Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
10~ 43
Various types of continuous business forms are available for
being fed to the printing means of business machines such as typewriters,
tabulators, mini-computers, or the like. Such forms may be in the nature of
manifolding assemblies including superimposed paper webs interleaved with
carbon transfer sheets. Typical of such assemblies are shown in United States
Patent No. 2,907,585 and in British Patent No. 1,376,447 which include rows of
spaced marginal feed holes. Many of the continuous business forms are used
with office computers and terminal printers and are intended to be used for
relatively short runs. When such forms or assemblies are positioned in
the print unit of the computer, the feed holes at opposite marginal edges
thereof engage the feed pins of a pair of tractor pin feed units at the
outfeed side of the print unit. Therefore, as the tractors are driven, the
stationery assemblies advance into and past the print unit. However, it
becomes necessary to position the tractors several inches downstream of the
printing position in the direction of feed through the machine in order to
effectively and accurately advance the assembly. As a consequence, each time
a fresh continuous assembly to be printed is loaded into the front print
unit, one form length at the leading end of the assembly is wasted since it is
disposed slightly downstream of the print position in order to engage with the
tractor units. Hence, such form length at the leading edge of the assembly
must be discarded at the end of the print run.
This waste each time a new pack of forms is loaded into the
print unit is compounded when relatively short lengths of the forms are prin-
ted, especially if a single form length only is to be printed because during
each printing operation a partly used pack is inserted and this entails los-
ing one form length at each reloading.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide
a continuous business forms assembly of improved construction which will avoid
wasting a form length each time the assembly is fed into the print unit of
a business machine.
1~68743
In accordance with the invention there is provided a series-
connected business form adapted to be fed through a printing means of a busin-
ess machine, comprising a feed means, a continuous pair of superimposed outer
webs, said outer webs each having a row of spaced feed holes extending along
at least one marginal edge thereof in superimposed relationship and being
arranged to engage the feed means of the business machine so that the business
form is thereby advanced into and past the printing means, said outer webs
being secured together along one line of securement adjacent said superimposed
feed holes, at least one intermediate web lying between said outer webs and
having a marginal edge thereof spaced inwardly of said superimposed feed holes,
said webs having spaced transverse lines of weakening in superimposed relation-
ship for separating the form therealong into individual units, said intermed-
iate web being secured to only one of said outer webs along another longitudin-
al line of securement, and said one web having a longitudinal line of weaken-
ing thereon spaced inwardly of said one line of securement which lies adjacent
said superimposed feed holes, whereby upon the printing of a number of said
units, the next to the last of said units so printed may be separated along
said transverse lines of weakening.whereafter said one web and said intermed-
iate web secured thereto of the last of said units may be separated from the
other of said outer webs thereof to thereby leave said other web of said last
unit available as a drive web for initiating the feed of the remaining units
to be printed through the printing means.
Figure 1 is a plan view showing a part of the continuous busin-
ess forms assembly according to the invention, partly broken away to illustrate
the details thereof;
Figure 2 is a cross-secional view of the assembly taken substan-
tially along line 2-2 of Figure l;
Figure 3 is a plan view at a reduced scale of the assembly of
Figure 1 shown with one of the outer webs and its attached intermediate webs
removed from the other of the outer webs to thereby provide a drive web for an
lQ61~743
assembly to be fed through the printer; and
Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to Figure 2 of another emb-
odiment of the invention.
Turning now to the drawings wherein like reference characters
refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, a continu-
ous business forms assembly is generally designated 10 in Figures 1 and 2 and
comprises continuous upper and lower webs 11 and 12 overlying one another and
having substantially the same width. Rows of spaced feed holes 13 are provid-
ed in outer webs 11 and 12 along opposite marginal edges respectively in axial
alignment as shown. Longitudinal lines of adhesive 14, 15 and 16 are provided
adjacent the rows of feed holes for securing the outer webs together at their
marginal edges. A longitudinal line of perforations 17 is provided only in
upper web 11 slightly inwardly of line 15 of adhesive. Also, the upper web is
longitudinally slit as along line 18 which lies slightly inwardly of line 16
of adhesive. It should be noted, however, that a line of perforations similar
to 17 could be provided in web 11 in lieu of longitudinal slit 18 without dep-
arting from the scope of the invention.
A plurality of intermediate webs 19 are superimposed between out-
er webs 11 and 12, with carbon transfer sheets 21 lying on opposite sides of
the intermediate webs. As can be seen, the intermediate webs extend slightly
outwardly of the edges of the carbon transfer sheets and lie adjacent line 17
of perforations. Also, the intermediate webs are secured to the upper web via
an overlying transfer sheet. For example, the transfer sheets are secured to
the webs overlying them by means of superimposed lines 22 of adhesive. And,
the transfer sheets are secured only to their underlying intermediate webs
along lines 23 of adhesive spaced a slight distance away from lines 22 of ad-
hesive.
The transfer sheets are slit as at 24 in a diagonal or herring-
bone fashion and are disposed between lines 22 and 23 of adhesive. Similarly
as in United States Patent No. 2,907,585, these flexing cuts produce a natural
~0ti~7'1~
hinging effect combined with the staggered lines 22 and 23 of gluing thereby
permitting a substantial amount of free relative longitudinal movement of all
the parts of the assembly. The inherent fanning of the assembly parts as they
pass about a feed or platen cylinder is thereby not hampered by this fasten-
ing means since the assembly parts are capable of realigning themselves in
registry.
Upper web 11 and each of the intermediate webs 19 are provided
Nith superimposed longitudinal lines 25 of perforations located slightly in-
wardly of glue lines 22. Also, transverse lines 26 of perforations are spac-
lQ ed along the form and lie superimposed in all the parts of the assembly so as
to permit the form to be separated into individual units U after the assembly
has been run through the printer.
Figure 4 shows a modification of the Figures 1 and 2 construct-
ion as having an upper web 27 which differs from web 11 in that it is not
provided with a row of feed holes at opposite marginal edges thereof. Instead,
web 27 has its marginal edge 28 in alignment with the marginal edges of all
but the bottommost intermediate ply lying therebeneath as clearly shown in
Figure 4. Such bottommost intermediate web 29, instead, has a marginal edge
provided with a row of spaced feed holes 13 respectively in alignment with
holes 13 provided at the right-hand end of outer web 12. Webs 29 and 12 are
secured together along a longitudinal line 31 of adhesive lying adjacent
superimposed feed holes 13. And similarly as provided for the upper web in
the Figure 2 embodimentl a longitudinal line 32 of perforations is provided
in intermediate web 29 slightly inwardly of line 31 of adhesive. The outer
parts and their interconnections of the Figure 4 construction are otherwise
the same as in Figure 2. It should be noted, however, that lines 22 and 23
of adhesive in both embodiments may be replaced by lines of securement where-
in paper staples such as those illustrated in British Patent No. 1,676,447
are used.
In operation, the assembly is advanced past the printing unit of
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the business machine as in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 3 as
the feed pins of the tractors engage feed holes 13 along opposite marginal
edges thereof. After the form is printed with indicia I and is fed by the
tractor pin feed devices to the outfeed side of the tractors, a predetermined
length of various connected printed units U are separated from the unprinted
assembly along a transverse line 26 of weakening. And, depending on the
particular printing operation the printed units may have been individually
burst from the printed assembly so as to be separated along line 26 by the
time a printed unit is separated along line 26a. As shown in Figure 3, this
printed unit comprises the second to the last printed unit USL, the last prin-
ted unit U1 remaining connected to the unprinted assembly. However, web 11
together with webs 19 of the Figure 2 embodiment are removed from the remain-
der of unit UL along line 17 of perforations and along transverse lines 26
located in these webs. And, if a line of perforations is provided in lieu of
slit line 18, web 11 is likewise separated along such line. Similarly webs
27, 19 and 29 of the Figure 4 embodiment are removed from unit UL by tearing
along lines 17 and 32 as well as along their respective transverse lines 26.
Lower web 12 is therefore now exposed and remains connected to the leading
unprinted unit U of the unprinted assembly. This exposed lower web has images
I' of the indicia transferred thereto which may serve as a record sheet from
this particular unit. Also, feed strips 33 remain attached to the lower web,
these feed strips being defined by portions of web 11 (Figure 2) extending
outwardly of lines 17 and 18 upon removal of webs 11 and 19 as aforedescribed.
Otherwise, feed strips 33 are defined by a portion of web 27 ~Figure 4) and a
portion of web 29 extending outwardly of respective lines 17 and 32. Unit UL
thereby serves as a drive unit for the unprinted assembly at such time as the
assembly is to be printed during a subsequent printing run. The feed holes of
drive unit UL are strengthened by reason of feed strips 33. The entire asse-
mbly may be removed from the business machine and, when the assembly is reloa-
ded thereinto, the leading unit is unit UL rather than an unprinted unit U so
10t;8743
that the entire assembly may be now advanced through the printing unit of thebusiness machine without wasting the leading unit since unit UL may subsequen-
tly be separated from the reloaded assembly without being discarded since it
serves as a record sheet for the last printed unit of the prior run.
It should be noted that, upon removal of webs 11 and 19 from
lower web 12 as in Figure 2, these webs may be separated from the interleaved
transfer sheets simply by grasping with one hand outwardly of the free edge
of the transfer sheets and with the other hand outwardly of lines 25 and snap-
ping in opposite directions. Webs 27, 19 and 29 may be similarly separated
from the interleaved transfer sheets upon separation of these webs from bottom
web 12.
Obviously many other modifications and variations of the present
invention are made possible in the light of the above teachings. For example,
carbonless transfer material of the standard variety may be coated on some or
all the mating surfaces of the webs for the transfer of images between the
outer webs in lieu of carbon transfer sheets as described. Also, lower webs
12 may be provided with longitudinal lines of weakening 17a, 18a underlying
lines 17 and 18 in Figure 2 and lines 17a and 32a underlying lines 17 and 32
in Figure 4. Feed strips 33 may therefore also be removed from lower webs 12
after the printed assembly is burst into individual units to thereby provide
clean record sheets without feed strips.
It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the
appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically
described.
