A machine for stacking sheets into bundles

Abstract: A machine for stacking sheets into bundles comprises: a stacking area; at least one overhead conveyor (50) arranged above said stacking area; suction means for drawing successive sheets into contact with an underside of said at least one overhead conveyor (50); and means for disengaging said sheets from said at least one overhead conveyor (50) wherein in use successive sheets are drawn into contact with said underside of said at least one overhead conveyor (50) and conveyed to a predetermined stacking position whereupon said sheets are disengaged from said at least one overhead conveyor (50) and fall to form a bundle of stacked sheets in said stacking area; first and second sets of support fingers (70,72) extending horizontally in said stacking area and having lengths sufficient to support the entire weight of said bundles; means for moving said first and second set of support fingers (70,72) horizontally between a retracted position and an extended stacking position; means for moving said first and second set of support fingers (70,72) vertically so as to sequentially support the full weight of said bundles on said first and second sets of support fingers (70,72).

Description: This invention relates to a machine for stacking sheets into a plurality of separate stacks and is particularly, but not exclusively, for stacking flexible sheets into a plurality of separate stacks. Machines for stacking sheet materials such as, for example, sheets or blanks of paperboard for making corrugated containers are known per se. The blanks are conveyed on the upper surface of a plurality of side-by-side conveyor belts, and the belts are capable of being raised so that the discharge ends may be elevated relative to the inlet ends. The blanks are discharged from the discharge ends of the conveyor belts, after being reduced in velocity, and the blanks drop downwardly onto the stack located below the discharge ends of the conveyors. Preferably, a vertical, forward wall is provided such that the leading edges of the blanks abut the wall and thereby drop in alignment with the other blanks in the stack below. This type of stacker is well-suited to the stacking of sheets or blanks which are relatively stiff, such as for example, unitary blanks of corrugated paperboard. That is, this type of stacker is well-suited to stacking blanks which are sufficiently rigid so as not to fold or crumple when they are ejected from the conveyor belts, or when they strike the forward wall while falling downwardly onto the stack below. However, many sheet materials are not sufficiently rigid to be handled in this manner. For example, thin paperboard or plastic sheets are not sufficiently rigid, and even relatively thick corrugated paperboard is not sufficiently rigid when it is in the form of an articulated sheet. As used herein, the term "articulated sheet" is intended to denote a sheet of material composed of a plurality of individual parts which are connected together by a plurality of small connecting portions as will be further explained hereinafter. These types of sheet material are too flexible to retain their planar configuration during discharge and stacking. Instead, they will fold upon themselves, or crumple, before they reach the stack below. In addition to the problem of handling thin or articulated sheets, there is a serious problem of maintaining the stacking function at a speed consistent with that of the die-cutting machine which produces the blanks to be stacked. Such cutters may operate at speed in the order of 5 m/s (1,000 feet per minute). This is a problem even if relatively tall stacks are to be formed, and it is a much greater problem when the stacks must be relatively short and each short stack must be moved away quickly from the stacking area while the next short stack is being formed. This problem is present in the case of articulated sheets where each stack must be relatively short so as to be able to be separated into individual portions in a downstream breaker as will be more fully described hereinafter. US-A-4 500 243 discloses a machine for stacking a plurality of individual sheets having the features set out in the pre-characterising clause of claim 1. EP-A-0 487 837 discloses an apparatus for automatically stacking and palletising a plurality of flat elements. The stacking section comprises a stacking table having number of rollers on which elements are stacked from a conveyor. When the stack reaches a predetermined height it is pushed off the stacking table horizontally by a stop whilst being supported by a plurality of forks that move with the stop and that are interspersed between the rollers. EP-A-0 173 959 discloses a sheet stacker having a conveyor for supplying sheets and a suction conveyor adjacent the conveyor and above the stacking table. Sheets released by the conveyor are held against the suction conveyor to keep them flat before they are dropped onto the stacking table. The present invention attempts to reduce all of the above-indicated problems by providing a machine for stacking individual sheets in accordance with claim 1. Further features of the invention are set out in Claims 2 to 5. There is also provided a method of stacking individual sheets into a plurality of separate stacks as set out in claim 6. Further steps of the method are set out in claim 7. One advantage of the two sets of support fingers is that they support the entire weight of each stack as it is formed, and rapidly reposition themselves to support the entire weight of the next stack, whereby the speed of operation is dramatically increased so as to be fully compatible with high-speed die cutters. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a top view of an articulated sheet; Fig. 2 is a schematic side elevational view of a die cutter and the stacking conveyor part of a machine in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 3 is a top view looking down on the stacking conveyor of Fig. 2; Figs. 4A and B are diagrammatical side views showing the outlet portion of the stacking conveyor in Fig. 2 and an adjacent overhead vacuum conveyor in operation; Fig. 4C is a bottom view of part of four of the overhead vacuum conveyors taken along the view line C-C of Fig. 4B; Fig. 5 is a schematic side elevational view showing the overhead vacuum conveyors and the upper and lower fingers for supporting stacks of individual sheets from the stacking conveyor; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view looking upwardly along view line 6-6 in Fig. 5; Figs. 7-13 are schematic illustrations of the sequence of positions of the upper and lower fingers during formation of the stacks; and Fig. 14 is a schematic control diagram. Detailed Description Referring to Fig. 1, an articulated sheet 10 is shown which, solely for purposes of illustration, comprises two container tops 11 with flaps 12. Tops 11 are connected to each other by thin connecting portions 13, and the articulated sheet further includes six scrap portions 14 connected by thin connecting portions 15. Such a sheet is very flexible due to the thin connecting portions 13 and 15, and many articulated sheets contain many more individual product and scrap portions than that illustrated in Fig. 1. Thus, articulated sheets are very difficult to stack without folding, and the present invention attempts to solve this problem as well as the other problems indicated above. Referring to FIG. 2, and by way of background, stacking conveyor 16 is generally preceded by a die cutter section schematically illustrated at 17 which cuts and slots the sheets to form flaps, tabs and articulated sheets. Of course, cutter section 17 may be preceded by a printing section not shown. The sheets usually pass over an optional vibratory conveyor, not shown, located behind control center 18, and then over a table 19 which may be used to shingle the sheets if desired. The sheets then pass onto inlet end A of the stacking conveyor 16. Stacking conveyor 16 is pivoted at inlet end A, and is supported by a pivoted connecting rod 20. A pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 21 is connected at a point spaced from end A such that the stacking conveyor may be elevated from the horizontal position to the raised position shown in FIG. 2 in dotted line. It will also be understood that because of the articulated nature of connecting rod 20 and cylinder 21, the discharge end B of the stacking conveyor remains in vertical alignment as the discharge end is raised and lowered throughout its operating range in the course of forming a vertically arranged stack of sheets. As further shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the discharge end of the stacking conveyor carries side-mounted support plates 22 which, in turn, support horizontally extending arms 23. Arms 23 may support a vertical wall, not shown, against which the forward edges of the container blanks abut as they are discharged from the discharge end B of the stacking conveyor. However, for highly flexible sheets, such as the articulated sheets described above, the vertical wall is eliminated and arms 23 are used to support an overhead vacuum conveyor as will be described hereinafter. The general construction of the stacking conveyor is illustrated schematically in FIG. 3 which shows a pair of side arms 26 which may be of box-beam construction. As shown in the right-hand portion of FIG. 3, side arms 26 support a drive shaft 28 which is driven by a motor 29. A plurality of drive pulleys 30 are mounted on and driven by shaft 28, and pulleys 30 drive a plurality of parallel-extending conveyor belts 32 spaced across the width of the stacking conveyor. Side arms 26 also support a plurality of hollow belt-support members 34 which may have square or rectangular cross-section. Members 34 support the underneath side of the upper reaches of the belt and include elongated slots 36; only a few of the slots being shown for purposes of clarity. Hollow belt-support members 34 are connected through hose and fitting assemblies 38 to a source of subatmospheric pressure such as the suction side of a vacuum pump or blower not shown. In this manner, a partial vacuum is created within hollow belt-support members 34, and this partial vacuum is transmitted to the underneath sides of the sheets on the conveyor belts through slots 36 in the hollow members and through holes 40 in the conveyor belts. As a result, even though the speed of the conveyors may be as high as 1,000 feet per minute, and even though the angle of the conveyors may be raised as high as 21 degrees with respect to the horizontal, the sheets are maintained in tight frictional engagement with the upper surfaces of the conveyor belts so that the sheets do not slip with respect to the belts. At the discharge end B of the stacking conveyor as shown in FIG. 3, side arms 26 support a second shaft 42 and a plurality of idler pulleys 44 are mounted on shaft 42 by internal bearings 45 so that conveyor belts 32 and idler pulleys 44 are free to rotate at the line speed determined by motor 29 and drive pulleys 30. Shaft 42 also carries a plurality of wheels 46 which are connected to the shaft so as to rotate at a variable speed as determined by variable speed motor 48. It will be noted that the diameters of wheels 46 are larger than the diameters of idler pulleys 44 such that, as the forward portion of each sheet passes over wheels 46, as shown in Fig. 4A, the forward portion of the sheet is forced or wedged away from belts 32 so that the suction force acting on the bottom of the forward portion of the sheet is substantially decreased or eliminated. This forcing or wedging action continues as the sheet becomes freed of the suction of belts 32 and may be picked up by the overhead vacuum conveyor 50 which will now be described with reference to Figs. 4A, B and 5. Referring first to Fig. 5, stacking conveyor 16 is shown in a horizontal position which is the position used when only short stacks are to be formed. Arms 23 support a plurality of pairs of vertical supports 52 and 53, which in turn support a plurality of side-by-side overhead vacuum conveyors 50 as further shown in Fig. 4C. It will be noted that the inlet ends 54 of overhead conveyors 50 overlap the discharge ends 56 of stacking conveyors 32, and that the bottom reaches of the overhead conveyors 50 are spaced a small distance, such as a few centimetres (inches) above the upper reaches of stacking conveyors 32. The operation and further details of the overhead conveyors are shown in Figs. 4A, 4B and 4C. Each overhead conveyor includes an elongated hollow housing 60 with an elongated slot, or series of apertures, 62 in the bottom surface as shown in the fragmentary view of Fig. 4C. It will be readily understood that each of the housings 60 is connected by hollow conduits (not shown) to a source of partial vacuum, such as the suction inlet of a vacuum pump or blower, not shown. Each of housings 60 is surrounded by a conveyor belt 64 which is driven through a common drive shaft 66 by a motor, not shown. Each of belts 64 is provided with two sets of apertures, 67, 68 which are positioned 180° apart around the circumference of the belt. Thus, when belts 64 are driven in the direction of the arrows in Figs. 4A and B, one set of apertures 67 moves past one of discharge wheels 46 such that, just as a sheet is being raised by wheels 46 and released from the suction effect of stacking conveyor belts 32, the sheet comes under the influence of the suction from apertures 67. The sheet is thereby drawn upwardly into firm engagement with overhead belts 64. The sheet is then conveyed forwardly as shown in Fig. 4B until the trailing end of the sheet clears the discharge end of the stacking conveyor. The trailing edge of the sheet is free, however, due to the velocity of the sheet, the trailing edge does not substantially drop. At this point, the set of apertures 67 in belt 64 has moved beyond the extent of the slot or holes 62 in the bottom of housing 60 such that the suction is cut off by the solid end 69 of the housing. The sheet is then released and falls downwardly onto the stack below as shown in FIG. 4B. It will also be understood that, for very thin or highly flexible sheets, more than one set of apertures may be provided along the length of belts 64 so as to provide multiple points of suction along the length of the sheet, and the sheet may be released by valve means (not shown) cutting off the vacuum supply. Alternatively, the sheets may be pushed downwardly or otherwise ejected by mechanical means not shown. It will also be understood that the timing sequence of belts 32 and 64 may be controlled by a timer or other synchronized operation of belts 32 and 64. However, it is preferred that a proximity sensor 65 be located at the discharge end of belts 32 so as to detect the presence of each sheet. Sensor 65 then sends a signal to the motor driving shaft 66 which actuates the motor to drive belt 64 and thereby convey the sheet to the release position shown in FIG. 4B in which each sheet is stacked in a planar condition on a set of stacking fingers 70, 72 as will now be described. Referring to FIG. 5, the forward ends of arms 23 support a plurality of vertical supports 74 and 76. Each vertical support 74 and 76 is connected to a horizontal drive housing 78. Each housing receives a support finger 70 or 72 which is guided for reciprocation horizontally by bearings 80. Each of the support fingers includes a toothed portion 82, and each toothed portion 82 is engaged by a drive gear 84 or 85 mounted on common drive shafts 86 and 87. Thus, gears 84, 85 and toothed portions 82 constitute rack-and-pinion drives which cause fingers 70 and 72 to move horizontally, forwardly and rearwardly upon rotation of common drive shafts 86 and 87 in the counter-clockwise or clockwise direction, respectively, as viewed in FIG. 5. Similarly, each of vertical supports 74 and 76 is received in a drive housing 88; only the drive housing 88 for vertical support 74 being shown. However, it will be readily understood that an identical drive housing 88 is provided for vertical support 76. Drive housings 88 include four bearings or rollers 90 which guide the vertical movement of supports 74 and 76. The drive housings also include drive gears 92 which engage toothed racks 94 secured to the vertical supports. Drive gears 92 are driven by common drive shafts 96 such that, upon clockwise rotation of gears 92 the vertical supports and associated support fingers 70, 72 are moved downwardly, and upon counter-clockwise rotation of the gears, the vertical supports and associated support fingers 70, 72 are moved upwardly. As shown schematically in the partial view of Fig. 6, the set of lower support fingers 72 is spaced laterally relative to the set of upper support fingers 70 such that the two sets of support fingers may move horizontally and vertically relative to each other in order to perform the sequence of movements as will now be described with reference to Figs. 7-13. Fig. 7 illustrates the positions of support fingers 70 and 72 while a stack of sheets is being formed. At this time, the sheets are being conveyed to the stacking area by stacking conveyor 16, and each sheet is sequentially engaged by the suction of overhead vacuum conveyor 50 and conveyed over the stack. The vacuum is then cut off or the sheet is otherwise disengaged, as previously described, and the sheet drops downwardly onto the stack below. The entire length of the stack is supported by lower support fingers 72 which move downwardly as the stack is formed. When the desired number of sheets is being approached, as may be determined by a counter or proximity switch 98 sensing the lowered position of support fingers 72, a signal is sent to the motor driving gears 84 such that the support set of fingers 70 are moved from left to right into the position shown in Fig. 8. In this position, fingers 70 are extending between adjacent overhead conveyors 50 just slightly above the lower reaches of belts 64 while the conveyors continue to deliver sheets to the stack. When the stack is completed, as shown in Fig. 9, a counter or sensor 99 sends a signal to the motor driving gear 92 (Fig. 5) whereby upper fingers 70 are rapidly moved downwardly to a position just below the bottom reaches of overhead conveyors 50. This downward movement of upper fingers 70 is only a distance of one or a few centimetres (inches) such that this movement is effected after the last sheet is dropped onto the stack and before the next sheet is fed to the overhead conveyor by the stacking conveyor. Upper support fingers 70 are then in position to support the next stack as shown in Fig. 10 without any interruption or delay in the feeding of the sheets by conveyors 16 and 50. Both sets of support fingers are then moved downwardly as shown in Fig. 11 until lower fingers 72 are just above a transfer conveyor 100. At this point, lower support fingers 72 are retracted by gears 85 and the stack drops a short distance onto transfer conveyor 100. Conveyor 100 conveys the stack to the next station which may be for bundling or for breaking the product portions of articulated sheets from the scrap portions as previously indicated. As soon as lower fingers 72 have been retracted from beneath the stack, lower fingers 72 are moved upwardly as shown in FIG. 12 while upper fingers 70 continue to support the newly forming stack and move downwardly. As shown in FIG. 13, lower fingers 72 are moved upwardly to a position slightly above upper fingers 70 so that the new, partially formed stack becomes supported by lower fingers 72. This allows upper fingers 70 to be retracted to the left while the formation of the stack continues uninterrupted. With the new stack supported by lower fingers 72, and upper fingers 70 retracted, the elements are returned to the starting position shown in FIG. 7 and the above-described cycle is repeated with no interruption or delay in conveying the sheets form the die cutter to the stacked product. Thus, the present stacker can handle very flexible and difficult-to-handle sheets, and at an operating speed which enables the high-speed upstream functions, such as printing and/or die cutting, to operate at their maximum speed without interruption. Of course, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that a wide variety of control systems may be utilised to position support fingers 70 and 72 as just described. For example, multiple sets of position sensors 100 may be used to sense the positions of the fingers and send signals to controller 102 which then actuates motors M-1, 2, 3 and 4 as shown schematically in Fig. 14. Also, it will be noted that the length of the support fingers may be as long or longer than the length of the stacks, as shown in Figs. 7-13, or as shown in Fig. 4B, the fingers may be slightly shorter so long as they are of sufficient length to support the full weight of the stack and maintain the sheets in a planar condition.

Claims: A machine for stacking individual sheets into a plurality of separate stacks comprising: (a) conveyor means (16) for successively conveying individual sheets into a stacking area; (b) a first support means extending horizontally in said stacking area; (c) means (82, 85) for moving said first support means vertically; (d) a second support means comprising a set of fingers (70) extending horizontally in said stacking area having lengths sufficient to support the entire weight of a stack of individual sheets received from the conveyor means (16); and (e) means (84, 85) for moving said second support means (70) vertically and horizontally between a retracted position and an extended stacking position; the arrangement being such that, in use, a first stack of individual sheets forms on said first support means to a predetermined height whereat the second support means (70) are moved to interrupt the flow of sheets to the first support means such that a second stack of individual sheets forms on the second support means (70), during which time the first stack is removed from the first support means; characterised in that said first support means comprise support fingers (72) having lengths sufficient to support the entire weight of the first stack of individual sheets; and characterised by means for moving said first support means (72) horizontally between a retracted position and an extended stacking position whereby after the first stack has been removed therefrom, the first support means (72) are positioned in load bearing contact with the second stack, so that the weight of the second stack is transferred from the second support means (70) to the first support means (72) before the second support means (70) are withdrawn to the retracted position. A machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: at least one overhead conveyor (50) arranged above said stacking area; suction means for drawing successive sheets into contact with an underside of said at least one overhead conveyor (50); and means for disengaging said sheets from said at least one overhead conveyor (50) wherein in use successive sheets are drawn into contact with said underside of said at least one overhead conveyor (50) and conveyed to a predetermined stacking position whereupon said sheets are disengaged from said at least one overhead conveyor (50) and fall to form the first and second stacks. A machine as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein said conveyor means (16) comprises means for disengaging successive sheets therefrom. A machine as claimed in Claim 3, wherein said means for disengaging successive sheets from said stacking conveyor (16) comprises at least one wheel (46) positioned to raise a leading edge of each successive sheet from the conveyor means. A machine as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said stacking area does not have a back wall such that, in use said sheets do not abut a back wall whilst forming said stacks. A method of stacking individual sheets into a plurality of separate stacks, which method comprises the steps of: (1) receiving on a first support means a flow of individual sheets from a conveyor means (16) in a stacking area to form a first stack; (2) when the first stack reaches a predetermined height, interrupting the flow of individual sheets with a second support means (70) comprising a set of support fingers to start formation of a second stack thereon; (3) removing the first stack from the first support means whilst the second stack forms on the second support means (70) ; characterised in that said first support means comprise a set of support fingers (72), the method being characterised by the steps of: (4) after the first stack as been removed from the first support means (72), positioning the first support means (72) in load bearing contact with the second stack so that the weight of the second stack is transferred from the second support means (70) to the first support means (72) before the second support means (70) are withdrawn; and (5) withdrawing the second support means (70) to the retracted position. A method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising the steps of: (6) when the second stack reaches a predetermined height, interrupting the flow of individual sheets with the second support means (70) to start formation of a third stack thereon; (7) repeating steps (3) to (6) so as to provide a cycle enabling individual sheets to be stacked continuously.

Inventors: FERNANDEZ JOSE M VILLACIEROS, FERNANDEZ, JOSE M. VILLACIEROS
Applicants: WARD INC, WARD, INC.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B65H29
IPC codes: B65H29, B65H31