Patent Document

RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to provisional application Ser. No. 61/177,884 filed on May 13, 2009, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates to labels for a cable and methods of making and using the same. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Labels configured to identify a telecommunications cable, patch cord, or other wire-like structure (referred to hereinafter as “cable”) commonly include a flexible body portion with an adhesive surface that is configured to be folded over the cable and back onto itself. Such labels can be relatively cumbersome to use as it is easy to misalign the portions of the label, thereby resulting in wrinkles in the label or adhesive covered portions of the label being exposed. 
         [0004]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , a prior art label  10  is shown attached to a cable  12 . Cable  12  is a telecommunications patch cord including an optical fiber cable, and fiber optic connectors on opposite ends of the cable. In the depicted application, the rear portion  14  of the label  10  is misaligned with the front portion  16 . The misalignment resulted in adhesive covered portions  18 ,  20  of the label  10  being exposed and a wrinkle  22  in the text covered portion of the label  10 . 
         [0005]    Although the depicted exposed adhesive portion of the label  10  may be trimmed away in a separate step, the depicted wrinkle  18  would interfere with the readability of the text on the label and likely requires that the label  10  be entirely cut away and a new one reapplied. Accordingly, improved label configurations are desirable. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The present disclosure provides an improved label and method of manufacturing a label that is of the type that can be folded onto itself over an object to be labeled. The improved label is configured to avoid wrinkles and exposed adhesive portions during use. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a label according to an embodiment of the present disclosure shown attached to a cable; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a rear view of the label of  FIG. 1  shown attached to a cable with the first and second portions of the label aligned; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of the label of  FIG. 1  shown attached to a cable with the axis of the first and second portions of the label at an angle α relative to each other; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a rear view of the label of  FIG. 1  before it is attached to a cable; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a label before it is separated from a roll of labels; 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a front view of a prior art label attached to a cable; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a rear view of an alternative embodiment of the label of  FIG. 1  before it is attached to a cable. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0014]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-5 , an embodiment of a label  30  according to the present disclosure is shown. In the depicted embodiment the label  30  is folded over the cable and connected back onto itself. The label  30  includes a flexible body having a first portion  34  connected to a second portion  36 . In the depicted embodiment, the flexible body of the label  30  is constructed from a continuous sheet of material that extends from the first portion  34  to the second portion  36 . The flexible sheet of material can be, for example, a polyethylene material. 
         [0015]    In the depicted embodiment, the first portion  34  of the label  30  includes a first surface (front surface)  38  and a second surface (back surface)  40 . Information about the cable (text  50  and other indicia (e.g., symbols)) can be printed on the first surface  38  of the first portion  34 . It should be appreciated that the information can be printed onto the label  30  or otherwise marked to included indicia (e.g., stamped, hand written, etc.) while the labels are on a continuous roll of label material  52 , or after the label has be separated into individual labels, or even after the label is attached to the cable. 
         [0016]    In the depicted embodiment, the second portion  36  also includes a first surface (front surface)  42  and a second surface (back surface)  44 . The second surface  44  of the second portion  36  includes an adhesive material thereon, and first and second surfaces  38 ,  40  of the first portion  34  do not have adhesive material thereon. In the depicted embodiment the second portion includes a removable non-stick material  54  that covers the adhesive until it is manually peeled away before the label  30  is attached to the cable  32 . It should be appreciated that many alternative configurations are also possible that would enable the second surfaces to connect to each other when the label  30  is attached to the cable  32 , which is described in greater detail below. 
         [0017]    In the depicted embodiment, the first and second portions  34 ,  36  of the label  30  are configured so that they can be folded around a cable  32  and against each other such that the second surface  44  of the second portion  36  is brought into direct contact with the second surface  40  of the first portion  34 . Further, the depicted label  30  is configured such that the first and second portions  34 ,  36  are configured such that when they are folded against each other the second portion  36  does not extend past the first portion  34 . Accordingly the second surface  44  of the second portion  34  is not exposed once the label  30  is attached to the cable  32 . As will be discussed in greater detail below, this configuration helps decrease the likelihood that adhesive covered portions of the label remain exposed after the label is attached to the cable. 
         [0018]    In the depicted embodiment the second portion  36  is configured to be automatically sufficiently aligned with the first portion  34  such that the adhesive on the second portion  36  is not exposed when the second portion  36  is folded against the first portion  34 . In the depicted embodiment the second portion  36  has a longitudinal axis A-A and the first portion  34  has a longitudinal axis B-B. When the angle α is zero, the axes A-A and B-B are completely aligned (see  FIG. 2 ), and when the angle α is not zero the axes A-A and B-B are offset (see  FIG. 3 ). The label  30  of the depicted embodiment is configured so that the angle α between the longitudinal axes A-A and B-B is normally within 0 to 45 degrees (in the plus or minus direction) when applied. Accordingly, the label  30  is configured so that even when the axis is substantially offset (e.g., offset by 45 degrees) the adhesive covered portions of the second portion  36  are not exposed when the second portion  36  is connected to the first portion  34 . In the depicted embodiment this advantageous feature is enabled in part by the geometric shape of the portions of the label as well as the relative sizes of different portions of the label. 
         [0019]    With respect to the relative size of the portions of the depicted label  30 , the first portion  34  has a surface area that is larger than the surface area of the second portion  36 . In some embodiments the surface area of the first portion  34  is at least 125 percent greater than the surface area of the second portion  36 . In some embodiments the first portion  34  has a surface area that is at least 200 percent greater than the surface area of the second portion  36 . In additional embodiments the first portion  34  has a surface area that is at least 300 percent greater than the surface area of the second portion  36 . It should be appreciated that many other relative size arrangements are possible. The smaller the second portion  36  is to the first portion  34 , the less likely that adhesive covered portions of the second portion  36  will be exposed when the label  30  is attached to the cable  32 . 
         [0020]    With respect to the shape of the portions of the depicted label  30 , the second portion  36  has a width W 1  that is less than the width W 2  of the first portion  34 . For example, W 1  could be 0.5 inches and W 2  could be 1.0 inch. In addition, the second portion  36  has a length L 1  that is less than the length L 2  of the first portion  34 . For example, L 1  could be 1.0 inch and L 2  could be 1.5 inches. It should be appreciated that the greater the width of the first portion W 2  is to the width of the second portion W 1 , the less likely that adhesive covered portions of the second portion  36  will be exposed when the label  30  is attached to the cable  32 . Likewise, it should be appreciated that the greater the length of the first portion L 2  is to the length of the second portion L 1 , the less likely that adhesive covered portions of the second portion  36  will be exposed when the label  30  is attached to the cable  32 . 
         [0021]    In the depicted embodiment the first portion is shaped generally like a pentagon and the second portion is shaped like a tapered beam. The configured makes it relatively unlikely that the second portion would be exposed past the first portion even when the first and second portions offset from each other when they are connected. In the depicted embodiment the division between the first and second portions of the label coincides with the zone of the label that is configured to be wrapped around the cable. However, it should be appreciated that the label  30  can be of a variety of different shapes other than what is shown. It should be appreciated that the first portion could be alternatively shape, for example, like a rectangle or circle and the second portion could be shape like a non-tapered beam or a tennis racket. 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , an alternative embodiment of the label  30  is shown. Label  60  includes a first portion  64  and second portion  62 . The first portion  64  is configured to be labeled (e.g., printed on or otherwise marked to include indicia), and the second portion  62  includes a side that includes adhesive thereon. The first portion  64  is generally rectangular having a width W 4  that is about 1.0 inches and a length L 4  that is about 2.25 inches. The second portion  62  is also generally rectangular having a width W 3  that is about 5/16 of an inch and a length L 3  that is about 2.0 inches long. Label  60  of the depicted embodiment has many of the same advantages over the prior art as label  30  of the first disclosed embodiment, which is described in detail above. 
         [0023]    The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.

Technology Category: 3