Non-tenting business form assemblies and method and apparatus for making the same

A business form assembly, and the method of forming the same, is described. The business form assembly includes superimposed front and back sheets with at least one of the sheets being provided on the surface thereof facing the other of the sheets with a dormant adhesive in the nature of a thermoplastic material which is rendered activatable by electromagnetic radiation. Sealing lines are formed between the sheets where the dormant adhesive is activated, the resulting sealing lines together defining a receiving compartment suitable for accepting a document for mailing or an object for storage. The sealing lines have generally negligible thicknesses and uniform widths along their lengths. Also described is the apparatus for making the business form assemblies. The mailing assemblies are suitable for manufacture either individually or as part of a continuous series or web of business form assemblies which can be processed through data processing or imprinting equipment prior to separation from each other.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Numerous envelopes and insert materials for such envelopes have been 
created to accommodate a growing demand for expeditious mailings. Such 
mailings, normally used in conjunction with computer-generated imprinting 
equipment, have been used with increased frequency for billing, statements 
and notices and other like applications. Most of the known business form 
structures have been produced as continuous webs of detachable envelopes 
each of which is a self-contained assembly suitable for processing and 
mail handling. Normally, however, the series connected envelopes are not 
separated from each other until they have been fully processed to 
facilitate handling thereof, particularly through high speed printers and 
other printing or typing apparatus. 
One of the problems in the manufacture of continuous envelopes with inserts 
is the problem of maintaining the insert material in a desired position. 
This is important because while the envelopes are processed, they normally 
go through high speed impact printers which address the envelopes and type 
other pertinent information on the single or multiple page inserts. In 
order to image the information in the appropriate spaces, the positions of 
the inserts must be predictable and, accordingly, are normally attached to 
the outer envelope to prevent relative movements therebetween. This, 
however, may frustrate simple removal of the insert from the envelope. 
Previous products all utilize cold or water soluble glue to fasten the 
front and back sheets of the outer envelope and, in some instances, to 
glue the insert to the front and back sheets. The glue does not dry 
thoroughly for hours after the assembly has been folded into a flat pack 
suitable for computer printer feeding. The continuous web is folded at 
succeeding points where adjacent envelopes are detachably connected to 
each other. Folding before the glue has dried produces a condition known 
as "tenting" where the various plies of the assembly shift relative to 
each other to facilitate folding and take a set. When the glue dries after 
the assembly is folded into a flat pack, any attempts to unfold the web 
along the fold lines leaves residual protuberances running across the 
width of the web at each fold line. This "tenting" problem is not 
acceptable for proper feeding into a computer printer since it frequently 
causes the printer to jam up, this resulting in down time and increased 
mailing costs. All previous products exhibit this condition in various 
degrees, the problem becoming more aggravated the more plies that are 
joined to each other and, therefore, the more glue that is used. Many 
forms of tenting are so severe at the manufacturing stage that the product 
is never shipped to the consumer. Other flat packs that are shipped do not 
feed at all or feed so poorly that printers cannot be allowed to run 
unattended. In addition to the added expense in requiring supervision of 
the computer printers, all the forms that are damaged during jam-ups must, 
of course, be replaced and this still further increases the costs. 
Known sealed envelope assemblies and the methods of making the same have 
also been wasteful in terms of the inefficiency of conversion of paper 
stock to completed mailing assemblies. Firstly, because cold glue is 
basically uncontrollable as to the width of the glue line produced, 
heavily applied glue has a tendency to bleed to a wider width when 
compressed between plies. Previous manufactures of pre-stuffed envelopes, 
therefore, allow for wide tolerances in gluing, this requiring larger 
envelopes in relation to the insert sizes to assure that there is no 
adhesion of the insert to the outer envelope. However, this adds to the 
waste factor and it is estimated that the total waste at the manufacturing 
level may be as high as 35-40 percent, a situation that can no longer be 
tolerated in this current day of shortages and dwindling supplies of 
natural resources. 
Pre-inserted mailers normally require a large volume to be cost efficient. 
The large volume users rarely keep "hard copy" records of transactions 
printed on the mailers since the information is normally available in 
computer storage. When the envelopes are run through a high-speed impact 
printer, the printing head strikes the front of the envelope at different 
surface areas thereof to image information on selected portions of the 
insert sheets or plies by use of selectively coated carbon or other image 
transfer means between the sheets. However, since all the information with 
the exception of the mailing address that is recorded on the insert need 
not be reproduced on the face of the envelope, a "record copy" is normally 
placed on top of the envelope, the "record copy" usually having a carbon 
patch only behind the location where the name and address of the addressee 
is printed so that the balance of the information is not imaged on the top 
surface of the envelope. Since, as noted above, the record copy is usually 
discarded, this creates additional waste and requires an additional 
time-consuming operation on a business forms decollator for its removal. 
In addition to being inefficient, the prior art procedures for the 
manufacture of two-way mailers require the use of a great number of sheets 
or plies in the formation of the mailer, including the cover sheet, the 
outgoing envelope, the return envelope and the back sheet of the outgoing 
envelope. Upon receipt, the recipient destroys the outgoing envelope, 
removes the document and uses the return envelope for inserting all or a 
portion of the document for return to the sender with, usually, a 
remittance. The discarding of the outer envelope by the recipient, 
together with the above-noted discarding of the cover sheet, therefore, 
represents a fifty percent waste of materials. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,350,988, for a method of making continuous form envelopes, 
teaches the use of thermo-sensitive plastic as the outside plies or 
sheets. Plastic or polyethylene, however, has a great tendency to stretch 
and would do so when driven through a computer printer tractor feed 
rendering it impossible to feed. This patent also suggests the inclusion 
of an insert after the envelope is formed but does not disclose how this 
is done. Insertion of an insert after sealing through a narrow slot could 
be slow if not impossible. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,477,194, which discloses a heat sealed thermoplastic 
package, an infra-red heat source is used to seal the packages. The heat 
is not applied selectively and is only concentrated in desired sealing 
regions by the use of a darker border printed on the package which is more 
receptive to the infrared radiation. Using the method of this patent to 
produce forms would heat all parts of the form to a temperature which 
would burst an encapsulated carbonless transfer medium and, therefore, 
ruin the form. If carbon paper were used, the carbon would melt and run or 
bleed and cause the pages or sheets to stick. Likewise, the method of 
sealing disclosed in this patent could not be used in conjunction with my 
invention for single and multi-ply non-impact printing disclosed in my 
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 19,150, which uses coatings which change 
color when heated to a threshhold temperature. Furthermore, the heating 
method of this patent is comparatively slow and would not be capable of 
keeping up with current collating equipment which normally produces forms 
at approximately 200 to 750 forms per minute. 
An article for postal use, allowing for a reply, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. 
No. 3,899,127. The two-way mailer of the patent utilizes a transparent 
face on the envelope, the removal of the insert exposes a secondary 
address and the original indicia becomes the return address. Such an 
arrangement would not meet current U.S. Postal Regulations that require a 
standard position (upper left) for the return address. 
Some typical prior art constructions will now be described. In U.S. Pat. 
No. 3,104,799, for an envelope assembly, the insert has an extension in 
the nature of a detachable strip which is sealed to the marginal or 
detachable strip of the envelope and simultaneously removed when the 
combined strip is detached. However, because the insert strip has to be 
glued to the envelope strips, this increases the thickness of the glued 
region, requires additional glue and all this promotes the above-described 
tenting. 
A sealed envelope assembly with interior mailing material is described in 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,339,827, where an attempt has been made to decrease the 
thickness of the glued marginal area. The successive inserts are 
originally attached to a continuous common marginal strip which is aligned 
or superimposed with the detachable strips of the envelope. However, prior 
to gluing the marginal strips of the envelope, the front and back strips 
of the envelope are turned upwardly and backwardly to expose the marginal 
material of the insert and the same is trimmed after which the detachable 
strips of the envelope are glued together. This renders the insert 
relatively free within the envelope compartment and, in order to avoid 
excessive shifting, the patentee proposes to use frangible connecting 
means or fugitive glue. However, when fugitive glue is applied between the 
top sheet of the insert and the front sheet of the envelope, it tends to 
stick to the facing surfaces and remove printing and carbon transferred 
data, thereby decreasing the quality and appearance of the mailed 
materials. 
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,816, for a sealed envelope with removable insert, 
the insert extends beyond the tear strip on one side of the envelope and 
fugitive adhesive is applied so that pulling on the insert releases it. 
While the patentee states that this simplifies removal of the insert, it 
does not overcome the more important problems discussed above. 
As suggested above, excessive shifting of an insert inside an envelope may 
create a problem since the insert may not be properly aligned for imaging 
information in the proper spaces provided therefor. While it is not 
normally essential that the insert be absolutely fixed in place, movement 
should be minimal. An attempt to mobilize an insert within the compartment 
of a sealed envelope is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,777,971. To achieve 
this, the back sheet of the envelope is provided with embossments which 
abut against the preipheral edges of the insert and thereby immobilize the 
insert. To the extent that the insert does not extend into the region of 
the glue lines and is not glued to the front and back sheets of the 
envelope, the thickness of the marginal edges of the web are decreased and 
less glue is used, and the tenting problem is somewhat alleviated. 
However, tenting is not totally eliminated. Also, since the embossments 
are merely in the nature of crimps in the back sheet of the envelope. 
These do not provide positive means for positioning the insert. 
Another attempt to alleviate the problem of tenting is described in U.S. 
Pat. No. 3,941,308 for a continuous mailing envelope assembly with inserts 
and method therefor. As with the previous described patents, to the extent 
that the insert is not glued to the envelope in the region of the lateral 
tear strip, and the thickness and the amount of glue used in the region is 
reduced, tenting may be alleviated to a certain extent. However, tenting 
will still exist since the disclosed assembly still uses cold, 
water-soluble glue which does not dry until after the series of envelopes 
are folded upon each other, thereby permitting relative slippage between 
the glued layers prior to glue hardening. The mailer envelope disclosed in 
the patent under discussion has the additional disadvantage in that it 
teaches the use of glue lines along the transverse perforation or 
separation lines between adjacent envelopes. Application of adhesive in 
this manner would result in the glue bleeding through the perforations 
thereby attaching adjacent envelopes to each other and rendering the 
entire stack of envelope useless. 
Another problem which has existed in the direct mail advertising business 
is in the use of direct mail letters with reply cards. These letters 
typically include a patch in the back of the letter sealed along only 
three sides to form a compartment which is open at the fourth side. A 
reply postcard or envelope is normally enclosed inside the compartment 
with the address of the recipient being visible through a die cut opening 
in the face of the letter. At present, the patch on the back of the letter 
is glued by means of a cold, water-soluble glue to the back of the letter 
to form the card or inset receiving compartment. However, after the 
compartments were formed, another, usually manual, step was required to 
insert the card, envelope or the like into the compartment. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an 
individual and continuous series of business form assemblies which do not 
possess the above-described disadvantages inherent in prior art 
assemblies. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide business form 
assemblies which are simple in construction and economical to manufacture. 
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a continuous 
series of business form assemblies which does not exhibit tenting. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide business form 
assemblies which can be conveniently opened by the recipient. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide business form 
assemblies which avoid excessive shifting of the insert during computer 
printing operations. 
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide business 
form assemblies which do not use cold or water-soluble glues to join the 
front and back plies of the assemblies. 
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide business 
form assemblies which can be manufactured to closer tolerances and 
therefore results in less paper waste. 
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a two-way 
mailer which uses the same envelope for outgoing as well as for return 
mail thereby effecting substantial savings in materials and costs. 
It is still an additional object of the present invention to provide a 
two-way mailer, the envelope of which is reinforced and/or waterproofed to 
provide the mailer with sufficient strength to be processed twice through 
postal service equipment. 
It is yet an additional object of the present invention to provide a 
business form assembly which includes a transparent pocket for storing and 
viewing the contents thereof. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a business form 
mailer which is provided with a transparent material in conjunction with a 
die cut window provided therein to prevent jamming in automated postal 
sorting equipment. 
It is still another object of the present invention to provide business 
form assemblies which require a reduced number of plies necessary for a 
two-way mailer and thereby improve the quality of the image formed by a 
high speed impact printer. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide pre-inserted 
mailers which require a lesser number of plies used in conjunction with 
the mailers, including elimination of the top cover sheet and/or secondary 
envelopes, thereby conserving natural resources. 
It is a further object of the present invention to simplify job set-up on 
collators and presses and thereby reduce the costs of manufacture, and, 
therefore, decrease the operation costs and the ultimate costs to the 
consumer. 
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a 
continuous series of business form assemblies which can be fed through 
high-speed printers without jamming the same and, therefore, which does 
not require the printing equipment to be continuously attended. 
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a continuous 
series of business form assemblies which does not always require a hard 
copy top or cover sheet during computer printing operations. 
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a method of 
forming a continuous series of business form assemblies conveniently and 
efficiently, and with great flexibility with respect to the sizes of the 
assemblies as well as of the insert receiving compartments. 
It is still an additional object of the present invention to provide an 
apparatus for manufacturing business form assemblies in accordance with 
the present invention. 
In order to achieve the above objects, as well as others which will become 
apparent from the description that follows, a business form assembly in 
accordance with the present invention comprises superimposed front and 
back sheets. At least one of said sheets is provided on the surface 
thereof facing the other of said sheets with a heat activatable dormant 
adhesive and an electro-magnetic reactant which generates heat when 
exposed to a form of electro-magnetic radiation. Sealing lines are 
provided between said sheets and formed where said dormant adhesive is 
activated when selectively exposed to suitable electro-magnetic radiation, 
said sealing lines together defining a receiving compartment. Said sealing 
lines have generally negligible thicknesses and uniform widths along their 
lengths. 
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the business form 
assembly further comprises an insert having dimensions generally smaller 
than sheets and positioned in relation to said sheets prior to adhesive 
activation to be disposed within said compartment when said sheets are 
joined. 
Said dormant adhesive may be in the nature of a coating on one of said 
sheets, or may be a sheet of thermoplastic material which either forms one 
of said sheets or is interposed between said front and back sheets prior 
to activation or an applied mixture of the said dormant adhesive in a 
powdered or granulated form and the electro-magnetic reactant in a 
printable vehicle such as clear printing ink. 
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, positioning 
means are provided for positioning said insert within an area defined by 
the sealing lines. 
According to a presently preferred embodiment, said dormant adhesive is 
activatable by heating and is activated by selective application of 
electro-magnetic waves to produce local heating to form receiving 
compartments having desired configurations. 
According to another feature of the invention, said front sheet is provided 
with a die cut window for exposing a portion of said insert therethrough, 
the exposed portions of said insert being provided with a self-imaging 
means for displaying information through said window when processed 
through an impact printer with ribbon removed. This allowed direct 
imprinting of the mailing assembly without utilizing a top or cover sheet 
interposed between the mailing assemblies and the printing head. 
A continuous series of business form assemblies comprises superimposed 
continuous upper and lower webs. A series of longitudinally spaced 
generally transverse perforations or lines of weakening are provided 
within said upper and lower webs to define a plurality of successive sets 
of superimposed front and back sheets which, together with the inserts, 
define a series of business form assemblies in the nature of pre-inserted 
mailers. 
The method of the invention comprises the steps of superimposing front and 
back sheets, with at least one of said sheets being provided on the 
surface thereof facing the other of said sheets with a dormant adhesive 
which is activated by the selective application of electro-magnetic 
radiation and an electro-magnetic reactant. The dormant adhesive is 
selectively activated to form sealing lines having negligible thicknesses 
and uniform widths along their lengths between said sheets, said sealing 
lines together defining a receiving compartment. 
The present invention also contemplates apparatus for producing business 
form assemblies of the type generally suggested above.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to the drawings, wherein the identical or similar parts are 
designated by the same reference numerals throughout, and first referring 
to FIGS. 1-3, the reference numeral 10 identifies a business form assembly 
in the nature of a pre-inserted mailer in accordance with the present 
invention. 
The business form assembly 10 includes a front or top sheet 12 and a bottom 
or back sheet 14 which are generally equal in size and superimposed 
against each other as shown. 
At least one of the sheets 12, 14 is provided on the inside surface thereof 
which faces the other of the sheets with a dormant adhesive 16. The 
dormant adhesive may either be in the nature of a coating of heat 
sensitive adhesive, applied to one of the sheets of the assembly 10 or may 
be in the nature of a separate sheet of thermoplastic material, as will be 
more fully described hereafter. 
In accordance with the broader aspects of the present invention, a dormant 
adhesive is used to join two plies or sheets together to form a receiving 
compartment 13 or the dormant adhesive itself acts as a wall of such 
receiving compartment. An important feature of the invention is that the 
dormant adhesive is activated during the collating of the various plies of 
the business form, and sealing lines are formed which have generally 
negligible thicknesses and uniform widths along their lengths. As will 
become more evident from the description that follows, the use of a 
dormant adhesive makes it possible to efficiently and economically produce 
business forms of various types which do not exhibit the disadvantages, 
for example, of tenting in prior art pre-inserted mailers. 
As noted above, the dormant adhesive 16 may be a coating applied to one of 
the plies of the mailer or may be a separate sheet or membrane of a 
thermoplastic material. It is contemplated that any dormant adhesive which 
will achieve the objects of the present invention can be used, and the 
specific type of dormant adhesive is not critical for purposes of the 
present invention. By way of example, only, paper which has been precoated 
with a thermoplastic material, known as heat seal paper, may be used. Such 
paper is manufactured by, for example, Brown Bridge Mills of Troy, Ohio, 
and Nashua Corp. of Nashua, N.H. When using a separate sheet or membrane 
of thermoplastic material, any material that will repeatedly soften when 
heated and harden when cooled can be used. For example, thermoplastic 
materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC); polyamides such as nylon; 
polyethylene; fluoronated polymers such as polyvinyl fluoride; ethylene 
copolymers; polypropylene; polystyrene; cellulose polymers such as 
cellulose acetate; or polyurethane. These enumerated materials can, of 
course, be provided either as a separate sheet of material or can be 
preapplied to one of the plies or sheets of the business form assembly. 
An important feature of the present invention is that activation of the 
thermoplastic adhesive is by use of an electromagnetic radiation (EMR) 
reactant such as an EMR lossy or absorbent material or a Ferrite 22' or a 
substance or composition which includes and has the EMR properties of 
ferrites which is selectively printed on or applied to one of the facing 
sheets in the business form assembly 10 in heat transfer relationship with 
the dormant adhesive 16 so that when acted upon by, for example, microwave 
radiation, local heating is produced melting the adhesive and therefore 
joining the two sheets when the heat released by the ferrite 22' is 
transferred to the adhesive 16. 
In the pre-inserted mailer shown in FIG. 1, an insert 18 is enclosed within 
a compartment formed by the front and back sheets 12, 14. Advantageously, 
positioning means are provided for at least loosely and detachably 
securing the insert 18 between the front and back sheets 12, 14 to prevent 
excessive displacement with respect thereto. The positioning means, as 
will become more evident hereafter, is important to maintain the insert in 
a predetermined position during computer printer processing in order to 
ensure proper registry of date in the desired fields. 
To be in heat transfer relationship, the adhesive 16 and reactant 22' may 
be on separate sheets which are in abutment or may be incorporated in a 
single coating, such as where the reactant is suspended in the adhesive 
coating. 
Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the positioning means shown includes the use of 
slits 20 which are provided in the back sheet 14 and which are spaced from 
each other along a path generally corresponding to the peripheral outline 
of the insert 18. In the business form assembly shown in FIG. 1, the slits 
20 are provided at the respective corners of the insert and are arranged 
for receiving the insert corners. The positioning means or slits 20, in 
addition to maintaining the insert 18 centrally of the back or bottom 
sheet 14 for purposes of proper printing registry, also prevents 
interference by the insert during joinder of the front and back sheets 12, 
14, as will now be described. 
The dormant adhesive, whether in the nature of a coating or a separate film 
or membrane, when activated, produces sealing lines 22 which, in the 
assembly 10 shown in FIG. 1, extends about the periphery of the front and 
back seets 12, 14. As will be more fully described, the sealing lines 22 
are formed by activation of the thermoplastic or other activatable 
material 16 during the assembly operation of the business form assembly 
10. In the instance of a thermoplastic material, for example, activation 
of the layer of dormant adhesives involves selective application of heat 
under pressure so as to momentarily soften the dormant adhesive. Once heat 
is removed, the thermoplastic material again hardens and simultaneously 
forms a seal between the layers or plies of the business form assembly and 
itself. An advantage of this approach is that the sealing lines 22 have 
generally negligible thicknesses and have uniform widths along their 
lengths. This allows for manufacture of the business form assemblies to 
closer tolerances between the sealing lines 22 and the insert 18. This, 
further, allows a savings in materials. Typically, the width of the 
sealing lines 22 in accordance with the present invention need be no 
greater than 1/32 inch as compared to the up to 3/8 inch thicknesses for 
sealing lines utilizing cold, water-soluble glues. Additionally, and of 
primary importance, the substantially instantaneous re-hardening of the 
dormant adhesive while the sheets 12 and 14 are held in alignment assures 
that these remain aligned and does not allow relative shifting during and 
after folding. This, therefore, prevents the above-mentioned problem of 
tenting. 
It should be evident that while the insert 20 is illustrated as comprising 
of only one sheet or ply, the insert 20 can have two or more plies and may 
additionally include a return envelope. Only a single ply has been shown 
to facilitate illustration. 
Still referring to FIG. 1, both front and back sheets 12, 14 are provided 
with a tear strip perforation 24 which is generally in the form of a 
straight line with an optional thumb notch perforation 26. While the tear 
strip perforations 24 are generally aligned in FIG. 1, this is not 
critical and the tear strip perforations for the top and back sheets of 
the assembly 10 can be displaced or offset from each other. 
The business form assembly 10 is further provided with tear strip 
perforations 24 spaced from the marginal perforations 28 on one side of 
the business form assembly 10 to form a tear strip portion 30. The tear 
strip portion 30 can be provided on either side of the business form 
assembly 10. In the embodiment being described, the tear strip 
perforations 24 are arranged with respect to the slits 20 to release the 
insert 18 from the effect of the positioning means when the tear strip 
portion 30 is detached from the business form assembly 10. This is 
accomplished by destroying the slits through which the tear strip 
perforations 24 pass, this facilitating and enabling removal of the insert 
18 from the compartment which contains the same. The business form 
assembly 10 is additionally provided with standard control punched margins 
32 provided with standard control punching 34 for feeding a continuous 
series of such assemblies through computer printing equipment. 
The thermoplastic sheet of dormant material 16 extends between the top and 
bottom edges 10a, 10b of the business form assembly 10. However, its width 
is selected to position its lateral edges 16a between the lateral sealing 
lines 22 and the marginal perforations 28. While the thermoplastic 
material can extend beyond the marginal perforations 28, this is not 
required to practice the invention and not desirable. If the thermoplastic 
sheet material does extend beyond the marginal perforations 28, it should 
be provided with perforations which are aligned with the marginal 
perforations 28 so as to allow easy removal of the marginal control punch 
strips 32. 
The business form assembly 10 is also provided with a die cut window 36 for 
at least partially exposing the insert 18 therethrough. Although, in 
accordance with the presently preferred embodiment, the thermoplastic 
sheet of dormant adhesive is positioned between the insert 18 and the 
front or top sheet 12, it may also be positioned between the insert 18 and 
the bottom sheet 14. However, placement between the insert and the top 
sheet 12 provides the additional advantage that the sheet of thermoplastic 
material closes the window 36 to protect the insert 18 and allow easier 
feeding through postal sorting equipment. Towards this end, as will be 
more fully described hereafter, there is advantageously provided a window 
sealing line 38 which seals the sheet of thermoplastic material to the 
front or top sheet 12. This not only reinforces the window 36, but also 
reinforces the entire top or front sheet 12 of the outgoing mailer 10. 
While the tear strip perforations 24 have been shown in FIG. 1 to be 
generally parallel with the lateral edges of the top and bottom sheets 12, 
14, it is also possible to make the tear strip perforations in different 
shapes so as to variously expose the insert when the pre-inserted mailer 
is opened. For example, in FIGS. 4A, 4B, the tear strip portion 24a is 
shown to be sector-shaped to expose a like area of the insert when the 
tear strip portion 30a is removed. In FIGS. 5A, 5B, the tear strip 
perforation 24 is at an angle to the lateral edges of the mailer to define 
a generally triangle-shaped area which exposes a like area of the insert 
when the tear strip portion 30b is removed. FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a 
tear strip portion which is generally rectangle-shaped and corresponds to 
the arrangement shown in FIGS. 1-3. FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrates another 
possible arrangement wherein the tear strip perforation 24c is oriented at 
an angle relative to the marginal edges and disposed generally essentially 
within the mailer to form a trapezoid-shaped area whereby a like area of 
the insert is exposed when the tear strip portion 30c is removed or 
detached. The above mentioned tear strip shapes are only illustrative and 
can be combined with each other, as exemplified in FIGS. 8A and 8B wherein 
the tear strip portion 30d includes a generally rectangular portion and a 
triangular portion to expose a selected portion of an insert, such as a 
lower corner thereof. 
Referring to FIG. 9, there is illustrated schematically a portion of a 
rotary collator 40 which is adapted to produce business form assemblies in 
accordance with the present invention. A web 42 is advanced from the 
collator roll stands. The web 42 includes one or more continuous sheets or 
plies of, for example, paper with or without carbon paper interleaved. The 
individual continuous sheets forming the insert web 42 may be selectively 
joined to each other by conventional methods. 
In order to maintain all of the continuous sheets of the insert web 42 
aligned or in registry with each other, marginal control punching 44 is 
provided along at least one edge of the insert web 42. The marginal 
control punching 44 is removed prior to notching by a side slitter 46, the 
removed margin with the control punching being fed into a trim disposal 
unit. 
An interchangeable size notching or die cut unit 48 is provided for 
notching the insert web 42 once the marginal control punching 44 has been 
removed. The notching or die cut unit 48 includes a cylinder or anvil 50 
below the insert web 42 and a notching cylinder 52 above the insert web 
42. The notching cylinder 52 is provided with transverse grooves or slots 
54 which are parallel to the axis of the cylinder and which are 
dimensioned and adapted to receive adjustable cutting bars 56. The grooves 
or slots 54 are spaced from each other about the circumference of the 
notching cylinder 52 to allow for notching the insert web 42 into standard 
uniform business form depths. Notching may be achieved by conventional 
means, including the use of cutting bars 56 each of which has two spaced 
knife edges for removing a predetermined section or strip of the insert 
web. 
The notching cylinder 52 is advantageously interchangeable in size so as to 
match the circumference of standard press sizes. 
Once the insert web 42 has been notched into appropriately sized insert 
packets 18, they are advanced by means of a conveyor belt or the like 58 
towards a positioning and inserting unit 62. The convertor belt 58 may be 
provided with transverse ribs 60 to ensure that all of the components of 
the insert 18 advance as a unit and are synchronously fed into the 
positioning and inserting unit. 
The positioning and inserting unit 62 may include an insertion drum 62 
which positions or aligns the inserts 18 on one of the plies of the 
business form. In the embodiment of the collator 40 shown, the insertion 
drum 62 is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced insert 
flexing or distortion chambers 64 which exhibit or formed with compound 
concavity to assure proper deformation of the insert for insertion into 
the, for example, slits 20 shown in FIG. 1. Towards this end, each chamber 
64 is provided with a vacuum port 66 for holding an insert, transporting 
the same and simultaneously deforming it so as to allow penetration of the 
corners of the inserts 18 into the slits 20 when the vacuum is removed and 
the insert 18 is restored to its normal planar configuration. 
In the arrangement shown in FIG. 9, the inserts 18 are inserted into or 
positioned on the back ply 14 which is advanced from a roll 67 which is 
preprocessed and provided with the slits 20. 
The front and back plies 12, 14 are brought together to form business form 
units 10', and are advanced in registry with each other by means of pin 
feed chains (not shown). 
As suggested above, the dormant adhesive used in accordance with the 
present invention is provided on a surface of the front or back ply which 
faces the other of the plies. In the arrangement shown in FIG. 9, 
therefore, the dormant adhesive is in the nature of a coating, preferably 
applied to the top or face ply 12. While the coating can be applied to the 
back ply 14, application of the coating to the face ply reinforces the die 
cut window 36. However, as will be more fully described in connection FIG. 
12, the dormant adhesive may be in the nature of a thin sheet or membrane 
which is interposed between the front and back plies. 
Additionally, a selective array of a lossy material or a Ferrite 68 in this 
preferred embodiment has been coated on at least one of the facing 
surfaces. The electro-magnetic reactant or Ferrite 68 may also be 
selectively coated on one of the facing surfaces with the thermoplastic 
material, usually in granular or powdered form in a vehicle such as clear 
printing ink. 
The business form units are subsequently advanced to an activator or fusion 
station 72 wherein the dormant adhesive is selectively activated to 
provide the desired sealing lines in the business form assemblies to 
thereby define suitably dimensioned receiving compartments. Referring to 
FIG. 1, it will be noted that the sealing lines 22 include lines generally 
transverse to the web, as well as parallel to the direction of the web. 
Making reference to FIGS. 9 and 9A, the sealing lines are formed by 
providing a plurality or bundle of coaxial conduits or radiators 74 which 
emit microwave radiation. The microwave radiation is produced by a 
suitable source such as a magnetron 76. Since the matrices or arrays 
formed by the radiators 72 must be capable of providing continously 
variable or changing imaging patterns, almost instantaneous changes in 
local heating are advantageously controlled by a micro or mini-computer 78 
which allows the fast efficient change over from one job to another 
without tooling changes. Microwave energy emitted by the magnetron 76 
probagates into the waveguides 80 and 82. PIN diodes can be used for the 
switching function therefore allowing microwave energy to pass to certain 
radiators 74 and block others thereby causing local heating over a 
predetermined pattern controlled by the microprocessor. 
Electromagnetic radiation has the property that it is reflected unless it 
is absorbed in a suitable load. Since undesired reflections of the 
microwave energy emanating from the radiators 74 may produce spurious 
heating in the assembly 10, there is advantageously provided a radiation 
absorbent material 84 opposite the sealing unit 72 which absorbs the 
emitted radiation and assures that they are not reflected. This absorption 
minimizes the levels of microwave energy in the region of the collator, 
thereby minimizing hazards to personnel. 
The microwave radiators 74 shown in FIG. 9 are only intended to illustrate 
the general principle. The numer of radiators 74 and their specific 
arrangement is not critical for purposes of the present invention, and any 
number of radiators and their arrangement may be used to suite a 
particular purpose. Thus, the radiators shown in FIGS. 9 and 13 extend in 
two rows across the width of the collator, each row slightly inclined to 
decrease the space between the locally heated areas. Commercially 
available coaxial cables or conduits have a minimum diameter of 
approximately 0.030 but if smaller sizes are desired there is no 
theoretical minimum as long as the dimensional ratios of the inner and 
outer conductors are properly maintained. 
The sealing unit 72 produces both the parallel and perpendicular sealing 
lines through programming of the microprocessor 78. Variations to fit 
various press sizes and particular widths and depths of forms are also 
accommodated through programming changes rather than tooling changes. 
In directing energy at the portions to be joined, any one of a numer of 
sources may be used, such as optical or laser electron beams, X-rays or 
the like, but it has been found, through experimentation that microwave 
frequency exhibits the penetrating ability required for most presently 
desired applications. 
In addition to achieving the aforementioned objects of the present 
invention, the use of microwave energy also reduces the engineering, 
development and tooling costs of the machine and increases its 
flexibility. As mentioned earlier, change over from one size to another 
simply requires the selection of a preprogrammed routine stored in memory. 
In FIG. 12, the collator 40 of FIG. 9 has been modified to allow the use of 
a separate sheet or membrane of thermoplastic material in place of the 
coating of dormant adhesive. In this arrangement, a sealing unit 72 is 
provided at a point just prior to the joining of the front and back plies 
12, 14. The unit 72 includes a microwave generating source such as the 
magnetron 76 (not shown), waveguides 80 and 82, coaxial cables 74 to 
function as radiators and a cooled load 84 composed of ferrite to absorb 
spurious rays and eliminate reflections. This unit allows the selective 
sealing of a die-cut window 36 and therefore close said window with a 
membrane 16 to protect the contents and aid mail sorting. The selective 
sealing unit 72 is controlled by the same microprocessor and can also be 
programmed for producing local heating. 
In FIG. 14, there is shown a business form assembly 10e in the nature of a 
two-way mailer, and includes a die cut window 36 in the front ply 12, the 
window being closed by a thermoplastic membrane or sheet 16 as described 
above. The top ply 12 is provided with a tear strip portion 30 which is 
removable along a tear strip perforation 24a. Shown in dashed outline at 
the lower end of the tear strip portion 30 is a perforated thumb notch 
formed in the rear or back ply 14 for allowing gripping of the tear strip 
portion 30 and removal thereof from the flap 94. Referring to FIG. 14b, 
the mailer is shown with the tear strip portion 30 removed to expose a 
flap 94 provided with a remoistenable glue 96 as shown. The thumb notch 98 
is shown in FIG. 14b at the lower end of the flap. 
In FIG. 14b, the insert 18 is shown removed from the mailer 10e and 
provided with an internal perforation 100 to form two insert portions 18a 
and 18b. Upon receipt, the recipient can remove the insert portion 18b, 
thereby shortening the insert and reinsert the insert portion 18a inside 
the mailer 10e with the back printed address facing up and appearing 
through the window. In FIG. 14c, the flap 94 is shown folded about the 
fold score line 24b and resealed. This application permits the same 
envelope to be used both for mailing out the insert and returning the 
insert and remittance. 
In FIG. 14d, a cut-away of the lower right-hand corner is shown, 
illustrating one means in which the insert can be positioned with respect 
to the mailer during assembly. With the mailer provided with selective 
punching 99 along the tear strip portion of the insert 18, with the 
thermoplastic sheet or membrane superimposed thereon, application of heat 
along a line bisecting the selective hole punching 99 seals the tear strip 
30 to the tear strip portion 18c of the insert 18 and also detachably 
seals the tear strip portion 18c to the lower or back ply 14. The 
perforation 24a in the top ply 12 is preferably spaced a greater distance 
from the extreme right edge of the assembly, as viewed in FIG. 14d, than 
the perforation 24c of the insert. The perforation 24d of the 
thermoplastic sheet is advantageously aligned with the perforation 24a of 
the top ply so that when the tear strip 30 is removed, the corresponding 
width of the thermoplastic sheet is likewise removed to expose the insert 
and facilitate easy removal thereof. 
While a separate sheet of thermoplastic material 16 must not be used in the 
embodiment shown in FIGS. 14a-14c, it is preferable that such a sheet be 
used since the business form requires manual reassertion of a portion of 
the insert 18a into the mailer 10e. The presence of the thermoplastic 
sheet, which covers the die cut window 36, facilitates reinsertion of the 
insert portion 18a by providing a smooth interface at the die cut window. 
Additionally, the sheet of thermoplastic material, which has been adhered 
or joined to the top ply of the business form, reinforces the same. This 
allows the two-way mailer to be processed twice through the postal 
service. 
An advantage of the two-way mailer shown in 14a-14c is that by being able 
to maintain a close tolerance of the width of the sealing lines 22 in 
accordance with the present invention, the envelope of the two-way mailer, 
when returned, can be opened on automatic opening/slitting equipment along 
the longer edge of the envelope. With the prior art return envelopes, 
because of the generally greater widths and bleeding of the cold 
water-soluble glue, automatic opening required the use of a more expensive 
top opening envelope. 
The two-way mailer 10e, by using a die cut window, provides for a positive 
indication to the recipient as to whether he has re-inserted the insert 
portion 18a into the mailer prior to mailing the same. The insert portion 
18a is normally necessary by the original sender or its agent for 
efficient application of remittances. 
Mailers which use inserts made from self-contained or self-imaging paper, 
or use carbon for imaging purposes normally exhibit some bruising or 
marking as a result of being processed through mail-handling equipment. 
This problem, which has existed with prior art mailers, can be 
particularly acute with use of the two-way mailer of FIGS. 14a-14b because 
the same insert or a portion of the insert 18a is processed twice. In 
order to eliminate the problem of bruising or marking, the present 
invention also contemplates the selective application of clear chemical 
dye coatings for the purpose of imaging data on the insert 18. Towards 
that end, it is contemplated, for example, that the surface of the 
thermoplastic sheet 16 which faces the insert be coated with a chemical 
(CB) coating while the surface of the insert which faces the thermoplastic 
sheet is coated with a chemical (CF) coating. Both of these chemical 
coatings are clear and must interact before a visible image appears. The 
dye coatings which can be used for this purpose are of the type marketed 
by the 3M Company and NCR-Appleton Company. Although the CF chemical dyes 
are presently only factory coated, the same or similar dyes can be printed 
on the front of the insert by using a material such as "Action Print" 
marketed by the 3M Company. While the use of such chemical dye coatings 
would not eliminate all bruising or marking, this problem would be totally 
eliminated once the insert has been reversed in the compartment for 
remailing. It is only during the original mailing, when the CB and CF 
coatings are in abutment with each other that any bruising at all is 
possible. Once the insert is reversed, the coatings are rendered inactive. 
An additional advantage of using two separate chemical dye coatings as 
aforementioned is that at present, self-contained papers are only offered 
by manufacturers in a limited number of weights, grades and colors. 
Separate CB coatings, which can be applied to any paper stock, would 
result in an unlimited variety of weight, grades and colors of papers 
which can be used. 
In FIGS. 15-17, a still further embodiment of a business form assembly 10f 
is shown which is useful for the storage of objects which can also be 
viewed or displayed while in the assembly through a transparent or 
partially transparent thermoplastic sheet 16. 
In the applications described thus far, the dormant adhesive has been 
either a coating or a separate sheet or membrane disposed between two 
separate plies which form the business form assembly. However, for 
purposes of the embodiment shown in FIG. 15, the layer of thermoplastic 
material itself is one of the plies which forms the resulting receiving 
compartment 13. The dimension of the receiving compartment is determined 
by the positions of the longitudinal sealing lines 22a, as well as the 
transverse sealing lines 22b. As suggested above, multiple receiving 
compartments can be formed by selecting a width of thermoplastic sheet 
material to allow the formation of two or more parallel sealing lines in 
any given direction. Where the width of the pockets is less than the width 
of the back ply 14, a portion 14a results which can be computer printed 
after the compartments are formed. Where, however, the pockets extend 
across the entire width of the back ply 14, the back ply can nevertheless 
be printed on through the thermoplastic sheet 16 by use of a self-imaging 
back ply 14. 
In the arrangement of FIG. 9, wherein die cut windows 36 are used, printing 
of the inserts 18 can be effected without a separate cover sheet by the 
use of self-contained carbonless paper such as, for example, manufactured 
by the Appleton Paper Company of Appleton, Wis. The 3M Company of St. 
Paul, Minn., also manufactures a paper known as "Type 100", which can be 
used for this purpose. With this arrangement, the insert can be printed 
without a ribbon or through an uncoated mylar ribbon on an impact printer. 
When a cover sheet is required, or when the front ply 12 is not provided 
with die cut windows, another means for image transfer is used in FIG. 18 
wherein the front and rear plies 12, 14 are reversed from the positions 
shown in FIGS. 9 and 12. The insert 18 is positioned between the 
thermoplastic sheet of material and the front ply 12. By positioning the 
bottom ply 12 below the insert 18, and the top ply 14 and thermoplastic 
sheet 16 above the insert 18, the same collator 40 can be used without 
material modification. Image transfer can, in the arrangement of FIG. 18, 
be achieved in a number of ways. Firstly, hot wax spot carbon 104 may be 
selectively provided on the inside surface of the face ply 12 facing the 
insert 18, and also provided on individual insert plies as required. 
Alternately, selective chemical carbonless mated coatings, such as "action 
print" manufactured by the 3M Company can be used. Spot coated carbon 
tissue can be interleaved between the face ply 12 and the individual 
insert plies as required. 
Referring to FIG. 19, there is shown a flat pack 86 of a still further 
embodiment of the invention, wherein a series of letters each include a 
receiving compartment closed on only three sides and containing a reply 
envelope or reply card or a combination of the two whose edge at the exit 
opening of the compartment is flush therewith. This product can be printed 
on a matrix printer or the like which can print vertically so that the 
address can be properly read when the insert is turned 90.degree.. 
Additionally, the embodiment shown in FIG. 19 may also be adapted for 
printed on word processing equipment. 
The letters and reply cards or envelopes shown in FIG. 20 are generally 
similar to those shown in FIG. 19 except that they are individually cut 
into single units. In this instance, addressing of the insert may be 
accomplished in an addressing machine or by automatic labelling machines. 
An alternative approach to the positioning means described above, namely 
the slits 20, the inserts 18 can be detachably joined to one of the top or 
bottom plies 12, 14 for preventing excessive movement of the insert 
relative to such plies during assembly of the business form. In FIG. 9, 
there is shown in phantom outline a segmented or interrupted heating wheel 
or disc which is arranged to activate dormant adhesive between the insert 
and the ply to which it is to be joined. When the insert 18 is to be moved 
from such a business form assembly, the land or the adjoining paper 
surfaces to which the land is attached share and allow ready removal of 
the insert with minimal damage thereto. The segmented wheel or disc 62' 
can be selected to provide small or large uniform land areas, and the 
areas of the lands can be readily changed by changing the disc 62'. As 
with the other activating elements described above, suitable temperature 
sensing means is advantageously used with the disc 62', and suitable means 
are provided for moving the disc 62' away from the web when the web stops 
to advance. In FIG. 20, a land 20' of the type that may be formed by the 
disc 62' is shown. The land 20' is formed between the insert 18 and the 
back ply 14, the land 20' securing the insert 18 thus preventing 
interference by the insert during joining of the front and back plies 12, 
14 along the peripheral portions by means of the interrupted sealing lines 
22c. While only land 20' is shown for securing the insert 18 to the back 
ply 14, any number of such lands may be used as necessary. Preferably, at 
least two lands 20' are used to positively position the insert on the ply 
to which it is to be attached. 
It is to be understood that the foregoing description of the various 
embodiments illustrated herein is exemplary and various modifications to 
the emnbodiments shown herein may be made without departing from the 
spirit and scope of the invention.