US793495A

US793495A - Envelop.

Info

Publication number: US793495A
Application number: US23491504A
Authority: US
Inventors: Sam Akiyama
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1904-11-30
Filing date: 1904-11-30
Publication date: 1905-06-27
Anticipated expiration: 1922-06-27

Description

No. 793,495. PATENTED JUNE 27, 1905.

S. AKIYAMA.

ENVELOP.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. so, 1904.

s9ifneaaex 071122011211. @fi/mmmw 5% j 'ama/ NrTEn STATES ratented June 27, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

ENVELOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 793,495, dated June 27, 1905.

Application filed November 30, 1904. Serial No. 234,915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAM AKIYAMA, a subject of the Emperor of Japan, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Envelops, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to envelops, and relates in particular to safety-envelops-that is, to envelops which cannot be opened after having been sealed without betraying the fact that they have been tampered with.

The object of my invention is to provide an envelop of the class described in which if it be attempted to open the envelop after it has once been sealed certain integral parts of and attachments to the envelop proper will be so marred anddisfigured as to at once disclose the fact that the envelop has been tampered with.

' In carrying my invention into effect I provide the envelop proper with a lining of fragile paper, such lining extending throughout the envelop and constituting an inner seal and being so constructed and arranged relatively to the envelop proper that any attempt to open the envelop will result in the destruction or partial destruction of the material of which such lining is composed, so as to show that an attempt has been made to open the envelop.

In addition to the safeguard afiorded by the fragile lining above referred to I provide my improved envelop with an integral seal, which is so constructed and arranged as to overlie a portion of one flap of the envelop, this seal being perforated, so as to render it impossible to detach it from the surface to which it is secured without tearing or marring it so as to show that an attempt has been made to open the envelop.

A further feature of my improvement consists in serrating the edges of one or more flaps of the envelop, so as to provide an additional safeguard against surreptitious opening of the envelop.

A still further feature of my improvement consists in providing an envelop with a plurality of seals,'one of which is located between two overlapping flaps of the envelop, so as to secure them together, and the other of which is attached to a tongue formed integral with one flap and which overlies the adjacent flap, so as to secure the two flaps together and prevent either of the same from being opened without marring the seals. The last-named sealthat is, the seal which is attached to a tongue on one of the flaps-constitutes a novel feature of my improvement in itself, and it may be used in conjunction with the first named seal or by itself, as may be desired.

I have illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of an envelop constructed according to my improvement with the end flaps in closed position and the side flaps in opened position. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the envelop with all the flaps in opened or extended position. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 00 r of Fig. 2. Fig. Iis perspective view of one of the outer seals. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the envelop shown in Fig. 1 with all the flaps thereof closed. Fig. 6 is a plan view of a modified form of my improvement, showing the envelop with one of the side flaps open. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the envelop shown in Fig. 6 with all the flaps closed, and Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view on the line y y of Fig. 7.

The envelop which I have shown is of the usual contour--that is, it is of oblong rectangular form and is composed of the central part A, the two end flaps B B, and the two side flaps C D. The parts A, B B, C, and D constitute the envelop proper, and these parts are lined with a sheet of material E, which conforms in shape to the envelop proper, but is of somewhat smaller size, so that aspace or margin is left all around between the edge of the material E, which forms theliningand the edge of the envelop proper, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The lining E is composed of any suitable fragile material; but I preferably employ thin waterproof paper, which will not only serve, as will be hereinafter apparent, as an inner seal to prevent surreptitious opening of the envelop, but will also serve as a water or moisture proof covering for the contents of the envelop. The lining E is attached to the outer covering or envelop proper at any suitable point or points, and I prefer to attach it at or near the termination of the end flapsB B before any of the flaps are folded over, and when the end flaps are folded over one of the side flaps of the lining I glue one edge of each end flap to the edges of one side flap of the lining.

When the end flaps have been folded over and glued together and to one side flap of the lining, the envelop will be in the condition shown in Fig. 1, and is then ready to receive a letter or other inclosure, which is inserted in the usual manner and inside the lining E. The envelop after receiving its inclosure is closed by successively folding down the side flaps C D, each of which is gummed along the edge in the usual manner, so as to secure their adhesion to the parts with which that may come into contact. When the flap C is folded down, its gummed edge and the gummed edge of the lining adhere to the surface of the end flaps B B, and the point of the flap will overlie and adhere to a portion of the lining E. After the flap (J has been folded down in position the flap D is folded down so as to overlie a portion of the end flaps B B and also overlie a portion of the flap O, the gummed edge of the flap D securing the adherence of this flap when folded down. As an additional safeguard against improper or surreptitious opening of the envelop I provide a plurality of seals F G, the seal F being pasted on the inner side of the flap D, while the seal G is located on the outer side of the flap 0 and is pasted to a tongue H, formed by cutting it out of the flap C, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. The seal F is gummed on its inner side, so that when the flap D is folded down this seal will adhere to the outer surface of the flap C. When the flap D is first folded down, the seal G is raised and turned backwardly to the position shown in Fig. 4:, and after the flap D has been turned down and attached to the end flaps B B and to the flap 0 the seal G, which is gummed on its inner side, is turned down, so as to overlie the tip of the flap D, and is caused to adhere thereto by the gum on its inner side.

The envelop is shown in its fully-closed position in Fig. 5 of the drawings, where it will be seen the seal G is in such position that it overlies a part of the flap C and also a portion of the flap D. The seals F and G are of paper and are preferably formed with serrated edges to prevent their being removed without marring the same.

In Figs. 6, '7, and 8 I have shown a modified form of my improvement in which the en-. velop is constructed in substantially the same manner as the one shown in Figs. 1 to 5that is, it is provided with the fragile or tissue lining E and is folded and secured in the same manner as the envelop shown in those figures, except that I employ but a single seal K, this seal being preferably formed integral with the flap 0 and being perforated, as shown, so as to so as to secure adhesion to the parts with which it comes in contact when the envelop has been sealed. The edges of the flaps (land D in the envelop shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are serrated, as shown, to assist in preventing their being surreptitiously unsealed.

In the several forms of my improved envelop shown and described I prefer to employ as a convenient means of opening the envelop a thread L, which is placed along the line of juncture of the body portion A and the flap D within the lining E, one end of this thread being attached to one of the end flaps and the other end protruding a short distance beyond the end of the envelop, this thread serving as means whereby the envelop may be readily opened, as when the thread is pulled it will tear both the inner lining and the envelop proper along one edge.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. An envelop composed of a body part, end flaps and side flaps, a fragile lining extending partly over the end flaps and side flaps, when the envelop is closed, one of the side flaps being provided with aseal adapted to be attached to the end flaps and to the opposite side flap of the lining.

2. An envelop composed of a body part, end flaps and side flaps, afragile lining extending partly over the end flaps and side flaps, when the envelop is closed, one of the said flaps being provided with a seal adapted to be attached to the end flaps and to the opposite side flap of the lining, and a second seal secured to a tongue cut out of the other side flap, the said seal being adapted to overlie portions of both side flaps.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

SAM AKIYAMA.

Vitncsses:

E. E. POTTER, K. H. BUTLER.