US1930299A - Envelope opening means - Google Patents

Description

P. ADAMs 1 930 299 ENVELOPE OPENING MEANS Filed April 50, 1952 Patented Oct. 10, 1933 ENVELOPE OPENING MEANS Philip Adams, North Bay, Ontario, Canada, as-

signor to Bertha Adams, North Bay, Ontario,

Canada Application April 30, 1932. Serial No. 608,553

1 Claim.

My invention relates to improvements in envelope opening means and the object of the invention is to devise means for enabling the slitting open of one edge of an envelope by means of 5 a thread or string threaded back and forth through perforations in the envelope edge to be slit.

A further object is to provide an improved means for preventing the thread or string being pulled out of the perforations without slitting the envelope.

A still further object is to incorporate an improved means for starting the slitting operation, and yet another object is to provide means for retaining one end of the thread or string in the envelope after the remaining portion of the thread has slit the envelope edge.

With the above and other objects in view which will hereinafter appear my envelope opening means, in its preferred embodiment, consists of the construction all as hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which,

Fig. 1 represents a plan view of an envelope :5 constructed according to my invention showing the same opened out.

Fig. 2 is a similar view to Fig. 1 showing the side and bottom flaps of the envelope inturned and with the sealing flap open and,

Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 2 showing the top flap inturned into the position in which the envelope is sealed.

Like characters indicate corresponding parts in the different views.

While my envelope opening means is adaptable to envelopes of orthodox form I preferably make some slight alterations in the construction to improve the actuating of my device.

As illustrated the envelope consistsof a main portion 1, the side flaps 2, the bottom flap 3 and the sealing flap 4 all of course formed integrally with the main portion 1.

I preferably provide portions 5 joining the top edges of the side flaps 2 and the side edges of the sealing flap 4 andformed integrally therewith.

I also extend out the inclined edge of the side flaps 2 and the inclined edges of the bottom flap 3 so that instead of such edges intersecting each other at substantially the bottom corners of the main portion 1 they meet each other exteriorly thereof, thereby constituting the portions 6 which are formed integrally with the remaining portions of the envelope.

' In the construction as illustrated in which an end edge of the envelope is to be slit I provide a thread 7 woven in and out. from top to bottom of such edge and extending through the perforations 8 therein, said thread also extending upwardly to the upper end of the junction line between the particular portion 5 and the flap 4 as well as downwardly to the bottom end of the junction line between the particular portions 6 and the flap 3. In order to prevent the thread or string pulling out of the perforations during the slitting operation without slitting the envelope I provide one or even more zig-zags in the line of perforations so that the thread following these perforations is offset from a straight line and thus is held against displacement.

A simple means of providing the thread in the edge of the envelope is stitching it in by means of the ordinary sewing machine.

The zig-zag 9 is preferably provided in the portions 6 so that when the envelope is formed up the thread or string will in addition to the zig-zag be turned back on itself thus aiding in the prevention of its displacement.

In the flap 4 in the vicinity of the junction line with the portion 5 I provide an orifice 10 preferably of D-shape and in the portion 5 I provide a similar orifice opposedly disposed so that when the portion 5 is unfolded on to the flap 4 the orifice 11 will register with the orifice 10.

To form the envelope the side and bottom flaps are infolded and gummed in the orthodox manner and it will be seen that when this is done the flaps 5 will be initially infolded on to the flap 4 and the portions 6 will be initially infolded on to the flap 3, the portions 6 engaging the flap 2 when the flap 3 is inturned thereupon.

When the sealingflap 4 is turned down to seal the envelope the portions 5 are turned down with the flap 4 against the side flap 2 and the registering orifices 10 and 11 will be exposed with the orifice 10 outside.

The thickness of the paper of the portion 5 and the flap 4 is sufiicient to afford a finger nail grip upon the straight walls of the orifices 10 and 11 and the desire to slit the edge of the envelope merely exerts a pull on these walls with 100 the result that the paper is torn and the string caused to be pulled out diagonally with the,result that the envelope is slit along its entire edge, the zig-zag and the turning up of the end of the thread or string preventing the same being removed altogether from the envelope.

As will be seen from the above description very little, if any, change is necessary in the form of the envelope to accommodate itself to my envelope opening means and moreover the incor- 1 porating of such means is also a very simple matter as it is only necessary to provide a sheet of paper with a line of stitched thread suitably located thereon and zig-zagged periodically and then out the envelope blanks from such sheet. Thus an envelope provided with my envelope opening means will be exceedingly simply and inexpensive to manufacture.

If desired, the portion 5 with the orifice 11 therein could be abbreviated to dispense with the orifice and only constitute a lip extending laterally from the junction line with the flap 4 which, when intumed in sealing down the flap 4, would form a projection with its free edge coinciding with the straight wall of the orifice 10. Likewise the other portion 5 as well as the portions 6 could be done away with, the zig-zag-9 in such case extending the reverse way into the flap 3.

What I claim as my invention is:-

In combination, an envelope having integrally formed main portion, side and end flaps and integrally formed web portions extending between each side flap and each end flap, and a thread or string woven back and forth through a line 01 perforations in the envelope edge to be slit, one end flap having an orifice therethrough in the vicinity of the envelope edge to be slit adapted to register with an orifice in the web portion extending between such end flap and the adiacent side flap upon the web portion being infolded.

PHILIP ADAMS.

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