Apparatus for separating sheet material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9919885-B2
Application number	US-201615361408-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 26, 2016
Priority date	Jul 1, 2014
Publication date	Mar 20, 2018
Grant date	Mar 20, 2018

Abstract

A device and a method for separating sheet material is provided. The separation of sheet material is not effected statically, but a suitable pick-up position and/or a suitable pick-up mechanism is selected for each sheet material piece, for example in dependence on the quality of a surface of the sheet material piece to be picked up, in order to pick up the sheet material piece from the sheet material stack and remove it from the same.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for separating sheet material, comprising:
a sheet material pick-up which is configured to pick up a single sheet material piece from a sheet material stack, which includes several sheet material pieces; and
an actuator which is configured to shift the sheet material pick-up, wherein,
the device is configured to selectively pick up the single sheet material piece by a first pick-up mechanism of the sheet material pick-up and/or by a second pick-up mechanism of the sheet material pick-up, in order to remove the single sheet material piece from the sheet material stack, and, wherein,
the first pick-up mechanism of the sheet material pick-up and the second pick-up mechanism of the sheet material pick-up are of different type mechanisms.

2. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an image acquisition unit which is configured to capture an image of a surface of the single sheet material piece and to provide image data; and
an evaluation unit downstream of the image acquisition unit, which is configured to receive the image data and to provide an evaluation result in dependence on an evaluation of the image data; wherein,
the device is configured to select the first and/or the second pick-up mechanism in dependence on the evaluation result.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the sheet material pick-up comprises the first pick-up mechanism, which is configured to pick up the sheet material piece by generating a first force of attraction that is a suction force.

4. The device according to claim 3 , wherein the sheet material pick-up comprises the second pick-up mechanism, which is configured to pick up the sheet material piece by generating a second force of attraction that is a van der Waals force.

5. The device according to claim 3 , wherein the first pick-up mechanism comprises a suction sleeve and a suction piston movably arranged in the suction sleeve, wherein the suction piston is configured to generate a negative pressure by its movement in an empty space of the suction sleeve defined by the suction sleeve and the surface of the single sheet material piece.

6. The device according to claim 5 , wherein the suction sleeve is coupled to a guide element of the actuator via a coupling piece.

7. The device according to claim 5 , wherein the second pick-up mechanism comprises an adhesive film which is designed to form a van der Waals force upon contact with the surface of the single sheet material piece and wherein the adhesive film is arranged on at least one of an end face of the suction piston and an end face of the suction sleeve.

8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the second pick-up mechanism is configured to pick up the sheet material piece by generating a second force of attraction that is a van der Waals force.

9. The device according to claim 8 , wherein the second pick-up mechanism comprises an adhesive film which is designed to form a van der Waals force upon contact with the surface of the single sheet material piece.

10. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the actuator is configured to put the sheet material pick-up into a translational movement along a first direction substantially vertical to a perpendicular direction, in order to position the sheet material pick-up at the single sheet material piece and/or in order to remove the single sheet material piece picked up from the sheet material stack, wherein the first direction is substantially vertical to a long side of the single sheet material piece.

11. The device according to claim 10 , wherein the actuator is configured to put the sheet material pick-up into a translational movement along a second direction substantially vertical to the perpendicular direction, in order to position the sheet material pick-up at the single sheet material piece and/or in order to remove the single sheet material piece picked up from the sheet material stack, wherein the second direction is substantially parallel to a long side of the single sheet material piece.

12. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the actuator is configured to put the sheet material pick-up into a translational movement along a perpendicular direction, in order to perform at least one of positioning the sheet material pick-up at the single sheet material piece and removing the single sheet material piece picked up from the sheet material stack.

13. A method for separating sheet material by a sheet material pick-up which is configured to pick up a single sheet material piece from a sheet material stack, which includes several sheet material pieces, and an actuator which is configured to shift the sheet material pick-up, the method comprising:
selectively picking up the single sheet material piece by a first pick-up mechanism of the sheet material pick-up and/or by a second pick-up mechanism of the sheet material pick-up, in order to remove the single sheet material piece from the sheet material stack, wherein,
the first pick-up mechanism of the sheet material pick-up and the second pick-up mechanism of the sheet material pick-up are of different type mechanisms.

14. The method according to claim 13 , further comprising:
shifting the sheet material pick-up using the actuator.

Assignees

• Wincor Nixdorf Int Gmbh
• Diebold Nixdorf Inc

Inventors

• Lochbichler Matthias
• Lankeit Christopher
• Landwehr Martin
• Hoischen Ludger

Classifications

• B65H43/08

  Photoelectric devices · CPC title

• B65H2406/34

  Suction grippers · CPC title

• B65H7/14

  by photoelectric feelers or detectors · CPC title

• B65H2511/413

  of image · CPC title

• B65H2553/42

  Cameras · CPC title