Envelopes – wrappers – and paperboard boxes – Envelope – Having means to facilitate opening the envelope by severing it
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-13
2001-05-29
Garbe, Stephen P. (Department: 3727)
Envelopes, wrappers, and paperboard boxes
Envelope
Having means to facilitate opening the envelope by severing it
C206S804000, C229S070000, C462S065000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06237844
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to an envelope structure which includes an inside, detachable bangtail flap. In particular, the present invention relates to an envelope structure which includes in combination, an inside bangtail flap, and a full access opening means located within the rear panel.
Full access opening means as employed in the present invention are known in the art. As used herein, the term full access opening means is intended to refer to any opening means that fully releases the top portion of an envelope panel to which the closure flap is adhered. In general, the panel in question is the rear panel since most envelopes have a closure flap attached to the front panel. Examples of such opening means are those that are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,749, entitled “Easy Open Envelope” and U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,511, entitled “Quick Opening Envelope”. Likewise, envelopes which include bangtail flaps as contemplated by the present invention are known as shown for example in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/324,594, filed Jun. 3, 1999 and assigned to the present assignee herein. However, the present invention discloses for the first time the combination which includes a full access opening means and an inside bangtail flap in an envelope structure wherein when the envelope is opened, the bangtail flap is exposed and elevated from its location within the envelope for easy access.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a novel envelope construction which includes a full access opening feature and a detachable bangtail flap that is normally located interiorly of the envelope but which is fully exposed for easy access when the envelope is opened. The bangtail flap may comprise a coupon, return mailer or the like, or it may simply be used to provide advertising matter of interest to the recipient of the envelope. The envelope structure includes conventional features such as front panel, a closure flap foldably attached along one edge of the front panel and a rear panel foldably attached along the opposite edge of the front panel. In addition, as is conventional, side closure flaps may be foldably attached along the side edges of either the front or rear panel but they are generally attached to the front panel. However, in addition to the above, the envelope structure of the present invention also includes a full access rear opening and an inside bangtail flap detachably connected to the rear panel.
As referred to above, the extra flap is commonly referred to in the industry as a “bangtail” flap. The use of exterior bangtail flaps on envelopes is well known as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,356,285. It is also known, as shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,288,350; 3,374,940; and 3,406,894, to provide extra flaps on various envelope panels which are folded inside an envelope structure for mailing. Likewise, it is also known to provide full access opening means for envelope structures which provide easy access to interior coupons, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,743. However, the present invention is the first to combine an inside bangtail flap with a full access opening means wherein upon opening the envelope, the inside bangtail flap is automatically elevated for easy removal.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an envelope of the type described which is user friendly with greater access to the contents than such envelopes in the past.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an envelope where the envelope parts work together in a unique and novel fashion.
Other and more specific objects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 121860 (1871-12-01), Evans
patent: 3288350 (1966-11-01), Kushner
patent: 3356285 (1967-12-01), Greason
patent: 3374940 (1968-03-01), Allison
patent: 3406894 (1968-10-01), Settle
patent: 3460743 (1969-08-01), Burnett
patent: 3652008 (1972-03-01), Grotefend
patent: 4470511 (1984-09-01), Meeker et al.
patent: 4607749 (1986-08-01), Jacob
patent: 4729507 (1988-03-01), Kim
patent: 5967403 (1999-10-01), Kranz
Garbe Stephen P.
Westvaco Corporation
LandOfFree
Inside bangtail envelope does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Inside bangtail envelope, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Inside bangtail envelope will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2526166