This application claims the priority of European Patent Application No. 05405603.1, filed on Oct. 25, 2005, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to an apparatus for applying adhesive to the outside surfaces of book blocks to be encased in book casings inside a casing-in machine. Such an apparatus includes an adhesive application device with two application rollers which are positioned opposite each other in the adhesive-application area, wherein each roller rolls off one outside surface of a book block that is conveyed on a saddle plate of a circulating conveyor. The adhesive application rollers are provided with a recess that forms a shoulder parallel to the rotational axis and is used to apply adhesive to the fold region of a book block. The rotational position of the recess can be adjusted and changed based on the position of a specific fold on a book block conveyed through the adhesive-application area. The speed of the conveyor for the saddle plates and the rotational movement of the application rollers, which cooperate with the latter, are synchronized.
Until the present, a considerable expenditure in equipment was necessary in a casing-in machine for adjusting the adhesive-application rollers relative to the book block. According to European patent document EP 1 072 435 A1, a traction mechanism is provided for an infinitely variable adjustment of the relative position between saddle plate and/or conveyor and the rotational position of the application rollers. Among other things, this type of arrangement has the disadvantage that adhesive can be applied only according to a fixed pattern since the position of the conveyor relative to the adhesive application device cannot be changed.
The present invention takes a different approach by providing an apparatus of the aforementioned type with structural measures for optimizing the orientation of the adhesive-application rollers, relative to the book block that is passing through, thereby resulting in a better quality and higher reliability. Product-dependent variables must be taken into consideration for this, for example, the book block thickness, the shape of the book block spine, and/or the paper quality.
The above and other objects are accomplished according to the invention by the provision of an apparatus for applying adhesive to outside surfaces of book blocks to be encased in casings inside a casing-in machine, each book block including a fold region, wherein in one embodiment of the invention, the apparatus includes: a circulating conveyor including saddle plates on which a respective one of the book blocks is to be conveyed; an adhesive application device including two application rollers arranged opposite each other in an adhesive-application region, thereby allowing each roller to roll off one outside surface of a book block that is conveyed on a saddle plate, the rollers having parallel rotational axes, each roller including a recess that presents a shoulder parallel to the rotational axis of the roller and adapted to apply adhesive to the fold region of a book block, wherein the rollers are mounted so that a rotational position of each roller is adjustable and changeable based on a position of a specific fold of the book block that passes through the adhesive application region, and wherein the conveyor has a movement that is synchronized with the rotational movement of the application rollers; separate drives coupled to the application rollers and the circulating conveyor for an infinitely variable change in the relative position between the saddle plates on the conveyor and the rotational position of the application rollers; and a joint control unit connected to and controlling the separate drives, wherein at least the drive for the application rollers of the adhesive application device comprises a controllable drive element.
Among other things, the invention, renders it unnecessary to have an auxiliary drive, which would require considerable structural expenditure for maintaining the liquid state of the adhesive in case of a production interruption.
An embodiment of the foregoing type also advantageously affects the slippage adjusted between an application roller and a saddle plate, which leads to a uniform coating with adhesive and can also affect the book shape, wherein the slippage can be adjusted or changed easily during the production.
As previously mentioned, several drive components can furthermore be omitted as a result of the invention because the drive for the apparatus according to the present invention is mechanically uncoupled and can be added only by activating it with the aid of a central drive.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will be further understood from the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The conveyor 6 is driven, for example, by a sprocket wheel 9 that is attached to a drive shaft 8. According to
The illustrated embodiment of the adhesive application device 10 according to
To ensure that the desired amount of adhesive is applied, in particular to the fold and/or in the fold region 19 of the book block 3, the application roller 11, 12 is provided with a recess 20 which is deep enough, so that a trailing shoulder 21 as seen in the rotational direction can accommodate the fold 22 on the book block 3. A projection 23 which complements the recess 20 is correspondingly formed onto the metering roller 14, 15 and dips into the recess 20 during the rotation of rollers 11, 14 and 12, 15, provided these are located in the roll-off zone 18. The projection 23 here ensures that while passing through the roll-off zone 18, the amount 17 of adhesive in the roller wedge 16 is retained and the surface of the recess 20 is supplied with the required amount of adhesive to be applied to the fold 22. The recess 20 and the projection 23 extend parallel to the axes for the rollers 11, 14 and 12, 15, perpendicular to the drawing plane and with a uniform profile. This type of application roller 11, 12 and metering roller 14, 15 is known from prior art and is used to illustrate the mode of operation of an adhesive application device 10, as shown with the simplified embodiment in
The rounding of a book block spine influences the shape of the fold and is critical to maintaining the shape of a book back when the book is used. The rounding of a book block can be selected based on its thickness and leads to the creation of a specific fold during the so-called pressing on, wherein the fold is then coated with adhesive by a pair of application rollers. It is therefore of special importance that the application rollers be adapted optimally to different forms of the fold on the book blocks 3 to be encased. The rounding and pressing on is described among other things in further detail in the book “INDUSTRIELLE BUCHBINDER” [Industrial Bookbinders], Liebau/Heinze, Publishing House Beruf+Schule, in Itzehoe, GERMANY, as well as in other relevant literature.
The rotational movement of the application rollers 11, 12 can also be controlled and/or variably controlled on the basis of a book block 3 that is conveyed on the conveyor 6.
The drive element and/or the drive motor 24 for the adhesive application device 10 may be an electric motor controlled by angle of rotation, and may in fact comprise a servomotor.
The electric motor can be a linear motor and can be driven program-controlled on the basis of a cam curve, which may be stored, for example, in computer 40, wherein the cam curve may be changeable.
It will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications, changes and adaptations, and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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05405603 | Oct 2005 | EP | regional |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20070092356 A1 | Apr 2007 | US |