Patent Application
20110240644
Specifically, the present invention relates a laser energy-induced internal rupturable area disposed between the topside and the bottomside of the plastic to enable the user to manually tear, bend, fracture, and separate the plastic material. More specifically, the present invention relates a pattern in structural communication with the laser-induced rupturable area, for enabling the user's hands to apply an exerted shearing force exposing a haptically smooth fractured edge for opening the plastic container packaging while maintaining the integrity of the container.
Modern packaging resins are generally thermoformed and welded shut by direct application of heat, radio-frequency energy and bonding agents including glues, solvents, and cements. Once sealed these packages are airtight and difficult to open requiring the end user to use scissors, knives, or blunt objects to access the contained product. Further, upon opening, this type of packaging becomes dangerous to the end user because it exposes razor-sharp, jagged, and barbed edges and burrs of the fractured and opened packaging material. Blister packs are typical integuments for containing technical devices, medicaments, commercial and consumer products, for the purposes of making the enclosed goods visible to the user and maintaining sealed and secured contents. Another example of secure packaging is known as a clamshell container. It is desirable to prevent pilferage at the point of sale and to protect the contents from moisture and contamination. It is often necessary for end users to employ tools, blades, scissors, sharp knives, shears, or blunt objects to breach the clamshell container and to remove the goods contained therein. Thousands of injuries related to the use of such tools to remove items from modern, highly-polished clamshell packaging are reported by hospital emergency rooms, consumer product industries, and medical, industrial, and military application groups.
The present invention discloses packaging that provides easy access to the contents, such as medical fluids, chemical substances, toys, food products, hardware components, computer devices, house wares or other consumer products, while maintaining secured packaging containers through the distribution system.
Existing packaging with easy access features relies on perforated or cut plastic or cardboard. Such features are often pressed or imposed with matched-metal dies or rule dies which are fast wearing and require maintenance and replacement at frequent intervals. Inadequate maintenance of these dies results in incomplete perforation of packaging material and unsatisfactory performance when opening or separating portions of plastic packaging container materials.
Devices other than dies cut and weld materials, for example laser cutting and welding devices for etching images in solid articles is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,936 to Goldfarb, entitled Process And Apparatus For Etching An Image Within A Solid Article, this patent being incorporated herein by this specific reference. In accordance with the invention, laser energy disrupts glass at a focal point in the solid to cut, weld, drill, and to imprint using computer control which recognizes the edges and center of the article to appropriately coordinate the operation of the movable platform and the laser, thus placing and centering the image.
An example of an ultrashort pulse laser device for welding, scribing, cutting, grooving and cleaving facets in solid transparent material is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,626,138 to Bovatsek entitled Transparent Material Processing With An Ultrashort Pulse Laser, this patent being incorporated herein by this specific reference. In accordance with the invention, a user scribes and shapes brittle substances with a laser cutting device for cleaving, joining multiple materials, perforating material, marking subsurface material for creating clearly visible marks with side-illumination, and dicing solid material by scribing a surface groove using an ultrashort laser pulse and then applying a mechanical saw blade to complete the cut is presented.
Another useful method and laser system for controlling breakdown processes, development and space structure of laser radiation, and for producing high quality laser induced damage images and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,720,521 to Troitski entitled Method And Laser System Controlling Breakdown Process Development And Space Structure Of Laser Radiation For Production Of High Quality Laser-Induced Damage Images. In this invention, the laser apparatus creates points of damage to transparent material by creating a plasma with multiple laser pulses and a shock wave in the material to make subsurface markings and shadows by cutting tiny perforations into the material and for producing an optical effect image in the material.
A useful laser method for perforating and sealing packaging layers is described in a method for manufacture of a pack for preservation treatment of foodstuffs and dry mixes in U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,420 to Oliveri et.al. entitled Method For The Manufacture Of A Laser-Precut Pack And Pack. Gusset or flat bag package assemblies include two plastic layers for inner and outer faces of the pack and a light metal central layer sandwiched between the plastic layers. Laser energy is applied to the lower layer of a plastic film, which forms the inner layer of the package, for forming precut lines and a perforations extending over the width of the pack. The multiple layers of the gusset bag are then laser welded together after all the edges are precut and formed.
In accordance to the present invention the structural integrity of the single-material thermoplastic container is maintained until the laser-induced rupturable area patterns in the material are fractured and separated. When the stress profile within a thermoformed plastic part is known, adjustments in the physical processing, material preparation, or part design may be made to eliminate these stresses or reduce them to an acceptable levels, for example: humidity or moisture content, impact velocity or strain rate, geometry, how the sample is prepared (formulated, molded, extruded, or fabricated), sample-notching procedures, stress due to cooling rates, non-uniform temperature or flow rates, material contaminants, mechanical loading, thermal cycling during transport and storage, inadequate or non-uniform annealing, and sharp corners or protrusions that cause localized stress concentrations.
The thermo-formed plastic container pattern may include a pull-tab, tear strip, tear strip ends, protective cover, a notch or void, or other such pattern feature for enabling the user to manually tear, bend, fracture, and separate the plastic material. Two rupturable areas may be disposed such that two parallel patterns configure a tear strip or a pull-tab. Multiple rupturable areas are disposed such that parallel and attachable patterns configure protective covers or tear strip ends. Die cutout patterns configure notches or voids attached to said laser-induced rupturable area.
The present invention provides for a thermoformed or vacuum-formed plastic container packaging for enabling users to manually apply force to open the container. A thermoformed or vacuum-formed plastic container packaging including a laser energy-induced internal rupturable area disposed between the topside and the bottomside of the plastic material. A pattern in structural communication with the laser-induced rupturable area enables the user's hands to apply a focused shearing force on the area for fracturing and opening the plastic material container. The rupturable area is configured such that an exerted shearing force exposes a haptically smooth fractured edge to the user.
The present invention provides for a thermoformed or vacuum-formed plastic container packaging with a laser energy-induced internal rupturable area disposed between the topside and the bottomside of the material for configuring a pattern in structural communication with the laser-induced rupturable area. The laser-induced rupturable area and pattern are configured such that an exerted shearing force enabled by the user's hands exposes a haptically smooth fractured edge of the material.
Accordingly, in accordance with the present invention laser-induced internal rupturable areas are disposed between the topside and the bottomside of the plastic material, within the material itself, or within the wall thickness of the material. A pattern in structural communication with the laser-induced rupturable area is configured such that an exerted shearing force enabled by the user's hands exposes a haptically smooth fractured edge of the material. The customer or user haptically or cutaneously grasps, senses, or touches the fractured or broken edge and the skin perceives or knows smoothness or sharpness of the fractured material.
The laser-induced rupturable area is configured for enabling the user's hands to apply a focused shearing force on the area for fracturing and separating the package material without the use of tools, blades, scissors, or blunt objects while maintaining the integrity of the container material in the distribution system. Preferably the exerted shearing force is focused at the end of the laser-induced patterns for bending and breaking the plastic material and for imparting to the user a haptically smooth fractured edge.
More specifically, two laser-induced rupturable areas in the plastic material may be disposed to configure two parallel patterns with a tear strip therebetween. Two parallel laser-induced patterns may configure tear strips, tear strip ends, pull-tabs, notches or voids. A tear strip encompassing the perimeter, or extended length of the container, may “zip” apart the single-material or the upper and lower clamshell portions of a plastic container package when engaged with a shearing force concentrated at the end of a rupturable area, for example pulling the end of a pull-tab attached to the tear strip.
Alternatively, multiple short parallel laser-induced patterns may configure protective covers for tear strips and tear strip ends. Upon flexing the multiple parallel patterns, the short patterns separate exposing the ends of the tear strips.
Preferably the plastic container is a clamshell or blisterpack container. The present invention includes plastic material thermoformed or vacuum-formed typically selected from polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, and glycol modified polyethylene terephthalate, and other applicable types of plastic materials.
Even more specifically, a die cutout configured notch or void connectably attached to the laser-induced internal rupturable areas disposed between the topside and the bottomside of the material imparts openings to the plastic material container configurations. Such patterns and designs provide structural communication with a laser-induced patterns for enabling the user to manually apply a focused shearing force on the pattern for fracturing and separating the container. Preferably the exerted shearing force is focused at the end of the laser-induced rupturable area for bending and breaking the container and for imparting to the user a haptically smooth fractured edge along the laser-induced fracturable plane.
Alternatively, the plastic container described hereinabove is suitable for performing a method, in accordance with the present invention, for configuring a thermoformed or vacuum-formed plastic container with laser-induced rupturable areas, comprising the steps of:
(a) applying laser energy for inducing an internal rupturable area disposed between the topside and the bottomside of said plastic container material;
(b) communicating structurally a pattern with the laser-induced rupturable area for enabling the user's hands to apply a focused shearing force on the area for fracturing and opening said material;
(c) exerting a shearing force on said configured rupturable area for exposing a haptically smooth fractured edge;
(d) encompassing the perimeter of the plastic container with a tear strip configured by two parallel patterns;
(e) forming a protective cover and tear strip ends by configuring adjacently parallel and attachably disposed patterns;
(f) forming a pull-tab by configuring said parallel patterns;
(g) configuring a notch or void die cutout attached to laser-induced rupturable areas.
(h) encompassing a portion of the perimeter of the plastic container with a tear strip configured by two parallel laser-induced patterns.
A thermo-formed or vacuum-formed plastic container, comprising an upper portion and a lower portion, includes a laser energy-induced internal rupturable area disposed between the topside and the bottomside of the material for configuring a pattern in structural communication with the laser-induced rupturable area. The laser-induced rupturable area and pattern are configured such that an exerted shearing force enabled by the user's hands exposes a haptically smooth fractured edge of the material.
The advantages and features of the present invention will be better understood by the following description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
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Materials of construction may be thermal formed or vacuumed-formed materials selecting from a group comprising polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, and glycol modified polyethylene terephthalate. It should be appreciated that any suitable materials may be utilized in the present invention.
The present invention eliminates this problem associated with prior art containers 10′.
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This rupturable area 56 enables a manually applied shearing force to expose a haptically smooth fractured edge 58, see
A laser apparatus for use in the present invention include laser apparatus and controllers for cutting and etching images within solids by laser light as is described in U.S. 5,575,935 to Goldfarb, which is incorporated herein its entirety. Additional teachings with regard to lasers for welding, scribing, clean braking, cutting, grooving, and cleaving facets and solids by laser light are described in U.S. 7,626,138 to Bovatsek. Again, this reference is incorporated herewith by this specific reference thereto.
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Although there has been hereinabove described a thermoplastic container with laser-induced fracturable planes for manual opening in accordance with the present invention for the purpose of illustrating the manner in which the invention may be used to advantage, it should be appreciated that the invention is not limited thereto. That is, the present invention may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of the recited elements. Further, the invention illustratively disclosed herein suitably may be practiced in the absence of any element which is not specifically disclosed herein. Accordingly, any and all modifications, variations or equivalent arrangements which may occur to those skilled in the art, should be considered to be within the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/341,789 filed on Apr. 5, 2010 and this reference is incorporated herewith in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61341789 | Apr 2010 | US |
