Abstract: An apparatus and method feeding, destacking and orienting books for subsequent operation such as a jacket wrapping operation. This is achieved by feeding stacks of books forwardly on a conveyor into a destacking station. The books are stripped one at a time from a stack at a stacking station and fed forwardly. A sensor senses the orientation of the book and controls a selectively turning, usually of alternating books, to have all the book backbones facing in the same direction while they are traveling forwardly.

Abstract: An oblong block turning apparatus comprises a conveyor pin assembly, a block advance pin assembly, a pivot pin assembly, a flip pin assembly, and an elongated trough with a pair of side walls bridged by a bottom surface. The pin assemblies include respective chains carrying a plurality of respective pins which extend laterally through the trough while moving downstream through the trough. To turn an oblong block deposited into the trough, the block is first pushed downstream through the trough using a conveyor pin of the conveyor pin assembly. Next, the block is disengaged from the conveyor pin by advancing the block downstream away from the conveyor pin with a faster-moving block advance pin. While maintaining the lower leading corner of the block against a pivot pin of the pivot pin assembly, the block is turned ninety degrees forward about the pivot pin using a flip pin of the flip pin assembly. After turning the block, the conveyor pin re-engages the block to push the block downstream through the trough.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for rubbing down spines of case bound books includes at least one case-in wing that carries case bound books. Each case-in wing includes a leading edge on which the spine of each case bound book is positioned. The case-in wing is moved at a first predetermined rate along a first path. The apparatus includes at least one rub down roller that is moved at a second predetermined rate along a second path. The second path crosses and is at an angle to the first path. During operation, the rub down roller rolls along the entire length of the spine of the book on the case-in wing. The second predetermined rate and the angle of the second path relative to the first path are selected such that the rub down roller moves at the same speed as the case-in wing to maintain a constant distance between the rub-down roller and the spine of the book.