Device for longitudinally stitching multipiece printed products

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6223964
  • Patent Number
    6,223,964
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, October 28, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 1, 2001
    23 years ago
Abstract
A rotating stitcher 4 for driving U-shaped wire stitches 43 into printed products 3 being conveyed along a linear path, wherein a stapling closing device 5 cooperates with the stitcher 4, for closing the wire stitches 43. The rotating stitcher 4 has stitching heads 7 which are hinged around a rotating support 6. A control device guarantees that the stitching heads 7 are swung into a position where the direction of displacement E of the stitch plunger 10 is at right angles to the direction of transport A of the products 3 to be stitched. This takes place before or during entry of the stitching head 7 into the stitching area. While the wire stitches are driven in and stitched, the stitching heads 7 are held in this position and thus move linearly in the stitching area. The heads 32 of the stapling closing device 5 are guided in the same way, so that they move linearly during stapling, just like the allocated staple head 7.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to a device for the longitudinal stitching of multipiece printed products.




U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,626 discloses a wire-stitching device of this type in which a rotationally driven rotary stitcher is assigned to a stitching-hook closing arrangement, which is formed by a likewise rotationally driven stitching-hook closing cylinder. The axes of rotation of the stitcher and the stitching-hook closing cylinder are parallel to one another and run at right angles to the conveying direction of the products to be stitched. The rotary stitcher has a cylindrical carrier, in which a guide bush for a displaceable stitching-hook drive-in plunger is arranged, the guide bush running in the radial direction. The guide bush, which is rotatable about its radial longitudinal axis, is held in a fixed position in the radial direction in the carrier.




When the rotating stitching head meets the product advanced along an essentially rectilinear path, the U-shaped stitching hook transported by the stitching head is driven into the product in such a way that first one stitching-hook leg and then the other stitching hook leg penetrates the product and passes through the latter. During the driving-in operation, the position of the stitching-hook legs changes relative to the product. The stitching-hook legs are then bent. To this end, the stitching-hook closing cylinder has two bending elements, of which one is attached to the stitching-hook closing cylinder in a fixed position and the other is attached to the stitching-hook closing cylinder in a rotational manner. The two bending elements, as viewed in the direction of rotation of the stitching-hook closing cylinder, are arranged one behind the other in such a way that the leading bending element comes into effect on the leading leg of the stitching hook and the trailing bending element comes into effect on the trailing leg of the stitching hook.




The object of the present invention, then, is to provide a longitudinal-stitching device of the type mentioned at the beginning which enables the legs of the stitching hooks to be driven at high speed into the products simultaneously and essentially in an approximately right-angled direction relative to the products.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved by the provision of a rotating stitcher which is provided with at least one stitching head for setting wire stitching hooks in the products. Each stitching head includes a pivotally mounted guide which extends essentially radially to the axis of rotation of the stitcher, and a displaceable stitching-hook drive-in plunger is mounted in each guide. A control arrangement is provided for pivoting each pivotally mounted guide during rotation of the stitcher, and each guide together with the guide together with the stitching-hook drive-in plunger, in the stitching region, is held over a certain section in a position in which the displacing direction of the stitching-hook drive-in plunger is approximately at right angles to the conveying direction of the products, which enables the wire stitching hooks to be satisfactorily driven in with both stitching-hook legs simultaneously without the direction of the stitching-hook legs changing relative to the product during the driving-in operation. The closing of the set stitching hooks, i.e. the bending of the two stitching-hook legs, may be effected in a simple manner, since the stitching hooks perform a linear movement during the closing operation.




Two or more stitching heads per stitcher of the type defined above are preferably provided, and these stitching heads in each case interact in the stitching region with linearly moving bending members of the stitching-hook closing arrangement.




Further preferred developments of the longitudinal-stitching device according to the invention are outlined in the following detailed description of the invention.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




Exemplary embodiments of the subject matter of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings, in which, in a purely schematic manner:





FIG. 1

in side view, and





FIG. 2

in front view in the direction of arrow II in

FIG. 1

, show a first embodiment of a longitudinal-stitching device according to the invention,





FIGS. 3-8

show various phases of the stitching-hook closing and setting operation in the device according to

FIGS. 1 and 2

,





FIGS. 9-15

show various arrangements and possible uses of a stitching device or a plurality of stitching devices of the type according to the invention,





FIGS. 16-19

show a stitching arrangement with three longitudinal-stitching devices according to the invention in various working phases,





FIGS. 20-22

show a stitching arrangement with two longitudinal-stitching devices according to the invention in various working phases,





FIG. 23

shows in side view a stitching arrangement having a second embodiment of longitudinal-stitching devices according to the invention,





FIG. 24

shows part of the stitching-hook closing arrangement on an enlarged scale compared with

FIG. 23

, and





FIG. 25

in a representation corresponding to

FIG. 2

, shows a longitudinal-stitching device of the type shown in

FIG. 23

in front view and partly in section.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Shown in

FIGS. 1 and 2

is a collecting section


1


, which has a saddle


2


in a manner known per se. The printed product


3


to be stitched, which consists of a plurality of superimposed folded sheets, rests on the saddle


2


in a straddling manner and is continuously fed forward in the direction of arrow A. The folding edge


3




a


of the printed product


3


therefore runs in the conveying direction A. Available for the stitching of the printed product


3


is a longitudinal-stitching device, which in the exemplary embodiment shown in

FIGS. 1 and 2

has a rotating stitcher


4


as well as a stitching-hook closing arrangement


5


, which is opposite the rotating stitcher


4


relative to the saddle


2


.




The rotating stitcher


4


has a disk-shaped carrier


6


, which is rotationally driven about the axis


6




a


in the direction of arrow B. In this case, the axis of rotation


6




a


of the carrier


6


runs at right angles to the conveying direction A of the printed product


3


. Two stitching heads


7


, whose longitudinal axes are designated by


7




a


, are attached diametrically opposite one another to the carrier


6


. Each stitching head


7


has a housing


8


, in which a stitching-hook guide


9


is arranged, and this stitching-hook guide


9


extends in the stitching-head longitudinal axis


7




a


and is mounted in the housing


8


in such a way that it can be pushed back against the force of springs (not shown) The stitching-hook guide


9


serves as a guide for a stitching-hook drive-in plunger


10


, which carries a control roller


11


on its one free end. For the more detailed construction of the stitching heads


7


, i.e. of the arrangement of the stitching-hook guide


9


and the stitching-hook drive-in plunger


10


in the interior of the housing


8


, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,199.




The housing


8


carries a journal


12


, which is rotatably mounted in the carrier


6


by means of ball bearings


13


FIG.


2


. The longitudinal axis of the journal


12


forms the pivot axis


12




a


for the housing


8


and thus for the stitching head


7


. Firmly connected to the journal


12


is a control lever


14


, which at its other end carries a spindle


15


, on which two control rollers


16


and


17


are rotatably mounted. Serving to control the pivoting movement of the housing


8


is a fixed disk cam


18


(FIG.


2


), which has a running surface


19


for the control rollers


16


and a control groove


20


for the control rollers


17


. The path of the control groove


20


and accordingly of the running surface


19


is indicated by a dash-dotted line in FIG.


1


and is likewise designated by


20


. As

FIG. 2

also shows, the carrier


6


sits on a driven drive shaft


22


, which passes through the disk cam


18


.




The pivot axes


12




a


of the housings


8


, during the rotation of the carrier


6


, move along a circular path, which is designated in

FIG. 1

by D. The control groove


20


has such a path that the stitching heads


7


or their housings


8


extend approximately in the radial direction during the rotation of the carrier


6


and, before or during entry into the stitching region C, are pivoted into a position in which the longitudinal axis


7




a


of the stitching heads


7


runs essentially at right angles to the conveying direction A and thus to the folding edges


3




a


of the printed products


3


. Furthermore, due to the special design of the cam path


20


, a situation is achieved in which the stitching heads


7


in the stitching region C, i.e. when passing through a section designated by


23


in

FIG. 1

, maintain this position, as shown in

FIG. 1

by the stitching-head positions depicted by dash-dotted lines. After leaving the stitching region C, the housings


8


and thus the stitching heads


7


are swung back into the radial position again.




While the stitching heads


7


are passing through the stitching region C, a fixed control link


24


comes into effect on the control rollers


11


of the stitching-hook drive-in plunger


10


, which results in a displacement of the stitching-hook drive-in plunger


10


in its longitudinal direction, which coincides with the longitudinal axis


7




a


of the stitching heads


7


, i.e. in the direction of arrow E. The control link


24


has a section which is designated by


24




a


and runs parallel to the conveying direction A of the printed product


3


.




Opposite the stitching region C, a stitching-wire feed


25


is arranged adjacent to the carrier


6


. The stitching wire


26


is fed forward in the direction of arrow F by feed means (not shown) and fed to a wire cutter


27


. The latter cuts off wire sections


28


from the stitching wire


26


, and these wire sections


28


are received at a wire-transfer point


29


by the stitching heads


7


running past, i.e. by the stitching-hook guides


9


. Arranged downstream of the stitching-wire feed


25


as viewed in the direction of rotation B of the carrier


6


is a fixed wire-bending link


30


, which serves to bend the straight wire section


28


received into U-shaped stitching hooks, which are held in the stitching-hook guides


9


of the stitching heads


7


.




As can be seen in particular from

FIG. 2

, the stitching wire


26


in the exemplary embodiment shown is fed in a direction F, which is at right angles to the feeding direction A of the printed products


3


and thus at right angles to the folding edge


3




a


of the printed products


3


. This means that the stitching-hook guide


9


, during its movement from the wire-transfer point


29


to the stitching region C, must be rotated by 90° about its longitudinal axis, i.e. about the longitudinal axis


7




a


of the stitching heads


7


, so that the stitching hooks can be driven in the direction of the folding edge


3




a


into the printed product


3


. The rotary mechanism for such a rotation of the stitching-hook guides


9


is not shown in

FIGS. 1 and 2

. In this connection, however, reference is made to

FIG. 25

, in which a possible design of such a rotary mechanism is shown.




However, it is also possible to feed the wire sections


28


to the stitching heads


7


in a direction which runs parallel to the conveying direction A of the printed products


3


. In addition, instead of straight wire sections


28


, which then have to be bent into a U-shape, finished stitching hooks which are already U-shaped may be delivered to the stitching heads


7


.




The stitching-hook closing arrangement


5


has two stitching-hook closing heads


32


, which are likewise diametrically opposite one another and whose longitudinal axes


32




a


, just as with the stitching heads


7


, normally run in the radial direction. Each stitching head has two bending elements


33


, which are mounted in an articulated manner and are pivoted from the rest position into the operative position by means of an actuating plunger


34


. The actuating plungers


34


carry a control roller


35


at one end and are guided in a housing


36


so as to be displaceable in the longitudinal direction


32




a


of the stitching-hook closing heads


32


, i.e. in the direction of the arrow I. The housing


36


is fastened to a carrier


37


so as to be pivotable about an axis designated by


36




a


, the carrier


37


being rotationally driven about the axis


37




a


in the direction of arrow G. Attached to each housing


36


is a control lever


38


, which carries a pin


39


at its free end, and this pin


39


engages in a groove


40


(only indicated by a dash-dotted line in

FIG. 1

) by means of a control roller (not shown). This groove


40


is formed on a fixed disk cam


41


(FIG.


2


).




While the pivot axes


36




a


of the stitching-hook closing heads


36


are moved along a circular path of movement H, the control rollers of the pins


39


move along a path which is established by the control groove


40


and has such a shape that the stitching-hook closing heads


32


, before or when running into the stitching region C, are pivoted into a position in which the longitudinal axis


32




a


of the stitching-hook closing heads


32


and thus the displacing direction I of the actuating plungers


34


are at right angles to the conveying direction A of the printed products


3


and thus at right angles to the folding edge


3




a


of the printed products


3


. The stitching-hook closing heads


32


are held in this position in the stitching region C while passing through the section


23


already mentioned. This means that the stitching-hook closing heads


32


, in the same way as the stitching heads


7


, perform a linear movement, which runs parallel to the conveying direction A of the printed products


3


, along the section


23


.




For the displacement of the actuating plunger


34


in the stitching region C, there is a control link


42


, which comes into effect on the control roller


35


of the actuating plunger


34


.




The stitching operation, in so far as it does not already follow from the preceding description, is explained in more detail with reference to

FIGS. 3-8

and to

FIGS. 1 and 2

.




As already mentioned, each stitching head


7


and the associated stitching-hook closing head


32


, before or when running into the stitching region C, are pivoted into a position in which the longitudinal axis


7




a


or


32




a


of the stitching head


7


or the stitching-hook closing head


32


respectively runs approximately at right angles to the conveying direction A and thus to the folding edge


3




a


of the printed product


3


to be stitched. Since the flight path of the stitching-hook guides


9


of the stitching heads


7


intersects the rectilinear path of movement of the folding edge


3




a


of the printed product


3


, i.e. the top edge of the saddle


2


, the stitching-hook guides


9


guiding the U-shaped stitching hooks


43


are pushed back against a resilient restoring force relative to the stitching-hook drive-in plungers


10


, as explained in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,199 already mentioned. The stitching hook


43


guided in the stitching-hook guide


9


extends in the direction of the folding edge


3




a


of the printed product


3


(FIG.


3


). As soon as the control roller


11


of the stitching-hook drive-in plunger


10


starts to run onto the control link


24


, the stitching-hook drive-in plunger


10


is displaced downward in the direction of arrow E, the result of which is that the stitching hook


43


is simultaneously driven with both legs into the printed product


3


in the region of the folding edge


3




a


(FIG.


4


). In

FIG. 5

, the stitching-hook drive-in plunger


10


is shown in its bottom end position, in which it has pushed the stitching hooks


43


completely into the printed product


3


. During the rectilinear drive-in section, designated by


24




a


in

FIGS. 1

,


5


and


6


, of the control link


24


, the stitching-hook drive-in plunger


10


remains in this bottom end position. The actuating plunger


34


of the stitching-hook closing head


32


is at the same time moved upward in the direction of arrow I. The result of this is that the bending elements


33


are pivoted into the operative position and are brought into effect on the stitching-hook legs (FIGS.


5


and


6


). During the simultaneous bending of the stitching-hook legs, the stitching-hook drive-in plunger


10


remains in the abovementioned bottom end position. After completion of the stitching-hook setting and closing operation, the control rollers


11


and


35


of the stitching-hook drive-in plunger


10


and the actuating plunger


34


respectively run off the associated control links


24


and


42


respectively. The stitching-hook drive-in plunger


10


and the actuating plunger


34


are moved back (FIG.


7


). The stitching head


7


and the associated stitching-hook closing head


23


are then swung back into the radial position again. Part of the printed product


3


with the finished stitching hook


43


is shown in FIG.


8


.




The stitching hooks


43


are set and closed in the stitching region C during a linear movement of the stitching hooks


43


along the section


23


. As mentioned, both the stitching head


7


and the stitching-hook closing head


32


interacting with it are controlled in such a way that their movement along the abovementioned section


23


is likewise linear.




Various conveying systems for the printed products


3


to be stitched are shown in

FIGS. 9-11

, there being in each case a longitudinal-stitching device of the type as has been explained with reference to

FIGS. 1 and 2

.




In the embodiment according to

FIG. 9

, the printed products


3


,


3


′ as explained with reference to

FIGS. 1-8

, are conveyed along a collecting section


1


. At a collecting section


1


, the multipiece, folded printed products


3


,


3


′, are produced by placing the folded individual sheets one on top of the other. The end products are therefore put together from inside to outside.




In

FIG. 10

, the printed products


3


,


3


′ to be stitched are moved along an insertion section


45


. This insertion section


45


has a V-shaped passage, which is open at the top and into which the folded individual sheets are placed one inside the other with their folding edge


3




a


underneath. During the insertion, the end product


3


,


3


′ is put together from outside to inside. In the case of the insertion section


45


shown in

FIG. 10

, in contrast to the embodiment according to

FIG. 9

, the rotating stitcher


4


is located below the insertion section


45


.




In the embodiment according to

FIG. 11

, the printed products


3


,


3


′ to be stitched are conveyed resting on a belt conveyor


46


. The end products


3


,


3


′ may consist of folded or unfolded individual leaves or sheets placed one on top of the other. However, it is also conceivable to convey multipiece printed products


3


,


3


′ consisting of folded sheets lying one inside the other on the belt conveyor


46


. In any case, the products


3


,


3


′ to be stitched are transported in such a way that that side edge


3




b


of the printed products


3


,


3


′ along which the stitching hooks


43


are to be set run parallel to the conveying direction A.




In all three

FIGS. 9-11

, the distance between the two stitching hooks


43


of each printed product


3


,


3


′ is designated by a. This distance a corresponds to the distance between the ends of the stitching heads


7


as measured in the circumferential direction of the carrier


6


. In this case, it is assumed that the circumferential velocity of the stitching-head ends and the conveying speed of the printed products


3


,


3


′ are the same. The distance b between the rear stitching hook


43


of the leading product


3


and the front stitching hook


43


of the following printed product


3


′ is designated by b and corresponds to the stitching hook distance a. However, the distance b may also be an integral multiple of the distance a. The distance between successive products


3


and


3


′ is designated by T.




Shown in

FIGS. 12 and 13

are two collecting sections


1


and


1


′ (

FIG. 12

) and respectively two insertion sections


45


,


45


′ (

FIG. 13

) which run parallel to one another. Assigned to each collecting section


1


,


1


′ or insertion section


45


,


45


′ respectively is a longitudinal stitcher, of which only the rotating stitcher


4


,


4


′ is shown. The products


3


are stitched simultaneously on both transport sections


1


,


1


′ and


45


,


45


′ respectively.




Shown in

FIGS. 14 and 15

are a collecting section


1


(

FIG. 14

) and an insertion section


45


(

FIG. 15

) respectively. There are two longitudinal-stitching devices, working in synchronism with one another, of the type shown in

FIGS. 1 and 2

at each conveying section


1


,


45


. The two stitchings for each printed product


3


are effected simultaneously. The distance between the two longitudinal-stitching devices may be set in order to change the distance between the two stitching hooks of each product


3


and in order to permit a changeover to other product formats.




Shown in

FIG. 16

is an embodiment in which not only one longitudinal-stitching device but three longitudinal stitchers


48


,


49


,


50


working in synchronism with one another are arranged along an insertion section


45


as has already been explained with reference to FIG.


10


. Each stitcher


48


,


49


,


50


is constructed as explained with reference to

FIGS. 1 and 2

, although the positions of the rotating stitchers


4


and of the associated stitching-hook closing arrangements


5


are reversed compared with the representation in

FIGS. 1 and 2

.




Three stitching hooks


43


,


43


′ and


43


″ are set at each product, specifically in a consecutive sequence, by means of the three longitudinal stitchers


48


,


49


and


50


. The longitudinal stitcher


48


sets the frontmost stitching hook


43


as viewed in the conveying direction A of the printed products


3


,


3


′,


3


″. The centre stitching hook


43


′ is then set by the stitcher


49


. During the passage through the longitudinal stitcher


50


, the third, rearmost stitching hook


43


″ is set. As mentioned, the setting and closing of the three stitching hooks


43


,


43


′ and


43


″ are effected simultaneously, but in each case at a different product


3


,


3


′ and


3


″ respectively.




A variant of the stitching arrangement according to

FIG. 16

is shown in various working phases in

FIGS. 17-19

.




Unlike the embodiment shown in

FIG. 16

, the three longitudinal stitchers


48


,


49


,


50


in the variant shown in

FIGS. 17-19

do not work in synchronism with one another but with a mutual phase displacement. In the three

FIGS. 17

,


18


and


19


, in each case the setting and closing of the three stitching hooks


43


,


43


′,


43


″ is shown at a printed product


3


″. In the representation of

FIG. 17

, the stitching-hook setting and closing operations at the two leading printed products


3


and


3


′ have already been completed.

FIG. 18

shows that the stitching-hook driving-in operation is starting at the longitudinal stitcher


48


, while the longitudinal stitcher


50


has set the rearmost stitching hook of the product


3


′.

FIG. 19

shows that the longitudinal stitcher


50


is on the point of setting the rearmost stitching hook


43


″ in the product


3


″. The longitudinal stitcher


49


is at the start of the stitching-hook setting operation, while a stitching head


7


and the associated stitching-hook closing head


32


of the longitudinal stitcher


48


run toward the stitching region.




It can easily be seen from

FIGS. 17-19

that the mutual phase position of the stitchers


48


,


49


,


50


may be set in order to take into account various parameters, such as, for example, product format, distance between successive products, stitching-hook distance, distance of the frontmost stitching hook from the leading product margin, etc.




Two longitudinal stitchers


48


and


49


, which, just as described with reference to

FIGS. 17-19

, do not work in synchronism but with a mutual phase displacement, are shown in the case of the stitching arrangements shown in

FIGS. 20-22

. In contrast to the stitching arrangement according to

FIGS. 17-19

, in the embodiment according to

FIGS. 20-22

it is not the frontmost stitching hook but the rear stitching hook


43


which is set first by the first longitudinal stitcher


48


as viewed in the conveying direction A of the printed products


3


.





FIGS. 21 and 22

show how the two longitudinal stitchers


48


and


49


can be reset in order to convert the stitching arrangement to a smaller product format. The mutual phase position of the two stitchers


48


and


49


may be set, for example, in such a way that the distance a, a′ between the two stitching hooks


43


,


43


′ of a printed product


3


is changed. Furthermore, by changing the phase position of the two longitudinal stitchers


48


,


49


, a change in the product distance, which is determined by the distance K, K′ of conveying lugs


51


, can be taken into account.




Shown in

FIGS. 23-25

is another design of a stitching arrangement, which is very similar to the stitching arrangement according to FIG.


16


. In the embodiment according to

FIGS. 23-25

too, the printed products


3


,


3


′,


3


″ to be stitched are moved along an insertion section


45


in the direction of arrow A. However, the longitudinal stitchers


53


,


55


and


55


shown in

FIG. 23

(side view) are of a different construction from the stitchers


48


,


49


,


50


of the embodiment according to

FIG. 16

, which of course correspond in design to the stitcher shown in

FIGS. 1 and 2

.




As seen in

FIG. 25

, which, in a representation comparable with

FIG. 2

partly in section, shows a front view of the stitching arrangement according to

FIG. 23

in the direction of arrow II in

FIG. 23

, the insertion section


45


has a V-shaped conveying channel


52


open at the top. The products


3


,


3


′,


3


″ to be stitched lie on the side walls of this conveying channel


52


. In the exemplary embodiment shown, three longitudinal stitchers


53


,


54


,


55


working in synchronism with one another are provided (FIG.


23


), and these longitudinal stitchers, as explained with reference to

FIG. 16

, set a stitching hook


43


,


43


′,


43


″ one after the other in each printed product


3


,


3


′,


3


″. Each longitudinal stitcher


53


,


54


,


55


consists of a rotating stitcher


56


, which is arranged below the conveying channel


52


, and of a stitching-hook closing arrangement


57


, which is arranged opposite the rotating stitcher


56


above the conveying channel


52


.




As explained with reference to

FIGS. 1 and 2

, each rotating stitcher


56


has two diametrically opposite stitching heads


58


, which are fastened to a carrier


59


, which is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow B. The axis of rotation


59




a


of the carriers


59


runs at right angles to the conveying direction A of the printed products


3


. The construction of the rotating stitchers


56


will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.


25


. The carriers


59


of the three rotating stitchers


56


are driven together by a drive source (not shown in any more detail) via a drive chain or a drive belt


60


.




The stitching-hook closing arrangements


57


, of which a region is shown enlarged in

FIG. 24

, have two opposite stitching-hook closing heads


62


, which are fastened to two chains


63


and


63


′ driven in a revolving manner (see also FIG.


25


). The chains


63


,


63


′ are each run over a drive wheel


64


,


64


′. The drive wheels


64


,


64


′ are driven via drive chains or drive belts


65


by the associated rotating stitcher


56


(see FIG.


23


). The revolving direction of the drive chains


63


,


63


′ is designated by L in FIG.


23


. The chains


63


,


63


′ continue to run over two deflection wheels


66


(


66


′) and


67


, which are arranged next to one another in such a way that the strand


63




a


of the chains


63


,


63


′ which runs between the two deflecting wheels


66


,


67


extends parallel to the conveying direction A of the printed products


3


, as can clearly be seen from

FIGS. 23 and 24

.




As

FIG. 24

shows, each stitching-hook closing head


62


has a housing


71


, in which two bending elements


72


are pivotably mounted, and these bending elements


72


interact with an actuating plunger


73


, which is arranged in the housing


71


so as to be displaceable at right angles to the conveying direction A of the printed products


3


, i.e. in the direction of arrow I. At its end opposite the bending elements


72


, the actuating plunger


73


carries a control roller


74


, which interacts with a control link


75


in the stitching region C shown in FIG.


24


. The control link


75


has a linear section


75




a


which runs parallel to the conveying direction A. With regard to the arrangement and mode of operation of the deflecting elements


72


and the actuating plunger


73


with control roller


74


, the stitching-hook closing heads


62


correspond to the stitching-hook closing heads


32


of the embodiment according to

FIGS. 1 and 2

. The housing


71


of the stitching-hook closing head is connected to a supporting element


76


, which carries rollers


77


and


78


at its ends. These rollers


77


,


78


run on a rectilinear, fixed guide rail


79


, which runs parallel to the strand


63




a


of the chains


63


(


63


′) and thus parallel to the conveying direction A of the printed products


3


. The guide rail


79


, which is only present in the stitching region C, serves as guide and support for the stitching-hook closing heads


62


during the stitching-hook setting and closing operation, which just as explained with reference to

FIGS. 1 and 2

runs along a section


23


(FIG.


24


), along which both the stitching heads


58


and the stitching-hook closing heads


62


perform a linear movement parallel to the conveying direction A of the printed products


3


.




The construction and mode of operation of the rotating stitchers


56


and their stitching heads


58


will now be explained in more detail below with reference to FIG.


25


. The rotating stitchers


56


are partly of the same construction as the rotating stitchers


4


of the embodiment according to

FIGS. 1 and 2

. In

FIG. 25

, therefore, those components which correspond to the components of the rotating stitcher


4


are provided with the same reference numerals as in

FIGS. 1 and 2

. The rotating carrier


59


, on which the stitching heads


58


are pivotably mounted, is driven by a drive shaft


22


, which is in operative connection with the drive chain or the drive belt


60


. The mounting of the stitching heads


58


in the carrier


59


and the arrangement for pivoting the stitching heads


58


about the pivot axis


12




a


are effected exactly in the same way as described with reference to

FIGS. 1 and 2

. Mounted in the interior of the housing


8


of each stitching head


58


is a bush


80


, which is rotatable about the longitudinal axis


58




a


of the associated stitching head


58


. The stitching-hook guide


9


and the stitching-hook drive-in plunger


10


are displaceably mounted in the interior of this rotatable bush


80


, as has already been explained with reference to

FIGS. 1 and 2

.




A rotary mechanism


81


common to both stitching heads


58


is provided in order to rotate the bearing bushes


80


. The rotary mechanism


81


has a disk


83


mounted in a freely rotatable manner on a fixed bearing arrangement


82


. This disk


83


is inclined relative to the axis of rotation


59




a


of the carrier


59


, i.e. the axis of rotation


83




a


of the disk


83


forms an angle α with this axis of rotation


59




a


. Two double-armed levers


84


,


85


diametrically opposite one another are pivotably mounted on the disk


83


. Acting on one lever arm is a tension spring


86


, which is fastened at the other end to the disk


83


. The other lever arm of the levers


84


,


85


is connected in an articulated manner to a lever


87


, which is guided in a longitudinal guide


88


, the longitudinal axis of which extends parallel to the axis of rotation


59




a


. These longitudinal guides


88


are fastened to a disk


89


, which is connected to the stitching-head housings


8


and thus rotates in synchronism along with the stitching heads


58


and the carrier


59


. Firmly connected to the plungers


87


and projecting away from the latter are actuating elements


91


, which are each connected via a lever


92


to the rotatable bearing bush


80


of each stitching head


58


. These levers


92


act on the bearing bushes


80


outside the axis of rotation


58




a


of the latter.




During the rotation of the carrier


59


and thus of the stitching heads


58


, the disk


83


is driven along via the plungers


87


and is rotated about its axis


83




a


. Since the latter is inclined by the angle α relative to the axis of rotation


59




a


of the carrier


59


, the plungers


87


and thus also the actuating elements


91


are moved in a reciprocating manner in the direction of arrow M during this rotary movement of the disk


83


. Via the levers


92


acting eccentrically on the bearing bushes


80


, this linear movement of the actuating elements


91


produces a rotation of the bearing bushes


80


by 90° during the movement of the stitching heads


58


from the stitching-wire transfer point to the stitching region. In the process, the feeding of the stitching wire


26


, the preparation and transfer of wire sections, and the bending of the stitching hooks


43


are effected in the manner described with reference to

FIGS. 1 and 2

.




It follows from the above description of the embodiment according to

FIGS. 23-25

that, just as described with reference to

FIGS. 1-3

, the stitching heads


58


, before or when running into the stitching region C, are pivoted into a position in which the longitudinal axis


58




a


of the stitching heads and thus the displacing direction E of the stitching-hook drive-in plungers


10


are at right angles to the conveying direction A of the printed products


3


. The stitching heads


58


are held in this position while passing through the section designated by


23


. Correspondingly, the stitching-hook closing heads


62


are moved in the stitching region along the abovementioned section


23


likewise parallel to the conveying direction A of the printed products


3


, i.e. the displacing direction I of the actuating plunger


73


is likewise at right angles to the abovementioned conveying direction A.




Therefore the advantages described with reference to

FIGS. 1-3

are also obtained in the embodiment according to

FIGS. 23-25

.




Some of the different possible alternative designs of the longitudinal-stitching device according to the invention are referred to below.




Although the rotating stitcher


4


,


56


, as shown, has two stitching heads


7


,


58


, which are located diametrically opposite one another, it is also possible for only one stitching head or else for more than two stitching heads


7


,


58


to be provided per rotating stitcher. If there are a multiplicity of stitching heads, these stitching heads may be arranged so as to be distributed in the circumferential direction of the carrier


6


,


59


at uniform distances or else even at non-uniform distances.




If there are a plurality of stitching heads per rotating stitcher, it is also possible, depending on the range of use, for individual stitching heads not to be loaded with a wire section.




The preparation of stitching-wire sections and their feed to the revolving stitching heads may also be of a different design from that shown, e.g. in the manner described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,897.




The stitching-hook closing arrangement


5


,


57


may be designed in a different way to that shown. As shown and described, however, a stitching-hook closing head is preferably assigned to each stitching head. However, this stitching-hook closing head may also be only an opposing element without controlled bending elements, and the stitching-hook legs are pressed against said opposing element and are bent in the process. Of course, within the scope of the invention, this opposing element must be moved in the stitching region along with the associated stitching head along a linear path of movement.




Instead of a revolving movement of the stitching-head closing heads or stitching-head closing opposing elements, a reciprocating movement of these components may also be provided.



Claims
  • 1. A device for the longitudinal stitching of multipiece printed products which are conveyed in the direction of a longitudinal edge along a conveying path which is linear in the stitching region, comprising a rotating stitcher, which has a carrier which is rotationally driven about an axis running essentially at right angles to the conveying direction of the products and is provided with at least one stitching head for setting wire stitching hooks in the products in the direction of their longitudinal edge, the one stitching head having a guide which runs essentially in the radial direction relative to the axis of rotation of the carrier and in which a stitching-hook drive-in plunger is displaceably guided, and a stitching-hook closing arrangement assigned to the rotating stitching head and intended for closing the wire stitching hooks, wherein the guide of the one stitching head is attached to the carrier so as to be pivotable about a pivot axis parallel to the axis of rotation of the carrier, and the guide, before or when the one stitching head runs into the stitching region, is pivotable about the pivot axis by means of a control arrangement into a position in which the displacing direction of the stitching-hook driving-in plunger is essentially at right angles to the conveying direction of the products to be stitched and is then held in this position during a section along which the driving-in and closing of the wire stitching hooks take place, and wherein, during the stitching-hook closing operation, a bending member of the stitching-hook closing arrangement interacts with the one stitching head during its linear movement, the bending member running with the stitching head along a linear path of movement.
  • 2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one further stitching head is attached to the carrier at a distance from the one stitching head as viewed in the direction of rotation of the carrier, and this further stitching head likewise has an essentially radially running guide and a stitching-hook driving-in plunger displaceably guided in this guide, the guide of this at least one further stitching head, before or when the latter runs into the stitching region, being likewise pivotable by means of a control arrangement into a position in which the displacing direction of the stitching-hook driving-in plunger is essentially at right angles to the conveying direction of the products to be stitched and then being held in this position during a section along which the driving-in and closing of the wire stitching hooks take place, and, during the stitching-hook closing operation, a bending member of the stitching-hook closing arrangement also interacting with the at least one further stitching head during its linear movement, the bending member running with the at least one further stitching head along a linear path of movement.
  • 3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide of the one stitching head is connected to a journal, which is rotatably mounted in the carrier and is positioned to interact with a fixed cam path via a follower member.
  • 4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one stitching head has a housing, which is pivotably attached to the carrier and in which the stitching-hook guide is guided so as to be displaceable in the direction of a longitudinal axis of the stitching head.
  • 5. The device as claimed in claim 4, wherein a bush rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the stitching head is mounted in the housing, in which bush the stitching-hook guide and the stitching-hook drive-in plunger are arranged so as to rotate with said bush, and wherein a rotary mechanism for rotating the bush by 90° during the rotation of the carrier acts on the bush.
  • 6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stitching-hook guide is guided so as to be displaceable in the direction of a longitudinal axis of the stitching head, and wherein the one stitching head is mounted so as to be rotatable by 90° about said longitudinal axis.
  • 7. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a bending member is assigned to the one stitching head, and the bending member is driven in a revolving manner.
  • 8. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the bending member is pivotably mounted on a second carrier which is rotationally driven about an axis which runs parallel to the axis of rotation of the carrier for the one stitching head, the bending member, while passing through the stitching region and during the interaction with the respectively associated stitching head, being held by means of a control arrangement in a position in which it performs a linear movement.
  • 9. The device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the bending member is fastened to at least one drive element which is driven in a revolving manner and has in the stitching region a section parallel to the conveying direction of the printed products to be stitched, so that the bending member performs a linear movement during the interaction with the respectively associated stitching head.
  • 10. The device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the bending member has two pivotable bending elements, which, in order to close the stitching hooks, can be pivoted from a rest position into an operative position by means of a controlled actuating plunger.
  • 11. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a stitching-wire feed unit is arranged in a stationary position on the revolving path of the one stitching head and so as to deliver a wire section to the one stitching head running past at a wire-transfer point.
  • 12. The device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the stitching-wire feed unit delivers straight wire sections, and wherein a fixed wire-bending link is arranged downstream of the wire-transfer point as viewed in the direction of rotation of the carrier, by means of which wire-bending link the straight wire sections are bent into U-shaped wire stitching hooks when the stitching heads run past.
  • 13. An apparatus comprising two or more of said longitudinal stitching devices as defined in claim 15, of which each comprises a rotating stitcher and an associated stitching-hook closing arrangement arranged one behind the other as viewed in the conveying direction of the printed products, the stitchers being longitudinally positioned for driving in and closing wire stitching hooks in a synchronous manner or with a phase displacement.
  • 14. The device as claimed in claim 13, wherein each of the longitudinal stitching devices in each case attaches only one wire stitching hook to a certain printed product to be stitched repeatedly.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
1068/97 May 1997 CH
PCT Information
Filing Document Filing Date Country Kind 102e Date 371c Date
PCT/CH98/00115 WO 00 10/28/1999 10/28/1999
Publishing Document Publishing Date Country Kind
WO98/50240 11/12/1998 WO A
US Referenced Citations (11)
Number Name Date Kind
3762622 Noren Oct 1973
4204626 Kutzner et al. May 1980
4315588 Faltin Feb 1982
4792077 Faltin Dec 1988
5172897 Hansch et al. Dec 1992
5174557 Meier Dec 1992
5342032 Meier Aug 1994
5356125 Hansch et al. Oct 1994
5464199 Stauber Nov 1995
5590828 Stauber Jan 1997
5772195 Mueller Jun 1998
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number Date Country
27 55 209 Jun 1979 DE
0 399 317 A1 Nov 1990 EP
0 606 555 A1 Jul 1994 EP
0 691 215 A1 Jan 1996 EP