GB2188282A - Pads of sheet material - Google Patents

Abstract

A pad of paper sheets comprising a plurality of sheets (10, 10') each having applied there to an area of repeatedly reuseable adhesive (12), each such sheet being releaseably adhered to an adjacent sheet by the repeatedly reuseable adhesive, is provided with a hole (14) through the thickness of the pad, the hole having an area or areas of adhesive (18) applied to the wall of the hole further to adhere the sheets together. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Pads of sheet material This invention relates to pads of sheet material such as paper in which the sheets are stucked togetherto provide a coherent unit from which successive sheets can be detached one or more at a time. The present invention will be described particularlywith relation to pads formed of sheets of paper although it will be appreciated that the invention is equally applicable to pads, stacks or blocks of sheets of other materials with appropriate modifications.

In recent years pads of paper of which each sheet bears repeatedly useable adhesive have become very popular. The sheets of these pads are typically rectangular and have an area for example a band cf repeatedly useable pressure sensitive adhesive on one surface. The pad of such sheets is assembled with each sheet adhered by its repeatedly useable adhesive area to an adjacent sheet. In use a sheet may be removed from the pad and adhered to anothersubstrate bytheadhesivefromwhich substrate it may be removed and adhered to a further substrate and soon. These pads are normally sold in units of about 100 sheets amounting to perhaps 5to 10 mm in thickness.

There is however a market for substantial lythicker pads or blocks of paper, typically 10cm cubed or cylindrical of height 1 Ocm and diameter 10cm.

The known repeatedly reusable adhesive materials used to produce pads as discussed above generally have insufficient strength to hold together satisfactorily a pad of material much thickerthan the 10mm orso discussed above. Certainly these adhesives are not conducive to production of blocks of dimensions approaching 10cm as discussed above. If a user were to pick up the blockforexample by its upper half it could be expected that the upper half will simply come away from the bottom half.

According to one aspect of the present invention a pad or block of sheets of sheet material comprises a plurality of sheets each having applied to at least one surface an area of repeatedly reuseable adhesive, each such sheet being releasably adhered to an adjacent sheet by the repeatedly reuseable adhesive, and a hole through the thickness ofthe block or pad, the hole having an area or areas of adhesive applied to the wall ofthe holefurtherto adherethesheets together.

The pad or block will therefore be provided with two entirely separate and independent means of adhering the sheets together so that the integrity or coherence of the block even uptothe 10cm cubed type may be ensured by the adhesive applied to the hole wall, the sheets when removed individually being repeatedly reuseable in the sensethattheycan be applied repeatedly to a variety of substrates.

The hole may be of any acceptable dimension but in a preferred form ofthe invention itwill be in the region of 10mm in diameterwhich size in athick block has particular application forthe location or storage of a pen or other marker. The adhesive applied to the wall of the hole may be overthe entirety of the wall ofthe hole. Indeed in a less preferred form of the invention the adhesive may fill the hole completely. In a particularly preferred form ofthe invention the adhesive is applied to the wall of the hole in one or more line or band of adhesive. It may be in the form of a single line or band running the length ofthe hole or may be several longitudinally overlapping lines or bands, longitudinally that is to say as regards the axis of the hole.

More than one hole may be provided as required with one or more ofthe holes having areas of adhesive as discussed above.

In a particularly preferred form of the invention the hole bearing adhesive is disposed near a side surface ofthe block and the adhesive is applied to the wall in theform of a line or band running downthefull depth ofthe hole and disposed at or adjacentthe portion ofthewall ofthe holefurthestfromthe nearest side surface of the block. If the line or bands of adhesive is disposed on the portion of the wall closest to the side surface of the block there may be a tendency, when detaching a sheet, forthe sheet to tear, leaving a small fragment of it still on the block between the hole and the adjacent side surface.By disposing the line or band of adhesive on the portion of the wall furthestfrom that side surface, it is usually found that that sheet can be detached cleanly, without tearing. In this form ofthe invention the hole is preferably located in the area of the block or pad in which the sheets themselves are adhered to one another by the repeatedly reuseable adhesive.

The adhesive used in the hole mayforexample be a polyvinyl acetate emulsion ora hot melted adhesive which may be applied to the wall in a variety of ways, for example by use of an applicator brush being plunged into the hole and withdrawn or via a tubular applicator having a lateral nozzlewhich squirts adhesive from the nozzlewhiletheapplicator is being plunged into orwithdrawn from the hole.

According to a further aspect of the invention a method of manufacture of a block or pad of sheet of sheets material comprises application to each sheet of an area of repeatedly reuseable adhesives, and adhering each sheet to an adjacent sheet by means ofthe said adhesive, and applying further adhesive to the wall of a hole through the thickness ofthe block or pad furtherto adhere the sheets together.

The pad may have holes in each sheet priorto assembly by means ofthe repeatedly reuseable adhesive orthe hole may be punched ordrilled subsequent to that assembly.

The various features of the above described first aspect of the invention may be applied, mutatis mutandis, to this aspect of this invention.

In either aspect of the invention the block or pad is preferably such that it has an overall thickness in the range of 50 to 150% or more of its largestlateral dimension. In a particularlyfavouredform ofthe invention the block or pad is substantially a cube.

The invention may be performed in various ways and a specific embodiment will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure lisa sheet of paper for use in the manufacture of a padorblockaccordingtothe present invention; Figure2 is part of a section through block according to the invention, the section being taken along line A-A of Figure3; Figure 3 shows a pad or block of sheet material made up of sheets as shown in Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings ar Figure 1 will be seen a substantially square sheet of paper 10. Typical dimensions for this square will be 10cm by 1 cm.

Towards the upperpartofthe sheet 10 is an area of repeatedly reuseable pressure sensitive adhesive 12 and a hole 14. The hole may typically be of diameter in the region of 1 cm.

Turning now to Figure 3 there will be seen an assembled block of sheets 10 gathered together in sufficientnumberto produce a blockof dimensions typically 1 Ocm by 1 Ocm by 10cm. Each sheet 10 is adhered to the other firstly by the adhesive 12. The adhesive 12 is in fact on the reverse side ofthe top sheet 10 as shown in Figure 3. Thatsheet 10 is adhered by the adhesive 12 to the next sheet 10' and soon down the entirety ofthe block, the blockoverall being designated 16.The hole 14 is provided with a bead of adhesive material 18 which extends through the entire length of the blockaswill be seen in the partial segment shown at Figure 2.

The pluralityofsheets 10,10' etc., making upthe block 16 are therefore adhered one to the next bythe adhesive 12 and alter one another by means ofthe adhesive 18.

The bead of adhesive 18 is located on the side of the hole remote from the side surface 20 nearest to the hole itself as will be seen best in the partial section shown in Figure 2. This means that when the top sheet 10 is removed from the block 16for example by grasping the corner of that sheet which is turned up as shown in the righthand side of Ficlure 3, the movement of the person tearing off that sheet will cause the sheet to be removed first from the bead 18 thereby avoiding the tearing of the paper.

The partofthe hole 18 closestto the edge surfacz 320 is preferably located at or very closely adjacent tio the edge 22 ofthe area of adhesive 12.

There will be seen at 24an example ofvisible matter being applied for example by printing to siide surfaces of the block 16.

Claims (12)

1. A pad or block of sheets or sheet material comprises a plurality of sheets each having applied to at least one surface an area of repeatedly reuseable adhesive, each such sheet being releaseably adhered to an adjacent sheet byth' repeatedly reuseable adhesive, and a holethro ug h the thickness ofthe block or pad, the hole having 'in area or areas of adhesive applied to the wall of the' hole furtherto adhere the sheets together.

2. A pad as claimed in Claim 1 in which the wa II adhesive covers substantiallythe entirety of tlnew,all ofthe hole.

3. A pad as claimed in Claim 1 in which th ewa II adhesive is applied to the wall ofthe hole in oneo'r line or band.

4. A pad as claimed in Claim 3 in which 1the wal li adhesive isintheform ofasinglelineorbond running substantiallythe length ofthe hole.

5. A pad as claimed in Claim 3 in which thewail adhesive comprises a plurality of longitudinally overlapping lines or bonds.

6. A pad as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 5 in which the hole bearing adhesive is disposed near a side surface of the pad and the adhesive is applied to the wall in the form of a line or band running down substantially the full depth of the hole and disposed at or adjacent the portion of the wall of the hole furthest from the nearest side surface of the pad.

7. A pad as claimed in Claim 6 in which the hole is located in the area of the block or pad in which the sheets themselves are adhered to one another bythe repeatedly reuseable adhesive.

8. A pad or block of sheets of sheet material substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. A method of manufacture of a block or pad of sheets of sheet material comprising applicatin to each sheet of an area of repeatedly reuseable adhesive, and adhering each sheet to an adjacent sheet by means ofthe said adhesive, and applying further adhesive to the wall of a hole through the thickness of the block or pad furtherto adhere the sheets together.

10. A method as claimed in Claim 9 wherein the sheets are provided with said hole priorto application of the said reuseable adhesive.

11. A method as claimed in Claim 9 wherein the hoie is punched or drilled subsequent to application of the said reuseable adhesive to the sheets and assembly thereof into a pad or block.

12. A method of manufacture of a block or pad of sheets of sheet material substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.