Means for shipping by parcel post

Application filed February 18, 1928. Serial No. 89,912.

The labels, tags and other accessories now in use for dispatching and recording shipments by C. O. D. (collect on delivery) parcels post packages require a great amount of time and work as this is now done and owing to the necessity of filling in separately on the various forms data relating to the particular shipment, it frequently happens that vital data on the various forms do not properly correspond and hence errors and delays in shipments occur.

It is the object of the present invention to provide means for minimizing the amount of work and the possibility of error in the preparation of parcels for collect on delivery postal shipment which permits the simultaneous preparation or typing of a complete set of labels, forms and the like for each individual parcel.

In the accompanying drawing wherein an approved embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the six copies ordinarily made for the shipment of each parcel and showing the sheets of carbon paper interposed between the copies.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the perforated label adapted to be affixed to the official post office C. O. D. tag.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the official C. O. D. tag showing the label, Fig. 2, torn apart and affixed thereto, the label being shown on a reduced scale.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of one of the labels adapted to be attached to a post card or the like which is sent to the addressee notifying.· him of the shipment and of the charges thereon.

Figs. 5 and 6 are front and rear views of a 0 notification post card showing portions of the notification label affixed thereto.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a copy which is made as a memorandum for the use of the salesman or local representative of the ship5 per.

Fig. 8 is a plan veiw of one of the receipt copies, two of which are made according to the invention. _______ _ _____

Fig. 9 is a plan view showing any number tached separately fromthTsheTteWelnlfter 9 of receipt copies affixed to the official post described.

office form as hereinafter, described. The advantages to the shipper in the savins

At present, a number of independent oper- of time and in the elimination of the possp ro eo

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AD-TAPE CO. INC., OF YORK.

ations are required for the shipment of each ^)y θ; -^0, P^arcels P^ost> ^for instance, the hlhng in of a label for the parcel with the C. O. D. indicia including the C. O. D.'number, amount due sender, money order fee and total; the filling in of the C. O. D. ta«· with the names of the sender and addressee and various other data relating to tlie shipment; the filling in of the post card notifying the addressee of the shipment and of the amounts due thereon; the preparation of a memorandum of the shipment for the use of the shipper or his representative; and the preparation of two copies required by the postal authorities as receipts, the original of which is^retained by the post office and the duplicate ot which is signed by a postal employee and returned to the shipper.

According to the present invention all of the above enumerated operations are so combined and effected in such manner that all of the necessary copies of the data relating to each individual shipment are simultaneously made and when completed each may be used tor its individual purpose with complete assinance that all copies accurately correspond. Furthermore, the present invention makes it unnecessary to insert the duplicating means between the forms each time a parcel is prepared for shipment, such means being arranged once for all shipments to be made during the day prior to the preparation of the forms for the first shipment.

The present invention insures a uniformity of numbering and the elimination of the use of a numbering machine or the writing in of numbers in the various places required on each of the sets of forms as hereinafter de- , scribed.

Furthermore the present invention avoids the possibility of the tags, etc., intended for a particular package being attached to a package labelled for a different party and < also avoids the possibility of the amount to be collected from one party being filled in inadvertently on the back of a postal card addressed to another party, since the sets of forms for each individual package are de- ,

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1,684,756 tached along the perforated line 18 from the portion containing the names and addresses of the sender and the addressee and the notation of the charges and M. O. fee. .

This copy is also gummed on its reverse 70 side and the two parts thereof are adapted to be affixed to the official form of C. O. D. tag shown in Fig. 3. This official C. O. D. tag is required by the postal authorities to be made out by the shipper for each parcel. ⁷⁸

The third copy 12 shown in Fig· 4 is provided with an intermediate line of perforations 20 extending parallel to the perforation 16 and with a further line of perforations 21 intersecting the perforations 16 and 20 and 80 dividing the copy into four parts. This copy is also gummed on its reverse side and, after it has been properly filled in, that part which contains the name and address of the addressee is detached along the. perforations 85 16,20 and 21 from the remaining portion and is affixed to the front face of a government , postal card 22 which is ordinarily used to inform the addressee of the shipment having been made, as shown at 12* in Fig. 5. The upper right hand portion of the copy 12 containing the charges and M. O. fee is affixed to the reverse side of the post card 22 as indicated at 23 in Fig. 6. This part of the postal card is also employed for containing such printed matter as is ordinarily employed by shippers in advising their customers of the shipment of parcels although this printed matter has not been shown in the drawings. The upper and lower left hand portions of the copy 12 are not used.

The fourth copy 13, shown in Fig. 7, is for the use of the shipper, his local representative or any other similar purpose and contains all of the data relating to the shipment including the order number which is filled in at the lower left part of the copy at the point corresponding to that shown on the first' copy 10. „

The fifth and sixth copies, Nos. 14 and 15, 111 are identical in so far as the printed matter thereon is concerned and one of them is shown in detail in Fig. 8, each of these copies, as well as all of the other copies, containing all of the vital data relating to the shipment. Ill The post office regulations require that each and every package to be shipped by C. O. D. parcels post be accompanied by an official form which is filled in by the shipper and which is submitted to the post office With the 12 parcel or parcels to be receipted by the post office clerks. This official form is wider than the sheets 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, and the left side of the form is therefore cut off so that the fonh corresponds in width to copies 12 14 and 15 of the present invention. When one or more sets of the forms in the present ;'O bilities of error by combining all operations into one is apparent, and these advantages also extend to the post office branch at which the parcels are to be mailed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings the numerals 10,11,12,13,14 and 15 indicate the six copies which are ordinarily made for use in the shipment of each individual parcel and according to the invention the several ) copies correspond in width and are preferably prepared in sheets, which, if desired, may be put up in roll form allowing uninterrupted typing of any number of sets. Each sheet with the exception of Nos. 14 and 15 is provided with correspondingly spaced transverse perforations 16 permitting each set of copies.to be torn off after they are typed or otherwise filled in. The sheets 10,11,12 and 13 are provided at either end of the lines 16 with a notch as shown in the drawings to facilitate the detachment of each set of copies after they have been properly filled in. The sheets 14 and 15 are correspondingly notched, and each form on these sheets is divided as »r> shown in Figures 8 and 9 in a position corresponding to the line of perforations 16 which are provided on sheets 10,11,12 and 13. Between adjacent copies there is arranged a sheet of carbon paper 17 adapted when the uppermost copy is filled in to reproduce on the under-lying copies corresponding data.

As a matter of convenience and economy certain data on the copies 10,11,14 and 15 is printed, particularly the C. O. D. number and obviously such data must be arranged so as to correspond on the several superposed copies. The first copy 10 is also provided with indicia and proper space for filling in the following data “Postage exclusive of fee , G. O. D. fee”, “Charges”, and “M. O. fee”. In instances where the shipper transacts business on such a scale as to. justify, his name and address may also be printed on the copies 10,11,14 and 15.

At the lower right part of the first copy 10 a space is reserved for filling in the name of the addressee and his address and as will be observed the spaces for filling in the amount of postage exclusive of fee and the C. .0. D. fee are arranged at the lower left portion of the copy whereas the charges and money order fee are arranged at the upper right portion thereof.

The first copy 10 containing all data relating to charges, fees, shipper, addressee and their addresses is preferably gummed on its reverse side so that it may be affixed to a parcel and may constitute a label for directing the course of the parcel through the mail.

The second copy 11 shown in detail in Fig. 2- is perforated as indicated at 18 at right angles to the perforation 16 so that when the —---------_Λ„· ·. · ¹

COPY is properly filled in and removed from invention have been filled in preparatory to the sheet by tearing along the perforated line the shipment of ^or ™°7„P®^rc.^el^s’ ., the left portion of the copy may be de tower nortion 24 of the official post office to 13

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1,684,756 ceipt form is attached to the bottom of the single copy or the group of copies as shown· in Fig. 9. The receipt form is intended to identify the parcels shipped by their C. O. D. 5 numbers and the other data relating to each parcel, and the lower part 24 of the receipt form is provided with a space for the signature of a Government employee acknowledging receipt of the parcels by the post office. 10 As usual, one of these copies 14 or 15 is retained by the postal authorities and the other is returned to the shipper as a receipt for the parcels.

In view of the foregoing it is clearly evi15 dent that the work involved in the preparation of articles for shipment by parcels post and in the actual shipment of such parcels is minimized and the possibility of committing error is practically entirely eliminated. iO The old practice of having to compare all copies containing data relating to shipments is entirely obviated and a single check according to the present invention gives complete assurance of strict conformity through'5 out the entire set of copies.