The present invention relates generally to printed material and to methods of manufacturing printed material. The present invention relates more specifically to printed material having printed information concerning drugs or other commercial products.
The present invention provides a new form of printed material, referred to herein as a booksert, having substantial benefits over existing printed materials, and especially useful in conjunction with drug products and other commercial products.
Printed materials for providing printed information related to commercial products, such as warnings, instructions, etc., are known. Known printed materials include booklets (e.g., with stapled bindings), package outserts and package inserts.
Known booklets also have a number of drawbacks. Typically, they are complicated to manufacture. They can also be difficult to print upon or may have less room for copying. In addition, booklets having stapled bindings can be problematic in that staples can scratch users, items, and the like.
While a variety of booklets, inserts and outserts are known, existing printed materials have a number of limitations and drawbacks. There remains a continued need in the art for new and improved printed materials and, in particular, for new and improved printed materials for use with drug products and other commercial products, as well as for new and improved methods of manufacturing such printed materials.
The present invention is directed to a method of manufacturing only a single booklet from a single rectangular sheet of paper, the single rectangular sheet of paper having information regarding a drug product printed thereon. The method comprises applying glue to the single rectangular sheet of paper having the information regarding the drug product printed thereon, the rectangular sheet of paper having a first pair of sides that are parallel to each other and a second pair of sides that are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the first pair of sides of the rectangular sheet of paper, the single rectangular sheet of paper having a first face and a second face.
Applying the glue comprises applying a first portion of glue to the first face of the single rectangular sheet of paper, the first portion of glue being applied along only a single linear path on the first face of the single rectangular sheet of paper; and applying a second portion of glue to the second face of the single rectangular sheet of paper, the second portion of glue being applied along only a single linear path on the second face of the single rectangular sheet of paper, the single linear path on the first face of the single rectangular sheet of paper coinciding with the single linear path on the second face of the single rectangular sheet of paper.
The method includes making a plurality of parallel folds in the rectangular sheet of paper to produce an intermediate item after glue is applied to the rectangular sheet of paper, the plurality of parallel folds being made so that only the single booklet is formed from the single rectangular sheet of paper, the plurality of parallel folds being made in a direction parallel to one of the pairs of sides of the rectangular sheet of paper and the parallel folds being made in a direction transverse to the single linear paths along which the glue was applied to the rectangular sheet of paper so that the intermediate item has a first folded side coinciding with a first of the plurality of folds and a second folded side coinciding with a second of the plurality of folds. After the plurality of parallel folds are made, trimming the intermediate item in a direction parallel to the plurality of parallel folds to cause the first and second of the plurality of parallel folds to be removed from the intermediate item.
The method may include making a first transverse fold in the intermediate item after the plurality of parallel folds are made, the first transverse fold being made in a direction that is parallel to the single linear paths along which the glue was applied to the rectangular sheet of paper, and the first transverse fold being made along a line that generally coincides with the single linear paths along which the glue was applied to the rectangular sheet of paper; making a second transverse fold in the intermediate item in a direction parallel to the single linear paths along which the glue was applied to the rectangular sheet of paper; and making a third transverse fold in the intermediate item in a direction parallel to the single linear paths along which the glue was applied to the rectangular sheet of paper.
The features and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate like parts, and in which:
The present invention provides a unique form of printed material, referred to herein as a booklet or booksert, and method of manufacturing the same. The preferred bookserts described herein can be readily made with a single sheet of material without the use of staples or other complex structure. While various preferred embodiments are described below, other alternative embodiments can be made using principles of the present invention.
First, a glue strip 11 is applied along a center of the region C. In
Second, the sheet 10 is folded at a fold-line 12 between the regions A and B. In
Third, the sheet 10 is folded at a fold-line 13 between the regions A/B and C. In
Fourth, the side edges 14 and 15 (shown in broken cross-hatching) are trimmed off to form the booksert. This trimming action separates the regions A, B and C by removing the connections along the fold-lines 12 and 13 to form separate sheets. This trimming action also ensures that the pages of the booksert are aligned along their edges. The amount of material removed in this trimming step can be varied as desired. In one exemplary embodiment, the width of the side edges 14 and 15 removed can be about ⅛ inch.
Fifth, the booksert is folded over the axis through the glue strip 11 to form the booksert 20 as shown in plan view in
As a result, a booksert 20 having a removable insert 30 is formed from a single sheet 10. The size and shape of the booksert can be selected as desired—e.g., by selecting an appropriately sized sheet 10.
According to the second preferred aspect shown in
First, the booksert 20 is folded at a fold-line 22 between the regions AA and BB. As shown in
Second, glue spots 24 and 25 are provided on the surface of the region AA. Preferably, the glue spots 24 and 25 are made with a pressure sensitive a glue.
Third, the booksert 20 is folded at a fold-line 23 between the regions AA/BB and CC. As shown in
The final product shown in
The preferred embodiments of the present invention have a variety of advantages and uses. For example, because the product created as a booksert with multiple pages, it is simple to handle and to use. The booksert 20 can provide convenient and easy to access printed information for a user. It can be highly beneficial for use with commercial products, such as drug products or the like, wherein printed information is necessary or desired. In addition, the removable insert 30 can also provide a variety of benefits and advantages. For example, the removable insert enables certain information to be easily separated from the remainder of the booksert. In exemplary embodiments, the removable insert may comprise a coupon or a rebate form.
In an exemplary embodiment shown in
As shown in
As discussed above, the arrows 1a and 1b in
According to yet other embodiments, the booksert of the invention may be constructed without a removable insert.
First, a glue strip 111 is applied along a center of a region B. In
Second, the sheet 100 is folded at a fold-line #1 between the regions C and B. In
Third, a glue strip 112 is applied along the center of the region A (this can also be applied at the same time as the application of the glue strip 111). The sheet 100 is then folded at a fold-line #2 between the regions A and B/C. In
Fourth, then the booksert is folded around the fold-line #3 so that it assumes the configuration shown in
In this manner, an integral booksert having 12 pages is easily formed from a single sheet of material. The final size and shape of the booksert can be selected as desired. However, the present invention advantageously enables the easy fabrication of small bookserts that can be used along with products and the like. For example, the product shown in
First, a glue strip 111′ is applied along a center of the region A. In
Second, the sheet 100′ is folded at a fold-line #1′ between the regions A and B. In
Third, a glue strip 112′ is applied along the center of the region A-1 (this could also be applied at the same time as the application of the glue strip 111′). The sheet 100′ is then folded at a fold-line #2′ between the regions A-1 and B-1. In
Fourth, then the booksert is folded around the fold-line #3′ so that it assumes the configuration shown in
In this manner, an integral booksert having 16 pages is easily formed from a single sheet of material. The final size and shape of the booksert can be selected as desired. However, the present invention advantageously enables the easy fabrication of small bookserts that can be used along with products and the like. For example, the product shown in
First, a glue strip 111″ is applied along a center of the region A. In
Second, the sheet 100″ is folded at a fold-line #1″ between the regions A and B. In
Third, a glue strip 112″ is applied along the center of the region B-1 (this can also be applied at the same time as the application of the glue strip 111″). The sheet 100″ is then folded at a fold-line #2″ between the regions C-1 and B-1. As shown in
Fourth, a glue strip 113″ is applied along the center of the region A-1 (this can also be applied at the same time as the application of the glue strip 111″ and/or the glue strip 112″). The sheet 100″ is then folded at a fold-line #3″ between the regions A-1 and C-1/B-1. In
Fifth, then the booksert is folded around the fold-line #4″ so that it assumes the configuration shown in
In this manner, an integral booksert having 24 pages is easily formed from a single sheet of material. The final size and shape of the booksert can be selected as desired. However, the present invention advantageously enables the easy fabrication of small bookserts that can be used along with products and the like. For example, the product shown in
The various embodiments of present invention enable the creation of a booksert which can be easily and efficiently manufactured.
First, print (e.g., words and/or illustrations) can be placed on individual sheets of material. The print can be arranged on the sheets so that regions of each single sheet will correspond to designated pages after formation of the booksert. Then, the gluing and folding steps can be carried out on the individual sheets as described above. These bookserts can thus be easily manufactured. Handling of multiple sheets is not required, but less preferred embodiments could be manufactured with two or more initial sheets.
Bookserts can be easily fabricated in-line and without staples, avoiding the risks of puncturing tubes or devices. Scratching is not a problem. In addition, bookserts can have more room for print or copying.
While bookserts can be made in various sizes, the preferred embodiments involve small bookserts that can be easily provided along with commercial products and especially along with drug products. For example, the bookserts can be (a) attached to containers having products (e.g., drug products) therein, (b) placed within bags, cartons or the like having products (e.g., drug products) or product-filled containers therein, or (c) provided along with products (e.g., drug products) at point of sale or the like. In preferred embodiments, bookserts are used along with drug products for providing information related thereto, such as when a purchaser obtains such drug products from a pharmacy or the like.
While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in detail above, the invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments as disclosed. Those skilled in the art may make numerous uses and modifications of and departures from the specific embodiments described herein without departing from the inventive concepts. As some examples, while preferred embodiments have been described, it is contemplated that bookserts having various other numbers of pages can be made using principles of the invention as described. For example, bookserts having more pages can be made. And, bookserts having as little as 8 pages made—e.g., by folding over a single fold between two regions A and B. In addition, in the embodiments with removable inserts, the booksert portions and the insert portions can be made to have various numbers of pages using the principles of this invention. In addition, the various gluing and folding steps can be modified or altered by those in the art without departing from the spirit of the claimed invention.
This is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/138,315 filed in the Patent Office on May 6, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,018,499 which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/983,603 filed in the Patent Office on Oct. 25, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,406,581, which is a division of U.S. Ser. No. 09/249,168 filed in the Patent Office on Feb. 12, 1999, now abandoned, which claims priority from U.S. Ser. No. 60/076,706 filed in the Patent Office on Mar. 4, 1998. All of the patent applications referred to in this paragraph are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20050263240 A1 | Dec 2005 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60076706 | Mar 1998 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 09249168 | Feb 1999 | US |
Child | 09983603 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10138315 | May 2002 | US |
Child | 11177815 | US | |
Parent | 09983603 | Oct 2001 | US |
Child | 10138315 | US |