US20040195761A1

US20040195761A1 - Device and process for delivery of pieces of flat material cut out of a web

Info

Publication number: US20040195761A1
Application number: US10/754,087
Authority: US
Inventors: Martin Blumle
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Winkler and Duennebier GmbH
Priority date: 2003-01-08
Filing date: 2004-01-08
Publication date: 2004-10-07
Also published as: EP1437317A3; EP1437317A2; DE10300233B3

Abstract

A device for delivering pieces of flat material, which are cut out of a web, into delivery containers is described. This device is to be so improved upon that full delivery containers can be replaced by empty delivery containers, without having to interrupt the delivery process. In order to achieve this, it is proposed to provide at least a first and a section suction roll, which is driven by way of rotation and can be applies with vacuum to retain the pieces of flat material in the peripheral area of said rolls, and at least a first and a second delivery container for delivering the pieces of flat material, in which the vacuum application can be so controlled by means of a vacuum controlling device that the pieces of flat material alternatively can be fed either to the first or the second delivery container.

Description

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device and process for delivery of pieces of flat material cut out of a web. Pieces of flat material within the scope of the present invention, for example, are wet gummed labels made of paper and/or similar materials or food container lids made of aluminum or similar materials. Wet gummed labels particularly are applied to bottles of any type, above all, beverage bottles as well as food glass jars, such as jars containing sandwich spreads of any type. Food container lids made of aluminum, for example, may be yogurt cup lids or the like. Furthermore, other pieces of flat material, such as envelope blanks, may be pieces of flat material within the scope of the present invention.

2. Background Art

It is generally known that wet gummed labels for beverage bottles and similar containers are punched out from a stack of layered paper by means of the so-called lift-punching process. This process reaches its limits if relatively complicated label geometries are to be produced, such as the shape of the known Smirnoff Vodka label. Furthermore, the lift-punching process is unusable if the labels to be produced are to be provided with impressions and/or perforations. Especially inside impressions, such as windows in labels or envelopes, cannot be produced with the lift-punching process.

Furthermore, it also is known to produce self-adhesive labels or yogurt cup lids made of aluminum. Further, a web is guided via a rotating cutting roll, which cuts pieces of material out of the web, which have the required geometry of the self-gummed label and/or the yogurt cup lid. Subsequently, the cut out pieces of material are collected in collectors.

With the rotation process, the objective always is to cut pieces of flat material out of the web in such a manner that a minimum of unused web remains as waste. This can be achieved by means of optimization processes which, as a function of the geometry of the pieces of flat material to be cut out, produce the optimum configuration of contour lines of the individual pieces of flat material on the web. This type of optimization regularly produces several rows of contours of pieces of flat material to be cut out, which run in the longitudinal direction of the web, said pieces being usually provided with the desired lettering prior to cutout. Because of the optimization goal of keeping the waste produced by the paper web as low as possible, said rows frequently interfere with each other. In the following, the aforesaid rows are referred to as blank rows. The greater the number of blank rows, which can be provided with the specified width of the web, the greater the number of pieces—also referred to as blanks—of flat material which can be cut out the web per rotation of the cutting roll and thus per time unit.

The generally known devices and/or processes for cutting self-adhesive labels or yogurt cut lids by way of rotation are inadequate, as far as the delivery of completely cut-out pieces of flat material is concerned. Especially, with the endeavored high degree of utilization, i.e., with a relatively high number of pieces of flat material cut out per time unit, automation in the area of delivering pieces of flat material is desirable. This type of automation first of all requires that, due to optimizing waste, the pieces of flat material produced within the very narrow space behind the cutting roll are spaced in such a manner that said pieces can be fed to an automated delivery. In the following, this spacing process is referred to as blank separation.

Following the blank separation, the pieces of flat material, for example, must be deposited into the delivery containers. As soon as a delivery container has been filled with pieces of flat material, the full container must be replaced with another empty container. The replacement of delivery containers creates an undesired interruption in the production and/or delivery process, as no new delivery container is available for filling with pieces of flat material.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to create a device and a process for delivering flexible pieces of flat material, which are cut out of a web, enabling said pieces to be fed to an automated delivery, with the rows of blanks being positioned in relatively close proximity.

The foregoing object is achieved in the present invention by means of a device or a process comprising the characteristic elements of

claim

1 and/or 15. Further developments of the invention arise from the subordinate claims.

According to the invention, in order to deliver the cut out, flexible pieces of flat material, at least two suction rolls are provided which can be driven by way of rotation and in which vacuum can be applied to the peripheral area of said rolls, in order to retain the pieces of flat material. Furthermore, at a first and a second delivery station are provided, in which the application of vacuum to the suction rolls is so controllable by means of a vacuum controlling device that the pieces of flat material alternatively can be fed either only to the first delivery station or only to the second delivery station. The delivery station within the scope of the present invention can either be a delivery container, for example a cartridge-shaped container or any other delivery area, for example, a disk which is able to support a standing, lying or inclined stack of pieces of flat material. Future reference to replacing or changing a delivery container shall alternatively also mean replacing a full delivery area with an empty delivery area, i.e., the emptying of a full delivery container. In other respects, the reference to delivery containers can alternatively be replaced by any other delivery area.

In view of the foregoing, the inventive advantage is achieved in that, when replacing a full delivery container by an empty delivery container, it is no longer necessary to interrupt the delivery process and/or the overall preliminary process for producing the pieces of flat material. Corresponding production downtimes with attendant costs are thus eliminated. For example, when the first system container is completely filled with pieces of flat material, the vacuum controlling device changes the application of vacuum in such a manner that the pieces of flat material fed to the delivery are fed to the second delivery container which still is empty. This second delivery container is already is available for the filling operation of the first delivery container. Immediately after the switchover to the second delivery container, the first fill container can be replaced by an empty container. If later the second delivery container is completely filled with the pieces of flat material, a corresponding switchover to the empty, first delivery container can be initiated by the vacuum controlling device, so as to prevent an interruption of the delivery process.

Vacuum devices, which basically are required for controlling the vacuum in the associated suction rolls, are generally known. In this respect, an exemplified reference is made to DE 198 41 834 A1.

The exact number of suction rolls to be provided for the inventive device, above all, depends on the space availability in the area of the delivery station and upon the requirements of handling the delivery containers. With only two suction rolls, as a rule, it is difficult to place the two delivery containers with equal spacing. An equal spacing of the delivery containers, however, frequently is appropriate, in order to simplify the automated handling when replacing the containers. A similar spacing of the delivery containers, for example, can be achieved by means of a third suction roll which accepts the pieces of flat material from the first or the second suction roll.

Preferably, the pieces of flat material of the inventive device are fed by means of several, i.e., at least two, conveyors. Further, the same number of conveyors as rows of blanks is provided. Each conveyor conveys the pieces of flat material which are allocated to a specific number of rows of blanks and/or originate from a specific number of rows of blanks. Furthermore, the conveyors are offset in the axial direction of the suction rolls. The adjacent conveyors in the axial direction of the suction rolls can be placed on top of each other for the purpose of an effective separation of blanks. With this type of embodiment, the levels on top of each other may either run parallel to each other or intersect at a certain angle.

Each conveyor and thus each row of blanks therefore may be allocated advantageously at least two delivery containers. During operation of the inventive device, one of the two delivery containers always is filled with pieces of flat material, while the other, empty container waits to be filled after the corresponding switchover has been made by the vacuum controlling device. By arranging the conveyors in several, i.e., at least two levels, preferably the two delivery containers allocated to the respective conveyor, are arranged on top of each other. In this case, one or several suction rolls can be used, in order to preferably convey pieces of flat material simultaneously from an upper conveyor to a lower delivery container and from a lower conveyor to an upper delivery container. The allocation, in which the respective conveyor delivers the pieces of flat material to two delivery containers, merely depends on the control by the vacuum controlling device. The direction of rotation of the suction rolls, which are driven by way of rotation, always remains the same. There is no change in direction of rotation.

The delivery containers of the inventive device preferable are cartridges which can easily be inserted into the machine which process the delivered pieces of flat material. In the case of bottling and labeling machines, the cartridges filled with bottle labels can be used directly, without transferring the delivered bottle labels into other containers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Various forms of embodiments of the present invention are exemplified by referring to the drawings. Of the drawings: [0018]
FIG. 1 shows a side elevation of a machine producing wet gummed labels cut out of a paper web by means of an inventive device for delivering wet gummed labels; [0019]
FIG. 2 shows a horizontal projection of the machine shown in FIG. 1; [0020]
FIG. 3 a first embodiment of the inventive device comprising two suction rolls; [0021]
FIG. 4 a second embodiment of the inventive device comprising three suction rolls; [0022]
FIG. 5A shows the third embodiment of the inventive device according to the section V-V in FIG. 7, which is used in the machine according to FIG. 1, in which the path of conveyance of the wet gummed labels from an upper conveyor to an upper delivery container is identified; [0023]
FIG. 5B shows the third embodiment of the inventive device according to the section V-V in FIG. 7, which is used in the machine according to FIG. 1, in which the path of conveyance of the wet gummed labels from an upper conveyor to a lower delivery container is identified; [0024]
FIG. 6A shows the third embodiment of the inventive device according to the section VI-VI in FIG. 7, which is used in the machine according to FIG. 1, in which the path of conveyance of the wet gummed labels from a lower conveyor to a lower delivery container is identified; [0025]
FIG. 6B shows the third embodiment of the inventive device according to the section VI-VI in FIG. 7, which is used in the machine according to FIG. 1, in which the path of conveyance of the wet gummed labels from a lower conveyor to an upper delivery container is identified; [0026]
FIG. 7 shows a view from the left of the machine shown in FIG. 1, in which for the purpose of this view, irrelevant details of the machine were omitted.[0027]
The drawings explain the present invention by an example of producing wet gummed labels made of paper for application on beverage bottles, sandwich spread jars, and similar food containers. Of course, the invention may also be used in connection with other, flexible pieces of flat material, for example, in the production of flexible and/or easily bendable metal lids for food containers, such as yogurt cups. So long as the pieces of flat material to be produced are adequately flexible for application to the circumference of cutting or blank separating rolls, it is feasible to apply the present invention by any means for pieces of flat material to be cut out. [0028]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a side elevation of a machine [0029] 3 for producing wet gummed labels from a paper web 4, which functions as a web. The paper web 4, which is printed with the desired image, is rolled off a supply roll 9 and runs through the machine 3 in the direction of conveyance according to the arrow R. After unwinding from the supply roll 9, the paper web 4 enters a buffer station 10 and subsequently is conveyed at the overhead height of an operator 11. Subsequently, in a lateral adjustment station 12, which is located approximately at the overhead height, the paper web 4 then is aligned laterally. If required, the paper web 4 may be printed only in the area of the lateral adjustment station 12.
After being adjusted, the paper web [0030] 4 is fed in the direction of conveyance R to a cutting and blank separating station 13. Said station comprises a cutting roll 1 by means of which the wet gummed labels are cut by way of rotation out of the paper web 4, and a blank separating roll 2 which follows in the direction of conveyance R, by means of which the wet gummed labels, which are allocated to the individual rows of blanks, are conveyed in two different tangential directions of the blank separating roll 2 to a total of ten conveyors in the form of suction conveyors, of which FIG. 1 only shows the suction conveyors 5 and 6 (refer to FIG. 2). Pure roller conveyors may be used as an alternative. In FIG. 1, especially the vacuum boxes 14, 15 and the suction conveyors 16, 17 of the suction conveyors 5, 6 are identifiable, said suction conveyors running continuously around the drive and/or deflection rollers. The cut wet gummed labels are retained on the suction conveyers 16, 17 in a generally known manner in that the ambient air is taken in through the perforation holes in the suction conveyor 16, 17 and/or through the gaps between several parallel suction conveyors into the suction boxes 14, 15, when the suction conveyors 5, 6 respectively consist of several suction conveyors. At the left-hand side of the machine 3, in FIG. 1, the finished wet gummed labels are delivered by the suction conveyors 16, 17 to a delivery station 18 by means of which said labels are deposited into cartridges 31, 32. The cartridges 31, 32 preferably are of a type in which the bottling devices can be used directly in the labeling machines of said devices, i.e., without transferring the wet gummed labels to other containers.
In a horizontal projection according to FIG. 2, the printed image applied to the paper web [0031] 4 can be identified, as is indicated with ellipses. In the shown embodiment, a total of ten rows of blanks N1, N2 through N10 are provided adjacently in the direction of conveyance R. When the cutting roll 1 rotates, a total of ten wet gummed labels E are thus cut. The blank separating roll 2 takes these ten wet gummed labels E from the cutting roll 1 and transfers said labels to a total of ten different conveyors 5, 6, 5′, 6′, 5″, 6″, 5′″, 6′″, 5″″ and 6″″, which actively convey the wet gummed labels from the blank separating roll 2. Further, in terms of the blank separating roll 2, the wet gummed labels cut out of the first row of blanks N1 are placed onto the conveyor 5 in a first tangential direction, and, in terms of the blank separating roll 2, the wet gummed labels E cut out of the row of blanks N2 are placed onto a second conveyor 6 in the tangential direction 8, in that the latter device is placed adjacent to the conveyor 5 as shown in FIG. 2. The wet gummed labels E are delivered in a similar manner to the rows of blanks N3, N4 and the conveyors 5′, 6′, the rows of blanks N5, N6 and the conveyors 5″, 6″, the rows of blanks N7, N8 and the conveyors 5′″, 6′″, as well as the rows of blanks N9, N10 and the conveyors 5″″, 6″″. The conveyors 5, 5′, 5″, 5′″, and 5″″ thus run in the same first tangential direction of the blank separating roll 2, while the conveyors 6, 6′, 6″, 6′″, and 6″″ run in the second tangential direction of the blank separating roll 2, which, according to FIG. 3, differs from the first tangential direction. The wet gummed labels E allocated to the rows of blanks N1, N3, N5, N7 and N9 thus are spaced vertically upward and downward by the wet gummed labels E, which are allocated to the rows of blanks N2, N4, N6, N8 and N10, i.e., in the direction of viewing of FIG. 2 and/or FIG. 1 in the plane of projection.
It is of particular advantage when the individual wet gummed labels E, which are allocated to the respective rows of blanks N[0032] 1 through N10, are spaced not only vertically, but also horizontally, i.e., upward and downward in the plane of projection of FIG. 2 and/or in the viewing direction in FIG. 1. As a result, this not only creates the necessary space in the vertical, but also in the horizontal direction, in order to be able to place the mechanical units for the automated delivery by means of the delivery station 18. Accordingly, the conveyors 5, 6, 5′, 6′, 5″, 6″, 5′″, 6′″, 5″″ and 6″″, run from the blank separating roll 2 in different directions in a fan-like manner, as shown in FIG. 2. Alternatively, it is feasible to initially place the aforesaid conveyors a certain distance behind the blank separating roll 2 in and/or parallel to the direction of conveyance R, and to fan out said devices horizontally only at a corresponding distance from the blank separating roll. As is indicated in the combined view of FIGS. 1 and 2, the shown embodiment comprises two conveyance levels on top of each other, in which in the upper conveyance level the conveyors 5, 5′, 5″, 5′″, and 5″″ extend fan-like, while in the lower conveyance level the directions of conveyance 6, 6′, 6″, 6′″, and 6″″ run fan-like.
FIG. 3 shows a first embodiment of the inventive device for delivering the wet gummed labels E into the delivery container which function as [0033] cartridges 31 and 32. The wet gummed labels E lie on the suction conveyor 16 of the conveyor 5, and in FIG. 3 said labels are conveyed from the lower right to the upper left to a first suction roll 21 which can be driven anticlockwise by way of rotation and, at the same time, functions as the drive roll of the suction belt 16. During the conveyance to suction roll 21, the wet gummed labels E are retained at the suction conveyor by means of vacuum, which is taken in from the ambient air through the perforations (not shown), sucked into suction belt 16 in suction box 14, and later is blown back into the environment.
By applying vacuum to the vacuum orifices (not shown) in the peripheral area of the [0034] suction roll 21, the wet gummed labels E can be retained on the suction roll 21 due to the perforation in the suction conveyor 16. Immediately after leaving the area in which the suction box 14 is effective, the wet gummed labels E are taken over by the suction roll 21, and in the shown embodiment said labels are guided at an angle of approx. 180° along the periphery of the suction roll 21, until they reach the cartridge 31 (refer to wet gummed labels E with cross-hedging in FIG. 3). There the front end of the labels pushes against a stop motion device 40, and the labels thus drop into the delivery cavity of the cartridge 31. In the cartridge 31, the wet gummed labels E lie vertically to the stop motion device 40, and/or parallel to the base 41.
The filling level of the [0035] cartridge 31 with the wet gummed labels E is recorded by a suitable sensing device. When the given filling level is reached, preferable shortly before the cartridge 31 is completely filled with wet gummed labels E, the application of vacuum air to the first suction roll is deactivated and simultaneously or shortly prior to applying vacuum to a second suction roll 22 the vacuum air is activated. The second suction roll 22 also comprises the vacuum ports (not shown) in the peripheral area of said roll, so that instead of the suction roll 21 the suction roll 22 takes the wet gummed labels E from the suction conveyor 16 und guides said labels at an angle of approx. 270° in the direction of the circumference (see wet gummed labels E drawn with dotted lines into the hatching in FIG. 3). After traveling an angular distance of approx. 270° the front ends of the wet gummed labels E pushes against a stop motion device 42 of the cartridge 32, so that the labels drop into the cartridge. In the delivery cavity of the cartridge 32, the wet gummed labels E lie vertically to the stop motion device 42 and/or parallel to the base 43 of the cartridge 32. During the conveyance of the wet gummed labels E with the second suction roll 22 which can be driven clockwise by way of rotation, the first suction roll 21 merely serves as drive roll for the suction conveyor 16.
While filling the second [0036] first cartridge 31, the first cartridge 31 can easily be replaced by means of the second suction roll 22 with a empty cartridge, so that neither the delivery process nor the entire production process of the wet gummed labels E must be interrupted. The suction roll 16 can easily and continuously convey wet gummed labels E to the suction roll 21 or 22. A standstill of the suction roll 16 is not necessary.
In FIG. 3, the [0037] cartridges 31 and 32 are placed in various spatial configurations. Especially, the cartridges 31 and 32 are located on different sides of the connecting line of the two rotating axes of the suction rolls 21 and 22. This may be disadvantageous, if quick access to both cartridges 31, 32 is desirable. The second embodiment of the inventive devices, as shown in FIG. 4, eliminates this disadvantage.
In FIG. 4, the reference symbols correspond to those in FIG. 3. Furthermore, the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 provides a [0038] third suction roll 23 which is driven anticlockwise by way of rotation and, similar to the two suction rolls 21 and 22, comprises vacuum ports in the peripheral area of said roll. While the second cartridge 32 is filling up, the third suction roll 23 accepts the wet gummed labels E from the second suction roll 22 which said roll accepted from the suction conveyor 16. Because of this configuration it is possible to place both cartridges 31 and 32 in the same spatial alignment, as is shown in FIG. 4. This considerably simplifies access to the cartridges 31 and 32, especially for the purpose of cartridge replacement.
FIGS. 5A, 5B, [0039] 6A, 6B, and 7 show a third embodiment of the inventive device, which is used in the delivery station 18 of the machine 3 for producing wet gummed labels E, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The reference symbols identified in FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, 6B, and 7 have the same function as those in FIGS. 3 and 4.
As presented in FIG. 7, each of the [0040] conveyors 5, 6, 5′, 6′, 5″, 6″, 5′″, 6′″, 5″″, and 6″″ shown in FIG. 2 have two cartridges allocated, which respectively function as delivery containers. Accordingly, a total of twenty cartridges is shown in FIG. 7, which are arranged on top of each other in two rows of ten cartridges each.
FIG. 5A shows a view along a section V-V, in which the [0041] conveyor 6 positioned behind the intersecting plane can be identified with the suction box 15 and suction conveyor 17 thereof. In addition to the first suction roll 21, the second suction roll 22 and the third suction roll 23, the fourth suction roll 24 which is driven clockwise by way of rotation, as well as the fifth suction roll 25 which is driven anticlockwise by way of rotation, are provided. Suction rolls 24 and 25 comprise vacuum ports in their peripheral areas, in order to retain the wet gummed labels E. As is shown in FIG. 5A, the first cartridge 31 is filled with wet gummed labels E, which were fed from the upper conveyor 5, via the second suction roll 22 which accepts the wet gummed labels E from the suction conveyor 16 and feeds said labels to the third suction roll 23 which delivers said labels to the cartridge 31 (refer to hatched suction rolls 22 and 23 in FIG. 5A). If the cartridge 31 is to be replaced, the wet gummed labels E fed from the upper conveyor 5 after a corresponding switchover can be fed to the vacuum application according to FIG. 5B of the second cartridge 32 which is located inside the first cartridge 31. For this purpose, the wet gummed labels E are transferred from the first suction roll 24 to the fourth suction roll 24 which transfers said labels to the fifth suction roll 25, so that said labels can be transferred from said roll to the cartridge 32 (refer to hatched suction rolls 21, 24 and 25 in FIG. 5B).
FIGS. 6A and 6B show a view according to the section VI-VI in FIG. 7, in which the [0042] conveyor 5′ behind intersecting plane can also be identified with the suction box 14 and suction conveyor 16 thereof. If the cartridge placed in the lower row of cartridges 33 is to be filed with wet gummed labels E delivered by the conveyor 6, a sixth suction roll 26, which is driven clockwise by way of rotation, accepts the wet gummed labels E from the suction conveyor 17 of the conveyor 6 and transfers said labels to the fifth suction roll 25 which delivers said labels directly to the cartridge 33 (refer to hatched suction rolls 26 and 25 in FIG. 6A). When the cartridge is completely filled with wet gummed labels E fed by the conveyor 6 are so diverted that they are deposited into the upper cartridge 34. This is performed in such a way that the wet gummed labels E fed from the sixth suction roll 26 to the fifth suction roll 25 are not delivered to the cartridge 33, but to the fourth suction roll 24. This roll transfers said labels to the third suction roll 23 which delivers said labels to the cartridge 34 (refer to hatched suction rolls 26, 25, 24, 23 in FIG. 6B).
The [0043] first suction roll 21 shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, 6A, and 6B is a component of all upper conveyors 5, 5′, 5″, 5′″, and 5″″.
According to the invention, there is the possibility of delivering according to FIG. 6A the wet gummed labels E, which are fed from the [0044] upper conveyors 5, 5′, 5″, 5′″, and 5″″ and the wet gummed labels E, which are fed from the upper conveyors 6, 6′, 6″, 6′″, and 6″″. With this variant, cartridge 31, cartridge 33, as well as those cartridges thus are filled simultaneously, which in FIG. 7 are presented as the empty rectangle. This produces a zigzag filling pattern in which alternately one cartridge from the upper group of cartridges and one from the lower group of cartridges is filled simultaneously. After switching the application of vacuum of the two suction rolls in question to the delivery allocation according to FIGS. 5B and 6B, an inverse zigzag filling pattern emerges in FIG. 7, in which the cartridges 32, 34 and all those cartridges are filled, which in FIG. 7 already are presented with a few wet gummed labels E.
An alternative, there is the option to fill only the cartridges of the upper group of cartridges in FIG. 7, or only the cartridges of the lower group of cartridges in FIG. 7. For this purpose, the wet gummed labels E according to FIG. 5A, which are fed from the [0045] upper conveyors 5, 5′, 5″, 5′″, and 5″″, and the wet gummed labels E, which are fed from the upper conveyors 6, 6′, 6″, 6′″, and 6″″, are delivered according to FIG. 6B. As soon as the cartridges of the upper group of conveyors are filled, a simultaneous switchover of vacuum application of the suction rolls in question occurs to the delivery allocation of according to FIGS. 5B and 6A, so that the cartridges of the lower group of conveyors can be filled. A straight-line filling pattern emerges in FIG. 7, which may be advantageous with automatic cartridge replacement.
With the third embodiment according to FIGS. 5A, 5B, [0046] 6A, and 6B there is the alternative option to leave out a second suction roll 22, so that one is able to manage with a total of five suction rolls. The delivery of wet gummed labels E in the cartridge 31, which are fed from the conveyor S, in this case is performed via the suction roll 21, the suction roll 24 and the suction roll 23 which ultimately deposits wet gummed labels E into the cartridge 31. This does not involve a change in the direction of rotation of the suction rolls in question compared with the embodiment comprising suction roll 22, as is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.
From the aforesaid description it follows that this invention ensures that wet gummed labels, which by way of rotation are cut out of adjacent rows of blanks placed very close together, can be spaced by a simple method, thus enabling mechanical handling of wet gummed labels during automatic delivery, so that various label orders can be processed simultaneously. For example, with a total of ten rows of blanks, two rows of blanks may be used for a first order comprising a first label geometry, and the remaining eight rows of blanks for a second order comprising the second label geometry. As a result of placing the wet gummed labels into cartridges which can be used directly in the customers' labeling machines, corresponding customers can be supplied directly after completion of the respective order. This approach enables an improved utilization of machines when handling small orders, in which the pieces of flat material in question are produced. [0047]

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A device for delivery of pieces of flat material (E) cut out of a web (4), characterized in that at least a first and a second suction roll (21, 22), which are driven by way of rotation and can be applied with vacuum to retain the pieces of flat material (E) at the peripheral areas of said rolls, as well as at least a first and a second delivery container (31, 32) are provided for delivering the pieces of flat material (E), in which the application of vacuum is so controllable by means of a vacuum controlling device that the pieces of flat material (E) alternatively can be fed to the first delivery container (31) or the second delivery container (32).

2. A device as defined in claim 1, characterized in that a third suction roll (23) is provided, which accepts the pieces of flat material (E) from the first or second suction roll (21, 22), so that the first and the second delivery container (31, 32) can be aligned in the same spatial direction.

3. A device as defined in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a first conveyor (5) is provided which feeds the pieces of flat material (E), which are allocated to a first row of blanks (N1), for delivery into the first or second delivery container (31, 32).

4. A device as defined in claim 3, characterized in that a second conveyor (5) is provided which, in relation to the first conveyor (5), is set off in reverse order in the axial direction of the suction rolls (21, 22) and feeds the pieces of flat material (E) allocated to a second row of blanks (N2) to the suction rolls (21, 22) for delivery into a third or fourth delivery container (33, 34).

5. A device as defined in claim 3, characterized in that the first suction roll (21) is a component of the first conveyor (5).

6. A device as defined in claim 4, characterized in that the first suction roll (21) is a component of the first and second conveyor (5, 6).

7. A device as defined in claim 4 or 6, characterized in that the first conveyor (6) is placed in a second level, in which the first level is on top of the second level.

8. A device as defined in claim 7, characterized in that the first level runs parallel to the second level.

9. A device as defined in claim 7, characterized in that the first level intersects the second level.

10. A device as defined in claim 7 through 9, characterized in that a fourth (24), fifth (25) and sixth (26) suction roll are provided, in which the vacuum application of the suction rolls (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26) is so controllable that the pieces of flat material (E), which are fed from the first conveyor (5), either can be fed via the second (22) and third (23) suction roll of the first delivery container (31) or via the first (21), fourth (24), and fifth (25) suction roll of the second delivery container (32), and the pieces of flat material (E), which are fed from the second conveyor (6) either can be fed via the sixth (26) and fifth (25) suction roll of the third delivery container (33) or via the sixth (26), fifth (25), fourth (24) and third (23) suction roll of the fourth delivery container (34).

11. A device as defined in one of the claims 7 through 9, characterized in that a fourth (25) and fifth (26) suction roll are provided, in which the vacuum application of the suction rolls (21, 24, 23, 25, 26) is so controllable that the pieces of flat material (E), which are fed from the first conveyor (5), either can be fed via the first (21), second (24) and third (23) suction roll of the first delivery container (31) or via the first (21), second (24) and fourth (25) suction roll of the second delivery container (32), and the pieces of flat material (E), which are fed from the second conveyor (6) either can be fed via the fifth (26) and fourth (25) suction roll of the third delivery container (33) or via the fifth (26), fourth (25), second (24) and third (23) suction roll of the fourth delivery container (34).

12. A device as defined in one of the claim 4 or one of the claims 6 through 11, characterized in that the first and second delivery container (31, 32), as well as the fourth and third delivery container (34, 33) essentially are placed on top of each other.

13. A device as defined in one of the claim 4 or one of the claims 6 through 16, characterized in that the first and fourth delivery container (31, 34), as well as the second and third delivery container (32, 33) essentially are placed on adjacent to each other.

14. A machine for producing pieces of flat material (E) cut out of a web (4), comprising a device for delivering the pieces of flat material (E)

15. A process for delivering pieces of flat material (E) cut out of a web (4), characterized by the following steps:

Conveyance of the pieces of flat material (E) to at least a first and a second suction roll (21, 22) which is driven by way of rotation and to which vacuum can be applied to retain the pieces of flat material (E) at the peripheral area of said roll, and

controlling the vacuum application of the suction rolls (21, 22) in such a manner that the pieces of flat material (E) alternatively are fed to a first delivery container (31) or a second delivery container (32).

16. A process as defined in claim 15, characterized in that the conveyance of the pieces of flat material (E) to the suction rollers (21, 22) is per formed by means of at least two conveyors (5, 6), in which the first conveyor (5) conveys the pieces of flat material (E) which are allocated to a first row of blanks (N1) and are designated for delivery into a first delivery container (31) or a second delivery container (32), and the second conveyor (6) conveys the pieces of flat material (E) which are allocated to a second row of blanks (N2) and are designated for delivery into a third delivery container (33) or a fourth delivery container (34).

17. A process as defined in claim 16, characterized in that the delivery of the pieces of flat material (E) in the first delivery container (31) and in the third delivery container (33) on the one hand and/or the delivery of the pieces of flat material (E) in the second delivery container (32) and the fourth delivery container (34) on the other hand is performed simultaneously, in which the first and the second delivery container (31, 32), as well as the fourth and the third delivery container (34, 33) essentially are placed on top of each other, and in which the first and the fourth delivery container (31, 34), as well as the second and the third container (32, 33) essentially are placed adjacent to each other.

18. A process as defined in claim 16, characterized in that the delivery of the pieces of flat material (E) in the first delivery container (31) and the third delivery container (33) on the one hand and/or the delivery of the pieces of flat material (E) in the second delivery container (32) and the fourth delivery container (33) on the other hand is performed simultaneously, in which the first and the second delivery container (31, 32), as well as the fourth and the third delivery container (34, 33) essentially are placed on top of each other, and in which the first and the fourth delivery container (31, 34), as well as the second and the third delivery container (32, 33) essentially are placed adjacent to each other.

19. A process as defined in claims 15 through 18, characterized in that said process is performed in a machine which producers the pieces of flat material (E).