Abstract:
Apparatus for forming a band into a persistent loop. The band incorporating the apparatus has a hole portion which contains a hole, a tongue portion which fits through the hole, and an adhesive attachment area on one or both of the hole and tongue portions. The band is made into a persistent loop by drawing the tongue portion through the hole and attaching the adhesive attachment area to the loop&#39;s outside surface. The size of the loop may be adjusted by varying the amount of the tongue portion which is drawn through the hole. A loop may be temporarily preformed by engaging a structure on the tongue portion with the hole. In embodiments in which the band is made of stiff material, the engaging structures may be the edges of the tongue portion and the edges of the hole. The disclosed embodiment of the apparatus is an identification band.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present patent application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/870,947, Robert Chadwick, Wristband design and attachment method, filed Dec. 20, 2006. That application in its entirety is incorporated by reference for all purposes into the present patent application. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING 
       [0003]    Not applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0005]    The invention concerns techniques for using bands made of sheet materials to make loops whose sizes are adjustable. 
         [0006]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0007]    Bands made of sheet materials are often attached to items to identify them. One way of attaching the band to the item is to loop the band around part of the item. Examples of identification bands used in this fashion are the bands used to identify nursery stock, which are looped around the trunk or a branch of the nursery stock, and the wristbands used to identify patients in hospitals. Such bands need to be easily adjusted to make different-sized loops. In many cases, it is also important that the loop closely fits the object it is looped around and that there are no dangling ends. Examples of prior-art solutions to these problems may be found in U.S. published patent application 2004/0237366, Chadwick, et al., Identification bracelet, and U.S. Pat. No. 6, 641,048, Schintz, et al., Winged wristband. Finally, there are situations in which it is advantageous to make the loop in advance and then be able to adjust the loop to an exact fit after it has been placed on the object. It is an object of the techniques disclosed herein to provide bands made of sheet materials which are easily adjusted to closely fit an object, may be made up in advance, and which have no dangling ends. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The foregoing object is attained by apparatus for forming a band into a persistent loop. The apparatus is made up of a hole portion of the band which contains a hole, a tongue portion of the band which fits through the hole, and adhesive attachment area on one or the other or both of the portions. To persistently form the band into a loop, one passes the tongue portion through the hole and attaches the adhesive attachment area to the loop&#39;s outer surface. 
         [0009]    Other aspects of the apparatus may include the following:
       the tongue portion has a length which permits the size of the loop to be varied by varying the amount of the tongue portion which is passed through the hole.   The tongue portion includes structures for mechanically engaging the hole, which permits the band to be temporarily formed into a loop prior to being persistently formed into the. The structures may be the edges of the tongue.   information areas which may be on the outside of the hole portion or on the outside of the tongue portion.       
 
         [0013]    Another aspect of the techniques is business forms which include bands which implement the above apparatus. The business forms may include other entities that are linked to the bands by means of identification information which appears on both the bands and the other entities. The other entities may be labels or bands for persons who are associated with the wearer of a band which has the above apparatus. Yet another aspect of the invention is methods of forming bands which implement the above apparatus into loops. 
         [0014]    Other objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the arts to which the invention pertains upon perusal of the following Detailed Description and drawing, wherein: 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  shows a presently-preferred embodiment of a wristband which achieves the objects set forth above; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  shows other embodiments of such wristbands; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  shows how the wristband of the preferred embodiment may be made up in advance and then adjusted to fit; 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  shows a printable sheet of the presently-preferred embodiment of the wristband; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  provides examples of the information that is printed on a wristband. 
       
    
    
       [0020]    Reference numbers in the drawing have three or more digits: the two right-hand digits are reference numbers in the drawing indicated by the remaining digits. Thus, an item with the reference number  203  first appears as item  203  in  FIG. 2 . 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0021]    A wristband which can be made up in advance, is adjustable to fit, and has no hanging ends  FIG. 1  shows a presently-preferred embodiment of a wristband which is made using the techniques disclosed herein. The presently-preferred embodiment of the wristband is designed for use in an institutional environment and is made of a sheet material which is waterproof and is resistant to solvents which are commonly employed in such environments. An example of such a sheet material is a cross laminated polyethylene film such as VALERON® produced by Valeron Strength Films of Houston Tex. The sheet material may further have a coating which renders water-based inks such as those used in ink-jet printers and marking pens water and solvent resistant. For details, see U.S. published patent application 2004/0237366. The sheet material may also be a material that is designed for use in Laser printers and is based upon polyesters or laminates of polyesters and polyolefins. An example of a film such as this would be “Tough paper” offered by Hewlett Packard Corporation or a custom-constructed material having the necessary properties. The sheet material employed for a particular embodiment of the bands will of course depend upon the use to which the bands are to be put. 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  shows band  101  from which the preferred embodiment of the wristband is made. Band  101  has two major components: hole portion  103 , which contains hole  109 , and tongue portion  105 . To make band  101  into a wristband, one inserts the end  115  of tongue portion  105  into hole  109 . Tongue  105  is slightly wider than the diameter of hole  109 . Consequently, tongue  105  must be bowed slightly to insert it into hole  109 . The material of which wristband  101  is made has a stiffness which is approximately that of writing paper. Because tongue  105  is bowed slightly, the stiffness of the wristband&#39;s material urges the edges of tongue  105  against the edge of hole  109 . The stiffness of the wristband&#39;s material also tends to force the loop made by passing tongue  105  through hole  109  to open, and the interaction between the edges of tongue  105  and hole  109  resists the tendency of the loop to open. Because of the interaction between the edges of the hole and the edges of tongue  105 , band  101  may be premade into a temporary loop which has an adjustable size. The effect of the interaction between the edges of tongue  105  and hole  109  may be increased by including a slightly wider portion  113  in tongue  105 . A wristband which has been premade from band  101  is shown at  117 . The loop formed by the wristband has an outer surface  119  and an inner surface  121 . 
         [0023]    Hole portion  103  further includes information area  111 , which contains information that has been written or printed on band  101 , and adhesive attachment area  107 . Information area  111  and the adhesive of adhesive attachment area  107  are on opposite sides of band  101 ; in the top view of band  101  of  FIG. 1 , the adhesive is on the other side of the band  101 . When the wristband is finished, information area  111  will be on outer surface  119  of the loop. To give a wristband  117 , premade or otherwise, its proper size, one places the wristband on the patient&#39;s extremity and pulls tongue  105  through hole  109  until the proper fit is obtained. Then one attaches adhesive attachment area  107  to outer surface  119  of the loop. The attachment of adhesive attachment area  107  to outer surface  119  gives the loop a persistent size. How persistent the size is will of course depend on the application for which the wristband is intended. Once the adhesive attachment area is attached, the portion of tongue  105  which protrudes beyond hole  109  may be cut off. If tongue  105  is cut off where it emerges from hole  109 , the cut end will be retained by the edges of hole  109  and will not protrude above the outer surface of the wristband. In other versions, tongue  105  may include an adhesive attachment area at its end and the adhesive attachment area may be used to attach the end of tongue  106  to the outer surface of the loop. 
         [0024]    Many variations of band  101  are possible. Fundamental to all of them are that the size of the band is adjusted by pulling tongue portion  105  through hole  109  and that the band is given its permanent size by attaching an adhesive attachment area to the outer surface of the loop. The adhesive attachment area may be on hole portion  103 , as is the case with band  101 , it may be on tongue portion  105 , or there may be adhesive attachment areas on both hole portion  103  and tongue portion  105 . The adhesive attachment areas may also include tabs which can be bent over and attached to the inner surface of the loop. The information area may be on hole portion  103 , as in band  101 , or on tongue  105 . 
         [0000]    Exemplary versions of band  101 :  FIG. 2   
         [0025]      FIG. 2  shows versions  101 ( a ) through  101 ( g ) of a band  101 . In all of these versions, there are two adhesive attachment areas: adhesive attachment area  107  on hole portion  103  and adhesive attachment area  203  at the end of tongue  105 . In all of these versions, information area  111  is on tongue  105 . As with band  101 , information area  111  and the adhesive belonging to the adhesive attachment areas are on opposite sides of the band. Other variations include adhesive attachment areas with tabs as shown at  205  and  207  and different forms of hole  109 , including a curved slit  205 . An important consideration in the selection of a shape for hole  109  is that the shape is one which does not tend to serve as a starting point for tears in the material from which the band is made. For cross laminated polyethylene and polyester films, the circle is such a shape. 
         [0000]    An exemplary use of band  101 :  FIG. 3   
         [0026]    A use of band  101  which illustrates the value of being able to premake the loop is shown in  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  is used to train nurses in the use of band  101  with newborn babies. To prevent mistakes in identifying the babies, the newborn must receive its identification wristband immediately after birth, before the newborn has been washed. At this point, the newborn is slippery and hard to handle. The figure shows the procedure  301  for placing the identification wristband on the baby. First, the band is printed ( 303 ). Then it is premade by placing tongue  105  through hole  109  and set aside ( 305 ). When the baby is born, the premade wristband is placed over the baby&#39;s wrist or ankle ( 305 ). Then the tongue is grasped and pulled to tighten the wristband to its permanent size ( 307 ). Next, adhesive attachment area  107  is attached to the band ( 309 ). Finally, tongue  105  is trimmed off at hole  109  ( 311 ). 
         [0000]    A business form containing an array of bands  101 :  FIGS. 4 and 5   
         [0027]    Bands  101  may be distributed as printable business forms.  FIG. 4  shows such a business form  401  that contains two bands  101  and a label  403 . The bands and the label  403  will be printed with identification information that relates the label and the band. Business form  401  is made up of two layers: a layer of the material from which the bands are made and a release layer. The bands and the label have been diecut in the layer of material and adhesive has been applied to the bands&#39; adhesive layers. The release layer is coated with a substance that the adhesive does not attach to. The printer on which business form  401  is printed is set up to print identification information on the proper areas of the bands. When the band is used, it is separated from the form along the diecut lines. 
         [0028]      FIG. 5  shows the kinds of identification information that is typically placed on the bands.  FIG. 5  is a maternity business form that has two adult bands  503  and  505  for the parent(s) of the child, two newborn bands  507  for the child, and a label  509  which can serve to identify the child&#39;s crib. All of the wristbands have the name, picture, and barcode for the person identified by the wristband. Band  503  for the mother further includes a picture of the baby and the baby&#39;s name and barcode. Other information includes the responsible doctor and medical warnings. 
       Conclusion 
       [0029]    The foregoing Detailed Description has disclosed to those skilled in the technologies to which Applicant&#39;s techniques pertain how to make and use bands embodying Applicant&#39;s techniques and has further disclosed the best mode presently known to the inventor of making and using bands according to his techniques. As will be immediately apparent to those skilled in the relevant technologies, countless other embodiments may be made that employ the techniques disclosed herein. Bands having the hole portion, tongue portion, and adhesive on one or the other or both of the portions can be made of any sheet material. The longer the tongue portion relative to the hole portion, the greater the range of sizes that the loop made from the band may have. Any technique which permits the tongue portion to engage the hole portion may be used to temporarily make the bands into loops. For example, the end of the tongue portion may have an easy release adhesive such as that used on Post-it® notes. If the sheet material has approximately the stiffness of paper, it becomes easier to pass the tongue through the hole. Material of such stiffness also permits hole engagement techniques in which the stiffness of the material causes the edges of the tongue to engage the edges of the hole. The hole may have any shape that is resistant to tearing in the kind of sheet material employed in the bands. The kinds of sheet materials used and other details of other embodiments will depend primarily on the purposes for which the bands are to be used. For all of the foregoing reasons, the Detailed Description is to be regarded as being in all respects exemplary and not restrictive, and the breadth of the invention disclosed herein is to be determined not from the Detailed Description, but rather from the claims as interpreted with the full breadth permitted by the patent laws.