Multiple layered markable and self-adhereable tape

A multiple layered laminated tape has a permeable layer on its face. The permeable layer provides a suitable surface for printing or marking. The permeable layer is laminated to an upper strength layer made of a film of pre-stretched polypropylene or the like. The upper strength layer is laminated to a weak carrier layer of low bond Kraft paper. The carrier layer has a layer of water soluble adhesive which is used to secure the tape to a cardboard carton or the like. The water soluble adhesive is also suitable for sticking to the permeable layer face of the tape so that the tape may be stuck to itself. Labels, stamps or the like having a water soluble adhesive may also be glued to the face of the tape.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY 
Multiple layered adhesive tapes for sealing carton flaps either during or 
after manufacture are well known in the art. Applicant is the inventor of 
two such tapes, disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,202 issued 
Aug. 9, 1977 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,877 issued Sept. 28, 1982. U.S. 
Pat. No. 4,041,202 solved problems in the prior art and provided a 
delamintable tape which could be stripped away to leave two lateral 
portions of a bottom layer separated on the two side of a joint thereby to 
release the pieces being joined. 
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,877 solved problems in the prior art and 
provided a strippable laminated tape by utilizing a plastic layer for 
strength and a thin carrier layer to hold the adhesive. The carrier layer 
is made of low internal bond paper which separated when the plastic layer 
was pulled, leaving a thin easily breakable layer. 
In the prior art, multiple layered tapes have not solved the problem of 
markability on the face of the tape. Single layer Kraft tapes are 
markable, but do not provide strength needed for certain applications. If 
a fiber reinforcing layer is provided, there is difficulty in attaching a 
Kraft face to the rough and uneven surface of the tape. Further, because 
of the unevenness of the fibers, substantial adhesive would be required to 
secure a Kraft face to the fibers. Finally, because the Kraft paper face 
is of substantial thickness, it, along with the already heavy fiber, makes 
the tape thicker, thus making the tape rolls larger and more difficult to 
store, inflexible, and costlier. 
Because of these problems with using fibers to provide strength, many tapes 
now utilize a plastic layer. The plastic layer simultaneously solves the 
problem of strength and thickness. However, the plastic layer, when used 
on the tape face, does not provide a suitable surface for marking with 
pen, pencil, inked rubber stamp or the like. 
It is generally difficult to print on a plastic faced tape. Pre-printing on 
the plastic face of the tape is costly since a special printing process 
must be used. Applicant's own U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,877 may have messages 
pre-printed on the carrier layer prior to manufacture of the tape with the 
pre-printed message showing through the clear plastic face of the tape. 
However the message desired must be determined prior to the manufacture of 
the tape. An inventory of tapes with many possible messages must be 
accumulated. Further, if a customized message is desired, such as a 
company name, the entire tape must be manufactured. 
Another problem with plastic faced tapes is the adhereability. Adhesives 
which are suitable for sticking to plastic-faced tapes are generally known 
in the art. If the adhesive is not water soluble, then it must be 
preapplied to the label or tag in a tacky condition. By using a non-water 
soluble adhesive, the labels or tags are generally more expensive. 
Further, labels, stamps, etc., which have a water soluble adhesive, must 
be carefully placed so that they are not on top of the plastic face of the 
tape. This is a serious disadvantage if a significant number of cartons 
are labeled because of reduced productivity and efficiency. 
An inherent problem with plastic faced tapes is that they are not easily 
self-adhereable (i.e. the tape cannot adhere to the top of itself). 
Plastic faced tapes with a water based gumming layer, such as applicant's 
own U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,877, provided a strippable thin tape, but did not 
solve the problem of self-adhereability. 
Non-self-adhereable tapes have several disadvantages. First, if a carton is 
to be completely wrapped with tape around the circumference of a carbon, 
non-selfadhereable tapes would have to be carefully cut so that no overlap 
would occur. If the tape could be overlapped there is added strength, thus 
reducing the possiblity of carton breakage. Overlapped tape will also 
provide a continuous seal to keep foreign objects out of the interior of 
the box. Additionally, a non-self-adhereable tape cannot be criss-crossed 
on the carton for additional strength. 
Accordingly, applicant has solved these problems. Applicant has combined 
the advantages of a plastic strength layer tape with the advantages of a 
paper tape. By uniting a thin low bond paper on one face of the plastic 
layer, a permeable outer surface is provided. The permeable layer may be 
colored, thus providing an aesthetically pleasing tape. Also, the tape may 
be written on by pen, marker, or the like for addresses or for stamping of 
messages. This permeable surface can be used for pre-printed messages, 
such as "Handle with Care", or "Fragile" so that the tape serves not only 
to seal a carton but to communicate a message. The tape can be 
manufactured prior to choosing the desired message, and then stored, thus 
minimizing the inventory needed. 
The permeable layer also provides a suitable surface for gluing on stamps, 
labels or the like. The surface is suitable for both water soluble and 
non-water soluble adhesives This allows less costly labels with water 
soluble adhesive to be used. Further, the labels and stamps need not be 
carefully placed thus reducing the time needed for carton preparation. 
This novel tape is also self-adhereable. A water soluble gumming layer is 
used for applying this tape to a carton or the like. The tape may be 
overlapped on the carton by sticking the gumming layer to the permeable 
layer. This overlapping of the tape provides additional strength to reduce 
carton breakage, and a continuous seal. 
Applicant's tape also incorporates the advantages of applicant's prior 
invention in U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,877. The plastic layer provides strength 
for the tape and at the same time is thinner, smoother, more flexible, and 
less costly than a fiber reinforced tape. By covering the plastic with a 
permeable layer, the disadvantage of plastic's water resistance is 
overcome by the presence of the permeable layer. Applicant has also 
incorporated features by use of a carrier layer adhering to the plastic 
layer. First, the carrier layer provides a surface to "carry" a water 
soluble adhesive for sticking to the carton. Second, the carrier layer may 
be made of low internal bond which separates internally when the stripping 
of the upper strength layer. 
In applicant's alternative embodiment the carrier layer and the permeable 
layer are interchanged. Because the permeable layer is thinner than the 
carrier layer, less adhesive will be used for the water soluble adhesive 
layer. Second, since the carrier layer is thicker than the permeable 
layer, printing or writing on the face of the tape will be better 
absorbed. Finally, by placing the carrier layer opposite the water soluble 
adhesive, the tendency of the tape to curl when wet is reduced.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The multiple layer laminated tape 10 has an upper permeable layer 12 
laminated to an upper strength layer 14 by an adhesive layer 16. Strength 
layer 14 is laminated to a lower carrier layer 18 by an adhesive layer 20 
therebetween. The carrier layer 18 has a gumming layer 22 which secures 
the tape to the carton 24. The gumming layer 22 may be a water soluble 
adhesive film of vegetable or animal gum for convenience and use of 
standard Kraft-type tape dispensers. 
The permeable layer 12 may be made of low bond, ten pound (4.5 kg) to 
thirty pound paper (13.6 kg). This permeable layer 12 provides a thin 
surface which may be written or printed on with pen, pencil, marker or the 
like. Messages such as the company name or frequently used warnings such 
as "Fragile" or "Handle With Care" may be printed on the tape 10 so as to 
reduce or eliminate further marking on the carton 24. 
The permeable layer 12 also provides an adhereable surface. Stamps and 
labels will adhere to the permeable layer 12 even if they use a water 
based adhesive. The tape will stick to itself by applying gumming layer 22 
on top of permeable layer 12 as shown in FIG. 3. Because of its porosity, 
layer 12 will absorb the gumming adhesive of layer 22. The tape 10 can 
then be wrapped around the entire carton 24 providing a continuous seal to 
keep out foreign matter and to keep in any objects in the carton 24. 
The strength layer 14 may be formed from a film of pre-stretched and 
oriented polypropylene or high density polyethylene plastic. This plastic 
film provides a substantially smooth and thin layer of strengthening 
material to form the body of the tape. Both laminating adhesive layers 16 
and 20 may be any adhesive as is commonly used for gluing plastic films to 
paper, as is known in the art. The carrier layer 18 may be twenty five 
pound (11.3 kg) to forty pound (18.1 kg) Kraft or the like and is thicker 
than the permeable layer 12. As the carrier layer 18 is laminated to the 
strength layer 14, the strength layer 14 provides virtually all the 
necessary stength required to withstand the forces encountered during use. 
The carrier layer 18 serves as a medium to "carry" the water soluble 
adhesive that otherwise could not be applied onto the plastic layer, and 
to provide the longitudinal rigidity to permit the tape 10 to be 
dispensed. 
In the alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the carrier layer 18 is 
interchanged with the permeable layer 12. The permeable layer 12 retains 
the gumming layer 22 and the carrier layer 18 now provides a porous 
surface for writing. This embodiment would be preferred if a a heavier 
bond paper is needed for printing or writing on the face of the tape. This 
embodiment also requires a thinner gumming layer 22 since the permeable 
layer 12 will absorb less of the gumming adhesive. 
OPERATION OF THE TAPE 
The tape 10 may be dispensed from a tape dispensing machine (not shown) 
which automatically moistens the gumming layer 22 and cuts the tape to 
length. Several tape dispensing machines may be loaded, each with a 
different pre-printed message, thus making the carton sealing speedier and 
more efficient. Further, because each carton may require a different 
message, the decision on the message to be applied is made while the 
interior of carton 24 is still accessible for easy determination of its 
contents. 
The tape 10 is applied to the carton 24 and may be overlapped, as shown in 
FIG. 1. When applied with an overlap the tape 10 provides a continuous 
seal around the carbon 24. When it is desired to remove the tape 10 from 
the carton, the strength layer 14 is peeled back in a lengthwise 
direction. Because the strength layer 14 is stronger than carrier layer 
18, the strength layer 14 can be stripped or delaminated with little 
chance of incomplete stripping, as shown in FIG. 3. 
Once the strength layer 14 has been delaminated, the portion of the carrier 
layer 18 that remains may be easily broken along the edge of the carton 
flaps to complete opening of the carton. In the alternate embodiment, a 
portion of permeable layer 12 remains after the delamination and can be 
easily broken along the edge of the carton flap to complete opening of the 
carton. 
There are various changes and modifications which may be made to 
applicant's invention as would be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
However, any of these changes or modifications are included in the 
teaching of applicant's disclosure and he intends that his invention be 
limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.