MEANS INCLUDING AN ADHESIVE ZONE FOR DECORATIVELY CLOSING PACKAGED GOODS, ESPECIALLY THOSE FOR RETAIL SALE

Abstract: Closing means (10), (56), (67), (81), (90), (99), (110), for commercially packaging products generally, for wholesale and retail sales, the purpose of which is both practical and ornamental, consisting of one small piece (11), (82), (91), (100), (111), or of a few small superimposed pieces (58-59), (69-70-71) of paper, plastic or other material, comprising a central zone (12), (60), (72), (83), (92), (101), (112), and a layer (16), (62), (77), (85), (94), (103), (114) of adhesive on the back surface (15), (61), (75), (84), (93), (102), (113) for joining the two opposite surfaces of the package that have to be joined, and free outwardly extending zones (13-14), (63-64), (73-74-75), (86-87), (95-96), (104-105-106), (115-116-117), set around the central zone, in the shape of wings, flaps and any other form that is convenient for the fingers to grip when applying the closing means or for the recipient of the package to detach said means and, at the same time, to secure an attractive ornamental effect by the use of adequate shapes and decorations.

Description: Title : "lHlANS INCLUDING AN ADHESIVE ZONE FOR DECORATIVELY CLOSING PACKAGED GOODS, ESPECIALLY THOSE FOR RETAIL SALE" Present state of the art Nearly all the innumerable products, small in size and ex¬ tensively used, such as confectionary, clothing, trinkets, stationery, jewels, perfumes, toys and gift articles as a whole, have to " be packaged in a way that is " bot protective and ornamental. The type of packaging adopted must he securely closed to avoid accidental opening and must be suited to the size aid quantity of the products. The procedure used for retail sales provides a well-known case in point. The products are placed together more or less compactly,to form a parallelepiped as nearly as possible, and are then . wrapped in a sheet of paper, the first stage of the opera¬ tion giving the package a practically tubular shape. The longitudinal edge of the paper is first of all fixed in place with a piece of adhesive tape. The ends of said " • tube" are folded down and tucked under the package and the resulting flaps are also fixed in posi¬ tion with adhesive tape. A ribbon, string or the like is then passed round the pack- age in the two perpendicular directions and tied to create a showybow the ends of which are curled up. The product may sometimes be put in a bag and the open end folded over several times,according to the length of bag left unused, and then held down with adhesive- tape. In the first case evident difficulties are encountered in I making up the package considering the time needed and the variety of items required, often awkward to assemble. In the second case the resulting package is unattractive, depreciating the product instead of making it more pleasing. This is all the more important where gifts or articles of value,such as jewels and the like, are concerned. Packaging at the factory presents the same problem, in ad¬ dition to those created by despatch and transport. The ornamental features of a box of chocolates, for example , must be compatible with its intrinsic cost, with the labor involved, as well as with keeping bulk down to the minimum, and means must be used that will be unharmed by transport. Further, the recipient will feel disappointed, especially if the packaging material is elegant, when the paper or bag inevitably becomes torn while the package is being opened. Adhesive tape in fact not only adheres too firmly to the packing paper, but has no free ends or corners to lift up and allow the fingers to gain a hold and pull it off. If the package contains a consumable product, only partly consumed in the first instance, it is then almost impossi¬ ble to do it up again once it has been opened. The above invention avoids all these drawbacks, offering considerable advantages besides as will be explained below. Description of the invention Subject of the invention is a means for closing commercial ly packaged products in general, whether sola wholesale or retail, the purpose of which is both practical and ornamen 5 tal, serving particularly to hold in place the folded down edges of a bag, to fix a lid onto its box, or the edge of a sheet of paper to a point on its surface, generally speak ing to close a package. Said closing means is a structure consisting of one or mre 1C superimposed pieces of paper, plastic or other material, comprising: - a central zone, - a layer of adhesive on the back of said zone for joining the two opposing edges of a package to be fixed together, 15 - free zones extending outwards from the central zone, in the form of flaps, wings or any other. Said flaps enable the fingers to take hold of the closing means and apply it to the package, and facilitate its re¬ moval by the recipient. 20 The packaging process is thereby made easier and since the closing means is offered in a variety of shapes and sizes as well as decorations, a pleasing, attractive appearance, or even a personal touch, is conferred upon the package. The adhesive is sufficiently strong to prevent the closing 25 means from becoming accidently detached from the package, but not too strong for its detachment to be possible by pul ling the free zones extending outwards from the centralzone . Packaging is thus facilitated by making available a closing means with its adhesive zone protected by a covering which 30 is detachable 'at the time of use. In one execution the closing means represents a stylized or imitation butterfly. - 4 - The central zone of the closing means represents the body of the butterfly and the free projecting zones on either side simulate its v/ings. In another execution the closing means takes the form of a flower and consists of three small pieces of paper one laid over another. The free zones of the top piece of paper simulate the petals, those of the piece underneath the sepals or leaves while those of the third piece represent the leaves. In another execution the closing means is shaped to repre¬ sent a stylized heart. The free zones here simulate the lower tip of the heat and the right and left auricles. In yet another execution the closing means appears like a bird with spread wings. The central part corresponds to the bird's body while the free zones simulate the bird's wings and tail. The characteristics and purposes of the invention will be made even clearer by the following examples of its execu¬ tion illustrated by diagrammatical drawings. Examples of executions Fig. 1 Closing means made to look like a styϋzed butter¬ fly. Fig. 2 The closing means of Fig. 1 seen from the back. Fig. 3 The closing means of Fig. 1 mounted on a backing strip. Fig. 4 The closing means of Fig. 1 applied to a bag. Fig. 5 The closing means of Fig. 1 applied to a shallow box. Fig. 6 The closing means of Fig. 1 applied to a deep box. Fig. 7 The closing means of Fig. 1 applied to a p a p e r wrapped package . Fig. 8 Flower-shaped closing means made from two pie ces - 5 - of paper and applied to a bag. Fig. 9 The two-pie ce closing means of Fig. 2 seen from the back. Fig.10 Flower-shaped closing means made from three pieces 5 of paper and applied to a bag. Fig.11 The closing means of Fig. 10 seen from the back. Fig.12 The closing means of Fig. 10 applied to a paper wrapped package. Fig.13 Closing means shaped like a bow. 0 Fig.14 Ditto as above seen from the back. Fig.15 Closing means shaped like a butterfly. Fig.16 Ditto as above seen from the back. Fig.17 Closing means shaped like a heart. Fig.18 Ditto as above seen from the back. 5 Fig.19 Closing means shaped like a bird. - Fig.20 Ditto as above seen from the back. The closing means (10) (Figs. 1 and 2) is made in the form of a stylized butterfly using a sheet of tough paper (11). It has a .central rhomboid zone (12) and wings (13), (14) 0 constituting the free zones. The back (15) of the central zone is coated with a layer of adhesive (16). ' The wings (13), (14) simulate those of a butterfly and the decoratiσis (17) are of diagonally laid che'Cks. The band (20) (Fig.3) of impermeable material such as will 5 adhere in a limited manner to the adhesive, carries a ser¬ ies of closing means (21) , (22) , (23) , (24) ready for use. Desiring to close the bag (25) (Fig.4), filled with a cer¬ tain product and whose edge (26) has been folded down anuEi ber of times, all that need be done is to pick the closing 0 means (21), for example, off the band, pulling it by one of its wings,and place the adhesive-covered zone behind the rhomboid (27) half on the last fold (28) and half on the body (29) of the bag. The bag then remains firmly closed while the wings (30), (31) provide a pleasing and original decoration for the package especially if they are bent slight outwards. The recipient of the package can easily open it by pulling one wing of the closing means to detach it from the adhe¬ sive coated zone. Having consumed part of the product,the bag can be closed again by once more placing the adhesive coated zone across the folded edge (even if there is a greater number of folds) and the body of the bag. The shallow box (33) in Fig. consists of the base (34) and the lid (35) with a front flap (36). To close the box the closing means,(22) for example, is detached from the supporting band (20) and placed in position across the edge of the flap. In the case of the deep box (39), Fig.6, the corners (44) and (41) of the cover (42) are held down by the closing means (23). Fig. 7 showβs a boxed product (44) packed in a sheet of pa- per (45) folded at the sides in the ordinary way (46), (47), (48), (49), and the upper edge (50) folded over onto the underlying paper ( 1 ) . The edge on the top is held down by the adhesive-coated zone of closing means (24) while the side folds are fixed in place by more closing means (52), (53) similar to the previous ones. Fig. 8 shows a closing means (56) practically equivalent to those (21), (22), (23), (24) already described, but in the shape of a flower, applied to the bag (57). Fig.9 illustrates a back view of the same closing means. It is made of two pieces (58), (59) of paper fixed togetter in the central zone (60). At the back there is zone (61 ) - 7 - with a layer (62) of adhesive. The upper piece of paper (58) is shaped to represent petals (63) while the lower piece (59) is shaped to represent leaves (64). To remove said closing means from the supporting band,like (20), and apply it to the bag' and for the recipient then to take it off the bag, it is sufficient in both cases for the lower flaps (64) to be pulled until detached from the adhesive-coated zone. The packaging material can remain intact and can be put back as it was before by once again applying the described closing means. Fig.10 illustrates another "flower"-like closing means(67) applied to the bag (68) which, compared to the previous one is made using three pieces of paper (69) , (70) , (71 ) all of which are shaped like parts of flowers. The free zones (73) , (74) ,(75) especially, projecting from the central zone (72), respectively represent the petals, the sepals and the leaves. Fig. 11 shows the back view of closing means (67) inclu- ding the zone (76) coated with a layer (77) of adhesive. Said closing means can be applied or detache ,by holding the leaves (75). Fig. 12 shows closing means (67) applied to a package(78) wrapped in a sheet of paper (79). Practical application is identical with that of the prece¬ ding closing means but the aesthetic effect is even more impressive especially if the component parts of the flower are bent outwards. Figs. 13 and 14 show a closing means (81) with the sheet of paper (84) arranged to form a stylized bow with its two loops (86), (87) and central zone (83) and with the back zone (84) coated with a layer (85) of adhesive. Figures 15 and 16 illustrate a closing means (90) with its piece of paper (91) comprising the central zone (92), nd the back (93) with layer (94) of adhesive, shaped to imi¬ tate a butterfly, handled by means of the free zones (95), (96) which coincide with the butterfly's wings. Figures 17 and 18 illustrate a closing means (99) with its piece of paper (100) shaped like a heart. The central zone (101) corresponds to the position of the back zone (102) with its layer (103) of adhesive and is applied, or detached, by picking up the free zones (104), (105), (106) which respectively represent the lowerup of the heart and its right and left auricles. Figures 19 and 20 show a closing means (110) shaped like a bird (111). The central zone (112) forms the bird's body. The adhesive (114) is applied to the back zone (113). The free zones (115), (116), (117), respectively represent the wings and the tail. Advantages The advantages are evident. Though composed with extreme simplicity, the closing means here described replaces both adhesive tape an ribbon with curled up ends, according to which is used, thus drastical ¬ ly reducing the time required for retail packaging. The ornamental features forming such an inseparable part of a perfect package are not only present but are even bet ter than before since the shape, size and decorative ef¬ fect of the closing means subject of the invention can be varied in numberless ways. In packaging, the classical sheet of paper can be replaced by a bag not o inly without loss of ornamental features but even improving them v/hile simultaneously reducing packaging times , especially in the case of retail sales o - 9 - Similar advantages also apply to industrial packaging in view of the characteristics of the closing means concerned combining minimum bulk for transport (when packages have to be placed together for this purpose) with maximum dis- play effect both on show and when handed to the consumer, especially if the sales staff bend outwards the free zones when making a retail 3ale. To be remembered that the receipient of the package can open and close it again without tearing or 3poling it. The cost of the object itself is negligible while great savings can be made in the work of packaging staff. As the applications of the invention have been described as examples not limited to these, it is understood that aiy equivalent application of the inventive concepts explained and any product executed and/or in operation according to the characteristics of the invention will be covered byits field of protection.

Claims: Claims 1. Closing means for commercially packaging products gen¬ erally,wh ther for wholesale or retail sales,both practical and ornamental, especially suitable for fixing the folded 5 edges of a bag, a lid onto its box, the edge of a sheet of paper onto its underlying surface,and for completing packa¬ ging operations in general,characterized in that its struc- ~ ture (10), (56),(67),(81),(90), (99), (110) consists of one small piece (11) ,(82) ,(91) ,(100) , (111) , or of a few small 0 superimposed pieces (58-59) ,(69-70-71) of paper, plastic or other material, comprising a central zone (12),(60), (72), (83),(92), (101), (112) and a layer (16), (62), (77), (85), (94),(103),(114) of adhesive on the back face (15) ,(61),(76), (84) ,(93) , (102) ,(113) for joining the two opposite surfaces 5 of a package that have to be held together, and comprising free outwardly-extending zones (13-14), (63-64), (73-74-75), (86-87), (95-96), (104-105-106) , (115-116-117) placed round the central zone, shaped like flaps, wings, or given any other form that is convenient for the fingers to grip when 0 applying the closing means, or for the recipient of the package to detach said means, all this for the purpose of facilitating packaging and, by supplying said closing means in an adequate variety of sizes, shapes and decorations, of rendering the finished package more pleasing, attractive 5 or even conferring a personal touch upon it. 2. Closing means for commercially packaging products gen¬ erally as in claim 1, characterized in that the nature of the adhesive ((16), (62), (77), (85), (99), (103), (I14),is such as to impede spontaneous detachment of the closing 0 means (10), (56), (67), (81), (90), (94), (110) from the package but to allow desired detachment by pulling the free outwardly-extending zones (13-14), (63)64), (73-74-75), (86-87), (95-96), (104-105-106), (115-116-117) for the pur post of both facilitating packaging by making available to the packer closing means with adhesive zones (15) ,(61),(76), (84), (93), (102), (113), protected by a detachable cover- ing at the time of use, and also to allow the recipient of the package to open it without tearing or damaging the pack aging material and, if necessary, to close it again after consuming a part of the contents or for other reasons. 3. Closing means for commercially packaging products gen- erally as in claim 1, characterized in that it is supplied to the packager in the form of numerous units stuck onto a band or sheet (20) of such a material and so treated that they are lightly attached to the adhesive (16), (62),(77), (85), (94), (103), (114) so that the packager can easily pick them off said supporting band or sheet and apply them t the package. 4. Closing means for commercially packaging products gen¬ erally as in claim 1, characterized in that it is made to represent a butterfly (10), stylized or (90) imitated, the central zone (12), (92) constituting the body of the butter fly while the free outwardly extending zones (13-14), (95- 96), represent the butterfly's " wings. 5. Closing means for commercially packaging products gen¬ erally as in claim 1, characterized in that it is made to represent a flower (56), (67), the free zones of the first piece (63), (73), making the petals, those of a second piece (64), (74) underneath making the εepals or leaves, those of a third piece underneath again making the leaves (75). 6. Closing means for commercially packaging products gen- erally as in claim 1, characterized in that it is made to represent a heart (99), the free zones (104), (105), (106) - 12 - respectively constituting the lower tip and the right and left auricles of the heart. 7. Closing means for commercially packaging products gen¬ erally as in claim 1, characterized in that it is made to represent a bird (110) with spread wings, the free zones (115), (116), (117) forming the wings and the tail.

Inventors: ALZIATI MARIA GIULIA, ALZIATI, MARIA, GIULIA
Applicants: ALZIATI MARIA GIULIA, ALZIATI, MARIA, GIULIA
Application year: 1986
Main classification: B65D67
IPC codes: B65D5, B65D33, B65D67