Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~ 10 8 5~70
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qhis i~vention relates to machines for as~embling
,4 ~heet~ of laminar material ~uch as paper.
Such machine~ haYe been known for a long t me, and
they usually comprise in addition to a cha~si~ intended
to support the assembly of all the particular devices
constituting the machine itself:
- a certain number of receptacles, u~ually inclined
arranged beside each other, the assembly of the receptacles
being able to form either a horizontal battery, or an
oblique battery, each of the receptacles of the battery
being arran~ed to receive a packet of sheets, usually
!, identical~ intended to form a bundle of ~heets.
- a certain number of members intended to drive the
- upper sheet of each packet in each of the receptacle~,
the said drive being synchronous for all the receptacles.
- a collecting member, generall~ formed of one or
more parallel belts and driving in a continuous man~er
the ~heets leaving the receptacles, this drive usually
occuring with partial or total aùtomati¢ superposition
Or the sheets leaving the receptacles, the said sheets
being P~ranged in a train.
,
- a receiving member, receiving each train of sheets
at the end of the travel imposed on them b~ the collecting
member. ~he bundles of sheets thus formed are automatic-
9 25 ally ~uperposed on each with a small alternate and
systamatic shift made in one direction and then the other
;0 at the arrival of each new train.
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A machine of thi~ t~pe ha~ bee~ developed by the
- same applic~nt and de~cribed notably in the Belgium
Patent~ Nos 57769~ and 601747. Similar mQchines fulf~l
their function sati~factorily for bundle~ having a
relatively large number of ~heeta.
~i It has become nece~sary to increase the productivit~
o~ these machines and also their reliability of operation.
These two ¢onditions appear prima facie completely
lndepe~dent, but a¢count must be taken of the fa¢t that
`~l 10 in a machine with a high produ¢tion rate, the periods of
;, time whi¢h are allo¢ated to the members ensuring the
~l reliability of operation are reduced, in ord~r to allow
; them to effe¢tly carry out all the necessary movements.
It i8 thus necessar~ to modify completely these members,
for example by redu¢ing their own inertia, which redu¢es
~;i the time necessary to set them in motion. Besides, an
increase in the production mean3 an increa~e in the
displacement speed of all the mo~able members of the
ma¢hine, to a speed at which the usual reliability members
cannot fu~tion effe¢ti~ely. ~he same problem occurs in
~;l7 a certain manner for the sheets whi¢h are to be as~embled,which must be able to be moved rapidly at high speed
without ru~ning the risk of being torn, folded or crumpled.
q~ A It follows therefore that the in¢reased~d~nd~ of the
user ¢an cause by their presen¢e a ¢ertain number of problems
in a machine which, in normal operation would not happen.
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~he present invention ha3 for its ob~ect a machine
~or assembling ~heet~ in bundles, provided with
~S improvements which allow the above mentioned problem~ to
be resolved in an afficient manner and con~equently which
- 5 allow the productivity and the reliability o~ operation to
be incxea~ed at the same time. ~he two aspects of the
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~i~ problem to be resolved by the invention will be described
~l in turn. It must be remembered that the solutions adopted
to increase the produ¢tivit~ ha~e an influence on the
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`~ 10 nature of ~olution~ to be adopted to increase the
reliability and vice versa.
A.- Productivit~
~ ~he productivit~ of a machine ~uch as an assembler
r','. Of the type de~cribed in the above me~tioned document can
be conceived in terms of speed of operation, and in thi~
~ense, its increa3e require~ as ha~ alread~ been said
above, an increa~e in the speeds of movement of the
members, and a reduction of their own inertia. It seems
that under thi~ aspect, a certain limit exists owing to
i 20 the nature of the sheets to be moved, whlch when they
are thin, are usuall~ folded or oxumpled, and cannot
i accomodate these high speed~ without risk Or tearing.
t~ ~he productivit~ of an assembler can also be
~,'.,tj~ conceived in terms of "the coefficient of use" and in
this ~ense, the u~e does not mean~ exclusively the making
of the bundle for which the number of sheets is near or,,~.,
equal to the maximum capacity of the machine in question.
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- 10 85~70
I~ this light, the problem of increase of the
productivity hasi ~n aspect completely dif~ere~t from that
of the simple increase of the rate of operation of the
machine. In other words, one of the problems to which
the present i~vention provides a solution c~n be put in
1 the following ter~s.
;`1 A ma~hine of the type described above and comprising
. . .
for example 20 receptacles will be considered. ~hi8
machine i8 deæigned to form bundles containing 20 sheets
1 10 at the maximum. If it is required to form, by means of
this machine, sheets containing for example 7 to 10 sheets,
i.e., half at the most of the nominal capacity of the
machine, a part of this machine will be unused during
the formation of the bundle by means of its other part.
In effect, while the 7 to 10 recepta¢les are really
occupied and serve effectively to form bundles, the reæt
of the machine rests idle without being used at this
moment and this constitutes an i~co~testable disadvantage
from the point of view of the p~oductivity of the machine.
, ~. .
In order to find a solution to this di~advantage,
different propositions have alxeady been imagined with
~i various results-
.,~
It has notably been e~visaged to rearrange the capacity
of the machines (i.e. the number of their receptacles) in
order to be able to form bundles containing a smaller
number of sheets, without having to regort to machines of
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1C~85770
too graat capacity~ This manner of proceeding ha~ another
disadvantage, i.a. the increase i~ i~vestment and the
complication of the tasX of the operator~ when a bundle
must be formed for which the number~or sheets exceeds
the capacity of the available machines. In thi~ case
recourse mu~t be had to several machine~ to form a
single bundle.
Another device already proposed to remedy this
disadvantage consists in arranging tho assembly of
;s 10 receptacles of the machine in two distinct groups, each
comprising one half of the receptacles Or the machine,
and ea¢h group being set in motion in turn i.e.
~' alternatively one then the other.
.,
~here remains however the di~advantage of only
i 15 allowing the àssembly of bundles of a number of sheets
of less than half total number of receptacles of the
machine, this being due to the time shift between the
, 1
movements of the two group~. ~esides, the resetting in
sgnchronism of the two groups to be able to make use of
the full capacity of the machine ¢ould only be done with
difficl-1ty, and without guarantee of a truly perfect
8ynchronization.
Ac¢ord~ng to the present invention there is provided
a machine for as~smbling sheet~ of laminar material ~uch
l 25 as paper in bundles, compri~ing: a certain number of
;~ receptacles arra~ged parallel or subætantially parallel
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108Si70
- with each other, the receptacle~ being partially or
"A~ totally arranged beside each other or above each other,
each receptacle intended to receive a certain ~um~er of
sheets arranged in packet~ and each having to form part
~3~ 5 of one of the bundles to be assembled; as many member~
each intended to drive the upper ~heet Or one o~ the packets
situated in the receptacle; and a collecti~g member for
the ~heets which have partially le~t their receptacle,
owing to the action of the said dri~e memberæ; the drive
members being divided in to at least two group~, all the
members of a same group being set in motion symultaneously
. and sub~ected to reciprooatory motion by an appropriate~
control member.
~he different groups can thus be provided with a ::
synchronous motion if need be, in order to allow for the
. ~ provision of bundles for which the number of sheets can
equal that of all the receptacles of the machine or that
of the drive members of two or more of the thus formed
groups .
According to another advantageous variant of the
invention, the above described device comprises in
addition a member allowing each group to be shirted
relative to the other, so that, when all the sheets of
a group~ each driven by its own drive means~ have left
their receptacles under the action of the collecting
member of the machine, the sheets of another group are
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; immediately available for their drive by the same
collecting member without an~ ~hift in time.
~n this ma~qer, there is practicall~ no interruption
in time between the collection of the different train of
sheet~, each provided successively by it~ particular
group. Ths speed of the machine can thus be increàsed and
its capacity can be used at its maximum or nearly,
whatever be the ~umber of ~hects contained in the bundle
to be assembled, this number being able, be~ides, to be
modified without disad~antage.
This advantage can be obtained by controlling the
different groups or drive member~ by means of cams of
appropriate 3hape, set in rotation by the motor of the
machine by means of suitably arranged clutches.
Owing to this cam device, it i8 possible to adjust
the moment when the sheets of a group must be driven
~ollowing the sheets of the preceding OE oup. It goes
without saying that the cams can be replaced by any other
device fulfilling effectivel~ the same role in the same
way.
The invention will now be described in more detail,
by way of example only, with reference to the a¢¢ompan~ing
drawings, in which:-
~igure 1 shows diagrammatically a longitudinal
vertical section of a machine provided with a device
according to the invention, and ailowing the setting in
!' motion ~ynchronously of two groups of drive members of
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sheets out of their respective receptacle.
Figure 2 shows diagrammatically, in longitudinal vertical
section a part of the machine provided with a device of the inven-
tion, showing how the starting moment of the lifting members of a
group can be modified.
Figure 3 shows in plan view a part of the machine shown
in Figure 2.
- Figures 4 and 5 show details of Figure 3.
Figure 6 shows, in section, the leading end of a drive
member of the device in a drive position.
Figure 7 shows the leading end of the drive member in
the return position.
Figure 8 is a plan view of the stirrup.
Figure 9 is an end view of the stirrup.
Figure 10 is a block diagram of the present invention.
Figure 11 is an enlarged view of the cam of Figure 1.
Figure 12 is a diagram of displacement versus angle of
rotation for the cam of Figure 1.
In all these figures the same reference numeralsrepresent
the same parts.
In Figure 1, the chassis supporting the assembly of the
machine is reference 1, and machine comprises a certain number of
receptacles 2, each provided with a base 3 having a notch for
allowing a drive member 4 to pass, which on one side rests at 5
on the upper sheet of the packet of sheets 6 located in the t
receptacle in question, and on the other side rests at 7 on an
appropriate articulation on a rod 8. This rod 8 remains horizontal
(according to any means known in itself) during the reciprocatory
movement (here an up and down movement) following the arrow 9,
a movement which is imparted to it by means of a cam 10. The cam
10 rotates about its horizontal axes 11 under the control of the
toothed wheel 12, the chain 13 and the motor-reducer 14.
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085~7
~bove the battery of receptacles 2, a set of belts 15
are located which move continuously in the direction of the arrow
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16, its lower portion passing between two
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85770
series of roller~ 17 and 18 and drivin~ the uppsr sheet~
- of the pAckets of the receptacles when the~e have partially
i~ left their respective receptacle, each under the action
Or its drive member~
~t can immediately be ~een that all the sheets to
which the drive members are dependent on the same rod 8
leave their receptacle at the same time and are driven
i~ a sing1e train by the belt 15. ~he machine comprises,
in addition, a second rod 19 for which the role i8
identical to that of the rod 8, but for which the movement
i~ dependent on the cam 20. ~his cam 20 rotates about
its axis 21 itself set in rotation by a pinion 22,
through the intermediary of an electro mag~etic clutch
diagrammatically shown inside the circle 23. The pinion
22 i8 controlled in turn by the chain 24 and the pinion
25 fixed on the shaft 11.
It can be seen straight-away that the time shift
between the reoiprocatory movement of the two rods 8
-:: and 19 depends on the relati~e angular displacement of the
two cams 10 and 20 about their respecti~e axis. Owing
to the presence of the clutch 23, which in an ad~antageous
embodiment, can b0 set in its engaged position not only
with a well determined angular displacement between the
cam8 10 and 20, but also with an adjustable angular
displacement, either in a continuous manner, or in a
. discontinuous man~er, this ~hift can be modified at will
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108~70
; withou~ any difficult~, which al80 allows to be regulated,
at will nnd in any manner, the Yalue of the time shift of
the movement of the rods 8 and 19 and therefore the
corre~ponding drive member~ 4 and finally that of the
sheets.
Figures 4 and 5 show an embodiment of an electro
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magnetic clutch allowing at any moment, owing to the
control electro magnet 26, the cam 20 to be rotated at
, the ~ame time as the cam 10.
i 10 Ihis clutch operates as follows: the toothed wheel
¦ 2~ idle~ about the shaft 21 without being able to slide
on it, as does the abutment 27 with which it is integral.
,~ Thi8 abutment co~prises on its side adjacent the electro~
magnet 26 a certain number of cells 28 Judiciousl~
3 15 arranged around its periphery. ~he electro-magnet 26
~; through its axes 29, its arm 30 (which rotates about a
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f f~xed shaft 31),causes an abutment 32 provided with two
~ ears 33 a~d 34 to be displaced along the shaft 21~ the
;~ said abutment xotating with the said shaft 21 while being
j 20 able to slide along this latter. ~he end of the arm 30
1 ¢omprises a stud engaged between two ears 33 and 34. The~
i;!
~3 ear 34 carries on its external fa¢e a projection 35 which
¢a~ engage in one of the ¢ells of the abutment 27 when
the electro-ma~net is de-excited and when under the
`! 25 influence of the axial spring 36 the ear 34 is maintained
against the abutment 27 with the projection in a cell. In
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108S~70
- this position, the wheel 22 e~gage~ the ~haft 21 and
conseguently the cam 20. The ad~u~tment o~ thc ghift
between the cams 10 and 20 is carried out by choo~ing
in the abutment 27 the appropriate cell, and by
exciting the electro-magnet 26, which allows the abutment
~2 to be rotated relative to the abutment 27 until the
; projection 35 is rotated opposite the appropriate cell
(these in addition can be provided with an indicator
~pecif~ing the angular shift which each corresponds).
~he electro magnetic 26 is then de-excited. If a
continuous adjustment is required, use can be made, for
example, of a friction clutch which allows the coupling
with the abutment 27 at a~y angular ~hift.
With the above described device, the user can at
will use the two parts of the machine in synchroni~m or
not, with this important advantage that in the case of use
of the two parts not in synchronism, the Rpeed of the
machine can be substantially inareased owing to the
reduction in the dead period between the arrival of the
train~ relative to each of the two parts, a reduction
obtained b~ the ad~ustment of the cams 10 and 20 to the
most favourable position corresponding precisely to the
; maximum of the reduction of the said dead periods.
B.- Dependabilit~ and Reliabilit~
~he dependability and reliability of a machine of the
above described kind is understood in this sense that on
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108~770
the one hand the bl~dles thus produced cont~in effectively
all the sheets that they should contain and that the~ do
not contain an~ in double form and that on the other hand
the machine warns against such eventualities and that in
~ the cass where the~ are produced in spite of the
: precautions taken, a warning signal is emitted and the
machine automatically stops.
The control of the first of these conditions has
-: been, in a manner known in itself, up to the present time
obtained notably by means of an articulated shoe arxanged
at the leading end of the drive members. Such a shoe
has two special positions, i.e. that of the drive of the
upper sheet of one of the packetæ and that called pivoted
which the shoe takes up at the end of its drive movement
due to the ~ntervention of the driven sheet itself. In
this pivoted position, the shoe closes an electric contact
which is significant of the effective drive of the upper
sheet of the receptacle in question.
his device, although excellent in principle, can
in the long term, given the large number o~ times it is
¢alled into use, either have a certain mecha~ical wear,
or have a ~ertain difficulty of an electric nature,
pearled deformed or oxidized contacts etc.
I~ these eventualities, the assembler machine is no
longer warned again~t any risk of a missing sheet. The
operation of such a device can equally be perturbed by the
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1~857~0
presence of paper dust, or by the deposit o~ ink or an~
other cause which can prevent a clea~ contact between the
metal parts ensuring the openin~ and closing of the
electrical circuit put into service for this detection
operation.
The control of the second of these conditions, i.e.
the absence of doubles, is generally obtained by means of
a thickness detector in the mechanism, operating equally
an electric contact in the oase where a double or folded
sheet appears.
Such a mechanism is, as will be described later,
completed by a control "in ~itu", and used in electronic
oonnection with the device automating the detection
functions, thi3 device also being described later, and
forming part of the improvement, the object of the pre~ent
invention.
Accordi~g to the invention~ this improved device
comprises a particular type of drive member for the upper
sheet of each of the packets of sheets arranged in the
receptacles forming part of the as~embler machine. ~he
improvement relati~e to thi~ parti¢ular type of drive
member will be defined later in a more precise manner
after the description of an embodiment taken from the
figures hereinafter mentioned.
Figures 6 and 7 show an enlarged sketch of the
leading end of the drive mem~ers, in the drive position
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8S~70
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(Fig.6) and in the return position (~ig.7). Figure 8
shows a diaerammatic plan view of the end stirrup of the
and ~igure 9 shows an elevation view of this same
stirrup, a view according to the arrow ~7.
During the drive movement of the upper sheets of
the packet through the head 5, the said sheets are
clamped by their leading edge betwee~ the lower stxip~ of
the collecting belt 15 and a series Or rollers.18. ~he
drive of the sheets i~ effected in the direction of the
arrow 16, the assembly o~ sheets forming in a train, a
complete bundle being received at 38 at the end of the
machine in an appropriate receiving member.
In fi~ures 6 and 7, the packet of sheets axranged
in one of the receptacles for which the base is at 2 can
be seen in longitudinal section at 6. Figure 6 shows
the head 5 in the rising position (arro~ 37) and figure 7
~hows the head 5 in the.falling po3ition (arrow 39).
The head 5, fixed to the end of the metal stem 4,
~o~ ~ c 7~;~
i~ of a~nnrn~h~ n~ material 40 terminated at 41 by a
cylindrical end portion havin~ an axis 42 parallel to
that of the stem 4 and serving as a pivot of rotatlon for rD
a drive runner. ~his i3 formed by a stirrup 4~ pivoting
on the pivot 44 of a balance 45, itself capable of
pivoting about the end portion 41 owin~ to a hole 46
provided to this effect.
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10857~0
~he stirrup 43 has a window 47 allowing the passage
of a cylindrical drum 48 of uneven material, in one or
r more ~ections, and provided at its periphery with axial
teeth 49. This drum i8 fixed relative to the stirrup
and moves with it.
~he rear part of the stirrup is provided with an arm
50 supporting, fixed to its end, a magnetized pad 51.
~he rear of the head 5 has a hollow 52 in which are
fixedly recessed, a blade switch 53 its two ends having
electric connections 54 and 55 soldered to them. These
two connections are connected to the rest of the electric
device of the machine, through the stem 4 and the inside
; of the shape that they are fixed to. ~hese connections serve to signal the missing sheets.
Thus formed, this device operates as follows: during
the rising phase (~i~.6) the head 5 rests on the first
sheet of the packet by the rough drum 48. At the
- beginning of this rising movement, the complete stirrup
rotates about its axis (pivot 44) in the direction of
the arrow 56 until the magnet 51 contacts the lower face
of the hollow 52. At this moment, the magnet 51 presses it
the small plate 57 against the end of the small plate 58,
thus establishing an electric contact. Since these two
blade ends 57 and 58 are located inside a watertight
bulb 59, either under vacuum or under an atmosphere at
low pressure of an inert gas or without action on the
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1~ 8 5~r70
0 contac~ blades, this suppre&se~ an~ possibility of wear
of th¢ ~lade~ by repea~ed contact.
When the rotation of the ~tirrup i8 thus ~topped,
~` duc ~o
the drum 48 al~o stop~ and, fb~J~ the rising movement
~ 5 of the head 5, drive the sheet 60 of the packet upwards.
-i This drive lasts until the mament when the leading part
of the sheet ~0 is clamped b~ the collecting belt 15. ~t
~-~ this moment, each sheet 60 causes the rotation of the
drum 48 in the opposite direction to the arrow 56, the
pivoting of the stirrup 43 in the same opposite direction
and the separation of the magnetic 51 sufficiently far
fxom the bulb for the two blades 57 and 58 to be
separated ~rom each other, thus taking up their normal
position in the absence of any bias.
If, in one of the receptacles, a sheet happens not
to be driven, at the end of its risin~ journey, it will
not produce rotation of the corresponding stirrup and
the electric circuit of the stem remains closed, which
~ allows the operator to noti¢e the fault of operation of
;~ 20 the machine and to find the defective or empty re¢eptacle.
presence of a double sheet can be prevented
automatically in the following manner: the two sheets
which are supposed to be driven at the same time in a
~ame casing are pra¢ti¢ally never, in fa¢t, driven at the
2~ same moment. ~here is always a small time shift between
the begin~ings of the starting movements of the two
~heets; i.e. the upper sheet has during its displacement
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a certain advance relati~e to the underlying ~heet. It
follow~ that the rear portion of this underlyin~ sheet
-- extend~ beyond the rear portion of the upper sheet.
During its descending journey9 the ~tirrup 43 i~ the
; 5 pivoted po~ition as shown i~ Fig.7. At thi3 moment,
the arm 50 comes fir~t into contact with the rear of the
upper sheet which continues it~ rising ~ourney, since it
is clamped by the collectin~ belt. ~he arm 50 then
contacts the rear of the underlying sheet which it jams
between itself and the packet of ~heets. If at thi~
moment, the upper sheet i8 still in contact with the
drum 48, the friction which it exerts on the latter,
integral with the stirrup 43, will force it to rotate
about the axis of the spindles 44, which on the one hand
-- 15 tends to disengage the drum 48 from its contact with the
free upper sheet, and on the other hand, accentuates the
pressure of the arm 15 on the rear of the underlying
~heet. Ihis sheet, not only will no longer be able to
follow the upper sheet, but will also be constrained
to return the base of the receptacle under the drive
force of the arm 50 during its descending motion.
It should be noted that the cylindrical form of
the drum 48 allows a good contact between the teeth 49 and
the upper sheet of the packet to be ensured, from the
first sheet of the packet until the lRst.
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r
: ~t is now possible to define in a clear manner the
characteristics of this part of the i~vention.
The device which forms it and which will be
. described in an e~ample (~i~.6 to 9), is, in the general
: 5 scope of the assemblex machine already mentioned, provided
with a stem whose rear end is pro~ided with a linking
member, for example an articulation~ with the part of the
. machine which tran~mits its reciprocatory movement to it,
: and for which the leading end is provided with a friction
10 bearing articulated on the said end so as to be able to
rotate about an axes parallel or substantially parallel to
that of the st~m, and preferably close to this a~es and
furthermore about an axes substantially perpendicular to
the first mentioned axes.
~his device is essentially chara¢terized in that the
said slider comprises on the one hand a friction member of
rough material, integral with the said slider and
~: extending beyond the said slider on the sid2 remote from
the stem, so that in the contact positio~ Or tho stem on
the sheets, contact is established by the said friction
member, in that the said slider comprises, in addition,
: an i~tegral arm provided with a magnet preferably a
: permanent magnet, and in that the stem also comprises an
electric switch provided with two metal blades intended
: 25 to make contact with each other, the said blades being
~ arranged inside an electrically non-conducting bulb,
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the said bulb being fixed to the stem so that the said
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~08577C~
blades ~re or not in contact with ~ach other according to
the position of the magnet integral with the bearing and
turning with it.
According to an advantageous variant of this device,
S the bulb containing the two contact~ is either sealed at
; preferably low pressure, with an inert gas vi~-a-vis the
metal contacts, or is sealed under vacuum. ~his variant
allows an exceptionally high number of operations to be
ensured without any fear of dsfective operatio~ and
without fear of wear of the contacts or whatevar reason,
where, paper dust~ prese~ce of parasitic particles of ink
etc
Accordin~ to another advantageous variant of this
device, th~ friction member integral with the slider i8
formed of a cylinder for which the Rxes is substantially
perpendicular to that of the stem and ~or which ths
periphery is provided with slots, arranged preferably
along the axes of the cylinder, or any other mannier
ensuring the drive of the sheets strictly in the
longitudinal direct~o~ of the receptacl~s.
Also, according to a specially interesting embodimen~
of the in~ention, the arm integral with the slider as well
as the friction member are situated on either side of the
plane which passing through the axis of rotation of the
friction bearing perpendicular to the ste~, is
. perpendicular to the plane of the sheets of the packet,
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1085770
cJo ~a~f~S
at least dl~in~ tho~ Kh~s phase of the stem. I~ this
wa~, during this phase, on the one hand the rear part of
the arm tends to block, then drive downwards a double
sheet which may be present and on the other hand the
rough drum tend~ to disengage the upper sheet, these two
movements occurring, under the effect of the upper ~heet,
the moment when it is clamped by the collecting belt.
It is useful to indicate that the presence of the
axis of rotation 42 allows, when certain receptacles must
remain out of u~e, the corresponding slides to be retl~ned,
80 that the magnet 51 can no longer cause the contact
between the blRdes 57 and 58. No untimely si~al can
therefore emanate from a receptacle which is not in use.
~he present invention has further for its object a
device allowing the embodiments already described to be
made with a ~ery high degree of efficiency and reliabilit~.
Such a device is described hereafter in a non-limiting
example. ~hanks to this device, the assembler machins is
warned in a quasi-perfect manner against the possibility of
forming a bundle with a missing sheet, without being ip80
facto warned of it and without 'he machine stopping. Such
a device i9 shown diagrammatically b~ the block diagram
of ~igure 10. This refers to an assembler comprising two
~roups or distinct ramps of receptacles, and therefore
two distinct series of stems. It applies "mutatis mutan
dis" to an a~sembler comprising either a single ramp or
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~roup of receptacles, or more than two.
Con~iderin~ figure 10, the block 61 represents the "x"
slides of the ramp I, the block 62 represents the "x"
slides of the ramp II. All t~e slidas control, a~
described above, a switch 53 for which the position is
significant of a determined state of one of the sheets or
of the slider of the r~ceptacle in question. ~ll the
states of the switches are stored in the two blocks 63
and 64 respectively for the ramps I and II.
At the beginning of the cycle, all the ~tems are
at their low position in their respective receptacles.
At this moment all the switches 53 are in the open po~itio~
tthat is to ~ay that current does not pass, or the contact
between the blade 57 and 58 of the switches i~ not
15 A e~tablished,); ~h~ each slider 5 at the end of the sending
movement is located in the position shown in figure 7.
During the synchronous rise of all the stems of a
given ramp, all the corresponding slides are in the positio3
shown in figure 6, i.e. all the switches 53 are in the
closed po~ition (terminals 57 and 58 in contact with each
other~ or passing a current) and said ~lides are in the
position of figure 6 in which they each drive the upper
sheet of the packet of sheets located i~ their re~pective
recepta¢le.
~he length o~ upwards travel i~ adjusted to a
minimum value so that the first sheets driven by the
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slides are gripped ~y their ].eading edge between the belt
15 and the runnel3 18 of the collectin~ device (see fi~.1).
Xt i~ importa~t never~heless that the sheets which
- accidently have a fir~t delay in ~tarting or being driven,or are slightl~ folded, can ~in the scope of certain
limits"), be waited for to allow them to form part of the
ntrain" intended to form the bundle in question.
~7 e~
~his condition i~ebDe~ according to the in~ention,
by ~iving an extra travel to the stem. This extra travel
- 10 is completed by holding for a short period (carefully
: limited), all the stems in the position that they occupy
at the end of the extra travel~ This delay is made use of
to check if there is no receptaele out of which, for
whatever reason, no sheet has been driven.
One arri~es there in a particularl~ easy and reliable
manner as follows. The following explanation makes use of,
in addition to figure 10, figures 11 and 12 which show
respectively the form of a cam (such as 10 or 20 taken
from figure 1 and the rectangular development of the radii
of this cam.
Approximately half-way (point 65) along the upwards
travel of the stems, a contact lixed on the cam 10 closes
a switch 66 authorising the detection on the state of the
stems.
By "detection" it is meant here, the checking that
all the sliders have operated, i.e. have passed the
pos~tion of figuxe ~and that of figure 7. ~he
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': ~ ' . ' ' ' ~ ' ,
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authorisatioll signal (block 67) is based on the ascertion
that at the point 65 (fi~ure 11) all the ~1iders are in
the position O~ figure 6. ~liS con~itio~ fulf~lled, tke
block 67 sends to the blocks 63 and 64 (memor~'s of the
state of the sliders of the different xeceptacles of the
groups I and II), as well as the block 6~ providing a~
"AND" function~explained later, the authorisation sig~al
to operate. ~he two blocks 63 a~d 6~ are each provided
with two circuits for generating "OR" and "AND" functions.
Prom the moment when the first sheet of one of the
receptacles of the ramp I i8 drive~ b~ the collecting
device and causes the pivoting of its slider from the
position of ligure 6 to that of figure 7, the block 63
~ends the signal corresponding to the fl~ction "OR" to
~5 the block 69, called a "missing" detection circuit, and
: puts the circuit in operation for a period ad~usted by
the time device 70, at the end of which, if the block 63
has not emitted the signal corresponding to the function
- . "A~D", to which the pivoting of all the slider3 of the
group in question from the position of figure 6 to that
of rigure 7 corresponds, the said block 69 causes the
stoppin~ of the ramp (or group) control motor 71, by
means of the circuit 72 appropriate to this effect.
In fact, if the signal of the function "AND" appears, ~.
it cancels the stopping order for the motor 71, while if.
the f.unction "AND" does not emit its signal in the time
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1~8g77~ .
required by the block 70, the block 69 control~ effectively
t;he st;opping of the motor 71. In the case where there
exists two ramps, operating one after the other, the
circuit 67, reco~nising the position of the ramps,
connects itself to the ramp which i9 going to commence
the rising phase of this movement.
The device of the in~ention must on the one hand be
warned against the presence ~rom the start of a slider in
the wrong position or possibly detached and on the other
hand warn the operator that all the receptacles are empty.
~rom this point of view, the fact that a receptacle i~
empty, is translated by the machine, as being a missing
sheet.
The control from the start of all the slides
positioned correctly is obtained as follows: if at the
moment when the switch 66 i~ engaged by cam 10 which
rotates about its axes, all the stem switches are in the
correct position, the blo¢k 63 sends the signal opposed
to "OR" or in other words, the ~ignal "NO~ OR" to the
block 73 preparing the stopping of the motor 71. In this
case, the si~nal sent by 66 (which is only emitted during
a ~ery short period) superimposed on the "NOT OR" signal
cancels the stopping order sent ~y 73. On the contrary,
if one of the slides is detached or open, the block 63
2~ emits the "OR" signal immediately, which added to the
~i~nal 66 confirms by 73 the stopping order of the motor
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~085'770
71 of the ramp in question. In other words, the ~i~nal
66 emitted for a very ~hort period gives rise either to
a warning signal, combined with the output of the "NO~ OR"
signal or to a stored signal for the immediate output of
an "OR" signal.
At the end of the removal of the''sheet~, all the
- receptacles are empty, and no "OR" signal can appear in
due course since there are no sheets pre~ent to pivot
the slides. The block 63 will thus emit the "NOT OR"
signal. ~his signal combined with that emitted by a
warning device 74 drives a switch fixed on the cam 10 at
the beginning of the period when it start~ to descend the '
ramp, causes the activation of the block 75 controlling
the stopping of the motor 71 through the block 72.
~he signal 74 emitted by the cam cannot be sent in
the case where the detection has worked and given a ~ -'
positi~e response i.e. "all the sliders are in the position
Or figure 7", which it makes at the mom~nt 76 of the
horizontal region of the shape developed by the cam 10.
~hi~ horizontal region, during which no 3tem can either
rise nor fall is made sufficiently long to be sure that '
one or other delayed sheet has had the time to be
~0 sc~ 6~
A ~ ¢lamped by the collecting device and~dri~¢~ ~ its
corresponding "OR" signal.
In the contrary case, there would be a risk of ~-
lowering the stem without having had the time to detect
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the absence in ~luestion.
~he absence of sheets în tne receptacles is only
detected at the end of the horizontal 20ne which is
~ made ~ufficie~tly long to be 90qwk~ certain that the
"absence" detection has not taken place, i.e. a short
- moment after the moment ~et by the time adjusting
block 70.
~he device of the application also allows the
presence of a double sheet to be detected, coming from
one of the receptacles. ~o this end the device of the
present application has, at the end of the travel of
the train Or sheets on the, point of forming a bundle,
a photo-electric cell 77 for which the direction of
working is perpendicular to that of the displacement of
the sheets. ~his cell registers the passage of a train and
sends a correspo~ding sig~al to an appropriate memory 78
whioh transmits it to a dalay circuit for the stacking of
the sheets, a ~tacking for which the period is ad~usted
by the time circuit 80. Once the stacking time ha~
passed, a signal is scnt to the test apparatus 81 which
can be a feeler detectin~ the thickness of the bundles
with an accuracy such that a double is revealed. ~he
response "no double" is translated by a sig~al sent to
82 (stapling authorisation) while the response "there is
a double" is translated by a signal sent on the one hand
to 72 to stop the motor 71 and on the other hand to 83
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which stops the motor 84 controlling the drive belts of
the sheets.
The starting of the stapler resets the circuit 3
(or 64) to zero because this letter was in the position 1
corresponding to the "AND" function.
If by chance, a bundle contains at the same time a
double and an absence, the total number of sheets is
correct for the bundle in question, but the stapler cannot
function, because the block 63 or 64 has not been able to
send the "AND" signal on account of the absent sheet; the
reliability is thus well assured.
It is to be pointed out that the device of the
application is warned against a parasitic erroneous
detection of an absence, due for example to an accidental
vibration of a slider on or against a stem. Such a
vibration could not cause an untimely opening of one of
the switches 53 of the stem transferred from the closed
position to the open position, which could have for effect,
in the case of a "real" absence, that it may not be able
to detect it. The reason for this is that the vibration s
of the slider only cause a separation of a pad 51
shorter the distance to which it authorises the opening of the
switch 53. This remains closed and can signal a real
"absence" even if the slider vibrates.
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