Abstract: The invention relates to devices for aligning sheets (1), which are overlapped with an offset and supplied to the device by a stream feeder and which can be transferred to a device (63) that is located downstream, after alignment of the front edge and one lateral edge of the sheets. At least pant of a sheet can be brought to rest on the periphery of an alignment cylinder (62), which is used to align the front edge of the sheet by means of front lay marks located on the periphery of said cylinder. At least one recess is provided on the periphery of the alignment cylinder, which, by the application of a negative pressure to said recess allows at least part of the sheet to be fixed by friction on the periphery of the alignment cylinder, in such a way that in the contact zone, drive forces from said cylinder can be transferred by friction to the sheet. A measuring device (64) determines the offset of a lateral edge of the sheet in relation to a predetermined set alignment.

Abstract: A gripper system for a machine that processes printing material sheets has a gripper with a first clamping surface and a gripper pad, for cooperating with the gripper, with a second clamping surface. One of the two clamping surfaces is formed with a surface relief. The clamping surface which has the surface relief is placed in such a way that, when a narrow printing material sheet is gripped, the clamping surface is covered by the sheet only within a subregion of the clamping surface and, when it grips a broad printing material sheet, it is covered by the latter beyond the subregion. The surface relief is structured differently within the subregion than outside the subregion, in that it is provided within the subregion with an antideformation structure which protects the narrow printing material sheet from excessive clamping deformation.

Abstract: A device for stabilizing sheet guidance in a sheet-processing machine includes a first transport device having first gripper devices for guiding sheets to be processed, and a second transport device having second gripper devices opposing the first gripper devices. The first gripper devices are in cooperation with the opposing second gripper devices, during an operation selected from the group of operations consisting of taking over and transferring the sheets. The opposing second gripper devices are dippable into interspaces formed between the first gripper devices, and at least one supporting element is disposed in the interspaces for supporting leading corners of the sheets, the supporting element being disposed locally fixed on the first transport device. The opposing second gripper devices are disposed in a region of the supporting element and include a forked gripper formed with a cutout into which the supporting element is dippable during transfer of a leading edge of the sheet.

Abstract: A fixing structure comprises a rotary drum having an outer peripheral surface, around which a printing plate is wound, and an inner peripheral surface portion, the drum including through-slots formed in the outer surface at predetermined intervals in the peripheral direction, each of which communicates the outer surface with the inner surface portion; and a chuck detachably mountable to the drum, for clamping one end of the printing plate onto the drum, the chuck including a support having opposite ends, a clamp plate provided on one support end, and a base section provided on the other support end, wherein when the chuck is mounted on the drum, the base section is inserted and passed through one associated through-slot and then hooked over the inner surface portion.

Abstract: In a method of operating a machine processing printing material sheets and having a sheet transport drum in various operating modes, drum circumferential shells are kept fixed on the sheet transport drum in an outer position in a first of the operating modes and in an inner position in a second of the operating modes. During a drum conversion to be carried out before the start of a third of the operating modes, the drum circumferential shells are removed from the sheet transport drum and, in this third operating mode, the sheet transport drum is rotated without the drum circumferential shells.

Abstract: A sheet-guiding device in a sheet-processing machine, in particular a sheet-fed rotary printing press, includes gripper devices disposed on revolving components of the sheet-processing machine for guiding the sheets to be printed on an air cushion formed by blast air. A multiplicity of free jet nozzles, disposed radially outside a path of movement of the gripper devices, form the air cushion. The free jet nozzles serve for producing free air jets tangentially delimiting an optimized path of movement of the sheets. The optimized path of movement extends in the vicinity of the path of movement of the gripper devices.

Abstract: A device and method prevents movement of a printing plate during clamping of an end of the plate to an external drum of an imaging system using a clamping apparatus having: a clamping portion disposed on the external drum, wherein the clamping portion may be selectively displaced between a clamping position for clamping the leading edge of the printing plate against the external drum and a release position; and an inflatable member positioned between the clamping portion and the external drum for displacing the clamping portion between the clamping position and the release position. The device includes: a first spring-metal component mounted onto the external drum wherein the end of the plate can be positioned between one end of the first spring-metal component and the external drum, and the first spring-metal component is positioned between the clamping portion and the plate, to prevent the plate from moving during clamping.

Abstract: In a gripper system having grippers disposed in a row and interspaces between the grippers and hold-downs for holding down in each case a free edge of a printing material sheet gripped by the grippers, the hold-downs being disposed to project into the interspaces and being mounted such that they can be displaced together with the grippers when gripping the printing material sheet.

Abstract: Apparatus for duplex printing comprising: a first impression roller (24) on which a first side of a sheet (22) having a leading edge and a trailing edge is printed referenced to the leading edge; a second impression roller (26) on which a second side of the sheet is printed; and a transport system (20) that removes a printed sheet from the first impression roller (24) and transports it to the second impression roller (26), the transport system comprising a perfector (32) that receives the sheet and grips it along both the leading and trailing edges of the sheet, which perfector turns the sheet over and transfers the sheet trailing edge first towards the second impression roller.

Abstract: A printing plate is only guided by and wound around peripheral surfaces of cylinders. The cylinders are disposed along an axis of a rotating shaft at predetermined intervals, and support the entire printing plate with substantially equal balance. The printing plate has a degree of firmness, and thus, the printing plate can hold itself in a substantially cylindrical shape even if it is merely rolled in the air. Therefore, the whole printing plate can be accurately wound and held onto a peripheral locus of a predetermined radius coaxial with the rotating shaft merely by disposing guide members as auxiliary guides for positioning and winding parts of the printing plate.

Abstract: A sheet guide apparatus comprises gripper devices for holding and transporting a printed sheet, an impression cylinder and a transfer cylinder for holding and transporting the printed sheet received from the gripper device, and a first guide device for guiding the printed sheet being transported. A front end portion of the first guide device is located upstream, in the flow direction of the printed sheet, from a transfer position, where the printed sheet is transferred from the gripper device to the impression cylinder, and the front end portion of the first guide device is also located near the transfer position. Suction holes opening in a front end portion of a plate-shaped guide of the first guide device are provided for sucking air. The sheet guide apparatus suppresses fluttering or instability of the sheet.

Abstract: A sheet member holding apparatus which holds a winding direction end portion of a sheet member that is wound around a rotary body. Centrifugal force generated by rotation of the rotary body is efficiently utilized to hold the end portion securely and prevent looseness or the like of the sheet member, because the holding apparatus is designed such that the expression {(?1+?2)×(L2/L1)×m}>c×r×t is satisfied. L1 is distance from a fulcrum to a clamp section, L2 is distance from the fulcrum to a center of gravity, m is mass of a plate of the apparatus per unit length in the rotary body's axial direction, t is thickness and c is density of the sheet member, and ?1 and ?2 are coefficients of friction between the sheet member and, respectively, the clamp section and the rotary body.

Abstract: A printing press for one-sided or two-sided printing of a sheet includes a transfer cylinder disposed in a travel direction of the sheet between a first and a second impression cylinder, respectively, of two printing units, and a sheet support assigned to the transfer cylinder for receiving the sheet thereon before the sheet is transferred to the second impression cylinder, an inverting drum disposed in the travel direction of the sheet between the sheet support and the second impression cylinder, the inverting drum serving for picking up the sheet from the sheet support and transporting the sheet to the second impression cylinder; and a method of operation.

Abstract: A gripper device in a sheet-processing machine includes a gripper, a gripper pad associated with the gripper and a first drive for moving the gripper out of an opened position thereof into a closed position thereof. The gripper is cooperatively engageable with the gripper pad for producing a clamping force for holding sheets being processed. A second drive is separately operable from the first drive during a production printing operation of the sheet-processing machine. The first and second drives are operable for positioning the gripper and/or the gripper pad so that clamping faces of one of the gripper and/or the gripper pad are movable by the second drive perpendicularly to clamping faces of the other of the gripper and/or the gripper pad.

Abstract: The invention relates to a guiding device for metal sheet printing machines and metal sheet painting machines, which have at least two printing cylinders and a transfer drum situated therebetween. The guiding device is arranged on said transfer drum and, to be precise, is located close to the imaginary cylindrical outer surface of the transfer drum. The guiding device comprises at least one guiding element with an outwardly turned bearing surface for supporting the rear edge of the metal sheets. The guiding element is pivotally mounted by means of a swivel bearing whose pivotal axis is parallel to the axis of the transfer drum. The guiding element is coupled to a pivot drive by means of which its bearing surface can be adjusted to different pivoting angles (?) with regard to the tangent to the imaginary cylindrical outer surface of the transfer drum.

Abstract: A device for fixing a sheet material to a cylindrical rotating member. Without using a suction mechanism and a vacuum, pressing portions of sheet material leading end clamps provided at a peripheral surface of the rotating member press the sheet material against the peripheral surface of the rotating member and fix the sheet material thereat. Each pressing portion has a region which deforms most due to centrifugal force generated by the rotating member. The pressing portion is formed in advance on the whole in a bow-like shape such that this region projects the most toward a center of the rotating member. Due to deformation caused by centrifugal force, the pressing portion changes from bow-shaped to planar, and uniformly presses the sheet material without a gap therebetween.

Abstract: Sheet-fed printing press, especially a satellite-type printing press by which double-side printing is performed with a single satellite-type press and if only single-side printing is required a sheet perfecting apparatus does not intervene in the sheet transfer path. In the course of printing with a plurality of printing units (26) provided in satellite-like manner around a common pressure cylinder (10), a sheet perfecting apparatus (36) is provided for inverting the sheet of material for double-side printing. The sheet perfecting apparatus is separable from the sheet transfer path for printing on one side only. The sheet perfecting apparatus is made up of a first transfer cylinder (38) a perfecting cylinder (40) and a second transfer cylinder (42).

Abstract: A driver for use in collecting and packaging machines has a base member securable on a transport system. A drive lever is arranged pivotably on the base member so as to pivot at least between a swung-out drive position and a folded safety position. A spring element acts on the drive lever. The spring element, in the drive position of the drive lever, secures by a spring force the drive lever in the drive position but releases the drive lever, when a first counterforce surpassing the spring force acts on the drive lever, for pivoting the drive lever from the drive position into the safety position.

Abstract: A sheet-processing machine, such as a rotary press, has normally closed grippers that circulate during operation. The grippers transport the sheets along a conveying section and guide the sheets at their leading and trailing edges. The conveying section is assigned a sheet decurler and a sheet guide device that follows the latter in the conveying direction. The conveying section further has a gripper opener assigned thereto for opening the trailing edge grippers carrying the trailing edges of the sheets in order to decurl the sheets. After the sheets have traversed the decurler and decurling has been carried out, the trailing edges are once more grasped with the trailing edge grippers for renewed positive guidance.

Abstract: A feeding device for feeding a processing line with printed products, including folded or non-folded printed sheets, from a stack of printed products. The printed sheets are held in a magazine. A conveyor defines a circulating path and moves in a conveying direction for conveying the printed products to the processing line. A synchronously driven separating mechanism, which is pivotally attached to the magazine, acts upon a closed fold or an edge of the printed product and operates to partially remove the printed product from the stack of printed products. A gripping arrangement includes a controlled gripping device attached to the conveyor in a feeding region of the processing line and essentially moves along in the conveying direction for taking over the printed product from the separating mechanism by gripping a front edge of the printed product relative to the conveying direction.

Abstract: For transforming a supply stream (2), in which stream elements (1) each comprising one flat object or a group of flat objects lying on top of one another, are conveyed overlapping one another, and in which the stream elements are essentially oriented parallel to the conveying direction (F), during unchanged onward conveyance, every stream element (1) is gripped in a same location which in the conveying direction (F) is situated in the centre of the element and in which location the element is not overlapped by adjacent elements (1) and every stream element is then displaced transverse to the conveying direction (F), the spatial element orientation remaining essentially unchanged. The displacement is different for successive stream elements (1) in a predefined sequence. For gripping the stream elements (1) in a clamping manner, in particular clamping elements (5.1) are used, which are capable of being displaced transverse to the conveying direction (F) along guide links (6).

Abstract: A sheet material holding device applicable to an automatic printing plate exposure apparatus is disclosed. A notched groove is disposed in an upper surface of a clamp body corresponding to the pressing direction of a press shaft of the sheet material holding device, and a point of contact between the press shaft and the groove is adjusted. A straight line connecting the contact point with an axial center of a rotating shaft intersects a circular trajectory of the contact point at a substantially right angle. Substantially all of the pressing force of the press shaft acts to pivot the clamp body, whereby a rotary drum is prevented from being rotated at the time of pressing.

Abstract: An apparatus for conveying a sheet-like recording material is provided. The conveying apparatus includes a recording material feeding device for feeding the sheet-like recording material to a rotating drum from a feeding guide disposed in a direction tangential to the drum; and a recording material ejecting device for ejecting the recording material from the drum to an ejecting guide disposed in a direction tangential to the rotating drum. The feeding guide and the ejecting guide of the conveying apparatus are disposed near to each other in a thickness direction thereof, and the drum is in the same rotational position at the commencement of feeding the recording material to the drum and when the ejection of the recording material from the drum is completed.

Abstract: A method for holding a sheet material wound around a circumferential surface of a rotating drum and an image recording apparatus are provided. When at least one of a leading edge and a trailing edge of the sheet material, which is fed in a direction tangential to the rotating drum, is nipped between the circumferential surface of the rotating drum and chucks, nipping by the chucks is sequentially effected from one axial-direction end of the rotating drum to the other axial-direction end of the rotating drum.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for reversing sheet material in a sheet-processing machine having at least two printing units, a reversing drum with a gripper system, and an impression cylinder that can be operated as a storage drum in perfecting mode and to which a further gripper system for one edge of the sheet material is assigned. In perfecting mode, one of the edges of the sheet material is gripped at an angular offset before the transfer centerline between the reversing drum and the storage drum, before the edge of the sheet material fixed to the storage drum is released.

Abstract: An imaging drum assembly is provided for use in an imaging apparatus for forming images on sheet material. The imaging drum assembly comprises a rotatable imaging drum having an outer surface adapted to attract sheet material to the imaging drum. A material clamp is mounted to the drum and has a retainer positioning a retaining surface radially outward of the outer surface and forming a space therebetween. A slide is movable positioned within the space between an outer radial position where outward radial movement of the slide is blocked by the retaining surface and an inner radial position distant from the retaining surface. A biasing member urges the slide toward the outer radial position.

Abstract: Devices for turning sheets in a rotary printing machine are described. The devices have a storage drum for handling sheets, which are each held by a holding device, and a turning drum is disposed downstream of the storage drum and has a holding device for engaging a rear edge of the sheet to be turned. An operation of detaching the sheet to be turned from the storage drum and carrying it along by the turning drum leads to the formation of a pressure reduction in an area formed between the sheet to be turned, the storage drum and the turning drum. The pressure reduction is compensated for by supplying ambient air, blast air and/or compressed air. The turning device has a channel and/or a passage orifice connected to an inner chamber of the turning drum. Via the channel and/or passage orifice air can be sucked and/or blown into the reduced-pressure area.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for clamping the leading edge of a supply of recording media, such as a printing plate, on the external drum of an imaging system. The leading edge clamping apparatus includes a spring segment disposed on the external drum, wherein the spring segment may be selectively displaced between a clamping position for clamping the leading edge of the printing plate against the external drum and a release position, and an inflatable member positioned between the spring segment and the external drum for displacing the spring segment between the clamping position and the release position.

Abstract: A recto and verso printing press, comprising an upper gripper and a lower gripper, respectively, centrally pivotable with respect to an introduction of force, said upper gripper, in recto printing position thereof, being cooperable with a gripper pad fixed to a cylinder of the printing press, said upper gripper and said lower gripper being arranged centrally in relation to one another and to said gripper pad, and having a common center line.

Abstract: The invention relates to an arrangement of sheet-holding systems at storage drums in turning devices of sheet-fed printing machines. It is an object of the invention to provide an arrangement of sheet-holding systems at storage drums, which ensures a stiff construction of the storage drum and a simple adjustment of the sheet-holding systems relative to one another.

Abstract: A gripper drum device comprising a drum body rotatable about a central axis, an actuating shaft rotatable within the drum body, a box cam follower connected to the actuating shaft for moving the actuating shaft, a gripper seat connected to the actuating shaft, a gripper connected to the actuating shaft, and a box cam, the box cam follower being located within the box cam for following the box cam. Also provided is a method for gripping printed products including the steps of rotating a drum about a central axis, moving a cam follower within a box cam, and gripping a printed product with a gripper attached to the cam follower.

Abstract: A printing plate is only guided by and wound around peripheral surfaces of cylinders. The cylinders are disposed along an axis of a rotating shaft at predetermined intervals, and support the entire printing plate with substantially equal balance. The printing plate has a degree of firmness, and thus, the printing plate can hold itself in a substantially cylindrical shape even if it is merely rolled in the air. Therefore, the whole printing plate can be accurately wound and held onto a peripheral locus of a predetermined radius coaxial with the rotating shaft merely by disposing guide members as auxiliary guides for positioning and winding parts of the printing plate.

Abstract: The device enables the inspection (10, 11, 12), marking (9) or other processing or monitoring of a printed sheet (1), conveyed in register on a radial path by means of a rigid, rotating sheet conveying device (2, 3, 4, 5), from the inside, that is to say the concave side of the movement path.

Abstract: The invention relates to a storage drum in turning drives of sheet-printing machines. It is an object of the invention to change the relative angular position of sheet-holding positions at a storage drum in turning devices with little expense and simple means. Pursuant to the invention, this objective is accomplished owing to the fact that sheet-holding systems (8, 9) are provided at the storage drum for taking hold of the sheets (7) in the front and rear regions, the sheet-holding systems (8, 9) can be adjusted relative to one another in the circumferential direction, the sheet-holding systems (8) for the front region of the sheet at the basic body (12) and the sheet holding systems (9) for the rear region of the sheet is assigned to a central axis (13), which is taken up by the basic body (12) and the sheet-holding systems (8, 9) are connected to one another by a clutch (18, 20), which can be released by means of the oil of an oil-under-pressure connection (29, 30, 31, 32).

Abstract: Provided, in combination, is a device for turning sheet-like material, with an impression cylinder for guiding the sheet-like material, the impression cylinder being preceded by a first transfer cylinder and followed by a second transfer cylinder, the sheet-like material being receivable on an outer jacket surface of the impression cylinder so as to be printable by a third transfer cylinder, and further included are a storage device, and a device for imparting a deformation in the sheet-like material during entry thereof into the storage device and while the sheet-like material is gripped at an edge thereof; and a printing unit and a multicolor rotary printing machine, respectively, provided with the combination.

Abstract: A sheet member holding apparatus which holds a winding direction end portion of a sheet member that is wound around a rotary body. Centrifugal force generated by rotation of the rotary body is efficiently utilized to hold the end portion securely and prevent looseness or the like of the sheet member, because the holding apparatus is designed such that the expression {(&mgr;1+&mgr;2)×(L2/L1)×m}>c×r×t is satisfied. L1 is distance from a fulcrum to a clamp section, L2 is distance from the fulcrum to a center of gravity, m is mass of a plate of the apparatus per unit length in the rotary body's axial direction, t is thickness and c is density of the sheet member, and &mgr;1 and &mgr;2 are coefficients of friction between the sheet member and, respectively, the clamp section and the rotary body.

Abstract: A device includes a cylinder having a gripper system for holding a sheet of printable material, the gripper system having at least one gripper mounted so as to be pivotable relative to at least one gripper support and being capable of performing a dipping movement into a channel formed in the cylinder below an outer jacket contour thereof, and having a control cam for controlling the pivoting of the gripper relative to the gripper support, the control cam also serving to control the dipping movement of the gripper system into the channel.

Abstract: A device for positioning sheets in a station of a sheet-processing machine comprising a movable bearing surface for holding at least one edge zone of a sheet, actuators driving the bearing surface in the plane thereof, sheet grippers accompanying the motion of the bearing surface and adapted to grip or release the edge zone of the sheet between sheet grippers and the bearing surface. The sheet grippers are connected to the bearing surface by at least one joint comprising a number of levers forming a parallelogram articulated around horizontal pivot axes. A piston comprising a permanently compressed spring eliminates the radial clearance between the pivot axes. Lateral clearance thereof is eliminated by a spring strip which is rigid in the transverse direction.

Abstract: A device for stabilizing sheet guidance in a sheet-processing machine includes a first transport device having first gripper devices for guiding sheets to be processed, and a second transport device having second gripper devices opposing the first gripper devices. The first gripper devices are in cooperation with the opposing second gripper devices, during an operation selected from the group of operations consisting of taking over and transferring the sheets. The opposing second gripper devices are dippable into interspaces formed between the first gripper devices, and at least one supporting element is disposed in the interspaces for supporting leading corners of the sheets, the supporting element being disposed locally fixed on the first transport device. The opposing second gripper devices are disposed in a region of the supporting element and include a forked gripper formed with a cutout into which the supporting element is dippable during transfer of a leading edge of the sheet.

Abstract: A method of aligning flat copies in a sheet-processing machine includes the steps of determining the actual position of a sheetlike material in relation to a coordinate system; implementing a nominal position of a cylinder that accommodates the sheetlike material to be aligned on the jacket surface of the cylinder by correctively controlling non-contacting radial/axial magnetic bearings so as to compensate for position changes of the cylinder or components thereof from the nominal position; and maintaining the cylinder in the nominal position thereof until the aligned sheet material is transferred to transport units arranged farther downline; a device for performing the method; a printing unit having the device; and a multicolor rotary printing machine having the device.

Abstract: A device for affixing an original onto a scanning cylinder includes a housing for accommodating components of the device, the housing having a front, a rear and a lateral region, and being provided, in the front region, with an original table whereon an original is clampable, and in the lateral region, with two arms articulatedly connected therein and being slidable on guides for moving the table to the cylinder, the housing, in the rear region, being provided with a trough open at the top for accommodating the cylinder, and being constructed to accommodate, respectively, one of two cylinders of different diameter; and a roller for pressing the original onto the cylinder during a clamping process of the original, the roller extending parallel to the cylinder and being fixed to two curved swinging arms articulatedly connected to the rear region and matching the shape of the housing.

Abstract: A device for preventing a spring-loaded control roller from being lifted off a control cam therefor in a gripper control system in a sheet processing machine, includes a support mechanism disposed separately from the gripper control system. The support mechanism impresses an additional force upon the control roller in critical regions.

Abstract: A deceleration drum assembly has a deceleration drum with at least one gripper for gripping and transporting signatures. A guide surface assembly is provided which produces a fluid flow for transporting the signature in a contactless manner above the guide surface assembly.

Abstract: A device for transporting a sheet for a sheet-processing machine in a processing direction includes first grippers for gripping the sheet at a leading gripper edge, as viewed in the direction of processing, the first grippers revolving in a first direction during operation. Also provided is a cylinder bearing the first grippers, and having a support surface formed at the circumference thereof for supporting the sheet gripped by the first grippers.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for conveying printed products in an imbricated formation with different spacings between the products, from a feed conveyor to the grippers on a removal conveyor. The printed products are introduced into the grippers in groups without any change in the spacing between successive printed products, and the conveying speeds of the feed conveyor and the removal conveyor are coordinated such that the portion of each group of products which projects into a gripper is less than the depth of the mouth of the gripper. Also, a deflection device at the transfer location serves to deflect the leading end of each group of products toward the approaching gripper.

Abstract: When a sheet member or printing plate is closely held on a peripheral surface of a drum, no scratch is made on the peripheral surface, edges of the sheet member are held with certainty, and the sheet member is prevented from being partially lifted from the peripheral surface, thereby preventing deterioration of image quality. Since clamp portions are rotated in a direction in which they tension the sheet member due to a centrifugal force acting thereon, the sheet member is held in close contact with the peripheral surface. Further, since the clamp portions are disposed at one end portion in a width direction of the plate, gripper margins of the sheet member is reduced and an image-recordable area thereof can be increased.

Abstract: An apparatus for changing the position of flexible flat objects, in particular printed products, as they are advanced on a first conveyor in an overlapping stream, and which includes a position changing device positioned above the first conveyor and which comprises a displacement member which is moved along a movement path by means of a drive. The movement path includes one section which extends rectilinearly and in the conveying direction and the displacement member is driven at a speed which corresponds at least approximately to the conveying speed of a second conveyor toward which the displacement member conveys the objects. The second conveyor delivers the objects to a discharge conveyor which is provided with transport clamps which are delivered individually to a fitting point where they receive an object from the second conveyor.

Abstract: A number of circulatory elements arranged one behind the other are driven in a direction of circulation and have a suction element and a supporting element in each case on the first side and on the second side. The circulatory elements receive a supplementary product at the pick-up location and transfer the same, in a first mode of operation, to the respectively preceding circulatory element. In a second mode of operation, no transfer takes place. This results in it being possible for the supplementary products received in the same manner to be brought into abutment optionally against the leading side or trailing side of the printed products and pressed on there.

Abstract: A gripper drum for gripping printed products includes a drum shaft; at least one gripper disk coupled to the drum shaft; a gripper shaft disposed on the at least one gripper disk and having a shaft body rotatable about its longitudinal axis; an apparatus for controlling the gripper shaft; and a plurality of grippers disposed on the shaft body. The grippers are adaptable to be rotated about the longitudinal axis of the gripper shaft for gripping the printed products. The gripper drum further includes a tensing apparatus coupled to the gripper shaft for compensating any play between the controlling apparatus and the plurality of grippers. The gripper drum operates to define an opening movement and closing movement of the grippers.

Abstract: An apparatus for conveying a sheet-like recording material is provided. The conveying apparatus includes a recording material feeding device for feeding the sheet-like recording material to a rotating drum from a feeding guide disposed in a direction tangential to the drum; and a recording material ejecting device for ejecting the recording material from the drum to an ejecting guide disposed in a direction tangential to the rotating drum. The feeding guide and the ejecting guide of the conveying apparatus are disposed near to each other in a thickness direction thereof, and the drum is in the same rotational position at the commencement of feeding the recording material to the drum and when the ejection of the recording material from the drum is completed.