WO2020177906A1

WO2020177906A1 - Resealable label with masking element and packaging film with resealable labels

Info

Publication number: WO2020177906A1
Application number: PCT/EP2019/081047
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas Scheubner; Nina BUEHLMANN
Original assignee: Ccl Package Label Snc
Priority date: 2019-03-06
Filing date: 2019-11-12
Publication date: 2020-09-10
Also published as: CN113557200A; DE202019101267U1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a resealable label (100) for reversibly uncovering and recovering an access opening (202) of a packing film (200) comprising a base body (102) having a first flat side (104) and a second flat side (106). The base body further comprises an axis in length direction (108) and an axis in width direction (110) perpendicular to the axis in length direction (108). The base body (102) has a resealable adhesive layer (112) on the first flat side (104) whose extension in length direction (108) of the base body (102) starting from a first front face (114) of the base body (102) is smaller or equal to the extension of the base body (102) in length direction (108). The resealable label (100) further comprises at least one masking element (120) for reversibly uncovering and recovering of the access opening (202) of the packing film (200), wherein the masking element (120) is attached to adhesive layer (112) on the first flat side (104) of the base body (102) and has a smaller surface area in length and width direction (104; 106) than the surface area of the base body (102).

Description

Resealable label with masking element and packaging film with resealable labels

Technical field

The present invention relates to a resealable label for reversibly uncovering and recovering an access opening of a packaging film, particularly an inner packaging and a method for manufacturing such a label. The present invention also relates to a supply roll on which resealable labels are wound up. Furthermore, the present invention relates to packaging film with a plurality of access openings each covered by one resealable label.

Background

In practice, it is known that consumer goods, like cigarettes, are distributed to customers in pre-fabricated containers. Theses containers have a box-shaped outer housing with a reversibly pivotable lid at one front face of the outer housing. Commonly, it is necessary to preserve the quality of the consumer goods after the first opening of the container. Therefore, the consumer goods are wrapped into an inner packaging made of a packaging film and are accommodated within this inner packaging inside the container. In order to extract the consumer goods from the container, the inner packaging is provided with an access opening near the lid of the outer housing. This access opening is reversibly sealable by a resealable label which covers the access opening of the inner packaging in the closed state of the container and which is attached at one side to a defined area of the inner surface of lid.

Such a resealable label for containers for consumer goods is known from PCT patent application WO 2013/098109 disclosing a container of consumer goods comprising an outer housing having a box and a lid hinged to the box. An inner package of consumer goods is disposed within the outer housing and has an access opening through which consumer goods can be removed. An adhesive label is provided with a resealable adhesive on a first portion of an inner surface of the adhesive label. An opposed outer surface of the adhesive label is permanently attached to an inner surface of a front wall of the lid of the outer housing. The outer surface of the adhesive label is permanently attached to the inner surface of the front wall of the lid of the outer housing such that the adhesive label is inwardly concave throughout movement of the lid between a closed position and the open position.

A comparable resealable label is also known from PCT patent application WO 2013/120915 which discloses a container for consumer goods comprising an outer housing. The outer housing comprises a box and a lid hinged to the box. The containerfurther comprises an inner package of consumer goods having an access opening through which consumer goods can be removed. Furthermore, the container comprises an adhesive label which is provided to cover the access opening of the inner package. The adhesive label is at least partially releasably affixed to the inner package by a resealable adhesive provided on a first area of the inner surface of the adhesive label extending about at least the lower periphery of the access opening of the inner package. A second area of the inner surface of the adhesive label is permanently affixed to the inner surface of the front wall of the lid of the outer container. A further, third area of the inner surface of the adhesive label disposed between the first and second areas is substantially free of adhesive. Due to the second area, being permanently affixed to the inner surface of the front wall of the lid of the outer container, the adhesive label is inwardly concave throughout the movement of the lid between a closed position and an opened state of the container. According to both PCT patent applications, WO 2013/098109 and WO 2013/120915, an access opening is prepared by weakening the inner package along the periphery of said access opening. This weakening can be a perforation or a pre-punching, whereby a blank part is defined. The inner surface of the adhesive label, which is partially covered with a resealable adhesive and partially with a permanent adhesive, covers the prepared access opening in the container's condition as supplied to customer such that the permanent adhesive is permanently adhered to at least a portion of the preferably rectangular blank part of the inner package. Hence, when opening the container by pivoting the lid for the first time, the adhesive label is peeled off the inner package and the blank part adhered to the inner surface of the adhesive label is detached from the surrounding inner package on at least three sides. Accordingly, two different adhesives are necessary to ensure that, on the one hand, the access opening is resealable and, on the other hand, the access opening is cleared when the container is being opened by a customer. In addition, commonly, the package film for the inner package is opaque inter alia due to its metal content. Consequently, after opening the container, the blank portion of the inner package permanently sticking to the adhesive label masks the inner surface of the said label and thus, the inner surface of the adhesive label is merely partially visible for a customer. Another label is known from PCT patent application WO 2018/160638 disclosing a container for consumer goods that includes a rigid outer box, a rigid inner box, and a pull tab arranged over a pre-cut opening in the inner box. The pull tab includes a paper liner larger than the pre-cut opening such as a piece of bundle wrap with a paper layer of the bundle wrap contacting the consumer goods inside the box. The outer box has a hinged lid permanently attached to a connecting tab of the pull tab whereby opening the hinged lid simultaneously opens the opening in the inner box by lifting the pull tab. The pull tab includes a re-stick adhesive arranged in a single zone which adheres the piece of bundle wrap to cover the opening and the re-stick adhesive outward of the piece of bundle wrap allows the pull tab to reseal to the outer surface of the inner box. According to PCT patent application WO 2018/160638 A1 , the blank part of the rigid inner box is cut out before assembling the whole container. Therefore, a pull tab covering the pre-cut opening is provided with a piece of bundle wrap such that the inner surface of the pull tab which is covered with a re-stick adhesive does not contaminate the consumer goods inside the rigid inner box. This piece of bundle wrap is also opaque and additionally, not highly flexible as well as not resistant against hostile environmental impacts.

Object

Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a resealable adhesive label allowing for decoration of its inner surface and to facilitate the manufacturing of said label.

Summary

The aforesaid object with respect to the resealable label is achieved by the features of claim 1. Advantageous configurations of the invention regarding the resealable label are described in the dependent claims. According to the present invention, a resealable label for reversibly uncovering and recovering an access opening of a packing film comprises a base body having a first and a second flat side as well as an axis in length direction and an axis in width direction perpendicular to the axis in length direction. The base body has a resealable adhesive layer on the first flat side whose extension in length direction of the base body starting from a first front face of the base body is smaller or equal to the extension of the base body in length direction. Furthermore, the resealable label comprises at least one masking element for reversibly uncovering and recovering of the access opening of the packing film. The masking element is attached to the adhesive layer on the first flat side of the base body and has a smaller surface area in length and width direction than the surface area of the base body.

The shape of the base body may preferably be quadratic, and more preferably rectangular. The base body may preferably be highly flexible as well as plane. The base body may contain at least one material layer. A variety of materials is usable for the at least one material layer, like PET-, PP-, PE-, PO-, cellophane-, acetate-films, paper, composites of paper and plastic, or any combination of the aforementioned materials. Also, heat-shrinkable films containing PET-, PP-, PO-, PVC-acetate, or cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) can be used. The thickness of the at least one material layer complies with the stiffness needed for a convenient opening and reclosing of the container and a reliable uncovering and recovering of the access opening. The thickness of a base body comprising only one material layer can be between 30 pm and 200 pm, preferably between 40 pm and 80 pm. The at least one material layer can be translucent, transparent, or coloured. Moreover, the at least one material layer may contain metal.

If the resealable label comprises more than one material layer, each material layer may be of a different or the same material. Preferably, one of the material layers is of a heat-shrinkable film, wherein the heat-shrinkable material layer may be the top layer, i.e. the layer most distant from the inner packaging. Furthermore, a combination of a transparent material layer and white coloured or metal-based material layer may be preferable, wherein the arrangement of these layers depends on the type of uncovering the access opening which is explained further below.

The thickness of the material layers for a multi-layer base body can be between 10 pm and 100 pm, preferably between 12 pm and 50 pm.

In case of a multi-layer base body, the material layers may be laminated one upon the other by means of typical lamination adhesives, like water-, solvent-based adhesives, two-component adhesives based on polyurethane, or hotmelt adhesives. The adhesives may be inter alia based on acrylics or rubber.

The first flat side of the base body is at least partially covered with an adhesive layer which is configured to enable the resealable label to be repeatedly detached from and reattached to the inner packaging. The adhesive layer is such that a repeated detaching and reattaching of the resealable label does not substantially change the adhesive properties of the layer for at least as long as there are consumer goods inside the inner packaging. In other words, it is possible to extract the consumer goods individually without degrading the adhesive properties of the adhesive layer. Thus, the adhesive layer provides enough adhesion for the resealable label to be reattached to the inner packaging at least as many times as there are consumer goods within the inner packaging. The first flat side of the base body can be pretreated to enhance the bonding of the adhesive layer to the base body, e.g. using a bonding agent. Suitable resealable adhesives for the adhesive layer are well known to a skilled person of which a wide variety is commercially available from several suppliers. The selection of a suitable adhesive depends primarily on the material properties of the surface of the packaging film and on the size of the effective contact surface between the resealable label and the surface area of the inner packaging surrounding the access opening.

The resealable adhesive of the adhesive layer may be a pressure sensitive adhesive or a viscoelastic adhesive which preserves its adhesion at room temperature under dry conditions. There can be used water- or solvent-based adhesives as well as hotmelt adhesives, preferably UV cured hotmelt adhesives. The adhesives may comprise rubber, like synthetic rubber with SIBS or SBS block copolymers, PUR, or acrylates. Preferred are UV cured acrylic hotmelt adhesives compounded with resins, tackifiers and further additives.

The coat weight of the adhesive may be between 5 g/m² and 50 g/m², preferably between 10 g/m² and 30 g/m², and more preferably between 15 g/m² and 25 g/m², wherein the latter corresponds to an adhesive layer thickness of 15 pm to 25 pm. Until the resealable label is applied to the inner packaging, the outer surface of the adhesive layer facing away from the first flat side of the base body may be protected by a release liner. The release liner can be a release paper, like silicone paper, glassine paper, or a release film, like a PET or PP silicone film. These PET or PP silicone films are usually used with a thickness between 19 pm and 36 pm.

A resealable label according to the present invention is preferably applied in containers like cigarette packets comprising an outer housing which comprises a box and a lid hinged to the box. Inside the outer housing an inner packaging in which cigarettes are wrapped in is accommodated. The inner packaging has an access opening covered by a resealable label. In this regard, two types of uncovering the access opening are common.

The first type of uncovering is manual. After opening the container by pivoting its lid, the resealable label is manually peeled off the inner packaging by means of the customer's fingers. Therefore, a portion on the first flat side of the resealable label may be adhesive-free. This portion can also be realized in that the adhesive layer, preferably near the front face of the base body, may be deadened or may otherwise be substantially reduced in adhesion to provide a predetermined grabbing section.

Once the resealable label is peeled off to extract consumer goods through the access opening, the customer may have released the grabbing section, whereby the resealable label may collapse and form a loop. In this case, the grabbing section additionally prevents that the resealable label nondetachably sticks to itself.

In case of a manually detachable label, both the first and the second flat side of the base body are visible to the customer which has to be taken into account when manufacturing a multi-layer base body, in particular when selecting the top and the bottom layer.

The second type of uncovering is automatic, i.e. the resealable label follows the opening movement of the lid because it is attached to the inner surface of the lid by means of an additional, permanent adhesive layer on a section of the second flat side of the base body. The additional, permanent adhesive layer on a section of the second flat side of the base body is preferably applied when the aforementioned container is completely assembled. This section extends preferably from the second front face. During the initial opening movement of the container, i.e. the initial pivoting of the lid, the force needed to peel off the resealable label from the inner packaging is reduced due to the adhesive-free portion on the first flat side of the base body. By the size of the adhesive-free section the peel force can be adjusted. The adhesive-free section additionally prevents that the resealable label, forming a S-shape when the container is opened, sticks to itself. The adhesive-free section can be provided in that either the adhesive layer is smaller than the base body in length direction or by deadening the adhesion of the adhesive layer in predetermined section. The adhesion of the adhesive layer can be deadened by an ink, a lacquer or even by a power layer. The ink or lacquer can be printed in patterns on the adhesive layer. By means of this pattern printing, it is possible to adapt the gradient of the adhesion from the one front face of the base body to the opposite front face. Thus, the most convenient force to detach the resealable label from the inner packaging can be adjusted.

If the resealable label is to be peel off automatically, only the first flat side of the base body is visible to the customer which allows for more flexibility in selecting the most outer layer on the second flat side of a multi-layer base body.

The peripheral shape of the masking element preferably corresponds to the peripheral shape of the access opening of the inner packaging to which the resealable label is applied. The size or surface area of the masking element may at least be as large as the surface area of the access opening, preferably just a bit larger, e.g. the masking element may overlap the access opening by 1 mm along the periphery. This masking element serves as a barrier between the adhesive layer on the first flat side of the base body and the consumer goods within the inner packaging. The masking element, which is preferably plane, can be made of a variety of materials such as PET-, PP-, PE-, PO-, cellophane-, acetate-films, or paper, or even laminates of aluminium foil and paper.

Preferably, the masking element is of a transparent material, whereby the first flat side of the base body remains visible to the customer.

In order to avoid any detachment of the masking element from the adhesive layer the flexibility of the masking element has to be high. This can be achieved by using very thin materials such that the masking element is able to follow the movement or shaping of the base body. A low thickness provides a high flexibility of the masking element which in turn supersedes an additional permanent adhesive layer between the first flat side of the base body and the masking element. Besides the high flexibility required, a sufficient bonding between the adhesive layer and the masking element is necessary. Therefore, either the surface tension or the coating of masking element has to be suitable. To increase the bonding, typical surface treatments, like corona or plasma treatment, or other methods, like the application of a top coating or a primer, can be applied.

The base body and/or the masking element are preferably resistant to hostile environmental impacts, like high humidity or high ambient temperature.

Preferably, at least one of the flat sides of the base body and/or the masking element can be printed for purposes of decoration or colouring. The printing may be performed by typical surface printing techniques like flexo printing, rotogravure, offset printing, silkscreen printing, letterpress printing, digital or other common printing techniques. If the body base comprises more than one material layer, it is preferred to print on an inner surface of at least one of the material layers such that the printing is protected against abrasion and contamination.

Since according to the present invention the resealable labels having a preferably transparent masking element are meant to be applied on an inner packaging whose blank part defining the access opening is already completely removed, the inner surface of the resealable label facing the access opening may be designed, in particular printed, and the printing or decoration is visible to a customer without any limitations.

In a preferred embodiment, on the first flat side at the first front face a first permanent adhesive layer for permanently attaching the resealable layer to the inner packing is provided. In general, a portion of the resealable label at the first front face side of the base body is jammed between the inner packaging and the outer housing. The resealable layer which is applied to the inner packaging forms a hinge area on one side of the access opening which is opposite to the side of the access opening where the resealable label is initially peeled off. This hinge area corresponds substantially to the jammed portion of the resealable label. Accordingly, the adhesive bonding between the adhesive layer and the surface of the inner packaging at the hinge area may be sufficient, even though the adhesive layer comprises just a resealable adhesive. To additionally secure the position of the resealable label on the outer surface of the inner packaging, a permanent adhesive may be applied on the first flat side of the base body in the area of said hinge.

In another preferred embodiment, between the first flat side of the base body and the masking element a second permanent adhesive layer for permanently attaching the masking element to the base body is arranged. This may be an option to additionally secure the position of the masking element on the adhesive layer.

The resealable label according to the present invention can be manufactured in several ways. One of them is described in the following:

A method for manufacturing resealable labels preferably comprises the steps of: unwinding at least one first material film from a first supply roll for a material layer of a base body;

printing the first material film on one or both sides;

coating one first side of the at least one first material film with a resealable adhesive;

applying equidistantly to each other masking elements on the resealable adhesive; applying a release liner on the adhesive side of the at least one first material film;

die-cutting resealable labels in a die-cut unit;

winding up the release liner with the die-cut resealable labels on another supply roll.

After the step of die-cutting, there may be an individual step of separating the cutting waste.

Depending on the structure of the resealable label as required for its use, i.e. whether a single or multi-layer base body is required, the method may further comprise the steps of:

unwinding at least one second material film from a second supply roll;

printing the second material film on one or both sides;

laminating the first and second material film with an adhesive film arranged between the first and second material film. The method may further comprise the step of:

applying a permanent adhesive on a first and/or second portion of the first side of the first material film.

According to the present invention the object can further be solved by a supply roll with resealable labels as defined above, wherein the resealable labels are provided with a protective release layer on the side of the adhesive layer facing away from the base body. This protective release layer protects the adhesive layer against contamination and preserves the adhesive properties of the adhesive layer. The release layer is preferably a silicone layer.

The object according to the present invention can further be solved by a packaging film for being wrapped around consumer goods, wherein the packaging film comprises a plurality of preferably equidistant, prepared access openings through which the consumer goods can be extracted. The packaging film further comprises resealable labels as defined above, wherein each access opening is covered by one of the resealable labels and wherein the surface area of the masking elements of each resealable label is at least as large as the surface area of the access openings.

In a preferred embodiment, hinge areas are formed between the resealable labels and the packing film on one side of the access openings. The packaging film is preferably a laminate of at least two material layers. The at least two material layers forming the laminate may be of the same or different material. The material layers may be metallised papers, metallised films, metallised and/or printed PP films, or metallised and/or printed PET films, wherein the printing can be carried out by one of the above-mentioned printing techniques. The laminate for the packaging film may also be a laminate of a film and paper, like a metallised and/or printed PP film, or a metallised and/or printed PET film in combination with a super-calendered paper. Preferably, the laminate comprises a first and a second material layer of the group as listed above and a third material layer of a thin aluminium film arranged between the first and the second material layer, wherein the aluminium film has preferably a thickness of 7 pm or 9 pm.

The method for manufacturing said packaging film comprises preferably the steps of:

unwinding a packaging film from a supply roll;

die-cutting of equidistantly spaced access openings into the packaging film; - applying resealable labels as defined above to the packaging film, wherein each access opening is covered by one resealable label;

winding up the packaging film with the applied resealable labels on another supply roll.

The die-cutting can be carried out in a die-cutting unit or in a laser unit. The step of die-cutting preferably includes the step of removing the blank part, i.e. the material portion of the packaging film inside the cutting edge. This blank part can be removed by a sucking device or by using an adhesive liner with equidistantly spaced adhesive sections, wherein each adhesive section is assigned to one blank part. This adhesive liner may be applied on the side of the packaging film opposite to the die-cut edge. Separating the adhesive liner from the packaging film causes the blank parts sticking to the adhesive sections to clear the access openings.

As already mentioned above, the resealable label and the packaging film according to the present invention may be used in a container for consumer goods, like cigarettes or other tobacco articles. The container may comprise an outer housing which comprises a box and a lid hinged to the box, wherein the box and the lid have an inner and an outer surface. The container may further comprise an inner packaging wrapped around the consumer goods and being accommodated within the outer housing. The inner packaging may be formed from a packaging film as defined above, i.e. the inner packaging has a cleared access opening which is covered by a resealable label, wherein, in particular, the masking element of the resealable label covers the access opening.

The outer housing is preferably parallelepiped made of cardboard, paperboard, plastic, metal or any combination thereof. Within the container, a section on the second flat side of the base body of the resealable label, which extends from the second front face, may permanently be attached to the inner surface of the lid. Thus, the resealable label is automatically peeled off when the lid is opened to extract consumer goods.

In the following, further advantages and embodiments of the present invention are described in conjunction with the attached drawings. Thereby, the expression "left", "right", "below", and "above" are referred to the drawings in an orientation of the drawings which allows the normal reading of the reference signs. The drawings should not necessarily represent the forms of execution to scale. Rather, the drawings, where useful for explanation, are executed in schematic and/or slightly distorted form. The invention's features revealed in the description, in the drawings, and in the claims may be essential for any continuation of the invention, either individually or in any combination. The general idea of the invention is not limited to the exact form or detail of the preferred embodiments shown and described below or to a subject-matter which would be limited in comparison to the subject- matter of the claims. For the sake of simplicity, identical or similar parts or parts with identical or similar functions are hereinafter referred to by the same reference signs.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a resealable label according to the present invention; and Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the resealable label from the first flat side of base body; and

Fig. 3 shows the resealable label with adhesive-deadened section; and

Fig. 4 shows the resealable label with additional permanent adhesive sections; and Fig. 5 shows a resealable label having a multi-layer base body; and

Fig. 6 shows a plan view of the outer surface of a portion of a packaging film according to the present invention whose access opening is covered by a resealable label; and

Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of a container for consumer goods comprising a resealable label and an inner packaging having an access opening; and

Fig. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of the container for consumer goods.

Detailed description

In Fig. 1 , a resealable label 100 according to the present invention is shown. Resealable label 100 comprises a base body 102 having a first flat side 104 and second flat side 106. Resealable label 100 and accordingly base body 102 further have an axis in length direction 108 and an axis in width direction 1 10 (as shown in Fig. 2) which is perpendicular to the length direction 108. First flat side 104 is covered with a resealable adhesive layer 1 12 which extends in length direction 108 starting from a first front face 114, wherein adhesive layer 112 may be smaller or equal to extension of base body 102 in length direction 108.

If the extension of adhesive layer 112 in length direction 108 is smaller than that of base body 102, an adhesive-free section 116 is formed extending from a second front face 118. By the size of adhesive-free section 116 the force needed to initially peel off resealable label 100 from an object to which it is applied is adjustable.

Attached to adhesive layer 1 12 on first flat side 104, there is a masking element 120 whose surface area in length direction 108 and width direction 1 10 is smaller than that of base body 102, as depicted in Fig. 2. Both base body 102 and masking element 120 may be of a flexible material, wherein especially the material of masking element 120 may preferably be thin to avoid any detachment of masking element 120 from adhesive layer 1 12 when resealable label 100 is bent. Moreover, the bonding between adhesive layer 112 and masking element 120 is enhanced by a suitable surface tension or a coating of masking element 120. Also a surface treatment, like corona or plasma treatment, or a primer can be applied to masking element 120.

Masking element 120 as well as adhesive layer 1 12 is preferably transparent so that first flat side 104 which can be decorated or printed is visible to a customer when resealable label 100 is partially peeled off. Masking element 120 may also be printed or decorated one or both flat sides.

If the extension of adhesive layer 112 in length direction 108 is equal to that of the base body 102, as shown in Fig. 3, adhesive layer 112 has to be deadened in a section on first flat side 104 extending from second front face 118 by a deadening layer 122. Deadening layer 122 can inter alia be a lacquer or a power and is necessary to reduce the peeling force needed at the beginning of the detachment of resealable label 100. In other words, a certain lever is necessary to conveniently peel off resealable label from e.g. a packaging film 200 (shown in Fig. 6) to which it may be applied. Fig. 4 shows a first permanent adhesive layer 124 on first flat side 104 extending from first front face 114. First permanent adhesive layer 124 may be applied to first flat side 104 to additionally secure the position of resealable label 100 on top of the surface to which resealable label 100 is applied, especially when resealable label 100 is peeled off. Furthermore, Fig. 4 shows a second permanent adhesive layer

126 which is arranged between base body 102 and masking element 120. Second permanent adhesive layer 126 can be provided to additionally secure the position of masking element 120 related to base body 102 and support the adhesion of masking element 120 to base body 102. In Fig. 5, base body 102 of resealable label 100 may comprise two material layers 128 and 130 between which a connective adhesive layer 132 is arranged. Each of the flat sides of material layers 128 and 130 may be printed or otherwise decorated.

Fig. 6 shows a portion of a packaging film 200 having a die-cut access opening 202. One resealable label 100 is applied to packaging film 200, wherein masking element 120 covers access opening 202. Moreover, a hinge area 204 is defined around which resealable label 100 is pivoted when peeled off and at which the detachment of resealable label 100 preferably should stop.

In Fig. 7, a container 300 for consumer goods is shown. Container 300 comprises an outer housing 302 which comprises a box 304 and a lid 306 hinged to box 304. Inside outer housing 302 an inner packaging 305 is accommodated which is formed from packaging film 200 as shown in Fig. 6 and to which a resealable label 100 is applied. In Fig. 7 showing container 300 in an opened state, the automatic type of uncovering access opening 202 is presented. Therefore, releasable label 100 is attached to the inner surface of lid 306 by means of a permanent adhesive section 308 which is applied on second flat side 106 of base body 102 extending from second front face 118, as depicted in Fig. 8. Permanent adhesive section 308 is preferably applied when container 300 is completely assembled, i.e. resealable label 100 is already applied to inner packaging 305 which is already wrapped around the consumer goods and accommodated in outer housing 302. Inner packaging 305 is wrapped around consumer goods which are accommodated inside inner packaging 305. As derivable from Figs. 7 and 8, masking element 120 prevents that the consumer goods inside inner packaging 305 contact adhesive layer 1 12.

Claims

1. A resealable label (100) for reversibly uncovering and recovering an access opening (202) of a packing film (200) comprising:

a base body (102) having a first flat side (104) and a second flat side (106) as well as an axis in length direction (108) and an axis in width direction (1 10) perpendicular to the axis in length direction (108), wherein the base body (102) has a resealable adhesive layer (1 12) on the first flat side (104) whose extension in length direction (108) of the base body (102) starting from a first front face (1 14) of the base body (102) is smaller or equal to the extension of the base body (102) in length direction (108); and at least one masking element (120) for reversibly uncovering and recovering of the access opening (202) of the packing film (200), wherein the masking element (120) is attached to the resealable adhesive layer (112) on the first flat side (104) of the base body (102) and has a smaller surface area in length and width direction (104; 106) than the surface area of the base body (102).

2. The resealable label (100) according to claim 1 , wherein the base body (102) and the masking element (120) are made of a flexible material.

3. The resealable label (100) according to claims 1 or 2, wherein the base body (102) and/or the masking element (120) are made of a material which is resistant to hostile environmental impacts.

4. The resealable label (100) according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an adhesive-free section (1 16) or an adhesive section reduced in adhesion (122) is provided on a section of the first flat side (104) extending preferably from a second front face (1 18) of the base body (102) opposite of the first face front

(114).

5. The resealable label (100) according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a first permanent adhesive layer (124) for permanently attaching the resealable layer (100) to the packaging film (200) is provided on a section of the first flat side (104) extending preferably from the first front face (114).

6. The resealable label (100) according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein between the first flat side (104) of the base body (102) and the masking element (120) a second permanent adhesive layer (126) for permanently attaching the masking element (120) to the base body (102) is arranged.

7. The resealable label (100) according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the base body (102) has at least two material layers (128; 130), wherein preferably the at least two material layers (128; 130) are at least partially adhered to each other and wherein further preferably a connective adhesive layer (132) is at least partially arranged between the at least two material layers (128; 130).

8. The resealable label (100) according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein one or both sides of each material layer (128; 130) and/or the masking element (120) is printed. 9. A method for manufacturing resealable labels (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

unwinding at least one first material film from a first supply roll for a material layer of a base body (102);

printing the first material film on one or both sides;

- coating one first side of the at least one first material film with a resealable adhesive;

applying equidistantly to each other masking elements (120) on the resealable adhesive;

applying a release liner on the adhesive side of the at least one first material film;

die-cutting resealable labels (100) in a die-cut unit; and winding up the release liner with the die-cut resealable labels (100) on another supply roll. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

unwinding at least one second material film from a second supply roll; printing the second material film on one or both sides; and - laminating the first and second material film with an adhesive film arranged between the first and second material film.

1 1. The method according to one of claims 9 and 10, wherein the method further comprises the step of:

applying a permanent adhesive on a first and/or second section of the first side of the first material film.

12. A supply roll with resealable labels according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the resealable labels (100) are provided with a protective release layer on the side of the adhesive layer (1 12) facing away from the base body (102).

13. A container (300) for consumer goods comprising:

an outer housing (302) comprising

a box (304) and a lid (306) hinged to the box (304); and

an inner packaging (305) within the outer housing (302) comprising

an prepared access opening (202) through which the consumer goods can be extracted, wherein blank parts inside of the prepared access openings (202) have been removed; and

a resealable label (100) according to one of claims 1 to 8 which is applied to the inner packaging (305) and covers the prepared access opening (202) at least by means of the masking element (120), wherein the surface area of the masking element (120) of the resealable label (100) is at least as large as the surface area of the prepared access opening (202).

14. Packaging film (200) for being wrapped around consumer goods, comprising: a plurality of preferably equidistant, prepared access openings (202) through which the consumer goods can be extracted, wherein blank parts inside of the prepared access openings (202) have been removed; and resealable labels (100) according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein each access opening (202) is covered by one of the resealable labels (100) and wherein the surface area of the masking elements (120) of each resealable label (100) is at least as large as the surface area of the access openings (202).

15. A method for manufacturing the packaging film (200) according to claim 14, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

unwinding a packaging film (200) from a supply roll;

die-cutting of equidistantly spaced access openings (202) into the packaging film (200);

applying resealable labels (100) according to claims 1 to 8 to the packaging film (200), wherein each access opening (202) is covered by one resealable label (100);

winding up the packaging film (200) with the applied resealable labels (100) on another supply roll.