The present invention relates to devices for suspending articles, and more particularly, to labels including hangers and securable to articles.
It is often necessary or desirable to hang various articles from supports for storage and convenient access. For example, IV bottles and bags often must be suspended from stands for gravitational feed of the contents of the bottles or bags. Similarly, consumers often wish to hang bottles of shampoo, soap, bath oils and the like in their showers or elsewhere. Various other packaged articles are often suspended from retail display supports. A number of hanging devices for such purposes have been proposed, including self-adhesive labels including integral hangers. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,125 to Andel et al. Additionally, some hanger devices are mechanically secured to an article, such as in the container and retractable hanger system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,497 to Davis.
According to embodiments of the present invention, a label assembly includes a release liner and a label. The label includes a base layer releasably adhered to the release liner. The base layer includes at least one label cut line formed therein defining a hanger and an adjacent anchoring portion. A release liner piece is defined by at least one release liner cut line formed in the release liner. The release liner piece is adhered to the anchoring portion and underlies the hanger such that the release liner piece remains with the base layer and supports the hanger when the base layer is dispensed from the release liner. According to some embodiments, the base layer is a single-ply base layer.
According to embodiments of the present invention, a label for use with an article includes a base layer, a base adhesive layer, and a release liner piece. The base layer includes at least one label cut line formed therein defining a hanger and an adjacent anchoring portion. The base adhesive layer coats a rear surface of the base layer. The release liner piece is adhered to the anchoring portion by the base adhesive layer and underlies the hanger such that the release liner piece remains with the base layer and supports the hanger when the base layer is dispensed onto the article.
According to further embodiments of the present invention, a label for use with an article includes a base layer, a base adhesive layer, and a supplemental piece. The base layer includes at least one label cut line formed therein defining a hanger and an adjacent anchoring portion. The base adhesive layer coats a rear surface of the base layer. The supplemental piece is adhered to the anchoring portion by the base adhesive layer and overlies the hanger such that the supplemental piece retains the hanger with respect the anchor portion when the base layer is dispensed onto the article.
According to method embodiments of the present invention, a method for forming a label assembly includes: providing a release liner; releasably adhering a base layer to the release liner; forming at least one label cut line in the base layer to define a hanger and an adjacent anchoring portion in the base layer; and forming at least one release liner cut line in the release liner to define a release liner piece therein such that the release liner piece is adhered to the anchoring portion and underlies the hanger such that the release liner piece remains with the base layer and supports the hanger when the base layer is dispensed from the release liner.
According to method embodiments of the present invention, a method for dispensing a label onto an article includes providing a label assembly including a release liner and a label. The label includes a base layer releasably adhered to the release liner. The base layer includes at least one label cut line formed therein defining a hanger and an adjacent anchoring portion. A release liner piece is defined by at least one release liner cut line formed in the release liner. The release liner piece is adhered to the anchoring portion and underlies the hanger such that the release liner piece remains with the base layer and supports the hanger when the base layer is dispensed from the release liner. The method further includes dispensing the label from the release liner onto the article such that the release liner piece remains adhered to the anchoring portion and underlying the hanger to thereby support the hanger during the transition from the release liner to the article.
Further features, advantages and details of the present invention will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the figures and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments that follow, such description being merely illustrative of the present invention.
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which illustrative embodiments of the invention are shown. In the drawings, the relative sizes of regions or features may be exaggerated for clarity. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “coupled” or “connected” to another element, it can be directly coupled or connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly coupled” or “directly connected” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. As used herein the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
In addition, spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “over”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is inverted, elements described as “under” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “over” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “under” can encompass both an orientation of over and under. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.
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. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
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 to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that 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.
In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, hanger labels and assemblies including the same are provided. The labels are adapted to be adhesively secured to an article for suspending the article. The labels and label assemblies may provide for more efficient and consistent or reliable dispensation of the labels from a release liner onto articles. According to some embodiments, the label includes a single-ply base layer within which the hanger is formed. According to some embodiments, the label is a self-adhesive label. Further aspects of the present invention and embodiments thereof will be appreciated from the description that follows.
With reference to
Turning to the label 100 in more detail, the hanger 130 includes legs 134 extending from opposed ends 132 and connected to one another by a connecting portion 136. A pull tab 136A extends from the connecting portion 136. In this manner, the hanger 130 forms a continuous, closed loop from one end 132 to the other end 132. The ends 132 are integral with the anchoring portion 145. The anchoring portion 145 includes all of the parts of the base layer 120 other than the hanger 130. Diecut stress relief curves 141 are formed at the ends 132.
Indicia 137 instructing a user to “pull” is printed on the pull tab 136A. Indicia 147 such as product identification and/or other information is printed on the anchoring portion 145.
The base layer 120 is formed of a flexible material, for example, a flexible polymeric film. Suitable materials for the base layer 120 include White TR-303 film available from Polymeric Converting of Enfield, Connecticut.
The adhesive 110 coats only a portion of the lower surface of the base layer 120. In particular, the adhesive 110 coats only the lower surface of the anchoring portion 145 and not the hanger 130. Accordingly, the base layer 120 may be pivoted away from the remainder of the label 100 about the ends 132. The adhesive 110 may be a pressure sensitive adhesive. The adhesive may also be a heat activatable adhesive. Suitable adhesives include a permanent acrylic adhesive such as GPMA040 adhesive available from Polymeric Converting of Enfield, Connecticut.
The release liner 180 may be of any suitable type and construction. Suitable release liners may include, for example, a glassine liner such as a 53 pound glassine liner, such as that available from Polymeric Converting of Enfield, Connecticut.
Cut lines 184 such as die cuts extend through the release liner 180 to define a pair of release liner pieces 182. Each release liner piece 182 includes an intermediate portion 182B underlapping a leg 134 of the hanger 130. Each release liner piece 182 further includes a pair of extension or side portions 182A extending laterally from either side of the intermediate portion 182B and underlapping the anchoring portion 145 on either side of the respective leg 134. The side portions 182A are adhered to the layer 120 by the adhesive 110. According to some embodiments, the intermediate portion 182B is not coated or engaged with adhesive and is not directly adhered to the hanger 130.
For illustrative purposes, the article 7 (
In use, the label 100 may be removed from the release liner 180 and applied to the article 7. The label 100 may be applied manually, using semi-automatic labeling equipment or using automatic labeling equipment, for example. The anchoring portion 145 is permanently adhered to the article 7 by the adhesive 110.
With reference to
Referring to
The article 7 may be suspended, for example, from a rod of a display rack, using the label 100. Once the label is secured to the article 7, the hanger 130 may remain in the stored position as shown in
As an alternative (not shown), rather than being free of adhesive, the underside of the hanger 130 may be coated with the adhesive 110 and an adhesive deadener so that a deadened adhesive is presented on the underside. Suitable adhesive deadeners include M800 adhesive deadener from Radcure, Inc. of Fairfield, N.J. and FT33HG adhesive deadener from Northwest Coatings of Oak Creek, Wis. The deadened adhesive does not adhere or only nominally adheres to the article 7 so that the label may be used in the same manner as described above.
As a further alternative (not shown), the adhesive deadener may be replaced with a permanently adhered or releasable coherent layer such as a web of face stock or a release liner. This layer is preferably only applied over the adhesive present on the hanger and serves to prevent exposure of this adhesive.
As a further alternative (not shown), the adhesive coating the underside of the hanger 130 may be an adhesive of the type commonly referred to as a “fugitive adhesive”. Such adhesives are characterized in that they are operative to adhere two layers (in this case, the hanger 130 and the article 7) but, when the two layers are separated, the exposed hanger adhesive is substantially non-adherent. When the adhesive dries, the bond will remain strong enough to hold the layers together until the bond is broken by deliberately separating the layers. The adhesive is then dry and tackless (i.e., at least nontacky to the touch) and will not adhere to anything or unduly collect dirt and debris. Preferably, the materials of the hanger 130 and the article 7 and the hanger adhesive are chosen such that the hanger adhesive will remain with the underside of the hanger 130. The particular characteristics of the adhesive will depend on the materials to be bonded as well as the required performance parameters (e.g., the desired amount of force required to break the bond between the articles). Suitable adhesives include WB4738 available from H. B. Fuller of St. Paul, Minn. Preferably, the hanger adhesive is substantially transparent. An alternative suitable adhesive is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,838 to Dunsim et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
With reference to
The method and apparatus as described above may be used to make the label having a hanger coated with deadened adhesive with suitable modifications. In particular, the web 24 is replaced with a self-adhesive web (which may be provided as a release liner backed face stock, whereupon the release liner would first be removed) and the adhesive print station 26 is replaced with an adhesive deadener printing station which prints the appropriate pattern of adhesive deadener. For example, a composite web including a release liner, an adhesive, and a film laminate as described above may be provided, the laminate separated from the release liner, a deadener printed on the hanger regions of the adhesive, and the release liner thereafter remarried to the laminate. Suitable composite webs may include a pre-formed web of White TR-303 film laminate, GPMA040 permanent acrylic adhesive, and a 53 pound glassine release liner as available from Polymeric Converting of Enfield, Conn.
Release liner pieces corresponding to the release liner pieces 182 may be formed in other shapes and/or locations. For example, a label assembly 201 according to further embodiments of the present invention is shown in
With reference to
The label assembly 301 may be formed using any suitable method. According to some embodiments, the label pieces 382 are tamped or blown onto the base layer 320. The pieces 382 may be self-adhesive and/or the adhesive 385 may be applied to the underside of each piece 382 or to the top surface of the base layer 320 during assembly.
In use, the label pieces 382 may tear when the hanger 330 is lifted, and, optionally, score lines or perforations 383 may be provided in the label pieces 382 to facilitate tearing. Alternatively, the label pieces 382 may separate from the anchor portions 345 when the hanger 330 is lifted. In this case, the adhesive 385 may be a fugitive adhesive to prevent unintended exposure of active adhesive when the hanger 330 is deployed.
Each of the foregoing labels may be provided as “cut labels”, i.e., labels which are applied directly to articles without first being mounted on a release liner. The manufacture and application of such a label may be accomplished using a method as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,010 to Grosskopf et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The adhesive 110, for example, may be a non-pressure sensitive adhesive, preferably a heat activatable adhesive. Alternatively, the adhesive may be applied to the label (e.g., to the base layer 120) just prior to applying the label to the article, preferably by blowing the adhesive. The adhesive may be applied in a manner such as commonly referred to as “cut and stack” (a technique commonly used to apply cut labels to beer bottles, for example). The labels may also be pressure sensitive, in which case the labels are preferably diecut and stacked rather than being wound on a roll.
Each of the foregoing labels may be provided as in-mold labels using methods and constructions as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,010 to Grosskopf et al. Suitable modifications to the described methods and apparatus as appropriate will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the description herein.
According to some embodiments and as illustrated in
Any of the foregoing labels may include indicia as desired printed on the layer(s) from which the hanger is formed. Such indicia may include product identification, instructions, warnings, lot data, expiration data, and bar codes.
If desired, small patches of adhesive may be provided on the undersides of the hangers to temporarily secure them to the article or base layer. Such adhesive patches would preferably be provided under the corners of the hangers (e.g., the corners between the legs 134 and the pull tab 136A). The adhesive patches may be formed of a fugitive adhesive.
The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although a few exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that the foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications to the disclosed embodiments, as well as other embodiments, are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.
The present application claims the benefit of and priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/697,621, filed Jul. 8, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60697621 | Jul 2005 | US |