Method for providing a stack composed of book covers for book production

Abstract

A method for providing a stack of book covers for production of finished books includes supplying a task stack of book covers having identical cover formats and stacked one above another in an unknown or known sequence. Each book cover in the task stack includes an identifier comprising cover information. The book covers are separated out and conveyed from the task stack as separate book covers in a sequence that does not change until a completion signal is transmitted. The separated out book covers are counted, an identifier on each separated out book cover is detected, and cover information is read out of the respective identifier stored. The separated out book covers are deposited on top of one another in the sequence in which they were separated out for forming a detected stack. An identifier is stored that identifies the detected stack together with the temporarily stored cover information.

Claims

1. A method for providing a stack composed of book covers for production of finished books, comprising: supplying a task stack of book covers having identical cover formats and stacked one above another in an unknown or known sequence, wherein each book cover in the task stack includes an identifier comprising cover information; separating out and conveying the book covers from the task stack as separate book covers in a sequence that does not change for the following method steps, until a completion signal is transmitted: counting the separated out book covers, detecting of the identifier on each separated out book cover, reading cover information out of the respective identifier, and temporarily storing the cover information; depositing the separated out book covers directly one on top of the other in the sequence in which they were separated out for forming a detected stack; and storing an identifier that identifies the detected stack together with the temporarily stored cover information, wherein the identifiers of the respective book covers are used to request book blocks in the sequence of the book covers in the detected stack in the production of the finished books.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least two of the method steps overlap with respect to time.

3. The method according to claim 1, including using at least one cover information bit from one of the book covers as the identifier for the detected stack.

4. The method according to claim 1, including using at least one cover information bit from the book cover last deposited on the detected stack as the identifier for the detected stack.

5. A method for providing a stack composed of book covers for production of finished books, comprising: supplying a task stack of book covers having identical cover formats and stacked one above another in an unknown or known sequence, wherein each book cover in the task stack includes an identifier comprising cover information; separating out and conveying of the book covers from the task stack as separate book covers in a sequence that does not change for the following method steps, until a completion signal is transmitted: counting the separated out book covers, detecting of the identifier on each separated out book cover, reading cover information out of the respective identifier, and temporarily storing the cover information; depositing the separated out book covers one on top of the other in the sequence in which they were separated out for forming a detected stack; storing an identifier that identifies the detected stack together with the temporarily stored cover information; and triggering the completion signal by a light barrier that registers a gap following the deposited book covers at an end of the task stack to be detected.

6. An apparatus for providing a stack composed of book covers used to produce finished books, comprising: a cover magazine to separate out book covers with identical format from a task stack in a known or unknown sequence and to convey the separated out book covers in longitudinal direction through the apparatus, wherein each of the separated out book covers is provided with an identifier comprising cover information; at least one detection device arranged to at least one of count the separated out book covers, detect the respective identifier, and read the cover information out of the identifier; and a processing unit to process the cover information, wherein the cover information is at least one of stored with the aid of the processing unit and communicated to an external cover-matching system by the processing unit.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, further including a stacking shaft, arranged downstream of the cover magazine as seen in a longitudinal direction, to stack the separated out book covers to form a detected stack.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6, further including a longitudinal conveyor arranged downstream of the cover magazine, as seen in longitudinal direction.

9. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the at least one detection device is arranged in or on the cover magazine.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the at least one detection device is arranged above a conveying path for the book covers.

11. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the at least one detection device is arranged to be displaceable transverse to the longitudinal direction.

12. The apparatus according to claim 6, further including an identification device useable to affixed in or on the detected stack a second identifier as identification for the detected stack.

13. A book production line, comprising an apparatus as disclosed in claim 6.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) These and other features and advantages of the invention will be further understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show in:

(2) FIG. 1—A perspective representation of the apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment;

(3) FIG. 2—A perspective representation of the apparatus according to a second exemplary embodiment, wherein the apparatus according to the second embodiment comprises a longitudinal conveyor and rollers; and

(4) FIG. 3—A schematic diagram which illustrates the transfer of an available stack from the apparatus to a book production line.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of an apparatus for providing a detected stack 7 composed of separated out book covers (7.1-7.n), stacked one above the other, for producing finished books. Detected in this case is the information on the respective deposited book covers 2.1-2.m, which are stacked in a task stack 1 that is supplied to the apparatus.

(6) The book covers 2.1-2.m to be detected by the device are in most cases provided with a visible identifier 40 which can be detected and read out with the aid of a detection device 10 for reading the cover information. FIG. 1 shows an example representing a snapshot of a book cover flow moving through the apparatus. In this case, a number of book covers 7.1 to 7.2 have already been separated out of the task stack 1, shown in the form a scaled flow, and have been deposited on the growing detected stack 7. The task stack 1 is still for the most part positioned in a scaled arrangement on the conveying belt 8. The following book cover 2.1, to be separated out by the apparatus, is positioned on the underside of a partial stack 2 of the task stack 1, which is formed downstream of the conveying belt 8, wherein this partial stack 2 is gathered in front of at least one retaining bar 21, with two retaining bars 21 shown herein. Alternatively, it may be useful to provide only one retaining bar or several retaining bars that are distributed across the book cover width. While the separating device removes the book cover 2.1 from the bottom of the partial stack 2, the next book cover 2.3 from the task stack 1 in a scaled arrangement on the conveying belt 8 simultaneously drops onto the top book cover 2.2 of this partial stack 2. The forming of the partial stack 2 will be completed once the last book cover 2.4 of the task stack 1 which is positioned in front of the retaining bar 21 has been conveyed. The numbering of the book covers 2.1-2.m is randomly specified in this case. The book cover 2.4 may not be the fourth book cover and, as the last and final book cover of the m number of book covers 2.1 to 2.m, corresponds to the book cover 2.m.

(7) The book covers 2.m are deposited one above the other on the conveying belt 8 in the form of a task stack 1, or several stacks, with unknown composition and resting on their side edges, wherein this can be a manual or an automatic operation. The task stack 1 on the conveying belt 8 is tilted forward in conveying direction to form the scaled flow. A further stack of book covers that belongs to the same production task can in the same way be placed onto the conveying belt 8, behind the tilted task stack 1 as seen in conveying direction. Finally, the book covers 2.m for a production task, which are to be detected, must be positioned completely and without gaps, one behind the other in a scaled arrangement, on the conveying belt 8.

(8) At a downstream end of the conveying belt 8, the book covers 2.m drop onto the partial stack 2 to be detected. The apparatus is provided with a cover magazine 20, having a separating device that is known per se, wherein the previously described conveying belt 8 can indeed be considered a component of the cover magazine 20. The partial stack 2 is held in place with the aid of two retaining bars 21 over nearly its complete height while the lowest book cover is pulled from the bottom of the partial stack 2. The lowest book cover is separated out while the cover magazine 20 ensures that only a single book cover 2.1 is removed from the bottom of the partial stack 2 in longitudinal direction L, among other things through the alignment of the retaining bar 21.

(9) The separating out and therewith connected conveying of the book covers 2.1-2.m of the task stack 1 as separated out book covers 7.1-7.n continues until a completion signal is triggered and in a sequence which does not change even during the method steps mentioned in the following.

(10) Once the separated out book cover leaves the partial stack 2, it consequently also leaves the cover magazine 20 in longitudinal direction L. The separated out book cover is detected downstream of the retaining bar 21 in longitudinal direction L with the aid of a detection device 10, which is either integrated in the cover magazine 20—as shown in FIG. 1, or arranged for example—as illustrated in FIG. 2 in or on the apparatus subsequently in the longitudinal direction L. The detection device 10 sketched in FIGS. 1 and 2 is suitable for counting the book covers 7.1-7.n, for detecting the identifier 40 on the separated out book covers 7.1-7.n, and for reading the cover information out of the identifier 40.

(11) The retaining bar 21 ensures that in all cases only one book cover 7.1-7.n leaves the partial stack, so that the number m of deposited book covers 2.1-2.m corresponds to the number n of separated out book covers 7.1-7.n. In addition, the guaranteed removal from the bottom ensures that a separating sequence can be detected and/or monitored later on by the cover magazine 20.

(12) In a processing unit 30, the cover information from the book covers 2.1-2.m of the task stack 1 are collected from the detection device 10 and the sequence of the separated out book covers 7.1-7.n of the growing, detected stack 7 are stored temporarily. Once the last book cover 7.n of the detected stack 7 has passed the detection device 10 and the cover information has been processed in the processing unit 30, at least one cover information bit from the last book cover 7.n is used for identifying the stack 7, which is completely detected once the last book cover 7.n is accommodated. The last book cover 7.n can thus be called the identifying book cover 7.n.

(13) FIG. 2 shows the second exemplary embodiment of the apparatus. The apparatus is designed to be moved on rollers 25. As compared to the apparatus shown in the first exemplary embodiment, this apparatus is extended behind the retaining bar 21 of the cover magazine 20 by a longitudinal conveyor 60. The detection device 10 in this case is not integrated into the cover magazine 20. The detection device 10 is located above the flow of covers (illustrated in the snapshot by the book cover 7.2 which passes the detection device 10) at the end of the longitudinal conveyor 60 which is facing away from the retaining bar 21. Downstream of the detection device 10, the book covers 7.1-7.n drop onto the detected stack 7 inside a stacking shaft 50.

(14) The diagram in FIG. 3 shows a connection of the mobile apparatus to a book production line 100 in the form of a snapshot. At the instant shown herein, a task G in the form of a corresponding partial stack of book covers is located on the apparatus. The tasks D, E and F in the form of detected stacks 7 are ready for the book production line 100. Already positioned on the book production line are the tasks A, B and C, which are stacks 7 that were previously detected by the apparatus.

(15) The apparatus generates and/or determines an identifier for each stack 7 with the aid of the processing unit 30 for processing the cover information. The cover information can be stored by the processing unit 30 and/or the processing unit 30 can communicate this information to an external cover-matching system 130, for example embodied as memory programmable control (SPS), via data transmission S. In the latter case, the cover information is stored continuously during the stack forming in the external system 130 until a completion signal is transmitted. The completion signal is transmitted as soon as the detected stack 7 is completed. For example, this may be the case when a manual release is issued following the complete separating out of the book covers from a task stack 1.

(16) The identifier as well as all book cover information for the respective stack 7 is transmitted to the external system 130. The book production line 100 can access this stack information for each stack A to G once the following stack 7 is deposited in the form of the task D. Based on this information, a cover feeder belonging to the book production line can be controlled, for example with respect to the format. In addition, the book blocks associated with the book covers 7.1 to 7.n of the task D are requested.

(17) Owing to the store of book covers resulting from the tasks A-G, it is possible to call up the book blocks “inline” from a digital printer and/or from a following machine, in the sequence of the book covers. A known inline system is the product line “Sigma Line” by the company Müller Martini.

(18) For example, a barcode for the respective stack 7 is input to securely integrate the detected stack 7 of the task D into the book production line 100 even during the processing of the stack 7 in the book production line 100. Two cycles before joining the book block and the book cover, the cover-matching systems 130, for example, compares the cover information for the respective book cover from the task D to the available book block data. If these do not match, the book production line is stopped in a controlled operation. Previously requested operating steps are completed. The cover transport is stopped to remove the incorrect cover. Of the four books already located in the casing-in machine of the book production line, three are completed and conveyed out of the book production line. The fourth book block without cover is not provided with adhesive on the side and is removed from a book delivery.

(19) In place of the covers for hardcover books, covers for the soft cover production could also be used for producing finished books in a book production line. The covers, which are input with the above-described method, are supplied in so-called cover feeders to an adhesive applicator where they are combined with the book blocks.

(20) It will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications, changes and adaptations, and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims.