JP4092336B2 - A device that supplies flat segmented articles to an insertion device for segmented conveyors with accuracy. - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for supplying flat sectioned articles with accuracy to an insertion device for a section conveyor.

  Such a device is generally used in a sorting conveyor for automatic pick-up and delivery equipment, for example as described in EP-A-827 786. In general, this section conveyor has a so-called insertion device (Einschussvorrichtungen). These insertion devices insert into the pockets of the conveyor that are turning the flat section article. These flat sectioned articles can be removed from these pockets and lined up at their respective partitioned physical destination locations of these flat sectioned articles and subsequently delivered to their particular location.

  Therefore, since the size and handleability of the flat sectioned article are easily changed in a wide range, the section of the flat sectioned article is relatively demanding. On the other hand, from almost only size, there are a wide variety of different dimensions in width, height and thickness. Furthermore, there are many different forms of packaging and rigidity of flat sectioned articles. This form includes, for example, brochures and magazines that are rather hard and non-resilient cardboard book covers and rather soft and packaged. In this case, so-called direct mail is very problematic. These direct mails generally consist only of bundles of loose leaves that contain advertising material and are often additionally bound and have bound advertisements that protrude beyond the dimensions of other magazines.

  In general, such direct mail and other flat sectioned articles also need to be loaded into the above-described supply device in a horizontally stacked stack and pulled out individually from these stacks. This itself is a technically equally demanding task. In order to be able to feed these sectioned articles that are flat and generally horizontally, into the section conveyor that is turning by the insertion device, it is necessary to stand these sections upright. However, this standing also requires that the sectioned articles are positioned and guided very accurately in advance with respect to the device for standing these sectioned articles. In this case, it is particularly difficult to handle segmented articles that are hardly elastic and almost uniform, such as the direct mail mentioned above, and are therefore generally not automatically fed, but manually positioned from the insertion location to the feeding device. There is a need to. This is a significant cost factor.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for feeding flat segmented articles to positioner conveyor insertion devices in a position-accurate manner, which makes it possible to supply the above-mentioned particularly problematic segmented articles with sufficient accuracy for further processing. It is to provide.

In the case of an apparatus of the type described at the outset, according to the present invention, the discharge device for periodically and individually pulling out flat sectioned articles supplies the conveyor section in the form of pulling out flat sectioned articles individually. After the divided article reaches a predetermined conveyor position in the conveyor section, the feeding device delivers the individually drawn divided article to the insertion device by a predetermined feed , and the conveyor section preceding immediately before the predetermined conveyor position. In this case, this part of the conveyor section has a pair of belts used for conveying the divided articles, in which case one belt of this pair of belts has two rollers This is solved by being laid to rotate around and removable from the other belt of this belt pair for a predetermined period of time .

  In this way, it is ensured that the segmented article is positioned in the insertion device at a predetermined end position based on this proper feed. As a result, further processing, in particular the vertical installation of the divided articles, can be carried out reliably and automatically. In this case, since the sorted article appropriately translates by an accurate feed amount when the sorted article reaches a predetermined place, the size and nature of the sorted article are not a problem.

  In particular, in the case of direct mail with loose leaves that are not fastened, it is particularly important that a relatively stable edge, for example a fold edge, can be arranged below. For this reason, the configuration of the present invention proposes that sorted articles having a leading edge can be arranged in a stack in the discharge device and can be passed to the conveyor section by the leading edge at the front.

  A particularly reliable configuration of this above-mentioned feature comprises a rotatable device in which the discharge device is formed in the form of a drum, which device comprises a soccer and a transport securing element. In this case, the football can grab the segmented articles adjacent to the drum, and the transport ensuring element can subsequently mesh with the edges of the segmented articles meshed with these footballs, in particular the front edge. Thus, the soccer sucks the bottom segment in the stack near its edge and separates it from the segment facing it based on the drum's annular trajectory. Subsequently, a transport securing element controlled by a pivoting movement, for example a lever pressing the segmented article against its thrust bearing (Gegenlager) by its edge, grips the segmented article. This sectioned article is withdrawn from the stack and sent to the appropriate location on the annular track.

  In this case, it is particularly preferable that the negative pressure of the football can be released and the conveyance securing element can be removed from the edge portion, because the divided articles are placed on the conveyor section in accordance with the rotation angle sections that can be preset. This sectioned article is thus freely transportable on the conveyor section. However, this does not necessarily require the sectioned article to be placed in a horizontal position. This is because the pivoting movement of the drum-like device also allows other positions.

  In a preferred configuration of the invention, a predetermined conveyor location may be indicated by a light gate assigned to the conveyor section and / or by a contact sensor assigned to the conveyor section. Additionally or alternatively, the predetermined conveyor location may be additionally or alternatively indicated by the end of the conveyor section.

  When the supply device has a telescopic device with a movable slider, a supply device that can be driven mechanically particularly reliably and is simply constructed is realized. In this case, the slider moves with respect to a predetermined conveyor position upon arrival of the divided article. In this case, the predetermined feed coincides with a predetermined movement displacement. In this case, this entry and exit can be operated both electrically and for example pneumatically. Therefore, this displacement can be varied within a suitable range according to the control of this operating element. As a result, this displacement may be quite shorter than the length of any displacement means, for example a displacement rail.

  In order to ensure that the predetermined point for delivering the divided article to the insertion device can always be maintained during the continuous automatic operation, the divided article following the currently delivered divided article reaches the predetermined conveyor point. Before doing so, the slider of the telescopic device is adjusted so that the slider of the telescopic device is returned to its stop position. In this case, the next sectioned article can be transported to the predetermined conveyor location by the return slider of the telescopic device. It is only important that the slider is returned to its stop position at least for this moment when the segment has reached a certain conveyor point and at the same time the delivery of this segment to the slider is imminent. is there.

  In a particularly preferred configuration of the telescopic device, the slider of the telescopic device has a conveyor belt that rotates. The conveyor belt is not driven during the carry-out movement, but is driven during the carry-in movement. Therefore, the position of the divided article is maintained unchanged with respect to the slider during the carry-out movement, and the delivery of the divided article to the insertion device is assisted by the appropriate drive of the conveyor belt during the carry-in movement accordingly. Is possible.

  A particularly important point for transferring the sectioned article from the slider to the insertion device is the carrying-in movement of the slider in the returning direction. When the drive element for the conveyor belt of the slider is connected to the moving part of the slider, the carry-in movement directed thereafter is made equal relative to the divided articles. In this case, a flywheel is provided for the carry-out movement. The speed of the conveyor belt is at least adequately adapted to the speed of the carry-in movement during the carry-in movement, but the sign is reversed.

Another particularly preferred and easily constructed embodiment for a telescopic device is a telescopic device having at least one mechanism consisting of two roller pairs connected by a loop belt. This mechanism has the following characteristics:
a) The relative positions of both rollers inside one roller pair are constant with each other;
b) one roller pair is fixedly arranged and the other roller pair is fixed to a slider that carries out the carry-out and carry-in movements;
c) Each roller pair comprises at least one roller having a flywheel. as a result,
c1) In the case of carrying out the slider, the belt is rotated only by the rollers of the fixed roller pair.
c2) When the slider is loaded, the belt is rotated only by the roller fixed to the slider.

  Therefore, since the rotor and the slider move away from the slider in the feeding direction by the two rollers of the slider according to the movement of the belt returning at the time of carrying in, the sectioned articles are not sensed, so that the belt is driven at the time of carrying-in movement. A drive element is no longer required for the slider. Therefore, the divided article remains accurately at the end position of the unloading movement. This is very intended. Due to the flywheel provided per roller pair, the belt remains unchanged during the unloading movement in the area of the slider. This is because the belt is rotated by a pair of rollers fixed during the unloading movement, and the slider roller makes the belt non-rotatable by these rollers because of the flywheel that is stopped at that time. is there. In order to be able to transport the sectioned articles from the conveyor section to the slider particularly well, the conveyor section and the slider in at least the region of the stop position of the slider of the telescopic device have a plurality of spaced strip-like conveyor belts. . In this case, these strip-shaped conveyor belts of the conveyor section and the telescopic extension device are arranged alternately. Therefore, a so-called transfer area type is formed. At the same time, this transport area is the (end) component of the conveyor section and the slider.

  In particular, it is possible to transport the sorted articles into the transport area described above even when the slider is still returning as described above so that the number of clocks can be selected relatively high. In this case, the plane of the slider strip belt used as the primary storage for the segmented article is the strip belt of the conveyor section so that the returning slider has little effect on the segmented article being fed in the opposite direction. It may be slightly lower than the plane. Sorted articles are fed into this conveyor section. Only after unloading the slider and re-conveying the segmented article over the end of the conveyor belt, the slider receives the segmented article in a slider fashion. In this case, this reception can be greatly aided by the fact that the slider belt has an adhesive surface. In addition or alternatively, the segmented article can be properly held on the slider—even when not strictly fixed. For this reason, the segmented article engages with an elastic element carried on the roller until it reaches a predetermined conveyor position. This elastic element presses the sectioned article (easily) against the belt of the slider.

  If the slider of the telescoping device is adjusted so that the slider has at least approximately the speed of the sectioned article transported on the conveyor section as it sends the sectioned article from the conveyor section to the slider, transport from the conveyor section to the slider is Another feature to support can be realized. Therefore, there is no difference in relative speed when the divided article is sent from the conveyor section to the slider. As a result, the undesired movement of the divided article on the slider never occurs. Such a movement also occurs, for example, from a stop position due to a sectioned article already installed when the slider is accelerated.

  A completely different form of solution to the solution described above for the problem is the construction of a feeding device having conveyor elements which are plate-like and which are not rotationally symmetric. This conveyor element grips the segment by the area far from the axis until it releases the grip on the segment to the area close to the axis, thus causing a feed to the insertion device. Thus, while the segment is associated with the conveyor element, the segment is gripped as if it is a region far from the axis. As a result, a predetermined feed can be realized in this way. Depending on the thickness of the segmented article, the height relative to the conveyor element can be adjusted. As a result, segmented articles of the same length and different thickness engage the conveyor element. A swash plate cam that operates in the same manner may also be provided. Due to the unbalance, the swash plate cam is always engaged with the divided article for a predetermined period every rotation, and at the same time, a predetermined feeding of the divided article is realized.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of the first positioning device 2. The flat sectioned article 6 in the horizontal stack 4 is accurately transferred to the insertion device 8 partially shown by the first positioning device 2. Therefore, accurate delivery is extremely important. This is because the segment 6 continued to rotate from a horizontal position to a vertical position within the portion of the insertion device 8 not shown here, and then was not shown here again by a loading device not shown here. It is stored in the pocket of the sorting conveyor. It is self-evident that these method steps for classifying the segmented article 6 described above proceed at a relatively high segmentation speed, so that the segmented article 6 must always be able to be operated very accurately.

  The operation of the first positioning device 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. In this case, this operation basically holds true for the second positioning device 10 shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4 and the third positioning device 12 described in detail in FIGS.

  In this embodiment, the flat section article 6 is an advertising pamphlet folded by a model DIN A4. One or many separate attached leaflets are inserted into these advertising pamphlets. These pamphlets are not temporarily bound, but are only folded and folded as a bundle of loose leaves. Such a sectioned article 6 is extremely intractable because it never provides further operating points for automatic transport with position accuracy other than the folded edge, hereinafter referred to as the pulling edge. It is easy to see that it is difficult.

  These divided articles 6 are installed in a stack 4 on the primary storage site 18 by the take-out drum 16. In this case, the drawer drum 16 is a component of the discharge device 15. The drawing drum 16 is shown in an enlarged manner extracted in a broken line in FIG. 2 for better understanding. At this time, the lowermost divided article 6a is actively sucked from below by the soccer 20 disposed on the rotating take-out drum 16 and is first deflected downward from the stack 4. At the same time, the pulled edge portion 14 of the suctioned divided article 6 a is pressed by the lever 22 onto the thrust bearing 24 disposed on the pulling drum 16. As a result, the sectioned article 6 a sucked and sandwiched by the lever 22 follows the swiveling motion of the take-out drum 16. The negative pressure in the football 20 is offset again after a rotation of 180 °, and the lever 22 turns away from the thrust bearing 24. As a result, the sorted article 6a pulled out in this way is delivered to the conveyor section 26. This conveyor section 26 feeds the sectioned article 6 a drawn out by the strip-shaped conveyor belt 28 to the telescopic device 30. The process of pulling out a large number of pieces at the same time makes an exception. On the other hand, the lever 22 has a means for measuring a thickness that is not illustrated in the same manner using, for example, an inductive transmitter. When a plurality of drawers are actually detected, these sorted articles are not fed again into the conveyor section and are sent into a primary storage area which is also not shown.

  The telescopic device 30 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. In this regard, the movable carriage 32 of the telescopic device 30 moves at the speed of the strip-like belt 28 ′ of this conveyor section 26 which is finally arranged in the conveyor section 26. That is, when the pulling edge 14 of the divided article 6a reaches the optical gate 34, the carry-out movement is performed. In this case, similarly, the carriage 32 having the strip-like conveyor belt mechanism 38 returns to a predetermined feeding section, and when the carrying-in movement is carried out backward, that is, when the carrying-in movement toward the rear is carried out, the divided article 6a is placed on the conveyor belt 36 of the insertion device 8. Put. Next, the divided article 6a is conveyed into the insertion device 8 in the direction perpendicular to the immediately preceding feeding direction and rotated in the vertical direction. In this case, a roller element 42 is further provided. The roller element 42 is always pressed on the conveyor belt 36 when the divided article 6a is installed. This contributes to further maintaining an accurate installation location for the classified article 6a.

  In order to make it possible to carry out a precise installation of the sectioned article 6a on the conveyor belt 6, i.e. in particular, the pulling edge 14 is always installed at the same location, so that during the carry-in movement, the conveyor belt mechanism 38 Movement toward the rear of the slider 32 due to rotation is equalized by the leading edge 40 near the pulling edge 14. Therefore, the relative position of the pulling edge 14 with respect to the leading edge 40 of the slider 32 is maintained unchanged during the carry-out movement, and the front edge 40 retracts with respect to the pulling edge 14 during the carrying-in movement. Is the essence. However, this is relatively evenly viewed by the conveyor belt mechanism 38 that rotates through the leading edge 40 relative to the sectioned article 6a. In this way, the accurate position of the divided article 6a is maintained even during the carry-in movement of the slider. This is very important for further feeding of the segmented article 6a and an important intended purpose for the positioning device 2.

  It can be clearly seen from FIGS. 3 and 4 that the second positioning device, which is slightly changed compared to the first positioning device 2, changes only in the process of the conveyor section 26. For reasons of conserving space within the width, an arbitrarily usable height is utilized, and the sectioned article 6a that is removed by the take-out drum 16 is first tilted vertically and then horizontally and finally tilted downward. 30. Even in this case, an optical gate (not shown) is similarly provided. When one divided article 6a reaches this optical gate, the slider 32 is activated. In addition to the previously shown components of the telescoping device 30, a pneumatic device 44 having a tappet 46 driven by the pneumatic device 44 is also shown. The tappet 46 is connected to the slider 32. The pneumatic device 44 may be replaced with an electric drive for the tappet 46. This can also enable low noise operation under appropriate conditions. As in the embodiment described above, the telescoping device 30 is shown in a position that also exits in this second positioning device.

  The third positioning device 12, which is slightly changed compared to the first and second positioning devices 2 or 10, is passed to the slider 32 of the telescopic device 30 in a direction in which the sectioned article 6 a falls vertically here. And 6 clearly. Thus, this embodiment simplifies the insertion device 8 to the extent that the conveyor portion is moved from the horizontal position to the vertical position to rotate the sectioned article 6a. However, with regard to the feed and the achievement of the feed by the carry-out motion of the slider 32, this embodiment is not changed in principle as compared with both the above-described embodiments.

  7 and 8 schematically show a particularly preferred embodiment of the telescopic device 30. According to this embodiment, the telescoping device 30 has a number of conveyor belt mechanisms 38. Each one of these conveyor belts is shown. In the following, the functional operation of one of the conveyor belt mechanisms 38 will be described. Each conveyor belt mechanism 38 comprises two roller pairs 48, 50 having two rollers 48a and 48b or 50a and 50b, respectively, connected by a loop belt 38 '. In this case, the relative positions of both rollers 48a and 48b or 50a and 50b in the roller pair 48 and 50 are constant. The roller pair 48 is fixedly disposed on the telescopic device 30, and another roller pair 50 is fixed to the slider 32. The slider 32 performs a carry-out movement in the direction of the arrow 52 and a carry-in movement in the direction of the arrow 54.

  In this embodiment, each of the roller 48b and the roller 50b has one flywheel. In this case, the roller 48b is stopped counterclockwise, and the roller 50b is stopped clockwise. As a result, when the slider 32 is activated, the belt 38 ′ is rotated by the rollers 48 a and 48 b of the fixed roller pair 48. In this case, both rollers 48a and 48b rotate clockwise. Thus, the segmented article 6a no longer changes its position relative to the roller 50a during the unloading movement when the segmented article 6a reaches the light gate 34 once. This is very intentional. This positional relationship during the carry-in movement is particularly preferable. In this carry-in movement, the belt 38 ′ is rotated only by the rollers 50 a and 50 b fixed to the slider 32. In this case, the roller 50a rotates clockwise and the roller 50b rotates counterclockwise. Therefore, in general, the divided article 6a does not “sense” the carry-in movement during the carry-in movement, but holds the end position of the divided article 6a obtained by the carry-out movement as desired. Therefore, the pulling edge 14 of the sectioned article 6a is always exactly at the desired position on the insertion device 8. In order to support this process, a spring plate 58 supported by a roller 56 is provided. The spring plate 58 easily presses the segmented article 6a against the conveyor belt 38 'constructed to be adhesive during the unloading movement, and with the segmented article 6a without friction through the segmented article 6a during the unloading movement. -Return.

  It can be seen very clearly that the conveyor belt 38 'is located slightly below the conveyor belt 28'. This conveyor belt 28 ′ may belong to the conveyor section 26. As a result, even when the slider 32 enters, the new sectioned article 6a already above can be sent to the light gate 34. This area can therefore be provided as a type of transport area that transitions from the conveyor section 26 to the telescopic device 30.

  FIG. 9 schematically shows a side surface of the fourth positioning device 60. The fourth positioning device 60 is based on the third positioning device 12 but is constituted by a vertical delivery device 62 instead of the telescopic device 30. In this case, the fourth positioning device 60 is excellent in that the portion 26 'of the conveyor section 26 preceding immediately before a predetermined conveyor location is oriented substantially vertically. In this case, this part 26 ′ of the conveyor section 26 has a pair of belts 64, 66 that are used to transport the sectioned article 6 a. In this case, one belt 64 of the belt pair 64, 66 is laid so as to rotate around the two rollers 68, 70, and can be detached from the other belt 66 of the belt pair 64, 66 for a predetermined period. is there. Thus, the feeding of the specific sectioned article 6a of the present invention is realized within the range of the free fall object. This fallen object ends when the divided article 6a collides with the insertion device 8. Thus, the segmented article 6a can be placed on the insertion device 8 by the direct pull edge 14 as desired and inserted into the segmented conveyor. In addition to achieving the desired feed without so many moving parts, this positioning device 60 is excellent on the one hand in its small space requirements and on the other hand without any loss of plugging or of the material. It is advantageous in that a special sectioned article 6a into which a flyer protruding from the edge is inserted can be supplied without clogging or similar obstacles.

  That is, in this case, the sensor arranged slightly below the roller 70 detects that the corresponding predetermined-length segmented article 6a is separated from the belt pair 64, 66, and the belt 64 is removed by the appropriate control means 72. Actuate. In this case, the removal period is selected so that the period of the removal process is adapted to the supply cycle of the divided article and the length of the divided article 6a.

  In order to facilitate feeding of the article 6a that falls freely passing therethrough, a drop path 74 that is widened in a dovetail shape is provided in the feeding direction as viewed toward the belt pair. This drop path 74 joins the insertion device 8.

  In other systems not shown, all the positioning devices 2, 10, 12, and 12 indicated by the attachment of one point in front of the section that achieves the predetermined feed into the conveyor section 26, 60 performance can be improved. This point diverts the flow of the extracted segmented article 6a generated by the extraction drum 16 into different feed paths. This means, for example, that two telescoping devices 30 or two vertical delivery devices 62 are driven side by side in parallel. Of course, a third or fourth function for driving in parallel is also conceivable. In this case, only the speed of the take-out device may be limited. The regular function of the above-described more or less limited performance of this pick-up device determines the limits of a proper system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the front of a first positioning device with a subsequent placement of the insertion device. It is the schematic of the side surface of a 1st positioning device. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the front of a second positioning device with a subsequent placement of the insertion device. It is the schematic of the side surface of a 2nd positioning device. It is the schematic of the front of a 3rd positioning device. It is the schematic of the side surface of a 3rd positioning apparatus. Figure 2 is a schematic side view of a telescopic device in the exited state. Figure 2 is a schematic side view of a telescopic device in a state of entry. It is the schematic of the side surface of the 4th positioning device with a vertical delivery apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

2 First positioning device 4 Stack 6 Flat article 6a Flat article 8 taken out Insertion device 10 Second positioning device 12 Third positioning device 14 Pulling edge 15 Ejecting device 16 Extracting drum 18 Primary storage 20 Soccer 22 Lever 24 Thrust bearing 26 Conveyor section 28 Conveyor section strip conveyor belt 28 'Last strip conveyor belt 30 located in conveyor section Nested device 32 Movable carriage 34 Light gate 36 Conveyor belt 38 Conveyor belt mechanism 38' Belt 40 Previous Edge 42 Roller element 44 Pneumatic device 46 Tappet 48, 50 Roller pair 48a, 48b Roller 50a, 50b Roller 52, 54 Arrow 56 Roller 58 Spring plate 60 Fourth positioning device 62 Delivery device 64, 66 Belt pair 68, 70 Low 72 control means 74 fall path

Claims (9)

In the device (2, 10, 12) for supplying the flat sectioned article (6, 6a) to the insertion device (8) for the section conveyor accurately
A discharge device (15) for periodically and individually pulling out the flat sectioned article (6) supplies the flat sectioned article to the conveyor section (26) in an individually pulled form, and these sectioned articles (6a) are fed into the conveyor section. After reaching the predetermined conveyor location in (26), the feeding device (30) delivers the individually drawn segmented articles (6a) to the insertion device (8) by a predetermined feed, and The portion of the immediately preceding conveyor section (26) is oriented substantially vertically, in which case this portion (26 ') of the conveyor section (26) is the belt pair used for transporting the sectioned article (6a). (64, 66). In this case, one belt (64) of the belt pair (64, 66) is laid so as to rotate around the two rollers (68, 70). During this period And wherein the from other belt bets pairs (64, 66) (66) is removable (2,10,12).   The sectioned articles (6, 6a) have a leading edge (14), and these sectioned articles (6, 6a) can be arranged in a stack in the discharge device (15) and are at the leading front edge Device (2, 10, 12) according to claim 1, characterized in that it can be passed to the conveyor section (26) by (14).   The discharge device (15) comprises a rotatable device (16) formed in the form of a drum, which device comprises a soccer (20) and a transport securing element (22), in this case a soccer (20) Grips the sectioned article (6a) adjacent to the drum (16) and the transport securing element (22) continues to engage the edges of the sectioned article, in particular the front edge (14). The device (2, 10, 12) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the device (2, 10, 12) can be engaged.   Since the divided articles (6a) are placed on the conveyor section (26) according to the rotation angle sections that can be preset, the negative pressure of the soccer (20) can be released and the transport securing element (22) is removed from the edge. Device (2, 10, 12) according to claim 3, characterized in that it is possible.   A predetermined conveyor location is indicated by a light gate (34) assigned to the conveyor section (26) and / or by a contact sensor assigned to the conveyor section (26). The apparatus (2, 10, 12) according to any one of the above.   6. The device (2, 10, 12) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the predetermined conveyor location is indicated by the end of the conveyor section. 7. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a corresponding predetermined length of segmented article is detected separating from the belt pair and the removal of one of the belt pairs is activated. 8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a period of the removing step is adjusted to a supply cycle of the divided articles. Fall path which spread in a dovetail shape, provided in the feed direction as viewed toward the belt pair, the fall pathway of the preceding claims, characterized in that joining the insertion device (8) The apparatus of any one of Claims.

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