JPH058277Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to an apparatus for sequentially feeding signatures or similar sheet-like thin objects into predetermined positions, such as the pockets of a collating machine.

(Prior art) For example, when binding a book, the signatures are stacked in a series of pockets corresponding to each other, and one book is taken out from the bottom of each pocket to collect and bind a book. will be carried out. Therefore, each pocket must always store an appropriate amount of signatures in an untangled state. Therefore, in this type of thin material feeding device, a vacuum suction device is used to separate the signatures one by one, as shown in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 60-3737 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 59-17727. used.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the prior art, a vacuum suction device was used, which resulted in a complicated mechanism and increased costs such as equipment costs.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and therefore, to provide a thin object feeding device that can feed thin objects such as signatures to a predetermined position in an unraveled state using a simple mechanism. It is to be.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The feature of the present invention is that a transfer device is provided between a conveyance device that gradually conveys thin objects such as signatures in an upright state and a predetermined position such as a pocket for a collating machine. Consisting of a pair of endless belts, the head roller of each endless belt is located at the predetermined position, each tail roller is located at the leading end of the conveying device, and the tail roller 10a of the first endless belt is located at the leading end of the conveying device. The first endless belt is disposed above the tip of the conveying device so that the surface of the thin article that is sent to the belt touches the thin article, and the surface of the first endless belt that comes into contact with the thin article is a friction surface, and the tail of the second endless belt roller 12a
is located at a distant and close position above the top of the thin object sent to the tip of the conveying device, and is adapted to sandwich the thin object lifted by the first endless belt between the thin object and the first endless belt; It is adjustable up and down.

(Function) Therefore, in this device, when the thin object placed on the conveying device is sent to the leading edge thereof, it comes into contact with the belt surface at the position of the tail roller 10a of the first endless belt,
It is lifted by the friction therebetween, and when it is raised slightly, it is sandwiched between the first and second endless belts and sent as is to a predetermined position.

(Example) Next, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the illustrated example, a case is shown in which signatures are fed into a pocket for a collating machine. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the device according to the present invention basically consists of a conveying device 1 that supports a series of thin objects, in this example, signatures, in an upright state and gradually moves them; It is composed of a transfer device 3 that sequentially sends the signatures at the tip of the paper to a pocket 2 for a collating machine.

The conveying device 1 comprises an endless conveying member, for example a pair of juxtaposed chains 4, on which the signatures are placed.
It includes a support frame 5 and guide plates 6 on both sides of the signatures to be supported, and the interval between the guide plates 6 can be adjusted using a handle or the like according to the width of the signatures. The support frame 5 is supported by a support stand 7.

The present invention is characterized by a transfer device 3, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, this transfer device 3 extends upward passing near the top of the tip of the transfer device 1. The first endless belt 8 includes a first endless belt 8 reaching the position of the pocket 2 and a second endless belt 9 provided above the endless belt 8.
is a series of rollers, namely a head roller 10h located at the position of the pocket 2, a tail roller 10a located on the tip of the conveying device 1, and a roller 10b between them.
10c..., and a suitable roller 10j among them is driven by a motor 11. The second endless belt 9 also includes a head roller 12g located at the pocket 2, a tail roller 12a located on the tip of the conveying device 1, and rollers 12b and 12c between them.
. . . on its lower path, it comes into contact with the first endless belt 8 and moves together with it, so it does not need to be driven and is in a free state.

The tail roller 10a of the first endless belt 8 is arranged close to directly above the leading end of the conveying device 1, so that the belt 8 passes close to directly above the leading end of the conveying device 1. In some cases, as shown, in addition to roller 10a, an adjacent roller 10b is also provided in close proximity to tail roller 10a. Roller 10c to roller 10d, 10
In the section of the belt 8 that passes through f and 10g and reaches the roller 10h, the upper belt 9 is
come into contact with.

The tail roller 12a of the second endless belt 9 is positioned so as to be spaced apart from and close to the top of the signature A on the leading end of the conveying device 1, as shown in FIG.
Thereby, the signatures lifted by friction with the first endless belt 8 can be appropriately sandwiched between the belts 8 and 9. Furthermore, the tail roller 12a
The height position of the motor 13 is adjustable according to the dimensions of the signatures, and in the illustrated example, as shown in FIG.
The lever 14 supporting the roller 12a is moved up and down via an electric device for adjustment. Note that the position of the head roller 10h of the first endless belt 8 is also adjusted together with the roller 12a. Also, the head roller 12g of this belt 9
preferably overhangs above pocket 2.

A preferred embodiment of the transfer device 3 is provided with a device for temporarily stopping the transfer, and the device includes a movable stopper 15 having a vertical or slightly inclined rising portion 15a, and an actuator such as a solenoid. A device 16, preferably with raised portions 15a, is provided on both sides of the belt 8. When the stopper 15 is advanced by the actuating device 16, it projects beyond the belt 8, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 4, so that no signature can come into contact with the belt 8.

Preferably, the conveying device 1 is also provided with a holding device 20 for supporting an appropriate amount of signatures supported thereon so that they do not fall over in contact with the rearmost rear surfaces of the rearmost portions of the signatures, and the holding device 20 is clearly shown in FIG. As shown, it consists of a truck 22 that is installed on a rail 21 on the outside of the guide plate 6 and moves along the rail, a horizontal bar 23 attached to the truck, and a vertical bar 24 that extends downward from the horizontal bar. The lower end of the rod 24 is removably engaged with the chain 4 and is moved together with the chain. Note that the chain 4 is driven by a motor 25. The rail 21 is installed on the side plate by a chisel,
It can also be removed from the signature, as shown in phantom lines in FIG.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conveying device 1 includes a threaded rod 27 that is rotated by a handle 26.
The threaded rod 27 is connected to the support frame 5 via a female thread 27' and a link 28 that engage with the threaded rod 27, and the height position of the tip of the conveying device can be adjusted by operating the handle 26. preferable. Note that 29 is a control device, and 30 is an operation section.

During operation, the motor 25 is operated with an appropriate amount of signatures placed on the chain 4 of the conveyance device 1, and the signatures are gradually moved toward the transfer device 3 located at the tip of the conveyance device 1. . At the same time, the motor 11 is also activated to move the first endless belt 8 in the direction of arrow B (Fig. 4).
and a second endless belt 9 in contact with it.
is driven in the direction of arrow C.

During the transfer process from the tip of the conveying device 1 to the pocket 2, as shown in FIG.
It comes in contact with the surface of the belt 8 at the position , and is lifted up to some extent by the friction between them, and then it is held between the first and second endless belts 8 and 9 and rises, and at the same time the next signature is placed in the front. In the same way as the signatures, they are brought into contact with the belt at the roller position and are similarly lifted and moved while being held between the belts. The signatures held between the belts are carried as they are to the position of the pocket 2, with their ends piled up against the adjacent signatures, and fed into the pocket. When a predetermined amount of signatures are fed into pocket 2, a sensing device such as a limit switch detects
This is sensed and the motors 11 and 25 are stopped.
When the number of signatures in pocket 2 decreases to the predetermined amount, it will be activated again.

In this way, since the signatures are first lifted by friction with the first endless belt 8, the signatures on the conveying device 1 are appropriately transferred. Therefore, the surface of the first endless belt 8 that comes into contact with the signatures is a friction surface.

Although the above embodiment deals with signatures, the same applies to the case where unfolded sheet-shaped boxes, flexible thin plates, and other thin objects are fed to predetermined positions.

(Effects of the Invention) Therefore, according to the present invention, a large amount of thin objects can be stored in the conveying device, and a large amount of thin objects can be handled at one time. Then, the surface of the thin object comes into contact with the surface of the endless belt and is successively lifted by the friction, so that the pitch of the thin object to be transferred becomes almost constant. Further, since the thin objects are lifted up one by one, they are loosened, held, and fed to a predetermined position. Therefore, since it is appropriately conveyed and does not use vacuum suction, it does not require a vacuum source, and is therefore compact and has a simple mechanism.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an elevational view showing the structure of a thin material feeding device according to an example of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, Fig. 3 is an end view, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the main part of the embodiment of Fig. 1. 5 is an end view of the holding device provided in the conveyance device, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged elevational view of a portion of the holding device showing the state during operation. In the figure, 1...transport device, 2...predetermined position, 3...
...Transfer device, 8...First endless belt, 9...Second endless belt, 10a...Tail roller of the first endless belt, 12a...Tail roller of the second endless belt.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A conveying device 1 that supports thin articles such as signatures in an upright state and gradually feeds them, and a conveying device 1 that sequentially clamps the thin articles sent to the tip of the conveying device and holds them at a predetermined position. 2, the first endless belt 8 and the second endless belt located above it
a transfer device 3 consisting of an endless belt 9, each of the head rollers of the first and second endless belts being at the predetermined position, and each of the tail rollers thereof being at the leading end side of the conveying device; Tail roller 10a of the first endless belt
is arranged above the tip of the conveying device so that the surface of the thin article sent to the tip of the conveying device comes into contact with the tip, and the surface of the first endless belt that comes into contact with the thin article is a friction surface, No. 2 endless belt tail roller 12a
is located at a distant and close position above the top of the thin object sent to the tip of the conveying device, and is configured to sandwich the thin object lifted by the first endless belt between the thin object and the first endless belt; Said second
The thin material feeding device has a tail roller that can be adjusted up and down. (2) Utility Model Registration The thin article feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the height position of the tip of the conveying device is adjustable.