Signature machines

Signature machine for printing an inside page of a signature as it moves through the machine from a signature supply source to the signature gatherer, made possible by positioning an ink jet printer in a raceway between the supply source and the gatherer. After being printed the signature is folded to bring the inside pages into juxtaposition before being delivered to the gatherer. There may be two supply sources for different signatures, feeding different signatures to be printed differently before being folded one after another.

INTRODUCTION 
This invention relates to signature machines in which signatures (folded 
sheets) are collected one atop another on a gatherer to complete a book. 
The book may be stitch bound or it may be a perfect bound book. More 
particularly, the invention is concerned with printing the inside pages of 
the signature as it moves through the machine and to the best of my 
knowledge this has never been accomplished before. 
BACKGROUND 
It has long been a matter of state of the art to complete a book (magazine) 
with signatures in a demographic order, that is, signatures in the form of 
advertisements, return mailing cards and so on oriented to reader 
interest. The demographics may be geographical, professional, consumer 
interest and so on. 
The signatures are supplied from hoppers or so-called pockets. The cover 
indeed is the last signature. It is also state of the art to add the name 
and address of the subscriber to the front of the cover with an ink jet 
printer. To facilitate mailing, the magazines are usually sequenced in 
terms of zip code and feeding the signatures demographically has also been 
programed under the state of the art. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The demographic signatures are fed from pocket feeders just like the 
regular text pages for the magazine contents. The demographic signatures 
usually involve return mailing. The reader removes the insert along a tear 
line, adds his name and address to the places provided (on the inside page 
of the signature) and mails the insert. The name and address of the 
addressee are on the outside of the signature, having been previously 
printed. 
It would be extremely advantageous to be able to print the name and address 
of the subscriber on the inside of the demographic signature and/or any 
timely offers, bonuses, service information and so on. Indeed this has 
been recognized as a need but no solution has been forthcoming. 
It is the primary object of the present invention to make possible economic 
printing of the inside pages of a signature in the course of feeding the 
signature from the pocket to the gatherer and to do this by placing the 
signatures in an unfolded state in the pocket, feeding each unfolded 
signature to a raceway or conveyor where a jet printer is positioned to 
print the inside page; afterwards the signature is folded (with the added 
printing on the inside) and then advanced to the gatherer. This solution 
also has economic advantages of considerable magnitude as will be 
explained, to say nothing of being able to add printing to a signature at 
the same time the magazine or book is being compiled.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
A book 10, FIG. 5, as termed herein is a collection of folded page-sized 
signatures 12, secured at the backbone B. The book 10 is stitch-bound, 
having a stitched (stapled) V-shaped backbone, but it could also be a 
perfect bound book (not shown) with a square back. 
The book 10 has been opened to expose a smaller folded signature 20, which 
is a return mailing card having a pre-printed text (TEXT) like the 
ordinary pages of the magazine. Under the present invention, the signature 
20 is additionally printed on an inside page as it moves through the 
machine 30, FIG. 2, with a name and address shown in FIG. 5 as "Jones 
Chicago" on one inside page and "Jones Chicago" on the second inside page. 
A stack of the signatures with this preprinted text (e.g. BONUS TEXT, 
ADVISORY TEXT) is shown in FIG. 6. These are signatures 20'. The name and 
address have not yet been added, nor have the signatures 20' been folded 
along their fold lines 22. 
The entirety of a signature machine for compiling books as 10 is shown 
diagrammatically in FIG. 2. Individual signatures are fed by gathering 
feeders GR to a saddle-type gathering chain SG, being gathered one atop 
another. When the book has been completed, it is calipered at 32 to ensure 
all the pages are present, and if so advanced by the gathering chain to a 
stitcher 34 where the backbone is stitched. After stitching the book is 
trimmed at 36 and next advanced to the mailer 38 where the name and 
address are applied. It is not necessary to an understanding of this 
invention to describe the events when a bad book is calipered. 
The form of each gathering feeder GR is shown in more detail in FIG. 1. 
There is a rotating extracting cylinder 40 with a pair of grippers 42 
which in timed sequence clamp the folded backbones of successive 
signatures as 20 fed thereto. In the present instance, the signatures for 
the particular gathering feeder shown in FIG. 1 are assumed to be like the 
signature 20 after being printed and folded in accordance with the present 
invention. 
To the best of my knowledge it has not been possible to add additional 
printing on the inside pages of a signature moving through a signature 
machine, such as adding a name and address to the inside pages of the 
signature 20', FIG. 6, which is to become a signature 20 bound inside the 
book 10, FIG. 5. The need for this has been recognized and in accordance 
with the present invention adding additional printing matter to a 
signature being advanced to the gathering chain (or equivalent for a 
perfect bound book) is made possible by interposing an ink jet printer in 
a raceway between the gathering feeder and pocket feeder and subsequently 
folding the signature after the additional printed matter has been added. 
The pocket feeder is the feeder assembly 50, FIG. 1, where the unfolded 
signatures 20' are stacked and fed one by one to the raceway, as will now 
be described with reference to FIGS. 1-4. 
Referring then to FIG. 1, the pocket feeder includes a hopper or supply 
magazine 52 in which the unfolded, text-printed signatures as 20' are 
stacked, with the text parallel to the axis of travel of a forward moving 
raceway represented by a conveyor comprising a pair of spaced endless 
conveyor chains 54 and 56. The conveyor has pins 60, a pin on each chain 
in accurate lateral alignment. 
The chains are driven synchronously by a pair of driven sprockets 62 
(driving means not shown) and are reversed at the opposite or upstream end 
by idler sprockets as 64. 
The supply magazine 52 is positioned above the raceway with the signature 
fold line 22, FIG. 6, transverse to the path of the raceway. The 
signatures are indentical in geometry and all have the same pre-printed 
text. 
An extracting cylinder, typically a pair of discs 68 and 70 at the front of 
the hopper 52, are on a common shaft, rotating clockwise. The extracting 
cylinder is like the cylinder 40 in that the discs have pairs of 
extracting grippers (not shown) which clamp the forward leading edge of 
the lowermost signature in the supply magazine 52. The leading edge is 
pulled downward and a bit forward by sucker fingers (not shown) so the 
leading edge of the signature to be extracted may be clamped by the 
grippers on the extracting cylinder 68-70. The signature 20 extracted 
follows the arcuate path of the extracting cylinder (being thereby 
inverted) and is dropped into the raceway upon opening the extracting 
grippers. The timing is such that the extracted signatures fall into the 
raceway one following another, the trailing edge of each being picked up 
and moved in a forward, downstream direction by the feeder pins 60. 
A pocket feeder assembly 50, constructed and operated in the manner just 
described is not new. 
As shown in FIG. 1, the signatures in the raceway have pre-printed matter 
(reading left to right, as usual, and identified as TEXT) parallel to the 
path of travel, this is, tranverse to the fold line 22 of each signature 
20'. 
To print the signatures with additional text while in the raceway, an ink 
jet printer 75 is interposed in the runway downstream of the extracting 
cylinder 68-70. The printer is of known construction in position to add a 
name and address in the empty spaces on the upper face of the signature, 
the empty spaces being indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 6. 
The ink jet printer is preferably the one sold by KODAK (Diconix) or the 
one sold by Video Jet Division of AB Dick. Others can be used. Typically, 
the ink jet printer is an assembly of many tiny capillary size ink 
emitters, each head aligned for printing single lines (name, one line; 
address, second line; and so on). The ink jet printer is programmed 
demographically to the subscribers, that is, the signature to be 
incorporated in the magazine mailed to JONES may be followed by an 
identical signature to be incorporated in the magazine mailed to SMITH. 
In the example (FIG. 6) it will be noted the empty spaces of the top-most 
signature to be printed (on both sides of the fold line) are in alignment 
across the width of the signature; hence, the printer 75 need not be 
shifted. Referring to FIG. 5, however, printed material to be added 
(Jones, Chicago; both sides) is not in alignment across the width of the 
signature; hence, two printers 75 would have been employed, properly 
positioned respectively to print lines parallel to the path of the 
raceway. 
As the cylinder 40 continues to turn clockwise, the clamped signature is 
presented to a register gauge 86. A cooperating lap cylinder 87 and 
opening cylinder 88 open the signature and drop it onto the saddle 
conveyor 90. The arrangement and action of the cylinders 40, 87, and 88, 
coupled with the registered gauge 86 and saddle conveyor 90, are known. 
What is new is to feed an unfolded signature from a pocket feeder down a 
raceway past an ink jet printer where printed matter is added to what will 
be become at least one of the inside pages of the signature, after which 
the signature is folded so that the inside pages face one another. 
As mentioned above, the pocket feeder 52 is arranged above the raceway, 
FIG. 2, and it is assumed the signatures therein, FIG. 6, are the same 
size, bearing the same text, differing as to name and address to be added 
so that the difference in subscriber name is the only demographic 
difference, herein designated demographics (I). 
The economics of the present invention may be realized from the fact that 
one printer as 75 may be employed to handle different orders of 
demographics. First, in this connection, it is not practical to add 
demographics at the printing press because the pocket feeders are loaded 
by hand (signatures can be lost) nor is the press room geared for this 
purpose. An ink jet printer costs approximately one quarter of a million 
dollars. An enormous cost would be involved if several printers 75 had to 
be assigned to as many raceways, but by the present invention a single 
printer as 75 can be programmed to meet the additional demographics (II), 
(III) and so on which for purposes of disclosure may be taken as 
professional demographics (II) and reader interest demographics (III). 
To further clarify the principles of the invention, signature 20-1, FIG. 1, 
which has just been dropped into the raceway, has the same pre-printed 
matter TEXT TEXT as the next signature 20-2 downstream. 
Signature 20-3 has just been printed with "Mr. Jones" on one side of the 
fold line; the other part of signature 20-3 (to the right of the fold 
line) is ready to receive additional printed matter if the printer program 
calls for it. 
The forth signature 20-4 has been printed on one side of the fold line with 
"Mr. Smith" and on the opposite side with "Aley's Town". Each of these 
four signatures will be incorporated in successive magazines, all 
demographically different as determined by the program governing the 
printer. 
Each freshly printed signature as 20-4 is next passed beneath an ink drier 
78 and from thence passed to a register gauge or set of stops 80, ready to 
be folded. The signature so registered is then pressed downward into the 
bight of a pair of opposed folding and delivering belts 82, 84. This is 
done by a folding knife, which in FIG. 1 has been omitted to clearly 
reveal that signature 20-5 is being folded along its fold line (to which 
the stops 80 are registered). It will be recognized that the signature 
20-5 is being folded so that the (inside) printed pages will face one 
another. 
The delivery belts 82-84 advance the folded signature, with the backbone 
leading, to the cylinder 40, where a set of grippers 42, FIG. 1, are 
clamping the backbone of a printed, folded signature. 
FIG. 2, as already noted, is a floor plan view, and shows the arrangement 
of a pocket feeder 52 (supply source) and printer 75, assigned to one of 
the gathering feeders GR. The signatures are identical and will differ 
only as to the added matter. Of particular advantage is that the ink jet 
printer may be easily moved back and forth in relation to any of the GR 
feeders, and there may be several GR feeders having an ink jet printer in 
its raceway. 
Two pocket feeders 92 and 94, FIG. 3, may be arranged at one side of the 
(lengthened) raceway, respectively assigned to any two of the demographic 
orders (I), (II), and (III). By such an arrangement, the signatures are 
fed out of the pockets along an axis at right angles to the path of the 
raceway. The printer 75 will be programmed accordingly. Or, as shown in 
FIG. 4, two pocket feeders 96 and 98 in tandem may be placed over the 
raceway, feeding signatures thereto co-axial with the raceway axis. Again, 
the printer 75 will be programmed to any two of the demographic orders 
(I), (II) and (III). 
Regardless of the number of different orders going down the raceway, each 
signature will be printed differently by the printer 75. 
The invention can also be applied to the so-called double digest ("two-up", 
"four-up" and so on to use the terms of art) in which there will be four 
inside pages, requiring two printing heads 75 laterally spaced, and two 
more (75A) if the outside is to be printed. 
It will be recognized from what has been illustrated and described that by 
"inside page" of the signature I mean a page on one side of the fold line 
which will face the other page when folded after the additional printed 
matter has been added by printer 75. If desired, an ink jet printer 75A, 
FIG. 1, may be positioned to also print on what will become the outside 
page. Further, the printer 75A, to print an outside page, could be located 
in the raceway between the folding station and the feeder GR. 
While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the 
invention and variations thereof for adding printed matter to a signature 
in the course of being advanced to the signature gatherer, particularly in 
terms of arrangements by which one ink jet printer may serve several 
demographic requirements in a single raceway, it is to be understood the 
examples are for purposes of disclosure, capable of variation and 
modification within the purview of the following claims.