Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FA.~Y-OPF.~nn~G F.~ VFT OPF.
Terhnir~l Fiekl
The hl~cllLioll relates to easy-c*,~,~ing envelopes of the sort Colll~liSi~ an
o~el~g strip allowing easy openillg of the envelope.
5 R~r~;~).o.~ rt
It is known to provide envelopes with an o~c;nillg strip, for PY~mple of plastics
or cotton material, which extends along a fold line of the envelope, and which can be
used to tear along the fold line to which it is ~tt~rh~-(l in order to open the envelope. It
is also known to provide a line of pe~rulaLions across one corner of the envelope, from
o one edge of the envelope to an ~ r~ont edge, in order to allow the corner of the
envelope to be torn away when opening the envelope. The o~lling strip is ~tt~rh~1 to
the corner of the envelope to be torn away, so that once the corner has been torn away
the corner acts as a tab which allows the user to hold one end of the c~elPillg strip, and
to pull the l;~e.l,llg strip in order to open the envelope.
Such an a~ e~ .I suffers from a ll.Jlllbel of disadvantages. In particular,
the fact that the corner tab is ~tt~rhPfl to the rest of the envelope only by means of the
p~,~rolal~d line results in the corner of the envelope being weak and vulnerable to
damage. In the worst case, the corner tab may be bent during the transit of the
envelope, and may become s~alalt;d or partially ~palal~d from the rest of the
20 envelope before the envelope reaches its r1~ostin~tinn-
A further disadvantage is that the c~ ntente of the envelope may become~m~e~ when the envelope is opened. In particular, if part of the colltt;llL~ of the
envelope lies within the corner portion of the envelope which defines said corner tab,
then the COIlL~ of the envelope may be inad~,.,.lt;llLly torn when the corner tab of the
25 envelope is torn away.
The invention seeks to provide an easy-opening envelope which o~r~ llles at
least some of the above di~ allL~ges.
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nicr1osllre of I. . ~ ;ol-
Accoldillg to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an easy~ ~u~
envelope c-....l.. ;~i.~g a front face, a rear face, a closure flap, and an o~el~ strip;
the front face having a plurality of edges at which the front face is conn~oct~ to
5 the rear face or the closure flap;
the ~e~ strip ~ J~I;IIg along, and being ~tt~.h.o(~ to, a first one of said
edges;
and a further one of said edges a~ r~nt to said first edge being provided with
a line of weakness which extends inwardly from said further edge but does not extend
10 to any of the other of said edges, said line of weakness being arranged so that a user
can open the envelope by first ~la~ lg a portion of the envelope b~Lwc;ell said line of
weakness and said first edge, and then pulling along the direction of said first edge so
that the envelope tears from said line of weakness to said first edge to form a tab which
sep~al~;s from the rest of the envelope but l~:lllai~ ~tt~ .o-l to the o~ lillg strip, so that
15 as the user pulls the tab the o~.;..g strip tears open said first edge of the envelope.
It will be a~ .cia~d that, because the line of weakness extends inwardly from
only one edge of the envelope, the envelope is of hllle..,.lLly ~L,ollgeL design than prior
art envelopes of the ype described above.
Preferably, said line of weakness is formed by a collLi.,uuus slit which extends20 inwardly from said further edge.
; vt:ly, said line of weakness can be formed, at least in part, by
p~lrolalions in the m~t~ri~l of the envelope.
Advantageously, the front and rear faces are glued, or oLl,e.~vise adhered,
log~Lllc. in the region of the envelope flefining said tab, so that said tab is provided with
25 greater :jLIuLlulal hlL~liLy once it has been torn away from the rest of the envelope.
The invention in~ es within its scope both envelopes made from col,v~ ;on~l
m~t~ri~le, such as paper and card, and envelopes made from plastics m~t~-ri~l.e such as
plastics courier packs.
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If t_e envelope is made from a plastics mafPri~l, said further edge of t_e
envelope is preferably formed by a welded seam, and said line of weaknPss is
preferably formed by t~ g the welded seam in a direction away from said fu~rtheredge.
Said line of weakness is COllvcl~llly located i~.,.,.~(l;,-l~ly ~tljarent to said first
edge, so that the tab is formed by tearing a small portion of the envelope away from a
corner of the envelope.
In one embodiment of the invention, said line of weakness is ~ lly
straight and extends generally parallel with said first edge.
The upC~lg strip is conveniently formed from a plastics m~t~rial
The c~,n~ strip can extend along any edge of the envelope. However, in t_e
case of an envelope formed from paper or card, it h-as been found particularly
CUll~rCllie~ll to place the ~e~.ng strip along a side edge of the envelope, so t-h-at it
extends from the closure flap to the bottom of the envelope, and to form said line of
we~kn~ sO that it extends inwardly from a fold line formed bclwcen the front face of
the envelope and the closure flap.
In the case of a plastics envelope, it has been found collvcl'ie~'l to position the
opelmlg strip along a bottom fold line of the envelope, opposite the closure flap.
The hlvc.llioll iS particularly suitable for high security, tamper-proof
envelopes. In particular, the closure flap can be provided with a very strong a&esive
which ensures that the closure flap cannot be opened willloul ~amaging the envelope.
In such a case, there is no way of u~e~ing the envelope willluul the addressee of the
envelope being aware that the envelope has been opened.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided an easy-
25 ~cl~n~ envelope c~l;~i.,g front and rear faces, a closure flap for sealing the
envelope, and an opc"ing strip ;~ 1 to the envelope and adapted to tear a line
through a portion of the envelope in order to open the envelope,
WllCl~ a tab portion of the envelope, to which the opcnillg strip is also
att~rh~o~l, is adapted to be torn away by the user when UpCllill~ the envelope in order to
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form a tab which l~hls~ rllfsd to the upe~g strip, and which the user can grasp in
order to pull the o~e~ g strip so as to tear the optn~ll~ strip through the envelope,
and wh~,r~ill the envelope further c~ s viewing means located in the
viCil~ily of the tab portion, said viewing means being adapted to allow the user to view
inside the envelope in the vicinity of the tab portion in order to ensure that the collL~ll~
of the envelope do not become ~l~m~ge-l when the tab portion is torn away by the user
in order to open the envelope.
Cc,llv~l~lllly, said viewing means is formed orily in one face of the envelope.
In the .~implP~t case, the viewing means comprises an a~ , such as a
circular hole, formed in at least one face of the envelope at or ?.~j~rPnt the tab portion.
~llrJ~ lively~ at least one face of the envelope is provided with a l'~ C11
portion located at or ~lljarPnt the tab portion.
In the case where the viewing means is formed in only one face of the
envelope, it is desirable for the other face of the envelope to be coloured on the inside
15 at least at the position col~ olldil,g to the viewhlg means so that the colour bec~,.,lPx
visible when none of the ClJIIIr"lX of the envelope are located beneath the viewing
means. The colour is desirably any colour except white, but is preferably a ~lixl;ll~-livl;
colour, such as red.
It will be a~ ciated that this feature provides an envelope which is
2c particularly collv~l~iellL to use. When the envelope is l~:ceiv~d by an addressee, the
addressee simply looks through the viewing means in order to asc~,~,dill wheLllcl the
colour is visible. If the colour is not visible, the addressee simply taps the envelope so
that the COllL~llL~ of the envelope move away from the Yit~Willg means, and then tears
away the tab portion in order to open the envelope.
I'rcr~lably, the viewing means covers only a very small portion of the
envelope, so that the confi~lPnti~lity of the contents of the envelope is l..~
Ful~ . ,o.~:, the viewing means is plc:r~ldbly Inr:-tt~l, at leastpartially, within
the tab portion, ~lthml~h other locations are possible, ;I~rl.l.lillg for PY~mrlP
immPAi~tPly ~rlj~rPnt the tab portion.
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Advantageously, the front and rear faces are glued, or oll~wise adhered,
logc~ at said tab portion, so that said tab is provided with greater ~llu~;luldl i lleg.iLy
once it has been torn away from the rest of the envelope.
It should be a~ cià~d that the r~,alu-es of the first and second aspects of the
invention can be co,-,l..,.ed in a single envelope, and the invention inrh~(les within its
scope any such co~ dlion of r~,alu.~,s.
An ~-l(litilm~l aspect of the invention aims to provide a tear open envelope
hlcvl~vldlillg a tear strip or line which facilitates rapid access to the contents of the
envelope without .1,..,.~ ;..g the contents thereof. Said ~ltliti~m~l aspect of the invention
10 resides broadly in an envelope assembly having a stick~own closure flap which may be
folded over and adhered to an ~ r~nt wall panel to seal the envelope, said envelope
having a portion thereof adapted to be gripped by a user, said portion having a flexible
line ...~...hel secured thereto and ~xlr~ p from said portion across and being secured
t,o said e~ 'v~e~ s~d p~E~ be~h~t;~ frvm saiv envelop~ to pe~nit ~aizl lme
lllt;lllbCl to open the envelope. The line ...~-..h~l may be retained by an adhesive
applied over the ...~-..1-., and ~ ce~.l portion of the envelope or it may be coated with
an adhesive ~ rte~l to adhere the flexible line m-omher to the envelope at a fold line if
desired. The line ...~...he, may extend along the fold line bt:lw~ell the stick-down
closure flap and lc~ r of the envelope or may extend along a side fold in the
envelope. Preferably a slit is provided in the envelope to f~rilit~t~ clet~rhm~nt of the
tear-off portion. The slit may extend down from the top edge of the envelope through
the closure flap and o~osil~ panel of the envelope. ,Al~r~ ;vc;ly, the slit may extend
inwardly from one side edge of the envelope. If desired, portion of the envelope may
be w~k~-nP~l such as by providing pelrv.alions to f~rilit~t~ ~lefiniti~m of the tear-off
portion. The slit suitably extends to or ~ r~nt said we~k~n~1 portion. In an
~lf~ ive form, the slit may extend from a edge of the envelope flap to ;..~ ecl the
line of pc;lrV.alions which are also formed in that flap. The envelope is preferably
provided with a glue zone which enables the flap to be adhered to the ~~ Aer of the
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envelope and the slit may extend through the glue zone to a line of pc.ro-alions ~ r;..;.,~
the tear-off portion.
Rrirf ne:.c~ ion of nl~w;-
~
F~cÇ~lcd embo.l;..~ of the invention will now be ~Psr~ihe~l by way of6 t Y;~ e only, with .crc~ lce to the accolllpallyh~ wi~, in which:
Figure 1 is a view of the rear of an envelope c~ a first embodiment of
the hlvcllLion;
Figure 2 is a similar view to Figure 1, showing a second embodiment of the
illvcllLioll;
Figure 3 shows the rear face of a plastics courier pack, c~ .. l;.. g a thirdembodiment of the invention; and
Figures 4 to 7 show ~clditic)n~l embo-lim~ntc of the invention.
Rrqt Modes for (~rryir~ Out thr Inve~tion
R~r~ to Figure 1, an easy-opening envelope 2 is shown which co...~ es a
rear face 4, a closure flap 6, and a front face (not visible in the figure). The rear face 4
is joined to the front face by means of a fold line 8 which extends along a first side 10
of the envelope. The rear face 4 is c~..nP~k(l to the front face at the second side 12 of
the envelope by means of a side strip 14 which is formed by folding a portion of the
front face over the rear face 4. The side strip 14 is glued to the rear face 4.
At the bottom edge 16 of the envelope the rear face 4 is ~tt~rhP~l to the front
face by means of a bottom strip 18. Like the side strip 14, the bottom strip 18 is also
formed from a folded portion of the front face, and is glued to the rear face 4.The top edge 20 of the envelope is formed from a top fold line 22 b~,Lwccll the
front face and the closure flap 6. The ~ P of the closure flap 6 is provided with
an a&esive which is covcled by a removable strip 24. In order to seal the envelope,
the user peels away the removable strip 24 in order to expose the a&esive and then
presses the closure flap 6 against the rear face 4. In order to provide the envelope with
a high degree of Scculi~y, the a&esive on the closure flap 6 is ~rli~ ly strong to
ensure that the closure flap 6 cannot be opened without tearing the m~tPri~l of either ehe
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rear face 4 or the closure flap 6. The two faces of the envelope and the closure flap 6
are formed from paper or card which tears if an attempt to open the closure flap 6 is
made after the envelope has been sealed.
The manner in which the envelope is ~lecignf~l to be opened will now be
tles~ ~ ;l,e-l A plastics strip (not visible in the figure) extends along the second side 12
of the envelope. The plastics strip is glued to the inside of the envelope along a fold
line 13 formed belw~cll the front face and the side strip 14. At the top of the fold line
13 a small slit 26 extends ~ c~ rly from the top fold line 22. The slit 26 is a
contimlos slit, which extends through the material of the front face, the closure flap 6
and the side strip 14. However, the slit 26 does not extend all the way to the tapered
edge 28 of the closure flap 6.
The corner 30 of the envelope ~ rf~nt the slit 26 is adapted to form a
removable tab portion 32 belwccn the slit 26 and the fold line 13. At the tab portion 32
a small amount of a&esive is placed belwccn the front and rear faces, thus el~ gthat the tab portion 32 rclllai~ intact when the envelope is opened. In order to open
the envelope, the addressee grasps the tab portion 32 and pulls dowll~ards along the
direction of the second side 12 so that the material of the envelope tears from the
bottom end of the slit 26 across to the fold line 13 of the envelope.
It will be a~plecialed that, because the plastics o~c....~ strip is adhered along
zo the entire length of the fold line 13, the plastics OLJCnillg strip lclllai~7~tt~rh~ to the
tab 32 even when the tab 32 has been torn away from the rest of the envelope. The tab
32 thus enables the addressee to pull the end of the plastics ~enill~ strip so that the
plastics O~JC~'i.lg strip tears along ~,..h"~ lly the whole length of the fold line 13.
In order to make clear to the addressee that the envelope is intf~nfl~-tl to be
z5 opened in this f~hion, a small arrow 34 is printed on the closure flap 6. The arrow 34
Coll~ills the words "TEAR AND PULL".
It will be a~ ,cia~d that the provision of a l~,lalivcly small slit 26 eXIr~ ;"gfrom the top fold 22 of the envelope is particularly cc,ll~.,nicllL and simple to
m~mlf~rtllre, and results in an envelope of greater ~ ;Lulal hlk~ y than an envelope
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in which a ~ r(JldLcd line extends all the way between the top fold line 22 and the fold
line 13.
The envelope shown in Figure 2 is iri.-nfir~l to that of Figure 1 (the same
.c:r~ ce numerals being used to i~ like parts) except for the provision of a~.. ,r.lll~d hole 40 in the side strip 14 at a location just below the tab portion 32. The
hole 40 is formed only in the strip 14, and does not extend through the front face of the
envelope. However, the inside of the front face of the envelope is provided with a
circular red spot 42 which is of the same size as the hole 40, and located immpfli~tely
below the hole 40.
o It will be ~ ciated that the provision of the punched hole 40 and the red spot
42 enables the addressee to check whether any of the contents of the envelope would be
rl~m~ged by tearing away the tab portion 32. If the addressee, on looking through the
punched hole 40, finds that the red spot 40 is obscured by any of the contents of the
envelope, the addressee simply taps the envelope so as to move the collLecllL~ away from
the tab 32, before ~iocee~ing to open the envelope in the manner described above.
Figure 2 shows only one embodiment of the invention, and other arr~ngem~-ntc
are of course possible. For e~r~mrle, instead of the punched hole 40, the envelope can
be provided with a llal~cllL portion located at or near the tab portion 32.
Figure 3 shows a plastics courier pack 50 which comprises a rear face 52, a
closure flap 54, and a front face (not visible in the figure) from which the closure flap
54 extends. The rear face 52 is co....P~ d to the front face by a fold line 56 which
extends along the bottom of the envelope, and by two welded seams 58 and 60, which
extend along the sides of the envelope. An adhesive strip 62 extends along the inside
surface of the closure flap 54 for use in sealing the envelope.
The courier pack shown in Figure 3 is de~i~n~d to be opened in a similar
al~el to the envelopes described above. However, in this case, a plastics opening
strip (not visible in the figure) is provided along the fold line 56 at the bottom of the
envelope. A line of weakness 68 extends inwardly from the welded seam 60 in order to
form a tab portion 70. The line of weakness 68 is formed by ~YI~n.l;ng the welded
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_ g
seam 60 inwardly. The line of weakness 68 can be either a continuous slit or simply a
line of we~k~nl-(l plastics material. In either case, the envelope is opened by tearing the
tab portion 70 away from the rest of the envelope in order to tear the plastics opc,~
strip along the fold line 56 in a manner similar to that described above.
In order to ensure that the contents of the envelope are not ~m~gec~ when the
tab portion 70 is torn away, the rear face 52 of the envelope is provided with aLl~a~ L portion 72, which is integrally formed with the rest of the rear face 52. In
the embodiment shown in Figure 3, only the rear face 52 is provided with a Ll~l~a~ L
portion. However, other embo~lim~ont~ of the invention are possible in which both the
o front and rear faces are provided with Llal~alcllL portions.
In the embo~limrnt of Figure 3, the inside of the front face of the envelope is
provided with a coloured region (not shown) beneath the Lldl~alcllL portion 72 in order
to make it easier for the addressee to ascertain whtLllel any of the contents of the
envelope are located within the region of the Llal~~ .lL portion 72. The coloured
region is preferably of a bright tli~tinrtive colour, such as red.
The folcgoing describes only ~lef~lcd embo-lim~nt~ of the invention, and
mn-lifir~tinn~, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without the
departing from the scope of the invention.
Rcr~.~,.lce will now be made to Figures 4 to 7 which illustrate ~rlrliti~m~l
embo~ of the invention.
As shown in Figure 4, the envelope 10 is of conventional form and inrl~ rs a
closure flap 65 adapted to fold along a fold line 64 to seal the envelope by adhesion to
the back panel 62 of the envelope 10. The flap 65 inrl~ s an adhesion zone 61
rxlr.~-li..g subst~nti~lly the full length of the flap 65 and ~ rent the lower edge
thereof.
A grippable tab 67 is defined in the back flap 65 beLwccl. a line of pc.~ldLions63 which extends along the fold line 64 of the back flap 65 and a CullvcLgillg line of
.JldLions 66 which extends to the edge of the flap 65. As shown, the slit 69 extends
through the glue line 61 to the line of ~,.Çu,aLions 66. A thread or line ,l,c,.lbel 70 is
: =
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a&ered to the ~le of the flap 65 and extends along or ~ r~nt the fold line 64.
The thread or line ,~l-F~ 70 is preferably adhered along the line 64 by an a&esive.
One end 71 of the thread or line ~ mbel 70 extends away from the fold line 64 tooverlie the tab 67 to which it is a&ered by adhesive. ~ f ;v~ly, the thread 70 may
extend fully along the fold line 64 and be retained to the tab 67 by the glue carried by
the thread or line 70. The a&esive or glue along the line 70 may be at spaced
positions or continuously along the line 70. This ~l,.ll~rlll~ ensures that when a
user's fingers are pushed under the tab 67, it tears away cleanly from the back flap 65,
either along the lines of ~elru.dliolls 63 and 66 or along the line 63 the slit 69 and line
0 66. When the tab 67 is (i~t~rh.oA, and pulled upwardly the thread 70 rips through the
upper edge of the flap 65 along the fold line 64 to open the envelope 10. Of course,
the thread 70 may extend along a side edge of the envelope 10 to effect opening of the
side thereof.
Rert..illg now to Figures S to 7 there is illustrated a further form of envelope20 according to the invention having a closure flap 21 which may be a&ered to the
back flap 22 of the envelope by means of a convention~l a&esive along a glue line 23
shown in dotted outline. A tearable tab 24 is defined in the envelope 20 by a slit 25
which extends dO~/vll~aldly from the top edge of the envelope. The slit 25iS formed in
the flap 21 and the front panel 26 of the envelope. A line lllelllbel 27 extends down
20 one side flap 28 of the envelope 20 being secured thereto by a&esives. The line
member 27iS also secured to the removable portion 24. The slit 25 may extend to lines
of ~c:lÇOlaLiOllS 29 which extend both through the closure flap 21 and panel 26.,~ltlition~lly, an aligned line of pc:lr~,ldLions 30 may be provided in the end flap 28 and
the slit 25 may also extend through the end flap 28.
For o~e~lg of the envelope, the portion 24 may be grasped and torn away in
the direction of the arrow in Figure 5. This ~let~rh~os the portion 24 from the envelope
along the slit 25 and lines of p~,~r~aLions 29. This then allows the envelope to be
opened by means of the line ...~...k, ~ 27 which will serve to rip the end of the envelope
CA 02220l73 l997-ll-26
WO ~ f '38 -1 1 PCT/AU96/00323
open. In some cases, it is not n~oceC~ to incorporate the line of pclrul_lions 29 as the
portion 24 may be simply ripped from the end of the envelope.
In an ~ AI;V~ allAn~ a slit 31 may be provided in an edge of the
envelope as shown on the right hand side of Figure ~ cent the upper corner. The
slit 31 may define a tear-away portion 32 and a line m~mhPr 33 shown in dotted outline
may be adhered to the portion 32. Again the slit 31 which extends through the front
panel 26, the flap 23 and end flap 28' may i"L~ ecL a line of p~.roldlions 34 which
extends to the upper edge of the envelope.
The envelope then may be opened by gripping the portion 32 and pulling it
upwardly to detach it from the remAin~1~r of the envelope and thereby effect opening of
the envelope by means of the line member 33. The line member 33 may be cotton,
plastics or any other material and may be adhered along the length of the fold line
from, either at the top of the envelope or at the side. The portion of the envelope along
which the line 33 or 27 extends may be weAk~n.od by means of lines of perforations to
facilitate opening.
Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative embodiment of the
invention, all such mntlifir~tionc and variations thereto as would be a~drc;lll to persons
skilled in the art are ~eem~d to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as
herein set forth.
