Horizon International Inc.

Yoshiyuki Horii

Masayuki Kashiba

Jun Mochizuki

Eiji Katayama

Toyoki Takeuchi

Ko Ouchiyama

Masato Nogawa

Yoshihiro Oe

Shigenobu Fukuda

Takakazu Hori

Tomonori Yachi

Kou Ohuchiyama

Nobuyuki Kojima

Hisahiro Hirayama

Shinichi Takai

Kazuhisa Fujita

Koji Oishi

Takahiro Toshima

Hidekazu Ozasa

Tatsuo Uchida

Shozo Itadori

A sheet is intermittently advanced or alternately advanced and retreated by a pair of feed rollers in synchronization with rotation of a pair of magnet and anvil rollers so that the pair of magnet and anvil rollers makes two or more revolutions while the sheet passes through the pair of magnet and anvil rollers. The punching of the same pattern is performed by a flexible die at a plurality of areas of the sheet spaced in a sheet conveying direction.

Rotary die cutter

Each pair of bearing units for each of magnet and anvil rollers are movable in a vertical direction. Each of large diameter portions of the anvil roller is supported by a pair of support rollers. Each of large diameter portions of the magnet roller is pressed against the corresponding large diameter portion of the anvil roller by a pair of press rollers. Each stopper is moved between a first position in which it projects into a clearance between vertically opposed bearing units and a second position in which it retracts from the first position. When the stoppers are located at the first position, the opposed large diameter portions of the magnet and anvil rollers separate from each other, and when the stoppers are located at the second position, the opposed large diameter portions of the magnet and anvil rollers contact with each other.

Movable guides are moved in vertical direction by guide drive units between a retreating position and a protruding position. A setting section is provided for setting a contact start point on a sheet and a contact end point on the sheet. The movable guides are moved between the retreating position and the protruding position so as to keep contact with an area of the sheet from the contact start point to the contact end point while a product separated from the sheet is conveyed from a first conveying unit to a second conveying unit.

Punching machine

A book binding system for a saddle-stitched bound booklet comprises a sheet feeding section () feeding sheets or sets of sheets (P) one by one, a sheet folding section () sequentially receiving a sheet or a set of sheets (P) from the sheet feeding section () and folding the sheet or the set of sheets (P) along the center line thereof, a sheet stacking section () stacking the sheet or the set of sheets (P) folded by the sheet folding section () in such a manner that the folded sheets or the folded sets of sheets are aligned with each other with respect to the fold lines thereof, a sheet stitching section () receiving a stack of the sheets or the sets of sheets (P') from the sheet stacking section () each time the predetermined number of the sheets or the sets of sheets (P) are stacked in the sheet stacking section, and stitching the stack of the sheets or the sets of sheets (P&#x2032;) at the fold line thereof, and a control section () controlling operation of the sheet feeding section (), the sheet folding section () and the sheet stitching section ().

Book binding method and system for saddle stitched bound booklet

In a sheet supplying device for feeding a sheet from a sheet stack configured by stacking plural sets of sheets collated by page order, each of which corresponds to one volume, for each set of sheets, in a state where the sheets are superimposed on one another so as to be sequentially offset from one another in a fore-to-aft direction, the sheet supplying device comprises: first transport meansfor sucking a sheet in an uppermost position of a sheet stack P placed on a sheet tableso as to move the sheet rearward; second transport meansfor sucking the sheet moved rearward by the first transport meansso as to transport the sheet forward; and a control unitcontrolling suction operations of the first and second transport means. The control unit(i) allows the first transport meansto start the suction operation, and allows the first transport meansto suck the sheet in the uppermost position so as to move the sheet rearward, (ii) when it is determined on the basis of a detection signal from a sensorthat the sheet has reached a detection position of the sensor, allows the first transport meansto stop the suction operation and, also, the second transport meansto start the suction operation, allows the second transport meansto suck the sheet so as to transport the sheet forward, and allows the second transport meansto stop the suction operation, and (iii) repeats the operations (i) and (ii) for the subsequent sheets of the sheet stack P, until the sheets in a set of sheets, which corresponds to one volume, arm all transported.

Sheet supplying device

The three-side trimmer comprises an alignment station (F) for receiving booklet bundle () and aligning the booklets, and a cutting station (D) for cutting the top, bottom and fore edges of the bundle, and a chuck mechanism () which holds the bundle and conveys it to the cutting station. The cutting station has a cutting table (), a top edge cutting knife (), a bottom edge cutting knife (), a fore edge cutting knife, and a pressing platemovable between a waiting position and a working position. An encoder reads the data about the rotational position of the servomotor () in the chuck mechanism while it holds the booklet bundle. The control portion () measures the height of the bundle and controls a driving mechanism of the pressing plate such that the pressing plate moves up and down between waiting and working positions.

Three-side trimmer

A sheet feeding apparatus comprises a sheet conveying mechanism for conveying sheets along a first conveying path ( ) and stacking up them in a sheet stack-feed station (S), a tray ( ) for storing a stack of cover sheets (P), a second conveying path ( ) communicating with the first conveying path ( ), a blow outlet ( ) for blowing a jet of air towards the tray ( ) to lift up each cover sheet (P), a sucker ( ) for sucking the cover sheet (P), a sheet feeding mechanism for conveying the cover sheet (P) received from the sucker ( ) along the second conveying path ( ) and feeding it to the first conveying path ( ), and a pneumatic pump ( ) for providing a blow of air and a suction of air. The sheet feeding mechanism is changed to its standby mode when the cover sheet is transferred from the sucker ( ) to the sheet feeding mechanism. Upon the sheets having been stacked in the sheet stack-feed station (S), the sheet feeding mechanism transfers the cover sheet. During the standby mode, the pneumatic pump ( ) remains inactivated.

Sheet feeding apparatus

On a base ( ) are fixed a pair of supporting members ( ). A guide rail ( ) is supported by the pair of supporting members. A measurement block ( ) is guided by the guide rail in a sliding manner. On the base is fixed a reference block ( ) abutted by the measurement block when it has reached one end of the guide rail. A moving-distance measuring device is provided which uses as a zero point a position where the measurement block abuts against the reference block, to measure a distance over which the measurement block has moved with respect to the reference block. The moving-distance measuring device has, on the base, a pair of pulleys ( ) arranged with a gap therebetween in a direction parallel to the guide rail, a belt ( ) engaged over the pair of pulleys and having its part linked with the measurement block, and a rotary encoder ( ) linked to a rotary shaft of one of the paired pulleys. By sandwiching predetermined portions of a book block and a book cover between the reference block and the measurement block, the size can be measured and thus obtained measurement values are input from the measuring device to a controller device. The controller device, based on these measurement values, controls the carrier mechanism and the processing units of the book binding system.

Book binding system

A paper accumulating device (,) according to the present invention comprises a paper bundle feeding port (,), a plurality of paper bundle receiving portions (,) including paper bundle receivers (,) for accumulating paper bundles respectively, a delivery path (,) for delivering the paper bundles sequentially fed to the paper bundle feeding port to the paper bundle receiving portions (,). The paper bundle receiving portions (,) are provided with sorting mechanisms (,) for sorting the delivered paper bundles. The delivery path includes a main delivery path portion (,) extended from the paper bundle feeding port (,) to a branch point (,), and a plurality of branch delivery path portions (,) extended from the branch point (,) to the related paper bundle receiving portions (,) respectively. The branch point (,) is provided with a switching gate plate (,) for operating to selectively connect the main delivery path portion (,) to the branch delivery path portions (,) respectively.

Paper accumulating device

A paper supplying device has a shelf for placing sheets of paper to be supplied and a suction rotor disposed above the shelf. The suction rotor has suction openings on outer peripheral surfaces and can suck up the paper from the shelf by sucking in air through the sucking openings. A belt is passed over a pulley around the suction rotor not only causes the suction rotor to rotate but also serves to guide the sucked paper forward tangentially with respect to the rotor, preventing the paper from becoming wound up around the rotor. The device may also include nozzles for blowing air toward front edge of the sucked paper, gate plates for blocking any overlapping sheet of paper which may be attached to the sucked paper, nozzles for blowing air to separate any overlapping sheet of paper which may be attached to the sucked paper, or a friction pad which has a coefficient of friction smaller than that of the belt and is adjustably disposed so as to be selectably either in contact or not in contact with the belt. The suction rotor is formed by assembling one or more rotor units of a simple structure, each having a disk-shaped base plate with a throughhole at the center, a plurality of radially oriented partition walls standing on one of the surfaces of the base plate and as many peripheral walls, each associated with a corresponding one of the partition walls and disposed around the outer periphery of the base plate with gaps in between. These suction units are assembled, walls of one unit engaging with the base plate of another unit.

Paper supplying device and a rotor therefor

A section feeder for a book binding machine is provided with a pair of parallel guide plates (11A), (11B) attached to a base (10) in order to form a section conveying path therebetween, the section conveying path extending from a section supply station to a section delivery station, parallel guide slits (12A), (12B) formed on the guide plates, an elevating rod (14A), (14B) horizontally extending from the outside of each guide plate into the section conveying path through each guide slit (12A), (12B), the elevating rods associated with the same guide plate being movable all at once in such a manner that they reciprocate along said guide slits and enter into the section conveying path upon reaching the section supply station and retreat from the section conveying path upon reaching the section delivery station, the elevating rods associated with the different guide plates alternately moving upwardly and downwardly, whereby sections are lifted without tilting by a flat section support surface formed on the elevating rods from the section supply station to the section delivery station.

Section feeder for book binding machine

A paper feeding device for a collator is provided wherein a drive mechanism for moving suction heads between the upper surface of a stack on a paper supply shelf and feed rollers disposed at a paper feeding station in front of the paper supply shelf includes a four-bag linkage mechanism pivotally carried at a horizontally extending pivot. The four-bar linkage machanism comprises four elemental links pivotally connected tail-to-head in a closed loop, one pair of the adjacent links being pivotally carried at the pivot, one of the other pair of the adjacent elementary links supporting the suction heads. The two elemental links pivotally carried at the pivot are synchronously oscillated about the pivot to produce a composite movement at the elemental link supporting the suction head whereby the suction heads moves the upper surface and the feed rollers.

Paper feeding device having a suction member driven by a four-bar

A paper feeding apparatus is provided wherein a paper supply shelf with a stack of paper sheets, from which the uppermost paper sheet of the stack is picked up, is guided for vertical movement and urged upwardly by the resilient force of a spring, and the upward movement of the paper supply shelf is limited by the engagement of the uppermost sheet of the stack with a stopper. The shelf is intermittently pushed down for a predetermined constant stroke by a click and ratchet arrangement. The picking up operation of the uppermost paper sheet of the stack is interlocked with the intermittently pushing down operation of the paper supply shelf, so that when the uppermost paper sheet of the stack is picked up, the paper supply shelf is synchronously lowered for a constant stroke.

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Kyoto, Japan

Yoshiyuki Horii