EP0334277B1 - Binding device for stacks of sheets - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to machines designed to connect sheets, bundles or sheets, in order to present them in a unitary organized assembly facilitating storage and consultation.

The invention relates, more specifically, to binding machines.

Such machines, widely known in the art, are organized so as to allow the movement of a clamp-shaped carriage, in alternative travel in front of different intervention stations.

Generally, a machine, designed under such a principle, comprises a first loading station at the level of which a group of sheets or sheets is manually inserted between the jaws of the clamp of the carriage so that the latter takes charge of it.

A milling station follows the loading station. Such a station comprises a rotating member responsible for trimming the dorsal edge of the packet of sheets as and when it is moved by the carriage. Such a post is also responsible for executing, in this dorsal section, a Greek crack formed by grooves.

The milling station is followed by a gluing station at which the dorsal edge receives a layer of an adhesive product, generally brought to the fluid state by thermofusion.

Beyond the gluing station, the carriage brings the bundle of tight sheets plumb with a casing station to place it in relation to a cover which is pressed against the milled edge and glued to ensure its joining . The casing station is generally located directly above an evacuation conveyor. Such a casing station comprises a retractable table and jaws, in the form of blades, responsible for clamping the cover on the two flats of the bundle in the parts adjacent to the back.

Due to the movement of the carriage in front of the different successive stations, machines of this kind define an open track bordered by independent intervention stations which are accessible as soon as the carriage does not occupy, instantly or temporarily, a position placing it directly above each of them .

Such a structure does not meet the safety conditions for operators responsible for the service of such a machine.

Accessibility to all positions is indeed the source of risks of potential bodily injury with consequences, possibly serious, even for qualified and informed operators or maintenance personnel.

Such a problem has, of course, been perceived and the prior art knows various proposals for eliminating this drawback. All the solutions proposed involve individual cowlings for each work station with the interposition of a contactor responsible for cutting the power supply or the proper functioning of the post considered in the event of opening.

Such means certainly make it possible to reduce the risk of accidents, but are incapable of eliminating them entirely due to the unreliability of the technical organs used and, also, the habit of personnel or operators to render them ineffective. such technical means to facilitate either the service operation of the machine, or its operation, or, still, maintenance operations.

In other words, it can be considered that the solutions provided to date provide only partial security, not effective, in relation to at least some of the intervention stations of a broaching machine.

The invention aims to provide a solution to the above problems by proposing technical means capable of ensuring overall and total security, simultaneously, for all the intervention stations of a machine for binding by pinout.

The object of the invention is to propose simple, reliable, efficient, inexpensive technical means capable of make access to intervention stations, if not totally impossible, at least excessively difficult. The object of the invention is to prohibit physical contact with one of the stations in working order for any personnel, qualified or not.

Another object of the invention is to provide safety means, at least some of which are capable of performing a double function and, thereby, contributing to a simplification of the machine, as well as to a reduction in its cost price.

Another object of the invention is to provide security means, some of which are also capable of assuming a second function of positive organized evacuation of the bundled bundles produced.

To achieve the above objectives, the machine according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises:
a removable cowling carried by the frame, covering the aligned posts and delimiting, for the carriage, an elongated passage window, parallel to the track and the length of which corresponds to the alternative stroke of said carriage,
a strip of relatively flexible material, fixed and stretched on either side of the carriage, of width greater than that of the window and guided on the frame so that a part of itself always closes the window on both sides and on the other side of the carriage, whatever the position thereof, extending in a plane underlying the window and superimposed on the posts.

• La fig. 1 est une coupe-élévation schématique d'une machine conforme à l'invention.
• La fig. 2 est une coupe transversale prise, à plus grande échelle, sensiblement selon la ligne II-II de la fig. 1.
• Les fig. 3 et 4 sont des perspectives, partie en coupe, illustrant schématiquement deux aspects caractéristiques de l'objet de l'invention.
• La fig. 5 est une coupe-élévation schématique, analogue à la fig. 1, mais illustrant une variante de réalisation.
• Les fig. 6 à 8 montrent trois perspectives illustrant un développement constructif de l'objet de l'invention.

Various other characteristics will emerge from the description given below with reference to the appended drawings which show, by way of nonlimiting examples, embodiments of the subject of the invention.

• Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional elevation of a machine according to the invention.
• Fig. 2 is a cross section taken, on a larger scale, substantially along the line II-II of FIG. 1.
• Figs. 3 and 4 are perspectives, partly in section, schematically illustrating two characteristic aspects of the subject of the invention.
• Fig. 5 is a schematic sectional elevation, similar to FIG. 1, but illustrating an alternative embodiment.
• Figs. 6 to 8 show three perspectives illustrating a constructive development of the subject of the invention.

Fig. 1 schematically shows a machine for broaching bundles of sheets. Such a machine comprises, in a conventional manner, a frame 1 defining a guide track 2 for a carriage 3 capable of being driven in reciprocating movement on the track 2 by means of a drive member 4 and a transmission 5 .

The carriage 3 comprises a plate 6 pierced with a loading opening 7 , the edges parallel to the guide track 2 are provided with a clamp 8. In known manner, the clamp 8 comprises a fixed jaw 9 and a jaw mobile 10 capable of being adjusted in spacing by means of a drive member 11 , the power supply of which, to cause the jaw 10 to open and close , is placed under the dependence of the course of the operating cycle of the machine.

The guide track 2 is established parallel to different aligned intervention stations in front of which or in relation to which the carriage 3 must be moved. The intervention stations include, first of all, a trained P _{1 station} , as shown in FIG. 2, a jogging tablet 12 carried by the frame 1 to extend in a plane below the plate 6 and vertically above the loading opening 7. The jogging tablet 12 occupies a fixed position or possibly adjustable when appropriate or when it is desirable to be able to adjust the distance measurement separating this table from the underside of the plate 6.

The loading station P ₁ is followed by a milling station P ₂ comprising, in horizontal alignment with the jogging tablet, a cutting member 13 capable of being driven in rotation on a vertical axis by a motor 14. The cutting member 13 is constituted, in a manner known per se, by at least one milling cutter, the profile of the teeth of which is chosen so as to cut and crunch the dorsal edge of a bundle of leaves to be bound by stitching.

The P ₂ milling station is followed by a P ₃ gluing station aligned with the P ₁ and P _{2 stations} . The gluing station P ₃ is preferably with hot-melt adhesive and comprises a tank 15 containing a reserve 16 of adhesive of the "hot melt" type maintained at a fluidization temperature by a regulated heating system not shown. In a known manner, the tank 15 is associated with a sizing cylinder 17 driven in rotation by a motor and partially, permanently plunging into the reserve 16.

The gluing station P ₃ is followed by a casing station P ₄ comprising a retractable table 18 normally arranged in alignment with the other stations and responsible for receiving a flat cover, not shown, to be linked to a bundle of leaves. The retractable table 18 is associated with two clamping blades 19 controlled in approach and in relative spacing in synchronism with the operating cycle of the machine.

The sequence of a machine working cycle, described above, is as follows.

The carriage 3 occupies its original standby position in relation to the loading station P ₁ . In this position, the plate 6 is superimposed on the jogging tablet 12 and the movable jaw 10 occupies a position of maximum opening.

A bundle of documents or sheets, such as that designated by the reference L in FIG. 2, is then arranged between the open jaws 9 and 10 to rest, by the dorsal edge, on the jogging tablet 12 which makes it possible to align them vertically.

The commissioning of the machine involves closing the jaws 9 and 10 to tighten the bundle L which is thus held by the carriage in a vertical position. The drive member 4 is then supplied to move the carriage in the direction of the arrow f ₁ and bring it, in continuous translation, directly above the station P ₂ . The milling cutter 13, driven in rotation by the motor 14, cuts off the dorsal edge of the bundle L in order to equalize it and execute, simultaneously, substantially transverse grooves, commonly called greens in the binding technique.

The power of the motor 4 is maintained to move, always, the carriage in the direction of the arrow f ₁ , so as to scroll the entire length of the dorsal edge in relation to the station P ₂ . The carriage 3 translates, then, the bundle L at the station P ₃ where it is caused to rub on the glue roller 17 driven in rotation. The relative scrolling allows the deposition of a layer or a film of molten fluid adhesive which covers the entire surface of the dorsal edge and penetrates into the gorges responsible for ensuring its anchoring during solidification.

The bundle L is then transferred by the carriage 3 above the station P ₄ having previously received a cover placed flat on the table 18 . The carriage 3 is immobilized above the table 18 which is raised to apply the cover against the dorsal edge, with a view to promoting the solidification of the adhesive film and the connection between the bundle L and the cover. After elevation of the table 18, the blades 19 are ordered in close proximity to fold the dishes of the cover on either side of the back and to strengthen the bond and the bonding.

The jaws 9 and 10 are then opened and, simultaneously, the table 18 is retracted, so that the binding, constituted by the cover and the bundle L, falls by gravity into a conveyor 20 disposed directly above the station 4 to guide binding in the direction of an exit counter 21.

Most generally, the guide track 2 and the various stations P ₁ to P ₄ are established in a rectilinear alignment.

In order to provide effective security for the operator (s) or, furthermore, the interveners, with respect to the different stations P ₁ to P ₄ , the machine according to the invention comprises an upper cowling 25 , preferably constituted in the form of a casing, able to pivot on an axis x parallel to the track 2. The cowling 25 forms a range 26 covering all of the stations P ₁ to P ₄ by integrating with the general envelope of the frame 1 . The area 26 delimits an elongated window 27 whose width is chosen to be equal, by excess, to that maximum of the clamp 8 whose jaws are engaged through it. The length of the elongated window 27 corresponds to the maximum stroke of the alternating movement of the carriage 3 between the stations P ₁ and P ₄ .

According to another arrangement of the invention, the carriage 3 is extended, on either side of its transverse sides, by a band 28 establishing itself in a plane underlying the track 26, directly above the window 27, to always cover the active members of the stations P ₁ to P ₄ , whatever the position of the carriage 3. The strip 28 is chosen from a relatively flexible material, preferably reinforced, so that it can be formed in the form of endless loop passing over idler rollers 29 at least one of which, such as 29 ₁ , assumes a tensioning function. The strip 28 has a width greater than that of the window 27.

Thus, as appears from the comparison of FIGS. 3 and 4, the strip 28 completely closes the passage section of the window 27 by being interposed between the track 26 and the active members of the various stations P ₁ to P ₄ . As the carriage moves in one direction or the other between the stations P ₁ to P ₄ , the strip 28 is streaked in scrolling and completely hides the window 27 by making, if not impossible, at least excessively difficult, access to the active organs of stations P ₁ to P ₄ .

By way of example, the strip 28 is made of woven and reinforced polyester fibers.

According to a preferred arrangement of the invention, the track 26 comprises, at the periphery of the window 27, a fallen edge 30 oriented downwards and against which the strip 28 is stretched.

According to an advantageous construction arrangement, provision is made to produce the strip 28 in the form of a toothed belt 28 ₁ illustrated in FIG. 5. In such a case, one of the rollers 29 is notched and driven in positive rotation by the output shaft 31 of an electric motor 32. In this way, the strip 28 assumes the first function described above, as well as that of transmission and actuation of the carriage 3 to replace the transmission 5. A simpler, less expensive and more reliable construction can thus occur.

A development of the subject of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 6 showing that the base of the conveyor 20 can be equipped with a retractable hatch 33 defining a receiving plane disposed above the lower strand 28a of the band 28. The hatch 33 can be produced in several suitable ways and, in particular, by by means of two panels 34 controlled in partial rotation, in synchronism with the movement cycle of the carriage 3. More particularly, the pivoting control of the flaps 34 is ensured, when the carriage 3 has been brought back to the right of the loading station P , after a full work cycle. In this way, the hatch 33 receives the binding which has just been performed and maintains the latter, during the return stroke of the carriage 3 , in the direction of the station P ₁ . When this position is reached, the hatch 33 opens and drops the binding performed on the lower strand 28 is momentarily stationary.

During the course of the next cycle, the lower strand 28 a is scrolled in the direction of the arrow f ₂ ( fig. 6 ) and transfers the binding made, such as that designated by the reference R , from the base of the conveyor d 'Evacuation 20 to an outlet window 35 presented by the frame 1, substantially in transverse alignment with the loading station P ₁ , generally occupied by the operator responsible for driving the machine.

When the carriage 3 occupies the stable stop position at plumb the post casing, the strand 28 a is fixed and R binding lies directly opposite the output window 35. The extraction of the binding R can intervene manually or automatically controllable in the direction of an output station 36, by means of an ejection drawer 37 comprising, for example, an actuator 38 moving a push or pull bar 39 .

As is apparent from the description, the means of the invention involve simple, robust, reliable, inexpensive technical organs, easily adaptable on conventional pin-type binding machines and capable of ensuring effective, total security. , effective, for all the intervention stations of such a machine.

The means of the invention allow, in addition, a simplification of the control members, in the case where the strip 28 performs a double function, as described in relation to FIG. 5.

The means of the invention also make it possible to automate the operating cycle of the machine by facilitating the loading and extraction work by a single operator responsible for driving, that is to say the supply and management of bindings made.

The invention is not limited to the examples described and shown, since various modifications can be made thereto without departing from its scope. In particular, it can be provided, as shown in FIG. 1, to place the general circuit of the motor and active function of the stations under the dependence of a contactor 40 appreciating the physical presence of the strip 28. Thus, in the event of the latter breaking, the machine is automatically stopped in these various functions.

Claims (9)

1. A book binding machine for binding sets of pages by gluing and the application of a cover, comprising a frame (1) defining a straight guide path (2) supporting a carriage (3) which is adapted to be loaded with a set of pages and is coupled with a drive member (4) adapted to reciprocate the carriage along the path, the said frame supporting in relation to the path a carriage loading station (P₁) for charging the carriage with a set of such pages so as to be supported vertically by the carriage, a milling station (P₂) for milling the back surface of the set of pages, a gluing station (P₃) for applying adhesive to the milled back surface of the set, an encasing station (P₄) for applying the cover on the back milled surface to which adhesive has been applied, in a cover and a discharge conveyor (20), characterized in that said machine further comprises:

   - a removable hood (25) carried by the frame, covering the aligned stations and defining, for the carriage, an elongated passage window (27), parallel to the path and whose length is equal to the course of reciprocating movement of the carriage,

   - and a band (28) of relatively flexible material fixed and held taut at both sides of the carriage, having a width in excess of that of the window and guided on the frame so that a part thereof always shuts off the window on both sides of the carriage whatever the position thereof, while extending in a plane under the window and above the stations.
2. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the window is bordered by a flanged peripheral rim (30) directed downwards and against which the band is tensioned.
3. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the band is in the form of a closed loop.
4. Machine according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that the band is in the form of a ribbed belt (28₁) engaged by a ribbed pulley mounted on the output shaft of a drive member (32) able to be reversed in direction and thus constitutes a closure for the window and an entraining transmission for the carriage in order to cause it to perform its reciprocating movement.
5. Machine according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the band is supported by deviation rolls (29) of which one is intended for tightening the band.
6. Machine according to claim 3, 4 or 5, characterized in that the band has a lower run (28a) extending above a retractable door (33) shutting off the unloading conveyor (20) and between this door and an exit port (35) provided in the frame.
7. Machine according to claim 6, characterized in that the retractable door (33) is caused to open during each cycle of reciprocating movement of the carriage after the return of the latter to the loading station.
8. Machine according to claim 6, characterized in that the exit port (35) is associated with an actuator (38) operated during each cycle of movements of the carriage after the arrival of the latter in the encasing station in order to move a page set carried by the lower run, transversely in relation to the latter, through the port towards an exit station (36).
9. Machine according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that the physical presence of the band (28) is ascertained by a detector (40) controlling the general control circuit of the machine.

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