In a typical printed product finishing process, which can include both perfect binding and saddle stitching for example, often times when a fault happens, such as in the gatherer, binder or the trimmer, it typically takes just a few seconds to get the fault cleared and the finishing line back up and running. However, those seconds can add up to minutes which translates into lost efficiency in time and money. During the time the fault is being repaired, the entire finishing process is stopped until the fault is cleared.
The invention relates to using a buffer or multiple buffers in a printed product finishing process.
The invention relates to the use of one or more buffers in a printed product finishing process. With the use of a buffer inline in the finishing process, should there be a fault, other portions of the finishing line continue to run while the fault is being repaired. Therefore, the reduction of efficiency during the fault condition is minimized. The use of one or more buffers in the finishing process enables the process to run more continuously and to run more efficiently.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limited. The use of “including,” “comprising” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. The terms “mounted,” “connected” and “coupled” are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mounting, connecting and coupling. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings, and can include electrical connections or couplings, whether direct or indirect.
To increase the efficiency of the binding process, at least one buffer is used. According to one embodiment of the invention,
The buffer 20, positioned between the binder 14 and the trimmer 16, enables the gatherer 12 and the binder 14 of the binding process to continue running, at least for the time it takes to fill the buffer 20, if the trimmer 16 has a fault and stops running. Conversely, if the gatherer 12 or binder 14 has a fault and ceases operating, the trimmer 16 continues running, at least until the buffer 20 is emptied.
In one embodiment of the invention, the buffer 20 can be modular or portable, meaning that it can be moved from a first location to a second location. For example, such a buffer 20 could be strategically positioned depending on the binding job. If the trimmer 16 were faulting more than the gatherer 12 or binder 14, the buffer 20 would typically be filled to its minimum capacity. Therefore, when the trimmer 16 faulted, the buffer 20 would be able to accept product from the gatherer 12 and binder 14. If the gathering or binder sections 12 and 14 were faulting more than the trimmer 16, the buffer 20 would typically be filled near its maximum capacity. Therefore, when the gatherer 12 or binder 14 faulted, the buffer 20 would be able to continue to deliver product to the trimmer 16.
The invention contemplates other strategic locations for positioning a buffer or buffers. For example, and with reference to
With reference to
To further improve the efficiency of the finishing process, various sections of the binding lines 10 and 100 can operate at different speeds from one another. In one example, the trimmer 16 and the gatherer 12 and/or binder 14 could be run at different speeds. If there are more problematic issues in the trimmer 16, the trimmer 16 would have the ability to run faster than the gatherer 12, thereby keeping the buffer 20 in a near empty state. In this way, when the trimmer 16 faults, the gatherer 12 could continue to run, putting product into the buffer 20. After the trimmer 16 fault is corrected and the buffer 20 had gained product volume, the trimmer 16 would temporarily run faster than the gatherer 12 until the buffer 20 was again near minimum capacity. Conversely, if there were more problematic issues in the gatherer 12, the opposite logic would apply. The gatherer 12 at times would run faster than the trimmer 16, keeping the buffer 20 filled near capacity so the trimmer 16 could run while faults were attended to in the gatherer 12.
The buffer 20 can include a sensor 24 as shown in
Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/466,821, filed Apr. 30, 2003. The contents of Application No. 60/466,821 are hereby incorporated by reference.
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