 8a (fold edge) of the printed product. Printed 8 are fed in known manner by means of suomumuodossa S of the belt conveyor 9 in the direction of arrow C. As can be seen in Figure 1, in this form, each print product rests on the preceding print product 8. A press roll 10 rests freely on the printed matter 8 carried by the belt conveyor 9.

With reference to Figures 2-4, the construction of the grippers 2 will now be explained in more detail.

The second hook member 5 is constructed in one piece with a bearing element 11 which is pivotable on a shaft 12 whose longitudinal axis is designated by reference 12 '. 5 and 6, the shaft 12 has longitudinal grooves. The shaft 12 is pivotable on a pivot holder 13 of U-shaped cross-section which is attached to a hinged chain 14 which is guided in the aforementioned guide channel 3. The hinged chain 14 is of known structure and is very close to the hinged chain described in e.g. U.S. Patent No. 4,294,345. 30 Figure 4 always shows the halves of a lightweight articulated link chain 14 and a heavyweight articulated link chain 14 '.

The first hook member 5 is also constructed in one piece with the bearing element 15 disposed on the inside of the holder 13 and positioned on the pivotable shaft 12. The longitudinal axis 12 'of the shaft 12 thus forms a common pivot axis for the bearing elements 6 and 5. . A shaft element 12 is rotatably connected to the base element 16 by means of a one-piece expansion ring 17, the projections of which extend into the longitudinal grooves in the shaft 12 (Fig. 5). The support element 16 is supported by a compression spring 18, the other end of which is supported by a pin 5 19 which is used for the first hook member 5 in the support element 15. As is evident from Fig. 5, the rotational movement of the shaft 12 is counterclockwise, i.e. in the direction of the arrow F, by means of the compression spring 18 the support element 15 and thus to the first naukkariosaan 5, resulting in a reversal of the first naukkaiiosan 5 shown in Figures 2 and 5 from the open position into a clamping position, which has been pre-10 in Figure 3.

The shaft 12 is provided with a rotary rigid closure lever 20 whose pivot axis 20 'coincides with the longitudinal axis 12' of the shaft 12. At the free end of the shutter lever 20 is a follow-up roller 21 which rotates freely about the axis of rotation 2Γ. The locking lever 20 has a protruding retaining arm 22. The locking lever is disposed such that the connecting line 15 denoted by reference 23 extends between the pivot axis 20 'of the tracking roller 21' and the axis of rotation 21 'transverse to the direction B or B' of Further, this connecting line 23 with respect to the plane D formed by the plane of the first nail portion 5 forms an angle α of less than 90 ° (Figure 2). This is important so that the first hook member, when moving in both directions B and B ', can be moved from the open position to the press position.

To lock the first hook member 5 in its clamping position, the device includes a locking device having a locking lever 24 disposed on the bearing element 11 for pivoting about an axis 24 '. At the other end of the locking lever 24 is a locking cam 25, * which acts to lock the first hook portion 5 with the locking arm 22 in the locking lever 20 as shown in Fig. 3. The spring 26 pivots and holds the locking lever 24 to its locking position. At the other end of the locking lever 24 is a club bracket 27 which is arranged to be freely rotatable about an axis of rotation 27 '. With the locking lever 24 in the locked position, the axis of rotation 27 'of the tracking roller 27 is in line with the longitudinal axis 12' of the shaft 12. With this tracking, it is ensured that the opening of the locking lever 24, i. rotation to its release position is secured by a locking release force P (Fig. 3) acting on its tracking roller 27 with the clamp in any pivoting position.

The bearing element 11 of the second claw part 6 is provided on the opposite side of the locking lever 24 with a position tracking roll 28 which is arranged to rotate freely about the axis 28 '. The axis of rotation 28 'is then aligned with the pivot axis 24' of the locking lever 24. The position tracking roll 28 cooperates with the position 29 of the positioning cam 105673 4 to determine the pivoting position of the second hook member 6 and thus the open and closed hook member 2. This second hook member 6 is pivotable between two extreme positions forming an angle of about 90 ° with each other. The second extreme position of the second hook member 6 is shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in which this other hook member 6 passes in the direction of motion B, B 'of the hook member 2 to be killed. This extreme position of the second gripper part 6 also defines the extreme positions of the open and closed gripper, which may also have any intermediate position, depending on the structure of the positioning bar 29. It should be noted in this connection that the second hook member 6 defining the plane E (Fig. 2) is displaced with respect to the common pivot axis 10 12 'of each hook member 5, 6. In other words, said plane E passes a certain distance from this common pivot axis 12 ', as is evident from Fig. 2.

For closing the grippers 2, the device includes fixed locking slides 30 which act on the tracking wheel 21 of the locking lever 20 and thus contribute to the latter's turning in the closing direction, i.e.. 2 counterclockwise. Sul-15 roosters 30 can be constructed in a manner known per se to meet the particular requirements. In the figures, these closure slides 30 are shown only schematically.

Referring to Fig. 2 with reference to the locking lugs 30a and 30b, it will be understood that, due to the positioning and construction of the locking lever 20 described above, the latch 2 can be closed in each of the travel directions B and B '. If the gripper moves in the direction of arrow B direction of the mouth 20, the unit is then shut-off the slide 30a. If the gripper 2 moves again in the opposite direction B ', the locking claw must be constructed as shown in reference 30b.

The operation of the gripper 2 will now be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3.

Before closing the gripper 2, it is carried out, i.e. a second hook member 6, by means of a positioning bar 29, is held in the desired product receiving position (Fig. 2). In order to turn the first hook member from the open position to the press position, the locking bolt 30 (or 30a or 30b) is then actuated by its tracking houses 21 in the locking lever 20, which thus turns counterclockwise. This results in a corresponding rotation of the shaft 12 and thus of the base member 16 as well. This rotational movement of the base element 16 is transferred by means of a compression spring 18 to a bearing element 15 of the first gripper part 5, whereby the latter is rotated towards the compression position. When the locking lever 20 has reached a certain position, indicated by the connecting line 23a in Fig. 3, the first hook member 5 comes into contact with the second hook member 6. In this position, the compression spring already provides a certain compression force. With the locking lever 20 in this position, the retaining arm 22 also passes over the retaining cam 25 of the locking lever 24. As the locking lever 20 continues to rotate, the locking lever 24 now pushes the locking lever 22 acting on the locking cam 25 against the force of the spring 26, i.e. it turns counterclockwise, backwardly from the locking position. When the locking lever 20 reaches its extreme position, indicated by the dashed line 23 in Figure 3, the locking lever 20 then locks by the locking cam 25 of the locking lever 24 acting on the retaining arm 22. This means that in order to lock the first 5-pin hook member 5 in its clamping position, the locking lever 20 has to travel only a short distance, as shown in Fig. 3 with a pivot angle β. When the locking lever 20 rotates at said angle β, the compression spring is compressed, which clearly results in that the compression force exerted by the first hook member 5 increases accordingly. The magnitude of this clamping force also depends on the thickness of the printed article 8 between the grip parts 5, 6.

Said short pivoting distance (angle β), which has moved the locking lever 20 back to its locking position, is therefore possible because the clamping spring 18, as already mentioned, already provides a clamping force as soon as the first hook member 5 comes into contact with the second hook member 6 or and 15 printed articles adhering thereto.

To remove the locking lever 20 and thus the first hook member 5, i.e. 3, provides the unlocking system (not shown in Fig. 3) on the tracking roll 27 on the release lever P on the locking lever 24, whereby the locking lever 24 turns counterclockwise. After a short pivoting distance (in Fig. 3, a smaller pivot angle γ), the retaining cam 25 is released from the retaining arm 22 in the closing lever 20, which is rotated clockwise by the release of the compression spring 18. As soon as the retaining arm 22 is out of range of the retaining cam 25 and the tracking roll 27 is no longer exerted by the release force, the locking lever 24 is pivoted by the spring 26: back to its retaining position.

Figures 7 and 8 show the gripper 2 corresponding to Figures 2 and 3 in a second extreme position where the second gripper part 6 extends approximately perpendicular to the direction of motion Β, B 'of the gripper 2. Similarly, the built-in carriage 29 puts the gripper 2 in this extreme position, being constructed differently from the carriage 29 shown in Figures 2 and 3. Figure 7 shows the first hook member 5 in its extreme open position where it is held by the opening gripper 31 .

Closing, locking and unlocking of the gripper 2 takes place in the extreme position shown in Figs. 7 and 8, as described with reference to Figs. It is mentioned to have different scenes built accordingly.

105673 6

Comparing Figures 2 and 3 with Figures 7 and 8, it will be noted that the grippers 2 are lockable and unlockable in each of their two extreme positions and thus also in any intermediate position and whether they are in the direction of arrow B or B '.

Referring now to Figures 9-12, various uses of the gripper 2 will be explained below, as already described with reference to Figures 1-8.

In the embodiment of Fig. 9, the feed conveyor 32 conveys printed matter 8 in a suspended state and is received and conveyed by a further conveyor 33. The positioning scissors 29 hold the gripper 2 of the feed conveyor 32 in the extreme position as described with reference to Figures 7 and 8, wherein the second hook portion 6 extends approximately at right angles to the transport direction G of the feed conveyor 32. The latches 2 of the extension conveyor 3 which move in the same direction G are also held in this extreme position, although now the latch opening 7 is directed upwards and the other latch portion 6 forms a trailing portion of the latch 2.

The weight-15 products held in the area of the second edge 8a of the feed conveyor 32 grippers 2 are gripped by their opposite edge 8b by the gripper 2 of the extension conveyor 3. As soon as the gripper 2 of the extension conveyor 3 engages which acts on the tracking roller 27 on the locking lever 24.

The embodiment of Fig. 10 is very similar to that of Fig. 9 and 20 differs from the latter in that the gripper 2 has a second position when dispensing or receiving printed matter 8. Namely, the gripper apertures 7 are not directed downwards or upwards but in the feed conveyor. 32 obliquely backwards and 33 in the conveyor belt forward.

The embodiment shown in Figure 11 has a certain relationship to the embodiment of Figure 1. However, in contrast to the embodiment of Fig. 1, the printed matter 8 carried by the belt conveyor 9 in the scaled form S is not gripped by the leading edge but by the trailing edge 8b. This requires the gripper 2 in the receiving area to have a different position than the embodiment shown in Figure 1. In Fig. 11, a guide for printed matter 8 is designated 36.

In the embodiment of Figure 12, which is similar to that shown in Figure 1, the printed matter 8 of the belt conveyor 9 is brought into the form S 'where each printed product 8 rests on the printed product coming after. This means that the leading edges 8a of the printed products 8 are below the scaled form S '.

105673 7

From the transport means Ib, the printed matter 8 is adhered to these leading edges 8a. This means that, in the receiving area, the pin holes 7 are pointing backwards.

. From Fig. 1, as well as from 9 to 12, it will be appreciated that in the conveying apparatuses 1, 1a, Ib, 32, 33 having different functions, the same peg structure as described with reference to Figs. 2-8 may be used. The clamps 2 can be placed in different pivoting positions due to their special design and can be opened and closed perfectly in any pivoting position and without any structural adaptations to the particular application being required. It will be appreciated that the positioning scenes 29, the opening scissors 35, and any opening scissors 31 must be adapted to the particular application of the conveying equipment. Figures 9-12 schematically illustrate corresponding scenes.

Another advantage of the above-described gripper structure is that the grippers 2 can be manufactured and assembled in a simple manner. The two hook parts 5 and 6 and the load-bearing elements 11 or 15 thereof can be made of plastic, resulting in an easy construction. Since the closing force is primarily provided by the compression spring 18, the first hook part 5 need only have limited flexibility. In order to prevent displacement of the shaft 12 in the direction of its longitudinal axis 12 ', the shaft 12 has a circumferential groove in the region of the expansion ring 17 which, when mounted, has a rib locking on the inner side of the expansion ring 17. This installation-friendly solution eliminates the need for special locking rings or the like.

It is also conceivable that the first hook member 5 is directly connected by means of a spring element to a shaft 12 having a first hook member 5 at one end and a second end connected to a shaft 12. This spring element then provides a bearing element for the first hook member 5 for closing springs, with the latch being then closed. Such an embodiment is described, for example, in Publication No. 3,102,242 and in the corresponding US Publication 4,381,056.

V «

It is also possible that, instead of being shown in Fig. 4, the latches 2 are fixed to the hinge chain 14 at fixed intervals and brought into bearing elements, which, although connected to one another, are nonetheless interchangeable. Such a solution, with interchangeable spacing between load-bearing elements, is described, for example, in EP 0 323 557 and in US 5 007 629.

Claims (10)

1. Grapples for feeding or transporting apparatus for feeding single or multi-page printed articles (8), such as newspapers, magazines and parts thereof, with two relative. · Movable gripper parts (5, 6), of which at least one, the first gripper part (5) is pivotally mounted and in a clamping position under the action of a spring element (18) cooperate with the other gripper part (6) for clamping a pressure article (8), characterized by the following combination: a) a pivotally mounted closure arm (20) intended for pivoting the first gripper portion (5) from an open position to the clamping position for cooperation with, - at least one stationary closure backdrop; B) a stationary opening arrangement (34), preferably scenes (35), releasable interlocking device (24, 25) for blocking the first gripper part (5) in its clamping position, c) one coupled with the closing arm (20). d) the spring element (18) is arranged between the supporting part (16) swinging with the closing arm (20) and the first gripper part (5) and sp. noticeable at the closure of the gripper (2) transmits the oscillating movement of the closure arm (20) to the first gripper part (5) and generates a closing force at the first gripper part (5) blocked in its pinch position 10. 2. A gripper according to claim 1, characterized by a rotatably mounted shaft (12), with which both the closing arm (20) and also the pivotal support part (16) is pivotally connected and on which the first gripper part (5) is pivotally mounted. 3. A gripper according to claim 2, characterized in that the support part (16) which is pivoted with the closing arm (20) is formed as a support for one end of the spring element (18) formed as a spring, which, at its other end, acts on the first gripper part ( 5), preferably by support against a supporting part (15) connected to the first gripper part (5). Gripper according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the second gripper part (6) is pivotally mounted on the shaft (12), the longitudinal axis (12 ') of which forms the common pivot axis for the two gripper parts (5, 6). The gripper according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that the closure arm (20) has a tracking means (21) intended for cooperation with the stationary closure backing (30), preferably a rotatably stored mile. The gripper according to claim 4 or 5, characterized by a positioning follower means (28) coupled to the second gripper part (6) for the positioning follower means (28), preferably a rotatably stored mile for holding the second gripper part (28). 6) in a fixed pivot position. Gripper according to any of claims 2-6, characterized in that the locking device (24, 25) has a pivotally mounted locking arm (24) which for blocking the first gripper part (5) in its clamping position affects the shaft (12). or the f 'having this pivotal locking member (22) and which, through the opening arrangements (34), preferably against the force of a spring (26), is pivotable into a release position. i 105673 11 8. A gripper according to claim 7, characterized in that the locking part (22) is formed as with the closing arm (21) in a piece of trained arm. 9. A gripper according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that at the locking arm (24) there is a rotatably mounted roller (27), on which the opening arrangement (34) can be brought into action and the axis of rotation (27 ') in the locking position of the locking member (24). preferably extends approximately coaxially with the pivot axis (12 ') to the two gripper members (5, 6). Gripper according to any of claims 7-9, characterized in that the axis of rotation of the positioning foil roller (28) extends approximately coaxially with the oscillation axis (24 ') of the locking arm (24).