Abstract:
A display system includes a sheet-like poster board with a back surface and a display surface. An adhesive is located on the back surface of the poster board and a peelable liner is removably adhered to the adhesive. The poster board is temporarily securable to a mounting surface by removing the peelable liner to expose the adhesive and pressing the adhesive against the mounting surface.

Description:
FIELD  
       [0001]     The present invention is directed to a poster board display system, and more particularly, to a poster board display system having an adhesive located thereon.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     Business enterprises, individuals, schools and other organizations use poster boards as a means of communication and decoration, as well as for advertisements, presentations and artwork. Poster boards are typically used for temporary display, and therefore some structure, such as bulletin boards, may be required to display the poster boards. While bulletin boards provide a convenient method for displaying poster board, bulletin boards are not always conveniently located or available when needed. Accordingly, poster boards frequently need to be mounted on a variety of surfaces such as plaster, painted or wallpapered walls, metal lockers or cabinets, chalk or white boards.  
         [0003]     Accordingly, a simple, easy and attractive system and method for securing a poster board to various surfaces is needed.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0004]     In one embodiment the invention is a display system which includes sheet-like poster board with a back surface and a display surface. An adhesive is located on the back surface of the poster board and a peelable liner is removably adhered to the adhesive. The poster board is temporarily securable to a mounting surface by removing the peelable liner to expose the adhesive and pressing the adhesive against the mounting surface.  
         [0005]     In another embodiment the invention is a method for display that includes providing a sheet-like poster board having a display surface and a back surface. The back surface has an adhesive located thereon and a peelable liner removably adhered to the adhesive. The method further includes the steps of marking on the display surface and removing the peelable liner to expose the adhesive. The method further includes the step of pressing the adhesive against a mounting surface to thereby mount said poster board to the mounting surface. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]      FIG. 1A  is a top view of one embodiment of the poster board;  
         [0007]      FIG. 1B  is a top view of the opposite side of the poster board of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  is a cross-section of an adhesive strip of the poster board of  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  is a detail perspective view of the peelable liner used with an adhesive strip of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0010]     Referring to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , in a one embodiment of the present invention the poster board  10  includes a display surface  12  and a back surface  14  located on an opposite side of the poster board  10 . The poster board  10  can be made of a variety of materials, including paperboard, cardboard, paper, plastic, a combination of these materials or various other materials. The poster board  10  may be made of materials that allow a user to write thereon with a pen, pencil or the like, or upon which pre-printed graphics may be printed. The display surface  12  of the poster board  10  may be white, colored or multi-colored. The poster board  10  may be manufactured in multiple sizes, for example, 11 inches×14 inches, 22 inches×28 inches, or 24 inches×36 inches. However, the poster board  10  may be any size suitable for display and communication of information. In the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the poster board  10  is rectangular having a pair of short outer edges  18  and a pair of long outer edges  20 .  
         [0011]     The poster board  10  may include two strips of pressure sensitive adhesive  16  pre-adhered or permanently adhered to the back surface  14  of the poster board  10  to allow the poster board  10  to be mounted to a wall or other mounting surface  21 . As used herein, permanently adhered or permanent adhesive means that the under normal use the adhesive  16  has sufficient adhesive strength to remain adhered to the back surface  14  of the poster board  10 , and to resist attempted manual removal. However, under certain conditions, including extreme heat or contact with certain solvents, the adhesive  16  may be able to be removed from the back surface  14 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1A , the adhesive strips  16  are located proximate to, and substantially parallel with, the short outer edge  18  of the rectangular poster board  10 . This configuration allows the poster board  10  to be securely mounted to a mounting surface  21 . Because the adhesive is, in the illustrated embodiment, in the form of a continuous strip  16  that runs the full width of the poster board  10 , when adhesive strip  16  is pressed against a mounting surface  21  the poster board  10  will lay flat against the surface without curving or bowing. In addition, a continuous strip of adhesive  16  will allow the poster board  10  to adhere more easily to uneven surfaces or surfaces that include gaps. If the poster board had only patches or discontinuous strips of adhesive, a user would need to ensure that the adhesive patch did not coincide with a gap in the mounting surface  21 .  
         [0012]     Many configurations of the adhesive are possible. For example, rather than extending along the short outer edges  18 , the adhesive strips may be located along the long outer edges  20 , or located along both the short outer edges  18  and the long outer edges  20 . Additionally, the adhesive strips could be significantly spaced away from the outer edges  18 ,  20  of the poster board  10 . For example, the adhesive strips could form a cross shape, extend diagonally across the back surface  14 , etc. Alternatively, the entire back surface  14  may be covered in adhesive.  
         [0013]     In the illustrated embodiment, the adhesive strips  16  are located at opposite ends of the poster board  10  and extend along the short outer edges  18 . This configuration ensures that the poster board  10  lays flat against the surface to which it is mounted. While the same effect might be achieved by locating the two adhesive strips substantially parallel to the long outer edges  20  of the poster board  10 , the shorter strips may be sufficient to secure the poster board  10  to most surfaces and requires less adhesive.  
         [0014]     In one embodiment, each of the adhesive strips  16  is located proximate to or adjacent to one of the outer edges  18 ,  20  of the rectangular shaped poster board  10 , but spaced inwardly from the associated outer edges  18 ,  20  (i.e., by 1-2 inches) to improve manufacturing efficiency. In particular, if the adhesive strips  16  were to be located directly on or adjacent to the outer edge of the poster board  10  more exact placement of the strips would be required which creates difficulties in manufacturing. Spacing the adhesive strips  16  an inch or two from the associated short outer edge  18  allows for slight misplacements without affecting the adhesive function, or contaminating the display surface  12  of the poster board  10  or the manufacturing equipment with adhesive. Additionally, spacing the adhesive strips  16  at a distance from the outer edge allows a user to trim the sheet of the poster board  10  slightly without affecting the adhesion. Finally, a gap between the outer edge of the poster board  10  and the adhesive strips  16  allows a user slide a finger between the poster board and the mounting surface  21  to grip the poster board  10  and remove the poster board  10  from the mounting surface  21 .  
         [0015]     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , each of the adhesive strips  16  may include a relatively weak or temporary adhesive  22 , a barrier  24  and a relatively strong or permanent adhesive  26 . The permanent adhesive  26  adheres the adhesive strip  16  to the back surface  14  of the poster board  10  in the manner outlined above. The barrier  24  prevents the permanent adhesive  26  and the temporary adhesive  22  from contaminating each other. The barrier  24  may be paper, plastics such as polyvinyl chloride, polyester film such as MYLAR®, sold by E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company of Wilmington, Del., and other suitable materials.  
         [0016]     The temporary adhesive  22  is intended to be adhered to the surface on which the poster board  10  is to be mounted. The temporary adhesive  22  is of sufficient strength to secure the poster board  10  to the mounting surface  21 , but allows the poster board  10  to be easily removed from the surface by simply pulling on the poster board  10 . The temporary adhesive  22  may have sufficient adhesive strength such that two 11 inch×1 inch strips are capable of adhering an 11 inch×14 inch piece of paperboard having a weight of about 0.9 ounces to a relatively smooth mounting surface  21 , such as clean flat painted metal. The temporary adhesive  22  may have an adhesive strength between ten percent and fifty percent of the adhesive strength of the permanent adhesive  26 . In one embodiment, when the poster board  10  is removed from the mounting surface  21 , such as clean flat painted metal, the temporary adhesive  22  is sufficiently weak to pull away from the mounting surface  21  cleanly, leaving no adhesive on the mounting surface  21 .  
         [0017]     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a peelable liner  28  may be adhered to the temporary adhesive  22  of each of the adhesive strips  16 . The peelable liner  28  may be a generally peelable material such as paper with a thin plastic film or coating, such as polyethylene, polypropylene or the like. The peelable liner  28  allows the poster board  10  to be shipped or stored with the adhesive strips  16  in place and prevents the adhesive from adhering to a surface during shipping or storage.  
         [0018]     To utilize the poster board  10 , a user may first write, draw or mark on the display surface  12  of the poster board  10  using pens, markers, pencils, crayons and the like. The user may then hold the poster board  10  up against the mounting surface  21  to determine the appropriate position for the poster board  10 . With the peelable liners  28  in place, the user is able to test multiple locations prior to adhering the poster board  10  to the mounting surface  21 . After the appropriate position is selected, the user may remove the peelable liners  28  from the adhesive strips  16 , place the poster board  10  at the appropriate position and press the adhesive strips  16  against the mounting surface  21 . When the poster board  10  has served its purpose, the user may remove the poster board  10  by seizing the poster board  10  (i.e. at one of the corners) and pulling the poster board  10  away from the mounting surface  21 .  
         [0019]     In an alternate embodiment, the display surface  12  of the poster board  10  may include pre-printed graphics located thereon. For example, the display surface  12  may be pre-printed with a calendar grid, common phrases such as “For Sale,” or a common design such as party balloons. The user may add specific information such as event dates, prices or event information to the display surface  12 .  
         [0020]     The system and method described and shown herein allows a user to quickly and easily mount a poster board to a surface such as a wall, a door, a cabinet and the like. Once the poster board has served its purpose, the user may remove the poster board by simply pulling the poster board away from the mounting surface. In one embodiment, the poster board will come away from the mounting surface cleanly, without leaving adhesive on the surface.  
         [0021]     While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various additional changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.