CA1323616C - Eccentric z-fold mailer with nesting capabilities - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT
A mailer comprises a sheet having front and rear surfaces and top, bottom and side edges. First and second fold lines are located between and parallel to the top and bottom edges, an address area is located between the top edge and the second fold line, and a text area is located between the first fold line and the bottom edge. The distance between the top edge and the second fold line is substantially less than the distance between the first and second fold lines. Strips of adhesive are disposed on the front surface adjacent the side edges between the bottom edge and first fold line, and on the rear surface adjacent the side edges between the top edge and the second fold line. The arrangement is such that the sheet may be Z-folded to place the text area on the inside and the address area on the outside of the mailer, and when activated, the strips of adhesive will seal the mailer along the side edges.

Description

`~ 1 3236 1 6 .~, 1 Thls lnventlon relates to mallers produced from a . ,.
rectangular (or square) sheet, and partlcularly to such mallers produced by Z-foldlng such sheet.
Others have earller thought to provlde mallers by foldlng over sheets of paper ln varlous ways, see Unlted States Patents to Klrchof 3,352,481~ to Draemel 894,124~ to Zabek 1,794,223 and to Krohn 2,77~,63~. However, none of these approach the eccentrlc Z-fold conflguratlon of the present lnventlon. Unlted StateQ Patents to Hardle 1,803,704 and to Hanson 3,152,800 do lnvolve Z-fold conflguratlons, but lack lmportant features of the present lnvention. Hardle has a full length thlrd flap, and requlres slde flaps for securlng the maller together. Hanson not only has a full length thlrd flap, but two addltlonal longltudlnal flaps as well.
ln a broad aspect, the lnventlon resldes ln a maller comprlslng a sheet havlng front and rear surfaces and havlng top, bottom and slde edges, flrst and second fold llnes located between and parallel to the top and bottom edge~, an address area between the top edge and the second fold llne, and a text area between the flrst fold llne and the bottom edge, the . dlstance between the top edge and the second fold llne belng substantlally less than the dlstance between the flrst and second fold llnes. Strlps of adheslve are dlsposed on the front surface ad~acent the slde edges between the bottom edge and the flrst fold llne, and on the rear surface ad~acent the side edges between the top edge and the second fold llne. The arrangement ls such that the sheet may be Z-folded to place the text area on the lnslde and the address area on the outslde of the maller, and when actlvated, the strlps of adheslve wlll seal the maller along the slde edges.

An lllustratlve embodlment of the present lnventlon ~ 1 3236 1 6 .
,~ will next be provided, with reference to accompanying drawings in which, Figure 1 is a view of the front side of a sheet from which the mailer is constructed.
Figure 2 is a view of the rear surface of the sheet of Figure 1, turned over from left to right.
Figure 3 shows the mailer which results from the Z-folding of the sheet of Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 4 is an isometric view of the sheet of Figures 1 and 2 in the folding process, and with a nested insert in place.
Referring to the drawings, the mailer 10 is made up of a sheet of paper 12 having a top edge 14, a bottom edge 16, , a side edge 18 and a side edge 20. Detachable margins 22 with i tractor holes 24 therein may be used for handling in automated processing equipment.
.~.,, As the mailer is formed the first step will be print-ing on the front surface (Figure 1). Address information will be printed on a top area 26, while text information will be printed on a mid-area 28 and on a bottom area 30. This printing may be done by a computerized variable printing process if desired.
~ The next step in forming the mailer will be to place ! strips of heat seal adhesive on the paper 12. Strips 32, 34 and 36 are placed along the borders of the front surface of ' the bottom area 30, as shown in Figure 1. Strips 38 and 40 are ' placed at the sides of the rear surface of top area 26, as `~ shown in Figure 2. Also, a strip of adhesive 41 may be placed (but, not required) on the rear surface along the top edge.
It will be understood that the strips of adhesive adjacent the respective side edges may be placed anywhere along ., , _ 3 _ 1323616 the edges so long as there will be adequate adhesive to properly seal the mailer when completed to satisfy users and postal authorities. In other words, the adhesive may be intermittent, such as dots. When "strip" of adhesive is used in the appended claims such intermittent coverage is included.
To facilitate opening of the mailer, as described hereinafter, lines of weakening (perforation lines) 42, 44, 46, 48 and 50 are provided.
Figure 3 shows the mailer folded and ready for 10 mailing. The manner of folding is shown in Figure 4. There are two folds, one along line 52, and the other along line 54.
The directions of folding are shown by the arrows in Figure 4.
The top area 26 of the mailer is substantially of less height than the areas 28 and 30 (which are of equal height).
~ The height of the top area need only be enough for receiving J address information and to meet postal specifications.
' If the lines of weakness 42, 44, 46, 48 and 50 are created in the sheet 12, the envelope may be opened by the user tearing off the marginal regions. The usual legend, "To Open 20 Tear Along Dotted Line" may be printed along the vertical mar-gins of the completed mailer, albeit in that case some printing would be necessary on the rear surface of the sheet 12.
It will be noted that the mailer 10 is constructed from a rectangular (or square) sheet of paper, with no need for special cutting to provide side flaps. All of the adhesive strips lie along the edges of the sheets, rather than being on side flaps or the like.
Upon reading the foregoing disclosure various other embodiments of the invention will occur to others. Therefore, 30 the scope of the invention is to be determined from the appended claims.

Claims (4)

1. A mailer comprising a sheet having front and rear surfaces and having top, bottom and side edges, first and second fold lines located between and parallel to the top and bottom edges, an address area between the top edge and the second fold line, a text area between the first fold line and the bottom edge, the distance between the top edge and the second fold line being substantially less than the distance between the first and second fold lines, strips of adhesive on the front surface adjacent the side edges between the bottom edge and the first fold line, strips of adhesive on the rear surface adjacent the side edges between the top edge and the second fold line, the arrangement being such that the sheet may be Z-folded to place the text area on the inside and the address area on the outside of the mailer, and when activated the strips of adhesive will seal the mailer along the side edges.

2. A mailer as in Claim 1 and further including a strips of adhesive on the front surface of the sheet adjacent the bottom edge, to seal the bottom edge of the mailer when the adhesive is activated.

3. A mailer as in Claim 1 or 2 and further including a strip of adhesive on the rear surface of the sheet adjacent the top edge, to further seal the top edge of the mailer when the glue is activated.

4. A mailer as in Claim 2 wherein one or more inserts are nested within the mailer between the bottom edge and the fold lines.