CN111683887B - Device for folding sheets of paper or similar material, in particular information sheets - Google Patents

Abstract

The apparatus (100) for feeding and folding sheets (1) comprises a magazine (2) able to contain a plurality of said sheets (1) stacked in a stack (1a), feeding means (50) for feeding the sheets (1) in sequence, and folding means (10) for folding sheets of paper or similar material, arranged downstream of the feeding means (50) with respect to the feeding direction (W) of the sheets (1) to be folded. The folding device (10) comprises: a winding unit (13) that forms a winding seat (14) that can contain a sheet (1); a folding tool (22) movable between a rest position (R) and a folded position (P) and intended to be inserted into the winding seat (14) to compress the sheet (1) into a tubular configuration and to facilitate the exit of the sheet (1) from the winding seat (14).

Description

Device for folding sheets of paper or similar material, in particular information sheets

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the technical field related to automatic machines, and more precisely to the technical field related to automatic packaging machines.

In particular, the present invention relates to a device for folding a sheet of paper (for example an information sheet of a pharmaceutical product) to allow its insertion into a corresponding cassette together with the relevant pharmaceutical product.

Background

In the art of packaging various products (such as, but not limited to, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics), it is known to fold rectangular sheets containing instructions or advertisements using specially provided equipment until the rectangular sheets are of a size such that they can be placed in a box with the product.

In the prior art, for example, folding apparatuses are known having one or more folding seats arranged in sequence on a folding path, which allow folding to be carried out in sequential steps, so as to obtain sheets folded in a Z-shape or double Z-shape, or other similar shapes, which are generally rather complex.

Due to their unique structural characteristics, these folding devices are complex, cumbersome, and require careful and precise adjustment and frequent maintenance interventions.

Furthermore, when providing a change in the style or some folding characteristics of the sheet, it is often necessary to substantially disassemble and replace components of the apparatus. As such, there are several disadvantages due to the need to manage a considerable number of components in a warehouse: the long time required for the model change operation and the consequent long machine down time and consequent loss of productivity.

A newer folding apparatus is described in PCT international patent application published as WO2017068178 in the name of IMA industrial robot sharps corporation, which, like other previous apparatuses, comprises: an adjustment unit intended to prepare each sheet for folding; a folding unit, arranged downstream of the conditioning unit, intended to receive the sheet in the flat configuration and fold it into a tubular configuration; and an extractor unit picking up the sheet from the folding unit and guiding the sheet to a pair of counter-rotating rollers belonging to the folding unit, the pair of counter-rotating rollers being provided to press the tube and transport the sheet out of the folding apparatus.

In substance, the sheet to be folded is fed by the inlet guide to a substantially cylindrical adjustment seat formed in the containing body, in which there is a winding shaft coaxial thereto. The winding shaft has a longitudinal slit into which the arriving sheet is inserted.

The controlled rotation of the winding shaft causes the sheet to assume a circular conformation inside the adjustment seat.

The extractor unit comprises an extractor element longitudinally movable with respect to the adjustment seat and driven by a belt transport, which slides along a groove formed in the folding shaft and engages the sheet material in tubular form. The extractor element is made to translate and convey the sheet towards the counter-rotating rollers of the folding unit, removing the sheet from the folding shaft, until the sheet itself engages and is pulled by the counter-rotating rollers.

Although the above folding apparatus represents a considerable advance with respect to the folding apparatuses of the prior art, in particular in terms of constructional simplicity and production costs, it nevertheless has some drawbacks.

Firstly, the maximum operating speed and therefore the productivity of the machine are limited by the fact that: at least the folding shaft functions according to the start-stop principle, since it must stop in order to receive the sheet, rotate to wind it in a tubular manner, and then stop again until the extractor element has completed its stroke in order to bring the tube to the folding unit.

In order to carry out another cycle, the extractor element must also be replaced in the starting position.

Another disadvantage is that the change of format, in particular the change in width of the folded sheet, can be complicated and require replacement of different parts of the apparatus. The adjustments and calibrations necessary to synchronize the different units can also be time consuming and laborious.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to propose a device for folding sheets, such as information sheets for pharmaceutical or cosmetic products, which allows the operations of folding and extracting the sheets to be carried out continuously, without stopping and restarting any components.

Another object of the present invention is to propose a folding device which allows folding or format change of the dimensions of the sheets to be carried out in a simple and quick manner.

Another object of the invention is to propose a folding device which is simple to manufacture, has minimum requirements for calibration and maintenance and is low in cost.

These and other objects are fully achieved by means of a device for folding sheets of paper or similar material, belonging to an apparatus for feeding and folding sheets. The apparatus comprises a store able to contain a plurality of said sheets stacked in a stack, means for feeding the sheets in sequence, and folding means arranged downstream of the feeding means with respect to the feeding direction of the sheets to be folded.

Disclosure of Invention

The folding device includes: a closed-loop belt conveyor capable of containing a series of sheets to be folded placed thereon, the conveyor being movable in a feed direction and extending along a working path; a first routing roller disposed transversely to the feed direction and engaging the conveyor in the vicinity of the feed device; a winding unit forming a winding seat capable of containing the sheet, and a slit facing the conveyor to allow the sheet to enter the winding seat; a folding unit comprising a folding tool movable between a rest position and a folded position and intended to be inserted into the winding seat in order to compress the sheet material into a tubular configuration and to facilitate the exit of the sheet material from the seat; an ejector tool disposed downstream of the winding unit and intended to pick up the folded sheet from the conveyor and to eject the folded sheet from the folding device.

Drawings

The characteristics of the present invention will become clear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of a device for folding sheets of paper or similar material, according to the claims and with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 schematically shows a side view of the main components of a folding device, object of the present invention, in a preferred embodiment;

fig. 2 schematically shows a front view of the device of fig. 1;

fig. 3, 4 and 5 schematically show side views of the folding device shown in fig. 1 in subsequent operating steps of picking up and folding the sheets.

Detailed Description

In the above figures, reference numeral 100 is used to indicate a device for feeding and folding a sheet 1 of paper or similar material (for example, a description illustrating the packaging of pharmaceutical, cosmetic or other products). The apparatus 100 is intended to operate under the services of an automatic packaging machine to sequentially pick up from the warehouse 2 the sheets 1 stacked in the warehouse 2 in a flat configuration in a pile 1a, to fold the sheets 1 in a predetermined folding pattern, and then to transfer the sheets 1 to the packaging machine, in which suitable tools are conveniently provided for picking up the folded sheets and inserting them into the respective packages, together with the products to be packaged.

The feeding and folding apparatus 100 comprises, in particular, a feeding device 50 for feeding the sheets 1 in sequence, the feeding device 50 being arranged in the vicinity of the warehouse 2 and intended to pick up a single sheet 1 from the base of the stack 1a, and a folding device 10, object of the present invention, the folding device 10 being arranged downstream of the feeding device 50 with respect to the feeding direction of the sheet 1 to be folded (indicated by the arrow W in the cited figures).

The structure of the feeding device 50 will be described in detail below. With regard to the present invention, the folding device 10 comprises and is based on a closed-loop belt conveyor 11, the closed-loop belt conveyor 11 being movable in said feeding direction W. The closed-loop belt conveyor 11, when advancing, covers a working path extending between a zone a (see fig. 1) near the feeding device 50 for picking up the sheet 1 in the laid-flat configuration and a zone E for discharging the sheet 1 in the folded configuration. Subsequently, the closed-loop belt conveyor 11 travels along an ineffective return path between the ejection area E and the pickup area a.

In the folding device 10, the sheet 1 is conveyed, the sheet 1 being placed on the working upper surface 11a of the closed-loop belt conveyor 11, being suitably supported and guided along a working path, as will be described in more detail below.

The closed-cycle belt conveyor 11 is preferably, but not exclusively, made of strips of any type of flexible and inelastic elastomeric material available on the market, with suitable mechanical characteristics.

In the embodiment of the invention shown, preferably but not exclusively, in correspondence with the pick-up area a, the closed-loop belt conveyor 11 is supported by a first routing roller 12, mounted transversely to the feed direction W, either idle about its axis or driven independently, depending on the specific constructional requirements.

Along the working path, downstream of the first routing roller 12, the folding device provides a winding unit 13 intended to pick up each sheet 1 from the closed-loop belt conveyor 11 and to wind each sheet 1 into a tubular configuration.

For this purpose, the winding unit 13 comprises a fixed element 16 and a movable element 17 mounted adjacent to each other.

The fixed element 16 is provided with a curvilinear section 16a forming a sort of tubular portion and a rectilinear section 16b extending upstream with respect to the feed direction W. The straight line segment 16b also has, at its most upstream end, a flap 16c extending towards the closed-cycle belt conveyor 11 to constitute a guide for the sheet 1 to reach along the working path.

The movable element 17 is then made up of a curved section 17a and a straight section, the curved section 17a forming a tubular portion, the straight section being connected to an alternative driving tool of a type generally known. The curved section 17a faces the curved section 16a of the fixing element 16 and has an opposite concavity so as to form a winding seat 14, the winding seat 14 being intended to receive the sheet 1 to transform the sheet 1 into a tubular conformation.

The two curved sections 16a, 17a and at least the portion of the respective straight section in the vicinity of the two curved sections 16a, 17a also have a comb-like shape, so as to alternate a series of holes parallel to each other, the function of which will be apparent in the following description.

The lower ends of the curved sections 16a and 17a are spaced apart from each other to form a slit 15 with respect to the feed cross direction of the closed-cycle belt conveyor 11, the slit 15 being provided near the working face 11a of the closed-cycle belt conveyor 11. In particular, the movable element 17 can be driven in translation by a driving tool of known type between an advanced winding position V (fig. 1) and a withdrawn exit position U (fig. 5) to widen the slit 15 and facilitate the exit of the sheet 1 in the folded configuration.

The winding unit 13 further includes a drawing roller 18 provided on the opposite surface of the closed-loop belt conveyor 11 in correspondence with the slit 15, the drawing roller 18 being idle about its axis. The lead-in roller 18 is intended to facilitate the entry of the sheet 1 into the winding seat 14.

In the winding unit 13 in the vicinity of the winding seat 14, on the opposite side of the slit 15 with respect to the winding unit 13, there is provided another motorized follower roller 19 to promote the winding of the web material 1 in a tubular manner once the web material 1 enters the winding seat 14. For this purpose, the follower roller (see fig. 2) is made of a plurality of segments 19a, the plurality of segments 19a being mounted in such a way that: the outermost portions of the segments 19a are slightly inserted into the winding seat 14 through respective holes made in the curved sections 16a and 17 a.

According to the invention, the follower roller 19 is mounted movably with respect to the winding seat 14, in particular with respect to the fixed element 16. For this purpose, the follower roller 19 comprises known repositioning means intended to allow the follower roller 19 to be fed or withdrawn with respect to the axis of the winding seat 14. In this way, the follower roller 14 allows winding the sheet to be folded in a tubular manner to different diameters. This characteristic is necessary and must be provided in order to vary the width of the sheet 1 in the folded configuration according to the width required for the subsequent insertion of the sheet 1 in the relative package.

The folding device 10 also comprises a folding unit 20, the folding unit 20 being mounted in proximity to the winding unit 13 and intended to act on the sheet 1 in its tubular configuration inside the winding seat 14, to compress the sheet 1 until the sheet 1 is brought into its flattened configuration, and then to bring the sheet 1 out of the winding seat 14 towards the closed-loop belt conveyor 11.

In the embodiment described and illustrated, the folding unit 20 comprises (fig. 1) a driving roller 21, the driving roller 21 being mounted directly downstream of the winding unit 13, in the vicinity of the curvilinear section 17a of the movable element 17.

The drive roller 21 (see also fig. 2) is composed of a plurality of small drive rollers 21a at equal intervals, and the plurality of small drive rollers 21a at equal intervals are mounted on a shaft 21b to which a drive member (not shown) is connected. The shaft 21b is driven by a motor member (not shown) to rotate about its axis at a predetermined and adjustable angle according to an alternate direction of rotation.

The folding unit 20 further comprises a folding tool 22, the folding tool 22 consisting of a plurality of folding rollers 22a mounted on respective cams 23, each of the plurality of folding rollers 22a being attached to a respective small driving roller 21 a. Due to the rotation of the shaft 21b, the folding roller 22a can oscillate about the axis of the shaft 21b between a rest position R (fig. 1) and a folded position P (fig. 5) and is intended to be inserted into the winding seat 14 on the way towards the folded position P, in order to compress the sheet 1 into a tubular configuration and to facilitate the exit of the sheet 1 from the winding seat 14.

The folding device 10 comprises ejector means 30, which ejector means 30 are arranged downstream of the winding unit 13 and downstream of the above-mentioned folding unit 20 with respect to the feed direction W, correspond to the discharge area E, and are intended to remove the sheet 1 in its folded state from the closed-loop endless belt conveyor 11 and to discharge the sheet 1 from the folding device 10 to transport the sheet 1 to a continuous pick-up device (not shown) of the packaging machine.

In particular, in the illustrated embodiment, the ejector tool 30 includes a pair of counter-rotating motorized rollers, a first ejector roller 31 and a second ejector roller 32, respectively.

The first ejector roller 31 and the second ejector roller 32 are disposed on opposite sides with respect to the closed-cycle belt conveyor 11, and opposite contact surfaces of the first ejector roller 31 and the second ejector roller 32 are in contact with the closed-cycle belt conveyor 11. In this manner, the sheet 1 coming from the winding unit 13 and the folding unit 20 and arranged to be placed on the closed-loop belt conveyor 11 is compacted and further flattened by a pair of ejector rollers 31, 32 before being ejected from the folding device 10.

The folding device 10 also comprises further sub-components, in particular: a motor roller 40, driven by its own motor means (not shown), which motor roller 40, in the embodiment shown, is arranged in the lower part of the folding device 10, engages the closed-cycle belt conveyor 11 and moves the closed-cycle belt conveyor 11; a take-up roller 41 disposed between the drive roller 40 and the take-up roller 12, the take-up roller 41 engaging the closed-loop belt conveyor 11 to define a tension; and a second routing roller 42, arranged immediately upstream of the slit 15 and downstream of the baffle 16c of the fixed element 16, to help the sheet 1 advance along the working path.

The feeding device 50 already mentioned previously comprises a separator member 60 intended to separate an outer portion 1b (fig. 3) of the sheet 1 to be removed from the base of the stack 1a, and a pick-up member 70 intended to bring the outer portion 1b towards the closed-loop belt conveyor 11 of the folding device 10.

In particular, the separator member 60 comprises a pair of pinch rollers 61, 62 parallel to each other and mounted on the same shaft, on which pinch rollers 61, 62 there is also integrally mounted a suction block 65, the suction block 65 being provided with a pair of suction channels 66, the pair of suction channels 66 opening onto an upper surface 67 of the suction block 65. The suction channel 66 is then held in the recess by a suitable pump (not shown).

The separator element 60 is made movable between an approaching position S (shown by a solid line in fig. 1 and 3) and a separating position D (shown by a broken line in the same figures) by means of respective driving elements of known type; in the approaching position S, the upper surface 67 of the suction block 65 is located in the vicinity of the outer portion 1b of the sheet 1, and the roller 61 and the roller 62 are in contact with the working surface 11a of the closed-circulation belt conveyor 11; in the spaced position D, neither the suction block 65 nor the roller 61 nor the roller 62 interferes with the movement of the sheet 1.

The pick-up member 70 comprises a pair of disc elements 71, 72, each of which 71, 72 is mounted, at the level of its base, on a respective rotation shaft 73 and 74, near the outer edge of the stack 1 a. The disc elements 71 and 72 are oriented so as to have a predetermined angle, which is however small with respect to the lying plane of the sheets 1 in the stack 1 a. This angle is particularly preferably comprised between 5 ° and 30 °.

The disc elements 71 and 72 are eccentrically mounted on respective shafts 73 and 74. The shafts 73 and 74 are made to rotate in opposite directions to each other at appropriate stages in relation to the above-mentioned movement of the separator member 60.

An equal number of forming arms 75 and 76 are attached to the underside of the disc elements 71 and 72, the forming arms 75 and 76 being oriented in such a way as to cause the forming arms 75 and 76 to face each other or be in anti-phase according to the rotation of the disc elements.

In the following, by way of example, we will describe a complete cycle of picking up, winding, folding and discharging the sheet 1. However, the particular structure of the folding device 10 allows for overlapping two or more steps of the cycle, so as to increase the efficiency of the device and increase the productivity of the device.

As shown in fig. 1, in the initial configuration, the closed-loop belt conveyor 11 moves in the direction W. In the feeding device 50, the disc elements 71 and 72 are arranged in such a way that: the respective forming arm 75 and forming arm 76 are both located at the furthest position from the stack 1a of sheets 1; the separator member 60 is in its spaced-apart position D. In the folding device 10, the winding unit 13 has the movable element 17 in its winding position V, and the folding units 20 have the folding tools 22 in their rest position R.

The separator member 60 is brought to an approaching position S in which the grip roller 61 and the grip roller 62 are in contact with the closed-loop belt conveyor 11, corresponding to the first routing roller 12, and the suction block 65 moves the outer end of the upper surface 67 thereof into contact with the lower surface of the sheet 1 disposed at the bottom of the stack 1 a. The presence of the depression in the suction channel 66 generates a suction force which attracts the end flap of the sheet 1 until it adheres to the upper surface 67. For this purpose, the angle of the upper surface 67 with respect to the sheet 1 is important, preferably, but not necessarily, between 3 ° and 30 °; and a suction pressure depending on the mechanical characteristics of the material constituting the sheet 1 (its thickness, flexibility, etc.), which is determined empirically and, for the materials often used, is between 0.3 and 0.6 mpa. In any case, the pressure is adjusted empirically so that the wings of the sheet 1 are attracted and adhered to the upper surface 67, but the wings of the sheet 1 located above the upper surface 67 do not follow the upper surface 67.

Then, the separator member 60 is retracted to the withdrawn position D and, at the same time, the disc element 71 and the disc element 72 and, consequently, the forming arm 75 and the forming arm 76 are made to rotate, so as to first bring the outer portion of the disc element 71 and the disc element 72 and the subsequent forming arm into the space between the wings of the sheet 1 and the rest of the stack 1a, increasing the spacing of the space between the wings of the sheet 1 and the rest of the stack 1 a.

At a certain point, the wings of the sheet 1 disengage from the upper surface 67 of the suction block 65, and due to the action effect of the forming arm 75 and the forming arm 76, in any case the wings of the sheet 1 continue to separate from the pile 1a until they come into contact with the closed-loop belt conveyor 11.

At the same time, the separator member 60 returns to the advanced position S until the rollers 61 and 62 come into contact with the wings of the sheet 1 on the closed-loop belt conveyor 11, causing the wings of the sheet 1 to advance in the direction W.

Then, the sheet 1 is completely detached from the stack 1a and the warehouse 2, and proceeds along the closed-loop belt conveyor 11 until the sheet 1 is engaged by the second routing roller 42 (fig. 4).

The sheet 1 continues along the working path, the sheet 1 then being intercepted by the slit 15 and entering the winding seat 14 of the winding unit 13, in which seat 14 the winding of the sheet 1 is started, sliding first along the wall of the movable element 17 and then along the wall of the fixed element 16.

Winding is promoted by the action of the follower roller 19 until the web 1 is completely wound on itself, assuming a tubular conformation.

Then, the folding unit 20 is moved toward its folding position P (fig. 5). During this displacement, the folding roller 22a pushes gradually the tube consisting of the sheet 1 and presses it against the inner wall of the winding seat 14.

Then, the movable member 17 of the winding unit 13 is translated rearward to its retreat position U, thereby increasing the width of the slit 15.

This causes the flattened sheet 1 to exit from the winding seat 14, and the sheet 1 is routed by the closed-loop belt conveyor 11 until the sheet 1 engages with the lower portion of the small driving roller 21a of the folding unit 20. The small driving roller 21a cooperates with the closed-loop belt conveyor 11 to further advance the sheet 1 until the sheet 1 engages with the first ejector roller 31 and the second ejector roller 32, thereby further flattening the sheet 1.

The sheet is then withdrawn from the folding device 10 and ready for packaging and picked up by the pick-up tool of the automatic packaging machine.

It should be understood, however, that what has been described above is given by way of non-limiting example. Therefore, any changes in detail which may be necessary, for technical and/or functional reasons, as well as alternative embodiments of the invention which are functionally equivalent, should at present be considered as falling within the same scope of protection as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (8)

1. Folding device (10) for folding sheets, belonging to an apparatus (100) for feeding and folding said sheets (1), said apparatus (100) comprising at least one magazine (2) able to contain a plurality of said sheets (1) stacked in a stack (1a), feeding means (50) for feeding in sequence the sheets (1) removed from said magazine (2), and said folding device (10) arranged downstream of said feeding means (50) with respect to the feeding direction (W) of said sheets (1) to be folded;

characterized in that said folding device (10) comprises:

a closed-loop belt conveyor (11) able to accommodate a series of said sheets (1) to be folded placed on the closed-loop belt conveyor (11), said closed-loop belt conveyor (11) being movable in said feeding direction (W) and extending along a working path from a pick-up region (a) of said sheets (1) in a laid-flat configuration to a discharge region (E) of said sheets (1) in a folded configuration and in the opposite direction along a return path;

a first routing roller (12) arranged transversely with respect to the feed direction (W) and engaging the closed-cycle belt conveyor (11) in the vicinity of the feed device (50);

-a winding unit (13) arranged along said work path and intended to intercept a sheet (1) and to guide the winding of the sheet (1) in a tubular manner, forming a winding seat (14) able to contain the sheet (1) and a slit (15) facing the closed-loop belt conveyor (11) to allow the sheet (1) to enter the winding seat (14);

a folding unit (20) comprising a folding tool (22) movable between a rest position (R) and a folded position (P) and intended to be inserted into the winding seat (14) on the path of the folding tool (22) towards the folded position (P) to compress the sheet (1) into a tubular configuration and to facilitate the exit of the sheet (1) from the winding seat (14);

-ejector means (30) arranged downstream of said folding unit (20), in correspondence of said ejection area (E), and intended to pick up the folded sheet (1) from said closed-cycle belt conveyor (11) and to eject the folded sheet (1) from the folding device (10).

2. Folding device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that said winding unit (13) comprises a fixed element (16) and a movable element (17), said movable element (17) being drivable between an advanced winding position (V) and a withdrawn exit position (U) so as to widen said slit (15) and facilitate the exit of said sheet (1) in the folded configuration.

3. Folding device (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that in the winding unit (13) the fixing element (16) has a flap (16c), which flap (16c) extends upstream of the working path and acts as a guide for the laid-flat web (1).

4. Folding device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said winding unit (13) further comprises at least one introduction roller (18), said at least one introduction roller (18) being arranged on the opposite side of said closed-loop belt conveyor (11) in correspondence of said slit (15) and said at least one introduction roller (18) being able to promote the entry of the sheet (1) into said winding seat (14).

5. Folding device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that said winding unit (13) further comprises at least one follower roller (19), said at least one follower roller (19) being motorized and arranged in proximity to said winding seat (14), on the opposite side of said slit (15) a side surface of said at least one follower roller (19) slightly interfering with said winding seat (14) with the aim of promoting the winding of the sheet (1) in a tubular manner.

6. Folding device (10) according to claim 5, characterized in that said at least one follower roller (19) comprises repositioning means to reposition said at least one follower roller (19) with respect to said winding seat (14) so as to allow winding of said sheet in a tubular manner to different diameters.

7. Folding device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that in said folding unit (20) said folding means (22) comprise at least one folding roller (22a), each of said at least one folding roller (22a) being mounted on a driving roller (21) by means of an opposite cam (23).

8. Folding device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that said ejector means (30) comprise a pair of counter-rotating motorized rollers, respectively a first ejector roller (31) and a second ejector roller (32), said first ejector roller (31) and said second ejector roller (32) being arranged on opposite sides of said closed-cycle belt conveyor (11).

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