GB2277075A - Label including peelable resealable part - Google Patents

Abstract

A label (10) may be applied to a substrate (14) and is peelable from and resealable to the substrate whilst being adapted to be securely fixed to the substrate along at least a part (11) of the label adjacent to one edge of the label. This may be achieved by the use of permanent adhesive in part (11) and resealable adhesive elsewhere, or the use of permanent adhesive throughout but a release layer (15) on substrate (14) except in the region of part (11). The part (11) may be an extension along one edge of the label (10) and may be held by an overlapping further layer (17), the other edge of the label having a tab (12) to facilitate peeling. The label may be applied to a product or container (13), or to a second label, which itself may be another label according to the invention. <IMAGE>

Description

Label This invention relates to labels which are applied to containers of products and which are printed with information concerning the product.

It is becoming increasingly common for labels to carry information such as instructions in more than one language. Certain products, for example household products, must also now be sold with comprehensive information about the safe use and storage of the product and hazard warning symbols.

Taken together with the increasingly complex instructions which must accompany certain technically advanced products, the amount of information which must be carried on product labels can be very large. If the size of the label to be used is restricted, for example because the product or container itself is relatively small, then including all of the information required on the label can be a problem.

One solution to this problem is to provide a leaflet with the product, upon which the additional information can be included. However, in order to include a leaflet with a product, it is usually necessary to provide an additional external package, which adds to the cost of the product.

Also a leaflet supplied either separately or in such a package can easily be lost.

This problem has been addressed by providing so-called "piggy-back labels which are attached to the main label. One such label is supplied in a form which can be opened out in concertina fashion by the user when a part of the label is removed.

This extended part of the label is then left hanging from the main part of the label1 and so may easily be torn away, either intentionally or by accident. A different approach to the problem has been to supply a secondary label which can be peeled away from the main label and removed completely or which is designed to hang from an attachment to the main label. Again, the secondary label can be torn away, in which case it may easily be lost.

The present invention provides a solution to the above problems by providing a label which can be applied to a substrate (for example to a label or product or container) and which is peelable from and resealable to said substrate and which is adapted to be securely fixed to the substrate along at least a part of the label adjacent to one edge of the label.

In one form, the label has one or more extensions along one edge and a further label layer is adhesively applied to the substrate in such a way that this further layer overlaps the extension(s) of the label and adheres to the substrate in a region adjacent to the extension(s). In this way the label is prevented from being peeled away entirely from the substrate, being held securely in place by the presence of the further layer over the extension(s).

In another form, a part of the label adjacent to one edge is not readily peelable from the substrate because the adhesive properties between that region of the label and the part of the substrate to which that part of the label is applied are different from the adhesive properties between the peelable area of the label and the part of the substrate to which that peelable part is applied.

The substrate to which the label is applied may be a product or container, which may have information printed directly thereon.

Alternatively the substrate may comprise a base label or another label according to the invention.

The label is both peelable from and resealable to the substrate and may be peeled and resealed several or many times. Thus the label can be peeled away from the substrate to enable the customer to read it and then re-applied to the substrate when it has been read. Preferably the label is resealably adhered over the whole of its area apart from that area adjacent to one edge in which it is secured to the substrate.

The peel/reseal properties of the label may be brought about by the use of a peel/reseal or 'reusable' adhesive or by the use of a release coating applied to the substrate or by a combination of the above. In a preferred form, the label comprises a printed layer which is stuck to a clear film layer which has been coated with a release layer on its upper surface. The lower surface of the clear film layer is then adhesively secured to a substrate, for example a base label. When the label is peeled away from the release coated clear film, the printed material on the base label may be read through the clear film and the printed material on the label can also be seen.

The label may be of paper, plastics film or other suitable materials. In a preferred form the label material is a polypropylene film, suitably treated to allow it to be printed on on at least one side.

The label is able to be held in position on the substrate in a region adjacent to one edge of the label to prevent it from being peeled completely away from the substrate so that it cannot become separated from the product to which it relates.

This may be achieved by adhering the label nonpeelably along one edge. In a preferred form, peelability is imparted to the main part of the label by providing a releasing layer on to which the label is applied and the non-peelable edge region is achieved by omitting the release layer in the region of the substrate underneath the relevant edge. If, on the other hand a peel/reseal adhesive has been used, then a more permanent adhesive may be used in the area required to be secured to the substrate.

In another preferred form of the invention, the label has one or more extensions from the edge which is required to be securely held to the substrate.

In this case, the label may be peelable over the whole of its lower surface. The label is prevented from being peeled away from the substrate completely by the presence of a layer of material which is adhered to and which covers the extension(s) and parts of the substrate which are adjacent to the extension(s). This layer of material may be an additional piece of paper or film provided for the purpose or, in a particularly preferred form in which the label is located adjacent to an end edge of a base label substrate, the layer of material may be the other end of the base label which has been wrapped completely around a product or container and is sufficiently long to overlap the end to which the label has been applied.

In a particularly preferred form, the upper surface of the extension(s) may be made more susceptible to be adhered to the further layer which covers the upper surface. This may be achieved either by omitting to provide a glossy finish to that region of the label, or by otherwise treating the upper surface of the extension.

Preferably the label has a tab or projection to allow it to be more easily lifted and peeled away from the substrate.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are: Fig.l, a plan view of a preferred form of a label according to the invention, Fig.2, a perspective view of a container bearing the label of Fig.l, and Fig.3, a semi-exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention.

The label 10 shown in Fig.l has one extension 11 from its right-hand edge and tab 12 projecting from its left-hand edge.

The label is shown in Fig.2 in use upon a container 13 which is a cylindrical metal can of the type in which paint or other product is commonly sold. The can 13 has a paper base label 14 wrapped around its circumference. A piece of clear polyester film 15, the upper surface of which is coated with a silicone release material, which is of a similar size and shape to the label 10 is securely adhered to the base label 14 using a pressure sensitive acrylic adhesive coated on to the lower surface of the film. The label 10 is applied with an emulsion adhesive directly over the film 15. In practice, the release coated clear film, label material and the ' adhesive joining the two are printed, cut and applied to the substrate as a single item, so that keeping the label and film layer in register is not a problem. The film and label are applied adjacent to the right-hand end 16 of the base label. The other end 17 of the base label overlaps and is adhered to the end 16 and the extension 11 of the label. Thus the label 10 is prevented from being peeled away from the base label in the region of the extension 11 because it is adhered to the lower surface of the overlapping edge of the base label. Furthermore the overlap of the base label is prevented from being pulled away from the underlying base label and container because it is securely adhered to the right-hand end of the base label in the regions 18, 19 adjacent to the label extension 11.

The upper surface of the label is printed with information and finished with a glossy coating of varnish, except in the region 20 of the upper surface of the extension 11. This is to enable the overlap 17 of the base label to be more readily adhered to the extension.

The information printed on the base label and the label 10 can easily be read when the label 10 is peeled away, to expose the clear film and the rear surface of the label 10. When the information has been read, the label can be replaced in its original position over the film, to which it re-adheres releasably, ready to be peeled away again when required. In this way the area available for carrying printed information is greatly increased and the label 10 can be conveniently stuck down to the base label when not required to be read. The provision of the extension ensures that the label is not completely detachable from the container, and so the information carried thereon is always available to be read.

A second preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in Fig.3. A composite label 21 consists of five labels 22 according to the invention arranged in a stack. The lower surface of each label 22 is coated with an adhesive. The upper surface of each label is coated with a release varnish except in the region 23 adjacent to one edge of the label. This varnish preferably gives an attractive surface appearance, for example a gloss finish, and adheres releasably to the adhesive coated on the lower side of the labels 22. The top label of the composite may be varnished over its entire upper surface. The labels 22 have tabs 24 extending from the edge of the label remote from area 23. These tabs are located at a different position along the edge of each of the five labels so that each is accessible to the user when the labels are arranged in a stack, one above another.

The tabs may have numbers or other indicators printed on their upper surfaces and are preferably not coated with adhesive on their lower surfaces.

Each surface of each label 22 is printed with information.

In use, the bottom label of the stack is adhered to a surface of a product or container, which surface may also be at least partially coated with a release layer. Each surface of each label may be exposed and read by peeling the appropriate label (and any overlying labels) away from the label to which it is adhered or, in the case of the bottom label, away from the surface of the product or container to which it has been applied. The labels are not easily able to be peeled entirely away from the label underneath because the absence of a release coating in area 23 ensures that the labels are not peelable along that edge. The adhesion of a label to an underlying label in the non-releasetreated area 23 provides a type of hinge fixture.

Claims (17)

1. A label which may be applied to a substrate and which is peelable from and resealable to said substrate, said label being adapted to be securely fixed to said substrate along at least a part of the label adjacent to one edge of said label.

2. A label as claimed in claim 1, wherein said substrate is a product or container.

3. A label as claimed in claim 1, wherein said substrate is a second label.

4. A label as claimed in any of claims 1-3, which comprises one .or more extensions along one edge and a further layer adhesively applied to said substrate in such a way that said further label layer overlaps said extension(s) and adheres to said said substrate in a region adjacent to said extension(s).

5. A label as claimed in claim 4, wherein said further layer is an additional piece of paper or film provided for the purpose.

6. A label as claimed in claim 4, wherein said label is applied to an end edge of a base label substrate and said further layer comprises the other end of said base label.

7. A label as claimed in any of claims 4-6, wherein the upper surface of said extension(s) is made more susceptible to be adhered to said further layer.

8. A label as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the adhesive properties between said part of the label adjacent to one edge of said label and said substrate are different from the adhesive properties between the remainder of said label and said substrate.

9. A label as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said label is peelable from and resealable to said substrate over the whole area of said label except for said part of said label adjacent to one edge which is adapted to be securely fixed to said substrate.

10. A label as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein said label comprises a peel/reseal or reusable adhesive.

11. A label as claimed in claim 10, wherein said label comprises a more permanent adhesive in said part of the label adjacent to one edge which is adapted to be securely fixed to said substrate.

12. A label as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein a release coating is applied to said substrate.

13. A label as claimed in claim 12, wherein said release coating does not extend to that part of said substrate to which said part of said label which is adapted to be securely fixed to said substrate is applied.

14. A label as claimed in any of the preceding claims1 comprising a printed layer stuck to a clear film layer which has been coated with a release layer on its upper surface.

15. A label as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising a tab or projection to allow it to be more easily lifted and peeled away from said substrate.

16. A label as claimed in any of claims 3-14, wherein said substrate is itself a label as claimed in any of the preceding claims.

17. A label substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.