Sheet-material associating – Associating or disassociating – Signature associating
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-10
2001-10-30
Valenza, Joseph E. (Department: 3651)
Sheet-material associating
Associating or disassociating
Signature associating
C270S052290, C493S409000, C493S465000, C493S471000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308945
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for depositing folded signatures on a transport device, with a rotating extracting cylinder which grips signatures individually from a stack and transfer the signatures to a first rotating opening cylinder and a second rotating opening cylinder which open the gripped signatures at the edges opposite from the fold and drop the signatures on the transport device, with a clamping device disposed on the first opening cylinder which grips the signatures at a respective projecting edge to open and transport the signatures, and with means which grip the above-referenced edges in the extracting cylinder from behind and transfer the edges to the clamping device.
2. Description of the Related Art
An apparatus of this type is disclosed in CH-A-408 065 by the applicant. The first opening cylinder includes a cylinder sector which has a greater radius than the remaining cylinder sector of the opening cylinder and which engages in the rotation range of the extracting cylinder. The cylinder sector also grips the rear end of a signature from behind and grips a protruding edge with a clamping device. The signature is subsequently opened in cooperation with the second opening cylinder and drop to on a transport device which may be implemented as a collecting chain. Such devices have operated satisfactorily in practice. The cylinder sector with the greater radius, however, occupies a comparatively greater portion of the circumference of the extracting cylinder which makes this device less efficient.
A similar device is disclosed in JP-A-0 42 69 594. The extracting cylinders and the two opening cylinders or hear driven by dedicated synchronous motors. The rotation speed of the towns can be adjusted with a controller. The signature is gripped by a cylinder sector of the first opening cylinder. This design decreases the problems associated with the intermeshing cylinders.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,669 describes a device which includes three rotatable arms arranged on the extracting cylinder up which push the rear edges the signature radially outwardly for transfer to the opening cylinders. With this device, several signatures can be transported simultaneously on the extracting cylinder. The extracting cylinder, however, also includes control arms and is therefore expensive to fabricate and subject to malfunction. In addition, the clamping device on the first opening cylinder makes the arms more difficult to synchronize.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention, to provide a device of the type described above which has a greater efficiency and reliability and can be manufactured more cost-effectively. This object is solved by the invention in that the aforedescribed means include at least one guide arm which is movably supported on the first opening cylinder, wherein when the first opening cylinder rotates, the guide arm is moved from a retracted position into a position projecting over the circumference of the first opening cylinder, so that the guide arm can grip the edges of the signatures from behind.
The device of the invention, like the device disclosed in CH-A-408 065, eliminates the need for a large cylinder sector. The signatures can therefore be transported on the extracting cylinder with a closer spacing, thereby advantageously reducing the transport speed. Other means for gripping the signatures from behind can also be provided. Arranging a guide arm on the first opening cylinder has the advantage that the signatures are guided at their respective rear ends when they are transferred to the clamping device. Gravity has almost no effect on the process, and breakdown are less frequent even at peak capacity.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the guide arm is rotatably supported on the first opening cylinder, but spaced apart from the axis of the first opening cylinder. The guide arm can then be easily retracted in the first opening cylinder by rotating the guide arm.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the guide arm is rotated rearward to move the guide arm into the retracted position and rotated forward—as viewed in the rotation direction—for gripping a signature. This rotation causes the guide arm to engage with the rotation region of the extracting cylinder and to grip the rear portion of a signature which is thereby deflected radially outwardly and transferred to the gripping device. The guide arm can be retracted again by rotating the guide arm in the opposite direction. According to another embodiment of the invention, the guide arm may be movably supported on a shaft which makes it easy to adapt the device quickly to different signature formats.
The signatures can be transferred reliably to the first opening cylinder by disposing a rotating defection roller between the two cylinders. The signature is here placed in contact with the deflection roller after the edges have been gripped.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are intended solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2413358 (1946-12-01), Kleineberg
patent: 3199862 (1965-08-01), Muller
patent: 3809384 (1974-05-01), Zugel
patent: 4180255 (1979-12-01), Himmel
patent: 4299378 (1981-11-01), Muller
patent: 4358100 (1982-11-01), M üller
patent: 4491311 (1985-01-01), Glanzmann
patent: 4706950 (1987-11-01), Ruetschle et al.
patent: 4875669 (1989-10-01), McCain et al.
patent: 5893824 (1999-04-01), Schlough
patent: 408 065 (1966-09-01), None
patent: 4 269 594 (1992-09-01), None
patent: 2 228 230 (1973-02-01), None
patent: 3926607A1 (1988-08-01), None
patent: 3910499A1 (1989-04-01), None
patent: 0718225A2 (1994-12-01), None
Darby & Darby
Grapha-Holding AG
Mackey Patrick
Valenza Joseph E.
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