Scent permeation container seal, container including said seal and methods of making said seal and said container

Abstract

A seal for containers is provided that allows the scent from the substance within the container to come through, while preventing leakage of the substance from within the container and/or physical contact of the substance by the consumer. More particularly, a seal is provided having at least one slit extending from the top surface of the seal through the bottom surface of the seal. The at least one slit will allow a consumer to sniff the scent released through the slit, while the seal remains secured to the container, thereby preventing leakage, as well as, contamination, damage and/or reduced volume caused by consumers sampling the products.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A method or assembling a container, comprising the steps of:
 providing a container including a body portion defining an internal chamber and an opening in communication with said chamber;   providing a substance having a scent into said internal chamber through said opening; and   affixing a seal over the opening, directly to a lip defining the opening to restrict access to said substance containing internal chamber, the seal including at least one slit configured to pass scent from the substance through the seal.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of, after the affixing step, further providing a cap over the seal. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one slit is at least three slits arranged in a circle. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein a center of the circle is located at the center of the seal. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the at least three slits is six slits. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the seal is bonded directly to a mouth of said opening through heat induction. 
     
     
         7 . A seal for a container containing a substance having a scent, comprising:
 a body; and   a plurality of slits extending through said body, said plurality of slits configured to pass scent from the substance through the seal while restricting the passage of the substance through the seal.   
     
     
         8 . The seal of  claim 7 , wherein the body is a one piece, multi layer body and wherein said plurality of slits extend through all layers of the one piece multi layer body. 
     
     
         9 . The seal of  claim 7 , further including a permeable material overlaying at least a portion of said body including said plurality of slits. 
     
     
         10 . The seal of  claim 9 , wherein said permeable material is a layer of permeable material laminated to said body. 
     
     
         11 . The seal of  claim 9 , wherein said permeable material is a patch of permeable material bonded to a surface of said body over said slits. 
     
     
         12 . The seal of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of slits is at least three slits. 
     
     
         13 . The seal of  claim 9 , wherein the at least three slits are arranged in a circle centered around the center of the seal. 
     
     
         14 . The seal of  claim 13 , wherein the at least three slits are six slits. 
     
     
         15 . The seal of  claim 13 , further including a permeable material overlaying at least a portion of said body including said plurality of slits. 
     
     
         16 . A container including a body defining an internal cavity accessible through an opening defined by a circumferential lip, the container including a seal according to  claim 7  bonded directly to the lip over the opening. 
     
     
         17 . A method for making a seal, comprising the steps of:
 providing a bulk seal material;   making a plurality of slits through the seal material, the plurality of slits configured in a circle; and   after the slit making step, forming the seal from the seal material.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the bulk seal material is a multi-layered seal material. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising the step of laminating a permeable material to one side of the bulk seal material after the slit making step but before the seal forming step.