Special service envelope and a method for mailing a mailpiece requiring a special service

A system for mailing an article requiring special services and a method for forming a mailpiece having an interior for carrying an article requiring special services are provided. The system includes an integrally formed envelope and form constructed from a single sheet and folded and sealed in such a way that one portion of the assembly provides an envelope and the other portion provides a return postcard for attachment to the envelope in its assembled position. The parts are integrally formed, but removably attached, such that the return postcard remains attached to the envelope until received by the addressee upon which the return postcard may be removed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention generally relates to a combined form and envelope for 
mailing an article requiring special services. More specifically, the 
present invention relates to a combined form and envelope for mailing an 
article requiring special services wherein a form or return postcard is 
attached to the envelope prior to assembly or formation of the mailpiece 
including the form and the envelope. 
It is, of course, generally known to mail an article requiring special 
services for delivery of the article, such as certified mail, registered 
mail, insured mail, COD, return receipt for merchandise and the like. 
Known components and methods for assembling a mailer for mailing an 
article requiring special services have multiple, separate components 
requiring attachment to an exterior of an envelope for the special 
services delivery of the article. 
For example, when a customer of the U.S. Postal Service requires an article 
to be mailed by certified mail, for example, an envelope containing the 
article is provided to the postal employee by the customer. The postal 
employee is then required to attach or otherwise provide the envelope with 
a permanent seal or label indicating that the envelope requires delivery 
by certified mail. 
Then, a return postcard requiring attachment to the envelope, must be 
completed by the postal employee and/or the customer mailing the envelope 
containing the article. Some postcards include areas having an adhesive 
for attachment of the postcard to the envelope. Other postcards require 
separate attachment, such as using tape, for example. 
Such a procedure is both complex and time-consuming, as well as labor 
intensive. The procedure requires the postal employee to ensure that all 
of them appropriate labels and documents are affixed to the envelope prior 
to delivery of the article. Therefore, the appropriate forms, labels and 
the like must be adequately stocked and available for the postal employee. 
Further, the postal employee must ensure that all articles are 
appropriately affixed to the envelope. In addition, the return postcard 
must be suitably affixed such that the return postcard is not removed 
during the mailing of the article to its destination. Of course, it should 
be understood that an envelope being prepared for special service mailing 
may be prepared by any individual, not just a postal employee. 
A need, therefore, exists for an improved method for assembling a mailpiece 
requiring special services and a system for mailing an article requiring 
special services, such as certified mail, insured mail, registered mail, 
COD, return receipt for merchandise and the like. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a system and a method for mailing and 
forming a mailpiece for mailing an article requiring special services, 
such as for certified mail, insured mail, register mail, COD, return 
receipt for merchandise and the like. The system includes a combined 
mailing assembly formed from a single sheet folded and sealed such that a 
portion of the folded sheet provides an envelope having an interior 
compartment and the other portion of the folded sheet provides a return 
postcard and appropriate sealing sections. 
To this end, in an embodiment of the present invention, a system is 
provided for mailing an article requiring special services. The system 
comprises an envelope having an interior compartment formed by a sheet 
folded then sealed along three sides to form the interior compartment 
wherein the sheet extends beyond one of the sealed sides to form a return 
postcard wherein the return postcard is integrally formed with the sheet 
forming the envelope and is selectably detachable from the envelope. 
In an embodiment, the system further has a flap extending from an unsealed 
side of the envelope to selectively enclose the envelope when separately 
sealed. 
In an embodiment, the system has a sealing section adjacent to the return 
postcard in a portion of the sheet extending beyond one of the sealed 
sides. 
In an embodiment, the system has a perforated tear line formed in a portion 
of the sheet extending beyond one of the sealed sides for removing the 
return postcard from a remainder of the sheet including the envelope. 
In an embodiment, the system has a removable section adjacent the width of 
the envelope. 
In an embodiment, the system further has a first sealing section adjacent 
the return postcard in a portion of the sheet extending beyond one of the 
sealed sides and a second sealing section adjacent the return postcard in 
a portion of the sheet extending beyond one of the sealed sides wherein 
the first sealing section and the second sealing section are at opposite 
ends of the return postcard. 
In an embodiment, the system has a fold line at a junction of a portion of 
the sheet extending beyond one of the sealed sides and one of the sealed 
sides. 
In another embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided for 
forming a mailpiece having an interior carrying an article requiring 
special services. The method comprises the steps of: providing an envelope 
for carrying an article requiring special services; providing a return 
postcard integrally formed with the envelope; and securing the return 
postcard to the envelope. 
In an embodiment, the method further comprises the steps of: providing a 
fold line at a junction between the envelope and the return postcard; and 
folding at the fold line at the junction before securing the return 
postcard to the envelope. 
In an embodiment, the method further comprises the step of providing a 
sealed section to secure the return postcard to the envelope. 
In an embodiment, the method further comprises the step of providing a 
perforated tear line to assist in removing the return postcard from the 
envelope after securing the return postcard to the envelope. 
In an embodiment, the method further comprises the step of removing a strip 
along the envelope prior to securing the return postcard to the envelope 
wherein the strip includes an identifier related to the mailpiece. 
In an embodiment, the method further comprises the step of providing a 
designator on the envelope indicative of the special services required. 
In an embodiment, the method further comprises the step of providing an 
instruction section to assist in forming the mailpiece. 
In another embodiment of the present invention, a combined mailing assembly 
is provided for mailing an article requiring special services. The 
assembly comprises a single sheet folded substantially in half and sealed 
at a point intermediate its ends, after folding, and further sealed along 
the sides to form an envelope having an interior compartment and further 
to form a return postcard separated from the envelope at a point 
intermediate the ends. 
In an embodiment, the assembly further has a sealed section adjacent the 
return postcard having an adhesive for securing the return postcard on the 
envelope. 
In an embodiment, the assembly further has a perforated tear line 
constructed and arranged to remove the return postcard. 
In an embodiment, the assembly further has a removable strip adjacent the 
envelope including article identifying numbers related to the special 
services required for the article. 
In an embodiment, the assembly further comprises an integrally formed 
sealing flap constructed and arranged to selectively enclose the interior 
compartment of the envelope. 
In an embodiment, the assembly further comprises a fold line at the point 
intermediate the ends running along a base of the envelope and the top of 
the return postcard such that, when the single sheet is folded at the 
folded line, the return postcard may be secured to the envelope. 
It is, therefore, an advantage of the present invention to provide an 
improved system for mailing an article requiring special service. 
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide a simplified 
method for forming a mailpiece for carrying an article requiring special 
services. 
And, another advantage of the present invention is to provide a system and 
an assembly that is integrally formed as a complete unit for mailing and 
labeling of an article requiring special services. 
Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide a system for 
mailing an article and a method for forming a mailpiece requiring special 
services without requiring additional adhesives or fixatives for attaching 
the same to the mailpiece. 
Moreover, an advantage of the present invention is to provide a system for 
mailing an article requiring special services and a method for forming a 
mailpiece for carrying an article requiring special services that is 
substantially foolproof. 
Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described 
in, and will be apparent from, the detailed description of the presently 
preferred embodiments and from the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The present invention provides an assembly for mailing an article requiring 
special services. Further, the present invention provides a method for 
forming a mailpiece having an interior for carrying articles requiring 
special services. 
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, 
FIG. 1 generally illustrates an assembly 10 formed from a single sheet 12 
folded in a manner to provide both a compartment and a return postcard for 
mailing an article within the compartment requiring a special service 
therefor. Although a certified mail envelope is illustrated, it should be 
understood that the present invention is applicable to any mailing item 
requiring special services, such as insured mail, registered mail, COD, 
return receipt for merchandise and the like. 
The assembly 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 on its front side includes a top half 
14 forming one side of an envelope and a bottom half 16 including a return 
postcard 18 and sections 20 and 22 adjacent to the return postcard 18. The 
top half 14 of the assembly 10 includes, in a preferred embodiment, a 
pre-printed label 24 indicative of the special service required for 
mailing of the assembly 10. 
In a preferred embodiment, the label 24 is pre-printed directly on the top 
half 14 of the assembly 10. In another embodiment of the present 
invention, the pre-printed label 24 may be adhesively attached to the top 
half 14 of the assembly 10. 
The pre-printed label 24 includes a window section 26 including an article 
identification number. The pre-printed label 24 is constructed an arranged 
such that the type of special service required for mailing of the assembly 
10 is visible from both a front side of the top half 14 and a rear side of 
the top half 14 as more clearly illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5. The assembly 
10 is formed between a first end 1 and a second end 2. To this end, a 
sealing flap 28 is provided having a fold line 30 dividing the pre-printed 
label 24, as illustrated, such that a portion of the pre-printed label 24 
is visible from the reverse side of the envelope after folding the sealing 
flap 28 at the fold line 30. 
The bottom half 16 of the assembly 10 includes the return postcard 18. The 
return postcard 18 has a number of sub-sections requiring completion by 
the sender prior to mailing the assembly 10 to the addressee on the top 
half 14 of the envelope section. One sub-section illustrated at numeral 32 
includes a machine readable article identification number corresponding to 
the number in the window section 26 of the pre-printed label 24. The 
sub-section 32 may have a background color contrasting the remainder of 
the return postcard 18 so as to simplify the reading of the 
machine-readable code in the sub-section 32. Other sections, as well, may 
include similar color-contrasting portions within the return postcard 18. 
The section 22 may also include a sub-section 34 including 
machine-readable indicia with the article identification number 
corresponding to the number in the sub-section 32 and to the number in the 
window section 26 of the pre-printed label 24. 
A detachable strip 36 which includes an article identifying tab 38 is 
provided along a width of the assembly 10 and is removable from the 
assembly 10 by a perforated tear line 40. The article identifying tab 38 
may be adhesively backed for subsequent attachment to a receipt or other 
item requiring designation of the article number for related purposes. As 
illustrated, two article identifying tabs 38 are provided. 
Referring now to FIG. 2, a backside of the assembly 10 is illustrated. The 
reverse side of the top half 14 shown in FIG. 1 is, therefore, illustrated 
providing a backside of an envelope of the assembly 10. 
The top half 14 of the backside includes an instruction section 42 
including instructions generally designated at 44 for completing the 
forms, such as the return postcard, and instructions for assembling the 
assembly 10 following completion of the required section. Within the top 
half 14 of the assembly 10 is a thumb-notched section 44. The 
thumb-notched section 44 is cut out from the top half 14 of the assembly 
10 such that a pull-tab 46 covering an adhesive therebeneath may be 
exposed. The adhesive seals an opening 48 of the top half 14 by folding 
the sealing flap 28 such that the sealing flap 28 covers the thumb-notched 
section 44 and further encloses the opening 48 following insertion of an 
article, such as a letter, inserted into a compartment formed by the top 
half 14. 
The bottom half 16 of the assembly 10 includes a front side of a return 
postcard 18. The return postcard 18 includes a "Return To" section 50. The 
"Return To" section 50 may be color-contrasted with the remainder of the 
return postcard to enable simplified reading of the "Return To" section 
50. Perforated tear lines 52 are provided along exterior sides of the 
return postcard 18. The return postcard 18 is preferably wider than the 
locations of the perforated tear lines 52 to maintain permanent and 
selective attachment of the return postcard 18 to the bottom half 16 of 
the assembly 10. 
The backside of the sections 20,22 include removable section 54,56, 
respectively. The removable sections 54,56, when removed, expose an 
adhesive or sealed area 60 thereunder such that when the assembly 10 is 
folded at the fold line 30, the adhesive 60 attaches to the backside of 
the top half 14 as illustrated in FIG. 4. The removable sections 54,56 
include instructions sections 58 indicating to a user that removal of the 
removable sections 54,56 is required to expose the adhesive 60 thereunder. 
The detachable strip 36 may also include instructions with respect to 
removal of the tabs and identifying section 62 indicating the purpose of 
the article identifying tabs 38 on the reverse side thereof. 
The pull-tab 46 also includes instructions sections 64a, 64b and 64c. The 
instructions sections 64a, 64b and 64c assist in identifying and 
instructing that the pull-tab 46 must be removed to seal the sealing flap 
28 upon insertion of an article or document through the opening 48 into 
the compartment of the envelope in the top half 14 of the assembly 10. The 
assembly 10 is sealed along the fold line 30 as well as along the sides 66 
of the assembly 10. 
Each of the parts requiring removal or the areas about which instruction is 
required for forming the assembly is designated in large capital letters. 
To assemble the mailer, the detachable strip 36 designated with "A" must 
be removed from the assembly 10. The strip contains the article 
identifying tab 38 which may also be removed for internal records or 
discarded. The removable sections, 54,56 designated "B" are removed, then 
each side of the return postcard 18 of the assembly 10 is folded at the 
fold line 30 designated "C" so that the adhesive 60 below the removable 
sections 54,56 adheres to the back side of the envelope at the top half 14 
of the assembly 10. The document, such as a letter, is then inserted 
through the opening 48 at the top half 14 of the assembly 10. Then the 
pull tab 46 designated at "D" is removed and folded to seal the sealing 
flap 28 in a sealed position by an adhesive beneath the pull tab 46. 
Referring to FIGS. 3-5, a completed assembled envelope from its front side 
is illustrated in FIG. 3 and from its back side in FIG. 4 with the sealing 
flap 28 in an unsealed position. The pre-printed label 24 is shown having 
a window section 26 in which a certified mail number may be printed either 
manually or automatically. 
FIG. 4 illustrates the return postcard 18 in its position attached to the 
backside of the top half 14 of the assembly 10 by the adhesive 60 from 
sections 54,56 removed from the backsides of the sections 20,22. The 
perforated tear lines 52 along the width of the return postcard 18 allow 
removal of the return postcard 18 following delivery of the assembly 10. 
FIG. 4 further clearly illustrates a document 68 inserted through the 
opening 48 into a compartment formed by an envelope section of the 
assembly 10. Following insertion of the document 68 into the opening 48, 
the sealing flap 28 may be secured to enclose the assembly 10 as shown in 
FIG. 5. 
FIG. 5 further illustrates the return postcard 18 removed from the envelope 
section of the assembly 10 by tearing at the perforated tear lines 52. As 
clearly illustrated in FIG. 5, the pre-printed label 24 is visible on a 
backside of the mailpiece following sealing of the sealing flap 28. 
The sub-section 34 on the section 20 of the bottom half 16 of the assembly 
10 is also designed to be removable and serve as a postal receipt. That 
is, the section includes a bar-coded article number and a signature and 
date line wherein the sender may sign on the line within the sub-section 
34 and date the same and the postal office or other designated sender may 
retain the sub-section within its records indicating the article number 
and the date on which the assembly 10 was mailed as attested to by the 
signature of the sender. 
FIG. 6 illustrates another embodiment of the assembly 10 of the present 
invention, wherein like numerals represent like parts. The embodiment 
shown provides a somewhat simplified assembly since it does not have the 
detachable strip 36 as in the prior embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1-5. 
The front side of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 also includes a sealing 
flap 70 located at the top of the envelope 14. Also, only one article 
identifying tab 38 is shown although additional identifying tabs may be 
provided. In the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 6 and 
7, the article identifying tab 38 is located on the section 22 and may be 
adhesively backed for easy removal and use. 
FIG. 7 illustrates the back side of the embodiment of the assembly 10 shown 
in FIG. 6. Also, the removable sections 54, 56 may include instruction 
sections 58 indicating to the user that removal of the removable sections 
54, 56 is required to expose the adhesive 60 (not shown in FIG. 7, see 
FIG. 2) thereunder. The removable section 54, 56 are preferably 
constructed having pull tabs 71, 72, respectively. The pull tabs 71, 72 
assist the user in removing and peeling sections 54, 56 to expose the 
adhesive 60. After the removable sections 54, 56 are peeled back to expose 
the adhesive 60, the bottom half 16, including the return postcard 18, is 
folded along the fold line 30 and sealed to the top half 14. In this 
manner, the assembly 10 forms a standard size envelope that can be 
processed in an automated manner. 
Referring now to FIGS. 8-11, another embodiment of an assembly 100 is 
illustrated. The assembly 100 includes a top half 102 and a bottom half 
104 generally separated by a fold line 106. The assembly 100 is formed 
between a first end 101 and a second end 103. At the fold line 106, entry 
into a compartment 108 formed in the bottom half 104 is generally 
provided. The item 110 requiring delivery by special services may be 
inserted into the compartment 108 for delivery thereof. Formed in the top 
half 102 is a return postcard 112 including a section 114 that may be 
variably printed with information regarding to whom the postcard should be 
returned following delivery of the mailpiece. To use the assembly 100, 
after all necessary information is printed on each side of the assembly 
100, including the "Return To" section 114 shown in FIG. 8, removable 
section 116 that extends across the top half 102 as illustrated in FIG. 8 
is removed from the top half 102 to expose an adhesive 118 or sealed area 
thereunder. As shown in FIG. 9, after insertion of the item 110 into the 
compartment 108, the assembly 100 is folded at the fold line 106 such that 
the adhesive from the top half 102 mates with areas on the bottom half 104 
enclosing the item 110 in the compartment 108 of the assembly 100. The 
return postcard is separable from the remainder of the assembly 100 by 
perforated tear lines 120 on each side of the return postcard 112 and the 
top half 102 of the assembly 100. Another perforated tear line 122 extends 
along the width of the bottom half 104, the function of which will be 
described hereinafter. 
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the return postcard 112 is removable from the 
assembly 100 by detaching the same along the perforated tear line 120. The 
return postcard 112 is printed with variable information including an 
addressee section 124 which corresponds to the address to which the 
assembly 100 is forwarded that is on an opposite side from the return 
postcard 112 when the assembly 100 is folded in the arrangement shown in 
FIG. 10. The return postcard 112 may also be printed with a machine 
readable code 126 to track delivery of the assembly 100. The machine 
readable code 126 corresponds to the article number for the assembly 100 
and its delivery. Two additional labels 128,130 with adhesives 132 
provided on their reverse sides may also be provided to assist tracking of 
the assembly 100 by both the delivery service as well as the receiver of 
the assembly 100. A top side of the return postcard 112 is also provided 
with a perforated tear line 120 as illustrated in FIG. 9 for removal of 
the return postcard 112 from the top half 102 of the assembly 100. 
As shown in FIG. 10, the perforated tear line 122 along the width of the 
bottom half 104 of the assembly 100 is detachable therefrom following 
delivery of the assembly 100. The return postcard 112 is preferably 
removed and returned to the sender of the assembly 100. Then, the strip 
134 is removed from the bottom half 104 of the assembly 100 at the 
perforated tear line 122. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, the item 110 
is removable from the compartment 108 in the bottom half 104 of the 
assembly 100. This arrangement allows removal of the item 110 from the 
assembly 100 without separation of the top half 102 from the bottom half 
104. 
All the information relating to the delivery of the mailpiece, such as the 
addressee, the return addressee, the article number and their 
corresponding machine readable codes may be variably printed on both sides 
of the assembly 100, either by printing of each side simultaneously or 
multiple passes to complete the printing of the information. 
It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the 
presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those 
skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications may be made without 
departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and without 
diminishing its attendant advantages. It is, therefore, intended that such 
changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.