Abstract:
A book product apparatus includes a gathering line and a plurality of feeding devices adapted to dispense at least one signature onto the gathering line. The apparatus further includes a controller operatively connected to the plurality of feeding devices for controlling the operation of the feeding devices, wherein a comparison of two customer data sources generates instructions for the feeding devices.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/880,210 filed Jan. 11, 2007. 
     
    
     REFERENCE REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable 
       SEQUENTIAL LISTING 
       [0003]    Not applicable 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0004]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0005]    The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for producing books or other printed materials, and more specifically to an apparatus for creating customized books or other printed materials. 
         [0006]    2. Description of the Background 
         [0007]    Books and other printed materials typically comprise a series of signatures that have been bound together. Each signature consists of one or more printed pages, wherein the signatures are gathered on a gathering or binding line in a particular order, and are then stitched or glued together to form the book. 
         [0008]    Saddle-stitch gathering lines are known and typically include a plurality of packer boxes or feeding devices positioned along a gathering conveyor in the form of a chain, wherein each packer box or a selected set of packer boxes delivers printed signatures in order onto chain spaces of the gathering conveyor. The gathered signatures are then bound, trimmed, bundled, and shipped using well known methods. 
         [0009]    Using computer control systems, it is possible to customize a book or magazine in order to target a particular demographic group. This is typically accomplished by selectively enabling and disabling selected packer boxes along a binding line so that a signature designed to appeal to the targeted demographic group is inserted into the book at a designated location. 
         [0010]    One known system selectively collates and binds signatures to produce different versions of a particular publication. A version code is associated with each recipient of a publication and is typically stored as part of the mailing list. A controller reads an address and a version code for a recipient and uses the version code to trigger only those packer boxes that contain signatures that are to be bound into a particular publication for that recipient. The controller then directs the address printer to print the address of the recipient on the bound book. The system described allows the creation of books in postal sorted order, wherein each book comprises a subset of signatures loaded into the packer boxes on the binding line where the subset is determined by the version code. This process of customization is called “selective binding.” 
         [0011]    In another system for producing customized books, a particular packer box on a binding line is loaded with pre-personalized signatures, which are signatures printed with content personalized for a particular recipient of a book. The pre-personalized signatures are loaded into a packer box in postal sorted order and include indicia such as a barcode or other optically readable marking representing a code associated with the recipient. Upon feeding of a pre-personalized signature from the particular packer box, a reader senses the indicia, identifies the code, and transmits the code to the controller. The controller uses the code to select recipient information from the mailing list. The recipient information may include an address of the recipient, a version code, and/or a device control code. If selective binding is used, then the controller uses the version code to determine the signatures that are to be included in the book for the recipient and selectively triggers the packer boxes that follow the packer box containing the pre-personalized signature accordingly. The controller directs the address printer to print the address of the recipient on the book. The system incorporates a single signature personalized for the recipient to be included in a book. It should be apparent that the controller can use version code to trigger only those packer boxes that follow the packer box that is loaded with the pre-personalized signature. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    According to one aspect of the present application, a book product apparatus includes a gathering line and a plurality of feeding devices adapted to dispense at least one signature onto the gathering line. The apparatus further includes a controller operatively connected to the plurality of feeding devices for controlling the operation of the feeding devices, wherein a comparison of two customer data sources generates instructions for the feeding devices. 
         [0013]    According to another aspect of the present application, a method for producing books includes the step of supplying a controller, a gathering line, and a plurality of feeding devices, wherein the feeding devices are adapted to dispense at least one signature onto the gathering line based on instructions from the controller. The method further includes the step of comparing two customer data sources to generate the instructions to send to the feeding devices as to what signatures to dispense from the feeding devices. 
         [0014]    According to yet another aspect of the present application, a book production apparatus includes a plurality of feeding devices configured to distribute signatures. The apparatus further includes a controller for reading customer data from a customer list and one or more recipient lists associated with one or more of the plurality of feeding devices, wherein the controller selectively activates the correct feeding device(s) based on a comparison of the customer list and the one or more recipient list. 
         [0015]    Other aspects and advantages of the present application will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and the attached drawings, in which like elements are assigned like reference numerals. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a book production apparatus; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a controller within the book production apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of a controller within the book production apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is a flow diagram illustrating book production within the book production apparatus of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
       [0020]    Other aspects and advantages of the present application will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0021]    Referring to the drawings, a first embodiment of a book production apparatus  30 , as seen in  FIG. 1 , includes a plurality of feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N each containing webs having printed material thereon. The webs are pre-printed, formed into folded signatures, cards, or other inserts, and placed into the respective feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N before the book production apparatus  30  is initiated. Each feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N feeds the associated signature to a chain space  38  of a gathering line  40  of the type commonly employed in the art. The gathering line  40  includes a gathering chain or conveyor that is moveable past the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N. The gathering conveyor includes a plurality of chain spaces  38  separated from one another by pusher pins, wherein each chain space  38  is adapted to receive signatures from at least some of the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N in order as the chain spaces  38  travel in the direction noted by the arrow  42 . The embodiments herein are disclosed in connection with a saddle stitch gathering device, as described in detail above. Other types of gathering devices may be employed in the present application, including but not limited to, flat or patent binding systems wherein signatures are loaded into a conveyor in a flat condition. 
         [0022]    A controller  50  is operatively connected to and controls operation of the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N. In particular, any number of the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N may be operated to feed an associated signature to the chain space  38  of the gathering line  40  to make a specific book. One or more of the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N may also include pre-personalized signatures therein that have been personalized for a specific customer or recipient and placed in the particular feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N in a pre-sorted sequence. One or more of the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N may also include non-personalized signatures, wherein all of the signatures in a particular feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N are identical. The pre-personalized and non-personalized signatures are loaded into the respective feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N prior to beginning operation of the book production apparatus  30 . As the pre-personalized and non-personalized signatures are depleted, additional signatures are added to the respective feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N generally in pre-sorted sequence. Optionally, more than one feeding device  32   a - 32 N may be provided for a signature to account for large print jobs and reduce the number of times the feeding devices  32   a - 32 N need to be replenished. The apparatus  30  and controller  50  could recover in the event that the preprinted pages are not in perfect sequence and corresponding mailing rates would be accounted for as a result of the modified ordering, or optionally the gathering line  40  could be automatically stopped if the order is determined to be significantly maligned to allow for a manual recovery. 
         [0023]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , for each feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N that contains at least one pre-personalized signature, a recipient list  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c ,  60   d  . . .  60 M associated with the pre-personalized signatures is provided to the controller  50 , wherein M is a number less than or equal to N. A separate recipient list  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c ,  60   d  . . .  60 M is provided to the controller  50  for each feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d . . .  32 N. In particular, the recipient list  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c ,  60   d  . . .  60 M indicates a sequence of recipients of the pre-personalized signatures for the particular feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 M. A pre-sorted master mailing list  62  is also provided to the controller  50  with recipient information for each of the books that is to be printed, wherein the recipient information includes recipient name and address information, a version code  61  and the pre-personalized and non-personalized signatures expected for each recipient. A version code  61  is assigned to each recipient. The version code  61  indicates to the controller  50  the non-personalized signatures that are to be included in the book for a specific recipient. The indication of the pre-personalized and non-personalized signatures for each recipient in the master mailing list  62  provides a double check against the version code  61  and the recipient lists  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c ,  60   d  . . .  60 M to ensure the proper signatures are included for each recipient. In particular, the controller  50  checks the expected signatures against the actual signatures by reading a barcode or the like on the signatures, as discussed in detail hereinafter. 
         [0024]    Although a single controller  50  is described herein, for complex systems, the controller  50  may include any number of subcontrollers  63  as seen in  FIG. 1 . In such a system, the controller  50  stores all or most information and communicates with the subcontrollers  63 . For example, a subcontroller  63  may be utilized to read bar codes on signatures and transmit results to the controller  50 , a subcontroller  63  may be utilized to send signals to the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 M to direct same when to actuate, and/or a subcontroller  63  may be utilized to perform any of the functions of the controller  50  as described here. In any scenario, the controller  50  sends directions and necessary data to the subcontrollers  63  and the subcontrollers  63  return status information to the controller  50 . 
         [0025]    When the book production apparatus  30  is initialized, the controller  50  reads the master mailing list  62  to determine the first recipient. After creating a book for the first recipient, the apparatus  30  continues sequentially through the master mailing list  62  until a book is created for each recipient. 
         [0026]    Each book is customized for a specific recipient, wherein for each recipient, the controller  50  reads the recipient lists  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c ,  60   d  . . .  60 M, the version code  61 , and the master mailing list  62  and identifies a set of feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N to trigger in accordance with the recipient lists  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c ,  60   d  . . .  60 M, the version code  61 , and the master mailing list  62 . The controller  50  also uses the respective recipient list  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c ,  60   d  . . .  60 M associated with each feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N that includes at least one pre-personalized signature to determine the recipient of the next pre-personalized signature therein. If the recipient of the next pre-personalized signature in a feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N matches the recipient of the book, the feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N containing the pre-personalized signature is added to the set of feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N to be triggered. The controller  50  triggers all of the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N in the set in sequence to produce the book for the recipient in the manner described above. 
         [0027]    The operation of the controller  50  will be explained in detail with reference to the example configuration of a controller  50  of  FIG. 2  and the flow diagram of  FIG. 3 . Such example configuration is not meant to limit the present application in any way. The apparatus  30  includes a number N of feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N and a number M of recipient lists  60   a ,  60   b ,  60   c ,  60   d  . . .  60 M, wherein the number M is less than or equal to the number N. There are five feeding devices  32   a - 32   e  in this example, although any number of feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N could be employed. In this example, the feeding devices  32   a  and  32   c  feed non-personalized signatures and the feeding devices  32   b ,  32   d , and  32   e  feed pre-personalized signatures. The number of feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N that feed pre-personalized and/or non-personalized signatures may be varied. Recipient lists  60   b ,  60   d ,  60   e  corresponding to feeding devices  32   b ,  32   d ,  32   e  are provided to the controller  50  and a master mailing list  62  including information and expected signatures for six recipients is also provided to the controller  50 . The controller  50  is configured to produce three different versions of books, versions 1, 2, and 3. For version 1, non-personalized signatures are provided from the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   c , for version 2, a non-personalized signature is provided from only the feeding device  32   c , and for version 3, a non-personalized signature is provided from the feeding device  32   a.    
         [0028]    Still referring to the example configuration of  FIG. 2  and the flow diagram of  FIG. 3 , before initialization of the book production apparatus  30 , the master mailing list  62  and the recipient lists  60   b ,  60   d ,  60   e  are loaded into the controller  50  at block  64  of  FIG. 3 . Thereafter, all pre-personalized and non-personalized signatures are loaded into the feeding devices  32   a - 32   e  at block  66 . Alternatively, the order of the steps performed in blocks  64  and  66  may be reversed. Upon initialization of the book production apparatus  30 , the controller  50  reads the master mailing list  62  at block  67  to determine the first recipient and the expected signatures for that recipient. Thereafter, the controller  50  reads the version code  61  at block  68  for the particular recipient and reads the recipient lists  60   b ,  60   d ,  60   e  at block  70  to determine which non-personalized and personalized signatures, respectively, need to be fed to create a book for the first recipient. Optionally, the steps at blocks  68  and  70  may be reversed. In the example of  FIG. 2 , the first recipient is Customer  1  and the version code  61  corresponding to Customer  1  is version 1. In this case, the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   c  feed non-personalized signatures to the gathering line  40  for the book for Customer  1  corresponding to the version code  61  and the feeding device  32   e  feeds a personalized signature to the gathering line  40  corresponding to the recipient list  60   e . 
         [0029]    At block  72 , the controller  50  sends signals to the appropriate feeding devices  32   a ,  32   c ,  32   e  to begin feeding signatures for creating a book for Customer  1 . The signals for each feeding device  32   a ,  32   a ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N corresponding to a customer are spaced apart in time such that the corresponding signatures for a particular customer, such as Customer  1 , land in the same chain space  38  of the gathering line  40  as that chain space  38  passes the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N that are to be actuated for the particular customer. Immediately after each feeding device  32   a - 32   e  feeds a signature or at the same time, block  74  directs optical sensors  90   a - 90   e  ( FIG. 1 ), as discussed in greater detail below, at each feeding device  32   a - 32   e  to read an identification on the next signature for each feeding device  32   a - 32   e  to determine if the next signature is the appropriate signature for the next time the feeding device  32   a - 32   e  is to be actuated, which may be for the next book produced or for a later book to be produced. The identification can be in the form of a barcode or the like. 
         [0030]    Reading of an identification may be asynchronous or synchronous. In particular, the identification in any apparatus  30  may be read just prior to triggering a feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N or just after the last signature was fed from a feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N, thereby exposing the next identification. Optionally, multiple signatures could be read in advance in a conveyor delivery system where signatures are shingled to expose the identifications of various signatures. Preferably, one or more subsequent signatures for each feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N are identified in each feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N at all times. In other words, depending on the design of the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N, multiple signatures could be in transit to the gathering line  40 , thereby exposing the identification for signatures prior to the feeding of one or more signatures per feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N. The apparatus  30  and controller  50  may track the identifications for signatures in separate logical queues for each feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N, although this may also work without the look-ahead functionality just described. At any instant, the controller  50  knows in advance the recipient of the signature that is to be fed next for each feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N. In an alternative approach, the apparatus  30  and controller  50  could assume which feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N are to be triggered for a particular recipient and then it confirms the signatures are correct when the signatures are fed. The reason there could be different approaches is: a) one or more identifications may not be accessible by the sensors  90   a ,  90   b ,  90   c ,  90   d  . . .  90 N until the signature is placed in position in a book or in transit to the book (i.e., the identification(s) is located on a back side of the signature when in the feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N but the identification is exposed after the signature is fed); b) only one signature identification can be read prior to feeding (i.e., the front or top-most signature); or c) the signatures could be delivered in a shingled manner so that multiple signatures could be read in advance, enabling the system to “look-ahead” for inconsistencies. 
         [0031]    Referring back to the example configuration of  FIG. 2  and the flow diagram of  FIG. 3 , at block  76 , the controller  50  determines whether there are any improper signatures and, if there are, the controller  50  proceeds to block  82  to fix the error. Optionally, if no errors are detected, the controller  50  proceeds to block  78  to determine whether there are remaining recipients for which books still need to be created. If there are more recipients, the controller  50  returns to block  67  and reads the master mailing list  62  to determine the second recipient and expected signatures after beginning production of the book for Customer  1 . In the example of  FIG. 2 , the second recipient is Customer  2  and the version code  61  corresponding to Customer  2  is version 3. In this case, the feeding device  32   a  feeds a non-personalized signature to the gathering line  40  for the book for Customer  2  corresponding to the version code  61  and the feeding device  32   e  feeds a personalized signature to the gathering line  40  corresponding to the recipient list  60   e . After beginning production of the book for Customer  2 , the controller  50  again returns to block  67  and reads the master mailing list  62  to determine the next recipient and the expected signatures for that recipient. Customer  3  is the next recipient in the example of  FIG. 2  and the version code  61  corresponding to Customer  3  is version 2. For Customer  3 , the feeding device  32   c  feeds a non-personalized signature to the gathering line for the book for Customer  3  corresponding to the version code  61  and the feeding devices  32   b ,  32   e  feed personalized signatures to the gathering line  40  corresponding to the recipient lists  60   b ,  60   e . The controller  50  continues creating books for all recipients in this manner until the controller  50  gets to block  78  and determines that there are no more recipients for which books still need to be created. In the example of  FIG. 2 , this would occur after the apparatus  30  begins creating a book for Customer  6  at block  72 . At this point, the controller  50  proceeds to block  78 , wherein the creation of addition books is halted because books have been created for all the recipients in the current master mailing list  62 . 
         [0032]    Referring to the block diagram of  FIG. 4 , each time the controller  50  determines which feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N to trigger for a particular book, the controller  50  sends signals to the appropriate feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N to begin creating the book at block  72 . As the appropriate feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N feed signatures for a particular book, optical sensors  90   a ,  90   b ,  90   c ,  90   d  . . .  90 N ( FIG. 1 ), as discussed in detail below, at each feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N check, for example, a barcode on the signatures, to determine whether the appropriate signatures are to be added to the book at block  91 . The controller  50  checks at block  92  to see whether the sensors  90   a ,  90   b ,  90   c ,  90   d  . . .  90 N have sensed an error in the gathering line  40  or if sensors in the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N have sensed an incorrect signature. Some of the errors that could occur are a mis-feed, an out of order signature, or a missing signature. If an error has occurred, the controller  50  proceeds to block  94  to redirect or fix the error. If no errors have occurred, the controller  50  proceeds to block  96  and finishes and binds the book and stacks the books in appropriate bundles. Optionally, the signatures may be fed onto a conveyor such that as soon as the individual signatures are fed onto the conveyor, barcodes on the signatures are sensed. Preferably, the conveyor can hold several signatures so that any errors can be sensed before creation of a book(s) with the error(s) begins. In this manner, books with errors can be rejected and/or fixed earlier in the process to prevent unwanted downtime of the book production apparatus  30 . 
         [0033]    Preferably, the finished books are stacked appropriately into bundles to comply and maximize the value of the mail stream according to United States Postal Service regulations. 
         [0034]    Referring again to  FIG. 1 , optical sensors  90   a ,  90   b ,  90   c ,  90   d  . . .  90 N may be disposed above one or more of the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N to confirm that the recipient of the next pre-personalized signature in the respective feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N matches the recipient indicated by the recipient list associated with the feeding device  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N. The optical sensors  90   a ,  90   b ,  90   c ,  90   d  . . .  90 N sense a bar code or the like on the signature and if the recipient name on the signature does not match that on the recipient list, the controller  50  may take corrective action, such as diverting the current book, not including the pre-personalized signature for the recipient in the current book, or alerting an operator of the book production apparatus  30 . In addition, if there is a mis-feed in one or more of the feeding devices  32   a ,  32   b ,  32   c ,  32   d  . . .  32 N, this is sensed and the book production apparatus  30  can recover from such a mis-feed by inserting a non-personalized signature in place of a mis-fed signature. 
         [0035]    Numerous modifications to the present application will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is presented for the purpose of enabling those skilled in the art to make and use the embodiments of the present application and to teach the best mode of carrying out same. The exclusive rights to all modifications which come within the scope of the appended claims are reserved.