US2282062A - Envelope opener - Google Patents

Description

May 5, 1942. R. v. JEwE'rT ENVELOPE OPENER Filed May 26, 1941 f/ Patented May 5, 1942 l-TFlCE 2,282,062 -AfENvELoPE oPENEn Raymond V. 1J ewet-t, Chtina,".Terr-itory, of Alaska lA lpplication May '26, 1941,A Serial No. 395-5302 (Ci. 3mi-294) 3 Claims.

`This inventionrelates to an envelope. opener .and .it is onefobject of "thelinvention lto provide fapdevice of this character whichi-isneat and'o'l :compact `formation, .the sizeof 'the opener being `such:thattltrrnay-be attached .'to` azkey ringlor .watch: chain or conveniently; carried inaV pocket,

the blade thatfiitinay beladjustedto cause its' sharpened edge to be disposed at such an'incline that it will cut easily through an envelope as the device is moved along a marginal edge of the envelope.

A further object oi the invention is to permit the blade to be so adjusted that it will only cut through one thickness of paper and thus allow an envelope to be opened by cutting only one wall thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a letter opener which is simple in construction, easy to operate, and cheap to manufacture.

In the accompanyingl drawing:

Fig. l is a perspective View showing the opener in use.

Fig. 2 is a view on an enlarged scale looking at one side of the opening.

Fig. 3 is a view looking at the other side of the opener.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5--5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a sectional View on the line lE- of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken longitudinally through the opener.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 8 3 of Fig. '7.

Fig. 9 is a sectional View on the llne 9--9 of Fig. 3.

Fig. l0 is a sectional View on the line lll-IG of Fig. 3.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary view showing the opener partially in side elevation and partially in section.

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary sectional View on the line |2-l2 of Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of an opened envelope.

'Fig-14 yis a fragmentary View on the linel lil-I4 of Fig. 13. This letter opener has a body I taperedtoward `its front end and formed of plastic but maybe formed of any suitablel material. A 'shank vor handle 2 is formed integral withthe `rear end of the body and extends longitudinally therefrom, the outer end portion of the handle being'formed with roughened surfaces 3 so that the .handle may be grasped and held Without being liable to slip frombetweenthe thumb and iingergrasping it -while openingan envelope, as shown in ;-Fig; 1. An opening' 4 is lformed through the handleso lthat the opener may be applied toa lkeylringor watch chain, where it will be' readily'accessible f when Ineeded.

The'portion of Vthe body between the :handle and Sits innerV sideedgeis formed with'za longij angular shape, as shown in Figs. 7 and 11, with the wider end of the blade disposed toward the outer or iront end of the body, the narrow end of the blade being formed with and opening through which a screw 9 passes to hold the blade in place and permit pivotal adjustment thereof. The side faces of the blade have face to face engagement with side walls of the slot 5 and when screws lil are tightened, frictional grip will be created between the blade and walls of the -slot to hold the blade in adjusted position. The

screws HJ also serve to reinforce the portion of the body in which the slot 5 is formed. and prevent these portions from becoming cracked or broken from the body. A set screw l! is threaded through a threaded opening or socket I2 leading from the outer side edge face of the body and the inner end oi the screw bears against the inner side edge of the blade. Thus, when the screw is turned inwardly, the blade will be turned about the pivot pin or screw 9 until it projects into the slot or channel 8 the desired distance. rlhe set screw then serves as an abutment for the blade and the blade will be backed up by the screw and prevented from turning about the screw 9 when subjected to pressure during a letter opening operation.

When this letter opener is in use, its handle is grasped between a thumb and nger of one hand, as shown in Fig. 1, and a marginal portion of an envelope I3 held in the other hand is engaged in the slot or channel 8 of the body I of the opener. The opener is then drawn along the envelope in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figs. 1 and 11, and the blade will cut through the envelope to open the same and permit removal of the letter from the envelope. Attention is called to the fact that the blade cuts very easily, due to the angle at which its cutting edge is disposed, and it should also be noted that the screw II is so adjusted that the blade extends into the channel a distance sufficient to only cut through a single thickness of paper. Therefore, when an envelope is passed through the channel, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12, the blade will only form a slit or cut I4 in one wall of the envelope, as shown in Fig. 14, and the portion I5 of the envelope will remain in place and serve to retain a letter in the envelope after it hasV been read and returned to the envelope. This will also prevent an edge of a letter from being exposed and soiled if returned to the envelope and carried in a pocket after being read.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. An envelope opener 'comprising a body formed with a longitudinally extending slot and a longitudinally extending channel, the slot extending diagonally of the channel and opening into the channel, a blade in said slot pivoted at one end and having a diagonally extendingv sharpened edge projecting from the slot into the channel, fasteners passing through walls of the slot out of engagement with the blade and when tightened serving to draw the walls into binding engagement with side faces of the blade to frictionally grip the blade and rmly hold the blade in adjusted position with its sharpened edge extending into the channel a predetermined distance, and a set screw threaded through a socket formed in the body with its inner end bearing against the inner side edge of the blade.

2. An envelope opener comprising a body formed with a longitudinally extending slot opening through ends of the body and a longitudinally extending channel opening through ends of the body and through a side face thereof, said slot being disposed diagonally of the channel and having an open side edge communicating with the channel through the inner side Wall thereof, and a blade mounted in the slot and having a sharplened edge disposed diagonally and extending into the channel a predetermined extent.

3. An envelope opener comprising a body formed with a longitudinally extending slot opening through ends of the body and a longitudinally extending channel opening through ends of the body and through a side face thereof, said slot being disposed diagonally of the channel in the direction of the thickness of the body and having an open side edge communicating with the channel through the inner side wall thereof, a blade pivotally mounted in said slot and having a diagonally extending sharpened edge projecting into the channel, means for adjusting the blade constituting abutment means for backing up the blade during use of the opener, and means for releasably holding the blade in adjusted position.

RAYMOND V. JEWETT.

Images