The present invention relates to a gripping element for a data carrier, e.g. a label, which can be used to attach information to e.g. vegetables (for instance vine tomatoes), fruits, and indoor plants. For simplicity, this document will further mainly refer to the application of the gripping element for a label for vine tomatoes. This does not, however, exclude any of the other possible applications. The way to attach a label to a branch of vine tomatoes, according to the current state of technology, involves packing the tomatoes in film, with or without laying them out first on a tray of e.g. cardboard or plastic, at which point the film can receive a label, e.g. a sticker. This method is not the most sustainable way to attach information to vine tomatoes. Other types of labels are attached using binding wire or a string to a stem of the branch of vine tomatoes, which is time-consuming, and therefore expensive.

The present invention describes a gripping element made from folding and gluing a punched or cut piece of paper, cardboard or other kind of thin material, which can be attached to a branch of vine tomatoes by bending one or several stems, and where the gripping element is attached to a label or other kind of data carrier using e.g. glue. The gripping element according to this invention may be described as a clip in the remainder of the description and in the conclusions. The invention will now be illustrated using several diagrams.

The following illustrations show:

fig. 1 a schematic back side perspective view of a label with an implementation of a gripping element according to this invention attached to it;

fig. 2a a schematic full-scale representation of the implementation example represented schematically in fig. 1 of the gripping element according to the invention; fig. 2b a schematic side view of the full-scale representation of the

implementation example of the gripping element according to the invention shown in fig. 2a;

fig. 2c a schematic side view of the implementation example of the gripping element according to the invention shown in fig. 2a under use;

Fig 3a a schematic side view of an implementation example of a data carrier with a clip attached to it without cuts at the folding lines for the attachment lips;

Fig 3b a schematic side view of an implementation example of a data carrier with a clip attached to it with cuts at the folding lines for the attachment lips;

Fig 4a a schematic front view of an implementation example of the gripping element according to the invention, ready for use.

Fig. 4b a schematic front view of the implementation example of the gripping element according to the invention shown in fig. 3a with an opened capture hole; Fig 5 a schematic full-scale view of three variations of the clip according to the invention;

Fig. 6a a schematic full-scale view of a clip according to the invention where the clip and data carrier form an integrated whole;

Fig. 6b a schematic side view of the implementation example shown in fig. 5a, ready for use.

In the description and the figures, identical or similar parts are referenced by identical or similar reference numbers.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic back side perspective of a data carrier, (1) with an implementation example of a clip attached to it, (2) according to the invention. The fastening of the clip to the label can be done e.g. through gluing.

In this type of implementation and with this way of attaching the clip to the label, the clip has taken a three-dimensional shape, starting with a two- dimensional starting shape and through folding. This shape may also be referred to as the (three-dimensional) ready-to-use state. The three- dimensional form features one or several (two in the example shown) attachment lips (3) with which the clip is fastened to the data carrier, as well as a gripping section located between the attachment lips comprising two surfaces obtained through folding (resp. 4a and 4b), which from a side view form a roughly isosceles triangle. The surfaces 4a and 4b may be referred to as the triangular surfaces 4a and 4b in the remainder of the description and in the conclusions. Due in part to this triangular shape of the gripping section, the clip has a considerable amount of stability and stiffness. To afford a quick and simple attachment of the clip to a stem, the clip comprises a V-shaped collector, further referred to as collector, which guides the stem into the actual gripping section, the capture hole (5), when the clip is pressed against a stem. The collector may have any shape suitable for gripping a branch and guiding it into the capture hole, and is therefore not limited to the V shape.

The invention allows for the clip to be manufactured from different sorts of materials, including e.g. paper, cardboard, and plastic. In a few preferred implementations of the clip, it is made out of plastic. The clip must be able to solidly grip stems of different thicknesses. It is therefore necessary for the clip to be resilient enough during the initial fastening to a stem, and retains that quality during transport of the product in the supply chain. Although it is not impossible to achieve this with paper or cardboard, the risk of tearing and the resulting loss of gripping capacities are higher with those materials. Furthermore, the humidity emanating from vegetables and fruits has a negative influence on the mechanical properties of paper and cardboard. The invention comprises all possible combinations of materials for the data carrier and the gripping element.

Many kinds of plastic, which from a costs point of view are a suitable material for manufacturing the clip according to the invention, have a high degree of elasticity, which ensures good gripping characteristics to a clip made from these materials.

Fig. 2a shows a full-scale representation of the implementation example of the clip according to the invention shown schematically in fig. 1. In this implementation, the clip has a symmetrical shape along the longitudinal axis of the clip, and along a central axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the clip. The clip comprises two capture holes (5), which constitute the actual gripping sections, a cut running lengthwise along the clip from each capture hole (6), also referred to as longitudinal cut (6), and at the end of each longitudinal cut (6), and perpendicularly to each longitudinal cut (6), a transverse cut (7).

Preferably, the diameter of the capture hole (5) should be smaller than the smallest expected diameter of a stem to which the clip must be fastened. The cuts (6) and (7) ensure a high degree of deformation of the capture hole (5), without resulting in plastic deformation of the material of the clip, and therefore also ensure a higher elastic deformation. This means that the range of stem diameters that the clip can attach to is wide. In the example of the clip shown in fig. 1 , the transverse cut (7) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the clip coincides with a folding line of the clip, namely the folding line of the attachment lips (3). The invention however also covers implementation forms of the clip in which the distance from the capture hole to the transverse cut (7) is smaller than the distance from the capture hole to the folding line of the attachment lips (3). The diamond-shaped cut (8) in fig. 2a is the full-scale representation of the V-shaped collector of this implementation example of the clip according to the invention.

Besides the material type and thickness from which the clip is made, the gripping range and the gripping force of the clip also determined by the length of the longitudinal cut (6) and the transverse cut (7).

Fig. 2b shows a schematic side view of the full-scale representation of the implementation example of the gripping element according to the invention shown in fig. 2a. This clearly shows that there are two grooves in the clip, partially cutting through the thickness of the material. These cuts are indicated by the number (9). The cuts are situated at the location of the previously mentioned folding lines of the attachment lips (3).

Fig. 2c is a schematic side view of the implementation example of the clip according to the invention in its ready to use state, a three-dimensional state. The apex angle a has an influence on the strength and stiffness of the clip. Depending on the application, some preferred implementations of the clip have an apex angle a of about 5° to about 50° in the ready to use state. If the apex angle is too small, the stability and stiffness of the gripping section of the clip may be too limited, and if the apex angle is too big, due to a too flat position of the capture holes (5), the gripping can be more difficult.

Fig. 3a shows a schematic side view of an implementation example of a data carrier with a clip attached to it without the cuts (9) at the folding lines of the attachment lips, mentioned while discussing fig. 2b. Depending in part on the respective materials used to make the data carrier and the clip, and their thicknesses, the phenomenon illustrated schematically in fig. 3a can happen if the cuts (9) are not made. The elastic pressures in the clip near the folding lines can lead to deformation, in this example a hollow pull, of the data carrier. This is obviously not pretty and should therefore be avoided.

Fig. 3b shows a schematic side view of the combination shown in fig. 3a in which the clip is indeed cut at the folding lines of the attachment lips. The cuts ensure that the elastic pressures in the material of the clip at the folding lines remain low and that the data carrier largely retains its shape as a result.

Fig. 4a shows a schematic front view of an implementation example of the clip according to the invention in its ready to use state. The capture hole (5) is still not deformed.

Fig. 4b is a schematic front view of the implementation example of the gripping element according to the invention shown in fig. 4a, where the capture hole is open wide from pulling the sides of the clip away from each other. Due to the presence of the longitudinal cut (6) and the transverse cut (7), the degree of deformation of the capture hole given schematically here can be achieved without plastic deformation of the clip. This means that the clip will want to return to the resting state shown in fig. 4a, after the removal of the forces which give the capture hole the shape represented schematically in fig. 4b. The pressures in the clip in the state represented schematically in fig. 4b are therefore preferably mainly elastic pressures which, when e.g. a stem is placed in the capture hold in that state, will result in a steady grip on the stem. The invention allows for this to be realised with a clip from a material with a limited thickness, making the required force for the elastic deformation of the clip small enough that hundreds of clips per hour can be applied manually. With machine application of clips, the rate will be thousands per hour. The mostly triangular shape of the gripping section of the clip in the ready to use state, where both capture holes (5) of the clip are each located in a leg of the triangle, ensures a double grip, improving the gripping effect.

While the figures discussed until now show implementation examples of the clip with an essentially round capture hole (5), the invention also allows the clip to not feature a round capture hole, but a different kind of capture hole or capture profile, which can further all be designated as capture hole (5) for the sake of convenience. Furthermore, the invention comprises implementation forms of the clip where the capture hole doesn't have an essentially smooth edge, but an edge with e.g. a sawtooth profile or another kind of profile, which can improve the grip in some cases.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic full-scale view of three different implementation examples of the clip according to the invention, which are self-explanatory. In the case of these variants as well, the gripping section features measures which ensure that thanks to elastic pressures in the material of the clip, a large range of stem diameters can be gripped strongly enough. The description and the figures discuss and show loose implementation examples of the clip according to the invention, to be attached to a data carrier using e.g. glue. However, the invention also comprises implementation forms in which the clip, comprising one or several attachment lips and two triangular surfaces with capture holes, longitudinal cuts and transverse cuts, forms an integral part of a label. Fig. 6a shows a schematic top view of a full-scale representation of an implementation example of such a clip according to the invention. Fig. 6b shows a schematic side view of this clip after the clip has been brought into its state ready for use. In this implementation form, the clip therefore only comprises one attachment lip.

Besides the clip itself, the invention also covers the process for machine manufacturing the clip according to the invention and for folding the clip into its (three-dimensional) state ready for use, as well as a design for the application of this process.