CA2144233A1 - Envelope or shipping container, and method for making such articles - Google Patents

Abstract

An envelope or shipping container or the like includes an enclosure formed from a blank having a score line separating a side edge flap, and a tear strip which is placed in the side edge flap without exposing any projecting parts and attached to the enclosure and/or an inner lining of the envelope. During production of the envelope, the tear strip is aligned in running direction of a continuous paper web and secured thereto so as to follow the travel of the paperweb. During trimming and sizing the paper web into a desired format, any projections of the tear strip are removed so that there is no need to modify the overall process for making the envelope in order to properly insert the tear strip.

Description

ENVELOPE OR SHIPPIÇIG CQNTAINER, AND METHOD FOR
2 MAKING SlJCH QRTICLES :-. ;, ~

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6 E~AC:KGROUND OF THE INVENTION

8 The present invention refers to an envelope er shipping conla;,)er or the 9 like, and in particular to an envelope made of paper and provided with a tear - ~
strip placed in an edge flap. The present invention further refers to a method for 11 making sLIch envelopes or shipping cont~iners, e.g. of paper with inserted tear 12 strip which is arranged along a score line at a ~lirrerenl location from a score line 13 forming a closure flap, before the envelope is folded. ;

German utility model no. DE-G ~3 02 248 describes envelopes for : . , 16 receiving letters, with the tear strip being ai,anged along an edge which is 17 distant to the closure flap and secured on both ends of the lower edge in the 18 area of the ~lue joint. Since the tear strip should be secured only at that lower 19 edge, the tear strip can only bei positioned at this edge in opposition to the closure flap and at no other location. The tear strip is to be inserted 2t piece-by-piece during production, however, this l ~re(enco is silent as to how the 22 ~ear strip is actually inserted. Conceivably, the tear strip is placed in a sirnilar : .
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manner as the introduction of a weft in a power weaving loom Such introduction 2 would considerably slow down the production and thus would render the overall 3 process uneconomical. The same is true when manually supplying the tear strip. ;

German utility model no. DE-G 93 02 248 further requires that the tear :
6 strip be routed laterally out of thc envelope and secured upon the front panel or ; ~ i 7 back panel e.g. through a glue joint in order to allow a ~aspi. ,9 of the tear strip -8 ~rom outside to open the envelope. However, there is a dan~er that the envelope " -9 is torn open during a lranspoll when the exposed section of the tear strip gets ~ ~ ;
stuck, or that the tear strip itself may be ripped ofl and thus cannot be grasped to 11 open the envelope. The destruction of the tear strip and the destruction of the 12 envelope is especially prevalent when superimposed envelopes are shifted ", : .:
13 relative to each other. This prior art further sets forth that the tear strip is 14 positioned and secured at a same time as the side flaps are folded and glued in order to avoid a slowdown of the overall production and to minimize the need for 16 additional machinery for integration in the production process ~ However, there is 17 no rlisclosure of concrete ste~s as to how the tear strip is introduced and 18 separated, and in what way the addilional machinery o,verates. Also, this prior 19 art lacks a description as to how the tear strip is actually secured. `

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,, ~ `,,, 2~233 SUMMARY OF TIIE INVENTION
3 It is an objed of the present inventipn to provide an improved enYelope 4 obviating the arOI eslaled drawbacks.
6 In particular, it is an objeot of the present invention to provide an7 improved envelop~ having a tear strip which Gan easily be handled without . . . ~. .- .
8 exposing any projectlng parts which could be torn off or stained.

g ~ ' It is a further object of th0 present invention to provide an improved 11 method for making an envelope or like shipping conlainer accor~ling to the 12 present invention.

14 These objects and others which will become apparenl hereinafter are 15 attained in accor~lar)ce with the present invention by arranging a tear strip in at 16 least one lateral edge flap of a blank which can be formed into shape of the 17 envelope and by gluing the tear strip without exposure of any projecting parts 18 with the l"aterial, e.g. paper, ancl/orwith an inner lining of the envelope.
19 ;~
1 By placing the tear strip along one la~éral edge flap of the blank and by ` :
21 gluing the t~ar strip along this area without exposing any proJEcling parts 22 thereof, the possibility of unintentionally or accidentally pulling the tear strip from ~''`, .' '`"' 2 3 3 :~ ~

outside is eliminated. The guidance of the tear strip along the lateral edge flap 2 enables a continuous placement and reeling-off of the tear strip in synchronism 3 with the transport of a continuous paper web from which the blank is formed so4 that th~ strip can easily be furnished and seversd by a~knife assembly for .

5 trimming the lateral edge flaps and then glued in the edge flap of the still flat 6 blank. Thus, there is no need to retrofit existing plants with complieated 7 machinery during subsequent folding of the blank into the shape of an envelope;

8 Rather, the presence of the tear strip can be col"pletely ignored. By tsaring off a 9 small upper corner at the side edge flap of the envelope or at any desired corner 10 in immediate proxirnity of the end of the tear strip, the tear strip becomes 11 ~ccessible and can be grasped and pulled along the score line separating the 12 edge flap to thereby open the envelope.

14 Thus, the tear strip can be inserted in an economical manner to render ~5 the overall production of the ~nvelope cost-efficient. Since the tear strip is not .
16 exposed at any point, there is no danger of unintentionally or accidentally pulling 17 the tear strip to open the envelope.

19 For manufacturing reasons, the tear strip is a"~nged in a lateral edge flap ~;; ;
20 of the blank. This side flap is formed by a score line extendin~ in! operqting 21 direction of the machine. A positioning of the tear strip in this edge flap allows 22 the supply of an endless strip during manufacture of the envelope by means of a , A I !; ~, ' .. " ., i ; ;, ~1~4233 ,-~, .
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suitable processing machine.

3According to another feature of the present invention, the envelope is 4 provided in the area of at least one end of the tear strip, which is contained in 5 the envelope, with a perforation to form a tear-off corner coverin~ the tear strip 6 end. In this manner, ths location of the tear strip end becomes clearly visible to 7 mark the spot where the opening of the envelope should con",lence. Such 8 perforations can easily be provided, p,~rerably during operation of the knife 9 ass~",bly for trimming the side edge flaps. However, it should be ensured that 10 the tear strip end itself is not perforated or severed when marking the tear-off 11corner. The provision of a peir.u,alion to form a tear~ff corner is in particular ~ -12 required when the envelope or shipping container is made of thick paper.

14Pre~fdl~ly, the tear strip is provided in form of a srnall flat band to avoid 15an inadl,lissible thickening of the side flap which would result in an one-sided ~ -16raised area and adversely affect a stacking of envelopes. Suitably, the thickness -17of the band is about 40,um so that the envelopes can easily be stacked later. ~ ~ ~
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19In accerdance with another feature of the present invsntion, the tear strip 20 ~ is coated with an adhesive which becomes effective when prsssurized and/or 21 heated. Suitable examples for the tear strip include e.g. hot melt strips which are . :.
22 effective upon ar.pli~(ion of heat, or s~lf-sticking strips which adhero during .''`'"`'',~'~ '' , ,;, ~.
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application of pressure upon the paper web. Thus, a particular gluing or ".
2 gumming of the envelope or of the blank prior to the placer"enl of the strip ~ .
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3 becornes unnecess~ry. The adhesive is part of the strip so that the provision of a ; .
4 separate adhesive strip to be applied upon the tear strip with all ensuin~
5 positioning prob'~ms is also prever!ted. Moreover, by coating the tear strip over 6 its length with an adhesive, the ,~rut'~n,s associated with a tear strip glued only 7 on one end are eliminated, beoause the tear strip accor.ling to the present 8 invention will not detach from the envelope when starting the opening procsdure 9 of the envelope by pulling on one end of the tear strip. When being attached only on one end to the envelope, the tear strip would become loose after pulling ~. ` -11 the strip at this end and can easily be removed without enabling an opening of 12 theenvelopo. ~. .

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14 Preferably, the tear strip is also made of easily decaying material. These 15 materials are generally known and may include high-strength decaying 16 non-wovens from which the tear strip can be cut. Such a tear strip can then be 17 separatcd durîng recycling of the envolope and l, anspo~lad for separate -18 ~lispos~l It is also possible to dispose the tear strip together with the enveiope.

19 When making the tear strip from a polypropyiene material, the tear strip can be disposed togell 'er with sheet windows during recycling of window envelopes. - .

22 A method of making an envelope accordillg to the present invention 2~233 .
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includes advancing a continuous paper web of suitable width through a 2 prucessing machine, continuously placing and attaching at least one tear strip in 3 the area of one lateral edge flap before trimming the lateral edge flaps for 4 forming a blank for subsequent folding into the shape of~ an envelope, which 5 edge flap extends in running direction of the paper web, for transport of the tear 6 strip with the paper web, and severing any exposed projecting part of the tear 7 strip in longitudinal direction during trimming of the format sides.
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: 8 9 Mavi ~es for making a flat blank for subsequent shaping into an envelope 1~ on the basis of a paper web which may be i,)~prinled in a desired manner and is 11 rapidly and continuously transported through the machine are generally known 12 so that a det~iled des~ription of their structure and mode of operation is omitted 13 for sake of si,n,~ 'y. The tear strip is placed continuously at a suitable location, 14 e.g. at a deflection pulley, laterally along an edge flap in running direction o~ the 15 paper web upon the advancing paper web, which is not yet cut across for 16 separalion of a formed blank and with the side edge flaps not yet trimmed.
17 Suhse~lently, the tear strip is pressed by means of a drum or roller and 18 continuously joined with the paper web so as to be advanced to~ether with the 19 paper web. The placement and attachment as well as the transport of the tear . , ~

20 I strip can be carried out without adversely affecting the conl"~on n~nning spqad of 21 the paper web. Also, the overall operation of the conventional machine is not ~-~2 adversely affected. During transport of the paper web through the machine and ;: ~

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affer placing the tear strip in the above-stated manner, the paper web is trimmed 2 along suitable score lines to form the edge flaps, e g. by means of a 3 conventional rotary knife assembly. The structure and mods of operation of such 4 a rotary knife assembly is generally known, and thus a~detailed description S thereof is omitted for sake of simplicity. The knife assembly not only cuts 6 excessive paper parts in the area of the side flaps but simultaneously severs any 7 exposed parts of the tear strip so that the tear strip of each envelope is out to 8 correct length at the same time. During subsequent folding of the blank into the 9 shape of the finished envelope, the presence of the applied tear strip can be 10 ignored. When folding the blank into the shape of an envelope, the tear strip is 11 auto,~alicallyandcorrectlypositioned.

13 In order to enable a rapid and easy grasping of the tear strip, it is 14 preferred to per~orate the paper web in the area of at least one end of the tear ~ ,:
15 strip to form a tear-off corner. Ti1e formation of the tear-off corner can suitably be 16 created together with the trimming of the lateral edge flaps. :

18 According to another feature of the present invention, the score line 19 defining the side ed3e flap is press rolled after inwardly foldin~ the side flap ;:
20 conlainil)g the tear strip. In this manner, the joint of the tear strip withl tha 21 envelope is once more secured to facilitate the later opening ~y tearing open the 22 score line. ;`
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BRIEF: DESGRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

3 The above and other objects, features and ad~anlages of the present 4 invention will now be describad in more detail with ~ ~rerence to the acco",pan~ing drawing in which: -7 FIG. 1 is a sd~em~iic plan view of a continuous paper web, ~:
8 ill~,s~,~li"g formation of a blank of suitable configuration and shapeable into an 9 envelope according to the present invention; ;

11 FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a segment of a machine for ; -12 making envelopes according to the present invention; : -1 3 .
14 FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a knife roll assembly; and ; ;-.:: .
16 FIG. 4 is a developed view of the blade of the knife roll assembly. ;.~

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214~233 ~ ~:
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i~TAlLED DE~CRIPTION OF i~ tRi~E~ EME~lMi~NT~
2 ~:
3 Thrnuyhout all the Fl~ures, tl~ 3~me or ~orresp~n~iing el0m~nt$ are ~Iw~y~ ;
incli~etl3d by the Bam~3 ref~ o~ numerals. : :
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6 Turrlin~ now to th~ drflwi~y, ~nd in p~rticul~r to i-lG. 1, there is ~hown a 7 ~GI~ ati~ plan ViHW of a continuous p~p~r wa~ 8 whlch is tran~p4rted throu~hprocesslng machine, ~hown in rno~e dotail In F1~ , in runnin~ direction inciic~ted :~ 9 by ~r~ow ~0 for toffnatlon of a bl~nk 1 which is then ~Id~ci Into the ~hapo of an , .. .
10 env~lope. i-lG. 1 shows th~ blank 1 of flat ~nfl~uration b~for~ b~ing foldad into 11 the shape of the env~iope. The ~lank 1 Inclucies par~llel score lines 2 sxtenciing in 12 runnin~ directlon of the paper web ~ to d0fine side ed~s 11 ~nd te ~eparate slde 13 flap~ 13 whlch ~re foldabl~ inwardly. A tear ~trip 3 is placed alongsid~ the score 14 llne 2 of one sici~ fl~p 13, In FIG. 1 thc left score line Zl ~r ailowin~ an openin~ of 1~ the ~nv~lopc a~ will b~ doscrii~ed further below.

17 A ~uitable rot~ry knlfe ~s~embly ~4 iocated on ~ch sicie od~e of the paper 18 w~b 8 ~nci ~hown In more det~ll In FIG8. 3 ~nd 4 Inoludes a station~ry, rotatin~
1~ knif~ roll 2B wlth a ~aisod circu~ erer~ l curv~d blade to trim the alds flap 13 ~0 ~lon~ a contour line 31 and to remove an area of excess pap~r of the pap~r wob.~ :~
ln Fl(3. 1, the area of ~3x~36~ paper i~ h~tch~d and in 'i~ by raferen~
22 num~ral 12. At a later sta~e, a ~epa,i~le cuttin~ knlfe (not shown) cuts alon~ the ~3 Repar~ line 21 to s~v~r tha blanl( 1 ftom th~ con~lnuou~i pap~r web i~ :

~144233 .
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A9 ~hown In par~icul~r In FIGS. ~ ~nd 4, the rotary kni~e as~mbly 24 i~
furth~r provlded with a ~ircular pHr~or~tiOn bl~ci~ ~5 by whlch the bl~nk 1 Ir~
perivr~ed at 7 In an ~rer~ 4 ~overin~ at le~st one ~nd 6 ~ the tear ~trip 3 to ~ :
de~ine a har off corn~r 6. Through the per~oreUon 7, the area 4 and thu6 the te~t-off corn~r 61~ m~uked EiS the locitlon where th~ opealny of the eriv~lDpe G ~hould ~I"i"~noe by tippin~ off the c~rn~r 6 to allow acces~ to the te~r r~trip 3 :
8 Turnin~ now to i~ . 2 thore i~ shown a scl~e"l~lo illustra~lc~in Of 9 se~ ent of a conv~ntion~l prosessln~ m~chine for m~king env~lop~s ~or-,iin~
~o the present inv~ntion, whioh i~ ~enerally designated by luf~re,nc~ numeral 14 - .-11 anci modiflad in acc~r~iance with the pr~cnt invontion to enable a supply and 12 Attachment of the tear strip 3 to tho paper web 8. P~rson~ ~killed in the art will ;
, , ~: : . . i 13 ,nder~l~nd that the structure an~i mo~e of operatlon of such processln~
14 rnach nes are ~enerally known ~o th~t only th~ ad~itionai olements for executin~ ..
1~ th~ fefltu~os C~f tho present invontion are describ~o in morc dctall whlle In other .~
16 asp~cts ~ d~tall~d d~scllp~lo~ thereof of th~ proc~sin~ machin~ 1~ is omltted .;: ``
17 f~r ~ak~ o~ simpll~lty. ~.,. .`
. :, ~. - . -, 1~ The pro~es~in~ machlne 1~ inelude~ a wirlàow ~tatien 10 in which the ~:
20 pap~l~ w~b ~1 or tha blflnk 1 l~ provided with a transp~nt panel throu~h which la~ a~ros~ on a letter withln the snvelope is vi~ible. Thls wlndow statlon 10 22 d~es not form part of the present invention so t~lat a dotailed cle~crlptlon thereof ~"~ ,.:

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' ., - ! . , ' is omitted. Following the window station 10 is a station 15 for furnishing the tear 2 strip 3 to the paper web 8. The station 15 is posilioned between ths window 3 station 10 and another station 26 for trimming and sizing the blank 1. Ths 4 continuous paper web 8 is advanced through the window station 10 and passes 5 the station 15 for providing the tear strip 3 upon the paper web 8 in a manner 6 shown in FIG. 1. The a"~nge",enL of the station 15 prior to the l~i""";"g and 7 sizing station 26 has the advantage that the paper web 8 with the allached tear 8 strip 3 is not s~ Ihjectad before being cut to various bends or curves which could 9 hasten a delacl ""e"l of the tear strip 3.

11 The station 15 includes a supply reel 18 onto which the tear strlp 3 is 12 wound and which is followed by a strip spooler system generally designated by 13 rererence numeral 16 and including sets of rolls 17 by which the tear strip 3 is 14 drawn from the supply reel 18 and suitably tensioned during their advance via 15 the sets of rolls 17 in direction of arrow 30 until reaching and being positioned 16 on the paper web 8. Following the strip spooler system 16 is a guide and press 17 unit 19 by which the incoming tear strip 3 is suitably guided along the score ~i8 line 2 of the side flap 13 and pressed by a pressure-exerting roll 22 upon the 19 paper web 8. Since the tear strip 3 is coated with a suitable adhesive the 20 pressure exerted by the pressure-exerting roll 22 effects a press joint of the tear 21 strip 3 upon the paper web 8. Thus the tear strip 3 is not only securely attached 22 I to the paper web 8 but is also auto"l~tically carried by the paper web 8 at a ~` 2144233 , ~ .. .

fe~lne ~pe~ci durin61 Its in direction of arro~v ~0. In order tCI ~ener~te ~ require~
2 pre~u~e for~e upon the te~r ~;trip 3, th~ pre~ure-exerting roll 22 rnay be ~-:
3 sprin~-lo~ci~c;
6 Th~ ~ulco ~r~d pross unit 1~ c~onciuots the te~r ~trip ~ in ~uoh ~ rn~nner th~t 6 the~ t0~r ktrlp ~ travols in syn~hr~ni~m with the ;;id~ fl~p 3 in direotion of ~rrow 20.
7 After placernent of the te~3r strip ~ ~longslde the ~core line 2, the ~ide ed~e 11 on both ~Ides ~ the pap~r w~h ~ i8 ~rlmmoci along th~ contour line 31 (FIG. 1) by eans of she rotary kni~e as~embly 24 whlc,h l~ r~ultably ~ecureci in th~ station 2&
~nri rot~tably mount~d on a ~haft ~7, as shown in Fl~i. 3. Tllo kni~ roli 28 of the .- ~.
11 rot~ry knife ~ss,n~ly 24 provldcs the blank 1 with the appropriat~ Sid~ c~f~ntour for ~ ` ` . . .
12 sl~hsec~lent foldlng into th~ ~h~pe of the envelopo, A cut along tha s~pa~alin~
13 line 21 to ~p~ral~ the blank 1 from the paper we~h ~ Is earrl~d out latar. As shown 14 in p~rtlc~lar in Fl~ nd 3 ~nd by the dev d vi~w in FIG 4, the knife roll 28 ~ ;
1~ ~rnov~ exc~s side ~rea In ~Ir:~0allol~ of the slde flap 13 by outtin~ In ciirectlon 16 of the contour llnQ 31 -~urlng cutting fllong the contour llne 31, th~ knTfe roll 2~
17 ~Iso s~vor th~ t~ar strip 3 In thls area. Excess pap~r ~nd the s~v~red portlon of ; ; I
18 te~r strlp 3 are th3n ~: 9,: ~ a ~ as wast~. Th~ cuttin~ of tho ed~e area 11 alon~ th~ `
1g contour lin~ 31 forms thê slde flap~ 13 whlch la~r are folded inwardly alon~ tho . ;`:
20 6core llne 2 durln~ shapln~ of th~ blank 1 into the en~/elope Thus, upon inward 21 ~ I f41cln~ of the sldQ flap 13, th~ t~ar strip 3 i~ compl~t~ly c~ver~d by pap~r anld ~ torminat~s ptocisely at the edg~s of the bl~nk 1 so that n~ ~xpos~d portions of the . Ii 23 toar strlp 3 exist, .`,`,' ~:',''':`.`' , ' ' ' '"'`.
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The rot~ry knife assembly 2~ is furth~r oomplamented by th~ perforation 2 blade ~ ~y whlch the ~rea ~I covering a ~trlp ~nd ~ is provid~d wlth the 3 pel r~l~liorl 7 f~r formin~ the tear-off ~orner 6. Th~ bl~de ~5 is ~ ned in sueh a 4 m~nner that the ~rea 4 is pe,~,~t~ci wlthout pieroln~ th~ t~ar ~trip 3 itself. This perfor~t~d ~r~a 4 f~rms the tear-off corner ~ which, ~fter foldirlg the blank 1 inta th~ ~h~pe of the envel~pe, i~ clearly vl~îhl~ ~rld c~n be torn off to allow ~ ess 7 to th~ respectiv~ end 5 of the t~r 3trip 3 for oponin~ the envelope ~lon~ th~
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8 scora line A~ claarly shown In i-l¢. 1, the ~ntir~ width o~ the paper web 8 QS
i1 ir..'l~ by deuble ~rrow 9 is only re~chad by th~ sid~ flap& 13 while U1~ side 12 edge~ 11 which are cut by the knife roll ~8 ar~ narrower, Trailing th~ i~lank 1 13 b~hind the cuttiny ~dge 21 i~ ~ closure flap 23 which is part of the su~ceedlng 14 i31ank 1.

1~ By placing the t~ar 8trip ~ in a manner ~i~scribed abov~ th~ normal 17 ~p~l~llon of the proces~in~ machine 14 fol~ m~kln~ ~nvelope~ will not b~
1i3 affected ~t all. Th~ro i~ na ne~ci to rnodify the operatlon of the proces~in~
1g rna~ n~entional machln~s need only b~ su~ !e;"enled ~y a station to 20 furni~h ~nd place th~ tear strip 3 onto the advan~in~ paper web B anci to 21 I se~urely attach the t~ar strip 3 on the paper weD. personB skilleci in th~ art will 22 ~I"~ lalld that any conventionfll proccssln~ m~hine 14 for makin~ envele~Pes :; ,;

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, . . -can be ~et~urilled to carry out the method accordi,)g to the present invention.
2 Conventional plucessing machines for making envelopes need only be modified 3 in such a manner that the tear strip 3 can be placed at an accessil,le support 4 roller for the rapidly advancing paper web 8 upon the paper web 8 in correct lateral alignment and in running direction thereof and that a pressure-exerting 6 roll 22 or a heating unit (not shown) is provided to effect the ~ cl""ent of the :
7 tear strip 3 upon the paper web 8 through pressure or heat applicalion. As 8 desc,ibed above the processi"g machine 14 need oniy be modified by a strip 9 spooler system by which the tear strip 3 is conducted in corr~ct lateral direction 10 of the paper web 8. The arrangement of such a strip spooler system is preferred 11 because the tear strips 8 are not evenly wound onto the supply reel 18 but may 12 be oriented not only above each other but also next to each other so that a 13 lateral shift of the reeled-off tear strip is e~,.,erienced. Persons skilled in the art 14 will ~" ~del ~land that the strip spooler system may also be sl ~hsti1ut~d for example - ~
15 by a funnel-shaped inlet with an outlet nozle for correctly aligning the tear strip. .
16 In case the supply reel for the tear strip 3 is narrow an~ has a great dia"leler 17 the guidance of the tear strip may even be effected by a simple eyelet through . ; ` .
18 which the tear strip is routed. " ~
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Since the tear strip 3 is coated by a suitable adhesive which becomes 21 effective only when being subjected to pressure ~nd/or ~pplication of heat it is 22 I not necessary to provide any supply units for glue which would require proper `, '',~,, ' '' '.''''," ',~'' .. .. ...

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alignment and separate strippers. As no glue is S~rF' Ed, the overall operation 2 can be carried out in an eAll ~mely clean manner.
4 Whila the invenlion has been illustrated and described as embodied in a envelope or shipping container, and method for making such articlas, it is not 6 intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and 7 structural changes may be made without 3epa, ling in any way from the spirit of 8 the present invention.

,' What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is ~ -11 set for:h in the appended clalms: ~

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Claims (12)

1. An envelope or shipping container, comprising:
- an enclosure formed from a blank having a score line separating a side edge flap; and - a tear strip placed in said side edge nap without exposing any projecting parts and attached to said enclosure and/or an inner lining of the envelope.

2. The envelope of claim 1 wherein said enclosure is provided with a perforation in an area of at least one end of said tear strip for forming a tear-off corner covering said end of said tear strip.

3. The envelope of claim 1 wherein said tear strip is provided in form of a flat strip.

4. The envelope of claim 1 wherein said tear strip is coated with an adhesive which is effective when pressurized and/or heated.

5. The envelope of claim 1 wherein said tear strip is made of decaying material.

6. A method of making an envelope or a shipping container, comprising the steps of:
- advancing a continuous paper web of suitable width through a processing machine in a running direction, with the paper web having a lateral score line which extends in running direction to separate a side edge flap and is distant to a score line forming a closure flap and;
- placing a tear strip continuously in an area of the side edge flap along the score line;
- attaching the tear strip onto the paper web for simultaneous transport thereof with the paper web;
- trimming the paper web to remove any excess parts and to form a blank with properly sized sides; and - folding the blank into the shape of an envelope.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said attaching step includes pressing the tear strip onto the paper web.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein said attaching step includes hot-sealing the tear strip onto the paper web.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of perforating the paper web in an area of at least of one end of the tear strip is form a tear-off corner.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said perforating step is executed together with said trimming step.

11. The method of claim 6 wherein said trimming step includes folding the side edge flap inwardly and press-rolling the side edge flap.

12. An envelope or shipping container, comprising:
- an enclosure having a first score line separating a closure flap and a second score line distant to said first score line and separating a side flap; and - a tear strip extending along said second score line in the area of said side flap so as to be completely covered by said side flap when said side flap is folded inwardly and secured to said enclosure, said tear strip being of a composition so as to adhere to side flap.