SHEET MADE OF PAPER AND THE LIKE SERVING AS CARRIER FOR A SHEET OF STAMPS AND THE LIKE

Abstract: The invention relates to a sheet (10) made of paper or synthetic material or such a material which serves as carrier for a sheet of stamps (16), labels and the like. According to the invention such a sheet (10) is provided having an elongated shape and consisting of a number of bands lying underneath one another which bands are separated from each other by folding lines (17), each band carrying a sheet of stamps (16) or the like. Preferably all bands present beneath the upper band are folded rolled up flat in front of the upper band.

Description: Sheet made of paper and the like serving as carrier for a sheet of stamps and the like The invention relates to a sheet made of paper or a synthetic material or such material which serves as carrier for a sheet of stamps, labels and the like. Stamps are often sold in numbers of 10 at a time. In order that the sales person need not tear off this number from a large sheet, stamps of the most commonly used values are nowadays sold per sheet of 10 pieces. For ease of selling each sheet is packaged in an envelope of thin cardboard, of which the front is largely open. In addition it is known to offer labels and the like for sale on a sheet of carrier material. A disadvantage of packed stamps is that the packaging requires a lot of packaging material. Another disadvantage is that stamps after use of some pieces are difficult to store away. Yet another disadvantage is that the buyer of a large number of stamps now receives a number of separate envelopes of 1 0 stamps each. The object of the invention is to offer sheets of stamps and the like in such a manner that one or several of the above-mentioned disadvantages are avoided. This object is achieved according to the invention with a sheet made of paper or synthetic material or such a material which serves as carrier for a sheet of stamps, labels and the like, the sheet having an elongated shape and consisting of a number of bands lying underneath one another which bands are separated from each other by folding lines, each band carrying a sheet of stamps or the like. In this way it is achieved that the stamps and the like are offered on the carrier material, so that a separate enclosing envelope is no longer necessary. Additional waste is thus avoided. After use of one or some stamps the other stamps remain on the sheet of carrier material, so that they can easily be stored away without getting mislaid. On the elongated strip of sheet material per band for instance a stamp sheet of 10 stamps can be arranged, so that per sheet a plurality of 10 stamps at a time can be sold. Preferably the folding lines are executed as perforations. In this manner the sheet can be folded easily, and the user can also tear off one or several bands from the rest to distribute the total number of bands. According to an advantageous embodiment all bands present beneath the upper band are folded in front of the upper band. The first folded band can then be provided with information, such as the number of stamps and the price. Preferably the sheet comprises at least three bands and is folded such that the bottom band is folded in between the two adjacent bands. In this way the bottom band is accommodated into the other two bands and it need not be secured. According to an advantageous embodiment all bands present beneath the upper band are folded rolled up flat in front of the upper band. In this way all bands are accommodated into each other. Preferably one or more glue points are applied between the upper band and the band in front of it. These glue points keep the entire sheet in a folded position. Preferably two glue points are applied, one at each side edge. In this way the entire sheet can remain folded with a mere two glue points. According to an advantageous embodiment the upper band is higher than the bands beneath it and is provided with one or more suspension apertures. In this way the folded sheet can be hung easily, whereas only little additional material is necessary to that end. Preferably one suspension aperture is arranged in the shape of a Eurolock. In this way the sheet can be hung from standard suspension brackets. According to an advantageous embodiment the upper band has a width of 1 56 mm and a height of 1 26 mm. In this way the folded sheet has a standard size for the frame of a standard counter. Preferably the sheet consists of five bands. According to a preferred embodiment the sheet is printed on both sides. As a result of folding the information on the back appears on the front. Preferably the sheets of stamps are self-adhesive. The invention will be elucidated on the basis of a preferred embodiment, referring to the drawing. Figure 1 shows a sheet according to the invention having five bands. Figure 2 shows the sheet of figure 1 in folded position in front view. Figure 3 shows the folded sheet of figure 2 in side view. Figure 1 shows the sheet 1 0 according to the invention. The sheet 1 0 consists of five bands, an upper band 1 1 and beneath it the bands 1 2, 1 3, 14 and 1 5, respectively. The bands 1 1 up to and including 1 5 are separated from each other by folding lines 1 7 in the form of perforations. On each band a sheet of stamps 1 6 (only partly shown) is arranged in an self-adhesive manner. The upper band 1 1 is higher than the bands 1 2 up to and including 1 5 and has a suspension aperture 1 8 in the shape of a Eurolock in its upper edge. In order to hang the sheet 1 0 easily and with little occupation of space, the sheet is rolled up by folding the bottom band 1 5 onto the band 14, subsequently folding the folded bands 14 and 1 5 onto the band 1 3, subsequently folding the bands 1 3, 14 and 1 5 onto the band 1 2, and subsequently folding the folded bands 1 2 up to and including 1 4 onto the band 1 1 . The folding takes place along the folding lines 1 7. Figure 2 shows the sheet 10 folded thus in front view, and figure 3 shows the folded sheet 10 in side view. From figure 2 it clearly appears that of band 1 1 merely the upper edge is visible, and that in this edge the Eurolock 1 8 is present to be able to hang the folded 10. The largest part of the sheet 10 shown is taken by the back of band 12 of figure 1 . On said back information, for instance the price of the sheet 10 with the sheets of stamps 1 6 is indicated. Figure 3 clearly shows that the sheet 10 is so-called folded flat. One could imagine that the sheet 10 of figure 1 was first rolled up starting from the lower edge, after which it was pressed flat. It will be clear that the bands 1 2 up to and including 1 5 in figure 1 have to have a smaller and smaller height in downward direction, so that they can be rolled up flat as shown in figure 3. In order that the flat rolled up sheet 1 0 does not roll back two glue points 19 have been arranged between the upper band 1 1 and the band 13 folded against it, see figures 2 and 3. The upper band 1 1 according to the preferred embodiment has a width of 156 mm and a height of 126 mm, so that the flat rolled up sheet 10 can be hung in a standard suspension rack. The sheet 10 according to the invention has the advantage that no additional material is necessary to package the sheets of stamps and that only a minimum quantity of material is needed to be able the hang the flat rolled up sheet 10, whereas the rolled up sheet is kept in rolled up position with the minimal use of two glue points. It will be clear that in the preferred embodiment as described above many modifications are possible. The sheet may for instance consist of more or fewer than the five bands shown. It is also possible to give the sheet another shape, so that the flat rolled up sheet is for instance higher than it is wide. It will also be possible to fold the sheet in a different manner, but this has the disadvantage that then for instance more glue points between various bands are necessary. The invention therefore is not limited to the preferred embodiment described above; the scope of protection is determined by the following claims.

Claims: Claims 1 . Sheet made of paper or a synthetic material or such a material which serves as carrier for an added extra sheet of stamps, labels and the like, the sheet having an elongated shape and consisting of a number of bands lying underneath one another which bands are separated from each other by folding lines, each band carrying a sheet of stamps or the like. 2. Sheet according to claim 1 , the folding lines being executed as perforations. 3. Sheet according to claim 1 or 2, all bands present beneath the upper band being folded in front of the upper band. 4. Sheet according to claim 3, the sheet at least comprising three bands and being folded such that the bottom band is folded in between the two adjacent bands. 5. Sheet according to claim 4, all bands present beneath the upper band being folded rolled up flat in front of the upper band. 6. Sheet according to claim 5, one or more glue points being applied between the upper band and the band in front of it. 7. Sheet according to claim 6, two glue points being applied, one at each side edge. 8. Sheet according to any one of the preceding claims, the upper band being higher than the bands beneath it and being provided with one or more suspension apertures. 9. Sheet according to claim 8, one suspension aperture being arranged in the shape of a Eurolock. 10. Sheet according to any one of the preceding claims, the upper band having a width of 1 56 mm and a height of 1 26 mm. 1 1 . Sheet according to any one of the preceding claims, the sheet consisting of five bands. 1 2. Sheet according to any one of the preceding claims, the sheet being printed on both sides. 1 3. Sheet according to any one of the preceding claims, the sheets of stamps being self-adhesive. 14. Sheet comprising one or more of the characteristics as described in the description and/or shown in the drawing.

Inventors: BOS NICOLAAS CORNELIS, BOS, NICOLAAS, CORNELIS
Applicants: BOS NICOLAAS CORNELIS, JOH ENSCHEDE B V, BOS, NICOLAAS, CORNELIS, JOH. ENSCHEDE B.V.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B31D1
IPC codes: B31D1