Patent Application
20060266808
The present invention is directed to envelope structures. More particularly, the present invention is directed to envelope structures that are capable of delivering correspondence from a sender to a recipient in a way that allows the recipient to return at least a portion of the correspondence to the sender such as for business reply purposes and the like.
Many companies and private entities use business reply mail to solicit information and responses from the recipients of the business reply mail. As such, business reply mail has a wide variety of uses and is often customized depending upon the needs of the sender. A few examples of the uses for business reply mail are subscription solicitations, information request responses, proxy statement responses, remittance documents (invoices for payment due) and the like. Oftentimes, the business reply mail is provided to recipients as part of a direct mail campaign, an invoice or as a detachable insert in a periodical magazine or newsletter.
The present invention provides envelope structures that can be used for delivering correspondence from a sender to a recipient in a way that easily and efficiently allows the recipient to return at least a portion of the correspondence to the sender. Such envelope structures can be used for business reply functions, for example. An exemplary envelope structure in accordance with the present invention comprises a first envelope having a body portion and a flap portion and a second envelope separably integrated with the first envelope. The envelope structure is designed so that a body portion of the second envelope is separable from the body portion of the first envelope and a flap portion of the second envelope is separable from the flap portion of the first envelope. In use, correspondence can be sent to a recipient with the first envelope. When received, the first envelope can be opened to remove the correspondence and the second envelope can be separated from the first envelope. Any desired portion of the correspondence can then be returned to the sender with the second envelope.
Accordingly, in one aspect of the present invention an envelope structure comprising first and second envelopes is provided. The first envelope comprises an envelope body and a closure flap. The envelope body comprises first and second oppositely facing body panels. The closure flap comprises a first flap portion separable from a second flap portion. The first flap portion is foldably attached to the first body panel. The second flap portion comprises an adhesive region that allows the second flap portion to sealingly mate with a surface of the second body panel of the envelope body to close the envelope body. The second envelope comprises an envelope body and a closure flap. The envelope body of the second envelope is designed to be separable from the first body panel of the first envelope body. The closure flap of the second envelope is designed to be separable from the first flap portion of the closure flap of the first envelope and comprises an adhesive region that allows the closure flap of the second envelope to sealingly mate with a surface of the envelope body of the second envelope to close the second envelope.
In another aspect of the present invention an envelope structure comprising a first envelope having a second envelope removably integrated with the first envelope is provided. A body portion of the second envelope is separable from a panel of a body portion of the first envelope by at least one line of weakness such as a perforation or the like. A flap portion of the second envelope is separable from a flap portion of the first envelope by at least one line of weakness such as a perforation or the like.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method for delivering correspondence from a sender to a recipient in a way that allows the recipient to return at least a portion of the correspondence to the sender is provided. The method comprises providing an envelope structure. The envelope structure comprises a first envelope having a second envelope removably integrated with the first envelope. A body portion of the second envelope is separable from a panel of a body portion of the first envelope by at least one line of weakness such as a perforation or the like. A flap portion of the second envelope is separable from a flap portion of the first envelope by at least one line of weakness such as a perforation or the like. The method also comprises providing correspondence within the first envelope, closing the first envelope with the flap portion of the first envelope, and causing the first envelope to be delivered to a recipient.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of making an envelope structure comprising first and second envelopes is provided. In this envelope structure, the second envelope is functionally separable from the first envelope. The method comprises providing a first envelope, defining a body panel of a body portion of a second envelope with a line of weakness in a body panel of the first envelope, and defining a flap portion of the second envelope with a line of weakness in a flap portion of the second envelope that extends from the body panel of the first envelope.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate several aspects of the invention and together with the description of the embodiments serve to explain the principles of the invention. A brief description of the drawings is as follows:
The envelope structure 10 provides a first envelope 12 comprising an envelope body 16 and a closure flap 18. The envelope body 16 comprises first and second oppositely facing body panels, 20 and 22, that define an interior space 24 of the first envelope 12. The closure flap 18 comprises first and second flap portions, 26 and 28. The first flap portion 26 comprises an adhesive region 27 that can be used to close the envelope body 16 in use and as described in further detail below. The closure flap 18 is designed so that the first flap portion 26 is separable from the second flap portion 28, preferably by a tear strip 30, as shown. Anything that can at least help to cause or at least partially guide a tear for separating the first flap portion 26 from the second flap portion 28 can be used. For example, one or more perforation or otherwise weakened lines or the like can be used. As shown, an end 29 of the tear strip 30 is preferably spaced from an edge 31 of the closure flap 18 thereby creating a bridge portion 33. The tear strip 30 can, however, extend all the way to the edge 31, as a bridge portion is not required. If desired, a similar bridge portion can be used at the opposite side of the tear strip 30. Envelope flaps having bridge portions and the advantages thereof are described in Applicant's co-pending Non-Provisional U.S. Patent Application filed on Feb. 24, 2005 having Serial No. 11/064,791 and entitled “Environmentally Friendly Reusable Envelope Structures.” The disclosure of U.S. patent application having Ser. No. 11/064,791 is fully incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
The envelope structure 10 also includes a second envelope 14 that comprises an envelope body 32 and a closure flap 34. The envelope body 32 of the second envelope 14 comprises first and second oppositely facing body panels 36 and 38. The first body panel 36 is preferably part of at least a portion of the first body panel 20 of the first envelope 12, as shown, and is separable from the first body panel 20 of the first envelope 14 as described below. The second body panel 38 is preferably attached or integrated with the first body panel 36 at edges, 37 and 39, of the envelope body 32 of the second envelope 14 as shown in
As illustrated in
In
In
Referring to
After the second envelope 14 is separated from the first envelope 12, the second envelope 12 can be used to return a portion of the first envelope 12 to the sender. In this way the first and second envelopes, 12 and 14, can function in business reply applications. In this regard, the second envelope 14 may be preaddressed and/or prepaid (postage or the like) for a return trip to the sender.
Reusable envelopes features and methods such as those relating to closure flaps may be used in accordance with the present invention and are disclosed in Applicant's co-pending Non-Provisional U.S. Patent Application filed on Jul. 31, 2003 having Serial No. 10/632,489 and entitled “Environmentally Friendly Reusable Envelope Structures,” Applicant's co-pending Non-Provisional U.S. Patent Application filed on Feb. 24, 2005 having Serial No. 11/064,791 and entitled “Environmentally Friendly Reusable Envelope Structures,” and applicant's pending Provisional U.S. Patent Application filed on Apr. 5, 2005 having Serial No. 60/668,662 and entitled “Reusable Envelope Structures and Methods.” The disclosure of U.S. patent applications having Ser. Nos. 10/632,489, 11/064,791 and 60/668,662 are each fully incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
The present invention has now been described with reference to several embodiments thereof. The entire disclosure of any patent or patent application identified herein is hereby incorporated by reference. The foregoing detailed description and examples have been given for clarity of understanding only. No unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes can be made in the embodiments described without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the structures described herein, but only by the structures described by the language of the claims and the equivalents of those structures.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application having Serial No. 60/685,696, filed May 26, 2005, entitled “ENVELOPE STRUCTURES AND METHODS,” which application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60685696 | May 2005 | US |
