Front opening plastic secure package with false panel

Details Front opening plastic secure package with false panel Front opening plastic secure package with false panel

1999-11-23

2001-02-20

Pascua, Jes F. (Department: 3727)

Flexible bags

Tamper indicating

C383S066000, C383S078000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06190043

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to plastic secure packages and more particularly to such packages for having and conveying valuable documents and items and that have tamper evident closures. As used herein, package, envelope, bag and container shall mean equivalent structures.
There are many types of plastic security envelopes with tamper evident features. One common type is shown in FIG.
6
and includes a plastic envelope having a rear panel
100
a front panel
102
. These panels could be joined at the bottom by heat seals or adhesives or formed from a single sheet folded back on itself at the bottom
101
as shown in FIG.
6
. Side seals, not shown, are formed along both side-edge regions by applying adhesives or hot sealing the internal panel edges together. The upper ends of panels
100
and
102
are joined at
104
by a heat seal extending the width of the bag or by suitable hot melt adhesive as desired. An optional tear off receipt
106
, suitably numbered, can be attached to one of the panels via weakened perforations
105
.
A generally horizontal slit
108
is formed in front panel
102
to enable the user to introduce documents or items into the chamber of the envelope. A tamper evident sealing member
110
is provided to close and seal slit
108
and provide evidence of any tampering such as using cold dry ice or freon gas or hair dryer heat or clear adhesive tape reinforcement to remove a portion of member
110
to gain access to the housed documents or to give tamper evidency if stress forces are applied to member
110
. Common and commercially available member
110
includes a tamper evident tape
116
with hot melt adhesive layer
114
one portion of which is secured to the front panel outer surface contiguous to slit
108
. Conventionally, layer
114
can include imbedded graphics such as the word “void” that would appear in response to various stresses or temperatures used for tampering. The remainder of layer
114
is initially protected by a removable paper or plastic liner
112
that prevents premature or unwanted adhesive contact with the panel or any other thing. After the documents and/or items are inserted into the envelope, liner
112
is removed and member tamper evident tape
116
pressed to close and seal across slit
108
. Tape
116
functions to give a special visual indication, such as multiple appearances of the word “VOID” or other graphics, if the tape had been subjected to one of several types of tampering or, alternatively, tape
116
may be designed to tear or flake or crack or shrivel to give a visual tamper indication. Various materials are commonly known to provide the above functions.
Although this type of envelope performs with some degree of reliability a technical problem exists because of a common human error in usage. Users of this type of secure package tend to be less than careful in assuring that slit
108
is substantially closed when pressing layer
116
to its closed and sealed position. Sometimes the thickness of the stack of documents or the thickness of items within the envelope cause lips
109
,
111
defining slit
108
to separate. Sometimes the user pulls panel portion
109
outward when removing liner
112
, then quickly applies layer
114
to the portion
111
of panel
102
. On occasion, the user pulls up on the top of the bag with one hand, while releasing the liner and pressing
116
with the other hand. In any case, when improperly closed and sealed the central portion of layer
114
is exposed through the widened slot
108
and when pressure is subsequently applied to tamper tape layer
116
a portion of the inner surface of panel
100
adheres to layer
114
, generally as shown in FIG.
7
. Thereafter, transport or handling of the envelope on occasion causes the housed documents or items to shift in the direction of arrow A which tends to separate panel
100
from layer
114
in the general direction of arrow B, which in turn stresses layer
114
causing the tape to display, erroneously, a tampering attempt indication. This false tampering indication is costly and time consuming for the users and for the customers whose documents or items are being transported because the receiving entity, such as a bank, will not accept the bag showing tamper evidence and will return it to the sender, such as a department store, for re-packaging and shipment.
SUMMARY OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT OF PRESENT INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a plastic security envelope of the type described that avoids the aforementioned problems, prevents or greatly reduces the chances for an erroneous tamper indication for the reasons described, enhances the reliability of envelopes of the type described without adding significantly to the cost or processes of manufacturing such envelopes.
According to the principles of the present invention, one exemplary embodiment includes an envelope of the type described that includes a false or intermediate panel piece secured preferably above the slot and inside the envelope between the front and back panels which piece extends preferably downward across the zone of the slot. If the bag is properly closed and sealed by the tamper tape with the lips of the slot essentially touching or contiguous, the false panel simply remains unsecured and provides neither positive nor negative function or effect to the envelope. However, if the tamper tape is closed and sealed across the slot and the slot lips are improperly spaced apart, then when pressure is applied to the tamper tape, the false internal panel adheres to the internal surface of the adhesive layer. Thereafter, unlike the prior art, any outward forces imparted to the rear panel by shifting contents or otherwise are taken up by the top and side seals and the false intermediate panel remains unstressed against the tamper tape adhesive and false tamper indications are avoided.


REFERENCES:
patent: 1211367 (1917-01-01), Gargano
patent: 3942713 (1976-03-01), Olson et al.
patent: 5108194 (1992-04-01), Raden
patent: 5908243 (1999-06-01), Hanning
patent: 0134129 (1985-03-01), None
patent: 0259068 (1988-03-01), None
patent: 0341699 (1989-11-01), None
patent: 0373748 (1990-06-01), None
patent: 0 396 428 (1990-11-01), None
patent: 2 681 581 (1993-03-01), None
patent: 2 265 883 (1993-10-01), None
patent: WO 91/15406 (1991-10-01), None
patent: WO 93/00269 (1993-01-01), None

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