JPH0151411B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a signature feeding device for automatically feeding signatures into pockets for a collating machine.

In the binding of various books such as magazines and paperbacks,
A predetermined number of printed pages that are part of a book, i.e., signatures, are stacked in a series of corresponding pockets, and a portion of the signatures are taken out from the bottom edge of each pocket to collect and bind one book. things will be done. Therefore, each pocket must always store an appropriate amount of signatures in an untangled state. If the supply of signatures to the pockets had been done manually, it would require a considerable amount of manual labor, so there has been a demand for automating this work and saving labor. This requires that the stack of signatures be simply placed on a support and sent to the pocket, separated and unraveled into sections along the way, and properly dropped into the pocket and stored in an aligned state. , etc. must be met.

However, in the conventional signature supply device, the signatures lifted by the lifting device are transferred onto the conveyor,
In addition, because the materials were thrown by a pair of pinch rollers installed at the exit end of the conveyor and fell into the pockets, they could not fall straight and were fed in a crooked state, which resulted in the drawback that they were not stacked correctly in the pockets. Ta.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a signature feeder which automatically feeds signatures into the pockets of a collating machine and which allows the signatures to fall straight into the pockets.

The main feature of the present invention is that the signatures lifted by the elevator are sucked one by one by a suction roller and sent to the underside of the conveyor belt, and the conveyor belt suctions the signatures on its underside and conveys them directly above the pocket. The device is then dropped and placed into a pocket.Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, this signature supply device includes an elevator 1 for lifting a stack of signatures, and a temporary support for the stack of signatures lifted by the elevator 1. a supply conveyor 2 whose one end is close to the lower part of the elevator and which supplies the stack of signatures thereto; an unloading device 4 provided between the collating machine pocket 3 and the upper end of the elevator 1; , a device 5 located near the top of the elevator 1 for transferring the signatures lifted by the elevator 1 to the unloading device 4; and a horizontal aligning device 6 having a horizontal aligning plate provided on the side surface of the pocket 3.
It consists of This device has wheels 8a on a base 8 placed on rails 7 to make the whole device movable.
Supported by In the figure, reference numeral 9 denotes a frame plate that serves as a support, on which the elevator 1, the transfer device 5, and a horizontal support plate 10 are installed, and the unloading device 4 is supported on the support plate 10. In addition, a pocket 3 is installed at the end of the support plate 10.

In a preferred form, the elevator 1 includes receiving plates 11 provided at the same height, four receiving plates 11 in the illustrated example, each receiving plate having a chain attached to chain wheels 12 and 13 arranged above and below. 14, etc., and the chain 14 and each receiving plate 11 are connected to a reducer 16 by a motor 15.
Driven through. In this embodiment, the receiving plate 11 is reciprocated up and down by the forward and reverse rotation of the motor. Each receiving plate 11 is pivoted at its base 17, and a roller 18 at one end moves along a guide plate 19, so that each receiving plate cannot rotate clockwise in FIG. 1, but counterclockwise. is designed to be able to rotate. Further, the supply conveyor 2 in this embodiment includes a pair of belt conveyors 21 as shown in FIG.
Each belt conveyor 21 is driven by a motor 22 via a transmission member 23. The supply conveyor 2 serves as a mounting table for stacks of signatures, and the belt conveyor 21 can support a plurality of stacks, and a considerable number of stacks. This supply conveyor 2 is provided with at least one side guide plate 24 . In this case, the plurality of receiving plates 11 are arranged in a comb shape so as to pass outside each belt conveyor 21 and between the belt conveyors.

The transfer device 5 in this signature supply device includes a suction roller 25 , which is rotatably mounted on a support shaft 26 and communicated with a vacuum source 28 through a pipe 27 . Preferably, the support shaft 26 consists of a hollow box, and the suction roller 25 is connected to a vacuum box 28 via the support shaft 26. This suction roller has a series of holes 25a around its periphery, as shown in FIG.
6a and are sequentially evacuated. The suction roller 25 is rotated by a motor 29 installed on a support frame fixed to a support shaft 26. Furthermore, since the signatures are thicker on the binding side (folding side), the stack of signatures is inclined as shown in Figure 5, and the inclination also changes depending on the amount of signatures forming the stack. As it decreases, its slope also weakens. To accommodate this, preferably a support shaft 26 is provided, as clearly shown in FIG.
One end is pivoted, the other end is movable up and down by an adjustment device, and the other end is connected to a universal joint 30.
is connected to the rack 31 via the forward/reverse motor 32.
A pinion rotated by the rack 31 engages with the rack 31 and moves up and down. In this case, a sensing device 32a that senses the lowest signature supported by the elevator 1 and drives the motor 32.
is included. The forward/reverse motor, the rack/pinion, and the sensing device constitute an adjusting device, and the suction roller 25 is adjusted to follow the topmost signature.

Further, this device uses a vacuum box 33 provided between the suction roller 25 and the upper part of the pocket 3 and a conveyor belt 34 circulating around the vacuum box 33 in order to send the signature sent by the suction roller 25 to the pocket 3.
The vacuum box 33 and the conveyor belt 34 constitute the unloading device 4. As seen in FIG. 1, this vacuum box 33 is connected to the vacuum source 28 through a pipe 35, and the interior thereof is evacuated. 6th
As shown in the figure, a table 36 is preferably provided below the conveyor belt 34, that is, between the upper end of the elevator 1 and the pocket 3. Table 3 like this
6 not only prevents the signature from falling, but also prevents the pieces of paper on the bottom of the signature from opening and hanging down, as indicated by A' in FIG. Note that the conveyor belt 34 is connected to rollers 3 disposed at both ends of the vacuum box 33.
7 and 38, and is driven via a transmission member 41 by a motor 40 supported by a column 39 attached to the support plate 10. Reference numeral 42 in FIG. 7 is the attachment portion of the pipe 35 to the vacuum source 28.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the vacuum box 33
Holes 43 are provided in the lower surface in the longitudinal direction, and as shown in the figure, the holes 43 may be provided on both sides at appropriate intervals in the longitudinal direction. It may be in the form of a slit extending in the longitudinal direction. The arrangement and shape of these holes 43 are not particularly limited. The conveyor belt 34 has holes 44 provided at appropriate intervals in the longitudinal direction, and in one example, as shown in FIG. hole 44
is formed. As seen in FIG. 8, these holes 44 are designed to communicate sequentially with the holes 43 of the vacuum box 33 when moving underneath. This conveyor belt 34 may be composed of a plurality of belts depending on the case. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, it may be composed of two belts 34a and 34b. A hole 44 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lateral aligning device 6 includes a lateral aligning plate 45 placed on at least one side of the pocket 3, and the lateral aligning plate 45 reciprocates with a slight amplitude to align the pocket. This is to horizontally align the signatures in 3. FIG. 10 shows an example, in which the horizontal alignment plate 45 is connected to the motor 46.
The other horizontal alignment plate 4 is connected to an arm 48 eccentrically attached to a gear 47 rotated by
5' is connected to an arm 49 eccentrically attached to the gear 47' which meshes with the gear 47'. It is preferable that the vertical plate 50 forming the inner wall of the pocket 3 is adjustable so that it can move forward and backward to some extent, so that changes in the dimensions of the signature can be easily accommodated.

In a preferred embodiment, a shutter device that moves horizontally in a relatively upper part of the pocket 3 is provided, so that falling signatures can be temporarily caught in the middle of the pocket, and when a certain amount remains, they are dropped into the pocket. . Although not shown in the figure, a sensing device such as a limit switch and a control panel are installed at appropriate positions in order to sense the signatures in the pockets and the stack of signatures sent by the supply conveyor 2. is installed.

In operation, when the number of signatures stored in the pocket 3 becomes low, the signature feeder is activated. First, by actuation of the supply conveyor 2, the stack A of signatures thereon is moved towards the elevator 1, and upon reaching the associated sensing device, the elevator 1 is actuated;
When the laminated body A is raised by the receiving plate 11 and the top of the laminated body approaches the suction roller 25, this is detected by the sensing device at that position, and the laminated body is temporarily stopped or the speed is reduced to a very low speed. Then, the suction roller 25 sucks up one section at a time from the topmost signature and transfers it to the carry-out device 4. The receiving plate 11 of the elevator 1 moves at a relatively high speed until it comes into contact with the suction stack and when moving up the stack, and also descends at high speed due to the reverse rotation of the motor 15. If it is in the path of the receiving plate 11, it will hit it and rotate counterclockwise, passing through the stack and reaching underneath it. In addition, at the position of the elevator 1, each signature is installed so that its folded side is on the inside. When a predetermined amount of suction accumulates in the pocket 3, the supply of suction to the pocket is stopped by the action of a limit switch that senses this.

During the transfer from the elevator 1 to the unloading device 4, the inside of the support shaft 26 of the suction roller 25 is in a vacuum state, and the hole 25a of the suction roller rotating around it forms a vacuum inside the support shaft 26, as shown in FIG. Hole 26a
When connected to the hole, a vacuum is created and the signatures are sucked into the hole. The suction roller 25 rotates from the upper end of the elevator 1 toward the unloading device 4, as shown by arrow B (FIG. 1), and its hole 25a rotates while sucking the signatures. Due to the rotation of the suction roller, that hole 25a momentarily communicates with the next hole 25a and the hole 26a of the support shaft, so there is a residual vacuum for a short time.
Therefore, the signatures are weakly attracted. Then, at the next moment, the next hole 25a communicates with the hole 26a of the support shaft,
Another position of the signature is sucked and rotated in the same manner.
In this way, each hole 25a of the suction roller 25 sequentially suctions and rotates the signature, and transfers it to the carry-out device 4. Preferably, if the suction roller 25 and the signature are too far apart during the transfer of the signature, the motor 32
As a result, the suction roller 28 is lowered via the rack 31, and when the signature is raised, the suction roller 25 is also raised.

Furthermore, in the illustrated example, the first suction roller 25 is located at a position close to the carry-out device 4 and sucks the base side of the signature on the receiving plate 11 (the side close to the carry-out device 4); The suction roller 25 may be located at a relatively distant position from the carry-out device 4 and may suck the front end of the signatures. In this case, the signatures sequentially fed by the suction roller 25 may be separated from adjacent ones. Because there is a large amount of overlap, the rotation speed is relatively low.

In the unloading device 4, a conveyor belt 34 circulates around the vacuum box 33, and each hole 4 of the conveyor belt 34
4 communicates with the hole 43 of the vacuum box 33 at the lower position and is evacuated, so that each signature A sequentially fed from the suction roller 25 is as shown in FIG.
It is attracted to the lower surface of the conveyor belt 34 and sent toward the pocket 3. The signatures attracted to the conveyor belt 34 are separated from each other as they are fed there at high speed. The end of the conveyor belt 34 on the exit side is located almost directly above the pocket 3, and at this end and its vicinity, the holes 44 of the conveyor belt lose communication with the vacuum box 33, so the signatures are pushed into the pocket by gravity. 3
It falls from directly above and is sent into pocket 3. The sides of the signatures dropped into the pocket 3 are aligned by a lateral alignment device 6.

Therefore, according to the present invention, by simply placing a stack of signatures on the supply conveyor, the stack of signatures is automatically fed into the pocket of the collating machine, and the signatures are straightly placed into the pocket. Moreover, it can be poured and stored in a stable state.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of the signature feeding device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the same.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the suction roller included in the device shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a side view showing the operating state of the suction roller, and FIG. 6 is a side view of the suction roller and delivery device included in this device. , FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the unloading device, FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 7,
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the carrying out device, and FIG. 10 is a plan view of a horizontal alignment device provided in a pocket for a collating machine. In the figure, 1... elevator, 3... pocket, 6... horizontal alignment device, 25... suction roller, 26... support shaft,
33... Vacuum box, 34... Conveyor belt, 36... Table, 43... Hole in vacuum box, 44... Hole in conveyor belt.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An elevator that raises a stack of signatures, and a suction roller that is located near the upper end of the elevator and sucks the signatures lifted by the elevator and sends them to a conveyor belt described later, and the suction roller One end of the support shaft of the roller is pivotally supported so that it can follow the signatures supported by the elevator, and the other end is vertically adjustable by the power of a motor, and furthermore, the support shaft of the roller is pivoted so that it can follow the signatures supported by the elevator. a sensing device for sensing the upper signature and driving the motor; and a sensing device provided between the suction roller and the pocket for sending the signature sent by the suction roller to a pocket for the collating machine. a vacuum box and a conveyor belt circulating around the vacuum box, the lower surface of the vacuum box is provided with holes along its longitudinal direction, and the conveyor belt is provided with holes at appropriate intervals in the longitudinal direction. A signature supply device having a hole that can communicate with the hole. 2. The signature feeding device according to claim 1, wherein a table is provided below the conveyor belt.