Envelopes – wrappers – and paperboard boxes – Envelope – Including remailing means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-17
2001-05-08
Pascua, Jes F. (Department: 3727)
Envelopes, wrappers, and paperboard boxes
Envelope
Including remailing means
Reexamination Certificate
active
06227443
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an envelope suitable for use in prompting or encouraging a reply or response to any variation of papers, documents, letters, survery papers, questionnaires, etc., including a postal request, application or subscription to an offer of the sale of goods.
More specifically, the invention relates to an improvement in an envelope of the type described and, in particular, an improved envelope having a reusable, return envelope portion adapted to enclose an enclosure such as a reply, response, request, application, subscription, order or the like, including a goods or commodity purchase order. The present invention also relates to an improved envelope having an envelope portion that facilitates sealing an enclosure therein when the envelope is reused.
2. Description of the Related Art
In mailing, for example, merchandise information from a company to a potential customer, or a questionnaire from a public service agency to an individual home, a rectangular shaped envelope is commonly used. Such envelopes have many sizes and various configurations that can be chosen to meet with those of the papers to be enclosed and mailed.
These envelopes once used are commonly discarded, however, without being reused. Also, in mailing back a purchase order based on the merchandise information, or the questionnaire or survey paper filled in, a separate envelope will have to be prepared and separately addressed. The conventional envelope is therefore inconvenient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improvement in envelopes that can remove the inconvenience of conventional envelopes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved envelope that has a return envelope portion which permits the envelope mailed to be reused.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved envelope having a return envelope portion that may make a mail recipient or return sender unnecessary to write a return address on a return envelope.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved envelope having a return envelope portion which facilitates or simplifies sealing an envelope in reuse and is capable of curbing the risk of its contents coming in contact with other papers en route.
These and other objects which will become more readily apparent hereinafter are attained in accordance with the present invention in a first aspect thereof or in a first form of implementation thereof by providing, in an envelope comprising a front and a rear side portion opposing each other, and having a flap included in the front side portion, and a bottom portion formed of the front and rear side portions and opposing the flap, an improvement having a return envelope portion made integral therewith. The return envelope portion is provided with a flap portion that is defined with both a line of cutoff on which the return envelope portion can be cut off and detached and a line of fold, including a stamping or embossing made streak of fold, on which the flap portion can be folded. In both, such a line of cut and a line of fold are imparted to the envelope (main envelope) on a region of one of the said front and rear side portions thereof. The return envelope portion when the said flap portion is folded is thus defined on its one side with the said line of fold and is also defined on its other side with one of the said bottom portion and upper portion opposing to the said bottom portion of the envelope.
The return envelope portion can therefore be made detachable from the main envelope to provide a usable return envelope.
Advantageously, the return envelope portion can be configured in the form of a customary rectangular envelope with one side thereof constituted with the said bottom portion of the envelope.
An improved envelope having a return envelope portion can still be provided without having one of the said line of cutoff or the said line of fold on the envelope.
It will be desirable that the said flap portion be constituted by a pseudo flap portion having a pattern, a figure or a design printed thereon.
An improvement in an envelope or an improved envelope with a return flap portion according to the first aspect or form of implementation of the present invention as described above has therefore a return envelope predecessor preliminarily provided in the envelope in the bottom or upper portion thereof, using this bottom or upper portion of the envelope in common to the return envelope. A recipient of the envelope can thus simply detach the return envelope portion from the envelope mailed to his/her. For mailing out a purchase order for goods or commodity based on the offered merchandise information mailed in or returning a survey paper or questionnaire so received and filled in, or doing a similar response action, the recipient has no need to prepare an envelope anew and can simply use and address on the detached envelope portion now as a fresh envelope and send it out. In this case, the sender may very well care to have the return envelope portion self-addressed to eliminate the need for the recipient to address the return envelope on his/her its own. The present invention described above, therefore, facilitates and simplifies a return mailing action, and permits a portion of the received envelope to be effectively reused or recycled.
The present invention also provides in a second aspect thereof or in a second form of implementation thereof in an envelope having a body portion in the form of a bag and a flap provided to extend from said body portion, an improvement having a return envelope portion. The return envelope is formed in the said envelope body portion so that at least one of a bottom portion opposite to the said flap and an upper portion of the said envelope body portion may constitute a corresponding portion of the return envelope. The return envelope includes a return envelope body portion in the form of a bag adapted to contain material such as a paper or document, and a flap portion that is defined with a line of cutoff and a line of fold (including a stamping made streak of fold) which are imparted to a portion of the envelope in which the said flap portion is to be provided. The said return envelope body portion has a rear surface coming into contact with the rear surface of the said flap portion when the latter is folded. One of these rear surfaces has an adhesive applied thereto and also a peelable tab of paper applied thereto so as to cover the said adhesive on the said one rear surface, the said adhesive thus permitting the said flap portion to be bonded to the said return envelope body portion on peeling the said peelable tab of paper and folding the said flap portion onto the said return envelope body portion.
The said one rear surface onto which the said adhesive and the said peelable tab of paper are applied is the rear surface of the said return envelope body portion that comes into contact with the said flap portion when the latter is folded. In this case, the said peelable tab of paper covers the entire surface of the said adhesive and will at opposite sides thereof be bonded to said return envelope body portion.
Alternatively, the said one rear surface will be a rear surface of the said flap portion that comes into contact with the rear surface of the said return envelope body portion when the former is folded. In this case, the said peelable tab of paper covers the entire surface of the said adhesive and will, at opposite sides, thereof be bonded to the said flap portion.
A region of the said flap portion will be formed as being surrounded with both the said line of cutoff and the said line of fold.
Thus, an improvement in an envelope or an improved envelope of the present invention so implemented as mentioned above, here again, provides the recipient of an envelope with the availability of a return envelope that can be immediately prepared, that is outright available to the recipient by permitting the us
Armstrong, Westerman, Hattori, McLeland & Naughton,LLP
Pascua Jes F.
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