System and method for collating book and pamphlet signatures and the like

Abstract: According to the invention stations (2) are provided in a signature collating system which are adapted to deliver signatures (3), as well as a transport (4) adapted to pick up the signatures (3) to form stacks (5), a diverting device (7) located downstream from the stations (2) and adapted to controllably convey the stacks (5) out of the transport (4), a reclaim belt (9a) extending from the diverting device (7) to a position of the transport (4) upstream of the stations (2), a signature (3) withdrawal station (9b) located on the reclaim belt (9a) and comprising a pull-out means (12) adapted to remove signatures (3) from the stacks (5), and a monitoring means (6) adapted to detect anomalies in the delivery of the signatures (3) and the positions of the stacks (5), and adapted to control the activation and deactivation of the stations (2), diverting device (7), and withdrawal station (9b).

Description: This invention relates to a system and a method for collating signatures for books, pamphlets, and the like, defined in the preamble of the accompanying Claims 1 and 14. As is known a signature is composed of one or more printed pages related to one another or joined together. A signature is typically a large-size printed sheet containing a number of pages and folded to a page size. To form, for example, a book or a pamphlet, it is necessary to first collate and orderly stack several signatures from the printing shops. This collating operation is carried out at bookbinding shops on collator systems which comprise a sequel of processing stations, referred to as "feeders", each arranged to deliver a given signature. Signatures being delivered consecutively by each station are orderly stacked together on a belt conveyor running past the feeder stations at a rate timed to the delivery rate of the stations. The belt conveyor receives the signatures as they are being deposited to form orderly stacks or assemblies of signatures which grow in height as they are moved past the various stations. The signatures stacks or assemblies are transferred on completion, possibly at once and on that same belt conveyor, to a processing line placed downstream from the collating system, along which sewing, glueing, trimming and binding proper are carried out, for example. Each feeder station in the collating system is equipped with a means of detecting delivery anomalies using, for example, photocells or thickness gages as sensors, which can both detect the missed delivery of a signature and double delivery of one signature to any one stack. Such monitoring means also stops the system to allow an operator to act as appropriate to correct the anomalous delivery. The above-described prior art, where the repairing of the stacks having a lack or an excess of signatures, is assigned to an operator, has major drawbacks. The signature collating system may have indeed to be stopped at frequent intervals, to accumulate an overall break time which may amount to as much as 40% of the overall working time. This not only means a significant decrease in output but also an increased wear of the equipment due to the frequent succession of starts and stops, as well as a deterioration of the production quality due to the stacks or assemblies being at least in part disarranged by the inertiae brought about by the starts and stops. As teached in DE-A-2 243 030 and in EP-A-113 011 attempts have already been made at partly solving the cited problems by keeping the system running and arranging a diverting device downstream from the feeder stations and adapted to controllably direct stacks having any anomalies to a reject zone. Monitor means detects the anomalies in the stacks and control the diverting device. In practice, the correction of anomalies by the operator has been replaced with rejection of anomalous stacks or assemblies in toto. In this way, the problems due to frequent stopping of the system can be solved, but the material waste resulting from the rejected stacks is high. In addition, albeit to a lesser extent, there still occurs a significant loss in output, because many of the signatures are rejected. In EP-A-202 507 the belt coveyor running past the feeder stations has an annular shape and the stacks having a lack of a signature are carried around the machine until they reach again the station feeding the missing signature. So the material waste is reduced, but no remedy is provided for the stacks having an excess of signatures. The technical aim underlying this invention is to provide a system and a method which can obviate the cited drawback. The technical aim is substantially achieved by a system and a method for collating signatures for books, pamphlets, and the like, as claimed in the Claims 1 and 14. The following description of preferred embodiments of the invention relates to the accompanying drawings, where: Figure 1 shows schematically in plan view a system according to the invention, in an embodiment thereof which has a horizontal major dimension; Figure 2 is an elevation view of a system according to the invention having a vertical major dimension; Figure 3 is a detail view of a portion of the system shown in Figure 2, taken at a withdrawal station; and Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in Figure 2. With reference to the cited drawing views, the system of this invention is generalli indicated at 1 . It comprises a plurality of consecutive stations 2 , also referred to as feeder stations, on each of which stations signatures 3 are placed. The latter form, above the stations 2, piles 3a , each having signatures 3 which are identical with one another. The stations 2 are conventionally operative to deliver one signature 3 at a time onto ad adjacent underlying transport 4 . It is known to provide, for example, drums 2a between the piles 3a and the transport 4 which are substantially in the forms of large cylinders rotatable about substantially horizontal rotation axes and being equipped with grippers or suction cups which pick up and pull out the lowermost signature 3 in a pile 3a, and with the rotation of the drums, drop it in an orderly fashion onto the underlying transport 4, which extends belt-fashion. The transport 4 has, in the embodiment shown, fixed guiding sideplates and a fixed rest and sliding bottom 4a . Travelling centrally of the bottom 4a in a purposely provided guiding groove 4b , are pushers 4c which are spaced apart at a fixed pitch distance equal to the distance separating any two consecutive stations 2. It is envisaged, in fact, that the stations 2 be all arranged at equal spacings apart. The pushers 4c are driven forward by a drive means preferably in the form of an entrainment chaim 4d . On the transport 4 there collect the signatures 3 in superimposed arrangement to form successive stacks 5 , each stack 5 comprising signatures 3 which are all different from one another and define a set of pages each which are not yet bound into a book or pamphlet or the like, for feeding to a successive processing path 1a . Along said successive processing path there take place, in a conventional manner for bookbinding shops, all the operations involved to complete said book or pamphlet, and in particular, binding of the various signatures 3 forming the stacks 5. A monitoring means 6 , associated with each feeder station 2 is then provided to detect,inter alia, anomalies in the formation of the signature 3 stacks 5, that is the missed delivery of a signature 3, or conversely, the double delivery of a signature 3. The monitoring means 6 is preferably of an electronic type, and to issue the missed or double delivery signal, it comprises conventional photocells or thickness gages, for example, which detect the withdrawal of signatures 3 from the piles 3a at each station 2. The monitoring means 6 further monitors the movements of the stacks 5 where an anomaly has been detected, and controls the interruption of the signature 3 delivery for each of the stacks 5 being formed found anomalous as the stacks moves past the various stations 2. The selective interruption of the infeed to just the anomalus stacks is effected by the monitoring means 6 by acting on the drums 2a of those stations 2 which are occasionally affected by the passage of anomalous stacks 5 without stopping the continuous movement of the transport 4, and starting with the next station 2 after the one where an anomaly has been detected. Constant recognition of the positions progressively occupied by the anomalous stacks 5 can be readily obtained through the monitoring means 6 because the stacks 5 are rigorously held on the transport 4 at said fixed pitch distance spacings and the pushers 4c are all driven at a predetermined rate. A diverting device 7 placed downstream from said feeder stations 2 is operative to prevent stacks 5 found anomalous from entering the aforesaid processing path 1a and to direct them to a reclaim apparatus 8 comprising a reclaim belt 9a which form, in combination with the transport 4, a looped travel path, and a withdrawal station 9b to be explained. The diverting device 7 is formed by a moving guide 7a adapted to be swung on a hinge 7b controllably by a lift cylinder 7c which lie substantially vertical and rests on the floor. In Figure 1, the hinge 7b locates between the moving guide 7a and the reclaim belt 9a, whereas in Figure 2, the hinge 7b is interposed to the moving guide 7a and the transport 4. When diversion of a stack 5 is foreseen, the diverting device positions itself, under the action of the lift cylinder 7c, connector-fashion between the transport 4 and the reclaim belt 9a, and contrarywise, when a stack 5 is to be allowed to continue through the processing path 1a, the moving guide 7a is set not to hinder the transport 4. This actually occurs, in the solution of Figure 1, by raising the opposite end of the moving guide 7a from that engaged by the hinge 7b, whereas in the solution of Figure 2, the moving guide 7a comes down to itself form an end section for the transport 4. The monitoring means 6 acts on the diverting device 7 via the lift cylinder 7c. In Figure 1, the elements of the system 1 are shown in plan view and in embodiment wherein the reclaim belt 9a is a mere carpet conveyor and extends mainly in a horizontal direction, alongside the stations 2. In Figure 2, the system 1 is shown in an embodiment wherein the reclaim belt 9a mainly lies at a raised location above the stations 2 for reduced floor area requirements. To also make the job easy for the monitoring means 6 at the reclaim belt 9a, it is envisaged that the latter be linked mechanically to the transport 4 throughout its embodiments, so as to achieve reliable synchronization with the latter. Figure 2 shows then that the reclaim belt 9a may be formed by a plurality of transport elements, all preferably provided with pushers 4c which are set apart at said fixed pitch distances equal to the distance separating any two consecutive stations 2. Like the transport 4, the pushers 4c of the reclaim belt 9a also fit of preference in a guiding groove 4b having rigid edges, and those same pushers 4c are engaged with a drive means embodied by entrainment chains 4d. The reclaim belt 9a defines a re-circulation path which re-loads the stacks 5 onto the transport 4, upstream of the stations 2, to allow for completion of each stack. It is indeed envisaged that the monitoring means 6 should continue recognizing the anomalous stacks 5 cycled back to the transport 4, and that accordingly, on their moving past, only previously inhibited stations 2 be activated plus the feeder station whereat a possible anomaly by missed delivery may have occured. Between the stations 2 there may then advantageously intervene at least one sister station 10 defined by a first sub-station 11a and a second sub-station 11b . The latter are pratically two consecutive stations 2 which are loaded with signatures 3 of one type and interlocked with each other. The monitoring means 6 only controls delivery of a signature 3 from the second sub-station 11b on detecting the missed delivery of the signature from the first sub-station 11a. The previously mentioned withdrawal station 9b is preferably located on the reclaim belt 9a, or possibly on the section of the transport 4 which immediately precedes the diverting device 7. Those stacks 5 which have double signatures 3, that is signatures twice delivered by mistake, are corrected therein by removal of the excess signatures 3, prior to their return to the transport 4. In an anomalous stack 5, the duplicate signature is the uppermost or lowermost one in the stack 5, because of the anomalous delivery having occured last, on account of the action provided by the monitoring means 6 which interrupts any further deliveries to that stack 5. The withdrawal station 9b (Figure 3) comprises a pull-out means 12 having a body 12a which is provided with at least one, preferably two, side-by-side strips 13 which are separated by a groove for the pushers 4c to pass throughout. The strips 13 are foraminous cylindrical strips which are rotatable and engageable in contact with signatures 3 to be pulled out. They are arranged, moreover, with their rotation axis 14 parallel to said signatures 3 to be removed. Provided inside the body 12a are fixed suction members 15 facing the strips 13 but only engaging a sector of the body 12a. Thus, release of the signatures 3 drawn out is enabled on the latter being driven past the fixed suction members 15 by rotation of the strips 13. The signatures 3 drawn out are taken away and discarded by a conveyor 16 . The withdrawal station 9b also comprises, on the opposite side from the body 12a relatively to a stack 5 positioned thereon, a pressure member 17 embodied by a pressure roller 17a lying parallel to the rotation axis 13b of the strips 13 and a pressure sylinder 17b acting on the pressure roller 17a. The pressure cylinder 17b is advantageously effective to force, via the pressure roller 17a,the stacks 5 against the strips 13 until said stacks are partly spread out fan-like. It is in fact a common experience that if a stack of sheets is pushed strongly across a local strip, the same fans out from the pressure point. In this situation, owing to the pressure roller 17a exactly overlying the top of the body 12a, the spreading of the leading edges in the travel direction of the stacks 5 upon the same reaching the pull-out means 12 will encourage the signatures to part from one another and favour accurate withdrawal of the double signatures. Figure 3 shows that the pressure roller 17a is located in a closed-loop pressure belt 18 comprising major upper 18a and lower 18b runs. The pressure belt 18 is, similarly to the rollers inserted therein, divided into two side-by-side elements to enable the pushers 4c to pass therethrough. The pressure belt 18 also has a lead-in portion 19 brought to a fixed position, lay roller 19a , and a working portion 20 which is movable in a vertical direction and adaptable to and engageable with the stacks 5 in pressure relationship therewith. The working portion 20 has the distance between the upper 18a and lower 18b runs greater than the diameter of the lay roller 19a In addition, the withdrawal station 9a has, at the working portion 20, auxiliary rollers 20a and auxiliary cylinders 20b which drive the working portion in the vertical direction by acting on both the upper run 18a and lower run 18b. Such being the arrangement, the configuration of the pressure belt 18 can be held substantially constant, as brought out by a comparison of the dashed and full outlines of the pressure belt 18 in Figure 3, thereby the position of the pressure roller 17a can also be held constant irrespective of the height of the stacks 5. Said height may, in fact, change appreciably because the feeding of the signatures 3 to the transport 4 may either occur directly beyond the first stations 2 or at the last stations 2. Figure 4 is a cross-section through Figure 2 and shows that the reclaim belt 9a has, at least at its mainly vertically extending sections, an outline contour which is substantially saddle-shaped in cross-section for stiffening the stacks 5 in the vertical direction. These saddle-shaped portions 9c produce, indeed, flexure lines in the signatures 3 of the stacks 5 which lie parallel to the direction of movement of the stacks 5, and therefore, the signatures 3 are prevented from flexing rearwards, toward their respective pushers 4c, by virtue of the powerful stiffening effect provided. The stacks 5 can therefore travel even the vertical sections of the reclaim belt 9a without becoming upset. Again with reference to Figure 4, note should be taken of that the rest surfaces for the stacks 5 on the reclaim belt 9a may be provided with ribs 21 having parallel peaks to the direction of movement of the stacks 5 in order to reduce the contact, and hence the friction, with the bottom of the re-claim belt 9a. It has been found that the ribs 21 also have the benefical effect of creating air cushions at the bottoms of the stacks, with further reduction of friction. Again as shown in Figure 4, to prevent the various elements which comprise the re-claim belt 9a from interfering with one another and the transport 4, the pushers 4c are swivel mounted to the entrainment chain 4d, preferably against the bias of elastic means 22 . Thus, by arranging the elastic means 22 and entrainment means consisting of an at least partly flexible entrainment chain, on the one side, and the guiding groove 4b with rigid edges, on the other side, the pushers 4c can be easily imparted any appropriate movements and oscillations. The method according to the invention, as implemented on the above-described system, is the following. A sensing step is provided initially at each station 2 to detect each anomaly both by a missing signature 3 and the presence of a double signature 3. The anomalous stacks 5 are then checked to detect, in a second step, the positions taken occasionally by the same along the system. This because stopping is envisaged, inter alia, of each station 2 on an anomalous stack 5 moving past, on the transport 4. In other words, each station 2 is inhibited and stopped when the same ought to deliver a signature 3 to an anomalous stack 5 moving past the station 2. This is followed by a diversion step for diverting the anomalous stacks 5 out of the transport 4. This step is carried out preferably on the anomalous stacks 5 arriving downstream from all the stations 2 in the direction of transport or movement of the transport 4. The diversion is followed by re-loading of the anomalous stacks 5 onto the transport 4, upstream of the previously stopped stations 2. Preferably the step of re-loading the anomalous stacks 5 is carried out upon the same arriving upstream of all the feeder stations. For just those anomalous stacks 5 which have a double signature 3, an additional step is provided of removal of the duplicate signature 3 prior to re-loading onto the transport 4. Preferably the step of removal is provided after the diversion step of the anomalous stacks out of the transport 4. After re-loading onto the transport 4, the stacks 5 are again taken through the stations 2, and this time just those stations 2 are activated on the re-cycled stacks 5 moving past, which have the signatures 3 missing from said stacks 5. In practice, only the previously stopped stations 2 are re-activated, if the anomaly that caused the stacks 5 to be cycled back was a double delivery, or those same stations 2 plus the station where the missed delivery took place, if the anomaly was of this type. If the system has stations 2 at least partly paired, with each station pair provided with identical signatures 3, after the step of detecting an anomaly by missed delivery of a signature 3 at a first station in one said station pair, a step of activating a second station in said station pair is provided. This in order to initially reduce the number of the anomalies by missed delivery. The operational pairing of the stations 2 is expedient each time that a given system has excess stations 2 with respect to the number of the signatures 3 to be delivered. Furthermore, said pairing is quite useful even if only implemented at a limited number of stations, if the latter are selected from the ones delivering signatures 3 with physical features which are more likely to originate anomalies by missed delivery. The invention affords importand advantages. It enables, in fact, all of the anomalous stacks to be re-claimed, and the output rates to be kept practically unaltered. If all the stations are of the paired type, then it becomes possible to prevent the production of anomalous stacks by missing signatures, and accordingly, to temporarily divert them out of the bel conveyor 4, together with stacks having excess signatures. In all cases, even with no paired stations provided, all the anomalous stacks by excess or lack of signatures can be re-claimed, and re-claiming is performed in a fast automatic manner and the transport 4 is never stopped. In fact, with the technical solutions set forth above, a top hourly production in the range of fifteen to twenty thousand finished stacks is actually achievable.

Claims: A system for collating signatures for books, pamphlets, and the like, comprising: a plurality of serially arranged stations (2) adapted to deliver said signatures (3) to a transport (4) adapted to receive said signatures (3) at said stations (2) for forming thereon growing stacks (5) of said signatures (3), a monitoring means (6) effective to detect anomalies in the delivery of said signatures (3) and the locations of said stacks (5) affected by said anomalies, and effective to control the activation and the deactivation of said stations (2), and a diverting device (7) adapted to convey said stacks (5) out of said transport (4), and linked operatively to said monitoring means (6), said system being characterized in that it has a reclaiming apparatus comprising: a reclaim belt (9a) extending from said diverting device (7) to a position of said transport (4) upstream of said diverting device (7) and of at least some of said stations (2), said diverting device (7) being operative to divert said stacks (5) affected by anomalies toward said reclaim belt (9a). A system according to Claim 1, wherein a signature withdrawal station (9b) is linked operatively to said monitoring means (6) and located downstream from said stations (2) in the direction of movement of said stacks (5), along a closed loop path defined by said transport (4), said diverting device (7) and said reclaim belt (9a), said withdrawal station (9b) including a pull-out means (12) operative to remove signatures (3) located at one end of said stacks (5). A system according to Claim 2, wherein said pull-out means (12) comprises a body (12a) having at least one foraminous cylindrical strip (13) which is rotatable and contact engageable by said signatures (3), said strip (13) having an axis of rotation (14) parallel to said signatures (3), and fixed suction members (15) positioned inside said body (12a) and facing a portion of said strip (13). A system according to Claim 3, wherein a pressure member (17) is arranged in said withdrawal station (9b) on the opposite side from said body (12a) relatively to said stacks (5), said pressure member (17) having a pressure roller (17a) parallel to said rotation axis (14) of said strip (13) and a pressure cylinder (17b) adapted to force, via said pressure roller (17a),said stacks (5) against said strip (13) until said stacks (5) are partly spread out fan-like. A system according to Claim 4, wherein a pressure belt (18) is provided with said pressure roller (17a), said pressure belt (18) being loop-shaped and comprising a major upper run (18a) and lower run (18b), a lead-in portion (19) accomodating a fixed position lay roller (19a) at one end, and a working portion (20) which is movable and pressure engageable with said stacks (5), auxiliary rollers (20a) and auxiliary cylinders (20b) being arranged to shift said working portion (20). A system according to Claim 5, wherein said pressure belt (18) has said upper (18a) and lower (18b) runs at a greater distance apart than the diameter dimension of said lay roller (19a), and wherein said auxiliary rollers (20a) act on both said upper (18a) and lower (18b) runs to keep the length of said pressure belt (18) constant in the direction of advance of said stacks (5) and constant the position of said pressure roller (17a), located at one end of said pressure belt (18) opposite from that engaged by said lay roller (19a). A system according to Claim 1, wherein said diverting device (7) is located downstream from all said stations (2) in the direction of movement of said stacks (5) as imparted by said transport (4), and wherein said reclaim belt (9a) extends from said diverting device (7) to a position of said transport (4) upstream of all said stations (2). A system according to Claim 1, wherein said diverting device (7) comprises a movable guide (7a) adapted to be joined with one end to said transport (4) and with the other end to said reclaim belt (9a), at least one hinge (7b) engaging one end of said movable guide (7a) to make the movable guide (7a) oscillable between a position of interconnection of said transport (4) and said reclaim belt (9a) and an offset position therefrom, and a lift cylinder (7c) acting on said movable guide (7a) to angularly displace the same about said at least one hinge (7b). A system according to Claim 1, wherein said reclaim belt (9a) lies in a substantially raised position above said transport (4). A system according to Claim 9, wherein said reclaim belt (9a) has, at least at mainly vertically extending sections, saddle -shaped portions (9c) having a curving contour in cross-section to the direction of movement of said stacks (5) to bend and stiffen said signatures (3). A system accoding to Claim 1, wherein said reclaim belt (9a) has a surface contacting said stacks (5) formed at least partway with ribs (21) having parallel peaks to the direction of movement of said stacks (5). A system according to Claim 1, wherein said stations (2) are equispaced, wherein said transport (4) and said reclaim belt (9a) comprise a drive means (4d) and pushers (4c) engaged with said drive means (4d) and being set apart at fixed pitch distances equal to the distance separating any two consecutive said stations (2), and wherein at least said pushers (4c) of said reclaim belt (9a) are engaged oscillatingly by said drive means (4d), a guiding groove (4b) with rigid edges being arranged to position said pushers (4c). A system according to Claim 1, wherein said stations (2) comprise at least one said station of the paired type (10) comprising first (11a) and second (11b) consecutively arranged sub-stations adapted to alternately deliver identical signatures (3). A method for collating signatures for books, pamphlets, and the like in a system comprising serially arranged stations delivering said signatures to a transport adapted to receive said signatures at said stations for forming thereon stacks of said signatures, said method comprising the steps of: detecting each anomaly by missed delivery of one said signature at one said station, and forming consequently anomalous stacks by lack of one said signature, detecting the positions progressively occupied by said anomalous stacks through said system, stopping each said station on one said anomalous stack moving past on said transport, diverting said anomalous stacks out of said transport, and being characterized in that it comprises the steps of: re-loading of said anomalous stacks on said transport upstream of said previously stopped stations, and activating, on said anomalous stacks re-loaded onto said transport moving past, just those stations which have missing signatures from re-loaded stacks. A method according to Claim 14, wherein there is provided a step of detecting each anomaly by both missed delivery of one said signature and double delivery of one said signature, and consequently forming anomalous stacks by both lack of one said signature and presence of a duplicate signature, and wherein, for those of said stacks which are anomalours by the presence of a duplicate signature, there is provided an additional step of removing said duplicate signature prior to said anomalous stacks being re-loaded onto said transport. A method according to Claim 14, wherein said step of diverting said anomalous stacks out of said transport is carried out on the same arriving downstream from all said stations in the running direction of said transport, and wherein said step of re-loading said anomalous stacks is carried out on the same arriving upstream of all said stations. A method accoding to Claim 15, wherein said step of removing said double signatures is carried out after said step of diverting said anomalous stacks out of said transport. A method according to Claim 14, in a system having at least some of said stations grouped into pairs having identical signatures, wherein after a step of detecting an anomaly by missed delivery of a signature at a first station in one said station pair, there is provided a step of activating a second station in said station pair.

Inventors: VIGANO VITTORIO, VIGANO, VITTORIO
Applicants: VIGANO & C GIOVANNI PLASTIVER, PLASTIVER S.A.S. DI GIOVANNI E VITTORIO VIGANO' & C.
Application year: 1989
Main classification: B65H43
IPC codes: B65H39, B65H29, B65H43