The objects may be packages or containers, which are present on a conveyor in a row, for example when being filled. The invention is preferably used for adhering the sheets of material, preferably paper, to pages of quires.

The objects will in particular be referred to as quires hereinafter.

The term quires should be given a broad interpretation. It is meant to include magazines, parts of magazines, brochures as well as any other sheet of paper or quire or other material which is subjected to processing step whereby a number of items are moved in a row.

It is known to affix sheets of material to quires by means of a rebondable adhesive, for example in order to make publicity for a product which is described on the sheet. An example of this is a small yellow, rectangular sheet of paper provided with a pre-printed telephone number, which is adhered to a quire of a magazine and which can be stuck to a telephone after being removed from the magazine.

Such a rebondable adhesive, which may be applied to a surface in a thin film, whether or not with the addition of a coating, and which can be adhered to a surface in a rebondable manner, that is, several times without losing its adhesive effect and without leaving behind any traces on said surface thereby, is known from

EP-A-0 276 557 and from the further publications referred to therein.

When sheets of material separated from a strip of material are affixed, by means of a rebondable adhesive, to quires moving in a row, the following problems play a role.

In the first place, it is preferred to wind the strip of material to be processed with a view to making efficient use of storage space. It is advantageous thereby to provide the strip of material with the rebondable adhesive in longitudinal direction on one side, near its edge. The fact is that practical tests have shown that this is conducive towards unwinding the strip in a reliable manner. In addition, it is necessary for the film of adhesive to be applied to only one edge of a sheet to be separated, as otherwise it will be difficult to engage the sheet and thus to remove it from the quire. If the film of adhesive were to be applied transversely to the strip, the repeat of the adhesive film would have to correspond quite precisely with the print and with the location where the sheet is to be separated from the strip.

A second point which is of importance is the fact that the sheets are affixed to the quire in such a manner that the film of rebondable adhesive extends substantially perpendicularly to the spine of the quire. The fact is that it is possible for the reader in that case to take hold of the sheet in a natural manner when reading the quire and remove it in lateral direction with respect to said spine. The side of the sheet which is provided with a rebondable adhesive is preferably the upper side, as seen by the reader, so that the reader can easily move his fingers under the sheet.

A third point which is of importance is the fact that when the sheets are affixed to the quire, said sheets must substantially follow the moving quires. When the

difference in velocity in the direction of movement of the quires is too large, the sheet and/or the quire will be damaged, because the adhesive prevents any relative movement between the sheet and the quire. It is preferred to roll a sheet onto a quire, so that there will be a line of contact points each time, at which line the sheet and the quire are stationary with respect to each other.

The joint effect of the above three points is that with the known method for affixing sheets of material by means of a rebondable adhesive to quires moving in a row, a strip of material, which is provided with a rebondable film of adhesive on one side, near its edge, is unwound from a supply roll and supplied to a cutting device in a direction of supply. Each time a quire to be provided with a sheet passes, a sheet is separated from the strip of material by means of the cutting device.. Then the separated sheet, film of adhesive facing outwards, is drawn against the outside surface of a rotatable drum by means of a suction nozzle. By rotating the drum, the sheet is discharged and rolled onto a moving quire, whilst the sheet is adhered to the quire by means of the rebondable film of adhesive. The sheet is thereby discharged in a direction parallel to the direction in which the strip is supplied, in the plane which is perpendicular to the strip at the location of the cutting device.

In order to obtain a correct positioning of the film of adhesive of the sheet in the quire, the quires are moved in a direction of movement which lies in the aforesaid plane, with their spines extending perpendicularly to their direction of movement. Once a sheet has been separated, the strip is supplied to the cutting device over a distance which corresponds with a repeat of marks provided on the strip.

The drawback of the known method is the fact that it cannot be used in combination with usual conveyors for quires. The fact is that the usual conveyors move the quires, which are folded open in V-shape, on a chain with their spines extending substantially parallel to their direction of movement. Taking into consideration the above preconditions, it was considered to be impossible to affix sheets in a simple manner to quires which move in such a manner, since this would for example require a device which would have to move along with the quires.

The invention, however, provides a method of the kind referred to in the introduction by means of which it is possible to affix sheets of material comprising a rebondable material in a simple manner to quires moving in the direction of their spines. To that end the method according to the invention is characterized in that the direction of discharge is inclined at an angle to a plane which is perpendicular to the surface of the strip at the location of the cutting device, and which is parallel to the direction of supply.

The invention is based on the insight that it is relatively simple to discharge the sheets, when they are not moving and have just been separated from said strip, in a direction other than the direction in which the strip is supplied. The preconception that the direction of supply of the strip should correspond with the direction of movement of the quires is thus put aside.

In one embodiment, the method according to the invention is characterized in that the direction of movement of the moving quires is inclined at an angle to the plane which is perpendicular to the surface of the strip at the location of the cutting device and which is parallel to the direction of supply.

In one preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the angle at which the direction of discharge and/or the direction of movement is (are) inclined is at least 5°, preferably at least 10°, and in particular at least 15°.

An especially advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention is characterized in that said angle is a substantially right angle. This makes it possible to supply the strip of material in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the quires.

Another embodiment of the method according to the invention is characterized in that the direction of discharge and the direction of movement of the moving quires are substantially in one plane. This leads to an enhanced reliability as regards the affixation of the sheets of material.

One embodiment of the method according to the invention is characterized in that the strip of material is supplied intermittently to the cutting device by moving the strip a predetermined distance each time a quire to which a sheet of material is to be adhered passes a predetermined location. In this manner it is achieved that material will be present in the cutting device only when a sheet is to be separated from the strip.

Another embodiment of the method according to the invention is characterized in that the cutting device makes a cutting movement each time an object passes a predetermined location. This makes it possible for the drive unit of the cutting device to be mechanically coupled to the drive unit of a conveyor for quires in a simple manner.

The invention also relates to device for affixing sheets of material to quires moving in a row by means of a rebondable adhesive.

The invention will be explained in more detail hereafter by means of two embodiments of the invention, which are illustrated in a drawing. In the drawing: Figure 1 and Figure 2 are diagrammatic side views of a device for affixing sheets of material to quires moving in a row in various positions thereof; Figure 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of a strip of material and a separated sheet of material, which is engaged; and Figure 4 is a diagrammatic side view of another embodiment of the device for affixing sheets of material to quires moving in a row.

The Figures are merely diagrammatic representations of the embodiments, wherein like parts are numbered alike.

Figure 1 shows a driven holder 1, which is rotatable in the direction indicated by arrow 2, about an axis which extends perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing, on which a supply roll is provided, from which a strip of material 4 is unwound. The strip of material 4 is present on that side which is directed inwardly when strip 4 is wound on supply roll 3. Strip 4 is provided near its edge with a film of a rebondable adhesive. It is preferred to use a continuous film having a uniform width. The strip is transported to a vacuum plate via a tensioning device 5. Tensioning device 5 comprises three conveyor rollers 7,8,9, which are each rotatable in the direction indicated by arrows 10,11,12, about an axis which extends perpendicularly to the plane of the figure. The tension on strip 4 is controlled by translating conveyor roller 8 with respect to conveyor rollers 7 and 9.

Conveyor roller 8 is to that end coupled to holder 1 by means of an arm (not shown).

Vacuum plate 6 is provided with openings, in which a sub- atmospheric pressure prevails, as a result of which strip 4 is drawn against the surface of vacuum plate 6 in the direction indicated by arrows 13. Vacuum plate 6 ensures that strip 4 will experience a constant resistance during transport, and that strip 4 is supplied in a flat position. After having passed vacuum plate 6, strip 4 passes a conveyor roller 14, which rotates in the direction indicated by arrow 15, about an axis which extends perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing, and subsequently it moves between a pair of driven conveyor rollers 17,18, which driven conveyor rollers each rotate in the direction indicated by arrows 19 and 20, about an axis which extends perpendicularly to the plane of the drawing. Said pair of driven conveyor rollers 17,18, together with driven holder 1, provide the movement of strip 4.

The pair of conveyor rollers 17,18 supply strip 4 to a cutting device 21 in a direction parallel to the plane of the figure, which cutting device comprises a knife whose one blade 22 is attached to a drum 24, which is rotatable in the direction indicated by arrow 22 about an axis which extends perpendicularly to the plane of the figure, and whose other blade 25 is disposed under strip 4.

In Figure 1 sheet 26 is just being separated from strip 4. The plane which is perpendicular to the surface of strip 4 at the location of cutting device 21 and parallel to the direction in which strip 4 is being supplied, is the plane of the figure in Figure 1.

The separated sheet 26 is transported in the direction indicated by arrow 27 by means of a suction pad 16, which is mounted on a rod 28. The rod 28 with the suction pad

16 transports the separated sheet 26 to a rotation device 29, which is capable of rotation about an axis 34 which lies in the plane of the figure. Rotation device 29 comprises a rotor comprising two opposite rotor sides 30, 31, which together form an hourglass-shaped construction, seen in side view. The free ends 32,33 of rotor sides 30,31 follow the outside surface of an imaginary cylinder through the axis 34 of rotation device 29.

Rotation device 29 is furthermore provided with two pairs of clamping elements 35,36, which, depending on the angle of rotation device 29, are moved between a position in which they clamp down a sheet 26 onto a free end 32, 33 and a position in which release and/or engage a sheet 26 present on a free end 32,33.

Referring to Figure 2, it is shown therein that the separated sheet 26 is clamped down onto the free end 32 of rotor side 30 by means of said pair of clamping elements 35. Figure 2 furthermore shows a sheet 37, which is transferred from the free end 33 of the opposite rotor side 31 by rolling it onto a passing quire 38. Clamping elements 36 occupy the position in which they have released sheet 37 and in which they can engage, after the rotation device has been rotated through a larger angle, a next sheet as soon as said sheet has been cut off and is moved towards a free end of one rotor side by rod 28.

The sheet 26 is discharged by the rotation device 29 in a direction of discharge which is perpendicular to the plane of the drawing, that is, to a plane which is perpendicular to the surface of strip 4 at the location of the cutting device 21 and parallel to the direction in which strip 4 is being supplied.

The device is furthermore provided with a sensor (not shown), by means of which it can be detected, at a location downstream of the rotation device, seen in the direction of movement of the quires, whether a quire passes a predetermined location. Each time it is detected

that a quire 38, to which a sheet of material is to be affixed, passes said predetermined location, strip 4 is intermittently supplied to the cutting device 29 by moving the strip a predetermined distance. The distance over which the strip is moved, is determined by a sensor (not shown), which detects marks provided in repeat on strip 4. The cutting device is provided with a drive unit, which is mechanically coupled to the drive unit of a conveyor for quires 38 (not shown). When the strip of material 4 has passed through the cutting device 21, a sheet 26 will be separated as soon as sheets 23,26 of cutting device 21 touch one another. Cutting device 21 rotates continuously, therefore, independently of the fact whether a strip of material 4 is present in cutting device 21 or not. The drive unit of the rotation device 29 is likewise mechanically coupled to the drive unit of the conveyor for quires 38 (not shown).

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of a strip 4, which is provided on the upper side, near edge 40, with a film 41 of a rebondable adhesive, which extends in the longitudinal direction of the strip. Figure 3 furthermore shows a sheet 26, which has just been separated from the strip and which is being discharged from rotation device 29 by means of the pair of clamping elements 35. The direction in which strip 4 is supplied is indicated by arrow 42, whilst arrow 43 indicates the direction in which sheet 26 is discharged. It is clearly shown in the figure that the direction of discharge is inclined at an angle to a plane which is perpendicular to the surface of the strip and parallel to the direction of supply.

Figure 4 shows that it is also possible to use a different construction for rotation device 29. The rotor sides 30,31 are each provided near their free ends 32, 33 with holes 44,45, in which a sub-atmospheric pressure may prevail. The sheets of material can be drawn onto the free ends 30,33 of rotation device 29 via said holes.

The free ends 32,33 of rotor sides 30,31 pass quite close to the sheet upon rotation. The sheets can be pressed down on the free ends at the correct location by means of a press-down roller 46. The sub-atmospheric pressure is released when the sheets roll onto quire 38.

It is noted that the invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments. Other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention.