Automated spiral binding machine

An automated machine for spirally binding coils of various curvatures into a stack of sheets having prepunched holes along a side edge thereof, said machine comprising, in combination:

• a support surface adapted to support the stack of sheets and having an edge adapted to be positioned substantially adjacent the prepunched holes;
• a drive system for spirally feeding said coil lengthwise through said prepunched holes;
• a plurality of spacing assemblies for said various diameters of coils, each said spacing assembly having at least one shaping surface which approximates the given curvature of coil, and
• at least one mounting structure for mounting at least one of said spacing assemblies with said shaping surface disposed substantially perpendicular to the edge of the support surface such that the side edge of the stack of sheets conforms to the shape of the shaping surface to approximate the shape of the given curvature of coil.

An automated machine for spirally binding coils into stacks of sheets having prepunched holes along a side edge thereof, said machine comprising, in combination:

• a coiling station having
• a drive system for driving a coil through said prepunched holes;
• a support surface adapted to each support a stack of sheets and each having an edge adapted to be positioned substantially adjacent the prepunched holes,
• an angled chute having first and second ends, the first end of the chute being disposed subjacent the edge of the support surface,
• a crimping station disposed subjacent the second end of the chute such that a stack of sheets having the coil fed through the prepunched holes feeds from the support surface down the chute to be positioned in the crimping station due to the force of gravity, said crimping station comprising
• at least one crimper for crimping an end of the coil,
• a clamp bracket, said clamp bracket being disposed to place a force on the coil during crimping,
• an ejector for ejecting the coil from the crimper, and
• an exit chute for receiving the coiled stack of sheets after crimping.

An automated machine for spirally binding a coil into a stack of sheets having prepunched holes along a side edge thereof, said machine comprising, in combination:

• a support surface adapted to support the stack of sheets and having an edge adapted to be positioned substantially adjacent the prepunched holes;
• rotatable drive roller for engaging said coil and spirally feeding said coil lengthwise through said prepunched holes;
• a second roller;
• a third roller;
• said rollers each having a periphery and each having grooves extending about said periphery thereof, said grooves having a width, said rollers adapted to be disposed to contact the coil to spirally feed said coil into the prepunched holes, said rollers being mounted such that the grooves of adjacent rollers are offset by approximately one-third the width.