Digitally-based printed book production plant having one or more book block forming stations and one or more cover stitchers, and related methods

Abstract

A production plant (22) for books (23) printed using digital technology, comprising one or more forming stations (26) for book blocks (32), one or more cover stitchers (27) for assembling the book blocks with their respective covers (33), an electronic center (29), and a number of spiral towers (39) for receiving the book blocks of the forming stations and transferring them to the stitchers. The book blocks and the covers have respective book codes (34) and cover codes (36) that are uniquely associated with each book of a given work order. Each tower (39) includes a conveyor belt (42) that can be moved along a spiral path, a belt motorization group, and an electronic control unit (44). The towers serve as a temporary storage for the blocks and a capacity for movement between a loading area (49) adjacent to the forming stations and an unloading area (50) adjacent to the stitchers.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a digitally-based printed book production plant comprising one or more book block forming stations and one or more cover stitchers, as well as to an associated method.The present invention relates to a digitally-based printed book production plant comprising one or more book block forming stations and one or more cover stitchers for assembling the book blocks with their respective covers, as well as to an associated method.

[0002] More particularly, the present invention relates to a factory and method for producing printed books using digital techniques, the factory comprising one or more book block forming stations, one or more cover stitchers for assembling the book blocks with respective covers, and accumulation and transport means for receiving the book blocks provided by the forming stations and transporting them to the stitchers, wherein, according to the introduction to the main claim, the book blocks have corresponding book graphic codes and the covers have respective cover codes uniquely associated with the respective book codes. [Background technology]

[0003] Typically, a book comprises a number of sheets with text pages that make up a book block, as well as a first and last sheet and a cover that is superimposed on the ribs of the book block. In unbound or paperback books, the assembly of the book block and the respective covers is performed by a set of perfect binders for successively gluing the ribs of the book block to the spine of the cover. In bound books, the assembly of the book block and the covers is performed by a cashing machine.

[0004] Advances in laser or inkjet printing technology and the use of flexible-configuration perfect binders make it possible to produce books in very limited or single runs at low cost and to print books to order. An example of a made-to-order book packaging system with the production of book blocks and covers and their assembly is given by European Patent No. EP 2 269 823.

[0005] Production of custom books to be economically competitive requires the factory to use a limited amount of manpower, where the book block forming stations and the perfect binders or, more generally, cover binders, which represent the most expensive components in the factory, can be operated in an optimized manner with very limited dead time, especially during periods of maximum production.

[0006] The book block forming station produces printed book blocks using digital techniques, for example using a print line starting from a printed or non-printed paper roll and subsequent printing, with subsequent cutting and stacking of sheets or signatures. For book production, the forming station can be connected to a perfect binder or cover binder, either on-line or off-line, but both are associated with problems.

[0007] In an online connection, the block forming station and the perfect binder operate synchronously, for example in the factory of patent EP 2 269 823. The functioning speed of the system is one of the slowest components, and the stoppage of one of the components causes the stoppage of the entire factory.

[0008] The effect of a stop or delay in the book block forming station or in the perfect binder can be attenuated by providing a buffer in the transport between the two components. An example of this solution is known from US Pat. No. 8,789,681, where a two-sided transport table with buffer function is inserted between the two book block forming stations and the perfect binder. This structure allows the decoupling of the printing line and the binder, but the plant can only continue to operate for a somewhat limited period of time, for example during a stop due to the exchange of a paper roll in the printing line or a change of cover type in the perfect binder.

[0009] In the off-line connection between the book block forming station and the stitching machine, the book blocks at the forming station are collected sequentially on a pallet, extracted from the pallet in a suitable manner and transferred to the stitching machine. The action of unloading the book blocks is very critical due to the inherent compliance of the blocks and the difficulty of them being pulled out from below or above.

[0010] Moreover, such operations require the use of large amounts of manpower in the case of manual operations and / or expensive robots in the case of automated operations. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0011] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for producing printed books using digital technology, which uses one or more book block forming stations and one or more perfect binders or sheers for assembling the book blocks with their respective covers, which are completely separate, relatively low cost, allow great operational flexibility, have very limited dead time and require a low amount of manpower. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] In accordance with this object, the factory accumulation and transport means comprises a plurality of spiral towers, each tower having an electronic control unit for a conveyor belt, a belt movement group, and a motorized group that can be moved along a multi-level spiral path. Each tower has a function of temporary storage for book blocks along the spiral path and a capacity of movement between a loading area adjacent to the forming station and an unloading area adjacent to the cover stitcher, and the electronic control unit configures the tower to orderly receive and store book blocks from the forming station along the conveyor belt in the loading area, while in the unloading area the electronic unit configures the tower to feed the stored book blocks to the cover stitcher. An electronic control unit is provided for acquiring and storing a database of identification information for the stored book blocks, and the factory has an electronic center interfaced with the electronic control units of the spiral towers and the cover stitcher for managing the loading data and for functionally coupling the loaded towers and the cover stitcher in cooperation with the work orders.

[0013] According to another feature, the accumulation and transport means comprises a plurality of spiral towers, each tower including a conveyor belt that can be moved along a spiral path, a belt motorization group, and an electronic control unit for the motorization group, each spiral tower having a function of temporary storage for book blocks along the spiral path and a capability of movement between a loading area adjacent to the or each forming station and a discharge area adjacent to the or each cover stitcher, in the loading area the tower is designed to continuously receive and store book blocks from the forming station, while in the discharge area the tower is designed to feed the stored book blocks to the cover stitcher. The electronic control unit is responsive to information from the forming station and information regarding the dimensional characteristics of the book blocks emerging from said station to drive the belt motorization group with the movement of the conveyor belt to position the book blocks along the spiral path of the belt in an optimized manner regardless of the size of the book block and the time of formation based on a loading program, and the electronic control unit is responsive to information from the cover stitcher and information regarding the characteristics of the emerging book blocks to move the conveyor belt to feed the emerging book blocks to said stitcher based on an unloading program.

[0014] According to a further feature, the invention relates to a spiral tower for graphic blocks in the present production plant, said tower being used to store graphic blocks of different sizes emerging from a block forming station along a spiral path. The tower has the capacity of movement between a loading area and a discharge area of ​​the plant adjacent to the block forming station. An initial section of the spiral path is designed to continuously receive and store the graphic blocks from the forming station, while in the discharge area the tower is set to discharge the graphic blocks from the spiral path towards a user device. An electronic control unit of the tower is responsive to information about the graphic blocks emerging from the forming station in order to drive a motorized group with the movement of the conveyor belt so as to arrange the graphic blocks along the spiral path in an optimized manner, regardless of the size of the graphic blocks and the time of formation of the blocks.

[0015] These types of plants ensure high production flexibility with minimal personnel commitment and very limited dead time for forming stations and for cover stitchers.

[0016] The method of producing digitally printed books of the present invention uses a factory with one or more book block forming stations, one or more cover stitchers, and accumulation and transport means between the forming stations and the cover stitchers. The book blocks and covers have a book graphic code and a cover code that are uniquely associated in a given work order. The accumulation and transport means comprises a plurality of spiral towers, each tower having a conveyor belt, a belt movement group, and an electronic control unit, and a capability of movement between a loading area adjacent the forming station and an unloading area adjacent the cover stitcher, while the factory has an electronic center interfaced with the tower electronic control units and the stitchers. The production method particularly includes: a) configuring the towers in the loading area to load by connecting an inlet tower with an outlet from the forming station and interfacing an electronic control unit with the forming station and a server; b) receiving the book block to be loaded at the entrance of the tower and detecting, through a photodetection device, information about the characteristics of the book block, with transmission to an electronic control unit and updating of a database; c) activating, via the electronic control unit and based on the loading program, a group of belt shifters for shifting the conveyor belt so as to position the book blocks along the conveyor belt in an optimized manner, independent of the size of the book blocks; d) repeating steps b) and c) until completing the loading of the tower of blocks onto the conveyor belt, setting for loading an empty tower already present in the loading area or moving an empty tower from the parking area or from the unloading area to the loading area; e) moving the loaded towers present in the loading area to an unloading area or a parking area; f) setting up a full tower present in the unloading area for unloading by connecting the tower outlet with the inlet of the cover stitcher and interfacing the electronic control unit with the stitcher to exchange information; g) activating, via the electronic control unit and based on the unloading program, a belt motorization group for moving the conveyor belt to feed the book blocks removed from the belt to the cover stitcher; h) repeating step g) until the unloading of the book blocks from the tower is completed, setting a full tower already in the unloading area for unloading or removing it from the parking or loading area; and i) Moving an empty tower present in the unloading area to a loading area or a parking area.

[0017] The characteristics of the invention will become apparent from the following description, given by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a printed book production plant using digital technology according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the factory components of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another component of the factory of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is another schematic diagram of the components of FIG. 2. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of some components of the factory of FIG. 1. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of another component of FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 3 is a schematic bottom view of the components of FIG. 2. [Figure 8] FIG. 3 is a plan view from below of the components of FIG. 2. [Figure 9] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a variant of the components of FIG. 2. [Figure 10] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another variant of the components of FIG. 2. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of some components of the factory of FIG. 1 with the variant of FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is another schematic diagram of some components of the factory of FIG. 1 with the variant of FIG. 10 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] With reference to FIG. 1 , 22 represents a production plant for books 23 printed using digital technologies, comprising a book block forming station 26, a perfect binder 27 for book block covers with a three-edge cutter (not shown), accumulation and transport means 28, and an industrial space 24 for an electronic center 29.

[0020] As far as the present invention is concerned, this block forming station 26 and the perfect binder with cutter 27 may be of the type described in the aforementioned patent EP 2 269 823, the contents of which are incorporated herein and the description thereof is omitted.

[0021] The production plant 22 also comprises forming stations for different types of book blocks to be bound, and stations for forming bound book blocks, the cover binder being constructed by a cashing machine for hardcover books. From here on, without departing from the scope of the invention, reference will be made only to forming stations for book blocks with single sheets or signatures to be assembled with their respective covers by means of a perfect binder.

[0022] At the production plant 22, each book 23 is made to order according to a given work order represented by a unique identification number and comprises a book block 32 and a cover 33 obtained from a cover sheet 33a. The book block 32 and the cover 33 are identified by a graphic book code 34 and a graphic cover code 36, respectively, such as an optically readable bar code or data matrix. The book code 34 contains information specific to the book and its dimensions, while the cover code 36 contains data corresponding to the respective book block.

[0023] The book block forming station 26 comprises a high-speed printer, as in patent EP 2 269 823, which is fed with a roll of blank paper and, on the basis of a file with work instructions and book-specific data, carries out the printing of sheets which are then separated and stacked by corresponding cutting and stacking devices of the book block forming station and are then fed through an exit gate 37. Naturally, in the case of a book block formed by superimposed signatures, the cutting devices separate the constituent sheets of the signatures, whilst the book block forming station 26 has a device for folding such sheets.

[0024] In particular, the production plant 22 may provide a book block forming station without a printer. In this alternative, the forming station is supplied with a paper roll on which the sheets of the book block for the various work orders have previously been printed in sequence. The book block forming station thus has only a cutting device or cutting and bending devices for the signatures as well as stacking and conveying devices.

[0025] According to known techniques, the perfect binder 27 receives the book blocks 32 from an entrance gate 38, deposits a layer of glue on the ribs of the received block and assembles the book block with a cover 33 obtained by folding a cover sheet 33a. After drying the glue, the books 23 are cut by a three-side cutter and transported for palletizing and transportation according to the work order. The cover sheets 33a are generally obtained by cutting from reels on which their respective contents are printed and are arranged in sequence according to the work order for binding consistent with the sequence of the book blocks received from the forming station 26.

[0026] A collection and transport means 28 is provided for receiving the book blocks 32 emerging from an exit gate 37 of the forming station 26 and for suitably transporting the received blocks 32 to an entrance gate 38 of the perfect binder 27 .

[0027] According to the present invention, the collection and transport means 28 comprises a plurality of spiral towers 39 (Figures 2 and 4), each tower having a platform 40, a support structure 41, a conveyor belt 42, a motorization group for the conveyor belt comprising a motor 43, an electronic control unit 44, and a display 46.

[0028] The support structure 41 defines a spiral path "SP" having multiple levels and a recovery path "RP" for the conveyor belt 42. The conveyor belt 42 can be moved along the spiral path "SP" from an initial section defining a tower entrance 47 in a lower part of the path to a terminal section 48 in a higher part of the path. The recovery path "RP" (only partially shown) of the conveyor belt 42 comprises a vertical portion descending from the terminal section 48 and a horizontal portion directed towards the tower entrance 47. Generally, the terminal section 48 of the path "SP" also represents an exit for the book blocks 32 emerging from the tower 39.

[0029] Each spiral tower 39 has the function of temporary storage for book blocks 32 along a spiral path "SP" and the capability of movement within the industrial space 24 between a loading area 49 adjacent the book block forming station 26 (see FIG. 1), an unloading area 50 adjacent the perfect binder 27, and a parking area 51.

[0030] Intermediate conveyor belts 52 and 53 are also provided for transporting book blocks 32 between the forming station 26 and the tower 39 and between the tower and the stitcher 27 to compensate for the difference in height above ground between the exit gate 37 of the book block forming station 26 and the tower entrance 47 and between the exit of the tower 39 and the entrance gate 38 of the stitcher 27, respectively.

[0031] Conveniently, each spiral tower 39 is equipped with an RFID tag 54, while the factory 22 is equipped with a series of antennas 56 and ports 57 located in a substantial area within the space 24 and connected to the electronic center 29. An operator of the electronic center 29 thus has the possibility to know the position of each tower 39 relative to the areas 49, 50 and 51.

[0032] At the loading area 49, the spiral tower 39 can be connected to the forming station 26 for requesting delivery of the book blocks 32 at the exit gate 37. The electronic control unit 44 is then programmed to enable the tower 39 to continuously receive the book blocks 32 and store them in an optimized manner along the conveyor belt 42. Furthermore, the electronic unit 44 is provided for forming and storing a database identifying the stored book blocks.

[0033] At the unloading area 50, the spiral tower 39 can be connected to the perfect binder 27 for transporting the stored book blocks 32 on demand, while the electronic unit 44 pre-configures the tower to feed the stored book blocks to the binder 27 for their processing and updating of the respective databases.

[0034] Thus, with proper organization and proper quantity, the spiral tower 39 ensures operation of the book block forming station 26 and perfect binder 27 without downtime.

[0035] The book block forming station 26 actually operates with a rather variable transport rhythm of the book blocks 32 depending on the number of sheets that compose the block: a high rhythm for book blocks with a reduced number of sheets and an increasingly lower rhythm for book blocks with a large number of sheets. On the other hand, the perfect binder 27 has a working time that is practically independent of the number of sheets of the book block to be bound. Moreover, both the book block forming station and the perfect binder can be subject to temporary suspension with the eventual closure of the plant.

[0036] The tower 39 is designed to store the book blocks formed by the station 26 without stopping and to supply the stored book blocks at different times to the perfect binder 27 according to their specific rhythm, compensating for different speeds and pauses.

[0037] Conveniently, the spiral tower 39 is provided with one or more respective detection devices for acquiring identity data of the received and to be delivered book blocks 32. For this purpose, the tower entrance 47 is provided with a portal equipped with an optical reader 58 for reading the book code 34, as well as a three-dimensional scanner 59 and associated controls for determining the dimensions and identity of the received book block 32. The terminal section 48 then provides the portal with an optical reader 61.

[0038] In some configurations of the production plant 22, the spiral tower 39 operates in a direct mode. The unloading of the book blocks is performed by moving the conveyor belt 42 in the same direction as the loading through a terminal section 48 that defines the exit of the tower according to an exit logic "FIFO". An optical reader 61 detects the identification data of the book blocks 32 present in the terminal section 48 for delivery to the entrance gate 38 of the perfect binder 27 after confirmation of a correct match with the cover code 36 of the book to be produced.

[0039] In another configuration of the system 22, the tower 39 operates in a reverse mode. The blocks are unloaded by moving the belt 42 in a direction opposite to the loading direction through the tower entrance 47 according to the exit logic "LIFO". This configuration allows the book blocks to be delivered to the perfect binder at a reduced height relative to the ground and allows the use of a spiral tower of the relevant height without the need for a compensatory transport connection between the tower exit and the binder entrance gate 38. For the reverse mode, the identification data of the book blocks 32 to be delivered to the binder 27 is consequently acquired by the optical reader 58 at the tower entrance 47.

[0040] In the production plant 22, the electronic center 29 is connected to the book box forming station 26 and the perfect binder 27 and includes a server interfaced with the control unit 44 of the spiral tower 39 through a Wi-Fi network for the examination of the loading data and for the functional coupling of the tower to be loaded with the binder 27 according to a given work order, for example read from a data file sent to the binder. Furthermore, the electronic center 29 is interfaced with the electronic management network of the plant in order to obtain in real time the data of the production and the contents of the various towers 39 with the relevant data.

[0041] Each spiral tower 39 provides an "LP" loading optimization program for the electronic unit 44 whereby the electronic unit is configured to, in response to reading the book code 34 and a dimensional scan, form a file containing work order data marked with a unique customer code and to read on the display 46 the work information and the total quantity of books the tower can store.

[0042] According to the "LP" program, and in response to the receipt of book blocks 32 on the conveyor belt 42 and information from the optical reader 58 and the 3D scanner 59, the electronic unit 44 drives the motorized group to place the book blocks 32 along the conveyor belt 42 at optimized spacing. The book blocks may be placed a short distance from each other or may be scaled with partial overlap when possible consistent with the thickness of the book blocks and the distance between the coils of the helical path "SP".

[0043] Movement of the conveyor belt 42 is intermittent and rapid, independent of the delivery rate of the book block forming station 26, and may continue until detection of a book block at the terminal section 48, indicating completion of loading with an eventual stop command for the belt 42.

[0044] According to the "UP" unloading program, the electronic control unit 44 of the tower 39 responds to the request of the perfect binder 27 with information from the book code 34 of the book block 3 to be bound and, in slave mode after verification, moves the conveyor belt to transport the book block for delivery. In addition, the electronic unit 44 updates the database of stored book blocks and the display 46 with updated information until the last book block 32 is delivered and the conveyor belt 42 is stopped.

[0045] In the production plant 22, the forming station(s) 26 and / or the perfect binder 27 may each be connected to a pair of spiral towers 39, one of which is operational and the other of which is in standby. For this purpose, intermediate dab conveyor belts 62 and 63 (FIGS. 5 and 6) are provided with two branches which are coupled "in tandem" to the exit gate 37 of the station 26 and to the entrance gate 38 of the binder 27, respectively, through exchange conveyor mechanisms 64 and 66. The two branches of the conveyor belt 62 may be connected to the "tandem" towers in the loading area 49, while the two branches of the belt 63 may be connected to the "tandem" towers in the unloading area 50.

[0046] By use of the daub conveyor belt 62, the book block forming station 26 can be connected with a pair of spiral towers 39 in the loading area 49, of which the working tower is loading and the empty tower is waiting. In response to a "full tower" information from the working tower, the exchange mechanism 64 can switch to direct the book blocks 32 towards the belt branch 62 connected to the waiting tower 39. The already waiting tower becomes operational and starts to collect the book blocks 32, allowing the operator to exchange the full tower for an empty one without substantial slowing down of the transportation of the book blocks formed by the station 26.

[0047] The dabbing conveyor belt 63 then enables the perfect binder 27 to be connected in the unloading area 50 with the pair of spiral towers 39 of which the working tower is to be unloaded and the full tower is waiting. In response to the "empty tower" information of the working tower, the exchange mechanism 64 can switch the entrance gate 38 of the perfect binder 27 to be in connection with the branch of the belt 63 that is connected to the waiting tower 39. The already waiting tower 39 becomes operational and transports the stored book blocks 32 towards the binder, enabling the operator to replace the empty tower with a full one without substantial slowing down of the same perfect binder 27.

[0048] Each spiral tower 39 may be loaded with several work order book blocks 32 for supplying covers of the same work order to a book block, or for supplying covers of corresponding work orders to several perfect binders.

[0049] The production plant 22 may use sets of spiral towers 39 of different types with regard to coil spacing, storage capacity and the possibility of loading book blocks belonging to different work orders.

[0050] According to a feature of the present invention, a server at electronic center 29 may run a best tower program which suggests which tower would be best to execute a given work order.

[0051] In summary, the Best Tower program proposes an optimized solution for the selection of a helix tower, taking into account: - distance between coils - to reserve the tower with the largest coil of the spiral passage for the operation of the incoming work orders for thicker books; Tower capacity - to select an empty tower with sufficient capacity to store all the book blocks of the incoming work order; -Residual capacity of tower - To suggest a tower whose residual capacity is sufficient to store the book blocks of the entire work order. -Tower usage - to use the tower in an operating rotation for similar usage conditions, and - Tower proximity - to select the closest tower among all valid towers.

[0052] With regard to mobility, the spiral tower 39 is provided with easy means of movement.

[0053] Specifically, in each tower 39, a generally rectangular shaped platform 40 is supported by four multi-directional wheels 72 (FIGS. 7 and 8) mounted at the corners and at the center area, respectively, and a pair of swivel wheels 73. In some types of spiral towers, the platform 40 further comprises, in the lower area, two housings 74 and 76 in which batteries 77 are housed. The swivel wheels 73 are motorized by the supply from the batteries 77 to effect easy movement of the tower between the loading area 49, the unloading area 50, and the parking area 51.

[0054] The platform 40 of the spiral tower 39 also defines a pair of positioning seats 81, and a fastening block 82 (see Figs. 1 and 3) is fixed in the loading area 49 and the unloading area 50. The block 82 has teeth 83 with a substantially complementary contour to that of the base 81 for stable and precise positioning of the tower 39 relative to the forming station 26 and the stitcher 27. In the loading area 49, the base 81 of the platform 40 can be coupled with the teeth 83 of the block 82, aligning the tower entrance 47 with the exit gate 37 of the forming station 26 by locking the tower. Similarly, in the unloading area 50, the positioning seat 81 can be coupled with the teeth 83, aligning the exit of the tower 39 with the entrance gate 38 of the stitcher 27 by locking the tower.

[0055] In the platform 40 there is an electric socket 84 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) connected to the motor 43 for moving the conveyor belt 42 and to a power source for recharging the battery 77. The socket 84 can be connected to cables, not shown, of the book block forming station 26 and of the perfect binder 27 for the operation of the towers in the loading areas 49 and 50. In the parking area 51 the socket 84 can be connected to recharge the battery 77 by one or more power towers 86. Alternatively, the electrical supply of the tower 39 can be carried out by means of an electrical arrangement between the teeth 83 of the block 82 and the positioning seat 81 together with a physical connection between the block 82 and the tower.

[0056] The platform 40 also includes a data socket 87 connected to the electronic control unit 44. The data socket 87 can be connected to data cables, not shown, of the forming station 26 and of the stitcher 27 for the exchange of information useful for the loading and unloading operations.

[0057] In simplified form, the helical towers 39 are not provided with autonomous movement features and their movement capability may be obtained by using the platform 40 as a pallet for one or more forklift trucks.

[0058] The spiral tower 39 can also be loaded with graphic blocks in an automated publishing system in a different and / or subsequent work step to the work step of assembling the book block and the cover. This is the case, for example, in the case of additional operations on the block book, such as wrapping, cutting, coating, etc., or in the case of "semi-bound" books for hard covers. In the case of such operations, the spiral tower can be loaded again with bound books.

[0059] The spiral tower 39 described so far and shown in figures 1 to 8 is of the elongated type, where the coil has two circular sectors connected with two straight parts in cross section. The height of the tower can be limited to obtain an facilitated coupling with the perfect binder and good storage capacity.

[0060] Without this representing a limitation on the scope of the invention, and merely for purposes of orientation, the helical tower 39 has a width of 300 cm, a length of 450 cm, and a height of 160 cm, with the distance between the coils of the helical passage "SP" being approximately 10 cm.

[0061] The production plant 22 may also use the circular helix tower 91 of FIG. 9, or the double helix tower 92 of FIGS. 10, 11, and 12, alternatively or in combination with the helix tower 39, as a collection and transport means.

[0062] Circular spiral towers 91 (FIG. 9) have a structure similar to that of tower 39, but the coils of the spiral path do not have straight segments and are developed in height. Their use generally involves a reversal of the direction of movement of the conveyor belt and is connected to the exit mode "LIFO", using the tower inlet 47 as the exit gate of the book block 32. The height and dimensions of the tower 91 can be adjusted according to the storage requirements.

[0063] The double helix towers 92 (FIG. 10) each include two helix towers 93 and 94, of which tower 93 has a conveyor belt 96 with a leading helix and tower 94 has a conveyor belt 97 with a descending helix. The double towers 92 have a platform 98 similar to platform 40 of tower 39, and also with exit gates and functional components equal to those of tower 39, which maintain the same numbering.

[0064] The upper section of conveyor belt 96 is connected to the upper section of conveyor belt 97. Book blocks 32 are stored in tower 94 by a downward shift after tower 93 is filled by an upward shift through tower entrance 47 to tower exit 100. The number of coils in tower 94 may be limited to have tower exit 100 at the same height above ground as entrance gate 38 of perfect binder 27.

[0065] In the double helix tower 92, the conveyor belt return path 96 includes a vertical section descending from the highest part and a horizontal area towards the tower entrance 47. The return path of the conveyor belt 97 includes a horizontal section from the tower exit 100 and a vertical section from the horizontal section to the highest part. The motorized groups for moving the conveyor belts 96 and 97 are preferably synchronized so that when the book block arrives, with a protruding shift to the upper part of the conveyor belt 96, the block is received and pulled by the conveyor belt 97 with a downward shift to the tower exit 100. Thus, the entire helical path of the tower 92 is constituted by the protruding helical part of the belt 96 and by the descending helical part of the belt 97 for the purpose of storing the book blocks.

[0066] The spiral towers 92 may be connected to the book block forming stations 26 by respective intermediate conveyor belts 101 (FIG. 11). The belts 101 are preferably inclined to compensate for the different heights between the exit gate 37 of the book block forming stations 26 and the tower entrance 47. On the other hand, for the connection between the spiral towers 92 and the perfect binder 27, the intermediate conveyor belts (not shown) are substantially horizontal.

[0067] The double helix tower 92 also has the possibility to be connected in "tandem" with the forming station 26 and the stitcher 27 by means of a changeover mechanism and a dab conveyor belt. Figure 12 shows the "tandem" connection of two double helix towers 92 with a dab conveyor belt 102 and a changeover mechanism 103 to feed the perfect stitcher 27.

[0068] The operation of the production plant 22, in its main part, provides pre-setting for loading of an empty tower 39 (FIGS. 1 and 2) present in the loading area 49 by connecting the tower entrance 47 with the exit gate 37 of the book block forming station 26 and interfacing the electronic control unit 44 with the forming station 26 to detect its synchronization information.

[0069] Upon receipt at the tower entrance 47 of a book block 32 to be loaded, the optical reader 58 and scanner 59 detect characteristics of the book block and transmit them to the electronic control unit 44. Based on the "LP" loading program, the electronic unit 44 drives the motorized group of motors 43 to gradually move the conveyor belt 42. This may occur with a substantially constant degree of overlap, independent of the thickness and size of the book block, and at minimum spacing relative to previously loaded or scaled book blocks along the conveyor belt.

[0070] The blocks 32 are loaded one after the other until loading is completed for a given work order or, when this is not possible, until the tower is full. Following a command from the electronic center 29, in the case of single tower use, the operator either disconnects and moves the full tower from the exit gate 37 and connects it to the door 27 in preparation for loading an empty tower already present in the loading area 49, or moves a full tower in this area from the parking area 51 or from one of the unloading areas 50.

[0071] Following instructions from the electronic center 29, the operator then shifts the full tower in the loading area 49 into the unloading area 50 or parking area 51 of the perfect binder 27 as indicated in the work order.

[0072] For the assembly of the book block and the cover, the operator has to prepare for unloading the full tower, which is already present in the unloading area 50 or after selecting and positioning the designated tower from the parking area 51. This is by connecting the tower exit to the entrance gate 38 of the perfect binder 27 and interfacing the electronic control unit 44 with the binder 27 for the exchange of information.

[0073] Based on the request by the perfect binder 27 of the unloading program "UP", the information from the exit reader 61 and the match between the book code 34 and the cover code 36, the electronic unit 44 activates the motors 43 of the motorized group. To feed the binder 27, the book block is removed from the minimum distance or scaled position by a progressive movement of the conveyor belt 42. This is based on the book block information and the information from the exit optical reader 61.

[0074] According to the work order, the blocks 32 are successively unloaded until the tower is emptied. In the case of a single tower, the operator can move the full tower away from the entrance gate 38 in a disconnected manner, whereby a full tower present in the unloading area 50 can be positioned for unloading or by moving it from the parking area 51 or from the loading area 49. An emptied tower present in the unloading area 50 can be moved into the loading area 49 or into the parking area 51.

[0075] In the case of use of the "tandem" tower 39, loading and unloading operations are simplified and accelerated due to the interchange of the working tower with the standby tower made possible by the switching mechanisms 64 and 66.

[0076] The operation of tower 91 and tower 92 is fairly similar to that of tower 39, with modifications in this case, and are omitted for brevity.

[0077] Naturally, the principles of the invention remain the same and the details of the embodiments and constructions may be widely varied from those described and illustrated merely as non-limiting examples, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention.

[0078] In particular, the intermediate conveyor belt 52 between the present block forming station 26 and the spiral towers 39, 91 and 92 may be constituted by a buffer conveyor belt (not shown) or may be integrated with such a belt. Under normal operating conditions, the buffer belt moves at a higher speed than the tower conveyor belt. Due to a deceleration or stoppage of the tower, the buffer strip slows down to temporarily accumulate blocks and returns to a steady speed on regaining normal operating conditions. If the buffer strip is full and the tower is not reactivated, the forming station is also stopped.

[0079] The buffer conveyor belt can also be combined with a dab conveyor belt 62 for "tandem" towers. Thus, the buffer belt can hold a book block destined for a fully filled tower, allowing for the subsequent deflection of the book block towards an empty tower, without stopping the forming station 26.

[0080] The spiral towers 39, 91, and 92 can also be loaded manually. The "LP" loading program measures the books for optimized advancement of the tower conveyor belt, with the possibility for the operator to override the values. The operator can also have the inlet optical reader 58 read the book code 34 in manual mode, without the processing of the "LP" program. The display 46 shows the same information that is shown for automatic loading based on the stated values.

[0081] Finally, the towers can be connected in a chain: a second spiral tower is loaded with the last portion of the workpiece stored in the first tower and is linked to the preceding tower.

Claims

1. A factory for the production of books printed using digital technology, comprising one or more book block forming stations, one or more cover binding machines for assembling each book block with its respective cover, and accumulation and transport means for receiving the book blocks supplied by the forming stations and transferring the book blocks to the cover binding machines, wherein the book blocks have corresponding graphic book codes, while the covers have cover codes associated with the respective book codes of a given work order, the accumulation and transport means comprise a plurality of spiral towers, each tower having a conveyor belt movable along a multi-level spiral passage, a belt movement group, and an electronic control unit for the powering group, each tower has a function of temporarily storing the book blocks along the spiral passage and the ability to move between a loading area adjacent to the forming station and an unloading area adjacent to the cover binding machine, and the electronic control unit sets the tower to regularly receive and store the book blocks from the forming station along the conveyor belt in the loading area, while in the unloading area, the electronic unit sets the tower to supply the stored book blocks to the cover binding machine, the electronic control unit is provided to acquire and store a database of identification information for the stored book blocks, the factory is characterized by having an electronic center with a server interfaced with the electronic control unit of the spiral tower and the cover binding machine for managing the loading data and for the functional coupling of the loaded tower and the cover binding machine in conjunction with the work order.

2. The book production factory according to claim 1, wherein the forming station or the spiral tower is provided with one or more light detection devices for detecting identification information data of the book blocks to be stored by reading the book codes at the tower entrance, and the electronic control unit stores the number of existing books together with the identification information data as a database of the loaded book blocks.

3. Each tower is capable of loading more blocks of work orders to supply the same-work-order covers to the bookbinding machines or to supply the covers of work orders for more bookbinding machines, characterized in that, the present production factory according to claim 1.

4. Each tower is equipped with a positioning device, and the data between the tower and the electronic center is exchanged by Wi-Fi connection. The factory further includes a series of gate sensors and antennas to enable the electronic center to know the position of each tower close to its area for easy search of the tower to be used, characterized in that, the present production factory according to claim 1.

5. The spiral passage extends from the initial section to the terminal section of each tower. The initial section and the terminal section respectively define a tower entrance and a tower exit for the present block. The electronic control unit can be set to move the conveyor belt in both directions. The present block can be unloaded directly from the tower exit to the bookbinding machine and vice versa, from the tower entrance to the binding machine, and / or for additional unloading functions, characterized in that, the present production factory according to claim 1.

6. The spiral towers are of different types with respect to the coil spacing and have different storage capacities, loading blocks of work orders of several operations. The electronic center - Belt height - To ensure a tower with coils of conveyor belts spaced apart for incoming work orders with thick blocks of books. - Tower capacity - To select an empty tower capable of storing blocks of work orders for all operations. - Remaining tower - To propose a tower whose remaining capacity is sufficient to store blocks of work orders for all operations. - Usage of towers - To use towers in operating rotations with similar usage conditions, and - Nearest tower - To select the nearest tower among all effective towers It can operate with an optimal tower program that proposes the best tower for a given work order, characterized in that, the present production factory according to claim 1.

7. Each spiral tower provides a display and loading optimization program, and the electronic control unit is configured to scan the graphic book code, form a file containing work instruction information, and read the work instruction information and the total amount of this block that the tower can store into the display. The electronic control unit gradually moves the conveyor belt to place the blocks at optimized intervals along the belt, and stops the conveyor belt when detecting a block in the terminal section of the tower. In response to the blocks received on the conveyor belt and the scanned book codes respectively, when there is a request from the cover binding machine, the control unit releases the block in slave mode, reads updated information into the display, and finally stops the conveyor belt when delivering the last stored block, and responds to the information from the book code of the emerging blocks. The present production factory according to claim 2 is characterized in that.

8. One or more forming stations and / or one or more cover binding machines are connected to double and switchable conveyor belts at their respective inlets and outlets. The double and switchable conveyor belts can be coupled in tandem with the operating spiral tower and the standby spiral tower in the loading area respectively. In the loading area and in response to the "full tower" information of the operating tower, the double and switchable conveyor belt is switched to direct the block towards the standby tower that starts to collect the block and to the possibility of replacing the full tower with an empty one. In the unloading area and in response to the "empty tower" information of the operating tower, the double and switchable conveyor belt is switched to supply the block of the standby tower to the cover binding machine and to the possibility of exchanging the empty tower with a full tower. The present production factory according to claim 1 is characterized in that.

9. During use, the present production factory is characterized in that it has a parking area for the spiral tower in preparing for the movement of the tower in a full loading configuration to the unloading area and for the movement of the empty tower to the loading area. The present production factory according to claim 1 is characterized in that.

10. The present production plant is characterized in that it comprises a buffer conveyor belt inserted between the forming station and the spiral tower for accumulating the blocks in case of deceleration and temporary stop of the tower, and for discharging the accumulated blocks when the tower returns to normal operating conditions. The present production plant according to claim 1.

11. A method of producing books printed using digital technology by the present production plant according to claim 2, a) connecting the inlet tower to the outlet from the forming station and interfacing the electronic control unit with the forming station and the server to set the loading of the tower in the loading area; b) receiving the book blocks to be loaded at the inlet of the tower and detecting information regarding the characteristics of the book blocks through the light detection device, involving transmission to the electronic control unit and updating of the database; c) activating the belt movement group for moving the conveyor belt in an optimized manner along the conveyor belt for the arrangement of the book blocks, independent of the size of the block books, via the electronic control unit and based on a loading program; d) repeating steps b) and c) until the loading of the book blocks onto the conveyor belt of the tower is completed, setting an empty tower already present in the loading area for loading, or moving an empty tower from the parking area or the unloading area to the loading area; e) moving the loaded tower present in the loading area to the unloading area or the parking area; f) connecting the tower outlet to the inlet of the cover binding machine and interfacing the electronic control unit with the binding machine to exchange information to set a full tower present in the unloading area for unloading; g) activating the belt powering group for moving the conveyor belt to supply the book blocks removed from the belt to the cover binding machine via the electronic control unit and based on an unloading program. h) Repeating step g) until unloading of the present block from the tower is complete, setting a full tower already present in the unloading area for unloading, or moving it from the parking area or the loading area, and i) moving the emptied tower present in the unloading area to the loading area or the parking area. A method characterized by including this step. **Claim 12**: A production factory according to claim 1 for order forms, wherein the electronic control unit drives the belt powering group along with the movement of the conveyor belt so as to place the present block along the spiral path of the belt based on a loading program, in response to information from the forming station and information regarding the dimensional characteristics of the present block emerging from the station, the electronic control unit responds to information from the cover binding machine and information regarding the characteristics of the emerging present block to move the conveyor belt so as to supply the emerging present block to the binding machine. A production factory characterized by this. **Claim 13** the electronic control unit drives the belt powering group for the intermittent movement of the conveyor belt with an optimized distance arrangement of the present block along the conveyor belt or with partial overlap, in a substantially constant manner independent of the size of the present block, based on a loading program. The present production factory according to claim 1, characterized by this. **Claim 14** the spiral tower is equipped with self - moving means or provides the possibility of movement, such as a pallet using a forklift. The present production factory according to claim 1, characterized by this. **Claim 15** the present production factory is equipped with one or more light - detecting devices and associated controllers on the forming station or on each tower to detect information for the electronic control unit regarding the dimensional characteristics of the present block to be stored, using a three - dimensional scan of the incoming present block. The present production factory according to claim 1, characterized by this. **Claim 16** The spiral tower according to claim 1, wherein the tower is of a circular type with a circular area or of an elongated type presenting two circular sectors and two rectangular sectors in cross-section.

17. The tower is of a type comprising an area with a conveyor belt ascending from the initial section to the ascending area and an area with a conveyor belt descending from the ascending area to the outlet of the tower, and the spiral passage for storing the graphic blocks is formed by the area with the ascending belt and the area with the descending belt. The spiral tower according to claim 1.

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