CN110626832A - Transfer conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

A transfer conveyor includes a frame supporting an upper conveyor having an upstream end and a downstream end and configured to convey a sheet material in a first downstream direction. A plurality of nip rolls are mounted on the frame upstream of the upstream end of the upper conveyor and spaced from the upstream end of the upper conveyor by a gap. The nip rollers feed the sheet along a main path to an upstream end of the upper conveyor. The reject conveyor is supported by the frame and has a portion below the gap and extends away from the upper conveyor at an acute angle. A plurality of paddles are mounted at the first gap, and an actuator is operably connected to the paddles and configured to move the paddles out of the main path from the first position to the second path.

Description

Transfer conveyor

Technical Field

The present application relates to a diverting conveyor for conveying a stream of sheets and for selectively diverting one or more sheets from the stream of sheets. The invention also relates to a conveyor system comprising such a diverting conveyor.

Background

Fig. 1-3 illustrate a conventional apparatus for stacking sheets such as corrugated cardboard. The stacking system 100 generally includes a loose-leaf paper section 102, which loose-leaf paper section 102 receives a stream of paper, such as a stream of paper produced by a rotary die cutter 103, and discharges the paper onto a transport conveyor 104. Transfer conveyor 104 receives the sheet and conveys it to main conveyor 106. The main conveyor 106 has an inlet 108 and an outlet 110. The conveyor has an inlet end 112 and an outlet end 114. At the main conveyor inlet end 108, the main conveyor 106 is mounted to the base 116 at a pivot point 118 such that the main conveyor 106 can pivot to raise its discharge end 110. At the discharge end 110 of the main conveyor 106, the accumulation portion 120 receives discharged sheets.

In operation, the main conveyor 106 is about the pivot point 118 to lower the main conveyor 106 of the discharge end 110 to an initial or lowered position, in the illustrated view. 2. Paper is fed at the inlet end 108 of the main conveyor 106, conveyed along the conveyor to the paper outlet end 110, and discharged from the conveyor toward the backstop 122 in the accumulator section 120. The paper in the accumulator section 120 settles down, typically onto a discharge conveyor 132, to form a stack of sheets.

Disclosure of Invention

It is sometimes desirable to extract or divert sheets from the stream of sheets passing through the stacking system, which flows from the rotary die cutter to the stacker. This may be done for various reasons, including but not limited to: 1) after the rotary die cutter has begun to operate, diverting the first "n" sheets appropriately and/or with possibly excessive waste material attached thereto, depending on the first few sheets output by the rotary die cutter that may not be cut; 2) for example, during normal operation, one or more sheets of paper are manually extracted in response to an operator pressing a button for quality control purposes; 3) again for quality control purposes, one or more sheets of paper are extracted automatically at regular intervals, for example, one sheet of paper is extracted after every certain number of sheets passes a point, or one sheet of paper is extracted automatically at predetermined time intervals; or 4) extracting the sheet in response to the detected state or sheet defect, the sheet flow being located upstream of the extracting portion. For example, a suitable optical scanner may monitor the shape or alignment of the passing sheets and trigger the diversion conveyor to extract or divert any sheets determined to be defective and/or have detected conditions

Such sheet extraction is made possible by the present disclosure, which includes a split conveyor that may be mounted, for example, between two conventional conveyor sections of a sheet stacking system, between a binder and a conveyor, or between a conveyor and a main conveyor. . In the alternative, a diverting conveyor may replace the conventional transfer conveyor. In the following description, the bypass conveyor is described as performing a conventional conveyor function and conveying sheets from the output end of loose-leaf pages to the input end of the stacker.

The divert conveyor includes a top conveyor path that receives sheets from the output of the man-in-the-middle and carries them to the input of the stacker during normal non-diverting operation. However, when it is desired to remove one or more sheets from the stream of sheets for the reasons described above or otherwise, a set of paddles are actuated to transfer the one or more sheets from the stream onto the discharge conveyor. The reject conveyor may place the diverted paper in a desired location or may place the rejected paper on another extraction conveyor to transport the rejected paper to an operator or temporary storage location. Details of the operation of such a system are provided below.

A first aspect of the present disclosure includes a diverting conveyor comprising a frame supporting an upper conveyor having an upstream end and a downstream end and configured to convey sheet material in a first direction from the upstream end to the downstream end. . The turn conveyor also includes a plurality of nip rolls mounted on the frame upstream of the upstream end of the upper conveyor, and the plurality of nip rolls are spaced apart from the upstream end of the upper conveyor by a first gap. The plurality of pinch rollers are configured to feed the sheet of material along the main path to an upstream end of the upper conveyor. The reject conveyor is supported by the frame and has an upstream end and a downstream end and a portion below the first gap. The reject conveyor extends from the upper conveyor at an acute angle. A plurality of paddles is mounted at the first gap, and an actuator is operably connected to the plurality of paddles, and the actuator is configured to move the plurality of paddles out of the main path to the second path from the first position.

Another aspect of the present disclosure includes a diverting conveyor comprising a frame having a top and a bottom and a first end and a second end spaced from the first end in a direction of sheet travel. The turn conveyor also includes an upper conveyor supported by the frame and having first and second ends and a top surface lying in a plane. The second end of the upper conveyor is spaced from the first end of the upper conveyor in the direction of sheet travel. The reject conveyor is supported by the frame and has a first end and a second end, the second end of the reject conveyor being spaced from the first end of the reject conveyor in a direction of sheet travel. The first end of the rejection conveyor is spaced a first distance from the bottom of the frame and the second end of the rejection conveyor is spaced a second distance from the bottom of the frame that is less than the first distance. A plurality of paddles are mounted on a rod supported at the first end of the frame and upstream of the first end of the upper conveyor, and the plurality of paddles are movable from a first position across the plane to a side of the plane to a second position. Extending through the location of the aircraft. An actuator is operably connected to the plurality of paddles and is configured to move the plurality of paddles from a first position to a second position. The plurality of vanes is movable from a first position throughout the plane to a second position extending through the plane. An actuator is operably connected to the plurality of paddles and is configured to move the plurality of paddles from a first position to a second position. The plurality of vanes is movable from a first position throughout the plane to a second position extending through the plane. An actuator is operably connected to the plurality of paddles and is configured to move the plurality of paddles from a first position to a second position.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a top view of a conventional stacking system;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the stacking system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the stacking system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a steering conveyor according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a turn conveyor according to the present disclosure;

fig. 6 is a side view of a conveyor system including the diverting conveyor of fig. 5.

Detailed Description

Reference is now made to the drawings, which are for the purpose of illustrating the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and not for the purpose of limiting the same. Fig. 4 and 5 illustrate a diverting conveyor 150 that includes a frame 152 having a first end 154 and a second end 156, the first end 154 being upstream of the second end 156. As used herein, the terms "upstream" and "downstream" refer to the intended direction of travel of the sheet S carried by the divert conveyor 150, from left to right as in fig. 5 by arrow 157. The sheets will typically be separated by a small gap in the direction of travel and multiple rows of sheets may be conveyed in parallel from the rotary die cutter to the stacker along the diversion conveyor 150.

The frame 152 includes four vertical supports 158, one on each of the left and right sides of the first end 154 and one on each of the left and right sides of the second end 156. As used herein, "left" and "right" are used with respect to the perspective of a person looking in a downstream direction at the first end 154 of the divert conveyor 150. The frame 152 also includes an upper left horizontal support member 162 and a lower left horizontal support member 164 that connects the vertical support members 158. Upper and lower right horizontal supports 166 and 168 on the left and right sides 150 and 168 of the diverting conveyor connect the right side 150 of the diverter conveyor on the vertical supports 158. The downstream lateral support 170 connects the vertical support 158 at the second end 156 of the turn conveyor 150.

An upper conveyor 172 is supported by the frame 152 and includes an upstream end 174 and a downstream end 176. The upper conveyor 172 of the upstream end 174 is positioned between the first ends 154 and the frame 152 of the second end 156 with horizontal supports 162, 166 generally horizontal on the left and right sides. The downstream end 176 is located at the second end 156 between the vertical supports 158 of the frame 152 at the second end 156 of the frame 152. The upper conveyor 172 includes a plurality of individual belts 178 extending between a plurality of upstream pulleys 180 mounted on a first transverse shaft 182 and a plurality of downstream pulleys 184 mounted on a second transverse shaft 186. The belt 178 has a top surface 187, substantially in-plane, a drive 185 operatively connected to either the first transverse axle 182 or the second transverse axle 184 for driving the upper conveyor 172 in a conventional manner.

The upper conveyor 172 also includes a plurality of rollers 190 on which rollers 188 are rolled, preferably having a knurled outer surface, a belt 178 mounted such that the rollers 190 are on top of a small distance surface 187, such that the rollers 190 and the top surface 187 of the belt 178 define a paper travel path. The rollers 190 help retain the paper on the belt 178 as the paper is transported along the upper conveyor belt 172, sometimes referred to as "zero crush" roller assemblies because they are configured to guide the paper without bending or damaging the paper. The roller frame 188 is movable relative to the top surface 187 of the belt 178 to accommodate sheets of different thicknesses and to allow access to the belt 178 to remove jammed sheets.

The nip roller assembly 192 is located between vertical supports 158 at the first end 154 of the frame 152 and includes a first lateral shaft 194 supporting a plurality of upper nip rollers 196 and a second lateral shaft 198 supporting a plurality of lower nip rollers 200. . The first or second transverse shaft 194, 198 is driven to pull the sheet into the diverting conveyor 150. The opposed pairs of upper and lower nip rollers 196, 200 form a nip through which conveyed sheet 150 reaches the diverter and must be transferred in their manner to the upper conveyor 172. The nip is located at about the same elevation as the top surface 187 of the belt 178, thereby defining a generally horizontal primary travel path from the nip roll assembly 192 to the upper conveyor belt 172. The upper and lower rollers 196, 200 separate 174 the upper conveyor 172 from the upstream end through a gap 202.

The diverter assembly 150 also includes a discharge conveyor 204 having an upstream end 206 between the vertical supports 158 at the first end 154 of the frame 152 and generally below the nip roll assembly 192, and a downstream end 208 between the vertical supports 158 of the transfer roll assembly 192. The second end 156 of the frame 152 is generally below the downstream end 176 of the upper conveyor 172. The reject conveyor 204 at the downstream end 208 rejects the conveyor 204 more than the lower portion 206 of the upstream end such that the conveyor reject 204 extends away from the nip roller assembly 192 at a downward acute angle in a downstream direction. Like upper conveyor 172, reject conveyor 204 includes a plurality of belts 210 laterally separated by gaps.

A reject assembly 212 is located downstream of the pinch roller assembly 192 at the gap 202. The rejection assembly includes a rod 214 rotatably supported between vertical supports 158 at the first end 154 of the frame 152 and a plurality of paddles 216 fixed to the rod 214 such that the paddles 216 rotate with the rod 214. The paddles 216 are distributed along the rod 214 such that at least one paddle 216, and preferably at least two paddles 216, will be associated with each stream of sheets moving through the divert conveyor 150. Each paddle 216 includes a first portion 218 connected to the rod 214 and a second portion 220 extending from the first portion 218 at an obtuse angle, the second portion 218 including a smooth, flat outer surface 221 configured to contact the paper when one or more sheets of paper are desired to be transferred from the stream of paper.

The lever 214 is pivotable between a first position (not shown) and a second position (shown in fig. 5) by an actuator 222 (e.g., a pneumatic actuator), which actuator 222 extends and retracts to push and pull an arm 224 extending from the lever. 214, thereby rotating the rod 214. When the rod 214 is in the first position, the paddle 216 is fully located to one side of the plane of the upper surface 187 of the upper conveyor 178. Also, at this position, the movement of the sheet from the platen assembly 192 to the upper conveyor 172 is not disturbed. When the lever 214 is in the second position, the paddle 216 pivots downward into the path of the sheet from the pinch roller assembly 192 to the upper conveyor belt 172, thereby deflecting the sheet from its main path of travel and preventing the sheet from reaching the upper conveyor belt 172.

A plurality of diverter plates 226 are positioned below the upstream end 174 of the upper conveyor 172 and below the main path of travel of the sheet material. When the lever 214 is in the second position, the sheet diverted by the paddle 216 is directed toward and impacts the diverter plate 226, which further diverts the sheet toward the upper surface of the reject conveyor 204.

An optional exit conveyor 228 (fig. 5) is located at the downstream end 208 of the reject conveyor 204. The exit conveyor 228 extends generally at right angles to the reject conveyor 204 and transports sheets that have been diverted from the sheet flow from beneath the divert conveyor 150 to a location more accessible to an operator.

The controller 230 controls the operation of the stacking system 100 and may include a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). The controller 230 is configured to, among other operations, control the actuator 222 and move the lever 214 between the first and second positions described above. When the lever 214 is in the first position, the sheet travels from the nip roller assembly 192 to the upstream end 174 of the upper conveyor 172 and to the stacker 108. However, when the controller 230 sends a signal to the actuator 222 to displace 214 the lever to the second position, the paddle 216 of the second portion 220 is pressed between the nip rollers 196, 200 of the gap 202 in the moving stream of sheet material and the upper conveyor belt 172; and the paper exiting nip roller assembly 192 strikes the lower surface of paddle 216 and is diverted in a downward direction toward broke conveyor 204. First, optionally, first impinges on diverter plate 226, which also helps to direct the moving sheet to sheet discharge conveyor 204. Actuator 222 holds lever 214 in the second position long enough to transfer one (or any desired number) of sheets from upper conveyor 172 onto sheet discharge conveyor 204 and then returns lever 214 from the flow to the first position. Until additional sheets are needed or desired to be transferred to reject conveyor 204.

Operation of the diverter assembly 150 at a location between the downstream end 232 of the infeed conveyor 234 (which may be colloquially nested) and the upstream end 236 of the infeed conveyor 238 (which may be a conveyor of a conventional stacker) is described.

In steady state operation, when the rotary die cutter 103 is operating normally, one or more streams of sheets exit the rotary die cutter 103 and are carried 234 by the feed conveyor to feed the conveyor 234 to the downstream end 232. There is a gap 240 between the downstream end 232 of the feed conveyor 234 and the nip roll assembly 192, and the advancing sheet passes through the gap 240 and is pulled downstream by the rotating upper and lower nip rolls. 196, 200. The sheet is guided 196, 200 along the main travel path by the nip rollers until the leading edge of the sheet reaches the conveyor 172 on the upstream end 174. From there, the sheet travels 172 across the upper conveyor between belts 178 and rollers 190 and receives a portion of the conveyor belt 238 from the upstream end 236 of the conveyor 172 across the gap 242 on the downstream end discharge 176.

When the controller 230 receives the signal, the controller 230 causes the actuator 222 to move the lever 214 from a first position (in which the paddle 216 is located outside of the main path of travel of the sheet) to a second position in which the paddle 216 extends into the main path of travel of the sheet. With the lever 214 in this second position, the sheet exiting the pinch roller assembly 192 strikes the paddle 216 and is directed against the diverter plate 226 and onto the reject conveyor 204. The rejected sheet then travels to exit conveyor 228 and is placed in a position from which an operator can retrieve it. The signal may be generated briefly, long enough to remove a sheet of paper from the stream, or may be maintained for a longer period of time, such as at system start-up, where a continuous series of sheets may be removed from the stream (assuming, for example, that the first few sheets produced by the rotary die cutter at start-up may not be properly aligned and/or may have other defects.

The signal may be generated in response to various conditions. For example, the operator may generate a signal whenever it is desired to remove one or more sheets of paper from the signal stream by pressing button 246, which button 246 may be a physical button on the divert conveyor 150, as schematically shown in FIG. 1. 4, or in the virtual button 230 associated with the controller. 5. Alternatively or additionally, the sensor 248 may provide a signal for generating a signal in response to a sensed condition. The sensed condition may be, for example, that a predetermined number of sheets have passed the sensor. For example, if it is desired to remove every 1000 th sheet from the stream for quality control purposes, the sensor 248 may count the sheets and generate a brief signal after 999 sheets are counted, so that the 1000 th sheet will be removed. Alternatively, the sensor 248 may generate a signal each time a single sheet of paper passes the sensor, and the controller 230 may count the signals and take appropriate action after receiving the 1000 th signal.

The sensed condition may also be a condition of the paper. For example, if sensor 248 is an optical sensor, it may generate a signal in response to detecting a defect (e.g., a print defect or a cut defect) in the paper stream and generate a signal to cause the defective paper to be removed.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the delay between the signal received at the controller 230 and the controller causing the actuator 222 to move the lever 214 to the second position will be based on the length and speed of the sheet. For example, if the sheet is traveling at one foot per second and the sensor is located three feet of the reject assembly 212, the controller will wait approximately three seconds after receiving the signal and then cause the actuator 222 to move the bar 214 to the second. Position so that the paddle diverts the detected sheet.

The controller 230 will cause the actuator 222 to hold the lever 214 in the second position for a period of time, based on the travel speed of the paper, selected to be long enough so that the leading edge of the transferred paper will not bounce back to the upper conveyor 172 when the lever 214 returns to the first position. The transferred sheet will then be rejected along the reject conveyor carrier 204 to the downstream end 208 where it passes onto the exit conveyor 228 and delivered to the operator.

The invention has been described herein in terms of presently preferred embodiments. Modifications and additions to this embodiment will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this specification. All modifications and additions are intended to form part of the invention provided they fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. A transfer conveyor comprising a frame supporting an upper conveyor having an upstream end and a downstream end and configured to convey sheet material in a first direction from the upstream end to the downstream end, a plurality of nip rollers mounted on the frame upstream of the upstream end of the upper conveyor, the plurality of nip rollers being spaced from the upstream end of the upper conveyor by a first gap, the plurality of nip rollers being configured to feed the sheet material along a main path to the material at the upstream end of the upper conveyor without cutting the sheet material; a reject conveyor supported by the frame and having an upstream end and a downstream end and a portion below the first gap, the reject conveyor extending away from the upper conveyor at an acute angle; a plurality of blades mounted at the first gap; and an actuator operably connected to the plurality of blades and configured to move the plurality of blades from a first position spaced from the main path to a second position in the main path.

2. The diverting conveyor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of paddles are configured such that when the plurality of paddles are in the first position, the sheet exiting the pinch roller travels along the main path to the upstream conveyor, and such that a second one of the paddles is in the second position, the sheet exiting the nip roller is diverted by the paddles along a diverting path from the main path and into the reject conveyor.

3. The diverting conveyor of claim 2, wherein the plurality of paddles are mounted on a first lever, wherein the first lever is rotatably supported by the frame, and wherein the actuator is configured to rotate the first lever to displace the plurality of paddles from a first position to a second position.

4. The diverting conveyor of claim 3, comprising at least one diverter plate downstream of the plurality of paddles and below the main path at an upstream end of the upper conveyor, the at least one diverter plate defining a portion of the diverting path and configured to divert paper to a reject conveyor.

5. The diverting conveyor of claim 4, further comprising a controller configured to control the actuator.

6. The diverting conveyor of claim 4, wherein the upper conveyor comprises a plurality of belts extending in the first direction, the belts being spaced apart in a second direction transverse to the first direction, and a plurality of rollers mounted on the plurality of belts; an upper conveyor travel path for conveying the sheet in the first direction is defined between the plurality of rollers and the plurality of belts.

7. The diverting conveyor of claim 6, wherein the frame includes a first upstream vertical support and a second upstream vertical support spaced apart from the first upstream vertical support in the second direction, and a first downstream vertical support and a second downstream vertical support spaced apart from the first downstream vertical support in the second direction, wherein the first rod extends from the first upstream vertical support to the second upstream vertical support, and wherein the upstream end of the reject conveyor is supported by a second rod extending from the first upstream vertical support to the second upstream vertical support.

8. The diverting conveyor of claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a first upstream vertical support and a second upstream vertical support spaced apart from the first upstream vertical support in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and a first downstream vertical support and a second downstream vertical support spaced apart from the first downstream vertical support in the second direction wherein the plurality of paddles are mounted on a first rod extending from the first upstream vertical support to the second upstream vertical support, and wherein the upstream end of the reject conveyor is supported by a second rod extending from the first upstream vertical support to the second upstream vertical support.

9. A conveyor system comprising: the diverting conveyor of claim 1; a supply conveyor having an upstream end and a downstream end, the downstream end being spaced from the plurality of nip rollers of the turn conveyor and configured to supply sheet material to the plurality of nip rollers across a second gap between the downstream end of the supply conveyor and the plurality of nip rollers; and a receiving conveyor having an upstream end located at the downstream end of the diversion conveyor and having a downstream end, the upstream end of the receiving conveyor being spaced from the downstream end of the diversion conveyor by a third gap, the receiving conveyor being configured to receive the sheets from the downstream end of the diversion conveyor.

10. The diverting conveyor of claim 1, comprising a sensor configured to detect a condition of the sheet material and to generate at least one output signal in response to the detection of the condition, and a controller configured to receive the at least one signal and to control the actuator based on the received at least one signal.