DESTACING DEVICE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NOTEBOOKS

Abstract

D estacker device for manufacturing notebooks The present invention relates to a destacker device (1) arranged to destacker sheets from a stack towards a receptacle provided with a partially closed longitudinal end, characterized in that it comprises at least: - drive means 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, comprising at least: - a guide arm extending at least partly outside the destacker device and pivotally mounted between a "waiting" position and a "feed" position, and vice versa, and - a lifting arm pivotally mounted on said guide arm and on an eccentric. Fig 1

Description

Title of the invention: DESTACING DEVICE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF NOTEBOOKS Technical field of the invention

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

[0002] In the field of manufacturing booklets, it is known to use a manufacturing line having the following functionalities: - sorting and marriage function; - creation of the notebook; - assembly of the notebook; - printing the envelope; - putting the camet(s) in envelopes; - postage of the envelope, and; - binning by destination and type of shipment.

[0003] For this, this production line comprises, in a conventional manner, three poles: - a "printing" unit which prints and cuts the sheets, the sheets being presented on boards, for example, of 10 sheets, - a "sorting and marriage" pole, the marriage consisting of bringing together the sheets of the same order for all types of sheets, and - a "shipping" center which, after grouping the sheets of the same order, puts them into a notebook for shipment to the customer, each notebook being assembled by the classic installation of two staples.

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

[0005] Furthermore, this type of production line for sorting, matching and preparing checkbooks for shipping is not or only slightly modular. The lack of modularity is a major drawback, because it is particularly interesting to be able to modulate the production line according to the investment volumes required for the production and manufacturing of the line as a whole. Summary of the invention

[0006] The aim of the present invention is therefore to propose a destacker device for a label booklet manufacturing line making it possible to automate the sorting and matching operations while guaranteeing the presentation quality of said booklets, but also said label booklet manufacturing line aiming to optimize the assembly process of the booklets of sheets.

[0007] In accordance with the invention, there is therefore proposed a destacking device arranged to destack sheets from a stack towards a receptacle provided with a partially closed longitudinal end, remarkable in that it comprises at least: - drive means for driving a sheet along a defined path from the stack to the exit of the unstacker device where said sheet is ejected towards the inside of the receptacle, said path generally following a horizontal direction D, and - a guide means for guiding each ejected sheet towards the inside of the receptacle and abutting against its partially closed longitudinal end, and in that said guide means comprises at least: - a guide arm extending at least partly outside the unstacker device and pivotally mounted at one of its ends on the latter around a horizontal axis perpendicular to the direction D between a "waiting" position in which its free end is arranged above the receptacle and a "feed" position in which its free end is arranged inside the receptacle, and vice versa, and - a lifting arm pivotally mounted at one of its ends on said guide arm around a horizontal axis perpendicular to direction D and at the other of its ends on an eccentric around a horizontal axis perpendicular to direction D, said eccentric being pivotally mounted on the unstacker device around a horizontal axis between two stops corresponding respectively to the "wait" and "feed" positions of the lifting arm, and vice versa.

[0008] Advantageously, when unstacking a series of several sheets, the guide arm pivots between its "feed" position and an intermediate position located between its "wait" and "feed" positions.

[0009] The guide arm preferably comprises at least one belt stretched between a drive roller driving said belt and a receiving roller.

[0010] The unstacker device advantageously comprises at its outlet a guide extending generally horizontally outwards and guiding the ejected sheet towards the guide means.

[0011] The present invention also relates to a notebook manufacturing line which is remarkable in that it comprises at least: - a horizontal conveyor table equipped with a first row and a second rows parallel to each other and each having n adjacent locations, and each receiving n-1 receptacles arranged against each other; - first and second displacement means 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 in a loop; - a feed 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 being arranged along the first row of the conveyor table, each notebook being made up of at least one of the sheets coming from one of the stacks.

[0012] Advantageously, each receptacle is fixed on a carriage resting on the conveyor table and has a U-shaped cross-section and then comprising a bottom and two lateral edges extending vertically and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the conveyor table, one of the longitudinal ends of said receptacle is at least partly closed, in a removable manner, by a hatch pivotally mounted on the lateral edges around 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 carriage so that its at least partly closed longitudinal end is lower than the other longitudinal end and oriented on the side opposite the feed module.

[0013] According to a preferred embodiment, the first displacement means comprise a first pusher arranged transversely to the first row of the conveyor table and making it possible to translate the receptacle located at the end of said first row towards the second row of the conveyor table, and a second pusher arranged longitudinally to the second row and making it possible to translate the receptacle located at the end of said second row towards the adjacent location, and the second displacement means comprise a first pusher arranged transversely to the second row and making it possible to translate the receptacle located at the end of said second row towards the first row, and a second pusher arranged longitudinally to the first row of the conveyor table and making it possible to translate the receptacle located at the end of said first row towards the adjacent location.

[0014] The stack of the storage module is associated with a telescopic clamp capable of gripping a constituted notebook placed in the receptacle located on the first row of the table. conveying opposite said storage module, said telescopic clamp deploying so as to engage in recesses provided in the hatch and in the longitudinal end of said receptacle receiving the hatch.

[0015] Advantageously, the notebook manufacturing line comprises one or more control stations arranged at one of the longitudinal ends of said conveyor table and equipped with at least one Human-Machine interface composed of at least one touch screen, and / or a control console equipped in particular with an emergency stop button. Brief description of the figures

[0016] Other advantages and characteristics will emerge more clearly from the following description of an embodiment of the invention with reference to the appended figures in which:

[0017] [Fig-1] is a perspective view of a production line for booklets of sheets comprising a destacker device, according to the invention,

[0018] [Fig.2] is an enlarged partial top view of the booklet manufacturing line of [Fig.l],

[0019] [Fig.3] is a partial enlarged view of detail B of [Fig.l],

[0020] [Fig.4] is a partial perspective view of a destacker device of [Fig.3].

[0021] [Fig.5] is a side view of the unstacker device of [Fig.4] in the "ali" position mentation",

[0022] [Fig.6] is a side view of the unstacker device of [Fig.4] in the "waiting" position. Description of the embodiments

[0023] In Figures 1 and 2, there is shown, in accordance with the invention, a production line 1 for booklets of sheets, for example of the self-adhesive or iron-on label type, tickets, discount vouchers 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 provided with 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 displacement means 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 in a loop; - a power supply 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 stacking device 10; - a storage module 11 for notebooks comprising a stack 12 of notebooks and being arranged along the first row 3 of the conveyor table 2, each notebook being made up of at least one of the sheets coming from one of the stacks 8.

[0024] Furthermore, the production line 1 may advantageously comprise one or more control stations 13 arranged at one of the longitudinal ends of said conveyor table 2 and provided with at least one Human-Machine Interface, hereinafter referred to as HMI, composed of at least one touch screen 14, and / or a control console 15 provided in particular with an emergency stop button 16, the activation of which results in the immediate stopping of all the moving parts of said production 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.

[0025] The HMI further comprises a control of the type, for example, a control button for starting / stopping the notebook production line 1. Activation / deactivation of the HMI control causes all of the actuators of the notebook production line 1 to be started or stopped.

[0026] The power supply module 7, the storage module 11 and the control station(s) 13 and the control desk 15 are advantageously secured, in a removable manner, to the conveyor table 2, so that they can be dismantled for replacement or use on another production line.

[0027] Each receptacle 5 is advantageously fixed on a carriage 17 resting on the horizontal conveyor table 2 and has a U-shaped cross-section and then comprising a bottom 18 and two lateral edges 19 extending vertically. The receptacles 5 are arranged on the conveyor table 2 in such a way that their lateral edges 19 are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the first and second rows 3, 4 of the conveyor table 2. In addition, one of the longitudinal ends of the receptacle 5 is at least partly closed, in a removable manner, by a hatch 20 pivotally mounted on the lateral edges 19 about a pivot axis perpendicular to the latter. Furthermore, the hatch 20 is associated with return means, not shown, tending to bring it back into a position where it closes the corresponding longitudinal end of the receptacle 5.In addition, said receptacle 5 is fixed inclined on the carriage 17 so that its longitudinal end at least partly closed provided with the hatch 20 is lower than the other longitudinal end and oriented on the side opposite the supply module 7. This position inclined relative to the horizontal allows the sheets 9 to come naturally to bear the longitudinal end at least partly closed and therefore against the hatch 20.

[0028] The first displacement means 6 comprise a first pusher 21 arranged transversely to the first row 3 of the conveyor table 2 and making it possible to translate the receptacle 5 located at the end of said first row 3 to the second row 4, and a second pusher 22 arranged longitudinally to the second row 4 of the conveyor table 2 and making it possible to translate the receptacle 5 located at the end of said second row 4 to the adjacent location.

[0029] The second displacement means 6' are similar to the first displacement means 6 previously described and comprise a first pusher 21' arranged transversely to the second row 4 of the conveyor table 2 and making it possible to translate the receptacle 5 located at the end of said second row 4 to the first row 3, and a second pusher 22' arranged longitudinally to the first row 3 of the conveyor table 2 and making it possible to translate the receptacle 5 located at the end of said first row 3 to the adjacent location.

[0030] Conventionally, the movement means 6, 6' are advantageously associated with presence detectors, not shown, such as, for example, infrared barriers or proximity sensors, and control members, not shown, such as, for example, On / Off switches.

[0031] In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the manufacturing line 1 according to the invention, the feed module 7 comprises a row of 18 stacks 8 of sheets 9 each associated with a destacker device 10. However, it goes without saying that the number of stacks 8 may vary according to the user's needs, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0032] With reference to Figures 3 to 6, each unstacker device 10 of the feed module 7 comprises drive means 23 making it possible to drive a sheet 9 along a defined path from the associated stack 8 to the outlet of the unstacker device 10 where said sheet 9 is ejected towards the inside of the receptacle 5 arranged on the second row 4 of the conveyor table 2 opposite said stack 8, said path generally following a horizontal direction D.

[0033] In the context of the present application, the term "defined path" refers to the path that the drive means 23 make each sheet 9 follow under normal conditions of use of the unstacker device 10.

[0034] Conventionally, the drive means 23 of the unstacker device 10 consist of a plurality of rollers 24 and belts 25 and are intended to cause the sheet 9 to travel the path defined inside the unstacker device 10.

[0035] However, to prevent the sheets 9 from being ejected outside the corresponding receptacle 5, the unstacker device 10 comprises, at its outlet, a guide means making it possible to guide each ejected sheet 9 towards the inside of the corresponding receptacle 5 so as to come to bear against its opposite longitudinal end, correspondingly provided with the trapdoor 20.

[0036] Said guiding means comprises: - a guide arm 26 extending at least partly outside the unstacker device 10 and pivotally mounted at one of its ends on the latter about a horizontal axis 27 perpendicular to the direction D between a "waiting" position in which its free end is arranged above the receptacle 5 (Cf. [Fig.6]) and a "feed" position in which its free end is arranged inside the receptacle 5 (Cf. [Fig.5]), and vice versa, and - a lifting arm 28 pivotally mounted 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 pivotally mounted on the unstacker device 10 about a horizontal axis 32 between two stops 33, 34 corresponding respectively to the "standby" and "feed" positions of the lifting arm 28, and vice versa.

[0037] The guide arm 26 further comprises at least one belt 35 stretched between a motor 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 to bear against the hatch 20 of said receptacle 5.

[0038] Furthermore, each unstacker device 10 advantageously comprises at its outlet a guide 38 extending generally horizontally outwards and guiding the ejected sheet 9 towards the guide means to guarantee the effectiveness of the unstacking.

[0039] Furthermore, when unstacking a series of several sheets 9 from the same stack 8, the guide arm 26 pivots between its "feed" position and an intermediate position located between its "waiting" and "feed" positions. Thus, when the first sheet 9 of the series is ejected, the guide arm 26 pivots from its "waiting" position to its "feed" position, then pivots in the opposite direction to its intermediate position before the ejection of the next sheet 9, and returns to its "feed" position at the time of ejection of the next sheet 9, and so on until the last sheet 9 of the series. Once the last sheet 9 has been ejected, the guide arm 26 returns to its "waiting" position. This configuration makes it possible to accelerate the unstacking rate and to increase the efficiency of the unstacker device 10 according to the invention.

[0040] Each stack 8 of the supply module 7 is advantageously equipped with a level detector, not shown, to warn an operator of a supply shortage of a type of sheets 9. In the event of a supply shortage of one or more sheets 9, a light and / or sound signal, mentioned later, is emitted and a message or a pop-up window appears on the screen 14 of the HMI of the control stations 13. The rupture of one or more sheets 9 does not cause the operation of the booklet production line 1 to stop until the missing sheet(s) 9 are needed. Restocking one or more missing sheets 9 causes then the detection of availability of said missing sheets 9 and a return to nominal operation of the notebook production line 1 without acknowledgment of the fault by the operator.

[0041] Advantageously, the power supply module 7 further comprises a plurality of sensors for: - a detection of double sheets 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 feed 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 information capture (essential element for controlling the sequence of sheets 9) allowing to analyze a set of data on sheet 9 being fed to a receptacle 5 constituting an order, this extracted information being sent in real time to the HMI of the control stations 13 controlling the monitoring of each order, there is then a bidirectional control mechanism between said HMI (logical aspect) and the feeding module 7 (physical aspect), and - a graphic printing option, preferably programmable, allowing the personalization of the sheet such as, for example, the marking of a QR code on the back of the booklet used as a control tag at the time of putting in a postal envelope.

[0042] As described above, the notebook manufacturing line 1 also comprises a notebook storage module 11 provided with a stack 12 of notebooks arranged along the first row 3 of the conveyor table 2, each notebook being made up of at least one of the sheets 9 coming from one of the stacks 8.

[0043] The stack 12 is associated with a telescopic gripper capable of gripping a formed booklet placed in the receptacle 5 located on the first row 4 of the conveyor table 2 opposite the storage module 11. To grip the formed booklet, said telescopic gripper deploys so as to engage in recesses, not shown, arranged in the hatch 20 and in the longitudinal end of said receptacle 5 receiving the hatch 20, grips the formed booklet, retracts to remove the latter from the corresponding receptacle 5 by pivoting said hatch 20 of the latter, and places the gripped booklet at the top of the stack 12. The books will then be evacuated 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.

[0044] The storage module 11 for the notebooks advantageously comprises a light indicator, not shown, indicating the operating status of the notebook production line 1 as a function of the following lights: - the green color corresponding to a nominal operating mode of the line of manufacturing 1 of notebooks; - the orange color corresponding to an operating mode in which the storage module 11 of constituted notebooks is almost full; - the red color corresponding to a blocked operating mode requiring operator intervention.

[0045] Said indicator light of the storage module 11 operates in relation to the HMI of the control stations 13, thus the transition from one operating mode of the notebook production line 1 to another causes the appearance of a message or a pop-up window on the screen 14 of said HMI.

[0046] The unstacker device 10 according to the invention finds a particular application for unstacking a stack 8 of sheets 9 from a feed module 7 of a notebook manufacturing line 1, but it goes without saying that it could be adapted for unstacking objects other than sheets.

[0047] Finally, it goes without saying that the examples of unstacker device 10 and manufacturing line 1 of notebooks in accordance with the invention which have just been described are only particular illustrations, in no way limiting of the invention.

Claims

Claims

1. Unstacker device (1) arranged to unstack sheets (9) from a stack (8) towards a receptacle (5) provided with a partially closed longitudinal end, characterized in that it comprises at least: - drive means (23) making it possible to drive a sheet (9) along a defined path from the stack (8) to the outlet of the unstacker device (10) where said sheet (9) is ejected towards the inside of the receptacle (5), said path generally following a horizontal direction D, and - a guide means making it possible to guide each ejected sheet (9) towards the inside of the receptacle (5) and in abutment against its partially closed longitudinal end,and in that said guide means comprises at least: - a guide arm (26) extending at least partly outside the unstacker device (10) and pivotally mounted at one of its ends on the latter about a horizontal axis (27) perpendicular to the direction D between a "waiting" position in which its free end is arranged above the receptacle (5) and a "feed" position in which its free end is arranged inside the receptacle (5), and vice versa, and - a lifting arm (28) pivotally mounted 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 pivotally mounted on the unstacker 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. Unstacker device (1) according to claim 1 characterized in that, during unstacking of a series of several sheets (9), the guide arm (26) pivots between its "feed" position and an intermediate position located between its "wait" and "feed" positions.

3. Unstacker device (1) according to any one of claims 1 or 2 characterized in that the guide arm (26) comprises at least one belt (35) stretched between a drive roller (36) driving said belt (35) and a receiving roller (37).

4. Unstacker device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3

5.

6. characterized in that it comprises at its outlet a guide (38) extending generally horizontally outwards and guiding the ejected sheet (9) towards the guide means. Manufacturing line (1) for notebooks characterized in that it comprises at least: - a horizontal conveyor table (2) provided with 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 displacement means (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 in a loop; - a feed 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) according to any one of claims 1 to 4; - a storage module (11) for notebooks comprising a stack (12) of notebooks and being arranged along the first row (3) of the conveyor table (2), each notebook being made up of at least one of the sheets (9) coming from one of the stacks (8). Manufacturing line (1) for notebooks according to claim 5 characterized in that each receptacle (5) is fixed on a carriage (17) resting on the conveyor table (2) and has a U-shaped cross section and then comprising a bottom (18) and two lateral edges (19) extending vertically and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the conveyor table (2), in that one of the longitudinal ends of the receptacle (5) is at least partly closed, in a removable manner, by a hatch (20) pivotally mounted on the lateral edges (19) about a pivot axis perpendicular to the latter, said hatch (20) being associated with return means tending to bring it back into a position where it closes the corresponding longitudinal end, and in that the receptacle (5) is fixed inclined on the carriage (17) so that its at least partly closed longitudinal end is lower than the other longitudinal end and oriented on the side opposite the power supply module (7).

7. Manufacturing line (1) for notebooks according to any one of claims 5 or 6 characterized in that the first displacement means (6) comprise a first pusher (21) arranged transversely to the first row (3) of the conveyor table (2) and making it possible to translate the receptacle (5) located at the end of said first row (3) towards the second row (4) of the conveyor table (2), and a second pusher (22) arranged longitudinally to the second row (4) and making it possible to translate the receptacle (5) located at the end of said second row (4) towards the adjacent location, and in that the second displacement means (6') comprise a first pusher (21') arranged transversely to the second row (4) and making it possible to translate the receptacle (5) located at the end of said second row (4) towards the first row (3),and a second pusher (22') arranged longitudinally in the first row (3) of the conveyor table (2) and making it possible to translate the receptacle (5) located at the end of said first row (3) towards the adjacent location.,

8. Manufacturing line (1) for notebooks according to any one of claims 6 or 7 characterized in that the stack (12) of the storage module (11) is associated with a telescopic gripper capable of gripping a constituted notebook placed 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 provided in the hatch (20) and in the longitudinal end of said receptacle (5) receiving the hatch (20).

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

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