Lid seal

Abstract

To provide a lid seal which hardly conceals a trace after unsealing.SOLUTION: A lid seal 1 having an adhesive layer on one surface of a sheet-like base material includes a knob 21 provided at an intermediate part in a width direction of a front end part. The base material has a cut 21b extending from the peripheral edge of the knob and an unsealing line 2 positioned behind the cut in a state of penetrating in the thickness direction. The unsealing line has a first region 2a in which a first cutting line 31 is disposed, and a second region 2b in which a plurality of second cutting lines 41 are intermittently disposed and which extends rearward of the first region. The second cutting line has a main portion 42 substantially parallel to the front-rear direction, and a front end portion 43 extending forward and inward in the width direction from the front end of the main portion. An angle formed by the main portion and the front end portion is 30 degrees or more and 60 degrees or less, a length of the front end portion is 3 mm or more and 5 mm or less, and a distance in the front-rear direction between two adjacent second cut lines is 0 mm or more and 3 mm or less.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a lid seal, and more particularly to a lid seal for repeatedly opening and sealing an opening on a container. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART A lid seal is known that can be attached to the outlet of a bag containing wet wipes, patches, etc., to repeatedly open and close the outlet (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The lid seal described in Patent Document 1 cuts the perforations between the opening and closing part and the adjacent parts on both sides when used for the first time, allowing the opening and closing part to be peeled off from the bag body to reveal the opening. Therefore, whether the perforations are connected or not can be used to determine whether the product to which the lid seal is attached is unopened or not. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5872233 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Recently, various types of tampering have become a problem with products displayed in stores. Products with the lid seal described in Patent Document 1 have the advantage that such tampering can be easily detected compared to products that do not have perforations and can be peeled off and reattached in their entirety.

[0005] However, the lid seal described in Patent Document 1 is not necessarily foolproof, and it is conceivable that after peeling off the lid seal and tampering with the product by inserting foreign objects, the lid seal could be carefully replaced to make it appear as if the product is unopened. In this case, the perforation has already been cut, but if the cut area is rubbed, the cut area can easily become flat, making it difficult to distinguish from an unopened product at first glance. As a result, store clerks and others may not easily detect tampered products, and customers may end up purchasing them.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a lid seal that makes it difficult to conceal traces of opening. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is a lid seal having an adhesive layer on one surface of a sheet-like substrate, and is provided with a tab provided at the middle of the front end in the width direction. The base material has a notch extending from the periphery of the tab and a tear line positioned behind the notch and penetrating through the thickness direction. The opening line has a first region in which a first cutting line is arranged, and a second region in which a plurality of second cutting lines are arranged intermittently and extend rearward of the first region. The second cutting line has a main portion that is substantially parallel to the front-rear direction and a front end portion that extends forward and inward in the width direction from the front end of the main portion. The angle between the main portion and the front end portion is 30° or more and 60° or less, the length of the front end portion is 3 mm or more and 5 mm or less, and the distance between two adjacent second cutting lines in the front-to-back direction is 0 mm or more and 3 mm or less. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, a lid seal can be provided that makes it difficult to conceal traces of opening. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a lid seal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2]10 is a view showing a flap formed when the lid seal is opened. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a view showing the flap of the lid seal reattached after opening. [Figure 4] 10(a) and 10(b) are diagrams for explaining a preferred embodiment of the second cutting line. [Figure 5] 10(a) and 10(b) are diagrams for explaining a preferred embodiment of the second cutting line. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a lid seal according to a modified example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a plan view showing a lid seal 1 according to this embodiment. The lid seal 1 is attached to a container having an opening so as to close the opening, and allows the opening to be repeatedly opened and closed. A typical container that can be used with the lid seal 1 is a bag containing wet wipes, but it is not limited to this and can also be a hard container made of various materials such as resin.

[0011] The lid seal 1 has a basic structure of a sheet-like base material made of a single layer or multiple layers of resin, with an adhesive layer provided on one side, and this basic structure itself is publicly known. If necessary, the base material may be colored or printed to impart various marks or designs.

[0012] The lid seal 1 according to this embodiment has a generally pentagonal shape in plan view, like a rectangle with one short side protruding, as shown in Figure 1. As a result, the lid seal 1 has a base 10 on the lower side in Figure 1 and a protruding part 20 on the upper side, with a knob 21 at the position on the protruding part 20 farthest from the base 10. For the purposes of the following explanation, the direction in which the two parallel sides of the base 10 extend is defined as the front-to-back direction of the lid seal 1, the side in the front-to-back direction where the knob is located is defined as the front of the lid seal 1, the opposite side is defined as the rear, and the direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction and along the surface of the lid seal 1 is defined as the width direction of the lid seal 1.

[0013] The knob 21 has a rounded tip 21a in plan view, and a pair of cutouts 21b having parallel portions extend from the periphery of the tip 21a into the inside of the protruding portion 20 in plan view. Furthermore, a plurality of cutting lines are formed at intervals from the notch 21b, penetrating the base material in the thickness direction, and these cutting lines form an opening line 2 that is connected to the notch 21b and assists in opening the lid seal 1. The incision 21b and the tearing line 2 can be formed by various known means, for example, a Thomson blade.

[0014] The tear line 2 according to this embodiment extends generally parallel to the peripheries of the base 10 and the protrusion 20 while being spaced a certain distance from these peripheries. As a result, the tear line 2 has a first region 2a that is generally parallel to the periphery of the protrusion 20 and a second region 2b that is generally parallel to the periphery of the base 10.

[0015] A pair of notches 21b extending from the knob 21 extend parallel to each other for a certain length, then spread outward in the width direction, extending at a certain distance from the periphery of the protrusion 20, and curving backward near the end.

[0016] The first region 2a according to this embodiment is composed of two first cutting lines 31. Each first cutting line 31 has a main portion 32 extending in a direction nearly parallel to the periphery of the protruding portion 20, a front end portion 33 located in front of the main portion 32, and a rear end portion 34 located behind the main portion 32. The front end 33 curves forward relative to the main portion 32, and the rear end 34 curves backward relative to the main portion 32. As a result, both the front end 33 and the rear end 34 extend in a direction closer to being parallel to the periphery of the base 10 than to the periphery of the protruding portion 20.

[0017] Of the two first cutting lines 31, the front end 33 of the first cutting line 31A, which is closer to the notch 21b, is located more inward in the width direction of the lid seal 1 than the end of the notch 21b (closer to the center in the width direction). The front end 33 of the first cutting line 31B, which is farther from the notch 21b, is located more inward in the width direction of the lid seal 1 than the rear end 34 of the first cutting line 31A.

[0018] The second region 2b according to this embodiment is made up of six second cutting lines 41. Each second cutting line 41 has a main portion 42 extending generally parallel to the periphery of the base 10 and a front end portion 43 located in front of the main portion 42. The main portions 42 of the six second cutting lines are positioned generally in the same straight line. The front end portion 43 is bent inward in the width direction of the lid seal 1 relative to the straight main portion 42, and extends forward at a certain angle relative to the main portion 42. Of the six second cutting lines, only the rearmost second cutting line 41F has a rear end portion 44 that continues to the rear of the main portion 42. The rear end portion 44 is folded back in a U-shape behind the main portion 42 and extends slightly forward.

[0019] In the base 10, at a position rearward of the second cutting line 41F, a plurality of small U-shaped or C-shaped notches 11 that open forward are arranged in the width direction, forming an unauthorized peeling prevention section 12 consisting of a plurality of notches 11. The operation of the unauthorized peeling prevention section 12 will be described later.

[0020] The initial opening operation of the lid seal 1 will now be described. The user grasps and lifts the knob 21, and pulls it backward, causing the rear portion of the knob 21 to bend backward, and the knob 21 peels off from the container to which it is attached, starting from the portion closest to the knob 21.

[0021] The handle 21 first peels along the cut 21b, and even after it reaches the end of the cut 21b, the substrate continues to tear toward the rear. The direction of the substrate tearing cannot be completely controlled, but when the tearing reaches the first cutting line 31A in the first region 2a, the uncontrollable tearing ends, and the handle 21 then peels along the first cutting line 31A.

[0022] In this way, after reaching the rear end of one cutting line, a tear occurs in the base material in an uncontrollable direction for a short time, and after reaching the next cutting line adjacent to the rear, the base material peels off along that cutting line, repeating this process until the opening line 2 becomes continuous. Finally, the area surrounded by the continuous tear line 2 peels away from the container, opening the opening and allowing access to the inside of the container for removing the contents, etc. At this time, because the rearmost second tear line 41F has a rear end 44 that folds back forward, it is possible to suitably prevent the base material from tearing behind the second tear line 41F and the area surrounded by the tear line 2 from being completely separated from the lid seal 1.

[0023] As described above, in the lid seal 1, the cutting lines of the first region 2a and the second region 2b, which were formed discontinuously, become connected as the lid seal 1 is opened. However, the inventors have found through research that by forming the second cutting line 41 constituting the second region 2b in a predetermined form, it becomes extremely difficult to make the traces of the opening of the container inconspicuous when the lid seal 1 is used again after opening. This will be explained in detail below.

[0024] As the second cutting line 41 of the second region 2b continues, an uncontrollable tear in the base material occurs rearward from the rear end of the main portion 42. Although this tear cannot be completely controlled, it extends at least rearward due to the direction in which the main portion 42 extends and the force applied to the knob 21, and eventually reaches any part of the front end portion 43 of the second cutting line 41 adjacent to the rear.

[0025] In the two second cutting lines connected in this manner, an uncontrollable rupture A occurs in the front second cutting line and the front end portion 43 of the rear second cutting line, resulting in a tapered flap 3 as shown in Figure 2 at the portion peeled off from the base material.

[0026] Since flap 3 is formed when two second cutting lines are connected, the base material of the portion that will later become flap 3 is strongly bent backward by the opening action and curved backward, along with other portions surrounded by opening line 2, until the two second cutting lines are connected. Then, after the two second cutting lines are connected, the behavior of flap 3 surrounded by rupture A and front end 43 is less likely to be restricted by other portions surrounded by opening line 2. As a result, after the lid seal 1 is reattached to its original state, the flap 3 bends forward and moves away from the container as shown in Figure 3. Therefore, once the lid seal 1 is opened, it is easy to tell that it has already been opened by the bend of the flap 3. The bend of the flap 3 that occurs during the opening operation is strong and is not easily affected by other parts attached to the container, so even if it is smoothed or otherwise handled, it will not easily follow other parts and become flat, and the bent state is likely to persist.

[0027] The lid seal 1 according to this embodiment can be easily found in stores if it has been opened by tampering or the like, due to the above-mentioned operation of the flap 3. Furthermore, once a malicious person attempting to commit tampering encounters this phenomenon, they will realize that it is difficult to replace the lid seal 1 without realizing that it has been opened on an item that uses the lid seal 1, and this significantly reduces future acts of tampering.

[0028] The flap 3 itself is naturally formed simply by providing the spaced second cutting lines, but the inventors have found through their investigation that several elements related to the second cutting lines are important in order to create a recognizable warp in the flap 3. Furthermore, it has been found that some of these elements also affect whether the operation of the lid seal 1 when first opened proceeds smoothly or not.

[0029] The first factor is the angle between the main portion 42 and the front end portion 43 . As shown in Figure 4(a), if the angle θ between the main portion 42 and the front end portion 43 is too large, the tapered edge of the formed flap tends to be blunt, making it less noticeable when the lid seal 1 is reattached to the container. On the other hand, as shown in Figure 4(b), if the angle θ is too small, it tends to make it difficult for the uncontrollable tear shown by the dashed line in the figure to reach the second cutting line at the rear when it progresses inward in the width direction. The inventors' studies using numerous prototypes showed that both the opening operation and the shape of the flap were good when the angle θ was in the range of 30° to 60°, and even better when it was in the range of 30° to 45°.

[0030] The second factor is the length of the front end 43 . As shown in Figure 5(a), if the length of the front end 43 is too short, uncontrollable tearing, as shown by the dashed line in the figure, tends to be difficult to reach the rear second cutting line when it progresses widthwise inward. On the other hand, if the length of the front end 43 is too long, there is an increased possibility that uncontrollable tearing will start from the front end of the front end 43 when opening the package, as shown by the dashed line in Figure 5(b). As the angle θ increases, the opening force is more likely to be directed widthwise inward, further increasing this possibility. The inventor's studies using numerous prototypes showed that both the opening operation and the shape of the flap were good when the length of the front end 43 was within the range of 3 mm to 5 mm, and even better when it was within the range of 3 mm to 4 mm.

[0031] The third element is the distance between adjacent second cutting lines in the front-rear direction of the lid seal 1 (shown by the symbol D in FIG. 1). If the distance D is too long, uncontrollable tearing will tend to be less likely to reach the rear second cutting line. Because the rear end of the main portion 42 and the front end of the front end portion 43 are located at different widthwise positions, it is possible to set the distance D to a negative value below zero. However, if the distance is too short, uncontrollable tearing will quickly reach the rear second cutting line, making it more likely that a flap will form before sufficient winding load is applied to the portion that will become the flap. Such a flap will not fully curl when the lid seal 1 is reattached due to insufficient winding load, potentially reducing the tamper-resistant effect described above. The inventor's studies using numerous prototypes showed that both the opening operation and the shape of the flap were good when the distance D was in the range of 0 mm to 3 mm, and even better when it was in the range of 1 mm to 2 mm.

[0032] In the lid seal 1 of this embodiment shown in Figure 1, the second cutting line 41 is set based on the above findings. Specifically, the angle θ is 45°, the length of the front end 43 is 4 mm, and the distance D is 1 mm, and both the opening operation and the shape of the flap were good. In the modified lid seal 1A shown in FIG. 6, the angle θ was 60°, the length of the front end 43 was 4 mm, and the distance D was 1 mm, and both the opening operation and the shape of the flap were also good.

[0033] In the lid seals 1 and 1A, the boundary between the main portion 42 and the front end 43 of the second cutting line is arc-shaped with no clear corner. While the boundary between the main portion 42 and the front end 43 can, of course, be a corner formed by the joining of straight lines, forming the boundary with a smooth curve has the advantage of making the tip of the resulting flap 3 more pointed and improving visibility when it is bent back. The radius of curvature when forming the boundary into an arc can be set as appropriate, but is generally determined within a certain range based on the angle θ, for example, approximately 5 mm to 11 mm. As an example, the radius of curvature in the lid seal 1 is 3 mm, and the radius of curvature in the lid seal 1A is 4 mm. If the second cutting line is a curved line without a clear corner, the point where the tangent to the front end 43 intersects with the extension of the main portion 42 is used as the basis for the angle θ and the length of the front end.

[0034] So far, we have explained the main effect of the lid seal 1, which is to prevent tampering, but the lid seal 1 also has other effects, which will be explained below. In the first cutting line 31 provided in the first region 2a, the front end 33 of the rear first cutting line is located more inward in the width direction of the lid seal 1 than the rear end 34 of the front first cutting line, and extends forward. This ensures that any tear that occurs in the front first cutting line reaches the rear first cutting line, and also ensures that tearing from the front end 33 of the rear first cutting line is prevented. In this embodiment, the rear end of the incision 21b and the front end 33 of the first cutting line 31A located immediately behind it are in the same positional relationship, so that the connection from the incision 21b to the opening line is smooth and the occurrence of breaks that deviate from the opening line is also effectively suppressed.

[0035] A malicious person who recognizes the behavior of flap 3 may attempt to peel off lid seal 1 from another direction. If a malicious person attempts to peel from either side in the width direction, the periphery will likely separate when the peel reaches the second cutting line, making it extremely difficult to peel without affecting the appearance. Furthermore, if a malicious person attempts to peel from the rear periphery, the area surrounded by notch 11 will no longer follow the peel when the peel reaches fraudulent peel prevention section 12. Furthermore, if the peel is continued further, the lid seal will easily tear in the line extending from notch 11, making it extremely difficult to peel off without affecting the appearance in this case as well.

[0036] As described above, the lid seal 1 of this embodiment prevents fraudulent peeling in any direction, while allowing legitimate purchasers to very easily open the seal after purchase.

[0037] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and it is possible to change the combination of components, make various modifications to each component, or delete components, without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0038] For example, the detailed aspects of the first cutting line described above are not necessarily essential to the present invention, so the cutting line in the first region may be formed in a straight line similar to a general perforation, or the unauthorized peeling prevention portion may be omitted.

[0039] The general shape of the lid seal is not limited to the approximate pentagon shown in the embodiment, and can be freely set without particular restrictions to other polygonal shapes, circles, ellipses, etc. Regardless of the general shape of the lid seal in the present invention, the side on which the tab is provided is the front, and the direction in which the tab is pulled when opening is the front-to-rear direction.

[0040] In the case where the lid seal has a small dimension in the width direction, the first region may have only one first cutting line. In another embodiment, the first region can be omitted, and the second region can be formed immediately behind the notch of the knob. In this embodiment, the second region is the only region present, and there is only one type of cutting line, the second cutting line. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1. 1A Lid seal 2 Opening Line 2a First area 2b Second area 21 Knob 21b Cut 31, 31A First cutting line 41 Second cutting line 42 Main Section 43 Front end

Claims

1. A lid seal having an adhesive layer on one side of a sheet-like substrate, A knob is provided at the center of the front end in the width direction, The base material has a notch extending from the periphery of the tab and a tear line located behind the notch, penetrating the base material in a thickness direction; The opening line is a first region in which a first cutting line is disposed; a second region having a plurality of second cutting lines intermittently arranged therein and extending rearward of the first region; the second cutting line has a main portion that is substantially parallel to the front-rear direction and a front end portion that extends forward and inward in the width direction from a front end of the main portion, The angle between the main portion and the front end portion is 30° or more and 60° or less, The length of the front end is 3 mm or more and 5 mm or less, The distance between two adjacent second cutting lines in the front-to-rear direction is 0 mm or more and 3 mm or less. Lid seal.

2. The angle is equal to or greater than 30° and equal to or less than 45°, The length of the front end is 3 mm or more and 4 mm or less, The distance is 1 mm or more and 2 mm or less. The lid seal of claim 1 .

3. The boundary between the main portion and the front end portion is curved. The lid seal of claim 1 .

4. A lid seal having an adhesive layer on one side of a sheet-like substrate, A knob is provided at the center of the front end in the width direction, The base material has a notch extending from the periphery of the knob and a region located behind the notch and having a plurality of discontinuously arranged cutting lines penetrating the base material in a thickness direction, The cutting line has a main portion that is substantially parallel to the front-rear direction and a front end portion that extends forward and inward in the width direction from a front end of the main portion, The angle between the main portion and the front end portion is 30° or more and 60° or less, The length of the front end is 3 mm or more and 5 mm or less, The distance between two adjacent cutting lines in the front-to-rear direction is 0 mm or more and 3 mm or less. Lid seal.

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