Bar code blocking package

• US 7,819,243 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2008
• Issued: 10/26/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
• Original Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
• Inventors: Richardson, Joel A., Brophy, David
• Primary Examiner(s): BUI, LUAN KIM
• Application Number:
  US12/053,296
• Publication Number:
  US 20080168747A1
• Time in Patent Office: 949 Days
• Field of Search: 206/145, 206/150, 206/151, 206/484, 206/484.2, 206/459.5, 206/427, 206/432, 206/497, 235/487, 235/484, 235/491, 235/494, 235/454, 533/98, 534/41, 534/46, 283/7, 283/91, 283/901
• US Class Current: 206/150
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 17/02 Joining articles, e.g. cans, directly to each other for convenience of storage, transport, or handling
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 61/025 for applying, e.g. printing, code or date marks on material prior to packaging
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2203/06 Arrangements on packages concerning bar-codes
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 65/20 with provision for excluding light of a particular wavelength
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 71/50 comprising a plurality of articles held together only partially by packaging elements formed otherwise than by folding a blank
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 71/504 the element being formed from a flexible sheet provided with slits or apertures intended to be stretched over the articles and adapt to the shape of the article
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 283/901 Concealed data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/13 Hollow or container type article [e.g., tube, vase, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1352 Polymer or resin containing [i.e., natural or synthetic]

Abstract

A method and apparatus for blocking a bar code in a package includes a carrier with a plurality of apertures. The carrier is formed with a plastic material containing an absorbing dye and a fluorescing dye so that a bar code on each container is not readable by a bar code scanner.

Claims

1. A packaging material for a product with a bar code, the packaging material comprising:

a sheet formed of a generally transparent material including an absorbing dye within at least a portion of the sheet and the sheet generally blocking a bar code scanner from reading the bar code when the sheet is positioned between the product and the bar code scanner; and

at least one additional absorbing dye including a magenta dye and a yellow dye for tri-color balancing and the tri-color balancing results in a neutral color.

2. The packaging material of claim 1, wherein the absorbing dye reduces a contrast between bars and spaces of the bar code to below about 20 percent.

3. The packaging material of claim 1, wherein the sheet is selected form one of the group consisting of stretch labels, shrink labels, stretch films and shrink films.

4. The packaging material of claim 1, wherein a peak absorbance of the dye is in the range of between about 630 nanometers and about 940 nanometers.

5. The packaging material of claim 1, wherein the peak absorbance of the dye is in the range of between about 650 nanometers and about 670 nanometers.

6. The packaging material of claim 1, wherein the absorbing dye colors the sheet cyan.

7. The packaging material of claim 1, wherein the absorbing dyes reduce transmittance by less than about 30 percent.

8. The packaging material of claim 1, further comprising a fluorescing dye.

9. The packaging material of claim 1, wherein the sheet includes at least one of the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl acetate and combinations thereof.

10. A packaging material for a product with a bar code, the packaging material comprising:

a sheet formed of a generally transparent material including a blocking agent within at least a portion of the sheet and the sheet generally blocking a bar code scanner from reading the bar code when the sheet is positioned between the product and the bar code scanner; and

at least one additional blocking agent color balancing the sheet, wherein the at least one additional blocking agent includes a magenta dye and a yellow dye for tri-color balancing and the tri-color balancing results in a neutral color within the sheet.

11. The packaging material of claim 10, wherein the blocking agent includes a pigment.

12. The packaging material of claim 11, wherein the pigment includes titanium dioxide or talc.

13. The packaging material of claim 12, wherein the pigment is between about 0.1 percent and about 0.0001 percent.

14. The packaging material of claim 10, wherein blocking agent includes a chemical blowing agent forming fine bubbles within the sheet.

15. A method of packaging one or more items with a bar code and rendering a the bar code not generally readable by a bar code reader, the method comprising:

providing one or more items with a bar code;

forming a sheet from a transparent plastic material including a first blocking agent in at least a portion of the sheet for blocking the bar code reader and an additional blocking agent includes a magenta dye and a yellow dye for tri-color balancing and the tri-color balancing results in a neutral color within the sheet;

engaging the one or more items with the sheet; and

blocking the bar code from the bar code reader by at least a the portion of the sheet.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of engaging includes stretching the sheet or heat shrinking the sheet.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of orienting the one of more items relative to the sheet.