EP3566879B1 - Automated method for digital manufacturing of structures - Google Patents

Automated method for digital manufacturing of structures Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3566879B1
EP3566879B1 EP19173928.3A EP19173928A EP3566879B1 EP 3566879 B1 EP3566879 B1 EP 3566879B1 EP 19173928 A EP19173928 A EP 19173928A EP 3566879 B1 EP3566879 B1 EP 3566879B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
sheet
printed
folded
process according
covers
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Active
Application number
EP19173928.3A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
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EP3566879A1 (en
Inventor
Charles BOURG
Fabian RENARD
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
C P Bourg SA
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C P Bourg SA
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Publication date
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Publication of EP3566879A1 publication Critical patent/EP3566879A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP3566879B1 publication Critical patent/EP3566879B1/en
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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42C—BOOKBINDING
    • B42C19/00—Multi-step processes for making books
    • B42C19/02—Multi-step processes for making books starting with single sheets
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42C—BOOKBINDING
    • B42C1/00—Collating or gathering sheets combined with processes for permanently attaching together sheets or signatures or for interposing inserts
    • B42C1/12—Machines for both collating or gathering and permanently attaching together the sheets or signatures
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42C—BOOKBINDING
    • B42C11/00—Casing-in
    • B42C11/02—Machines or equipment for casing-in or applying covers to pamphlets, magazines, pads, or other paper-covered booklets
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42C—BOOKBINDING
    • B42C11/00—Casing-in
    • B42C11/04—Machines or equipment for casing-in or applying covers to books
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42C—BOOKBINDING
    • B42C19/00—Multi-step processes for making books
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42C—BOOKBINDING
    • B42C19/00—Multi-step processes for making books
    • B42C19/08—Conveying between operating stations in machines
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B42—BOOKBINDING; ALBUMS; FILES; SPECIAL PRINTED MATTER
    • B42D—BOOKS; BOOK COVERS; LOOSE LEAVES; PRINTED MATTER CHARACTERISED BY IDENTIFICATION OR SECURITY FEATURES; PRINTED MATTER OF SPECIAL FORMAT OR STYLE NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; DEVICES FOR USE THEREWITH AND NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; MOVABLE-STRIP WRITING OR READING APPARATUS
    • B42D15/00—Printed matter of special format or style not otherwise provided for
    • B42D15/0073—Printed matter of special format or style not otherwise provided for characterised by shape or material of the sheets
    • B42D15/008—Foldable or folded sheets
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H45/00—Folding thin material
    • B65H45/12—Folding articles or webs with application of pressure to define or form crease lines
    • B65H45/14—Buckling folders
    • B65H45/142—Pocket-type folders
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H45/00—Folding thin material
    • B65H45/12—Folding articles or webs with application of pressure to define or form crease lines
    • B65H45/28—Folding in combination with cutting
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
    • B65H2301/30—Orientation, displacement, position of the handled material
    • B65H2301/33—Modifying, selecting, changing orientation
    • B65H2301/332—Turning, overturning
    • B65H2301/3321—Turning, overturning kinetic therefor
    • B65H2301/33216—Turning, overturning kinetic therefor about an axis perpendicular to the direction of displacement and to the surface of material
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
    • B65H2301/30—Orientation, displacement, position of the handled material
    • B65H2301/33—Modifying, selecting, changing orientation
    • B65H2301/332—Turning, overturning
    • B65H2301/3322—Turning, overturning according to a determined angle
    • B65H2301/33222—90°

Definitions

  • the invention relates to the field of digital printing of printed books, in particular, the flexible production, on demand, of a single book or small series of identical books.
  • the manufacture of printed works requires a certain number of steps including the printing of content on a medium, in particular paper or cardboard. , and the finishing of the work. It can also include the assembly of several printed contents, reformatting, cutting of unprinted margins / edges, binding, gluing, stapling, folding, cutting, ...
  • the offset technique used for decades in printing, allows printing on large format sheets, for example A0 format, several pages of a book, from a carefully prepared blanket, so that a folding of the large-format sheet after printing results in a notebook, also called a signature. Sheets can be printed on both sides.
  • a binding finish For large books, several notebooks of different content must be assembled before applying a binding finish, by sewing, gluing or stapling for example, with, if necessary, cutting the folded borders with a guillotine.
  • this technique is only of interest for printing a large number of identical books.
  • Digital printing has changed the way printers work, by making the printing of small series or even a single book economically accessible.
  • laser or inkjet printing techniques make it possible to do away with the use of a blanket. It is then possible to print all the pages of the book in succession on a paper of size close to the desired final format.
  • Printers store several sizes of paper and choose the starting size closest to the desired final size and adjust it, after printing, by cutting.
  • no printer can print in A5 size, the printer selects an A4 starting sheet, prints the contents of the book, overlays all sheets in the correct order, cuts out the unprinted margins of the stack of sheets to keep only the final surface of the pages, glue the pages together or staple them then fold them, and finally assemble them to the appropriate blanket.
  • This manufacturing process results in a great waste of paper.
  • the cutting step being carried out on the immobilized sheet stack, it slows down the manufacturing process and generally requires the intervention of an operator who must move the stack of printed sheet to the cutter and then to the binding machine.
  • the documents DE 195 39 930 A1 , US 2007/179037 A1 , US 2012/306141 A1 disclose automated methods and systems for manufacturing printed books using a sheet on which several pages are printed, said sheet being in particular transported and folded along different stations.
  • edges is meant the side edges of the folded sheet parallel to the direction of feed.
  • Cutting the edges is a step well known to printers. These edges can be cut continuously by blades or knives, for example circular, during the movement of the sheet.
  • Edge trimming here not only eliminates lost edges, i.e. margins that cannot be printed due to technical limitations of printers, but also eliminates the edge of the folded sheet with folding, in order to obtain two superimposed unbound sheets.
  • the sheets are therefore here half sheets, the side edges of which have been cut.
  • the two sheets will thus advance at the same speed as the starting sheet. This is of great interest at the time of finishing the work, for example gluing, which finish is generally limited in the number of sheets per minute. Thanks to the method of the invention, the sheets arrive two by two, thus making it possible to double the rate.
  • the method of the invention makes it possible to manufacture a series of works, identical or different, in content and / or in format. Each work can be made from several sheets successively subjected to the folding, pivoting and edge cutting stages.
  • the sheet is moved along the feed direction, small edge in front, mainly for technical reasons related to the dimensions of the paper.
  • small front edge or “small front side” is meant the shorter edge of the sheet which faces the feed direction.
  • short edge first or its abbreviation “SEF” are more commonly used by those skilled in the art, even in French.
  • large front edge or “large front side”, in English “long edge first” or “LEF” designates the advancement of the sheet with its longest side arranged perpendicular to the direction of feed.
  • the sheets are printed "long side in front" in order to optimize the printing throughput.
  • a plurality of pages are printed on a sheet 10, here 8 pages arranged on both sides.
  • Sheet 10 is here, for example, in A3 format. It is printed with the long edge 12 in front, the small edge 13 being parallel to the direction followed by the sheet when printing.
  • the sheet On leaving the printer, the sheet is driven in movement along a series of successive stations allowing the implementation of the following steps.
  • step B the sheet 10 is held in its plane and rotated 90 ° with respect to the driving direction, here counterclockwise, in order to place it “small edge 13 in front.
  • This step is necessary for the manufacture of books having a traditional format in their height-to-width ratio, such as books or catalogs. However, it is not necessary for other works having less common formats, much taller than they are wide, such as certain calendars or restaurant menus.
  • step C the sheet 10 is folded in half, perpendicular to the feed direction.
  • Half of the sheet comprising pages 4 and 5 is thus superimposed on half of the sheet comprising pages 1 and 8.
  • the folded border 14 is shown here at the front, which facilitates the feeding of the folded sheet by the means for moving the sheet. If the folded edge 14 were at the back, the front of the sheet would have two edges 15 which could induce manufacturing defects, for example paper wrinkling or misalignment, if these two edges are not maintained. exactly superimposed during the training of the sheet. This problem does not arise when the folded edge 14 is at the front.
  • step D the sheet 10 folded in half is rotated 90 °, here counterclockwise, relative to the feed direction.
  • step E the edges of the folded sheet thus oriented are cut to obtain separate overlapping sheets 16 and 17.
  • Sheet 16 here includes pages 4 and 5 (not shown) and sheet 17 includes pages 1 and 8.
  • Folded border 14 is thus separated from the sheets by cutting the edge 18 also comprising lost edges or margins unnecessary to the work. The opposite lost edges are also eliminated by separation of the edges 19.
  • these “lost edges” are margins which are not included in the edition of the work, but come from the technical constraints of the printers. Depending on the formats and printing techniques, these lost edges are more or less important.
  • the sheets 16 and 17 thus superimposed and separated are driven further towards one or more finishing stations or may again undergo folding, pivoting and edge cutting steps.
  • the A3 format described here is purely illustrative. Another starting format can be used, for example A0 or A4.
  • the formats also include the RA and SRA uncut formats used by printers, which take into account the non-printable margins and the technical constraints of printers.
  • the stations are here shown aligned along a linear feed direction, but it is obvious that the sheet does not necessarily move along a straight line.
  • the sheet can be moved vertically, using mechanisms well known to printers, for example by means of rollers. During the process, it can be positioned as required in a horizontal plane and then a vertical plane or any other plane suitable for the proper implementation of the process. As the printing paper is relatively flexible, the paper feed can be organized in any direction suitable for process optimization.
  • the sheet, folded or not, can also be driven laterally.
  • a 90 ° pivoting can be done by rotating the sheet in the same plane while keeping the same direction of feed but also by changing the direction of feed of the sheet to 90 °, always in the same plane. , that is to say by a 90 ° elbow in line with the posts.
  • page is meant both pages having real content, such as text or images for example, as pages without content, that is. ie blank pages.
  • a step F the sheets 16 and 17 are folded in half perpendicular to the direction of feed, in order to superimpose pages 1 of sheet 17 and 4 of sheet 16 with pages 5 of sheet 16 and 8 of sheet 17.
  • the pages obviously get along with their backs as described above, but which will not be mentioned here for reasons of clarity.
  • a step F the sheets 16 and 17 thus folded are pivoted by 90 ° with respect to the driving direction.
  • a step H the edges of the sheets 16 and 17 thus folded are cut along a border 24 to obtain four separate superimposed sheets 17a, 16a, 16b and 17b.
  • the folded border 24 is thus separated from the sheets by cutting the edge 20 also comprising lost edges or margins unnecessary for the work.
  • the opposite lost edges are also eliminated by separating the four superimposed edges 21.
  • a helical knife can be used to make this cut.
  • a knife consists of a blade installed along a roller under which a sheet or leaflets pass.
  • the roller is disposed substantially, but not exactly, perpendicular to the driving direction.
  • the blade is arranged on the roller so as to cut the sheet or sheets, in motion, perpendicular to the driving direction, by rotation of the roller.
  • the blade is thus arranged in a helix along the length of the roller. The blade does not need to completely wind the roll.
  • a detector can be arranged so as to detect the arrival of the sheet and to allow the synchronization of the rotation of the roll to cut the sheet or the sheets at the desired location.
  • a helical knife module makes it possible, compared to the use of a guillotine knife, to avoid stopping the feeding of the sheets or of waiting for a stack of sheets to be cut and thus not to slow down the production rate.
  • a creasing step can also be added, in particular before a folding step, or in anticipation of a subsequent folding.
  • Creasing consists of making a groove in a sheet or leaflet in order to facilitate folding and / or to prevent the paper or cardboard from being damaged during folding. This step is well known to those skilled in the art and commonly applied in printing.
  • roller registration / rotation systems making it possible to position the printed sheets against the registration border.
  • a large number of rollers are arranged, slightly inclined in order to move the edge of the paper.
  • a few rollers of rubber type material are inserted, which can rotate at higher speeds in order to drive one edge of the sheet more quickly than the other and thus induce a rotation of the sheet.
  • the registration system thus makes it possible to both align and rotate the printed sheet.
  • a similar roller system can similarly be used to rotate several superimposed sheets.
  • the folding step can be implemented by any system known to those skilled in the art such as for example a pocket folder.
  • a pocket folder an abutting sheet is deformed under the effect of the driving force to form a loop.
  • the loop is then "caught" between two rollers which pinch the sheet at the fold and thus complete the fold.
  • a registration / rotation system can be combined with a folding machine, an edge cutting system. Each system can be repeated several times.
  • One or more creasing and / or helical cutting systems can also be added, as can any other system relevant to those skilled in the art.
  • a system can comprise, one next to the other, at the output of the printer (not shown), two blocks 510 and 511.
  • the first block 510 comprises a registration station or module 501 with or without rotation, a conveyor 502 and a pocket folder 503.
  • the second block 511 comprises a registration and sheet rotation module 504, an edge cutting module 505 and a helical knife 506.
  • Each of these modules has the functions described above and 'together allows the implementation of the method of the invention.
  • certain optional modules, such as the helical knife 506, can be “bypassed”, that is to say that a sheet or a sheet can pass through this module without any action being applied to it.
  • Blocks 510 and 511 are shown here on casters 507, to illustrate the great flexibility of the system. Other blocks offering additional functionality can easily be added or interspersed.
  • the stacked sheets are then joined together to form the content block of the book.
  • the binding can be carried out in several ways, such as for example by gluing or stapling. These binding steps are well known to those skilled in the art.
  • the construction of the book ends with the assembly of the content block with a cover, when the book includes one.
  • the cover of the book being printed separately, several methods are used to carry out this assembly.
  • the pages composing the interior of the book are printed and prepared by a different system from that preparing the cover of the book.
  • a single book is printed in many copies, it is fairly straightforward to assemble the content of the book with its cover, starting from a stock of contents and a stock of covers.
  • the book covers are printed by a first printing system and stacked in a certain order in a cover storage bin.
  • the first cover of the stack is identified by detection means, such as for example a barcode reader.
  • the identification triggers the printing / production of the content of the book by a second system.
  • the contents and the cover are then put together. The same steps are repeated for subsequent covers in the stack.
  • steps can be managed by a computer server, not claimed in the present application, which receives, for each work, information of manufacture of the content block, information of manufacture of the cover and information of priority of manufacture of the material. work.
  • the content block here designates, as specified above, the whole of a work with the exception of the cover.
  • Feasibility here is the technical capacity of the equipment to produce the content block.
  • the content block manufacturing system transmits availability information of its functions to the computer server.
  • the blankets are placed in separate compartments of a blanket sorter, so that they can be removed at will.
  • the other works can still be produced.
  • a function of the content block making system becomes available again, for example when maintenance has taken place or if a heater has reached the temperature required for printing, the feasibility of the content blocks is reassessed, and the Content block production order list is updated, based on the order of priorities.
  • the unavailability of a function even for a short period, does not block the process. This makes it possible, among other things, to avoid production backlogs, by optimizing the capacities of the manufacturing system.
  • the automated process for producing printed books each consisting of a content block 425 and a cover 426 comprises the following steps.
  • a computer server 403 receives, for each work, information 405 for the manufacture of the content block 425, information 406 for the manufacture of the cover 426 and priority information 407. manufacture of the work.
  • the content block manufacturing information includes all the information relating to the content, format, layout and binding mode of the pages, as well as information relating to the steps to be implemented, for example their nature or their order, to get the contained block ready to be assembled with the cover.
  • the cover manufacturing information includes all information relating to content, format. They can also contain information about how the cover and the content block are assembled.
  • the item's manufacturing priority information includes, for example, the timeframe within which manufacturing must be completed, the relative manufacturing priority of works in relation to each other, for example for customers who would have paid more for faster delivery.
  • the computer server 403 sends the blanket manufacturing information 406 426 to a blanket manufacturing system 402 which fabricates the blanket 426 and places it in one of the bins 408i of a blanket sorter.
  • a blanket manufacturing system 402 which fabricates the blanket 426 and places it in one of the bins 408i of a blanket sorter.
  • Six 408i lockers are shown here, but many more can be provided as needed.
  • System 402 may, at step 412, report the manufacture of the blanket and / or an identifier of the bin in which the blanket is placed.
  • the cover manufacturing system is typically a system for printing the contents of the cover on the appropriate media and adjusting the format.
  • it can also include creasing means, to facilitate the folding of the cover around the contained block, or surface treatment means (film-coating, lamination, etc.) or any other means deemed necessary by those skilled in the art. job.
  • the bins of a cover sorter here refer to storage bins, designed to separately place the printed covers. Unlike existing systems, in which all the printed covers are stacked on top of each other as they are printed, in a single bin, each cover is here deposited in a separate bin. This makes it possible to pick up the covers separately, at will, regardless of the order in which they were printed and to manage various sizes of covers. It can be provided that each locker can only receive one cover, or that each locker can receive several identical covers. It is also possible to provide that each bin can receive several different covers, of the same format, or of different formats, or that each bin can receive all the covers corresponding to blocks of contents produced according to the same sequence of steps, or all of them. other wise arrangement, depending on the circumstances.
  • step 413 the computer server 402 requests from a content block manufacturing system 401 information 409 of availability of its functions.
  • the content block manufacturing system 401 returns (step 414) the information 409 of availability of its functions to the computer server 103.
  • Content block manufacturing system feature availability information herein refers to a report on the operation of the items included in the content block manufacturing system.
  • This information can, for example include the level of paper, the levels of ink available, depending on the colors, in the printer, the temperature of certain elements, information of paper jam at a particular module, etc. .
  • the computer server 402 can request the finishing system 404 for information on the availability of its functions.
  • Finishing System 404 is the module in which the covers are joined to the content blocks.
  • the work availability information of the work finishing system 404 here refers to a report on the operation of the elements included in the work finishing system. This information can, for example include the functional availability of the different modules, the levels of consumables (glue, staples) available, the temperature of certain elements, information of paper jam at the level of a particular module, etc ...
  • the computer server 403 analyzes the manufacturing priority information 407 based on the information 409 on the availability of functions of the contained block manufacturing system, the information 412 on the availability of covers and the information 421 on the availability of the functions of the system. finish 404, to prioritize and select feasible content blocks 425 to be fabricated.
  • step 415 computer server 403 orders system 401 to manufacture the selected content block 425.
  • the content block manufacturing system here refers to all the means necessary for printing, formatting, assembling and finishing the content block from a sheet. It may for example be a system as described above. It can also be any fully or partially automated system, usable in printing to prepare the contained block. Preferably, the system for manufacturing the contained block is the system described above comprising printing, folding, pivoting and edge cutting means.
  • System 401 builds content block 425 and sends it in step 416 to finisher 404.
  • step 417 the computer server 403 orders the removal of the cover 426 corresponding to the block of content 425 selected from its bin 408i.
  • step 418 the system 402 extracts the cover from the bin 408i and sends it to the finisher 404.
  • the physical step of extracting the cover to place it in the finisher 404 can take place. before ordering the manufacture of the content block, during its manufacture or even after the manufacture of the content block. Depending on the type of finishing system, it may be advantageous to use either option.
  • step 419 the cover and the content block are assembled in the finisher 404 to form the printed book.
  • finishing or assembly modules are well known to those skilled in the art.
  • the method of the invention allows neither the unavailability of the cover nor the unavailability of the cover. certain functions of the equipment are factors limiting the productivity of the production line.
  • the feasibility of the covers can also be communicated to the server by the cover manufacturing system.
  • the feasibility of the covers can also be analyzed and intervene in the selection of the content blocks to be manufactured. For example, it seems wise to want to avoid, for example, that all the blanket bins are filled if none of the corresponding content blocks is feasible. It is therefore possible to order the manufacture of blankets subject to their feasibility and / or the availability of blanket storage means.
  • Non-limiting examples of applications are, for example, the manufacture of personalized photo albums, the manufacture or reprint of books "on demand”.
  • a book to have a unique identifier associated with the content and its cover.
  • the server keeps this identifier in memory and associates it temporarily with the specific locker where the cover is placed.
  • this same identifier is reused to identify the bin where the cover is placed in order to extract it.
  • the unique identifier can for example be a bar code, a QR code, the ISBN code of the work if it is a published book, or any other code that can be envisaged by a person skilled in the art.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Folding Of Thin Sheet-Like Materials, Special Discharging Devices, And Others (AREA)

Description

L'invention concerne le domaine de l'impression numérique d'ouvrages imprimés, en particulier, la production flexible, à la demande, d'un ouvrage unique ou de petites séries d'ouvrages identiques.The invention relates to the field of digital printing of printed books, in particular, the flexible production, on demand, of a single book or small series of identical books.

La fabrication d'ouvrages imprimés, comme par exemple des livres, des catalogues, des livres photos personnalisés ou des brochures publicitaires, nécessite un certain nombre d'étapes comprenant l'impression d'un contenu sur un support, notamment du papier ou du carton, et la finition de l'ouvrage. Elle peut également comprendre l'assemblage de plusieurs contenus imprimés, le reformatage, la découpe de marges/rives non imprimées, la reliure, l'encollage, l'agrafage, le pliage, la coupe,....The manufacture of printed works, such as for example books, catalogs, personalized photo books or advertising brochures, requires a certain number of steps including the printing of content on a medium, in particular paper or cardboard. , and the finishing of the work. It can also include the assembly of several printed contents, reformatting, cutting of unprinted margins / edges, binding, gluing, stapling, folding, cutting, ...

La technique offset, utilisée depuis des décennies en imprimerie, permet d'imprimer sur des feuilles de grand format, par exemple de format A0, plusieurs pages d'un ouvrage, à partir d'un blanchet judicieusement préparé, pour qu'un pliage de la feuille de grand format après l'impression donne un cahier, aussi appelé une signature. Les feuilles peuvent être imprimées recto-verso. Pour des ouvrages conséquents, plusieurs cahiers de contenus différents doivent être assemblés avant de leur appliquer une finition de reliure, par couture, collage ou agrafage par exemple, avec, si besoin, découpe au massicot des bordures pliées. La réalisation du blanchet étant couteuse, cette technique n'a d'intérêt que pour l'impression d'un grand nombre d'ouvrages identiques.The offset technique, used for decades in printing, allows printing on large format sheets, for example A0 format, several pages of a book, from a carefully prepared blanket, so that a folding of the large-format sheet after printing results in a notebook, also called a signature. Sheets can be printed on both sides. For large books, several notebooks of different content must be assembled before applying a binding finish, by sewing, gluing or stapling for example, with, if necessary, cutting the folded borders with a guillotine. As the production of the blanket is expensive, this technique is only of interest for printing a large number of identical books.

L'impression numérique a modifié la pratique des imprimeurs, en rendant économiquement accessible l'impression de petites séries, voire d'un seul ouvrage. En effet, les techniques d'impression laser ou par jet d'encre permettent de s'affranchir de l'utilisation d'un blanchet. Il est alors possible d'imprimer à la suite toutes les pages de l'ouvrage sur un papier de taille proche du format final désiré. Les imprimeurs stockent plusieurs formats de papier et choisissent le format de départ le plus proche du format final souhaité et l'ajustent, après impression, par découpe. Par exemple, pour fabriquer un livre de poche, aucune imprimante ne pouvant imprimer au format A5, l'imprimeur sélectionne une feuille de départ en A4, imprime le contenu du livre, superpose toutes les feuilles dans le bon ordre, découpe les marges non imprimées de la pile de feuilles pour ne garder que la surface finale des pages, colle les pages ensemble ou les agrafe puis les plie, et enfin les assemble à la couverture appropriée. Il résulte de ce procédé de fabrication un grand gaspillage de papier. L'étape de découpe étant réalisée sur la pile de feuille immobilisée, elle ralentit le procédé de fabrication et requiert généralement l'intervention d'un opérateur qui doit déplacer la pile de feuille imprimée vers le massicot puis vers la machine réalisant la reliure.Digital printing has changed the way printers work, by making the printing of small series or even a single book economically accessible. In fact, laser or inkjet printing techniques make it possible to do away with the use of a blanket. It is then possible to print all the pages of the book in succession on a paper of size close to the desired final format. Printers store several sizes of paper and choose the starting size closest to the desired final size and adjust it, after printing, by cutting. For example, to make a paperback, no printer can print in A5 size, the printer selects an A4 starting sheet, prints the contents of the book, overlays all sheets in the correct order, cuts out the unprinted margins of the stack of sheets to keep only the final surface of the pages, glue the pages together or staple them then fold them, and finally assemble them to the appropriate blanket. This manufacturing process results in a great waste of paper. The cutting step being carried out on the immobilized sheet stack, it slows down the manufacturing process and generally requires the intervention of an operator who must move the stack of printed sheet to the cutter and then to the binding machine.

La tendance à la personnalisation des ouvrages et au stockage minimum (lean manufacturing) fait que les imprimeurs doivent de plus en plus souvent imprimer un seul exemplaire de chaque ouvrage, à la demande, et être ainsi très flexibles dans leur mode de production. Pour cela, ils doivent stocker plusieurs formats de papier. Les cadences sont limitées par la nécessité de changer de format de papier source, ainsi que par les découpes, effectuées généralement de façon manuelle.The trend towards the personalization of books and minimum storage (lean manufacturing) means that printers must more and more often print a single copy of each book, on demand, and thus be very flexible in their production method. To do this, they need to store multiple paper sizes. The rates are limited by the need to change the source paper size, as well as by the cuts, generally performed manually.

Les documents DE 195 39 930 A1 , US 2007/179037 A1 , US 2012/306141 A1 divulguent des procédés et systèmes automatisés de fabrication d'ouvrages imprimés utilisant une feuille sur laquelle sont imprimées plusieurs pages, ladite feuille étant notamment transportée et pliée le long de différents postes.The documents DE 195 39 930 A1 , US 2007/179037 A1 , US 2012/306141 A1 disclose automated methods and systems for manufacturing printed books using a sheet on which several pages are printed, said sheet being in particular transported and folded along different stations.

Il a été donc jugé nécessaire par la demanderesse de proposer un nouveau procédé de fabrication d'ouvrage permettant de pallier les inconvénients ci-dessus des procédés actuels.It has therefore been deemed necessary by the Applicant to propose a new process for the manufacture of a structure making it possible to overcome the above drawbacks of the current processes.

A cette fin, l'invention concerne, selon la revendication 1, un procédé automatisé de fabrication d'au moins un ouvrage imprimé à partir d'au moins une feuille, comprenant les étapes selon lesquelles :

  • on imprime une pluralité de pages de l'ouvrage sur la feuille qu'
  • on entraine en déplacement le long d'une série de postes dans lesquels, successivement,
  • on plie la feuille en deux perpendiculairement à la direction d'entrainement;
  • on pivote la feuille pliée de 90 ° par rapport à la direction d'entrainement et
  • on coupe les rives de la feuille pliée pour obtenir des feuillets superposés séparés.
To this end, the invention relates, according to claim 1, to an automated process for manufacturing at least one printed work from at least one sheet, comprising the steps according to which:
  • a plurality of pages of the work are printed on the sheet that
  • we train moving along a series of posts in which, successively,
  • the sheet is folded in half perpendicular to the feed direction;
  • the folded sheet is rotated 90 ° with respect to the feed direction and
  • the edges of the folded sheet are cut to obtain separate superimposed sheets.

Par procédé automatisé, il faut ici comprendre que les étapes du procédé sont effectuées par une ou plusieurs machines et ne nécessitent, dans leur mise en œuvre successive, aucune intervention humaine. Ces étapes peuvent ainsi être effectuées très rapidement.By automated process, it should be understood here that the process steps are carried out by one or more machines and do not require, in their successive implementation, any human intervention. These steps can thus be carried out very quickly.

Par rives, il faut entendre les bords latéraux de la feuille pliée parallèles à la direction d'entrainement.By edges is meant the side edges of the folded sheet parallel to the direction of feed.

La coupe des rives est une étape bien connue des imprimeurs. Ces rives peuvent être découpées en continu par des lames ou couteaux, par exemple circulaires, lors du déplacement de la feuille.Cutting the edges is a step well known to printers. These edges can be cut continuously by blades or knives, for example circular, during the movement of the sheet.

La coupe des rives permet ici non seulement d'éliminer les bords perdus, c'est-à-dire les marges qui ne peuvent pas être imprimées à cause des limitations techniques des imprimantes, mais également d'éliminer le bord de la feuille pliée comportant la pliure, afin d'obtenir deux feuillets superposés non liés.Edge trimming here not only eliminates lost edges, i.e. margins that cannot be printed due to technical limitations of printers, but also eliminates the edge of the folded sheet with folding, in order to obtain two superimposed unbound sheets.

Les feuillets sont donc ici des demi-feuilles dont les bords latéraux ont été découpés. Dans la chaine de fabrication, les deux feuillets avanceront ainsi à la même vitesse que la feuille de départ. Cela présente un grand intérêt au moment de la finition de l'ouvrage, par exemple le collage, finition qui est en général limitée en nombre de feuilles par minute. Grâce au procédé de l'invention, les feuillets arrivent deux par deux, permettant ainsi de doubler la cadence.The sheets are therefore here half sheets, the side edges of which have been cut. In the production line, the two sheets will thus advance at the same speed as the starting sheet. This is of great interest at the time of finishing the work, for example gluing, which finish is generally limited in the number of sheets per minute. Thanks to the method of the invention, the sheets arrive two by two, thus making it possible to double the rate.

C'est donc bien dans la combinaison des étapes de pliage, pivotement et coupe des rives que réside l'activité inventive du procédé. Jusqu'à présent, dans le domaine de l'imprimerie digitale, la réduction de taille d'une page après impression se faisait exclusivement par découpe et non par pliage. La combinaison des étapes de l'invention permet à la fois de gagner en rendement d'impression et de fabrication, de gaspiller moins de papier et de limiter le nombre de formats différents à stocker.It is therefore in the combination of the folding, pivoting and edge cutting steps that the inventive activity of the process resides. Until now, in the field of digital printing, the reduction in size of a page after printing was done exclusively by cutting and not by folding. The combination of the steps of the invention makes it possible both to gain in printing and manufacturing efficiency, to waste less paper and to limit the number of different formats to be stored.

Le procédé de l'invention permet de fabriquer une série d'ouvrages, identiques ou différents, en contenu et/ou en format. Chaque ouvrage peut être fabriqué à partir de plusieurs feuilles soumises successivement aux étapes de pliage, pivotement et coupe de rive.The method of the invention makes it possible to manufacture a series of works, identical or different, in content and / or in format. Each work can be made from several sheets successively subjected to the folding, pivoting and edge cutting stages.

Un aspect important de l'invention est de pouvoir partir d'un format unique de feuilles de départ, par exemple A0 ou A3, et de pouvoir obtenir des formats de sortie variés. En effet, les étapes de pliage, pivotement et coupe des rives peuvent être répétées plusieurs fois. Ainsi le procédé de l'invention peut comprendre des étapes supplémentaires selon lesquelles :

  • on plie les feuillets superposés séparés en deux perpendiculairement à la direction d'entrainement;
  • on pivote les feuillets superposés séparés pliés de 90 ° par rapport à la direction d'entrainement et
  • on coupe les rives de la feuille pliée pour obtenir des feuillets superposés séparés.
An important aspect of the invention is to be able to start from a single format of starting sheets, for example A0 or A3, and to be able to obtain various output formats. Indeed, the steps of folding, pivoting and cutting the edges can be repeated several times. Thus the method of the invention can comprise additional steps according to which:
  • the separate superimposed sheets are folded in half perpendicularly to the driving direction;
  • the separate superimposed leaflets folded by 90 ° are rotated with respect to the driving direction and
  • the edges of the folded sheet are cut to obtain separate superimposed sheets.

Ces étapes permettent de réduire le format final et d'obtenir un ouvrage plus petit à partir d'un même format de départ.These steps make it possible to reduce the final size and obtain a smaller book from the same starting size.

De préférence, on déplace la feuille le long de la direction d'entrainement, petit bord devant, principalement pour des raisons techniques liées aux dimensions du papier.Preferably, the sheet is moved along the feed direction, small edge in front, mainly for technical reasons related to the dimensions of the paper.

Par « petit bord devant » ou « petit côté devant », on entend le bord le moins long de la feuille qui fait face à la direction d'entrainement. Le terme anglais correspondant « short edge first » ou son abréviation « SEF » sont plus couramment utilisés par l'homme du métier, même en français. Par opposition le terme « grand bord devant » ou « grand côté devant », en anglais « long edge first » ou « LEF » désigne l'avancement de la feuille avec son côté le plus long disposé perpendiculairement à la direction d'entrainement.By “small front edge” or “small front side” is meant the shorter edge of the sheet which faces the feed direction. The corresponding English term "short edge first" or its abbreviation "SEF" are more commonly used by those skilled in the art, even in French. In contrast, the term “large front edge” or “large front side”, in English “long edge first” or “LEF” designates the advancement of the sheet with its longest side arranged perpendicular to the direction of feed.

Tant que possible, l'impression des feuilles se fait « grand coté devant » afin d'optimiser le débit d'impression. Dans ce cas, pour appliquer le procédé de l'invention, il est nécessaire d'ajouter une étape de rotation de 90° de la feuille après son impression.Whenever possible, the sheets are printed "long side in front" in order to optimize the printing throughput. In this case, to apply the method of the invention, it is necessary to add a step of rotating the sheet by 90 ° after it has been printed.

La présente invention concerne également, selon la revendication 11, un système automatisé de fabrication d'un ouvrage imprimé comprenant :

  • des moyens d'impression sur une feuille d'une pluralité de pages ;
  • des moyens d'entrainement de la feuille le long d'une série de postes comprenant au moins successivement :
  • des moyens de pliage en deux de la feuille, perpendiculairement à la direction d'entrainement;
  • des moyens de pivotement de la feuille pliée de 90 ° par rapport à la direction d'entrainement et
  • des moyens de coupe de rives de la feuille pliée adaptés à éliminer le bord de la feuille pliée comportant la pliure, afin d'obtenir deux feuillets superposés non liés.
The present invention also relates, according to claim 11, to an automated system for manufacturing a printed book comprising:
  • means for printing on a sheet of a plurality of pages;
  • means for driving the sheet along a series of stations comprising at least successively:
  • means for folding the sheet in half, perpendicular to the driving direction;
  • means for pivoting the folded sheet by 90 ° with respect to the driving direction and
  • means for cutting edges of the folded sheet adapted to eliminate the edge of the folded sheet comprising the fold, in order to obtain two superimposed unbound sheets.

L'invention sera mieux comprise à l'aide de la description suivante de la forme de réalisation préférée de l'invention, en référence au dessin en annexe sur lequel :

  • La figure 1 illustre les étapes du procédé automatisé de fabrication d'un ouvrage imprimé selon le premier aspect de l'invention;
  • les figures 2 et 3 représentent des étapes optionnelles du procédé de la figure 1 ;
  • la figure 4 est un schéma bloc de la méthode du second aspect de l'invention, et
  • la figure 5 représente un système selon l'invention.
The invention will be better understood with the aid of the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the appended drawing in which:
  • The figure 1 illustrates the steps of the automated process for manufacturing a printed book according to the first aspect of the invention;
  • the figures 2 and 3 represent optional steps of the process of figure 1 ;
  • the figure 4 is a block diagram of the method of the second aspect of the invention, and
  • the figure 5 represents a system according to the invention.

Les modes de réalisation décrits ci-après qui ne seraient pas supportés par les revendications sont à considérer comme ne faisant pas partie de la présente invention.The embodiments described below which would not be supported by the claims are to be considered as not forming part of the present invention.

Dans une étape A, on imprime, sur une feuille 10, une pluralité de pages, ici 8 pages agencées recto-verso. Bien que seul le recto est ici représenté, avec l'imposition des pages 1, 4, 5 et 8, il faut comprendre que les pages 2, 3, 6 et 7 sont imposées au verso, directement au dos des pages 1, 4, 5 et 8 respectivement. La feuille 10 est ici, par exemple, au format A3. Elle est imprimée avec le long bord 12 devant, le petit bord 13 étant parallèle à la direction suivie par la feuille lors de l'impression.In a step A, a plurality of pages are printed on a sheet 10, here 8 pages arranged on both sides. Although only the front is shown here, with the imposition of pages 1, 4, 5 and 8, it should be understood that pages 2, 3, 6 and 7 are imposed on the back, directly on the back of pages 1, 4, 5 and 8 respectively. Sheet 10 is here, for example, in A3 format. It is printed with the long edge 12 in front, the small edge 13 being parallel to the direction followed by the sheet when printing.

En sortie de l'imprimante, la feuille est entrainée en déplacement le long d'une série de postes successifs permettant la mise en œuvre des étapes suivantes.On leaving the printer, the sheet is driven in movement along a series of successive stations allowing the implementation of the following steps.

Dans l'étape B, la feuille 10 est maintenue dans son plan et pivotée de 90° par rapport à la direction d'entrainement, ici dans le sens inverse des aiguilles d'une montre, afin de la placer «petit bord 13 devant. Cette étape est nécessaire pour la fabrication d'ouvrages ayant un format traditionnel dans leur ratio hauteur largeur, comme les livres ou les catalogues. Elle n'est néanmoins pas nécessaire pour d'autres ouvrages ayant des formats moins courants, beaucoup plus hauts que larges, comme par exemple certains calendriers ou des menus de restaurants.In step B, the sheet 10 is held in its plane and rotated 90 ° with respect to the driving direction, here counterclockwise, in order to place it “small edge 13 in front. This step is necessary for the manufacture of books having a traditional format in their height-to-width ratio, such as books or catalogs. However, it is not necessary for other works having less common formats, much taller than they are wide, such as certain calendars or restaurant menus.

Dans l'étape C, on plie la feuille 10 en deux, perpendiculairement à la direction d'entrainement. La moitié de la feuille comprenant les pages 4 et 5 est ainsi superposée à la moitié de la feuille comprenant les pages 1 et 8. La bordure pliée 14 est ici représentée à l'avant, ce qui facilite l'entrainement de la feuille pliée par les moyens de déplacement de la feuille. Si le bord plié 14 était à l'arrière, l'avant de la feuille présenterait deux bords 15 qui pourraient induire des défauts de fabrication, par exemple une froissure du papier ou un défaut d'alignement, si ces deux bords ne sont pas maintenus exactement superposés lors de l'entrainement de la feuille. Ce problème ne se pose pas lorsque le bord plié 14 est à l'avant.In step C, the sheet 10 is folded in half, perpendicular to the feed direction. Half of the sheet comprising pages 4 and 5 is thus superimposed on half of the sheet comprising pages 1 and 8. The folded border 14 is shown here at the front, which facilitates the feeding of the folded sheet by the means for moving the sheet. If the folded edge 14 were at the back, the front of the sheet would have two edges 15 which could induce manufacturing defects, for example paper wrinkling or misalignment, if these two edges are not maintained. exactly superimposed during the training of the sheet. This problem does not arise when the folded edge 14 is at the front.

Dans l'étape D, la feuille 10 pliée en deux est pivotée de 90°, ici dans le sens inverse des aiguilles d'une montre, par rapport à la direction d'entrainement.In step D, the sheet 10 folded in half is rotated 90 °, here counterclockwise, relative to the feed direction.

Dans l'étape E, les rives de la feuille pliée ainsi orientée sont coupées pour obtenir des feuillets 16 et 17 superposés séparés. Le feuillet 16 comprend ici les pages 4 et 5 (non représentés) et le feuillet 17 comprend les pages 1 et 8. La bordure pliée 14 est ainsi séparée des feuillets par découpe de la rive 18 comprenant également des bords perdus ou marges inutiles à l'ouvrage. Les bords perdus opposés sont également éliminés par séparation des bords 19. Pour rappel, ces « bords perdus » sont des marges qui ne sont pas comprises dans l'édition de l'ouvrage, mais proviennent des contraintes techniques des imprimantes. Selon les formats et les techniques d'impression, ces bords perdus sont plus ou moins importants.In step E, the edges of the folded sheet thus oriented are cut to obtain separate overlapping sheets 16 and 17. Sheet 16 here includes pages 4 and 5 (not shown) and sheet 17 includes pages 1 and 8. Folded border 14 is thus separated from the sheets by cutting the edge 18 also comprising lost edges or margins unnecessary to the work. The opposite lost edges are also eliminated by separation of the edges 19. As a reminder, these “lost edges” are margins which are not included in the edition of the work, but come from the technical constraints of the printers. Depending on the formats and printing techniques, these lost edges are more or less important.

Les feuillets 16 et 17 ainsi superposés et séparés sont entrainés plus avant vers un ou plusieurs postes de finition ou peuvent subir à nouveau des étapes de pliage, pivotement et coupe de rive.The sheets 16 and 17 thus superimposed and separated are driven further towards one or more finishing stations or may again undergo folding, pivoting and edge cutting steps.

Par comparaison aux techniques existantes, on obtient, grâce au procédé de l'invention, pour une même cadence d'entrainement d'impression, deux feuillets superposés débarrassés, au moins en partie, de leurs rives, là où l'on n'obtenait qu'un seul feuillet. Le rendement est donc doublé à ce stade.By comparison with existing techniques, one obtains, thanks to the process of the invention, for the same printing drive rate, two superimposed sheets freed, at least in part, of their edges, where one did not obtain. only one sheet. The yield is therefore doubled at this stage.

Le format A3 décrit ici est purement illustratif. Un autre format de départ peut être utilisé, par exemple A0 ou A4. Les formats s'entendent aussi aux formats non découpés RA et SRA utilisés par les imprimeurs, qui prennent en compte les marges non imprimables et les contraintes techniques des imprimantes.The A3 format described here is purely illustrative. Another starting format can be used, for example A0 or A4. The formats also include the RA and SRA uncut formats used by printers, which take into account the non-printable margins and the technical constraints of printers.

Les postes sont ici représentés alignés le long d'une direction d'entrainement linéaire, mais il est bien évident que la feuille ne se déplace pas forcément le long d'une droite. La feuille peut être déplacée verticalement, à l'aide de mécanismes bien connus des imprimeurs, par exemple par l'intermédiaire de rouleaux. Au cours du procédé, elle peut être positionnée selon les besoins dans un plan horizontal puis un plan vertical ou tout autre plan adéquat pour la bonne mise en œuvre du procédé. Le papier d'impression étant relativement flexible, l'entrainement du papier peut être organisé dans toutes les directions opportunes pour l'optimisation du procédé.The stations are here shown aligned along a linear feed direction, but it is obvious that the sheet does not necessarily move along a straight line. The sheet can be moved vertically, using mechanisms well known to printers, for example by means of rollers. During the process, it can be positioned as required in a horizontal plane and then a vertical plane or any other plane suitable for the proper implementation of the process. As the printing paper is relatively flexible, the paper feed can be organized in any direction suitable for process optimization.

La feuille, pliée ou non, peut également être entrainée latéralement. Par exemple, un pivotement 90° peut se faire par rotation de la feuille dans un même plan tout en gardant la même direction d'entrainement mais aussi par changement à 90° de la direction d'entrainement de la feuille, toujours dans le même plan, c'est-à-dire par un coude de 90° dans l'alignement des postes.The sheet, folded or not, can also be driven laterally. For example, a 90 ° pivoting can be done by rotating the sheet in the same plane while keeping the same direction of feed but also by changing the direction of feed of the sheet to 90 °, always in the same plane. , that is to say by a 90 ° elbow in line with the posts.

Le procédé est ici illustré pour l'imposition de huit pages sur la feuille 10. Par page on entend aussi bien des pages ayant un contenu réel, tel que du texte ou des images par exemple, que des pages sans contenu, c'est-à-dire des pages blanches.The process is illustrated here for the imposition of eight pages on the sheet 10. By page is meant both pages having real content, such as text or images for example, as pages without content, that is. ie blank pages.

Différentes options ou alternatives vont à présent être décrites quant à la suite des étapes applicables aux feuillets 16 et 17 obtenu à la fin de l'étape E afin d'obtenir un ouvrage imprimé. Ces options peuvent être combinées, dans n'importe quel ordre, semblant judicieux à l'homme du métier afin d'obtenir le résultat qu'il recherche. En pratique, les modules accomplissant les différentes étapes peuvent être alignés et munis d'une fonction « bypass », c'est-à-dire qu'une feuille ou des feuillets superposés peuvent contourner un ou plusieurs modules. La séquence des étapes auxquelles une feuille ou des feuillets sont soumis est gérée automatiquement par un système informatique de gestion de fabrication d'ouvrage.Different options or alternatives will now be described as to the sequence of steps applicable to sheets 16 and 17 obtained at the end of step E in order to obtain a printed book. These options can be combined, in any order, appearing judicious to the person skilled in the art in order to obtain the result which he seeks. In practice, the modules performing the different steps can be aligned and provided with a "bypass" function, that is to say that a superimposed sheet or sheets can bypass one or more modules. The sequence of steps to which a sheet or sheets are subjected is managed automatically by a computerized work manufacturing management system.

En référence à la figure 2, une séquence similaire d'étapes peut être à nouveau appliquée.With reference to the figure 2 , a similar sequence of steps can be applied again.

Dans une étape F, on plie les feuillets 16 et 17 en deux perpendiculairement à la direction d'entrainement, afin de superposer les pages 1 du feuillet 17 et 4 du feuillet 16 avec les pages 5 du feuillet 16 et 8 du feuillet 17. Les pages s'entendent bien évidement avec leurs versos tels que décrites plus haut, mais qui ne seront pas mentionnés ici pour des raisons de clarté.In a step F, the sheets 16 and 17 are folded in half perpendicular to the direction of feed, in order to superimpose pages 1 of sheet 17 and 4 of sheet 16 with pages 5 of sheet 16 and 8 of sheet 17. The pages obviously get along with their backs as described above, but which will not be mentioned here for reasons of clarity.

Dans une étape F, on pivote les feuillets 16 et 17 ainsi pliés de 90 ° par rapport à la direction d'entrainement.In a step F, the sheets 16 and 17 thus folded are pivoted by 90 ° with respect to the driving direction.

Dans une étape H, on coupe les rives des feuillets 16 et 17 ainsi pliés le long d'une bordure 24 pour obtenir quatre feuillets superposés séparés 17a, 16a, 16b et 17b. La bordure pliée 24 est ainsi séparée des feuillets par découpe de la rive 20 comprenant également des bords perdus ou marges inutiles à l'ouvrage. Les bords perdus opposés sont également éliminés par séparation des quatre bords superposés 21.In a step H, the edges of the sheets 16 and 17 thus folded are cut along a border 24 to obtain four separate superimposed sheets 17a, 16a, 16b and 17b. The folded border 24 is thus separated from the sheets by cutting the edge 20 also comprising lost edges or margins unnecessary for the work. The opposite lost edges are also eliminated by separating the four superimposed edges 21.

Ainsi, en dupliquant la séquence pliage, pivotement et coupe de rives, on obtient quatre feuillets superposés, pour une même cadence d'entrainement d'impression. Ceux-ci peuvent alors être soumis à des étapes de finitions bien connues de l'homme du métier.Thus, by duplicating the folding, pivoting and edge cutting sequence, four superimposed sheets are obtained, for the same printing drive rate. These can then be subjected to finishing steps well known to those skilled in the art.

En référence à la figure 3, dans une étape I, les feuillets superposés 16 et 17 peuvent être coupés perpendiculairement à la direction d'entrainement. Afin de ne pas ralentir le déplacement le long de cette direction, un couteau hélicoïdal peut être utilisé pour effectuer cette découpe. Un tel couteau consiste en une lame installée le long d'un rouleau sous lequel passent une feuille ou des feuillets. Le rouleau est disposé sensiblement, mais pas exactement, perpendiculairement à la direction d'entrainement. La lame est agencée sur le rouleau de façon à couper la feuille ou les feuilles, en mouvement, perpendiculairement à la direction d'entrainement, par rotation du rouleau. La lame est ainsi disposée en hélice sur la longueur du rouleau. Il n'est pas nécessaire que la lame enroule complètement le rouleau. Dans un module comprenant un tel couteau, un détecteur peut être disposé de façon à détecter l'arrivée du feuillet et à permettre la synchronisation de la rotation du rouleau pour couper la feuilles ou les feuillets à l'endroit désiré.With reference to the figure 3 , in a step I, the superimposed sheets 16 and 17 can be cut perpendicular to the driving direction. In order not to slow down the movement along this direction, a helical knife can be used to make this cut. Such a knife consists of a blade installed along a roller under which a sheet or leaflets pass. The roller is disposed substantially, but not exactly, perpendicular to the driving direction. The blade is arranged on the roller so as to cut the sheet or sheets, in motion, perpendicular to the driving direction, by rotation of the roller. The blade is thus arranged in a helix along the length of the roller. The blade does not need to completely wind the roll. In a module comprising such a knife, a detector can be arranged so as to detect the arrival of the sheet and to allow the synchronization of the rotation of the roll to cut the sheet or the sheets at the desired location.

L'utilisation d'un module à couteau hélicoïdal permet, par rapport à l'utilisation d'un couteau à guillotine, d'éviter d'arrêter l'entrainement des feuilles ou d'attendre d'avoir une pile de feuilles à découper et ainsi de ne pas ralentir la cadence de fabrication.The use of a helical knife module makes it possible, compared to the use of a guillotine knife, to avoid stopping the feeding of the sheets or of waiting for a stack of sheets to be cut and thus not to slow down the production rate.

Dans certains cas, une étape de rainage peut également être ajoutée, notamment avant une étape de pliage, ou en prévision d'un pliage ultérieur. Le rainage consiste à pratiquer un sillon dans une feuille ou un feuillet afin de faciliter le pliage et/ou d'éviter que le papier ou le carton soit endommagé lors d'un pliage. Cette étape est bien connue de l'homme du métier et couramment appliquée en imprimerie.In certain cases, a creasing step can also be added, in particular before a folding step, or in anticipation of a subsequent folding. Creasing consists of making a groove in a sheet or leaflet in order to facilitate folding and / or to prevent the paper or cardboard from being damaged during folding. This step is well known to those skilled in the art and commonly applied in printing.

En ce qui concerne l'étape de pivotement, celle-ci peut être mise en œuvre par tout système adéquat connu par l'homme du métier. En particulier, il est courant d'utiliser des systèmes de registration/rotation à rouleaux permettant de positionner les feuilles imprimées contre la bordure de régistration. Un grand nombre de rouleaux sont agencés, légèrement inclinés afin de déplacer le bord du papier. Parmi ces rouleaux, quelques rouleaux en matière type caoutchouc sont insérés, qui peuvent tourner à des vitesses plus élevées afin d'entrainer plus rapidement un bord de la feuille que l'autre et ainsi induire une rotation de la feuille. Le système de registration permet ainsi à la fois d'aligner et de faire pivoter la feuille imprimée. Un système similaire à rouleaux peut de la même façon être utilisé pour faire pivoter plusieurs feuillets superposés.As regards the pivoting step, this can be implemented by any suitable system known to those skilled in the art. In particular, it is common practice to use roller registration / rotation systems making it possible to position the printed sheets against the registration border. A large number of rollers are arranged, slightly inclined in order to move the edge of the paper. Among these rollers, a few rollers of rubber type material are inserted, which can rotate at higher speeds in order to drive one edge of the sheet more quickly than the other and thus induce a rotation of the sheet. The registration system thus makes it possible to both align and rotate the printed sheet. A similar roller system can similarly be used to rotate several superimposed sheets.

L'étape de pliage peut être mise en œuvre par tout système connu de l'homme du métier comme par exemple une plieuse à poche. Dans une plieuse à poche, une feuille arrivant en butée est déformée sous l'effet de la force d'entrainement pour former une boucle. La boucle est ensuite « attrapée » entre deux rouleaux qui pincent la feuille au niveau du pli et terminent ainsi le pliage.The folding step can be implemented by any system known to those skilled in the art such as for example a pocket folder. In a pocket folder, an abutting sheet is deformed under the effect of the driving force to form a loop. The loop is then "caught" between two rollers which pinch the sheet at the fold and thus complete the fold.

Ainsi, un système de registration/rotation peut être combiné avec une plieuse, un système de coupe de rives. Chaque système peut être répété plusieurs fois. Un ou plusieurs systèmes de rainage et/ou de découpe hélicoïdale peuvent également être ajoutés, de même que tout autre système pertinent pour l'homme du métier.Thus, a registration / rotation system can be combined with a folding machine, an edge cutting system. Each system can be repeated several times. One or more creasing and / or helical cutting systems can also be added, as can any other system relevant to those skilled in the art.

Ces systèmes peuvent être agencés en série et être pilotés par un système ou serveur informatique. En particulier, l'ensemble permettant une grande flexibilité et la fabrication d'une grande diversité de type d'ouvrage, certains modules ou systèmes peuvent être, au cas par cas, contournés ou actifs.These systems can be arranged in series and be controlled by a computer system or server. In particular, the assembly allowing great flexibility and the manufacture of a wide variety of types of work, certain modules or systems may be bypassed or active on a case-by-case basis.

Par exemple, en référence à la figure 5, un système peut comprendre, l'un à côté de l'autre, en sortie de l'imprimante (non représentée), deux blocs 510 et 511. Le premier bloc 510 comprend un poste ou module 501 de régistration avec ou sans rotation, un convoyeur 502 et une plieuse à poche 503. Le second bloc 511 comprend un module de registration et rotation de feuille 504, un module 505 de coupe de rives et un couteau hélicoïdal 506. Chacun de ces modules a les fonctions décrites plus haut et l'ensemble permet la mise en œuvre du procédé de l'invention. Notons que certains modules optionnels, comme le couteau hélicoïdal 506, peuvent être « contournés », c'est-à-dire qu'une feuille ou un feuillet peut traverser ce module sans qu'aucune action ne lui soit appliquée. Les blocs 510 et 511 sont ici représentés sur des roulettes 507, pour illustrer la grande flexibilité du système. D'autres blocs offrant des fonctionnalités supplémentaires peuvent facilement être ajoutés ou intercalés.For example, with reference to the figure 5 , a system can comprise, one next to the other, at the output of the printer (not shown), two blocks 510 and 511. The first block 510 comprises a registration station or module 501 with or without rotation, a conveyor 502 and a pocket folder 503. The second block 511 comprises a registration and sheet rotation module 504, an edge cutting module 505 and a helical knife 506. Each of these modules has the functions described above and 'together allows the implementation of the method of the invention. Note that certain optional modules, such as the helical knife 506, can be “bypassed”, that is to say that a sheet or a sheet can pass through this module without any action being applied to it. Blocks 510 and 511 are shown here on casters 507, to illustrate the great flexibility of the system. Other blocks offering additional functionality can easily be added or interspersed.

Il résulte de l'invention qu'avec une feuille d'un même format, une grande diversité de formats et de natures de feuillets peut être obtenue en sortie de l'ensemble.It results from the invention that with a sheet of the same format, a large variety of formats and types of sheets can be obtained at the output of the assembly.

Les étapes décrites ci-dessus sont suivies d'étapes de finition pour former un bloc de contenu de l'ouvrage imprimé comprenant notamment la reliure des feuillets.The steps described above are followed by finishing steps to form a block of contents of the printed book comprising in particular the binding of the pages.

Les étapes décrites plus haut conduisent à l'obtention de plusieurs feuillets superposés. L'impression numérique permettant l'impression à la suite de toutes les pages d'un ouvrage, les feuilles sont traitées successivement et conduisent à l'empilement de tous les feuillets constituant l'ouvrage.The steps described above lead to the production of several superimposed sheets. Digital printing allowing printing after all pages of a book, the sheets are processed successively and lead to the stacking of all the sheets constituting the book.

Les feuillets empilés sont alors solidarisés pour former le bloc de contenu de l'ouvrage. La reliure peut être réalisée de plusieurs façons, comme par exemple par collage ou agrafage. Ces étapes de reliure sont bien connues de l'homme du métier.The stacked sheets are then joined together to form the content block of the book. The binding can be carried out in several ways, such as for example by gluing or stapling. These binding steps are well known to those skilled in the art.

La fabrication de l'ouvrage se termine par l'assemblage du bloc de contenu avec une couverture, lorsque l'ouvrage en comprend une. La couverture de l'ouvrage étant imprimée séparément, plusieurs méthodes sont utilisées pour réaliser cet assemblage.The construction of the book ends with the assembly of the content block with a cover, when the book includes one. The cover of the book being printed separately, several methods are used to carry out this assembly.

En général, les feuillets composant l'intérieur de l'ouvrage sont imprimés et préparés par un système différent de celui préparant la couverture de l'ouvrage. Lorsqu'un seul ouvrage est imprimé en de nombreux exemplaires, il est assez simple d'assembler le contenu de l'ouvrage à sa couverture, en partant d'un stock de contenus et d'un stock de couvertures.In general, the pages composing the interior of the book are printed and prepared by a different system from that preparing the cover of the book. When a single book is printed in many copies, it is fairly straightforward to assemble the content of the book with its cover, starting from a stock of contents and a stock of covers.

Les systèmes modernes se voulant flexibles et permettant l'impression d'une seule copie d'un ouvrage à la demande, la gestion de l'assemblage du contenu à la couverture devient plus complexe. Il s'agit notamment d'optimiser les ressources d'impression, afin de produire de nombreux ouvrages à la suite, tous différents.With modern systems being flexible and allowing the printing of a single copy of a book on demand, managing the assembly of content to cover becomes more complex. In particular, this involves optimizing printing resources, in order to produce numerous works in a row, all different.

Des systèmes existent, dans lesquels les couvertures d'ouvrage sont imprimés par un premier système d'impression et empilées dans un certain ordre, dans un casier de stockage de couvertures. La première couverture de la pile est identifiée par des moyens de détection, comme par exemple un lecteur de code-barres. L'identification déclenche l'impression/fabrication du contenu de l'ouvrage par un deuxième système. Le contenu et la couverture sont ensuite assemblés. Les mêmes étapes sont répétées pour les couvertures suivantes de la pile.Systems exist in which the book covers are printed by a first printing system and stacked in a certain order in a cover storage bin. The first cover of the stack is identified by detection means, such as for example a barcode reader. The identification triggers the printing / production of the content of the book by a second system. The contents and the cover are then put together. The same steps are repeated for subsequent covers in the stack.

Ces systèmes présentent un certain nombre d'inconvénients altérant l'efficacité de production.These systems have a number of drawbacks affecting production efficiency.

Prenons l'exemple d'une liste de cinq ouvrages en attente, comprenant par exemple deux ouvrages qui doivent être reliés par collage, un ouvrage qui doit être relié par agrafage puis deux ouvrages qui doivent être reliés par collage. Les cinq couvertures sont imprimées et empilées dans l'ordre dans un casier de stockage. Les deux premières couvertures vont être identifiées successivement, le contenu associé va être préparé et assemblé à la couverture correspondante. Si la fonction d'agrafage n'est momentanément pas disponible, la troisième couverture va être identifiée, mais le contenu associé ne va pas pouvoir être préparé et tout le système va être mis en attente jusqu'à ce que la fonction d'agrafage devienne disponible, les deux couvertures restant dans la pile ne pouvant pas être traitées tant que la troisième n'est pas assemblée à son contenu. Les systèmes existants ne peuvent donc pas gérer des indisponibilités matérielles sur l'un ou l'autre des systèmes.Let us take the example of a list of five pending books, comprising for example two books which must be connected by gluing, one book which must be connected by stapling and then two books which must be connected by gluing. The five covers are printed and stacked in order in a storage locker. The first two covers will be identified successively, the associated content will be prepared and assembled to the corresponding cover. If the staple function is not momentarily not available, the third cover will be identified, but the associated content will not be able to be prepared and the whole system will be put on hold until the stapling function becomes available with both covers remaining in the stack which cannot be processed until the third is assembled to its contents. Existing systems therefore cannot manage hardware unavailability on one or the other of the systems.

Les systèmes existants ne savent pas non plus gérer des priorités, qui pourraient être attribuées, selon les clients par exemple, ni des formats différents.Existing systems also do not know how to manage priorities, which could be assigned, depending on the customers for example, or different formats.

A cet effet, selon un mode de réalisation, le procédé automatisé qui inclut l'assemblage de blocs de contenu à des couvertures est tel que :

  • on détermine les faisabilités de la fabrication des blocs de contenu des ouvrages,
  • on établit un ordre de priorité de fabrication des ouvrages,
  • on fabrique les couvertures à assembler aux blocs de contenu,
  • on ordonne la fabrication des blocs de contenu selon l'ordre de priorités décroissant sous réserve de la faisabilité, prioritaire sur la priorité de fabrication, et
  • on assemble les blocs de contenu aux couvertures correspondantes.
To this end, according to one embodiment, the automated method which includes the assembly of blocks of content to covers is such as:
  • the feasibility of manufacturing the content blocks of the works is determined,
  • an order of priority for the manufacture of the works is established,
  • we manufacture the covers to assemble the content blocks,
  • the production of the content blocks is ordered according to the decreasing order of priorities subject to feasibility, taking priority over the production priority, and
  • we assemble the content blocks to the corresponding covers.

Ces étapes peuvent être gérées par un serveur informatique, non revendiqué dans la présente demande, qui reçoit, pour chaque ouvrage, des informations de fabrication du bloc de contenu, des informations de fabrication de la couverture et des informations de priorité de fabrication de l'ouvrage.These steps can be managed by a computer server, not claimed in the present application, which receives, for each work, information of manufacture of the content block, information of manufacture of the cover and information of priority of manufacture of the material. work.

Le bloc de contenu désigne ici, comme précisé plus haut, l'ensemble d'un ouvrage à l'exception de la couverture.The content block here designates, as specified above, the whole of a work with the exception of the cover.

La faisabilité est ici la capacité technique des équipements à réaliser la fabrication du bloc de contenu. Pour déterminer la faisabilité de la fabrication des blocs de contenu, le système de fabrication de bloc de contenu transmet au serveur informatique des informations de disponibilité de ses fonctions.Feasibility here is the technical capacity of the equipment to produce the content block. To determine the feasibility of manufacturing the content blocks, the content block manufacturing system transmits availability information of its functions to the computer server.

Les couvertures sont placées dans des casiers distincts d'une trieuse à couvertures, pour pouvoir en être prélevées à volonté.The blankets are placed in separate compartments of a blanket sorter, so that they can be removed at will.

Ainsi, dans ce mode de réalisation, si pour une raison matérielle d'indisponibilité de certaines fonctions du système de fabrication, une partie des ouvrages ne peut pas être fabriquée, les autres ouvrages peuvent quand même être produits. Lorsqu'une fonction du système de fabrication de blocs de contenu redevient disponible, par exemple lorsqu'une maintenance a eu lieu ou si un dispositif chauffant a atteint la température requise pour l'impression, la faisabilité des blocs de contenus est réévaluée, et la liste des ordres de fabrication de blocs de contenu est mise à jour, en fonction de l'ordre de priorités. Dans un contexte de fabrication « en chaîne », l'indisponibilité d'une fonction, même pour une courte période, ne bloque ainsi pas le processus. Cela permet, entre-autres, d'éviter des arriérés de productions, en optimisant les capacités du système de fabrication.Thus, in this embodiment, if for a material reason of unavailability of certain functions of the manufacturing system, part of the works cannot be manufactured, the other works can still be produced. When a function of the content block making system becomes available again, for example when maintenance has taken place or if a heater has reached the temperature required for printing, the feasibility of the content blocks is reassessed, and the Content block production order list is updated, based on the order of priorities. In a “chain” production context, the unavailability of a function, even for a short period, does not block the process. This makes it possible, among other things, to avoid production backlogs, by optimizing the capacities of the manufacturing system.

Ce mode de réalisation sera mieux compris à l'aide de la figure 4.This embodiment will be better understood using the figure 4 .

En référence à la figure 4, le procédé automatisé de production d'ouvrages imprimés constitués chacun d'un bloc de contenu 425 et d'une couverture 426 comprend les étapes suivantes.With reference to the figure 4 , the automated process for producing printed books each consisting of a content block 425 and a cover 426 comprises the following steps.

Tout d'abord, dans l'étape 410, un serveur informatique 403 reçoit, pour chaque ouvrage, des informations 405 pour la fabrication du bloc de contenu 425, des informations 406 pour la fabrication de la couverture 426 et des informations 407 de priorité de fabrication de l'ouvrage.First, in step 410, a computer server 403 receives, for each work, information 405 for the manufacture of the content block 425, information 406 for the manufacture of the cover 426 and priority information 407. manufacture of the work.

Les informations de fabrication du bloc de contenu comprennent toutes les informations relatives au contenu, au format, à la mise en page et au mode de reliure des pages, ainsi que les informations relatives aux étapes à mettre en œuvre, par exemple leur nature ou leur ordre, pour obtenir le bloc contenu prêt à être assemblé avec la couverture.The content block manufacturing information includes all the information relating to the content, format, layout and binding mode of the pages, as well as information relating to the steps to be implemented, for example their nature or their order, to get the contained block ready to be assembled with the cover.

De même, les informations de fabrication de la couverture comprennent toutes les informations relatives au contenu, au format. Elles peuvent aussi contenir les informations relatives au mode d'assemblage de la couverture et du bloc de contenu. Les informations de priorité de fabrication de l'ouvrage comprennent par exemple le délai dans lequel la fabrication doit être terminée, la priorité relative de fabrication des ouvrages les uns par rapport aux autres, par exemple pour des clients qui auraient payé plus cher pour avoir une livraison plus rapide.Likewise, the cover manufacturing information includes all information relating to content, format. They can also contain information about how the cover and the content block are assembled. The item's manufacturing priority information includes, for example, the timeframe within which manufacturing must be completed, the relative manufacturing priority of works in relation to each other, for example for customers who would have paid more for faster delivery.

Dans l'étape 411, le serveur informatique 403 envoie les informations 406 de fabrication de la couverture 426 à un système 402 de fabrication de couverture qui fabrique la couverture 426 et la place dans un des casiers 408i d'une trieuse à couverture. Six casiers 408i sont ici représentés, mais il peut en être prévu beaucoup plus, selon les besoins. Le système 402 peut, à l'étape 412, rapporter la fabrication de la couverture et/ou un identifiant du casier dans lequel celle-ci est placée.In step 411, the computer server 403 sends the blanket manufacturing information 406 426 to a blanket manufacturing system 402 which fabricates the blanket 426 and places it in one of the bins 408i of a blanket sorter. Six 408i lockers are shown here, but many more can be provided as needed. System 402 may, at step 412, report the manufacture of the blanket and / or an identifier of the bin in which the blanket is placed.

Le système de fabrication de couverture est typiquement un système permettant d'imprimer le contenu de la couverture sur le support adéquat et d'en ajuster le format. Eventuellement, il peut également comprendre des moyens de rainage, pour faciliter la pliure de la couverture autour du bloc contenu, ou des moyens de traitement de surface (pelliculage, lamination, ... ) ou tout autre moyen jugé nécessaire par l'homme du métier.The cover manufacturing system is typically a system for printing the contents of the cover on the appropriate media and adjusting the format. Optionally, it can also include creasing means, to facilitate the folding of the cover around the contained block, or surface treatment means (film-coating, lamination, etc.) or any other means deemed necessary by those skilled in the art. job.

Les casiers d'une trieuse à couverture désignent ici des cases de stockage, prévues pour y placer séparément les couvertures imprimées. Contrairement aux systèmes existant, dans lesquelles toutes les couvertures imprimées sont empilées les unes sur les autres au fur et à mesure de l'impression, dans un casier unique, chaque couverture est ici déposée dans un casier distinct. Cela permet de pouvoir prélever les couvertures séparément, à volonté, indépendamment de l'ordre dans lequel elles ont été imprimées et de gérer des formats variés de couvertures. On peut prévoir que chaque casier ne peut recevoir qu'une couverture, ou que chaque casier peut recevoir plusieurs couvertures identiques. On peut également prévoir que chaque casier peut recevoir plusieurs couvertures différentes, d'un même format, ou de formats différents, ou que chaque casier peut recevoir toutes les couvertures correspondant à des blocs de contenus fabriqués selon la même séquence d'étapes, ou tout autre arrangement judicieux, en fonction des circonstances.The bins of a cover sorter here refer to storage bins, designed to separately place the printed covers. Unlike existing systems, in which all the printed covers are stacked on top of each other as they are printed, in a single bin, each cover is here deposited in a separate bin. This makes it possible to pick up the covers separately, at will, regardless of the order in which they were printed and to manage various sizes of covers. It can be provided that each locker can only receive one cover, or that each locker can receive several identical covers. It is also possible to provide that each bin can receive several different covers, of the same format, or of different formats, or that each bin can receive all the covers corresponding to blocks of contents produced according to the same sequence of steps, or all of them. other wise arrangement, depending on the circumstances.

Dans l'étape 413, le serveur informatique 402 demande à un système 401 de fabrication de blocs de contenu des informations 409 de disponibilité de ses fonctions. Le système 401 de fabrication de bloc de contenu renvoie (étape 414) les informations 409 de disponibilité de ses fonctions au serveur informatique 103.In step 413, the computer server 402 requests from a content block manufacturing system 401 information 409 of availability of its functions. The content block manufacturing system 401 returns (step 414) the information 409 of availability of its functions to the computer server 103.

Les informations de disponibilité des fonctions du système de fabrication de bloc de contenu désignent ici un rapport sur le fonctionnement des éléments compris dans le système de fabrication du bloc de contenu. Ces informations peuvent, par exemple comprendre le niveau de papier, les niveaux d'encre disponibles, selon les couleurs, dans l'imprimante, la température de certains éléments, des informations de bourrage papier au niveau d'un module particulier, etc...Content block manufacturing system feature availability information herein refers to a report on the operation of the items included in the content block manufacturing system. This information can, for example include the level of paper, the levels of ink available, depending on the colors, in the printer, the temperature of certain elements, information of paper jam at a particular module, etc. .

De la même façon, dans une étape 421, le serveur informatique 402 peut demander au système de finition 404 des informations de disponibilité de ses fonctions. Le système de finition 404 est le module dans lequel les couvertures sont assemblées aux blocs de contenu.Likewise, in a step 421, the computer server 402 can request the finishing system 404 for information on the availability of its functions. Finishing System 404 is the module in which the covers are joined to the content blocks.

Les informations de disponibilité des fonctions du système de finition 404 des ouvrages désignent ici un rapport sur le fonctionnement des éléments compris dans le système de finition des ouvrage. Ces informations peuvent, par exemple comprendre la disponibilité fonctionnelle des différents modules, les niveaux de consommables (colle, agrafes) disponibles, la température de certains éléments, des informations de bourrage papier au niveau d'un module particulier, etc...The work availability information of the work finishing system 404 here refers to a report on the operation of the elements included in the work finishing system. This information can, for example include the functional availability of the different modules, the levels of consumables (glue, staples) available, the temperature of certain elements, information of paper jam at the level of a particular module, etc ...

Le serveur informatique 403 analyse les informations 407 de priorité de fabrication en fonction des informations 409 sur la disponibilité des fonctions du système de fabrication de bloc contenu, les informations 412 sur la disponibilité des couvertures et les informations 421 sur la disponibilité des fonctions du système de finition 404, pour établir un ordre de priorités et sélectionner les blocs contenu 425 faisables à fabriquer.The computer server 403 analyzes the manufacturing priority information 407 based on the information 409 on the availability of functions of the contained block manufacturing system, the information 412 on the availability of covers and the information 421 on the availability of the functions of the system. finish 404, to prioritize and select feasible content blocks 425 to be fabricated.

Dans l'étape 415, le serveur informatique 403 ordonne au système 401 la fabrication du bloc de contenu 425 sélectionné.In step 415, computer server 403 orders system 401 to manufacture the selected content block 425.

Le système de fabrication de bloc de contenu désigne ici l'ensemble des moyens nécessaires à l'impression, le formatage, l'assemblage et la finition du bloc contenu à partir d'une feuille. Il peut par exemple s'agir d'un système tel que décrit plus haut. Il peut également s'agir de tout système totalement ou partiellement automatisé, utilisable en imprimerie pour préparer le bloc contenu. De préférence, le système de fabrication du bloc contenu est le système décrit plus haut comprenant des moyens d'impression, de pliage, de pivotement et de coupe de rive.The content block manufacturing system here refers to all the means necessary for printing, formatting, assembling and finishing the content block from a sheet. It may for example be a system as described above. It can also be any fully or partially automated system, usable in printing to prepare the contained block. Preferably, the system for manufacturing the contained block is the system described above comprising printing, folding, pivoting and edge cutting means.

Le système 401 fabrique le bloc de contenu 425 et l'envoie à l'étape 416 vers le module 404 de finition.System 401 builds content block 425 and sends it in step 416 to finisher 404.

A l'étape 417, le serveur informatique 403 ordonne le prélèvement de la couverture 426 correspondant au bloc de contenu 425 sélectionné de son casier 408i.In step 417, the computer server 403 orders the removal of the cover 426 corresponding to the block of content 425 selected from its bin 408i.

A l'étape 418, le système 402 extrait la couverture du casier 408i et l'envoie vers le module de finition 404. Notons que l'étape physique d'extraction de la couverture pour la placer dans le module de finition 404 peut avoir lieu avant d'ordonner la fabrication du bloc de contenu, pendant sa fabrication ou même après la fabrication du bloc de contenu. Dépendant du type de système de finition, il peut être avantageux d'utiliser l'une ou l'autre option.In step 418, the system 402 extracts the cover from the bin 408i and sends it to the finisher 404. Note that the physical step of extracting the cover to place it in the finisher 404 can take place. before ordering the manufacture of the content block, during its manufacture or even after the manufacture of the content block. Depending on the type of finishing system, it may be advantageous to use either option.

A l'étape 419, la couverture et le bloc de contenu sont assemblés dans le module de finition 404 pour former l'ouvrage imprimé. De tels modules de finition ou d'assemblage sont bien connus de l'homme du métier.In step 419, the cover and the content block are assembled in the finisher 404 to form the printed book. Such finishing or assembly modules are well known to those skilled in the art.

Il faut ici noter que la vitesse à laquelle le serveur reçoit les instructions de fabrication d'ouvrage n'est pas corrélée à la vitesse effective de fabrication de ces ouvrages, d'où la nécessité d'établir des priorités dans la mise en œuvre de la fabrication des blocs de contenu et des couvertures. En particulier, les éléments suivants sont à considérer pour envisager certains avantages :

  • le serveur informatique (non revendiqué dans la présente demande) peut recevoir quasi-simultanément l'ordre de fabriquer un grand nombre d'ouvrages différents les uns des autres ;
  • la fabrication d'un bloc de contenu, même complètement automatisée, prend un certain temps (de quelques seconds à quelques minutes) qui est généralement plus long que le temps de fabrication d'une couverture, et
  • les cadences actuellement requises ainsi que la pression sur les couts dans le domaine de l'impression numérique flexible ne permettent pas la sous-utilisation du matériel.
It should be noted here that the speed at which the server receives the work fabrication instructions is not correlated with the actual production speed of these items, hence the need to establish priorities in the implementation of the work. the manufacture of content blocks and covers. In particular, the following elements should be considered when considering certain advantages:
  • the computer server (not claimed in the present application) can receive almost simultaneously the order to manufacture a large number of works which are different from each other;
  • the production of a block of content, even completely automated, takes a certain time (from a few seconds to a few minutes) which is generally longer than the time of making a cover, and
  • the rates currently required as well as the pressure on costs in the field of flexible digital printing do not allow the under-utilization of the equipment.

Il est donc nécessaire de synchroniser au mieux toutes les étapes de fabrication de l'ouvrage. Par rapport aux systèmes ou l'assemblage final de l'ouvrage est déterminé par la disponibilité de la couverture en haut d'une pile de couvertures, le procédé de l'invention permet que ni l'indisponibilité de la couverture, ni l'indisponibilité de certaines fonctions du matériel ne soient des facteurs limitant la productivité de la chaine de fabrication.It is therefore necessary to synchronize as well as possible all the stages of manufacture of the structure. Compared to systems where the final assembly of the structure is determined by the availability of the cover at the top of a stack of covers, the method of the invention allows neither the unavailability of the cover nor the unavailability of the cover. certain functions of the equipment are factors limiting the productivity of the production line.

De même que la faisabilité des blocs de contenus, la faisabilité des couvertures peut également être communiquée au serveur par le système de fabrication de couvertures. La faisabilité des couvertures peut également être analysée et intervenir dans la sélection des blocs de contenu à fabriquer. Par exemple, il semble judicieux de vouloir éviter, par exemple, que l'ensemble des casiers à couvertures soient remplis si aucun des blocs de contenu correspondants n'est faisable. On peut donc ordonner la fabrication des couvertures sous réserve de leur faisabilité et/ou de la disponibilité des moyens de stockage de couvertures.Along with the feasibility of the content blocks, the feasibility of the covers can also be communicated to the server by the cover manufacturing system. The feasibility of the covers can also be analyzed and intervene in the selection of the content blocks to be manufactured. For example, it seems wise to want to avoid, for example, that all the blanket bins are filled if none of the corresponding content blocks is feasible. It is therefore possible to order the manufacture of blankets subject to their feasibility and / or the availability of blanket storage means.

Il est évident pour l'homme du métier que certaines des étapes décrites ci-dessus peuvent avoir lieu en même temps, et que les systèmes décrits peuvent fonctionner en continu.It is obvious to those skilled in the art that some of the steps described above can take place at the same time, and that the systems described can operate continuously.

Des exemples, non limitatifs, d'applications sont par exemple la fabrication d'albums photos personnalisés, la fabrication ou la réimpression de livres « à la demande ».Non-limiting examples of applications are, for example, the manufacture of personalized photo albums, the manufacture or reprint of books "on demand".

En ce qui concerne des modes de réalisation pratiques de l'extraction de la couverture 426 du casier 408i à l'étape 418, plusieurs méthodes peuvent être applicables. Par exemple, un ouvrage pour avoir un identifiant unique associé au contenu et à sa couverture. Le serveur garde en mémoire cet identifiant et l'associe temporairement au casier spécifique où est placée la couverture. Lorsque la fabrication du contenu correspondant à cet identifiant est initiée, ce même identifiant est réutilisé pour identifier le casier où est placée la couverture afin de l'en extraire.Regarding practical embodiments of extracting cover 426 from bin 408i at step 418, several methods may be applicable. For example, a book to have a unique identifier associated with the content and its cover. The server keeps this identifier in memory and associates it temporarily with the specific locker where the cover is placed. When the production of the content corresponding to this identifier is initiated, this same identifier is reused to identify the bin where the cover is placed in order to extract it.

L'identifiant unique peut par exemple être un code-barres, un code QR, le code ISBN de l'ouvrage s'il s'agit d'un livre publié, ou tout autre code envisageable par l'homme du métier.The unique identifier can for example be a bar code, a QR code, the ISBN code of the work if it is a published book, or any other code that can be envisaged by a person skilled in the art.

Le stockage des couvertures dans des casiers multiples permet de produire des couvertures de formats différents, ce qui n'était pas possible avec les systèmes existants.Storing blankets in multiple racks allows blankets of different sizes to be produced, which was not possible with existing systems.

Claims (12)

  1. Automated process for the manufacture of at least one printed work from at least one sheet, comprising the steps wherein:
    - a plurality of pages (1, 4, 5, 8) of the work is printed (A) on the sheet (10) that
    - is moved through a series of stations wherein, subsequently,
    - the sheet (10) is folded (C) in half perpendicular to the moving direction;
    - the folded sheet (10) is pivoted (D) by 90° with respect to the moving direction, and
    - the edges (18, 19) of the folded sheet are trimmed to obtain separate, superposed leaves (16, 17).
  2. Process according to claim 1, wherein the printed work is made from several sheets, each sheet being subjected to the same steps.
  3. A process according to one of claims 1 and 2, wherein several printed works are manufactured, all the sheets of the work being successively subjected to the same steps.
  4. A process according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sheet (10) is pivoted (B) by 90° after it is printed.
  5. Process according to one of claims 1 to 4, comprising further steps wherein:
    - the separate, superposed leaves (16, 17) are folded (F) in half perpendicular to the moving direction;
    - the separate, superposed, folded leaves (10, 17) are rotated (G) 90° relative to the moving direction and
    - the edges (20, 21) of the folded sheet are trimmed (H) to obtain separate, superposed leaves (17a, 17b, 16a, 16b).
  6. Process according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sheet (10) is moved with short edge (13) first.
  7. Process according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the leaves (16, 17; 16a, 16b, 17a, 17b) are subjected to a finishing step which binds them together into a content block.
  8. Process according to claims 3 and 7, wherein covers (426) are assembled with the content blocks (425) of the printed works.
  9. Process according to claim 8, wherein, for assembling the covers (426) with the content blocks (425):
    - the feasibilities (409) of manufacturing the content blocks (425) of the printed works is determined;
    - an order of priority (407) is established for the manufacture of the printed works;
    - the covers (426) to be assembled with the content blocks are manufactured;
    - the manufacture of the content blocks is ordered (413) in descending order of priority subject to feasibility, which takes precedence over manufacturing priority, and
    - the content blocks are assembled with the corresponding covers.
  10. Process according to claim 9, wherein the covers (426) are stored in racks (408i) of a cover sorter separately from each other to be removed at will.
  11. Automated system for the manufacture of a printed publication comprising:
    - means for printing a plurality of pages on one sheet (10);
    - means for moving said sheet through a series of stations comprising at least successively :
    - means for folding the said sheet in half, perpendicular to the direction of travel;
    - means for pivoting the folded said sheet 90° relative to the moving direction characterized in that it comprises :
    - means for trimming the edges (18, 19) of the folded and printed sheet (10) adapted to trim the edge of the folded sheet comprising the folding to obtain two separate superposed leaves .
  12. Automated system according to claim 11, comprising at least one of the means of the list consisting of creasing means, binding means, assembly means and finishing means.
EP19173928.3A 2018-05-11 2019-05-10 Automated method for digital manufacturing of structures Active EP3566879B1 (en)

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CH688720A5 (en) * 1994-11-04 1998-01-30 Hunkeler Jos Papierverarbeit Apparatus for creating printed products.
US7503555B2 (en) 2004-08-09 2009-03-17 Epac Technologies System for and a method of producing a book on demand
US8425389B2 (en) * 2006-02-01 2013-04-23 Epac Technologies, Inc. Method and a system for manufacturing printed products
NL2004352C2 (en) 2010-03-05 2011-09-06 Book Factory Systems B V Small batch book production.
US20120306141A1 (en) * 2011-06-03 2012-12-06 Mcintyre Dale Frederick Z-fold signature media
DE202014010654U1 (en) 2014-07-22 2016-03-03 Thomas Hütt Arrangement for the production of printed products, in particular magazine-like printed products
US20170129269A1 (en) * 2015-11-11 2017-05-11 Sasha Dobrovolsky Automated book assembly system and method

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BE1026270B1 (en) 2019-12-10
US10843498B2 (en) 2020-11-24
US20190344600A1 (en) 2019-11-14
EP3566879A1 (en) 2019-11-13

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