GB2031376A

GB2031376A - Gussetted Folder

Info

Publication number: GB2031376A
Application number: GB7931368A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1978-09-11
Filing date: 1979-09-10
Publication date: 1980-04-23
Also published as: DD145904A1; JPS5564057A; FR2435402A1; SU1047386A3; DE2935767A1; ES484014A1; FI58100C; CA1131534A; NL7906746A; NO792933L; DK377279A; SE7907496L; JPS5854029B2; GB2031376B; FR2435402B1; FI58100B; BR7905778A; FI782781A

Abstract

A pocket-folder comprises a sheet of cardboard 2 folded along a crease line 2a, the sides of the pocket being formed by folded strips 4. To assist in production, the strips are glued along the whole length of the sheet 2 while flat, and the unwanted folds are glued together at 8, 15. One half of the sheet 2 may be extended to form a fold-over closing flap. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Protective Packages This invention relates to protective packages which usually comprise a protective cardboard sheet folded double like a book cover with paper edge strips which have been folded double at least once along a longitudinal fold line parallel to the side edges of the cardboard sheet and attached with adhesive between the halves of the package, these paper strips closing the side edges of the package.

Such packages are known and are used for packaging and mailing flat objects such as books, cassettes, phonograph records etc. Since the product in question is mass-produced, possibly in very large quantities, it is important that the product can be manufactured at a high rate and a low cost. The known packages of this type are, however, of such a nature that it is not possible to manufacture them at a high rate by a continuous working manufacturing method. The machines used require stoppage periods with slowing down and acceleration stages, a factor which substantially reduces the production capacity. The object of the invention is to produce a package which can be manufactured at a high rate by a continuous working manufacturing method.

According to one aspect of the present invention a pocket-like protective package comprises a main sheet which is folded about a transverse fold line to form first and second main sheet sections which have, at each side, a pair of opposed side edges, each pair of side edges having disposed between them an edge strip which comprises a single piece of material which is folded about a fold line extending parallel to the sides of the main sheet and also about a fold line which is substantially coincident with said transverse fold line to form first and second pairs of edge strip sections, one of the first pair of edge strip sections being secured to one of said opposed side edges and the other of the first pair of edge strip sections being secured to the adjacent one of the second pair of edge strip sections which in turn is secured to the other one of the second pair and that other one of the second pair in turn being secured to the other of said opposed side edges.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in a method of manufacturing a protective package of this type, the main sheet is fed continuously and a continuous edge strip is applied to each edge of the main sheet by a first application of adhesive with about half the width of each edge strip extending beyond the respective side edge, a second application of adhesive is applied to lengths of the edge strips corresponding to only one side of the intended package, the edge strips then being folded double about a longitudinal fold line positioned adjacent and extending parallel to the respective side edge to cause said lengths of said edge strips to be adhered to one another by said second application of adhesive, a third application of adhesive being applied to the longitudinally folded edge strips, the main sheet and its edge strips having a blank severed therefrom and that blank being folded about a transverse fold line to cause adjacent portions of the edge strip to be adhered to one another by said third application of adhesive.

According to an alternative method according to the invention, in a method for the manufacture of a pocket file, a continuous main sheet has an edge strip secured to each of its side edges with about half of the width of each edge strip extending beyond the respective side edge, the edge strips each being folded double about a longitudinal fold line positioned adjacent and extending parallel to the respective side edge, the method including folding portions of the main sheet and edge strips about a transverse fold line to form first and second main sheet sections which have at each side a pair of opposed side edges having between them first and second pairs of edge strip sections, each pair at this stage having an outer edge strip section adjacent one of said side edges, and an inner section, and both of the inner sections being secured to one another and jointly to only one of said outer sections.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, apparatus for manufacturing a protective package comprises a first storage roll for the main sheet, second and third storage rolls for the edge strips, a first adhesive station for applying the first application of adhesive, first pressing rollers for pressing the strips onto the main sheet, a second adhesive station for applying adhesive intermittently to the edge strips to produce substantially equally long alternating adhesived and unadhesived stretches of the edge strips corresponding to the depth of the package, a folding mechanism for folding the edge strips about the longitudinal fold line, second pressing rollers for pressing the longitudinally folded edge strips together, a cutting device for cutting a blank of the main sheet and the adhering edge strips, the cutting device being synchronised with the second adhesive station so that each side edge of each said blank will have one stretch of edge strip with its two sections adhering thereto alternating with another stretch with no such adherence, a third adhesive station for applying adhesive to the exposed surfaces of the folded edge strips, and a folding and pressing station for folding the blank about the transverse fold line.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways but one specific embodiment will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a side view of an apparatus used for the manufacture of the package, at the same time illustrating the various stages of the continuous- working manufacturing method; Figure 2 depicts a diagram of an apparatus according to Figure 1, as seen from above, and Figure 3 depicts a perspective view of a package according to the invention.

A continuous cardboard strip 2 is drawn from a storage roll 1, and continuous paper edge strips 4 are drawn from storage rolls 3. The positions of the rolls 1 and 3 have been selected so that the paper edge strips 4 are guided to the edges of the cardboard strip 2 in such a manner that they in part extend beyond the edges of the cardboard strip 2. At station 5, glue stripes are applied by means of glue sprays or other glue-application devices known per se to the edges of the cardboard strip 2, and so the paper edge strips 4 adhere to the edges of the cardboard strip between the pressing rollers 6.

Thereafter, at a second glueing station 7, an adhesive substance is applied to the surface of the paper strips 4 at points indicated by 8 in Figure 2. At the glueing station 7, the glue seams 8 are fed intermittently in such a manner that glued stretches L and unglued stretches alternate.

The length of the glued stretch L substantially corresponds to the depth of the side edge of the final package.

Thereafter, at the position 9 for folding the strips 4, the strips 4 are folded double along a longitudinal folding line, the folding line being preferably situated somewhat inside the edge of the cardboard 2 and extending parallel to the side of the strip 2. The folding can be effected by means of any known guide bars and/or rollers.

The pressing rollers 10 press the strips 4 in a position thus folded and cause them to adhere at the glue seams 8. At the points at which there is no glue seam 8 and which substantially correspond to the lengths L of the glue seams 8, the folded edges of the strips 4, of course, do not adhere to each other.

The web thus formed is fed continuously at a constant rate onto a cutting roller 11, where a blade 1 2 cuts the web against the roller 13. The cutting occurs at constant lengths corresponding to the periphery of the roll 11. In order that each cut length or blank has one stretch L provided with glue seams 8 and one stretch or length to which no glue has been applied at the glueing station, the operation of the glueing position 7 is synchronised with the rotational motion of the cutting roller 11, in which case glue is fed during half a revolution of the roller 11 and no glue is fed during the second half of the revolution.

Immediately subsequent to the cutting roller 11 there is a third glueing station, where glue stripes 1 5 are applied to the outer surface of the folded paper strip 4; these glue stripes can be continuous or intermittent.

During the next stage, the cut package blanks are folded. Various alternative apparatus can be used for this purpose, and therefore only a simplified principle is described below.

Immediately after the cutting of the package blank, a folding blade 16, transverse to the web, produces a downward stroke at the middle of package blank; that part of the blank which has been provided with glue seams 8 is left on one side of it and the blank part without the glue seam is left on the other. The folding blade 1 6 performs the folding with the aid of suitable mating members 1 7 and feeds the folding point 2a between pressing rollers 18, which grip the package blank. When the package blank passes between the pressing rollers 18, the final adhering of the edges by means of glue seams 1 5 is effected. The absence of a glue seam 8 on the strip 4 folded double, adhering to the surface of the other side of the package, enables the opening of the package in the manner illustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 3 shows how, in a package produced by the manufacturing method described, the paper strip 4 is folded into four layers, comprising two edge strip sections, one on top of the other, by means of two folding lines, namely, a longitudinal folding line 4a and a transverse fold 2a. However, owing to the glueing method disclosed, only one of these four layers adheres to one side half of the cardboard plate 2 by means of a glue seam 5a, produced at the first glueing station 5. The other three layers of the strip 4 adhere to the other half of the cardboard 2. This attachment is achieved by-means of three glue seams 5a, 8, 1 5, which have been produced at three glueing stations 5, 7 and 14.

Although, in the package manufactured by the manufacturing method disclosed, part of the material of the strip 4 is waste material, the additional cost it causes is a fraction of the saving achieved by the multiple increase in the manufacturing capacity and the production rate.

The folding line 2a of the package can also be positioned so that one side is longer than the other. In this case the extra part of the longer side forms a flap which closes the opening on the package, and it can be made easier to turn by means of a transverse crease.

Claims

1. A pocket-like protective package comprising a main sheet which is folded about a transverse fold line to form first and second main sheet sections which have, at each side, a pair of opposed side edges, each pair of side edges having disposed between them an edge strip which comprises a single piece of material which is folded about a fold line extending parallel to the sides of the main sheet and also about a fold line which is substantially coincident with said transverse fold line to form first and second pairs of edge strip sections, one of the first pair of edge strip sections being secured to one of said opposed side edges and the other of the first pair of edge strip sections being secured to the adjacent one of the second pair of edge strip sections which in turn is secured to the other one of the second pair and that other one of the second pair in turn being secured to the other of said opposed side edges.

2. A method of manufacturing a package as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the main sheet is fed continuously and a continuous edge strip is applied to each edge of the main sheet by a first application of adhesive with about half the width of each edge strip extending beyond the respective side edge, a second application of adhesive is applied to lengths of the edge strips corresponding to only one side of the intended package, the edge strips then being folded double about a longitudinal fold line positioned adjacent and extending parallel to the respective side edge to cause said lengths of said edge strips to be adhered to one another by said second application of adhesive, a third application of adhesive being applied to the longitudinally folded edges strips, the main sheet and its edge strips having a blank severed therefrom and that blank being folded about a transverse fold line to cause adjacent portions of the edge strips to be adhered to one another by said third application of adhesive.

3. A method for the manufacture of a pocketlike protective package in which a continuous main sheet has an edge strip secured to each of its side edges with about half of the width of each edge strip extending beyond the respective side edge, the edge strips each being folded double about a longitudinal fold line positioned adjacent and extending parallel to the respective side edge, the method including folding portions of the main sheet and edge strips about a transverse fold line to form first and second main sheet sections which have at each side a pair of opposed side edges having between them first and second pairs of edge strip sections, each pair at this stage having an outer edge strip section adjacent one of said side edges, and an inner section, and both of the inner sections being secured to one another and jointly to only one of said outer sections.

4. Apparatus for carrying out the method of Claim 2 comprising a first storage roll for the main sheet, second and third storage rolls for the edge strips, a first adhesive station for applying the first application of adhesive, first pressing rollers for pressing the strips onto the main sheet, a second adhesive station for applying adhesive intermittently to the edge strips to produce substantially equally long alternating adhesived and unadhesived stretches of the edge strips corresponding to the depth of the package, a folding mechanism for folding the edge strips about the longitudinal fold line, second pressing rollers for pressing the longitudinally folded edge strips together, a cutting device for cutting a blank of the main sheet and the adhering edge strips, the cutting device being synchronised with the second adhesive station so that each side edge of each said blank will have one stretch of edge strip with its two sections adhering thereto alternating with another stretch with no such adherence, a third adhesive station for applying adhesive to the exposed surfaces of the folded edges strips, and a folding and pressing station for folding the blank about the transverse fold line.

5. A protective package substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

6. A method of producing a protective package substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

7. Apparatus for producing a protective package substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.