JPH0419152B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field] The present invention involves cutting a sheet-like material such as relatively thin paper such as tissue paper or nonwoven fabric in the horizontal direction while continuously feeding it in the vertical direction, and cutting the cut pieces into pieces. The present invention relates to a method for taking out a fixed amount of folded material without disturbing the folded material when the material is continuously and alternately folded in a zigzag pattern without separation, and to an automatic take-out device therefor.

[Prior art]

Conventional automatic folding devices for tissue paper include rotary folding devices that use a pair of rotating rolls, but these are operated at high speeds.
Moreover, since the folded tissue paper comes out in a continuous zigzag pattern with the cut edges offset from each other, it is difficult to automatically take out a fixed amount of the folded paper, and it is difficult to No automatic extraction machine has been developed so far. For this reason, the current practice is to attach a mark to a fixed quantity of accumulated objects that are folded in a continuous zigzag pattern by an automatic machine, and to take them out using these marks as a guide, but this method has various disadvantages. It recognized.

First, while there is a need to increase the size and speed of automatic folding machines in order to increase production efficiency, if the processing of the output (quantitative extraction) cannot be performed automatically, it is necessary to rely on human labor. However, since there is a natural limit to human ability, this poses an obstacle to increasing the size and speed of devices.

Second, working non-stop in a work environment filled with machine noise and paper dust poses health problems, and there is a strong demand to reduce human labor.

Third, not only automatic folding machines but also packaging operations such as boxing of produce (texture paper) are being automated, so there is a growing demand for integrated automation by eliminating manual work in the connection between the two.

[Purpose of the invention]

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to produce tissue paper or other articles that are folded and stacked in a continuous manner.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for quantitatively taking out a continuous folded pile by cutting it off in fixed amounts and taking it out and carrying it out without inhibiting the continuous formation of the pile.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic dispensing device for automatically carrying out quantitative dispensing as described above.

[Summary of the invention]

The method of the present invention is a method for taking out a fixed amount of accumulated articles, such as tissue paper, which are continuously folded in two sheets in a zigzag manner and stacked. First, the number of folded articles to be accumulated is counted. When the predetermined amount is reached, a partition is driven into the zigzag fold that is about to be formed, so that the part above it that is about to be zigzag folded is already zigzag folded. secondly, the stacked section below said partition is pulled away from the subsequent section on the partition to create a gap, thus separating the uppermost piece of paper from the stacked section and the upper succeeding section; The overlap with the lowest piece of paper is solved, resulting in the edge of the paper floating above the stack and the edge of the paper hanging below the upper part, and then, while lowering the stack further, The floating paper edge is once blown away from the top surface of the stacking part in the opening direction, and the middle part thereof is temporarily held by suction, etc., and the outermost edge of the paper edge is then blown back in the opposite direction to the temporary holding point. If necessary, the folded part is strongly pressed against the top surface of the stack to ensure prevention of floating, and then the stack with the folded part formed in this way is sent to the next process for packaging etc. The ends of the paper hanging below the upper part are converged by blowing or pressing against the bottom surface of the upper part, forming this upper part as a new accumulation, and the above steps are repeated. It consists of things.

The device of the present invention has one under the automatic folding device.
A pair of slide posts are installed upright, and a horizontal slide bar that can slide up and down along the slide posts is provided with a large number of elevator fingers at predetermined intervals to receive the continuous zigzag-shaped folded material from the folding device. A count finger is provided in front of the elevator finger, which is installed on a swing shaft so as to be driven intermittently into the upper surface of a fixed amount of folded objects, and which also serves as a temporary support for the accumulated objects.
Behind the elevator fingers, a support bar is installed horizontally so as to slide back and forth on a slide block that can slide up and down along the slide post, and a number of support fingers are mounted at intervals that do not interfere with the intervals between the elevator fingers. A clamp finger which is set upright and presses the rear upper edge of the accumulated material when the elevator finger receives a certain amount of folded material starts to descend is combined with the elevator finger, and while the elevator finger is in the middle of descending. A turn plate having a vacuum hole and an air blowing hole is pivotally provided at a position where the floating paper pieces on the upper surface of the folded stack are blown away, and the elevator finger is placed behind the elevator finger at a height corresponding to the turn plate. An air blowing hole for blowing off the floating paper pieces toward the turn plate side is disposed in the elevator, and a carry-out conveyor receives the folded articles from the lowered elevator finger.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram, viewed from the front, of an example in which the present invention is implemented as an automatic quantitative takeout device for continuous zigzag-folded articles from a rotary folding device for tissue paper. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the main part.

In Figure 1, R is a folding roll, and in Figure 2, a pair of folding rolls.
Shown as R ₁ and R ₂ . Each roll is supplied with a continuous sheet material (texture paper base paper) P ₁ , P ₂ that has not been cross-cut, and while being held by adsorption or other means on the roll surface, the material is cross-cut by cutting sections C ₁ and C ₂ , respectively. Ru. However, the cut pieces are held on the peripheral surface of the roll and travel to the contact area between both rolls without separating from the sheet-like base paper that follows in the running direction. Cutting is performed when each cutting part comes into contact with a cutting blade protruding from the circumferential surface of the rolls, and as can be seen from Figure 2, these cutting blades are 60° out of phase with each other on rolls _R1 and _R2 . It's shifted. Therefore, the two cut pieces of paper on the left and right (R ₁ and R ₂ ) that meet at the contact part are
They are staggered so that the cut edge of one piece of paper is in the middle of the other piece of paper. The two cut pieces combined in this way are alternately held mechanically or by suction on the surface of either roll R ₁ or R ₂ , and as they advance downward, they are held by a folding bar.
It is peeled off from the roll surface by F ₁ or F ₂ and at the same time is pressed from above by the folding bar and folded, forming an aggregate T. In FIG. 2, S is the swing shaft of the folding bar. Further, the groove through which this folding bar enters the roll surface for stripping is shown as g in FIG.

In Figure 2, the cut piece is already folded.
P ₁ ′ (one sheet of ordinary tissue paper) overlaps half of another cut piece P ₂ ′, and the remaining half of P ₂ ′ overlaps and continues with the first half of P ₁ ″ that follows P ₁ ′. The folding bar F ₂ forms a zigzag shape and is about to be folded onto the stack T by the folding bar F2. The purpose is to provide a device that automatically takes out a fixed amount without interfering with the folding operation, and since the automatic folding machine itself is just one example, it is not limited to the one shown in the figure, and other forms may be used. .

Returning to FIG. 1, the apparatus of the present invention will be described. A pair of slide posts 2, 2' are erected inside a pair of upright frames 1, 1'. An elevator bar 3 is installed horizontally so as to be able to slide up and down along this slide post. On the elevator bar 3 there is a folding stack T (not shown in Figure 1).
A large number of elevator fingers 4 are installed at intervals.

Details of the elevator finger 4 are shown in Figures 2 and 3.
As can be seen from the figure, a rack 5 is mounted between the elevator bar 3 and a slide block 3' below which can also be slid along the slide posts 2, 2', and a gear 6 meshing with this is connected to the shaft 7.
is fixed to. In Figure 3, shaft 7
An input gear 8 is fixed to the center of the input gear 8, and a gear 9 that meshes with the input gear 8 is connected to one end of a powder clutch 10. The other end of the clutch is connected to a gear 12 via a gear 11, and a gear 13 integrated therewith. An arm 15 is attached to the gear 14 that meshes with the arm 15, and a cam follower 16 supported by the arm 15 engages with the cam 17a. The other cam 17b will be described later.

As can also be seen in FIG. 2, the elevator finger 4 is combined with a clamp finger 20. The details are as shown in Figure 4, and it is the rear upper edge of the folded stack T (left side in Figures 2 and 4).
This is to temporarily suppress the Although the upper end 20a of the clamp finger 20 is bent,
Normally, this bent end 20a is in a position where it does not touch the accumulated objects, and when the elevator finger 4 starts descending, it turns while descending, and the tip 20a comes to the position shown by the chain line in FIG. 4 and clamps the accumulated objects. do. The lower part of the clamp finger 20 is inserted into the clamp guide 21, and a projecting pin 20 is inserted in the middle of the clamp guide 21.
b protrudes from the curved slot 22 of the guide 21. The curved slot 22 is connected to the elevator finger 4.
The folded ends 20a may be formed so as to come off the edge of the stack at the top and bottom, and to hang over the edge in the middle. The solenoid 23 disposed near the lower end of the clamp guide 21 has its protruding pin 23a engaged with the notch 20c of the clamp finger. When a predetermined amount of accumulated material T is detected, the protruding pin 23a is retracted, allowing the clamp finger 20 to descend. 24, 25, and 26 are compression springs.

Details of the count finger 30 are shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. When a predetermined amount of the accumulated material T is detected, the counting finger 30 is located between the upper surface of the accumulated material T and the succeeding piece of paper, between P ₁ ' and P ₁ '' in FIG. 2, and at the position shown by the chain line in FIG. The count finger 30 is driven in as a partition.
As shown in FIG. 1, a large number of them are attached at predetermined intervals to a horizontally installed support bar 31. Both ends of the support bar 31 are attached to a swing arm 32, and the arm 32 is connected to another swing arm 34 via a fulcrum shaft 33 (FIG. 5). Arm 34
The lower end of is connected to the cylinder 35.

A hook 36 is constantly engaged with the count finger 30 to keep it in an inoperative position. A sector 38 is pivotally attached to the hook 36 via a fulcrum pin 37, one end of the sector 38 is connected to a protrusion of a solenoid 39, and the other end of the sector is connected to a ratchet pawl 4.
3 is pivoted. A cam 41 is fixed coaxially to the ratchet wheel 42, and a follower 40 supported at the lower end of the hook 36 engages with the cam 41. When a certain amount of accumulated material T is detected, the solenoid 39 is energized and rotates the ratchet wheel 42 and cam 41, so the follower 40 is pushed up and the hook 36 is released, so that the count finger 30 is moved from the position shown by the solid line in Figure 5. It is driven into the position indicated by the chain line as a partition. 45 is a ratchet wheel bar whose rear end is connected to a cam ring 46.

Referring again to FIG. 2, a support finger 50 is arranged behind the elevator finger 4. This is because the elevator finger 4 carrying a certain amount of accumulated material descends, discharges the accumulated material, and rises again, and receives subsequent zigzag folded objects that are still being formed one after another. It is something. The support finger 50 has a slide shaft 52 fixed to a slide block 51 that can slide up and down along the slide posts 2 and 2', and extends and fixes the slide shaft 52 substantially horizontally rearward so that it can slide back and forth along the shaft 52. A large number of support bars 53 are erected at predetermined intervals. As seen in FIG. 1, the support fingers 50 are arranged at intervals that do not interfere with either the elevator fingers 4 or the count fingers 30.

Referring to FIG. 6, the vertical movement of the support finger 50 is performed by an air or hydraulic cylinder 54 connected to a slide block 51, and the forward and backward movement is performed by rods 5 connected to both ends of the support bar 53.
5 and lever 56. The lever 56 has a short arm 58 via a pivot 57, and when the follower supported by the lever is moved by a cam 60, it swings between the solid line position and the chain line position, causing the support bar 53 and the support finger 50 to move back and forth.

Next, a turn plate 61 is provided for correcting folding of the uppermost paper piece P ₁ ' of the folded stack T, which has been separated from the subsequent paper piece P ₂ ' during folding, so that it does not float. Figure 2 and section 1 below
As shown in FIG. 0 and FIG. 10a, the turn plate 61 has a vacuum chamber 61a communicating with a suction source and an air blowing chamber 61b communicating with a pressurized air source, and has vacuum holes on the side facing the accumulated material. and air blow holes are drilled. The turn plate 61 is disposed horizontally between the frames 1 and 1' as shown in FIG. 1, and is supported by a pivot shaft 62. The pivot shaft 62 has a chain wheel 63 fixed thereto, and a chain 6
4. A reciprocating arc movement is made through the chain wheel 65. The chain wheel 65 is driven via a gear 68 integral with an arm 67 having a follower 66 that engages the cam 17b as shown in FIG.

A carry-out conveyor 70 is arranged at a position where the elevator finger 4 is lowered. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the tip of the conveyor 70 is connected to a discharge conveyor 71, and the discharge conveyor 71 is supported by an air cylinder 72 so that the slope can be adjusted.

Finally, as clearly shown in FIG. 4, an air outlet 75 is provided behind the elevator finger 4 on its way down. This is a floating piece of paper like the one mentioned above.
These are for blowing P ₁ ' onto the vacuum surface of the turn plate 61, and are arranged in a horizontal row between the frames 1 and 1' at the same height as the turn plate 61.

The method of the present invention will now be described in conjunction with the apparatus described above with reference to FIGS. 7 et seq.

First, in FIG. 7, when the number of folded objects T reaches a certain number, the elevator finger 4 lowers the folded objects slightly at the same time.
A counting finger 30 is inserted as a partition between the stack T and the succeeding pieces of paper as shown in FIG. The count finger 30 thus determines the position at which the stack T is to be separated, temporarily receives the succeeding pieces of paper T' that are folded one after another, as shown in FIG. 9, and waits for the appearance of the support finger 50 (FIG. 10). In FIG. 9, the elevator finger 4 is further lowered (arrow), and a gap is created between the preceding stack T and the following sheet T'. Along with this descent, the clamp finger 20 is rotated (circular arrow) and presses the rear upper edge of the stack T with its bent end portion. In this way, as shown in FIG. 9a, the topmost piece of paper in the stack T
The overlap between P ₁ ' and the lowest piece of paper P ₂ ' of the succeeding T' is resolved, and the preceding collection T is completely separated.
P ₁ ′ is a piece of paper floating on the top surface of the stack T, and P ₂ ′ is a piece of paper hanging down from the bottom of the succeeding group T′. According to the present invention, upward and downward adjustments are made so that they fit properly on the upper surface of the preceding group T and the lower surface of the succeeding group T', respectively, since wrinkles or breakage may occur during the packaging process.

First, starting from the downward adjustment, the support plate 50, which had been waiting at the rear, moves forward (horizontal arrow) and rises (vertical arrow), sending the hanging piece of paper _P2 ' onto the bottom of the following group T'. To converge,
A trailing group T' is received from the counting finger 30.
The count finger 30 immediately slips out from under the trailing group T' and returns to its original position (FIG. 10).

On the other hand, upward correction of the preceding group T is performed by the air outlet 75 and the turn plate 61, as shown in FIG. That is, the floating paper pieces P ₁ ′ are blown away from the upper surface of the stack T by the air blown from the air outlet 75 in the direction of opening (the other edge is held down by the clamp finger 20 ) and are received by the turn plate 61 . and is absorbed into the hole of the vacuum chamber 61a. Since the suction point is located approximately in the middle of the piece of paper P ₁ ', the outer edge (the right edge in Figure 10a) is still fluttering. Next, this outer end is connected to the air blowing chamber 61b.
Blow the paper in the opposite direction from the hole and fold it back onto the suction part as shown by the chain line in Fig. 10a. While sucking the edge of the folded paper, turn the turn plate 61 itself counterclockwise as shown in the figure. and press it onto the upper surface of the preceding stack T as shown in FIG. In this way, the floating pieces of paper in the preceding group are adjusted upward so that they will no longer float.
At this time, it is preferable to slightly raise the elevator finger 4 as shown by the arrow in FIG. 11 to compress and crease the accumulated material T between the turn plate 61 and the elevator finger 4.

Then, when the elevator finger 4 is further lowered as shown in FIG. 12, the previous floating paper pieces P ₁ ' are now tightly attached as a two-fold correction part P _f that does not float, and the upper surface of the stack T becomes orderly. . When the elevator fingers 4 enter between the conveyors 70 and try to go down below the same height, the clamp fingers 2
0 rotates in the opposite direction as shown in FIG. 12 to open the upper edge of the stack, and the stack T is conveyed to the next process by the conveyor 70. The accumulation T is the roll R in the example described above.
Since it has the same length as the surface length of (Figure 1),
The next step is to cut the paper into lengths of ordinary tissue paper, but if it is also slit (lengthwise cut) before entering the folding roll R or by the roll R, the next step is the boxing and packaging step. becomes.

The elevator finger 4 which has lowered the accumulated material rises again (Fig. 13), and during this time the following group T' is steadily accumulated on the support finger 50, so when the elevator finger 4 returns to the top position. (14th
(Fig.) The support finger 50 descends a little and slips out to the rear, returning to its original state (Fig. 7). When the number of succeeding groups T' taken over by the elevator finger 4 reaches a predetermined number, the same operation as above is repeated again.

In addition to the embodiments described and illustrated above, the support finger may be omitted, for example, by configuring the count finger to increase the amount of subsequent accumulated material that can be temporarily received by the count finger. In this case, the downward adjustment of the temporarily received subsequent accumulated material is carried out when the elevator finger comes up next time, by means such as the air outlet 75, which blows the ends of the paper that hang down horizontally and accumulates on the elevator finger. If the object is transferred, there is no need to provide a separate support finger. Instead of blowing air, a pusher may be used to push the paper in the horizontal direction to correct the hanging pieces of paper downward (and correct the floating pieces of paper upward).

The present invention is not limited to the tissue paper described above, but can also be applied to the automatic quantitative extraction of zigzag-folded materials such as towel paper and other hard papers. In the case of hard paper, the uppermost paper edge of the preceding pile separated after the counting finger is driven does not float and settles under its own weight, so blowing or pushing means for upward correction is omitted.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the count finger is driven in timing with the folding state on the elevator finger, so that the partitions can be placed in the proper direction with respect to the paper pieces on the top of the folded stack at any time. The paper pieces will not wrinkle or be damaged. This is further emphasized by lowering the elevator finger slightly to create a slight gap before driving the count finger.

Furthermore, by inserting a clutch into the drive system of the elevator finger, even if the folding height changes due to changes in the number of products or paper thickness, it is possible to skillfully adapt to and perform good automatic unloading.

Furthermore, since the floating paper pieces at the top of the stack are double-folded using a turn plate, for example, when pulling out the first piece of tissue paper packed in a box, your fingers can easily catch it, making it easier to pull out excess sheets. do not have. On top of that,
When the turn plate turns over the pile, the elevator finger is slightly raised to compress it with the turn plate and strengthen the fold.
It will not float or lose its shape during the next process (4).

Furthermore, by inserting a clutch between the folding device and the folded article take-out device, there is an advantage that the number of sheets to be taken out can be easily changed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the concept of an embodiment of the device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the main parts of the device, and FIG.
Figure 4 is a configuration diagram of the elevator finger drive unit, Figure 4 is a detailed configuration diagram of the clamp finger, Figure 5 is a configuration diagram of the count finger drive unit, Figure 6 is a configuration diagram of the support finger drive unit, and Figure 6 is a configuration diagram of the support finger drive unit. Figures 7 to 14 are explanatory diagrams of each process of the method of the present invention, in which Figure 7 shows the starting position for quantitative extraction, Figure 8 shows the count finger driving, and Figure 9 shows the elevator finger with the quantitative accumulation on it. Figure 9a shows the resulting separation, Figure 10 shows the blowing off of the uppermost piece of paper (part of the upward correction), Figure 10a shows the suction and blowback by the turn plate, and Figure 11 shows the rotation of the turn plate. Figure 12 shows the upwardly corrected ejection of the folded material, and Figure 13 shows the re-ascension of the elevator finger.
FIG. 14 shows the return of the elevator fingers. Main code, 2, 2'...Slide post, 3...
...Slide bar, 4...Elevator finger, 3
0... Count finger, 32, 34... Swing arm (swinging arm), 50... Support finger,
51...Slide block, 53...Support bar, 20...Clamp finger, 61...Turn plate, 70...Export conveyor, 75...Air outlet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for taking out a fixed amount of a stack of two sheets that are continuously folded in a zigzag manner and stacked, wherein when the stack reaches a predetermined amount, the zigzag fold that is being formed is removed. By driving a partition upward to prevent the part above it from overlapping the stack that has already been folded in a zigzag manner, and by separating the stack below the partition from the upper part, the top surface of the stack is A floating terminal part and a terminal part hanging down on the lower surface of the upper part are generated, and the floating terminal part is once blown away from the top surface of the stack in the direction of opening, temporarily holding the floating terminal part, and temporarily holding the terminal part. The edge of the part is blown back in the opposite direction to the above, folded back at the temporary holding point and overlapped with the upper surface, and the accumulated material forming the folded part is discharged and hangs below the upper part. A method for quantitatively taking out an aggregate, which comprises converging the loose ends to the lower surface of the upper part, forming a new aggregate in the upper part, and repeating each of the above steps. 2 A device for automatically taking out a fixed amount of a stack of two stacked sheets that are continuously folded in a zigzag pattern, with a pair of slides erected facing each other at both lengthwise ends of the folded stack. a post, an elevator finger on which the folded stack is placed, which is installed upright on a horizontal slide bar so as to slide up and down along the slide post; and a folded stack that is intermittently folded and stacked from the front of the elevator finger. The elevator has a count finger attached to a swing arm so as to be driven into the top surface of an object, and a support bar attached to a slide block capable of sliding up and down along the slide post so as to slide back and forth. A support finger that moves forward and backward so as not to interfere with the finger, and a clamp that is combined with the elevator finger to press down on the rear upper edge of the folded stack when the elevator finger on which a certain amount of folded stack is placed starts to descend. a turn plate that is attached to a pivot shaft horizontally disposed in front of the elevator finger at a level above the upper surface of the folded stack above the elevator finger during its descent, and has a vacuum hole and an air blowout hole; This is an automatic quantitative take-out device for accumulated materials, which consists of an air blowing hole placed behind the elevator finger at a height corresponding to the turn plate, and an unloading conveyor placed at the same height as the placement surface of the lowest elevator finger.