U.S. patent number 3,554,438 [Application Number 04/739,261] was granted by the patent office on 1971-01-12 for correspondence assembly.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Moore Business Forms, Inc.. Invention is credited to Edmund G. Van Malderghem.
United States Patent |
3,554,438 |
Van Malderghem |
January 12, 1971 |
CORRESPONDENCE ASSEMBLY
Abstract
The envelope and data sheets combination comprises a top or face
mailing envelope member, a bottom or back mailing envelope member,
and one or more intervening insert members, which last-named may be
a single data sheet, multiple data sheets, a return envelope, or
combinations thereof. The top and bottom marginal portions and one
side portion of one face and back sheets are glued or pasted
directly together to form the closed sides of the pocket comprising
the mailing envelope. A stub portion of the intervening insert
members and the remaining side portions of the face and back of the
envelope are glued together and the insert members are cropped on
the top and bottom and first-named side portion to be free of the
glued attachment of the envelope parts along those edges of the
assembly. A line of perforations in the face and back members of
the envelope extend along the first-named side portion inwardly of
the line of gluing, and a keener line of perforations extend along
the opposite side edge of the insert member. In the simultaneous
bursting of the envelope and removal of the insert, the stub margin
of the assembly is gripped outwardly of the position of the keen
line of separation in the insert, and the opposite extraction side
margin of the assembly is gripped in effect just outside of the
line of perforation in the envelope parts and, more importantly, to
include the free end of the insert which is preformed to extend
that far, but no farther. A sharp tug applied to the assembly tears
the extraction end of the envelope structure along the line of
perforations and separates that end portion from the main body of
the envelope structure; and the gripped free end of the insert
comes along with that severed end portion of the envelope but being
unattached thereto. At the same time the insert is separated from
its stub portion at the opposite end of the assembly along the line
of keen perforations. Thus, the bursting of the envelope and the
removal of the insert occurs through a single quick movement.
Modifications include similar gluing and perforating patterns for
inserts including return envelopes of both side and top opening
types.
Inventors: |
Van Malderghem; Edmund G.
(Lewiston, NY) |
Assignee: |
Moore Business Forms, Inc.
(Niagara Falls, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
24971510 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/739,261 |
Filed: |
June 24, 1968 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
229/69; 206/232;
206/804; 229/314; 428/43; 462/6; 462/64 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B42D
5/025 (20130101); Y10S 206/804 (20130101); Y10T
428/15 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
B42D
5/02 (20060101); B42D 5/00 (20060101); B65d
027/10 (); B65d 027/34 () |
Field of
Search: |
;229/69,70,73,85
;282/11.5A,22 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Bockenek; David M.
Claims
I claim:
1. A manifolding correspondence assembly comprising an envelope
including face and back panels and adapted to be closed on all
sides, an insert enclosed within said envelope and having one end
secured to the corresponding end portion of the envelope by a
readily severable line of connection, said severable connection
being spaced a short distance from that end of the envelope,
thereby defining between said severable connection and said end of
the envelope a portion at the extreme end of said assembly for
grasping by the fingers of one hand during opening of the envelope,
a transverse line of perforations extending across the opposite end
portion of both panels of said envelope and comprising a tear line
and defining a relatively narrow removable extraction portion of
the envelope adapted to be grasped by the fingers of the other hand
for bursting of the envelope, the opposite end portion of said
insert itself extending toward the vicinity of said tear line a
sufficient distance to be in registry with said removable
extraction portion and therefore within the grip of said last-named
fingers, whereby the bursting of the envelope by pulling on the
removable extraction portion will simultaneously serve to sever the
connection of the first end portion of the insert from the envelope
and withdraw said insert without further separation from the
assembly parts or reaching into the interior of the envelope
structure.
2. The assembly as set forth in claim 1 in which a thumb tab is cut
from each of the panels of said envelope and extends from said tear
line in the direction toward the first-named end portion of said
envelope, the second-named end portion of the insert lying between
said thumb tabs to be gripped between them during the bursting and
extraction movement.
3. The assembly as set forth in claim 1 in which said insert is
provided with a stub permanently secured between face and back
panels of the envelope at said first-named extreme end portion of
the assembly, and the readily severable connection comprising a
line of keen perforations between the major portion of the insert
and its stub.
4. The assembly as set forth in claim 3 in which said insert
includes a return envelope having a foldable sealing flap bearing a
strip of temporarily inactive adhesive adapted to be rendered
effective by the recipient of the first-named envelope and
enclosures.
5. The assembly as set forth in claim 4 in which said return
envelope has its sealing flap at the first-named end thereof just
inwardly of its stub, said readily severable line of connection
occurring between the sealing flap and said stub.
6. The assembly as set forth in claim 4 in which said sealing flap
extends longitudinally of one margin of said insert return envelope
at right angles to the extent of said readily severable line of
connection.
7. The assembly as set forth in claim 1 which further includes a
plurality of such envelopes in the form of multiple plies of webs
adapted to provide a continuous series of manifolding forms to be
passed through a business machine for uniform or selective
imprinting, said webs having a marginal feed strip at least at one
side edge thereof, said webs including a top web of successive face
panels of said envelope, at least one intermediate web of
successive insert panels with an adhesive stripe of the feed strip
on one side edge for adherence to a unit of said top web, and a
bottom web of successive envelope back panels each having an
adhesive stripe registering substantially with the adhesive stripe
on the insert panel web and additional lines of adhesive along the
three other margins of each back panel for adherence to the
corresponding three margins of the units of said top web, the
insert panel units of the intermediate web being cropped on its
corresponding three margins to permit adhesive contact directly
between the units of the top and bottom webs.
Description
This invention relates to correspondence stationery and more
particularly to envelope and business form manifolding assemblies
in both their aspects as individual units and as continuous
connected series as for feeding through office machines for
imprinting.
Correspondence systems of this general type contemplate a multiple
form which may comprise a prestuffed mailing envelope, and
potential applications of such systems are many. Some of the major
applications include invoices, statements, past due notices,
utility bills, promotion mailings, premium bills, grade reports,
fund raising and tax billing.
There have been several prior developments looking toward more
efficient manifold imprinting of preliminarily stuffed envelopes
and their contained insertions after sealing. Provision has also
been made for the selective imprinting of the inserts and
optionally of associated external forms by the use of spot carbons
or the like. Attempts have also been made to introduce features
aimed to facilitate bursting or opening of the envelope and the
removal of such inserts upon receipt by the addressee.
However, there remained still some need for further improvement,
not only in the basic structure of the assembly, but also in the
development of modifications involving the inclusion of return
envelopes in the assembly. It is therefore the principal object of
the present invention to provide a novel and improved envelope
assembly of the character described which includes such desirable
variants regarding bursting and removal of inserts as well as the
inclusion of return envelopes of either the side or end opening
type; one important factor being the ability to burst the outer
envelope and not only completely free the inserted material from
attachment to the assembly, but to remove it therefrom by the
single tear or bursting effort of the recipient's fingers, At the
same time the insert is freed from the stub comprised by the
removed portions of the top and bottom plies.
Other features of novelty include the mode of putting together the
assembly including the cutting of component parts and the provision
of both pattern and stream pasting or gluing for sealing both types
of envelopes.
Additional objects and features of novelty will be apparent from
the following specification when read in connection with the
accompanying drawings in which several embodiments of the invention
are illustrated by way of example.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a plan view of the top sheet of the mailing envelope of a
simple form of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a similar view of an insert sheet;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the upper side of the back sheet of the
mailing envelope;
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view in perspective of a continuous
multiple form assembly with the web components spread apart to
illustrate the interfitting of the envelope and insert parts and
the gluing or pasting thereof;
FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view suggesting the overlapping
relationship of the envelope and insert elements, the gluing, and
the manner of gripping the assembly with the fingers to remove the
insert;
FIG. 5a is a similar view of the same assembly just after the
bursting of the envelope;
FIGS. 6 and 7 are perspective views illustrating the manner of
gripping the assembly and removing the insert; FIG. 6 corresponding
to FIG. 5 as respects the condition of the parts, and FIG. 7
corresponding to the situation suggested in FIG. 5a;
FIGS. 8 to 15 are plan views disclosing the construction of an
envelope assembly involving a return envelope as well as a sheet
insert, the elements comprising the FIGS. being identified as
follows:
Fig. 8 - a file copy;
Fig. 9 - a spot tissue carbon;
Fig. 10 - face of mailing envelope;
Fig. 11 - sheet insert for addressee;
Fig. 12 - top of return envelope;
Fig. 13 - back member of return envelope;
Fig. 14 - back member of mailing envelope;
FIG. 15 is a transverse sectional view (similar in concept to FIGS.
5 and 5a) showing the positioning of the various components and
their attaching and severing features as involved in the embodiment
of FIGS. 8 to 14;
FIG. 16 is a view in perspective of the end opening return envelope
comprised of the parts shown in FIGS. 12 and 13;
FIGS. 17 and 18, respectively, are plan views of the top and back
elements of a return envelope for top opening; and
FIGS. 19 and 20 are similar views of parts comprising double width
insert members combining a data sheet with the return envelope.
A rather simple form of the invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 of
the drawings and this will be described first.
The mailing envelope portion of the manifolding continuous assembly
included in this embodiment will be comprised of the elements
illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3 of the drawings. The member 10 of FIG.
1 comprises the face panel of the mailing envelope, and in this
FIG. it is shown detached from the continuous web in which it is
manufactured but it still retains the marginal strips 11 and 12
containing the feed holes 13 by means of which the strip or web is
fed along with the other elements in their corresponding webs
through a business machine for appropriate imprinting.
A line of e perforations 15 occurs just inside of the feed holes of
the marginal strip 12 and these perforations may be of normal
spacing for providing the usual tear lines. A similar tear line is
formed at 16 on the left-hand side of the element and the tear
lines 15 and 16 constitute means for removing the said strips 11
and 12.
A further tear line 20 is disposed in slightly inwardly spaced
relationship with the tear line 16 and at a central point on this
tear line within the element 10 a thumb notch 21 is cut, the
purpose of which will be described later.
Before going to the back panel of the mailing envelope shown in
FIG. 3, the simple insert sheet depicted in FIG. 2 of the drawings
will be described. This sheet is designated 22 and is provided with
the feed strip 23 in registration with the feed strip 12 of FIG. 1
and a tear line 24 is provided corresponding to the tear line 15 of
the face panel 10.
Just inwardly of the tear line 24 is a line 25 of stream paste, all
of these features being provided on what can be called a stub
member for the insert which stub member is designated 26.
The insert proper is cropped on both sides and the left-hand end to
make it of a smaller size than the areas of the envelope members
and a tear line 28 of perforations marks the boundary between the
insert slip proper and the stub portion 26. This line of
perforations is what is known in the art as a "keen" and due to the
spacing of the perforations affords much quicker and easier
breakaway between the insert sheet and its stub the than in the
normal tear line construction.
Now coming to the back panel of the mailing envelope, this member
is indicated at 30 in FIG. 3 of the drawings and it is provided
with feed strips 31 and 32 on the opposite edges thereof which are,
of course, in registry with the feed strips on the two elements
just described. A tear line 33 registers with the tear lines 15 and
24 of the other members, and a tear line 34 registers with the tear
line 16 of the face 10 of the envelope assembly.
Inwardly of the feed strip tear lines 33 and 34 are the lines of
stream paste 36 and 37 and inwardly of the upper and lower edges of
this back panel are pattern paste lines 38 and 39. These four lines
of paste or glue serve to secure the face panel 10 and the stub of
the insert 22 in the form of a sealed envelope containing the
insert.
The back panel 30 also is provided with an envelope opening tear
line 40 and a thumb notch or tab 41 which correspond exactly with
the similar opening or bursting tear line 20 and notch 21 of the
first panel.
Now these three elements are made and assembled in multiple
manifold web form suggested rather diagrammatically in FIG. 4 of
the drawings. The uppermost web 10a is composed of successive
envelope face elements 10 with their marginal feed strips; the
intermediate web 22a carries the inserts 22 in succession; and the
bottom web 30a is comprised of the envelope back panels 30 and its
marginal feeding strips.
It will be readily seen that the narrowing of the insert 22 permits
the pattern paste lines 38 and 39 to adhere closely to the
corresponding marginal portions of the face panel 10 and the stream
paste strips 25 and 36 successively secure the stub portions of the
three parts together. The stream paste line 37, of course, seals
the envelope on the left-hand or extraction side of the assembly.
In the alignment of the elements of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 it will be
readily perceived that the left-hand end margin 22' of the insert
occurs in registry with the other two elements at a point
approximately between the registering envelope opening tear lines
20 and 40 and the occurrence of the stream paste line 37. This
positioning insures that the insert 22 is not glued to an envelope
element at this point, but it also insures that the left-hand end
portion of the strip 22 is clamped between the removable extraction
end areas of the envelope panels. However, the thumb notch areas 21
and 41 afford a wider and easier gripping area between which the
tip of the insert sheet may be clamped. These are important
features of the present invention in facilitating the separation of
the parts.
The diagrammatic view in FIG. 5 illustrates the occurrence of the
lateral glue points, the tear lines, and the positioning of the
left-hand margins of the inserts. Incidentally, the embodiment of
FIG. 5 shows two extra insert sheets 22 to suggest that any
reasonable number of inserts may be provided in the mailing
envelope. In particular in FIG. 5, the top panel comprises the face
element of the mailing envelope and is given the same designation
10 as the element in FIG. 1. The successive inserts are designated
22-I, 22-II and a third one 22-III. The bottom or back panel is, of
course, designated 30. The gluing effected by the stream paste 37
is indicated by crossed construction lines at the left-hand side of
the FIG. and the gluing effected by the stream paste lines 25 and
36 are indicated at the right-hand side. Of course, intermediate
glue lines for multiple inserts would be provided as at 25a and
25b. Envelope bursting tear lines 20 and 40 are indicated on the
left-hand side of the FIG. by intersecting construction lines and
the keen perforation tear lines 28 are similarly indicated near the
right-hand side of the FIG.
The arrows 45 and 46 indicate the pinch points of the fingers of
the operator at the left-hand or extraction side of the assembly
and the arrows 47 and 48 indicate the pinch points of the fingers
of the operator at the right-hand or stub side of the assembly.
When gripped in this fashion by the fingers of the operator the
situation would be as suggested in FIG. 6 of the drawings. Then by
a snap movement of the fingers in opposite directions, the envelope
bursting tear lines 20 and 40 come apart and since the left-hand
end portions of the insert element 22-I, 22-II and 22-III are
within the pinching action of the fingers of the left hand these
inserts will break away from their stub portions along the keen
line of perforations 28. Thus the various elements of the assembly
will be pulled apart as suggested in FIG. 7 of the drawings and
will separate as shown in FIG. 5a. The major portions of face
member 10 and the back member 30, together with the stub portions
of all of the elements will remain in the right hand of the
operator while the left hand removable extraction portion, held
together by the stream paste 37, and the pinched end portions of
the inserts 22 will remain in the left hand of the operator; and
when the separation is completed as indicated in FIG. 7 not only
will the envelope have been burst open but by the same motion the
inserts 22 will have been simultaneously removed, the left-hand
chip element 37a held by the stream paste 37 being thrown away
while the inserts 22 are preserved for their intended use.
A modification of the construction is shown in FIGS. 8 to 16 of the
drawings in which there are not only provided return envelopes and
multiple inserts, but also file copies and other elements
externally of the mailing envelope itself. The various elements of
this embodiment will be described in order from the top of the
multiple pile downwardly and then the assembly and disassembly will
be explained.
In FIG. 8 of the drawings is shown a file copy 50 which will
normally correspond to one of the insert elements such as shown in
FIG. 11. This file copy will, of course, contain the feed hole
marginal strips 50a and 50b with their appropriate tear lines.
In FIG. 9 there is shown a spot tissue sheet 51 for example for
transferring the name and address of a customer to the next sheet
which comprises the face of the mailing envelope. This carbon is
spot coated at 51' and is provided along one margin with feed holes
51b.
In FIG. 10 there is shown a sheet comprising the face of a mailing
envelope and this element is designated 52, having the feed strips
52a and 52b on the respective opposite margins. This part is
usually spot coated on the back in order to transmit the desired
information to the face of the first insert sheet shown in FIG. 11.
An envelope bursting tear line is shown at 52' and the thumb notch
area at 52".
In FIG. 11 there is shown a typical insert 53 which corresponds
substantially to the insert 22 shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings and
has the feed strip 53a at one side, the stream paste line 53' and
the keen perforation tear line indicated at 53".
In FIG. 12 there is shown a panel 54 which will comprise the top or
face panel of a return envelope. Customer identification may be
transferred to this part by means of selective spot carbonizing on
the back of insert member 53 (FIG. 11). It is to be noted that this
set is die cut and that the stub at the extraction side of the form
is slit off. This part 54 is run during manufacture with only one
row of marginal feed holes at the left-hand side which is slit off
on the collator. However, pattern paste lines between this panel
and the back panel of the return envelope insures perfect
registration.
In FIG. 13 at 55 there is shown this back panel layer with its feed
strip 55a, stream paste line on the stub portion at 56, keen
perforation tear line 57 and a flap area 58 joined to the main body
portion of the area 55 by means of the fold line 59. The fairly
broad stream glue line 60 comprises either a transfer tape or
rewettable glue which will be used for the sealing of the return
envelope portion of the insert package. The generally C-shaped
pattern paste portions 61 when adhered to the face panel 54 (FIG.
12) will form the pocket between parts 54 and 55 which will
comprise the return envelope structure. Of course, the feed stub at
the left-hand or extraction side of the form is cropped off.
Finally, in FIG. 14, there is shown the back panel of the main or
mailing envelope and this is indicated by the reference numeral 65.
This panel has the feed strip 65a and 65b for manufacturing and
assembly purposes and is provided with stream paste lines 65' and
65", pattern paste lines 66' and 66" all of which serve to hold the
parts 52 and 65 together to form the mailing envelope package.
As in the case of the embodiment suggested in FIG. 3 of the
drawings, the back panel 65 is provided with the bursting line 67
and the thumb notch area 68.
Thus, when the elements depicted in FIGS. 8 to 14 of the drawings
are laid up in web form and then separated from each other, they
will result in envelope packages as suggested in FIGS. 6 and 7 but
with multiple insert elements and will be as represented
diagrammatically in FIG. 15 of the drawings. The top element will,
of course, be the file copy 50 with its marginal feed strips 50a
and 50b. The second one will be the carbon 51 with its coated area
51' and the feed strip 51b. Next will be the top or face panel 52
for the main or mailing envelope. This element will, of course,
have the feed strips 52a and 52b at either side thereof, the tear
line 52' and the thumb notch or tab 52".
Next in line will be the message or data bearing insert portion 53
with its feed strip 53a, its stream paste line 53'. The keen
perforation tear line for this insert portion is indicated by the
broken line at 53". The top of the return envelope is shown at 54
and the bottom or back panel at 55, this element having the feed
strip 55a, the envelope assembly stream paste line 56, the keen
perforation bursting line 57, the regluing line 60 on the flap
portion 58 of the return envelope and the fold line 59 whereby this
flap may be bent over and secured to the body portion of the return
envelope. The pattern glue line 61 is also indicated here.
Finally, the back panel portion 65 of the principal or mailing
envelope is shown at 65 together with the feed strips 65a and 65b.
Also the pattern glue strip 66" is indicated along with the
envelope bursting tear line 67 and thumb notch area 68.
In FIG. 15 the widest bracket 70 indicates the complete multiple
form web which is run through the business machine while the
various typography elements are either uniformly or selectively
inscribed from the file copy 50 on down to the back panel 65 of the
main envelope. Of course, after typography, the file copy 50 may be
filed away, the spot carbon 51 discarded, and then the sealed and
stuffed main envelope package indicated by the brackets 71 mailed
out.
Then when the package comprising the main envelope parts 52 and 65,
together with the various inserts is received by the addressee, he
grasps the right-hand and left-hand portions at the points
indicated by the arrows 45 and 46 at the left-hand side and the
arrows 47 and 48 at the right-hand side, and with a sharp tug while
the left-hand ends of the insert parts 53, 54 and 55 are clamped as
previously described these parts are readily severed along the
lines 53" and 57, respectively, so that the insert paper 53 and the
return envelope 54, 55 are removed at the same time the main
envelope is burst open. The return envelope assembly is indicated
by the further bracket 72 and is shown in isolated form in FIG. 16
of the drawings.
Whereas FIG. 16 and the previous illustration show an end or side
opening envelope, there is suggested in FIGS. 17 and 18 a way of
providing a top opening envelope. Panel 54x in FIG. 17 comprises
the face member of the return envelope and has its feed strip 54a
and the stub assembly glue line 54b. The line 54 c indicates the
keen perforation tear line as in the other embodiments. The dotted
line at 54d indicates a further tear line to permit the removal of
the waste chip 54e for a purpose to be described.
In FIG. 18 the back panel of the return envelope is shown at 55x
and this panel is, of course, supplied with the feed strip 55a and
the stub glue strip 55b. The keen perforation tear line is also
shown at 55c and a substantially U-shaped pattern paste
configuration 55d is provided. At the upper edge of this back panel
there is provided a pattern of rewettable glue at 55e which will be
used to seal the return envelope when the flap 55f is folded over
on the line 55g, of course, after removing and discarding the waste
chip 54e.
In FIGS. 19 and 20 of the drawings there is involved a form deeper
than the forms previously outlined and another major difference is
that one of the internal or insert parts may be eliminated if
desired. In these FIGS. only the insert parts are illustrated as
the part 75 of FIG. 19 and the part 76 of FIG. 20. Needless to
state, the mailing envelope and other extraneous copies will be
double the size of the areas previously described.
The part 75 shown in FIG. 19 combines two functions into one. The
lower portion 75b serves as the customer's copy of the data sheet
while the top portion 75a constitutes the face panel of the return
envelope.
Of course, the stub portions of these items are identical in the
provisions of feed holes, longitudinal tear perforations and stream
pasting with the return envelope structures described in connection
with the other embodiments, and they need not be particularly
pointed out here.
The member 76 of FIG. 20 is divided in half by a fold line 76x and
the upper half designated 76a comprises the rear panel of the
return envelope to which the face panel 75a is applied and secured
by means of generally U-shaped paste pattern 76c. The lower half
76b comprises the flap of the return envelope and a rewettable glue
stripe 76d is provided for sealing the return envelope, this large
flap, of course, being turned over and secured to the face panel
75a of the return envelope when it is assembled, meanwhile the data
sheet 75b having been separated by the customer or addressee of the
main package.
It is understood that various changes and modifications may be made
in the embodiments illustrated and described herein without
departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the
subjoined claims.
* * * * *