Abstract:
An apparatus for separating cut portions from a sheet material such as paper or cardboard, and method thereof. The separation process is performed by using an air suction force to separate (from a sheet) a cut blanking portion and a rim portion having predetermined shapes. In one aspect, an apparatus comprises a pair of dispensers which receive a sheet therebetween between a pair of dispensers, approaches the pair of dispensers each other, absorbs a blanking portion with a first dispenser and a rim portion with a second dispenser, detaches the first and second dispensers each other, moves the first or second dispenser at a predetermined position, and releases the blanking portion and rim portion from the first and second dispensers, respectively. Thereby, the blanking portion and the rim portion can be readily separated and piled uniformly. The present invention advantageously has a simple structure and no need to make a new pair of molds for a new shape of blanking portion, which has been necessary for a conventional separating system.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
         [0001]    1. Technical Field  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for separating cut blanking portions from a sheet in a cutter-creaser system, more particularly to an apparatus and method for separating cut blanking portions from a sheet using an air suction force.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    During the manufacture of packing products (e.g., carton packs) using sheet material (such as paper or cardboard), a cutter-creaser system may be used for cutting one or more predetermined shapes (referred to herein as a “blanking portion”) into the sheet material and then separating the blanking portion from the sheet. FIG. 5 illustrates a conventional cutter-creaser system that may be employed for cutting and separating blanking portions from, e.g., a paper sheet. In general, the conventional cutter-creaser system  101  comprises a sheet piling unit  103  for piling a plurality of, e.g., paper or cardboard sheets, a feeding unit  105  for individually feeding the sheets  113  piled in the sheet piling unit  103  to a cutting unit  107 . The cutting unit  107  cuts a sheet  113  fed from the feeding unit  105  into portions having predetermined shapes, such as a blanking portion  115  and a rim portion  117  around the blanking portion (as illustrated in FIG. 6). The conventional cutter-creaser system  101  further comprises a separating unit  109  for separating the blanking portion  115  from the rim portion  117 , and a blanking portion piling unit (disposed within the separating unit  109 ) and a rim portion piling unit  111  for piling the separated blanking and rim portions, respectively. The blanking portion piling unit is generally disposed at the bottom of the interior of the separating unit  109 .  
           [0005]    [0005]FIG. 6 illustrates a sheet  113  being partitioned into a blanking portion  115  having folds  119  and a rim portion  117  around the blanking portion  115 . The cutting unit  107  does not completely cut the blanking line  116  that partitions the blanking portion  115  and the rim portion  117 . Instead, the cutting forms a perforation-like cut line. As such, a separation process must be performed to separate the blanking portion  115  from the rim portion  117 .  
           [0006]    [0006]FIGS. 7A and 7B are perspective views of a conventional apparatus for separating the blanking and rim portions from a sheet, which may be employed in the separating unit  109  of the conventional cutter-creaser system  101 . As shown, the conventional separating apparatus comprises a pair of panel-shaped separating molds including an upper separating mold  123  and a lower separating mold  133 . The upper separating mold  123  includes a pushing plate  125  having a shape that corresponds to the shape of the blanking portion  115 . The lower separating mold  133  includes a receiving groove  135  having a shape that also corresponds to the shape of the blanking portion  115 . The receiving groove  135  has a space for receiving the pushing plate  125  therein. The upper and lower separating molds  123  and  133  are arranged with respect to each other in a parallel and horizontal direction so as to be able to move towards and detach from each other. In particular, the upper separating mold  123  with the pushing plate  125  is disposed at an upper side, and the lower separating mold  133  with the receiving groove  135  is disposed at a lower side. As the upper separating mold  123  moves toward the lower separating mold  133 , the pushing plate  125  is inserted into the space of the receiving groove  135 .  
           [0007]    Specifically, after a sheet has been cut and partitioned into a blanking portion and a rim portion via the cutting unit  107 , the sheet is received by the separating unit  109 , wherein it is placed on the lower separating mold  133 . The upper separating mold  123  then descends upon the lower separating mold  133 . As the upper separating mold  123  becomes sufficiently close to the lower separating mold  133 , the pushing plate  125  of the upper separating mold  123  presses against the sheet on the lower separating mold  133 . Since the pushing plate  125  and the receiving groove  135  have the same shape as the blanking portion  115  of the sheet, the pushing plate  125  pushes the blanking portion  115  of the sheet into the open space of the receiving groove  135 , thereby separating the blanking portion  115  from the rim portion  117  surrounding the blanking portion  115 . The separated blanking portion  115  then randomly falls into the blanking portion piling unit (in the bottom portion of the separating unit  109 ). The separated rim portion  117  remains on the lower separating mold  133 , and is then transported to and piled in the rim portion piling unit  111 .  
           [0008]    There are disadvantages associated with the conventional apparatus discussed above for separating the cut blanking portions from a sheet. One problem is that the pair of separating molds  123  and  133  cannot be used for separating cut portions of the sheets that have shapes different from the shape of molds (i.e., when the shape of the pressing plate  125  and corresponding receiving groove is different from the shape of the blanking portion). Therefore, whenever the shape of a blanking portion is changed (e.g., for a new type of carton pack), a new pair of separating molds  123  and  133  must be made. In particular, a new upper mold  123  must be made to fit to the new shape of a blanking portion, and a new lower separating mold  133  must also be made to fit the new shape of the corresponding rim portion. Otherwise, the blanking and the rim portions of the sheet having a new shape cannot be separated using the old pair of separating molds. The process of making new separating molds is burdensome and increases the production costs of making carton packs and other packing products having different shapes.  
           [0009]    Another problem associated with the conventional system is that the blanking portions are not uniformly piled. Specifically, as explained above, after being separated from sheets (via the pair of separating molds), the blanking portions are not uniformly piled, but randomly fall into the blanking portion piling unit. Therefore, it is necessary for the operator to physically pile the separated blanking portions in a uniform manner.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for separating cut portions (e.g., blanking and rim portions) from a sheet, wherein relatively simple structures or steps can be used reciprocally for separating cut portions having new shapes without requiring the production of new separating molds to fit the new shape. Accordingly, the burden and expense of producing packing products may be reduced. In addition, the present invention provides an apparatus and method for uniformly piling the cut portions of a sheet after a separation process.  
           [0011]    In one aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for separating cut portions from sheet material (such as paper or cardboard) comprises a first dispenser; and a second dispenser; wherein the first dispenser and the second dispenser are configured for receiving a sheet therebetween and wherein the first dispenser and the second dispenser apply an air suction force to the sheet such that the first dispenser absorbs at least a first cut portion of the sheet and the second dispenser absorbs at least a second cut portion of the sheet to thereby separate the at least first and second cut portions.  
           [0012]    In another aspect, the first dispenser comprises a first air discharge unit for allowing air to be discharged from the first dispenser; and a first cover plate having a plurality of holes, for absorbing the at least first portion when air is discharged air from the first dispenser, and the second dispenser comprises a second air discharge unit for allowing air to be discharged from the second dispenser; and a second cover plate having a plurality of holes, for absorbing the at least second portion when air is discharged air from the second dispenser.  
           [0013]    In yet another aspect, the first dispenser further comprises a first template, attached to the first cover plate, having a shape which substantially blocks the holes of the first cover plate that do not correspond with a shape of the at least first cut portion, and the second dispenser further comprises a second template, attached to the second cover plate, having a shape which substantially blocks the holes of the second cover plate that do not correspond with a shape of the at least second cut portion.  
           [0014]    These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present system and method will be described and become apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference symbols indicate the same or similar components.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a cutter-creaser system comprising an apparatus for separating cut portions of a sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view at the line A-A of the cutter-creaser illustrated in FIG. 1;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is an exploded view of components of the apparatus for separating cut portions of a sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIGS. 4A and 4B are planar views of upper and lower dispensers, respectively, shown in FIG. 3;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5 is a diagram of a conventional cutter-creaser system comprising a conventional separating unit;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a sheet partitioned into cut portions such as blanking and rim portions; and  
         [0021]    [0021]FIGS. 7A and 7B are perspective views of separating molds that are employed with the conventional separating unit of FIG. 5.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0022]    Referring now to FIG. 1, a diagram illustrates a cutter-creaser system comprising an apparatus for separating cut portions from a sheet according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is to be understood that the cutter-creaser system  1  comprises a computer system having a controller which is programmed for controlling the operation of the system  1 . The cutter-creaser system  1  comprises a sheet piling unit  3  for piling a plurality of sheets, a feeding unit  5  for feeding individual sheets in the sheet piling unit  3  to a cutting unit  7 . The cutting unit  7  cuts a sheet  21  (supplied from the feeding unit  5 ) into one or more portions having predetermined shapes (e.g., a blanking portion having a carton pack shape and a rim portion surrounding the blanking portion). The system  1  also comprises a sheet separating unit  9  for separating the blanking and rim portions of the sheet  21 , which are cut by the cutting unit  7 . The system  1  further comprises a piling unit for piling the cut portions including a blanking portion piling unit  17  and a rim portion piling unit  15  for piling the blanking portions and the rim portions, respectively, after they are separated by the separating unit  9 .  
         [0023]    The sheet separating unit  9  according to the illustrative embodiment of the present invention comprises an exterior casing  11  and a frame  13  expanded from one side of the exterior casing  11 . The blanking portion piling unit  17  is preferably disposed under the expanded frame  13 . The exterior casing  11  portion of the separator unit  9  comprises a separating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention for separating the cut blanking and rim portions of the sheet  21  received from the cutting unit  7 .  
         [0024]    Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3,  4 A and  4 B, a detailed description of the separating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention (which may be employed in the separating unit  9 ) will now be provided. Particularly, FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view at line A-A of the cutter-creaser system  1  shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 illustrates a preferred embodiment of a separating apparatus  31  for separating cut portions from a sheet according to the present invention. FIGS. 4A and 4B are plane views of upper and lower dispensers of the separating apparatus  31  illustrated in FIG. 3.  
         [0025]    Referring to FIGS. 3, 4A and  4 B, the separating apparatus  31  of the present invention comprises an upper dispenser  33  and a lower dispenser  43 . The upper dispenser  33  and the lower dispenser  44  are configured such that they can be moved towards and away from each other so as to be attached and detached. The upper dispenser  33  comprises a dispenser body  34  having an open space on one side (not shown), a cover plate  36  which is disposed in the open space of the dispenser body  34  and an air discharge unit  52  having an air inlet/outlet  51  disposed on a side opposite the side having the open space. Likewise, the lower dispenser  43  comprises a dispenser body  44  having an open space on one side  45 , a cover plate  46  which is disposed in the open space  45  of the dispenser body  44  and an air discharge unit  52  having an air inlet/outlet  51  disposed on a side opposite the side having the open space  45 .  
         [0026]    The lower dispenser  43  is disposed in a horizontal direction within the exterior casing  11  of the separating unit  9  and in parallel with the upper dispenser  33 . The lower dispenser  44  receives a sheet  21  provided from the cutting unit  7 . The upper dispenser  33  disposed above the lower dispenser  43  with the open faces of the respective dispenser bodies  34  and  44  facing each other. During a separating process of the separating unit  9  using the separating apparatus  31  described herein, a blanking portion  23  and a rim portion  25  are attached to cover plates  36  and  46  having a plurality of piercing holes  37  and  47 . For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4A and  4 B, the rim portion  25  (or “upper template”) is attached to the upper cover plate  36  of the upper dispenser  33 , and the blanking portion  23  (or “lower template”) is attached on the lower cover plate  46  of the lower dispenser  43 . Accordingly, during a separation process when an air suction force is applied via the air discharge units  52 , the upper dispenser  33  can absorb and separate the blanking portion  21   a  from the sheet  21 , and the lower dispenser  43  can absorb and separate the rim portion  21   b  from the sheet  21  (as described in further detail below).  
         [0027]    At least one side of the upper dispenser  33  is coupled to guide rails  61  disposed within the exterior casing  11  and extended along the expanded frame  13  (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The upper dispenser  33  reciprocally moves along the guide rail  61  (FIG. 2) in a longitudinal direction with the expanded frame  13 . As such, the upper dispenser  33  can be moved back and forth between a location above the lower dispenser  43  (within the exterior casing  11 ) prior to a separation process and a location above the blanking portion piling unit  17  (within the expanded frame  13 ) subsequent to a separation process. An operating block  63  is disposed between the upper dispenser  33  and the guide rail  61 , and can reciprocally slide along the guide rail  61  along its longitudinal direction.  
         [0028]    A detailed description of an illustrative separation process (i.e., separating the cut blanking portion from the sheet) using the separating apparatus described above will now follow. Prior to the separation process, a blanking portion  23  (lower template) having a desired shape is attached to the lower cover plate  46  of the lower dispenser  43 , and a rim portion  25  having a desired shape (upper template) is attached to the upper cover plate  36  of the upper dispenser  33 . The cover plates  36  and  46  are then placed in their respective dispenser bodies  34  and  44  such that the upper and lower templates of the cover plates face each other.  
         [0029]    Next, a sheet  21  having a cut blanking portion  21   a  and rim portion  21   b , which substantially correspond in shape to the lower and upper templates  23  and  25 , respectively, is placed on the lower dispenser  43  (i.e. over the lower template and cover plate  46 ). Next, the upper dispenser  33  is lowered to engage the lower dispenser  43 . Once engaged, the air inside the upper and lower dispensers  33  and  43  is discharged through the respective air discharge units  52  to create an air suction force through the exposed holes of the upper and lower cover plates  36  and  46 . The air discharge units  52  are preferably connected by air hoses  53  to any conventional system capable of absorbing and injecting air (e.g., an air compression system) through the inlet/outlets  51  of the air discharge units  52  under the control of the controller. The suction force created by the air discharge through the exposed piercing holes of the upper cover plate  36  causes the blanking portion  21   a  of the sheet  21  to be absorbed by the upper cover plate  36  (since the exposed piercing holes comprise a shape substantially corresponding to the shape of the blanking portion). Likewise, the suction force created by air discharge through the exposed piercing holes of the lower cover plate  46  causes the rim portion  21   b  of the sheet  21  to be absorbed by the lower cover plate  36  (since the exposed piercing holes of the lower cover plate  36  comprise a shape substantially corresponding to the shape of the rim portion).  
         [0030]    Next, the upper and lower dispensers  33  and  43  are disengaged by vertically moving the upper dispenser  33  away from the lower dispenser  43 , so that the blanking portion  21   a  attached to the cover plate  36  of the upper dispenser  33  and the rim portion  21   b  attached to the cover plate  46  of the lower dispenser  43  are separated. The separated blanking portion  21  a moves up with the upper dispenser  33 , and the separated rim portion  21   b  remains on the lower dispenser  43 . The upper dispenser  33  is then moved along the guide rail  61  in the expanded frame  13  by the operating block to a location above the blanking portion piling unit  17 . The controller then causes the upper dispenser  33  to be gradually lowered by movement linkage elements  65 ,  67 , and  71  to a desired position above the blanking portion piling unit  17 . When the upper dispenser  33  is disposed at the desired position above the blanking portion piling unit  17 , the controller causes the air absorbing/injecting system to stop discharging air from the dispensers  33  and  43  (via the air discharge units  52 ) and allow air to flow into the dispensers  33  and  43 . As a result, the blanking portion  21   a  attached to the cover plate  36  of the upper dispenser  33  is released and uniformly piled in the blanking portion piling unit  17 . The rim portion  21   b  remaining on the lower dispenser  43  is transported to and piled in the rim portion piling unit  15 . The upper dispenser  33  is then returned to its initial position above the lower dispenser  43  within the exterior casing  11 . The above described separation and piling procedure is then repeatedly performed for each received sheet  21 .  
         [0031]    Advantageously, by using a separating apparatus in accordance with the teachings herein, the production of new separating is not required when the shape of the blanking portion  21   a  is changed (such as in the conventional device of FIGS. 7A and 7B). Indeed, the upper and lower dispensers  33  and  43  of the separating apparatus of the present invention may be used reciprocally for separating a blanking portion of a new shape. Instead, as explained above (and as shown in FIG. 3), a new pair of separating molds can be formed by simply attaching, for example, a new blanking portion  23  and a new rim portion  25  (templates) of desired shapes to the dispensers  33  and  43 , respectively.  
         [0032]    In addition, to enhance the effectiveness of the separating process, the speed of discharging air from the dispensers  33  and  43  can be increased. For this purpose, as explained above, the air absorbing/injecting system is preferably connected to the end of the air discharge unit  52 , via a connecting hose  53 , to thereby forcefully absorb or inject air (at a pressure suitable for the given application) from or into the dispensers  33  and  43 . In addition, when the air absorbing/injecting system injects air into the dispensers  33  and  34 , it is preferable to prevent the air from ejecting from the air discharge unit. Thus, for example, a check valve may be disposed between the air discharge unit  52  and the connecting hose  53  to control the flow of air.  
         [0033]    Although illustrative embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. All such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.