Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE: IMPROVED LABEL
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to improvements in
adhesively adhered labels or strip material applied or to be
applied about an edge of a substrate and adhered to opposed
sides of the substrate. In particular, the invention
relates to an improvement which reduces internal stresses
normally produced during wrapping of the label or strip
material about a substrate edge, such that the resulting
product is less prone to separate from the substrate.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Reinforcing film for file folders and multi-layered
labels for file folders are well known in tne filing art and
have had application with respect to repair of file folders
and the labelling of file folders, both during the initial
manufacture of the file folder for customers or as a
post-manufacturing operation carried out by the customers.
Examples of particularly useful reinforcing film and of
labels are disclosed in our United States Patents 4,183,779,
4,204,639, 4,240,848, 4,294,644, 4,329,191, 4,588,463 and
4,749,121.
With respect to multi-layered labels, as disclosed
above, the outer plastic film cover of the labels have a
relatively high tensile strength to provide protection to
the label and have proved particularly satisfactory in the
marketplace. As can be appreciated, a label which is
applied about the edge of a substrate is exposed to
excessive wear, and particularly the portion of the label
covering the edge of the substrate is particularly prone to
wear. The reinforcing films used with these labels have
proven particularly satisfactory and do not normally suffer
from damage due to this demanding environment. Labels of
this type typically use a pressure sensitive adhesive which
secures the label either side of the substrate. The portion
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about the edge of the substrate is continuous.
Unfortunately, the excellent wear characteristics of the
plastic film introduces an additional disadvantage in that
this plastic film tries to separate the label from the
substrate to relieve internal stresses created during the
wrapping of the label about the edge of the substrate.
These internal stresses are opposed by the adhesive bonding
of the label either side of the substrate which during
original application are more than sufficient for
maintaining the label. Unfortunately, witn aging of the
adhesive and exposing the labels to abuse, some labels may
partially separate from the substrate due to these internal
stresses which overcome the reduced adhesive force on a
section of the label. Once the label is partially separated,
it is then extremely prone to full separation. Therefore,
the desirable high wear characteristics of the plastic film
introduce the disadvantage of the internal stress forces of
the label urging the label to at least partially separate
from the substrate to which it is applied.
Attempts to use better adhesives or possibly using
a nonpressure sensitive adhesive have not proven entirely
satisfactory and the convenience of a pressure sensitive
adhesive for applying labels, particularly in a retrofit
application, has led to this type of system being necessary.
There remains a need for providing a reinforcing
film or label which is desiyned to be applied to either siae
of a substrate and about the edge of a substrate which has
the desired high wear characteristics, but does not develop
the high internal stresses which tend to cause labels to
separate from the substrate during the passage of time. It
must be appreciated that colour coding systems of the type
referred to in the above patents often have files with a
life of ten years or more. Colour coding systems
essentially read the edge of the file folder as opposed to
the indicia along the sides of the substrate and removal of
a label defeats this purpose entirely.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A reinforcing film or a label for application about
the edge of a substrate and in adhesion with either surface
of the substrate, according to the present invention, is
improved by having in the area which is to be applied about
the edge of the substrate a structurally weakened area
produced during the manufacture of the substrate which
permits both the convenient folding of the substrate or
label about the edge in this weakened area in combination
with a structure which develops less internal stress forces
which would tend to cause at least a portion of the label or
reinforcing film to separate from one of the opposed
surfaces of the substrate.
According to an aspect of the invention, the
reinforcing film or label is scored on an interior surface
of the plastic film, such that the outer surface of the film
remains continuous while the interior surface has been
structurally weakened and folds readily about this weakened
area.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the
label or reinforcing film has been scored in parallel lines
in the predetermined region which extend generally in the
direction of the desired fold and at least four separate
score lines are provided.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in
the drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of a label
applied about the edge and either side of a substrate;
Figure 2 is a sectional view through a label which
has been applied about the edge and either side of a
substrate;
Figure 3 is a partial exploded sectional view of a
label;
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Figure 4 is a partial cutaway perspective view of
the label; and
Figure 5 is a top view of a label partially applied
to a substrate.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODI~ENTS
The invention is shown with respect to multi-layered
labels, however, the same principles are applicable to
reinforcing substrates such as the reinforcing films
disclosed in United States Patent 4,588,463. In the case of
the reinforcing film, the paper layer may or may not be
present, however, the film would still include an adhesive
layer and a plastic film layer.
The label, generally shown as 2 in Figure 1, is
applied either side of a substrate 4 and about the edge 6 of
the substrate 4. The label includes the indicia, generally
shown as 18, visible to either side of the substrate 4. In
colour-coded labels as shown in Figure 4, tne indicia is
duplicated to be visible either side of the substrate and
the background 19 provided about the indicia also implies a
coding significance. This background colour will also be
present in the folding region, generally shown as 12 in
Figure 4.
The label 2 has a first section 8 and a second
section 10 for application to opposite sides of the
substrate separated by the fold region 12. The label has a
clear plastic reinforcing outer layer 14, a paper substrate
having the indicia 18 and 19 thereon identified as 16, and a
lower adhesive layer 20.
The fold region 12, as best shown in Figures 2, 3
and 4, has a number of slits 24 through the paper substrate
16 and the adhesive layer 20 with the clear plastic
reinforcing outer layer 14 being scored at the internal
point 26 of the slits. These slits 24 structurally weaken
the high tensile strength film in the folded region, but
maintain a continuous outer surface of the film which will
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remain highly resistant to wear. The structural strength of
the label is further weakened by cutting of the paper
substrate and the adhesive layer. In the embodiment shown,
six slits 24 have been shown in very close proximity, one to
the other. The spacing between the slits is constant and
the overall width between the outer slits is about 1/4 inch.
The label, as shown in the drawings, exhibits the
desired structural characteristics of excellent wearability
due to the continuous outer surface of the plastic film 14
in combination with the reduced tendency of the label to try
to separate from one surface of the substrate to relieve
internal stresses. This tendency of the label has been
reduced due to weakening of the label in the fold region and
in a manner to maintain the continuous outer surface. In
addition to having these desirable characteristics, the
label, due to the slitting of the various surfaces and the
scoring of the plastic film, is more suitable for the
automatic application of the label to a file substrate, as
generally shown in Figure 5.
Machines for the automatic application of labels
are already known as exemplified in our United States Patent
4,183,779. Although it is desirable to always accurately
place the label on a file folder or substrate, it is not
always possible due to misalignment of the label on its
initial feed substrate or due to the slight shifting of the
label during application to the edge of the substrate.
Thus, it can be appreciated that some misalignment of the
fold region 12 with the edge of the substrate can occur and
problems can result when the label is wrapped about the
substrate edge. Some folds may occur in the fold region,
thus producing an extended portion of the label which
projects from the substrate edge 6. It has been found that
the weakening of the fold region in the manner described
above provides a forgiveness in wrapping of the label about
the edge of a substrate and reduces any fold projections of
the label from the edge of the substrate. Thus, a smoother
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wrap of the label about the edge of a substrate is produced
and the adhered label, even if it has been misaligned, is
not as prone to damage. The weakening of the label in the
fold region and making the weakened area oversized relative
to the thickness of the edge of the substrate to which it is
applied accommodate a margin of error in the application of
the label to the substrate without creating the problems
discussed above and allows an effective wrap of the label
about the substrate edge 6.
The slits, in addition, have been found to maintain
the colour of the background 19 about the fold region 12.
This is a result of the outer surface of the paper substrate
not being stretched in tension, as the slits accommodate
what would otherwise be a compressive force at the lower
surface of the paper substrate.
The invention has been described in detail with
respect to the label 2, however, the wrapping of a
reinforcing film about the edge of a substrate can also be
difficult and the problems associated with misalignment are
even more common. The weakening of the reinforcing
substrate in the fold region achieves the desired result of
a continuous outer plastic film having excellent wear
characteristics while providing a substrate which is more
forgiving and easier to apply automatically. Even if
reinforcing films are applied to one surface of a substrate
and the substrate and film folded intermediate the width of
the film as disclosed in United States Patent 4,588,463, the
advantage of less internal stress force can be realized by
structurally weakening the film as disclosed above and
folding of the substrate and film within this region.
Although various preferred embodiments of the
present invention have been described herein in detail, it
will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that
variations may be made thereto without departing from the
spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.
