DE102010019595A1 - Vacuum-packaged product i.e. ink cartridge, has ink mark formed such that mark is visually disappeared by energetic effect that is adapted to mark, where mark includes thermochrome ink reversibly achromatized at temperature - Google Patents

Abstract

The product has an ink mark formed such that the mark is visually disappeared by an energetic effect that is adapted to the mark. The mark has a thermochrome ink reversibly achromatized at a temperature and recovering its color at another temperature, where the difference between the temperatures is about 50 degrees Celsius, and the former temperature is greater than the latter temperature. The mark is applied on a label that is applied on the product, and the ink is sensitive on electrical, magnetic and/or electromagnetic fields. An independent claim is also included for a method for packing and end confectioning of products.

Description

The present invention relates to a packaged product wherein the product is provided with a label. The present invention particularly relates to airtight packaged products such as ink cartridges.

For a variety of products, buyers nowadays care about who sells them. The customer usually attaches importance to the fact that this name is clearly visible on the product. A special role is played by branded products. Companies are increasingly choosing different sales strategies for the technically identical product with which they want to reach different target groups. Often, the branded product can be sold much more expensive than the noname product, even if it is the technically identical product. The product should then be provided with the word or figurative mark or not, depending on the desired case.

There are also manufacturers who want to distribute their products both directly in the manufacturer's own presentation as well as in private label presentation. Such a distinction can be achieved, for example by a mark, often in the form of a label, which shows the name, logo and / or the article number of the manufacturer in one case, while the private label product this information is missing. Whenever reference is made below to a marking, one or more of such indications or similar signs is meant.

The customer would like or should be able to extract corresponding information from an already unpacked product, and preferably during use. Therefore, it is often important that appropriate markings are provided directly on the product and not just outside the packaging. However, this means that it must be decided before the packaging of the product, whether this should be sold in manufacturer's own make or in private label presentation. This often leads to a double storage and makes a Umetikettierung necessary in extreme cases, including, however, the product must be unpacked and repackaged. Storage of unpackaged products is usually not technically possible without damaging the product or at least only with great effort feasible. This is particularly costly and expensive if, for example in the case of ink cartridges, a vacuum packaging must be used, since here, in order to get to the product label, the vacuum packaging must be destroyed.

A solution known from the prior art is to equip the products with photosensitive labels which can be labeled by a transparent window in the package by means of a laser in the packaged state. However, this is associated with the problem that such an intense laser radiation must be used for labeling so that the transparent window, through which the laser radiation reaches the label, is damaged and leaking.

Also known in the art are indicators of temperature and / or humidity which are packaged with the product and which, for example, change their appearance when moisture passes through the package or the packaged product is exposed to high temperatures.

For example, the DE02929582 an indicator of medical products that should remain germ-free. If moisture penetrates through the packaging, there is no risk of penetration by anyone. The indicator indicates irreversibly whether moisture could get to the medical product after packaging.

Accordingly, in US4990284 discloses a moisture indicator that irreversibly indicates whether moisture has entered a cigarette box.

Other examples are about products that must stay below a certain temperature. This applies, for example, to frozen foods. When transporting or storing such food, there must be no break in the cold chain. Such an interruption is indicated by means of irreversible temperature-sensitive indicators. The same applies to photo material to be exposed, as in the US6103351 disclosed. Here, the indicator can be applied either directly to the product or alternatively to the packaging. Again, the displayed change is irreversible, otherwise the indicator will miss its purpose.

There is therefore a need for a way to subsequently and preferably reversibly change the marking of a finished packaged product, which is provided directly on the product or an attached label, without having to open the package to apply a new label or the to re-label old labels and without damaging the packaging.

This is inventively achieved in that are used to mark the product means which lead to an initially visible mark, but subsequently by the packaging can be cleared through. Preferably, this deletion can be reversed again.

According to a modification, it is also possible to use agents which lead to a chemically present but initially invisible marking and which can then optionally be activated in the packaged state and thus make the marking optically visible on the product. Again, the conversion is preferably reversible

Particularly suitable for this is the printing of the mark with thermochromic ink, wherein an ink is used, which loses its color effect on exposure to an elevated temperature. For example, if a label is partially described with such an ink, the corresponding label can be "deleted" by a short-term increase in temperature.

It is advantageous or to note that the deletion process is usually reversible. In order to prevent the back reaction (renewed color development) from starting at too high a temperature after the marking has been extinguished during cooling, an ink having a "broad hysteresis curve" with regard to the temperature / coloration or decolorization course must be selected. Thermochromic inks with a wide hysteresis curve are for example from EP 1820662 by Kuniyuki et al. and need not be discussed further here.

The invention will now be explained by way of example with reference to an ink cartridge according to a first embodiment.

The top surface of an ink cartridge should be provided with an adhesive label, which indicates which color it is and for which printer this cartridge is suitable. If the ink cartridge is to be sold as a proprietary cartridge, the label should also have in black the logo of the applicant as well as his, the product corresponding item number. If the ink cartridge is to be sold as a private label product, the label should neither include the applicant's logo nor its article number. The decision as to whether this cartridge will be a private label product or not, but should fall only after packaging and storage of the packaged ink cartridge.

To produce the label, the information is applied by means of conventional screen printing. First, the information regarding the color of the ink cartridge and the printer is applied with conventional ink. To apply the applicant's logo and its article number, an ink is used in the example, which is prepared according to a formulation in sections [0055-56], [0059], [0065-66], [0070-72], [0075-77]. , [0083], [0083] FIG EP 1 820 662 A2 was prepared.

The ink prepared, for example, according to [0055-56] is blue or colorless and has the properties of losing its color between 48 and 60 ° C., which does not adjust again until it has cooled below -6 to -14 ° C.

• (a) 2 Teile eines 3-(4-Diethylamino-2-Hexyloxyphenyl)-3-(1-Ethyl-2-Methylindol-3-yl)-4-Azaphthalids;
• (b) 8 Teile einer Verbindung aus bis-(3-Methyl-4-Hydroxyphenyl)-Sulfid und 5 Teilen von 2,2-bis(4'-Hydroxyphenyl)-Hexafluoropropan; und
• (c) 50 Teile von 4-Benzyloxyphenylethyl-Caprat.

For this purpose, a temperature-sensitive, ie thermochromic memory-effect pigment in the form of microcapsules was first prepared as follows: uniform heating and dissolution of three starting components in a solution containing 30 parts of an aromatic multivalent isocyanate prepolymer as membrane material and 40 parts of a solvent. The following starting components (a) to (c) were used in the stated amounts:

• (a) 2 parts of a 3- (4-diethylamino-2-hexyloxyphenyl) -3- (1-ethyl-2-methylindol-3-yl) -4-azaphthalide;
• (b) 8 parts of a compound of bis (3-methyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) sulfide and 5 parts of 2,2-bis (4'-hydroxyphenyl) -hexafluoropropane; and
• (c) 50 parts of 4-benzyloxyphenylethyl caprate.

The solution was then emulsion dispersed in an aqueous 8% polyvinyl alcohol solution by stirring for one hour at 70 ° C to form microdroplets. Subsequently, 2.5 parts of a water-soluble aliphatically modified amine was added and stirred for a further 6 hours to obtain a thermochromic pigment with memory effect in the form of microcapsules.

The suspension was then centrifuged to isolate the pigment with memory effect in the form of microcapsules.

The thermochromic ink with memory effect was prepared by mixing the following components:
25.7 parts of the pigment as described above in the form of microcapsules, 0.2 parts of a succinoglucan (to reduce the dynamic viscosity), 5.5 parts of urea, 7.5 parts of glycerol, 0.03 parts of a neutral (ie nonionic) permeability-promoting compound (manufacturer: Sunnopco Co., Ltd , Trade name: Nopco SW-WET-366), 0.15 parts of a silicone-based modified antifoam (manufacturer: Nippon Silicone Co., Ltd., trade name: FS Antifoam 013B), 0.1 part of a preservative (manufacturer: Zeneca, trade name: Proxel XL -2), 0.5 parts of a lubricant (Plysurf A212C, manufactured by Dai-ichi Kogyo Seiyaku Co., Ltd.), 0.5 parts of triethanolamine and 59.82 parts of water.

The ink prepared according to [0075-77], for example, is black and has the properties of losing its color at 60 ° C., which does not adjust again until it has cooled to below -20 ° C. In the context of the present invention, suitable inks should be colored again below 10 ° C., preferably below 5 ° C., particularly preferably below 0 ° C. Concerning the production as well as to further examples of thermochromic pigments on the already mentioned places the EP 1 82 662 A2 which form an integral part of the present description.

Also, to apply the mark by means of the prepared thermochromic ink, a screen printing method was used. As usual, the labels are not printed individually, but on entire sheets. After drying, one label is glued to the top of the ink cartridge per ink cartridge. Subsequently, the ink cartridge is vacuum-packed and can be stored. A particular advantage is that the vacuum packaging is not transparent. Areas must have, since these are often more prone to failure.

All ink cartridges produced in this way can now be stored together as a proprietary cartridge or private label cartridge, regardless of their later intended use. If a number of proprietary cartridges are needed, they can be easily removed from the warehouse in a packaged state. If private label cartridges are required, the corresponding number can be taken from the warehouse. A short heat treatment of 60 ° C, z. B. by means of hot air, heated cupboard, infrared lamp or the like causes the logo and the article number of the manufacturer on the packed ink cartridge disappears.

According to a second embodiment of the present invention, the same inks are used as in the first embodiment. However, with the conventional ink, the background of the mark printed by the thermochromic ink is now filled. This initially gives the impression of a completely black area on the label. The label is glued back to the top of the ink cartridge and the ink cartridge is vacuum-packed. If you want the information provided by the thermochromic ink to be visible when the ink cartridge is being unpacked, it is sufficient to briefly heat the packaged cartridge to 60 ° C. As a result, the thermochromic ink loses its color and the information is visually visible as negative, for example white against a black background.

A combination of the first and second embodiments on a product, such as an ink cartridge, allows information to be erased while other information appears. For example, this can play a role if actually the same information should be given but in different language. In the case of the ink cartridge, the name of the color would be an example here.

It is also possible to use different thermochromic inks at the same time. On the one hand, it is possible to use thermochromic inks which have different decolorization temperatures. On the other hand, different colors can be used for the design.

In addition to the thermochromic ink, it is also possible to use inks which are sensitive to other energetic actions, which are not mechanical in nature and which do not require a flow of material, and are thereby discolored. For example, inks which are sensitive to electric and / or magnetic fields and electromagnetic fields are also suitable.

According to the invention, a packaged product, in particular an ink cartridge, with marking on the product is disclosed, characterized in that the marking is such that by an energy adapted from the outside of the mark, the mark substantially without optical damage disappears without damaging the packaging.

According to one embodiment, the marking comprises thermochromic ink which decolorizes at a first temperature, preferably reversibly.

The thermochromic ink loses its color at a first temperature and regains its color at a second temperature, with first and second temperatures differing by at least 20 ° C, preferably at least 40 ° C, more preferably at least 50 ° C.

According to one embodiment, the first temperature is greater than the second temperature.

The packaging of the packaged product may be a vacuum packaging.

The marking may be applied to a label applied to the product.

• – Bereitstellen des zu markierenden und verpackenden Produktes
• – Versehen des Produktes mit einer Tintenmarkierung, vorzugsweise auf einer Etikette
• – Verpackung des markierten Produktes vorzugsweise mittels Vakuumverpackung

dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass
die Tintenmarkierung zumindest teilweise mit einer thermochromen Tinte erfolgt.A process has been disclosed for marking and finalizing products, particularly ink cartridges, by the following steps:

• - Providing the product to be marked and packed
• - Provide the product with an ink mark, preferably on a label
• - Packaging of the marked product, preferably by means of vacuum packaging

characterized in that
the ink marking is at least partially carried out with a thermochromic ink.

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• DE 02929582 [0007]
• US 4990284 [0008]
• US 6103351 [0009]
• EP 1820662 [0014]
• EP 1820662 A2 [0017]
• EP 182662 A2 [0023]

Claims (7)

Packaged product, in particular ink cartridge, with marking on the product, characterized in that the marking is such that by a mark adapted energetic action from the outside, the mark substantially without optical damage to the packaging disappears. Packaged product according to claim 1, characterized in that the marking comprises thermochromic ink which decolorizes at a first temperature, preferably decolorized reversibly. Packaged product according to claim 2, characterized in that the thermochromic ink loses its color at a first temperature and regains its color at a second temperature, wherein the first and second temperatures at least 20 ° C, preferably at least 40 ° C, more preferably differ by at least 50 ° C. Packaged product according to claim 3, characterized in that the first temperature is greater than the second temperature. Packaged product according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the packaging is a vacuum packaging. Packaged product according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the marking is applied to a label applied to the product Method for marking and finalizing products, in particular ink cartridges, comprising the following steps: - Providing the product to be marked and packed - Provide the product with an ink mark, preferably on a label - Packaging of the marked product, preferably by means of vacuum packaging characterized in that the ink marking is at least partially carried out with a thermochromic ink.