Special receptacle or package – Combined or convertible – Including booklet – leaflet or record means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-28
2001-07-10
Garbe, Stephen P. (Department: 3727)
Special receptacle or package
Combined or convertible
Including booklet, leaflet or record means
C206S387100, C229S193000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06257404
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1.Field of Invention
This invention relates to a computer printable blank for forming a video cassette box for housing and identifying home videos and the like. More specifically, this invention relates to such blanks having improved durability.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Video cassettes containing movies or instructional media have been provided and stored in a rigid plastic material case, the case having a hinged lid enabling one to gain access to the cassette. This was satisfactory when the video cassette was provided in a read only form from a manufacturer or distributor such as a video rental store. Nowadays such cassettes are provided in a read and write form or in blank for copying of video TV programs or making home videos of various events. Users therefore, need to be able to identify the contents of such video cassettes and if necessary to vary the list of contents when changes are made on the cassette.
Computer programs can be written to enable a list of or the nature of the material on a video cassette to be identified which may be placed on the cassette container to identify its contents. But, the rigid pre-formed container cannot be passed through a conventional computer printer.
Application Ser. No. 09/193,329 addresses this problem by providing the contents of the video cassette to be printed out on a flat substrate such as a piece of paper or a blank which can then be folded, and with adhesive joined to form a container box to hold the cassette, with the printed list of contents appearing on one or both flat faces of the container or box.
Further, it discloses that the blank can be dimensioned to fit all size computer printers by trimming its edges before use or by trimming them after printing to take advantage of a “bleed” of ink across of the trim boundary, so that the finished graphic design on the box will transcend the edges to appear professional and finished.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is an improvement of the above invention. It provides a blank, which when formed into a container or box for VCR cassettes, results in a more durable finished product by strategically increasing the overall area of bonding surfaces as well as the overall thickness of respective portions of the resulting container without impairing its ability to be passed through a printer; and by providing strategically located adhesive surfaces, which improve the durability of the respective bonds and portions while minimizing exposed adhesive surfaces after formation of the box that may interfere with insertion and removal of cassettes.
Increased thickness of portions of the front and rear faces at the entry portion of the formed box increases the durability of the respective portions of the faces. Increased thickness at the ends of the connecting side flaps that define a finger cut-out, allows the finger cut-out to be formed deeper so as to increase the gripping surface of an exposed cassette contained in the box, making removal of a cassette contained therein easier. Adhesive locations are provided that improve durability while minimizing exposed adhesive after formation of the box.
Therefore, according to the invention there is provided a flat sheet capable of being passed through a printer to be provided with printed matter, the sheet being marked so that it can be folded and parts of the sheet separated for assembly of the box. When folded, the sheet or blank provides substantially flat faces for the cassette or box joined to one another along fold lines and a closure at one end of the resulting box, the printing being intended to be on one or both of the faces, but alternatively up to substantially the entire outside surface area of the resulting box.
End-side flaps extend from the front and rear faces and are positioned to overlie and be adhesively connected to each other when forming the container. A middle-side flap between the front and rear faces is formed along folded lines. Top tabs on the top of the front and rear faces can be pushed out of line with their respective face and are positioned to overlie and be adhesively connected to each other and receive and trap one or more side tabs of one or more side flaps after they have been folded, thereby holding the box together. One or more flap or tab faces and/or underlying surfaces may be provided with an adhesive or adhesive area to adhere to an overlying or underlying surface for bonding purposes.
When such a sheet is folded and assembled it forms a parallelepiped having an open top between the two parallel faces, one or both faces having a reinforcing flap extending therefrom for folding and adhering to the inside or outside surface of the front and/or rear faces to increase the thickness and durability of the respective areas.
Finger cut-outs may be provided at a terminal end of the middle-side flap and at a corresponding terminal end of one or more end-side flaps for spreading the faces and for gripping a cassette for easy insertion and removal of the cassette. Providing finger cut-outs for both end-side flaps allows two layers of overlapping material to define the resulting exposed area when the box is formed, resulting in improved durability at a location that may otherwise be more susceptible than the exposed area from the middle-side flap to wear and tear from repetitious insertion and removal of cassettes. Thus, the size of the finger cut-out may now be increased to in turn increase the gripping area of an exposed cassette for easier removal thereof. A trapezoidal shape is used, as it provides a wide area of exposure. However, almost any alternative shape may be used insofar as it allows sufficient gripping of an exposed portion of a cassette.
The various flaps and tabs that are connected to each other to form the container are generally provided to be as square or as rectangular in shape as possible to increase the surface area for adhering. In turn, this provides an overall stronger bond and overall thicker respective wall; and thereby, a more sturdy container that can withstand the wear and tear encountered from repeated insertion and removal of cassettes.
It is desirable that the piece of paper or blank be of a conventional size to fit in most, if not all, printers. The preferred width is 8½ inches, which most, if not all, printers will accept.
The size of the interior of the assembled box should be such that the cassette fits reasonably tightly in the assembled box. In a preferred embodiment the overall shape of the portions of the blank which are to make the box are delineated within the overall blank and surrounding portions are discarded after printing in a conventional printer and before the assembly of the box.
The delineation of the sheet or blank material which is to be used as the box can be achieved by printing appropriate lines and then cutting away the excess material. Preferably however the delineation is achieved by partial severing of the sheet so that after printing a user can quickly remove the excess sheet or blank material. This can readily be achieved by a stamping of the sheet with cut lines or perforations which do not completely sever the parts of the sheet so that the sheet remains in one piece during normal heading and passage through the printer, but can be separated easily by tearing when required.
It is also preferable that the various fold lines between the two faces and the flaps be marked by printing and may also conveniently be achieved by scoring, which allows for simple and accurate folding.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1591427 (1926-07-01), Leary
patent: 3073217 (1963-01-01), Spalding et al.
patent: 4445634 (1984-05-01), Sato
patent: 4682974 (1987-07-01), Sun
patent: 4688673 (1987-08-01), Yabe
patent: 5172988 (1992-12-01), Ledley et al.
patent: 5419011 (1995-05-01), Finke et al.
patent: 5560484 (1996-10-01), Tomisawa et al.
patent: 5794631 (1998-08-01), Sylvester
patent: 6065599 (2000-05-01), Lincoln
Atkinson Peter
Tracy Peter H.
Brufsky, P.A. Allen D.
Garbe Stephen P.
Neato, LLC.
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