The present invention relates to a wristband closure for providing a closure for a wristband. The present invention further provides a semi-finished product com ^¬ prising a number of wristbands according to the present invention arranged on a substrate. The present invention further provides a method for manufacturing and/or processing a semi-finished product according to the present invention.

The applicant of the present patent application is also applicant of the non-prepublished patent application PCT/nl 2011/050343. This patent application is included here by way of reference, among other purposes for suffi- ciency of the disclosure and providing definitions by way of reference.

The above stated patent application provides per se a characterizing improvement relative to the prior art. In order to add still further improvements to the prior art, the present invention relates to a wristband closure (1) for providing a tamper-proof closure for a wristband (8), wherein the wristband closure comprises:

- a base body for holding a part, preferably an end part, of the wristband;

- a closing body for closing the wristband by means of receiving a further part of the wristband between the base body and the closing body;

- a closing assembly for providing a closure between the base body and the closing body on one side of the wristband closure;

- a hinge assembly for providing a pivotable con ^¬ nection between the base body and the closing part on an opposite side. In addition to the stated advantages, the present application has the advantage that, due to the pivoting action, closing of a hinge clip is exceptionally practical for the person performing the closing. In addition, the present wristband closure has the advantage of it being possible to arrange the clip flat against the wrist during use thereof, this resulting in an increased wearer com ^¬ fort, in addition to further advantages as stated in the above-mentioned patent application.

In a first preferred embodiment according to the present invention the wristband closure comprises a hinge comprising at least one shaft element and at least one shaft holder. The pivotable connection is hereby embodied in advantageous manner.

The base body more preferably forms a shaft holder and the closing body comprises a shaft element. It hereby becomes possible to give the closing body a relatively thin form compared to the base body, this providing the further advantage that there is space in the relatively thick base body to attach the wristband thereto.

In a further preferred embodiment the base body comprises a central part and a bottom part mounted or mountable thereon, between which the wristband can be arranged, preferably between which the wristband is perma- nently attached by means of fixation, such as by means of ultrasonic welding or adhesion. An advantageous further attachment of the wristband is hereby provided. Ultrasonic welding further provides a very firm permanent connection between parts of the bottom part and the central part which together form the shaft holder of the hinge. A ro ^¬ bust hinge is hereby realized. In the wristband closure the at least one shaft holder is more preferably formed by parts of the central part and the bottom part. In order to provide a wristband closure for once- only closing during use, the side opposite the hinge is provided with a snap closure connection comprising at least one snap-in element which is enclosed in the base body once it has been snapped in. These more preferably comprise indicator means, such as weakening means, such as openings passing partially through the material such as at least one gap-like opening, for the purpose of weakening the attachment between the base body and the closing body, preferably as according to claim 6 by weakening the connection between the at least one snap-in element and the body, preferably the closing body, to which it is attached. Hereby realized is that, when an attempt is made to open the wristband closure, the closure breaks loose in visible manner, whereby it is on the one hand non- reclosable and on the other the line of the break is clearly visible in preferably the upper surface of the closing body. Possible manipulation of the wristband clo ^¬ sure can hereby be determined by means of a quick and sim- pie visual check.

In order to further improve the security thereof, the wristband closure preferably comprises screening means for at least partially screening lateral view of or access to the space between the base body and the closing body, the screening elements preferably being arranged on the closing body. For this same purpose the wristband closure preferably comprises screening elements for at least partially screening lateral view of or access to the space between the central part and the bottom part, the screen- ing elements preferably being arranged on the bottom part.

In a further embodiment the closing body, the cen ^¬ tral part and/or the bottom part comprise mutually co- acting retention members for preferably providing a reten- tion action in respect of the wristband, wherein the retention members preferably comprise protruding elements such as pins and corresponding receiving elements such as openings. It hereby becomes possible for the wristband to be retained in secure manner relative to the wristband closure. This is particularly advantageous for the part of the wristband which is arranged during use between the base body and the closing body, at least in embodiments wherein an end part of the wristband is attached in fixed manner to the base body. This fixation provides a high measure of security for this end part of the wristband. The retention members contribute toward a high measure of security of fixation of a part of the wristband between the base body and the closing body in that they substan- tially extend wholly or partially through the wristband.

The central part and the bottom part are more preferably connected to each other by means of a material bridge for the purpose of providing a flexible or breaka ^¬ ble mutual connection. Hereby realized is that between the moment of production and the moment of assembly the components are kept together by this material bridge. A further advantage here is that the whole device can be manufac ^¬ tured by means of an injection moulding operation.

The wristband closure is preferably manufactured from a single material, preferably by means of a moulding process such as an injection moulding process, wherein the closing body and/or the bottom part is more preferably provided with a tamper-proof indicator, such as of breakage of the closing body or the bottom part during attempts at manipulation thereof, which is preferably embodied as weakened portions or break lines. This effectively realiz ^¬ es that, when a user attempts to manipulate, the closing body would be damaged in visible manner in that for instance a part breaks off between the break lines.

A further aspect according to the present invention relates to a semi-finished product comprising a pre- determined number of wristbands and a number of wristband closures connected to the wristbands, wherein the wrist ^¬ bands and/or the wristband closures are arranged removably on a substrate member for providing a relative placing of the wristbands. It hereby becomes possible to print blank wristbands with information, wherein the position and/or arrangement of the wristbands is known relative to the substrate .

The assembly of the substrate member and the wristbands is more preferably suitable for processing by means of a printer, such as an offset printer, screen printer, inkjet printer and the like.

A further aspect according to the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing and/or processing a semi-finished product according to one more of the foregoing claims, comprising steps for:

- providing a wristband closure with a band part attached thereto;

- providing a substrate such as a sheet of paper and/or plastic;

- adhering the wristbands and/or the wristband closure to the substrate, preferably by means of a releas- able adhesion, in a relative placing preferably suitable for passage through a printer.

Applying such a method makes it possible by means of a production process to produce a blank semi-finished product in large quantities which, subject to the demand, can be personalized in a very short throughput time. The method more preferably comprises steps for providing the wristbands adhered to the substrate with an imprint by means of a printer.

Further advantages, features and details of the present invention will be described in greater detail hereinbelow on the basis of one or more preferred embodi ^¬ ments and with reference to the accompanying figures. Sim ^¬ ilar though not necessarily identical components of dif ^¬ ferent preferred embodiments are designated with the same reference numerals.

Fig. 1A-D show four perspective views of a first preferred embodiment according to the present invention.

Fig. 2A-D show four further views of the embodiment according to Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a view of a further preferred embodi ^¬ ment in a situation of use.

Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a further pre ^¬ ferred embodiment according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 shows two perspective views of a further preferred embodiment according to the present invention.

A first preferred embodiment (Fig. 1) according to the present invention relates to a wristband closure or wrist clip 1. This comprises a base body comprising a bot ^¬ tom part 2 and a central part 3. During use both these parts are welded ultrasonically to each other by means of the mutually contacting parts 13, 15 and 14. Parts 13 to ^¬ gether with the abutting parts of rounded portions 16 form the hinge, or at least the shaft holder of the hinge. The pins 15 serve to pierce an end part 51 (Fig. 3) of the wristband and as welding material for ultrasonic welding for the purpose of attaching bottom part 2 to central part 3. Protrusions 14 likewise serve as welding material.

Hereby described is how the bottom part and the central part are attached to each other. During use the end part 51 is located here between these two parts.

The bottom part comprises upright edges 19 which, when the bottom part is welded fixedly to the central part, ensure that viewing or the possibility of inserting manipulation means is limited or minimized.

The central part has chamfered edges 29 on either side for guiding material of the wristband. The central part also has pins 27 which protrude into the wristband when it is arranged between the base body and the closing body .

When the wristband is provided to the user, the end part 51 of the wristband and the bottom part and the central part are therefore integrated with the closing body 4 pivotable relative thereto.

The closing body has on one side the hinge shaft 11 which is strengthened by the connecting elements 17 and the rest of the closing body. The closing body is pivot- able relative to the bottom part by means of this hinge shaft. The closing body further has upright edges 29 on either side which likewise have the purpose of limiting or minimizing access to the interior.

The closing body is provided with pins 26 which can extend through openings 28 in the base body. The part of the wristband arranged in this space is hereby retained in effective manner.

On the opposite side relative to the hinge the base body has two openings bounded by an edge 21 for retaining the snapped-in members of the closing body. Pro- vided are two openings with two associated snap-in ele ^¬ ments so that, when a manipulation attempt is made, only one of the snap-in elements will be broken. This, in co- action with the weakening lines 34 in the closing body, will cause the closing body to break, whereby the manipulation becomes visible.

A further means according to the present invention for showing that manipulation has taken place is shown in Fig. 4. The closing body here has two openings 41 which weaken the connection between the closing body and the snap elements. The advantage hereof is that, when an at ^¬ tempt is made to open the closing body, the closing body will break at the location of the opening and the snap el- ement on the side where manipulation is taking place. An alternative hereto is a weakened portion 25 on the underside of the snap element whereby, when a snap-in element is broken, the closing body will break at the weakening lines 34, whereby the manipulation becomes visible.

For the purpose of holding the central part and the bottom part in advantageous mutual arrangement during production, they are mutually coupled by a film hinge 5 during injection moulding.

Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B show a semi-finished product of substrate sheets 41 with wristbands 8 adhered thereto having a wristband closure on one end thereof. It is an advantage of this semi-finished product that either wrist ^¬ bands or neutrally coloured wristbands can be applied which can be printed with a suitable pattern for an occa- sion. This provides a high measure of flexibility in re ^¬ spect of customizing the wristbands for specific occa ^¬ sions. This provides great advantages in production.

The present invention has been described in the foregoing on the basis of several preferred embodiments. Different aspects of different embodiments are deemed de ^¬ scribed in combination with each other, wherein all combinations which can be deemed by a skilled person in the field as falling within the scope of the invention on the basis of reading of this document are included. These preferred embodiments are not limitative for the scope of protection of this document. The rights sought are defined in the appended claims.