WO2014006393A1

WO2014006393A1 - Logo badge

Info

Publication number: WO2014006393A1
Application number: PCT/GB2013/051748
Authority: WO
Inventors: Danny DANIELIS
Original assignee: Plusfile Hk Limited; Kernow Plusfile
Priority date: 2012-07-02
Filing date: 2013-07-02
Publication date: 2014-01-09
Also published as: GB2503663A; GB201211700D0

Abstract

A logo badge (1) for a notebook, the notebook having a band for keeping the notebook closed. The logo badge has a main body (100) and is adapted to be removably attachable to the notebook band by band fasteners (3) after the notebook band has been attached to the notebook.

Description

LOGO BADGE

This invention has to do with banded notebooks, in particular logo badges for attachment to the bands of the banded notebooks.

BACKGROUND

Banded notebooks have existed for centuries and were popular in the 19^th and 20^th centuries throughout Europe. They have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years. Common examples include the Moleskine^® or

Plusfile^® range of notebooks. For such banded notebooks, an elasticated band is typically attached to the cover of a notebook and is designed to form a loop that can encircle the notebook. Typically the band is used to help keep the notebook closed. However, non-elastic bands may be used which can be then wrapped and tied, like a shoelace.

Recently, banded notebooks have been developed that incorporate surface decoration or advertising, either to the band directly, or by way of attaching a logo badge to the band. An example of such a logo badge on a banded notebook is the Lanybook^® (with the logo badge called a Lanybutton^®) . Typically such logo badges have to be attached to the notebook band during the assembly of the notebook. A typical assembly process for such banded notebooks with logo badges will now be described. First, the logo badge is slid onto the notebook band. The notebook band is then inserted into slots in the cover of the notebook. The band is then glued or attached to the cover of the notebook. At this stage a pen loop is also optionally assembled and glued or attached to the notebook cover. The bookblock is then prepared and cased-in to the notebook cover by using adhesives. This completes the assembly process of the notebooks. The finished

notebooks are often pressed in order to expel air between the glued surfaces.

This method of assembly of the banded notebooks causes two problems. First, the notebook assembly, including the attachment of the logo badges, has to be completed at the site of manufacture of the notebooks. Second, the notebooks have to then be transported or shipped

(typically internationally) with the logo badge attached. This creates packaging problems; the surrounding covers and material surfaces need to be protected against indents or impressions by raised surfaces, adding bulk and weight to the notebooks and considerable expense of shipping. Additionally, the decision has to be made early on whether the banded notebooks to be made should include logo badges or not, which can delay the process from order to receipt for the customer.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention provides a logo badge that can be attached to the notebook band after assembly of the notebook. This means that the logo badge does not have to be attached to the notebook at the time of manufacture but can be added elsewhere (e.g. at country/point of sale) to an already-manufactured notebook. This saves costs not only in terms of shipping, but also means that notebooks do not have to be specifically ordered and manufactured with a logo badge already attached,

resulting in increased flexibility for banded notebook manufacturers. Attachment of the logo badge to the notebook band in such a manner is also more efficient, decreasing turnaround times from client order to delivery from typically 4-8 weeks to 3-5 days.

In general terms, the present invention provides a removable logo badge that can be attached to a notebook band after manufacture of the banded notebook. In one aspect, the invention provides a logo badge for a notebook, the notebook having a band for keeping the notebook closed, wherein the logo badge has a main body and is adapted to be removably attachable to the notebook band after the notebook band has been attached to the notebook .

Preferably, the logo badge comprises two identical band fasteners, the band fasteners comprising two opposing members separated by a gap, the opposing members attached to the main body of the logo badge and extending away from the main body of the logo badge, to form a band slot for receiving the band. The skilled person will

understand that more than two band fasteners may be used.

When attaching the logo badge to the notebook band, the band passes through the gap between the opposing members of a band fastener to be received in the band slot. Once the band is in the band slot, that particular band fastener is attached to the notebook band.

Preferably the two band fasteners are located on opposite sides of the main body of the logo badge. This has the benefit of making it easier to attach one band fastener at a time to the notebook band. It also means that the attachment between the logo badge and the notebook band is more secure.

Preferably the band fasteners are positioned so that the opposing members of one band fastener are parallel to and in the same plane as the opposing members of another band fastener .

Preferably the opposing members of the band fasteners of the logo badge extend to the same amount, so that the gap formed between the opposing members is uniform and central to the band fasteners.

Preferably the main body of the logo badge forms a top surface and a rear surface, and the top surface of the logo badge is flat to provide a logo surface.

Preferably the top surface of the logo badge is raised from the main body of the logo badge and has a bevelled edge .

The rear surface of the logo badge may optionally have a recess matching the shape of the main body of the logo badge . Preferably the main body of the logo badge has a sliding groove adapted to receive the notebook band. Preferably the rear surface of the main body of the logo badge has the sliding groove. Preferably the sliding groove is flat .

Preferably the sliding groove of the logo badge forms one plane and the opposing members of the band fasteners form another, parallel but separated plane, so that when the logo badge is attached to the notebook band the notebook band is not deformed and the logo badge is easily

slidable along the notebook band.

The sliding groove may optionally match the shape of the main body of the logo badge.

Preferably the logo badge is made from metal and is anodised to create a decorative finish in a variety of colours .

In a further aspect, the invention provides a notebook having a band for keeping the notebook closed and one or more logo badges according to any one of the preceding claims attached to the notebook band. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

An example is now described with reference to the

accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of the top surface of an example logo badge.

Fig. 2 shows a side schematic view taken along A-A of the logo badge of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged view of a section of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 shows a schematic view of the rear surface of the logo badge shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic side view of the logo badge of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 shows an enlarged view of a section of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of the logo badge of Fig. 1.

Figs. 8-13 show schematic views of the logo badge with dimensions incorporated for reference.

Fig. 14 shows another perspective view of the logo badge.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Figs. 1-14 show an example embodiment of a logo badge 1 of the present invention. Figs. 1 and 7 show the main body 100 having a top surface 11 with band fasteners 3. The band fasteners 3 comprise two opposing members 5, separated by a gap 7, that extend away from the main body 100 of the logo badge 1 to form a band slot 9 for receiving the notebook band.

The gap 7 of this example embodiment is about 1 mm, although larger gaps of e.g. 2 mm or 3 mm may be used. Preferably the gap 7 is at least 0.5 mm, at least 1 mm. Preferably the gap 7 is at least the thickness of the notebook band upon which the logo badge 1 is to be attached. Preferably the gap 7 is at most 3 mm, at most 2 mm, at most 1 mm. A small gap 7 ensures that the logo badge 1 is attached securely to the notebook band.

The band slot 9 of this example embodiment is about 1 mm in width and 10 mm in length, although greater widths and lengths may be used. Preferably the band slot 9 is at least 5 mm, at least 10 mm in length and at least 0.5 mm, and at least 1 mm, at least 2 mm in width. Preferably the band slot 9 width is at least the same as the

thickness of the notebook band and the band slot 9 length the same as the width of the notebook band upon which the logo badge 1 is to be attached. In the example embodiment shown, the band fasteners 3 are located at opposite sides of the main body 100 of the logo badge 1, but the skilled person will understand that the band fasteners 3 may be located elsewhere. The skilled person will also understand that more than two band fasteners 3 may be used for each logo badge 1.

Preferably there are at least two band fasteners 3. The location of the two band fasteners 3 on opposite sides of the main body 100 of the logo badge 1 is beneficial as it means that the logo badge 1 attaches more securely to the notebook band. This is achieved in part because the gap 7 can be made slightly smaller than it otherwise would be; having the band fasteners 3 on the opposite sides of the main body 100 of the logo badge 1 allows a user to attach one band fastener 3 at a time to the notebook band by bending the band substantially to fit into the band fastener 3.

The location of the band fasteners 3 at opposite sides of the main body 100 of the logo badge 1 is also beneficial as it means that cheaper, more efficient manufacturing techniques may be used to produce the logo badge 1, such as machine pressing, stamping and die cutting, compared to more expensive and time-consuming techniques such as die-casting . The band fasteners 3 of the example embodiment shown in Fig. 1 are substantially the same i.e. the band fasteners 3 on one side of the main body 100 mirror those of the band fasteners 3 on the other side of the main body 100. However it will be understood that the band fasteners 3 do not have to mirror each other and could be different to each other.

The mirroring of the band fasteners 3 also means that the opposing members 5 of one band fastener 3 are parallel to the opposing members 5 of another band fastener 3. This is important as it allows the notebook band to pass through one band fastener 3 and through another band fastener 3 easily and without obstruction or overdue deformation of the notebook band. This is important if the logo badge is to be slidable along the notebook band.

In this example, the opposing members 5 of the band fasteners 3 also extend to the same amount (about 5 mm), so that the gap 7 formed between the opposing members 5 is uniform and central to the band fasteners 3. However, the opposing members 5 do not have to extend to the same amount. For example, one opposing member 5 could extend to a lesser degree than the other opposing member 5 so that the gap 7 is not central to the band fastener 3.

In the example embodiment shown, the opposing members 5 are substantially cuboidal and rectangular in shape when viewed from above, however it will be understood that the opposing members may form other shapes e.g.

pyramid/triangle . In the example embodiment shown, the opposing members 5 have rounded ends. However, it will be understood that the opposing members 5 may have square ends and edges, bevelled ends or edges, or any number of alternative ends or edges. The edges and/or ends of the opposing members 5 may be rounded or angled in order to more effectively receive the notebook band.

Fig. 2 shows a cross-section of the logo badge 1 of Fig. 1 through A-A, showing main body 100, top surface 11, rear surface 13 and band fasteners 3. It can be seen that the band fasteners 3 and the opposing members 5 of the band fasteners 3 are in the same plane as each other This is also important if the logo badge 1 is to be slidable along the notebook band. It can also be seen that both top surface 11 and rear surface 13 of logo badge 1 are flat and substantially parallel to each other. However, it will be understood that the top surface 13 may be textured or shaped (e.g. to form a dome or pyramid) . Fig. 2 also shows that the top surface 11 of the logo badge 1 is raised above the main body 100 of the logo badge and has a bevelled edge. However it will be understood that in some embodiments the top surface 11 of the logo badge 1 may be the same height as the main body 100 of the logo badge 1

Fig. 4 shows the rear surface 13 of logo badge 1. In the example embodiment shown, the rear surface 13 of the logo badge 1 has a sliding groove 15. Preferably, the sliding groove 15 is the same width as the band slot 9. In this example embodiment the width of the band slot is about 11 mm. However, the sliding groove 15 may be wider or narrower than the band slot 9. Alternatively, the sliding groove 15 may substantially match the shape of the main body 100 of the logo badge 1, or may take any other shape .

Fig. 5 shows a schematic side view of the logo badge 1 of Fig. 1, showing top surface 11, rear surface 13 and opposing members 5. Fig. 6 shows an enlarged view of a section of Fig. 5.

In the example embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6, it can be seen that the opposing members 5 of the band fastener

3 are thinner than the main body 100 of the logo badge 1, however in some embodiments the opposing members 5 are the same thickness as the main body 100.

In the example embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the opposing members 5 are in a plane that is parallel to but separated from that of the sliding groove 15, so that when the logo badge 1 is attached to the notebook band the notebook band is not excessively bent or deformed and the logo badge 1 can be easily slid along the notebook band. Preferably the sliding groove 15 is flat to aid sliding of the logo badge 1 along the notebook band. The separation between the planes of the sliding groove 15 and the opposing members 5 is preferably the same as that of the thickness of the notebook band upon which the logo badge 1 is to be attached.

In alternative embodiments of the invention, the shape of the main body 100 of the logo badge 1 can form a square, a circle, a rectangle, a triangle, a parallelogram, a trapezoid, an ellipse, an oval, a trapezium, a rhombus, a kite, a quatrefoil, a curvilinear triangle, a crescent or a hexagon, or any other geometric or bespoke shape (e.g. a company logo or any other object such as a beer bottle, car etc.) . Preferably the top surface 11 of the main body 100 matches the shape of the main body 100. The main body 100 may additionally have a recess on the rear surface 13. This recess may substantially match the shape of the main body 100 of the logo badge 1. The recess may also act as the sliding groove 15.

Preferably the logo badge 1 is made from metal, but many other materials such as leather, plastic and wood are suitable and will be known by the skilled person. If the logo badge 1 is made from metal, it can be plated

(allowing for gold or chromium plating) or anodised, creating a particularly brilliant and smooth finish in a variety of fashionable colours. The top surface 11 of the logo badge 1 may additionally have e.g. a logo or other advertising printed onto it (screen printed, chemically etched, stamped, engraved, colour filled, resin domed) .

Preferably the logo badge 1 is made by machine pressing. Preferably the logo badge 1 is made from a single piece of material that is pressed, stamped and dies cut into shape. This is beneficial in that it means the

manufacturing process is simpler, quicker and more efficient than that where multiple pieces have to be assembled. It also means that aesthetically the finished logo badge will look smoother, sleeker and generally more professional, which is important for its intended use of being prominently displayed on the front of a notebook. In principle the logo badge is produced by a

'progression' stamping and die cutting tool, achieving quick production times at a very low cost.

The skilled person will appreciate that various

modifications to the specifically described embodiment are possible without departing from the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. A logo badge for a notebook, the notebook having a band for keeping the notebook closed, wherein

the logo badge has a main body and is adapted to be removably attachable to the notebook band after the notebook band has been attached to the notebook.

2. The logo badge of claim 1 wherein the logo badge comprises at least two band fasteners,

the band fasteners comprising two opposing members separated by a gap,

the opposing members attached to the main body of the logo badge and

extending away from the main body of the logo badge to form a band slot for receiving the band.

3. The logo badge of claim 2 wherein the band fasteners are located on opposite sides of the main body of the logo badge.

4. The logo badge of any one of the preceding claims wherein the opposing members of one band fastener attached to the logo badge are parallel to and in the same plane as the opposing members of another band fastener attached to the logo badge.

5. The logo badge of any one of the preceding claims wherein all of the opposing members of all of the band fasteners extend to the same amount, so that the gap formed between the opposing members is uniform and central to the band fasteners.

6. The logo badge of any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein main body of the logo badge forms a top surface and rear surface, and the top surface of the logo badge flat .

7. The logo badge of claim 6 wherein the top surface the logo badge has a bevelled edge.

8. The logo badge of claim 6 or 7 wherein the rear surface has a recess matching the shape of the main body of the logo badge.

9. The logo badge of any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the main body of the logo badge has a sliding groove adapted to receive the notebook band.

10. The logo badge of any one of claims 6 to 8 wherein the rear surface of the main body of the logo badge has a sliding groove adapted to receive the notebook band.

11. The logo badge of claim 9 or 10 wherein the sliding groove of the logo badge forms one plane and the opposing members of the band fasteners form another, parallel but separated plane, so that when the logo badge is attached to the notebook band the notebook band is not deformed and the logo badge is easily slidable along the notebook band .

12. The logo badge of any one of claims 9 to 11 wherein the sliding groove is flat.

13. The logo badge of any one of claims 9 to 12 wherein the sliding groove matches the shape of the main body of the logo badge.

14. The logo badge of any one of claims 1 to 13 wherein the logo badge is made from metal and is anodised to create a decorative finish.

15. A notebook having a band for keeping the notebook closed and one or more logo badges according to any one of the preceding claims attached to the notebook band.

16. The logo badge as substantially described herein with reference to the drawings.