The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of German Patent Application No. 10 2011 006 901, filed on Apr. 6, 2011, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for joining book block and book cover, with a conveyor device, which is embodied to lift a book block essentially aligned upright with its spine in front from a lower position into an upper position, an adhesive application station for applying adhesive to the outsides of the book block, wherein the first conveyor device and the adhesive application station are embodied and arranged with respect to one another such that the adhesive application station applies adhesive to the outsides of the book block, while the first conveyor device moves the book block upwards through the adhesive application station, a feeding station, which is embodied to arrange a book cover in a spread out flat form at an angle to the vertical, preferably approximately horizontally, above the adhesive application station and to align it such that the conveyor device moves the book block after leaving the adhesive application station with its spine against the underside of the book cover so that the spine of the book block comes to bear against a center section of the book cover dividing the book cover into two halves, a joining station arranged above the adhesive application station, which is embodied with continued upward movement of the book block by the conveyor device into the upper position to cause an adhesion of the book cover with its two halves on the two sides of the book block and a removal station which is embodied to remove the book block provided with the book cover.
2. Discussion of Background Information
A device of this type can be part of a system for producing photo book blocks or the like, for example. To this end, a material web already previously printed and/or exposed is unwound from a roll, which material web is preferably composed of paper, in particular photo paper or film. Alternatively or additionally the material web unwound from the roll can be printed in a downstream printing station. Printed sheets are subsequently cut off the material web by cross-cutting. The sheets are folded or creased along a fold or crease line, so that the crease line forms a crease edge. In an adhesive application station the creased sheets are provided with adhesive, before they are assembled to form a stack in a stack forming station, in that respectively two adjacent sides of the creased sheets are connected to one another by the adhesive to form a common page. The crease edges of the sheets lying one on top of the other in the stack thereby jointly form the spine of the book block formed from the stack. Subsequently, the book block thus produced is removed from the stack forming station and is transported to a following station for further processing, which contains, among other things the device of the type mentioned at the outset in order to provide the book block with a book cover. The book cover is usually a thicker layer of paper or cardboard.
The joining of book block and book cover is carried out by insertion and adhesion of book block and book cover to one another. This can take place during a vertical conveyor movement in that a book block essentially upright with its spine in front is lifted by the first conveyor device from a lower position into an upper position. Before the actual joining operation the outsides of the book block are provided with adhesive in an adhesive application station, while the book block is moved through the adhesive application station in the upward direction.
Furthermore, the associated book cover is first centered with the back of the book block. This takes place in an alignment station, wherein during this alignment operation the book cover is in a flat spread out form and in an essentially horizontal alignment and is arranged above the adhesive application station. At this stage the book covers are already provided with a centrally arranged pair of crease lines spaced apart from one another, which enclose between them a narrow central section, which forms the book spine of the completed book. With continued vertical conveyor movement, the two halves of the centered book cover are folded in a feeding station against the two outsides of the book block. The two halves of the book cover thus come to bear against the glued outsides of the book block. By pressing the book cover to the book block, an effective adhesion between book cover and book block is achieved.
In DE 196 39 575 A1 a device for joining book block and book cover of the type referenced at the outside is disclosed, in which the conveyor device has so-called saddle sheets, on which respectively one book block is inserted. To this end the book block to be inserted is fed on a guide and removed for the vertical conveyor movement with its spine in front from the saddle sheets. When a saddle sheet is moved into the spine of a book block, this book block is subjected to an upward movement synchronous with the movement of the saddle sheet by guidance into the adhesive application station, where the book block is glued on its outer surfaces. Due to the continued upward movement of the saddle sheet, the book block carried by this saddle sheet with its spine in front travels into the book cover already lying flat ready, which firstly is held down by so-called centering rails. After the shaping of the spine of the book block into the center section of the book cover forming the spine of the subsequent book, the centering rails center the book cover on the book block and hold the book cover and the book block in a desired position aligned to one another until the transfer to pressure rollers, through which a rolling of the book cover onto the glued outer surfaces of the book block and thus an adhesion takes place. The conveyor device of this known device has a continuous conveyor, on which several saddle sheets are suspended and arranged equidistantly from one another. After a book block and a book cover have been joined, the book block provided with the book cover or the book formed by the “pairing” of book block and book cover, is transported by the continuous conveyor over a deflection roller, while it continues to hang on the saddle sheet, and is subsequently stripped off the saddle sheet by an ejection device and placed on a discharge belt.
One problem that occurs frequently relates to cramped space conditions, in which a device of the type mentioned at the outset or a system in which the device of the type mentioned at the outset is a component, is to be installed.
The object of the invention is therefore to propose a device of the type mentioned at the outset with a compact design.
This object is attained with a device for joining book block and book cover, with a first conveyor device, which is embodied to lift a book block aligned essentially upright with its spine in front from a lower position into an upper position, an adhesive application station for applying adhesive to the outsides of the book block, wherein the first conveyor device and the adhesive application station are embodied and arranged with respect to one another such that the adhesive application station applies adhesive to the outsides of the book block, while the first conveyor device moves the book block upwards through the adhesive application station, a feeding station, which is embodied to arrange a book cover in a spread out flat form at an angle to the vertical, preferably approximately horizontally, above the adhesive application station and to align it such that the first conveyor device moves the book block after it leaves the adhesive application station with its spine against the underside of the book cover so that the spine of the book block bears against a center section of the book cover dividing the book cover into two halves, a joining station arranged above the adhesive application station, which is embodied with continued upward movement of the book block by the first conveyor device into the upper position to effect an adhesion of the book cover with its two halves onto the two sides of the book block, and a removal station, which is embodied to remove the book block provided with the book cover, characterized in that the removal station is arranged below the adhesive application station, the first conveyor device further is embodied to subject the book block provided with the book cover after it reaches the feeding station essentially to a reversal of the direction of movement and to lower it to the removal station essentially along the path already used for the upward movement, and the adhesive application station is further embodied to deactivate the dispensing of adhesive during the downward movement of the book block provided with the book cover.
Accordingly, the device according to the invention is embodied such that the downward movement of the book block provided with the book cover takes place as a backward movement, while the upward movement of the book block is a forward movement. Accordingly, the reversal of the direction of movement is to be understood as a change of the forward movement into the backward movement, in that the book block then already provided with the book cover when it reaches its upper position by forward movement in the upward direction is briefly stopped and subsequently moved downwards again in the opposite direction, without thereby essentially changing its alignment. In contrast to the prior art, thus a continuation of the upward movement, a lateral transport away and a continuous conveying do not take place. Because the first conveyor device according to the invention is embodied such that the upward movement and downward movement of the book block take place essentially along the same path and thus essentially at the same place, in a skillful yet structurally simple manner the installation area of the device can be kept small and the structure thereof can be designed in a compact manner.
Preferred embodiments and further developments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.
The first conveyor device is preferably embodied to raise and lower the book block essentially in the same vertical plane between the lower position and the upper position.
To this end expediently the conveyor device has engagement means supported so they can be lifted and lowered between an upper position and a lower position for an engagement with the book block.
The engagement means can be an essentially upright knife that can be inserted into the book block from below, which preferably engages between the two center pages in the center of the book block. The knife preferably lies essentially in the vertical plane along which it is moved preferably in the upward and downward direction.
A preferred further development of the embodiment previously mentioned is characterized in that the first conveyor device has a knife case, which accommodates the knife in its lower position at least in part, and a second conveyor device is provided and embodied to transport the essentially upright book block preferably approximately in the horizontal direction to the knife case, so that the knife case engages in the book block and the book block comes to rest against the knife case, wherein the free edge of the knife case pointing towards the second conveyor device is tilted with respect to the transport direction of the second conveyor device, preferably with respect to the vertical, in order during the movement of the book block to the knife case to engage in the book block and to thus open it a little for the engagement with the knife. Thus the knife case, which is preferably to be embodied in a particularly narrow manner, is used not only to receive the knife in its lower rest position, but also in a structurally particularly skillful and at the same time effective manner as an insertion aid in order to open the book block a little for the subsequent engagement with the knife.
Preferably, the second conveyor device has a table, which is provided to be transferred from an essentially horizontal position into an essentially vertical position, to accommodate a book block in its horizontal position and to transfer the book block onto the knife case in its essentially vertical position and is arranged in a moveable manner in the direction of the knife case. With the aid of a table of this type in a structurally particularly simple and at the same time effective manner the book block can be set upright in order to be aligned with the knife. Preferably, the table can have at least one stop for aligning the book block, wherein the stop preferably defines a machine zero edge, to which the book block, preferably with its spine, is aligned. Additionally or alternatively, the table can also be provided with engagement means for the detachable fixing of the book block.
Preferably, furthermore a preferably strip-shaped support means is provided, which is embodied to receive the lower edge of the upright book in its lower position and is arranged so it can be lifted with respect to the knife in its lower position. With the aid of a support means of this type, which supports the lower edge of the upright book and thus the side thereof lying opposite with respect to the spine, the book block is already unloaded from the knife by slight lifting with respect to the knife, whereby, for example, in the removal station the book block can be removed more easily from the knife. A liftable support means of this type can also be advantageously used when moving the book block onto the previously mentioned knife case during the transition from the second conveyor device into the first conveyor device, in that it acts in a supporting manner to draw the book block without essential friction over the knife case and subsequently to place it thereon. Accordingly, with the aid of a support means of this type that can be lifted temporarily, possibly only slightly, undesirable marks in the interior of the book block can be avoided.
The removal station can have a gripper moveable essentially horizontally, the gripper jaws of which are embodied for engagement on both sides with a section adjacent to the spine of the book block provided with the book cover. In particular when the book cover is provided with a groove along both outsides of an edge section adjacent to the spine, these grooves can be used advantageously for an engagement by the gripper jaws. With the aid of the gripper not only can the book block then already provided with the book cover be grasped in a structurally particularly simple and at the same time effective manner for removal and transport away, but at the same time a further pressing operation on the book block provided with the book cover can be also applied in the region of the spine.
Preferably, the first conveyor device is further embodied to lower the book block provided with the book cover as far as the lower position, and the removal station is embodied not to remove the book block provided with the book cover until the first conveyor device has lowered the book block provided with the book cover into the lower position. Thus with this embodiment the book block provided with the book cover is removed from the device and transported away in its lower position, where its upward movement started.
A further preferred embodiment of the invention in which the adhesive application station has at least two adhesive application rollers spaced apart from one another, between which the book block is moved by the first conveyor device during the upward movement thereof, is characterized in that the arrangement of the adhesive application rollers is determined such that the book block is moved between them by the first conveyor device also during the downward movement thereof and are supported so they can be brought between an operating position, in which they bear against the sides of the book block moving past during its upward movement for the application of adhesive, and a rest position in which they are at a greater distance from one another than in the operating position and thus at a distance from a book block moving past during its downward movement. With such a design of the adhesive application station with adhesive application rollers spaced apart from one another which are supported so they can be brought between an operating position and a rest position, the fact is taken into account in a particularly advantageous manner that according to the invention the downward movement of the book block then already provided with the book cover takes place essentially along the same path as the upward movement of the book block.
Another preferred embodiment in which the joining station has at least two press-on means spaced apart from one another, which can be brought into contacting engagement with both halves of the book cover for pressing the two halves of the book cover on both sides of the book block, is characterized in that the press-on means are supported so they can be lowered and lifted between an upper position and a lower position. With this embodiment, through the press-on operation with the aid of the press-on means, which surround the book block already provided with the book cover from above and, applying pressure to the book cover, move along it downwards, a better adhesion of the book cover to the book block is effected.
In a further development of this embodiment, the press-on means are embodied such that they come to bear against the book block provided with the book cover when the book block is in its upper position.
Expediently, the press-on means are embodied as press-on rollers, in order to roll accordingly on the outsides of the book cover and to thereby exert a corresponding bearing pressure on the book cover.
Preferably, the joining station furthermore has a preferably strip-shaped die, which can be brought to bear against the spine of the book block provided with the book cover. The use of a die of this type supports a correct joining of book block and book cover and acts in a stabilizing manner during this operation as well as thereafter during the continued movement of the book block then provided with the book cover. By bearing against the spine of the book block then provided with the book cover, the die can also develop a stabilizing effect during the push-on operation.
A further preferred embodiment is characterized in that the removal station has a pressing device preferably acting essentially horizontally, which has at least two press jaws and at least two press strips as well as a drive device, which is embodied and equipped so that the press jaws and the press strips, offset in terms of time with one another, can be brought into engagement on both sides with the book and/or out of engagement with the book.
Finally, a further preferred embodiment is characterized in that the feeding station has a conveyor device for the transport of a book cover and a grooving device, which has at least two groove strips, which can be brought into engagement with the outside of a book cover to emboss corresponding grooves, a counter strip, which can be brought to bear against the inside of the book cover, and a drive device at least for the movement of the counter strip.
Other exemplary embodiments and advantages of the present invention may be ascertained by reviewing the present disclosure and the accompanying drawing.
The present invention is further described in the detailed description which follows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way of non-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, in which like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein:
The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the present invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the present invention in more detail than is necessary for the fundamental understanding of the present invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the present invention may be embodied in practice.
The device shown diagrammatically in the figures is used for joining a book block and a book cover. A device of this type, which alternatively can also be referred to as a book insertion device, is part of an installation for producing books, which can be photo books, for example. To this end a material web already previously printed and/or exposed is unwound from a roll, which material web is preferably composed of paper, in particular photo paper, or film. Alternatively or additionally the material web unwound from the roll can be printed in a downstream printing station. Printed sheets are subsequently cut off the material web by cross-cutting. The sheets are creased or folded along a crease line or fold line so that the crease line forms a crease edge. The creased sheets are provided with adhesive in an adhesive application station, before they are assembled to form a stack in a stack forming station, in that respectively two adjacent sides of the creased sheets are connected to one another by the adhesive to form a common page. The crease edges of the sheets in the stack lying one on top of the other thereby jointly form the book spine of the book block formed from the stack. Subsequently, the book block now formed from the finished stack is removed from the stack forming station and transported to the device discussed here for the joining of book block and book cover.
The structure of the device for joining book block and book cover is described below based on
As can be seen in particular from
In the position III shown in
The book block 2 is moved along the bearing edge 6 with its spine 2a bearing there in the transport direction according to arrow A into the position IV shown in
With the movement into the position IV according to
The (upper, according to
In the exemplary embodiment shown, the mounting table 8 is supported on the stand 10 not only in the pivotable manner previously described, but also in a linear moveable manner in the transport direction according to arrow A, so that it can be pushed in the direction of a knife case 12. This pivot movement and this linear movement are generated by a drive, not shown in the figures. In
Fingers, not shown in the figures, push the book block 2 from its position V on the mounting table 8 onto the knife case 12 into a position VI. A comparison of the positions V and VI in
Furthermore, the arrangement and alignment of the mounting table 8 must be determined in its upright position according to
After the arrangement of the book block 2 in its position VI on the knife case 12, the knife 14 leaves its lower position shown in
As
After it has been brought from the delivery position VII into the position VIII by a conveyor device, not shown, the book cover 20 is aligned centrally with respect to two groove strips 22 arranged spaced apart from one another and parallel to one another, which are subsequently pressed into the surface of the book cover 20 in order to form two grooves spaced apart from one another accordingly and running centrally crosswise to the longitudinal extension of the book cover 20. While the groove strips 22 are shown in
As in particular
As in particular
As can be seen in particular from
The back strip 36 is likewise shown in its upper position in
After the book block 2, now already provided with the book cover 20, has reached the upper position X and also the push-on operation described above with the aid of the push-on rollers 30 has ended, a reversal of direction of movement of the knife 14 takes place, which continues to bear the book block 2 or now in the upper position X the book 40 composed of the book block 2 and the book cover 20 lying above it. The reversal of direction of movement means that in the exemplary embodiment shown the knife 14 is lowered along the same vertical conveyor path or the same vertical conveyor plane Z (
With the continued lowering or downward movement, the book 40 reaches the lower position VI and is thereby placed again on the knife case 12, now coming from above, while the knife 14 moves further into the knife case 12, until it reaches the lower position shown in
For the removal of the book 40 from the lower position VI a removal station 50 is provided, which is shown diagrammatically in
To transport away to a station, not shown in the figures, for a further aftertreatment, in the exemplary embodiment shown the book 40 is brought into a horizontal alignment according to position XII. The gripper 50 can be used for this purpose. Alternatively, it is also conceivable however after detaching the gripper 50 from the book 40, to transfer the book 40 to a further conveyor device, not shown, which brings the book 40 into the horizontal position XII and transports it away.
It is noted that the foregoing examples have been provided merely for the purpose of explanation and are in no way to be construed as limiting of the present invention. While the present invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment, it is understood that the words which have been used herein are words of description and illustration, rather than words of limitation. Changes may be made, within the purview of the appended claims, as presently stated and as amended, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention in its aspects. Although the present invention has been described herein with reference to particular means, materials and embodiments, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein; rather, the present invention extends to all functionally equivalent structures, methods and uses, such as are within the scope of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2011 006 901 | Apr 2011 | DE | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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3201810 | Throp | Aug 1965 | A |
5868539 | Rathert | Feb 1999 | A |
6497544 | Schmucker et al. | Dec 2002 | B1 |
20100310339 | Mueller | Dec 2010 | A1 |
20120045294 | Friese | Feb 2012 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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102880 | May 1899 | DE |
19729529 | Mar 1998 | DE |
196 39 575 | Apr 1998 | DE |
19639575 | Apr 1998 | DE |
Entry |
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German Office action in related application, mail date is Oct. 11, 2012 (with partial English-language translation). |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20120308336 A1 | Dec 2012 | US |