Patent ID: 8442422

Claim:
A bookbinding unit comprising: stacking tray means for collating into bundles sequentially fed sheets; a bookbinding process path for sequentially transporting sheet bundles from said stacking tray means into an adhesive-application location and a cover-sheet binding location; adhesive application means, disposed in the adhesive-application location, for applying adhesive to sheet bundles from said stacking tray means; cover-sheet supply means for supplying cover sheets to the cover-sheet binding location; and cover-sheet binding means, disposed in the cover-sheet binding location, for binding sheet bundles from said adhesive-application means together with cover sheets; wherein said cover-sheet binding means has shoulder-portion pressing means with pressing faces for forming spine creases in shoulder portions extending into spine portions of the cover sheets, flap-portion pressing means for forming folding scores in the spine-creased flaps of the cover sheets, spaced apart from the cover-sheet shoulders, and recesses provided between said shoulder-portion pressing means and said flap-portion pressing means, said recesses being sunken in, with respect to the cover sheets, from said pressing faces of said shoulder- portion pressing means; and the shoulder-portion pressing means and the flap-portion pressing means are configured to selectively either shift unitarily to press-form the cover sheets, or shift individually to press-form the cover sheets.