US2742222A - Envelopes - Google Patents

Description

flApliLll, 1956 L. BRACCIO 2,742,222

ENVELOPES Filed April 24, 1952 n 5 l9 2 20 /lg FIG-.2. 21

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Pu'mAoELPH'm. PA-

INVENTOR LOU t5 552C110 ATT'Y United States Patent -O 2,742,222 ENVELOPES- LouisqBraccio, Endicott, N. Y. Application April 24, 1952', Serial No. 284,084

2 Claims. (Cl. 229-68) This inventionrelates to improvements in envelopes, and more "particularly to envelopes adapted for return purposes; sueh, for instance, as for returning an enclosure or' the' liketo the original sender or to some other indiatsdrsdd s se One of the perplexing and ever present problems encountered in suchv placesaspost oflice sorting roomsand the mail rooms of many large business firms involves the sorting, segregation and distribution of large quantities of envelopes containing mail. Even though this work is usuallyfdonebysorting clerks that are highlyskilled in such operations, theh efliciency, thereof is subject to the usual fluctuations resulting, from such factors as temperament an dtfatigue of the operator, particularly after "the operator has been engaged in such sorting operations, over. longperiodsiof time. In order to minimize such fluetua; tions and thereby increase the efficiency of operationsmf this character it hasi been, proposedv that the sorting, and segnegation of genvelopes be accomplished by means" of suitable conventional mechanical businessmac hinesadapt:

ablejor the 7 selective Q segregation and v sorting of, articles 7 such las cards, envelopes or the like fed thereinto, It is a p i ip v prqvi e n nvelope of -improved construction andhaving ndyel destination indicating means thereon, ,;which me ansi isl particulafly I adaptable for facilitating the I use of, ,the nvelqne n an. utems s l r r ed Sortingst em: s ma hine.

Another important object is to provide an envelope havi si vq sdi msan vsf v sa tt en tima sl tination" of the ern relo pe s'or as to facilitate the hand l ng dg ertinsp r e satitiss are vslonss.

A v flle BiFF P hrrsv an: e vel e here n? portion along one edge thereof is provided with destina tion indicatin g means inithe formv of a plnrali ty of labeled m t n e. 6f rht vt rwbs ..Qutb the sender to indicate: intended destination "of, said' env'e pe and thusiacilitate the segregation thereof by aut na i cally operated mechanical sorter machine means Another primary object is to provide an envelope having improved destination "indicating 'ineans thereon,such; as willf'permit substantial -incr eases in the, number of envelopes that may be sorted and segregated inany given period of time. I

Other objects and advantages will be understoo d and will become more apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the drawings inwhich? Fig.1 is a rear 'view'of an unfolded envelope blank from whichnthesproposedrenvelopeis fabricated Figa2 is aiplanlview of a semi-rigid stub member that maybe inserted proximateone endaof the envelopes Fig.3 is a rear-viewofthe envelope'blankafter -being folded to Lfashion an envelope,

Fig-. 4 is=a section taken on line 4-4 of Figs 3. i '1 Fig.; isa frOntYiew-ofthe proposed envelopeshow'ing the improved destination indicating ;meanssalo.ng, one '.end

object of p the present invention, therefore, I to ings of the present invention.

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on line -6 ofFig; 2 and depicts one arrangement for fashioning the ,perforable'punch outs employed lwithfthe improved envelope. l V

Referring now 'to the drawings, it will be noted there has been depicted, in the formof anenvelopehaving pe'rforable punch-outs iii an extension along one short end thereof; a specifieand preferred application of the teach- M a u v W In'fashioning an envelope of this character there is nitially provided an unfolded P p r m sh-re e en e er y b slmim r 1 1 have ing a central o ftionil iland fiaps or tabs 12i, 13 14 and 1 xt d rssp sft v y em-the .f u ine siaa ts thereof; The fia s a d l arssds sd f r-feltin respetively, l' qns e ne 134 r d-. 41.." disat s o snin swhile t t rland b t m fl ps Ala d .1! may b ol 1 wardln. p ct ve a on t e. b akes. es. H sban m pm us the f rm 1 ded jenv pc illustrated in the rear yievv f Fig S. A suitahleadhesive as indicated at 16 rnaybeapplied along the edges of the top and bottom fiaps 12 andl4 forsealing purposes in accordance. with conventional practices in the fabrication of envelopes. It will be undei stood of course that the flap: 12 will'not be sealed untilthe enclosures have been P A Q th n. efi ve pe by vt e n r-l Now in accordan ee with the specific teachings of the inyen tiom oneof thelflaps or tab s, the flap 15in the, instant iiisis S i-99;z hewnt e arg sdimensi nstt ken I prft d illustratio n, is provided witha plurality of'per forationsf 17 disposed on one side ofthe fold line 15a. and a plurality, of cornplemental or rna tin g perforations 18 symmetrically disposed on the opposite side of said fold line Hence after the flap 15 is folded along the fold line 1541,; each of, the perforations 18;,ii1 the one portion will overlie and register .with a corresponding perforation. 17 in the other n tm of said fiap. i' i A semi-r gid stublikejstiffeningmember 19 .fashioned, prefierably, fromfson e, suitable 'ffib rous material such; as heavy pressed pa per o r thincardboard and dimensioned to correspondwitha perforatedportionof the flap 15 as i e atsdai Pr i es :W h la i i t i ust a punch-outs or knqele-outs, represented generally by the numeral 2 0, which are so arranged that they will register with lthepertorations fl and 1 18 of the flap 15 after said stifi enerjs interposed between the folded portions of said n ai tenetbl u i e r ku s flz a e; b f msse w ksninst rs cf the stiffening msmb t in i a ed by thes ov qrn c s nd a perime r thatis ic mss bes-t lu -l ke v nt a tc surs PQ ti nl, 21 iasil at t ei em a t er o asv des re at a subsequent time. The; weakening of the; fibers around hstp iherv ofthe. n ta l s ntr l o 'po o iof id p nsham;in t y b a comp d yzany sui able con: ventional means such ioninstance, as by peripherally: scoring, the opposite surfaces, thereof ,to produce I then-grooves or; notches ,21, ,as, shew-n, ,in rthe, preferred, illustration. Since various means for, fashioning punch-outs. or, knockouts of. this character. are yvellknow nin industry, the .particular rnetho d employed is not, important to .the present invention providing ta' substantially clean. opening .r'esu lts after,- theuclosuresslugis punched, orsknocke'd out at .a later: time. Furthermore, although :the; perforations-and punch-outs have been-illustrated] as rectangular in shape, it. will:bez a xeciatedtthat ahyothersuitable. configuration may; be employeds-without deviating from .therteachingstof thepresentlinventionsh The semi-rigid stub'19 which, in the preferred .embodi ment is adaptedsfor positioning .on the flap 11mm. to the;-.folding thereofi is. arranged, tpreferably so that the punch-outsn20 thereinswillc-register with the perforations 17;, and,;.-after. folding. of; said flap,.salso withethetperfora tions,,\18 .;;1 A'gsuitablez adhesive; .23 may betapplied along opposite edgcsl and.,-transv,erse. portion'sflofritheltflap -1 5 for;fixedlwpositioningQthe stifiening stubs 19:1and lthus prevent its accidental removal after said flap has been folded and the envelope fashioned. With said stiffener 19 fixed in position and with all the flaps folded over the envelope will provide a clear space for enclosures within the area delimited by the broken lines 12a, 13a, 14a, and 16a, as best seen in Fig. 1, without allowing said enclosure to interfere with the punch-outs in said stiffener.

On the outsideface of the envelope adjacent each individual perforation and its associated perforable punch-out there is printed matter to indicate the ultimate destination associated with that perforation. In the specific. application of the invention selected for illustration and description herein, the abbreviations of the States of the Union are indicated, one adjacent each such perforation, and although only a few such examples are shown in the drawing, it will be understood that one such perforable indication may be provided for each State in the Union. Likewise when some different employment of the envelope is contemplated, such as interdepartmental use in a large business firm or in a bank clearing house, other printed matter may appear opposite each of said perforable indicators to indicate a plurality of available destinations, to any one of which said envelope may be forwarded. In the envelope illustrated in Fig. 5, since the ultimate destination is in the State of Pennsylvania, the perforable indicator or perforation adjacent PA would, of course, be punched out by the sender prior to mailing thus leaving a clear and clean opening through the envelope at this particular indicator location. If desired, of course, the printed matter designations may be printed directly on the upper surface of the punch-out rather than on the envelope face adjacent the punch-out as indicated in the drawing herein.

It will be appreciated, also, that the side flap need not be folded around the stiffening member 19 as indicated but instead said stiffener may be positioned with one edge thereof between the front face and rear face of an envelope and be affixed along that edge while the remainder of said stiffener containing the perforable punch-outs projects therefrom.

With only one perforation punched out, that is the one corresponding with the ultimate destination desired, the envelope may be transmitted along with many others to a central reception station where it is then fed into an automatically operated sorting machine which subsequently proceeds to select and segregate each individual envelope in accordance with the particular perforable indicator or perforation previously punched out on each envelope. The machines which may be employed for such sorting operations are of the automatically operated punch-card selector type known commercially as clectronic sorters and are marketed, among others, by the International Business Machines Corporation. Since machines adaptable for such operations are more or less conventional and are well understood, it is felt no detailed description thereof is necessary. Suffice it to say, however, that machines of this general character may utilize either a photo-electric selenium cell type of selector or a multilpe pin-like selector unit each of which may be arranged to cooperate with the perforations or openings in the envelopes for actuating and setting into motion a series or sequence of mechanisms which subsequently direct all envelopes having similar perforations punched out into the same collecting receptacle. With the envelopes so segregated it becomes a simple matter for the machine operator to subsequently transmit the envelopes in groups to their respectively indicated destinations.

1n the event the sender should inadvertently punchout the wrong perforable indicator, it will not be necessary to discard this envelope because of such mistake. To circumvent a mistake of this character there is provided a perforable indicator labeled Error disposed, in the preferred embodiment illustrated, in the upper righthand corner of the envelope which is punched out only in case of error such as when the wrong perforation was originally punched out. After this has been done the envelope may be forwarded on its way with two perforations punched thcrethrough. The Error perforation has been so positioned that it is closer to the leading edge of the envelope than any of the other perforations; hence when the erroneously punched envelope is fed into the sorting machine the perforation labeled Error will almost V is relatively inexpensive and simple to fabricate.

immediately encounter a selector that will start into motion a sequence of operations for directing that envelope to a collecting receptacle separate and apart from all others. The contents of this latter receptacle may then later be manually sorted by the operator in order to get all such erroneously punched envelopes directed to other proper destinations,

It is contemplated that envelopes incorporating the present invention may be advantageously used with an automatic sorting machine that has been additionally combined, coupled, or at least coordinated, with a conventional postage or stamp cancelling machine thereby accomplishing the dual operations of cancelling and sorting substantially simultaneously. This, of course, would be particularly advantageous in post office installations where such cancelling operations are presently accom plished by machine but the sorting operations are still handled manually.

The foregoing example is, of course, illustrative of one of the advantageous uses to which the present invention may be applied but is not otherwise intended to limit the use thereof to the specific application illustrated and described. Its possible uses are numerous but it is particularly adaptable for speeding up and facilitating sorting operations where large quantities of mail addressed to many different destinations are handled regularly.

From the above it will be appreciated there has been provided an improved envelope having unique destination indicating means and which is particularly adaptable for use with an automatic sorting machine. The use of an envelope of this character greatly facilitates and speeds up the sorting operations and readily overcomes the drawbacks and disadvantages heretofore experienced with manual sortings'. The improved envelope Furthermore, its use requires no particular skill or adaptation but the use thereof will appreciably reduce handling costs of sorting and the savings thus eifected will increase with increased quantities sorted.

The manner of achieving these objects and attaining these advantageous features is believed to be clear from the foregoing detailed description. features will undoubtedly occur to those skilled in the art. Likewise certain modifications and alterations in the preferred construction disclosed may occur, all of which may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A mailing envelope of the character adapted for sorting in a selector-type of automatically operated sorting device, including: a sheet of flexible material folded to provide a back side and a face side thereof; said face side being fashioned to provide a sealing-flap and oppositely extending side flaps that fold over to meet said back side; said back side having gummed edges adapted for affixing said back side to said side flaps; one of said side flaps having a plurality of perforations therein; said face side being provided with a plurality of perforations disposed proximate the end portion thereof that adjoins the perforated side flap, and having the perforations in said face side in registering alignment with corresponding perforations in said side flaps; an independently fashioned member interposed between the perforated portion of said face side and said perforated side flap; adhesive means fixedly positioning said member between said face side and said side flap; said member having :1

Other objects and plurality of perforable punch-outs therein any one of which may be punched out by the user to provide a clean opening through said member; said member being further disposed so that each of the punch-out areas therein is in registering alignment with a perforation in said face side and said side flap; error-correcting means which includes having one perforation in the face side together with its aligned punch-out in the said member and its aligned perforation in said side flap disposed closer to the end edge of said envelope than all of said remaining perforations; and destination indicating means on said face side in the vicinity of each perforation to indicate intended destination when the punch-out aligned therewith is punched out by the user.

2. A return mail envelope of the character adapted for sorting in a selector-type of automatically operated sorting device, including: a sheet of paper folded to provide a back side and a face side thereof; said face side being provided with a sealing flap, a long side flap, and a short side flap all of which are foldable to meet said back side; said back side having gummed edges adapted for aflixing said back side to said side flaps when said side flaps are folded over to provide a pocket for receiving enclosures; said long side flap having a portion thereof which folds back upon itself, and which portion is provided with a plurality of complementary arranged perforations which are in registering alignment with one another when said portion is folded back upon itself; said perforations being disposed beyond the boundary of the enclosure pocket; a separately fashioned semirigid member having a plurality of perforable punch-outs therein, any one of which may be punched-out by the user to provide an unobstructed opening through said member; adhesive means fixedly positioning said semirigid member interposed between the folds of the portion of said long side flap that is folded back upon itself, and having said member so disposed that one edge thereof delimits one edge boundary of the enclosure pocket; said semi-rigid member being further disposed so that each of the punch-out areas therein is in registering alignment with aligned perforations in each fold of said long side flap portion when said portion is folded back upon itself; punch-out error-correcting means which includes having one of the perforations in said long side flap and its respective perforable punch-out in said semi-rigid member disposed in closer proximity to the proximate end edge of the envelope than any of the others of said perforations; and destination indicating means imprinted on the face side of said long side flap proximate each perforation to indicate intended destination when the respective punch-out is punched out by the user.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,150,524 Krone Aug. 17, 1915 1,319,525 Gilbertson Oct. 21, 1919 1,428,494 Perrin Sept. 5, 1922 1,436,885 Leary Nov. 28, 1922 2,162,632 Meek June 13, 1939 2,357,444 Armbruster Sept. 5, 1944 2,675,170 Sebesta Apr. 13, 1954

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