Patent Application
20060022393
Duplex printed sheets are often bound into finished documents, such as booklets, by a paper-handling accessory. Machines perform finishing operations, such as binding, folding, trimming, saddle stapling, and hole drilling. The handling of sheets of paper for booklet making includes additional manipulating operations such as collecting and positioning sheets of paper.
Inverted V-shaped workpieces have been utilized for collecting folded duplex printed sheets in booklet making systems. Generally, the workpiece is fixed or stationary and mechanical solutions are implemented to place the two portions of the folded sheet on opposite sides of the workpiece. In other systems, the workpiece is rotated to place the two portions of the folded sheet on opposite sides of the workpiece. In another system, the workpiece is moved perpendicular to a device upstream in the paper path, e.g., a folding apparatus, from a first position, in which the leading side of the sheet is positioned on a first side of the workpiece, to a second position, during which the trailing edge is dragged over and/or cleared from the upstream device and comes to rest on a second side of the workpiece. The above steps can be repeated until a required number of sheets have been collected.
An exemplary sheet collecting apparatus comprises a fold blade having a fold axis in a first direction, a collecting device for supporting folded sheets of material in a stack arranged for stapling, the collecting device having a first side, a second side and a peak on a sheet-supporting edge, the peak having a peak axis in the first direction, and a translation device, the collecting device mounted to the translation device for translation in the first direction from a first position to a second position, wherein, in the first position, a sheet-collecting portion of the sheet-supporting edge subtends the fold blade, and wherein, in the second position, the sheet-collecting portion of the sheet-supporting edge is clear of the fold blade.
An exemplary sheet collecting apparatus in a sheet-wise booklet making system comprises a fold blade having a fold axis in a first direction; and a collecting device for supporting folded sheets of material in a stack arranged for stapling, the collecting device having a first side, a second side and a peak on a sheet-supporting edge, the peak having a peak axis in the first direction, wherein the fold blade is cantilevered above a sheet-collecting portion of the sheet-supporting edge.
An exemplary method to accumulate sheets on a collecting device on a sheet-wise basis comprises positioning a sheet-collecting portion of a collecting device below a fold blade, the sheet-collecting portion having a peak with a longitudinal peak axis parallel to a fold axis of the fold blade, the peak axis and the fold axis each oriented in a first direction, transferring a sheet to the fold blade, folding the sheet on the fold blade to position a first portion of the sheet on a first side of the collecting device, and translating the collecting device in a translating direction parallel to the first direction such that the translating removes the folded sheet from the fold blade and transfers the folded sheet to the collecting device.
The following detailed description of preferred embodiments can be read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals designate like elements and in which:
An exemplary sheet collecting apparatus is illustrated in
The collecting device 104 has a first side 110, a second side 112, and a peak on a sheet-supporting edge 114. The peak has a peak axis in the first direction. The peak axis is parallel with the longitudinal axis of the peak along the sheet-supporting edge 114. As shown in
The collecting device 104 is mounted to the translation device 108 for translation in the first direction from a first position (I) to a second position (II). In exemplary embodiments, the collecting device 104 translates in the sideways or lateral direction when viewed from a position normal to the first side 110 of the collecting device 104, e.g., when viewed in a direction parallel to the x-axis shown in the
In the first position (I), a sheet-collecting portion 116 of the sheet-supporting edge 114 subtends the fold blade 102, as seen along a second direction. The second direction is substantially perpendicular to the first direction. As shown in
In the second position (II), the sheet-collecting portion 116 of the sheet-supporting edge 114 is clear from the subtended position with respect to the fold blade 102 as seen along the second direction. In an exemplary embodiment, the entire collecting device 104 is clear from the subtended position when the collecting device 104 is in the second position (II).
As used herein with respect to the position relationship between features of the sheet collecting apparatus, substantially perpendicular and substantially parallel means in a relative position in the designated orientation so that the operational characteristics as illustrated in the figures and described in the exemplary embodiments can be preserved, e.g., the paper is positioned over the fold blade with edges on different sides of the collecting device and the folded paper is transferred to the collecting device when the collecting device translates to the side from the subtended position.
Subtend is used herein to mean underlies or extends underneath. For example and with reference to the coordinate axis of
The fold blade 102 can be any suitable fold blade to cooperate with a housing 122 to place a fold in sheet material, e.g., the housing 122 is translatable in a second direction to place a fold in sheet material positioned over the fold blade 102. Non-limiting examples of suitable fold blades and fold housings can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 09/970,748; 09/970,840; 09/971,351 and 10/259,458. The fold blade 102 is cantilevered at a first end 124 of the fold axis to a mounting surface 126. The attachment of the fold blade 102 to the mounting surface 126 can be by any suitable means including, for example, adhesives, welding, bonding, by use of fasteners, e.g., nails, screws, and so forth, or any other suitable attachment means that maintains the cantilevered position of the fold blade under the forces exerted during a folding operation, e.g., by the cooperation of the housing 122 and the fold blade 102 to place folds in the sheets of material 106.
The translation device 108 can be any suitable translation device operable to translate the collecting device 104 from the first position I to the second position II. The translation device 108 shown in the exemplary embodiment includes a rail system with a drive belt, but any suitable translation device can be utilized including, but not limited to, rack and pinion systems, magnetic, electromagnetic, hydraulic, or other suitable forms of imparting motive force to, and/or coupling to, the collecting device to move the collecting device from a first position (I) to a second position (II). For example, and as shown in
The sheet collecting apparatus can also include a first sheet drive assembly 134 and optionally a second sheet drive assembly 136. The first sheet drive assembly 134 includes a first sheet contacting component 138. The first sheet contacting component 138 can be either static, e.g., free rolling, or powered. The first sheet drive assembly 134 is located on the first side 110 of the collecting device 104 and is operable to move between a sheet receiving position (i) and a sheet contacting position (ii). In the sheet receiving position (i) there is a gap 140 between the first side 110 of the collecting device 104 and the first sheet drive assembly 134. The first sheet drive assembly 134 can be operably mounted to allow portions of the folded sheets of material 106, e.g., the first portion 118, to be positioned between the first sheet drive assembly 134 and the collecting device 104.
The first sheet drive assembly 134 can be translatable in common with the collecting device 104. For example, the first sheet drive assembly 134 can be separably mounted from the collecting device 104 to be translated in unison therewith from the first position (I) to the second position (II). In other embodiments, the first sheet drive assembly 134 can be mounted in common with the collecting device 104. For example, as shown in
Similar to the first sheet drive assembly 134, the second sheet drive assembly 136 includes a second sheet contacting component 142. The second sheet drive assembly 136 is located on the second side 112 of the collecting device 104 and is operable to move between a sheet receiving position (i) and a sheet contacting position (ii). In the sheet receiving position (i), there is a gap 144 between the second side 112 of the collecting device 104 and the second sheet drive assembly 136. The second sheet drive assembly 136 can be mounted in any manner operable to translate with the collecting device 104. For example, the second sheet drive assembly 136 can be mounted in a manner consistent with the first sheet drive assembly 134. Alternatively, the second sheet drive assembly 136 can be mounted in a manner different from the first sheet drive assembly 134, but nevertheless consistent to maintain the relative position of the second sheet drive assembly 136 with respect to the second side 112 of the collecting device 104 during translation of the collecting device from the first position (I) to the second position (II). Furthermore, the operation of the second sheet drive assembly 136 can be consistent with the description of the operation of the first sheet drive assembly 134.
Exemplary embodiments of the sheet collecting apparatus 100 optionally include an ejection device 146 for elevating and/or removing the stack of folded sheet material 106 from the collecting device 104. As illustrated in
In exemplary embodiments, the sheet collecting apparatus 100 can optionally comprise a fold blade support 148. An exemplary fold blade support 148 is shown in
The sheet collecting apparatus 100 can be an assembly within a larger sheet-wise booklet making system. An exemplary sheet-wise booklet making system can, for example, comprise the sheet collecting apparatus as described herein and a stapler 150. The stapler 150 in exemplary embodiments is mounted between the first position (I) and the second position (II) such that a sheet-supporting edge 114 of the collecting device 104 is positioned adjacent the stapler 150 as the collecting device 104 translates from the first position (I) to the second position (II). Staplers and stapler heads suitable for inclusion in the exemplary sheet-wise booklet making system are disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,554,267; 6,578,838; and 6,715,749.
In the exemplary method 300, the first portion of the sheet on the first side of the collecting device is positioned between the first side and a first sheet drive assembly. The exemplary method can comprise contacting the first sheet drive assembly against the first portion of the sheet prior to translating the collecting device. Contacting the first sheet drive assembly against the first portion of the sheet assists in pinning the sheet in position on the collecting device while the collecting device translates from the first position (I) to the second position (II) and removes the folded sheet from over the fold blade. Once the collecting device is in the second position (II), the first sheet drive assembly can be operated, e.g., power rotated, freely rotated, moved away from the side of the collecting device, or translated parallel to the side of the collecting device, such that the fold of the folded sheet comes to rest on the peak of the collecting device. Optionally, the method can include a similar operation for a second sheet drive assembly on a second side of the collecting device.
Although preferred embodiments have been described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that additions, deletions, modifications, and substitutions not specifically described may be made without department from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
