Patent Application
20130026055
The present disclosure relates generally to labeled bottles, and labels for such bottles; and specifically to hinged labels and bottles comprising them.
Bottles used for products such as medications, vitamins, food, liquids, and the like, often include one or more labels for displaying information and/or images associated with the contents of the bottle or with the manufacturer of the product. In many industries, regulatory or other requirements may be imposed which specify at least a portion of information that must be included on such a label. For example, bottles containing medications may be required to display information relating to usage. active ingredients, recommended dosage and potential side effects of the medication.
The amount of information to be displayed on a label may be quite significant. If the printable area of a bottle label is not sufficient for all the desired information, a manufacturer may need to either a) increase the size of the bottle in order to allow for a larger label or b) decrease the size of the printing and/or images.
Increasing the size of a bottle may be undesirable for a number of reasons. First, requiring a larger bottle may increase manufacturing, storage and shipping costs. Retailers may prefer smaller bottles because less shelf space is required to display the bottles. Smaller bottles are also desirable for environmental reasons due to the excess waste larger bottles may create.
Decreasing the size of the printing and/or images on a label may also be undesirable as this may reduce the visibility and/or legibility of the information. This may be particularly problematic to consumers with visual impairments.
Therefore, it may be advantageous to maximize the printable area on a label without requiring an increase in the size of the bottle to which it is affixed.
In one aspect the invention provides labeled bottles. A bottle according to such aspect comprises an outer surface having at least one substantially flat face portion, and a label. The label comprises a permanent label portion and at least one hinged leaf portion. The permanent label portion has an outer surface and a inner surface, the inner surface being attached to the outer surface of the bottle by an adhesive. The at least one hinged leaf portion is hingeably attached to the outer surface of the permanent label portion, and is configured to overlie at least a portion of the outer surface of the permanent label portion. The portion of the permanent label portion overlaid by the hingeably-attached portion is substantially adjacent to the at least one substantially flat face portion of the bottle. The labeled bottle further comprises a re-sealable agent (also known as a ‘release agent’) disposed between an inner surface of the at least one leaf portion and the outer surface of the permanent label portion in such manner as to re-sealably attach the leaf portion to the permanent label portion.
The label, or portions of it, may be laminated, and may comprise one or more tabs configured to aid in peeling the hinged leaf portion from the permanent label portion. The label may comprise a plurality of hinged leaf portions hingeably attached to the outer surface of the permanent label portion.
Labels in accordance with the invention, or various portions thereof, may comprise information printed theren for consideration by a user of the bottle and/or its contents.
Reference will now be made to the drawings, which show by way of example embodiments of the present disclosure.
a shows a front elevation view of an embodiment of a bottle in accordance with the disclosure, comprising a hinged, peelable label portion in a closed position.
b shows a bottom plan cross-sectional view of a bottle consistent with
a shows a front elevation view of an embodiment of a bottle in accordance with the disclosure, comprising a hinged, peelable label portion in an open position.
b shows a bottom plan cross-sectional view of a bottle consistent with
Throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.
Reference is made to
In the example shown in
Bottle 101 may be made of any material suitable for its intended purpose, such as, for example, glass, metal or plastic. The cross-section of bottle 101, and in particular the plan cross-section (i.e., an upwardly- or downwardly-considered cross section when conceptually viewed along a horizontal plane through the bottle, as shown in
It has been found that the use of bottles having one or more substantially flat faces, as for example any one or more of faces 120 of bottle 101 shown in the figures, are particularly well suited to implementation of the invention, as hinged leaf portions of labels of the type described herein are enabled to re-close, or re-seal, without assistance from a user of the bottle, or with reduced assistance from such user, in a noticeably improved fashion. Such bottles include, for example, bottles of substantially rectangular cross section.
To say that a curved surface such as those of bottle faces 120 of
In the example shown in
Peelable label 102 may be comprised of any suitable material(s) or combination(s) of materials, such as, for example, any or all of paper, plastic, and a wide variety of polymers. For example, a label comprising one or more plies of polymer film or paper and polymer film laminate will serve. The selection of suitable label materials will not trouble those skilled in the relevant art(s), once they have been made familiar with this disclosure. A suitable material or combination of materials is a material or combination having a sufficient combination of flexibility and rigidity (or resiliency) that, when used in conjunction with release agent(s) as disclosed herein, an opened hinged leaf portion 103 tends to resealably close itself when released by a user of the bottle.
It has been found that suitably-configured labels composed of paper laminated with various plastics, such as for example acetate, vinyl, polypropylene (including for example biaxially oriented polyproylene, or BOPP) and/or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film provide a number of advantages, such as sufficiently high strength, flexibility,resiliency (or rigidity), transparency, resistance to tearing, etc. to accomplish the purposes herein. The use of BOPP, acetate, vinyl, and/or PET laminates can for example provide enough stiffness to aid in unassisted resealing, when used with release agents as described herein, without unduly hindering a user in opening the label as, for example, to read material printed on either side thereof. Laminated paper used in implementing the invention may be of any weight and/or thickness compatible with the purposes disclosed herein, for example within the range of about 40 to about 200 grams per square meter (g/m2), and particularly within the range of about 30 to about 150 grams per square meter (g/m2).
As a specific example, it has been found that in combination with a bottle of approximately the dimensions shown in
In the embodiments shown in
Leaf portion(s) 103 may be hingedly attached to the outer surface of the permanent label portion 104 such that it/they overlie at least a portion of the outer surface of permanent label portion 104, and particularly so that each can overlie at least a portion of a substantially flat portion of the outer surface of bottle 101.
Leaf portion(s) 103 may be provided through the use of separate label portions, permanently adhered to permanent label portion 104, and/or through the use of a single label, wrapped around the bottle 101 and permanently adhered thereto so as to overlap itself and overhang by a length sufficient to provide a pendant, hinged leaf 103.
Leaf portion(s) 103 may comprise one or more tab portions 105 useful in aiding in the release or opening of leaf portion(s) 103 as will be discussed below in relation to
A peelable label 102 may comprise a single piece of material which includes one or more integral leaf portion(s) 103 configured for folding or otherwise hingeable attachment. Alternatively, leaf portion(s) 103 may be a separate piece of material attached to permanent label portion 104. In some embodiments, a permanent adhesive substance may be used to hingedly attach leaf portion(s) 103 to permanent label portion 104.
A re-sealing, or release, agent 108 may be disposed, as for example in a spread or affixed layer, between leaf portion(s) 103 and permanent label portion 104. Re-sealable agent layer 108 may be adapted to keep leaf portion(s) 103 attached to permanent label portion 104 when leaf portion(s) 103 is in a closed or attached position, as shown in
Permanent attachment of label 102 to bottle 101 may be accomplished through the use of any adhesive compatible with the purposes and materials disclosed or suggested herein. Examples of compounds which have reportedly been used permanent adhesives by others, in analogous applications, Fasson S-1000, S-900, or S-2001.
The combination(s) of label materials, adhesives, and bottle geometry disclosed herein may be exploited to provide labels which are flexible enough to open easily, as for example to allow a user of a bottle to read material printed on the label(s), yet stiff enough re-close, or re-seal, without or substantially without assistance from such user. In particular, the re-closing or re-sealing process has been observed to be materially aided through the use of bottles 101 having substantially flat surfaces overlaid with re-openable, re-closeable, and/or re-sealable hinged portions, coated with resealing agents, as disclosed herein. Thus in some embodiments, the material(s) used in creating leaf portion(s) 103 may be rigid but still elastic enough to bias back to the closed position. For example, in some embodiments, leaf portion(s) 103 may comprise paper permanently coated with a laminate coating. The laminate coating may be comprised of plastic or any suitable material.
The outside surface 112 of leaf portion(s) 103 may have information printed thereon including, for example, words or images representing useful information about the contents of a bottle, a manufacturer, warnings, etc.
Leaf portion(s) 103 may be configured to as to provide a gap 106 between leaf portion(s) 103 in a closed position and a main part of permanent label portion 104. Gap 106 may be useful in the releasing and reattaching of leaf portion(s) 103.
Peelable label 102 may comprise any number of leaf portions 103. For example, in
Reference will now be made to
Leaf portion 103 may be released from, and subsequently re-attached to, permanent label portion 104. Releasing leaf portion(s) 103 may require force to be applied to the label, such as a consumer pulling on tab portion 105. In some embodiments, once the force is removed from leaf portion(s) 103, leaf portion(s) 103 may automatically return to a closed position.
The use of a permanent adhesive substance to hingedly attach leaf portion(s) 103 to permanent label portion 104, as described above, may help limit the amount that leaf portions(s) 103 may be pulled away from permanent label portion 104 which may help ensure that leaf portions(s) 103 will automatically return to a closed position.
As noted, the use of a substantially rectangular bottle 101 having substantially flat sides may also help ensure that leaf portions(s) 103 will automatically return to a closed position as leaf portions(s) 103 will generally not be pulled as far from the closed position as with, for example, a substantially round bottle 101.
Leaf portion(s) 103 comprises an inner surface 111, some or all of which may be visible when leaf portion(s) 103 is in an open position as shown in
While the disclosure has been provided and illustrated in connection with specific, presently-preferred embodiments, many variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention(s) disclosed herein. The disclosure and invention(s) are therefore not to be limited to the exact components or details of methodology or construction set forth above. Except to the extent necessary or inherent in the processes themselves, no particular order to steps or stages of methods or processes described in this disclosure, including the Figures, is intended or implied. In many cases the order of process steps may be varied without changing the purpose, effect, or import of the methods described. The scope of the claims is to be defined solely by the appended claims, giving due consideration to the doctrine of equivalents and related doctrines.
