Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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1 WO 96/09221 PCT/I1S95/11927
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PLACEMARK PACKAGE
Technical Field
Pads of self stick removable notes, sold under the trademark
"Post-it", by 3M (Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co.) have become
ubiquitous because of their usefulness. They are commonly used as place marks
as well as media for writing. Each pad has a sheet of thin paper to which the
bottom note is adhered, the sheet itself having no adhesive on its back
surface.
This type of pad is referred to herein, generically, as a peel pad.
One of the objects of this invention is to provide a package of peel
pads in a form that makes the pads convenient and economical to use.
Another object is to provide such a package that can be mounted
on a surface conveniently located with respect to the place at which the
sheets
making up the pads are to be used.
Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art in the
light of the following description and accompanying drawing.
In accordance with this invention, generally stated, a peel pad
package is provided that consists of a plurality of pads of self adhering
sheets or
notes, the pads being mounted on a unitary backing. The pads on one backing
may be of the same size or of various different sizes. Preferably, the sheets
of
various of the pads are of the same color throughout the pad, but of different
colors from pad to pad, so that placemarks of different colors can be used to
designate different topics or subjects. The backing itself is provided with
one or
more strips of adhesive, generally with a manually removable cover strip over
each strip of adhesive, so that the entire assemblage can be adhered to a
convenient surface. The adhesive can be of the same character as that of the
pads, so that the backing can also be peeled off of the surface on which it is
mounted, or it can be of a type that makes a more permanent bond. In the
latter
case, the backing can be made in such a way that, at one edge, successive
strips
CA 02200778 2002-10-30
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of adhesive are defined by lines of weakness, such as perforations, so that if
the pad is adhered to
a surface, such as a book cover, by the outer-most of the adhesive strips, the
strip can be separated
from the backing by tearing along the perforation or line of weakness, leaving
the strip is place.
Such an arrangement can also be employed with peelable adhesive, if a strip is
to be left on the
surface, for example, to indicate that a book or study material has been used
by a particular person
whose name is on the strip. In neither case, each of the strips may and
preferably does have
imprinted upon it, on the side opposite the adhesive, indicia of some sort,
such as advertising or
sayings or mottos or the name of the owner of the package or of the book or
folder to which the
package was adhered.
The invention provides a placemark peel pad package comprising a plurality of
pads
each made up of a multiplicity of peel-off sheets each of said sheets having
an area of self
adhering adhesive extending in a strip on one broad face of said sheet
adjacent an edge area
thereof but covering less than the entire surface of said sheet, each of said
sheets of each pad
being selectively removeably and replaceably adhered to a contiguous sheet,
all of said pads
being mounted on a single backing, said backing having a broad front surface
and a broad rear
surface, said pads being mounted on said front surface, at least one strip of
adhesive along
said rear surface, whereby said backing with said pads mounted on it can be
adhered to a
surface, said strip of adhesive being located on an edge margin of said
backing, and a line of
perforations along the length of said strip of adhesive whereby said backing
can be separated
from said strip of adhesive by tearing along said line of perforations.
Of course, if the package is not intended to be removed, the adhesive can be
strong, not
peelable, applied to the backing and no provision made for removal of the
package.
Although mounting the pads on only one side of the backing has advantages of
simplicity
and ease of use, pads can be mounted on both sides of the backing. The pads on
the two sides can
be the same, or they can be different; for example, small placemark tabs can
be on one side, notes
on the other.
The sheets that make up the pads can be paper, or they can be plastic,
transparent,
translucent, opaque or frosted in whole or in part, with or without
emphasizing lines or arrows or
other imprinting.
CA 02200778 2002-10-30
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The pad sheets can serve as carriers for other tabs, such as folded tabs that
are intended to
engage both sides of a book page edge, for example. In that case, the sheets
are coated with a
silicone release agent, and the tabs can have lines of an adhesive that does
not permit their being
peeled off of a page to which the tab is applied, if that is desired.
Brief Description of the Drawings
WO 96/09221 ~ ~ ~ ~ PC"T/US95/11927
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In the drawing, Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of one
embodiment of placemark package of this invention;
Figure 2 is a view in side or edge elevation of the package of
Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a view in rear elevation of the package shown in
Figures 1 and 2;
Figure 4 is a view in rear elevation of yet another embodiment of
placemark package of this invention;
Figure 5 is a view in front elevation of a third embodiment of a
smart package of this invention.
Figure 6 is a view in front elevation of the package of Figure 4;
Figure 7 is a view in rear elevation of another embodiment of
package;
Figure 8 is a view in edge elevation of the package of Figure 7;
Figure 9 is a view in front elevation of the package of Figures 7
and 8;
Figure 10 is a fragmentary plan view of a page with a double tab
adhered to one edge;
Figure 11 is a fragmentary plan view of the opposite side of the
page and tab shown in Figure 10;
Figure 12 is a fragmentary view in front elevation of yet another
embodiment, showing a package of pads the sheets of which- are serving as
carriers for the double tabs shown in Figures 10 and 1 l;
Figure 13 is a fragmentary view in front elevation illustrating
strips of backing separated by perforations, bearing indicia, which can, for
r
example, be part of the package shown in Figures 7-9;
Figure 14 is a view in edge elevation of the package shown in
t
Figure 15; and
22Q~778
WO 96!09221 PCT/US95l11927
-4-
Figure 15 is a fragmentary view in front elevation of a package in
which the pads are made up of sheets of plastic material, the sheets on the
left
being transparent, those on the right, frosted along one edge to facilitate
writing
on them, and both shown with emphasis lines.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
Refernng now to the drawings and particularly to Figures 1
through 3, reference numeral 1 indicates one embodiment of the package of this
invention, in which pads 3 through 11 are mounted on one broad surface 16 of a
backing 15. The backing 15 is a sheet of thin but self supporting material, of
the character of Bristle board or thin cardboard, for example. Along one edge
of
an opposite broad surface 17 of the backing 15, is a strip of adhesive 18,
over
which a cover strip 19 extends. The cover strip 19 is manually removable from
the adhesive surface 18, and the adhesive 18 can then be made to adhere to a
surface that is convenient to the user of the pads.
In this embodiment, the pads are shown as being of different
colors. Merely for illustrative purposes; the pads are shown as being in nine
different colors, including the white pads 5. Howevei, they may be made in as
many or as few different colors as is desired, depending upon how sheets or
notes 12, making up the pads, are to be used.
The pads shown in this embodiment are preferably no larger than
3/4" by 7/8", ideally, not larger than 1/2" by 5/8"; and an adhesive area on
the
back of each of the sheets 12, as indicated in dotted lines on one of the pads
5, is
preferably no more than 5/8", ideally, no wider than 3/8". The reason for
these
dimensions is that the notes or sheets are designed to protrude in their long
dimension from a book or paper far enough to be seen, but not unnecessarily
far,
to be of a width so as not to overlap unnecessarily on successive places that
are
' being marked, and to adhere between the margin of printed matter and the
edge
of the book or paper, but not to leave an exposed area of adhesive beyond the
margin. Of course, for other purposes, the dimensions can be modified.
WO 96/09221 L ~ ~ ~ PCTIUS95/11927
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Referring now to Figures 4 and 6, a package 21 is shown, a rear
broad surface 27 of a sheet of backing 25 of which is shown as perforated
along
lines 24, to define areas that are covered with adhesive 28 overlain by
individual
cover strips 29. The backing 25 can be of any tearable material, and may be
stiff or flexible.
Preferably, the strips between the perforations 24 have indicia 23
on surfaces 26 on the broad side of the sheet 25 opposite the adhesive 28 and
cover strips 29 as shown in Figure 13. In use, this embodiment of pad can be
adhered to a cover or the frontispiece of a book, for example, by stripping
the
upper-most of the cover strips 29 from its corresponding section, exposing the
adhesive 28, and pressing the adhesive side against the surface to which it is
to
be mounted. When it is desired to remove the package, the adhered strip can be
peririitted-to-reW airi iri place, and the package separated by tearing along
the line
of perforations 24 contiguous the strip, leaving the strip with its indicia in
place.
The indicia can be in the form of an identification or book plate, a saying of
some sort, or decoration, for example.
Referring to Figure 5, a third embodiment is shown. In this
embodiment, a package 31 consists of a self supporting backing 35 on which
pads 5 are mounted on a front surface 37. In this embodiment, no adhesive or
cover strip is applied to the opposite side of the backing, so that in rear
elevation
it looks like the package of Figure 3, but without the cover strip 19 or
adhesive
18. In this embodiment, the pads 5 can be colored in any of the ways in which
the pads 3, 4, and 6 through 11 of Figure 1 are colored.
Referring now to Figures 7 and 9 for another embodiment,
reference numeral 41 indicates a package including a backing 45 with a back
surface 46 on which pads 42 of place marking tabs are mounted, but also a pad
,7 ' 43 of note-size sheets. The pads 42 can be replaced by another note-size
pad 43,
if desired. Tab or place marking pads 48 are mounted on a front surface 47 of
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WO 96/09221 PCT/US9S/11927
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the backing 45, in such a way as to leave a substantial space on which indicia
SS
are printed. r
An adhesive strip 51 extends along an upper margin of the backing
45, and is covered with a cover strip 52. Preferably, fold lines, not here
shown,
are formed below the adhesive strip, to facilitate the mounting of the strip
to a
surface. In the case of the adhesive 51, especially as it is used with the
type of
upper strips shown in Figure 13, a strong adhesive, as distinguished from a
peelable type, is useful.
Referring now to Figures 10, 11, and 12 for yet another
embodiment, a package 61 is shown provided with pads 62 of sheets 63, which
can be paper or plastic. In either event, the sheets 63 are coated with a
silicon
release agent below the usual adhesive strip. They serve as carriers for
double
tabs 64, which can be of plastic or cloth, with adhesive on facing surfaces of
two legs of the tab. The tab 64 are mounted on edges of sheets, which can be
pages of a book, documentary exhibits, or whatever such tabs are used for, as
shown in Figures 10 and 11.
Referring now to Figures 14 and 15, a package 81 is shown as
having a backing 83 on which pads 84 and 85 are mounted. The pad 84 is made
up of transparent plastic sheets, with an emphasis line 86 on it, shown here
as
spaced from a hottom edge, merely for clarity. The line 86 can be anywhere on
the sheet, although commonly it is along the lower edge. The line 86 can also
take the form of an arrow or other sign, and can be oriented in any direction
with respect to the sheet. The pad 85 is also made up of plastic sheets with
the
indicia line 86, but with a frosted area 87, of a surface that will accept
pencil or
pen marking. The area of the frosted part 87 can be enlarged to cover more or
even all of the top surface of the sheet. As is the case with all of the pads
of the
various embodiments, the sheets of the pads have the usual peel-off permitting
adhesive in a strip along the upper edges of the back surface of the sheets,
by
which they are adhered to one another, and with the bottom sheet, to the
WO 96/09221 PGT/US95l11927
backing. If it is desired to do so, the bottom sheet can be adhered to the
backing
more nearly permanently by the application of a different kind of adhesive.
The
adhesive strip along the top edge of the backing sheet can be either of the
peel-
off type, or of a more permanent type.
In all of the embodiments, the package can be, and generally will
be packed in a clear shrink wrap. Particularly in those cases in which the
backing is sized to fit into a shirt pocket, a cover flap can be provided that
extends over the pads, or a simple slip case can be provided.
The backing can be punched along one margin with as many holes
as is appropriate, to adapt it to being mounted in a ring binder.
Numerous variations in the construction of the package of this
invention, within the scope of the appended claims, will occur to those
skilled in
the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure. Merely by way of example,
and
not of limitation, the pads can be all of one color, or the sheets making up a
pad
may be of different colors. However, the arrangement described has advantages
in ease of use, and in providing an easy way to distinguish subjects and the
like.
The shape of the backing can be varied, as heart shaped or shamrock shaped,
and the pads themselves can be given different configurations, although the
rectangular shape is easier to make and use. The pads can be arranged in
decorative patterns different from the columns and rows illustrated. The
backing can be of material other than paper, and be not self supporting,
although its being self supporting is much preferred. Adhesive can be
positioned in areas different from the upper edge of the backing and in
different
configurations; for example, a single strip in the center of the back surface
of
the backing, or a circular patch of adhesive, anywhere on the backing, or a
plurality of strips or patches, each selectively exposable, can be provided to
give
the user a choice. Adhesive can also be positioned on both sides of the
backing,
either at the same end or opposite ends of the backing, particularly in the
embodiment in which pads are mounted on both sides of the backing. Adhesive
WO 96/09221 2 2 0 0 7 7 8 p~/~595/11927
_g_
that must be moistened to adhere can be used, without provision for an
overlying strip. These are merely illustrative.
