Tamper evident packaging and method

• US 4,746,052 A
• Filed: 04/28/1987
• Issued: 05/24/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TPC Printing and Packaging
• Original Assignee: TPC Printing and Packaging
• Inventors: Schmissrauter, Mark M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lowrance, George E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Elkins, Gary E.
• Application Number:
  US07/043,598
• Time in Patent Office: 392 Days
• Field of Search: 229/102, 229/132, 229/134, 229/136, 206/631, 206/807, 493/150, 493/151, 493/183
• US Class Current: 229/102
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 5/42 Details of containers or of foldable or erectable container blanks
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 206/807 Tamper proof

Abstract

All sealed flaps of a box or carton are provided with viewing window apertures which are in registration with frangible parts of underlying flaps. The underlying flaps have scored areas in the skin portions thereof to which cold glue is applied for sealing the underlying flaps to the flaps having the window apertures. When any of the flaps having the window apertures are pulled open, the skin portions of the underlying flaps are stripped from the main substrate layers of the underlying flaps within the scored areas. This stripping tears the frangible parts of the underlying flaps, such parts being unscored, leaving roughly torn elements of the frangible parts visible through the viewing window apertures. Attempts to reseal the flaps which have been pulled open are ineffective because the viewable torn elements of the frangible parts cause the tampering to be permanently evident.

Claims

1. A tamper evident package structure comprising a pair of superposed hinged closure flaps, at least one closure flap constructed of material covered with a strippable skin layer, said one closure flap having scoring line means formed through the skin layer thereof to define a gluing area, said one flap having an unscored area defined by said scoring line means adjacent to and connecting said gluing area on the skin layer to the skin layer beyond said scoring line means, the other closure flap having a window aperture formed therethrough adapted to register with said unscored area, and

glue applied to the gluing area bounded by the scoring line means of said one flap and being adhered to the opposing face of the other flap when said flaps are in superposed package-closing relationship, whereby pulling open of said other flap causes said glue to strip the skin layer in said gluing area from said one flap and adherence of the skin layer in said gluing area to said other flap with the creation of a torn fragment of the skin layer at least in the unscored area of said one flap permanently visible through said window aperture of the other flap when the other flap is resealed on said one flap in superposed relationship therewith.

2. A tamper evident package structure as defined in claim 1, and said flaps each being embossed in regions of the gluing area of said one flap and the embossings of said flaps interfitting when the flaps are in superposed relationship.

3. A tamper evident package structure as defined in claim 1, and the gluing area of said one flap being elongated and said one flap having several spaced unscored areas in its skin layer, and the other flap having a corresponding number of window apertures adapted to register with the unscored areas.

4. A tamper evident package structure as defined in claim 1, formed from a unitary foldable blank made from a substrate material which includes a main layer and a comparatively thin skin layer on the main layer in the form of a glossy coating adapted to be stripped from the main layer.

5. A tamper evident package structure as defined in claim 4, and the blank comprising a paper blank and said coating comprising a clay coating.

6. A tamper evident package structure as defined in claim 1, and said package structure comprising a rectangular carton with said hinged closed flaps being provided at least on one end of the carton.

7. A tamper evident package structure as defined in claim 6, and the hinged closure flaps being provided on opposite ends of the carton and on one side wall thereof.

8. A method of producing a tamper evident carton formed from sheet material having a thin skin adapted to be stripped away from an underlying relatively thick layer comprising

forming a gluing area on a closure flap of the carton by scoring the skin of such flap substantially surrounding the gluing area, the scoring of said flap having interruptions producing unscored frangible areas in the skin of said flap adjacent to and connecting the gluing area of the skin to the skin outside the gluing area,

forming viewing window apertures in another closure flap of the carton adapted to assume a superposed position relative to the first-named closure flap with said viewing window apertures in registration with said unscored frangible areas of the first-named closure flap,

applying glue to the first-named closure flap within said gluing area, and

adhesively bonding said closure flaps in superposed relationship by means of the glue within the gluing area, whereby opening of the second-named closure flap will strip the skin from the first-named closure flap within the gluing area and tear it away from the skin outside the gluing area in said unscored frangible areas thereby creating permanent tear evidence of tampering in said unscored frangible areas visible through the viewing window apertures registered therewith when the closure flaps are reclosed in superposed relationship.

9. The method of claim 8, and the additional step of embossing said closure flaps substantially in the gluing area in such a manner that the embossings of the closure flaps interfit when the flaps are in superposed relationship.

10. A tamper evident carton formed of sheet material having a strippable skin thereon comprising

a pair of carton closure flaps adapted to assume superposed relationship, one closure flap having a viewing window aperture formed therethrough, the other closure flap having score line means through the skin of such flap substantially surrounding and defining a gluing area on the skin and an unscored frangible area on the skin connecting the skin in said gluing area to the skin outside said gluing area, said gluing area lying adjacent to the viewing window aperture and said unscored frangible area lying in registration beneath said viewing window aperture when the flap having the viewing window aperture is superposed on said other flap, and

glue applied between said closure flaps within the gluing area whereby opening of the closure flap having the viewing window aperture after hardening of the glue strips said skin in said gluing area at said score line means from the other closure flap and tears said skin in said unscored frangible area to produce a torn skin fragment on the other closure flap viewable through the viewing window aperture registered therewith when the closure flaps are reclosed in the superposed relationship.

11. A tamper evident carton as set forth in claim 10 in which said glue is cold glue.