Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
WO 2008/025052 CA 02666178 2009-04-09 PCT/AU2007/000929
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TAMPER EVIDENT DEVICE
Technical Field
This invention relates to tamper evident devices. In particular, this
invention is
concerned with a tamper evident device suitable for use with a slide fastener.
Background of the Invention
It is well known to provide bags or envelopes having slide fasteners as
closures.
When such bags or envelopes are used to contain items which need to be
secured, it is known to provide some type of security device which restricts
access to the slide fastener and which has means for indicating tampering.
o As an example of a prior art security device, reference is made to US patent
6,533,335. This prior art security device is designed to cover the slider of
the
slide fastener to prevent access to it. The security device also includes a
frangible locking element or seal to indicate tampering.
In US 6,533,335, the security device has a two part housing. The housing has a
lower part which is permanently affixed to the bag or envelope by rivets or
similar fasteners. The top part of the housing is pivotable between open and
closed positions. When the top part of the housing is closed to the bottom
part
of the housing, access to the slider of the slide fastener is prevented. The
parts
of the housing are locked together by a frangible seal. It is intended that
tampering with the security device - such as by an attempt to access the
slider -
will be indicated by breach of the frangible seal.
Problems have been encountered with prior art security devices, such as that
in
US 6,533,335. In some cases, it has been possible to remove the security
device
from the bag or envelope by levering the housing so as to "pop" the rivets
with
which the lower part of the housing is attached to the bag or envelope. It is
then
possible to freely slide the slider and open the bag or envelope without
affecting
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the tamper-evident seal. The housing can even be re-attached, using the same
rivets. As a result, the contents of the bag or envelope can be tampered with,
with no evidence that this has occurred.
Disclosure of the Invention
The present invention has as an object the avoidance or alleviation of such
problems found with prior art security devices.
Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a security
device
for a container closeable by a slide fastener having a slider, the security
device
including:
a lower part adapted for attachment to the container;
means for attaching the security device to the slider, directly or
indirectly;
an upper part for retaining the attaching means;
receiving means for receiving a frangible seal and preventing retraction
of the frangible seal except by fracture thereof; and
means to limit access to the attaching means and the receiving means;
wherein the security device includes an area of weakness adapted to fracture
if
the security device is prised from the container.
The slide fastener suitable for use with the security device of the invention
may
be any suitable slide fastener, as is known in the art. Commonly, such a slide
fastener has a pair of tapes on which teeth are mounted, the slider serving to
mesh or unmesh the teeth during closing and opening, in known manner.
The slider preferably includes a loop or aperture to which the attaching means
may be attached. It is not necessary that the attaching means attaches
directly to
CA 02666178 2012-08-21
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the slider. It may attach indirectly through one or more intermediate means.
For
example, the slider may have a zip pull, to which the attaching means may be
attached.
The lower part of the security device, adapted for attachment to the
container, may be
in a single part or may have more than one part. Preferably, the lower part
takes the
form of a rivet plate to which the upper part is attachable
The upper part preferably forms a chamber base in which is located the
receiving
means for receiving the frangible seal. The upper part also is adapted to
retain the
attaching means, although retention may not be fully effective until the means
to
limit access to the attaching means is in place.
The receiving means for receiving the frangible seal may take any suitable
form. In
the case where the frangible seal is of the type described in Australian
patent No.
738059 (see especially Figures 8 and 9), the receiving means is preferably a
passageway adapted to receive legs of the frangible seal and to retain the
legs when
barbs on the frangible seal extend through the passageway to hook outside it.
Other
constructions are possible.
Preferably, the receiving means is constructed as to allow entry of a selected
group of
frangible seals only, such as those described in Australian Patent No. 738059
(see
especially Figures 8 and 9). The receiving means preferably includes a pin or
other
suitable barrier so that only frangible seals having suitably separated legs
may be
received.
As is known in the art, a frangible seal of this type has a weakened area
where
the legs join a main body, so that any attempt to forcibly retract the
frangible seal
from the receiving means, while the barbs are hooked around the end of the
passageway, causes the legs to break from the main body, so as to indicate
tampering.
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The lower part is preferably adapted for attachment to the container by
including one or more holes through which suitable fastening means may be
inserted. Preferably, such holes are also formed in the upper part of the
security
device. Preferred fastening means are rivets.
The area of weakness is adapted to fracture if the security device is prised
from
the container. In one embodiment, the area of weakness is located in close
proximity to an area intended for attachment of the security seal to the
container. For example, if the upper part has a pair of spaced rivet holes,
the
area of weakness is preferably located between them, so that force on the
security seal in the area of the rivets will be likely to cause fracture of
the area
of weakness.
Obviously, fracture of the area of weakness will indicate that there has been
an
attempt to prise the security seal from the container and thus will indicate
tampering. It is preferred that, when the security device is assembled with
the
frangible seal in place, the area of weakness and the frangible seal can both
be
inspected so as to note if either has fractured. This may require that the
area of
weakness is not hidden beneath the main body of the frangible seal, for
example. In a preferred embodiment, the area of weakness extends beyond the
main body of the frangible seal in the assembled security device, to
facilitate
inspection.
The area of weakness is preferably on the upper part of the security device,
but
other locations are possible.
For example, in another preferred embodiment, there is more than one area of
weakness, located around each of the rivet holes. The purpose of this is so
that,
if an attempt is made to prise the security device from the container, the
area
around each rivet hole fractures, so that it is not possible to reattach the
security
device to the container without detection.
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It = is also within the scope of this invention that an area of weakness is
located
around one or some, but not all, of the rivet holes.
Mention was made above of problems encountered with prior art security
devices, such as that in US 6,533,335. While the present invention in the
first
aspect, described above, can avoid or alleviate such problems, an alternate
solution is possible. Part of the problem with the prior art devices, such US
6,553,335, lies in the fact that there is virtually no "play" between the
security
device and the container, once assembled. The security device is rigidly held
to
the container by the rivets or other securing means. This can make it
relatively
o simple to prise the security device from the container by levering the
housing so
as to "pop" the rivets.
In an alternate solution, the present invention provides a security device for
a
container closeable by a slide fastener having a slider, the security device
including:
a lower part adapted for attachment to the container;
means for attaching the security device to the slider, directly or
indirectly;
an upper part for retaining the attaching means; and
means to limit access to the attaching means;
wherein the security device is adapted for attachment to the container by
fastening means in such a way that the security device is moveable, relative
to
the fastening means, after assembly while still being secured to the
container.
The lower part, the attaching means and the upper part of the security device
in
this alternate aspect may be as described above in relation to the first
aspect of
the invention.
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The security device, when assembled to the container in the alternate aspect
to
the invention is intended to have a chosen amount of "play" in relation to the
fastening means, such as rivets. There are various ways which this can be
achieved, as will be apparent to one skilled in the art now that the concept
of the
invention has been disclosed.
By way of example, the security device may be designed so that the lower part,
adapted for attachment to the container, incorporates anchor points for the
fastening means. These may be shaped so as to allow the desired degree of
"play".
As another example, the length of the rivets may be chosen to co-ordinate with
the distance between the lower part and the access limiting means. For
example, the access limiting means may be spaced somewhat further away from
the rivets than disclosed in the examples in US 6,553,335.
The access limiting means for the invention in both the first and second
aspects
preferably forms a lid to the security device, particularly when the upper
part
forms a chamber base. In this embodiment, the access limiting means can serve
to close off the chamber and to prevent both unauthorised access to the
receiving means and unauthorised attempt to manipulate the attaching means.
An example is given in connection with the drawings below.
In the first and second aspects of the invention, the security device may be
made
of any suitable material. By way of example, the lower part, the upper part,
the
receiving means and the access limiting means are preferably made from ABS
plastic. The attaching means is preferably metal, such as stainless steel.
The first and second aspects of the invention may be combined in a single
security device.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
The invention will now be described in connection with a certain non limiting
embodiment thereof in connection with the following drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a security seal of the
first aspect of the invention;
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the embodiment of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a plan view of the embodiment;
Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines A - A in Figure 3;
Figure 5 is an exploded view of the security device;
Figure 6 is a perspective view from below of the security device in the
previous Figures;
Figure 7 is an exploded view of a second embodiment of the security
seal;
Figure 8 is an exploded view from below of the chamber cover of Figure
7; and
Figure 9 shows the chamber cover of Figure 8 after insertion of the pin.
Detailed Description of the Drawings
It will be appreciated that Figures 1 to 5 and 7 to 9 are drawn on one scale,
while Figure 6 is on a much larger scale.
With reference to all Figures 1 to 6, but in particular to Figure 5, it can be
seen
that security device 10 has a lower part 12 and attaching means 14 for
attachment to slider 16 through aperture 18. (The container to which security
device 10 is to be attached is not shown in the Figures).
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Security device 10 also includes upper part or chamber base 20 including a
chamber 22, in which is located receiving means or passageway 24 for
receiving frangible seal 26.
Chamber 22 is adapted to be covered by access limiting means or chamber
cover 28.
Upper part 20 also includes area of weakness 30. In the embodiment shown,
this is made of substantially thinner ABS material than the remainder of upper
part 20 and is further weakened by peripheral notch or cutout 62.
Lower part 12 represents a rivet plate, having a pair or rivet holes 32 at one
end
and a pair of apertures 34. Forward of rivet holes 32 is notch 36.
Chamber base 20 includes a pair of anchor legs 38. These are designed to pass
into the wide part of apertures 34 and to clip into rivet plate 12 when
chamber
base 20 is pushed aft of rivet holes 32, so that the narrow part of apertures
34
snugly holds anchor legs 38.
Rivets or other suitable fasteners are then inserted through rivet holes 32
and 33
into the container (not shown).
Use of anchor legs 38 projecting into apertures 34 in rivet plate 12 allows
"play" between the rivets and the security device 10. Whereas prior art
devices
may use four rivets, this embodiment of the present invention uses only two
rivets.
Chamber base 20 also includes protrusion 40. When anchor legs 38 are being
clipped into apertures 34 as described above, protrusion 40 clips into notch
36
and helps in alignment and securement of rivet plate 12 with lower chamber 20.
As can be seen from Figure 5, frangible seal 26 has a main body 42 and a pair
of legs 44. Each leg 44 includes an outer barb 46 and an inclined (out of
plane)
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barb 48. Main body 42 includes notch 50 to help in alignment for printing
purposes, so that an appropriate trade mark or serial number, for example, may
be printed on main body 42.
Seal 26 is also shown as having shallow cutouts 68, designed to receive tabs
70
on chamber cover 28, to assist in alignment. (There are two cutouts 68 and two
tabs 70 in Figure 5, but only one of each is labelled to reduce congestion.)
Frangible seal 46 is dimensioned so that, when legs 44 are inserted in
passageway 24 in lower chamber 20, legs 44 are slightly compressed towards
one another and inclined barbs 48 are slightly pressed towards the main plane
of
o main body 42. When outer barbs 46 clear passageway 24, legs 44 spring
outwardly to their original position, so that outer barbs 46 hook around the
far
end of passageway 24. At the same time, inclined barbs 48, once they pass
ledge 52, spring back to their original position.
Withdrawal of frangible seal 26 from passageway 24 is prevented both by the
hooking of outer barbs around the outside of passageway 24 and interference of
inclined barbs 48 against ledge 52. Any attempt to forcibly withdraw frangible
seal 26 will cause legs 44 to break from main body 42 because of an area of
weakness (not visible) where legs 44 join main body 42.
Attaching means 14 has a pivot aperture 54 which is designed to fit into rear
56
of chamber cover 28 and to be pivotable therein.
Chamber cover 28 clips to chamber base 20 via ledges 64. Chamber cover 28,
when fitted to chamber base 20, prevents unauthorised manipulation of
attaching means 14 and covers chamber 22 and passageway 24. Chamber cover
28 is retained on chamber base 20 when frangible seal 26 is inserted through
slot 58 in chamber cover 28 and passage way 24 in chamber base 20.
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As can be seen from Figure 1, when security device 10 is fully assembled,
frangible seal 26 can readily be inspected as securely in place. Area of
weakness 30 in chamber base 20 is visible underneath apron 60 of chamber
cover 28. In normal circumstances, apron 60 prevents area of weakness 30
from unintended damage through rough handling, etcetera, of a container to
which security device 10 is attached.
However, if an attempt is made to "pop" rivets inserted through rivet holes 32
in rivet plate 12, area of weakness 30 will tear, by reason of it being of
thinner
construction than the rest of chamber base 20 and because of cut out 62, which
o borders the enclosed perimeter of area of weakness 30. This will be apparent
by visual inspection of security device 10, evidencing tampering.
Consequently, security device 10 can indicate tampering if either frangible
seal
26 or area of weakness 30 have been removed or damaged.
In Figure 7 another embodiment of the security device 10 is shown, which is
limited to receipt of frangible seal 26 with split legs, the type of the
frangible
seal described in Australian Patent No. 738059 or an equivalent seal.
Chamber cover 128 is similar to chamber cover 28 in the previous embodiment.
However, chamber cover 128 includes boss 82 having aperture 84 for receipt of
pin 80. Pin 80 effectively divides entry into slot 58, so that only a
frangible seal
26 or a similar seal with split legs 44 may enter. A frangible seal with a one
piece leg will be blocked by pin 80 from entering slot 58.
Industrial Applicability
As will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the various arts, the
invention
disclosed herein are not limited to the examples set out and have wide
applications in many areas, representing significant advances in the relevant
art.
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Changes, modifications and variations may be made without departing from the
spirit and scope of the present invention.
