Sampling kit form

Details Sampling kit form Sampling kit form

2001-11-29

2004-03-30

Ahmad, Nasser (Department: 1772)

Stock material or miscellaneous articles

Layer or component removable to expose adhesive

C206S460000, C206S569000, C206S778000, C283S081000, C428S041800, C428S042100, C428S042200, C428S043000, C428S121000, C428S138000, C428S202000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06713142

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed generally to a business form and, more particularly to a form for use in collecting sample material, such as organic sample material, and forwarding it to a laboratory for analysis.
Analysis of the organic matter is often conducted at locations remote from the sampling site. By way of example, techniques used to track the lineage of purebred animals involve obtaining hair or blood samples from an animal, then mailing the samples to a laboratory for DNA analysis. In a conventional sampling approach, the sample is packed in a vial labelled with salient information about the sample. The vials, however, tended to be fragile and bulky, thus making them susceptible to being damaged in transit, thereby subjecting the samples to contamination. The advent of accurate DNA analysis on hair samples has made possible alternative methods of packaging and shipping such samples. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,298 (hereinafter the '298 patent), issued to Clayton, teaches sampling kit forms for hair samples that alleviate the shortcomings of the conventional vial-based approach. The business form of the '298 patent includes a sampling kit having a foldable sheet substrate with die cut openings and a transparent cover over the opening, and an adhesive area on the sheet adjacent the opening. A removable release liner covers the layer of adhesive, while a line of weakening located in the sheet extends through the adhesive area in the general direction of the opening. The material to be sampled may be adhered to the adhesive area after removal of the release liner so that the material extends over the opening. The sheet is then folded upon itself on the line of weakening and held folded in this position by the adhesive.
While the kit of the '298 patent functions well, the varying thickness across the form width hampers its use in some printers. For example, when multiple forms are superimposed one on top of another for cut-sheet applications, such as those where individual forms are loaded into a cut-sheet printer tray or cartridge (as found on a conventional desktop printer), the greater thickness of the portions with adhesive and overlaid labels produces an uneven, or leaning, stack. This can limit the number of forms stackable into the printer cartridge, thereby reducing the effectiveness of an otherwise automated process. Similar difficulties exist for printers that accept continuous web sheets, such as Z-fold webs or continuous rolls, examples of which include impact dot matrix, train, band and daisy wheel printers, as well as non-impact continuous laser printers and thermal transfer printers. The increased volume and decreased symmetry also make handling and transporting large quantities of the forms more cumbersome. Additionally, the inclusion of transparent windows leads to relatively complex construction of the kit, increasing manufacturing costs.
Accordingly, there is a need for a sampling kit form for collecting samples of organic matter in which the form may be simply manufactured, and in which the form may be printed with various types of printers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These needs are met by the sampling kit form of the present invention, which is directed to a kit for collecting sample material, such as organic sample material. The kit containing the organic sample material can be conveniently handled and conveyed to a laboratory for analysis. According to one aspect of the present invention, a sampling kit form for organic material is disclosed. The sampling kit form is made up of a sheet that can accept printed indicia on one or both of its surfaces. The sheet in turn is made up of a first ply, a second ply, an adhesive and a release coating. Both the adhesive and the release coating are disposed between the inner surfaces of the first and second plies. One or more fold lines are disposed between opposing edges of the sheet. The first ply is defined by a first ply outer surface, a first ply inner surface and a die cut defining a coplanar removable inset portion. The second ply is stackably coupled to the first ply such that corresponding edges of the first and second plies are substantially aligned. As used in conjunction with the present disclosure, the term “substantially” refers to an arrangement of elements or features that, while in theory would be expected to exhibit exact correspondence or behavior, may, in practice embody something slightly less than exact. The second ply is defined by outer and inner surfaces, the latter of which faces the first ply inner surface. Upon removal of the inset portion, at least a portion of the second ply inner surface is exposed to accept the organic material thereon. After adhesively placing the organic material on part of the exposed second ply inner surface, the sheet can be folded along the one or more fold lines to protect the organic material within.
Optionally, the sampling kit form may be adapted to be suitable as a mailer intermediate. In this arrangement, each ply preferably has perforation lines (such as lines of weakness) that define marginal tear strips disposed around the form's periphery. The sampling kit form may also include die cuts around at least a portion of the periphery of the first and second plies. These die cuts define liner pieces that can be removed to expose adhesive disposed underneath. Upon removal of these liner pieces, the form may be folded, then sealed with the exposed adhesive. Once the mailed form is delivered, the recipient may tear away the marginal tear strips at their respective perforations to open the mailer.
Moreover, the first and second plies, as well as the adhesive and the release coatings, are disposed relative to one another such that a stacking surface defined by the sheet is substantially free of undulation, thereby improving the resistance of a stack of sheets to leaning. This is especially beneficial when fed into a conventional cut-sheet desktop printer. The sampling kit form can further include a line of weakness disposed between opposing edges of the sheet such that a detachable postcard connected to the sheet along the line of weakness is removable.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a sampling kit form for organic material is disclosed. The sampling kit form is made from a substantially rectangular sheet with opposing planar surfaces. The sheet includes a first ply, a second ply coextensively laminated to the first ply with an adhesive, one or more fold lines each disposed between opposing edges of the sheet, and a detachable postcard connected to one edge of the sheet along a line of weakness in one or both plies. A removable inset portion is defined by a die cut in the first ply so that when the inset portion is removed, at least a portion of the adhesive on the second ply is exposed such that the adhesive coating portion facilitates adhesion of the organic sample. The outer surface of the first and second plies are configured to accept printed indicia. Preferably, the organic material is hair, such as human or animal hair, and is placed on the second ply inner surface such that the roots of the hair do not contact any of the adhesive, thus preventing. contaminants that may be present in the adhesive from tainting the hair sample. The placement of the adhesive and release coating, as well as the configuration of the two plies, promotes a substantially uniform thickness across a significant portion of the sheet. This avoids leaning problems when numerous sheets are stacked, such as when preparing the stack for printing or shipping. As used in the present context, the term “significant” implies that enough of the form surface is sufficiently undulation-free, even though there are discrete sections where slight thickness variations may be present (most notably in the region defined by the inset portion), to prevent leaning stacks.
Optionally, the second ply inner surface of the sampling kit further comprises a release coating portion disposed across at least one of the fold lines

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