GB2190351A - A label - Google Patents

Abstract

A label for attachment to a product, the label comprising a longitudinal strip 2 which is divided into a row of pairs of panels 4a,4b,-10a, 10b by transverse fold lines 12,14,16 and a longitudinal fold line 18, the strip having a transverse weakened tear line 28 which extends across the second pair of panels 6a,6b, the strip being folded about the transverse fold lines 12-16 such that the first pair of panels 4 is covered by the remaining pairs of panels 6-10 and then about the longitudinal fold line 18 so that those panels 4b-10b which are on one side of the longitudinal fold line cover the panels 4a-10a which are on the other side of the longitudinal fold line, one panel 4a of the first pair being dimensioned so that the longitudinal edge thereof extends laterally beyond the longitudinal edge of the other panel 4b of the first pair and the longitudinal edges of the remaining panels of the strip, which has been folded as aforsesaid, so as to form an overlapping portion 20; and a support web (42, Fig. 3) to which the overlapping portion 20 and the said other panel 4b of the first pair are adhered so that the said one panel 4a and the said other panel 4b of the first pair form a front cover and a back cover respectively for the remaining panels 6-10 which are enclosed therebetween, and the remaining panels 6-10 being removable from the front and back covers through the free transverse edge of the front and back covers by tearing along the tear line 28. Panel 4a also has an overlapping transverse portion 36 adhered to the web, and the strip includes cut-outs 30,32,24. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A label The present invention relates to a label for attachment to a product.

It is frequently desirable to be able to attach a sheet of printed instructions to a product, and to avoid soiling of the sheet during handling of the product or loss of the sheet during such handling, it is desirable that the sheet should be enclosed in an envelope and held from falling out. If the means for holding the sheet can be made such as to require a nonrepeatable action to remove the sheet from the envelope, they will afford an indication of unauthorised tampering.

British Patent No. 1475706 and British Patent Specification No. 2115744 each disclose a sheet and envelope arrangement which is formed from a single fold sheet. When the sheet and envelope arrangement is attached to a product, the sheet can be removed from the envelope by tearing along a line of perforations. However, those arrangements suffer from the disadvantage that the folding of the sheet to form the final sheet and envelope is relatively complicated.

The present invention relates to a label in which sheet portion is enclosed between a front cover and a back cover and can be removed by tearing along a weakened tear-line.

The folding of a longitudinal strip to form the sheet portion and the front and back covers is less complicated than in the prior art referred to above.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a label for attachment to a product, the label comprising a longitudinal strip which is divided into a row of pairs of panels by a plurality of transverse fold lines and a longitudinal fold line, the strip having a transverse weakened tear line which extends across the second pair of panels, the strip being folded about the transverse fold lines such that the first pair of panels is covered by the remaining pairs of panels and then about the longitudinal fold line so that those panels which are on one side of the longitudinal fold line cover the panels which are on the other side of the longitudinal fold line, one panel of the first pair being dimensioned so that the longitudinal edge thereof extends laterally beyond the longitudinal edge of the other panel of the first pair and the longitudinal edges of the remaining panels of the strip, which has been folded as aforesaid, so as to form an overlapping portion; and a support web to which the overlapping portion and the said other panel are adhered so that the said one panel and the said other panel of the first pair form a front cover and a back cover respectively for the remaining panels which are enclosed therebetween and the remaining panels being removable from the front and back covers through the free transverse edge of the front and back covers by tearing along the weakened tear line.

Preferably, the pairs of panels are dimensioned so that when the label is folded as aforesaid, an area of the rear face of the front cover, in addition to the overlapping portion, is not covered by the folded pairs of panels and is adhered to the support web, the said area being located laterally adjacent the folded longitudinal edge of the front cover.

More preferably, two cut-outs each extend inwardly from a respective longitudinal edge of the strip adjacent the weakened tear line so that the weakened tear line stops short of the longitudinal edges of the strip whereby when the strip is folded the cut-outs reveal the said area of the rear face of the front cover.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a sheet prepared for folding to form a label in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the sheet of Figure 1 when partially folded; and Figure 3 is a plan view showing a plurality of labels in accordance with the invention when carried on a release backing material, each label incorporating the sheet of Figure 2 when folded further.

Referring to Figure 1, a sheet 2 of paper in the form of a longitudinal strip is divided into a row of pairs of panels 4a,4b; 6a,6b; 8a,8b; 10a,10b; by a plurality of transverse fold lines 12, 14, 16 and a longitudinal fold line 18, each fold line extending between the appropriate longitudinal or transverse edges of the sheet 2. One panel 4a of the first pair of panels is extended in the transverse direction so as to have a portion 20 which extends laterally beyond the respective longitudinal edge 22 of the sheet 2. A semi-circular indent 24 is cut in the free transverse edge 26 of the panel 4a. A weakened tear line 28, e.g. a line of perforations, extends transversely across the second pair of panels 6a, 6b and parallel to the first transverse fold line 12. A first cut-out 30 extends inwardly from the longitudinal edge 22 of the sheet 2 which has the portion 20.The first cut-out 30 is formed in the region of the panel 6a which is between the weakened tear line 28 and the first transverse fold line 12 so that the weakened tear line 28 stops short of the longitudinal edge 22 of the sheet 2. A second cut-out 32 extends inwardly from the other longitudinal edge 34 of the sheet. The second cut-out 32 is formed in the panels 4b and 6b on opposing sides of the first transverse fold line 12 and is dimensioned so that the weakened tear line 28 stops short of the respective lingitudinal edge 34 of the sheet.

The length in the longitudinal direction of the panels 4a, 4b and 6a, 6b is substantially the same. The length of the panels 8a, 8b and 10a, 10b is also substantially the same and is substantially the same as the length between the weakened tear line 28 and the second transverse fold line 14 between the panels 6a, 6b and 8a, 8b.

The strip 2 is folded in succession about transverse fold lines 16, 14, 12 as is shown in Figure 1, so that the second, third and fourth pairs of panels 6a,6b; 8a,8b; 10a,10b cover the first pair of panels 4a,4b as is shown in Figure 2. As a result of the relationship between the lengths of the various panels, the free transverse end edge 26 of the stip 2 is aligned with edges of the folded pairs of panels. The first cut-out 30 reveals an exposed rearwardly facing portion 36 of the panel 4a, which portion 36, together with the extending portion 20, forms an L-shaped tab 38. The folded strip 2 is then folded about longitudinal fold line 18 so that the panels 4b,6b,8b and 10b on one side of the longitudinal fold line 18 cover those panels 4a,6a,8a and 10a on the other side of the longitudinal fold line 18.The strip 2 is dimensioned such that this latter operation results in the side edges of the folded panels 4b,6b,8b and 10b being aligned with those of panels 6a,8a and 10a. The second cut-out 32 is aligned over the first cut-out 30 and reveals the rearwardly facing portion 36. Thus the rear face of the folded strip 2 consists of the panel 4b and the L-shaped tab 38. The front face of the folded strip consists of panel 4a and that part of the adjacent folded panel which is revealed by indent 24.

Referring now to Figure 3, in the resultant label 40 the rear face of the folded strip 2 is adhered to a support web 42, e.g. of paper, which is coated on its reverse face with a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive so as to be self-adhesive and is carried on a release backing material 44, such as siliconised paper.

In the desired form of the invention, a plurality of labels 40 of the invention are carried in succession on a length of release backing material 44 which is wound into a reel.

The reel can be inserted into an automatic labelling machine which can automatically apply the self-adhesive labels to containers to be labelled.

The labels of the present invention may be made as self-adhesive labels on a reel of release backing material by the methods which are disclosed in my British Patent Specification No. 2127778 entitled "Method of Producing Labels". In the label of the invention, the sheet portion, which is constituted by panels 8a,8b,10a,10b and those parts of panels 6a and 6b which are on the same side of the weakened tear line 28 as those panels, is enclosed within the envelope portion which is constituted by panels 4a,4b and the remaining parts of panels 6a and 6b. Panels 4a and 4b act as a front cover and a back cover for the label 40 and enclose the sheet portion therebetween. The rear face of panel 4b is adhered to the support web 42 and so is the L-shaped tab 38 which retains the envelope portion in its closed condition.

When it is desired to remove the sheet portion from the envelope in order to read information which is printed thereon relating to the product which is labelled, a user simply manually pulls upwardly that part of the sheet portion which is exposed by the indent 24. This causes the sheet 2 to tear along the line of perforations and permit the sheet portion to be separated and removed from the envelope portion. After use, the sheet portion can be re-folded and re-inserted back into the envelope portion for safe-keeping until it is required at a later time.

The provision of the cut-outs 30 and 32 which reveal the rearwardly-facing portion 36 of the front cover panel 4a can ensure that a substantial part of the bottom edge of the envelope portion is adhered directly to the support web 42. This tends to prevent tearing or buckling of the envelope portion when the sheet 2 is torn along the weakened tear line 28. Prior to initiation of tearing along the weakened tear line there can be a tendency for the sheet portion to pull upwardly the envelope portion to which it is attached. This can lead to damage to the envelope which renders difficult the re-insertion of the sheet portion. By adhering the bottom part of the envelope portion directly to the support web, any tendency for that part of the envelope portion which is adjacent the weakened tear line to be pulled upwardly together with the sheet portion can be resisted.

The present invention results in a folded label which can be manufactured easily and inexpensively in a continuous manner. The label of the invention has an advantage over my known sheet and envelope arrangements by requiring only one longitudinal fold. This simplifies manufacture of the labels. The manner in which the rear face of the back cover and the tab 38 are adhered to the support web 42 ensures that the sheet portion is well protected by the first cover until it is required to be read by a user and ensures that removal of the sheet portion by tearing along the weakened tear line can be quickly and easily carried out without damaging the envelope portion.

Claims (5)

1. A label for attachment to a product, the label comprising a longitudinal strip which is divided into a row of pairs of panels by a plurality of transverse fold lines and a longitudinal fold line, the strip having a transverse weakened tear line which extends across the second pair of panels, the strip being folded about the transverse fold lines such that the first pair of panels is covered by the remaining pairs of panels and then about the longitudinal fold line so that those panels which are on one side of the longitudinal fold line cover the panels which are on the other side of the longitudinal fold line, one panel of the first pair being dimensioned so that the longitudinal edge thereof extends laterally beyond the longitudinal edge of the other panel of the first pair and the longitudinal edges of the remaining panels of the strip, which has been folded as aforesaid, so as to form an overlapping portion; and a support web to which the overlapping portion and the said other panel of the first pair are adhered so that the said one panel and the said other panel of the first pair form a front cover and a back cover respectively for the remaining panels which are enclosed therebetween, and the remaining panels being removable from the front and back covers through the free transverse edge of the front and back covers by tearing along the weakened tear line.

2. A label according to claim 1 wherein the pairs of panels are dimensioned so that when the label is folded as aforesaid, an area of the rear face of the front cover, in addition to the overlapping portion, is not covered by the folded pairs of panels and is adhered to the support web, the said area being located laterally adjacent the folded longitudinal edge of the front cover.

3. A label according to claim 2 wherein two cut-outs each extend inwardly form a respective longitudinal edge of the strip adjacent the weakened tear line so that the weakened tear line stops short of the longitudinal edges of the strip whereby when the strip is folded the cut-outs reveal the said area of the rear face of the front cover.

4. A label for attachment to a product substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

5. A reel of release backing material carrying thereon a succession of labels as claimed on any foregoing claim.