JP2012187871A - Letter producing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To produce a letter so as to prevent contents from being moved in an envelope.SOLUTION: The letter producing apparatus comprises: an enclosing part configured to fold envelope paper 100 provided with an adhesive part 110 (re-wet glue 110b) to be formed into an envelope 150, or content paper 30 to serve as contents 50, to convey the envelope paper 100 and content paper 30 to a prescribed enclosing position, and to enclose the content paper 30 into the envelope paper 100; and a sealing part configured to stick the re-wet glue 110b on the envelope paper 100 with the content paper 30 enclosed therein. The prescribed enclosing position is the position in which the re-wet glue 110b on the envelope paper 100 and the content paper 30 come into contact with each other. The apparatus is provided with control means which controls the enclosing part to adjust the amount of the envelope paper 100 and the contact paper 30 so as to be conveyed to the prescribed enclosing position.

Description

  The present invention prints the envelope paper and the content paper, folds the envelope paper to create an envelope, and encloses and seals the content paper with the necessary fold on the envelope as the content. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sealed letter creating apparatus that can automatically perform a sealed letter creating apparatus that can create a sealed letter whose contents do not move within an envelope.

  When a company's sales department or retailer manufactures DM (direct mail), ask the printer to print the encapsulated paper, and print the address of the envelope with their own copier. In some cases, printing of paper and printing of envelopes are performed by different printing means. In such a case, it is common to use a table sealing machine having a relatively simple configuration or to manually seal the printed paper in an envelope. In addition, there is an apparatus that continuously and automatically processes from printing to encapsulation / sealing, but it is expensive and requires a large installation area, so that it is difficult to purchase at a user with a low production frequency of DM.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-151620 describes a sealing and sealing machine that includes a sheet folding unit that folds a sheet to be sealed in an envelope and can be used as a desktop sealing and sealing machine as described above. The apparatus includes an automatic sheet feeder that automatically supplies the topmost sheet from the stacked sheet bundle to the sheet folding unit, and a manual sheet feeding unit that feeds the manually fed sheet to the sheet folding unit. The automatic sheet feeding mode, the manual sheet feeding mode, and the mix mode in which sheets are fed in parallel from the automatic sheet feeding device and the manual sheet feeding unit can be selected and driven.

JP-A-7-52596

  In order to create a 1 to 1 direct mail in which the printed content of the encapsulated paper is different for each envelope, when using the desktop encapsulating sealing machine as disclosed above (disclosed in Patent Document 1), It is necessary to match the stacking order of the encapsulating sheets to be set with the stacking order of the envelopes set on the envelope sheet feeding table. However, as described above, the envelope is printed in-house, but the contents are printed in different places, as in the case where the contents are outsourced. Since differences in conditions such as the presence or absence of interstitial paper may occur, sufficient confirmation was necessary to prevent erroneous encapsulation when setting the paper on the desktop sealing and sealing machine. In addition, in the manual sealing work, it takes a lot of man-hours to prevent erroneous sealing, and the processing may take a long time.

  The applicant of the present application has worked hard to solve such problems, printed on the envelope paper and the content paper, and folded the envelope paper as the content paper with the necessary folding. Succeeded in developing a sealed letter creation device that can automatically create a sealed letter by enclosing and sealing the created envelope, and filed a patent application as Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-209546 on September 17, 2010. . Although this envelope creation device has a simple and compact configuration, it is less likely to cause an encapsulation error such as failure to enclose the content or mistaking the content and enclosing it in an envelope. It is possible to create a sealed letter, which is particularly suitable for creating a 1 to 1 direct mail.

  However, the applicant of the present application can automatically enclose the invention such as the envelope creation apparatus, that is, the contents in the envelope while researching to further improve the envelope creation apparatus previously applied for in the patent. Even in an efficient automatic device, it has come to be recognized that there are new problems to be solved. In the created envelope, the contents move in the envelope, causing the contents to be folded and the seal surface dirty, or the edges of the contents are perforated for opening provided on the envelope, This is a problem that the contents may be damaged together with the envelope at the time of opening.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 16A, consider a case where the A4 content sheet 30 (30a) is equally folded in three and stored in a correspondingly sized envelope 150. Here, the uniform trifold means that the content sheet 30a is folded in three along two fold lines among the equal folds in which the shapes of the folded and overlapped portions are equal. The size of the envelope 150 is the direction (hereinafter referred to as the width direction) orthogonal to the direction parallel to the fold line of the content sheet 30a (hereinafter referred to as the width direction) among the size of the portion in which the content 50 (50a) is accommodated. , Referred to as the vertical direction). In this case, in the vertical direction, the size of the content 50a and the size of the envelope 150 are substantially the same, so the content 50a is difficult to move within the envelope 150, but in rare cases the content 30a is on both edges of the envelope 150. The contents may have been moved to either of the parts, and the contents may be damaged if opened in this state.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 16 (b), the B5 content sheet 30 (30b) is equally folded in three, and this has a size corresponding to the content 50a in which the A4 content sheet 30a is equally folded. When stored in the envelope 150, the size of the contents 50 (50b) in the vertical direction is considerably smaller than the size of the envelope 150, and the contents easily move. Become prominent.

  In the example of FIG. 16, the envelope 150 is a type that is created by folding the envelope paper 100, and pressure-sensitive adhesive 110 a for pressure bonding is provided on both edges in the width direction, and both edges A re-wet paste 110b is provided between the sections, and the inner area is an area for storing the contents 50.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and a sealed letter is prepared by enclosing a sealed content sheet as a content and enclosing it in an envelope created by folding the envelope sheet. An object of the present invention is to provide a sealed letter creation device in which the contents are held in a predetermined position in the envelope in the created letter so that the contents do not move in the envelope.

Next, means for solving the above problems will be described with reference to the drawings corresponding to the embodiments.
The envelope creating apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is configured to fold the envelope sheet 100 to be the envelope 150 provided with the bonding portion 110 or the content sheet 30 to be the contents 50, respectively, and the envelope sheet 100 and the contents. The paper 30 is transported to a predetermined sealing position, and the sealing portion 3a for sealing the content paper 30 in the envelope paper 100 is bonded to the adhesive portion 110 of the envelope paper 100 in which the content paper 30 is sealed. In the sealed letter preparation apparatus 1 provided with the sealing part 3b sealed by
The predetermined sealing position is a position where the adhesive portion 110 of the envelope paper 100 and the content paper 30 are in contact with each other, and the envelope paper 100 and the content paper 30 are transported to the predetermined sealing position. It has the control means 90 which controls the said enclosure part 3a so that conveyance amount may be adjusted, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to the envelope creation apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the envelope sheet and the contents sheet are conveyed so that the contents sheet is arranged at a predetermined enclosing position in contact with the adhesive part of the envelope sheet in the enclosing unit. By controlling the amount, a part of the content is adhered to the adhesive portion in the envelope along with the adhesion of the adhesive portion in the sealing portion so that the content can be held at a predetermined sealing position in the envelope. Become. Thereby, in the created envelope, the content does not move in the envelope, and the content can be prevented from being folded or stamped.

(A) It is a figure which shows the surface of the envelope paper used by embodiment of this invention. (B) It is a figure which shows the back side. (A)-(c) It is a figure which shows the folding order thru | or process which wraps the contents, adding a fold to the envelope paper used in the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the process of making a pressure sensitive adhesive adhere, after folding the envelope paper used in the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of the embodiment and the flow of the conveyed paper with arrows. It is a functional block diagram which shows the control part and its control mechanism of the embodiment. In the same embodiment, it is a front view which shows the folding means which folds a content paper. FIG. 10 is a front view showing a modification of folding means for folding content sheets in the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a process diagram in the case where the content sheet is folded in three by the folding means in the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a process diagram in the case where the content sheet is folded in three by the folding means in the embodiment. In the embodiment, (a) is a diagram showing a case where the contents sheet is folded in three by the folding means, and (b) is a diagram showing a case where the contents sheet is folded in four by the folding means. In the same embodiment, it is a figure which shows the case where a content paper is made into a deformation | transformation trifold by a folding means. In the same embodiment, it is an operation | movement timing diagram which shows the operation | movement order thru | or timing of each part when enclosing a content in an envelope. In the embodiment, (a) is a diagram showing a first step when enclosing contents in an envelope, and (b) is a diagram showing the second step. In the embodiment, (a) is a diagram showing a third step when the contents are enclosed in an envelope, and (b) is a diagram showing the fourth step. In the embodiment, (a) is a diagram showing a fifth step when enclosing the contents in an envelope, and (b) is a diagram showing the sixth step. It is a figure which shows transparently the state where the contents were enclosed with the envelope in the conventional envelope creation apparatus, and (a) is the figure which shows the state where the A4 equal tri-fold contents paper was enclosed with the envelope of the predetermined size which fits. (B) is a figure which shows the state which enclosed B5 equal tri-fold content paper in the envelope of the same size as the case of (a).

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.
In this embodiment (sealed letter creating apparatus 1), for each sealed letter to be created, a sheet (envelope sheet 100) that is folded to form an envelope 150 and a content 50 (content sheet) that is folded as necessary. 30), the necessary printing is performed, and the necessary folding is performed while transporting them through different transport paths, and finally the contents 50 are sealed in the envelope 150, and finally the envelope 150 is closed and sealed. It is a device that discharges to the top of the device as a sealed letter.

1. About envelope paper and contents (Figures 1-3)
First, regarding the shape and structure of the envelope paper 100 used in this embodiment, the envelope 150 is created by folding the envelope paper 100, the contents 50 are enclosed and sealed inside, and the envelope is created. explain. Note that the printing on the envelope paper 100 and the content paper 30 and the operation of wrapping the content 50 with the envelope paper 100 are actually automatically performed by the envelope creation apparatus 1 described later.

  FIG. 1A is a diagram showing the front surface (side on which the address is printed) of the envelope paper 100, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the back surface thereof. The envelope paper 100 is a rectangular paper in which three substantially identical rectangular paper pieces of a first paper piece 101, a second paper piece 102, and a third paper piece 103 are partitioned by fold lines 120.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the surface of the first paper piece 101 corresponds to the back of the envelope 150, and the name / address of the sender is printed. The surface of the second paper piece 102 corresponds to the front surface of the envelope 150, and the address is printed. In addition, the surface of the third paper piece 103 has a strip-shaped pattern of Arabic glue along the width direction at a position adjacent to the folding line 120 with the second paper piece 102 inside both edges in the width direction. The re-wet paste 110b is provided in two places. The re-wet paste 110b becomes an adhesive part 110 (second adhesive part) for forming the envelope 150.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the pressure sensitive adhesive 110a used as the adhesive part 110 (1st adhesive part) for becoming the envelope 150 is formed in each width direction on each back surface of the 1st thru | or 3rd paper pieces 101-103. It is provided in a strip shape in a predetermined pattern along the edge. The arrangement pattern of these pressure-sensitive adhesives 110a is considered so that when each paper piece is folded and assembled into an envelope shape, the pressure-sensitive adhesives 110a of the corresponding paper pieces come in the same position and come into contact with each other. Yes.

  The envelope paper 100, that is, the first paper piece 101, the second paper piece 102, and the third paper piece 103 have two perforations 104, 104 extending in the direction perpendicular to the folding line 120 at both edges in the width direction. It is provided as an opening part. The created envelope 150 can be opened along either perforation 104. In the envelope paper 100, an area surrounded by the pressure-sensitive adhesive 110a and the rewet adhesive 110b serving as the first and second adhesive portions is an area in which the content paper 30 is stored, and the perforation 104 is the sensitivity. It is provided in the storage area so as not to include the pressure adhesive 110a and the re-wetting paste 110b.

After printing the address, contents, etc., the envelope sheet 100 is folded so as to enclose the contents sheet 30 (the contents 50), thereby creating an envelope 150.
First, as shown in FIG. 2A, the third paper piece 103 is stacked on the back side of the second paper piece 102, and the pressure-sensitive adhesive 110a of the two paper pieces 102 and 103 is brought into contact with each other.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the content 50 is placed on the surface of the third paper piece 103. At this time, the contents 50 have dimensions that can be stored in the storage area of the envelope 150. That is, the width of the contents 50 is smaller than the interval between the pressure sensitive adhesives 110 a printed on both ends of each piece of the envelope paper 100. In addition, the vertical dimension of the contents 50 should be smaller than the maximum dimension obtained by excluding the length in the same direction of the re-wetting paste 110b from the vertical length of each piece of envelope paper 100. Good.
In this way, the operation of folding the content paper 30 so as to have a size that can be accommodated in the envelope 150 is performed by placing the content paper 30 in an appropriate position (preferably the envelope) in the folding means of the envelope creation apparatus 1 described later. This is achieved by executing a folding control at a position that fits the size of 150.

  In FIG. 2 (c), water is added to the re-humidified paste 110 b by the water adding means 60 described later, and then the back surface of the first paper piece 101 and the front surface of the third paper piece are combined to form the re-wet paste 110 b and the first paper piece 101. While making a back surface contact, each pressure sensitive adhesive 110a of both paper pieces 101 and 103 is mutually contacted. In this state, the envelope paper 100 is in the shape of a tri-fold envelope, but the rewet glue 110b and the pressure sensitive adhesive 110a are not yet bonded.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, both edges of each piece of paper are subjected to pressure sensitive adhesive through a process of passing the pressure roller 80 so as to sandwich the pressure sensitive adhesive 110 a at both edges in the width direction of the envelope 150. Bonded by 110a. After that, the edge of the first paper piece 101 and the third paper piece 103 which are not closed by folding in the vertical direction is bonded by the re-humidified adhesive 110b through a process such as sandwiching and transporting the envelope 150. The Thereby, the form of the envelope 150 in which the contents 50 are included is realized. In this embodiment, the step of adhering the pressure-sensitive adhesive 110a and the step of adhering the re-humidified adhesive 110b are separated. For example, the pressure-sensitive adhesive roller having a length equal to or greater than the width of the envelope 150 is used. If the entire surface is sandwiched and conveyed, the steps of adhering the pressure-sensitive adhesive 110a and the rewet adhesive 110b can be performed together.

  Further, the contents 50 are arranged on the third paper piece 103 of the envelope paper 100. However, since the one edge in the vertical direction is slightly in contact with the re-wetting paste 110b, the re-wetting paste 110b is used. After the bonding process, the envelope 150 is held in a predetermined position.

2. About the overall configuration of the sealed letter creation device (Fig. 4)
Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the overall configuration and main functions of the embodiment (sealed letter creating apparatus 1) will be described. In FIG. 4, the arrows in the drawing indicate the movement path of paper or the like. In addition, the detailed structure and operation of the portions of the sealed letter creating apparatus 1 relating to the folding and enclosing of each sheet will be described again.

  In the sealed letter creating apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 4, processing is performed for each sealed letter to be created. In other words, the envelope paper 100 and the content paper 30 which is a sheet-like paper are subjected to necessary printing on each paper in an appropriate order using the common printing unit 2. Then, the envelope paper 100 and the content paper 30 after printing are sent to the encapsulated sealing unit 3 and are conveyed in a separate route, while the envelope paper 100 is folded to be in the form of an envelope 150, The content sheet 30 is also folded into the content 50 as necessary. Then, the two are finally joined by the sealing means, and the contents 50 are sealed and sealed in the envelope 150, and are arranged and discharged as a completed letter at the top of the apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the envelope creation apparatus 1 includes a printing unit 2 that prints and discharges an envelope 150 and a sheet (envelope sheet 100, contents sheet 30) that becomes the contents 50. The printing unit 2 includes a plurality of paper feed trays P (P1 to P4) that can store a plurality of types of print bodies (envelope paper 100 and content paper 30) in the inside or the side surface of the housing 4 that stores each part of the apparatus. ). In this embodiment, the envelope paper 100 is stored in a paper feed tray P1 attached to the side surface of the housing 4, and the content paper 30 is stored in the paper feed trays P2 to P4 provided in the housing 4 for each size. It is stored separately.

  The paper fed from these paper feed trays P is sent from the introduction path to the loop-shaped transport path 5 and transported, and printing means arranged at predetermined intervals downward along the lower half of the transport path 5 As a result, an image is formed. In this embodiment, four ink jet devices C, K, M, and Y that respectively eject inks of cyan, black, magenta, and yellow are disposed as printing means.

  The loop-shaped conveyance path 5 is provided with a first discharge path 6 that branches out of the loop in a substantially horizontal direction at a downstream side of the printing unit. In addition, a second discharge path 7 for discharging the paper out of the loop is provided in the upper half of the loop-shaped conveyance path 5 and is switched back to the introduction path from the paper feed tray P. A path 8 is branched. The switchback path 8 is means for reversing the upper and lower sides of the paper in the transport path 5 by receiving the paper transported through the transport path 5 and returning it to the transport path 5. If the switchback path 8 is used to reverse the sheet surface and pass the conveyance path 5 twice, color image printing for forming color images on both sides of the sheet is performed by the inkjet devices C, K, M, and Y. be able to.

  Next to the printing unit 2, the envelope paper 100 and the content paper 30 to be the content 50 sent from the first discharge path 6 of the printing unit are received and processed, and the content paper 30 is put on the envelope paper 100. An encapsulating sealing part 3 for enclosing and sealing as the contents 50 is provided. The sealed encapsulating unit 3 is further functionalized into an encapsulating unit 3a that encloses the contents 50 while folding the envelope paper 100 to form the envelope 150, and a sealed unit 3b that encapsulates the envelope 150 enclosing the contents 50. It is divided into.

  The first discharge path 6 of the printing unit 2 protrudes to the outside that extends horizontally, and is introduced into the housing 9 of the adjacent sealing unit 3. In the housing 9, the second conveyance path 20 branches obliquely downward from the discharge path 6, and the further downstream is one path 11 of the first conveyance path 10 and extends obliquely downward. Has been.

  One path 11 of the first transport path 10 is disposed substantially parallel to one path 21 of the second transport path 20. One path 11 of the first transport path 10 is a guide path for transporting the envelope paper 100 to the folding means, and one path 21 of the second transport path 20 transports the content paper 30 to the folding means. The guide path is switched between the first and second transport paths 10 and 20 by a switching flap (not shown) provided at a branch point between the first discharge path 6 and the second transport path 20.

  A first folding means is provided at the end of one path 11 of the first transport path 10 in order to fold the envelope paper 100 into a shape of the envelope 150. The first folding means is provided with a rotatable main folding roller A ′, and a sheet conveying roller D ′ and a first folding roller B ′ that rotate in contact therewith. These rollers are made of rubber, and the length in the width direction is larger than the width of the envelope paper 100.

  From between the main folding roller A ′ and the first folding roller B ′ of the first folding means of the first conveying path 10, the other path 13 of the first conveying path 10 has a shape protruding upward. It extends in a substantially horizontal direction while being curved. The end of the other path 13 of the first transport path 10 that transports the envelope paper 100 is led to an enclosing sealing means described later.

  A second transport path 20 for transporting the content sheet 30 printed by the printing unit 2 is provided inside the housing 9 of the encapsulating and sealing unit 3. The second transport path 20 is provided below the first transport path 10, and includes one path 21 for feeding the sheet sent in the substantially horizontal direction from the first discharge path 6 of the printing unit 2 obliquely downward. ing.

  In the middle of the path 21, a sheet conveying roller 22 and an aligning portion 23 that is an openable / closable gate are provided. The sheets can be stacked and stored in the path 21. Further, a folding means for folding the content sheet 30 is provided at the end of the path 21. The folding means is provided with a rotatable central main folding roller A, and further, the first folding roller B, the second folding roller C, and one sheet conveying roller D are rotatable to the main folding roller A, respectively. In contact. These rollers are made of rubber, and the length in the axial direction is larger than the width of the envelope paper 100.

  Inside the housing 9 of the encapsulating and sealing unit 3, the second transport path 20 includes the other path 26 that transports the content sheet 30 folded by the folding means. The other path 26 joins the other path 13 of the first transport path 10 in the enclosing sealing means.

Next, the enclosing sealing means at the junction of the first transport path 10 and the second transport path 20 will be described.
The enclosing sealing means has a function as a second folding means for further folding the envelope paper 100 as necessary. The enclosing and sealing means is an enclosing means for enclosing the content paper 30 (content 50) in the envelope 150 by aligning the content 50 with the folded envelope paper 100 and then folding it. Sealing means for sealing 150 is also provided.

  The enclosing and sealing means includes a rotatable main folding roller A ″ as a second folding means, a paper transporting roller D ″ and first and second folding rollers B ″ and C ″ rotating in contact therewith. Is provided. These rollers are made of rubber, and the length in the axial direction is larger than the width of the envelope paper 100. The envelope paper 100 is folded by the main folding roller A ′ and the first folding roller B ′, which are the first folding means, as necessary, and then the main folding roller A ″ as the second folding means. Where further folding before and after encapsulation is performed as required.

  A downwardly directed path 46 is disposed between the main folding roller A ″ and the sheet conveying roller D ″ of the enclosing and sealing means. In the vicinity of the path 46, there is provided a hydration means 60 as an adhesion means for adhering the envelope paper 100 into an envelope by applying water to the rewet glue 110b of the envelope paper 100 to exert an adhesive force. Yes.

  Between the main folding roller A ″ and the second folding roller C ″ of the enclosing sealing means, a path 47 inclined obliquely upward and forward is disposed. In this path 47, along the conveying direction of the envelope 150, a pressure roller 80 is provided as a sealing means constituting a part of the conveying roller 22 and the sealing means. The pressure roller 80 is provided in two pairs of left and right as a pair in the upper and lower sides, and pressure is applied by sandwiching both edges in the width direction of the envelope 150 enclosing the contents 50 from above and below to apply pressure. Sealing with 110a can be performed. The sealed letter created after sealing is discharged through a path 47 to a discharge tray 48 provided on the upper surface of the housing 9.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the sealed letter creating apparatus 1 includes a control unit 90 that controls the entire apparatus including the printing unit 2 and the encapsulating sealing unit 3 (encapsulating unit 3 a and sealing unit 3 b) described above. ing.

3. About a structure and an effect | action of a folding means (FIGS. 5-11)
As described above, the control unit 90 of the sealed letter creating apparatus 1 controls the entire apparatus including the printing unit 2 and the encapsulating sealing unit 3, but in FIG. A function showing a configuration for controlling the folding means (folding roller or the like) of the content paper 30 and the abutting members 24 and 25 which are the folding position adjusting means of the content paper 30 in the enclosing portion 3a of the enclosing sealing portion 3 It is a block diagram.

With reference to FIG. 6, the structure near the folding means of the contents sheet 30 will be described in detail.
In the middle of the path 21, a sheet conveying roller and an aligning portion 23 that is an openable / closable gate are provided so that the sheets can be stacked and stored in the path 21. A folding means for folding the paper is provided at the end of the path 21. The folding means is provided with a rotatable central main folding roller A, and the first folding roller B, the second folding roller C, and the sheet conveying roller D are in contact with the main folding roller A so as to be rotatable. Is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 6, an abutting member 24 that abuts the leading end of the conveyed content paper 30 adjusts the folding position of the content paper 30 at the front position in the conveyance direction by the main folding roller A and the conveyance roller D. The folding position adjusting means is provided. The abutting member 24 can be moved by a first folding position adjusting motor M1, which is a driving means. The abutting member 24 changes its position so that when the content sheet 30 that has been abutted and bent is guided between the main folding roller A and the first folding roller B to fold the sheet, the folding position is set. It can be changed arbitrarily. Similarly, there is an abutting member 25 having the same configuration provided with the second folding position adjusting motor M2 at the front position in the conveying direction by the main folding roller A and the first folding roller B. The abutting member 25 changes the position of the abutting member 25 so that the folded content sheet 30 is guided when the sheet is folded between the main folding roller A and the second folding roller C and folded. It can be changed arbitrarily. As described above, according to the folding means having the abutting members 24 and 25, the content sheets 30 of various sizes can be folded at least twice at any fold line position.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, conveyance rollers 24 a and 25 a are provided in place of the abutting members 24 and 25, and the same function as the abutting members 24 and 25 is achieved by stopping the rotation of the conveyance rollers 24 a and 25 a. You may let them.

Here, the folding process of the content sheet 30 by the folding rollers A, B, and C will be described with reference to FIGS. In these drawings, the matching unit 23 is not shown for convenience.
As shown in FIG. 8A, the content sheet 30 sent by the sheet conveying roller 22 along the path 21 is nipped and conveyed between the main folding roller A and the sheet conveying roller D. As shown in FIG. 4B, the leading end of the content sheet 30 held and conveyed between the main folding roller A and the sheet conveying roller D abuts against the abutting member 24. As shown in FIG. 5C, the content sheet 30 is further conveyed with its leading end abutting against the abutting member 24, so that the main folding roller is loosened along the path shape in the path 21. It is sandwiched between A and the first folding roller B. Then, as shown in FIG. 4D, the content sheet 30 is sandwiched between the main folding roller A and the first folding roller B and folded in half while being conveyed.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, the content sheet 30 abuts against the abutting member 25 and is further transported and slackened along the path shape in the path, whereby the main folding roller A and the second folding roller C Sandwiched between them. As shown in FIG. 5B, the content sheet 30 is conveyed by the main folding roller A and the second folding roller C and is folded in three. As shown in FIG. The fold is completed.

  As shown in FIG. 10 (a), if the position of the abutting member 24 is moved away from the folding part, it can be made into an outer tri-fold, and as shown in FIG. If the position of the member 24 is moved far from the folding portion and the position of the abutting member 25 is moved to a position closer to the folding portion, it can be folded in four.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the sealed letter creating apparatus 1 can fold the content paper 30 to have an arbitrary size regardless of the size of the content paper 30. In this case, according to the size of the envelope 150 and the size of the content paper 30, how to fold the content paper 30 (folding position) so that the content 50 fits in the envelope 150 is determined. Accordingly, the position of the abutting members 24 and 25 in the folding means is adjusted, and the position of the folding line in the content sheet 30 is adjusted.

  In order to realize such a function, the control unit 90 includes a folding method determining unit 91 as shown in FIG. The folding method determining means 91 includes an envelope paper 100 and a content paper used from an envelope paper information input means 92 and a content paper input means 93 provided on the operation panel of the apparatus 1 not shown in other drawings. Thirty pieces of information are input. Further, as a part of the control unit 90, a sheet information storage unit 94 for the envelope sheet 100 and a sheet information storage unit 95 for the contents sheet 30 are provided and connected to the folding method determination unit 91. The paper information storage unit 94 of the envelope paper 100 stores the size of the envelope paper 100, the size of the storage area of the contents 50 when the envelope paper 150 is used, and other information for each envelope paper 100. The sheet information storage unit 95 of the content sheet 30 stores information such as the size of the content sheet 30. The folding determination unit 91 of the control unit 90 includes first and second folding positions that adjust the positions of the folding unit that folds the content sheet 30 and the abutting members 24 and 25 provided in the folding unit. The control motors M1 and M2 are connected to send control signals.

  When creating a sealed letter in the sealed letter creating apparatus 1, first, the type of the envelope paper 100 to be used is designated by the envelope paper information input means 92 from the operation panel or the like, and the envelope paper information input means 93 is used. The type of content sheet 30 is designated. The folding method determining means 91 reads information corresponding to the types of the designated envelope paper 100 and content paper 30 from the paper information storage section 94 of the envelope paper 100 and the paper information storage section 95 of the content paper 30. Based on the information, the optimal folding method of the specified content sheet 30 is determined with respect to the envelope 150 created by folding the specified envelope sheet 100.

4). Constitution and operation of envelope sheet folding means and sealing means (FIGS. 12 to 15)
Next, a process of wrapping the content sheet 30 folded by the folding unit in the envelope sheet 100 while folding the envelope sheet 100 by the folding unit to create an envelope will be described.
FIG. 12 is an operation timing chart showing the operation sequence or timing of each part when the contents 50 are enclosed in the envelope 150. FIGS. 13 to 15 show the configuration and operation of the folding means and the sealing means of the envelope paper 100. FIG. It is a figure shown for every process.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the folding means and the sealing means for the envelope paper 100 further have the following configuration.
First, a paper feed roller 32 driven by a paper feed motor M3 is provided along the other path 26 between the main folding roller A of the folding means for the content paper 30 and the main folding roller A ′ of the enclosing means. It has been. Further, an envelope feed roller driven by an envelope feed pulse motor M4 along the other path 13 between the main folding roller A ′ of the folding means of the envelope paper 100 and the main folding roller A ″ of the sealing means. A paper standby sensor S1 is provided at the tip of the paper feed roller 32 along the other path 26. When the paper standby sensor S1 detects the content paper 30, The sheet feed motor M3 is turned off and the envelope feed pulse motor M4 is turned on. Further, in the vicinity of a path 46 extending downward from the main folding roller A ″ of the sealing means, an envelope abutting sensor S2 is provided. Is provided. Further, a sealing path sensor S3 is provided in the vicinity of the path 31 extending rearward from the main folding roller A ″ of the enclosing unit.

The process of enclosing the content sheet 30 in an envelope will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13A, the sheet feeding motor M <b> 3 is driven, and the content sheet 30 folded in three by the folding unit is conveyed by the sheet conveying roller 32.

  As shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13B, when the content paper 30 is detected by the paper standby sensor S1, the paper feed motor M3 is stopped by the output signal of the paper standby sensor S1, and the content paper 30 is conveyed. Stops and the content sheet 30 waits here. Further, the envelope feed pulse motor M4 is started by the output signal of the paper standby sensor S1, the envelope feed roller 29 is driven, and the conveyance of the envelope paper 100 is started.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 14A, the envelope paper 100 that has been diffracted once is conveyed by an envelope feed roller 29 driven by an envelope feed pulse motor M4 and fed into a path 46.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 14B, the envelope paper 100 fed into the path 46 is in the state shown in FIG. 2A, and water is applied to the re-wet paste 110b near the lower end by the hydration means 60. Then, it is detected by the envelope abutting sensor S2. After the output signal of the envelope abutting sensor S2 is turned ON, the timing pulse is counted by the control means (control unit 90), and then the paper feed motor M3 is started and the paper feed roller 32 is driven to stand by. The content paper 30 that has been sent is sent out toward the envelope paper 100. Here, the pulse count number X is the length of the content sheet 30 (vertical dimension), the length of the envelope sheet 100 (vertical dimension), the position of the re-wetting paste 110b on the envelope sheet 100, and the like. It is calculated from these conditions.

  At this time, the control unit 90 controls the sealing unit 3a and the sealing unit 3b, respectively, so that the re-wetting paste 110b on the third paper piece 103 of the envelope paper 100 and the content paper 30 come into contact with each other in the sealing unit 3a. The content sheet 30 is sealed in a state where it is disposed at the sealing position 3b at the sealing position. Further, the rewetting paste 110b of the envelope paper 100 and the content paper 30 are in contact with each other, and the perforation 104 serving as an opening provided in the envelope paper 100 and the content paper 30 are not in contact with each other. It is sealed in the state. In order to arrange the content sheet 30 at the predetermined sealing position in contact with the re-wetting paste 110b as described above, the control unit 90 carries the conveyance amount of either one or both of the envelope sheet 100 and the content sheet 30. To control. Specifically, the control unit 90 controls the amount of envelope paper 100 transported by the envelope feed roller 29 by controlling the drive amount of the envelope feed pulse motor M4, and controls the amount of paper feed by controlling the drive amount of the paper feed motor M3. The conveyance amount of the content paper 30 by the roller 32 is controlled.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 15A, the content sheet 30 passes between the main folding roller A ″ and the first folding roller B ″ together with the envelope sheet 100, whereby the first sheet 101 and the first sheet The three paper pieces 103 are bonded with the re-wet paste 110b to form the envelope 150. As described above, the content 50 is disposed at a position where it comes into contact with the rewet paste 110b. However, since the edge of the content 50 is slightly applied to the rewet paste 110b, the first piece of paper by the rewet paste 110b is used. The adhesion between the 101 and the third paper piece 103 is not hindered.

  When the envelope 150 is detected by the sealing path sensor S3 in the path 31, the envelope feed pulse motor M4 is stopped by the output signal of the sealing detection sensor S3, and the encapsulation of the contents 50 in the envelope is completed. The envelope 150 is fed by the conveying roller 22 along the path 47, is nipped and conveyed by the pressure roller 80, and both edges in the width direction are pressurized and sealed by the pressure sensitive adhesive 110a.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the envelope paper 100 and the content paper 30 are arranged in the sealing unit 3a so that the content paper 30 is disposed at a predetermined sealing position where the content paper 30 slightly contacts the rewet paste 110b of the envelope paper 100. By controlling the transport amount, a part of the content 50 is adhered to the re-wet paste 110b in the envelope 150 in accordance with the adhesion of the re-wet paste 110b in the sealing portion 3b, and the content 50 is fixed to the predetermined content in the envelope 150. It becomes possible to hold | maintain in the enclosure position. As a result, the content 50 does not move in the envelope 150 in the created sealed letter, and the folding of the content 50 and the stain on the seal surface can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, by disposing the content paper 30 so as not to contact the perforation 104 that becomes the opening portion of the envelope paper 100, it is possible to reliably prevent damage or the like when the content paper 30 is opened from the perforation 104.

  In the above-described embodiment, the printing unit 2 is provided. However, the printing unit 2 may be an existing image forming apparatus. That is, a normal image forming apparatus already installed in a business office or the like can be used as the printing unit 2 in the present invention, and the sealed sealing unit 3 of the present invention can be formed by connecting the sealed sealing unit 3 thereto. As a result, the envelope and contents can be printed using a single existing image forming apparatus, and the installation cost of the automatic envelope creation apparatus can be reduced. Further, as the image forming apparatus, an inkjet apparatus as in the above-described embodiment may be used, or other types of image forming means may be used, and the image forming principle is not limited.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, sheets are used as the content paper 30 and the envelope paper 100. For example, roll-shaped paper is used, and is cut and supplied to the required length each time it is used. You may make it do.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Seal creation apparatus 3a ... Enclosing part 3b ... Sealing part 30 ... Contents paper 50 ... Contents 90 ... Control means 100 ... Envelope paper 110 ... Adhesion part 150 ... Envelope

Claims (1)

The envelope paper to be an envelope provided with an adhesive portion or the content paper to be contents are folded, respectively, and the envelope paper and the content paper are conveyed to a predetermined sealing position, and the content paper is transferred to the envelope paper. In a sealed letter making apparatus comprising: an enclosing part for enclosing; and a sealing part for sealing by adhering the adhesive part of the envelope paper enclosing the content paper;
The predetermined enclosing position is a position where the adhesive portion of the envelope sheet and the content sheet are in contact with each other, and the conveyance amount of the envelope sheet and the content sheet is adjusted in order to convey to the predetermined enclosing position. A sealed letter creating apparatus comprising control means for controlling the enclosing part.

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