Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 022~1871 1998-10-16
A tearable and re-usable document folder.
The invention relates to a document folder having a front and
a back which are interconnected along their edges and serve to
receive between them a document to be protected and further
having a perforation in at least one of the front and back
faces for tearing the folder and withdrawing the document.
In a known document folder of this kind (EP-A-0 001 180)
having a rectangular outline with longitudinal and transverse
edges, the perforation runs in the middle between the trans-
verse edges and parallel to the same through the front and
back. When the document folder is torn to open it along this
perforation the two resulting halves are alike. They can be
withdrawn, parallel to the longitudinal edges, from a document
or a set of documents contained in the document folder and
they can be used again in order to return the document once it
has been folded accordingly. It is not possible to make use of
one of the halves resulting from the tearing of the original
document folder so as to keep a document, which cannot or must
not be folded, in such a way that it will be largely protected
and yet remain readily accessible.
The need for both extended protection and ready accessibility
exists with many documents which normally cannot or should not
be folded, such as identity cards, credit-cards, cheque cards,
or telephone cards, in particular when they contain a magnetic
strip which must be protected from scratches and contamina-
tion. Protective envelopes for keeping such documents are
known from numerous publications (e.g. US-A-489 125, DE-A-39
00 165, DE-A-39 24 706, DE-U-84 06 865, and DE-U-87 13 212).
Yet none of these document folders are readily suitable for
use as mailing pouches nor do they reveal whether or not the
document contained in them already had been removed once
before. In many cases, however, the recipient of a document
wants to be sure that the document has not been read or used
CA 022~1871 1998-10-16
previously by an unauthorized person. It is obvious that this
applies to personal documents of the most diverse character,
such as identity cards, credit cards, and cheque cards but it
also applies to documents which are available to be purchased
by anyone. Someone buying a telephone card, for example,
wishes to know for sure that the card holds in store the full
value of the purchase price he or she paid for it. And even to
prevent one's own confusion, it may be useful to keep a tele-
phone card or the like in a closed document folder until the
need arises for its use because the previous one is spent.
It is the object of the invention to design a document folder
such that, when closed, it will offer protection of a document
or set of documents it contains against external influences as
well as unauthorized or inadvertent usage and that, upon
opening, it will continue to be a protective envelope against
external influences and, at the same time, permit ready re-
moval of the document or set of documents when the need
arlses .
Starting from a document folder of the kind specified initi-
ally, this object is met, in accordance with the invention, by
having the perforation placed near one of the edges and formed
with a recessed section which faces in the direction of the
opposite edge and, upon tearing, presents a recessed grip.
When opened for the first time, the document folder according
to the invention thus is converted into a-protective envelope
which can be used for the whole duration of the document or
set of documents it encloses. If the front and back are pro-
vided with a perforation each, it is convenient to tear both
perforations at the same time and to discard the strip re-
leased by this opening action. Yet the invention also embraces
document folders wherein only one of the two faces mentioned
has a perforation. Such a document folder may be opend by
tearing along the perforation provided in the front, for in-
stance. This is accomplished by bending backwards the marginal
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CA 022~1871 1998-10-16
strip which is defined the perforation and which stays linked
to the back of the document folder.
The document folder according to the invention may be develop-
ed further in that its front and back each include a marginal
strip extending beyond the perforation and not being divided
by the same and that the front comprises an adhesive flap
which is contiguous with and set off against its marginal
strip by a folded edge and glued to the marginal strip of the
back when the folder is closed.
Documents within the meaning of the invention are understood
to be articles of different nature which normally are placed
in a flat pouch or folder. That includes not only cards of the
kind mentioned but also such things as compact discs.
Document folders according to the invention preferably are
made of thin cardboard or of paper which will resist tearing.
They may also consist, for instance, of transparent film ma-
terial.
Embodiments of the invention will be described in greater de-
tail below. In the drawings:
~ig. 1 shows the developed projection of a first document
folder according to the invention;
Fig. 2 shows the same document folder in closed condition;
Fig. 3 shows the same document folder when opened by tear-
ing;
Fig. 4 shows the developed projection of another document
folder according to the invention.
The document folder as shown in figs. 1 to 3 comprises a front
10 with a left longitudinally oriented edge 12, in the select-
ed presentation, an upper transversely oriented edge 14, a
right longitudinally oriented edge 16, and a lower trans-
versely oriented edge 18 as well as a back 20 with a longi-
tudinally oriented edge 22 which coincides with the right lon-
CA 022~1871 1998-10-16
gitudinally oriented edge 16 of the front 10, an upper trans-
versely oriented edge 24, another longitudinally oriented edge
26, and a lower transversely oriented edge 28.
A perforation 30 formed in the middle with an approximately
semicircular section 32 recessed towards the lower transverse
edge 18 extends between the two longitudinal edges 12 and 16
of the front 10, spaced from and below the upper transverse
edge 14 to which it is essentially parallel. This perforation
30 partitions a main portion of the front 10 from an upper
marginal strip 34. The upper transverse edge 14 is folded and
links the upper marginal strip 34 to an upper adhesive flap
36. The front 10 is formed with two more adhesive flaps 38
which are contiguous with the left longitudinal edge 36 and
the lower transverse edge 18, respectively, in the embodiment
illustrated in figs. 1 to 3.
The back 20 has a perforation 40 the arrangement of which cor-
responds with the perforation 30, and it includes a recessed
section 42 like the former. By this perforation 40, also the
back 20 thus is provided with an upper marginal strip 44.
The front 10, including its adhesive flaps 36 and 38 as well
as the back 20 are punched in one piece from cardboard, they
are connected along their coinciding longitudinal edges 16 and
22 which present a fold. It is along this fold that the front
10 and back 20 are folded together. Subsequently, also the ad-
hesive flaps 38 are bent over along the edges 12 and 18, like-
wise presenting a fold, and then they are bonded to the back
20. The resulting document folder which continues to be open
only at the top may now receive a document which is to be pre-
served or mailed in closed state. Such a document is slipped
from the top into the document folder. And, finally, the upper
adhesive flap 36 is folded over and likewise bonded to the
back 20. In this manner the completely closed document folder
is obtained, as demonstrated in fig. 2.
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When the document folder is to be opened, one holds the main
portions of the front 10 and back 20 by one hand and, with the
other hand, one pulls at the marginal strips 34 and 44 which
form a rather stiff upper border together with the upper ad-
hesive flap 36 which was folded over, the thickness now being
three times that of the cardboard or the like from which they
are made. Due to the stiffness of this border, it is easy to
tear the document folder simultaneously along both perfora-
tions 30 and 40 so as to open it, the two perforations being
congruent in the embodiment shown. Tearing not only will open
the document folder but also provide a recessed grip 46 at
which the document contained in the document folder may be
grasped and pulled out.
Fig. 4 illustrates another blank of material from which a
document folder of the same size as shown in figs. 1 to 3 may
be obtained by folding and bonding. As shown in fig. 4, the
front 10 is joined to and formed in one piece with the back 20
along the lower longitudinal edge 18. Accordingly, each of the
two longitudinal edges 12 and 16 of the front 10 has its own
associated adhesive flap 38. These adhesive flaps are glued to
the back 20 as soon as the latter has been bent over along the
lower transverse edge 18 of the front 10 and folded together
with the front.
Both embodiments shown may be varied by first placing the
document to be wrapped on the blank of material as illustrated
in fig. 1 or fig. 4 and then folding over all the adhesive
flaps 36 and 38 and finally positioning the back 20 on top so
that the adhesive flaps 36 and 38 will come to lie within the
resulting document folder which already is closed.
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