Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
lOS8837
The present invention refers to a one-piece security
seal and a new sealing system.
Various systems are known in which two elements to be
sealed to~ether are adapted to receive a security seal which
permits their separation only in the event of intentional or
criminal violation of the seal. Two basic types of seals have
been used previously, one being a single piece seal which is
deformable by means of a tool (for example the extremely well
known lead seal which is deformed over the two ends of a string
closing a mailbag or the like) and a two-piece seal in which one
is inserted manually into the other (for example, the seals
described in U.K. Patent Nos. 1,312,300 and 1,400,760).
An object of the present invention is to provide a
one-piece security seal which may be applied to the two elements
to be sealed wlthout the necessity of using a tool to deform the
seal over the said elements.
Another object of the invention is to provide a seal
of the above type which is easily broken for separating the two
elements, said one-piece seal being the only part which is
destroyed. In this respect, it should be observed that when a
mailbag or the like sealed with a lead seal is opened it is
necessary to cut the string which is later thrown away. The
same situation exists with the seal described in the U.K. Patent
No. 1,312,300, Canadian Patent Application Serial No~ 212,142
filed October 23, 1974, describes a label holder which may be
used with a security seal similar to that disclosed in U. K.
Patent ~o. 1,312,300 and which has the advantage of permitting
a mailbag to be closed in such a way that, on breaking the
seal, the latter, comprising a capsule and an insert, is the
only element which is lost whereas the string and the label
holder may both be used many times. When the one-piece
seal of the present invention is used with a duly modified
version of the above-mentioned label holder, the only
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element to be thrown away is the single piece seal. Apart from
this, the seal of the present invention is very simple to use
since it may be applied with a light manual pressure.
In accordance with the present invention a security
seal comprises a single element consisting of an insert portion
which is elastically deformable and fixed by means of a weakened
region to a second portion which is removable by breaking said
weakened region. Preferably the insert portion has a rectangular
base, a central part extended perpendicularly from the middle of
said base and, on the two opposite sides of the free end of the
central part, two elastically deformable arms inclined outwardly
and backwardly towards the base, the second portion comprising a
blade having a width approximately equal to that of the base and
being connected thereto by said weakened region.
According to another aspect of the present invention,
a sealing system comprising two elements to be sealed together
; in which the first comprises a first part provided with a first
opening therethrough and the second element comprises a second
part provided with a second opening, said two openings being
aligned in the sealing or closed position of the two elements
in which position the two elements define a closed cavity behind
said second opening on the side of the second part remote from
the first part, said cavity having a larger cross-section than
that of the second opening at least in the region of the latter,
the cavity being accessible from the outside only through said
two aligned openings when in the sealing position and freely
açcessible when the two elements are separated; and a security
seal of the above-defined type in which the insert portion is
capable of passing through said two openings, undergoing elastic
deformation on passing through the second opening and then becom-
ing caught behind the second opening and within said cavity, the
weakened region of the seal, in the sealing position, being behind
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said first opening, that is to say, on its side associated with
said cavity.
According to a still further broad aspect of the
present invention there is provided a security se~l comprising
a generally flattened insert portion which has an elongated
central part at either side of the free end of which elastically
deformable arms are inclined outwardly and backward~y towards
the other end of the central part. A removable portion and a
weakened breakable means connects the removable portion with the
other end o~ the central part. The other end of the central part
com~rises a base of a rectangular cross-section, the free ends of
the elastically deformable arms being separated in the undeformed
condition by a distance slightly greater than the corresponding
width dimension of the base. The removable portion comprises a
blade aligned with the central part and provided with a base of
rectangular cross-section adjacent the weakened breakable means,
and having a width and thickness substantially equal to those of
the insert portion base.
According to a further broad aspect of the present
invention there is provided a sealing system which includes
the above-described seal and comprising first and second ele-
ments to be sealed together by means of said seal which is a
separate elastically deformable security seal. The two elements
define a seal-receiving cavity when in the closed position, each
of the elements being formed with a first opening. The open-
ings are aligned and adjacent to each other in the sealing
position to define single access to the cavity.
As has already been mentioned in the specification,
the security seal and the sealing system are most suitable for
use with the label holder.described in Canadian application
Ser. No. 212,142 and the invention can therefore be described
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in connection with such label holder, reference being made to
the attached drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a label holder and
security seal constructed in accordance with
the invention,
Figure 2 is a plan view of part of the label holder
closed in the seal, the sealing system being
illustrated in section;
Figure 3 comprises two orthographical views of the new
single piece seal;
Figure 4 is a perspective view similar to Figure 1,
showing a modified version of a label holder
and seal constructed in accordance with the
invention; and
Figure 5 is a front view of the capsule and cap portions
shown in Figure 4.
Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a moulded
plastic label holder to be sealed by the new single piece seal 1
which is shown in detail in Figure 3. Seal 1 comprises an insert
portion 2 and a removable portion 3. The insert 2 has a rect-
angular base 4, a central part 5 extending from the middle of the
base perpendicular thereto and two arms 6 and 7 beginning on
opposite sides of the free end 8 of the central part 5 and extend-
ing outwardly and back~ardly in the direction of the base.
The removable portion 3 of the new seal comprises a
blade 9 having a thicker rectangular base end 10 of the same
thickness as the insert portion 2, The base end 10 is fixed to
the base 4 of the insert by a weakened joint, such weakening
being represented in the illustrated seal by two small bridges
11.
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Seal 1 is moulded from plastic material so as to give
arms 6 and 7 a certain flexibility ~or permitting them to be
elastically deformed when one applies the seal to a sealing
system. As shown in Figure 1 the flexibility of arms 6 and 7
is facilitated by the existence of a small longitudinal recess
12 at the free end 8 of the central part 5 of the insert.
The plastic material from which the seal is manu-
factured is preferably polypropylene.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a moulded plastic
label holder 13 which is basically similar to that illustrated
; in Canadian Application Ser. No. 212,142 for which reason only
a short description of its basic structure will be given here.
As illustrated the label holder 13 comprises two integrally
moulded parts 14 and 15 which are foldable one over the other
and adapted to receive a paper label when in the closed position.
Part 14 is integral with a fixed spool 16 whereas part 15 is
integral with a cap 17 which fits over spool 16 when the label
holder is closed. One end of a piece of string may be fixed
in a hole 18 in part 14, the string being wound around the neck
of a mailbag or the like and then around the spool before clos-
ing the parts 14 and 15. The present invention however refers
only to the new system for sealing the cap 17 over the spool
16, such differing substantially from that described and illus-
trated in the above-mentioned prior patent application.
The sealing system basically comprises a wall 19 moulded
on the upper surface 16' of spool 16 and a "capsule" 20 formed in
the upper part or top 21 of cap 17. Wall 19 is provided with a
rectang-ilar through opening 22 having a-height slightly greater
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than the thickness of said insert 2 and a width somewhat less
than the separation between the ends 24 of the arms 6 and 7 on
the insert and slightly larger than the width of base 4. Con-
sequently insert 2 may pass through opening 22 by means of
elastic deformation (compression) of arms 6 and 7. Behind open-
ing 22 two shoulders 23 are inclined at an angle which corres-
ponds substantially to the inclination of the end surfaces 6'
and 7' of arms 6 and 7 in the non-deformed condition. These
shoulders 23 are clearly shown in Figure 2.
The "capsule" 20 is open on the inner or under side so
as to be accessible from the interior of cap 17. The upper side
of the capsule is closed by the top 24, the capsule also having
a side wall 25 which is provided with an opening 26 having sub-
stantially the same dimensions as opening 22 and adapted to be
aligned therewith when the label holder 13 is closed with spool
16 covered by cap 17. ~he shape of side wall 25 and of the capsule
top 24 is not of extreme importance provided that when the cap is
closed over the spool an internal cavity 27 is formed having a
size sufficient to receive insert 2, the only possible access
being through aligned openings 22 and 26. In the illustrated
embodiment, the shape of the capsule generally corresponds to
that of insert 2 and the side wall 25 is provided with a small
vertical internal rib 28 which extends into recess 8 of insert
2 when in the sealed position.
As can be seen from Figure 2, when the label holder 13
is closed with spool 16 fitted into cap 17, wall 19 enters the
capsule and.opening 22 becomes positioned adjacent and behind
opening 26. It will be observed that the upper surface 16' of
. the spool closes capsule 20 serving as a bottom therefor and
ensuring that the only access to the internal cavity 27 is by
means of the two openings 22 and 26. Once wall 19 has entered
capsule 20, the single piece seal 1 may be applied to the system
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by inserting the insert through the two openings 22 and 26.
This is only possible by the elastic compression of arms 6 and
7 which, on reaching the shoulders 23, open once more so as to
become engaged behind said shoulders in such a way that insert
2 remains within cavity 27 in the capsule. Base 4 of the insert
remains inside opening 22 preventing access of any other element
therethrough. Equally the base end 10 of blade 9 fills opening
26 in wall 25 which makes cavity 27 even more secure against any
attempt of violation. The two weakened bridges 11 of seal 1 are
; 10 disposed in the gap between the two openings 22 and 26.
Figure 2 shows the seal already applied to the system
which is sealed in a secure and inviolable manner. It should be
observed that the insertion of insert 2 in cavity 27 is an extreme-
ly simple operation, it merely being necessary to hold the blade
9 and force the insert through the openings 22 and 26. The force
necessary is small since arms 6 and 7 are reasonably flexible,
whereby the seal applying operation can be carried out in a
matter of seconds. The flexibility of arms 6 and 7, however, in
no way detracts from the security of the system since any tractive
force applied in a direction to withdraw insert 2 tends to open
arms 6 and 7, this making their engagement behind shoulders 23
;~ even more positive.
The operation of opening the label holder is also
~' extremely simple. It is only necessary to grip blade 9 and pull
it outwardly and laterally, thus breaking the bridges 11 and
removing the blade, insert 2 remaining within the cavity 27.
Having removed blade 9, it is possible to raise cap 17 and open
the label holder. The insert 2 is then left lying on the upper
part of spool 16 and may be simpIy removed. The string (not
shown) may now be unwound from spool 16 and from the neck of the
mailbag thus leaving both the label holder itself 13 and the
string in perfect condition for re-use. The only element to be
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thrown away is the seal l.
With a view to further improving the system, the upper
surface 16' of the spool is formed with two ribs 29 having a
height equal to that of the bottom surface of opening 22 in wall
19 thus ensuring that the insert be horizontally supported with-
in cavity 27. Obviously said height is equal to the thickness of
the top 21 of cap 17 so that the upper surface of said top 21,
the bottom surfaces of openings 22 and 26 and the upper surfaces
of ribs 27 are all in the same plane when the device is closed.
Finally, although bridges 11 are positioned in the gap
defined between openings 22 and 26 so as to permit the label
holder to be opened when they are broken, it will be understood
that such weakening could equally be positioned within opening
22 or even within cavity 27 provided that the broken part may be
removed to permit opening of the device. It is not possible
however to position the weakening within opening 26 in the
capsule since the breaking of the seal would simply remove
blade 9, the spool and cap remaining sealed together.
Referring now to Figures 4 and 5 there is shown a label
20 holder and seal identical to Figures l to 3 as regards the basic
structure but incorporating preferred aspects which have been
shown in tests to be of particular utility. The reference numer-
als used in Figure l all appear in Figure 4. In accordance with
this preferred embodiment, on either side of opening 26 in the
capsule 20 there is a guard wall 30, the two guard walls defining
a passage through which the insert 2 of the seal passes before
entering the capsule. The two walls 30 are preferably separated
by a distance slightly greater than the separation of the free
ends 6' and 7' of arms 6 and 7 of seal 1, in the undeformed
` 30 condition. This ensures that there will be no difficulty in
applying the seal due to the necessity to force it along the
passage defined by walls 30.
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Although it would be possible to make walls 30 as
planar structures extending upwardly from top sur~ace 21 of
cap 17, it is preferable to give them an L section as shown in
Figure 4, one of the limbs 31 of the L being parallel to surface
21. It should be noticed that the limbs 31 are separated from
each other by a distance approximately equal to the width of
blade 9 of seal 1 since this permits perfect visibility of the
upper surface of the blade which in practice, for security
purposes, will be moulded with an individual identification
number.
As for the seal itself in Figure 4 it will be observed
that it has two lateral widenings or wing-like portions 32 in
that region of blade 9 which will be positioned between the guard
walls 30 in the sealing position of the device. The total width
of the blade 9 in the region of widenings 32 is preferably
identical to that of the separation between the free ends 6' and
7' of arms 6 and 7 of insert 2 or, in other words, slightly less
than that spacing between guard walls 30. In addition, in order
to avoid the accumulation of stresses in blade 9 where it joins
its base end 10, the seal 1 shown in Figure 4 is formed with a
chamfer 33. This prevents any possibility of the seal breaking
in the wrong place when opening the label holder.
It should be observed here that in the absence of guard
walls 30 and widenings 32, there is slways the possibility of
accidental fracture of the weakened region 11 of the spool during
transport. The presence of these additional characteristics,
however, ensures protection against such accidental opening of
the seal. The seal shown in Figure 4 has therefore been found
to be much more preferable than that of Figures 1 to 3.
It will be understood by those versed in the art that
the new seal may be used in sealing systems which are different
from that described with respect to the label holder. The new
1058837
seal may be applied in any situation in which two elements to
be sealed have, in the closed position, two aligned openings
and an insert receiving cavity to which access is only possible
by means of said openings, it being equally essential that the
cavity be easily accessible when the elements are separated so
as to make it possible to remove the insert which was separated
from the blade to permit opening of the system. One example of
a modification of the system would be in the case of sealing a
box comprising two open-ended boxes which telescope into each
other. The larger box which surrounds the other in the teles-
coped position would have a protuberance in one side wall near
the open end, said protuberance being formed with an opening in
a direction normal to the longitudinal axis of the box. Near
the closed end of the other box, one lateral wall will be
provided with an outwardly protruding portion moulded in a manner
somewhat similar to the "capsule" shown in Figure 1. This cap-
sule would have a slit longitudinally of the box into which the
prbtuberance in the first box may be inserted. The capsule
would also have a lateral opening which would become aligned
with said protuberance. This arrangement would allow the
application of the new single piece seal through the two aligned
openings.
