EP3393949A1

EP3393949A1 - Method for receiving plates for a plate processing machine and inkjet printing machine

Info

Publication number: EP3393949A1
Application number: EP16822191.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Marc Nicole; Sylvain Rebet; Pascal-Alexandre Marciano
Original assignee: Toutin Service
Current assignee: Toutin Service
Priority date: 2015-12-24
Filing date: 2016-12-24
Publication date: 2018-10-31
Also published as: WO2017109232A1; CN109071142A; IL260125A; JP2019511436A; FR3046148A1

Abstract

The present invention concerns a method for receiving plate elements (1) for a digital printing machine (20). According to the invention, during a packet start step, at least one plate element (1) is transported to a stop (31) and then deposited on a lift (32) in order to form the base of a packet (33) of which the front edge corresponds to the stop (31); during a packet construction step, the plate elements (1) are transported to a position corresponding to the back edge of a packet (33) carried by the lift (32), the lift lowering gradually as the packet (33) is constructed; during a packet completion step, the movement of certain plate elements (1) intended to form the base of the next packet (33) is interrupted and the plate elements (1) downstream from the interruption are transported to a position corresponding to the rear edge of a packet (33) carried by the lift (32); during a packet discharge step, the packet (33) is discharged and the lift (32) rises back to the raised position. The invention also concerns a device (30) for receiving plate elements (1) for a digital printing machine (20) for printing on corrugated or micro-flute cardboard plate elements that can be used for implementing a method according to the invention. The invention makes it possible to adapt the reception of the plate elements (1) to the specificities of the digital printing.

Description

Plate receiving method for plate processing machine and ink jet printing machine

1. Field of the invention

The invention relates to the field of plate-like processing machines, more particularly the methods and devices for receiving plate elements at the output of a machine for converting these plate elements, in particular a digital printing machine. .

2. Prior Art

Cardboard plate receiving devices are known for processing machines of said plates under the name of Stacker. The plates, for example of corrugated cardboard or micro-grooves, are large.

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a Stacker 10 according to the prior art which would have been adapted to the conditions of digital printing and which then operates as follows:

The plates 1 leaving the processing machine 20 are laid on a tablecloth 2 to slow them down and are mounted to a height sufficient to be higher than the stack 3 to be formed and whose height approaches or typically exceeds two meters. A device 4 interrupts the sheet to allow the release of the battery 3 and / or a grid makes it possible to perform this function.

In the context of a digital printing machine, it is advantageous to have the smallest possible width. To do this, large formats are passed with the big side in thrust and the small side in width. This arrangement has several new disadvantages:

As shown in FIG. 1, all the elements become very long. In particular, the descent plate of the stack 3 becomes very large and expensive. The changes in slope increase the risk of breaking the plates 1 during the fall of the plates 1 on the stack 3, especially in the case of thin plates.

Moreover, for digital printing technology, it is not useful to pass the plates 1 to a great height, unlike, for example, flexographic printing techniques on corrugated or micro-corrugated sheets. As shown in FIG. 1, this means that it usually takes a tablecloth 2 sufficiently long to reach the correct height. An alternative is to elevate the printing machine 20, which becomes more bulky and more expensive, because the operator must then be on a podium. 3. Objectives of the invention

The object of the invention is in particular to overcome the problems of size and cost of existing stackers adapted to the direction of passage of the plate elements used in digital printing, as well as the fact that digital printing does not require a high passage of the substrate in plate.

4. Summary of the invention (this part reproduces the claims by explaining the advantages)

All or some of these objectives, as well as others which will appear more clearly later, are achieved by the invention using a method of receiving plate elements for a digital printing machine, according to which

- At a start of packet step, at least one plate member is transported to a stop and then deposited on an elevator to form the base of a package whose front edge corresponds to the stop;

during a step of constituting a package, the plate elements are transported to a position corresponding to the rear edge of a package carried by the elevator, the elevator descending progressively as and when the package;

during an end of packet step the displacement of certain plate elements intended to form the base of the next packet is interrupted and the plate elements downstream of the interruption are transported to a position corresponding to the rear edge of the a package carried by the elevator;

- During a package evacuation step the package is evacuated and the elevator goes up.

Thus, a method for receiving plate elements according to the invention is perfectly adapted to the specificities of digital printing, in particular the particular positioning of plate elements (small size in width and large dimension in thrust), and the low height of passage of plate elements during digital printing.

Optionally, the packet start step begins before the end of the evacuation step of the previous packet. Advantageously, the plate elements are tableclothed and transported in web during the package start and packet forming steps, the web being interrupted during the end of packet step.

Thus when the rate is high, the speed of movement of the plate elements is reduced by the tablecloth, so also the speed of contact with the stop.

In a particular embodiment, the evacuation of the package is carried out by transporting the package in a substantially horizontal direction and substantially parallel or perpendicular to the transport direction of the plate elements during the package building phase.

Alternatively, in a particular embodiment the evacuation of the package is performed by grasping the package directly on the elevator by means of a clamp.

Different modes of evacuation of the package can thus be used in a reception method according to the invention, according to the performances and the desired costs.

The invention also relates to a device for receiving plate elements for a digital printing machine on corrugated board or microcannel board elements, comprising an elevator capable of carrying a pack of plate elements, a bumper defining the position of the front edge of the plate elements in the package and a transport device capable of transporting plate elements from the output of the machine to the elevator. According to the invention, the transport device is deformable and comprises a movable front edge between a package start position close to the bumper and a package constitution position close to the rear of the plate element package carried by the package. elevator.

Thus the device allows the implementation of the reception method, in particular by precisely depositing the plate elements without the risk of breaking or damage.

In a particular embodiment, the elevator comprises transport means able to evacuate the pack in a substantially horizontal direction and substantially parallel or perpendicular to the direction of movement of the plate elements by the transport device.

Advantageously, the receiving device also comprises a tablecloth device and a web separator device.

Thus, the device can reach a high rate by limiting the speed of movement of the elements in place, thus limiting the risk of damaging them. Optionally, the bumper is movable between a package constitution position and a package evacuation position.

Thus the positioning of the package on the elevator can be adapted to the size of the plate elements.

In a particular embodiment, the front edge of the transport device is movable between a package start position near the bumper and a package evacuation position, with an intermediate position of package formation close to the back of the package. of plate elements carried by the elevator

Thus, the evacuation of the package by external means such as a clamp is facilitated.

5. List of figures

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description of a particular embodiment, given as a simple illustrative and nonlimiting example, and the appended drawings, among which:

- Fig. 1 shows a method and receiving device according to the prior art adapted to the conditions of digital printing;

- Fig. 2 represents a method and a receiving device according to the invention;

- Fig. 3 and FIG. 4 show a transport device used in a receiving device according to the invention;

- Fig. 5 and 6 show the evacuation of a package according to different modes of implementation of the invention;

- Fig. 7 and FIG. 8 represent the seizure of a packet according to different modes of implementation of the invention;

- Fig. 9 shows a particular embodiment of the invention.

6. embodiment

Fig. 2 schematically shows a general view of a method of receiving plate elements 1 according to the invention and a receiving device 30 for carrying out this method.

On the right of Fig. 2, plate members 1 exit a machine 20 not shown having transformed them by performing a process on plates at a speed substantially constant. The plates 1 are separated from each other by a space which can be fixed or variable according to the process of the machine 20, without this affecting this innovation.

A transport device 34 moves the plate elements 1 to an elevator 32. In the exemplary implementation of the invention shown in FIG. 2, an optional tableting device 37 places the sheets 1 in a sheet by advancing a conveyor belt at a fraction of the speed of the machine 20. This fraction is defined by the operator and potentially depends on the plates 1 to be received and the speed of the machine 20, and can be for example of the order of a quarter. The transport device 34 may advantageously also be used as a tableting device 37 for tabling the plates 1.

According to the invention, the transport device 34 is deformable as shown schematically in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. The front edge 35 of the transport device 34 can be moved to lengthen or shorten the transport distance of the plate elements 1.

As shown in FIG. In a start of pack step the front edge 35 of the transport device 34 is brought to a position close to a stopper 31, and at least one plate member 1 is transported to the stopper 31, then deposited on an elevator 32 to form the base of a pack 33, the front edge of which corresponds to the stop 31. During this pack start phase, at least one plate element 1 is thus transported to the stop 31 and then the front edge 35 of the transport device 34 is moved to a package constitution position. As the front edge 35 of the transport device 34 recedes, the base of the package 33 is deposited on the elevator 32 precisely and without any risk of breaking a plate 1.

Then, during a step of forming a package, the plate elements 1 are transported by the transport device 34 to a position corresponding to the rear edge of the package 33 carried by the elevator 32, the elevator descending progressively to As the package is formed, the plate elements are deposited on the top of the package in a conventional manner. Fig. 2 represents an exemplary implementation of the invention during a packet building step.

During an end of packet step, the displacement of certain plate elements 1 intended to form the base of the next packet 33 is interrupted and the plate elements 1 downstream of the interruption are transported to a position corresponding to the rear edge of a package 33 carried by the elevator 32. Thus, when the package 33 has almost reached the desired level, a stopper-sheet device 38 can interrupt if necessary the displacement of the plate elements 1 from the processing machine 20, separating a possible sheet in two when the plate elements are conveyed in sheet.

As the displacement of the plate elements 1 downstream of the stop-sheet device 38 is not interrupted, these plate elements will be transported to the top of the package 33 in the same manner as in the packet forming step. On the other hand, the plate elements 1 upstream of the stopper-sheet device 38 are retained by the stop-sheet device 38, and form an accumulation represented diagrammatically in FIG. 5 or FIG. 8. Optionally, the transport device 34 or the possible tableting device 37 can be slowed, to limit the accumulation of plate elements 1 retained by the stopper-sheet device 38.

The position and the structure of the stopper-sheet device 38 are not critical, and all combinations are conceivable within the scope of the invention. Assuming that the plate elements are formed into a sheet, the stopper-sheet device 38 takes the form of a conventional sheet separator device 38.

During a packet evacuation step, the package 33 is evacuated and the elevator 32 moves upwards. Thus, when all the plate elements 1 downstream of the stopper-sheet device 38 have been deposited on the top of the package 33, the package is evacuated and the elevator 32 rises so as to be in the up position for the next start step of package.

As shown in FIG. 5, the next packet start step may begin while the evacuation step of the previous packet is not yet complete.

The evacuation mode of the packet 33 can take different forms. Thus, in the exemplary implementation shown in FIG. 5, the elevator 32 comprises transport means 36 able to evacuate the pack 33 in a substantially horizontal direction and substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the plate elements 1 by the transport device 34.

In another embodiment shown schematically in FIG. 6, the elevator 32 comprises transport means 36 able to evacuate the pack 33 in a direction substantially horizontal and substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the plate elements 1 by the transport device 34.

The packet mode of operation according to the invention also allows to deport the formation of batteries. Packages of relatively low height are formed and evacuated and eventually stacked in piles of high height. Thus the machine does not need to be raised to form piles directly. In the two embodiments shown in FIG. 5 and 6, if the plate elements are not tableted, the use of a stoppe-sheet device 38 is not mandatory.

For technical reasons, digital printing is performed on the upper surface of the substrate 1. However, other printing technologies, such as flexographic printing, print on the lower surface of the substrate. As a result, many plate processing machines, for example cutting machines, are configured to process printed elements on the underside. Therefore, especially when the receiving device 30 is used at the output of a digital printing machine 20, it may be useful to use the step of evacuating the package 33 to return the package so that it is presented. with the plate elements 1 printed on their underside.

The figures 2, Fig.7 and Fig. 8 schematically show the use of a clamp 40, for example a robot gripper, to evacuate the package 33 during the evacuation phase. The use of such a clamp 40 makes it possible to easily return the package 33 during its evacuation.

In the implementation example shown in FIG. 7 the stopper 31 is fixed and the clamp 40 is provided so that the stopper 31 is inserted between the claws of the clamp 40 when it catches the package 33. In this example of implementation, the front edge 35 of the device of transport 34 is moved back to a package evacuation position corresponding to the maximum thrust accepted for the plate elements 1, ie to the maximum length of the plate elements 1. Indeed, the clamp 40 is provided to effectively capture packages 33 whose elements can have different dimensions.

In the implementation example shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 8, the stopper 31 is movable. During the start of packet step the stopper 31 is positioned in a position of constituting package according to the dimensions of the plate elements 1 which will constitute the package 33, position that the stopper 31 keeps all along the step of package constitution. On the other hand, during the packet evacuation step, the stopper 31 is moved back to a packet evacuation position so as to allow the clamp 44 to grip the pack 33.

In the same way as in the previous example, the front edge 35 of the transport device 34 is moved back to a package evacuation position corresponding to the maximum thrust accepted for the plate elements 1, that is to say to the maximum length of the plate elements 1. In this exemplary implementation, the package 33 may be centered on the elevator 32 and also in the clamp 40 during its evacuation. Naturally, the bumper 31 and the front edge 35 of the transport device 34 each have their own package constitution positions and package evacuation position.

Fig. 9 schematically represents an embodiment in which the elevator 32 comprises transport means 36 able to evacuate at least one plate element 1, for example for quality control purposes. This embodiment can be used for example in the context of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 in which case the evacuation for control purposes will preferably be in a direction opposite to the evacuation of the packs 33; or in conjunction with the use of a clamp 40 as in the embodiments shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

Claims

Method of receiving plate elements 1 for a digital printing machine, characterized in that

During a start of packet step, at least one plate element 1 is transported to a stop 31 and then deposited on an elevator 32 to form the base of a package 33 whose front edge corresponds to the stop 31;

During a packet forming step, the plate elements 1 are transported to a position corresponding to the rear edge of a package 33 carried by the elevator 32, the elevator descending progressively as and when the constitution of the package 33;

During an end of packet step the displacement of certain plate elements 1 intended to form the base of the next packet is interrupted and the plate elements downstream of the interruption are transported to a position corresponding to the rear edge of the pack. a package 33 carried by the elevator 32;

During a packet evacuation step, the package 33 is evacuated and the elevator 32 rises in the up position.

Method of receiving plate elements 1 according to claim 1, characterized in that the packet start step begins before the end of the evacuation step of the previous packet.

Method for receiving plate elements 1 according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the plate elements 1 are formed into a sheet and transported in sheet 2 during the package start and packet forming steps, the sheet 2 being interrupted during the end of packet step.

Method of receiving plate elements 1 according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the evacuation of the package 33 is carried out by transporting the package 33 in a substantially horizontal direction and substantially parallel or perpendicular to the direction transporting the plate elements 1 during the package constitution phase. Method of receiving plate elements 1 according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the evacuation of the package 33 is performed by grasping the package 33 directly on the elevator 32 by means of a clamp 40 .

Plate element receiving device 30 for digital printing machine 20 on corrugated or micro-corrugated plate elements, comprising an elevator 32 adapted to carry a pack 33 of plate elements 1, a bumper 31 determining the position of the front edge of the plate elements 1 in the package 33 and a transport device 34 adapted to transport plate elements 1 of the output of the machine 20 to the elevator 32, characterized in that the transport device 34 is deformable and comprises a front edge 35 movable between a package start position near the bumper 31 and a package constitution position close to the rear of the package 33 of plate elements 1 carried by the elevator 32.

Plate element receiving device 30 according to claim 6, characterized in that the elevator 32 comprises transport means 36 able to evacuate the pack 33 in a substantially horizontal direction and substantially parallel or perpendicular to the direction of travel. plate elements 1 by the transport device 34.

Plate element receiving device 30 according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that it also comprises a sheet-forming device 37 and a sheet-separating device 38.

Plate receiving device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the stopper 31 is movable between a package forming position and a package evacuation position.

Plate receiving device according to claim 9, characterized in that the front edge 35 of the transport device 34 is movable between a package start position near the stopper 31 and a package discharge position with an intermediate packaging position close to the rear of the pack 33 of plate elements 1 carried by the elevator 32.