JP2004262659A - Device for conveying sheet-like element - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a device for conveying substantially a sheet-like element, especially a device for conveying printed sheets in a printer, favorably an electrophotographic printer, and to provide such a device capable of avoiding inoperative time and operating at relatively high operating speed overall. <P>SOLUTION: A feeding mechanism has a rotary drive element rolling on the sheet-like element to feed the element. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a device for transporting a substantially sheet-shaped element, in particular a device for transporting a substrate in a printing machine, preferably an electrophotographic printing machine, wherein the transport device comprises a sheet-like device. It is provided with at least one rotary type transport mechanism for transporting the element from the gripping position to the transfer position and delivering the element at the gripping position, and the transport mechanism grips and entrains the sheet-like element. At least one receiving portion in the form of a mouth opening for inserting or pushing in the leading edge region, the transport device comprising, in the region of the transfer position, the sheet-like element substantially with respect to the axis of rotation of the transport mechanism. And at least one feed mechanism coupled to a transport mechanism for a transverse feed oriented parallel to the

  A device of this type is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,177.

  By traversing the sheet-like elements when stacking the sheet-like elements on the stack, for example, partial stacks stacked laterally offset from one another can be formed, and the partial stacks can be easily lifted and separated .

The known device has the disadvantage that the feed mechanism is formed as a swiveling arm, which is mainly suspended in a pendulum manner, which has to be returned to the starting position beyond the central position for each transverse movement. Exists. This can lead to undesirable down times for the entire transport device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,177

  The object of the invention is therefore to improve a device for transporting sheet-like elements of the type mentioned at the outset, so that downtime can be avoided and overall operation at relatively high working speeds is possible. It is to provide something.

  According to the device of the invention to solve this problem, the feed mechanism comprises a rotary drive element that rolls on the sheet-like element for feeding the sheet-like element.

  When configured in accordance with the invention, such a rotary drive element preferably rotates in one rotation direction. Therefore, no return movement is necessary. In any case, the rotary drive element can be brought into a functional state and a non-functional state, depending on whether and when traversing is desired. For such a transverse movement transverse to the direction of transport by the transport mechanism, the rotary drive element has an axis oriented substantially transversely to the axis of rotation of the transport mechanism.

  According to another embodiment of the present invention, the feed mechanism is brought into a functional state and a non-functional state in this way, since the feed mechanism is movable from the rest position to the working position and from the working position to the rest position. And the feed mechanism can in principle be continuously rotated. In the non-rotated state, the rotary drive element acts in the working position, advantageously in a simple manner, as a braking element for the subsequent transport of the sheet-like element by the transport mechanism, whereby, for example, in the area of the transfer position The impact of the sheet-like element against the stop edge can be damped.

  Advantageously, the feed mechanism is connected to the transport mechanism for forcing movement according to the rotational position of the transport mechanism. Advantageously, this means that, for example, whenever the transport mechanism occupies a predetermined rotational position, the feed mechanism can always be moved to the working position and function. For this purpose, preferably, for the connection between the transport mechanism and the feed mechanism, a guideway arranged on the transport mechanism is provided for guiding the traveling element connected to the feed mechanism. The guide path may be, for example, a part of a cam disk arranged in the transport mechanism. The running element has, in particular, a roller element.

  According to a comparatively simple and stably formed advantageous embodiment of the invention, in order to move from or to a working position, a rotary drive element is arranged on an arm, which arm is , Can be turned around the turning axis. In this case, the arm is loaded against the cam disc with contact pressure, for example using a tension spring. This results in a purely mechanical arrangement without sensitive sensors or similar electronics. In addition, the arm can be formed as a two-armed lever with respect to the pivot axis, and a drive is arranged in the region of the lever arm on the side remote from the rotary drive element, the drive being, for example, a tension spring In addition, the contact pressure is formed or increased by its own weight.

  The feed mechanism so formed must, of course, not interfere with the operation of the transport mechanism. Thus, according to another embodiment of the invention, the arm and the drive train extending from the drive towards the rotary drive element are guided outwardly from the working area of the transport mechanism and are advantageously bent once. ing.

  As already mentioned, a drive mechanism can be provided for the drive of the rotary drive element, which can be switched and controlled so that the feed mechanism can be selected independently of the working position and the rest position. It can also be brought to the driving state.

  The transport mechanism is advantageously formed as a rotary transport disk in a known manner and can comprise a plurality of evenly distributed receptacles, in particular two diametrically opposite receptacles. It is possible to provide two receiving parts, which are formed in a simple manner as receiving slits. Thus, when one receiving part is in the transfer position, the other receiving part has already received the next sheet-like element at the gripping position. The receiving slit can be formed as follows: for example, the disk body of the transport disk is provided with a chamfer in the region of the receiving part, which chamfer forms the inner surface of the receiving slit, On the outside, for example, a sheet metal piece is attached to the disk body, and this sheet metal piece forms the outer surface of the receiving slit. In particular, in such a slit arrangement, the outer delimitation, i.e., for example, a sheet metal piece, is preferably formed in the form of a tongue with an axial projection beyond the disk body as the working area of the rotary drive element. ing. In other words, the protruding part forms a support for the sheet-shaped element existing in the area of the transfer position, on which the rotary drive element, together with the tongue as an opposing bearing, traverses the sheet-shaped element. Send. This traversing takes place particularly advantageously during the further transport of the sheet-like element in the transport direction, in which case the tongue projection preferably has an inner surface with reduced frictional resistance. The sheet-like element can drop from the housing.

  As already mentioned, in the region of the transfer position, a stop for the leading edge of the sheet-like element, which is stationary with respect to the transport mechanism, which is pushed into the receiving part, for example a stopper having an interruption for the transport mechanism to pass through Strips are arranged. As a result, the sheet-like element is held down during the continuous movement of the transport and is released from the receiving part for stacking.

  In order to guide and process the sheet-like element in a good, in particular oriented, manner, a plurality of coaxial transport mechanisms, which are preferably spaced from one another, are provided. Advantageously, the two transport mechanisms are arranged in a mirror image with respect to a mirror plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation. It is also advantageous if a feed mechanism is associated with each transport mechanism, and the feed mechanisms are driven synchronously with one another and are preferably connected to one another.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated examples.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a transport disk 1 that can be driven on a shaft 6 and that transports and turns a sheet-like element 7 according to the present invention. The transport disk 1 has two guide pieces 2 arranged diametrically opposite one another, these guide pieces 2 being together with the disk body for receiving the sheet-like elements 7 respectively. Form a slit. The disc body can alternatively be formed in the form of spokes. Each sheet-like element is fed into the receiving slit by the transport roller 3 in the region of the upper gripping position, in which case it is not necessary to push the leading edge of the sheet-like element completely to the slit base in order to avoid breakage. The sheet-shaped element thus gripped is conveyed to the transfer position in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1 by the rotation of the conveying disc 1, where the sheet-shaped element 7 abuts the stopper strip 14 and The plate 1 is released from the receiving slit by the continuous rotation of the plate 1 and is discharged to the stack 5 and stacked. FIG. 1 shows the sheet-like element 7 slightly before reaching, for example, a stopper strip 14 during transport. In this case, it can be seen that the sheet-like element 7 has already been released at this position from the transport roller 3 at the trailing edge.

  Furthermore, a feed (displacement) mechanism is arranged corresponding to the transport disk 1, and this feed mechanism can feed each sheet-like element 7 laterally if desired immediately before reaching the stopper strip 14, That is, in FIG. 1, it can be moved in a direction away from the drawing plane (a direction perpendicular to the drawing plane). The displacement mechanism includes an arm 12, which is supported on a support base 11 so as to be pivotable about a pivot axis 9 extending in a horizontal direction parallel to the axis 6. The arm 12 is loaded upwardly by a tension spring 8, which, like the bearing stand 11, is mounted on a support structure base 17 for the transport device. This load is further assisted by the gravity of the drive unit 10 based on the leverage of the two-armed lever. In this load direction, the running roller 18 is forcibly brought into contact with the cam disk 4 along the circumferential guide path, and the cam disk 4 is arranged on the transport disk 1 so as to rotate together with the transport disk 1. Have been. Due to the eccentric or non-circular configuration of the cam disc 4, when the receiving slit approaches the stop strip 14, the arm 12 is pressed downward against the spring load. In this way, the rotary drive element 16 can act on the sheet-like element 7 reaching the receiving slit for the transverse feed, which rotary drive element 16 is arranged at the free end of the arm 12. The rotary drive element 16 is rotationally driven by the drive unit 10 via the coupling device 20 and the shafts 13 and 19 (see particularly FIG. 2).

  FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the transfer device of FIG. The same reference numerals are used for the same components as those in FIG.

  As can be seen particularly in FIG. 2, the arm 12 is bent and the drive shafts 13, 19 are provided via a gear transmission 15 according to the bending of this arm and the parallel displacement caused by the bending of the arm. This makes it possible to bring the rotary drive element into the area directly in contact with the transport disk 1, and the arm 12 and most of the bearing parts 11, 8, 9 of the arm are not brought into this area. The operation of the transport mechanism 1 is not hindered.

  As can also be seen in particular from FIG. 2, the guide piece 2 is expanded in a laschenartig manner, so that the guide piece 2 extends in the axial direction beyond the body of the transport disk 1, whereby During operation, it can act on the rotary drive element 16 as an abutment and counter-bearing.

  The illustrated conveying device mainly operates as follows.

  Immediately before the sheet-like elements 7 to be stacked abut against the stopper strip 14, the rotary drive element 16 is forcibly guided by the cam disk 4 present on the transport disk 1 and descends.

  After the rotary drive element 16 has been placed on the projecting tongue of the guide piece 2 in contact with the sheet-like element 7, the rotation of the rotary drive element 16 can be started. This rotational movement is controlled via the drive 10.

  If the sliding surface is provided on the inner surface of the tongue during this traversing movement, the transport disc 1 can additionally rotate continuously. This sliding surface significantly reduces the coefficient of friction between the sheet-like element 7 and the tongue relative to the coefficient of friction between the rotary drive element 16 and the sheet-like element 7.

  Finally, the sheet-like elements 7 to be stacked are guided away from the transport disc 1 and additionally fed laterally.

  The important point here, of course, is that the length of the projecting tongue is sufficiently dimensioned in the direction of rotation, so that the time window is sufficiently large for the required transverse section.

  The mounting of the rotary drive element 16 on the sheet-like elements 7 to be stacked can also be used at the same time as a stop element for the sheet-like elements 7, whereby the removal of the sheet-like elements with respect to the subsequent stop strip 14. Can be performed with very little energy, and the rebound of the sheet-like element 7 from the stopper strip 14 is avoided.

  After the sheet-like element 7 has been traversed and stopped, the rotary drive mechanism 16 is again forcibly guided through the cam disk 4 and lifted up from the sheet-like element 7, so that the entire slit area is again returned to the next sheet. Released for the shape element 7.

  During the subsequent rotation of the transport disc 1, the projecting tongue moves below the rotary drive element 16.

  As a more general matter, the drawings merely show one embodiment of the transport disc 1. For the stacking process, it is advantageous to provide at least two transport disks 1 and two rotary drive elements, so that the stacked sheet-like elements 7 do not shift.

  If two drives 10 are not used for the rotary drive, it is also conceivable to provide a bridge element between the two transport discs 1, which bridge element connects both lever arms of the rotary drive element 16. . Furthermore, it is possible, for example, for one belt drive to connect the two rotary drive elements 16 and to drive them equally. Therefore, the synchronization of both rotary drive elements 16 can be omitted.

  It should be noted that in the traversing process described here, the sheet-like element 7 has already been transported away from the transport roller pair 3 before the traversing is performed.

  In this regard, the cam disc size can be designed to be a suitable size, which provides sufficient time for the entire stacking process for all sheet sizes.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the transport device of the present invention in a peripheral portion of a rotary transport mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the transfer device of FIG. 1.

Explanation of reference numerals

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 conveyance disc, 2 guide pieces, 3 conveyance rollers, 4 cam discs, 5 stacks, 6 axes, 7 sheet-like elements, 8 tension springs, 9 turning axes, 10 drive units, 11 support bases, 12 arms, 13 axes , 14 stopper strip, 15 gear transmission, 16 rotary drive element, 17 basic structure of support structure, 18 running roller, 19 shaft, 20 coupling device

Claims (16)

An apparatus for transporting a substantially sheet-like element, for example, an apparatus for transporting a substrate in a printing press,
The transport device includes at least one rotary transport mechanism that transports the sheet-shaped element from a gripping position to a delivery position and delivers the sheet-shaped element at the gripping position, and the transport mechanism grips and entrains the sheet-shaped element. For inserting or pushing in the leading edge area of the sheet-like element,
The transport device comprises at least one feed mechanism coupled to the transport mechanism for transverse transport of the sheet-like element in the area of the transfer position, oriented substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the transport mechanism. In the form
Apparatus for transporting substantially sheet-like elements, characterized in that the feed mechanism comprises a rotary drive element that rolls on the sheet-like elements for feeding the sheet-like elements.   The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feed mechanism is movable from a rest position to a work position and from the work position to a rest position.   3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the feed mechanism is connected to the transport mechanism for forcibly moving the transport mechanism according to the rotational position of the transport mechanism.   4. The device according to claim 3, wherein a guideway arranged on the transport mechanism is provided for guiding the traveling element connected to the transport mechanism for the connection between the transport mechanism and the transport mechanism.   5. The rotary drive element is arranged on an arm for moving from or to a working position, the arm being pivotable about a pivot axis. 6. An apparatus according to claim 1.   6. The device according to claim 4, wherein the arm is loaded with a contact pressure towards the cam disc.   The arm is formed as a two-armed lever with respect to the pivot axis, and a drive is arranged in the region of the lever arm on the side remote from the rotary drive element, the drive forming a contact pressure by its own weight 7. The device of claim 6, wherein the device is adapted to do or enhance.   8. The device according to claim 5, wherein the arm and the drive train extending from the drive to the rotary drive element are guided away from the working area of the transport mechanism and are preferably bent once.   9. The device according to claim 1, wherein a drive mechanism is provided for the drive of the rotary drive element, the drive mechanism being switchable.   10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of mouth-shaped receptacles are evenly distributed over an angle of 360 [deg.].   11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the outer opening of the holding opening is formed in the form of a tongue with an axial projection as a working area for the rotary drive element. apparatus.   12. The device of claim 11, wherein the tongue projection has an inner surface with reduced frictional resistance.   13. The device according to claim 12, wherein a stop for the leading edge of the sheet-like element, which is stationary with respect to the transport mechanism, is pushed into the receptacle in the area of the transfer position.   Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a plurality of coaxial transport mechanisms having a mutual spacing are provided.   16. The device according to claim 15, wherein the two transport mechanisms are arranged in a mirror image with respect to a mirror surface perpendicular to the axis of rotation.   17. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a feed mechanism is associated with each transport mechanism, and the feed mechanisms are adapted to be driven synchronously with one another and are preferably connected to one another. .

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