The present invention refers to an identification device basically for hospital use, for example for identifying the ne lyborn, and eventually for other uses where there is the necessity of applying an identification tag or tab to a human being, animal or even an object.

Identification bracelets are already known of the type that include a flexible strip comprising a first bracelet portion having a first free end, a second identification por¬ tion contiguous to the first portion and defining a pocket that is at least partially transparent and open at one end to receive an identification tab in its interior, and also fixing and sealing means for fixing a point along the length of the second portion to a point of the first bracelet portion. Bracelets of this type use various manners of regulating the size of the loop formed when closed, as well as various tech¬ niques for preventing, or at least making it difficult, to change or alter the identification tab. The tab, however, is always of low security whereas bracelets that have round orifices along the first bracelet portion result in a regu¬ lation of the size of the loop that is insufficient and cer¬ tainly not continuous.

There are also other types of security bracelets in which the adjustment of the size of the loop is continuous due to the use of an adhesive within a type of open ended pocket on the strip and through which an end of the strip is in-

serted, this permitting a precise adjustment of the size of the loop. It is then sufficient to squeeze the pocket for the adhesive to stick and fix the inserted part of the strip in place. This type of bracelet has the double disadvantage of being more complex to manufacture and more complicated to han¬ dle when it is being applied.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an identification device of the above type that combines the advantages of the known devices without, however, having their disadvantages.

According to the present invention an identification device of the above type is characterized in that the open end of the pocket substantially coincides with the end of the sec¬ ond portion remote from the first portion; the second portion is provided with an extension in the form of a tongue suitable for being doubled back and inserted into said pocket, one face of the tongue being adapted for receiving written or printed information thus to constitute said tab; and the fixing and sealing means comprising a single piece security seal having a first part with a locking portion and a second part connected by a hinge to the first part and provided with a locking for¬ mation for co-operating with the first mentioned locking por¬ tion on doubling the two parts over one another to define a closed and sealed body, said seal, at least in the closed con- figuration thereof, being in fixed relation to said second portion of the strip substantially in the region thereof where the tongue begins, so that, on doubling back the tongue and inserting it in the pocket and then closing the seal, at least part of the doubled portion becomes caught between the first and second parts of the seal, the seal being further provided with means for catching part of said first bracelet portion and preventing the sliding thereof when seal is closed.

Preferably one side of the first bracelet portion is provided with equally spaced transverse ribs distributed along its length, the inner face of at least one of the parts of the seals being formed with a parallelepiped shaped protuberance having a width less than the distance between said ribs. When the device is made of plastic material and preferably polyvinyl flouride (PVC) the ribs may comprise ultrasound

welding lines.

It is also advantageous for the inner face of one of the parts of the seal to be formed with a single such protuberance and the inner face of the said other part of the seal to be formed with two protuberances identical to that on the first mentioned part, the three protuberances in the closed position of the device squeezing therebetween a small length of the bracelet portion with the side having the ribs facing said other part of the seal which is provided with the two protuberances.

In the preferred embodiment of the identification device of the present invention, which reunites all the above mentioned characteristics, it is found that one has a product configuration that is easy to handle, this being combined with an improved performance when compared with the devices known in the art. Thus, the use of an identification tongue which is part of the device serves for receiving written information and may be easily bent back and then inserted in the pocket formed in the tape, with the bent over portion remaining within the seal after closure thereof, this resulting in rela¬ tively high security without handling of the product being complicated or the manufacture being complex and thus more ex¬ pensive.

Apart from this, the fact that the spacings between the transverse ribs on the bracelet portion are small, even though they are greater than the width of each protuberance in the seal, permits a fine adjustment which is almost a contin¬ uous adjustment. The strength of the strip is also maintained and even increased by the presence of the ribs and this may be compared to the reduction in strength found in bracelets of the prior art where there is a series of orifices in the strip.

The invention also provides a security seal for use in an identification device, the seal comprising the above de- fined closure and sealing device.

The invention will be better understood from the following detailed description given by way of example, refer¬ ence being made to the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an identification

bracelet in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bracelet being open in preparation for use;

Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1, how- ever, with the identification tongue already with the iden¬ tification indications and in the act of being inserted into the pocket formed in the bracelet forming strip;

Figure 3 is a similar view, with the tongue totally inserted and the bracelet ready for closure; Figure 4 shows the same bracelet in perspective, al¬ ready closed;

Figure 5 is an upper plan view of the seal of Figure 1, used for closing and sealing the bracelet;

Figure 6 is a section along line VI-VI of Figure 5; Figure 7 is a section similar to that of Figure 6, but with the seal closed;

Figure 8 is a plan view similar to that of Figure 5, of another seal suitable for use with the bracelet shown in Figures 1 to 4; Figure 9 is a section taken along line IX-IX of Fig¬ ure 8;

Figure 10 is a section similar to that of Figure 9 but with the seal closed; and

Figure 11 is a section taken along line XI-XI of Figure 8.

Figure 12 is a perspective view of an identification bracelet in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bracelet being open in preparation for use; Figure 13 is an upper plan view of a seal for use with the bracelet shown in Figure 12;

Figure 14 is a side elevation of the seal shown in Figure 13; and

Figure 15 is a cross section of the seal of Figures 13 and 14, when closed and in use.

Refering now to the drawings, a bracelet in accord¬ ance with the present invention comprises a strip 1 having a first bracelet portion 2 and a second identification portion

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3. An identification tongue 4 extends from the end of portion 3 that is remote from portion 2 and a security seal 5 is fixed to that end of the portion 3, serving to close the arrangement as shown in Figure 4. Strip 1 comprises in reality two strips or films of flexible plastic material that are superimposed and soldered by ultrasound in appropriate regions. Thus, in portion 2 of strip 1, welding is carried out along the edges and also along narrow transverse areas 6. The solder lines 6 form ribs sepa- rated by rectangular smooth areas 1 , such combination of rib 6 and smooth areas 7 serving to permit adjustment of the size of the loop formed by the bracelet.

Portion 3 of strip 1 is wider than portion 2 so as suitably to accomodate the information to be written on tongue 4 which is no more than an extension of the lower film - as seen in Figures 1 to 3 - of portion 3. The tongue, however, has a width less than that of portion 3. The upper film of portion 3 is cut at 8 so as to define an entrance opening to a pocket 9 formed between the two films and defined by welding lines 10 therebetween. The end of the upper film slightly be¬ yond the cut 8 and immediately before the narrowing where tongue 4 commences, is welded in a transverse region 11 to a surface 12 of the security seal 5 - see Figures 1 and 5.

The lower surface seen in Figure 1 or the upper sur- face seen in Figures 2 and 3 of tongue 4 is coated to be white or any other colour by silk screen or hot stamping techniques which makes it adequate for receiving information written with a common ball point pen. Thus, as seen in Figures 2 and 3, af¬ ter receiving the written information, tongue 4 may be doubled over and back, its end being inserted through the opening de¬ fined by cut 8 and introduced into pocket 9. Figure 3 shows how the bend 13 in tongue 4 then assumes a position such that, on closing seal 5, it becomes caught and inaccessible within the seal, thus ensuring not only the protection of the tongue against liquids as also the inaccessibility of such tongue, frustrating any attempt to modify the information written thereon.

Obviously, with a view to permitting the information written on tongue 4 to be read, at least that part of the up-

per film of tape 1 which constitutes the upper side of pocket 9 ought to be transparent and in fact all the upper film or even both films may be transparent.

Security seal 5 is made of a suitable rigid plastic material and comprises two halves, 14 and 15, which look like two halves of a small rectangular box, hinged to each other by a plastic hinge 16 to constitute a single part. The two parts have flat edges which abutt each other when the seal is closed, one of them on part 14 - the one already mentioned above and indicated by reference number 12 - being wider than the others due to the fact that this edge is welded to the re¬ gion 11 of the end of the lower film of portion 3.

Seal part 14 is provided with a female formation 17 whereas part 15 is formed with a locking pin 18 having a bifocated end. Thus, on closing the seal, the end of pin 18 is compressed when it passes through female portion 17, expanding thereafter to complete closure. The inner surface of seal part 14 is also formed with a parallelepiped shaped protuberance 19 having dimensions substantially equal to those of the smooth areas 7 in portion 2 of the bracelet. Similarly, the other seal part 15 is formed with two identical protuberances 20 and 21, the spacing between protuberances 20 and 21 being substan¬ tially equal to the sum of the two widths of the rib 6 plus one smooth region 7 on portion 2 of the bracelet. In this man- ner, when the bracelet is to be closed, a region of portion 2 - according to the desired size of the bracelet - is placed over part 14 of the seal with the position of protuberance 19 corresponding to that of one of the smooth regions 7. Seal 5 is then closed and automatically the three protuberances 19, 20 and 21 will squeeze the three smooth regions 7 correspond¬ ing thereto.

The configuration of the smooth region 7 with the narrow ribs 6 which separate them permit an extremely fine ad¬ justment of the size of the loop formed on closing the bracelet. Even if all bracelet portion 2 were smooth, that is to say, without rib 6, the tightness applied by seal 5 in the closed configuration would, for all effects, be sufficient to prevent sliding of portion 2 and its consequent removal from the seal. The presence of rib 1 , however, guarantees that

there is no possibility of sliding, thus making the device of high security. At the same time, the physical strength of the bracelet is not reduced in the fixing region since the bracelet is not perforated. The closure system itself of the seal is not of ex¬ treme relevance, it being possible to use others without de¬ parting from the concept of the present invention. For example, an alternative is shown in Figures 8 to 11 in which the same reference numerals to which have been added an apostrofe for indicating parts identical or similar to those shown in Figures 1 to 7 are used. Thus, a seal 5' with its two halves 14' and 15' and its three protuberances 19', 20' and 21* have a closure system comprising two parallel bars 22 in part 14' of the seal. Two other parallel bars 23 somewhat closer to each other are formed on the other part 15' of the seal. The upper longitudinal edges of bars 22 have the shape of hooks facing one another whereas the corresponding edges of bars 23 in part 15' are similaraly shaped but with the hooks facing in opposite directions. Figure 11 shows how the hooks of one pair of bars 22 and 23 and the hooks of the other pair of bars 22 and 23 co-operate with each other in locking re¬ lationship when seal 5' is closed. The other details of seal 5' are substantially identical to those of seal 5.

Figure 12 shows a second preferred embodiment of the bracelet that is almost identical to that of Figure 1 whereby such features will not be further decribed. The difference is that, whereas the Figure 1 bracelet 1 is welded at 11 to the seal 5 at the end of identification portion 3 and the begin¬ ning of tongue 4, in the case of Figure 12 that region is not in any way fixed to a seal but rather is necked by means of two lateral cut-outs 24.

Figures 13 and 14 show a seal 5" suitable for use with the bracelet of Figure 12. Seal 5" is very similar to seal 5 except that there are two two parallel protuberances 19" on part 14" of the seal and protuberance 21" on part 15" is thinner than protuberance 20". In addition, one sidewall of seal part 14" is formed with a narrow rectangular opening 25 having a width substantially equal to the width of the tongue 4 of the bracelet measured between the two cut-outs 24 and

less than the width of the remaining portion of the tongue.

This permits tongue 4 to be threaded through opening 25 so that its cut-outs 25 receive the width of the side wall of part 14" of the seal, and then doubled back over identifi- cation portion 3 where it is inserted into pocket 9. The seal is then closed with the tongue passing out of the seal between its two parts 14" and 15". This is clearly shown in Figure 15. It will be understood that the above description re¬ fers merely to preferred embodiments of the identification de- vice of the present invention. Consequently, any modifications or alterations that do no imply in a departure from the basic concept of the invention should be considered as also forming part of this invention, the scope of which is limited merely by the terms of the following claims.