Bifunctional Label Storage Card

Abstract

A bifunctional label storage card including a carrier member with pressure-sensitive adhesive labels stored on one of its surfaces and a hinge member detachably joined to the opposite surface of the carrier member, the carrier member being separable into two portions along at least one zone underneath portions of the labels stored thereon and the hinge member also being separable into at least two portions, so that a portion separated from the carrier can be hinged backwardly to expose an end of labels stored thereon or, alternatively, a portion of the carrier member and a portion of the hinged member can be separated from the balance of the structure for withdrawal of labels from the card and then precisely replaced to provide continued protection against soiling or other damage to the adhesive of any unused labels.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field

The present invention relates to the art of storage of pressure sensitive labels on a card or similar member from which they can be removed when needed for application to an object.

2. Prior Art

Effective and commercially successful car dispensers for the temporary storage of pressure-sensitive labels are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,434,545 and 2,681,732 wherein a card on which the labels are stored is constructed in such a manner that a portion of the card can be separated to expose the ends of the labels on the card, thereby permitting withdrawal of the labels for their application. Another type of label storage or dispenser card is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,883,044 and 3,361,252 comprising a card on which the labels are stored which includes a hinge so that part of the card can be folded away from the balance of the card to expose ends of the labels for withdrawal from the card. These two types of storage cards each have their own particular advantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a bifunctional label card which gives the user the advantages of both of the aforementioned constructions; specifically, with the present invention the user can either detach a portion of the card from the remainder to expose ends of the labels for withdrawal from the card or he may hinge a portion of the card away from the labels to thereby expose parts of the label for removal from the card.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a label dispenser card which gives the user the option of either separating a portion of the card and then replacing it, or folding a portion of the card backwardly from the rest of the card in order to dispense labels therefrom. A defect of some label-dispensing and storage cards is that the separated portion of the card will not adhere well to labels remaining on the card due to the release properties of the card relative to the label adhesive. Another principal object of this invention is to provide a label dispenser card of the foregoing construction incorporating an adhesive system for the card functioning that is independent from the adhesive system used on the labels stored on the card, thereby enhancing replaceability of a card portion that was removed for the dispensing of labels. A more specific object is to provide the particular constructions hereinafter described and claimed.

According to the present invention, a label storage card is provided in which labels are releasably joined to one surface of a card member and the card member is slit or otherwise weakened along a line underlying the labels so that the card may be separated into two portions along such weakened zone, and further including a hinge member detachably joined to the surface of the card opposite from the labels wherein the hinge also has a line of weakness along which the hinge member is separable, but the line of weakness in the hinge is offset from the line of weakness formed in the card member. In a particularly useful embodiment of this invention, the hinge member is detachably joined to the card with pressure sensitive adhesive of a different adhesion than that used on the labels stored on the card.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A presently preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in the drawings which are meant to illustrate, not limit, the present invention inasmuch as it is anticipated that changes can be made in the illustrated embodiment that will remain within the true spirit and scope of the present invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the front surface of a label dispenser card according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view, with portions broken away, of the rear surface of the card of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the card of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the card of FIG. 1 in one of its operative conditions; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the card of FIG. 1 in another of its operative conditions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a bifunctional label dispenser card according to the present invention comprising a card 10 carrying a plurality of labels 11 arranged in three rows on its front surface, and a hinge member 12 comprising a sheet of film adhered to its rear surface. As best shown in the rear view of FIG. 2 and sectional view of FIG. 3, the card 10 includes a plurality of spaced parallel slits 13, 14 and 15, with each slit arranged, respectively, under the upper, middle and lower rows of labels 11. The slits 13, 14 and 15 are arranged relative to the rows of labels such that a minor or small end portion of each label 11 is positioned on one side of each slit and the balance or major portion of the label is arranged on the opposite side. Further, also as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the hinge 12 includes a group of spaced parallel slits 16, 17 and 18 each arranged adjacent, respectively, slits 13, 14 and 15. The slits 16, 17 and 18 are offset somewhat from the slits 13, 14 and 15, this amount of offset preferably being in the range of about 1/16 inch to 1/4 inch for most effective utilization of the card of the invention. The hinge 12 is to be detachably joined to the card 10 and for such purpose, in the preferred illustrated embodiment, the hinge is joined to the card along a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive 20.

Turning now to FIG. 3, each label 11 includes an outer layer 21 and a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 22. The labels 11 are to be "releasably joined" to the card 10 along their adhesive layers so that they can be held on the card during storage but removed therefrom without serious delamination or stripping away of the adhesive 22 from a label. The card 10 can be coated or impregnated with suitable release materials in order to obtain a releasable joinder of this type, silicone or silicone rubber coatings being known for such purpose in the art, as well as diverse other types. The outer layer 21 of each label can be a single layer of any suitable label material including plastic films, metal foils, paper, etc., and can be imprinted with a numerical legend as shown in the drawing or any other information, or they can be unprinted if so desired. The outer layer of each label also may be formed of two or more layers of similar or dissimilar films or coatings.

The term pressure-sensitive adhesive as used herein means normally tacky, nonhardening pressure-sensitive adhesive that adheres to an object by the application of pressure alone. Many suitable formulations are known in the art and will not be described in detail except to state that typical formulations include a rubbery polymeric material such as natural rubber, synthetic rubber, latex crepe rubber or rubbery synthetic polymers and copolymers compounded with compatible resinous tackifiers such as ester gum, terpene resins, etc., dispersed in an appropriate solvent such as an aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon. The adhesive layer is strongly bonded to the outer layer of the label so as not to delaminate therefrom.

The card 10 can be of any relatively stiff and rigid material suitable for the carrying of labels. A concreted fibrous material such as vulcanized fiber or resin bonded pulp is particularly advantageous, although heavy paper, cardboard stock, or plastic stock can also be utilized, either release coated or uncoated. A card of vulcanized fiber from 10 to 15 mils thick has proved especially useful. The hinge 12 is most satisfactorily made of a thin sheet of plastic film material which will not readily tear during the flexing actions described hereinbelow to which it may be subjected in normal use. Polyolefin films such as polyethylene and polypropylene, nylon films, polyvinyl chloride films, and polyethylene terephthalate films are satisfactory, and nonplastic materials such as cloth, etc. may also be used. Generally films from 1/2 to 10 mils thick are suitable.

The slits 13, 14 and 15 in the card 10 and the slits 16, 17 and 18 in the hinge 12 are shown as continuous slits extending throughout the thickness of the card and hinge respectively. However, the slits may also comprise score lines which extend partly through each member or perforated lines or spaced slits as long as the card and hinge are separable along such constructions, and the term "slit-line" as used herein is intended to refer to these various constructions.

One functional mode of the label dispenser card of this invention is illustrated in FIG. 4. The upper end portion 25 of the card 10 is separated from the balance of the card along the slit 13 and folded rearwardly in relation to the rest of the card so that the upper end of each label becomes exposed and can be grasped for removal from the card. A sufficiently large end portion of each label should be exposed so that it can be grasped readily by hand or with a tool, as illustrated by label 11a, and at the same time the portion of each label extending onto the end portion 25 of the card, or lying across the slit 13, should not be so large as to inhibit facile release of such end portions from the card 10 during the hinging action illustrated in FIG. 4. If the minor portion of each label which becomes exposed upon folding of the end portion 25 as shown in the drawing is about 1/8 to 1/4 inch long, suitable action generally will be obtained. When the end of the card is folded back as shown on the drawing, proper hinging action of the hinge 12 is provided because it is integral or continuous underneath the slit 13 in the card 10 due to the offset between the slit lines 13 and 16. After one or more labels 11 have been removed from the top row, the end portion 25 can be folded to its original position where it is coplanar with the balance of the card 10 and in which condition the ends of each label will be covered and protected by the portion 25; the stiffness of the card retains the end portion 25 in such position, but this may also be aided, to a greater or lesser degree, by adhesion to the adhesive 22 of labels remaining on the card. In a similar fashion, the card 10 can be folded rearwardly along the slits 14 and 15 to enable withdrawal of labels from the middle and lower rows on the card.

The second functional mode of the card label dispenser of this invention is illustrated in FIG. 5 wherein the end portion 25 of the card 10 is detached from the balance of the card along the slit 13 and the end portion 26 of the hinge 12 is detached from the balance of the hinge along the slit line 16. The strip formed of the portions 25 and 26 can be completely detached from the card 10, an intermediate stage of which detachment is shown in FIG. 5. When the card is in this condition, each label 11 is again in a dispensing position and label 11b is shown as being partially removed from the card 10. When it is desired to expose the ends of labels in the other rows on the card 10, the card can be separated along the slit line 14 and the hinge sheet separated along the slit line 17 to reach the middle row, and the card can be separated along the lower slit line 15 and the hinge along the lower slit line 18 to reach labels in the lower row.

This separation of the hinge is possible because of the detachable joinder of the hinge 12 to the card 10, preferably by means of the pressure sensitive adhesive layer 20 so that if not all the labels in the upper row on the card, for example, are used the strip comprising end portions 25 and 26 can be rejoined to the card along the exposed adhesive on the strip 26 and either the hinge action of FIG. 4 or the separation action of FIG. 5 will be available for future use. This replaceability also is made possible by reason of the offset between the slits 13 and 16 in the card and hinge respectively.

An important advantage of the card construction of this invention is that the pressure-sensitive adhesive 20 which joins the hinge member 12 to the card 10 can be of a different type than the pressure-sensitive adhesive 22 on the labels 11. This allows use of a pressure-sensitive adhesive 20 that is best suited for proper functioning of the card construction, particularly as to replaceability of the end portions 25 and 26 when the card is used as shown in FIG. 5, instead of being confined to reliance upon the label adhesive 22 for such replaceability. The surface of the card 10 carrying the labels normally has a high release characteristic in relation to the adhesive 22 which usually will be a strong adhesive with low adhesion to the card; these factors are necessary to provide satisfactory labels, but are detrimental to a proper functioning of the card because they inhibit replaceability. With the card of this invention, the adhesive 20 used between the hinge and the card can be a weaker adhesive, or have a stronger adhesion for the card and hinge, and there can be low release between these members and the adhesive 20; these characteristics are critical for effective operation of the dispenser card but would be unsatisfactory for facile removal and application of the labels. usually, there would be no release coating, or other adhesive release treatment, on either the card 10 or the hinge 12 along their surfaces joined by the adhesive 20.

The following examples further describe and illustrate the present invention. The "adhesion" of the several adhesives used in the examples was measured according to Pressure-Sensitive Tape Council Method No. 1, revised Apr. 1966, which is based upon a 180.degree. peelback of the test samples and is carried out at room temperature.

EXAMPLE 1

A bifunctional label dispenser card was made using a sheet of 15-mil thick vulcanized fiber as the card 10 and a hinge member 12 of 0.5-mil thick polyethylene terephthalate film (Mylar). The adhesive 20 for joining the hinge 12 to the card 10 was an acrylic-based pressure-sensitive adhesive that was coated onto the hinge and had an adhesion to the card of 16 ounces/inch. Labels 11 using a rubber-based pressure-sensitive adhesive 22 were stored on the card, which adhesive had an adhesion of 2 ounces/inch to the release-coated front surface of the card. It was found an end portion 25 of the card could be hinged backwardly without the hinge separating from the card to thereby expose ends of the labels for removal from the card. Further, it was found that an end portion 25 of the card together with an end portion 26 of the hinge could be completely separated from the card so as to expose ends of the labels, but that the composite strip of portions 25 and 26 could be replaced readily by rejoinder to the card along the adhesive 20 on the part of end portion 26 of the hinge that projects beyond the edge of end portion 25 of the card by reason of the offset between the slit lines 13 and 16.

EXAMPLE 2

A bifunctional label dispenser card was made according to Example 1 except that the adhesive 20 for joining the hinge 12 to the card 10 was an acrylic-based adhesive with an adhesion to the card of 7 ounces/inch. The card operated satisfactorily in both of its functions, i.e. the hinging action of FIG. 4 and the separable strip action of FIG. 5.

EXAMPLE 3

Another card was made that was the same as that of Example 1 except that the adhesion of the adhesive between the hinge 12 and the card 10 was 2 ounces/inch, the same adhesion as that of the label adhesive to the front surface of the card. The card did not operate satisfactorily in that such low adhesion did not provide a removable strip (comprising end portions 25 and 26) that could be replaced as was the case with the cards of Examples 1 and 2, and the low adhesion of the hinge to the card also impaired the hinging type of dispensing action. This example demonstrates the importance of the feature of the card construction of this invention that allows the use of an adhesive between the card and the hinge that has a higher adhesion than that of the label adhesive to the front surface of the card, thereby enabling satisfactory card storage of labels having adhesive with a very low adhesion to a dispenser card. If the replaceability of the separable strip (end portions 25 and 26) was dependent solely upon joinder to adhesive of exposed portions of the labels, the strip could not be satisfactorily replaced in a manner that would give adequate protection to the labels and in a manner permanent enough to permit normal handling of the card.

It has been found that the adhesion of the hinge 12 to the card should be at least about 5 ounces/inch in order to obtain satisfactory bifunctional characteristics, and preferably the adhesion is at least 15 ounces/inch or higher for most applications. The pressure-sensitive adhesive used to join the hinge to the card preferably has greater adhesion to the hinge than to the card material so as to eliminate or reduce offset or transfer of the adhesive onto the card. Also, the adhesion of the adhesive between the hinge and the back of the card should be less than the internal strength of either the card material or the hinge material so as to prevent rupture of either when utilizing the separable strip-dispensing function. However, if desired, the adhesive can be applied to the back surface of the card and the hinge material joined thereto. Thus the label dispenser cards according to this invention, in their completed condition, utilize differential adhesive systems wherein the label adhesive has a low adhesion, generally less than about 5 ounces/inch to the front surface of the card which can be release coated, and a second or independent adhesive is utilized to join the hinge to the card and which has an adhesion of at least about 5 ounces/inch or higher.

The bifunctional label dispenser and storage card of this invention thus provides the features of having a portion of the card separable from the balance of the card to expose ends of labels carried on the storage card or having a portion of the card hinged away from the balance of the card to also expose ends of labels for withdrawal. The user can select which of the dispensing functions best suits his purpose and still have either action available for future use. This dual action is possible through the provision of a card with a hinge sheet detachably adhered to one side of the card wherein a slit line is formed in the card and a parallel slit line is formed in the hinge sheet that is offset or spaced slightly from the slit line in the card. This bifunctionality has an additional advantage in that it enhances the replacement of the strip which is removed from the card when it is utilized as shown in FIG. 5. For example, with strong or tenacious adhesives, it is necessary to use a high release coating on the card surface which carries the labels and this enhanced release surface characteristic inhibits the replacement of the strip portion such as 25 if the only means to hold it to the card was along the adhesive of the exposed end portions of the labels. With the storage card of this invention, however, reattachment of the removable strip is also provided by the portion 26 of the hinge sheet when it is adhered to the card by means of pressure-sensitive adhesive and an adhesive can be used to join the hinge sheet to the card that does not release from the card as easily as that used on the labels themselves.

Another advantage of the card construction of this invention accrues from the fact that replacement of the removable strip is not dependent upon attaching it to the adhesive of exposed end portions of labels remaining on the card after some have been dispensed: if only a few labels remain on the card it would be difficult to hold the replaced strip in position because of the reduced adhesive area, but with the card of this invention the adhesive area for providing replaceability of the removable strip does not change as labels are removed from the card. Stated otherwise, the label dispenser card of this invention provides a replaceable strip type of dispensing function wherein there is a constant degree of replaceability that is independent of the number of labels stored on the card.

These several advantages are obtained with a label-dispensing card construction that provides continuous protection or coverage of the adhesive of labels stored thereon until they are removed from the card.

Claims

I claim:

1. In a dispenser and storage card assembly for pressure-sensitive adhesive labels of the type including a card, pressure-sensitive adhesive releasably joined to one surface of the card, and a hinge sheet of flexible material adhered to the opposite surface of the card, which card includes a slit line underlying labels thereon with a minor portion of a label on one side and a major portion of a label on the other side of the slit line, the improvement wherein:

a slit line is formed in the hinge sheet and arranged parallel to the slit line formed in the card;

the slit line formed in the hinge sheet being spaced from the slit line formed in the card; and

the card is separable into portions along the slit line formed therein so that one portion of the card can be moved relative to the remainder of the card upon folding of the hinge sheet for dispensing of labels from the card and, alternatively, a portion of the card and an adhered portion of the hinge sheet are detachable from the balance of the assembly along the slit line formed in the card and the slit line formed in the hinge sheet for dispensing of labels from the card.

2. An article according to claim 1, wherein the hinge sheet is adhered to the card by means of pressure-sensitive adhesive, and said portion of the card and an adhered portion of the hinge sheet are replaceable to the balance of the card along said pressure-sensitive adhesive between the slit line in the card and the slit line in the hinge sheet.

3. An article according to claim 2, wherein the pressure-sensitive adhesive adhering the hinge sheet to the card has a higher adhesion to said opposite surface of the card than the adhesion of the pressure-sensitive adhesive labels releasably joined to said one surface of the card.

4. An article according to claim 3, wherein the adhesion of the pressure-sensitive adhesive adhering the hinge sheet to the card is at leas about 5 ounces/inch.

5. An article according to claim 4, wherein the adhesion of the pressure-sensitive adhesive labels to said one surface of the card is less than 5 ounces/inch.

6. An article according to claim 1, wherein:

there is a plurality of rows of labels releasably joined to the card; and

there is a slit line in the card and a slit line in the hinge sheet for each row of labels, the labels of each row being arranged with a minor portion extending on one side of said slit lines and a major portion extending on the opposite side of said slit lines.