GB2194932A

GB2194932A - A security label

Info

Publication number: GB2194932A
Application number: GB08719733A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alan Frank Grounds
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-09-10
Filing date: 1987-08-20
Publication date: 1988-03-23
Anticipated expiration: 2007-08-20
Also published as: GB8719733D0; GB2194932B; GB8621801D0

Abstract

A security label (2) which is caused by a slit (4) to be dividable into an inner label portion (6) and into an outer label portion (8), the label (2) being self-adhesive for sticking to a collecting container for collecting money, tokens or savings stamps, the label (2) having a peel-off protective backing sheet (10), and the outer portion (8) being provided with slits (12) which cause the outer portion to tend to break up during any attempt to remove the outer portion from a closure device and a surrounding part of the container. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A security label This invention relates to a security label. This invention also relates to a collecting container when provided with the security label.

Security labels for use on collecting containers for collecting money, tokens or savings stamps are known. The collecting containers may be, for example, collecting boxes of all kinds, collecting buckets, and collector's envelopes carrying donations from house-tohouse collections. The security labels are intended to provide evidence of unauthorised tampering with a closure device for the collecting container, for example in order to obtain from the container collected money, tokens or savings stamps. In addition to preventing obvious tampering with the collecting containers, collector often prefer collecting containers sealed by security labels as an easy way of demonstrating their honesty to persons being asked to give money, tokens or savings stamps.More specificaily, the persons giving the money, tokens or savings stamps can see at a glance that the collecting container is sealed with the security label and thus they can be assured that their donation is properly secure and, given proper credentials on the part of the collector, that their donation will get to the correct and intended place.

The existing security labels for collecting containers are such that they can sometimes be removed and restuck in position without it being obvious that they have been so removed and restuck in position. This is clearly undesirable.

It is an aim of the present invention to obviate or reduce the above mentioned problem.

Accordingly, this invention provides a security label which is caused by a slit to be dividable into an inner label portion and into an outer label portion, the security label being self-adhesive for sticking to a collecting container for collecting money, tokens or savings stamps, the security label being such that the inner label portion is removable from a peeloff protective backing sheet and from the outer label portion for sticking to a body part of the container for the purpose of displaying information, and the security label being such that the outer label portion is removable from the peel-off protectiye backing sheet and from the inner label portion for sticking to a closure device for the collecting container and to an adjacent part of the collecting container which surrounds the closure device, the outer label portion being such that it is provided with a plurality of slits which cause the outer label portion to tend to break up during any attempt to remove the outer label portion from the closure device and the adjacent part of the collecting container which surrounds the closure device in order to provide an indication of an attempt to remove the closure device from the collecting container and to gain access to collected money, tokens or savings stamps in the collecting container, and the slits being such that they extend across the outer label portion to lie adjacent both inner and outer edges of the outer label portion but not to interrupt the inner and outer edges of the outer label portion in order to enable the outer label portion to be removed from the peel-off protective backing sheet and from the inner label portion and stuck to the closure device without breaking up.

Any sort of information may be displayed on the inner label portion. Thus, for example, the displayed information on the inner label portion may be the name and/or address of the collector, and/or the name of the collecting cause.

Preferably, the security label is circular in plan, the slit is a circular slit, the inner label portion is circular in plan, and the outer label portion is ring shaped in plan. The security label may be such that its overall shape and also the shape of its constituent parts are other than circular, especially where the security label is to be used as a receipt seal security label.

Advantageously, the slits on the outer label portion are straight slits, S-shaped slits, or 7shaped slits. Other shaped slits may be employed if desired. Thus, for example, the slits may be such as to define islands so that, for example, the slits may be in the form of circles, elipses ovals or other geometrical shapes. The slits defining the islands will usually be interrupted along their periphery so that the islands do not separate from the rest of the security label when the security label is peeled off the protective backing sheet.

If desired, the slits may be made on a background in the form of a pattern, for example, a wavy line pattern. The pattern may thus become interrupted by any attempt to tamper with the security label and so easily show up the tampering.

The slits will usually be such as to extend entirely through the security label, but not through the peel-off protective backing sheet.

However, if desired, the slits could only extend part of the way through the security label.

The security label may be made of any desired material. A presently preferred material is a paper material.

The security label may be secured to the peel-off protective backing sheet.

The peel-off protective backing sheet may be made of any desired material. Presently preferred materials are a waxed release paper or a silicone release paper.

The present invention also provides a collecting container when provided with a security label of the invention.

The present invention further provides a sheet of security labels comprising a plurality of the security labels of the invention and which are provided on the peel-off protective backing sheet.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a first security label; Figure 2 shows a second security label; Figure 3 shows a third security label; and Figure 4 shows a fourth security label.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a security label 2 which is circular in plan as shown. The security label 2 is caused by a circular slit 4 to be dividable into an inner label portion 6 which is circular in plan and into an outer label portion 8 which is ringshaped in plan.

The security label 2 is self-adhesive for sticking to a collecting container (not shown) for collecting money, tokens or savings stamps. The security label 2 is such that the inner label portion 4 is removable from a peeloff protective backing sheet 10 and from the outer label portion 8 for sticking to a body part of the collecting container for the purpose of displaying information.

The security label 2 is also such that the outer label portion 8 is removable from the peel-off protective backing sheet 10 and from the inner label portion 4 for sticking to a closure device (not shown) for the collecting container and to an adjacent part (not shown) of the collecting container which surrounds the closure device. The outer label portion 8 is also such that it is provided with a plurality of straight slits 12 which cause the outer label portion 8 to tend to break up during any attempt to remove the outer label portion 8 from the closure device and the adjacent part of the collecting container which surrounds the closure device in order to provide an indication of an attempt to remove the closure device from the collecting container and to gain access to collected money, tokens or savings stamps in the collecting container.

The slits 12 are such that they extend as shown across the outer label portion 8 to lie adjacent both inner ,and outer edges 14, 16 respectively of the outer label portion 8 but not to interrupt the jnner and outer edges 14, 16 respectively of the outer label portion 8.

This is in order to enable the outer labelportion 8 to be removed from the peel-off protective backing sheet 10 and from the inner label portion 6 and stuck to the closure device without breaking up. By way of example, it is mentioned that the straight slits 12 may stop approximately 1 mm from the inner and outer edges 14, 16 respectively of the outer label portion 8.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, similar parts as in Figure 1 have been given the same reference numerals and their precise construction and operation will not again be given. In Figure 2, the straight slits 12 have been replaced by S-shaped slits 18. In Figure 3, the straight slits 12 have been replaced by 7shaped slits 20. In Figure 4, the straight slits 12 have been replaced by interrupted generally oval slits 22 which define islands 24.

It is to be appreciated that the embodiments of the invention described above with reference to the accompanying drawings have been given by way of example only and that modifications may be effected. Thus, for example, the slits 12, 18, 20 and 22 may be shaped other than shown. Any number of the security labels 2 may be secured to a peel-off protective backing sheet 10 of an appropriate size. The slits 12, 18 and 22 will usually extend entirely through the thickness of the security labels 2 but they could extend only part way through the thickness of the security labels 2 if desired. If the slits only extend part way through the thickness of the security label 2 shown in Figure 4, then the bridging parts which interrupt the slits 22 can be omitted. The slits 12, 18, 20 and 22 may be made on top of a wavy or other type of pattern (not shown) provided on the outer label 8. Interruptions in the pattern will then easily show up to provide evidence of tampering.

In an alternative aspect of the invention, there is provided a security label which has slits branching into one another. Any attempt to peel such a label off its article will tend to cause the label to part at the fork of the slits.

There may be one, two, three or more branch slits extending off a main slit.

Other shapes for the entire security label, the inner label portion and the outer label portion are for example square, rectangular, hexagonal and octagonal.

Claims

1. A security label which is caused by a slit to be dividable into an inner label portion and into an outer label portion, the security label being self-adhesive for sticking to a collecting container for collecting money, tokens or savings stamps, the security label being such that the inner label portion is removable from a peel-off protective backing sheet and from the outer label portion for sticking to a body part of the container for the purpose of displaying information, and the security label being such that the outer label portion is removable from the peel-off protective backing sheet and from the inner label portion for sticking to a closure device for the collecting container and to an adjacent part of the collecting container which surrounds the closure device, the outer label portion being such that it is provided with a plurality of slits which cause the outer label portion to tend to break up during any attempt to remove the outer label portion from the closure device and the adjacent part of the collecting container which surrounds the closure device in order to provide an indication of an attempt to remove the closure device from the collecting container and to gain access to collected money, tokens or savings stamps in the collecting container, and the slits being such that they extend across the outer label portion to lie adjacent both inner and outer edges of the outer label portion but not to interrupt the inner and outer edges of the outer label portion in order to enable the outer label portion to be removed from the peel-off protective backing sheet and from the inner label portion and stuck to the closure device without breaking up.

2. A security label according to claim 1 in which the security label is circular in plan, the slit is a circular slit, the inner label portion is circular in plan, and the outer-label portion is ring shaped in plan.

3. A security label according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the slits on the outer label portion are straight slits, S-shaped slits, or 7shaped slits.

4. A security seal according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the slits define islands.

5. A security seal according to claim 4 in which the slits defining the islands are interrupted along their periphery so that the islands do not separate from the rest of the security label when the security label is peeled off the protective backing sheets.

6. A security seal according to any one of the preceeding claims in which the slits are made on a background in the form of a pattern.

7. A security label according to any one of the preceeding claims in which the slits extend entirely through the security label, but not through the peel-off protective backing sheet.

8. A security label substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9. A collecting container when provided with a security label as claimed in any one of the preceeding claims.

10. A sheet of security labels comprising a plurality of the security labels as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.