Abstract:
A method and system for producing a self-mailer using a folding apparatus for folding sheets into folded materials and a tabbing apparatus for sealing the folded materials with tabs in a continuous flow. Typically a folded material exits the folded apparatus with the open end of the folded material leading and this traveling direction of the folded material is not suitable for tabbing. A path directing apparatus is placed between the folding apparatus and the tabbing apparatus so as to cause the folded material to enter the tabbing apparatus with the open end of the folded material leading. As such, the entire process can be carried out without manually reversing the traveling direction of the folded material. In addition, a printer and a labeling device can be added to the self-mailer producing system to put on an address label, a postage indicia and a return address while keeping the process steps in a continuous flow.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    Reference is made to application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. E-878), entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DIRECTING AN ITEM THROUGH THE FEED PATH OF A FOLDING APPARATUS, assigned to the assignee of this application and filed on even date herewith.  
         [0002]    Reference is made to application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. E-879), entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TABBING FOLDED MATERIAL, assigned to the assignee of this application and filed on even date herewith.  
         [0003]    Reference is made to application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. E-946), entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FOLDING SHEETS, assigned to the assignee of this application and filed on even date herewith. 
     
    
     
       TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0004]    The present invention is generally related to a self-mailer producing apparatus and, more specifically, to a method and apparatus for controlling the traveling direction of a piece of folded material exiting a folding machine.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    A self-mailer is conventionally defined as a mailpiece without an envelope. The self-mailer usually contains one or more sheets of printed material, folded once or twice by a folding machine into a smaller piece for mailing. Typically the folded material has a folded end and an open end. The open end is sealed with one or more tabs before the self-mailer is sent to the addressee. In addition, it may be required that an address label and a postage stamp or indicia be applied to or printed on the folded material. Thus, the components of a self-mailer producing system can generally be grouped into a printer, a folding machine, a labeler and a tabbing device.  
           [0006]    Folding machines are well-known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,701,233 (Beck et al.) discloses a method of folding a sheet by bulging a portion of the sheet and then folding the bulged portion through a roller nip. U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,965 (Marzullo) discloses a folding apparatus where a buckle chute is used for stopping a sheet, causing the sheet to enter a roller nip for folding. U.S. Pat. No.  4 , 944 , 131  (Gough) also discloses a folding apparatus having a buckle chute. With the aboveidentified folding machines, when the folded material exits the folding machine, it travels in the direction of the fold. This means that the folded end is leading the open end. Folding machines are generally designed for folding enclosure material to be inserted into envelopes in an envelope inserting device. In this particular application, the traveling direction of the folded material is not very important. But for tabbing purposes, it is desirable that the folded material travels with the open end leading the folded end. Thus, while the traveling direction of the folded material exiting a folding machine is suitable for envelope insertion, it is not suitable for tabbing.  
           [0007]    Tabbing devices are also well-known. U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,846 (Alicea) discloses a tabbing device having precut tabs arranged in a roll on a narrow strip of removable backing material, wherein each tab is partially peeled away from the backing material, thereby exposing the adhesive side of the tab to the folded material to be sealed.  
           [0008]    In a typical tabbing device, the tab faces an incoming piece of folded material so that the tab can be applied to the leading edge of the folded material. Furthermore, the tab must be applied to the open end of the folded material. Thus, when a piece of folded material is fed to a tabbing device, the leading edge of the folded material must be the open end, and not the folded end. In that case, the folded material exiting a folding machine must be rotated by hand so that the open end leads the folded end, before the folded material is fed to the tabbing apparatus for tabbing. This manual step can be time-consuming and increases the cost of producing self-mailers.  
           [0009]    It is advantageous and desirable to provide a method and an apparatus for tabbing and folding sheets without manually rotating the folded material.  
           [0010]    Furthermore, before or after the folded material is sealed, it can be moved through a printer for printing a postage indicia and/or an address thereon. Alternatively, a labeler can be used to apply an address label on the folded material. Labelers are well-known. An exemplary labeler is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,644 (Anderson). The disclosed labeler uses a servo motor to drive the label feed, wherein the label feed contains precut labels arranged in a roll on a backing material.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0011]    The system for producing self-mailers, according to the present invention, comprises: a folding apparatus for folding sheets into folded pieces and each folded piece has an open end and an opposing end, wherein the folding apparatus has an exit end; a tabbing apparatus, having an input end, for sealing the folded piece at the open end thereof in order to produce a self-mailer, and a path directing apparatus located between the exit end of the folding apparatus and the input end of the tabbing apparatus for directing the path of the folded material so as to cause the folded piece to enter the input end of the tabbing apparatus with the open end leading the opposing end.  
           [0012]    Furthermore, the self-mailer producing system may include a printer to print a postage indicia and a labeling device to apply an address label on the folded piece. The printer and the labeling device can be located upstream or downstream from the tabbing apparatus to form a continuous path for the folded material. As such, the folding, sealing, printing and addressing steps necessary to produce a self-mailer can be carried out in a continuous flow without interruption.  
           [0013]    Accordingly, in a system for producing self-mailers wherein the system has a folding apparatus for folding sheets into folded pieces with each folded piece having an open end and an opposing end, and a tabbing apparatus for applying a tab on the open end in order to seal each folded piece, the method for providing a continuous path between the folding apparatus and the tabbing apparatus comprises the step of directing the path of the folded piece so as to cause the folded piece to enter the tabbing apparatus with the open end leading the folded end. Typically the end opposing to the open end of a folded material is a folded end. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    The present invention will become apparent upon reading the description taken in conjunction with FIG. 1 to FIG. 7B.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a self-mailer producing system, according to the present invention, showing the relative position of the tabbing apparatus to the folding apparatus.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a top view of the self-mailer producing system, showing the path between the path directing apparatus and the tabbing apparatus.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the necessary processing steps for producing a self-mailer, showing the path from the input end of the folding material to the exit end of the tabbing apparatus.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of the self-mailer producing system, according to the present invention, showing a continuous path for producing a self-mailer from the input end of the folding material to the exit end of the tabbing apparatus.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIGS. 5A to  5 C are schematic representations of the self-mailer producing system, showing different arrangements of the various components in the system.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic representations of a path directing apparatus, showing the principle of path directing.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a typical self-mailer. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0022]    Referring now to FIG. 1, a self-mailer producing system  10 , according to the present invention, comprises a folding apparatus  12 , a tabbing apparatus  16  and a path directing apparatus  14  positioned between the folding apparatus  12  and the tabbing apparatus  16 . Folding apparatus  12  is used to fold one or more sheets of paper or documents  100  (FIG. 3) fed through the entrance  200  of the folding apparatus  12 . Typically, after being folded by the folding apparatus  12 , the folded material  110  (FIG. 3) has an open end  114  (FIG. 3) needed to be sealed by the tabbing apparatus  16 . If the folded material  110  exits the folding apparatus  12  with the open end  114  trailing, it must be turned around or flipped over before the folded material  114  is fed into the tabbing apparatus  16 . For the purpose of re-orienting the folded material  110  so that the open end  114  of the folded material  110  is leading when the folding material  110  is fed into the tabbing apparatus  16 , the path directing apparatus  14  is placed between the exiting end  202  (FIG. 4) of the folding apparatus  12  and the input end  220  (FIG. 4) of the tabbing apparatus  16 . After being sealed, the folded material  110  exits the self-mailing producing system  10  through the exit end  230 . Also shown in FIG. 1 are two tape feeders  22  on the tabbing apparatus  16 , wherein each tape feeder  22  has a roll of tape  24  for providing tabbing material to seal the folded materials  110 .  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 2 is a top view of the self-mailer producing system  10 . As shown, a piece of folded material  110  is moved from the path directing apparatus  14  toward the tabbing apparatus  16  along a direction indicated by an arrow  118 . The folding material  110  has an open end  114  leading the opposing end  112  which is usually a folded end. When the folded material  110  reaches a tabbing point  228  of the tabbing apparatus  16 , each of the tape feeders  22  cuts a section of the tape from the roll  24  to seal the open end  114  before the folded material  110  exits the self-mailer producing system  10  from the exit end  230  along a direction indicated by an arrow  120 .  
         [0024]    As shown in FIG. 3, one or more sheets of unfolded material  100  are moved along a direction indicated by an arrow  106  through the entrance  200  of the folding apparatus  12 . The unfolded material  100  is folded into a piece of folded material  110 , which exits the exit end  202  of the folding apparatus  12  with the folded end  112  of the folded material  110  leading the open end  114 . The folded material  110  is further moved along a direction indicated by an arrow  116  into an entrance  210  of the path directing device  14 . After emerging from an exit  212  of the path directing apparatus  14 , the folded material  110  is moved along the direction  118 , with the open end  114  leading the folded end  112 . After entering through an entrance  220  and exiting through the exit end  230  of the tabbing apparatus  16 , the folded material  112  is sealed, as denoted by reference numeral  120 , and moves along a direction indicated by an arrow  122 .  
         [0025]    Now referring to FIG. 4, the overall path for the self-mailer producing process is denoted by reference numeral  150 , which starts at the entrance  200  of the folding apparatus  12  and ends at the exit end  230  of the tabbing apparatus  16 . As shown, the folding apparatus  12  comprises a control knob  30  and a control arm  32  for adjusting the position of a stop  34  according to the length of the unfolded material  100  and the type of fold desired. For example, the unfolded material  100  can be folded once or twice. The unfolded material  100  is moved into the folding apparatus  12  at the entrance  200  by a pair of rollers  36  and  38 . The unfolded material  100  is folded by rollers  38  and  40  and exits the folding apparatus  12 , in this case, at the exit end  202 . The folded material is then moved by rollers  38  and  50  into the path directing apparatus  14 . As the folded material is stopped by a stop  52 , it is moved out of the path directing apparatus  14  by rollers  50  and  54  at the exit end  212 .  
         [0026]    The folded material  110  continues to move along the path  150  through the entrance  220  of the tabbing apparatus  16 . The folded material  110  trips a trip release mechanism  60 , which releases a clutch  64  by a releasing mechanism  62 , causing the driving mechanism  66  to advance the tape feeder  22 . Consequently, a section  28  of the tape  26  from the roll of tape  24  is released into the path  150  of the folded material  110 . When the folded material  110  is moved toward the exit rollers  70 , its open end  114  contacts the released tape section  28  and causes the released tape section  28  to fold across the open end  114 . As the released tape section  28  is dragged along with the folded material  110  into a nip  228  formed by the exit rollers  70 , the released tape section  28  is separated from the roll of tape  24  by a cutter (not shown). The exit rollers  70  further press the tab  138  (FIGS. 7A and 7B), which is the separated tape section  28 , in order to seal the open end  114  of the folded material  10 . A self-mailer  120  is thus produced.  
         [0027]    As shown in FIG. 4, the path  150  throughout the self-mailer producing system  10  is continuous. From the feeding of the unfolded material  110  to the tabbing of the folded material, all the processing steps are carried out in a continuous flow without interruption. If the folded material  110  is required to be addressed, the address can be put on the folded material  110  either before or after the open end  114  of the folded material  110  is sealed by the tabbing apparatus  16 . The address can be put on by applying an address label by a labeling device or printing by a printer. It is also possible and desirable to have a postage indicia to be printed by the printer. The folding, tabbing, printing and labeling can also be carried out in a continuous flow, as shown in FIGS. 5A to  5 C.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 5A shows a continuous path  152  throughout a self-mailer producing system  11 . In additional to the folding apparatus  12 , the path directing apparatus  14  and the tabbing apparatus  16 , the self-mailer producing system  11  further comprises a labeler  18  for applying an address label  132  (FIG. 7A) on the self-mailer  120 , or a printer  20  for printing an address  136  (FIG. 7B) on the self-mailer  120 . The printer  20  can also be used to print a postage indicia  130  (FIGS. 7A, 7B) or a return address  134  (FIGS. 7A, 7B) on the self-mailer  120 . As shown, the printer  20  or the labeler  18  is placed downstream from the tabbing apparatus  16  and the path  152  for the entire producing process is continuous. It should be noted that the printer  20  or the labeler  18  can be placed between the path directing apparatus  14  and the tabbing apparatus  16  without affecting the continuous flow of the self-mailer producing process.  
         [0029]    In FIG. 5B, the self-mailer producing system  11  comprises both the labeler  18  and the printer  20 . If the labeler  18  is used to put an address label  132  on the self-mailer  120 , then the printer  20  can be used to print an indicia  130  and a return address  134 . As shown, the path  152  for the entire producing process is continuous. It should be noted that the position of the printer  20  and the position of the labeler  18  can be interchanged such that the printer  20  is placed between the labeler  18  and the tabbing apparatus  16 . Furthermore, either or both the printer  20  and the label  18  can be placed between the tabbing apparatus  16  and the path directing apparatus  14 .  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 5C shows another arrangement of the components of the self-mailer producing system  11 . As shown, the printer  20  is placed upstream from the folding apparatus  12 .  
         [0031]    The principle of path directing is illustrated in FIGS.  6 A and FIG. 6B. As shown in FIG. 6A, the folded material  110  is drawn into a turn chute  42  of the path directing apparatus  14  by rollers  38  and  50 . Originally, the spring loaded roller  44  is at an upright position. As the leading edge  112  (the folded end) of the folded material  110  is moved into the turn chute  42 , it depresses the spring loaded roller  44  until the leading edge  112  is stopped by the stop  52 . Even after the leading edge  112  of the folded material  110  is stopped by the stop  52 , the trailing edge  114  (the open end) of the folded material  110  is still moved into the turn chute  42  by the roller nip  210 . Because the distance between the stop  52  and the nip  210  of the rollers  38  and  50  is slightly shorter than the length of the folded material  110 , the trailing edge  114  of the folded material  110  starts to buckle and the spring loaded roller  44  starts to move back to its original position with the help of a spring  46 . Once the trailing edge  114  of the folded material  110  is disengaged from the roller nip  210 , with the help of the rotating roller  50  and the urging force of the returning spring-loaded roller  44 , the open end  114  of the folded material  110  is raised and moved toward the roller  54 . Because the distance between the stop  52  and the nip  212  formed by roller  50  and  54  is also slightly shorter than the length of the folded material  110 , the open end  114  of the folded material  110  is caused to be engaged with the rollers  50  and  54 , as shown in FIG. 5B. Subsequently, the folded material  110  is moved out of the path directing apparatus  14  by rollers  50  and  54 , along the direction  118 .  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 7A shows a self-mailer  120  having a postage indicia  130 , an address label  132  and a return address  134 . As shown, the self-mailer  120  is sealed by two tabs  138 , but it can be sealed by one or more tabs  138 . In FIG. 7B, instead of the address label  132 , the address is printed directly on the self-mailer  120  as denoted by reference numeral  136 .  
         [0033]    Although the invention has been described with respect to a preferred version and embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes, omissions and deviations in the form and detail thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.