GB2522064A

GB2522064A - A temporary re-usable plaque and method of manufacture

Info

Publication number: GB2522064A
Application number: GB1400555.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Daniel Morning
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-01-14
Filing date: 2014-01-14
Publication date: 2015-07-15
Also published as: GB201400555D0

Abstract

The temporary re-usable plaque 3 comprises a re-usable permanent base 1 and a discardable personalized flexible substrate 9 for temporary mounting on the re-usable base. The discardable personalized flexible substrate has indicia printed on one surface thereof and an adhesive coating on the opposite surface thereof. There is further provided an intermediate barrier layer 7 between the adhesive coating on the discardable personalized flexible substrate and the re-usable permanent base. Preferably, the barrier layer comprises a permanent substrate with a resin coating applied thereto. The arrangement allows for the temporary plaques re-usable permanent base to be used again and again.

Description

"A temporary re-usable plaque and method of manufacture"

Introduction

This invention relates to a temporary re-usable plaque and a method of manufacture of a temporary re-usable plaque.

There are several advantages to temporary plaques, many of which are outlined in the Applicants own granted European Patent No. 1437234, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by way of reference. In summary, temporary plaques are more cost effective to provide than permanent plaques. Furthermore, permanent plaques must be engraved which is time consuming and therefore temporary plaques may be produced far quicker which is highly advantageous.

Now that temporary plaques are seen as a realistic alternative, and in many cases are preferred to permanent plaques, this has opened up a wealth of new opportunities to the providers of temporary plaques. The fact that the temporary plaques can be manufactured far quicker than permanent plaques has resulted in the possibility of temporary plaques being used for other, alternative uses that were not heretofore envisaged. One such use envisaged by the Applicant is the use of temporary plaques as personalised name plates.

Personalised name cards are used as table or place markers at a banquet or other function, as well as at press conferences, annual general meetings and the like where speakers and company officers are provided with name plates for the benefit of attendees. Typically, a piece of card is printed with the individual's name on it and placed in a holder on the table so that the person attending the banquet knows where they are to sit, or on the table in front of the executive officer or speaker so that they are clearly identified to the audience or other attendees. Personalised name cards can also be used on a hotel bedroom door (such as a bridal suite) or function room door so that the occupants of the room or the event being held in the function room are clearly identified to those outside the room.

Unfortunately, many of the known personalised name cards produced are unsuitable and are not fitting to the environment in which they are found. At best, the personalised name plates are printed on a high quality card and they may be placed in dedicated stands on the table. At worst, and more typically, the personalised name plates are simply a name printed on standard paper. The standard paper may be folded in two so that the personalised name plate will be upstanding and self-supporting when placed on a table. Generally speaking, these are unsatisfactory and it would be preferable to provide a personalised name plate that creates a better impression.

It would be beneficial if the temporary plaques described in the Applicants own granted European Patent No. 1437234 could be used instead of the known personalised name plates. However, it has been found that they are unsuitable for this purpose. The temporary plaques described therein, by their very nature are designed so that they appear to be permanent plaques and the plaques are not intended for reuse. The flexible sheets with indicia printed thereon described in EP1437234 are secured so tightly to the mounting plates that they appear permanent and they are not designed for removal. If a flexible sheet has to be removed from the mounting plate, for example if an error is detected in the printing, a great deal of effort is needed to remove the flexible sheet from the mounting plate and this usually results in damage being caused to the mounting plate rendering it useless. Typically, if the flexible sheet is removed from the mounting plate, even if no damage is done to the mounting plate, adhesive from the flexible sheet will be left on the mounting plate which must be removed from the mounting plate before another flexible sheet can be put in its place. This requires additional work and materials.

It is an object to the present invention to provide a temporary re-usable plaque that offers a useful alternative to the known temporary plaques. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a temporary plaque that may be used again and again without causing damage to the plaque or requiring excessive effort.

Statements of Invention

According to the invention there is provided a temporary re-usable plaque comprising a re-usable permanent base, a discardable personalized flexible substrate for temporary mounting on the re-usable base, the discardable personalized flexible substrate having indicia printed on one surface thereof and an adhesive coating on the opposite surface thereof, and in which there is provided an intermediate barrier layer intermediate the adhesive coating on the discardable personalized flexible substrate and the re-usable permanent base.

By having such a temporary plaque, the temporary plaque will be able to be used again and again. An old personalized flexible substrate can be removed from the re-useable base quickly and without damaging the base or leaving residue behind and a new personalized flexible substrate can be put in its place immediately, ready for use. This will enable parties to provide a temporary plaque quickly, with the minimum of effort, and at a relatively low cost.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a temporary plaque in which the intermediate barrier layer comprises a resin layer. A resin layer is seen as a particularly simple and effective way of providing the intermediate barrier layer between the substrate and the base and will enable the flexible substrate to be removed with ease.

Preferably, the resin layer comprises a thermally transferrable resin layer.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a temporary plaque in which the intermediate barrier layer comprises a permanent flexible substrate for permanent mounting on the re-usable base intermediate the adhesive coating on the discardable personalized flexible substrate and the re-usable permanent base. preferably, the barrier layer comprises a flexible vinyl sheet with a resin coating that is thermally printed thereon.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a temporary plaque in which the resin layer is coated on the face of the permanent flexible substrate remote from the re-usable permanent base.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a temporary plaque in which the resin layer is coated directly on the re-usable permanent base. By coating the resin layer directly onto the re-usable permanent base, this obviates the need for an intermediate permanent flexible substrate.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a temporary plaque in which the discardable personalized flexible substrate for temporary mounting on the re-usable base is a vinyl substrate. Alternatively, the discardable personalized flexible substrate for temporary mounting on the re-usable base is a paper substrate.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a temporary plaque in which the discardable personalized flexible substrate for temporary mounting on the re-usable base is a decal.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a temporary plaque comprising the steps of: (i) printing personalized indicia on one side of a discardable flexible substrate, the other side of the discardable flexible substrate having an adhesive coating thereon; (ii) providing a re-usable permanent base having an intermediate barrier layer thereon; (iii) mounting the discardable flexible substrate on the re-useable permanent base by placing the adhesive coating on the discardable flexible substrate in direct contact with the intermediate barrier layer on the re-usable permanent base.

This is seen as a quick and efficient way to manufacture a temporaly plaque. By manufacturing a temporary plaque in this manner, it will be possible to remove the discardable flexible substrate easily from the re-usable permanent base when the temporary plaque has served its purpose and is ready for the application of the next discardable flexible substrate thereon. Importantly, by making the temporary plaque in this way, the re-usable permanent base can be re-used multiple times, the plaque will not be damaged when the time comes to remove the discardable flexible substrate and it will not be necessary to remove any residual adhesive from the re-usable permanent base.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a temporary plaque in which the method comprises the additional step of removing another discardable flexible substrate from the re-usable permanent base before mounting the discardable flexible substrate on the re-useable permanent base.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a temporary plaque in which the step of providing a re-useable permanent base having an intermediate barrier layer thereon further comprises providing a re-useable permanent base having a resin layer thereon.

In one embodiment of the invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a temporary plaque in which the step of providing a re-useable permanent base having an intermediate barrier layer thereon further comprises providing a re-useable permanent base having a permanent flexible substrate mounted thereon and a resin layer coated on the permanent flexible substrate on the face of the permanent flexible substrate remote from the re-usable permanent base.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention will now be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 is a plan view of a re-usable permanent base of a temporary plaque according to the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the re-usable permanent base shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view of a flexible sheet for use with the re-usable permanent base shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a perspective side view of the re-usable permanent base of Figure 1 with the flexible sheet partially attached thereto; Figure 5 is a side view of a constructed temporary plaque; Figure 6 is a perspective view of an alternative re-usable permanent base of an alternative embodiment of temporary plaque according to the invention; Figure 7 is a side view of the re-usable permanent base shown in Figure 6; Figure 6 is a plan view of a flexible sheet for use with the re-usable permanent base shown in Figure 6; Figure 9 is a perspective side view of the re-usable permanent base of Figure 6 with the flexible sheet partially attached thereto; and Figure 10 is a side view of a constructed temporary plaque.

Referring to Figures 1 to 5 inclusive, there is shown a re-usable permanent base 1, for use in the construction of a temporary plaque, indicated by the reference numeral 3, according to the present invention. The re-usable permanent base 1 comprises an outline 5 indicative of where a flexible sheet is to be placed thereon. The re-usable base 1 further comprises an intermediate barrier layer 7 coated thereon. In the embodiment shown, the intermediate barrier layer comprises a resin layer. A discardable personalised flexible substrate 9 is provided with indicia printed on one face thereof and an adhesive backing on the other, opposite face thereof, and is provided for attachment to the re-usable permanent base.

Referring specifically to Figure 5, it can be seen that when the discardable personalised flexible substrate 9 is mounted on the re-usable permanent base 1, the intermediate barrier layer 7 is located intermediate the discardable personalised flexible substrate 9 and the re-usable permanent base 1. The apparatus described in EP1437234 may be used to apply the discardable personalised flexible substrate 9 onto the re-usable permanent base 1. This arrangement of re-usable permanent base 1, intermediate barrier layer 7 and discardable personalised flexible substrate 9 will enable the discardable personalised flexible substrate 9 to be removed with ease from the re-usable permanent base 1 and the re-usable permanent base 1 can be used multiple times.

Furthermore, the next time the temporary plaque 3 is produced, it will not require significant time and effort to prepare the re-usable permanent base 1 for reception of the discardable personalised flexible substrate 9.

Referring to Figures 6 to 10 inclusive, there is shown an alternative embodiment of temporary plaque according to the present invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 21, where like parts have been given the same reference numeral as before. In the embodiment shown, there is provided a re-usable permanent base 23, a discardable personalised flexible substrate 25 and an intermediate barrier layer 7 therebetween.

The temporary plaque 21 of Figures 6 to 10 inclusive differs from the temporary plaque 3 illustrated in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive in that the intermediate barrier layer 7 further comprises a permanent flexible substrate 27 for permanent mounting on the re-usable permanent base 23. The permanent flexible substrate 27 is located intermediate the discardable personalized flexible substrate 25 and the re-usable permanent base 23.

The intermediate barrier layer further comprises an intermediate barrier resin layer 29 which is coated on the face of the permanent flexible substrate 27 remote from the re-usable permanent base 23.

It will be understood from the foregoing that the discardable personalized flexible substrates can be removed from the re-usable permanent bases 1, 23 without damaging the re-usable permanent bases and the re-usable permanent bases 1, 23 can be used multiple times. Furthermore, the construction of the temporary plaques 3, 21 will be simple and quick to perform. This will enable the temporary plaques to be used as personalised name plates if desired. In the drawings, the dimensions of the width of the temporary flexible substrates 9, 25, the permanent flexible substrate 27 and the width of the barrier layers 7, 29 relative to the re-usable permanent base 1, 23 have been exaggerated for clarity and are not to scale. It will be understood that in practice these layers and substrates will be far narrower with respect to the re-usable permanent base 1,23.

In the embodiments described, reference is made to a barrier layer. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the barrier layer comprises a vinyl layer that has a resin layer printed thereon. The vinyl layer may be stuck permanently onto the base and the barrier layer printed thereon may be a paint layer. This paint layer or resin layer is often also referred to in the print business as a foil layer. A suitable barrier layer may be provided by way of the resin coated vinyl sold under the trade mark NexGen, product code G201. Alternatively, the resin coated vinyl sold under the brand name Gerber (product code GCS1O) or that sold under the brand name Signfoil (product code TTR-5156+) could be used to good effect as the barrier layer. In use, the adhesive on the temporary discardable personalized flexible substrate will adhere to the resin (paint) layer of the barrier layer and when it is desired to re-use the temporary plaque, the discardable personalized flexible substrate can be removed with relative ease from the resin layer without leaving adhesive behind. Furthermore, the adhesion between the adhesive on the permanent vinyl layer onto the re-usable base will be stronger than the bond between the discardable personalized flexible substrate and the permanent vinyl layer.

In this specification the terms "comprise, comprises, comprised and comprising" and the terms "include, includes, included and including" are all deemed totally interchangeable and should be afforded the widest possible interpretation.

The invention is in no way limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described but may be varied in both construction and detail within the scope of the claims.