GB2355234A - Injection moulded security seal with tamperproof identification paper strip - Google Patents

Abstract

A security seal formed by injection moulding together with a paper identification strip includes two methods of preventing the strip being tampered with. In a first method (Fig 6) one half 6 of the mould includes re-entrances or recesses 11 so that during moulding the pressure of plastic from mould cavity 7 causes the paper surface, held between the mould halves, to deform into the recesses. In a second method (Fig 12) one half 106 of the mould cavity includes saw tooth regions 111 so that during moulding the pressure of plastic from mould cavity 107 causes the plastic to perforate the paper strip 112, held between the mould halves, pass through the perforations and partially cover the other side of the paper strip. Tampering by delamination of the paper strip results in the paper being torn.

Description

2355234 Title: "INJECTED PLASTIC PRODUCT WITH INDIVIDUALISED

IDENTIFICATION AND INJECTION MOULD FOR MANUFACTURING THE PRODUCT

Field of the invention

The present invention refers to a plastic product and especially to a security seal with individualised identification and to an injection mould for manufacturing the product.

The product to which this invention refers is of the plastic injection moulded type having an identification surface to which an individualised marking is applied, such as a number, bar code or the like.

Prior art

One of the essential requirements for a security seal to have a high degree of security is that it is individualised so as to prevent its substitution by another identical seal. One of the safest ways of effecting such individualisation is by means of numbering in high relief during injection of the plastic from which the seal is made. This solution, however, is relatively costly in view of the resultant complexity of the mould and of the maintenance thereof.

A less costly technique is to adhere a strip of paper to the identification surface, on which a number or other marking which serves to distinguish the seal from otherwise identical seals is printed. Mere adhesion, however, does not provide a high degree of security in view of the possibility of removing the printed strip from a tampered seal and later applying it to another seal. This process may be made more difficult and there are various ways of doing this, but the danger of the strip being removed and re- utilised is always present.

Another manner of applying a personalised strip of paper is to apply it at the time of injecting the plastic so that the strip becomes integral with the seal at the time of manufacture. Although this technique does have excellent results and is considerably superior to simple gluing, all papers have a laminated structure and this permits a violator to delaminate the strip, removing the upper layer or layers with the number printed thereon and 2 leaving only the lowermost layer on the tampered seal. The removed strip can then be glued onto a new seal, making it difficult to identify the violation.

Oblects of the invention A first object of the present invention is to individualise a plastic product, such as a security seal of the type mentioned above, using a printed strip of paper fixed to an identification surface, at low cost and without compromising the desired high degree of security provided.

Another object of the invention is to provide an injection mould for manufacturing the product.

Generic definition of the invention According to a first aspect of the present invention, a product made from injected plastic and having an identification surface to which a strip of paper printed with an individualised identification is fixed, is characterised in that at least part of the identification surface has at least one protuberance covered by the strip of paper, to define at least one abrupt change in the plane of part of the outer surface of the strip of paper.

A product having such a characteristic will not permit the removal of the complete outer face of the strip of paper without tearing.

Consequently, if the part removed by a violator is glued to another similar product, it will always be incomplete or damaged, leaving clear vestiges of adulteration.

In the preferred embodiments of this invention, there are various protuberances on the identification surface, which may take the form of square or rectangular protuberances, small pins, small tooth-like formations or the like. The important feature is that the outer or exposed surface of the strip of paper has portions the plane of which changes abruptly along crease lines, edges or the like, such abrupt changes in direction of the surface of the paper adhered to the identification surface favouring the formation of tear regions in the eventuality of an attempt at removal.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a product made from injected plastic and having an identification surface to which a 3 strip of paper printed with an individualised identification is fixed, is characterised in that at least part of the outer surface of the strip of paper is covered by the injected plastic of the product.

As in the first aspect of the invention as mentioned above, such a characteristic will not permit the removal of the complete outer face of the strip of paper without tearing.

In a preferred embodiment of the second aspect of the invention, it has been found that a particularly practical manner of making the injected plastic pass to the outer surface of the strip of paper is by the partial perforation of the paper in the corresponding region.

The invention also relates to an injection mould for manufacturing a plastic product with individualised identfication, which comprises first and second injection mould halves, the first mould half being formed with an injection cavity for forming part of the product to be personalised by solidifying the injected plastic with a printed strip of paper placed between the mould halves, and the second mould half closing the cavity in a closed configuration of the mould with the halves in mutual contact.

In the case of a mould for manufacturing a product in accordance with the first aspect of the invention, as mentioned above, small reentrances are formed in the second mould half so as to permit that, at the time of injection of the plastic in the closed configuration of the mould, the plastic under pressure in the injection cavity deforms small regions of the strip of paper, forcing them into the small reentrances.

Preferably, there are two series of the small reentrances in the second mould half, located at positions corresponding to two opposite sides of the injection cavity. Each small reentrance may have a constant rectangular cross section, parallel to the surface of the second mould half.

In the case of a mould for manufacturing a product in accordance with the second aspect of the invention, as mentioned above, the second mould half is shaped so as to permit, at the time of injection of 4 the plastic in the closed configuration of the mould, the plastic at least partially covers the side of the strip of paper that is remote from the mould cavity.

In this case it is preferred that there are two roughened regions located at positions corresponding to two opposite sides of the injection cavity. Each of these roughened regions may extend completely along the respective side of the cavity, in the closed configuration of the mould. Furthermore, there can be four roughened regions located at positions, in the closed configuration of the mould, corresponding to the four corners of the cavity. Brief description of the drawings

The present invention will be better understood from the following description, given by way of example, reference being made to the drawings, in which:

Figure I is a perspective view of a security seal having fixed thereto a strip of paper printed with an identification number, according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic representation, in perspective, of two mould halves of a first embodiment of an injection mould according to the present invention, of a type suitable for use in manufacturing the seal of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of the mould halves shown in Figure 2, prior to closing of the mould, shortly prior to injection; Figure 4 is a side view of the closed mould of Figures 2 and 3, at the time of injection; Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, indicating the plastic injected into the mould and the fixing of the strip of paper at the time of injection; Figure 6 is a detail of Figure 5; Figure 7 is a perspective view of a security seal having fixed thereto a strip of paper printed with an identification number, according to a second preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 8 is a diagrammatic representation, in perspective, of two mould halves of a second embodiment of an injection mould according to the present invention, of a type suitable for use in manufacturing the seal of 5 Figure 7; Figure 9 is a side view of the mould halves shown in Figure 8, prior to closing of the mould, shortly prior to injection; Figure 10 is a side view of the closed mould of Figures 8 and 9, at the time of injection; Figure 11 is a view similar to Figure 10, indicating the plastic injected into the mould and the fixing of the strip of paper at the time of injection; and Figure 12 is a detail of Figure 11. Detailed description of the drawings

Referring now to figure I of the drawings, a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown as a plastic injected security seal 1 having a tab or blade 2 defining an identification surface. A strip of paper 3 printed with an identification number is fixed to the identification surface. It should be noted that the printing on strip 3 may be any type of individualisation, be it a number as illustrated, a bar code, or both, or any other sign that serves to distinguish the seal from any other similar seal.

The strip of paper 3 has been fixed to the seal at the time of injection of the plastic of which the seal is made, so that its lower surface has become integral with the plastic of the seal. In this respect the illustrated seal is identical to the known seals mentioned in the introduction to this specification.

According to a first preferred embodiment of this invention, however, adjacent one of the side edges 4 of the strip of paper 3, there are two series of four small rectangular protuberances 4a, all correspondingly aligned with each other. Each protuberance has a constant rectangular cross section, in all planes parallel to the surface of blade 2. The protuberances 6 are dimensioned so as to be perfectly covered by the paper of strip 3, by means of deformation of the paper, without any tearing, at the time of injection of the seal.

The fact that blade 2, including its protuberances 4 a, is totally covered by the strip of paper 3 during injection, results in a true incorporation or integration of edges 4 at the lower surface of strip 3 with the material of the seal. This completely prevents removal of the strip or even of its upper layer or layers without at least tearing the paper in the region of the protuberances.

Although the seal illustrated in Figure I has its protuberances 4a parallel and adjacent to one of the opposite edges 4 of strip 3, the protuberances could be formed at any location on the surface of the blade 2 and there could be any number of them. The shape of the protuberances could also be varied. For example, they could be cylindrical or triangular.

The essential feature is that the alterations in the planes of the surface of the paper in the region of the protuberances must be abrupt due to the existance of edges or corners, which makes it impossible to remove the paper without tearing.

Furthermore, although the invention is especially appropriate for use in individualising security seals, it could be used with any injected plastic product which is desired to be marked with total security.

Figures 2 to 6 show diagrammatically an injection mould adapted to manufacture individualised products in accordance with the present invention, and more particularly having the characteristics of the seal illustrated in Figure 1. The injection mould is comprised of two mould plates or halves 5 and 6. Mould half 5 is formed with four injection cavities 7 in which the identification portions (for example, the blade 2 in the case of the seal of Figure 1) of four products to be injection moulded are to be formed. It is to be observed that the complete cavities where the other parts of the products are to be formed are not shown in Figures 2 to 6, it being sufficient for an understanding of the invention to see the cavities where the portions 7 to be identified by means of the printed paper are to be formed.

The two mould plates or halves are also provided with complementary cavities 8 and 9 which define the flow channels for the plastic to be injected into cavities 7, whereas the actual injection channel 10 can be seen in plate 5.

Plate 6 is also formed with four pairs of small rectangular reentrances 11 which correspond to the protuberances 4a of Figure 1, in suitable positions opposite cavities 7 in plate 5.

Figure 2 also shows two continuous strips of paper 12 that run in parallel along the faces of plates 5 and 6. The surfaces of strips 12 carry a series of printed numbers that serve to provide the individualised identification of each product to be formed in cavities 7. The arrangement is best seen in Figure 3 which shows plates 5 and 6 in the mould open position, with the continuous paper strips 12 (only one of the strips being shown in this figure) passing on the one hand in front of injection cavities 7 and, on the other, in front of the small reentrances in plate 6.

The mould is then closed, as shown in Figure 4, at which instant plastic is injected through injection channel 10 and along the flow channels formed by cavities 8 and 9 in the two plates 5 and 6, to be applied under high pressure to the interior of cavities 7. As the cavities fill with the molten plastic, the plastic pressures the continuous strips of paper 12 in the regions where they pass over cavities 7, strongly forcing the paper 12 against plate 6 and deforming it into the small reentrances 11, without, however, tearing the paper (see Figures 5 and 6).

Continued injection pressure results in the plastic completely filling cavities 7 until injection is terminated.

Mould plates or halves 5 and 6 are then separated and demoulding is effected, the products moulded in cavities 7 then being removed together, connected in series by means of the continuous strips of paper 12. The individual products can then be separated from each other by cutting the paper along the edges of the products that correspond to the 8 edges of cavities 7.

The product thus formed will have a short strip of duly numbered paper integrated with the body of the product over its entire inner or lower face. As previously explained, even if it were to be possible to remove the main portion of one of the small strips, or the outer layer of one of them, by careful delamination of the paper, the paper would be torn in the regions of the protuberances formed in the reentrances 11 of the mould.

Also as mentioned above, reentrances 11 could be located at any position on mould plate 6 that is superimposed, in the closed configuration of the mould, on the respective cavities 7, it being possible to have just one reentrance or a plurality of them associated with each cavity.

Referring now to Figure 7 of the drawings, which is generally similar to Figure 1, another preferred embodiment is shown, in accordance with the second aspect of the invention. Figure 7 shows a plastic injected security seal 101 having a tab or blade 102 defining an identification surface.

A strip of paper 103 printed with an identification number is fixed to the identification surface. It should be noted that the printing on strip 103 may be any type of individualisation, be it a number as illustrated, a bar code, or both, or any other sign that serves to distinguish the seal from any other similar seal.

The strip of paper 103 has been fixed to the seal 101 at the time of injection of the plastic of which the seal is made, so that its lower surface has become integral with the plastic of the seal. In this respect the illustrated seal is identical to the known seals mentioned in the introduction to this specification. In accordance with this second preferred embodiment, however, the side edges 104 of the paper strip 103 are partially covered by the plastic of the seal, such covering having been created during the injection of the seal.

It will be seen that side edges 104 of the strip are not totally covered by the plastic, there being small regions where the paper is visible. This is due to the fact that, as will become clear later, at the time of injection 9 of the seal the edges 104 of the paper strip are perforated by the pressurised plastic being injected, the plastic flowing only partially over the outer surface of the paper, thus truly incorporating the edges 104 in the material of the seal. This makes it absolutely impossible to remove the paper strip or even the outer layer or layers thereof without tearing the paper at least in the region of its edges.

Although seal 101 shown in Figure I has its two opposite edges 104 covered or partially covered by the plastic along their entire extension, a similar effect can be obtained if the covering were to be only partially along one or both of the edges, if it were only to exist at the corners or even if it were to be in one or more regions remote from the edges. The important point is that at least part of the paper of strip 103 is covered by plastic during the injection of the seal so that that part or those parts become inseparable from blade 102 of the seal.

Figures 8 to 12 show diagrammatically an injection mould adapted to manufacture individualised products in accordance with the second aspect of the present invention, and more particularly having the characteristics of the seal illustrated in Figure 7. Similar to the mould illustrated in Figures 2 to 6, the injection mould is comprised of two mould plates or halves 105 and 106. Mould half 105 is formed with four injection cavities 107 in which the identification portions (for example, the blade 12 in the case of the seal of Figure 7) of four products to be injection moulded are to be formed. It is to be observed that the complete cavities where the other parts of the products are to be formed are not shown in Figures 8 to 12, it being sufficient for an understanding of this aspect of the invention to see the cavities where the portions to be identified by means of the printed paper are to be formed.

The two mould plates or halves 105 and 106 are also provided with complementary cavities 108 and 109 which define the flow channels for the plastic to be injected into cavities 107, whereas the actual injection channel 110 can be seen in plate 105.

Plate 106 is also formed with four pairs of rectangular regions 111 having a saw tooth like configuration, the saw teeth of each pair being parallel to each other. Each saw tooth region is located at a position corresponding to one edge of one of the cavities 107 in plate 105 so that, when the plates are closed against each other, it runs along the inner side of the edge of the cavity.

Figure 8 also shows two continuous strips of paper 112 that run in parallel along the faces of plates 105 and 106. The surfaces of strips 112 facing plate 106 carry a series of printed numbers that serve to provide the individualised identification of each product to be formed in cavities 107. The arrangement is best seen in Figure 9 which shows plates 105 and 106 in the mould open position, with the continuous paper strips 12 (only one of the strips being shown in this figure) adjacent the face of plate 106, its side edges passing over the saw tooth regions 111.

The mould is then closed, as shown in Figure 10, at which instant plastic is injected through injection channel 110 in plate 105 and along the flow channels formed by cavities 108 and 109 in the two plates 105 and 106, to be applied under high pressure to the interior of cavities 107. As the cavities fill with the molten plastic, the plastic pressures the continuous strips of paper 112 in the regions where they pass over cavities 117, strongly forcing the paper 12 against plate 6 the saw tooth regions 111. This has the effect of perforating the paper in the inner parts of the saw tooth regions and the plastic then passes through the perforations thus formed, passing to the other side of the paper and partially covering it (see Figures 11 and 12).

Continued injection pressure results in the plastic completely filling cavities 7 until injection is terminated.

Mould plates or halves 105 and 106 are then separated and demoulding is effected, the products moulded in cavities 107 then being removed together, connected in series by means of the continuous strips of paper 112. The individual products can then be separated from each other by cutting the paper along the outer edges of the regions that correspond to 11 the saw tooth regions 111 on the mould..

The product thus formed will have a short strip of duly numbered paper integrated with the body of the product over its entire inner or lower face and, furthermore, over its inner and outer surfaces at its side edges that correspond to the saw tooth regions 111 of the mould. As previously explained, even if it were to be possible to remove the main portion of one of the small strips, or the outer layer of one of them, by careful delamination of the paper, their edge portions are definitively fixed since they are totally integrated with the product.

Also as mentioned above, the saw tooth region could be located at any position on mould plate 106 that is superimposed, in the closed configuration of the mould, on the respective cavities 107, it being possible to have just one saw tooth region or a plurality of them associated with each cavity.

By the term "saw tooth" should be understood any roughened region of any pattern that permits perforation of the paper strip during injection, in the manner described above.

In practise it has been found that the use of roughened regions of a saw tooth nature facilitates perforation of the paper under the pressure of the plastic being injected which then may penetrate the perforations thus formed and reach the other (outer) side of the paper without further damaging the paper. It will, however, be understood that other ways may be used for arriving at this important feature of this second preferred embodiment of the invention, that is to say, that a portion of the paper strip is covered by plastic on its face remote from cavity 107, such ways clearly being embraced by the generic concept of the invention.

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Claims (1)

1. CLAIMS:

   1. A product made from injected plastic and having an identification surface to which a strip of paper printed with an individualised identification is fixed, in which at least part of said identification surface has at least one protuberance covered by said strip of paper, to define at least one abrupt change in the plane of part of an outer surface of the strip of paper.

   2. A product according to claim 1, wherein an inner surface of said strip of paper is integrated with the plastic of the product, including the region where it covers said protuberance.

   3. A product according to either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said protuberance has a rectangular cross section.

   4. A product according to any preceding claim, wherein there is a plurality of said protuberances.

   5. A product according to any preceding claim, characterised by comprising a security seal, said identification surface being defined on an identification tab of said seal.

   6. A product made from injected plastic and having an identification surface to which a strip of paper printed with an individualised identification is fixed, wherein at least part of an outer surface of said strip of paper is covered by the injected plastic of said product.

   7. A product according to claim 6, wherein said at least part of an outer surface of said strip of paper is partially 13 perforated by the injected plastic.

   8. A product according to either claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the inner surface of the strip of paper is integrated with the plastic of the product and the covered part is at the periphery of the strip.

   9. A product according to any one of claim 6 to 8, comprising a security seal, said identification surface being defined on an identification tab of said seal.

   10. An injection mould for manufacturing a plastic product with individualised identification, comprising first and second injection mould halves, said first mould half being formed with an injection cavity for forming part of said product to be individualised by solidifying the injected plastic with a printed strip of paper placed between said mould halves, and said second mould half closing said cavity in a closed configuration of the mould with said halves in mutual contact, wherein small re-entrances are formed in the second mould half so as to permit that, at the time of injection of the plastic in the closed configuration of said mould, the plastic under pressure in said injection cavity deforms small regions of said strip of paper, forcing them into said small re-entrances.

   11. An injection mould according to claim 10, wherein said re-entrances have a rectangular section in planes parallel to the surface of said second mould half.

   12. An injection mould for manufacturing a plastic product with individualised identification, comprising first and second injection mould halves, said first mould half being formed with an injection cavity for forming part of said 14- product to be individualised by solidifying the injected plastic with a printed strip of paper placed between said mould halves, and said second mould half closing said cavity in a closed configuration of the mould with said halves in mutual contact, wherein said second mould half is shaped so as to permit the plastic, at the time of injection of the plastic in the closed configuration of said mould, to cover at least partially a side of the strip of paper that is remote from said mould cavity. 10 13. An injection mould according to claim 12, wherein said second mould half is shaped with at least one roughened region that is superimposed with respect to part of said injection cavity in the closed configuration of said mould. 15 14. An injection mould according to claim 13, wherein said roughened region has a saw tooth configuration to facilitate perforation of said strip of paper when an individualised product is manufactured by injecting plastic into said mould. 20 15. An injection mould according to either claim 13 or claim 14, wherein there are two of said roughened regions in said second mould half, located at positions corresponding to two opposite sides of the said injection cavity. 25 16. An injection mould according to claim 15, wherein each of said roughened regions extends along the complete length of the respective side of said injection cavity, in the closed configuration of said mould. 30 17. A process for making the product claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 using the injection mould of either claim 10 or claim 11.

   16 18. A process for making the product claimed in any one of claims 6 to 9 using the injection mould of any one of claims 12 to 16.

   19. An injected plastic product substantially as shown in, and as described with reference to, Figures 1, 5 and 6 or Figures 7, 11 and 12.

   20. A method of producing an injected plastic product substantially as shown in, and as described with reference to, Figures 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 or Figures 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.

   21. A process for making an injected plastic product substantially as shown in, and as described with reference to, Figures 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 or Figures 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.