Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
PCT/EP 2017/064 911 - 18.06.2018
PG20703P000 CA 03028246 2018-12-18
1
SNUFF CONTAINER WITH A SEALING LABEL
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention pertains to a snuff container being provided with a sealing
label. The
sealing label comprises a structural layer and has first and second side edges
extending
in a length direction and first and second end edges extending in a width
direction. The
sealing label is divided in the width direction into a container lid
attachment area, a
container base attachment area and a tear strip area arranged between the
container lid
attachment area and the container base attachment area. The tear strip area is
terminated by a pull tab which is arranged at the first end edge. The sealing
label has a
length which considerably exceeds the width of the sealing label.
BACKGROUND
Orally used smokeless tobacco products and non-tobacco products, referred to
herein as
"snuff" or "snuff products" are generally packaged in small handy containers,
each
container being designed to contain several portions of unused snuff and
optionally
including a disposal compartment for temporary storage of used snuff. The
containers are
pocket sized and may be carried by a user in a pocket or a handbag until all
the fresh
snuff products packaged in the container have been used after which the
emptied
container may be discarded and replaced with a new container with unused snuff
products. A concern when packaging snuff products is to make the containers
sufficiently
tight to preserve the flavour and aroma of the snuff product and to protect
the snuff
product from drying out during transport and storage up until a first opening
of the snuff
container by a user. To this end, it is common to apply an inner sealing
member over the
access opening in a snuff container. The sealing member may take the form of a
film or
foil which is torn away and removed by the user to gain a first access to the
snuff product
packaged in the container. The sealing member is provided as a transport seal
in addition
to a reclosable lid.
To further improve sealing of a snuff container and to provide tamper
evidence, snuff
containers may be provided with a fully or partly removable sealing label
which is applied
AMENDED SHEET
PCT/EP 2017/064 911 - 18.06.2018
PG20703P000 CA 03028246 2018-12-18
2
over a split-line between a container lid and a container base. The sealing
label may be
printed and/or pigmented and may be used for conveying product information,
logos,
warning text, etc.
A tamper-evident label for a snuff container is disclosed in WO 2013/024284
Al. The
label in WO 2013/024284 Al is divided into an upper part which is attached to
a container
lid and a lower part which is attached to a container base. The upper part of
the label is
torn away to allow the lid to be detached from the base.
Another sealing label for a snuff container is disclosed in WO 2014/150988 Al.
The label
in WO 2014/150988 Al is a laminate of an inner web and an outer web and is
provided
with a tear strip which is defined by weakened portions such as score lines or
cuts formed
in the inner web. The label is applied to a container and forms a seal between
the lid and
the base. The tear strip is torn away through the outer web of the label to
allow the lid to
be separated from the base.
WO 2015/104420 Al discloses a label similar to that in WO 2014/150988 Al and
comprises a tear strip which is torn away through an outer layer in a two-
layer label.
Tamper evident labels which are fully or substantially fully removed when
opening a snuff
container are disclosed in EP 2 248 736 B1 , EP 2 551 212 B1 and WO
2007/067953 A2.
It is an object of the present disclosure to offer a simplified and highly
functional sealing
label for a snuff container. Another object of the present disclosure is to
provide a snuff
container having a simplified and highly functional sealing label. In addition
to a simplified
construction, the label may provide one or more further functional advantages
such as
improved sealing capacity and a large information conveying area.
SUMMARY
One or more of the above objects may be achieved with a snuff container in
accordance
with claim 1.
The sealing label for sealing a snuff container as disclosed herein comprises
a structural
layer and has first and second side edges extending in a length direction and
first and
AMENDED SHEET
PCT/EP 2017/064 911 - 18.06.2018
PG20703P000 CA 03028246 2018-12-18
3
second end edges extending in a width direction. The sealing label is divided
in the width
direction into a container lid attachment area, a container base attachment
area and a
tear strip area arranged between the container lid attachment area and the
container base
attachment area. The tear strip area is terminated by a pull tab arranged at
the first end
edge of the sealing label. The sealing label has a length in the length
direction and a width
in the width direction and a ratio between the length and the width which is
from 7 to 25.
The structural layer which is a single structural layer of the sealing label
consists of a
mono oriented polymer film having a direction of orientation coinciding with
the length
direction of the sealing label.
The sealing label has a length which considerably exceeds the width which
means that
the sealing label is a narrow elongated film strip, the lid attachment area,
the container
base attachment area and the tear strip area extending in the length direction
of the
sealing label along the full length of the sealing label.
The single structural layer is preferably a moisture proof and more preferably
also a gas
tight mono-oriented polymer film. Suitable polymers may be polyolefins such as
polypropylene, and polyethylene. The mono-oriented film has a preferential
tear direction
coinciding with a main direction of orientation of the polymer chains in the
mono-oriented
polymer film and is arranged with the preferential tear direction coinciding
with the length
direction of the sealing label. The mono-oriented polymer film will tear in a
controlled
manner in the preferential tear direction, which means that the sealing label
as disclosed
herein does not have to be provided with pre-formed tear lines in the
structural layer.
Such preformed tear lines are conventionally arranged as weakened portions in
a
structural layer, such as lines of perforations, slits, thinned lines, etc.
When applying a
sealing label provided with pre-formed tear lines delimiting a tear-strip area
defined
between the tear lines to a snuff container, careful alignment of the tear-
strip area with a
split-line between the container lid and the container base is required.
Moreover,
perforations arranged in a structural layer are detrimental to the tightness
of the seal
between the label and the snuff container. To improve tightness of such
previously known
sealing labels, they are constituted by laminates comprising a perforated
structural layer
and an additional non-perforated structural sealing layer.
The mono-oriented polymer films as used herein are relatively thin polymer
films with a
thickness which may be in the range of from 30 (micrometres) to 100 pm.
Suitable films
AMENDED SHEET
PCT/EP 2017/064 911 - 18.06.2018
PG20703P000 CA 03028246 2018-12-18
4
are available e.g. from Avery Denison Corporation, Glendale, California and
UPM
Raflatac, Tampere, Finland.
As disclosed herein, an adhesive coating may be applied to a rear surface of
the
structural layer covering the container lid attachment area and the container
base
attachment area. Alternatively, the adhesive coating may be applied to a snuff
container
to which the sealing label is applied. The adhesive coating is arranged to
provide non-
removable attachment of the container lid attachment area and the container
base
attachment area to a container lid and a container base, respectively. By non-
removable
attachment as used herein is implied that the container lid attachment area
and the
container base attachment area of the sealing label may not be peeled away
from a lid or
a base to which the label area is attached without tearing or otherwise
destroying or
damaging the label.
The adhesive coating is preferably applied as a continuous layer of adhesive
on the
container lid attachment area and the container base attachment area to
provide a tight
seal between the sealing label and the container. A continuous adhesive
coating may
provide a better seal between the sealing label and a container wall than a
discontinuous
coating and may enhance tightness of a sealed snuff container, thereby keeping
the
packaged contents in the snuff container fresh for a longer period of time.
The adhesive
may be any suitable adhesive as known in the art which is compatible with the
label
material and with the material of the snuff container and which provides a
sufficient
attachment force between the sealing label and the snuff container to prevent
the sealing
label to be peeled off from the snuff container.
The rear surface of the structural layer may be free from adhesive coating
within the tear
strip area or the adhesive coating may have been rendered non-adhesive or
"deadened"
within the tear strip area. Deadening of an adhesive coating may be performed
e.g. by
applying a non-adhesive coating layer over the adhesive coating.
The length of the sealing label may be from 80 millimetres to 250 millimetres
and the
width of the sealing label may be from 10 millimetres to 25 millimetres, such
as from 15
millimetres to 22 millimetres or from 16 millimetres to 19 millimetres.
AMENDED SHEET
PCT/EP 2017/064 911 - 18.06.2018
PG20703P000 CA 03028246 2018-12-18
Tear initiation cuts are arranged in the structural layer on each side of the
pull tab at the
first end edge. The distance between the tear initiation cuts corresponds to
the width of
the tear strip area.
5 The tear strip area may constitute from 2% to 20% of a combined area of the
tear strip
area, the lid attachment area and the base attachment area, such as from 5% to
15% of a
combined area of the tear strip area, the lid attachment area and the base
attachment
area or from 7% to 10% of a combined area of the tear strip area, the lid
attachment area
and the base attachment area. The width of the tear strip area is from 0.5
millimetres to
2.5 millimetres, such as from 0.6 millimetres to 1.5 millimetres. The tear
strip area is the
part of the sealing label which is torn away and removed when opening a snuff
container
which has been sealed by a sealing label as disclosed herein. A narrow tear
strip area
leaves a considerable part of the sealing label remaining on the snuff
container which
means that most of the surface of the sealing label can be used for conveying
information
and/or for decorative purposes throughout the useful lifespan of the snuff
container. By
using a single-layer polymer film as a sole structural layer in a sealing
label as disclosed
herein, not only is material consumption reduced as compared to conventional
dual-layer
labels but it has also surprisingly been found that the tear strip area may be
made
narrower than in a conventional dual-layer label.
A snuff container as disclosed herein comprises a sealing label as disclosed
herein. The
snuff container has a height direction and a circumferential direction in a
plane
perpendicular to the height direction and comprises a container base having a
bottom wall
and a base side wall and a container lid having a top wall and a lid side
wall. The
container lid is removably attached to the container base with an outer
surface of the lid
side wall aligned with an outer surface of the base side wall. A split-line is
arranged
between a lower edge of the lid side wall and an upper edge of the base side
wall and
extends in the circumferential direction of the snuff container. The sealing
label is
attached to the snuff container with the length direction of the sealing label
coinciding with
the circumferential direction of the snuff container and with the height
direction of the snuff
container coinciding with the width direction of the sealing label. The
container lid
attachment area of the sealing label is attached to the lid side wall and the
container base
attachment area is attached to the base side wall and the tear strip area
completely or
substantially completely covers the split line between the lower edge of the
lid side wall
and the upper edge of the base side wall.
AMENDED SHEET
PCT/EP 2017/064 911 - 18.06.2018
PG20703P000 CA 03028246 2018-12-18
6
As the sealing label is free from perforations or cuts, with the possible
exception of tear
initiation cuts arranged at either side of the pull tab, the sealing strip
provides the snuff
container with a very good and tight transport seal. The non-perforated and
preferably
moisture and gas-tight sealing strip may keep the packaged snuff product fresh
inside the
container for a prolonged period of time. It may be possible to achieve
sufficient tightness
with the sealing label alone and to dispense with an inner removable sealing
member
covering the access opening in the container base prior to a first opening of
the container
by a consumer. Furthermore, it may be possible to achieve a prolonged shelf-
life for the
packaged snuff product without the need for refrigeration.
The width of the tear strip which is removed from the packaging container
corresponds to
the width of the tear strip area of the sealing label. When removing the tear
strip from the
packaging container the lower edge of the lid side wall and the upper edge of
the base
side wall may act as tearing guides promoting accurate tear propagation in the
sealing
label.
It has surprisingly been found that the tear strip area of the sealing labels
as disclosed
herein may provide a well-defined tear strip which can readily be removed when
opening
the sealed snuff container even if the rear surface of the sealing label is
fully coated with a
continuous layer of adhesive.
The gap between the container lid and the container base which is formed by
the split-line
between the lower edge of the lid side wall and the upper edge of the base
side wall
prevents the sealing tape from adhering to the snuff container in the area of
the gap. It
has been found that even if the tear strip area of the sealing label is
slightly wider than the
split line such that a thin edge portion of the tear strip area is attached to
one or both of
the lid side wall and the base side wall, the tear strip may be readily and
accurately torn
away from the container, leaving the lid attachment area and the base
attachment area of
the sealing label firmly attached to the lid side wall and the base side wall,
respectively.
The non-attached part of the tear strip area which is applied over the gap
reduces the
attachment force between the tear strip and the container and allows the tear
strip to be
separated from the container lid attachment area and the container base
attachment area.
The tear strip area which is applied at the split-line between the lower edge
of the lid side
wall and the upper edge of the base side wall preferably has the same width as
the split-
AMENDED SHEET
PCT/EP 2017/064 911 - 18.06.2018
PG20703P000 CA 03028246 2018-12-18
7
line but is at most 0.7 millimetres wider than the split line such as at most
0.5 millimetres
wider than the split line or at most 0.3 millimetres wider than the split
line.
It may be preferred that a portion of the sealing label at the first end edge
of the sealing
label overlaps with a portion of the sealing label at the second end edge of
the sealing
label to ascertain that a non-broken seal is provided along the full length of
the split-line.
An overlapping configuration of the sealing label ends may be particularly
useful when the
sealing label is provided with tear initiation cuts at the pull tab as set out
herein. The
overlap between the first and second end edges of the sealing strip is
preferably as long
or at least as long as the tear initiation cuts.
The split-line may has a width in the height direction of the snuff container
of from 0.5 to
2.5 millimetres, such as from 0.7 to 1.5 millimetres. Very thin split-lines
such as split-lines
of from 0.1 millimetres to 0.3 millimetres may require that the tear strip
area of the sealing
layer is non-adhesive or has been rendered non-adhesive, as set out herein.
The width of the sealing label may be from 60% to 100% of the height of the
snuff
container. A wide sealing label provides a large display area. A wide sealing
label may
also offer better sealing of the snuff container, in particular in combination
with a
continuous adhesive coating on the rear surface of the sealing label. A
continuous
adhesive coating applied at least over the container lid attachment area and
the container
base attachment area forms a moisture and gas barrier between the sealing
label and the
snuff container in the width direction of the sealing label.
A large remaining display area remaining after the tear strip area has been
removed
makes it possible to provide a snuff container with printed matter such as
decorative
elements, logos, information, etc. which will appear largely unaffected by
removal of the
tear strip area.
Accordingly, a front surface of the sealing label as disclosed herein may
contain a printed
feature which extends partly in the lid attachment area and partly in the base
attachment
area and which will remain visible on the snuff container also after the tear
strip has been
removed. The parts of the printed feature may have purely decorative purposes
or may
alternatively or in addition to a decorative purpose serve to convey
information and/or to
AMENDED SHEET
PCT/EP 2017/064 911 - 18.06.2018
PG20703P000 CA 03028246 2018-12-18
8
indicate a proper alignment for the container lid and the container base when
opening
and/or closing the snuff container.
The snuff containers as disclosed herein may have a generally cylindrical
shape. The
primary function of a snuff container as disclosed herein is to contain fresh
ready-to-use
snuff products. Accordingly, the bottom wall and the top wall may be disc
shaped or have
a modified disc shape, such as a non-planar disc shape. Non-planar disc shapes
as used
herein include profiled shapes comprising embossed or raised profile elements
such as
figurative elements and/or functional elements. Figurative elements may be
symbols,
letters, patterns, etc. and functional elements may be stacking elements, a
recess for
used snuff products, etc.
The snuff containers as disclosed herein are consumer packages having a shape
and a
size adapted for conveniently carrying the package in a pocket or in a handbag
and may
be used for packaging any known type of snuff product.
The terms "snuff" and "snuff product" are used herein to refer to any kind of
smokeless
tobacco products and non-tobacco products for oral use.
A non-tobacco snuff product may be any composition as known in the art for use
in the
oral cavity and may comprise plant material other than tobacco material,
cellulose such as
microcrystalline cellulose, fillers, flavorants, and active ingredients such
as nicotine,
caffeine, etc.
Smokeless tobacco for oral use includes chewing tobacco, dry snuff and moist
(wet) snuff.
Generally, dry snuff has moisture content of less than 10 wt% (percent by
weight) and
moist snuff has a moisture content of above 40 wt%. Semi-dry products having
between
10% to 40 wt% moisture content are also available.
Smokeless tobacco products for oral use are made from tobacco leaves, such as
lamina
and stem of the tobacco leaf. The material from roots and stalks are normally
not utilized
for production of smokeless tobacco compositions for oral use.
There are two types of moist snuff, the American type and the Scandinavian
type which is
also called snus. American-type moist snuff is commonly produced through a
fermentation
AMENDED SHEET
PCT/EP 2017/064 911 - 18.06.2018
PG20703P000 CA 03028246 2018-12-18
9
process of moisturized ground or cut tobacco. Scandinavian-type moist snuff
(snus) is
commonly produced by using a heat-treatment process (pasteurization) instead
of
fermentation.
Both the American-type and the Scandinavian-type of moist snuff for oral use
are
available in loose form or portion-packed in a saliva-permeable, porous
wrapper material
forming a pouch. Pouched moist snuff, including snus, is typically used by the
consumer
by placing the pouch between the upper or lower gum and the lip and retaining
it there for
a limited period of time.
By "tobacco" is meant any part, e.g., leaves, stems, and stalks, of any member
of the
genus Nicotiana. The tobacco may be whole, shredded, threshed, cut, ground,
cured,
aged, fermented, or otherwise, e.g., granulated or encapsulated.
"Oral" and "oral use" is in all contexts used herein as a description for use
in the oral
cavity, such as buccal placement.
As used herein "pouched smokeless tobacco product for oral use" or "oral
pouched
smokeless tobacco product" refers to a portion of smokeless tobacco packed in
a saliva-
permeable pouch material intended for oral use.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be further explained hereinafter by means of non-
limiting
examples and with reference to the appended drawings wherein:
Fig. 1 shows an sealing label as disclosed herein;
Fig. 2 shows the sealing label of Fig. 1 with a partly torn-away
tear-strip;
Fig. 3 shows a snuff container without a sealing label;
AMENDED SHEET
PCT/EP 2017/064 911 - 18.06.2018
PG20703P000 CA 03028246 2018-12-18
Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a snuff container with a
sealing label as
disclosed herein;
Fig. 5 shows a side view of the snuff container in Fig. 4 with a
tear-strip
5 partly torn-away from the sealing label; and
Fig. 6 shows the snuff container in Fig. 5 with the tear-strip
completely torn-
away from the sealing label.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
It is to be understood that the drawings are schematic and that individual
components are
not necessarily drawn to scale. It should be understood that the sealing label
as disclosed
herein may be applied in a corresponding manner to snuff containers having a
shape
other than the cylindrical shape shown in the figures. Accordingly, the scope
of the
invention is determined solely by the appended claims.
Although the snuff container shown in the figures is a cylindrical snuff
container having
circular cross section it is to be understood that the locking arrangement as
disclosed
herein can be arranged on a snuff container having a non-circular cross
section, such as
rectangular, near-rectangular, oval or the like. Furthermore, the snuff
container may be
provided with a disposal compartment for temporary storage of used snuff
portions. Such
disposal compartment may be arranged in the container lid or in the container
base, as is
known in the art.
The sealing label 1 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a structural layer 2 and
has first and
second side edges 3, 4 extending in a length direction L and first and second
end edges
5, 6 extending in a width direction W. The sealing label 1 is divided in the
width direction
W into a container lid attachment area 11, a container base attachment area 12
and a tear
strip area 13 arranged between the container lid attachment area 11 and the
container
base attachment area 12. The tear strip area is terminated by a pull tab 7
arranged at the
first end edge 5 of the sealing label 1. The sealing label has a length I in
the length
direction L and a width w in the width direction W. The length I of the
sealing label 1 is
considerably larger than the width w such that a ratio 1/w between the length
I and the
width w is from 7 to 25. As set out herein the length I of the sealing label
may be from 80
AMENDED SHEET
PCT/EP 2017/064 911 - 18.06.2018
PG20703P000 CA 03028246 2018-12-18
11
millimetres to 250 millimetres and the width w of the sealing label may be
from 10
millimetres to 25 millimetres, such as from 15 millimetres to 19 millimetres.
The structural layer 2 which is the only structural layer of the sealing label
1 consists of a
mono oriented polymer film having a direction of orientation coinciding with
the length
direction L of the sealing label 1. The structural layer 2 is free from
perforations or other
weakened tear lines.
Tear initiation cuts 14, 15 are arranged in the structural layer on each side
of the pull tab 7
at the first end edge. In the shown example, the tear initiation cuts 14, 15
are angled
towards the tear strip area 13, providing the pull tab 7 with a tapering shape
from the end
of the pull tab 7, which is shown as protruding from the first end edge 5 of
the sealing
label 1. Alternative shapes of the pull tab 7, such as circular, rectangular
etc. may be
used, as well as tear initiation cuts which are arranged parallel with the
length direction L
of the sealing label 1, or which are arranged at a smaller or larger angle to
the length
direction L of the sealing label 1 than shown in the figures. It is also
envisaged that the
pull-tab 7 may be coterminous with the first end edge 5 of the sealing label
1.
The sealing label 1 has a front surface 16 and a rear surface 17 and a
continuous
adhesive coating 18 is applied to the rear surface 17 of the structural layer
and covers the
container lid attachment area 11, the container base attachment area 12 as
well as the
tear strip area 13. A continuous coating covering the entire rear surface 17
of the sealing
label 1 may be preferred e.g. as it allows the sealing label 1 to be produced
in a simple
and efficient manner. However, the rear surface 17 of the structural layer 2
may
alternatively be free from adhesive coating within the tear strip area 13 or
the adhesive
coating 18 may have been rendered non-adhesive within the tear strip area 13,
as
disclosed herein.
The adhesive coating 18 is arranged to provide non-removable attachment of the
container lid attachment area 11 and the container base attachment area 12 to
a
container lid and a container base, respectively.
The front surface 16 of the sealing label 1 may carry decorative and/or
informational print,
pigmentation etc. as illustrated by the sinus-shaped wave 20 shown in Figs. 4-
6.
AMENDED SHEET
PCT/EP 2017/064 911 - 18.06.2018
PG20703P000 CA 03028246 2018-12-18
12
The snuff container 100 which is shown in Figs. 3-6 has a height h in a height
direction H
and a circumference c in a circumferential direction C in a plane
perpendicular to the
height direction H. The snuff container 100 is shown in Fig. 3 without a
sealing label 1 and
is shown in Figs. 4-6 with a sealing label 1 as set out herein.
With particular reference to Figs. 3 and 6, the snuff container 100 comprises
a container
base 102 having a bottom wall 103 and a base side wall 104 and a container lid
106
having a top wall 107 and a lid side wall 108. The container lid 106 is
removably attached
to the container base 102 whereby the snuff container 100 can be repeatedly
opened in
order to gain access to the interior of the snuff container 100 and be
reclosed after
opening. When the snuff container 100 is closed, the outer surface 109 of the
lid side wall
108 is aligned with the outer surface 110 of the base side wall 104. A split-
line 115 is
arranged between the lower edge 116 of the lid side wall 108 and the upper
edge 117 of
the base side wall 104. The split-line 115 extends in the circumferential
direction C along
the full circumference c of the snuff container 100 and forms a narrow gap
between the lid
side wall 108 and the base side wall 104. As set out herein, the split-line
115 has a width
ws in the height direction H of the snuff container 100 of from 0.1 to 3
millimetres, such as
from 0.5 millimetres to 2.5 millimetres, such as from 0.7 millimetres to 1.5
millimetres.
The sealing label 1 is attached to the snuff container 100 with the length
direction L of the
sealing label 1 coinciding with the circumferential direction C of the snuff
container and
with the height direction H of the snuff container coinciding with the width
direction W of
the sealing label 1. The sealing label 1 is attached to the snuff container
100 with the
container lid attachment area 11 of the sealing label 1 overlapping with and
being
attached to the lid side wall 108, the container base attachment area 12
overlapping with
and being attached to the base side wall 104 and with the tear strip area 13
covering the
split line 115 between the lower edge 116 of the lid side wall 108 and the
upper edge 117
of the base side wall 104. As the split-line 115 forms a gap between the lower
edge 116 of
the lid side wall 108 and the upper edge 117 of the base side wall 104, the
sealing label 1
extends across the gap and is not attached to the snuff container 100 within
the tear strip
area 13.
The sealing label 1 of the snuff container 100 which is shown in Figs. 4-6 is
attached to
the snuff container 100 with a portion 120 of the sealing label 1 at the first
end edge 5 of
the sealing label 1 overlapping with a portion 121 of the sealing label 1 at
the second end
AMENDED SHEET
PCT/EP 2017/064 911 - 18.06.2018
PG20703P000 CA 03028246 2018-12-18
13
edge 6 of the sealing label 1. The overlap may be larger or smaller than what
is illustrated
in the figures. Although an overlap between the end portions 120, 121 of the
sealing label
1 may be preferred for reasons of providing a tight transport seal of the
snuff container
100, it is contemplated within the scope of the invention to attach the
sealing label 1
without an overlap. As is illustrated by Fig. 4, the overlap between the end
portions 120,
121 of the sealing label 1 is preferably sufficiently large to cover the tear
initiation cuts 14,
of the pull tab 7.
In the example illustrated in Figs. 4-6, the sealing label 1 has a width which
corresponds
10 to approximately 75% of the height h of the snuff container 100 and 100% of
the
combined height of the lid side wall 108, the base side wall 104 and the split-
line 115. As
disclosed herein, the width of the sealing label may be 60-100% of the height
of the snuff
container 100. As set out herein, a wide sealing label is beneficial as it
provides a large
display area. A wide sealing label may also offer better sealing of the snuff
container 100
15 in particular when combined with a continuous adhesive coating 18 on the
rear surface 17
of the sealing label 1 as the adhesive may contribute to forming a good seal
in a direction
along the lid side wall 108 and the base side wall 104. A continuous adhesive
coating 18
may form a moisture and gas barrier between the sealing label 1 and the snuff
container
100 in the height direction H of the snuff container 100.
The snuff container 100 is opened by breaking the seal formed by the sealing
label 1. The
sealing label 1 is broken by pulling the pull-tab 7 away from the first end
edge 5 of the
sealing label 1 in the circumferential direction C of the snuff container 100,
i.e. in the
length direction L of the sealing label 1. Pulling the pull-tab 7 away from
the first end edge
5 of the sealing label 1 will cause the mono-oriented polymer film of the
structural layer 2
to tear in a controlled manner along the edges of the tear strip area 13, as
shown in Fig.
5. Correct initial tearing of the sealing label is aided by the provision of
the tear initiation
cuts 14, 15. Continued correct tearing along the circumference c of the snuff
container
100 is believed to be promoted by the tear strip area 13 being non-attached to
the snuff
container 100 at the split-line 115 while the adjoining lid attachment area 11
and base
attachment area 12 are firmly attached to the side walls 104, 108 of the
container base
102 and the container lid 106. The end edges 116, 117 of the side walls 104,
108 which
extend in the direction of orientation of the mono-oriented polymer film of
the structural
layer 2 of the sealing label 1 and which defines the edges of the attached
areas and the
AMENDED SHEET
PCT/EP 2017/064 911 - 18.06.2018
PG20703P000 CA 03028246 2018-12-18
14
non-attached area of the sealing label 1 are believed to serve as tear guides
and to
promote correct tearing away of the tear strip area 13 from the sealing label
1.
In Fig. 5, the snuff container 100 with the sealing label 1 is shown with the
tear strip area
13 partly torn away and forming a tear strip 125. The tear strip 125 is shown
folded back
on the sealing label 1 with the adhesive coating 18 exposed. In the part of
the sealing
label 1 where the tear strip area 13 has been removed, the split-line 115 is
visible
between the container lid 106 and the container base 102.
Fig. 6 shows the snuff container 100 with the tear strip 125 fully removed and
the split-line
115 between the container lid 106 and the container base 102 fully exposed to
allow
opening of the snuff container 100. In the illustrated embodiment, the split-
line 115 is
arranged somewhat above a circumferential centre line whereby the container
base 102
has a height which is greater than the height of the container lid 106. The
location of the
split-line 115 may be different from that shown in the figures, implying that
the split-line
115 may divide the snuff container 100 in equal parts or such that the
container lid has a
height which is greater than the height of the container base 102.
As set out herein, the sealing label 1 serves as a display area for the snuff
container 100
and it is preferred that the parts of the sealing label 1 which remain on the
snuff container
100 constitute a major part of the un-broken sealing label 1. Accordingly, the
tear strip
area 13 preferably constitutes from 2% to 20% of a combined area of the tear
strip area
13, the lid attachment area 11 and the base attachment area 12, such as from
5% to 15%
of a combined area of the tear strip area 13, the lid attachment area 11 and
the base
attachment area 12 or from 7% to 10% of a combined area of the tear strip area
13, the lid
attachment area 11 and the base attachment area 12.
The width of the tear strip area 13 is from 0.5 millimetres to 3 millimetres,
such as from
0.7 millimetres to 2.5 millimetres or from 1 millimetre to 1.5 millimetres.
The width of the
tear strip area 13 is preferably equal to the width of the split-line 115
between the lower
edge 116 of the lid side wall 108 and the upper edge 117 of the base side wall
104.
A large remaining display area, i.e. a narrow tear strip 125 makes it possible
to provide
the snuff container 100 with print which will appear largely unaffected by
removal of the
tear strip 125, as illustrated by the sinus-wave pattern on the sealing label
1 in Figs. 4-6.
AMENDED SHEET
CA 03028246 2018-12-18
WO 2017/220481 PCT/EP2017/064911
A large remaining display area, i.e. a narrow tear strip 125 makes it possible
to provide
the snuff container 100 with print which will appear largely unaffected by
removal of the
tear strip 125, as illustrated by the sinus-wave pattern on the sealing label
1 in Figs. 4-6.
