The present invention relates to the field of colour sample collections.

More specifically, the invention has been developed in relation to a machine for applying colour chips to a backing, and to a method using a machine of this type. The invention also relates specifically to a device for feeding the colour chips to be applied to a backing, this device being suitable for use with the aforesaid machine.

Colour sample collections, in other words catalogues of colours, also known as "colour cards", are used to present to the public examples of colours and tones which can be provided on various products, such as fabrics, wall paints, vehicle bodies, and the like, these examples being grouped together on a backing which can be easily handled. A colour sample collection is usually composed of a backing, made for example of cardboard, plastic, timber or similar material, on which coloured bands, strips or labels, referred to hereinafter as "colour chips", are arranged in an ordered way. A colour chip of this type is generally composed of an element such as a rectangle of paper, wood, metal or other suitable material, coated with the desired coating, and designed to be applied, by gluing for example, to the backing of the colour card. See for example US 5 622 594.

There are known machines for gluing colour chips on to backings to produce colour cards. Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of one of these machines, intended to make its operation clear. The illustrated machine has a box-like feeder 1, known in the terminology of the field as a "till box", which has a plurality of adjacent vertical compartments 1a housing corresponding stacks of colour chips to be applied to the backing to form a colour card. The positioning of the compartments with respect to each other determines the position which the colour chips assume on the backing to form the colour card. The compartments 1a are open at the top and bottom, to allow the colour chips to be loaded from above into the feeder 1 and to be collected from the base of the feeder 1, respectively. All the colour chips appearing at the bases of the respective compartments 1a of the feeder 1 are collected simultaneously by means of a collecting member 2 which is movable along the path indicated schematically by P in Figure 1. More specifically, the collecting member 2 is provided with a plurality of suction cups, each of which grips one of the colour chips which appear at the bases of the compartments 1a. The collecting member then moves away from the base of the feeder 1 and moves towards a positioning member 3, until the two members face each other. In a known way, the colour chips are transferred from the collecting member 2 to the positioning member 3 which moves along a path indicated schematically by A until the colour chips are carried on to rollers 4, which spread a layer of adhesive on the colour chips before the latter are finally applied to a backing 5.

A problem encountered in the known machines is that the colour chips stacked in the compartments 1a of the feeder 1 are subjected, whenever picked up by the collecting member 2, to an impact which, although small, may cause a small displacement of one or more colour chips. The colour chips may then come to be positioned incorrectly relative to each other when they are collected by the collecting member 2, this being reflected in the incorrect placing of the colour chips on the positioning member 3, with predictable adverse effects on the quality of the colour card on which some colour chips are glued in a distorted or misaligned condition. Furthermore, if the colour chips in their respective compartments are incorrectly stacked, there is a real risk that, after one colour chip has been collected from the stack by the collecting member 2, the next colour chip will emerge completely or partially from the base of the corresponding compartment in an uncontrolled way, thereby causing unavoidable and destructive blockages of the whole machine.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the problems of the prior art, and in particular to limit the risk of blockage of the machine and to improve its output and precision. A further object is to provide a machine which is safer and more reliable in use, which is also simple and economical, and which offers a high quality of application of the colour chips to a backing for the production of colour cards.

In order to achieve the aforesaid objects, the present invention proposes a device for feeding colour chips to be applied to a backing, of the type indicated in Claim 1 below. This device includes storage means comprising one or more compartments for storing one or more corresponding groups of colour chips and means for collecting and delivering the colour chips, these means being selectively movable from a collection position adjacent to the storage means, for the collection of a colour chip from each of the groups of colour chips, to a delivery position remote from the storage means. Each compartment of the one or more compartments comprises an inner wall which defines an inner cavity with an end opening from which, during operation, the collecting and delivery means in the collection position collect one colour chip at a time. Additionally, the inner wall of each compartment comprises at least one inclined supporting wall portion adjacent to the end opening, for supporting the colour chips during operation.

Thus the colour chips housed in the box always return after each impact to rest on the portions of supporting wall in their respective compartments, by the effect of gravity. This ensures the precise and constant alignment of the colour chips with respect to each other and of all the colour chips with respect to the final application backing.

Preferably, the inclined portion of supporting wall adjacent to the end opening is a plane inclined with respect to the vertical, and, even more preferably, this plane is inclined at an angle which is substantially intermediate between the vertical direction and a horizontal direction, including, but not limited to, an angle of about 40° with respect to the horizontal, to allow optimal sliding of the colour chips within the compartments while also ensuring their accurate positioning in one horizontal direction at least. Alternatively, the portion of supporting wall comprises a pair of planes in a V-shaped arrangement.

The compartments are preferably tubular with a quadrangular cross section, and the storage means comprise a box divided into a plurality of these tubular compartments with quadrangular cross sections.

The inner supporting wall portion is advantageously smooth, in order to ensure that the colour chips slide in an optimal way on the inner supporting wall portion. To achieve this result, the inner supporting wall portion can have a polished surface and/or can be made of a material which has intrinsically low friction.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the collecting and delivery means comprise suction means for capturing the colour chips from the end openings of the compartments of the storage means without damaging them, these suction means, in a preferred embodiment, being suction cups which are actuated selectively to capture the colour chips and to release them at the desired positions.

In a preferred embodiment, the collecting and delivery means comprise a collecting plate which is selectively rotatable and which preferably rotates from a position which is substantially orthogonal to an inclined straight line parallel to the inclined supporting wall, in the collection position, to a substantially horizontal position (orthogonal to the vertical) in the delivery position. Thus the collecting plate can be brought in an optimal way towards the box housing the colour chips, and can then be returned to the horizontal position which is more convenient for delivering the the colour chips to the downstream machine elements.

The present invention also relates to a machine for applying colour chips to a backing, comprising a feed device having the characteristics stated in any of Claims 1 to 10. A machine of this type includes positioning means which interact with the collecting and delivery means to receive the colour chips and position them on the backing.

The present invention also proposes a method for applying colour chips to a backing, comprising the steps of:

• arranging a plurality of colour chips in at least one stack, each stack being placed in a respective compartment formed in storage means,
• moving collecting means to bring them into contact with a bottom colour chip of each stack,
• collecting the bottom colour chip of each stack,
• spreading a layer of adhesive on the colour chip,
• affixing the colour chip to a backing,

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be made clear by the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, which refers to the attached drawings provided purely by way of non-limiting example, in which:

• Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of a known machine for applying colour chips to a backing of a colour card,
• Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of a machine for applying colour chips to a backing of a colour card according to the present invention, and
• Figure 3 shows a detail of the feed device of the present invention, used in the machine of Figure 2.

With reference to the drawings, Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of a machine 10 constructed according to the present invention. The machine 10 is intended to apply colour chips 11 to a backing 28 to produce, for example, a colour card or a similar product.

The colour chips 11 are housed in a stacked formation within compartments 12 formed in a feeder 13 which is preferably box-shaped, within which compartments 12 adjacent to each other are formed. The number of compartments 12 and their positioning relative to each other is not limiting, but can be determined by a person skilled in the art in accordance with the production requirements and the maximum number of colour chips to be placed simultaneously on a backing. A preferred embodiment includes a certain number of adjacent compartments 12 which form rows and columns when seen in plan view.

The feeder 13 is inclined with respect to the vertical in such a way that the compartments 12 are inclined; in other words each compartment has a portion 15 of its inner wall 14 placed at a sufficient angle to the vertical and horizontal directions to serve as a support for the colour chips 11 while allowing them to fall towards the base of each compartment 12, as described more fully below.

Clearly, the inclined portion 15 of the inner wall 14 serving as a support for the colour chips 11 can have a flat cross section, as in the example of Figure 2, but can also be channel-shaped, for example with a curved cross section which for example may be U-shaped, or an angled cross section which for example may be V-shaped. In other words, for the purposes of the present invention, a compartment 12 is considered to be inclined if an array of colour chips 11 contained therein is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane without reaching the vertical position, regardless of the specific section of the compartment 12 which houses it. This aspect of the present invention differs markedly from the prior art, illustrated by way of example in Figure 1, wherein the feeder 1 is divided into compartments 1a with vertical directrices.

Figure 3 is a more detailed view of the aforesaid box-like feeder 13 wherein some of the compartments 12 are shown as empty, while other contain quadrangular colour chips 11. Each compartment 12 comprises, as mentioned above, an inner wall 14, preferably made of, or internally coated with, plastic or other smooth material, to promote the sliding of the colour chips 11 within the compartment 12.

Each compartment 12 is substantially tubular, and is open at its upper end 12a through which the colour chips can be conveniently inserted, and also at its lower end 12b at which a colour chip 11 appears from time to time, ready for collection by a collecting member 16. At the opening at the lower end 12b of each compartment 12, means are provided for retaining the colour chips 11 inside the compartment 12 until they are collected. In a preferred embodiment, the means for retaining the colour chips comprise a pair of wires 17, preferably made of metal or synthetic material, which retain the colour chips 11 in the corresponding compartments 12 until they are extracted therefrom by force. In this connection it should be pointed out that the arrangement and nature of the pair of wires 17 are chosen in accordance with the type of colour chips 11 contained in the feeder 13. For example, thin and relatively stiff wires are adequate if the colour chips 11 are relatively flexible and light, as in the case of colour chips made of paper, whereas the wires 17 are preferably resilient and thicker if the colour chips used are stiffer and heavier, as in the case of colour chips made of metal or wood or the like.

The compartments 12, which have a quadrangular cross section in the examples of Figures 2 and 3, can also have a cross section of circular, elliptical, or any other shape, preferably matching the shape of the colour chips which they are to contain.

The collecting member 16 is rotatable about a horizontal axis 16a, and for this purpose it is preferably connected to one or more of two pistons 26 or similar actuating members. The collecting member 16 comprises a plate 18 on the upper face 19 of which is arranged a plurality of suction cups 20 which communicate with suction means (not shown in the drawings), such as a vacuum pump or the like. Clearly, it is possible to provide a different configuration of the collecting member 16, for example one in which the suction cups 20 are supported by a functionally similar frame or grid or support structure.

The suction cups 20 are preferably arranged in a row and column configuration which matches the configuration of the compartments 12. In more general terms, the suction cups 20 are arranged in a relationship to each other such that, when the collecting member 16 is located in a collection position adjacent to the base of the feeder 13, each compartment 12 is next to a suction cup 20, which is preferably parallel to the axis of the compartment 12, and is preferably placed in the centre of the corresponding compartment 12 to provide simpler and more effective collection. In the case of large colour chips 11, it is possible to use a plurality of suction cups 20 for the same compartment 12, to pick up the same colour chip 11.

The colour chip feed device described up to this point can be used in a machine for applying colour chips to a backing, in order to produce, for example, a colour card. This machine comprises a positioning member 21 which is movable in translation with respect to the collecting member 16. The positioning member 21 preferably comprises a plate 22, on the lower face 23 of which there is arranged a plurality of suction cups 24, similar to the suction cups 20 described above and again connected to suction means (not shown). The suction cups 24 are positioned to form a mirror image of the suction cups 20 arranged on the collecting member 16, in such a way that, when the positioning member 21 is located above the collecting member 16, each suction cup 24 of the positioning member 21 is aligned with a corresponding suction cup 20 of the collecting member 16.

A pair of rollers 27, which may be counter-rotating for example, is provided to spread a layer of adhesive on the colour chips.

During operation, the colour chips 11 are placed in the compartments 12 by being inserted from the respective openings in the upper ends 12a. By the effect of gravity, the colour chips fall towards the lower end 12b where they are retained by the wires 17, and are stacked in the respective compartments 12 in a substantially aligned way, with one side 25 resting, by the effect of gravity, on the inclined portion 15 of the inner wall 14 of the corresponding compartment 12. In this condition, the feeder 13 is in a loaded condition, and the colour chips 11 appearing at the opening in the lower end 12b are ready to be collected and applied to the backing.

During the operation of the machine, the collecting member 16 is translated until it is placed under the feeder 13, and, by the actuation of the pistons 26, rotates about the axis 16a into a collection position in which it is adjacent to the feeder 13 and is preferably inclined at the same angle, in such a way that the suction cups 20 can come into contact with the colour chips 11, each in an area which is preferably substantially at the centre of gravity of the colour chip. At this point, the suction means communicating with the suction cups 20 are actuated, and the suction cups adhere to the corresponding colour chips 11 appearing at the lower ends 12b of the compartments 12. The collecting member 16 is then moved away from the feeder 13, preferably by means of a rotation about the axis 16a which returns it to a horizontal position, and the suction cups 20 carry with them the corresponding colour chips 11, extracting them from the compartments 12 by overcoming the resistance of the wires 17. The collecting member 16, which has returned to a horizontal position, and the positioning member 21 initially approach each other by a mutual translational movement which terminates when the suction cups 24 are aligned with the suction cups 20, and then approach each other vertically until a delivery position is reached, in which the suction cups 24 of the positioning member 21 come into contact with the colour chips 11. The suction means connected to the suction cups 24 are actuated, and the suction means connected to the suction cups 20 are inactivated, in order to transfer the colour chips to the positioning member 21.

The positioning member 21 is then moved away from the collecting member 16 and is translated horizontally in such a way that a surface of each colour chip 11 touches the surfaces of the rollers 27 to enable a thin layer of adhesive to be spread on each colour chip 11. The positioning member 21 is then lowered on to the final backing 28, such as a brochure, a catalogue, or more generally a sheet of paper, cardboard or other material usable for the production of colour cards.

Finally the backing 28 on which the colour chips 11 have been glued is replaced (manually or, preferably, automatically) with a backing which does not yet have any colour chips on it, while the collecting member 16 and the positioning member 21 are returned to the initial position, ready for a new cycle.

In each cycle, when the collecting member 16 collects the colour chips 11 from the respective compartments 12, the other colour chips 11 present in the feeder 13 may be subject to a small impact. Since, as mentioned above, the compartments 12 each comprise an inclined portion 15 of inner wall 14, the colour chips 11 return after each impact to a position in which their edges 25 still rest on the portions 15 of inner wall 14 of the compartments, by the effect of gravity.

In particular, the angle α of inclination of the portion 14 of inner wall 15 with respect to the vertical is sufficiently large to ensure that the gravitational force component perpendicular to the inner wall acting on each colour chip is sufficient to bring the colour chip back into contact with the inner wall after each impact, overcoming the friction between the colour chips. At the same time, the angle α of inclination with respect to the vertical is sufficiently small to ensure that the gravitational force component parallel to the inclined inner wall portion which acts on each colour chip is sufficient to allow the colour chips to slide towards the lower opening of the compartment, overcoming the friction between the colour chips and the inner wall of the compartment. It has been found that when the aforesaid two components of the gravitational force are substantially comparable with each other, in other words when the direction of inclination is approximately intermediate between the vertical and the horizontal, the device according to the present invention operates correctly. However, there is no reason why the compartments should not be inclined at a very small angle, for example approximately 10°, or at a very large angle, even approximately 90°, depending on the specific values of the weight forces of the colour chips and the amounts of friction present.

When the colour chip feed device proposed by the present invention is used, the colour chips are always presented in the optimal position at the moment of collection and at the moment of application to a backing, thus increasing the precision of the machine and, above all, limiting the machine downtime due to incorrect collection or to blockages. Moreover, the greater precision of application enables the operating speed of the machine to be increased from 400 cycles per hour, which is commonly found in prior art machines, to a speed of approximately 700-800 cycles which has been recorded in machines constructed according to the present invention.

If necessary, the output of the machine can also be increased by making the collecting member 16 collect a new group of colour chips 11 while the positioning member 21 is still gluing a preceding group of colour chips 11.

The device proposed by the present invention is also safer and more convenient for the operator who has to act on the machine in order to fill the compartments with colour chips or rectify blockages, or for any other task requiring access to or inspection of the lower part of the box-like feeder, which is more accessible because of its inclination.

In a variant of the present invention, a plurality of adjacent feeders are provided, each having its own compartments, preferably arranged spatially in the way in which the colour chips are arranged on the backing. Additionally, regardless of the number of feeders, the compartments can also be arranged in a predetermined way which is independent of the configuration of the layout of colour chips on the backing. In this case, the collecting member and/or the positioning member can be provided with movable suction cups and can arrange the colour chips in the desired layout configuration.

The box-like feeder, and therefore the compartments in which the colour chips are housed, can be inclined at angles and on planes different from those described and illustrated by way of example. For example, it can be inclined in such a way that the colour chips bear not on a single inner wall, but on an angle of each compartment 12, and ultimately, therefore, on a V-shaped portion of the inner wall.

In another variant, the inclination of the feeder is not restricted to a predetermined angle, but can be made to vary according to particular requirements, for example in order to adapt to colour chips of different shapes and types, or to facilitate the inspection of the bases of the compartments.

Clearly, provided that the principle of the invention is retained, the forms of embodiment and the details of construction can be varied widely from what has been described and illustrated, without departure from the scope of the invention.