Abstract:
A system for automatically producing a bound album consisting of individual sheets, for example, a photo album is disclosed. The system includes a unit which immediately draws in sheets output by a printer or a stacker; a unit for creasing said sheets so as to facilitate folding them and keeping said sheets in their folded form; an adhesive application unit designed to paste at least some of the sheets two by two; and a unit to flip part of the cover sheet. The sheets are received and compiled on a delivery board equipped with registration features for this purpose. The board is capable of translational movement in a direction substantially parallel to the direction in which the sheets are transported inside the system and movement between several positions in synchronism with the adhesive application unit.

Description:
FIELD 
     A system designed to allow the automatic production, i.e. without any intervention by an operator or user, of an album, especially a photo album, comprising a plurality of sheets attached to each other and articulated by one of their edges so as to constitute a binding is disclosed. 
     A user can use a thermal printer to print various negatives produced by digital photography and produce a corresponding photo album immediately. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     Currently and usually, if a user wants to make a compilation of photos (regardless whether they are of analog or digital origin) on the basis of specific topics or events, the user has the option of sticking or inserting the photos in question into a conventional album comprising a plurality of rigid sheets assembled together by a hinge. Each sheet is associated with a transparent flap made of plastic film which is used to position the photos as the user wishes. This type of album is heavy and bulky and therefore does not make it possible to have a number of albums, one for each of the themes of the photos in question. 
     Given the massive increase in the availability of digital photos, users are increasingly demanding topic-based albums of appropriate dimensions, especially in terms of their thickness, i.e. thickness depending on the number of prints. 
     A semi-automatic device which already makes it easier to produce such an album is described in Document FR 2 904 579. Basically, this device comprises:
         a unit for folding sheets in order to configure them to the desired format;   a unit for creasing said sheets so as to facilitate folding them and keeping said sheets in their folded form;   an adhesive application unit designed to paste at least some of the sheets two by two after folding;   and a delivery board to receive the creased sheets and to compile said sheets in order to produce an album, said delivery board being capable of translational movement parallel to the direction in which said sheets are transported inside the device and moving between several positions in synchronism with operation of the folding unit.       

     Although this device undeniably represents significant progress in the production of photo albums, especially digital photos, it does, however, have the following drawbacks. 
     Firstly, after the album has been produced, it must be picked up from the board by an operator before using a trimmer to clean it up because the various sheets are not perfectly aligned during compilation. This prevents continuous automatic production of several albums without any operator intervention. 
     Also, the adhesive application unit used, although it can be retracted out of said described device, is relatively awkward to handle because of its design. 
     In addition, this device is relatively bulky and heavy and this poses problems for some potential users. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one aspect, a system is provided for producing such an album which is fully automatic to the extent that, firstly, prints printed, for example, by a thermal printer are immediately drawn into the system itself, without any intervention of an operator or user, and to the extent that said system comprises a built-in trimmer and a unit which ejects the album after completion and cutting. 
     A system for automatically producing a bound album comprising individual sheets—intermediate sheets and cover sheets respectively is disclosed. In one embodiment, this system comprises:
         a unit which immediately draws in sheets output by a thermal or inkjet printer or a stacker;   a unit for creasing said sheets so as to facilitate folding them and keeping said sheets in their folded form;   an adhesive application unit designed to paste at least some of the sheets two by two;   a unit to flip part of the cover sheet;
 
said sheets being received and compiled on a delivery board equipped with registration features for this purpose, said board being capable of translational movement in a direction substantially parallel to the direction in which the sheets are transported inside the system and moving between several positions in synchronism, in particular, with the adhesive application unit.
       

     In one embodiment, the unit for flipping the cover sheet comprises a substantially curved arm which is articulated on the housing of the system and designed to move between at least two extreme positions respectively, a lower or bottom position suitable for receiving the upstream part of the cover sheet and an upper or top position intended to cause, in particular, folding of the upstream part of the cover sheet over the other intermediate sheets. This articulated arm is moved between its two extreme positions by means of a motorized cam and its end which is opposite to its hinge pin has an idler roller capable of cooperating with some of the rollers which transport the sheets inside the system. 
     Advantageously, the system is provided with a built-in trimmer designed to ensure clean cutting of the free edges of the sheets that make up the album after the latter has been produced, said album being transferred to the operational area of said trimmer by the delivery board. This ensures greater safety by eliminating any hazardous manipulation. 
     The system is also advantageously equipped with an ejection mechanism which ensures ejection of the album after finishing by the trimmer at the level of a box or receptacle from where the album can be removed by the user. 
     In one embodiment, the creasing unit comprises a punch and a die between which the sheets are capable of passing one by one, except during the actual creasing step itself, said punch being mounted on the end of an articulated arm which is moved by a cam that is directly actuated by the motor shaft, the die being fitted with a movable pressure pad suitable for facilitating ejection of the fold of the sheet made in its body as a result of the action of the punch and preventing said sheet from catching against the edge of the die. 
     In one embodiment, the adhesive application unit comprises:
         a storage spool for a backing covered in a film of transfer adhesive;   a storage spool for the backing alone after depositing the transfer adhesive;   an adhesive motor roller driven by a specific motor capable of rotating in two directions which ensures unwinding of said backing complete with its adhesive film;   a pasting roller designed to come into contact with the sheet or part of a sheet to be pasted and cooperating with the adhesive motor roller by meshing with the latter, said pasting roller being rotatably mounted, i.e. capable of rotating freely in only one direction, at the end of a lever which is articulated on the housing and held in its operational adhesive application position by a spring attached to the housing of the system;   a pasting contact roller which counteracts the action of the pasting roller during actual pasting phases.       

     Advantageously, the adhesive application unit also comprises a handle connected to said lever and designed to allow at least partial retraction of the active pasting components in order to make it possible to perform the adhesive refilling and maintenance operations required by this unit. 
     In addition, said board is fitted on height-adjustable guide rails which are mounted for this purpose on cross pieces which are articulated on the housing of the system in order to keep the height of the upper sheet of the album which is being made up substantially constant regardless of the number of sheets which the album comprises, said rails being fitted for this purpose with an elastic return mechanism connected to the housing and causing the board to be pulled back against the limit stops consisting of at least one presser roll. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The way in which the invention may be implemented, its operating principle and resulting advantages will be made more readily understandable by the description of the following embodiments, given merely by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of a complete system, i.e. including the thermal printer for producing the sheets, in accordance with the one embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic sagittal cross-sectional view of the system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a simplified schematic view showing the essential components of the functional unit which is shown in greater detail in  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view intended to show the creasing unit in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIGS. 6   a  to  6   c  are schematic views of some of the components of the adhesive application unit in the system in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIGS. 7   a  and  7   b  respectively show the articulated arm designed to enable special processing of the sheet which constitutes the cover of the album produced by the system in accordance with one embodiment in its lower and upper opposition. 
         FIG. 8  schematically shows the delivery board of one embodiment and the way it moves. 
         FIGS. 9   a  and  9   b  schematically show the use of the retractable teeth or limit stops of the board described in the previous Figure. 
         FIGS. 10   a  to  10   d  schematically show the various steps which are common to all the sheets which constitute the album according to one embodiment. 
         FIGS. 11   a  to  11   d  schematically show the special path taken by the sheet which constitutes the cover of the album after the previous steps. 
         FIGS. 12   a  to  12   f  schematically show the path taken by the sheets of the album apart from the cover sheet after the common steps which are illustrated in  FIGS. 10   a  to  10   d.    
         FIGS. 13   a  to  13   e  schematically show the operation in which the spine of the cover is fitted on the stack of sheets produced during the previous steps. 
         FIGS. 14   a  to  14   e  show the various steps involved in finishing the album in accordance with one embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A general view of the system according to an embodiment is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The system is very compact insofar as a single housing  1  accommodates firstly a thermal printer  3  (for instance a 8″×12″ format printer marketed under the name SHINKO SHS-1245) designed to print negatives obtained by digital photography, said negatives being assembled by album composition software or any other software, said printer being connected to a PC (not shown) and, underneath printer  3 , a functional unit  4  capable of ensuring actual production of a digital photo album. 
     Reference  7  denotes the output of prints obtained from the printer, said prints then being drawn in by functional unit  4  as described below in greater detail. 
     In one variant (not shown), thermal printer  3  is replaced by a stacker, i.e. a stack of previously produced negatives or by any other type of printer, especially an inkjet printer. 
     Underneath functional unit  4  there is a receptacle  5  for albums produced by the functional unit, access  6  also being provided to enable the user to remove the album(s) stored inside receptacle  5 . 
     This assembly can be accessed via door  2  which is articulated on housing  1 , thus making it possible to carry out system maintenance and, more especially and advantageously, at the same time replace the consumable for printer  3  and the consumable for the adhesive application unit as described later on in greater detail. The compactness of the system and the ease with which such a system can be maintained are readily apparent. 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  show the actual functional unit  4  in greater detail. As apparent in  FIG. 4  in particular, functional unit  4  comprises a number of rollers which fulfill various functions, especially transporting the sheets output by printer  3 , as well as counter pressure functions (especially during the pasting phase) and presser rolls used to ensure the cohesion and integrity of the actual album itself. 
     Rollers  11 ,  15 ,  17 ,  19 ,  26  and  30  are all motor driven and actuated via toothed belt  39  which is rotationally driven by electric motor  31 . 
     As already stated, the system also comprises presser rolls  28 ,  32  and  33  respectively which are idler rollers designed to exert pressure on the album as it is being assembled as described later on in greater detail. 
     Rollers  10 ,  14 ,  16 ,  20 ,  25 ,  29  shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4  are idler rollers or simply mesh with the roller against which they are kept pressed. Roller  27  is merely used as a guide: it is an idler roller. The rollers which are specific to the adhesive application unit ( 22 ,  23  and  24 ) are also specifically described later on. 
     The peripheral surfaces of these various rollers are provided either with a layer of foam or a layer of silicone, depending whether they are intended to adhere to the unpasted sheet or, on the contrary, are intended to prevent any kind of adhesion when they come in contact with sheets which have been pasted. 
     The various steps involved in producing an album in accordance with one embodiment will now be described in order to make the operation and structure of functional unit  4  more easily understandable. 
       FIGS. 10   a  to  10   d  show the various steps in which all the sheets which constitute the album are fed into the functional unit and the first phases in which said sheets are transported inside functional unit  4 . 
     Sheet  50  output by printer  3  is guided by appropriate deflectors (not shown) near two input rollers  10  and  11  of the functional unit. Insertion of sheet  50  in this area is also detected by sensor  12  which consists of a photoelectric cell which activates motor  31  and consequently rotation of the rollers which belong to the first motor group. 
     The detected sheet is drawn in by two rollers ( 10  and  11 ) and this moves it downwards into the posterior area of functional unit  4 . Once the entire sheet has been drawn in by the two rollers  10  and  11 , sensor  12  triggers reversal of the direction of rotation of motor  31  in order to produce upward movement of said sheet  50 . The sheet cooperates with a deflector  51  which orients it in the direction of two pairs of flattener rollers,  14 ,  15  and  16 ,  17  respectively, which transport it inside the functional unit. Said sheet  50  is detected ( FIG. 10   c ) by another sensor  21  which consists of a fork sensor which makes it possible to ensure subsequent processing of the sheet with all the required accuracy insofar as it accurately determines the leading edge of said sheet and consequently the precise position of the sheet, by counting the number of steps made by stepper motor  31 . When the sheet is in a suitable position, this causes actuation of creasing unit  18  which, depending on the nature of the sheet, triggers making a single crease (intermediate sheet) or four creases (cover sheet). 
     This creasing unit is also described in relation to  FIG. 5 . This unit comprises a die  60  and a punch  61  designed to cooperate with the latter, said punch being mounted on the end of an arm  62  articulated on the housing of functional unit  4  at  63  and held in its non-operational position by means of spring  64  attached to said housing. In a known manner, the punch is equipped with a protruding linear area  65  capable of cooperating with a slit  66  made in die  60  in order to ensure creasing of the sheet which passes between the punch and the slit. 
     Advantageously, said die  60  has a movable pressure pad. To achieve this, it comprises an ejector which occupies slit  66 , said ejector being pushed back upwards by two spring plungers  67  which cause ejection of the crease made in the sheet thanks to cooperation between area  65  of the punch and slit  66  of the die, thus preventing the sheet from catching against the lip of said slit when the sheet starts moving again. 
     Punch  61  is actuated in cooperation with die  60  by means of a cam  41  which is directly coupled to the motor shaft of motor  40 . Obviously, the sheet is stationary during the creasing operation because the rollers which transport it are stopped. After the creasing operation, transport of the sheets continues. 
     The specific processing of the cover sheet has been described in relation to  FIGS. 11   a  to  11   d . This is the first sheet of the album which is processed, i.e. the first sheet output by the printer in order to produce the album in question. After the creasing step, said cover sheet  52  is received on a so-called cover arm  53  which has a substantially curved or arched shape in order to encourage bending of said sheet as is apparent in  FIG. 11   a  in particular. 
     This cover arm  53  is shown in greater detail in  FIGS. 7   a  and  7   b . One of its ends is articulated at  54  on the housing of functional unit  4  and it is actuated by means of cam  56  in order to enable it to be positioned in two operational positions respectively:
         a lower position shown in  FIG. 7   a  which makes it possible to clear access to a delivery board  55  on which the album will be positioned and shaped,   and an upper position intended firstly to make it possible to position the flap of said cover and secondly to effectively place said flap on the stack consisting of intermediate sheets after they have been positioned and pasted two by two.       

     To achieve this, the free end of arm  53  has an idler roller  57  located so that it can cooperate with a third pair of drop rollers  29  and  30  in order to lift the flap of the cover and push roller  37  upwards, thereby releasing the clearance necessary to raise the flap. 
     Thus, in  FIG. 11   a , cover arm  53  is in its upper position. This being so, the first part or upstream part of cover sheet  52  is received on said arm and bends substantially parallel to the curve of arm  53 . After storage of this upstream part of cover sheet  52  on arm  53 , the latter drops into its lower position ( FIG. 11   b ) due to the action of cam  56  and delivery board  55  is translated to its sheet positioning and reception position. Consequently, this causes cooperation between rear presser roll  28  and said board  55 , thus tensioning the downstream area of cover sheet  52  and then flattening it against said board.  FIG. 11   c  shows flattening of the downstream area of cover sheet  52  against board  55  by said rear presser roll  28 . 
     Following this flattening, board  55  is translated in the other direction in order to move it into position in order to receive the other intermediate sheets ( FIG. 11   d ). 
     The processing of the intermediate sheets, i.e. sheets other than the cover sheet, has been described in relation to  FIGS. 12   a  to  12   f . After the creasing step which has already been described, the intermediate sheet is initially retracted by reversing the direction of rotation of motor  31  and is thus drawn in by two pairs of rollers  14 ,  15  and  16 ,  17  respectively, especially in order to ensure the start of the pasting phase ( FIG. 12   a ). 
     According to one embodiment, only half the rear surface or verso of each of the intermediate sheets is pasted apart from the last intermediate sheet which is pasted over its entire verso in order to allow subsequent pasting of the spine of the cover. More especially, only half the upstream area of the verso of each of the sheets in question is actually pasted. 
     The adhesive application unit is activated in order to achieve this ( FIG. 12   b ). The adhesive application unit is described below in relation to  FIGS. 6   a ,  6   b  and  6   c  in order to make the operating principle of the adhesive application unit easier to understand. 
     Basically, pasting in accordance with one embodiment involves coating the dedicated area of the sheets with a transfer adhesive film such as that marketed, for example, by the firm 3M or TESA. This transfer adhesive film is acrylic or vinyl based or based on some other substance for instance. However, acrylic is the most suitable material for obtaining durable bonding of photographic paper. 
     This adhesive film is stored on a non-adhesive backing made, for example, of paper coated with silicone and this assembly is itself stored on a spool  34  which is rotatably mounted and slightly braked—this is one of the system&#39;s consumables. This spool is accommodated in specially provided recesses made in the housing of functional unit  4 . 
     The silicone-coated backing without its adhesive film, i.e. after the pasting operation, is stored on a spool  35  which is also accommodated in specially provided recesses. This spool is rotationally driven by a DC motor which meshes directly with spool  35  thanks to a toothed pinion in order to ensure that the silicone backing can be rewound onto itself. It can also be swung out of the system after use. 
     In fact and as apparent, in particular, in  FIG. 1 , these two spools  34  and  35  are easily accessible once door  2  has been opened and pasting arm  71 ,  74 ,  75  has been released and lifted in accordance with  FIG. 6   c  in order to facilitate maintenance operations. 
     The backing complete with adhesive film  36  is drawn in by a motorized roller  22  referred to as the adhesive motor roller. This roller is motor driven by a specific electric motor  70  which is capable of rotating in two directions. Roller  22  which thus ensures unwinding of said backing complete with adhesive film  36  from spool  34  cooperates with a pasting roller  24  which is mounted substantially at the end of a lever  71  articulated at  72  on the housing of functional unit  4 , said lever being held in its operational position by a spring  73 , whereof one of the application points also consists of the housing (see  FIGS. 6   a  and  6   b ). 
     Said lever  71  is also capable of being partially retracted from its operational position by means of a handle  75  which can also be seen in  FIG. 1  and is connected to said lever  71  by cross pieces  74 . The assembly comprising lever  71 , handle  75  and cross pieces  74  forms the pasting arm mentioned above. 
     When the maintenance operator wants to replace the pasting consumables, especially spools  34  and  35 , he exerts upward pressure and then pulls handle  75 , thereby causing lever  71  to rotate around its hinge pin  73  (see  FIG. 6   c  which shows the adhesive application unit in its opened position) and this then makes it possible to release the backing of the adhesive film and consequently remove components  34  and  35  in their entirety. 
     Said pasting roller  24  mounted on the end of lever  71  opposite hinge pin  73  is capable of meshing with motorized pasting roller  22 . To achieve this, it is therefore fitted with a toothed wheel which cooperates with a toothed wheel with which roller  22  is equipped—these various components are not shown in order to avoid making the Figures unnecessarily complex. 
     Pasting roller  24  is mounted on lever  71  as a free wheel. In other words, it is capable of rotating in one direction only and is blocked in the opposite rotation direction. Given this assumption and because it is blocked, it will be subjected to rotation relative to the centre of rotation of motorized pasting roller  22  and therefore around the latter because it meshes with said motorized pasting roller  22 . This rotation is made possible, despite the fact that it is fixed on the end of lever  71 , by the presence of a slot  76  made in the vicinity of said end which allows lever  71  to swivel despite being locked by handle  75 . This is shown in  FIG. 6   b  which illustrates the adhesive application unit in its standby position whereas  FIG. 6   a  shows the same unit in its actual adhesive application position. When motor  70  starts to turn in the adhesive application direction again, return to the pasting position also takes place thanks to the action of spring  77  which pushes against cross piece  74  which pushes lever  71  forward again. 
     Finally, the adhesive application unit comprises a roller  23  which acts as a pasting limit stop, i.e. it fulfils a counter pressure function during actual pasting on the sheet in question in response to the positive action of pasting roller  24 . 
     Thus, in  FIG. 12   b , pasting roller  24  is raised and cooperates with pasting limit stop roller  23  between which the area of the sheet in question moves. This being so, pasting roller  24  effectively transfers the adhesive film onto the area in question. 
     When the upstream area has been pasted in its entirety, the upstream free edge of said sheet presses against limit stops  80  with which delivery board  55  is equipped. 
     The specific motor  70  of the adhesive application unit is reversed, thereby causing, because of the fact that pasting roller  24  is mounted as a free wheel, rotation of the latter around adhesive motor roller  22  and consequently back-off of the latter ( FIG. 12   c ) because this roller also cannot rotate in a backward direction. This being so, a combination of transport of the sheet in question and back-off of this roller causes clean cutting of the adhesive film, thereby avoiding inadvertent deposition of adhesive and the possible detrimental consequences thereof. 
     Consequently and as shown in  FIGS. 12   b ,  12   c  and  12   d , delivery board  55  moves towards the front of functional unit  4  and the sheet in question, especially its upstream area which has by then been pasted, is subjected to the action of front presser roll  32  which ensures not only flattening of this upstream area onto the first part of the cover sheet but also actual pasting onto the latter. 
     The direction of travel of delivery board  55  is then reversed again and the latter moves back towards the rear of the functional unit so that, due to continued movement of the downstream area of the sheet besides the crease previously made, this causes folding of said sheet, a fold which will be drawn in by rear presser roll  26  as can be seen in  FIG. 12   e.    
     The reader is reminded that the downstream area of said sheet has not been pasted. Delivery board  55  is backed off until the sheet is released from the features which ensure its transport. The movement of delivery board  55  is then reversed again in order to return it to its position for receiving the subsequent sheet(s) ( FIG. 12   f ) which consecutively take the same path. 
     The flap of the cover spine is shown in  FIGS. 13   a  to  13   e . The reader is reminded that said flap is temporarily stored in cover arm  53  (cf.  FIGS. 11   a  to  11   d ). Thus, after producing a stack comprising all the intermediate sheets successively positioned and pasted in accordance with  FIGS. 12   a  to  12   f , delivery board  55  is translated towards the front of functional unit  4  in order to make it possible to release rotation of said cover arm  53  and, especially, position it in its upper position ( FIG. 13   b ). 
     This being so, because of the presence of idler roller  57  on the free end of said cover arm which cooperates with roller  29  and causes the spine of the cover to pass over the various rollers which ensure sheet transport ( FIG. 13   b  in the beginning and  FIG. 13   c  at the end). 
     When the entire said cover spine has been turned over, cover arm  53  drops again and this makes it possible to translate delivery board  55  towards the rear of the functional unit again. Because said flap is drawn in by rollers  29  on the one hand and  37  on the other hand, the spine of the cover is tensioned to a certain extent and this subsequently allows rearward movement of said delivery board  55  after having obtained the correct flap on the stack, the flap is then taken in by rear presser roll  28  ( FIG. 13   e ). 
     In the case of this cover-spine flap, the reader is reminded that the entire verso of the previous intermediate sheet has been pasted, unlike the other intermediate sheets, in order to allow effective pasting of said cover spine on it. 
     The album is therefore thus assembled. 
     Finishing of the album is described in greater detail in relation to  FIGS. 14   a  to  14   e . According to one aspect, this finishing basically aims to trim said album in order to give the album a neat appearance, notwithstanding accurate positioning of the various sheets which are pushed against limit stops  80  of delivery board  55 . In addition, because of the identical format of the cover sheet and the intermediate sheets and because of the fact that said cover sheet ensures the thickness of the album, there is necessarily a mismatch between the free edge of said cover sheet and that of the intermediate sheets and hence the need for such trimming in order to make sure that the free edge of the album is cleanly cut. 
     To achieve this, delivery board  55  moves towards the front of functional unit  4  and the album is then drawn in by trimmer presser roll  33 , as shown in  FIGS. 14   a  and  14   b . Movement of the board at this level causes retraction of limit stops  80  as apparent in  FIGS. 9   a  and  9   b.    
     It is apparent that said teeth or limit stops  80  on these are actually mounted at the end of an arm  81  which is itself articulated at  82  underneath said board  55 . This arm  81  comprises two downward-facing cams or protrusions, an anterior cam  83  and a posterior cam  84  respectively, which are each designed to cooperate with a cam path  85  associated with board  55  and capable of moving freely translationally relative to the latter. 
     During all the anterior phases, cam  83  cooperates with the upper flat area of cam path  85 , thereby causing limit stops  80  to be positioned in operational mode. In contrast ( FIG. 9   b ), when delivery board  55  moves to the anterior position, i.e. during the trimming phase, it is cam  84  which cooperates with cam path  85 , thereby causing retraction of teeth or limit stops  80  due to substantially median hinge pin  82 . 
     Consequently, in this area of delivery board  55 , a backstop represented by reference  86  and actuated by a cam (not shown) moves downwards. 
     The direction of movement of delivery board  55  is reversed again, thereby causing backstop  86  to cooperate with the binding or spine of the album thus produced and, consequently, its misalignment from said board in the direction of the forward area of functional unit  4  (in the direction of the straight line in  FIG. 14   b ). In other words, because of retraction of limit stops  80  and translational movement of board  55  towards the rear of the functional unit, the album slides over said board and protrudes relative to its upstream edge. 
     The direction of movement of delivery board  55  is then reversed again in the direction of the functional unit until the area in which a trimmer  38  is actuated is reached. This typically consists of a guillotine blade actuated by a reducer cam capable of exerting a pressure of approximately 400 daN over the cutting length. This guillotine blade therefore ensures clean cutting of the free edge of the produced album with the album being secured during operation of trimmer  38  by trimmer presser roll  33  while delivery board  55  remains static. 
     After raising the guillotine blade of the trimmer, delivery board  55  retracts but because of the presence of backstop  86 , the album then slides off the board and is released and received on sloping ramp  42  in the bottom of functional unit  4 , thus allowing said album to be transported towards receptacle  5  by gravity alone. 
       FIG. 8  shows the general underlying operating principle and, in particular, the movement of delivery board  55  in accordance with the invention. As already stated, the board is fitted on slides or rails  90  which are mounted on swivel arms  91  in a deformable parallelogram configuration. These rails are held in an upper position by springs  92  whereof one of the application points is attached to the housing of functional unit  4  so that, because of cooperation between board  55  and various presser rolls, in particular front and rear rolls  28  and  32 , pressure is always exerted on the last sheet deposited and it is kept at the same height, this height being determined by the bottom of rolls  28  and  32 . 
     This board is connected to toothed belt  93  which is translationally actuated in two directions by dedicated electric motor  94 . 
     Because of the particular processing of the cover, it is possible to reduce the length of the board significantly compared with the device according to the prior art described above. This has advantages in terms of compactness and the overall dimensions. 
     The system in accordance with the invention makes it possible to produce photo albums of varying thicknesses of up to 20 sheets or 40 pages. 
     Advantageously, the entire system is controlled by a programmable logic controller or a PC or logic circuitry which, in particular, ensures activation of the various motors and processing of the signals transmitted by the sensors. 
     It is therefore fully automated because both trimming and ejection of the album produced require no operator intervention whatsoever.