Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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1 FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to mailing pouches and more
particularly to mailing pouches which have a pouch mouth
closure flap.
sACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Mailing pouches are widely used for mailing fragile
goods. The problem with most types of mailing pouches is
retaining -the closure flap in the pouch mouth closed pos-
ition during mail sorting, handling and delivery. Most
pouches use a positive flap closure device such as straps,
"Velcro" (trade mark) zippers, interlocking tabs on flap
and pouch, and the like. In using such fastening devices
the closure flap is external of the pouch so that the flap
is suscep~ible to being caught during mail handling and
opening the pouch. To overcome the accidental opening of
pouches, in the past the positive flap closure devices,
have been substantially strengthened, however, this makes
it very difficult for people to open the pouch, particularly
if the person is arthritic or handicapped.
Mailing pouches are particularly useful for return
mailing of material once it has been examined. An example
is the forwarding and return of cassette tapes to the
blind from a central library. The cassettes may have a
novel recorded on them; and the blind read the novel by
listening to the cassettes. Presently the cassettes are
forwarded and returned in a p]astic box. Such boxes are
bulky and have a very strong snap fastner to keep the box
closed during mail handling. This presents a problem to
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1 the blind and other handicapped people because they have
a great deal of difficulty opening the box.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The mailing pouch according to this invention over-
comes the above identified problems and is readily adapted
for mailing fragile goods which must be returned. The
closure flap for the mailing pouch does not require any
positive fastener means or the like to maintain the pouch
closed during mail handling. The flap structure and the
manner in which it closes the pouch is such that it provides
for ready intended opening of the pouch and the flap is
positioned within the pouch for pouch closure to reduce
chances of the pouch being opened accidentally.
According to an aspect of the invention, the closure
flap for the pouch has a resilient portion associated
therewith which is sufficiently flexible to permit inser-
tion of and withdrawal of the flap into and from the pouch
mouth. The resilient portion is so associated with the
flap to provide substantialini,tial resistance to flap
pull out. Pull tab means is secured to the flap. The
arrangement is such that with the flap tucked into the
pouch mouth, the pull tab is located between the flap
and the adjacent wall of the pouch. The pull tab provides
a hand grasp to overcome initial resistance by the res-
ilient portion to flap pull out to facilitate intended
opening of the pouch.
According to a more detailed aspect of the invention,
the mailing pouch comprises front and back walls joined
at their sides and bottom to define a pouch mouth between
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1 top edges of the front and back walls. A pouch mouth
closure flap with inner and outer surfaces is integral
with one of the pouch walls and has a hinge area at the
juncture of the flap base and pouch wall. The resilient
portion associated with the flap extends from the hinge
area to at least proximate the leading portion of the
flap. The pull tab means is secured to the flap's outer
surface near its leading portion and the tab extends back
towards the flap's base.
The resilient portion associated with the flap has
to be sufficiently flexible to permit insertion and with-
drawal of the flap in closing and opening the pouch. On
opening the pouch, the resi~ie~tportion has to arch or
roll beginning at its base and then extending along its
length while the flap is being withdrawn. The resistance
to flap withdrawal is provided by the resistance the res-
ilient portion has to deforming from its essentially planar
configuration as it lies in the pouch mouth to an arched
or rolled configuration. The degree of stiffness in the
resilient portion therefore determines the degree of res-
istance to flap withdrawal when, as mentioned, the resilient
portion has to be sufficiently flexible to allow opening
and closing of the pouch.
These and other features and advantages of the inven-
tion will become apparent to those skilled in the art in
the following detailed description of various preferred
embodiments of the invention as shown in the drawings
wherein:
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l Figure 1 is a view of the mailing pouch in it's
closed position;
Figures 2 and 3 are views of the mouth of the pouch
of Figure 1 showing the pouch flap at progressive stages
of withdrawal from the pouch mouth;
Figure 4 shows the mouth area of the pouch of Figure
1 where the flap is totally withdrawn;
Figures 5, 6 and 7 illustrate a preferred mode of
making the pouch according to this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE
INVENTION _ _ _
The mailing pouch 10 as shown in Figure 1 is partic-
ularly suitable for use in retvrn mail. The pouch comprises
front and back walls 12 and 14 of thermoplastic sheet
material which is heat sealed around the sides 16, 18 and
the bottom 20 to provide a pouch mouth 22 defined by top
edges 24 and 26 of the front and back walls 12, 14.
The pouch mouth 22 is closed by tucking in the mouth a
closure flap 28 which is integral with the back wall 14.
In order to open the pouch a pull tab 36 is attached to
the flap 28 which facilitates withdrawal of the flap from
the pouch mouth to provide access to the pouch.
On the front wall 12 an area 30 is provided on which
the return address for the material may be permanently
indicated. Centrally of the front wall 12 is an envelope
32 into which a card may be slipped and flap 34 tucked
underneath the card to retain it in the envelope 32. This
card may present through the clear plastic of the envelope
32 the address to which the material is being sent.
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1 Before discussing the various features of the manner
in which the pouch closure flap functions, the following
discussion of a preferred mode of assembling the pouch
should be helpful. Turning to Figures 5, 6 and 7 the
pouch back wall 14 and the pouch flap 28 are formed from
opposing layers of thermoplastic material 38 and 40. A
preferred form of thermoplastic material is polyvinylchlor-
ide having a nylon fabric reinforcing 42. The material
is cut in a manner so that the fabric reinforcing 42
diagonally intersects the edges of the layers 38 and 40
to increase tear resistance along the pouch edges. Sand-
wiched between the layers of material 38 and 40 is foam
material 44 which provides impact or shock ahsorbance for
the contents during mail handing. The foam also serves
to thermally insulate the contents from the cold. A res-
ilient insert 46 is provided between the layers of flap
28. On the outer face of layer 40 a pull tab 36 is loc-
ated. The pull tab 36 in this embodiment consists of a
single stripe of thermoplastic material laid over~`itself
so that once attached to the flap,it provides a loop.
The front wall 12 of the pouch is laid over the back
wall 14, as shown in Figure 6. The front wall 12 consists
of a sheet of material 48 which is the same as that used
in the back wall 14. The sheet 48 is folded upon itself
and sandwiched between it is a layer of foam mat~rial
50. Previously affixed to the front wall 12 is the
mailing envelope 32. To facilitate folding of sheet 48,
a score line 52 is provided mid-way to define a crease.
Upon complete assembly of the pouch, the crease defines
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1 a rim or edge of the pouch opening.
The pouch as assembled is shown in Figure 7. The
layers of material are contacted with a heat sealing unit
so that its rectangular configuration 54 as designated in
dot in Figure 7 is heat sealed in the areas shown to pro-
vide sealed sides 16, 18 and bottom 20. The outline of
the flap is defined by heat seal 56. A hinge area for
the flap is provided by heat seal 58 which isolates the
insulation material 44 from the resilient member 46. The
preferred manner of attaching the pull tab 36 to the outer
surface of the flap involves attachment at the outer heat
seal 56 and at inner arcuate heat seal 60 the shape of
which coinsides with the dished portion 62 of resilient
member 46.
Simultaneously with the heat sealing operation,
shown in Figure 7, the pouch may be dye cut from the
blank portion 54 or the dye cut operation may be a step
separate from that of the heat sealing operation.
The surfaces of the material 38 and 42 may have a
roughened texture which is particularly advantageous in
increasing frictional contact between the outer surface
of flap 28 and the inner surface of the front wall 12
because in combination with the resilient portion 46
resistance to flap pull out is enhansed. The preferred
polyvinylchloride with nylon reinforcing is particularly
suitable for use in returnable mail pouches, due to its
long wearing characteristics, resistance to cracking in
cold weather and ability to withstand several flexing
operations. The resilient insert 46 in the flap 28 may
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353
1 be of any suitable material which is sufficiently flexible
to allow insertion and removal of the flap from the pouch
mouth, retains its resiliency over extended periods of
use such as 10,000 or more flap opening and closures, does
not score or crease readily, and resists cracking in colder
climates. The selection of the thickness and the type of
resilient insert is also dependant upon the size of the
pouch to be made, the length of the flap and the width of
the flap. A preferred type of resilient insert is polye-
thalene which may have a thickness ranging from 20 to 40
thousands of an inch.
The heat sealed portions 56, 58 and 60 closely
resemble the shape of the resilient insert 46. This
ensures that the insert 46 does not move relative to the
flap during opening and closing operations to thereby pro-
vide the initial resistance to flap pull out.
Turning to Figure 2, the pouch 10 contains an item 64
where pull tab 36 is being pulled outwardly in the direction
of arrow 66. The resilient insert 46 in the flap 28 pro-
vides initial resistance to flap pull out. As explained
with respect to Figure 7, the base 68 of the resilient
insert 46 is essentially restricted in its movement along
the flap's length between the flap outer and inner walls
by heat seals 58 and 60. On attempting to pull the tab
36 outwardly, the resilient member 46 as it lies against
heat seal 58 which constitutes the hinge area, resists
being flexed out of its planar or essentially planar pos-
ition as it lies within the pouch mouth. It is therefore
difficult to remove the flap from the pouch however, pull
tab 36 provides a hand grasp to facilitate pulling the
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53
1 flap out by flexing the resilient member into a curved
or arched shape at it's 'ower end in a manner demonstrated
in the area 70. Due to the arched configuration of the
flap, the distance between the points generally designated
72 and 74 decreases. In so doing, this allows the front
wall 12 to bulge outwardly to a greater extent. This
action reduces the resistance to intended flap pull out
as the resilient member 46 flexes over a longer distance.
As the resilient member 46 rolls along the flap's length
there is, in essence, an infinite hinge area formed along
it's length.
Heat seal 60 forms an arcuate juncture of the pull tab
36 to the outer surface of flap 28. This type of attach-
ment distributes the lines of force exerted over the
length of the seal at the connection of tab to flap on
pulling the tab 36 outwardly so that lines of force are
not concentrated at the corners of the pull tab. This
substantially reduces any chance of tearing the pull tab
away from the flap 28 on flap withdrawal. The second heat
seal 56 also provides a double attachment of the pull tab
36 to the flap to more positively secure the tab 36 to the
flap.
The dished portion 62 of the resilient member 46
provides a leading edge 76 as shown in Figure 7 which is
substantially more flexible than the remainder of the
flap. This provides for a flexible lead-in portion of
the flap which is tucked under the edge 24 of the flap
into the pouch mouth.
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1 It can be appreciated`thatwith this type of flap
construction for a mailing pouch, the pouch is closed
with a flap which is positioned internally of the pouch.
This arrangement is not susceptible to accidental pouch
opening due to catching of the flap during handling.
Further there is no need for any positive locking or
fastening means to retain the flap within the pouch which
is particularly advantageous for use in mailing material
to the handicapped. The pull tab 36 with it's looped
portion, allows the insertion of a finger and then by
simply pulling on the tab, the flap can be withdrawn from
the pouch. Due to the properties of the flap 46 the
repeated closing and opening of the pouch does not wear
out or weaken the resilient member's resistance to pouch
opening. Further such pouch closure allows Post Office
inspection of the contents, without breaking any seals.
The length of the pull tab 36 may be such that when
the flap is tucked within the pouch the tab falls short of
edge 24. The pull tab 36 is therefore barely attainable
or is completely hidden underneath the front wall 12,
however a fin~e~ may be inserted between the flap and
the front wall 12 to catch loop 36 and open the pouch.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention,
the width of the resilient insert 46 is narrower than the
width of the back wall 14. This allows a somewhat down-
ward flexing of the back wall in the area 78 as shown in
Figure 2 to-provide for greater mouth expansion in with-
drawing the flap 28 and to facilitate insertion and
removal of the pouch contents.
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1 Other various configurations for the flap 28 may be
provided as would be understood by those sXilled in the
art, where a resilient portion is associated in one manner
or another with the flap so as to be immoveable relative
to the flap in openingand closing the pouch.
Depending upon the flap configuration it is also
understood that a multiple of resilient portions may be
associated with such flap. Such resilient portions would
be located in the flap to function in a manner which pro-
vides the same advantages demonstrated by the resilient
portion discussed and shown in the drawings.
The heat seal line 58 in the bak wall 14 may be
spaced outwardly of the edge of the front wall 12 which
results in the back wall being longer than the front wall.
The distance that it is spaced from the edge 24 of the
front wall should not, however, be greater than the height
or thickness of the contents 64 to be placed in the pouch.
Additionally material may be provided in the areas 80 and
82 as shown in Figure 7 to provide for complete pouch
mouth closure when the flap is tucked within the pouch.
The single score line 58 also enhances the storage of the
pouches because with the flap inserted either in the
pouch or left outwardly, the pouches may be stored flat
to take up minimum space.
Although various features of the preferred embodiments
of the invention have been described herein in detail, it
will be understood that variations may be made thereto
without departing from the spirit of the invention or the
scope of the appended claims.
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