Patent Publication Number: US-6217966-B1

Title: Desensitized price label

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to electronic price tags, and, more specifically, to face labels therefor. 
     A merchandising store, such as a grocery supermarket, displays items for sale on shelves, with a price label being provided for identifying the product by description, measure, and price. In order to automate product pricing, electronic price labels have been developed and are in current use at various locations. 
     In one form, the electronic price label (EPL) comprises a thin rectangular tag having face and back sides, and suitable low-power electronics therein. The EPL tag has a visual electronic display, such as a conventional liquid crystal display (RED), which may operate continuously for an extended period of time on battery power. The display typically includes multiple digits for displaying the desired retail price and unit price for example. 
     Each tag is programmed during manufacture for providing a unique serial number, with each tag also including a back label for identifying the programmed serial number, typically in barcode form. 
     During use, each tag is associated with a given product and includes a face label identifying the corresponding product and pricing information. A typical face label is pre-printed to identify the product, the universal product code (UPC) or SKU barcode, and the name of the store. 
     A typical face label is a pressure sensitive label initially affixed to a release liner by an adhesive. The label is peeled from the liner and bonded atop the EPL tag using the same adhesive provided therewith. 
     As each label is applied to a respective tag, the corresponding tag serial number must be correlated with the product for allowing programming of the price thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,416 discloses a system and method for automatically labeling the EPL tags. In this patent, the face label includes a patch or strip which is initially bonded atop the tag display when the label is applied to the tag. The strip is printed during the application process with variable data such as a record number (RN) in barcode form corresponding with the specific product associated with the EPL tag. 
     Accordingly, as each tag is finally installed on a store shelf for a specific product, the strip is peeled away from the label and underlying tag display, with the RN barcode being read for correlating the installed tag with the corresponding product. The removed strip then exposes the tag display which is programmed for the retail and unit price of the corresponding product for being seen by store customers. 
     Although the label strip is eventually removed from the label after being attached to the EPL tag, it must be sufficiently secured to the label for undergoing the various steps during manufacture, printing, and application of the label without being prematurely liberated therefrom. Since the back side of the label and strip is covered by adhesive, premature liberation of a strip not only causes a defective label but may also inadvertently attach to processing equipment possibly causing jamming thereof. 
     Furthermore, removal of the strip from the tag display may cause tearing of the strip itself or leave behind portions thereof including adhesive which must be suitably removed in a subsequent operation increasing the time and expense of label application. 
     In some EPL tags, an integral push button is provided on the face of the tag near the visual display which may be used by a clerk or customer for accessing additional data from the tag for visual display when the button is pushed. The face label is adhesively bonded atop the push button in one configuration, and the adhesive atop the push button may cause interference with the operation of the push button over time. 
     Accordingly, it is desired to provide an improved face label for an EPL tag which overcomes one or more of these problems in the manufacture and application thereof. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A label for an electronic price tag includes an opposite face and back, and a border surrounding a removable strip for overlaying a visual display of the tag. An adhesive is disposed on the label back for bonding the label to the tag. And, a barrier is disposed on the adhesive under the strip for desensitizing adhesion of the strip with the tag display. The strip is readily removable from the label and display since the barrier degrades adhesive effectiveness. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     The invention, in accordance with preferred and exemplary embodiments, together with further objects and advantages thereof, is more particularly described in the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a face side of an exemplary EPL tag having a multidigit electronic visual display and push button. 
     FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a back side of the EPL tag illustrated in FIG.  1  and taken along line  2 — 2 , and illustrates a back label secured thereto. 
     FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the front side of the tag illustrated in FIG. 1 having a face label secured thereto, with the face label including a removable strip covering the tag display. 
     FIG. 4 is a isometric view of the EPL tag illustrated in FIG. 3 with the strip being removed for exposing the display. 
     FIG. 5 is an isometric, partly sectional view of the face label illustrated in FIG. 3 attached to a liner prior to being applied to the tag. 
     FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the underside of the label and liner illustrated in FIG.  5  and taken generally along line  6 — 6 , with the liner being partially peeled away. 
     FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a label press configured for forming a series of the labels illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. 
     FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of an apparatus for applying the labels made in FIG. 7 to a series of EPL tags. 
     FIG. 9 is an isometric view of an exemplary EPL tag labeled in FIG. 8, and corresponding with FIG. 3, with the strip being peeled away to expose the underlying tag display. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Illustrated in FIG. 1 is an exemplary EPL tag  10  in rectangular form. The tag is conventional and includes a visual electronic display  10   a  in the exemplary form of a liquid crystal display (LCD) on a front face or side  10   b  thereof. 
     The inside of the tag includes suitable, programmable electronics which are battery powered to operate the display. The tag may be programmed to display numbers indicative of retail price and unit price for a specific product, for example. 
     The tag electronics include a suitable memory for storing desired information therein, and a radio receiver for remotely reprogramming the tag for changing pricing information, for example. The memory is programmed at manufacture to include a unique serial number for identifying the tag, and for correlating a specific product and price therefor associated with the specific tag and corresponding product. 
     When the tag is manufactured, a suitable identification label  12  as illustrated in FIG. 2 is secured to any suitable location thereon such as its back face or side  10   c . The back label may include any desired information including identification of the tag manufacturer, and an identification barcode  12   a  identifying the tag and including at least in part the serial number programmed in the tag. 
     A typical merchant will require hundreds or thousands of the tags for use in a given store, with each tag being specifically provided for a different product to be sold within the store. Accordingly, it is desired to affix to the front side of the tag as illustrated in FIG. 3, a suitable face label  14 . This label may include, for example, a printed product description, a unit of measure, and size. The face label may also include additional information as desired such as the name of the specific store, trademark, and artistic display. The label may also include a conventional UPC or SKU number in barcode form. 
     Since each EPL tag is generic, its serial number must be correlated with the product description contained in the face label to allow corresponding programming of price therein, for example. As shown in FIG. 3, the face label includes a patch or strip  14   a  on which a unique record number  16  in barcode form, for example, may be printed. The strip  14   a  is preferably sized to match the perimeter of the visual display  10   a  illustrated in FIG. 1 so that it may be manually peeled or torn away from the tag to expose the visual display as illustrated in FIG.  4 . The tag  10  illustrated in FIG. 4 is in final form with its attached face label  14  for identifying the product associated therewith in a merchandising store when attached to its specific shelf location. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,416 identified above discloses a system and method for automatically labeling a series of the EPL tags with corresponding face labels for correlating specific products with corresponding tags. The present invention is an improvement in the labeling system of that patent for solving problems associated with the adhesive found on the back of the face label  14  provided for bonding the label to the front of the tag. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary face label  14  prior to application to the tag  10 . The label includes the removable strip  14   a  surrounded by a border  14   b . The strip has a rectangular configuration to match the corresponding rectangular configuration of the tag display  10   a  to initially overlay that tag display during the assembly process as illustrated in FIG.  3 . 
     The face label  14  is in the form of a panel or sheet having any suitable material composition such as polyolefin for its resistance to tearing. The label has a face  14   c  and back  14   d  on opposite sides or surfaces thereof, and as additionally shown in FIG.  6 . 
     The label is preferably in the form of a pressure sensitive label having a suitable adhesive  18  disposed or coated over the entire label back  14   d  which is subsequently used for bonding the label to the front of the tag  10 . 
     As best shown in FIG. 6, a first barrier  20  is disposed or coated on the adhesive  18  under the strip  14   a  for desensitizing or degrading adhesion of the strip  14   a  with the tag display  10   a  when initially bonded thereto as illustrated in FIG.  3 . By degrading adhesion of the adhesive  18  underlying the strip  14   a , the strip may be readily removed from the label border and tag for uncovering the tag display  10   a  illustrated in FIG.  4 . The barrier  20  substantially reduces the likelihood of inadvertent tearing of the strip  14   a  as it is removed from the tag, and ensures that none of the adhesive  18  remains atop the tag display which would require subsequent cleaning thereof. 
     As shown in FIG. 5, a die-cut  22  severs the strip  14   a  from the border  14   b  and is formed in any conventional manner. In accordance with one feature of the present invention, the die-cut  22  preferably extends completely or continuously around the perimeter of the strip  14   a  except for a plurality of interruptions in the die-cut which define respective ties  24 . The barrier  20  preferably fully covers the adhesive  18  within the perimeter of the strip  14   a  bounded by the die-cut  22 . Since the barrier  20  degrades the adhesion of the adhesive  18  under the strip  14   a , and since the die-cuts  22  sever the strip from the label border, the ties  24  are introduced for maintaining structural integrity of the label during the manufacturing and application process to prevent premature liberation of the strip prior to final removal of the strip itself. 
     As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the label  14  is initially formed in a laminate including a release liner  26  which is removably bonded to the label back  14   d  by the adhesive  18 . The release liner  26  may have any conventional form, and is typically a silicone impregnated paper having limited adhesion to the adhesive  18 . The label laminate is typically obtained from a manufacturer with face stock being adhesively bonded to the liner for use in subsequent manufacturing steps which size and cut individual labels to desired form, and print the labels with any suitable information. Pressure sensitive labels of this type are well known in the commercial field, with individual labels being readily removed from the liner by peeling therefrom and re-bonded to any desired object using the same adhesive already coating the back of the label. 
     By introducing the strip barrier  20  selectively between the adhesive  18  underlying the strip  14   a  and the liner  26  with which it is laminated, the adhesive&#39;s bond with the liner is substantially reduced or eliminated. And, adhesion of the barrier coated strip  14   a  is also degraded or eliminated when the label is removed from the liner and applied atop the tag illustrated in FIG.  3 . This permits the strip  14   a  to be subsequently removed from the tag with substantially little or no resistance as compared to the construction without the barrier  18  as indicated above. The ties  24  interrupting the perimeter die-cut  22  offset the loss of adhesion to the liner introduced by the barrier  18 . 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the tag  10  preferably also includes a push button  10   d  at any suitable location adjacent the display  10   a . The push button may have any conventional form and is operatively joined to the electronics inside the tag for changing the information presented on the display  10   a . For example, a store clerk may push the button  10   d  for temporarily displaying a regular price when the associated product is on sale at a reduced price. 
     In one embodiment, the push button  10 d is hidden behind the label  14  as illustrated in FIG. 4, and may be activated by pushing a corresponding spot  14   e  of the label border  14   b  under which the button is hidden. However, in conventional practice, pushing the spot  14   e  repetitively over time can lead to malfunction of push button operation due to the adhesive commonly used in pressure sensitive labels. 
     Accordingly, another feature of the present invention is the use of a second barrier  20   b  disposed on the adhesive  18 , as illustrated in FIG. 6, directly under the spot  14   e  of the border, as illustrated in FIG.  5 . The spot barrier  20   b  is similarly used for desensitizing or degrading adhesion of the adhesive underlying the spot  14   e  with the push button  10   d  located therebelow. In this way, the spot barrier uncouples the spot  14   e  from the push button so that the adhesive under the spot does not bond the spot to the push button for permitting unobstructed use thereof. And, over repeated pushing of the spot  14   e , operation of the push button is not compromised by the adhesive  18 . 
     FIG. 7 illustrates schematically an apparatus and method for making the labels  14  illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 in one embodiment. The method begins by providing a continuous web  28  of label face sheet or laminate  28 a adhesively bonded to a release liner  28   b . The web  28  is typically obtained from a commercial vendor in the form of an unprinted blank roll  28   c  in which the adhesive  18  is disposed between the laminate and liner in an integral construction. 
     The blank roll  28   c  is mounted in a conventional label press  30  which includes a first printer  30   a  which prints atop the laminate  28   a  any desired information, such the information printed on the label border  14   b  illustrated in FIG.  3 . 
     The press further includes a delaminator  30   b  which is conventionally configured for delaminating the laminate  28   a , with the adhesive  18  thereon, from the liner  28   b  in a continuous operation. A second printer  30   c  is then used for applying or printing the barrier  20 , 20   b  selectively on the adhesive  18  in a series of spaced apart barriers along the laminate which correspond with a series of labels thereon. 
     The barrier  20  is in the prefered form of a desensitizing ink having any conventional composition for being readily printed on the adhesive  18  underlying the laminate  28   a . The second printer  30   c  is conventional and may be used to accurately print the desensitizing ink barrier in any desired configurafion below the laminate  28   a . In this way, both the strip barrier  20  configured for underlying the entire rectangular extent of the label strip  14   a  and the spot barrier  20   b  configured for underlying the label spot  14   e  may be precisely positioned. 
     A relaminator  30   d  is then used for conventionally relaminating the laminate  28   a  and liner  28   b  using the same adhesive  18  bonded to the laminate to again form the integral web  28  having printing atop the laminate  28   a  and therebelow between the underlying adhesive  18  and the liner  28   b.    
     In this way a series of the labels  14  illustrated in FIG. 5 may be produced along the running axis  32  of the web  28  in a continuous operation. A conventional die-cutter  30   e  is then used for die-cutting the laminate  28   a  to form a series of the labels  14  thereon each having a respective strip  14   a  as illustrated in FIG. 5 separated from the liner by respective ones of the strip barriers  20 . And, each strip  14   a  is configured to overlay respective ones of the displays  10   a  of a number of tags  10 . 
     The die-cutter  30   e  illustrated in FIG. 7 die-cuts the leading and trailing edges of each label  14  along the running axis  32  as illustrated in FIG. 8 to sever adjacent ones of the labels  14  for permitting their subsequent removal from the underlying web liner  28 . 
     As shown in FIG. 8, the labels  14  are interconnected by the web liner  28  in a series along the running axis  32 . The processed label roll  28   d  illustrated in FIG. 7 is then installed in a third printer  34  for printing any variable data on the corresponding labels  14 , such as the RN barcode  16  printed atop the label strips  14   a  as illustrated in FIG.  3 . From the printer  34 , the web  28  travels through a conventional label applicator  36  which removes the individual labels  14  from the web liner  28   b  and applies the labels  14  in turn atop corresponding ones of the EPL tags  10  suitably conveyed therebelow. 
     Accordingly, the web liner  28   b  is removed from the web laminate  28   a , and the individual die-cut labels  14  are applied to respective ones of the tags  10  in the label applicator  36 . The corresponding strips  14   a  then cover the respective tag displays  10   a  as shown for the exemplary tag illustrated in FIG.  3 . The individual strips  14   a  may then be removed from the corresponding labels  14  atop the tags  10  as illustrated in FIG. 9 to expose to view the tag displays  10   a  therebelow. 
     An exemplary one of the tags  10  on which is applied a corresponding label  14  is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 9. The ties  24  ensure that the respective strips  14   a  remain attached to the label borders  14   b  during the printing, cutting, and application operations without being prematurely liberated from the label. Since the labels are formed in a series along the running axis of the continuous web  28 , the ties  24  illustrated in FIG. 3 are preferably disposed at the leading and trailing edges of each of the strips  14   a  which is relative to the running axis  32  illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 along which the individual labels are formed. 
     Testing has shown that each of the strips  14   a  should include only two of the ties  22  centered on the opposite leading and trailing edges thereof for best maintaining integrity of the strip  14   a  and surrounding border  14   b  during the processing thereof. The ties are readily broken as the individual strip  14   a  is peeled away from its border to expose the underlying tag display  10   a , as illustrated in FIG.  9 . In other embodiments, more or less ties may be used at different locations. 
     Accordingly, the EPL tag  10  illustrated in FIG. 3 in combination with its applied face label  14 , including the strip  14   a  and border  14   b , enjoys the additional benefit of the strip  14   a  being readily removable from atop the display  10   a  due to the strip barrier  20  therebetween. The label  14  is securely bonded to the tag except between the strip  14   a  and the display  10   a , and except between the spot  14   e  and the underlying push button  10   d.    
     The improved label described above has several advantages. The labels may be manufactured in a series on the roll webs  28  for increased speed. The integrated label strips  14   a  and the label borders  14   b  remain attached together by the ties  24  atop the underlying web liner  28  for permitting variable printing in the printer  34  and the individual application of the labels  14  to corresponding tags  10  as illustrated in FIG.  8 . The individual label strips  14   a  may be dedicated for printing any desired variable data such as the RN barcode, with the strips remaining attached to the adjoining label borders even during the dispensing and application of the labels atop the tags  10 . 
     The label strips  14   a  are readily removed from the individual tags  10  by peeling therefrom and severing of the ties  24 . The strip barrier  20  ensures that no adhesive or portions of the strip  14   a  remain attached to the tag display  10   a.    
     And, the spot barrier  20   b  maintains the functionality of the push button  10   d  notwithstanding the overlying label border and adhesive thereon. Pushing the label spot  14   e  in turn depresses the push button  10   d  without interference by the label adhesive, and the spot barrier  20   b  prevents interference of push button operation over an extended period. 
     While there have been described herein what are considered to be preferred and exemplary embodiments of the present invention, other modifications of the invention shall be apparent to those skilled in the art from the teachings herein, and it is, therefore, desired to be secured in the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 
     Accordingly, what is desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is the invention as defined and differentiated in the following claims in which we claim: