Patent Application
20180118407
This disclosure is related to tear tapes and packaging materials and containers include tear tape opening systems.
Many consumer items today are packaged by manufacturers for purposes of transportation and shipment to retailers who thereafter remove the items from the container and place them on display in the retail outlet on counters or shelves for the convenience of the consumer. For the most part, such items are packaged in materials such as Kraft paper or corrugated board depending on the strength required by the container. In many cases, and particularly with Kraft paper packaging material, no opening feature is provided for the container so that, in order to remove the contents thereof, it is necessary to dismantle the container, which may result in its destruction.
In some situations, such as containers formed with corrugated board packaging material, an opening feature in the form of score lines which define the desired opening are provided. However, such an opening feature are oftentimes inadequate for display-ready containers since the tear resulting from these opening features fails to open or is uneven destroying the container itself making them unsuitable as display-ready. It is also possible to utilize a sharp object, such as a knife, for the purpose of cutting the packaging material along desired lines. This means, however, is dangerous and can result in injury or damage to container and the contents of the container and consequent wastage.
In other situations, pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes made with thin plastic film substrates are currently available for tear opening of containers, but such tapes do not pull cleanly through paper board substrates, particularly corrugated board substrates making the container inadequate for display-ready. Other situations incorporate two PSA collaborating with each other to accomplish produce a display-ready container, however such opening features are difficult to apply and too complex for display-ready containers.
In yet other situations, such as containers formed with corrugated board packaging material, an opening feature in the form single or dual tape systems formed from directionally oriented fibers to define the desired opening are provided. However, such an opening feature are oftentimes expensive and over engineered for display-ready containers. Single tapes typically do not have sufficient weft strength to produce a longitudinal tear without undesired lateral tearing,
As indicated above, containers formed of Kraft paper, paperboard or corrugated board containing consumer items are opened and the items removed and positioned on shelves or counters at the retail outlet. Opening of the container and the removal (from non-display-ready containers) and display of the consumer items is a labor intensive operation which requires a person to physically perform the necessary operations. A great benefit could, therefore, be derived if the container itself could be utilized at the retail outlet as the display device for the consumer units thereby eliminating much of the labor presently necessary for removing the units from the container for display. However, this is not possible where the container itself is destroyed during the opening process or else, in those situations where an opening feature was provided, this proved to be inadequate or over engineered.
Accordingly, in view of the shortcomings inherent in conventional Kraft paper, paperboard and corrugated containers, there is an opportunity to supply a packaging container that has all the advantages of conventional containers, yet avoids the shortcomings.
Bulk material bags comprising multi-wall paper, poly-laminated or polywoven materials are typically of the “sewn open mouth” type. These type of bags may or may not have side gussets, but in either case one end of the bag is typically sewn closed and the bag shipped to the manufacturer end user empty, in a flattened condition. The user fills the bag with bulk material such as pet food, agricultural commodities, chemicals and the like through the open top, and the open top is then sewn closed by the consumer, resulting in an efficient bag that is generally suitably strong.
While sewn closures on both ends of a sewn mouth bag are common in the industry, such closures have inherent limitations. For example, sewn closures inherently introduce holes in the bag. Holes can be a problem because they present an entry route for insects and contaminants or allow contents to sift out. Insect contamination in bulk bags containing pet food is a notorious problem. Just as well, other contaminants are able to enter the interior of a bag through the holes sewn through the bag in sewn closures. Sifting is a sign of package failure and can result in entire loads of product being rejected if just one bag leaks or sifts product.
A folded-over closure is an option with current sewn open mouth polywoven bags. On woven bags laminated with paper, an additional adhesive is used to secure the pinched end. On film laminated polybags, hot air is used to create the weld. Some bags have an internal resin coating that can help facilitate the internal bond. Pinched end sealing is challenged by getting the right amount of heat to fuse the thicker weld areas and not scorch the middle portion with less layers to fuse. A stepped end could be a possible solution to this problem with raw materials other than polywoven, the stepped open end is an option with polywoven material. The bags are cut with steps and the end is welded more successfully due to more surface area and less thickness variation which reduces scorching/overheating distortions. The problem with the stepped end weld is that there is no current solution to make this easy to open.
It is possible for a user to melt the polywoven material together in a heat band sealer or to bond the closure closed with a tape strip of polywoven material. The shortcoming with this method is that the opening feature is lost.
Other easy openings have been developed. An example pet food bag has a clear packing tape with a red tear tape in the middle. Pull tabs are cut in the middle of the tape closure to allow the red tape to be pulled through the clear tape. This closure method uses a very wide tape and a narrow tape. It is thought that the closure is expensive and not strong enough and therefore has not been implemented widely. Zip openings have also been developed being held in by pressure sensitive labels. Zip openings have proved to be too expensive a solution for the market.
Accordingly, in view of the shortcomings inherent in conventional multi-wall and polywoven bags, there is an opportunity to supply a packaging container that has all the advantages of conventional bags, yet avoids the shortcomings.
Various tear tape embodiments are disclosed. Some tear tape embodiments comprise a film layer having a first surface and an opposing second surface, a longitudinal direction and a width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and comprising monoaxially oriented film that tears along the longitudinal direction of the film layer but is resistant to tear across the width of the tape. The tear tapes also comprise an adhesive layer covering at least a portion of the first surface of the film layer, such that the tear tape is configured to be adhered to a packaging material via the adhesive layer. In some embodiments, the tear tape adhered to a packaging material can provide a clean longitudinal tear of the packaging material along the longitudinal direction of the tear tape while restricting tearing in the width direction of the tear tape. The adhesive layer can comprises pressure sensitive adhesive, hotmelt adhesive, and/or other materials.
In some embodiments, the tear tape further comprises a second adhesive layer covering at least a portion of the second surface of the film layer, such that the tear tape is configured to be adhered between two layers of packaging material via the two adhesive layers. In sonic tape embodiments, a second film or paper layer can also be included, sandwiching one of the adhesive layers.
Also disclosed herein are various packaging materials, including sheet materials, boxes, bags, etc. The packaging materials can comprise any of the disclosed tear tapes and at least one layer of a paper based substrate (single layer, multilayer, corrugated, or otherwise) adhered to the adhesive layer. In some embodiments, the tear tape is situated to produce a clean tear of the paper based substrate along the longitudinal direction of the tear tape. In other embodiments, the tear tape is configured to tear without tearing the paper based substrate, such as when opening a bag where the tape overlaps an openable seam in the bag.
In some embodiments, the tear tape includes two layers of adhesive, one on either side of the film layer, and a first layer of paper based substrate is adhered to the first adhesive layer and a second layer of paper based substrate is adhered to the second adhesive layer. In some such embodiments, the tear tape is imbedded within or adjacent the corrugated core layer of a multi-layered corrugated board material. In some embodiments, this embedded tear tape can act as a guide tape and another film or tear tape can be applied on an outer surface of the board material.
In some embodiments, the adhesive layer comprises two spaced apart adhesive strips with a non-adhesive strip or gap between the two spaced apart adhesive strips, and the film layer is configured to tear such that a middle portion of the film layer overlapping the non-adhesive strip tears apart from two lateral portions of the film layer adhered to the two spaced apart adhesive strips. The middle portion of the film layer can then be torn longitudinally apart from the two lateral portions of the film layer, which remain adhered to the underlying paper based substrates, without actually tearing the paper based substrates. This can expose an openable seam in a bag or box, for example that was sealed closed by the tear tape.
In some embodiments, the tear tape is folded over the ends of two layers of paper based substrate (such as at an opening of a flattened bag), with one of the adhesive strips secured to an outer surface of one of the layers and the other of the adhesive strips secured to an outer surface of the other layer, and with middle portion of the film layer extending over free edges of the two layers, such that tearing the middle portion of the film layer away exposes an opening between the two layers without tearing the paper based substrates.
In some embodiments, the adhesive layer comprises three side-by-side longitudinally extending adhesive strips, including a middle adhesive strip and two lateral adhesive strips. The middle adhesive strip can comprise an adhesive with a lower heat or pressure threshold for adhesion to the paper based substrate relative to the two lateral adhesive strips.
In some embodiments, the packaging material comprises a corrugated layer of paper based substrate, and the tear tape is adhered to or imbedded in the corrugated layer.
Disclosed methods of manufacturing a packaging material comprise first forming a tear tape by applying an adhesive layer to a film layer comprising monoaxially oriented film that tears along a longitudinal direction of the tear tape, and then forming a packaging material by combining the tear tape with one or more layers of paper based substrate at an intended opening location, such that either a clean tear is formable in the packaging material when the tear tape is removed or an openable seam in the packaging material is exposed when a middle portion of the tape is torn away.
In some methods, combining the tear tape with one or more layers of paper based substrate comprises applying an adhesive side of the tear tape to a location that overlaps a seam between two adjacent sheets of paper based substrate, such that tearing the tape away frees the two sheets to separate apart, like the flap of an common envelope.
In some methods, combining the tear tape with one or more layers of paper based substrate comprises applying an adhesive side of the tear tape to a single sheet of paper based substrate, such that tearing the tape away cleanly tears away a strip of the paper based substrate.
In some methods, combining the tear tape with one or more layers of paper based substrate comprises applying the tear tape to a corrugated layer of paper based substrate.
In some methods, combining the tear tape with one or more layers of paper based substrate comprises folding the tear tape over two free edges of two sheets of paper based substrate such that the adhesive side of the tear tape adheres to outer surfaces of both sheets of paper based substrate.
Any of these methods can further comprise tearing the tear tape away from the packaging material to produce a clean tear in the paper based substrate, such as to open the container and/or to form a structure to display products at a point of sale.
The description of this applications refers to the accompanying drawings, which are labeled with the following figure numbers.
A preferred embodiment of the tear tape 20 disclosed herein is shown in
More information regarding suitable films and adhesives, and methods of making the films, adhesives, and tear tapes, and combining the same with paper based substrates, can be found in U.S. Publication Nos. 2016/0264747 (see, e.g., paragraph 0009) and 2014/0312107; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,932,726, 8,986,831, and 8,932,725; all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
For illustrative purposes, and as non-limiting examples, films such as those described in U.S. Publication No. 2016/0264747 (see, e.g., paragraph 0009) and U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,932,726 and 8,986,831 can be suitable for use with various embodiments disclosed herein.
Exemplary adhesives that can be used with the disclosed technology can include a hot melt adhesive, a pressure sensitive adhesive, a remoistenable adhesive, a heat activated adhesive, a hot melt pressure sensitive adhesive, a hot melt remoistenable adhesive, a water dispersible hot melt adhesive, a biodegradable hot melt adhesive or a repulpable hot melt adhesive. Examples of these adhesives are any typical hot melt adhesive such as an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA-based) hot melt adhesive; EMA-based hot melt adhesive (ethylene methylacrylate); EnBA-based hot melt adhesive (ethylene n-butyl acrylate); hot melt adhesive based on polyamides; hot melt remoistenable adhesive based on polyamides and copolyesters; hot melt adhesives based on polyethylene and polypropylene homopolymers, copolymers and interpolymers, rubbery block copolymer hot melt adhesives; or RF (radio frequency) activatable adhesives.
Generally, the PSA portion of the tear tape is configured to facilitate secure attachment of the tape to a substrate. The PSA can be a solvent-based adhesive, a water-based adhesive or a hot melt adhesive. Examples of suitable PSA base polymers include rubber pressure-sensitive adhesives containing any of the natural rubbers and synthetic rubbers as a base polymer; acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives containing, as a base polymer, an acrylic polymer (homopolymer or copolymer) composed of one or more monomer components selected from alkyl esters of (meth)acrylic acids (e.g., alkyl esters whose alkyl moiety having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, such as methyl ester, ethyl ester, propyl ester, isopropyl ester, butyl ester, isobutyl ester, s-butyl ester, t-butyl ester, pentyl ester, hexyl ester, heptyl ester, octyl ester, 2-hydroxyethyl ester, 2-ethylhexyl ester, isooctyl ester, isodecyl ester, dodecyl ester, tridecyl ester, pentadecyl ester, hexadecyl ester, heptadecyl ester, octadecyl ester, nonadecyl ester, and eicosyl ester); vinyl alkyl ether pressure-sensitive adhesives; silicone pressure-sensitive adhesives; polyester pressure-sensitive adhesives; polyamide pressure-sensitive adhesives; urethane pressure-sensitive adhesives; styrenic block copolymer pressure-sensitive adhesives; and pressure-sensitive adhesives having improved creep properties and corresponding to these pressure-sensitive adhesives, except for further containing a tackifying resin having a melting point of about 200 C or below.
In certain embodiments, the pressure sensitive adhesive is a hot melt pressure sensitive adhesive that includes a styrenic block copolymer as the base polymer. Suitable styrenic block copolymers include those having end-blocks of styrene and a rubbery mid-block of butadiene, isoprene, ethylene/propylene, ethytene/butylene and combinations thereof. Styrenic block copolymers are available in a variety of structures including, e.g., A-B-A triblock structures, A-B diblock structures, (A-B).sub.n radial block copolymer structures, and branched and functional versions thereof, wherein the A endblock is a non-elastomeric polymer block that includes, e.g., polystyrene, vinyl or a combination thereof, and the B block is an unsaturated conjugated diene or hydrogenated version thereof. Examples of suitable B blocks include isoprene, butadiene, ethylene/butylene (hydrogenated butadiene), ethylene/propylene (hydrogenated isoprene) and combinations thereof.
In certain embodiments, the pressure sensitive adhesive is a hot melt pressure sensitive adhesive that includes a styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymer, Useful commercially available styrene-isoprene-styrene block copolymers include KRATON D1111 and KRATON D1119 available from Kraton Polymers U.S. LLC (Houston, Tex.).
The pressure-sensitive adhesive may further contain other components in addition to the base polymer. Examples of such other components include crosslinking agents such as polyisocyanates and alkyl-etherified melamine compounds; tackifiers such as rosin derivative resins (e.g. wood rosin, tall oil, gum rosin, and rosins esters), natural and synthetic polyterpene resins and derivatives thereof, petroleum resins e.g, aliphatic, aromatic and mixed aliphatic aromatic), hydrocarbon resins (e.g. alph methyl styrene resins, branched and unbranched C5 resins, C9 resins, C10 resins as well as styrenic and hydrogenated modifications of such, and oil-soluble phenol resins; plasticizers (e.g. liquid or solid plasticizers including e.g. hydrocarbon oils, polybutene, liquid tackifying resins, liquid elastomers and benzoate plasticizers); fillers; age inhibitors; and other suitable additives. Independently, the pressure-sensitive adhesive may further contain glass beads or resin beads. The addition of such glass or resin beads may facilitate the control of pressure-sensitive adhesive properties and shear moduli.
The thicknesses can range between 30 μm to 250 μm, preferably between 60 μm and 150 μm, and most preferably between 76 μm and 127 μm. For paperboard or corrugated, the opening tape width can range between 4 mm to 50 mm, preferably between 6 mm and 25 mm, and most preferably between 11 mm and 19 mm For bag closing and opening, the tape width can range between 4 mm to 100 mm, preferably between 24 mm and 76 mm, and most preferably between 30 mm and 55 mm.
The tape 20, 25, 50, and 80 may be provided in the form of a roll 11 as shown, for example, in
A preferred embodiment of the tear tape 25 disclosed herein is shown in
The tear tape may be applied to any type of paper based substrate. In certain embodiment, the substrate may be a corrugated paper board. The corrugated board substrate includes an exterior liner and a corrugated member. In some implementations, the corrugated member consists of a series of parallel flutes. However, in other implementations, the corrugated member can include other configurations, such as a waffle-type pattern or honeycomb. The corrugated paper board may be a single wall structure includes a single fluted corrugated medium and at least one liner layer) or a multiwall structure (i.e., includes at least two fluted corrugated mediums and at least one liner layer). One or more substrates can form an article of manufacture such as a packaging container. Examples of packaging containers include cartons and boxes, such as cartons for holding beverages for sale at the retail level (for instance, a hand-carry carton that holds six, 12 or 24 bottles or cans of a beverage), meat and produce bulk bins, wet-packed containers, reusable containers, rubber and chemical bulk bins, and heavy duty containers. A continuous corrugated board substrate can be manufactured by bonding the corrugated member o the exterior liner using an adhesive, and subjecting the exterior liner and corrugated member to heat.
The tear tape 20 may be used as a tear tape for opening an article, such as a container, made from a paper based substrate. The tear tape 20 is used in a one-tape opening systems. Tape opening systems can also provide reinforcement of a container substrate or a handhole while facilitating effective opening of the container.
In certain embodiments the tear tab 43 may be made by cutting a profile or pattern that extends through the entire thickness of the paper based substrate 40 and that matches the profile of pattern of the tear tab 43. The cut 47 for the tear tab 43 is made during converting of the paper based substrate into a container from the paper based substrate. In the embodiments shown in
The paper based substrate 40 with the tear tape 20 may be formed into a container. The first surface 41 of the paper based substrate 40 that carries the tape 20 forms the interior surface of the container, and the opposing second surface 42 of the paper based substrate 40 forms the exterior surface of the container. Because of the cut 47 extending through the entire thickness of the paper based substrate 40, a user can grip the tab 43 and pull on the tear tab 43 to open the container along desired tear line 49. For example,
A continuous corrugated board substrate that includes tape 20 may be made, for example, by the process shown in
In the dry end segment 71 of the corrugator, tape 20 is applied to the outside surface of the inner liner 61. In the embodiment shown in
The tear tape 20 disclosed herein also may be applied to a paper based substrate in a non-continuous manner. For example, the tape 20 may be applied intermittently at predetermined locations to the paper based substrate. In other words, a predetermined length of the tape 20 is applied at each location with a predetermined gap between the lengths of the tape 20.
A continuous corrugated board substrate that includes tape 20 may be made, for example, by the process shown in
The second tape 25 is a guide tape that has both the property of weft strength and to tear in the longitudinal direction 9 of the tape 25. For example, the second tape 25 may be a hot met coated. The second tape 25 is aligned parallel to the PSA tape 20 and underlies (i.e., is juxtaposed with) the tape 20.
The second tape 25 is a guide tape that has both the property of weft strength and to tear in the longitudinal direction. These properties allows tearing of the guide tape along the tear lines while simultaneously maintaining the edge reinforcing there along. Thus, by grasping the tear tab 43 formed by the tear tab cut 47 and pulling the same in the longitudinal direction of the tear tape 20 and guide tape 25, tear tape 20 tears through the material of the paper based substrate 40 substantially coincident with tear tape 20 and also tears along guide tape 25 which guides the tear and provides edge reinforcement resulting in substantially even tear line 49. In certain embodiments, the tear tape 20 is employed as guide tape that may be located on the second surface 42 of the paper based substrate 40 rather than embedded within the paper based substrate. This, when the paper based substrate is formed into a container, the tape 20 is disposed on the exterior surface of the container.
Tape 20 is applied to the surface of the outside liner 62 by feeding it into the nip of the pressure roll 72 and roller 74 between outside liner 62 and corrugated medium 60 (see
Among other things, this disclosure describes embodiments of closures and opening systems for multi-wall and polywoven bags having non-sewn end closures with no holes through which contamination may enter the bag. In an example, a first end is closed by the manufacturer and is known as the manufacturers end. The bag with one end closed is sent to the consumer of the bags with one end open. After the consumer fills the bag, the second end is closed by the consumer.
The end closures can comprise a tape member applied to the bag at the open end to close it. The tape member can have an adhesive pre-applied to it, the tape can extends in a cross-bag direction across the entire or partial or past the width of the bag, and can then be pressed onto the bag to bond for PSA adhesive or heated to bond to the bag for hotmelt adhesive. The tape member adheres to the desired surfaces of the bag thereby closing the bag. The bag thus closed has no opening for entry of contamination. The tape member having the property to tear in the longitudinal direction (machine direction) also has the property to use this same tape to open the hag.
The following examples are included to further illustrate various embodiments of the present disclosure only and therefore do not limit the scope of the present disclosure.
In a first example, tape 50 is applied by the consumer's bag closing process to a multi-wall bag
In a second example, tape 50 is applied by the consumer's bag closing process to a multi-wall bag
In a third example, tape 20, 80, or 50 is applied by the bag manufacturer at the bag's first end to polywoven bag
In a fourth example, tape 20, 50, or 80 is applied by the consumer's bag closing process to the polywoven bag
In a fifth example, tape 20 is applied by the corrugator to the inside liner of the corrugated board to form a box blank. This box blank is then converted on a folder gluer into box 10. The box is single wall, B-flute, 32 ECT and measures 27.5 cm long, 18.7 cm wide and 20 cm tall. The opening tape is constructed from voided MOPP film coated with hot melt adhesive on one side. The film is product number is RS03 and available from Toray Plastics (America), Inc. The hot melt adhesive is product number BL20032 and available HB Fuller. The adhesive is roil coated on the tape at a thickness of 1 mil on one side of the tape. The film is 4 mil thick and 19 mm wide.
In a sixth example, tape 20 is applied to inside liner and tape 25 is applied between the median and outside liner by the corrugator to form a box blank The box blank is then converted on the folder gluer into box 10. The box is single wall, C-flute and measures 37 cm long, 27 cm wide and 25 cm tall. The tear tape 20 is constructed from cavitated MOPP film coated with hot melt adhesive on one side. The guide tape 25 is constructed from voided MOPP film coated with hot melt adhesive on both side. The tear tape film product number is TF-CL4 and the guide tape film is product number is RS03 and both available from Toray Plastics (America), Inc. The hot melt adhesive for the guide tape 25 and tear tape 20 are product number BL20032 and BL22515 respectively and both available from HB Fuller. On tape 20, the adhesive is roll coated on the tape at a thickness of 1 mil on one side of the tape. The film is 3 mil thick and 11 mm wide. On tape 25, the adhesive is roll coated on both sides of the tape at a thickness of 1 mil on each side the tape. The film is 3 mil thick and 15 mm wide.
For purposes of this description, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the embodiments of this disclosure are described herein. The disclosed methods, apparatus, and systems should not be construed as being limiting in any way. Instead, the present disclosure is directed toward all novel and nonobvious features and aspects of the various disclosed embodiments, alone and in various combinations and sub-combinations with one another. The methods, apparatus, and systems are not limited to any specific aspect or feature or combination thereof, nor do the disclosed embodiments require that any one or more specific advantages be present or problems be solved.
Although the operations of some of the disclosed embodiments are described in a particular, sequential order for convenient presentation, it should be understood that this manner of description encompasses rearrangement, unless a particular ordering is required by specific language set forth below. For example, operations described sequentially may in some cases be rearranged or performed concurrently. Moreover, for the sake of simplicity, the attached figures may not show the various ways in which the disclosed methods can be used in conjunction with other methods. Additionally, the description sometimes uses terms like “provide” or “achieve” to describe the disclosed methods. These terms are high-level abstractions of the actual operations that are performed. The actual operations that correspond to these terms may vary depending on the particular implementation and are readily discernible by one of ordinary skill in the art.
As used herein, the terms “a”, “an”, and “at least one” encompass one or more of the specified element. That is, if two of a particular element are present, one of these elements is also present and thus “an” element is present. The terms “a plurality of” and “plural” mean two or more of the specified element.
As used herein, the term “and/or” used between the last two of a list of elements means any one or more of the listed elements. For example, the phrase “A, B, and/or C” means “A”, “B,”, “C”, “A and B”, “A and C”, “B and C”, or “A, B, and C.”
As used herein, the term “coupled” generally means physically (e.g., mechanically, chemically, adhesively, welded, etc.) coupled or linked and does not exclude the presence of intermediate elements between the coupled items absent specific contrary language.
In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles of the disclosed technology may be applied, it should be recognized that the illustrated embodiments are only examples and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the disclosure. Rather, the scope of the disclosure is at least as broad as the following claims. We therefore claim as our invention all that comes within the scope of these claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/414,392, filed Oct. 28, 2016, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62414392 | Oct 2016 | US |
