Depiling device for making booklets

Abstract

The present invention relates to a destacking device (10) arranged to destack sheets (9) from a stack (8) towards a receptacle (5) provided with a partially closed longitudinal end, comprising at least: - drive means (23) for driving a sheet from the stack towards the inside of the receptacle, and - a guide means for guiding each ejected sheet towards the inside of the receptacle, remarkable in that said guide means comprises at least: - a guide arm (26) extending at least partly outside the destacking device and pivotally mounted between a "waiting" position and a "feed" position, and vice versa, and - a lifting arm (28) pivotally mounted on said guide arm and on an eccentric (30).

Description

Technical field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to the general field of printing. More specifically, it aims at a sorting / matching device for a production line of booklets of sheets of the type, for example, self-adhesive or heat-sealable labels, tickets or discount coupons, these booklets also being called checkbooks. State of the art

[0002] In the field of booklet manufacturing, it is known to use a production line with the following features: sorting and matching function; notebook creation; notebook assembly; envelope printing; inserting the notebook(s) into an envelope; postage on the envelope; and; placing in a tray by destination and type of shipment.

[0003] To achieve this, this production line comprises, in a classic manner, three components: a "printing" department which prints and cuts the sheets, the sheets being presented on sheets, for example, of 10 sheets, a "sorting and marriage" department, the marriage consisting of bringing together the sheets of the same order for all types of sheets, and a "shipping" department which, after grouping the sheets of the same order, makes the booklet for shipment to the customer, each booklet being assembled by putting in place, in the classic way, two staples.

[0004] This type of production line is certainly interesting, but it has the drawback of not being entirely efficient. Indeed, the sorting and matching operations are very time-consuming and require a lot of labor, with a significant potential risk of errors.

[0005] Furthermore, this type of production line for sorting, combining, and preparing checkbooks for shipment is not very modular. This lack of modularity is a major drawback, as it is particularly advantageous to be able to adapt the production line according to the investment required for its overall implementation and manufacturing.

[0006] CH 692 700 A5 discloses a depiling device according to the preamble of claim 1. Summary of the invention

[0007] The aim of the present invention is therefore to provide a destacking device for a label book manufacturing line which automates sorting and matching operations while ensuring the presentation quality of said booklets, but also said label book manufacturing line which aims to optimize the assembly process of the booklets of sheets.

[0008] According to the invention, a destacking device is therefore proposed, arranged to destack sheets from a stack into a receptacle having a partially closed longitudinal end, comprising at least: drive means enabling a sheet to be driven along a defined path from the stack to the exit of the destacker device where said sheet is ejected towards the interior of the receptacle, said path following overall a horizontal direction D, and a guiding means enabling each ejected sheet to be guided towards the interior of the receptacle and against its partially closed longitudinal end, remarkable in that said means of guidance includes at least: a guide arm extending at least partly outside the destacker device and pivotally mounted at one end on the latter around a horizontal axis perpendicular to the direction D between a "standby" position in which its free end is disposed above the receptacle and a "feeding" position in which its free end is disposed inside the receptacle, and vice versa, and a lifting arm pivotally mounted at one end on said guide arm around a horizontal axis perpendicular to the direction D and at the other end on an eccentric around a horizontal axis perpendicular to the direction D, said eccentric being pivotally mounted on the destacker device around a horizontal axis between two stops corresponding respectively to the "standby" and "feeding" positions of the lifting arm, and vice versa.

[0009] Advantageously, when unstacking a series of several sheets, the guide arm pivots between its "feeding" position and an intermediate position located between its "standby" and "feeding" positions.

[0010] The guide arm preferably includes at least one belt tensioned between a drive roller driving said belt and a receiver roller.

[0011] The destacker device advantageously includes at its exit a guide extending generally horizontally outwards and guiding the ejected sheet towards the guiding means.

[0012] The present invention also relates to a notebook manufacturing line remarkable in that it comprises at least: a horizontal conveyor table having a first row and a second row parallel to each other and each having n adjacent locations, and each receiving n-1 receptacles arranged against each other; first and second means of movement arranged respectively at each longitudinal end of said conveyor table to translate each receptacle from one location to an adjacent location or from one of the first and second rows to the other of the second and first rows in a single direction of movement so that each receptacle moves along a loop; a feeding module comprising a row of at most n-2 stacks of sheets, arranged next to each other and along the second row of the conveyor table and each associated with a destacker device according to the invention;a notebook storage module comprising a stack of notebooks and arranged along the first row of the conveyor table, each notebook consisting of at least one sheet from one of the stacks.

[0013] Advantageously, each receptacle is fixed on a trolley resting on the conveyor table and has a U-shaped cross-section comprising a bottom and two lateral edges extending vertically and perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the conveyor table, one of the longitudinal ends of said receptacle is at least partially closed, in a removable manner, by a hatch mounted pivoting on the lateral edges about a pivot axis perpendicular to the latter, said hatch being associated with return means tending to bring it back into a position where it closes the corresponding longitudinal end, the receptacle is fixed inclined on the trolley so that its longitudinal end at least partially closed is lower than the other longitudinal end and oriented on the side opposite the feeding module.

[0014] According to a preferred embodiment, the first means of movement include a first pusher disposed transversely to the first row of the conveyor table and allowing the receptacle located at the end of said first row to be translated to the second row of the conveyor table, and a second pusher disposed longitudinally to the second row and allowing the receptacle located at the end of said second row to be translated to the adjacent location, and the second means of movement include a first pusher disposed transversely to the second row and allowing the receptacle located at the end of said second row to be translated to the first row, and a second pusher disposed longitudinally to the first row of the conveyor table and allowing the receptacle located at the end of said first row to be translated to the adjacent location.

[0015] The stack of the storage module is associated with a telescopic gripper capable of grasping a booklet made up and placed in the receptacle located on the first row of the conveyor table opposite said storage module, said telescopic gripper extending so as to engage in recesses made in the hatch and in the longitudinal end of said receptacle receiving the hatch.

[0016] Advantageously, the notebook production line includes one or more control stations located at one of the longitudinal ends of said conveyor table and equipped with at least one Human-Machine interface consisting of at least a touch screen, and / or a control panel equipped in particular with an emergency stop button. Brief description of the figures

[0017] Other advantages and features will become clearer from the following description of an embodiment of the invention, with reference to the accompanying figures in which: [ Fig 1 ] is a perspective view of a line for manufacturing booklets of loose sheets comprising a destacking device, according to the invention, [ Fig 2 ] is a partial enlarged top view of the notebook production line of the figure 1 , [ Fig 3 ] is a partial enlarged view of detail B of the figure 1 , [ Fig 4 ] is a partial perspective view of a depiling device of the figure 3 . [ Fig 5 ] is a side view of the depiling device of the figure 4 in "power" position, [ Fig 6 ] is a side view of the depiling device of the figure 4 in "standby" position. Description of the implementation methods

[0018] On the Figures 1 And 2In accordance with the invention, a production line 1 for booklets of sheets, for example of the type self-adhesive or heat-sealable labels, tickets, discount coupons or even front or back covers of said booklets, the latter also being called checkbooks, said production line 1 comprising at least: a conveyor table 2 having a first row 3 and a second row 4 parallel to each other and each having n adjacent locations, and each receiving n-1 receptacles 5 arranged against each other; first and second means of movement 6, 6' arranged respectively at each longitudinal end of said conveyor table 2 to translate each receptacle 5 from one location to an adjacent location or from one of the first and second rows 3, 4 to the other of the second and first rows 4, 3 in a single direction of movement so that each receptacle 5 moves along a loop; a feeding module 7 comprising a row of at most n-2 stacks 8 of sheets 9, arranged next to each other and along the second row 4 of the conveyor table 2 and each associated with a destacker device 10;a storage module 11 of notebooks comprising a stack 12 of notebooks and being arranged along the first row 3 of the conveyor table 2, each notebook consisting of at least one of the sheets from one of the stacks 8. ;

[0019] Furthermore, the manufacturing line 1 may advantageously include one or more control stations 13 arranged at one of the longitudinal ends of said conveyor table 2 and equipped with at least one Human-Machine Interface, hereinafter referred to as HMI, consisting of at least one touch screen 14, and / or a control panel 15 equipped in particular with an emergency stop button 16 the activation of which causes the immediate stop of all moving parts of said manufacturing line 1 and the appearance of a message or a pop-up window on the screen 14 of the HMI of the control stations 13.

[0020] The HMI also includes a control such as, for example, a control button for starting / stopping the notebook production line 1. Activating / deactivating the HMI control starts or stops all the actuators of the notebook production line 1.

[0021] The power supply module 7, the storage module 11 and the control station(s) 13 and the control panel 15 are advantageously attached, in a removable manner, to the conveyor table 2, so that they can be disassembled for replacement or use on another production line.

[0022] Each receptacle 5 is advantageously fixed to a trolley 17 resting on the horizontal conveyor table 2 and has a U-shaped cross-section comprising a base 18 and two vertically extending lateral edges 19. The receptacles 5 are arranged on the conveyor table 2 such that their lateral edges 19 are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the first and second rows 3, 4 of the conveyor table 2. Furthermore, one of the longitudinal ends of the receptacle 5 is at least partially closed, in a removable manner, by a hatch 20 pivotally mounted on the lateral edges 19 about a pivot axis perpendicular to them. Moreover, the hatch 20 is associated with return means, not shown, tending to return it to a position where it closes the corresponding longitudinal end of the receptacle 5.Furthermore, the said receptacle 5 is fixed inclined on the carriage 17 so that its longitudinal end, at least partially closed and fitted with the hatch 20, is lower than the other longitudinal end and oriented on the opposite side to the power supply module 7. This inclined position relative to the horizontal allows the sheets 9 to naturally come to rest on the longitudinal end, at least partially closed, and therefore against the hatch 20.

[0023] The first means of movement 6 include a first pusher 21 arranged transversely to the first row 3 of the conveying table 2 and allowing the receptacle 5 located at the end of said first row 3 to be translated towards the second row 4, and a second pusher 22 arranged longitudinally to the second row 4 of the conveying table 2 and allowing the receptacle 5 located at the end of said second row 4 to be translated towards the adjacent location.

[0024] The second means of movement 6' are similar to the first means of movement 6 previously described and include a first pusher 21' arranged transversely to the second row 4 of the conveying table 2 and allowing the receptacle 5 located at the end of said second row 4 to be translated towards the first row 3, and a second pusher 22' arranged longitudinally to the first row 3 of the conveying table 2 and allowing the receptacle 5 located at the end of said first row 3 to be translated towards the adjacent location.

[0025] In a conventional manner, means of movement 6, 6' are advantageously associated with presence detectors, not shown, such as, for example, infrared barriers or proximity sensors, and control devices, not shown, such as, for example, On / Off switches.

[0026] Regarding the embodiment shown on the Figures 1 And2 of the manufacturing line 1 according to the invention, the power supply module 7 comprises a row of 18 stacks 8 of sheets 9 each associated with a destacker device 10. However, it is understood that the number of stacks 8 may vary according to the user's needs, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0027] With reference to figures 3 to 6 , each destacking device 10 of the feeding module 7 includes drive means 23 for driving a sheet 9 along a defined path from the associated stack 8 to the exit of the destacking device 10 where said sheet 9 is ejected towards the interior of the receptacle 5 arranged on the second row 4 of the conveying table 2 opposite said stack 8, said path following overall a horizontal direction D.

[0028] In the context of this application, the term "defined path" refers to the path that the drive means 23 make each sheet 9 follow under normal operating conditions of the depiling device 10.

[0029] In a conventional manner, the drive means 23 of the depiling device 10 consist of a plurality of rollers 24 and belts 25 and are intended to make the sheet 9 travel the path defined inside the depiling device 10.

[0030] However, to prevent the sheets 9 from being ejected outside the corresponding receptacle 5, the destacker device 10 includes, at its exit, a guiding means to guide each ejected sheet 9 towards the inside of the corresponding receptacle 5 so as to come to rest against its opposite longitudinal end, corresponding to the trapdoor 20.

[0031] The said guidance system comprises: a guide arm 26 extending at least partly outside the destacker device 10 and pivotally mounted at one of its ends on the latter around a horizontal axis 27 perpendicular to the direction D between a "standby" position in which its free end is disposed above the receptacle 5 (Cf. figure 6 ) and a "power supply" position in which its free end is arranged inside the receptacle 5 (Cf. figure 5 ), and vice versa, and a lifting arm 28 mounted pivotally at one of its ends on said guide arm 26 around a horizontal axis 29 perpendicular to the direction D and at the other of its ends on an eccentric 30 around a horizontal axis 31 perpendicular to the direction D, said eccentric 30 being mounted pivotally on the destacker device 10 around a horizontal axis 32 between two stops 33, 34 corresponding respectively to the "standby" and "feeding" positions of the lifting arm 28, and vice versa.

[0032] The guide arm 26 further includes at least one belt 35 stretched between a drive roller 36 driving said belt 35 and a receiving roller 37. With this specific configuration of the guide means, the guide arm 26 guides each ejected sheet 9 towards the inside of the receptacle 5 and the belt 35 brings said sheet 9 into contact with the hatch 20 of said receptacle 5.

[0033] Furthermore, each depiling device 10 advantageously includes at its exit a guide 38 extending generally horizontally outwards and guiding the ejected sheet 9 towards the guiding means to ensure the effectiveness of the depiling.

[0034] Furthermore, during the destacking of a series of several sheets 9 from the same stack 8, the guide arm 26 pivots between its "feeding" position and an intermediate position located between its "standby" and "feeding" positions. Thus, upon ejection of the first sheet 9 in the series, the guide arm 26 pivots from its "standby" position to its "feeding" position, then pivots in the opposite direction to its intermediate position before the ejection of the next sheet 9, and returns to its "feeding" position upon ejection of the next sheet 9, and so on until the last sheet 9 in the series. Once the last sheet 9 has been ejected, the guide arm 26 returns to its "standby" position. This configuration makes it possible to accelerate the destacking rate and increase the efficiency of the destacking device 10 according to the invention.

[0035] Each battery 8 of the power supply module 7 is advantageously equipped with a level detector, not shown, to warn an operator of a supply disruption of a type of sheet 9. In the event of a supply disruption of one or more sheets 9, a visual and / or audible signal, described later, is emitted, and a message or pop-up window appears on the screen 14 of the HMI of the control stations 13. The disruption of one or more sheets 9 does not cause the booklet production line 1 to stop operating until the missing sheet(s) 9 are needed. Replenishing the stock of one or more missing sheets 9 then triggers the detection of the availability of said missing sheets 9 and a return to normal operation of the booklet production line 1 without requiring the operator to acknowledge the fault.

[0036] Advantageously, the power supply module 7 also includes a plurality of sensors for: Double sheet detection 9: when duplicate sheets 9 are pushed into a receptacle 5, the incident is then signaled on the HMI of the control stations 13 by means of the light signal fixed on the power supply module 7, the booklet production line 1 is stopped, and an operator can thus check the contents of the receptacle 5 and validate according to several choices on said HMI, an image-based information capture (essential element for controlling the sequence of sheets 9) allowing analysis of a set of data on the sheet 9 being fed into a receptacle 5 constituting an order, this extracted information being sent in real time to the HMI of the control stations 13 controlling the tracking of each order, there is then a bidirectional control mechanism between said HMI (logical aspect) and the power supply module 7 (physical aspect), and a graphic printing option, preferably programmable,allowing for the personalization of the sheet, such as, for example, marking a QR code on the back of the booklet used as a control tag when inserting it into the mail.

[0037] As described above, the notebook production line 1 also includes a notebook storage module 11 equipped with a stack 12 of notebooks, and arranged along the first row 3 of the conveyor table 2, each notebook consisting of at least one of the sheets 9 from one of the stacks 8.

[0038] Stack 12 is associated with a telescopic gripper capable of grasping a completed booklet placed in the receptacle 5 located on the first row 4 of the conveyor table 2 opposite the storage module 11. To grasp the completed booklet, said telescopic gripper extends to engage in recesses, not shown, provided in the hatch 20 and in the longitudinal end of said receptacle 5 receiving the hatch 20, grasps the completed booklet, retracts to remove it from the corresponding receptacle 5 by rotating said hatch 20 of the latter, and places the grasped booklet at the top of stack 12. The booklets will then be conveyed to an assembly station, not shown, to be assembled, in a conventional manner, using at least two staples; said assembly station advantageously has a staple level sensor.

[0039] The storage module 11 for assembled booklets advantageously includes an indicator light, not shown, indicating the operating status of the booklet production line 1 according to the following lights: the colour green corresponds to a nominal operating mode of the production line 1 of booklets; the colour orange corresponds to an operating mode in which the storage module 11 of assembled booklets is almost full; the colour red corresponds to a blocked operating mode requiring the intervention of an operator.

[0040] The said indicator light of the storage module 11 works in relation to the HMI of the control stations 13, so the change in operating mode of the production line 1 of notebooks to another results in the appearance of a message or a pop-up window on the screen 14 of said HMI.

[0041] The destacking device 10 according to the invention finds a particular application for destacking a stack 8 of sheets 9 from a power supply module 7 of a booklet production line 1, but it goes without saying that it can be adapted to destacking other objects than sheets.

[0042] Finally, it goes without saying that the examples of the unstacking device 10 and the manufacturing line 1 of notebooks conforming to the invention which have just been described are only particular illustrations, in no way limiting of the invention defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. De-stacking device (1) designed to de-stack sheets (9) from a stack (8) into a receptacle (5) provided with a partially closed longitudinal end, including at least: - drive means (23) for driving a sheet (9) along a defined path from the stack (8) to the outlet of the de-stacking device (10) where said sheet (9) is ejected in the direction of the inside of the receptacle (5), said path substantially following a horizontal direction D, and - a guide means for guiding each sheet (9) ejected in the direction of the inside of the receptacle (5) and abutting against its partially closed longitudinal end, characterised in that said guide means comprises at least: - a guide arm (26) extending at least partially outside the de-stacking device (10) and mounted pivotably at one of its ends thereon about a horizontal axis (27) perpendicular to the direction D between a "wait" position in which its free end is disposed above the receptacle (5) and a "feed" position in which its free end is disposed inside the receptacle (5), and vice versa, and - a lifting arm (28) mounted pivotably at one of its ends on said guide arm (26) about a horizontal axis (29) perpendicular to the direction D and at the other of its ends on an eccentric (30) about a horizontal axis (31) perpendicular to the direction D, said eccentric (30) being mounted pivotably on the de-stacking device (10) about a horizontal axis (32) between two stops (33, 34) corresponding respectively to the "wait" and "feed" positions of the lifting arm (28), and vice versa.

2. De-stacking device (1) according to Claim 1 characterised in that, when a series of a plurality of sheets (9) is de-stacked, the guiding arm (26) pivots between its "feed" position and an intermediate position located between its "wait" and "feed" positions.

3. De-stacking device (1) according to either one of Claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the guide arm (26) has at least one belt (35) stretched between a drive roller (36) driving said belt (35) and a receiving roller (37).

4. De-stacking device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that it has, at its outlet, a guide (38) extending substantially horizontally outwards and guiding the sheet (9) ejected in the direction of the guide means.

5. Production line (1) for notebooks characterised in that it includes at least: - a horizontal conveyor table (2) equipped with a first row (3) and a second row (4) parallel to each other, each having n adjacent positions, and each receiving n-1 receptacles (5) arranged next to each other; - first and second displacement means (6,6') disposed respectively at each longitudinal end of said conveyor table (2) to translate each receptacle (5) from one position to an adjacent position or from one of the first and second rows (3, 4) to the other of the second and first rows (4, 3) in a single displacement direction so that each receptacle (5) moves along a loop; - a supply module (7) comprising a row of at most n-2 stacks (8) of sheets (9), disposed next to each other and along the second row (4) of the conveyor table (2) and each associated with a de-stacking device (10) according to any one of Claims 1 to 4; - a notebook storage module (11) comprising a stack (12) of notebooks and being disposed along the first row (3) of the conveyor table (2), each notebook consisting of at least one of the sheets (9) coming from one of the stacks (8).

6. Production line (1) for notebooks according to Claim 5, characterised in that each receptacle (5) is fixed to a carriage (17) resting on the conveyor table (2) and has an U-shaped cross-section comprising a base (18) and two side edges (19) extending vertically and perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the conveyor table (2), in that one of the longitudinal ends of the receptacle (5) is at least partially closed off, removably, by a flap (20) mounted pivotably on the side edges (19) around a pivot axis perpendicular to them, said flap (20) being associated with return means tending to return it to a position where it closes the corresponding longitudinal end, and in that the receptacle (5) is fixed at an angle on the carriage (17) so that its at least partially closed longitudinal end is lower than the other longitudinal end and oriented towards the side opposite the supply module (7).

7. Production line (1) for notebooks according to either one of Claims 5 or 6, characterised in that the first displacement means (6) comprises a first pusher (21) arranged transversely to the first row (3) of the conveyor table (2) and allowing the receptacle (5) located at the end of said first row (3) to be translated to the second row (4) of the conveyor table (2), and a second pusher (22) arranged longitudinally to the second row (4) and allowing the receptacle (5) located at the end of said second row (4) to be translated to the adjacent position, and in that the second displacement means (6') comprise a first pusher (21') arranged transversely to the second row (4) and allowing the receptacle (5) located at the end of said second row (4) to be translated to the first row (3), and a second pusher (22') arranged longitudinally to the first row (3) of the conveyor table (2) and allowing the receptacle (5) located at the end of said first row (3) to be translated to the adjacent position.

8. Production line (1) for notebooks according to either one of Claims 6 or 7, characterised in that the stack (12) of the storage module (11) is associated with a telescopic gripper capable of grasping a notebook arranged in the receptacle (5) located on the first row (4) of the conveyor table (2) opposite said storage module (11), said telescopic gripper deploying so as to engage in recesses formed in the flap (20) and at the longitudinal end of said receptacle (5) receiving the flap (20).

9. Production line (1) for notebooks according to any one of Claims 5 to 7, characterised in that it has one or more control stations (13) arranged at one of the longitudinal ends of said conveyor table (2) and equipped with at least one Human-Machine interface consisting of at least one touch screen (14), and / or a control panel (15) provided in particular with an emergency stop button (16).

Images