Bookbinding device and method

A bookbinding device comprising:

• a clamper for clamping a stack of pages from opposite sides thereof;
• a release mechanism for unclamping said page stack at a jogging station where said page stack is kept substantially upstanding or slanting;
• a holder unit with a bottom support for supporting a bottom edge of said page stack when said page stack is unclamped by said release mechanism;
• a first vibration generator for vibrating said holder unit in up-and-down directions to jog said bottom edge of said page stack;
• a second vibration generator for vibrating said page stack in its width directions to jog opposite side edges of said page stack;
• and
• a spring-biased press member for press-contact with a top edge of said page stack while being vibrated in up-and-down directions by said first vibration generator.

A bookbinding method comprising the steps of:

• supplying a stack of pages to be bound to a first station, said page stack being kept in a clamped condition from opposite sides thereof;
• detecting thickness of the clamped page stack during supply thereof;
• applying molten adhesive to a back surface of said page stack at said first station;
• conveying said page stack with the glued back surface from said first station to a second station remote from said first station;
• trimming a side edge portion of a cover sheet depending upon thickness of said page stack;
• supplying said cover sheet with the trimmed side edge portion to beneath the glued back surface of said page stack such that a center line of said cover sheet is aligned with a center of thickness of said page stack at said second position;
• contacting under pressure the glued back surface of said page stack with said cover sheet for adhesive binding therebetween;
• and
• folding said cover sheet substantially along opposite side edges of said page stack to form a unitary assembled booklet.