METHOD FOR SEALING A CONTAINER IN A TAMPER-RESISTANT MANNER

Abstract

A method that includes forming two opposing slots in a container that includes a closed lower portion, a middle portion adapted for storing contents, and a closeable open upper portion, and wherein the two opposing slots are formed the closeable upper portion of the container; printing identifying indicia regarding the stored contents on an outer surface of a strip of paper or strip of material similar to paper; depositing adhesive on opposing ends of an inner surface of the strip; looping the strip through the two opposing slots in the closeable upper portion of the container after the contents have been stored in the middle portion of the container; and closing the upper portion of the bag in a tamper-resistant manner by adhering the opposing ends of the inner surface of the strip to one another using the adhesive, wherein the upper portion of the bag cannot be reopened without removing the strip, wherein removing the strip damages the strip, and wherein the damage to the strip provides evidence of container tampering.

Claims

1. A method for sealing a container in a tamper-resistant manner, comprising: (a) forming two opposing slots in a container, wherein the container includes a closed lower portion, a middle portion adapted for storing contents, and a closeable open upper portion, and wherein the two opposing slots are formed in front and rear panels of the closeable upper portion of the container; (b) printing identifying indicia regarding the stored contents on an outer surface of a strip of paper or strip of material similar to paper; (c) depositing adhesive on opposing ends of an inner surface of the strip; (d) looping the strip through the two opposing slots in the closeable upper portion of the container after the contents have been stored in the middle portion of the container; and (e) closing the upper portion of the bag in a tamper-resistant manner by adhering the opposing ends of the inner surface of the strip to one another using the adhesive, wherein the upper portion of the bag cannot be reopened without removing the strip, wherein removing the strip damages the strip, and wherein the damage to the strip provides evidence of container tampering.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the strip is a pre-printed receipt.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored contents include food or other consumable items.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the container is a paper or plastic bag or similar item.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the adhesive is a latex based adhesive or rubber based adhesive.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the adhesive is a self-sealing adhesive.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the closeable upper portion of the container includes an adhesive deposited thereon for sealing the closeable upper portion of the container to the middle portion of the container.

8. A method for sealing a container in a tamper-resistant manner, comprising: (a) forming two opposing slots in a container, wherein the container includes a closed lower portion, a middle portion adapted for storing contents that consist of food or other consumable items, and a closeable open upper portion, and wherein the two opposing slots are formed in front and rear panels of the closeable upper portion of the container; (b) printing identifying indicia regarding the stored contents on an outer surface of a strip of paper or strip of material similar to paper, wherein the strip is a pre-printed receipt; (c) depositing adhesive on opposing ends of an inner surface of the strip; (d) looping the strip through the two opposing slots in the closeable upper portion of the container after the contents have been stored in the middle portion of the container; and (e) closing the upper portion of the bag in a tamper-resistant manner by adhering the opposing ends of the inner surface of the strip to one another using the adhesive, wherein the upper portion of the bag cannot be reopened without removing the strip, wherein removing the strip damages the strip, and wherein the damage to the strip provides evidence of container tampering.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the container is a paper or plastic bag or similar item.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the adhesive is a latex based adhesive or rubber based adhesive.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the adhesive is a self-sealing adhesive.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the closeable upper portion of the container includes an adhesive deposited thereon for sealing the closeable upper portion of the container to the middle portion of the container.

13. A method for sealing a container in a tamper-resistant manner, comprising: (a) forming two opposing slots in a container that is a paper or plastic bag, wherein the container includes a closed lower portion, a middle portion adapted for storing contents that consist of food or other consumable items, and a closeable open upper portion, and wherein the two opposing slots are formed in front and rear panels of the closeable upper portion of the container; (b) printing identifying indicia regarding the stored contents on an outer surface of a strip of paper or strip of material similar to paper, wherein the strip is a pre-printed receipt; (c) depositing adhesive on opposing ends of an inner surface of the strip, wherein the adhesive is a latex based adhesive, a rubber based adhesive, or a self-sealing adhesive; (d) looping the strip through the two opposing slots in the closeable upper portion of the container after the contents have been stored in the middle portion of the container; and (e) closing the upper portion of the bag in a tamper-resistant manner by adhering the opposing ends of the inner surface of the strip to one another using the adhesive, wherein the upper portion of the bag cannot be reopened without removing the strip, wherein removing the strip damages the strip, and wherein the damage to the strip provides evidence of container tampering.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the closeable upper portion of the container includes an adhesive deposited thereon for sealing the closeable upper portion of the container to the middle portion of the container.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form a part of the specification, schematically illustrate one or more example implementations of the disclosed inventive subject matter and, together with the general description given above and detailed description given below, serve to explain the principles of the disclosed subject matter, and wherein:

[0011] FIG. 1A depicts a first example implementation of the disclosed tamper-resistant containers, wherein the container is an envelope shown in an unsealed configuration;

[0012] FIG. 1B depicts the example implementation of FIG. 1A in a sealed configuration with a portion of the paper receipt component being visible on the exterior of the tamper-resistance container;

[0013] FIG. 2A depicts a second example implementation of the disclosed tamper-resistant containers, wherein the container is a paper bag shown in an open configuration; and

[0014] FIG. 2B depicts the example implementation of FIG. 2A shown in a closed or sealed configuration, wherein the paper receipt component has been used as a closure device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Example implementations are now described with reference to the Figures. Reference numerals are used throughout the detailed description to refer to the various elements and structures. Although the following detailed description contains many specifics for the purposes of illustration, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that many variations and alterations to the following details are within the scope of the disclosed inventive subject matter. Accordingly, the following implementations are set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the claimed subject matter.

[0016] FIG. 1A depicts a first example implementation of the disclosed tamper-resistant containers, wherein the container is an envelope shown in an unsealed configuration and FIG. 1B depicts the example implementation of FIG. 1A in a sealed configuration with a portion of the paper receipt component being visible on the exterior of the tamper-resistance container. In FIGS. 1A-1B, tamper-resistance container 100 includes an envelope, sack, or bag component 102 and a receipt component 120. Envelope, sack, or bag component 102 includes closed lower portion 104, middle portion 106, which accommodates various items for storage, and closeable upper portion 110. Adhesive 108 may be deposited on the upper area of middle portion 106 and adhesive 112 may be deposited on closeable upper portion 110. The adhesive allows container 100 to be sealed in a closed configuration simply by folding upper portion 110 onto middle portion 106 and applying pressure. In this implementation, receipt component 120 does not include adhesive, but rather is folded at a predetermined angle and inserted into container 100 prior to the closure and sealing thereof. Exterior portion 122, which includes identifying indicia (e.g., order contents, name of person ordering, delivery address, etc.) remains on the outside of container 100 while interior portion 124 remains within middle portion 106 after closure and sealing. In this manner, receipt component 120 cannot be removed or replaced without damaging the receipt itself or re-opening the sealed container, either of which would provide evidence of tampering to the customer. Various adhesives may be used with this example implementation including latex or rubber based adhesives or any other glue or adhesive material, including self-sealing materials, suitable for use with the disclosed tamper resistant containers.

[0017] FIG. 2A depicts a second example implementation of the disclosed tamper-resistant containers, wherein the container is a paper (or plastic) bag shown in an open configuration; and FIG. 2B depicts the example implementation of FIG. 2A shown in a closed or sealed configuration, wherein the paper receipt component has been used as a closure device. In FIGS. 2A-2B, tamper-resistance container 200 includes bag component 202 and receipt component 220. Bag component 202 includes closed bottom portion 204, middle portion 206, which accommodates various items for storage, front panel 208 in which first slot 210 is formed, rear panel 212, in which second slot 214 is formed, first side panel 216, and second side panel 218. Receipt component 220 includes first adhesive end 222 and second adhesive end 224, which are joined together when receipt component 220 is looped through first slot 210 and second slot 214 to form a closure device. When closed in this manner, container 200 cannot be re-opened without removing the receipt component, and receipt component 120 cannot be removed or replaced without damaging the receipt itself, which would provide evidence of tampering to the customer. Various adhesives may be used with this example implementation including latex or rubber based adhesives or any other glue or adhesive material, including self-sealing materials, suitable for use with the disclosed tamper resistant containers.

[0018] As previously stated and as used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the,” refer to both the singular as well as plural, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term “comprising” as used herein is synonymous with “including,” “containing,” or “characterized by,” and is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps. Although many methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used, particular suitable methods and materials are described herein. Unless context indicates otherwise, the recitations of numerical ranges by endpoints include all numbers subsumed within that range. Furthermore, references to “one implementation” are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional implementations that also incorporate the recited features. Moreover, unless explicitly stated to the contrary, implementations “comprising” or “having” an element or a plurality of elements having a particular property may include additional elements whether or not they have that property.

[0019] Underlined and/or italicized headings and subheadings are used for convenience only, do not limit the disclosed subject matter, and are not referred to in connection with the interpretation of the description of the disclosed subject matter. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various implementations described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and intended to be encompassed by the disclosed subject matter. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the above description.

[0020] There may be many alternate ways to implement the disclosed inventive subject matter. Various functions and elements described herein may be partitioned differently from those shown without departing from the scope of the disclosed inventive subject matter. Generic principles defined herein may be applied to other implementations. Different numbers of a given module or unit may be employed, a different type or types of a given module or unit may be employed, a given module or unit may be added, or a given module or unit may be omitted.

[0021] It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater detail herein (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are contemplated as being part of the disclosed inventive subject matter. All combinations of claimed subject matter appearing at the end of this disclosure are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. While the disclosed inventive subject matter has been illustrated by the description of example implementations, and while the example implementations have been described in certain detail, there is no intention to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the disclosed inventive subject matter in its broader aspects is not limited to any of the specific details, representative devices and methods, and/or illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept.