Scoring machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9776371-B2
Application number	US-201514597281-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 15, 2015
Priority date	Feb 17, 2014
Publication date	Oct 3, 2017
Grant date	Oct 3, 2017

Abstract

A scoring machine incorporated in a sheet folding apparatus forms scores on sheets according to a folding pattern. The scoring machine comprises upper and lower rotary shafts provided with pairs of convex and concave rollers, and a positioning unit slidably attached to a slide guide. When a rotatable member is arranged at a standing position, the convex roller engages with a groove on one end face of the rotatable member, or the concave roller engages with a projection on the other end face of the rotatable member. A sequence pattern of the pairs of convex and concave rollers on the upper and lower rotary shafts corresponding to the folding pattern is displayed on a display. The positioning unit stops at the specified positions of the pairs of convex and concave rollers while sliding.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A scoring machine incorporated in a buckle-type sheet folding apparatus so as to form a score or scores on sheets according to a folding pattern to be achieved by the sheet folding apparatus, the scoring machine comprising:
a frame;
upper and lower rotary shafts extending parallel with and at a distance from each other and supported by the frame to rotate about axes thereof;
a plurality of first rollers mounted on the upper rotary shaft;
a plurality of second rollers mounted on the lower rotary shaft, the first and second rollers being paired, wherein each of the first and second rollers is provided with a stop screw so that the first and second rollers are fixed to the desired position on the upper and lower rotary shafts, respectively by screwing the stop screw, and the respective paired first and second rollers are arranged opposite to each other, and one of the respective paired first and second rollers is a convex roller having an annular projection at outer periphery thereof and the other of the respective paired first and second rollers is a concave roller having an annular groove at outer periphery thereof;
a first drive mechanism attached to the frame so as to rotate the upper and lower rotary shafts in synchronization with each other, the score or scores being formed on the sheets while the sheets are passed between the respective paired first and second rollers;
a slide guide attached to the frame and extending parallel to the upper and lower rotary shafts right above the upper rotary shaft or right below the lower rotary shaft;
a single positioning unit slidably attached to the slide guide;
a second drive mechanism attached to the frame so as to move the positioning unit;
a distance measurement unit configured to measure a travel distance of the positioning unit from a reference point on the slide guide; and
a display,
wherein the positioning unit comprises:
a slider slidably attached to the slide guide;
a rotatable member attached to the slider so as to rotate about an axis of the slide guide between a lying position at which the rotatable member horizontally extends in a diametrical direction of the slide guide and a standing position at which the rotatable member is rotated from the lying position by 90° clockwise and counterclockwise; and
a resilient biasing member arranged between the slider and the rotatable member so as to constantly bias the rotatable member toward the lying position, the rotatable member being manually rotated from the lying position to the standing position,
wherein the rotatable member has longitudinal end faces each of which is in the form of a circular arc centered at the axis of the slide guide as viewed in an axial direction of the slide guide, one of the longitudinal end faces having a groove corresponding to the annular projection of the convex roller and the other of the longitudinal end faces having a projection corresponding to the annular groove of the concave roller,
wherein when the rotatable member is arranged at the lying position, the positioning unit is spaced from the first or second roller of the closest rotary shaft of the upper and lower rotary shafts, and when the rotatable member is arranged at the standing position, the rotatable member is engaged with the annular projection of the convex roller of the closest rotary shaft at the groove of the longitudinal end face thereof or with the annular groove of the concave roller of the closest rotary shaft at the projection of the longitudinal end face thereof,
wherein a combination of the first and second rollers as well as an array of each pair of the first and second rollers on the upper and lower rotary shafts corresponding to the folding pattern is displayed on the display, and, based on the travel distance measured by the distance measurement unit, the positioning unit stops at the specified positions of the pairs of the first and second rollers while sliding.

2. The scoring machine according to claim 1 , wherein the slider of the positioning unit comprises:
a horizontal cylindrical portion;
a pair of vertical wall portions composed of plates provided with circular openings adapted to the outside diameter of the cylindrical portion and fixed to both ends of the cylindrical portion with the cylindrical portion passing through the circular openings; and
a connecting portion extending between the wall portions at a distance from the axis of the cylindrical portion, the distance being larger than a half of the longitudinal length of the rotatable member, and the slider is fitted on the slide guide with the slide guide passing through the cylindrical portion,
wherein the rotatable member is composed of a rectangular plate having a given amount of thickness and a central circular opening which corresponds to the outside diameter of the cylindrical portion of the slider, and fitted on the slider with the cylindrical portion passing through the central circular opening,
wherein the resilient biasing member is composed of a pair of torsion springs encircling the cylindrical portion between each of the wall portions of the slider and the rotatable member, and the pair of torsion springs is arranged in such a way that directions of twisting thereof match each other, and each of the torsion springs is fixed to the associated wall portion at one end thereof and the other end of each of the torsion springs becomes a free end, and the rotatable member has pins engageable with the free ends of the associated torsion springs at side surfaces thereof opposed to the wall portions,
wherein when the rotatable member is arranged at the lying position, the pins of the rotatable member press the free ends of the associated torsion springs in the direction of twisting so that the pair of torsion springs are twisted by a certain amount in the direction of twisting so as to balance between the clockwise and counterclockwise rotational moments of the rotatable member, and when the rotatable member is arranged at the standing position, one of the pins of the rotatable member moves away from the free end of the associated torsion spring and the other of the pins of the rotatable member further presses the free end of the associated torsion spring in the direction of twisting.

3. The scoring machine according to claim 1 , wherein the second drive mechanism comprises:
a pair of pulleys arranged at both ends of the slide guide and rotatably attached to the frame;
a timing belt extending between the pair of pulleys and parallel to the slide guide; and
a motor attached to the frame and coupled to a rotary shaft of one of the pair of pulleys, and
wherein the distance measurement unit comprises:
a rotary encoder attached to a rotary shaft of one of the pair of pulleys;
a counter configured to count pulse signals outputted from the rotary encoder; and
a distance calculation section configured to calculate a distance based on a count value of the counter.

Assignees

• Horizon Int Inc

Inventors

• Watanabe Shinya
• Ida Tatsuaki

Classifications

• B31F1/0025 Primary

  Making the folding lines using rotary tools · CPC title

• B65H45/30 Primary

  Folding in combination with creasing, smoothing or application of adhesive (folding or adhesive application in article or web delivering B65H37/00) · CPC title