Sheet dispensing device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12037218-B2
Application number	US-202117797277-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 16, 2021
Priority date	Feb 25, 2020
Publication date	Jul 16, 2024
Grant date	Jul 16, 2024

Abstract

The present invention includes a lift portion lifting and inverting a sheet group including a plurality of stacked sheets and a conveyor portion that moves, along a conveying direction, each sheet transferred from the lift portion, wherein: the lift portion includes frames, a fork portion, an inversion mechanism turning the fork portion to lift and invert the sheet group, and a fork movement mechanism moving the fork portion; the lift portion is equipped with a width direction movement mechanism moving the sheet group in a width direction; and after the sheet group is mounted on the fork portion and before the sheet group is transferred to the conveyor portion, the width direction movement mechanism is controlled on the basis of detection information from a position sensor to center the sheet group within a reference width direction range.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A sheet supply device comprising:
a lift portion that lifts and inverts a sheet group including a plurality of flatly stacked sheets;
a conveyor portion that moves each sheet of the sheet group transferred from the lift portion in a transport direction;
wherein the lift portion is configured to include a frame that extends in a flat stacking direction of the sheet group, a fork portion that is supported by the frame so as to be movable in the flat stacking direction and has the sheet group mounted thereon, an inversion mechanism that turns the fork portion to lift and invert the mounted sheet group, and a fork movement mechanism that moves the fork portion in the flat stacking direction,
a width-direction movement mechanism that is equipped on the lift portion and moves the mounted sheet group in a width direction;
a position sensor that detects a width-direction position of the sheet group; and
a centering control device that controls the width-direction movement mechanism on the basis of detection information of the position sensor, and centers the width-direction position of the sheet group within a reference width-direction range, from when the sheet group is mounted on the fork portion to when the sheet group is transferred to the conveyor portion.

2. The sheet supply device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the width-direction movement mechanism is a roller conveyor device including a roller that is disposed below the lowered fork portion at an initial position and is lifted and moved vertically upward from the fork portion at the initial position to support the sheet group to move the sheet group in the width direction.

3. The sheet supply device according to claim 2 ,
wherein a dispensing device that moves a lowermost layer sheet of the sheet group in the width direction and dispenses the lowermost layer sheet to a lateral side of the dispensing device is applied to the roller conveyor device.

4. The sheet supply device according to claim 2 ,
wherein when the fork portion is at the initial position, the centering control device controls the roller conveyor device on the basis of the detection information of the position sensor and centers the width-direction position of the sheet group within the reference width-direction range.

5. The sheet supply device according to claim 2 ,
wherein when the fork portion is lifted from the initial position, the centering control device controls the roller conveyor device on the basis of the detection information of the position sensor and centers the width-direction position of the sheet group within the reference width-direction range.

6. The sheet supply device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the fork portion includes
a fork portion body on which the sheet group is mounted,
a support that movably supports the fork portion body in the width direction, and
a fork portion movement mechanism that moves the fork portion body in the width direction with respect to the support to move the mounted sheet group in the width direction, and
the width-direction movement mechanism is the fork portion movement mechanism.

7. The sheet supply device according to claim 6 ,
wherein the centering control device controls the fork portion movement mechanism on the basis of the detection information of the position sensor while the fork portion is lifted or inverted, and centers the width-direction position of the sheet group within the reference width-direction range.

8. The sheet supply device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the width-direction movement mechanism is a frame movement mechanism that moves the frame in the width direction to move the mounted sheet group in the width direction.

9. The sheet supply device according to claim 8 , further comprising:
two rails that extend in the width direction; and
a movable base frame that is equipped on the two rails so as to be movable in the width direction and forms a part of the frame,
wherein the frame movement mechanism moves the movable base frame in the width direction to move the mounted sheet group in the width direction.

10. The sheet supply device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a gripping type movement mechanism that grips the sheet group to move the sheet group in the width direction when the sheet group is at a lifted and inverted position,
wherein the gripping type movement mechanism is applied to the width-direction movement mechanism.

11. The sheet supply device according to claim 10 , further comprising:
a transfer sheet support that is provided so as to face the fork portion when the sheet group is at a lifted and inverted position, and grips the sheet group from both end sides in the flat stacking direction in cooperation with the fork portion to guide the transfer of the sheet group to the conveyor portion,
wherein the gripping type movement mechanism includes the fork portion and the transfer sheet support.

12. The sheet supply device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the lift portion includes a transfer control device that controls the inversion mechanism and the fork movement mechanism,
the width-direction movement mechanism includes a moving body that moves in the width direction to move the sheet group in the width direction,
the transfer control device performs initial position return control of returning the fork portion to the initial position after the transfer of the sheet group to the conveyor portion is completed, and
the centering control device performs neutral position return control of returning the moving body to a neutral position in the width direction during the initial position return control.

13. The sheet supply device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the reference width-direction range is within a range of ±50 mm with respect to a width-direction reference position.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Heavy Ind Mach Systems Ltd

Inventors

• Ando Kazuhiro
• Kinjo Masahiro

Classifications

• B65H7/10

  responsive to incorrect side register (controlling transverse register of webs B65H23/032) · CPC title

• B65H2404/651

  having at least one element, e.g. stacker/inverter · CPC title

• B65H2301/33214

  about an axis perpendicular to the direction of displacement and parallel to the surface of material · CPC title

• B65H2301/333

  Inverting · CPC title

• B65H2405/351

  shifting transversely to transport direction, e.g. for handling stepped piles · CPC title