WO1988003897A1

WO1988003897A1 - A method and apparatus for closing packages

Info

Publication number: WO1988003897A1
Application number: PCT/DK1987/000147
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sven Ole Christian Olesen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-11-25
Filing date: 1987-11-25
Publication date: 1988-06-02
Anticipated expiration: 1989-05-25
Also published as: DK239887A; DK157238B; AU8332187A; DK239887D0; DK157238C

Abstract

Packages (10) may be closed by means of adhesive tape sections (26) which are cut from a tape roll (13). In order to facilitate later tearing of the tape section from the package (10) when the package is to be reopened, the layer of adhesive tape on the tape section (26) is inactivated at the ends of the tape section so as to form gripping flaps (29) at these ends. Inactivation of the adhesive may, i.a., be obtained by adhering wafer-like pieces (17) of sheet material to the adhesive layer of the tape at a location (27) spaced from the free end (28) of the tape at a distance corresponding to the length of the tape sections (26). The tape sections are then cut from the free end portion (14) of the tape roll (13) transversely through the adhered pieces (17) of sheet material.

Description

A METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CLOSING PACKAGES

The present invention relates to a method of closing a package by means of a section or length of an adhesive tape having an adhesive on one side surface thereof, the adhesive side surface of the tape section being placed into contact with a surface part of the package.

It is well known to close packages, such as cardboard boxes or cartons, by means of sections or lengths of adhesive tape, which may, for example, be applied to the package so that they maintain closing or locking flaps thereof in a closed condition. When the filled and closed package arrives at the consumer, the package is normally reopened by cutting the adhesive tape section by means of a knife or a similar cutting tool or by tearing the flaps or wails of the package.

The present invention provides a method of the type described above rendering it pos¬ sible to reopen a package, which has been closed by means of a length or section of an adhesive tape in a very simple manner without using a tool.

The method according to the invention is characterized in inactivating the adhesive at at least one end of the tape section prior to contacting said one end of the tape with said package surface part. The end or ends of the tape section at which the adhesive has been inactivated will not adhere to the package and thus may form a free gripping flap. When a package has been closed by means of an adhesive tape section thus prepared and should be reopened, this may be done by gripping the free end portion forming a gripping flap, whereafter the tape section may easily be torn off.

The tape sections may be cut from a tape roll before they are applied to the packages.

In a preferred embodiment, however, the tape sections are successively cut from a free end portion of a roll or supply of continuous tape, and according to the invention the adhesive on the tape may then be locally inactivated at a location spaced from the free end of the tape at a distance substantially corresponding to the length of each tape section prior to cutting the tape section from the continuous tape at said location. By a single inactivating operation if is then possible to obtain a simultaneous inactivation of two adjacent ends of two consecutive sections of adhesive tape. This method is espe¬ cially suited for automated operation.

In the method according to the invention any type of adhesive tape may be used, for example a tape having an adhesive layer which may be activated by applying heat or moisture thereto. In such case "inactivating the adhesive" should mean the absence of activation of the adhesive. Thus, before a section of adhesive tape is brought into con¬ tact with a package, heat or moisture is applied to the adhesive layer apart from one or both ends of the tape section.

In cases where the tape is provided with an adhesive layer which may adhere to the package without prior moistening or heating or another kind of activation, the adhesive may be inactivated by locally applying a coating thereto. Such coating or covering layer may, for example, consist of a powder-like material preventing the adhesive from ad¬ hering to the package.

In a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention a coating in the form of a piece of sheet material, such as paper, film or foil is applied. Such piece of sheet material may have any suitable shape. As an example, the piece of sheet material may be shaped like a rectangle, a square or another regular polygon, or the piece of sheet material may have an elongated polygonal or elliptical shape. However, in a pre¬ ferred embodiment these pieces of sheet material have a substantially circular shape.

Such piece of sheet material may be coloured, patterned, and/or be provided with illustrations and/or text. The pieces of sheet material may also have a code marking- stating price, kind of goods, and/or quality, etc., applied thereto. Furthermore, the pieces of sheet material used may be so characteristic that it may easily be seen that the package has not been opened without authorization by replacing the tape section with the original piece of sheet material with another tape section.

The piece of sheet material applied to inactivate the adhesive may, as indicated above by examples, have a symmetrical shape so that its axis of symmetry extends trans¬ versely to the adhesive tape, and the tape section may then be cut from the continuous tape along said axis, whereby the piece of sheet material will be cut into two identical halves applied to a respective adjacent end of tape sections which are cut successively.

The invention also relates to an apparatus for closing packages by means of sections or lengths of adhesive tape having an adhesive on one side surface thereof, said ap¬ paratus comprising a tape dispenser for receiving a supply of continuous tape so that a free end thereof extends into a path of movement for packages to be closed, means for contacting the adhesive side surface of the free end portion of the tape with the package passing along said path of movement, and cutting means for cutting a tape section of a predetermined length from the free end portion of the tape, and the ap¬ paratus according to the invention is characterized in adhesive inactivating means for locally inactivating the adhesive on said tape at a location spaced from the free end of the tape at a distance corresponding to said predetermined length.

When a package to be closed is moved along the path of movement and passes the tape dispenser, the free end of the tape extending into said path of movement will come into contact with and adhere to the package. The remaining part of the tape section may then be pressed against and adhered to the package simultaneously with or after cutting the tape section from the tape exactly at the location where the adhe¬ sive has been inactivated by the inactivating means.

As mentioned above, the adhesive inactivating means may be of any type. Thus, they may, for example, be adapted to apply a coating of powder-like material. In a preferred embodiment, however, the inactivating means comprise a device for holding a supply of pieces of sheet material and moving means for successively moving pieces of sheet material from the holding device into contact with the adhesive of the tape at said location. The holding device may be of any type rendering it possible to apply the pieces of sheet material to the tape with a desired spacing. In a preferred embodiment the holding device has a partly open end exposing an adjacent piece of sheet material of a stack of such pieces of sheet material arranged in the holding device.and the' moving means are adapted to move the partly open end of the holding device into contact with the adhesive side surface of the tape. In the latter case, the holding device may be shaped like the containers used by banks for containing stacks of coins.

The apparatus according to the invention may be adapted for automatic or semi¬ automatic operation and may therefore be provided with control means adapted to control the operation of the adhesive inactivating means and of the cutting means in relation to the position of the package during its movement along the path of move¬ ment. As an example the control means may comprise a micro-switch generating a signal when the rear end of the package passes the switch.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the drawings, wherein

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment according to the invention,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a wafer supplying device forming part of the apparatus in

Fig. 1 , wall parts of the supplying device having been cut away, and

Fig. 3 shows one end of a package which has been closed by means of an adhesive tape section in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 1 shows an apparatus for closing cardboard boxes or cartons 10 (only one is shown in the drawings) which are successively moved in a direction indicated by an arrow 11 in Fig. 1 along a path of movement, for example by means of driving belts (not shown) which may be in engagement with the side surfaces of the boxes 10. The apparatus further comprises a tape dispenser 2 containing a roll 13 of adhesive tape having a free end portion 14 which is passed over a guide roller 15 and extends into the path of movement of the boxes 10. A holding and supply device 16, which is shown more in detail in Fig. 2, contains a stack of circular, wafer-like pieces 17 of sheet mate¬ rial. As shown in Fig. 2 the supply device has an open end 18, and the supply device may be moved reciprocatingly as indicated by arrows 30 by moving means 19, which may, for example, include an electromagnet or a cylinder-piston arrangement which may be driven by pressurized air. Thus, the supply device 16 may be moved between the position shown in Fig. 1 and a position in which the open end 18 of the supply device is pressed against the free end portion 14 of the tape at a location where the tape is backed up by an abutment surface 20 formed on the dispenser 12. The supply device contains a piston 21 which, by a spring (not shown), is slightly biassed towards the open end 18 of the supply device, so that the wafer-like sheet pieces 17 are pressed in that direction.

The apparatus further comprises a tape application roller 22 and cutting means 23 by means of which a tape section or tape length unwound from the roller 13 may be cut from the free end portion 14 of the tape.

The apparatus shown in the drawings operates as follows:

When a box-shaped package 10 with closed upper closure flaps is moved along the path of movement in the direction indicated by the arrow 11 , the forward end surface of the box or carton will come into contact with the adhesive side surface of the free end portion 14 extending from the tape roller 13 into the path of movement. During the continued forward movement of the package the tape end portion 14 is pressed against the forward end surface and the top surface of the box 10 by means of the roller 22, while further tape is unwound from the roll 13. When the rearward edge 24 of the box 10 has reached a predetermined position of the path of movement determined by the position of a micro-switch 25 this switch generates a signal which is supplied to an electronic control device 31 causing the cutting means 23 to cut a tape section 26 from the free end portion 14 of the tape roll 13. Thereafter the remaining part of the tape section 26 may be brought into contact with the rear end surface of the box or carton 10 by means of the roller 22.

Simultaneously with or immediately after the activation of the cutting means 23 the moving means 19 are also activated by the control device so that the open end 18 of the supply device 16 is pressed against the free end portion 14 of the tape at a location 27 spaced from the free edge 28 of the tape at a distance corresponding to the desired length of the tape section 26. Thereby one of the circular, wafer-like sheet pieces 17 is brought into contact with and adhered to the tape at the said location 27, whereafter the supply device is returned to the position shown in Fig. 1.

When the free end portion 14 of the tape roll 13 has been adhered to the forward end surface and the top surface of the succeeding package 10 in the manner described above, and this end portion is thereafter cut by means of the cutting means 23, the _ cutting will take place along a diameter of the circular, wafer-like sheet piece 17 ad¬ hered thereto, whereby this wafer-like piece will be divided into two semi-circular parts 29.

It is understood that each of the tape sections 26 which in this manner is adhered to the passing box-shaped packages 10 will be provided with semi-circular sheet parts 29 at both ends at the adhesive side surface of the tape. These sheet parts 29 prevent the ends of the tape section from adhering to the box 10, whereby a kind of gripping flap is formed at both end of the tape section. Such gripping flaps substantially facilitate tear¬ ing of the tape section from the box 10 when it should be reopened by exerting an upwardly directed pull to the flap as indicated by an arrow 32 in fig. 3.

It should be understood that various amendments and modifications of the embodi¬ ment shown in the drawings could be made within the scope of the present invention. As an example, the wafer-like sheet pieces 17 may have any angular or elongated shape, or they may be replaced by a coating of an adhesive inactivating powder or powder-like material. Furthermore, the sheet pieces may be applied in any other man¬ ner than that described and shown.

Claims

1. A method of closing a package (10) by means of a section or length (26) of an adhe¬ sive tape having an adhesive on one side surface thereof, the adhesive side surface of the tape section being placed into contact with a surface part of the package (10), characterized in inactivating the adhesive at at least one end of the tape sec¬ tion (26) prior to contacting said one end of the tape with said package surface part.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein sections or lengths (26) of adhesive tape are successively cut from a free end portion (14) of a supply of continuous tape (13) characterized in locally inactivating the adhesive on the tape (13) at a location (27) spaced from the free end (28) of the tape (13) at a distance substantially cor¬ responding to the length of each tape section (26) prior to cutting the tape section from the continuous tape at said location.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the adhesive on the tape is inactivated by locally applying a coating (17) thereto.

4. A method according to claim 3, characterized in applying a coating in the form of a piece of sheet material (17).

5. A method according to claim 5, characterized in applying a piece of sheet material (17) with a symmetrical shape so that its axis of symmetry extends transversely to the adhesive tape (13) and cutting the tape section (26) from the continuous tape along said axis.

6. An apparatus for closing packages by means of sections or lengths (26) of adhesive tape having an adhesive on one side surface thereof, said apparatus comprising a tape dispenser (12) for receiving a supply of continuous tape (13) so that a free end thereof extends into a path of movement for packages to be closed, means (22) for contacting the adhesive side surface of the free end portion of the tape with a package (10) pass¬ ing along said path of movement, and cutting means (23) for cutting a tape section (26) of a predetermined length from the free end portion of the tape (13), characterized in adhesive inactivating means (16, 19) for locally inactivating the adhesive on said tape at a location (27) spaced from the free end of the tape at a distance corresponding to said predetermined length.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the adhesive inactivating means comprises a device (16) for holding a supply of pieces of sheet material (17) and moving means (19) for succes¬ sively moving pieces of sheet material from the holding device (16) into contact with the adhesive of the tape (13) at said location (27).

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the holding device (16) has a partly open end (18) expos¬ ing an adjacent piece of sheet material of a stack of such pieces of sheet material (17) arranged in the holding device (16), and that the moving means (19) are adapted to move the partly open end (18) of the holding device (16) into contact with the adhesive side surface of the tape (13).

9. An apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in control means (25) adapted to control the operation of the adhesive inactivating means (16, 19) and of the cutting means (23) in relation to the position of the package (10) during its movement along the path of movement.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the control means comprise a micro-switch (25) arranged at said path of movement.