Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Ti-tle: Pad of Repositional Adhesive-Backed
Sheets With Pad-Backing of Stronger
Adhesive Than Used on Backs of
Other Sheets in Pad
sackground of the Invention
. .
Pads or sheets of flexible material, e.g. nate paper are
padded by being provided on their bac~s with so~called
repositional ~or repositionable) adhesive. The terminal sheet in
the pad usually lacks a backing of adhesive, and often is made of
a sheet which is noticeably different in appearance (e.g~ a padded
stack of canary yellow sheets terminated by a kraft brown backing
sheet bearing a manufacturer's name and logo on its exterior
face). Sheets which are successively the top sheet may be succes- -
sively written upon, successively peeled off and repositionally
stuck on another surface, such as on a page,of a book, on a
refrigerator door or on a telephone handset.
However, in the usual instance, although the individual
sheets are designed to be removably adhexed to a surface, the pad
is not designed to be adhered to anything so it may easily become
misplaced. In addition, because such pads usually are suite small
in lateral dimension, writing on the top paye may require a
two-handed operation, one hand to hold the pad to keep it from
moving and the other to hold the pen or pencil. Two procedures
have been devised heretofore for alleviating these problems. One,
adopted by a major manufacturer of such pads, is to supply a
relatively large and heavy container for a pad, through the open
top of which the top sheet of the pad is accessible for being
written upon. At least partly in testimony to the lack of
inclusiveness of that solution, another has arisen, seemingly at
the user level. And t~hat is for the user to peel the backing
sheet off of the pad and then to use the strip of repositional
adhesive on the back of the thereby--exposed last sheet of the pad
to stick the pad to a surface, such as to a telephone table near
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the telephone, or to a wall near the t~lephone, to the refriger-
ator door, or the like. However ingenious, this last-mention~d
solution has shortcomings also. Most important is that the strip
of repositional adhesive on the back of the last sheet, not having
been meant to hold the weight of the whole pad, but only of a
single sheet, lets go. Then, the pad slides or falls and may
become lost behind a piece of furniture, or the exposed strip of
repositional adhesive may get dusty or attract enough food crumbs,
dog hairs or whatever may be on the floor, so that its already
deficient power to firmly stick the whole pad to a surface i5
lost, necessitating at the least, that the rear sheet be peeled
off and thrown away in order to expose a new strip of repositional
adhesive. Needless to say, this technique results in the pad
~eing used from both ends tone end by being written on and peeled
off, and the other by getting dirty and being peeled off).
The present invention was devised to overcome the
above-mentioned shortcomings of existing ways and means for fixing
the position of a pad o~ adhesively back-coated repositional
sheets o~ note paper or the like.
Summary of the Invention
A pad of sheets of flexible material, e.g. note paper,
has each sheet but the last one provided on its rear surface with
a band, spot or other region of lightly-tacky adhesive which
allows the sheet to be peeled off and pressed onto another surface
to removably hold that sheet to a surface, e.g. for bearing a
me~sage. The back of the last sheet is provided with an adhesive
area having a signi~icantly stronger bonding strength by the adhe-
sive itself being stronger or covering a larger area, e.g. so that
the pad, once stuck to a surface, such as that of a wàll, will
stay put, throughout the life of the pad, and until intentionally
removed.
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The principles of the invention will be further
discussed with reference to the drawings wherein preferred
embodiments are shown. The specifics illustrated in the drawings
are intended to exemplify, rather than limit, aspects of the
invention as defined in the claims.
Brief_Descr ption of the Drawinqs
In the_Drawin~s
Figure 1 is a perspective ~iew of a pad of the prior art
type; and
Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional ~iew showing
that pad in use.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a pad o~
~~he present invention, showing the pad being readied for use,
Figure 4 is a longitudinal 'sectionai view similar to
Figure 3, showing the new pad in use;
- Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to
Figure 4, showing a top sheet of the pad being pulled off for
repositioning elsewhere; and
Figure 6 i~ a longitudinal sectional view similar to
Figure 5, showing a variation in the extent of the adhesive
provided on the back of the last sheet.
(In the drawing figures, thickness has been exaggerated
~or convenience in illustration.)
Detailed Description
A prior art pad of repositional sheets is illustrated at -
10 in Figures l and 2. This pad comprises a plurality of sheets
14 of flexible material, such as note paper, arranged in a stacX.
Each sheet 14, except the bottom (or backing) sheet 16 has been
provided on its back with at least one strip, band, region, area
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or the like 18, continuous or discrete, of a lightly-~acky
adhesive. The adhesive 18 most frequently is provided in a narrGw
band occupying, e.g., the top approximately twenty percent of the
back surface 20 of each respective sheet, adjoining the top edge
22 of the sheet, which coincides with the top edge of the pad.
The backing sheet 16 may be similar in composition to the sheets
14, although it often is a diff~rent color, in order to hélp
consumers to avoid attempting to use the wrong side of the pad.
Thus, in normal intended use, the pad 10 rests on a
surfaca 24 with no adhesive between the back surface 26 of the
backing sheet 16 and the surface 24 on which the pad is supported.
In a known prior art use which has been referred to above, the pad
may be stuck to the surface 24 ~in an unsatisfactory way), by
peeling off the backing sheet 16 and using the band of
repositional adhesive 18F on the newly-exposed last sheet 14F to
try to temporarily adhere the pad 10 to the surface 24.
Moore Business Forms, Inc. manufactures and/or
dist~ibutes a type of prior art pad as shown in Figures 1 and 2,
under the trademark Note Stix~.
Now comparing Figures l and 2 with Figures 3-6, the pad
10' of the present in~ention may comprise exactly the same
elements as the prior art pad 10, except for the nature of the
adhesive used in the coating on the last sheet in the stack.
Accordingly~ like parts have been given like numerals, but primed
ones.
In the pad 10' of the presant invention, the band of
adhesive provided at 18F' is not merely the same in composition,
area, thickness and degree of tackiness as the bands of adhesive
18'. Instead, due to any combination of differences in
composition, area, thicXness and degree of tackiness, it has
substantially greater holding-power than do the individual bands
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6~Z~2-
~1~ . As a result, the backing sheet 16' may need to be a release-
coated sheet, e.g. a sheet of paper coated with wax, a
polyethylene terephthalate varnish or the like so as to permit the
backing sheet 16' to be peeled-off so that the pad 10' can be
firmly stuck, via the adhesive 18F' to a surface 24.
The adhesive 18F' may itself be a layer of double-sided
adhesive t~pe, such as that marketed by Moore Business Forms, Inc.
under the name "Transfer" tape. In such a case, the removable
backing sheet 16' need be coextensive only with the strip of
double-sided adhesive tape and not necessarily coextensive with
the rear surface facial area of the last sheet 14F' of the pad.
of course, an adhesive which has closer, if not
identical holding power to that used for the strips 18' can be
used for the strip 18F' if the latter covers a greater area than
does each of the strips 18', e.g. as is illustrated at 18F" in
Figure 6.
ay way o~ further exemplifying the preferred embodiment,
an example will be given:
In a practice of the invention, a pad 10' is constructed
of the materials and by the techniques currently used to produce
Note Stix pads, except that the adhesive used at 18F' on the last
sheet, instead of being merely the same as used at 18', and the
backing sheet 16' were provided by the Transfer tape product
referred to above. The standard test used at Moore Business
Forms, Inc. for the holding strength of a pressure sensitive-type
adhesive for repositional paper sheets is: 90 degree peel ~t~
at 12 inches per minute from stainless steel, sample size 1" x 8".
Rolled four times with a 4 lb. roller.
According to that test, the holding strength of the
bands of adhesive 18' is typically in the range of: .2 - 4.0
ounces per inch.
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Also according to that test, the holding strength of the
band of adhesive 18F' is typically in the range o~: .2 - ~.0
ounces per inch. (Note: low strength would apply at high area
covera~e.)
In the variation which has been described with reference
to Figure 6, in which the adhesive used at 18F" may be the same as
that used at 18' but covers a broader area of the back of the
respectivQ sheet, tha adhesive used typi'cally is thak currently
used for making Note Stix pads, but whereas the adhesive 18'
covers a band occupying in the range of: 1 - 50 percent o~ the
rear face of each respective sheet, the adhesive 18F~I covers a
band occupying in the range of: 1 - 100 percent o~ the rear face
of the last sheet.
The term 'band' of adhesi~e has been used loosely (i.e.
generically) in the description herein and should not be taken to
necessitate that the area to which any adhesive is applied be of
any particular shape, or that it consist of a single, Gontinuous
region.
It should now be apparent that the pad of repositional
adhesive-backed sheets with pad-backing of stronger adhesive than
used on backs o~ other sheets in pad as described hereinabove,
possesses each of the attributes set forth in the specification
under the heading "Summary of the Invention" hereinbefore.
Because it can be modified to some extent wi~hout departing from
the principles thereof as they have been outlined and explained in
this specification, the present invention should be understood as
encompassing all such modifications as are within the spirit and
scope of the following claims.
