CA1058837A

CA1058837A - One piece security seal and new sealing system

Info

Publication number: CA1058837A
Application number: CA249,291A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Eduardo De Lima Castro Neto
Original assignee: LIMA CASTRO NETTO E DE
Current assignee: LIMA CASTRO NETTO E DE
Priority date: 1975-04-01
Filing date: 1976-03-31
Publication date: 1979-07-24
Also published as: AU502702B2; NO761114L; BR7501943A; PT64958B; NO141528B; DE2614126A1; SE7603748L; IT1073759B; PT64958A; ES446574A1; NO141528C; FR2306137A1; AU1254276A; SE424534B; FR2306137B1

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A security seal comprising a generally flattened insert portion which has an elongated central part at either side of the free end of which elastically deformable arms are inclined outwardly and backwardly towards the other end of the central part. A removable portion and a weakened breakable means connects the removable portion with the other end of the central part. The other end of the central part comprises a base of a rectangular cross-section, the free ends of the elas-tically deformable arms being separated in the undeformed con-dition by a distance slightly greater than the corresponding width dimension of the base. The removable portion comprises a blade aligned with the central part and provided with a base of rectangular cross-section adjacent the weakened breakable means, and having a width and thickness substantially equal to those of the insert portion base.

Description

lOS8837 The present invention refers to a one-piece security seal and a new sealing system.
Various systems are known in which two elements to be sealed to~ether are adapted to receive a security seal which permits their separation only in the event of intentional or criminal violation of the seal. Two basic types of seals have been used previously, one being a single piece seal which is deformable by means of a tool (for example the extremely well known lead seal which is deformed over the two ends of a string closing a mailbag or the like) and a two-piece seal in which one is inserted manually into the other (for example, the seals described in U.K. Patent Nos. 1,312,300 and 1,400,760).
An object of the present invention is to provide a one-piece security seal which may be applied to the two elements to be sealed wlthout the necessity of using a tool to deform the seal over the said elements.
Another object of the invention is to provide a seal of the above type which is easily broken for separating the two elements, said one-piece seal being the only part which is destroyed. In this respect, it should be observed that when a mailbag or the like sealed with a lead seal is opened it is necessary to cut the string which is later thrown away. The same situation exists with the seal described in the U.K. Patent No. 1,312,300, Canadian Patent Application Serial No~ 212,142 filed October 23, 1974, describes a label holder which may be used with a security seal similar to that disclosed in U. K.
Patent ~o. 1,312,300 and which has the advantage of permitting a mailbag to be closed in such a way that, on breaking the seal, the latter, comprising a capsule and an insert, is the only element which is lost whereas the string and the label holder may both be used many times. When the one-piece seal of the present invention is used with a duly modified version of the above-mentioned label holder, the only - " ~o58837 element to be thrown away is the single piece seal. Apart from this, the seal of the present invention is very simple to use since it may be applied with a light manual pressure.
In accordance with the present invention a security seal comprises a single element consisting of an insert portion which is elastically deformable and fixed by means of a weakened region to a second portion which is removable by breaking said weakened region. Preferably the insert portion has a rectangular base, a central part extended perpendicularly from the middle of said base and, on the two opposite sides of the free end of the central part, two elastically deformable arms inclined outwardly and backwardly towards the base, the second portion comprising a blade having a width approximately equal to that of the base and being connected thereto by said weakened region.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a sealing system comprising two elements to be sealed together ; in which the first comprises a first part provided with a first opening therethrough and the second element comprises a second part provided with a second opening, said two openings being aligned in the sealing or closed position of the two elements in which position the two elements define a closed cavity behind said second opening on the side of the second part remote from the first part, said cavity having a larger cross-section than that of the second opening at least in the region of the latter, the cavity being accessible from the outside only through said two aligned openings when in the sealing position and freely açcessible when the two elements are separated; and a security seal of the above-defined type in which the insert portion is capable of passing through said two openings, undergoing elastic deformation on passing through the second opening and then becom-ing caught behind the second opening and within said cavity, the weakened region of the seal, in the sealing position, being behind ~05~837 said first opening, that is to say, on its side associated with said cavity.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a security se~l comprising a generally flattened insert portion which has an elongated central part at either side of the free end of which elastically deformable arms are inclined outwardly and backward~y towards the other end of the central part. A removable portion and a weakened breakable means connects the removable portion with the other end o~ the central part. The other end of the central part com~rises a base of a rectangular cross-section, the free ends of the elastically deformable arms being separated in the undeformed condition by a distance slightly greater than the corresponding width dimension of the base. The removable portion comprises a blade aligned with the central part and provided with a base of rectangular cross-section adjacent the weakened breakable means, and having a width and thickness substantially equal to those of the insert portion base.
According to a further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a sealing system which includes the above-described seal and comprising first and second ele-ments to be sealed together by means of said seal which is a separate elastically deformable security seal. The two elements define a seal-receiving cavity when in the closed position, each of the elements being formed with a first opening. The open-ings are aligned and adjacent to each other in the sealing position to define single access to the cavity.
As has already been mentioned in the specification, the security seal and the sealing system are most suitable for use with the label holder.described in Canadian application Ser. No. 212,142 and the invention can therefore be described ,''~,c,C; ~

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lOS8~37 in connection with such label holder, reference being made to the attached drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a label holder and security seal constructed in accordance with the invention, Figure 2 is a plan view of part of the label holder closed in the seal, the sealing system being illustrated in section;
Figure 3 comprises two orthographical views of the new single piece seal;
Figure 4 is a perspective view similar to Figure 1, showing a modified version of a label holder and seal constructed in accordance with the invention; and Figure 5 is a front view of the capsule and cap portions shown in Figure 4.
Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a moulded plastic label holder to be sealed by the new single piece seal 1 which is shown in detail in Figure 3. Seal 1 comprises an insert portion 2 and a removable portion 3. The insert 2 has a rect-angular base 4, a central part 5 extending from the middle of the base perpendicular thereto and two arms 6 and 7 beginning on opposite sides of the free end 8 of the central part 5 and extend-ing outwardly and back~ardly in the direction of the base.
The removable portion 3 of the new seal comprises a blade 9 having a thicker rectangular base end 10 of the same thickness as the insert portion 2, The base end 10 is fixed to the base 4 of the insert by a weakened joint, such weakening being represented in the illustrated seal by two small bridges 11.

~ - 4 -~ ' lOS8837 Seal 1 is moulded from plastic material so as to give arms 6 and 7 a certain flexibility ~or permitting them to be elastically deformed when one applies the seal to a sealing system. As shown in Figure 1 the flexibility of arms 6 and 7 is facilitated by the existence of a small longitudinal recess 12 at the free end 8 of the central part 5 of the insert.
The plastic material from which the seal is manu-factured is preferably polypropylene.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a moulded plastic label holder 13 which is basically similar to that illustrated ; in Canadian Application Ser. No. 212,142 for which reason only a short description of its basic structure will be given here.
As illustrated the label holder 13 comprises two integrally moulded parts 14 and 15 which are foldable one over the other and adapted to receive a paper label when in the closed position.
Part 14 is integral with a fixed spool 16 whereas part 15 is integral with a cap 17 which fits over spool 16 when the label holder is closed. One end of a piece of string may be fixed in a hole 18 in part 14, the string being wound around the neck of a mailbag or the like and then around the spool before clos-ing the parts 14 and 15. The present invention however refers only to the new system for sealing the cap 17 over the spool 16, such differing substantially from that described and illus-trated in the above-mentioned prior patent application.
The sealing system basically comprises a wall 19 moulded on the upper surface 16' of spool 16 and a "capsule" 20 formed in the upper part or top 21 of cap 17. Wall 19 is provided with a rectang-ilar through opening 22 having a-height slightly greater - 4a -`- 1058837 than the thickness of said insert 2 and a width somewhat less than the separation between the ends 24 of the arms 6 and 7 on the insert and slightly larger than the width of base 4. Con-sequently insert 2 may pass through opening 22 by means of elastic deformation (compression) of arms 6 and 7. Behind open-ing 22 two shoulders 23 are inclined at an angle which corres-ponds substantially to the inclination of the end surfaces 6' and 7' of arms 6 and 7 in the non-deformed condition. These shoulders 23 are clearly shown in Figure 2.
The "capsule" 20 is open on the inner or under side so as to be accessible from the interior of cap 17. The upper side of the capsule is closed by the top 24, the capsule also having a side wall 25 which is provided with an opening 26 having sub-stantially the same dimensions as opening 22 and adapted to be aligned therewith when the label holder 13 is closed with spool 16 covered by cap 17. ~he shape of side wall 25 and of the capsule top 24 is not of extreme importance provided that when the cap is closed over the spool an internal cavity 27 is formed having a size sufficient to receive insert 2, the only possible access being through aligned openings 22 and 26. In the illustrated embodiment, the shape of the capsule generally corresponds to that of insert 2 and the side wall 25 is provided with a small vertical internal rib 28 which extends into recess 8 of insert

2 when in the sealed position.
As can be seen from Figure 2, when the label holder 13 is closed with spool 16 fitted into cap 17, wall 19 enters the capsule and.opening 22 becomes positioned adjacent and behind opening 26. It will be observed that the upper surface 16' of . the spool closes capsule 20 serving as a bottom therefor and ensuring that the only access to the internal cavity 27 is by means of the two openings 22 and 26. Once wall 19 has entered capsule 20, the single piece seal 1 may be applied to the system by inserting the insert through the two openings 22 and 26.
This is only possible by the elastic compression of arms 6 and 7 which, on reaching the shoulders 23, open once more so as to become engaged behind said shoulders in such a way that insert 2 remains within cavity 27 in the capsule. Base 4 of the insert remains inside opening 22 preventing access of any other element therethrough. Equally the base end 10 of blade 9 fills opening 26 in wall 25 which makes cavity 27 even more secure against any attempt of violation. The two weakened bridges 11 of seal 1 are ; 10 disposed in the gap between the two openings 22 and 26.
Figure 2 shows the seal already applied to the system which is sealed in a secure and inviolable manner. It should be observed that the insertion of insert 2 in cavity 27 is an extreme-ly simple operation, it merely being necessary to hold the blade 9 and force the insert through the openings 22 and 26. The force necessary is small since arms 6 and 7 are reasonably flexible, whereby the seal applying operation can be carried out in a matter of seconds. The flexibility of arms 6 and 7, however, in no way detracts from the security of the system since any tractive force applied in a direction to withdraw insert 2 tends to open arms 6 and 7, this making their engagement behind shoulders 23 ;~ even more positive.
The operation of opening the label holder is also ~' extremely simple. It is only necessary to grip blade 9 and pull it outwardly and laterally, thus breaking the bridges 11 and removing the blade, insert 2 remaining within the cavity 27.
Having removed blade 9, it is possible to raise cap 17 and open the label holder. The insert 2 is then left lying on the upper part of spool 16 and may be simpIy removed. The string (not shown) may now be unwound from spool 16 and from the neck of the mailbag thus leaving both the label holder itself 13 and the string in perfect condition for re-use. The only element to be - `` 1058837 thrown away is the seal l.
With a view to further improving the system, the upper surface 16' of the spool is formed with two ribs 29 having a height equal to that of the bottom surface of opening 22 in wall 19 thus ensuring that the insert be horizontally supported with-in cavity 27. Obviously said height is equal to the thickness of the top 21 of cap 17 so that the upper surface of said top 21, the bottom surfaces of openings 22 and 26 and the upper surfaces of ribs 27 are all in the same plane when the device is closed.
Finally, although bridges 11 are positioned in the gap defined between openings 22 and 26 so as to permit the label holder to be opened when they are broken, it will be understood that such weakening could equally be positioned within opening 22 or even within cavity 27 provided that the broken part may be removed to permit opening of the device. It is not possible however to position the weakening within opening 26 in the capsule since the breaking of the seal would simply remove blade 9, the spool and cap remaining sealed together.
Referring now to Figures 4 and 5 there is shown a label 20 holder and seal identical to Figures l to 3 as regards the basic structure but incorporating preferred aspects which have been shown in tests to be of particular utility. The reference numer-als used in Figure l all appear in Figure 4. In accordance with this preferred embodiment, on either side of opening 26 in the capsule 20 there is a guard wall 30, the two guard walls defining a passage through which the insert 2 of the seal passes before entering the capsule. The two walls 30 are preferably separated by a distance slightly greater than the separation of the free ends 6' and 7' of arms 6 and 7 of seal 1, in the undeformed ` 30 condition. This ensures that there will be no difficulty in applying the seal due to the necessity to force it along the passage defined by walls 30.

``-`` 1~58837 Although it would be possible to make walls 30 as planar structures extending upwardly from top sur~ace 21 of cap 17, it is preferable to give them an L section as shown in Figure 4, one of the limbs 31 of the L being parallel to surface 21. It should be noticed that the limbs 31 are separated from each other by a distance approximately equal to the width of blade 9 of seal 1 since this permits perfect visibility of the upper surface of the blade which in practice, for security purposes, will be moulded with an individual identification number.
As for the seal itself in Figure 4 it will be observed that it has two lateral widenings or wing-like portions 32 in that region of blade 9 which will be positioned between the guard walls 30 in the sealing position of the device. The total width of the blade 9 in the region of widenings 32 is preferably identical to that of the separation between the free ends 6' and 7' of arms 6 and 7 of insert 2 or, in other words, slightly less than that spacing between guard walls 30. In addition, in order to avoid the accumulation of stresses in blade 9 where it joins its base end 10, the seal 1 shown in Figure 4 is formed with a chamfer 33. This prevents any possibility of the seal breaking in the wrong place when opening the label holder.
It should be observed here that in the absence of guard walls 30 and widenings 32, there is slways the possibility of accidental fracture of the weakened region 11 of the spool during transport. The presence of these additional characteristics, however, ensures protection against such accidental opening of the seal. The seal shown in Figure 4 has therefore been found to be much more preferable than that of Figures 1 to 3.
It will be understood by those versed in the art that the new seal may be used in sealing systems which are different from that described with respect to the label holder. The new seal may be applied in any situation in which two elements to be sealed have, in the closed position, two aligned openings and an insert receiving cavity to which access is only possible by means of said openings, it being equally essential that the cavity be easily accessible when the elements are separated so as to make it possible to remove the insert which was separated from the blade to permit opening of the system. One example of a modification of the system would be in the case of sealing a box comprising two open-ended boxes which telescope into each other. The larger box which surrounds the other in the teles-coped position would have a protuberance in one side wall near the open end, said protuberance being formed with an opening in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis of the box. Near the closed end of the other box, one lateral wall will be provided with an outwardly protruding portion moulded in a manner somewhat similar to the "capsule" shown in Figure 1. This cap-sule would have a slit longitudinally of the box into which the prbtuberance in the first box may be inserted. The capsule would also have a lateral opening which would become aligned with said protuberance. This arrangement would allow the application of the new single piece seal through the two aligned openings.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:-

1. A security seal comprising a generally flattened insert portion which has an elongated central part at either side of the free end of which elastically deformable arms are inclined outwardly and backwardly towards the other end of said central part, a removable portion and a weakened breakable means con-necting said removable portion with said other end of the central part, said other end of the central part comprising a base of a rectangular cross-section, the free ends of the elastically deformable arms being separated in the undeformed condition by a distance slightly greater than the corresponding width dimen-sion of said base, and said removable portion comprising a blade aligned with said central part and provided with a base of rec-tangular cross-section adjacent said weakened breakable means, having a width and thickness substantially equal to those of said insert portion base.

2. A security seal according to claim 1 in which said blade is provided with lateral widenings, its width in the region of said widenings being substantially identical to the separa-tion of the free ends of said elastically deformable arms of said insert portion when in the undeformed condition.

3. A sealing system including a seal according to claim 1, said system comprising first and second elements to be sealed together by means of said seal which is a separate elastically deformable security seal, said two elements defining a seal-receiving cavity when in the closed position, each of said ele-ments being formed with a first opening having a cross-section substantially identical to the cross-section of said insert por-tion and blade bases, said openings being aligned and adjacent to each other in said sealed position to define single access to said cavity.

4. A sealing system according to claim 3 in which said first element is provided with a second opening larger than said first opening, said second opening being closed by said second element in the sealing position.

5. A sealing system according to claim 4 in which said second element closes said second opening by means of a gener-ally flat surface, said first opening in said second element being formed through a wall upstanding from said flat surface.

6. A sealing system according to claim 3 comprising a label holder having first and second parts associated with each other for receiving a label therebetween in the closed posi-tion, said first part being integral with said first element and said second part being integral with said second element, said second element including a capsule molded on an upper surface of said first part and defining a cavity on the lower side thereof and said second element comprising an upstanding wall on an upper surface of said second part, said capsule and said wall both being provided laterally with said first open-ings so that when said two parts are placed in the closed position of the label holder, said wall is received in said capsule with said openings in alignment and said upper sur-face of said second part closes said open bottom of the cavity.

7. A sealing system according to claim 6 in which said upper surface of said first part comprises the upper surface of a cap integrally formed therewith and said upper surface of said second part comprises the upper surface of a spool inte-grally formed therewith.

8. A sealing system according to claim 6 or 7 in which said opening in said wall is formed internally on its rear side facing said cavity with two inclined shoulders.

9. A sealing system according to claim 7 in which at least one rib is formed on said upper surface of said spool, the upper surface of said rib being approximately on the same level as the lower edge of the opening in said wall.

10. A sealing system according to claim 6 in which said capsule is formed with an internal vertical rib on its side wall in a position opposite said opening.

11. A sealing system according to claim 6 in which said lateral opening in said capsule is flanked by two upstanding parallel guard walls extending away from said capsule parallel to the access of said opening.

12. A sealing system according to claim 11 in which said guard walls have an L-section.