Printing press comprising a non-impact printing device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12116226-B2
Application number	US-202218561359-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 21, 2022
Priority date	Jul 16, 2021
Publication date	Oct 15, 2024
Grant date	Oct 15, 2024

Abstract

In some examples, a printing press includes a non-impact printing device, and further includes a plurality of processing stations that each process sheets. In the printing press, at least one lifting nozzle is arranged in a profile element of a guide device. The lifting nozzle is configured to open in a direction of a tip of a tapered profile element. A suction belt feed table includes a catching device having a catching position, which is assumed as a result of an actuation, for adjacent individual sheets that follow one another. The catching device, in its catching position, catches sheets on the suction belt feed table that are fed from a first transport device, which is arranged upstream from the suction belt feed table, to the suction belt feed table, before the sheets are transferred to a transport device arranged downstream from the suction belt feed table and stacked there.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A printing press comprising a non-impact printing device ( 13 ), the printing press further comprising a plurality of processing stations for processing sheets ( 77 ); the plurality of processing stations arranged along a transport direction (T) of the sheets ( 77 ); a first processing station of the plurality of processing stations comprising the non-impact printing device ( 13 ); the first processing station or a second processing station of the plurality of processing stations comprising a first transport device that transports the sheets ( 77 ) along a first linear transport section, the first transport device comprising at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ) that continuously revolves and that is diverted at a rotating diverting roller ( 76 ); the first transport device being configured to transport adjacent individual sheets ( 77 ) that directly follow one another in a sequence lying flat on the at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ); a second transport device transporting the sheets ( 77 ) lying flat along a second linear transport section, on at least one second conveyor belt ( 18 ) that continuously revolves and that is arranged downstream in the transport direction (T) from the first or second processing station comprising the first transport device; a discontinuity point ( 78 ) in mechanical support of the sheets ( 77 ) to be transferred being formed at a location at which the sheets ( 77 ) to be transported are transferred from the at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ) of the first transport device to the relevant at least one second conveyor belt ( 18 ) of the second transport device following in the transport direction (T) of the sheets ( 77 ), in a conveying plane (E 19 ) of the sheets ( 77 ) to be transported; the diverting roller ( 76 ) diverting the at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ) of the first transport device being arranged at the discontinuity point ( 78 ) in the mechanical support of the sheets ( 77 ) to be transferred; a guide device ( 42 ), which extends transversely to the transport direction (T) of the sheets ( 77 ) and comprises a tapered profile element ( 79 ), being arranged at the discontinuity point ( 78 ); the guide device ( 42 ) being arranged at the discontinuity point ( 78 ) between the at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ) and the at least one second conveyor belt ( 18 ) arranged consecutively in the transport direction (T) of the sheets ( 77 ); a tip of the profile element ( 79 ) being oriented toward the at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ) of the first transport device counter to the transport direction (T) of the sheets ( 77 ); the tip of the profile element ( 79 ) being spaced apart from the at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ) by a gap between the tip and the at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ); the gap between the tip of the profile element ( 79 ) and the at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ) having a width in a range between 1 mm and 5 mm; a control unit ( 71 ) and at least one lifting nozzle ( 43 ) being provided; and a third processing station of the plurality of processing stations, that is arranged directly downstream from the first or second processing station, being configured as a suction belt feed table ( 19 ), characterized in that the at least one lifting nozzle ( 43 ) is arranged in the profile element ( 79 ) of the guide device ( 42 ), the at least one lifting nozzle ( 43 ) being configured to open in a direction of the tip of the profile element ( 79 ), the suction belt feed table ( 19 ) comprising a catching device ( 58 ) having a catching position, which is assumed as a result of an actuation, for adjacent individual sheets ( 77 ) that follow one another, and the catching device ( 58 ), in the catching position, catching the sheets ( 77 ) on the suction belt feed table ( 19 ) that are fed from the first transport device ( 18 ), which is arranged upstream from the suction belt feed table ( 19 ), to the suction belt feed table ( 19 ) before being transferred to a transport device arranged downstream from the suction belt feed table ( 19 ), and stacked.

2. The printing press according to claim 1 , characterized in that the diverting roller ( 76 ) diverting the at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ) of the first transport device and the guide device ( 42 ) are each arranged beneath the conveying plane (E 19 ) of the sheets ( 77 ) to be transported and arranged to end up flush with the conveying plane (E 19 ) on an upper side.

3. The printing press according to claim 1 , characterized in that the at least one lifting nozzle ( 43 ) is activated, or at least can be activated, by the control unit ( 71 ).

4. The printing press according to claim 3 , characterized in that, upon an activation of the guide device ( 42 ), an air jet flowing out of an opening of the at least one lifting nozzle ( 43 ) is oriented against the at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ) of the first transport device.

5. The printing press according to claim 4 , characterized in that the air jet that is oriented against the at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ) of the first transport device is oriented at the at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ) in such a way that the air jet flowing from the lifting nozzle ( 43 ) intersects a circumferential line of the diverting roller ( 76 ) secantially.

6. The printing press according to claim 4 , characterized in that the air jet flowing out of the opening of the at least one lifting nozzle ( 43 ) is oriented in such a way at the at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ) that a free upper boundary of the air jet which faces a leading edge of a respective sheet ( 77 ) being transported on the at least one first conveyor belt ( 16 ) neither intersects nor overlaps with a tangent between a circumferential line of the diverting roller ( 76 ) and the lifting nozzle ( 43 ) of the guide device ( 42 ).

7. The printing press according to claim 6 , characterized in that the at least one lifting nozzle ( 43 ) of the guide device ( 42 ) is controlled by the control unit ( 71 ) in such a way that the guide device ( 42 ) only maintains the air jet flowing out of the relevant lifting nozzle ( 43 ) until the leading edge of the respective sheet ( 77 ) has passed the gap at the discontinuity point ( 78 ), which is located in the at a periphery of the diverting roller ( 76 ) and extends transversely to the transport direction (T) of the sheets ( 77 ), and the leading edge of the respective sheet ( 77 ) has been lifted onto the tip of the profile element ( 79 ) of the guide device ( 42 ) by the air jet flowing out of the at least one lifting nozzle ( 43 ).

8. The printing press according to claim 3 , characterized in that the guide device ( 42 ) is activated in cycles by the control unit ( 71 ), wherein a respective cycle of the cycles is synchronized with an arrival of a leading edge of a respective sheet ( 77 ) at the diverting roller ( 76 ) of the first conveyor belt ( 16 ).

9. The printing press according to claim 1 , characterized in that the at least one lifting nozzle ( 43 ) comprises a plurality of lifting nozzles ( 43 ) that are arranged in the profile element ( 79 ) in a row extending transversely to the transport direction (T) of the sheets ( 77 ).

10. The printing press according to claim 1 , characterized in that the control unit ( 71 ) controlling the guide device ( 42 ) actuates the catching device ( 58 ) as a function of a disruption that has occurred in one of the processing stations, of the plurality of processing stations, that is arranged downstream from the suction belt feed table ( 19 ) in such a way that the catching device ( 58 ) assumes-its the catching position.

11. The printing press according to claim 1 ,

Assignees

• Koenig & Bauer Ag

Inventors

• Koch Heinz Michael
• Gohl Benjamin
• Kessler Volker

Classifications

• B41J13/009

  Diverting sheets at a section where at least two sheet conveying paths converge, e.g. by a movable switching guide that blocks access to one conveying path and guides the sheet to another path, e.g. when a sheet conveying direction is reversed after printing on the front of the sheet has been finished and the sheet is guided to a sheet turning path for printing on the back · CPC title

• B65H2801/21

  Industrial-size printers, e.g. rotary printing press · CPC title

• B65H2406/122

  Nozzles · CPC title

• B65H5/38 Primary

  immovable in operation · CPC title

• B41J13/0009

  control of the transport of the copy material · CPC title