REUSABLE WRAPPING MATERIAL

Abstract

Embodiments disclosed herein provide a reusable wrapping material. Although generally discussed herein as a gift wrapping material, the disclosed reusable wrapping material may be used to cover, at least in part, any inanimate article. In some embodiments, the reusable wrapping material is self-adhesive, removing any need for tape, bows, ribbons, or other separate elements to secure the wrapping material in a configuration enclosing a gift. Certain embodiments disclosed herein provide a stretchy, removable adhesive wrapping material. In further embodiments, the stretchy, removable adhesive material is removably self-adhesive. In even further embodiments, the removable adhesive material only substantially adheres to itself.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments disclosed herein relate to the field of wrapping material, such as gift wrapping material. More specifically, embodiments disclosed herein relate to reusable, self-adhesive wrapping material.

BACKGROUND

Gifts are commonly wrapped in colorful decorative wrapping material. Wrapping material is typically paper, secured on a gift by tape. It is commonly used a single time, then discarded, creating incredible amounts of waste. Wrapping materials, such as ribbon and paper, make up much of the additional five million tons of waste generated in the United States each holiday season, four million tons of which is wrapping paper, shopping bags, and other materials related to gift-giving. Each year in the United States alone, approximately 38,000 miles of ribbon is discarded. Wrapping paper is often dyed and laminated, and it may contain non-paper additives like glitter and plastics, which can hinder recycling efforts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

While the specification concludes with claims that particularly point out and distinctly claim this technology, it is believed this technology will be better understood from the following description of certain examples taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify the same elements and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of an exemplary adhesive reusable wrapping material;

FIG. 2 depicts a cross sectional view of the adhesive reusable wrapping material of FIG. 1 taken across line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 depicts a perspective view of the adhesive reusable wrapping material of FIG. 1 wrapped about a first article;

FIG. 4 depicts a perspective view of the adhesive reusable wrapping material of FIG. 1 wrapped about a second article;

FIG. 5 depicts a perspective view of the adhesive reusable wrapping material of FIG. 1 wrapped about a third article;

FIG. 6 depicts a perspective view of a first sheet of the adhesive reusable wrapping material of FIG. 1 overlaid and adhered to a second sheet of the adhesive reusable wrapping material of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 depicts a perspective view of a sheet of the adhesive reusable wrapping material of FIG. 1 folded and adhered to itself.

The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the technology may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present technology, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the technology, it being understood, however, that this technology is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.

SUMMARY

Embodiments disclosed herein provide a reusable wrapping material. Although generally discussed herein as a gift wrapping material, the disclosed reusable wrapping material may be used to cover, at least in part, any inanimate article. In some embodiments, the reusable wrapping material is self-adhesive, removing any need for tape, bows, ribbons, or other separate elements to secure the wrapping material in a configuration enclosing a gift. Certain embodiments disclosed herein provide a stretchy, removable adhesive wrapping material. In further embodiments, the stretchy, removable adhesive material is removably self-adhesive. In even further embodiments, the removable adhesive material only substantially adheres to itself, while in others the removable adhesive material adheres primarily to itself, but also to other surfaces. Certain embodiments of the reusable wrapping material disclosed herein are new uses of existing material that provide an environmentally conscious alternative to traditional paper gift wrapping.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to one or more selected embodiments and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended; any alterations and further modifications of the described or illustrated embodiments, and any further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. A number of embodiments of the invention are shown in detail, although it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that some features or some combinations of features may not be shown for the sake of clarity.

Shown in FIG. 1 and disclosed herein is a reusable wrapping material (100). In some embodiments, reusable wrapping material (100) comprises a stretchy, removable adhesive material. In some embodiments, reusable wrapping material (100) comprises a pressure-sensitive adhesive material capable of removably self-adhering. A pressure-sensitive adhesive is an adhesive that forms a bond when pressure is applied. In this embodiment, no solvent, water, activator, chemical, heat, or other activating agent is required to activate the adhesive. In some embodiments, the bonding strength of a pressure-sensitive adhesive is influenced by the amount of pressure used to apply the adhesive. In other embodiments, that bonding strength is less influenced by pressure.

As shown in FIG. 2, in certain embodiments, reusable wrapping material (100) comprises an adhesive layer (110) disposed on a first surface (102) of reusable wrapping material (100) and a backing material (120) releasably disposed on adhesive layer (110). In these embodiments, backing material (120) serves to cover and protect adhesive layer (110) until a user is ready to apply adhesive layer (110) to an article. Backing material (120) may be paper or any other material suitable for protecting adhesive layer (110). Another adhesive layer (112) may be disposed on a second surface (104) of reusable wrapping material (100) in addition to or in lieu of adhesive layer (110). Backing material (120) may be releasably disposed on adhesive layer (112) in addition to or in lieu of backing material (120) disposed on adhesive layer (110). It should also be understood that backing material (120) need not be included at all.

Adhesive layers (110, 112) of reusable wrapping material (100) may be configured such that adhesive layers (110, 112) only adhere to other surfaces (102, 104) of reusable wrapping material (100) or such that adhesive layers (110, 112) is capable of adhering to surfaces of an article about which reusable wrapping material (100) is wrapped. Because of the adhesive nature of reusable wrapping material (100), reusable wrapping material (100) does not require any tape, clips, and/or pins in order to secure reusable wrapping material reusable wrapping material (100) to itself or an article. In certain embodiments, adhesive layers (110, 112) of reusable wrapping material (100) are configured to withstand repeated use such that there is no appreciable loss of adhesion after repeated several uses. It should be understood that reusable wrapping material (100) may be rolled or folded about itself and adhered to itself for storage among other purposes.

Reusable wrapping material (100) comprises a base material, either woven or non-woven, to which elastic fibers or a combination of elastic and non-elastic fibers are added. The base material and/or fibers may for instance comprise a cotton matrix, a natural rubber, a synthetic elastic compound, or polyethylene among other materials. The base material and/or fibers may be configured to create a color, differing colors, and/or patterns in the reusable wrapping material. For instance, the base material and/or fibers may comprise a synthetic or naturally occurring elastic agent plus a binder of acrylic or similar compound in which pigments may be infused to create a color, differing colors, and/or patterns. In certain embodiments, the elastic fibers are covered in cotton. In certain other embodiments, the composition, orientation, and/or proximity of the fibers to one another may make the reusable wrapping material substantially moisture-/water-repellent.

As shown in FIG. 1, elastic fibers (200) may be oriented such that elastic fibers (200) are aligned with a length (L) of reusable wrapping material (100). Additionally or in lieu of elastic fibers (200) oriented lengthwise, elastic fibers (200) may be oriented such that elastic fibers (200) are aligned with a width (W) of reusable wrapping material (100). Finally, elastic fibers (200) may be oriented in any other direction with respect to length (L) or width (W). It should be understood that any combination of elastic fiber orientations discussed above can be utilized exclusively or in conjunction with any other elastic fiber orientation discussed above. It should be appreciated that the orientation or orientations of elastic fibers (200) may affect the elasticity of reusable wrapping material (100) in a particular direction. For instance, elastic fibers (200) oriented exclusively lengthwise may increase the elasticity of reusable wrapping material (100) in a direction parallel to length (L) of reusable wrapping material (100) while having little or no effect upon elasticity of reusable wrapping material (100) in a direction perpendicular to length (L).

As shown in FIGS. 3-5, the elasticity of reusable wrapping material (100) allows reusable wrapping material (100) to easily conform to the unique contours and/or abnormalities of a plurality of articles (300, 310, 320). For instance, the reusable wrapping material may be stretched over edges, curves, and corners of articles (300, 310, 320) such that reusable wrapping material (100) remains substantially in contact with the surfaces of articles (300, 310, 320) proximal to these contours and/or abnormalities. The elasticity of reusable wrapping material (100) also allows reusable wrapping material (100) to easily conform to the unique shape of articles (300, 310, 320) while remaining substantially in contact with each surface of the articles (300, 310, 320). For instance, among other shapes, a single piece of reusable wrapping material (100) may be wrapped about a spherical, rectangular, cubic, hexagonal, cylindrical, conical, pyramid, and/or irregular-shaped article while remaining substantially in contact with each surface of the articles (300, 310, 320). Finally, the elasticity of reusable wrapping material (100) allows reusable wrapping material (100) to easily conform to the unique size of articles (300, 310, 320) as well. It should be understood that, although reusable wrapping material (100) is discussed with reference to articles (300, 310, 320), reusable wrapping material (100) may be used with articles having any shape or size.

Reusable wrapping material (100) may be provided in sheets of various sizes, shapes, and colors, or in rolls or ribbons of various lengths and widths. In certain embodiments, multiple pieces of reusable wrapping material (100) may be provided on a single roll. In some embodiments, reusable wrapping material (100) may be provided as a sheet sized to enclose a specific article. For example, DVDs are commonly given as gifts and are generally sold in a standard case size. In one embodiment, reusable wrapping material (100) may be provided as a sheet sized to enclose a DVD case. As shown in FIG. 6, even if the particular shape of a particular sheet (100A) of reusable wrapping material (100) is not suitable for a particular article to be wrapped, because of the adhesive nature of reusable wrapping material (100), a user may use additional sheet(s) (100B) of reusable wrapping material (100) simply by adhering overlapping portions of multiple sheets (100A, 100B) of reusable wrapping material (100) together. It should be understood that any number of sheets of reusable wrapping material (100) may be adhered together in any orientation. As shown in FIG. 7, even if the particular shape of a particular sheet (100C) of reusable wrapping material (100) is not suitable for the particular article to be wrapped, because of the adhesive nature of reusable wrapping material (100), a user may fold sheet (100C) of reusable wrapping material (100) upon itself to manipulate the shape of sheet (100C) of reusable wrapping material (100).

An innovative method of wrapping an inanimate article comprises enclosing the inanimate article in an adhesive reusable wrapping material, overlaying a portion of the adhesive material with another portion of the adhesive material, and applying pressure to the overlaid portion, thereby adhering one portion of the adhesive material to another, thereby wrapping the article. In some embodiments, the adhesive material is substantially stretchable. In some other embodiments, the adhesive material is pressure-sensitive, and in some of those embodiments, the adhesive material is removably self-adhered, and in a subset of those embodiments the adhesive material may be removed by stretching the article. Pressure-sensitive adhesive articles and stretch-removable adhesive articles are known in the field of athletic tape, but are novel in the field of reusable wrapping material, particularly reusable gift-wrapping material.

One example of the kind of adhesive material that is usable in various embodiments of this invention is VETRAP, which is manufactured and/or distributed by 3M of St. Paul Minn. Other flexible materials that stretch and self-adhere are suitable for use in this invention as will occur to those skilled in the art in view of this disclosure.

While representative embodiments and specific forms of the invention have been described in detail in the foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive or limiting. The description of particular features in one embodiment does not imply that those particular features are necessarily limited to that one embodiment. Features of one embodiment may be used in combination with features of other embodiments as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, whether or not explicitly described as such. Dimensions and proportions, whether used explicitly or implicitly, are not intended to be limiting and may be altered as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Exemplary embodiments have been described, and all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected.

Claims

1. A method of wrapping an inanimate article, the method comprising the steps of:

substantially surrounding the inanimate article with a sheet of wrapping material, the wrapping material comprising:

(a) a plurality of elastic fibers, wherein the elastic fibers are configured to make the wrapping material substantially elastic;

(b) a first surface;

(c) a second surface; and

(d) adhesive disposed on one or both of the first surface and the second surface and adhering a first portion of the sheet to a second portion of the sheet using the adhesive.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a first portion of the plurality of elastic fibers is disposed substantially parallel to a first dimension of the wrapping material.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a second portion of the plurality of elastic fibers is further disposed substantially parallel to a second dimension of the wrapping material, where the second dimension is substantially perpendicular to the first dimension.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a backing material is removably disposed on the adhesive.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the elasticity of the wrapping material is configured to make the wrapping material substantially conformable to particular contours and surfaces of the inanimate article.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first surface and the second surface of the wrapping material is self-adhering.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein one or both of the first surface or the second surface of the wrapping material are configured not to adhere to a surface of the inanimate article.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the wrapping material further comprises a base material, and the elastic fibers are associated with the base material.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the base material is woven.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the elastic fibers comprise a material chosen from a group consisting of a cotton-matrix, a natural rubber, a synthetic elastic compound, and a polyethylene.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the wrapping material is patterned.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the wrapping material is substantially moisture repellent.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the adhesive is pressure-sensitive.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the adhesive comprises at least one adhesive layer configured to be resilient to repeated use such that there is no substantial loss of adhesion after repeated use.

15. A method of wrapping an inanimate article using a wrapping material, wherein the wrapping material comprises a plurality of elastic fibers and at least one adhesive layer, the elastic fibers are configured to make the wrapping material substantially stretchable, and the at least one adhesive layer is disposed on one or both of a first surface and a second surface of the wrapping material, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) stretching a first sheet of the wrapping material about the contours and surfaces of an inanimate article,

(b) overlapping a first portion of the first sheet of the wrapping material with a second portion of the first sheet of the wrapping material, and

(c) adhering the first portion of the wrapping material to the second portion of the wrapping material.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of:

adhering a second sheet of the wrapping material to the first sheet of the wrapping material, and

wrapping the second sheet about the contours and surfaces of the inanimate article.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

folding the first sheet of the wrapping material, and

adhering the first sheet of the wrapping material to itself.