Shipping envelope

The shipping envelope comprises a forward panel and a rear panel closed along their side edges and a first bottom edge, with their second opposite edges free of each other to provide access to the interior. Each panel has an interior face and an exterior face, the forward panel being longer than the rear panel to form a foldable flap. Adhesive is applied to the exterior face of the flap and to the exterior face of the rear panel except for the marginal edges, and release sheets cover the adhesive areas. In use, the release sheet is first removed from the rear panel and the latter is pressed against a package to attach the envelope in place. One or more shipping documents may be inserted in the mounted envelope at the same or different times with the marginal edges of the rear panel allowed to bend upward to allow the envelope to accomodate the thickness of the documents. Thereafter the flap is folded under the mouth of the envelope to serve as a closure and with the release shut removed the adhesive exterior face is pressed against the package to complete the sealing and mounting of the documents.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The device of this invention lies in the field of envelopes for shipping 
documents or other items which are to be transported within packages or 
containers. It more specifically applies to envelopes which can be 
attached to containers which can easily receive documents as the container 
is filled and easily opened at its destination. 
Many different types of shipping envelopes have been developed and used 
with varying degrees of success and with various disadvantages and 
difficulties. 
In one prior art form an envelope is made up of two sheets of transparent 
plastic material secured together along sides and one end, the front panel 
being somewhat longer than the back panel. The excess length of the front 
panel is coated with pressure sensitive adhesive on its rear face and the 
back panel is similarly coated, with sheets of release material protecting 
the adhesive and preventing premature sticking. In use, the shipping 
documents are placed in the envelope, preferably with an address showing 
through the front panel, the release sheets are removed, and the envelope 
and the flap extending outward are pressed against the package to secure 
it in place. The only seal of the envelope opening is the adhesion of the 
envelope and flap to the surface of the container. Examples of this form 
are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,327,416 to Sanford and 3,525,470 to 
Carrigan. 
Other forms include a gummed paper frame overlying the margins of a letter 
or envelope and secured all around to a carton, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 
3,159,130 to Allen. 
With the first type, one or more documents are placed in the envelope and 
thereafter it is secured to the carton. If the carton or crate is large, 
and parcels are placed in it at separate times, the envelope must be kept 
loose, but handy somewhere nearby to receive documents from time to time 
until the package is filled, after which the envelope is secured to the 
package. Because it is sealed to the package all around, it is quite 
difficult to remove or open at the destination. The other forms require 
accurate centering of the frames or sheets over the papers and are 
similarly difficult to open or remove at the destination. 
What is needed is a shipping envelope which may be secured to a carton 
while still empty to prevent misplacement and with an open and free 
marginal edges to allow a plurality of papers to be inserted from time to 
time as the carton is gradually filled, together with a flap which may be 
folded under the mouth to secure the contents and then itself sealed to 
the surface of the carton. In addition, the envelope should be easy to 
open upon arrival at the destination. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The device of the present invention overcomes the difficulties and 
disadvantages mentioned above and provides a shipping envelope which may 
be secured to a package in advance, with papers placed therein from time 
to time until the package is complete, and finally sealed against loss of 
the papers and secured completely to the package. 
Generally stated, the device comprises a forward panel and a rear panel 
closed along their side edges and a first bottom end edge with their 
second ends free of each other to provide access to the interior. Each 
panel has an interior face and an exterior face, and the forward panel is 
longer than the rear panel to form a foldable flap. Adhesive is applied to 
an area of the exterior face of the flap and to a major area of the 
exterior face of the rear panel except for the marginal edges. The second 
end portion being free of adhesive throughout the area over which the flap 
will lie, except for the portion adjacent to the side edges of the flap. 
Release sheets are applied to protect the adhesive areas against 
inadvertent sticking. In use, the release sheet is removed from the rear 
panel, and the rear panel adhesive is pressed against the surface of the 
package to attach the envelope in place. Various papers may now be 
inserted in the envelope from time to time as the package is gradually 
filled, with no need to keep the envelope in a file or on a desk where it 
may be mislaid or some of the contents lost. When the last document is 
inserted, the release sheet is removed from the flap, which is folded 
under the mouth of the envelope to secure the contents, and the adhesive 
exterior face of the flap is pressed against the package to complete the 
sealing and mounting of the papers. When the package reaches the 
destination a cutting instrument may be readily inserted between the 
folded edge of the flap and the rear panel to sever the flap along the 
fold line. 
The adhesive is omitted from the margins of the exterior face of the rear 
panel to allow the edges to be raised upward from the surface of the 
container to allow the envelope to increase in thickness to receive a 
plurality of documents. In addition, adhesive can be omitted from the 
portion of the flap near the fold so that the envelope can be more easily 
opened by pushing in on the folded edge to bulge or curl the flap edge for 
insertion of an opening instrument.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The envelope of the present invention is schematically illustrated in FIG. 
1 in mounted position on a package and in FIGS. 2 and 3 in detail, in 
which the envelope 10 is secured in shipping condition on a package 12 
with the destination and other label information displayed in full view. 
The envelope includes a forward panel 14 having an interior face 16 and an 
exterior face 18, and a rear panel 20 having an interior face 22 and an 
exterior face 24. The panels are secured to each other along the side 
edges 26 and a first bottom end edge 28, with the second end 30 of panel 
20 free of panel 14 to provide access to the interior of the envelope. The 
forward panel 14 is longer than the rear panel 20, and the excess length 
constitutes a flap 32 which may be folded along fold edge 31 down over the 
mouth of the envelope to serve at a closure and safely retain any contents 
of the envelope. 
A layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 34 is applied to an area of the 
exterior face 18 of flap 32 and a similar layer of adhesive is applied to 
a major area of the exterior face 24 of rear panel 20. Small areas 35 of 
adhesive are also applied to the exterior face 24 of rear panel 20 
adjacent each side edge of the flap 32. The adhesive on panel 20 does not 
cover the entire panel including the marginal areas, and may be in the 
form of two or more areas 36 and 38. No adhesive is applied to the second 
end portion 30 of panel 20 under which flap 32 will lie in folded 
position. Release sheets 40 and 42 are detachably secured to the adhesive 
areas to protect them against dirt and sticking to foreign objects until 
they are ready to be secured to the package. 
When the envelope is about to be utilized, the release sheet 42 is peeled 
off and panel 20 is applied to the surface of the package, pressing it 
firmly to cause it to adhere. The flap 32 is in the open or extended 
position as shown in FIG. 5 and its release sheet 40 is still in place but 
the small adhesive areas 35 are now exposed. Consequently, various 
documents may be inserted in the envelope through open mouth 44 from time 
to time as corresponding articles are placed in the carton or package. 
When the loading is completed, release sheet 40 is peeled off, flap 32 is 
folded over and under mouth 44 and between areas 35 joined to the package 
surface, and the upper end of the envelope is pressed firmly against the 
surface of the package to lock the contents in the envelope and secure the 
latter to the package. 
While the adhesive may cover the entire exterior face 18 of the flap it is 
presently preferred to apply it only to the free edge half or a portion of 
the flap as shown with the length of the adhesive areas 35 corresponding. 
Thus, it is possible to bulge the end of the fold edge in or to curl or 
turn a corner 46 up as shown in FIG. 6 to facilitate insertion of a 
cutting instrument to sever the flap at the fold line or to pull the flap 
up and free of the package for opening. 
As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 5, the side edges 48 of flap 32 are formed to 
converge inwardly from the fold line to the free edge. Thus, the adhesive 
areas 35 seal the edges of the flap 32 and prevent loss of the package 
contents. 
It will also be noted as shown in FIG. 2 that the second end portion 30 of 
panel 20 is free of adhesive over a longitudinal extent greater than the 
longitudinal extent of flap 32. Thus, when the envelope is fully secured, 
there will still be a non-adhered area or gap 50 along the edge between 
the envelope and the package into which an instrument may be inserted to 
pry the folded portion of the flap loose from the package.