Collating path for flat goods and method for producing such a collating path

Abstract

A collating path for flat goods with: a conveying apparatus, which has, in its longitudinal direction, a plurality of collecting areas, arranged one behind the other, into which the goods are collected and are transported at a conveying speed in a conveying direction; at least one exchangeable feeder station or a plurality of exchangeable feeder stations that keep goods in stock and are arranged along the conveying apparatus in such a way that the goods stocked in the feeder stations can be deposited in the collecting areas; and a control device, which is coupled to the conveying apparatus and the feeder stations so as to control the deposition of the goods from the feeder station into the collecting areas. In order to more flexibly design such a collating path, guaranteeing a compact structure, and to make as simple as possible an equipping of the collating path with feeders and as simple as possible an exchange of feeders, provision is made so that the exchangeable feeder station can be inserted at arbitrary work positions into the collating path and the control device is set up to receive information from which the control device determines the absolute release position of the feeder station or each feeder station along the conveying apparatus at which the individual feeder station releases the goods stocked in it onto the conveying apparatus.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . Collating path for flat goods comprising:
 a conveying apparatus, which, in a longitudinal direction, has a plurality of collecting areas, which are arranged one behind the other, into which the goods are collected and are transported at a conveying speed in a conveying direction;   at least one exchangeable feeder station or a plurality of exchangeable feeder stations that stock goods and are arranged along the conveying apparatus in such a way that the goods stocked in the feeder stations can be deposited in the collecting areas;   and a control device, which is coupled to the conveying apparatus and the feeder stations in order to control the deposition of the goods from the feeder stations into the collecting areas;   wherein the exchangeable feeder stations can be inserted on arbitrary work positions into the collating path and the control device determines the absolute release position of the feeder station or of each feeder station along the conveying apparatus at which the individual feeder station releases the goods stocked in it onto the conveying apparatus.   
     
     
         2 . Method for producing a collating path for flat goods, which comprises a conveying apparatus that has, in a longitudinal direction, a plurality of collecting areas arranged one behind the other, into which the goods are collected and transported at a conveying speed in a conveying direction, with at least one exchangeable feeder station or a plurality of exchangeable feeder stations that keep goods in stock and are arranged along the conveying apparatus in such a manner that the goods stocked in the feeder stations can be deposited into the collecting areas, wherein the exchangeable feeder stations are coupled to a control device that is coupled with the conveying apparatus so as to control the deposition of the goods from the feeder stations into the collecting areas, wherein the exchangeable feeder station can be inserted at arbitrary work positions into the collating path and the control device receives information from which it determines the absolute release position of the individual feeder stations along the conveying apparatus at which the individual feeder station releases the goods stocked in it onto the conveying apparatus. 
     
     
         3 . Collating path according to  claim 1 , wherein the information received by the control device contains position information in the form of a position signal detected by a position sensor or in the form of a digital information signal of an interface, from which the control device determines the absolute position of the feeder station or of each feeder station. 
     
     
         4 . Collating path according to  claim 1 , wherein several feeder stations, one behind another along the collating path, are arranged directly following one another without a gap. 
     
     
         5 . Collating path according to  claim 4 , wherein, in addition to the feeder stations, spacers, which are either coupled with an adjacent feeder station or on an interface, can be arranged in the collating path. 
     
     
         6 . Collating path according to  claim 1 , wherein the control device determines the absolute position of each feeder station along the conveying apparatus, with respect to a reference point, from the received information, in particular the position information of the feeder stations. 
     
     
         7 . Collating path according to  claim 1 , wherein the information received from the control device comprises position information and feeder-specific information regarding each exchangeable feeder station, wherein the feeder-specific information contains data regarding the length of the individual feeder station and the position of an insertion site of the individual feeder station and optional additional data regarding the kind or the type of the feeder station and/or goods contained therein. 
     
     
         8 . Collating path according to  claim 1 , wherein the control device synchronizes, with consideration to the determined release position, the release of the goods from each feeder station onto the conveying apparatus with the movement of the conveying apparatus in such a way that the released goods are deposited into the collecting areas of the conveying apparatus. 
     
     
         9 . Collating path according to  claim 1 , wherein the feeder stations are arranged so they can be displaced along a frame of the conveying apparatus and, can be affixed there by affixing means on arbitrary work positions and/or can be coupled by means of interfaces to the control device for the data transmission and, in particular, for the sending of position information. 
     
     
         10 . Collating path according to  claim 1 , wherein the collating path comprises a plurality of interfaces, which are arranged in a prespecified sequence, preferably along the frame of the conveying apparatus in the longitudinal direction at a distance from one another. 
     
     
         11 . Collating path according to  claim 10 , wherein each feeder station is coupled to one of the interfaces, wherein the sequence of the feeder stations correlates with the sequence of the interfaces in the longitudinal direction of the collating path. 
     
     
         12 . Collating path according to  claim 1 , wherein the feeder stations comprise a position sensor element, with which the absolute position of the individual feeder station is detected along the conveying apparatus with respect to a reference point, and is transmitted to the control device as position information. 
     
     
         13 . Collating path according to  claim 1 , wherein the conveying apparatus comprises a conveying surface and at least one tension element, circulating at the conveying speed, with a plurality of conveying means protruding over the conveying surface, which are arranged at a distance from one another in the longitudinal direction of the conveying apparatus, wherein conveying means, adjacent in the longitudinal direction, define a collecting area. 
     
     
         14 . Method for the equipping of a collating path for flat goods with an exchangeable feeder station that keeps the flat goods in stock for deposition into collecting areas of the collating path, with the following steps:
 insertion of an exchangeable feeder station into the collating path at an arbitrary work position;   transmission of information, which is composed of position information and feeder-specific information regarding the inserted feeder station, to a control device of the collating path;   determination of the work position of the inserted feeder station in the control device from the transmitted information as the absolute position of the inserted feeder station in the longitudinal direction of the collating path.   
     
     
         15 . Method according to  claim 14 , wherein the control device determines an absolute release position at which the individual feeder station releases the goods stocked in it onto the collating path from the transmitted position information and the feeder-specific information for each feeder station. 
     
     
         16 . Method according to  claim 15 , wherein the control device, with consideration to the determined release position, synchronizes the release of the goods from each feeder station onto the collating path with the movement of the collating path in such a manner that the released goods are deposited at defined collecting areas of the collating path. 
     
     
         17 . Collating method according to  claim 2 , wherein the information received by the control device contains position information in the form of a position signal detected by a position sensor or in the form of a digital information signal of an interface, from which the control device determines the absolute position of the feeder station or of each feeder station. 
     
     
         18 . Collating method according to  claim 2 , wherein several feeder stations, one behind another along the collating path, are arranged directly following one another without a gap. 
     
     
         19 . Collating method according to  claim 18 , wherein, in addition to the feeder stations, spacers, which are either coupled with an adjacent feeder station or on an interface, can be arranged in the collating path. 
     
     
         20 . Collating method according to  claim 2 , wherein the control device determines the absolute position of each feeder station along the conveying apparatus, with respect to a reference point, from the received information, in particular the position information of the feeder stations.