CA1040849A - Straight line gluer - Google Patents
Straight line gluerInfo
- Publication number
- CA1040849A CA1040849A CA207,504A CA207504A CA1040849A CA 1040849 A CA1040849 A CA 1040849A CA 207504 A CA207504 A CA 207504A CA 1040849 A CA1040849 A CA 1040849A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- sheet
- vacuum head
- vacuum
- roll
- glue roll
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
- B65H3/08—Separating articles from piles using pneumatic force
- B65H3/0808—Suction grippers
- B65H3/0816—Suction grippers separating from the top of pile
- B65H3/0833—Suction grippers separating from the top of pile and acting on the front part of the articles relatively to the final separating direction
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
- B05C—APPARATUS FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
- B05C1/00—Apparatus in which liquid or other fluent material is applied to the surface of the work by contact with a member carrying the liquid or other fluent material, e.g. a porous member loaded with a liquid to be applied as a coating
- B05C1/04—Apparatus in which liquid or other fluent material is applied to the surface of the work by contact with a member carrying the liquid or other fluent material, e.g. a porous member loaded with a liquid to be applied as a coating for applying liquid or other fluent material to work of indefinite length
- B05C1/08—Apparatus in which liquid or other fluent material is applied to the surface of the work by contact with a member carrying the liquid or other fluent material, e.g. a porous member loaded with a liquid to be applied as a coating for applying liquid or other fluent material to work of indefinite length using a roller or other rotating member which contacts the work along a generating line
- B05C1/0826—Apparatus in which liquid or other fluent material is applied to the surface of the work by contact with a member carrying the liquid or other fluent material, e.g. a porous member loaded with a liquid to be applied as a coating for applying liquid or other fluent material to work of indefinite length using a roller or other rotating member which contacts the work along a generating line the work being a web or sheets
- B05C1/083—Apparatus in which liquid or other fluent material is applied to the surface of the work by contact with a member carrying the liquid or other fluent material, e.g. a porous member loaded with a liquid to be applied as a coating for applying liquid or other fluent material to work of indefinite length using a roller or other rotating member which contacts the work along a generating line the work being a web or sheets being passed between the coating roller and one or more backing rollers
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H37/00—Article or web delivery apparatus incorporating devices for performing specified auxiliary operations
- B65H37/02—Article or web delivery apparatus incorporating devices for performing specified auxiliary operations for applying adhesive
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Coating Apparatus (AREA)
- Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)
- Folding Of Thin Sheet-Like Materials, Special Discharging Devices, And Others (AREA)
- Making Paper Articles (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A gluing machine which employs substantially linear conveying motion and easily installed change parts, the combination of which adapts the machine to handle thin paper or relatively heavy cardboard. A vacuum head with compound motion delivers a sheet of cardboard or paper from a vertical stack by lifting the leading edge and advancing it substantially horizontally between drive rolls which deliver the sheet under a glue roll. For relatively stiff sheets, a pair of presser rolls under the glue roll continuously bend the moving sheet into close contact with the glue roll and the sheet is delivered onto a vacuum conveyor for positive ejection and accurately timed delivery to a downstream processing station. For handling flexible sheets, the vacuum head is rotated while in mo-tion by an air cylinder carried on the support arms for the vacuum head, and the air cylinder can be disabled for handling stiff sheets. The presser rolls are substituted with a fixed bridge for handling flexible sheets.
-1a-
A gluing machine which employs substantially linear conveying motion and easily installed change parts, the combination of which adapts the machine to handle thin paper or relatively heavy cardboard. A vacuum head with compound motion delivers a sheet of cardboard or paper from a vertical stack by lifting the leading edge and advancing it substantially horizontally between drive rolls which deliver the sheet under a glue roll. For relatively stiff sheets, a pair of presser rolls under the glue roll continuously bend the moving sheet into close contact with the glue roll and the sheet is delivered onto a vacuum conveyor for positive ejection and accurately timed delivery to a downstream processing station. For handling flexible sheets, the vacuum head is rotated while in mo-tion by an air cylinder carried on the support arms for the vacuum head, and the air cylinder can be disabled for handling stiff sheets. The presser rolls are substituted with a fixed bridge for handling flexible sheets.
-1a-
Description
14~4'~ 9 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The field of the present invention concerns gluing machines for applying an adhesive coating to a flat web or sheet of paper or cardboard.
More specifically, the present invention concerns a gluing machine which can be readily converted to handle either thin and flexible paper sheets such as are used in box wrapping machines, or thick and relatively inflexible card-board such as may be used in forming a laminated game board, or the like, and sheets having any flexibility within this rang0.
One type of prior art gluing machine is disclosed in the Andresen et al United States Patent 3,252,701, issued on May 24, 1966. Sheets of paper are sequentially fed laterally off a stack and progress upward past a : glue roll. Above the glue roll, an air blast redirects the sheet back over a . . ~ . . .
vacuum belt conveyor which overlies the supply stack. Thus, the sheets leave ; the magazine in one direction, and follow a recurve path onto the vacuum belt. ~ :
. For obvious reasons, this path dictates that the sheets must be very flexible, ~-and that stiff, relatively inflexible sheets cannot be used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided in a gluing machine of the type including a magazine for supporting an uprightstack of s~ts a vacuum head for removing the uppermost sheet from the magazine and displac- -ing it from the stack to a sheet delivery position, feed rolls for gripping and transporting the displaced sheet, a glue roll in rolling contact with said . ;
sheet for depositing a film of adhesive thereon, and a conveyor for transport-ing the coated sheet to a downstream station, the improvement comprising: a.
means mounting said feed rolls, said glue roll and said conveyor to provide a substantially linear, substantially horizontal path for each sheet during -~
movement from said magazine to said vacuum conveyor; said glue roller being :-mounted over the path of said sheet; b. a pair of presser rollers mounted under said glue roll with their respective turning axes parallel to and sub-stantially equally spaced from the axis of said glue roll; and c. means for - 1 - :, .
1~!4~ 9 adjusting said presserrOll5 toward or away from said glue roll, the confront-ing surfaces of said glue roll and said presser rolls in raised position con-tinuously arcuately bending the moving sheet to the approximate radius of said glue roll.
Thus~ bya physical arrangement of operating components, as well as particular structural details, substantially straight line movement of the workpiece is made feasible. This capability allows the gluing machine to handle either very flexible sheets> or sheets which are relatively inflexible, or any sheets of intermediate flexibility. Certain easily interchangeable and removable parts may be employed to convert the gluing machine for optimum per-formance accordingto:~eflexibility of the sheets, thus allowing the one machine ` to have a broad range of usefulness. For example, the gluing machine can be ; used in laminating operations such as in the construction of game boards em-ploying one or more thick and/or inflexible substrates. At the other extreme of operating conditions, thin, flexible wrappers for paperboard boxes, or a - cover sheet for a game board can be effectively handled by the machine after a simple and quick changeover.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodi-ment of the present invention:
Figure 1 is a schematic side elevation of a gluing machine, partlybroken away to show the upper portion thereof in longitudinal section.
Figure 2 is an enlarged schematic perspective of a stack magazine, the general area of which is indicated by the arrow 2 on Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an enlarged schematic section of the general area of the gluing machine indicated by the arrow 3 on Figure 1.
Figure 4 is an enlarged schematic perspective of the major drive and operating components of the gluing machine.
Figure 5 is an enlarged schematic elevation of the central portion of - 30 Figure 1 Figure 6 is a fragmentary schematic section .
1~4~1~49 illus.ratin~ conversion parts used witl~ the upper portion of the Figure 3 apparatus for handling thin, flexible sheets.
~igures 7-9 are schematic, fragmenta~y sections illustrating successive operational positions of the sheet feeding mechanism shown in Figure 2.
DESCRIPTION OF ~E PREFERRED E~ BOD.IME~T
The gluing machine 10 lFigure 1) includes leg ;~ supports 12 or a stacX magazine 14. The magazine 14 includes an elevator table 16 which is automatically movable to position the uppermost sheet S of a stack (indicated by phantom outline 18) of sheets in horizontal alignment with a sheet feeding mechanism 20. The sheet feeding mechanism is disposed between side plates 22 and 24, and is driven by a motor Ml to feed one sheet at a tLme bet~een superposed feed rolls at 26. I~ will be - -understccd that a clutcih is u~ually interposed between the motor Ml and the parts driven thereby, but tha~ in the - ;
schematic nature of the present drawings no clutch is illustrated.
- From the feed rolls, the sheet progresses under ~-A a driven glue roll ~ and onto the ùpper reach of an ele-vationally ad~ustable vacuum belt conveyor 30 which over-_ lies a vacuum box 32 and delivers the glue covered sheet to a further do-mstream processing station. For handling relatively thick, inflexible sheets, a presser assembly 34 b~neath the glue roll 28 bend~ thc sheet to attain a rela-tively large contact area bet~een the shee' and glue roll, whereas for thin sheets, the presser assembly is modified by re.moving and replacinc~ certain parts. One teaturc of _3_ . . .
.
- 104~49 tlle p~e~ent invcntion i5 that the shects have subs~antially straight-line motion after pickup from the stack maga~ine 14 to the vacuum belt conveyor 30 so that oniy minimal bcnding of the sheet is necessary, during its transport, S as contrasted with gluing machines of the type ~.~herc the sheet is recurved during the gluing operation, or is other-wise bent to a degree which will damage inflexible sheets.
- Other features are that the presser assembly 34 and the sheet feeding mechanism 20 are readily converted for opti-mum performance with comparatively thick and thin sheets having a wide range of flexibility, and that the size range of the sheets that may be handled is unusually large.
; With reference to ~igure 2 and the stack magazine 14, the elevator table 16 is secured to a rectangular frame-work 36 that is supported at each corner by the ver.ical runs of conveyor chains 37, 38, 39 and 40 to elevate or lower ~he table 16 and maintain it level.. ~nS~r~er~s only the chains 37 and 39 at one side of the gluing machine, the arrangement of which is typical for the other chains, the chain 39 has a.free end carrying a counter-weight 4I and passes over a driven sprocket 4~; the chain 39 is also provided with a counterweight 41 and is trained over a fixed idler sprocket 44 adjacent i.s point of attachment to the framework 36.
The driven sprockets 42 are mounted on the output shaft 46 of a gear box 48 that is powered by a reversible motor M2. Chains 38 and 40 are similarly mounted on driven sprockets 50, the latter chain bcing trained over an idler sprocket 52. Thus, powered rotat.ion of the shaft 46 in one direction simultaneously rais~s each corner of the 1t~4'~49 table 16 from a possiblc lowermost position near ground level. Assuming that a stack of sheets is on the table 16, and the upper sheet has been removed by the shcet feediny ~nechanisrn 20 (Figure 1), ~s later described in detail, .he stack is elevated to place the next sheet in feeding position by means including a stack-heigh~ sensor rod 54.
The sensor rod 54 is carried by arms 56 which are fixed to a control rod 58. A lever 60 on one end of the control rod 58 is connected by a link 62 to a trip arm 64 that is pivotally mounted on a stub shaft 66. In a manner later described, the free end of the trip arm 64 is pivoted upward each time the sheet feeding mechanism 2Q
(Figure 1) picks up a sheet from the 5 tack and feeds it toward the glue roll 28. -Thon, the trip arm 64 is allowed to pivot do-~m~ard, when the sheet feeding mechanism returns toward the magazine. This causes ~he leve_ 50 t_ ~ -actuate a microswitch 68 which energizes the motor M2 to elevate the stack, and also lowers the stack sensor rod -54 to be lifted by the uppermost sheet of the rising stack of sheets on the table 16. Accordingly, the actuator of the microswitch 68 is released when the uppermost sheet is - -in feeding position, and the motor M2 is de~energized.
As shown in Figure 3, a vertical, transvers~ wall 70 extends batreen the side plates 22 and 24 (Figure 1) and defines the downstream end of the stack magazine 14.
The upper end of the wall 70 is provided with vertical grooves 71 that are each aligned with an air port 73 in an air conduit 75. The ports 73 issue air blasts to riffle the sheets in the magazine each time a sheet is remov0d, and thus aid in separatin~ the ~op sheet from ' ,~ .
, , . , ~
. ..
....
~4Q849 the stack. ~le side platcs each have an L-shaped aperture 72 (Figures 3 and S) for the operating clearance of the mechanism for driving a vacuum head 74, later described, that grips the top sheet for removal from the maga~ine.
S For the present it is sufficient to note that the vacuum head 74 has an L-shaped path of movement corresponding to the side plate apertures 72, and that the vacuum head is carried by an upstanding pivot lever 76 (Figures 3 and 4) and a coxresponding laterally aligned ~ivot lever 78 at the other side of the gluing machine, both levers being outside the side plates 22 and 24.
Returning to a general outline of the Figure 3 mechanism, the vacuum head 74 is illustrated in its far-. thest downstream delivery position for handling relatively thick, inflexible sheets such as cardboard, and the path of ` a sheet from the magazine 14 to the vacuum conveyor 30approximates the dotted line P. Thus, and as later described, the vacuum head 74 initially extends across one edge of the upper sheet in the magazine; and delivers the 20. sheet over a ramp 80 and be~Jeen upper and lower feed rolls - .. 82 and 84. Both feed rolls are provided with circumfer-ential grooves, as best sho~n in Figure 4 for the upper roll 82, that allow individual vacuum cup units 85 to operat~
close to the line of gripping contact between the feed . 25 rolls, and also provide clearance, under certain opera~ing .
conditions, for allowing the vacuum cup units to swing up-wardly away from a position proximate the feed rolls.
- ~n order to assure easy entry o* the sheets ~etwe~n the feed rolls, the upper (idl.er) roil 82 is raised from thc lo~er (driv~n) roll ~4 until the ~d~e or . -6- ;
,. :
, ~ 1~4'~)~49 the sheet is in posit:ion to be grippecl by che feed rolls, at wnich time the uppcr roll is lowered into contact ~Ji'h the sheet while the vacuum head 74 returns to~r~ard the m~ga-: . -: zine to pick up the next sheet The leading edge of thc sheet progresses under the glue roll 28 and over two parallel presser rolls 86 and 88 of the presser assembly 34. The ends of the presser rolls are removably mounted in upstanding yokes 90 (Figures 3 and 4) that may be ver-tically adjustcd to regulate the clearance bett~een the glue roll and presser rolis.
Glue is delivered from overhead conduits, not shown, into a trough 92 formed by a glue spreader roll 94 ;~
and the glue roll 28, and by a fixed upright wall 96 (only one wall being shown) at each end of said rolls 15. m e walls 96 have arcuate lo~er edges, not visible, which :~
extend into grooved portions of the rolls, and a handle .
; 98 is provided for adjusting the spreader roll relative ~ ~-to the glue roll. On the downstream side of the glue roll 28, a series of stripper fingers 100 depending from a . 20 support rod 101 assure that the sheets are directed toward. . the vacuum belt conveyor and do not wrap around ~he glue roll. - ~.
Other parts a.~pearins in Figure 3 that should ~e mentioned for ease of recognition in ~he next described Figure 4 are: a main input shaft 102 is driven by a belt and pulley drive train 104 from the motor Ml (Figure 1).
Above the input shaft 102 is an Oscillating torque or ætabilizer shaft 106 which serves ~o transfer driving mo-tion for the vacuum head 7a from one side to the other æide of the mzchine. ~ cam shaft 10~ carxies a series of ,, .
. 7 ,' ', '' ,' ,' '''', " '' ' '~' ' ,'"''~ '', ,' '' ;, ' ~ ' 1~4~4'3 cams, onc cam ].10 provicling up and down motion fox the vacuum head 7~. A ~riction brake including a drum 112 on the cam shaft 108, and a friction band 114 trained over the drum, serves to inhibit rotation of the cam shaf~ to S prevent overt-avel of corn~oncnts which are driven t'nere~y.
Adjacent the cam shaft 108 is a roeXing pivot shaft 116 having a eam follower 118 riding on the eam 110, and hav-ing a crank arm 120 pivotally eonneeted by a shaft 121 to the pivot lever 76 whieh earries one cnd of th~ vacuum head 74. The pivot lever 78 (Figure 4~ for the other end of the vaeuum head is connected by a shaft 122 to a simi-lar erank arm 123 on the pivot shaft 116.
Figure 4 illustrates the major drive and opera-ting eomponents of the gluing maehine 10. Beginning with ~5 the main drive input shaft 102, a gear train 124 inter-eonneets the shaft 102 and the eam shaft 108. For provid-ing fore and at roeking movement of the vacuum head 74, an L-shaped eranX arm 126 adjaeent the pivot lever 78 is pivotally mounted on the pivo~ shaft 116. A eam follower roller 128 on the lower end of erank arm 126 rides on a . eam 130 affLxed to the eam shaft 108, and a roller 132 on the upper end portion of the erank arm is aligned with the pivot lever 78 that earries one end o.~ the vaeu~m head 74. An anehored tension spring 134 biases the lever 78 to .. 25 maintain the roller 132 engaged with the lever 78, thereby urging the follower roller 128 against the cam 130. A
sLmilarly funetioning sprin~ 135 biases the lever 76.
. Only one eam is provided to swing the vaeuum head 74 fore and aft. Thus, the previously mentioned torque shaft 106 is eonneeted to th~ pivot lever 78 by an -8~
" ,, ` ~4~849 arm 136 and a link 138, and the othcr cnd of the shaft 106 is coupled by an arm 1~0 and link 142 to the o~her pivot-able support lever 76 for the other end of the v2cuum head 74. This ecluali~es the motion of the levers 76 and 78 S to prevent tlle vacuum head 74 from skewing and misaligning the sheet.
It will be noted that the crank arms 123 and 120 are each formed of two levers, the former to acco~o-date the hub of the L-shaped crank arm 126, and .he latter to provide access to the shaft 121 by the free end of the ; trip arm 64. Thus, when the vacu~m head 74 is s~ung for-ward and rearward, the trip arm 64 is pivoted u~ward and do~mward. This motion, it will bP recalled, cyclically operates the microswitch 68 (Figure 2) to incrementally raise the stacX of sheets on the magazine table 16 and place the uppermost sheet in delivery position after each time a sheet is removed.
Returning to Figure 4, a feed roll cam 144 is mounted on the cam shaft 108 ~or raising and lowering the upper .eed roll 82 (Figure 3) each time a sheet is fed thereto by the vacuum head 74. m us, the cam l4a raises and lowers a follower arm 146 that is pivotally moun.ed on the pivot shaft 116 ancl is coupled to a lever 1a,8.
The lever 148, in turn, is pivotally connected to a crank 150 on a rockshaft 152. Tne rockshaft carries two arms lS4, each of which by a link 156 is coupled to the central portion of a bar 158. One ena of each bar 158 is mounted - on a fix.ed pivot shaft 160, ana the other end OL each bar supports the upper feed roll 82. With this arrangement, and ~he timing employed, the icller feed roll 82 (Pigure 3) ' ,.9_ ,. , . _ ~.
is elevated from the driven fecd roll ~ to permi.t eas~
entry of the leading edge of a sheet deli.vered by the vacuum head 7~, and then lowers to grip the sheet against the driven roll in order to drive ~he shee~ past the glue roll 28.
The vacuum head 74 is connected to the pivot levers 76 and 78 by coaxial, rotatable stub shafts 166 and 168, respectively, which extend through the apertures 72 (Figures 3 and 5) in the side plates 22 and 24. Upwardly directed and aligned arms 170 (Figure 4) and 1i2 on the stub shafts are fixed to a vacuum tube 174 having closed ends and a vacuum connector 176 near one end. Mounted along the tube and communicating wi~h the vacuum tube is a spaced series of the previously mentioned vacuum cup units BS, each having a depending suction cup 178 fox gripping . engagement with a sheet.
. The vacuum head 74 is selectively rotatable : - a~out the axes of the stub shafts 166 and 168 wnile the vacuum head i5 moving fore and aft. To effect such rota-tion, the support shaft 166 is connected to a lever 180 which is pivoted to the piston rod of an air cylinder 182.
The base of the cylinder .is mounted to a bracket 184 (best sho-~m in Figure 7) which is welded to the pivot levex 76. In this way, projecting movement of the piston rod directly rotates the vacuum head support shaft 166 -~
(and indirectly rotates the other shaft 168) to swing the arms 170 and 172, thereby swinging the vacuum cup units 85 clockwise as viewed in Fi~ure 3. A retracting spring 186 on a lever 188 fixed to the support sha~t 168 and con-nected to the pivot lever 78 biases the vacuum cup units ., :
, ' ': .
1~4'~ 9 85 ~when the air cylinder 182 is deenergi~ed) to a position where the lowcr margin of each suction cup 178 (Fi~ure 3) is substantially horizon.al when the vacuum head 74 is in sheet delivery position relative to the feed rolls 82 and 84. Rotative movem2nt of the vacuum head 74 is used when the sheets to be glued are relatively flexible, as des-cribed in connection with Figures 7-9.
It was previously mentioned that the presser rolls 86 and 88 (Figures 3 and 4) are vertically adjustable relative to the glue roll 28. As shown in Figure 4, each of the presser roll support yokes 90 is provided wit'n upper parallelogram links 192 secured to a cross shaft 194 for coextensive movement of said links, and with lower para-llelogram links 200 mounted on pivot studs 201. One upper link 192 has a bifurcated bracket 202 secured thereto, and a rod 204 is threaded through a nut 206 pivoted in the bracket. An unthreaded portion of the rod, adjacent a handwheel 208, extends ~hrough and is axially anchored in a fixed boss 270. Rotation of the handwheel 208, accord-ingly, simultaneously raises or lowers the presser rolls 86 and 88 wi~h substantially vertical movement, and allows the running clearance relative to the glue roll 28 to be adjusted with or without the gluing machine in opera-tion. It will ke recalled that the presser rolls are used ~hen running relatively inflexible sheets to assure close contact of the shsets with the glue roll.
In those instances ~ere flexible sheets are being run, box wrappers for example, the presser rolls 86 and 88 are removcd frorn the yokes 90, as sho.m in Figure 6.
In place of the upstream pressel- roll 8~, a bridge or .
1~ 49 ramp 212 is mounted across the two yok~s 90. Due to th~
flexibility of the sheets and the delivery path of the sheets over the ramp 212, the sheets establish a close wrap under the lower sector of the glue roll 28 without requiring presser rolls.
Figures 7-9 show successive operational positions for running flexible sheets S Under these conditions, the vacuum head 74 is rotated durin~ the delivery of eacn sheet to the feed rolls 82 and 84, so that the lead.ing 10 edge portion o~ the sheet is flexed upward to clear the ramp 80. Because thè sheet can be thus flexed, the suc-- tion cups 178 will maintain flat engagement with the sheets, even though the vacuum head is rotated. On the other hand, it is readily apparent that a relatively inflexible sheet (especially of short dimensions longi-... . . tudinally of the machine? is liable to break away from the vacuum cups if the vacuum head is ro.tated because the sheet cannot bend. Therefore, in the latter case, the air cylinder 182 is rendered inactive by opening a bleed 20 outlet, not shown, to keep the piston rod of the air cylinder in its retracted position, and to keep the :
angular relation of the vacuum head 74 to the pivot lever .
76 (and lever 78 Figure 4) substantially as illustrated in .
Figure 7.
It will be recognized that there is no exact line of demarcation between a so called flexible sheet and an . inflexible sheet. For this reason, the vacuum c~ps 178 - are pre~erably provided with rubber hoods (not sllown) which may be manually placed on the cups 178 so that the .....
hoo~s will flex and accommod.ate small differences of '. ' ' ' ' . ,,",' '~ ' . , :
lQ~ 49 planarity bet-JceJl the suction CllpS and sheets which are somewhat in~lexible, but bend sufficien~ly for a ~e~d.iny operation without rotation of the vacuum head 74 as des-cri~ed. Thus, it is preferred that the sheet-contacting surfaces of the vacuum cups 178 are rigid for handlin~
:~ paper, and that flexible accesso~y hoods as described . be provided for handling cardboard, because this in addi-tion to the other provisions described, provides optimum handling efficiency throughout the ~lexibil.ity range of the sheets.
. Again re~erring to Figure 7, a sheet ~eeding -.
operation begins with the vacuum head 74 in its rearmost and lowermost position, as respectively effected by the : cams 130 and 110 (Figure 4).~ This places the vacuum cups 178 in gripping contact with the leading edge portion of the uppermost flexible sheet S. At this time, the air conduit 75 directs high velocity air blasts from the mul-.tiple air ports 73 into the a~jacent edge of the stack of : sheets to aid in stripping the top sheet from ~he stack. :-- 20 Before the vacuum head is moved upward from the Figure 7 position, the air cylinder 182 is energized to swing the vacuum cup units 85 upward and rearward, thus flexing the - leading edge portion of the top sheet S into a gradual bend .~:
and into general parallelism with the ramp 80 as shoT.~n in Fi~ure 8. The cam 110, meanl`nile, is rotating to advance its highest profile past the cam follower roller 118.
Accord.in~ly, an intermediate rotational position ol ~he cam 110, which position occurs ~e~ween the operational sta~cs snown .in Figures 8 and 9, swings the cranX arm 120 about the axis ol the pivot sha~t 116 to elevate the pivot - lQ4~)849 lever 76 (and the countarpart pivot lcver 78, Figure 4) to raise the vaouum head 74 for forward movement at the appro- .
ximate elevation sho-~n in Figure 9.
~hen the vacuum head is su~ficiently raised for S fonlard movement, the lowest profile of the cam 130 ~Figure 4) moves under ~he follower roller 128, thus allowing the tension springs 134 and 135 to urge the pivot levers 76 and 78 fon~ard, carrying the vacuum heaa 74 forward, carrying , the vacuum head 74 toward the feed rolls 82 and 84. Coex-10 tensive and coincidental movement of the ends of the vacuumhead 74 is achieved by means of the stabilizer or torque shaft 106 which, by means of the arms 136 and 140, and . links 138 and 142, ties the pivot levers 76 and 78 together for unitary movement. While the vacuum head is ":
being thus moved, the upper feed xoll 82 (Figure 9) is raised from the lower feed roll 84 to assure a wide entry ~'' , throat for the sheet. Thus, the cam 144 (Figure 4) with its associated follower 146 and lever 148, rotates the ;~
' ',, shaft 152 whereby the arms 154 and links 156 pivot the --carrier bars 158 for the eed roll 82 u~ward, and th2 com-ponents descri~ed attain the Figure 9 position with the . .:
sheet S released by the vacuum head and ready io be gripped by the feed rolls.
me cam 144 (Figure 4) then lowers ths,upper feed, ,,: .
: - 25 roll 82 so that the gripped sheet S progresses fonJard under,the glue roll 28, and the vacuum head 74 follows a ~ -generally reverse path of movement (rearward and downward) while it is erected to th~ Figure 7 position ready for ' -qripping and transporting the next top sheet from the , 30 stack magazine.
, ' ,. , ~
~ 1~ f~edin~ o~era~ion wh~n handlin~ cardboard or other relatively inflexible sheets is reviewed in brie~
outline in conjunction with Figure 3. The bridge 80 (Figur~s 7-9) is removed and the presser rolls 86 and 88 ` - 5 are mounted in the yokes 90 (Figures 3 and 4). Air cylin-der l82 is adjusted so that it will not operate, and the vacuum head 74 will therefore, as previously mentioned, .. ..
move up and down, and fore and aft while maintaining the l approximate orientation shown in Figure 3. Thus, the sheet J 10 pic~up position of the vacuum head 74 is as shown in i Figure 7 for the flexible sheets, and the vacuum head moves upward in the side plate slots 72 ~Figure 3) and forward toward the feed rolls.
Due to the inflexibility of the sheet ~not shotm) : 15 gripped and elevated by the vacuum cups 178, the edge pro-file of the sheet will assume the contour of the previously mentioned approximate delivery path P. In o~her words, -~
~he sheet will initially bend upward from its upstream edge portion within the magazine when the downstream edge -is raised by the vacuum cups 178 with the separation of ~¦ ~ the sheet from the stack aided by the air jets from the ports 73. ~ccordingly, the path P over the stack will vary ¦ solhè~h~t according to the flexibili~y and leng~h of the sheets longitudinally of ~he machine, and short sheets will ¦ 25 tend to break away from the vacuum cups 178 unless the previousl~ mentioned flexible rubber hoods (not shown) are placed thereon so that the suction cups conform to th~
plane of the sheet.
The feed rolls 82 and 84 open to receive the 3~ ghect, in the same manner mentioned in connection with - -- ~
104~)849 Figure 9, and th~n close ~o advance the shec~ ~hilc ~he vacuum head 7~ returns to the Figure 7 po.sition. The - moving sheet contacts the driven glue roll 28 and passes there~nder ~hile being pinchcd between the presser rolls - 5 82 and 84 to provide continuous running ~lexure of the . sheet into contact with the glue roll. Depending upon the specific flexibility of the sheets bein~ handled, the sheet may then bend slightly upward over the elevationally :` adjustable vacu~m belt conveyor 30, or for very stiff sheets the conveyor 30 may be lowered belo~.~ the position shown in ~igure 3. In either event, the sheets are glued and transported.in substantially planar co~dition.
Fxom the preceding detailed description, it is believed evident that the gluing machine 10 o~ the present invention is capable of handling sheets within a wide - range of flexibility and/or thickness, and requires only minimum labor and parts to accommodate ~hat range.
Although the best mode contem~lated for carrying out the present invention has been herein s~o~m and described, it will be apparent that modification and vari-ation may be made without departing from what is regarded ::
to be the subject matter of the invention. . .~ .
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The field of the present invention concerns gluing machines for applying an adhesive coating to a flat web or sheet of paper or cardboard.
More specifically, the present invention concerns a gluing machine which can be readily converted to handle either thin and flexible paper sheets such as are used in box wrapping machines, or thick and relatively inflexible card-board such as may be used in forming a laminated game board, or the like, and sheets having any flexibility within this rang0.
One type of prior art gluing machine is disclosed in the Andresen et al United States Patent 3,252,701, issued on May 24, 1966. Sheets of paper are sequentially fed laterally off a stack and progress upward past a : glue roll. Above the glue roll, an air blast redirects the sheet back over a . . ~ . . .
vacuum belt conveyor which overlies the supply stack. Thus, the sheets leave ; the magazine in one direction, and follow a recurve path onto the vacuum belt. ~ :
. For obvious reasons, this path dictates that the sheets must be very flexible, ~-and that stiff, relatively inflexible sheets cannot be used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided in a gluing machine of the type including a magazine for supporting an uprightstack of s~ts a vacuum head for removing the uppermost sheet from the magazine and displac- -ing it from the stack to a sheet delivery position, feed rolls for gripping and transporting the displaced sheet, a glue roll in rolling contact with said . ;
sheet for depositing a film of adhesive thereon, and a conveyor for transport-ing the coated sheet to a downstream station, the improvement comprising: a.
means mounting said feed rolls, said glue roll and said conveyor to provide a substantially linear, substantially horizontal path for each sheet during -~
movement from said magazine to said vacuum conveyor; said glue roller being :-mounted over the path of said sheet; b. a pair of presser rollers mounted under said glue roll with their respective turning axes parallel to and sub-stantially equally spaced from the axis of said glue roll; and c. means for - 1 - :, .
1~!4~ 9 adjusting said presserrOll5 toward or away from said glue roll, the confront-ing surfaces of said glue roll and said presser rolls in raised position con-tinuously arcuately bending the moving sheet to the approximate radius of said glue roll.
Thus~ bya physical arrangement of operating components, as well as particular structural details, substantially straight line movement of the workpiece is made feasible. This capability allows the gluing machine to handle either very flexible sheets> or sheets which are relatively inflexible, or any sheets of intermediate flexibility. Certain easily interchangeable and removable parts may be employed to convert the gluing machine for optimum per-formance accordingto:~eflexibility of the sheets, thus allowing the one machine ` to have a broad range of usefulness. For example, the gluing machine can be ; used in laminating operations such as in the construction of game boards em-ploying one or more thick and/or inflexible substrates. At the other extreme of operating conditions, thin, flexible wrappers for paperboard boxes, or a - cover sheet for a game board can be effectively handled by the machine after a simple and quick changeover.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodi-ment of the present invention:
Figure 1 is a schematic side elevation of a gluing machine, partlybroken away to show the upper portion thereof in longitudinal section.
Figure 2 is an enlarged schematic perspective of a stack magazine, the general area of which is indicated by the arrow 2 on Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an enlarged schematic section of the general area of the gluing machine indicated by the arrow 3 on Figure 1.
Figure 4 is an enlarged schematic perspective of the major drive and operating components of the gluing machine.
Figure 5 is an enlarged schematic elevation of the central portion of - 30 Figure 1 Figure 6 is a fragmentary schematic section .
1~4~1~49 illus.ratin~ conversion parts used witl~ the upper portion of the Figure 3 apparatus for handling thin, flexible sheets.
~igures 7-9 are schematic, fragmenta~y sections illustrating successive operational positions of the sheet feeding mechanism shown in Figure 2.
DESCRIPTION OF ~E PREFERRED E~ BOD.IME~T
The gluing machine 10 lFigure 1) includes leg ;~ supports 12 or a stacX magazine 14. The magazine 14 includes an elevator table 16 which is automatically movable to position the uppermost sheet S of a stack (indicated by phantom outline 18) of sheets in horizontal alignment with a sheet feeding mechanism 20. The sheet feeding mechanism is disposed between side plates 22 and 24, and is driven by a motor Ml to feed one sheet at a tLme bet~een superposed feed rolls at 26. I~ will be - -understccd that a clutcih is u~ually interposed between the motor Ml and the parts driven thereby, but tha~ in the - ;
schematic nature of the present drawings no clutch is illustrated.
- From the feed rolls, the sheet progresses under ~-A a driven glue roll ~ and onto the ùpper reach of an ele-vationally ad~ustable vacuum belt conveyor 30 which over-_ lies a vacuum box 32 and delivers the glue covered sheet to a further do-mstream processing station. For handling relatively thick, inflexible sheets, a presser assembly 34 b~neath the glue roll 28 bend~ thc sheet to attain a rela-tively large contact area bet~een the shee' and glue roll, whereas for thin sheets, the presser assembly is modified by re.moving and replacinc~ certain parts. One teaturc of _3_ . . .
.
- 104~49 tlle p~e~ent invcntion i5 that the shects have subs~antially straight-line motion after pickup from the stack maga~ine 14 to the vacuum belt conveyor 30 so that oniy minimal bcnding of the sheet is necessary, during its transport, S as contrasted with gluing machines of the type ~.~herc the sheet is recurved during the gluing operation, or is other-wise bent to a degree which will damage inflexible sheets.
- Other features are that the presser assembly 34 and the sheet feeding mechanism 20 are readily converted for opti-mum performance with comparatively thick and thin sheets having a wide range of flexibility, and that the size range of the sheets that may be handled is unusually large.
; With reference to ~igure 2 and the stack magazine 14, the elevator table 16 is secured to a rectangular frame-work 36 that is supported at each corner by the ver.ical runs of conveyor chains 37, 38, 39 and 40 to elevate or lower ~he table 16 and maintain it level.. ~nS~r~er~s only the chains 37 and 39 at one side of the gluing machine, the arrangement of which is typical for the other chains, the chain 39 has a.free end carrying a counter-weight 4I and passes over a driven sprocket 4~; the chain 39 is also provided with a counterweight 41 and is trained over a fixed idler sprocket 44 adjacent i.s point of attachment to the framework 36.
The driven sprockets 42 are mounted on the output shaft 46 of a gear box 48 that is powered by a reversible motor M2. Chains 38 and 40 are similarly mounted on driven sprockets 50, the latter chain bcing trained over an idler sprocket 52. Thus, powered rotat.ion of the shaft 46 in one direction simultaneously rais~s each corner of the 1t~4'~49 table 16 from a possiblc lowermost position near ground level. Assuming that a stack of sheets is on the table 16, and the upper sheet has been removed by the shcet feediny ~nechanisrn 20 (Figure 1), ~s later described in detail, .he stack is elevated to place the next sheet in feeding position by means including a stack-heigh~ sensor rod 54.
The sensor rod 54 is carried by arms 56 which are fixed to a control rod 58. A lever 60 on one end of the control rod 58 is connected by a link 62 to a trip arm 64 that is pivotally mounted on a stub shaft 66. In a manner later described, the free end of the trip arm 64 is pivoted upward each time the sheet feeding mechanism 2Q
(Figure 1) picks up a sheet from the 5 tack and feeds it toward the glue roll 28. -Thon, the trip arm 64 is allowed to pivot do-~m~ard, when the sheet feeding mechanism returns toward the magazine. This causes ~he leve_ 50 t_ ~ -actuate a microswitch 68 which energizes the motor M2 to elevate the stack, and also lowers the stack sensor rod -54 to be lifted by the uppermost sheet of the rising stack of sheets on the table 16. Accordingly, the actuator of the microswitch 68 is released when the uppermost sheet is - -in feeding position, and the motor M2 is de~energized.
As shown in Figure 3, a vertical, transvers~ wall 70 extends batreen the side plates 22 and 24 (Figure 1) and defines the downstream end of the stack magazine 14.
The upper end of the wall 70 is provided with vertical grooves 71 that are each aligned with an air port 73 in an air conduit 75. The ports 73 issue air blasts to riffle the sheets in the magazine each time a sheet is remov0d, and thus aid in separatin~ the ~op sheet from ' ,~ .
, , . , ~
. ..
....
~4Q849 the stack. ~le side platcs each have an L-shaped aperture 72 (Figures 3 and S) for the operating clearance of the mechanism for driving a vacuum head 74, later described, that grips the top sheet for removal from the maga~ine.
S For the present it is sufficient to note that the vacuum head 74 has an L-shaped path of movement corresponding to the side plate apertures 72, and that the vacuum head is carried by an upstanding pivot lever 76 (Figures 3 and 4) and a coxresponding laterally aligned ~ivot lever 78 at the other side of the gluing machine, both levers being outside the side plates 22 and 24.
Returning to a general outline of the Figure 3 mechanism, the vacuum head 74 is illustrated in its far-. thest downstream delivery position for handling relatively thick, inflexible sheets such as cardboard, and the path of ` a sheet from the magazine 14 to the vacuum conveyor 30approximates the dotted line P. Thus, and as later described, the vacuum head 74 initially extends across one edge of the upper sheet in the magazine; and delivers the 20. sheet over a ramp 80 and be~Jeen upper and lower feed rolls - .. 82 and 84. Both feed rolls are provided with circumfer-ential grooves, as best sho~n in Figure 4 for the upper roll 82, that allow individual vacuum cup units 85 to operat~
close to the line of gripping contact between the feed . 25 rolls, and also provide clearance, under certain opera~ing .
conditions, for allowing the vacuum cup units to swing up-wardly away from a position proximate the feed rolls.
- ~n order to assure easy entry o* the sheets ~etwe~n the feed rolls, the upper (idl.er) roil 82 is raised from thc lo~er (driv~n) roll ~4 until the ~d~e or . -6- ;
,. :
, ~ 1~4'~)~49 the sheet is in posit:ion to be grippecl by che feed rolls, at wnich time the uppcr roll is lowered into contact ~Ji'h the sheet while the vacuum head 74 returns to~r~ard the m~ga-: . -: zine to pick up the next sheet The leading edge of thc sheet progresses under the glue roll 28 and over two parallel presser rolls 86 and 88 of the presser assembly 34. The ends of the presser rolls are removably mounted in upstanding yokes 90 (Figures 3 and 4) that may be ver-tically adjustcd to regulate the clearance bett~een the glue roll and presser rolis.
Glue is delivered from overhead conduits, not shown, into a trough 92 formed by a glue spreader roll 94 ;~
and the glue roll 28, and by a fixed upright wall 96 (only one wall being shown) at each end of said rolls 15. m e walls 96 have arcuate lo~er edges, not visible, which :~
extend into grooved portions of the rolls, and a handle .
; 98 is provided for adjusting the spreader roll relative ~ ~-to the glue roll. On the downstream side of the glue roll 28, a series of stripper fingers 100 depending from a . 20 support rod 101 assure that the sheets are directed toward. . the vacuum belt conveyor and do not wrap around ~he glue roll. - ~.
Other parts a.~pearins in Figure 3 that should ~e mentioned for ease of recognition in ~he next described Figure 4 are: a main input shaft 102 is driven by a belt and pulley drive train 104 from the motor Ml (Figure 1).
Above the input shaft 102 is an Oscillating torque or ætabilizer shaft 106 which serves ~o transfer driving mo-tion for the vacuum head 7a from one side to the other æide of the mzchine. ~ cam shaft 10~ carxies a series of ,, .
. 7 ,' ', '' ,' ,' '''', " '' ' '~' ' ,'"''~ '', ,' '' ;, ' ~ ' 1~4~4'3 cams, onc cam ].10 provicling up and down motion fox the vacuum head 7~. A ~riction brake including a drum 112 on the cam shaft 108, and a friction band 114 trained over the drum, serves to inhibit rotation of the cam shaf~ to S prevent overt-avel of corn~oncnts which are driven t'nere~y.
Adjacent the cam shaft 108 is a roeXing pivot shaft 116 having a eam follower 118 riding on the eam 110, and hav-ing a crank arm 120 pivotally eonneeted by a shaft 121 to the pivot lever 76 whieh earries one cnd of th~ vacuum head 74. The pivot lever 78 (Figure 4~ for the other end of the vaeuum head is connected by a shaft 122 to a simi-lar erank arm 123 on the pivot shaft 116.
Figure 4 illustrates the major drive and opera-ting eomponents of the gluing maehine 10. Beginning with ~5 the main drive input shaft 102, a gear train 124 inter-eonneets the shaft 102 and the eam shaft 108. For provid-ing fore and at roeking movement of the vacuum head 74, an L-shaped eranX arm 126 adjaeent the pivot lever 78 is pivotally mounted on the pivo~ shaft 116. A eam follower roller 128 on the lower end of erank arm 126 rides on a . eam 130 affLxed to the eam shaft 108, and a roller 132 on the upper end portion of the erank arm is aligned with the pivot lever 78 that earries one end o.~ the vaeu~m head 74. An anehored tension spring 134 biases the lever 78 to .. 25 maintain the roller 132 engaged with the lever 78, thereby urging the follower roller 128 against the cam 130. A
sLmilarly funetioning sprin~ 135 biases the lever 76.
. Only one eam is provided to swing the vaeuum head 74 fore and aft. Thus, the previously mentioned torque shaft 106 is eonneeted to th~ pivot lever 78 by an -8~
" ,, ` ~4~849 arm 136 and a link 138, and the othcr cnd of the shaft 106 is coupled by an arm 1~0 and link 142 to the o~her pivot-able support lever 76 for the other end of the v2cuum head 74. This ecluali~es the motion of the levers 76 and 78 S to prevent tlle vacuum head 74 from skewing and misaligning the sheet.
It will be noted that the crank arms 123 and 120 are each formed of two levers, the former to acco~o-date the hub of the L-shaped crank arm 126, and .he latter to provide access to the shaft 121 by the free end of the ; trip arm 64. Thus, when the vacu~m head 74 is s~ung for-ward and rearward, the trip arm 64 is pivoted u~ward and do~mward. This motion, it will bP recalled, cyclically operates the microswitch 68 (Figure 2) to incrementally raise the stacX of sheets on the magazine table 16 and place the uppermost sheet in delivery position after each time a sheet is removed.
Returning to Figure 4, a feed roll cam 144 is mounted on the cam shaft 108 ~or raising and lowering the upper .eed roll 82 (Figure 3) each time a sheet is fed thereto by the vacuum head 74. m us, the cam l4a raises and lowers a follower arm 146 that is pivotally moun.ed on the pivot shaft 116 ancl is coupled to a lever 1a,8.
The lever 148, in turn, is pivotally connected to a crank 150 on a rockshaft 152. Tne rockshaft carries two arms lS4, each of which by a link 156 is coupled to the central portion of a bar 158. One ena of each bar 158 is mounted - on a fix.ed pivot shaft 160, ana the other end OL each bar supports the upper feed roll 82. With this arrangement, and ~he timing employed, the icller feed roll 82 (Pigure 3) ' ,.9_ ,. , . _ ~.
is elevated from the driven fecd roll ~ to permi.t eas~
entry of the leading edge of a sheet deli.vered by the vacuum head 7~, and then lowers to grip the sheet against the driven roll in order to drive ~he shee~ past the glue roll 28.
The vacuum head 74 is connected to the pivot levers 76 and 78 by coaxial, rotatable stub shafts 166 and 168, respectively, which extend through the apertures 72 (Figures 3 and 5) in the side plates 22 and 24. Upwardly directed and aligned arms 170 (Figure 4) and 1i2 on the stub shafts are fixed to a vacuum tube 174 having closed ends and a vacuum connector 176 near one end. Mounted along the tube and communicating wi~h the vacuum tube is a spaced series of the previously mentioned vacuum cup units BS, each having a depending suction cup 178 fox gripping . engagement with a sheet.
. The vacuum head 74 is selectively rotatable : - a~out the axes of the stub shafts 166 and 168 wnile the vacuum head i5 moving fore and aft. To effect such rota-tion, the support shaft 166 is connected to a lever 180 which is pivoted to the piston rod of an air cylinder 182.
The base of the cylinder .is mounted to a bracket 184 (best sho-~m in Figure 7) which is welded to the pivot levex 76. In this way, projecting movement of the piston rod directly rotates the vacuum head support shaft 166 -~
(and indirectly rotates the other shaft 168) to swing the arms 170 and 172, thereby swinging the vacuum cup units 85 clockwise as viewed in Fi~ure 3. A retracting spring 186 on a lever 188 fixed to the support sha~t 168 and con-nected to the pivot lever 78 biases the vacuum cup units ., :
, ' ': .
1~4'~ 9 85 ~when the air cylinder 182 is deenergi~ed) to a position where the lowcr margin of each suction cup 178 (Fi~ure 3) is substantially horizon.al when the vacuum head 74 is in sheet delivery position relative to the feed rolls 82 and 84. Rotative movem2nt of the vacuum head 74 is used when the sheets to be glued are relatively flexible, as des-cribed in connection with Figures 7-9.
It was previously mentioned that the presser rolls 86 and 88 (Figures 3 and 4) are vertically adjustable relative to the glue roll 28. As shown in Figure 4, each of the presser roll support yokes 90 is provided wit'n upper parallelogram links 192 secured to a cross shaft 194 for coextensive movement of said links, and with lower para-llelogram links 200 mounted on pivot studs 201. One upper link 192 has a bifurcated bracket 202 secured thereto, and a rod 204 is threaded through a nut 206 pivoted in the bracket. An unthreaded portion of the rod, adjacent a handwheel 208, extends ~hrough and is axially anchored in a fixed boss 270. Rotation of the handwheel 208, accord-ingly, simultaneously raises or lowers the presser rolls 86 and 88 wi~h substantially vertical movement, and allows the running clearance relative to the glue roll 28 to be adjusted with or without the gluing machine in opera-tion. It will ke recalled that the presser rolls are used ~hen running relatively inflexible sheets to assure close contact of the shsets with the glue roll.
In those instances ~ere flexible sheets are being run, box wrappers for example, the presser rolls 86 and 88 are removcd frorn the yokes 90, as sho.m in Figure 6.
In place of the upstream pressel- roll 8~, a bridge or .
1~ 49 ramp 212 is mounted across the two yok~s 90. Due to th~
flexibility of the sheets and the delivery path of the sheets over the ramp 212, the sheets establish a close wrap under the lower sector of the glue roll 28 without requiring presser rolls.
Figures 7-9 show successive operational positions for running flexible sheets S Under these conditions, the vacuum head 74 is rotated durin~ the delivery of eacn sheet to the feed rolls 82 and 84, so that the lead.ing 10 edge portion o~ the sheet is flexed upward to clear the ramp 80. Because thè sheet can be thus flexed, the suc-- tion cups 178 will maintain flat engagement with the sheets, even though the vacuum head is rotated. On the other hand, it is readily apparent that a relatively inflexible sheet (especially of short dimensions longi-... . . tudinally of the machine? is liable to break away from the vacuum cups if the vacuum head is ro.tated because the sheet cannot bend. Therefore, in the latter case, the air cylinder 182 is rendered inactive by opening a bleed 20 outlet, not shown, to keep the piston rod of the air cylinder in its retracted position, and to keep the :
angular relation of the vacuum head 74 to the pivot lever .
76 (and lever 78 Figure 4) substantially as illustrated in .
Figure 7.
It will be recognized that there is no exact line of demarcation between a so called flexible sheet and an . inflexible sheet. For this reason, the vacuum c~ps 178 - are pre~erably provided with rubber hoods (not sllown) which may be manually placed on the cups 178 so that the .....
hoo~s will flex and accommod.ate small differences of '. ' ' ' ' . ,,",' '~ ' . , :
lQ~ 49 planarity bet-JceJl the suction CllpS and sheets which are somewhat in~lexible, but bend sufficien~ly for a ~e~d.iny operation without rotation of the vacuum head 74 as des-cri~ed. Thus, it is preferred that the sheet-contacting surfaces of the vacuum cups 178 are rigid for handlin~
:~ paper, and that flexible accesso~y hoods as described . be provided for handling cardboard, because this in addi-tion to the other provisions described, provides optimum handling efficiency throughout the ~lexibil.ity range of the sheets.
. Again re~erring to Figure 7, a sheet ~eeding -.
operation begins with the vacuum head 74 in its rearmost and lowermost position, as respectively effected by the : cams 130 and 110 (Figure 4).~ This places the vacuum cups 178 in gripping contact with the leading edge portion of the uppermost flexible sheet S. At this time, the air conduit 75 directs high velocity air blasts from the mul-.tiple air ports 73 into the a~jacent edge of the stack of : sheets to aid in stripping the top sheet from ~he stack. :-- 20 Before the vacuum head is moved upward from the Figure 7 position, the air cylinder 182 is energized to swing the vacuum cup units 85 upward and rearward, thus flexing the - leading edge portion of the top sheet S into a gradual bend .~:
and into general parallelism with the ramp 80 as shoT.~n in Fi~ure 8. The cam 110, meanl`nile, is rotating to advance its highest profile past the cam follower roller 118.
Accord.in~ly, an intermediate rotational position ol ~he cam 110, which position occurs ~e~ween the operational sta~cs snown .in Figures 8 and 9, swings the cranX arm 120 about the axis ol the pivot sha~t 116 to elevate the pivot - lQ4~)849 lever 76 (and the countarpart pivot lcver 78, Figure 4) to raise the vaouum head 74 for forward movement at the appro- .
ximate elevation sho-~n in Figure 9.
~hen the vacuum head is su~ficiently raised for S fonlard movement, the lowest profile of the cam 130 ~Figure 4) moves under ~he follower roller 128, thus allowing the tension springs 134 and 135 to urge the pivot levers 76 and 78 fon~ard, carrying the vacuum heaa 74 forward, carrying , the vacuum head 74 toward the feed rolls 82 and 84. Coex-10 tensive and coincidental movement of the ends of the vacuumhead 74 is achieved by means of the stabilizer or torque shaft 106 which, by means of the arms 136 and 140, and . links 138 and 142, ties the pivot levers 76 and 78 together for unitary movement. While the vacuum head is ":
being thus moved, the upper feed xoll 82 (Figure 9) is raised from the lower feed roll 84 to assure a wide entry ~'' , throat for the sheet. Thus, the cam 144 (Figure 4) with its associated follower 146 and lever 148, rotates the ;~
' ',, shaft 152 whereby the arms 154 and links 156 pivot the --carrier bars 158 for the eed roll 82 u~ward, and th2 com-ponents descri~ed attain the Figure 9 position with the . .:
sheet S released by the vacuum head and ready io be gripped by the feed rolls.
me cam 144 (Figure 4) then lowers ths,upper feed, ,,: .
: - 25 roll 82 so that the gripped sheet S progresses fonJard under,the glue roll 28, and the vacuum head 74 follows a ~ -generally reverse path of movement (rearward and downward) while it is erected to th~ Figure 7 position ready for ' -qripping and transporting the next top sheet from the , 30 stack magazine.
, ' ,. , ~
~ 1~ f~edin~ o~era~ion wh~n handlin~ cardboard or other relatively inflexible sheets is reviewed in brie~
outline in conjunction with Figure 3. The bridge 80 (Figur~s 7-9) is removed and the presser rolls 86 and 88 ` - 5 are mounted in the yokes 90 (Figures 3 and 4). Air cylin-der l82 is adjusted so that it will not operate, and the vacuum head 74 will therefore, as previously mentioned, .. ..
move up and down, and fore and aft while maintaining the l approximate orientation shown in Figure 3. Thus, the sheet J 10 pic~up position of the vacuum head 74 is as shown in i Figure 7 for the flexible sheets, and the vacuum head moves upward in the side plate slots 72 ~Figure 3) and forward toward the feed rolls.
Due to the inflexibility of the sheet ~not shotm) : 15 gripped and elevated by the vacuum cups 178, the edge pro-file of the sheet will assume the contour of the previously mentioned approximate delivery path P. In o~her words, -~
~he sheet will initially bend upward from its upstream edge portion within the magazine when the downstream edge -is raised by the vacuum cups 178 with the separation of ~¦ ~ the sheet from the stack aided by the air jets from the ports 73. ~ccordingly, the path P over the stack will vary ¦ solhè~h~t according to the flexibili~y and leng~h of the sheets longitudinally of ~he machine, and short sheets will ¦ 25 tend to break away from the vacuum cups 178 unless the previousl~ mentioned flexible rubber hoods (not shown) are placed thereon so that the suction cups conform to th~
plane of the sheet.
The feed rolls 82 and 84 open to receive the 3~ ghect, in the same manner mentioned in connection with - -- ~
104~)849 Figure 9, and th~n close ~o advance the shec~ ~hilc ~he vacuum head 7~ returns to the Figure 7 po.sition. The - moving sheet contacts the driven glue roll 28 and passes there~nder ~hile being pinchcd between the presser rolls - 5 82 and 84 to provide continuous running ~lexure of the . sheet into contact with the glue roll. Depending upon the specific flexibility of the sheets bein~ handled, the sheet may then bend slightly upward over the elevationally :` adjustable vacu~m belt conveyor 30, or for very stiff sheets the conveyor 30 may be lowered belo~.~ the position shown in ~igure 3. In either event, the sheets are glued and transported.in substantially planar co~dition.
Fxom the preceding detailed description, it is believed evident that the gluing machine 10 o~ the present invention is capable of handling sheets within a wide - range of flexibility and/or thickness, and requires only minimum labor and parts to accommodate ~hat range.
Although the best mode contem~lated for carrying out the present invention has been herein s~o~m and described, it will be apparent that modification and vari-ation may be made without departing from what is regarded ::
to be the subject matter of the invention. . .~ .
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Claims (8)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. In a gluing machine of the type including a magazine for supporting an upright stack of sheets, a vacuum head for removing the uppermost sheet from the maga-zinc and displacing it from the stack to a sheet delivery position, feed rolls for gripping and transporting the displaced sheet, a glue roll in rolling contact with said sheet for depositing a film of adhesive thereon, and a conveyor for transporting the coated sheet to a downstream station, the improvement comprising:
a. means mounting said feed rolls, said glue roll and said conveyor to provide a substantially linear, sub-stantially horizontal path for each sheet during movement from said magazine to said vacuum conveyor; said glue roller being mounted over the path of said sheet;
b. a pair of presser rollers mounted under said glue roll with their respective turning axes parallel to and substantially equally spaced from the axis of said glue roll; and c. means for adjusting said presser rolls toward or away from said glue roll, the confronting surfaces of said glue roll and said presser rolls in raised position continuously arcuately bending the moving sheet to the approximate radius of said glue roll.
a. means mounting said feed rolls, said glue roll and said conveyor to provide a substantially linear, sub-stantially horizontal path for each sheet during movement from said magazine to said vacuum conveyor; said glue roller being mounted over the path of said sheet;
b. a pair of presser rollers mounted under said glue roll with their respective turning axes parallel to and substantially equally spaced from the axis of said glue roll; and c. means for adjusting said presser rolls toward or away from said glue roll, the confronting surfaces of said glue roll and said presser rolls in raised position continuously arcuately bending the moving sheet to the approximate radius of said glue roll.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1, and:
a. a yoke supporting each end of said presser rollers;
b. parallelogram linkage connected to each yoke for raising or lowering both yokes along a substantially vertical path to adjust the interspacing between said presser rollers and said glue roll;
c. manually adjustable means connected to one of said linkages for varying the elevation of said yokes relative to said glue roll; and d. a stabilizer shaft interconnecting said linkages for coextensive and simultaneous movement of said presser rollers along said path.
a. a yoke supporting each end of said presser rollers;
b. parallelogram linkage connected to each yoke for raising or lowering both yokes along a substantially vertical path to adjust the interspacing between said presser rollers and said glue roll;
c. manually adjustable means connected to one of said linkages for varying the elevation of said yokes relative to said glue roll; and d. a stabilizer shaft interconnecting said linkages for coextensive and simultaneous movement of said presser rollers along said path.
3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the sheet delivery position of said vacuum head is closely adjacent said feed rolls and said presser rollers are removably mounted in said yokes, and:
a. a bridge plate for replacing said presser rollers when thin flexible paper sheets are to be coated, and b. means mounting said bridge plate in said yokes between said feed rolls and the adjacent lower por-tion of said glue roll.
a. a bridge plate for replacing said presser rollers when thin flexible paper sheets are to be coated, and b. means mounting said bridge plate in said yokes between said feed rolls and the adjacent lower por-tion of said glue roll.
4. Apparatus according to claim 3, and a. means supporting said vacuum head for swing-ing movement over the path of the sheet between a rearward sheet pickup position over the magazine and forward to said sheet delivery position;
b. selectively operable power means mounted on said support means and connected to said vacuum head for selective rotation of said vacuum head about an axis ex-tending across said path; and c. means connected to said vacuum head support means for raising and lowering said support means during said swinging movement, said vacuum head being successively raised from said pickup position, and simultaneously swung toward said delivery position while being rotated about said axis.
b. selectively operable power means mounted on said support means and connected to said vacuum head for selective rotation of said vacuum head about an axis ex-tending across said path; and c. means connected to said vacuum head support means for raising and lowering said support means during said swinging movement, said vacuum head being successively raised from said pickup position, and simultaneously swung toward said delivery position while being rotated about said axis.
5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said vacuum head and said feed rolls comprise:
a. a vacuum tube extending across the conveying path of the sheet;
b. a plurality of individual vacuum cup units mounted on said vacuum tube;
c. an upper idler feed roll;
d. a lower driven feed roll; and e. means providing a plurality of aligned cir-cumferential grooves in said upper and lower feed rolls for individually receiving said vacuum cup units when said vacuum head is in said sheet delivery position.
a. a vacuum tube extending across the conveying path of the sheet;
b. a plurality of individual vacuum cup units mounted on said vacuum tube;
c. an upper idler feed roll;
d. a lower driven feed roll; and e. means providing a plurality of aligned cir-cumferential grooves in said upper and lower feed rolls for individually receiving said vacuum cup units when said vacuum head is in said sheet delivery position.
6. Apparatus according to claim 5 and:
a. means supporting said upper feed roll for up and down movement to open and close the sheet entrance throat defined by said feed rolls; and b. means connected to said support means for raising said upper feed roll before said vacuum head is in said sheet delivery position, and for loitering said upper feed roll when said vacuum head is in said sheet delivery position.
a. means supporting said upper feed roll for up and down movement to open and close the sheet entrance throat defined by said feed rolls; and b. means connected to said support means for raising said upper feed roll before said vacuum head is in said sheet delivery position, and for loitering said upper feed roll when said vacuum head is in said sheet delivery position.
7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said vacuum head support means comprises:
a. an upright pivot lever connected to each end of said vacuum head;
b. a crank arm pivotally connected to the lower end portion of each pivot lever;
c. a pivot shaft interconnecting said crank arms;
d. cam operated means for swinging one of said pivot levers;
e. a rotatable torque shaft parallel to and spaced from said pivot shaft for transmitting the driving force of the driven pivot lever to the other; and f. crank arm linkage connecting each end portion of said torque shaft to the adjacent one of said upright pivot levers.
a. an upright pivot lever connected to each end of said vacuum head;
b. a crank arm pivotally connected to the lower end portion of each pivot lever;
c. a pivot shaft interconnecting said crank arms;
d. cam operated means for swinging one of said pivot levers;
e. a rotatable torque shaft parallel to and spaced from said pivot shaft for transmitting the driving force of the driven pivot lever to the other; and f. crank arm linkage connecting each end portion of said torque shaft to the adjacent one of said upright pivot levers.
8. Apparatus according to claim 4 and:
a. a power driven elevator for supporting a stack of sheets in the magazine and elevationally position-ing the uppermost sheet to a delivery position to be picked up by said vacuum head;
b. an elevational switch controlling the opera-tion of said elevator;
c. trip means operated by said vacuum head sup-port means for closing said switch when said vacuum head is rearward and for opening said switch when said vacuum head is forward; and d. sensing means mounted on said magazine and displaceable by a sheet in said delivery position for opening said switch, and for closing said switch when no sheet is in delivery position, said trip means being inoperable to close said switch when said sensing means opens said switch, and said sensing means being inoperable to close said switch when said trip means opens said switch.
a. a power driven elevator for supporting a stack of sheets in the magazine and elevationally position-ing the uppermost sheet to a delivery position to be picked up by said vacuum head;
b. an elevational switch controlling the opera-tion of said elevator;
c. trip means operated by said vacuum head sup-port means for closing said switch when said vacuum head is rearward and for opening said switch when said vacuum head is forward; and d. sensing means mounted on said magazine and displaceable by a sheet in said delivery position for opening said switch, and for closing said switch when no sheet is in delivery position, said trip means being inoperable to close said switch when said sensing means opens said switch, and said sensing means being inoperable to close said switch when said trip means opens said switch.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| IT2807973A IT998435B (en) | 1973-08-21 | 1973-08-21 | AUTOMATIC GLUING MACHINE FOR SHEETS OF PAPER AND CARDBOARD OF LARGE DIMENSIONS |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1040849A true CA1040849A (en) | 1978-10-24 |
Family
ID=11222877
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA207,504A Expired CA1040849A (en) | 1973-08-21 | 1974-08-21 | Straight line gluer |
Country Status (7)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPS5237482B2 (en) |
| BE (1) | BE819070A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1040849A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE2440106B2 (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2241344B1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB1470679A (en) |
| IT (1) | IT998435B (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN112718370A (en) * | 2021-01-14 | 2021-04-30 | 成都市成华区司芷蝶商贸有限公司 | Strip-shaped metal plate paint brushing device |
Families Citing this family (9)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPS599735Y2 (en) * | 1978-08-25 | 1984-03-27 | レンゴ−株式会社 | Device that automatically controls the adhesion width and adhesion position of transferred materials to the adhesion roll |
| JPS60247216A (en) * | 1984-01-13 | 1985-12-06 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Display device |
| JPS6263199U (en) * | 1985-10-09 | 1987-04-20 | ||
| IT1265591B1 (en) * | 1993-12-13 | 1996-11-22 | Renzo Santini | AUTOMATIC COMPUTERIZED GLUEING MACHINE WITH ROTARY SHEET-FEEDING HEAD |
| CN101733225B (en) * | 2009-12-07 | 2012-11-28 | 宋晓明 | Equational cylinder floating system of gelatinizing gun mouth and full automatic gelatinizing machine |
| CN110328101B (en) * | 2019-07-04 | 2024-04-05 | 苏州德星云智能装备有限公司 | Lithium battery module curb plate rubber coating equipment |
| CN114100947B (en) * | 2021-11-26 | 2022-12-20 | 广东大启智造科技有限公司 | Wooden toy surface painting equipment |
| CN115488013B (en) * | 2022-10-11 | 2024-01-02 | 珠海博杰电子股份有限公司 | Glass screen feeding and discharging gluing equipment |
| CN116176956B (en) * | 2023-03-08 | 2024-06-07 | 温州大学平阳智能制造研究院 | Reticulation roller packing transfer apparatus |
-
1973
- 1973-08-21 IT IT2807973A patent/IT998435B/en active
-
1974
- 1974-08-20 GB GB3652774A patent/GB1470679A/en not_active Expired
- 1974-08-20 FR FR7428634A patent/FR2241344B1/fr not_active Expired
- 1974-08-21 JP JP9599674A patent/JPS5237482B2/ja not_active Expired
- 1974-08-21 BE BE147807A patent/BE819070A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1974-08-21 DE DE19742440106 patent/DE2440106B2/en not_active Ceased
- 1974-08-21 CA CA207,504A patent/CA1040849A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN112718370A (en) * | 2021-01-14 | 2021-04-30 | 成都市成华区司芷蝶商贸有限公司 | Strip-shaped metal plate paint brushing device |
| CN112718370B (en) * | 2021-01-14 | 2022-10-11 | 苏州巴洛特新材料有限公司 | Strip-shaped metal plate paint brushing device |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| JPS5071730A (en) | 1975-06-13 |
| JPS5237482B2 (en) | 1977-09-22 |
| DE2440106A1 (en) | 1975-03-06 |
| IT998435B (en) | 1976-01-20 |
| FR2241344A1 (en) | 1975-03-21 |
| FR2241344B1 (en) | 1978-06-09 |
| GB1470679A (en) | 1977-04-21 |
| DE2440106B2 (en) | 1979-07-05 |
| BE819070A (en) | 1974-12-16 |
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