Advertising card having adhesive layer

Abstract

A card has an adhesive layer for allowing the card to be removably attached to any desired structure. A layer of liner material is disposed over the adhesive layer and can be removed to expose a portion of the adhesive layer, allowing the card to be removably attached to the desired structure by pressing the exposed adhesive layer against the structure. In another embodiment, the card has a pressure sensitive label portion and a coupon portion. The label portion includes a layer of adhesive between a layer of sheet material and a layer of liner material. Peeling off a portion of the liner material exposes a portion of the adhesive layer, allowing the card to be removably attached to the desired structure. A permanent adhesive layer may be disposed over the layer of liner material, and a second layer of liner material may be disposed over the permanent adhesive layer. The card can be fixedly attached to the structure by pressing the exposed permanent adhesive layer against the structure. A variety of indicia, such as coupon and advertising indicia, can be printed on the card.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 09/103,040, filed Jun. 23, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,451, issued May 8, 2001. The disclosure of that patent is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates in general to advertising literature. In particular, this invention relates to an improved structure for an advertising card having an adhesive layer for removably attaching the advertising card to a surface of an object.

[0003] Advertising cards and other literature are frequently distributed to consumers for the purpose of promoting the sale of products. In many instances, such advertising cards are provided in the form of loose papers, such as coupons, which can easily be lost or discarded by the consumer. To minimize this from occurring, it has been found to be desirable to provide an advertising card that is attached to a surface of an object (such as a delivery carton for the goods) so that the advertising card can be prominently provided to the consumer. However, in known structures of this type, once the advertising card is removed from the delivery carton, it is subject to being lost or discarded in the same manner as before. Thus, it would be desirable to provide an improved structure for an advertising card that can be easily removed from the delivery carton and re-attached to a different surface for easy access and use at a later date.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] This invention relates to a card having an layer of adhesive material that allows for the card to be removably attached to any desired structure. In a first embodiment of the invention, the card includes a blank or coupon portion. The blank has an upper or top surface and a lower or bottom surface. The blank has at least one line of perforations dividing the blank into a top section and a bottom section. A layer of adhesive material is disposed over at least a portion of the bottom surface within the top section. A layer of liner material is disposed over the layer of adhesive material. A portion of the layer of adhesive material is exposed by removing at least a portion of the layer of liner material. The card can be removably attached to any desired structure by pressing the exposed layer of adhesive material against the structure.

[0005] In a second embodiment of the invention, the card includes a blank portion and a label portion. The blank portion has an upper or top surface and a lower or bottom surface. The label portion includes a layer of sheet material, a layer of liner material, and a layer of adhesive material disposed between the layer of sheet material and the layer of liner material. Either the layer of sheet material or the layer of liner material has a length or a width less than the layer of adhesive material to expose at least a portion of the layer of adhesive material. The label portion can be removably attached to the blank portion by pressing the exposed portion of the layer of adhesive material against the blank portion.

[0006] In both embodiments, the card may include a layer of permanent adhesive material disposed over the layer of liner material and a second layer of liner material disposed over the layer of permanent adhesive material. The card can be fixedly attached to any desired structure by removing at least a portion of the second layer of liner material from the layer of permanent adhesive material and pressing the exposed permanent layer of adhesive material against the structure. In addition, a variety of indicia, such as coupon and advertising indicia, can be printed on the card.

[0007] Various objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a first embodiment of an advertising card in accordance with this invention.

[0009] FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the advertising card taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

[0010] FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of a second embodiment of an advertising card in accordance with this invention.

[0011] FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the advertising card taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

[0012] FIG. 5 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 4 of a third embodiment of an advertising card in accordance with this invention.

[0013] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method of manufacturing the advertising card of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a card, shown generally at 10, such as an advertising card, according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention. Referring now to FIG. 1, the card 10 is formed of an unsupported coupon portion or blank 12 having an upper or top surface 14 and a lower or bottom surface 16. The blank 12 can be commercially purchased as 7 pt. CIS Semi-Gloss coupon stock from Dunsirn Industries, Neenah, Wis. However, it should be realized that the blank 12 may be made of paper, tag stock, clear film, white film, frosted film and the like, synthetic material, such as TYVEK®, KIMDURA®, VALERON®, and the like. The blank 12 may include a coated, non-coated, corona or non-corona treated surface of a type well known in the art. Preferably, the blank 12 has a thickness in the range of approximately 1 to 25 mils. However, the blank 12 may be formed from any desired material.

[0015] The blank 12 may be formed with one or more perforations, such as shown at 18, extending partially or completely across the width of the blank 12. The illustrated perforation 18 divides the blank 12 into a bottom section 20 and a top section 22. The top surface 14 of the top section 22 can be printed with indicia, such as a business trademark, service mark and the like. Likewise, the top surface 14 of the bottom section 20 can be printed with indicia, such as one or more promotional purchase coupons and the like. To provide a suitable printing surface for the indicia, the second surface 16 of the blank 12 may be a top coated, non-coated, corona or non-corona treated surface, depending on the type of material for the blank 12.

[0016] A layer of adhesive material 24 is provided on either or both of the surfaces 14 and 16 of the blank 12. In the illustrated embodiment, the layer of adhesive material 24 is provided on the bottom surface 16 of the top section 22 of the blank 12. The layer of adhesive 24 allows the card 10 to be removably attached to a wide variety of structures, such as delivery boxes, walls, doors, windows, appliances, equipment, and the like. Preferably, the layer of adhesive material 24 is sufficiently adhesive to allow the card 10 to be removably attached to a structure to prevent inadvertent removal, but is not so adhesive as to cause damage to the structure when the card is removed therefrom.

[0017] For example, the material used to form the layer of adhesive material 24 can be commercially purchased from Fasson Roll North America, Painesville, Ohio as FASSON® URI Adhesive and R130 Adhesive. Typical adhesion values (lbs/inch) for these two adhesives are given below. 1 TABLE I Typical Adhesive Values (lbs/inch) for FASSON ® UR1 Adhesive SUBSTRATE 24 HOUR PEEL LOOPTACK Facestock Uncoated Litho Uncoated Litho STAINLESS STEEL 0.07-0.13 0.30-0.50 HDPE 0.05-0.12 0.13-0.27 GLASS 0.05-0.09 0.20-0.60 RECYCLED CORR. 0.02-0.06 0.04-0.10 POLYSTYRENE 0.30-0.40 0.40-0.70 BOND 0.03-0.10 0.04-0.12 MANILA 0.07-0.14 0.17-0.34

[0018] 2 TABLE II Typical Adhesive Values (lbs/inch) for FASSON ® R130 Adhesive SUBSTRATE 24 HOUR PEEL LOOPTACK Facestock High Gloss High Gloss STAINLESS STEEL 0.4-0.7 0.7-1.0 TREATED HDPE 0.4-0.6 0.4-0.9 TREATED LDPE 0.3-0.6 0.3-0.7 POLYPROPYLENE 0.5-0.8 1.1-1.4 GLASS 0.5-0.8 0.5-1.0

[0019] The layer of adhesive material 24 may be provided in any suitable amount or on any desired area of the lower surface 16 of the card 10 in order to adequately hold the card 10 in place on the desired structure. Alternatively, the layer of adhesive material 24 may comprise a static cling layer of a type commercially purchased as FLEXCON® from Flexcon Company, Inc., Spencer, Massachusetts.

[0020] A layer of liner material 26 may be disposed over the layer of adhesive material 24. Preferably, the layer of liner material has dimensions that are coextensive with the layer of adhesive material 24 so as to entirely cover the layer of adhesive material 24. The layer of liner material 26 is preferably made of a material that can be easily peeled off from the layer of adhesive material 24 in order to expose the layer of adhesive material 24. Preferably, the layer of liner material 26 has a thickness in the range of 40# to 92#. For example, such a liner can be commercially purchased as FASSON® 50# MF Liner from Fasson Roll North America, Painesville, Ohio. However, any desired material can be used for the layer of liner material 26.

[0021] In use, the card 10 can be initially removably attached to a first structure, such as a delivery carton, by removing the layer of liner material 26 from the layer of adhesive material 24. A score (not shown) may be provided to assist in peeling off the layer of liner material 26 from the layer of adhesive material 24. Once the layer of liner material 26 is peeled off from the card 10, the card can then be removably secured to the first structure. Thereafter, the card 10 can be removed from the first structure and re-secured to a second structure. For example, when the delivery carton is delivered to a consumer, the consumer may then remove the card 10 from the delivery carton and removably re-attach the card 10 to any second structure, such as walls, doors, windows, appliances, equipment, and the like, by pressing the layer of adhesive material 24 against such second structure. As a result, the card 10 is retained in a convenient location for review and to allow the promotional coupons provided on the section 20 to be removed.

[0022] If desired, but not necessarily, the card 10 may also include a layer of permanent adhesive material 28 disposed over the layer of liner material 26 for fixedly attaching the card 10 to a structure (not shown). The dimensions of the layer of permanent adhesive material 28 may be any suitable dimension in order to fixedly attach the card 10 to a structure (not shown), such as the above-mentioned delivery carton. A second layer of liner material 30 may be disposed over the layer of permanent adhesive material 28. Preferably, the dimensions of the second layer of liner material 30 are coextensive with the layer of permanent adhesive material 28 so as to entirely cover the layer of permanent adhesive material 28. The second layer of liner material 30 is preferably made of a similar material as the first layer of liner material 26 so that the second layer of liner material 30 can be easily peeled off from the layer of permanent adhesive material 28. The layer of permanent adhesive material 28 and the second layer of liner material 30 can be commercially purchased as 9920XL or 9925XL adhesive transfer tape from 3M Corporation, St. Paul, Minn.

[0023] The card 10 can be fixedly attached to a structure, such as a pizza box, by peeling off the second layer of liner material 30 and pressing the permanent adhesive material 28 against the structure. Once the consumer receives the pizza box, the consumer may easily peel off the blank 12, along with the layer of adhesive material 24, from the layer of liner material 26 that is fixedly attached to the layer of permanent adhesive 28. Then, the consumer may then removably attach the blank 12 of the card 10 to a structure, such as walls, doors, windows, appliances, equipment, and the like.

[0024] Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIGS. 3-5, a card, shown generally at 40, such as an advertising card, according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention. Referring now to FIG. 4, the card 40 is formed of a blank portion 42 and a label portion 44. The blank portion 42 may be identical to the blank 12 of the first preferred embodiment of the invention. Thus, the description of the blank portion 42 is omitted herein for brevity. The blank portion 42 has an upper or top surface 46 and a lower or bottom surface 48. The blank portion 42 may be formed with one or more perforations 50 extending across the width of the blank 42 (as viewed in FIG. 3) to divide the blank portion 42 into an upper or top section 52 and a lower or bottom section 54. The top surface 46 of the bottom section 54 can be printed with indicia, such as promotional purchase coupons and the like. Likewise, the top surface 46 of the top section 52 can be printed with indicia, such as various uses and instructions for the card 40.

[0025] Referring now to FIG. 4, the label portion 44 includes a layer of sheet material 56, a layer of adhesive material 58, and a layer of liner material 60. The layer of sheet material 56 can be commercially purchased as FASSON® High Gloss+from Fasson Roll North America, Painesville, Ohio. However, it should be realized that the layer of sheet material 56 may be made of paper, tag stock, clear film, white film, frosted film and the like, synthetic material, such as TYVEK®, KIMDURA®, VALERON® and the like. The layer of sheet material 56 may include a coated, non-coated, corona or non-corona treated surface of a type well known in the art. The layer of sheet material 56 preferably has a thickness in the range of approximately 1 to 25 mils. The upper surface 62 of the layer of sheet material 56 can be printed with indicia, such as a business trademark, service mark and the like.

[0026] The layer of adhesive material 58 is disposed adjacent the layer of sheet material 56. The layer of adhesive material 58 may be identical to the layer of adhesive material 24 of the card 10 of the first preferred embodiment of the invention. Thus, the description of the layer of adhesive material 58 is omitted herein for brevity. In the second preferred embodiment, the dimensions of the layer of adhesive material 58 are coextensive with the layer of sheet material 56.

[0027] The layer of liner material 60 is disposed over the layer of adhesive material 58. The layer of liner material 60 may be identical to the layer of liner material 26 of the card 10 of the first preferred embodiment of the invention. Thus, the description of the layer of liner material 60 is omitted herein for brevity. By peeling the layer of liner material 60 from the layer of adhesive material 58, the consumer may removably attach the card 40 to a structure. A score (not shown) may be provided to assist the consumer in peeling off the layer of liner material 60 from the layer of adhesive material 58.

[0028] Alternatively, the layer of liner material 60 may be omitted from the card 40. This feature allows the consumer to stack a plurality of the cards 40 together and then easily remove one or more cards 40 from the stack of cards 40 by simply peeling off the desired amount of cards 40 from the stack of cards 40.

[0029] In the second preferred embodiment, the dimensions of the layer of liner material 60 are not coextensive with the layer of adhesive material 58. As a result, a portion 64 of the layer of adhesive material 58 is exposed for removably attaching the label portion 44 to the blank portion 42 by “marrying” the exposed portion 64 to the blank portion 42. The consumer can easily remove the label portion 44 from the blank portion 42 by peeling off the label portion 44 from the blank portion 42. The label portion 44 containing the trademark or service mark information can then be removably attached to any desirable surface.

[0030] Referring now to FIG. 5, the label portion 44 of the card 40 may also include a layer of permanent adhesive material 66 disposed over and a second layer of liner material 68. The layer of permanent adhesive material 66 and the second layer of liner material 68 of the card 40 of the second preferred embodiment of the invention may be identical to the layer of permanent adhesive material 28 and the second layer of liner material 30 of the card 10 of the first preferred embodiment of the invention. Thus, the discussion of the layer of permanent adhesive material 66 and the second layer of liner material 68 is omitted herein for brevity.

[0031] Similar to the first embodiment, the card 40 can be fixedly attached to a structure, such as a pizza box, by peeling off the second layer of liner material 68 and pressing the layer of permanent adhesive material 66 against the structure. Once the consumer receives the pizza box, the consumer may easily peel off the blank portion 42, along with the layer of adhesive material 58, from the layer of liner material 60 that is fixedly attached to the layer of permanent adhesive material 66. Then, the consumer may then removably attach the blank portion 42 of the card 40 to a structure, such as walls, doors, windows, appliances, equipment, and the like, by pressing the layer of adhesive material 58 against the structure.

[0032] FIG. 6 shows a preferred method of manufacturing the card 40. The method begins at the start (Step S6.1). From Step S6.1, coupon stock or blank portion 42 may be ordered and received (Steps S6.2 and S6.3). In addition, pressure sensitive construction material or label portion 44 may be ordered and received (Steps S6.4 and S6.5). Further, electronic art of images or indicia to be printed on the top surface 46 of the card 40 can be created using well-known computer techniques (Step S6.6). Next, film can be made from the electronic art of the images or indicia in a manner well known in the art (Step S6.7). Using the film, printing plates can be made for printing the images or indicia on the card 40 (Step S6.8). Next, a press, of a type well known in the art, is set up with the printing plates (Step S6.9). Next, the coupon stock or blank portion 42, along with the pressure sensitive construction or label portion 44 are “married together” by pressing the exposed portion 64 of the layer of adhesive material 58 against the blank portion 42 using the press (Step S6.10). The blank portion 42 and the label portion 44 can be “married together” using a variety of well known techniques, such as, hot melt glue, cold melt glue, double sided tape, transfer tape adhesive, crimping, stapling, heat seal, and the like.

[0033] After “marrying” the blank portion 42 and the label portion 44 together, the images or indicia can be printed on the top surface 46 of the card 40 (Step S6.11). The top surface 46 of the card 40 may be printed using a variety of well known printing techniques, such as, flexo, offset, rotogravure, screen printing, letterpress, digital toner, copier, electronic ink jet or laser printing, any “plate-less” process, and the like. It should be noted that the bottom surface 48 of the card 40 can also be printed with any desirable indicia in a like manner. Next, the card 40 is cut to a final size while remaining on the press (Step S6.12). Alternatively, the top surface 46 of the card 40 may be left blank in Step S6.11 and then printed after the card 40 is cut to it's final size in Step S6.12. Finally, the card 40 is boxed and shipped (Step S6.13).

[0034] It should be realized that the card 10 can be manufactured using the same method as described above, except that the coupon stock or blank portion 42 and pressure sensitive construction material or label portion 44 of the card 40 is replaced with a blank 12, thereby eliminating the label portion 44 of the card 40. Thus, the card 10 does not require “marrying” the blank portion 42 with the label portion 44 as is required in the card 40, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process.

[0035] In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the principle and mode of operation of this invention have been explained and illustrated in its preferred embodiment. However, it must be understood that this invention may be practiced is otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope.

Claims

1. A card that is adapted to be removably secured to a structure comprising:

a blank having a first surface and a second surface, said blank having at least one line of perforations dividing said blank into a first section that is removable from a second section;

a layer of adhesive material provided on a portion of said first surface of said second section, said layer of adhesive material being formed from a material that is sufficiently adhesive to allow said blank to be removably secured to a structure to prevent inadvertent removal, but not so adhesive as to cause damage to the structure when said blank is removed therefrom; and

a layer of liner material removably secured to a portion of said layer of adhesive material, said layer of liner material being removable to expose said portion of said adhesive material, thereby allowing said card to be removably secured to the structure.

2. The card defined in claim 1 further including indicia printed on said second surface of said first section of said blank.

3. The card defined in claim 2 wherein said indicia includes coupon indicia.

4. The card defined in claim 1 further including indicia printed on said second surface of said second section of said blank.

5. The card defined in claim 4 wherein said indicia includes advertising indicia.

6. The card defined in claim 1 wherein said layer of adhesive material has a looptack range of adhesion of 0.20 to 1.00 lbs/inch2 on glass.

7. The card defined in claim 1 wherein said layer of adhesive material has a 24-hour peel range of adhesion of 0.05 to 0.80 lbs/inch2 on glass.

8. The card defined in claim 1 wherein said blank has a thickness in a range of 1 to 25 mils.