Card – picture – or sign exhibiting – Check – label – or tag – Food-carried indicia
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-10
2001-08-28
Chop, Andrea (Department: 3628)
Card, picture, or sign exhibiting
Check, label, or tag
Food-carried indicia
C040S665000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06279255
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to simultaneous banding and tagging of merchandise by using marking articles that are stretchable and carry a non-stretchable tag.
Elastomeric bands, commonly called rubber bands, are easily stretched about the mouth of a bag or about multiple boxes, or about merchandise itself, such as about a grouping of agricultural produce or about a single item of merchandise (e.g., a rolled or folded newspaper).
Elastomeric bands are, however, not suitable for direct printing of a Universal Produce Code (UPC bar code) thereon because stretching of the elastomeric band about merchandise stretches a bar code printed thereon and distorts the width of the bars and the spacing therebetween. Such distortion can make the bar code unreadable or produce a false scanner reading.
Nevertheless, in modern mass merchandising outlets such as superstores or supermarkets, there has been an almost complete movement toward labeling products (or the packaging thereof) with an identification code, such as a UPC bar code readable by an optical scanner.
In the particular case of agricultural produce, additional printed markings beyond a bar code are generally desired. Such additional markings include a “Product Look Up” (PLU) number identification code, a trademark of the producer, possibly a collective or certification mark, storage directions, serving suggestions, recipes for preparing the particular produce, a table of “Nutritional Facts,” and an indication of the place of origin (e.g., country or state).
One of the most efficient environments for performing the tasks of banding and tagging agricultural produce with appropriate printed marking information is in the agricultural field as the produce is harvested (or soon thereafter or at least prior to any significant processing of the produce). For example, a field worker, with a supply of elastomeric bands in a looped condition about his or her forearm, grasps a clump of produce with the hand of the band-carrying forearm, and with the other hand moves a band from the band-carrying forearm over the wrist and hand of that arm and then about the clump of produce. The band is then released and the band contracts about the produce. What remains to be done is the step of fixing a tag on the produce.
It would be desirable to fix the elastomeric band and tag on the produce in a single step, but there are problems in doing so. The problem is dramatically illustrated by the different characteristics required for the band as compared to the marking tag. The elastomeric band has to be stretchable, whereas the tag for carrying reliable markings for scanning has to be non-stretchable or non-elastomeric. It is difficult to form a secure and reliable bond between the two diverse components.
One solution to the problem has been that of punching a hole in a plastic tag and tediously inserting a loop of an elastomeric band through the hole and threading the rest of the band through the inserted loop. The approach gives operable results but is labor-intensive and not easily automated.
Nevertheless, a secure attachment between an elastomeric band and a plastic sheet material tag is critical to withstand the processing operations to which banded and tagged agricultural produce is subjected after being harvested and banded and tagged in the field. Produce banded and tagged in the field is subjected to washing operations such as high-velocity water blasts, chilling operations including that of dumping ice on the tagged produce, and even submersion of the produce in chilling water and thrashing it about by conveyors. Such processing operations can easily destroy weak attachments or connections between elastomeric bands and plastic tags containing critical marking material.
This invention solves the problem by providing a sturdy, reliable attachment between an elastomeric band and a non-elastomeric tag in a manner adaptable to automated production and gives a new product that can withstand the severe processing treatment expected for freshly harvested agricultural produce that has been elastomerically banded and non-elastomerically tagged.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a stretchable merchandise marking article carrying a non-stretchable optically scannable code. The article consists essentially of an endless elastomeric band and a non-elastomeric tag. An inherent characteristic of the elastomeric band is that it has a circumferential longitudinal direction for stretching about merchandise to band the merchandise. The non-elastomeric tag component consists of a single continuous panel of flexible, water-resistant plastic sheet material discrete from the elastomeric band. The tag has an information portion carrying printed matter and an attachment portion for bonding to the information portion. The attachment portion is folded over an elongate section of the circumferential longitudinal dimension of the elastomeric band and bonded to the information portion at a location spaced from the fold so that the plastic sheet material encircles the elongate section of the band and forms a channel within which the encircled elongate section of the band is movably lodged. A significant key requirement of the invention is that the information portion of the sheet material has an area size greater than the area size of the attachment portion so that at least a part of both opposing surfaces of the information portion can be viewed for any printed matter thereon, including the printed matter of an optically scannable code. Another critical feature of the invention is that the information portion has a width adjacent the channel for the band greater than the length of that channel. Thus, the information portion extends outward beyond the length of the channel for the band. Still further, the channel for the band has a length no greater than half the circumferential longitudinal dimension of the elastomeric band and not greater than about 2.5 centimeters or 1 inch. This maximum length is required to prevent bending forces exerted on the channel during stretching and flexing of the section of the elastomeric band within the channel in use applications from being significantly transmitted to the information portion. In other words, the channel length has to be minimal so as to permit only minimal transmission to the information portion of bending forces during stretching and flexure of the elastomeric band in use applications. The minimal bending of the information portion is insufficient to cause interference with optical scanning of the optically scannable code on the information portion.
The invention also provides, as a new article of manufacture, an assembly of a plurality of the stretchable merchandise banding and tagging articles carrying a non-stretchable optically scannable code. In this assembly, the tag component of each article is in alignment for easy gripping and removal of one discrete banding and tagging article at a time from the assembly.
Still other benefits and advantages of the invention will be evident as this description proceeds.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1337722 (1920-04-01), Porter
patent: 1397079 (1921-11-01), Cohen
patent: 2669047 (1954-02-01), Rieger
patent: 3251149 (1966-05-01), Wing
patent: 5318817 (1994-06-01), Ohno et al.
patent: 1068220 (1954-06-01), None
Bedford Industries, Inc.
Chop Andrea
Knight Anthony
R. C. Baker & Associates, Ltd.
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