GB1363859A - Apparatus for separating signatures - Google Patents

Abstract

1363859 Feeding sheets HARRIS-INTERTYPE CORP 12 Oct 1971 47463/71 Heading B8R A sheet separating apparatus for separating both standard and gate-folded signatures from a pile 10 thereof comprises a hopper for aligning the edges of the signatures and supporting a major portion of the bottom-most signature and rotary disc means 12 co-planar with the bottom of the hopper and having a slot through which grasping means, e.g. reciprocable suction heads 40, operated in timed relationship with rotation of the disc means can reach from below to pull a folded corner of the bottom-most signature downwardly so that further rotation of the disc means causes the signature to be separated through the slot and conveyed away by transport means, e.g. by grippers 13 on a drum 14, the disc means being rotatable in opposite senses so that separation can be initiated from either of two corner edges of the signatures whereby standard or gate-folded signatures can be successfully separated. The disc means, which may be of such dimensions as to continuously support the pile, may comprise a single disc rotatable in either sense via a gearing arrangement (21), Fig. 1 (not shown), the disc and gearing arrangement being laterally movable for operation at either of the two corner edges of a bottom-most signature. Alternatively the disc may be large enough for such operation without the need for its lateral movement. A ridge (37) (38) may be provided on the disc adjacent each tapered edge defining the slot, for urging a separated corner edge downwards towards the grippers 13. A camoperated pin (34), Fig. 2 (not shown), may be inserted into the pile to relieve the weight of the pile during separation. Two interchangeable discs may be provided, one for rotation in each sense. Signatures so separated, for instance from two piles by duplicated separating apparatus, may be gathered on a pin conveyer (16), Fig. 4 (not shown) and fed to a bookbinding machine.