US 12,466,676 B2
Sheet material processing unit and sheet material processing machine
Christophe De Gaillande, Les Monts-de-Corsier (CH)
Assigned to BOBST MEX SA, Mex (CH)
Appl. No. 17/999,732
Filed by BOBST MEX SA, Mex (CH)
PCT Filed May 26, 2021, PCT No. PCT/EP2021/063970
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Nov. 23, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/249771, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 16, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 20179024 (EP), filed on Jun. 9, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0234795 A1, Jul. 27, 2023
Int. Cl. B65H 5/14 (2006.01); B65H 5/08 (2006.01); B65H 29/00 (2006.01)
CPC B65H 5/085 (2013.01) [B65H 5/14 (2013.01); B65H 29/003 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A sheet material processing machine, comprising:
at least two neighboring sheet material processing units, each sheet material processing unit including:
an input end where sheets to be processed enter the sheet material processing unit, and an output end where at least parts of the sheets leave the sheet material processing unit,
a transport system for transporting the sheets or parts thereof from the input end to the output end, and
a gripper unit releasably coupled to the transport system and configured for holding at least a part of one of the sheets,
wherein the input end and/or the output end are/is equipped with a handover mechanism configured for decoupling the gripper unit from the transport system and providing the gripper unit to a neighboring sheet material processing unit and/or receiving a gripper unit from a neighboring sheet material processing unit and coupling the received gripper unit to a corresponding transport system; and
a recirculation module comprising a transport system for transferring gripper units from an output end of a second sheet material processing unit of the at least two neighboring sheet material processing units to an input end of a first sheet material processing unit of the at least two neighboring sheet material processing units,
wherein the at least two neighboring sheet material processing units are coupled by a first handover mechanism provided at an output end of the first sheet material processing unit and configured for decoupling the gripper unit from the corresponding transport system and providing the gripper unit to the second sheet material processing unit, and a second handover mechanism provided at an input end of the second sheet material processing unit and configured for receiving the gripper unit from the first sheet material processing unit and coupling the received gripper unit to a corresponding transport system.