Multidirectional multiple fold laminated product and method of making

• US 5,868,429 A
• Filed: 05/13/1997
• Issued: 02/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RM Acquisition LLC (Rand McNally & Company)
• Original Assignee: Rand McNally & Company
• Inventors: Bogner, Kenneth R., Stensvaag, Paul R., Raymond, David P.
• Primary Examiner(s): HAN, FRANCES CHIN
• Application Number:
  US08/855,313
• Time in Patent Office: 637 Days
• Field of Search: 283/34, 283/35, 281/29, 281/38, 402/79, 40/904, 434/130, 434/150, 434/153, 428/35.2
• US Class Current: 283/34
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/004 Map manufacture or repair; Tear or ink or water resistant maps; Long-life maps printing processes for maps B41M3/02; by permanently attaching map sections to sheets B42B7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/04 the sections being arranged in the form of a foldable sheet or sheets
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 40/904 Map or chart holder
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1067 Continuous longitudinal slitting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1077 Applying plural cut laminae to single face of additional lamina
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/108 Flash, trim or excess removal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1095 Opposed laminae are running length webs
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1097 Lamina is running length web
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/13 Severing followed by associating with part from same source
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1322 Severing before bonding or assembling of parts
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1741 Progressive continuous bonding press [e.g., roll couples]

Abstract

A laminated map or other product having a plurality of adjacent rectangular panels, formed of a paperboard sheet and a pair of transparent sheets covering the paperboard sheet, with the transparent sheets joining all of the paperboard sheets into an integrated product. The panels are arranged in at least two rows of plural panels and a plurality of columns of panels. When the pairs of panels in the columns are accordion-folded in the direction of the columns, and are then folded to cause the panels of one row to overlie the panels of the other row, the product will fold into a compact stack without substantial resistance to movement into that configuration and will be substantially flat, and when the panels are temporarily folded into single stack compact random arrays, those arrays will be compact and substantially flat. A method of making a multidirectional, multiple fold laminated product is also described.

Claims

1. A laminated product having a plurality of adjacent rectangular panels each displaying imprinted intelligence, each said panel comprising an individual rectangular paperboard sheet, each said paperboard sheet having a pair of opposite display surfaces and having outer perimetric edges, said paperboard sheets together defining a rectangular array, and outer perimetric edges of said sheets together defining an outer boundary for said rectangular array of paperboard sheets, said laminated product further comprising a first transparent sheet covering a first surface of said array of paperboard sheets and a second transparent sheet covering the second surface of said array of paperboard sheets, said transparent sheets joining all of the paperboard sheets into said integrated laminated product, said transparent sheets being continuous between the outer boundary of said rectangular array, being coextensive with all of said paperboard sheets, and being characterized by the absence of slots between said paperboard sheets, said panels being arranged in at least two rows of plural panels and a plurality of columns of panels, each column including one panel from each row, each pair of paperboard sheets in a row being spaced apart from each other by a distance which is at least equal to twice the thickness of a panel, and each pair of paperboard sheets in a column being spaced apart by a substantially greater distance than at least twice the thickness of a panel, said substantially greater distance being at least equal to the thicknesses of the total number of panels comprising the laminated product, whereby when the pairs of panels in the columns are accordion-folded in the direction of the columns, and are then folded to cause the panels of one row to overlie the panels of the other row, the product will so fold into a compact stack without substantial resistance to movement into that configuration and will be substantially flat, and when the panels are temporarily folded into other single stack compact random arrays, such arrays will be compact and substantially flat, all so that any display surface of any panel may be temporarily easily displayed for viewing, and whereby all folding occurs between the paperboard sheets and depends entirely upon the folding of said transparent sheets and ripping and tearing of said transparent sheets is avoided because of the absence of slots in said transparent sheets between said paperboard sheets.

2. The laminated product of claim 1, and wherein said product is a map.

3. The laminated product of claim 1, and wherein said product has two rows, and each row has at least four rectangular panels.

4. The laminated product of claim 1, and wherein the paperboard sheet of each panel is entirely separate from each other paperboard sheet of every other panel.

5. The laminated product of claim 1, and wherein the distances between the pairs of paperboard sheets in a row and the pairs of paperboard sheets in a column are between 10 to 30 percent greater, respectively, than two times the thickness of a panel and the thicknesses of the total number of panels.

6. The laminated product of claim 5, and wherein said product is a map.

7. The laminated product of claim 5, wherein said map has two rows, and each row has at least four rectangular panels, each paperboard sheet being entirely separate from each other paperboard sheet.

8. The laminated product of claim 7, and wherein said map panels are about 41/4 inches by about 9 inches in size.