Automated bindery log extension

Details Automated bindery log extension Automated bindery log extension

1999-12-17

2001-06-19

Skaggs, H. Grant (Department: 3651)

Sheet feeding or delivering

Feeding

Pack holders

C270S052180, C414S795800, C271S157000, C271S162000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06247694

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is generally directed to a method and apparatus for building a log of signatures or inserts and feeding them to graphic arts equipment such as a bindery line, a refolder or a trimmer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In recent years, many varied customer needs require rapid handling of printed products consisting of signatures which are gathered for binding, trimmed, bundled for minimal shipping costs, and shipped. In a binding line, a typical operation utilizes a multiple of inserter pockets, each of which receives signatures serially from a signature supply means, opens each signature, and drops the signatures to successively straddle a gathering chain which runs in front of the inserter pockets and carries the complete collection of gathered signatures to a location for further handling to complete the binding process. Moreover, because of the need for highly efficient plant operations, there has been a constant effort to increase the speed at which machines operate which has required the development of new techniques for handling the signatures at all stages of the binding process.
In addition to high speed operation, it will be appreciated that any apparatus necessarily has to be compatible with the limit on the space that is available in a binding line facility. In development of the present invention, it was established as a goal for the signature feeding apparatus to address the concerns in terms of ergonomic problems, such as carpal tunnel syndrome and the like.
Currently, a bindery operator retrieves a small stack of signatures, such as three to four inch pile, and carries the pile to the table surface at the pocket feeder. The signature pile is compressed and gripped between the fingers and thumb, and then it is turned 90° for placement on the signature backbone. The operator aligns the signatures in the small pile, fans them, and jogs them, creating a uniform series of signatures. The signatures are again compressed between the fingers and thumb and are then placed with their backbones down into the bindery feed pocket. Some strains to the operator that may occur in such loading activities include possible wrist strain when rotating the signatures, possible arm strain when lifting the pile of signatures to the table height, possible finger and thumb strain when gripping and compressing the signatures, possible wrist and arm strain when fanning the signatures, and walking fatigue in moving between a pallet having the signatures and the bindery pocket machine.
The assignee of this invention has been addressing the problems caused by repetitive motion in current bindery and printing tasks performed manually by operators, as can be seen from a review of its U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,129 of Chang, et al. and also U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,040 of Crabtree, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,643 of Bumgardner, et al. It was established in the previous patents as a goal for the signature feeding apparatus to primarily address concerns in terms of ergonomic problems, such as carpal tunnel syndrome and the like; but it was also found in solving this problem, that it was possible to increase the capacity receiving stacked signatures for feeding to the binding line within the same or a similar amount of floor space, while operating at high speed and accepting signatures in a variety of ways. The present invention is aimed mainly at the ergonomic aspects, increasing production efficiency. Also, it is preferable that the device be portable to be moved between different bindery hoppers. Alignment, jogging and aerating by bindery personnel all need to be eliminated in order to prevent the strains caused by the repetitive motions that these tasks require. The present invention addresses the needs of being able to feed signatures at high speeds to graphic arts equipment including folders, trimmers, binding lines, etc., while maintaining an ergonomically safe process and providing portability.
The present invention is described herein in connection with feeding financial stock or signatures which have frictional surfaces that renders them difficult to shingle into a consistent stream in a contrast to the usual catalogue or magazine stock that shingles easily into a consistent stream. Hence, the financial stock signatures described herein are printed as closed head signatures that are fed as an entire “log” of signatures. The present invention will be described hereinafter with respect to the formation of logs of financial signatures and feeding them into a pocket of a bindery line pocket feeder; but the present invention is not limited to this described and illustrated embodiment of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a new and improved ergonomical apparatus and method for building a log of signatures and loading them into a piece of graphic arts equipment such as a stitcher pocket of a binding line. This is achieved by the operator building a log of signatures in a load magazine by placing small piles of signatures on the top of a log or stack at a predetermined, adjustable height, automatically raising and turning the built log into a horizontal position, advancing the log toward the pocket; and automatically aerating, jogging and aligning the signatures head-to-foot. Preferably, as each pile of signatures is transferred by the operator from the pallet to the load magazine, the signature log piles in the load magazine is automatically lowered by the height of the pile. The preferred apparatus eliminates the rotating of the signatures through 90° by the operator and the rotating motions of the wrist heretofore doing this rotation. Also, the automatic fanning and jogging eliminate possible wrist and arm strain to the operator when accomplished by equipment, rather than by the operator.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the operator loads signatures into a load or log-forming assembly, which has an automatic lowering support for the vertical piles of signatures being loaded on the support to keep the top of the vertical pile at the preselected loading height for the operator. After the log is built, the load assembly is transferred to a transfer assembly, which functions to raise and to align the signature log; and to transfer the log into the jogging and aligning assembly for automatic jogging and aligning of the signatures in the log. When the transfer assembly has advanced the log into the aligning and jogging assembly, the transfer assembly returns to its load position and is ready for reloading. The entire log is advanced within the jogging assembly to meet the rear of the previously-loaded log now in the graphic arts machine. Preferably, the advancing log of signatures is automatically aerated by air nozzles, vibrated on a surface to align the backbone of the signatures and aligned head-to-foot by oscillating side guides. The present invention is able to make logs of and to automatically feed financial stock signatures printed as closed head signatures that are difficult to align.
In addition to solving ergonomic problems, the building of a log, its transfer and an automatic jogging and alignment of signatures being fed into a graphic arts machine may result in increased production speed, particularly for long production runs for this invention. Also, this invention may result in crew reduction for the bindery line in some instances.
The preferred and illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises four major assembly components. They are 1) pocket load assembly, 2) signature transfer assembly, 3) the jogger assembly and 4) a programmable logic controller (PLC). Both the pocket load assembly and the signature transfer assembly are pivotally mounted on the frame. Initially the pocket load assembly is in a vertical position; while the signature transfer assembly is in an inclined horizontal position. The pocket load assembly includes sensing means associated with the drive system for a signature supporting plate, which is advantageously, adjustably positioned at a pre-selected signature

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