Patent Publication Number: US-3879875-A

Title: Stamp mount envelope

Description:
United States Patent 1191 Schneider STAMP MOUNT ENVELOPE I [76] Inventor: Henry G. Schneider, 81 Passaic Valley Rd., Montville, NJ. 07045 [22] Filed: May 2, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 466,291  
 Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell Assistant E.\aminerWences1ao J. Contreras Attorney, Agent, or FirmGeorge H. Fritzinger [57] ABSTRACT A protective envelope for mounting a stamp in a collectors book has a background mounting strip and a transparent cover strip extending past the background strip along one edge to form a flap which can be picked up and bowed outwardly to expose an underlying portion of the background strip and form a wide opening for the insertion of and removal of a stamp. The two strips are made of plastic and are heat-sealed along their edges, but the heat-sealing is not extended to the bottom corners of the envelope so that the corner serrations of the stamp are not distorted and so that air vents are provided to preserve the stamps from drying out and to permit escape of air without displacing the stamps when the envelopes are compressed by the grip of the hand or by the collectors book being suddenly closed.  
 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures STAMP MOUNT ENVELOPE Stamp envelopes for mounting stamps in collectors books have been heretofore sealed along the sides by an adhesive gum which has been an invitation for insects to enter the envelope to eat the gum and eventually also destroy the stamps. Also, the prior envelopes have been sealed fully along the side and bottom edges to form air pockets which, when the envelope is suddenly gripped or compressed by a sudden closing of the collector&#39;s book, cause an outrush of air through the envelope opening to displace the stamps and sometimes even eject them from the envelope.  
  Objects of the present invention are to provide an improved stamp mount for collectors books which provides full protection to the stamp, easy access for insertion of and removal of a stamp, and air access at the back end of the envelope for preventing the stamps from drying out as well as for providing air release when the envelope is suddenly compressed so that the stamps are not displaced or ejected during handling of the envelopes and when the collectors book is suddenly closed.  
  These and other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.  
  In the description of my invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawings, of which:  
  H6. 1 is a front plan view of several stamp mount envelopes according to the invention;  
  FIG. 2 is a back plan view of one of these stamp mount envelopes; and  
  FIG. 3 is a sectional side view, to enlarged scale, showing the cover flap in a bowed-open position as held by the hand during the insertion and removal of a stamp.  
  The stamp envelope according to the invention comprises a background strip 11 of&#39;an opaque (preferably black) plastic material provided across the back side with a layer of a pressure-sensitive adhesive material 12 covered with a protective release paper 13 which is stripped off to expose the adhesive layer prior to pressing the envelope into adhesive contact with a sheet 14 (fractionally indicated) of a collectors book. The background strip 11 is covered by an overlying strip 15 of a clealy transparent plastic material. Preferably, the plastic strips 11 and 15 are ofa thin sheet material i.e., from .0015 to .0020 inch thickness, so that the collectors book does not grow unnecessarily in thickness. These two strips 11 and 15 are heat-sealed along the left and right side edges on lines 16 and 17 and along the bottom edge on a line 18. A heat-sealing along the side and bottom edges is highly advantageous over the use of an adhesive sealing gum in that it does not involve any foreign compound or material introduced into the envelope which can be an invitation to insects to enter the envelope and eat away the gum with also resultant damage to the stamps.  
  The cover strip 15 is extended beyond the top edge of the background strip 11 at the open end of the envelope to form a flap 19. Further, the heat-sealing lines 16 and 17 are terminated short of reaching the top corners of the background strip, as shown in FIG. 1, so that upon lifting the flap into a bowed-outwardly position, as indicated in FIG. 3, the top border of the background strip ll is exposed and there is provided a wide opening for easy insertion and removal of a stamp 20 into and from the envelope.  
  A further feature of the present stamp mount envelope is to provide air vents at the bottom corners of the envelope. By way of preferred example, this is accomplished by terminating the heat seal line 18 along the bottom edge short of reaching the left and right side edges to provide vent openings 21 and 22 for air ingress and air escape and for providing space so that the corners of the stamp do not get folded or otherwise distorted. Air ingress provides ventilation through the envelope to preserve the stamps from drying out and disintegrating over long periods of time. Air escape is important ofttimes when the envelope is suddenly gripped or compressed. This is because the envelope may contain a pocket of air which, when the envelope is suddenly compressed, would cause an outrush of air causing the stamp to be displaced or ejected if the envelope is completely sealed along all three sides except for the open end. However, when air vents are provided at the bottom corners such outrush of air is substantially equalized at the top and bottom of the envelope so as not to displace the stamp. A still further advantage of the vent openings 21 and 22 is that they provide space at the bottom corners of the envelope to safeguard the corner serrations of the stamp from becoming folded or otherwise distorted as the stamp is inserted this safeguarding being an essential requirement in the preservation of collectors stamps.  
  The embodiment of my invention herein particularly shown and described is intendedto be illustrative and not necessarily limitative of the invention since the same is subject to changes and modifications without departure from the scope of the invention, which I endeavor to express according to the following claims.  
 I claim:  
  1. An envelope for mounting a stamp in a collectors book comprising a background plastic strip having top, side and bottom edges, a cover plastic strip overlying said background strip and extending beyond the top edge thereof to form a flap along the open end of the envelope, and heat-sealing lines impressed into said strips along side and bottom edges of the envelope wherein said heat-sealing lines are terminated short of reaching the top edge of said background strip to cause said flap to expose a border portion of the background strip at the open end of the envelope when the flap is picked up at its outer edge and bowed outwardly to insert or remove a stamp.  
  2. The stamp envelope set forth in claim 1 wherein said heat-sealing is terminated short of reaching the bottom corners of the envelope, leaving unsealed overlying plastic portions at said bottom corners to provide openings for safeguarding the corner serrations of the stamp and for providing venting through the envelope to prevent the stamps from drying out and to permit air escape substantially equalizing the air escape at the open end of the envelope when the envelope is compressed suddenly by a sudden grip of the hand or by a sudden closing of a collectors book.  
  3. The stamp envelope set forth in claim 2 wherein only the heat-sealing line along the bottom edge is terminated short of reaching the side heat-sealing lines so that said vent openings are opposite the open end of the envelope.  
  4. The stamp envelope set forth in claim 1 wherein said background strip is of a thin, opaque, plastic material and said cover strip is of thin, transparent,&#39;plastic material both in the same range of thickness.  
  5. The stamp envelope set forth in claim 1 wherein said background strip is of an opaque. black material and is provided with a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating on its back side covered by a releasable liner which is removed when the envelope is to be placed into adhesive contact with a page of a collector&#39;s book.  
  6. An envelope for mounting a stamp in a collectors book comprising a background plastic strip having top, side and bottom edges, a cover plastic strip overlying said background strip and extending beyond the top edge thereof to form a flap along an open end of the envelope, and heat-sealing lines impressed into said strip to close the envelope along the side and bottom edges thereof wherein said heat-sealing along said bottom edge of the envelope is terminated short of reaching the bottom corners of the envelope whereby to leave vent openings in said bottom edge opposite said open end of the envelope providing space to safeguard the corner serrations of the stamp and providing air venting through the envelope to preserve the stamps from drying out and to permit air escape at the bottom, equalizing substantially the escape at the open end of the envelope when the envelope is suddenly compressed.