Vacuumatic Limited

Digi Leaflet Technologies Limited

Edward William Colvill

Michael John Cooper

Geoffrey Alan Giles

Peter William Sevenoaks

A leaflet is produced from a pre-printed sheet of material by folding the sheet with at least one crease-line along the line of advancement of the sheet but preferably with two or more such crease-lines so that the sheet is fan-folded. The crease-lines are squeezed by a roller nip and then the sheet is fed into a diametral slot in a mandrel of elliptical cross-section. The leading edge of the sheet is gripped within the slot and then the mandrel is rotated to wind the sheet around the outer surface thereof. The wound sheet is then removed from the mandrel and is squeezed through a roller nip so as to form a substantially flat folded leaflet. The leaflet may be converted to a booklet by joining together the overlying sheets along one folded edge of the compressed leaflet and slitting open the other folded edge of the compressed leaflet.

Leaflet production

Apparatus for counting sheets in stack ( ) thereof and inserting tabs ( ) between the sheets at predetermined counts, as well as a tabbing method, uses a rotatable counting disc ( ) engageable with an edge region of the stack and including a sheet transfer slot ( ) to transfer the next sheet to be counted from one face of the disc to the opposed face, upon rotation of the disc. There are means ( ) to count the number of sheets transferred and also to advance the disc relative to the stack, as the counting progresses. A tabber ( ) is arranged to insert a tab ( ) between two sheets of the stack ( ) when a predetermined sheet count has been achieved, which tabber ( ) projects a tab in a generally radially outward direction with respect to the disc ( ), immediately adjacent one face ( ) of the disc and in a timed relationship to the rotation thereof. The disc includes a tabbing recess ( ) in its one face ( ) and into which a projected tab is received for insertion between the last and next sheets to be counted, at the moment of projection of the tab.

Growing community of inventors

Suffolk, United Kingdom

Edward William Colvill