Abstract:
A device is used for producing folded products from sheets or partial sheets. The folding device includes a folding assembly that is provided with at least three forming hoppers which are aligned in a staggered and horizontal manner relative to one another, and laterally in the direction of sheet movement. Each of the hoppers has a width of at least two upright newspaper pages or of four printed pages lying in tabloid format. When viewed from a horizontal position, the hoppers at least partially overlap in a vertical direction. At least one of the outer hoppers is hoppers is offset vertically with respect to an inner hopper.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The subject U.S. patent application is the U.S. National Phase of PCT/DE02/04610, filed Dec. 17, 2002; published as WO 03/055776 A1 on Jul. 10, 2003, and claiming priority to DE 101 63 209.6, filed Dec. 21, 2001. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention is directed to a device for making folded products. The folded products are produced in a folder structure which contains a hopper group with three hoppers, or two hopper groups, each with at least two hoppers.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     A hopper structure for a double-width printing press is known from DE 32 37 504 A1. A third hopper is arranged next to two hoppers at the same level for increasing production options. The webs, which are laterally turned out of the press, are longitudinally folded on the hopper and can be further processed in one of two folders placed underneath the hopper arrangement.  
         [0004]     A hopper structure for a triple-width printing press is known from DE 25 10 057 A1, and which has three upper hoppers and three lower hoppers, each arranged side-by-side. The hoppers of the lower and upper levels are rotated by 180° about their vertical linear axes in such a way that the backs of the folded products are on different sides.  
         [0005]     A hopper structure for a triple-width printing press is also known from DE 41 28 797 C2. Six hoppers are arranged on three levels for increasing production.  
         [0006]     EP 1 145 850 A1 shows a hopper arrangement of a printing press for printing illustrations wherein, besides a first hopper of a width of four A4 pages, a correspondingly wider, or partially wider, second hopper and a third, partially wider, smaller hopper are arranged. The two hoppers located on the outside of the hopper arrangement, and therefore the folded strands formed by these hoppers, can be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the printing press in order to make possible a displaced deposition of the subsequently transversely cut products.  
         [0007]     A split web guidance roller for guiding a double-width web is known from DE 199 59 152 A1. The two roller sections can be driven independently of each other by their own drive motors for the simultaneous production of two different products each having a different number of pages.  
         [0008]     DE 42 04 254 C2 shows two hoppers arranged on one level, which two hoppers are arranged to be horizontally movable. A third hopper is arranged on a level above or below these two hoppers and is centered with respect to an incoming whole web.  
         [0009]     Folder structures which are arranged above two folders that are placed underneath are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,050. Strands of a lower hopper group can be conducted to one folder, and strands of an upper hopper group can be conducted to the other folder.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The object of the present invention is directed to providing a device for making folded products.  
         [0011]     In accordance with the present invention, the object is attained by the provision of a device for making folded products which can consist of a folder structure having at least three hoppers in a hopper group, or two hopper groups, each with at least two hoppers. These hoppers can be arranged in different positions with respect to each other to fold longitudinal strands passing through the device. The several hopper groups or hoppers in one of the groups can be arranged at different levels. The hoppers can also be displaced laterally with respect to each other.  
         [0012]     The advantages to be attained by the present invention lie, in particular, in that a great amount of flexibility in the products of a printing press is created, without endangering the operational dependability and/or the product quality of the press, and while maintaining a predetermined structural height. The least possible structural space is required without this being accomplished at the cost of the operational dependability and/or product quality of the press.  
         [0013]     The arrangement of a third hopper next to two other hoppers makes an increased product variety possible. In particular, in connection with two folders assigned to the three hoppers and/or in connection with an embodiment of two levels of hoppers arranged one above the other, with each level having three hoppers, this arrangement offers the possibility of producing different products in parallel. In connection with double-width printing presses, the arrangement can be one of two folders substantially aligned with the printing press, i.e. with the first two hoppers aligned with the printing press, so that the products running over these two hoppers can be each selectively conducted over the shortest possible distance into one of the two folders, or can be conducted together into one of the folders.  
         [0014]     With respect to product variety and efficiency, it is of particular advantage to drive the rollers assigned to the third hopper independently for transporting the partial webs. In a further development, all of the rollers and/or partial rollers, or groups of rollers, are embodied with their own drive motors for this purpose. This is also made possible, without a need for additional structural space, by use of the displaced arrangement. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]     A preferred embodiment of the device for the production of folded products in accordance with the present invention is represented in the drawings and will be described in greater detail in what follows.  
         [0016]     Shown are in:  
         [0017]      FIG. 1 , a schematic front elevation view of a hopper structure in accordance with the present invention, and in  
         [0018]      FIG. 2 , a side elevation view of a variant of the web transport.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0019]     A printing press, and in particular, a web-fed rotary printing press, has printing groups or printing units, which are not specifically represented, and by the use of which, several webs  01  of material to be imprinted, webs  01  for short, can be imprinted. The printing units are embodied as being “double wide”, for example, which means that the printing cylinders have a length which corresponds to at least four printed pages, for example four newspaper pages in Rhenic, Berlin, New York Times format, etc., or a length which corresponds to eight horizontal pages in tabloid format such as pages of a telephone directory, for example.  
         [0020]     After the double-width webs  01  in the above-described example, i.e. the four printed pages of a width b 01  of the web  01 , have been imprinted in the printing units, they are conveyed to a hopper structure  02  for further processing. On the way to the hopper structure  02 , the webs  01  are cut in the longitudinal direction into partial webs  01   a ,  01   b  by a cutting device, which is not specifically represented, and are combined into web a strand  03  or  04 , respectively as seen in  FIG. 1 . Three cutting devices can also be arranged for use with printing in tabloid format, which three cutting devices cut the webs  01  longitudinally into quarters and into a corresponding number of strands  03 ,  04 . In  FIG. 1 , combining the webs  01  into the strand  03 ,  04  takes place through the use of a separate combining roller  06 , or a group of combining rollers  06 , before the strand  03 ,  04  is afterwards conducted, via a roller  07 , embodied for example, as a hopper roller  07 , to respective hoppers  08 ,  09 , for example, which are embodied as so-called double hoppers  08 ,  09 . The hoppers  08 ,  09  are preferably arranged aligned with the respective partial webs  01   a ,  01   b , so that during so-called “straight forward operations” these partial webs  01   a ,  01   b  run up on the respective hopper  08 ,  09  without displacement. In an advantageous embodiment, the combining roller  06  and the hopper roller  07  each have their own drive motors  11 ,  12 , by the operation of which drive motors  11 ,  12  the web tension can be set or adjusted. In a further development, the roller  06  and/or the roller  07  can be embodied as rollers  06 ,  07  which are divided over their length, and in which each partial roller element can be driven by its own drive motor  11 ,  12 , with each roller thus having two drive motors  11 ,  12 , as seen in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0021]     A folding unit  13  is arranged downstream of the hopper structure  02  and has two folders  14 ,  16 . In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, and as schematically represented in  FIG. 1 , the two folders  14 ,  16  each have their own drive motors  17 ,  18 . The strands  03 ,  04  can be fed selectively together to either one of the two folders  14 ,  16 , or each strand  03 ,  04  can be fed to a separate one of the folders  14 ,  16 . For setting the paths to be travelled by the two strands  03 ,  04  between the hoppers  08 ,  09  and the folders  14 ,  16 , at least one deflection roller  19 , or roller  19 , whose position can be changed, is provided. The at least one deflection roller  19  can be rotatorily driven by its own drive motor, which is not specifically represented, and its position can be changed by the provision of an actuating drive, which also is not specifically represented.  
         [0022]     The two folders  14 ,  16  of the folding unit  13  are advantageously aligned, with respect to each other, and with respect to the two hoppers  08 ,  09 , in such a way that the strands  03 ,  04  can be fed to the two folders  14 ,  16  over the shortest possible distance. In an ideal case, the two folders  14 ,  16  are arranged underneath the hoppers  08 ,  09  in such a way that the respective inlets into the two folders  14 ,  16 , i.e. folder inlet rollers  21 ,  22 , for example a folder inlet roller group  21 ,  22 , assigned to each respective folder  14 ,  16 , can each lie symmetrically, in relation to a center plane M, between the two hoppers  08 ,  09 . Distances between an inlet into the folder  14 ,  16  and the hoppers  08 ,  09 , which are respectively arranged “crossed” above them, should not differ by more than 200 mm, and preferably by not more than 100 mm. The center plane M is located parallel to and is centered between two planes which extend through the longitudinally folded strands  03 ,  04  in the area of rollers  23 ,  24 , for example the traction or transfer rollers  23 ,  24  assigned to the hoppers  08 ,  09 . As a rule, these planes coincide with planes of symmetry E 08 , E 09  of the hoppers  08 ,  09 , such as is represented in  FIG. 1 . Additional pairs of rollers  25 , for example pairs of folding rollers  25 , are typically arranged between the traction or transfer rollers  23 ,  24  and the hoppers  08 .  
         [0023]     It is possible, by use of the device for the production of folded products in accordance with the present invention, for example during collecting operations and when utilizing “double-sized” printing cylinders, for example by using a forme cylinder has a circumference corresponding to two upright printed pages and, if necessary, including non-printing parts, such as fastening devices, etc., to produce a product with a maximum of four books. If there is no collection, or if the forme cylinders merely have a single circumference, two books can be produced. The four or two books can be selectively all conducted to one of the two folders  14 ,  16 , or can be split up between both folders  14 ,  16 .  
         [0024]     With the provision of a third hopper  26 , whose plane of symmetry E 26  is arranged transversely, with respect to the running direction of the webs  01 , and which is horizontally displaced with respect to the planes of symmetry E 08 , E 09  of the first two hoppers  08 ,  09 , the flexibility of the device, with regard to possible products, is considerably increased. Webs  01 , in particular, partial webs  01  which, for example, through the operations of linear cutting and turning via turning bars, which are not specifically represented, have been brought out of the row of the webs  01  directed to hoppers  08 ,  09 , into the row of the third hoppers  26 , are, in their running direction, centered with respect to the plane of symmetry E 26  of the third hopper  26 , are, for example, first combined into a strand  29  by a combining roller  28  of their own, which is different from the combining roller  06 , before they are conducted, for example via their own hopper roller  31 , which is different from the hopper roller  07 , for example a hopper roller  31 , to the third hopper  26 . In an advantageous embodiment of the invention each of the rollers  28 ,  31  has its own drive motor  32 ,  33 , by the use of which, the tension of the partial webs  27 , or of the strand  29 , can be set, or can be regulated individually with respect to the remaining strands  03 ,  04 . In the case of a double-width printing press, the third hopper  26 , as well as its assigned rollers  28 ,  31  and feeding devices, are arranged laterally, with respect to the row of the printing press or its printing units. In this way, the straight production of conventional products is still provided via the two first hoppers  08 ,  09  which are called, for example, main hoppers, and, for an expanded production, the option of a production via the third hopper  26  called, for example, a side hopper is provided. The tip of the displaced side hopper  26  is arranged in alignment with the tip of the adjacent main hopper  09  in such a way that the strands  04 ,  29 , for example the backs of the respective folded product, come to rest on top of each other after having been brought together. The tips of the hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26  are located in the same plane, which plane is defined by the running direction of the strands  03 ,  04 ,  29  when leaving the hopper  08 ,  09 ,  26  at its tip and normal to the plane of the folded strand  03 ,  04 ,  29 . As a rule, this plane extends generally vertically and lies parallel, with respect to the longitudinal direction of the rollers  07  and/or  31 .  
         [0025]     The third hopper  26  is preferably configured as a hopper  26  that is equivalent to the other hoppers  08 ,  09 , for use with a width of a partial web  27  having two printed pages, for example two upright newspaper pages or, for example, four horizontal pages in tabloid format. This means that there is no difference between the options of the possible partial products, or books, which can be folded longitudinally on the various hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26 . Following lower end of hopper  26 , rollers  34 , for example traction or transfer rollers  34 , have also been assigned to it. Here, too, at least a further pair of rollers  35 , such as, for example folding rollers  35 , are also typically arranged between the traction or transfer rollers  34  and the hopper  26 .  
         [0026]     The arrangement of the third or side hopper  26  laterally next to the two other main hoppers  08 ,  09  requires a widening of the hopper structure  02  from, for example, a width b 01  of a double-width web  01 , plus possible lateral projections because of a frame, drive motors, roller projections, etc., to at least the width of one triple-width web, or of one and a half double-width webs  01 . A maximum distance between two strands  03 ,  04  is now increased by a distance a 1  between the strand  04  and the strand  29 , as seen in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0027]     The deflection of a strand  03 ,  04 ,  29 , consisting of several webs  01  or of several partial webs  27 , in particular, causes problems with an interference-free guidance of the web or strand because of a possible danger of a break in the web, the possibility of overstressing the web  01 ,  27 , and also because of other traction and/or guidance elements and with the quality of the resultant product. The latter is caused by a wave formation or by creasing of a web  01  or of a partial web  27 , which “lies on the inside” during the deflection of the strand  03 ,  04 ,  29 , as a result of different expansion stress, or of rubbing of the imprinted webs  01  or partial webs  07  against each other. In the first case, this problem can lead to errors in the cutting register of the webs  01 ,  27  with respect to each other, and, in the last case, can possibly lead to a worsening of the printed image. Although, in the course of repeated direction changes from the hopper  08 ,  09 ,  26  to the folder  14 ,  16 , the resulting direction change problem is, as a rule, removed, or is reduced, at least partially by “positive” and “negative” direction changes, taking into consideration the preceding sign, the sum of the amounts or numbers of the individual direction changes is of great importance for considerations of dependability and quality.  
         [0028]     Dependable and exact running of the strands  03 ,  04 ,  29  while, at the same time, a compact construction, is achieved in the present invention, in that the third hopper  26  is arranged vertically displaced with respect to the second hopper  09 . In contrast to the location of a third hopper arranged directly above one of the other two hoppers  08 ,  09 , this positioning results in a considerable saving in the structural height of the device, since it is necessary to provide feeding devices, which are not specifically represented, to the hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26  in the respective structural area on each hopper level next to the hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26 .  
         [0029]     Although the third hopper  26  increases the maximum distance between two strands  03 ,  04 ,  29  by at least the width of the partial web  27 , in the arrangement depicted in  FIG. 1  there are clearly a reduced number of directional changes required for the strands  03 ,  04 ,  29 , and in particular for the strand  29 , in contrast to the customary or prior art arrangement. Correspondingly, with a constant radius of a roller, for example a deflection roller, or a driven traction roller, reduced web loop angles are possible, in comparison to an arrangement of the hopper  26  on the level of the two other hoppers  08 ,  09 .  
         [0030]     A vertical displacement of the third hopper  26 , with respect to the two hoppers  08 ,  09 , by a height h 1  is preferably of such a size that an angle α between the horizontal line H 09  at the height of the last structural component toward the bottom assigned to the hopper  09 , for example the last traction or transfer roller  24  toward the bottom of hopper  09 , and a connecting line V 1  between the corresponding two last structural components toward the bottom of hopper  26 , in this case after the last lower rollers  24  and  34 , is at least equal to or greater than 15°. In general, the last structural component of a hopper is to be understood as being the structural component which is located farthest toward the bottom of the hopper, and which is fixedly connected with the hopper  08 ,  09 ,  26  as a structural group. This can be, for example, the nip of one of several successively arranged pairs of rollers  24 ,  34 , or a lowest point of a deflection roller or of a traction roller connected at a fixed distance, with the exception of adjustment purposes to the hopper  08 ,  09 . Since, as a rule, the hopper  08 ,  09 ,  26 , with the adjoining rollers  23 ,  24 ,  34 , constitutes a structural group with fixed distances, except for adjustment purposes, or with a defined limit toward the bottom, with respect to other guide elements, the height h 1  of the displacement between hopper  26  and hoppers  08 ,  09  can also be fixed in accordance with the relative position of a fixed reference point, for example the location of the lower ends of the hoppers  09 ,  26 , i.e. the hopper tips, with respect to each other, which then, at least approximately, corresponds to the height h 1  of the displacement of the respectively lowermost structural components.  
         [0031]     As previously mentioned, the angle α should be selected to be equal to or greater than 15°, and in particular should be equal to or greater than 25°. In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention the angle α lies between 200 and 60α, in  FIG. 1  it is approximately 30°. Therefore, the height h 1  for the displacement can be derived from the equation tan α=h 1 /a 1 .  
         [0032]     An increase in a structural height of the hopper structure  02  having the three side-by-side positioned hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26  with their associated feeding devices, each located above them, can, as a rule, be prevented because fewer feeding devices must be provided for the third hopper  26  than are required to be placed above the two hoppers  08 ,  09 .  
         [0033]     The vertical displacement, by the height h 1  of the third hopper  26  is of particularly great importance if a further level of hoppers  08 ′,  09 ′ is provided above the previously described level of three side-by-side arranged hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26 , or, if for other reasons, it is necessary to conduct additional webs  01 ′, additional partial webs  27 ′ or additional strands  03 ′,  04 ′,  29 ′ downward and at the side of the printing press via rollers  36 , which may be, for example, guide, or deflection and/or traction rollers  36 , and which may be provided with or without their own drive mechanisms. For reasons of clarity, only some of these additional rollers  36  have been represented in  FIG. 1 . As a rule, additional register rollers must be provided, by the use of which additional register rollers the linear register between the strands can be set by deflecting the strands  03 ′,  04 ′,  26 ′.  
         [0034]     In this connection, the term “level” is to be understood not as a level in the sense of an arrangement at exactly the same height of the three hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26 , or of the two hoppers  08 ′ and  09 ′. Instead it identifies hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26 , or hoppers  08 ′ and  09 ′, whose web feeding devices are respectively located in the same vertical area between two such “levels”, or in the area above the last level. Preferably the hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26 , or the hoppers  08 ′ and  09 ′ are located next to each other in the horizontal direction in such a way that they at least partly overlap in the vertical direction. If operating levels are assigned to the printing press, the hoppers  08 ′,  09 ′ of a level can be arranged on a common operating level, or can be accessible from this level. In this sense, the hopper structure  02  as seen in  FIG. 1 , has two “levels” of hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26 , or hoppers  08 ′ and  09 ′. Such an arrangement of side-by-side arranged, overlapping at least in the manner previously mentioned, groups of hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26 , or hoppers  08 ′,  09 ′ will each be called a hopper group  37 ,  38 , respectively in what follows.  
         [0035]     For further increasing the product variety and the product output, as well as for providing further flexibility, the hopper structure  02  has the second hopper group  38  located on a level above the double hopper  08 ,  09  of the first hopper group  37 , and with a further double hopper  08 ′,  09 ′ constituted by the two hoppers  08 ′,  09 ′. Additional webs  01 ′, or partial webs  01   a ′,  01   b ′, after having been longitudinally cut, are conducted to double hoppers  08 ′,  09 ′ in the form of strands  03 ′,  04 ′ via combining rollers  06 ′ and hopper rollers  07 ′, which are also driven, in an advantageous embodiment, by their own drive motors  11 ′,  12 ′. Rollers  23 ′,  24 ′, for example traction or deflection rollers  23 ′,  24 ′, and folding rollers  25 ′, are also assigned to these hoppers  08 ′,  09 ′ of the second hopper group.  
         [0036]     In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention a third hopper  26 ′ is also laterally arranged next to the double hopper  08 ′,  09 ′ of the second hopper group  38 , and on which a strand  29 ′ of partial webs  27 ′, which, after being combined at a roller  28 ′, is also conducted over rollers  31 ′ and passes over folding rollers  35 ′, as well as over traction or deflection rollers  34 ′. The arrangement of the second hopper group  38  with the three hoppers  08 ′,  09 ′,  26 ′ above the first hopper group  37  at the top can be embodied in such a way that all three hoppers  08 ′,  09 ′,  26 ′ and their assigned rollers  06 ′,  28 ′, or  07 ′,  31 ′,  23 ′,  24 ′,  34 ′ are all arranged on one level next to each other. The rollers  06 ′,  28 ′, or  07 ′,  31 ′, can possibly be embodied as continuous rollers  06 ′,  28 ′, or  07 ′,  31 ′, if a separate tension regulation is to be omitted.  
         [0037]     In an advantageous and cost-effective arrangement, because it is identical, the third hopper  26 ′ is also displaced vertically in the above described way, as was the situation of the third hopper  26 .  
         [0038]     Guidance of the upper strands  03 ′,  04 ′  29 ′ is provided for production, wherein these upper strands can all be guided on one side of the printing press on the outside, past all three lower hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26 , and to the folding unit  13 . The provision of other web guidance paths, for example between hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26  and/or between strands  03 ,  04 ,  29  of the lower hopper group  37 , is, of course, possible, but is not represented, for reasons of clarity in the overview shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0039]     A production possibly provided by this arrangement, in addition to the customary ones, lies in that one, two or all three strands  03 ′,  04 ′,  29 ′ of the upper hopper group  38  can be selectively guided to their “own” folder  16 . This means that, besides the production by the use of the folder  14  from the lower webs  01 ,  27 , it is also possible to either produce a totally different product or, for increasing the printing output, to produce the identical product in parallel streams. Different products can be made completely independently of each other on the upper and on the lower printing groups  37 ,  38  and/or on the two folders  14 ,  16 . Each one of the two products can have three books, or six books during collection operation. In that case, the webs  01 ′ for the second product can come from adjoining printing units of a remote section of the printing press. Since the rollers  28 ,  31 ,  28 ′,  31 ′ of each of the third hoppers  26 ,  26 ′, and the rollers  06 ,  07 ,  06 ′,  07 ′ of the other hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  08 ′,  09 ′ of the respective first and second hopper groups  37 ,  38  are driven independently of each other, a selective assignment to the one or to the other product or folder  14 ,  16 , in particular of the strand  29 , is possible, in case of different products.  
         [0040]     As mentioned above, it is of great importance for the “deflection” of the upper strands  03 ′,  04 ′  29 ′ to displace the third hopper  26 ′ vertically upward in the described manner. As can be seen schematically in  FIG. 1 , it is possible to conduct the strands  03 ′,  04 ′,  29 ′ dependably, and also while preventing losses of quality of the printed product, to the folding unit  13 , without it being necessary to increase a height h 3  between the inlet into the folders  14 ,  16 , or into their roller groups  21 ,  22  and the traction or transfer rollers  23 ,  24 , or the respectively lowermost structural components of the hoppers  08 ,  09 . This applies, in particular, if the above mentioned minimum values of the angle α and the advantageous angular ranges of the angle α are to be maintained.  
         [0041]     So that a total height of the overall hopper structure  02  is not increased unnecessarily, while at the same time insuring a dependable web run or a dependable guidance of the strands  03 ′,  04 ′,  29 ′, a height h 2  between the upper end of the lower third hopper  26  and a horizontal line H 08 ′, at the level of the last lower structural component which is fixedly assigned to the hopper  08 ′ and which guides the strand  03 ′, in the depicted example the roller  23 ′, is not freely selectable. The displacement h 1  must be selected, in addition to the requirement for the size of the angle α, in such a way that an angle β between the horizontal H 08 ′ and a connecting line V 2  between the lower end of the outside located hopper  08 ′, or its assigned structural component, and the outer upper limit, or “corner”, of the lower third hopper  26 , which is arranged on the other side of the printing press is equal to or less than 15°.  
         [0042]     With the production of newspapers in particular, such an angle β, and a height h 2 , which can be determined by the calculation tan β=h 2 /a 2 , must be maintained in order to assure a dependable guidance of the strands  03 ′,  04 ′,  29 ′, which assures a high product quality, and in particular a guidance of the strand  03 ′, since, as a rule, the latter strand  03 ′ constitutes the outside of the product which has the product title and which strand  03 ′ is mostly a thick outer layer. Here, a 2  represents the horizontal distance a 2  between the level E 08 ′ and the above-mentioned outside located “corner”.  
         [0043]     In addition to the deflection and/or the traction rollers represented in  FIG. 1 , which rollers are not identified in detail, additional, not specifically represented guide rollers, deflection rollers and possibly also other traction rollers can be arranged in the area between the upper hoppers  08 ′,  09 ′,  26 ′ of the second hopper group  38  and the lower hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26 , of the first hopper group  37  in the area between, or next to the hoppers  08 ′,  09 ′,  26 ′, or the hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26 , as well as in the area between the folding unit  13  and the lower hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26 . However, for reasons of clarity, these additional rollers are not specifically represented. Also, the guide rollers, turning bars and the other guidance components, which are required for guiding the webs  01 ,  01 ′, or the partial webs  27 ,  27 ′, have not been represented also for reasons of clarity.  
         [0044]     The displacement of the side hopper  26  or  26 ′, with respect to the main hoppers  08 ,  09  or  08 ′,  09 ′ respectively by the height h 1 , in regard to the required structural space and to the compact construction of the printing press, is also advantageous in regards to the arrangement of drive mechanisms, drive motors and possible also to provided gears.  
         [0045]     In spite of the provision of the third hopper  26 ,  26 ′, it is possible to embody one, or several of the rollers  06 ,  07 ,  06 ′,  07 ′ as divided rollers, and to drive each of the roller sections by their own drive motors. In  FIG. 1 , drive mechanisms for not visible, partial rollers above the hoppers  08 ,  09  are only indicated in dashed lines and by way of example.  
         [0046]     In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the combining roller  06 ,  06 ′, or  28 ,  28 ′ is designed as a combining roller group  06 ,  06 ′,  28 ,  28 ′ which, as depicted in  FIG. 2 , has two traction rollers  39  or  39 ′ and two contact pressure rollers  41  or  41 ′, or two groups of contact pressure rollers  41  and  41 ′. This combining roller group  06 ,  06 ′,  28 ,  28 ′ can be driven by its own drive motors  12 ,  12 ′,  33 ,  33 ′, wherein the individual traction rollers  06 ,  06 ′,  28 ,  28 ′ and, in the case of driven contact pressure rollers  41 ,  41 ′, the contact pressure rollers  41 ,  41 ′, can possibly be driven via a gear  42 . Because of the displacement, each of these gears  42  can be arranged on the side of the roller groups  06 ,  06 ′,  28 ,  28 ′ and pointing into the interior of the printing press, without it being necessary to maintain an additional distance between the respectively second hopper  09 ,  09 ′ and the third hopper  26 ,  26 ′. The arrangement depicted in  FIG. 2  is possible for use with both of the hopper groups  37 ,  39 . For this reason, the appropriate reference symbols have been shown for both of the hopper groups  37 ,  39  and, in the case where the lower hopper group  37  is meant, a partial web  29 ′,  04 ′,  03 ′, which is visible in this case, has been represented in dashed lines. This arrangement is housed in a frame  43 , which is produced from several individual parts.  
         [0047]     The above described arrangement of the third hoppers  26 ,  26 ′ is, in particular, suitable for use with double-width printing presses, wherein the partial webs  27 ,  27 ′ are turned “out of” the row of the printing press, and makes possible the production of additional strands  29 ,  29 ′, or books. This applies, in particular, to retrofitting of existing printing presses, wherein the height h 3  is already preset and cannot be changed, in the sense of a dependable strand guidance. This arrangement also applies to printing presses to be newly constructed, for which printing presses as low as possible a total height is to be realized because of reasons of exterior constraints or because of the costs connected therewith.  
         [0048]     The displaced arrangement of the three hoppers  08 ,  09 ,  26 , arranged side-by-side can be used, with the above-mentioned advantages, as described, for a hopper structure  02  with only one level or hopper group  37 , as well as for hopper structures  02  with two levels, or hopper groups  37 ,  38 , which are arranged on top of each other, as shown in  FIG. 1 . The spatial assignment of the two outer hoppers  08 ,  26 , with respect to one of the two machine sides, can, of course, also be reversed. In a further development of the present invention, it is also possible to displace the two outside located hoppers  08 ,  26  upwardly, in relation to the center hopper  09 , in the described way. In a still further development, it is also advantageous to employ the described hopper structures  02  in connection with printing units for use in imprinting “triple-width” webs, for example with printing units with three vertical newspaper pages or, for example, with six horizontal pages in tabloid format. The displacement of the two outside located hoppers  08 ,  26  is, in this case, of great advantage if all three strands  03 ,  04 ,  29 , or  03 ′,  04 ′,  29 ′ are to be conveyed independently of each other by individually driven rollers  06 ,  07 ,  28 ,  31 ,  06 ′,  07 ′,  28 ′,  31 ′, or by individual divided rollers  06 ,  07 ,  06 ′,  07 ′, each with its own drive motor  11 ,  12 ,  11 ′,  12 ′ at their respective ends.  
         [0049]     While preferred embodiments of a device for the production of folded products, in accordance with the present invention have been set forth fully and completely hereinabove, it will be apparent to one of skill in the art that various changes in, for example, the types of printing presses used, the specific drive motors for the rollers, and the like could be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention which is accordingly to be limited only by the appended claims.