Shipping room transport system with electric linear drive

[0001] The present invention relates to a post office conveyor system having an electric linear drive for transferring a folded signature in the post chamber, which follows, for example, a production line such as a web feed rotary printing press. Regarding. In particular, the present invention relates to a conveyor system in which grippers are individually driven by an electric linear drive.

[0002] In the manufacturing process of high-quality printed matter such as magazines, newspapers and other periodicals, the flow of cut and folded signatures flows from the cut and folded part of the production line to a bookbinding machine and a collating machine. Etc. are transferred to the post office for further processing. The transfer of the signature from the fold to the post room is carried out by a well-known stacker, bundler, logger, or roll device after the signature is folded and cut from a web that normally runs in the fold. The signatures coming out of the folding cutter are too fast to be processed directly afterwards, so they fold to form a single stream of signatures before entering one of the storage systems mentioned above. Ding must be slowed down.

[0003] From U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,886, a single flow on a conveyor belt that grips the leading edge of a signature transferred on high-speed tape, lifts the signature from the high-speed tape, decelerates it, and travels at low speed. It is known to use a deceleration drum with a discontinuous rotating gripper arm arranged as. Due to the discontinuous rotational movement of the gripper arm, signatures decelerated by the device described in US Pat. No. 5,452,886 are subject to high centrifugal forces that further stress the signatures.

[0004] From European Patent Specification No. 0574703A1, folding directly from high-speed tape to further decelerate the signature and place the signature as a single stream on a conveyor belt that moves at low speed under the fan blades. It is also known to use a pair of rotating fan blades with pockets to feed the claws. Due to the principle of decelerating the signature by sending it into the fan blade pocket, the kinetic energy of the signature is absorbed at least partially by the signature itself, so that the signature receives high stress.

[0005] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Since the outline of the prior art and the drawbacks associated therewith has been described,<u style="single">The object of the present invention is</u>、<u style="single">From the folding part of the printing machine, the signature</u>Binding, stacking, sorting, etc.<u style="single">Additional</u>It is to provide a postal conveyor system that enables direct and accurate transfer to a subsequent postal section that performs processing.

【0006】<u style="single">Another object of the present invention is</u>It is an object of the present invention to provide a conveyor system capable of smoothly and controllably decelerating a signature exiting a folding portion of a printing press.

[0007] [Means for Solving the Problems] According to the present invention, a gripper conveyor system that transfers and processes a signature flow in a postal room includes a plurality of grippers.<u style="single">When</u>, Rail system to guide multiple grippers<u style="single">When</u>, An electric linear drive system that individually drives the grippers in the rail system<u style="single">When</u>Includes a control system that is connected to an electrical linear drive system to control the operation of multiple grippers within the rail system.

[0008] According to another embodiment of the invention, the gripper conveyor system comprises one or more high speed tapes that transfer signatures to the gripper, the high speed tapes being arranged parallel to each other downstream of the folding section of the printing press. It is driven at substantially printing speed. The placement of the rail system with respect to the high speed tape can be such that the gripper rushes into the gap formed between the high speed tapes as the gripper is advanced along the rail system.

[0009] According to another embodiment of the invention, the control system determines the operation of the grippers after entering the gap between the high speed tapes, with the speed of each gripper until the trailing edge of the signature is gripped by the grippers. Control to increase.

[0010] Similarly, the control system can control the operation of the grippers after entering the gap between the high speed tapes so that the speed of each gripper decreases until the grippers grip the tip of the signature. .. In addition, the first gripper grips the leading edge of the signature, the subsequent gripper grips the trailing edge, one holding the leading edge of the signature and the other holding the trailing edge, simultaneously by the two grippers. The signature can be transferred.

[0011] In a typical embodiment of the present invention, a delivery station to which the signature is transferred by the gripper is arranged downstream of the high-speed tape, and a first transfer portion is defined between the high-speed tape and the delivery station. Has been done. In this embodiment, the control system reduces the speed of the gripper while moving along the first transfer, when the signature is passed to another conveyor belt in a delivery station operating at low speed. Allow a single flow of overlapping signatures to be formed.

[0012] According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a second transfer section is defined downstream of the first transfer section, in which the rail system extends upward and the gripper is decelerated. They move at speed and are closely spaced from each other.

[0013] Therefore, a third transfer section can be defined between the end of the second transfer section and the high speed tape, at which the rail system is downward when viewed in the direction of movement of the gripper. It is tilted and the gripper can be driven by its own weight without applying any external driving force and can freely run down the third transfer section.

[0014] According to another typical embodiment of the present invention, the linear drive system includes various electromagnetic coils arranged along the rail system, and these electromagnetic coils are electric including a digital-analog converter and a Wheatstone bridge. It is connected to a set of microcontrollers via a circuit, and the electromagnetic field of each coil can be individually controlled by a control system, especially in the transfer unit and the first transfer unit. The Wheatstone bridge can further include a DC power supply and a pair of transistors electrically connected to a digital-analog converter. The microprocessor can be connected to and controlled by the master controller.

[0015] According to another typical embodiment of the present invention, the control system has a first sensor that senses the movement of the gripper in the rail system and a signature as it is transferred along the rail system by the gripper. A second sensor that senses motion can be included. The second sensor is preferably located near the high speed tape and includes a photodetector and a light source combined to direct light to it, the photodetector and the light source having the signature transfer between the light sources and the light detector. Arranged to be. The control system can further include an analog-to-digital converter that converts the signals of the first and / or second sensors into digital signals, which can be supplied to the master controller. Next, the master controller adjusts and controls the electromagnetic coil via the microcontroller to accelerate or decelerate the gripper in the rail system.

[0016] The electrical linear drive system can be based on the principles of any well-known type of electrical linear drive system, including, for example, synchronous drive systems and asynchronous drive systems.

[0017] According to another typical embodiment of the present invention, the gripper can be provided with a magnet or at least partially formed of a magnetic material and is part of a regenerative braking system that regenerates the kinetic energy of the gripper during deceleration. can do.

[Embodiment of the Invention] As shown in FIG. 1, a signature 2 printed by a printing machine (not shown) such as a web feed rotary printing press, cut by a folding device (not shown), and folded. The gripper conveyor system 1 that transfers and processes the flow of the gripper 6 includes a rail system 4 that guides a plurality of grippers 6. The gripper 6 is independently driven in the rail system 4 by a conventional electric linear drive system 8 abbreviated by the coil 10.

[0019] In the transfer section 12 of the rail system 4, for example, the gripper 6 inherits the signature 2 from a set of high-speed tapes 14 that transfer the signature from the upstream folding section of the printing press to the transfer section 12. As shown in FIG. 1, the delivery station 16 to which the signature 2 is transferred by the gripper 6 is located downstream of the high-speed tape 14, and the first transfer unit 18 is defined between the high-speed tape 14 and the delivery station 16. ing. The delivery station 16 can be a conventional transfer tape or belt 16a, as illustrated by the dotted line in FIG. Another transfer tape 16a is driven much slower than the high speed tape 14, and the signature 2 is decelerated by the first transfer section 18 and is handed over to another transfer tape 16a and then superimposed. It can be made to form a stream 20.

[0020] In this embodiment of the present invention, in order to arrange the signatures 2 as a single configuration on another transfer tape 16a, the conveyor system 1 is configured to decelerate the signatures 2 exiting the high speed tape 14. be able to. Similarly, the gripper conveyor system 1 of the present invention can be configured to directly transfer the signature 2 to a subsequent postal room such as a collating machine, a stacker, a sorter, a bookbinding machine, etc. (not shown). It is not limited to the examples and the illustrated examples.

[0021] As detailed in FIG. 2, the high speed tapes 14 are arranged parallel to each other, thus allowing a gap or space 22 to be defined between two adjacent tapes 14. In the transfer section 12, the rail system 4 rushes into the gap or space 22 between adjacent tapes 14 when the gripper 6 is advanced along the transfer section 12 of the rail system 4 with respect to the high speed tape 14. It is formed and arranged so as to. After the gripper 6 enters the gap 22, the speed of each gripper 6 is reduced by the control system 50 described below until the tip of the signature 2 can be gripped by the gripper 6. Next, the gripper 6 is started by a well-known operating mechanism such as a shaft and a cam follower, an electromagnet or another well-known actuator (not shown) to grip the tip edge of the signature 2.

[0022] Similarly, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the gripper 6 occupies a different position with respect to the moving direction and can grip the trailing edge of the signature. In this embodiment, after the grippers 6 have entered the gap 22, the speed of each gripper 6 is controlled by the control system 50 until the grippers 6 are started and the trailing edge of the signature 2 can be gripped as described above. Will be increased.

[0023] Therefore, the first gripper 6 can grip the leading edge of the signature 2, and the subsequent gripper 6 can grip the trailing edge of the same signature 2, and one of the signatures 2 is ahead. It can be transferred simultaneously by two grippers that hold the edge and the other holds the trailing edge of the same signature.

[0024] After the gripper 6 grips the leading edge of the signature 2, the control system 50 uses the gripper 6 at substantially the same speed as the high speed tape 14 until the signature 2 is completely released from the high speed tape 14. It controls the movement of the gripper 6 in the transfer unit 12 of the rail system 4 so as to move.

Upon entering the first transfer unit 18, the gripper 6 can be decelerated by the control system 50, as shown by the decreasing distance between the two subsequent grippers 6 of FIGS. 1 and 3.

[0026] After the gripper 6 drops the signature 2 or hands the signature to another transfer tape 16a at the delivery station 16, the gripper is located downstream of the delivery station 16 in the direction of movement of the gripper 6. Enter the transfer section 24 of. At the second transfer section 24, the rail system 4 extends substantially upwards and the grippers 6 are moving at a reduced speed, allowing them to come into contact with each other at short intervals. Therefore, an auxiliary drive system, such as a well-known chain drive, which engages with the grippers 6 and moves them upward along the rail system 4 at the second transfer unit 24, may be provided within the second transfer unit 24. it can. In this embodiment of the present invention, the electromagnetic coil 10 of the electric linear drive system 8 can be omitted or at least partially replaced with an inexpensive auxiliary drive system.

Further, as can be seen from FIG. 1, a third transfer unit 26 can be defined between the end portion of the second transfer unit 24 and the transfer unit 12. In the third transfer section 26, the rail system 4 is substantially inclined downward in the direction of movement of the gripper 6, and the gripper 6 is driven only by gravity without applying an external driving force. .. Therefore, although it is advantageous to use the additional electromagnetic coil 10, the coil 10 is placed along the rail system 4 in the third transfer section 26 to advance the gripper 6 along the third transfer section 26. do not have to.

[0028] In a typical embodiment of the present invention, the linear drive system 8 includes a variety of electromagnetic coils 10, which, for the sake of clarity, require only one electromagnetic coil 10 in each of 12, 18, 24. It is abbreviated. As detailed in FIG. 4, each coil 10 is connected to the associated microcontroller 30 via an electrical circuit 34 that includes a digital-analog converter 32 and a Wheatstone bridge. The Wheatstone bridge can further include a DC power supply 36 and a pair of transistors electrically connected to each digital-analog converter 32.

As shown in FIG. 4, each microcontroller 30 can be connected to the master controller 40 via a parallel data interface and a parallel bus. The master controller 40 can receive the gripper position signal from the first sensor 42 and / or the signature position signal from the second sensor 44. The first and / or second sensors 42 and 44 are subjected to the master controller 40 via a well-known analog-to-digital converter 46 that converts the analog signal of the sensors 42, 44 into a digital signal for further processing by the master controller 40. Can be connected to.

[0030] The first sensor 42 can be a well-known guidance or proximity sensor that can be mounted directly on the rail system 4, as outlined in FIG.

[0031] However, the second sensor 44 can include a photodetector 44a and a set of light sources 44b that direct light to it. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the photodetector 44a and the photodetector 44b are arranged so that the signature 2 is transferred between the light source and the photodetector. In this embodiment of the invention, the amplitude of the output signal of photodetector 44a indicates the position of the leading edge of the signature with respect to detector 44a, so the speed of signature 2 is the first deviation of the signal, i.e. the temporal of the signal. It is proportional to the increase or decrease.

According to the signals of the first and / or second sensors 42,44, the master controller 40 generates a control signal supplied to each microcontroller 30, then the positions of signature 2 and gripper 6 and /. Alternatively, the polarity and / or amplitude and / or AC phase angle of the voltage or current supplied to each electromagnetic coil 10 is controlled and adjusted according to the speed.

By using a central master controller 40 and two or more independent microcontrollers 30 connected to each coil 10, each gripper 6 grips the leading and / or trailing edges of signature 2. It can receive variable acceleration force to properly register the gripper. In addition, by using an independent microcontroller 30, the master controller 40 is freed to perform only system management tasks and external data acquisition tasks, including coil 10, microcontroller 30, digital-analog converter 32, and electrical circuit 34. , The response time of the control system 50 including the master controller 40 and the first and / or second sensors 42 and 44 can be speeded up.

[0034] The electric linear drive system 8 of the present invention can be any type of electric linear drive system of the prior art, such as a synchronous drive system or an asynchronous drive system.

[0035] According to another typical embodiment of the present invention, the gripper 6 can include a magnet 48, or at least partially be formed of a magnetic material. Further, in this embodiment of the present invention, a regenerative braking system can be provided that regenerates its kinetic energy when decelerating the gripper, which is induced in the electromagnetic coil 10 as the gripper 6 with magnet 48 passes through the coil 10. It is based on the well-known principle of induced current and the resulting braking force.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced in other particular forms without departing from its spiritual or essential features. Therefore, the examples disclosed herein are in all respects and are not limited to them. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than the description above, and all modifications contained in its meaning and scope and its equivalent shall be included in the scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram of a conveyor system according to a typical embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a transfer section of a conveyor system according to a typical embodiment of the present invention in which a signature is handed over from a high speed tape to a gripper.

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a first transfer section of a conveyor system according to a typical embodiment of the present invention, in which the gripper carrying the signature is decelerated.

FIG. 4 is an electrical circuit diagram of a control system according to a typical embodiment of the present invention that controls the operation of a gripper in a rail system.

[Code Description] 1 Gripper Conveyor System 2 Signature 4 Rail System 6 Gripper 8 Electric Linear Drive System 10 Coil 12 Transfer 14 High Speed Tape 16 Delivery Station 16a Transfer Tape or Belt 18 First Transfer 20 Single Flow 22 Gap 24 Second transfer unit 26 Third transfer unit 30 Microcontroller 32 Digital-analog converter 34 Electric circuit 36 DC power supply 40 Microcontroller 42 First sensor 44 Second sensor 44a Optical detector 44b Light source 46 Analog-digital converter 48 magnet 50 control system