WO2013084082A1

WO2013084082A1 - Notebook foldable as envelope for mailing

Info

Publication number: WO2013084082A1
Application number: PCT/IB2012/052820
Authority: WO
Inventors: Roberto DI PUMA; Stefania ESPOSITO; Luca Mariani; Federico PEZZINI; Igor SALMI; Gabriel Zangari
Original assignee: Moleskine S.P.A.
Priority date: 2011-12-09
Filing date: 2012-06-05
Publication date: 2013-06-13
Also published as: ITMI20110389U1

Abstract

The invention relates to a notebook (10) comprising a set of sheets (20) mutually overlapping and a cover (30) comprising a front portion (31) and a back portion (32) suitable to enclose said sheets (20) therebetween, wherein the sheets (20) are bound to said front and back portions (31, 32) along a binding edge (33) of said cover (30). The cover (30) further comprises a plurality of flaps (41, 42, 43) that are arranged along the peripheral edges of at least one between the front portion (31) and the back portion (32) and extend outwardly therefrom, said flaps (41, 42, 43) being foldable from a first position in which each of them is coplanar to the front and/or back portions (31, 32) of the cover (30) and a second position in which each of them is folded by 180° relative thereto. The flaps (41, 42, 43) are arranged such that in a closed configuration of the notebook (10) they are contiguous along the free edges of the periphery of the cover (30). By folding the flaps about the edges in the closed configuration of the notebook it is possible to obtain an envelope-shaped casing that encloses the set of sheets and is suitable for posting.

Description

NOTEBOOK FOLDABLE AS ENVELOPE FOR MAILING

The present invention relates to the field of articles for writing and, in particular to a notebook suitable for posting.

Known notebooks of various shapes and sizes, such as e.g. the traditional pocket notebooks, comprise a plurality of sheets overlapping each other and a cover to which the sheets are restrained by means of binding.

There are also known writing articles that are convertible into an envelope through a series of folding operations in order to enable posting without the need for traditional envelopes.

The international publication WO 2006/063119 discloses, for example, a postal multifunctional article consisting of a single sheet of paper having a substantially rectangular shape, which can be folded so as to form an envelope suitable for posting. To this aim, the sheet comprises flaps provided with adhesive strips that allow to keep the envelope in a closed configuration and enable a recipient to open it.

Similar articles suitable for posting are disclosed in the patent publication US 2002/0095914 and in patents US 3027067 and US 5516033.

The idea of transforming a traditional writing article into an envelope gives the article an unusual look and actually represents a commercial strength. However, known writing articles suitable for posting are essentially based on the transformation of a single sheet into an envelope, which is provided with a plurality of folding lines for this purpose.

There is therefore a need to broaden the range of writing articles transformable into envelopes, which is an object of the present invention.

An idea of solution underlying the present invention is to provide the cover of a notebook with a plurality of flaps, e.g. having a substantially triangular shape, arranged along its peripheral edges and foldable about them. By rotating the flaps about their respective edges in a closed configuration of the notebook, it is possible to obtain an envelope that completely encloses the sheets and is similar to a traditional envelope, thus suitable for posting.

At least one of the flaps may advantageously be provided with an adhesive layer arranged on the surface intended to contact the cover and/or the other flaps in the closed configuration of the notebook. In this way it is not strictly necessary to resort to external adhesives to maintain the notebook in the closed configuration.

Another advantage offered by the invention is that the cover may include perforation lines along the edges at which the flaps are arranged, thereby enabling a recipient to selectively remove one or more flaps in order to obtain a traditional notebook.

Still another advantage offered by the present invention is that the flaps with which the notebook is provided may be transformed into pockets for receiving objects.

Further advantages and features of the notebook according to the present invention will become clear to those skilled in the art from the following detailed and non-limiting description of embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a top view showing a notebook according to the present invention in an open configuration;

Figure 2 is a top view showing the notebook of Figure 1 in a closed configuration suitable for posting;

Figure 3 is a top view showing an alternative embodiment of the notebook of Figure 1 in an open configuration; and

- Figure 4 is a top view showing a further embodiment of the notebook of Figure 1 in an open configuration.

Referring to figures 1 and 2, the notebook 10 according to the present invention comprises a set of mutually overlapping sheets 20 and a cover 30, comprising a front portion 31 and a back portion 32 between which the sheets 20 are arranged. The sheets 20 are bound together with the front and back portions 31, 32 of the cover 30 along a binding edge 33 thereof, for example by sewing.

In the illustrated embodiment, the cover 30 is made up of a single sheet, for example made of cardboard, and the binding edge 33 extends along a center line M of the cover 30, which divides it into two halves which define the front portion 31 and the back portion 32, respectively. The binding edge 33 is therefore an edge of both the front portion 31 and the back portion 32 of the cover 30. It will be understood, however, that the front portion 31 and the back portion 32 of the cover 30 could be separated from one another.

In the illustrated embodiment, the notebook 10 has a substantially rectangular shape in the closed configuration, for example a size of 90x140 mm that is typical of a pocket-size notebook. It will be understood, however, that the notebook might have different sizes, e.g. a standard A4 format size, as well as different shapes, e.g. a polygonal shape.

According to the present invention, the cover 30 further comprises a plurality of flaps arranged along the peripheral edges of at least one between the front portion 31 and the back portion 32 and extending outwardly therefrom.

The flaps are also foldable between a first position in which each of them is coplanar to the cover 30 and a second position in which each of them is rotated by 180° relative thereto.

In the illustrated embodiment, the cover 30 comprises in particular three flaps 41, 42, 43 e.g. having a substantially triangular shape, arranged on the three free edges of the front portion 31 of the cover 30, i.e. the two edges adjacent to the binding edge 33 and the edge opposite thereto. Hence, the flaps 41, 42, 43 are arranged on contiguous edges of the cover 30.

As shown in Figure 1, in an open configuration of the notebook 10, the flaps 41, 42, 43 are coplanar to the cover 30 and in particular to its front portion 31.

By bringing the notebook 10 in the closed configuration shown in Figure 2, i.e. with the sheets enclosed between the front portion 31 and the back portion 32 of the cover 30, and subsequently folding the flaps 41, 42, 43 by 180° about their respective peripheral edges, the flaps are superimposed and contact the back portion 32 of the cover 30.

In this configuration, the flaps 41, 42, 43 thus define together with the front and back portions 31, 32 and the binding edge 33 of the cover 30 a casing which completely encloses the set of sheets 20.

The casing so obtained has the shape of an envelope, which can be kept closed for example by applying a layer of adhesive, an adhesive label and the like, between at least one of the flaps 41, 42, 43 and the back portion 32 of the cover 30. Referring to the embodiment shown in figures 1 and 2 in particular, during the transformation into an envelope the flaps 42, 43 arranged on the two sides adjacent to the binding edge 33 are folded first until they come into contact with the back portion 32 of the cover 30. The flap 41 arranged on the edge of the front portion 31 opposite to the binding edge 33 is then folded, thus being superimposed to the flaps 42, 43 and being also partially in contact with the back portion 32 of the cover 30.

It will be understood that the arrangement of the flaps 41, 42, 43 shown in figures 1 and 2 is not binding in the invention. As shown in the alternative embodiment illustrated in figure 3, in fact, the flap 41 is arranged to the front portion 31 of the cover 30, but the flaps 42, 43 are arranged at opposite edges of its back portion 32. Therefore, in the closed configuration of the notebook 10 the flap 41 will still be superimposed to the back portion 32 of the cover 30, whereas the flaps 42, 43 will contact and be superimposed to the front portion 31.

More generally, the flaps are arranged so as to be contiguous along the free edges of the periphery of the cover 30 in the closed configuration of the notebook 10, thus forming together with the binding edge 33 of the cover 30 an envelope-shaped casing which completely encloses the set of sheets 20 like a traditional envelope.

According to the invention, at least one of the flaps is provided with a layer of adhesive suitable to allow to keep the notebook in the closed configuration in view of its posting. In this way, as it happens with traditional envelopes, it is not strictly necessary to use an external adhesive in order to keep the notebook closed in the envelope configuration.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, a layer 51 of adhesive is associated with the flap 41, which, as explained above, is the last flap to be folded, thus going into contact with the flaps 42, 43 and with the back portion 32 of the cover 30.

In the alternative embodiment illustrated in figure 3, instead, all the flaps are provided with a layer of adhesive, because in the closed configuration of the notebook 10 they are in contact with the front portion 31 and the back portion 32 of the cover 30, respectively, and are not superimposed. The adhesive layers associated with the flaps 42 and 43 are indicated by reference numbers 52, 53, respectively.

The cover 30 further comprises a plurality of perforation lines formed along the edges at which the flaps are arranged. In this way the flaps are selectively removable from the cover 30, whereby a recipient of the "postal notebook" may open it and transform into a traditional notebook by removing the flaps.

In the illustrated embodiment, the perforation lines of the flaps 41, 42, 43 are indicated by reference numbers 61, 62, 63, respectively.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, in addition to the triangular flaps 41, 42, 43, the cover 30 of the notebook 10 comprises an additional flap 44, for example having a rectangular shape, arranged at one of the free edges of one between the front portion 31 and the back portion 32. In the illustrated embodiment the flap 44 is restrained to the back portion 32 of the cover 30 at the free edge opposite to the binding edge 33.

The additional flap 44 comprises at least one layer 54 of adhesive arranged perpendicularly to the edge of the cover to which it is restrained, therefore, by folding it by 180° in contact with the back portion 32 of the cover 30 at which it is arranged, it is possible to fix it thereon in order to obtain a pocket adapted to receive objects such as, for example, sheets or business cards. As shown in figure 4, the flap 44 is folded inwards relative to the back portion 32, i.e. towards the surface of the back portion intended to face the set of sheets 20. Therefore, the pocket formed by the flap 44 is an inner pocket of the notebook 10.

The additional flap 44 is preferably supplied already folded inside the cover 30 of the notebook 10 and fixed on one between the front and the back portions 31, 32 by means of the adhesive layer 54, thus providing the user with a pocket without the need for further transformations.

The embodiments of the invention described and illustrated herein are only examples susceptible to numerous variants. For example, the additional flap 44 may be used in addition or alternatively to the other flaps 41, 42, 43 for the transformation of the notebook 10 into an envelope. In addition, similarly to the flap 44, also the other flaps 41, 42, 43 could be used to form pockets in the notebook 10. To this aim, during the transformation from envelope to notebook, the flaps 41, 42, 43, 44 might be folded by 180° either inwards or outwards relative to the front and back portions 31, 32 of the cover 30, thus allowing to form pockets both inside and outside the notebook 10.

Claims

1. A notebook (10) comprising a set of sheets (20) mutually overlapping and a cover (30) in turn comprising a front portion (31) and a back portion (32) suitable to enclose said sheets (20) therebetween, wherein the sheets (20) are bound to said front and back portions (31, 32) along a binding edge (33) of said cover (30), characterized in that the cover (30) further comprises a plurality of flaps (41, 42, 43) that are arranged along the peripheral edges of at least one between the front portion (31) and the back portion (32) and extend outwardly therefrom, said flaps (41, 42, 43) being foldable from a first position in which each of them is coplanar to the front and/or back portions (31, 32) of the cover (30) and a second position in which each of them is folded by 180° relative thereto, and in that the flaps (41, 42, 43) are arranged such that in a closed configuration of the notebook (10) they are contiguous along the free edges of the periphery of the cover (30).

2. A notebook (10) according to claim 1, wherein at least one flap (41) comprises an adhesive layer (51), said adhesive layer (51) being arranged on the surface of said at least one flap (41), which is intended to contact a portion between the front and back portions (31, 32) of the cover (30) and/or the other flaps (42, 43) in said closed configuration.

3. A notebook (10) according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a plurality of perforation lines (61, 62, 63) formed along the edges of the cover (30) at which the flaps (41, 42, 43) are arranged.

4. A notebook (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising three flaps (41, 42, 43) arranged on the three free edges of the front portion (31) of the cover (30).

5. A notebook (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an additional flap (44) arranged at one of the free edges of one between the front portion (31) and the back portion (32), said additional flap (44) comprising at least one adhesive layer (54) arranged perpendicularly to the edge of the cover (30) at which it is arranged.