Patent ID: 7451969

Claim:
A gatherer stitcher for brochures, comprises: an output station; machine components including: a stitching machine disposed upstream of said output station; a continuous conveyor being an endless gathering chain; feeders for charging said continuous conveyor with signatures and disposed upstream of said stitching machine; a linearly oscillating finger strip system containing activatable fingers configured for a step-by-step transport of the brochures off of said continuous conveyor; and a finger actuating gear mechanism activating said activatable fingers; drive devices for driving said machine components; sensors assigned to a respective one of said machine components serving as a reference component and to further selected said machine components, said sensors emitting signals defining phase positions of said reference component and of said selected machine components; and a controller processing the signals and acting on said selected machine components, said controller coordinating the phase positions of said selected machine components with at least one geometrical parameter of the brochures being relevant such that the brochures are aligned in a substantially center-oriented manner in said output station.