Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
WO 2023/052767
PCT/GB2022/052463
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TAMPER INDICATING PACKAGE
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a package.
Background
Certain packages are sealed prior to opening in order to maintain the
freshness of the
product within. Some of these packages comprise a form of tamper evidence to
indicate
to a user whether the package has been previously opened.
Summary
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a package
comprising: a base; a lid attached to said base for rotation about a hinge
axis to open
the package, the lid comprising a body and a main tab separated from body by a
fold-
line, and a tamper evidence tab attached to the base, wherein, prior to first
opening of
the package, the main tab and the tamper evidence tab are connected to each
other via
a first line of weakening, the arrangement being such that said main tab and
the tamper
evidence tab separate along the first line of weakening when the main tab is
folded
about the fold-line prior to rotation of the lid about the hinge axis to open
the package.
The base may comprise a lower face and a front wall upstanding from said lower
face at
an angle thereto, the body of the lid may extend parallel to the lower face
with the main
tab optionally being folded relative to the body to overlie the front wall
prior to first
opening, the tamper evidence tab may be attached to said front wall.
The front wall may be perpendicular to said lower face, the lower face and
said front
wall may meet along a line of juncture, the front wall may comprises a top
edge parallel
to said line ofjuncture.
so The first line of weakness may extend at an angle to the top
edge of the front wall of less
than 90 degrees.
Prior to first opening, the body of the lid may be connected to the tamper
evidence tab
along a second line of weakening, the body and the tamper evidence tab may
separate
along said second line of weakening when the lid is rotated about the hinge
axis and
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after the main tab and tamper evidence tab have separated along the first line
of
weakening.
The second line of weakening between the tamper evidence tab and the body of
the lid
may extend along said top edge of the front wall.
The main tab may extend beyond the tamper evidence tab towards the line of]
uncture.
The main tab may comprise a leading edge that contacts the line of juncture
prior to
io first opening.
The package may comprise a pair of tamper evidence tabs, each tamper evidence
tab
may be separated from the main tab by a first line of weakening.
Prior to first opening, the body of the lid may be connected to each tamper
evidence tab
along a second line of weakening, the body and the tamper evidence tab may
separate
along each of said second lines of weakening when the lid is rotated about the
hinge
axis and after the main tab and tamper evidence tab have separated along the
first lines
of weakening.
The pair of tamper evidence tabs may be attached to the front wall on either
side of the
main tab.
The first lines of weakening between the main tab and each tamper evidence tab
may
each extend at an angle so that the main tab tapers in a direction away from
the body of
the lid.
The main tab may extend beyond the pair of tamper evidence tabs towards the
line of
juncture.
The or each tamper evidence tab may be attached to the base via a permanent
adhesive.
The base may comprise a slot extending along the top edge of the front wall of
the base
configured to receive the main tab to facilitate closure of the package after
first opening.
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The base may comprise an upper face extending from the top edge of the front
wall and
parallel to the lower face.
The upper face may comprise an aperture configured to provide access to the
package.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, in
relation to accompanying drawings, in which:
/o Figure 1 shows an isometric view of a package according to an
embodiment of the
invention prior to opening; and
Figure 2 shows an isometric view of a package according to an embodiment of
the
invention after opening.
Detailed Description
Figure 1 illustrates an isometric view of a package 1 according to an
embodiment of the
invention prior to opening of the package 1. The package 1 comprises a base 2
and a lid
3 attached to the base 2 for rotation about a hinge axis 4 to open the package
1. The lid
3 comprises a body 5 and a main tab 6 separated from the body 5 of the lid 3
by a fold-
line 7. Additionally, the package 1 comprises a tamper evidence tab 8 attached
to the
base 2. As seen in Figure 1, prior to first opening of the package 1, the main
tab 6 and
tamper evidence tab 8 are connected to each other via a first line of
weakening 9. The
arrangement is such that the main tab 6 and tamper evidence tab 8 separate
along the
first line of weakening 9 when the main tab 6 is folded about the fold-line 7
prior to
rotation of the lid 3 about the hinge axis 4 to open the package 1.
The base 2 comprises an lower face 10 and a front wall ii upstanding from the
lower
face 10 at an angle thereto. As seen in Figure 1, the front wall 11 extends
perpendicular
to the lower face 10. The lower face 10 and front side wall n meet along a
line of
juncture 12. The front wall 11 comprises a top edge 13 parallel to the line of
juncture 12.
Initially, prior to opening the package 1, the body 5 of the lid 7 extends
parallel to the
lower face m with the main tab 6 folded relative to the body 5 about the fold-
line 7 to
overlie the front wall 11. The tamper evidence tab 8 is attached to the front
wall 11.
Additionally, the main tab 6 may be attached to the front wall 11.
Alternatively, the
main tab 6 may not be attached the to the front wall n and may be held in
place via the
first line of weakening 9 connecting the main tab 6 to the tamper evidence tab
8.
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The first line of weakening 9, between the main tab 6 and the tamper evidence
tab 8,
extends at an angle to the top edge 13 of the front wall ii of less than 90
degrees and is
configured to break when the main tab 6 is rotated about the fold-line 7 to
open the
package 1. Additionally, prior to first opening, the body 5 of the lid 3 is
connected to the
tamper evidence tab 8 along a second line of weakening 14. The second line of
weakening 14 extends along the top edge 13 of the front wall 11. The body 5 of
the lid 3
and the tamper evidence tab 8 separate along the second line of weakening 14
when the
lid 3 is rotated about the hinge axis 4 and after the main tab 6 and tamper
evidence tab
/o 8 have separated along the first line of weakening 9. Alternatively, the
package 1
comprises the first line of weakening 9, between the main tab 6 and the tamper
evidence tab 8, only and not the second line of weakening 14, between the
tamper
evidence tab 8 and the body 5 lid 3. In this arrangement, the tamper evidence
tab 8 is
not connected to the body 5 of the lid 3. Therefore, in order to open the
package 1, a
consumer would only need to break the first line of weakening 9 between the
main tab
6 and tamper evidence tab 8.
The main tab 6 extends beyond the tamper evidence tab 8 toward the line of
juncture 12
and comprises a leading edge 15 that contacts the line ofjuncture 12 prior to
first
opening of the package 1. Since the leading edge 15 of the main tab 6 extends
beyond
the tamper evidence tab 8, a consumer is able to lift the main tab 6 without
interfering
with the tamper evidence tab 8. Alternatively, the leading edge 15 of the main
tab 6 may
be spaced from the line of juncture 12 prior to first opening of the package
1. In
embodiments where the main tab 6 is attached to the front wall ii, the portion
of the
main tab 6 that extends beyond the tamper evidence tab 8 may not be attached
to the
front wall 11 so as to define a finger lift for a consumer to lift the main
tab 6.
As seen in Figure 1, the package 1 comprises a pair of tamper evidence tabs 8
each
separated from the main tab 6 by a first line of weakening 9. Additionally,
the body 5 of
the lid 3 is connected to each tamper evidence tab 8 along a second line of
weakening
14. The body 5 of the lid 3 and the tamper evidence tabs 8 separate along each
second
line of weakening 14 when the lid 3 is rotated about the hinge axis 4, after
the main tab
6 and tamper evidence tabs 8 have separated along the first lines of weakening
9. The
pair of tamper evidence tabs 8 are attached to the front wall 11 on either
side of the
main tab 6. The first lines of weakening 9 between the main tab 6 and the pair
of
tamper evidence tabs 8 each extend at an angle so that the main tab 6 tapers
in a
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direction away from the body 5 of the lid 3. In other words, the first lines
of weakening
9 extend inwardly towards each other. This arrangement allows the first lines
of
weakening 9 to be broken more easily and therefore reduces the force required
to lift
the main tab 6 and open the package 1. Additionally, the main tab 6 extends
beyond the
pair of tamper evidence tabs 8 towards the line ofjuncture 12. This
arrangement
highlights the main tab 6 in relation to the tamper evidence tabs 8 and
indicates to a
consumer that the main tab 6 must be lifted in order to open the package 1
rather than
the tamper evidence tabs 8. In embodiments where the main tab 6 is attached to
the
front wall ii, the portion of the main tab 6 that extends beyond the tamper
evidence
io tabs 8 may not be attached to the front wall 11 so as to define a finger
lift for a consumer
to lift the main tab 6.
Figure 2 illustrates an isometric view of the same package 1 as Figure 1 after
opening of
the package 1. To open the package 1, the main tab 6 is lifted and rotated
about the fold-
line 7. This action breaks the first lines of weakening 9 between the main tab
6 and the
pair of tamper evidence tabs 8. Next, the lid 3 is lifted and rotated about
the hinge-line
4 breaking the second lines of weakening 14 between the pair of tamper
evidence tabs 8
and the base 5 of the lid 3 that extend across the top edge 13 of the front
wall ii of the
base 2. The base 2 further comprises a slot 16 extending along the top edge 13
of the
front wall ii of the base 2 configured to receive the main tab 9 to facilitate
closure of the
package 1 after first opening. In order to close the package 1, the main tab 6
is inserted
into the slot 16 and therefore seals the package 1.
The or each tamper evidence tab 8 is/are attached to the front wall ii of the
base 2 via a
permanent adhesive. As seen in Figure 2, when the lid 3 is rotated about the
hinge-line
4 to open the package 1, the tamper evidence tabs 8 remain attached to the
front wall ii
of the base 2. Therefore, the tamper evidence tabs 8 indicate to a consumer
whether the
package 1 has been previously opened. Furthermore, since the tamper evidence
tabs 8
are attached to the front wall ii of the base 2, there are no lines of
weakening or breaks
in the body 5 of the lid 3. The body 5 of the lid remains intact when the
package 1 is
opened and can be provided with information for the consumer. Therefore, any
information located on the body 5 of the lid 3 is not damaged when the package
1 is
opened and will always be visible to a consumer.
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Furthermore, the base 2 comprises an upper face 17 extending from the tope
edge 13 of
the front wall ii and parallel to the lower face 10. The upper face 17
comprises an
aperture 18 configured to provide access to the contents of the package 1.
The various embodiments described herein are presented only to assist in
understanding and teaching the claimed features. These embodiments are
provided as
a representative sample of embodiments only, and are not exhaustive and/or
exclusive.
It is to be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions,
features,
structures, and/or other aspects described herein are not to be considered
limitations
io on the scope of the invention as defined by the claims or limitations on
equivalents to
the claims, and that other embodiments may be utilised and modifications may
be
made without departing from the scope of the claimed invention. Various
embodiments
of the invention may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of,
appropriate
combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps,
means, etc,
other than those specifically described herein. In addition, this disclosure
may include
other inventions not presently claimed, but which may be claimed in future.
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