WO2000011637A1

WO2000011637A1 - Rolled sheet retainer

Info

Publication number: WO2000011637A1
Application number: PCT/CA1999/000758
Authority: WO
Inventors: Diana R. P. Spedding
Original assignee: Spedding Diana R P
Priority date: 1998-08-19
Filing date: 1999-08-19
Publication date: 2000-03-02
Also published as: AU5275199A

Abstract

A rolled sheet retainer (10) comprising a substrate including at least one surface, the surface including a pair of adhesive surface portions (26, 28) each comprising repositionable adhesive securely disposed thereon and an adhesive-free surface portion disposed between the adhesive surface portions. The adhesive has a level of adhesion sufficient for retaining a sheet in a rolled-up position when the retainer is applied to the rolled-up sheet and suitable for allowing the retainer to be removed from the sheet without damage to the sheet. Identifying markings (36) may be applied to the substrate to aid in identifying the document. The substrate may also be permanently marked with indicia such as boxes and/or colour to further assist in identifying the document. The substrate may comprise paper or a polymeric substrate which is capable of having ink markings removed therefrom with a cloth or sponge.

Description

ROLLED SHEET RETAINER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a system for storing and identifying plans and drawings. In particular, this invention relates to an apparatus for retaining plans and drawings in a rolled-up position and for marking the rolled-up plans and drawings for easy retrieval.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Sheets used for applications such as engineering, architectural or survey drawings are sometimes stored flat, one on top of another in plan chests. However, as retrieval of the desired drawing requires searching through and removal of those drawings laying on top of the desired drawing, this method can be time consuming and can lead to tearing of the drawings. This method can also be tedious, particularly where the desired drawing is spread over multiple sheets. Further, plan chests are generally very expensive and, therefore, storage costs can become prohibitive as the number of drawings to be stored increases.

For these reason, the sheets used for applications such as engineering, architectural or survey drawings are often stored vertically in boxes, or horizontally in grids, in a rolled-up position with a retaining device, such as an elastic band, deployed around the circumference of the roll. However, the elastic band method is also unsatisfactory for the following reasons.

First, frequent removal and re-installation of the elastic band can lead to tearing or other damage to the drawings, or to premature failure of the elastic band. Second, rapid retrieval of a desired drawing hinders is hindered by the need to remove the retaining device in order to identify the drawing. Third, although a label, containing the title of the drawing and other relevant information, might be affixed to the outer surface of the roll for rapid identification, the label can become separated from the associated roll. Although labels may be replaced with identifying markings written in ink applied directly to the outer surface of the roll, such markings can damage the drawing to which the ink is applied.

Accordingly, there remains a need for a cost-efficient system which retains drawings of various sizes in a rolled-up position for short-term and long-term storage and which easily marks the drawings for later retrieval while reducing the risk of damage to the drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, there is provided a rolled sheet retainer which retains drawings in a rolled-up position while reducing the risk of damage to the drawings occasioned by frequent access to the drawings. The retainer is inexpensive to manufacture, and allows the drawings to be marked with indicia for rapid retrieval while reducing the risk that such indicia may damage or become dislodged from the drawing.

The rolled sheet retainer, according to a first embodiment of the invention, comprises a substrate including at least one surface which includes an adhesive portion disposed thereon. The adhesive portion may extend over the entire or a substantial portion of the surface, and comprises one of removable, replaceable or repositionable adhesive. However, instead, preferably the surface includes at least two adhesive surface portions securely disposed thereon and an adhesive-free surface portion disposed between the adhesive surface portions.

The rolled sheet retainer, according to a second embodiment of the invention, comprises a substrate including a pair of opposite surfaces, with at least one of the surfaces including an adhesive-free surface portion. Further, each opposite surface includes an adhesive surface portion comprising one of removable, replaceable or repositionable adhesive securely disposed thereon.

In each embodiment of the invention, the adhesive has a level of adhesion which is sufficient to retain a sheet or a plurality of sheets in a rolled-up position when the retainer is applied to the rolled-up sheet but which is suitable for allowing the retainer to be removed from the rolled-up sheet without damage to the rolled-up sheet. Identifying markings may be applied to the substrate to aid in identifying the rolled-up sheet. The substrate may also be permanently marked with indicia such as boxes, lines, curves and/or colour to further assist in identifying the sheet The substrate may comprise paper or a polymeric substrate capable of having ink markings removed therefrom with a cloth, sponge or similar device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiments of the invention will now be descπbed with reference to the drawings, m which like reference numerals indicate like elements, and m which.

Fig. 1 is a transverse cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the sheet roll retainer, according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the sheet roll retainer shown m Fig. 1;

Figs. 3a, 3b are perspective views of the sheet roll retainer applied to the outer surface of a rolled-up drawing;

Figs. 4a, 4b, 4c are schematic views of the sheet roll retainer adopting vaπous two- dimensional shapes;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the sheet roll retainer having a three-dimensional shape, and being applied to the outer surface of a rolled-up drawing;

Fig. 6 is a transverse cross-sectional view of one vaπation of the sheet roll retainer shown m Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of another vaπation of the sheet roll retainer shown in Fig. 1 ,

Fig. 8a is a perspective view of a pad of sheet roll retainers;

Fig. 8b is a perspective view of a roll of sheet roll retainers;

Fig 9 is a top plan view of another vaπation of the sheet roll retainer shown in Fig. 1,

Figs. 10a. 10b are perspective views of a second embodiment of the sheet roll retainer, and Fig. 11 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the sheet roll retainer shown in Figs. 10a, 10b.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Turning to Figs. 1 and 2, a rolled sheet retainer, denoted generally as 10, is shown comprising a substrate 12 having an upper surface 14 and a lower surface 16 opposite and parallel to the upper surface 14. Preferably, the substrate 12 comprises a flexible paper sheet which allows identifying markings to be applied in pencil or ink to the retainer 10 and to allow the retainer 10 to be applied to documents of varying diameters.

In one variation, the substrate 12 comprises a flexible polymeric substrate, such as vinyl or plastic substrate, or coated paper stock, which is capable of having any identifying ink markings applied to the upper surface 14 removed therefrom with a cloth, sponge or similar device. Such polymeric substrates are well known to those skilled in the art. In another variation, the upper surface 14 of the substrate 12 includes a textured surface portion, similar to that commonly found on the reverse side of credit cards, which is suitable for preventing any pencil or ink markings applied thereto from being removed.

In the embodiment shown, the substrate 12 is planar with a square cross-section, having a pair of opposite ends 18, 20, and a pair of opposite sides 22, 24. However, it should be understood that the substrate 12 may instead be circular, elliptical, triangular, polygonal or even have an irregular shape. Furthermore, the substrate 12 need not be planar, but may comprise any suitable three-dimensional geometric shape. As will be appreciated, different geometric shapes may be used to identify different classes of documents.

The lower surface 16 includes two adhesive surface portions 26, 28 securely affixed thereto. The first adhesive surface portion 26 is provided adjacent and parallel to the side 22, extending substantially between the ends 18.20. Similarly, the second adhesive surface portion 28 is provided adjacent and parallel to the side 24. extending substantially between the ends 18, 20. Preferably, both adhesive surface portions 26, 28 comprise a removable, replaceable or repositionable adhesive which adheres more strongly to the lower surface 16 than to those surfaces to which the retainer 10 is applied. Once such adhesive is used in the manufacture of Post-It Notes (trade-mark of the Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company of St. Paul, Minnesota), and comprises an adhesive binder layer which adheres securely to the lower surface of the substrate and contains numerous infusible, tacky elastomeric microspheres which adhere readily to paper surfaces and the like, without significant penetration. Another such adhesive comprises a single layer which is allowed to cure and thereby become securely attached to the lower surface 16 while providing an exposed pressure-sensitive surface having a lesser degree of adhesion that at the lower surface 16. Other suitable adhesives will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

As shown in Fig. 2, preferably the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 do not cover the entire surface area of the lower surface 16. Instead, the lower surface 16 includes an adhesive-free surface portion 30 disposed between the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 extending between the ends 18, 20. As will become apparent, the adhesive-free surface portion 30 serves to prevent the adhesive comprising the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 from contacting the edge of the rolled-up sheet to which the retainer 10 is applied, and thereby reduces the possibility that the rolled-up sheet may become damaged when the retainer 10 is removed from the sheet. Accordingly, the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 need not be parallel to the sides 22, 24, or even have any particularly regular shape as long as a suitable adhesive-free surface portion 30 remains between the adhesive surface portions 26, 28. Alternately, as discussed below, the surface portion 30 may contain some adhesive. However, in this latter variation, it is preferable that the level of adhesion provided by the adhesive in the surface portion 30 is such that the adhesive does not cause damage to the edge of the rolled-up sheet to which the retainer 10 is applied. Further, the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 may extend flush to the ends 18. 20 and/or the sides 22, 24 or terminate a distance from the ends 18, 20 and/or the sides, if desired. Turning to Fig. 3a, the retainer 10 is shown applied to the outer surface 32 of a rolled-up drawing 34. As described above, pen or pencil markings 36 identifying the drawing 34 have been applied to the upper surface 14 of the substrate 12. To maintain the drawing 34 in the rolled-up position, preferably the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 are positioned parallel to the free end 38 of the drawing 34 and are pressed against the outer surface 32 on opposite sides of the free end 38. The adhesive- free surface 30 of the lower surface 16 presses against the free end 38, retaining the free end 38 against the drawing 34 to thereby prevent the drawing 34 from unraveling and to protect the free end 38 from being damaged. The retainer 10 is removed from the drawing 34 by grasping a corner or either of the sides 22, 24 of the retainer 10.

It will be appreciated that the substrate 12 may be larger or smaller than the substrate 12 shown in Fig. 3a. In a variation, shown in Fig. 3b, the length of the substrate 12, defined as the distance between the sides 22, 24, is at least equal to or greater than the circumference of the rolled- up drawing 34. The retainer 10 extends around the entire circumference of the drawing 34 and retains the drawing 34 in the rolled-up position by the adhesive surface portion 26 adhering to the outer surface 32 of the drawing 34 and the adhesive portion 28 adhering to the upper surface 14 of the substrate 12.

Alternative planar retainers 10 are shown schematically in Figs. 4a, 4b and 4c, respectively having a triangular, oval and circular shape. As above, the retainers 10 are shown being applied to the outer surface 32 of a rolled-up drawing 34 such that the respective adhesive surface portions 26, 28 are positioned on opposite sides of the free end 38. A three-dimensional retainer 10 having a elongate wedge shape is shown in Fig. 5.

As shown in Figs. 4a, 4b and 4c, the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 need not be parallel to the free end 38, but may be rotated at any other suitable angle to the free end 38. The retainer 10 may even by rotated such that the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 are positioned perpendicular to the free end 38. However, as discussed above, it is preferable that the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 not contact the free end 38 so as to reduce the possibility that the drawing 34 may become damaged when the retainer 10 is removed from the outer surface 32 of the drawing 34.

In another variation, shown in Fig. 6, the substrate 12 comprises a rigid paper or polymeric substrate, preferably having a curved or arched lateral cross-section substantially matching the desired final cross-section of the rolled-up drawing 34. Rigid paper or polymeric substrates are useful in applications where the retainer 10 may be exposed to wear, or where the drawing 34 is fragile.

The adhesive comprising the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 is selected so as to provide a level of adhesion adjacent the outer surface 32 sufficient for retaining the retainer 10 against the outer surface 32 and sufficient for retaining the drawing 34 in the rolled-up position. For this reason, each of the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 preferably comprise continuous adhesive strips of adhesive so as to maximize the adhesive surface area of the retainer 10. However, as shown in Fig. 7, the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 may also comprise a plurality of adhesive segments or dots 35, provided that the level of adhesion provided by the adhesive maintains the retainer 10 against the outer surface 32 and retains the drawing 34 in the rolled-up position.

The adhesive surface portions 26, 28 may also extend over a larger portion of the bottom surface 16 than that shown in Fig. 2, provided that a sufficiently large adhesive-free surface portion 30 is maintained between the adhesive portions 26, 28 so that the free end 38 of the drawing 34 does not become damaged when the retainer 10 is removed from the outer surface 32 of the drawing 34. Alternately, the portion of the bottom surface 16 between the adhesive surface portions 26, 28, designated by the reference numeral 30, may contain adhesive, provided that the level of adhesion provided by the adhesive in the surface portion 30 does not adhere to the free end 38 to the extent that the free end 38 would become damaged by the removal of the retainer 10 from the outer surface 32. It will be appreciated that, over time, the level of adhesion provided by the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 may diminish to the point that the drawing 34 is released from the rolled-up position In the pπor art adhesive labels, the label can become displaced from the associated drawing if the level of adhesion provided by the adhesive drops sufficiently However, m the subject invention, it is unlikely that both adhesive surface portions 26, 28 will fail simultaneously Accordingly, if, for example, the adhesive in the adhesive surface portions 26 fails, the level of adhesion provided by the adhesive m the adhesive surface portion 28 will likely be sufficient to keep the retainer 10 secured to the outer surface 32 In addition, as the diameter of the drawing 34 will increase upon failure of either of the adhesive surface portions 26, 28, the retainer 10 provides the user with a visual signal that the retainer 10 should be replaced

When the retainer 10 is applied to the outer surface 32 of the rolled-up drawing 34, the drawing 34 places the substrate 12 in tension Accordingly, to prevent the drawing 34 from unraveling after the retainer 10 is applied to the outer surface 32, preferably the substrate 12 is continuous over the adhesive-free portion 30, in the sense that the adhesive-free portion 30 does not have any perforations or tear lines which might increase the likelihood of the substrate 12 teaπng under tension Alternately, the substrate 12 may include perforations or tear lines in the adhesive- free portion 30, provided that the strength of the substrate 12 is such that the substrate 12 will not tear under the tension applied to the substrate 12 by the rolled-up drawing 34

As shown in Fig 8a, the retainers 10 may be provided in a pad 40 of like retainers 10, coupled together along a common side 22, or a common end 18, with a suitable adhesive A single retainer 10 is then removed from the pad 40 by detaching the retainer 10 from the adhesive, and is then applied to a rolled-up drawing 34, as described above The bottom surface 16 of the lowermost retainer 10 in the pad 40 is covered with a sheet having a wax-impregnated surface or other non-stick surface to protect that adhesive on the lowermost retainer 10 from dust and other contaminants until removed from the sheet Alternately, as shown in Fig. 8b, the retainers 10 may be provided on a roll of non-stick sheets 44 having perforations 45 between adjacent sheets 44 to allow each retainer 10 - non-stick sheet 44 combination to be detached from the roll as needed. The retainer 10 is then peeled away from the sheet 44, and applied to the rolled-up sheet as described above. In another variation (not shown), the retainers 10 are provided in a pad coupled together along a common side 22, or a common end 18, with a suitable adhesive, and with the bottom surface 16 of each retainer 10 being protected by a non-stick sheet.

As shown in Fig. 9, preferably the substrate 12 is provided with indicia permanently displayed on the upper surface 14. The indicia comprises a plurality of lines 46 which intersect to form a plurality of boxes or cells 48 suitable for the entry of information for identifying the document 34 to which the retainer 10 is applied. The boxes 48 are also provided with words or titles 50 which can vary according to the specific application and the information required. The indicia may be applied to the upper surface 14 using silk screening or any other suitable process known to those skilled in the art. The indicia may also be imbedded in the substrate 12, below the upper surface 14 and the indica covered with a protective layer to protect the indicia from damage. Alternately, the indicia and/or the document identifying markings may be applied to the upper surface 14 by the user through mechanical printing means, such as a laser printer.

In another variation, the indicia comprises a permanent dye or ink applied to the surface of the substrate 12, or embedded in the substrate 12, so as to provide a colour-coding system to aid in the rapid identification of the drawings. Depending on the intensity of the colour used, the coloured portion may be limited to only a portion of the substrate 12 so that the identifying markings displayed on the upper surface 14 are not obscured by the coloured portion.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in Figs. 10 and 11 , comprising a rolled sheet retainer 210. The rolled sheet retainer 210 is substantially similar to the rolled sheet retainer 10, comprising a substrate 12 having an upper surface 14, a lower surface 16, and two adhesive surface portions 26, 28. However, in contrast to the retainer 10, the adhesive surface portion 26 of the retainer 210 is securely affixed to the upper surface 14, adjacent the side 22, while the adhesive surface portion 28 is securely affixed to the lower surface 16, adjacent the side 24. An adhesive-free surface portion 30a is provided on the upper surface 14 adjacent the adhesive surface portion 26, and an adhesive-free surface portion 30b is provided on the lower surface 16 adjacent the adhesive surface portion 28. The indica, described above, can then be displayed on either of the adhesive-free surface portions 30a, 30b.

As shown in Fig. 11, preferably the adhesive-free surface portions 30a, 30b overlap one another, defining an adhesive-free substrate portion which extends between the upper and lower surfaces 14, 16 and the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 to prevent the adhesive comprising the adhesive surface portions 26, 28 from contacting the edge of the rolled-up sheet to which the retainer 10 is applied. Alternately, as described above, the adhesive-free surface portion 30b may be eliminated, with the adhesive surface portion 28 covering substantially the entire lower surface 16, provided that the level of adhesion provided by the adhesive in the adhesive surface portion 26 does not adhere to the free end 38 to the extent that the free end 38 would become damaged by the removal of the retainer 10 from the outer surface 32. In this latter variation, the indicia could be displayed on the adhesive-free surface portions 30a.

As shown in Fig. 10a, the drawing 34 is retained in its rolled-up position by pressing the adhesive surface portion 26 against the inner surface 42 of the drawing 34 and pressing the adhesive surface portion 28 against the outer surface 32. The retainer 210 is removed from the drawing 34 by grasping the free end 38 of the drawing 34. Since the entire free end 38 of the drawing 34 is available for grasping, the retainer 210 is easier to remove from the drawing 34 than the retainer 10.

As will be appreciated, the retainer 210 may be larger or smaller than the retainer 210 shown in Fig. 10a. In a variation, shown in Fig. 10b, the length of the retainer 210 is at least equal to or greater than the circumference of the rolled-up drawing 34. The retainer 210 extends around the entire circumference of the drawing 34 and retains the drawing 34 in the rolled-up position by the adhesive surface portion 26 adhering to the adhesive surface portion 28. Alternately, the adhesive surface portion 26 may extend past the adhesive surface portion 28 such that the adhesive surface portion 26 adheres to the surface 16 while the adhesive surface portion 28 adheres to the surface 14. The description of the preferred embodiments is intended to be illustrative, rather than exhaustive of the present invention. Those persons of ordinary skill will be able to make certain additions, deletions, and/or modifications to the embodiments disclosed without departing from the spirt or scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

I CLAIM:

1. A rolled sheet retainer comprising: a substrate including at least one surface; at least two adhesive surface portions provided on the surface, each comprising adhesive securely disposed thereon; and an adhesive-free surface portion provided on the surface between the adhesive surface portions, wherein the adhesive has a level of adhesion sufficient for retaining a sheet in a rolled-up position when the retainer is applied to the rolled-up sheet and suitable for allowing the retainer to be removed from the rolled-up sheet without damage to the rolled-up sheet.

2. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive comprises one of removable adhesive, replaceable adhesive and repositionable adhesive.

3. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 1, wherein the substrate includes indicia permanently displayed thereon.

4. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 3, wherein the indicia comprises a coloured portion.

5. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is capable of having indicia applied thereto.

6. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate is suited for preventing indicia applied thereto from being removed.

7. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is suited for allowing indicia applied thereto to be removed.

8. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises paper substrate.

9. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises polymeric substrate.

10. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises flexible polymeric substrate.

11. A rolled sheet retainer comprising: a substrate including a pair of opposite surfaces; an adhesive surface portion provided on each said opposite surface, each said adhesive surface portion comprising adhesive securely disposed thereon; and an adhesive-free surface portion provided on at least one of the surfaces, wherein the adhesive has a level of adhesion sufficient for retaining a sheet in a rolled-up position when the retainer is applied to the rolled-up sheet and suitable for allowing the retainer to be removed from the rolled-up sheet without damage to the rolled-up sheet.

12 The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 1 1. wherein the adhesive comprises one of removable adhesive, replaceable adhesive and repositionable adhesive

13. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 11, wherein the adhesive surface portions are disposed in a non-overlappmg manner with each other.

14. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 11, wherein the adhesive surface portions are disposed in an overlapping manner with each other.

15. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 1 1, wherein the substrate includes indicia permanently displayed thereon.

16. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 15, wherein the indicia comp╧Çses a coloured portion.

17 The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 11, wherein the substrate is capable of having indicia applied thereto.

18. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 11 , wherein the substrate is suited for preventing indicia applied thereto from being removed.

19. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 11 , wherein the substrate is suited for allowing indicia applied thereto to be removed

20. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 11 , wherein the substrate comprises paper substrate.

21. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 11, wherein the substrate comprises polymeric substrate.

22. The rolled sheet retainer according to claim 11, wherein the substrate comprises flexible polymeric substrate.

23. A pad of rolled sheet retainers comprising: a plurality of sheet retainers, each said retainer comprising a substrate including at least one surface, the surface including a pair of adhesive surface portions each comprising repositionable adhesive securely disposed thereon and an adhesive-free surface portion disposed between the adhesive surface portions, wherein the adhesive has a level of adhesion sufficient for retaining a sheet in a rolled-up position when the retainer is applied to the rolled-up sheet and suitable for allowing the retainer to be removed from the rolled-up sheet without damage to the rolled-up sheet; and securing means for coupling the sheet retainers together along a common edge.

24. A document retaining system comprising: a sheet disposed in a rolled-up position; and a substrate comprising an adhesive portion, the adhesive portion comprising adhesive in contacting relation with the roll-up sheet and having a level of adhesion sufficient for retaining the sheet in the rolled-up position and suitable for allowing the substrate to be removed from the sheet without damage to the sheet.

25. The document retaining system according to claim 24, wherein the adhesive is securely disposed on a surface of the substrate over at least two adhesive surface portions thereof, and the surface includes an adhesive-free surface portion disposed between the adhesive surface portions.

26. The document retaining system according to claim 24, wherein the substrate comprises a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface, and an adhesive-free surface portion provided on at least one of the surfaces.