Spacer materials

• US 6,458,440 B1
• Filed: 01/22/1998
• Issued: 10/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Adrian Llewellyn Merritt
• Original Assignee: Adrian Llewellyn Merritt
• Inventors: Merritt, Adrian Llewellyn
• Primary Examiner(s): Ahmad, Nasser
• Application Number:
  US09/010,922
• Time in Patent Office: 1,713 Days
• Field of Search: 428/40.1, 428/42.1, 428/43, 428/192, 428/194, 428/42.2, 428/42.3, 428/201, 428/202, 206/448, 206/454
• US Class Current: 428/40.1
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 57/004 the articles being substantially flat panels, e.g. wooden planks
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 49/069 Means for avoiding damage to stacked plate glass, e.g. by interposing paper or powder spacers in the stack maculation per se B65H39/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/14 Layer or component removable to expose adhesive
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1486 Ornamental, decorative, pattern, or indicia
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/149 Sectional layer removable
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1495 Adhesive is on removable layer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/15 Sheet, web, or layer weakened to permit separation through thickness
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24777 Edge feature
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24793 Comprising discontinuous or differential impregnation or bond
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24851 Intermediate layer is discontinuous or differential
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2486 with outer strippable or release layer

Abstract

A spacer adapted, in use, to space materials, (for example sheets of glass) comprising a spacer element having on at least one face an adhesive wherein at least a portion of the edge of said adhesive carrying face is adhesive free. The spacer is fabricated from a relatively flexible material so that the portion which does not adhere to the material being spaced (because there is no adhesive on that portion) can be bent from out of the plane of the spacer. Once the unadhered portion is so bent a finger hold is provided.

Claims

1. A sheet of a plurality of glass sheet spacers attached to a common backing film said spacers comprising resilient foam bodies having an adhesive-carrying surface comprising a continuous unstepped surface having an adhesive-free portion adjacent an adhesive-carrying portion, adhesive provided at said adhesive-carrying surface of said spacers between said adhesive-carrying portions and said backing film, said adhesive is removable adhesive and said spacers having a second surface spaced from said adhesive-carrying surface by the thickness of said spacers and extending generally parallel to said adhesive-carrying surface and being adhesive free;

wherein said spacers are disposed on said common backing film in a grid pattern with a plurality of spacers in one direction of the grid and a plurality of spacers in a transverse direction of the grid, and wherein each said spacer has said adhesive-free portion provided on a flexible finger-lift part of said spacer and at an edge thereof and wherein said spacer has said adhesive-free portion being flexible enough such that when said spacers are attached to a flat glass sheet surface in use a person can bend or roll said finger-lift part of said spacer upwards out of the plane of said adhesive-carrying portion with a finger, thereby facilitating a rolling-off action and/or manual gripping of said finger-lift part of said spacer whilst said adhesive-carrying portion of said spacer is still in contact with said flat surface.

2. A sheet according to claim 1 wherein said sheet is flat.

3. A sheet according to claim 1 wherein said sheet is formed into a roll.

4. A sheet according to claim 1, wherein said backing film has generally parallel spaced apart first and second side edge regions and a central region disposed between said side regions, and wherein rows of longitudinally spaced pairs of aligned slits or perforation lines are provided through the backing film at said first and second side regions, each pair of slits or perforation lines comprising one slit or perforation line at said first side edge region and another said slit or perforation at said second side region, the slits or perforation lines of a pair extending towards each other on the same line transverse to the side edges of said first and second side edge regions, and wherein said central region of said backing film is unslit and unperforated.

5. A roll of a plurality of glass sheet spacers carried by a common backing film;

said spacers comprising resilient foam bodies having an adhesive-free portion adjacent an adhesive-carrying portion, adhesive provided at a first, adhesive-carrying, surface of said spacers between said adhesive-carrying portion and said backing film, said adhesive is removable adhesive and a second, adhesive free, surface extending generally parallel to said first surface but spaced from said first surface extending generally parallel to said first surface but spaced from said first surface by the thickness of said spacers, said second surface being adhesive-free; and

wherein said bodies have adhesive-carrying surface which provides said adhesive-carrying portion and said adhesive-free portion, said adhesive-carrying surface being formed of a contiguous and continuous sheet of material; and

wherein said backing film and associated spacers are formed into a roll with layers of spacers separated by layers of backing film, each said spacer having its adhesive-free portion at an edge thereof and comprising a finger-lift portion being bendable or rollable by a finger of a user, when said spacer is attached to a flat glass sheet surface, out of the plane of said adhesive carrying portion, thereby facilitating a rolling-off action and/or gripping of said finger-lift portion by the finger and thumb of a user for subsequent removal of said spacer from said surface.

6. A roll according to claim 5 wherein said backing film has generally parallel spaced apart first and second edge regions and a central region disposed between said side regions and wherein rows of longitudinally spaced pairs of aligned slits or perforation lines are provided through the backing film at said first and second side regions, each pair of slits or perforation lines comprising one slit or perforation line at said first side edge region and another slit or perforation lines at said second side edge region, the slits or perforation line of a pair extending towards each other on the same line transverse to the side edges of said first and second side edge regions, and wherein said central region of said backing film is unslit and unperforated.

7. A spacer on a backing film, said glass sheet comprising a resilient foam body spacer having a continuous unstepped adhesive-carrying surface having an adhesive free portion adjacent an adhesive-carrying portion, said adhesive free portion and said adhesive-carrying portion being made of the same material, adhesive provided at said adhesive-carrying surface of said spacer between said adhesive-carrying portion and said backing film said adhesive is removable adhesive, and a second surface extending generally parallel to said first surface but spaced from said first surface by the thickness of said spacers, said second surface being adhesive free, each said spacer comprising a strip having an elongate length and wherein said adhesive-carrying portion extends substantially parallel to the elongate direction of said spacer strip and said adhesive-free portion comprises at an elongate edge of said spacer strip, each said spacer having its adhesive-free portion comprising a finger-lift portion thereof being bendable or rollable upwards by a finger of a user, when said spacer is attached to a flat glass sheet surface, out of the plane of said adhesive carrying portion, thereby facilitating a rolling-off action and/or gripping of the finger-lift portion and subsequent removal of said spacer from said surface.

8. A compression-resistant glass sheet spacer for spacing sheets of glass from each other, the spacer having a body of resilient foam, and said body having an adhesive carrying face and an adhesive-free face spaced from and parallel to said adhesive carrying face;

and wherein said adhesive carrying face has an adhesive carrying portion coated with a removable adhesive, and an adhesive free portion to the side of said adhesive carrying portion, said adhesive-free portion is located at an edge of said glass sheet spacer, and wherein a part of said body having said adhesive free portion comprises a finger-lift portion, said body at said finger-lift portion being flexible enough such that when said spacer is attached to a flat glass surface in use with said adhesive contacting the glass, a person can bend with a finger said finger-lift portion out of the plane or part of the plane of said adhesive carrying portion of said adhesive-carrying face, away from the surface of the glass, thereby facilitating a rolling-off action or gripping of said finger-lift portion for removal of said spacer from the glass.

9. A spacer according to claim 8 wherein said adhesive-carrying portion comprises a central region of said spacer and wherein said finger-lift portion comprises a lateral edge region of said spacer.

10. A spacer according to claim 8 wherein said adhesive-carrying portion has at least one stripe of adhesive on it.

11. A spacer according to claim 9 wherein said adhesive-carrying portion has at least two stripes of adhesive on it.

12. A spacer according to claim 8 wherein said adhesive-carrying portion comprises a central island portion of the adhesive-carrying face, anew said adhesive-free portion comprises a surrounding peripheral edge portion of said adhesive carrying face, there being adhesive free portion surrounding the adhesive-carrying portion.

13. A spacer according to claim 8 having a releasable backing film extending over said adhesive-carrying face and releasably attached to said adhesive-carrying face by said adhesive.

14. A spacer according to claim 8 wherein said body of said spacer comprises a unitary body of uniform thickness.

15. A spacer according to claim 8 wherein said body has a rectangular shape and wherein said adhesive free face and said adhesive carrying face are spaced apart by the thickness of the spacer.

16. A sheet of spacers, each spacer being in accordance with claim 8 and each spacer being attached to a common backing sheet via the adhesive of each spacer.

17. A sheet according to claim 16 formed into a roll.

18. A compression-resistant glass sheet spacer for spacing sheets of glass from each other, the spacer comprising a resilient body having an adhesive carrying face and an adhesive-free face spaced from and parallel to said adhesive carrying face;

and wherein said adhesive carrying face has an adhesive carrying portion coated with an adhesive, and a removable adhesive free portion to the side of said adhesive carrying portion, said adhesive-free portion is located at an edge of said class sheet spacer, and wherein a part of said body having said adhesive free portion comprises a finger-lift portion, said body at said finger-lift portion being flexible enough such that when said spacers are attached to a flat glass surface in use with said adhesive contacting the glass, a person can bend with a finger said finger-lift portion out of the plane or part of the plane of said adhesive carrying portion of said adhesive-carrying face, away from the surface of the glass whilst said adhesive carrying portion is still in contact with the glass, thereby facilitating a rolling-off or gripping of said finger-lift portion for removal of said spacer from the glass.

19. A compression-resistant glass sheet spacer for spacing a stack of articles from each other, the spacer having a resilient foam body that is partially compressible in use, and said body having an adhesive carrying face and an adhesive-free face spaced from and parallel to said adhesive carrying face;

and wherein said adhesive carrying face has an adhesive carrying portion coated with an adhesive, a removable adhesive free portion to the side of said adhesive carrying portion, said adhesive-free portion is located at an edge of said glass sheet spacer, and wherein said body is flexible such that said adhesive free portion comprises a finger-lift portion, said body at said finger-lift portion being flexible enough such that when said spacers are attached to a flat article in use with said adhesive contacting the article, a person can bend with a finger said finger-lift portion out of the plane or part of the plane of said adhesive carrying portion of said adhesive-carrying face, away from the surface of the article, thereby facilitating a rolling-off action or gripping of said finger-lift portion for removal of said spacer from the article.