GB2238769A

GB2238769A - A sealing piece for a container

Info

Publication number: GB2238769A
Application number: GB9026324A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Tsai Sheng Tai
Original assignee: Kang Na Hsiung Enterprise Co Ltd
Current assignee: Kang Na Hsiung Enterprise Co Ltd
Priority date: 1989-12-05
Filing date: 1990-12-04
Publication date: 1991-06-12
Anticipated expiration: 2010-12-04
Also published as: GB2238769B; GB9026324D0; GB8927441D0

Abstract

A sealing piece (2) for a container (4) comprises a first part (6) for remaining fixed to the container (4) during use of the sealing piece (2), and a second part (10) which is provided with an adhesive (12) for enabling the second part (10) to be repeatedly stuck to and unstuck from the container (4) to seal an opening (16) in the container (4). The adhesive (12) only covers pre-determined areas of the second part (10) in order to control the force required to pull the second part (10) away from the container (4) to a force which is substantially less than the force required to pull the first part (6) away from the container (4). <IMAGE>

Description

A SEALING PIECE FOR A CONTAINER This invention relates to a sealing piece for a container. This invention also relates to a container when provided with the sealing piece.

Various types of containers are known for containing products to be dispensed in a periodic manner.

Such periodic dispensing of the products in the containers requires the containers repeatedly to be sealed and unsealed.

Especially where the containers are adapted to be carried, for example in a person's pocket or in a person's bag, it is often convenient to have an opening in the containers closed by a re-sealable sealing piece. An example of such a container is a flat type of container which is used for containing wet tissues.

Known sealing pieces for the known containers are often difficult to manufacture and this can lead to undesirable manufacturing costs. Alternatively or in addition, the known sealing pieces often require a lot of adhesive and the use of large amounts of adhesive in turn adds to the manufacturing cost of the sealing pieces.

Still further, difficulty is often experienced in opening the sealing pieces when they are installed on the container.

Often the force required to open the sealing pieces is such that the sealing pieces are inadvertently ripped from the container and thus the container can no longer satisfactorily be re-sealed, irrespective of whether or not the container still contains products to be dispensed.

It is an aim of the present invention to provide a sealing piece for a container which reduces the above mentioned problems.

Accordingly, this invention provides a sealing piece for a container, which sealing piece comprises a first part for remaining fixed to the container during use of the sealing piece, and a second part which is provided with an adhesive for enabling the second part to be repeatedly stuck to and unstuck from the container during use of the sealing piece, the adhesive being disposed on the second part such that the second part is able to seal an opening in the container when the second part is stuck to the container, and the adhesive also being disposed on the second part such that the adhesive only covers predetermined areas of the second part in order to control the force required to pull the second part away from the container to that force which is substantially less than the force required to pull the first part away from the container whereby a user is assisted in not using an excessive force to pull the second part away from the container and accidentally to continue pulling and pull the first part away from the container.

The first part may be provided with an adhesive for sticking the first part to the container.

The sealing piece may be one in which the adhesive on the first part is the same type of adhesive as the adhesive on the second part, and in which the adhesive on the first part is provided over the entire area of the first part that is to contact the container during use of the sealing piece.

Alternatively, the first part may be adapted to be heat sealed to the container. The heat sealing will preferably be effected by ultrasonic welding.

The sealing piece of the present invention may be one in which the predetermined areas of adhesive on the second part are in the form of dots. Alternatively, the predetermined areas of adhesive on the second part may be in the form of lines. Generally, the predetermined areas of adhesive on the second part may be in any desired and appropriate pattern.

Advantageously, the first part forms a strip which extends transversely of the sealing piece and which is located at one end of the sealing piece.

The first part may be separated from the second part by a fold line which acts as a hinge during use of the sealing piece.

The end of the second part remote from the first part may be provided with a pull tag for facilitating pulling the second part away from the container. The pull tag will usually not be provided with any adhesive.

The present invention also provides a container comprising a sealing piece of the invention.

The container may be of any known shape and size except that it will be provided with the sealing piece of the present invention. Thus, for example, the container may be in the general shape of an envelope which is closed at both ends and which has an opening in one of a pair of opposed sides. Generally, the container can be a flat sided pack type of container, a flat sided box type of container, or a round container. The container may have flexible or rigid sides as may be desired. The container can be made of any suitable and appropriate material including paper materials, cardboard materials, plastics materials and metals.

The container may include a product to be dispensed through the opening. Generally, any suitable and appropriate products may be provided in the containers.

By way of example, it is mentioned that the product to be dispensed may be a plurality of wet tissues.

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 container with a first known sealing piece; Figure 2 shows a container with a second known sealing piece; Figure 3 shows a first sealing piece in accordance with the invention; Figure 4 shows a second sealing piece in accordance with the invention; Figure 5 shows a container provided with a third sealing piece in accordance with the invention; and Figure 6 shows a container provided with a fourth sealing piece in accordance with the invention.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a sealing piece 2 for a container 4. The sealing piece 2 comprises a first part 6 for remaining fixed to the container during use of the sealing piece 2. This is effected by a heat seal line 8 which is formed by ultrasonic welding and which extends transversely of the sealing piece 2 as shown. The heat seal line 8 seals the first part 6 to the container 4.

The sealing piece 2 has a second part 10 which is provided with adhesive 12 all around its edges as shown and which has a central portion 14 which is not provided with adhesive because it is positioned above an opening 16 in the container 4. The adhesive 12 is for enabling the second part 10 to be repeatedly stuck to and unstuck from. the container 4 during use of the sealing piece 2.

As can be seen, the adhesive 12 is so disposed around the periphery of the second part 10 that the second part 10 is able to seal the opening 16 in the container 4 when the second part 10 is stuck to the container 4.

As shown, the adhesive 12 is disposed as a continuous film all around the periphery of the second.

part 10, except for a pull tag 18 which extends from the end of the second part 10 remote from the first part 6.

Because the adhesive is in the form of a continuous film, it tends to stick with considerable force to the container 4.

The container 4 is for containing wet tissues 20 so that clearly the second part 10 must securely seal the opening 16 as otherwise moisture from the wet tissues could escape into a person's pocket or bag or, alternatively, the wet tissues could prematurely dry out. However, the second part 10 tends to stick too securely to the container 4 so that the pull tag 18 must be pulled upwardly with considerable force to unstick the second part 10 from the container 4.

During this pulling action, excessive pulling force may be used by a user and the user may fail to stop the pulling action after the second part 10 has been unstuck from the container 4. If a pulling action of excessive force is continued, this may rip the first part 6 from the container 4, in which case the sealing piece will no longer be retained on the container 4 and difficulties will then be encountered in repeatedly sealing and unsealing the opening 16 until all of the wet tissues 20 have been obtained.

Referring now to Figure 2, 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 heat seal line 8 has been replaced by two small spaced apart sealing strips 22 which extend longitudinally Qf the sealing piece 4.

These sealing strips 22 are held in position by an adhesive. The adhesive will usually be the same adhesive as the adhesive 12. The construction of the sealing strips 22 enables the first part 6 of the sealing piece 2 to be stuck to the container 4 with approximately twice the adhesive force with which the second part 10 is stuck to the container 4. The use of the adhesive on the sealing strips 22 avoids the need for the ultrasonic welding so that a relatively complex manufacturing step is avoided.

This in turn enables easier and cheaper production of the sealing piece 2. The sealing strips 22 are however still prone to being pulled completely away from the container 4 when excessive force is used to unstick the second part 10 from the container 4 and when this excessive force is continued after the second part 10 has been pulled up to the position shown in Figure 1.

Referring now to Figure 3, there is shown a sealing piece 2 which overcomes the problems with the known sealing pieces shown in Figures 1 and 2. In Figure 3, the first part 6 has a transversely extending adhesive sealing strip 24 for sealing the first part 6 to the container 4.

Advantageous, the adhesive 12 on the second part 10 is provided in the form of dots as shown. Thus the adhesive 12 as shown in Figure 3, being provided in rows of dots, only covers predetermined areas of the second part 10.

Thus the amount of adhesive used is controlled and this in turn controls the force required to pull the second part 10 away from the container 4. The amount of adhesive 12 used in dot form in Figure 3 is that which is substantially less than the force required to pull the first part 6 away from the container. A user is thus assisted in not using an excessive force to pull the second part 10 away from the container 4. If the user accidentally continues pulling, it is unlikely that the force being employed will overcome the fixing effect of the adhesive sealing strip 24 to pull the first part 6 away from the container 4.

Referring now to Figure 4, it will be seen that the adhesive 12 on the second part 10 has again only been used to cover predetermined areas of the second part 10. In Figure 4, the adhesive has been applied to define diamond shaped areas.

It will thus be appreciated that the sealing pieces 2 shown in Figures 3 and 4 importantly and advantageously control the force needed to pull the second part 10 away from the container 4. This controlled force is such as to help to avoid the first part 6 from being inadvertently pulled from the container 4. A secondary advantage arising from the sealing pieces 2 shown in Figures 3 and 4 is that they do not require the use of ultrasonic welding as was employed in Figure 1, although if desired, ultrasonic welding can be used instead of the adhesive sealing strip 24.

In Figures 3 and 4, it will be seen that the advise sealing strip 24 basically covers the entire surface of the first part 6. Thus the first part 6 is separated from the second part 10 by a fold line 26 which acts as a hinge during use of the sealing piece 2. The presence of the fold line 26 helps to enable the second part 10 repeatedly to be stuck to and unstuck from the container 4 without inadvertently pulling the first part 6 away from the container 4. The fold line 26 may be produced by compression during manufacture.

The adhesive sealing strip 24 and also the adhesive 12 can easily be provided on the sealing piece 2, for example using a mesh member, by spraying, or by transprinting methods. Thus the sealing pieces 2 shown in Figures 3 and 3 can relatively simply be produced which in turn enables reduced manufacturing costs. By comparison with the sealing piece 2 shown in Figure 1, the sealing pieces 2 shown in Figures 3 and 4 can be produced with a production capability increased by one fifth, and with an adhesive consumption reduced by more than one third.

Referring now to Figure 5, there is shown a third sealing piece 2 of the invention. In this third sealing; piece 2, the first part 6 is secured to the container 4 with a heat seal line 8. The adhesive 12 is in dot form as can be seen from Figure 5, thugs enabling a control to be provided for the amount of strength required to pull the second part 10 away from the container 4. Thus, Figure 5 is distinguished from Figure 1 in that,in Figure 1, the adhesive 12 is all over the illustrated portion of the second part 10 rather than being in dot form.

Figure 6 is similar to Figure 2 but the sealing piece 2 shown in Figure 6 has the- adhesive 12 distributed in dot form as is required by the present invention. The dot form of the adhesive can be seen in the enlarged portion given in Figure 6. It will be seen that the adhesive 14 is in randomly spaced dots, for example as may be obtained if the adhesive is sprayed on to the chosen peripheral portion of the second part 10. The sealing strips 22 can easily be formed by cutting with a cutting tool such for example as a cutting die.

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 adhesive 12 may be applied in different spot densities in order to give different degrees of temporary sealing effect. Any known and suitable type of adhesive may be employed, such for example as the adhesives currently used on known sealing pieces. The container 4 may be of any size and shape and it may be made of any suitable and appropriate material. The opening 16 may be elongated as shown or it may be of another shape such for example as a round or square shape. The container may be used for containing any suitable and desired products.

The present invention also includes all the disclosure in patent application No. 8927441.9 from which the present invention claims priority. The present invention also extends to the disclosed features, taken.

singly or in any combination.

The present invention still further extends to an improved sealing piece for a wet tissues packing bag, the improve sealing piece having two sticking gel distribution surfaces on the inside surface of the sealing piece to give a fixation area fully covered with sticking gel and a temporary sticking area having sticking gel not as a complete covering but, for example, in a spot series or in a line shaped coverage.

Claims

1. A sealing piece for a container, which sealing piece comprises a first part for remaining fixed to the container during use of the sealing piece, and a second part which is provided with an adhesive for enabling the second part to be repeatedly stuck to and unstuck from the container during use of the sealing piece, the adhesive being disposed on the second part such that the second part is able to seal an opening in the container when the second part is stuck to the container, and the adhesive also being disposed on the second part such that the adhesive only covers predetermined areas of the second part in order to control the force required to pull the second part away from the container to that force which is substantially less than the force required to pull the first part away from the container whereby a user is assisted in not using an excessive force to pull the second part away from the container and accidentally to continue pulling and pull the first part away from the container.

2. A sealing piece according to claim 1 in which the first part is provided with an adhesive for sticking the first part to the container.

3. A sealing piece according to claim 2 in which the adhesive on the first part is the same type of adhesive as the adhesive on the second part, and in which the adhesive on the first part is provided over the entire area of the first part that is to contact the container during use of the sealing piece.

4. A sealing piece according to claim 1 in which the first part is adapted to be heat sealed to the container.

5. A sealing piece according to claim 4 in which the heat sealing is ultrasonic welding.

6. A sealing piece according to any one of the preceding claims in which the predetermined areas of adhesive on the second part are in the form of dots.

7. A sealing piece according to any one of claims 1 to 5 in which the predetermined areas of adhesive on the second part are in the form of lines.

8. A sealing piece according to any one of the preceding claims in which the first part forms a strip which extends transversely of the sealing piece and which is located at one end of the sealing piece.

9. A sealing piece according to claim 8 in which the first part is separated from the second part by a fold line which acts as a hinge during use of the sealing piece.

10. A sealing piece according to any one of the preceding claims in which the end of the second part remote from the first part is provided with a pull tag for facilitating pulling the second part away from the container.

11. A sealing piece for a container, substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 3 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.

12. A container comprising a sealing piece as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

13. A container according to claim 12 and which is in the general shape of an envelope which is closed at both ends and which has an opening in one of a pair of opposed sides.

14. A container according to claim 12 to claim 13 and including a product to be dispensed through the opening.

15. A container according to claim 14 in which the product to be dispensed is a plurality of wet tissues.

16. A container according to claim 12 and substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.