Abstract:
A collating apparatus ( 10 ), in particular for printed products such as brochures, flyers or the like, comprising a collecting section ( 11 ) having at least two collecting zones ( 11   a,b ) arranged in parallel and working independently of each other, onto which respectively a plurality of products are fed successively and are united lying one on top of the other into a collected product, and at least one further processing section ( 13, 15 ) positioned behind the collecting section ( 11 ) having at least one further processing apparatus ( 13   a,b;    15   a,b ). High flexibility during operation is achieved by the arrangement between the collecting section ( 11 ) and the at least one further processing section ( 13, 15 ) of a distribution apparatus ( 12 ), which feeds the collected products arriving from the collecting zones ( 11   a,b ) selectively to the at least one further processing apparatus ( 13   a,b,    15   a,b ).

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    Swiss Patent Application 00158/15, filed 6 Feb. 2015, the priority document corresponding to this invention, to which a foreign priority benefit is claimed under Title 35, United States Code, Section 119, and its entire teachings are incorporated, by reference, into this specification. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to the field of post press processing. It concerns a collating apparatus according to the preamble to claim  1 . It further concerns a method for operating such a collating apparatus. 
         [0004]    2. Discussion of Related Art 
         [0005]    Already familiar for some time under the heading “Direct Mailing” are activities in which advertising leaflets, brochures, flyers, printed sheets and the like, which are usually frequently included (inserted) for advertising purposes as enclosures in a newspaper, are collected from a number of originators, in order to produce a plurality of compilations therefrom, which respectively contain a printed product from each originator and are delivered or distributed in the form of a small stack to the recipients, e.g. households. 
         [0006]    In order to be able to handle the individual stack-like compilations of the printed products more effectively during transport and distribution, it is advantageous to take measures to keep the individual stacks together. 
         [0007]    It is familiar from the prior art, in the event that one of the printed products is folded, to open this printed product and to insert the other printed products into the opened printed product. 
         [0008]    This is performed in practice by hand by those persons who distribute the compilations in the areas allocated to them. For this purpose, the individual printed products are delivered to particular locations in the form of packed stacks. The stacks must then be unpacked by hand, and the printed products must be removed individually from the various stacks and united to produce the desired compilation. 
         [0009]    It is self-evident that, although forming of the compilations by hand by the persons involved in their distribution does not involve any equipment costs, it is nevertheless extraordinarily time-consuming, particularly when large quantities are to be distributed, and it greatly delays the distribution process and gives rise to additional personnel costs. 
         [0010]    It may accordingly be financially more advantageous under certain circumstances to execute the forming and provision of the compilations centrally and by machine, and to provide the persons responsible for their distribution with the finished compilations. 
         [0011]    The above-mentioned insertion process, in which a folded printed product is opened and the other printed products are inserted into the opened printed product, nevertheless calls for considerable investment in machinery. 
         [0012]    It is conceivable, on the other hand, to hold the compilation of printed products together by placing an adhesive or non-adhesive strip laterally around one edge of the compilation. Such a technology is familiar to the applicant, e.g. from WO 2012/084464 A2 or from WO 2012/084494 A2. 
         [0013]    Familiar from EP 2 107 023 A1, furthermore, is a method for generating a stream of flat products, in particular printed products, in a predetermined sequence, the products arriving from a number of feed flows being dispensed in a controlled manner in a plurality of delivery positions lying one after the other along at least one grouping section on at least one conveyor moving continuously along a closed circulation path and being moved to a further processing station. Only those products whose sequence corresponds to the predetermined sequence are transferred to the further processing station, the dispensing of new products from the feed flows to the conveyor being interrupted following detection of a fault, without interrupting the movement of the conveyor, the partial stream present on the conveyor being fed back to the grouping section at least from a fault location corresponding to the fault, and the fault being corrected by the delivery of the corresponding product or the corresponding products. 
         [0014]    Familiar from WO 2011/144451 A1 is a post press processing installation for combining and further processing of flat precursors, which comprises a combining apparatus having a conveyor track, on which a plurality of receiving units arranged one after the other in the revolving direction in order to receive precursors to be combined circulates in a closed system, and on which a number of feed devices are arranged one after the other in the revolving direction in at least one combining zone, from which precursors are dispensed into the receiving units as they move past on the conveyor track. A transfer device is arranged along at least one point on the conveyor track, which transfers combined first partial collections from the receiving units for further processing. A collator is arranged at least at one further point on the conveyor track or at a distance therefrom, which collates combined further partial collections from the receiving units with the first partial collections, or combines the first partial collection comprising printed products into collections. 
         [0015]    There is a desire, on the other hand, to create an apparatus with which individual printed products can be collated, in a predetermined and at all times variable manner, into compilations and can be made ready for distribution rapidly, flexibly and with reduced equipment costs. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    An object of the invention is thus to make available such an apparatus and to propose a method for its operation. 
         [0017]    These and other objects are accomplished by the features of Claims  1 ,  12  and  13 . Embodiments of the invention can be appreciated from the dependent Claims. 
         [0018]    The collating apparatus according to the invention, which is suitable in particular for printed products such as brochures, flyers or the like, comprises a collecting section having at least two collecting zones arranged in parallel and working independently of each other, onto which a plurality of products are fed successively and are united lying one on top of the other into a collected product, and at least one further processing section having at least one further processing apparatus positioned behind the collecting section. 
         [0019]    It is characterized in that arranged between the collecting section and the at least one further processing section is a distribution apparatus, which feeds the collected products arriving from the collecting zones selectively to one of the at least one further processing apparatus. 
         [0020]    One embodiment of the collating apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that the at least one further processing section comprises two further processing apparatuses arranged in parallel and working independently of each other, and in that the distribution apparatus feeds the collected products arriving from the collecting zones selectively to one or both further processing apparatuses. 
         [0021]    Another embodiment of the collating apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that the collecting zones are designed for synchronous operation. 
         [0022]    A further embodiment of the collating apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that the distribution apparatus is configured as a diverter module, which transfers the collected products arriving from the collecting zones as product streams selectively into the at least one further processing section. 
         [0023]    In particular in the case of the two further processing apparatuses, the distribution apparatus can be configured as a diverter module, which feeds the collected products arriving from the collecting zones as product streams selectively to one or both further processing apparatuses. 
         [0024]    In particular, the diverter module can be designed as a double switch, which is able to divide the product streams into partial streams after having been collated. 
         [0025]    Provided that the diverter module in this case comprises two partial modules connected one after the other, a fixing device can be arranged between the partial modules. 
         [0026]    Another embodiment of the collating apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that the collecting zones respectively comprise a revolving conveyor belt, on which a plurality of delivery stations for feeding the individual products is arranged one after the other in the direction of feed. 
         [0027]    A further embodiment of the collating apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that the at least one further processing section comprises, as further processing apparatuses, two fixing devices for fixing the collected products arriving from the collecting zones. 
         [0028]    In particular, the fixing devices provide the individual collected products with at least one fixing element, in particular with a wrapper or adhesive tape. 
         [0029]    In particular arranged behind the at least one further processing section is a further processing section, which comprises, as further processing apparatuses, two stacking devices allocated to the fixing devices. 
         [0030]    The at least two collecting zones can be configured identically and can have the same number of feeding stations. The collecting zones can also vary in length, however, and can be provided with a different number of feeding stations. 
         [0031]    A method according to the invention for the operation of a collating apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that first and second collected products are assembled on the at least two collecting zones, and in that the first and second collected products are processed further separately in the following at least one further processing section. 
         [0032]    Another method for the operation of a collating apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that first and second collected products are assembled in the at least two collecting zones, in that the first and second collected products are collated respectively by means of the distribution apparatus into third collected products, and in that the third collected products are processed further in the following at least one further processing section. 
         [0033]    In particular the third collected products can be divided up into partial streams in the distribution apparatus for further processing. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0034]    The invention is now explained below in more detail in connection with the drawing on the basis of illustrative embodiments. In the drawing: 
           [0035]      FIG. 1  depicts, in the top view from above, a first illustrative embodiment of a collating apparatus according to the invention having two identical collecting zones in a parallel arrangement, a simple diverter module, a fixing device and a stacking device; 
           [0036]      FIG. 2  depicts, in the top view from above, a second illustrative embodiment of a collating apparatus according to the invention having two identical collecting zones, fixing devices and stacking devices in a parallel arrangement, as well as a simple diverter module; 
           [0037]      FIG. 3  depicts, in the top view from above, a third illustrative embodiment of a collating apparatus according to the invention having two identical collecting zones, fixing devices and stacking devices in a parallel arrangement, as well as a diverter module configured as a double switch; 
           [0038]      FIG. 4  depicts, in an enlarged view, a section through a collecting zone in  FIGS. 1-3  having two feeding stations; 
           [0039]      FIG. 5  depicts, in an enlarged view, a fixing device from the collating apparatus according to  FIGS. 1-3 ; and 
           [0040]      FIG. 6  depicts, in an enlarged view, a stacking device from the collating apparatus according to  FIGS. 1-3 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0041]    A first illustrative embodiment of a collating apparatus according to the invention is depicted in the top view from above in  FIG. 1 . The collating apparatus  10  in  FIG. 1  comprises a collecting section  11  having two collecting zones  11   a ,  11   b  of identical construction configured as a mirror image to one another. The collecting zones  11   a  and  11   b,  which in  FIG. 1  have a direction of feed from left to right, are capable of connection selectively via a diverter module  12  to a further processing section, which in the example has a first further processing apparatus  13   b  and downstream thereof a second further processing apparatus  15   b,  which are connected to each other by a conveyor  14   b.    
         [0042]    Arranged one after the other on the collecting zones  11   a,b  in the direction of feed are a number (in the illustrated example fifteen) of delivery stations  19  ( FIG. 4 ), which deposit individual printed products flat on the collecting zone, which printed products are then collated into a collected product. 
         [0043]    In the example in  FIG. 1 , the first further processing apparatus  13   b  is a fixing device, which fixes collected products fed from the collecting zones  11   a,b  for further handling by wrapping with at least one tape or at least one further printed product. The second further processing apparatus  15   b  in this case is a stacking device, which gathers the fed collected products into stacks and makes them ready for despatch in the form of a package pallet  16 ′. 
         [0044]    The diverter module  12  arranged between the collecting zones  11   a,b  and the further processing apparatuses can assume and perform various functions. On the one hand, it can unite the collected products from both collecting zones into a third collected product. This can continue to take place for all collected products. It is also conceivable, however, to unite only selected collected products from the one collecting zone with selected collected products from the second collecting zone. However, it is also able to convey selectively the collected products from only one collecting zone for further processing, if the other collecting zone is not in operation or has been paused. 
         [0045]    Flexible operation of the apparatus  10  is already possible in this way. 
         [0046]    A second illustrative embodiment of a collating apparatus according to the invention is depicted in  FIG. 2  in the top view from above, which permits even more operating modes. The collating apparatus  10 ′ in  FIG. 2  comprises two production lines  11   a,    13   a,    14   a  and  15   a  and  11   b ,  13   b,    14   b  and  15   b  of identical construction configured as a mirror image to one another, which are in mutual contact with one another at a single point via a diverter module  12 . 
         [0047]    Both production lines are subdivided respectively into a collecting section  11 , a first further processing section  13  and a second further processing section  15 . The two further processing sections  13  and  15  of the two production lines  11   a ,  13   a,    14   a  and  15   a  or  11   b ,  13   b,    14   b  and  15   b  are connected respectively by a conveyor  14   a  or  14   b.    
         [0048]    Arranged in turn parallel to one another in the collecting section  11  and capable of operation independently of one another are two collecting zones  11   a  and  11   b , which comprise two revolving conveyor belts  17  or comparable conveyor devices positioned close to one another ( FIG. 2 ), for example cam chains, on which compartments or depositing positions, for example, are defined at regular intervals, in which the individual printed products can be deposited for collection. The conveyor belts  17  guide the compartments or depositing positions past the delivery stations  19  arranged one after the other in the direction of feed, where a predetermined printed product is fed to them respectively by a feed device  18  ( FIG. 4 ). Once a single compartment has been moved past all the (active) delivery stations  19 , the printed products fed to the delivery stations  19 , as already described above, will have been gathered together therein as a collected product, which can then be fed for subsequent further processing. 
         [0049]    The feed devices  18  may be comparatively simple separators, for example, to which the respective printed product is fed from the outside by an operative in the form of stacks from a package pallet  16  ( FIG. 4 ), and which then separate the printed products by withdrawing them from the stack and deposit them flat on the conveyor belt of the associated collecting zone  11   a,b.    
         [0050]    Both collecting zones  11   a  and  11   b,  acting independently of one another, although coordinated with one another, dispense at their ends (on the right in  FIG. 1 ) collected products, the further processing of which is then determined by the selectable operating position of the following diverter module  12 . The diverter module  12  links the outlets from the two collecting zones  11   a  and  11   b  in the manner of a track switch. Fundamentally three different diverter positions are possible in this case. In the first diverter position, the collected products from the lower collecting zone  11   a  are added upwards to the collected products of the upper collecting zone  11   b , so that a third collected product is created from both of these collected products, which is further processed as a collected product. 
         [0051]    In the second diverter position, the collected products from the lower collecting zone  11   a  and from the upper collecting zone  11   b  are fed separately for further processing and are further processed separately there. 
         [0052]    In the third diverter position, the collected products from the upper collecting zone  11   b  are added downwards to the collected products from the lower collecting zone  11   a , so that a fourth collected product is created from both of these collected products, which is further processed as a collected product. 
         [0053]    The diverter position in this case can remain constant for a succession of collected products, although it can also be modified or switched selectively during continuing operation, in order to produce different collected products alternately. 
         [0054]    This results in an exceptionally flexible and versatile collating system, which operates in parallel in the case of small collected products and can provide high throughputs or complex, large and differing collected products, in return for a comparatively low equipment-related space requirement, by collating two collecting zones disposed adjacent to one another. 
         [0055]    In the illustrative embodiment in  FIG. 2 , the further processing of the collected products in the further processing section  13  in separate further processing apparatuses  13   a  and  13   b  again comprises the fixing of the formed collected products with a wrapper, in particular in the form of a wrapped further printed product, or an adhesive tape (Tapefix) fixing element, the fixing elements being fed to the apparatus from the outside in the form of stacks or being drawn from a roll ( FIG. 5 ). 
         [0056]    For subsequent further processing in the further processing section  15 , the fixed collected products are conveyed onwards via two separate conveyors  14   a  and  14   b  to stacking devices  15   a  and  15   b,  where the final packing (binding, film wrapping, paletization, etc.) is carried out. The end result is package pallets  16 ′, which can be transported to the distributors. 
         [0057]    An even greater degree of flexibility is achieved if, according to the illustrative embodiment depicted in  FIG. 3 , the collating apparatus  10 ″ comprises a diverter module  12 , which is configured as a double switch having two partial modules  12   a  and  12   b  arranged one after the other. 
         [0058]    Whereas the other parts of the collating apparatus  10 ″ are identical in respect of the arrangement and function of the collating apparatus  10 ′ in  FIG. 2 , an operating mode can be realized with the help of the partial modules  12   a  and  12   b  of the diverter module, in which the collected products from the two collecting zones  11   a  and  11   b  are collated by the first partial module  12   a  in the diverter module  12  into a third collected product, and the product stream from the third collected products is then divided immediately afterwards in the following partial module  12   b  into two partial streams, which are then processed further separately in the further processing sections  13   a,    14   a,    15   a  or  13   b,    14   b,    15   b.    
         [0059]    Such an operating mode makes sense, for example, if the stacking devices  15   a  and  15   b  only permit limited stack heights. As a result of the division into partial streams, both stacking devices  15   a  and  15   b  can then be uniformly loaded without being restricted by the height of the stack. 
         [0060]    It is also conceivable in this connection to utilize a fixing device between the two partial modules  12   a  and  12   b,  which already undertakes the above-mentioned fixing to the collected products before the division into partial streams.