Apparatus for making reusable adhesive envelopes

An apparatus for making envelopes adhesively reusable, the envelopes including a pouch defined by front and rear panels, the pouch including an opening, and a flap formed as an extension of the rear panel adjacent the opening, the flap being foldable about a fold line from an open position in which the opening is accessible and the front panel is uncovered to a closed position in which the flap blocks the opening and overlies a portion of the front panel, the flap being in the open position, said apparatus comprising:

• a first spool for mounting a reel of protective strip tape;
• a second spool for mounting a reel of double sided tape having a release liner on one side thereof;
• a metering roller associated with each said spool to receive the tape therefrom, each said metering roller having a first coefficient of friction with the associated tape, said metering rollers being driven with a first peripheral velocities;
• an anvil roller associated with each said metering roller to receive the tape therefrom, each said metering roller having a second coefficient of friction with the associated tape, said anvil rollers being driven with a second peripheral velocities;
• a cutter roller associated with each said anvil roller and adapted to sever tape segments from the tape on said associated anvil roller, said first and second coefficients of friction being related such that the tape segments will be adhered to the anvil roller, yet the free end of the tape may slide with respect to the anvil roller, and the tape will be advanced only by said metering rollers, said first peripheral velocities being less that said second peripheral velocities such that the tape segments are formed at spaced peripheral locations on said anvil rollers;
• and
• conveyor means for supporting and advancing the envelopes in a direction perpendicular to the fold line, whereby the tape segments from each of the tapes may be adhered to each of the envelopes.