SEALING LABEL AND SNUFF CONTAINER WITH A SEALING LABEL

Abstract

A sealing label for sealing a snuff container may include a structural layer and having first and second side edges extending in a length direction and first and second end edges extending in a width direction. The sealing label may be divided in the width direction into a container lid attachment area and a container base attachment area. A tear strip area may be arranged between the container lid attachment area and the container base attachment area and may be terminated by a pull tab arranged at the first end edge. The structural layer of the sealing label may be a single structural layer of the sealing label and may consist of a mono oriented polymer film having a direction of orientation coinciding with the length direction of the sealing label. A snuff container provided with the sealing label is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A sealing label for sealing a snuff container comprising: a structural layer having a first side edge and second side edge extending in a length direction and a first end edge and second end edge extending in a width direction; the sealing label being divided in the width direction into a container lid attachment area a container base attachment area; a tear strip area positioned between the container lid attachment area and the container base attachment area, the tear strip area terminating at a pull tab positioned at the first end edge; the sealing label having a length in the length direction, a width in the width direction, and a ratio between the length and the width between 7 and 25; wherein the structural layer consists of a mono oriented polymer film having a direction of orientation coinciding with the length direction of the sealing label, the structural layer being a single structural layer of the sealing label.

2. The sealing label of claim 1, wherein an adhesive coating is disposed on a rear surface of the structural layer and covers the container lid attachment area and the container base attachment area, the adhesive coating configured to provide non-removable attachment of the container lid attachment area and the container base attachment area to a container lid and a container base, respectively.

3. The sealing label of claim 2, wherein the adhesive coating includes a continuous layer of adhesive on the container lid attachment area and on the container base attachment area.

4. The sealing label of claim 3, wherein the continuous adhesive coating is disposed on the tear strip area.

5. The sealing label of claim 2, wherein the rear surface of the structural layer is free from the adhesive coating within the tear strip area or wherein the adhesive coating has been rendered non-adhesive within the tear strip area.

6. The sealing label of claim 1, wherein the length of the sealing label is between 80 millimeters to 250 millimeters and the width of the sealing label is between 10 millimeters to 25 millimeters.

7. The sealing label of claim 1, wherein a plurality of tear initiation cuts are located in the structural layer on each side of the pull tab at the first end edge of the sealing label.

8. The sealing of claim 1, wherein the tear strip area constitutes from 2% to 20% of a combined area of the tear strip area, lid attachment area and base attachment area.

9. The sealing label of claim 1, wherein a width of the tear strip area is between 0.3 millimeters to 3 millimeters.

10. The sealing label of claim 1, wherein a front surface of the sealing label contains a printed feature extending partly in the lid attachment area and partly in the base attachment area.

11. A snuff container comprising the sealing label according to claim 1, the snuff container having a height in a height direction and having a circumference in a circumferential direction in a plane perpendicular to the height direction; the snuff container comprising a container base having a bottom wall and a base side wall and a container lid having a top wall and a lid side wall, the container lid being removably attached to the container base with an outer surface of the lid side wall aligned with an outer surface of the base side wall; wherein a split-line is located between a lower edge of the lid side wall and an upper edge of the base side wall, the split-line extending in the circumferential of the snuff container, wherein the sealing label is attached to the snuff container with the length direction of the sealing label coinciding with the circumferential direction of the snuff container and with the height direction of the snuff container coinciding with the width direction of the sealing label and with the container lid attachment area of the sealing label being attached to the lid side wall and with the container base attachment area being attached to the base side wall and with the tear strip area substantially completely covering the split line between the lower edge of the lid side wall and the upper edge of the base side wall.

12. The snuff container according to claim 11, wherein a portion of the sealing label at the first end edge of the sealing label overlaps with a portion of the sealing label at the second end edge of the sealing label.

13. The snuff container according to claim 11, wherein the split-line has a width in the height direction of the snuff container of between 0.1 to 3 millimeters.

14. The snuff container according to claim 11, wherein the width of the sealing label is 60-100% of the height of the snuff container.

15. The snuff container according to claim 11, wherein the snuff container has a cylindrical shape.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] The present invention will be further explained hereinafter by means of non-limiting examples and with reference to the appended drawings wherein:

[0045] FIG. 1 shows an sealing label as disclosed herein;

[0046] FIG. 2 shows the sealing label of FIG. 1 with a partly torn-away tear-strip;

[0047] FIG. 3 shows a snuff container without a sealing label;

[0048] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a snuff container with a sealing label as disclosed herein;

[0049] FIG. 5 shows a side view of the snuff container in FIG. 4 with a tear-strip partly torn-away from the sealing label; and

[0050] FIG. 6 shows the snuff container in FIG. 5 with the tear-strip completely torn-away from the sealing label.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] It is to be understood that the drawings are schematic and that individual components are not necessarily drawn to scale. It should be understood that the sealing label as disclosed herein may be applied in a corresponding manner to snuff containers having a shape other than the cylindrical shape shown in the figures. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is determined solely by the appended claims.

[0052] Although the snuff container shown in the figures is a cylindrical snuff container having circular cross section it is to be understood that the locking arrangement as disclosed herein can be arranged on a snuff container having a non-circular cross section, such as rectangular, near-rectangular, oval or the like. Furthermore, the snuff container may be provided with a disposal compartment for temporary storage of used snuff portions. Such disposal compartment may be arranged in the container lid or in the container base, as is known in the art.

[0053] The sealing label 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a structural layer 2 and has first and second side edges 3, 4 extending in a length direction L and first and second end edges 5, 6 extending in a width direction W. The sealing label 1 is divided in the width direction W into a container lid attachment area 11, a container base attachment area 12 and a tear strip area 13 arranged between the container lid attachment area 11 and the container base attachment area 12. The tear strip area is terminated by a pull tab 7 arranged at the first end edge 5 of the sealing label 1. The sealing label has a length l in the length direction L and a width w in the width direction W. The length l of the sealing label 1 is considerably larger than the width w such that a ratio l/w between the length l and the width w is from 7 to 25. As set out herein the length l of the sealing label may be from 80 millimeters to 250 millimeters and the width w of the sealing label may be from 10 millimeters to 25 millimeters, such as from 15 millimeters to 19 millimeters.

[0054] The structural layer 2 which is the only structural layer of the sealing label 1 consists of a mono oriented polymer film having a direction of orientation coinciding with the length direction L of the sealing label 1. The structural layer 2 is free from perforations or other weakened tear lines.

[0055] Tear initiation cuts 14, 15 are arranged in the structural layer on each side of the pull tab 7 at the first end edge. In the shown example, the tear initiation cuts 14, 15 are angled towards the tear strip area 13, providing the pull tab 7 with a tapering shape from the end of the pull tab 7, which is shown as protruding from the first end edge 5 of the sealing label 1. Alternative shapes of the pull tab 7, such as circular, rectangular etc. may be used, as well as tear initiation cuts which are arranged parallel with the length direction L of the sealing label 1, or which are arranged at a smaller or larger angle to the length direction L of the sealing label 1 than shown in the figures. It is also envisaged that the pull-tab 7 may be coterminous with the first end edge 5 of the sealing label 1.

[0056] The sealing label 1 has a front surface 16 and a rear surface 17 and a continuous adhesive coating 18 is applied to the rear surface 17 of the structural layer and covers the container lid attachment area 11, the container base attachment area 12 as well as the tear strip area 13. A continuous coating covering the entire rear surface 17 of the sealing label 1 may be preferred e.g. as it allows the sealing label 1 to be produced in a simple and efficient manner. However, the rear surface 17 of the structural layer 2 may alternatively be free from adhesive coating within the tear strip area 13 or the adhesive coating 18 may have been rendered non-adhesive within the tear strip area 13, as disclosed herein.

[0057] The adhesive coating 18 is arranged to provide non-removable attachment of the container lid attachment area 11 and the container base attachment area 12 to a container lid and a container base, respectively.

[0058] The front surface 16 of the sealing label 1 may carry decorative and/or informational print, pigmentation etc. as illustrated by the sinus-shaped wave 20 shown in FIGS. 4-6.

[0059] The snuff container 100 which is shown in FIGS. 3-6 has a height h in a height direction H and a circumference c in a circumferential direction C in a plane perpendicular to the height direction H. The snuff container 100 is shown in FIG. 3 without a sealing label 1 and is shown in FIGS. 4-6 with a sealing label 1 as set out herein.

[0060] With particular reference to FIGS. 3 and 6, the snuff container 100 comprises a container base 102 having a bottom wall 103 and a base side wall 104 and a container lid 106 having a top wall 107 and a lid side wall 108. The container lid 106 is removably attached to the container base 102 whereby the snuff container 100 can be repeatedly opened in order to gain access to the interior of the snuff container 100 and be reclosed after opening. When the snuff container 100 is closed, the outer surface 109 of the lid side wall 108 is aligned with the outer surface 110 of the base side wall 104. A split-line 115 is arranged between the lower edge 116 of the lid side wall 108 and the upper edge 117 of the base side wall 104. The split-line 115 extends in the circumferential direction C along the full circumference c of the snuff container 1 and forms a narrow gap between the lid side wall 108 and the base side wall 104. As set out herein, the split-line 115 may have a width W.sub.S in the height direction H of the snuff container 100 of from 0.1 to 3 millimeters, such as from 0.5 millimeters to 2.5 millimeters, such as from 0.7 millimeters to 1.5 millimeters.

[0061] The sealing label 100 is attached to the snuff container 100 with the length direction L of the sealing label 1 coinciding with the circumferential direction C of the snuff container and with the height direction H of the snuff container coinciding with the width direction W of the sealing label 1. The sealing label 100 is attached to the snuff container 100 with the container lid attachment area 11 of the sealing label 1 overlapping with and being attached to the lid side wall 108, the container base attachment area 12 overlapping with and being attached to the base side wall 104 and with the tear strip area 13 covering the split line 115 between the lower edge 116 of the lid side wall 108 and the upper edge 117 of the base side wall 104. As the split-line 115 forms a gap between the lower edge 116 of the lid side wall 108 and the upper edge 117 of the base side wall 104, the sealing label 1 extends across the gap and is not attached to the snuff container 100 within the tear strip area 13.

[0062] The sealing label 100 of the snuff container 100 which is shown in FIGS. 4-6 is attached to the snuff container 100 with a portion 120 of the sealing label 1 at the first end edge 5 of the sealing label 1 overlapping with a portion 121 of the sealing label 1 at the second end edge 6 of the sealing label 1. The overlap may be larger or smaller than what is illustrated in the figures. Although an overlap between the end portions 120, 121 of the sealing label 1 may be preferred for reasons of providing a tight transport seal of the snuff container 100, it is contemplated within the scope of the invention to attach the sealing label 100 without an overlap. As is illustrated by FIG. 4, the overlap between the end portions 120, 121 of the sealing label 1 is preferably sufficiently large to cover the tear initiation cuts 14, 15 of the pull tab 7.

[0063] In the example illustrated in FIGS. 4-6, the sealing label 1 has a width which corresponds to approximately 75% of the height h of the snuff container 100 and 100% of the combined height of the lid side wall 108, the base side wall 104 and the split-line 115. As disclosed herein, the width of the sealing label may be 60-100% of the height of the snuff container 100. As set out herein, a wide sealing label is beneficial as it provides a large display area. A wide sealing label may also offer better sealing of the snuff container 1 in particular when combined with a continuous adhesive coating 18 on the rear surface 17 of the sealing label 1 as the adhesive may contribute to forming a good seal in a direction along the lid side wall 108 and the base side wall 104. A continuous adhesive coating 18 may form a moisture and gas barrier between the sealing label 1 and the snuff container 100 in the height direction H of the snuff container 100.

[0064] The snuff container 100 is opened by breaking the seal formed by the sealing label 1. The sealing label 1 is broken by pulling the pull-tab 7 away from the first end edge 5 of the sealing label 1 in the circumferential direction C of the snuff container 100, i.e. in the length direction L of the sealing label 1. Pulling the pull-tab 7 away from the first end edge 5 of the sealing label 1 will cause the mono-oriented polymer film of the structural layer 2 to tear in a controlled manner along the edges of the tear strip area 13, as shown in FIG. 5. Correct initial tearing of the sealing label is aided by the provision of the tear initiation cuts 14, 15. Continued correct tearing along the circumference c of the snuff container 100 is believed to be promoted by the tear strip area 13 being non-attached to the snuff container 100 at the split-line 115 while the adjoining lid attachment area 11 and base attachment area 12 are firmly attached to the side walls 104, 108 of the container base 102 and the container lid 106. The end edges 116, 117 of the side walls 104, 108 which extend in the direction of orientation of the mono-oriented polymer film of the structural layer 2 of the sealing label 1 and which defines the edges of the attached areas and the non-attached area of the sealing label 1 are believed to serve as tear guides and to promote correct tearing away of the tear strip area 13 from the sealing label 1.

[0065] In FIG. 5, the snuff container 100 with the sealing label 1 is shown with the tear strip area 13 partly torn away and forming a tear strip 125. The tear strip 125 is shown folded back on the sealing label 1 with the adhesive coating 18 exposed. In the part of the sealing label 1 where the tear strip area 13 has been removed, the split-line 115 is visible between the container lid 106 and the container base 102.

[0066] FIG. 6 shows the snuff container 100 with the tear strip 125 fully removed and the split-line 115 between the container lid 106 and the container base 102 fully exposed to allow opening of the snuff container 100. In the illustrated embodiment, the split-line 115 is arranged somewhat above a circumferential center line whereby the container base 102 has a height which is greater than the height of the container lid 106. The location of the split-line 115 may be different from that shown in the figures, implying that the split-line 115 may divide the snuff container 100 in equal parts or such that the container lid has a height which is greater than the height of the container base 102.

[0067] As set out herein, the sealing label 1 serves as a display area for the snuff container 100 and it is preferred that the parts of the sealing label 1 which remain on the snuff container 100 constitute a major part of the un-broken sealing label 1. Accordingly, the tear strip area 13 preferably constitutes from 2% to 20% of a combined area of the tear strip area 13, the lid attachment area 11 and the base attachment area 12, such as from 5% to 15% of a combined area of the tear strip area 13, the lid attachment area 11 and the base attachment area 12 or from 7% to 10% of a combined area of the tear strip area 13, the lid attachment area 11 and the base attachment area 12.

[0068] The width of the tear strip area 13 may be from 0.5 millimeters to 3 millimeters, such as from 0.7 millimeters to 2.5 millimeters or from 1 millimeter to 1.5 millimeters. The width of the tear strip area 13 is preferably equal to the width of the split-line 115 between the lower edge 116 of the lid side wall 108 and the upper edge 117 of the base side wall 104.

[0069] A large remaining display area, i.e. a narrow tear strip 125 makes it possible to provide the snuff container 100 with print which will appear largely unaffected by removal of the tear strip 125, as illustrated by the sinus-wave pattern on the sealing label 1 in FIGS. 4-6.