DOCUMENTS AND A POCKET FOR CARRYING OUT THE METHOD

The present invention relates to a method of sealing or likewise closing the opening of a pocket file or folder ma _d e of foil material, particularly plastic material, and containing one or two documents, each of which, subsequent to closing or sealing the file, shall have at least one surface of the edge-part thereof locate ^d nearest the opening in abutment with fastening means provides on the pocket file. The invention also relates to a pocket file made of foil material, particularly plastic material, provided with a file-sealing means by means of which the method can be carried out, sai ^d file containing one or two documents, each of which, subse ^¬ quent to closing or sealing the file, shall have at _l east one sur _f ace of that edge-part thereof which is located nearest the opening in abutment with fastener means provided on the file.

In _b ookkeeping and accountancy work, for instance, an ^d also in other similar kinds of work, information and _d ata has _b een written by hand in ink into such books as general ledgers, year books, day books, journals, etc.

In present-day, modernized offices such information and _d ata is entered into computers and the documents are printe _d through the computer printer. These documents shall then _b e stored safely, often in accordance with specific security rules and regulations, in a manner which renders it impossible to alter the documents concerned without such alterations going undiscovered.

One method of storing documents with some modicum of safety is to pagenate the documents one and one, or two and two, in so-called pocket files made of foil mate¬ rial, -rhich are then sealed in a safe and secure fashion, for instance with the aid of adhesive tape or with the aid of an appropriate heat-sealing method, so- called document sealing.

In those cases where the file is sealed with the aid of adhesive tape, the file is provided with double-sealing tape fastened onto the inside of the file, adjacent the opening thereof, this tape being provided with a pro¬ tective paper strip. Subsequent to inserting the docu¬ ment or documents into the pocket of the file con- cerned, the protective paper is removed and the pocket opening is sealed, by pressing together the front and back sides of the pocket in the vicinity of the pocket opening. The task of applying the fastener tape is both time-consuming and costly, and irregularities in the protective paper on the fastener tape can result in extensive scrapping of both tape and files.

In the case of those pocket files which are sealed by heat-sealing methods, it is necessary for the user to have access to heat-sealing devices, which are expen¬ sive units. The task of sealing the file is also time- consuming.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and rational method of enclosing a document or documents in pocket files in a safer and more secure fashion than has been impossible to achieve hitherto.

This object is achieved in accordance with the inven- tion by means of the method set forth in the following

Claim 1 and also by means of a so-called pocket file made of foil material and having the characteristic features set forth in Claim 3 and being intended for carrying out the method according to Claim l. The fastening material need only be mounted at one loca¬ tion, namely on the fastening flap, and is not used solely to seal the pocket opening, but also to cause the parts of the documents located adjacent the open¬ ings of respective pockets to adhere to the two parts of the folded sealing flap. This renders it practically impossible to open the seal and thereafter re-seal the pocket file without such re-sealing going unnoticed. Further developments of the inventive method and pocket file are set forth in Claim 2 and Claims 4-7 respec- tively, these further developments affording the advantages made apparent in the following description.

The invention, and the improvements afforded thereby, will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, which illustrates various embodiments of plastic-foil pocket files with documents enclosed therein, wherein the thickness of both file and document are greatly exagerated in the drawing. In the drawing. Figure 1 is a front view of a sealed plastic-foil pocket file in accordance with a first embodiment; Figure 2a is a vertical section through the file illustrated in Figure 1 prior to sealing the file and with two documents placed therein; Figure 2 illustrates a modification of the Figure 2a embodiment; Figure 3 illustrates a modification of the Figure 1 embodiment, with a row of holes formed in the front side of the pocket file; Figure 4a is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the pocket file shown in Figure 3, with two documents placed in said file;

and Figure 4b illustrates a modification of the Figure 4a embodiment.

The plastic-foil pocket file 1 illustrated in Figures 1 and 2a consists of two sheets of plastic foil 2 and 3, which have been cut in an appropriate manner from a web of weldable plastic foil and have been welded together along three edges thereof, such as to leave an opening 4 at the upper edge of the file. A relatively broad margin 5 has been left at one side of the file, to enable the plastic pocket file to be bound with or likewise secured to a larger loose-leaf file or a book. One side 2 of the pocket file, for the sake of simpli¬ city hereinafter referred to as the back side, is ex- tended with a sealing flap 6, which may either be an integral part of the back side 2 or welded to said back side. The flap 6 is folded double about a folding line 7, such as to form a back and a front part 6a and 6b respectively, and the inner surface of the flap is provided with a fastener material or coated with an adhesive 8, which is covered with a protective paper 9, this paper being removed prior to sealing the pocket file. Two documents 11, 12 have been inserted into the pocket file 1, to an extent such that from 1 to 2 centimeters of the upper edges of the documents will project from the file. Subsequent to removing the protective paper 9, the flap-part 6a and 6b are pressed against the interlying upper edge parts of the document 11, 12 and against the upper edge part of the front side 3 of the file, the opening 4 of the pocket file 1 being sealed at the same time as the document 11 is fastened to the flap-part 6a and the document 12 is fastened to the flap-part 6b, which is also fastened to the upper edge part of the front file-side 3. These measures can be considered to seal'the documents

satisfactorily within the pocket file. Even though it was possible to loosen the flap-part 6b successfully from the front file-side 3 without damaging the flap, it is highly probable that the document 12 would be damaged when attempting to loosen the flap-part 6b from said document. The same applies to the document 11, when an attempt is made to loosen the document from the flap-part 6a so as to enable the document to be with¬ drawn from the pocket file 1.

In order to increase security still further, the docu¬ ments 11, 12 can be displaced mutually prior to sealing the file, as shown in Figure 2b. In the case of this embodiment, both documents 11, 12 will adhere to the flap-part 6b and thus both documents will be damaged if an attempt is made to loosen the flap-part 6b from the front side 3.

Figure 3 illustrates another embodiment of an inventive pocket file, in which a row of holes 15 are provided along the upper edge part of the front side 3 of the file. Although these holes are shown to be circular, it will be understood that they may have any appropriate shape, for instance a rectangular shape. It is impor- tant, however, that the holes 15 are formed close together, such as to form narrow intermediate tongues 16. This enables the flap-part 6b to be stuck to a wide surface on the front side 3 of the file, while fasten¬ ing material on the flap-part 6b is able to reach and contact an inwardly lying document, through the holes 15. This embodiment makes it particularly difficult to separate the flap-part 6b from the front side 3 of the file, without damaging the front side 3. As with the embodiment illustrated in 2b, the documents 11, 12 may be mutually displaced slightly, so that both parts of

the document are exposed in the holes 15, as illustra¬ ted in Figure 4a. When separating the flap-part 6b from the front side 3 and the documents 11, 12, characteris¬ tic semi-circular defects will be formed on both docu- ents.

A document closure which must be considered completely secure is illustrated in Figure 4b. In the case of this embodiment, the width of the tongues 16 is adapted such that the mechanical strength of the tongues is insuffi¬ cient to permit loosening of the flap-part 6b adhered to the front side 3 of the pocket file without at least one, and preferably most of the tongues 16 being torn off. This results in irrepairable damage to the tongues 16, which makes it impossible to re-seal the file ithout showing clearly that the seal has been broken. This feature can also be applied to the embodiment illustrated in Figure 4a. The embodiment illustrated in Figure 4b, however, has a further security detail, which consists in folding the upper edge-part 17 of the back document 11 forwardly so that said edge-part will lie against the upper edge of the front document 12, opposite the holes 15. Thus, when pulling loose the flap-part 6b, the edge-part 17 of the document 11 will be torn up through the holes 15 and also up over the whole of the folded edge-part 17 along several tear lines, depending on which of the tongues 16 have been torn off.

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