tape

Abstract

The present invention provides a tape that can cover at least a portion of a barcode while allowing the product label to remain visible as needed. [Solution] The tape has a first part and a second part, the first part having a base material and an adhesive layer, and the second part having a shielding layer and being non-adhesive to the adherend, and when the tape is attached to the adherend, the first part is configured to make the characters on the adherend visible, the second part is configured to make the characters on the adherend invisible and to make it impossible to read a barcode printed or attached to the adherend, and is formed to be foldable at the boundary between the first part and the second part, and is characterized in that when the tape is attached to a barcode the barcode is unreadable by a barcode reader.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to tapes.

Background Art

[0002] In supermarkets, convenience stores, etc., it is common for products to be sold with barcodes attached. Products may be sold at a discounted price for various reasons, and for products after price reduction, a new barcode is attached over the barcode that had been pasted on previously.

[0003] Here, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to a method of using a price reduction barcode label suitable for reducing the price of products for attracting customers. A barcode containing price information is attached to the product, and the price reduction barcode label containing the price information after price reduction is attached so as to cover a part of the barcode that had been attached to the product.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] By the way, the price reduction barcode label covers a part of the barcode that had been attached to the product, and may also inadvertently cover a part of the product. As a result, a part of the character information regarding the product (hereinafter sometimes referred to as product display) may become unreadable. However, there was a problem that it was not preferable legally that a part of the product display was hidden by the new barcode.

[0006] Therefore, this disclosure aims to provide a tape that can cover at least a portion of a barcode while making the product label visible as needed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To address the above problems, a tape according to one aspect of the present invention is a tape having a first portion formed in an elongated shape and a second portion formed in at least one of the width directions intersecting the longitudinal direction of the first portion, wherein the first portion has a base material and an adhesive layer, the second portion has a shielding layer and is non-adhesive to the adherend, the maximum transmittance of visible light in the wavelength range of 360 nm to 840 nm in the first portion is 75% or more, the maximum transmittance of visible light in the wavelength range of 360 nm to 840 nm in the second portion is less than 75%, the tape is formed to be foldable at the boundary between the first portion and the second portion, and when the tape is attached to a barcode, the barcode covered by the second portion is unreadable by a barcode reader.

[0008] Here, the width of the second portion is preferably 1 mm or more. Furthermore, it is desirable that the maximum transmittance of red light in the wavelength range of 600 nm to 840 nm in the first portion is 75% or more, and that the maximum transmittance of red light in the wavelength range of 600 nm to 840 nm in the second portion is less than 75%.

[0009] Furthermore, it is desirable that the shielding layer partially forms an area where the maximum transmittance of visible light in the wavelength range of 360 nm to 840 nm is less than 75%. Moreover, it is desirable that the first and second portions have multiple easily cut portions extending in the width direction, either entirely or at intervals along the longitudinal direction.

[0010] Furthermore, a tape according to another aspect of the present invention is a tape having a first portion formed in an elongated shape and a second portion formed in at least one of the width directions intersecting the longitudinal direction of the first portion, wherein the first portion has a base material and an adhesive layer, and the second portion has a shielding layer and is non-adhesive to the adherend, and when the tape is attached to the adherend, the first portion is configured to make the characters of the adherend visible, the second portion is configured to make the characters of the adherend invisible and to make it impossible to read a barcode printed or attached to the adherend, and is formed to be foldable at the boundary between the first portion and the second portion, and when the tape is attached to the barcode, the barcode is unreadable by a barcode reader. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to this disclosure, it is possible to provide a tape that can cover at least a portion of a barcode without obscuring the product labeling. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a plan view of a tape according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a side view of a tape according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a plan view showing the first and second parts attached to the barcode. [Figure 4] This is a plan view showing the first part attached to the barcode and the second part in an upright position. [Figure 5] This is a schematic side view showing tape attached to a barcode. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of barcode reading using a barcode reader. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of scanning a barcode with a smartphone. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] Hereinafter, the tape according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tape according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the tape.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, the tape 1 has a first portion 10 formed in a long strip shape, and second portions 20 formed on both sides in the width direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the first portion 10. Note that the second portion 20 may be formed on at least one of the width directions. The difference in shading between the first portion 10 and the second portion 20 in the figure represents the difference in transmittance.

[0016] In the tape 1, a plurality of easily cut portions C extending in the width direction are formed over the entire surface along the longitudinal direction or at intervals. The easily cut portion C is formed across both the first portion 10 and the second portions 20 formed on both sides of the first portion 10. The easily cut portion C is, for example, a cut for making the tape 1 cut by hand.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the tape 1 includes a base material 11, an adhesive layer 12, and a shielding layer 21. The base material 11 extends across the entire width direction. An adhesive layer 12 is provided in the central portion in the width direction of the base material 11, and the first portion 10 is constituted by the base material 11 and the adhesive layer 12. In the tape 1, the portion where the adhesive layer 12 is provided is an adhesive region, and the portion where the adhesive layer 12 is not provided is a non-adhesive region.

[0018] A shielding layer 21 is provided in a portion of the base material 11 that does not overlap the adhesive layer 12 when viewed from below. The second portion 20 is constituted by the base material 11 and the shielding layer 21.

[0019] The first portion 10 is formed so as to be foldable with respect to the second portion 2 at the boundary between the first portion 10 and the second portion 2. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the first portion 10 is formed so as to be foldable in the direction of the white arrow.

[0020] Figure 3 is a plan view of the state where the tape 1 is attached to the barcode 100. Specifically, the first part 10 and the second part 20 are attached to the barcode 100. The barcode 100 has a plurality of bars 101.

[0021] When the tape 1 is attached to the barcode 100, at least some of the bars 101 of the barcode 100 covered by the second part 20 are covered by the second part 20, so that the barcode 100 cannot be read by the barcode reader.

[0022] On the other hand, FIGS. 4 and 5 show the state where the second part 20 is raised when the tape 1 is attached to the barcode 100. In FIG. 5, for convenience of explanation, the bars 101 are shown three-dimensionally.

[0023] Since the second part 20 is formed to be foldable at the boundary with the first part 10, it is possible to avoid the bars 101 constituting the barcode 100 from being covered by the second part 20 in a top view. That is, the product display (the characters printed on the product (denoted as "ABC" in FIG. 4)) covered by the second part 20 becomes visible when the second part 20 is raised (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

[0024] Hereinafter, the configuration of the tape according to an aspect of the present invention will be described in detail. <<<Configuration of the tape>>> <<First part>> The first part 10 is a laminate having a base material 11 and an adhesive layer 12.

[0025] Examples of the base material 11 include transparent films such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and cellophane, but are not limited thereto. The thickness of the base material 11 is preferably 5 to 100 μm, more preferably 10 to 50 μm, from the viewpoints of the strength of the base material and the tape winding diameter.

[0026] The adhesive layer 12 is provided on one side of the substrate 11 of the first portion 10. The adhesive layer 12 is composed of one or more adhesives selected from the group consisting of rubber-based adhesives and acrylic-based adhesives, but is not limited to these. From the viewpoint of obtaining sufficient adhesive strength, the thickness of the adhesive layer is preferably 5 to 200 μm, and more preferably 10 to 100 μm.

[0027] In the first part 10, it is preferable that the maximum transmittance of visible light in the wavelength range of 360 nm to 840 nm is 75% or more, and the maximum transmittance of red light in the wavelength range of 600 nm to 840 nm is 75% or more. The maximum transmittance of visible light and infrared light can be measured as follows. A reference light source in the wavelength range of 360 nm to 840 nm is irradiated onto various films to obtain the transmittance spectrum. The maximum transmittance in the 360nm to 840nm range is defined as the maximum transmittance of the film.

[0028] <<Part 2>> The second part 20 has a shielding layer 21 and is non-adhesive to the object to which it is attached, such as a product. The second part 20 may consist only of the shielding layer 21, or it may be a laminated structure of the shielding layer 21 and a non-shielding layer. The width of the second part 20 is preferably 1 mm or more, and more preferably 1 to 30 mm.

[0029] The shielding layer 21 is formed, for example, by using a pigment such as carbon black or aniline black on the surface of the second portion 20 that is on the substrate 11 side. The shielding layer 21 may also be a printed area such as a pattern (graphic) or characters.

[0030] Preferably, the maximum transmittance of visible light in the wavelength range of 360 nm to 840 nm in the second part 20 is less than 75%, and the maximum transmittance of red light in the wavelength range of 600 nm to 840 nm is less than 75%. If the shielding layer 21 is a printed area such as a pattern (figure) or characters, it is sufficient if the maximum transmittance in the printed area is within the above range.

[0031] Preferably, the maximum transmittance of visible light in the wavelength range of 360 nm to 840 nm in the shielding layer 21 of the second portion 20 is less than 75%, and the maximum transmittance of red light in the wavelength range of 600 nm to 840 nm is partially less than 75%. [Examples]

[0032] <<Making the Tape>> <Example 1> In the first part 10 of Example 1, an adhesive layer 12 was formed on one side of the substrate 11.

[0033] <Base material> A polyethylene layer with a thickness of 100 μm was formed as the base material. <Adhesive layer> A rubber-based adhesive layer with a thickness of 30 μm was formed as the adhesive layer. <Shielding layer> As a shielding layer, a carbon black pigment was formed so that areas with a maximum transmittance of less than 75% were partially created.

[0034] <<Maximum transmittance>> <Part 1> The maximum transmittance of visible light in the wavelength range of 360 nm to 840 nm for the first part 10 is 99%. <Second part> In the second part 20, the maximum transmittance of visible light in the wavelength range of 360 nm to 840 nm is 74%.

[0035] <Comparative Example 1> The tape of Comparative Example 1 was made using a tape having only the same material as the second part 20. The thickness of the tape was the same as in Example 1.

[0036] <Comparative Example 2> The tape of Comparative Example 2 has a structure in which an adhesive is applied to polypropylene, with a maximum transmittance of 84% for visible light in the wavelength range of 360 nm to 840 nm.

[0037] <<Rating>> <Barcode reader reading test> A test was conducted to determine whether the barcode reader 201 could read the barcode 100 before the discount when the tape 1 of Example 1 and each comparative example was attached to the barcode 100 before the discount was applied (see Figure 6).

[0038] <Evaluation Criteria> +: Barcode before discount cannot be read. -: Barcode before discount can be scanned.

[0039] <Smartphone reading test> Tests were conducted to determine whether the pre-discount barcode 100 could be read using a smartphone 202 when the tape 1 of Example 1 and each comparative example was attached to the pre-discount barcode 100 and used (see Figure 7).

[0040] <Evaluation Criteria> +: Barcode before discount cannot be read. -: Barcode before discount can be scanned.

[0041] <Food Labeling Law and Food Labeling Standards> Tests were conducted to determine whether the tapes used in Example 1 and each comparative example met the requirements of the Food Labeling Act and Food Labeling Standards (i.e., the product text was legible) or not (i.e., the product text was illegible). For the tape in Example 1, the second part 20 was folded along the boundary between the first part 10 and the second part 20 during the test.

[0042] <Evaluation Criteria> +: The text on the product before the discount is readable. -: The text on the product before the discount is illegible.

[0043] [Table 1] [Industrial applicability]

[0044] As described above, the present invention is extremely useful and has high industrial applicability because it can provide a tape that can cover at least a portion of a barcode without obscuring the product label. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0045] 1: Tape 10: 1st part 11: Base material 12: Adhesive layer 20 :Second part 21: Shielding layer 100: Barcode

Claims

1. A tape having a first portion formed in an elongated shape and a second portion formed in at least one of the width directions intersecting the longitudinal direction of the first portion, The first part comprises a substrate and an adhesive layer, The second portion has a shielding layer and is non-adhesive to the adherend. With the tape attached to the object to be adhered, The first part is configured to make the characters on the adherend visible, The second portion is configured such that the characters on the adherend are not visible and the barcode printed or affixed to the adherend is not readable. It is formed to be foldable at the boundary between the first part and the second part, A tape characterized in that, when the tape is attached to the barcode, the barcode becomes unreadable by a barcode reader.

2. The tape according to claim 1, characterized in that the width of the second portion is 1 mm or more.

3. The maximum transmittance of red light in the wavelength range of 600 nm to 840 nm in the first portion is 75% or more. The tape according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the maximum transmittance of red light in the wavelength range of 600 nm to 840 nm in the second portion is less than 75%.

4. The tape according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the shielding layer partially has a region in which the maximum transmittance of visible light in the wavelength range of 360 nm to 840 nm is less than 75%.

5. The tape according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first and second portions have multiple easily cut portions extending in the width direction formed along the entire length or at intervals therein.

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