Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/685,529, filed Oct. 16, 2003, now abandoned. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to a flexible adhesive fastener for filing papers, introduced in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,169,254, dated Dec. 8, 1992, and my U.S. Pat. No. 6,447,196, dated Sep. 10, 2002. 
   A group of relatively small superposed and flexible adhesive fasteners are mounted in a flap-like manner, along the central top edge of a file folder panel. A strip of contact adhesive on each one of the adhesive fasteners engages the upper section of a paper to be filed. 
   This method of mounting papers in a file folder avoids the need to punch holes in the papers. A paper is filed more quickly. There is no need for use of a two-hole punch. Any one paper alone can be removed from the file without disturbing any other file papers. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The prior adhesive fasteners were two-hole punched and placed on the prongs on a conventional paper file folder prong fastener. The adhesive fasteners are rectangular, paper-thin plastic pieces. Each of the adhesive fastener pieces have a longitudinally extending commercially available contact adhesive tape. The tape has a permanent type contact adhesive which holds the tape to the adhesive fastener surface. The other lower surface of the tape has a medium tack contact adhesive which engages a paper to be filed. Previously, the medium tack contact adhesive surface was covered by a removable covering piece which was removed immediately prior to inserting the paper to be filed. 
   The medium tack adhesive provides sufficient strength to securely hold a paper in the file. The medium tack contact adhesive also permits a given adhesive fastener to be quickly peeled free of the file paper to which it is attached. Unlike a prong mounted file paper, a single adhesive fastener file paper alone can be removed individually from its adhesive fastener. None of the other papers in the file must be removed. 
   But the cost of the fasteners, dependence on a metal prong for support of the fasteners, difficulty in separating the adhesive fastener to be used, and removal of the small contact adhesive covering strip, prevented to wider use of the adhesive fastener. 
   The original adhesive fastener design has found a small niche market where the fasteners are used to file papers that should not be two hole punched. The adhesive fasteners previously were mounted individually on conventional metal prongs. 
   With the realization that smaller adhesive fasteners could adequately hold papers, and that a packet of fasteners could adequately support a group of papers without relying on conventional metal prongs for support, other specialized uses, as well as the possibility of more acceptance for general filing were possible. 
   With a new product, convenience and utility factors must substantially outweigh the cost of its use. 
   This invention is directed to providing substantial improvement in convenience and use of an adhesive fastener, and lower fastener costs. 
   SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
   This invention provides an adhesive fastener assembly which will have greater general acceptance of adhesive fasteners for filing papers. It provides faster and easier adhesive fastener filing of papers than previously. There is no longer a need for a contact adhesive covering piece. Manufacturing the adhesive fastener packet of this invention is less expensive. The thin adhesive fastener packet can be used in both conventional file folders, and in thin, flat binders. 
   Papers are filed by merely pressing up the bottom edges of the file adhesive fasteners with a fingertip, and then inserting the paper to be filed. There is no need to remove and dispose of a contact adhesive covering piece. 
   The recognition that the last used adhesive fastener was anchored down by its file paper, and could be used as a separating and contact adhesive covering piece for the adjacent unattached adhesive fastener above it, is both the basis for the new adhesive fastener packet design and filing method. 
   Placement of a non-adherable surface on each adhesive fastener in alignment with the contact adhesive on the adjacent adhesive fastener permits successive adhesive fasteners above the last used adhesive fastener to immediately receive and engage the next paper to be filed. 
   The interaction of adjacent fasteners eliminates the need for a separate adhesive covering piece for the contact adhesive surface of each adhesive fastener. 
   Merely the upward fingertip flip of the adhesive fasteners above the last filed paper allows for immediate insertion of the next paper to be filed. There is no cover piece to be removed from the fastener contact adhesive. Removal and disposal of the contact covering piece had been a nuisance. 
   Additionally, the simplified construction of the adhesive packet assembly reduces costs. Material and production costs are important considerations for a product where the purchase price must be nominal. 
   The adhesive fastener assembly of this invention enables papers, brochures, and notes, to be slipped into place and also individually removed when desired. In this respect, the adhesive fastener assembly of this invention can provide a flat, thin binder, which is easier to use than conventional 3-metal ring binders currently on the market. 
   The fingertip engagement separation step for paper filing, and substantial reduction in expense for an adhesive fastener, will permit its entry into the general retail market. 
   These and other further advantages will become apparent from the following description of the invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a plan view of the adhesive fastener assembly mounted on the panel of a file folder. 
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged plan view of the adhesive fastener assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2  showing a side view of the mounted adhesive fastener assembly of  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional side view of the mounted adhesive fastener assembly similar to  FIG. 3  showing the initial step for inserting a file paper. 
       FIG. 5  is a side view of the adhesive fastener of the assembly similar to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , cross-sectional view showing a file paper being inserted. 
       FIG. 6  is a side view of the top adhesive fastener of  FIGS. 1 to 5 . 
       FIG. 7  is a side view of a modification of the adhesive fastener of  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the adhesive fastener assembly prior to installation on a mounting panel. 
       FIG. 9  is a plan view similar to  FIG. 2  showing an adhesive fastener assembly with another modification of the adhesive fastener. 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of a closed binder assembly having the adhesive fastener packet of this invention; 
       FIG. 11  is a plan view of the open adhesive fastener binder assembly of  FIG. 10 ; and 
       FIG. 12  is an enlarged cross sectional view along line  12 - 12  of  FIG. 11  showing the left panel paper pivoted to present its undersurface. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1  shows a two panel shelf type file folder  10 , having a covering panel  11  and a backing panel  12 . The panel  12  has an upper edge  14 . A file paper  16  is mounted on the backing panel as shown, in alignment with the backing panel  12 . The upper edge  17  of the file paper is only a small distance, about a quarter inch from the upper edge  14  of the panel  12 , and extends parallel to it. 
   The dotted outline  18  shows the adhesive fastener outline which would ordinarily be occupied by the previous adhesive fastener designs, which are mounted on conventional metal prongs. The adhesive fastener packet of this invention, generally indicated at  20 , is firmly attached to the backing panel  12  at its central section along the upper edge  14 . Significantly, it is half the length of the previous prong mounted adhesive fastener. 
   The new adhesive fastener packet  20 , permits the file paper  16  to be mounted within the confines of the panel without extending below the bottom edge of the adjacent panel  11 . The adhesive fastener packet is sufficiently strong to hold the papers firmly in position without permitting any skewing or misalignment. 
   The detailed construction and mounting arrangement of the adhesive fastener packet  20  is shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The adhesive fasteners are rectangular, paper thin plastic pieces, such as polypropylene, polyethylene or acetate film. They are of identical construction and are held together in superposed alignment at their top section. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the uppermost adhesive fastener  22  is identical in construction with the adhesive fastener pieces below it. It has a bottom finger engageable free section. A clear one quarter inch wide adhesive tape  23  extends across the undersurface of the lower free edge. The tape stiffens the section and enables the fingertip of the user to readily separate and to lift and separate the lower most fastener. 
   A strip of five-eighths inch wide non-adhereable tape  24  has a permanent contact adhesive on its lower surface adhered to the upper surface of the adhesive fastener  22 . The strip of tape  24  extends longitudinally across the central section of fastener  22 . The upper surface of the non-adhereable strip of tape  24  has a non-adhereable surface for example, a silicone coating to which contact adhesive will not adhere. 
   The open horizontal area  25  between the release tape  24  and the one quarter inch wide reinforcing tape strip  23  is slightly less than a quarter of an inch wide. It provides a flexible longitudinally extending composite-bending section  23 ,  25 . 
   A two-sided strip of contact adhesive tape  26  slightly more than one-eighth inch wide, is disposed on the undersurface of fastener  22  and is aligned with the non-adhereable strip of tape  24 . It has a permanent high tack adhesive (about 25 ounces) on its upper surface which is adhered to the undersurface of the fastening piece  22 . It is disposed immediately under and in alignment with the non-adhereable strip of tape  24  on the fastener upper surface. The contact adhesive tape undersurface has a contact adhesive coating  26   a  of medium tack adhesive. The medium tack contact adhesive is preferably in the range of approximately 8 to 16 ounces. 
   The strip of contact adhesive provides a long and narrow line of contact adhesive about one eighth of an inch wide. This line of contact adhesive  26   a  provides adequate adhesive capacity to prevent the file paper from either being pulled out of the file, or from peeling away from the adhesive fastener when the file papers are folded back over the top of the mounting panel  12 . However, when the adhesive fastener is pulled upwardly away from the surface, perpendicularly from the surface of the filed paper, to which the fastener is attached, the adhesive readily disengages, permitting the file paper to be removed. 
   When the identical adhesive fastener pieces are assembled and aligned above one another as a packet  20 , the contact adhesive layer  26   a  rests on, and is covered by the corresponding release surface of the adjacent adhesive fastener below it. 
   The intermediate section  28  between the non-adhereable strip of tape  24  and the top section  30  is approximately one-half inch wide, and provides a bendable hinge section. The adhesive fasteners are held together in a stack by double coated high tack one quarter inch wide tape  32 . The fasteners are stacked and aligned in superposed position as shown in  FIG. 3 . They are held together by the double coated adhesive strip of tape  32 . The lowermost of the double coated strips of tape  32  of the fastener packet engages a label  34 . Label  34  has a removable release liner (not shown) on its undersurface, which is removed prior to attachment of the packet to the panel  12 . 
     FIG. 3  is a side view of the packet  20 . The adhesive fastener immediate sections  28  are connected to the top section  30  and provide a hinge section for turning the file papers back over the top of the mounting panel  12 . The top section  30  of the fasteners are connected together by high tack double coated permanent adhesive tape  32 . The bottom tape  32  engages the label  34 , which fastens the entire packet  20  to the mounting panel  12 . It has a high tack permanent contact adhesive layer  35  for engaging the surface of the mounting panel  12 . Additionally, it has an extended section  38  which bends around the top edge  14  of panel  12  at  36  and under it as is shown at  38  so that the adhesive  39  can engage the surface of the bottom panel  12 . 
   The lower most adhesive fastener  42  has the free upwardly bendable section. The medium tack contact adhesive coating  46   a  of tape  46  is in engagement with the upper central section of the file paper  16 . The non-adhereable strip of tape  44  on adhesive fastener  42  is aligned with the contact adhesive tape  56  of fastener  52  ( FIG. 4 ). The adhesive coating  56   a  rests on the non-adhereable surface of the non-adhereable strip of tape  44 . The medium tack contact adhesive coating  56   a , although directly resting on the non-adhering surface of the strip of non-adhering tape  44 , will not adhere to the non-adhereable surface. This is true for each of the adhesive fasteners in the assembly. 
   There is no need for a covering strip on the medium tack adhesive strip of an adhesive fastener. When the fasteners are separated from each other to receive a file paper, the adhesive that is to engage the file paper is also immediately exposed and is ready to engage the surface of the file paper. See  FIG. 5 . 
   This arrangement eliminates the prior need for a separate cover piece for the contact adhesive. In this event, the contact adhesive is immediately exposed. 
   Previously, when the adhesive fastener to be used was bent upwardly to permit insertion of the file paper, it was necessary to remove the release tape covering strip which covered the contact adhesive coating. This invention recognizes if there is a packet of aligned fasteners, the release cover piece initially required, for the adhesive strip, can be eliminated. By aligning a release coating surface on the underlying adhesive fastener with the contact adhesive on the adhesive fastener above it, a cover piece for the contact adhesive surface is unnecessary. 
   This invention also recognizes that, for the user, the separation of the lowermost unattached fastener could be simplified. It was realized that the lower fastener, with the contact adhesive, is held down by the file paper to which it is attached. When the adhesive fastener above it is raised it provides space for insertion of the new paper to be filed. It also exposes its contact adhesive surface. It was subsequently recognized also that the free end section of the lower attached adhesive fastener could simply be bent up to bring about separation of these two fasteners, and exposure of contact attached adhesive in a simple push upward on the free end section of the lower adhesive fastener. 
     FIG. 4  illustrates the separation action. The adhesive fastener  42  is held down because of its attachment to the previously filed paper  16 . But all of the adhesive-fasteners above it are free to move upward. 
     FIGS. 4 and 5  illustrate the manner of adding a file paper. They show the steps involved in fastening a new paper  80  to the lower most unattached adhesive fastener  52 . A previously fastened paper  16  is shown connected to lowermost adhesive fastener  42 .  FIGS. 4 and 5  show the sequence of the lift and insert steps respectively in the installation of a file paper. Adhesive file fastening piece  42  and adhesive fastener  52  immediately above it are both of identical construction as adhesive fastener  22 , previously described. The corresponding parts of these two adhesive fastener pieces  42  and  52 , correspond to the numbered elements of adhesive fastener  22 . For example, the non-adhereable tape  24  of adhesive fastener  22  corresponds to the non-adhereable tape  44  of adhesive fastener  42 . Similarly non-adhereable tape  54  of the adhesive fastener  52  corresponds to tape  24  of adhesive fastener  22 . 
     FIG. 5  shows the situation after the adhesive fastener  52  is raised and separated from the adhesive fastener  42 . The contact adhesive surface  56   a  is immediately exposed for contacting the incoming file paper. 
   This construction avoids the need to reach under the raised adhesive fastener to remove the cover strip on the contact adhesive surface. The need to remove such a strip before the adhesive fastener could be affixed, was a major nuisance and drawback to general use of the previous type adhesive fastener. 
   It was an additional nuisance to dispose of the removed cover strip itself. The elimination of the need for removal of the cover strip is a major simplification for the user. 
   Further, the ordinary adhesive fastener itself is a thin flexible plastic, such as polypropylene or acetate about the thickness of a sheet of paper, two (2) mils. The fastener has a longitudinal length of about one and three quarter inches. Separation of one adhesive fastener from another was not previously quick and immediate. To expedite finger engagement and separation, the free end of the fasteners was thickened by the application of a strip of adhesive to the free, bottom end of the adhesive fasteners as shown at  23 ,  43  and  53 . This provides a stiff section  43  that is bent up to push up the fasteners above it. The section preferably is no more than one-half inch so that it does not foul the contact adhesive of the adhesive fastener above it when it is bent up to separate the adhesive fasteners. 
   The back of the finger is used to press in and up against all of the free ends of the adhesive fasteners, including the lowest and attached adhesive fastener  42 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
   This simple single action presses up all of the adhesive fasteners, and lifts the adhesive fastener  52  and its adhesive strip  56  free from the non-adhereable tape  44  (to which is does not adhere), as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . Continued upward movement allows the unattached adhesive fasteners above fastener  42  to move further upward. But, fastener  42  is held down because of its attachment to the file paper  16  by contact adhesive strip  46 . The free end of adhesive fastener  42  bends at the hinge section  43 , but it is held down by the file paper  16 , and the fingertip brushes up and by it. This brings the free end  43  of adhesive fastener  42  to drop down into engagement with the previously filed paper  16 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . It is then only necessary to insert, with the other hand, the end of the paper  80  under the fastener  52  and into engagement with its contact adhesive  56   a.    
     FIG. 6  shows a side view of adhesive fastener  22  previously discussed with respect to  FIGS. 1 to 3 . Of interest are the non-adhereable strip of tape  24 , and the two-sided contact adhesive strip  26 . The top surface of tape  24  has a non-stick non-adhereable surface  24   a . Contact adhesive tape  26  has a contact adhesive layer  26   a , which preferably is an acrylic adhesive. The adhesive fastener piece  22  is preferably polypropylene, although polyethylene or similar flexible material such as acetate can be used. The surfaces of adhesive fastener  22  is preferably roughened by dyne treatment to enhance adhesion. 
   As discussed previously, the strip of tape  23  of the free lower end of adhesive fastener  22  gives some additional thickness which makes is easier for the user to engage with the fingertip, since the adhesive fastener is only about 2 mils thick. The strip of binding tape  29  has two layers  29   a  of high tack adhesive, one on each side, to hold the adhesive fasteners together along their top section, as previously discussed. 
   The differential dimension  27  is necessary to ensure that misalignment during the course of assembly will not cause any of the adhesive  26   a  to extend beyond the surface of the adjacent underlying non-adhereable non-stick coating of the adjacent adhesive fastener. This is similar in construction for all of the fasteners previously described with respect to  FIGS. 1 to 5 . 
     FIG. 7  illustrates another modification of the adhesive fastener that is considered to be within the scope of the invention. Adhesive fastener  22  does not have a non-adhereable tape, nor a contact adhesive tape. The adhesive fastener  92  has a non-adhereable coating  94  of silicone, or a similar non-adhereable type coating material on the upper surface. A non-adhereable coating would be applied to the length of polypropylene adhesive fastener material, thereby eliminating need for a non-adhereable tape. 
   Similarly, a contact adhesive coating layer  97  could also be applied to the underside of adhesive fastener material, instead of a contact adhesive tape. 
   The strip of contact adhesive  97  could either be continuous or a series of discontinuous dots or blocks. It has been found that for a slightly less than a two inch length adhesive fastener, a one-eighth inch to one quarter one-quarter inch width of contact adhesive is sufficient for file use. The shorter length of a two inch strip of contact adhesive disengages from a file paper immediately on a small tug on the lower free end of the fastener. This modification, where a coating of non-adhereable material, and coating of contact adhesive to the fastener piece is less expensive than the tape strip. It also simplifies the manufacture process. 
     FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the adhesive fastener assembly generally indicated at  20 . Previously described the label  34  extends across the whole width of the fastener and down to slightly below the contact adhesive tape on the lowermost adhesive fastener. It provides a wide and extensive adhesive holding area for the label, and a good support. 
   The high tack permanent adhesive layer  35  on the undersurface of the label  34  is covered by a removable paper release liner  40 . Note that the label section  38  extends above the top section  30  of the adhesive fasteners. The upper section  38  of the label  34  is bent over and around the mounting panel as shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  5 . This provides added holding power to prevent separation of the adhesive  35  from the mounting panel. However, if the label adhesive layer  35  is a strong permanent adhesive, the extended label section  38  will not be necessary. 
     FIG. 9  is a top view similar to  FIG. 2  showing the mounted adhesive fastener assembly  110  mounted along the upper edge  104  of the mounting panel  102 . File paper  106  has an upper edge  108  that is close to (within one quarter inch) and parallel to the mounting panel upper edge  104 . 
   The adhesive fasteners of this adhesive fastener packet are all identical to the upper fastener  120  has is typical for all. The lower surface of the adhesive fastener  120  a longitudinal discontinuous adhesive strip. It has two spaced patches  125  and  126 , of a contact adhesive coating adjacent each side of the adhesive fastener  120 . It extends along the lower edge of the upwardly bendable section of the fastener  120 . The upper surface of the adhesive fastener  120  has either a non-adhereable coating layer, or a strip of non-adhereable tape. The staples  130  and  132  pass through all of the adhesive fasteners as well as the label (not shown) to hold the adhesive fastener assembly together. In this modification, the intermediate double-sided permanent tapes (i.e., tape  32 ) joining the top edge sections of the previously discussed, fasteners is omitted. This simple construction is also possible, and is within the scope of the invention. 
   The versatility of the adhesive fastener packet of this invention is illustrated by the new type of flat ringless paper binder shown in perspective  FIG. 10 . The adhesive fastener packet is thin. It does not require the center width of the 3-ring openable type assembly. This makes it possible to provide a flat binder which can be as small as one-half inch wide at the center of a binder. 
     FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an adhesive fastener assembly which is mounted on the side edge of the support panel. It is flat and thin binder. 
   The two side panels  152  and  154  are flat rigid pressboard or chipboard panels. They are joined together at their center edges  153  and  155  by a narrow pressboard strip  156 . The two panels and the now center strip are jointed together by a tape  158 . The tape wraps around the outer surfaces along the edges of all three pieces to hold them together. The tape provides a hinge arrangement at the edges  153  and  155 . A similar tape arrangement is applied to the inner surface of the pressboard pieces. 
   The inside of the binder is shown in the plan view of  FIG. 11 . Adhesive fastener packets  160  and  170  are mounted on along the inner side edges of panels  152  and  154 . Papers are progressively fastened to the adhesive fasteners of the packets, as needed. Papers  164  and  174  are the most recent paper filed on the adhesive fastener packets  160  and  174 . 
     FIG. 12  is a sectional view through the opened adhesive fastener assembly of  FIG. 11 . The manner of joining the panels  154  and  152  to the center joining strip  156  is shown. The two tape strips  158  and  159  provides the support and the hinge for the binder. 
   The adhesive fastener packet  160  and  170  are shown extending outwardly from the center of the binder assembly panels and joining file papers  164  and  174 . Fastener  175  is shown bent over at  176 . Because of the shorter length of the new adhesive fastener packets, the adhesive fastener  175  readily bends over at  176  so the paper  174  lies flat and the turned over page surface shows, in much the way of a page in a bound book. The arrow  177  shows the arcuate path of the turned page  174 . This permits the attached page  174  to be viewed on both its sides. Page  178  which ordinarily underlies the page  174  is undisturbed and lies flat against the panel  179 . Each of these pages are held in their normal position in the binder independently, unless like page  174  they are also turned over. 
   This adhesive fastener assembly, is a thin, flat binder assembly which can be conveniently carried and stacked. This is in contrast to the angular, bulky configuration of the wider typical ring binder. This new flat ringless binder is about one-half inch wide and has a capacity of about 100 sheets, and takes up less shelf space. Multi-page brochures, and stapled pages can be attached as one and are securely held. In this respect the adhesive fastener binder is very handy for a salesman or others in the field. The binder is small and compact, and no hole punching is required for fastening papers, either large or small. Papers can be effortlessly slipped into the binder or removed. 
   While this invention has been described as having a preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further modifications, and uses and/or adaptations of the invention and following in general the principle of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains, and as may be applied to the central features hereinbefore set forth, and fall within the scope of the invention or limits of the claims appended hereto.

Technology Category: 4