JP2024062059A - Conveying device, conveying method, perfect binding machine - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To be able to properly transport a main text with a cover attached. [Solution] A lifting and transporting unit 40 for transporting a main text with at least a part of a cover attached thereto includes a lifting and transporting conveyor 410A located below a transport section that transports the main text, which retrieves and transports the main text that has been released from the transport section and dropped, and a lifting device 60 that moves the lifting and transporting conveyor 410A up and down so as to vary the separation distance between the lifting and transporting conveyor 410A and the transport section. [Selected Figure] Figure 4

Description

The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a transport device that transports a main text to which at least a portion of a cover is attached.

Traditionally, as part of the bookbinding process, a bundle of paper sheets (paper bundle) such as printed books with printed contents is folded into a booklet in page order, and the inside pages are attached to the inside pages using an inside page attaching machine or the like to form the body of the book, and the fore-edge of the cover is attached to the inside pages of the body of the book to integrate the body and the cover. In this covering process, before the cover is attached to the body of the book, a glue such as a resin-based adhesive is applied to the fore-edge of the cover in sequence using a roller or nozzle-type applicator.

Related technologies include a method for attaching a cover to the inside pages of saddle-stitched main pages, which have one end of printed pages glued together and the central bound part of the pages bound by a number of sheets stitched together with a glued spine, and which is characterized by applying a thicker film of adhesive to the softening part on the back side of the cover that is to be attached to the main page than to other parts, applying adhesive to the entire back side of the cover, and gluing the entire back side of the cover and the main page to glue the bound part together.

JP 59-93392 A

Prior to the process of gluing the fore-edge of the cover to the inside pages of the main text, there is a process of gluing the cover to the spine of the main text. However, when moving from this process to the next process, such as gluing the fore-edge of the cover, there is a possibility that unforeseen circumstances may occur, such as the glue applied to the fore-edge adhering to various parts of the various devices, such as the gripping parts that hold the main text. There was a need for technology that would properly transport the main text to prevent such unforeseen circumstances from occurring.

The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a technology that can properly transport the main text with a cover attached.

One aspect of the present invention is a transport device that transports a main text to which at least a portion of a cover has been attached, and is characterized by comprising a conveyor that is located below a transport section that transports the main text and that collects and transports the main text that has been released and dropped from the transport section, and a lifting section that raises and lowers the conveyor so that the separation distance between the conveyor and the transport section can be changed.

According to the present invention, the main text with the cover attached can be transported properly.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a perfect binder according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of various units included in the perfect binder according to the embodiment; 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining bonding of a cover to an inside paper during the process of receiving and transporting a body of a sheet with a cover by a lifting and transporting unit according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the lifting and transporting unit in the highest raised state according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the transport conveyor in the uppermost state according to the embodiment. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining a guide plate according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a connecting position of a side frame according to the embodiment. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a lift plate and a guide device during lifting and lowering movement by the lift device according to the embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the lifting and transporting unit in the embodiment when in the lowest position. 13 is a schematic side view for explaining the receiving and transporting operation of a main text with a cover by a lifting and transporting unit in a most raised state according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic side view for explaining the receiving and transporting operation of a main text with a cover by a lifting and transporting unit in a lowered state according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view for explaining the operation of receiving, transporting, and bonding a body page with a cover to an inside paper sheet by a lifting and transporting unit in a most elevated state according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a perfect binder equipped with a lifting and transporting unit to which the present invention is applied is used as an example. Note that in this specification and drawings, components having substantially the same functions are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions are omitted.

(Configuration of perfect binder)
1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a perfect binder according to the present embodiment. The perfect binder performs various bookbinding processes to perfect-bind the main text, which is a bundle of quires or sheets (e.g., album sheets, printed or unprinted sheets, etc.) collated by a collating machine (not shown), attaches a cover to produce the main text with a cover, and performs processes such as cutting to produce a booklet.

As shown in FIG. 1, the perfect binding machine includes a text transport unit 10 that transports the text, a text processing unit 20 that performs a specified binding process, a cover processing unit 30 that supplies a cover, a cover attachment unit 31 that transports the cover and attaches the cover to the text, a lift transport unit 40 that transports the text with the cover attached to a downstream cutting unit, and a control device 50 that drives and controls these various units.

Below, we will explain the various units described above and briefly explain the bookbinding process using the perfect binder 1. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the various units provided in the perfect binder according to this embodiment.

(Text conveying unit 10)
As shown in Fig. 2, the text transport unit 10 includes a transport chain 110 arranged in a ring shape to form a round path that circulates in the horizontal direction (counterclockwise as indicated by the arrow in the figure). A plurality of clampers 111 (see Figs. 3 and 10), which will be described later and are configured to be able to grip and release the text A1 by an actuator or the like, are provided at predetermined intervals on the transport chain 110. The text A1 is raised while being transported to a clamp position by a paper feed riser (not shown), and is gripped by the clamper 111, and is transported along the round path by the transport chain 110 moving in one direction.

(Text processing unit 20)
The text processing unit 20 is disposed on the round path formed by the conveyor chain 110, and performs various binding processes on the text A1 conveyed sequentially by the conveyor chain 110. Specifically, from the upstream side to the downstream side of the conveyor chain 110 in the conveying direction, the unit is equipped with a milling cutter that cuts the back surface of the text A1 to align the back surface, a gully cutter that puts grooves in the back surface, a side gluer that applies glue to both sides near the back surface, and a spine gluer that applies glue to the back surface. The text A1 conveyed along the round path is bound by going around these devices, and then conveyed to the cover attaching unit 31 located downstream.

(Cover page processing unit 30)
The cover processing unit 30 includes a conveyor 301 that extends in one direction and conveys the cover B. A cover feeder device 302 is disposed upstream of the conveyor 301, and the cover B sent out from the cover feeder device 302 is conveyed to the gluing device 303 by the conveyor 301. The cover B is conveyed with the fore-ends at both the left and right ends facing upward, and the gluing device 303 applies glue, which is a resin-based adhesive, from above to the fore-ends using a roller-type or nozzle-type applicator. Since the cover B is in a conveying state, the glue is applied to each fore-end in a straight line. The glued cover B is delivered to the cover pasting unit 31 by the conveyor 301.

(Cover pasting unit 31)
The cover pasting unit 31 extends along the conveying direction of the cover, and includes a conveyor 310 that receives the glued cover B from the cover processing unit 30 on the upstream side and conveys the body A1 with the cover B pasted on it downstream. The cover pasting unit 31 is installed at the junction of the return path of the round path of the conveyor chain 110, and the conveyor 310 is controlled so that the timing of conveying the cover B is synchronized with the conveyance of the body A1 so that the spine of the body A1 is superimposed on the spine part at the center of the cover B. Here, the cover B is pasted on the spine of the body A1 being conveyed by the conveyor chain 110. The pasting of the cover B is performed, for example, by pushing the cover B up toward the body A1. Hereinafter, when the body A1 and the cover B with the cover B pasted on the spine are collectively referred to as the body A2 with cover, the following description will be given.

(Lifting and transporting unit 40)
The lifting and transporting unit 40 is disposed downstream of the cover pasting unit 31, and includes a transport conveyor 410 that extends along the transport direction of the transport chain 110, receives the body A2 with cover released from the clamper 111 on the upstream side, and transports it downstream. In the process of transporting the received body A2 with cover downstream, the lifting and transporting unit 40 pastes the fore-edge portion of the cover B onto the inside paper of the body A1.

Figure 3 is a diagram for explaining the attachment of the cover to the inside cover during the process of receiving and transporting the main text with cover by the lifting and transporting unit according to this embodiment. Reference symbol C in Figure 3 indicates applied glue. Reference symbols 440A and 440C are guide plates for folding the front and back covers of cover B toward the main text A1. In this embodiment, the main text has inside covers (temporary covers) attached as separate sheets on its front and back sides, and when attaching cover B to the inside cover, the fore-edge portions of the front and back covers of cover B are attached to the inside cover.

Specifically, when the main text A1 is gripped by the clamper 111 and the main text A2 with cover is transported by the transport chain 110, the main text A2 with cover is positioned above the transport conveyor 410 of the lift transport unit 40 as shown in Figure 3(a). Then, as shown in Figure 3(b), the clamper 111 releases the grip on the main text A1, causing the main text A2 with cover to fall onto the upper surface of the transport conveyor 410. In addition, the front and back covers of the cover B are each individually positioned on the guide plates 440A. After falling, as shown in FIG. 3(c), the front and back covers of cover B are folded upward by guide plate 440C so that they approach each other, and the fore-edge portions of the backside of the front and back covers of cover B are glued to the inside paper sheets on the front and back sides of main text A1, respectively, so that main text A2 with cover becomes main text A3 with cover attached (see FIG. 2) in which the fore-edge portion of cover B is glued to the inside paper sheets. In this embodiment, the folding of the front and back covers of cover B is performed by guide plates 440A-440C provided on lifting and transporting unit 40. Details of these guide plates 440A-440C will be described later.

Downstream of the transport conveyor 410, there is a discharge unit and a cutting unit (not shown), and in the discharge unit, defective cover-attached main text A3 whose weight is outside a specified range or the like is rejected, and only good cover-attached main text A3 is transported to the three-sided cutter of the cutting unit or the like and cut.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lifting and transporting unit 40 includes a drive motor 400 that drives the transport conveyor 410, a lifting motor 600 that raises and lowers the lifting conveyor 410A (see FIG. 4) described below, and an air cylinder 800 that adjusts the tension of the transport chain 810 (see FIG. 4). These devices will be described in detail later.

(Control device 50)
1, the control device 50 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 510 which mainly controls the control device 50, a RAM (Random access memory) 520 which is used as a working area for the CPU 510, and a storage device 530 such as a flash memory which stores various programs for controlling the perfect binder 1, and controls the drive of the body transport unit 10, the body processing unit 20, the cover processing unit 30, the cover pasting unit 31, and the lifting and transporting unit 40. The storage device 530 stores a tension table 531 which is data which is read out when controlling the lifting and transporting unit 40. Details of the tension table 531 will be described later.

(Configuration of the lifting and lowering transport unit 40)
The configuration of the lifting and transporting unit 40 according to this embodiment will be described in detail below. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the lifting and transporting unit in the highest state according to this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing the transporting conveyor in the highest state according to this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the guide plate according to this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the side frame at the connection position according to this embodiment. In FIG. 4, the direction proceeding from left to right in the figure is the transport direction, and in FIG. 5, the drive mechanism 430 and various support frames described later are not shown for the sake of explanation. In addition, in FIG. 6, the lifting and transporting conveyor 410A, the guide plate 440A, the drive mechanism 430, and the base 70 are shown typically when viewed downstream from a cut surface obtained by cutting the support plate 434 of the drive mechanism 430 vertically, and (a) and (b) show the states before and after the guide plate 440A on one side is moved, respectively. 7A and 7B show vertical cross sections at a connection position between the lifting conveyor 410A and the interlocking conveyor 410B, and at a connection position between the fixed conveyor 410C and the support frame 423, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 4, the transport conveyor 410 of the lifting and transporting unit 40 is disposed below the transport chain 110 that extends along the transport direction. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the transport conveyor 410 includes a lifting and transporting conveyor 410A located on the upstream side, an interlocking conveyor 410B located downstream of the lifting and transporting conveyor 410A, and a fixed conveyor 410C located downstream of the interlocking conveyor 410B.

(Lifting conveyor 410A)
As shown in Fig. 4, the lift conveyor 410A has a pair of belt pulleys 411A1 and 411A2 whose rotation axes are parallel in the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the conveying direction, and an endless conveying belt 412A is wound around these pulleys. The pair of belt pulleys 411A1 and 411A2 are horizontally spaced apart from each other along the conveying direction, and one of them is connected to the rotating shaft of the driving motor 400 (see Fig. 1) so that a rotational force can be transmitted thereto, thereby rotating and driving each of them. The pair of belt pulleys 411A1 and 411A2 have their respective rotating shafts rotatably supported by a pair of side frames 421A spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, each of the pair of side frames 421A is a plate-shaped member that extends horizontally along the conveying direction, and is supported by the lifting plate 610 of the lifting device 60 via a plurality of plate-shaped support frames 422. In this embodiment, two support frames 422 are connected to one side frame 421A. The lifting device 60 will be described in detail later.

As shown in Figures 4 to 6(a), a pair of guide plates 440A are provided above the pair of side frames 421A, spaced apart in the left-right direction. The pair of guide plates 440A are plate-shaped members spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction, and are formed so as to gradually slope downward as they move from the outside to the inside in the left-right direction, with the ends approaching each other being bent downward. Each of the pair of guide plates 440A thus formed individually supports either the front cover or the back cover of cover B to which the spine of main text A1 is attached, which is being transported by transport belt 412A or the like, and functions as a guide to transport downstream while maintaining that state.

One of the pair of guide plates 440A (the front side in FIG. 4, the left side in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6; hereafter referred to as the movable guide plate 440A) is connected to one of the pair of side frames 421A (the front side in FIG. 4) via a plurality of drive mechanisms 430. The other of the pair of guide plates 440A is supported immovably by being connected to the base 70 via a vertical plate 431 extending in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 6(a).

6A, the drive mechanism 430 has a vertical plate 431 whose upper end is connected to the guide plate 440A on the movable side, a horizontal plate 432 whose one end in the left-right direction is connected to the lower end of the vertical plate 431, a gear 433 whose circumferential surface is formed with teeth, a support plate 434 connected to one side frame 421A, and a rotating shaft 435 inserted so as to be rotatable relative to the support plate 434 and inserted so as to be rotatable integrally with the gear 433. As a result, the vertical plate 431, the horizontal plate 432, the gear 433, and the rotating shaft 435 are supported by one side frame 421A via the support plate 434. For the sake of explanation, the teeth formed on the circumferential surfaces of various gears described below, including the gear 433, are not shown. In addition, it is preferable that the horizontal plate 432 is supported so as to be slidable in the left-right direction by the support plate 434 or a member not shown so as to maintain a horizontal state.

The lower surface of the horizontal plate 432 is formed with teeth that mesh with the teeth of the gear 433. Therefore, when the gear 433 rotates in response to the rotation of the rotating shaft 435, the horizontal plate 432 can be moved back and forth in the left and right directions. This allows the movable guide plate 440A connected to the drive mechanism 430 to move closer to or away from the other guide plate 440A, as shown by the arrows in Figure 5. Figure 6(b) shows a state in which the pair of guide plates 440A move closer to each other as the movable guide plate 440A moves from a state in which the pair of guide plates 440A are spaced apart as shown in Figure 6(a).

The rotation of the rotating shaft 435 is performed by a motor (not shown). In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of drive mechanisms 430 are provided. Each of the gears 433 of the drive mechanisms 430 is connected to a single rotating shaft 435, so that the drive of the plurality of drive mechanisms 430 can be controlled by a single motor. The drive of the motor is preferably controlled by an operator operating the control panel of the control device 50.

(Interlocking conveyor 410B)
As shown in Fig. 4, the interlocking conveyor 410B has a pair of belt pulleys 411B1 and 411B2 whose rotation axes are parallel to the left-right direction, and a conveyor belt 412B is wound around these pulleys. The belt pulley 411B1 is located downstream of and slightly below the belt pulley 411A2 in the conveying direction, and the belt pulley 411B2 is located further below and separated from the belt pulley 411B1 downstream in the conveying direction. Therefore, the conveyor belt 412B of the interlocking conveyor 410B is inclined so that its conveying surface descends downward along the conveying direction. The pair of belt pulleys 411B1 and 411B2 are rotatably supported by a pair of side frames 421B that are separated from each other in the left-right direction, with their respective rotation axes being rotatably supported by the pair of side frames 421B that are separated from each other in the left-right direction.

As shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 7(a), each of the pair of side frames 421B is a plate-like member extending downward along the conveying direction, and its upstream end in the conveying direction is rotatably supported by a support shaft 461 relative to the downstream end in the conveying direction of the side frame 421A. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 7(b), each of the pair of side frames 421B has its downstream end in the conveying direction rotatably supported by a support shaft 462 relative to the upper ends of a pair of support frames 423 spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction.

The side frame 421B can swing relative to the side frame 421A around a support shaft 461, and can also swing vertically relative to the support frame 423 around a support shaft 462. As shown in FIG. 7(a), it is preferable that the support shaft 461 that supports the side frames 421A and 421B also serves as the rotation shaft of the belt pulley 411A2, but this rotation shaft may also be provided separately.

In this embodiment, the rotation axes of the pair of belt pulleys 411B1 and 411B2 are located on a straight line connecting the support shafts 461 and 462, so that the conveyor belt 412B swings at the same angle in response to the swinging of the side frame 421B.

The pair of support frames 423 are in contact with the floor surface as legs of the lifting and transporting unit 40. As shown in FIG. 7(b), the other of the pair of support frames 423 is connected to the base 70, and thus the support frame 423 has the function of supporting a part of the base 70.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, a pair of guide plates 440B are provided above the pair of side frames 421B, spaced apart in the left-right direction. One of the pair of guide plates 440B (the front side in Figure 4, the left side in Figure 5: hereafter referred to as the movable guide plate 440B), like the guide plate 440A, is connected to one of the pair of side frames 421B (the front side in Figure 4) via a plurality of drive mechanisms 430 so as to be movable in the left-right direction. The other of the pair of guide plates 440B (the back side in Figure 4, the right side in Figure 5) is connected to the base 70 so as not to be movable, like the guide plate 440A.

Guide plate 440B has the same configuration as guide plate 440A except that it is inclined at the same angle as side frame 421B, so detailed description will be omitted here. Also, drive mechanism 430 connected to guide plate 440B has the same configuration as drive mechanism 430 connected to guide plate 440A except that its support plate 434 is connected to side frame 421B. Note that it is preferable to space guide plate 440A and guide plate 440B slightly apart in the conveying direction so that they do not come into contact when the inclination angle of interlocking conveyor 410B is changed in response to the elevation of lifting conveyor 410A, which will be described later.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, a pair of guide bars 450 are provided above the pair of guide plates 440A, spaced apart in the left-right direction. Each of the pair of guide bars 450 has two round bars 451 extending in the conveying direction and arranged side by side vertically, which are connected to a plurality of support bars 452 extending in the vertical direction via round bars 453 extending in the left-right direction. The lower ends of the support bars 452 are connected to and supported by the side frames 421B. The pair of guide bars 450 prevent the main text A1 from tilting in the left-right direction and guide it in the conveying direction by positioning the main text A1 between them.

(Fixed conveyor 410C)
As shown in Fig. 4, the fixed conveyor 410C has a pair of belt pulleys 411C1 and 411C2 whose rotation axes are parallel to the left-right direction, and a conveyor belt 412C is wound around these pulleys. The belt pulley 411C1 is located downstream of and slightly below the belt pulley 411B2 in the conveying direction, and the belt pulley 411C2 is horizontally spaced downstream of the belt pulley 411C1 in the conveying direction. Therefore, the conveyor belt 412C of the fixed conveyor 410C extends horizontally along the conveying direction.

Belt pulley 411A2 and belt pulley 411B1, and belt pulley 411B2 and belt pulley 411C1 are connected via gears (not shown) so that a rotational driving force can be transmitted. Thus, the rotational driving force of drive motor 400 is directly or indirectly transmitted to each of belt pulleys 411A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2 (hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between them, they will be referred to as belt pulley 411), and they move conveyor belts 412A to 412C in circles at approximately the same speed so that their conveying surfaces move in the conveying direction. Note that the rotational driving force may be transmitted by pulleys and belts instead of gears, but it is preferable to use gears in consideration of breakdowns such as broken belts.

The belt pulley 411C1 has a rotation shaft which is a support shaft 462 and which is rotatably supported by the pair of support frames 423. As shown in FIG. 7(b), it is preferable that the support shaft 462 which supports the side frame 421B and the support frame 423 also serves as the rotation shaft of the belt pulley 411C1, but this rotation shaft may be newly provided as a separate shaft. On the other hand, the belt pulley 411C2 has one end of its rotation shaft (the front side in FIG. 4) rotatably supported by the support frame 424 and the other end of the rotation shaft (the back side in FIG. 4) rotatably supported by the support frame 425.

As shown in FIG. 4, the support frame 424 is a plate-like member extending horizontally along the conveying direction, and supports the belt pulley 411C2 at its downstream end in the conveying direction, and its upstream end is connected to the support frame 426. The support frame 425 is a plate-like member extending in the vertical direction, and its lower end is connected to the base 70. The support frame 425 rotatably supports the rotating shaft of the belt pulley 411C2 as well as chain gears 824 and 825 (described later). The support frame 426 is a plate-like member extending in the vertical direction, and its lower end is connected to the base 70 via a cross beam frame 427 extending in the left-right direction, and its upper end is connected to and supports the support plate 434 of the drive mechanism 430.

The driving mechanism 430 is supported by the support frame 426 via a support plate 434, and the upper end of its vertical plate 431 is connected to the movable guide plate 440C (the front side in FIG. 4, the left side in FIG. 5) of the pair of guide plates 440C. A driving mechanism 430 connected to the movable guide plate 440C is also provided upstream of the driving mechanism 430. This upstream driving mechanism 430 is supported by connecting the support plate 434 to the support frame 428. The support frame 428 is a plate-shaped member extending in the vertical direction, and its lower end is connected to the base 70 via the cross beam frame 427.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the movable guide plate 440C is connected to the base 70 via the multiple drive mechanisms 430 as described above so as to be movable in the left-right direction, while the other (the rear side in Figure 4, the right side in Figure 5) is connected to the base 70 so as not to be movable, like the pair of guide plates 440A, 440B. The pair of guide plates 440C differ in shape from the guide plates 440A, 440B in that the outer left-right sides rise up toward the conveying direction, and the downstream end in the conveying direction is formed in a substantially vertical shape. In this substantially vertical portion, the guide plate 440C can make the front and back covers of the cover B vertical, and can paste them to the inside paper leaves of the main text A1.

The base 70 is a rectangular plate-like member that extends in the conveying direction and the vertical direction and has its underside in contact with the floor surface. On one side in the left-right direction (the side on the front side in FIG. 4), a support frame 425, a cross beam frame 427, a lifting device 60, and a tension adjustment device 80 are provided. Details of the tension adjustment device 80 will be described later.

(Lifting device 60)
The configuration and operation of the lifting device 60 will be described. FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing the lifting plate and the guide device during lifting and moving by the lifting device according to this embodiment. FIG. 9 is a schematic side view showing the lifting and transporting unit in the lowest state according to this embodiment. FIG. 8(a) shows the lifting plate and the guide device in the highest state, and FIG. 8(b) shows the lifting plate and the guide device in the lowest state. As shown in FIG. 4, the lifting device 60 is provided below the lifting conveyor 410A, and moves the lifting conveyor 410A up and down so that the separation distance between the lifting conveyor 410A and the clamper 111 can be changed, and mainly includes a lifting plate 610, a rotating rod 620, a lifting member 630, and a device body 640.

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 8(a), the lifting plate 610 is a plate-like member extending in the conveying direction and the left-right direction, and has a hole 611 in the approximate center through which the rotating rod 620 can be inserted. Guide devices 650 are provided on the upper surfaces of the corners at both ends in the conveying direction, i.e., the upper surfaces of the four corners of the plate. The lifting plate 610 supports the support frame 422 through these guide devices 650. As shown in FIG. 4, the lifting plate 610 has movable plates 612 extending in the vertical direction connected to both ends in the conveying direction, and the movable plate 612 is assembled to a fixed plate 613 extending in the vertical direction fixed to the base 70 so as to be movable only in the vertical direction. Therefore, the lifting plate 610 can be raised and lowered together with the movable plate 612, and movement and rotation in the left-right direction other than the vertical direction are restricted by the base 70 via the movable plate 612 and the fixed plate 613.

The rotating rod 620 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a helical protrusion on the circumferential surface, so-called male screw shape, and the lifting member 630 is screwed in such a way that it can rotate relative to the rotating rod 620. The lower end of the rotating rod 620 is rotatably supported by the device body 640, and is connected to the lifting motor 600 (see FIG. 1) of the device body 640 via a worm gear mechanism (not shown) so that the rotational force can be transmitted. Specifically, a gear that meshes with a worm wheel is connected to the lower end of the rotating rod 620 so that it can rotate together with the worm wheel, and a worm is meshed with the worm wheel. The worm is connected to the rotating shaft of the lifting motor 600 so that it can rotate together with the worm wheel, and the rotating rod 620 can rotate in the forward or reverse direction according to the rotation and reverse rotation of the lifting motor 600. The worm wheel may be directly connected to the lower end of the rotating rod 620 so that it can rotate together with the worm wheel.

The lifting member 630 is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, and the inner circumferential surface of the hollow portion has a spiral groove into which the protrusion of the rotating rod 620 fits, forming a so-called female screw shape, and the rotating rod 620 screws into the hollow portion so as to be capable of relative rotation. The upper surface of the lifting member 630 is non-rotatably connected to the lower surface of the lifting plate 610.

The device body 640 has a lifting motor 600 to rotatably support the rotating rod 620, and also has a pair of legs 641 that are spaced apart in the conveying direction and each are in contact with the floor surface, and is further connected to the base 70, thereby being supported by the legs 641 and the base 70.

In the lifting device 60 configured as described above, when the rotational force of the lifting motor 600 is transmitted to the rotating rod 620, the lifting member 630, which is integrated with the lifting plate 610 that can only move in the vertical direction, moves up and down in response to the rotation of the rotating rod 620. Therefore, the lifting conveyor 410A supported by the lifting plate 610 via the support frame 422 can be raised and lowered to any position together with the lifting plate 610.

When the lifting conveyor 410A is raised to the highest position by the lifting device 60, for example, it is in the highest state shown in FIG. 4. At this time, the interlocking conveyor 410B connected to the lifting conveyor 410A swings upward in conjunction with this, and the inclination angle is in the largest state. On the other hand, when it is lowered to the lowest position, the lifting conveyor 410A is in the lowest state shown in FIG. 9, and in conjunction with this, the interlocking conveyor 410B also swings downward, and the inclination angle is in the smallest state. It is preferable that the difference between the highest position and the lowest position is about 90 mm in order to process A4 to A6 and B4 to B5 sizes, which are widely used as the sizes of the main text A1 and the cover B. In particular, it is preferable that it can move downward by about 70 mm compared to conventional transport conveyors. Furthermore, by raising and lowering the lifting conveyor 410A in this way, the main text A2 with cover, that is, the main text A1 and the cover B, can be processed well whether they are long in the conveying direction or long in the vertical direction (see Figures 10 and 11).

In addition, since the rotational force of the lift motor 600 is transmitted to the rotating rod 620 via a worm gear mechanism, the rotational speed of the rotating rod 620 can be slower than the rotational speed of the rotating shaft of the lift motor 600, making it easy to fine-tune the lift movement amount. Also, as shown in FIG. 9, when the distance between the lift conveyor 410A and the conveyor chain 110 is sufficient, such as in the lowest position, it is preferable to provide a guide bar 450A having one round bar 451 on a pair of side frames 421A to prevent the text A1 from tilting or bending in the left-right direction.

As the lifting conveyor 410A rises and falls, the pair of side frames 421B connected to the pair of side frames 421A swing about the connecting position (support shaft 462) with the support frame 423. Therefore, in response to this swing, the lifting conveyor 410A moves up and down by swinging in an arc in the up and down direction about the connecting position. As a result, the lifting conveyor 410A moves forward and backward along the transport direction when it rises and falls.

In this embodiment, this forward and backward movement is realized by the guide device 650. The guide device 650 has a moving body connected to the support frame 422 and a support body that supports the moving body so that it can move along the conveying direction, and the moving body moves in the conveying direction so as to follow the forward and backward movement of the lifting conveyor 410A, thereby enabling the lifting conveyor 410A to move forward and backward. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 8(a), when the lifting conveyor 410A is in the highest position, the support frame 422 is moved downstream in the conveying direction by the guide device 650. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8(b) and FIG. 9, when the lifting conveyor 410A is in the lowest position, the support frame 422 is moved upstream in the conveying direction by the guide device 650. As such a guide device 650, it is preferable to use an LM (Linear Motion Guide) block as the moving body and an LM guide (registered trademark) having an LM rail as the support body. The guide device 650 may be configured so that the moving body moves on its own when the lifting conveyor 410A is lifted and lowered under the control of the control device 50, or the moving body may be configured so that it moves on the support by being urged in the conveying direction by the oscillation of the interlocking conveyor 410B.

(Tension Adjustment Device 80)
The structure and operation of the tension adjustment device 80 will be described. The tension adjustment device 80 is a device for changing and appropriately adjusting the tension of the conveyor chain 810 that conveys the cover-attached main text A2. As shown in Fig. 4, in this embodiment, the conveyor chain 810 is an endless chain arranged in a ring shape so as to form a round path parallel to the up-down direction that circulates clockwise, and as shown in Fig. 5, conveyor pieces (horns) 811 are attached at regular intervals. The conveyor pieces 811 protrude in the left-right direction from the conveyor chain 810 so as to reach the conveyor belt 412.

As shown in Figures 4 and 9, the conveying chain 810 is wound around multiple chain gears 821, 822, 824 to 828 and arranged in a generally circular shape, and when any of the chain gears is driven to rotate by a drive motor (not shown), the conveying chain 810 moves in a circular motion together with the conveying piece 811. As a result of this circular motion, the conveying piece 811 comes into contact with the end face (top or bottom end face) of the main text A1 on the upstream side in the conveying direction, and conveys the main text A1 together with the conveying belt 412. It is preferable that the conveying chain 810 moves in a circular motion at the same speed as or faster than the conveying belt 412.

In this embodiment, the chain gears 821, 822, and 824 are arranged in order along the conveying direction to form the forward path of the conveying chain 810, and the chain gears 825 to 828 are arranged in order along the opposite direction to the conveying direction to form the return path of the conveying chain 810.

Specifically, the chain gear 821 is rotatably supported on the other side of the pair of side frames 421A of the lifting conveyor 410A, and the chain gear 822 is rotatably supported on the support shaft 461 at the connecting portion of the side frames 421A and 421B, or on a support shaft coaxial therewith. The chain gear 824 is rotatably supported on the upper end of the support frame 425. These chain gears 821, 822, and 824 route the conveyor chain 810 along the conveying path of the cover-attached main text A2 by the conveyor 410. It is preferable for the conveyor chain 810 to be positioned above the conveying surface of the conveyor belt 412 in the conveyor 410 in terms of conveying the cover-attached main text A2. The conveyor chain 810 is entirely or partially surrounded at the top and bottom by a guide such as a metal (not shown) to prevent unnecessary movement in the vertical direction. Reference numeral 823 in Figures 4 and 9 denotes a part of this guide, which is fixed to guide plate 440B, guide plate 440C, or support frame 423, and prevents the conveyor chain 810 from floating upward when it is routed from interlocking conveyor 410B to fixed conveyor 410C. Since it is expected that this guide 823 will come into contact with the conveyor chain 810, it is preferable that it be made of a plastic material.

Chain gear 825 is located below chain gear 824 and rotatably supported by support frame 425, and chain gear 826 is located below interlocking conveyor 410B and rotatably supported by base 70. Chain gear 827 is located below chain gear 826 and downstream in the conveying direction and rotatably supported by tension adjustment device 80. Chain gear 828 is located below lifting conveyor 410A and rotatably supported by base 70. These chain gears 825 to 828 route the conveying chain 810 so that it travels upstream in the conveying direction and reaches chain gear 821 again.

The conveyor chain 810, which is routed in this manner, can move smoothly in a circular motion when a certain tension is applied. However, when the lifting conveyor 410A moves up and down, the vertical separation distance between the chain gears 821, 822 and the chain gear 828 changes, and the tension applied also changes. The tension adjustment device 80 can suppress the fluctuation in the tension of the conveyor chain 810 caused by the lifting and lowering movement of the lifting conveyor 410A, and adjust it to keep it approximately constant.

The tension adjustment device 80 is provided on the base 70 and has an air cylinder 800 and a support member 801. The air cylinder 800 is a drive device that causes a piston rod 802 to reciprocate along the conveying direction using compressed air supplied from a compressor (not shown). A support shaft 830 of a chain gear 827 is rotatably connected to the tip of the piston rod 802. The support member 801 extends along the conveying direction and supports one end of the support shaft 830 so that it can rotate and slide.

The tension adjustment device 80 can move the chain gear 827 back and forth along the support member 801 by driving the air cylinder 800 in response to the up and down movement of the lifting conveyor 410A, thereby adjusting the tension of the conveying chain 810. For example, when the lifting conveyor 410A is raised to the highest position as shown in FIG. 4, if it is lowered to the lowest position as shown in FIG. 9, the conveying chain 810 will bend if the tension is not adjusted, making it difficult to move around properly.

On the other hand, in this state, by controlling the air cylinder 800 so that the piston rod 802 moves forward, the chain gear 827 can be moved in the conveying direction, i.e., the chain gear 826 and the chain gear 827 can be separated, so that the length of the conveying chain 810 between these gears can be increased and the deflection can be eliminated. Naturally, when the lifting conveyor 410A is lowered to the lowest position as shown in FIG. 9 and then raised to the highest position as shown in FIG. 4, the air cylinder 800 is controlled so that the piston rod 802 moves backward, and the chain gear 827 is moved in the opposite direction to the conveying direction, so that the tension of the conveying chain 810 is controlled to be constant and excessive tension is prevented from being applied to the conveying chain 810.

In this embodiment, the relationship between the conveying direction position of the chain gear 827 (the driving operation amount of the air cylinder 800) and the vertical position of the lifting conveyor 410A, which can maintain a state in which a predetermined tension is applied to the conveying chain 810, is stored as a tension table 531 in the storage device 530 of the control device 50. Therefore, the control device 50 can maintain the tension of the conveying chain 810 in a good state by driving the tension adjustment device 80 (driving the air cylinder 800) based on the tension table 531 according to the lifting position of the lifting conveyor 410A.

In addition, instead of adopting automatic control of the tension adjustment device 80 in response to the raising and lowering of the lifting conveyor 410A using the tension table 531, the operator of the perfect binding machine 1 may manually operate the lifting device 60 and the tension adjustment device 80 to set them to the desired state. For example, the operator operates the control panel of the control device 50 to position the lifting conveyor 410A at the desired vertical position, and then operates the control panel to drive the tension adjustment device 80 and set the tension of the conveyor chain 810 to a good state.

(Device operation)
The operation of the lifting and lowering transport unit 40 will be described below. First, the operator of the perfect binder 1 performs advance preparations such as adjusting the position of the movable guide plate among the guide plates 440A to 440C, setting up the guide bar 450, adjusting the lifting and lowering position of the lifting conveyor 410A, and adjusting the tension of the transport chain 810 using the tension adjustment device 80.

The position of the movable guide plate is adjusted by the operator by driving each drive mechanism 430 according to the size, particularly the thickness, of the main text A1 and the cover B, thereby varying the distance between the movable guide plate and the other guide plate.

The guide bars 450, 450A are installed by the worker according to the size of the text A1, particularly the thickness and vertical length. In other words, it is preferable that a unique guide bar 450, 450A is prepared for each size of the text A1.

The lifting and lowering position of the lifting conveyor 410A is determined by the operator driving the lifting device 60 and raising and lowering the lifting plate 610 according to the size of the text A1, particularly its vertical length. Depending on the lifting and lowering position of the lifting conveyor 410A, the control device 50 reads the tension table 531 and drives the tension adjustment device 80 based on this.

10 is a schematic side view for explaining the receiving and transporting operation of the main text with cover by the lifting and transporting unit in the most elevated state according to this embodiment, and FIG. 11 is a schematic side view for explaining the receiving and transporting operation of the main text with cover by the lifting and transporting unit in the most lowered state according to this embodiment. FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view for explaining the receiving and transporting operation of the main text with cover by the lifting and transporting unit in the most elevated state according to this embodiment, and the operation of pasting the cover to the inside paper sheet. Note that in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, only the main text A1 is shown for the sake of explanation. Also, FIG. 10 shows a form in which the main text A1 targets the main text with cover A2 that is long in the transport direction, and FIG. 11 shows a form in which the main text A1 targets the main text with cover A2 that is long in the vertical direction. In FIG. 12, three schematic vertical cross-sectional views are also shown next to the transport conveyor 410.

After the advance preparation, the operator operates the control panel (not shown) of the control device 50 to drive the lifting and conveying unit 40, that is, to drive the drive motor 400. In response to the drive of the drive motor 400, each belt pulley 411 of the conveyor 410 rotates, and the conveyor belts 412A to 412C move in a circular motion. In this state, as shown in Figures 10 and 12, when the cover-attached main text A2 is conveyed by the clamper 111 of the conveyor chain 110 to a predetermined position above the lifting and conveying conveyor 410A in the lifting and conveying unit 40, the clamper 111 separates from the other plate 113, releasing the grip on the main text A1, and the cover-attached main text A2 falls onto the conveyor belt 412A of the lifting and conveying conveyor 410A.

As shown in Figures 10 and 12, immediately after being dropped, the main text A1 is not gripped by the clamper 111, but the plates 112 and 113 of the clamper 111 are in close proximity and the upper end of the main text A1 is located between the plates 112 and 113, preventing it from tilting to the left or right. In this state, the main text A2 with cover is transported to the interlocking conveyor 410B by the transport belt 412A and the transport piece 811 of the transport chain 810.

On the interlocking conveyor 410B, the cover-attached main text A2 is conveyed downward by the conveyor belt 412B and the conveyor piece 811 of the conveyor chain 810. This causes it to move downward relative to the clamper 111, but the guide bar 450 maintains the effect of preventing the main text A1 from tipping over. In this state, the cover-attached main text A2 is conveyed to the fixed conveyor 410C.

In the fixed conveyor 410C, the body A2 with cover is transported horizontally by the transport belt 412C and the transport piece 811 of the transport chain 810. At this time, the front and back covers of the cover B are folded upward by a pair of guide plates 440C whose outer left and right sides gradually rise upward, and the cover B gradually approaches the front and back endpapers of the body A1. Note that although the clamper 111 is completely separated from the body A1 here, the effect of preventing tilting is maintained by the guide bar 450 and the cover B whose front and back covers are folded upward by the pair of guide plates 440C whose outer left and right sides rise upward. The body A1 becomes the body A3 with cover attached by the front and back covers of the cover B abutting against the front and back endpapers at the rear end of the pair of guide plates 440C and pasting their fore-edges together. With the above, the lifting and transporting unit 40 finishes attaching the fore-edge of the cover B to the body A1 of the covered body A2, and the body A3 with the cover, in which the front and back covers of the cover B are attached to the inside cover, is transported downstream from the fixed conveyor 410C.

According to the embodiment described above, the lift conveyor 410A can be raised and lowered according to the size of the main text A1, so that the main text A2 with cover can be appropriately received and transported. For example, if the vertical size of the main text A1 is small, and the lift conveyor 410A is in a state where the distance between the lift conveyor 410A and the clamper 111 is long, such as in the lowest state, the main text A1 will fall a long distance, and the spine of the main text A1 and the part of the cover B corresponding to the spine may be crushed (especially the corners) when it falls, or the main text A1 and the cover B may be misaligned due to the impact of the fall. However, if the lift conveyor 410A is raised and the distance between the lift conveyor 410A and the clamper 111 is shortened as shown in FIG. 10, the fall distance of the main text A1 can be shortened, and such defects can be suppressed.

In addition, when the vertical size of the main text A1 is large, if the distance between the lifting conveyor 410A and the clamper 111 is short, such as in the lowest position, it is not possible to ensure an appropriate drop distance for the main text A1 onto the lifting conveyor 410A, and the main text A2 with cover may not assume an appropriate posture, or the spine of the main text A1 may not be well attached to the cover B. In addition, in this state, when the cover B is folded, the clamper 111 is not sufficiently spaced from the main text A1, and the front and back covers of the cover B may come into contact with the clamper 111, and the glue applied to the fore-edge portion may adhere to the clamper 111. However, as shown in FIG. 11, by lowering the lifting conveyor 410A to an appropriate position, it is possible to ensure an appropriate drop distance and to sufficiently separate the clamper 111 from the main text A1 when the cover B is folded, thereby suppressing the above-mentioned defects.

In particular, with conventional technology, glue often adheres to the clamper when manufacturing bookbinding with stiff covers. If the glue adheres to the clamper, it will fall off the clamper when it dries, and will adhere to the text or cover, causing defects. For this reason, frequent cleaning is essential when glue adheres to the clamper, but with this embodiment, it is possible to prevent glue from adhering to the clamper 111 in the first place, making frequent cleaning unnecessary, and reducing cleaning time and the number of cleaning operations, and ultimately reducing costs.

In addition, if the thickness of the main text A1 is thin, the drop distance needs to be relatively long. In this embodiment, if the thickness of the main text A1 is thin, the lifting conveyor 410A can be moved downward to a position lower than before, allowing the main text A1 to drop appropriately according to its thickness, that is, the lifting conveyor 410A can appropriately receive the main text A2 with cover.

In addition, when the lift conveyor 410A and the interlocking conveyor 410B are close to the transport chain 110, it is difficult for the worker to reach the back of the unit. Therefore, in this state, it is not easy to perform equipment maintenance such as replacing the other guide plate 440 and guide bar 450 located at the back in Figures 4 and 9, or cleaning the parts. On the other hand, if the lift conveyor 410A is lowered to the lowest position, the separation distance from the transport chain 110 can be increased, making it easier for the worker to reach the back of the unit, and making equipment maintenance extremely easy.

In this embodiment, it has been described that only the lifting conveyor 410A is raised and lowered by the lifting device 60, but the interlocking conveyor 410B and the fixed conveyor 410C may be arranged horizontally and these may also be raised and lowered. Alternatively, the interlocking conveyor 410B may be arranged horizontally and the fixed conveyor 410C may be arranged so that the transport belt 412C is inclined, that is, inclined like the interlocking conveyor 410B in this embodiment, and the interlocking conveyor 410B may be raised and lowered together with the lifting conveyor 410A, making the inclination angle of the fixed conveyor 410C variable.

In the present embodiment, the lifting device 60 includes a rotating rod 620 and a lifting member 630, and the lifting conveyor 410A is raised and lowered by the lifting member 630 caused by the rotation of the rotating rod 620, but this is not limited to the above. Any driving device capable of raising and lowering the lifting conveyor 410A, such as a hydraulic or air cylinder, may be used.

In addition, in this embodiment, the tension adjustment device 80 is described as using an air cylinder 800 to move the chain gear 827 back and forth, but this is not limited to this, and any driving device capable of moving the chain gear 827 back and forth may be used, and the tension of the chain gear 827 and the conveying chain 810 may be adjusted using a biasing member such as a spring material.

In addition, in this embodiment, the drive motor 400 is used to drive each mechanism of the transport conveyor 410, but instead of using the drive motor 400, the rotational force of a motor used in another device may be input to the transport conveyor 410 via gears, a rotating shaft, etc., to drive each mechanism of the transport conveyor 410. Examples of other devices include the text transport unit 10, the text processing unit 20, the cover processing unit 30, and the cover pasting unit 31. One example is a method in which the rotational force of a motor that drives the transport chain 110 of the text transport unit 10 in a circular motion is transmitted to the transport conveyor 410.

In this embodiment, the pair of guide bars 450, 450A are provided on the side frames 421B, 421A, but this is not limiting. They may be provided on other elements, for example, the base 70. The pair of guide bars 450, 450A may be provided on the pair of guide plates 440C, 440A. In this case, one of the pair of guide bars can move in the left-right direction together with the movable guide plate. For example, when the pair of guide bars 450 are provided on the guide plate 440B, the lower end of the support bar 452 supporting the round bars 451, 453 on one side in the left-right direction is connected to the movable guide plate 440B, and the lower end of the support bar 452 supporting the round bars 451, 453 on the other side in the left-right direction is connected to the other guide plate 440B that is not the movable side. In this way, the guide bar 450 on one side in the left-right direction, consisting of the round bars 451, 453 on one side in the left-right direction and the support bar 452, can move in the left-right direction together with the movable guide plate 440B.

Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This new embodiment can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims.

1 Perfect binder 111 Clamper (transport unit)
40 Lifting and transporting unit (transporting device)
410 Transport conveyor (conveyor)
410A Lifting conveyor (conveyor)
410B Interlocking conveyor 410C Fixed conveyor 440A to 440C Guide plate (bending portion)
450 Guide bar (anti-tilt part)
60 Lifting device (lifting section)
650 Guide device 810 Conveyor chain 811 Conveyor piece 80 Tension adjustment device (adjustment unit)
A1 Body B Cover

Claims (9)

A conveying device that conveys a body of a book having at least a part of a cover attached thereto,
a conveyor located below the transport unit that transports the text, for retrieving and transporting the text that has been released from the transport unit and fallen;
a lifting unit that moves the conveyor up and down so as to vary a distance between the conveyor and the transport unit. a fixed conveyor located downstream of the conveyor and below the conveyor;
The conveyor further includes an interlocking conveyor disposed between the conveyor and the fixed conveyor and having an inclined conveying surface,
The conveying device according to claim 1, characterized in that the interlocking conveyor is configured to be able to swing relative to the downstream end of the conveyor and the upstream end of the fixed conveyor, and the inclination angle of the conveying surface varies in response to the raising and lowering of the conveyor by the lifting section. 3. The transport device according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the conveyor and the interlocking conveyor is provided with a detachable tilt prevention part for preventing the text from tilting. 2. The conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising: a guide device disposed between the conveyor and the lifting section, for reciprocating the conveyor along the conveying direction of the text in response to the lifting and lowering movement of the conveyor by the lifting section. 2. The conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising a folding section located downstream of the conveyor, which comes into contact with the front and back covers of the cover to which the body text is affixed, and folds the front and back covers upward to affix them to the body text as they are conveyed downstream by the conveyor. The conveying device according to claim 5, characterized in that the folding section has a pair of guide plates spaced apart in a left-right direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the text, and one of the pair of guide plates is movable toward and away from the other guide plate. a conveyor chain including a plurality of conveyor pieces for supporting or pressing the document in a conveying direction, at least a portion of which moves up and down in response to the vertical movement of the conveyor by the lifting unit;
The conveying device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a chain adjustment unit that adjusts slack in the conveying chain caused by the vertical movement of the conveyor of the elevation unit. A perfect binder comprising the conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A method for conveying a body of a book having at least a part of a cover attached thereto, comprising the steps of:
adjusting a distance between the conveyor and the transport unit by raising and lowering a conveyor located below the transport unit that transports the text;
The conveying method comprises the steps of: acquiring the text released from the conveying section and dropping the text by the conveyor and conveying the text.