US1885105A - Combined envelope sealer and opener - Google Patents

Description

1932- c. 'M. BOUDETTE COMBINED ENVELOPE SEALER AND.OPENER Filed July 28, 1930 INVENTOR QM ammy UNITED STA Tris tridge; and.

Patented Nov. '1, 1932 PArE-Nr OFFICE". A

, cLnvron in. nonnnr'rn or nnvnnn, MASSACHUSETTS conrrnnn ENVELO SEALER AND OWNER Application filed .Tuly'2 8,

The invention to be hereinafter described relates .tola hand envelopeasealer whereby-the flap may be quickly and easily sealed to the body of the envelope. f y This sealer iszof the type ern-ployinga moisteningnpad, and a Water reservoir for sup-v plying water to the pad to. keep thesame H1 moist condition- The pad is slid under the flap along the adhesive .covered margin thereof to moisten the same, and a-presser follows to'pressthe flap against the body to insure its adhering thereto. I

One of the purposes of the invention is to provide a combined envelope sealer and opener, and to so construct andarra-nge the opener that it serves either as a :presser to press the moistened flap to the body of the envelope, .or as an opener for a sealed envelope. 1..

Another purposeof the invention is to provide a water reservoir in the form of a cartridge removably mounted uponthebase of thesealer, said cartridge also serving asv the handle of the sealen. Another purpose is to provide atongue overlying the pad .andx'a l 23 formed by side flanges 25, an end flange 27 presser and opener blade. which may be in the form of a single stamping. another purpose isto provide a construction whereby .a new pad may be quickly and easily subst tuted for anold' one.. The sealer as a- WhOlBilS simple in construction, cheap to manufacture, and-the parts maybe'quickly and. easily assembled- The character of the invention will be best understoodby reference to the follow-ingde scription of-one good formthereof shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the sealer showing its relationto an envelope in performing, the flap sealing operation;

Fig. 2is a View partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal section of thesealer;

Fig. 3. is a perspective view of'the car- 'Fig. at is a'- transverse section taken on line 4:4 of Fig. 1.

Referring tothe drawing, thesealer shown I therein as one good embodiment of the inventiomcomprises a base 1 having a channel 3in: the front portion thereof formed by an 1930. Serial No. 471,164.

upstanding inwardly curved flanged This channel has' the general form of a finger, and is adapted to receive and hold a moistening pad 7 of felt or other suitable material. Pref-' erably the base of the finger is curved somewhat transversely thereof to facilitate its introduction beneath the envelope flap.

Overlyi-ng' part of the pad andextending somewhat-beyond the same is a tongue 9 having a shank 11 with slots receiving tabs 13 projecting up from the base and bent over against the upper surface of the shank,- thereby to secure the tongue to the base; I

Projecting laterally from the tongue shank is a presser blade 15 inclined ordipped downwarclf somewhat from the plane-of the tongue. Projecting up: from the end of the tongue shank is an inclined lip 17. To stiffen the tongue and presser blade, theymay haverespectively longitudinal ridges119 and 2'1 eX- 3 tending substantially the lengths thereof. The tongue, blade and lip may-desirably be made'of asingle stamping, thereby contributing to economy in manufacture.

. The rearrportion of the base has a channel and the lip 17 referred to. Removably mounted in this channel is the water reserveir orlcartridge 29, in the present instance in the form of .1 truncated prism having a '80 bevelled end 81. 'Theopposite end has-a filling hole threaded to receive the stem of a cap 33;. Water is fed from the cartridge to the pad through small: ports-'35 in the bevelled endiof the cartridge.

'l o mount the cartridge on the base, its bevelled end is ins'ertedbeneath the lip 17, and then the cartridge is pressed down between the side flanges 25' and theend' flange 27 of the channel 23'. Thelip' l9 and theend 9'0 flange 27 are resilient and tend to press to.- 'ward each other, thereby to secure the cartridge between them.

. The pad has a portion 37 which lies between the lip and the bevelled end of the cartridge and covers the-ports 35; the construction being'such that water will'be fed from the'cartrid'ge through the'ports to the padto keep the latter'in proper moist condition without supplying an excess amount ofw-a-t'e-r thereto.

From time to time it will be desirable to substitute a new pad for an old one. This may be quickly and easily accomplished by removing the cartridge from the base, thereby exposing the portion of the pad beneath the lip which may be grasped by the fingers to withdraw the pad. A new pad .may be quickly and easily inserted beneath the lip and slid into the channel 3, where it will be retained by the inwardly curved flange 5.

In use, the pad carrying finger will be inserted beneath the envelope flap and slid along the same to moisten the gummed margin thereof. The tongue 9 will ride over the outer surface of the flap so as to insure proper engagement of the flap with the pad. Downward pressure of the base against the envelope will cause the blade 15 to press against the moistened flap. Due to the down ward tilting relation of the blade to the tongue and the resilience of the blade, it will be energized to exert a desirable pressure on the flap, thereby insuring adhesive engagement of the flap with the body of the envelope.

By this invention there is provided an efficient hand envelope sealer which is simple in construction and cheap to manufacture. As stated, the tongue, blade and lip may be in the form of a single stamping which may be easily secured mechanically to the base bythe tabs entered through the slots in the tongue shank. The cartridge may be easily and cheaply made of metal or bakelite, and it may be easily mounted on the base merely by pressing it into its holding channel as described.

The presser and opener blade may be made of thin metal, but it is sufficiently strong and flexible for the purposes due to its wide shank formed integrally with the tongue and its ridge extending longitudinally thereof. This blade tapers from its shank to a point and the body of the blade stands offset substantially from the tongue both laterally and downwardly so that it may not only serve as a presser, but also desirably as an envelope opener.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment shown, and that various deviations may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: V

1. A hand envelope sealed comprising a base having channels therein, a moistening pad in one of the channels, a tongue overlying the pad, and a cartridge for receiving water removably mounted in the other channel and having a port for feeding water to the pad.

2. A hand envelope sealer comprising a base having channels therein, a moistening pad in one of the channels, a cartridge for receiving water removably mounted on the other channel and having a port for. feeding cartridge for receiving water having a tapered end with a port therein, and atongue having a lip over said end, the pad having a portionbeneath the lip covering the port.

5. A hand envelope sealer comprising a base having upstanding flanges, a cartridge for receiving Water removablymounted on the base between the flanges, and a moistening pad on the base adapted to receive water from the cartridge.

6. A hand envelope sealer comprising a base, a moistening pad secured on the base, a handle for receiving water and having provision for feeding water to the pad, and a stamping secured to the base comprising a tongue overlying the pad, a blade and an upstanding lip; and a cartridge removably mounted on the base and having a port for supplying water to the pad, the latter having a portion beneath the lip overlying the port.

7. A hand envelope sealer comprising a base having channels therein, a moistening pad in one of said channels, a tongue overlying said channel, and a cartridge for receiving water removably mounted in the other channel and having a port for feeding water to the pad, said pad being adapted to be withdrawn from its channel beneath the tongue after removal of the cartridge from its channel.

8. A hand envelope sealer comprising a base having channels therein, a moistening pad in one of the channels, a tongue overlying the channel having an upstanding lip at an end of the tongue, and a cartridge for receiving water having a port at an endthereof for feeding water to a portion of the pad between the lip and the end of the cartridge, said pad being removable by sliding the same from its channel beneath the tongue and lip after removal of the cartridge from its channel.

9. A hand envelope sealer and opener comprising a base, a moistening pad on the base, a container for water and having provision for feeding water to the pad, a tongue secured to the base, and a combined envelope presser and opener blade having its body laterally spaced from the tongue.

10. A hand envelope sealer and opener comprising a base, a moistening pad on the base, a container for water having provision for feeding water to the pad, a tongue secured to the base, and a combined envelope presser and opener comprising a blade having a wide shank projecting from the rear end of the tongue and a forwardly extening body spaced from the tongue and tapered from the shank toward its forward end.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

CLAYTON M. BOUDETTE;

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