Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CA 02224266 2002-05-14
PROCESSING DISCRETE SHEETS OF MATERIAL
BACKGROUND AND SLTMNiARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a system for use in handling
discrete sheets
of material and more particularly to a process and system for rapidly
processing discrete sheets
of material
Many process systems known today, use a continuous web feed of uncut material
into
a process zone where a process of some type will be performed on the material.
For example,
in the packaging industry, a continuous web of material is fed through a
printing system, and
later it is cut into individual packaging units to be folded into a desired
package configuration.
A newspaper printing press is another example of a continuous feed of material
(i.e. paper)
passing through a printing process, later to be cut into individual sections.
Of course, printing is not the only process that is incorporated into such
systems, and
paper is not the only kind of material that is continuously fed into such
systems. Industry in
general has applied many different processes to many different materials in
continuous feed
systems.
The known continuous material web systems, in some applications, suffer from
certain
drawbacks. For example, in many known web systems, whatever speed the material
is moving
CA 02224266 2002-05-14
at any point in the system, is the same average speed the material is moving
at all other
points in the system.
It is advantageous in certain process applications to slow the speed of the
material
at one point in the system, without slowing the material speed at all other
points in the
system. The present invention provides a process and system wherein shingled
discrete
sheets of material are supplied to a process. The source of the sheets may be
a previously
cut stack of sheets or a web system sheeter output having discrete sheets cut
from a
continuous web prior to entry into a process application. Shingling
(overlapping) sheets
of material slows the speed of the material through a process zone. The
greater the
overlap of 50% enables the shingler to supply cards (discrete sheets) to a
process zone at
the same overall throughput rate as a web but at half the conventional web
system speed.
A higher percentage of overlap allows no loss in feed rate for the overall
system, but
offers the advantage of cards moving through the process at a slower speed.
This slower
speed is advantageous because many process work better at slower tracking
speeds. For
example, paper passing through an ink jet printer may not be printed properly
if it is
passed through the ink jets at too high a speed. Labelers could also be
operated at this
lower speed while not capable of operation at full conventional web system
rates.
It is to be appreciated that other processes such as electrostatic operations,
gluing,
ink jets, labeling, and any other operation that may be performed upon the
shingled sheets
are within the scope of the present invention.
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Accordingly, the present invention provides a system, comprising:
a source of a plurality of discrete sheets of material;
a shingling device adapted to arrange said discrete sheets of material such
that one of said
discrete sheets overlaps a portion of an adjacent one of said discrete sheets;
a conveyor adapted to transport said discrete sheets in a predetermined path;
and
a process device adapted to perform a process on an exposed area of said
adjacent
one of said discrete sheets in said path; and
a sensor in communication with said process device, said sensor adapted to
detect
a leading edge of said adjacent one of said discrete sheets to trigger said
process.
The present invention also provides a method of performing a repetitive
process
on discrete sheets of material, said method comprising the steps of:
conveying said discrete sheets in a continuously moving fashion through a path
adjacent equipment to perform said process;
causing one of said discrete sheets to overlap a portion of an adjacent one of
said
discrete sheets;
detecting a leading edge of said adjacent one of said discrete sheets to
trigger said
process; and
performing said process on an exposed portion of said adjacent one of said
discrete sheets.
The present invention also provides a material processing system, comprising:
a plurality of discrete sheets of material;
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CA 02224266 2002-05-14
a shingler for advancing said discrete sheets in an overlapping manner,
wherein
each sheet overlaps a portion of each adjacent sheet;
a conveyor for advancing said overlapped discrete sheets;
a device for performing a process on an exposed area of each discrete sheet as
each discrete sheet continues to move through said system; and
a sensor in communication with said device, said sensor adapted to detect a
leading edge of each discrete sheet to trigger said process as said sheets
move through
said system.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a material processing
system,
comprising:
a first source of continuous material moving at a first speed;
a cutter for cutting said continuous material into a plurality of discrete
sheets;
a conveyor for receiving said discrete sheets and transporting said discrete
sheets
in an overlapping manner, in which each discrete sheet overlaps a portion of
an adjacent
1 S discrete sheet, said conveyor continuously moving at a second, slower
speed;
a process device for applying a process to an exposed portion of each of said
continuously moving discrete sheets; and
a sensor in communication with said process device, said sensor adapted to
detect
a leading edge of each discrete sheet to trigger said process as said sheets
move through
said system.
These and other advantages will be apparent from the following detailed
description of the invention, drawings, and claims.
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CA 02224266 1997-12-09
WO 96/41747 PCT/US96/10150
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The various features and advantages of the present invention may be more
readity
understood with reference to the following detailed description taken in
conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like
structural elements, and in
which:
Figure 1 is a side view of one preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a top view of a shingled stack of material cards of the present
invention; and
Figure 3 is a top plan view of another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS)
Referring to Figure 1, an embodiment of the present invention 10 is shown.
This
particular embodiment has a stack of sheets 12 and a shingling
transfer/conveyor 14. The
conveyor 14 conveys shingled sheets 16 to a down stacking elevator 18. While
the shingled
sheets 16 are being conveyed (constantly moving), a process 20 is performed on
the sheets 16.
Preferably, process 20 is a non-contact or a casual contact process, such as a
laser, labeler,
printer, coater, gluers, etc. It is to be understood that the source of sheets
12 may be a web
sheeter, that is a web of material cut into discrete sheets prior to the
process being applied,
rather than a stack of sheets as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 2 shows an overhead view of a portion of the shingled sheets 16. Each
individual card or sheet may expose a portion of its surface 24 when shingled.
Sensors may be
utilized to detect a leading edge 26 of each card to trigger the application
of the process 20
onto eacli card as each card passes a predetermined process application
location in the overall
system. Eacli individual card need only expose enough area to allow the
process 20 to treat
the respective, desired, exposed area.
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CA 02224266 1997-12-09
WO 96/41747 PCT/US96/10150
Figure 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment
a
continuous web of material 30 moving at a relatively high speed is cut into
discrete sheets 32.
The discrete sheets 32 are then forced onto a conveyor 34. The sheets may be
placed on the
conveyor at practically any desired orientation, including at ninety degrees
right hand to the
web, ninety degrees left hand to the web, or straight onto the conveyor in a
line with the web.
The sheets 32 preferably overlap a portion of each adjacent sheet on the
conveyor 34. The
conveyor speed is slower than the web speed.
An exposed portion of each sheet is then conveyed past a process device 36,
and a
process is performed on the exposed portion while the sheets 32 continue
moving through the
system A collection device 38 or receiver may be positioned near the conveyor
to collect the
processed sheets.
The overlap of adjacent sheets allows the overall system output rate to remain
unchanged, yet allows the discrete sheets to move at a slower speed through
the process step,
when compared to a system having a continuous material web all the way through
the process
step.
The present invention has been described in the form of several embodiments,
but it is
to be recognized that several modifications and variations to the invention
could be made and
fall within the scope of the subjoined claims.
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