U.S. patent application number 10/422353 was filed with the patent office on 2004-03-18 for removable display surface.
Invention is credited to Richards, Eric W..
Application Number | 20040049957 10/422353 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25408362 |
Filed Date | 2004-03-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040049957 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Richards, Eric W. |
March 18, 2004 |
Removable display surface
Abstract
A precisely measured removable cover for reusable beverage
containers. A covering of independently resilient material is
precisely cut to fit a given size and shape of pot, and the
material has imprinted on it a desired promotional or advertising
message and/or graphics. The covering material is removably
fastened with releasable closures to the outside of the pot in such
a way as not to impair significantly the natural independent
resiliency of the material. Thus, dents in the pot do not generally
show in the covering surface because it retains its independent
resiliency, even if the blow was delivered through the covering
surface. Messages may be changed as often as suits the promotional
and decorative needs of the owner of the pot, so the display
surface is always timely and in top condition. An optional "window"
permits display of interchangeable labels on the inside of the
covering. When the display surface is fully removed, the original
surface of the pot is substantially restored to its former
appearance. Optionally, a protective plastic covering or
overlaminant is attached to the print side of the covering
material, so that when the printed cover is in its removed state,
the printing will not be accidentally damaged by scratching. Some
embodiments employ a nylon fabric cover material with promotional
printing.
Inventors: |
Richards, Eric W.; (Auburn,
WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PATRICK M DWYER PC
SUITE 114
1818 WESTLAKE AVENUE N
SEATTLE
WA
98109
US
|
Family ID: |
25408362 |
Appl. No.: |
10/422353 |
Filed: |
April 23, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10422353 |
Apr 23, 2003 |
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09821681 |
Mar 29, 2001 |
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6578303 |
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09821681 |
Mar 29, 2001 |
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08897749 |
Jul 21, 1997 |
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6250005 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
40/306 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 2203/00 20130101;
Y10S 150/901 20130101; Y02W 30/807 20150501; Y02W 30/80 20150501;
B65D 25/36 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
040/306 |
International
Class: |
G09F 003/00 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A container cover comprising a flexible sheet with a graphical
display imprinted thereon, and a cover fastener for removably
fastening the cover to a container, and further wherein the sheet
is adapted to substantially cover the side walls of the
container.
2. The cover of claim 1 further comprising a window through the
cover that is transparent and a label disposed between the
container and the cover to be viewed through the window.
3. The cover of claim 1 wherein the cover is comprised of a woven
fabric and the graphical display is imprinted on a front surface
thereof.
4. The cover of claim 3 further comprising a second fabric
layer.
5. The cover of claim 1 wherein the cover is comprised of a
resilient translucent material.
6. The cover of claim 5 wherein the resilient material is a clear
plastic sheet, and the graphical display is imprinted on a rear
surface thereof.
7. The cover of claim 6 further comprising a window through the
cover that is transparent and a label disposed between the
container and the cover to be viewed through the window.
8. The cover of claim 6 further comprising an overlaminant layer
disposed to cover the graphical display imprinted on the rear
surface of the clear plastic sheet.
9. The cover of claim 8 wherein the overlaminant layer is metalized
to provide insulation to the container.
10. The cover of claim 1 wherein the cover fastener comprises one
or more releasable closures.
11. The cover of claim 10 wherein at least one of the releasable
closures is further comprised of paired hook and pile closures.
12. The cover of claim 10 wherein at least one of the releasable
closures is further comprised of a guide slot and tab pair, wherein
the tab is on one end of the cover and the slot is proximate the
opposite end of the cover and parallel to the tab.
Description
[0001] This application is a division of Ser. No. 09/821,681 filed
Mar. 29, 2001, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/897,749 filed
Jul. 21, 1997, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,005.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The invention relates to a removable display surface for use
as a cover to a beverage container; more particularly, it relates
to a removable and precisely measured independently resilient cover
for reusable beverage containers with a promotional or advertising
message printed on the cover.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Many kinds of containers, and particularly beverage
containers, are placed in public view, both commercially and
privately used, and therefore are appropriate for use as display
surfaces for various kinds of advertising and promotion.
Commercially, beverage containers are on display containing coffee
and other beverages; privately, thermos bottles may be viewed by
others while in use, both by way of example. The container wall
itself however is ill suited to a display surface as it readily
becomes marred and disfigured, and the printing matter itself is
degraded, so that any such display is a poor display indeed for the
subject matter of the advertisement or promotion. As yet however,
no feasible and effective display surface has been proposed which
may be attached to these beverage containers or other containers so
as to adequately address the needs of current advertising and
promotional standards.
[0004] In recent years, it has come to be recognized that old style
coffee warmers and open coffee pots are not in the best interests
of the delicate flavor characteristics of a good brew of coffee. To
that end, vacuum pots of various shapes and descriptions have
become increasingly popular and prevalent, especially in finer
commercial coffee houses and restaurants. Such a pot preserves
desirable coffee serving temperature with reduced risk of, and
exposure to, either burner heat scorching or air oxidation of the
coffee esters. They also generally hold more coffee, and can be
made available for use and refills by customers in places that are
not wired or not safe for warmer burners.
[0005] As mentioned, these pots are often highly visible to the
customers and could become effective sign boards for the brand of
coffee or any other advertising an owner may wish to display in
conjunction with the service of the coffee or other beverage.
However, with the passing of time and customer use and normal wear
and tear (such as by dish washing operations), the vacuum pots
themselves can take on unsightly dents and surface mars.
[0006] It has been suggested to permanently adhere a surface
covering that is specially cut to fit the pot to the outside of the
pot. This covering can hold or display various advertising or
promotional messages and graphics. These covering systems however
suffer from several disadvantages. Because they are permanently
adhered to substantially the entire outside surface of the pot,
they in effect become a second skin, and as such lose much if not
all of the independent resiliency such a covering material might
otherwise inherently have. Any blow or other force striking the
skin will be transmitted to the pot as well, and any resulting
deformation in the pot surface will also show on the tightly
adhered covering skin. Also, if the advertising message becomes
stale or otherwise out of date, or if the covering begins to show
signs of wear or other distress, it must laboriously be removed in
its entirety, leaving the pot covered in unsightly adhesive residue
until it is recovered, and this operation must be repeated every
time it is desirable to change the advertising message.
[0007] Other proposed covering systems require application of a
heat shrinkable film to a container, with the disadvantages that
such films are not readily, and certainly not non-destructively,
removable, and rather less control of the kind and quality of
printing that may be imprinted on the film, on its resultant
resized surface, is possible compared with unshrunk covers.
[0008] Other covering system proposals disclose (1) a foam rubber
beverage can insulator with flexible sidewall and bottom member
with slits on the bottom for expansion and contraction; (2) a
wastebasket, or other open container, cover with a flexible sheet
to wrap around the side wall of the basket, and clips to detachably
interconnect the top and bottom edges of the sheet to the open rims
of the container, and Velcro type closures to hold the ends
together; and (3) a loose fitting sock-like covering to fit over
standing water cooler bottles and the like, or a free standing
cylinder of rigid material resting on the cooler apparatus, with
holes or viewing ports to show water level and provide air
circulation inside the covering.
[0009] What is needed is a feasible and effective display surface
which may be attached to beverage containers or other containers so
as to adequately address the needs of current advertising and
promotional standards. In addition, it would be desirable for such
a display surface to be easily and readily removable and to possess
independent resiliency (and not be just a second skin tight layer).
The desired removable display surface would require only cover end
attachment by releasable closures, and would provide an excellent
base medium for commercial printing processes.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0010] Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a
feasible and effective display surface which may be attached to
beverage containers or other containers so as to adequately address
the needs of current advertising and promotional standards.
[0011] It is a further object of the invention to provide in such a
display surface an easily and readily removable wrap around
cover.
[0012] It is another object of the invention to provide a wrap
around cover having independent resiliency.
[0013] It is another object of the invention to provide a removable
display surface requiring only releasable closures for attachment
together of its cover ends.
[0014] It is another object of the invention to provide a removable
display surface in turn providing an excellent base medium for
commercial printing processes.
[0015] It is yet another object of the invention to meet any or all
of the needs summarized above.
[0016] These and such other objects of the invention as will become
evident from the disclosure below are met by the invention
disclosed herein.
[0017] The invention addresses and overcomes these difficulties by
providing a method for making a precisely measured cover for
reusable beverage containers. A covering of independently resilient
material is precisely cut to fit a given size and shape of pot, and
the material has imprinted on it a desired promotional or
advertising message and/or graphics. The covering material is
removably fastened to the outside of the pot in such a way as not
to impair significantly the natural resiliency of the material. For
instance, in one embodiment the covering is fastened to the pot by
means of temporary fasteners such as Velcro.RTM. type hook and
pile, magnets, removable tape, or the like. Thus, dents in the pot
do not generally show in the covering surface because it retains
its independent resiliency, even if the blow was delivered through
the covering surface. Messages may be changed as often as suits the
promotional and decorative needs of the owner of the pot, so the
display surface is always timely and in top condition. An optional
"window" permits display of interchangeable labels on the inside of
the covering. When the display surface is fully removed, the
original surface of the pot is substantially restored to its former
appearance. Some of the covers are to be transparent or translucent
and are to have graphic images back printed on them. Optionally, a
protective plastic covering or overlaminant is attached to the
print side of the covering material, so that when the printed cover
is in its removed state, the printing will not be accidentally
damaged by scratching. Some embodiments employ a nylon fabric cover
material with promotional printing.
[0018] The invention provides a flexible, removably fastened,
precisely fitted container cover having a graphical display
imprinted on one side of the cover. The graphical display may be
advertising or promotional text and/or non-textual graphical
images. The flexibility of the container cover material is to
facilitate ready application, removal and reapplication of the
container cover to the same or different containers, as often as
may be necessitated by the need, for instance, to replace a worn or
damaged cover, or to provide a different promotional message. By
"precisely fitted" is meant that each cover is measured and cut to
substantially exactly fit a particular container or identically
sized series of containers, where "fitting" means to substantially
completely cover the side walls of the container, generally without
overlap. In some instances however, some overlap may be
advantageously provided for the purpose of providing a fastener
mounting surface to facilitate that no fastener parts need be
attached in any way to the container itself. It will be appreciated
by those skilled in the art that variations of this dimensioning
and fitting may be effected to no particular purpose but to avoid
the above definition, in which case such variations are to be
regarded as within the scope of this invention. Generally, this
invention will find application as a covering for beverage
containers of the type used to serve coffee in public
establishments; however, the invention is not limited to such a
particular container.
[0019] Some embodiments of the invention will include a transparent
window in the cover, through which a "label" may be viewed through
the window. A window is preferably a transparent region of the
cover on which no graphic display has been imprinted, but may in
some embodiments be effected with a separate transparent material
sewn in or otherwise assembled into the cover material itself. A
"label" can either be an actual label, such as the name of the
blend or beverage being dispensed from the container, or it can be
any additional supplemental promotional graphical display
information. The label is generally disposed over the window in
such a way that the graphic material on the label can be viewed
through the window, and the label is preferably attached to the
window with a removable pressure sensitive adhesive. However, it
will be appreciated that any conventional means for holding a piece
of material on which can be printed some graphical information,
such as an open ended clear envelope attached to one side of the
container cover can advantageously be employed to make the label
viewable through the window. Preferred embodiments will have the
label holder on the inside or rear surface of the container cover
where it may readily be accessed by removing the cover, inserting
or replacing the label and reattaching the cover. This arrangement
will provide both protection for the label, and facilitate
integration of the label into the overall graphical design of the
cover.
[0020] Some embodiments of the invention will be made of a durable,
preferably washable, woven fabric such as nylon ripstop or cordura,
and the graphical display is generally imprinted on a front surface
of the cover material ("front printed"). Such embodiments may be
removed for cleaning as well as for replacement to display
different promotional messages. This embodiment will also be
especially resistive to displaying or revealing any surface
imperfections of the container itself, and will be better able to
resist impact damage to the cover material itself. Preferred
embodiments will have a second, or inner, fabric layer preferably
made of a more tightly woven polyester material for additional
resiliency and insulating value.
[0021] Other embodiments of the invention will be made of a
resilient translucent material, such as clear plastic sheet, with
the graphical display imprinted on a rear surface of the cover
("back printed") to better protect the printing itself. Various
materials may be employed such as printing grades of Lexan.RTM.
brand plastic sheeting and various vinyl sheet materials and all
such plastics as will be known by those skilled in art to take and
retain a high quality graphical imprint. It will generally not be
necessary to take any special precaution or apply any selection
criteria relating to heat shrinkability, or thermal stability, as
the covering material will generally be removed from the container
prior to exposing the container itself to high temperature washing
or sterilization. While thermally unstable material will therefore
generally not be preferred, its use will not depart from the scope
of the invention.
[0022] Some embodiments will also employ an overlaminant layer
disposed to cover the graphical display imprinted on the rear
surface of the clear plastic sheet. Since some embodiments have no
attachment whatever of the cover to the container itself, other
than that provided by the relatively tight "wrap" of the cover on
the container and the attachment of one edge of the cover to
itself, it is anticipated that some sliding of the cover as wrapped
around some of the containers will produce some chaffing or wear of
the back printed matter, and possibly some discoloration or
staining of the surface of the container itself. Even without such
sliding, the removal and replacement of the printed covers will
leave the printing exposed to possible damage while the cover is
off the container. To forestall any such damage to the printing, an
overlaminant layer may be advantageously applied over the printing
to seal it from such damage. This layer will preferably be
laminated to the cover material by methods well known to those in
the art, but may also be adhesively adhered to the printed side of
the cover material, or attached in any other way as may seem useful
to those skilled in the art.
[0023] The overlaminant layer may be clear also, but may also be
opaque or even metalized (such as for instance a sheet of
aluminized mylar) to provide insulation to the container.
[0024] The removable fastening of the cover to the container may be
effected by one or more releasable closures. A preferred releasable
closure is a paired arrangement of hook and pile closures
respectively attached to opposite ends of the cover material. They
may be disposed as single strips along the end (adjoining) edges of
the cover, or as spaced closure tabs along the adjoining edges of
the cover. Alternatively, part of the closure pair may be attached
to the container itself to forestall sliding of the cover on the
container, and the opposite closure type may be attached to one or
both ends of the cover for removable fastening of the cover to the
container.
[0025] Alternatively, the releasable closures may be paired
magnetically active materials, such as two compatibly poled
magnets, or a magnet and a strip of ferrous material. For ferrous
bodied containers, it may only be necessary to provide a magnetic
strip, or magnetic tabs (as described above) along adjoining edges
of the cover for magnetic attachment of the cover to the container
by the magnets. For non-ferrous container, including some stainless
steel types, paired magnets, or a magnet and steel strip
combination, will be employed and attached to the cover as
described above for hook and pile closures for attaching the cover
to the container. In some embodiments, at least one part of the
pair of magnetic materials is comprised of a magnet strip and the
other part of the pair of magnetic materials is a ferrous container
surface to which the magnet strip is attracted. In other
embodiments, the pair of magnetic materials is comprised of a pair
of magnet strips magnetically attracted to each other.
[0026] The invention generally provides a removable wrap around
container cover of material providing independent resiliency. By
"independent resiliency" it is generally meant that the material
referred to thusly is capable of sustaining an impact, and even of
transmitting that impact through to the underlying container, where
the impact might cause surface damage to the container such as a
dent, but whereby material is capable of rebounding to or resuming
its previous shape resiliently so that the cover material does not
betray the damage to the container beneath. One way to achieve or
preserve this independent resiliency is to forebear to adhere the
cover material in any substantial way to the container itself.
[0027] Preferred embodiments of the invention will also have at
least one guide slot and tab pair with the tab on one end of the
cover and the slot near to, or proximate, the opposite end of the
cover and generally aligned with its tab mate in a generally
parallel way. A slot is proximate an end of the cover material to
the extent that there is generally not more of the cover material
between the slot or slots and the end than is useful to preserver
the physical integrity of the slots themselves on the one hand, and
than is useful to effect a mating layer, for use when an optional
adhesive material is provided on the contacting surface of one or
both of the slot/tab pair so that the tab(s) and mating layer may
both or singly be pressed in the direction of the container to be
removably adhered to the cover material to form a secure but
removable cover attachment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] FIG. 1 is a schematic rear plan view of the invention.
[0029] FIG. 2 is a schematic rear plan view of an alternate
embodiment of the invention.
[0030] FIG. 3 is a partial cross section of the invention taken at
line 3-3 of FIG. 2.
[0031] FIGS. 4a-c is a schematic partial cross section of the
invention.
[0032] FIG. 5 is a partial cross section of an alternate embodiment
of the invention.
[0033] FIG. 6 is a front perspective elevation of the
invention.
[0034] FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of an aspect of the
assembly of the invention.
[0035] FIG. 8 is a partial schematic cross section taken along line
8-8 of FIG. 1.
[0036] FIG. 9 is a partial schematic cross section taken along line
9-9 of FIG. 7.
[0037] FIG. 10 is a schematic rear plan view of an alternate
embodiment of the invention.
[0038] FIG. 11 is a cross section taken along line 11-11 of FIG.
10.
BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0039] Turning now to the drawings, the invention will be described
in a preferred embodiment by reference to the numerals of the
drawing figures wherein like numbers indicate like parts.
[0040] In FIG. 1 removable display surface 10 is comprised of
independently resilient cover 11 and releasable closure or fastener
pairs 12, 13, where fastener half 12 and fastener half 13 are
generally matable or detachable halves of a releasable closure
system pair, such as for instance a hook and pile type closure or
paired magnets. It will be appreciated that in many instances, the
halves are interchangeable, which is not to say identical, but
rather that part 12 may be either a "hook" strip for instance or a
"pile" strip, and vice versa for part 13. In general, one half of
the closure will be on one cover end 14 and the other half will be
on the other cover end. In the case of hook and pile closures,
fastener half 12 will preferably be on the rear surface 16, while
fastener half 13 will be disposed on the front surface 17 of cover
11. Thus, as cover 11 is wrapped around container 80 (see FIG. 6),
halves 12 and 13 are able to engage each other and removably fasten
cover 11 to container 80.
[0041] In this embodiment, though the cover is precisely fitted to
its intended container or container series, that fit is
accommodated at least in part by a careful overlap of ends 14 to
the extent necessary to effect the releasable engagement of
fastener halves 12 and 13. It should be noted that halves 12 and 13
are illustrated as groups of separate strips; however, it will be
advantageous in some applications to have fastener half 12 be a
single long strip covering substantially the width of cover end 14,
and the same will be true for fastener half 13. Where a plurality
of strips is employed, the respective mating opposite pair halves
will be aligned so that, upon mating engagement, the cover is
closed without appreciable skew in the mating of cover ends 14;
that is, a cover 11 cut to cover a cylindrical container, for
example, will close into a cylindrical shape, with ends 14
overlapping (where such overlap is required by the nature of the
fastener) and more or less congruent. In FIG. 6, display surface 10
is wrapped around container 80 so that fastener halves 12 and 13
engage their respective mates in the direction indicated by the
arrows after cover ends 14 overlap.
[0042] The cut of cover 11 is also effected to accommodate the
shape of the intended container, whether it be cylindrical or
frusto-conical or other shape. Both FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate
covers cut to accommodate a frusto-conical container. In FIG. 1,
the pronounced "waviness" of the top and bottom edges of cover 11
are intended to illustrate the relatively more flexible nature of
the woven fabric embodiment, as opposed to the relatively more
rigid plastic sheet embodiment of FIG. 2. However, the aspect of
back printing of graphical message 15 onto the rear surface 16 of
cover 11 is arbitrarily illustrated in FIG. 1, notwithstanding that
fabric embodiments of the invention will generally not be
translucent to any appreciable extent and will rather be front
printed. By the same token, the "window" aspect of the invention
illustrated in FIG. 2 by window 19 and label 18 may be
advantageously employed in either the sheet or fabric embodiments
of the invention, though illustrated arbitrarily only in FIG.
2.
[0043] FIG. 12 illustrates a typical accommodation in the precise
fit of cover 11 for its container. In the example case of a
beverage container/dispenser having a conventional glass fill gauge
and a pour spigot beneath, cover 11 is relieved by cut out 5 so
that display surface 10 covers all of the sidewall surface of the
container. Optional hook or pile fastener halves 26 are
appropriately placed to mate with corresponding and respective pile
or hook fastener halves affixed to the container itself.
[0044] FIG. 8 illustrates and alternative construction for cover 11
in FIG. 1. Instead of one layer of fabric in cover 11, two layers
are sewn together: inner layer 31 and outer layer 32. Preferred
outer layer (also preferred in there is only one layer) material is
style 2020 200 denier ripstop nylon; inner layer material is
preferably style 6000 600 denier polyester fabric.
[0045] In FIG. 2 a plastic sheet embodiment of the invention is
illustrated. General Electric Lexan.RTM. brand plastic film is
preferred in this embodiment, though printing grades of vinyl
sheeting may also be made to serve. For the sake of simplicity of
illustration, closure halves 12 and 13 are not shown; however, it
is to be understood that the releasable fasteners described in
reference to FIG. 1, or their equivalents, may be employed in any
other embodiment, whether illustrated or not. Label 18 is
preferably disposed on or over transparent window 19 in cover 11 so
that a message (not shown) on label 18 disposed on the rear surface
16 of cover 11 may be viewed through window 19 from the front
surface 17 of cover 11. This arrangement is shown in partial cross
section in FIG. 3.
[0046] Label 18 is preferably attached to the rear surface 16 of
cover 11 and over or behind window 19 with a pressure sensitive
removable adhesive so that labels of differing message content may
be interchangeably disposed behind window 19 from time to time
without damage to cover 11 and without need for alternative label
attaching means. Alternative label attaching means may however be
employed without departing from the scope of the invention.
Mounting label 18 behind window 19 provides the protection of a
covering window to the various labels that may be placed behind any
particular window. In practice, it will be a simple matter to open
cover 11, remove a label, and replace it with a new label. It has
been found that Flexcon (Seattle, Wash.) V400 frosty clear V68
removable pressure sensitive adhesive adequately adheres label 18
to any part of rear surface 16, including window 19, while
providing ease of removal of label 18 when it is time for
replacement. Preferred label material is Flexcon 90 PFW vinyl.
[0047] FIGS. 4a-c schematically illustrate the quality of
independent resiliency of the invention. In FIG. 4a container wall
80 is obscured by cover 11. The cover appears smooth and unbroken
to the viewer. In FIG. 4b an impact force 99 strikes both cover 11
and, through it, to container wall 80, causing a dent 81. If cover
11 were permanently adhered, or even adhered at all to wall 80,
dent 81 would show to some extent in cover 11. This would also be
true in other conventional covering systems. But in FIG. 4c, cover
11 appears much as it did before the impact of force 99, thus
obscuring dent 81 and other surface imperfections in container wall
80. This might not hold true for forces and impacts from sharp
objects whose effect is to cut or tear cover 11, but for most
relatively dull impact forces short of those tending to destroy the
container itself, cover 11 will merely transmit such forces, not be
changed by them.
[0048] In FIG. 5, an alternate embodiment of the sheet plastic
embodiment is illustrated in schematic partial cross section. Cover
11 is back printed with ink 22, except in the region of window 19.
Over the ink layer is preferably disposed overlaminant 21.
Overlaminant 21 provides enhanced resiliency to cover 11 and
protects ink 22 from abrasion against container 80 and from
accidental damage while cover 11 is removed, as for example when
the container is being washed. For embodiments not employing an
overlaminant, conventional UV hardening inks may be employed, and
if protection from abrasion is desired without using an
overlaminant, then an air cure texture coat of Deco-Chem 7030
abrasion matt small text may be applied to the back of the back
printed graphic ink layer.
[0049] In the case of overlaminant, conventional inks are
preferred, as it has been noted that UV inks tend to release to the
overlaminant and cause flaws or bubbles to appear from the front of
the cover. Preferred overlaminant material is Flexcon Flextwin
MM-200 white/white metalized mylar adhered to the cover sheet layer
with TC-249, V-29, 1504-9 adhesives or their equivalent. These
adhesives provide a white backing layer to obviate the need
otherwise for a white coat behind the graphic display ink.
Alternatively, vinyl sheeting may also be used for the overlaminant
layer.
[0050] FIG. 10 shows an alternate configuration of the invention.
Curved window 19 is set amid cover 11 of display surface 10.
Preferred magnetic closures 41 and 42 in the form of cover end
width rubberized magnetic strips are adhered to the rear surface 16
of cover 11 proximate the respective cover ends 14. In some
embodiments (not shown), magnetic strips 41 and 42 lie at or very
near the cover ends and the cover is wrapped around a container
having ferrous material walls so that the magnets adhere
magnetically to the container walls, and the fitted cover 11 fits
precisely around the container without overlap, the magnets
maintaining both closure of the seam whereat the two cover ends
meet, but also thereby holding the cover to the container. This
configuration is advantageous for ferrous bodied containers. For
non-ferrous bodies and some types of stainless steel, it is
desirable for the magnet pair to be disposed for mating engagement
with each other through self adherence.
[0051] As these arrangement will sometimes permit slippage of cover
11 both with respect to its grip on container 80 and also with
respect to its own precise, unskewed alignment of its cover ends
14, especially in smooth or relatively featureless containers, the
embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10 is preferred. In this embodiment,
alignment tabs 23 and slots 24 are provided. Some overlap is
provided to effect the engagement of respective corresponding slots
and tabs, and the positioning of the magnets 41 and 42 is adjusted,
with magnet 41 near the tab end of the cover being preferably quite
close to, but not overlapping, the tabs, and with magnet 42 being
inside the line of slots 24, rather than being so close to the
other end 14 of cover 11, as shown. In this configuration, as cover
11 is wrapped around its container (such as is shown in FIG. 6),
tabs 23 come into engagement with and through slots 24, thereby
assuring complete and correct alignment of ends 14; at the same
time the magnets 41 and 42 adhere to container 80 and releasably
hold cover 11 to the container.
[0052] FIG. 11 shows a schematic cross section for the preferred
placement of magnets 41 and 42. As they are intended to adhere, not
to each other, but to the container, they are place on the same
(inner) side of cover 11. As an alternate arrangement, providing
for magnet-to-magnet engagement, magnets 41' and 42' are shown
positioned on opposite sides of cover 11, and with magnet 42'
shifted relative to the position of magnet 42 to be more proximate
the cover end 14, where magnet 42' is disposed between the cover
end 14 and the line of slots 24, so that, with appropriate overlap
of cover ends 14, magnet 41' may engage magnet 42' when cover 11 is
wrapped around its container. Tabs 23 have a roughly pointed and
stepped design to facilitate insertion into slots 24.
[0053] FIGS. 7 and 9 illustrate a variation on the guide tab and
slot configuration of FIG. 10; FIG. 7 also shows the wrapped
engagement of tabs 23 into slots 24. The alternate embodiment
requires no hook and pile or magnet fasteners, but rather relies on
the application of removable pressure sensitive adhesive 25 to the
underside of tabs 23 and to the flap end of cover end 14 that lies
between the cover end and the line of slots 24. After tabs 23 are
fully inserted into slots 24, adhesive 25 is activated if required
(such as by removing any protective non adhesive strip or strips),
and the tabs and the flap end are all pressed inward (in the
direction shown by the arrows) against wrapped cover 11 to
securely, but releasably fasten cover 11 around container 80. This
configuration is particularly well suited to wrap covers for
children's containers which must endure rugged usage, such as
thermoses.
[0054] With regard to systems and components above referred to, but
not otherwise specified or described in detail herein, the workings
and specifications of such systems and components and the manner in
which they may be made or assembled or used, both cooperatively
with each other and with the other elements of the invention
described herein to effect the purposes herein disclosed, are all
believed to be well within the knowledge of those skilled in the
art. No concerted attempt to repeat here what is generally known to
the artisan has therefore been made.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0055] A feasible and effective display surface which may be
attached to publicly placed beverage containers or other containers
is needed to adequately address the needs of current advertising
and promotional standards. Such a display surface is most valuable
if it is easily and readily removable and possesses independent
resiliency. Advertising may be changed often, and the owner of the
containers is never embarrassed at the physical condition of the
containers themselves, covered as they are by the display
surface.
[0056] In compliance with the statute, the invention has been
described in language more or less specific as to structural
features. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is
not limited to the specific features shown, since the means and
construction shown comprise preferred forms of putting the
invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any
of its forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope
of the appended claims, appropriately interpreted in accordance
with the doctrine of equivalents.
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