U.S. patent application number 13/148974 was filed with the patent office on 2012-01-05 for polymeric packages.
Invention is credited to Stanley Abernathy, Richard A. Rehkugler, Scott P. Wilkins.
Application Number | 20120000969 13/148974 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41351463 |
Filed Date | 2012-01-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120000969 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Rehkugler; Richard A. ; et
al. |
January 5, 2012 |
Polymeric Packages
Abstract
This disclosure relates to a package and a method of making the
package. The package comprises (a) a web material to form an
enclosed package comprising a seal having two seal ends and a
package side edge, and wherein the seal is a fin seal or an overlap
seal; (b) a first tear initiation point located on the package side
edge; and (c) a second tear initiation point, wherein the second
tear initiation point is located on the seal.
Inventors: |
Rehkugler; Richard A.;
(Ontario, NY) ; Abernathy; Stanley; (Covington,
IN) ; Wilkins; Scott P.; (Pittsford, NY) |
Family ID: |
41351463 |
Appl. No.: |
13/148974 |
Filed: |
April 1, 2009 |
PCT Filed: |
April 1, 2009 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/US2009/039158 |
371 Date: |
September 16, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
229/87.05 ;
53/412 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 75/5833
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
229/87.05 ;
53/412 |
International
Class: |
B65D 65/30 20060101
B65D065/30; B65D 75/62 20060101 B65D075/62 |
Claims
1. A package comprising: a. a web material with a first edge
portion and a second edge portion, said first edge portion and said
second edge portion being sealed together to form a seal having two
seal ends, said package having a first package end at one seal end
and a second package end at the other seal end; wherein said first
package end and said second package end define a first package side
edge and a second package side edge, wherein said first package
side edge and said second package side edge comprise folded web
material, and wherein said seal is a fin seal or an overlap seal;
b. a first tear initiation point located on said first package side
edge; and c. a second tear initiation point, wherein said second
tear initiation point is located on said fin seal, said fin seal
being folded toward said first package side edge; or wherein said
second tear initiation point is located on one of said edge
portions of said overlap seal, said one of said edge portions of
said overlap seal being folded toward said first packing side
edge.
2. The package of claim 1, wherein said first tear initiation point
and said second tear initiation point are aligned across said
package.
3. The package of claim 1, wherein at least one of said pocket ends
is sealed.
4. The package of claim 1, wherein said web material comprises
oriented polypropylene film.
5. The package of claim 1, wherein said web material comprises
metallized oriented polypropylene film.
6. The package of claim 1, wherein said first tear initiation point
and/or said second initiation point is a structure weakness induced
by laser scoring and/or mechanical cut.
7. The package of claim 1, wherein said web material is free of
aluminum foil.
8. The package of claim 1, wherein said first tear initiation point
and said second tear initiation point are aligned substantially
perpendicular to said first package side edge.
9. The package of claim 1 is a vertical-form-fill-and-seal package
or a horizontal-form-fill-and-seal package.
10. A method of manufacturing a package comprising: a. forming a
package comprising a web material with a first edge portion and a
second edge portion, said first edge portion and said second edge
portion being sealed together to form a seal having two seal ends,
said package having a first package end at one seal end and a
second package end at the other seal end; wherein said first
package end and said second package end define a first package side
edge and a second package side edge, wherein said first package
side edge and said second package side edge comprise folded web
material, and wherein said seal is a fin seal or an overlap seal;
b. generating a first tear initiation point located on said first
package side edge; and c. generating a second tear initiation
point, wherein said second tear initiation point is located on said
fin seal, said fin seal being folded toward said first package side
edge; or wherein said second tear initiation point is located on
one of said edge portions of said overlap seal, said one of said
edge portions of said overlap seal being folded toward said first
packing side edge.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein said step (a) comprises
vertical-form-fill-and-seal package or
horizontal-form-fill-and-seal package.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein said first tear initiation
point is generated by laser scoring said web material prior to form
said package.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein said first tear initiation
point is generated by mechanical cut inside the seal area of one of
the seal ends.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein said second tear initiation
point is generated by mechanical cut of said fin seal or said one
of said edge portions of said overlap seal.
15. The method of claim 10, wherein said second tear initiation
point is generated by laser scoring said edge portions such that
the laser scored portions of both edge portions are substantially
overlapped with each other in said fin seal, or laser scoring said
one of said edge portions of said overlap seal.
16. The method of claim 10, wherein said web material comprises
oriented polypropylene film.
17. The method of claim 10, wherein said web material comprises
metallized oriented polypropylene film.
18. The method of claim 10, wherein said web material is free of
aluminum foil.
19. The method of claim 10, wherein said first tear initiation
point and said second tear initiation point are aligned
substantially perpendicular to said first package side edge.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates generally to packaging. More
particularly this invention relates to a package with easy
openability.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Various packaging methods and types are known in the art.
Considerations for commercial packaging include protection of the
package's contents and usability of the package by a consumer or
user of the package's contents. In the case of packaged food items,
for example, the items generally are sealed into a package to
optimize shelf life. When a consumer purchases the product, the
consumer must then open the package to access the items stored
therein. Accessing the items through a sealed package, however, can
require sometimes excessive effort to open the package, which may
cause frustration and, occasionally, loss of the package
content.
[0003] In certain packages, such as stick-pack packages, it is also
advantageous to easily, completely remove an end of the package to
allow the contents to be fully poured out. For example, where the
contents of a package are intended to be poured into a solution for
mixing, such as in a flavored drink product, the package should be
hermetically sealed to protect the contents from the outside
moisture but also be easily opened by a consumer. Such packages are
typically made in a vertical-form-fill-and-seal process wherein a
web of material is folded over and sealed. This sealed material is
cut and sealed on one end and then filled with the package
contents. The second end is then also cut and sealed, thereby
sealing the contents of the package therein. To open the package, a
user must either pull apart the seal or otherwise cut or tear the
package.
[0004] Various features have been added to such packages to assist
the consumer in opening the package. By one approach, the side of
the package is notched, such as mechanical cuts, to provide the
consumer with a starting point in tearing open the package. This
approach, however, requires that the package be sealed around the
notched portion which takes additional manufacturing resources and
efforts. By another known approach, the side edge of the package is
flawed by a physical micro-abrasion process that weakens the side
of the package such that the package tears more easily on the edge
when a user applies a tearing force to open the package. Under this
approach and the above cutting approach, however, the package will
merely tear along weak areas naturally present in the package
material such that the tear may not propagate straight across the
package. Moreover, the tear typically stops at the seal running the
length of the package without undue additional force applied by the
user.
[0005] Another known method for assisting the opening of a package
includes weakening the package material along a given line such
that a tear will likely propagate along that line when opening the
package. One such method includes ablating the package material
with a laser. The laser damages the package material along a line
across the material without cutting entirely through the package
material. Thus, when a user tears at the package, the package is
more likely to tear along the laser-damaged portion. When a package
is scored by a laser all the way across the package, however, the
package is too often so weakened that it cannot stay intact during
its manufacturing process or during normal handling by a user
before the package is intended to be opened.
[0006] U.S. Patent Application No. 20080273821A1 discloses a
package formed via a vertical-form-fill-and-seal process includes a
web material with edge portions sealed to create a vertical sleeve.
The package also includes a first sealed end and a second sealed
end at either end of the vertical sleeve to create a sealed
package. The package includes a laser scribed ablation pattern
extending across the web material with ablated portions having an
about one to about three millimeter length separated by non-ablated
portions of about 0.25 and about 0.75 millimeter length. The
package has increased tensile strength to avoid breaking during the
vertical-form-fill-and-seal process and provides a high likelihood
that an outer edge and vertical seal of the package include ablated
portions to provide an easy-to-start tear area to open the package.
Also, the short spaces between ablated portions increase the
likelihood of tear propagation along the ablation pattern, all the
way across the package.
[0007] Similarly, package with continuous ablation using laser
scorching may provide easy-to-open functionality.
[0008] In a paper titled "Stick Packaging for Powdered and Granular
Products: Typical Opening Challenges and Solutions" authored by
Jeff Hopp of Curwood, Inc., the entirety of which is incorporated
herein by reference, discloses that the key problem with many
single-portion stick-packs on the market is their opening
technology. Stick-packs used for powdered or granular products are
cylindrical in shape with a single back seal, which can be either a
fin or lap seal. It's especially important for the material used in
stick packaging to tear easily, once the tear is initiated, to
allow easy opening. The structure used for fin-sealed stick-packs
is generally a reverse-printed oriented polyethylene terephthalate
(OPET) on the outer layer with foil in the middle and a
polyethylene sealant layer on the inside. Reverse-printed PET
provides a crisp, glossy print surface for superior brand identity,
and has good directional tear properties. Foil provides the
moisture barrier needed to prevent product clumping and has
virtually no tear resistance. PE sealant ensures a hermetic seal to
prevent product leakage, and is specially formulated to have
minimal tear resistance in the cross or transverse direction.
Stick-packs with a lap seal often have heat-sealable polypropylene
on the outer layer (versus PET) because both sides of the film need
to be compatibly sealable.
[0009] Tear notches are typically machine-applied in the upper left
corner of stick-packs to accommodate right-handed consumers, who
tear from left to right. First the area to be notched is
heat-sealed, and then the notch is made in the heat-sealed area to
prevent product leakage or a compromised barrier. To follow are
four types of problems often seen with tear-notched stick-packs, 1)
packages that won't open; 2) packages that open erratically; 3)
packages that only open part way; 4) product that leaks or is
clumped and won't dispense. In addition to the quality headaches
associated with tear notching, this added step can have a fairly
serious impact on productivity, including: slower production speeds
required to achieve quality heat seal and notch; worn punch dies
are costly to replace and time-consuming to change out, resulting
in lost production time; defective packages (that either won't open
or leak) lead to reject rates that are often in excess of 5%.
[0010] Packages designed with the ability to cleanly tear off the
designated end generally depend on the use of aluminum foil because
1) aluminum foil tears with little resistance, and requires no tear
initiation point to commence the tear which is not the case of
metallized (MET) oriented polypropylene films; or 2) the aluminum
foil buried within the lamination which reflects rather than
absorbs the laser beam in laser scored technology that allows a
naturally controlled penetration of the scoring (burn) to allow the
required tear initiation without compromise to barrier properties.
However, once the aluminum foil is replaced with metallized
oriented polymers, such as, polyolefins, the existing technologies
do not provide acceptable performance because the metal layer of a
metallized polymer film does not reflect the laser beam like
aluminum foil, hence the power setting of the laser must be
controlled accurately to prevent catastrophic burn through and/or
loss of metal barrier. Without properly laser scorching, the
metallized polymer film will tear cleanly across the top of the
package until it intersects the fin or overlap seal and at this
point the tearing process completely stops, or in some cases the
tear changes direction and proceeds down the length of the
package.
[0011] Therefore, there is a need to develop a new technology which
allows 1) the package top to be completely removed; 2) easy and
cheap manufacturing procedure; 3) eliminating the need for paper or
foil material by using stretched polymeric films, such as,
uniaxially or biaxially oriented polypropylene (OPP) films.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The following drawings illustrate some embodiments of this
disclosure:
[0013] FIG. 1 comprises a plan view of a web material for use in
creating a package as configured in accordance with various
embodiments of the invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 comprises a bottom plan view of package as configured
in accordance with various embodiments of the invention;
[0015] FIG. 3 comprises a top plan view of a portion of a package
as configured in accordance with various embodiments of the
invention;
[0016] FIG. 4 comprises a top plan view of the portion of a package
of FIG. 3 while a tearing force is applied by a user to an edge of
the package;
[0017] FIG. 5 comprises a side view of a package as configured in
accordance with various embodiments of the invention with an end
completely removed such that the contents in the package can be
fully emptied;
[0018] FIG. 6 comprises a perspective view of a web material to be
formed into a package having a fin-type seal as configured in
accordance with various embodiments of the invention;
[0019] FIG. 7 comprises a perspective view of a package having a
fin-type seal as configured in accordance with various embodiments
of the invention;
[0020] FIG. 8 comprises a perspective view of a web material to be
formed into a package having an overlap seal as configured in
accordance with various embodiments of the invention;
[0021] FIG. 9 comprises a perspective view of a package having an
overlap seal as configured in accordance with various embodiments
of the invention;
[0022] FIG. 10 comprises a perspective view of elements of a
vertical-form-fill-and-seal device.
[0023] FIG. 11 comprises a bottom plan view of package as
configured in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;
and
[0024] FIG. 12 comprises a bottom plan view of package as
configured in accordance with another embodiment of the
invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0025] In some embodiments, this disclosure relates to a package
comprising: [0026] a. a web material with a first edge portion and
a second edge portion, the first edge portion and the second edge
portion being sealed together to form a seal having two seal ends,
the package having a first package end at one seal end and a second
package end at the other seal end; [0027] wherein the first package
end and the second package end define a first package side edge and
a second package side edge, wherein the first package side edge and
the second package side edge comprise folded web material, and
wherein the seal is a fin seal or an overlap seal; [0028] b. a
first tear initiation point located on the first package side edge;
and [0029] c. a second tear initiation point, [0030] wherein the
second tear initiation point is located on the fin seal, the fin
seal being folded toward the first package side edge; or wherein
the second tear initiation point is located on one of the edge
portions, the one of the edge portions being folded toward the
first packing side edge.
[0031] In some aspects of these above mentioned embodiments, the
web material of this disclosure comprises polymer film, preferably
polyolefinic film, more preferably oriented polyolefinic film,
e.g., oriented polypropylene (OPP) film. In some preferred
embodiments, the polymer film has a sealable outermost layer that
allows the fin seal to seal down to the package sidewall to ensure
alignment of the tear features or allows the formation of overlap
seal. In other embodiments, the polymer film is multilayer polymer
film comprising a core layer and at least one skin layer, and
preferably at least one tie layer. In a preferred embodiment, at
least one of the skin layers is a sealable layer.
[0032] In some preferred embodiments, the package of this
disclosure is formed via a vertical-form-fill-and-seal process or a
horizontal-form-fill-and-seal process.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0033] Various specific embodiments, versions, and examples are
described herein, including exemplary embodiments and definitions
that are adopted for purposes of understanding the claimed
invention. While the following detailed description gives specific
preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate
that these embodiments are exemplary only, and that the invention
can be practiced in other ways. For purposes of determining
infringement, the scope of the invention will refer to any one or
more of the appended claims, including their equivalents, and
elements or limitations that are equivalent to those that are
recited. Any reference to the "invention" may refer to one or more,
but not necessarily all, of the inventions defined by the
claims.
[0034] As used herein, "polymer" may be used to refer to
homopolymers, copolymers, interpolymers, terpolymers, etc.
[0035] As used herein, "package" may be used to refer to packet,
sealed, wrapped, substantially sealed, or substantially wrapped web
material.
[0036] A package, such as package formed via a
vertical-form-fill-and-seal process or package formed via a
horizontal-form-fill-and-seal process, includes a web material with
edge portions sealed to create a sleeve. The web material also
includes a first sealed end and a second sealed end at either end
of the sleeve to create a sealed package. The package comprises at
least two tear initiation points. One tear initiation point is
located on the seal for a package with fin seal (or on one of the
edge portions of the seal for a package with an overlap seal) and
the other tear initiation point is located on one of the side edge
of the package. For a package with an overlap seal, a first tear
initiation point is located on the first package side edge and a
second tear initiation point is located on one of the edge portions
of the overlap seal which faces toward the first packing side edge.
For a package with a fin seal, a first tear initiation point is
located on the fin seal and a second tear initiation point is
located on the package side edge that the fin seal is folded
toward. In both cases, the first tear initiation point and the
second tear initiation point are across the package, preferably
aligned substantially perpendicular to the package side edges, such
that the package substantially tears along the line linking both
tear initiation points and across the seal when a separating force
is applied by a user at the tear initiation point on the package
side edge.
[0037] So configured, the package provides a sealed container that
a user may open along a line linking both tear initiation points.
The package may contain foodstuffs such as drink powders, dessert
powders, snack nuts, condiments, and toppings that are poured into
another container or directly into a consumer's mouth. The tear
arrangement of this disclosure comprises two tear initiation points
as described herein. The arrangement of this disclosure provides
the web material with increased tensile strength so as to avoid
breaking during the conventional vertical-form-fill-and-seal
process or horizontal-form-fill-and-seal process, but also provides
a user an easy-to-start tear area to open the package with wide
opening for pouring. Similarly, the two tear initiation point
arrangement of this disclosure provides for an easier tear
propagation across the package seal. Also, the tear arrangement of
this disclosure increases the likelihood that the tear will
propagate in a line linking the two tear initiation points, all the
way across the package, so that the end of the package is
relatively easily and completely removed to allow unrestricted
access to the package's contents.
[0038] These and other benefits may become clearer upon making a
thorough review and study of the following detailed description.
Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2,
an example package that is compatible with many of these teachings
will now be presented. A package 10 includes a web material 12 with
a first edge portion 14 and a second edge portion 16 opposite the
first edge portion 14 that are sealed together in a seal 18. The
package 10 includes a first sealed end 20 at a first end 22 of the
seal 18 and a second sealed end 24 at a second end 26 of the seal
18. Any of the above described seals may be made by conventional
methods, including, for example, the application of heat and
pressure to create a laminate seal. With these seals, the contents
of the package 10 are protected from outside elements such as
moisture and/or oxygen that may affect the quality of the
contents.
[0039] The first sealed end 20 and the second sealed end 24 define
a first package side edge 28 and a second package side edge 30
wherein the first package side edge 28 and the second package side
edge 30 are folded web material created by and between the edges of
the sealed ends 20 and 24. The folded web material may be creased
along fold lines 15 and 17 to better define the side edges for the
user or may be rounded portions of the web material transitioning
from the front of the package 10 to the back.
[0040] With continuing reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the package
10 also includes tear initiation points 31 and 32 located on one of
the package side edges and the seal 18. Both tear initiation points
are preferably aligned substantially perpendicular to the package
side edges.
[0041] With such tear initiation point arrangement, the package 10
substantially tears along a line linking both tear initiation
points and across the seal 18 without substantially varying from
this line when a separating force is applied by a user at the tear
initiation point on the package side edge as shown in FIGS. 3 and
4. This arrangement greatly improves the ease at which the package
10 begins tearing and continues tearing through the seal 18 without
a substantial increase in tearing force applied by the user. So
configured, the user may more easily remove the entire package end
to release the package contents 11 as illustrated in FIG. 5.
Moreover, the web material 12 maintains sufficient tensile strength
to withstand the vertical-form-fill-and-seal process or the
horizontal-form-fill-and-seal process substantially without
breaking.
[0042] Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 6 through 9, the seal 18 of the
first edge portion 14 to the second edge portion 16 of the web
material 12 may include any type of seal known in the art but will
typically comprise a fin-type seal 52 or an overlap seal 62. Such
seals are known in the art, but will be described briefly for
clarity. With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, a fin-type seal 52 is
formed by folding the web material 12 such that the inner portions
46 of the first edge portion 14 and second edge portion 16 touch.
These edge portions are sealed together and folded against the
package 10, thereby creating a "fin." One tear initiating point 31
is located on the fin seal 52 and the other tear initiation point
32 is located at a position on the package side edge that the fin
seal 52 is folded toward as shown in FIG. 7.
[0043] With reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, an overlap seal 62 is
formed by folding the web material 12 such that one of either the
first edge portion 14 and second edge portion 16 overlaps the
other. FIG. 8, for example, shows the first edge portion 14
overlapping with the second edge portion 16. These edge portions
are then sealed together, eliminating a need for a folded portion
like the fin-type seal 52. The first tear initiation point 32 is
located on any one of the package edges. The second tear initiation
point 31 is located on one of the seal ends (14 as shown in FIG. 8)
that is folded toward the package edge having the first tear
initiation point. Optionally additional tear initiation point(s)
may exist on the other seal ends.
[0044] With reference to FIG. 10, a method for manufacturing a
package 10 according to the teachings of this disclosure will be
described. The method includes feeding the web material 12 into a
vertical-form-fill-and-seal-process device 200 and creating tear
initiation points on the seal. The web material 12 is sealed along
a vertical direction to form at least one seal 18, and advanced
within the vertical-form-fill-and-seal-process device 200. The web
material 12 is sealed and cut horizontally across the at least one
seal 18 at a first end 22 of the package 10. The web material 12 is
then cut at a second end 26 of the package 10. Both tear initiation
points 31 and 32 may be created on the web material by laser beam
or mechanical cut during or after the
vertical-form-fill-and-seal-process.
[0045] Although the vertical-form-fill-and-seal-process device 200
depicted in FIG. 10 is designed to create a fin-type seal, the
above described method can be applied to any of the other package
seals described herein, including, for example, an overlap seal
package.
[0046] Although the vertical-form-fill-and-seal-process device 200
depicted in FIG. 10 is illustrated. The package of this disclosure
may also be formed by horizontal-form-fill-and-seal-process.
[0047] In another embodiment of this disclosure, the seal end 20 is
an L shape seal as shown in FIG. 11, where the tear initiation
point 32A is located on the sealing area to improve the integrity
of the package. The L-shape seal where the tear initiation point
32A located preferably does not overlap with seal 18.
[0048] In another embodiment of this disclosure as shown in FIG.
12, the tear initiation point 32B is located on the seal end 20 to
improve the integrity of the package. The package substantially
tears along the line linking both tear initiation points and across
the seal when a separating force is applied by a user at the tear
initiation point 32B on the package side edge.
[0049] In some embodiments, the tear initiation points are created
by mechanical cut, laser scoring, or any other methods know in the
art.
[0050] In preferred embodiments, the web material comprises OPP
films, preferably metallized OPP films, cavitated OPP films
etc.
[0051] Both tear initiation points are aligned substantially
perpendicular to the package side edge. The term "substantially
perpendicular" as used herein means the angle between line linking
both tear initiation points and the package side edge is 90.+-.45
degree, preferably 90.+-.30 degree, most preferably 90.+-.15
degree.
[0052] The web material useful for this disclosure comprises a
polymeric film, preferably a polypropylene film having at least one
layer, i.e., the core layer. The polymeric film may further
comprise additional layer(s), such as skin layer, sealant layer,
tie layer, metal deposit layer, and any combination thereof. The
polymeric film may be oriented uniaxially or biaxially.
[0053] In some embodiments, the web material may comprise a
propylene polymer, ethylene polymer, isotactic polypropylene
("iPP"), high crystallinity polypropylene ("HCPP"), low
crystallinity polypropylene, isotactic and syndiotactic
polypropylene, ethylene-propylene ("EP") copolymers, and
combinations thereof.
[0054] In a preferred embodiment, the web material is an iPP
homopolymer. Examples of suitable commercially available iPP
include: PP4712E1 from ExxonMobil Chemical Company, and Total
Polypropylene 3371 from Total Petrochemcials. An example of a
useful HCPP is Total Polyproplene 3270 (commercially available from
Total Petrochemicals).
[0055] In some embodiments, an outer skin layer is provided as the
sealant layer known to a person skilled in the art.
[0056] The web material may be uniaxially or biaxially oriented.
Orientation in the direction of extrusion is known as machine
direction ("MD") orientation. Orientation perpendicular to the
direction of extrusion is known as transverse direction ("TD")
orientation. Orientation may be accomplished by stretching or
pulling a film first in the MD followed by the TD. Orientation may
be sequential or simultaneous, depending upon the desired film
features. Preferred orientation ratios are commonly from between
about three to about six times the extruded width in the MD and
between about four to about ten times the extruded width in the
TD.
[0057] One or both of the outer exposed surfaces of the web
material may be surface-treated to increase the surface energy of
the film to render the film receptive to metallization, coatings,
printing inks, and/or lamination. The surface treatment can be
carried out according to one or the methods known in the art.
Preferred methods include, but are not limited to, corona
discharge, flame treatment, plasma treatment, chemical treatment,
or treatment by means of a polarized flame.
[0058] One or both of the outer exterior surfaces of the web
material may be metallized. Generally, the metallized layer is one
of the outer skin and/or sealant layers. Such layers may be
metallized using conventional methods, such as vacuum deposition of
a metal layer such as aluminum, copper, silver, chromium, or
mixtures thereof.
[0059] The web material useful for this disclosure comprises no
metal foil, such as aluminum foil.
[0060] In other embodiments, this disclosure relates to a method of
manufacturing a package comprising: [0061] a. forming a package
comprising a web material with a first edge portion and a second
edge portion, the first edge portion and the second edge portion
being sealed together to form a seal having two seal ends, the
package having a first package end at one seal end and a second
package end at the other seal end; [0062] wherein the first package
end and the second package end define a first package side edge and
a second package side edge, wherein the first package side edge and
the second package side edge comprise folded web material, and
wherein the seal is a fin seal or an overlap seal; [0063] b.
generating a first tear initiation point located on the first
package side edge; and [0064] c. generating a second tear
initiation point, [0065] wherein the second tear initiation point
is located on the fin seal, the fin seal being folded toward the
first package side edge; or wherein the second tear initiation
point is located on one of the edge portions of the overlap seal,
the one of the edge portions of the overlap seal being folded
toward the first packing side edge.
[0066] In some aspects, the step (a) comprises
vertical-form-fill-and-seal package or
horizontal-form-fill-and-seal package.
[0067] In other aspects, the first tear initiation point and/or the
second tear initiation point is generated by laser scoring the web
material prior to form the package or the first tear initiation
point is generated by mechanical cut inside the seal area of one of
the seal end.
[0068] In further other aspects, the second tear initiation point
is generated by mechanical cut of the fin seal or one of the edge
portions of the overlap seal.
Examples
[0069] The following table compares various package configurations
to demonstrate the advantage of this invention. The web materials
used in these examples are multilayer films having a metallized OPP
(Met OPP) core layer, a propylene-ethylene copolymer (PE) sealant
layer and an outside skin layer consisting of PET, paper or OPP.
Examples 1 and 3 demonstrated the advantage of this disclosure.
Examples 2 and 4 are comparative examples.
TABLE-US-00001 Example Packaging Structure Seal type Tear
initiation point type Result 1 PET/Met OPP/PE sealant Fin
Mechanical cuts (the fin seal folded Easy and clean open Paper/Met
OPP/PE sealant toward from the package with cut) OPP/Met OPP/PE
sealant 2 PET/Met OPP/PE sealant Fin Mechanical cuts (the fin seal
folded away Difficult, or Paper/Met OPP/PE sealant from the package
with cut) impossible to open OPP/Met OPP/PE sealant at the seal 3
OPP/Met OPP/PE sealant Lap Mechanical cut in package side and lap
Easy and clean open under fold 4 OPP/Met OPP/PE sealant Lap
Mechanical cut in package side only Difficult, or impossible to
open at the seal
[0070] Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety
of modifications, alterations, and combinations can be made with
respect to the above described embodiments without departing from
the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, many of the
example embodiments discussed herein refer to generally rectangular
shaped packages with specified, distinct edges. Other
configurations such as oval or round packages are possible. Also,
any variation of multiple scoring lines to provide multiple tear
lines in a package can be provided. Such modifications,
alterations, and combinations are to be viewed as being within the
ambit of the inventive concept.
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