Claims
- 1. A container for storing items comprising:a flap for closing the container, wherein the flap has first and second major surfaces and is formed of a tear resistant film material which is (a) unweakened, and (b) has a tear strength and elongation such that it does not tear when pulled, but elongates and deforms; adhesive means for adhering the first major surface of the flap to the container to close the container; and a tearable tape strip located on one of the first and second major surfaces of the flap, wherein the tearable tape strip permits tearing within itself and the flap with a given force notwithstanding that the tear resistant film flap is otherwise not cleanly tearable.
- 2. The container of claim 1 wherein the tearable tape strip is located on the first major surface of the flap such that tearing the tearable tape strip tears through the flap.
- 3. The container of claim 1 wherein the adhesive means for adhering the first major surface of the flap to the container comprises an adhesive on at least one of (a) at least part of the first major side of the flap and (b) the container.
- 4. The container of claim 1 wherein the container is at least one of flexible and a bag.
- 5. The container of claim 1 wherein the flap comprises one of LLDPE, LDPE, cast polypropylene, and Kraton/polypropylene blends.
- 6. The container of claim 1 wherein the tearable tape strip is one of RST, tensilized polypropylene, and filament reinforced tape.
- 7. The container of claim 1 wherein the tearable tape strip comprises at least one of filaments and ribs formed on at least one of the first and second sides of the tearable tape strip.
- 8. The container of claim 1 further comprising a cover tape located on the second major surface of the flap opposite the tearable tape strip.
- 9. A tape for use in closing and subsequent opening of a container having opposing ends and comprising:a base layer comprising a continuous tear resistant film backing which is (a) unweakened, and (b) has a tear strength and elongation such that it does not tear when pulled, but elongates and deforms, said base layer having a first side and a second side; a tearable tape strip located on the first side of the backing and having a first side and a second side, wherein the tearable tape strip tears within itself and the tear resistant backing with a given force notwithstanding that the tear resistant backing is otherwise not cleanly tearable; first adhesive means for adhering the base layer to the tearable tape strip; and second adhesive means for adhering the tape to the container to close the container for subsequent opening; said second adhesive means located on the first or second side of the backing and extending beyond the first adhesive means.
- 10. The tape of claim 9 wherein the first means and the second means comprise an adhesive on at least part of the first side of the backing, and wherein the adhesive is located between the backing and the tearable tape strip and wherein the first side of the tearable tape strip faces the adhesive such that the tearable tape strip tears through the base layer when the tape is removed from the container.
- 11. The tape of claim 9 wherein the tear resistant backing is one of LLDPE, LDPE, cast polypropylene, and Kraton/polypropylene blends.
- 12. The tape of claim 9 wherein the tearable tape strip is one of RST, tensilized polypropylene, and filament reinforced tape.
- 13. The tape of claim 9 wherein the tearable tape strip comprises at least one of filaments and ribs formed on at least one of the first and second sides of the tearable tape strip.
- 14. The tape of claim 9 wherein the tape comprises a tab at one of the ends of the tape, wherein the tab is formed by nicks extending from at least one of the ends of the tape and located at least partially through the tearable tape strip which facilitate beginning tears.
- 15. The tape of claim 14 wherein at least one nick has a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion extends from at least one of the ends of the tape and passes through only the base layer and wherein the second portion passes through the tearable tape strip, thereby to allow the tab to adhere to the container to reduce the risk of the container opening before the proper time.
- 16. The tape of claim 9 further comprising means for indicating whether the container has been opened and reclosed comprising linear low density polyethylene as the tear resistant backing which causes the torn edge of the tape to be distorted such that recovering the opened tape is noticeable even when covered with additional tape.
- 17. The tape of claim 9 further comprising a tape layer overlying the base layer, and the base layer and the tearable tape strip have similar widths, and further comprising third adhesive means for adhering the tape layer to the base layer.
- 18. The tape of claim 17 wherein the tape layer is wider than the base layer.
- 19. The tape of claim 17 wherein the tape layer is wider than the base layer.
- 20. A container for storing items having an opening for inserting and removing said items from said container comprising the tape of claim 9 applied thereto to close said opening and wherein the tape securely closes the container to prevent the container from discharging the items before desired while permitting easy opening of the container to discharge the items when desired.
- 21. The tape of claim 9 wherein the force required to pull the tape to open the container is at least 5.1 N.
- 22. The tape of claim 9 wherein the base layer is wider than the tearable tape strip.
- 23. A container for storing items comprising:a flap for closing the container, wherein the flap has first and second major surfaces and is formed of a tear resistant film material which is (a) unweakened, and (b) has a tear strength and elongation such that it does not tar when pulled, but elongates and deforms; adhesive means for adhering the first major surface of the flap to the container to close the container; and means for opening the container consisting essentially of a tearable tape strip located on the first major surface of the flap such that when the adhesive means closes the container, tearing the tearable tape strip tears through the flap, wherein the tearable tape strip tears within itself and the flap with a given force notwithstanding that the tear resistant film flap is otherwise not cleanly tearable.
Parent Case Info
This a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/086,317 filed May 28, 1998, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (17)
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number |
Date |
Country |
44 02 444 |
Aug 1995 |
DE |
0 447 209 |
Sep 1991 |
EP |
0 755 868 |
Jan 1997 |
EP |
WO 9856581 |
Dec 1998 |
WO |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/086317 |
May 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/315249 |
|
US |