GB2192606A - A label - Google Patents

Abstract

A label for attachment to a removable closure 36 of a container 38 and to the container is adapted to indicate removal of the closure from the container, and comprises a strip (Fig. 1) divided into panels (4-8) by transverse fold lines (10, 12), an end panel (4) and the adjacent panel (6) constituting front and rear panels which envelope the remaining panel(s) 8 when the strip is folded, the front panel having at its free edge an elongate tab 16 with a tear line 18, and a base portion (Fig. 2) comprising a main portion 24 and an elongate tab portion 26 with a tear line 28, the rear face of the rear panel (6) being adhered (33) to the main portion 24 and the tab 16 of the front panel (4) being adhered (34) to the tab portion 26 to retain the folded strip closed with tear lines 18 and 28 generally coincident or spaced from each other, such that when the main portion 24 is adhered to the removable closure 36 and the tab portion 26 is adhered to the container 38, removal of the closure 36 causes tearing along lines 18, 28. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A label The present invention reiates to a label, and in particular to a label to be adhered to the removable closure of a bottle or similar container which can indicate whether or not the bottle or container has been opened.

It is known to provide a band e.g. of paper which bridges a bottle top and the neck of the bottle which is torn when the bottle is opened by removing the bottle top.

Known tamper indicative bands suffer from the disadvantage that the band can be relatively easy to break or tear accidentally so that the tamper indication which is demonstrated by the torn band may be incorrect.

Also, the known bands can be easily torn de iiberatrely so that a person wishing to tamper with the contents of the bottle can easily do so. Furthermore, when the band has been torn, it is relatively easy to replace the bottle top and align the torn parts of the band together so that it appears that the band has not in fact been broken.

The present invention provides a label for attachment to a removable closure for a container and to the container, the label being adapted to indicate removal of the closure from the container, the label comprising a longitudinal strip which is divided into a series of panels by a plurality of transverse fold lines, the strip being folded about the transverse fold lines so that an end panel of the strip and the adjacent panel constitute front and rear panels, respectively, which envelope the remaining panel or panels of the folded strip, the front panel having, at an edge thereof which is opposed to the transverse fold line between the front and rear panels, an elongate tab which has a weakened tear line thereacross, and a base portion comprising a main portion and an elongate tab portion which extends away from the main portion, the elongate tab portion having a weakened tear line thereacross, the rear face of the rear panel being adhered to the main portion and the elongate tab of the front cover panel being adhered to the elongate tab portion thereby to retain the folded strip in a closed configuration with the weakened tear line of the elongate tab and the weakened tear line of the elongate tab portion- being generally coincident or spaced from each other, the arrangement being such that when the main portion is adhered to a removable closure for a container and the elongate tab portion is adhered to the container, removal of the closure from the container causes the longitudinal strip and the base portion to be torn along their respective weakened tear lines thereby to open the folded strip.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a longitudinal strip which is part of a label in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of a base portion which is part of a label in accordance with the present invention; Figure 3 is a plan view of a label in accordance with the present invention when carried on a release backing material; Figure 4 is a sectional perspective view along line A-A of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the label of Figure 3 when adhered to a bottle cap and to the neck of a bottle; and Figure 6 is a plan view of the label of Figure 5 adhered to the bottle cap and in an open configuration after the bottle cap has been removed from the bottle.

Referring to Figure 1, a longitudinal strip 2 e.g.

of paper comprises a row of three panels 4, 6, 8 which are divided by first and second transverse fold lines 10 and 12. The first panel 4 consists of the major part of a circle 14 which has on one transverse side thereof a longitudinal elongate tab 16 which has a transversely directed weakened tear line 18 e.g. a line of perforations and on the other transverse side thereof the first transverse fold line 10. The second panel 6 is also a major part of a circle which is bounded on both transverse sides thereof by the two transverse fold lines 10, 12. The third panel 8 is also a major part of a circle which is bounded on one transverse side thereof by the second transverse fold line 12 and on the other transverse side thereof by a straight edge 20.

Referring to Figure 2, a base portion 22 comprises a circle 24 which has an elongate tab 26 extending radially away therefrom. The circle 24 has the same diameter as those of the panels 4, 6, 8 of the longitudinal strip and the tab 26 of the base portion 22 has the same length as the tab 16 of the first panel 4. The tab 26 of the base portion 22 has a transversely directed weakened tear line 28 which is spaced from the circle 24 a greater distance than weakened tear line 18 of the first panel 4 is spaced from the major part of the circle 14 of the first panel 4.

Figure 3 shows a label 30 of the present ivention when carried on a length of a release backing material 32. The label consists of the longitudinal strip 2 and the base portion 22 which are adhered together. The rear face of the base portion 22 is coated with a pressuresensitive adhesive so that the resultant label is self-adhesive and can be peeled off the release backing material. The rear face of the second panel 6 of the longitudinal strip 2 is adhered to the front face of the circle 24 of the base portion 22 so that the circular edges thereof coincide. The third panel 8 is folded over the second panel 6 about the second transverse fold line 12 and the first panel 4 is then folded over the third panel 8 about the first transverse fold line 10. In this way, the first and second panels 4, 6 form front and back covers resepctively for the third panel 8.

That portion of the tab 26 of the base portion 22 which is on the other side of the weakened tear line 28 from the major part of the base portion 22 is coated with an adhesive e.g. a water soluble adhesive such as PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) and the corresponding portion of the tab 16 of the first panel 4 is adhered thereto. In this way, the label 30 is held in a closed configuration by the adhesion of the two tabs 16, 26 together.

Figure 4 is a perspective sectional view of the label of Flgure 3. It may be seen that the rear face of the second panel 6 is adhered to the base portion 27 by a first layer of adhesive 33 and that the two tabs 16, 26 are adhered together by a second layer of adhesive 34. The weakened tear line 28 of the base portion 22 is positioned nearer to the coincident free ends of the tab 16, 26 than the weakened tear line 18 of the longitudinal strip 2.

Figure 5 shows the label of Figures 3 and 4 when adhered to a bottle tab 36/bottle neck 38 assembly after it has been removed from the release backing material 32. The bottle top 36 is generally threaded on to the neck of the bottle 38. The circle 24 of the base portion 22 is slightly less in diameter than the diameter of the bottle top 36 and is adhered concentrically thereto by the pressure-sensitive adhesive which is provided on the rear face of the base portion 22. The two adhered tabs 16, 26 extend downwardly from the top surface of the bottle top 25 and are adhered to the circumferential side of the bottle top 36 and of the neck of the bottle 38 by the pressure-sensitive adhesive which is provided in the rear face of the base portion 22.The label 30 and the bottle top 36/bottle neck 38 assembly are dimensioned and configured so that the weakened tear line 28 of the base portion 22 is located below the bottom annular surface 40 of the bottle top 36 and, in the preferred arrangement as illustrated, so that the weakened tear line 18 of the longitudinal strip is located above the bottom annular surface 40 of the bottle top 36.

The adhesion of the label 30 over the bottle top 36/bottle neck 38 assembly can given an indication of whether or not the bottle has been opened or tampered with. When it is desired to open the bottle, a user twists the bottle top 36 relative to the neck of the bottle 38 and this causes the two weakened tear lines 18, 28 to tear. Tearing of the weakened tear line 18 of the longitudinal stip 2 releases the elongate tab 16 from being adhered to the base portion 22 and consequently the longitudinal strip then un-folds as shown in Figure 6 so that the previously concealed inner surfaces of the panels 4, 6, 8 of the longitudinal strip 2 can be read by the user.Tearing also of the weakened tear line 28 of the base portion 22 releases the bottle top 36 and the neck of the bottle 38 from being adhered together by the self-adhesive base portion 22 so that the bottle top 36 can be removed from the neck of the bottle 38.

The label of the invention, in addition to providing increased surface area when compared to the known tamper indicative bands, also has a number of other advantages. In particular, the presence of two weakened tear lines 18, 28 in the two tabs 16, 26 results in an increased tearing force being required to be applied in order to open the bottle. This can result in decreased accidental tearing of the weakened tear lines which would erroneously indicate that the bottle had been opened. Furthermore, positioning of the two weakened tear lines 18, 28 at different positions along the respective tabs 16, 26 results in it being very difficult for a person tampering with the bottle being able once the weakened tear lines 18, 28 have been torn to readhere the front cover panel 4 so as to maintain the strip 2 in its closed configuration.In particular, that portion of the tab 16 of the longitudinal strip 2 which is between the weakened tear line 18 of the longitudinal strip 2 and the second layer of adhesive 34 does tend, after the label has been opened, to be able to flap around and thereby indicate clearly that the bottle has been opened.

An an alternative embodiment, there is provided a layer of resealable adhesive between the two tabs 16, 26 which is disposed between the weakened tear line 18 of the longitudinal strip 2 and the front cover panel 4.

This layer permits the labels once opened, to be resealed by readhering the tabs 16, 26 together by means of the layer of resealable adhesive.

It will be apparent that the dimensions and shape of the label can be varied as desired according to requirements.

In a still further alternative arrangement, the elongate tab 16 of the front cover panel 4 could be constituted by a self-adhesive laminar material, such as a layer of polyester, which is adhered to the front surface of the front cover panel 4. The tab of self-adhesive material, having a weakened tear line thereacross, would then be adhered to the tab portion 26 of the base portion 22 by its self-adhesive surface. Thus, in the present invention it is not necessary for the longitudinal strip, together with the elongate tab thereon, to be constituted by a single layer of material but it may consist of a multi-layer laminate including a self-adhesive elongate tab.

Claims (4)

1. A label for attachment to a removable closure for a container and to the container, the label being adapted to indicate removal of the closure from the container, the label comprising a longitudinal strip which is divided into a series of panels by a plurality of transverse fold lines, the strip being folded about the transverse fold lines so that an end panel of the strip and the adjacent panel constitute front and rear panels, respectively, which envelope the remaining panel or panels of the folded strip, the front panel having, at an edge thereof which is opposed to the transverse fold line between the front and rear panels, an elongate tab which has a weakened tear line thereacross, and a base portion comprising a main portion and an elongate tab portion which extends away from the main portion, the elongate tab portion having a weakened tear line thereacross, the rear face of the rear panel being adhered to the main portion and the elongate tab of the front cover panel being adhered to the elongate tab portion thereby to retain the folded strip in a closed configuration with the weakened tear line of the elongate tab and the weakened tear line of the elongate tab portion being generally coincident or spaced from each other, the arrangement being such that when the main portion is adhered to a removable closure for a container and the elongate tab portion is adhered to the container, removal of the closure from the container causes the longitudinal strip and the base portion to be torn along their respective weakened tear lines thereby to open the folded strip.

2. A label according to Claim 1, wherein the said two weakened tear lines are spaced from each other.

3. A label according to Claim 2, wherein the weakened tear line of the base portion is positioned nearer to the adhered parts of the elongate tab and the elongate tab portion than the weakened tear line of the longitudinal strip.

4. A label for attachment to a removable closure for a container and to the container, the label being adapted to indicate removal of the closure from the container, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.