REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. provisional applications Ser. No. 61/707,194 filed on Sep. 28, 2012 and Ser. No. 61/827,277 filed on May 24, 2013, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their respective entireties.
BACKGROUND The present application is directed to packages and, more particularly, to a cut-resistant band for use in packages.
Manufacturers and retailers of consumer goods, such as pharmaceuticals, software, electronics, health and beauty products and the like, typically package their products in tamper resistant security packages. For example, many consumer goods are packaged in blister or clamshell packages formed by positioning a consumer good in a flanged blister made from various polymeric and/or paperboard materials and sealing the flanged blister between two paperboard substrates. Consumers have voiced disapproval of such packages because of the difficulty of opening the same and the potential for being cut on a rough edge especially of plastic blisters. Also, the use materials such as plastic blisters made from non-renewable resources is viewed unfavorably by some consumers. Packaging made primarily of paperboard is more sustainable than packaging made from petroleum-based plastics. Packages may therefore be made based largely on paperboard, for example, NATRALOCK packages. The paperboard used in such packages may be tear-resistant.
Despite such drawbacks as described above, transparent blisters are often used to enclose a product because they provide a good view of the product, protect it from damage, and keep it clean. These transparent blisters are usually made of relatively thin material that may be cut fairly easily with a knife, razor, or scissors. Thus a thief can cut into the blister and remove its contents. Accordingly, there is a need for a package with additional protection of the product against being removed from the package if the blister is breached.
The present invention also seeks to provide an improvement in the field of packaging, more specifically, in the field of packages including blisters enclosing the product by providing a cut-resistant band or cap of material to prevent product removal even if the blister is cut.
SUMMARY In one aspect, a packaging structure is disclosed which comprises a front panel and back panel, and a cut resistant band anchored between the panels. The cut resistant band may prevent lifting the product away from the panels or sliding the product out of the package.
In some aspects, the packaging structure may include a blister enclosing the product. In some aspects, the panels may be made of a tear resistant material. In some aspects, the panels may be made of a heat-sealable material.
Within the scope of this application it is envisaged that the various aspects, embodiments, examples, features and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and/or in the following description and drawings may be taken independently or in any combination thereof. For example, features described in connection with one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments unless there is incompatibility of features.
Other aspects of the disclosed packaging structures will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of parts of a packaging structure including a retaining band and blister, before assembly;
FIGS. 2A and 2B are perspective and cross section views of the packaging structure of FIG. 1 after assembly, enclosing a product item;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of parts of another packaging structure including a retaining band and a blister, before assembly;
FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective and cross section views of the packaging structure of FIG. 4 after assembly, enclosing a product item;
FIG. 5A is a perspective view of parts of another packaging structure including a retaining band and without blister, before assembly;
FIG. 5B is a perspective view of an alternative retaining band;
FIGS. 6A and 6B are perspective and cross section views of the packaging structure of FIG. 3 after assembly, enclosing a product item;
FIG. 7A is a cross section view of another packaging structure including two retaining bands and a blister, enclosing a product item;
FIG. 7B is a cross section view another packaging structure including a retaining band, cap, and blister, enclosing a product item;
FIG. 7C is a cross section view of another packaging structure including two retaining caps and a blister, enclosing a product item.
FIG. 8A is a cross section view of another packaging structure including two retaining bands and without a blister, enclosing a product item;
FIG. 8B is a cross section view another packaging structure including a retaining band, cap, and without a blister, enclosing a product item;
FIG. 8C is a cross section view of another packaging structure including two retaining caps and without a blister, enclosing a product item;
FIGS. 9A-9F show alternative forms of anchors for retaining bands or caps;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of parts of another packaging structure including a retaining band and blister, before assembly;
FIGS. 11-13 are perspective views of the packaging structure of FIG. 10 during assembly to enclose a product item;
FIG. 14A is a perspective view of the packaging structure of FIGS. 10-14, nearly completed; and
FIG. 14B is a perspective back view of the packaging structure of FIGS. 10-13 after assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION This packages disclosed herein provide anti-theft features through the use of bands or caps that are anchored between two cards making up the packages.
For ease of description, planar structures used in the packages are termed ‘cards’ and may be made with sheet materials, including but not limited to paperboard cards. The term ‘card’ is meant only to facilitate description of the package, and not to limit in any way.
As various embodiments of a package are described, reference will be made to FIGS. 1-14. Certain parts of the packages are denoted by reference numerals. Where there is more than one of the same element, generally only one will be denoted by a reference numeral. If different packages have a common element or feature, it may only be described one time. Similar elements may be numbered similarly, sometimes differing in the ‘100s’ digit, for example retainer 30 and retainer 130.
Where assembly steps are described, these steps are exemplary and are not to be limiting as to the sequence of operations used to arrive at the final package. Also, directions such as up, down, top, bottom, front, back, etc. are used for convenience in describing the package and are not meant to be limiting. The packages described here may be made from one or several blanks (that is, the cut sheet parts from which the package components are made by folding and other steps).
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the parts of a package 1. The package may have a front card 10 and a back card 20. The cards may be made from a sheet substrate such as paper or paperboard or other sheet material. The substrate may be made of or coated with materials to increase its strength. An example of such a sheet material is NATRALOCK paperboard made by MeadWestvaco Corporation. The sheet material may have a heat sealable coating, for example to allow a heat seal to be created between the cards. Alternately, other forms of adhesive may be used to seal these portions together. It should be noted that the use of tear resistant materials, and/or in more than one layer, help to improve the tamper- and theft-resistance of the package. For example such a coating or treatment may be on the surface of the cards that will face each other on the interior of the package. Alternately this inside surface may be left untreated, which might provide a better sealing surface than some coated surfaces, for example those with coatings optimized for printing, or glossy coatings.
The cards may be coated on one surface, for example the surface that will become the outside of the package, with a coating suited for printing graphics.
The cards may have hang holes 16, 26 for placing on a display hook. An aperture or apertures 14 may be provided on front card 10, through which strap portion 34 of a retainer 30 may extend, while anchor or flange portion 34 does not fit through aperture 14, but instead remains trapped between front card 10 and back card 20. As seen in FIG. 1, the lower center area of retainer 30 may be open in order to more easily load a product item into the package. In addition to front card 10, back card 20, and retainer 30, the package may include blister 40 with a body 42 (for containing a product) and a flange 44.
An aperture or apertures 14 may be provided on front card 10, through which strap portion 34 of retainer 30 may extend, while anchor or flange portion 34 does not fit through aperture 14, but instead remains trapped between front card 10 and back card 20. An aperture or apertures 12 may be provided through which will fit the blister body portion 42, while the blister flange 44 does not fit through aperture 12 but instead remains between front card 10 and back card 20. The apertures 12, 14 may be contiguous. As seen in FIG. 1, the lower center area of retainer 30 may be open in order to more easily receive the product item and/or blister.
The blister body portion 42 may be shaped to fit over the product item 50 and the retainer 30. A back plate 37 may be provided behind the product and aligned with the retainer flange 34 to discourage cutting through back panel 20 to gain access to product item 50.
The retainer 30 and back plate 37 may be made of any relatively tough material, for example a plastic such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The retainer may be fabricated by injection molding, or by other known shaping processes, such as extrusion. The back plate may be fabricated by extrusion, or by other known shaping processes.
The blister body portion 42 may be shaped to fit the product item 50. The product item 50 may have a narrowed portion 52 as more clearly shown in FIG. 2A which shows the assembled package 1. The retainer 30 may advantageously wrap around narrowed portion 52.
In FIG. 2A, the front card 10 has been sealed together with the back card 20 to create a two-ply package. The cards may be sealed together by an adhesive such as a heat-sealable coating on the facing surfaces of the cards. As best show in the cross section view of FIG. 2B, the flange portion 34 of the retainer 30 is trapped between the front card 10 and back card 20, as is the blister flange 44. The strap portion 32 of retainer 30 may encircle product item 50, particularly at a narrowed section 52 of the product item 50, which fits inside strap portion 32, while the ends 54, 56 of the product item 50 do not fit inside strap portion 32. Thus the product item 50 may be prevented from being lifted ‘up’ away from the cards 10, 20 and also prevent the product from moving very far parallel to the cards (which might otherwise free the product 50 from the package).
Although FIGS. 1 and 2 show a package with blister 40 inside retainer 30, it should be understood that retainer 30 could instead be located outside blister 40, as will be described below and illustrated in FIGS. 3-4. Alternately the blister may be omitted as described further below and illustrated in FIGS. 5-6.
FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the parts of another package 2, where the retainer 30 is located outside the blister 40. An aperture or apertures 14 may be provided on front card 10, through which strap portion 34 of a retainer 30 may extend, while anchor or flange portion 34 does not fit through aperture 14, but instead remains trapped between front card 10 and back card 20. As seen in FIG. 3, the lower center area of retainer 30 may be open in order to more easily load a product item into the package. In addition to front card 10, back card 20, and retainer 30, the package may include blister 40 with a body 42 (for containing a product) and a flange 44.
An aperture or apertures 14 may be provided on front card 10, through which strap portion 34 of retainer 30 may extend, while anchor or flange portion 34 does not fit through aperture 14, but instead remains trapped between front card 10 and back card 20. An aperture or apertures 12 may be provided through which will fit the blister body portion 42, while the blister flange 44 does not fit through aperture 12 but instead remains between front card 10 and back card 20. The apertures 12, 14 may be contiguous. As seen in FIG. 3, the lower center area of retainer 30 may be open in order to more easily receive the product item and/or blister.
The blister body portion 42 may be shaped to fit over the product item 50 and under or within the retainer 30. A back plate 37 may be provided behind the product and aligned with the retainer flange 34 to discourage cutting through back panel 20 to gain access to product item 50.
The blister body portion 42 may be shaped to fit the product item 50. Furthermore the blister body portion 42 may include a narrowed portion 46 over which may fit retainer strap portion 32, securing the blister more firmly, and most importantly securing the product item 50, which may also have a narrowed portion 52 as described previously and more clearly shown in FIG. 4B which shows the assembled package 2.
In FIG. 4A, the front card 10 has been sealed together with the back card 20 to create a two-ply package. The cards may be sealed together by an adhesive such as a heat-sealable coating on the facing surfaces of the cards. As best show in the cross section view of FIG. 4B, the flange portion 34 of the retainer 30 is trapped between the front card 10 and back card 20, as is the blister flange 44. The strap portion 32 of retainer 30 may encircle the blister at blister narrowed portion 46, and also encircle product item 50, particularly at a narrowed section 52 of the product item 50, which fits inside strap portion 32, while the ends 54, 56 of the product item 50 do not fit inside strap portion 32. Thus the product item 50 may be prevented from being lifted ‘up’ away from the cards 10, 20 and also prevent the product from moving very far parallel to the cards (which might otherwise free the product 50 from the package).
FIG. 5A shows a perspective view of the parts of another package 4, which does not utilize a blister. The package may have a front card 10 and a back card 20. An aperture or apertures 14 may be provided on front card 10, through which strap portion 34 of a retainer 30 may extend, while anchor or flange portion 34 does not fit through aperture 14, but instead remains trapped between front card 10 and back card 20. As seen in FIG. 5A, the lower center area of retainer 30 may be open in order to more easily load a product item into the package. A back plate 37 may be provided behind the product and aligned with the retainer flange 34 to discourage cutting through back panel 20 to gain access to product item 50.
The retainer 30 and back plate 37 may be made of any relatively tough material, for example a plastic such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The product item 50 may have a narrowed portion 52 as more clearly shown in FIG. 6A which shows the assembled package 3. The retainer 30 may advantageously wrap around narrowed portion 52.
In FIG. 6A, the front card 10 has been sealed together with the back card 20 to create a two-ply package. The cards may be sealed together by an adhesive such as a heat-sealable coating on the facing surfaces of the cards. As best show in the cross section view of FIG. 2B, the flange portion 34 of the retainer 30 is trapped between the front card 10 and back card 20. The strap portion 32 of retainer 30 may encircle product item 50, particularly at a narrowed section 52 of the product item 50, which fits inside strap portion 32, while the ends 54, 56 of the product item 50 do not fit inside strap portion 32. Thus the product item 50 may be prevented from being lifted ‘up’ away from the cards 10, 20 and also prevent the product from moving very far parallel to the cards (which might otherwise free the product 50 from the package.
As seen in FIG. 5A, the lower center area of retainer 30 may be open in order to more easily receive the product item and/or blister. FIG. 5B shows an alternative retainer 30A, whose lower center is closed. This may be used in certain cases for example with a two-part product with a narrower center section, where the two parts may be joined together by passing them through the retainer 30′. Alternately the lower part of the retainer may have a hinge action as shown in FIG. 9.
FIG. 6A shows the assembled package 3, with the front card 10 sealed together with the back card 20 to create a two-ply package. The cards may be sealed together by an adhesive such as a heat-sealable coating on the facing surfaces of the cards. As best shown in the cross section view of FIG. 2B, the flange portion 34 of the retainer 30 is trapped between the front card 10 and back card 20. The retainer 30 may hold a product item 50. The strap portion 32 of retainer 30 may encircle product item 50, particularly at a narrowed section 52 of the product item 50, which fits inside strap portion 32, while the ends 54, 56 of the product item 50 do not fit inside strap portion 32. Thus the product item 50 may be prevented from being lifted ‘up’ away from the cards 10, 20 and also prevent the product from moving very far parallel to the cards (which might otherwise free the product 50 from the package).
FIGS. 7A-7C shows cross sections of packages, some of which are similar to the packages shown in FIGS. 1-6. FIGS. 7A-7C include a blister 40 located outside the retainer or retainers.
FIG. 7A shows a package which uses two retainers 30. Such a package might be advantageous where the product item 50 has a wider portion 52 and one or more narrower portions 54, 56. The retainers prevent product item 50 from being lifted ‘up’ away from the cards 10, 20 and also prevent the product from moving very far parallel to the cards. As shown in FIG. 7A, product item 50 cannot slide to the left because the wider portion 52 is restrained by the first retainer, and cannot slide to the right because it is restrained by the second retainer.
FIG. 7B shows a package which uses a retainer 30 in the form of a band as previously described, and also a retainer 31 in the form of a ‘cap’. Band portion 32 prevents lifting the product item 50 away from the package, as already described, and may prevent or limit sliding of the product parallel to the package, depending on the shape of the product proximate to the band portion 32. Retainer 31 in comparison forms a socket portion 36 which may prevent lifting the product away from the package, but also prevent the product from sliding parallel to the package, at least in one direction. Such a package might be advantageous where the product item 50 has a wider portion 52 and one or more narrower portions 54, 56. The retainers prevent product item 50 from being lifted ‘up’ away from the cards 10, 20 and also prevent the product from moving very far parallel to the cards. As shown in FIG. 7B, product item 50 cannot slide to the left because the wider portion 52 is restrained by the retainer 30 in the form of a band, and cannot slide to the right because the product (regardless of its width) is restrained by retainer 31 in the form of a cap.
FIG. 7C shows a package which uses two retainers 31 in the form of ‘caps’. Retainers 31 have socket portions 36 which may prevent lifting the product away from the package, but also prevent the product from sliding parallel to the package, at least in one direction. Such a package might be advantageous where the product item 50 has a regular cross section from the ends 54, 56 and the center 52. The retainers 31 prevent product item 50 from being lifted ‘up’ away from the cards 10, 20 and also prevent the product from moving very far parallel to the cards. As shown in FIG. 7C, product item 50 cannot slide to the left because its end 54 is restrained by the first retainer 31, and cannot slide to the right because it is restrained by the second retainer 31.
FIGS. 8A-8C shows cross sections of packages similar to the packages shown in FIGS. 7A-7C respectively, except that no blister is used.
FIG. 8A shows a package which uses two retainers 30. Product item 50 cannot slide to the left because the wider portion 52 is restrained by the first retainer, and cannot slide to the right because it is restrained by the second retainer.
FIG. 8B shows a package which uses a retainer 30 in the form of a band as previously described, and also a retainer 31 in the form of a ‘cap’. Product item 50 cannot slide to the left because the wider portion 52 is restrained by the retainer 30 in the form of a band, and cannot slide to the right because the product (regardless of its width) is restrained by retainer 31 in the form of a cap.
FIG. 8C shows a package which uses two retainers 31 in the form of ‘caps’. Product item 50 cannot slide to the left because its end 54 is restrained by the first retainer 31, and cannot slide to the right because it is restrained by the second retainer 31.
FIGS. 9A-9F show alternative forms of retainer where the anchor or flange portion 32 and backing plate 37 are made either separately or (for example in FIG. 9A) or joined together (FIGS. 9B-9F).
FIG. 9A shows the retainer 30 already described with regard to several packages. The lower center of the band (e.g. of flange 32) is open. This may allow easier loading of the product into the package. A separate backing plate 37 may be provided.
FIG. 9B shows the retainer 30A introduced in FIG. 5B, which has a closed band. With this structure a separate backing plate 37 may not be needed.
FIG. 9C shows a retainer 30B incorporating a backing plate 37′ hingedly attached to the flange 32, for example at one side thereof by way of a living hinge. After loading the product, the backing plate 37′ may be closed over the bottom of the retainer as shown in FIG. 9D to provide protection all around the product.
FIG. 9E shows another variation as retainer 30C incorporating a backing plate 37″ in two sections each hingedly attached to a different side of flange 32, for example by living hinges. After loading the product, the backing plates 37″ may be closed over the bottom of the retainer as shown in FIG. 9F to provide protection all around the product.
The examples shown herein have utilized a blister 40 in some cases. Usually the blister 40 is smaller than front card 10 and back card 20. In some cases a blister was not used. Another form of package for which the retaining band 30 may be utilized is the so-call “clamshell” package, where the outermost part is typically an essentially closed shell of a tough plastic. However, even with these “clamshells” it is possible to cut the shell with a sharp tool. Often the product is already mounted on some sort of paperboard card inside the clamshell, since such cards provide a surface for graphics that are not readily printed onto the clamshell itself For more product security, it may be mounted on the card structure and held by the retainer 30 in a manner similar to that shown in FIGS. 5-6. Since the clamshell itself provides a durable transparent covering, a blister 40 may not be needed in such a package.
FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the parts of another package 4. The package may have a front card 10 and a back card 20 as previously described, which are shown here with their inside surfaces facing up. The cards may be hingedly attached together along fold line 15. The cards may have hang holes 16, 26 for placing on a display hook. A blister 140 may be included. An aperture 12 may be provided in front card 10 to receive the cavity or body 142 of blister 140, while blister flange 144 will be positioned between the front card 10 and back card 20. One or more aperture extensions 14 may be provided on front card 10, through which strap receiving section 143 of blister 140 may fit. Aperture extension 14 may be a lateral extension of aperture 12. Package 4 may include a retainer in the form of a cable tie 130 to help secure a product item 50.
The blister body portion 142 may be shaped to fit over the product item 50 and the retainer 130. A backing panel 160 may be hingedly or foldably attached to blister 140. The backing panel 160 may have openings 162, 164, 166 formed therein whose purposes will be explained in the following Figures.
The retainer 130 may be made of any relatively tough material, for example a plastic such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The retainer may be a cable tie or similar device having a strap portion 132 with feature such as steps or teeth to engage a retainer finger within ratchet head 138 by a ratcheting or other type of securing action. The retainer may be fabricated by injection molding, or by other known shaping processes. The ratchet head 138 may incorporate a release mechanism to allow the tie to be easily opened, and even reclosed, once the package is opened.
In FIG. 11, content item 50 is shown having been moved into proximity with backing panel 160. The strap 132 of retainer 130 has been threaded through backing panel openings 164, 166 and then through ratchet head 138, to form a closed loop to receive product item 50. As shown in FIG. 12, once product item 50 is within the loop, the loop may be tightened to secure product item 50. The leftover portion of strap 132 may be threaded back through openings 166, 164, or the leftover portion may be cut away.
In FIG. 13, blister 160 is placed upon the inner surface of front card 10 with the blister body 142 received into aperture 12 in front card 10 and blister flange 144 resting on the inner surface of front card 10. Next, backing panel 160 is folded over to cover and close the other half of blister 140 (or, if backing panel 160 is provided as a separate piece, it is now laid upon the other half of blister 140.)
FIG. 14A shows backing panel 160 in position upon the rest of blister 140. Tab 149 which extends from the forward part of blister 140 may be drawn through hole 162 in backing panel 160, to hold the blister halves together (particularly if they are hingedly joined by fold line 161). The back of the blister 140 is now relatively flat, except for the portions of strap 132 which are wrapped back through holes 164, 166 in backing panel 160. A typical cable tie used for strap 132 may have a tendency to curve upward out of the plane of the backing panel 160. The strap 132 may be preformed (e.g. with slight bends), or may be reshaped for example by application of heat and/or pressure during the sealing step between FIGS. 14A and 14B), to provide a flatter portion of the strap 132 between the backing panel 160 and back card 20.
FIG. 14B shows a finished package, from the back, after the back card 20 has been folded along fold line 15 and onto front card 10. The front and back cards 10, 20 may now be sealed together (and optionally to backing panel 160 and blister flange 144 which lie between the cards. The cards may be sealed together by an adhesive such as a heat-sealable coating on the facing surfaces of the cards. Depending on the thickness of the backing panel 160 and blister flange 144, there may be a slight thickness change of the package along the perimeter of the backing panel 160 and blister flange 144. One or both of front card 10 and back card 20 may be prescored to help accommodate such a thickness change.
It will be recognized that as used herein, directional references such as “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “back”, “end”, “side”, “inner”, “outer”, “upper” and “lower” do not limit the respective panels to such orientation, but merely serve to distinguish these panels from one another. Any reference to hinged connection should not be construed as necessarily referring to a single fold line only; indeed it is envisaged that hinged connection can be formed from one or more of the following, a short slit, a frangible line or a fold line without departing from the scope of the invention.
Sealing of the packages may be done by heat sealing, gluing, a combination of heat sealing and gluing, or other method. Heat sealing may be accomplished by use of both heat and pressure. If a heat sealable coating is used, hot melt glue may be applied to activate the heat seal coating and/or to help with sealing. It is to be understood that alternate sealing methods may be utilized depending upon manufacturing preferences.
Certain of the packages disclosed herein have been described as being made from a separate front and back card. However, it should be understood that the front and back cards may be hingedly joined together along their edges and thus provided as a single piece of material. Others of the packages disclosed herein have been described as being made from a unitary front and back card. However, it should be understood that the front and back cards may be provided separately.
