Signature opening mechanism for book binding - suction carriage travels round cam track to open signatures which fall vertically onto saddle

摘要

A signature opening system for removing signatures from a stack and delivering them in an open state to a V shaped saddle for feeding to e.g. a bookbinding machine, has a feed conveyor which pushes the folded signatures into the space between two conveyor belts forming a conveying path which is nearly a complete circle, each signature being carried round the path by a mechanism with a finger which engages the rear, and with a carriage which carries rollers which engage circular cam tracks so that a suction head is forced against the upper surface of the signature, while the carriage itself is angled so that the upper surface is raised as the signature travels, until finally the opened signature falls vertically over the saddle at the end of the track.