Printed matter – Strips
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-23
2001-07-10
Howell, Daniel W. (Department: 3722)
Printed matter
Strips
C402S079000, C283S061000, C283S116000, C462S019000, C462S025000, C462S026000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06257624
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to postal forms which, having an image placed on a single side thereof, can be folded in a particular way to provide a double sided image, and more particularly, to means for generating, from a single form printed on a single side, various documents for sending certified, priority, registered, or other mail.
2. Background Information
Many types of specialized business forms are made for use with the impact printing process, which is available using a typewriter or any of a number of printers using raised type or wire matrices. These printing processes are characterized by an ability to generate multiple copies through the use of carbon paper between copies, or through the alternative use of other micro-encapsulated materials sensitive to pressure and impact. Many of the impact printers are configured to accept continuous forms with holes along the edges for feeding by means of a pin feed mechanism. Typewriters accept individual sheets of paper, while a number of modern low to medium speed printers accept both continuous forms with edge holes and individual sheets. number of forms include multiple sheets, or plies, affixed together to take advantage of the ability of the impact printing process to make multiple copies with a single pass through the printer. An example of this type of form is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,793, issued to Gerard F. Walz on Jul. 28, 1987 and entitled “Multi-Part Mailer Form Assembly”.
The increased use in most offices of non-impact printing devices, such as laser or ink jet printers, has led to a need to provide the capabilities commonly associated with impact printer forms, that is, the ability to use specialized multipart forms. This need is particularly important, since non-impact printers, with their greater flexibility in providing different type fonts and graphics capabilities, higher throughput, lower operating costs, and much better print quality, as well as reduced noise, are replacing impact printers in most offices. Thus, people needing the advantages provided by impact printers for specialized forms are not able to fulfill their needs because of the lack of an impact printer.
Non-impact printers are currently limited by an ability to print only on a single side of one sheet of paper at a given time. While it is possible to turn the paper over to be run through the printer again, to thereby print on both sides, automated devices which accomplish this function are not commonly available with conventional office non-impact printers found in most offices. Even if one could print on both sides of the form by manually feeding the same form again, this practice eliminates batching, whereby a large number of blank forms are placed in a paper feeding tray and all forms are produced at one time. addition, U.S. Postal Services requires that certain indicia and facing identification marks (FIMs) be placed at the edge of the page, form, or postcard, or that the indicia is placed less than ¼ inch, typically about ⅛ inch, from the edge. Non-impact printers will print only ¼ inch or more from the edge of a page passed therethrough. Thus, the use of non-impact printers with standard forms cannot meet U.S. Postal Service standards.
One of the other advantages of impact printing, particularly those impact printers using pin feed paper handling mechanisms, is the ability to print on paper stocks of significantly different thicknesses. For example, conventional paper stock has thicknesses of about 0.003 to 0.0035 inch. Post cards required by the U.S. Postal Service have a thickness of between 0.007 inch and 0.0095 inches. However, feeding a relatively thick card stock through a conventional office non-impact printer may cause problems with the paper handling mechanisms and as well as with the copy quality. Thus, many existing forms, such as the last sheet of the form described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,793 to Walz, which has a thickness within the range of a standard postcard, cannot be used with non-impact printers. Thus, many documents designed to be sent through the mail as postcards, such as is needed for certified or registered mail, cannot be automatically generated with modern office non-impact printers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided an assembly for providing a mailing document having images formed on both sides thereof, following a single pass through an image forming device which places an image on one side of the assembly.
In one embodiment of the subject invention, the assembly has a front sheet with an image receiving surface and an adhesive coated surface. In addition, the assembly has a back sheet having a first tear line between interior and facing surfaces. The interior surface is affixed to the adhesive coated surface of the front sheet such that a permanent bond is formed on one side of the tear line and a releasable bond is formed on the other side of the tear line. In addition, the assembly has a fold line on the front sheet aligned with the tear line when the front sheet and back sheet are affixed. This embodiment is preferably used for registered or certified mail.
In another embodiment of the subject invention, there is provided an assembly having a front sheet and a back sheet superimposed onto one another to form a laminated assembly, having a top, middle, and bottom section. Preferably, the sections of the assembly are formed as three consecutive sections comprising a top, middle, and bottom section, respectively corresponding to a mailing label, a first side of a confirmation form, and a second side of a confirmation form. The first and second sides of the confirmation form can be folded at a fold line therebetween and superimposed onto one another to form a duplex confirmation form.
The front sheet has a front image receiving face and an inner face facing the back sheet in the laminated configuration. In one embodiment, the inner surface of the front sheet can be coated with an adhesive in a particular pattern (“patterned adhesive”) to provide adhesive at specific locations for adhering portions of the form to a surface. The inner surface of the front sheet can also include an adhesive-release material coated thereon in a particular pattern (“patterned release”) to provide at a desired location a releasable bond between a face having adhesive coated thereon and a face contacting the adhesive-coated face.
For example, the back face of the front sheet can have at least one small strip of release material coated on an area of the bottom section which, when its back face is folded to meet the back face of the middle section, as in its typical operation, forms a releasable strip which, when removed, exposes adhesive on the front face of the front sheet, now folded such that it is a back face of the assembly, so that the confirmation form can be affixed to the mailing piece. Several embodiments of this affixing strip are contemplated, including an embodiment wherein two releasable strips are formed on opposite sides of the confirmation form, or where no strips are formed and the confirmation card can be attached to the mail piece and is retained only by its connection at the perforation lines to the top section.
This embodiment further comprises a back sheet having a front and back face whereon a patterned adhesive release material can be coated on at least one face in particular areas to form a releasable bond when contacting an adhesive-coated face. The front face of the back sheet, which contacts the front sheet, has adhesive release material substantially on the top and middle sections.
In a preferred embodiment, the front sheet is formed as a plurality of separable sections and comprises a peel-away border along at least one edge of said front sheet. This peel-away border advantageously provides a margin along at least one edge of the assembly, wherein the margin extends from the edge of a section so that mailing or other information can be printed less than one-quarter inc
Henderson Mark T.
Howell Daniel W.
Laser Substrates, INC
Whitlock Ted W.
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