Patent ID: 7976003

Claim:
A bookbinding apparatus, comprising: an application device to apply adhesive to a spine of a sheet bundle; a first driving device configured to move the sheet bundle or the application device in a first direction, wherein the first direction is along a longitudinal direction of the spine of the sheet bundle; a second driving device configured to move the sheet bundle or the application device in a second direction which is transverse to the first direction, wherein the second driving device moves the application device or the spine of the sheet bundle to a close state where the application device and the spine of the sheet bundle are in contact with each other or an open state wherein the application device and the spine of the sheet bundle are separate from each other; a thickness information creation device to create thickness information of the sheet bundle; and a control device to control the first driving device and the second driving device; wherein the control device is configured to: control the first driving device to move the sheet bundle or the application device, while in the open state, in the first direction, control the second driving device to move the sheet bundle or the application device to the close state at an application start timing, and control the first driving device to move the sheet bundle or the application device in the first direction, while in the close state, wherein the control device controls the application start timing such that a first area on the spine of the sheet bundle with the adhesive applied is formed subsequent to a second area without the adhesive; or control the first driving device to move the sheet bundle or the application device, while in the close state, in the first direction, control the second driving device to move the sheet bundle or the application device to the open state at an application termination timing, and control the first driving device to move the sheet bundle or the application device in the first direction, while in the open state, wherein the control device controls the application termination timing such that a third area on the spine of the sheet bundle with the adhesive applied is formed proceeding to a fourth area without the adhesive, and wherein the control device adjusts either the application start timing or the application termination timing based on the thickness information of the sheet bundle created by the thickness information creation device.