Sheet feeding or delivering – Delivering – With transfer means between conveyor and receiver
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-30
2002-05-28
Walsh, Donald P. (Department: 3653)
Sheet feeding or delivering
Delivering
With transfer means between conveyor and receiver
C271S202000, C271S307000, C271S309000, C271S315000, C270S050000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06394445
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates, generally, to sheet processing equipment for transporting signatures moving in serial fashion along a path to one of a plurality of collation paths and, more particularly, to sheet processing equipment for collation of printed signatures to be used in the binding of a publication such as a magazine or a newspaper. The present invention relates to an apparatus for decelerating substantially evenly spaced apart successive signatures found in a stream of fast moving signatures for delivery of the signatures to a subsequent process such as a rotary fan delivery device. The present invention also relates to an apparatus for guiding successive signatures from a slow down mechanism of the foregoing kind to a downstream destination such as a rotary fan delivery device. The present invention provides an improved signature delivery system for a high speed printing press which allows for increased operating speeds with fewer jams while, at the same time, reducing or preventing damage to the signatures as the signatures travel through sheet processing equipment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Sheet processing equipment contemplated herein may range from apparatus associated with an office copier, to sheet or web handling devices employed in the manufacture of paperboard articles, to sheet processing equipment specifically adapted to process signatures to be used in binding or otherwise assembling books, magazines or newspapers. Each of these environments presents a somewhat different challenge in designing an efficient collator or delivery system, but the same objective applies to the entire class of apparatus, namely, accurately routing selected flexible webs or ribbon sections along a desired collation path to achieve a desired order.
In the printing industry, an image is repeatedly printed on a continuous web or substrate such as paper. The ink is dried by running the web through curing ovens. In a typical printing process, the web is subsequently slit (in the longitudinal direction which is the direction of web movement) to produce a plurality of continuous ribbons. The ribbons are aligned one on top of the other, folded longitudinally, and then cut laterally to produce a plurality of multipaged, approximately page length web segments, termed signatures. A signature can also be one printed sheet of paper that has or has not been folded. It is often desirable to transport successive signatures in different directions along different paths in order to increase the overall operating speed and versatility of the printing process. In general, a sheet diverter operates to route fast moving signatures along a desired one of a plurality of paths as the signatures continue on to the next step in the signature processing system.
Printing press systems are operable at high speeds, typically in excess of 2,000-3,000 feet per minute (fpm). It is often desirable to run printing press equipment at the highest speeds possible in order to produce as many printed products as possible in a given amount of time. Because printing presses operate at high speeds, it is usually, if not always, necessary to reduce the speed of the signatures in the delivery system in order to shingle and to square the signatures and eventually stack the signatures. Various delivery systems for decelerating and shingling signatures are set forth in the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A system which employs a rotary fan delivery system is found after signature decelerating equipment to individually collect the signatures and subsequently pass each signature to a conveyor, such as a shingling conveyor. Generally, signatures are caused to fall or move into a receptive slot in the rotating fan-like delivery means. As the rotary fan rotates, the signatures fall out one after the other typically onto a slow moving conveyor in an overlying or shingled arrangement. Without signature decelerating equipment, in order to avoid damage to the signatures as the signatures are thrown into the respective slots of the rotary fan device, the speed of each signature must be generally slowed down by running the printing press and folder at a slower rate of speed so that the impact force of the leading edge of the signature against a dead end surface of the slot is reduced. Thus, without a slow down mechanism, reduced operating speeds limit the overall output of the printing system.
A problem which may occur when using a rotary fan delivery system concerns adequately controlling the path of each signature as the signatures are transferred from a slow down device to the rotary fan delivery system. In such systems, signatures generally fall from the slow down device to the rotary fan device. Stated differently, the signatures may be unsupported or unguided during this transfer step. Unsupported signatures have a tendency to freely flap, fold over, tear or be damaged in other different ways, or have a tendency to move to the wrong destination. The greater the distance between a slow down device and a fan delivery system, the more likely an unsupported signature will be damaged as it enters or attempts to enter the fan delivery system thereby causing jams in the overall process resulting in down time and repair expenses.
Yet another problem of utilizing a delivery system concerns guiding the signatures from a slow down mechanism to a subsequent processing device. Often, when a signature travels through a processing system between two signature transport tapes, the signature may tend to cling to one or both of the two tapes during the transition stage, instead of continuing on in a straight or substantially straight path to subsequent processing equipment. When a signature improperly follows a tape path and travels to the wrong place in the processing system, a jam can occur which results in the shut down of the entire printing production system until the jam is cleared.
Still another problem of such a delivery system concerns correctly timing the transfer of the signatures from one step in the printing process, such as a slow down step, to a subsequent step, such as a fan delivery step. If a respective signature slot in a rotary fan delivery device is not properly aligned with a signature emerging from a slow down mechanism at the appropriate time, a signature will be directed at the fan delivery device in such a way that the signature will not properly enter the rotary fan device which may cause a jam in the overall operation.
Although the problems described above generally correlate to a processing system which employs a rotary fan delivery device, the same or similar problems can occur in other delivery systems which utilize slow down mechanisms followed by other known processing equipment. The present invention may be utilized in various delivery systems for decelerating signatures and transferring the signatures to further processing equipment such as, for example, shingling devices or stackers, known to those skilled in the art.
Accordingly, there is a need for a sheet processing system that is capable of operating at high speeds, e.g., speeds in excess of 2,500-3,000 fpm and above, and yet is also capable of providing signatures that are acceptable in quality. What is needed is a delivery system which reduces the speed of signatures traveling through the processing system while allowing for an increased overall operating speed of the sheet processing system. What is also needed is a sheet processing system which increases control over signatures during a decelerating process and during transport of the signatures to a subsequent processing step.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a sheet diverter receives a fast moving stream of regularly spaced apart signatures from a sheet processing system. The sheet diverter sends the signatures down one of a plurality of collation paths. A signature slow down mechanism is positioned within the collation path such that as a signature travels down the collation path, the signature slow down mechanism grabs a tail end of the sign
d'Agrella Ingermar S.
Kuhne Eric L.
Laatsch Gary J.
Neary John M.
Schaefer Karl P.
Michael & Best & Friedrich LLP
Quad/Tech Inc.
Schlak Daniel K
Walsh Donald P.
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