EP-4735547-A1 - RECYCLABLE WIRELESS CONSTRUCTIONS

Abstract

Recyclable wireless constructions, and methods of making, and methods of using the recyclable constructions are disclosed.

Inventors

• BARTHOLOMEW, ERIC
• DE BACKER, Mathieu
• VALTONEN, ANTTI
• VITIKKALA, Kati
• ASSAEL, Noam
• KELL, Kelly P.
• NYARKO, Alex
• LOFTON, Jennifer

Assignees

• Avery Dennison Retail Information Services LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260506

Application Date

20240626

Claims (20)

1. 1. A recyclable construction comprising: (1) a first carrier having a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first carrier comprises a non-polyester polymeric film having a density of greater than 1 g/cubic centimeter; (2) a wireless identification device, having a first surface and a second surface, disposed on at least a portion of one of the first surface and the second surface of the first carrier; and (3) a pressure sensitive adhesive, having a first surface and a second surface.
2. 2. The recyclable construction of claim 1, wherein the pressure sensitive adhesive is capable of bonding the recyclable construction to a substrate, and capable of debonding from the substrate.
3. 3. The recyclable construction of claim 1, further comprising at least one additional layer having a first surface and a second surface.
4. 4. The recyclable construction of claim 1, wherein the at least one additional layer is selected from the group consisting of a second carrier, a third carrier, a first permanent adhesive, a second permanent adhesive, a dissolvable adhesive, a dissolvable coating, and any combination thereof.
5. 5. The recyclable construction of claim 1, wherein the wireless identification device is disposed on the first surface of the first carrier, and wherein the pressure sensitive adhesive is disposed on the first surface of the wireless identification device.
6. 6. The recyclable construction of claim 4, wherein the at least one additional layer is a first permanent adhesive, and wherein the first permanent adhesive is disposed between the first carrier and the wireless identification device.
7. 7. The recyclable construction of claim 6, further wherein the at least additional layerfurther includes a second permanent adhesive, wherein the second carrier is disposed between the pressure sensitive adhesive and the wireless identification device, and wherein the second permanent adhesive adheres at least a portion of the second surface of the second carrier to at least a portion of the first surface of the wireless identification device.
8. 8. The recyclable construction of claim 4, wherein the at least one additional layer is a second carrier and a first permanent adhesive, wherein wireless identification device is disposed on the second surface of the first carrier, wherein the pressure sensitive adhesive is disposed on the first surface of the first carrier, wherein the second carrier is disposed on the second surface of the wireless identification device, and wherein the first permanent adhesive adheres one of the first carrier to the wireless identification device, and the second carrier to the wireless identification device.
9. 9. The recyclable construction of any one of claim 1 to 8, wherein the pressure sensitive adhesive is coextensive with the first carrier.
10. 10. The recyclable construction of any one of claim 1 to 4, wherein the perimeter of the pressure sensitive adhesive extends beyond the perimeter of the first carrier.
11. 11. The recyclable construction of claim 10, wherein the at least one additional layer is a second carrier and a dissolvable coating, wherein the wireless identification device is disposed on the second surface of the first carrier, wherein the pressure sensitive adhesive is disposed on the second surface of the wireless identification device, wherein the second carrier is disposed on the second surface of the pressure sensitive adhesive, and wherein a dissolvable coating is disposed between the wireless identification device and the pressure sensitive adhesive.
12. 12. The recyclable construction of claim 11, wherein the dissolvable coating is dissolvable under conditions that will cause aluminum to dissolve.
13. 13. The recyclable construction of claim 11, wherein the dissolvable coating is dissolvable in a wash composition having a pH of greater than 9.
14. 14. The recyclable construction of any of claim 1 to 13, where the pressure sensitive adhesive is capable of debonding from the substrate upon subjection to mechanical recycling conditions.
15. 15. The recyclable construction of any one of claim 4 to 14, wherein the second carrier comprises a non-polyester polymeric film.
16. 16. The recyclable construction of claim 15, wherein the non-polyester polymeric film comprises a material selected from the group consisting of a polycarbonate, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polylactic acid, polystyrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, rigid polyvinyl chloride, polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyethersulfone (PES), polyamide, polyimide, and any combination thereof.
17. 17. The recyclable construction of any one of claim 1 to 16, wherein the recyclable construction has a bulk density of greater than 1 g/cubic centimeter.
18. 18. The recyclable construction of any one of claim 1 to 16, wherein the first carrier is densified.
19. 19. The recyclable construction of any one of claim 1 to 16, wherein the first carrier further includes a high density material having a density of greater than 1 g/cubic centimeter.
20. 20. The recyclable construction of any one of claim 1 to 16, wherein at least one of the first carrier, the second carrier, and the third carrier further includes a high density material having a density of greater than 1 g/cubic centimeter.

Description

RECYCLABLE WIRELESS CONSTRUCTIONS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Serial Number 63/511,453, filed on June 30, 2023 and U.S. Provisional Application Serial Number 63/610,601 filed on filed on December 15, 2023, both of which are incorporated herein in their entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention generally relates to recyclable wireless constructions, and methods of making and methods of using the recyclable constructions. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Wireless inlays are utilized on and in a wide range of objects, for various uses. There are a variety of different wireless inlays, for example ultra-high frequency (UHF), near field communication (NFC), bluetooth low energy (BLE), long term evolution (LTE), and electronic article surveillance (EAS) inlays. The type of inlay selected depends on the desired use. For example, RFID inlays are commonly used on articles to be tracked. In the retail field, tracking is often used to help businesses determine when they need to restock a particular product, or to keep track of where specific items of inventory are located. In commercial retail, plastic is typically used in product packaging, and many products are themselves made of plastic. To mitigate their negative effect on the environment, plastic articles are often recycled. To achieve this, the articles are sorted, shredded into flakes, washed, and dried. During the washing process, heavier materials sink in the washwater, while lighter materials float. However, plastic articles and packaging to which wireless inlays have been attached typically cannot undergo recycling. [0004] Conventional wireless inlays are typically not recyclable, as they are unable to go through plastic recycling waste streams. Conventionally, wireless inlays include an antenna and, for intelligent inlays such as RFIDs, a chip, attached to a support (typically a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) support). A pressure sensitive adhesive can be applied to the support, thereby enabling the inlay to be adhered to an article. A large proportion of plastic articles, such as for example plastic bottles, plastic containers, and plastic packaging are made of the same material as the wireless inlay support. The plastic recycling process includes the separation of materials having different densities. Materials having a density of greater than 1 g/cubic centimeter will sink in the wash water, while materials having a density of less than 1 g/cubic centimeter will float in the wash water. If one were to shred a PET article to which is adhered an inlay including a support made of the same or similar composition as the support or having the same or similar density as the support, and put the shredded pieces in a recycle stream, disadvantageously, the pieces of the article will sink, along with the inlay, due to the support. Accordingly, the recycling attempt would not be successful, as the inlays would not be separated from the article pieces. Rather, the inlays would be mixed with the article pieces, preventing the inlay-free pieces from being collected for processing into a new article. [0005] PET films are highly preferred as the material for inlay carriers, for a variety of reasons. PET has dimensional stability, which ensures that the antenna and any adhesive adhering the antenna to the support will be precisely placed on the PET support, without stretching of the PET during processing. The inlay antenna is typically an aluminum that has been deposited on the PET, for example by printing or etching, or by deposition on an adhesive, followed by die cut or laser cutting. The precise placement of the adhesive, and of the antenna on the PET support is extremely important for the proper functioning of the wireless device. The dimensional stability and heat stability of PET ensures that the PET support will not stretch or shrink, ensuring that the antenna, and if present, the adhesive, will remain precisely oriented during their deposition on the PET support. Further, PET is non-toxic, and is a good barrier material, which is makes it suitable for use for food applications. [0006] Some have used foam or heat shrinkable films as RFID supports. However, foam suffers from the disadvantages of having a lower dimensional stability, a higher cost, and greater processing difficulty than PET. Further, foam supports typically have a thickness of at least 500 pm, which is larger than PET supports, making them too bulky for many applications, such as labels. Additionally, the size of heat shrinkable carriers is limited with regard to the size of antenna that can be used with the specific carrier, and if one departs from these limitations, the performance of the antenna will be negatively affected. [0007] Accordingly, there remains a need for alternative wireless inlays that are recyclable. Also desired are such device inlays that can at least one of, meet perfo