JPH0151410B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for sequentially feeding signatures to a pocket for temporarily storing signatures to be sent to a collating machine for bookbinding.

When binding books such as magazines and paperbacks, a predetermined number of printed pages that form part of the book, i.e., signatures, are stacked in a series of corresponding pockets, and a portion is taken out from the bottom of each pocket. Then, one book is collected and bound. Therefore, each pocket must always store an appropriate amount of signatures in an unraveled state, that is, in a state in which the signatures can be taken out one by one. However, in the conventional system, when the number of signatures in a pocket becomes low, the signatures stored in another location are manually loosened and the appropriate amount is supplied to each pocket. The supply work was extremely inefficient. Furthermore, sometimes the signatures are inserted into the pocket without being completely unraveled and still stuck to each other, resulting in misaligned pages, making the task of feeding signatures into the pocket one of the bottlenecks in bookbinding. Ta.

In order to automatically feed the signatures into the pockets in order to solve the problems of the prior art, a device for lifting the stack of signatures and a device between the lifting device and the pocket for the collating machine is proposed. A signature supplying device has been developed, which consists of a conveyor located at the top and a device that sequentially transfers the signatures lifted by a lifting device onto the conveyor, but depending on the paper quality of the signatures, There was a drawback that the transfer from the lifting device to the conveyor was not carried out properly, and the signatures were transferred in double stacks and sent to the pockets without being completely unraveled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a signature supply device capable of supplying an appropriate amount of signatures in a completely loosened state to a pocket for a collating machine.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that the signatures lifted by an elevator are transferred to a conveyor leading to a pocket for a collating machine by a pair of suction rollers arranged adjacently in the front and rear. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Basically, this signature feeding device is as shown in Figures 1 to 3.
an elevator 1 for lifting a stack of signatures, a conveyor 4 of a suitable type provided between a pocket 3 for a collating machine and the upper end of the elevator 1; and a device 5 for transferring the lifted signatures onto a conveyor 4. These devices are supported by wheels on a base 8 placed on rails to make the entire device movable. In the figure, reference numeral 9 denotes a frame plate that serves as a support, on which the elevator 1, the transfer device 5, and a horizontal support plate 10 are installed, and the conveyor 4 is supported and supported on the support plate 10. Board 10
A pocket 3 is installed at the end of the pocket. In some cases, a pinch roller 6 may be provided at the exit end of the conveyor 4.
will be installed. Further, preferably, the pocket 3 is provided with a horizontal alignment plate 7.

In a preferred form, the elevator 1 includes receiving plates 11 provided at the same height position, three receiving plates 11 in the illustrated example, and each receiving plate includes a chain hung on chain wheels 12 and 13 arranged above and below. 14, etc., and the chain 14 and the receiving plate 11 are driven by a motor 15 via a speed reducer 16. In this embodiment, the receiving plate 11 is reciprocated up and down by the forward and reverse rotation of the motor. Each receiving plate 11 is pivoted at its base 17, and a roller 18 at one end moves along a guide plate 19, so that the receiving plate cannot be rotated clockwise in FIG. 1 but counterclockwise. It is designed to be able to rotate. If desired, a supply conveyor 2 is provided adjacent to the lower part of the elevator, and the supply conveyor 2 preferably consists of a pair of belt conveyors 21, as shown in FIG.
is driven via the transmission member 23. The supply conveyor 2 serves as a support for a stack of signatures, and the belt conveyor 21 can support a plurality of stacks, and a considerable number of stacks. This supply conveyor 2 is preferably provided with guide plates 24 on both sides. In this case, the plurality of receiving plates 11 are arranged in a comb shape so as to pass outside each belt conveyor 21 and between the belt conveyors.

This signature supply device is a receiving plate 11 of an elevator 1.
The device is characterized by a device that sequentially transfers the signatures placed on the conveyor 4 and lifted up, and the transfer device 5 includes a first suction roller 25, and this suction roller 25 is attached to a support shaft 26. It is rotatably provided and communicated with a vacuum source 28 through a pipe 27. Preferably, the support shaft 26 is a hollow shaft, and the suction roller 25 is connected to a vacuum source 28 via the support shaft 26 . As shown in FIG. 4, this suction roller has a series of holes 25a around its periphery, which communicate with holes 26a on the underside of the hollow support shaft 26 and are successively evacuated. The suction roller 25 is rotated by a motor 29 located in a support frame fixed to a support shaft 26. Furthermore, since the signatures are thicker on the binding side (folding side), the stack of signatures is inclined as shown in Figure 5, and the inclination also changes depending on the amount of signatures forming the stack. As it decreases, its slope also weakens.
To accommodate this, preferably, one end of the support shaft 26 is pivoted and the other end is vertically adjustable by an adjustment device, and the other end is connected to the rack 31 via a universal joint 30 and A pinion rotated by a reverse motor 32 engages the rack 31 and can move up and down. Furthermore, a sensing device is included that senses the topmost signature supported by the elevator 1 and drives a motor 32. The forward/reverse motor, rack and pinion, and sensing device constitute an adjusting device, and the suction Roller 25 is adjusted to follow the top signature.

Furthermore, a second suction roller 33 is installed after and adjacent to the suction roller 25, and a second suction roller 33 is installed adjacent to the suction roller 25.
It is configured so that the signatures sent by the conveyor 4 are successively sucked and transferred to the transport conveyor 4. This suction roller 33 preferably has substantially the same construction as the first suction roller 25 and is arranged in parallel, as seen in FIG. 6, and is connected by a pipe 34 to the same vacuum source 28. This second suction roller 33 is driven by a motor 35 and rotated faster than the first suction roller 25, preferably twice as fast as the first suction roller 25. Further, in this apparatus, as shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable that the upper end of the elevator 1 and the conveyor 4 be separated to some extent, and that the table 36 be disposed between them. This table 36 is located directly below the second suction roller 33. The presence of the table 36 not only prevents the signatures from falling, but also prevents the signatures from opening and the underlying sheets from hanging down.

The conveyor 4 preferably consists of a pair of belt conveyors 4a, as shown in FIG.
8. The horizontal alignment plate 7 performs reciprocating motion with a slight amplitude to horizontally align the signatures in the pocket 3. For this purpose, one of the horizontal alignment plates 7 is connected to a gear 10 that is freely rotatable by a motor 39. The other side alignment plate 7' is connected to an arm 42 eccentrically mounted to a gear 40' which meshes with the gear 40. In the illustrated example, the horizontal alignment plates 7, 7' are arranged on both sides of the pocket 3, but they do not necessarily have to be on both sides, and may be on one side. Also, pocket 3
It is preferable that the vertical plate 43 forming the inner wall of the holder is adjustable so that it can move back and forth to a certain extent, so that changes in the dimensions of the signatures can be easily accommodated. In a preferred embodiment, a shutter is provided which is installed along and below the conveyor 4 and can move horizontally in a relatively upper portion of the pocket 3, as shown in the figure. 44 in the diagram
is a limit switch that detects the signatures in the pocket 3; 45 is a device that detects the stack of signatures sent to the elevator 1 by the supply device 2; 46 is a control panel; It is a device that does

During operation, when the number of signatures in pocket 3 decreases,
This signature supply device is driven. First, by the operation of the supply conveyor 2, the stack A of signatures thereon is moved toward the elevator 1, and when it reaches the sensing device 45, the elevator 1 is operated and the stack A of signatures is moved by the receiving plate 11. When the uppermost part of the stack approaches the first suction roller 25, the sensing device 47 detects this, and the stack is temporarily stopped or raised at a very low speed to remove the uppermost signature. The suction roller 25 suctions one part at a time, and the next suction roller 33 suctions and transfers it onto the conveyor 4. The receiving plate 11 of the elevator 1 moves at high speed until it comes into contact with the stack of signatures and when moving up the stack, and also descends at high speed due to the reverse rotation of the motor 15, at which time the next stack is If it is in the passage of the receiving plate 11, it will rotate counterclockwise upon contact with it, pass through the stacked body, and reach the bottom thereof. In the elevator 1, each signature is placed with its folded side facing inside. When a predetermined amount of signatures have accumulated in the pocket 3, the supply of signatures to the pocket is stopped by the action of the limit switch 44.

During transfer from the elevator 1 to the transport conveyor 4, the inside of the support shaft 26 of the suction roller 25 is in a vacuum state, and the hole 25a of the suction roller rotating around it forms a vacuum inside the support shaft 26, as shown in FIG. Hole 2
When communicated with 6a, the hole is evacuated and the signatures are sucked. As shown by arrow B, the suction roller 25
It rotates from the upper end of the elevator 1 toward the conveyor 4, and its hole 25a rotates while sucking the signatures.
As the rotation of the suction roller instantaneously causes that hole 25a to communicate with the next hole 25a as well as the hole 26a of the support shaft, there is a residual vacuum for a short period of time, and the signatures are therefore weakly suctioned. Then, at the next moment, the next hole 25a communicates with the support shaft 26a, attracts another position of the signature, and rotates in the same manner. In this way, each hole 25a of the suction roller 25 sequentially suctions and rotates the signature, and transfers it to the second suction roller 33. Since the second suction roller 33 is rotating at a higher speed than the first suction roller 25, the suction roller 25 can pick up two signatures.
Even if the second suction roller 33 moves faster than the second suction roller 33, the signatures in contact with the suction roller 33 move faster than the outer signatures due to inertia. As shown in FIG. 2, the signatures sent in an overlapping manner are separated from the first suction roller 25. At this time, the signatures are moved to the transport conveyor 4 in an inclined state, and the lower part thereof comes into contact with the table 36. Preferably, if the distance between the suction roller 25 and the signature becomes too large during the transfer of the signature, the motor 32 lowers the suction roller 25 via the rack 31, and when the signature rises, the suction roller 25 also moves down. Rise. In the illustrated example, the first suction roller 25 is located at a position close to the conveyor 4, and suction is performed from the root side of the signatures on the receiving plate 11 (the side close to the conveyor 4). may be located at a relatively distant position from the conveyor 4 to suck the leading edge of the signatures. In this case, the signatures that are sequentially fed by the suction roller 25 may have an overlapping amount with adjacent ones. Because there are so many of them, they rotate at a relatively low speed.

The signatures separated by the pair of suction rollers 25, 33 and transferred onto the conveyor 4 are further separated as they are fed there at high speed. Immediately before being fed into the pocket 3, each signature is pinched by a pinch roller 6 and dropped into the pocket 3 in an appropriate posture. In a preferred form, a shutter is provided, the bottle is temporarily supported by the shutter, and when a certain amount has accumulated, it is dropped into the pocket. Therefore, since the drop when falling into the pocket is small, it is fed into the table 3 reliably and stably. Furthermore, the sides of the signatures dropped into the pocket 3 are aligned by the horizontal alignment plate 7.

Therefore, according to the present invention, by simply placing the stack of signatures on the supply conveyor 2, the stack of signatures is automatically fed into the pocket 3, and is separated into portions along the way, so that the stack of signatures is completely separated. Relaxed. It is then placed into a pocket where it is kept properly aligned. Therefore, the supply of signatures to the pockets for the collating machine can be realized in an extremely suitable manner.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of the signature feeding device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the same.
4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the suction roller included in the device of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a side view showing the operating state of the suction roller, and FIG. 6 is a portion showing the relationship between the first and second suction rollers. FIG. 7 is a plan view of a horizontal alignment device provided in a pocket for a collating machine, and FIG. 8 is a schematic front view showing a transfer process using suction rollers. In the figure, 1... elevator, 2... supply conveyor, 3
...pocket, 4...transport conveyor, 7...horizontal alignment plate, 25...first suction roller, 26...support shaft, 3
3...Second suction roller, 36...Table.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An elevator that raises a stack of signatures, and a first suction roller that is located near the upper end of the elevator and that sucks the signatures lifted by the elevator and sends them to a conveyor described later. and a second suction roller disposed adjacent to and after the suction roller, the second suction roller being rotated at a higher speed than the first suction roller and further being driven by the suction rollers. A signature feeder including a conveyor disposed between the upper end of the elevator and the pocket for conveying signatures to a collating machine pocket. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a table provided between the upper end of the elevator and the conveyor. 3. In the device according to claim 1, one end of the support shaft of the first suction roller is pivotally fixed, and the other end is vertically adjustable, so that the support shaft of the first suction roller is a signature supply device adapted to follow the signatures supported by the elevator;