Envelopes – wrappers – and paperboard boxes – Envelope – Having means to facilitate opening the envelope by severing it
Patent
1993-07-09
1996-04-09
Garbe, Stephen P.
Envelopes, wrappers, and paperboard boxes
Envelope
Having means to facilitate opening the envelope by severing it
229 81, B65D 2738
Patent
active
055053769
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to envelopes and other tear open packages or containers and to opening means therefore.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Envelopes and in particular mailing envelopes and packages have common formats worldwide to facilitate automatic handling of mailed envelopes and for illustrative purposes only, particular reference will be made hereinafter to such containers. However it is to be understood that the application of this invention is not limited to mailing envelopes.
Typically, mailing envelopes include a fold-over enclosure flap which seals the envelope by adhering to the back face of the envelope. Such envelopes are normally opened by being torn open or cut open by inserting a paper knife into the envelope at the open corner portion at the junction of the closure flap with the front panel and subsequently cutting the flap from the front panel. Both these operations are associated with a likelihood that the mailed material inside the envelope will be damaged either by being cut with the paper knife or ripped during opening of the envelope. Furthermore information on the back face of the envelope such as the senders address and/or the post marked stamps on the front face of the envelope may also be damaged during normal opening operations.
Such damage can be a particular disadvantage where the receiver intends to store their mail in the envelope in which it was received or the information or post marked stamp is damaged.
Attempts have been made to provide easily opened envelopes such as is illustrated in International Publication NumberWP 85/03039. However it is considered that such envelopes would not be suitable for sorting by automatic sorters and may be difficult to use. Such removable strips, reinforced with metal foil or string and possibly defined between rows of perforations have also been used for larger postal containers which are not sorted automatically as are conventional envelopes. Automatic sorting imposes limitations on dimensions and format and makes extending tabs and strips unsuitable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims to alleviate at least one of the abovementioned disadvantages and to provide improved tear-open containers and to opening means therefore and a method of opening envelopes which will be reliable and efficient in use. Other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter become apparent.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in an envelope assembly having a stick-down closure flap which may be folded over and stuck to an adjacent envelope wall panel to seal the envelope, said envelope assembly including a graspable tab having a flexible line member secured thereto, said flexible line member extending from said graspable tab across and being secured to said envelope.
The flexible line member may be retained at or adjacent an edge of the container or in a wall thereof and if desired it may extend around three sides of the envelope. The flexible line member may be retained by adhesive applied over the flexible line member and the adjacent portion of the envelope or it may be coated with an adhesive adapted to adhere the flexible line member to the envelope, at a fold line if desired.
Preferably the envelope assembly is also provided with access means enabling access to be gained to the flexible line member whereby it may be readily grasped by a user and pulled away from the envelope assembly. The access means may provide access to an intermediate portion of the flexible line member but preferably the access means provides access to an end portion of the flexible line member and suitably an accessible end portion of the member is retained on a tear-off portion or graspable tab of the envelope assembly. Suitably the tear-off portion is external to the innermost front and back panels of the envelope assembly. The tear-off portion may extend adjacent or across an edge portion of the envelope assembly or it may be remote from an edge portion if desired.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1328021 (1920-01-01), Ahana
patent: 1385493 (1921-07-01), Putney
patent: 2923457 (1960-02-01), Gerard
patent: 3104048 (1963-09-01), Lemiesz
patent: 3243099 (1966-03-01), Winegard
patent: 3653585 (1972-04-01), Kazaros
patent: 3655120 (1972-04-01), Stern
patent: 4795035 (1989-01-01), Kim
Dervent Publications Ltd. "Sealed Mailing Envelope"--DE-021989, Dec. 6, 1980.
Jones Jeffrey A.
Kent Cameron M.
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