The present invention relates to a method for winding-on and winding-off of in a row-like formation, in particular in staggered or imbricated formation, ^•■ presented flat products, in particular printed products, onto and from a winding mandrel, cylinder or core, and whereby the flat products are supplied together with at least one winding tape which is wound onto and off from the winding mandrel, cylinder or core located on ^• the outside or on the inside of the flat products which in particular are led forward in staggered or imbricated formation. It is known to the art to wind flat products, such as printed products, arriving from a printing machine or from a sorting device in an imbricated formation onto a winding drum or mandrel with the flat products being led to the winding drum tangentially to the lower portion of the drum, and with the products resting on one or more tapes which by the winding-on onto the winding drum or mandrel accompany by forming on the winding drum or mandrel a layer which all the time along the external side of. the products form a kind of wound-on peripheral material on the winding drum or mandrel. Closely related hereto, several sorts of arrangements are known comprising different kinds of tension pulley devices serving to hold the articles in position during as well winding-on as winding-off of the products being arranged in the staggered or imbricated formation.

On the other hand, the different known arrangements are subjected to an essential limitation in that the flat products arranged in staggered or imbricated formation have to be supplied onto and led away from the winding

drum or -cylinder in a horizontal configuration, i.e. with the staggered or imbricated formation forming geo¬ metrically a substantially horizontal plane-like forma¬ tion close to the location where winding-on and winding- off onto or from the winding mandrel, cylinder or core takes place.

If the staggered or imbricated formation is not horizontal oriented then a winding tape has to be located on both sides of the formation to prevent a falling-out of products from the staggered or imbricated formation. Two essential problems exist in relation to such a kind of staggered or imbricated formation by winding-on and winding-off, namely, that the double set of winding tape occupies more space on the winding mandrel, cylinder or core, but, problems also are created in that it becomes difficult to keep the two sets of winding tape suffi¬ ciently tensioned so that the winding tapes no longer become dislocated or internally curled on the winding mandrel, cylinder or core whereby the staggered or imbricated formation more or less is brought into disor¬ der possibly that the winding mandrel, cylinder or core moreover is brought to carry irregularly wound products so that the si gl^ layers are wound in a "wavy" manner. It is the purpcjse of the present invention to pre- sent a method for winding-on and winding-off by means of which only one set of winding tape has to be used being located on either the inside or the outside or the pro¬ ducts also in the case when the products are supplied to, respectively are led away from, the winding location in a non-horizontal formation. Furtheron, a device capable of being used together with the method is to be described.

The inventory solution employs suchmeans as characte¬ rized in claim 1. Through the inventory method it is made possible in any wanted oriented direction to wind-on and to wind-off products onto and off from the winding mandrel,

cylinder or core. Besides the improvement to what is known to the art, the axis of the winding mandrel, cylinder or core may be arbitrarily oriented, i.e. also vertical oriented. Herethrough, a considerable saving of floor space is achieved compared to earlier where the winding mandrels, cylindersor cores were limited to exhibit h ri¬ zontal axes, and supply and leading-away of products onto and from the winding mandrels, cylinders or cores had to take place in vicinity of the bottom portions of the winding mandrels, cylinders or cores. By means of the invention it is thus made possible to arrange more winding mandrels, cylinders or cores above eachother, whereby the winding head may be arranged to be slidable upwards and downwards, etc., whereby thus the single winding mandrels, cylinders or cores have not neccessa- rily to be connected to one and the same non-movably arranged winding head.

In claim 2 a device to be used together with the method is characterised describing a hereto suited winding head, through which the advantages according to the invention are employed. Specific embodiments accor¬ ding to the invention are described in claim 3 , by means of which the products more safely may be led onto and away from the winding mandrel, cylinder or core so that the products remain more safely hold through-out the winding process without the products being harmed due to too rough handling. A further improvement according to the invention is described in claim 4. Orientation- altering supply and lead-away arrangements onto and away from the winding-heads and connected to or comprised with¬ in these heads are advantageously arranged as described in claim 5.

By means of the embodiments as according to claim 6 it is attained that the windings are kept in place on the winding mandrel, cylinder or core so that they due to the

influence of the gravitational force do not become side¬ wards displaced on the winding mandrel, cylinder or core. To improve this, for instance an additional tension roll or additional tension rolls can be added, whereby thus only one or if more than one some of the winding tapes at the winding loop or at a length or at lengths outside the range of contact with the products is (are) subjected to an increased tensioning. When the winding mandrel, cylinder or core is given a slight or somewhat conical shape having the broadest portion lowermost located, in particular when the axis of the winding mandrel, cylinder or core is vertical oriented, the last-mentioned effect may be increased.

According to the invention an important side of the invention is that it is made possible that the winding of the winding mandrel, cylinder or core may take place helically respectively that more mutually spaced portions may be wound- onto the winding mandrel, cylinder or core. Herethrough, the floor area hitherto required for the storing of wound printed products is diminished as a smaller amount of winding mandrels, cylinders or cores is required for the storing of the same quantity of prin¬ ted products, and the directions of the axes of the winding mandrels, cylinders or cores may be arbitrarily oriented, thus also vertical oriented.

To make it easier to arrange the innermost windings onto a winding mandrel, cylinder or core having its axis inclined or vertical oriented the embodiments according to claim 7, 8, 9 or 10 may be advantageous. The described solutions are according to the inven¬ tion advantageous in that the described guiding means can be stationary and need not to be coupled to or to follow the winding mandrel, cylinder or core in case it is moved, furtheron, the described solutions are better than those known to the art because no special means are

required for the guiding of he printed products. These can thus be kept in place just by means of simply embo¬ died conveyors without sliding out from their places in the staggered or imbricated formations. Embodiments according to the invention are described in more details as follows with reference to the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 in larger scale as that of Figure 2 illu¬ strates details during the winding-on and the winding-off of products onto and off from a winding mandrel, cylinder or core being viewed in the normal plane to the axis of the winding mandrel, cylinder or core, Fig. 1A shows the same but with two or more winding tapes led via 2AA and 2AN,

Fig. 2 illustrates more details by a winding head embodied according to the invention, Fig. 3 illustrates a side view, partly in cross section at III, a stationary guiding-facili- tating-arrangement by a slight conical winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3 able to aid during the winding-on of the innermost winding when this is the lower winding, Fig. 4 illustrates the facilitating arrangement according to Figure 3 as seen from above,

Fig. 5 illustrates in sideview a helical-winding- arrangement according to the invention for an arbitrarily oriented winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3 being illustrated with horizontal oriented axis, and

Fig. 6 illustrates as seen from above the arrange¬ ment according to Figure 5. According to Figure 1 and Figure 2 a head 4, 40, 400, 4000 for supply of, respectively leading-away of, articles 1 to be wound-on, respectively wound-off, onto,

respevtively from, a winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3 is shown. Products 1 are supplied to, respectively are led away from, the head 4, 40, 400 laying along the foil length 2 being located thus along the products 1 that the ' foil length is located externally to the products as viewed relatively to the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3. In case the foil length, in general due to the influence of the gravity on the products 1, occupies such a position that it can't support these products 1, then for the support of the products 1, abutting against these, supporting means may be arranged, for instance in the embodiment as endless rotating ribbons being guided over rolls or cylinders such as 19A and 19B illustrated in Figure 1 or similar means, such as sketched rolls or cylinders with the portion 40 of the head being illustra¬ ted in Figure 2, etc.

As afore-mentioned as essential, the axis of the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3 may be arbitrarily oriented, i.e. as well horizontal, as inclined as vertical oriented.

In stead of the afore-mentioned manner the foil length 2, alternatively as actually shown in Figure 1, firstly may be supplied in close vicinity to the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3, respectively be led away by being wound-off in close vicinity to the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3, whereby the foil length 2 is supplied via rolls or cylinders 8B, 12 and 8A, respectively is being wound-off via these. Hereto, along the products arriving in staggered or imbricated formation endless and rotating ribbons are arranged running over rolls or cy¬ linders such as 9A illustrated in Figure 1 as being loca** ted on the other side of the products as compared to the afore-mentioned rolls or cylinders 19A and 19B, over which other sets of endless and rotating ribbons are run- ning so that the products 1 are led forward between two

such endless and rotating sets of ribbons or other supporting means suited to support the passing products 1. At these rolls or cylinders pivotable support arms, such as 9C, in per se known manner may be arranged, which arms by means of suitable mechanisms or by means of a simple spring, as 9D, may keep the ro ls or cylinders suitably abutting against the products 1 for the safe guiding of these. The head 4 is thus shown comprising two element portions which on either side of the products 1 carry these rolls and cylinders. The element 40 belonging to the head in the illustrated embodiment serves as suitable product-guiding and path-determining means be¬ tween the element 4 and the element 400. The element 400 is a pivotable means rotating the products around the forward-leading-direction-axis for instance to be led furtheron "edgewise" oriented in the element 40 from the element 400, respectively to the element 400. The means 4 of the head are for instance linked to the element 40 at this element so that the main elements 4 may be moved from a vertical oriented winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3 to another mandrel, cylinder or core 3.

It is to be noticed* that the foil-length-guiding- rolls or -cylinders 8A and 8B may be mounted on an arm 8C being bearing-supported at 8E and by means of a spring 8D may be kept abutting against the products 1 just externally to the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3.

The essential according to the invention is in particular the leading of the foil length 2 approxi¬ mately one turn of the winding of the foil length 2 from the outside of the load on the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3, on which the foil length 2 in the drawing is referred to with 2A, and where the foil length 2 from 2A continues through an externally projecting foil length loop which in Figure 1 at three locations is referred to with 2AA, and which loop portion 2AA continues into the

winding on the winding mandrel, cylinder or core namely with the foil length laying on the next outermost layer of the products 1 , and the foil length 2AA is approximately one turn further inside referred to with 2B. It thus simply can be observed that only one foil length 2 is present between each layer of the wound products on the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3.

The loop of the foil length 2 comprising portions hereof 2AA runs under all circumstances over at least one roll 5. On the other hand, by arranging more rolls or cylinders for the loop ribbon 2AA, namely rolls or cylin¬ ders 7A, 7B and 6, where rolls or cylinders 7A, 7B are arranged on an at 7Ξ pivotable arm 7C which by means of for instance a simple spring 7D is kept abutting against the on the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3 wound next outermost layer of products 1 which at this location is referred to with 1A. A on a pivotable arranged arm carried roll or cylinder 6 provides a safe guiding of the foil length portion 2AA. The foil length 2 might also be one or more winding ribbons.

It thus simply can be observed that the illustrated device is capable of providing a carrying-out of the me¬ thod described in claim 1. A device according to the invention is illustrated in Figure 3, Figure 5 and Figure 6 to be used to helically winding-on and winding-off of in staggered or imbricated formation presented printed products onto and from a winding mandrel, cylinder or core. An armarrangement 4, 40, 400, 4000 as shown in Figure 1, Figure 2 or possibly in Figure 1A, 2 is here arranged to be led vertically upwards and downwards according to the directions shown by double arrows A and B in Figure 3. To simplified posi- tionning of the first turn of the winding on the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3 a guiding arrangement is sta-

tionary located below the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3, and it is illustrated in Figure 4 comprising one or more, here four, curved conveyor ribbons being led over conic rolls 11 having bearings in supporting angles 123 mutually kept in place of peripheral iron ribbons or girders 12. The conveyor or the conveyors may be driven or not driven. Probably they two and two at best are able to support the printed products and the winding tape(s) and ought then to have different start velocities as well mutually as in relation to the winding mandrel, cylinder or core sketched by means of a pin 3 in Figure 4 and Fi¬ gure 5. In this manner the least inflicting influence is achieved to the staggered or imbricated formation and to the winding operation at the taking-over of the further automatic operating function of winding-on and winding-off onto and from the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3.

According to Figure 5 the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3 is horizontal oriented and has its bearings in a supporting means 33. By means of a .cart-like device 80 being reciprocallymovable towards right and towards left, as shown in the drawing, including a pivotably beared arm 4, 40, 400, 4000 a helical winding-on and winding-off of in staggered or imbricated formation presented products is achieved. It is easily observed that the products 1A here fall down on a conveyor 400 (4000) as the conveyor ribbon is led over rolls 82, 83, 84 and 85 including a separate over head conveyor 86 which influences upon the products 1A to attain a correct falling down. By the transportation from the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3 via transporting means 400 and/or 4000 it is upward- lifted and is dislocated, and furthermore, the conveyor 86 is displaced in over the mentioned dislocated conveyor. The same as in Figure 5 is illustrated in Figure 6, but viewed from above. It is easily observed that by means of the illustrated conveyor arrangement the printed products

1A are being re-orientated so that the rear edges of the products first are wound-on on the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3, and so that accordingly the front edges first are wound-off from the winding mandrel, cylinder or core during winding-off. By means of hereof easily understood changing of conveyor operations thepro¬ ducts may be led further on having an orientation as that which follows just upon the winding-of operation, whereby it externally viewed looks like that the winding-sto- ring simply is a timedelay-processwhichdoesntiπvolve any orientation-changing working-process in relation to the in staggered or imbricated formation presented products. Such a re-orientation of the products may take place without any harmful influencing on the structure of the staggered or imbricated formation comprising helical winding-on and winding-off onto and from the winding mandrel, cylinder or core 3 according to embodiments as of the art being illustrated according to the invention.