Abstract:
A self-adhering tablecloth or similar article cover is formed from a flexible material having an adhesive applied to an underside thereof. The cover preferably is formed from an inexpensive, flexible material such as paper, plastic film or a non-woven material. Its upper surface may be plain or decorated such as by printing or lamination. The adhesive preferably is one that provides sufficient tack to retain the cover on the article but that allows relatively low-effort detachment of the cover from the article and clean removal of the adhesive from the article. It also should be releasable from the upper surface of the cover, hence permitting the cover material to be wound onto rolls. The cover may be applied to the article in one piece or as a number of separated or overlapping strips.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/834,033 filed Jul. 28, 2206 
     
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The invention relates to article covers such as tablecloths and, more particularly, relates to a self-adhering article cover. The invention additionally relates to methods of making and using such an article cover. 
         [0004]    2. Discussion of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Tablecloths and other article covers are often used both indoors and outdoors to protect articles from spills and/or to prevent items such as food from being contaminated by the articles. In the case of tables such as picnic tables, the article cover typically takes the form of a reusable cover made of cloth or plastic or a disposable cover made of paper, plastic, or a nonwoven material. 
         [0006]    Tablecloths and other article covers typically are simply laid on the article and held in place by their own weight, friction, and the weight of items placed on the article cover. The resulting limited retention forces can be insufficient to hold the cover in place on windy days, in which case the wind lifts the cover at least partially off the article, potentially spilling items on the cover. 
         [0007]    Proposals have been made to alleviate this problem through the provision of a tablecloth having adhesive strips on the underside of the tablecloth at strategic locations such as the corners of the tablecloth. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,499 to Kroll. However, these tablecloths are expensive to manufacture. They also cannot be wound onto rolls and, therefore, are relatively cumbersome to package and handle and expensive to store and ship. They are also only partially effective because the adhesive is applied to only portions of the tablecloth, leaving large portions of the cover free to move relative to the article. For example, the tablecloth may billow in the middle as wind flows upwardly through gaps between wooden boards or through metal mesh in the table. 
         [0008]    The need therefore has arisen to provide a self-adhering tablecloth or similar article cover that is inexpensive to manufacture, reliable, and easy to use. 
         [0009]    The need additionally has arisen to provide a self-adhering article cover that can be rolled upon itself to facilitate packaging, shipping, storage, handling, and application. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    In accordance with an aspect of the invention, at least some of the above-identified needs are met by providing a self-adhering tablecloth or similar article cover formed from a flexible material having an adhesive applied to an underside thereof. The cover preferably is formed from an inexpensive, flexible material such as paper, plastic film or a non-woven material. Its upper surface may be plain or decorated such as by printing or lamination. The adhesive preferably is one that provides sufficient tack to retain the cover on the article but that allows relatively low-effort detachment of the cover from the article and clean removal of the adhesive from the article. It also should be releasable from the upper surface of the cover, hence permitting the material of the cover to be wound onto rolls from which multiple covers may be dispensed. The cover may be applied to the article in one piece or as a number of separated or overlapping strips. 
         [0011]    In accordance with other aspects of the invention, methods of making and using the cover are provided. 
         [0012]    These and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]    Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts throughout, and in which: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a top plan view of a tablecloth constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention and showing the tablecloth spread onto a table; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a bottom plan view of the tablecloth of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a sectional end view of a strip of the tablecloth of  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a rolled web from which the strip of  FIG. 3  can be cut, and of a dispenser for the web; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view of a system for manufacturing the roll illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0019]    A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described in the form of a tablecloth, it being understood that the invention is also applicable to other self-adhering removable article covers as well. 
         [0020]    Referring initially to  FIGS. 1-3 , a tablecloth  10  is illustrated that covers the upper surface of a table  8  such as a picnic table or a patio table. The size and shape of the tablecloth  10  may vary from application to application. It may, for example, take the form of a 4′ diameter round cover or a 3′×6′ rectangular cover. The tablecloth  10  may be formed of a single pre-formed article of dimensions sufficient to cover the table. Alternatively, it could be formed from multiple strips of “standard” width and a user-specified length. The illustrated tablecloth  10  is configured to be used in a multi-strip application in which two or more parallel strips  12  are laid onto to the top of the table  8 , preferably in an overlapping manner, with a seam  14  therebetween. 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , each strip  12  of the tablecloth  10  is formed from a substrate  16  having upper and lower surfaces  18  and  20 . An adhesive  22  is applied to the lower surface  20  of the substrate  16 . Depending on the properties of the adhesive  22 , the manner of applying the adhesive to the substrate, and the properties of the substrate  16 , as well as the intended methods of packaging and use, a release coating  24  may also be applied to the upper surface  18  of the substrate  16 . 
         [0022]    Still referring to  FIG. 3 , the substrate  16  may be formed from any material capable of receiving the adhesive  22  on its bottom surface  20 . It also preferably is sufficiently flexible to be wound onto a roll, unwound from the roll, and laid flat on a table with minimal effort. It should also be disposable. The substrate  16  may, for instance, comprise paper or a film formed from a polyolefin film such as polyester or polypropylene. It could also be formed from a nonwoven material such as a melt blown, spunbond, or needle punched material. The substrate  16  should be sufficiently thin to be windable on roll yet sufficiently thick to be durable. Depending on the characteristics of the material and on the application, a thickness of 0.5 mil. to 10 mil. is preferred, and a thickness of about 1.5 mil. to 2.5 mil. is especially preferred. 
         [0023]    The upper surface  18  of the substrate  16  may be plain or may be decorated in any desired manner such as a pattern  19  ( FIG. 1 ). Decoration may be applied, for example, by direct printing or silk screening. The decoration could also be applied by reverse printing and lamination to provide scuff resistance. As still another alternative, the material of the substrate  16  may itself can be pigmented in any of a variety of colors or patterns. Additionally, a decorated or undecorated nonwoven layer may be laminated to the upper surface  18  of a film substrate to impart a cloth-like feel to the tablecloth  10 . 
         [0024]    The adhesive  22  should be sufficiently tacky to hold the tablecloth  20  to typical table surfaces such as wood, glass, plastic, stone, or metal. However, it should not be so tacky that the tablecloth  10  cannot be easily removed from the table  8 . It preferably is stronger in sheer than in peel to promote a secure hold to the table  8  while permitting the tablecloth  10  to be easily removed form the table  8  after use by simply peeling the tablecloth  10  from the table  8 . The adhesive  22  also should also be one that minimizes post-removal cleaning of the table. It preferably adheres to the tablecloth  10  with greater strength than to the table so as to leave no residue. Even if some residue remains, the residue preferably is of the type that can be easily removed It should also be non-toxic and, even more preferably, food-grade. A variety of repositional materials similar to those used in the label technology industry are suitable for at least most of these purposes. These materials may be hot-melt or solvent based. For instance, they may be rubber based, Kraton® based, acrylic, SIS, SBS, or another block co-polymer. 
         [0025]    The adhesive  22  should cover a sufficient portion of the lower surface  20  of the substrate  16  to assure that the entire tablecloth  10  adheres to the table  8 . A continuous layer is, of course, ideal for this purpose, but may not be practical from an expense standpoint and may be difficult to remove from the tabletop after use. Therefore a discontinuous coating that covers a substantial portion of the surface area of the tablecloth  10  is preferred. Such coatings may, for example, be applied by spray coating, starved die, random fiberization, oriented fiberization, or other non-contact applications. These coatings may also be applied by contact methods such as roll, gravure, or print coating. 
         [0026]    In the preferred embodiment in which the tablecloth  10  is wound onto a roll, release coating  24  preferably is applied to the upper surface  18  of the substrate  16  to prevent the web  30  (detailed below) from which the strips  12  of the tablecloth  10  are cut from sticking to itself when the web  30  is wound onto the roll. The release coating may, for example, comprise a silicone-based coating, a UV cured coating, a cross-linked coating, any of a variety of coatings used for label applications. 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , the strips  12  are preferably cuttable from a web  30  wound onto a roll  32 . The roll  32  is mounted in a dispenser  34  covered by a lid  36  and bearing a cutting device such as a cutting edge  38 . The web  30  is wound onto itself with the adhesive  22  on the bottom surface and the release coating  24  on its upper surface. The web  30  can be unwound from the roll  32 , cut to a desired length using cutting edge  38  to form a strip  12 , and as many strips as are needed can then be pressed onto the table  8  to form the tablecloth  10 . The adhesive  22  retains the tablecloth  10  on the table  8  during use by sticking to at least a substantial portion of the table&#39;s surface. After use, the tablecloth  10  can be peeled off the table  8  and disposed of. It can even be wrapped around trash on the table and used as a trash bag. 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , a system  40  is illustrated that applies adhesive and a release coating to a web  30 ′ of the substrate to form the web  30  as described above in conjunction with  FIG. 4 . Reference characters from  FIGS. 1-4 , while not shown in  FIG. 5 , will also be referred to in order to facilitate an understanding of the relationship between the web  30 ′, the web  30 , and the strips  12 . The major components of system  40  include an unwind station  42 , a release coating station  44 , an adhesive application station  46 , and a rewind station  48 . 
         [0029]    Still referring to  FIG. 5 , the unwind station  42  supports a roll  50  of substrate  16  from which the web  30 ′ is withdrawn under tension from the rewind station  48  and/or driven nip (not shown) and fed downstream through the system  40  with the upper surface  18  of the substrate  16  facing downward. (It should be noted that the upper surface  18  of the substrate  16  could face upward, in which case the release coating station  44  and related equipment would be located above the web  30 ′ and the adhesive application station  46  would be located beneath the web  30 ′) The upper surface  18  may be pre-decorated on its upper surface as described above. Alternatively, a decorating station (not shown) could be provided between the unwind station  42  and the release coating station  44 . 
         [0030]    With continued reference to  FIG. 5 , the release coating station  44  applies the release coating  20  to the downwardly facing upper surface  18  of the substrate  16 . Release coating station  44  may comprise a basin  52  that stores a liquid release coating material and nip rollers  54  and  56  that draw the web  30 ′ through the release coating station  44  while transferring the release coating material to the web  30 ′. The release coating may be cured with a UV curing device  58  located downstream from the release coating station  44  in the direction of web movement. The adhesive application station  46  applies adhesive  22  to the bottom surface  24  of the substrate  16 . The adhesive  22  may be applied by contact using a slot nozzle, rollers or the like or without contact by, for example, melt blowing or a Controlled Fiberization® spray application or any number of airless or air-assisted spray methods. 
         [0031]    In the typical case in which the finished rolls  32  are less than 2′ wide and the bulk substrate of the web  30 ′ being unwound from the unwind station  42  is much wider (typically on the order of 6′ to 8′), the web  30 ′ can be slit to the desired widths of webs  30  using slitters  60  spaced along the width of the web  30 ′. The slitters  60  may, for example, comprise rollers or knives. The adjacent webs  30  are then wound on axially aligned rolls  32  in the rewinding station  48 . Instead of or in addition to the slitters  60 , folders may be provided to fold the web in a V-fold or C-fold. This feature would provide the advantage of providing a tablecloth that is wider than the axial length of the roll  32 , negating the need to apply the tablecloth  10  in multiple strips  12 . In this case, a release liner should be applied to the web  30 ′ downstream from the adhesive application station  46  to prevent the facing adhesive-bearing surfaces of the folded web from sticking to each other. 
         [0032]    Although the best mode contemplated by the inventors of carrying out the present invention is disclosed above, practice of the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be manifest that various additions, modifications and rearrangements of the features of the present invention may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept. Some of the changes are discussed above. The scope of still other changes to the described embodiments that fall within the present invention but that are not specifically discussed above will become apparent from the appended claims.