Flexible bags – Bag having means to facilitate opening it by severing bag...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-09
2004-04-27
Pascua, Jes F. (Department: 3727)
Flexible bags
Bag having means to facilitate opening it by severing bag...
C383S116000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06726363
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a packing with a tear aid and sealed edges, made from a film-like laminate material, a process for production of the packing, means for production of the packing and use of the packing.
2. Background Art
Sealed edge bags are known, for example, which are used for packing powdery or solid fillings. Typical fillings can come from the area of foodstuffs and luxuries such as powdered instant coffee or chocolate bars, dairy produce such as yoghurt and the like. The packing must protect the filling against mechanical, chemical and physical influences. Therefore, in many cases such packings are made from multilayer materials where individual material layers or a material layer combination can have a specific protective function. The packing material must, for example, be tear-resistant. This requires very extendible or stretchable materials of high structural strength. Opening packings made from such materials is difficult and cannot be achieved without the aid of scissors or a knife. To facilitate opening without a tool, therefore, tear aids are regularly fitted to the packing. A tear aid can, for example, be a notch on the outer edge of a sealing seam. The material of the packing equipped in this way can be torn open very easily, on further tearing through the bag wall the direction of tear can no longer be controlled and the resulting opening is often incomplete or leads to the center through a side wall. The tear aid must be applied in the packing machine. This reduces the operating speed of the packing machine. In many cases attempts are made to eliminate the disadvantages by placing a tear strip between two material layers, and by pulling of the tear strip the packing material is split. The resulting opening is clearly defined but the production of this tear aid is complex and leads to inflexible production processes.
BROAD DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The task of the present invention is to propose a packing which offers optimum protection to the filling but nonetheless is easy to open, can be produced in a simple manner and minimizes the use of machines while retaining maximum freedom with regard to packing design.
According to the invention this is achieved by the film-like laminate material being multilayer and at least one material layer of the laminate has no weakened zones and at least one material layer of the laminate has weakened zones and the weakened zones on the packing lie at least partly in the area of the filling cavity.
Examples of packings according to the present inventions are sachets, such as, flat sachets, sealed edge sachets, cavity sachets, self-supporting cavity sachets or hose sachets, or bags such as welded flat or folded bags. Similarly the packing can have at least one sealing seam on a side edge, e.g., a sealing seam such as a hot or cold sealing seam, weld seam or glue seam. Depending on the method of production, flat sachets can, for example, have three or four sealing seams on three or four side edges, a hose sachet can have an upper and a lower transverse seam or an upper and a lower and a back seam such as an overlapping or folded back seam.
The weakened zones on the packing according to the invention preferably lie in the area of the sealed edges and/or in areas in which by folding and/or sealing, the laminate material forms two or more layers. The weakened zones can for example extend from an outer border of a sealed edge, through this to over the filling cavity of a packing. One or more of the weakened zones can for example extend from an outer edge of a packing over the filling cavity of a packing. One or more of the weakened zones can for example also extend only over the cavity of a packing. Several weakened zones are advantageously located in a substantially straight line. Weakened zones are advantageously placed in the area of an edge closure or sealed edge closure of a packing. For example, the area, measured from an edge closure or sealed edge closure, can extend up to 50 mm, suitably up to 20 mm, over the filling cavity. The area can also extend at a distance of 2 to 20 mm parallel to an edge closure or sealed edge closure over the filling cavity in a width of for example 5 to 50 mm, suitably 5 to 20 mm.
The film-like laminate material is multilayer, for example, two, three, four layer, etc. The individual material layers can be lacquer applications, metal films, metallised coatings or films of plastics, in particular thermoplastics, or laminates of metal films and plastic films. One or more material layers can be extruded and in particular melt-extruded layers or films of thermoplastics, where applicable laminated with metal or plastic films. At least one material layer can be a lacquer application, such as, a clear lacquer, a color lacquer, a hot melt coating, etc. At least one material layer can be a metallized coating or a ceramic thin coating deposited from a vacuum. Between the individual coatings can be adhesives, extrusion adhesives, adhesion promotion agents and/or primers. To increase the mutual adhesion of the coatings, the surfaces of the films, coatings or material layers can for example be subjected to corona, flame, ozone or plasma treatment.
Material layers of thermoplastics can be transparent, translucent or opaque. For example the material layer, film or coating on the outside of the packing can be printed. In the case of a transparent or translucent outer material layer, film or coating, counter-printing or external printing and counter-printing can be applied.
For metal films, for example, steel foils and preferably aluminum foils are used. The thickness of the foil can for example be 5 to 100 mm, preferably 8 to 30 mm.
Suitable plastic films are suitably made of thermoplastics, such as, polyesters, polyolefins such as polypropylenes or polyethylenes, polyamides, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, etc., or cellulose-containing materials such as cellophane. Plastic films can be monofilms or film laminates. The thickness of the plastic films can, for example, be 8 to 100 mm, preferably 12 to 30 mm and in particular 12 to 23 mm.
Extruded or melt-extruded layers can for example be made of polyolefins, such as, polypropylenes or polyethylenes. The thickness of the extrudates can, for example, be 8 to 100 mm, preferably 12 to 30 mm, and in particular 12 to 23 mm.
The side of the laminate material facing the inside of the packing can advantageously be sealed. Where applicable the side of the laminate material facing the outside can also be sealed.
Examples of multilayer laminates are laminates containing a first material layer and a second material layer. The first material layer can be a film such as a monofilm or laminate of thermoplastics such as polyesters, polyolefins such as polypropylenes or polyethylenes, polyamides, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, etc., or cellulose-containing materials such as cellophane or papers. The film can be printed and/or counter-printed on the side of the finished packing facing the outside. The second material layer can, for example, be a metal foil or metal film with a sealing coating applied to the side of the finished packing facing the inside, or a sealable film. The second material layer can in another embodiment be a sealable film of thermoplastic or an extrusion layer of a thermoplastic which is preferably sealable. Where applicable, papers can be used, e.g., coated papers as a second material layer. Where applicable as the second material layer lacquer coatings or paint applications can be used. The lacquers can be clear, opaque or colorless or colored. Depending on the product to be packed, the laminate material can have barrier properties against the penetration of fluids, gases, vapors, water vapor, aromas or flavorings, etc. To achieve barrier properties one can use metal foils, metallized coatings, e.g., of aluminum, ceramic thin coatings, e.g., from silicon oxides and/or aluminum oxide applied by sputtering or deposition under vacuum, or plastic films, e.g., materials from the range
Cerf Sabine
Marbler Claude A.
Alcan Technology & Management Ltd.
Fisher Christen & Sabol
Pascua Jes F.
LandOfFree
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