EP1134616A1 - Envelope for photos and similar documents - Google Patents

Abstract

The envelope for a photographic print has a sheet of cardboard folded to form a rear and a front panel. The front panel has a window (11) cut in it for viewing the photograph and the rear panel has a cut out forming a fold out strut. The strut has a first foot (27) which extends parallel to the main length of the envelope and a second foot (28) extending parallel to the smaller edge length.

Description

The present invention relates to packaging articles for documents of the like photographic or similar prints.

As is known, such documents are most often wrapped in strong paper sleeves or wrapped in boxes made of materials rigid. These pouches or cases generally only serve this sole purpose of protection of their content during transport or for archiving.

The prior art proposes more attractive devices which can not only serve in a conventional way as a means of packaging but also as an exhibition medium for in the manner of a frame like the easel and this, without the need to use added elements such as support legs.

We thus know the document US 5,788,144 which relates to an envelope transformable into photo frame, made from a single cardboard blank. The envelope is essentially formed by two flaps, one of which has a window allowing view the photo and the other has two retractable legs made up of two portions of the flap which is partially cut for this purpose. The two retractable legs are arranged perpendicularly and nested when deployed, allowing keep the frame in a substantially vertical position pressing either on the long side or on the small side of the frame.

We also know the document FR 2 553 989 which relates to a display stand of photography, consisting of a cardboard sheet with two tabs that can be deployed as desired to allow support of the support in position substantially vertical on the long side or the short side of the support.

These devices have the disadvantage of proposing often complex solutions or expensive which require many manipulations to pass from a use to the other or do not have a satisfactory aesthetic. The present invention proposes to overcome these drawbacks.

The present invention thus relates to an envelope for documents of the kind photographic prints on paper, produced by folding a sheet of semi-rigid material, such as cardboard, said sheet comprising at least two flaps, a first flap forming front or front face which is provided with a window-shaped cutout intended for reveal all or part of the contents of said envelope, a second flap forming back or rear face which is provided with a retractable leg intended, when it is deployed and rests on a flat surface, to maintain said envelope in a plane substantially vertical in order to offer the view the contents thereof, characterized in that said envelope includes means for deploying said retractable tab in two directions and to obtain a choice of a first support leg located in a foreground containing one of the long sides of the first flap, or a second support leg located in a second plane containing one of the short sides of the first flap.

According to an advantageous characteristic, the rear face of the first flap is provided, in the vicinity of the window cutout, at least one hinged tongue allowing to maintain the content of said envelope in abutment on said rear face.

According to another advantageous characteristic, said tongue is obtained by folding, on the rear face of the first flap, an edge of the latter.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the rear face of the first flap is provided with two symmetrical tabs obtained by folding two opposite edges of said Rabat.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the aforesaid retractable leg is constituted by a portion of the second partially cut flap.

According to another advantageous characteristic, said portion has the form of a isosceles trapezoid, the small base of said trapezium being formed by a fold of said flap, the large base and non-parallel sides of said trapezoid being obtained by cutting.

According to another advantageous characteristic, said portion in the form of an isosceles trapezoid is inclined relative to the median horizontal axis of the second flap, said portion further comprising two folds produced according to two crossed straight lines joining the vertices opposite of said trapezoid, so that by folding along one or the other of said straight lines, operated towards the rear face of said flap, one of the vertices formed by the sides of the trapezoid and the large base of the latter, can protrude and serve as support leg, the other top being retained by a stop means.

According to another advantageous characteristic, the envelope according to the invention comprises a third flap extending the first flap on the side opposite to that on which is articulated the second flap, said third flap being folded between the first and second flaps.

According to another advantageous characteristic, said third flap is provided with a first cut of dimensions smaller than those of the portion of the second flap, cut in the form of an isosceles trapezoid, said first cutout being situated within the limits of cutting of the portion of the second flap when the latter covers the third flap, said first cut serving as a stop means for one or other of the vertices formed by the non-parallel sides of said trapezoid and the large base of the latter after folding the the above cut out portion of the second flap.

According to another advantageous characteristic, said third flap is provided with a at least second cutout, intended to serve as housing for a tab of the second projecting flap in correspondence, said cutout and said tongue cooperating to keep closed said envelope.

The manufacture of such an envelope thus requires only a few operations since it essentially consists of shaping a few folds and making a few cuts in a blank or a sheet of cardboard.

These advantages as well as other characteristics of the envelope of the invention will emerge on reading the following description of an embodiment given to for illustration purposes only.

• à la Figure 1 une vue en élévation d'une feuille dépliée en totalité qui constituera une enveloppe après pliage, cette vue représentant la face postérieure de la feuille, c'est-à-dire la face disparaissant au regard après montage de l'enveloppe, et
• à la Figure 2, une vue en perspective de cette même enveloppe une fois montée, en position d'exposition avec sa patte d'appui déployée.

This description refers to the accompanying drawings which show:

• in Figure 1 an elevational view of a fully unfolded sheet which will constitute an envelope after folding, this view representing the rear face of the sheet, that is to say the face disappearing from view after mounting the envelope , and
• in Figure 2, a perspective view of the same envelope once mounted, in the exposure position with its support tab deployed.

As can be seen in Figure 1, the sheet in which is made the envelope of the invention is composed of three main parts or flaps: a first flap 10, constituting a central part of rectangular shape, a second flap 20 extending the central part on one of its long sides and a third flap 30 extending said central part on its other long side.

Conventionally, the flaps 10 and 30 are articulated to the central part, or first flap 10, by folds 12 and 13, respectively.

The first flap 10, which is intended to constitute the front or the front face of the envelope, is provided with a cutout 11 which forms a window capable of revealing all or part of the contents of the envelope and which, in the example illustrated, is rectangular but which can adopt any appropriate shape, for example oval.

In order to immobilize the contents of the envelope, for example a photographic reproduction, within the limits of the window 11 thus formed, there are provided two articulated tongues 14 and 15, arranged symmetrically on each of the short sides of the part central. These tabs 14 and 15 are respectively carried by the opposite edges 16 and 17 of the first flap 10 to which they are associated by folds 18 and 19, these edges possibly be folded and glued to the back of the first flap 10.

So, after having moistened a strip of glue represented by a series of lines hatched on each of the edges 16 and 17, it suffices to fold the latter on the rear face of the first flap to bring the tabs 14 and 15 in the vicinity of the window 11.

The second flap 20, which is intended to constitute the back or the rear face of the envelope, as will be seen below, has a portion 21 partially cut out which has the shape of an isosceles trapezoid, the small base of said trapezium being formed by a fold 22 of said flap 20, the large base 23 and the non-parallel sides 24 and 25 of said trapezium being obtained by cutting.

It will be observed that this portion 21 in the form of an isosceles trapezoid is inclined with respect to to the horizontal median axis of the second flap 20 and that it further comprises two folds 26a and 26b produced according to two crossed straight lines joining the opposite vertices of said trapeze.

This portion 21 of the flap 20, partially formed by cutting, makes it possible to obtain a tab attached and articulated to the flap 20 by means of the fold 22 and which can be thus retracted while being held in the plane of said flap 20.

To deploy this retractable tab, it is operated a folding according to one or the other straight lines 26a or 26b, towards the rear face of said flap 20, one of the vertices 27 or 28, formed by the non-parallel sides 24, 25, of said trapezium 21 and the large base 23 of the latter, then protruding and being able to serve as a support foot, the other summit being retained by a stop means which will be described later.

This arrangement allows, when the envelope is assembled, to deploy the tab retractable in two directions and to obtain a choice of a first support leg 27 located in a plane containing the fold 13 connecting the first flap 10 and the third flap 30, thus as illustrated in Figure 2, or a second support leg 28 located in a plane containing one of the short sides of the first flap 10 forming the central part.

Thus, to obtain the support foot 27, as illustrated in Figure 2, it suffices to raise the portion 21 of the flap 20 and fold this portion along the fold line 26a to release the top or foot 27.

The retractable tab 21 is then held in this deployed position thanks to the other foot or top 28 which comes to cooperate with a stop means carried by the third flap 30 and which is constituted by a first cut 31 of smaller dimensions to those of the portion 21 in the form of an isosceles trapezoid cut out in the second flap 20. To this end, this third flap 30, the dimensions of which are substantially identical to those of the first flap 10, is folded between the latter and the second flap 20 by means of the fold 13, said first cut 31 then being located within the cut limits of the portion 21 of the second flap.

It will also be observed that said third flap 30 is provided with two other cutouts 32a and 32b intended to serve as housing for tabs 29a and 29b of the second flap 20 projecting in correspondence, said cutouts 32a and 32b and said tabs 29a and 29b cooperating in keeping said envelope closed, as shown in FIG. 2.

This last figure shows an envelope which has been assembled to form a "Italian" frame, the window 11 being positioned, thanks to the deployment of the foot 27, to show the contents of the envelope horizontally. To show content of the envelope in the vertical direction, it would suffice to deploy the tab 21 to release the foot 28, we then obtain a so-called "French" frame.

Claims (10)

Envelope for documents such as photographic prints on paper, produced by folding a sheet of semi-rigid material, such as cardboard, said sheet comprising at least two flaps, a first flap (10) forming the front or front face which is provided a window-shaped cutout (11) intended to reveal all or part of the contents of said envelope, a second flap (20) forming the back or rear face which is provided with a retractable tab (21) intended, when it is deployed and rests on a flat surface, to maintain said envelope in a substantially vertical plane in order to offer the view the content thereof, characterized in that said envelope comprises means for deploying said retractable tab in two directions and to obtain, as desired, a first support leg (27) located in a first plane containing one of the long sides of the first flap (10), or a second support leg (28) located in a second plan containing one of the short sides of the first flap (10). Envelope according to Claim 1, characterized in that the rear face of the first flap is provided, in the vicinity of the window cutout (11), with at least one articulated tongue (14, 15) enabling the content of said envelope to be maintained resting on said rear face. Envelope according to Claim 2, characterized in that said tongue (14, 15) is obtained by folding, on the rear face of the first flap (10), an edge (16, 17) of the latter. Envelope according to Claim 3, characterized in that the rear face of the first flap (10) is provided with two symmetrical tongues (14, 15) obtained by folding two opposite edges (16, 17) of said flap (10). Envelope according to claim 1, characterized in that the aforesaid retractable tab is constituted by a portion (21) of the second flap (20) partially cut out. Envelope according to claim 5, characterized in that said portion (21) has the shape of an isosceles trapezoid, the small base of said trapezium being formed by a fold (22) of said flap (20), the large base (23) and the non-parallel sides (24, 25) of said trapezium being obtained by cutting. Envelope according to Claim 6, characterized in that said portion (21) in the form of an isosceles trapezoid is inclined relative to the horizontal median axis of the second flap (20), said portion further comprising two folds (26a, 26b) made along two crossed lines joining the opposite vertices of said trapezium, so that by folding along one or the other of said straight lines, operated in the direction of the rear face of said flap (20), one of the vertices (27, 28) formed by the non-parallel sides (24, 25) of said trapezium and the large base (23) of the latter, can protrude and serve as a support foot, the other vertex being retained by a stop means (31). Envelope according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a third flap (30) extending the first flap (10) on the side opposite to that on which the second flap (20) is articulated, said third flap ( 30) being folded between the first (10) and the second (20) flaps. Envelope according to Claims 6 and 7, characterized in that said third flap (30) is provided with a first cutout (31) of dimensions smaller than those of the portion (21) of the second flap (20), cut into the shape of isosceles trapezium, said first cut (31) being located within the cut limits of the portion (21) of the second flap (20) when the latter covers the third flap (30), said first cut (31) serving as a stop means to one or the other of the vertices (27, 28) formed by the non-parallel sides (24, 25) of said trapezium and the large base (23) of the latter after folding of the above cut-out portion (21) of the second flap (20). Envelope according to Claim 7 or 8, characterized in that said third flap (30) is provided with at least a second cutout (32a, 32b), intended to serve as a housing for a tongue (29a, 29b) of the second flap ( 20) projecting in correspondence, said cutout (32a, 32b) and said tongue (29a, 29b) cooperating to keep said envelope closed.

Images