Business form assembly with leaders

A continuous business form assembly comprises, first, a longitudinally continuously extending carrier web. The carrier web has a longitudinally spaced series of carrier form stubs thereon. The assembly comprises, second, a longitudinally spaced series of form sets attached to the carrier form stubs. The carrier web further includes spacer sheets alternating with the carrier form stubs. The spacer sheets provide leaders for printer feed tractors, for small quantity computer printer users.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to continuous business form assemblies adapted to be 
fed into automatic printers. 
With the advent of small computers, continuous business form assemblies are 
often fed through printers where printing is computerized although the 
printing and feeding of forms is intermittent and small in quantity. Small 
quantity computer users require an efficient method of feeding single form 
sets into such printers without wasting form sets as leaders for the 
tractors of such printers. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A principal object of the present invention is to satisfy the requirements 
of small quantity computer users for an efficient method of feeding single 
form sets into computerized printers without wasting form sets as leaders 
for tractors. 
In a principal aspect, the invention is a continuous business form assembly 
comprising a carrier web and a series of form sets. Both the carrier web 
and the series of form sets are longitudinally extending. The carrier web 
is continuous in this longitudinally direction. The carrier web includes a 
longitudinally extending series of form stubs. The form sets are attached 
to the form stubs. The carrier web further includes a series of spacer 
sheets which alternate with the form stubs and provide leaders between the 
form sets for the printer tractors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to FIG. 1, the first preferred embodiment 10 of the present 
invention includes a carrier web 12 and a series of form sets 14. The 
carrier web 12 is continuous in a longitudinal direction 16. The carrier 
web 12 includes two longitudinally extending series of tractor feed holes 
18, 20 along the margins 22, 24, respectively, of the web 12. In this 
first preferred embodiment, the web 12 includes a longitudinally extending 
series of spaced form stubs 26. Each form stub 26 extends between a first 
transversely extending fold perforation line 28 and a second transversely 
extending fold perforation line 30. As apparent, the fold perforation 
lines 28 constitute a first series of spaced fold perforation lines 28 and 
the fold perforation lines 30 constitute a second series of spaced 
perforation lines 30. 
Each form set 14 comprises such a number of sheets as desired. For purposes 
of illustration, form sets 14 as shown comprise one sheet each. Each form 
set 14 is attached to a form stub 26 by fastening means such as a glue 
line 32 along a fold perforation line 28. Glue lines 32 constitute a 
longitudinally spaced series of fastening means. In this embodiment, the 
form sets 14 include tear-off perforation lines 42 that are substantially 
parallel to fold perforation lines 28 such that glue lines 32 are located 
between the tear-off perforation lines 42 and fold perforation lines 28. 
The carrier web 12 further includes a longitudinally spaced series of 
spacer sheets 34. Each spacer sheet 34 extends between two form stubs 26 
and more specifically, between a fold perforation line 30 and the next 
fold perforation line 28. Each spacer sheet 34 includes a tear-off 
perforation line 40, and each form stub 26 includes a tear-off perforation 
line 40A. To facilitate manufacture of the business form assembly, both 
sets of tear-off perforation lines 40 and 40A should desirably be 
provided. However, tear-off perforation lines 40A may be omitted if 
desired. In an alternate embodiment, fold perforation line 30 and tear-off 
perforation line 40 or 40A may comprise a single tear-off line 40 or 40A. 
Each form stub 26 includes a stub portion 36 and a backing sheet 38. Each 
stub portion 36 extends between a fold perforation line 28 adjacent a 
spacer sheet 34 to a tear-off perforation line 40A adjacent a backing 
sheet 38. Each backing sheet 38 extends from a tear-off perforation line 
40A to fold perforation line 30. 
The form sets 14 overlie the form stubs 26, and more specifically, both the 
stub portion 36 and the backing sheet 38 thereof. The stub portion 36 is 
shorter than the backing sheet 38. Each spacer sheet 34 is without 
overlying structure, and provides a leader for feed tractors. 
Referring to FIG. 2, like structure is identified with like numerals in 
this second preferred embodiment 11. While the embodiment 11 includes form 
sets 14 as in FIG. 1, the carrier web 112 includes form stubs 126 
comprised solely of stub portions 36. The spacer sheets 134 extend between 
the stub portions 36, and more specifically, between tear-off perforation 
line 140 and fold perforation line 128. Thus, in contrast to the first 
embodiment 10, the second preferred embodiment 11 includes spacer sheets 
134 which are overlaid in part by the form sets 14. The form stubs are 
shorter than the spacer sheets 134. Removal of a printed form set 14 is by 
perforation along a tear-off perforation line 42, leaving the spacer sheet 
134 as a leader for feed tractors, as with embodiment 10. 
Referring to FIG. 3, the third preferred embodiment 13 comprises a carrier 
web 12 as in FIG. 1, with spacer sheets 134 and form stubs 126. The form 
sets 114 differ from the form sets 14 in that the form sets 114 extend 
from margin to margin of the carrier web 12. Removal of a printed form set 
114 occurs through perforation of a transverse tear-off perforation line 
140 and subsequent perforation along tear-off perforation lines 152, 154 
and 156 as desired. As with the second perferred embodiment, such 
perforation leaves a spacer sheet 134 as a leader for feed tractors. 
The preferred embodiment and the invention are now described in such full, 
clear, concise and exact terms as to enable a person of skill in the art 
to make and use the same. To particularly point out and distinctly claim 
the subject matter regarded as invention, the following claims conclude 
this specification.