Cutter for automatic trimming of leaflets magazines and books

Cutting – With product handling means – Means to move – guide – or permit free fall or flight of product

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C083S404100, C083S408000, C083S566000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06234054

ABSTRACT:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Priority is claimed with respect to application No. 98810206.7 filed in the European Patent Office on Mar. 11, 1998, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a cutter arrangement for automatically trimming of flat products, such as leaflets, magazines and books, wherein the arrangement includes one or more up and down movable knives, a clamping bar and a fixedly installed counter-knife associated with each cutting knife, and comprising a transporting device for the continued transport of the leaflets, magazines and books.
Cutters of this type have long been known and have generally proven effective in practical operations. The operating principle for such cutters is disclosed in the applicant's prior 1959 Swiss Patent No. CH-A-34 04 79. The cutter disclosed therein comprises an up and down movable cutting unit with three knives distributed over two cutting stations arranged one after another with respect to the movement direction of the leaflets, such that a frontal cut can be executed with one knife and that top and bottom cuts can respectively be executed with the other two knives. The cutting unit, the transporting device and movable end stops are connected to a joint drive mechanism. Despite modifications to individual parts of this cutter, the basic design has to date remained unchanged. Such cutters are also referred to as trimmers or automatic three side trimmers. They permit an automatic trimming even of thick paper products with a capacity of, for example, six copies per second. The cut performed by the knives is also called a scissoring cut and is executed in that the cutting knife moves above the cutting edge of the counter-knife. One advantage of this type of cut is the long service life of the knives, which is considerably longer when compared to a cutting with the aid of cutting strips. However, an exact knife guidance is required. In addition, two stations are absolutely necessary for trimming products on three sides.
With the aforementioned cutter, the force flow is comparably unfavorable and deformations cannot be avoided. The control movements are furthermore complicated and only a comparably light press-down force is possible. Finally, accessibility is limited and lubrication is very involved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a cutter of the aforementioned type, which avoids the previously mentioned disadvantages, but is still operative and can be produced economically.
The above and other objects of the invention are accomplished in accordance with the invention by the provision of a cutter arrangement for automatically trimming flat products, such as leaflets, magazines and books transported along a horizontal path, comprising: a clamping mechanism positioned along the path for clamping the products, respectively, during a trimming operation; a counter-knife fixedly positioned above the horizontal path in a location corresponding to the position of the clamping mechanism and having a cutting edge; and an up and down movable knife coordinated with the clamping mechanism and positioned below the horizontal path beneath the counter-knife, the movable knife having a cutting edge for cooperating with the cutting edge of the counter-knife during an upward movement of the movable knife for trimming a respective one of the flat products clamped by the clamping mechanism.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the cutter arrangement includes at least first and second cutting stations, with each station comprising at least one clamping mechanism, counter-knife and movable knife arranged as above, with one of the first and second cutting stations performs a cutting operation transverse to a direction of movement of the products along the horizontal path and the other of the first and second cutting stations performs a trimming operation transverse to the direction of movement of the products along the horizontal path, and a transport mechanism is provided to transports the products from the first cutting station to the second cutting station.
The object of the invention is thus achieved in that the up and down movable knives are arranged underneath the counter-knives so that they can be moved from below against the counter-knives to perform the trimming operation. That is, in contrast to heretofore state of the art devices, the cutting knives according to the invention are not arranged above the fixedly installed counter-knives, but below them. This results in the following, numerous advantages:
All movable parts can be arranged inside an oil bath, without the danger of dirtying the products through oil dripping down. Consequently, the knife guides can be lubricated optimally with oil, which results in a considerable reduction in wear and tear as well as knife play.
The counter-knives can be pivoted away easily with the aid of a support, thereby making it easier to gain access to the knives for replacement and also reducing the danger of injury.
An adjustment of the counter-knives relative to the cutting knives is much easier than has been possible in that the support is displaced horizontally.
The cutting knives can be removed easily from above, without the danger of sustaining an injury.
Since no cutting forces are transmitted via the frame, a considerably higher clamping force is possible, owing to a more direct force flow with a simultaneously lighter machine frame.
Since a knife yoke, which heretofore has always been arranged above the transport belts, is omitted, a better view of the transport during the cutting operation is possible, which consequently permits a quicker and easier adjustment.
Due to the fixed arrangement of the counter-knives above the product, the thickness of the products does not affect the position or height of the upper belt. The device for adjusting the upper belt height consequently can have a simpler design.
Dangerous compression locations in the region of the end stops as well as the cutting transport can be secured locally, so that it is possible to make an adjustment without an additional protective cover or risk of injury.
Omitting the yoke for the knives furthermore has the advantage that the design height can be reduced, e.g. by 300 mm.
Finally, a much simpler design can be realized for a vacuum duct used to remove the trimmings, making it possible to eliminate the comparably large cover which was previously necessary.
Additional advantageous features will be apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5279196 (1994-01-01), Mohr
patent: 5503051 (1996-04-01), Stauber

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