Package integrity indicating closure

Abstract

A resealable closure for a container in which package integrity is indicated by a structure which connects the closure to a remaining portion of the container which must be broken in order to gain access to the contents of the container for a first time. The package integrity feature, in one form, includes a structure associated with the closure, wherein upon opening the closure for a first time, the structure stretches, increasing a length of the structure until the structure eventually breaks, leaving one or both residual ends of the broken structure rippled or curved upward from the remainder of the container. In one alternative form, the structure is associated with a pull tab of the sealing panel, which comprises the closure, whereby either the structure must be broken first, prior to pulling back the sealing panel, or while pulling back the sealing panel for a first time, the structure breaks, prior to gaining access to the contents therein. Advantageously, the package integrity feature is integrally formed with the closure and a remaining portion of the container. Integrity of the package is indicated by visually observing an intact breakable structure.

1 . A package integrity feature comprising:
 a closure covering an opening into a container; and   at least one structure associated with a closure, connecting the closure to a remaining portion of the container,   wherein, upon opening the closure for a first time, the structure stretches, increasing a length of the structure until the structure eventually breaks, leaving one or both residual ends of the broken structure rippled or curved upward from the remaining portion of the container.   
   
   
       2 . The package integrity feature of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one structure comprises at least two structures, each on opposite sides of a location on the closure from where one grasps a portion of the closure when opening the container. 
   
   
       3 . The package integrity feature of  claim 1 , wherein the location where one grasps the closure comprises a pull tab. 
   
   
       4 . The package integrity feature of  claim 1 , wherein the structure is a strip extending between the closure and an adjacent portion the container. 
   
   
       5 . The package integrity feature of  claim 4 , wherein the strip includes a weakened portion. 
   
   
       6 . The package integrity feature of  claim 5 , wherein the weakened portion is in the form of a narrowing of a portion of the strip. 
   
   
       7 . The package integrity feature of  claim 1 , wherein the structure comprises a curved strip. 
   
   
       8 . The package integrity feature of  claim 7 , wherein the curve has the shape of an arc. 
   
   
       9 . The package integrity feature of  claim 7 , wherein the curve has a concave segment and a convex segment. 
   
   
       10 . The package integrity feature of  claim 1 , wherein the closure comprises a sealing panel adhesively sealed to the remaining portion of the container around the opening thereof, and the structure is integrally formed with the sealing panel on one end and the remaining portion of the container on another end,
 wherein the sealing panel is releasable from the remaining portion of the container by pulling back in a peeling direction, thereby stretching the at least one structure associated with the sealing panel, and eventually breaking the structure, to gain access to the contents inside, and the sealing panel is reclosable against the remaining portion of the container to seal the opening when the sealing panel is moved back against the remaining portion of the container.   
   
   
       11 . The package integrity feature of  claim 1 , wherein the structure is integrally formed from a material which comprises a surface surrounding the closure. 
   
   
       12 . The package integrity feature of  claim 1 , wherein the at least structure comprises at least two structures, each on an opposing side of the sealing layer. 
   
   
       13 . A package integrity feature comprising:
 at least one structure associated with a sealing panel of a resealable closure of a container, the structure integrally formed with the sealing panel on one end and a remainder of the container on another end,   wherein the structure is constructed to break its connection between the sealing panel and the remainder of the container, when the sealing panel is pulled back from the remainder of the container for a first time, thereby leaving the sealing panel free of its attachment to the container through the structure.   
   
   
       14 . The package integrity feature of  claim 13 , wherein the sealing panel further comprises a pull tab graspable by a user for withdrawing the sealing panel from the remainder of the top of the container, wherein grasping the pull tab and withdrawing the sealing panel from the remainder of the top of the container for a first time results in the structure breaking. 
   
   
       15 . The package integrity feature of  claim 13 , wherein the structure breaks prior to one being able to remove any of the contents of the container. 
   
   
       16 . The package integrity feature of  claim 13 , wherein the structure is a strip extending between the sealing panel and an adjacent portion of the container. 
   
   
       17 . The package integrity feature of  claim 16 , wherein the strip includes a weakened portion. 
   
   
       18 . The package integrity feature of  claim 17 , wherein the weakened portion is in the form of a narrowing of a portion of the strip. 
   
   
       19 . The package integrity feature of  claim 13 , wherein upon opening the closure for a first time, the structure stretches and eventually breaks, leaving one or both residual ends of the structure extending up from the remainder of the top of the container. 
   
   
       20 . The package integrity feature of  claim 13 , wherein, upon opening the closure for a first time, the structure stretches and eventually breaks, leaving one or both residual ends of the structure rippled or curved upward from the remainder of the top of the container. 
   
   
       21 . The package integrity feature of  claim 13 , wherein the structure comprises a narrow strip end attached to the sealing panel and a relatively wide band end attached to the remainder of the top of the container strip. 
   
   
       22 . The package integrity feature of  claim 13 , wherein the structure comprises a relatively wide band end attached to the sealing panel and a narrow strip end attached to the remainder of the top of the container. 
   
   
       23 . The package integrity feature of  claim 13 , wherein the structure comprises two narrow strip ends with a wider section in between the two narrow strip ends, one of the narrow strip ends attached to the sealing panel and the second one of the narrow strip ends attached to the remainder of the top of the container. 
   
   
       24 . The package integrity feature of  claim 13 , wherein the structure comprises a curved strip. 
   
   
       25 . The package integrity feature of  claim 24 , wherein the curve has the shape of an arc. 
   
   
       26 . The package integrity feature of  claim 24 , wherein the curve has a concave segment and a convex segment. 
   
   
       27 . The package integrity feature of  claim 13 , wherein the at least structure comprises at least two structures, one on opposing sides of the sealing layer. 
   
   
       28 . The package integrity feature of  claim 13 , wherein the at least structure comprises at least an even number of structures, with an equal number of the structures on opposing sides of the sealing layer. 
   
   
       29 . An integrity indicating closure for a container, the closure comprising:
 an at least two-ply material comprising an inner layer adhesively joined to an outer layer and forming a top of the container, the inner layer having an inner layer panel and the outer layer having a sealing panel, the sealing panel completely covering the inner layer panel;   at least one strip integrally, formed from the material which comprises the outer layer and connecting the sealing panel to a remaining portion of the outer layer;   the inner layer panel and the sealing panel being permanently joined to each other to provide an access opening into the container; and   a releasable adhesive provided around a perimeter of the sealing panel for adhering the sealing panel to the inner layer,   wherein the sealing panel is releasable from the inner layer by pulling back the sealing panel in a peeling direction and is reclosable against the top to seal the opening when the sealing panel is moved back against the top.   
   
   
       30 . The integrity indicating closure of  claim 29 , wherein when the sealing panel is released from the inner layer for a first time, pulling the sealing panel back in a peeling direction, stretches and eventually breaks the at least on strip integrally joining the sealing panel to the remainder of the outer layer. 
   
   
       31 . The integrity indicating closure of  claim 29 , wherein, after the at least on structure breaks, one or both residual ends of the structure are rippled or curved upward from the top of the container. 
   
   
       32 . The integrity indicating closure of  claim 29 , wherein the at least one strip extends from an end of the sealing panel the remaining portion of the outer layer. 
   
   
       33 . A package integrity indicating closure, said closure comprising:
 an at least two-ply material comprising a first film layer adhesively joined to a second film layer;   a first tear line formed into the first film layer defining a first layer panel for providing an access opening through the first film layer when separated from the first film layer along the first tear line; and   a second film layer having a second layer tear line defining a sealing panel having one end terminating at a breakable structure, the sealing panel completely covering the first layer panel, the second film layer including a releasable adhesive layer for releasably adhering the sealing panel to the first film layer,   wherein the sealing panel is separable from the first film layer to expose the access opening and gain access to the contents therein only after the breakable structure has been broken.   
   
   
       34 . The package integrity indicating closure of  claim 33 , wherein the breakable structure is a strip extending between an end of the sealing panel which forms a tab portion of the closure and an adjacent portion of the second film layer. 
   
   
       35 . The package integrity feature of  claim 34 , wherein the strip includes a weakened portion. 
   
   
       36 . The package integrity feature of  claim 35 , wherein the weakened portion is in the form of a narrowing of a portion of the strip. 
   
   
       37 . The package integrity feature of  claim 33 , wherein the structure is raised from the first film layer, thereby defining a gap therebetween. 
   
   
       38 . The package integrity feature of  claim 33 , wherein an intact breakable structure indicates that the closure has not been opened for a first time. 
   
   
       39 . A package integrity feature comprising:
 a structure associated with an end portion of a resealable closure of a container, the structure breakably attached to the end portion on one end and permanently attached to a remainder of the container, wherein the breakable structure is constructed such that it can be grasped from below with one's fingers and broken to thereby break its connection between the end portion and the remainder of the container, thereby leaving the end portion free of its attachment to the container through the structure.   
   
   
       40 . The package integrity feature of  claim 39 , wherein the structure is a strip extending between the end portion of the closure and an adjacent portion of the container. 
   
   
       41 . The package integrity feature of  claim 40 , wherein the strip includes a weakened portion. 
   
   
       42 . The package integrity feature of  claim 41 , wherein the weakened portion is in the form of a narrowing of a portion of the strip. 
   
   
       43 . The package integrity feature of  claim 39 , wherein the structure is raised from a top surface of the container. 
   
   
       44 . The package integrity feature of  claim 40 , wherein the structure is integrally formed from a material which comprises a surface surrounding the closure. 
   
   
       45 . The package integrity feature of  claim 40 , further comprising a container with top which incorporates the resealable closure, the resealable closure comprising a sealing panel which covers an access opening into the container and sealingly engages the top around the access opening so as to originally seal the closure and then, after having been opened a first time, reseals against the top, the structure associated with the sealing panel and the top, the structure breakably attached to the sealing panel on one end and permanently attached to a remainder of the top at another end. 
   
   
       46 . The package of  claim 39 , wherein the structure is a strip extending between a tab portion of the sealing panel which is not adhesively sealed to the top and the remainder of the top. 
   
   
       47 . The package of  claim 39 , wherein the end portion comprises a tab portion of the resealable closure. 
   
   
       48 . A package integrity indicating closure, the closure comprising:
 a film layer forming a top of a container, the film layer having a flap defining an access opening to gain access to the contents of the container;   a sealing panel completely covering the flap of the film layer, the sealing panel comprising a pull tab with a strip extending therefrom which is permanently affixed to the top, the pull tab and the strip defining a gap between the top surface of the container and the pull tab and strip; and   releasable adhesive provided on either or both the sealing panel or the film layer for adhering the sealing panel to the film layer,   wherein the sealing panel is releasable from the film layer after the strip joining the sealing panel to a portion of the top has been broken by pulling the sealing panel back in a peeling direction and is reclosable against the top to seal the access opening when the sealing panel is moved back against the top.   
   
   
       49 . The package integrity indicating closure of  claim 48 , wherein the strip comprises a weakened portion. 
   
   
       50 . The package integrity indicating closure of  claim 48 , wherein the sealing panel and the strip are integrally formed with each other. 
   
   
       51 . The package integrity indicating closure of  claim 48 , wherein the sealing panel and the strip are die cut from a material which forms the top surface of the container and which is disposed on the film layer. 
   
   
       52 . A package integrity indicating closure, said closure comprising:
 a structure associated with an end portion of a resealable closure of a container, both the end portion of the resealable closure and the structure being non-adhered to an adjacent top surface of the container, the structure being breakably attached to the end portion of the resealable closure and permanently attached to a remainder of the container, wherein the structure must be separated between the end portion of the resealable closure and the remainder of the container, in order to open the resealable closure.   
   
   
       53 . The package integrity indicating closure of  claim 52 , wherein the breakable structure is integrally formed with a material which forms the top surface of the container. 
   
   
       54 . The package integrity closure of  claim 52 , wherein the structure is a strip extending between the end portion of the closure and an adjacent portion of the container. 
   
   
       55 . The package integrity closure of  claim 54 , wherein the strip includes a weakened portion. 
   
   
       56 . The package integrity closure of  claim 55 , wherein the weakened portion is in the form of a narrowing of a portion of the strip. 
   
   
       57 . The package integrity closure of  claim 54 , wherein the end portion of the closure comprises a pull tab. 
   
   
       58 . The package integrity indicating closure of  claim 52 , further comprising food items disposed in the container, said food items selected from the group consisting of cookies, crackers, peanuts, cheese, sliced meats and semi-solid foods. 
   
   
       59 . The package integrity indicating closure of  claim 52 , wherein the end portion of the resealable closure and the structure are raised from a top surface of the container.