MAILING ENVELOPE WITH PADDING

Abstract

A mailing envelope having two outer walls which form an outer envelope, are arranged essentially parallel to one another, enclose an interior space for accommodating an article and, on their inner side facing, the interior space, each have padding formed by a profiled inner all, is to be designed for a particularly small space requirement when stored or kept in the unfilled state. For this purpose, according to the invention, the profiles of the inner walls are matched to one another in such a way that they engage in one another when the interior is unfilled.

Claims

1. A mailing envelope having two outer walls which form an outer envelope, are arranged essentially parallel to one another, enclose an inner space for accommodating, an article and, on their inner side facing the inner space, each have padding formed by a profiled inner wall, the profiles of the inner walls being matched to one another in such a way that they engage in one another when the inner space is unfilled.

2. The mailing envelope of claim 1, whose inner walls forming the respective padding are designed in such a way that they form a number of cavities alone and/or in conjunction with a respectively associated outer wall of the two outer walls.

3. The mailing envelope of claim 2, wherein the cavities are filled with a cushioning material.

4. The mailing envelope according to claim 1, whose inner walls forming the padding are based on a cellulose material, preferably paper or cardboard.

5. The mailing envelope according to claim 1, whose inner walls forming the padding are made of corrugated paper or corrugated cardboard and are aligned with one another with a direction of corrugation running essentially parallel to one another in such a way that in each case a corrugation crest of a first inner wall overlaps with a corrugation trough of a second inner wall.

6. The mailing envelope according to claim 5, whose inner walls forming the padding are oriented with their corrugation direction substantially transverse to a longitudinal direction of the mailing envelope.

7. The mailing envelope according to claim 1, whose inner walls forming the padding are each bonded to an outer wall associated therewith at their points of contact therewith.

8. The mailing envelope according to claim 7, in which bonding of the inner walls to the outer wall associated with each of them is provided only for a partial area of the points of contact.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0019] An embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail with reference to a drawing. Therein show:

[0020] FIG. 1 a mailing bag with a padding of corrugated paper,

[0021] FIG. 2 a cross-section of the shipping bag according to FIG. 1 when filled with a product, and

[0022] FIG. 3 a cross-section of the shipping bag shown in FIG. 1 in the unfilled state.

[0023] Identical parts are marked with the same reference numerals in all figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The packaging or shipping envelope 1 shown in FIG. 1 is in the nature of a lined or padded bag or envelope. In the manner of a folded envelope, it comprises an outer envelope 2 formed by two continuous outer walls 4, 6 arranged substantially parallel to each other and formed by a material suitable for shipping, for example of plastic fiber, of transparent or translucent film or of papyrolin, but preferably and in the embodiment example of paper or cardboard. The outer envelope 2 formed by the outer walls 4, 6 encloses an inner space 8 for receiving a product or good 10 which is to be packed or shipped with the mailing envelope 1. The good 10 can thereby be guided into the interior space 8 via a closable opening 12 in the envelope. As a closure for this opening 12, a first outer wall 6 of the envelope is extended to form a closure flap 14. This closure flap 14 can be folded over via a folding edge 16 in such a way that the opening 12 is closed. For a secure closure, a rubber coating or a pressure-sensitive adhesive strip 18 is arranged on the inner side of the closure flap 14, which is bonded to the outer side of the second outer wall 4 in the closed state.

[0025] In addition, of course, a further pressure-sensitive adhesive strip and/or a tear strip or perforation could also be provided in the region of the closure flap. Not shown in the figures, but certainly provided if necessary, is a viewing window made of glassine or a transparent plastic in one of the outer walls 4, 6 of the envelope.

[0026] To protect the goods, the mailing envelope 1 comprises a padding 20 which is attached to the inside of the outer walls 4, 6. The padding 20 is formed by two profiled inner walls 22, 24, each of which is assigned to one of the outer walls 4, 6 and is arranged on their inner side facing the interior 8. When the envelope is filled, as shown in cross-section in FIG. 2, the goods 10 are thus completely surrounded by the padding 20. However, if the outer cover 2 of the envelope has a viewing window, the padding 20 can also be recessed in this area so as not to impair the function of the viewing window.

[0027] The effect of the cushioning 20, i.e., the protection of the goods 10 transported in the envelope against impacts or damage, is achieved by profiling the inner walls 22, 24. For this purpose, the inner walls 22, 24 have, for example by embossing, compression or another type of shaping, an applied three-dimensional profile in which cavities or intermediate spaces 26 are formed in the spatial shape by material folding or other contouring, possibly in conjunction with the respectively associated outer wall 4, 6. This profiling could, the example, comprise mouldings, pyramid-like embossings, grooves, hemispherical contours or the like. In the embodiment example, the profiling is achieved in that the inner walls 22, 24 are made of corrugated paper or corrugated board. Thus, in the embodiment example, the profiling of the inner walls 22, 24 provided for forming the padding 20 is in the form of a corrugated shape.

[0028] As can be clearly seen in the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 2, the interior 8 of the envelope filled with the product 10 is thus surrounded by the outer envelope 2, which in turn is formed on both sides of the product 10 by a respective ensemble of outer wall 4, 6 and corrugated profiled inner wall 22, 24. The cross-section in the illustration according to FIG. 2 is laid in such a way that the profiling is shown transversely to the longitudinal direction of the corrugated, structure; in this view, the corrugated contour of the profiling of the inner walls 22, 24 is thus clearly visible. The inner walls 22, 24 forming the padding 20 are oriented with their corrugated direction substantially transverse to the longitudinal direction of the shipping bag 1 and thus longitudinally or parallel to the filling direction of the envelope; the viewing direction shown in FIG. 2 thus corresponds to the view through the closure flap 14 into the interior 8. The wall thickness d of the outer envelope 2 is thereby essentially given by the profile depth t of the profiling of the respective inner wall 22, 24. The product or good 10 is arranged in the central region of the envelope, as viewed in the surface thereof; the filled envelope thus tapers from the central region, in which the product or good 10 is located, towards the edge 28. This results in a wedging or clamping effect towards the edges 28, which fixes the good 10 in the central region to a certain extent and, in addition to the actual padding 20, provides a certain degree of protection against impact loading in the edge region.

[0029] The envelope or the shipping bag 1 is specifically designed for a particularly small space requirement in the unfilled state, i.e., during stocking, intermediate storage or transport. For this purpose, as can be seen particularly clearly from the enlarged sectional cross-sectional view in the unfilled state according to FIG. 3, the profiles of the inner walls 22, 24 are matched to one another in such a way that they interlock when the interior 8 is unfilled. In the embodiment shown in the embodiment example, in which the inner walls 22, 24 forming the padding 20 are made of corrugated paper or corrugated cardboard, the inner walls 22, 24 are aligned with respect to one another with the direction of corrugation running essentially parallel to one another in such a way that in each case a corrugation crest 30 of the first inner wall 22 overlaps with a corrugation trough 32 of the second inner wall 24 and vice versa. In the present context, “wave trough” is understood to mean, with reference to the respectively associated outer wall 4 or 6, the lower extreme region of the wave shape with which the respective inner wall 22, 24 is in contact with the associated outer wall 4 or 6 in the manner of a longitudinal rib. The “wave crest” accordingly designates the upper extreme region of the wave contour.

[0030] The corrugated layers of corrugated paper or corrugated board forming the inner walls 22, 24 are thus inserted in such a way that the respective corrugated or profiled crest 30 on the format panel (corresponding to the front of the envelope) comes to lie in a corrugated or profiled valley 32 on the bottom flap (corresponding to the rear of the envelope). As can be clearly seen from the illustration in FIG. 3, this interaction of the profiles of the inner walls 22, 24 in the manner of a matrix-patrix arrangement ensures that the overall thickness D of the unfilled envelope is approximately equal to or slightly more than the single (!) profile depth t of an ensemble of inner and outer wall and is not approximately twice the wall thickness d of the outer envelope 2.

[0031] In the region of their corrugation troughs 32, i.e., the lower longitudinal line of the corrugation contour, the inner walls 22, 24 are glued or bonded to the respective associated outer wall 4 or 6 in the contact region. In the embodiment example, this bonding is only partially and selectively executed at the contact points as viewed in the longitudinal direction; this ensures that the composite of inner wall 22, 24 with the respectively associated outer wall 4, 6 has a certain predetermined flexibility.

[0032] List of Reference Signs [0033] 1 Mailing envelope [0034] 2 Outer shell [0035] 4, 6 Exterior wall [0036] 8 Interior [0037] 10 Good, product [0038] 12 Opening [0039] 14 Closing tab [0040] 16 Folding edge [0041] 18 Adhesive tape [0042] 20 Upholstery [0043] 22,24 Interior wall [0044] 26 Cavity [0045] 28 Edge [0046] 30 Wave comb [0047] 32 Wave trough [0048] d Wall thickness [0049] t Profile depth [0050] D total thickness