Binding apparatus and method
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorsRobert C. Smith, Jr., James A. McGlen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Copy sheets having a re-fusable xerographic toner along an edge thereof are bound into booklets by arranging the sheets in a stack and re-fusing the toner so that the re-fused toner adheres adjacent sheets together. The re-fusing operation can be accomplished by a heating shoe and a patterned heating bar after each group of a few sheets is received from a copier so that the finisher operation can be carried on at the same rate copies are produced by the copier. Alternately, a larger stack of sheets can be bound together in an off-line basis by a simple heating step.
Claims13
Binding apparatus for securing together a plurality of sheets having a heat-sealable material between adjacent surfaces of the sheets, the apparatus comprising:
- means for supporting the sheets with the material between adjacent sheets;
- a heating bar having a surface;
- means for heating the surface of said bar;
- means for moving said bar relative to said supporting means a plurality of times between (1) a first position wherein the bar is spaced from said supporting means by a distance that allows movement of sheets into and out of said supporting means and (2) a second position wherein the bar is located with respect to said supporting means to transfer sufficient heat to material between sheets supported by the supporting means to secure sheets together;
- and
- means for shifting the heating bar laterally relative to the supporting means while the bar is in its first position so that the heating bar can transfer heat to two different portions of the material between sheets in the supporting means when the bar is moved between its two positions a plurality of times.
Binding apparatus for securing together a plurality of sheets having a thermoplastic adhesive bonded to surfaces of the sheets so that there is adhesive between any two adjacent surfaces, the apparatus comprising:
- means for supporting the sheets with the adhesive between adjacent sheets;
- a heating bar having a patterned surface;
- means for heating the surface of said bar;
- means for moving the bar relative to the supporting means a plurality of times between (1) a first position wherein the bar is spaced from the supporting means to allow insertion and removal of sheets between the bar and the supporting means and (2) second and third positions wherein the bar is adjacent the supporting means and effective to heat an area of the adhesive between the sheets corresponding to the patterned surface of the bar, thereby to bond the sheets together, the second and third positions being offset from each other so that the bar moves in a generally U-shaped path, thereby to apply heat from the bar to different portions of the adhesive when the bar is in its second and third positions.
Binding apparatus for securing together a plurality of copy sheets with a re-fusable toner, the copy sheets being arranged in a stack and the toner being fused to an area of each sheet that is to be bonded to an adjacent sheet, the apparatus comprising:
- a tray for receiving copy sheets and for holding a stack of such sheets with the toner areas substantially aligned throughout the stack;
- means for delivering copy sheets to the tray seriatim to provide a stack of such sheets in the tray;
- a heating bar having a pattern on one surface thereof, the pattern comprising (1) raised portions from which heat can be transmitted to the toner areas to re-fuse the toner and thereby secure the sheets together and (2) recessed portions located below the level of the raised portions, the area of the raised portions being substantially equal to the area of the recessed portions and the raised and recessed portions being alternately arranged on said surface in a repeating pattern;
- a heating element associated with said bar for heating the raised portions of the pattern on said bar;
- means for moving the bar through a plurality of cycles of movement (1) toward the tray to effect heating of a pattern of the toner area on sheets held by the tray to re-fuse the toner and thereby secure the sheets together and (2) away from the tray to allow copy sheets to be delivered to the tray or removed from the tray;
- and
- means for effecting relative movement laterally between the bar and the tray between each two successive cycles of movement of the bar toward the tray so that the raised portions of the bar heat one portion of the toner area during a first cycle of movement toward the tray and heat another portion of the toner area during a second cycle of movement toward the tray.
In a binding apparatus for a stack of superimposed sheets bearing stripes of heat sealable material and including a heating element mounted for movement during a plurality of cycles of operation into heat transferring engagement with an area of the stripes in the stack, to bind the sheets together, the improvement comprising means for shifting the area of engagement of the element laterally relative to the stack between each two successive cycles of movement of the bar toward the stack, thereby to bind together sheets in at least two nonoverlapping areas of the stripes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.