Abstract: A sheet finisher includes: a sheet stacking section on which sheets are stacked; a pair of folding rollers for pressing and conveying the sheets; a roller driving device for driving the pair of folding rollers; a protruding member which is protruded toward a nipping position of the pair of folding rollers to fold the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking section in two; and a protruding member driving device for driving the protruding member to protrude toward the nipping position. When the protruding member driving device drives the protruding member toward the nipping position, the roller driving device is suspended to drive the pair of folding rollers to be conveyed.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for forming books comprising pages of coated paper interspersed with pages of newsprint paper. The book is formed by providing a moving web of coated paper, providing a plurality of moving webs of newsprint paper, printing the moving web of coated paper with inks of a plurality of colors including printing within identified coupon areas, selectively perforating the moving web of coated paper around the printed coupon areas, subjecting the moving web of coated paper to a heatset operation to set the inks on the web, printing the moving webs of newsprint paper with at least one color ink, and associating the moving webs of coated paper and newsprint paper in a pasting, folding, and cutting operation to form a plurality of books each comprising a plurality of pages of coated paper interspersed with a plurality of pages of newsprint paper and adhesively bound together along one longitudinal edge of the book and each including detachable coupons on at least some of the coated paper pages.

Abstract: A device for conveying a front end of a material web, which is fed in a web-fed rotary press, especially a printing press. The device has a deflecting device for deflecting the web and a feed device for the deflected web, which is arranged at a distance from the deflecting device in the direction of feed of the deflected web. A guiding device, which guides a front end of the web around the deflecting device during the deflecting, is arranged adjacent to the deflecting device. Lying on a circulating conveyor belt, the deflected web front end is fed to the feed device.

Abstract: To permit web portions (16, 17; 18, 19; 20, 21) slit from longitudinal webs (2a, 2b, 2c) to be selectively interleaved or interlaced, with or without turning over, pairs of turning bars or rods (6, 7; 8, 9; 10, 11; 12, 13) are located in essentially vertically aligned position; laterally of the turning rods, two deflection rollers (22, 23) are positioned which can be individually movably shifted by individual drive motors (32) operating a gear on a rack formed on guide rails, so that the deflection rollers can be selectively positioned at the level of a selected pair of turning rods. This permits placement of a web portion, right side up or turned over, between a pair of web portions which is not necessarily the next adjacent one in the vertical sequence of superimposed webs arriving at the interlacing or interleaving system.

Abstract: To selectively place web portions slit from a printed paper web with a left web portion above a right one over a right web portion above the left one, the parallel-arriving web portions are so guided through a turning bar looping of the right or left web about the turning bars, with superposition, which involves a 90.degree. position change of the turning bars, and while maintaining the air cushion between the paper web and the turning bars, the level of the arriving web with respect to the first-encountered or passed over or looped about turning bar is controlled or so set that the web will engage the turning bar tangentially with the plane of the arriving web portion and delivery web portion parallel to each other, by, respectively, guiding the web portion either above the turning bar pair or from below the turning bar pair, upon 90.degree. shift of the turning bar pair.

Abstract: An anglebar and/or a compensator roller in a folder of a printing press is adjustable. A motor has an output shaft operatively connected with the anglebar and/or the compensator roller to, when driven, adjust the position of the anglebar and/or the compensator roller. A tachometer provides a speed reference signal indicative of the speed of movement of a web of sheet material relative to the anglebar and/or the compensator roller. A web position sensor provides an adjustment control signal indicating that the anglebar and/or the compensator roller should be adjusted. A computer responds to the speed reference signal and the adjustment control signal to control a DC drive. The DC drive drives the motor at a speed which varies with the speed of movement of the web of sheet material. The anglebar and/or the compensator roller is thereby moved to a desired position at a rate which is a function of the speed of movement of the web of sheet material relative to the anglebar and/or the compensator roller.

Abstract: A method of forming stacks of printed material containing a set of printed patterns, each pattern in the set appearing at a selected printing area of each sheet in a selected sequence through the stacks, and the stack of material formed thereby. The method includes printing an arrangement of Y printed patterns along a length of a web in the selected sequence, severing the web in a direction transverse to the direction of travel or length of the web to form a plurality of printed sheets having Z printed patterns positioned along the length. The value of Z is selected to be greater than 1 and to equal a number other than a prime number or a multiple of a prime number of Y. By selection of a Z value as disclosed, the printed patterns in the set appear at a selected printing area in a predetermined sequence on consecutive pages in the stack.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method are disclosed for composing an imposition in terms of an arrangement of printing plates on selected of the image positions on selected units of a printing press to print a given edition, by first assigning each section of this edition to one of the press areas. Thereafter, each printing unit is examined to determine an utilization value thereof in terms of the placement of the printing plates on the image positions and the relative number of image positions to which printing plates are assigned with respect to the total number of image positions. Thereafter, a list of the image positions for each of the sections and its area, is constructed by examining one printing unit at a time in an order according to the placement of that printing unit in the array and examining its utilization value to determine whether or not to include a particular image position of that printing unit in the list.

Abstract: A litter container is provided that is particularly adapted for use in urban environments. The litter container comprises an architecturally-styled, substantially cylindrical body which is bolted or otherwise suitably secured to a support surface. An arcuate door is disposed in the cylindrical body, the door comprising a substantially 180.degree. arcuate section of the cylindrical body. A hinge and mounting structure for the door is provided for pivotally mounting and cantilevering the door about a substantially vertical axis. The end of the door opposite the hinge is automatically locked in a closed or latched position by a tamper-proof latch which can only be actuated from the exterior of the litter container by a special key. A corrosion-resistant liner is disposed within the cylindrical body of the container and a chute centered on the axial centerline of the container communicates with the corrosion-resistant liner to direct litter therein.

Abstract: A stream of shingled printed products coming off a press at high speed, with variable speed of conveyance and with variable shingle spacing, has alternate products divided into two streams conveyed at reduced speed. Thus two cyclically driven chains present alternating gripper links at a pickup station to grip and transport the alternate products along diverging paths for release on a corresponding pair of conveyor lines for the divided product streams. To conform with varying speeds and spacings, the gripper chain drive is synchronized to operate the grippers as each individual product arrives.

Abstract: The machine comprises a tined wheel for building the banknotes, a conveyor for presenting them to the customer through a slot, and a printer for printing the receipt. This is cut off by a blade and is guided by a system of belts, in such manner as to be fed into the wheel. The receipt is thus bundled together with the banknotes and is presented to the customer with them through the slot, avoiding the risk of the customer forgetting to collect his receipt before a vandal proof shutter closes. The printer can print a journal strip in addition to the receipt.

Abstract: Tickets for an instant lottery are imprinted with lottery numbers and serial numbers that are uniquely related and the lottery numbers are covered from view until after purchase, to provide control and distribution of winners and a high degree of security from fraud. By means of computerized fabrication a low cost and high security ticket is achieved. Playing cards for other games are also inexpensively fabricated.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for the production of a book block, including sheet feeders disposed in series alongside a continuously running, transversely inclined conveyor belt, so that the sheets are successively fed from the feeders and successively disposed one upon the other on the conveyor belt to form a packet. Each sheet is first conveyed from its associated feeder at a downwardly inclined angle, and in a transverse direction with respect to the conveyor belt, and thereafter accelerated at another downwardly inclined angle and in the direction of the conveyor belt to obtain the conveyor belt speed for deposit thereon. From the conveyor belt, the packets are perforated, aligned, cut into strips and again aligned, all of which being performed at the same inclined angle as the conveyor belt. The strips are then folded and cut into quires. The quires are scaled off and then thrust together and thereupon gathered into the book block blank.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method of printing, collating and binding booklets, magazines, pamphlets and similar printed material in one, two or four colors utilizing a novel procedure for assuring precise printing and collating registration. In the printing operation, the present method provides great flexibility whereas the same printing equipment can be used for two-sided printing with full four-color printing on each side and variations thereof. In the collating operation, the present method provides for precise collation of multiple printed pages. In particular, the printing and collating operation utilizes a series of punched holes for orienting the pages during processing which punched holes are removed in a final trimming operation, allowing on-line printing, collation and binding at high production rates and with decreased waste.

Abstract: A duplicator is provided having a printing couple for printing on one face of a copy sheet and a collator for collating the copy sheets as they issue from the printing couple, the paper feed paths of the printing couple and the collator being arranged substantially normal to each other. The duplicator also includes special sheet handling means for passing the copy sheet from the printing couple to the collator and also inverting the sheet. The copy sheet is advanced in a first path and direction away from the printing couple and is advanced in a second path substantially normal to the first path in a second direction towards the collator. The sheet handling means comprises a sheet turn-over device positioned to intersect the copy sheet paths for receiving and progressively inverting the copy sheet as it is advanced in the first path and simultaneously directing the sheet from the first to the second path.

Abstract: A combined system of printing presses and a plurality of collators. Each of the collators assembles a freshly printed signature from the printing press with at least one preprinted signature. Each collator includes a plurality of hoppers for receiving signatures and means for feeding the signatures individually from the hoppers and for collating the signatures fed from the hoppers. A conveying system is provided for selectively either directing a stream of signatures from each of the respective printing presses to one respective hopper of each of the collators or directing a stream of signatures from either press to both of the one hoppers of both collators.

Abstract: A method of producing booklets of tickets for playing the numbers game known, for example, as bingo involves belt printing a series of differently colored webs. Serially arranged on the belt is a multiplicity of different printing plates, each of which is to print a plurality of tickets, each ticket having a combination of numbers dissimilar to the combination of any other ticket to be printed using the belt. The webs are identically printed simultaneously during a rotation of the belt, and as they issue from their respective printing stations, the webs are effectively shifted longitudinally and are superposed such that (1) the impressions of the printing plates thereon are in substantially exact, superposed registry and (2) nowhere in the superposed webs is there a collation of superposed registered impressions containing two or more impressions of the same printing plate.

Abstract: A duplicating system for producing collated copy sets from precollated information. The precollated information is stored on a reversibly driven and reversibly developed web member which is driven past a first copy transfer station when moving in a first direction and past a second copy transfer station when driven in a reverse direction. A development station is positioned in the path of the web to develop the precollated information thereon when the web is moving in either direction. Copy sheets are fed by a first transport past the first transfer station to produce copies thereof when the web is moving in a first direction. Copies are fed by a second transport past the second transfer station to produce copies from the developed web member when the web is moved in a reverse direction. The copies are fed to a first copy receiving tray face down when the web is moving in one direction and to a second copy receiving tray face up when the web is moving in a reverse direction.