Claims
- 1. A bookbinding system, comprising:
a receptacle for receiving a plug-in cartridge housing of an adhesive dispenser containing a length of solid sheet adhesive wound into a roll; and an adhesive quantity interrogator configured to obtain an indication of the length of solid sheet adhesive remaining within the plug-in cartridge housing.
- 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the adhesive quantity interrogator is configured to interrogate a memory device mounted on the plug-in adhesive cartridge and storing an indication of the length of solid sheet adhesive remaining within the plug-in cartridge housing.
- 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the adhesive quantity interrogator is configured to store in the memory device an indication of the length of solid sheet adhesive remaining within the plug-in cartridge housing.
- 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the adhesive quantity interrogator comprises a sensor configured to sense when the solid sheet adhesive within the plug-in cartridge housing is nearly spent.
- 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the sensor is configured to optically sense when the solid sheet adhesive is nearly spent.
- 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the sensor is configured to sense when the solid sheet adhesive is nearly spent based upon a light signal transmitted toward a side of the roll of solid sheet adhesive.
- 7. The system of claim 5, wherein the sensor is configured to sense when the solid sheet adhesive is nearly spent based upon a light signal transmitted toward an exposed surface of solid sheet adhesive.
- 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the sensor is configured to sense when the solid sheet adhesive is nearly spent based upon a change in light response of the exposed surface of solid sheet adhesive.
- 9. The system of claim 7, wherein the sensor is configured to sense when the solid sheet adhesive is nearly spent based upon detection of an information-containing symbol disposed on the exposed surface of the solid sheet adhesive.
- 10. The system of claim 4, wherein the sensor is configured to magnetically sense when the solid sheet adhesive is nearly spent based upon detection of a magnetic indicator disposed near an end of the solid sheet adhesive.
- 11. The system of claim 4, wherein the sensor is configured to physically sense when the solid sheet adhesive is nearly spent based upon contact between a probe and a surface of the roll of solid sheet adhesive.
- 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the probe is configured to remain in contact with the surface of the roll of solid sheet adhesive by turning on a pivot.
- 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the sensor is configured to sense the length of solid sheet adhesive remaining within the plug-in cartridge housing based upon an angle at which the probe turns on the pivot.
- 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the angle at which the probe turns on the pivot is measured based upon an electrical resistance measurement.
- 15. An adhesive dispenser, comprising:
a plug-in cartridge housing configured to plug into a receptacle of a bookbinding system; a length of solid sheet adhesive disposed within the plug-in cartridge housing and wound into a roll; and an indicator of the length of solid sheet adhesive remaining within the plug-in cartridge housing.
- 16. The adhesive dispenser of claim 15, wherein the indicator comprises a memory device mounted on the plug-in adhesive cartridge housing and storing an indication of the length of solid sheet adhesive remaining within the plug-in cartridge housing.
- 17. The adhesive dispenser of claim 15, wherein the indicator comprises an interrogatable feature disposed on an exposed surface of the solid sheet adhesive.
- 18. The adhesive dispenser of claim 17, wherein the interrogatable surface feature comprises a change in light response of the exposed surface of solid sheet adhesive.
- 19. The adhesive dispenser of claim 17, wherein the interrogatable surface feature comprises an information-containing symbol disposed on the exposed surface of the solid sheet adhesive.
- 20. The adhesive dispenser of claim 17, wherein the interrogatable surface feature comprises a magnetic indicator disposed near an end of the solid sheet adhesive.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Under 35 U.S.C. § 120 this application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/721,549, filed Nov. 24, 2000, by Robert L. Cobene et al., and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF ATTACHING A COVER TO A TEXT BODY,” which is incorporated herein by reference. This application also is related to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/776,251, filed Feb. 3, 2001, by Robert L. Cobene et al., and entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF BINDING A TEXT BODY,” which is incorporated herein by reference.
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09721549 |
Nov 2000 |
US |
Child |
09837648 |
Apr 2001 |
US |