Modified Adhesive Closure System for Resealable Packaging

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing closure systems for packages, such as food packaging, are either 'one-use' or require careful alignment, and often suffer from contamination issues that reduce their resealability and durability.

Innovation Solution

A two-part adhesive-based closure system with modified pressure-sensitive adhesive surfaces featuring a reduced tack or non-tacky surface topography, allowing for easy sealing and unsealing without alignment and minimizing contamination, achieved through the use of additives like fillers or polymeric materials that create a detackified surface with standoffs.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If traditional pressure sensitive adhesive is used to provide strong adhesion for sealing, then the seal strength is improved, but the adhesive surfaces cannot be easily separated and cannot be reused

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveseal strengthVSAvoidease of separation

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The adhesive surface is modified with local non-tacky regions (protrusions) and tacky regions (valleys), creating spatially varying adhesion properties. The protrusions reduce overall tack while the valleys maintain sealing capability, enabling easy separation while preserving seal strength when needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The adhesive surface is segmented into multiple functional zones: non-tacky protrusions that prevent sticking, tacky valleys that provide adhesion, and intermediate regions that balance both properties. This segmentation allows the surface to exhibit both strong sealing capability and ease of separation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Ease of operation

If adhesive surfaces are made non-tacky to allow easy opening and reclosing, then the ease of operation is improved, but the adhesion strength for sealing is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of opening and reclosingVSAvoidadhesion strength

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

Different regions of the adhesive surface have different tackiness properties. The protrusions provide a non-tacky surface for easy finger contact and separation, while the valleys provide tacky surfaces for strong adhesion when sealed, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and adhesion strength.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of making the entire adhesive surface non-tacky to enable easy opening, the invention inverts the approach by making only specific portions (protrusions) non-tacky while leaving other portions (valleys) tacky. This allows easy opening through the non-tacky regions while maintaining sealing strength through the tacky regions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Ease of manufacture

If conventional adhesive surfaces are used without modification, then the manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but contamination from food products reduces resealability and durability

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemanufacturing simplicityVSAvoidresealability and durability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The adhesive surface incorporates local non-tacky protrusions that create a physical barrier to contamination. Food products and contaminants cannot adhere to the protrusion surfaces, preventing them from migrating into the adhesive layer and degrading its performance over time, thus improving reliability without complicating manufacturing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The invention converts the potential harm of contamination into a benefit by using the protrusions to repel contaminants. The non-tacky surface of the protrusions prevents food products from sticking, transforming a vulnerability into a protective feature that enhances durability and resealability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

Enables repeated sealing and unsealing of packages without careful alignment and reduces contamination, maintaining adhesion strength for a secure seal while preventing foreign substances from adhering to the adhesive surfaces.

Implementation Method 1

a first pressure sensitive adhesive having an upper adhesive surface; and a second pressure sensitive adhesive having an upper adhesive surface, wherein the adhesive surfaces of the first and second pressure sensitive adhesives can be repeatedly attached and detached to one another to form a closure

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectPressure sensitive adhesive: Adhesive

Implementation Method 2

the adhesive surface of (i) the first pressure sensitive adhesive, (ii) the second pressure sensitive adhesive, or (iii) both the first pressure sensitive adhesive and the second pressure sensitive adhesive comprise a plurality of standoffs defining a modified surface topography

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectSurface topography modification:

Data Source

PatentUS10196544B2Tape closure system

Publication Date: 2019.02.05 FLEX R&D INC

AI summary

A tape closure system is shown and described herein. The tape closure system includes a first tape component having a pressure sensitive adhesive and a second tape component having a pressure sensitive adhesive, where at least one of the pressure sensitive adhesives has a modified surface to reduce the tack of the surface such that when the first and second pressure adhesives are brought into contact with one another they may sufficiently adhere to one another to form a seal but are still separable from one another and able to be repeatedly opened and sealed.