Patent GB-189726037-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Machines for Applying Loops of String or Twine to Books, Pamphlets, and the like.
Inventor: WARD JOSEPH ABRAM
Filed: 1897-11-09
Granted: 1898-04-09
Abstract: 26,037. Lake, H. H., [W ard, J. A., and McLean, J.]. Nov. 9. Bookbinding.-The invention consists of a machine f o r applying loops of string to books, pamphlets, &c. T h e pamphlets o r 'blanks' are placed resting on their backs and upper edges i n T-shaped supply trough consisting of rods b<8>, and are fed forward by pressure applied by a weight to a board B. These rods are intermittently and simultaneously rotated, and carry on their ends wedgeshaped segments c which enter between the blanks and gradually separate them from the remainder of the pile. By means of these and a screw conveyer E, operating in conjunction with suitable retaining - fingers, the blanks are fed forward one by one to a revolving vertical drum r o u n d which they are wrapped, with a corner projecting downwards, by rotating screw - shaped surfaces, one of which is shown at j. The blanks when presented to the drum are received by jaws or plates j<7> fixed to the drum, and they are clamped against these by inner jaws j<8> which are moved outwards by a cam L, Fig. 4, and are thus fixed until all the operations have been completed. A number of blanks are shown in position on the drum in Fig. 1. The drum is intermittently rotated, through one-eighth of a revolution at a time, by a central spindle K which conveys the required motion to its hub through mutilated pinions k<6> and k<11> and complete ones k<4> and k<5>, the last being keyed on the hub, which is journalled on an arbor j<6>. A fixed guide-plate l<14> assists in holding the blanks in their place. A blank having thus been fixed on the drum, the latter moves on and presents it to a punch m<1>, Fig. 42, which makes a hole through the lowermost corner, a second blank being at the same time presented to and grasped by the clamping-jaws immediately following. The operation of the machine is in fact continuous, as each time the drum stops a blank is applied to it, the blank in front is punched, the next one is supplied with string, the next one again has a knot tied on the string already supplied, and the leading blank is released from the drum, all these operations being simultaneously performed on different blanks. After punching, the drum moves on and presents the hole in the blank to a hooked needle o, which passes through it and engages with the string presented to it by a tension device consisting of two discs N, N<1>. The upper N of these discs is carried on a rotating shaft n and drives the lower one N', which is slightly inclined, by pins. The string is held by a flanged lip n<12> on the upper disc so that it always lies between the adjacent edges of the discs and is continuously fed as they revolve. The needle moves forward when a notch n<15> in the discs is opposite to it, and having drawn the string through the blank it locks it against the edges of an opening in a die o'. The blank then passes on to the knotting-hooks, the loop falling between cutting-blades P, P', the latter of which is movable and is carried by an arm p<1> actuated by a shaft p<3>. The blades close on the loop and hold it firmly, as shown in Fig. 48, but do not as yet cut it. The knotting operation is shown in Figs. 59 to 66. The hooks q, q<1> are formed on cylinders Q, Q', which rotate together, but the latter is capable of rising and falling. When the loop is first presented to the hooks they embrace it, as shown in Fig. 59. A central fork q<6> now rises, as in Fig. 60, and lifts part of the loop while the hooks rotate, as in Fig. 61, so that, when the fork again falls, the loop is wrapped round the hooks, Fig. 62. The inner hook now drops, carrying the bight of the loop with it, Fig. 63, while by the continued rotation of the hooks the outer one engages with the part of the loop between the hooks and shears P, P<1>. The inner hook now rises again and nips this part against the outer one, at which stage the shears sever the loop, Fig. 64. The hooks then rotate backwards, Fig. 65, and finally shed the bight, Fig. 66, thus completing the knot. The knot is drawn tight and the loop detached from the hooks by the rotation of the drum, which then presents the blank to the discharging-apparatus. Part of this is shown in Fig. 1. It consists of four pairs of rollers s, each pair being on a separate shaft, and two pairs being on one side of the blank and two in the other. Those on one side move aside to allow the drum to place the blank so that it can be grasped when they move back again. The rollers discharge the blank down a shoot into a second V-shaped trough, also composed of rods, where the blanks are made up into a pile. The machine is arranged so that it automatically stops should jamming occur.