Patent Publication Number: US-2004043192-A1

Title: Wrapper for a floral grouping formed of a sheet of material having a contoured configuration

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
     [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 10/218,341, filed Aug. 12, 2002; which is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 09/760,689, filed Jan. 16, 2001, now abandoned, the contents of which are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/298,014, filed Nov. 14, 2002; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/736,747, filed Dec. 14, 2000, now abandoned; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/076,231, filed May 12, 1998, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/717,791, filed Sep. 23, 1996, now abandoned; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/438,818, filed May 11, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,882, issued Sep. 24, 1996; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 07/923,202, filed Oct. 13, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,862, issued Jan. 28, 1997; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 07/803,318, filed Dec. 4, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,016, issued Sep. 6, 1994; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 07/707,417, filed May 28, 1991, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 07/502,358, filed Mar. 29, 1990, now abandoned; the contents of each of which are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OF DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002] Not Applicable.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003] The present invention relates to methods of wrapping a floral grouping with a wrapper and, in particular, but not limited to, methods of wrapping a floral grouping with a wrapper formed of a sheet of material having a configuration contoured to approximate the configuration of the floral grouping.  
       [0004] In the past, waxed tissue for wrapping floral bouquets has been sold wherein the waxed tissue was square or rectangular shaped, and upon wrapping such waxed tissue about the floral grouping, such as a bouquet of real or artificial cut flowers, portions of the material were overlapped so that the waxed tissue could be secured in a position about the floral grouping. Such waxed tissue has also been sold on rolls wherein rectangular or square sheets of material can be removed from the rolls for wrapping about floral groupings. However, such methods of wrapping floral groupings with square or rectangular sheets of material results in excess material being incorporated in the wrapper due to the overlapping portions of material in the wrapper, and therefore a need exists in the art to provide sheets of material for wrapping floral groupings which are more cost efficient and less bulky, thereby providing a more attractive and desirable wrapper for a floral grouping. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0005]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet of material constructed in accordance with the present invention, the sheet of material having one corner turned upwardly to show a lower surface thereof.  
     [0006]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a sheet of material constructed in accordance with the present invention, the sheet of material having one corner turned upwardly to show a lower surface thereof.  
     [0007]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of a sheet of material constructed in accordance with the present invention.  
     [0008]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the sheet of material of FIG. 3 having a floral grouping disposed thereon.  
     [0009]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the sheet of material and floral grouping of FIG. 4, wherein the sheet of material is being wrapped about the floral grouping.  
     [0010]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a wrapper for the floral grouping formed from the sheet of material of FIG. 4. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
     [0011] The present invention relates to sheets of material which may be employed to wrap floral groupings which avoid the defects and disadvantages of the prior art. The sheets of material of the present invention are provided with a contoured configuration which approximates the configuration of the floral grouping to be wrapped therein, thereby reducing the amount of material required to produce the wrapper and providing a more cost efficient and less bulky wrapper for floral groupings.  
     [0012] Turning now to the Drawings, shown in FIG. 1 is a sheet of material  10  constructed in accordance with the present invention. The sheet of material  10  has an upper surface  12 , a lower surface  14 , a first side  16 , a second side  18 , a third side  20  and a fourth side  22 . The sheet of material  10  is provided with a substantially trapezoidal configuration, that is, the first and second sides  16  and  18  of the sheet of material  10  are substantially parallel whereas the third and fourth sides  20  and  22  of the sheet of material  10  are not parallel.  
     [0013] The sheet of material  10  may be constructed of any flexible material which can function as described herein in accordance with the present invention. Preferably, the sheet of material  10  is constructed of waxed tissue. However, the sheet of material  10  may be constructed of a tissue substitute, such as a polymeric film provided with a texture and/or appearance simulating the texture and/or appearance of waxed tissue. The sheet of material  10  may also be constructed of a non-waxed tissue.  
     [0014] Any thickness or stiffness of the sheet of material  10  may be utilized in accordance with the present invention as long as the sheet of material  10  is flexible and may be wrapped about at least a portion of a floral grouping, as described herein. Generally, the sheet of material  10  will have a thickness in a range of from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mil, and desirably in a range of from about 0.2 mil to about 10 mil.  
     [0015] The term “polymer film” when used herein refers to a synthetic polymer such as a polypropylene or polyethylene or a naturally occurring polymer such as cellophane. A polymer film is relatively strong and not as subject to tearing (substantially non-tearable), as might be the case with tissue.  
     [0016] The sheet of material  10  may vary in color. Further, the sheet of material  10  may be provided with decorative patterns or designs which are printed, etched, and/or embossed on at least a portion of one of the upper and lower surfaces  12  and  14  thereof. In addition, the sheet of material  10  may have various colorings, coatings, flocking and/or metallic finishes applied separately or simultaneously, or the sheet of material  10  may be characterized totally or partially by pearlescent, opaque, translucent, transparent, tinted, iridescent or the like qualities. Each of the above-named characteristics may occur alone or in combination. Moreover, each of the upper and lower surfaces  12  and  14  of the sheet of material  10  may vary in the combination of such characteristics. Further, one of the above-named characteristics may occur on only a portion of one of the upper and lower surfaces  12  and  14  of the sheet of material  10 . For example, a lower portion of the sheet of material  10  may be provided with a printed pattern thereon while an upper portion of the sheet of material  10  may be transparent such that a bloom portion of a floral grouping disposed in a wrapper formed from the sheet of material  10  may be visible through the wrapper.  
     [0017] The sheet of material  10  has a length  24  extending generally between the first side  16  and the second side  18 , respectively, sufficiently sized whereby the sheet of material  10  can be wrapped about and encompass a substantial portion of a floral grouping. The first side  16  of the sheet of material  10  has a width  26  extending generally between the third side  20  and the fourth side  22 , while the second side  18  of the sheet of material  10  has a width  28  extending generally between the third side  20  and the fourth side  22  of the sheet of material  10 . The width  26  of the first side  16  of the sheet of material  10  is substantially larger than the width  28  of the second side  18  of the sheet of material  10 , and therefore the sheet of material  10  is tapered downwardly from the first side  16  to the second side  18  thereof to provide the sheet of material  10  with a substantially trapezoidal configuration. The width  26  of the first side  16  of the sheet of material  10  is sufficiently sized whereby an upper portion of the sheet of material  10  extends over a substantial portion of a bloom portion of a floral grouping when the sheet of material  10  has been wrapped about the floral grouping in accordance with the present invention, as described in detail herein below, whereas the width  28  of the second side  18  of the sheet of material  10  is sufficiently sized whereby a lower portion of the sheet of material  10  extends over a substantial portion of a stem portion of a floral grouping when the sheet of material  10  has been wrapped about the floral grouping in accordance with the present invention, as described in detail herein below.  
     [0018] Shown in FIG. 2 is a sheet of material  10   a  which is similar to the sheet of material  10  shown in FIG. 1, except that a first side  16   a  of the sheet of material  10   a  is provided with a non-linear configuration, i.e., a scalloped configuration, whereas the first side  16  of the sheet of material  10  of FIG. 1 is provided with a linear configuration substantially as shown. While the first sides  16  and  16   a  of the sheets of material  10  and  10   a  are illustrated as having linear and non-linear configurations, respectively, it will be understood that the ends of the sheets of material of the present invention may be provided with other configurations, such as curved configurations, ornamental or non-ornamental configurations, geometrical, non-geometrical, asymmetrical or fanciful configurations. Further, it will be understood that any of the sides of the sheets of material  10  or  10   a  may be provided with such decorative configurations, either alone or in combination.  
     [0019] Shown in FIGS.  3 - 5  is another embodiment of a sheet of material designated therein by the reference numeral  30 . The sheet of material  30  is similar to the sheet of material  10  described herein before with reference to FIG. 1, except as described herein below. The sheet of material  30  is provided with an upper surface  32 , a lower surface  34  (FIG. 5), a first side  36 , a second side  38 , a third side  40  and a fourth side  42 . The sheet of material  30  is provided with a substantially triangular configuration. The first and second sides  36  and  38  thereof are provided with a substantially curved configuration, wherein the configuration of the first side  36  is substantially convex and the configuration of the second side  38  is substantially concave. However, it is to be understood that the configuration of the first side  36  may be substantially concave and the configuration of the second side  38  may be substantially convex, or the configurations of the first and second sides  36  and  38  may both be substantially concave or substantially convex.  
     [0020] The sheet of material  30  is further provided with a bonding material  44  disposed on at least a portion of one of the upper surface  32  and the lower surface  34  thereof. For example, the bonding material  44  is illustrated in FIGS.  3 - 5  as being in the form of a strip of bonding material  44  which is disposed on a portion of the upper surface  32  of the sheet of material  30  substantially adjacent the fourth side  42  thereof and extending between the first and second sides  36  and  38  of the sheet of material  30 . However, the bonding material  44  may be disposed as spots or in any other geometric, non-geometric, asymmetric, or fanciful form, and in any pattern including covering either the entire upper surface  32  and/or the entire lower surface  34  of the sheet of material  30 . The bonding material  44  may be covered by a cover or release strip which can be removed prior to the use of the sheet of material  30 . The bonding material  44  can be applied by methods known to those of ordinary skill in their art. One method for disposing a bonding material, in this case an adhesive, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,637, which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.  
     [0021] The term “bonding material” when used herein can include an adhesive, frequently a pressure sensitive adhesive, a cohesive or any adhesive/cohesive combination having adhesive qualities (i.e., qualities of adhesion or adhesion/cohesion, respectively) sufficient to cause the attachment of a portion of the sheet of material  10  to itself or to a portion of a floral grouping. It will be appreciated that both adhesives and cohesives are known in the art, and both are commercially available. When the bonding material  44  is a cohesive, a similar cohesive material must be placed on the opposite surface of the sheet of material  30  for bondingly contacting and bondingly engaging with the cohesive material. Other types of bonding materials are known in the art, and it will be understood that different types of bonding materials not described herein which are known to a person of ordinary skill in the art may be employed in the present invention.  
     [0022] The term “bonding material” when used herein also includes any type of material or thing which can be used to effect the bonding or connecting of the two adjacent portions of the material or sheet of material to effect the connection or bonding described herein. The term “bonding material” may also include ties, labels, bands, ribbons, strings, tapes (including single or double-sided adhesive tapes), staples or combinations thereof.  
     [0023] While only the sheet of material  30  is described and illustrated herein as having a bonding material disposed thereon, it will be understood that any of the sheets of material described herein may be provided with a bonding material disposed thereon in a similar manner, and that such sheets of material having a bonding material disposed thereon may be employed to wrap a floral grouping as described in detail herein below. It will also be understood that the sheet of material  30  may be free of a bonding material.  
     [0024] Shown in FIGS.  4 - 6  is a method of use of one of the sheets of material of the present invention to wrap a floral grouping. While the method will be described in detail with reference to the sheet of material  30 , it will be understood that the sheets of material  10  and  10   a  or any other sheets of material described herein may be utilized to wrap a floral grouping in a substantially similar manner, and therefore the invention is not limited to the embodiment shown in FIGS.  4 - 6 .  
     [0025] As illustrated in FIG. 4, a floral grouping  50  is disposed on the upper surface  32  of the sheet of material  30 . The floral grouping  50  comprises a bloom portion  52  and a stem portion  54 . The floral grouping  50  is disposed on the sheet of material  30  such that the bloom portion  52  of the floral grouping  50 , which is substantially wider than the stem portion  54  of the floral grouping, is substantially adjacent the portion of the sheet of material  30  having the greatest width, that is, a portion of the bloom portion  52  is disposed substantially adjacent the first side  36  of the sheet of material  30 , whereas a portion of the stem portion  54  is disposed substantially adjacent the second side  38  of the sheet of material  30 .  
     [0026] The sheet of material  30  is wrapped about the floral grouping  50  by any method known in the art. For example, as shown in FIGS.  4 - 6 , the third side  40  of the sheet of material  30  may be placed over the floral grouping  50  as shown in FIG. 5. Then the sheet of material  30  and the floral grouping  50  may be rolled in a direction toward the fourth side  42  until the upper surface  32  of the sheet of material  30  adjacent the fourth side  42  engages the lower surface  34  of the sheet of material  30  such that the bonding material  44  bondingly connects the upper and lower surfaces  32  and  34  of the sheet of material  30 , thereby forming a decorative wrapper  60  for the floral grouping  50 , substantially as shown in FIG. 6. The decorative wrapper  60  substantially encompasses and surrounds a substantial portion of the floral grouping  50 .  
     [0027] In an optional method of wrapping the sheet of material  30  about the floral grouping  50 , following the placement of the third side  40  of the sheet of material  30  over the floral grouping  50  as shown in FIG. 5, the fourth side  42  of the sheet of material  30  may also be brought up and placed over the floral grouping  50  as well as the third side  40  of the sheet of material  30  until the upper surface  32  of the sheet of material  30  adjacent the fourth side  42  engages the lower surface  34  of the sheet of material  30  such that the bonding material  44  bondingly connects the upper and lower surfaces  32  and  34  of the sheet of material  30 , thereby forming the decorative wrapper  60  which substantially surrounds and encompasses the floral grouping  50  as shown in FIG. 6.  
     [0028] The decorative wrapper  60  has an open upper end  62  and a lower end  64 . The bloom portion  52  of the floral grouping  50  is disposed substantially adjacent the open upper end  62  of the decorative wrapper  60  and the stem portion  54  of the floral grouping  50  is disposed substantially adjacent the lower end  64  of the decorative wrapper  60 . The lower end  64  of the decorative wrapper  60  may be closed such that the stem portion  54  of the floral grouping  50  is maintained in the decorative wrapper  60  and is not exposed beyond the lower end  64  of the decorative wrapper  60 .  
     [0029] The decorative wrapper  60  is provided with a substantially conical configuration, i.e., the decorative wrapper  60  is tapered downwardly from the open upper end  62  thereof to a substantially smaller diameter at the lower end  64  thereof. In this fashion, the decorative wrapper  60  is contoured to approximate the configuration of the floral grouping  50 , that is, the decorative wrapper  60  is provided with a larger diameter at the open upper end  62  thereof so that such diameter closely approximates the size of the bloom portion  52  of the floral grouping  50  disposed therein, while the decorative wrapper  60  is provided with a substantially smaller diameter at the lower end  54  thereof so that such diameter closely approximates the size of the stem portion  54  of the floral grouping  50  disposed therein. By forming the decorative wrapper  60  in this manner, a smaller amount of material is required to form the sheet of material  30  than the square or rectangular sheets of the prior art, thereby providing a more cost efficient method of forming a decorative wrapper  60  as well as providing a decorative wrapper  60  containing less bulk of material by minimizing the amount of overlapping material.  
     [0030] As stated herein before, a decorative wrapper substantially similar to and formed in a similar manner as the decorative wrapper  60  described herein before with reference to FIGS.  4 - 6  may be formed from either of the sheets of material  10  or  10   a  or any other sheets of material described herein. While the configurations may vary somewhat depending on the specific configuration and contour of the sheet of material, such decorative wrappers will also be provided with a contoured configuration which approximates the configuration of the floral grouping  50 , and such decorative wrappers will also be provided with an open upper end disposed substantially adjacent the bloom portion  52  of the floral grouping  50  and a lower end disposed substantially adjacent the stem portion  54  of the floral grouping  50 . For example, a decorative wrapper formed from one of the sheets of material  10  or  10   a  will have a substantially frusto-conical configuration which approximates the configuration of the floral grouping  50 . When the decorative wrapper is formed from the sheet of material  10 , the upper end of such decorative wrapper will be substantially linear, whereas the upper end of a decorative wrapper formed from the sheet of material  10   a  will be provided with a scalloped configuration which provides a decorative appearance upon disposing the upper end of the decorative wrapper substantially adjacent to the bloom portion  52  of the floral grouping. In a further alternative, a sheet of material may be utilized which is substantially similar to the sheets of material  10  and  10   a , except that the sheet of material is provided with a curved upper end similar to the curved configuration of the first side  36  of the sheet of material  30  as shown in FIG. 3. When a decorative wrapper is formed from such sheet of material, an upper end thereof will be substantially linear in three-dimensions. Further, a sheet of material may be employed which is provided with other ornamental shapings on an upper end thereof such that a decorative wrapper formed therefrom is provided with an upper end having a decorative ornamental appearance.  
     [0031] Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of the various components, elements and assemblies described herein or in the steps or the sequence of steps of the methods described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.