Easy opening packaging article made from heat-shrinkable film exhibiting directional tear

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9561889-B2
Application number	US-15268608-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 16, 2008
Priority date	May 21, 2007
Publication date	Feb 7, 2017
Grant date	Feb 7, 2017

Abstract

A packaging article has tear initiators for initiating a manual tear that can be propagated to open a package and allow a product to be readily removed therefrom, without the use of a knife or scissors or any other implement. The packaging article is made from a heat-shrinkable multilayer film having at least one layer containing an incompatible polymer blend, and/or a layer containing an inorganic filler, and/or a layer having a high Young's modulus. The film also has a Peak Load Impact Strength of at least 50 Newtons per mil, The tear initiators can be used to generate a manual machine direction tears to open the package, with the manual machine direction tear being capable of propagating in the machine direction to the opposite edge of the packaging article. A process for making a package and manually opening the package is also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A heat-shrinkable packaging article comprising a heat-shrinkable multilayer film having an inside seal layer heat sealed to itself at a heat seal, the article comprising a first side, a second side, and a skirt or header outward of the heat seal, the skirt or header comprising an article edge and a first tear initiator, the first tear initiator being in the first side of the article, the article skirt or header also comprising a second tear initiator, the second tear initiator being in the second side of the article, the article being capable of having a manually-initiated, manually-propagated first tear in the first side of the article, and a manually-initiated and manually-propagated second tear in the second side of the article, the first tear and the second tear each being capable of being propagated in a machine direction from the respective first and second tear initiators, with each tear being propagated in the machine direction through the heat seal and down the length of the article, or across the article, with each tear being capable of being manually propagated in the machine direction through and to an opposite article edge after shrinking the film around a product, so that upon using the multilayer film to make a packaged product by providing the product inside the article with the article being sealed closed around the product so that a package is formed, and thereafter shrinking the film around the product, the resulting package can be manually opened, and the product readily removed from the article, by manually initiating machine-direction tears from the first and second tear initiators, with the tears being manually propagated through the seal and down the length of the article, for a distance up to the full length of the article and to the opposite edge of the article, with the heat-shrinkable multilayer film exhibiting a Peak Load Impact Strength of at least 50 Newtons per mil measured using ASTM D 3763-95A, with at least one layer of the multilayer film containing an incompatible polymer blend
of from 80 to 35 weight percent ethylene/alpha-olefin copolymer with from 20 to 65 weight percent ethylene/unsaturated ester copolymer having an unsaturated ester content of from 12 to 30 weight percent based on copolymer weight, the multilayer film containing the blend in an amount of from 20 to 95 weight percent, based on the weight of the multilayer film, and wherein the multilayer film has been biaxially oriented in the solid state and has a total free shrink, as measured by ASTM D 2732, of from 15 percent to 120 percent at 185° F., and
wherein the packaging article does not comprise a patch thereon, and wherein the multilayer film has a thickness, before shrinking, of from 1.5 to 10 mils.

2. The heat-shrinkable packaging article according to claim 1 , wherein the ethylene/alpha-olefin copolymer comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of:
(i) ethylene/hexene copolymer having a density of from about 0.90 g/cc to about 0.925 g/cc, and
(ii) ethylene/octene copolymer having a density of from about 0.90 g/cc to about 0.925 g/cc.

3. The heat-shrinkable packaging article according to claim 2 , wherein the incompatible polymer blend (A) comprises a blend of ethylene/alpha-olefin copolymer and ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer having a vinyl acetate content of from 12 to 30 weight percent based on copolymer weight, the blend containing the ethylene/alpha-olefin copolymer in an amount of from 75 to 45 weight percent based on blend weight and the ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer in an amount of from 25 to 55 weight percent based on blend weight, the multilayer film containing the blend in an amount of from 30 to 70 weight percent, based on the weight of the multilayer film, and wherein the multilayer film has been biaxially oriented in the solid state and has a total free shrink, as measured by ASTM D 2732, of from 20 percent to 105 percent at 185° F.

4. The heat-shrinkable packaging article according to claim 2 , wherein the incompatible polymer blend (A) comprises a blend of ethylene/alpha-olefin copolymer and ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer having a vinyl acetate content of from 12 to 30 weight percent, the blend containing the ethylene/alpha-olefin copolymer in an amount of from 70 to 50 percent based on blend weight and the ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer in an amount of from 30 to 50 weight percent based on blend weight, the multilayer film containing the blend in an amount of from 30 to 70 weight percent, based on the weight of the multilayer film, and wherein the multilayer film has been biaxially oriented in the solid state and has a total free shrink, as measured by ASTM D 2732, of from 40 percent to 100 percent at 185° F.

5. The packaging article according to claim 1 , wherein the packaging article is a lay-flat, end-seal bag made from a seamless tubing, the end-seal bag having an open top, first and second folded side edges, and an end seal across a bottom of the bag, with the first and second tear initiators being in the bag skirt that is outward of the end seal, with the first tear being a machine-direction tear of the film, and the second tear being a machine-direction tear of the film, with each tear being capable of being manually propagated down the length of the end-seal bag to the opposite edge of the end-seal bag.

6. The packaging article according to claim 1 , wherein the packaging article is a lay-flat, side-seal bag made from a seamless tubing, the side-seal bag having an open top, a folded bottom edge, and first and second side seals with respective first and second bag skirts outward of respective first and second side seals, with the first and second tear initiators being in the first bag skirt and outward of the first side seal, with the first tear being a machine-direction tear and the second tear being a machine-direction tear, with each tear being capable of being manually propagated across the full width of the side-seal bag to the opposite edge of the side-seal bag.

7. The packaging article according to claim 1 , wherein the packaging article is a lay-flat, side-seal bag made from a seamless tubing, the side-seal bag having an open top, a folded bottom edge, a first side seal with a first bag skirt outward thereof, a second side seal with a second bag skirt outward thereof, and a third seal that extends from the first side seal to the second side seal, the third seal being at an opposite end of the bag from the open top, the third seal having a third bag skirt outward thereof, the folded bottom edge being in the third bag skirt, the third bag skirt comprising the first and second tear initiators, with the first tear being a transverse-direction tear and the second tear being a transverse-direction tear, with the first and second tears each being capable of being manually propagated down the length of the side-seal bag and to the opposite edge of the side-seal bag.

8. The packaging article according to claim 1 , wherein the packaging article is a lay-flat pouch made by heat sealing two flat films to one another, the pouch having an open top, a first side seal with a first bag skirt outward thereof, a second side seal with a second bag skirt outward thereof, a bottom seal with a third bag skirt outward thereof, the bottom seal extending from the first side seal to the second side seal, the bottom seal being at an opposite end of the bag from the open top, with at least one of the bag skirts having first and second tear initiators for tearing each of the two flat films in the machine direction.

9. The packaging article according to claim 1 , wherein the heat-shrinkable multilayer film exhibits a Peak Load Impact Strength, determined using ASTM D 3763-95A, of from 50 to 250 Newton

Assignees

• Dayrit Richard M
• Odabashian Robert A
• Rivett Janet W
• Kennedy Thomas D
• Huerta Diana
• Bonner Tom
• Hodgson Rodney R
• Mossbrook Mendy W
• Stockley H Walker
• Watson Richard K
• Cryovac Inc

Inventors

• Dayrit Richard M
• Odabashian Robert A
• Rivett Janet W
• Kennedy Thomas D
• Huerta Diana
• Bonner Tom
• Hodgson Rodney R
• Mossbrook Mendy W
• Stockley H Walker
• Watson Richard K

Classifications

• B32B27/20

  using fillers, pigments, thixotroping agents · CPC title

• B65D75/58

  Opening or contents-removing devices added or incorporated during package manufacture {(B65D75/36, B65D85/1027 take precedence)} · CPC title

• B65D75/5838

  combined with separate fixed tearing means, e.g. tabs · CPC title

• B29C65/405

  characterised by the composition of the applied molten plastics (B29C65/425 takes precedence) · CPC title

• Y10T428/1328

  Shrinkable or shrunk [e.g., due to heat, solvent, volatile agent, restraint removal, etc.] · CPC title