System for delivering printed products of identical or different thickness and method for their transfer to a delivery system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11261047-B2
Application number	US-201916517697-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 22, 2019
Priority date	Jul 25, 2018
Publication date	Mar 1, 2022
Grant date	Mar 1, 2022

Abstract

A system has: a transport chain, which is roof-shaped in an upper region, along which printed products are transportable astride, collectable, and optionally stitchable in an intermediate stitching station; and a stop, which is adjustable in accordance with a format of a printed product of the printed products being delivered, is arranged in a transport direction of the printed products, and is positioned after the intermediate stitching station along the transport chain, the stop corresponding to a location of delivery of the printed product from the transport chain. A cyclic transfer of the printed product during the delivery takes place via a delivery system, the delivery system having in an infeed region a printed product transporter configured to transfer the printed product being delivered, the printed product transporter having pivot arms, the pivot arms being controllable according to a measured thickness of the printed product being delivered.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a transport chain, which is roof-shaped in an upper region, along which one or more printed products are transportable astride, collectable, and optionally stitchable in an intermediate stitching station; and
a stop, which is adjustable in accordance with a format of a printed product of the printed products being delivered, is arranged in a transport direction of the printed products, and is positioned after the intermediate stitching station along the transport chain, the stop corresponding to a location of delivery of the printed product from the transport chain,
wherein a cyclic transfer of the printed product during the delivery takes place via a delivery system, the delivery system having in an infeed region a printed product transporter configured to transfer the printed product being delivered, the printed product transporter comprising pivot arms, the pivot arms being controllable according to a measured thickness of the printed product being delivered, and
wherein the stop is adjustable and has a stop plane that is oriented toward the transport direction of the printed product, the printed product comprising one or more folded sheets, the stop being configured to perform a matched stop and alignment function with respect to a front edge of the printed product during its delivery,
wherein the system is configured to perform the matched stop and alignment function such that: there are horizontally and vertically superimposed movements of the printed product, the horizontal movement of the printed product being predetermined by the operation of the saddle chain, the stop does not completely and abruptly stop the horizontal movement of the printed product, and the printed product is lifted away from the saddle chain by the delivery system in operative connection with the ejector prior to impinging on the stop.

2. The system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the pivot arms of the printed product transporter are arranged in pairs and on both sides of the infeed region of the delivery system,
wherein each of the pairs respectively comprises two of the pivot arms which extend essentially vertically and are spaced apart from one another, and
wherein each of the pairs of the pivot arms is operatively connected to a double cam disk, the cam disk being configured to implement a spreading of the corresponding pivot arms by a rotary movement and at the same time a change in a distance between infeed rollers operatively connected to the pivot arms, depending on the measured thickness of the printed product being delivered.

3. The system according to claim 2 ,
wherein the pivot arms in combination with one another operate over an entirety of the infeed region of the delivery system, and
wherein the infeed rollers operate in a coordinate manner, are mounted on connecting shafts clamped between individual ones of the pivot arms, and are configured to bring about an integral detection and further transport of the printed product being delivered.

4. A system according to claim 2 , wherein the spreading of the pivot arms takes place with the inclusion of the infeed rollers, which are arranged transversely to the infeed of the delivery system, for detecting the measured thickness of the printed product being delivered by an angular opening of the pivot arms from the top downward.

5. The system according to claim 2 ,
wherein the pivot arms are operatively connected to a spring element in order to determine the measured thickness of the printed product being delivered with the inclusion of the infeed rollers arranged transversely to the infeed of the delivery system, and
wherein, by the spring element, a spring force acts on the cam disc to effect a predetermined spreading of the pivot arms to each other, and, simultaneously with the pivot arms, the corresponding infeed rollers are subjected to the spring force.

6. The system according to claim 2 ,
wherein the spreading of the pivot arms is a spring-loaded spreading, and is configured to take place with inclusion of the infeed rollers, which are arranged transversely to the infeed of the delivery system, depending on the respectively measured thickness of the printed product being delivered, and
wherein a spring force for the spring-loaded spreading is exerted by a spring element, the spring force causing a frictional force of the infeed rollers to be exerted on the printed product delivered.

7. The system according to claim 2 , wherein the spreading of the corresponding pivot arms is for detecting the thickness of the printed product being delivered, and is configured to take place in such a way that the pivot arms operating in pairs open parallelly to one another, with the inclusion of the infeed rollers arranged transversely to the infeed of the delivery system, and that each pair of pivot arms have a spring element therebetween which serves to clamp the ends of each pair of pivot arms to one another.

8. The system according to claim 2 ,
wherein in the case of a jam of the printed product being delivered, the pivot arms with the inclusion of the infeed rollers arranged transversely to the infeed of the delivery system, are configured to open to a maximum or quasi-maximum,
wherein in the event of a double removal of folded sheets, the pivot arms with the inclusion of the infeed rollers arranged transversely to the infeed of the delivery system, are configured to open according to thickness differences among the printed products, and
wherein in the event that the printed product being delivered has a difference in thickness from one part of the printed product to another part of the printed product in comparison to a folding symmetry, open the pivot arms with the inclusion of the infeed rollers arranged transversely to the infeed of the delivery system.

9. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the stop, in interactive connection with interdependently operable components, provides a cyclically and format- stabilized delivery of the printed product.

10. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the printed product transporter is configured to make a lateral adjustment depending on the measured thickness of the printed product being delivered, and
wherein the printed product transporter is configured to adjust position with respect to a thickness symmetry of the printed product being delivered.

11. The system according to claim 1 , wherein an ejector is operatively connected to the delivery system, the ejector being configured to cyclically deliver the printed products, which each comprising one or more folded sheets.

12. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising a cutting apparatus operatively arranged after the delivery system, the cutting apparatus configured to be fed the printed product after it has been format-stabilized via the stop.

13. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the system is configured to change a direction of the printed product in a region of the delivery system, the change of the direction being in relation to the transport direction of the transport chain by approximately 90°.

14. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the transport chain is a saddle chain that is equipped with foldable transport fingers for co-transporting the printed product, which comprises one or more folded sheets.

15. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the delivery system has a series of conveyor belts that act in a coordinated manner, and that are operatively connected to an ejector arranged on the underside of the ridge of the printed product, the conveyor belts configured to effect further

Assignees

• Mueller Martini Holding Ag

Inventors

• Leuenberger Lukas

Classifications

• B65H2801/48

  Bookbinding · CPC title

• B65H2511/20

  Location in space · CPC title

• B65H2511/13

  Thickness · CPC title

• B42C19/08 Primary

  Conveying between operating stations in machines (conveyors in general B65G) · CPC title

• B65H7/02

  by feelers or detectors · CPC title