ECCENTRIC Z-FOLD MAILER WITH NESTING CAPABILITIES

FEUILLET PUBLIPOSTAL EN ACCORDEON

English Abstract

ABSTRACT
A mailer comprises a sheet having front and rear
surfaces and top, bottom and side edges. First and second fold
lines are located between and parallel to the top and bottom
edges, an address area is located between the top edge and the
second fold line, and a text area is located between the first
fold line and the bottom edge. The distance between the top
edge and the second fold line is substantially less than the
distance between the first and second fold lines. Strips of
adhesive are disposed on the front surface adjacent the side
edges between the bottom edge and first fold line, and on the
rear surface adjacent the side edges between the top edge and
the second fold line. The arrangement is such that the sheet
may be Z-folded to place the text area on the inside and the
address area on the outside of the mailer, and when activated,
the strips of adhesive will seal the mailer along the side
edges.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A mailer comprising a sheet having front and rear
surfaces and having top, bottom and side edges, first and
second fold lines located between and parallel to the top and
bottom edges, an address area between the top edge and the
second fold line, a text area between the first fold line and
the bottom edge, the distance between the top edge and the
second fold line being substantially less than the distance
between the first and second fold lines, strips of adhesive on
the front surface adjacent the side edges between the bottom
edge and the first fold line, strips of adhesive on the rear
surface adjacent the side edges between the top edge and the
second fold line, the arrangement being such that the sheet may
be Z-folded to place the text area on the inside and the
address area on the outside of the mailer, and when activated
the strips of adhesive will seal the mailer along the side
edges.
2. A mailer as in Claim 1 and further including a strips
of adhesive on the front surface of the sheet adjacent the
bottom edge, to seal the bottom edge of the mailer when the
adhesive is activated.
3. A mailer as in Claim 1 or 2 and further including a
strip of adhesive on the rear surface of the sheet adjacent the
top edge, to further seal the top edge of the mailer when the
glue is activated.
4. A mailer as in Claim 2 wherein one or more inserts
are nested within the mailer between the bottom edge and the
fold lines.

Description

`~ 1 3236 1 6
.~, 1
Thls lnventlon relates to mallers produced from a
. ,.
rectangular (or square) sheet, and partlcularly to such mallers
produced by Z-foldlng such sheet.
Others have earller thought to provlde mallers by
foldlng over sheets of paper ln varlous ways, see Unlted States
Patents to Klrchof 3,352,481~ to Draemel 894,124~ to Zabek
1,794,223 and to Krohn 2,77~,63~. However, none of these
approach the eccentrlc Z-fold conflguratlon of the present
lnventlon. Unlted StateQ Patents to Hardle 1,803,704 and to
Hanson 3,152,800 do lnvolve Z-fold conflguratlons, but lack
lmportant features of the present lnvention. Hardle has a full
length thlrd flap, and requlres slde flaps for securlng the
maller together. Hanson not only has a full length thlrd flap,
but two addltlonal longltudlnal flaps as well.
ln a broad aspect, the lnventlon resldes ln a maller
comprlslng a sheet havlng front and rear surfaces and havlng
top, bottom and slde edges, flrst and second fold llnes located
between and parallel to the top and bottom edge~, an address
area between the top edge and the second fold llne, and a text
area between the flrst fold llne and the bottom edge, the
. dlstance between the top edge and the second fold llne belng
substantlally less than the dlstance between the flrst and
second fold llnes. Strlps of adheslve are dlsposed on the
front surface ad~acent the slde edges between the bottom edge
and the flrst fold llne, and on the rear surface ad~acent the
side edges between the top edge and the second fold llne. The
arrangement ls such that the sheet may be Z-folded to place the
text area on the lnslde and the address area on the outslde of
the maller, and when actlvated, the strlps of adheslve wlll
seal the maller along the slde edges.
An lllustratlve embodlment of the present lnventlon

~ 1 3236 1 6
- 2 -
.
,~ will next be provided, with reference to accompanying drawings
in which,
Figure 1 is a view of the front side of a sheet from
which the mailer is constructed.
Figure 2 is a view of the rear surface of the sheet
of Figure 1, turned over from left to right.
Figure 3 shows the mailer which results from the Z-
folding of the sheet of Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 4 is an isometric view of the sheet of Figures
1 and 2 in the folding process, and with a nested insert in place.
Referring to the drawings, the mailer 10 is made up
of a sheet of paper 12 having a top edge 14, a bottom edge 16,
, a side edge 18 and a side edge 20. Detachable margins 22 with
i
tractor holes 24 therein may be used for handling in automated
processing equipment.
.~.,,
As the mailer is formed the first step will be print-
ing on the front surface (Figure 1). Address information will be
printed on a top area 26, while text information will be printed
on a mid-area 28 and on a bottom area 30. This printing may be
done by a computerized variable printing process if desired.
~ The next step in forming the mailer will be to place
! strips of heat seal adhesive on the paper 12. Strips 32, 34
and 36 are placed along the borders of the front surface of
' the bottom area 30, as shown in Figure 1. Strips 38 and 40 are
' placed at the sides of the rear surface of top area 26, as
`~ shown in Figure 2. Also, a strip of adhesive 41 may be placed
(but, not required) on the rear surface along the top edge.
It will be understood that the strips of adhesive
adjacent the respective side edges may be placed anywhere along
.,
,

_ 3 _ 1323616
the edges so long as there will be adequate adhesive to properly
seal the mailer when completed to satisfy users and postal
authorities. In other words, the adhesive may be intermittent,
such as dots. When "strip" of adhesive is used in the appended
claims such intermittent coverage is included.
To facilitate opening of the mailer, as described
hereinafter, lines of weakening (perforation lines) 42, 44, 46,
48 and 50 are provided.
Figure 3 shows the mailer folded and ready for
10 mailing. The manner of folding is shown in Figure 4. There
are two folds, one along line 52, and the other along line 54.
The directions of folding are shown by the arrows in Figure 4.
The top area 26 of the mailer is substantially of
less height than the areas 28 and 30 (which are of equal height).
~ The height of the top area need only be enough for receiving
J address information and to meet postal specifications.
' If the lines of weakness 42, 44, 46, 48 and 50 are
created in the sheet 12, the envelope may be opened by the user
tearing off the marginal regions. The usual legend, "To Open
20 Tear Along Dotted Line" may be printed along the vertical mar-
gins of the completed mailer, albeit in that case some printing
would be necessary on the rear surface of the sheet 12.
It will be noted that the mailer 10 is constructed
from a rectangular (or square) sheet of paper, with no need for
special cutting to provide side flaps. All of the adhesive
strips lie along the edges of the sheets, rather than being
on side flaps or the like.
Upon reading the foregoing disclosure various other
embodiments of the invention will occur to others. Therefore,
30 the scope of the invention is to be determined from the appended
claims.

Representative Drawing