Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Layer or component removable to expose adhesive
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-31
2004-06-29
Ahmad, Nasser (Department: 1772)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Layer or component removable to expose adhesive
C428S041800, C428S041900, C428S042100, C428S194000, C428S201000, C428S212000, C428S220000, C428S354000, C221S033000, C221S045000, C221S061000, C221S063000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06756100
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention broadly relates to (i) pads of pressure sensitive adhesive tape strips, (ii) dispensers for tape strip pads, and (iii) methods of dispensing individual tape strips from tape strip pads.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Numerous types of pressure sensitive adhesive tapes capable of connecting or joining two surfaces (e.g. adhering a sheet of paper onto a table top) are well known. For example, #810 Scotch™ Magic™ brand transparent tape, manufactured by Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, Minn. is readily available from numerous retail outlets. Such pressure sensitive adhesive tapes, including #810 Scotch™ Magic™ brand transparent tape, are generally available as a continuous roll of tape capable of being conveniently dispensed from any of a number of manually-operated roll-type tape dispensers, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,864 and U.S. Design Pat. No. 116,599, having a cutting edge located on the dispenser for cutting the tape into strips of the desired length. While effective for quickly and efficiently dispensing most pressure sensitive adhesive tapes, it is difficult to create tape strips of uniform length due to the natural variations in the length of tape unwound from the roll of adhesive tape between cuttings. Hence, such dispensers are not suitable for those situations requiring the quick and efficient dispensing of uniform lengths of pressure sensitive adhesive tape.
It is also known to dispense pressure sensitive adhesive tape, such as Scotch™ Magic™ brand transparent tape, from a stacked pad of tape strips. Such pads of adhesive tape strips are disclosed, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,650,706, and 4,895,746. Both '706 and '746 disclose stacked pads of adhesive tape strips wherein a first end portion of each individual strip is treated so as to provide a nonadhesive end tab ('706) or an area of reduced adhesion to an adjacent tape strip ('746) at a first end of the pad. The nonadhesive end tab or area of reduced adhesion facilitates initial separation of the first end of an uppermost tape strip from the first end of an immediately underlying tape strip, allowing the uppermost tape strip to be peeled off the pad. While generally effective for dispensing uniform lengths of pressure sensitive adhesive tape, such pads are somewhat cumbersome to use and are not well suited for use in those situations where only one hand is available for dispensing the tape, such as gift wrapping.
Post-it® brand notes and Post-it® brand flags, available from 3M of St. Paul, Minn., require a coating of releasable pressure sensitive adhesive only along one end of the substrate, and can therefore be conveniently dispensed from a container by alternating the adhesive end of the stacked sheets/flags between opposed first and second ends of the stack (e.g., forming a Z-stack of sheets). Such a stack of Post-it® brand flags and associated shuttling dispenser is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,320. Similarly, a pad of W-stacked sheets and associated dispensers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,416,392, 4,562,938, 4,586,629, and 4,653,666. This alternating style of stacking the sheets/flags is effective because the sheets/flags are adhesively bonded together with a repositionable pressure sensitive adhesive on only one end of the sheet/flag. Such sheets are not suitable for joining or connecting surfaces together because of the relatively small percentages of such sheets coated with adhesive and the low adhesion strength of the pressure sensitive adhesive used with such sheets/flags.
A significant advance in the construction and dispensing of pads of adhesive tape strips is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,547. '547 discloses a pad of superimposed adhesive tape strips wherein the adhesive layer of each tape strip is releasably adhered to an adjacent tape strip at a first adhesion level at a first end and a second adhesion level at a second end (i.e., differential release), and sequential tape strips are longitudinally reversed so as to align the first end of each tape strip with the second end of an immediately overlaying and an immediately underlying tape strip. A preferred manner of achieving such differential release disclosed by '547 is to coat the entire surface area of a first major surface of each strip with a pressure sensitive adhesive and coat the second end portion of the second major surface of each tape strip with a low adhesion backsize (LAB). Such an alternately stacked pad of differential release tape strips can be conveniently dispensed from an associated dispenser with a single hand while maintaining a continuous coating of an aggressive pressure sensitive adhesive on the substrate.
While constituting a significant improvement, the pads disclosed by '547 comply with a specific set of release levels in order to achieve the sliding action required between adjacent tape strips for proper dispensing while preventing fanning of the stacked strips (i.e., preventing the tape strips from accidentally and unintentionally sliding relative to one another before each strip is dispensed). Furthermore, as described in '547, when the differential release requirement is achieved, that portion of the tape strip coated with the premium LAB does not consistently maintain any written indicia.
Accordingly, a substantial need exists for a pad of adhesive tape strips and/or a dispenser for such pads that will provide the convenience of one hand dispensing, provide wider manufacturing parameters, and provide a broader range of release/adhesive systems than the pads of adhesive tape strips disclosed by '547.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Briefly, in one aspect of the present invention a dispensing technique is provided for consistently dispensing individual tape strips from a category of W-stacked pads of adhesive tape strips previously believed to be incapable of being dispensed without a high incidence of dispensing failures (i.e., multi-strip dispensing or tail off). Dispensers are also provided that dispense individual tape strips from W-stacked pads of adhesive tape strips using the novel technique and have significantly expanded the types of tape strips capable of being dispensed in the form of a W-stacked pad of tape strips.
For purposes of clarity and without intending to be unduly limited thereby, the tape strips in a group of any three sequentially stacked tape strips are referenced as an overlying tape strip, an intermediate tape strip, and an underlying tape strip with the adhesive layer of the overlying tape strip adhered to the intermediate tape strip, and the adhesive layer of the intermediate tape strip adhered to the underlying tape strip.
The novel technique for dispensing an overlying tape strip from a W-stacked pad of differential release tape strips involves (i) pulling the second longitudinal end of an overlying tape strip away from the pad so as to effect peeling of the overlying tape strip from the intermediate tape strip in a progressive fashion from the second longitudinal end of the overlying tape strip towards the first longitudinal end of the overlying tape strip, (ii) contacting the overlying tape strip so as to restrict the peel angle between the overlying tape strip and the intermediate tape strip to an angle of less than 45° prior to complete separation of the overlying tape strip from the intermediate tape strip and prior to release of a second longitudinal end section of the intermediate tape strip from the underlying tape strip, and then (iii) continuing to pull the overlying tape strip away from the pad to sequentially effect release of the second longitudinal end section of the intermediate tape strip from the underlying tape strip, and complete separation of the overlying tape strip from the intermediate tape strip.
Novel dispensers capable of dispensing a W-stacked pad of adhesive tape strips using the novel dispensing technique described herein comprise (i) a housing defining a retention chamber for holding a W-stacked pad of adhesive tape strips, and having a top with a
Crawford Dennis L.
Pearson Scott D.
3M Innovative Properties Company
Ahmad Nasser
Jonas George W.
LandOfFree
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