Special precautions self-laminating wristband business form and method Number:7,386,949 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) owispatent A preferably two ply, page sized business form particularly adapted for use in a medical or hospital environment includes a wristband that is die cut thereinto with a face stock area defined in the top or face stock ply and an overlying laminate portion defined in the underlying laminate ply with one or more cinch slots and a tab through which the strap end of the laminate portion is inserted for securing the wristband about a person's appendage. The business form preferably also includes a plurality of "special precaution" condition labels die cut into the laminate ply for selective separation therefrom so that one or more may be adhered to the face stock imaging area either before or after lamination to warn of a "special precaution" for the wristband wearer. The laminate portion, the label, and the strap end may be color coded to provide a visual indication of this special precaution status. The business form may be provided in sheetlet size, or full page size, one or more wristbands per form. Labels and cards may be die cut into the form for separation therefrom and application to associated medical charts, or other records to provide the same special precautions indication in other parts of a patient's file/records.<H precautions, laminating, Special, precaut, 7386949.html, Patent, pto, 7386949

Title: Special precautions self-laminating wristband business form and method

Abstract: A preferably two ply, page sized business form particularly adapted for use in a medical or hospital environment includes a wristband that is die cut thereinto with a face stock area defined in the top or face stock ply and an overlying laminate portion defined in the underlying laminate ply with one or more cinch slots and a tab through which the strap end of the laminate portion is inserted for securing the wristband about a person's appendage. The business form preferably also includes a plurality of "special precaution" condition labels die cut into the laminate ply for selective separation therefrom so that one or more may be adhered to the face stock imaging area either before or after lamination to warn of a "special precaution" for the wristband wearer. The laminate portion, the label, and the strap end may be color coded to provide a visual indication of this special precaution status. The business form may be provided in sheetlet size, or full page size, one or more wristbands per form. Labels and cards may be die cut into the form for separation therefrom and application to associated medical charts, or other records to provide the same special precautions indication in other parts of a patient's file/records.

Patent Number: 7,386,949 Issued on 06/17/2008 to Riley

Inventors: Riley; James M. (St. Louis, MO)
Assignee: Laser Band, LLC (St. Louis, MO)

Appl. No.: 10/859,267

Filed: June 2, 2004

Related U.S. Patent Documents


Application Number	Filing Date	Patent Number	Issue Date
10744766	Dec., 2003	7222448
10627135	Jul., 2003	7017294
10352012	Jan., 2003	6748687
10283777	Oct., 2002	7017293
10256758	Sep., 2002	7047682
09710229	Jan., 2003	6510634
09489647	Aug., 2002	6438881
09340273	May., 2000	6067739
09104292	Aug., 1999	5933993
08949578	Dec., 1999	6000160

Current U.S. Class: 40/633 ; 283/75

Current International Class: A44C 5/00 (20060101)

Field of Search: 40/633

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Primary Examiner: Silbermann; Joanne
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Thompson Coburn LLP

Parent Case Text

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part to Ser. No. 10/744,766, filed Dec. 23, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,222,448, which is a continuation-in-part to Ser. No. 10/627,135, filed Jul. 25, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,017,294, which is a continuation-in-part to Ser. No. 10/283,777, filed Oct. 30, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,017,293 which is a continuation-in-part to Ser. No. 10/256,758, filed Sep. 27, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,047,682 the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

This application is also a continuation-in-part to Ser. No. 10/352,012, filed Jan. 27, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,748,687, which is a continuation to Ser. No. 09/710,229, filed Nov. 10, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,510,634, issued Jan. 28, 2003, which is a continuation-in-part to Ser. No. 09/489,647, filed Jan. 24, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,881, issued Aug. 27, 2002, which is a continuation to Ser. No. 09/340,273, filed Jun. 25, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,067,739, issued May 30, 2000, which is a continuation to Ser. No. 09/104,292, filed Jun. 24, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,993, issued Aug. 10, 1999; which is a continuation-in-part to Ser. No. 08/949,578, filed Oct. 14, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,160, issued Dec. 14, 1999, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A business form containing a wristband comprising a face ply layer and a laminate layer, the face ply layer having a printable portion die cut therein and the laminate layer having a laminating portion die cut therein so that when separated from said business form said laminating portion is sufficient for laminating the printable portion and attaching it to a person's appendage, the laminate layer having at least one pre-printed label die cut therein for selective separation from said form and affixation to overlie said printable portion of said wristband.

2. The business form of claim 1 wherein a plurality of labels are die cut into said laminate layer.

3. The business form of claim 2 wherein said laminating portion comprises a cinch end and a strap end so that after separation from said form the strap end may be inserted through the cinch to attach the two ends, and wherein the cinch includes a fold over tab to adhere the strap end thereto, the fold over tab permitting the strap end to extend through the cinch with its end remaining free to thereby form a flag.

4. The business form of claim 3 wherein said printable portion has a plurality of predefined positions size for receiving one or more of the pre-printed labels.

5. The business form of claim 4 wherein said pre-printed labels each warn of a special precaution relating to a condition of the wearer of the wristband and the laminating portion is color coded to warn of the existence of such special precautions.

6. The business form of claim 5 wherein said face ply layer and laminate layer each have aligned die cuts forming a printable card for receiving a printed indication of a special precaution, said card being detachable from said form along said aligned die cuts.

7. The business form of claim 1 further comprising color coded markers die cut into the laminate layer for separation from said business form and application to the wristband to warn of pre-designated special precaution conditions.

8. The business form of claim 1 wherein a plurality of said wristbands and a set of labels for each wristband are formed in a single business form.

9. The business form of claim 8 further comprising another die cut extending through both of said layers to define a printable card for receiving information relating to a special precaution, said card being formed from portions of both of said layers and separable from said business form along said another die cut.

10. The business form of claim 9 further comprising color coded markers die cut into the laminate layer for separation from said business form and application to the wristband to warn of pre-designated special precaution conditions.

11. A wristband formed by the separation and assembly of said printable portion, said laminating portion, and at least one pre-printed label from the business form of claim 1.

12. A method for forming a special precautions, self-laminating wristband, said business form comprising a first printable face stock layer adhered to a second laminate layer, and wherein the self-laminating wristband comprises a die cut defining a printable portion in said face stock layer, a die cut defining a laminating portion in the laminate layer, and a die cut forming at least one pre-printed label in the laminate layer comprising the steps of separating a self-laminating wristband from a business form including separating the printable portion and the lamination portion as an assemblage, separating from said business form at least one pre-printed label warning of a special precaution from the laminate layer, affixing the pre-printed label to a designated area of said wristband, and laminating the designated area by folding over a laminating portion of said wristband onto said designated area.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the intended laminated area includes a pre-designated position for receiving the pre-printed labels, and the step of affixing the labels includes affixing at least one of them to said pre-designated area.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of affixing the label is performed prior to the step of laminating the designated area.

15. A self-laminated special precautions wristband wherein said wristband is assembled from separated parts of a two layer form comprising a first printable face stock portion for receiving a printed message indicative of a special precaution condition, at least one special precaution label affixed to overlie said printable face stock portion, and a second laminating portion substantially encapsulating at least the face stock portion, the at least one special precaution label being separated from the same layer as the laminating portion, said laminating portion including a cinch and strap for attaching the wristband about a person's appendage.

16. The wristband of claim 15 wherein the cinch includes a slot through which the strap is inserted, and a fold over tab for adhering the strap thereto so that the end of the strap extends past the tab to create a flag warning of a special precaution condition.

17. The wristband of claim 16 wherein said flag is color coded and pre-printed to indicate the presence of a special precaution condition.

18. The wristband of claim 15 wherein the two layer form has a plurality of special precaution labels arranged for separation and use.

19. The wristband of claim 15 wherein the laminating portion is color coded to indicate the presence of a special precaution condition.

20. The wristband of claim 15 wherein the special precaution labels have printable surfaces.

21. The wristband of claim 15 wherein the second laminating portion encapsulates both of at least one special precaution label and the face stock portion.

22. A business form comprised of only two plies of material, a first ply of printable face stock and a backing ply of laminate, with partial layers of release and adhesive joining the two material plies, a first die cut in the printable face ply defining a printable face ply area, a second die cut in the laminate ply defining a wristband including a self-laminating portion for surrounding the printable face ply area, a cinch at one end adjacent the self-laminating portion and a strap portion extending opposite from the cinch, the cinch including a slot through which the strap portion fits and a tab for folding over onto the strap portion to adhere it to the cinch, and a third die cut in the laminate ply defining a plurality of special precaution labels, each of said special precaution labels being pre-printed and color coded to a particular special precaution condition, the printable face ply area having at least one designated area for receiving a special precaution label.

23. The business form of claim 22 further comprising a fourth die cut in the face and laminate ply defining a printable card for separation from the form.

24. The business form of claim 23 further comprising a color coded marker label die cut into the laminate layer, said marker label being smaller sized than said special precaution labels and not being pre-printed but instead being associated with a special precaution condition by its color.

25. A business form containing a wristband comprising a face ply layer and a laminate layer, the face ply layer having a printable portion die cut therein and the laminate layer having a laminating portion die cut therein so that when separated from said business form said laminating portion is sufficient for laminating the printable portion and attaching it to a person's appendage, the laminate layer having a plurality of pre-printed labels die cut therein for selective separation and affixation to overlie said printable portion either before or after lamination with said laminating portion.

26. The business form of claim 25 wherein the pre-printed labels are formed in the laminate ply layer.

27. A wristband formed from the form of claim 25.

28. A business form containing a wristband comprising only a face ply layer and a laminate layer, said layers being co-extensive, the face ply layer having a printable portion die cut therein and the laminate layer having a laminating portion die cut therein so that when separated from said business form said laminating portion is sufficient for laminating the printable portion and attaching it to a person's appendage, the laminate layer having a plurality of pre-printed labels die cut therein for selective separation and said labels being self-adhering for affixation to overlie said printable portion either before or after lamination with said laminating portion.

29. The business form of claim 28 wherein each of said laminating portion and the labels are color coded to indicate the presence of a special precaution condition.

30. The business form of claim 29 wherein the laminating portion includes a cinch and a strap portion for attaching the wristband to a patient, the cinch including a tab portion for overlapping said strap portion and adhering to it after assembly.

Description

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There are many situations where it would be convenient to have available a way to separately identify a person, such as a health care patient, with his/her possessions or other related items with which the person needs to be associated. As this is written, the recent events of the tragedy of Sep. 11, 2001, have provided a glaring example of one such situation. In that situation, it became evident that there was no convenient way to associate people desperately in need of health care with their belongings. Even more horrifying was the need to identify body parts, tag them, and assemble some kind of data base that could be used to sort through the confusion and chaos created on that terrible day. Under those circumstances, and many other similar emergency circumstances, the health care workers and the emergency workers are under tremendous time pressure, with protective clothing such as gloves being used to avoid personal danger to themselves, to sort through what is presented to them in the way of victims needing medical attention, their possessions including valuables, and a need to communicate with their family. The environment is usually hostile, with what may be fire, flying debris, collapsing buildings, un-breathable air, etc. which makes it quite different from a usual hospital or other controlled environment and makes handling any "standard" form imminently more difficult. Another aspect to the situation that must be considered is that it is not uncommon for different care takers to handle a single victim. Generally, when a victim is first attended, he is categorized for the nature and extent of his injuries. Then, in those situations where there is a mis-match between the number of victims and the number of medical personnel, the most severely injured are attended to first and the remainder are treated as time becomes available. This is routine, and an attempt to minimize loss of life in what can be a desperate situation. Thus, it is commonly required to "triage" the victims, and then identify them in some way that makes it immediately apparent to medical workers just what their medical situation is. This sounds easy, but in the chaos of these situations, even with medical personnel who are well trained, there can be lost time in this process and if a good strategy is not used for this classifying, victims can be mis-identified or their status not readily ascertainable after classification, so that the precious time of these "angels of mercy" can be needlessly wasted as they move from one victim to another.

This type of emergency situation creates needs that are unique, beyond the needs of a form intended for use in a clean environment available in an emergency room. As mentioned, medical personnel are usually wearing gloves and in a hurry. Thus, any form that would be used must be adapted to be easily handled with clumsy fingers. There is no time for instruction, so the form must be virtually intuitive for use. There are commonly fluids present, unfortunately most often blood and other body fluids, so the form must be protected. There needs to be a simple, fast, fool-proof way to apply the form to the victim, and his possessions, with a reliable way to link them together. There is a further need to be able to quickly collect the identifying information from the form as it is attached to a victim so he may be processed quickly and the information accurately collected. The identifying information commonly needs to be thought out in advance, and might even be pre-coded to mesh with the triage operation so that merely knowing the identifying information conveys some information about victim medical status. And, there is desirably some flexibility available in the use of the form to accommodate different victim conditions.

Still another need exemplified by this tragedy is that of providing information to families and other loved ones. After the 9/11 event, it was well publicized that family members and others resorted to walking the streets, following any rumor, visiting geographically separated emergency medical care sites, asking for information if not finding their loved one. This itself caused much anxiety and pain amongst the survivors. While not as critical as getting information about survivors to their families, this inability to assemble information created other problems including the inability to gauge the magnitude of the tragedy. A complete list of the survivors was impossible to assemble for days, even though information was individually available by then. There just was not a convenient way to assemble this information in a common data base. Some attempts were made to use the internet, but inaccuracies abounded and the information posted there was soon being ignored, at least partly due to the lack of confidence in that information.

To solve these and other needs in the prior art, the inventor herein has previously developed a business form as disclosed and claimed in one of the parents in several embodiments and a method incorporating the use of that form that have particular application to these kind of medical emergency situations. Briefly, a first embodiment of the form comprises a carrier sheet of paper stock, with a wristband/label assembly die cut thereinto for separation from the carrier sheet. The paper stock is preferably pre-printed with identifying indicia, color coded and covered top and bottom with a layer of protective coating which may preferably be a poly plastic. The wristband/label assembly may be dry-adhered to a bottom layer of a carrier film so that it may be readily separated from the carrier without retaining any adhesive. The wristband portion of the assembly may have a tab on one end and a long strap portion which, to be assembled, is wrapped around an object such as a victim's wrist, looped back through a "cinch" comprising a slot in the tab and then adhered to itself by an adhesive portion at the end of the strap portion. The tab preferably has a plurality of individually separable labels die cut thereinto, with each of the labels and the wristband having an identifying indicia which may preferably be a bar code. In the embodiment disclosed in one of the parent applications, the slot is inboard of the labels while in the embodiment first disclosed herein the slot is outboard of the label-carrying portion of the tab. Furthermore, the embodiment first disclosed herein is narrower, more streamlined, and eliminates the medical indicia making the wristband/label form more universally applicable as a simple identifier.

In use, the wristband/label assembly of this parent is separated from the carrier, carrying the tab filled with labels, and the strap portion. The cinch slot is die cut and formed as the assembly is separated with its filler piece adhered to remain behind with the bottom film carrier sheet. The strap portion has its end covered with a laminated bottom patch so that as it separates it carries with it a peel away covering over its end having the adhesive. After being separated from the carrier, the wristband/label assembly has a protective layer over both its top and bottom for resisting fluid contamination and the tab has a label section which may be perforated for separation from the wristband. Each of the labels are individually separable and carry the identifying indicia. The wristband may preferably be color coded, and the forms may be made in sets with multiple ones of each of a number of different colors. Alternately, color coded, perforated tabs may be provided at the end of the tab portion, such that the medical technician need only separate one or more tabs, leaving as the outside tab the correct one to visually indicate the condition of the victim. A blank tab is preferably provided at the very edge of the tab portion so that no one would mistakenly interpret the failure to separate a tab as a conscious attempt at indicating medical condition. In still another embodiment, the medical indicia may be eliminated and the strap portion streamlined to allow for a more generic use of the form for merely indicating identity of the patient or other individual for other purposes than medical. The wristband may be readily applied by wrapping the strap portion about the person's appendage, slipping it through the "cinch" comprising the slot to tighten it about the appendage, pulling it tight, and then folding the strap portion back onto itself for attachment with the adhesive after removing the peel away covering.

In a second embodiment as shown and described in this parent, the wristband/label assembly is pre-printed and formed in its final configuration, with a tab/label portion and a strap portion made from preferably four layers. A top, clear film layer overlies and protects a face stock layer upon which the pre-printed information including bar codes and color "condition" codes are applied. A layer of adhesive then joins the face stock to a base film material, again to protect the face stock in use. In either embodiment, more than one slot, or "cinch" point, may be provided to allow for a snug fit to different sized body parts. Also, more or fewer bar coded labels, of smaller or larger size, may be selected for use to suit a designer's preferences or user's needs. And, as explained above, the slot may be outboard of the label portion, thereby making the wristband easier to attach to a person, and without sacrificing integrity as the underlying web provides more than adequate strength for maintaining the wristband in its intended use.

In the method of this parent invention, once a form has been applied to a victim, and the victim thus associated with an identifying indicia, and his possessions properly tagged, software pre-loaded into a computer may then receive as much information about the victim as is available. Items of information might include his associated color code (which would preferably be indicative of his medical condition), his name and other demographic information, his statistics such as height, weight, race, etc., more detailed information as to the nature of his injuries or condition, the location where this victim is processed, and other appropriate information. The computer may then go on-line, or be on-line, and the data set up-linked to a web site. A plurality of treatment centers could each be simultaneously processing victims, and transmitting data to the web site for ready access and display to anyone interested in learning about a victim's condition. As a victim's condition changes, updated information could be provided to the web site, although it is considered by the inventor that the method of the parent is most effective in providing early information as fast as possible to the most people. Updated information could be available more directly as a victim's family locates and goes to where treatment is being given. Security in the web site and data links would prevent any mischief from occurring which might compromise the integrity of the data such that families could rely on the information posted.

As can be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, there is unfortunately a need for this parent's invention given the heightened risk of terrorism that the world now faces, and along with that arises an increased need to facilitate not only the quick processing of victims but also the task of collecting and disseminating information about these victims. This parent's invention addresses these needs, which in actuality are long felt needs exacerbated by our changing times. Accordingly, the foregoing provides a brief description of some of the advantages and features of this parent's invention. A fuller understanding may be attained by referring to the drawings and description of the preferred embodiment of this parent which follow for the reader's understanding.

The inventor has taken several of the features of this parent's invention and used it to build onto his prior work in the wristband art as exemplified by the following patents issued to the inventor herein, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,438,881; 6,067,739; 6,000,160; and others still pending. In his invention as disclosed and claimed in the more recently filed third patent application referenced above, he has incorporated the "cinch" of the parent into a self-laminating wristband form in a unique and non-obvious way to provide many advantages and features not hereto available. Although the third parent's invention is exemplified in several embodiments as explained in greater detail below, each of which has its own unique advantages and features, it represents a departure from the construction found in the inventor's prior patents. Some of the differences include the use of a single, preferably narrow, strap portion extending generally from one side of the face stock region, with the cinch comprising a slot located on either side of the face stock and either adjacent the top or bottom portion of the laminating portion that overlies the face stock. With this construction, it is thought that several advantages are obtained over the wristband construction of his prior inventions. First, in this invention the inventor uses less face stock resulting in a smaller area of the form needing to be over-laminated. In other words, in the inventor's prior patented wristbands, virtually the entire length of the wristband comprised face stock, all of which was over-laminated. In the more recent invention, preferably only a "patch" of face stock is used which does reduce the amount of space for printing but which at the same time reduces the size of the over-lamination "patch" needed. This smaller over-lamination "patch" is much easier for a nurse or other medical professional to fold over and complete the assembly, and thus apply the wristband to the patient. A related advantage is that by eliminating the face stock from the "strap portion" that surrounds the patient's wrist, this strap portion may be narrower and formed from a single layer of the lamination (with no adhesive applied). This is more comfortable to the patient for several reasons. The strap is narrower, thereby being less likely to bind or press into the patient's skin as he moves his wrist in doing daily living activities. The strap is also thinner as it is formed from only a single layer and may thus be more flexible. In this construction, a thinner laminate may be used than in prior designs which increases the patient's comfort. Patient comfort is an important consideration as patients in hospitals are generally uncomfortable to begin with, being out of their ordinary environment, and those in need of hospital care are generally infirm, older or younger such as prenatal, and their skin may be more sensitive than normal. So, this is an important design criteria.

Still another advantage comes through incorporation of the cinch in this design. The cinch preferably comprises a slot which may be located in one of several places in the wristband, but it offers several unique advantages. First, if need be, the cinch may be used to more easily apply the wristband to a patient as it gives the nurse a ready attachment fixture with which he/she is quite familiar, it being much like an ordinary belt worn by almost everyone, male and female. For those patients who may be uncooperative or thrashing about or otherwise resistive, applying the wristband amounts to getting the strap through the slot and after that is achieved the rest needed to be done is relatively simple. For those patients who need to be tightly banded, the cinch provides a ready means to tighten down the strap and keep it tight while the cinch and strap are adhered in place. This allows for a simpler built-in adjustment in strap length than with the prior designs. The cinch may be located in one of several places in the band, and each location offers its own unique advantages. If located intermediate to the face stock and the strap, the face stock is converted into a "hang tag" which hangs freely from the patient's wrist after it is applied. This aids the nurse in finding and reading the information printed on the face stock, and also makes it easier for her to read imprinted indicia on the face stock with a hand held bar code reader, for example, as the surface is flat. Also, with this arrangement, a smaller strap is readily provided for smaller wrists such as with new-born babies. If the slot is located outboard from the face stock, the face stock hugs the patient's wrist much more like a conventional wristband, and an extra area of fold over laminate may be used to adhere the strap in place, making for a more secure attachment. Either arrangement would be desirable depending on the particular application, and is left to the user's choice.

As alluded to above, the strap portion is adhered in one of several ways, depending on the embodiment chosen. If the cinch is intermediate to the face stock and strap, the end of the strap has a patch of adhesive which is used to adhere it back onto itself after being threaded through the slot. With the cinch outboard of the face stock, an "extension" of laminate is used which may carry adhesive along with a fold line through the slot so that after the strap is threaded through the slot the extension may be folded about the fold line and "clamp" the strap in place with adhesive. This provides a second means for adhering the strap in place.

The face stock layer has a printable region or ply defined therein with a die cut while the lamination layer has three elements die cut in to it. The lamination layer has a strap portion, a laminating portion, and a cinch portion all die cut therein, with adhesive being applied to preferably the extreme end of the strap portion for securing the strap to itself after the wristband has been applied, adhesive applied to the lamination portion to substantially, and preferably entirely, surround and enclose the face stock printable region, and adhesive applied to a cinch portion (if located outboard of the face stock) for adhering to the strap portion after it is passed through the cinch. Adhesive may preferably be omitted from the portion of lamination that overlies the face stock to improve it's readability, both visually and for bar coding. In variations to this embodiment, the cinch, which is preferably a slot aligned generally perpendicular to the face stock, may be located in one of several places, either outboard of the face stock region or intermediate the face stock and the strap portion. When positioned outboard of the face stock, the cinch may also be located in one of two places either in an extension of the lamination adjacent a top portion or in the bottom portion of the lamination portion. When positioned intermediate to the face stock and strap portion, the cinch may be formed from a pair of slots located in both the top and bottom portion of the lamination portion. In this arrangement, adhesive is applied to join the top and bottom lamination portions, but it does not aid in holding the strap in position unless the nurse takes the time and is able to obtain the cooperation of the patient to thread the strap through only one of the slots before folding the lamination halves together to enclose the face stock. However, this is thought to be a less desirable attachment arrangement than first enclosing the face stock and then threading the strap through the slot.

As an added feature, the inventor has previously developed an extender which is also formed in the same two plies of material, with the extender comprising a length of laminate having a fold-over or "clamshell" portion with adhesive at one end, and a patch of adhesive at its opposite end. The extender is sized preferably to be of the same width as the strap portion and is applied to the strap portion by use of the clamshell which clamps onto the strap portion and along its length, with the extender patch of adhesive serving the function of joining the strap. With the extender, the wristband may be used with larger patients, conveniently, without being limited to the overall length of the form or carrier in which the wristband is formed.

In variations of these embodiments, the novel wristband of the parent invention may be formed in a sheet with a plurality of self adhering, peel-off labels, all of which may be printed with identifying indicia or information relating to the patient. Several wristbands of different size, or the same size, may also be formed on a single sheet, with or without labels. The extender may also be provided in any one or more of the variations, which are only limited by the perceived needs of users, and design choice.

As a further enhancement to his work with the wristband/label forms with cinch, the inventor has modified the forms to provide even greater choice and advantage depending on the particular situation for which the wristband is needed. With respect to the first embodiments mentioned herein, as explained above, the inventor has conceived of arranging the form so that the cinch slot is outboard of the label portion, on a tab, and has eliminated the medical indicia thereby making the form more streamlined and suitable for use in a wider range of applications. Several arrangements for the label portion are shown and provide a variety of choices to suit different applications depending on the number of labels needed, and all without sacrificing the integrity of the form. As in other embodiments, bar coding or other means of identifying or numbering or segregating the forms may be used, limited only by the imagination of the form designer or user. Furthermore, the wristband form may have an imprint area available, such as for example imprinting a company name.

With respect to the second general category of wristband forms, the inventor has provided a tab at an end adjacent to the face stock area, with the tab having a second slot surrounded by adhesive and through which the tail or free end portion is inserted for joining the wristband about the person wearing it. After the free end is inserted, the slot is preferably folded over about a fold line, and the free end is captured and adhered in place. The remaining free end may then be inserted through the second slot and hidden beneath the face stock out of the way and less likely to be caught on something. This arrangement allows for the extra free end to be kept intact so that the wristband may later be re-adjusted in length by merely lifting the folded over tab and withdrawing the free end for re-positioning. As an added feature, the face stock is preferably extended to the edge of the outboard slot to thereby cover over the adhesive closest to where the free end slides through, thereby making it less likely to "hang up" on adhesive as the wristband is applied. Furthermore, as the adhesive is applied to the area surrounding the second slot, it need not be applied as a patch on the tip of the free end as in other embodiments disclosed in the parent applications. Thus, as the free end is inserted through the slot, there is no patch of adhesive to inadvertently grab a patient's skin or body hair again making this embodiment less likely to "hang up" on the patient as it is applied. Instead, the adhesive is placed on a surface facing away from the patient.

In still other embodiments, slots are provided on each side of the face stock and through both of which the free end may be inserted. In this arrangement the face stock area overlies the free end, and the face stock area becomes less "rounded" than in other embodiments where only a single slot is used. This aids in reading the information placed on the face stock, and can be important in aiding this information should it be bar coded information. Also, with the two slot embodiment, the same form may be applied in different ways which enhances its versatility. This may be especially important for those applications where a single form may be intended to be used on different body parts of a patient. One such example is the Neo-natal, Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where wristbands are desirably applied not only to the leg but also the arm. In this application, the same wristband will be applied to different parts of the body, the leg and arm, and depending on size either one slot or both slots may be used to allow for patient comfort and ready accessibility to the imprinted information. However, even with the need to accommodate differently sized arms and legs, the same form may be used thereby minimizing inventory requirements and eliminating the waste or extra cost of using more than one sheet of wristbands.

In still another improvement on his earlier inventions, the inventor has adapted it for use with thermal imaging type face stock and, in connection with that adaptation has sought to accommodate typical thermal imaging printers with a different design for the wristband that allows it to be fit onto a narrower roll by re-orienting the fold over lamination. More particularly, the lamination portion of the wristband includes a "fold-over" flap which, as is described herein is used to laminate the printable face stock portion. In this embodiment, the flap is moved from being below or above the face stock portion to being attached at the end of the face stock portion. This orientation reduces the height of the wristband and allows a continuous stream of wristbands to be conveniently formed on a roll for processing especially through a thermal printer but also other similarly arranged printers. This orientation also accommodates the formation of a fan-fold arrangement for multiple wristbands for continuous printing through a thermal printer, or for that matter other printers set up for fan-fold forms.

In yet another improvement the inventor has "sculpted" the shoulders on one side of the imaging area of the wristband which adds a little more room for imaging, makes greater use of the space available on the form from which the wristband is "harvested", and provides greater patient comfort by "softening"