Patent Grant
8100394
The invention pertains to a method and a device for affixing a marking ribbon to a book or a brochure featuring a book block that is formed by gathering several sheets such as, e.g., folded sections and/or single sheets and thread-sewn and/or perfect-bound in the spine, as well as the marking ribbon fixed within the book block.
A marking ribbon that is solidly affixed to the book or the brochure in the form of a bookmark makes it possible to easily and quickly locate text passages.
In hardcover books, the marking ribbon is thus far inserted into the book block after the trimming of the book block on three sides and fixed on the book block spine with one end while the free end is drawn into the book block offset to the insertion point. Such a method is known, for example, from DE 20 53 648 A and used on self-contained marking ribbon inserting machines in the transport section between the three-knife trimmer and the book production line. In the book production line, the book block spine is subsequently lined with a lining paper that includes headbands affixed to its ends and ultimately cased in a case such that the marking ribbon emerges underneath the headband in the spine on the head side on the finished books. In brochures, the above-described method cannot be used because the book block is already cased in the cover in the perfect binding machine, i.e., prior to the trimming on three sides.
DE 100 45 900 A1 discloses a book with a marking ribbon, in which the marking ribbon is situated in a cavity of the spine, from which it can be pulled by the user, until its initial use. The marking ribbon is affixed by being placed on the book block spine—a step that can be carried out in the book production line together with the lining of the book block. Alternatively, the marking ribbon can be affixed prior to the trimming on three sides, e.g., in the perfect binding machine, such that at least Lay-Flat brochures with a hollow spine between the cover that is glued to the book block sides and the lined book block spine can be equipped with a marking ribbon fixed in the spine. In classic brochures without a hollow spine, this type of affixing the marking ribbon can only be realized if the marking ribbon is accommodated in a sleeve that is subsequently embedded in the brochure spine.
DE 10 2006 003 346 A1 discloses a book or a brochure with a marking ribbon fixed within the book block, wherein the fixing end of the marking ribbon is guided through a hole pierced into the joint of one of the folded sections forming the book block and fixed on this folded section. Until its initial use, the marking ribbon is situated on a certain page within the book block. When it is in use, the marking ribbon emerges from the head cut of the book block. The marking ribbon needs to be introduced into the corresponding folded section prior to the gathering by initially opening the folded section, piercing the hole in the joint near the edge at the head, guiding the marking ribbon through the hole with one end and subsequently fixing the marking ribbon on the folded section with this end.
The integration of these relatively complex production steps into a folding machine as proposed in DE 10 2006 003 346 A1 is complicated and limits the production capacity of the machine. With respect to the broadest possible availability of the marking ribbon introduction in the different production methods, one also needs to consider the diversity of folding devices that are used in dependence on the production type and the number of pages, e.g., knife folders, buckle folders or combination folders in sheet-processing machines or newspaper folders and nip-and-tuck folders in web-fed printing machines. In addition, the introduction of the marking ribbon with a separate machine requires additional operating personnel for the loading and unloading processes, occupies production space due to the intermediate storage of the folded sections and increases the processing time for orders. Another disadvantage of the method can be seen in that the marking ribbon cannot be affixed to an individual sheet.
The present invention is based on the objective of providing a method for affixing a marking ribbon to a book or a brochure that can be universally utilized for different book and brochure production methods and still carried out in a cost-efficient fashion. Another objective is to provide a device with a simple construction for carrying out this method.
The solution is to affix the marking ribbon during the gathering of the book block. The marking ribbon is placed on the top sheet of a thus far gathered partial book block like a supplement. The loosely gathered book block with the marking ribbon positioned in the interior of thereof in a protected fashion is formed by adding additional sheets. The book block with the marking ribbon is subsequently fed to any type of binding machine and ultimately to the three-knife trimmer.
The placement of the marking ribbon can be realized in a particularly simple fashion because the corresponding sheet is freely accessible from above during the gathering process. Consequently, it is no longer required to open a folded section or a book block. Due to the integration into the gathering machine, the separate processing steps required so far are eliminated. The required operating personnel and the required production space are reduced and the processing time for the respective orders can be shortened. Furthermore, it is now possible to equip different book and brochure constructions with a marking ribbon because a book block is always gathered from a plurality of (folded) sheets in the gathering machine in all production methods and product variations. The marking ribbon can also be affixed to any type of sheet in accordance with the invention. The sheet, on which the marking ribbon is placed, may consist of an individual sheet or of a sheet that is folded in any suitable way in folding devices of web-fed printing machines or in different sheet folding machines.
The placement of the marking ribbon can be realized by means of an exchange station of the gathering machine such that any position of the marking ribbon within the book block can be defined. In addition, gathering machines that are realized modularly in this respect can also be retrofitted with this function such that the method can also be subsequently integrated into existing production lines.
Aspects of the invention are described in greater detail below with reference to the drawing, wherein
a shows a brochure 1 equipped with a marking ribbon 2;
b shows the brochure 1 that is opened at a position identified by the marking ribbon;
c shows the brochure 1 that is opened at the position, at which the marking ribbon is affixed in the book block;
a, b show different perspective representations of a book 6 equipped with a marking ribbon 2;
a shows a sheet stack that is gathered into a partial book block 10;
b shows the partial book block 10, on the top sheet of which a marking ribbon is placed;
c shows a sheet stack that is completely gathered into a loose book block 12 and a marking ribbon lying thereon;
d shows a book block 13 that is processed on the spine;
e shows a book block 15 that is bound in the spine and features a cover glued thereon;
f shows the brochure 1 trimmed on three sides, and
The brochure 1 shown in
The marking ribbon 2 serves for identifying text portions by emerging from the foot cut 5d at the corresponding position with its second free end 2b in the closed position of the brochure 1 according to
The first end 2a of the marking ribbon 2 serves as the fixing end and is fixed on any page of the book block 3, preferably a largely central page. In
a and b show a (hardcover) book 6 with a book block 3 that is cased in a case 7, wherein the book 6 is equipped with an inventively affixed marking ribbon 2. The book block 3 may be thread-sewn and/or perfect-bound. In contrast to the classic method for affixing a marking ribbon to a (hardcover) book 6, in which the marking ribbon is fixed on the block spine and emerges underneath the head-band in the spine of the book block, the marking ribbon 2 emerges from the head cut 5c analogous to the brochure 1 in this case. However, the function remains unchanged.
a to f, as well as
During the advance movement in the conveying channel 22, a marking ribbon placement device 31 places a marking ribbon 2 in an L-shaped configuration on the top sheet 8.3 of the partial book block 10 or 10.2 that was deposited immediately prior thereto by a feed station 24.3, namely with a first limb 2c that extends along the head edge 9a of the sheet 8.3 and a second limb 2d that is oriented in the direction of the book block height.
In this case, the marking ribbon 2 is respectively fixed on the sheet 8.3 at the three gluing points 11.1 . . . 3 shown in
Subsequently, additional (folded) sheets 8.4 . . . 6 are supplied. A feed station 24.4 for supplying the next (folded) sheet 8.4 is indicated in
The bound book block 15 is created with the glue application on the spine and, if applicable, on lateral surfaces near the spine (i.e., at the spine), wherein the first end 2a is also permanently glued into the book block spine with at least its terminal edge such that another permanent glue connection in the gluing point 11.3 can be eliminated. The book block 15 is additionally processed into the untrimmed brochure 16 by folding in the (soft) cover 4 in the perfect binding machine as shown in
Alternatively, the loosely gathered book block 12 with the marking ribbon 2 that lies in its interior and is at least temporarily fixed can be fed to a thread sewing machine or another binding process. It is furthermore possible to use the bound book block 15 for a (hardcover) book 6 such that the complicated affixing of the marking ribbon after the trimming on three sides can be eliminated on (hardcover) books.
The introduction of the marking ribbon takes place without the aid of a support element, e.g., in the form of a cardboard strip that would be perceived as disturbing on the finished product, namely the brochure or the book, and on which the marking ribbon would have to be previously wound up.
The L-shaped configuration of the marking ribbon 2 during its placement on the top sheet 8.3 makes it possible to realize a marking ribbon length that is longer than the page diagonal such that the marking ribbon 2 emerges from the foot/front cut corner when the brochure 1 is closed. According to the invention, however, it would also be possible to place the length of marking ribbon on the sheet 8.3 in a different loop shape.
The number of sheets 8.1 . . . 3 gathered prior to affixing the marking ribbon 2 should be chosen largely equal to the number of sheets 8.4 . . . 6 that are subsequently deposited in order to complete the book block 12. Consequently, the marking ribbon 2 is situated approximately in the center of the book block 3 and can be displaced to a front and a rear page of the book block 3 equally well. The marking ribbon placement device 31 realized in the form of an exchange station can be positioned accordingly along the gathering machine 21 for this purpose.
If two or more marking ribbon placement devices 31 are arranged on the gathering machine 21, working ribbons 2 can be affixed at several locations in order to additionally improve the reading comfort, e.g., for reference books and catalogs. In this case, the respectively next marking ribbon can already be placed on the sheet that was deposited on the preceding marking ribbon as the next sheet. Consequently, the maximum number of marking ribbons is equal to the number of gathered sheets 8.1 . . . 6 minus one.
The marking ribbon placement device 31 illustrated in
The marking ribbon 2 is received by a rotating circular transport means 36 at a receiving point 39 that lies above the conveying channel 22, wherein the second end 2b is initially carried along by holding means 37 in the form of suction elements at the circumference and the first end 2a or the first limb 2c is taken hold of by holding means 38 realized with clamping elements. In this case, the aforementioned first limb 2c was transferred from the previously linear configuration into the configuration that is angled by 90° from the circumference of the transporter.
The rotational movement of the transport means 36 moves the marking ribbon 2 to the delivery point 40. The marking ribbon 2 is placed on the partial book block 10.2 advanced by the pushers 23 with a rolling movement of the transport means 36 after it is released from the holding means 37, 38 and fixed on the top (folded) sheet 8.3 by being pressed against this sheet at least in the region of the gluing points 11.1 . . . 3. With respect to an accurately positioned and careful placement of the marking ribbon 2, it is advantageous to transport the (folded) sheet 8.3 on an intermediate plane 25 vertically spaced above the partially gathered sheets as shown in
It should be appreciated that the invention can be incorporated into brochures, books, and similar printed materials with covers, which materials can be referred to collectively as “book products”. Such book products include a book block formed by gathering several sheets such as folded sections and/or single sheets that are thread-sewn and/or perfect-bound in the spine.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2008 047 481 | Sep 2008 | DE | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3813093 | Taupin | May 1974 | A |
| 4872797 | Schniter | Oct 1989 | A |
| 6193228 | Shimao et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
| 6729376 | Kakinuma et al. | May 2004 | B1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 20 53 648 | May 1972 | DE |
| 37 17 970 | Sep 1988 | DE |
| 38 26 719 | Feb 1990 | DE |
| 100 45 900 | Mar 2002 | DE |
| 10 2006 003 346 | Aug 2007 | DE |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20100064497 A1 | Mar 2010 | US |
