The present invention relates to a trimmer for trimming a bound material.
A conventional trimmer is described in, for example, Patent Document 1. The trimmer comprises: a single trim cutter reciprocated in a vertical direction and between a non-trimming position and a trimming position; and a table for positioning the bound material placed thereon. In this conventional trimmer, an operator puts the bound material on the table and positions it properly, and then moves the trim cutter from the non-trimming position to the trimming position so as to cut an edge portion of the bound material. The operator rotates and positions the bound material at each of top, bottom, and fore-edge trimming positions, sequentially. The operator reciprocates the trim cutter at each of the positions so as to cut each of the top, bottom and fore-edge portions. Thus, each of the edge portions of the bound material is trimmed.
The other conventional trimmer described in, for example, Patent Document 2 is a three-side trimmer. The three-side trimmer comprises: a single trim cutter reciprocated in a vertical direction between a non-trimming position and a trimming position; a table for positioning a bound material placed thereon; and a rotate mechanism for rotating the table. A feeding mechanism supplies the bound material on the table, and the table with the bound material is rotated so as to position the bound material at each of top, bottom and fore-edge trimming positions by the rotate mechanism. Then, the trim cutter reciprocates at each of the positions to cut the top, bottom, and fore-edge portions.
By the way, as shown in
The other conventional trimmer is described in, for example, Patent Document 3. The trimmer is called as a fore-edge trimmer, which can trim the fore-edge portion of the bound material except the cover in order not to cut the flap portions off. The trimmer comprises a trimming portion that trims the bound material, and a cover opening portion that opens the cover. The bound material is conveyed to the trimming portion through the cover opening portion, so that the cover can be open and the fore-edge portion except the cover can be cut off. However, the cover opening portion comprises complex different parts. As a result, the above conventional trimmer is not excellent in productivity and cost.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a trimmer that can trim the fore-edge portion of the bound material except the cover and that can be excellent in productivity and cost.
In order to achieve the object, the present application provides a trimmer for trimming an edge portion of a bound material.
The trimmer that trims a bound material which has a book block and a cover attached to the book block, the cover having flap portions adjacent to the fore-edge portion of the bound material, the trimmer comprising:
According to a preferred embodiment of the present application, wherein each of the guide portions is attached to each of the base portion and the pressure portion.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present application, wherein each of the guide portions is inclined relative to face and reverse surfaces of the book block, and the guide portions are widened toward the trim cutter.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present application, wherein,
According to a preferred embodiment of the present application, the trimmer further comprising a spring portion mounted between the guide portion and the pressure portion, wherein
According to a preferred embodiment of the present application, the trimmer further comprising:
According to a preferred embodiment of the present application, the trimmer further comprising a fore-edge trimming portion that trims the fore-edge portion of the bound material, wherein
The trimmer according to the present application can trim the fore-edge portion of the bound material except the cover and that can be excellent in productivity and cost.
A trimmer according to the present application will be explained below with reference to the drawings.
Referring to
The bound material 1 comprises a book block 51, and a cover 50 attached to the book block 51. The bound material 1 has a top edge portion 1a, a bottom edge portion 1b, a fore-edge portion 1c and a back portion 1d. The cover 50 comprises flap portions 50a adjacent to the fore-edge portion 1c of the bound material 1. For example, a brief summary of a content of the bound material, an author's background description or things like that is described on the flap portions 50a at the side of the book block 51. In the embodiment, the cover 50 comprises a pair of flap portions 50a. However, the cover 50 may comprise only one of the flap portions 50a.
Referring to
The trimmer comprises: a bound material feeding unit 2 for feeding a bound material 1 one by one; a table unit 3 receiving the bound material 1 from the bound material feeding unit 2 thereon at a predetermined position and rotatable with the bound material 1 at every predetermined angle in such a manner that the bound material 1 is positioned at each of top, front and bottom edge trimming positions; and a trim unit 4 arranged for movement in directions toward and away from the table unit 3. The trim unit 4 is configured to be moved between a trimming position and a stand-by position. The trimming position is adjacent to the table unit 3 for trimming a top edge area 1a, a bottom edge area 1b and a fore-edge area 1c of the bound material 1, respectively. The stand-by position is away from the table unit 3.
The bound material feeding unit 2 has a bound material loading table 24 on which a stack of the bound materials 1 is placed. A path 25 for transporting the bound material 1 extends between the table unit 3 and the bound material loading table 24. A discharge end of the path 25 is adjacent to the table unit 3, while a side section of a supply end thereof is adjacent to the bound material loading table 24.
The bound material feeding unit 2 also has a bound material feeding mechanism that feeds the bound material 1 from the bound material loading table 24 toward the path 25, one by one. The bound material feeding mechanism has a pair of endless belts 39 extending across and perpendicularly to the path 25 from both sides of the bound material loading table 24, and rollers 40a and 40b between which the endless belts 39 are extended. A support bar 44 having substantially a reverse U-shape is fixed to the pair of the endless belts 39. A plurality of suction heads 43 is mounted on the support bar 44 and faces downward. Suction heads 43 are spaced in a length direction of the support bar 44. In this way, the line of the suction heads 43 reciprocates between the bound material loading table 24 and the path 25 in a direction perpendicular to the path 25 by a drive of a motor 41.
The bound material feeding unit 2 also has a bound material transporting mechanism which transports the bound material 1 received from the bound material feeding mechanism on the path 25 toward the table unit 3 along the path 25. The bound material transporting mechanism has an endless belt 45 extending along and above the path 25 and rotatably supported by a frame 38. The endless belt 45 is rotatably driven by a motor 46 mounted to the frame 38. A chuck 47 is hung with the endless belt 45 and reciprocates between the bound material loading table 24 and the table 10 on the path 25 by the drive of the motor 46.
As described above, the bound material 1 placed on the bound material loading table 24 is absorbed one by one by the line of the suction heads 43, and then, it is fed in the direction perpendicular to the transporting direction of the bound material 1 to the path 25 in which its back 1d faces forward. The absorption by the line of the suction heads 43 is released, then the bound material 1 is gripped by the chuck 47 at this position. At this time, the face 33 of the chuck 47 comes in contact with the bottom edge 1b of the bound material 1. Then, the bound material 1 is transferred to the chuck 47. Thereafter, the chuck 47 moves toward the table unit 3 on the path 25, and when the top edge 1a of the bound material 1 comes in contact with the second upright plate 32, it stops. Thus, the bound material 1 is positioned on the table 10 in the top-to-bottom direction.
The table unit 3 has a base 9 and a rectangular table 10 which is provided with the top surface for supporting a bottom surface of a section of the bound material 1 except for the top edge portion 1a, the bottom edge portion 1b and the fore-edge portion 1c thereon. The table unit 3 also has positioning means for positioning the bound material 1 on the top surface of the table 10.
In this embodiment, the positioning means has a first upright plate 30 arranged on one side edge of the table 10, wherein a back 1d of the bound material 1 comes in contact with the upright plate 30. The first upright plate 30 is coupled to a slide driving mechanism (not shown) attached to the bottom surface of the table 10. Further, the positioning means has a second upright plate 32 to which the top edge 1a of the bound material 1 can contact. The second upright plate 32 is mounted on a feed screw 35 that is rotatably driven by a motor 34 supported by the base 9. In this way, the first and second upright plates 30 and 32 move in directions toward and away from the table 10 and they stop at a predetermined position corresponding to both a size and a receive position of the bound material 1 fed from the bound material feeding unit 2 (see
The positioning means is further provided with a third upright plate 31 arranged opposite to the first upright plate 30 with the table 10 therebetween, so that the fore-edge 1c of the bound material 1 comes in contact with the third upright plate 31. The third upright plate 31 is mounted on a feed screw 37 which is rotatably driven by a motor 36 supported by the base 9, like the second upright plate 32, so that it moves in directions toward and away from the table 10. When the bound material 1 is placed on the table 10, the third upright plate 31 moves in a direction toward the bound material 1 until the back 1d of the bound material 1 comes in contact with the first upright plate 30 and the third upright plate 31 comes in contact with the fore-edge 1c. This achieves the positioning of the bound material 1 placed on the table 10 in the back-to-front direction (see
The face 33 of the chuck 47 of the bound material feeding unit 2 that comes in contact with the bottom edge 1b of the bound material 1 also functions as a part of the positioning means. It performs the positioning of the bound material 1 in the top-to-bottom direction along with the second upright plate 32 (see
A vertical shaft 12 is mounted on the bottom surface of the table 10, and the shaft 12 is held so as to be rotatable by a bearing 13 attached to the base 9. A motor 14 is coupled to the shaft 12, whereby the table 10 is rotatably driven by the motor 14.
A pressure plate 15 is arranged opposite to the shaft 12 above the table 10 for upwardly and downwardly movement between two positions of a stand-by position at which it is spaced from the bound material 1, and a pressure position at which it presses the bound material 1 against the table 10. The pressure plate 15 is attached to a piston-cylinder device 16 supported by the base 9 such that it can rotate at the pressure position along with the table 10 and the bound material 1. It is reciprocated between the stand-by position and the pressure position by the drive of the piston-cylinder device 16.
After the bound material 1 is positioned by the positioning means 30, 31, 32 and 33, the pressure plate 15 moves to the pressure position so as to fix the bound material 1 to the table 10. After the pressure plate 15 is disposed on the pressure position, the third upright plate 31, the second upright plate 32 and the chuck 47 (the face 33) of the positioning means are separated from the bound material 1 in order not to obstruct the rotational movement of the bound material 1.
The trim unit 4 has a frame 17. A base portion 18 is attached to the frame 17. When the trim unit 4 is disposed on the trimming position, the base portion 18 supports the bottom surface of the top edge portion 1a, the bottom edge portion 1b or the fore-edge portion 1c of the bound material 1 placed on the table 10 of the table unit 3.
A trim cutter 20 is arranged opposite to the blade receiving portion 19 above the base portion 18 for upwardly and downwardly movement. The trim cutter 20 takes two positions of a non-trimming position, at which it is spaced from the blade receiving plate 19, and a trimming position, at which it is pushed against the blade receiving portion 19 at its edge. A trim cutter driving mechanism 21 is attached to the frame 17 for reciprocating the trim cutter 20 between the trimming position and the non-trimming position.
The trim unit 4 comprises the blade receiving portion 19 for receiving the trim cutter 20. The blade receiving portion 19 is fixed to the upper surface of the base portion 18. The blade receiving portion 19 is, for example, made of a rubber material.
A pressure portion 22 is arranged above the base portion 18 for movement upwardly and downwardly between two positions of a non-pressing position where it is spaced from the bound material 1, and a pressing position where the bound material 1 is pressed against the base portion 18. The pressure portion 22 is reciprocated between the non-pressing position and the pressing position by a pressure portion driving mechanism 23. The pressure portion 22 is disposed on the pressing position when the trim cutter 20 moves from the non-trimming position to the trimming position, while the pressure portion 22 is disposed on the non-pressing position when the trim cutter 20 moves from the trimming position to the non-trimming position.
Two feed screws 5 are arranged horizontally between the table unit 3 and the trim unit 4, and they 5 are spaced from each other. The feed screws 5 are rotatably mounted to a support portion (not shown) fixed to another frame (main frame) 38. The frame 17 of the trim unit 4 is engaged with the feed screws 5. The feed screws 5 are coupled to a driving shaft of a motor 6 mounted on the frame 38, whereby the feed screws 5 are rotatably driven by the motor 6. A driving mechanism 56 is composed of the feed screws 5 and the motor 6. The driving mechanism 56 causes the trim unit 4 to move between the trimming position and the stand-by position along the axis direction of the feed screws 5.
There is provided a control unit 7 for controlling the operations of the table unit 3, the trim unit 4, the driving mechanism 56 (the motor 6), the slide driving mechanism and so on. The control unit 7 controls them in such a manner that the trim unit 4 moves from the stand-by position to the trimming position every time the bound material 1 is arranged at each of the top edge trimming position, the fore-edge trimming position and the bottom edge trimming position, to cut each of the top edge portion 1a, the fore-edge portion 1c and the bottom edge portion 1b of the bound material 1, respectively. A touch screen 70 is further connected to the control unit 7, so that an operator can set up the table unit 3, the trim unit 4 and the driving mechanism 56 (the motor 6) via the touch screen 70.
Referring to
The trimmer comprises an upper guide portion 60 attached to the pressure portion 22, and a lower guide portion 61 attached to the base portion 18. Each of the guide portions 60, 61 is inserted between the book block 51 and the cover 50 so as to peel the flap portions 50a together with the cover 50 up. The peel up process will be explained below.
As shown in
As shown in
The upper guide portion 60 is connected with the pressure portion 22 via the spring portion 62. As a result, the spring portion 62 is configured to have the upper guide portion 60 movable with respect to the pressure portion 22. This point will be explained below.
Referring to
At first, as shown in
Next, as shown in
Next, as shown in
The peeling up position is disposed between the non-pressing position and the pressing position. The peeling up position is decided on the basis of the thickness T of the book block 51. The one end portion 61a of the lower guide portion 61 is positioned so as to be aligned with a contact surface 18a of the base portion 18. The one end portion 60a of the upper guide portion 60 is positioned closer to the bound material 1 than a contact surface 22a of the pressure portion 22 when the pressure portion 22 together with the upper guide portion 60 is disposed on the peeling up position.
The book block 51 is projected from the cover 50 at the fore-edge portion 1c of the bound material 1. The one end portion 61a of the lower guide portion 61 is contacted with the projecting portion 51a of the book block 51 when the pressure portion 22 together with the upper guide portion 60 are disposed on the non-pressing position. Then, the one end portion 60a of the upper guide portion 60 is contacted with the projecting portion 51a of the book block 51 when the pressure portion 22 together with the upper guide portion 60 are disposed on the peeling up position.
The peeling up position may be decided on the basis of the previously measured value of the thickness T of the book block 51. The peeling up position is decided in a way that a sensor (not shown) connected with the upper guide portion 60 senses that the one end portion 60a of the upper guide portion 60 is contacted with the projecting portion 51a of the book block 51. The spring portion 62 can absorb an error of the peeling up position of the upper guide portion 60.
Then, as shown in
Then, as shown in
As described above, preferred embodiments of the present invention are explained. However, constructions of the present invention are not limited to the embodiments. The constructions of the present invention may be changed and modified as follows.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2019-181271 | Oct 2019 | JP | national |
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Entry |
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Extended European Search Report for corresponding EP Application No. 20198873.0 dated Feb. 26, 2021. |
Office Action for corresponding CN Application No. 202011036907.5 dated Mar. 16, 2023, with partial English language translation. |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20210094337 A1 | Apr 2021 | US |