Abstract:
Embodiments of the disclosed inventive adhesive notepad are adapted to contain any sheet of paper can be removed from the notepad without the need to remove other sheets. Embodiments of sheets of the disclosed notepad include a pressure sensitive adhesive attached at different positions on each sheet allowing for removal of a single sheet of paper from the notepad in various ways.

Description:
[0001]     The present invention claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/590,438 filed on Jul. 23, 2004, which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY  
       [0002]     This invention generally relates to paper that is provided in the form of a note pad having adhesively and integrally attached sheets, and enabling individual sheets to be separated from the pad as desired.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     Removable adhesive note pads are known in the prior art. For example, the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (“3M”) of St. Paul, Minn., markets a pad, having a pressure-sensitive adhesive. The 3M pad is commercially known under the trademark “POST-IT.” The “POST-IT” note pad article and other generic self-stick removable note pads of a paper type allow for the removal of a top sheet of paper of the note pad; however, removal of intermediary sheets of the note pad are not possible without significantly ruining the adhesive pad. If the intermediary sheets are used and separated from the pad of sheets, all of the sheets existing above the intermediary sheet that are removed from the pad cause the entire pad to become separated into multiple parts, hence the original note pad becomes two or more separate pads. Eventually, if it is necessary to continue using intermediary sheets of paper, what was once a single pad will become multiple pads, some of which can become wrinkled, dirty and unusable on areas including the adhesive area. Keeping the note pads intact as one single pad will eliminate waste and deterioration of the sheets of the pad.  
         [0004]     These disadvantages and drawbacks in the use of known self-stick removable note pads is universally observed and encountered. It is during or after this process that people often encounter disappointment or even frustration as they manage to remove an intermediary sheet of paper from the pad after finishing their writing and then attempt to re-join the two separate pads only to find that the adhesive is no longer strong enough to maintain the integrity of the pad. The prior art has not attempted to overcome this problem; in fact, the problem seems to be one of first impression as users of removable adhesive pads have been content to remove intermediary sheets of paper from a pad by separating the pad in two and then rejoining the pads.  
         [0005]     Therefore, known adhesive pads are not entirely satisfactory. There is a need in the art for self-stick note pads that readily permit the user to easily remove an intermediary sheet of paper from the pad without disturbing the integrity of the pad.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF ASPECTS OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     An embodiment of the inventive note pad includes a plurality of sheets of paper bound by a backing layer, a plurality of holes disposed at a distance from a first edge of each of the plurality of sheets of paper; the plurality of sheets of paper including a pressure sensitive adhesive strip disposed on one side of each sheet of paper and at a predetermined distance from the first edge of the plurality of sheets of paper and having a degree of tackiness. The adhesive strip extends from a first side edge of each of the plurality of sheets of paper to a second side edge of the sheet of paper. The adhesive strip further has a width that is less than half of the width of each of the plurality of sheets of paper. In this embodiment, the adhesive strip is not the primary binder of the plurality of sheets of paper. However, the adhesive strip can be a secondary binder of the sheets of paper. The note pad can have any number of shapes, e.g. square, rectangular, triangular, polygonal, octagonal, hexagonal, round, etc.  
         [0007]     A further embodiment of the inventive note pad includes a plurality of sheets of paper bound by a backing, a plurality of holes disposed at a distance from a first edge of each of the sheets of paper, and a pressure sensitive adhesive strip disposed on one side of each sheet of paper. The adhesive strip is positioned at a predetermined distance from a second edge of the sheet of paper and has a degree of tackiness. The adhesive strip extends from a first side edge of the sheet of paper to a second side edge of the sheet of paper and further has a width that is less than half of the width of the sheet of paper.  
         [0008]     Yet a further embodiment of the notepad includes a plurality of sheets of paper bound by a backing; a plurality of holes disposed at a distance from a first edge of each of the plurality of sheets of paper, and an adhesive. The adhesive strip extends from a first side edge of the sheets of paper to a second side edge of the sheets of paper. The adhesive strip further has a width that is less than half of the width of the plurality of sheets of paper and is disposed on at least the first side edge of at least one of the plurality of sheets of paper.  
         [0009]     Still another embodiment of the notepad can include a second adhesive strip disposed on a second edge of at least one of a plurality of sheets of paper. The second adhesive strip can be positioned on a second edge of the plurality of sheets of paper that is opposite the first edge (in a square pad for example), or on an edge that is disposed at a position that is in a location other than the position of the first adhesive strip.  
         [0010]     The holes in the sheets of paper are perforations of the note pad and allow for ease of separation within any portion of the note pad while preventing separation of the note pad into multiple portions. Additionally, a portion of each sheet above the perforated line will identify the use of each sheet and to whom it might have been sent/posted. The note pads may be available in various sizes and colors and the perforations may be available in various shapes such as squares, multi-pointed stars, triangles, circles, trapezoids, crosses, parallelograms, and other geometric shapes.  
         [0011]     The note pad can have a plurality of sheets glued together at an edge with adhesive. The top portion (writing surface) of each sheet may allow for identification of the recipient and the subject. Under the recipient and subject line is a perforated line where the sheet(s) can be separated from the pad. A portion of the backside of the sheet (below the perforation) has adhesive that allows for the sheet to adhere to other surfaces once the sheet is separated from the note pad. The bottom portion located on the same side as the adhesive may also be used as a writing surface.  
         [0012]     There are other alternative or preferred features or aspects. They will become apparent as this specification proceeds. In this regard, this Brief Summary of Aspects of the Invention is not to be construed as itself limiting of the invention or various aspects of the invention or its preferred embodiments or as requiring that a given embodiment of the invention must include all features or advantages recited herein. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a pad of perforated adhesive labels.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a view of a backside of an embodiment of a single adhesive label.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a view of a backside of an embodiment of a single adhesive label.  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a pad of perforated adhesive labels with a single interior sheet emphasized.  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is a view of a backside of an embodiment of a single adhesive label.  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a view of a backside of an embodiment of a single adhesive label.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]     Referring first to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an embodiment of the inventive adhesive pad is generally depicted as a pad  10  having a plurality of perforated adhesive sheets  12 . A line  20  of perforations  30  is positioned on the pad  10  in a manner that allows a person to easily remove a single perforated sheet  12  from the pad  10 . An adhesive  50  is located on a spine  40  of the plurality of sheets  12 . The spine is unnecessary in this embodiment, but can be used to further secure each of the plurality of sheets  12  in pad  10 . Although the perforations  30  are shown here in a straight horizontal line with respect to the edge of the sheet, it is contemplated that lines having other shapes such as wavy and zigzag, and orientations such as diagonal, skewed, and horizontal in combination with vertical (for a two-sided note pad) can be used.  
         [0020]     In this embodiment, a tacky or pressure sensitive adhesive  52  is located on a bottom surface  14  of each of the plurality of sheets  12  near a bottom edge  62  of the pad  10 . To facilitate removal of a single adhesive sheet  64  from the pad  10 , the adhesive  52  is located on a bottom edge  52  of the pad  10  that is opposite a top edge  66 . As such, the sheet  64  can be removed from the middle or any location including the top or bottom of the pad  10  by separating the single sheet  64  from the plurality of sheets  12 , as shown generally in  FIG. 4 , by tearing the sheet  64  out of the pad  10  at the line  20  of perforations  30 . The adhesive sheet  64  can then be applied to any surface.  
         [0021]     As shown in  FIG. 4 , a second embodiment can be characterized by a tacky or pressure sensitive adhesive  102  being located on a bottom surface  114  of each sheet  122  of an adhesive pad (not shown) adjacent or near a line  104  of perforations  106  on a middle section  108  of each sheet  122 . In this second embodiment, the sheets are generally bound on a first end  116  by a spine as in the first embodiment. The tacky adhesive  102  is positioned on each sheet  122  such that if a sheet  122  is removed from the pad, it will contain adhesive along an edge  120  thereof. As such, a single sheet  122  can be removed from the pad by separating the single sheet  122  from the other sheets by tearing the sheet  122  out of the pad at the line  104  of perforations  106 . The sheet  122  can then be applied to a surface of an object.  
         [0022]     As shown further in  FIG. 4 , to remove the sheet  64  from a location in the pad other than where the top sheet is located, a user must lift upper sheets  70  from the sheet  64  desired to be removed and then lift the desired sheet  64  from lower sheets  72 . The adhesive  52  (not shown in  FIG. 4 ) on the sheet  64  will readily allow the sheet  64  to release from the lower sheets  72 . Then, a person must simply pull on a bottom end  54  (shown only in  FIG. 4 ) of the sheet  64  with a sufficient amount of force such that the sheet  64  releases from the spine  40 . The pad  10  is left in tact for further use and the sheet  64  can be applied to any surface. This method of removing a sheet is generally applicable to all of the embodiments of the present invention.  
         [0023]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , a third embodiment can be characterized by a tacky adhesive  202  being located on a bottom surface  212  of a sheet  204  such that a line  206  of perforations  208  is completely surrounded by the tacky adhesive  202 . The tacky adhesive  202  is positioned on the sheet  204  such that if the sheet  204  is removed from the pad (not shown), it will contain adhesive along a top edge  210  thereof. As such, single sheet  204  can be removed from the middle of the pad by separating the single sheet from the other sheets as generally shown in  FIG. 4  with respect to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this third embodiment, a spine is not necessary, as the tacky adhesive maintains the integrity of the pad of adhesive sheets. The sheet  204  can then be applied to any surface.  
         [0024]     As shown in  FIG. 6 , a fourth embodiment of the present invention can be characterized by a first tacky or pressure sensitive adhesive  302  being located on a top edge  304  of a bottom surface  306  of a sheet  308  in multiple locations such that a line  310  of perforations  312  is completely surrounded by the first tacky adhesive  302  and such that a second tacky adhesive  314  is on a bottom edge  316  opposite the top edge  304 . The first and second tacky adhesives  302  and  314  are positioned on the sheet  308  such that if the sheet  308  is removed from a pad (not shown), the sheet  308  will contain adhesive along both edges  304  and  316  thereof. As such, a single sheet can be removed from the middle of the pad by separating the single sheet from the other sheets, as shown generally in  FIG. 3  with respect to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this fourth embodiment, a spine is not necessary, as the tacky adhesive  302  maintains the integrity of the pad of adhesive sheets. The sheet  308  can then be applied to a surface of an object.