Heidelberg Harris, Inc.

Harris Graphics Corporation

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Ag

Richard E Breton

David B Staley

Gilles L Fecteau

Joseph Adrian St Ours

Mark Anthony Wingate

David Charles Burke

Kevin Francis Albert

Jatinder Singh Sappal

Richard L McKrell

Ernest H Treff

Joel C Hern

A signature folding device includes a rotating belt and a plurality of blades attached to the belt, each of the plurality of blades contacting one of the signatures over an entire length of the one signature at a same time. Also disclosed is a method for folding a signature comprising transporting the signature on a fold table having a gap, the signature moving in a transport direction and forming a plane. A folding blade having a blade edge is moved in a direction both perpendicular and parallel to the transport direction, the blade edge being parallel to the plane upon contact with the signature, so as to pass through the gap and fold the signature.

Linear folding device and method

A superstructure of a folding apparatus for feeding at least two webs of flat material to a cylinder unit of the folding apparatus. The superstructure including at least two take-off roller assemblies, each take-off roller assembly including a corresponding take-off roller rotatably mounted on the superstructure. At least one mantling is provided for mounting on an outer surface of each take-off roller in order to adjust a diameter of the corresponding take-off roller assembly. A drive assembly is provided for driving the at least two take-off roller assemblies, each of the at least two take-off roller assemblies having a respective circumferential velocity which is a function of the adjusted diameter of the take-off roller assembly.

Folding apparatus superstructure with replaceable mantlings for velocity

Apparatus for preventing backlash between a first gear and a second gear of a gear train. Exemplary embodiments include a supplementary gear rotatably mounted adjacent to the first gear and rotatable about the same rotational axis as the first gear, the teeth of the supplementary gear being in meshing engagement with the teeth of the second gear. The apparatus further includes a support element formed on at least one of the first gear and the supplementary gear, and a leaf spring assembly extending essentially radially with respect to the rotational axis of the first gear. The leaf spring assembly is bent out of its zero-position and engages the support element at its second end portion, thereby applying a force to the support element for biasing the supplementary gear and the first gear to rotate in opposite directions.

Apparatus for preventing backlash between the meshing teeth of a first

A device for extracting samples from a folder, includes a cutting cylinder pair including a blade cylinder and a grooved cylinder, the blade cylinder having at least one cutting blade mounted on the periphery thereof, the grooved cylinder having at least one groove bar, a respective holding device for signatures assigned to the groove bar, conveyor tapes for conveying signatures emerging from a nip between cylinder and the grooved cylinder of the cutting cylinder pair to a signature delivery and to a conveyor unit assigned to the cutting cylinder pair, and a device for remotely controlling the holding devices.

Device for extracting samples from a folder

A device for extracting samples from a folder, includes a cutting cylinder pair including a blade cylinder and a grooved cylinder, the blade cylinder having at least one cutting blade mounted on the periphery thereof, the grooved cylinder having at least one groove bar, a respective holding device for signatures assigned to the groove bar, conveyor tapes for conveying signatures emerging from a nip between the blade cylinder and the grooved cylinder of the cutting cylinder pair to a signature delivery and to a conveyor unit assigned to the cutting cylinder pair, and a device for remotely controlling the holding devices.

A system is provided for assisting operators of a printing press in webbing ribbons of a web material exiting a printing unit of the printing press through paths of rolls which direct the ribbons into preselected formers of a folder. A remote display device is provided on each roll which is utilized in more than one path. The remote display devices operate under the control of a web management system and display information which indicates the identity of its respective roll, the direction in which the ribbon must be wrapped around its respective roll, and the identity of the next roll to be wrapped. Ribbon path information for a plurality of jobs is stored by the web management system allowing for rapid ribbon path changes between jobs without limiting the number of permissible ribbon path layouts.

Ribbon path indicator system

An apparatus for continuously transporting, separating, and changing the path of webs in machines for processing webs prior to further processing are disclosed. A web consisting of at least one ribbon of material is conveyed by a pair of nip rollers arranged in a first transport path. When it is desired to separate and convey the web, for example when the web is of insufficient quality, a separating flap pivotally mounted on a first rotary axis located above the first transport path pivots downward cutting and directing the web to a second transport path. A blade flap pivotally mounted on a second rotary axis located below the first transport path opens and closes the transport path to the web. When the blade flap is in the closed position it bridges a gap between a lower guide and a guide section to allow the conveyance of a web through the first transport path.

Apparatus for continuously transporting, separating, and changing the

An apparatus and method for delivering printed products in a rotary printing press is disclosed. Printed products are gripped by a gripping means on a paper-conducting cylinder and transferred to a fan wheel having a plurality of fan-wheel discs defined by a plurality of fan blades. The fan blades remove the printed products directly from the circumferential surface of the paper-conducting cylinder. As the printed products are removed from the paper-conducting cylinder they are guided into fan-wheel pockets formed between adjacent fan blades and slowed down.

Apparatus and method for delivering printed products in a rotary

In an angle bar turning a web having an exterior pipe formed with outlet openings, an air regulating device includes a zone tube disposed within and radially spaced from the exterior pipe so as to define an annular space therebetween, structure for dividing the annular space into a plurality of mutually isolated zones in longitudinal direction of the exterior pipe, the zone tube having at least one air outlet opening formed therein in each of the zones for coordination with the outlet openings formed in the exterior pipe, and an air controller tube disposed within the zone tube and being formed in circumferential direction thereof with at least two zonal combinations of outlet openings differing from one another, the air controller tube being turnable about the longitudinal axis thereof within the zone tube.

Angle bar air regulating device for turning a web

A folder apparatus of a web-fed printing press having a printed-product delivery with two fan arrangements, each of which is formed of a plurality of mutually adjacent fans spaced-apart from one another on a common axis, the respective common axis of each of the two fan arrangements being disposed parallel to the common axis of the other, each of the fans of one of the fan arrangments being disposed adjacent to an in a respective common plane with a respective one of the fans of the other of the fan arrangements, each of the fans being formed with blades having tips located at a circumference of the respective fan, the circumference of the fans in the respective common plane intersecting with one another, and a device provided on the fans for preventing a collision of respective blade tips of the fans disposed in the respective common plane.

Folder apparatus for a web-fed printing press

An improved folder apparatus includes a first folder assembly which forms a first fold in sheet material along the path of movement of the sheet material. A second folder assembly forms a second fold in the sheet material in a direction extending transversely to the path of movement of the sheet material. A third folder assembly forms a third fold in the sheet material with the first and third folds extending along the path of movement of the sheet material through the third folder assembly and the second fold at a leading edge portion of the sheet material. During the forming of the three folds, the sheet material is continuously moved through the folder assemblies without stopping. The third folder assembly includes an array of upper and lower tapes. The array of tapes tapers from a wide inlet portion of the third folder assembly toward a discharge portion of a third folder assembly. The array of upper and lower tapes maintains areas on opposite sides of the third fold flat in a horizontal plane while the sheet material is gripped by the tapes. A stacker assembly stacks the folded signatures received from the third folder assembly in a stack with major side surface areas in an upright orientation and with the third fold downward against a supporting surface.

Folding and stacking apparatus

An improved folder apparatus includes a first folder assembly which forms a first fold in sheet material along the path of movement of the sheet material. A second folder assembly forms a second fold in the sheet material in a direction extending transversely to the path of movement of the sheet material. A third folder assembly forms a third fold in the sheet material with the first and third folds extending along the path of movement of the sheet material through the third folder assembly and the second fold at a leading edge portion of the sheet material. During the forming of the three folds, the sheet material is continuously moved through the folder assemblies without stopping. The third folder assembly includes an array of upper and lower tapes. The array of tapes tapers from a wide inlet portion of the third folder assembly toward a discharge portion of a third folder assembly. The array of upper and lower tapes maintains areas on opposite sides of the third fold flat in a horizontal plane white the sheet material is gripped by the tapes. A stacker assembly stacks the folded signatures received from the third folder assembly in a stack with major side surface areas in an upright orientation and with the third fold downward against a supporting surface.

Folder apparatus

An improved folder includes a first series of belts which grips and moves sheet material along converging deflectors to fold the sheet material. As the space between the deflectors narrows, a second series of belts grips the sheet material and continues its movement between the deflectors. The first series of belts includes a first plurality of tapes disposed on a first side of a fold line and a second plurality of tapes disposed on a second side of the fold line. The second series of belts includes a pair of creaser belts which extend from between the tapes to an outlet portion of the folder. The speed of movement of the tapes and creaser belts is coordinated by using speed signal generators which are driven at the speed of movement of the tapes and creaser belts. A controller compares the speed signals and maintains a desired relationship between the speed of movement of the tapes and creaser belts. It is believed that the creaser belts will usually be driven at the same speed. However, the creaser belts may be driven at slightly different speeds in order to compensate for deformation imparted to the sheet material before it moved between the creaser belts.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, NH, United States of America

Richard E Breton