A web of double-faced pressure-sensitive stickers

Abstract

Pressure-sensitive elements, preferably carried in web form suitable for machine handling, are left bare of the pressure-sensitive coating along one edge to provide a convenient portion used as a handle in some forms, as a hanger in other forms. In one form the pressure-sensitive elements are coated on both sides except for a very narrow edge, being easily lifted at the edge and then seized and pulled from the web together with a guard piece. In other forms, where the handle portion serves primarily as a hanger, the element is made of sturdy plastic. For some purposes the plastic and its adhesive preferably have sufficient transparency so that the hanger may be secured to a package without concealing any printed matter thereon. In some hanger forms, the element is slit so that if the part by which something is hung starts to peel therefrom, it will peel past portions which are separated from it so that they do not peel with it, these then resisting further peeling.

Parent Case Text

This is a division of application Ser. No. 104,420 filed Jan. 6, 1971 now abandoned.

Description

INTRODUCTION

One of the problems to which the present invention is directed is the provision of hanger-extensions for small articles such as merchandising packages, wall plaques or the like so that they can be hung, either on display rods or hooks in retail stores, or by purchasers. Heretofore merchandising packages have been made suitable for hanging by the use of cards or the like forming the body of the package, or stapled to the package and having a punched hanging hole. Both forms virtually required that the package as initially prepared be intended for such hanging. With the preferred form of the present invention, universal hangers can be provided which are extremely low in cost and are provided with pressure-sensitive adhesive so that they may be quickly and easily applied to any small item. Preferably these hangers are in web form, so that they can be applied in rapid succession by a machine. Also the hangers are preferably made of a sturdy plastic of sufficient transparency so that they will not obscure any printed matter on the package.

Another problem to which the present invention is addressed is the tendency of pressure-sensitive hangers to peel from the surface to which they are secured, if the article hung is moderately heavy so that there is a constant and substantial pull by gravity. The ability of a hanger to resist this peeling is substantially increased by slitting the hanger so that, perhaps after initial peeling, the peeling force will be resisted by adhered portions extending backwards from the direction of peeling.

A third problem to which the present invention relates is the convenient use of pressure-sensitive stickers. Here the problem is solved by providing the stickers in web form but with the adhesive spaced slightly from one edge of the web, the bare edge being easily raised for peeling. If the web is adhesive-coated on both faces, it and the top liner or guard strip are preferably perforated at intervals to provide separate stickers. With this construction it is very easy with one finger to start both the top guard strip and the sticker jointly curling away from the base strip, then grasp them jointly on their bare edge and pull then off jointly, and press them jointly onto the piece to which they are to be first attached. Then it is easy to start the top guard strip and pull it from the sticker, exposing the sticker's second sticky surface for attachment of the second article to the first. If it is later desired to separate the two articles and to remove the sticker, the bare edge is a great aid in starting the removal of the sticker once it has been exposed.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and from the drawings.

DESIGNATION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a face view of a portion of a web of press-out hangers for packages utilizing this invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a machine for applying the package hangers of FIG. 1 to packages.

FIG. 2a is a horizontal sectional view through the ram of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a view of a hanger of FIG. 1 applied to a package, with the printing on the package visible through the hanger.

FIG. 4 is a view of a modified form of hanger which may be provided in the web of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are face views of two forms of peel-resistant hangers especially suitable for hanging objects heavy enough to cause peeling, it they were hung by ordinary pressure-sensitive hangers.

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating how the hangers of FIGS. 5 and 6 resist peeling.

FIG. 7a is a face view of the wall piece shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 is a face view of a web of double-faced stickers, the adhesive being omitted along one edge of the web to facilitate separation of the parts.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view of a machine for dispensing the stickers of FIG. 8 in situations where large numbers thereof are likely to be used.

FIG. 10 is a transverse sectional view through the spreader position of FIG. 9.

INTENT CLAUSE

Although the foregoing disclosure offered for public dissemination is detailed to ensure adequacy and so aid understanding, this is not intended to prejudice that purpose of a patent which is to cover each new inventive concept therein, no matter how others may later disguise it by variations in form or additions or further improvements. The following claims are intended as the chief aid toward this purpose, as it is these that meet the requirement of pointing out the parts, improvments, or combinations in which the inventive concepts are found.

WEB OF PACKAGE HANGERS

FIG. 1 shows a web 11 comprising a strip of heavy tough plastic 12 coated all along a selected zone 13 with pressure-sensitive adhesive. A guard strip 14 of release paper covers the adhesive 13.

The plastic strip 12 is made up mostly of a series of die cut hangers 16, each having an aperture 17 therethrough by which the hanger can be slipped onto a hook or rod, for example when displayed in a retail store for customer selection. Many plastics may be used for strip 14, including polypropylene, polystyrene, Mylar (transparent) polyethylene terephthalate resin) and vinyl. The present commercial choice is high density polyethylene, about 20 mils thickness.

The web 11 of FIG. 1 is especially suitable for a machine diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 2 for applying the hangers 16 to packages. The web 11 may be supplied in the form of a roll 21 from which the web 11 may be drawn. The machine includes rolls 22 of which two serve to draw the web 11, and the other helps to peel the guard strip 14 from the web. The web then passes under the applying ram 23 which has been illustrated as operated by solenoid 24. When the solenoid 24 is energized, its ram punches from the web 11 one of the hangers 16 having thereon bare adhesive facing the package and presses it on a package resting on a table 26 below the ram. The remainder of the web passes between driven pull-out rollers 27 which eject the web skeleton into a scrap container. The web should be fed intermittently, with accurate positioning of its hangers under the ram. The intermittent drive has been illustrated by a claw 28 reciprocated by a solenoid 29, the claw being biased to entering successive apertures 17 and feeding the web 11 much as a motion picture film is fed through a beam of light, except that the feed is only one stroke at a time, on demand.

It should be borne in mind that the machine of FIG. 2 is only shown diagrammatically. An alternative feed is by rollers. with registration obtained by stopping the drive when microswitch lever 31 falls into a notch in web 11. Various refinements could be provided. For example, the claw 28 or feed rollers can operate at a higher speed if pre-feed rolls 22 pull the web from the roll 21 into a loop. There may be another loop, not shown, on the other side of ram 23 if found to be needed. Either the claw 28 or projections on one of the pre-feed rolls 22 can eject slugs from the hole 17 if the slugs cut from them are not removed in the course of die cutting. The solenoid 24 can be actuated by a microswitch of which arm 31 is actuated by the package to be worked upon when it reaches its "home" position, and solenoid 29 can be automatically actuated when solenoid 24 has returned to its normal position. Pressure plate 33 (engaging only the bare portion of web 11) applies enough friction to hold the web in position except when moved by claw 28.

It will be observed that the bare ends of the hangers may reasonably be referred to as handles, since they may be engaged by claw 28 during the operation of the machine of FIG. 2 and by hand for hanging the packages afterwards. To be sure that the ram accommodates the claw 28 but nevertheless breaks these handles clean from the plastic strip, its pressing end may be divided with one portion pressing substantially the entire adhesive area of each hanger and the other portion pressure near the remote outline of the handle, the claw 28 working in the space between them. The upper guide plate 32 can be slotted throughout the length where the claw reciprocates.

The guard strip 14 is preferably wider than the strip 13 of adhesive to facilitate starting its removal. This is especially desirable if the hangers may be applied by hand. If they are not to be applied by hand the strip 14 may be of the same width as the adhesive for reasons of economy and convenience of manufacture. The economy lies not merely in the amount of material used, but in the fact that the method of manufacture deemed best at present is to have the adhesive and guard strip made in a roll of sufficient axial length to cut many composite strips from one roll. At present it might be more expensive and require preplanning and more time to have this roll prepared with separated strips of adhesive, so that wider guard strips could result from slitting in the middle of an adhesive strip and in the middle of the space between them. Another way to provide wider guard strips is to remove the strip by which the adhesive is applied and replace it with one a little wider than the adhesive strip. The alternative of removing the original guard strip and replacing it with a wider one also represents extra expense, as well as a modified machine for doing so.

FIG. 3 shows a typical finished package 34 with one of the hangers 16 secured to it, with the printing on the package visible through the adhesive end portion of the hanger 16.

FIG. 4 shows a hanger 36 which is of a modified form having a slot 37 instead of a mere aperture. This enables a customer to remove one package from the rear of others without first removing the others. This is especially useful when there is a choice of colors, for example. Web 11 can be made with this style of hanger.

FIG. 5 shows a hanger 41 which represents still additional modifications. Although this hanger can be used for heavier packages, it is intended more specially for hanging decorative objects such as prints or light pictures. Its bare or handle portion 42 is provided with two slots 43 which permit the object to be hung at two different heights on the same hook or nail. Also each slot is elongate horizontally and is provided with a serrated upper edge so that the object can be shifted laterally to its properly balanced position, and will stay there, if the supporting member is narrow enough to fit between the teeth of the serration.

It will be observed in FIG. 5 that the hanger 41 is slit along a line 44 of inverted U shape. The handle portion 42 is thus part of a flap which may be sprung from the plane of the remainder. This greatly reduces the tendency of pressure-adhesive hangers to come loose by a gradual peeling under the influence of gravity, when supporting an object of appreciable weight. A variation of this which is perhaps even more sure to resist peeling is shown in FIG. 6, in which the hanger 41' has slits 47 which form separated fingers 48 at the extreme edges of the hanger.

The way the hangers 41 and 41' resist peeling is seen in FIG. 7. Here a wall hook 49 is seen hanging the hanger 41 (or 41') and the object 51 to which it is secured. The weight of the object 51 tends to cause the hanger 41 to peel away from the object 51 slowly but progressively. However, when it reaches the condition shown in FIG. 7 further peeling is resisted by the fact that the tongue 46 or fingers 48 have not taken part in this progressive peeling and further peeling is resisted both above and below the point to which the peeling has progressed. In the case of the form shown in FIG. 6, when the incipient peeling progresses to the bottoms of the slit 47, this point is virtually surrounded by unpeeled areas. That is, these unpeeled areas are above, below, and on both sides.

Either type of slitting 44 or 47 can be used with the hangers of FIGS. 3 and 4, if need for more reliable adhesion is encountered. However, the dimensions there do not give room for very long peel-resisting fingers, and there has been no determination of how much short fingers will help.

Although the hook 49 in FIG. 7 could be a metal hook or a nail, it has been shown as the hook portion of a plastic pressure-sensitive "wall hook", the preferred face view of which is seen in FIG. 7a. With pressure-sensitive wall hooks, the pressure-sensitive material is commonly on the back surface of a layer of sponge material 52 which extends to all edges of the body 53 of which the hook 49 is a part. Heretofore such hook bodies have been formed by molding with the hook portion molded as an outstanding member. It is preferred, however, that the hook portion be a die cut member as seen in FIG. 7a, the die cutting being a mere slit along most of the length of the hook but including two perforations 54 one on each side of the base of the hook. This is advantageous when a picture or other object is being hung by a wire or string, because a tortuous path back through one perforation and forwardly through the other tends to hold the wire or string against unintended slippage so that once the object is properly balanced it tends to stay that way. When such a wire or string is used, the hook may be pressed into the plane of the body where (by the nature of die cutting) there is a snap-in action or press fit, so that the hook device can safely support a greater weight than it would otherwise.

DOUBLE FACED STICKERS

FIG. 8 shows another form of pressure-sensitive element, again with the elements carried in web form and provided with bare handle portions. In this instance the elements are double faced stickers 56 which are quite useful for many of the uses for which double faced tape has heretofore been used. Where separate small pieces are desired, the FIG. 8 form is much handier than double faced tape. Typical uses include hanging very ligh pieces, such as sheets of paper on a wall or mounting similar pieces in a book or on sheets of paper.

Preferably the stickers 56 are nearly separated by perforations between them in a continuous strip which is sandwiched between a carrying strip 57 and a perforated guard strip 58. It is quite convenient in manufacture to run the composite strip through a machine which does the perforating through both layers to be perforated and also prints the guard strip to indicate where its bare edge is.

The user finds it quite easy to raise or curl the bare edge 59 with his finger. The most convenient method of use is usually to raise jointly the edges of the guard strip and the sticker. Once raised, the two are jointly grasped between finger and thumb and pulled free, both tearing at the perforations. Now they can jointly be pressed against one of the two pieces to be fastened together. If desired, the sticker can be firmly secured to this first piece at this stage by pressing firmly along its adhesive area, the pressure being exerted through the guard strip. Now it is easy for the user, with his finger along the bare edge, to curl the guard strip away from the sticker so that the guard strip may be grasped separately and pulled from the sticker. This exposes a completely clean adhesive area of the sticker for bonding to the other of the two pieces which are to be secured together.

These bare-edged stickers can easily be made by a strip-coating method similar to that described with respect to FIG. 1. A wide web is zone-coated on opposite sides of the same spaced zones. After being sandwiched between additional webs which ultimately form the carrying strip 57 and guard stripp 58 these joint webs are slit. They may either be rolled up first and later slit, or they may be slit immediately. In either event, the slitting is midway of the adhesive zones and midway of the bare zones between the adhesive zones. The adhesive zones are fairly close together, specifically twice as far apart as the desired narrow bare edge 59.

The web-like arrangement of these double-faced stickers makes them very convenient, either for packaging and ultimate use entirely by hand as described, or for use with the aid of a dispenser as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. Here the web of stickers is drawn from a supply roll 61. Depending on the wishes of the operator, the guard strip 58 (FIG. 8) may be drawn off by a set of rollers 62. In any event, the web is drawn past a small plow 63 which raises the bare edge 59 of the sticker 56. Of course there should be a suitable guide loop 66. The user can now grasp the edge 59, and the guard strip with it if the guard strip has not been removed, without the preliminary step of curling the bare edge up with his finger. The backing strip 57 (FIG. 8) may pass through a guide loop 66 and be used to pull the web through this dispenser by hand. This drives rollers 62, if they are provided. Without these rollers, this dispenser can be the packaging container with the plow 63 and guide loop 66 added.

ACHIEVEMENT

From the foregoing it is seen that various pressure-sensitive devices or useful articles have been provided in which the articles are in web form for convenience, and have bare portions serving handle-like or support functions. Exceptional convenience of usage is thus achieved, with additional advantages somewhat varied in the different forms. In all forms, the articles are extremely low in cost. This, and the convenience of the preferred web forms, make the invention very suitable for large quantity usage, which machine application of the device where desired.

Claims

I claim:

1. A web of double-faced pressure-sensitive stickers having the pressure-sensitive coatings arranged on opposite faces along a longitudinally extending zone extending less than the full width of the web, leaving each sticker with an edge portion bare on both faces by which it may be manipulated, said adhesive portions each being covered by a carrier strip guarding one face, and a guard strip guarding the other face and extending over the bare edge portion of each sticker whereby the edges of the sticker and guard strip may be jointly curled and grasped for joint removal from the carrier strip, the double-faced web and said guard strip being jointly readily separable along successive predetermined transverse lines while the carrier strip is relatively tear-resistant as compared to the double faced web and guard strip, whereby successive separate stickers, each with its guard piece portion of the guard strip, may be jointly pulled loose from the carrier strip by grasping the uncoated zone, then jointly applied to one of two things to be joined; the guard piece then being removed by grasping its free edge.