Patent ID: 6851667

Claim:
A page stacking and binding system comprising: a) a support tray for receiving pages to be stacked, the support tray including a support surface on which the pages are stacked and at least two side walls coupled to the support surface, the support surface having one corner that is lower than other portions of the support surface, and the two side walls extending substantially perpendicularly to each other, and meeting so as to define a corner, the corner being aligned with the lower corner of the support surface; b) a drive system arranged so as to direct pages into the support tray at a position above the support surface, thereby causing the pages to float into position on at least one of the support surface and the stack and against the two side walls; c) a vibrator interacting with the tray so as to induce vibration therein to assist in alignment of the pages as they float into position, thereby ensuring the stacked pages are aligned; and, d) a press device adapted to apply a compressive force to the stack of pages, adjacent an edge of the stack, to thereby bind the pages.