Patent Grant
9895923
The present disclosure generally relates to a method and assembly for a divider having an adhesion strip assembly. More particularly, the disclosure relates to divider assembly that includes a laminate strip positioned along at least a portion of the divider sheet.
Dividers are well known and are widely used to separate and label various arrangements. When utilizing a bound component, such as a notebook, binder, address book, planner, diary, journal, and the like, it is often desired to mark a location in the bound component for future reference. Dividers are often utilized in binders such as three ring binders or spiral binders and other types of folders or media assemblies. Dividers for organizing sheets of paper or display elements generally include tabs that extend beyond the perimeter of the paper. The dividers separate and visually label various sections of the sheets of paper or display elements to permit prompt access to any one of these sections.
The tabs generally include label indicia thereon to identify a divided section of the sheets of paper or display elements. Other tabs have been known to be formed out of generally clear or semi-transparent material and formed into pockets to insert a label having indicia thereon. Other known dividers have tabs made of clear or transparent material that include labels that may be attached by a pressure sensitive adhesive directly to the tab. Additionally, the tabs may extend continuously from the divider body to allow label indicia to be placed thereon.
However, many known divider systems have inherent deficiencies. For example, there may be a limited area for customizable descriptors on the divider tabs. Further, labels designed to be adhered to the tabs are not easily removed from the tabs. Additionally, many divider systems offer limited range of customizable features.
Therefore, there is a need for expanding the space available for indicia or descriptors associated with a divider to allow for greater customization. There is also a need for an improved divider system that reduces the steps necessary to label or to re-label descriptors associated with divider tabs.
A divider assembly as shown and described herein. The divider assembly may include a sheet having a front side and an opposite bottom side having a perimeter that is defined by a first edge, a second edge, a third edge, and a fourth edge wherein the first edge is opposite the second edge and the third edge is opposite the fourth edge. A first laminate strip portion may be adhered to the front side of the divider sheet and may be positioned along the first edge of the sheet. The first laminate strip portion may extend between the third edge and the fourth edge. A second laminate strip portion may be adhered to the front side of the divider sheet. The second laminate strip portion may be positioned along the second edge of the sheet and may extend between the third edge and the fourth edge.
The first laminate strip portion may be made of a generally see-through material and the sheet may be made of paper. A plurality of apertures may be aligned along the second laminate strip portion to allow the divider assembly to attach to a binder or folder. A tab member having indicia thereon and an adhesive portion may be provided wherein the adhesive portion of the tab member may be configured to adhere to the first laminate strip portion such that the indicia extends past the perimeter of the sheet. A third laminate strip portion may be adhered to the front side of the sheet, the third laminate strip portion may be positioned along the third edge of the sheet and extend between the first edge and the second edge. A fourth laminate strip portion may be adhered to the front side of the sheet, the fourth laminate strip portion may be positioned along the fourth edge of the sheet and extend between the first edge and the second edge. The sheet may be generally rectangular shaped and the first laminate strip portion may be generally rectangular shaped. A bottom laminate strip portion may be provided on a back side of the sheet. The bottom laminate strip portion may be aligned with the first laminate strip portion along the first edge of the sheet.
In one embodiment, provided is a method of applying tab members to a divider assembly. The method includes the steps of providing a sheet having a front side and an opposite bottom side having a perimeter that may be defined by a first edge, a second edge, a third edge, and a fourth edge wherein the first edge is opposite the second edge and the third edge is opposite the fourth edge. A first laminate strip portion may be applied to the front side of the divider sheet, the first laminate strip portion may be positioned along the first edge of the sheet, the first laminate strip portion may extend between the third edge and the fourth edge. A second laminate strip portion may be applied to the front side of the divider sheet, the second laminate strip portion may be positioned along the second edge of the sheet, the second laminate strip portion may extend between the third edge and the fourth edge. A tab member may be adhered to at least one of the first laminate strip portion and the second laminate strip portion such that a label indicia on a portion of the tab member may extend past the perimeter of the sheet.
In another embodiment, disclosed is a divider assembly including a sheet having a front side and an opposite bottom side having a perimeter that may be defined by a first edge, a second edge, a third edge, and a fourth edge wherein the first edge may be opposite the second edge and the third edge may be opposite the fourth edge. A first laminate strip portion may be adhered to the front side of the divider sheet. The first laminate strip portion may be positioned along the first edge of the sheet and extend between the third edge and the fourth edge. A plurality of apertures may be aligned adjacent the second edge of the sheet. At least one tab member having indicia thereon and an adhesive portion may be provided. The adhesive portion of the tab member may be configured to adhere to the first laminate strip portion such that the indicia extends past the perimeter of the sheet.
Operation of the disclosure may be better understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the following illustrations, wherein:
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional changes may be made without departing from the respective scope of the disclosure. Moreover, features of the various embodiments may be combined or altered without departing from the scope of the disclosure. As such, the following description is presented by way of illustration only and should not limit in any way the various alternatives and modifications that may be made to the illustrated embodiments and still be within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
A divider assembly 20 having an edge design is disclosed and may be of any appropriate configuration and is not limited to that shown and described herein. It should similarly be understood that the divider assembly 20 may be adapted to divide a plurality of sheets or other display elements of any appropriate size, including, without limitation, 8.5 inches by 11 inches, A4 size, legal size or any other applicable size. The divider assembly 20 may be configured to be utilized with a binder of any appropriate size and construction.
The divider assembly 20 may include a sheet 30 as illustrated by
The sheet 30 may include a first laminate strip portion 90. Further, the sheet may include a second laminate strip portion 100. The first laminate strip portion 90 may be adhered to the sheet 30 and extend along the first edge 50. The first laminate strip portion 90 may extend between the third edge 70 and the fourth edge 80 of the sheet 30. The second laminate strip portion 100 may be adhered to the sheet and extend along the second edge 60. The second laminate strip portion 100 may extend between the third edge 70 and the fourth edge 80 of the sheet 30. The first and second laminate strip portions 90, 100 may extend up to and be against the third edge 70 and the fourth edge 80. Also, there may be a space between the first edge 50 and the first laminate strip portion 90 and there may be a space between the second edge 60 and the second laminate strip portion 100. However, this disclosure is not limiting as the first and second laminate strip portions 90, 100 may extend along and abut up to the first edge 50 and the second edge 60, respectively.
A plurality of apertures 40 may be provided through the sheet 30 and aligned along the second edge 60 thereof. The apertures 40 may be aligned with the second laminate strip 100. The apertures 40 may be configured to receive a ring member from a binder or wire from a spiral notebook to allow the divider assembly 20 to divide a plurality of sheets or other items. The apertures 40 are positioned on the sheet 30 to allow the divider assembly 20 to be operably attached to a binder or folder (not shown), such as a three ring binder. The apertures 40 may be of any configuration. There may be any appropriate number of apertures 40, including, without limitation two, three, four, etc.
Additionally, the sheet 30 may include a third laminate strip portion 130 and a fourth laminate strip portion 140. As illustrated by
The laminate strip portions 90, 100, 130, 140 may be shaped in elongated rectangular strips as illustrated by
The laminate strip portions 90, 100, 130, 140 provide an area along or adjacent to the perimeter of the sheet 30 that provide a stronger, more reliable adhesive bond for operable attachment with a tab member with adhesive. In particular, the surface of the laminate strip portion 90, 100, 130, 140 is configured to function well with adhesives to provide a relatively long and strong removable adhesive bond than if the adhesive was applied directly to the sheet 30. The laminate strip portions 90, 100, 130, 140 may be a film material that is clear, colored, or have some kind of design thereon. Variations of the laminate strip portions may include the width of the strip, positioning flush to the edge or with a small gap, positioning exclusively on the back side 34, or positioning on both the front side 32 and the back side 34. Additionally, the laminate strip portions 90, 100, 130, 140 may be made from have the same or different materials or configurations. For example, the laminate strip portions may be made from various polymer materials such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) type films. Additionally, the laminate strip portions may even be made from a foil type film.
The tab member 110 may include label indicia 150 thereon and may be adhered to the laminate strip portions 90, 100, 130, 140 of the sheet 30. As illustrated by
The adhesive portion 160 of the tab member 110 may adhere to the laminate strip portion 90. The tab member 110 may be configured to align along the first edge 50 of the sheet 30 wherein a portion of the tab member 110 extends outwardly past the first edge 50 of the sheet 30 to position the indicia 150 of the tab member 110 to be viewable to a user of the divider assembly 20. However, any number of tab members 110 may be provided along the laminate strip portions of the sheet 30 and this disclosure is not limited as to number or type. It is contemplated that a broad range of customizable tab members 110 may be viewable to the user along the first laminate portion 90, the third laminate portion 130, and/or the fourth laminate portion 140 of the sheet 30. The tab members 110 may even be viewable to the user along the second laminate portion 100 having the apertures 40 located thereon. These laminate portions may be considered an adhesive strip that is configured to removably bind well with adhesives provided therein.
The divider assembly may further include at least one sheet 30 and preferably a plurality of sheets 30. In one embodiment, there are five (5) sheets, however this disclosure may include generally any number of sheets, e.g., two, three, four, six, seven, eight, etc. In this embodiment, the sheets 30 may each include a tab member 110 having an outwardly configuration from the first edge 50 of each sheet 30 in a staggered orientation. The tab members 110 may extend from the perimeter of the sheet 30 at a different position along the edges 50, 60, 70, or 80 such that when the plurality of sheets 30 are aligned, the tab members 30 may be off-set in a known manner for easy viewing, access and manipulation of the divider assembly 20.
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing detailed description, it is to be understood that the present invention is not to be limited to just the embodiments disclosed, but that the invention described herein is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the scope of the claims hereafter. The features of each embodiment described and shown herein may be combined with the features of the other embodiments described herein. The claims as follows are intended to include all modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the claims or the equivalent thereof.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20160221381 A1 | Aug 2016 | US |
