US3796427A

US3796427A - Sheet stacking devices for printing machines

Info

Publication number: US3796427A
Application number: US00183129A
Authority: US
Inventors: H Reutter; F Sendlinger; H Alix
Original assignee: Roland Offsetmaschinenfabrik Faber and Schleicher AG
Current assignee: Roland Offsetmaschinenfabrik Faber and Schleicher AG
Priority date: 1970-09-29
Filing date: 1971-09-23
Publication date: 1974-03-12
Anticipated expiration: 1991-03-12
Also published as: DE2047808B1; GB1366917A; FR2107234A5; SE376752B

Abstract

The invention is concerned with sheet stacking devices for printing machines in which an auxiliary stack table is slid into position above a main stack table, and serves to solve the problem which arises when small format sheets are stacked and rear abutments are brought forward so that they foul the edge of the auxiliary table and prevent its being slid home. In the invention the rear abutments are linked so that they can be rocked clear of the auxuliary table under control of a first abutment. The first abutment is pivotally mounted so that it can be moved clear of the table during the table movement. In one embodiment the first abutment pivot is arranged parallel with the advancing edge of the table and is moved clear of the table path by contact with that edge. In another embodiment the first abutment is linked to a lever carrying a roller which engages a cam on the table. In a third embodiment the first abutment is movable by an electromagnet which is energised by a microswitch actuatable by a cam on the table.

Description

United States Patent 0 1 Reutter et al.

[4 Mar. 12, 1974 SHEET STACKING DEVICES FOR PRINTING MACHINES [75] Inventors: Hans Reutter, Dortmund-Korne;

Fritz Sendlinger, Dortmund; Hans Alix, Offenbach am Main, all of Germany [73] Assignee: Roland Olfsetmaschinenfabrik Faber & Schleicher AG, Offenbach am Main, Germany [22] Filed: Sept. 23, 1971 [2]] Appl. No.: 183,129

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Sept. 29, 1970 Germany 2047808 52] U.S Cl. ..27 1/ 18 9 27 1/204 '[51] Int. Cl B65h 31/00 [58] Field of Search 271/86, 88, 79, 62 A [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,795,420 6/1957 Rooney 271/88 3,006,635 10/1961 Elliott 271/62 A 2,847,215 8/1958 Koch 271/88 Primary Examiner-Richard E. Aegerter [5 ABSTRACT The invention is concerned with sheet stacking devices for printing machines in which an auxiliary stack table is slid into position above a main stack table, and serves to solve the problem which arises when small format sheets are stacked and rear abutments are brought forward so that they foul the edge of the auxiliary table and prevent its being slid home. In the invention the rear abutments are linked so that they can be rocked clear of the auxuliary table under control of a first abutment. The first abutment is pivotally mounted so that it can be moved clear of the table during the table movement. In one embodiment the first abutment pivot is arranged parallel with the advancing edge of the table and is moved clear of the table path by contact with that edge. In another embodiment the firstabutment is linked to a lever carrying a roller which engages a cam on the table. In a third embodiment the first abutment is movable by an electromagnet which is energised by a microswitch actuatable by a cam on the table.

5 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures SHEET STACKING DEVICES FOR PRINTING MACHINES The invention relates to a sheet stacking device for printing machines, with an auxiliary stack table which can be slid in above the main stack table, and rear sheet abutments which align the rear ends of the sheets to be stacked.

Such sheet stacking devices have the object of depositing in tidy stacks sheets which are freshly printed and transported from the printing machine by endless chain conveyors. For this purpose, on the stacking device at least rear sheet abutments are provided by which the sheet stack is aligned. Generally, front sheet abutments which are movable in synchronism with the arriving sheets are furthermore provided, by which the sheets are stopped and pushed against the rear sheet abutments. Straight pushing members movably arranged laterally of the stack serve for the lateral alignment of the sheets of the stack. An auxiliary stack table which can he slid in above the main stack table serves for the temporary reception of sheets during the time that the stack is being changed. With the aid of it, a continuous stacking of sheets can be achieved without stopping the machine.

Such sheet stacking devices are generally. known. They all have however the following disadvantage: After the'sheets are transported above the stack by means of endless chain conveyors, the grippers holding the front edges of the sheets open at a predetermined place so that the sheets pass directly in front of the front sheet abutments. When changing over to a smaller format, the rear sheet abutments must be correspondingly shifted forward, so that a normally dimensioned auxiliary stack table suitable for the maximum format can no longer be completely slid in place, since it now abuts with its edge against the forwardly shifted sheet abutments. This has the consequence that with the minimum format, the table extends out of the stacking device byabout half a metre and considerably impairs the operation and accessibility of the machine.

Sheet stacking devices are known in which the surface of the auxiliary stack table has grooves in which the sheet abutments can extend on sliding in of the table. However the smooth stacking surface is lost by this, which is particularly disadvantageous with thin sheet material.

The problem underlying the invention is to avoid the disadvantages of the already known sheet depositing devices. This problem is solved in that the rear sheet abutments are movable out of the space required by the slid-in auxiliary stack table and at least a part of the abutments is movableinto, or substantially into,

I are arranged at the beginning and end of the carrying rails guiding the'auxiliary stack table. Also, mechanically acting cam controls can be used. In any case, the sliding in procedure is automated.

In one form of the invention, the sheet abutments are rockably mounted and in each case two abutments are coupled by a linkage in such manner that the moving out of the first sheet abutment from the space required by the slid in auxiliary stack table causes the movement of the second abutment until contact with the surface of the auxiliary stack table. This arrangement is especially stable mechanically and moreover is less liable to disturbance. With direct rocking of the first abutment by the front edge of the auxiliary stack table, viewed in the sliding in direction, otherwise necessary actuating and control members for the abutments, which could be sources of error, are avoided.

In a preferred embodiment, the rocking axis of the first sheet abutment is arranged approximately parallel to the rear edge of the stack table and the rocking axis of the second abutment approximately perpendicularly thereto and parallel to the surface of the stack table. This arrangement is structurally particularly simple.

The first sheet abutment is advantageously movable by the auxiliary stack table against the constantly acting force of a spring.

Several embodiments of the invention are diagrammatically illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a sheet depositing device according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the sheet depositing device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of an embodiment of the rear sheet abutmentsof a device according to the invention, to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the rear sheet abutments shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the rear sheet abutments shown in FIG. 3; r

FIG. 6 is a side elevation, on the line VI-VI in FIG. 7 of the rear sheet abutments with the auxiliary deposit table slid in;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of the rear sheet abutments shown in FIG. 6;

FIG, 8 is a front elevation of a further embodiment of rear sheet abutments according to the inventiomon an enlarged scale;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the rear sheet abutments shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a front elevation of magnetically actuated rear sheet abutments; and

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the rear sheet abutments shown in FIG. 10.

As shown in FIG. I, printed sheets 1 are moved over a deposit stack or delivery pile by chain conveyors 2 from a printing machine, not illustrated, and are deposited there. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a main stack table 3 which can move upwardly and downwardly, and an auxiliary stack table or delivery table 6 which can be slid in, in U-rails 4, 5. After opening of a gripper 7 the sheets are braked by a braking device 10 with a plurality of suction nozzle drums 101 arranged in the vicinity of the rear sheet abutments or stops 8, 9 and are aligned by the front sheet abutments or stops 1 l, which are movable in synchronism with the arriving sheets, and the

rear abutments

8, 9 on an auxiliary stack 12. The braking device 10 bridges the stacking device, axially parallel to the gripper arm shafts, by a traverse 104 guided in

lateral guides

102 and 103 and on which

mountings

105 and 106 for the rear abutments are mounted at right angles, and by the shaft 107 for the suction rollers 101, and the shaft 108 for the toothed wheels and 16. The braking device, inclusive of the

rear sheet abutments

8, 9 is displaceable in the sheet feed direction, on toothed guide racks 13, 14 (FIG. 2), in order to be able to adapt the positions of the

rear sheet abutments

8, 9 to the sheet format. The displacement is effected by rotating the

toothed wheels

15, 16 which are connected by the shaft 108, on the toothed guide racks 13, 14.

FIGS. 3 to 7 show the position and manner of operation of the

rear sheet abutments

8, 9 of one embodiment of the invention, on an enlarged scale. A first abutment 9 is povitally arranged by means of a pin 17 on a lever 18 and is positively connected with the second abutment 8 by a linkage including the

members

18, 19, and 22. The lever 18 is fixedly mounted on a pin 19 which is rotatable in a bearing 20 of the traverse 104 of the braking arrangement 10. Moreover, on the pin 19, a further lever 21 is fixed which is connected through a link 22 with the second abutment 8. The second abutment 8 is rotatably arranged on a further bearing 23 on the traverse 104 of the braking arrangement 10, by means of a stud or pin 24. The link 22 is connected with the abutment 8 through a stud 25 and a slot 26. The linkage consisting of the

parts

18, 19, 21 and 22 is biased against an abutment 28 bya tension spring 27 (FIG. 4). In this position, the first sheet abutment 9 is disposed in its aligning position. If in accordance with the broken line representation in FIG. 4, the auxiliary stack table 6 is slid into position in the direction of the arrow 29 past the position of the first sheet abutment 9, for the stacking of sheets of small format, then the abutment 9 is swung away against the force of the spring 27 and simultaneously in accordance with FIGS. 6 and 7 the second sheet abutment 8 is lowered onto the auxiliary stack table 6.

with each other through a coupling rod 36. On a further mounting 37 of the traverse 104 of the braking arrangementlO, a two-arm lever or crank 38 is rockably arranged. One arm of the lever 38 is constructed as a roller lever 39, its roller 40 co-operating with a cam member 41 (FIG. 9) arranged on the auxiliary stack table 6. The other arm 42 of the lever 38 is connected by a coupling 43 with a further two-arm lever 44. This is likewise rotatably mounted in the mounting 37. Lever 44 and sheet abutment 31 are connected with each other via a further coupling member 45. The sheet abutment 31 is biased in the clockwise'direction (as seen in FIG. 8) against an abutment 47 by a spring 46. As will be seen from FIG. 8, sliding in of the auxiliary stack table 6 beyond the

sheet abutments

30, 31 would not be possible. However, shortly before the engagement of the auxiliary stack table 6 with the

sheet abutments

30, 31 the roller 40 of the roller lever 39 comes into contact with the cam surface 41 on the auxiliary deposit table 6, and via the interposed

linkage

38, 43, 44 and 45 swings the sheet abutment 31 in an anti-clockwise direction against the force of the spring 46 out of the path of the auxiliary deposit table 6. Simultaneously, via the coupling rod 36 the other sheet abutment 30 is swung in the clockwise direction. After the auxiliary stack table has been pushed under the

sheet abutments

30, 31, the roller 40 of the cam lever 39 moves out of contact with the cam 41 and the

sheet abutments

30, 31 are swung by the spring 46 until they contact the surface of the auxiliary deposit table 6.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate

sheet abutments

30, 31 likewise connected with each other by a coupling rod 36, and held in contact with the abutment 47 by a spring 46. Unlike the embodiment according to FIGS. 8 and 9, the displacement of the abutments out of the path of the auxiliary deposit table 6 is here effected by an electromagnet or solenoid 50. The armature of the electromagnet is connected by an intermediate bar 51 with the sheet abutment 31. The electromagnet is energised when a switch 52 comes into contact with a projection 53 provided on the auxiliary deposit table 6.

The switch 52 is mounted on a right angle extension 521 of an L-shaped mounting 522 which is provided on the traverse 104 of the braking arrangement in the sheet running direction, and is adjustable in such a manner that even with rapid pushing in of the auxiliary stack table 6, the electromagnet swings the

sheet abutments

30 and 31 out of the path, in advance.

It will be appreciated that if more than two abutments are provided the additional abutments can be rockably mounted and linked for movement to a first abutment in the same way as the second abutment is I linked for movement in the embodiments described above.

What is claimed is: l. A sheet feeding device of a printing press, said device comprising in combination:

a frame an up and down movable main delivery pile table and an auxiliary delivery pile table; conveyor means having a portion thereof positioned above said auxiliary table for. delivering sheet thereto guide means for slidably supporting said auxiliary table above and parallel to said main table into any one of several selected positions a movable support means supported by and bridging said frame; said guide means being supported by said movable support means; front stop means secured to and protruding from the auxiliary table for aligning the leading edge of sheets delivered to the auxiliary table;

rear stop means including a first rear stop member and a second rear stop member, said support means including pivotable means for supporting said rear stop members for alternately pivoting the same into an active position in which one stop member coacts with the trailing edge of sheets delivered to the auxiliary table to effect in conjunction with the front stop means aligning of the delivered sheets while the other stop member is an inactive position clear of the auxiliary table, and bias means for biasing said pivotable means of said support means toward the pivotable position in which the first rear stop member is in its active position while the second rear stop member is in its inactive position, placement of said table in one selected position freeing the bias means for pivoting the first rear stop member into its active position and placement of said table into another selected position moving said table into engagement with the second rear stop member thereby pivoting the pivotable means of said support means against the action of said bias means into a position in which the second rear stop member is in its active aligning position and the first stop member is in its inactive position.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein said pivotable means comprise a pivot pin for each of said rear stop members and linkage means coupling said stop members for pivotable movement about said pins in one direction by the action of said bias means and for pivotable movement in the opposite direction in response to engagement of the second rear stop member with said auxiliary table.

3. The device according to claim 2 wherein said auxiliary table is of substantially rectangular configuration, two of the edges of the table being normal to the direction of displacement of the table, and wherein said front stop means are disposed parallel to said edges and the rear stop means being disposed adjacent to the other of said edges, the axis of the pivot pin for the first rear stop member being substantially parallel to said other edge and the axis of the pin for the second rear stop member being substantially normal to said other edge and substantially parallel to the surface of the auxiliary table.

4. The device according to claim 2 wherein the axes of said pivot pins are substantially parallel to the sur face of said auxiliary table, and wherein said linkage means include a link mounting a cam follower and an edge portion of said other edge of the auxiliary table constitutes a cam surface engageable with said cam follower when the auxiliary table is slidably moved in said guide means into said other selected position, engage- 7 ment of the cam follower with said cam surface upon said displacement of the table causing said pivoting of said support means against the action of said bias means.

5. The device according to claim 2 wherein the axes of said pivot pins are substantially parallel to the surface of said auxiliary table, and wherein solenoid means coact with said first rear stop member for causing in re sponse to energization pivoting of the support means for the rear stop members into the position in which the first rear stop member is in its inactive position and the second rear stop member is in its active position, said solenoid means being connected in an energizing circuit including a circuit means, an edge portion of the auxiliary table engageable with the first rear stop mem her when said table is slidably moved in said guide means into said other selected position mounting a cam surface coacting with said switch means so as to oper ate the same for energizing said solenoid means.

Claims

1. A sheet feeding device of a printing press, said device comprising in combination: a frame an up and down movable main delivery pile table and an auxiliary delivery pile table; conveyor means having a portion thereof positioned above said auxiliary table for delivering sheet thereto guide means for slidably supporting said auxiliary table above and parallel to said main table into any one of several selected positions; a movable support means supported by and bridging said frame; said guide means being supported by said movable support means; front stop means secured to and protruding from the auxiliary table for aligning the leading edge of sheets delivered to the auxiliary table; rear stop means including a first rear stop member and a second rear stop member, said support means including pivotable means for supporting said rear stop members for alternately pivoting the same into an active position in which one stop member coacts with the trailing edge of sheets delivered to the auxiliary table to effect in conjunction with the front stop means aligning of the delivered sheets while the other stop member is an inactive position clear of the auxiliary table, and bias means for biasing said pivotable means of said support means toward the pivotable position in which the first rear stop member is in its active position while the second rear stop member is in its inactive position, placement of said table in one selected position freeing the bias means for pivoting the first rear stop member into its active position and placement of said table into another selected position moving said table into engagement with the second rear stop member thereby pivoting the pivotable means of said support means against the action of said bias means into a position in which the second rear stop member is in its active aligning position and the first stop member is in its inactive position.

4. The device according to claim 2 wherein the axes of said pivot pins are substantially parallel to the surface of said auxiliary table, and wherein said linkage means include a link mounting a cam follower and an edge portion of said other edge of the auxiliary table constitutes a cam surface engageable with said cam follower when the auxiliary table is slidably moved in said guide means into said other selected position, engagement of the cam follower with said cam surface upon said displacement of the table causing said pivoting of said support means against the action of said bias means.

5. The device according to claim 2 wherein the axes of said pivot pins are substantially parallel to the surface of said auxiliary table, and wherein solenoid means coact with said first rear stop member for causing in response to energization pivoting of the support means for the rear stop members into the position in which the first rear stop member is in its inactive position and the second rear stop member is in its active position, said solenoid means being connected in an energizing circuit including a circuit means, an edge portion of the auxiliary table engageable with the first rear stop member when said table is slidably moved in said guide means into said other selected position mounting a cam surface coacting with said switch means so as to operate the same for energizing said solenoid means.