Technical field

The present invention concerns the technical field of school products, in particular stationery products in general .

In more detail, the invention refers to a particularly functional and constructively simple dispenser for adhesive labels, intended generally for notebooks and/or books, in particular for exercise books of primary and secondary schools.

Background art

In stationery field, labels of adhesive type applied to the cover of exercise books and books are currently known and very common in order to write useful information on them.

In particular, in primary and secondary schools, exercise books with different sizes (for example, checked or lined) are used and intended for different purposes (for example, lined exercise books are used for Italian language and squared exercise books for mathematics) .

Nowadays also young students of primary and secondary schools attend many courses with specific different teachers, each one of them requires the use of at least a specific exercise book for its own subject.

Therefore, the student must deal with many exercise books of different sizes, each one of them intended for a single subject.

Adhesive labels are often purchased in stationery shops and they are generally preprinted with the name of the specific subject, such as "ITALIAN" or "MATHEMATICS", etc .

In other cases, they can be blank for allowing to write by hand the specific subject on them.

In any case, they can be easily applied on the cover of the exercise book, thus allowing the student to identify immediately the correct exercise book.

Therefore, for example, if the student has to carry a predetermined number of exercise books to school for the different subjects of the day, he can find easily and immediately the correct exercise books. Thus, there is no risk to take an exercise book in error and there is no need to leaf through it to check the correctness of the choice .

Therefore, such labels can be purchased in any stationery shops and they are commonly sold.

However, they are sold in simple packages containing a predetermined number of loose labels, ten for example.

Then, if it is necessary to buy a single label or a specific number of such labels, the user is currently compelled to buy a whole package or more packages and so many purchased labels will be unnecessary and unused.

Even though labels can be kept for subsequent years and/or uses, they can be easily lost, because of their small sizes (few centimeters each side and generally rectangular-shaped) .

For this reason, a waste of paper and further costs for the buyer occur. Disclosure of the invention

It is therefore the aim of the present invention to provide a specific dispensing device for adhesive labels for solving the above-mentioned technical problems.

In particular, the aim of the present invention is to provide a dispensing device which allows to supply labels in such a manner that the user can get exactly the required number, thus avoiding useless waste.

It is also the aim of the present invention to provide a dispensing device which is structurally simple and low-cost, being at the same time of reduced encumbrance .

These and other aims are then obtained through the present dispensing device 1 for adhesive labels applicable to exercise books, according to claim 1.

Such a dispensing device (1) comprises:

A front panel (2) in which at least an opening (6) is obtained, preferably a plurality of openings arranged on one or more rows;

- First support means (4, 5) to keep said front panel (2) in emerging position from a support base where it is placed in use;

And wherein second support means (20', 20'', 21, 22, 24) are further comprised, configured and arranged in such a manner as to support in rotatable manner a roll (100) of strip of adhesive labels (110), thus allowing to unroll it trough said opening (6) .

In this manner, all the above-mentioned technical problems are easily solved.

Therefore, it is not necessary anymore to buy single packages of adhesive labels, as, thanks to the use of such a device, the user can easily get from the roll/s the number and the type of requested labels.

Moreover, the dispenser can be equipped with more openings, each one of them intended for a specific roll with a specific label.

The dispenser can be applied to any table so as to allow the buyer to select in easy manner the requested labels between a set of adhesive rolls with labels. Advantageously, the second support means are applied or belonging directly to the front panel itself.

In a possible embodiment, such second support means comprise a support arranged in the front panel for supporting each one a rotation axis (21, 22) on which a roll (100) is applied.

More specifically, advantageously, such support means are in the form of two opposed seats (20' , 20' ' ) of such sizes to hold each one the end of a rotation axis of a roll.

Advantageously, the positioning of said two seats (20', 20'') can be such that the roll (100) in use is held inside the opening (6) .

In this manner, the roll can rotate unrestrainedly by positioning itself in a position making the collection of the label easy and such that it can rotate unrestrainedly inside the opening.

In particular, advantageously, such an embodiment allows to obtain the seats by cutting them directly in the material of the front panel.

This embodiment is cheap, simple and compact.

Advantageously, said two seats are arranged each one in one side (6', 6'') of the opening, said two sides of the opening where the seats are arranged being opposed each other.

In this manner, the roll unrolls along the width of the opening and can be unrolled by tearing the strip downwards .

Advantageously, in particular, in the case of seats cut directly in the panel, a closing element (24, 25) is provided for said seats in such a manner that the end of the axis is trapped in the seat.

The rotation axis can be equally placed in the seats, in such a manner as to be rotatable with respect to the seats where it is placed, or it can be fixed to the seat (in that case, the cylindrical strip roll has to be assembled in rotatable manner with respect to the axis where it is placed) .

Advantageously, the rotation axis is made by an axis

21 assembling in rotatable manner one or more disks 22 which can be unthreaded with respect to said axis 21, whose diameter is selectable in such a manner as to couple with a certain interference degree with the core of the roll.

In this manner, by simply changing the disks, the axis can be fixed to any roll.

Advantageously, first support means comprises at least a support base (3, 4, 5) connected to the front panel ( 2 ) .

Advantageously, such a support base is obtained by one or more further panels (4, 5) connected to the front panel, so as to create a stable support base.

Advantageously, such panels (3, 4, 5) are connected to the front panel by means of a rapid joint system of the detachable type, for example cuttings in panels allowing to couple them one another.

This embodiment has the advantage to allow rapid assembly and disassembly.

Advantageously, such panels (3, 4, 5) and/or the front panel (2) are made of material such as PVC as well as biodegradable material, for example paper material such as cardboard or heavy paper. Brief description of drawings

Further features and advantages of the present dispensing device, according to the invention, will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, given only by way of non-limiting, indicative, example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 depicts an axonometric view of the present dispensing device, according to the invention:

- Figure 2 depicts an exploded view for highlighting the parts forming it that can be easily assembled one another for obtaining the dispenser;

Figure 3 is a detailed view of figure 2;

Figure 4 depicts a rear view of the dispensing device, so as to highlight mainly the system for the application of strip rolls of labels which are thus applied in rotatable manner each one in the relative opening 6 obtained in the front panel 2;

Figure 5 depicts a further axonometric view wherein, by means of explanatory example, three openings of the front panel 2 are equipped with a rotation axis, around which the strip roll is assembled in rotatable manner and, in particular, one of such three openings is depicted exactly with the assembled roll;

- Figure 6 depicts a possible embodiment of rotation axis which can be used for assembling each strip roll in rotatable manner;

Figure 7 is a further view wherein members of the dispenser subject of the invention are depicted divided each other; in particular, the front panel is depicted integral, i.e. without any openings or openings 6, as they can be obtained subsequently by removing the equivalent area delimited by a weakening line; in this manner the required number of strip rolls can be applied without necessarily using all the openings of the whole front panel;

Figure 8 is a further axonometric view of the dispenser with all the assembled label rolls. Description of some preferred embodiments

Figure 1 depicts a dispensing device 1 according to the invention.

It is equipped with a front panel 2 which is emerging in use from a support surface where is placed, such as a table .

Obviously, the front panel has a front side (IF), on which decorations can be obtained, and a rear side (IP) highlighted in figure 4.

The front side (IF) in use is facing the buyer collecting the labels, as described further.

The support surface can be for example a stationery shop' s counter, in such a manner that the dispenser is visible and easily usable by the clients.

As depicted in figure 1, the front panel 2 is equipped with at least one, preferably a plurality, of openings 6 passing through its whole thickness. In this manner, the adhesive label roll comes out through each opening, as explained further, in such a manner as to unroll the roll through said opening.

The front panel 2 can be cut of any size, of any shape and, as already mentioned, decorated according to selected drawings.

Obviously, the sizes, colors and shapes can be modified without departing from the scope of the invention .

Preferably, the front panel is a stiff PVC, for example of the Forex type.

The selected thickness can be from approximately 1,3 cm to 1,5 cm, as such a size allows lightness and the necessary stiffness, thus avoiding inflections of the panel. Nevertheless, such sizes can be changed without departing from the scope of the invention.

Another material that can be used is "Dibond", which is aluminum with an inner core made of PVC, preferably of the Forex type, and then a PVC having an external aluminum sheet on both sides.

Alternatively, even being less stiff, paper material such as cardboard or heavy paper could be used, although PVC is more long-lasting.

First support means (4, 5) are then comprised for forming a support base for the front panel 2, thus allowing to keep said front panel (2) standing and stable on the support base where it is placed in use.

Said first support means are already depicted in figure 1, as applied to the front panel 2 and the front panel 2 indeed is depicted in an embodiment emerging from a hypothetical support surface (not depicted only for descriptive simplicity) .

For clarity purposes, such first support means are depicted in the exploded view of figure 2 and 3.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, they include a couple of feet 5 and a couple of rear supports 4 cooperating each other.

In more detail, as depicted in figure 2, two support feet 5, cut in a sort of truncated pyramidal shape, are provided. They have a lower base 10 (see figure 3) for laying on the support surface and an upper base 11, from the opposite side to the lower base, where a cutting 12 going from the upper base to the lower base is comprised.

The function of the cutting 12 is to be constrained to the front panel 2, preferably with a certain degree of mechanical interference.

In the same manner, also the front panel 2 has two vertical cuttings 12' on the base, with such a width to hold the thickness of the foot 5 to which it is coupled.

In this manner, as depicted for example in the overall figure 1, the two cuttings are constrained each other by joining the parts.

More particularly, the feet 5 can be arranged each one on a cutting 12' of the panel, by overlapping the cutting 12' to the cutting 12 of the foot, in such a manner that the thickness of the front panel 2 is inserted inside said cutting 12 and, in turn, the thickness of the foot is inserted inside the cutting 12' .

Therefore, as depicted in figure 1, the assembly has to be equipped with feet and panel arranged orthogonally each other, in such a manner that the cuttings hold the thickness of the element to which they are coupled.

Then, the front panel can be pushed to the end stroke, wherein the base of the cutting 12' touches the base of the cutting 12, so that the base of the panel is on the same level of the lower base 10 and the foot 5, as per figure 1. Obviously, the feet 5 is placed in orthogonal manner with respect to the level formed by the front panel 2.

In this manner, the dispenser is already stable on the whole.

In order to adorn the exposed part of the front panel, and then to hide the feet 5, a further panel 3 can be arranged laying on the tilting side 15 of the foot which faces in use the exposed front part.

In this manner, it is possible to print exposed logotypes in general, as depicted in the example of figure 1, wherein the logotype "Policart" is outlined.

As depicted in figure 3, the panel 3 can have a shape with a tooth 3' placed in central position with respect to two lateral hollows 3' ' . Tooth and hollows are coupled to the respective complementary teeth 15' ' and the hollow 15' on the tilted side of the feet.

The tilted side 15 has raised edges at its ends in order to retain the position of the panel 3. The panel 3 has no structural function and a suitable shape of the tilted side 15 is enough to retain its position .

In order to improve the stability, two rear arms, generally triangular-shaped, are arranged, having on each side one or more teeth 4' inserting themselves in corresponding seats obtained in the rear side (IP) of the front panel.

Therefore, the arrangement thereof is similar to the support arm of frames.

Then, figure 1 depicts the embodiment in use, highlighting rear arms 4 forming a further support placed behind the front panel.

In this manner, the combined effect of feet and rear arms creates a stable base on the whole, such that the front panel retains its position firmly in use.

In any case, it is obvious that equivalent systems can be used without however departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, two feet 5 separated each other and a single rear support 4 in the midpoint of the front panel could be enough.

On the contrary, a single foot in the midpoint of the front panel 2 and two rear supports 4 separated each other could be provided.

Alternatively, a single rear support could be used, possibly connected to the front panel 4, as a photo frame and therefore movable from an extended position in use to a retracted position close to the front panel.

In a further embodiment, the support base could be formed by only two or more feet of suitable size or even by only one of suitable size.

The front panel 2, as well as first support means in the form of feet or rear supports are preferably made of single panels coupling in snap-together manner.

Snap-together coupling means that each element has a cutting on one side which can hold the thickness of another panel in such a manner as to achieve a rapid connection that can be easily disassembled.

The mechanical interference degree sets the stability of the assembled device, even if the whole assembly could be also stabilized by means of glue.

The advantage of such a snap-together embodiment is that the device can be made of simple panels as described above that are then easily assembled together.

In this manner, they can be easily sold in packages where they are disassembled in the form of simple panels that can be rapidly assembled.

The panels can be easily printed with different drawings .

Those ones of paper material are obviously biodegradable and very light but they are less stiff than those ones made of PVC .

However, the same scope of the invention can be applied to panels made of different materials, such as plastic, PVC, etc.

Going further with the structural description of the invention, figure 4 depicts second support means (20' , 20'', 24, 25, 21, 22) for applying a label strip roll on an opening.

They comprise a rotation axis for the roll and a support system which allows to assemble such axes in such a manner that the roll faces its opening where it is destined.

In fact, figure 5 and figure 8 show that, in the preferred embodiment of the invention and as described further, such second support means are arranged in such a manner that a roll 100 is partially emerging from the opening where it is placed in use and it rotates around its unrolling axis which crosses horizontally said opening .

For this purpose, by moving for example to figure 4, it can be noted that the rear part (IP) of the front panel, is equipped with a seat (20' , 20' ' ) on each opening, obtained directly in the panel and in which an end of a rotation axis 21 is lodged.

For each opening, on its left 6' ' and right 6' side, a seat 20' ' and a seat 20' are respectively comprised, in such a manner that the axis 21 can lay from a side 6 towards the opposite side 6' ' with the end thereof inserted in said seats (see figure 4) . In this manner, the roll is laying in the opening 6 with the base thereof facing the left side 6' ' and the other base facing the right side 6' and then with the rotation axis thereof laying from the left side of the opening towards the right side (or vice versa) .

The roll is a known standard product and it is not the object of the present invention. It owns a core, generally made of cardboard, around which the label strip rolls up and the rotation axis is applied on the core. The ends of the rotation axes insert in turn in said seats, thus making the roll be in position on each opening and ready to be unrolled.

By describing the rotation axes in more detail, figure 6 depicts a possible embodiment.

In that case, it is arranged an axis 21 on which a package of disks 22 is placed (even only one disk with suitable thickness would be possible) . The disks have such an external diameter that it can be inserted in the core roll with a certain interference. The disks rotate in idle manner with respect to the axis 21 on which they are assembled . In that manner, the roll can rotate freely around the axis 21, as it is integral for the interference to the disks 22 which are assembled in rotatable manner with respect to the axis 21, as already described.

The axis 21 has its ends arranged in the relative seat 20'' and 20', as depicted in figure 4.

Always as shown in figure 4, a block 24 with screw 25 is fixed on said seats, in such a manner as to block the axis 21 in the position.

The embodiment with disks 22 makes the axis 21 adaptable to any roll diameter, by simply selecting the correct disks 22.

Moreover, the disks 22, by constraining to the roll core with interference, create an embodiment wherein the roll is stable while rotating.

All the panels that can be pre-assembled forming such a dispensing device are preferably made of PVC of the above-described type, for stiffness and durability purposes, even if also paper material can be used.

Blocks 24 are preferably made of wood, plastic or similar materials.

Nevertheless, also a less functional embodiment would be possible, wherein the roll is assembled on a simple axis 21 without disks 22 and then without interference.

The seats (20', 20'') are cut directly in the material of the panel.

The embodiment with the seats cut in the front panel is a simple and cheap embodiment, also because the materials of panels allow a simple processing of the seat by removing the material.

A possible embodiment of the invention could be equipped with supports for the ends of the axis glued to the panel in a similar position to those ones of the cut seats, as per figure 4. Therefore, as per figure 8, the dispensing device has in use a certain number of openings, each one having a strip roll with specific labels.

The example of figure 8 depicts rolls with labels relative to "ART", "TECHNOLOGY", "ITALIAN", etc.

As a purchaser needs certain specific labels, he can get them from the dispenser by simply unrolling the strip and detaching the required label.

In order to help the detaching, each label forming the strip is connected to the previous one by means of a perforated line, for example a line made of holes and coherent material in succession.

The commercial activity' s holder deciding to use such a dispensing device can easily purchase it as it is sold in a package of reduced encumbrance, as it is made by few panels that can be assembled in snap-together manner, as per figure 7.

Once the package has been opened, the assembly is almost immediate and, if required, the dispenser can be easily disassembled and removed.