Patent ID: 7214176

Claim:
A folding machine comprising: a housing having a first fold plate and a second fold plate, each permanently attached to and integral with the housing and forming an upper opening; a processing area including a first removable plate attached and substantially parallel to the first fold plate and forming a first work area between the first removable plate and the first fold plate and a second removable plate attached and substantially parallel to the second fold plate and forming a second work area between the second removable plate and the second fold plate, each removable plate disposed in the housing and accessible through the upper opening for removal by a quick-coupling mechanism having an attachment lever for attaching the first removable plate to the first fold plate and providing removal of the removable plate via a two-step removal process by moving the attachment lever to an unlocked condition and removing the removable plate; a paper input area adjacent the first removable plate; a feeding mechanism for feeding paper sheets from the paper input area to the processing area and at least one of the first and second work area and providing processed sheets; and a paper output area adjacent the second removable plate for outputting the processed sheets.