Apparatus and method of binding soft cover book

Apparatus for scoring a sheet of cover stock comprising:

• a base unit with a receiving surface for receiving the sheet to be scored;
• a lower die holder disposed below the receiving surface and which extends across a width of the receiving surface and which is fixed relative to the receiving surface;
• a lower die which extends across the width of the receiving surface and which is supported at an upper surface of the lower die holder;
• an upper die holder disposed above the cover receiving surface and which extends across a width of the receiving surf ace;
• an upper die which extends across the width of the receiving surface and which is supported at a lower surface of the upper die holder;
• a drive shaft disposed below the receiving surface and mounted on the base unit so that rotation of the drive shaft around an axis of rotation causes the axis of rotation to move between first and second differing positions relative to the receiving surface;
• and
• a first connecting element connecting one end of the upper die holder to the drive shaft and a second connecting element connecting another end of the upper die holder to the drive shaft so that rotation of the drive shaft to the first position will cause the upper die holder to move to an open position so that a sheet may be placed on the receiving surface between the upper and lower die and so that rotation of the drive shaft to the second position will cause the upper die holder to move to a scoring position so that the upper and lower die will engage the sheet.

Apparatus for scoring a cover to be applied to a book, said apparatus comprising:

• a base unit with a cover receiving surface for receiving a cover to be scored;
• a lower die holder disposed below the cover receiving surface and which extends across a width of the cover receiving surface and which is fixed relative to the cover receiving surface;
• a lower die which extends across the width of the cover receiving surface and which is supported at an upper surface of the lower die holder;
• an upper die holder disposed above the cover receiving surface and which extends across a width of the cover receiving surface;
• an upper die which extends across the width of the cover receiving surface and which is supported at a lower surface of the upper die holder;
• a drive shaft disposed below the cover receiving surface and rotatably mounted on the base unit;
• and
• a first connecting element connecting the upper die holder at a first location on the upper die holder to the drive shaft and a second connecting element connecting the upper die holder at a second location on the upper die holder, spaced apart from the first location, to the drive shaft, with the drive shaft including first and second cam surfaces, with the first connecting element including a cam bearing surface which engages the first cam surface and with the second connecting element including a cam bearing surface which engages the second cam surface, with the first and second cam surfaces shaped so that rotation of the drive shaft to a first position will cause the upper die holder to move to an open position so that a cover may be placed on the cover receiving surface between the upper and lower die and so that rotation of the drive shaft to a second position will cause the upper die holder to move to a scoring position so that the upper and lower die will engage the cover.

Apparatus for scoring and folding a cover to be applied to a stack of sheets, said apparatus comprising:

• a base unit with a cover receiving surface for receiving a cover to be scored;
• a scoring structure mounted on the base unit and configured to score a cover disposed on the cover receiving surface along a scoring axis of the cover receiving surface;
• and
• a cover alignment mechanism positioned on the base unit and movable with respect to the base unit along an alignment axis normal to the scoring axis, said cover alignment mechanism including a first member which defines a first stop and a second member, supported on the first member, which defines a second stop, with the first and second members being movable with respect to one another, with the first and second stops being positioned so as to be capable of engaging an edge of the cover when the cover is positioned on the cover receiving surface for scoring.

Apparatus for scoring and folding a cover to be applied to a stack of sheets, said apparatus comprising:

• a base unit with a cover receiving surface for receiving a cover to be scored;
• a scoring structure mounted on the base unit and configured to score a cover disposed on the cover receiving surface along a scoring axis of the cover receiving surface;
• a clamping mechanism mounted on the base unit and movable between an open position where a cover may be positioned on the cover receiving surface and a clamping position where the clamping mechanism secures a cover on the cover receiving surface;
• a fold member having an edge parallel with the scoring line which extends at least substantially across an entire width of the cover receiving surface along a cover folding line on the cover receiving surface when the clamping mechanism is in the clamping position;
• and
• a cover alignment mechanism on the base which includes a first stop for receiving an edge of a cover and a second stop for receiving an edge of the cover, with the first and second stops positioned relative to one another a distance substantially equal to a distance between the cover folding line and the scoring axis.

Apparatus for scoring and folding a cover to be applied to a stack of sheets, said apparatus comprising:

• a base unit with a cover receiving surface for receiving a cover to be scored;
• a scoring structure mounted on the base unit and configured to score a cover disposed on the cover receiving surface along a scoring axis on the cover receiving surface;
• a cover alignment mechanism positioned on the base unit and movable with respect to the base unit along an alignment axis normal to the scoring axis, said cover alignment mechanism including a first member having a first guide for positioning an edge of the cover and a second member having a second guide for positioning the edge of the cover, with the first and second members being movable with respect to one another;
• and
• a clamp element mounted on the base unit and having an edge parallel to the scoring line which coincides with a cover folding line on the cover receiving surface and wherein the second member further includes a third guide for positioning the edge of the cover, with the second guide being positioned intermediate the first and third guides, with a spacing between the second and third guides being substantially equal to a spacing between the scoring axis and the cover folding line.

Apparatus for scoring and folding a cover to be applied to a stack of sheets, said apparatus comprising:

• a base unit with a cover receiving surface for receiving a cover to be scored;
• a scoring structure mounted on the base unit and configured to score a cover disposed on the cover receiving surface along a scoring axis on the cover receiving surface;
• and
• a cover alignment mechanism positioned on the base unit and movable with respect to the base unit along an alignment axis normal to the scoring axis, said cover alignment mechanism including a first member having a first guide for positioning an edge of the cover and a second member having a second guide for positioning the edge of the cover, with the first and second members being movable with respect to one another and wherein the first member includes a first tab and the second member includes a second tab, with the first and second tabs defining a stack receiving region there between for accepting an edge of the stack so that the first and second guides can be positioned apart a distance which is related to a thickness of the stack.

A method of folding a cover to be applied to a stack of sheets, said method comprising:

• providing a score apparatus having a cover receiving surface and capable of scoring the cover along a score axis on the cover receiving surface and including a cover alignment mechanism which includes a first guide and a second guide movable with respect to the first guide;
• positioning the first and second guides so that a distance between the first and second guides is related to a thickness of the stack of sheets;
• positioning the cover on the cover receiving surface so that the cover is at a selected position relative to the score line;
• positioning the cover alignment mechanism and the cover so that an edge of the cover coincides with a selected location on the alignment mechanism;
• actuating the score apparatus when the edge of the cover coincides with the first guide so that the cover is scored along a desired first fold line;
• after the actuating, moving the cover so that the edge of the cover coincides with the second guide;
• actuating the score apparatus so that the cover is scored along a desired second fold line, with a spacing between scores of the desired first and second fold lines corresponds to the thickness of the stack;
• and
• folding the cover along the desired first and second fold lines.

A method of applying a cover to a stack of sheets, with the stack of sheets having an adhesive for securing the cover to the stack of sheets, said method comprising:

• placing the cover on a cover receiving surface;
• scoring the cover on the cover receiving surface along desired first and second fold lines, with a distance between the first and second fold line corresponding to a thickness of the stack of sheets;
• subsequent to the scoring, supporting the cover along the second fold line;
• during the supporting, folding the cover along the second fold line so that the cover is moved away from the cover receiving surface at the first desired first fold line;
• positioning the stack of sheets on the receiving surface, with the edge of the stack of sheets contacting the lifted cover in a region intermediate the first and second desired fold lines;
• pressing the stack of sheets and cover together so that the cover is at least partially secured to the stack by the adhesive;
• subsequent to the pressing, removing the stack of sheets and the cover from the receiving surface;
• and
• folding the cover along the desired first and second fold lines so that the cover wraps around the edge of the stack.

Apparatus for scoring and folding a cover to be applied to a stack of sheets, said apparatus comprising:

• a base unit with a cover receiving surface for receiving a cover to be scored;
• a scoring structure mounted on the base unit and configured to score a cover disposed on the cover receiving surface along a scoring axis of the cover receiving surface;
• and
• a cover alignment mechanism positioned on the base unit and movable with respect to the base unit along an alignment axis normal to the scoring axis, said cover alignment mechanism including a first member which defines a first guide for receiving an edge of the cover and a second member which defines a second guide for receiving the edge of the cover, with the first and second members being movable with respect to one another, and a third guide for receiving an edge of the cover intermediate the first and second guides, with the third guide operating to locate the edge of the cover one-half a distance between the first and second guides and with the third guide including first visual indicia mounted on the first member and a second visual indicia mounted on the second member, with the first and second visual indicia overlying one another to form a cross hair.