GB2117738A

GB2117738A - Rotating small stacks of folded sheets alternately before forming a stable stack

Info

Publication number: GB2117738A
Application number: GB08231848A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Walter J Stobb
Original assignee: Stobb Inc
Current assignee: Stobb Inc
Priority date: 1982-01-22
Filing date: 1982-11-08
Publication date: 1983-10-19
Also published as: JPS58130856A; DE3241621A1; IT8347582A0; SE8206113D0; IT1167062B; FR2520337A1; SE8206113L

Abstract

Small stacks advancing on conveyor (17) are alternately rotated 90 DEG to the right or left by contact alternately with stops (12) and (11) respectively. Thus folded leading edges will be alternately to the right and left of the small stacks as they are advanced on conveyor 13, before being stacked together at (14) in a stable stack. Stops (11) and (12) are removable on pivoting arms (54 and 52). The support (14) is withdrawn after every sub-stack to allow it to drop onto the main stack on conveyor rollers (16) (Fig. 2). Side joggers (23, 24) are used for alignment on the conveyor (13). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Method and apparatus for forming a compensated stack of papers This invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming a compensated stack of folded papers, that is, for forming a stack with the folds on opposite sides of the assembled stack so that the stack is stable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The graphic arts industry is well aware of the problem of stacking folded sheets and having the stack stable or in a non-tipping position so that the stack can be adequately handled as well as stood up in a stable upright position. To overcome the problem of an unstable stack caused by having all of the folds on one face of the stack, it is the practice of stacking folded papers with the folds on opposite faces of the stack so that the thicker portion at the folds will be positioned at faces of the stack rather than all on one face and thereby cause the stack to be unstable or to even tip over. Two U.S. patents which show the concern and two answers for forming a stack of sheets with each alternate one of the sheets having its fold on a different side of the stack are U.S. Patents 2,668,483 and 4,060,231.In those two arrangements, the sheets are alternately positioned with their folds in opposite facing directions. In the present invention, the method and apparatus is arranged to handle a complete stack of sheets and to turn that stack so that a succeeding stack can be assembled with it in one larger stack and have the folds of the first small stack in one direction and the folds of the second small stack in the other direction, all for forming the larger compensated stack.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for forming a compensated stack of folded papers whereby small folded stacks can be handled and positioned in opposite facing directions to form one large compensated stack which is stable and level at the top. More particularly, the present invention provides a method of forming a compensated stack of folded papers, comprising the steps of collecting a first stack and a second stack of folded papers with the folds thereof all being on one side of each of said stacks, and with said stacks each having four corners, moving a first one of said stacks along a path in a horizontal direction and having the left one of the two leading corners of said first stack abut a removable stop, continuing to move said first stack against said stop and thereby turn said first stack ninety degrees to the left from the orientation said first stack had prior to abutting said stop, placing said first stack onto a stack collector with the folds thereof to one side, moving a second one of said stacks along said path in the horizontal direction and having the right one of the two leading corners of said second stack abut a movable stop, continuing to move said second stack against the latter said stop and thereby turn said second stack ninety degrees to the right from the orientation said second stack had prior to abutting the latter said stop, and placing said second stack onto said stack collector on top of said first stack and with the folds of said second stack being to the side opposite to said one side of said first stack to effect compensated stacking of the two said stacks.

The invention also provides apparatus for forming a compensated stack of folded papers, comprising a first conveyor for supporting a series of stacks of paper having a folded edge on one side of each of said stacks, means for engaging said stacks and turning said stacks in opposite directions while on said first conveyor to have the folds of each one of said stacks face in the direction opposite to the facing direction of the next one of said stacks, a second conveyor for receiving the turned said stacks, and a collector in stack-flow communication with said second conveyor for receiving said stacks in a compensated stack of said stacks.

In preferred embodiments, the method and apparatus of this invention are both of a nature which renders them proficient and the apparatus is not expensive and elaborate and can be readily arranged to coordinate with existing apparatus for handling folded stacks of paper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a top-plan view of the apparatus of this invention, with some parts thereof unshown.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of Fig. 1 with the paper stacks and parts added thereto.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRE FERRED METHOD AND APPARATUS The drawings show a preferred apparatus of the invention, and, the description of the drawings will inherently describe the preferred method of this invention. Generally, stacks of folded sheets or paper, such as the stack 10, are sequentially brought against stops 11 or 12 to cause the stacks to turn ninety degrees, such as shown by the dot-dash lines for stack 10 in Fig. 1 where the stack has been shown to abut the stop 11 and thus inducesthe ninety degree turn. The stack 10 is then further moved on a conveyor 13 and onto a support plate 14 which is withdrawn from underneath the stack 10 and the stack is allowed to drop onto a collector 16 shown in Figs. 2 and 3.That is, it will be seen and understood that the first stack 10 is moved horizontally on a first conveyor 17 and against an abutment 11 so that the stack 10 turns ninety degrees counter clockwise, as viewed from above as shown in Fig. 1 and by the dot-dash lines. The stack 10 moves to the second conveyor 13 and on to the removable support 14. which then permits the stack 10 to drop down onto the collector 16. In this apparatus and method, it will be seen from Fig. 2 that the stack 10 initially has its folds 18 on the near side as viewed in Fig. 2, and the folds are then turned to the leading side after abutting the stop 11, and when the stack 10 is on the conveyor 19, which is shown at an elevation slightly lower than that of the conveyor 17.The folds 18 8 then remain in the leading position for the first stack which was designated 10, and thus the folds 18 are shown on the right side as viewed in Fig. 2 when the stack 10 is on the collector 16.

Next, the second stack which is designated 21 in Fig. 2, is shown to have already moved beyond the conveyors 17, 19 and 13, sequentially, and that particular stack has actually abutted the removable stop 12 which was in the dot-dash line position shown in Fig. 1.

In that instance, the stack 21 intially occupied the position of the stack 10 shown in Fig. 1, and thus the stack 21 abutted the stop 12 which was in the path of the stack 21 and therefore the stack 21 turned ninety degrees, as viewed from above. Therefore, when the stack 21 was on the conveyor 17 it too had its folds 22 faced in the position shown in the folds 18 in Fig. 2, and thus the stack 21 was turned clockwise to have the folds 22 on the rear face of the stack 21, as shown in Fig. 2.

and of course with respect to the direction of movement of the stacks on the right as being described herein. Finally, the stack 21 is dropped off the removable plate 14, which is retracted so that the stack 21 can drop onto the stack 10 already in the collector 1 6, but with the folds 22 facing in the direction opposite from the facing of the folds 18. In that manner, a compensated stack of the combined first stack 10 and second stack 21 is formed. There could be additional stacks 10 and 21 added to the compensated stack, which is finally removed from its position shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

In detail, the conveyor 17 thus sequentially moves the stacks of folded paper to the right, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, and it moves the four-cornered stacks, as viewed from above, against the respective removable stops 11 and 12, and the stops each swing between their full-line positions and their dot-dash line positions shown so that they alternately abut the leading respective corners of the incoming stream of stacks. The stop 11 is shown abutting the leading left hand corner of the stack 10, and the stop 12 is at that time in its full line position and clear of the path of the stack 10.When the stack 10 has moved beyond the conveyor 17 and at least onto the conveyor 19, then the next stack, such as the stack 21, would be in its position on conveyor 17 and it would then abut the stop 12 when the stop 12 is in the dot-dash position shown in Fig. 1 and therefore the leading right hand corner of the stack 21 would abut the stop 12 to turn the stack 21 in the ninety degree clockwise direction. Fig. 2 shows a position for stack 10 with its folds 18 on the right hand side thereof, and of course that is now the leading side for the movement of the stack 10 when the stack 10 is resting on the conveyor 19.

All of the stacks are then sequentially passed to the conveyor 13, which is flanked by jogger plates 23 and 24 suitably connected to conventional jogger mechanism 26 so that the plates 23 move toward and away from the conveyor 13 and thus intercept the stacks as they move onto the conveyor 13 and thereby align the stacks on the conveyor 13 and also therefore align the stacks with the removable plate t4 so that the stacks are centered on the plate 14. The jogger mechanism is indicated to consist of a rotating circular member 27 having a link 28 pivoted thereon at 29, and there is a pivot connection at 31 for connecting the Pitman type of link 28 with the jogger plates 23 and 24. Thus the plates 23 and 24 move inwardly and outwardly to abut the opposite sides of the stacks adjacent thereto, and thereby align the stacks as indicated.

Stop fingers 32 extend adjacent the removable plate 14 and thereabove, as shown in Fig. 2, and thus they stop the forward movement of each of the stacks which come against the fingers 32. The plate 14 is under the control of a fluid cylinder 33 which with draws the plate 14 to the right, as viewed in the figures, and thus permits the stacks to be stripped off the plate 14 and allowed to drop onto the collector 1 6. Guideplates 34 flank the collector 1 6 and guide the falling stacks onto the collector 16 which is shown to consist of rows of rollers 36 rotatable on support shafts 37 so that the final compensated stack can be moved away from the formed position, such as to the right, as viewed in Fig. 3. The compensated stack is moved by a fluid cylinder 38 which is connected to a plate 39, against which the stack is positioned, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and thus extension of the cylinder assembly 38 will cause the compensated stack to be moved along the collector rollers 36 and out of the path of the next assembly of stacks 10 and 21 and the like into an additional compensated stack with the folds distributed equally on opposite faces of the compensated stack for the purposes previously mentioned.

Also, a jogger mechanism 41 is shown intermediate the plate 14 and the collector 16 and the jogger mechanism 41 can be conven tional and can be of a construction as described in connection with Fig. 1 in its jogger mechanism, and thus the jogger plate 42 can abut the stack passing adjacent the plate 42 and thus have the stack aligned as it moves down into the collector 16, and a fixed plate 43 is also shown for the jogging reaction and for guiding the falling stacks.

Fig. 2 shows one suggestion for the arrangement of the stops 11 and 12, and here it will be seen that a fluid cylinder 43 is suitably mounted on a fixed support 44 by means of a pivot connection at 46. The cylinder assembly piston 47 connects with a first link 48 and a second link 49 which in turn is mounted on a fixed pivot 51. An additional length 52 connects between the rotatable pivot 51 and the upper pin 53 of the stop 12, for instance. Therefore, extension of the assembly 43 will cause the lengths 48 and 49 to actuate and thereby pivot the length 52 about its fixed pivot post 51 and that will swing the stop 12 between its full line and dot-dash positions shown in Fig. 1.

The stop 11 is mounted on an arm 54 which extends from a fixed pivot post 56 which in turn is rotatable through a link 57 connected to the piston 47. There again, extension and contraction of the assembly 43 will cause the pivot of the lengths 57 and 54 and thus the swinging of the stop 11 between its full line position and its dot-dash line position shown in Fig. 1. It will also be seen and understood that the stops 11 and 12 are therefore alternately positioned into the path of the incoming stacks to abut the alternate leading left and right hand corners of the fourcornered stacks and to therefore alternately turn the stacks ninety degrees counter clockwise and ninety degrees clockwise, all as indicated herein and as described.Fig. 2, for clarity and simplicity, does not show the support and position of the stop 11, and it shows the stop 12 in its operative position, and it also shows the nearer jogger plate 23 removed for a full view of the conveyor 13 and its elevation, which is the same as that of conveyor 19 and plate 14. Therefore, when the stacks abut the respective stops 11 and 12, the conveyor 17 will continue to move the stacks to the right and eventually onto the conveyor 19 while the stacks are being turned as described.

In the aforementioned description, the method is fully described, and it will be seen and understood that the stacks are thus alternately turned and are individually positioned on the removable plate 14 which is a temporary support, and the stacks are then dropped onto a collector 16 with the folds in opposite directions on the then formed compensated full stack.

The plates 4 is connected with the fluid cylinder 33 which is of a conventional design, and an electric sensor 58 with a projecting trip button 59, also of a conventional design, is connected to unshown but conventional electric mechanism through the electric wire 61 for operating the cylinder 33. Thus, in a conventional arrangement of equipment, the stacks will sequentially contact the button 59 and thus actuate the switch 58 which is connected through the wire 61 to electric mechanism for controlling the fluid cylinder 33, and all of that is conventional and can be readily understood by one skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A method of forming a compensated stack of folded papers, comprising the steps of collecting a first stack and a second stack of folded papers with the folds thereof all being on one side of each of said stacks, and with said stacks each having four corners, moving a first one of said stacks along a path in a horizontal direction and having the left one of the two leading corners of said first stack abut a removable stop, continuing to move said first stack against said stop and thereby turn said first stack ninety degrees to the left from the orientation said first stack had prior to abutting said stop, placing said first stack onto a stack collector with the folds thereof to one side, moving a second one of said stacks along said path in the horizontal direction and having the right one of the two leading corners of said second stack abut a movable stop, continuing to move said second stack against the latter said stop and thereby turn said second stack ninety degrees to the right from the orientation said second stack had prior to abutting the latter said stop, and placing said second stack onto said stack collector on top of said first stack and with the folds of said second stack being to the side opposite to said one side of said first stack to effect compensated stacking of the two said stacks.

2. The method of forming a compensated stack of folded papers as claimed in Claim 1, wherein each of said stacks is separately positioned onto a temporary support and it then dropped onto said collector when said support is withdrawn.

3. The method of forming a compensated stack of folded papers as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, including the step of moving said stacks laterally of said path after said stacks are turned, and thereby realign said stacks into said path.

4. The method of forming a compensated stack of folded papers as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, including the step of removing each said stop from the path of said stacks after said stacks are turned, to clear the path for said stacks.

5. The method of forming a compensated stack of folded papers, comprising, the steps of collecting a first stack and a second stack of folded papers with the folds thereof all being on one side of each of said stacks and with said stacks each having four corners, moving a first one of said stacks along a path in a horizontal direction, turning said first stack ninety degrees counterclockwise from the orientation said first stack previously had, placing said first stack onto a stack collector with the folds thereof to one side, moving a second one of said stacks along said path in the horizontal direction, turning said second stack ninety degrees clockwise from the orientation said second stack previously had, and placing said second stack onto said stack collector on top of said first stack an with the folds of said second stack being to the side opposite to said one side of said first stack to effect compensated stacking of the two said stacks.

6. The method of forming a compensated stack of folded papers as claimed in Claim 5, wherein each of said stacks is separately positioned onto a temporary support and is then dropped onto said collector when said support is withdrawn.

7. Apparatus for forming a compensated stack of folded papers, comprising a first conveyor for supporting a series of stacks of paper having a folded edge on one side of each of said stacks, means for engaging said stacks and turning said stacks in opposite directions while on said first conveyor to have the folds of each one of said stacks face in the direction opposite to the facing direction of the next one of said stacks, a second conveyor for receiving the turned said stacks, and a collector in stack-flow communication with said second conveyor for receiving said stacks in a compensated stack of said stacks.

8. Apparatus for forming a compensated stack of folded papers as claimed in Claim 7, including a movable support interposed between and being in stack-flow communication with said second conveyor and said collector and said support being directly above said collector for dropping said stacks onto said collector.

9. Apparatus for forming a compensated stack of folded papers as claimed in Claim 7 or 8, including a jogger adjacent said collector for impacting the sides of said stack and thereby align said stacks in said compensated stack.

10. Apparatus for forming a compensated stack of folded papers as claimed in Claim 7 or 8, wherein said means includes a movable stop disposed in the path of movement of said stacks on said first conveyor for abutting a leading corner of said stacks and thereby induce said stacks to turn.

11. Apparatus for forming a compensated stack of folded papers as claimed in Claim 10, including two said stops movable into respective positions at opposite leading corners of said stacks.

12. A method of forming a compensated stack of folded papers, substantially a hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

13. Apparatus for forming a compensated stack of folded papers, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.