Easy Opening Ream Wrap

Abstract

A protective wrap material enclosing a stack of cut sheets of paper is folded so that overlapping flaps of the wrap material cover opposite ends of the stack. The overlapping flaps are secured and sealed together only at selected areas that comprise a minor portion of the overlapped flaps, wherein the sealed areas have sufficient burst strength to avoid inadvertent opening of the wrap but at the same time are relatively easy to separate when it is desired to open the wrap to gain access to the cut sheets of paper. In a preferred embodiment the wrap material is heat sealable, and a modified heat plate for applying heat only to the selected areas has a grooved front surface defining heat focusing bars that concentrate heat sufficient to fuse the wrap material only in the selected areas.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A stack of cut sheets of paper wrapped with a protective wrap material enclosing the stack and folded so that overlapping flaps of the wrap material cover opposite ends of the stack, said overlapping flaps being secured and sealed together only at selected areas that comprise a minor portion of the overlapped flaps, wherein the sealed areas have sufficient burst strength to avoid inadvertent opening of the wrap but at the same time are relatively easy to separate when it is desired to open the wrap to gain access to the cut sheets of paper. 
     
     
         2 . A wrapped stack of cut sheets of paper as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the protective wrap material is a heat sealable material; and   the selected areas are fused together by applying heat to the overlapped material at the ends of the stack.   
     
     
         3 . A wrapped stack of cut sheets of paper as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein:
 heat sufficient to fuse the heat sealable material is applied only in the selected areas.   
     
     
         4 . The wrapped stack of cut sheets of paper as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the burst strength as measured by TAPPI 403 is from about 140 to about 200 lbs/square inch. 
     
     
         5 . The wrapped stack of cut sheets of paper as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the burst strength as measured by TAPPI 403 is from about 145 to about 185 lbs/square inch. 
     
     
         6 . The wrapped stack of cut sheets of paper as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the burst strength as measured by TAPPI 403 is from about 150 to about 175 lbs/square inch. 
     
     
         7 . The wrapped stack of cut sheets of paper as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the minor portion of the sealed overlapping flaps is discontinous. 
     
     
         8 . The wrapped stack of cut sheets of paper as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the minor portion of the sealed overlapping flaps is discontinous having at least two regions. 
     
     
         9 . The wrapped stack of cut sheets of paper as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the minor portion of the sealed overlapping flaps is discontinous having at least two regions that are approximately equal in surface area. 
     
     
         10 . The wrapped stack of cut sheets of paper as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the minor portion of the sealed overlapping flaps is discontinous having at least two regions having different surface areas. 
     
     
         11 . The wrapped stack of cut sheets of paper as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein an outer overlapping flap comprises a free edge that may be gripped to facilitate opening of the wrapped stack of cut sheets of paper. 
     
     
         12 . The wrapped stack of cut sheets of paper as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein a portion of the outer edge of the outer overlapping flap is not sealed. 
     
     
         13 . In a machine for applying and sealing a protective wrap to stacks of cut sheets of paper, wherein the wrap comprises a heat sealable material enclosing the stack of paper and having overlapped flaps at opposite ends of the stack, and the machine has heating elements to heat the wrap material at opposite ends of the stack to fuse the overlapped wrap material together, the improvement comprising:
 said heating elements being configured to apply heat sufficient to fuse the overlapped wrap material only in selected areas that comprise a minor portion of the overlapped material.   
     
     
         14 . A heating element for use in a machine that seals a protective wrap around stacks of cut sheets of paper, wherein the wrap comprises a heat sealable material folded so that it has overlapped flaps at opposite ends of the stack and the heating element heats the overlapped wrap material to fuse it together, wherein the heating element is configured to apply heat sufficient to fuse the overlapped wrap material only in selected areas that comprise a minor portion of the overlapped material. 
     
     
         15 . A heating element as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein:
 the heating element comprises a plate having a flat surface that faces said ends of the stack when in use, said surface being grooved to define one or more raised bars that focus or concentrate heat in an area defined by the raised bar, said area defined by the raised bar corresponding to the selected areas of the wrap that are fused together.   
     
     
         16 . The heating element according to  claim 15 , wherein at least one groove of the surface is filled with at least one low friction material. 
     
     
         17 . The heating element according to  claim 16 , wherein the low friction material is at least one material selected from the group consisting of Teflon and ceramic. 
     
     
         18 . The heating element according to  claim 16 , wherein the low friction material is recessed into at least one groove. 
     
     
         19 . The heating element according to  claim 18 , wherein the low friction material is at least one material selected from the group consisting of Teflon and ceramic. 
     
     
         20 . The heating element according to  claim 15 , wherein at least two grooves are provided on the surface of the element and the at least two grooves are filled with a low friction material selected from the group consisting of Teflon and ceramic.