FOLDING MACHINE AND OPERATION METHOD OF THE SAME

Abstract

A paper folding machine includes: a conveyor belt configured to transport a sheet; a stopper configured to abut against the leading end of the sheet to stop the sheet; a knife having an elongated shape and configured to move onto a folding position of the sheet stopped by the stopper; a guide made of a rigid material and configured to hold the sheet between the conveyor belt and the guide and press the sheet transported to the stopper; and a lifting mechanism configured to adjust the clearance between the guide and the conveyor belt.

Claims

1. A folding machine comprising: a conveyor belt configured to transport a sheet; a stopper configured to abut against the leading end of the sheet to stop the sheet; a knife having an elongated shape and configured to move onto a folding position of the sheet stopped by the stopper; at least one guide made of a rigid material and configured to hold the sheet between the conveyor belt and the guide and press the sheet transported to the stopper; and a clearance adjusting unit configured to adjust the clearance between the guide and the conveyor belt.

2. The folding machine according to claim 1, wherein the guide has an elongated shape extending in a transport direction of the conveyor belt, and a plurality of guides are provided in an orthogonal direction that is orthogonal to the transport direction, and wherein the position in the orthogonal direction of each of the guides is variable.

3. The folding machine according to claim 2, wherein the knife is fixed to a body, and wherein the guides are arranged on both sides of the knife, respectively.

4. The folding machine according to claim 2, wherein each of the guides is expandable in a longitudinal direction along the transport direction.

5. The folding machine according to claim 1 further comprising a control unit configured to adjust the clearance defined by the clearance adjusting unit.

6. An operation method of a folding machine, wherein the folding machine comprises a conveyor belt configured to transport a sheet, a stopper configured to abut against the leading end of the sheet to stop the sheet, a knife having an elongated shape and configured to move onto a folding position of the sheet stopped by the stopper, and at least one guide made of a rigid material and configured to hold the sheet between the conveyor belt and the guide and press the sheet transported to the stopper, the operation method comprising a clearance adjusting step of adjusting the clearance between the guide and the conveyor belt.

7. The operation method of the folding machine according to claim 6, wherein the guide has an elongated shape extending in a transport direction of the conveyor belt, and a plurality of guides are provided in an orthogonal direction that is orthogonal to the transport direction, and wherein the position in the orthogonal direction of each of the guides is variable.

8. The operation method of the folding machine according to claim 7, wherein the knife is fixed to a body, and wherein the guides are arranged on both sides of the knife, respectively.

9. The operation method of the folding machine according to claim 7, wherein each of the guides is expandable in a longitudinal direction along the transport direction.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a paper folding machine according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a main part of a knife folding unit of FIG. 1.

[0028] FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a knife of FIG. 2 in a partially enlarged view.

[0029] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a main part of the knife folding unit, which illustrates a state where a smaller sheet than in FIG. 2 is processed.

[0030] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a state where a conveyor belt and a base plate are connected to each other.

[0031] FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a main part of a lifting mechanism that raises and lowers a guide.

[0032] FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating a state of eccentricity of a downstream slide shaft relative to a fixing shaft part of the lifting mechanism.

[0033] FIG. 8 is a partial enlarged front view illustrating the clearance between the guide and the top face of the conveyor belt.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] One embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0035] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a paper folding machine 1. The paper folding machine 1 includes a sheet feed unit 3, a parallel folding unit 5, and a knife folding unit 7.

[0036] The sheet feed unit 3 includes a placement table 3a on which a plurality of sheets S are stacked and arranged and a sheet feed roller 3b that is operated by instructions from a control unit (not illustrated). A sheet S is taken one by one from the top of the stacked sheets S, and a sheet S is transported in the transport direction A1 toward the parallel folding unit 5.

[0037] The parallel folding unit 5 has a plurality of folding rollers 5a. The plurality of folding rollers 5a are operated by the control unit, and thereby the sheet S is held and folded between the folding rollers 5a. In the parallel folding unit 5, the sheet S is given a folding line in the orthogonal direction A2 orthogonal to the transport direction A1 by the folding rollers 5a and folded in half. A sheet S2 double-folded in half in the transport direction A1 is transported to the knife folding unit 7.

[0038] The knife folding unit 7 has a knife 10 having an elongated shape extending in the transport direction A1 and a pair of knife-adapted folding rollers 12 provided below the knife 10. The double-folded sheet S2 is stopped between the knife 10 and the knife-adapted folding rollers 12, and the knife 10 is moved downward to press the sheet S2 against the knife-adapted folding rollers 12 and hold the sheet S2 between the pair of knife-adapted folding rollers 12. Accordingly, the double-folded sheet S2 is further folded in half in the width direction (the orthogonal direction A2), and a four-folded sheet S4 is formed.

Knife Folding Unit 7

[0039] FIG. 2 illustrates a main part of the knife folding unit 7. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the knife folding unit 7 includes the knife 10, a plurality of guides 14 each having an elongated shape and provided on both sides of the knife 10, a plurality of conveyor belts 16 provided below the guides 14, and stoppers 18 provided downstream of the guides 14.

[0040] The knife 10 is arranged above the sheet S, arranged at substantially the center in the orthogonal direction A2, and fixed to the body of the knife folding unit 7. That is, the folding position of the sheet S defined by the knife 10 is fixed relative to the body of the knife folding unit 7, and this position is used as the center reference position in the orthogonal direction A2 of the paper folding machine 1. Note that, while the knife-adapted folding rollers 12 illustrated in FIG. 1 are arranged below the knife 10 and the sheet S, the depiction thereof is omitted in FIG. 2.

[0041] As illustrated in FIG. 3 in a partially enlarged view, the knife 10 has a shaft part 10a and a blade part 10b. The shaft part 10a has a round rod shape extending in the transport direction A1. Although not illustrated, a knife drive mechanism is connected to the shaft part 10a, and the shaft part 10a is reciprocated in the vertical direction A3. This enables the knife 10 to move closer to or away from the sheet S. The operation of the knife drive mechanism is controlled by the control unit.

[0042] The blade part 10b is fixed to the bottom of the shaft part 10a. The blade part 10b is a plate-like member extending in the transport direction Al, and a tapered edge 10b1 points vertically downward. The edge 10b1 of the blade part 10b abuts against the sheet S. As illustrated in FIG. 2, a plurality of guides 14 are provided on the sides (in the orthogonal direction A2) of the knife 10. Each guide 14 has an elongated shape extending in the transport direction A1, is made of a metal such as stainless steel, and is made of a rigid material. Herein, the rigid material means that it exhibits a smaller amount of elastic deformation than elastic materials such as a brush.

[0043] In FIG. 2, three guides 14 are provided on each of both sides of the knife 10. However, the number of guides 14 is not limited to the above, two guides or four or more guides may be provided on each of both sides of the knife 10.

[0044] The lower ends of the guides 14 restrict upward motion of the sheet S and thereby suppress floating of the sheet S. That is, floating in the longitudinal direction of the sheet S is suppressed by respective guides 14 extending in the transport direction A1, and floating in the width direction (the orthogonal direction A2) of the sheet is suppressed by the plurality of guides 14 provided spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval in the orthogonal direction A2. The height position of the guide 14, that is, the positional relationship of the guide 14 relative to the sheet S is made variable and can be set as appropriate by the lifting mechanism 30. The lifting mechanism 30 will be described later.

[0045] The guide 14 has a core part 14a located downstream in the longitudinal direction (the transport direction A1) and a cylindrical part 14b located upstream from the core part 14a. The guide 14 has a sleeve structure in which the upstream end of the core part 14a is inserted into the cylindrical part 14b, and the core part 14a can be displaced in the longitudinal direction relative to the cylindrical part 14b. This enables a change of the length in the longitudinal direction of the guide 14.

[0046] A hole 14a1 is formed at the downstream end of the core part 14a of each guide 14, and a downstream slide shaft 20 is provided so as to pass through each hole 14a1. The downstream slide shaft 20 has a round rod shape, extends in the orthogonal direction A2, and one downstream slide shaft 20 is provided on each of both sides of the knife 10. Each downstream slide shaft 20 is fixed to a downstream fixing part 22 provided on each of both side parts in the orthogonal direction A2. The downstream fixing part 22 is a member supporting the end of the downstream slide shaft 20 and is not displaced in the orthogonal direction A2 but can be displaced back and forth in the transport direction A1 (see FIG. 4). In FIG. 2, three core parts 14a are supported by each of the left and right downstream slide shafts 20 interposing the knife 10.

[0047] A hole 14b1 is formed in the cylindrical part 14b of each guide 14, and an upstream slide shaft 21 is provided so as to pass through each hole 14b1. The upstream slide shaft 21 extends in the orthogonal direction A2, and one upstream slide shaft 21 is provided on each of both sides of the knife 10. Each upstream slide shaft 21 has a round rod shape and is fixed to an upstream fixing part 23 provided on each of both side parts in the orthogonal direction A2. The upstream fixing part 23 is a member supporting the end of the upstream slide shaft 21 and is displaced neither in the orthogonal direction A2 nor in the transport direction A1 (see FIG. 4). Therefore, the cylindrical part 14b of the guide 14 is not displaced but fixed in the transport direction A1. In FIG. 2, three cylindrical parts 14b are supported by each of the left and right upstream slide shafts 21 interposing the knife 10.

[0048] A plurality of conveyor belts 16 are provided below respective guides 14 so as to be located interposing the sheet S between the conveyor belts 16 and the guides 14. Each conveyor belt 16 is of the endless type and extends in the transport direction A1. The conveyor belts 16 are provided on both sides of the knife 10, respectively. In FIG. 2, three conveyor belts 16 are provided on each of both sides of the knife 10. However, the number of conveyor belts 16 is not limited to the above.

[0049] The conveyor belts 16 are each stretched around rollers (not illustrated) at both ends in the transport direction A1. One of the rollers is a driving roller, and the other is a driven roller. The rotational rate of the driving roller is controlled by a control unit (not illustrated).

[0050] The sheet S is placed on the top faces of respective conveyor belts 16 and, in this state, transported in the transport direction A1. The sheet S travels through the clearance between the top faces of the conveyor belts 16 and the bottom faces of the guides 14.

[0051] The stoppers 18 are provided on the downstream end side in the transport direction A1 of the guide 14. The stoppers 18 stop the sheet S when the leading end of the sheet S transported by the conveyor belts 16 abuts against the stoppers 18.

[0052] The stoppers 18 include a center stopper 18a having a gate-like shape through which the knife 10 passes and side stoppers 18b arranged on both sides of the center stopper 18a, respectively. The dimension in the width direction (the orthogonal direction A2) of the side stopper 18b is larger than that of the center stopper 18a.

[0053] The center stopper 18a and the side stoppers 18b are fixed to one fixing beam 19 that is a square bar, respectively. Each of both ends of the fixing beam 19 is fixed to each fixing part 22.

[0054] The downstream end of each guide 14 is located upstream of the stopper 18, and a positional relationship in which the stopper 18 and each guide 14 do not interfere with each other is established.

[0055] FIG. 4 illustrates a case where a smaller sheet S than the sheet S used in FIG. 2 is processed. As illustrated in FIG. 4, when the smaller sheet S is processed, the stoppers 18 are moved upstream in the transport direction A1, and the guides 14 and the conveyor belts 16 are moved to the knife 10 side located at the center.

[0056] When the stoppers 18 are moved upstream in the transport direction A1, the downstream fixing parts 22 are displaced with respect to the upstream fixing parts 23 fixed on the body side of the paper folding machine 1. At this time, the core parts 14a are inserted in the cylindrical parts 14b of the guides 14, and thereby the length of each guide 14 is reduced. When the stoppers 18 are moved downstream in the transport direction A1, the operation opposite to the above is applied. The motion of the downstream fixing parts 22 may be performed manually or may be performed automatically in accordance with instructions from the control unit based on information on the sheet S and/or fold sections.

[0057] A single guide 14 and a single conveyor belt 16 associated with each other in the vertical direction A3 are moved integrally in the orthogonal direction A2 along the downstream slide shaft 20 and the upstream slide shaft 21.

[0058] FIG. 5 illustrates a state where a single guide 14 and a single conveyor belt 16 associated with each other in the vertical direction A3 are connected to each other. In FIG. 5, a conveyor belt-adapted base plate 25 (hereafter, simply referred to as base plate 25) is provided on the side of the conveyor belt 16. The base plate 25 extends in the transport direction A1 along the conveyor belt 16. Although not illustrated, a driving roller and a driven roller around which the conveyor belt 16 is stretched are held by the base plate 25. This enables the conveyor belt 16 to move together with the base plate 25.

[0059] The base plate 25 is provided with slide mechanisms 27 at front and rear positions, respectively, in the longitudinal direction (the transport direction A1). Each slide mechanism 27 has a feed screw part 27a extending in the orthogonal direction A2. The base plate 25 is moved in the orthogonal direction A2 along the feed screw part 27a by operating a drive motor (not illustrated).

[0060] A downstream bracket 29a and an upstream bracket 29b are connected to the base plate 25 downstream and upstream, respectively, in the longitudinal direction (the transport direction A1). The downstream bracket 29a is fixed to the core part 14a of the guide 14, and the upstream bracket 29b is fixed to the cylindrical part 14b of the guide 14. Each bracket 29a, 29b has a bent shape so as not to interfere with the conveyor belt 16. In such a way, the base plate 25 and the guide 14 are integrated by each bracket 29a, 29b, and thereby the base plate 25, the guide 14, and the conveyor belt 16 can be integrally displaced in the orthogonal direction A2.

[0061] Note that, although FIG. 5 illustrates only the leftmost conveyor belt 16 of FIG. 5, the rightmost guide 14 (see FIG. 2) is also integrated with the base plate 25 and the conveyor belt 16 (not illustrated) and can be displaced in the orthogonal direction A2. Each guide 14 and each conveyor belt 16 located between the guides 14 on both sides are configured to move as appropriate in accordance with the motion of the guides 14 on both sides.

[0062] Next, the lifting mechanism (clearance adjusting unit) 30 that raises and lowers the guides 14 in the vertical direction A3 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. The lifting mechanism 30 has a fixing shaft part 30a to which the end of the downstream slide shaft 20 is fixed and a lever 30b attached to the side circumferential face of the fixing shaft part 30a.

[0063] The fixing shaft part 30a has a circular cylindrical shape, and the end opposite to the end to accept the downstream slide shaft 20 is rotatably attached to the downstream fixing part 22.

[0064] As illustrated in FIG. 7, the center O2 of the downstream slide shaft 20 is provided at a position shifted by a predetermined distance from the center O1 of the fixing shaft part 30a. Because the fixing shaft part 30a and the downstream slide shaft 20 are made eccentric in such a way, pivoting the lever 30b in the pivoting direction R1 about the center O1 changes the height in the vertical direction A3 of the downstream slide shaft 20 and also changes the height of the guide 14 accordingly. A change in the height of the guide 14 causes a change in the clearance t1 between the top face of the conveyor belts 16 (that is, the placement face of the sheet S) and the lower end (the edge) of the guide 14, as illustrated in FIG. 8. Note that the lifting mechanism 30 is not limited to the eccentric mechanism illustrated in FIG. 7, and other lifting mechanisms such as a mechanism with a screw feed mechanism may be used.

[0065] The user adjusts the clearance t1 to a suitable clearance t1 by pivoting the lever 30b to be adapted to the thickness of the sheet S or fold sections to be processed. Note that, although the clearance t1 may be adjusted manually by the lever 30b, the clearance adjustment may be made in accordance with instructions from the control unit by using an electric motor or the like configured to pivot the fixing shaft part 30a without relying on manual operation. In this adjustment, the control unit adjusts the clearance t1 based on information on the sheet S and/or fold sections. Further, even when another lifting mechanism such as a screw feed mechanism is provided instead of an eccentric mechanism illustrated in FIG. 7, the clearance adjustment may be made in accordance with instructions from the control unit.

[0066] The position in the orthogonal direction A2 of the guide 14 may be located directly above the conveyor belt 16 but may be located offset in the orthogonal direction A2 by a predetermined position from the top face of the conveyor belt 16 as illustrated in FIG. 8. Accordingly, floating of the sheet S can be pressed also at a position where the sheet S is not placed on the conveyor belt 16.

[0067] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the lifting mechanisms 30 described above are also provided to the downstream slide shaft 20 on the opposite side with respect to the knife 10 and further provided to each upstream slide shaft 21. The clearance adjustment by respective lifting mechanisms 30 is preferably performed synchronously.

[0068] The control unit described above (not illustrated) is formed of, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a computer readable storage medium, and the like. Further, a series of processes for implementing various functions are stored in a storage medium or the like in a form of a program as an example, and the various functions are implemented when the CPU loads this program into the RAM or the like and performs modification and calculation processing on information. Note that, for the program, a form of being installed in advance in the ROM or other storage media, a form of being provided in a state of being stored in a computer readable storage medium, a form of being delivered via a wired or wireless communication system, or the like may be applied. The computer readable storage medium may be a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor memory, or the like.

[0069] The knife folding unit 7 of the paper folding machine 1 described above operates as follows.

[0070] The sheet S that has reached the knife folding unit 7 via the parallel folding unit 5 from the sheet feed unit 3 is stopped when the leading end of the sheet S collides with the stopper 18. At this time, floating of the sheet S is suppressed by the lower ends of the guides 14 set to ensure a desired clearance t1 with respect to the top face of the conveyor belts 16. The clearance t1 is set to a suitable value in accordance with the thickness of the sheet S.

[0071] The knife 10 is then driven to move downward and, while pressing the center of the sheet S downward by the edge of the blade part 10b of the knife 10, feeds the sheet S between the knife-adapted folding rollers 12 (see FIG. 1) to fold the sheet S (see the four-folded sheet S4 in FIG. 1).

[0072] According to the paper folding machine 1 of the present embodiment, the following effects and advantages are achieved.

[0073] Floating of the sheet S transported by the conveyor belts 16 is suppressed by the guides 14 when the leading end of the sheet S abuts against the stopper 18. The knife 10 having an elongated shape then move onto the sheet S, the sheet S is guided and held between the knife-adapted folding rollers arranged opposite each other interposing the sheet S, and thereby the sheet S is folded, for example.

[0074] Since the guide 14 is made of a rigid material and has a smaller amount of elastic deformation than in a case where an elastic material such as a brush is used, the clearance t1 between the conveyor belt 16 and the guide 14 can be accurately determined. Further, the clearance t1 between the conveyor belt 16 and the guide 14 is adjusted by the lifting mechanism 30 and thus can be adjusted to a suitable clearance dimension in accordance with the thickness of the sheet S or the number of stacked sheets S (the number of folds in fold sections of the sheet S). Accordingly, the stop position of the sheet S is accurately determined for any thickness of the sheet S or any number of stacked sheets S, and this enables precise folding with a knife. Since the clearance t1 can be adjusted precisely, the present embodiment is particularly effective when the bending of the sheet S increases due to the sheet S being thinner or larger.

[0075] A plurality of guides 14 each having an elongated shape extending in the transport direction A1 are provided in the orthogonal direction A2. Accordingly, floating of the sheet S not only in the transport direction A1 but also in the orthogonal direction A2 can be suppressed.

[0076] Since the position in the orthogonal direction A2 of each guide 14 is variable, the position of the guide 14 can be set as appropriate in accordance with the dimension in the orthogonal direction A2 of the sheet S. Accordingly, the paper folding machine 1 is adaptable to sheets S of various sizes.

[0077] Since the knife 10 is fixed to the body of the knife folding unit 7, the folding position of the sheet S defined by the knife 10 is determined with respect to the body. The plurality of guides 14 are arranged on both sides of the knife 10, more specifically, symmetrically with respect to the knife 10. Accordingly, while causing the knife 10 to be located at substantially the center in the width direction (the orthogonal direction A2) of the sheet S, it is possible to accurately position the sheet S at the stop position.

[0078] Since each guide 14 is expandable in the longitudinal direction along the transport direction A1, the length of the guide 14 can be set as appropriate in accordance with the dimension in the transport direction A1 of the sheet S. Accordingly, the paper folding machine 1 is adaptable to sheets S of various sizes.

[0079] Note that, although the paper folding machine 1 configured to fold the sheet S has been described as an example in the embodiment described above, an object to be folded is not limited to paper, and any folding machine configured to fold sheets made of other materials such as a resin may be employed.