GB2353000A

GB2353000A - Releasably connected brochures for drug or sales packaging

Info

Publication number: GB2353000A
Application number: GB0016825A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Fritz Steffen
Original assignee: Fritz Steffen Patente und Patentverwertungen GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Fritz Steffen Patente und Patentverwertungen GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 1999-07-16
Filing date: 2000-07-07
Publication date: 2001-02-14
Also published as: GB0016825D0; DE29912456U1

Abstract

Brochures, booklets, instruction leaflets and pamphlets are releasably attached by adhesive or a bonding strip so that multiple brochures may be packaged together thereby enabling packaging by a single brochure feeder. The brochures 1,2 may be attached together side-by-side using peel-off glue 3 (Fig 1a) that comprises a low force adhesive. Alternatively the brochures may be connected by an adhesive strip 4 (Fig 4b). A further alternative comprises the use of an adhesive foil coated on both sides with adhesive.

Description

2353000 Information carrier The invention concerns an information carrier,

such as an insert for drug or other sales packaging.

It is the usual practice for sales packagings such as cartons, folding boxes and the like to be accompanied by information material which includes instructions in regard to use or application and other product-specific or general information. In particular drug packagings usually contain folded instruction leaflets - Arith infonnation relating to use, contents, risks and side effects of the respective drug. Instead of simple folded instruction leaflets, those items of inforination may also be contained in small brochures, pamphlets or so-called booklets. It is also possible for such brochures to be put together with the simple instruction leaflets into the packagings, in which case those brochures may contain further items of information, advertising or the like. Folded instruction leaflets can be introduced by machine into the corresponding sales packagings, together with the product. Special apparatuses, so called brochure feeders, are required for inserting brochures in book or pamphlet fonn, by machine.

There may be a wish for two or more brochures or booklets to be introduced into a sales packaging or drug box. Various brochures in a drug box may include for example items of information for the patient in one brochure and items of information for a doctor in a further brochure. It is also possible for a plurality of brochures to be provided in a sales packaging, with such brochures involving substantially the same content in different languages.

If two or more brochures are to be introduced into a sales packaging, a respective specific brochure feeder is required for every brochure, when the filling operation is effected by machine. That increases the expenditure on machinery which is required for the packaging operation, and thus also the overall costs.

It would therefore be desirable to reduce the machine expenditure when introducing a plurality of information carTiers or brochures into sales packagings, and to provide an information carrier which is user-friendly and/or effective in terms of advertising.

According to the present invention, there is provided an information carrier comprising at least two brochures on which items of information are printed, wherein each of the brochures in itself is held together by a binding, and the brochures are 2 releasably connected together by means of an adhesive or bonding material or an adhesive or bonding strip.

That releasable connection makes it possible for a plurality of such brochures to be simultaneously inserted as an insert into drug or other sales packagings by a single brochure feeder. In addition the information carrier according to the invention has the advantage that the customer or patient only has to remove one insert from the packaging and thus holds all the enclosed brochures in his hands at the same time. The information carrier is also suitable for linking a product-related information insert in a pack to an advertising insert in a visually attractive fashion.

Preferably, the information carrier includes precisely two brochures, In that case, reference is also made to double booklets or twin booklets. It is however also conceivable for three or more brochures to be connected together, depending on the respective situation of use involved.

It is also advantageous if the brochures are connected together in the region of the binding of at least one of the brochures, preferably both brochures.

Desirably, the interconnected brochures are of essentially the same basic shape. Brochures of a rectangular basic shape are particularly preferred, but other suitable shapes are triangular, hexagonal or octagonal basic shapes, rectangular basic shapes with rounded-off comers or at least one rounded-off side or other unusual and extravagant shapes, in particular if the information carriers, as packaging inserts, are to be of an appearance which is effective in advertising terms and particularly attractive. The individual brochures may be bound in conventional manner, for example by an adhesive binding or a staple binding. The interconnected brochures may desirably involve different colours for the covers and/or the pages contained therein, so that the consumer will already see at first glance that the information carrier which by virtue of the connection thereof initially appears in the form of a unit comprises a plurality of releasably interconnected brochures.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the releasable connection between the brochures is achieved by a region of the rear side of a brochure being connected to a region of the front side of the next brochure by an adhesive or bonding material. Suitable adhesive or bonding materials are in particular adhesion glues or peel-off glues which have a low level of adhesive force and which make it possible for the interconnected surfaces to be easily separated from each other 3 again, without the brochures being damaged in the separation operation and without annoying adhesive residues being apparent to a considerable extent, after the brochures have been separated. The brochures which are disposed in mutually superposed relationship are generally not connected together over their full surface area but only in a part of the interconnected outside surfaces, which part is preferably less than half and particularly preferably less than a quarter of the contact surface area of two mutually superposed brochures. Making the connection in only a part of the contact surface between two brochures is sufficient for secure adhesion and facilitates subsequent separation of the brochures from each other. It is particularly desirable also if the brochures are connected together in the proximity of their binding. That makes it easier for the brochures to be spread open and viewed when in the condition of still not having been separated from each other.

A finiher particularly preferred embodiment in regard to the releasable connection of the brochures provides that the brochures are connected together in the region of their binding by an adhesive or bonding strip. Advantageously for that purpose an adhesive strip is glued over the bindings of two mutually juxtaposed brochures which butt against each other with their bindings so that for example one half of the adhesive strip adheres to the rear side of the one brochure and the other half adheres to the front side of the other brochure and the adhesive strip bridges over the gap between the mutually butting bindings. In the region of the bindings of the respective brochures therefore the adhesive strip forms a hinge-like connection between the brochures.

In still a further preferred embodiment the brochures are connected together by means of a sheet or foil material which is coated on both sides with adhesive or bonding material. In that case the foil material is advantageously provided on one side with an adhesion glue which can be easily released substantially without residue while on the opposite side it is provided with a firmly bonding adhesive material or however also with an adhesion glue which can be easily detached. By using an adhesion glue on at least one side of the foil material, it is possible to prevent the material of the brochures, which is usually paper or card, from being damaged or tom away when the brochures are separated. The adhesive or bonding strip comprising foil material which is coated on both sides can extend between the brochures o ver the entire height of at least one of the brochures. It is however also possible to use one or more short 4 adhesive or bonding strips or also adhesive points which are coated on both sides and which are in the form of circular discs, for connecting the brochures together.

The term 'height' which is used herein in respect of the brochure relates to the largest dimension of the brochure in a direction parallel to the binding thereof The width' of the brochure is the largest dimension of the brochure perpendicularly to its height. In a preferred embodiment the interconnected brochures are of the same basic shape and are of the same height and width. In the interconnected condition, those brochures are in mutually superposed coincident relationship. This embodiment is the simplest and least expensive to manufacture. In an alternative embodiment, these interconnected brochures are displaced relative to each other.

In a further particularly preferred embodiment, the brochures are of the same height but different widths. Advantageously, the brochures are so connected together that their bindings are in mutually superposed coincident relationship. By virtue of the different widths involved, on the side of the brochures which is opposite to the binding, there is a stepped configuration which makes it easier for the user to realise that the information carrier includes a plurality of brochures. In addition, that simplifies separating the individual brochures from each other. It is advantageous in this respect if brochures of smaller width come to lie in front of brochures of greater width- Such an arrangement is also referred to as a fanned or overlapped arrangement.

Alternatively, it may also be desirable if the brochures are of the same widths but different heights or are of both different heights and also different widths, The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to non limiting embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure la is a diagrammatic view of an embodiment of the information carrier according to the invention from the front, Figure I b shows the information carrier of Figure I a from above, Figure 2a is a diagrammatic view of a further embodiment of the information carrier according to the invention from the front, Figure 2b shows the information carrier of Figure 2a from above, Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of a further embodiment of the information carrier according to the invention from the front, Figure 4a is a diagrammatic view of a further embodiment of the information carrier according to the invention, with brochures which are folded away from each other, and Figure 4b shows the information carrier from Figure 4a from above.

Figure Ia shows an information carrier according to the invention with two brochures I and 2 each of a rectangular basic shape and of the same height H and width B. The brochures are bound on the side which is at the left in Figure Ia. They are arranged in mutually superposed relationship in such a fashion that their peripheral boundaries are coincident. In the proximity of the binding, the brochure I is releasably connected in a region of the rear side thereof to the brochure 2 by means of a peel-off glue 3. Figure lb shows the arrangement of the brochures I and 2 from above.

Figure 2a shows another embodiment of the information carrier according to the invention with two brochures V and 2' of substantially rectangular basic shape.

The brochures I and 2 are essentially of the same height H but they are of different widths B, and B2 respectively. As in the case of the embodiment of Figure 1, the brochures I' and 2' are releasably connected together by means of a peel- off glue 3'. In this case, the brochures V and 2' are in coincident relationship in the region of the binding and the top and bottom sides adjoining same. By virtue of the different widths B I and B2, on the side opposite to the binding the brochures form a step, wherein B] < B2. Figure 2b shows this arrangement from above.

Figure 3 shows a further embodiment of the information carrier with two brochures I " and 2 " in which the height and width of the brochure 1 " are less than the height and width of the brochure 2". In other respects, the brochures I" and 2" are releasably connected together in the same manner as the embodiments of Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the releasable connection of two brochures I "' and 2... by means of an adhesive strip 4. Figure 4a shows the brochures I... and 2... of the information carrier with their respective bindings in mutually adjoining relationship and in a folded-open condition. The adhesive strip extends in the direction of the bindings over a region of the rear side of the brochure 1 "' and the front side of the brochure 2"'. In that way the adhesive strip provides between the brochures a hinge-like connection so that the brochures can be pivoted away from 6 each other, as is shown in Figure 4a. Such an unfolding movement is not possible when the brochures are connected together as in the embodiments of Figures I - 3. Figure 4b is a view from above of the releasably interconnected brochures I... and 2"' in the folded-together condition.

All the embodiments of Figures I to 4 show preferred embodiments in which each information carrier comprises precisely two brochures. It is however clear that it is also possible in the same manner to produce information carriers with 3, 4 or more releasably interconnected brochures.

Claims

7 CLAIMS

1. An information carrier comprising at least two brochures on which items of information are printed, wherein each of the brochures in itself is held together by a binding, and the brochures are releasably connected together by means of an adhesive or bonding material or an adhesive or bonding strip.

2. An information carrier according to claim 1, wherein the brochures are two in number.

3. An information carrier according to claim I or claim 2, wherein the brochures are connected together in the region of the binding of at least one of the brochures.

4. An information carrier according to claim I or claim 2, wherein the brochures are connected together in the region of the bindings of the brochures.

5. An information carrier according to any one of claims I to 4, wherein the brochures are of the same basic shape, and are of the same height and width or the same height and different widths -

6. An information carrier according to claim 5, wherein the basic shape is a rectangular basic shape.

7. An information carrier according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the side boundaries of the brochures, which have the bindings, are in mutually superposed coincident relationship in the releasably interconnected condition.

8. An information carrier according to any one of claims I to 7, wherein the two sets of side boundaries of the brochures extending away from the bindings of the brochures are in mutually superposed coincident relationship.

8

9. An information carrier according to claim 8, wherein the side boundaries of the brochures remote from the bindings are in mutually superposed coincident relationship.

10. An information carrier according to any one of claims I to 9, wherein the adhesive or bonding material is a peel-off glue or an adhesion glue.

11. An information carrier according to any one of claims I to 9, wherein the adhesive or bonding strip is a foil material which is coated on both sides with adhesive or bonding material.

12. An information carrier substantially as herein described with reference to, or with reference to and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.