Description of the invention

Technical field

The present invention refers to a line for producing book blocks with pages glued two by two according to the preamble of claim 1.

Prior art

The book blocks referred to by the present invention represent known book blocks for children, wherein the internal pages of the books are glued to each other two by two while the external pages are subsequently glued in a cover, hence even the first and last page of these book blocks, after applying the cover, are formed by two sheets glued to each other. In these books it is also known to provide for through openings between the pages of the book blocks, or providing for the so-called "windows" which can be hinge-opened and closed by the children.

These books for children are produced with a base technology which, by way of principle, dates back to more than one century ago, when the hourly production was very low.

Recently, alongside the actual children's books, there has been an evergrowing demand for this type of books given that they are now also used for other purposes, general high value ones, such as for example wedding albums, picture albums, catalogues, albums for the promotion of products in particular expensive ones, such as for example, for the presentation of villas, boats, yachts, jewels and so on and so forth, hence the demand for such books with glued pages, both made of paper and synthetic material, has been ever-growing, wherein the grammage/weight and the thickness of the sheets used are very variable. By way of example various types of paper sheets, for example opaque paper, translucent paper sheet, photographic paper sheet and papers made of synthetic material may currently have a grammage ranging between about 130 and 2.000 g/m2 and a thickness between about 0.3 and 4 mm, where the types of paper or synthetic materials and relative thicknesses are selected as a function of the uses and dimensions expected from time to time.

Figures 1 and 2 schematize the principle of formation of such books, wherein figure 1 shows four sheets A, B, C, D folded on themselves with a folding P facing downwards and each defining two pages Al , A2; Bl, B2; CI , C2; Dl , D2, wherein the external sides of the pages B l , CI and Dl are provided with a bonding agent, as illustrated with the thicker line. When manufacturing the relative block of books Z, fig 2, the single sheets A, B, C and D should be folded further in a way to close and one against the other, hence, seen in the direction of arrow F, the front side Bl with the agent for bonding the sheet B is made to adhere to the rear side without an agent for bonding the page A2, the front side of the page CI with bonding agent is made to adhere to the rear side of the page B2 without the bonding agent and the front side of the page Dl with bonding agent is made top adhere to the rear side of the page C2, thus leading to forming the book block Z with the front Al and rear D2 single pages and internal double pages A2-B1 ; B2-C1 and C2-D1. A cover U, indicated with a dashed line, is then glued on the external pages Al and D2 so as also to have said first and last page in form of double page, i.e. U-Al and D2-U.

The prior art technology for producing these book blocks, generally referred to as children's books for the sake of simplicity, first provides for the preparation of scored sheets, then a folding thereof and subsequently the application of glue in the areas provided for from time to time, wherein there subsequently occurs a precision coupling between the pages to be glued to each other and then the pressing thereof to form the book blocks. The machine for performing the coupling between the sheets/pages to be glued to each other had been conceived as an independent machine with manual supply of the sheets scored, folded and pre-glued in the supply plane by an operator, where the single machines for the previous scoring, folding and gluing steps were developed independently as offline machines to facilitate manual handling and then automate the movements of the operators with a generally intermittent operation and ensuing inoperative times as well as the need for several operators and the need for a large surface for the installation of the aforementioned single machines and the manual movement of the sheets between said machines, wherein, as previously mentioned, the obtainable productivity is very low.

Actually, the productivity of the known sequence of machines or line for producing children's books vary between about 20 - 30 strokes per minute (for larger, higher quality and value machines) up to about 80 - 90 strokes per minute in case of use of more recent machines, which provide, for example, for an association of the machines for scoring the sheets with a machine for folding the scored sheets, wherein the scoring occurs by means of a blade and counter-blade, while the folding step occurs through the pocket system. Said association of a scoring machine with a folding machine allows increasing the machining speed, reducing the use of manpower and actually increases the required installation surface with respect to the previous machines, but a coupling productivity of only 80 - 90 strokes per minute is considered still too low, in particular if compared to the productivity of conventional lines for producing book blocks of the order of about 250-300 strokes per minute.

Document US 2 018 558 A illustrates a folding and binding machine with which the sheets cannot be glued on the entire surface thereof or on the main part thereof but only along a narrow strip at the folding area hence this machine does not allow producing children's books and the like with pages glued two by two but substantially over the entire surface, or on the main surface thereof, but only the so-called "register books", or accordion- like register books, wherein all pages can be practically opened on the entire surface thereof, but only one in a perfectly flat manner and the subsequent one in a more or less curved manner, while in children's books, photo albums and the like, all pages should be opened in a flat manner. The productivity of the disclosed folding-binding machine reveals the slowness thereof.

Document EP 2 292 445 Al discloses a method for producing an album in an automatic manner, wherein the gluing of the pages occurs by introducing a bi-adhesive sheet therebetween. This method cannot be implemented with an actual gluing step. In any case, the method, even in the entirely automatic version, allows a very low productivity due to the need for obtaining bi-adhesive material which is even extremely expensive. In addition, it should be observed that the proposed method does not allow providing windows and through openings.

Document EP 1 531 060 A2 discloses a binding machine with a pre- binding device. Paragraph 21 refers to a supplier. 50 is used to indicate a common paper supplier that is not capable of processing a cardboard as required for producing children's books and the like. The binding device 200 is a unit assembled not by gluing but by means of staples

Paragraph 24 shows a folding-cutting-scoring process for obtaining a block made up of several pages to be subsequently joined by stapling together. In paragraph 27 the sheets, after being accumulated one on the other, are folded. The same cannot be folded separately.

Paragraph 39 describes a construction characteristic with belts and associated guide blocks, the belt being returned between two pulleys, one of which is rotatable through a connected motor.

Paragraph 46 indicates a common scoring system which does not allow operating paper grammage and cardboard.

With the illustrated binding machine and the pre-folding device, after the scoring unit the sheets are gathered, stapled and folded subsequently. The product obtained is actually a stapled booklet . Document JP 49 002265 A illustrates sheets 5,6 pre-folded to form a V housed with clearance in pockets 20b defined by flexible curvilinear blades 21 in two star wheels 20, wherein said pre-folded sheets are unloaded in the open V-shape in a vertical position by abutment against a horizontal extraction table associated to said star wheels 20, and wherein the thrust action of the single sheets extracted separately at the front part one against the other is obtained by means of an additional thrust cylinder-piston unit 42 operating on the lower part of said open V-shaped pre-folded sheets near the folding thereof. Figures 1 and 2 does not show the gluing devices hence the illustrated device is provided for as a simple outlet / collection device in the vertical direction.

Document EP 1 777 078 Al illustrates a method for conveying printed products from several belts for forming printed products for ordering subsequent productions.

Document EP 2 508 353 A2 discloses a machine for making books, in particular books for photographs and/or illustrated volumes published after filing the present invention.

From the scrutiny of the technology adopted for the single machines or devices for the production of children book blocks the inventor observed that, regardless of the simple improvement of the machines or modules for the execution of the various operating steps, the low productivity resulting from the combinations or production lines thereof is mainly due to the relative slowness of the current method of executing the steps regarding supplying pre-glued sheets to the machine for coupling the sheets and subsequent pressing of said sheets or pages two by two maintaining the perfect geometric positioning between the pages to be glued to each other. Now, this problem was addressed by the inventor by means of a composite device for forming children book blocks operating continuously and simultaneously performs a directional transfer, the coupling and the pressing of the pre-glued sheets, wherein said device receives - upstream - the folded and pre-glued sheets in a continuous flow, suitably spaced, wherein the transfer of the pre-glued sheets by rotation allows an unexpected high speed of production and the reliable positioning of the discharged sheets likewise allows a high coupling and pressing speed. This device is disclosed in the Italian patent application n° CO2012A 000005, not published, which is incorporated herein for reference.

Summary of the invention

This invention aims at providing a base line for producing book blocks with pages glued two by two of the indicated type, with the most continuous processing possible and an ensuing high speed and production power, the line likewise allowing a drastic reduction of manpower and a simultaneous reduction of the line installation surface.

The aforementioned task is obtained, according to the invention, through a base line for producing book blocks with glued pages having the characteristics of claim 1. The invention also aims at providing a base line that can be integrated to form an elastic modular line providing, in the most continuous possible single processing cycle, all the processes provided for the needs of the book blocks considered from time to timer, i.e. for example the collection of the sheets, printing, cutting, scoring, folding, gluing, coupling the pages and pressing, as well as finishing operations, or subsequent to the formation of the book blocks.

Further developments and advantageous embodiments of the lines according to the invention can be observed from the dependent claims. The base and integrated production lines according to the invention allow numerous and important advantages.

Providing a base line formed by the combination of at least a known group or module for scoring /folding sheets with a subsequent gluing module and a device or module for coupling/pressing the sheets, or pages, operating in a rotatingly continuous manner, or without alternating movements, allows considerably increasing the operating speed, or productivity, of the proposed lines given that that the known inoperative times can be eliminated.

However, given that the speed of transportation of the folded and pre-glued sheets obtained with a rotary conveyor may be very high, for example in the order of about 1 ,200 strokes per minute, while the processing speed of the known devices made up of scoring, folding and gluing are in the order of about 200 strokes per minute, according to the invention the speed for supplying the folded and pre-glued sheets, suitably spaced from each other, to the transfer, coupling and pressing module may be obtained from a single scoring, folding and gluing unit or by two or more scoring, folding and gluing units, which discharge the folded and pre-glued sheets thereof on the belt for supply sheets to the coupling and pressing module in a suitably alternated and staggered manner. This can be easily obtained by setting the required control synchronization of the various modules and displacing the sheets on the relative conveyor belt, as well known to a man skilled in the art.

The advantage thus obtained shall not only be considered under the higher productivity of the integrated line, but also the fact of being able to interval the single sheets, or the future pages of the book blocks, with an extra elasticity with respect to the arrangement of the sheets collected by a collector. In other words, it is for example possible to produce a 10-page book block with captions in Italian and a 14-page book block formed by 10 pages with captions in Italian plus 4 pages with captions in another language, for example English, this solution also possibly being particularly indicated for the school text book industry.

A further advantage of the lines according to the invention with greater productivity shall also be observed in the fact that the integration thereof may now also regard the finishing steps downstream of the formation of the book blocks, such as for example the steps of collecting the book blocks,, cutting the book blocks, the insertion in the covers, pressing and any other intermediate processing steps, such as for example inserting inserts or brochures, applying address and so on and so forth.

Brief description of the drawings Further characteristics, advantages and details of the base line and the integrated lines for the production of book blocks with pages glued two by two according to the invention shall be clearer from the following description of embodiments of preferred lines according to the invention illustrated in the attached drawings, to which reference shall be made for any detail not illustrated in a sufficiently detailed manner in the description. In the drawings:

figures 1 and 2 show the known principle of formation of the book blocks for children or with pages glued two by two,

figure 3 shows a top perspective view of the module with module for transferring the pre-glued sheets and associated coupling and pressing table disclosed in the aforementioned Italian patent application n° CO2012A

000005, to facilitate the understanding of the invention,

figure 4 shows a scheme illustrating the conformation of a base line according to the invention in a preferred embodiment,

figure 5 shows a further scheme illustrating the conformation of a base line according to the invention for a higher productivity in a preferred embodiment,

figure 6 illustrates a scheme of a base line integrated according to the invention in the section upstream of the coupling and pressing stage, or in the steps of preparing the sheets to be coupled and pressed, and

figure 7 illustrates a scheme of a base line integrated according to the invention in the section downstream of the coupling and pressing stage, or in the book blocks finishing steps. Description of the preferred embodiments

Figures 1 and 2 have already been described in the introduction.

First reference is made to figure 3, wherein 1 is used to indicate the device or module for the formation of book blocks with internal pages glued two by two, according to the aforementioned Italian patent application

CO2012A 000005.

Reference number 2 is used to indicate a transfer drum formed by two identical wheels 3, 4 mounted spaced on an actuation shaft 6 and having - in the external circumferential part - a plurality of arc pockets 7 curved from the internal towards the external in the opposite direction with respect to the direction of rotation Fl of said wheels 3, 4 and which are separated from each other respectively by means of a substantially sickle-shaped tooth 8, wherein each tooth 8 has a tip portion 9 projecting with respect to the rear tooth 8 and with which it forms the block 10, open tangentially, of the pocket 7 defined from time to time by said adjacent teeth 8.

The pockets 7 have a narrow, arched and long development for housing - from time to time - a folded and pre-glued sheet 1 1.

To the drum 2 there is associated - at the front part - a substantially horizontal extraction, collection an pressing table 12, which serves as an abutment, on which the folded sheets 11 abut so as to be extracted from the drum 2 which rotates continuously and hen coupled and pressed to each other.

Figure 3 also shows means 16 for the abutment and curving of the sheets 11 to be processed. In the illustrated example, during the operation the pre-folded and pre- glued sheets 1 1 are fed with a forward fold 19 spaced from each other according to arrow F3 in a tangential plane H passing through the ports 10 of the pockets 7 at the upper area of the drum 2.

In figure 3 there are indicated, by way of example, four folded sheets 1 1 provided for the formation of a book block 21. As observable, the first folded sheet I on the upper face is without glue, while the remaining sheets II, III e IV have glue applied thereon, as illustrated by way of example by solid or dashed lines, wherein in the sheet II the area around the opening or window 22 is without glue.

The step for horizontal tangential distribution of the folded sheets 1 1 to the drum 2 is followed by a step of circular transfer of the folded sheets from the substantially flat plane thereof to a substantially vertical plane, which is obtained automatically by rotating the drum 2. The step of substantially vertically positioning the folded sheets 1 1 is followed by a step of substantially discharging the same from the drum 2 on the abutment or extraction 12 table and subsequent advancement of the respectively last extracted sheet 11 against the previous sheet 11 through a thrust action which simultaneously determines a precise and pressure gluing of each folded sheet on the opposite face of the previous folded sheet, or without any dragging between the two sheets 1 1 to be glued, with continuous formation of the book blocks 21 provided for, or the pack 23 of book blocks 21 formed progressively.

After briefly illustrating the conformation and the operation of the transfer, coupling and pressing of the sheets proposed by the applicant in the patent application n° CO2012A 000005, now reference shall be made to figure 4 illustrating the composition of the base line 30 according to the invention and which is substantially formed by the association of a group 31 of modules 32, 33 and 34, respectively for scoring, folding and gluing, separately known having a substantially rectilinear direction of operation, with a transfer, coupling and pressing module 35 preferably of the rotary transfer type as disclosed by the Italian patent application n° CO2012A 000005.

More in detail, the scoring module 32 is of the type comprising a blade and counter-blade, the folding module 33 is of the type with pockets system, and the gluing module 34 is also of the known type, wherein the modules 32 and 33 are preferably associated to form a composite module 32/33 and wherein a detailed description of these modules is omitted given that it is well known to a man skilled in the art.

36 is used to indicate a belt for conveying the sheets 37 from the modules 32 and 33 to the gluing module 34 while 36a is used to indicate the belt for supplying the glued sheets 37 to the coupling and pressing module 35, wherein said conveyor belts 36 and 36a are associated to controllable and settable actuation means, not illustrated, well known to a man skilled in the art, same case applying to means for synchronization between the respective speeds, also known to a man skilled in the art.

The operation is as follows: the sheets 37 fed on the conveyor 39 according to arrow F to the modules 32 and 33 are first scored and folded and hen fed by the conveyor 36 to the gluing module 34 so as then to be fed with the conveyor 36a to the coupling and pressing module 35 for the formation of the book blocks 38, which, having a preferably rotary operation, can be adjusted up to an operating speed of about 1.200 strokes per minute, and thus much higher than those of t the upstream modules 32, 33 and 34, of the higher order of about 80 - 90 strokes per minute.

Thus, in case of high operating speeds of the coupling and transfer module modulo 35 according to the invention there is provided a multiple transfer of the flows of the scored, folded and pre-glued sheets 37 using several groups 31 of modules 32-33 and 34 with relative conveyor belts 36, 36a as indicated in the case of a double supplying in figure 5, in which the same reference numbers are maintained.

According to an important aspect of the invention the base lines 30 may be integrated with one or more additional modules for the execution of specific processes requested or predictable in the production of book blocks 38 with pages glued two by two and selectable, for example, from among those illustrated in the integrated line 30A illustrated inn figure 6, wherein the following modules are provided upstream of the coupling and pressing module 35, i.e.:

a collection module 40 or, alternatively, a reel 41 supplying stage, a sheet storage module 42 with a sheet extraction and supplying module 43, a second scoring module 44 , a digital print module 45, a bar code reader module 46, a laser cutting or blanking module 47, a UV gluing or glue supply module 48.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is also provided for the insertion of one or more finishing modules downstream of the coupling and pressing module 35, for example between: a module 49 for the collection of book blocks 38, a module 50 for cutting book blocks, a module 51 for applying covers, a module 52 for pressing the book blocks with cover, a module 53 for packaging, as well as any other modules, not illustrated, for example for the insertion of inserts or brochures, application of addresses and so on and so forth.

Furthermore, replacing the module 35 for the rotary transfer of the pre- glued sheets and subsequent coupling and pressing and coupling on a rectilinear path with any other single or multiple module functionally equivalent and allowing the execution of the steps for transferring the pre- glued and/or coupling and/or pressing the sheets carried out with a different handling of the folded and pre-glued sheets 37.

From the structural and functional description of the base lines 30 and the integrated lines 30A obtainable therefrom according to the invention it is clear that the lines 30 and 30 A for producing book blocks 38 with pages glued two by two according to the invention allow efficiently attaining the indicated objects and advantages.

In practice, those skilled in the art may definitely introduce further modifications and variants and propose lines with combinations, at will, of the single modules provided for without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed in the claims that follow and the combinations and equivalents thereof, wherein the reference indexes inserted in the claims are used solely for indicative and non-limiting purposes.