EP0226990B1 - Envelopes constructed for ink jet printing - Google Patents
Envelopes constructed for ink jet printing Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0226990B1 EP0226990B1 EP19860117403 EP86117403A EP0226990B1 EP 0226990 B1 EP0226990 B1 EP 0226990B1 EP 19860117403 EP19860117403 EP 19860117403 EP 86117403 A EP86117403 A EP 86117403A EP 0226990 B1 EP0226990 B1 EP 0226990B1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- envelope
- panel
- panels
- joined
- bottom panel
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
- 238000007641 inkjet printing Methods 0.000 title 1
- 238000007789 sealing Methods 0.000 claims description 8
- 238000007639 printing Methods 0.000 description 6
- 239000000853 adhesive Substances 0.000 description 5
- 230000001070 adhesive effect Effects 0.000 description 5
- 241000030366 Scorpidinae Species 0.000 description 1
- 230000001154 acute effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000052 comparative effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D27/00—Envelopes or like essentially-rectangular containers for postal or other purposes having no structural provision for thickness of contents
Definitions
- This invention concerns an envelope comprising a central panel, two side panels, a bottom panel and a sealing flap, said side panels, bottom panel and sealing flap being foldably connected to said central panel with said side and bottom panels joined together along overlapping respective edges by joining means to form, with said central panel, the pocket of the envelope, the bottom panel being on top of the side panels or vice versa.
- Ink jet printers are quickly becoming a printer of choice for the rapid printing of a variety of documents. Such printers are particularly useful in printing images on a large scale basis.
- one type of document that has not been readily printed in this manner is the envelope.
- the reason is that a prepared envelope does not behave like a single sheet of paper in the automatic paper handling mechanism of the printer and thus cannot be fed into the printer using the automatic feed, or otherwise handled correctly.
- the problem is particularly acute in printers that use a rotating drum support and a vacuum holddown, as shown for example in U.S. Patent No. 4 237 466, issued on December 2, 1980. Because of the folded portions of the envelope forming the pocket, the envelope is too rigid to flex out of its preferred plane to confom to the circumference of the drum, even when using the vacuum holddown.
- the problem has been solved for a generic envelope in that at least a portion of said joined edges of said side panels or said bottom panel that are underneath the respective overlapping edge of the other of said joined panels includes slits of a shape and spacing effective to allow said joined respective edges to stretch while still joined, when said envelope is wrapped around a drum, and/or in that at least one of said bottom panel and said central panel is scored along a line extending at least the majority of the width of said envelope, said scoring being done from a side of the paper comprising said envelope that encourages the envelope to flex in one direction only to approximate a curve with said pocket on the inside of said curve.
- the envelopes constructed in accordance with the invention will readily flex out of their preferred plane, and particularly will take on the radius of the support drum in a printer.
- such an envelope is constructed so that the features encouraging such flexing are not readily discernable in the finished envelope.
- Yet another advantageous feature of the invention is the provision of an improved perforation for more readily removing for discard, a leader extension used for feeding the envelope to a printer.
- the envelope preferably includes slits along one of the overlapping, joined edges of the bottom and side panels, as well as the scoring lines adjacent the bottom edge of the pocket, described hereinafter.
- the invention includes envelopes constructed with each of such features separately, and regardless of the printing technology used.
- An envelope 10 prepared in accordance with the invention comprises, Fig. 1, a pocket portion 12 into which the contents (not shown) are placed, and a sealingflap 14 connected to pocket portion 12 along fold line 15.
- a leader extension 16 is provided on flap 14.
- the leader extension is readily removed after printing by tearing along perforated line 18.
- Adhesive is applied at portion 20 adjacent to line 18, as is conventional.
- corners 22 on leading edge 23 of leader extension 16 are relatively sharp corners.
- perforated line 18 is constructed so as to have break-away perforations in a portion 19 that is approximately midway between ends 21 and 25 of the perforation line. (The lengths of the cuts in portion 19 are exaggerated for clarity.) The remainder portions 27 of the line are tear perforations.
- break-away perforations mean those that will sever at the ties merely by pushing an object through portion 19. It has been found that a useful example of a break-away perforation, in contrast to a tear perforation, is one in which the length of the cut is at least 1.5 mm and the length of the tie is 0.2 mm.
- break-away perforation allows the user to more readily initiate the tearing off of the leader extension 16 prior to sealing flap 14 to the pocket portion.
- pocket portion 12 comprises a central panel 30, two side panels 32 and 34 hingedly connected thereto, and a bottom panel 36 also hingedly connected to panel 30 along a fold line 38.
- Panels 32, 34 and panel 36 overlap along their respective edges 42, 44 and 46, respectively, Fig. 2.
- Panels 32 and 34 do not extend down to fold line 38, so that corners 47 adjacent line 38 are double ply only, for easier handling on the printer.
- At least a portion of the panels' overlapping area, shown stipled, Fig. 2 is slit to provide tooth portions 50 extending along most of the overlapping edge. Tooth portions 50 allow panels 32 and 34 to slip, relative to panel 36, and thus the joined edges to stretch, when the envelope is forced out of the plane of the drawing, Figs. 1 and 2.
- the slits and therefore the teeth can have a variety of shapes, such as half-moons, and the number, spacing and size of the slits are not believed to be critical. However, each tooth must be complete; that is, the two sides of the "V" must join at the point.
- each tooth extend into the next tooth to provide a nesting of the teeth, in case the adhesive discussed below spreads out beyond its desired location.
- the tooth portions 50 can be arranged to point in the opposite direction as well.
- each edge 42 and 44 has adjacent thereto about 14 teeth formed by V slits that are about 7 mm long on each side of the "V", spaced apart about 3 mm.
- Adhesive of conventional composition is applied along edges 42, 44 to join them to the overlapped edge 46.
- the adhesive is applied at the tips only of each tooth.
- tooth portions 50 form an alignment 58 that extends diagonally to fold line 15, that is, along a line which, when extended, intersects line 15 at non-orthogonal angles.
- pocket 12 is preferably formed so as to be predisposed to flex fold line 38 up away from plane A, Figs. 3 and 4, which is otherwise the preferred plane of the envelope.
- plane A Figs. 3 and 4
- pocket 12 is preferably formed so as to be predisposed to flex fold line 38 up away from plane A, Figs. 3 and 4, which is otherwise the preferred plane of the envelope.
- edge 38 is biased to curve into the drum, particularly for printers having a close print head spacing.
- Panels 30 and 36 have inner surfaces 54 and 56, respectively, and outer surfaces 60 and 66, respectively, Fig. 3.
- inner surface 54 of panel 30 and outer surface 66 of panel 36 are scored along at least the majority of the width of each panel, forming score lines 74 and 76, respectively. Most preferably, score lines 74 and 76 extend the full width of the panel, as shown.
- score lines 74 and 76 are located relative to fold line 38 so that the two lines are superimposed when pocket 12 is fully formed.
- a useful, but not limitive, example is one in which the score lines are 1 cm from edge 38.
- score line 76 is not readily discernable by the ultimate user of the envelope, and further, that tooth portions 50 that allow relative slippage between panels 32 and 34, and panel 36, are also relatively non-discernable while covered and sealed by the outer panel 36.
- tooth portions 50 are covered, and the envelope appears to be conventional.
- panel 36 can be the one that is folded under, so that panels 32 and 34 are on top of it (not shown). In that case, tooth portions 50 are formed in the overlapped portions of panel 36 adjacent to edges 46.
- the envelope will readily accommodate itself to the support drum of an ink jet printer. That is, Fig. 5, such a drum 100 has a radius of curvature R centered on an axis of curvature 110, and a support surface 120. As an example, R can be about 5 cm.
- Envelope 10 is placed onto the drum with flap extension 16 leading and the pocket- side (12) down, or in other words, flipped over from the position shown in Fig. 4. It is held this way by vacuum, most preferably, for the actual printing.
- the vacuum is applied at least at flat portions 130 and 140, which line up with the leading and trailing edges 23 and 38 of the envelope.
- a preferred construction is one in which angle e is about 245°. It will be readily apparent that the predisposed flexure of pocket 12 in one direction only, out of plane A, Fig. 4, causes it to curve about an axis of rotation that favors the wrapping of the envelope about surface 120.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Making Paper Articles (AREA)
- Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
Description
- This invention concerns an envelope comprising a central panel, two side panels, a bottom panel and a sealing flap, said side panels, bottom panel and sealing flap being foldably connected to said central panel with said side and bottom panels joined together along overlapping respective edges by joining means to form, with said central panel, the pocket of the envelope, the bottom panel being on top of the side panels or vice versa.
- Ink jet printers are quickly becoming a printer of choice for the rapid printing of a variety of documents. Such printers are particularly useful in printing images on a large scale basis. However, one type of document that has not been readily printed in this manner is the envelope. The reason is that a prepared envelope does not behave like a single sheet of paper in the automatic paper handling mechanism of the printer and thus cannot be fed into the printer using the automatic feed, or otherwise handled correctly. The problem is particularly acute in printers that use a rotating drum support and a vacuum holddown, as shown for example in U.S. Patent No. 4 237 466, issued on December 2, 1980. Because of the folded portions of the envelope forming the pocket, the envelope is too rigid to flex out of its preferred plane to confom to the circumference of the drum, even when using the vacuum holddown.
- The problem then, prior to this invention, has been to construct an envelope that could be fed into and handled automatically on ink jet printers, particularly those that used a rotating drum support for the paper being printed. This problem has been aggravated by the necessity to have an envelope that otherwise has the appearance of an ordinary envelope. This appearance requirement occurs because of constraints of acceptable envelope aesthetics demanded by the end-user.
- In accord with the invention the problem has been solved for a generic envelope in that at least a portion of said joined edges of said side panels or said bottom panel that are underneath the respective overlapping edge of the other of said joined panels includes slits of a shape and spacing effective to allow said joined respective edges to stretch while still joined, when said envelope is wrapped around a drum, and/or in that at least one of said bottom panel and said central panel is scored along a line extending at least the majority of the width of said envelope, said scoring being done from a side of the paper comprising said envelope that encourages the envelope to flex in one direction only to approximate a curve with said pocket on the inside of said curve.
- Thus, it is an advantageous feature of the invention that the envelopes constructed in accordance with the invention will readily flex out of their preferred plane, and particularly will take on the radius of the support drum in a printer.
- It is a related advantageous feature of the invention that such an envelope is constructed so that the features encouraging such flexing are not readily discernable in the finished envelope.
- Yet another advantageous feature of the invention is the provision of an improved perforation for more readily removing for discard, a leader extension used for feeding the envelope to a printer.
- The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
- Fig. 1 is a plan view of the back side of an envelope constructed in accordance with the invention;
- Fig. 2 is a plan view similar to that of Fig. 1, but illustrating the envelope's configuration before the bottom and side flaps are joined together along their overlapping edges;
- Fig. 3 is a section view taken generally along the line III-III of Fig. 2;
- Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the envelope of Fig. 3, after it has been completely formed prior to printing;
- Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of a support drum in an ink jet printer, with the envelope of the invention mounted thereon having an exaggerated thickness for clarity;
- Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side view similar to Fig. 5, but of a comparative example; and
- Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken generally along the line VII-VII of Fig. 1.
- This invention is described hereinafter primarily in connection with the preferred embodiments particularly useful in ink jet printers. That is, the envelope preferably includes slits along one of the overlapping, joined edges of the bottom and side panels, as well as the scoring lines adjacent the bottom edge of the pocket, described hereinafter. In addition, the invention includes envelopes constructed with each of such features separately, and regardless of the printing technology used.
- An
envelope 10 prepared in accordance with the invention comprises, Fig. 1, apocket portion 12 into which the contents (not shown) are placed, and asealingflap 14 connected topocket portion 12 alongfold line 15. To ensure that the envelope will feed into an ink jet printer properly, aleader extension 16 is provided onflap 14. The leader extension is readily removed after printing by tearing alongperforated line 18. Adhesive is applied atportion 20 adjacent toline 18, as is conventional. Preferably, for best feeding results,corners 22 on leadingedge 23 ofleader extension 16 are relatively sharp corners. - In accordance with one aspect of the invention,
perforated line 18 is constructed so as to have break-away perforations in aportion 19 that is approximately midway betweenends portion 19 are exaggerated for clarity.) Theremainder portions 27 of the line are tear perforations. As used herein, "break-away" perforations mean those that will sever at the ties merely by pushing an object throughportion 19. It has been found that a useful example of a break-away perforation, in contrast to a tear perforation, is one in which the length of the cut is at least 1.5 mm and the length of the tie is 0.2 mm. - The use of the break-away perforation allows the user to more readily initiate the tearing off of the
leader extension 16 prior to sealingflap 14 to the pocket portion. - As is conventional,
pocket portion 12 comprises acentral panel 30, twoside panels bottom panel 36 also hingedly connected topanel 30 along afold line 38.Panels panel 36 overlap along theirrespective edges Panels fold line 38, so thatcorners 47adjacent line 38 are double ply only, for easier handling on the printer. - In accordance with another aspect of the invention, of the
panels panels 32 and 34), at least a portion of the panels' overlapping area, shown stipled, Fig. 2, is slit to providetooth portions 50 extending along most of the overlapping edge. Toothportions 50 allowpanels panel 36, and thus the joined edges to stretch, when the envelope is forced out of the plane of the drawing, Figs. 1 and 2. The slits and therefore the teeth can have a variety of shapes, such as half-moons, and the number, spacing and size of the slits are not believed to be critical. However, each tooth must be complete; that is, the two sides of the "V" must join at the point. Furthermore, it is preferred that each tooth extend into the next tooth to provide a nesting of the teeth, in case the adhesive discussed below spreads out beyond its desired location. Also, thetooth portions 50 can be arranged to point in the opposite direction as well. By way of example, eachedge - Adhesive of conventional composition is applied along
edges edge 46. Preferably the adhesive is applied at the tips only of each tooth. Most preferably,tooth portions 50 form analignment 58 that extends diagonally tofold line 15, that is, along a line which, when extended, intersectsline 15 at non-orthogonal angles. - The effect of this arrangement is to provide a plurality of strips each with the shape «, the
point 52, Fig. 7, in each strip being secured by adhesive topanel 36. Theends 53 of each strip are still attached topanel panel panel 36 attached to the tip of each tooth to slip, Figs. 1 and 2, with respect topanels - In accord with another aspect of the invention,
pocket 12 is preferably formed so as to be predisposed toflex fold line 38 up away from plane A, Figs. 3 and 4, which is otherwise the preferred plane of the envelope. The reason is that many print heads on ink jet printers have a very close spacing away from the rotating support drum. If the object on the drum protrudes much from the surface, e.g., as much as 0.8 mm, there is in many inkjet printers a high probability that the print head will physically strike the object, instead of just the jet of ink striking it. Such striking will cause a smearing of ink as well as potential harm to the print head. - It will be readily appreciated that a relatively stiff object, such as paper with several folds, as in an envelope, will tend to have its extreme edges project off the drum when held by a vacuum on the drum. Thus, it is preferred that the envelope be constructed so that
edge 38 is biased to curve into the drum, particularly for printers having a close print head spacing. This is preferably accomplished as follows:Panels inner surfaces outer surfaces edge 38,inner surface 54 ofpanel 30 andouter surface 66 ofpanel 36 are scored along at least the majority of the width of each panel, formingscore lines score lines edge 38 out of plane A is needed. As is well known, the surface of a sheet that is scored tends to form a concave surface, and if the score is linear, the curve of the concave surface will be cylindrical about an axis parallel to such linear score. Becausepanel 36 is bent back overpanel 30, the scoring is done onopposite surfaces - Most perferably,
score lines line 38 so that the two lines are superimposed whenpocket 12 is fully formed. A useful, but not limitive, example is one in which the score lines are 1 cm fromedge 38. - It will be readily appreciated that
score line 76 is not readily discernable by the ultimate user of the envelope, and further, thattooth portions 50 that allow relative slippage betweenpanels panel 36, are also relatively non-discernable while covered and sealed by theouter panel 36. - When
bottom panel 36 is folded over to seal againstpanels tooth portions 50 are covered, and the envelope appears to be conventional. Alternatively,panel 36 can be the one that is folded under, so thatpanels tooth portions 50 are formed in the overlapped portions ofpanel 36 adjacent to edges 46. - With the above features, the envelope will readily accommodate itself to the support drum of an ink jet printer. That is, Fig. 5, such a
drum 100 has a radius of curvature R centered on an axis ofcurvature 110, and asupport surface 120. As an example, R can be about 5 cm.Envelope 10 is placed onto the drum withflap extension 16 leading and the pocket- side (12) down, or in other words, flipped over from the position shown in Fig. 4. It is held this way by vacuum, most preferably, for the actual printing. The vacuum is applied at least atflat portions edges pocket 12 in one direction only, out of plane A, Fig. 4, causes it to curve about an axis of rotation that favors the wrapping of the envelope aboutsurface 120. - Failure to provide
score lines 74 and/or 76 tends to causeenvelope 10 to mount as shown in Fig. 6, withedge 38 protruding too far fromsurface 120.
Claims (7)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US80960985A | 1985-12-16 | 1985-12-16 | |
US809609 | 1985-12-16 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0226990A1 EP0226990A1 (en) | 1987-07-01 |
EP0226990B1 true EP0226990B1 (en) | 1990-03-14 |
Family
ID=25201776
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19860117403 Expired EP0226990B1 (en) | 1985-12-16 | 1986-12-15 | Envelopes constructed for ink jet printing |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0226990B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JPS62208363A (en) |
DE (1) | DE3669478D1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5005758A (en) * | 1985-12-16 | 1991-04-09 | Eastman Kodak Company | Envelope constructed for ink jet printing |
BE1009176A3 (en) * | 1995-03-06 | 1996-12-03 | Mertens Luc | Full ENVELOPES, BAGS, Farden, CASES AND / OR DERIVATIVES THEREOF AND / OR OTHER PRODUCTS IN SPITE OF SEPARATE COMPLETELY FINISHED YET STAY CONNECTED WITH EACH OTHER. |
US7100348B2 (en) | 1996-03-06 | 2006-09-05 | Megaspirea N.V. | Continuous strip of detachably interconnected folded products |
WO2016011209A1 (en) * | 2014-07-16 | 2016-01-21 | Lifesci Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Therapeutic inhibitory compounds |
CN107748592B (en) * | 2017-11-09 | 2020-12-18 | 联想(北京)有限公司 | Tablet personal computer |
Family Cites Families (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE7215747U (en) * | 1973-12-06 | Hannoversche Gummier-Anstalt Aug Wegener | Envelope | |
US3088653A (en) * | 1961-07-20 | 1963-05-07 | Jr William P Swartz | Envelopes |
-
1986
- 1986-12-15 EP EP19860117403 patent/EP0226990B1/en not_active Expired
- 1986-12-15 DE DE8686117403T patent/DE3669478D1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1986-12-16 JP JP29981286A patent/JPS62208363A/en active Pending
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JPS62208363A (en) | 1987-09-12 |
EP0226990A1 (en) | 1987-07-01 |
DE3669478D1 (en) | 1990-04-19 |
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