GB2292555A

GB2292555A - A reusable envelope

Info

Publication number: GB2292555A
Application number: GB9417057A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Angela Mary Walledge; James Henry Brackin; Jeremy Neal Robinson; John William Rowling
Original assignee: AMHERST DIRECT MARKETING Ltd; BRAWAL ROWLINSON Ltd
Current assignee: AMHERST DIRECT MARKETING Ltd; BRAWAL ROWLINSON Ltd
Priority date: 1994-08-24
Filing date: 1994-08-24
Publication date: 1996-02-28
Also published as: GB9417057D0

Abstract

A reconfigurable envelope (1, 2, 3) has an open edge and a flap (3) foldable between a first position wherein the flap (3) lies within the envelope (1, 2, 3) and a second position wherein the flap (3) extends across the open edge to close the open edge, the flap (3) having thereon an address area which is concealed when the flap (3) is in the first position and is exposed when the flap (3) is in its second position, covering the address area on the front panel (1). A second flap (4) may be provided to seal the envelope when the first flap (3) is disposed within the envelope; this may be located on the front panel as shown or with the first flap (4) on the rear panel. Alternatively spots of adhesive (not shown) may be used to bond the top edge of the front panel (1) to the first flap (3). <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVED RESPONSE MEANS The present invention relates to postal envelopes, and particularly concerns an envelope which can adopt a first configuration on an outward journey, and can be reconfigured to conceal the outward address area and expose a previously concealed return address area.

Hitherto, mail such as direct advertising material has been distributed by post in an envelope containing, in addition to the advertising material, a second envelope for the prospective customer to mail a reply. This practice is not only wasteful of materials in the form of envelopes, but also involves additional production charges for the manufacture of the reply envelopes for use by the recipients of the advertising material.

An objective of the present invention Is to reduce material, production and preparation costs by utilising the same envelope for the distribution of the advertising material and for the reply.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a reconfigurable envelope having an open edge and a flap foldable between a first position wherein the flap lies within the envelope and a second position wherein the flap extends across the open edge to close the open edge, the flap having thereon an address area which is concealed when the flap ts in the first position and is exposed when the flap is in its second position.

Using such an envelope, mail can be despatched to a first address marked on the front of the envelope, and on receipt the recipient can reconfigure the envelope by folding the flap out from the interior of the envelope and securing the flap to the front of the envelope so that the first address is concealed and a second, return, address marked on the flap Is exposed.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a first flap and a second flap are hingedly attached along the open edge, the first flap having thereon a return address area and being foldable between a first position wherein the first flap lies within the envelope and conceals the return address area and a second position wherein the first flap extends across the open edge to close the open edge and expose the return address area, the second flap being foldable to a position wherein the second flap extends across the open edge to close the open edge while the first flap is in its first position.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a blank for forming a reconfigurable envelope from foldable material such as paper, card, or flexible plastics sheet (e.g.

polypropylene sheet), the blank comprising a generally rectangular front panel having a base edge, a pair of side edges, and a top edge, and a generally rectangular rear panel having a base edge, a pair of side edges, and a top edge, the front and rear panels being joined along their respective base edges by a fold line, a pair of tabs extending along and joined by fold lines to respective side edges of the front or rear panel, the top edge of the rear panel being hingedly joined to an edge of a first flap whose dimensions are substantially similar to those of the front panel, and the top edge of the front or rear panel being hingedly joined to an edge of a second flap.

Various embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, In which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention, with the flaps folded out for clarity; and Figure 2 is a plan view of the blank from which the envelope of Figure 1 Is folded.

Referring now to the drawings, there is seen an envelope having a front panel 1, and a rear panel 2 joined at their respective bottom edges by a fold line F. A pair of tabs 5 and 6 (shown in dotted lines) are provided on the side edges of the front panel 1, the tabs 5 and 6 being folded back to contact the rear panel 2 and being secured thereto to seal the sides of the envelope.

Alternatively, the tabs 5 may be formed on the side edges of the rear panel 2.

Attached to the top edge TR of the rear panel 2 of the envelope is a first flap 3, the dimensions of the first flap 3 being only slightly smaller than those of the front panel l. Likewise, a second flap 4 is hingedly attached to the top edge TF of the front panel 1 by a fold line (represented by a dashed line1.

The first flap 3 is provided, on its face visible in the drawing, with adhesive area A to enable the fixing of the first flap 3 to the front panel 2 of the envelope. Likewise, the second flap 4 is provided, on its face which is not visible in Figure 1 of the drawings, with an adhesive area A.

Figure 2 shows in plan view the blank from which the envelope of Figure 1 is folded. The blank may be of paper, card or other suitable materials. The blank is seen in Figure 2 with its interior surface exposed, the envelope being formed by folding the first flap about fold line TR so as to overlie the rear panel 2, folding the front panel 1 and tabs 5 and 6 about fold line F to overlie the first flap 3 and rear panel 2, and finally folding the tabs 5 and 6 into contact with the rear panel 2 and securing them thereto. Preferably, the envelope blank is printed with a return address on the undersurface of the first flap 3 (as seen in Figure 2) prior to the assembly operation described above.

Alternatively, the envelope can be partially assembled by folding the front panel 1 and tabs 5 and 6 about fold line F to overlie the rear panel 2, and folding the tabs 5 and 6 Into contact with the rear panel 2 and securing them thereto, leaving the first and second flaps 3 and 4 exposed. The return address is then printed on the undersurface of the first flap 3, and the first flap 3 is folded about fold line TR to take up a position within the envelope.

The manner in which the envelope of Figure 1 is used is as follows: An address is marked on an address area on that surface of the first flap 3 which Is not coated with adhesive. The envelope is then assembled as described, or if the envelope has been partially assembled prior to printing, first flap 3 is then folded so as to lie within the envelope, between the front and rear panels 1 and 2. The adhesive applied to the first flap 3 must be such as not to adhere to the interior surface of the rear panel 2 of the envelope at this stage.

The contents of the envelope are then inserted, to lie between the front panel 1 and the flap 3. The envelope Is then sealed by folding the second flap 4 over the top edge of the rear panel 2, so as to bring the adhesive applied to the flap 4 into contact with the rear panel 2 and to secure the second flap 4 thereto. The envelope can now be mailed to an address either marked on the front panel 1, or marked on the contents of the envelope and visible through a window formed in front panel 1.

Upon receipt, the envelope is opened by slitting along the fold line TF to separate the second flap 4 from the front panel 2.

The contents can then be withdrawn from the envelope.

To re-use the envelope as a reply envelope, the recipient withdraws the first flap 3 from its position between the front and rear panels 1 and 2, places the reply documents In the envelope, and then folds the first flap 3 so as to overlie the front panel 1. The fIrst flap 3 is secured to the front panel l by its adhesive, thus sealing the envelope for the return mailing.

tt will be understood that, because the dimensions of the first flap are only slightly smaller than those of the front panel 1, substantially the entire front panel 1 is overlain by the first flap 3. This ensures that the address marked on the front panel 1, or the window in that panel, is concealed by the first flap 3, and the address marked on the first flap 3 is exposed for the return mailing.

In a simplified embodiment of the invention, the second flap 4 is omitted. The first flap 3 is addressed and folded into the envelope, and the envelope's contents may be inserted either before or after the first flap 3 is folded in. In the former case, the contents lie between the flap 3 and the rear panel 2 of the envelope, and are held in place. In the latter case, the contents lie between the flap 3 and the front panel 1 of the envelope, as in a wallet. To prevent egress of the contents, a weak adhesive bond may be made such as by placing a spot of adhesive to bond the top edge area of the front panel 1 to the first flap 3 adjacent its join line to the rear panel 2. The top edge of the front panel may be recessed on one or both sides of the bonded area to facilitate opening of the envelope by the recipient.

In a further development of the invention, not illustrated, the first and second flaps may be both attached to the top edge of the rear panel 2. In such an embodiment, a flap may extend across the entire width of the envelope, and may be separated into first and second flap parts which function as the first and second flaps described above. The first flap part may extend from one end of the envelope to its central region, and the second flap part may extend from the central region of the envelope to its other end.

Alternatively, the first flap part may extend from one end of the envelope to the other, and the second flap part may be delimited by a curved or angular slit whose ends are positioned on the fold line joining the flap to the rear panel of the envelope.

Claims

1. A reconfigurable envelope having an open edge and a flap foldable between a first position wherein the flap lies within the envelope and a second position wherein the flap extends across the open edge to close the open edge, the flap having thereon an address area which is concealed when the flap is in the first position and is exposed when the flap is in its second position.

2. An envelope according to claim 1 wherein a first flap and a second flap are hingedly attached along the open edge, the first flap having thereon an address area and being foldable between a first position wherein the first flap lies within the envelope and conceals the address area and a second position wherein the first flap extends across the open edge to close the open edge and expose the address area, the second flap being foldable to a position wherein the second flap extends across the open edge to close the open edge while the first flap is in its first position.

3. An envelope according to claim 2, wherein the first flap and the second flap are attached to the same edge of the open side of the envelope.

4. An envelope according to claim 3, wherein the first flap is attached to the end regions of one edge of the open side, and the second flap is attached to the central portion of same edge of the open side of the envelope.

5. An envelope according to claim 3, wherein the first flap is attached to one end of one edge of the open side and extends along substantially half the length of the edge, and the second flap is attached to the other end of same edge of the open side of the envelope and extends along substantially half the length of the edge.

6. An envelope according to claim 2, wherein the first flap and the second flap are attached to opposite edges of the open side of the envelope.

7. An envelope comprising a generally rectangular front panel and a generally rectangular rear panel joined along three sides, first and second flaps being hingedly attached respectively to the rear and front panels along their respective fourth sides, a first address area being formed on the front panel, and a second address area being formed on the first flap, the envelope having a first configuration wherein the first flap lies within the envelope and the second flap is secured to the rear panel to close the envelope, and a second configuration wherein the first flap is secured to the front panel to close the envelope, the first address area is concealed by the first flap, and the second address area is exposed.

8. An envelope comprising a generally rectangular front panel and a generally rectangular rear panel joined along three sides, first and second flaps being hingedly attached to the rear panel along its fourth side, a first address area being formed on the front panel, and a second address area being formed on the first flap, the envelope having a first configuration wherein the first flap lies within the envelope and the second flap is secured to the front panel to close the envelope, and a second configuration wherein the first flap is secured to the front panel to close the envelope, the first address area is concealed by the first flap, and the second address area is exposed.

9. An envelope according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the first address area is a transparent area allowing an address printed on the contents of the envelope to be read.

10. A paper or card blank for forming a reconfigurable envelope, comprising a generally rectangular front panel having a base edge, a pair of side edges, and a top edge, and a generally rectangular rear panel having a base edge, a pair of side edges, and a top edge, the front and rear panels being joined along their respective base edges by a fold line, a pair of tabs extending along and joined by fold lines to respective side edges of the front or rear panel, the top edge of the rear panel being hingedly joined to an edge of a first flap whose dimensions are substantially similar to those of the front panel, and the top edge of the front or rear panel being hingedly joined to an edge of a second flap.