Patent Application
20220388720
The present invention relates generally to labels and, more particularly, to tamper-evident labels suitable for permanently attaching or affixing to a container and a closure or lid.
Labels have long been used to identify the object, its contents and/or display other information associated with the object. Such labels are usually adhesively secured to the object by adhesive material. Many objects such as jars, bottles, cans and similar containers are fitted with wrap-around labels that cover substantially all of their circumferential sidewall surfaces.
Tamper-evident features are useful for alerting consumers that the products in the bottles and containers may have been tampered with or opened up prior to sale. Tamper-evident features should provide visible proof that the bottles or containers have been tampered with or opened prior to purchase or use.
While various types of tamper-evident features are suitable for use on a large variety of objects such as bottles and containers are known in the prior art, there is a need for a one-piece tamper-evident label that is simpler to manufacture and that is easily removable from an object by a user.
The term embodiment and like terms are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this disclosure and the claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the claims below. Embodiments of the present disclosure covered herein are defined by the claims below, not this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various aspects of the disclosure and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter. This summary is also not intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this disclosure, any or all drawings and each claim.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a container assembly includes a container, a closure and a one-piece tamper-evident label. The container has a neck portion defining an opening and a body portion. The body portion includes at least one sidewall and a bottom opposite of the neck portion. The closure is configured for fitment to the neck portion of the container for closing the opening. The closure includes a top wall portion and an annular skirt portion depending from the top wall portion. The one-piece tamper-evident label is permanently attached to the container and the closure. The tamper-evident label includes at least one line of weakness extending across thereof. The tamper-evident label covers a majority of the at least one sidewall and substantially extends around the circumferences of the container and the closure. The tamper-evident label is configured to be separated into at least a first label portion and a second label portion via the at least one line of weakness.
According to a configuration of the above implementation, the container has an external thread formation on the neck portion and the annular skirt portion of the closure includes an internal thread formation for mating engagement with the external thread formation of the container. The body portion of the container may be generally cylindrically shaped.
According to another configuration of the above implementation, the at least one line of weakness is scoring or scored lines, perforations, notches, leaders, nicks or any combination thereof. The at least one line of weakness may be a plurality of lines of weakness.
According to a further configuration of the above implementation, the tamper-evident label further includes a pull tab connected to the at least one line of weakness to assist in facilitating the separation of the tamper-evident label into the first label portion and the second label portion.
In a further aspect of the above implementation, the one-piece tamper-evident label comprises paper or polymeric material.
In a further aspect of the above implementation, the one-piece tamper-evident label is permanently attached to the container and the closure via an adhesive. The adhesive may be a pressure-sensitive adhesive or a UV-cured adhesive.
In yet a further aspect of the above implementation, the one-piece tamper-evident label covers substantially all of the at least one sidewall of the container. The one-piece tamper-evident label may extend around the entire circumferences of the entire container and the closure.
According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, a container assembly includes a container, a closure and a one-piece tamper-evident label. The container has a neck portion defining an opening and a body portion. The body portion includes at least one sidewall and a bottom opposite of the neck portion. The closure is configured for fitment to the neck portion of the container for closing the opening. The closure includes a top wall portion and an annular skirt portion depending from the top wall portion. The one-piece tamper-evident label is permanently attached to the container and the closure via an adhesive. The tamper-evident label includes a plurality of lines of weaknesses extending across thereof. The tamper-evident label covers a majority of the at least one sidewall and extends entirely around the circumferences of the container and the closure. The tamper-evident label is configured to be separated into at least a first label portion and a second label portion via the at least one line of weakness.
According to a configuration of the above implementation, the tamper-evident label further includes a pull tab connected to the at least one line of weakness to assist in facilitating the separation of the tamper-evident label into the first label portion and the second label portion.
According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the one-piece tamper-evident label comprises paper or polymeric material.
According to a configuration of the above implementation, the adhesive may be a pressure-sensitive adhesive or a UV-cured adhesive.
According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the one-piece tamper-evident label covers substantially all of the at least one sidewall of the container.
The above summary is not intended to represent each embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure. Rather, the foregoing summary merely provides an example of some of the novel aspects and features set forth herein. The above features and advantages, and other features and advantages of the present disclosure, will be readily apparent from the following detailed description of representative embodiments and modes for carrying out the present invention, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. Additional aspects of the disclosure will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of various embodiments, which is made with reference to the drawings, a brief description of which is provided below.
The disclosure, and its advantages and drawings, will be better understood from the following description of exemplary embodiments together with reference to the accompanying drawings. These drawings depict only exemplary embodiments, and are therefore not to be considered as limitations on the scope of the various embodiments or claims.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific implementations have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in further detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Various embodiments are described with reference to the attached figures, where like reference numerals are used throughout the figures to designate similar or equivalent elements. The figures are not drawn to scale and are provided merely to illustrate the instant invention. Several aspects of the invention are described below with reference to example applications for illustration. It should be understood that numerous specific details, relationships, and methods are set forth to provide a full understanding of the invention. One having ordinary skill in the relevant art, however, will readily recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods. In other instances, well-known structures or operations are not shown in detail to avoid obscuring the invention. The various embodiments are not limited by the illustrated ordering of acts or events, as some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts or events. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts or events are required to implement a methodology in accordance with the present invention.
Referring initially to
Referring back to
The tamper-evident label 20 of
As shown in
The plurality of lines of weaknesses 22, 24 may be scoring or scored lines, perforations, notches, leaders, nicks or any combination thereof. It is contemplated that other lines of weaknesses may be employed in the tamper-evident label.
The pull tab 26 is connected to the plurality of lines of weakness 22, 24 to assist in facilitating the separation of the tamper-evident label 20 into the first and second label portions 30, 32. As shown best in
The tamper-evident label is configured and sized appropriately to conform with the container assembly. The tamper-evident label can display information associated with the container assembly or the objects therein, including, but not limited to, information about the content or product therein, advertising, instructions, warnings, graphics, and the like. It is desirable to have essentially the entire outer surface of the tamper-evident label available as an indicia-bearing surface.
The tamper-evident label 20 is configured to cover, at least partially, an exterior surface of at least one sidewall of a container, and also to cover, at least partially, an annular skirt portion of a closure. In one embodiment, the tamper-evident label covers a majority of the at least one sidewall of the container. In another embodiment, the tamper-evident label covers substantially all or all of the at least one sidewall of the container. The tamper-evident label typically covers a portion of the annular skirt portion of the closure.
In use, the tamper-evident label 20 is desirably positioned on a container assembly so that the first portion 30 of the tamper-evident label 20 is permanently attached or affixed to a closure, while the second portion 32 of the tamper-evident label 20 is permanently attached or affixed to a container.
The tamper-evident label 20 in one embodiment covers substantially all of the container and the closure. The tamper-evident label 20 generally has the length L1 (see
It is also contemplated that the tamper-evident label may have exactly one line of weakness, or more than two lines of weaknesses to facilitate the opening process. It is also contemplated that the tamper-evident label may not include a pull-tab. It is desirable, however, to have a mechanism to begin the opening process for a user.
Referring to
The container may be in the form of, for example, a jar, bottle, can or the like. It is contemplated that the container may be in other forms. The body portion 46 of the container 40 is generally cylindrically shaped. It is contemplated, however, that a body portion of a container may shaped differently than depicted in
Referring to
It is contemplated that the container and the closure may not include respective external and internal thread formation. In one non-limiting example, the container and the closure may be a flip-lid configuration. In another embodiment, the closure may be pressed or inserted into an opening of the container. It is contemplated that other containers and closures may be used in forming the container assemblies of the present invention.
Referring to
In one embodiment, the diameters of the container 40 and the closure 60 are within about 2 mm. In another embodiment, the diameters of the container 40 and the closure 60 are within about 1.5 mm or about 1 mm. In a further embodiment, the diameters of the container 40 and the closure 60 are within about 0.75 mm or within 0.5 mm. In yet another embodiment, the diameters of the container 40 and the closure 60 are within about 0.25 mm or about 0.1 mm.
According to one embodiment, the tamper-evident label is permanently attached or affixed to an annular skirt portion of the closure and to an exterior surface of the sidewall 48 of the container 40 via an adhesive. The adhesive would be located between the tamper-evident label 20 and the sidewall 48. The adhesive may be part of the tamper-evident label 20 or may be applied separately. The adhesive may be one or more layers.
In one embodiment, the tamper-evident label is attached using a permanent pressure-sensitive adhesive. These adhesives are configured to not be removed from the closure and the container. The permanently pressure-sensitive adhesives may be hot-melt, solvent or emulsions. The permanent hot-melt and solvent adhesives may be rubber based. A non-limiting example of a hot-melt adhesive include styrenic block copolymers (SBCs). The permanent solvent adhesives and emulsion adhesives may be formed by acrylic compositions. Some non-limiting examples of permanent emulsions include, but are not limited to, polyvinyl acetates (PVAs) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVAs). The permanent pressure-sensitive adhesive may be a permanent UV-cured adhesive. It is contemplated that other permanent adhesives may be used that are compatible with the material forming the container and the closure.
In one embodiment, a portion of the tamper-evident label 20 in the immediate vicinity of the plurality of lines of weaknesses 22, 24 is left without adhesive. By not including any adhesive in this area, the tearing apart along the perforations facilitates a cleaner separation of the tamper-evident label 20 into the first and second portions 30, 32. In this embodiment or in an alternative embodiment, the pull tab 26, if used, desirably does not include any adhesive.
During the packaging stage at, for example, a manufacturing facility, the tamper-evident label is permanently attached or affixed to both the container and to the closure so as to prevent or inhibit movement of the closure in relation to the container without tearing or ripping the tamper-evident label. In one method, the tamper-evident label is wrapped around the container and the closure. The tamper-evident label is typically wrapped substantially around the container and the closure in one method. In another method, the label is wrapped entirely around the container and the closure. Thus, in this method, the label extends around the entire circumferences of the container and the closure. In a further method, the label is wrapped entirely around the container and the closure with an end-edge overlap.
To open the container, a user initially tears apart the tamper-evident label along the plurality of lines of weaknesses 22, 24. The beginning of this process is shown in
Once the label has been fully torn apart along the plurality of lines of weaknesses 22, 24, the first label portion 30 of the tamper-evident label 20 may remain permanently attached or affixed to the closure 60 of the container assembly 10, while the second label portion 32 of the tamper-evident label 20 remains permanently attached or affixed to the container 40. At this point, the user is free to move the closure 60 with respect to the container 40 and to gain assess to the contents of the container 40.
The tamper-evident labels are typically made of paper or polymeric materials. Non-limiting examples of polymeric materials include, but are not limited to, polypropylene (e.g., biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The tamper-evident label may be in a laminated form in one embodiment. In another embodiment, the tamper-evident label may be in a non-laminated form. It is contemplated that the tamper-evident label may be formed from other materials.
The foregoing description of the embodiments, including illustrated embodiments, has been presented only for the purpose of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting to the precise forms disclosed. Numerous modifications, adaptations, and uses thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
Although the disclosed embodiments have been illustrated and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur or be known to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.
While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Numerous changes to the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the invention should be defined in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “including,” “includes,” “having,” “has,” “with,” or variants thereof, are used in either the detailed description and/or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
