GB2318111A

GB2318111A - Promotional literature in the form of tags for bottles

Info

Publication number: GB2318111A
Application number: GB9621310A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert George Williams
Original assignee: MAYHEW MCCRIMMON PRINTERS LIMI
Current assignee: MAYHEW MCCRIMMON PRINTERS LIMI
Priority date: 1996-10-12
Filing date: 1996-10-12
Publication date: 1998-04-15
Also published as: GB9621310D0

Abstract

A bib 10 for fitting about the neck of a bottle having a projecting collar, comprises a flat sheet of paper or card having promotional literature printed thereon and having a hole 12 to fit over the top of the bottle. The hole 12 in the bib is smaller in diameter than the neck of the bottle and the sheet is formed with slits 14 that extend generally radially from the hole 12 to define fingers 16 which, when the bib 10 is fitted about the neck of a bottle 20, are bent out of the plane of the sheet. The tips of the fingers 16 engage beneath the collar projecting from the neck of the bottle to prevent accidental removal of the bib from the bottle. When bottles are carried in compartmentalised crates, the bibs of adjacent bottles do not overlap.

Description

DISTRIBUTION OF PROMOTIONAL LITERATURE The present invention relates to the distribution of promotional literature to households.

In countries, such as the United Kingdom, in which milk is delivered in bottles to individual households, it is already known to take advantage of the making of house to house calls by the milkman to deliver at the same time promotional literature in the form of leaflets. This is an efficient and cost effective method of advertising that lends itself particular well to certain products, for example breakfast cereals.

A problem that has hitherto been experienced with this method of distribution is that milkmen may not take the trouble to deliver the advertising leaflets at the same time as the milk because it involves them in additional work.

One cannot therefore be certain that the distribution of the leaflets will be carried out effectively.

Because milk bottles are returned for recycling, and because they need to be sterilised each time that they are returned to the dairy, it is not practicable to affix the promotional leaflets permanently to the glass, in the same way as labels are attached to non-returnable bottles such as bottles used for soft drinks.

To avoid the need for the milkman to carry the bottles and the advertising leaflets separately, it has been proposed to make leaflets with a hole in the middle, allowing them to be fitted loosely over the neck of a bottle. The known leaflets are either flat and in the shape of a child's bib, or they are formed as a truncated cone that is wrapped around the neck of the bottle.

In both cases, the milkman is issued in the dairy with a stack of leaflets that need to be slipped individually over the necks of the bottles before they are delivered to each household. Once again therefore additional work is required of the milkmen and the correct distribution of the leaflets cannot be relied upon.

With a view to mitigating the foregoing disadvantages, the present invention provides in accordance with a first aspect a bib for fitting about the neck of a bottle having a projecting collar, the bib comprising a flat sheet of paper or card having promotional literature printed thereon and having a hole to fit over the top of the bottle, wherein the hole in the bib is smaller in diameter than the neck of the bottle and the sheet is formed with slits that extend generally radially from the hole to define fingers which, when the bib is fitted about the neck of a bottle, are bent out of the plane of the sheet, the tips of the fingers engaging beneath the collar projecting from the neck of the bottle to prevent accidental removal of the bib from the bottle.

Unlike a conventional bottle bib where the hole in the bib is larger than the neck of the bottle, the bib of the present invention has a smaller hole surrounded by flexible fingers that grip beneath the collar on the bottle so that once the bib has been slipped over the neck of the bottle, it will not come away accidentally. As a result, the bibs can be fitted to the bottles in the dairy, preferably by an automatic machine, so that their delivery to the households can be guaranteed.

Preferably, the hole in the bib is central and the outer dimensions of the bibs are such that when the bottles are carried in a crate the bibs do no overlap. In this way it can be ensured that the bibs do not interfere in any way with the normal handling of the bottles.

The fitting of the bibs to the bottles in the dairy may be carried most preferably in batches after the bottles have been placed in crates. A plate with suckers may pull twenty bibs from separate magazines and push them at the same time over all the bottles in the crate. Because of the slits around the holes in the bibs, the alignment of the bibs with the necks of the bottles is not critical.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a crate divided by partition walls into individual compartments for receiving bottles and a plurality of bottles located in the compartments, wherein each bottle is fitted with a bib comprising a flat sheet of paper or card having promotional literature printed thereon and having a hole fitted over the top of the bottle, and wherein the hole in the bib is smaller in diameter than the neck of the bottle and the sheet is formed with slits that extend generally radially from the hole to define fingers which are bent out of the plane of the sheet, the tips of the fingers engaging beneath the collar projecting from the neck of the bottle to prevent accidental removal of the bib from the bottle.

Preferably, the area of bibs is smaller than the area of the partitioned bottle compartments in the crate.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of distributing promotional literature which comprises securing bibs to the necks of bottles contained in crates, wherein each bib comprises a flat sheet of paper or card having promotional literature printed thereon and having a hole fitted over the top of the bottle, and wherein the hole in the bib is smaller in diameter than the neck of the bottle and the sheet is formed with slits that extend generally radially from the hole to define fingers which are bent out of the plane of the sheet, the tips of the fingers engaging beneath the collar projecting from the neck of the bottle to prevent accidental removal of the bib from the bottle.

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of a bottle bib of the invention, Figure 2 is a section through a bottle fitted with a bib of the invention, and Figure 3 is a plan view of a crate containing twenty bottles each fitted with a bib while it is located in the crate.

Figure 1 shows an advertising leaflet in the form of a bib 10 that is fitted over a milk bottle 20 in the manner shown in Figure 2. The bib 10 is made of heavy paper or card and has a central hole 12. The hole 12 in the bib 10 is smaller in diameter than the neck of the bottle 20 and the bib is formed with radial slits 14 to define fingers 16 which, when the bib 10 is fitted about the neck of a bottle 20, are bent out of the plane of the card. The tips of the fingers 16 engage beneath the collar projecting from the neck of the bottle to prevent accidental removal of the bib 10 from the bottle 20.

Figure 3 shows a crate 22 filled with bottles 20, each being fitted with a bib 10. The crate is divided by partition walls 24 into individual compartments and the dimensions of the bibs 10 are such that they do not project outside the compartments and therefore do not interfere with the removal of individual bottles 20 from the crate 24.

Slipping a bib over the neck of each bottle is preferably automated in the dairy, taking place after the bottles have been crated to avoid interfering with the normal bottle processing conveyor belt. A dedicated machine for fitting the bibs to the crated bottles may suitably comprise as many magazines as there are bottles in the crate. A movable is positioned first at the discharge end of the magazines to draw one bib from each, using suction pads. The plate is then inserted into the top of the crate to push the bibs over all the bottles at the same time. The flexible fingers afford a great deal of latitude in the position of the position of the bottle and ensure that the bibs grip the bottles so that they should not come away from the bottles accidentally.

The advantage of the bibs 10 of the invention is that they can be fitted to the bottles 20 in the dairy and they do not require extra tasks to be performed by the milkman.

Furthermore, they do not interfere with the handling of the bottles nor cause any nuisance that may encourage the milkman to remove them before delivery. As a result, delivery of the leaflets can be assured and there will result less wastage of printed leaflets.

Though the invention has been described by reference to milk bottles, the contents of the bottle are of course of no importance to the invention.

Claims

1. A bib for fitting about the neck of a bottle having a projecting collar, the bib comprising a flat sheet of paper or card having promotional literature printed thereon and having a hole to fit over the top of the bottle, wherein the hole in the bib is smaller in diameter than the neck of the bottle and the sheet is formed with slits that extend generally radially from the hole to define fingers which, when the bib is fitted about the neck of a bottle, are bent out of the plane of the sheet, the tips of the fingers engaging beneath the collar projecting from the neck of the bottle to prevent accidental removal of the bib from the bottle.

2. A bib as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hole in the bib is central and the outer dimensions of the bibs are such that, when the bottles are carried in a crate, the bibs do no overlap.

3. A crate divided by partition walls into individual compartments for receiving bottles and a plurality of bottles located in the compartments, wherein each bottle is fitted with a bib comprising a flat sheet of paper or card having promotional literature printed thereon and having a hole fitted over the top of the bottle, and wherein the hole in the bib is smaller in diameter than the neck of the bottle and the sheet is formed with slits that extend generally radially from the hole to define fingers which are bent out of the plane of the sheet, the tips of the fingers engaging beneath the collar projecting from the neck of the bottle to prevent accidental removal of the bib from the bottle.

4. A crate as claimed in claim 3, wherein the area of bibs is smaller than the area of the partitioned bottle compartments in the crate.

5. A method of distributing promotional literature which comprises securing bibs to the necks of bottles contained in crates, wherein each bib comprises a flat sheet of paper or card having promotional literature printed thereon and having a hole fitted over the top of the bottle, and wherein the hole in the bib is smaller in diameter than the neck of the bottle and the sheet is formed with slits that extend generally radially from the hole to define fingers which are bent out of the plane of the sheet, the tips of the fingers engaging beneath the collar projecting from the neck of the bottle to prevent accidental removal of the bib from the bottle.