US 7,802,780 B2Granted

Method and device for inserting flat articles into printed products

AssigneeFerag AG

InventorsCarl Conrad Mader, Rudolf Infanger

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Abstract

Flat articles are inserted into printed products (3) continuously conveyed by grippers (11) of a gripper conveyor (1), wherein the printed products are held by the grippers at their fold or spine edges and wherein the grippers (11) are conveyed through a deflection region from below round an essentially horizontal deflection axis (2). Pegging elements (4) rotating around the deflection axis (2) are arranged along both sides of the deflection region and synchronized with the grippers, and form axially aligned and inter-spaced pairs and are radially distanced from the grippers. The printed products (3) are conveyed in a hanging manner into the deflection region and they are opened immediately upstream of the deflection region. The pegging elements (4) are activated as the grippers (11) enter the deflection region to grab the trailing part (32) of one opened printed product (3) and the leading part (31) of the next product by the corners opposite the fold or spine edge by clamping them together until the grippers (11) exit the deflection region.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A method of inserting flat articles (20) into continuously conveyed printed products (3) having a fold or spine edge, comprising the steps of:

holding the printed products (3) by a gripper (11) at their fold or spine edge;
conveying the printed products (3) to a supply point (5) and away from the supply point, wherein the printed products (3) are conveyed past the supply point (5) in an open state, each with a separated leading and trailing part (31 and 32), and the grippers (11) are temporarily opened in the region of the supply point (5), and
supplying the flat articles (20) to the supply point (5), and
inserting the flat articles (20) into the open printed products (3) and gripping the flat articles together with the printed products by the re-closed grippers (11),
wherein the supply point (5) is located in a region in which the grippers (11) are deflected by being conveyed around an essentially horizontal deflection axis (2), around which the grippers (11) are conveyed upward from below, such that the printed products (3) being conveyed to the deflection region and being held by the grippers (11) in a hanging manner are opened before the grippers (11) enter the deflection region, and that during conveyance through the deflection region the trailing part of each (32) printed product and the leading part (31) of the following product are held clamped together in corner regions opposite the fold or spine edge.

2 more elements

An installation for inserting flat articles (20) into printed products (3) having a fold or spine edge, which installation is positioned in a region of a gripper conveyor (1) comprising grippers (11) suitable for continuous conveyance of the printed products (3) being held at their fold or spine edges, the installation comprising:

a means (50) for opening the printed products (3),
a control means (60) for opening the grippers (11) temporarily, and
a supply point (5) for supplying and inserting the flat articles (3) into the opened printed products (3),
wherein the installation is positioned in a region of a deflection of the gripper conveyor (1), by which deflection the gripper conveyor (1) is deflected upwards around an essentially horizontal deflection axis (2) from below,
wherein the means (50) for opening the printed products is located upstream of the deflection region, and
wherein the installation further comprises a plurality of pegging elements (4), which are driven to rotate in axially aligned pairs and in synchronism with the grippers (11) around the deflection axis (2), the axial distances of the pegging elements (4) of each pair being adjusted to a width of the printed products (3) and the radial distances between grippers (11) and pegging elements (4) to a radial height of the printed products (3), so that each pair of pegging elements (4) is capable to grip by clamping together a trailing part (32) of one printed product opened by the means (50) for opening the printed products and a leading part (31) of the following printed product in the corner regions opposite the fold or spine edges, and wherein an activating device (61) for controlled activation of the pegging elements (4) activates the pegging elements (4) as the grippers (11) enter the deflection and de-activates them after the temporary opening of the grippers (11).

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.