Abstract:
A self-adhesive stencil tape having a backing layer and a residue-less adhesive applied thereon. The tape has cut-away portions of the backing layer forming a repeatable pattern for continuous application on a surface.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to an adhesive tape for applying a decorative pattern or design to a particular surface.  
         [0002]     Stencils may consist of separate portions of a design configuration on a die cut plastic sheet or other semi rigid backing held in place with masking tape or spray adhesive, used for applying a particular design to a surface. If an adhesive is not applied to the stencil, the stencil must be held in position manually so that paint can be applied. However, these stencils provide a limited length of a pattern. If a repeating pattern is desired, individual sections of an existing pattern must be reapplied and realigned to an existing pattern. In other words, a user that desires to apply a design pattern, for example, along the border of an interior room must reapply a stencil along the border repeatedly.  
         [0003]     Existing stencils usually only provide a limited length (e.g. 2-3 feet), thereby forcing a user to realign each section of the pattern to complete the border. A drawback associated with these devices, is that with intricate designs it is difficult to align each section of a pattern accurately enough such that the design appears repetitive and continuous. Another drawback with existing stencils is that when paint is applied between stencil sections, a line appears at the joint area between the sections. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved stencil configured for repeatability of a particular design in a self-adhesive roll to accommodate proper alignment on an application surface to reduce labor and provide ease of use. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0004]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a stencil tape in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0005]      FIG. 2  illustrates a cross sectional view of the stencil tape  10  along edge  15  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0006]     Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals are used to indicate the same or similar elements,  FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of stencil tape  10  in roll form. Tape  10  includes a first longitudinal edge  15  and a second longitudinal edge  20 , each running the length of tape  10  from a first end  25 . A decorative pattern  30  is illustrated, by way of example, as a repeatable flower design. The selected design pattern repeats throughout the length of tape  10 . The width of tape  10 , the distance between edge  15  and edge  20  is adaptable to the size of a border or stencil to be applied to a particular surface. Similarly, because the tape is in roll form using a pressure sensitive adhesive, various lengths may be employed simply by tearing or cutting tape  10 .  
         [0007]     Pattern  30  may include a plurality of cut out portions  35 - 40  that comprise a particular pattern or design. Each cut-out portion comprises a removed area of adhesive and flexible backing portion as described below. The cut-out portions  35 - 40  expose the top surface  55  to application of paint or other finishing material and the combination of the cut-out portions provide the pattern or design.  
         [0008]     A pattern or design is repeatable and continuous within tape roll  10 . The tape roll may correspond to typical room sizes such as, for example, 12′×9′, 12′×12′, etc. with a certain percentage of additional tape to accommodate for mistakes and/or scrap during the application process. This provides for easy transition at wall corners, door or window jams, etc. in that, for example, the tape pattern continues around a corner avoiding the requirement of cutting or tearing tape  10  and realigning the design pattern for continuation on an adjacent wall or opposite side of a wall or door jam. In this manner, the stencil tape in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention allows for a repeatable and continuous pattern or design to be applied to a wall or other surface.  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  illustrates a cross sectional view of the stencil tape  10  along edge  15  which includes a flexible backing layer  220 , pressure sensitive adhesive layer  200 , and release liner layer  210 . Backing layer  220  may be comprised of polymer films, non-wovens, etc. Cut-out portions  35  and  36  are shown by way of example to illustrate that the adhesive layer  200  and flexible backing layer  220  are removed to correspond to a particular design configuration. Release liner  210  may be comprised of paper or film material that adheres to adhesive layer  200  at bottom surface  50 , but when removed, is configured to avoid stripping adhesive away from backing layer  220 . In addition, release layer  210  is contiguous with cut-out portions  35  and  36 , however layer  210  does not have cut-out portions corresponding to  35  and  36  thereby providing ease of application of tape  10  to an application surface. Adhesive layer  200  is a pressure sensitive residue-less natural or synthetic adhesive such as natural rubber or acrylic that forms a temporary bond between the surface and the flexible backing layer  220 . The adhesive is residue-less so that once the stencil tape is removed from the surface after painting, adhesive residue does not remain on the surface to compromise surface finishing around the design or pattern. Once tape  10  is positioned on a surface, paint, varnish or other finishing application is applied over the tape. Once this finishing application is sufficiently dry, tape  10  is removed and the stencil design remains on the wall or surface.  
         [0010]     It is important to note that to those skilled in the art, changes could be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope of the invention. It should be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but is intended to cover all modifications which are within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.