US2363417A - Method of and apparatus for making zigzag or fan-folded assemblies of series connected envelopes - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 21, 1944. v. E. HEYWOOD 2,363,417

METHQD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING ZIG-ZAG 0R FAN F LDED I ASSEMBLIES OF SERIES CONNECTED ENVELQPES Filed July 15, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 21 zz Q Q v. E. HEYWOOD I Nov. 21, 1944.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING ZIG-ZAG- OR FAN FOLDED ASSEMBLIES OF SERIES CONNECTED ENVELOPES Filed July 15, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m uu ww avww mm mm ow N fl yr v I NU x Q M T" NO {11.71.

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5 07/00 ATTORN EY I Z a Patented Nov. 21, 1944 I VMETHOQDV OFAND, APPARATUS FOR MAKING .:ZIGZAG'0R FAN-FOLDED ASSEMBLIES F seams CONNECTED ENVELOPES Vincent E. Heywood, Worcester, Mass, assig-nor to United States Envelope Company, Springfield, Mass., a corporation of Maine' v j Application July 15, 1941. Serial No. 402,524

' 4- Claims. (01.; 93-6 1) The present invention relatesto the production of zig-zag or fan-folded assemblies or chains of series-connected envelopesfin a form that meets all the exacting requirements of such fbusiness machines (for bookkeeping, addressing, and-like purposes) as are constructed to handleand feed their entry-receiving media in a' continuous web 2, which at. regular intervals throughout its length .is cross-scored to provide weakened severance lines 3, so that the strip is readily foldable along these lines to form a compactzig-zag or strip which is presented to the machine as a zig-zag or fan-folded stack. To meet such re-' quirements .the envelopes or closuresmustbe capable of ready separation from theseries' into in stack, conveniently arranged on a suitable support I, with a considerable length of foldedstrip occupying a relatively small space, owing to the tendencyof the 'folded portions to pack tightly;

.. The strip 2 also provides along one edge a suitdividual units for subsequent loading and Sealing after entry by the machineof the appropriate data thereon, and furthermore, must be capable of being'fed accurately as a series,in order to insure absolutely correct registration of each envelope unit with the writing d chine. I v M I According to my invention, a suitable crossscored web or carry strip is continuously fed evices offthebusine ss ma-,

able band 4, having perforations 5 at regular intervals, the band 4 being readily removable, along a weakened line of severance 6 (see Fig. 6), after it has performed its usual function of feeding th strip through a business machine.

The continuous lengthwise movement of web or strip 2 is here shown as obtained by a feed drum l, secured to a rotating shaft 8 andhaving on its lengthwise, and at the same time the succession of spaced-apart completedenvelopes, travelling in the same direction and 'at the same speed as said web, are brought one by. one. into registry and adhesive contact with the spaces between the web's cross-scores, thus to obtain a composite web-and-envelope structure ,,which is collected or assembled in a izlg-zag orfan-folded stack, of the form required for its use in a 0.

business? machine.

periphery a circular series of pins 9 so spaced as to be freely received in the perforations 5 of the feed band 4 when the strip 2 is passed around theperiphery of the drum 1.; It is to be noted that the drum 1 is of such diameter that a consider- The above and other features and advantages of the invention will hereinafter more fully appear from the following detailed'description there- 7.

of, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,inwhich- ,7 I v Fig; 1 is a diagrammatic view, illustrating the essential principles and elements of .myimproved process'an'd apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a view partly section, and partly in side elevation, of a portion of the apparatus illustratedinFig. 1.

able number of pins 9 are received in the perforations 5 between the points of tangency A and B,

where the strip passes onto and leaves the pe-.

ripheryof the drum 1. Inadvance of its engagement with the drum 1 at the point A, the strip 2 passes between a pair-of applicator-rolls 'IO and. i I, spaced from the drum so as to maintain in ahorizontal plane asection of strip, the length of which is'greaterthan the distance between adjacent severance lines 3. In its travel between the-rolls l0 and II and the drum 1, the

strip is supported by a plate I 2 (see-Fig. 2), so

that it-cannotsag The web or carry strip 2 is here shown as bein drawn over the roll Ill. from a point. below said roll, being guided in its movement toward said roll by a suitableguide I3, which receives the strip Fig.3 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig.2.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation 'of the mechanism of Fig. '1, as viewed from the right, with certain N parts omitted.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view substantially along the line largedscale. x 1 e H Fig.6 is a plan view of 'ashort section of the composite web-and-envelope product of my improved process and apparatus.

Y-Y of Fig. 2,. on an 811-.

As shown diagrammatically in g.1, the methed and apparatus ofmy'invention contemplates the use of a continuous paper web or carry strip after the'latter has passed over a guide bar l5 and-under a-guide bar It, these guide bars being substantially in line with the support I, The distance between the front bar It and the support I is such that the fan-folded strip is free to unfold as the strip is advanced by rotation of the feed drum 1. There is, however; no tension on the strip between the guide bar It and the sup-- port, so that the strip ,tends'to sag on either side of the intermediate guide bar l5 as the unfolding progresses. a v

In order to prevent the unfolding action of the strip 2 from imparting a sidewise motion which might tend to cause misalinement of the strip Witlnthe feed drum, a compensating rod 16 cooperates with the guide bar M. The ends of the rod I8 are freely received in slot; l1 provided by brackets l8, so that the rod bears on the strip and, by reason of its weight. tends to maintain a slight tension on the strip between the bar and the roll In this way, the Jerking action to which the strip is subjected as it unfolds, is compensated for without lateral displacement of the strip, before it enters between the rolls in and II, the function of which is to apply envelopes to the moving strip by a mechanism which will next be described.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the apparatus provides a second support |9 having a trough of adjustable width for receiving on edge a stack of envelopes 2|, having their seal flaps 2|a (see Fig. 6) extended in open position, the width of each envelope being slightly less than the distance between adjacent severance lines 3 of the strip 2. The support I9 is inclined from the horizontal at such an angle that the envelopes 2| tend to slide downwardly in the trough 20 in the direction of a rotatable feed wheel 22 mounted on a shaft 23 extending parallel to the shaft 8, which carries the strip feeding drum 1. The feed wheel 22 provides grippers 24, of frictional material, and once during each revolution of the shaft 23, the grippers 24 contact the foremost envelope as supported in the trough and carry it into engagement with a roll 25 mounted on a shaft 26 extending below and parallelto the shaft 23.

The shaft 26 is driven from any suitable source of power, as by means of a pulley 21 and belt 28, with the shaft 23 being connected to the shaft 26 by gearing 29 (see Fig. 3). Normally the stack of envelopes bears loosely on the periphery of the feed wheel 22, so that once for each revolution of the shaft 23, the grippers 24 remove one envelope from the trough and carry it forward into the bite between the roll 25 and wheel 22. Since the roll 25 is travelling at the same peripheral speed as the feed wheel 22, the envelope is positively withdrawn from the stack for delivery to a horizontally moving conveyor, generally designated by the reference character 30.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the conveyor 30 comprises a pair of spaced chains 3| passing around sprockets 32 loosely mounted on the shaft 26 on opposite sides of the roll 25. The conveyor chains 3| extend forwardly, toward the drum 1 and pass around sprockets 33 .which serve to maintain-the upper courses of the chains in a horizontal plane substantially in line with the top portion of the drum 1, although spaced therefrom. Both chains 3| pass partially around sprockets 34 mounted on a shaft 35, driven from the shaft 23 through a chain 36 and sprockets 31, with the ratio between the sprockets 31 being such that the conveyor 30 travels at a speed less than that of the feed wheel 22.

Certain links of the conveyor chains 3| carry transversely alined pairs of lugs 01' projections 38, said pairs of projections being equally spaced apart a distance greater than the width of an envelope 2|, and substantially the same as the distance between strip-severance lines 3. Consequently delivery of the envelopes one-by-one to the conveyor 30 by rotation of the feed wheel 22 and its cooperating roll 25 results in uniform spacing of the envelopes 2| on the conveyor between the lugs 38. Since the surface speed of the conveyor is less than the delivery speed of an envelope, the lugs 38 serve initially as gauges against which the leading edge of each envelope is pressed, to square up the envelope as it passes onto the conveyor.

In order to prevent an envelope from following around the feed wheel 22, a guide 38 is mounted beside the feed wheel 22 which serves to hold the envelope in engagement with the lugs 38 until after the trailing edge of the envelope has left the bite of the feed wheel 22 and its cooperating roll 25. When once clear of the feed wheel, each envelope is carried forward by the conveyor, with its trailing edge engaged by a pair of lugs 38 and its leading edge slightly spaced from the lugs in advance thereof.

As each envelope being advanced by the conveyor leavesthe forward ends of the chains, above the sprockets 33, it passes onto fingers 40 that serve to support the envelope as it passes into the bite between a gumming roll 4| and a cooperating pressure roll 42. The shaft 43 on which the sprockets 33 are mounted is connected by gearing 44 to a shaft 45 carrying the gumming roll 4|, it being noted that the distance between the vertical plane XX of the'axis of shaft 43 and the vertical plane YY of the axis of shaft 45 is slightly less than the width of an envelope 2 Thus the leading edge of the envelope 2| enters the bite of the gumming rolls 4| and 42 before the trailing edge of the envelope has left the conveyor. Therefore, a pair of lugs 38 are still pressing on the envelopes trailing edge as the gumming rolls take 'hold, with a resulting tendency to buckle the envelope as the lugs 38 swing downwardly around the end of the conveyor. In order to overcome this tendency, the fingers 40 are mounted on a pivot 46, so that turning of the fingers in a clockwise direction will cause them to lift the trailing edge of an envelope away from the lugs 38. The pivot 46 is connected by an arm 41 and linkage 48 to an.

operating lever 49 adapted to receive a reciprocatory movement from a cam 49a on the shaft 23 for each revolution of the feed wheel 22. This movement of the lever 49 is so timed that the fingers 40 are turned about their pivot 46 just enough to disengage the trailing edge of an enadhesive, so that passage of an envelope between.

the rolls 4| and 42 serves to apply an even coating of adhesive to the under surfaceof the envelope. As an envelope is further advanced toward the drum 1 by the gumming rolls, it is positively stripped from the surface of the roll 4| by fingers 52 extending into grooves 53 provided in the periphery of the roll 4|, see Fig. 5. These fingers 52 are very narrow and serve. to guide the envelope in its movement beyond the gumming roll without blocking any appreciable amount of adhesive from the under surface of the envelope. The fingers 52 support the gummed envelope until its leading edge enters the bite between the applicator rolls l0 and H which, as previously pointed out, are spaced from the drum 7 sufficiently to maintain a section of strip 2 in a horizontal plane, substantially tangential to the periphery of the drum 1, in cooperation with plate l2.

The lower applicator roll H) is mounted on a shaft 54 parallel to the gumming roll shaft 45, with the vertical plane Z-Z of the axis of shaft 54 displaced from the vertical plane Y-Y of the axis of shaft 45 a distance slightly less than the width of an envelope 2|. .The gear 44 on the shaft 45 is connected to a gear 55 on the shaft sure engagement with the envelope.

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ll byfa'n idler 53, and since the gears 4t and II are ofthe same pitch diameter as the rolls 4| and '10; the rolls travel at. the same peripheral speed." The shaft"! carrying the feed drum 1, also carries a-sprocket 51, the pitch diameter of which corresponds to the diameter of the drum, and 'a chain 58 connects the sprocket 51 to a sprocket 59 on theshaft 45, having the same pitch diameter as the gearfl', As a result, the'siirfa'ce of the-drum 1- is moving at a speed corresponding to the peripheral speed of the'rollslfl and. I

As previously pointed out,.the strip! passes upwardly from the guide l3 around the lower appliator roltlfl, beforepassing onto the periph ery of the drum 1 at the tangent point A. Con sequen'tly, each envelope 2|, withits'u'nder surface 'gummed, is delivered by the gumming rolls into the bite of the applicator rolls at a speed substantially corresponding to the rate of travel of any point on the strip'2. Since the displacement between the axes of the shafts 45 and 54 is less than the width of an envelope, the leading edge of'each gummed envelope is -received between the applicator rolls 10' and li before its trailing edge leaves the'bite of the gumming rolls 4| and 42'. I Thus, gummed envelopes successively delivered by the conveyor 30 are positively a'p- I plied to the strip Z-at regular intervals corre-v sponding to the spacing between successive severance lines 3 on the strip. 1

As eachenvelope 2l' passes onto'the strip 2 between the rolls l and] I,'its gumined underside is pressed against the stripso as to cause an immediate adhesionthereto. However, short- 1y after the trailing edge of the envelope leaves the mining rolls 4| and 42, the roll II is lifted slightly, so that the remainder of the envelope passes freely onto the strip, without being sub- J'ected to any force other than the pull of the :leading portion that is already attached to the strip by the adhesion of the gummed face of the envelope. In this way,.lifting of the upper applicator roll ll relieves the strip 2 of any retarding force such as might result in damaging the perforations 5 by which the strip is fed the nvelopes to the strip without subjecting it to any strain, such as might damage the perforations of the feed band 4 that are subsequently depended upon to carry the strip and its envelopes into the mechanism of a business machine, or other similar device.

In order to obtain the above described lifting,

the roll H is mounted between the free ends of the arms 60, turnablewith a shaft 6|. The shaft 8| carries an operating arm 62 that is adapted to 'beturned by a lever 63 under the control of a V 'the cooperatingroll l0, sothat the leading por tion of a gummed envelope passing onto the strip, is pressed firmly into engagement with the strip.

around the drum 1. As previouslypointed out, it is'one of the objects of the invention to attach.

However, after about one-quarter of the envelope has engaged the strip, and the trailing edge has cleared'the gumming rolls, the cam 64 causes the lever 63 to turn the shaft 6| in a clockwise direction, just enough to lift the roll H from pres- Obviously, the above described operation of the roll II is repeated as each envelope arrives at the applicator rolls, since the cam-64 is mounted on the same shaft 23 that carries the feed Wheel 22.

It isto be noted that the tangent point A On the drum 1 is displaced from the axis vertical plane 2-2 of the axis of the applicator roll shaft 54 a distancev greater than the width of an envelope, so'that the entire gummed surface of an envelope iscompletely in engagementwith the strip by the time it reaches the drum. In order to insure that the envelopes will not tend to curl-away from the strip as they' passaround the drum 1, one or more flexible elements 61 carried by the shaft 6|, extend'freely around'the drum from which they hang downwardly, so that theenvelopes pass under these elements 61 before arrival atthe tangentpoint A. If desired, suitable weights 68. can be attached to the ends of the elements 61, so that the latter exert just the right amount of draggingto insure adequate adhesion of. the envelopes to the strip by the time the eompletedstrip leaves the drum 1.

'To, prevent the completed strip from following around beneath the drum, by reason ,of theengagement ofthe pins ,9 in the perforations 5, a stripping finger 69 is provided between the under side of'the strip, and the drum. The finger 69 is mounted on an adjustable bracket 10, so that the finger can be located at just the point where it will remove the strip from the pins before the pins exert any appreciable pull onthe perforations, such a's'would tend to carry the strip around the underside of the drum. Therefore, as the strip with the envelopes thereon leaves the drum 1 and moves downwardly, it progressively resumes in its descent its previous fan-folded form on a support 1!, in the path of the progressively descending strip,"causes the composite web-andenvelope structure to fold on the score lines 3-3 into a zig-zag' or fan-fold assembly of the same general form, as shownv on the support I, see Fig. 1.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that by the present invention, I have provided a highly efllcient means and method for producing, for use in business machines, zig-zag or fan-folded assemblies or stacks of series-connected envelopes, thev same involving the continuous feed or advancement of a cross-scored carry strip and simultaneously the synchronized feed and delivery in registered position on said strip of complete envelopes, gummed on their flap-carrying faces and traveling at the same speed at which the strip is traveling. While for purposes of illustration the under sides of the envelopes are 'gummed', prior to their delivery to the strip, the

invention is not so limited, since the upwardly moving side of the strip nearest the gum tub couldreadily receive an application of adhesive. Furthermore, pre-gummed strip, or envelopes, can be employed that would only require moistening prior to the delivery of the envelopes to the strip.

Iclaim:

1. Apparatus for producing a zig-zag stack or assembly of series-connected envelopes, each with a closure flap as an extension from one of its faces, comprising a feed belt or conveyor having spaced projections for edgewise engagement with such envelopes, to efiect a positive feed of a succession of same in predetermined spaced relation, means for continuously feeding lengthwise, at substantially the same speed as the so-fed envelopes, a paper web or strip having crossscores of slightly greater spacing thant the leading and trailing edges of each so-fed envelope,

means for merging the respective lines of web and envelope feed to oppose each envelopes flapcarrying face with the web face, means effective prior to such merger for applying adhesive to one of said opposed faces, the said two feeding means being synchronized to effect the registration of successive envelopes with successive web areas between the cross-scores, and means operable thereafter on the composite web-and-envelope structure produced by adhesion of said faces for assembling same progressively in a zigzag stack on hinges or fold lines provided by said cross-scores between successive envelopes.

2. Apparatus for producing a zig-zag stack or assembly of series-connected envelopes, comprising means for continuously feeding a succession of envelopes in spaced relation by positive engagement witheach envelope along an edge thereof, means for continuously feeding lengthwise, at

substantially the same speed'as the so-f'ed envelopes, a paper strip or web having cross-scores slightly farther apart than the leading and trailing edges of each so-fed envelope, means for synchronizing the web and envelope feeds and for effecting their merger in a common-line of feed to oppose each envelope, by the face which carries its closure flap, in register with an area of the web face between adjacent cross-scores, and means operating prior to such merger for applying adhesive to one or the other of said sets of face areas, whereby to obtain by the adhesive union of successive advancing envelopes with said web, a continuous composite web-and-envelope structure adapted for zig-zag stacking on hinges or fold lines afforded by said cross-scores between said envelopes.

3. The herein described method of roducing mesa-117 a zig-zag stack or assembly of series-connected envelopes, which consists in continuously feeding lengthwise .a paper'strip or web having crossscores at regular intervals, continuously feeding at the same speed by positive edgewise engagement, a succession of envelopes, each slightly narrower than the spaces between said crossscores, merging the respective lines of web and envelope feed, to bring into opposition with the web face, between its cross-scores, the successive envelope faces which carry the envelopes closure flaps, applying successively to one set of said opposed face portions, before such merger, adhesive coatings over substantially the entire areas thereof, and finally procuring the zig-zag stacking of the composite web-and-envelope structure thus formed on the hinges or fold lines provided by said cross-scores.

4. The herein-described method of producing a chain or strip of series-connected envelopes, adapted for zig-zag or fan-folded stacking, which consists in feeding a succession of complete envelopes in spaced relation, feeding at the same speed a continuous web, having cross-scores defining areas each slightly wider than said envelopes, with a face of said web opposing the envelope faces that carry the envelopes closure flaps, applying adhesive to one set or the other of such opposing faces, and then merging the respective lines of web and envelope feed to register and contact each envelope by its said face with a face portion of the web between said cross- .scores, whereby to produce a composite web-andenvelope structure that is freely foldable in zigzag fashion on said cross-scores.

VINCENT E. HEYWOOD.

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