Method and device for transporting flat products away
AssigneeFerag AG
InventorAlex Keller
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and device for transporting flat, flexible products away from a stack of the products. The leading edge of each individual product is bent away downward from the underside of the stack of products by means of a suction element. The individual product is then transported away by means of a gripper that grips the leading edge region. The direction of movement of the gripper in the region of the underside of the stack of products runs substantially from the leading edge region to the trailing edge region of the products in the stack of products.
Claims31
A method of transporting away flat flexible, especially printed products, stored in a product stack, comprising the steps of:
- supporting the product stack on its underside in its lateral regions by means of a supporting device having at least one release cutout or release aperture,
- gripping each individual product in its central section and in its leading edge region and then bending it away downward from the underside of the product stack by means of a suction element arranged below the product stack while the product is supported from below in its lateral regions, the product being bent away when its leading edge region comes to lie in the region of the release cutout or release aperture,
- transporting the gripped and bent product away by means of a moveable gripper that grips the leading edge region, the direction of movement of the gripper in the region of the underside of the product stack running substantially from the leading edge region to the trailing edge region of the products in the product stack,
- whereby each individual product, after being bent away by means of the suction element, is transferred directly from the suction element to a gripper, so that each product is continually held either by the suction element or by the gripper while it is being bent away and while it is being transported away immediately thereafter.
A device for transporting away flat flexible products, especially printed products, stored in a product stack comprising:
- a supporting device for supporting the product stack on its underside in its lateral regions and having at least one release cutout or release aperture,
- a plurality of grippers movable along a gripper conveying path running underneath of the product stack, and
- a plurality of suction elements movable along at least one suction element conveying path running underneath the product stack, at least some portions of the suction element conveying path running along or parallel to the gripper conveying path,
- whereby the section of the gripper conveying path and of the suction element conveying path arranged underneath of the product stack extends along the central section of the product stack.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.