US2178084A - Envelope - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 31, 1939. v. J. sAwDoN ENVELOPE Filed Deo. 9, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. V/C/ar J. 5ml/dm. BY

ATTRNEYS.

Oct. 3l, 1939. v, J. sAwDoN ENVELOPE Filed Dec. 9, 1935 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 31, 1939 i UNITED ,-sTATEs;

PATENT OFFICE 1i) Claims.

This invention relates to the incorporation of envelopes in publications, especially in periodical publications of the class having'leaves with printed matter thereon, including also, for example,

5 illustrations and advertisements, the leaves being secured together along their margins by binding means, as in a book,'a'magazine or a mail order catalog.

An object of the invention is to provide such a bound periodical vpublication with a complete envelope, secured between'adjacent leaves by the same binding means which fasten the leaves together, and to provide such an envelope which can be readily torn out, sealed and mailed.

It is proposed, for example, to include in a mail order catalog a combination order blank which constitutes a leaf vof the catalog and embodies a complete envelope, including an open pocket for the matter to be mailed, the pocket formed integrally with cover flaps and sealing aps, and with an extension adapted to be bound in with the leaves, the boundary between the extension and the envelope-formingparts being defined by an easy tear line, upon rupture of which the envelope is readily removable from the publication.

The pocket is designed toreceive `a remittance and the other envelope-forming partsr of the detached leaf are so formed as tobe readily folded over the pocket, serVIlg as a closure tobe sealed and thereby to prevent access vto the enclosed matter until the envelope is opened by the addressee. One side of such an envelope-leaf may be used to receive a printed mailing address, for example, that of the mail-,order houseissuing the catalog, and to whom an order is tolbe sent, with a legend informing the prospective customer that Postage will be paid by- Addressee and other informative matter, and other portions of the available surfaces of such an envelope-leaf may be occupied by an order blank to be filled in by the customer, and by directions for lling-in the order blank, for enclosing the remittance, and for folding and sealing the envelope, and mailing the same.

Similarly, such envelope-leaves may be bound in to the copies of a periodical going to subscribers whose subscriptions are about to expire, vthe envelope-bearing leaf containing on an initially being supported by a body-portion which is Preferably this envelopewill likewise bear upon its face the address of the publisher, and a guarantee under the postal regulations that the publisher will pay the postage,so that the subscriber is in no way deterred from acting upon an incli- 5 nation to renew the subscription, by the necessity for providing anenvelope ora stamp, or forwriting out an order, or for looking up the correct name and address ofv the publisher in order to address his communication properly. 10

The present application is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 984 led January 9, 1935, in which various forms of envelopes of the above general type are disclosed and claimed, and as set .forth inthat application more l5 in detail, it is proposed to embody the idea of means hereinafter disclosed both in publications such as magazines andcatalogs of the side-stitch type, and in publications in which the binding is of the saddle-stitch type.-

In a` magazine of theside-stitch type the envelope-leaf is assembled with signatures-collated in known fashion, and with the folded margins of which the extension of thefenvelope is bound inregistry, being there secured bythe same 25 stitching means, by which term, ashereinafter used, it is intended to include staples and all other available stitching .materials y In a magazine ofthe saddle-stitch type, an extensionis provided as before, but it is extended 30 much farther so as to cross the saddle ofthe stitching machine and balance the envelope structure. The extension is, in this case also, stitched to the pages of the publication by the same stitching means which bind the pages together. In 35 each instance, the binding extension of the envelope is provided with a line of perforations or otherwise treated to form an easy tear line to facilitate ready removal of the envelope, andin certain embodiments of ther invention the ar- 40 rangement is such that the binding extension is co-extensive in length with the length of the other leaves, or at least long enough to be engaged and bound by a plurality of the staples.

A particular object of the present invention 45 is to provide for thev preformation of a pocket as part of an envelope-leaf of the above described bind-in type by means y.of improved andsimpler structure, in pursuance of the underlying idea of means which characterizes the particular 50 embodiments ofthe generic invention both in my aforesaid application Serial' No. 984, and in the present application. y

` Another object4 ilsito provide means by which the pocket is doubly protected by a folding of the circumjacent material of the body on three sides thereof, and, as a corollary, to provide by such folding a structure that wil be firmly and snugly held by a single gummed flap against casual displacement of the folds.

Another object of the invention is to provide a modied type of envelope embodying the invention in which one wall of the pocket is formed by a patch secured at three sides to the body portion of the envelope-leaf, the other side of the pocket being left free, to be closed by the operation of folding and sealing the flaps.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings forming part of this specification,

Fig. l is a plan View of a bound periodical publication of the saddle-stitch type having one form of envelope suitable for practising the invention incorporated therein;

Fig. 2 is a view of an envelope like that of Fig. 1, but of modified structure, having a plurality of sealing flaps;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of an envelope embodying a modification in the structure of which one wall of the envelope pocket is formed by a separately formed patch secured adhesively at three of its edges to the underlying body portion of the envelope.

In Fig. 1, disclosure is made of a bound periodical of the saddle-stitch type, such for example as a catalog of the kind issued from time to time by mail order houses, comprising a cover I and signatures 2. An envelope 3 is incorporated in the periodical. This envelope comprises a body portion designated generally by the reference character B and includes a portion 4 which constitutes a panel forming what will be the front wall of the closed envelope, and which constitutes what will be hereinafter designated as the inner wall of a pocket adapted to receive a remittance, such as a check, a money order, or a banknote, with or without any communication that may be desirably enclosed.

The front or outer Wall 5 of this pocket may be formed in different ways. In that of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, this front wall is formed by folding over a flap made integrally with the panel 4, and securing it adhesively along its lateral margins, as by areas 6 and 'I' of paste or adhesive applied between the flap and the underlying contiguous body areas.

This leaves the upper edge 8 of the pocket open to receive any suitable enclosure.

The body portion is extended beyond the area occupied by the panel 4, the latter being rectangular, in the instance illustrated, to form three panels II, I2, I3, defined by the fold-lines 9 and IIJ, which may be creased, merely printed, or imaginary, as they are intended for convenience only, and are not essential to the successful practise of the invention. They are desirably of equal area, but this is not essential A further extension, I4, of the body B occupies a lateral position which may extend along any desired portion of the inner edge I5 of the panels I2 and I3, the latter edge being shown with a line of perforations I5., which forms an easy tear line upon rupture of which the envelope-forming parts of the body B may be readily removed from the binding extension I4, leaving the latter bound-in by the stitches I6 which are desirably the same that fasten the signatures 2 together.

At the edge remote from the binding extension,

I have provided a gummed sealing flap II of known form.

The panels II, I2, I3 and the exposed surface of the pocket wall 5 may be printed with any desired legend of an informative character or may be used for blank spaces to be filled in by a customer, subscriber or other user of the enveiope, somewhat as illustrated in Fig. l, the printed matter there shown being merely illustrative, of course.

When these blanks have been filled in, and the remittance inserted within the pocket P, at its open edge 8, and the complete envelope B removed by rupturing the tear line I5, the user can readily close the envelope, without special instructions, by simply folding down the upper half along the horizontal fold-line 9, or, in the absence of any crease oi fold-line, by simply doubling the envelope at its mid-horizontal region, being reasonably careful that the upper edge I8 registers with the lower edge I9 then folding the doubled parts again upon themselves along their mid-vertical region, indicated in the drawing by the line IU, this again being a mere doubling operation, after Which the flap Il is folded over and sealed in known fashion, the envelope being then ready to mail, if, as contemplated, the front face of panel 4 be printed with the address of the publisher, or other addressee, and with a legend indicating that the addressee will pay the postage upon delivery, in accordance with the postal rules.

In Fig. 2 is illustrated a modified form of envelope which is identical with the form shown in Fig. 1 and already described, so far as structural components and their general arrangement are concerned, except that the flap I 'I is sealed down over the adjacent edge 10, before the closing operations of folding on vertical line IU and horizontal line 9 have been performed, and a sealing flap 2U is provided foldable over the marginal line ZI of the panel 4.

It will be noted that the step of folding on vertical line I0 is the first to be performed in the sequence of closing operations with the modiiication of Fig'. 2, and that the flap 2D therefore closes the folds at the bottom edge of the completed envelope in this instance, which has the advantage of providing for a seal along the edge of the longer dimension in the type of envelope shown in Fig. 2.

In Fig. 3 I have shown another modification in which the body panel 24 of the envelope B3 has its greater dimension in a horizontal direction, this being the panel which serves the double purpose of a front panel for the completed envelope, and an outer wall for the pocket P3, the other or inner Wall for this pocket being formed of a separately formed patch 25 of suitable material, either opaque or transparent, secured adhesively to the body portion 24 as by marginal regions of paste extending around three edges of the pocket, as indicated at 2'I in Fig. 3.

The edge 28 is left open for insertion of an enclosure, and eventually a gummed sealing flap 31 is folded over this open edge to close the same.

In pursuance of this feature of the invention, the body B3 of this type of envelope-leaf is so extended as to form desirably five auxiliary panels, 3|, 32, 33, 34 and 35, of which the panel 33 is preferably of about the same dimensions as the panel 24, the edge 36 reaching approximately to the fold-line of iiap 31.

The side iiaps 3I, 32, 34, 35 may be of any desired extent, preferably about one-half the width of viiap 33so1thatithey may be folded in on the vertical fold-lines 39 andthen the bottom portions 32 Vand 34thereoffolded up with the flap 33 onhorizontal fold-line 40. to cover the pocket P3, after which the sealingof'the envelope is completed by folding down the sealing vflap 31 into adhesive contact. with theunderlying face of flap 33, as willbe readily under- Stood. 1 y 1' i i.

This form of envelope is relatively inexpensive toV fabricate, is easy tobind in, by its bindingextension 44, in the manner already described with respectl to the extensionl4 in the other1 figures, and; canbe tornoff on' the easytear line 45. It is held in place by the same stitcheswhich fasten the vsignatures:43;jtogether within the cover 42. f'

When folded, the pocket P3 is surrounded on three sides by closedgedge folds,and on the fourth side bythe fold of seal flap 3l, so that it constitutes an unusually. Well-protected enclosing structure.

When open, it :presents `very large areas available for purposes of information, both of a directive and an 'advertising character.

It presents features of .novelty which are useful in'envelopes other thanthose intended to be bound into a-publication, and such features are generically covered jbymy claims where the latter.` arenot limited to the binding-in feature.

I claim: y

1. An'envelope-leaf adapted to be bound in with the leaves of a publication, said envelope-leaf being characterized by having a complete preformed pocket open at one edge, and complemental envelope-forming components certain of which are foldable' to constitute a complete envelope, auxiliary components initially exposed and adapted to bear inscribed legends which are concealed in part. at least when said envelopeforming components are folded, and a binding extension by which said envelope-leaf, with its envelope-forming components still unfolded, is adapted to be bound in with said leaves by the normal binding means employed for securing said leaves together, said envelope-leaf .being further characterized by having the boundary between said binding extension and said envelope-forming parts defined by an easy tear line, upon rupture of which said envelope-leaf is readily removable from its associated leaves, all saidlparts together constituting a substantially rectangular leaf.

2. In a bound periodical publication, the combination with the leaves thereof, and means binding said leaves together, of an envelope-leaf characterized byl embodying a complete preformed pocket, and embodying also the component elements of a com-plete envelope, including a body portion, part of which constitutes the back wall of said pocket, a complemental portion secured to said body portion on several sides, constituting the front wall of said pocket, the remaining side of the pocket being open for the insertion therein of an enclosure, a closure-flap and a sealing-flap, both integral with said body portion, and a side extension also integral therewith and bound in with said leaves by said firstnamed binding means; the boundary between said pocket-enVelope-forming parts and said` binding extension being defined by an easy tear line, upon rupture of which said envelope-leaf is readily removable from said publication, with said flaps still unfolded and adapted to be folded and closed to complete the envelope, enclosing saidipocket, all said` parts being so arranged that the'- envelope leafy is. in the form of 1a substantially krectangular leaf Withthe .sealing flap integral therewith.

f 3. In..a bound periodical'publication, the combination with the leaves thereof ,iand means binding said leaves together, of an envelope-leaf characterizedfby embodying a complete pocket, and also embodying the component elements of a complete envelope, including a body portion, part of which constitutes '.the back wall of said pocket, a complementalportion secured to said body portion on several sides, constituting the front wall ofisaid pocket, the remaining sidel of the pocket being open for 'the insertion therein of an enclosure, a closure-flap and a sealing-nap, both integralwith said bodyportion, and a side extension also integral therewith and auxiliary components initially exposed eand adapted to bear inscribed legends which are concealed in part at least when said envelope-forming components are folded, bound in with said leaves by said firstnamed binding meansthe boundary between said pocket-.envelope-forming vparts and said binding extensionbeing defined by an easy tear line, upon rupture of which said envelope is readily removablegfromsaid publication, all said parts being so arranged that theenvelope leaf is in the form of a substantially rectangular leaf with the sealing viiap integral therewith.

4. An envelope-leaf adapted for incorporation in a printed publication, comprising a body area, means associated with the body area and pasted thereto to form a pocket closed on three sides and open on a fourth side, .a closure flap integral with the body area andadapted to be folded to cover the open side of the pocket, means 'for securing the closure-iiap in pocket-closing position, and a binding extension integral with the body area and with the closure-flap and divided from them by an easy tear line, whereby said envelope-leaf, with said preformed pocket, is adapted to be secured in said publication as a complete entity, ready to be detached and mailed as a complete postal item, all said parts being so arranged that the envelope leaf is in the form of a substantially rectangular leaf with the closure flap integral with one edge thereof and said binding extension being scored to provide a fold line adjacent the body area and spaced from the easy tear line to therebyprovide a component foldable over the body area.

5. An envelope-leaf of the class described, said leaf comprising a body area including a panel adapted to serve as the front'l Wall of said envelope, and as the back wall of a pocket, a separately formed patch of material pasted along three of its sides to said panel, forming the back wall of said pocket and leaving the fourth side open, and a series of envelope-forming iiaps adjoining said panel, one along each of its edges, and three .of said flaps constituting with said panel a rectangular sheet of material adapted to be folded over against the back Wall of said pocket within the space dened by the edges of said panel, and closing. three of said edges with at least a single fold, to complete an envelope enclosing said pocket, leaving the edge adjacent to the pocket opening free, and the fourth or closure-flap being adapted to be fastened down upon an underlying fia-p to close said pocket and envelope.

6. An envelope comprising the elements combined and cooperating as set forth in claim 5, and further characterized by having one of said closure-naps provided with a. bindingA extension along its free marginadapted to be bound in with the leaves of a publication by the normal binding means employed for securing said leaves together, said envelope-leaf being further characterized by having the boundary between said binding extension and said envelope-pocket-forming parts defined by an easy tear line,. upon rupture of which said envelope-leaf is readily removable from its associated leaves, all said parts being so arranged that the envelope leaf is in the form of a substantially rectangular leaf with the closure flap integralwith one edge thereof.

7. An envelope leaf adapted to be bound in with the leaves of a publication, said envelope leaf being characterized by a substantially rectangular body having a complete preformed pocket disposed within and substantially smaller in area than the area of said rectangular body and open at one edge, the remainder of the body comprising a binding portion by which said envelope leaf is adapted to be bound in with said leaves by the normal binding means employed for securing said leaves together, said body further comprising panels foldable upon the preformed pocket, and a sealing fla-p for the envelope.

8. In a bound publication, the combination with the leaves thereof and means binding said leaves together, of an envelope leaf bound in said publication by said binding means, said envelope leaf being characterized by a. substantially rectangular body having a complete preformed pocket dsposedl`within and substantially smaller in area than the area of said rectangular body and open atone edgefthe remainder of the body comprising a binding portion by which said envelope leaf is bound in with said leaves by said binding means, said body further comprising panels foldable upon the preformed pocket, and a sealing' flap for the envelope.

9. An envelope leaf of the class described and comprising a substantially rectangular body, a panel superposed upon a limited portion of said body and pasted thereto to form a pocket closed on three sides and open on a fourth side, and a sealing flap integral with the. body and adapted to be folded to cover the open side of the pocket, said rectangular body also comprising panels foldable along the edges of said pocket onto said pocket.

10. An envelope leaf provided with vertical and horizontal intersecting score lines along which it v is adapted to be folded to lprovide a main body panel, a complementary panel in vertical alinement with said body panel and two supplementary panels, a severable connection along one edge of said supplementary panels, a panel superposed upon said main' body panel and pasted thereto to form a pocket closed on three sides and open on a fourth side and a sealing flap integral with the main body panel and adapted to be folded into adhesive engagement with said complemen# tary panel.

VICTOR J. SAWDON.

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