Device for manipulating paper strips and machine for producing booklets of paper sheets

Abstract

The invention relates to a device and method for manipulating a first paper strip (12) and at least one second paper strip (16) and a machine for producing booklets of paper sheets. The device comprises a conveying unit (64) providing a first conveying direction (14) for the first paper strip (12) and at least one second conveying direction (18) for the at least one second paper strip (14), wherein the at least one second conveying direction (18) is directed non-parallel to the first conveying direction (14), a meeting unit (58) at which the first paper strip (12) and the at least one second paper strip (16) meet to form a single strand of paper.

Claims

1. A device for manipulating a first paper strip (12) and at least one second paper strip (16), comprising in conveying direction: a conveying unit (64) providing a first conveying direction (14) for the first paper strip (12) and at least one second conveying direction (18) for the at least one second paper strip (14), wherein the at least one second conveying direction (18) is directed non-parallel to the first conveying direction (14), a meeting unit (58) at which the first paper strip (12) and the at least one second paper strip (16) meet to form a single strand of paper, and a cutting unit adapted to cut off a stack of papers from the strand of paper, wherein the device further comprises: a first cutting element (22) adapted to form at least one recess (202) at a certain position along a longitudinal extension of the first paper strip (12), wherein the recess (202) being open towards a lateral side (204) of the first paper strip (12), and at least one second cutting element (26) adapted to form at least one recess (206) at a certain position along the longitudinal extension of the at least one respective second paper strip (16), wherein the recess (206) being open towards a lateral side (204) of the second paper strip (16), wherein the first cutting element (22) is arranged along the first conveying direction (14) spaced from the at least one second cutting element (26); and wherein: the first cutting element (22) and the at least one second cutting element (26) are positioned in conveying direction upstream of the meeting unit (58).

2. The device according to claim 1, comprising: an advancing unit adapted to pull the first (12) and the at least one second paper strip (16) from a respective paper strip source (24; 36), wherein a first paper strip source (24) is adapted to provide the first paper strip (12) and the at least one second paper strip source (36) is adapted to provide the at least one second paper strip (16).

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the first (22) and the at least one second cutting element (26) is arranged along the respective first (14) and the at least one second conveying direction (18) between the respective paper strip source (24; 36) and the meeting unit (58).

4. The device according to claim 1, comprising: a converging unit (60) adapted to lead the first paper strip (12) and the at least one second paper strip (16) into the interleaved single strand of paper.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the recess (202; 206) has a semicircular shape.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first (22) and the at least one second cutting element (26) are adapted to form the recess (202; 206) in a region of the first paper strip (12) and of the at least one second paper strip (16) in which the strand of paper is divided into stacks of paper sheets.

7. The device according to claim 1 wherein a first group of cutting elements (37) is arranged spaced from at least one second group of cutting elements (38).

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein a first group of cutting elements (37) comprises first and second cutting elements (22, 26, 27) in a staggered arrangement with respect to the meeting unit (58) and at least one second group of cutting elements (38) comprises second cutting elements (34, 35, 39) in a staggered arrangement with respect to the meeting unit (58).

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the arrangement of cutting elements within the first and second groups of cutting elements (37, 38) repeats seen in a direction across the first conveying direction (14) and the at least one second conveying direction (18).

10. The device according to claim 1, comprising: a positioning element adapted to adjust the cutting depth of the first and/or the at least one second cutting element (22, 26) across the first and/or the at least one second conveying direction.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first and/or the at least one second paper strip source comprises or consists of a supply bobbin (10; 110; 111).

12. The device according to claim 1, comprising: a plurality of paper strip sources, comprising or consisting of a plurality of first supply bobbins (110) arranged spaced from a plurality of second supply bobbins (111), in particular spaced substantially above the plurality of second supply bobbins, forming a gap (143) between the plurality of first and second supply bobbins (110; 111).

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein the plurality of first supply bobbins (110) is mounted rotatable, in particular hanging, in a first support frame (140) arranged substantially above the plurality of first supply bobbins (110), and wherein the plurality of second supply bobbins (111) is mounted rotatable in, preferably supported by, a second support frame (141) arranged substantially underneath the plurality of second supply bobbins (111).

14. The device according to claim 12, comprising an upper group of cutting elements (160) and a lower group of cutting elements (170), the upper group of cutting elements (160) being arranged above the lower group of cutting elements (170), the cutting elements of the upper group of cutting elements (160) being adapted each to form at least one recess in a paper strip provided by a first supply bobbin (110) and the cutting elements of the lower group of cutting elements (170) being adapted each to form at least one recess in a paper strip provided by a second supply bobbin (111).

15. The device according to claim 1, comprising: a control unit adapted to control the first and/or the at least one second cutting element, in particular with regard to the position of the recess in longitudinal extension of the respective paper strip.

16. The device according to claim 1, comprising: a suction unit (302; 304) dedicated to at least one of the cutting elements, in particular arranged close to the first and/or the at least one second cutting element, wherein the suction unit (302; 304) is adapted to evacuate a portion of the paper strip removed by means of the respective cutting element to form the recess (202; 206).

17. The device according to claim 1, wherein the converging unit comprises: a shaping element (50) adapted to transform the first (12) and/or the at least one second paper strip (16) into a V- or U-shape in cross-section, and an interleaving element (52) adapted to interleave the first (12) and the at least one second paper strip (16) to form a single strand of paper.

18. A machine for producing booklets of paper sheets, the machine comprising a device according to claim 1.

19. A method for manipulating a first paper strip (12) and at least one second paper strip (16), comprising the steps of: conveying the first paper strip (12) in a first conveying direction (14) and conveying the at least one second paper strip (16) in at least one second conveying direction (18), wherein the at least one second conveying direction (18) is directed non-parallel to the first conveying direction (14), directing the first paper strip (12) and the at least one second paper strip (16) to a meeting unit (58) at which the first paper strip (12) and the at least one second paper strip (16) meet to form a single strand of paper, cutting off a stack of papers from the strand of paper, forming at least one recess (202) in the first paper strip (12) and/or forming at least one recess (206) in the at least one respective second paper strip (16), the recess (202) being open towards a lateral side (204) of the first paper strip (12), and the recess (206) being open towards a lateral side (204) of the second paper strip (16).

Description

(1) According to further embodiments, the method is applied using a device according to any of the claims 1-18.

(2) Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in connection with the figures, wherein

(3) FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of a device according to the present invention in a perspective partial view,

(4) FIG. 2 illustrates the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in a plan view,

(5) FIG. 3 illustrates the first embodiment of the device according to the present invention in a second perspective partial view,

(6) FIG. 4 illustrates the device as shown in FIG. 3 in a side view,

(7) FIG. 5 illustrates the first embodiment of the device according to the present invention in a perspective third partial view,

(8) FIG. 6 illustrates the device shown in FIG. 5 in a backside view,

(9) FIG. 7 illustrates the first embodiment of the device according to the present invention in a further perspective partial view,

(10) FIG. 8 illustrates the first embodiment of the device according to the present invention in another perspective partial view, and

(11) FIG. 9 illustrates a second embodiment of the device according to the present invention in a perspective view.

(12) FIGS. 1 to 8 show an embodiment of the device according to the present invention in different perspective and partial views. In FIG. 1, six supply bobbins 10 are shown providing each a single papers strip. A first paper strip 12 is running in a first conveying direction 14 and five second paper strips 16 are each running in five second conveying directions 18. The five second conveying directions 18 are each directed non-parallel to the first conveying direction 14. A first cutting element 22 is arranged in first conveying direction 14 spaced apart from a first paper strip source 24 formed by one of the supply bobbins 10. The first cutting element 22 is adapted to form a plurality of recesses in the first paper strip 12. The first cutting element 22 is arranged along the first conveying direction 14 spaced from at least one second cutting element 26. The first paper strip 12 is running from the first paper strip source 24 substantially in first conveying direction 14 and then redirected along a first guide pulley 28 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first conveying direction. From thereon, the first paper strip 12 runs up to a second guide pulley 30 redirecting the first paper strip 12 to run again in first conveying direction 14. In a region between the first guide pulley 28 and second guide pulley 30, the first cutting element 22 is arranged and adapted to cut off portions of the first paper strip 12 to form a recess in the paper strip 12. The five second paper strips 16 show the same arrangement of first and second guide pulley having a second cutting element 26. The overall arrangement of the first and second elements is that the cutting elements are arranged at different positions along the respective conveying direction. Certain cutting elements show the same distance from the respective paper source as other cutting elements. For example first cutting element 22 is arranged in a certain distance in conveying direction 14 from the first paper strip source 24. Also, one of the second cutting elements, namely cutting element 34 is arranged in the same distance from its respective paper strip source 36.

(13) According to FIG. 1, a first group of cutting elements 37 comprises a first cutting element 22 and second cutting elements 26, 27 in a staggered arrangement and a second group of cutting elements 38 comprises second cutting elements 34, 35 and 39 in a staggered arrangement. The arrangement of the cutting elements within the groups 37, 38 repeats seen in a direction across the conveying directions 14, 16. FIG. 2 shows a plan view of an embodiment of the device according to the present invention as shown in FIG. 1. In this plan view, thirty-two supply bobbins 10 are arrangement in a circle segment arrangement which is achieved by a support frame 40. Each supply bobbin 10 provides a paper strip 42 running in a respective conveying direction 44. In FIG. 2 the paper strips 42 are shown cut off at a certain distance 46 from the respective centre 48 of a respective supply bobbin 10. During operation, not shown in FIG. 2, each paper strip 42 runs towards and through a shaping element 50 and then further towards and through an interleaving element 52. The shaping element 50 is also shown in FIG. 8. This shaping element 50 is formed by two metal walls 54 extending substantially perpendicular to the respective conveying direction of a respective paper strip 42. The metal walls 54 have openings of V- or U-shape to transform the respective paper strip into a V- or U-shape in cross section. The interleaving element 52 is formed by two metal walls 56. Each of the two metal walls 56 extends in a circle segment curvature, substantially perpendicular to the respective conveying direction 44 of the respective paper strip 42. The paper strips 42 meet at a meeting unit 58, where they form a single strand of paper.

(14) Cutting elements 22 and 26 are arranged along the respective conveying direction 44 between the supply bobbins 10 and the meeting point 58.

(15) The shaping element 50, the interleaving element 52 and the meeting unit 58 form part of a converging unit 60 for leading the single paper strips into one single strand of paper. The converging unit 60 is supported by a table 62. The converging unit 60, the table 62 and the support frame 40 form part of a conveying unit 64 providing the overall arrangement including the plurality of conveying directions of the plurality of paper strips.

(16) FIG. 3 shows a perspective partial view of the first embodiment of a device according to the present invention and FIG. 4 shows a side view of the device shown in FIG. 3. FIGS. 3 and 4 show the device in a state in which a first supply bobbin 110 is mounted rotatable in a first support frame 140 substantially arranged above the first supply bobbin and a second supply bobbin 111 is mounted rotatable in a second support frame 141 substantially arranged underneath the second supply bobbin 111. The arrangement of the first and second supply bobbin provides for a gap 143 between the first supply bobbin 110 and second supply bobbin 111. Thereby, a first cutting element 122 and a second cutting element 126 are accessible, for example accessible by an operator of the device.

(17) FIG. 5 illustrates the device as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 not only with one first supply bobbin 110 and one second supply bobbin 111, but shows a plurality of first supply bobbins 110 and second supply bobbins 111. FIG. 6 shows the device illustrated in FIG. 5 in a back side view. Each of the first supply bobbins 110 is hanging in a respective first support frame 140 and each of the second supply bobbins 111 is supported by a respective second support frame 141. The first support frames 140 and second support frames 141 are mounted in a common support frame 153. The gap 143 provided between the first supply bobbins 110 and the second supply bobbins 111 allows for access to the plurality of cutting elements 122 and 126.

(18) The cutting elements 122 and 126 are arranged in an upper group of cutting elements 160 and in a lower group of cutting elements 170, the upper group of cutting elements being arranged above the lower group of cutting elements.

(19) FIG. 7 shows a partial view of a first paper strip 12 and a second paper strip 16. In this partial view, the first paper strip 12 is redirected along a guide pulley 28 to run in a direction substantially perpendicular to a first conveying direction 14 of the first paper strip 12. A cutting element 22 is arranged to form a recess 202 of semicircle shape being open to a lateral side 204 of the first paper strip 12. A second cutting element 26 is arranged to form at least one recess 206 in the second paper strip 16. The first cutting element 22 is arranged along the first conveying direction 14 spaced from the second cutting element 26.

(20) FIG. 8 shows a plurality of paper strips 12, 16 running in a respective conveying direction 14, 18 and being transformed by the shaping element 50. Each paper strip has a plurality of recesses 202, 206 of semicircle shape. The recesses 202, 206 are arranged along the respective paper strip 12, 16. Each respective recess 202, 206 is spaced from an adjacent recess by the same distance 301.

(21) FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of a device according to the present invention in a perspective view. The device shown in FIG. 9 has two suction units 302 and 304 formed by a plurality of suction channels 306 and 308 which lead to a common suction pipe 310. The common suction pipe 310 disposes portions of a respective paper strip 12 which have been worked off by the respective cutting element when forming the respective recess.

REFERENCE NUMBER LIST

(22) 10 supply bobbins 12 first paper strip 14 first conveying direction 16 second paper strip 18 second conveying direction 22, 122 first cutting element 24 first paper strip source 26, 27, 126 second cutting element 28 first guide pulley 30 second guide pulley 34 cutting element 35 cutting element 36 paper strip source 37 first group of cutting elements 38 second group of cutting elements 39 cutting element 40 support frame 42 paper strip 44 conveying direction 46 distance 48 centre 50 shaping element 52 interleaving element 54 metal walls 56 metal walls 58 meeting unit 60 converging unit 62 table 64 conveying unit 110 first supply bobbin 111 second supply bobbin 140 first support frame 141 second support frame 143 gap 153 common support frame 160 upper group of cutting elements 170 lower group of cutting elements 202 recess 204 lateral side 206 recess 302, 304 suction unit 306, 308 suction channel 310 common suction pipe