NZ514919A - Security seal for packaging wherein a seal receiving face is deflected by the tightening of a binding strap - Google Patents

Abstract

A security seal for a binding strap. The security seal includes a seal-receiving face (1) for receiving an adhesive seal and a strap aperture (3) adapted to receive the strap for fastening the security seal thereto. Tightening the strap to pull the security seal against a surface acts to deflect the seal-receiving face from a relaxed state to a deflected state. The security seal is sufficiently resilient that an adhesive seal fastened to the seal-receiving face when in a deflected state is tensioned when the strap is released, the tension tending to part the label to provide evidence of tampering.

Description

1 PATENTS FORM NO. 5 Fee No. 4: $250.00 PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Intsffettual Property After Provisional Office of NZ No: 514919 1 ? JAN 2003 Dated: 18 October 2001 RECEIVED SECURITY SEAL FOR PACKAGING WE Double R Softdrinks Ltd a New Zealand company of 122 Wainoni Road, Christchurch, New Zealand hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: James & Wells Ref: 41648/24 0 SECURITY SEAL FOR PACKAGING Technical Field The present invention relates generally to security seals for packaging, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a security seal having a label thereon for 5 sealing a band enclosing a product.

Background Art Tracking systems are becoming more widely used in the many industries to meet the quality requirements of an increasingly demanding consumer. These systems allow products to be traced to enable verification of product origination and to provide a record of production methods used, test results etc. Tracking systems rely upon careful attention to the quality of labeling and commonly use machine-readable identifiers such as bar codes.

Typically baled products, such as textiles, are packaged using a press. A bale bag is first placed in the press, the compressible product is inserted into the bale bag, and as the bag becomes filled, a part is lowered through the mouth into the press to compress the product downwardly to form a bale which, when filled, is then surrounded with bands. Permanent marking to identify the bale and its contents is normally painted onto the bag using a stencil.

Stenciling markings onto bales has disadvantages, including the difficulty in 2 0 producing a machine-readable identifier and the fact that the marking is permanent, which causes difficulties if the bale bag is to be reused. Non-permanent markings, however, such as adhesive labels, paper and cardboard labels fixed by string and the like, are unsuitable since they are easily damaged and rendered unreadable or even completely detached during normal handling and transport of the bales. 3 US Patent Number 5 503 114 describes a label holder made of a flexible material having two slits, each slit at opposite ends of the label holder. The slits are oriented perpendicularly to the long axis of the label holder and extend through the thickness thereof. The slits are adapted to accommodate a strap so as to press on the strap to 5 prevent the device from slipping along the strap. A disadvantage of this label holder is that it does not provide a tamper-evident security seal.

The use of security seals for safeguarding valuable material is well known, and in addition to a sealing function, security seals have also carried label indicia. Security seals indicate whether anyone has tampered with or otherwise had access to secured 10 material after it had been sealed. A problem with these prior art seals is that they typically require a specific mechanical provision to be made to accommodate them, for example, they may require holes to fasten a sealing band or cooperate with a specific type of fastener (such as a hasp and staple). A drawback of these systems is that this provision increases both their cost of manufacture and installation, making 15 them unsuited for more general applications, such as sealing textile goods bound by a band.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a security seal able to carry indicia and cooperate with a packaging band to provide tamper evidence.

It is a further object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at 2 0 least to provide the public with a useful choice.

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.

Any publication cited in this specification is hereby incorporated by reference, however this does not constitute an admission that the document forms part of the 2 5 common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand. The applicant reserves the right to challenge the pertinency of any publication cited herein, or to challenge the accuracy of any assertion made in a cited publication. As used herein, the word "comprises" means "includes, but is not limited to" and its derivatives have a corresponding meaning.

Disclosure of the Invention According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a security seal for a binding strap, the security seal including: a seal-receiving face for receiving an adhesive seal; a strap aperture adapted to receive the strap for fastening the security seal thereto, wherein in use, tightening the strap to pull the security seal against a surface acts to deflect the seal-receiving face from a relaxed state to a deflected state, and the security seal is sufficiently resilient that an adhesive seal fastened to the seal-receiving face when in the deflected state is tensioned when the strap is released, the tension tending to part the label to provide evidence of tampering.

In the preferred embodiment the seal-receiving face is substantially convex in the relaxed state and concave in the deflected state. Preferably the seal-receiving face extends either side of the strap aperture.

Most preferably the seal-receiving face is substantially rectangular in plan view, being bounded by a circumferential bead. Optionally, instead of, or in addition to the bead for protecting the adhesive seal, the security seal may include a transparent window for placement over the adhesive seal.

Preferably a fastening protuberance projects into the strap aperture to engage against an edge of the strap for restraining sliding movement of the seal along the strap. The fastening protuberance is preferably a bridge-like resilient section having an arcuate strap-engaging surface. Optionally other shapes may be employed and more than one fastening protuberance may be provided.

Preferably the strap aperture extends substantially for the length of the security seal. Optionally the security seal may, for example, have two apertures in the form of slots to receive the strap, each slot being at opposite ends of the security seal, and oriented perpendicularly to the long axis of the security seal and extending through the thickness of the security seal.

Preferably the adhesive seal comprises a sectioned permanent adhesive label for displaying indicia thereon. The label may be made of a material which can be written upon, such as a smear-resistant waterproof material. Optionally, a longitudinal weakened line or lines may be provided on the adhesive seal to make it part more readily under tension.

Preferably the security seal is adapted to bend principally about a longitudinal axis in order to conform to the surface against which it is held. Most preferably the surface against which the security seal is held is a compressible surface and the security seal is for attachment to a strap used to bind a compressible material e.g. a bale. The seal-receiving face is convex in the relaxed state, such that the opposing longitudinal edges of the seal-receiving face engage with the bale first when the strap is tightened. Alternatively the security seal may be adapted to bend principally about a transverse axis, for example, when used to bind with a strap a product having a small circumference in relation to the length of the security seal. The security seal may also be adapted to bend about two mutually perpendicular axes.

Preferably a side of the strap when fastened to the security seal extends substantially 6 parallel to the seal-receiving face and the security seal is adapted such that the adhesive seal also fastens to a section of the side of the strap. In this manner, removing the security seal from the strap damages at least a section of the seal thus also providing proof of tampering. In this embodiment the path of the strap may be 5 such that the outer portion of the strap is flush with, or alternatively protrudes above or below a part of the seal-receiving face.

The security seal overcomes problems associated with, in particular, the labelling of bales of compressible material and allows barcodes and other indicia to be readily and securely fixed to the bales, using readily available labels. This security seal may be economically constructed and has an overall simple design which minimizes manufacturing costs and maximizes performance. In addition the security seal when used with an adhesive seal provides a seal, providing added security. The combined closing and sealing of a bale together with the application of the seal is a simple operation that is very much quicker than conventional methods. The seal and strap cannot easily be tampered with during transport without there being visual evidence of tampering.

Brief Description of the Drawings Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front pictorial view of a first embodiment of the security seal of the present invention; Figure 2 is a front pictorial view of the security seal of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a transverse section through the security seal of Fig. 1; 7 Figures 4a, 4b and 4c are diagrammatic side views of the security seal of Fig. 1 in three positions; Figure 5 is a sectional view of an adhesive seal for application to the security seal of Fig. 1, and Figure 6 is a longitudinal section through a second embodiment of the security seal of the present invention.

Best Modes for Carrying out the Invention Referring to Figures 1-3, a first preferred embodiment of the security seal is a one-piece component having a contoured and substantially rectangular adhesive-seal-receiving face 1 surrounded by a bead 2. The security seal is injection moulded in one piece from a resilient and tough polymer material, such as polypropylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene or nylon. A strap aperture 3 extends in the longitudinal direction on the side opposite the face 1 and is adapted to receive a binding strap (not shown).

A fastening protuberance 4 projects into the strap aperture 3 to resiliently engage against an edge of the strap to thereby restrain the security seal from sliding on the strap. The protuberance 4 is of a bridge-like form spanning between two abutments 10 and having an arcuate strap-engaging surface 11.

As best seen in Fig. 3, the seal-receiving face 1 is convex, having an opposing 20 generally concave package-abutting back surface 5, both extending generally symmetrically to either side of the strap aperture 3. The seal-receiving face 1 may be treated to provide good adhesion for the adhesive label. Various openings 6 are provided in the seal-receiving face 1.

Referring to Figs 4a-4b, in use a strap 16 is inserted into the strap aperture 3, the strap 8 16 is passed around the outside 7 of a compressible package 8 to form a band permanently securing the package 8 (e.g. a bale) with the security seal is located in the desired position.

When the strap 16 is tensioned the security seal conforms to the now concave surface 5 7 which is pressed outwards by the pressure of the contents. Positioning the security seal in this manner protects it from damage as it is within the extremities of the package 8, and is not subject to abrasion and the like. An adhesive seal 9 is now fastened to the face 1 (Figs. 4b and 4c are diagrammatic only and it will be appreciated that the seal 9 sits inside the bead 2).

Fig. 4c illustrates diagrammatically the security seal after tension from the strap 16 has been released, the security seal has sufficient resilience to tend to return to its original relaxed state where the seal face 1 is concave. The seal 9, being permanently fastened to the face 1, is therefore subject to tension which acts to part it, thereby providing a security seal capable of indicating that the strapping has been removed.

In the preferred embodiment, the seal 9 is preferably made from thin material, such as paper, foil, or a combination thereof. It is fixed by a permanent adhesive and may be sectioned in order that it is virtually impossible to peel off in one piece. The seal 9 also carries indicia such as a written description and bar code. It may also carry other security features such as, for example a watermark. A scored or weakened area (not 2 0 shown) may be provided on the seal 9 to make it part more readily under tension.

As shown in Fig. 5, the seal 9 may be pre-formed (or pressed when applied to the security seal) so as to provide protrusions 15 that are received in the openings 6, such that the adhesive sections 17 are fixed to the strap 16. In this manner, it is virtually impossible to remove the security seal from the strap without damaging at least 2 5 sections 17 of the seal thus providing proof of tampering.

; * C o » In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 6, the path of the strap is shown in dashed outline and passes through opposed transversely extending slots 18. The adhesive seal 9 is fixed to the seal-receiving face 1 and the upper outer-facing portion of the strap between the slots 18. It will be understood that the portion of the strap 16 may be flush with, or alternatively protrude above or below a part of the seal-receiving face 1.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention (not illustrated) the bending stiffness of the security seal about its long axis may be reduced by providing a narrow longitudinal slot through the security seal over its central section between the longitudinally opposed sides of the seal-receiving face 1. To achieve the desired single-piece moulding, as well as aesthetic qualities, this slit may be achieved by placing staggered openings 6 on both sides of the long axis. In other embodiments the flexibility of the security seal may be varied to suit the application, for example more flexible plastic material may be employed for the security seal when it is to be used with lighter plastic strapping.

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof.

Claims (14)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A security seal for a binding strap, the security seal including: a seal-receiving face for receiving an adhesive seal; a strap aperture adapted to receive the strap for fastening the security seal thereto, and adapted such that tightening the strap to pull the security seal against a surface acts to deflect the seal-receiving face from a relaxed state to a deflected state, and the security seal is sufficiently resilient that an adhesive seal fastened to the seal-receiving face when in the deflected state is tensioned when the strap is released, the tension tending to part the label to provide evidence of tampering.

2. The security seal of claim 1 wherein the seal-receiving face is substantially convex in the relaxed state and concave in the deflected state.

3. The security seal of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the seal-receiving face extends either side of the strap aperture.

4. The security seal of any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the seal-receiving face is substantially rectangular in plan view, and is bounded by a circumferential bead.

5. The security seal of any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein a fastening protuberance projects into the strap aperture to engage against an edge of the strap for restraining sliding movement of the seal along the strap.

6. The security seal of claim 5 wherein the fastening protuberance is a bridge-like resilient section having an arcuate strap-engaging surface. 11

7. The security seal of any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the strap aperture extends substantially for the length of the security seal.

8. The security seal of any one of claims 1 to 7 further including an adhesive seal fixed to the seal-receiving face, the adhesive seal comprising a sectioned permanent adhesive label for displaying indicia thereon.

9. The security seal of claim 8 wherein the label includes a weakened line or lines to make it part more readily under tension.

10. The security seal of any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein the security seal is adapted to bend principally about a longitudinal axis in order to conform to the surface against which it is held.

11. The security seal of any one of claims 1 to 10 further including: at least one aperture in the seal-receiving face adapted such that when the security seal is fastened to the strap a portion of the strap extends substantially parallel to the seal-receiving face and the adhesive seal is fastenable to said portion of the strap.

12. The security seal of any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein at least one aperture in the seal-receiving face is adapted such that when the security seal is fastened to the strap a portion of the strap extends substantially parallel to the seal-receiving face and the adhesive seal is fastenable to said portion of the strap.

13. A security seal substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. A method of providing a security seal on a product bound by a strap, the method including: 12 providing a security seal as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13; fixing a strap through a strap aperture in the security seal; tightening the strap to pull the security seal against a surface of the product to deflect a seal-receiving face of the security seal from a relaxed state to a deflected state, and fixing an adhesive security seal to the deflected seal-receiving face, the security seal being sufficiently resilient that the adhesive seal is tensioned when the strap is released, the tension tends to part the label to provide evidence of tampering. DOUBLE R SOFTDRINKS LTD By its authorised agents TAMES & WELLS