EP0019606A1

EP0019606A1 - Suspension and sealing means for periodicals and like papers for use in the distribution and marketing purposes

Info

Publication number: EP0019606A1
Application number: EP80850075A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Torsten Ivefjäll
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1979-05-22
Filing date: 1980-05-21
Publication date: 1980-11-26
Also published as: EP0019606B1; DE3067812D1; SE7904495L; ATE7472T1; SE426754B

Abstract

A sealing means for periodicals and like papers (1) intended for use in the distribution and selling of such papers. The sealing means comprises two sealing members (3, 4) which are applied around those end portions of the edge of the paper which are opposite the back thereof, and are adapted to keep together the sheets of the paper along said edge opposite the back. Each of said sealing members consists of a substantially rectangular paper sheet which is divided up into three fields the outermostfields (5,6) of which are provided with means for adhesion to the outer sides of the wrapping and the unprepared central field (7) of which is adapted to be placed right opposite said edge.

Description

The present invention relates to a sealing means for periodicals, pamphlets, prospectuses and the like, which in the following description are referred to as papers, said means being intended for use in distribution and marketing.
In connection with the distribution of such papers through the Post Office there are often used wrappings the purpose of which is to keep the paper sheets together and also to serve as an address label. The prior art wrappings are of two main types, namely, on one hand, in the form of a girdle which is passed over a rolled paper and, on the other hand, an envelope into which the paper is put. When a girdle is used the package will often become unwieldy to the postman and often it is also difficult to put it into ordinary letter boxes. Moreover, the paper must be rolled before the girdle is passed over it, which requires time and is difficult to automate. When an envelope is used there will be an unnecessary waste of materials and also this is difficult to automate.
Prior art wrappings, as well as papers entirely exempt of wrappings, require much space in retail shops and in the distribution departments of the Post Office. The papers often tend to buckle when they are put up on the shelves disigned therefor.
The object of the present invention is to provide a sealing means for periodicals and like papers, which means is simple in design and eliminates the inconveniences entailed with the prior art sealing and wrapping means.
This object is realised in that the sealing means according to the invention consists of two sealinc members which are applied around those end portions of the edge of the paper which are opposite the back thereof and are adapted to keep together the sheets of the paper along said edge opposite the back, each of said sealing members consisting of a substantially rectangular paper sheet which is divided up into three fields the outermost fields of which are provided with means for adhesion to the outer sides of the wrapping and the unprepared central field of which is adapted to be placed right opposite said edge.
Preferred embodiments of the invention will appear from the following description and claims.
The invention will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a paper with a sealing means according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a top view of the paper of Fig. 1; and
Fig. 3 is a bottom view of a sealing member of the means according to the invention.

Referring now to the drawing, Fig. 1 shows a paper 1 with two sealing members 3 and 4 which are applied on the front edge 2 of the paper and which, as appears from Fig. 2, surround said edge and is brought to adhere to the outer sides of the wrapping by means of glue applied to the sealing members. In the preferred embodiment there are shown two sealing members which are applied to the ends of said edge 2 but the number of sealing members may of course vary as required within the scope of the invention. It is preferable, however, to apply at least two sealing members one of which bears the name and address of the addressee and suitably also is provided with a postage stamp or the like. The other member bears the name and address of the sender. These inscriptions should preferably be made on either side of the sealing members so that they can be read from both sides of the paper. If desired, also the price of the paper may be stated on one of the sealing members.
Fig. 3 shows a sealing member 3 or 4 which is divided up into three fields the two outer fields 5 and 6 of which are provided with means for adhesion to the wrapping of the paper, as described above. The central field 7 is unprepared and is applied right opposite the front edge 2 of the paper, as appears from Fig. 2.
The sealing means according to the invention may also be completed with a slit 8 at the upper portion of the paper, which slit is intended for storage of the paper in the retail shop or even at home. Papers will usually be placed on conventional shelves where, however, they have a tendency to buckle, i.e. collapse because the paper folds along the above-mentioned front edge. Papers may be threaded up on racks, which are available on the market and consist of a bar extending horizontally and at right angles ta a shelf wall. This will save space and, if desired, the paper may be locked up to the bar by means of e.g. a conventional locking device being arranged at the outer end of the bar. Alternatively, instead of being placed on said front edge 2 of the paper, as shown in the drawing, the sealing members may be positioned on those ends of the edges 9 and 10 which are remote from the back of the paper.
In addition to serving as a label and wrapping for the distribution of papers, the sealing members, and in this case especially the upper sealing member 3, are designed to keep together the sheets of the paper when this is hung up and the slit 8 of the paper is threaded on a bar, as described above.
In a further development of the invention the sealing member is integrated with one of the cover pages of the paper which is folded over and brought to adhere to the opposite cover page of the paper. Within the scope of the invention the sealing member may also be provided with a perforation to permit the edges of the paper to be released from the sealing members with a simple manipulation or at least to open the paper in a simple manner.
Some papers are distributed and marketed in plastic- sheathed condition in order to provide the paper with a protecting cover suitable for the distribution. In that case it may sometimes be convenient to replace the previously known cover by a sealing member according to the present invention. The paper will thus be packed in a condition which facilitates its distribution at the same time as the customer can see the whole cover page clearly and
makes it possible to attract customers by a
front page, as is ususal for many weekly magazines.
A further advantage of the means according to the invention is that it almost completely eliminates free reading of papers prior to selling. Thus the customer will have an entirely unused product in his hand. This can be guaranteed by the publisher who, on his part, will only receive unused return copies from the retailer.
As appears from the foregoing the Post Office, which distributes most of the papers, will gain many advantages, especially'as far as space is concerned. Papers that have been sealed and suspended by means of the device according to the invention are simple to store and to distribute since they require a minimum of space because they are neither rolled nor folded.
According to a further development of the invention the gummed fields 5 and 6 of the upper sealing member 3 extend over the slit 8. In that case the slit may either pass through said fields 5 and 6 or else the slit passes only through the paper proper. Thus the slit is not visible from the outside of the paper to, for instance, subscribers for whom there is no need to hang up the paper by means of the slit 8.
As is apparent from the foregiong, the papers may be locked up to a protruding bar. In that case the bar may be in the form of e.g. a U-shaped bow in which the ends of the legs are attached to said shelf wall. A padlock is passed through the bow at the outer end thereof, whereby papers threaded thereon cannot be removed without being torn. This may reduce the loss in certain small news-stands manned by few persons.
The sealing means according to the present invention also facilitates the arrangement of an apparatus for automatic selling of papers.
The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and illustrated in the drawing but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. Sealing means for periodicals and like papers (1) intended for use in the distribution and selling of such papers, comprising two sealing members (3, 4) which are applied around those end portions of the edge of the paper which are opposite the back thereof and are adapted to keep together the sheets of the paper along said edge opposite the back, each of said sealing members consisting of a substantially rectangular paper sheet which is divided up into three fields the outermost fields (5, 6) of which are provided with means for adhesion to the outer sides of the wrapping and the unprepared central field (7) of which is adapted to be placed right opposite said edge.

2. Sealing means as claimed in claim 1, comprising a suspension means (8) applied immediately below the edge (9) defining the top of the paper.

3. Sealing means as claimed in claim 2, wherein the suspension means is a slit (8) made through the upper portion of the paper and extending substantially in parallel with the edge (9) defining the top of the paper.

4. Sealing means as claimed in any of claims 1 - 3, wherein the sealing member (3, 4) is adapted, for the distribution of papers (1), to bear the names of the addressee and the sender, price mark and/or postage stamp or the like.

5. Sealing means as claimed in any of claims 1 - 4, wherein one sealing member (3), preferably at the edge (9) defining the top of the paper, is adapted to bear e.g. the name of the addressee and postage stamp or the like, while the other sealing member (4) has impressed on it e.g. the sender's address.