Apparatus for, and method of, manufacture of a folded-substrate article

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for the manufacture of an article made up of a number of elements, including a resilient element, that are bonded together during the manufacturing process. The apparatus includes a guide track which defines a path along which the elements travel during the manufacturing process and a compression frame provided along at least part of the length of the track for compressing the resilient element as the resilient member travels along the path defined by the guide track. The process includes moving a combination of article precursor elements together along the guide track rails such that the compression frame acts to press the elements together during bonding. The method and apparatus minimize misalignment of the elements and thereby improve quality of the finished article as well increasing production rates compared to conventional methods and apparatus.

Claims

1. An apparatus for manufacturing an article, comprising: a guide track that defines a path along which two or more elements to be bonded together to form the article travel during manufacture, the two or more elements comprising a resilient element; one or more feeders positioned along the guide track, the one or more feeders for introducing the two or more elements to the guide track to form a combination of elements; and, a compression frame positioned along at least a portion of a length of the guide track, the compression frame compressing the resilient element as the resilient element travels along the path defined by the guide track; wherein the guide track comprises a first rail section that is flat and defines a first plane of travel, a second rail section that is flat and defines a second plane of travel offset from the first plane of travel, and an intermediate rail section positioned between the first rail section and second rail section to provide a transition between the first rail section and second rail section; wherein the first plane of travel is located vertically above the second plane of travel.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, the compression frame comprising at least one bearing surface that, in use, applies a compression force on the elements moving along the guide track.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, the intermediate rail section being concave.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a flight for urging the elements along the guide track.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, the compression frame comprising at least a first section and a second section, the first section and the second section (1) being aligned with one another along at least a portion of a length of the guide track and (2) being independently mounted such that relative positions of the first section and the second section with respect to one another may be adjusted.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, the bearing surface being arranged relative to track rails of the guide track such that a distance between the bearing surface and the track rails decreases in a direction of travel of the elements along the bearing surface.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, the bearing surface being configured such that the distance between the bearing surface and the track rails reduces at a first rate along a first portion of a length of the bearing surface in the direction of travel, and then reduces at a second rate along a second portion of the length of the bearing surface in the direction of travel, the second rate being less than the first rate.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, the intermediate rail section being flat.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising one or more glue guns positioned along the guide track, the one or more glue guns for introducing glue onto the two or more elements to the guide track to form a combination of elements.

10. An apparatus for manufacturing an article, comprising: a guide track that defines a path along which two or more elements to be bonded together to form the article travel during manufacture, the two or more elements comprising a resilient element; one or more feeders positioned along the guide track, the one or more feeders for introducing the two or more elements to the guide track to form a combination of elements; and, a compression frame positioned along at least a portion of a length of the guide track, the compression frame compressing the resilient element as the resilient element travels along the path defined by the guide track; wherein the compression frame comprises at least one bearing surface that, in use, applies a compression force on the elements moving along the guide track, wherein the bearing surface is being arranged relative to track rails of the guide track such that a distance between the bearing surface and the track rails decreases in a direction of travel of the elements along the bearing surface, wherein the bearing surface is configured such that the distance between the bearing surface and the track rails reduces at a first rate along a first portion of a length of the bearing surface in the direction of travel, and then reduces at a second rate along a second portion of the length of the bearing surface in the direction of travel, the second rate being less than the first rate.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, the guide track comprising a first rail section that is flat and defines a first plane of travel, a second rail section that is flat and defines a second plane of travel offset from the first plane of travel, and an intermediate rail section positioned between the first rail section and second rail section to provide a transition between the first rail section and second rail section.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, the first plane of travel being located vertically above the second plane of travel.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, the intermediate rail section being concave.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a flight for urging the elements along the guide track.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, the compression frame comprising at least a first section and a second section, the first section and the second section (1) being aligned with one another along at least a portion of a length of the guide track and (2) being independently mounted such that relative positions of the first section and the second section with respect to one another may be adjusted.

16. The apparatus of claim 11, the intermediate rail section being flat.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising one or more glue guns positioned along the guide track, the one or more glue guns for introducing glue onto the two or more elements to the guide track to form a combination of elements.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Examples of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a side view of the apparatus of the present disclosure;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a part of the track which is provided as part of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of one half of the track shown in FIG. 2;

(5) FIG. 4 shows an end of view of the track; and

(6) FIG. 5 shows a cross-section of a part of a track of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) FIG. 1 shows a side view of an example apparatus 10 according to the present disclosure. The apparatus 10 comprises a guide track 12 and a compression frame 14 provided along at least part of the length of the guide track 12. The apparatus 10 further comprises a first feeder 16, a second feeder 18 and a third feeder 20 aligned along the length of the track 12. The apparatus 10 is also provided with a first glue gun 22 and a second glue gun 24 also aligned along the length of the track 12. The first glue gun 22 is located between the first feeder 16 and the second feeder 18, and the second glue gun 24 is located between the second feeder 18 and the third feeder 20. There is also provided a flight 26 which is moveable along the track 12 on a powered conveyor belt type arrangement. The flight comprises a waist 60 extending upwards away from the conveyor belt towards a lip 62 at its top end. For the avoidance of doubt, in operation the direction of travel of articles through the apparatus 10 is from right to left as shown by arrow A in the Figures. The flight 26 extends above the upper surface of the track 12.

(8) FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the compression frame 14 and track 12, with other details of the apparatus 10 removed. The compression frame 14 comprises at least a first section 30 and a second section 32. In the example shown also comprises a third section 34. Each section of the compression frame comprises two parallel rods, side by side, with a gap between them, such that the flight 26 may extend into the gap between the rods. The first, second third sections 30,32,34 are aligned with one another along at least part of the length of track 12 in the direction A. The compression frame sections 30,32,34 are independently mounted such that their position relative to one another may be adjusted. Each of the compression frame sections 30,32,34 comprise a bearing surface 36.

(9) A perspective view of one half of the guide track 12 is shown in FIG. 3. The other half of the guide track is identical except that it is a mirror image of the half shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 shows an end on view of track 12, with the two halves facing one another. The two halves of the track 12 are mounted independently of one another such that they are adjustable relative to one another so the gap between them may be altered. Each half of the guide track 12 (hereafter referred to as the track) comprises a first rail section 40, in this example provided as a recessed edge, which has an upper edge which is substantially flat and defines a first plane of travel. The guide track 12 further comprises a second rail section 44, also provided as a recess, which also has a substantially flat upper surface and defines a second plane of travel. The first plane of travel 40 is offset from the second plane of travel 44. An intermediate rail section 42, also provided as a recess, provides a transition between the first rail section 40 and second rail section 44. In the example shown the first plane is above the second plane. That is to say the first rail section 40 is above second rail section 44. As shown in FIG. 2, the intermediate section 42 may be substantially flat. An alternative example of the track 12 is shown in FIG. 5, which will be referred to in more detail later. However, as shown in FIG. 4, the intermediate rail section 42 may be curved.

(10) The bearing surface 36 is arranged relative to the track rails 40,42,44 such that the distance between the bearing surface 36 and the track rails 40,42,44 decreases in the direction of travel along the track 12 and the bearing surface 36. Hence at entry to the compression frame sections 30,32,34, the bearing surface is a first distance x from the guide track rails 40,42,44 and at exit from the compression frame sections 30,32,34, the bearing surface 36 is a second distance y from the track rails 40,42,44. In FIG. 3, x and y are shown for third compression frame section 34, although the same applies for the other sections. The first distance x is greater than the second distance y.

(11) In the example shown, the compression frame sections 30,32,34 are configured such that the distance between the bearing surface 36 and the track rails reduces at one rate to a point part way along the length of the compression frame sections 30,32,24, and then further reduces at a lower rate along the rest of the length of the compression frame sections 30,32,34, coming to a minimum height towards the exit point from each of the compression frame sections 30,32,34.

(12) In an alternative example, the compression frame sections 30,32,34 are configured such that the distance between the bearing surface 36 and the track rails reduces to a minimum part way along the length of the compression frame sections 30,32,24, and then remains at a substantially constant distance from the guide track rails 12 along the rest of the length of the compression frame section 30,32,34.

(13) In operation a base element 50 (for example a piece of card or flat cover) is introduced to the rails of the guide track 12 from the first feeder 16. One of the flights 26 moves the base element 50 along the rail 40. The first glue gun 22 deposits glue on the base element 50 as it passes underneath the glue gun 22. The flight 26 moves the base element 50 to a position where a resilient element 52 (for example a folded sheet of paper), ejected from the second feeder 18, is located on top of the base element 50 to form a first combination 54. The lip 62 of the flight 26 rests against the resilient element 52, and the waist 60 rests against the base element 50, thus locating the resilient element 52 offset from the edge of the base element 50.

(14) The first combination 54 is then moved along the rail 40 in the direction of arrow A by the flight 26 such that it slides underneath the first compression frame section 30 such that the bearing surface 36 acts to compress the resilient element 52 and press the resilient element 52 and the base element 50 together. Hence, when the first combination 54 is moved along the rails of the guide track 14 and compressed by the compression frame 14 the base element 50 and resilient element 52 are pressed together while the glue forms a bond. In the example shown the first combination 54 passes through an exit from the first compression frame section 30, and enters an entry point to the second compression frame section 32 to continue the compression.

(15) The first combination 54 is moved to a position beneath the second glue gun 24 where further glue is provided on a top surface of the first combination 54.

(16) The first combination 54 is then urged along the intermediate rail section 42 by the flight 26. A top element 56 (for example a piece of card or flat cover) is then introduced from the third feeder 20, and sits on the upper surface of the second frame section 32 until caught by the flight 26 as the flight 26 passes between the rods of the compression frame. The flight 26 thus urges the first combination 54 along the intermediate rail 42, and the top element 56 along the second frame section together. When the top element drops off the end of the second compression frame section 32, the first combination 54 has reached the second (lower) rail section 44, and is thus further down the flight 26, away from the lip 62 of the flight 26, resting instead against flight waist 60. Hence the ends of the base element 50 and top element 56 are aligned, as shown in FIG. 5, as the top element 56 and first combination 54 are brought together to form a second combination 58. The second combination 58 is then moved along the guide track 12 such that the third compression frame section 34 acts to compress the resilient element 52 and press the first combination 54 and top element 56 together to thereby bond the first combination 54 and top element 56 together.

(17) Upon completion, the second combination (a folded document) exits the compression frame 14.

(18) There is thus provided a binder apparatus and method for the production of folded documents, where the folded sheet (the resilient element) is compressed by the compression frame as it passes through the apparatus, thereby preventing its resilience resulting in misalignment of the base and top elements relative to the resilient element. Running speeds of 14,000 article per hour are possible with apparatus and method of the present invention.

(19) Although preferred embodiment(s) of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.