WO1998002362A2

WO1998002362A2 - A tamper-proof package having a temper-indicating seal

Info

Publication number: WO1998002362A2
Application number: PCT/BR1997/000030
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alexandre Rey Silveira
Original assignee: Alexandre Rey Silveira
Priority date: 1996-07-16
Filing date: 1997-07-16
Publication date: 1998-01-22
Also published as: WO1998002362A3; BR9601953A; AU3843297A; AR008261A1

Abstract

A tamper-proof package is proposed, which has a tamper indicating seal, is manufactured from plastic material and is characterized by comprising: a container (1) formed by a base (7) having almost perpendicular and adjacent surfaces which form its side walls (8) containing one or more horizontal or vertical reinforcements (9); at the ends of the side walls of the container there is provided the edge (12) of the container; a lid (2) formed by a base (11), adjacent to which there is provided the lid edge (10), which fits outwardly of the container edge (12) when closing the package; a tamper-indicating seal system composed by joining the lid seal (13) and the container seal (15) to each other, both seals having at least one weakening line (3), which facilitates the detachment of the seal system when opening the package, the detachment of the seal indicating that the package has been tampered with; a hinge system which allows the lid to remain open without separating from the container and is formed by joining the lid hinge (4) with the container hinge (16) together.

Description

Specification of the Patent of Invention for: "A TAMPER-PROOF PACKAGE HAVING A TAMPER-INDICATING SEAL"

Technical Field

The present invention refers to a tamper-proof pack- age for foodstuff such as margarine, butter, cream cheese, ice-creams, jellies, etc., which is composed by two main components, namely: a pot (1) and a lid (2) which, after or during the packing of the product, are fit together and then glued or preferably welded at predetermined points or regions (5 and 6), in order to ensure that it is tamper-proof, as described below.

The present package is manufactured either by the vacuum/pressure thermoshaping process or by the injection process. It consists of a plastic material, preferably high- density polypropylene or polyethylene; other plastic materials can also be used, such as vinyl polychloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene teraphtalate (PET), etc., according to the needs of protection, preservation, cost and marketing of the product to be stored. The package can also be manufactured by combining these plastic materials, that is to say, the lid (2) can be produced from one type of plastics and the pot (1) from another type of plastics.

If it is decided to manufacture this package by the thermoshaping process, by which the packages are formed from a preheated plastic plate, one can use a coextruded plate, that is to say, a plate having two or more layers of either equal or different materials, for instance: PP-PEBD; PP-PET-PP; PP-recycledPP-PP.

The use of coextruded plates aims at conforming the properties of the package to the intrinsic characteristics of the product stored therein, whereby the sealing and welding of the package can be improved; its costs can be reduced by using recycled or non-pigmented materials employed in either intermediate or outer layers; the shelf life of the stored product can be prolonged by using layers of plastics having properties of barrier against ultraviolet rays or against permeability, for instance, etc. Background of the Invention

At present, a wide variety of plastic packages for containing foodstuff is known. Many of them are very efficient for the purposes to which they are intended, but they are unfeasible for application to coirtmodities of low aggregate value (margarines, butters, ice-creams, etc.), besides being affected by price and volume. In this segment the use of pots and lids thermoshaped from polypropylene (PP) predominates, these packages being relatively conventional by virtue of their limited possibilities of innovation.

One of the main problems of these packages made of polypropylene is that they fail to be tamper-proof. Most of them do not have any device enabling them to be tamper-proof, for which reason the consumer cannot tell whether they have been tampered with or not.

One of the means available in the world market to overcome this drawback of this type of packages thermoshaped from polypropylene is a thermoshrinkable seal, preferably made of vinyl polychloride (PVC), positioned between the lid and the pot, this type of seal being already used in Brazil in some packages for medicines, mayonnaise and some distilled beverages. This seal is more suitable for round packages and can also be used in square or oval packages, under pain of making the automation process of applying it on a large scale difficult or even impossible. Besides, after applying this seal, it is necessary to pass the package through a drying oven, so that the seal can receive heat and shrink, thus stick to the package. Many products have characteristics which prevent the seal from receiving this additional heat, in which case this seal cannot be used.

Another sealing system which is traditionally used in this type of package thermoshaped from polypropylene consists in applying a thermoweldable aluminium seal onto the package or merely positioning it over the product.

This sealing system has virtually the same disadvantages of the thermoshrinkable seal. One of the factors which render the use of these seals on packages virtually unfeasible is their high cost.

The product of this invention has been designed and carefully developed with a view to providing an alternative for tamper-proof package, with a tamper-indicating system in- corporated in the package itself. It is unheard-of, effective and economically feasible, besides having specific characteristics which eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks. It also has other differences which make it more effective than those available on the market, thus satisfying the needs of the con- sumer.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will now be explained in greater detail with reference to the figures, which show:

- figure 1: a top view of the package; - figure 2: a detail of the hinge system;

- figure 3: a detail of the tamper-indicating sealing system;

- figure 4: a side view of the package; figure 5: a cross-section view of the package along line A-A;

- figure 6: a cross-section detail of the edges and of the hinge system of the package;

- figure 7: a cross-section detail of the edges and of the tamper-indicating sealing system; - figure 8: a cross-section view of the package along line B-B;

- figure 9: a detail of the edges of the package;

- figure 10: a detail of the edges of the package;

- figure 11: a top view of the lid of the package; - figure 12: a cross-section side view of the lid of the package along line C-C;

- figure 12a: a detail of the edge of the lid;

- figure 13: a cross-section side view of the lid of the package along line D-D;

- figure 14: a cross-section side view of the lid of the package with a plane base; figure 15: a cross-section side view of the package with an elevation at the base; - figure 16: a top view of the pot of the package;

- figure 17: a cross-section side view of the pot of the package along line E-E;

- figure 18: a cross-section side view of the pot of the package along line F-F; - figure 19: a top view of the package with an alternative form without hinge; figure 20: a corss-section side view along line G-G;

- figure 21: a top vies of the package with an al- ternative shape having a single seal without hinge;

- figure 22: a cross-section side view along line H-H;

- figure 23: a detail of the opening point of the single tamper-indicating sealing system; - figure 24: a cross-section detail of the tamper- indicating sealing system showing the weakening line formed by a crease;

- figure 25: a cross-section side view along line A-A of the open package; - figure 26: a cross-section detail showing how the lid is kept open;

- figure 27: a top view of the package with a supporting system; figure 28: a cross-section detail of the support- ing system;

- figure 29: a cross-section side view of the open package along line I-I with a supporting system; figure 30: a top view of the package with an external locking system; - figure 31: a side view of the package with an external locking system; figure 32: a cross-section side view of the package along line J-J, with an external blocking system; - figure 33: a cross-section detail of the edge of the package with an external blocking system;

- figure 34: a cross-section detail of the edge of the package with an external blocking system;

- figure 35: a top view of the package with a inter- nal blocking system;

- figure 36: a side view of the package with an internal blocking system; figure 37: a cross-section side view of the package along line K-K, with an internal blocking system; - figure 38: a cross-section detail of the edge of the package with an internal blocking system; figure 39: a cross-section detail of the edge of the package with an internal blocking system;

- figure 40: a top view of the open package produced from a single piece;

- figure 41: a cross-section side view of the open package produced from a single piece, along line L-L;

- figure 42: a cross-section detail of the hinge system of the open package produced from a single piece. Detailed Description

Although the present invention may be carried out in various ways, it is shown in the drawings, and only a few presently preferred embodiments will now be described in detail. These embodiments are given by way of example of the in- vention and are not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments presented herein.

The package in question stands out from conventional packages thermoshaped from polypropylene by its hinge system (figure 2), which allows the lid (2) to remain open and cou- pled to the pot (1) while the product stored therein is being used, and by its innovatory tamper-indicating seal system (figure 3) incorporated in the package itself.

A great advantage of this tamper-indicating seal system and of the hinge system of this package is the possi- bility of exploiting and diversifying the design of the package, that is to say, the package can be produced in triangular, rectangular and other shapes, with these means which impart originality to this patent application. The package is formed by two main components, which are described below:

A pot (1): (detailed in figures 16,17 and 18) formed by a base (7) having almost perpendicular adjacent surfaces, which form its side walls (8) having one or more hori- zontal reinforcements (9), characterized by an increase of the perimeter of the pot with respect to its base in the form of a "step", for the purpose of increasing its rigidity. It can also have vertical reinforcements following the same principle. At the ends of the side walls of the pot there is the edge (12) of the pot, which are preferably arc-shaped in order to facilitate the opening of the package when the edge of its lid has the same shape. Adequate modifications in the shape of this edge are perfectly possible, since this concept of package is extremely flexible. Adjacent the edge (12) of the pot a seal(s) (15) is (are) provided, which has (have) a weakening line (3) and the hinge (16) of the pot.

A lid (2): (detailed in figures 11,12,13,14 and 15) formed by a base (11), adjacent to which the edge (10) of the lid is provided, which fits outwardly of the edge (12) of the pot when closing the package. Adjacent the edge (10) of the lid the seal(s) (13) is (are) provided, which has (have) a weakening line (3) close to the edge (10), the hinge (14) of the lid with a crease (14) close to the edge (10) and the opening lug (24). The edge of the lid may vary in height "H" (figure 12a) and can even be equal to zero, as shown in figure 14; it can also have a small elevation which would serve as a reinforcement to increase the rigidity of the lid, as shown in figure 15. These configurations of the lid as well as the external coupling of this edge of the pot are preferred, in or- der to facilitate its opening and allow liquids which might accumulate on its surface to flow off. Tamper-Proof System

The tamper-proof system comprises one of more tamper-indicating seals (figures 3 and 7), incorporated in the package. In order to open the package, the tamper-indicating seals have to be removed, so that the absence of this seal will be highly visible, thus indicating that the package has been tampered with. The tamper-indicating seal system is formed by joining the lid seal (13), which comprises a continuous prolongation of the edge (10) of the lid and the pot seal (15), which comprises a continuous prolongation of the edge (12) of the pot. After packing the product and closing the package by fitting the lid onto the pot, both are joined by glue or preferably by the ultrasound, high-frequency, friction or thermofusion welding process, which imparts the tamper- proof characteristic to the package, since the package can only be opened by detaching or breaking the seal. Both the lid seals(s) (13) and the pot seal(s) (15) have a weakening line (3) close to the edge (10) of the lid and the edge (12) of the pot, respectively, more precisely between the edge of the package and the joining region (5). This weakening line (3) is formed either by a crease (figure 24) or by a perforated line in the seal (figures 3 and 7) comprising breakable ribs, the number of which may vary, made preferably after packing the product, during the welding process. This ensures that both weakening lines, of the pot and of the lid, will coincide with each other, thus facilitating even more the detachment of the seal(s).

The tamper-indicating seal(s) and the opening tug can also be positioned in other regions around the edge of the package.

The lid seal (15) and the pot seal (13) preferably have the same design and shape, coinciding with each other when the package is duly closed. Both of them are sized so as to allow the consumer to grasp them with relative ease, thus facilitaing their detachment by pulling or rotating them when opening the package. It should be reminded that this tamper-indicating seal system can be employed in packages of varying sizes, shapes and designs, such as circular, rectangular, oval, triangular packages, etc.

The use of a seal integrated in the package itself. which makes the employ of a single material in the production of the package possible, obeys the world trend of unifying the materials used in the packages, in order to facilitate the recycling thereof, besides exempting the company which used this type of package from keeping in stock other materials or components required for imparting the tamper-proof characteristic to the package. Hinge System

The package preferably has a hinge system (figures 2 and 6) which allows the lid to remain open while the product stored therein is being used, without separating from the pot. This system is formed by welding the lid hinge (14) at an appropriate place, the lid hinge having a crease (4) close to the edge (10) of the lid to facilitate the opening movement of the lid, with the pot hinge (16) being preferably rigid.

The crease (4) is duly sized, so that the lid can open and close a sufficient number of times without breaking.

The crease (4) should be located between the region joining the hinge (6) and the edge (10) of the lid, on the surface of the lid hinge (figures 2 and 6).

The lid remains open when the internal part of the edge (10) of the lid rests against the outer part of the edge (12) of the pot. This can be better understood by referring to figures 25 and 26. This system can also be provided with two creases, one at the lid hinge and the other at the pot hinge, whereby the lid-opening angle alpha (figure 25) increases.

The welding of the hinge can be carried out simultaneously with the welding of the seal by employing the same method and the same equipment.

The production characteristics of this hinge system allow the lid and the pot to be manufactured separately, thus permiting the use of independent tools and equipment. Manufacturing the pot and the lid separately also facilitates the process of decorating the package, since this allows one to use equipment which is usually employed for this purpose.

If it is not desired that the lid remains attached to the pot during the opening, the hinge system can be replaced by a tamper-indicating seal system (figure 19). In order for the tamper-proof system to be efficient, the package needs to have at least one tamper- indicating seal system and one hinge system. It would be ideal to have two seal systems and one hinge system (figure 1) or at least two or three tamper-indicating seal systems, distributed around the circumference of the package (figures 19 and 20). One can also conceive a single tamper-indicating seal around the circumference of the package (figures 21,22,23, and 24). Since the detachment thereof is relatively easy, there is the possibility of sizing it in various shapes.

The crease (4) of the hinge and the weakening line (3) of the lid and of the pot can also be formed during the process of manufacturing the package, by devices of the package-shaping set of tools, in a later step or still while joining the pot and the lid together to close the package.

Other configurations of this package result from the dependent claims.

Alternatively, we can arrange both the tamper- indicating seal system and the hinge system integrated in the edges of the package. In this case, the weakening line (3) and the crease (4) are also located in this region.

Alternatively, the tamper-indicating seal system can be designed so that only one of its parts, either the lid seal (13) or the pot seal (15), breaks to alow the package to open without the need to detach the tamper-indicating seal system completely. For this purpose, it is enough to eliminate the weakening line of the part of the tamper-indicating seal system which we desire to maintain attached to the package, the detachable part which has the weakening line remaining at- tached to the fixed part. This method will be more efficient if shoulders or elevations are provided in the seal system, to facilitate the breaking of the weakening line. There is still the possibility of designing the tamper-indicating seal system in such a way that only a part of the lid seal or of the pot seal will be detached. For this purpose, it is enough to provide either the lid seal or the pot seal with at least two weakening lines around the part to be detached. In this case, the opening tug may be eliminated.

The package can also have a supporting device (17), detailed in figures 27, 28 and 29, to increase the opening angle x (fig. 29) of the lid. This system comprises one or more continuous prolongations of the inner edge (10) of the lid. When the lid of the package is opened, the vertex (18) of this prolongation rests against the outer edge (12) of the pot, causing the lid to remain open.

Another option which can be added to this package is a blocking system, shown in figures 30,31,32,33 and 34, comprising inner protuberances (19) disposed at the outer edge (10) of the lid, which fit into recesses (20) in the outer edge (12) of the pot when the package is closed, thus improving the sealing between the lid and the pot.

This blocking system can also be located inside the package, as shown in figures 35,36,37,38 and 39, comprising inner protuberances (21) disposed at the inner edge (10) of the lid, which fit into recesses (22) in the inner edge (12) of the pot when the package is closed, thus improving the sealing between the lid and the pot. Other configurations of this package result from the dependent claims. In order to clarify that the idea and the inventive project are of the same concept, which is unheard-of and unavailable so far, it should be pointed out that a production option of this package would be to manufacture the lid and the pot from a single piece (figures 40, 41, and 42), joined by a flexible membrane (23) duly designed to bring about the hinge effect, that is to say, to allow the lid to open and close a sufficient number of times without breaking.

From the foregoing, one can see that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the new concept of the present invention. It should be understood that the embodiments illustrated here are not intended to be limitative. All the modifications which fall into the scope of the claims are regarded as being covered thereby.

Claims

1- A tamper-proof package comprising a container (1) and a lid (2) therefor, characterized by having a hinge (4) between the container and the lid, the container and the lid being provided with at least one radial tongue (13,15) extending outwards from respective end regions, the tongues (13,15) being overlapped in the closed position of the container lid and being provided with a breakable weakening region (3) for opening the lid in the sealed position of the lid on the con- tainer.

2- A package in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the tongues (13,15) are fixedly joined to each other (5) by means of gluing, welding by ultrasound, high- frequency, friction or thermofusion. 3- A package in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the hinge (4) is formed by respective projections of the lid (2) and of the container (1) joined fixedly to each other (6).

4- A package in accordance with claim 3, character- ized in that the projections forming the hinge are joined to each other (6) by means of gluing, welding by ultrasound, ultrafrequency, friction or thermofusion.

5- A package in accordance with claim 2, characterized in that the lid (2) and the container (1) are separable from each other.

6- A package in accordance with claim 2, characterized in that the lid (2) and the container (1) form a single piece, and the hinge (4) has the shape of a flexible membrane.

7- A package in accordance with claim 1, character- ized in that the container (1) comprises, in a region adjacent its base, a step-shaped recess (9), which extends along its periphery.

8- A package in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the lid (2) comprises an opening lug (24), which extends radially outwards from one of its end portions.

9- A package in accordance with claim 1, character- ized in that, in the closed position of the lid (2) on the container (1), the lid embraces the end edge (12) of the container.

10- A package in accordance with claim 9, character- ized in that the region (10) of the lid which embraces the end edge of the container comprises at least one shoulder (17), which, in the open position of the lid, rests against an end region of the end edge (12).

11- A package in accordance with claim 9, character- ized in that, in the butting region between the lid and the end edge (12) of the container, there is provided at least one pair of respective protuberance (19) and recess (20), the protuberance fitting into the recess tightly in the closed position of the lid on the container. 12- A package in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is made from a plastic material.