DEVICE FOR CONVEYING A BUNDEL OF SHEETS

Abstract: Device for conveying a bundle of sheets collected against a retractable abutment (41) past the retracted abutment. A first pair of conveyor rollers (10, 15) is disposed in front of the abutment (41) and a second pair of conveyor rollers (11, 16) is disposed after the abutment (41), as considered in the direction of conveyance. The top roller (15) of the first pair of rollers is rotatably secured to the middle of an arm (17) and the top roller (16) of the second pair of rollers is rotatably secured to an end of that arm (17). The other end of the arm (17) is provided with a slot (24). A pin (25) which can move along a circular path, fits in that slot (24). Upon a revolution of the pin (25) the arm (17) takes con­ secutively positions in which: - the first rollers (10, 15) are free from each other for collecting sheets therebetween and against the abutment (41), and the second rollers (11, 16) form a nip (Fig. 2A) - the first rollers (10, 15) form a nip for the conveyance of the collected bundle past the abutment (41), now retracted (Fig. 2B) - the second rollers (11, 16) are free from each other for the unobstructed conveyance of the bundle therebetween (Fig. 2C) - the second rollers (11, 16) form also a nip when the bundle has been fed therebetween (Fig. 2D). - the first rollers (10, 15) are set free from each other, enabling the collection of a subsequent quantity of sheets to form a new bundle when the preceding bundle is yet being conveyed by the second rollers (11, 16) (Fig. 2E). The abutment (41) is tilted out of the conveyor path in order to enable the leading edge of the bundle to pass and is dropped thereafter onto the bundle to block the conveyor path immediately after the bundle has completely passed the abutment (41).

Description: This invention relates to a device for conveying a bundle of sheets, comprising at least one first drivable pair of conveyor means which can together form a nip for the conveyance of the bundle and at least one second drivable pair of conveyor means which, as considered in the direction of conveyance, is disposed after the first pair of conveyor means and which forms a nip for the further conveyance of the bundle fed by the first pair of conveyor means. A device of this kind is known from US-A-3 076196, which descri­ bes a device which feeds sheets between two rollers and collects said sheets against an abutment which is disposed in the conveyor path past the rollers. The rollers are spaced some distance apart so that the sheets can be pushed unobstructedly between the rollers and against the abutment. When the required sheets have been collected, the abutment is removed from the conveyor path and the rollers, one of which is driven, are pressed against one another so that the resulting bundle of sheets is conveyed on to a second driven roller pair also disposed in the conveyor path. The rollers of the said second pair are resiliently pressed against one another and are pressed apart by the bundle of sheets when the bundle is conveyed by the first pair of rollers into the nip of the second pair of rollers. The disadvantage of this device is that when the bundle of sheets is relatively thick the leading top and/or bottom edge of the bundle collides with the surface of the rollers of the second pair of rollers relatively far in front of the nip. As the bundle is conveyed on into the nip, the sheets of the bundle can readily shift with respect to one another and be conveyed on through the nip and deposited in that shifted condition. This problem may have adverse effects particularly if the sheets positioned between the first pair of rollers are stapled in one corner. The second pair of rollers may then cause the top or bottom sheets to take a skew position and subsequently form a sharp fold in said sheets as they pass through the second pair of rollers, or tear them at the staple applied. The object of the invention is to provide a device as meant in the preamble without these adverse effects. According to the invention this object is attained in that the second pair of conveyor means is movable between a first position in which said conveyor means are free of one another for the unobstructed feed of the bundle between said pair of conveyor means, and a second posi­ tion in which said pair of conveyor means forms a nip for the further conveyance of the bundle, and in that control means are provided which cause the second pair of conveyor means to move out of the first posi­ tion into the second position when the first pair of conveyor means has fed the bundle between the second pair of conveyor means. As a result, the nip between the second pair of conveyor means is not formed until the bundle projects between these conveyor means, so that these conveyor means do not exert on the bundle any forces other than the conveying force required. In a simple and hence advantageous embodiment, the top conveyor means of the first pair of conveyor means is rotatably secured to a first part of an arm, the top conveyor means of the second pair of conveyor means is secured to a first end of said arm, and drive means are provided for selectively lifting the first end of the arm, the arm turning about the nip formed by the first pair of conveyor means, and for lifting the first part of the arm, the arm turning about the nip formed by the second pair of conveyor means. The result of this is as follows, - the conveyor means of the first pair of conveyor means can be released from one another to collect sheets between these conveyor means to form a bundle, the second pair of conveyor means forming a nip for possibly discharging a bundle formed beforehand, or - the conveyor means of the second pair of conveyor means can be released from one another, the first pair of conveyor means forming a nip for unobstructedly feeding the bundle between the second pair of conveyor means, at least one of the two nips always being formed, so that the bundle is always advanced controllably. In another advantageous embodiment of a device according to the invention, an abutment strip is provided which is movable between a first position in which sheets required to be collected to form a bundle are retained in that part of the conveyor path which is situated between the pairs of conveyor means, and a second lifted position in which said sheets are not retained, and means are provided which move the abutment strip from the first position to the second position just before the start of conveyance of the bundle and allow the abutment strip to move back from the second position to the first position before the bundle has been conveyed over a distance equiva­ lent to the distance between the first pair of conveyor rollers and the second pair of conveyor rollers, as measured in the direction of conveyance. The effect of this is that the lifted abutment strip falls back on to the bundle after each start of conveyance of a bundle of sheets - which is of course longer than the distance between both conveying nips - and after the trailing edge of the bundle has passed falls back into the operative first position so that irrespective of the size of the bundle a subsequent sheet arriving with a short break can be retained for the collection of a subsequent quantity of sheets to form a bundle. Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a device according to the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Fig. 1 is a side view of a device according to the invention shown in the inoperative position and Figs. 2A to 2E are side views of this device in a number of con­ secutive positions of a cycle. In Fig. 1, reference 1 is a conveyor path along which copy sheets are fed from the copying section (not shown) of a copying machine. At the end the conveyor path is provided with a drivable conveyor roller pair 2. Conveyor path 1 leads into a collecting tray 3 formed by a baseplate 4, a side plate 5 extending in the direction of conveyance, and a top plate 6. At the side opposite to the conveyor rollers 2, the tray has an opening 8 along which copies can be fed from the copying machine and can be desposited in a collecting tray (not shown), e.g. a tray of the kind described in Dutch patent application 8500545. Drivable conveyor rollers 10 and 11 are disposed with their axes parallel to the axes of rollers 2 in openings in the baseplate 4 in spaced relationship as considered in the direction of conveyance. A stapling head 12 is disposed beneath the baseplate 4 between conveyor rollers 10 and 11 and can be pressed against an anvil 13 via an opening in the baseplate in order to staple the sheets in the collecting tray 3. These sheets which are to be stapled may be copies fed into the tray 3 by conveyor collers 2, or sheets introduced manually into opening 8, as explained in more detail in Dutch patent application 8501337. Pressure rollers 15 and 16 respectively can some into pressure contact with drive rollers 10 and 11 respectively to form conveying nips in which case they project through an opening in the top plate 6. Pressure roller 16 is mounted rotatably on one end of an arm 17. The other end of arm 17 has a slot 24 extending in the longitudinal direc­ tion of the arm 17. A pin 25 which fits in the slot 24 is secured on a disc 26 which is secured rotatably to the device frame. On rotation of the disc 26 the pin 25 describes a circular path, during which the arm 17 coupled to the pin 25 via slot 24 is driven. The pressure roller 15 is rotatably secured to an arm 20 which is movable to and fro in a linear guide 19 disposed in the device frame (not shown). An arm 17 is also rotatably secured on the shaft of the pressure roller 15 via a projection 18 provided on the middle of the arm. A leaf spring 28 is in pressure contact with the top of the arm 17. An abutment strip 41 which can project between the roller 11 and the stapling head 12 through an opening in the top plate 6 and an opening in the baseplate 4, is secured to an arm 42 rotatable about a pin 43 secured to the device frame. A link 44 is pivotally connected to the arm 42 by one end by means of pin 45. A slot 46 is formed in the other end of the link 44 and a pin 39 fits therein. This pin is secured to one end 38 of a bent arm 30 which is rotatable near the bend about a pin 31 fixed to the frame. The other end 32 of the bent arm is provided with a rotatable roller 33 in contact with the edge of the disc 26. The periphery of this disc has a projecting cam 27 which as considered in the circumferential direction extends over a relati­ vely small part of the otherwise cylindrical disc 26. The device operates as follows. In the inoperative position of the device shown in Fig. 1, the disc 26 occupies a position in which the end of the arm 17 formed with the slot 24 is held in a bottom position by pin 25. In this position of arm 17, pressure roller 15 presses on conveyor roller 10 and pressure roller 16 is at some distance above the conveyor roller 11. Also in this inoperative position cam 27 occupies a position in which, via arm 30, link 44 and arm 42, the abutment strip 41 is lifted out­ side the conveyor path in tray 3. In this position, shown in Fig. 1, a bundle of sheets can be manually introduced into opening 8 as far as the edge 5a of side plate 5, after which stapling head 12 can staple this bundle. In order that copy sheets fed individually from conveyor path 1 may be made into bundles, the device performs a cycle of which Figs. 2A to 2E show a number of positions occupied consecutively. At the start of a cycle of this kind, the disc 26 is put into the position shown in Fig. 2A, in which roller 33 is not in contact with the cam 27. In this starting position of a cycle, in which the rollers 11 and 16 form a nip, rollers 10 and 15 are some distance apart, and abutment strip 41 is in the operative position, the conveyor rollers 2 feed sheets individually to the tray 3. The sheets are positioned on one another and against abutment strip 41 and against side plate 5 by means not shown. After the sheets have been collected to form a bundle, and stapled if required, the copying machine control system delivers a signal in response to which disc 26 is caused to rotate to perform one revolu­ tion, during which disc 26 successively occupies the positions shown in Figs. 2B to 2E. From the starting position shown in Fig. 2A, the end of the arm 17 formed with the slot 24, and the pressure roller 15 move down until this roller comes into contact with the sheets collected in tray 3. Before pressure roller 15 has come into contact with the bundle, cam 27 has come into contact with roller 33 and the abutment strip 41 is lifted out of the bundle conveyor path. The dri­ ven roller 10 now conveys the bundle of sheets pressed thereagainst past abutment strip 41 in the direction of the roller pair 11, 16. Before the bundle reaches this roller pair 11, 16, the disc 26 rotating further has turned the arm 17 further in the same direction about the nip formed by pressure roller 15 with the bundle, thereby pressure roller 16 being lifted. The bundle of sheets in now fed unobstructedly between the rollers 11 and 16, which are disengaged from one another. As the disc 26 rotates further, the end 38 of arm 30 moves down and roller 33 disengages from cam 27, so that link 44 and arm 42 move down under their own weight until the abutment strip 41 encounters the top of the bundle. Fig. 2C shows the position now reached, in which pin 25 occupies the lowest position. With continuing rotation of disc 26, during which pin 25 moves up, arm 17 turns back until pressure roller 16 comes into contact with the advancing bundle of sheets. Fig. 2D shows the instantaneous position in which the two roller pairs 10, 15 and 11, 16 form a conveying nip. As disc 26 continues to rotate, arm 17 turns about the nip formed by pressure roller 16 with the bundle, pressure roller 15 being disengaged from the bundle and only roller pair 11, 16 now forming a conveying nip. Since at least one conveying nip is always formed, the sheets of the bundle cannot readily shift, e.g. due to a positioning means which, in order to position the sheets against abutment strip 41 and side plate 5, continually presses on the top sheet of the bundle. After completion of one revolution, the disc 26 stops. When the trailing edge of the bundle now conveyed on only by roller pair 11, 16 has passed the abutment strip 41, said strip 41 can move down further by its own weight until it is in the initial position at the start of the cycle. In the position now reached, which is shown in Fig. 2E, a following sheet can be fed from conveyor path 1 to against the abut­ ment strip 41. When the trailing edge of the bundle has passed roller pair 11, 16, pressure roller 16 drops on to drive roller 11, so that the cycle starting position is again reached. The above-described device can also be arranged to place the disc 26 from the inoperative postion shown in Fig. 1 into the position shown in Fig. 2D and stop it, while a cam (not shown) holds the arm 30 in the position shown in Fig. 1. With this positioning, in which both the roller pair 10, 15 and the roller pair 11, 16 form a nip and abutment strip 41 is outside the conveyor path, sheets supplied indi­ vidually from the conveyor path can be fed over the baseplate 4 of the tray 3 directly out of the copying machine. With this latter posi­ tioning, the sheets are not collected into bundles.

Claims: 1. A device for conveying a bundle of sheets, comprising at least one first drivable pair of conveyor means (10, 15) which can together form a nip for the conveyance of the bundle and at least one second drivable pair of conveyor means (11, 16) which, as considered in the direction of conveyance, is disposed after the first pair of conveyor means (10, 15) and which forms a nip for the further conveyance of the bundle fed by the first pair of conveyor means (10, 15), characterised in that the second pair of conveyor means (11, 16) is movable between a first position in which said conveyor means (11, 16) are free of one another for the unobstructed feed of the bundle between said pair of conveyor means, and a second position in which said pair of conveyor means (11, 16) forms a nip for the further conveyance of the bundle, and in that control means (17 - 20, 24 - 27) are provided which cause the second pair of conveyor means (11, 16) to move out of the first position into the second position when the first pair of conveyor means (10, 15) has fed the bundle between the second pair of conveyor means (11, 16). 2. A device according to claim 1, characterised in that the top conveyor means (15) of the first pair of conveyor means (10, 15) is rotatably secured to a first part of an arm (17), in that the top con­ veyor means (16) of the second pair of conveyor means (11, 16) is secured to a first end of said arm (17), and in that drive means (24-27) are provided for selectively lifting the first end of the arm (17), the arm turning about the nip formed by the first pair of conveyor means (10, 15), and for lifting the first part of the arm (17), the arm turning about the nip formed by the second pair of con­ veyor means (11, 16). 3. A device according to claim 2, characterised in that the drive means (24-27) comprise a pin (25) which can move along an endless path, said pin (25) fitting in a slot (24) formed in a second end of the arm (17), the following taking place successively on each revolu­ tion of the pin (25): - the arm (17) turns about the nip formed by the second pair of conveyor means (11, 16), until the first pair of conveyor means (10, 15) forms a nip, - the arm (17) turns further about the nip formed by the first pair of conveyor means (10, 15), until the second pair of conveyor means (11, 16) are spaced apart, the bundle of sheets being feedable unobstructedly between said second pair of conveyor means (11, 16), - the arm (17) turns back about the nip formed by the first pair of conveyer means until both nips have been formed and - the arm (17) turns back further about the nip formed by the second pair of conveyor means until the pin (25) has completed a revolution. 4. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, charac­ terised in that an abutment strip (41) is provided which is movable between a first position in which sheets required to be collected to form a bundle are retained in that part of the collecting tray (3) which is situated between the pairs of conveyor means (10, 15 and 11, 16), and a second position in which said sheets are not retained, and in that means (33, 39, 42 - 46) are provided which move the abutment strip (41) from the first position into the second position just before the start of conveyance of the bundle and allow the abutment strip (41) to move back from the second position into the first position before the bundle has been conveyed over a distance equivalent to the distance between the first pair of conveyor rollers (10, 15) and the second pair of conveyor rollers (11, 16), as measured in the direction of conveyance.

Inventors: IN'T ZANDT, RONALD PETER H., VAN SOEST, HENDRIKUS JOHANNES J.
Applicants: OCE-NEDERLAND B.V.
Application year: 1986
Main classification: B65H31
IPC codes: B65H31, B65H5