Easy open envelope

• US 6,223,977 B1
• Filed: 06/03/1999
• Issued: 05/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Envelope Product Group LLC (Cenveo Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Westvaco Corporation (Meadwestvaco Corporation)
• Inventors: Hill, Maurice
• Primary Examiner(s): Garbe, Stephen P.
• Application Number:
  US09/324,594
• Time in Patent Office: 698 Days
• Field of Search: 229/70, 229/313, 229/316, 462/64, 462/65
• US Class Current: 229/70
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 27/34 Lines of weakness

Abstract

The envelope of the present invention is prepared from a single blank of material to include easy opening means and security features for tamper evident delivery of credit cards, debit cards and other sensitive material. The envelope structure includes a bangtail flap foldably attached to the rear panel of the envelope and folded inside the envelope, a pair of perforated lines located on each side of the rear panel for providing access to the inside bangtail flap, and a separate opening means for the closure flap.

Claims

1. An envelope for secure mailing of credit cards or debit cards comprising a body portion formed from a front panel and rear panel with side closure flaps foldably connected to one of said front or rear panels and adhered to the other of said panels, a top closure flap foldably connected to one of said panels and adhered to the other of said panels, the improvement comprising a bangtail flap foldably connected to one of said panels and tucked inside the envelope body portion and an opening means formed in said rear panel for providing access to said bangtail flap, wherein the opening means for providing access to said bangtail flap comprises a pair of generally parallel perforated tear lines formed in said rear panel which extend generally from top to bottom thereof, wherein the perforated tear lines are arranged to lie slightly outboard of the edges of the bangtail flap and substantially collinear with the edges of said side closure flaps.

2. The envelope of claim 1 wherein a separate opening means is formed in the top closure flap by a pair of substantially parallel perforated tear lines which extend generally from side-to-side in said top closure flap.

3. The envelope of claim 2 wherein the perforated tear lines in said rear panel and the tear strip in said top closure flap each provide tamper evident indicators for said envelope.