Tamper Evident Packaging and Method

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to tamper evident sealed boxes or cartons.

2. The Prior Art

Tamper evident cartons, broadly speaking, are known in the prior art and are typified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,434,896; 4,436,206; 4,479,588; and 4,566,627. The prior art tamper evident cartons in these patents all contain some indicator means responding to the opening of a carton flap which reveals tampering. The degrees of effectiveness of the prior art tamper indicating means vary as does the effectiveness, manufacturing cost, convenience and practicality of the means.

It is the objective of the present invention therefore to provide tamper evident packaging of an improved type, particularly for boxes and cartons having sealed closure flaps which cannot be defeated by attempts to reseal the flaps after they have been torn open, no matter how careful are the resealing efforts.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tamper evident carton which can be produced economically on a mass production basis by state of the art precision die cutting machinery.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tamper evident box or carton characterized by simplicity of construction and reliability, the tamper evidencing means according to the invention being foolproof and impossible to defeat.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art during the course of the following description.

The present invention is summarized as a box or carton having hinged sealed closure flaps having associated means providing a permanent indication of tampering, as where a sealed flap has been pulled open, followed by an attempt to reseal the flap after tampering with the contents of the carton. The carton is constructed from sheet material having a skin attached to a main substrate layer. Typically, the carton is formed from a paperboard blank having a glossy clay coating. Cold adhesive is employed to seal superposed flaps of the carton to an area defined by scoring which penetrates the skin or coating only. Unscored areas communicate with the adhesive coated scored portion of the flap. An overlying flap covers the adhesive coated scored flap and has viewing windows in registration with said unscored areas. When the overlying flap is opened by an intruder, the skin or coating within the scored area is striped away until the unscored areas are reached, at which points frangible parts of the skin or coating of the underlying flap are broken or torn leaving permanently visible roughly torn elements viewable through said windows of the overlying flap.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank used in the construction of a tamper evident carton according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tamper evident carton in the closed and sealed state.

FIG. 3a is a fragmentary plan view of the carton as depicted in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3b is a similar view showing the carton following tampering and resealing.

FIG. 4 is a enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 3a.

FIG. 4a is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line 4a--4a of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the carton prior to sealing of an outer closure flap thereof.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the carton with the sealed outer closure flap pulled open to create viewable evidence of tampering as depicted in FIG. 3b.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of a carton blank according to a modification of the invention.

FIG. 8a is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line 8a--8a of FIG. 7.

FIG. 8b is a similar section taken on line 8b--8b of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an end view of a sealed carton made from the blank of FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on line 10--10 of FIG. 9.

Referring to the drawings in detail wherein like numerals designate like parts, FIG. 1 shows a unitary blank 20 employed to construct a tamper evident box or carton 21 in accordance with the present invention. The blank can be formed from a variety of materials including laminated paper stock, solid bleach sulfate, clay coated kraft or a paperboard substrate having a fibrous clay coating. A clay-coated substrate is depicted in the application drawings.

The blank 20 includes a pair of equal size rectangular panels 22 and 23 which form the two major side walls of the carton 21. A comparatively narrow rectangular panel 24 is joined to the panels 22 and 23 along parallel folding lines 25 and is thus disposed between the panels 22 and 23. The panel 24 forms one of the narrow carton side walls. An elongated rectangular closure flap 26 having a series of window apertures 27 formed therethrough is joined to the panel 22 along a longitudinal folding line 28 parallel to the folding lines 25. The flap 26 forms one exterior narrow side surface of the erected carton 21, as shown in the drawings.

Similarly, an elongated rectangular flap 29 is hinged to the panel 23 along a parallel folding line 30 of the blank and in the erected carton 21, FIG. 2, the flap 29 lies beneath the flap 26.

End closure flaps 31 and 32 are provided on the blank 20 at the ends of panels 23 and 22 and are foldable relative thereto on folding lines 33 and 34 extending at right angles to the folding lines 25, 28 and 30. Tabs 35 and 36 foldable on lines 37 and 38 are provided at the end of flap 26 and panel 24. Conventional arrow locks 39 are carried by the flaps 32 to be received in arrow lock slits 40 provided in the blank at the ends of panel 23.

The flaps 32 each contain a series of window apertures 41 identical to the apertures 27 and for the same purpose, to be further described. In the erected carton 21, the flaps 32 lie outermost at the two ends of the rectangular carton and the flaps 31 lie immediately beneath the flaps 32.

In accordance with an important and somewhat critical aspect of the invention, the closure flaps 31 and 29 are scored on their clay-coated sides. Referring to FIG. 4a, the thin clay coating is shown by the numeral 42 and the underlying main layer 43 of the blank 20 is shown beneath the coating. The scoring referred to above penetrates the clay coating 42 only and does not penetrate the main layer 43 of the blank to any significant extent. The scoring produces straight scoring lines 44 and 45 in the clay coating of the three flaps near and parallel to the folding lines 33 and 30. At their ends, the scoring lines 44 and 45 have curved terminal portions 46 between which are located a series of short spaced arcuate scoring lines 47. The arcuate scoring lines 47 are near the longitudinal center lines of the flaps 31 and 29 and it may be noted that the window apertures 27 and 41 are also located near the longitudinal center lines of the flaps 26 and 32.

A series of small unscored areas 48 remain on the coated side of the blank 20 between the arcuate scoring lines 47, for an important purpose, to be described.

When the flat blank 20, as shown in FIG. 1, is folded on its several folding lines to produce the rectangular carton 21, the flaps 31 lie beneath the flaps 32 at the opposite ends of the carton and the tabs 35 and 36 lie beneath the flaps 31. Similarly the flap 29 lies beneath the flap 26 along one narrow side of the carton 21. The other narrow side of the carton defined by the panel 24 is without closure flaps and requires no tamper evident means in accordance with the invention. Such means are provided at the two ends and on one narrow side of the carton.

Prior to the closing of the erected carton, a coating 49 or thin layer of cold glue is applied to the areas of the coated faces of the flaps 31 and 29 within the area bounded by the scoring lines 44 and 45 and their end terminals 46, FIG. 5. The small unscored areas 48 are left uncoated with the glue. The flaps 26 and 32 are now pressed down onto the glue-coated flaps 29 and 31 and the arrow lock tabs 39 are inserted into the slits 40 and locked therein. This locking arrangement holds the flaps 26 and 32 against the glue coating 49 while the latter is drying and assures good adherence of the flaps 26 and 32 to the underlying flaps 29 and 31. Without the arrow lock taps 39 and slits 40, the flaps 26 and 32 would have to be held down by some means on the carton manufacturing apparatus during the glue drying period, and the provision of such a means is awkward and expensive.

As best shown in FIG. 3a, the viewing or window apertures 41 are offset from the area coated with the cold glue 49. The apertures 41 are in fact in partial registration with the small unscored areas 48 between adjacent arcuate scoring lines 47 of the flaps 31. The same spatial relationship exists between the window apertures 27 of the flap 26 and the unscored areas 48 of the underlying flap 29.

The blank 20 and carton 21 have been described as being formed from a clay-coated paper substrate, such as clay-coated kraft. It has been mentioned that other equivalent materials can be used for the product. In any case, the material will embody a thin skin as indicated at 42 in FIG. 4a beneath which is a comparatively thick layer 43 forming the main body portion of the composite substrate.

When the carton 21 is closed and sealed on its two ends and one narrow side defined by the flaps 32 and 26, and someone attempts to tamper with the contents of the carton as by pulling open one of the flaps 32, FIG. 6, the following will occur. The resistance offered by the cold glue coating 49 between the flaps 31 and 32 will cause the clay coating 42 or other skin of the flap 31 to be stripped away within the scored area bounded by the score lines 44, 46 and 47. The skin 42 so stripped when the flap 32 is pulled open will remain attached to the flap 32, FIG. 6. When the stripping of the skin from the flap 31 reaches the unscored areas 48, the skin in these small areas will be torn or broken to form a rough edge 50. These rough edges or portions 50 can occur on both the skin 42 adhering to the flap 32 and on the underlying flap 31 within the unscored areas 48.

When the tamperer attempts to reseal the flaps 31 and 31, there will permanently remain very clear evidence of the tampering after the resealing effort, FIG. 3b, because the roughly torn edges or fragments 50 will always be viewable through the window apertures 41 and it is virtually impossible to eliminate the fragments 50. The identical permanent tamper evidencing means will be created in the above-described manner when any of the three flaps 26 and 32 are forcibly opened by a tamperer. Subsequently resealing of these flaps will not eliminate the tamper evidencing rough fragments 50.

FIGS. 7 to 10 show a modification of the invention in which the above-described arrangement for creating the fragments 50 it utilized, plus an embossing arrangement which renders it even more difficult for a tamperer. A portion of a blank 20a, similar to the blank 20, is shown in FIG. 7, including panels 22a, 23a and 24a. Closure flaps 26a and 29a are provided along with closure flaps 31a and 32a and associated tabs 35a and 36a. Window apertures 27a and 41a are formed in the flaps 26a and 29a and folding lines 25a, 28a, 30a, 34a and 33a are also provided in the blank 20a. The closure flaps 31a and 29a have scoring lines 44a and 45a formed through their coatings or skins, as previously described, and scoring line end terminals 46a and arcuate scoring lines 47a are also provided for the purposes already described in connection with the prior embodiment of the invention.

Additionally, in the modified form of the invention shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the flaps 31a and 32a are provided with elongated embossings 51 and 52 within the areas outlined by the scoring lines 44a and 46a. Similarly, the closure flaps 26a and 29a have elongated embossings 53 and 54 within the areas bounded by scoring lines 45a and 46a, FIG. 7.

As best shown in FIG. 10, when the rectangular carton 21a is erected from the blank 20a in the manner previously described, the embossings 51 and 52 of flaps 31a and 32a interfit and the same will be true of the embossings 53 and 54 when the flaps 26a and 29a are folded. The cold glue 55, FIG. 10, is applied to the flaps 31a on top of the embossings 51 within the scored area in the same manner shown and described in connection with the prior embodiment. Similarly cold glue is applied on top of the embossing 54 within the scored area on flap 29a. The flaps 26a and 32a are now pressed down onto the flaps 29a and 31a so that the glue coatings 55 on embossings 51 and 54 are positioned up in the bottoms of the embossings 52 and 53, respectively, above the plane of, or in a plane offset from, the plane between the overlapping flaps 32a, 31a and 26a, 29a. The presence of the interfitting embossings 51 and 52, and 53 and 54, make it more difficult for an intruder to enter the package for tampering with its contents, without leaving evidence of such tampering. When the intruder attempts to insert a blade between the flaps 32a and 31a or between the flaps 26a and 29a when entering the carton, the blade will cut in the plane between the flaps and will result in cutting through one of the embossings 51 or 54 beneath the glue coating 55, which is offset from this plane, stripping the skin 42 from the flaps within the scored area. The blade on exiting the back side of the embossing 51 or 54 adjacent the unscored areas 48a, will cause the skin in these small areas to be torn or broken to form the tamper indicating fragments 50, described in the prior embodiment. Thus, the torn fragments 50 will always be present and viewable through the window apertures in both embodiments of the invention, no matter how the intruder attempts to enter the carton 21 or 21a.

Cold glue 55 has been chosen for use in assembling the carton, since it is not susceptible to softening by heat, thus rendering it more difficult for an intruder to enter the carton.

The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.