Holders Having Foldable Support

Abstract

A holder for presenting an assemblage of items to be taken on a one-by-one basis. The items may be in a pad or loose within an open-top receptacle. The holder includes a foldable support carrying adhesive attachment means, preferably pressure-sensitive adhesive with a release liner. The support is foldable so that the holder can be attached to a forward-or rearward-facing surface or to the underside of a horizontal surface.

Description

This invention relates to holders for dispensing sheetlike items and more particularly to improvements in such holders which facilitate mounting by attachment to surfaces of different orientation.

Various holders have been produced for displaying advertising material and the like in locations of convenience or in locations of high traffic flow designed to catch the eye of the consumer, as in a drugstore, grocery supermarket, or retail shop of this general type. U.S. Pat. No. 2,755,576 discloses an advertising display pad carrying a plurality of tear-off sheets in the form of a gummed pad attached to a backing sheet wherein the upper rear surface of the backing sheet is provided with a strip of pressure-sensitive adhesive designed to facilitate its mounting by pressing the adhesive-coated backing sheet into the front surface of the price channel. Other similar display holders have also been developed which utilize the price channels of supermarket shelves for the support thereof. More versatile holders are desired.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved holder for an assemblage of sheetlike items which is capable of mounting in a variety of differently oriented locations. Another object is to provide a versatile holder for mounting an assemblage of advertising sheets or the like by attachment to a rearward or forward-facing surface or to the undersurface of a shelf or the like. A further object of the invention is to provide an open-top holder for presenting an assemblage of loose, folded sheets or booklets having a support which facilitates mounting to surfaces of different orientation and which doubles as a cushioning cover during shipment of the filled holders to their ultimate destination.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of devices embodying various features of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a holder embodying various features of the invention which carries a pad of advertising sheets;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the holder shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3a is a diagrammatic side view showing, via broken lines, the steps of folding the support portion of the holder of FIG. 1 to facilitate its attachment in handing relation from a rearward-facing surface;

FIG. 3b shows the holder, folded as depicted in FIG. 3a, supported from the rear surface of the price channel of a grocery supermarket shelf;

FIGS. 4a and 4b are similar to FIGS. 3a and 3b but show folding the holder into a configuration adapted for attachment to the undersurface of a shelf;

FIGS. 5a and 5b are also similar to FIGS. 3a and 3b but show folding the holder in a manner adapted to facilitate attachment to a forward-facing surface or wall;

FIG. 6 illustrates a blank adapted to be folded into an open-top pocket-type holder embodying various features of the invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates the set-up holder of FIG. 6 with its support portion adapted for attachment to a horizontal undersurface;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken through the holder of FIG. 6 as it would appear when filled with an assemblage of sheetlike items and with the support portion being folded and tucked into a cover-providing orientation;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 4b showing the filled holder of FIG. 7 supported from the undersurface of a shelf; and

FIG. 10 is a view generally similar to FIG. 3b which illustrates the holder of FIG. 6 being folded and attached to the rear surface of a price channel .

Very generally, the invention provides a versatile holder which is simple in construction, but which is capable of supporting an assemblage of sheetlike items by hanging attachment to an undersurface of a shelf or the like, to the forward-facing surface of a shelf, a wall or the like, or to the rear surface of a depending element, such as the price channel on a grocery supermarket shelf. Because of its versatility, the invention is considered to have valuable application to the distribution of advertising material of any type, such as order blanks for special offers, coupons, partial price return offers, recipes, applications for credit cards or loans, etc., which may be desirably located in any high traffic area; however, the invention also has application to providing convenient mounting for assemblages of more standard items, such as telephone return-call slips, memo paper, and the like, in locations where they will be available when repeatedly needed. The assemblage of items to be made available for distribution or for use may be single sheets, folded sheets or even thin booklets. The items may be attached to one another at their upper edges in the form of a commonly used gummed pad, or they may be held loosely within an open-topped tray or pocket provided by the holder.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 through 5, there is shown a holder 11 in the form of a generally planar foldable sheet made of suitable weight fiberboard material or the like which includes a lower main portion 13 and an upper support portion 15. In the illustrated embodiment, the main portion 13 extends the full length of the holder and includes an upper heading part 17 and a lower part 19 that serves as a backing sheet for a plurality of advertising sheets 21. A line of perforations 23 is provided in the main portion 13, and the assemblage of advertising display sheets 21 is preferably held together by a hot melt padding adhesive 25 applied in situ with the sheets disposed upon the backing sheet portion 19 in a manner so that the adhesive 25 extrudes through the perforations 23 to the rear surface of the holder and thus provides a strong bond that unites the assemblage of sheets 21 to the holder 11.

The sheet from which the holder 11 is formed is generally rectangular in shape and contains parallel fold lines 29, 31 and 33. The lowermost fold line 29 serves as the line of demarcation between the main portion of the holder and the support portion 15 thereof. The fold lines 29 and 31 define between them a first or attachment section 35, and the fold lines 31 and 33 are spaced further apart and define a second or linking section 37. A third or connection section 39 is defined between the uppermost fold line 33 and the upper edge of the sheet.

As best seen in FIG. 1, the attachment section 35 has a layer 41 of pressure-sensitive adhesive applied to the front surface thereof, which is covered by a release liner 43. Similarly, the connection section 39 has a layer 45 of pressure-sensitive adhesive applied to the front surface thereof, which is covered by release liner 47. Although the front surfaces of the sections 35 and 39 are shown as being substantially completely covered with pressure-sensitive adhesive, it should be understood that a lesser amount of the surface might be adhesively coated to achieve the desired objective.

FIGS. 3a and 3b illustrate the folding of the support portion 15 of the holder 11 in a manner to facilitate attachment to the rear surface of the price channel of a grocery supermarket shelf. It should be understood that the support in this configuration is adapted for attachment to any generally rearward-facing surface, and a price channel is simply illustrated as one type of a high-traffic flow location where the invention may be valuably employed. The folding sequence is diagrammatically depicted in FIG. 3a using broken-lined illustrations. As can be seen, the connection section 39 is folded rearward 180.degree. about the fold line 29 and the linking section 37 is similarly folded rearward 180.degree. about the fold line 31. The release liner 47 is removed and the adhesive-coated front surface of the connection section 39 is pressed against the rear surface of the sheet, generally in the region of the header section 17 effecting joinder thereof. In this respect, the rear surface of the sheet of the holder preferably contains indicia, in the form of a dotted line A or the like, together with an accompanying legend (not shown) such as, "Fold to This Line for Rear Vertical Surface Application."

FIG. 3b depicts a fragmentary front portion of a grocery supermarket shelf 51 having a depending front price channel 53. After removing the release liner 43, it is a simple matter to hang the holder from the rear surface of the price channel 53 by simply pressing the adhesive-coated front surface of the attachment section 35 thereagainst.

FIGS. 4a and 4b depict the folding of the support portion 15 into a configuration for mounting to a horizontal undersurface. The connection section 39 and the linking section 37 are again folded rearward, respectively at the fold lines 31 and 33; however, this time the attachment section 35 is also folded rearward 90.degree. about the fold line 29 to form the generally triangular configuration shown in FIG. 4b. The adhesive-coated front surface of the connection section 35 is attached to the rear surface of the sheet at a slightly lower location. The printed, dotted line B (FIG. 2) indicates the alignment of the fold line 33 adjacent the rear of the sheet 11, and the rear surface may contain a legend, such as "Fold to This Line for Horizontal Surface Application," accompanying the indicia B.

Depicted in FIG. 4b is a fragmentary view of a front portion of a supermarket shelf 55 which has a price channel 57 formed with a re-entrant flange 59. Removal of the release liner 43 allows the holder 11 to be mounted in hanging relation below the shelf 55 by pressing the adhesive-coated attachment section 35 against the undersurface of the re-entrant flange 59.

FIG. 5a shows the folding of the support portion 15 into a configuration suitable for attaching to a forward-facing surface, such as a wall 61 or the like. To achieve this configuration, the connection section 39 is folded rearward 180.degree. about the fold line 33, and the attachment section 35 is folded rearward 180.degree. about the fold line 29. The fold line 31 remains unbroken. Removal of the release sheeting 47 permits the adhesive-coated front surface of the connecting section 39 to be pressed against the rear surface of the backing layer portion 19 of the sheet at the lowermost location of the three configurations. The alignment of the fold line 33 is at the indicia C (FIG. 2), which may be accompanied by a suitable legend such as "Fold to This Line for Front Surface Application." Removal of the release layer 43 then allows the holder 11 to be pressed against the vertical surface of a wall 61 or the like where the pad of sheets 21 will be held in hanging relationship thereupon.

Depicted in FIGS. 6 through 10 is an alternative embodiment of a holder which provides an open-top tray or pocket designed to carry an assemblage of items which need not be interconnected with one another as is the case of a gummed pad. Accordingly, this pocket-type holder may be considered more appropriate for the distribution of folded-sheets or multipage booklets; however, it could also be employed for the distribution of single sheet items, or items of any suitable shape that could be conveniently held in the pocket so that the upper portions thereof are available for ready removal.

More specifically, FIG. 6 depicts a blank 71 designed to be folded into the pocket-type holder 73 shown in FIGS. 7-10. The blank 71 provides an upper support portion 75 and a lower pocket-forming portion 77. The lower portion 77 includes a main panel 79 which forms the rear panel of the pocket, a left side wall 81, a front panel 83 and a right side wall 85, serially connected to one another by score or fold lines. A glue flap 87 is attached to the right hand side of the main panel 79 (as viewed in FIG. 6). The blank 71 would normally be formed into flattened, tubular configuration at the plant of the fabricator thereof by folding the glue flap 87 into overlying relationship upon the main panel 79, applying appropriate adhesive to the glue flap 87 and then folding the front panel 83 and the side panel 85 into overlying relationship so that the side panel 85 is mated to the glue flap 87.

The lower pocket-forming portion 77 is also provided with a self-locking bottom closure in the form of flaps 89a, 89b, 89c and 89d. When the holder 73 is ready to be filled with the items to be distributed, the slotted rear flap 89a is first infolded, followed by the side flaps 89b and 89d which are formed with locking ears, and then locking is automatically effected by infolding the front tab-carrying flap 89c.

The support portion 75 is connected to the main panel 79 at a fold line 91, and it also contains parallel fold lines 93 and 95. Fold lines 91 and 93 define a first attachment panel or section 97 therebetween, and fold lines 93 and 95 define a second linking panel or section 99 therebetween. An uppermost connection panel or section 101 is defined by the fold line 95 and the uppermost edge of the blank 71.

The attachment panel 97 includes a thin strip of foam material 103, such as polyurethane foam, which is adhesively attached to the panel and which provides a front surface that is coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive. A suitable release liner 105 covers the front adhesive-coated surface of the foam strip 103. A major portion of the connection panel 101 is coated with a layer 107 of pressure-sensitive adhesive which is covered by a suitable release liner 101.

FIG. 7 illustrates the holder with the pocket formed and with the support portion 75 folded into a configuration suitable for hanging by attachment to the undersurface of a shelf or the like. The items intended for distribution are omitted from this view for clarity. FIGS. 8 through 10 show the holder 73 filled with thin booklets 113 which are representatively illustrated therewithin.

FIG. 8 shows the support structure 75 in the configuration wherein it doubles as a cover for the pocket portion of the holder 73. After the pocket is filled with an assemblage of thin recipe booklets 113 or the like, the support portion is folded forward at the fold lines 91 and 93, and the connection panel 101 and the linking panel 99 are slipped downward into the pocket between the forwardmost sheet member and the front panel 83. This completely closes the pocket, and the foam strip 103 with the release liner 105 still attached serves as a cushion to hold the thin booklets 113 in place during shipment.

When the holder 73 arrives at its destination and is ready for installation, the support 75 is folded in the same manner as the support 15 described hereinbefore. In this respect, FIGS. 7 and 9 show the support 75 folded for mounting to the undersurface of a supermarket shelf 55. The attachment panel 97 is folded rearward 90.degree. from the main panel 79 of the pocket, and the linking panel 99 is folded at an angle of about 45.degree. thereto in the illustrated version. The release liner 109 is removed from the adhesive 107, and the connection panel 101 is joined to the rear surface of the main panel section 79 of the blank at a location near the upper edge thereof. The release liner 105 is removed from the adhesive-carrying foam strip 103, and it is pressed into contact with the underside of the shelf flange 59.

FIG. 10 shows the support folded for mounting to a rearward-facing vertical surface, such as the rear surface of the price channel 53 of a grocery supermarket shelf. Similar to the operation described in FIGS. 3a and 3b, the linking panel 99 and the connection panel 101 are each folded rearward 180.degree., and the adhesive layer 107 is pressed against the rear surface of the blank 71 at about the location of the lower portion of the attachment panel 97 and an upper region of the main pocket panel 79. The support portion 75 can also be configured for mounting upon a wall or the like as depicted in FIGS. 5a and 5b.

The invention provides a holder of relatively simple design which can be shipped in a substantially flat condition to users or to distribution points. Because of the versatility of its support arrangement, the holder can be employed without concern over the type of shelves or other display points available at the ultimate destination. Because the holder can be simply and effectively attached to an undersurface or to a forward- or rearward-facing vertical surface, it has wide appeal to the grocery and drugstore markets where shelf constructions are changing. Although some modifications have been mentioned throughout the specification, other modifications that would be obvious to one having the ordinary skill in the art should be understood as falling within the scope of the invention which is defined by the claims appended hereto. For instance, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6-10, instead of providing the illustrated bottom closure, a closure which sets up automatically upon squaring the pocket 77 may be incorporated.

Various additional features of the invention are set forth in the claims that follow.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A holder or the like for presenting an assemblage of items to be taken therefrom on a one-by-one basis, which holder comprises

a generally planar foldable support sheet having a plurality of parallel fold lines and first and second adhesive attachment means so disposed that said support can be attached to differently oriented surfaces,

said support comprising a main section, a first attachment section, a second linking section and a third connection section which are serially connected to one another at said fold lines,

said first and second adhesive attachment means disposed, respectively, upon the front surface of said first and third sections,

said sections being proportioned so that

by folding said first section rearward about 180.degree. and said third section about 180.degree. relative to said second section and by connecting said third section to one location on the rear surface of said sheet via said second adhesive attachment means, said holder is adapted for attachment to a forward-facing surface via said first adhesive attachment means, or alternatively

by folding said second section rearward about 180.degree. to lie generally adjacent the rear surface of said first section and said third section about 180.degree. relative to said second section and by connecting said third section to a second location on the rear surface of said sheet, said holder is adapted for attachment via said first adhesive attachment means to a rearward-facing surface.

2. A holder in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first section is narrower than said second section so that said first section can be folded rearward about 90.degree. and said third section can be folded less than 180.degree. relative to said second section and can be connected to a third location on the rear surface of said sheet to adapt said support for attachment to the undersurface of a shelf or the like via said first adhesive attachment means.

3. A holder in accordance with claim 2 wherein said adhesive attachment means comprises pressure-sensitive adhesive covered by a release liner.

4. A holder in accordance with claim 2 wherein said main sheet section is formed with interconnected sidewalls, a front wall and bottom closure means which can be formed to create an open-top pocket for holding the assemblage.

5. A holder in accordance with claim 4 wherein said first section has about the same width as said sidewalls so that said first section can be folded forward about 90.degree. to serve as a cover for said pocket while said second and third sections are tucked between said front wall and the assemblage.

6. A holder in accordance with claim 5 wherein a foam strip carrying pressure-sensitive adhesive and a release liner constitutes said first adhesive attachment means and also serves as a cushion to hold the assemblage in place when said first section is in its cover-providing orientation.

7. A holder in accordance with claim 2 wherein the rear surface of said sheet carries indicia to indicate the proper alignment of the lower edge of said third section thereon in said first, second and third locations.

8. A holder in accordance with claim 2 wherein the assemblage is constituted by a plurality of sheets connected along their upper edges by a padding adhesive to constitute a pad which is attached to the front surface of said main section.

9. A holder in accordance with claim 8 wherein said main section is perforated and wherein said padding adhesive extends through said perforations.