Abstract: In order to avoid striking and compacting signatures in a signature stack during a period of selective operational disablement of a gathering machine on a binding line, a system for selectively disabling and enabling operation of a sucker arm is provided. The system includes a cam operatively associated with a main drum for driven movement therewith and a cam follower arm operatively associated with the cam for driven movement thereby. The cam follower arm is interconnected to the sucker arm for imparting reciprocating movement to the sucker arm. The reciprocating movement normally traverses a path from the signature stack to the main drum and back again to feed signatures from the signature stack to the main drum for delivery to the binding line when the system enables operation of the sucker arm. The cam follower arm is interconnected to the sucker arm through a pushrod which extends to a crank mounted on a pivotal sucker tube for pivotal movement thereabout.

Abstract: An apparatus for opening a book having a plurality of pages held in assembled relation with adjacent foredges substantially in contact with one another. The apparatus includes a rotatable pin for initiating separation of pages of the book by contacting and entering the book at one end of the adjacent foredges to thereby cause one of the pages to be separated from a next adjacent of the pages at a selected location in the book. Additionally, at a ribbon inserting station, a ribbon inserter can be provided to insert a ribbon into the selected location in the book between the one of the pages and the next adjacent of the pages. The apparatus may also include a knife assembly downstream of the rotatable pin which is adapted to maintain separation of the pages upon entering the book at the selected location for any purpose such as accommodating insertion of a ribbon by the ribbon inserter. With this arrangement, the book opening apparatus is well suited for opening a book without damage to the pages thereof.

Abstract: A stream feeder for moving a shingled stream of signatures forwardly to maintain a small upright stack of signatures at a packer box of a bindery line collator has a transversely extending impaling pin bar movably mounted on a forward end portion of the stream feeder frame, and a line of impaling pins that are individually adjustable in the pin bar have free ends projecting into the path of movement into the packer box of signatures from the small upright stack. Mechanism for moving the pin bar to simultaneously adjust the extent of projection of all the pins includes a manually movable adjustment control member mounted at a position spaced from the pin bar where it is readily accessible to an operator attending the bindery line.

Abstract: A high speed signature inserter packer box to operate with a saddle stitcher at a rate in excess of 225 books per minute includes a very simple and rapid way to convert from operation with a feed hopper signature supply to operation with a stream feeder signature supply. The inserter packer box also has a novel arrangement for controlling the trailing end portion of a signature on the extracting drum in the area where it is grasped by the transfer drum grippers. A low volume, low velocity air stream blows through said area toward the transfer drum to deflect the trailing end portion into a recess in the transfer drum periphery that carries a set of grippers, and the recess is shaped to assure that the deflected trailing end portion is positioned to be grasped by the grippers.

Abstract: A vacuum system for operating a member, such as a signature gripper of a collator which must be actuated and released at regular intervals, conventionally has a slide-type valve which is constantly reciprocated by a cam-operated pushrod between an open position to connect the member to vacuum and a closed position to isolate the member from vacuum. To selectively disable and enable the gripper for selective feed of signatures, an air cylinder and piston unit is used as part of the pushrod so the length of the pushrod may be changed by retracting or extending the air cylinder piston. When the piston is retracted the valve is reciprocated between an open and a normal closed position; while extension of the piston causes the valve to be reciprocated between the normal closed position and a second closed position.