Separation unit for processed book blocks

Abstract

A separating unit for book blocks processed in a book binding system and fed at a first travelling speed from a folding or glueing machine in two parallel horizontal stacks in which the blocks are fed one-by-one in an upright position on a first conveying means, comprises second conveying means cooperating with the latter and travelling at a higher speed, a stack support bridging the transfer area between the first and second conveying means and guiding the randomly separated book blocks on the second conveying means. In order to uniformly space apart the separated book blocks, a timing switch is provided at the end portion of the second conveying means and is controlled by two light barriers which during the passage of the leading book blocks arrest the successive book blocks and release the same upon the passage of the leading block past the first light barrier. The uniformly spaced book blocks are fed either to a single discharge conveyor or by means of a pair of swingable conveying belts to separate discharge conveying belts to feed two different processing machines.