Gathering and wire-stitching machine

In a gathering and wire-stitching machine for printed sheets having a gathering section including at least one run of an endlessly circulating pulling means and supporting elements fastened to the pulling means and forming at least a part of a saddle-shaped support for the printed sheets which are successively deposited thereon in a straddled position, with the gathering section leading into an adjoining downstream stitching section for stitching the printed sheets which are deposited one on top of the other, the improvement wherein:

• the saddle-shaped support extends over the gathering section and the stitching section;
• said at least one run comprises parallel runs of two endlessly circulating pulling means, the two runs having effective conveying portions of different lengths;
• said supporting elements include two arrangements of side by side supporting elements, each arrangement fastened to a respective one of the endlessly circulating pulling means, each supporting element having one side with a sloping support surface that has a section above the respective endlessly circulating pulling means, said two arrangements of supporting elements forming two support surfaces facing away from each other.