GB2470931A

GB2470931A - Decorative Band and Integral Holder

Info

Publication number: GB2470931A
Application number: GB0909961A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Emily Taylor
Original assignee: Taylor Design Ltd
Current assignee: Taylor Design Ltd
Priority date: 2009-06-10
Filing date: 2009-06-10
Publication date: 2010-12-15
Also published as: GB0909961D0

Abstract

An integrally formed decorative band and integral holder 19, which is joined, and detachable, along a line of weakness 3. The holder 2 allows for easy hanging and display, and provides an area for printed indicia. The decorative band 17 comprises a ribbon-like band 7 and 13, which has a wider decorative portion 10 and a gift tag panel 8, on which a message or greeting can be written. The label 6 provides an area for indicia that can be seen by the recipient. The adhesive layer 15 allows the decorative band 17 to be easily attached around a gift article. The band 17 and holder 19 have an attractive and distinctive appearance. The decorative band 17 may be applied to a bottle.

Description

UK Patent Application for a; Decorative Band and Integral Holder This invention relates generally to the art of decorating gifts, and more particularly, this invention addresses the need to provide customers with alternatives to the currently available forms of gift decoration that are used to decorate a gift package.

Presenting gifts has always been a way for people to show affection, friendship, etc, on various social occasions and events. To enhance the attractiveness of a gift, it is common to decorate it. In the case of a cuboid shaped gift package, the purchaser typically wraps the package and ties a ribbon around it, with a gift bow and gift tag attached to the ribbon, all of which are separate decorative elements. More particularly, when gifting wine bottles or similar, it is very common to decorate them by placing them in gift bags, or tying or hanging a square or rectangular shaped gift tag around the neck of the bottle. The gift tag element of these decorative items allows the purchaser to personalise their gift with a written message or greeting.

Moreover, there is an increasing demand for products that are more resource efficient and have a minimal environmental impact. This demand comes both from the consumer and through government legislation, directives and regulations. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to consider the design and lifecycle impact of a product, in addition to its function and aesthetics.

The size of a normal bottle bag is large in comparison to a normal gift tag, which makes it less resource efficient produce it. Whilst a bottle bag can provide decorative cover for an entire wine bottle or similar, due to its structure, most have a simple rectangular outline and appearance, which has limited visual appeal. Also, bottle bags are commonly made up of a number of materials, which are not always recyclable and require the recipient to separate these elements in order to recycle them.

The size of a normal gift tag is small in comparison to a normal bottle bag, which makes it more resource efficient produce. However it has limited visual appeal when attached to a wine bottle or similar, due to its relative size and commonly square or rectangular shape. Also, gift tags often have a tie string attached which is not always recyclable and requires the recipient to detached it and recycle separately.

In the art of decorating a gift, an interesting design makes the gift to which it is attached stand out among other gifts. Moreover, consumers who are tired of the more common and conventional gift decoration products are often attracted to options that have a more Interesting appearance. Therefore, there is a need for a gift decoration product that is visually appealing and distinctive from the existing products.

The present disclosure seeks to provide an alternative to the existing options that are available for decorating a gift package, and more particularly, for decorating the gift of a wine bottle or similar, by providing a new and unique Decorative Band and Integral Holder (hereafter referred to as the "band and holder"), as will be explained below.

In view of the foregoing, the present invention provides an integrally formed band and holder which are joined along a line of weakness. The band may comprise a nbbon-like band, which has a wider portion comprising a decorative section and a panel serving as a gift tag. (The band, once separated from the holder, will hereafter be referred to as the "decorative band").

The band and holder and, once separated, the decorative band of the present invention have an attractive appearance that is distinct from that of conventional and commonly available gift bags or gift tag. For display by the retailer, the decorative band has its own integral holder, so requires no additional attachments, such as the plastic holders commonly attached to bottle bags. The holder element of the band and holder also provides an area for printed indicia.

Once detached from its holder and placed around a package, the decorative band has a strongly visual outline, which is printed with a coloured design, and the integral gift tag provides a place for the purchaser to write a message or greeting for the recipient. The decorative band broadly creates the visual feel of a traditional ribbon, gift bow and gift tag, however on the decorative band all these elements are integrally formed and fit flat to the surface of the package to which it is attached, creating a two dimensional appearance. The design also allows for many variations in the outline shape of the ribbon-like band, the wider decorative portion and gift tag, and thereby many variations in the overall look of the decorative band.

All elements of the band and holder are easily recyclable because it is formed from a single piece of material, such as cardstock. It also use approximately 10% of the material used in a standard bottle bag, which means that it is considerably more resource efficient to produce.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying figures.

Preferred embodiments are described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a front view of an embodiment of a band and holder of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a back view of a band and holder of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a side view of a band and holder of Figure 1; Figure 4 shows a front view of a band and holder of Figure 1, where the integral holder has been detached; Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a decorative band of Figure 1 when attached to a bottle and viewed from the front; Figure 6 shows a perspective view of a decorative band of Figure 1 when attached to a bottle and viewed from the back; Figure 7 shows a front view of an alternative embodiment of a band and holder of the present invention; Figure 8 shows a front view of a further alternative embodiment of a band and holder of the present invention; Figure 9 shows a front view of an alternative embodiment of a band and holder of the present invention; Figure 10 shows a front view of an alternative embodiment of a band and holder of the present invention; Figure 11 shows a front view of an alternative embodiment of a band and holder of the present invention.

Preferred embodiments may have one or more of the following features: With initial reference to Figures 1 and 2, the front and back of an embodiment of a band and holder is depicted generally and associated with reference 19. This embodiment of band and holder 19 is made up of the holder panel 2, together with the decorative band 17, which are joined at the line of weakness 3.

The band and holder 19 may be fabricated, preferably by die cutting, from a single piece of cardstock that is cut along a chosen outline to define an outer boundary 18 of the band and holder 19. The band and holder 19 may be formed by methods other than die cutting and from other various natural or synthetic materials.

The holder panel 2 in this embodiment serves two functions. First, the holder 2 has a cutout 1, preferably formed in the shape of euroslot, which allows easy hanging of the band and holder on commonly available display racks or other types of display devices at the point of purchase. The cutout I may be created by die cutting or may be formed by other methods. The cutout I would preferably be positioned centrally at the top of the holder 2, as illustrated in Figure 1 and 2. Second, the holder 2 provides a surface on which various indicia may be printed or otherwise formed thereon. The holder panel 2 in this embodiment is detachable from the decorative band 17 by a perforated line 3. However, the line of weakness 3 can be created using a scored line or by other means to allow easy separation of holder panel 2 and decorative band 17.

Furthermore, if the band and holder 19 are fabricated from a single piece of plastic, the surface design and indicia could be embossed or debossed on or into it, instead of the design being printed. Similarly, if the band and holder 19 is fabricated from a single piece of cardstock, the surface design and indicia could be embossed or debossed on or into it, instead of the design being printed.

The decorative band 17 is designed to broadly create the look of traditionally separate gift wrapping elements, being a ribbon, gift bow and gift tag, with similar proportions and conformation.

The decorative band 17 has a ribbon-like band 7 and 13 which has a wider decorative portion 10, which in this embodiment has a square petal flower-like shape, together with an integral gift tag panel 8.

The fabrication methods for the band and holder 19, allow for a large variety of chosen outlines in the design of the gift tag panel 8, and in particular, the design of the ribbon-like band 7 and 13 and wider decorative portion 10, which can be made to look very different from a traditionally straight and parallel edged ribbon and rounded flower style gift bow.

As an integral part of the decorative band 17, a label 6 can provide the recipient with information about the product after the purchaser has detached the holder 2, as it provides a surface on which indicia may be printed, or otherwise formed thereon, to include text and/or graphics of, for example, a company logo or website address.

The entire front of the band and holder, shown in Figure 1, can be printed with a coloured design, with the option of additional of indicia on the holder 2 and label 6.

Alternatively, various other treatments, such as lamination, can be applied to the surface of the decorative band 17, or the band and holder 19, to alter its appearance. In this embodiment there is no printed surface design on the back of the band and holder 19, shown in Figure 2, although surface printing or other treatments, such as lamination, can be applied if required.

References 9, 11 and 12 indicate where a printed surface design, with suitably contrasting colours, can be used to define the edges between the wider decorative portion 10, the ribbon-like band 7 and 13, and the gift tag panel 8. Also, reference 4 indicates where a printed surface design, with suitably contrasting colours, can be used to define the edge between the ribbon-like band 7 and the label 6.

To enable the decorative band to be easily secured around an article, for example a wine bottle, there is an adhesive layer 15 formed on the surface of the decorative band. The adhesive layer 15 is preferably covered by a removable backing 16 for protection thereof.

By way of example, Figures 4, 5 and 6 illustrate how the band and holder is very simple to use and how it can be used to decorate a wine bottle 40, for which it is

highly suitable.

This is accomplished by the purchaser separating the holder 2 and decorative band 17 along the perforated line 3, and then writing an optional message or greeting on the gift tag panel 8. The purchaser then removes the protective backing 16 from the adhesive layer 15, extends the decorative band tightly around the curved surface of the body of the wine bottle 21, with the front side Figure 1 facing out, places the distal end 14 overlapping distal end 5, and affixes these two ends by pressing them together.

Figure 5 illustrates the decorative band once attached to the wine bottle 21 and viewed from the front, where the key decorative elements, i.e. the ribbon-like band 7 and 13, the wider decorative portion 10 and the gift tag panel 8, can all be seen, together with any message or greeting the purchaser may have written on the gift tag panel 8.

Figure 6 illustrates the decorative band once attached to the wine bottle 21 and viewed from the back, where label 6 is visible below the distal end 14 of the ribbon-like band 13. Also of note is that the distal end 5 (not visible in Figure 6), which has been torn along the perforated line 3, is covered by the cleanly cut distal end 14, to create a more appealing appearance.

With reference to Figure 3, due to the flat nature of the material from which the band and holder 20 is formed, the resulting decorative band fits flat to the surface of the article to which it is attached, creating a two dimensional appearance.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate the attachment of the decorative band to a cylindrical wine bottle 21, but it can also be used decorate other shaped bottles, articles and objects.

If the article has a plurality of surfaces, for example a square shaped article, the decorative band 17 is attached in the same way as described above, with the addition of simply folding it, with generally parallel lines, about the edges that are formed where one surface of the article meets another surface.

The decorative band 17 can be sized to extend completely about the surface of a range of articles, due to the fact that the distal end 14, with adhesive layer 15 on the back, can be adhere at any point where it overlaps the front of the ribbon-like band 7.

In an alternative arrangement that avoids the use of adhesive, the distal end portions 5 and 14 of the decorative band 17 may be formed with opposed partial slits so that they may be interlocked mechanically. When the decorative band 17 does not extend completely about the article, its opposite ends can be suitably adhered directly to the article. It may also be adhered directly to the article, rather than simply to its own opposite ends, even when it does extend completely about the article.

Figures 7 and 8 depict alternative embodiments of the band and holder. These embodiments 35 and 36 may be generally formed and used in the same way as the embodiment of the band and holder 19, depicted in Figures 1 to 6. More specifically, Figures 7 and 8 illustrate two embodiments of the band and holder where the shapes of the outer boundaries 26 and 33 have been altered for different designs. In embodiment 35, the outline of the decorative band has been altered, from that of the embodiment depicted in Figures 1 to 6, so that the wider decorative portion 24 has a bird-like shape, and the gift tag panel 25 has no tapering ends and is angled differently from that of gift tag panel 8. In embodiment 36, the outhne 33 of the decorative band has been altered, from that of the embodiment depicted in Figures I to 6, where the ribbon-like band 29 and 32 has a scalloped edge 33 with a round tip 34, and no label 6. Also on embodiment 36, the outline of the holder 28 has been altered to an oval shape, whilst still allowing it to function as a holder.

In addition to the altered outer boundaries 26 and 33, a surface design would be used that was individual to, and in keeping with, the shape of each embodiment.

This surface design could also be used to define the edges between the wider decorative portions 24 and 30, the ribbon-like bands 23 and 27, and 29 and 32, and the gift tag panels 25 and 30.

Figures 9, 10 and 11 depict further alternative embodiments of the band and holder, for the purposes of illustrating omnibus claims 23, 24 and 25. These embodiments 47, 48 and 54 may be generally formed and used in the same way as the embodiment of the band and holder 19, depicted in Figures 1 to 6. More specifically, Figures 9, 10 and 11 illustrate three embodiments of the band and holder where the shapes of the outer boundaries 38, 43 and 50 have been altered for different designs.

In embodiment 47, the outline of the decorative band has been altered, from that of the embodiment depicted in Figures 1 to 6, so that the wider decorative portion 37 has a double petal flower-like shape.

In embodiment 48, the outline of the decorative band has been altered, from that of the embodiment depicted in Figures 1 to 6, so that the wider decorative portion 42 has a propeller-like shape.

In embodiment 54, the outline of the decorative band has been altered, from that of the embodiment depicted in Figures 1 to 6, so that the wider decorative portion 49 has a flower-like shape.

In addition to the altered outer boundaries 38, 43 and 50, a surface design would be used that was individual to, and in keeping with, the shape of each embodiment.

This surface design could also be used to define the edges between the wider decorative portions 37, 42 and 49, the narrow ribbon-like bands 39 and 40, 44 and 45, and 51 and 52, and the gift tag panels 41,46 and 53.

This flexibility in the design of the band and holder allows for many visually appealing and highly distinctive variations.

In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of this invention may be applied, it should be recognized that the embodiments described herein with respect to the drawing figures are meant to be illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of invention.

Claims

Claims What is claimed is: 1. A decorative band and integral holder comprising: an integrally formed decorative band and holder, which are joined along a line of weakness; wherein the decorative band has an integrally formed panel to serve as a gift tag providing a place to write a message or greeting.
2. A decorative band and integral holder comprising: an integrally formed decorative band and holder, which are joined along a line of weakness; wherein the decorative band is a ribbon-like band which has a wider decorative portion.
3. A decorative band and integral holder comprising: an integrally formed decorative band and holder, which are joined along a line of weakness; wherein the decorative band is a ribbon-like band which has a wider portion comprising a decorative section and a panel serving as a gift tag.
4. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3, wherein the decorative band and integral holder are detachable along a line of weakness.
5. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3, wherein the integral holder has an opening formed therein to allow hanging of the decorative band and integral holder for display.
6. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3, wherein the integral holder provides a surface on which indicia may be printed or otherwise formed thereon.
7. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim 3, wherein the decorative band, in addition to the wider portion comprising a decorative section and a panel serving as a gift tag, has an integrally formed panel to serve as a label which provides a surface on which indicia may be printed or otherwise formed thereon; and which can be seen by the recipient as well as the purchaser.
8. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim 2 or 3 or 7, wherein the wider decorative portion is shaped as a bow.
9. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim 2 or 3 or 7, wherein the wider decorative portion is shaped as a bird.
10. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim 2 or 3 017, wherein the wider decorative portion is shaped as an animal.
11. A method of using a decorative band and integral holder as in daim I or 2 or 3 or 7, wherein the holder is detachable from the decorative band and the decorative band is extended to fit around the surface of a cylindrical article.
12. A cylindrical article around which is secured the decorative band of claim I or 2 or 3 or 7.
13. In which the cylindrical article of claim 12 is a bottle.
14. A method of using a decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3 or 7, wherein the holder is detachable from the decorative band and the decorative band is extended to fit around the surface of an article that has a plurality of surfaces.
15. An article that has a plurality of surfaces around which is secured the decorative band of claim 1 012 013 or 7.
16. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 7, which has an adhesive layer formed on the surface of the decorative band at the end remote from the holder.
17. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3 or 7, which has an adhesive layer formed on the surface of the decorative band at the end next to the holder.
18. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim 16 or 17, in which has the adhesive layer is covered by a removable backing.
19. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3 or 7, wherein the front surface of the band is printed with a coloured design.
20. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3 or 7, wherein the front and back surfaces are printed with a coloured design.
21. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3 or 7, wherein the front surface of the band and integral holder carries a lamination.
22. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3 or 7, wherein the front surface of the band carries a lamination.
23. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3 or 7 or 19, wherein there is indicia on the holder.
24. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 7and as described with reference to Figures 1 to 6.
25. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 7 and as described with reference to Figure 7.
26. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3 or 7 and as described with reference to Figure 8.
27. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3 or 7 and as described with reference to Figure 9.
28. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3 or 7 and as described with reference to Figure 10.
29. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3 or 7 and as described with reference to Figure II.
30. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim 7, wherein the front surface of the integrally formed panel serving as a label is printed with a design.
31. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim 7, wherein the front and back surfaces of the integrally formed panel serving as a label are printed with a design.
32. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim 30 or 31, wherein there is indicia on the label.
33. A method of making a decorative band and integral holder as in claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 7, by fabricating it from a single piece of material that is cut along a chosen outline to define an outer boundary.
34. A method as in claim 33, wherein the single piece of material is cardstock.
35. A method as in claim 33, wherein the single piece of material is of plastics.
36. A method as in claim 33, wherein the decorative band and integral holder are formed by die cutting.
37. A method as in claim 33, wherein the line of weakness between the decorative band and integral holder is formed by a perforated line.
38. A method as in claim 33, wherein the line of weakness between the decorative band and integral holder is formed by a scored line.
39. A method as in claim 33, wherein the decorative band and integral holder is fabricated from a single piece of plastics and the design is embossed onto it.
40. A method as in claim 33, wherein the decorative band and integral holder is fabricated from a single piece of plastics and the design is debossed onto it.
41. A method as in claim 33, wherein the decorative band and integral holder is fabricated from a single piece of cardstock and the design is embossed onto it.
42. A method as in claim 33, wherein the decorative band and integral holder is fabricated from a single piece of cardstock and the design is debossed onto it.
43. A decorative band and integral holder as in claim I or 2 or 3 or 7, which has an a partial slit in decorative band in the end next to the holder with an opposing partial slit in the end remote from the holder so that they may be interlocked mechanically.