SELF-ADHESIVE CLOSURES FOR PACKAGING

Abstract

A pack comprises a carrier for a plurality of closures for closing an opened package and configured such that the self-adhesive closures can be extended from the carrier to facilitate access to the self-adhesive closures for removal from the pack.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to self-adhesive closures for packaging, and particularly but not exclusively to self-adhesive closures for resealing an opened food containing package.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known to package foodstuffs in packaging comprising a bag or similar such structure made of a flexible sheet or film material and sealed to retain its contents. Such packaging is often produced on form fill and seal (FFS) machines, which produce packages having respective transverse seams at their upper and lower ends. Such packages are typically opened by splitting the seam at the upper end to provide access to the interior of the package. Many foodstuffs such as breakfast cereals, dried fruits, pasta, potato crisps and rice are sold to the consumer in this form of packaging.

Less amorphous products, such as biscuits, are often stacked one upon the other and packaged in a film that is formed as a tube with a longitudinally seam and folded over at its ends to provide overlying flaps that are joined to one another to close the ends of the package. The biscuits are accessed from the package by unpicking the flaps at one end of the package.

Typically, once such packages have been opened, any of the content that is not used immediately is decanted to a storage container. The storage container may provide a degree of sealing to preserve the freshness of the stored content.

More recently, it has become known to supply such packages with a so-called reseal tape strip. The tape strip is adhered to the package material and once the package has opened can be used to reseal the package. It will be understood that although it is usual to refer to this as ‘resealing’ the package, the tape strip does not in fact reseal the package. Normally the user folds the top end of the opened package over to close the opened end of the package and the tape strip simply acts to hold the top end in place such that the content of the package should be prevented from escaping. However, the package does not seal the content from atmosphere.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a pack comprising a carrier for a plurality of self-adhesive closures for closing an opened package and configured such that said self-adhesive closures can be extended from said carrier to facilitate access to the self-adhesive closures for removal from the pack.

The invention also includes a self-adhesive closure for resealing a package, said self-adhesive closure having opposed end portions and an intermediate portion disposed between said end portions, said intermediate portion being narrower than each of said end portions.

The invention also includes a method of resealing a package, the method comprising obtaining a self-adhesive closure from a supply comprising a plurality of self-adhesive closures, closing said package and applying said self-adhesive closure to the package to maintain said closed position.

The invention also includes a pack comprising a wallet housing a plurality of self-adhesive closures for resealing an opened package, said self-adhesive closures being attached to said wallet.

The invention also includes a pack comprising a container containing a roll of self-adhesive closures for resealing an opened package, said container having an aperture through which an end of said roll can be threaded for dispensing self-adhesive closures from the roll

The invention also includes a pack comprising a storage device for a plurality of self-adhesive closures for resealing an opened package from which the self-adhesive closures can be selectively removed by a user, the self-adhesive closures being adhesive be means of a repositional adhesive.

The invention also includes a pack comprising a carrier for a plurality of self-adhesive closures for closing an opened package and configured such that said self-adhesive closures can be extended from said carrier to facilitate access to the self-adhesive closures for removal from the pack, said plurality of self-adhesive closures being provided on a backing member that comprises a plurality of backing member portions defined by at least one line of weakness extending transversely of the backing member and in a non-extended condition of said self-adhesive closures the backing member portions being folded so as to be disposed in at least partially overlying relation.

The invention also includes a pack comprising a carrier for a plurality of self-adhesive closures for closing an opened package and configured such that said self-adhesive closures can be extended from said carrier to facilitate access to the self-adhesive closures for removal from the pack, each self-adhesive closure comprising an elongate member having respective end portions and a portion intermediate said end portions that is narrower than said end portions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be well understood, some embodiments thereof, which are given by way of example only, will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a package;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the package of FIG. 1 in an open condition;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a pack comprising self-adhesive closures for resealing packages such as the package shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates the pack of FIG. 3 opened to show the self-adhesive closures;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a self-adhesive closure of FIG. 3 being used to reseal a package that has been opened;

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a another pack comprising self-adhesive closures for packages such as the package shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 7 is a schematic partial perspective view of a package containing biscuits;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a self-adhesive closure for resealing a package such as the package shown in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic partial perspective view of a self-adhesive closure as shown in FIG. 8 in use resealing a package as shown in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a package 10 containing a foodstuff 12 is made from a flexible sheet material that is formed into a tube having generally rectangular cross sections and including, a front face 14, a first side face 16, a second side face opposite the first side face and a rear face opposite the front face. The tube is made by wrapping the plastics sheet around a former and sealing the overlapping edges of the sheet to form a longitudinally extending seam 18 on the rear face. The top end 20 and the bottom end 22 of the tube are closed by pressing opposed portions of the front and rear faces together and forming transverse seams 24, 26 that may be sealed by the application of heat or a suitable adhesive. The package is filled with the foodstuff 12 prior to forming the top seam 24. The package 12 may be made of any conventional packaging material such as paper, waxed paper, thermoplastics, foil, metallised foil, laminate or the like. In the illustrated example, the package 12 is made of a clear plastics material such as polyethylene or polypropylene.

In order to access the foodstuff 12, the consumer usually breaks open the seam 24 at the top end 20 of the package 10 in the way indicated in FIG. 2. A knick 28 or other weakening feature may be provided to aid the opening process. The package 10 does not include any closing device so that once it has been opened, the consumer typically decants any unused content into a storage container and disposes of the empty package.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a pack 50 comprising self-adhesive closures 52 (FIG. 4) that can be used for resealing a package 10 after it has been opened. The pack 50 comprises a carrier in the form of a wallet 54 for a plurality of the self-adhesive closures 52. The self-adhesive closures 50 are provided on a backing member 56. The wallet 54 comprises a cardboard member that is folded so as to provide a rear wallet portion 58 and a front wallet portion 60. In the illustrated embodiment, the front and rear wallet portions are of equal size, although, this is not essential. The backing member 56 is fixed to the rear wallet portion 58. As explained in detail below, the backing member 56 can be folded to allow it and the self-adhesive closures it bears to be sandwiched between the rear wallet portion 58 and the front wallet portion 60.

The backing member 56 is a strip of glassine or a flexible plastics material such as siliconised polyester to which each self-adhesive closure 52 is secured by an easy peel adhesive provided on the face of the self-adhesive closure that contacts the backing member. In this embodiment, the adhesive is a repositional adhesive. An end portion of each self-adhesive closure 52 is left free of adhesive to define a tab 62 that can be easily lifted clear of the backing member 56 such that it can be gripped to facilitate removal of the self-adhesive closure from the backing member.

The backing member 56 is divided into a plurality of panels whose width is defined by respective lines of weakness in the form of fold lines 64. The fold lines 64 extend parallel to one another and generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the backing member 56. The arrangement of the fold lines 64 is such that they act in the manner of hinges allowing the panels to be folded one on top of another for storage in the wallet 54 and subsequently unfolded to allow access to the self-adhesive closures 52. Each of the panels holds one or more self-adhesive closures 52 (one in the illustrated embodiment). The backing member 56 may be configured to hold any desired number of self-adhesive closures 52. For example the backing member 56 may be configured to hold between five and twenty self-adhesive closures. The number of self-adhesive closures will in part be determined by the capacity of the wallet 54.

The fold lines 64 may be provided as score lines, die cuts or a line of perforations. Using perforations to define the fold line allows for the individual panels to be easily separated from the backing member 56.

The pack 50 is provided with a fastening system for keeping the wallet 54 closed, at least until the first time the self-adhesive closures 52 are to be accessed. The fastening system may take any suitable form, including an adhesive between the front and rear wallet portions 58, 60, elastic members, clips, adhesive strips, staples or a plastics film enveloping the wallet 54.

In use, the panels of the backing member 56 are unfolded to gain access to one or more self-adhesive closures 52 as required. The extent to which the backing member 56 needs to be unfolded will increase as the supply of tape closures is used up. Once the required number of self-adhesive closures 52 has/have been removed, the panels of the backing member 56 are refolded concertina-style and the wallet 54 is closed. Alternatively, in embodiments in which the fold lines 64 are perforated, each panel can be individually removed/pulled apart from the backing member 56 starting from the free end of the backing member 56.

FIG. 5 shows a package 10 that has been resealed using a self-adhesive closure 52. The consumer has removed a desired quantity of foodstuff 12 from the package 10 and then folded, or rolled, the empty portion of the package from the top end 20 to close the open end of the package. A self-adhesive closure 52 has been used to secure the folded/rolled top end 20 of the package to a portion closer to the lower end 24 to secure the top end in position and reseal the package. Although not essential, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the empty portion of the package has been rolled down to the level of the remaining foodstuff 12 such that the resealed package 10 has a volume that approximates to that of the remaining foodstuff. With the package 10 thus resealed, it can be stored until such time as the consumer wishes to use the remaining foodstuff 12. At that time, the consumer merely needs to grip the tab 62 of the self-adhesive closure 52 and peel the self-adhesive closure away from the lower end 22 of the package to allow the top end 20 to be unfurled and provide access to the interior of the package. If the consumer does not wish to use all of the remaining foodstuff, the package 10 can be resealed yet again using the same, or a new, self-adhesive closure 52.

FIG. 5 shows a different form of pack 100 comprising self-adhesive tapes 52 that can be used for resealing a package 10 after it has been opened. The pack 100 comprises a carrier for the self-adhesive closures 52 in the form of a container, or box, 102. The self-adhesive closures 52 on their backing member 56 are loaded into the box 102 in the form of a roll. An aperture 104 extends across a sidewall 106 of the box 102 and has a height sufficient to allow the self-adhesive closures 52 and backing member 56 to be threaded through it so that a free end portion of the roll extends from the box. The sidewall 106, and so the box 102, has a width W a little greater that the width of the backing member 56 to allow sufficient movement clearance for the roll of self-adhesive closures 52 so that the backing member 56 and self-adhesive closures 52 on it can be drawn through the aperture 104 by pulling on the free end portion that extends from the box 102.

The pack 100 may be produced with the aperture 104 ready formed and with a leading end portion of the roll of self-adhesive closures 52 projecting through the aperture and secured to the sidewall 106. Alternatively, it may be supplied with the aperture 104 not yet formed. In cases in which the aperture 104 is not formed, two lines of weakness, for example perforations, are provided in the sidewall 106 to allow a portion of the sidewall to be relatively easily pressed out to form the aperture. The first time a self-adhesive closure 52 is to be accessed from the roll contained in the box 102, the aperture 104 is formed by pressing the sidewall between the two lines of weakness to open the aperture. A top flap 108 of the box 102 is then opened by pivoting it about hinge 110 to provide access to the interior of the box. The leading end portion of the roll of self-adhesive closures 52 is then threaded through the aperture 104 so that it protrudes from the sidewall 106 in a manner at least similar that shown in FIG. 6. The top flap 108 is then pressed back into the position shown in FIG. 6 to close the box 102.

The self-adhesive closures 52 and backing member 56 may have all of the features of the corresponding parts described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4; the difference being that in this embodiment the longitudinal axes of the self-adhesive closures extend generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the backing member, whereas in the FIGS. 3 and 4 embodiment, the longitudinal axes of the self-adhesive closures extend generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the backing member. Thus in this embodiment, the self-adhesive closures 52 are disposed end-to-end on the backing member 56, whereas in the FIGS. 3 and 4 embodiment they are disposed side-by-side.

In use, self-adhesive closures 52 can be obtained from the roll contained in the box 102 by pulling on the free end portion of the roll that protrudes from the sidewall 106 through the aperture 104. The roll of self-adhesive closures 52 may be divided into panels that are approximately the same size as the self-adhesive closures. The panels are defined by lines of weakness (not shown) extending perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the backing member 56. The lines of weakness may be in the form of score lines, die cuts or perforations. By dividing the backing member 56 in this way, it is possible for the user to easily remove redundant backing member material from the roll as the tape closures 52 are used or to remove a desired number of self-adhesive closures 52 while still attached to the backing member.

FIG. 7 shows an upper end portion of an elongate package 150 containing biscuits 154. Although not shown, it will be appreciated that the remainder of the package 150 and particularly the opposite end portion correspond in shape and configuration to the portion illustrated in FIG. 7. The package is made of a thin flexible plastics film that is typically a lighter gauge than the sheet materials from which packages such as the package 10 are made. The plastics film is wrapped relatively tightly around a stack of biscuits 154 to form a tube having a cross-section that conforms substantially to the shape of the biscuits. The ends of the tube are folded over to form flaps 156 that are secured to one another, typically by the application of heat, to seal the package. It will be noted that with this sort of package, relatively sharp corners and edges 158 are formed at the ends of the stack of biscuits where the package material bends over the edges of the biscuits at the ends of the stack. The use of lightweight films to form such packages is at least in part attributable to the need to form relatively sharp corners/edges.

One popular material for making packages such as the package 150 is 30/40 micron cavitated orientated polypropylene (OPP). This is a common packaging material popular for its barrier properties and economy. It is, however, structurally relatively weak in that it will tear very easily once an initial nick has formed at an edge of the material. It is also structurally weak internally and has a tendency to delaminate.

FIG. 8 illustrates a self-adhesive closure 200 that is particularly, but not exclusively, for use in resealing packages containing biscuits and/or made of relatively lightweight/weak materials such as OPP.

The self-adhesive closure 200 comprises an elongate member having opposed lengthways extending sides 202, 204. The self-adhesive closure has opposed end portions 206, 208 and an intermediate portion 210 between the end portions. The intermediate portion 210 is narrower than both end portions. The intermediate portion 210 is defined by opposed arcuate notches 212 formed in the sides 202, 204 of the self-adhesive closure. The self-adhesive closure 200 is supplied on a backing member 214. In FIG. 8 the self-adhesive closure 200 is shown by itself on the backing member 214 so that its shape and configuration can be more easily appreciated. However, typically, although not essentially, the self-adhesive closure 200 will be one of a series of such self-adhesive closures disposed side-by-side or end-to-end on the backing member. An area of the end portion 208 is left free of adhesive to define a tab 216 that can be grasped by a user to assist in removing the self-adhesive closure 200 from the backing member 214 and, in use, to assist in removing the self-adhesive closure from a package to which it is adhered.

Optionally, the self-adhesive closures 200 may be supplied in a pack such as the pack 50 or pack 100 and accessed in just the same way as the self-adhesive closures 52.

Referring to FIG. 9, when a consumer has opened the package 150 and removed a desired number of the biscuits 154, the package can be resealed by folding a portion 160 of the package that has been made redundant by the removal of the biscuits over the open end of the package to close the package. The portion 160 is held in place by a self-adhesive closure 200. The self-adhesive closure 200 has been removed from its backing member 214 and applied with the end portion 206 is adhered to the portion 160 and the end portion 208 is adhered to a side 162 of the package. The self-adhesive closure 200 is positioned such that the intermediate portion 210 is positioned over the edge 158. If the consumer wishes to take biscuits 154 from the resealed package 150, the tab 216 is grasped and the self-adhesive closure 200 pulled off of the side 162 until it is just adhered to the portion 160. If the consumer does not remove all of the biscuits from the package, it can be resealed using the same self-adhesive closure 200 or a fresh self-adhesive closure.

It will be understood that providing a self-adhesive closure 200 with a necked intermediate portion 210 reduces the area of the package to which the self-adhesive closure adheres. This reduces the likelihood of damage to the package material, particularly delamination, when the self-adhesive closure 200 is lifted to reopen the resealed package. Preserving the integrity of the package material reduces the likelihood of tears resulting in a unwanted mess and makes it more likely the package can be resealed again if the consumer does not wish to consume all of the biscuits.

It will be appreciated that the self-adhesive closures can be made of any suitable flexible material to which an adhesive can be applied in order to make the tape closure self-adhesive. Similarly, the adhesive used to make the closures self-adhesive may be of any suitable type that can adhere to the package material the closure is intended for. The adhesive may be a releasable or a repositional adhesive. For general purpose applications, prototypes have been made using RI-707/60TC adhesive supplied by Ritrama Ltd of Manchester in the United Kingdom. For self-adhesive closures intended for use on more delicate packaging, such as OPP, prototypes have been made using Ritrama Ltd's RI-707/60VM adhesive. Testing has shown that such prototypes can contribute to four months food storage with repeated use on flexible food packages.

In the illustrated embodiments, the self-adhesive closures are elongate strips or tapes. It will be appreciated that this is not essential and that the closures may have any desired shape. The self-adhesive closures could, for example, be circular or formed as novelty shapes.

It will be appreciated that the pull tab portions of the self-adhesive closures can be printed a different colour to the remainder of the closure or the tab can be distinguished by suitable wording to assist consumers in identifying the correction portion of the self-adhesive closure to grip for removing the self-adhesive closure from its backing member or for opening a resealed package.

It will also be appreciated that the self-adhesive closures may be printed with promotional or other information.

It will be appreciated that the self-adhesive closure does not have to be provided with a continuous adhesive surface portion. Instead, discrete adhesive portions may, for example, be provided at or adjacent the ends of the closure. Thus, for example, the self-adhesive closure 200 might be provided with adhesive on the end portions 206, 208 and the intermediate portion 210 left free of adhesive. In such a case, the backing member may take the form of respective backing strips covering the adhesive areas.

It will be understood that although the wallet in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 is described as being made of cardboard, this is not essential. The wallet could, for example, be made of a plastics material. The wallet could be provided with features that allow a portion of backing member to be releasably trapped in the wallet so that a fresh supply of self-adhesive closures can be loaded into the wallet so that it can be reused. Similarly, a new roll of self-adhesive closures can be located within the box 102.

It will be appreciated that the packs may comprise different self-adhesive closures. For example, a wallet such as that shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 could have a strip of closures such as the closures 50 secured to one wallet portion and a strip of different closures such as the closures 200 secured to another wallet portion.

It will be appreciated that the packs of self-adhesive closures can be sold separately of the packages that a consumer might want to reseal so that the consumer can have a supply of self-adhesive closures available in an easily accessible format that can be readily accessed when the consumer wishes to reseal a package. The self-adhesive closures can be made smaller and more convenient to use than other food package re-sealing devices such as plastic clips. It will be appreciated that the self-adhesive closures can, for example, be used for resealing food packages to keep food fresh on long journeys. Fan folded perforated panels allow for the removal of a supply of self-adhesive closures to be kept in smaller more convenient places such as wallets, pockets, lunch boxes.

It will be understood that the invention has broad application and the self-adhesive closures are not limited to resealing the form of packages illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 7 or to packages containing foodstuffs. In principle, the self-adhesive closures can be used to reseal any form of plastics package provided the adhesive used on the self-adhesive closure can adhere to the package material.

Claims

1. A pack comprising a carrier for a plurality of self-adhesive closures for closing an opened package and configured such that said self-adhesive closures can be extended from said carrier to facilitate access to the self-adhesive closures for removal from the pack.

2. A pack as claimed in claim 1, wherein said carrier comprises a wallet that comprises a first wallet portion and a second wallet portion that is hinged relative to said first wallet portion and in a closed condition of the wallet at least partially overlies the first wallet portion such that the self-adhesive closures are at least in part sandwiched between said wallet portions.

3. A pack as claimed in claim 2, wherein said plurality of self-adhesive closures comprises a strip of self-adhesive closures and an end region of said strip is secured to one of said first and second wallet portions.

4. A pack as claimed in claim 1, wherein said carrier is a container provided with an aperture through which the self-adhesive closures can be threaded to provide said access.

5. A pack as claimed in claim 4, wherein said plurality of self-adhesive closures is housed in the container as a roll.

6. A pack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said plurality of self-adhesive closures is provided on a backing member that comprises a plurality of backing member portions defined by at least one line of weakness extending transversely of the backing member.

7. A pack as claimed in claim 6 when dependent on any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein in a non-extended condition of said self-adhesive closures the backing member portions are folded so as to be disposed in at least partially overlying relation.

8. A pack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said self-adhesive closures are adhesive by means of a repositional adhesive.

9. A pack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each self-adhesive closure comprises an elongate member having respective end portions and a portion intermediate said end portions that is narrower than said end portions.

10. A pack as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each said self-adhesive closure comprises a non-adhesive pull tab.

11. A self-adhesive closure for resealing a package, said self-adhesive closure having opposed end portions and an intermediate portion disposed between said end portions, said intermediate portion being narrower than each of said end portions.

12. A self-adhesive closure for resealing a package as claimed in claim 11, wherein at least a part of one said end portion is free of adhesive to define a pull tab.

13. A self-adhesive closure for resealing a package as claimed in claim 12, wherein said self-adhesive closure is an elongate member and said intermediate portion is defined by at least one notch disposed in a lengthways extending side of said elongate member.

14. A self-adhesive closure for resealing a package as claimed in claim 13, wherein said at least one notch is an arcuate notch.

15. A self-adhesive closure for resealing a package as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein said self-adhesive closures are adhesive by means of a respositional adhesive.

16. A method of resealing a package, the method comprising obtaining a self-adhesive closure from a supply comprising a plurality of self-adhesive closures, closing said package and applying said self-adhesive closure to the package to maintain said closed position.

17. A method of resealing a package as claimed in claim 16, comprising wherein obtaining said self-adhesive closure includes extending at least one said self-adhesive closure from a carrier for the plurality of self adhesive closures.

18. A method of resealing a package as claimed in claim 16 or 17, comprising obtaining said self-adhesive closure from a wallet containing said plurality of self-adhesive closures.

19. A method of resealing a package as claimed in claim 16, 17 or 18, wherein said self-adhesive closures are provided on a folded backing member and obtaining said self-adhesive closure includes at least partially unfolding said backing member to access the self-adhesive closure.

20. A method of resealing a package as claimed in claim 16 or 17, wherein said supply is a roll comprising a backing member on which said plurality of self-adhesive closures is mounted.

21. A method of resealing a package as claimed in claim 20, wherein said obtained self-adhesive closure is accessed by drawing an end of said roll through an aperture provided in a container in which the roll is housed.

22. A method of resealing a package as claimed in claim 19, 20 or 21, wherein said backing member is provided with lines of weakness and obtaining said self-adhesive closure includes removing a portion of backing member by tearing along a said line of weakness.

23. A method of resealing a package as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 22, wherein at least one said self-adhesive closure comprises opposite end portions and an intermediate portion disposed between said end portions that is narrower than said end portions and the closed package defines an edge, the method comprising applying said self-adhesive closure to the closed package such that said end portions are disposed on opposite sides of said edge and the intermediate portion extends over said edge.

24. A pack comprising a wallet housing a plurality of self-adhesive closures for resealing an opened package, said self-adhesive closures being attached to said wallet.

25. A pack comprising a container containing a roll of self-adhesive closures for resealing an opened package, said container having an aperture through which an end of said roll can be threaded for dispensing self-adhesive closures from the roll

26. A pack comprising a storage device for a plurality of self-adhesive closures for resealing an opened package from which the self-adhesive closures can be selectively removed by a user, the self-adhesive closures being adhesive be means of a repositional adhesive.

27. A pack comprising a carrier for a plurality of self-adhesive closures for closing an opened package and configured such that said self-adhesive closures can be extended from said carrier to facilitate access to the self-adhesive closures for removal from the pack, said plurality of self-adhesive closures being provided on a backing member that comprises a plurality of backing member portions defined by at least one line of weakness extending transversely of the backing member and in a non-extended condition of said self-adhesive closures the backing member portions being folded so as to be disposed in at least partially overlying relation.

28. A pack comprising a carrier for a plurality of self-adhesive closures for closing an opened package and configured such that said self-adhesive closures can be extended from said carrier to facilitate access to the self-adhesive closures for removal from the pack, each self-adhesive closure comprising an elongate member having respective end portions and a portion intermediate said end portions that is narrower than said end portions.