Repositional window pricing label

A window sticker for pricing and fuel economy information about a motor vehicle can be readily positioned and repositioned on a motor vehicle window, and finally removed from the window without leaving an adhesive residue, and in integral form so that it serves as a customer receipt. A continuous web of coated hydrophobic bond paper, or printable plastic, is moved in a first direction to a press where fixed indicia, including fuel economy and price related word indicia, is applied to a first face of the web, and patterns of repositional adhesive are applied to the first face adjacent edges of the web elongated in the first direction. The repositional adhesive patterns are covered by release material strips to protect them. Application of the adhesive and protective strips may be accomplished simultaneously using tip-on or blow-on techniques with double faced adhesive label stock. Variable indicia is printed on the first face using a laser printer, including numerical indicia corresponding to and adjacent the fuel economy and price fixed word indicia. The individual stickers are burst from the continuous web, and if they contain marginal portions with tractor feed openings, the marginal portions are cut off.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to window stickers for motor vehicles. One form of 
window sticker common in today's market is a sticker having a bond sheet 
with a water reactive starch based adhesive coating covering the entire 
sheet. The adhesive is wet, and then applied to a motor vehicle window. 
While this type of sticker is economical, it must be scraped from the 
window at the time of purchase, leaving adhesive residue on the window's 
surface, and completely destroying the label. 
Another type of commonly used window sticker comprises a bond face sheet 
fully coated with a pressure sensitive removable adhesive adhered to a 
printed release liner, the printed release liner containing the necessary 
pricing and fuel economy information. By removing the border of the 
release liner, the label is affixed to the inside of a car window. This 
construction allows the dealer to remove the entire label, and separate 
the two plies, so that the customer may retain the printed release sheet 
for future reference. However this type of form is expensive, leaves an 
adhesive residue on the window surface, yellows at the exposed adhesive 
areas, delaminates from the window at high and low temperatures and 
humidity changes, and is easily ripped or removed from the window when the 
window is rolled open. 
According to the present invention, a window sticker, a window sticker 
intermediate, and a method of constructing a window sticker, are provided 
which overcome the disadvantages discussed above, and additionally allow 
easy production of the window sticker utilizing continuous or sheet fed 
laser printers. According to the present invention, a sticker is provided 
which may be constructed simply and relatively inexpensively from bond 
paper, may be cleanly removed from a window with no adhesive residue 
remaining, and may be removed integrally so that the sticker may be 
retained by the customer as a receipt. 
According to one aspect of the present invention, a window sticker is 
provided which comprises the following elements: A sheet of printable 
material having first and second faces, and opposite first and second 
edges, and opposite third and fourth edges. Indicia printed on the first 
face. Repositional adhesive patterns disposed on the first face adjacent 
the first and second edges. And, release strips covering the repositional 
adhesive patterns, and removable to expose the repositional adhesive. The 
sheet preferably comprises a coated hydrophobic bond paper sheet, or a 
printable plastic sheet, and the indicia includes fixed word indicia 
relating to fuel economy and price information for a motor vehicle, and 
also includes variable numerical indicia corresponding to and adjacent the 
fuel economy and price word indicia. 
The repositional adhesive patterns typically comprise first and second 
strips of repositional adhesive adhered directly to the bond sheet, or 
repositional adhesive strips disposed on top of tape strips, the tape 
strips adhesively adhered to the bond sheet with permanent adhesive. If 
desired, patterns of repositional adhesive may also be disposed adjacent 
the third and fourth edges of the sheet, with release strips covering 
those patterns too. 
The window sticker described above is formed from, in one embodiment a 
continuous web of printable material (e.g. coated hydrophobic bond paper, 
a plastic sheet, etc.) elongated in a first direction with the first and 
second opposite edges extending in the first direction. Means defining 
lines of weakness (e.g. perforations) are provided in a second direction, 
perpendicular to the first direction, to separate the web into individual 
stickers, with means defining tractor drive openings in the web adjacent 
the first and second opposite edges. Ultimately, the intermediates are 
burst along the lines of weakness to form individual stickers, and 
marginal portions containing the tractor drive openings are removed, for 
example by slitting. 
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of 
constructing a window sticker from a web of printable material (preferably 
coated hydrophobic bond paper, a plastic sheet, or the like) having first 
and second opposite edges elongated in a first direction, and first and 
second faces, is provided. The method comprises the following steps: (a) 
Feeding the continuous web in the first direction. (b) Printing fixed 
indicia on the first face of the web while practicing step (a). (c) 
Applying repositional adhesive patterns and covering release strips onto 
the first face adjacent the first and second edges while practicing step 
(a). Then, (d) printing variable indicia on the first face of the web, 
including adjacent fixed indicia. And, (e) separating the continuous web 
into individual window stickers having third and fourth edges 
perpendicular to the first and second edges. 
Step (b) is practiced by printing fixed word indicia relating to fuel 
economy of a motor vehicle, and price information for that vehicle, while 
step (d) is preferably practiced with a continuous or sheet fed laser 
printer, to print variable numerical indicia corresponding to and adjacent 
the fuel economy and price word indicia. Step (c) is preferably practiced 
by tip-on or blow-on label techniques using double face label stock, 
although alternatively it may be practiced by providing a coating of 
repositional adhesive in strip form adjacent each of the first and second 
edges, and applying a release strip over each of the strips of 
repositional adhesive. Step (d) is preferably practiced before step (e), 
and step (b) is practiced before step (c). 
In use of the window stickers, the release strips are removed from the 
repositional adhesive patterns, and the repositional adhesive is brought 
into contact with the inside surface of a motor vehicle window to hold the 
window sticker in place. The window sticker may be removed from the window 
and repositioned as desired. Once the motor vehicle is sold, the entire 
window sticker is removed from the motor vehicle, leaving no adhesive 
residue on the window, and the sticker is integral, and entirely readable, 
and may be maintained by a customer as a receipt (typically after cutting 
off the repositional adhesive strips with a scissors). 
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a versatile, 
simple, economical, and advantageous window sticker for motor vehicle 
pricing and fuel economy information. This and other objects of the 
invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description 
of invention, and from the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
FIG. 1 illustrates schematically exemplary method steps and/or equipment 
utilized in the practice of an exemplary method according to the present 
invention. According to the method of the present invention, a window 
sticker--shown schematically by reference numeral 10--is produced from a 
continuous web 12 of printable opaque, translucent, or perhaps transparent 
material, typically coated hydrophobic bond paper, or a plastic sheet such 
as printable polystyrene, polyolefin, polyethylene, polyester (e.g. 
Mylar), etc. about 5-12 mil thick, or composite material (e.g. a layered 
paper/plastic construction). The web 12 is elongated in a first direction 
13 and has first and second faces including a first or top face 14 and a 
bottom face (not shown). Typically, it also includes first and second 
edges 15, 16 parallel to the first direction 13, and means defining 
tractor feed openings 17 adjacent each of the edges 15, 16, in marginal 
portions of the web 12. Lines of weakness, such as perforations 18, are 
provided at spaced locations along the web 12, perpendicular to the first 
direction 13, and dividing the web 12 into individual stickers useful in 
making the final window sticker 10. 
In an exemplary method according to the present invention, the web 12 is 
fed in the first direction 13 by any conventional apparatus, such as feed 
rollers (not shown), to a conventional press 20 or the like. At the press 
20, fixed word indicia is printed on the first face 14 of the web 12 as it 
is being fed in the first direction 13. The fixed word indicia includes 
indicia--shown at 22 in FIG. 2--which relates to fuel economy of a type of 
motor vehicle. The fixed indicia also includes word price indicia 23 (see 
FIG. 2) relating to that motor vehicle. The indicia 22, 23, will be of the 
type required by Federal, state, or local law, in conventional practice, 
such as listing the city and highway estimated fuel economy of the 
vehicle, the estimated annual fuel cost for comparison purposes, a list of 
options and the prices of options, a space for the total price in dollars, 
etc. 
After printing of the fixed indicia 22, 23 on the web 12 by the press 20, 
the web 12 is fed to a station 25 where repositional adhesive patterns and 
covering release strips are applied onto the first face 14 adjacent the 
first and second edges 15, 16 (although inside of the tractor drive 
opening 17), the application of the repositional adhesive patterns and 
covering release strips also being practiced while the web 12 is moving in 
direction 13. Basically two different techniques may be utilized for 
practicing this method step. According to a first technique, label stock 
is applied by tip-on or blow-on techniques. The label stock may have 
repositional adhesive on both faces of a tape strip, with a release liner 
over the uppermost repositional adhesive portion, or it may have permanent 
adhesive on the bottom of the tape. One commercially available piece of 
equipment suitable for practicing this method step is the Quadre 
Transform/1800 Forms Labelling System made by QLS Incorporated of 
Eastlake, Ohio. Other equipment can also be used for that purpose, and the 
equipment itself is not part of the present invention. 
As a second alternative to the practice of the method step at station 25 of 
FIG. 1, coating strips of repositional adhesive may be applied adjacent 
the edges 15, 16 (but inside the tractor drive openings 17), directly on 
the first face 14 of the web 12, and then covered by a release strip. 
The repositional adhesive is of the type such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 
4,882,211, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference 
herein. The adhesive may be that manufactured by 3M for use with its 
Post-It.RTM. products, or that manufactured by Moore Business Forms, Inc. 
for its Note-Stix.RTM. products, or other suitable repositional adhesives. 
After passing through station 25, the web 12 may optionally be slit and 
burst at that point, as illustrated in dotted line by station 26. If slit 
and burst at that point, utilizing a conventional slitter for removing the 
marginal portions of the web 12 along the edges 15, 16 containing the 
tractor drive openings 17, and a conventional burster for bursting along 
the perforations 18, the forms will be fed to a sheet feed laser printer 
27. If not burst at station 26, they will be fed to a continuous laser 
printer 27, such as Siemens ND2200 Cold Fusion Printer. 
Normally the laser printer 27 is located at a different location than the 
press 20 and the adhesive application station 25, although it can be at 
the same location. Whether the forms are fed in continuous format or sheet 
fed format to the laser printer 27, the printer 27 prints variable indicia 
on the first face 14 including numerical indicia, such as indicia 29 
illustrated in FIG. 2, corresponding to the fixed information fuel economy 
words, and variable numerical indicia 30 corresponding to the fixed 
indicia words regarding price. If printed in continuous format by the 
laser printer 27, the web 12 is then slit and burst at station 32, again 
utilizing a conventional slitter for slitting off the marginal portions 
(e.g. see 32 in FIG. 2) containing the tractor drive openings 17, and 
bursting the individual stickers from each other along the perforations 
18. The final product 10 that is produced is illustrated in FIG. 2. 
FIG. 3 illustrates an edge configuration (adjacent either edge 15 or 16) of 
the sticker 10 of FIG. 2 if tip-on or blow-on label techniques are 
utilized to apply adhesive along the edges, at station 25. Applied onto 
the label 12 is the tape 34 (label stock) having an adhesive 35 on one 
face thereof which becomes adhesively secured to the paper web 12, and 
adhesive 36 on the other face thereof which faces upwardly, and is covered 
by a release liner 37 of typical release material. The adhesive 35 may 
either be permanent adhesive or repositional adhesive, while the adhesive 
36 is repositional adhesive. 
FIG. 4 is a view like that of FIG. 3 only showing a different construction 
of the adhesive. In this case, a coating 39 of repositional adhesive was 
applied directly to the coated hydrophobic paper web 12, with a release 
liner 40 covering the repositional adhesive 39. 
FIG. 5 shows another modification of a window sticker according to the 
present invention, illustrated generally by reference numeral 42. In this 
embodiment the only significant differences are that in addition to the 
strips or other patterns of repositional adhesive disposed along the first 
and second edges (the longitudinal edges in the direction of movement 13 
of the web 12, and the top and bottom edges in the final sticker 10), 
repositional adhesive strips or other patterns 45, with protective release 
liners 46, are also disposed along third and fourth edges 47, 48 of the 
form 42, on the first face 49 thereof (the face containing the fixed and 
variable printing indicia). 
FIG. 6 illustrates a manner of use of the window sticker 10 according to 
the invention. Utilization of the window sticker 10 is extremely simple. 
All one does is remove the release liners 37 covering the repositional 
adhesive strips or other patterns 36 at the top and bottom edges 15, 16 of 
the sticker 10, and then places those strips of repositional adhesive 36 
into contact with the interior surface of a window 51 of a motor vehicle, 
such as automobile 52. The sticker 10 may be removed from the window 51 
and repositioned as desired, the repositional adhesive 36 allowing this. 
Once the motor vehicle 52 is sold, the sticker 10 is removed, and since it 
is entirely integral and in readable form, it may be maintained by the 
customer as a receipt. If the customer does this, typically the customer 
would cut off the strips of adhesive 36 with a scissors or the like, or 
the web 12 could be constructed so that there were perforations or other 
lines of weakness parallel to the first and second edges 15, 16 just 
inside the strips 36. When the sticker 10 is removed from the window 51, 
no adhesive residue remains. 
It will thus be seen that according to the present invention an 
advantageous window sticker, particularly for use with a motor vehicle, 
has been provided which is simple and inexpensive to construct and simple 
to utilize. While the invention has been herein shown and described in 
what is presently conceived to be the most practical and preferred 
embodiment thereof it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the 
art that many modifications may be made thereof within the scope of the 
invention, which scope is to be accorded the broadest interpretation of 
the appended claims so as to encompass all equivalent structures and 
procedures.