Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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BACKGROU2~D OF INVE:NTION
This invention relates generally to photo albums of
the flip or book type, and more particularlv to an album in
I which the photos are directly adhered to the mounts of the
5album to assume a step or stack formation.
In order to protectively store photographic prints
I¦ in an orderly sequence, it is conventional to make-use of so-
¦¦ called flip-type photo albums in which the prints are inserted
¦I within hinged jackets arranged in two parallel rows, the
I jackets in each row being progressively stepped. The two rows
of hinged jackets are mounted on the inner surfaces of the
~ front and back covers of the album.
¦ In one known form of flip album, each jacket is con-
¦ stituted by a transparent plastic sleeve whose upper margin is
¦ hinged by a strip of tape to a baseboard, the sleeve being
¦ divided by a partition card in-to front and rear compartments
for receiving a pair of photo prints in back-to-back relation,
such that the front photo in a selected hinged jacket in the
l stepped row can be seen by raising the jackets which overlap
¦ the selected jacket and the rear photo in the same jacket can
be seen hy flipping over the jacket.
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j ~ flip album of this type is relatively costly to
fabricate, for it not only involves the production of album
covers and jackets, but also requires base boards onto which
the sleeves may be hinged by tape at offset positions, the
¦ boards thereafter being bonded to the covers. Though the
¦ transparent plastic jackets serve to protect the surfaces of
the photos inserted therein from scratches and smudges, their
inherently glossy finish makes it difficult in some instances
¦¦ to see the prints clearly.
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1 In recent years, Polaroid, ~astman Kodak and other
large companies have been marketing cameras which produce
"instant" positive photos, rather than negative film that
requires development and printing. Such finished photos are
discharged from the camera in a protective paper mat which
frames the picture film and includes a narrow upper margin and
a relatively broad lower margin onto which one may apply
identifying data. The surface of these instant pictures is
such that it lS resistant to scratching or smudging and there-
fore does not require a protective sleeve. Yet with flip
albums of the type heretofore available, it i5 still necessarv
to insert these instant pictures in transparent jackets, which
to a degree cloud the picture~
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It is also known to provide albums in ~ook filler
form, the album being constituted by a stack of transparent
jackets which are held together in a loose-leaf binder. The
l instant photos in this instance are inserted in the front and
rear compartments of the jackets and are viewable as bo3k
pages. Here, too, the use of transparent jackets is a c1raw-
back, for the jackets interfere with the clarity of the photos
and also add to the thickness of the book.
I SUMMARY OF INVE~TION
In view of the foregoing, the main ob~ect of this
¦ invention is to provide a flip-type album or book filler
in which "instant" photos stored therein are directly attached
to mounting boards to assume in the case of a flip-type album
a stepped formation and in the case of a filler book, a stacked
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More particularly, it is an object of this invention
to provide mounting boards which dispense with the need for
transparent jackets, each board having coated on its front
and back face a band of pressure-sensitive adhesive material,
a pair of photos being secured in back-to-back relation on
the bands.
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Also an object of the invention is to provide a photo
album or book filler of simple, low-cost and high-strength
construction which makes possible the quick insertion of
photos to be stored, the album or book protectively housing
the photos.
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A significant advantage of a book filler in accordance with the
invention is that one may provide in conjunction with each standard cart-
ridge of "instant" film which has a ten-picture capacity a companion kook
filler having a stack of five mounting koards, whereby the photos derived
from the cartridge may be immediately stored in the book. Because of this
one-to-one relationship, one may create a library of photos in which each
book identifies the pictures taken from its related cartridge.
me album of the invention may be generally defined as an album for
storing photos all of the same size, said photos having predetermined rect-
angular end and side dimensions, the album comprising a set of like mountingboards whose length corresponds to the end dimension of the photos and whose
width is substantially shorter than the side dimension thereof. Each board
has on both the front and back faces thereof pressure-sensitive adhesive
material protectively covered by a removable liner whereby a first photo may
be attached to the board by pressing the rear upper margin thereof against
the adhesive material on the front face and a second photo may be attached
by pressing the rear upper margin thereof against the adhesive material of
the kack face to provide a pair of photos in back-to~back relation on each
board which acts as a supportive backing therefor. The mounting boards æ e
hinged at equi-spaced positions onto a carrier card by an adhesive tape, a
portion of ~ich is adhered to the board and the remaining portion to said
card. The spacing between the hinged boards in the set is such that the
pairs of photos supported thereb~ overlap each other with only the lower
margins exposed.
In installing photos, the upper rear margin of one photo is pressed
onto the front face band of the board to adhesively secure the photo there-
to, a second photo being secured in the same manner to the back face band
whereby each mounting board carries a pair of photos in back-to-back re-
lation.
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OUTLINE OF DRAWINGS
For a better understanding of the invention as well
as other Gbjects and further features thereof, reference is
I¦ made to the following detailed description to be read in
I conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
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Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a flip-type photo
¦l album in accordance with the invention;
~¦ Fig. 2 is a plan view of a carrier card or page from
Il the album, the mounting boards hinged thereon being extended
¦l at right angles to the page;
Fig. 3 is a side view of the same page;
Fig. 4 is a plan view of one of the mounting boards;
¦ Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken in the plane
¦ indicated by line 5-5 in Fig. 4;
¦ Fig. 6 is a side view of the page showing pairs of
l photos in back-to-back relation secured to the uppermost and
¦ lowermost mounting boards;
l Fig. 7 shows a single page from a double size album
¦ of the flip type:
1 Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a flip-type album in
triptych form;
¦ Fig. 9 shows the triptych album with its flaps open;
¦ Fig. 10 is a side view of a boo}c filler for photos
¦ in accordance with the invention;
¦ Fig. 11 shows the book filler in perspective with its
¦ cover raised; and
l Fig. 12 shows a single mounting board of the book filler
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DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
First Embodiment:
Referring now to Fig. l, there is shown a flip-type
I album in accordance with the invention, the album being con-
~ stituted by a plurality of carrier cards lO formed of card-
¦ board or synthetic sheet material serving as the pages of the
l album, the cards being bound between the front and rear covers
I ll and 12. Binding is effective by identical rows of perfora-
¦ tions 13 along the edge of each card and corresponding rows
¦ of perforations along the covers, a plastic spiral 14 being
threaded through the perforations.
As best seen in Figs. 2 to 6, hingedly connected to
each page is a vertical set of equi-spaced mounting boards 15
to each of which is adhesively attached a pair of instant
photos, the spacing or pitch between the boards being such
that the photo-pairs are fanned out in stepped relation with
only the lower margins thereof exposed except for the upper
most photo which is fully exposed.
I Each photo 16, as best seen in Fig. l, is constituted
by a positive film F held within a mat~serving as a rect-
angular frame therefor and provided with a narrow upper margin
U and a bro der lower margin L.
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Mounting board 15 ha= a strip 17 of adhesive tape
attached to the upper margin thereof, the tape extending
beyond the margin and being adhered to the carrier card lO
to provide a board hinge. Coated on the front face of board
15 is a band of pressure-sensitive adhesive material which is
covered by a protect~ve liner ~ whose width is greater -than
the adhesive band to create a tail l9A which may be easily
¦I grasped by the fingers to peel off the liner. Similarly
coated on the back face of board 15 is a correspondingly
positioned band 20 of pressure-sensitive adhesive ma~erial
which is protectively covered by a removable liner 27 ha~ing
a tail 21A.
The two adhesive bands are disposed adjacent the
upper edge of the board to leave a clear board surface there-
below. In practice, instead of directly coating the board
¦ with adhesive, one may use a double-faced adhesive tape to
¦ form the band, one face adhering to the board, the other pro-
viding the required band.
¦ A photo 16 is attached to the hinged mounting boards
by first removing the liner from the adhesive band. After
aligning the upper edge of the photo with the upper edge of
the mounting board, which is of the same width as the photo,
one then presses the rear of the photo against the adhesive
band. By so attaching photos to the front and back face bands
of the board, the photos are placed in back-to-back relation,
as shown in Fig. 6.
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Thus when a card carrier is provided, as shown in
Figs. 2 and 3, with a set of fifteen mounting boards, it then
has a capacity of 30 photos, each hinged pair being viewable
by flipping over the board. Thus with a relatively compact
¦j flip-type album having, say, five pages, the album has a
l! capacity of 150 photos.
Since Polaroid "instant" photos have a width of 4-1/8
inches, the mounting boards have the same dimension. With
Kodak or other "instant" photos having different widths, use
I is made of mounting boards in matching sizes. In practice the
¦ boards have a length of 1-3/4 inches, which falls well short
of the length of the photos, yet affords a good backing for
I the photos attached thereto. And since the mat of the "instant"
¦ photos is white, the carrier cards and the boards are also
preferably white in color.
Second Embodiment:
Fig. 7 shows a single page of an album of the type
shown in Fig. 1 except that in this instance the carrier card
22 is twice the width of carrier card 10 in Fig. 1, malcing
it possible to have two parallel sets of mounting boards per
page.
,
In this way, assuming fifteen mounting boards in each
set, each carrier card then has a capacity of 60 photos; for
each mounting board has a pair of photos attached thereto in
back-to-ba re1atlon.
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Third Embodiment:
The album shown in Fig. 9 is in triptych form with a
central panel 23 and a pair of side panels or flaps 24 and
l 25 hinged to opposite edges of tne central panel, the side
panel dimensions each being one-half that the central panel.
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Bonded to the central panel is a pair of parallel
carrier cards 26 and 27, each having a set of mounting boards
hinged thereto at equi-spaced positions. Bonded to the side
l panels are single carrier cards 28 and 29 each having a like
set of mounting boards hinged thereto.
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Thus when the flaps are closed, as shown in Fig. 8,
the photos attached to the mounting boards are protectively
shielded; and when the flaps are open the user has direct
access to the four carrier cards for flip-type examination
of the photos carried thereby.
Fourth Embodiment:
In the book filler shown in Figs. lO, 11 and 12, a
stack of like mounting boards 28, one of which is shown in
Fig. 12, is bound between the top and bottom covers 29 and 30
of the book by means of a plastic spiral 31 threaded through
the perforation row 32 punched along the edge of the covers
and the mounting boards.
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Each board is provided at its front and back face with
a band of pressure-sensitive adhesive material and a removable
protective liner. Thus each board supports a pair of photos
in back-to-back relation.
I Book fillers may be used in conjunction with "instant"
film cartridges, so that for a standard cartridge having ten
pictures, a book filler may be provided with five board to
support five pairs of photos in back-to-back relation.
While there have been shown and described preferred
embodiments of a photo album for instant photos in accordance
with the invention, it will be appreciated that many changes
and modifications may be made therein, without, however,
departing from the essential spirit thereof. While the album,
filler book or flip index card has been described for use in
conjunction with "instant" photos in which the film is held
is a mat, it is also usable with unmatted photos, such as
regular snapshots which are in the form of glossy prints which
require no protective transparent envelope for inclusion in
an album or other storage device. In this case, the upper
rear end portions of a pair of photos are adhered to the front
and back face adhesive bands of each mounting board. It is
also to be understood that it is possible, after photos have
been attached to the mounting boards to subsequently peel off
the photos from the boards if, for example, one wishes.to
rearrange the sequence of photos contained in the album.
