A machine for making rigid covers for binding

Abstract

 A machine for making rigid covers for binding, comprising brush means (50) for striking transversal edges (310, 320) of a covering layer (30), said machine comprising feed and thrust systems (80, 81, 84, 54) interposed between a first and a second pairs of juxtaposed rollers (60, 60'), which are designed to retain and move said assembly made up of said covering layer (30) and said cardboard (20) between said first and second pairs of rollers (60, 60'), even if the longitudinal dimensions of said assembly are less than the longitudinal distance between said first and second pairs of juxtaposed rollers.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to field of machinery for the publishing industry and in detail concerns a machine for making book covers. Document EP 0642932 B1 discloses a machine for manufacturing covers which, as illustrated in figure 1 comprises a continuous horizontal belt 1 for feeding a cardboard frame 20 and a covering sheet 3, which are superposed beforehand and joined by means of an adhesive material, namely, glue. In detail, the sheets are oriented downwards and rest upon the continuous horizontal belt 1. In this machine of a known type, a pair of horizontally juxtaposed rollers 4 is designed to press the sheet and the cardboard one against the other in such a way as to achieve maximum adhesion.

[0002] The machine of the above-mentioned document, whose operation is partly described here for the sake of convenience, also comprises a brush 5, rotating about a horizontal axis 50 parallel to the axis 40 of the rollers 4; in detail, the brush 5 rotates in a direction opposite to that of the pair 20, 3, and is located at a height enabling folding of the first and then the second protruding transversal edge 31, 32 of the covering sheet onto the corresponding transversal edges 21, 22 of the cardboard.

[0003] The machine described therein, as illustrated in figure 1, also comprises a first pair of juxtaposed rollers 6 adjacent to the brush 5 and acting solely to push the pair 20, 3 forward; it also comprises a second pair of juxtaposed rollers 6', positioned on the side opposite that of the first pair of juxtaposed rollers 6 relative to the brush 5, and acting solely to push the pair 20, 3 backward; the lower roller of the first and second pairs of juxtaposed rollers 6, 6' cooperates with a multi-channel loop belt 60, in order to enable the advancement of the pair 20, 3 into a position underlying the brush 5. As illustrated in figure 2, which illustrates an additional view of the machine of a known type described in the above-cited European patent, the brush 5 is provided with a plurality of clumps of bristles 51, 52, distributed according to multiple rings of different radius. In detail, the shorter bristles graze the belt 60, whereas the longer ones 52 pass along longitudinal channels 61 of the belt 60 and in slots 54 of a plate 53 positioned by the lower part of the brush 5 and below the belt 60 in order to facilitate lifting and folding of the transversal edges 31, 32 of the covering sheet 3.

[0004] The upper rollers have a smooth working surface having vulcanized silicone rubber added to it in order to prevent gluing with the edges of the covering sheet 3, and the lower rollers of the first and second pairs of juxtaposed rollers 6, 6' have a plurality of grooves, corresponding to the channels 61 of the belt 60.

[0005] The machine described in the above-cited document also comprises a plurality of final guide rollers 11 having a substantially vertical axis, which are positioned laterally and externally to the belts 9 downstream of the guide wheels 10, and are designed to permit a 90° totation of the longitudinal edges of the covering sheet 3, that is, for complete folding over onto the inside edges 24, 20 of the cardboard flaps.

[0006] At the bottom of the machine, in the outlet section U, there are also transversal juxtaposed rollers 13 whose respective axis is orthogonal to the direction of advancement of the assembly 2, 20, 3. These rollers exert an action of pressing the assembly 2, 20, 3 with the transversal edges 31, 32 and longitudinal ones 34, 35, already folded, to enable maximum adhesion.

[0007] The operation of the machine is as follows: on leaving the continuous horizontal belt 1, each pair 20, 3 is pressed by the rollers 4 in order to permit complete adhesion. Subsequently, the pair 20, 3 is thus pressed by the first pair of juxtaposed rollers 6, its respective front transversal edge 31 being next to the brush 5; here the bristles 52 raise and fold the edge 31: folding is completed with the cooperation of the shorter bristles 51. A further advancement of the pair 20, 3 then enables the intervention of the second pair of juxtaposed rollers, which apply pressure on the already folded edge 31, and the intervention of the plates 8 adjacent to the second pair of juxtaposed rollers 6', each of which causes the corresponding corner portion 33 of the folded and pressed edge 31 to move backward. At the end of this step, the feed direction of the pair 20, 3 is reversed, as a result of the deactivation of the plates 8 acting on said corner portions 33, so that the already described operations can be performed on the rear transversal edge 32 of the covering.

[0008] At the outlet of the folding station of the machine, the pair 20, 3 with the respective transversal edges 31, 32 that have already been folded, is picked up by one of the belts 9 to enable the intervention of conical wheels 10, which fold the longitudinal edges 34, 35 of the covering sheet 3, positioning them in a vertical position. The conical wheels 10 enable an additional plurality of pressing rollers 11 to press the base portion of the longitudinal edges 34, 35 on the corresponding sides of the cardboard 2 and the plates 12 carry out the final fold. Then the rollers 13 carry out the final pressing of the cardboard.

[0009] The disadvantage of the machine described here above is that if the cardboard and the sheet 20, 3 are characterized by respective short longitudinal sides 34, 35, the passage between the first and second pairs of juxtaposed rollers 6, 6' cannot take place, since the cardboard would remain blocked between them.

[0010] Substantially, therefore, the longitudinal distance between the first and second pairs of juxtaposed rollers 6, 6' determines the minimum longitudinal length of the cover that can be handled by the machine. This is thus a compromise of a machine of the known type: on the one hand there are the dimensions of the brush 5 - which must in any case have a size such as to ensure the correct functioning of the machine in the folding operations - and the distance between the first and the second pairs of juxtaposed rollers; on the other hand there are the minimum dimensions of the cover that the machine is capable of handling.

[0011] Though at least in theory one might take into consideration a manual intervention of the operator on the machine to move the cover between the first and the second pairs of juxtaposed rollers 6, 6', such an intervention would however be inadvisable due to the concrete risk of injuries that would be posed for the operator; a risk that is today unacceptable. Moreover, the automation of the machine would be completely lost, and therefore the speed of manufacturing the covers would be considerably reduced. Finally, the repeatability of the quality of execution would be compromised.

[0012] The object of the present invention is thus that of describing a machine for making covers which is free of the above-described drawbacks.

[0013] A machine is realized, according to the present invention, for the automatic manufacture of rigid covers for binding, the machine comprising brush means for striking the transversal edges of a covering layer, said machine comprising:

• a horizontal belt designed to individually feed cardboard frames of said covers with a respective central portion and a covering layer and with said central portion, said covering layer and the cardboard frame being superposed in advance by interposing a layer of glue between them;
• a brush rotating about a respective axis in a direction which in use is opposite to a direction of feed of the assembly formed by said covering layer and said cardboard;
• a first pair of juxtaposed rollers, adjacent to said brush and superposed, both lying on a first side of the brush; and a second pair of juxtaposed rollers, adjacent to said brush and superposed, both lying on a second side of said brush;

said machine being characterised in that it comprises feed and thrust means interposed between said first and said second pairs of juxtaposed rollers and designed to retain and move said assembly made up of said covering layer and said cardboard between said first and second pairs of rollers even if the longitudinal dimensions of the said assembly are less than the longitudinal distance between said first and second pairs of juxtaposed rollers.

[0014] Advantageously, said feed and thrust means comprise a pair of rotary feed rollers, side by side and positioned below said brush.

[0015] Advantageously, said feed and thrust means also comprise a plurality of belts at least partly looped over the surface of said feed rollers and designed to allow their synchronised rotation.

[0016] Advantageously, said feed means also comprise at least one pair of compression rods, extending vertically substantially next to said brush and ending in a lower portion comprising a thrust wheel or roller designed to apply, in use, a pressure on said assembly made up of said covering layer and said cardboard.

[0017] Advantageously, said thrust wheel or roller is specifically designed to push said assembly against said feed rollers.

[0018] Advantageously, said machine also comprises a pair of crosspieces respectively positioned above said first and said second pairs of juxtaposed rollers, between which at least one pair of bridges (83) extends, the bridges being mobile and slidable on respective guides positioned on said crosspieces, said bridges being designed to act as supporting elements for said compression rods.

[0019] Advantageously, said bridges comprise means for fixing the respective position relative to an ideal centre line of said machine and also comprise means for manually adjusting the pressure applied during use by said thrust wheel or roller on said assembly.

[0020] Advantageously, said brush comprises a plurality of clumps of bristles extending radially relative to the centre of said brush, characterised by different lengths, and in which at the position of said feed and thrust means said bristles are shorter than the maximum length or are absent. Advantageously, said feed rollers are interposed between said first and said second pairs of juxtaposed rollers and are horizontally side by side. Advantageously, said feed rollers are designed to allow movement of said assembly in a first direction and in a second direction which is opposite to the first so as to fold a first front transversal portion of said assembly and a second rear transversal portion of said assembly.

[0021] Additional features and details of a preferred and non-limiting embodiment of the machine for making covers according to the present invention will be described in the description that follows with reference to the annexed figures in which:

• figure 1 illustrates a view from above of a known type of machine for making covers;
• figure 2 illustrates a side view of a portion of a known type of machine for making covers;
• figure 3 illustrates a view from above of a machine for making covers according to the present invention;
• figure 4 illustrates a side view of a portion of a machine for making covers according to the present invention;
• figure 5 illustrates a view from above of a portion of the machine for making covers according to the present invention.

[0022] The reference number 100 indicates overall a preferred embodiment of a machine for making covers, whose main improvement is aimed at reducing the minimal longitudinal dimension of the book covers that can be manufactured.

[0023] The basic operating principle of the machine of the present invention is substantially identical to that of the machine described in the preceding portion of the present description where the prior art was described.

[0024] What distinguishes the machine of the present invention are cover feed and thrust means positioned in proximity to the brush, which enable the drawback of the known machine to be overcome; the feed and thrust means will be described in greater detail below. Said means are described here in association with a machine similar to that of the prior art to provide a coherent description, but it is understood that said feed and thrust means can be adapted to other cover making machines featuring additions or variants to the original machine.

[0025] In detail, in this case as well it comprises a continuous horizontal belt 10 for automatically and individually feeding a sheet of cardboard 20 comprising a body with a transversal portion 200 corresponding to the central spine of the cover where a book is typically bound and a covering sheet 30, which are superposed beforehand and bonded by means of an adhesive material, namely, glue. The cardboard body 20 is moreover provided with transversal edges 220 In detail, the sheets are oriented downward and rest upon continuous horizontal belt 10. In the machine a pair of juxtaposed horizontal rollers 40 are designed to press the sheet and cardboard against one another in such a way as to achieve maximum adhesion.

[0026] The machine of the above-cited document also comprises a brush 50 rotating about a horizontal axis 500 parallel to the axis 400 of the rollers 40; in detail, the brush 50 rotates in a direction which is opposite that of the pair made up of the cardboard 20, with its respective transversal central portion 200, and the covering sheet 30, and is positioned at a height such as to enable folding initially of the first and then of the second projecting transversal edges 310, 320 of the covering sheet over the corresponding transversal edges 210, 220 of the cardboard. For the sake of brevity of description, the pair made up of the cardboard 20, with its respective transversal central portion 200, and the covering sheet 30 will hereinafter be referred to simply as "pair 20, 200, 30".

[0027] The machine of the present invention also comprises a first pair of juxtaposed rollers 60 adjacent to the brush 50 and acting solely to push the pair 20, 200, 30 forward; it also comprises a second pair of juxtaposed rollers 60', positioned on the side opposite that of the first pair of juxtaposed rollers 60 relative to the brush 50, and acting solely to push the pair 20, 200, 30 backward; the lower roller of the first and second pairs of juxtaposed rollers 60, 60' cooperates with the multi-channel loop belt 600, in order to enable the advancement of the pair 20, 200, 30 into a position underlying the brush 50.

[0028] As illustrated in figure 4, the brush 50 is provided with a plurality of clumps of bristles 510, 520, distributed in multiple rings of different radius. The purpose of the bristles is to facilitate lifting and folding of the transversal edges 310, 320 of the covering sheet 30.

[0029] The upper rollers preferably, though not necessarily, have a smooth working surface having vulcanized silicone rubber added to it in order to prevent gluing with the edges of the covering sheet 30, and the lower rollers of the first and second pairs of juxtaposed rollers 60, 60'.

[0030] The machine of the present invention also comprises a further pair of feed rollers 80r positioned side by side along the direction of feed of the cardboard and the associated covering sheet; these are connected in rotation by a plurality of belts 81 positioned side by side substantially along the entire width of the rollers themselves, which extend transversally for substantially the entire width of the machine. The pair of feed rollers 80r substantially lies below the brush 50. The pair of feed rollers is conveniently made in such a way as to rotate actively both in a clockwise direction and in an anticlockwise direction, in order to enable a folding to be performed both on the front transversal portion 310 and on the rear transversal portion 320 of the covering sheet 30.

[0031] Moreover, the machine comprises a pair of crosspieces 82, the first of which is positioned above the first pair of juxtaposed rollers 60, while the second is positioned above the second pair of juxtaposed rollers 60'; both crosspieces extend for their maximum length parallel both to the first and second pairs of juxtaposed rollers. Two bridges 83 are positioned on the crosspieces, the bridges being substantially located in a symmetrical position relative to an ideal centre line of the machine and which, as illustrated in figure 4, are oriented along a direction perpendicular to the crosspieces. In detail, the bridges 83, which are positioned at a greater height than the rotation axis of the brush 50, intersect the latter in a couple of portions in which the length of the bristles is considerably reduced or alternatively - and equivalently - absent. In this manner one also avoids wear of the bristles against the compression rods, which would otherwise lead to rapid wear and scattering of bristle parts inside the machine of the present invention.

[0032] In detail, the bridges 83 act as a support for at least one pair of compression rods 84, which extend vertically from the bridges 83 by an amount sufficient to make them graze the plate 530.

[0033] The bridges 83 are characterized in that they can be moved transversally relative to the centre line of the machine of the present invention. The bridges 83 are moved manually by the operator. For this reason, they are advantageously made to slide on guides 82g of the crosspieces, into which a portion of them is introduced, and are advantageously also lockable when positioned by a user in the desired position via fastening means 83f, which, in the appended figures is shown as a hexagonal screw, representing a non-limiting example of fastening means.

[0034] On the end portion of each compression rod 84 there is a guide wheel or roller 54, whose purpose is to press the assembly made up of the cardboard 200 and covering sheet 30 against the pair of feed rollers 80.

[0035] If the machine of the present invention is observed from the side, the compression rods 84 are respectively to the left and right of the brush 50, and are substantially above the pair of feed rollers. Therefore, they are located in an interspace defined between the first and second pairs of juxtaposed rollers 60, 60'.

[0036] On the upper part of every bridge 83 there is a planar portion 86, distanced from the remaining part of the body of the bridge 83 and onto which a spring 87 is connected, the spring extending parallel to the compression rods 84 and being designed to allow the transfer of a pushing force on the guide wheel or roller 54. On the planar portion 86 there is also an adjustment screw 88, designed to adjust the tension of the spring and consequently the pushing force applied by the guide wheel or roller 54 during use on the assembly of the covering sheet and cardboard when they pass below the same. Preferably, though not necessarily, the adjustment screw 88 has a hexagonal head; in any case, it can be equally replaced by corresponding means for manually adjusting the tension of the spring and, consequently, for manually adjusting the pressing action exerted during use by the guide wheel or roller on the sheet and cardboard assembly.

[0037] The operation of the machine is as follows: on leaving the continuous horizontal belt 10, each pair 20, 200, 30 is pressed by the rollers 40 in order to permit complete adhesion of the cardboard to the film or covering layer 30 which has been superposed on the cardboard itself in advance by previously interposing a layer of adhesive material (glue). Subsequently, the pair 20, 200, 30 is thus pressed by the first pair of juxtaposed rollers 60, its respective front transversal edge 310 being next to the brush 50; before reaching the brush 50, the pair 20, 200, 30 is pressed between the guide wheel or roller 54 and the feed rollers, and is then pushed as far as the brush 50; here the bristles 520 raise and fold over the edge 310: the folding is completed with the cooperation of the shorter bristles 510. A further advancement of the pair 20, 200, 30 causes the pair 20, 200, 30 to pass beneath the second guide wheel or roller 54, and thanks to the drawing action exerted by the feed rollers 80r and the belts 81, enables the intervention of the second pair of juxtaposed rollers, which apply pressure on the already folded edge 310, and the intervention of the plates 800 adjacent to the second pair of juxtaposed rollers 60', each of which causes the corresponding corner portion of the 330 of the folded and pressed edge 310 to move backward. At the end of said step, the feed direction of the pair 20, 200, 30 is reversed, as a result of the deactivation of the plates 80 acting on said corner portions 330, so that the already described operations can be performed on the rear transversal edge 320 of the covering. At the outlet of the folding station of the machine, the pair 20, 200, 30, with the respective transversal edges 310, 320 that have already been folded, is picked up by one of the belts 90 to enable the intervention of conical wheels 100 which fold the longitudinal edges 34, 35 of the covering sheet 3, positioning them in a vertical position. The conical wheels 100 enable an additional plurality of pressing rollers 110 to press the base portion base of the longitudinal edges 340, 350 on the corresponding sides of the cardboard 20 and the plates 12 carry out the final fold. Then the rollers 13 carry out the final pressing of the cardboard. The machine of the present invention can also lack the means necessary for folding the longitudinal edges of the pair 20, 200, 30. In such a case, the machine will be designed to fold the longitudinal and transversal edges in two different times and, in detail, in two sequences of operations in a time sequence. In particular, it will be envisaged to fold the transversal edges as already described; then, in a subsequent step, the operator will manually pick up the pair 20, 200, 30 and rotate it by 90° relative to before, independently in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction, to enable the machine to perform an operation of folding the transversal edges, which, in this second step will correspond to the original longitudinal edges of the pair.

[0038] The machine of the present invention also comprises a plurality of final guide rollers 110 having a substantially vertical axis, which are positioned laterally and externally to the belts 90 downstream of a plurality of guide wheels 100, and are designed to allow a 90° rotation of the longitudinal edges of the covering sheet 30, i.e. for complete folding over onto the inside edges 240, 250 of the flaps of the cardboard.

[0039] At the bottom of the machine, in the outlet portion U, there are also juxtaposed transversal rollers 130, whose respective axis is perpendicular to the direction of advancement of the assembly 20, 200, 30. The rollers exert a pressing action on the assembly 20, 200, 30, with the transversal edges 310, 320 and longitudinal edges 340, 350 already folded, in order to allow maximum adhesion.

[0040] The advantages of the cover making machine of the present invention are clear in light of the preceding description. In fact, it enables book covers of reduced longitudinal dimensions to be made without bringing the first pair of juxtaposed rollers near the second pair of juxtaposed rollers at a distance such as to obligatorily require a reduction in the brush dimension which would cause a malfunctioning or reduction in the possible quality of operation. This is thanks to the thrust and feed means formed by the assembly of the feed rollers 80, the compression rods and associated wheels which are interposed between the first and the second pairs of juxtaposed rollers 60, 60'.

[0041] The machine of the present invention can advantageously adjust the pressure acting upon on the sheet and cardboard, with a consequent adaptation to different thicknesses or to adhesive materials whose reciprocal pressure necessary to enable good adhesion between the cardboard and sheet requires adaptations.

[0042] Advantageously, moreover, the machine of the present invention can have automated operation, in which, that is, an operator can program substantially automatic operating cycles and not intervene further except where there is a need to introduce or extract the pairs 20, 200, 30.

[0043] It is clear, finally, that the machine for making covers according to the present invention can have additions, modifications or variants applied to it which are obvious to the person skilled in the art without going beyond the scope of protection of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A machine for automatically making rigid covers for binding, comprising brush means (50) for striking the transversal edges (310, 320) of a covering layer (30), said machine comprising:

- a horizontal belt (10) designed to individually feed cardboard frames (20) of said covers with a respective central portion (200) and a covering layer (30) and in which said central portion (200), said covering layer (30) and the cardboard frame (20) are superposed in advance by interposing a layer of glue between them;

- a brush (50) rotating about a respective axis (500) in a direction which in use is opposite to a direction of feed of the assembly formed by said covering layer (30) and said cardboard (20);

- a first pair of juxtaposed rollers (60), adjacent to said brush (50), superposed, both lying on a first side of the brush; and a second pair of juxtaposed rollers (60'), adjacent to said brush (50) and superposed, both lying on a second side of said brush;

said machine being characterised in that it comprises feed and thrust means (80r, 81, 84, 54) interposed between said first and second pairs of juxtaposed rollers (60, 60') and designed to retain and move said assembly made up of said covering layer (30) and said cardboard (20) between said first and second pairs of rollers (60, 60') even if the longitudinal dimensions of said assembly are less than the longitudinal distance between said first and second pairs of juxtaposed rollers.

2. The machine according to claim 1, wherein said feed and thrust means comprise a pair of rotary feed rollers (80r), side by side and positioned below said brush (50).

3. The machine according to claim 2, wherein said feed and thrust means also comprise a plurality of belts (81) at least partly looped on the surface of said feed rollers (80r) and designed to allow their synchronised rotation.

4. The machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said feed means also comprise at least one pair of compression rods (84), extending vertically substantially at said brush (50) and ending with their lower portion comprising a thrust wheel or roller (54) designed to in use apply a pressure on said assembly made up of said covering layer (30) and said cardboard (200).

5. The machine according to claims 2 and 4, wherein said thrust wheel or roller (54) is specifically designed to push said assembly against said feed rollers.

6. The machine according to claim 4, also comprising a pair of crosspieces respectively positioned above said first and said second pairs of juxtaposed rollers (60, 60') between which at least one pair of bridges (83) extends, the bridges being mobile and slidable on respective guides positioned on said crosspieces, said bridges (83) being designed to act as supporting elements for said compression rods (84).

7. The machine according to claim 6, wherein said bridges (83) comprise means for fixing the respective position relative to an ideal centre line of said machine and also comprise means for manually adjusting the pressure (87, 88) applied in use by said thrust wheel or roller on said assembly.

8. The machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said brush (50) comprises a plurality of clumps of bristles extending radially relative to the centre of the brush, characterised by different lengths and in which at said feed and thrust means (80, 81, 84, 54) said bristles are shorter than the maximum length or are absent.

9. The machine according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said feed rollers (80r) are interposed between said first and said second pairs of juxtaposed rollers (60, 60') and are horizontally side by side.

10. The machine according to claim 2, wherein said feed rollers (80) are designed to allow movement of said assembly in a first direction and in a second direction which is opposite to the first, for folding in a first front transversal portion (310) of said assembly and a second rear transversal portion (320) of said assembly.

Drawing