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  Insulating label stockUSPTO Application #: 20070199647Title: Insulating label stock Abstract: An insulating label stock including a thermal insulating layer, which may be a fiberfill batt, is provided. The batt is laminated to at least one layer of film, paper, or fabric. Also provided is a method of making insulating label stock. The insulating label stock may be wrapped around a container, such as a can, bottle, or pouch. Further, the insulating label stock may be coated with a coating material so that it is printable, thus imparting both insulating properties and print capability to a container. (end of abstract) Agent: E I Du Pont De Nemours And Company Legal Patent Records Center - Wilmington, DE, US Inventors: Thomas Edward Benim, Susan G. Chamberlin, Jeffrey Chambers, Steven R. Cosentino, Peter R. Hunderup, Ross A. Lee, Susan D. Procaccini USPTO Applicaton #: 20070199647 - Class: 156251000 (USPTO) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070199647. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/437,671, which was filed on May 12, 2003, and which issued on Feb. 13, 2007, as U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,730, which in turn is a divisional application of U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,841, issued on Jul. 4, 2006, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to an insulating label stock for a container which comprises a thermal insulating layer which is bonded to a face material. The face material may be film, paper or fabric. The face material can be coated with a coating material so that it is printable, thus imparting both insulating properties and print capability to the container. [0004] 2. Description of Related Art [0005] Insulated enclosures for containers are known, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,597. This enclosure includes a first, or inner-most fabric layer, a second inner-most insulating layer which includes a polymeric foam, a third inner-most metallized polymer film reflective layer, and an outer-most fabric mesh layer. However, the use of four different layers, although providing good insulation for the container, can be cumbersome, which limits the function of such enclosure for other purposes, such as a label stock. [0006] In the label art, different materials and different layers are generally not used in a label stock. This is due in part to the fact that it has been too costly to laminate the different materials and layers. Moreover, in order to laminate different materials, one of which imparts thermal insulation to the label and has some thickness or loft, the materials must be heated to a temperature which collapses the lofty material. [0007] Also known in the film art is a thin electrical tape which comprises a polyester web-reinforced polyester film, as disclosed in 3M Utilities and Telecommunications OEM. However, this tape, which at its thickest is 0.0075 inch (0.0190 cm.), is not suitable for use as an insulator for a container. [0008] Thus, there exists a need to design an insulator for a container which is inexpensive to manufacture. Such an insulator would be thick enough to provide adequate insulation, but thin enough to be flexible so that it will wrap around the container. Ideally, such insulator would be multi-functional so that it could also serve as a label. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009] The present invention overcomes the problems associated with the prior art by providing a label stock which acts as an insulator for a container. This insulator has enough loft, i.e., is thick enough (greater than 0.0075'' (0.0190 cm.)) so as to provide adequate insulation for the container, but thin enough so that it can be easily wrapped around a container. Because of this feature, this insulator can function as a label stock also. Thus, the use of a label made from the label stock of the present invention has the advantage of maintaining the temperature of the contents of the container longer than the use of a label alone. Moreover, the label stock of the present invention is printable, thereby enhancing its use as a label for a container. [0010] Another advantage of the label stock of the present invention is that it is less costly to manufacture than a laminated structure, since in a preferred embodiment it includes a co-extruded film with a heat-sealable adhesive which is used to adhere the film to an insulating layer. [0011] Moreover, in the preferred embodiment where the film and the insulating layer are both made of polyester, and include compatible adhesives, the label stock of the present invention is wholly recyclable, thereby providing significant environmental advantages over known labels or insulators of the prior art. [0012] In accordance with the present invention, the insulating label stock of the present invention comprises a thermal insulating layer having a thermal resistance of 0.05 to 0.5 CLO (0.077 m.sup.2*K/W) which is laminated to a face material, wherein, the label stock is at least 0.0075 inch (0.0190 cm.) thick. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0013] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a label stock according to the present invention, showing face material on both sides of a thermal insulating layer. [0014] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the label stock of the present invention, similar to FIG. 1, but showing face material laminated to only one side of the thermal insulating layer. [0015] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a container wrapped with a label cut from a label stock in accordance with the present invention. [0016] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a container with indentations wrapped with a label cut from a label stock in accordance with the present invention. [0017] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a bottle wrapped with a label cut from a label stock in accordance with the present invention. [0018] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a cup wrapped with a label cut from a label stock in accordance with the present invention. [0019] FIG. 7 is a schematic view of one apparatus suitable for making the label stock according to the present invention. [0020] FIG. 8 is a graph showing the temperature at which the heat sealable layers of the face material were activated vs. the thickness of the label stock made in Example 1. Continue reading... Full patent description for Insulating label stock Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Insulating label stock patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Insulating label stock or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Cushion assembly and a method for producing a cushion assembly Next Patent Application: Method for producing blanks from cardboard and device for implementing the method Industry Class: Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Insulating label stock patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 4.35429 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Medical: Surgery , Surgery(2) , Surgery(3) , Drug , Drug(2) , Prosthesis , Dentistry |
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