The present invention refers to a laminated label for containers, especially devised to be used in bottles for beverages.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of the containers for beverages, especially wine and the like, it is known to use labels of different kinds. One of these labels consists in a paper sheet which is attached to the bottle by an adhesive. These labels present the drawback that when the bottle is in a humid environment, e.g. if it is submerged in ice or water, the paper absorbs water and wrinkles and loses its opacity and consistency, which causes an unsuitable appearance and the label to be broken or removed.

Another kind of labels comprises a waterproof plastic sheet attached to the external face of the paper, which make the water difficult to pass the paper and damage it rapidly. However, the appearance provided by these labels is not satisfactory, because the external plastic layer makes the paper to lose its matt appearance, providing a shiny appearance and an impression of a lower quality than the paper. Finally, it is also known to use labels comprising a sheet of paper without any kind of covering at its external face, with the objective to preserve its original appearance, and comprising a waterproof plastic material adhered to the rear face of the paper. Said rear plastic sheet increases the resistance of the paper when the label gets wet, and it improves the adherence of the label to the container. However, the external face of the paper layer remains exposed directly to the humidity, and therefore the paper absorbs water, loses its opacity and wrinkles.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to solve the drawbacks present in the labels of the prior art, providing a laminated label for containers comprising a layer of paper and a layer of plastic material, characterized in that said layer of paper comprises a covering based in a copolymer of ethylexyl acrylate methylmetacrylate at its external face, and in that said layer of paper is intimately joined by its internal face to said layer of plastic material.

Thanks to this feature, the label of the invention prevents the water to pass to the sheet of paper through its external face, and it also preserves the original appearance of the paper.

The covering based in a copolymer of ethylexyl acrylate - methylmetacrylate is a transparent varnish which prevents the water to pass to the layer of paper and it also permits to preserve the matt appearance of the paper .

Therefore, thanks to the combination of the layer of varnish disclosed and the layer of plastic placed at the internal face of the layer of paper, the layer of paper remains protected from water at both faces, so that the label of the present invention can be subjected to humid environments without damages, preserving also the original matt appearance of the paper.

Preferably, said layer of plastic material comprises at least a copolymer of propylene-polyethylene .

This layer of plastic prevents the water to pass to the layer of paper through its internal face, and it also provides a greater consistency. The layer of plastic is joined to the layer of paper preferably by co- extrusion, to obtain a more consistent joining between

both layers and a constant thickness of the label.

Advantageously, the label also comprises an adhesive material after said layer of plastic material.

Also advantageously, the label also comprises a support sheet detachably joined to the adhesive material.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the support sheet comprises a layer of silicone joined to an additional layer of paper, said layer of silicone being detachably joined to the adhesive material. This support sheet permits to handle the label before being attached in its final position.

Preferably, the container is a bottle of glass.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some drawings are attached to facilitate the description of what has been disclosed above, in which diagrammatically and only as a non-limitative example, a practical case of embodiment of the invention is shown, in which:

Fig. 1 is a cross-section view of an embodiment of the label of the invention, comprising a support sheet; Fig. 2 is a view of the label according to the present invention attached to a bottle; Fig. 3 is a cross-section view of the label of

Fig. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In Fig. 1 it can be seen a cross-section view of a label 1 according to the present invention, which comprises a support sheet 2.

As it can be seen, the label 1 presents a laminar structure, and it comprises a first layer of paper 3, whose external face constitutes the visible part of the

label 1. The layer of paper 3 comprises, at its external face, a covering 3 based in a copolymer of ethylhexyl acrylate - methylacrylate .

Said covering 5 constitutes a varnish which is transparent and prevents the water to pass to the layer of paper 3 through its external face, so that the layer of paper 3 maintains its opacity and consistency even if it is submerged in humid environments.

Furthermore, the varnish 5 of the invention permits, instead of the usual laminates and products, to preserve the original appearance of the external face of the paper 3, which is a matt appearance.

The covering 5 of the label could be obtained by the preparation of an aqueous dispersion of a copolymer of ethylexyl acrylate and of methylmetacrylate with a water- based colloidal dispersion of silicon. Once this composition is prepared, it would be applied then to the external face of the layer of paper 3, e.g. by cylinders with a non-smooth surface which deposit the covering 5 on the layer of paper 3.

The label 1 also comprises another layer of plastic material 4 which is intimately joined to the internal face of the layer of paper 3. The layer of plastic 4 is waterproof, and it prevents the water to pass to the layer of paper 3 through its internal face.

Preferably, the layer of paper 3 and the layer of plastic material 4 are joined by co-extrusion. This joining process prevents the necessity to use adhesives to join both layers and the obtained joining is more resistant, because the two layers remain joined directly by the adherence produced between the materials constituting them.

The co-extrusion is a well-known process and relatively cheap consisting in the simultaneous extrusion of several layers of different materials. In the case of

the present invention, said method comprises the joint extrusion of the paper of layer 3 and the plastic material of layer 4.

During the method, the plastic material of layer 4 is applied from a lip or extrusion head in fluid state to a sheet of paper like a curtain or cascade, so that a layer of plastic material is formed on the layer of paper.

Then, the paper and the plastic material pass through a plurality of rollers that cool the layer of plastic 4 and shape the laminate, providing the necessary thickness and joining the two layers 3, 4 consistently to each other.

After the co-extrusion method, the obtained product consists in a laminate composed by two layers 3, 4 which are intimately joined to each other, and presenting a constant thickness along all its extension. Furthermore, the joining between the layer of paper 3 and the layer of plastic 4 is stronger than the one obtained by other methods, such as lamination, in which the two layers are joined by adhesives.

Even though, as disclosed, the joining between the layer of paper 3 and the layer of plastic material 4 will be preferably by co-extrusion, these layers could also be joined by lamination, in which the layer of plastic would be joined to the layer of paper using an adhesive .

The layer of plastic material 4 will be constituted preferably by a copolymer of propylene- polyethylene . This material is especially suitable for co- extrusion processes, even though another kinds of plastic could also be used, such as polyesters, PVC or polyolefins .

The label 1 also comprises a layer of adhesive material 6 in the internal face of the layer of plastic 4, by which the label 1 is attached to the desired surface.

The adhesive 6 can be of any kind of those used in the field of the art, which preferably maintains its features in humid environments.

One of the used adhesives could consist in an auto-adhesive of the water-based acrylic kind.

As stated above, in the present embodiment the label 1 includes a support sheet 2, comprising a layer of silicone 7 joined to an additional layer of paper 8. This support sheet 2 protects the layer of adhesive material 6 and permits to transport and handle the label 1 easily before attaching it in this final placement.

The support sheet 2 is joined to the rest of the label 1 by its layer is silicone 7. The layer of silicone 7 is adhered to the adhesive material 6, and it permits to separate easily the support sheet 2 from the adhesive 6 and from the rest of the label 1.

Once the support sheet 2 is separated from the rest of the label 1 (the layer of paper 3, the covering 5, the layer of plastic 4 and the adhesive 6) , the label 1 is attached by the adhesive 6 on the surface of its final placement, in this case a bottle 9 (Fig. 2 and 3) .

As it can be seen, the layer of paper 3 of the label 1 of the invention remains waterproofed by its external and internal faces. The layer of varnish 5 permits to preserve the original appearance of the paper 3, and it also prevents the water to pass through the external face of the layer of paper 3. The layer of plastic 4 prevents the water to pass to the layer of paper 3 through is internal face, and also provides the label 1 a greater consistency.

The label 1 according to the present invention is especially suitable to be used in bottles of wine or other beverages, which are normally subjected to humid environments during its use.