GB2289032A

GB2289032A - Device for piling bundles of sheets

Info

Publication number: GB2289032A
Application number: GB9511999A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Tadao Uno
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-12-26
Filing date: 1992-11-13
Publication date: 1995-11-08
Anticipated expiration: 2012-11-13
Also published as: GB9511999D0; GB2289032B

Abstract

In a sheet-bundle piling lane 10, an upper table 21 supports a series of sheet-bundles 8 but can be opened to allow each bundle to fall onto a respective pile 11. A lower table 31 supporting each pile 11 is lowered as the pile accumulates. Pushers 45, 26 and 34 propel the sheet-bundles 8 and the completed piles 11, respectively. Each bundle 8 is bound by binding (7) and the completed piles 11 are bound by binding (12, 13). The sheets are arranged in serial number order and may be banknotes, lottery tickets or postcards. A number of such piling lanes 10 may be arranged in parallel and fed by a common sheet-bundle feed lane 43 and transfer member 46. <IMAGE>

Description

DEVICE FOR PILING BUNDLES OF SHEETS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (Field of the Invent ion) This invention relates to a device for piling or stacking bundles of sheets, adapted to pile up, for example, 10 bundles of sheets which are stacked up in a serial ordinator as, for example, from 1 to 1000, as in, for example, banknotes, lottery tickets, post cards, each bundle consisting of such a small number as, for example, 100 sheets bearing serial numbers, for example of from 1 to 100, from 101 to 200 and so on, in order to form blocks of piled bundles of sheets.

(Brief Description of the Prior Art) In a conventional device for piling bundles of sheets of the type mentioned above, an intermittent rotary drum with a group of pockets for receiving the sheet blocks which are arranged in a circular pattern in a plan view, is employed, and the sheet-bundles are inserted into the pocket group formed on the intermittent rotary drum in a serial ordinator, and then the sheet-bundles in the pockets on the rotary drum are gradually taken out so as to be piled up in a serial ordinator.

According to the above-mentioned conventional device, it is required an unreasonable work, as, work for once inserting the sheet-bundles into the pockets on the rotating drum in a serial ordinator and then gradually taking them out so as to be piled up. Moreover, it takes much time and labor for changing the position for dividing each pocket, or otherwise it is required to prepare a spare or extra drum having a different dividing position, preparation of such spare or extra dram naturally requiring a space for storage. This is not only inefficient but also uneconomical. Particularly, it is the actual situation that formation of piled blocks, which can meet with the increased printing speed, is very difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for piling sheet blocks, in which a work for forming piled blocks by stacking a predetermined number of sheet,-blocks such as the above-mentioned sheet-bundles can be effected easily, efficiently and ecomonically.

'Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for piling three-dimensional sheet blocks, in which a large number of sheet-blocks can be formed in an extremely limited space.

To achieve the above objects, there is essentially provided a device for piling bundles of sheets comprising a sheet-bundle feed hane adapted to transfer a plurality of sheet-bundles each formed of a number of sheets piled up at predetermined spaces, a plurality of sheet-bundle piling lanes disposed in parallel relation with the feed lane and adapted to pile up a predetermined number of the sheetbundles in a serial ordinator, and a plurality of sheetbundle take-in mechanisms each disposed at a communicating portion between the sheet-bundle feed lane and each of the sheet-bundle piling lanes and adapted to take the bundles of sheets, which are being transferred by the sheet-bundle feed lane, onto the sheet-bundle piling lanes.

From another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided, in order to achieve the above objects, a device for piling bundles of sheets, in which the sheetbundle piling lane is of a two-stage structure, a sheetbundle pooling table for orderly pooling the sheet-bundles being disposed at an upper-stage thereof, a sheet-bundle block pooling table for piling a predetermined number of the sheet-bundles being disposed at a lower-stage thereof, said upper sheet-bundle pooling table being able to be opened and closed so that the sheet-bundles carried thereon are permitted to be dropped, the sheet-bundles thus dropped being piled up on the lower-stage sheet-bundle block pooling table one after another until they reach a predetermined number of sheet-bundles.

Owing to the above-mentioned construction, the sheetbundles each composed of a plurality of sheets such as, for example, banknotes, piled up in a serial ordinator are consecutively transferred by the sheet-bundle feed lane group by group bearing the identical serial numbers. The sheetbundles, which are being transferred, are intermittently taken into each sheet-bundle piling lane in the order of serial numbers by each take-in mechanism. As a result, there can be formed, simultaneously and as one group, a plurality of blocks of sheet-bundles which are piled up in the serial ordinator in the sheet-bundle piling lanes which are arranged in parallel relation.

According to the present invention, by designing the sheet-bundle piling lanes in the above-mentioned two-stage structure, the sheet-bundles taken onto the sheet-bundle piling lanes from the sheet-bundle feed lane by the take-in mechanism are temporarily carried on the sheet-bundle pooling tables of the upper-stage shet-bundle pooling mechanism by means of the sheet-bundle take-in mechanism, and thereafter, the sheet-bundle pooling tables are opened, so that the sheet-bundles are permitted to drop onto the sheet-bundle block pooling tables disposed under thereunder so as to be piled the sheet-bundle block pooling tables. As a result, the blocks of sheet-bundles piled up in the serial ordinator can be formed, and the blocks thus formed are discharged to the next following process by the discharging mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view for explaining a system for forming blocks of piled sheet-bundles from large-sized sheet blocks, according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view showing a single lane of a device for piling bundles of sheets according to the present invention; Fig. 3 is a side view of the above device; Fig. 4 is a front view of the above device; Fig. 5 is a front view of an important portion of the sheet-bundle piling device of the present invention and an explanatory view for explaining the action thereof; Fig. 6 is likewise a front view of an important portion of the sheet-bundle piling device of the present invention and an explanatory view for explaining the action thereof; and Fig. 7 is likewise a front view of an important portion of the sheet-bundle piling device of the present invention and an explanatory view for explaining the action thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT The accompanying drawings show one embodiment of a device for piling bundles of sheets, adapted to pile, for ex ample, 10 bundles of sheets which are stacked up in a serial ordinator as in, for example, banknotes, lottery tickets, post cards, each bundle consisting of, for example, 100 sheets, in order to form a block of piled bundles of sheets.

The expression "a serial ordinator" used herein refers to a state of those sheets which have a sequential order to be piled up from the first-rank number to the last-rank number, and should not be limited to those sheets which bear specific numerical figures, or the like.

Fig. 1 is an explanatory view showing the process for forming blocks of piled bundles of sheets from blocks of large-sized sheets in order to clarify the basic concept of the present invention. In Fig. 1, the numeral 1 denotes large-sized sheets. These large-sized sheets 1 are piled up, for example, 100 per unit in a serial ordinator (for example, 1 to 100, or 101 to 200) to form large-sized sheet blocks 1'.

The large-sized sheets i,are subjected to surface treatment, not shown, both in vertical and horizontal rows. In order to form simultaneously a plurality of blocks of piled bundles of sheets bearing serial numbers of, for example, I to 1000 by piling up 10 bundles of sheets, 100 large-sized sheets 1 are piled up to form one block 1' of sheets, each horizontal row having a plurality of printing surfaces, each printing surface of a first large-sized sheet-block bearing serial numbers of from, for example, 1 to 100 in the piling direction, each printing surface of a second large-sized sheet block bearing serial numbers of from, for example, 101 to 200, and in the like manner, each printing surface of the last large-sized sheet block bearing serial numbers of from, for example, 901 to 1000.

The block 1' thus obtained by piling the large-sized sheets 1 one upon another, is first trimmed by a cutter 2 in a trimming process. The block 1' formed of the large-sized sheets 1 flatly piled and thus trimmed is cut by a cutter 3, for example, in a horizontal row cutting process in order to form strips 4 of a row unit, gradually from the frontmost row to the last row per each horizontal row.

The row unit of the strips 4 thus piled up in the identical serial numbers and thus cut are trimmed by a cutter 5, for example, in a trimming process. The row unit of the strips 4 thus trimmed are then cut at each printing surface of the horizontal row thereo,by a cutter 6 in a vertical row cutting process. The resultant strips 4 are bundled in a banding process 7 to form a number of sheet-bundles 8 each consisting of a unit of 100 sheets bearing consecutive serial numbers.

A banding portion of each of the bundles 8 of sheets is in a location one-sided from the center of the sheet-bundle 8. The sheet-bundles 8 thus banded at the one-sided loca tion are turned their direction by 180 degrees for, for example, every other sheet-bundle or every two other sheetbundles alternately through a turn table 9 of the next following process. As a result, a bundle of sheets is banded with a band 9a at a location one-sided to the right, and a bundle of sheets adjacent thereto is banded with another band 9a at a location one-sided to the left.

As a result, when the bundles 8 of sheets have been piled up by a predetermined number, the bands 9a are equally arranged in location with respect to the right and to the left, and a central portion of each block 11 of the sheetbundles 8 is not bulky as in the case where each bundle of sheets is banded at a central portion thereof.

The bundles 8 of sheets thus banded are taken onto sheet-bundle piling lanes 10 in the sequential order of serial numbers in order to form blocks 11 of piled bundles of sheets arranged in the sequential ordinator of from 1 to 1000. The blocks 11 of the pile sheet-bundles 8 are then banded in the vertical direction in the next following vertical banding process 13 in order to form blocks 14 of piled sheet-bundles 8 ready to be delivered.

The number of the sheets for each sheet-bundle 8 and the number of the piled sheet-bundles 8 for each block can be increased or decreased according to necessity.

Each of the sheet-bundle piling lanes 10 comprises an upper-stage sheet-bundle pooling mechanism 20 disposed on an upper-stage side thereof, and a lower-stage sheet-bundle block pooling mechanism 30 disposed right under the pooling mechanism 20.

The upper-stage sheet-bundle pooling mechanism 20 has a pair of sheet-bundle pooling tables 21 which are opened and closed between a support position for supporting a group of the bundles 8 of sheets, and a release position for releasing the support and which extend in parallel relation with each other and adapted to permit dropping of the group of the sheet-bundles 8 when released, and a pair of regulating plates 22 disposed along the pooling tables 21 in the longitudinal direction thereof and adapted to regulate the sides of the sheet-bundles 9. The pooling mechanism 20 further has a fluid pressure cylinder (hydraulic cylinder) 23 adapted to open and close the sheet-bundle pooling tables 21 between the above-mentioned support and release positions.A piston rod 24 of each of the cylinders 23 and each sheet-bundle pooling table 21 are connected with each other through a connecting lever 25, so that the connecting lever 25 can be actuated in accordance with an activation of the cylinder 23, in order to open and close the sheet-bundle pooling tables 21.

The pooling mechanism 20 comprises an upper transfer means for transferring the bundles 8 of sheets fed from a feed lane 43 as will be described onto a plurality of upper pooling stations formed on an upper surface of the bundles of sheet pooling table 21 in an orderly manner. This transfer means comprises pushers 26 for pushing the bundles 8 of sheets onto predetermined upper pooling stations, respectively, an endless driving member 27 formed of an endless chain, etc. on which the pushers 26 are mounted at predetermined spaces, and a driving wheel 28 and a driven wheel 29 with the endless driving member 27 trained over them.

The endless driving member 27 and the pushers 26 are operated to travel intermittently between the sheet-bundle pooling tables 21, 21 which are opened and closed with respect to each other, and in parallel relation with the tables 21, 21. A space or distance between the adjacent pushers 26 is set in such a manner as to meet with the one having the maximum dimension among the bundles 8 of sheets, and a number of upper pooling stations are formed between the adjacent pushers 26. In zither words, each of the upper pooling stations is defined by each pusher 26, the regulating plates 22, and the pooling tables 21.

The lower-stage sheet-bundle block pooling mechanism 30 comprises a pair of sheet-bundle block pooling tables 31 extending in parallel relation under the sheet-bundle pooling tables 21, a pair of regulating plates 32 extending in the vertical direction along both sides (outer sides) of the pooling tables 31, and adapted to regulate both side surfaces of the piled blocks 11, and a device 33 for moving the pooling table 31 upwardly and downwardly along the regulating plates 32.

The;lower-stage sheet-bundle block pooling mechanism 30 further comprises a lower transfer means for transferring the piled blocks 11 from a plurality of lower pooling stations formed on the upper surfaces of the pooling tables 31 onto a discharging lane 47. This transfer means comprises pushers 34 having the functions for regulating rear end faces of the piled blocks 11 and transferring the blocks 11 to else location, and operated to travel intermittently, an endless driving member 35 with the pushers 34 mounted thereon at predetermined spaces, and a driving wheel 36 and a driven wheel 37 with the endless driving member 35 trained over them.

The endless driving member 35 and the pushers 34 travel along a central portion of the pooling tables 31 in such a manner as to be in parallel relation with the tables 31, and a plurality of lower pooling stations are formed between the adjacent pushers 34. In other words, the lower pooling stations are defined by the pushers 34, the regulating plates 32, and the pooling tables 31. The upper pushers 26 and the lower pushers 34 are arranged at equal distances with each other, and therefore, the upper and lower pooling stations are also the same in number. The upper and lower stations are in vertically corresponding relation when the sheet blocks 8 are dropped from the pooling stations of the upperstage sheet-bundle pooling mechanism 20 to the pooling stations of the lower-stage sheet-bundle block pooling mechanism 30.Likewise, the upper and lower pushers 26, 34 are rested in location where they are vertically corresponding relation when the group of the sheet sheet-bundles are dropped.

After a first operation for dropping the group of the bundles of sheets is finished, the upper pushers 26 are intermittently traveled in association with the action for feeding the next bundles of sheets from the feed lane 43 in order to transfer the bundles of sheets onto the respective upper pooling stations. After the bundles of sheets have been transferred onto the respective upper pooling stations, the upper pushers 26 start a second operation for dropping the groups of the bundles of sheets. On the other hand, when a predetermined numb; of bundles 8 of sheets are dropped onto the lower pooling stations to complete the formation of the piled blocks 11, the lower pushers 34 are traveled to transfer the respective piled blocks II onto the discharging lane 47.

A required number of such constructed sheet-bundle piling lanes 10 are arranged at right angles with respect to the sheet-bundle feed lane 43 as will be described.

The numeral 43 denotes a sheet-bundle feed lane for forming a group of bundles of sheets bearing serial numbers into one group and transferring a plurality of such groups in a consecutive manner. A sheet-bundles 8 take-in lane 44 extending coaxial with the sheet-bundle pooling tables 21 of the upper-stage sheet-bundle pooling mechanism 20 is disposed between the feed lane 43 and the respective sheet-bundle piling lanes 10, i.e., at an introducing portion of each lane 10.

This take-in lane 44 is provided with pushers 45. A space or distance between the adjacent pushers 45 is set such that it is equal to the space or distance between the adjacent pushers 26. The take-in lane 44 is traveled with the pushers 26, 45 placed on a coaxis thereof.

The numeral 46 denotes a sheet-bundle take-in lever for intermittently taking each sheet-bundle 8 on the sheet-bundle feed lane 43 onto each sheet-bundle piling lane 10 by a sheet-bundle take-in lever, through each take-in lane 44.

The sheet-bundle take-in lever 46 is arranged at a communicating portion between the sheet-bundle feed lane 43 and the sheet-bundle piling lane 10 (in other words, at a communicating portion between the sheet-bundle take-in lane 44 and the sheet-bundle feed lane 43).

The numeral 47 denotes a common discharge lane disposed on the discharging side of the lower-stage bundle block pool ing mechanism 30 and adapted to transfer the sheet-bundle blocks 11 to the next process. This discharge lane 47 is provided with pushers 48 for transferring the sheet-bundle blocks 11 along the lane.

The sheet-bundles 8 cut in accordance with the surface treatment from the large-sized sheet-blocks 1' are consecutively transferred at predetermined spaces or distances by the pushers 49 which are disposed at the sheet-bundle feed lane 43, in the sequential order of the serial number group, and the sheet-bundles of the identical serial number group in this sheet-bundle group, which are being transferred, are taken one by -one onto the sheet-bundle take-in lane 44 by means of reciprocal motion of the take-in lever 46 shown in Fig. 3, and taken onto the table 21 of the upper-stage bundle pooling mechanism 20 which forms the sheet-bundle piling lane 10 through this sheet-bundle take-in lane 44 such that they are linearly arranged.

In this upper-stage sheet-bundle pooling mechanism 20, the sheet-bundles 8 are supported or carried on the plurality of pooling stations (see Figs. 2, 3 and 5) of the sheetbundle pooling tables 21 which are in a closed state. When the sheet-bundles 8 have been supported or carried on all of the pooling stations, the pooling tables 21 are opened to permit the bundles 8 of sheets to drop. When the sheetbundles 8 have been dropped1 the sheet-bundle pooling tables 21 are closed again in order to support or carry thereon the bundles 8 of sheets bearing the next following serial number.

The sheet-bundle pooling tables 21 are opened and closed at a predetermined time interval by the cylinder piston 24 which is expanded and contracted to cause the lever 25 to be pivoted about a fulcrum 50.

The bundles 8 of sheets thus dropped are pooled on pooling stations (see Figs. 3 and 6) on the sheet-bundle block pooling tables 31 forming the lower-stage sheet-bundle block pooling mechanism 30 which is disposed right under thereof, and the next following sheet-bundles 8 are dropped on the tops of the sheet-bundles 8 thus pooled (see Figs. 3 and 7).

In this way, the sheet-bundles 8 are dropped one after another to form the sheet-bundle blocks 11 each bearing serial numbers of a predetermined number of sheet-bundles.

In this case, the sheet-bundle block pooling tables 31 are lowered by an elevator mechanism 33 in such a manner as to correspond to the piling quantity of the sheet-bundles, so as to be ready for pooling the next following sheet-bundles.

Specifically, when a cam wheel 40 is rotated, step by step, by a predetermined rotary angle by a motor 41, a rotor 39 is guided by this cam wheel 40 to raise or lower, step by step, a lifting rod 38 in order to raise or lower the sheetbundle block pooling tables 31 normally to a level suitable for loading the blocks.

In the case where 10 bundles of sheets are piled up as shown in Fig. 3, the sheet-bundle blocks 11 bearing serial numbers of from 1 to 1000. The sheet-bundle blocks 11 thus formed are discharged onto the common discharge lane 47 by a discharge mechanism.

According to the present invention, bundles of sheets, which are stacked up in a serial ordinator as in, for example, banknotes, lottery tickets, post cards, while being transferred by the feed lane, can be taken onto the sheetbundle piling lanes which are disposed in parallel relation with respect to the feed lane in order to simultaneously and consecutively form a number of blocks of bundles of sheets stacked up in a serial ordinator.

In other words, the present invention can very effectively and economically pursue the work for piling up a required number of bundles of sheets, and is capable of surely solving the afore-mentioned problems inherent in the conventional drum system. -,

Claims

1. A device for piling bundles of sheets, comprising a sheet-bundle piling lane adapted to pile up a predetermined number of bundles of sheets; said sheet-bundle piling lanes each comprising an upper sheet-bundle pooling mechanism disposed at an upper-stage, and a lower-stage sheet-bundle pooling mechanism disposed right under said upper sheet-bundle pooling mechanism; said upper-stage sheet-bundle pooling mechanism comprising a sheet-bundle pooling table which is opened and closed between a support position for supporting said sheet-bundles of sheets and a release position for releasing said supporting condition, and which permits, when being opened, said bundles of sheets to drop; and means for pushing said bundles of sheets onto a predetermined sheet-bundle pooling station of said sheet-bundle pooling table; said lower-stage sheet-bundle piling mechanism comprising sheet-bundle block pooling table disposed in such a manner as to be able to move upward and downward and adapted to pile up said blocks of sheets which are dropped from said upper-stage sheet-bundle pooling mechanism; and a sheet-bundle block discharge mechanism adapted to discharge blocks of said bundles of sheets, which have reached a predetermined number of sheet-bundles at said predetermined pooling station of said sheet-bundle block pooling table, to the next following process. ,

2. A device for piling bundles of sheets as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said means for pushing said bundles of sheets onto each pooling station of said upper-stage sheet-bundle pooling mechanism comprises a sheet-bundle transfer pusher which is intermittently travelled above said sheet-bundle pooling table.

3. A device for piling bundles of sheets, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings