Nisca Corporation

Jun Kondou

Katsumasa Takagi

Hiroyuki Sorita

Kazuyuki Kubota

Norihiro Ohno

Takehiro Yamakawa

Takeshi Harada

Bookbinding unit that in binding an inner-leave sheet bundle together with a cover enables accurate binding of the cover onto the bundle's spine and meanwhile forms folding scores in the cover flaps. Furnished with: a stacking tray unit; a process path for sequentially transporting bundles from the tray unit into adhesive-application and cover-binding locations; an adhesive application unit, disposed in the adhesive-application location, that applies adhesive to bundles from the tray unit; a cover-supply unit that supplies covers to the cover-binding location; and a cover-binding unit, disposed in the cover-binding location, that binds sheet bundles from the adhesive-application location together with covers. The cover-binding unit has a shoulder-pressing unit that forms spine creases in the spine portion of the covers, and a flap-pressing unit that forms folds in the spine-creased sides of the covers.

Bookbinding method, and bookbinding unit and image-forming system equipped with the same

A glue container receiving hot-melt adhesive, an applicator roll, an apparatus casing, and disposed therein, a cooling unit and its control unit, for cooling a post-cover-sheet-processed sheaf, are provided. The control unit is configured to halt the cooling unit when adhesive is being applied to a sheaf with the applicator roll, and to actuate it after adhesive application. The control unit: (1) cools the apparatus casing interior by actuating the cooling unit when a sheaf is conveyed toward a glue application position; (2) halts the cooling unit when adhesive is being applied to a sheaf conveyed into the glue application position; and (3) reactivates the cooling unit after adhesive application. Thus controlling the apparatus-internal temperature appropriately in applying a hot-melt adhesive to a sheaf, and binding the sheaf together with a cover, etc. enables secure binding adhesion in a short time frame, without bookbinding defects such as missing leaves.

Adhesive applicator, and bookbinding and image-forming apparatuses equipped with the applicator

In replenishing a glue container with hot-melt glue, to enable stable supply of the glue in solid form without it clogging the resupply path from the hopper, provided are: a sheet retaining unit for retaining a sheaf in a glue application position; a glue applier in a hot-melt-glue-receiving container, disposed in the glue application position, for applying glue to an endface of a sheaf there; a heater, disposed in the glue container, for heating/melting the glue inside; a heater temperature controller; a resupply hopper above the glue container for replenishing it with solid glue; a vacuum ducting unit above the container and adjoining the resupply hopper, for suctioning up glue evaporation derivatives; and a control unit configured to run the vacuum ducting unit when the glue container is being replenished with glue, to prevent or mitigate invasion of evaporation derivatives into the resupply hopper.

Growing community of inventors

Minami-Alps, Japan

Jun Kondou