A pick-up device picking up stacked sheet-shaped workpieces from the top, the device includes a nozzle mechanism that includes a pick-up nozzle pulling up a first workpiece from the top of the stacked workpieces by air blowing, and a holding mechanism that holds the first workpiece from the top. The pick-up nozzle includes a ventilation groove provided on a bottom surface opposite to an upper surface of the first workpiece from the top and passing through to an air blowing side end part of the bottom surface, and a nozzle port blowing air toward the air blowing side end part of the bottom surface along the inside of the ventilation groove, and the air blowing side end part of a groove inner bottom surface of the ventilation groove is formed in a shape directed in a direction of being separated from the workpiece.

The invention relates to a packaging apparatus (1) for combining a plurality of articles (8) an outer package (6) formed from a cardboard blank (3). The packaging apparatus (1) comprises a magazine (2) for cardboard blanks (3), the cardboard blanks (3) being stacked and lying on top of one another within the magazine (2), a removal apparatus (4) for the cardboard blanks (3), and a handling device (5). The removal apparatus (4) is vertically and horizontally movable and comprises at least one suction tool (9) for withdrawing a cardboard blank (3) from the magazine (2). The suction tool (9) arranged pivotally movable within the removal apparatus (4) or on the removal apparatus (4) for executing a compensation movement and aligning the withdrawn cardboard blank (3) in a horizontal plane. The invention also concerns the removal apparatus (4) (3) and a method for withdrawing cardboard blanks (3).

The invention relates to a device for gas and/or vacuum distribution (1) for a sheet processing machine (100), the device includes: at least one controllable pilot valve (4; 40), a fixed body (5) including: at least one main gas inlet (7) to be connected to a gas or vacuum source, at least one main gas outlet (8) intended to be connected to at least one suction cup and/or to at least one nozzle, at least a first and a second control gas openings (10, 11), at least one of the openings being connected to the controllable pilot valve (4; 40), at least one housing (9) having a first chamber (9a) communicating with the main gas inlet (7) and outlet (8) and a second chamber (9b) communicating with the first and second control gas openings (10, 11), at least one mobile piston (6) axially movable in the housing (9) by the action of a control gas or vacuum supplied in the second chamber (9b) through the at least one control gas opening (10, 11) connected to the controllable pilot valve (4; 40), the mobile piston (6) being movable between: a closed position in which the mobile piston (6) blocks a gas path (16) between the main gas inlet (7) and outlet (8) in the first chamber (9a), and an open position in which the mobile piston (6) releases the gas path (16), first and second chambers (9a, 9b) isolated from each other by cooperation of shapes between the mobile piston (6) and the housing (9) without frictional seal between the mobile piston (6) and the housing (9). Also disclosed are a suction unit and a feeder including such a device for gas and/or vacuum distribution and a sheet processing machine comprising such feeder or such a device for gas and/or vacuum distribution.

A medium feeding device includes a container member that accommodates sheet media, a discharging member located further than the media accommodated in the container member in a discharging direction in which the media are discharged, to discharge the media one by one, a hand-over member disposed above the container member to suck the media accommodated in the container member with air and pass the media to the discharging member, a floating device disposed on a side of the media accommodated in the container member to blow air to an upper area of a side end surface of the media to float the media while an upper portion of the media is separated, a detector that detects a separation state of the medium floated by the floating device, and a controller that controls a medium-feeding operation including a pre-feeding blowing operation and a during-feeding blowing operation, the pre-feeding blowing operation serving as an air blowing operation performed by the floating device before the medium is fed, and the during-feeding blowing operation serving as an air blowing operation performed by the floating device from a start of feeding the medium and an end of feeding the medium. While performing the pre-feeding blowing operation or the during-feeding blowing operation, the controller performs detection with the detector, and on condition that a result of the detection fails to satisfy a preset target range, the controller changes a parameter for the medium-feeding operation including at least one of the pre-feeding blowing operation or the during-feeding blowing operation.

A medium feeding device includes a container member that accommodates sheet media, a discharging member disposed further than the media accommodated in the container member in a discharging direction in which the media are discharged, a hand-over member disposed above the container member at a position closer to the discharging member, a floating device disposed on a side of the media accommodated in the container member, and an auxiliary suction member disposed above the container member on a side of the hand-over member opposite to a side closer to the discharging member in the discharging direction in which the media are discharged. The auxiliary suction member is disposed closer to the hand-over member than to an end portion of the media accommodated in the container member opposite to an end portion of the media located closer to the discharging member.

A single-sheet lifter includes a base frame arranged in a vicinity of a loading area and extending vertically, a separation unit configured to separate an uppermost workpiece from a plurality of the workpieces loaded in the loading area by means of at least one of an injection pressure of air and a suction force, and a counter balancer configured to reduce a weight acting on the separation unit. The separation unit is provided to the base frame so as to be able to move up and down. The separation unit includes a contact member that comes into contact with a surface of the uppermost workpiece. The separation unit is configured to go up following a lifting operation of a workpiece suction lifter and be retracted from above the loading area when the workpiece suction lifter sucks the surface of the uppermost workpiece to lift the workpiece.

A device is provided for feeding sheets to a sheet-processing machine having at least one processing mechanism. A feeder head is provided for cyclically separating the sheets from a pile of such sheets and has transporting suckers for transporting the sheets to a belt table. The belt table has at least one revolving transport belt which is guided over at least two feed rollers. A first drive is assigned to at least one feed roller and a sheet flap, which is connected to a pivotally mounted shaft, is provided between the transporting suckers and the at least one transport belt. A second drive is assigned to the shaft, for pivoting that shaft. A sheet arrival sensor, which is arranged between the belt table and the processing mechanism, generates first signals representing the arrival of the sheets for a sequence of sheets. A clock generator generates second signals representing the angular position of the at least one processing mechanism, and has a controller, which controls the first drive as a function of the second signals and which controls the second drive as a function of the first and second signals.

A method for taking out paper sheets that is capable of accurately taking out paper sheets (for example, separator cards) stored in a paper sheet storage container one-by-one at low cost. In this paper sheet taking-out method, air is blown from the side of or below the paper sheet while it is in a spread state, so that the upper surface of the paper sheet is raised. In this state, sucking the upper surface of the paper sheet by a suction mechanism allows for taking out the paper sheet with high accuracy.

The present invention relates to a cover member for a storing means, a respective storing means and a gripping system, comprising said storing means. Further, the present invention relates to a method for gripping and separating stacked flat elements. The cover member is adapted for being installed on a top side of a storing means for storing a stack of multiple flat elements 100 having a predefined size. The cover member 1 defines a first opening 13 having a rim portion 13a, 13b, wherein the first opening 13 is adapted to be associated with at least one gripping unit 30, so that the gripping unit 30 can access the storing means for gripping and removing a flat element 102 through the first opening 13, when the cover member 1 is installed on the top side of the storing means 10. The first opening is sized so that a gripped flat element 102 abuts the rim portion 13a, 13b when being removed through the first opening 13 from the storing means, so as to be bend and separated from an underlying flat element 104.

Provided is a sheet folding apparatus including: a stacking unit configured to be stacked with a paper stack; a feeding roller configured to come into contact with a surface of the uppermost sheet of the paper stack and feed sheets in a feeding direction; and a sheet separating mechanism configured to separate the uppermost sheet of the paper stack from the remaining sheets. The sheet separating mechanism has a suction unit that sucks and pulls the uppermost sheet of the paper stack upward in upstream in a feeding direction and an injection mechanism that separates the uppermost sheet from the remaining sheets by injecting air toward a predetermined region including an end face in upstream in the feeding direction of the paper stack including the uppermost sheet. The injection mechanism has a rotary injection unit configured to inject air to change a first injection direction oriented to the predetermined region.