GB2149349A - Tear-off pad of bottle bibs - Google Patents

Abstract

A tear-off pad 1 of bottle bibs comprising bottle bib sheets 2 joined in a row along edges by lines of weakness 3 and folded with respect to each other concertina- wise to form a pad from which each sheet is in turn severable by tearing along a respective line of weakness, each sheet having at least one press-out portion 5 partially bounded by a line of weakness or a line of separation and displaceable from the plane of the sheet to leave an aperture therein for receiving a bottle neck. The individual sheets are adapted to serve as an advertising and communication medium. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Tear-off pad of bottle bibs The present invention relates to a tear-off pad of bottle bibs.

The term "bottle bibs" is used herein to refer to sheets, e.g. of paper or card, provided with an aperture for receiving the neck of a bottle so that the bib may be placed over the neck of a bottle and used to present information, for instance advertising material.

Bottle bibs of this kind are known and are generally employed to convey advertising material to a customer for the bottle and its contents. The present invention provides a tear-off pad of bottle bibs intended to be used primarily by a customer to convey information to a supplier such as a milkman but at the same time providing a useful vehicle for conveying advertising information to the customer. The tear-off pad of bottle bibs provided by the present invention is constructed to facilitate this interchange of information and provide an attractive and useful vehicle by which the information may be exchanged.

The present invention provides a tear-off pad of bottle bibs comprising bottle bib sheets joined to form a pad from which each is in turn detachable, each sheet having a bottle neck receiving aperture therein or press out portions adapted to be pressed out to form such an aperture.

The present invention further provides a tear-off pad of bottle bibs comprising bottle bib sheets joined in a row along edges by lines of weakness and folded with respect to each other concertina-wise to form a pad from which each sheet is in turn severable by tearing along a respective line of weakness, each sheet having at least one press-out portion partially bounded by a line of weakness or a line of separation and displaceable from the plane of the sheet to leave an aperture therein for receiving a bottle neck.

Preferably, the press-out portions of each sheet are in coincident positions when the sheets are folded along the lines of weakness by which they are joined edge to edge and formed into a pad.

Preferably, each sheet has a single pressout portion. Preferably, the press-out portion of each sheet is severable from the sheet along most of the periphery of the press-out portion but is permenantly attached to the sheet along a minor part of the periphery of the press-out portion so forming a tab displaceable from the plane of the sheet to leave the required aperture.

Preferably, the minor portion of the periphery of the tab joining the tab permanently to the sheet is formed as a fold-line to facilitate folding out of the tab. Preferably such a fold-line is curved generally to match the shape of the neck of a bottle passing through the aperture i.e., the fold-line is concave facing the aperture.

Preferably, the row of sheets is folded concertina-wise upon a sheet second from one end to form a pile of sheets and the end sheet at that one end is then folded over the pile to lie upon the sheet at the other end of the row, thus enclosing all the remaining sheets of the row between the first and second sheets at the said one end.

Such a fold pattern has particular advantages in terms of economy of production.

A pad as described above may be issued by, for instance, a dairy to householders and may be printed over part of the surface of each sheet with information, e.g. information regarding their products. The remainder of the sheet may be occupied by an order form so that the customer may tear off one sheet from the pad each time the customer requires to make an order and may place the bib sheet bearing the order on a milk bottle for collection.

The pad may comprise any number of sheets desired but wili preferably comprise from six to twelve sheets, e.g. eight sheets.

The sheets may each be made in any shape considered attractive, for instance in the shape of a stylised bottle.

The invention will be illustrated by the following description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a pad according to the invention with the press-out portion of the top sheet displaced from the plane of the sheet for the sake of illustration; Figure 2 is an end view of the pad according to the invention partially opened to show the manner of folding adopted; and Figure 3 is a plan view of a second pad according to the invention.

Pad 1 consists of eight identical sheets of which only the top sheet 2 is visible. Sheet 2 is in the shape of a stylised milk bottle. Along its left hand edge sheet 2 is joined to the bottom most sheet 9 of the pad by a line of perforations 3. In the centre of the upper portion of the sheets 2 is an aperture 4 from which has been displaced a press-out tab portion 5 which remains joined to the sheet 2 by a curved fold line 6. Aperture 4 is adapted to receive the neck of a milk bottle. Aperture 4 is formed in the shape of a star so that the points of the star facing into the aperture can grip the neck of the bottle and resist removal of the sheet from the bottle, e.g. sufficiently to prevent the sheet being blow off by wind.

Prior to displacement from the plane of the sheet 2, the tab 5 was attached to the sheets 2 only by the fold line 6 and was wholely cut from the sheet along the remainder of its periphery. However, in a modification of the sheet shown, the tab 5 may be bounded along its periphery by a line of weakness such as a perforation line by means of which it may readily be pressed from the sheet.

Each sheet in the pad has a corresponding tab 5 and each tab 5 in the assembled pad lies in an equivalent position so that all the tabs are one beneath the other.

Each sheet is joined to neighbouring sheets by lines of weakness such as perforation lines so that each sheet may readily be detached in turn.

Each surface of each sheet is printed. For the sake of exemplification, the top surface of sheet 2 is shown having a space 7 for the printing of information from the supplier to the customer and a order form portion 8 for use by the customer to communicate with the supplier.

Fig. 2 shows the preferred method of folding a row of bib sheets joined by their edges along lines of weakness. In Fig. 2, seven of a row of eight bib sheets, shown in simplified form and without illustration of the apertures 4, are folded concertina-wise so as first to form a pile upon the sheet 9 second from the end sheet with all of the lines of weakness joining the sheets laying one beneath another.

Sheet 2 as shown in Fig. 2 is then folded over the assembled piles of sheets to form the full pad eight sheets deep as shown in Fig. 1.

Sheets 2 and 9, being an end sheet and an adjacent sheet second from the end, thus enclose the remaining sheets as the cover of a book. It can be seen from a consideration of Fig. 2 that as stated in regard to Fig. 1, the sheet 2 which lays on top of the pad 1 is joined along its left hand edge by a line of weakness to the bottom sheet 9 of the pad.

The pad shown in Fig. 3 differs from that shown in Fig. 1 in the shape of each sheet and the layout of the printed material thereon.

Alternatively, the printing layout may be the same as in Fig. 1. Each sheet has a longer and a shorter straight side portion joined at a shallow angle and opposed to a similar pair of longer and shorter straight side portions, the top of the sheet being a curve joining the ends of the longer straight side portions and the bottom being a curve joining the shorter straight side portions. The longer side portion of each edge is parallel to the shorter side portion of the other edge. The top sheet 2 is attached to the next sheet along the line of perforations 3. Other sheets in the pad are joined along their corresponding edges and also along opposite edges 1 0. The sheets of the pad are folded as in Fig. 2.

The press out tab 5 has a wavy perimeter instead of a sharply pointed perimeter. This shape also is adapted to leave an aperture capable of gripping the neck of the bottle.

The push out tabs 5 of the pads shown in Figs. 1 and 3 form a useful vehicle for advertising material printed on them so as to be highly visible when the tab is pressed out and folded back. For instance they may be used to display the dairy or advertisers name or logo.

Naturally, the two shapes of tab 5 illustrated are interchangeable between the two shapes of pad.

The invention is not limited to the specific details herein described with reference to the drawings and many modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (9)

1. A tear-off pad of bottle bibs (as hereinbefore defined) comprising bottle bib sheets joined to form a pad from which each is in turn detachable, each sheet having a bottle neck receiving aperture therein or press out portions adapted to be pressed out to form such an aperture.

2. A tear-off pad of bottle bibs comprising (as hereinbefore defined) bottle bib sheets joined in a row along edges by lines of weakness and folded with respect to each other concertina-wise to form a pad from which each sheet is in turn severable by tearing along a respective line of weakness, each sheet having at least one press-out portion partially bounded by a line of weakness or a line of separation and displaceable from the plane of the sheet to leave an aperture therein for receiving a bottle neck.

3. A pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein the press-outs portions of each sheet are in coincident positions when the sheets are folded along the lines of weakness by which they are joined edge to edge and formed into a pad.

4. A pad as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein each sheet has a single pressout portion.

5. A pad as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the press-out portion of each sheet is severable from the sheet along most of the periphery of the press-out portion but is permanently attached to the sheet along a minor part of the periphery of the press-out portion so forming a tab displaceable from the plane of the sheet to leave the required aperture.

6. A pad as claimed in claim 5, wherein the minor portion of the periphery of the tab joining the tab permanently to the sheet is formed as a fold-line to facilitate folding out of the tab.

7. A pad as claimed in claim 6, wherein each such fold-line is curved generally to match the shape of the neck of the bottle passing through the aperture.

8. A pad as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the row of sheets is folded concertina-wise upon a sheet second from one end to form a pile of sheets and the end sheet at that one end is then folded over the pile to lie upon the sheet at the other end of the row, thus enclosing all the remaining sheets of the row between the first and second sheets at the said one end.

9. A pad as claimed in any preceding claims which comprises from six to twelve sheets.

1 0. A pad of bottle bibs as hereinbefore defined, substantially as herein before described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 or Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.