Collator with moveable stitcher over saddle conveyor system

A collator comprising a closed loop conveyor providing saddles at intervals along the length thereof extending perpendicular to conveyor travel, a plurality of feeders operable to progressively position folded signatures on said saddles with the signature folds supported on the saddles, stitcher means operable on the fly to stitch assembled signatures, and discharge means providing nip rolls providing a throat reciprocable along a path substantially parallel to the direction of conveyor movement, said discharge means comprising a tucker blade operable to move assembled signatures from a supporting saddle into said throat.

A collator comprising a closed loop conveyor providing saddles at intervals along the length thereof extending perpendicular to conveyor travel, a first group of feeders, a second group of feeders, a separate stitcher positioned along said conveyor downstream from each of said groups of feeders, a separate delivery mechanism positioned adjacent to said conveyor downstream from each stitcher, said collator being operable for dual path operation in which each group of feeders cooperates with the adjacent downstream stitcher and delivery mechanism to complete assembled signatures, said collator being operable with single path operation by disabling one of said stitchers and its associated discharge mechanism whereby signatures assembled by all of said feeders are stapled by the other stitcher and discharged by the other discharge mechanism.

A collator for folded signatures measured perpendicular to the fold, said collator comprising a closed loop conveyor havng a plurality of saddles at uniform intervals theralong, said saddles extending perpendicular to the direction of conveyor movement and being operable to support said signatures along their folds, said saddles being spaced from each other by a distance less than the size of a signature measured in the direction perpendicular to the fold, a plurality of signature feeders positioned adjacent said conveyor operable to progressively position signatures on said saddles as said saddles progress past said feeders to produce signature asemblies, and stitcher means operable to stitch said signature assemblies as they are carried past said stitcher means by said saddles, said stitcher moving with said saddles as said signatures are stitched, said stitcher including stitcher heads mounted on a support driven for reciprocation in timed relation to the movement of said saddles, said support being guided for straight-line reciprocating movement in a direction parallel to saddle movement by pairs of similar linkages.

A collator for folded signatures measured perpendicular to the fold, said collator comprising a closed loop conveyor having a plurality of saddles at uniform intervals therealong, said saddles extending perpendicular to the direction of conveyor movement and being operable to support said signatures along their folds, said saddles being spaced from each other by a distance less than the size of the signatures meaured in the direction perpendicular to the fold, a plurality of signature feeders positioned adjacent said conveyor operable to progressively position signatures on said saddles as said saddles progress past said feeders to produce signature assemblies, stitcher means operable to stitch said signature assemblies as they are carried past said stitcher means by said saddles, discharge means which include nip rolls providing a throat that moves in the direction of saddle movement, and tucker means operable to move the asembled signatures from an associated saddle into said thorat as said throat moves with said saddle.

A collator comprising a closed loop endless conveyor including a plurality of signature supporting means extending perpendicular to the conveying direction, a plurality of signature feed means adjacent said conveyor operable to progressively locate folded signatures in position supported by said signature supporting means to produce assembies of signatures in which the folds thereof extend perpendicular to the conveying direction, stitching means adjacent to said conveyor operable to stitch together assembled signatures delivered thereto by said signature supporting means, and delivery means operable to remove stitched assemblies from said conveyor, said conveyor including upper and lower reaches joined by curved end portions, and guide means for controlling signature movement along at least one of said curved end portions.

A collator for folded signatures measured perpendicular to the fold, said collator comprising a closed loop conveyor having a plurality of saddles at uniform intervals therealong, said saddles extending perpendicular to the direction of conveyor movement and being operable to support said signatures along their folds, said saddles being spaced from each other by a distance less than the size of a signature measured perpendicular to the fold, a plurality of signature feeders positioned adjacent said conveyor operable to progessively position signatures on said saddles as said saddles progress past said feeders to produce signature assemblies, and stitcher means operable to stitch said signature assembies as they are carried past said stitcher means by said saddles, said collator further comprising anvil means carried by an endless conveyor mounted below said closed loop conveyor, said anvil means comprising a plurality of anvils corresponding to said plurality of saddles.

A collator for folded signatures measured perpendicular to the fold, said collator comprising a closed loop conveyor having a plurality of saddles at uniform intervals therealong, said saddles extending perpendicular to the direction of conveyor movement and being operable to support said signatures along their folds, said saddles being spaced from each other by a distance less than said dimension, a plurality of signature feeders positioned adjacent said conveyor operable to progressively position signatues on said saddles as said saddles progress past said feeders to produce signature assemblies, and stitcher means operable to stitch said signature assemblies as they are carried past said stitcher means by said saddles, said stitcher means being movable with said saddles as said signatures are stitched.