APPARATUS FOR THE ASSEMBLY OF SHEETS INTO STACKS OF PRESS MATERIALS

APPAREIL D'EMPILAGE DE FEUILLES POUR STRATIFIES

English Abstract

ABSTRACT
Apparatus used in the manufacture of laminated sheets, especially
decorative laminated sheets using a platen press, especially a single
layer platen press, for the assembly of sheets to stacks of press
materials and for the removal of the press material stacks, includes a
plurality of rising and falling stack-receiving tables positioned in a
row, an assembly table for the supporting of at least one stack of press
materials, and a pick-up and lay-down arrangement. This arrangement is
constructed as a unitary pick-up and lay-down trolley which includes a
suction beam and a clamping tool. The trolley is movable along fixed
rails which are positioned above the row of stack-receiving tables and
the assembly table. A transfer table for the press material stacks is
positioned between the assembly table and the platen press, which
transfer table cooperates with a loading arrangement for the platen
press. The pick-up and lay-down trolley is operable in accordance with
the cycle times of the platen press so that the apparatus can be operated
at a relatively higher output.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR
PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. An apparatus used in the manufacture of laminated sheets in a
platen press for the assembly of a stack of press materials and for the
removal thereof, comprising
a plurality of rising and falling stack-receiving tables for
respectively supporting a stack of at least one sheet, and being
positioned in a row;
an assembly table for supporting a stack of press materials
including a plurality of sheets,
a suction beam for lifting a sheet located on top of a stack of
sheets supported on one of the stack-receiving tables and a clamping tool
for picking-up and laying down a lifted sheet, the suction beam and the
clamping tool being part of a unitary pick-up and lay-down trolley for
picking-up a sheet from a stack-receiving table and laying-down the
picked-up sheet onto the assembly table, the pick-up and lay-down trolley
running along fixed rails positioned above the row of stack-receiving
tables, and
a transfer table for transferring a fully assembled stack of press
materials from the assembly table to the platen press, the transfer table
being cooperably linked with a loading arrangement for the platen press,
whereby the pick-up and lay-down trolley is operated in
correspondence with a cycle time of the platen press.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pick-up and
lay-down trolley includes an undercarriage having a drive and a running
gear, and a working mechanism including the suction beam and the clamping
tool, the trolley runs on a pair of spaced apart parallel fixed rails,
and the working mechanism is mounted to the undercarriage by a pair of
supporting elements which are connected to the undercarriage in the
region between the tracks.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the tracks are
centered over the stack receiving tables and the assembly table, and the
suction beam and the clamping tool of the working mechanism extend
horizontally beyond a vertical plane of the respective tracks.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the
stack-receiving tables are positioned to both sides of the assembly table.
5. An installation according to claim 3, wherein the
stack-receiving tables are positioned to both sides of the assembly table.
6. An apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 5, including a pair of
pick-up and lay-down trolleys for respectively accessing the assembly
table and the stack receiving tables to both sides thereof.
7. An apparatus according to claim 3, including a pair of pick-up
and lay-down trolleys for respectively accessing the assembly table and
the stack receiving tables to both sides thereof.
8. An apparatus according to claim 4, including a pair of pick-up
and lay-down trolleys for respectively accessing the assembly table and
the stack receiving tables to both sides thereof.
9. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the
trolleys further includes a means for turning over a sheet.
10. An apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, wherein at least one of
the trolleys further includes a means for turning over a sheet.

Description

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APPARATUS FOR THE ASSEMBLY OF SHEETS
INTO STACKS OF PRESS MATERIALS
The invention relates to apparatus used in the manufacture of
laminated sheets for the assembly of sheets into stacks of press
materials and for the transport thereof.
Laminated sheets, especially decorative laminates, are generally
compressed in a platen press, especially a single layer platen press, and
assembled in an apparatus having a plurality of rising and falling sheet
stack receiving tables arranged in a row, an assembly table for the
assembly of stacks of press materials from a plurality of sheets, and a
pick-up and lay-down mechanism for the picking-up of sheets from the
sheet stacks and for their assembly to stacks of press materials. The
pick-up and lay-down mechanism includes at least one suction beam and at
least one clamping tool and may include a turning-over tool for the
sheets for the positioning of sheets upside down in the stacks of press
materials. The term "press materials" includes, for example, paper
sheets, resin impregnated paper sheets, plastic foils, metal foils,
substrate mats, and the like, which are used as separating, reinforcing,
or decorative layers and the like. Each stack of press materials
includes a plurality of sheets which are compressed in the platen press
to a laminated sheet used, for example, in the production of printed
circuits.
In a conventional installation known from German Patent
DE 27 25 831, the pick-up and lay-down mechanism includes a stationary
rising and falling stack-receiving table and stationary, but rising an
falling, suction beams positioned at the ends of the table. Each stack
receiving table is provided with a trolley which is movable along fixed
rails and includes a clamping tool for the clamping of a sheet lifted by
the associated, stationary suction beams. The tool can be constructed so
that the sheet can be turned over. To that end, the suction beam is
rotated from the position "suction strip down" to the position "suction
strip directed towards the trolley". The suction beam is surrounded by a
manipulation bar which is spaced apart from and parallel to the axis of
rotation of the suction beam, and rotatable together with the suction
beam around the axis of the suction beam. To turn over a sheet, an edge

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of the sheet which was picked up by the suction beam is first lifted in a
rolling movement from the sheet stack by movement of the suction beam in
one direction. Subsequently, the manipulation bar is moved thereunder
and the sheet is positioned onto the manipulating bar upon further
rotation of the manipulating bar and reverse movement of the suction
beam. In conventional installations, several pick-up and lay-down
mechanisms are positioned side by side and operated in parallel. This is
functional and provides good availability, but, the construction and
control technology costs are high and the installation is not
sufficiently flexible for use in automated manufacture. The overall
cycle time of a conventional installation is governed by the time
required for the individual functions which must be carried out until one
or several stacks of press materials can be removed from the apparatus
and loaded into the platen press. Furthermore, where high flexibility is
required, the pick-up and lay-down operations are to this day performed
manually by operating personnel. The lower limit for the cycle times is
then determined by the working speed of the operating personnel. The
cycle time so limited is substantially longer than physically and
chemically possible in the manufacture of laminated sheets, especially
decorative laminated sheets, when a platen press is used.
It is now an object of the invention to provide an apparatus of the
above described general type which is of simple construction and function
and can be operated at the cycle time of an associated platen press,
which mainly depends on the physical and chemical processes taking place
in the manufacture of the laminated sheets and, of course, includes the
times for loading and unloading of the platen press.
This ob3ect is achieved in an apparatus in accordance with the
invention, wherein
A, the pick-up and lay-down mechanism is constructed as a unitary
pick-up and lay-down trolley which includes the suction beam
and the clamping tool;
B. the pick-up and lay-down trolley is movable on fixed rails
which are positioned above the row of stack-receiving tables;
C. a transfer table for the stacks of press materials is
positioned between the assembly table and the platen press and
cooperates with a loading arrangement for the platen press; and

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the pick-up and lay-down trolley is operable in correspondence with
the cycle time of the plate press.
In a preferred embodiment, the pick-up and lay-down trolley has an
undercarriage having a drive and a running gear and a working mechanism
which includes the suction beam and the clamping tool. The working
mechanism is preferably movable along a pair of spaced apart parallel
fixed rails and is mounted to the undercarriage by supporting elements
which are connected to the undercarriage between the rails. It is
preferred to center the tracks over the row of stack-receiving tables and
the assembly table. Furthermore, the suction beam and the clamping tool
preferably extend horizontally beyond the vertical plane extending
through the respective rails.
In contrast to conventional installations wherein the pick-up and
lay-down mechanism consists of two independent tools and is of
complicated construction and function, the pick-up and lay-down tools of
an apparatus in accordance with the invention are combined in a unitary
pick-up and lay-down trolley which provides for a substantially
simplified construction and function and significantly improves the
flexibility of the apparatus.
In a preferred embodiment, the stack-receiving tables are positioned
to both sides of the assembly table, a part of pick-up and lay-down
trolleys are provided, and the assembly table as well as the
stack-receiving tables to both sides thereof are accessible by both
trolleys. Preferably at least one of the trolleys further includes a
turn-over tool for the picked-up sheets.
A construction in accordance with the invention combined with modern
drive and control technology, especially when computerized, provides for
the achievement of cycle times which only depend on the type of platen
press used and the physics and chemistry of the processes taking place
during the pressing operation. Therefore, an apparatus in accordance
with the invention can be operated at a relatively higher output.
A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be further
described by way of example only and with reference to the attached
drawings wherein
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a preferred embodiment of an
apparatus in accordance with the invention;

CA 02092110 2000-OS-08
Figure 2 illustrates an enlarged view of section A shown in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an elevational view of the embodiment of Figure 1 as
seen in direction of arrow B and drawn at the same scale as the
embodiment shown in Figure 2; and
Figure 4 is an enlarged view of section C of the embodiment shown in
Figure 3.
The apparatus illustrated in the figures is used for the assembly of
sheets 1 into one or more stacks of press materials 2 and for the removal
of the press material stacks 2 in the manufacture of laminated sheets and
decorative laminated sheets using a platen press 3, preferably a simple
layer platen press. The principle construction of an apparatus in
accordance with the invention includes a plurality of rising and falling
stack-receiving tables 4 which are positioned in a row and each support a
sheet stack 5, an assembly table 6 for the assembly of press material
stacks 2 from a plurality of the sheets 1, and a pick-up and lay-down
mechanism 7 for the sheets. The pick-up and lay-down mechanism 7
includes at least one suction beam 8 and at least one clamping tool 9.
It will become apparent from a comparison of Figure 1 with Figures 2 and
3 that the pick-up and lay-down mechanism 7 is constructed as a unitary
pick-up and lay-down trolley which supports the suction beam 8 and the
clamping tool 9. The unitary pick-up and lay-down trolley 7 is movable
along a pair of spaced apart parallel fixed rails 10 which are positioned
above and extend along the row of stack-receiving tables 6. As shown in
Figures 1 and 2, a rising and falling transfer table 11 for the press
material stacks 2 is positioned between the assembly table 6 and the
platen press 3, which transfer table cooperates with a clamping bar
loading arrangement 12 for the platen press 3, for example. Suitable
transfer table and clamping bar loading arrangement 12 will be readily
apparent to a person skilled in the art. The pick-up and lay-down
trolley 7 is operated in correspondence with the cycle time of the plate
press 3. This cycle time is product specific and depends on the physical
and chemical requirements for the manufacture of the laminated sheets
from the stacks of press materials 2. Of course, the time required for
loading and unloading of the press is included in the cycle time.
Turning now to Figure 4, the pick-up and lay-down trolley 7 has as
undercarriage 13 which includes a drive 14, a running gear 15 and a

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working mechanism 16. The working mechanism 16 includes the suction beam
8 and the clamping tool 9. As will be apparent from Figures 2 and 3, the
undercarriage 13 runs on the pair of spaced apart parallel fixed rails
10. The working mechanism 16 is mounted to the undercarriage 13 by
supporting elements 17 which are connected to the undercarriage in the
region between the rails 10. The rails 10 are centered over the stack
receiving tables 4 and the assembly table 6. Both the suction beam 8 and
the clamping tool 9 of the working mechanism 16 extend laterally beyond
the vertical plane of the respective rails 10 (see Figure 2). In this
embodiment, the stack-receiving tables 4 are positioned to both sides of
the assembly table 6. A pair of pick-up and lay-down trolleys 7 are used
and the assembly table 6 as well as the stack receiving tables 4 to both
sides thereof can be accessed by both trolleys. The suction beams 8 and
the clamping tools 9 cooperate in the manner known in the art and the
clamping tools are provided with auxiliary tools which permit insertion
of the respective clamping jaw under a sheet 1 lifted by the associated
suction beam. At least one of the pick-up and lay-down trolleys 7 is
provided with a turn-over mechanism 18 for the sheets 1, which is
schematically indicated in Figure 4 by an arc.
An operator may be stationed at the position designated by arrow B
in Figure 1 for manual assistance. For example, the operator may lift
the respective sheets 1 to create a gap which allows the insertion of
supporting elements under the individual sheets which, in turn, can be
done automatically. The supporting elements may be wire bows.

Representative Drawing