EP0698562A1 - Tearing strip for object-package - Google Patents

Abstract

The strip includes a metal filament (13) which extends along the length of the packing. The filament is arranged to serve as an antenna for an electronic surveillance system using RF detection. The filament is mounted on a self-adhesive support band (11) which is intended to be glued by its adhesive face to the inside of the packing (10). The packing layer (10) can be formed from a heat-shrink material. In an alternative arrangement, the filament is embedded within the body of the packing material.

Description

The invention relates to the field of packaging of objects, in particular of objects of current use or of large consumption sold in specialized stores and / or of large distribution.

The stores are daily victims of shoplifting or unmarked markdown, and consequently suffer a shortfall which amounts to considerable sums.

The fight against this scourge pushes designers to imagine increasingly sophisticated protection systems.

In the field of clothing, various types of stapled labels or tags are therefore proposed, the stapling system of which must be deactivated at the checkout by a special device, these plates or labels setting off an alarm in the event of passing to the level of a detector installed in front of the cash register or near the store exit.

For rigid articles, such as boxes, pouches, and the like, flexible labels or pads (pads) are offered, which are self-adhesive (with an adhesive strong enough to resist untimely peeling), and which bear a metallic filament wound in a spiral or arranged in a straight line, this filament being designed to be detected by an electronic monitoring system operating on a magnetic detection principle.

Unlike stapled plates or labels, these means glued to the object or to its packaging cannot be deactivated, so that detection is only carried out by passing in front of special detectors or gates in front of which the customer must pass. They must therefore be as discreet as possible so as not to attract the attention of an unscrupulous customer who would try to uproot, especially with labels transparent or barcode carriers.

In addition, if the plate or the self-adhesive label is stuck directly on the product, the user does not generally deactivate the detection means, which limits the use to objects which are not worn or transported later. by the user (for example, a cosmetic product placed in a bag after its purchase would later trigger the alarm during a subsequent passage in front of the detectors or gates).

We find the same drawback with systems providing for drowning the metallic filament in the mass of the object (this has been proposed for example for glass bottles), with the added complexity that results from this for manufacturing. We can also refer to FR-A-2,605,747 which describes a process consisting in permanently integrating into an object (cassette, CD disc) a resonant flat circuit composed of a coil and a capacitor, which circuit is used inside a gantry emitting an electromagnetic wave at radio frequency.

The state of the art is also illustrated by documents FR-A-2 358 713 and WO-A-85 02285. FR-A-2 358 713 describes an anti-theft marker made of ferromagnetic material fixed on the object to be protected, either by providing a layer of adhesive on the marker, or by superimposing a printed label. WO-A-85 02285 describes an alarm system using a tape in two overlapping strips sandwiched between one face of the object and a protective label, the two strips having different magnetic characteristics to neutralize the alarm by magnetization of a strip, thanks to a barcode reader equipped for this purpose with a fork whose branches end in a magnet.

If one wants to be certain that the user deactivates (without knowing it) the detection means, it must then be placed on the packaging of the object. However this supposes a mode of integration as discreet as possible, which is almost impossible with transparent plastic packaging.

The invention aims precisely to solve this problem, by devising a mode of integration of a detection means in a package which provides optimal discretion, while benefiting from the sensitivity of the sophisticated electronic surveillance systems currently available on the market.

This problem is solved in accordance with the invention by means of a tear strip for packaging an object, of the type allowing the opening of the packaging, by tearing of the wall constituting said packaging, by a traction exerted on one end of said strip, characterized in that it carries a metallic filament extending along the length of said strip, said filament being arranged to constitute an antenna for an electronic monitoring system operating on a principle of magnetic detection.

It should be noted that such an antenna operates by resonance, and not by radio frequency electromagnetic waves, and that this means cannot be deactivated.

We thus use the tear strip, to which customers are well accustomed to the function of opening a package insofar as it is provided on a considerable variety of packages, while being assured of optimal discretion.

The tear strip according to the invention has moreover nothing to do with those which are already used as a recording medium for coded information, such as the tear strips whose internal and / or external face is coated with 'a magnetic material serving as a recording medium (see for example EP-A-0 317 202) and which do not produce resonance phenomena.

Such a tear strip with integrated antenna is thus not only undetectable, but it also makes it possible to elegantly resolve the problem of deactivation by the user of the purchased object. In addition, such a strip is completely industrializable by packaging manufacturers who are also used to providing for its integration as a means of opening, and therefore have machines already suitable for laying a strip of uprooting.

In accordance with a particular embodiment of the invention, the metal filament is secured to a self-adhesive support strip intended to be glued by its adhesive face to the internal face of the packaging, or in a variant secured to a support strip coated on one of its faces with an adhesive material, in particular a heat-reactivatable adhesive, said face constituting an adhesive face by which said support strip is glued to the internal face of the package.

The metallic filament can then be glued against one face of the support strip, said face constituting said adhesive face once it is coated with a suitable adhesive material, or even be embedded in the mass of the support strip.

The support strip can be added, but it is more advantageous to provide that the tear strip consists exclusively of the support strip and the metallic filament which is integral with it.

Preferably, the tear-off strip is packaged in the form of a long wound length, from which a section of strip is drawn having the desired length for the packaging concerned. It is then wound by being oriented so that its adhesive face is disposed against one or more turns already wound.

In the particular case where the tear strip is associated with a packaging consisting of a sleeve of heat-shrinkable plastic essentially oriented in the transverse direction which is retracted on the object concerned, said strip is then preferably glued to the internal face of the sleeve not yet retracted.

The tear strip can then be arranged essentially along a generatrix of the sleeve. If it is a sleeve which has an inner flap resulting from its formation by covering and sealing from a flat sheet, which flap extends along a generatrix of said sleeve, it is advantageous to provide that said strip is torn off at the inner flap, between the two wall thicknesses of the sleeve.

Alternatively, the tear strip can be arranged essentially along a peripheral profile surrounding the object concerned.

Finally, the tear strip can be associated with a heat-shrinkable sleeve comprising a tamper-indicating means such as microperforations, primers or specific cuts.

• les figures 1 à 3 illustrent divers objets dont l'emballage est équipé d'une bande d'arrachage porte-antenne conforme à l'invention ;
• la figure 4 est une vue à plus grande échelle d'une partie de la paroi de l'emballage, montrant la bande d'arrachage avec son filament métallique ;
• la figure 5 est une variante de la figure 4, pour une enveloppe comportant un moyen indicateur d'effraction ;
• les figures 6a, 7a, 8a, 9a sont des vues en coupe (selon la ligne X-X de la figure 4) illustrant divers modes d'exécution de la bande d'arrachage (l'échelle est très agrandie pour plus de clarté), avant sa liaison à la paroi interne de l'emballage, et les figures 6b, 7b, 8b, 9b sont les vues correspondantes en position assemblée;
• la figure 10 illustre une bande d'arrachage porte-antenne conditionnée sous forme d'une grande longueur bobinée ;
• la figure 11 est une coupe transversale d'une enveloppe réalisée sous la forme d'un manchon thermorétractable, avec sa bande d'arrachage porte-antenne ;
• la figure 12 est une variante de la figure 11, dans laquelle la bande d'arrachage est disposée au niveau du rabat intérieur du manchon.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly in the light of the description which follows and of the appended drawings, relating to a particular embodiment, with reference to the figures in which:

• Figures 1 to 3 illustrate various objects whose packaging is equipped with an antenna carrier tear strip according to the invention;
• Figure 4 is an enlarged view of part of the wall of the package, showing the tear strip with its metal filament;
• Figure 5 is a variant of Figure 4, for an envelope comprising a break-in indicator means;
• Figures 6a, 7a, 8a, 9a are sectional views (along line XX of Figure 4) illustrating various embodiments of the tear strip (the scale is greatly enlarged for clarity), before its connection to the internal wall of the packaging, and FIGS. 6b, 7b, 8b, 9b are the corresponding views in the assembled position;
• FIG. 10 illustrates an antenna carrier tear strip conditioned in the form of a long wound length;
• Figure 11 is a cross section of an envelope made in the form of a heat-shrinkable sleeve, with its tear strip antenna carrier;
• Figure 12 is a variant of Figure 11, wherein the tear strip is disposed at the inner flap of the sleeve.

Figures 1 to 3 illustrate various objects A having a package 10 equipped with a tear strip 11 according to the invention. In FIG. 1, the object A is a cylindrical tube having a cap, for example a tube of mascara, while in FIG. 2 the object A is a cylindrical box, and that in FIG. 3 the object A is a bottle surmounted by a removable cap.

In these figures, the packaging 10 is here constituted by a sleeve of heat-shrinkable plastic, which is retracted on the object A. However, this is only an example, insofar as the tear strip according to the invention will be able to equip very diverse types of packaging for objects.

According to the usual concept of tear strip for packaging objects, that is to say in relation to the known function of ensuring the opening of the packaging, this strip has a gripping end 12 allowing the opening of the packaging, by tearing of the wall constituting the latter, by means of a traction exerted on this gripping end 12.

In accordance with an essential characteristic of the invention, the tear strip 11 carries a metal filament 13 extending along the length of said strip, said filament being arranged to constitute an antenna for an electronic surveillance system (not shown here) operating on a magnetic detection principle.

Thus, as soon as the user wants to use the object he has regularly bought, he just needs as usual to pull the gripping end 12 to detach the packaging 10 which opens gradually by traction exerted on the gripping end 12. Without knowing it, the user removes at the same time the metallic filament 13 which is integrated into this tear strip, and thus deactivates the detection means constituted by said antenna. Therefore, the object can be used normally, without risk of any subsequent triggering of an electronic monitoring system.

The tear strip 11 equipped with its metal wire 13 can be arranged essentially along a generator of the sleeve 10, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, or alternatively according to a peripheral profile surrounding the object concerned, as illustrated in figure 2.

FIG. 4 shows part of the wall of the package 10, and makes it possible to distinguish, by transparency, the tear strip 11 equipped with its metallic filament 13. The outer wall of the package 10 and 10b has been noted 10a its inner wall. The metallic filament 13 is thus very discreet for an ordinary customer whose eye is not particularly attracted by the presence of a tear strip which he is used to encounter. This is a fortiori the case if the tear strip is printed or colorized, insofar as the metallic filament 13 emerges even less clearly.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, it is possible to provide on the packaging 10 a tamper-indicating means 15 such as microperforations, primers for precutting or specific cuts. In this case, the tear strip fulfills an additional function of tamper indicator, but this function was already known in this technical field with tear strips used only for opening the packaging.

In practice, the metal filament 13 will preferably be secured to a support strip, which support strip or alternatively consists of the tear strip itself, as is illustrated for the two variants shown in FIGS. 6a , 6b, and 7a, 7b, or is constituted by an independent strip which is glued to the tear strip, as illustrated in the variants of FIGS. 8a, 8b and 9a, 9b.

In FIGS. 6a and 6b, the support strip 11 is glued by its adhesive face 14 to the internal face 10b of the packaging 10. It may be a self-adhesive support strip, or even a strip -support coated on one of its faces with an adhesive material, in particular a heat-reactivatable adhesive, said face then constituting an adhesive face 14 by which the support strip is glued to the internal face 10b of the package 10. On this variant, it can be seen that the metallic filament 13 is embedded in the mass of the support strip 11. FIG. 6a illustrates the strip equipped with its metallic filament before it is bonded to the internal face 10b of the packaging, and FIG. 6b illustrates the whole secured by gluing.

The variant of FIGS. 7a and 7b differs from the previous one by the fact that the metallic filament 13 is glued against one face of the support strip 11, said face constituting the adhesive face 14 once it is coated with a material. adequate adhesive. Again it may be a self-adhesive backing strip, or a backing strip coated on one of its faces with an adhesive material, such as a heat-reactivatable adhesive. It should be noted that the metal filament 13 is thus perfectly trapped between its support strip and the internal wall of the package 10, so that its retention in position and its protection are perfectly ensured.

In the variant illustrated in FIGS. 8a and 8b, a support strip 18 carrying the metal filament 13 is used, which strip is initially independent of the tear strip proper 11. The strips 11 and 18 each have, on a determined face , an adhesive 14, so that the assembly can be easily joined by gluing, as can be seen in FIG. 8b. For this variant, the metal filament 13 is embedded in the mass of its support strip 18, as for the variant of FIGS. 6a, 6b.

The variant of FIGS. 9a and 9b differs from the previous one by the fact that the support strip 18 is glued against the internal wall of the package 10, while the tear strip 11 itself is glued to this support strip. which is then sandwiched. The other difference lies in the fact that the metallic filament 13 is no longer embedded in the mass, but glued against one face of the support strip 18.

In practice, to develop an industrializable concept, it will a priori be preferable to choose the variant of FIGS. 6a, 6b or the variant of FIGS. 7a, 7b. This in fact avoids having two separate strips, requiring having a double bonding.

In all cases, the tear strip can be packaged in the form of a long wound length, as illustrated in FIG. 10. It is thus possible to build up a reserve of very long length, in particular several tens of kilometers of long, which is wound on a drum 21, to constitute a coil of reserve from which a section of strip having the desired length for the packaging concerned can be drawn.

It will naturally be necessary to choose a sufficient length for the cut section, in order to have a length of antenna filament having a transmission surface capable of generating a signal easy to analyze. In practice, it has appeared that a filament length at least equal to 65 mm is generally satisfactory from this point of view. However, with a judicious choice of certain polymers integrated into the basic formula of the plastic of the film constituting the sleeve, it will be possible to use antennas of shorter lengths, for example of the order of 35 mm. This is particularly interesting for small objects.

Preferably, the tear strip 11 will be wound by being oriented so that its adhesive face 14 is disposed against one or more turns already wound. Such a winding was already known for a traditional tear strip whose function was limited to the opening of a package. The thinness and flexibility of the metallic filament forming the antenna does not preclude such winding of the tear strip according to the invention.

In the particular case where the packaging 10 is constituted by a heat-shrinkable sleeve, that is to say made of heat-shrinkable plastic essentially oriented in the transverse direction, which sleeve is retracted on the object concerned, then the strip of tearing off 11 carrying its metallic filament 13 is preferably bonded to the internal face 10b of the sleeve 10 not yet retracted. Specialists in the manufacture of such heat-shrinkable sleeves already use continuous laying machines making it possible to place a tear strip against the internal wall of such a sleeve, before the sleeve is placed on the object to be packaged, and of course before the retraction of said sleeve on this object. The the fact that the tear strip comprises in this case in addition a metal filament allows easy integration into existing laying machines (working by continuously unwinding the tear strip from a reel) and retraction of heat shrink sleeves .

In Figure 11, there is shown a cross section of an envelope made in the form of a heat-shrinkable sleeve, with its tear strip antenna carrier 11 glued against the inner wall of said sleeve. As is often the case, the sleeve 10 may have an inner flap 16 resulting from its formation by covering and sealing from a flat sheet, which flap extends along a generatrix of the sleeve. In the variant of FIG. 11, provision has been made for placing the tear strip 11 with its metal filament 13 at a distance from the flap 16, the tear strip being here arranged along a generatrix of the sleeve. This arrangement could naturally be replaced by a provision following a peripheral profile surrounding the object concerned, as has been said above.

If we still want to perfect the integration of the antenna carrier tear strip for optimal discretion, it is then possible to take advantage of the presence of this inner flap 16 to come and accommodate this tear strip at said flap interior. Such a variant is illustrated in FIG. 12, and a distinction is made between the strip 11 fitted with its metallic filament 13, which is disposed at the level of the inner flap 16, between the two wall thicknesses of the sleeve 10, in the vicinity of a bonding line 17 corresponding to the sealing of the sleeve.

Although this is in no way an obligation, the fact of using an envelope made from a heat-shrinkable sleeve makes it possible to maintain the straightness of the metal filament, which ensures optimal sensitivity for the electronic system of surveillance which works on a magnetic detection principle. Indeed, such systems are designed to operate with a very precise emission wavelength, in order to fully use the principle of magnetic resonance.

It has thus been possible to devise a method of integrating a detection means into a package which provides optimal discretion (a fortiori if the tear strip is printed, decorated or personalized, because the discretion is further enhanced), while benefiting from the sensitivity of sophisticated electronic surveillance systems currently available on the market.

The tear strip equipped with its metal filament is also easily integrated into machines for continuously laying tear strips of conventional type, thanks to packaging in a wound form, which allows easy industrialization of such a means. detection. In addition, as has been said above, the use of such a tear strip with integrated antenna totally solve the problem of the deactivation of the detection means by the user of the purchased object.

Finally, the tear strip according to the invention can facilitate the management of products packaged with a packaging equipped with such a strip. Indeed, we can take advantage of the fact that the resonance wavelength depends directly on the length of the metallic filament used, by organizing classifications into groups of products or distributors thanks to a choice of predetermined different filament lengths, groups each of which is immediately recognizable by the resonance wavelength associated therewith. This gives real traceability of the packaged products, without complicating the packaging of these products in any way.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments which have just been described, but on the contrary includes any variant incorporating, with equivalent means, the essential characteristics set out above.

Claims (13)

Tear strip for packaging an object, of the type allowing the opening of the packaging, by tearing of the wall constituting said packaging, by a pull exerted on one end of said strip, characterized in that it carries a filament metallic (13) extending along the length of said strip (11), said filament being arranged to constitute an antenna for an electronic monitoring system operating on a magnetic detection principle. Tear-off strip according to claim 1, characterized in that the metallic filament (13) is integral with a self-adhesive backing strip (11; 18) intended to be glued by its adhesive side (14) to the internal side ( 10b) of the packaging (10). Tear strip according to claim 1, characterized in that the metallic filament (13) is integral with a support strip (11; 18) coated on one of its faces with an adhesive material, in particular an adhesive reactivable to the heat, said face constituting an adhesive face (14) by which said support strip is glued to the internal face (10b) of the package (10). Tear strip according to claim 2 or claim 3, characterized in that the metallic filament (13) is glued against one face of the support strip (11; 18) said face constituting said adhesive face (14) once 'it is coated with a suitable adhesive material. Tear strip according to claim 2 or claim 3, characterized in that the metallic filament (13) is embedded in the mass of the support strip (11; 18). Tear strip according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that it consists exclusively of the support strip (11) and the metallic filament (13) which is integral with it. Tear-off strip according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it is packaged in the form of a large wound length (20), from which a strip of strip having the desired length for packaging is drawn. concerned. Tear strip according to claim 2 or claim 3, and claim 7, characterized in that it is wound by being oriented in such a way that its adhesive face (14) is disposed against one or more already wound turns. Tear-off strip according to one of claims 1 to 8, associated with a packaging consisting of a sleeve (10) of heat-shrinkable plastic essentially oriented in the transverse direction which is retracted on the object concerned, characterized in that it is glued to the internal face (10b) of the sleeve (10) not yet retracted. Tear-off strip according to claim 9, characterized in that it is arranged essentially along a generatrix of the sleeve (10). Tear strip according to claim 10, associated with a sleeve (10) which has an inner flap (16) resulting from its formation by covering and sealing from a flat sheet, which flap (16) extends in a generator of said sleeve, characterized in that said strip (11) is disposed at the inner flap (16), between the two wall thicknesses of the sleeve (10). Tear-off strip according to claim 9, characterized in that it is arranged essentially along a peripheral profile surrounding the object concerned. Tear-off strip according to one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that it is associated with a heat-shrinkable sleeve (10) comprising a break-in indicator means (15) such as microperforations, precuts or specific cuts.

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