Apparatus for folding traveling webs using a series of roller pairs

Claim 1

Folding apparatus to fold a traveling web, or a plurality of superposed traveling webs (6), especially printed material or products received from a printing machine, about a theoretical ridge line (M, M') to thereby fold together said web and define two folded edge lines (R, R' . . . ), comprising, in accordance with the invention, a plurality of folding stages (S1 . . . S5), located at different height levels with respect to the direction of a theoretical ridge line of the material entering a first stage, and to define height offsets of the respective stages with respect to said first stage (S1), each folding stage including a folding roller pair (1, 1' . . . 5, 5'), the rollers (1, 2 . . . 5; 1', 2' . . . 5') of the pair being located at opposite sides of the web or superposed webs (6) and the web or superposed webs being guided between the rollers of the pairs, to be folded thereby, in steps; and wherein the spacing of adjacent folding stages (e.g. S1-S2), and the folding angle of the respective adjacent adjacent stages are related to the height offset of the downstream subsequent stage (S2)--in the direction of travel of the web-- and the angular direction of a line (Z) connecting the centers of the rollers of the pair (2, 2') of the downstream stage, such that the length dimension of the theoretical ridge line between adjacent stages (S1-S2) corresponds at least approximately to the length dimension of the theoretical longitudinal edge lines (R) of the web between the corresponding adjacent stages (S1-S2).