Improvement in утогорск.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 10th July., 1897-Accepted, 14th Aug.,
1897
Improvement in
утогорск.
I, CHARLES EDGARD SACKETT, of Danbury in the County of Fairfield and State
of Connecticut of the United States of America, Inventor, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:--
My invention relates more particularly to that class of envelopes used for mailing
letters and other valuable documents, but is applicable to all purposes for which
envelopes are required, including small articles of merchandise. The object of my
invention is to do away with the necessity of moistening the gummed flap of an
envelope, as is now universally required, and to secure greater safety in sealing it.
Probably nine-tenths of all envelopes sealed are moistened by being licked with the
tongue. A process neither nice or healthy, and especially objected to by females,
who now enter largely into office work. Physicians and Boards of Education
throughout the world are endeavouring to do away with all sources of contamina-
tion with the mouth or tongue, and this improvement is in the interests of a better
civilization.
While endeavouring to accomplish my purpose, I also aim to furnish an envelope
as cheap to manufacture and as attractive in every form as those now in use.
My improvement consists essentially of three principal parts. A sealing flap,
concealed beneath which is a self-acting catch. A slot in the body of the envelope
into which the flap is to be inserted, and, a cross piece backing the slot arranged to
form a pocket to guide the flap downward within the envelope, its lower edge
forming a bar around which the catch locks itself automatically. All these
elements may be cut or stamped from a single sheet of paper, but I do not limit
myself to that construction, as it might be desirable to use mixed material, and in
the interest of cheapness separate pieces of paper.
The details of construction are clearly set forth in the accompanying drawings
and specification, in which Fig. 1 is a view of the envelope as formed from a single
sheet of paper before folding.
Fig. 2 is a view of the same folded and sealed, the dotted lines showing the
arrangement of all internal parts.
of
Fig. 3 is a view of an envelope designed to be formed from the least quantity.
paper for cheap purposes, such as pay envelopes and merchandise.
Fig. 4 is a view of the same folded and sealed.
Fig. 5 is a plan view of the formation of the catch.
Fig. 6 of the folding, and
Fig. 7 of the setting of the same.
Figures 8 and 9 show a simpler form of catch.
Fig. 10 shows the method of inserting the flap into the slot.
Fig. 11 is a section of the interior parts after sealing.
Figures 12, 13, 14, 15 show the use of other materials than paper in forming the
catch.

page_text: Attention is called to the fact that all edge views show precisely the same con-
formation and characteristics in the catch differing only in the material used.
The construction of the envelope is as follows: It may be stamped from any
sheet of paper in any desirable shape ready to fold at one impression, as may be
seen by reference to Figure 1, in which 1, 2, 3, 4, are the lines on which the
envelope is to be folded; 5 is the upper flap, 6 the left, 7 the right, and 8 the
lower Hap.
At 9 and 10 in the lower flap are stamped or cut two slots as shown.
The upper flap is formed to present tongues or projections 11 and 12 of the
proper width and position to register with and easily enter said slots. These
tongues 11 and 12 are stamped from the paper sufficiently long to permit of their
ends being doubled upon itself as many times as is desirable to form a stiff barb, O,
as shown in Figures 6 to 9. In the case of stiff papers once is enough. In weaker
papers the end is gummed as shown on the water lines in Figure 5, doubled down as
in Figure 6, and set to harden as in Figure 7, leaving no gummed surface exposed.
Or the ends of the tongues may be gummed and folded over, and before setting,
pieces of carboard, very thin metal, or very light spring wire set in them to form
barbs, as shown in Figures 12 to 19, or the tongues may be reinforced by separate
paper forming the barb. In all cases these barbs are concealed beneath the flap,
and point upward and incline backward, which features are essential to the best
working of this invention. The side flaps 6 and 7 are elongated as shown at 20
and 21, to form a cross bar shown in Figure 2, as meeting at the center 22. This
will answer in stiff papers, but in weaker papers they should be carried across,
lapped and gummed upon each other to make a stronger cross bar, or a cross bar
may be super-imposed upon the flaps.
The lower flap is now gummed upon its edges to be folded over and attached to
the side flaps as is usual in the manufacture of all envelopes, but in this case the
gumming is done along the lines shown in Figure 1 of the lower flap 8, in which
a large central space of gum the depth of the cross bar securely united its two
ends at the centre, and with the gumising of the outer edges of the flap forms
pockets 23 and 24, immediately below the slot openings 9 and 10. These pockets
closely gummed at their sides to the cross bar are very essential to the best working
of the catch. For when the tongues are inserted in the slots to seal the envelope,
the pressure between the front and back of these pockets, i.e., the outer face of the
lower flap of the envelope, and the inner cross bar, flattens down the barb, which
immediately the tongue has passed below the lower edge of the cross bar springs
out, and locks itself around the edge of the bar, from which position it will be found
impossible to withdraw it, without tearing the envelope, or to dislodge it, as it
cannot be got at.
No
As I have before stated the barbs and cross bars may be made by doubling the
paper, of any strength desired, but great strength will be found unnecessary.
gummed surfaces of any kind are shown on the finished envelope, they are only used
in the manufacture.
In Figures 3 and 4 I show the application of this principle to very cheap
envelopes, such as pay envelopes where many hundreds have to be sealed at one
time, and moistening them is very arduous. Here I avoid the elongation of the
side flaps, which involves a waste of paper, and use only very narrow straight side
pieces as shown at 6 and 7, but the lower flap 8, which contains the slot 9, is
lengthened sufficiently to allow of its ends being bent over to form the necessary
cross bar 22 to lock the slot and thus form the pocket 23, for the tongue 11 to enter.
Its edges and the sides 6 and 7 are then gummed and folded over as usual on the
water lines shown. The upper flap 5 is formed with a barb below it as shown,
and the envelope is ready to seal as shown in Figure 4. In this shape as well as in
all others, the barb and cross bar may be formed by the addition of separate pieces
of paper if desired. Figure 10 shows the position of the sealed flap and barb and
the dotted lines the manner of entering it in its slot and pocket in the act of sealing,
where it is retained as shown in Figure 11.

page_text: It is obvious that the position of the barb beneath the sealing flap must be
adjusted to the depth of the cross bar, so that when inserted its point will cerainly
reach below it. Envelopes differ very much in form and have many uses.
It is
clearly impossible to illustrate all. I have shown an upper and a side opening, and
a single and double tongue, though in most envelopes but a single tongue will be
required. But I desire to state broadly that I do not confine myself to any fixed
number of tongues, or pockets, or barbs, or the position of the slots or pocket
openings. The higher they are placed on the sealing side of the envelope, the less
chance is there of inserting anything behind the tongue in an endeavour to wrench
In long legal envelopes a grater number of tongues may be desirable,
though end openings for all such envelopes, and the doing away with the long
gummed surface now required to be moistened is clearly the proper thing, and
would afford much greater security, with a single tongue. Envelopes with my
improvement may always be used with great convenience as reference envelopes for
all kinds of paper, by simply flattening down the barb temporarily, the tongues can
then be easily withdrawn from the pockets, the barbs may be raised at any time
to render the envelope self sealing again.
it out.
In the use of envelopes, elegance of appearance enters largely into their useful-
ness for many purposes, and it is a novel and desirable feature in my improvement,
that all the sealing mechanism is entirely concealed, whether in the pack before
sealing or after sealing, thus presenting outwardly the same appearance of
envelope as the public is now accustomed to.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. In an envelope the combination of a cross bar arranged within the body of
the envelope by elongating, overlapping and gumming any of its flaps or by being
secured to them, and a barb or projection arranged beneath the sealing flap of
said envelope, so as to automatically lock itself over or catch beneath the said
cross bar in the act of sealing substantially as described and shown.
2. In an envelope the combination of a slot arranged in the body of the envelope.
A cross bar arranged behind it and forming therewith a pocket to which the slet
gives entrance. A tongue arranged upon the sealing flap registering with said slot
and a barb or projection arranged beneath the tongue to lock over or catch beneath
said cross har, for the purpose set forth, and substantially as described and shown.
Dated this 9th day of July 1897.
L. DUVINAGE,
Agent for Applicant.