Abstract:
A device creates blanks with the aid of a rotary cutting apparatus. The device is characterized in that a placing system is mounted downstream of the cutting apparatus for orderly sorting of the blanks.

Description:
[0001]    This application is a continuation of 10/588,848 filed Aug. 09, 2006 as the national stage of PCT/EP2005/001337 filed on Feb. 10, 2005 and also claims Paris Convention priority of DE 10 2004 008 161.1 filed on Feb. 12, 2004 the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The invention concerns a device for producing blanks using a rotary cutting apparatus, wherein a placing system is disposed downstream of the cutting apparatus for defined sorting of the blanks. 
         [0003]    Processing systems for producing card-like blanks from sheets are known in the art. A defined number of items are thereby printed on each sheet, in particular marked or e.g. numbered, as e.g. in the production of playing cards, numbered tickets or blanks with special imprints. These sheets are subsequently collected and stacked and the sheets are individually cut in a longitudinal and transverse direction in an associated appropriate machine. The consecutive rows are subsequently stacked and disposed on top of each other to produce a sorted stack  4 . This process is mainly applied for blanks  1  having a rectangular shape and cornered edges. 
         [0004]    Blanks with round corners  2  are also produced by printing sheets which, lying on top of each other, are subsequently punched out using lift punching devices. In a further working step, these blanks are then rearranged into sorted stacks  4  in an automatic sorting machine. 
         [0005]    There are also conventional machines which provide endless printed paper or product webs instead of printed sheets, which are then guided through a rotary cutting apparatus. The blanks  1 ,  2  are then sequentially stacked in rows and are later rearranged into sorted stacks in a sorting machine in a separate working step. 
         [0006]    For sheet processing, all associated blanks are advantageously provided on one sheet to be processed. The large number of required processing steps is disadvantageous. The processing of endless printed product webs is advantageous due to the high speed and the possibility to install such machines directly after a printing machine for inline processing. The blanks  1 ,  2  produced in this manner must disadvantageously be subsequently guided through sorting machines to obtain the required mixtures or sorted stacks  4 . 
         [0007]    It is the underlying purpose of the invention to produce a rotary processing system for cutting the product web  3 , printed during inline or offline operation, in a rotary method, placing the cut blanks  1 ,  2  over a full surface, receiving and mixing them in a particular device in accordance with a predetermined order to obtain a sorted stack  4  after passage through the entire device. 
         [0008]    Another object of this machine is to mix the blanks in accordance with a certain matrix. 
         [0009]    Another object of the apparatus is to examine printed endless goods for printing errors and remove these goods in a directed manner or to detect and properly remove whole sections of faulty blanks in the product web. This is advantageously achieved with the machine or device  5  described below. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    These objects are achieved in accordance with the invention with a device comprising the features of the independent claim. 
         [0011]    The device  5  comprises a roller  6  onto which the printed product web  3  is disposed. A manual or automatic splice means  7  is advantageously disposed downstream of the machine  5 . A side edge control  8  is disposed downstream thereof to exactly position the printed product web  3 . A decurling means  9  is used to counteract bending of the product web to compensate for curvatures or bending stress produced by rolling the product web. The pulling station  10  pulls the printed product web  3  from the roller  6  with a predetermined tension. The required tension compensation is regulated or controlled via the compensation system  11  and a brake or drive system. The rotary cutting apparatus  13  consists of a formatted cutting cylinder  14  and a counter pressure cylinder  15 . During passage of the printed product web  3  through the rotary cutting apparatus  13 , a blank  1 ,  2  is cut out from the product web  3 . A waste strip or waste grid may thereby be produced between the products  1 ,  2  in the printed product web  3 . 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  illustrates the overall device in accordance with the invention; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  illustrates the method of stacking and sorting in accordance with the invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0014]    In a preferred embodiment, the waste strip or waste grid  16  is guided out of the rotary cutting apparatus  13  together with the blank and taken over by the suction belt means  17 . When the blanks  1 ,  2  have been safely received by the suction belt means  17 , the waste strip or the waste grid is separated from the blanks  1 ,  2  through deflection and pulled into a chopper  18  where it is disintegrated and suctioned off. The blanks  1 ,  2  are then either spatially separated or, in one variant, disposed next to each other on the suction belt means  17  without intermediate waste. This suction belt means has a superior optical test device  20  to examine the blanks  1 ,  2  for completeness or faults. The suction belt means  17  also has a downstream suction cup wheel, disposed above the suction belt means, with subsequent suction cup belt. Individual suction cups  22  are disposed on this suction cup belt  21  in accordance with a predetermined matrix. The suction cups  22  have the same mutual separations as the blanks in the product web and move with the same speed as the suction belt means  17 . The suction cups accept one or more rows of blanks using a control means, thereby suctioning and transferring the predetermined number of blanks  1 ,  2  to the stacking means  23  or any other downstream device. 
         [0015]    A predetermined number of sequential blanks are repeatedly taken over by the sequential suction cups  22 , transported and transferred to the next stacking means  24 . Each stacking means  22 - 27  has a vacuum wheel  28  and vacuum belts  29 . Each transferred blank  1 ,  2  is transferred to one track of the delivery wheel  30  using the vacuum wheel  28  and the vacuum belts  29 . The delivery wheel  30  may be designed as vacuum drum or delivery star. The delivery wheel  30  must have different diameters in each track for placing the cards from each row at different levels in the delivery nest  31 . When all blanks  1 ,  2  have been placed at different levels in the delivery nest  31  using the delivery wheel  30 , the individual nest layers are pushed on top of each other by displacing the delivery nest  31  against the lateral stop  32 , and the blanks are disposed on top of each other in a sorted stack  4 . Sorting is achieved in that the blanks  1 ,  2  are printed one after the other in the printed product web in a predetermined order, and are then placed and stacked on top of each other at different levels using the delivery wheel  30  and the delivery nest  31 . 
         [0016]    The sorted stack  4  is pushed onto a transport belt  34  using a further pushing device  33 , from where it is guided out of the machine to a conventional packaging system. Faulty blanks are transferred to the suctioning means  36  at the suction cup wheel  35  and transferred to a waste means. With particular advantage, different blank rows are taken over depending on the control of the suction cups  22  and each row is supplied to one of the stacking means  23  to  27 , where they can be placed. 
         [0017]    This permits arbitrary sorting. In one embodiment (not shown), each individual suction cup can moreover be controlled directly e.g. via a bus system. This permits individual different distribution of transferred blank  1 ,  2  rows to several stacking means  23  through  27 . 
         [0018]    Depending on the design, any number of suction cups  22  can advantageously be disposed and mounted at different separations on the suction cup belt  21 . 
         [0019]    Another advantage is that any number of stacking means  23  can be disposed one after another, as required. 
         [0020]      FIG. 2  provides a more detailed description of the method of operation of the stacking and sorting device in accordance with the invention. The upper middle figure shows a side view of a first position of the delivery nest  31  relative to the stop  32 . The delivery nest  31  is subsequently moved in the direction of arrow  50  to assume the position shown in the central middle figure of  FIG. 2  and, through further movement of the delivery nest  31  in the direction of arrow  50 , into the final position shown in the bottom middle figure of  FIG. 2 . The respective figures to the left and right of these middle figures in the upper, middle and lower portions of  FIG. 2  are end views from the left and right hand side respectively in the respective positions indicated in the middle figures. The end views clearly illustrate the U-shaped structure of the stop  32  and the fact that the blanks, indicated by cross-hashed rectangles disposed on the step-like structures of delivery nest  31 , protrude past the right and left sides of the delivery nest  31 . As the delivery nest  31  is moved in the direction of arrow  50 , the parallel side legs of U-shaped stop  32  successively abut against the blanks, thereby preventing the blanks from moving along with the delivery nest  31  in the direction of arrow  50 , therefore resulting in a stacked deposit of the blanks on successive stairs of the delivery nest  31  as the delivery nest  31  is moved. In the first position of the delivery nest  31  relative to the stop  32  illustrated in the upper portion of  FIG. 2 , the blanks rest on individual steps of the stair-like structured delivery nest  31 . As the delivery nest  31  is displaced towards the stationary stop  32  in the direction of arrow  50 , it assumes an intermediate position shown in the middle portion of  FIG. 2 . In this position, the blanks which were originally deposited on the upper three stairs of the step-like structure of delivery nest  31  have been pushed through interaction with the stop  32 , through successive stacking, onto the third lowest step of the delivery nest  31 . Continued displacement of the delivery nest  31  relative to the stop  32  in the direction of arrow  50  leads to the configuration shown in the bottom portion of  FIG. 2  in which the entire stack of blanks has been deposited on the lowermost step of the delivery nest  31 . 
         [0021]    The stacking and sorting system can be used to produce a sorted stack of blanks (cards), with differing individual cards being cut out of a sheet. Following stamping of the cards from the sheet, the individual cards can be combined into a completed set. Towards this end, the sheet can be split and cut into rows and columns in such a fashion that a plurality of cards are disposed in a row, with a plurality of rows, one behind the other. The cards disposed in one particular row can be deposited on an individual delivery nest  31  using the delivery wheel  30 . The individual nests  31  have differing heights so that, following deposition, the cards can easily be pushed, one on top of the other. 
       List of Reference Numerals: 
       [0000]    
       
           1 . cornered blanks 
           2 . blanks with round corners 
           3 . printed product web 
           4 . sorted stack 
           5 . machine 
           6 . roller 
           7 . splice means 
           8 . side edge control 
           9 . decurling means 
           10 . pulling station 
           11 . delivery system 
           12 . brake and/or drive system 
           13 . rotary cutting apparatus 
           14 . cutting cylinder 
           15 . counter pressure cylinder 
           16 . waste strip/waste grid 
           17 . suction belt means 
           18 . chopper 
           19 . pressure mark control 
           20 . optical test device 
           21 . suction cup belt 
           22 . suction cups 
           23 . stacking means 
           24 . stacking means 
           25 . stacking means 
           26 . stacking means 
           27 . stacking means 
           28 . vacuum wheel 
           29 . vacuum belts 
           30 . delivery wheel (vacuum drum or delivery system) 
           31 . delivery nest 
           32 . stop 
           33 . pushing device 
           34 . transport belt 
           35 . suction cup wheel 
           36 . suctioning means 
           37 . suction funnel 
           50 . arrow