EP1516839B1 - Device and method for attaching supplements to printed products - Google Patents

Abstract

The device (10) for the attaching of a complementary product (22) to a printed product (36), has a support element (44) interacting with a holding element (12) in a delivery point region. At least one bending element (18) can bend the complementary product into a V-shape at least in the region of the delivery point without actively gripping the product. The holding element, support element and bending element interact in such a way that the complementary product, folding around an edge (36c) of the printed product, is pressed onto two opposite sides (36a,36b) of the printed product. An independent claim is included for a method for the attaching of a complementary product, and especially an adhesive tape section, to a printed product.

Description

The invention relates to a device and a method for applying a supplementary product, in particular a Klebebandabschitts, to a printed product according to the preamble of claims 1 and 11, respectively.

A device of this type for attaching flat, self-adhesive supplementary products, in particular labels, samples, MemoStick® or Post-it® products, is known from EP-A 1 112 861 or EP-A 1 275 607. The device according to EP-A 1 112 861 comprises a number of holding elements with an L-shaped main body and a head part rotatably attached thereto. The head part has a suction member, with the supplementary products are detected individually at a receiving location. In the area of a delivery point, the supplementary products are pressed against printed products conveyed past there. Previously, they were rotated into a position parallel to the printed product. The printed product is supported when pressed by an adjacent holding element. For this purpose, the holding elements are designed to be movable relative to each other. The device according to EP-A 1 275 607 additionally offers the possibility of optionally attaching the supplement product to the front or rear side of the printed product by means of suction organs present on both sides of the head part. However, both devices are incapable of providing a supplemental product around an edge of the printed product to put around, for example, to reinforce this edge or seal.

It is known from EP-A 0 666 186 to close a folded multi-part printed product at its open edges with a supplementary product in the form of an adhesive tape section in order to prevent falling out or shifting of inserted product parts. The elongate adhesive tape sections are received in a first plane form by transfer tongs arranged on a wheel, then bent by closing the tongs and pressed against opposite sides of the printed product. For this purpose, the transfer tongs each have a suction member at the ends of their jaws, which in each case actively holds one end of the adhesive tape portion. The open transfer tongs takes up a relatively large amount of space, whereby the minimum spatial distance between two tongs and thus also the processing cycle is determined. Furthermore, the distance between the suction members and thus the optimal size of the adhesive tape portion is not variable.

The invention has for its object to further develop a device and a method of the type mentioned in such a way that supplementary products can be attached to two sides of the printed product without much design overhead, wherein they overlap at least one edge of the printed product.

The object is achieved by a device having the features of claim 1 and by a method having the features of claim 11. Advantageous developments of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims, the description and the drawings.

The inventive device has a number along a closed orbit driven in a circumferential direction, successively arranged holding elements and at least one support element. The holding elements have at least one suction member with which they are able to receive a supplemental product, in particular in the form of a flat adhesive tape section, at a receiving location. In order to bend the initially flat supplementary product so that it can be placed around an edge of the printed product, at least one bending element is present. This is capable of acting on the supplement product at least in the region of the discharge point in such a way that the supplement product held on one side by the suction member is bent at least approximately V-shaped. In doing so, the flexure element does not actively engage the supplement product, i. the supplement is not sucked or pinched or otherwise fixed by the bending element. Rather, the bending element serves as an abutment or support in order to bend the supplementary product, for example, by a relative movement of the suction member and the bending element. Retaining element, support element and bending element cooperate in such a way that the supplementary product, one edge of the printed product cross-over, is pressed against two opposite sides of the printed product.

The invention has the advantage that supplementary products can be gripped reliably by the suction member in itself any flat shape and bent by the bending element V-shaped. The flexure is not necessarily adapted to a particular shape of the supplemental product and can be designed mechanically very simple, for example in the form of a resilient tongue.

The device may have a stationary in the region of the delivery point or there moved along with the support elements supporting element. Preferably, however, a plurality of support elements are present, which are moved with the holding elements. Particularly preferably, each support element is assigned a support element. As described in EP-A 1 112 861 or EP-A 1 275 607, the support elements can be realized in an advantageous manner by the holding elements in the direction of movement and / or trailing.

Although a bending element arranged in the region of the discharge point or moving along there with the holding elements is also sufficient, a plurality of bending elements are preferably present, which are moved along with the holding elements. These may be part of the retaining element, for example. Particularly preferably, each retaining element is associated with a bending element.

Fig. 1

eine erfindungsgemässe Vorrichtung mit an der vorlaufenden Seite der Halteelemente angeordneten Biegeelementen;

Fig. 2

eine erfindungsgemässe Vorrichtung mit an der nachlaufenden Seite der Halteelemente angeordneten Biegeelementen;

Fig. 3

eine Detailansicht des Abgabebereichs der Vorrichtung gemäss Fig. 1;

Fig. 4

eine Detailansicht des Abgabebereichs der Vorrichtung gemäss Fig. 2;

Fig. 5

eine weitere erfindungsgemässe Vorrichtung;

Fig. 6

eine weitere erfindungsgemässe Vorrichtung mit an den Halteelementen angeordneten Stützelementen.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. It shows purely schematically:

Fig. 1

an inventive device with arranged on the leading side of the holding elements bending elements;

Fig. 2

an inventive device with arranged on the trailing side of the holding elements bending elements;

Fig. 3

a detailed view of the delivery area of the device according to FIG. 1;

Fig. 4

a detailed view of the delivery area of the device according to FIG. 2;

Fig. 5

another device according to the invention;

Fig. 6

a further inventive device with arranged on the holding elements supporting elements.

1 and 2 each show an inventive device 10 with a plurality of successively arranged holding elements 12 with integrated bending elements 18. These are moved in a direction of rotation U along a closed orbit and thereby pass through a receiving point 60 and a delivery point 58. Fig. 3 and 4 show detailed views of the area of the dispensing point 58, but in other snapshots. In FIGS. 1 and 3, the bending elements 18 are located on the leading side 12a of the holding elements 12, in FIGS. 2 and 4 on the trailing side 12b of the holding elements 12.

With the exception of the bending element 18, the construction and the function of the holding elements 12 correspond to the holding elements illustrated and explained in EP-A 1 275 607. Furthermore, the construction and the function of the device 10 correspond to the device illustrated and explained in EP-A 1 275 607. In the following, therefore, the structure and operation of the invention will be explained only to the extent necessary for the understanding of the invention. Incidentally, reference is made to the content of EP-A 1 275 607. The possible modifications of the device described in EP-A 1 275 607 can also be used here.

At the receiving location 60 supplementary products 22 are received by a feeder 20. At the delivery point 58, these are delivered to printed products 36 and pressed against them. The printed products 36 are conveyed by a conveyor 38, here in the form of a gripper conveyor with grippers 40, suspended at a substantially constant distance d in a conveying direction F. The holding elements 12 consist of a base body 14, on which a head part 16 is pivotally mounted and the bending element 18 is arranged linearly displaceable. In the region of the discharge point 58, the head parts 16 of two adjacent holding elements 12 protrude between the printed products 36. Moving towards each other, a supplementary product 22, previously bent by means of the bending element 18, becomes the edge 36c to be sealed, here the open lower edge (the so-called flower). , the printed product 36 placed and pressed there. The leading in the direction of rotation retaining element 12 and its head part 16 acts as a support member 44th

The main body 14 of the holding element 12 has the shape of a substantially L-shaped angle lever, which is articulated to a support plate 32. The Anlenkungsachsen 28 lie on a circular orbit 26, the center of which is the axis of rotation X of the support plate 32, and are located at approximately the same distance D to each other. With the first leg 50 of the base body 14, the head part 16 is pivotally connected about a pivot axis 34. The pivot axis 34 runs perpendicular to the direction of rotation U or parallel to the axis of rotation X. The second leg 52 is provided with a control roller 30 which rolls on a control link 56. By the control cam 56, the angle is variable, the first leg 50 occupies relative to the radial direction. By the curved Orbit 26 pierces in each case a holding element 12 between two adjacent printed products 36 a. In this case, the bending element 18 is located on the one side 36a and the head part 16 on the other side 36b of the printed product 36.

The head part 16 has an approximately trapezoidal cross section and is equipped with at least one suction member 24 which is arranged in a first surface 16 a of the head part 16. One of these opposite second surface 16b has the function of the support member 44, as will be explained in more detail below. In the variant according to FIGS. 2 and 4, the rollers of the first and second surfaces are reversed. In the second surface 16b, a further suction member 25 may be arranged. It is used in particular when the head parts 16 are tilted when receiving the supplementary products 22 in the direction of circulation U (cf., FIG. 2). Furthermore, the supplementary products 22 with the further suction member 25 in a flat state instead of on the trailing side 36b can also be pressed against the leading side 36a of the printed product 36 if the bending element 18 is deactivated (cf EP-A 1 275 607).

The bending element 18 comprises a leaf-like tongue 18a, which is displaceably mounted in the longitudinal direction of the first leg 50 by means of a fastening element 42. In the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 and 3, the tongue 18a is oriented substantially parallel to the leading edge 50a of the leg 50. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the tongue 18a may also be disposed on the trailing edge 50b of the first leg 50. In this case, a suction member 25 is used on the second surface 16b of the head part 16, wherein the Suction member 24 on the first surface 16a is dispensable. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the fastening element 42 is preferably connected to a drive element 46, in this case a toothed belt, and is displaced therealong along the base body 14. The drive element 46 also serves to transmit a driving force to the rotatable head part 16. In the present case, the bending element 18 and the head part 16 are therefore displaced or rotated synchronously. It is also possible to drive the bending element 18 and the head part 16 separately, wherein the movements should then be coordinated with one another.

The rotatable relative to the base body 14 head portion 16 has the purpose to bring the recorded at the receiving point 60 in a flat state supplement product 22 to reach the delivery point 58 in a position in which held by the suction member 24 first end 22a of the supplementary product 22 approximately parallel to the printed product 36 runs. In the present case, the supplementary products 22 are supplied by the delivery device 20 tangentially to the movement path 26. The delivery device 20 and the head parts 16 roll against each other, whereby a fast and reliable delivery of the supplementary products in a flat state is achieved. Previously, the supplement products were cut off, for example, from a supply roll, not shown here, and / or detached from a carrier material. Furthermore, a supply from a stack or Leporello is possible. The delivery device 20 preferably rotates the severed sections to a position suitable for further processing. In this are the portions of the supplement product, which are provided with an adhesive, preferably in the direction of rotation U in a row. One or more adhesive areas may be provided be. The supplement product consists for example of paper or plastic, for example a transparent plastic film. It may have in the region of its apex 22c a perforation, which facilitates the subsequent separation.

At the receiving location 60, the head part 16 is in a position in which it is bent away from the main body 14 by approximately 90 ° (FIG. 1) or in the direction of movement U (FIG. 2). A receiving plane E defined by its first surface 16a (FIG. 2: second surface 16b) or the corresponding suction member 24, 25 extends tangentially to the movement path 26. Furthermore, the bending element 18 is in a radially inward rest position, in which its leading edge 18b, seen from the axis of rotation x or from the Anlenkungsachse 28, in or before the receiving plane E is located. Retaining member 12 and suction member 24 can thus be approximated well to the delivery device 20 to receive the supplement product 22 in a flat state. While the head part 16 is rotated on the way to the discharge point in or counter to the direction of rotation U, the bending element 18 is pushed radially in a direction R to the outside. Its front edge 18b is located at the discharge point 58 finally beyond the receiving plane E. The first surface 16a of the head portion 16 is rotated from a direction substantially tangential to the movement path 26 in a direction substantially perpendicular thereto. Under the influence of the movements of the bending element 18 and the head part 16, the supplement product 22 is bent in a V-shape. First, the flexure 18 only supports the free end 22b of the supplemental product 22 by its leading edge 18b, and then slides along this end 22b as it continues its radial motion.

In this case, the free end 22b is flat on the bending element 18 to the plant. Due to the inherent rigidity of the supplemental product and the flexibility of the tongue 18 a, the tongue 18 a is slightly pushed away from the first leg 50. The bending element 18 or its inner surface which acts as a support surface S and abuts the supplementary product 22 encloses an acute angle with the plane E. Thus, a V-shaped receptacle for the supplementary product 22 is formed between the head part 16 and the bending element 18.

In addition to the simple production, the construction shown has the advantage that the expansion of the retaining element 12 in the circumferential direction U is not significantly increased by the bending element 18. Even with wider supplementary products 22, the bending element 18 is space-saving housed on one side of the support member and is not laterally or not substantially in the rest position.

As can be seen in the detailed drawing of the dispensing area (FIGS. 3 or 4), the holding elements 12 are brought from below to the printed products 36 which are conveyed in a suspended manner. The distances and conveying speeds are selected such that the lower edge 36c is positioned at the discharge point 58 in the region of the apex 22c of the supplementary product 22. At the delivery point 58, the control cam 56 is shaped such that the first legs 50 and the head parts 16 of two adjacent holding elements 12 are inclined towards each other. In this case, in the case of FIGS. 1 and 3, the first surface 16a of the trailing support element 12, which still carries a supplementary product 22, is oriented parallel and largely congruent to the second surface 16b of the leading support element 12 acting as support element 44. Due to the relative movement of the adjacent Holding members 12 bend the flexure 18 located therebetween so that it is also oriented parallel to the surfaces 16a, 16b. The supplement product 22 is thus pressed with its original held by the suction head 24 end 22a on the trailing side 36b and with his on the bending element 18 and indirectly supported by the support member 44 free end 22b on the leading side 36a of the printed product 36 and fixed there. In the case of FIGS. 2 and 4, the situation is reversed, ie the trailing holding element 12 acts as a supporting element 44.

The supplement product 22 may extend over the entire length of the edge 36c or only a part thereof. It is used in particular for sealing the edge 36c open here (so-called flower of the printed product). However, the printed products 36 may also be gripped so that the folded edge 36d or a side edge is provided with a supplemental product 22, e.g. for reinforcing the folded edge 36d, for attaching a hanger, for hiding the stitching, for closing the open edges against falling out of inserts, or as reading protection as an alternative to wrapping the entire printed product. In the present case, the supplementary product 22 fits snugly against the printed product 36, but the apex 22c may also be spaced from the edge 36c.

The bending element 18 preferably has an elasticity or flexibility adapted to the rigidity of the supplementary product 22. Its mechanical properties are preferably selected such that it is spread apart from the leg 50 by the supplementary product 22 from a position originally parallel to the first leg 50, as shown, but is light and compact during the pressing process can be deformed without much effort. For the processing of supplementary products made of paper or plastic, the bending element 18 or the tongue 18a is preferably made of hardened spring steel and has for example a measured from the fastening element 42 effective length of 80 mm, a width of 20 mm and a thickness of 0.1 mm. If the spring element 18a is made of a different material, eg plastic, leather, wood, metal, preferably a similar elasticity is selected.

In principle, a slightly or not resilient spring element is also suitable, which is preferably movable relative to the holding element 12, e.g. is pivotable. Its construction and mechanical properties should be chosen so that its surface is already oriented parallel to the printed product when pressed in the dispensing position or is aligned by the Andrückvorgang parallel to the printed product.

The devices shown in FIGS. 1-4 are obtained by simply upgrading with the bending elements 18 according to the invention from the device shown in EP-A 1 275 607. The flexures 18 are structurally simple, inexpensive and easy to assemble. The bending elements 18 can be mounted in the same basic device according to EP-A 1 275 607 in or against the direction of rotation, resulting in different functions. As drive the already existing drive of the head part 16 is used.

5 shows a further variant of a device according to the invention, wherein only the region of the delivery point 58 is shown. The holding elements 12 are conveyed hanging in this area along a slightly concave curved orbit 26. Their distance D is adapted to the distance d of the printed products 36 linearly conveyed in pockets 48 (see Fig. 6) or on saddles (not shown) in the substantially same conveying direction F. The structure of the holding elements 12 substantially corresponds to that of Fig. 1-4. In contrast to FIGS. 1-4, adjacent holding elements 12 at the discharge point 58 do not function mutually as a support element. Therefore, the second leg 52 and the corresponding control link for the relative movement of two adjacent support members 12 is not necessarily present. Instead, there is presently a support member 44 at the discharge point 58, which cooperates for pressing a supplementary product 22 with the head part 16. The support member 44 is moved along a part of the movement path 26 with the holding elements 24. There may be a plurality of support elements 44. Furthermore, the support element 44, as shown in Fig. 6, be part of the support member 12.

As can be seen in the right-hand part of the picture, the head part 16 is initially oriented approximately at right angles to the main body 14. The flexure 18 is in its rearward end position. The held supplementary product 22 is thus aligned approximately parallel to the direction of movement U of the holding elements 12 and to the conveying direction F of the printed products 36 and is located at a small distance to be sealed edge 36c of the printed product. Due to the simultaneous pivoting movement of the head part 16 about the pivot axis 34 and the bending element 18 perpendicular thereto in the direction R, the head part 16 and the bending element 18 pierce on one side 36a, 36b of a printed product 36 between adjacent printed products 36. A curved one Orbit 26 as shown in Figs. 1-4 is therefore not necessary to sufficiently approximate the supplement 36 to the printed product 36. The supplement product 22 is thus bent around the edge 36c and pressed there at the delivery point 58. The bend is supported by gravity.

FIG. 6 shows a variant of the device from FIG. 5, in which each support element is assigned a support element 44. Here, too, can thus be dispensed with a relative movement of the holding elements 12 and a corresponding control link. The support member 44 is connected via a lever 62 to the support member 12. It is pivotable about the pivot axis 28, but may also be pivotable about an axis extending parallel thereto. The support element 44 is preferably driven together with the head part 16 and the bending element 18.

In the grippers 40, pockets 46 or saddles of the conveying device 38 for the printed products 36, instead of a printed product 36, several can also be held and connected by a common supplementary product 22.

The supplementary product 22 is not necessary flat design. It may also be a three-dimensional object that is bent with the flexure 18 for attachment to the printed product 36.

Claims (15)

1. Apparatus (10) for affixing a supplementary product (22), in particular a section of adhesive tape, to a printed product (36), having a number of holding elements (12) which are arranged one after another along a closed circulation path (26) and driven in a circulation direction (U) and have at least one suction element (24, 25), and having at least one supporting element (44), the holding elements (12) being capable of picking up a supplementary product (22) at a pick-up point (60) by using the suction element (24, 25), and the supporting element (44), in the region of a discharge point (58), interacting with the holding element (12) in such a way that the supplementary product (22) is pressed onto the printed product (36), characterized by at least one bending element (18) which is capable, at least in the region of the discharge point (58), of bending the supplementary product (22) at least approximately in a V shape without gripping the supplementary product (22) actively, holding element (12), supporting element (44) and bending element (18) interacting in such a way that the supplementary product (22), reaching over an edge (36c) of the printed product (36), is pressed onto two opposite sides (36a, 36b) of the printed product (36).
2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterized in that, on one side, each holding element (12) has at least one suction element (24, 25) and, on its other side, at least one supporting element (44), in each case two adjacent holding elements (12), during their movement from the pick-up point (60) to the discharge point (58), being at least partly moved in between printed products (36), which are conveyed with a spacing (d) from one another, and moved towards each other, so that in each case a holding element (12) with an end (22a) of the supplementary product (22) held by the suction element (24, 25) rests on one side (36b) of the printed products (36), and an adjacent holding element (12) with the supporting element (44) and also the bending element (18) with the other end (22b) of the supplementary product (22) rests on the other side (36b) of the printed products (36).
3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the holding element (12) comprises a base body (14) and a top part (16), the top part (16) being connected to the base body (14) such that it can pivot, and the suction element (24, 25) being arranged in the top part (16) and preferably defining a holding plane (E) for the supplementary product (22).
4. Apparatus according to Claim 3, characterized in that each holding element (12) is assigned a bending element (18), which is moved along the circulation path (26) together with the holding element (12).
5. Apparatus according to Claim 4, characterized in that the bending element (18) is fixed to the basic body (14) such that it can move and, during its movement, slides at least partly along on a supplementary product (22) held by the suction element (24, 25) and is capable of bending the said supplementary product (22).
6. Apparatus according to Claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the bending element (18) can move between a rest position, in which its leading end (18b) lies underneath or in the holding plane (E), and a bending position, in which its leading end (18b) lies on the other side of the holding plane (E), preferably can be displaced in a longitudinal direction of the base body.
7. Apparatus according to Claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the base body (14) has a first leg (50) preferably oriented at right angles with respect to the circulation path (26), and in that, in the rest position, the bending element (18) is oriented parallel thereto and can be displaced parallel thereto.
8. Apparatus according to one of Claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the bending element (18) comprises a tongue (18a) which is fitted in a springy manner to the basic body (14) and/or can be deformed elastically.
9. Apparatus according to one of Claims 5 to 8, characterized in that the top part (16) and the bending element (18) are moved relative to the base body (14) by a common drive.
10. Apparatus according to one of Claims 5 to 9, characterized in that the top part (16) can be pivoted about a pivot axis (34) running at right angles to the circulation path (26), and the bending element (18) can be displaced in a direction (R) which is substantially at right angles to the pivot axis (34) and to the circulation path (26), it being possible for the top part (16) and the bending element (18) to be moved synchronously in such a way that the pick-up plane (E), in which the held end (22a) of the supplementary product (22) is located when in use, and a supporting surface (S) defined by the bending element (18), on which the other end (22b) of the supplementary product (22) rests, at least in the region of the discharge point (58), when in use, form a preferably acute angle, at least in the region of the discharge point (58).
11. Method of affixing a supplementary product (22), in particular a section of adhesive tape, to a printed product (36), comprising the following steps:

    - conveying printed products (36) with a spacing (d) from one another to a discharge point (58);

    - moving holding elements (12), which have at least one suction element (24, 25), along a closed circulation path (26) in a circulation direction (U) from a pick-up point (60) to the discharge point (58);

    - picking up a supplementary product (22) at the pick-up point (60) by suction by means of the suction element (24, 25);

    - pressing the supplementary product (22) onto the printed product (36) at the discharge point (58) as a result of interaction between the holding element (12) and a supporting element (44);

    characterized by the following steps:

    - picking up the supplementary product (22) in the substantially flat state;

    - bending the supplementary product (22) to an at least approximately V shape before or when reaching the discharge point (58) by means of a bending element (18), without the bending element (18) seizing the supplementary product (22) actively;

    - pressing the supplementary product (22) onto two opposite sides (36a, 36b) of the printed product (36) in such a way that it reaches over one edge (36c) of the printed product (36) .
12. Method according to Claim 11, characterized in that the bending element (18) is moved along the circulation path (26) together with the holding element (12).
13. Method according to Claim 12, characterized in that the bending element (18) is displaced in a direction running substantially at right angles to the circulation path (26) in order to bend the supplementary product (22).
14. Method according to one of Claims 11-13, characterized in that the holding element (12) has a base body (14) and a top part (16), the suction element (24, 25) being arranged in the top part (16), and a bending element (18) being connected to each holding element (12), the top part (16), during its movement from the pick-up point (60) to the discharge point (58), being pivoted relative to the base body about a pivot axis (34) running at right angles to the circulation path (26), and the bending element (18) being displaced relative to the base body (14) in a direction (R) substantially at right angles to the pivot axis (34) and to the circulation path (26), the movements of the top part (16) and of the bending element (18) being synchronized in such a way that a supplementary product (22) held by the suction element (24, 25) and supported on the bending element (18) is bent in a V shape when reaching the discharge point (58).
15. Method according to Claim 14, characterized in that the top part (16) and the bending element (18) are moved relative to the basic body (14) in such a way that, in the region of the discharge point (58), a holding plane (E) defined by the suction element (24, 25) runs parallel to the printed product (36), and a supporting surface (S) for the supplementary product (22), defined by the bending element (18), runs at a preferably acute angle thereto.

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