Lift-tab for peelable labels and surfaces

• US 5,520,760 A
• Filed: 04/15/1993
• Issued: 05/28/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Avery Dennison Corporation
• Original Assignee: Avery Dennison Corporation
• Inventors: Freedman, Melvin S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Seidleck, James J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Williamson, Michael A.
• Application Number:
  US08/044,550
• Time in Patent Office: 1,139 Days
• Field of Search: 428/35.7, 428/36.9, 428/36.91, 428/40, 428/354, 156/253, 156/251, 156/250, 156/268, 156/243, 156/152, 156/244.11, 156/270, 156/277, 30/294, 83/856, 83/938, 83/939
• US Class Current: 156/152
• CPC Class Codes: B31D 1/021 Making adhesive labels having a multilayered structure, e.g. provided on carrier webs
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 2003/021 Indicia behind the front foil
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 2003/0211 Transfer or thermo-sensitive
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 2003/0264 Shapes or borders
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 2003/0267 die cut
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 2003/0269 perforated
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 2003/0272 Labels for containers
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 2003/0273 Labels for bottles, flasks
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 3/10 by an adhesive layer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1085 One web only
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1352 Polymer or resin containing [i.e., natural or synthetic]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/139 Open-ended, self-supporting conduit, cylinder, or tube-type article
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1393 Multilayer [continuous layer]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1397 Single layer [continuous layer]

Abstract

Peelable labels or peelable multi-ply cover elements containing separation interfaces are provided with built-in starting tabs by pre-peeling in paths or swaths extending in the machine direction along the separation interfaces and then reassembling the separated surfaces in contiguous relationship and die-cutting the labels or cutting or perfing the cover elements.

Claims

1. A method of providing cut-to-shape two-ply peelable adhesive labels which are adapted to be bonded to substrates and which are provided with starting tabs for peeling the plies apart after the labels are applied to the substrates, including the steps of:

bonding web layers to provide a flexible two-ply web which includes label facestock at one side and adhesive at the other and further includes, at the boundary between said plies, a pair of contacting, coextruded interior faces peelably bonded to each other but having sufficient strength of bond withstand separation under forces imposed incident to die-cutting of said web, whereby said faces constitute a peelable separation interface,

printing and drying said web either simultaneously with or subsequent to said bonding steps,

peeling said plies apart at said interface and selectively along the machine-direction to define an unbonded swath or swaths extending continuously in the machine direction, the peeled-apart portion of the plies being free of deflection or elongation that precludes satisfactory recovery of the ply material and that adversely affects further satisfactory processing of the web due to bulging, the total width of said unbonded swath or swaths being substantially less than the width of said two-ply web, whereby the majority of said peelable interface remains unpeeled, said peeling step being performed subsequent to said bonding steps,

bringing the peeled-apart portions of said plies back together to re-establish a substantially contiguous relationship of one of said plies to the other at said unbonded swath or swaths, but without rebonding therebetween, to thereby establish substantial contiguity of the adjacent ply faces at said unbonded swath or swaths,

and simultaneously with or following said last-named step, forming individual flexible labels from said adhesive two-ply web by die-cutting through both said plies to define labels whose areas each have a minor edge portion intersecting an unbonded swath and a major remaining portion outside of any unbonded swath and containing unpeeled portions of said separation interface.

2. A method as in claim 1, said step of peeling said plies apart at said interface including drawing said plies past footed cutter means, with the footed cutter means being in cutting relationship with one of the plies and with the footed cutter means extending through said one ply and supporting associated cutter foot means between the plies, the cutter foot means being in separating relation with the plies whereby the cutter foot means generates at least part of said separation swath means as said drawing of said plies occurs.

3. A method as in claim 1, said bonding step including coextruding a pair of films of unlike material defining said pair of contacting interior faces.

4. A method as in claim 1, the charges for said pair of films being respectively polyethylene homopolymer and polypropylene homopolymer.

5. The method of claim 1, in which said bonding step includes coextruding at least two layers to form one of said two piles, said layers being formed from charges of film-forming materials, the charge for one of said two layers comprising olefin polymer and the charge for the other of said two layers comprising a blend of olefin polymers and copolymers of olefin monomers with ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid or ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid ester comonomers such as the ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.

6. A method of providing peelable, multi-ply cover elements which are adapted to be bonded to substrates and then peeled off one ply at a time, and which are provided with starting tabs for initiating the peeling of each ply, including the steps of:

bonding web layers to provide a flexible multi-ply web which comprises a set of plastic-web plies, with each pair of adjacent plies of the set having, between them, a corresponding pair of contacting, coextruded interior faces peelably bonded to each other but having sufficient strength of bond to withstand separation under forces imposed incident to cutting of said web, whereby said pairs of contacting faces of said pair of adjacent plies constitute peelable separation interfaces,

peeling said pairs of adjacent plies apart at said interfaces along the machine-direction to define an unbonded swath extending continuously in the machine direction between each said adjacent pair, the peeled-apart portion of the plies being free of deflection or elongation that precludes satisfactory recovery of the ply material and that adversely affects further satisfactory processing of the web due to bulging, the widths of said unbonded swaths being substantially less than the widths of their associated peelable interfaces, whereby the majority of said peelable interface widths remain unpeeled, said peeling step being performed subsequent to said combining steps,

bringing the peeled-apart portions of said plies back together to re-establish a substantially contiguous relationship of adjacent pairs of plies to each other at said unbonded swaths, but without rebonding therebetween, to thereby establish substantial contiguity of the adjacent ply faces at said unbonded swaths,

and combining an adhesive layer with said multi-ply web before or after said aforesaid steps.

7. A method as in claim 6, including forming individual cover elements by cutting or perfing said multi-ply web at least in the cross direction to divide it at least lengthwise into individual cover elements.

8. A method as in claim 7, said dividing step being carried out simultaneously with or following said step of bringing said peeled-apart portions together.