Zipper closure with unitary adhesive cover sheet

Zipper closure for selective attachment along elongated openings in preexisting containers, comprising:

• a zipper strip assembly having a pair of contiguous strip members carrying complementary manually interlockable and releasable zipper means which are interlocked so that the assembly can be handled as a unit, said strip members having respective attachment surfaces;
• pressure sensitive adhesive on each of said attachment surfaces;
• peelable cover sheet means bridging both strip members and engaged on said adhesive in a protecting relationship and adapted to be peelably stripped therefrom to expose said adhesive, so that one of said attachment surfaces can be applied and attached by means of the adhesive thereon to a first lip on a container along an elongated opening therein and the other of said attachment surfaces can be applied and attached by means of the adhesive thereon to a second lip along the opening, for adhesion of the attachment surfaces to the lips and thus providing a reclosable closure for the container at said elongated opening;
• said peelable cover sheet means being a single unitary structure with one portion engaged on the adhesive on one of the attachment surfaces and another portion engaged on the adhesive on the other of said attachment surfaces so as to bridge between the strip members so that the strip members do not become separated and are retained together as a unit for handling without inadvertent separation of the strip members;
• and
• said adhesive having bonding strength and peel strength, with respect to the substrate of the container to which applied, greater than the manipulation strength normally applied for interlocking or releasing the zipper means after effecting attachment of the attachment surfaces to said lips by means of said adhesive.