U.S. patent number 3,623,820 [Application Number 05/013,612] was granted by the patent office on 1971-11-30 for method and means for instantly filling and sealing an envelope.
Invention is credited to Alfred G. B. Prather.
United States Patent |
3,623,820 |
Prather |
November 30, 1971 |
METHOD AND MEANS FOR INSTANTLY FILLING AND SEALING AN ENVELOPE
Abstract
The finger ring device having an open finger band with
substantially stiff but flexible ends is adapted for placing on a
finger of either hand so that a wetting sponge mounted on the head
of the ring may be brushed over the gummed strip of the open flap
of an envelope simultaneously with the insertion of the contents
into this envelope, which is being held in the other hand, and the
flap is then turned down and the letter instantly sealed, without
making any extra strokes of the hand to reach for a wetting device
and returning it to its resting place, after insertion of the
contents and before sealing the envelope, the result being two
filled and sealed envelopes in the time previous methods required
to fill and seal just one. Thus in mass mailings, e.g., a saving in
time and labor of 50 percent is accomplished by using this simple
device and method.
Inventors: |
Prather; Alfred G. B. (Lanham,
MD) |
Family
ID: |
21760835 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/013,612 |
Filed: |
February 24, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
401/8 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B43M
11/06 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B43M
11/06 (20060101); B43M 11/00 (20060101); B43m
011/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;401/6,7,8
;15/244R,244C,244CH |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Grieb; Wm. H.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A finger ring comprising
an open band of stiffly resilient material adapted to fit snugly
over substantially any size finger,
an enlarged head portion on said ring formed as a holding means for
a sponge and having a wedge guide portion extending outwardly at
the back of a finger on which it is mounted for deflecting and
guiding a gummed envelope flap over said head portion,
said wedge guide portion having a bevelled outer edge substantially
resting against the back of said finger, and
a sponge mounted in said holding means and having an exposed
portion adapted when wet to moisten said gummed flap.
2. A finger ring as defined in claim 1,
said ring, head portion and exposed portion of the sponge being of
an attractive appearance in design and color to serve a decorative
purpose when not in use as an efficient wetting device for gummed
material.
3. A finger ring as defined in claim 1,
said sponge holding means forming an enlarged reservoir space for
excess water to feed the sponge, and
said sponge being formed to close the opening of said
reservoir.
4. A finger ring as defined in claim 1,
whereby when filling said envelope with material to be sealed
therein, said wedge guide portion of a ring mounted on a finger of
the hand which inserts said material into the envelope will slide
under its flap during said insertion and the flap will be guided
over the sponge mounted in the holding means to simultaneously
moisten the gummed flap.
Description
There is much art in the sealer and moistener subclasses of the
prior art, but not a single reference could be found that disclosed
any means or method wherein the wetting of the gummed strip was
carried out simultaneously with the insertion of the contents into
the envelope for immediate sealing thereof.
The main object of the present invention is to perform the filling
of the envelope with its contents together with the wetting of its
gummed flap, for immediate sealing, thus obviating the separate
step of wetting the flap and the extra time it would take before
the sealing operation could be performed.
A further object is to mount a wetting sponge on the back of means
used for inserting the contents into an envelope, so that the
sponge passes over the gummed flap of the envelope during the
insertion stroke.
A further object is to use one hand with a wetting sponge mounted
on the back of it, for the insertion of the contents into an
envelope held in the other hand so as to pass the sponge over the
gummed strip on the flap of the envelope during said insertion, and
then instantly sealing the envelope.
Other and more specific objects will become apparent in the
following detailed description of some preferred forms of the
invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:
FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of a preferred form of ring
device for use in the present method,
FIG. 2 is a transverse elevational view in cross section on a
reduced scale, showing the construction of this device,
FIGS. 3 and 4 are similar views of another form of ring device
adapted for use in this invention,
FIG. 5 is an axial sectional view in elevation of still another
form of the ring device coupled with a reservoir for feeding water
to the wetting sponge of this device,
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of this combination, taken on the line
6--6 of FIG. 5,
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an envelope being held in the left
hand and filled with its contents by the right hand, which has a
ring device with a sponge 26 being simultaneously passed over the
gummed strip on the flap of the envelope for instant sealing
immediately thereafter, and
FIG. 8 is a sectional view through the envelope, with the hands and
sponge shown in the same relative position as seen in FIG. 7.
A simple sponge device for wetting and sealing a flap in one
continuous stroke is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,525,291, and
shows how the sponge may be fed by a water supply from a reservoir
in the handle of the device. However, it would be impossible to use
this device on the back of an envelope filling means to wet the
gummed flap, because the sealing arm on this sponge device would
interfere with the filling operation. Furthermore, the sponge in
this device would be difficult to guide under the flap of the
envelope during the filling stroke of the means on the back of
which it might be mounted, because it lacks guide wedge at its
front edge to direct the edge of the flap over the sponge during
the filling stroke.
The sponges used in the present invention are all adapted to wedge
under the flap during this filling stroke, so that the gummed
surface thereon will go over the sponge and be wetted thereby as
the contents of the envelope are inserted therein.
The sponge mounting means as illustrated are of ring form with
means for holding the sponge on the back of the hand which is to be
used for insertion of the contents into the envelope while the
envelope is held in the other hand.
In FIGS. 1 and 2 the ring 10 is open and the open ends of its band
portion are stiff but flexible enough to fit over different finger
sizes. The ring may be placed on any finger, but more conveniently
on the second or third finger of the hand, with the sponge 12
extending from the cylindrical reservoir 14 in the head of the ring
at the back of the hand, the projecting wedge 16 at one end of the
reservoir extending outwardly of the fingers. The sponge may be
soaked with water before mounting it in the reservoir and
thereafter, it may be occasionally dipped into a cup of water
during extended use without removing it from the reservoir.
If a greater portion of the gummed strip is required to be
moistened, a corresponding transverse movement of the hand may be
made during the filling stroke to wet transversely extending
portions of the gummed strip without loss of time.
The ring 20 in FIGS. 3 and 4 has a closed band with a flat head
portion 22 with an inturned rim 24 for holding the base of a
pyramidal sponge 26. The inturned rim forms a wedge around the head
the forward portion of which readily slips under the envelope flap
during the filling operation. This sponge may be soaked with water
in the same manner as sponge 12.
A ring device 30 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, which also has a flat head
portion with a flat rim over which the grooved sponge 34 is
mounted. A water reservoir 36 is connected through a tube 38 to the
passage 40 in the head portion 32 to the sponge base. A wick 42 may
be used to facilitate feeding of the water from the reservoir to
the sponge. Filler cap 44 provides access to the reservoir for
filling it with water, and for insertion of the wick 42.
When the ring is mounted on a finger, the reservoir extends over
the back of the hand toward the wrist so that it does not interfere
with the filling of the envelope or with the moistening
operations.
The ring devices may be made in attractive colors and designs, so
that they may be normally worn by clerks or secretaries for
decorative purposes when not in use as flap wetting devices.
Obviously, many other forms of these contents inserting and flap
wetting devices may be adapted for use in this new method of
filling and sealing envelopes without departing from the spirit and
scope of the present invention.
* * * * *