Machine for processing individual sheets

A machine for processing individual sheets, the machine comprising:

• at least one processing station;
• a transport system for transporting the individual sheets through the at least one processing station, along a transport direction, the transport system comprising:
• at least one gripper conveyor movable along the transport direction, for gripping an individual sheet of the individual sheets defining a sheet position in the transport direction, and at least one support conveyor movable along the transport direction for supporting a region of the individual sheet, the at least one support conveyor comprising a vacuum system for supporting the individual sheet on an interacting surface of the at least one support conveyor, the vacuum system comprising a plurality of orifices in the interacting surface of the at least one support conveyor, wherein the supported individual sheet and the at least one support conveyor are movable along the transport direction with respect to each other;
• and
• a control system for controlling a movement of the at least one gripper conveyor and the at least one support conveyor such that the supported region coincides with a processing region of the at least one processing station, wherein the control system is designed to control a speed of movement along the transport direction of the at least one support conveyor to be smaller than a speed of movement along the transport direction of the at least one gripper conveyor, during a processing operation.

A process for processing printing individual sheets, the process comprising:

• gripping a sheet of the individual sheets by a gripper conveyor running in a transport direction;
• transporting, by the gripper conveyor, the gripped sheet along the transport direction, through a processing station;
• during the transport through the processing station, supporting a region of the gripped sheet by a support conveyor running in the transport direction;
• and
• during the transport of the support conveyor through a processing region of the processing station, selectively switching a number of connections of a vacuum system of the support conveyor, the connections being arranged along the transport direction,
• wherein a distance between the gripper conveyor and the support conveyor is changed during the transport through the processing station in order to ensure that the supported region coincides with a processing region of the processing station.

A process for processing printing individual sheets, the process comprising:

• gripping a sheet of the individual sheets by a gripper conveyor running in a transport direction;
• transporting, by the gripper conveyor, the gripped sheet along the transport direction, through a processing station;
• during the transport through the processing station, supporting a region of the gripped sheet by a support conveyor running in the transport direction;
• and
• during the transport of the support conveyor through a processing region of the processing station, selectively switching a number of connections of a vacuum system of the support conveyor, the connections being arranged along the transport direction,
• wherein the gripper conveyor comprises a first gripper conveyor and a second gripper conveyor, and
• a leading edge of the gripped sheet is gripped by the first gripper conveyor and a trailing edge of the gripped sheet is gripped by the second gripper conveyor, the support conveyor being arranged between the first gripper conveyor and the second gripper conveyor in the transport direction,
• wherein after the gripping, a distance between the first gripper conveyor and the second gripper conveyor is controlled in such a way that a tensioning force is applied to the individual sheet for straightening the individual sheet.