Binder assembly

Claim 2

An assembly for use in interconnecting a plurality of sheets of material, said assembly comprising conveyor means for continuously moving collated sheets of material, reciprocatable shuttle means for transferring the sheets of material from said conveyor means to a stitching station, registration means for locating the sheets of material in a predetermined relationship with said stitching station, and stitcher means at said stitching station for stitching the sheets of material along a stitch line extending transversely to the path of movement of said reciprocatable shuttle means, said stitcher means being selectively operable to perform either saddle or side stitching operations on the sheets of material.

Claim 3

An assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said reciprocatable shuttle means includes clamp means for holding the sheets of material and drive means for moving said clamp means in a forward direction to such an extent that the sheets Of material held by the clamp means move past said registration means and for moving said clamp means in a reverse direction to cause trailing edges of the sheets of material to be moved into engagement with said registration means.

Claim 4

An assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein said assembly further includes a longitudinally extending and transversely sloping support surface along which said conveyor means and said shuttle means move the sheets of material, and longitudinally extending guide means along a lower portion of said support surface for effecting registration of edges of the sheets which extend transversely to the trailing edges of the sheets.

Claim 5

An assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein said registration means includes a pivotally mounted stop member which is pivoted to an inoperative position upon engagement by the sheets of material with the stop member as the sheets of material are moved in the forward direction, and which pivots to an operative position when the sheets of material are moved past the stop member, said stop member being located in the operative position for registering the trailing edges of the sheets of material as the sheets of material move in the reverse direction.

Claim 6

An assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein said reciprocatable shuttle means further includes control means for operating said clamp means between a closed condition in which the sheets of material are clampingly engaged by said clamp means and an open condition in which the sheets of material are free to move relative to said clamp means, said clamp means being operated from said closed condition to said open condition by said control means after the sheets of material have been moved past said registration means and said clamp means has started to move in the reverse direction and before the trailing edges of the sheets of material engage said registration means to thereby enable relative movement to occur between said clamp means and the sheets of material when the trailing edges of the sheets the sheets of material engage said registration means.

Claim 7

An assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said reciprocatable shuttle means includes pusher means for shoving previously stitched sheets of material from said stitching station as said reciprocatable shuttle means moves other sheets of material toward said stitching station.

Claim 8

An assembly as set forth in claim 6 wherein said reciprocatable shuttle means further includes clamp means for clampingly engaging the sheets of material while they are being moved from said conveyor means to said stitching station, said pusher means being formed by a leading end portion of said clamp means.

Claim 9

An assembly as set forth in claim 6 further including guide means for engaging an edge portion of the group of sheets as they are being moved by said pusher means to retain the group of sheets against rotation relative to said pusher means.

Claim 10

An assembly as set forth in claim 6 wherein said pusher means engages a trailing edge portion of the stitched group of sheets at a location which is closer to one side edge portion of the stitched group of sheets than to an opposite side edge portion of the stitched group of sheets, said assembly further including first guide means for engaging said one side edge portion and second guide means for engaging said opposite side edge portion to retain the stitched group of sheets against rotational movement relative to said clamp means when the stitched group of sheets is being moved by said pusher means.

Claim 11

An assembly as set forth in claim 1 further including folder means mounted adjacent to said stitching station for folding saddle-stitched sheets of material along the stitch line after they are stitched at said stitching station, said reciprocatable shuttle means including means for moving stitched sheets of material from said stitching station to said folder means while moving other sheets of material from said conveyor means to said stitching station, said folder means Being operable to move the stitched sheets of material forwardly at a greater speed than the speed of forward movement of said reciprocatable shuttle means to thereby move the stitched sheets of material out of engagement with the reciprocatable shuttle means.

Claim 12

An assembly as set forth in claim 1 further including folder means mounted adjacent to said stitching station for folding saddle-stitched sheets of material along the stitch line after they are stitched at said stitching station, said folder means including a control assembly which is selectively actuatable between one condition wherein said folder means is operable to fold saddle-stitched sheets of material and another condition wherein said folder means is inoperable to fold sheets of material to thereby enable side stitched sheets of material to be processed without being folded.

Claim 13

An assembly as set forth in claim 1 further including a support surface adjacent to said registration means for supporting the sheets of material, and biasing means located adjacent to said registration means for pressing the sheets of material toward said support surface to retain the sheets of material in the predetermined relationship with said stitching station.

Claim 14

An assembly as set forth in claim 12 wherein said biasing means includes a roller mounted for pivoting movement toward and away from said support surface.

Claim 15

An assembly as set forth in claim 1 further including adjustable coupling means interconnecting said conveyor means and said shuttle means, said conveyor means including finger means for engaging trailing edges of the sheets of material to thereby move the sheets of material, said coupling means being selectively adjustable to vary the relationship between said finger means and said shuttle means to enable said assembly to be used for interconnecting sheets of material of different sizes.

Claim 16

An assembly as set forth in claim 14 wherein said registration means is adjustable relative to said stitcher means to enable said registration means to position sheets of material of different sizes in the predetermined relationship with said stitching station.

Claim 17

An assembly as set forth in claim 1 further including adjustment means for varying the relationship between said shuttle means and said conveyor means to enable said shuttle means to engage sheets of material of different sizes with their centerline which extend transversely to the path of movement of said shuttle means in the same predetermined position relative to said shuttle means.

Claim 18

An assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said registration means includes a member for engaging edge portions of the sheets to register the sheets relative to said stitcher means and means for adjusting the position of said member relative to said stitcher means to register sheets for either saddle or side stitching.

Claim 19

An assembly for use in interconnecting a plurality of sheets of material, said assembly comprising stitcher means mounted at a stitching station for stitching a plurality of sheets of material, stop means for engaging the trailing edges of the sheets of material to position the sheets of material in a predetermined relationship with said stitcher means, and shuttle means for moving the sheets of material in a forward direction past the stop means and then in a reverse direction to cause the trailing edges of the sheets of material to engage said stop means to thereby position the sheets of material relative to said stitcher means.

Claim 20

An assembly for use in interconnecting a plurality of sheets of material, said assembly comprising stitcher means mounted at a stitching station for stitching a plurality of sheets of material, stop means for engaging the trailing edges of the sheets of material to position the sheets of material in a predetermined relationship with said stitcher means, and shuttle means for moving the sheets of material in a forward direction past the stop means and then in a reverse direction to cause the trailing edges of the sheets of material to engage said stop means to thereby position the sheets of material relative to said stitcher means.

Claim 21

An assembly as set forth in claim 18 wherein said shuttle means includes control means for operating said shuttle means from a closed condition gripping the sheets of material to an open condition in which the sheets of material are free to move relative to said shuttle means as said shuttle means is moving in the reverse direction and before the trailing edges of the sheets of material engage said stop means.

Claim 22

An assembly as set forth in claim 18 wherein said shuttle means includes pusher meanS for abuttingly engaging and shoving stitched sheets of material away from said stitching station as said shuttle means moves other sheets of material to said stitching station.

Claim 23

An assembly as set forth in claim 20 further including drive means mounted adjacent to said stitching station for engaging the stitched sheets of material and moving them away from said pusher means as said shuttle means moves the other sheets of material to said stitching station.

Claim 24

An assembly as set forth in claim 18 wherein said stop means is mounted for movement from a first position in which said stop means is operative to locate the sheets of material relative to the stitching station to a second position in which said stop means is inoperative for locating the sheets of material, said stop means being movable from said first position to said second position position by engagement of leading edges of the sheets of material with the stop means as the sheets of material are moved in the forward direction by said shuttle means, said stop means being movable from said second position to said first position when the trailing edges of the sheets of material are moved forwardly past said stop means by said shuttle means to thereby enable said stop means to locate the sheets of material relative to said stitcher means as the sheets of material move in the rearward direction.

Claim 25

An assembly as set forth in claim 18 further including retaining means for engaging at least one of the sheets of material and retarding movement of the sheets of material relative to said stop means after the trailing edges of the sheets of material have been brought into engagement with said stop means.

Claim 26

A binder assembly for interconnecting a plurality of sheets, said assembly comprising a longitudinally extending support surface for supporting groups of sheets with the sheets of each group in a flat face-to-face relationship, a conveyor having spaced-apart fingers cooperating with said support surface for shoving each group of sheets along said support surface in a forward direction at a first continuous speed to a pickup station, a reciprocatable shuttle assembly for clampingly engaging each group of sheets in turn at said pickup station and moving the clamped group of sheets forwardly to a stitching station at a second speed which is greater than said first speed to thereby move the clamped group of sheets clear of a finger of said conveyor which had been shoving the group of sheets along said support surface at said first speed, a stop member located adjacent to said stitching station for engaging an edge portion of the group of sheets to position the group of sheets, a stitcher assembly located at said stitching station in a predetermined relationship with said stop member for stitching the group of sheets along a stitch line extending transversely of the path of movement of said reciprocatable shuttle assembly, and a folder assembly located adjacent to said stitcher assembly for receiving and folding stitched groups of sheets along the stitch line.

Claim 27

A binder assembly for interconnecting a plurality of sheets, said assembly comprising a longitudinally extending support surface for supporting groups of sheets with the sheets of each group in a flat face-to-face relationship, a conveyor having spaced-apart fingers cooperating with said support surface for shoving each group of sheets along said support surface in a forward direction at a first continuous speed to a pickup station, a reciprocatable shuttle assembly for clampingly engaging each group of sheets in turn at said pickup station and moving the clamped group of sheets forwardly to a stitching station at a second speed which is greater than said first speed to thereby move the clamped group of sheets clear of a finger of said conveyor which had been shoving the group of sheets along said support surface at said first speed, a stop member located adjacent to said stitching station for engaging an edge portion of the group of sheets to position the group of sheets, a stitcher assembly located at said stitching station in a predetermined relationship with said stop member for stitching the group of sheets along a stitch line extending transversely of the path of movement of said reciprocatable shuttle assembly, and a folder assembly located adjacent to said stitcher assembly for receiving and folding stitched groups of sheets along the stitch line.

Claim 28

A binder assembly as set forth in claim 24 further including a pusher member associated with said reciprocatable shuttle assembly for shoving a stitched group of sheets from said stitching station into said folder assembly as another group of sheets is moved form said pickup station to said stitching station by said reciprocatable shuttle assembly.

Claim 29

A binder assembly as set forth in claim 24 wherein said reciprocatable shuttle assembly is movable in one direction to move a group of sheets past said stop member to said stitching station and is movable in a direction opposite to said first direction to cause the trailing edge portion of the group of sheets to engage said stop member.

Claim 30

A binder assembly as set forth in claim 26 further including retaining means for engaging the group of sheets and retarding movement of the group of sheets after the trailing edge portion of the group of sheets has been brought into engagemeNt with said stop member.

Claim 33

A method as set forth in claim 28 further including the method step of pushing a previously stitched group of sheets away from said stitching station with the shuttle assembly during said reciprocating step.

Claim 34

A method as set forth in claim 28 wherein said step of reciprocating the shuttle assembly includes gripping the group of sheets at the pickup station with the shuttle assembly, moving the shuttle assembly in a forward direction to such an extent that the group of sheets is moved past the stop member, moving the shuttle assembly in a reverse direction toward the stop member, and releasing the group of sheets as they move in the reverse direction to thereby cause the trailing edge portion of the group of sheets to move in such a manner as to engage the stop member.

Claim 35

An assembly for interconnecting a plurality of sheets, said assembly comprising a longitudinally extending planar support surface for supporting the sheets, collator means for forming a plurality of sheets into groups on said support surface, conveyor means for moving the groups of sheets along said support surface toward a pickup station, shuttle means for sequentially moving the groups of sheets from said pickup station to a stitching station, stitcher means at said stitching station for stitching the groups of sheets, longitudinally extending guide means located adjacent to one longitudinally extending side portion of said support surface for side registering each group of sheets in turn relative to said stitcher means, said support surface sloping transversely downwardly toward said guide means at an acute angle to a horizontally extending plane whereby a group of sheets tends to move downwardly into engagement with said guide means under the influence of gravity, and folder means adjacent to said stitching station for folding the stitched group of sheets, said shuttle means including clamp means located adjacent to said guide means for gripping a group of sheets, shuttle drive means for reciprocating said clamp means between said pickup station and said stitcher station, said clamp means including upper and lower longitudinally extending clamp members for clampingly engaging opposite sides of a group of sheets, said clamp members extending between said stitcher means and said guide means in a direction generally parallel to said guide means when said clamp means is at said stitching station, and control means for operating said clamp means to grip a group of sheets at said pickup station and to release the group of sheets at said stitching station with a lowermost edge portion of the group of sheets in engagement with said guide means.

Claim 36

An assembly for interconnecting a plurality of sheets, said assembly comprising a longitudinally extending planar support surface for supporting the sheets, collator means for forming a plurality of sheets into groups on said support surface, conveyor means for moving the groups of sheets along said support surface toward a pickup station, shuttle means for sequentially moving the groups of sheets from said pickup station to a stitching station, stitcher means at said stitching station for stitching the groups of sheets, longitudinally extending guide means located adjacent to one longitudinally extending side portion of said support surface for side registering each group of sheets in turn relative to said stitcher means, said support surface sloping transversely downwardly toward said guide means at an acute angle to a horizontally extending plane whereby a group of sheets tends to move downwardly into engagement with said guide means under the influence of gravity, and folder means adjacent to said stitching station for folding the stitched group of sheets, said shuttle means including clamp means located adjacent to said guide means for gripping a group of sheets, shuttle drive means for reciprocating said clamp means between said pickup station and said stitcher station, said clamp means including upper and lower longitudinally extending clamp members for clampingly engaging opposite sides of a group of sheets, said clamp members extending between said stitcher means and said guide means in a direction generally parallel to said guide means when said clamp means is at said stitching station, and control means for operating said clamp means to grip a group of sheets at said pickup station and to release the group of sheets at said stitching station with a lowermost edge portion of the group of sheets in engagement with said guide means.

Claim 37

An assembly as set forth in claim 31 wherein said conveyor means includes a conveyor drive means for operating said conveyor means to move the groups of sheets forwardly to said pickup station at a first speed, said shuttle drive means being operative to move said clamp means forwardly at a speed which is at least as great as said first speed when said clamp means grips a group of sheets at said pickup station and to accelerate said clamp means to a second speed which is substantially greater than said first speed immediately after the group of sheets is gripped at said pickup station to thereby move the gripped group of sheets away from said conveyor means, and said foLder means includes a folder drive means for operating said folder means to move groups of stitched sheets engaged by said folder means forwardly at a third speed which is greater than said second speed.

Claim 38

An assembly as set forth in claim 31 further including adjustment means selectively operable between one condition wherein said assembly is operable to sidestitch the groups of sheets and another condition wherein said assembly is operable to saddle stitch the groups of sheets, said folder means including control means which is selectively operable to prevent side stitched groups of sheets from being folded by said folder means, said shuttle means being operable to position each group of sheets with its centerline to one side of said stitcher means when said adjustment means is in said one condition, and said shuttle means being operable to position each group of sheets with its centerline in alignment with said stitcher means when said adjustment means is in said other condition.

Claim 41

A method as set forth in claim 34 further including the method step of trimming the edge portion opposite the stitched and folded edge portion along a line extending transversely to the direction of feed.

Claim 44

A method as set forth in claim 36 further including the method step of moving the stop member from an extended position to a retracted position in response to engagement of a leading edge portion of the sheets with said stop member during said step of moving the sheets in a forward direction.

Claim 45

A method as set forth in claim 36 further including the method step of pushing previously stitched sheets away from the stitching station contemporaneously with said step of moving the sheets in a forward direction.