Device for separating sheet material

Abstract

A device for separating sheet material has an actuator and a sheet material holder coupled thereto. The actuator is designed for moving the sheet material holder. The sheet material holder is designed for receiving an individual sheet material piece from a sheet material stack in which the sheet material pieces are arranged in a layered manner one above another along a vertical direction. The actuator is designed to set the sheet material holder into an oscillating rotational movement about a rotation axis that lies substantially parallel to the vertical direction, in order to receive the individual sheet material piece from the sheet material stack.

Claims

1. A device for separating sheet material, having an actuator and a sheet-material engagement coupled thereto and an engaging head at a distal end of the sheet-material engagement, the engaging head has an elastic material having a hardness of 30 to 95 Shore A for contacting the sheet-material, wherein the actuator is configured for repositioning the sheet-material engagement, and wherein the sheet-material engagement is configured for engaging an individual sheet-material piece from a sheet-material stack in which a multiplicity of sheet-material pieces are disposed in a layered manner on top of one another along a plumb-line direction, wherein the actuator is configured for setting the sheet-material engagement in an oscillating rotary motion about a rotation axis extending along an angular range of less than 10, where the sheet-material engagement rotates about the rotation axis in a first direction and in a direction opposite the first direction about the rotation axis, and repeats rotating in the first direction and the direction opposite the first direction at a specific frequency greater than 1 kHz while engaged with the individual sheet-material piece from the sheet-material stack; and the rotation axis lies substantially parallel with the plumb-line direction, so as to engage the individual sheet-material piece from the sheet-material stack.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sheet-material engagement in relation to the rotation axis is configured to be rotationally symmetrical.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the engaging head has a convex, a planar, or a concave circumferential profile.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuator is configured to remove the engaged individual sheet-material piece from the sheet-material stack in a first direction substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal side of the individual sheet-material piece.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuator is configured to remove the engaged individual sheet-material piece from the sheet-material stack in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the plumb-line direction.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuator is configured to press the sheet-material engagement for engaging the individual sheet-material piece onto a surface of the individual sheet-material piece at a specific force.

7. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the frequency of the oscillating rotary motion is determined so as to depend on a height of the individual sheet-material piece.

8. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sheet-material engagement engaging head has a main body from a first material, and a coating applied thereto from a second material, wherein the second material contains the elastic material.

9. The device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the main body is substantially cylindrical, having a length of approximately 10 mm and a radius of approximately 5 mm, wherein the thickness of the coating is approximately 0.5 mm.

10. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sheet-material engagement, by virtue of the oscillating rotary motion thereof about the rotation axis and by virtue of a force exerted by the actuator for pressing the sheet-material engagement onto a surface of the individual sheet-material piece, is configured for initiating an attractive force between the sheet-material engagement and the individual sheet-material piece so as to remove the individual sheet-material piece from the sheet-material stack.

11. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuator is configured for repositioning the sheet-material engagement along the plumb-line direction, and is configured for setting the sheet-material engagement in said oscillating rotary motion about the rotation axis.

12. The device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a coupling element at a proximal end of the sheet-material engagement for coupling to the actuator.

13. The device as claims in claim 1, wherein the frequency is 20 to 40 kHz.

14. A method for separating sheet material by means of a device having an actuator and a sheet-material engagement coupled thereto, wherein the actuator is configured for repositioning the sheet-material engagement, and wherein the sheet-material engagement is configured for engaging an individual sheet-material piece from a sheet-material stack in which a multiplicity of sheet-material pieces are disposed in a layered manner on top of one another along a plumb-line direction, wherein the method comprises the following steps: setting the sheet-material engagement in an oscillating rotary motion about a rotation axis, where the sheet-material engagement repeatedly rotates in an oscillating rotary motion while engaged with the individual sheet-material piece from the sheet-material stack at a specified frequency about the rotation axis in both a first direction and a direction opposite the first direction about the rotation axis, by means of the actuator, to engage the individual sheet-material piece from the sheet-material stack while conveying the individual sheet-material piece from the sheet-material stack along a direction perpendicular to the plumb-line direction, wherein the rotation axis lies substantially parallel with the plumb-line direction wherein the specified frequency is determined by modeling the sheet-material stack as a monolithic bar having elements corresponding to the multiplicity of sheet-material pieces.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, where the modeling includes eigenmodes determined from a first equation including a mass matrix and a rigidity matrix.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, where a connection between the individual sheet material pieces is modulated as a torsion spring.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, where the modeling further includes a second equation describing the relation between torque of torsion, sheer modulus, and area moment of inertia.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, where the modeling further includes a third equation defining motion for the individual sheet-material piece.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of three sheet-material pieces.

(2) FIG. 2 shows a perspective and schematic view of a device for singularizing sheet material.

(3) FIG. 3 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the device shown in FIG. 2.

(4) FIG. 4 shows a further schematic cross-sectional view of the device shown in FIG. 2.

(5) FIGS. 5A-C show schematic cross-sectional views of a sheet-material receiver in the device shown in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 show schematic views of a device 1 for singularizing sheet material. FIG. 2 shows the device 1 in a perspective view, and FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show the device in cross-sectional views.

(7) The device 1 is designed for singularizing sheet material. Specifically, it is intended that individual sheet-material pieces 5-1 to 5-n that are disposed in a layered manner on top of one another along a plumb-line direction y and thus configure a sheet-material stack 5 are singularized. To this end, the device 1 comprises a sheet-material receiver 12 which is driven by an actuator 11 of the device 1. The actuator 11 thus sets the sheet-material receiver 12 in specific motions, as will be explained in more detail at a later point. A schematic cross-sectional view of this sheet-material receiver 12 is shown in FIG. 5.

(8) In order for the configuration of the device 1 for singularizing sheet material, and for a method for singularizing sheet material, to be explained, reference is made hereunder to all FIGS. 2 to 5. It is to be subsequently explained in an exemplary manner by means of FIG. 1 how specific control parameters for operating the device 1 may be calculated.

(9) The actuator 11 has a translatory element 111 and a rotary element 112. The actuator 11 is actuated by a control unit (not shown in the figures) of the device 1.

(10) The translatory element 111 is configured for repositioning the sheet-material receiver 12 along the plumb-line direction y, and the sheet-material receiver is set in an oscillating rotary motion about a rotation axis r that lies parallel with the plumb-line direction y by way of the rotary element 112 of the actuator 11.

(11) Moreover, the actuator 11, having the translatory element 111 and the rotary element 112, is disposed so as to be movable along a first direction x that lies substantially perpendicular to the plumb-line direction y, and/or a second direction z, such that a received sheet-material piece 5-1 may be removed from the sheet-material stack 5 in the x-direction or the z-direction.

(12) The sheet-material stack 5 is, for example, a stack of paper sheets, cardboard sheets, paper securities (for example bank notes, currency notes, or checks), or similar sheet-shaped media. Said media is disposed in a layered manner on top of one another along the plumb-line direction y, thus configuring the sheet-material stack 5. Each of the sheet-material pieces 5-1 to 5-n in the example shown has the same length L, the same width B, and the same height H. However, the subject matter of the present invention does not require that all sheet-material pieces 5-1 to 5-n have the same dimensions.

(13) In order for an individual sheet-material piece, specifically the topmost sheet-material piece 5-1, to be received, the actuator 11, having the sheet-material receiver 12 coupled thereto, is initially positioned above the sheet-material stack 5. Thereafter, the actuator 11 presses the sheet-material receiver 12 onto a surface 51 of the topmost sheet-material piece 5-1, for example onto a central point of the topmost sheet-material piece 5-1, as is schematically shown in FIG. 2. Thereafter, the actuator 11 by means of the translatory element 111 presses the sheet-material receiver 12 onto the surface 51 of the topmost sheet-material piece 5-1 at a specific force. Prior, during, or after pressing the sheet-material receiver 12 onto the surface 51, the actuator 11 by means of the rotary element 112 sets the sheet-material receiver 12 in an oscillating rotary motion about the rotation axis r.

(14) The oscillating rotary motion about the rotation axis r extends across an angular range of less than 10. For example, the actuator 11 rotates the sheet-material receiver 12 by an angle of 1 about the rotation axis r along a rotation direction rr. Thereafter, the actuator 11 sets the sheet-material receiver 12 in a rotation by 1 along the opposite rotation direction rr, repeating this procedure at a specific frequency. This oscillating rotary motion is performed at a frequency of greater than 1 kHz, for example. The frequency is approximately 20 to 40 kHz, for example. The frequency is determined so as to depend on the height H of the individual sheet-material piece 5-1, for example. For example, the frequency is proportional to a reciprocal value of the height H of the individual sheet-material piece 5-1. This will be explained in more detail at a later point with reference to FIG. 1.

(15) With reference to FIGS. 5A-C, exemplary potential design embodiments of the sheet-material receiver 12 are to be discussed in more detail initially. The sheet-material receiver 12 at the proximal end thereof comprises a coupling element 121 which in FIG. 5 is illustrated in only a schematic manner. The sheet-material receiver 12 by way of the coupling element 121 is coupled to the rotary element 112 of the actuator 11.

(16) The sheet-material receiver 12 is designed so as to be substantially cylindrical, in particular thus so as to be rotationally symmetrical in relation to the rotation axis r. The sheet-material receiver 12 at the distal end thereof has a receiving head 122.

(17) In the case of the example shown in FIG. 5A, the receiving head 122 is designed so as to be spherical-symmetrical and convex in relation to a reference point P that lies on the rotation axis r. In other words, the receiving head 122, and thus the distal end of the sheet-material receiver 12, has a convex circumferential profile. The surface of the receiving head 122 may thus be designed in such a manner that each point lying thereon has the same distance R, which consequently corresponds to a spherical radius, with respect to the reference point P. This spherical radius R is established so as to depend on the application or on the type of sheet material, respectively.

(18) In the case of the example corresponding to FIG. 5A, the sheet-material receiver 12 has a main body 12-1 that is molded from a first material, and a coating 12-2 from a second material that differs from the first material. The second material of the coating 12-2 comprises an elastic material, for example silicone or another rubber-type material. The first material of the main body 12-1 of the sheet-material receiver 12 has an elasticity that is lower than the elasticity of the material of the coating 12-2. The coating 12-2 in the case of the example shown is provided only on the receiving head 122, and has a minor thickness of one millimeter or less than one millimeter, for example 0.5 mm.

(19) However, the sheet-material receiver 12 at the distal end thereof does not necessarily have to have a convex circumferential profile and/or said coating 12-2. In the case of the variant according to FIG. 5B, the receiving head 122, and thus the distal end of the sheet-material receiver 12, has a substantially planar circumferential profile, and, in the variant according to FIG. 5C, the receiving head 122, and thus the distal end of the sheet-material receiver 12, has a substantially convex circumferential profile.

(20) Depending on the type of the sheet-material piece 5-1, . . . , 5-n to be received, one specific circumferential profile of the receiving head 122 may be more expedient than another. Notwithstanding the sheet-material receiver 12 in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 being shown having a receiving head 122 having a convex circumferential profile, the exemplary embodiments therein are not limited to such a receiving head 122. Rather, the receiving head 122 also in the case of the examples according to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 may have a substantially planar or a concave circumferential profile.

(21) Once the actuator 11 has pressed the sheet-material receiver 12 onto the surface 51 of the topmost sheet-material piece 5-1, and has set the sheet-material receiver 12 in said oscillating rotary motion, the topmost sheet-material piece 5-1 is repositioned by a first distance 1 in the x-direction, and a sheet-material piece 5-2 lying therebelow is repositioned by a second distance 2. It can be clearly seen in FIG. 4 that the first distance 1 is significantly greater than the second distance 2.

(22) Ultimately, the contact pressure of the sheet-material receiver 12 and the oscillating rotary motion of the sheet-material receiver 12 enable the removal of the topmost sheet-material piece 5-1 from the sheet-material stack 5. The actuator 11, while maintaining the oscillating rotary motion of the sheet-material receiver 12, may draw the topmost sheet-material piece 5-1 from the sheet-material stack 5, and convey said topmost sheet-material piece 5-1 to a sheet-material output device (not shown in the figures), for example. Upon delivery of the conveyed sheet-material piece 5-1, the actuator 11 returns to the sheet-material stack 5 and proceeds in the same way with the next sheet-material piece 5-2.

(23) The sheet-material receiver 12, by virtue of the oscillating rotary motion thereof about the rotation axis r, and by virtue of the force exerted by the actuator 11 for pressing the sheet-material receiver 12 onto the surface 51 of the topmost sheet-material piece 5-1, is thus configured for initiating an attractive force between the sheet-material receiver 12 and the individual sheet-material piece 5-1, such that the individual sheet-material piece 5-1 may be removed from the sheet-material stack 5.

(24) In order for the frequency of the oscillating rotary motion of the sheet-material receiver 12 to be determined, the following procedure may be followed, for example: The sheet-material stack 5 is modeled as a monolithic bar having a rectangular cross section. This bar comprises n imaginary elements, wherein n corresponds to the number of individual sheet-material pieces 5-1 to 5-n, each element corresponding to one sheet-material piece. Of these n elements, the elements i1, i, and i+1, which thus in an exemplary manner represent three sheet-material pieces 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3, lying on top of one another, are illustrated in FIG. 1.

(25) By means of the equation 1
M.Math.{umlaut over ()}+K.Math.=0 with M, K .sup.n*n (1)
eigenmodes of this bar are determined. In the equation (1) M refers to a mass matrix, K refers to a rigidity matrix, refers to a twisting angle of an element (sheet-material piece about the rotation axis r), and {umlaut over ()} refers to the second temporal derivation of .
Equations of motion are established in order for the mass matrix M and the rigidity matrix K to be determined. A respective connection between the individual n imaginary elements is modulated as a torsion spring having a rigidity c. This rigidity c results from the following equations 2 for a twisting angle of an element subjected to torsion:

(26) $\begin{array}{cc}=T.Math.\frac{d}{G.Math.I_t}.fwdarw.T=\frac{G.Math.I_t}{d}.Math..fwdarw.c=\frac{G.Math.I_t}{d}& \left(2\right)\end{array}$

(27) In the equation (2) T refers to the torque of torsion G refers to the shear modulus I.sub.t refers to the area moment of inertia d refers to the length of the bar
The equation of motion 3 results for the i.sup.th element (sheet-material piece):
J.sub.i.Math.{umlaut over ()}.sub.i+c.Math.(.sub.i.sub.i+1)+c.Math.(.sub.i.sub.i1)=0 with 1i<n (3)
wherein J refers to a rotary inertia, and the following equation 4 results for the n.sup.th equation of motion:
J.sub.i.Math.{umlaut over ()}.sub.i+c.Math.(.sub.i.sub.i1)=0 (4)
In the case of a sheet-material stack having three sheet-material pieces (n=3), the mass matrix M and the rigidity matrix K result as follows:

(28) $M=\left[\begin{array}{ccc}J& 0& 0\\ 0& J& 0\\ 0& 0& J\end{array}\right]\mathrm{and}K=\left[\begin{array}{ccc}2.Math.c& -c& 0\\ -c& 2.Math.c& -c\\ 0& -c& c\end{array}\right]$

(29) By means of the complete description of the bar by way of the two matrices M and K, the natural frequencies together with the respective eigenmodes that are described by the eigenvectors may be determined. For example, a calculation is performed using the following parameters which are reflected in the table:

(30) TABLE-US-00001 Formula indicator Variable Value Unit .sub.i Twisting angle of the i.sup.th element (sheet-material piece) n Number of elements lying 60 on top of one another (sheet-material pieces) m Mass of an individual 0.001125 kg element (sheet-material piece) G Shear modulus 300000 $\frac{N}{m^2}$ B Width of an individual 0.075 m element (sheet-material piece) L Length of an individual 0.15 m element (sheet-material piece) I.sub.t Area moment of inertia to 0.0000144842 m.sup.4 torsion k Computation coefficient 0.22888542 H Height of an individual 0.001 m element (sheet-material piece) J Rotary inertia 0.00000263672 kg m.sup.2 C Rigidity torsion spring 4345.26 Nm

(31) By means of this data, for example by means of the equation (2) and the values in the table, it may be determined that the frequency of the oscillating rotary motion is to be 40.595 kHz, for example, in order for the topmost sheet-material piece 5-1 to be removed from the sheet-material stack 5, without the remaining sheet-material pieces 5-2 to 5-n being removed conjointly from the sheet-material stack 5. In particular, it is also possible for the frequency of the oscillating rotary motion to be determined independently of the number n of the sheet-material pieces 5-1 to 5-n. Numerical values and computation methods stated above are to be understood as being merely exemplary, of course.

(32) In the case of the above explanation of the device and of the method for singularizing sheet material, it has always been assumed that the sheet-material receiver 12 engages the topmost sheet-material piece 5-1 of the sheet-material stack 5. However, it is also possible for the sheet-material receiver 12 to engage the lowermost sheet-material piece 5-n of the sheet-material stack 5. In the case of this variant, the sheet-material receiver 12 is pressed onto the lower side of the lowermost sheet-material piece 5-n and is likewise set in said oscillating rotary motion about the rotation axis r.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS/ABBREVIATIONS USED

(33) 1 Device for singularizing sheet material 11 Actuator 12 Sheet-material receiver 12-1 Main body 12-2 Coating 121 Coupling element 122 Receiving head 5 Sheet-material stack 5-1, . . . , 5-n Sheet-material pieces 51 Surface of the topmost sheet-material piece 5-1 B Width of an individual sheet-material piece L Length of an individual sheet-material piece H Height of an individual sheet-material piece r Rotation axis rr Direction of the oscillating rotary motion (Rotation direction) R Spherical radius P Reference point on the rotation axis r x x-axis/first direction y y-axis/plumb-line direction z z-axis/second direction 1 First distance 2 Second distance