US2348421A - Book construction and bookbinding method - Google Patents

Description

vMay 9, 1944. c oss 2,348,421

BOOK CONSTRUCTION AND BOOKBINDING METHOD Filed May 29, 1942 6r HAkR/J, Knich; F0570? G HARM:

FOR THE FIRM ArroR/vB s.

Patented May 9, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- BOOK CONSTRUCTION AND BOOKBINDING METHOD Francisco, Calif.

Application May 29, 1942, Serial No. 445,397

11 Claims.

My invention relates to the art of binding books with special reference to expedients and methods employed to interconnect the pages of a book.

In the procedure of binding a book, stacked sheets are sewed or otherwise fastened together, the stack is trimmed to make all edges even, the binding side of the stack is coated with glue, and at some point in the procedure the stack must be rounded to the usual convexity on the binding side of the stack. In a prevalent method of sewing books, known as fiddle stitching, a suitable saw is applied to the binding side of the stack to make converging pairs of kerfs in the binding margin of the stack and the sewing operation consists in looping threads through the kerfs. Since the sheets slide easily upon each other and since the kerfs are necessarily wider than the threads employed, unification of the stack necessary for performing subsequent steps of the process may be achieved only by pulling the threads tight while the stack is square and prior to the rounding operation.

After the stack of sheets is sewed and trimmed, the next step in the conventional procedure is to apply a coat of suitable adhesive to the binding side of the stack, care being taken to work the adhesive manually into the gaps caused by the sawed kerfs. The adhesive must then be pere mitted to dry for a substantial period of time before the book is rounded. Unfortunately, the tightness of the threads so essential in the earlier steps of the binding procedure becomes seriously disadvantageous as soon as the rounding operation is reached, and remains detrimental to the life of the book. The rounding of the stack of sheets in effect lengthens the kerfs or channels in which the threads lie and therefore puts the threads under great stress with consequent stretch and sometimes actual breakage. The tendency of the excessively tensioned thread to pull the finished book out of its rounded configuration may be noted for years later and often results in failure of the binding.

The necessity on one hand of initially unifying l providing a finished book having certain desirable characteristics.

With reference to saving labor, it is the object of the invention to provide a method of initially cutting and interlocking the sheets of a stack that will simplify the task of the craftsman throughout the bookbinding procedure, save time in various operations including the operation of cutting the sheets, and eliminate some, if not all, of the usual delay caused by waiting for the adhesive coat to dry prior to the rounding operation.

As for the structural or mechanical strength and eificiency of the finished book, my invention has the following objects: to provide a book in which the threads lie against sharply defined knife cuts instead of against lacerated paper edges created by saw teeth; to provide a finished book in which the portions of the cuts engaged by the threads extend substantially parallel to the back of the book; to provide a book in which the sheets normally fit snugly against the threads; to provide a sewed book in which the threads are not unduly strained; and to provide a sewed book in which the pages are held in place by interlocking of the sheets as well as by the threads.

The desirable characteristics of the finished book sought in the practice of my invention cannot be expressed properly by merely listing structural distinctions. One object is to provide a book that will open with exceptional freedom, especially freedom from opposition by the means employed to interconnect the sheets. A feature of a book bound in accord with my invention is that the book may be opened wider than usual without forcing the pages against the threads. Such a book will 'not break easily and will survive carelessness and rough handling that would ordinarily ruin a new book. A further object in mind is to avoid sagging that commonly occurs when a book stays on a shelf for a long period of time. i

A further object of my invention is to provide efficient means for carrying out my method and more specifically to provide means that may be employed to cut the sheets of the stack in the desired manner and simultaneously to cause the sheets of the stack to interlock.

The above and other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, taken with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing, which is to be considered as illustrative only:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a stack of vice that may be employed for the cutting operation;

Fig. 7 is a transverse section taken as indicated by the line 1-! of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is anenlarged section taken as indicated by the line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view of one end of the stack after the rounding operation;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary plan view of the stack immediately after the sewing operation;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 9 indicating the configuration of the stack when a coat of adhesive is applied;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary end elevation of the roundedstack in a lying press prior to the backing operation;

Fig. 13 is a similar view showing the configuration of the book after the backing operation;

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary plan view showing the completed book in openposition; and

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary section taken as indicated by the line |5| 5 of Fig. 14.

Fig. 1 shows a stack of sheets having a series of cuts 2| along the binding margin, the cuts extending inwardly from-the binding side 22 of the stack to form marginal tongues 23. The cuts 2| may be of various configurations to provide tongues of various shapes provided that the resulting tongues may be bent out of their respective planes and may be permanently maintained in bent state. V

In my preferred practice I simply slit the sheets to form the stack cuts'ZI, thereby avoiding the removal of any material whatsoever. Although sawing is not precluded, slitting is preferable to sawing. even with the thinnest saw, not only because clean-cut edges are thus obtained but also because slitting results in minimum clearance between the tongue edges and the opposite edges of the sheets. I have found that with minimum clearance, the cut edges of the sheets opposite the tongues desirably impede the return flexure of the bent tongues, and, furthermore, that the bent tongueshelpfully close upon and tendto retain even the slenderest thread.

Since it is contemplated that the filamentous members employed to unify the stack will lie at the inner ends of the cuts, I prefer to have the inner ends 24 of the cuts parallel to the binding side of the stack or at least more nearly parallel than perpendicular. In such a book construction any force tending to pull a sheet forward out of the newly sewed stack is exerted against the thread substantially perpendicularly of the cut with no component of force along the cut. I also prefer to make the cuts in converging pairs, as indicated in Fig.1, so that thread may be looped from out to cut in each pair in an efficient manner, .but it is to be understood that the cuts may be disposed otherwise and that the thread may extend through the stack in any pattern.

Conceivably the sheets may be individually out prior to stacking to provide the required tongues, but practical considerations lead to the problem of cutting the tongues while the sheets are stacked. It is a well known fact that perpendicular penetration of the margin of a pile of sheets by a conventional knife blade tends to cause relative lateral movement between the blade and the sheets. The blade tends strongly to deviate out- I ward, and if the blade is guided stubbornly in the perpendicular path the sheets of the pile tend almost irresistibly to creep away from the blade.

A feature of my invention is the concept that this intolerable tendency may be successfully counteracted in the design of the blade itself. I have discovered that the knife edge of the blade may be beveled in a direction to oppose the tendency sufiiciently for successful operation. I have further discovered that fortuitously the nonrectilinear configuration of the blade, whereby the inner end of the resulting cut is turned to- .ward parallelism with the binding side of the stack, also has some effect in meeting this troublesome tendency. Finally, I have discovered that any factor of the tendency that may be associated with the leading edge of the blade at the inner ends of the cut may be completely cancelled out by simply making opposed pairs of cuts simultaneously.

A suitable tool for making the marginal cuts may be had by machining a piece of tubular tool steel to the shape indicated in Figs. 3, 4, and 5. The cutting tool 25 has an end cutting edge-26 with a bevel 21 to the inner side as indicated in Fig. 5. .Preferably the side edge or vertical edge of the tool is also tapered or sharpened to prevent tearing the sheets of the stack at the inner ends of the cuts. Fig. 4 shows both the side cutting edges 28 and 29 sharpened so that the tool 25 may be made for cutting either the left out or the right cut of a pair of cuts. In making a pair of cuts, for example, the pair 31] of cuts 2| shown in Fig. 1, the tool positioned as indicated in Fig. 4 could be employed to make the right-hand cut of the pair and then could be rotated to make the left-hand out. In practice the required number of tools 25 in right-hand and left-hand positions would be mounted'in a gang.

The particular cuts 2| shown in Fig. .1 are made by the preferred form of my tool shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8. The cutting tool 35 inthese figures is a channel-shaped member comprising two legs 36 interconnected by a web 31, the legs being turned inwardly toward each other and having sharpened vertical edges 38. As indicated in Fig. 8 the leading or cutting edge 40 at the lower end of the tool 35 has a bevel 4| from the inside. A single tool 35 may be mounted in a suitable reciprocating mechanism to make the various pairs of cuts 30 in the margin of a stack 20 consecutively or a. gang of such tools may be mounted in a reciprocating mechanism for making all the cuts in a stack simultaneously. 7

After the tongues 23 are cut by whatever means is employed, they may be bent out of the planes of their respective sheets to interlock the sheets of the stack in the manner contemplated by my invention. An important advantage of employing beveled cutting tools, such as the tools 25 and 35, is that the tools cut and bend the tongues 23 in one operation, leaving the tongues bent in the manner indicated by Fig. 2. In Fig. 2 it will be noted that on one side of each cut 2| the beveled cutting edge of the tool has turned all the cut edges downwardly, these out edges :being the edges of the tongues 23., while on the other side of the :cut the straight side of the blade has left each cut edge in its original plane. .Such bending of the tongues interlocks the sheets suificiently to give the stack .21 a material degree of cohesiveness, and the stack will maintain its unit-y against minor forces and may be handled as a unit with only reasonable care. The individual sheets are not readily moved out of alignment. The interlocking of the sheets is so effective that I may now as a next step in my operation round the stack 20, i. e., slightly displace the sheets progressively by proper manipulation to make the binding side 22 of the stack convex as indicated in Fig. 9.

The next step in my preferred order of operations is "to insert suitable filaments in the cuts 2! to mechanically unite the sheets of the stack. Preferably a sewing operation is carried out similar to the sewing operation in conventional fiddle stitching, the thread being placed at the "inner ends '24 0f the cuts 2! and being looped several times across each pair of cuts, then carried to the other pairs of cuts successively, and, finally, tied or otherwise secured. Fig. 10 shows a thread 12 looped in the manner described.

Since the rounded configuration of the stack in the course of the sewing "operation conforms substantially to the rounded configuration of the final product, the thread loops are in effect automatically measured to prevent such tension as might unduly oppose the rounded configuration. It is necessary merely to pull the threads snug in the cuts, there being no necessity for excessive tightness.

After the stack is sewed, the next step may be the application of a suitable coat of adhesive 43 to the binding side of the stack. In my preferred practice I dog the stack back to its square configuration prior to the application of the adhesive. Fig. 11 shows the glue coating 43 on the end of the squared stack. Without waiting for the coat 43 to thoroughly dry, I again round the sewed and glued stack and then place the rounded stack in a conventional backing machine :between backing jaws 45, as shown in Fig. 12. While the rounded stack is in the backing machine, the stack is backed in the usual manner, the edges of the sheets being spread to produce overhanging backing B6 on each side of the stack, as indicated in Fig. 13. After the usual reinforcement the book may then be cased in the usual manner to make the finished product.

In the described sequence the stack is rounded twice, the first time merely as a simple expedient for measuring the thread. The stack may be sewed while square, however, if the crafts man ascertains the proper allowance for rounding and provides corresponding looseness in the thread.

The manner in which the new procedure saves labor over conventional fiddle stitching is apparent from the above recitation of the various steps. Some labor saving lies in the fact that the character of the stack produced by the cutting operation facilitates various tasks of the craftsman. Thus, the interlocking character of the stack facilitates rounding the stack prior to the sewing procedure; the bent tongues tending to close the cuts assists the craftsman by holding the threads in place during the sewingoperation; and less time is required for merely snug sewing as distinguished from excessively tight sewing. Additional saving in labor and time is achieved by the omission of certain conventional operations. Since knife cuts in the binding side of the stack as distinguished from saw cuts do not present substantial gaps, it is not necessary to work the glue or adhesive manually into the cuts, the cuts being sealed by the glue without any special attention on the part of the craftsman. Considerable time and some labor is saved, furthermore, by omitting most of the usual drying period between the application of the ad-' hesive and the performance of the backing operation. In the conventional bookbinding procedure, the glue must be permitted to set prior to rounding and backing the book because the glue is relied upon to a material extent to hold the sheets together during the rounding operation. When a book is rounded and backed after the glue dries, as in the old procedure, the rounding and backing operation sometimes cracks the glue and necessitates a second gluing operation;

The improved mechanical structure of the finished book achieved by my procedure may be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art. The pages are held by the interlocking tongues as well as by the threads, and the efiectiveness of the tongues is such that the threads may become loose and slack without pages being released from the book. Since the threads are not weakened by excessive stretching, the threads may be relied upon to take any unusual strains that may be imposed by carelessness or by rough handling. Since the tongues fit snugly against the threads, the threads do not tend to work loose even when severed. Since the edges on the two sides of each out are close together, the glue is more effective mechanically than would be the case were the edges of the cuts spaced apart by the width of a saw blade.

Figs. 14 and 15 show clearly how the tongues interlock the sheets in a finished book having a cover 49 and show how the threads function when the finished book is opened. When the pages are opened along what may be termed a dividing line 50 of the book, the marginal tongues 23 are revealed as extending in overlapping disposition from one side of the book to the other across the dividing line. It is apparent that tongues from several pages to one side of th dividing line 50 extend into the regions of several neighboring. pages on the other side of the line to hinge the two parts of the book together. The bundle 5| of threads in Figs. 14 and 15 not only normally assists in holding the tongues 23 in their bent configuration, but also tends to pull overlapping tongues across the dividing line 58 to interlock the pages on opposite sides of th line. The tongues may be weak individually but in mass are strong, and Fig. 15 clearly illustrates how all the tongues in a series of tongues from one side of the book to the other lie against each other to reinforce each other when the book is opened.

It may be readily understood how such a book,

fabricated in accord with my invention, may have certain desirable characteristics not found in books bound by prior art procedures. The book, even when new, opens more freely than prevalent types of books. The shape of the marginal cuts and the of sewing permits the book to open wider without exert-ing force against the thread. Such a book is less likely to break than usual and will withstand carelessness and rough handling without'serious damage. The book may be left on a shelf for long periods of time with no tendency to sag.

The preferred embodiment and practice of my invention disclosed herein for the purpose of disclosure and to illustrate the principles involved will suggest to those skilled in the art various changes and substitutions under my basic concepts. I reserve the right to all such departures from my specific disclosure that properly lie within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A method of binding a stack of sheets for a book, including the steps of: making a plurality of knife cuts in the binding margin of the stack substantially perpendicular to the sheets of the stack to provide a plurality of cut edges in each sheet; bending said out edges permanentl out of the planes of the corresponding sheets into the planes of neighboring'sheets, thereby interlocking the sheets to achieve a degree of cohesiveness in the stack; looping filamentous binding material through said cuts along said bent edges so that when the stack is subsequently opened said filamentous binding material presses down on a series of overlapping tongues extending across the dividing line of the stack, allowance being made in the size of each loop for rounding of the binding side of the stack, thereby avoiding excessive tension in the filamentous material in the finished rounded book; and rounding said binding margin of said stack.

2. A method of binding a stack of sheets for a book, including the steps of: making a plurality of cuts in the binding margin of the stack to provide a plurality of cut edges in each sheet; bending said out edges permanently out of the planes of the corresponding sheets into the planes of neighboring sheets, thereby interlocking the sheets to achieve a degree of cohesiveness in the stack; rounding the binding side of the stack; passing filamentous material through said cuts while the stack is in rounded state; and drawing said filamentous material snug and securing the filamentous material without excessive tension to unify the stack while in rounded state, thereby allowing sufiicient filamentous material to avoid any excessive tendency for the filamentous material to pull the stack out of curvature.

3. A method of binding a stack of sheets by using a blade beveled from one side, including the steps of: forcing said blade through the binding margin of the stack to make a plurality of cuts extending inwardly from the binding side of the stack with the blade positioned to define marginal tongues in the sheets of the stack and with the bevel of the blade in the direction to cause each of said tongues to be bent permanently out of the plane of the corresponding sheet across the planes of neighboring sheets, thereby to interlock the sheets; rounding the binding side of the stack; and passing filamentous material through said cuts while the stack is in rounded state and securing said filamentous material so that when the stack is subsequently opened said filamentous binding material presses down on a series of overlapping tongues extending across the dividing line of the stack.

4. A method of binding a stack of sheets for a book, including the steps of: making a plurality of cuts in the binding margin of the stack to provide a plurality of cut edges in each sheet; bending said out edges out of the planes of the corresponding sheets into the planes of the neighboring sheets, thereby interlocking the sheets to achieve a degree of cohesiveness in the stack; rounding said binding margin of the stack; sewing through said cuts while thestack is in a rounded state; and gluing said binding margin.

5. A method of binding a stack of sheets for a book, including the steps of: making a plurality of cuts in the binding margin of the stack to provide a plurality of cut edges in each sheet; bending said out edges out of the planes of the corresponding sheets into the planes of the neighboring sheets, thereby interlocking the sheets to achieve a degree of cohesiveness in the stack; rounding said binding margin of the stack; sewing through said cuts while the stack is in a rounded state; squaring said binding margin; gluing said binding margin while the stack is in a squared state; and again rounding said binding margin.

6. A method of binding a stack of sheets for a book, including the steps of making a plurality of cuts in the binding margin of the stack to provid a plurality of cut edges in each sheet; bending said out edges out of the planes of the corresponding sheets into the planes of the neighboring sheets, thereby interlocking the sheets to achieve a degree of cohesiveness in the stack; rounding said binding margin of the stack; sewing through said cuts While the stack is in a rounded state; squaring said binding margin; gluing said binding margin while the stack is in a squared state; and again rounding said binding margin while said glue is still wet.

'7. A method of binding a stack of sheets for a book, including the steps of making a plurality of cuts in the binding margin of the stack to provide a plurality of cut edges in each sheet; bending said out edges out of the planes of the corresponding sheets into the planes of the neighboring sheets thereby interlocking the sheets to achieve a degree of cohesiveness in the stack; sewing through said cuts; gluing said binding margin; and rounding said binding margin of the stack while said glue is still wet.

8. A method of bindinga stack of sheets for a book, including the steps of: making a plurality of cuts in the binding margin of the stack to provide a plurality of cut edges in each sheet;

bending said cutedges out of the planes of the corresponding sheets into the planes of the neighboring sheets, thereby interlocking the sheets to achieve adefree of cohesiveness in the stack; loosely sewing through said cuts so as to compensate for rounding of said binding margin; gluing said binding margin; and rounding said binding margin of the stack.

9. A method of binding a stack of sheets for a book, including the steps of: making a plurality of cuts in the binding margin of the stack to.

provide a plurality of cut edges in each sheet; bending said out edges out of the planes of the corresponding sheets into the planes of the neighboring sheets, thereby interlocking the sheets to achieve a degree of cohesiveness in the stack; loosely sewing through said cuts so as to compensate for rounding of said binding margin; gluing said binding margin; and rounding said binding margin of the stack while said glue is still Wet.

10. In a book, the combination of a stack of sheets, each of said sheet having a pair of spaced cuts in the binding margin thereof, each of said cuts being substantially perpendicular.

to the stack and one edge of each out being bent into the plane of adjacent sheets, the binding margin of said stack being rounded; and a binding filament extending through said cuts and around the intervening portion of the stack, said filament being sufliciently loose to permit the stack to be opened substantially fiat without materially binding said sheets against said filament,

filament extending through said cuts and around the intervening portion of the stack, said filament being sufficiently loose to permit the stack to be opened substantially fiat without materially binding said sheets against said filament, said filament pressing down when the stack is opened on a series of overlapping tongues formed by said bent edges of said cuts.

' TALBERT C. ROSS.

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