R.r. Donnelley and Sons Company

Ronald S Danhoff

Don E Detterman

William E Wheeler

A book according to the present invention has a front cover and a back cover joined by a spine. A plurality of pages are bound to each other and to the cover near the spine. All or nearly all of the pages have a lay flat hinge so that the book will lie flat when opened. The lay flat hinge comprises a weakened portion, a first non-weakened portion between the weakened portion and a head of a page, and a second non-weakened portion between the weakened portion and a foot of the page. The weakened portion allows the book to lie flat when opened and the first and second non-weakened portions prevent pages from being easily torn from the book and prevent the weakened portion from being visible along edges of the book.

Lay flat hinge binding

An improved book which is bound ready to be covered or cased consists of a pack of signatures plus front and back end sheets, with the signatures closed along the spine and a multiplicity of closely spaced, wide open notches penetrating the entire spine and all the closed sides of sheets in the pack to greatly enlarge the area of the spine to which adhesive may be applied. A wrap-around coating of adhesive covers the surfaces of the notches, the spine between the notches, and the faces of the end sheets between the notches. The book is made in high speed commercial perfect binding equipment which is modified by substituting a notch cutter for the roughing cutter, adding pinch rolls downstream from the notch cutter, and adding apparatus to apply metered quantities of hot melt adhesive in a first coat consisting of thin strips along the notched faces of the end sheets and extending into the notches, so that when a second conventional coat of hot melt adhesive is applied to the notched spine by a roller, the second coat may amalgamate with the first coat in the notches.

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Plymouth, OH, United States of America

Ronald S Danhoff