FI91049C - Mass letter production - Google Patents

Description

91049 i

Mass letter production

The invention relates to a method for preparing a mass letter and to a shell blank for applying the method.

In the method according to the invention, a sheet-like paper envelope blank folded twice by folding the line and sealed with adhesive strips is mobilized, the contents of the letter are brought onto a movable blank, the blank 10 is folded in half so that the inside of the letter the parts of the blank along the adhesive strips to each other.

15 Typical bulk letters are large-format advertisements sent by post. These are usually made of ready-made envelopes, into which the material forming the letter is manually inserted into a tax envelope filling machine, after which the envelopes are closed.

20

The above-mentioned procedure is slow and potassium, especially on a mass scale, due to the fact that it is difficult to fill the finished shells. Even the mechanical fill-t6 involves numerous movements, starting from the opening of the shell-25, which are time consuming. EP-A-0 447 581 discloses a solution in which a shell is formed as part of a letter manufacturing process from a blank which is folded and sealed around the contents of the letter. This avoids the cumbersome step of filling the shells and provides a cheaper, automated manufacturing process.

The object of the invention is to further develop the above-mentioned manufacturing technique so that the positioning of the contents of the letter is ensured and it is possible to vary the shape of the finished letter. The method for producing a letter according to the invention is characterized in that the method uses a shell blank divided into two parts by a folding line, on the side of which at least one of said parts has cut-offs for the transfer of the blank, the filling pins are raised from the surface of the blank and the blank is moved by means of the pins so that the contents of the letter are brought to the blank 5 in front of the push pins so that the pins ensure its position in the direction of movement of the blank in the letter for the adhesive seams.

10

The content of a standard advertising letter consists of one or more sheets of paper or the like. In addition, the letter may contain various items, such as samples of goods. According to the invention, these can be placed on the shell blank running on the production line one at a time at successive positions in the line. Said working pins take care of both the movement of the blank and the positioning of the sheets of paper or the like placed on it in the direction of movement of the blank, where the sheets without said pins would most sensitively move out of place.

20

According to the invention, the letter can be made by placing its contents on one part of a shell blank divided into two parts by a fold line and by turning the part adjacent to the blank, provided with adhesive strips, in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of the blank. The adhesive strips are wetted twice before folding the blank, and the push pins can be removed from the blank during folding before sealing by pressing.

According to the invention, the contents of the letter are enclosed in a closed, typically rectangular shell around the seams formed by the adhesive strips. The Tålld shell can be stamped to intersect said seamed areas to give the finished letter a shape other than rectangular 35. In this way, for example, an advertising letter can be made attention-grabbing, and in this way the interest of its recipient is aroused.

ti 91049 3

The shell blank according to the invention for the application of the method described above is formed by a sheet of paper having a fold line dividing it into two parts, the blank of which can be folded twice, and provided with 5 adhesive strips to close the shell. According to the invention, the adhesive strips are located in one of said parts of the blank, where they form a circumferential circumference, and the side of the second part of the blank is cut with abutments for the working pins transferring the blank.

10

In the shell blank according to the invention, the adhesive strips preferably form a part of the first-mentioned blank around a circumferential circumference. The circumference may be in the shape of a regular rectangle, but may, if necessary, conform to the final shape of the letter to be stamped in a non-rectangular shape.

The stops formed on the filler pins are preferably notches cut at the edge of the blank.

A mass letter made in accordance with the invention, comprising 20 envelopes formed by two opposing paper portions and sealed with adhesive seams, has circumferential adhesive seams which bind the parts of the envelope together and allow the edges of the letter to be punched into a substantially straight edge.

25

The invention will now be described in more detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows an envelope blank for making an advertising letter according to the invention, Figure 2 shows an advertising letter preparation process using the blanks according to Figure 1, and Figures 3 and a promotional letter made from it at the various stages of manufacture.

The envelope blank 1 according to Fig. 1 is formed by a rectangular sheet of paper, the fold line 2 of which divides into two equal parts 3, 4. Of these parts, one 3 is provided with adhesive strips 5 4 which rotate the around the part in a rectangular circumference, while notches 6 are cut on the side of the second part 4, which act in response to the filling pins filling the blank 1 during the production of the letter.

5

In the automatic, continuous letter production process shown in Fig. 2, the production line is formed by a belt conveyor 7 and adjacent guides 10 9 guided alongside it, guiding the working pins 8 moving in the direction of the belt. The belt conveyor 7 and the filling pins 8 are synchronized with the speed. The filler pins 8 are additionally movable vertically, i.e. perpendicular to the substantially horizontal guides 9.

The sheet of paper forming the blank 1 is brought to the production line from its end so that the part 3 provided with adhesive strips 5 of the blank comes mainly to the belt conveyors 7 and the part 4 provided with notches 6 comes to the guides 9 so that the parallel pushpins 8 meet the notches. The push pins 8 rise 20 slightly above the plane of the blank 1, whereby together with the belt conveyor 7 they carry the blank in a line forward according to the arrows in Fig. 2.

The contents of the advertising letter prepared according to Fig. 2 consist of one or more sheets 10 of letters, which are sent to the blank 1 in successive steps one by one. For the sake of simplicity, only one position is shown in Fig. 2, in which the letter sheet 10 is fed from the side of the line to the blank 1. It is essential that the sheet 10 is placed precisely in front of the working pins 8 so that the filling pins ensure positioning of the sheet.

When the letter sheets 10 are stacked on the blank 1, the adhesive strips 5 in the second half 3 of the blank are wetted by means of a roller 11. Thereafter, the blank 1 is folded by means of the guide 12 twice the folding line 2, whereby the sheets of letters 10 are left between the parts 3, 4 of the blank which fold against each other. The sheets 10 should then be positioned so that they remain 91049 5 inside the moistened adhesive strips 5 in the foldable part 3 of the blank. At this stage, the working pins 8 must also be lowered so that they do not prevent the blank parts 3, 4 from pressing against each other.

5

The last step of the process is the pressing of the parts of the double-folded blank 1 against each other by rollers 13, whereby the parts are sealed together by gluing the adhesive strips 5 into a closed shell. At this stage, the rollers 13 also take care of the progress of the letter 10 generated on the line. The result is an advertising letter 14 in which a rectangular adhesive seam 15 circulating around the letter closes the envelope around the letter sheets remaining inside.

Figures 3-6 show an example of the possibilities provided by the invention for the final design of the advertising letter 14 to be produced. The shaping takes place by stamping the intersecting areas 15 of the letter 14, which selectively seams and narrows without opening the letter 20 at any point.

The shell blank 1 seen in Fig. 3 substantially corresponds to that shown in Fig. 1. The difference is the windows 16 cut into the blank, suitably covered with a transparent film, as well as the modification of the adhesive strip 5 to anneal the stamping to be performed at a later stage.

In Fig. 4, a blank sheet 10 is shown on the blank 1 filled with the working pins 8, with figures 30 drawn on the windows 16 of the blank 16. In Fig. 5, the parts 3, 4 of the blank are folded and sealed from the area covered by the adhesive strips 5 into a closed shell. stamping on the areas 15, resulting in an advertising letter 14 35 closed by a narrow adhesive seam 15 as shown in Figure 6. Due to its characteristic shape, which is complemented by windows 16 with visible drawings 17, the letter 14 is suitable for use by persons.

6

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the various embodiments of the invention are not limited to the examples shown but may vary within the scope of the appended claims. In particular, the possibilities for varying the final stamped shape of the letter 14 5 made according to the invention are very wide. The quality of the content of your letter may vary; except for the letterheads 10, the letter may contain any of a variety of samples of goods or similar small items.

II

Claims (8)

91049 7 A method for producing a mass letter (14), in which a sheet-like paper envelope blank (1) with double adhesive folds and closures along the fold line (2) is sealed, the contents of the letter (10) are placed on a moving blank, folded twice so that the contents of the letter remain under the folded part (3) of the blank inside the adhesive strips, and the shell is closed by sealing the parts of the blank along the adhesive strips, 10 characterized in that the method uses two folds (3) (2) divided shell shell (1), on the side of which at least in one of said parts (4) abutments (6) are cut for the transfer of the blank and in which the adhesive strips (5) form a second part (3) of the blank around a circumferentially circumferential circumference (Θ) the surface of the blank is raised and the blank is moved by means of the pins so that the contents of the letter (10) are brought to the blank in front of the push pins so that the pit ensures its positioning in the direction of movement of the blank and that the blank is folded twice, whereby the contents of the letter remain inside the circumference formed by the adhesive strips and in the finished letter (14) to be glued by the adhesive seams (15). Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the contents of the letter (14) consist of sheets of paper (10) or the like which are placed in successive positions on the shell (1) which move one at a time in successive positions on the production line. Method according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the working pins (8) are removed from the blank (1) while the blank is folded twice. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sealing is effected by wetting the wet Tamal 1a adhesive strips (5) before folding the blank (1) twice and pressing the folded blank parts (3, 4) against each other by means of rollers (13). 8 Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the closed, mainly rectangular-shaped shell (18) is finally stamped by slicing its seamed edge areas (15) to give the finished letter (14) the desired non-rectangular shape. . A shell blank (1) formed by a sheet of paper having a fold line (2) dividing it into two parts (3, 4), the blank 10 being foldable twice and provided with adhesive strips (5) for closing the shell, characterized in that that the adhesive strips (5) are located in one of said parts (3) of the blank, where they form a circumferential circumferential circumference, and that the side of the second part (4) of the blank has Lei-15 covered abutments (6) closets. Preform according to Claim 6, characterized in that the circumference formed by the adhesive strips (5) is substantially rectangular. A blank according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the stops are notches (6) cut at the edge of the blank (1). 25 II 91049 9