US2718828A - Envelope machine - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 27, 1955 c. BUDA ET AL ENVELOPE MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 12, 1951 INVENTORS. W

By M m ATTORNEYS.

Sept. 27, 1955 c. BUDA ET AL ENVELOPE MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 12, 1951 ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 2,718,828 ENVELOPE MACHINE Chester Buda and Emerick Mittermaycr, Chicago, 111.,

ass1gnors, by mesne assignments, to Envo-Tab Company, Chicago, III., a corporation of Illinois Application December 12, 1951, Serial No. 261,182 1 Claim. on. 9361) This invention relates to envelope-making machines; in particular, it concerns a machine adapted for rapidly and accurately manufacturing tabbed greeting-card envelopes of the type described in the application of Merwin R. Reinschreiber and William I. Russell, Serial No. 246,858, filed September 15, 1951,

In the aforementioned application, a novel envelope and greeting-card combination is described wherein the greeting card or the envelope is provided with an integrally formed removable tab on which a price can be printed, thus eliminating the necessity for manually folding a price tag over the assembled card and envelope and securing the same thereto with a paper clip.

In the appended drawing we have shown a typical embodiment of our invention. Figures 1-4 are plan views showing various stages in the manufacture of a tabbed envelope; Fig. 1 showing an unfolded blank as it might appear after being cut with a suitable die from a paper sheet, Fig. 2 showing the same blank after the tab has been appropriately cut and scored, Fig. 3 showing the appearance of the blank after the side flaps of the envelope have been folded inward in the novel manner hereinafter described, and Fig. 4 showing the appearance of the completed envelope after completion of the folding and gumming operations. Fig. 5 is a front elevation view showing the scoring and cutting element which forms a part of our invention, Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the same element shown in Fig. 5. Fig.- 7 is a perspective view of-a portion of our envelope-making machine, showing the manner in which the parts of the machine cooperate to achieve a novel result. Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the apparatus of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a plan view of part of the apparatus of Fig. 7, showingan envelope blank in the process of passing therethrough. .Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the appara us of Fig. 9, the section being taken along he line of 1010 of Fig. 9.

As may be seen from Fig. 1, a tabbed envelope of the type described in the aforesaid patent application Serial No. 246,858 may be made from a blank generally similar in shape to the blank used in maki g a conventional envelope, except that one of the notches normally cut in the sides of the blank is replaced by a tab 21, the shape of which may be adapted to suit the taste of the designer. Ordinarily, a simple pointed tab of the type shown in Fig. 1 may be used. Blanks such as the blank 20 illustrated in the drawing are normally cut from sheet paper stock with a suitable stamping die.

Fig. 2 shows blank 20 after being subjected to the first phase of its treatment in our machine; blank 20 in Fig. 2 is similar in shape to its appearance in Fig. 1 except that fold lines 22 have been scored into it and tab 21 has been out free from the flap 23 along line 24 and has been provided with an intermittently perforated junction line 25 removably connecting it to the flap 26.

In Fig. 3, the blank is shown as it appears after the side flaps 23 and 27 have been folded over and after bottom 2,718,828 Patented Sept. 27, 1955 ICC flap '28 has been provided along its edges with a coating of adhesive gum 29.

Fig. 4 shows the completed greeting-card envelope after the bottom flap 28 and the top flap 26 have been folded into position, making a completed envelope.

The present invention is concerned withapparatus for perforating, cutting, and guiding the tab 21 in the assembly of the envelope. The other illustrated operationsthe folding, gumming, etc.are conventional envelope-making operations which do not form part of the present invention.

Referring now to Fig. 7, we have shown therein a perspective view of a portion of an envelope-making machine, including the cooperating rollers which place crease lines 22 on the blank. In the figure, I have denoted the die-carrying roller with the reference numeral 31 and have given its cooperating pressure roller the numeral 32. Roller 31 carries shaped creasing die 33 provided at one end with a cutting and perforating member 34 which forms an important element of the present invention. v

Pressure roller 32 is provided with a suitable pressure drum 35 having its outer surface formed of rubber or other suitable resilient material adapted to present a friction surface to the paper blanks and to insure their being guided through the rollers without slipping.

The rubber surface 35 terminates at the axial position on roller 32 which is slightly inboard of the nearer edge of creasing die 33, and the surface of roller 32 for a limited zone beyond the edge of the resilient drum 35 is a hardened steel annular anvil 36 which cooperates with the cutting and perforating element 34 heretofore mentioned. Anvil 36 contains a shallow annular groove 36a positioned axially to receive within it the edge 33a of creasing die 33. p q

Fig. 5 shows a fragmentary close-up view of one end of creasing die 33, showing the manner in which die 33 and member 34 are related. The annular creasing edge 33a of die 33 does not cut the envelope blank when the blanks pass between the cooperating rollers 31 and 32 because it rides within groove 36a and thus merely imparts a sharp crease 22 to the blank rather than cutting it. The corresponding creasing edges of die 33 which form the other creases 22 on the blank 20 crease rather than out the blank because they engage the yieldable rubber 35. Member 34 comprises a perforating blade 37 and a cutting blade 38, both of which are provided with sharp edges. Blade 37, as may be readily seen from Fig. 5, is disposed angularly inboard of creasing tool'33a. It engages anvil 36 once during each revolution of roller 31 and, since it traps the blank 20 between its own sharp. edge and the hard steel surface of anvil 36, it cuts into the blank 20 a series of spaced perforations 25. At the same time, blade 38 cuts a clean straight line 24 in blank 20 which thereby leaves tab 21 free of blank 20 on three sides and joined on the fourth side by the perforated junction 25.

Referring again to Fig. 7, we show therein the novel apparatus which, in cooperation with the perforating and cutting tool 34, makes possible the rapid manufacture of tabbed envelopes. Downstream of the rollers 31 and 32, the blanks 20 pass under guide members 39 and over a folding guide member 40. As may be seen from Fig. 7, guide member 40 presents to the blanks a gradually rising curved surface which causes side flap 23 to fold upward until, when the blank has reached point 40a, the side flap 23 has been folded at right angles to the main body of blank 20. A similar folding element (not shown) is operative to fold flap 27 in the same manner.

Mounted in any suitable manner on the guide 39 adjacent folding guide member 40 we have provided a tab guide 41 which lies on the bed plate 42 immediately alongside and slightly ahead of the leading edge of guide member 40.

(It will be understood that bed plate 42 has been omitted from the perspective view in Fig. 7 in order to disclose clearly the structure which lies under and beyond it; the position of bed plate 42 relative to guide member 39 and the rollers 31 and 32 may be seen clearly from Fig. 8.)

. The forepart of guide member 40 is cut away on its inboard edge to provide a forwardly extending projection 42a which slips under the end flap 23 of the advancing blank 20 as it passes between the rollers 31 and 32-. Tab guide 41, which may be formed in any desired manner, such as by a suitable piece of spring-steel wire, rests on bed plate 42 immediately inside the cut-back portion of guide 40 which forms projection 42a. This construction is clearly shown in Fig. 9.

The operation of our invention may be clearly understood from a study of Figs. 9 and 10. As the blank 20 passes from between rollers 31 and 32, where tab 21 has been formed by the tool 34, end flap 23 of the blank 20 passes over projection 42a onto the upper surface of guide member 40. As the blank 20 advances, guide member 40 folds flap 23 upward, the flap folding along the crease line 22 impressed in the blank 20 by the edge 33a of the creasing die 33. As the tab 21 advances, however, it is engaged by tab guide member 41 and is held downward against bed plate 42 and thus forced to pass under folding guide member 40 while the remainder of blank 20 is passing over it. This action is clearly shown in Fig. 10.

The result of the cooperative action of the tool 34 and the tab-guiding apparatus comprising elements 39, 40, and 41 is to produce a semi-folded envelope in the form shown in Fig. 3, wherein the flap 23 has been folded inward independently of the tab 21, which remains outwardly extending as shown therein.

At a later stage of the envelope-assembly operation, the upper and lower flaps 26 and 28 may be folded inward by conventional means to form a completed envelope as shown in Fig. 4. The price tab 21 on such a completed envelope is removably attached to the envelope flap 26, extending outwardly therefrom where it may readily be seen by a prospective purchaser.

It will be understood that the price of the greetingcard-and-envelope combination will normally be printed on tab 21. The printing operation may of course be conventional and may be accomplished at any desired stage of the manufacturing operation. Ordinarily, printing of the tab will take place on the unprocessed blank 20 prior to cutting and creasing. That is a matter of choice, however.

While we have in the present specification described in considerable detail a single embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that numerous modifications thereof may be made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of our invention. It is accordingly our desire that the scope of our invention be determined primarily with reference to the appended claim.

We claim:

In an envelope machine for making open side, tabbed envelopes from successive blanks, each comprising a body, side flaps consisting of bottom and sealing flaps at opposite sides of the body, end flaps at opposite ends of the body, and a tab forming part at one corner of the body connecting a side flap with an end flap, in combination, means for advancing each blank at uniform speed along a definite feed path with the bottom flap leading and the sealing flap trailing, rotary scoring means for acting on the traveling blank to mark a boundary with a fold line, rotary severing and perforating means for dividing the tab forming part from the associated end flap by a slit and from the associated side flap by a line of perforations, said rotary severing means and perforating means being secured to said rotary scoring means and their cutting edges disposed at an angle with respect to each other, means for conveying the blank to a folding station so that the tab is disposed to extend outward from the side flap beyond the central feeding zone traversed by the body and to traverse a portion of the marginal feeding zone traversed by the associated end flap, flap folding means disposed at said folding station and downstream of said scoring means and comprising a plowshare folder disposed in said marginal zone in position to intercept a traveling end flap and fold it upward and inward about a predetermined scored fold line and toward a central line of feed, said plowshare folder at its blank receiving end being spaced outward from the fold line to provide an open space through which the tab may be deflected downward, and a tab depressing finger disposed to extend down into said open space in position to engage and depress the end flap and tab, said finger being ineffective to depress the end flap beneath the plowshare folder because of the extensive overlap of the plowshare folder by the end flap but being effective to depress the tab through said open space and to guide it beneath the plowshare folder so that the tab is caused to remain unfolded.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,111,751 Kenny Sept. 29, 1914 1,476,954 Denmire Dec. 11, 1923 1,571,983 Weber Feb. 9, 1926 1,581,316 Kienast Apr. 20, 1926 1,583,977 Kelly May 11, 1926 1,649,760 Vierengel Nov. 5, 1927 1,839,491 Novick Jan. 5, 1932 2,108,334 Hayes Feb. 15, 1938 2,113,555 Novick Apr. 5, 1938 2,123,548 Sauerman July 12, 1938 2,125,147 Bergstein July 26, 1938 2,217,494 Poppe Oct. 8, 1940 2,220,390 Bishop Nov. 5, 1940 2,270,639 Parks Jan. 20, 1942 2,403,377 Kelley July 2, 1946 2,458,867 Messersmith Jan. 11, 1949 2,462,513 Kucklinsky Feb. 22, 1949 2,472,521 Danebauer June 7, 1949

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