Patent ID: 7267053
Filing Date: 2007-09-11
Classification: B41F,B65H

Abstract:
1. A delivery unit for a sheet-fed rotary printing machine comprising: an endless sheet conveying system having upper and lower tracks for feeding sheets from the printing machine to a first delivery stack with said sheets traveling along said lower track; a sheet removal drum acting as a turnout point upstream of the first delivery stack relative to the sheet conveying direction, said sheet removal drum including at least one gripper system and being adjacent said lower track of the endless sheet conveying system; said sheet removal drum being selectively operable for removing a sheet being transferred by said endless sheet conveying system as it is traveling along said lower track without interrupting the transfer of other sheets to said first sheet delivery stack; a second sheet storage system arranged downstream of the sheet removal drum; a sheet guide device arranged in proximity to the lower track of the sheet conveying system for guiding sheets from said sheet removal drum in a direction to the second sheet storage system upon release of the sheet by the gripper system of said sheet removal drum; a vacuum system arranged downstream of the sheet removal drum in a rotational direction of movement of the sheet removal drum, said vacuum system being coupled to a pneumatic system, said vacuum system including at least one rotating suction belt which operable following release of the sheet by the gripper system of said sheet removal drum for suctioning, transporting and positioning the sheet while said sheet is free of engagement with any grippers, said second sheet storage system being arranged downstream of the vacuum system; and a first quality measurement device for inspecting sheets following release of a sheet by said gripper system and transport of the sheet by said, vacuum system.