Improved Means for Facilitating the Severance of Paper, Parchment, Cardboard, and other Materials, and Especially Applicable to Envelopes, Wrappers, Sample or Pattern Boxes or Packages, and the like.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Mar., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 21st July, 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 7th Sept., 1888
Improved Means for Facilitating the Severance of Paper, Parchment,
Cardboard, and other Materials, and Especially Applicable to
Envelopes, Wrappers, Sample or Pattern Boxes or Packages,
and the like.
I, GEORGE FREDerick Redfern, of the firm of G. F. Redfern & Co., the General
Patent Office, No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, in the county of Middlesex, Patent
Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication from abroad
by Margaret Blanche Binns, of Bubok, near Constantinople, in the Sultanate of
Turkey) to be as follows:-
:-
My invention relates chiefly to improved means for facilitating the opening of
envelopes, newspapers and other wrappers, sample or pattern boxes or packages and
the like, but my improvements are also applicable to other uses whore it is desired to
provide means for readily severing paper parchment, linen or other material.
My said invention consists essentially in inserting or interweaving into the material
to be severed one or more plies or threads of cotton or other suitable fibre.
These threads can be advantageously inserted by means of a machine and are or
may be knotted at one or both ends.
To sever the material to which the threads or the like are applied it is only
necessary to pull one end of the thread and tear it from the material, the latter being
itself at the same time divided.
1 1000
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improved Means for Facilitating the Severance of Paper, Parchment,
Cardboard, and other Materials, and Especially Applicable to
Envelopes, Wrappers, Sample or Pattern Boxes or Packages,
and the like.
I, GEORGE FREDERICK REDFERN, of the firm of G. F. Redfern & Co., the General
Patent Office, No. 4 South Street Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication from
Margaret Blanche Binns, of Bebek, near Constantinople, in the Sultanate of Turkey)
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:
My invention relates chiefly to improved means for facilitating the opening of
envelopes, newspapers and other wrappers, sample or pattern boxes or packages and
the like, but my improvements are also applicable to other uses where it is desired to
provide means for readily severing paper, parchment, linen or other material.
My said invention consists essentially in inserting or interweaving into the material
to be severed, through a line of perforations, one or more plies or threads of cotton,
silk or other suitable material or fibre, in such a manner that when one end of the
thread is grasped by the fingers and pulled it will divide the paper or other material
along the line of such perforations.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe how it may be con-
veniently and advantageously carried into practice by reference to the accompanying
drawings in which;
Figure 1 represents a piece of paper cut to form an envelope when folded and
provided with my improved means for facilitating the opening of the same.
Figure 2 is a similar view illustrating a modification.
Figuro 3 is a sectional view, drawn to an enlarged scale, showing the arrangement
of the cord or thread.
Figure 4 is a front view of an envelope embodying my improvements; and
Figure 5 is a view illustrating the method of opening an envelope.
According to my said invention I insert thread a along the line where the division
is to be effected, the thread being interlaced or interwoven through a corresponding
line of perforations. In applying this thread I advantageously make use of a sewing
machine, and preferably of a lock-stitch sewing machine, as, if the throad were inserted
by a chain-stitch machine, it would in all probability pull out without severing the
paper or other material between the perforations made by the needle.
threads, however, used in a lock-stitch sewing machine, and inserted as shown in
Figure 3, effectually prevent this..
The two
The ends of the two threads are knotted or united as at c, c as close to the material
as possible.

page_text: As shown in Figure 1, the line of the thread is along the fold of one flap of an
envelope, while in Figure 2 the thread is represented as extending along the folds of
three flaps.
If now the envelope provided with my improved means for opening the same is held
in one hand and one of the knots c is pulled with the other, as shown in Figure 5, the
envelope will be severed along the edge as at d.
It is to be understood that I do not confine the application of my invention to
onvelopes only, as it is obvious that it is equally serviceable when applied to articles
as hereinbefore mentioned. Neither do I confine myself to inserting the thread
with a sewing machine as it may be inserted by any other suitable means or
apparatus.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. The method of facilitating the severance of paper, parchment, cardboard, and
other materials by means of a thread or threads which is or are interlaced or inter-
woven through a series of perforations along the line at which such severance is to be
effected, substantially as described.
2. Envelopes, postal and other wrappers and similar articles having a thread
extending through a series of perforations along the line at which the opening is to
be effected, substantially as described.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.