WO2012056235A1

WO2012056235A1 - Mount for receiving a sheet item

Info

Publication number: WO2012056235A1
Application number: PCT/GB2011/052081
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mark Morrish; John Morrish
Original assignee: Mark Morrish; John Morrish
Priority date: 2010-10-27
Filing date: 2011-10-26
Publication date: 2012-05-03
Also published as: GB2484948B; GB201018121D0; GB2484948A

Abstract

A mount for receiving a sheet item, the mount comprising a first body portion having a first surface;a second body portion having a second surface, the second body portion extending from the first body portion such that a stepped region is defined at the junction of the first and second body portions; and an adhesive material that extends partially over the first surface, thereby defining a first area having an adhesive layer and a second area substantially lacking such an adhesive layer, the second area being adjacent the stepped region.

Description

MOUNT FOR RECEIVING A SHEET ITEM

The present invention relates to a mount for receiving a sheet item, in particular the present invention relates to a mount which will receive a planar sheet item such as a photograph, promotional document, illustrations or the like. It is common for photographs to be mounted for display in a photograph album or the like. Photograph albums often have areas where comments can be introduced relating specifically to an associated photograph. Greetings cards with multilayer envelope sections within which a photograph or the like may be contained and which have a transparent viewing window through which to view the photographed contained therein are also common. In such arrangements the photograph can be slipped in to the card structure to be viewed whilst being held securely as part of the card. However, these are bulky arrangements and do not provide a sleek or professional end result.

Personalized calendars are commonly made to be kept or given as a gift or sold for local causes or at craft fairs. The calendars conventionally comprise a single or multi page calendar pad which is designed to be attached, typically by adhesive tape, to a single sheet item such as a photograph, picture or printed document. In the case of single page calendar pads where each page displays a single month, the individual single pages are then collated together to form a calendar year. The calendar pad is commonly supplied without adhesive. To make a personalized calendar using the calendar pad adhesive or double sided tape must be applied to the back of the calendar pad before securing it either directly to the sheet item or to a backing sheet on which the sheet item is mounted. The application of adhesive followed by the accurate placement of the sheet item can be difficult and time consuming. As a result, the calendar pad and sheet item can easily be misaligned resulting in an unsatisfactory and unprofessional end product. Alternatively, the sheet item could be damaged by accidental misplacement to an extent it is unusable resulting in unnecessary waste.

There is also currently an increase of sophisticated digital photo print facilities in supermarkets and high street stores. The creation of personalized gifts using photographs printed at these facilities is a "value added" feature which commercial companies can offer to their customers to encourage uptake of printing of digital images. A simple and efficient way to create a personalized note pad, book or calendar, using these

photographs, which produces a professional looking product, would be of great value. However at the moment personalized calendars can only be produced using traditional calendar pads or by printing the calendars on photographic paper adjacent the desired image. There is a lack of simple binding systems that are both quick to use and permit the accurate alignment of the attached illustration..

However the photographic paper is a poor choice of material for traditional calendar use as it is not substantial nor designed to be written upon with pen or pencil.

Therefore, there is a need for a means of mounting a sheet item such as a photograph or the like such that accurate alignment and adhesion of the sheet item to the mount can be achieved with ease.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate at least one of the aforementioned problems.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a mount for receiving a sheet item, the mount comprising a first body portion having a first surface; a second body portion having a second surface, the second body portion extending from the first body portion such that a stepped region is defined at the junction of the first and second body portions; and an adhesive material that extends partially over the first surface, thereby defining a first area having an adhesive layer, and a second area substantially lacking such an adhesive layer, the second area being adjacent to the stepped region.

The use of the term sheet item is intended to include any item for display having a surface opposite the display surface which is substantially planar surface to enable it to be successfully received by the mount. Such items may include, but are not limited to, flexible or rigid materials including paper, card, cardboard, plastic, ceramic, wood, glass or textile. Sheet items comprising paper or card include photographs, illustrations, sketches and the like. The provision of a stepped region in conjunction with an adhesive material extending over the first area of the first surface enables accurate positioning of the sheet item by abutment of an end of the sheet item against the stepped region, prior to engaging the sheet item with the adhesive material. In one embodiment, the second body potion is provided with attachment means to facilitate binding. For example, the attachment means may comprise a plurality of apertures. Such apertures may be aligned adjacent an edge of the second body portion distal to the first body portion. Such attachment means facilitates the binding of mounts on a spiral wire or comb binding for example. In this way, the plurality of mounts will form a set of bound pages. However, it will be appreciate that any other suitable binding means known to the skilled person may be used as an alternative. For example, the binding of mounts may be carried out by traditional stitching methods by stitching along an edge of the second body portion. In a further embodiment the second surface comprises an area for receiving information or displaying pre -printed information. Such information may include, but is not limited to a calendar information, advertising information or information specific to the display item.

In one embodiment, the first body portion and second body portion each comprise planar sheet material layered together to form the mount such that the stepped region is defined by a first edge of the second body portion abutting against the first surface of the first body portion. The planar sheet material may be a paper based material such as, but not limited to card or cardboard. Alternatively, the planar sheet material may be a plastic based material. The layers of first sheet material and second sheet material may be secured together by adhesive such as glue or may be laminated or may be held together, or by any other suitable technique including but not limited to welding or fusion. In a further embodiment, the first body portion and second body portion are integrally formed. For example, the planar material may be a paper based material, such as, but not limited to card or cardboard, wherein the first body portion and stepped region are formed by compression of a region of the planar material. Alternatively, the planar material may be a plastics-based material which has been formed or machined to define the first body portion and stepped region.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be provided, by way of example only, and with reference to the following figures, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a mount according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view from one side of the embodiment of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view from one side of the embodiment of Figure 1 and showing a sheet item being positioned for mounting; Figure 4 is a cross sectional view from one side of the embodiment of Figure 1 showing a sheet item received therein;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the embodiment of Figure 1 showing a sheet item

received therein;

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view from one side of the embodiment provided with a protective strip;

Figure 7 is a plan view of the embodiment of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is cross sectional view from one side of a mount according to a further embodiment the invention;

Figure 9 is a plan view of a mount according to a second embodiment of the present invention, the mount being provided with binding means; and

Figure 10 is a plan view of the mount of figure 9 with a wire spiral binding in place. With reference to Figures 1 and 2 there is shown a mount 2 having a first body portion 10 having a first surface 12 and a second body portion 20 having a second surface 22. The second body portion 20 extends from the first body portion 10 such that a stepped region 30 is defined at the junction of the first body portion 10 and rising edge 24 of second body portion 20. A layer of adhesive material, in this case a strip of double sided adhesive tape 40 is, on a first side 42 attached to a first area 14 of the second surface 22. A second area 16, defined between the first area 14 and the stepped region 30 is free of adhesive. In this embodiment the first body portion 10 and second body portion 20 are integrally formed from two layers of paper based material adhered together to define a stepped region 30. It will be similarly understood that the first body portion 10 and second body portion 20 may be integrally formed from a paper based material such as cardboard wherein the first body portion 10 is machine or compression formed, or may be formed from machined plastic, however it will be understood that any suitable technique of plastic manufacture including but not limited to extrusion, moulding and pressing could be used.

In Figure 3 there is shown a sheet item 50, in this case a photograph, being positioned for location on a mount 2 which in this case is a calendar mount. To ensure accurate alignment, the sheet item 50 is held at an angle Θ and a first edge 52 of the sheet item 50 is abutted against stepped region 30 such that it is in contact with rising edge 24 and the second area 16 of second body portion 20. As no adhesive is present on the rising edge 24 and the second area 16, the photograph 50 can be manoeuvred until it is in a desired accurately aligned position before it is then lowered in the direction of arrow A towards the adhesive layer 40 provided on the first area 14.

Figures 4 and 5 show the photograph 50, received in mount 2, wherein the photograph is secured against second side 44 of adhesive layer 40 in an accurately aligned position with the mount 2 such that first edge 52 of sheet item 50 abuts neatly against rising edge 24. It will be noted that the width of layer 10 may vary from a narrow strip to a substantial sheet width depending on the desired use of the mount. For example, the width of second body portion 20 (i.e. the distance across body portion 20 extending in a transverse direction away from stepped region 30) may be narrow, where it is intended that attachment means are provided in body portion 20 to facilitate binding of the mount within a notepad, photograph album or spiral or wire -bound notebook. The mount may be provided either as a top sheet for the notepad, album or notebook or just below a clear or translucent cover sheet. In this way, the notepad, album or notebook can be personalized. Alternatively, a plurality of mounts may be bound into an album, whereby photographs or the like may be positioned on each bound mount, thereby providing an easy way to position and retain multiple sheet items 50 within a bound format.

Figures 6 and 7 show mount 2 provided with a protective strip 48, located on second side 44 of adhesive layer 40. The protective strip 48 may be retained over the adhesive layer 40 during the positioning of a sheet item (not shown) to be received by mount 2. Once accurate positioning is achieved, the protective strip 48 can be removed allowing the sheet item to be moved into a position where it will be in contact with and held by adhesive layer 40. When a photograph or similar item overlays much of the area of the surface of the body portion 20 an additional strip of adhesive may optionally be applied to retain the sheet item 50 in place relative to the mount.

In Figure 8 a second embodiment of mount 2 is shown. As can be seen mount 2 comprises a first layer 2a and a second layer 2b, which in this case are each a sheet of stiff card, laminated together such that layer 2a extends beyond the extent of layer 2b. In this arrangement the first surface 12 of first body portion 10 is formed by the surface of layer 2a exposed by extending beyond layer 2b. The second surface 22 of second body portion 20 is formed from the exposed surface of layer 2b. As with the embodiment of Figure 1 , stepped region 30 is defined at the junction of the first body portion 10 and rising edge 24 of second body portion 20. A layer of adhesive material, in this case a strip of double sided adhesive tape 40 is, on a first side 42 attached to a first area 14 of the first surface 12. A second area 16, defined between the first area 16 and the stepped region 30 is free of adhesive. A protective strip 48 (not shown) may be optionally provided.

Various modifications may be made to the embodiments hereinbefore described without departing from the scope of the invention. For example it will be appreciated that the sheet item 50, which has been detailed above as a photograph, may be any substantially item for display having a surface opposite the display surface which is substantially planar surface for successful attachment to mount 2. Such items may include, but are not limited to, a drawing or text on paper or card; a collage; embroidery; piece of woven textile or thin decorative ceramic printed promotional sheet, advertisement, photograph or metal sheet and similar. It will be clearly understood that the surface for display need not be planar. In addition the adhesive material 40 has been described as being double sided adhesive tape, however any suitable adhesive material such as suitable glue could be used. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 8, the first layer 2a and second layer 2b are each described as a sheet of stiff card, however it will be appreciated that the layers may comprise any suitable planar material including but not limited to paper and plastic.

Furthermore, the second layer 2b could alternatively comprise a plurality of thin sheets fixed together as would be found in a multi page calendar pad.

Figure 9 shows a further embodiment of a mount 2 provided with apertures 70 along an edge of the second body portion 20 distal from the first body portion 10. Apertures 70 are sized and spaced so as to facilitate mounting on a spiral wire binding. However, it will be appreciated that the size and spacing of the apertures may be varied to

accommodate mounting on alternative bindings such as, but not limited to, comb bindings or the like. Alternatively, mounts 2 may be stitched into a traditional binding adjacent an edge of second body portion 20. In these various ways, a plurality of mounts may be held together to display a plurality of photos, promotional documents, illustrations or the like.

By binding a mount into the front of a glued pad, wire bound book, calendar or similar item the bound product can be quickly and permanently personalized. This invention may be bound into the item under a protective sheet, such as, for example, plastic, polythene, or any other suitable clear or translucent material known to the skilled person.

Figure 10 is a plan view of the mount of figure 9 with a wire spiral binding in place.

In an example, a mount can be used for a calendar. A calendar may be made up, for example, of 12, 6 or 4 sheets. Each sheet can be pre -printed at the foot with dates for respectively, one or two or three months. Similarly to that shown in figures 9 and 10 for example, these sheets can be held together with glue, wire staples, wire or spiral binding to form a 12 month calendar. Separate photographs, prints, artwork or craft collages etc, can then be added and aligned using the process described above.

It is to be appreciated that the present invention has the further advantage that no separate machinery or expertise is required in order to bind the calendar. A plurality of mounts in accordance with the present invention, when bound together would, when mounted with individual calendar sheets, photographs, illustrations, or other selected sheet items, whether printed at a commercial kiosk or otherwise obtained, make a personalised and attractive item to keep or provide as a gift.

Claims

A mount for receiving a sheet item, the mount comprising:

a first body portion having a first surface;

a second body portion having a second surface, the second body portion extending from the first body portion such that a stepped region is defined at the junction of the first and second body portions;

and an adhesive material that extends partially over the first surface, thereby defining a first area having an adhesive layer and a second area substantially lacking such an adhesive layer, the second area being adjacent the stepped region.

A mount as claimed in claim 1 or claims 2, wherein the second body portion is provided with attachment means to facilitate binding.

A mount as claimed in claims 2, wherein the attachment means comprise a plurality of apertures.

A mount as claimed in claim 3, wherein the apertures are aligned adjacent an edge of the second body portion distal to the first body portion.

A mount as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the second surface comprises an area for receiving information

A mount as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the second body portion comprises an information display region.

A mount as claimed in claim 6 wherein the information display region displays calendar information.

A mount as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the second body portion comprises a multi-page calendar pad.

9. A mount as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the first body portion and second body portion each comprise planar sheet material layered together.

10. A mount as claimed in claim 9 wherein the planar sheet material is a paper based material.

1 1. A mount as claimed in claim 9 wherein the planar sheet material is a plastic based material.

12. A mount as claimed in any of claims 1 to 58wherein the first body portion and second body portion are integrally formed.

13. A mount as claimed in claim 9 wherein the first and second body portions

comprise, at least in part, a compressible material.

14. A mount as claimed in claim 13 wherein the compressible material is a paper based material.

15. A mount as claimed in claim 13 or 14 wherein the first body portion and stepped region are formed by compression.

16. A mount as claimed in claim 12 or 13 wherein the first and second body portions comprise, at least in part, a plastic based material.

17. A mount as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising a removable protective strip removably positioned over at least a portion of the adhesive layer.