Patent Application
20050092440
This Application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/849,936. The present invention relates to an automated apparatus which facilitates both folding and sealing of a pre-glued form by passing the pre-glued form through a plurality of pressure rollers to sequentially fold and seal the pre-glued form into a desired folded configuration.
In the prior art, a variety of folding apparatuses are conventionally used and well known in the art for folding pre-glued forms. In addition, a variety of separate sealing apparatus are also conventionally used and well known in the art for sealing pre-glued forms. However, none of the heretofore known apparatuses facilitate both folding of a pre-glued form and sealing of a pre-glued form during a single pass of the form through a sealing and folding apparatus. Moreover, generally at least four rollers are required to facilitate folding of a pre-glued form while at least two additional rollers are required to facilitate sealing of the folded pre-glued form in its folded configuration.
With reference to
Turning now to
Turning now to
With reference now to
By passing the pre-glued form 1 through the four rollers 24, 26, 28 and 30 and the three nips 32, 34, 36 formed therebetween, the two folds are made in the pre-glued form 1. It is to be appreciated that the second roller 26, however, is generally a fixedly positioned roller, i.e., the second roller 26 is fixedly mounted to housing and not spring biased in any manner, while the first roller 24, the third roller 28 and the fourth roller 30 are each spring biased toward one another to accommodate for the thickness of the pre-glued form 1 as it passes between one of the three nips 32, 34, 36. That is, the first roller 24 is spring biased toward the second roller 26 and is moved slightly away from the second fixed roller 26 as the pre-glued form 1 passes through the first nip 32, the third roller 28 is spring biased toward the second roller 26 and moves slightly away from the second roller 26 as the pre-glued form 1 passes through the second nip 34, and the fourth roller 30 is spring biased toward the third roller 28 and moves slightly away from the third roller 28 as the pre-glued form 1 passes through the third nip 36.
As will be appreciated from the above discussion, the folding apparatus, according to the prior art, is only able to provide a folded pre-glued form 1 and a separate further sealing operation, e.g. passing the folded pre-glued form 1 through a sealing apparatus, is required in order to finish production of the pre-glued form 1 in its completely folded and sealed configuration.
Wherefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the above mentioned shortcomings and drawbacks associated with the prior art folding and sealing apparatuses.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a single apparatus which provides both a folding operation and a sealing operation to a pre-glued form during a single pass of the pre-glued form through the apparatus.
A further object of the present invention is to minimize the amount of associated rollers required to facilitate both the folding operation and the sealing operation of the pre-glued form as pre-glued form makes a single pass through the apparatus.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a first and second fixed nips to provide a sufficient sealing pressure to the folded pre-glued form as the pre-glued form makes a single pass through the fixed nips of the apparatus.
A still further object of the present invention is to utilize at least three stainless steel rollers, or some other material which is substantially incompressible, as the final three pressure rollers of the folding and sealing apparatus to provide a sufficient sealing pressure to the pre-glued form.
Yet another object of the present invention is to arrange four rollers so as to form three nips between a mating surface of the four rollers, with the first and second nips cooperating with one another to provide a first initial fold for the pre-glued form while the second and third nip cooperating with one another to provide a second fold for the pre-glued form and the second and third nips providing a sufficient sealing pressure to the pre-glued form to facilitate sealing of the folded pre-glued form.
The present invention also relates to a folding and sealing apparatus comprising: a housing, the housing accommodating a plurality of rollers, the housing accommodating a motor for driving at least one of the plurality of rollers via a drive mechanism, a feed surface, supported by the housing, for feeding a supply of pre-glued forms to the folding and sealing apparatus, wherein the plurality of rollers form at least two nips each having a fixed nip clearance and the two fixed nips provide a sufficient sealing pressure to the folded pre-glued form, as the pre-glued form passes through the two fixed nips, to facilitate both folding and sealing of the pre-glued form as the folded pre-glued form passes through the two fixed nips.
The present invention also relates to a method of folding and sealing a pre-glued form by a single pass through a folding and sealing apparatus, the method comprising the steps of: providing a housing, accommodating a plurality of rollers within the housing, accommodating a motor, for driving at least one of the plurality of rollers via a drive mechanism, within the housing, providing a feed surface, supported by the housing, for feeding a supply of pre-glued forms to the folding and sealing apparatus, forming, via the plurality of rollers, at least two nips each having a fixed nip clearance and the two fixed nips providing a sufficient sealing pressure to the folded pre-glued form, as the pre-glued form passes through the two fixed nips, and facilitate both folding and sealing of the pre-glued form as the folded pre-glued form passes through the two fixed nips.
The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
With reference now to
As with the prior art, the four rollers 50, 52, 54 and 56 are all located and completely housed within the exterior housing 42 of the folding and sealing apparatus 40 for safety reasons. However, contrary to the prior art, the second, the third and the fourth rollers 52, 54 and 56 of the folding and sealing apparatus 40 are all fixedly supported or arranged rollers (i.e., the position and orientation of these rollers are preset at the manufacturing facility to maintain continuously a desired spacing between the respective rollers and eliminate any adjustment of the roller position(s) which typically is done by the operator of conventional fold and seal while the other remaining roller, i.e., the first roller 50 of the folding and sealing apparatus 40, is a spring biased roller which can separate slightly from its spring biased position when a pre-glued form 1 passes between the first roller 50 and the second roller 52. That is, the first roller 50 is spring biased toward the second roller 52 which is fixedly supported by a pair of opposed bearings (not numbered) mounted on the opposed side walls 47, 48 of the exterior housing 42. The pair of bearings facilitate rotation of the second roller 52. In a similar manner, the third and the fourth rollers 54 and 56 are also fixedly supported by a pair of opposed bearings (not numbered) mounted on the opposed side walls 47, 48 of the exterior housing 42. The two pairs of bearings (not numbered) facilitate rotation of the third and the fourth rollers 54 and 56. A first nip 51 is formed between the first and second rollers 50, 52, a second nip 53 is formed between the second and third rollers 52, 54, and a third nip 55 is formed between the third and fourth rollers 54, 56.
A single motor 59 drives the first roller, the second roller, the third roller and the fourth roller 50, 52, 54 and 56 via a series of gears. An output shaft (not numbered) of the motor supports a first gear 60 and this first gear 60 directly drives an intermediate gear 62. The intermediate gear 62, in turn, directly drives a fourth gear 64 supported at one end of the fourth roller 56, adjacent one of the bearings, so as to rotate the fourth roller 56 in a clockwise direction (as can be seen in
The motor 59 supplies a sufficient rotating torque to the third and fourth rollers 54, 56 to facilitate passing the pre-glued and folded form 1 therethrough and minimize the possibility of the third and fourth pressure rollers 54, 56 from becoming bound or jammed as a folded form 1 passes therethrough. The motor 59 is designed to provide a torque to the third nip 55, formed between the third and fourth rollers, 54, 56 and to the second nip 53, formed between the second and third rollers 52, 54, of about 60 to 90 inch pounds of torque. The motor 59 is preferably at least ⅓ to ¼ horsepower motor and is coupled to an electrical supply by either a conventional electrical cord or a conventional battery (not shown).
The second, the third and the fourth rollers 52, 54 and 56 are all preferably stainless steel rollers or rollers which are manufactured from some other material which has a substantially incompressible exterior surface so that a sufficient folding/sealing pressure is applied to the pre-glued form 1 as the form passes through the second nip 53 formed between the second and third rollers 52, 54 and as the pre-glued form 1 as the form passes through the third nip 55 formed between the third and fourth rollers 54, 56. It is to be appreciated that the first roller 50 can also be a stainless steel roller or manufactured from some other material which has a substantially incompressible exterior surface.
Preferably, the second and the third rollers 52 and 54 are spaced from one another by a distance of about 0.004±0.0005 inches so as to form a second nip 53 having a constant and uniform spacing along the entire elongate axial length of the second nip 53 and the third and fourth rollers 54 and 56 are likewise spaced from one another by a distance of about 0.004±0.0005 inches so as to form a third nip 55 having a constant and uniform spacing along the entire elongate length of the third nip 55. It is to be appreciated that the second and the third nips 53, 55, in order to provide the necessary folding and/or sealing pressure, must be substantially fixed nips, i.e., the spacing between the two the second and the third roller 52 and 54 and between the third and the fourth pressure rollers 54 and 56 must not change during operation, as the pre-glued and folded form 1 passes therethrough, so that a sufficient sealing pressure is generated on the pre-glued and folded form 1 so as to break the micro-capsules containing the first and second components of the pressure sensitive epoxy or adhesive 4 and 6 and adequately bond and seal the folded form 1.
In order to minimize damage and/or required service calls for the folding and sealing apparatus 40, it is desirable to provide at least one of the fixed rollers, either the second, the third and/or the fourth roller 52, 54 or 56 or possibly two or more of those rollers, with a release mechanism 72 (
A first fold channel tray is provided along a travel path between the first and second nips 51 and 53. The first fold channel tray 74 comprises a top tray wall 76, an opposed bottom tray wall 78, a pair of opposed side tray walls (not numbered) and an end tray wall 80. The first fold channel tray 74 is sized to accommodate an 8½ inch wide sheet of paper, i.e., the opposed tray side walls are spaced from one another by a distance slightly greater than 8½ inches. The top tray wall 76 is spaced from the bottom tray wall 78 typically by a distance of about {fraction (1/16)} of an inch to about ½ of an inch or so to provide a sufficient area for receiving a leading edge 79 of the pre-glued form 1. A first adjustable fold stop 82 is accommodated by the first fold channel 74 and the adjustable fold stop 82 is axially movable along the length of the first fold channel 74, as discussed below in further detail, to a desired position.
In addition, the folding and sealing apparatus 40 includes a second fold channel tray 86 provided along a travel path between the second and third nips 53 or 55. The second fold channel tray 86 also comprises a top tray wall 88, an opposed bottom tray wall 90, a pair of opposed side tray walls (not numbered) and an end tray wall 92. The second fold channel tray 86 is also sized to accommodate an 8½ inch wide sheet of paper, i.e., the opposed tray side walls are spaced from one another by a distance greater than 8½ inches. The top tray wall 88 is spaced from the bottom tray wall 90 typically by a distance of about {fraction (1/16)} of an inch to about ½ of an inch or so to provide a sufficient area for receiving the leading edge 79 of the pre-glued and partially folded form 1. Another adjustable fold stop 94 is accommodated by the second fold channel 86 and the adjustable fold stop is axially movable along the length of the second fold channel, as discussed below in further detail, to a desired position.
The first and second adjustable fold stops 82, 94, of the first and the second fold channel trays 74, 86, are each movable axially along the length of the respective fold channel trays by as distance between 0 to 15 inches depending on the length of the document to facilitate adjustment of the width of the fold of the form 1 to be achieved by the respective fold channel tray 74, 86. To facilitate such adjustment, the top surface 76, 88 of each fold channel tray has at least one elongate aperture or slot (not shown) formed therein which allows a projecting screw 85 or 97, carried by an adjustable knob 84 or 96, to pass therethrough. The projecting screws 85 or 97 each engage with a mating threaded nut (not numbered) provided on the adjustable fold stops 82, 94 and, once the respective nut is sufficiently tightened, the nut maintains the adjustable fold stops 82, 94 in a desired adjusted location.
Due to this arrangement, an operator can adjust the length of the fold to be made in the form 1 to be folded by loosening the knobs 84, 96, moving the adjustable fold stop(s) 82 or 94 axially along the fold channel tray 74, 86 to a desired location and then re-tightening the adjustable fold stop 82, 94 at that desired position by a tightening rotation of the knobs 84, 96. The length of the first fold for the pre-glued form 1 is determined by the distance from the facing surface of the first adjustable stop 82, of the first fold channel tray 74, to the second nip 53 while the length of the second fold for the pre-glued form 1 is determined by the distance from the facing surface of the second adjustable stop 94, of the second fold channel tray 86, to the third nip 55.
When folding of a pre-glued form 1 is wanted, a desired supply of the pre-glued form(s) 1 to be folded and sealed is placed on the in-feed table or platform 58. Thereafter, the folding and sealing apparatus 40 is activated and a leading edge 79 of the pre-glued form 1 is fed, by the first and second rollers 50, 52, into the first nip 51. The leading edge 79 of the pre-glued form 1 exits from the first nip 51 and the first and second rollers 50 (
Once a sufficient amount of the intermediate leading portion 83 of the pre-glued form 1 has accumulated in the area immediately adjacent the second nip 53, the clockwise rotation of the second roller 52 and the counterclockwise rotation of the third roller 54 cause the intermediate leading portion 83 of the pre-glued form 1 to enter the second nip 53 and form a first fold in the pre-glued form 1 as intermediate leading portion 83 passes through the second nip 53. In addition, as the second and third rollers 52, 54 are both fixedly mounted rollers, those two rollers are not biased away from one another, as the pre-glued form 1 passes through the second nip 53, and thus the second and third rollers 52, 54 also apply a sufficient contact pressure to the pre-glued form 1 so as to seal, at least partially, the pre-glued form 1 in its partially folded configuration as the pre-glued form 1 passes through the second nip 53.
A leading folded edge 81 of the partially folded pre-glued form 1 exits the second nip 53 and is conveyed, due to the clockwise rotation of the second roller 52 and the counterclockwise rotation of the third roller 54, toward the second adjustable stop 94 of the second fold channel tray 86 (
In the event that only a half fold is required, the second fold channel tray 86 is removed from the housing, rotated or turned around 180° and then reinserted back into the housing 42, end tray wall 92 first, so that a rear surface of the end tray wall 92 of the second fold channel tray 86 is located closely adjacent and between both the second and fourth rollers 52 and 56 to deflect and redirect the partially folded pre-glued form 1, as the pre-glued form 1 exits from the second nip 53, toward the third nip 55.
When folding of a pre-glued form 1 is wanted, a desired pre-glued form 1 to be folded and sealed is placed on the in-feed table or platform 58 and the pre-glued forms 1 each pass through the first and second nips 51 and 53 in the same manner discussed above. However, due to the reverse configuration of the second fold channel tray 86, as the leading folded edge 81 of the partially folded pre-glued form 1 exits the second nip 53, formed by the second and third rollers 52, 54, the leading folded edge 81 of the partially folded pre-glued form 1 contacts the adjacent facing rear surface of the second fold channel tray 86 and is deflected by that surface directly toward and into the third nip 55 formed between the third and fourth rollers 54, 56. Accordingly, only a single fold is provided to the pre-glued form 1 and, as the folded pre-glued form 1 passes through the third nip 55, a further sealing pressure is provided to the folded pre-glued form 1 to seal further the pre-glued form 1 in its previously folded configuration.
As will appreciated by the above discussion, by merely reversing the orientation of the second fold channel tray 86, only a single fold is automatically provided by the same folding and sealing apparatus 40. Preferably the first fold channel tray 74 is also releasably secured to and retained by the housing 42 of the folding and sealing apparatus 40 to facilitate reversal thereof in the same manner as the second fold channel tray 86.
With reference now to
When the pre-glued form 1 is folded over in half, the thickness of the form generally measures between about 0.005 to about 0.015, depending upon the thickness of the paper utilized to manufacture the pre-glued form 1, while when the form is folded over into the Z-shaped or letter type configuration, the folded pre-glued form 1 has a thickness ranging from about 0.009 to about 0.020 or more. By providing a clearance for the second and third nips 53, 55 of only about 0.004±0.0005, according to the present invention, a sufficient sealing pressure is provided to the pre-glued form 1 to insure that the micro-capsules, containing the pressure sensitive epoxy or adhesive, are quickly broken to release the two mating components of the epoxy or adhesive and generate the desired bond between the mating surfaces of the folded form.
It is to be appreciated that the folding and sealing apparatus of the present invention could also be used only to fold forms, i.e., used as a standard folder, rather than to both fold and seal forms if an insufficient sealing pressure is applied to the folded form to release and mix the encapsulated glue or if standard paper, without any glue, is passed through the folding and sealing apparatus.
To assist with feeding the supply of pre-glued forms 1, to be folded, to the folding and sealing apparatus 40 (
The feed platform 58 also has a centrally located form retarder device 114, preferably manufactured from DELRIN® or some other similar material, to facilitate supplying only one pre-glued form 1 at a time to the first nip 51. The form retarder device 114 is fixed support by a first cross bar 116, located adjacent the feed platform 58, while a second reinforced cross bar 118 is spaced further from the feed platform 58 than the first cross bar 116. The second reinforced cross bar 118 supports a thread member 120 located to engage with a rear surface of the first cross bar 116 facing away from the feed platform 58 and exert pressure thereon. As pressure is applied to the first cross bar 116, via the thread pressure member 120 of the second reinforced cross bar 118, the first cross bar 116 starts to bow and gradually move the supported form retarder device 114 toward the feed platform 58 thereby reducing the clearance between the form retarder device 114 and a top surface of the feed platform 58. Alternatively, if the pressure applied to the first cross bar 116, via the thread pressure member 120 of the second reinforced cross bar 118, is decreased, the first cross bar 116 then moves back toward its unstressed condition and gradually moves the form retarder device 114 away from the top surface of the feed platform 58 thereby increasing the clearance between the form retarder device 114 and the top surface of the feed platform 58.
One problem associated with the conventional rollers, and known folding and sealing apparatus, is the difficulty inherent with folding and sealing paper having a thicker object or items attached to the paper, for example a credit card or business-type card, e.g. laminated insurance or health care provider cards. In another embodiment of the present invention described below and shown in
In general, a bulky object or item to be attached to a piece of paper or form will be relatively thin, in the range of about 0.01 to 0.05 of an inch, which is generally thicker than paper used for the forms. The form paper having a general thickness in the range of about 0.001 to 0.01 of an inch, and usually about 0.007 of an inch. For example, a credit card 300, or cards, having a thickness about 0.03 of an inch, or a business card, i.e., an insurance or health care card, is often attached to the paper form F to be folded and sealed between the rollers of the above described apparatus 40.
It is to be appreciated that any number of cards could be supported on the paper form. By way of example a health care company might send four (4) family members their health insurance cards all mounted on the same form. It is to be appreciated that as the form is folded by the apparatus, adjacent cards mounted on the form might overlap, i.e., be stacked on top of one another as the form is folded into for instance, a c-fold or a z-fold as is known in the art, thus essentially doubling, or even tripling the thickness of the cards and paper which must pass through a nip. The compressible portion(s) 264 of the roller 256 are designed to accommodate such thicker, bulkier objects while maintaining sufficient resilience to ensure proper sealing of the form is accomplished.
In accordance with previous discussion, the adjacent rollers 255, 256 are provided with a fixed spacing S therebetween forming the nip of about 0.004±0.005 of an inch to permit a piece of paper, form F, or folded form, to pass there between. This fixed spacing S can range at least between about 0.001 and 0.01 of an inch depending upon the application. However in the case of an additional bulky object such as a credit card 300, or stacked cards as described above, with such relatively narrow fixed spacing S between the surfaces of the rollers, and the substantially radially fixed nature of the rollers 255, 256, it is readily apparent to anyone of skill in the art that the attempt to pass an additional bulky item through the narrow nip could jam the rollers 255, 256 and the apparatus, or in the alternative, crush the card 300 and/or ruin, crease or line the supporting form.
Adjustment of the radial spacing R between adjacent rollers 255, 256 is generally not advantageous to permitting a bulky item to pass, since merely enlarging the overall radial spacing R, and consequently the nip spacing S, between the rollers 255, 256 would not provide the desired folding and sealing of the form. It is therefore desirable to retain the fixed radial spacing R, and consequently the nip spacing S between the outer surface 258 of the first roller, and the outer surface 259 of the second roller, and to provide as described in greater detail below, at least a portion 264 of the roller surface to be resilient or compressible to facilitate the passage of a bulky item applied or attached to the form F between the rollers 255, 256.
By way of example, and not intended to be limited hereto, the following description is provided with the application of a credit card 300 onto a form F, prior to the form F being folded and sealed by the apparatus. Prior to folding and sealing of the form F, the credit card 300 is usually attached to the unfolded form F at a desired location by any method known in the art, for instance by application of contact adhesive between the credit card 300 and form F. Once the credit card 300 is supported on the form F, the form F and credit card 300 may be supplied to the apparatus for folding and sealing. It should be apparent to one of skill in the art that numerous other items of any size and bulk could be applied to the form F but for purposes of discussion a credit card 300 having the general dimensions of about 3 inches by 2 inches, and being about 0.03 inches in thickness is utilized.
Observing
The embodiment of
In the embodiment of the present invention shown in
The sleeve cover 265 is usually a rubber, urethane or metal sleeve radially supported by and surrounding the outer diameter of the O-rings 270 to form a displaceable resilient portion 264 of the roller. The sleeve cover 265 has a wall thickness of about 0.06 to 0.250 inches dependent upon the material, sufficient to maintain the outer surface 259 at a constant diameter in an unbiased state when only the paper form F is passed through the nip. In a biased or displaced state where the credit card 300 is passed through the nip, the sleeve 265 is flexible to the extent that the sleeve is radially displaced due to the resilience of corresponding underlying resilient O-rings 270. In general the remainder of the outer surface of the roller not displaced by the passage of the credit card 300 is, therefore, not compressed and thus facilitates the folding and passage of the form F.
Turning now to
Once the credit card 300 has passed through the nip, the springiness of the resilient compressible portion 264 of the second roller ensures the sleeve cover 265 rebounds from the modified spacing S′ back to the spacing S between first and second roller surfaces 258, 259. It is also readily apparent to one of skill in the art that the two adjacent rollers 255, 256 may each be provided with adjacent compressible portions 264 to mutually absorb a portion of the bulk item passing therethrough. However, as shown above, it is usually necessary that either the first or second of the adjacent rollers 255, 256 have a resilient compressible portion 264 so that sufficient rolling and compression forces are maintained not only across the form F, for purposes of folding and sealing the form F, but also the form portion supporting the credit card 300.
It is to be appreciated that for every pair of rollers 255, 256, i.e., for every nip formed by adjacent rollers 255, 256, one of the rollers must be provided with one or more resilient compressible portions 264 so that the credit card 300, or cards, can pass through the entire apparatus with appropriate folding and without jamming a pair of rollers. By way of example in a roller and apparatus system as shown in
It is to be appreciated that a in an application where a number of credit cards 300 or other bulky objects are applied to the form F and passed through the apparatus, the surface cover 265 may be divided into any number of separate sections in order to individually provide passage of appropriately aligned items independent of the remainder of the sleeve cover sections. The embodiments shown in
In another advantageous embodiment of the present invention as shown in
The cleaning arm 310 comprises an adjustable support 312 carrying a cleaning brush or pad 316. The pad 316 is provided having a longitudinal length corresponding to the axial length of the roller surface and a width of only a relatively small portion of the circumference of the roller. Thus, the brush or pad comes into linear contact with the entire circumferential surface along the length of the roller surface 359 as the roller 356 rotates relative to the axially parallel supported cleaning arm 310 and brush or pad 316. The arm 310 is made of metal or plastic or other relatively sturdy material and is provided with a brush holding portion 314 along a longitudinal axis thereof, usually a channel into which the brush or pad 316 for collecting debris can be inserted and removed therefrom. The brush or pad 316 may be made of any substantially dust, grit, ink or toner collecting material. In a preferred embodiment the collecting material is for example felt, which can rub lightly against the roller to collect micro- and macroscopic debris without substantially impairing the free rotation of the roller 356.
By way of example, the arm 310 can be positioned adjacent the roller 356 on a support 320 of the apparatus, and the arm 310 is provided with at least a radial adjustment screw 318. This radial adjustment screw 318, or screws, can be used to adjust the relative radial alignment, i.e., the spacing, between the longitudinal axis of the cleaning arm relative to the longitudinal axis of the roller 356. This radial alignment permits the pad or brush to be moved closer to, or farther away from the surface 359 of the roller 356. It is to be appreciated that the support 320 may also be adjustable relative to the roller 356.
The arm 310 may be further provided with a set screw 322 which upon the proper radial adjustment as well as longitudinal alignment between the cleaning arm 310 and the roller surface 359, the set screw 322 may be tightened to restrict relative movement between the roller 356 and the cleaning arm 310.
Since certain changes may be made in the above described improved folding and sealing apparatus, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention herein involved, it is intended that all of the subject matter of the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted merely as examples illustrating the inventive concept herein and shall not be construed as limiting the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10443413 | May 2003 | US |
| Child | 10989799 | Nov 2004 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 09849936 | May 2001 | US |
| Child | 10443413 | May 2003 | US |
