GB2288167A

GB2288167A - Rotary folding apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2288167A
Application number: GB9507121A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Eckhard Schneider; Friedrich Michaelis
Original assignee: MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG
Current assignee: Manroland AG
Priority date: 1994-04-08
Filing date: 1995-04-06
Publication date: 1995-10-11
Anticipated expiration: 2015-04-06
Also published as: FR2718385A1; GB2288167B; CH690004A5; DE4412142A1; FR2718385B1; DE4412142C2; GB9507121D0

Description

11.7 2288167 Jaw folder anparatus The invention relates to-a jaw folder

apparatus having a gripper and folding blade cylinder and a gripper and folding jaw cylinder for transferring cut sheets or producing a cross-fold in the cut sheets, as required.

From EP 0 264 846 B1 there is already known a folding apparatus which has, connected downstream of a folding blade cylinder and a folding jaw cylinder, a gripper and folding blade cylinder and a gripper and folding jaw cylinder connected downstream of the latter. According to the setting, either the grippers of the gripper and folding blade cylinder co-operate with the grippers of the gripper and folding jaw cylinder, or the folding blades of the gripper and folding blade cylinder cooperate with the folding jaws of the gripper and folding jaw cylinder. In the first case the gripper and folding blade cylinder and the gripper and folding jaw cylinder are used exclusively for transferring and delivering folded copies, for instance to a conveyor belt. In the second case the gripper and folding blade cylinder and the gripper and folding jaw cylinder have the same function as perforating and folding blade cylinders and folding jaw cylinders, namely of folding the folded copies transversely to the conveying direction.

When changing the type of production the opening and closing times of the grippers, with respect to the time at which they pass through the central area, i.e. the line of contact between the gripper and folding blade cylinder and the gripper and folding jaw cylinder, have to be changed. If the products are to be conveyed without folding from the gripper and folding blade cylinder to the gripper and folding jaw cylinder then the grippers on the former open when 1 passing through the central area whilst at the same time the grippers of the gripper and folding jaw cylinder pick up the product by closing. In this type of production the folding blades are dipped while in 5 the contact area of the two cylinders.

If, on the other hand, the products are to be cross-folded the folding blades of the gripper and folding blade cylinder have to co-operate with the. folding jaws of the gripper and folding jaw cylinder in the contact area. At the same time, on transfer to the folding jaws, the gripper on the gripper and folding blade cylinder which still holds the copy about to be folded and precedes the folding blade substantially by half the sheet length, has to open so as to release the sheet. This means that the grippers on the gripper and folding blade cylinder open after they have already rotated past the central area between the two cylinders. With this method of operation the function of the grippers of the gripper and folding jaw cylinder is not important. The only necessity is that they do not touch the folded sheets. This is achieved according to the prior art in that they remain open while in the contact area. For this purpose the cam disc for the grippers on the gripper and folding jaw cylinder is rotated. The grippers and folding jaws of the gripper and folding jaw cylinder can therefore be rotated with respect to each other but they are connected to the grippers or the folding blades of the gripper and folding blade cylinder by means of a drive wheel. However, this mechanism requires both the gripper and folding blade cylinder and also the gripper and folding jaw cylinder respectively to be constructed as a pair of cylinders located one within the other and rotatable with respect to each other.

It is the aim of the present invention to simplify the construction of the gripper and folding jaw cylinder.

1 1 1 1 According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a jaw folder apparatus having a gripper and folding-blade cylinder and a gripper and folding-jaw cylinder for transferring products or, as required, for producing a cross-fold on the products, characterised in that the gripper and foldingjaw cylinder has folding-jaw stations and grippers which have a fixed circumferential spacing from one another, and in that the gripper and folding-blade cylinder has folding blades and grippers the circumferential spacing between which is adjustable. The fixed spacing advantageously exceeds the given length of sheets to be processed.

According to a further aspect, there is provided a jaw folder apparatus having a gripper and foldingblade cylinder and a gripper and folding-jaw cylinder for transferring sheets or, as required, for producing a crossfold on the sheets, characterised in that the gripper and folding-jaw cylinder has folding-jaw stations and grippers which have a fixed circumferential spacing from one another, the fixed spacing being such that for handling sheets of a given length it corresponds to the sum of half the length of the sheets, the length of half a predetermined overfold and an additional amount which comprises the desired spacing between the front edge of the sheets and the rear edge of the grippers with any additional safety margin, if required.

With the invention the grippers of the gripper and folding jaw cylinder can be controlled by a fixed control cam disc since rotation of the grippers during a production change from book production (transfer of products) to cross-fold production is no longer necessary.

A further advantage of the invention is that there is no rotation of the control cam disc for the folding blades on the gripper and folding blade cylinder; 1 instead it is fixedly arranged since during book production the folding blades are turned off. This means a lower power consumption for the gripper and folding blade cylinder, and wear is also reduced. Through the fixed arrangement of the control cam for the grippers of the gripper and folding jaw cylinder and the control cam for the folding blades of the gripper and folding blade cylinder there is greater functional reliability in change-over of production of the two cylinders; apart from the lower mechanical complexity the electronic control is also simplified by dispensing with pneumatic and electrical components.

For a better understanding of the invention an embodiment will be described in detail below by way of example with refence to the accompanying Figures, in which:

Fig. 1 shows sections of a gripper and folding blade cylinder cooperating with a gripper and folding jaw cylinder in the cross-fold configuration for products without overfold, Fig. 2 shows the same sections of the gripper and folding blade cylinder and of the gripper and folding jaw cylinder in the transfer position, Fig. 3 shows an enlarged section of the gripper and folding blade cylinder in the cross-fold position for products with overfold and Fig. 4 shows an enlarged section of the gripper and folding blade cylinder in the transfer position.

A gripper and folding blade cylinder 1 (Fig. 1) co-operates along a central plane 2 including the line of contact with a gripper and folding jaw cylinder 3. The gripper and folding blade cylinder 1 has grippers 4 constructed as flat grippers and folding blades 5. These press transversely to the conveying direction of products 6 to be folded into corresponding grooves 9 of the gripper and folding jaw cylinder 3, each groove -t being formed from a fixed supporting rail 7 and a movable folding jaw 8. The supporting rail 7, the folding jaw 8 and the groove 9 belong respectively to a folding jaw station 30.

Apart from the folding jaws 8 the gripper and folding jaw cylinder 3 also has grippers 10 designed as hook grippers which have no function in this type of operation. The grippers 10 are spaced from the folding jaws 8 in such a way that they are prevented from being able to grip the products 6 as they pass through the central area. More specifically, the spacing between the grippers 10 and the folding jaws 8 comprises the half-length a of the products 6, the length a, of half the maximum possible overfold between the cylinders 1, 3 that the products 6 could have, and an additional amount all which in turn comprises the spacing between the rear edge of the grippers 10 and the front edge of the products 6 and a safety margin. This space determines the maximum length of the products 6 which can be cross-folded with the aid of this jaw folder apparatus, i.e. by the co-operation of the gripper and folding blade cylinder 1 and the gripper and folding jaw cylinder 3. Because the grippers 10 are displaced by a, + all with respect to the grippers 4 as they pass the central area 2, when, as shown in Fig. 1, products 6 are to be folded without overfold, in operation the gripper 10 passes the central area 2 in front of the gripper 4 on rotation in the direction of arrow A so that it can no longer grip the beginning of the product 6, irrespective of whether the gripper 10 opens or remains closed.

To change over from the production of cross-folded products 6 to book production with products 61 a cylinder body 101 (traced lines, Fig. 3, 4) of the gripper and folding blade cylinder 1, on which the folding blades 5 are arranged, is rotated away by the length amount a' + all counter to the direction of arrow A from a stationary cylinder body 102 (hatched lines, Fig. 3, 4) of the gripper and folding blade cylinder 1 on which the grippers 4 are arranged. At the same time the gripper and folding jaw cylinder 3 as a whole is also moved with the cylinder body 101 by the same length amount a' + all because it is joined to the cylinder body 101 by means of the gears. In this way the folding blades 5 keep their position with respect to the folding jaw stations 30 whilst the grippers 4 are brought into alignment with the grippers 10 so that they co-operate with them to transfer the products V. With this type of production the folding blades 5 are turned off, i.e. they remain retracted below the casing surface of the gripper and folding blade cylinder 1 (see Fig. 4).

The movement of the folding blades 5 on the cylinder body 101 (Fig. 3) is controlled by a fixed control cam disc 11 by means of mechanical gears 12.

The gears 12 have a cam roller 13 which, on rotation of the gripper and folding blade cylinder 1, rotates on the outer contour of the control cam disc 11.

In book production the folding blade 5 should remain lowered in the gripper and folding blade cylinder 1. This is achieved by the cam roller 13 being lifted by an amount c from the control cam disc 13 with the half blade R'. Thus the entire folding blade station is put out of action. The lifting of the cam roller 13 from the control cam roller 13 is-effected by means of a mechanical linkage 16.

The linkage 16 comprises a lever 14 rotatable about a pivot point 15 on which there is preferably fitted a pin 17 which lies under the roller lever 18. The lever 14 is rotatably connected by means of a coupling element 19 to the cylinder body 102.

On rotation of the cylinder body 101 with respect 71 to the cylinder body 102 counter to the direction of rotation A, hence when changing production over from book fold to cross-fold out of the position with overfold (Fig. 3), the lever 14 is rotated by the coupling element 19 in such a way that the spacing b between the roller lever 18 and the pin 17 in the case of a half cam blade R changes into the spacing 2 (Fig. 4) in the case of a half cam blade R'. The cam roller 13 is thus separated from the control cam disc 11 in each cylinder position.

However, on the other areas of the casing surface of the gripper and folding blade cylinder 1 (Fig. 4) the folding blades 5 are dropped below the casing surface. This is achieved by the control cam disc 11 here having a larger half blade R' by means of which the cam roller 13 is pressed outwards and hence the other end of the lever 14 and so the folding blade 5 are pressed downwards.

The gripper and folding jaw cylinder 3 comprises only a single cylinder body if the spacing of the movable folding jaws 8 is fixed with respect to the supporting rails 7. If, however, the spacing is to be changeable so as to make it possible to receive products 6 of different thickness with the folding jaw stations 30, the folding jaws 8 have to be secured on a separate cylinder body. Because of the fixed spacing between the folding jaw stations 30 and the grippers 10, however, a third cylinder body, necessary with the prior art, is dispensed with.

The gripper and folding blade cylinder 1 receives the products 6, 61 either from a conveyor belt or it co-operates directly with a blade cylinder. The gripper and folding blade cylinder 1 can also be used as a collecting cylinder.

Jaw folder apparatus with a gripper and folding blade cylinder 1 and a gripper and folding jaw cylinder 3 is provided by the invention, whereby products are either only conveyed further (book production) or obtain a cross-fold (cross-fold production). The gripper and folding jaw cylinder 3 comprises only a single cylinder body when the movable folding jaws 8 of the folding jaw stations 30 have a fixed spacing from the supporting rails 7. The folding jaw stations 30 have a spacing from the grippers 10 which comprises half the length a of the products 6, 61, the length a, of half the overfold and an additional amount all, formed from the spacing between the rear edge of the grippers 10 and the front edge of the products 6, 61 and a safety margin. If the gripper and folding blade cylinder 1 and the gripper and folding jaw cylinder 3 are adjusted with respect to each other when changing over from book to cross-fold production, the grippers 10 no longer come into engagement with the products 6 to be folded because the grippers 10 precede the front end of the products 6 by the amount a' + all as they pass the central area 2.

The above-described change-over procedures are advantageously carried out in a generally known manner by means of a pair of oppositely helical sliding gears - overfold displacement - which are not shown.

The cylinders 1, 3 can have any number, even or odd, of gripper and folding blade systems or gripper and folding jaw systems according to production requirements.

J

Claims

1. A jaw folder apparatus having a gripper and folding-blade cylinder (1) and a gripper and foldingjaw cylinder (3) for transferring products (61) or, as required, for producing a cross-fold on the products (6), characterised in that the gripper and folding-jaw cylinder (3) has folding-jaw stations (30) and grippers (10) which have a fixed circumferential spacing from one another, and in that the gripper and folding-blade cylinder (1) has folding blades (5) and grippers (4) the circumferential spacing between which is adjustable.

2. A jaw folder apparatus having a gripper and folding-blade cylinder (1) and a gripper and foldingjaw cylinder (3) for transferring sheets (61) or, as required, for producing a cross-fold on the sheets (6), characterised in that the gripper and folding-jaw cylinder (3) has folding-jaw stations (30) and grippers (10) which have a fixed circumferential spacing from one another, the fixed spacing being such that for handling sheets of a given length (2a) it corresponds to the sum of half the length (a) of the sheets (6, 61), the length of half a predetermined overfold (a,) and an additional amount (all) which comprises the desired spacing between the front edge of the sheets (6, 61) and the rear edge of the grippers (10) with any additional safety margin, if required.

3. A jaw folder apparatus acording to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the gripper and folding-blade cylinder (1) has a cylinder body (101) with the folding blades (5) which is coupled by means of a gear wheel to the drive wheel of the gripper and folding-jaw cylinder (3).

dh

4. A jaw folder apparatus according to claim 3, in which to change the two cylinders (1, 3) over from book production to cross-fold production the folding-blade cylinder portion (101) is rotated with respect to the cylinder body (102) with the grippers (4) of the gripper and foldingblade cylinder (1) at least so far that the grippers (10) of the gripper and folding jaw cylinder (3) in the central area (2) of the gripper and folding-blade cylinder (1) and of the gripper and folding-jaw cylinder (3) are out of paper engagement.

1

5. A jaw folder apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 4, in which the folding blades (5) can be engaged and disconnected by a linkage (16).

is

6. - A jaw folder apparatus substantially as described herein with reference to the accompany drawings.

7. A method of operating a jaw folder apparatus as 20 claimed in any preceding claim.