EP2765092B1 - Verpackung mit mehreren Fächern ohne Ablage mit starrem Rahmen - Google Patents

Verpackung mit mehreren Fächern ohne Ablage mit starrem Rahmen Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2765092B1
EP2765092B1 EP13154221.9A EP13154221A EP2765092B1 EP 2765092 B1 EP2765092 B1 EP 2765092B1 EP 13154221 A EP13154221 A EP 13154221A EP 2765092 B1 EP2765092 B1 EP 2765092B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
films
package
film
compartment
crystallizable
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Active
Application number
EP13154221.9A
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP2765092A1 (de
Inventor
Christoforos Chrysanthidis
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Cryovac LLC
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Cryovac LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Cryovac LLC filed Critical Cryovac LLC
Priority to EP13154221.9A priority Critical patent/EP2765092B1/de
Priority to ES13154221.9T priority patent/ES2554997T3/es
Priority to NZ617719A priority patent/NZ617719A/en
Priority to AU2014200194A priority patent/AU2014200194B2/en
Priority to US14/171,105 priority patent/US20140216975A1/en
Publication of EP2765092A1 publication Critical patent/EP2765092A1/de
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP2765092B1 publication Critical patent/EP2765092B1/de
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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D79/00—Kinds or details of packages, not otherwise provided for
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
    • B65D81/32—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents for packaging two or more different materials which must be maintained separate prior to use in admixture
    • B65D81/3261—Flexible containers having several compartments
    • B65D81/3272—Flexible containers having several compartments formed by arranging one flexible container within another
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B11/00—Wrapping, e.g. partially or wholly enclosing, articles or quantities of material, in strips, sheets or blanks, of flexible material
    • B65B11/50—Enclosing articles, or quantities of material, by disposing contents between two sheets, e.g. pocketed sheets, and securing their opposed free margins
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B25/00—Packaging other articles presenting special problems
    • B65B25/06—Packaging slices or specially-shaped pieces of meat, cheese, or other plastic or tacky products
    • B65B25/068—Packaging slices or specially-shaped pieces of meat, cheese, or other plastic or tacky products of cheese
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B2230/00—Aspects of the final package
    • B65B2230/02—Containers having separate compartments isolated from one another
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D65/00—Wrappers or flexible covers; Packaging materials of special type or form
    • B65D65/38—Packaging materials of special type or form
    • B65D65/46—Applications of disintegrable, dissolvable or edible materials
    • B65D65/466—Bio- or photodegradable packaging materials
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D75/00—Packages comprising articles or materials partially or wholly enclosed in strips, sheets, blanks, tubes, or webs of flexible sheet material, e.g. in folded wrappers
    • B65D75/28—Articles or materials wholly enclosed in composite wrappers, i.e. wrappers formed by associating or interconnecting two or more sheets or blanks
    • B65D75/30—Articles or materials enclosed between two opposed sheets or blanks having their margins united, e.g. by pressure-sensitive adhesive, crimping, heat-sealing, or welding
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
    • B65D81/18—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient
    • B65D81/20—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas
    • B65D81/2007—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas under vacuum
    • B65D81/2023—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas under vacuum in a flexible container
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D81/00—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents
    • B65D81/18—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient
    • B65D81/20—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas
    • B65D81/2069—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas in a special atmosphere
    • B65D81/2084—Containers, packaging elements, or packages, for contents presenting particular transport or storage problems, or adapted to be used for non-packaging purposes after removal of contents providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure, or in a special atmosphere, e.g. of inert gas in a special atmosphere in a flexible container

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a multi-compartment tray-less package wherein at least two products in stack are contained into individual compartments delimited by films, in particular to a multi-compartment tray-less package characterized by a peripheral rigid frame obtained by partial heat-induced crystallization of the films along the sealing area during the sealing operation.
  • the present invention also relates to methods for manufacturing such packages.
  • sterilized items such as cannulae, plasters, needles, bandages etc, when packaged in mono-compartment packages, must all be used immediately after removal otherwise contamination by environment bacteria or drying of dipped medicated items may occur.
  • multi-compartment packaging systems which provide for individually packaged items or for packaging of single quantity of products, have been provided.
  • US4069348 discloses a sealed package wherein a plurality of portions of products in a stack are hermetically sealed into individual compartments by internal films which are releasably sealed to a backing board. When an individual portion of product is removed, all others remain hermetically sealed.
  • WO8702965 discloses a method to manufacture a package for skin wrapped food comprising a base - i.e. a rigid tray - and a lid with a gas between the base and the lid in order to preserve the food properties.
  • the package also comprises a flexible and gas permeable web of skin wrapping plastics material over the base and the food.
  • a multi-compartment version of this package comprising a rigid container is disclosed.
  • Useful plastics materials are polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene (PE).
  • WO8800907 (Garwood LTD) discloses an improvement of the method of WO8702965 .
  • the package comprises a rigid tray made of PVC and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) which contains skin wrapped food. Said food is plastered with a flexible and gas permeable web made of plastic material which is sealed onto the rim of the tray.
  • the package also comprises a gas-impermeable lid made of PET/PVC/PET which can have a compartment to store sauce or cutlery.
  • DE4440727 (Beiersdorf AG) discloses a package containing at least 2 plasters which are separated by a layer of material and which are enclosed between upper and lower cover layers, wherein the layers may be made of several different polymers. The layers are bonded together by sealing, cold sealing, gluing or their combinations.
  • EP 1 291 294 A1 discloses a package according to the preamble of claim 1.
  • GB 1 361 868 discloses a method of making rigid packages from flexible films.
  • multi-compartment packages known in the art need a supporting tray or a thick backboard to confer rigidity to the system. Trays significantly increase the volume of the packages and the ratio between the weight of the plastic materials and the weight of the packaged item, resulting in less sustainable packages.
  • tray and the lids or wrapping films of multi-compartment packages of the prior art are made of different materials, thus making recycling and/or disposal of the entire package more troublesome.
  • a second object of the present invention is a method for manufacturing the multi-compartment package of the present invention, such a method comprising the steps of:
  • the term "tray-less package” refers to a package in which a rigid tray, container, receptacle, backing board, plate and equivalent rigidity-conferring supporting means commonly used in the packaging field, placed outside the sealed compartments and to which the films are connected (i.e. sealed, glued etc..), is absent.
  • tray-less package does not exclude the presence of pads or other flexible, semi-rigid or rigid supports enclosed within one or more of the sealed compartments i.e. does not exclude completely enclosed supporting means. Said enclosed supporting means are not sealed together with the films in stack but are completely enclosed within the sealed compartment.
  • tray-less does not exclude that the present package may be further placed into a container, providing that it is not connected to it by circumferential sealing, gluing etc.
  • multi-compartment package refers to a package having more than one compartment in stack. This package contains more than one portion and / or more than one item of one or more products in stack, each portion and/or each item being enclosed in an individually sealed compartment.
  • compartment refers to a part of the present package delimited by two adjacent films - i.e. two internal films or an internal film and a outermost film - sealed together along a peripheral circumferential continuous seal.
  • Each compartment encloses at least a product.
  • outermost film refers to a plastic film wherein one of its outer surfaces is in contact with the product and the other one is in contact with the outside.
  • product(s) refers to both countable and uncountable products. In case of countable products, the term “products” refers to at least two items of said product(s) while in case of uncountable products, it refers to at least two portions.
  • two products refers to two items or portions of products packaged in the present package. Said “two products” maybe the same or different. If the two products are the same, the package contains either two items or two portions of that same product.
  • single portion of product refers to an amount of product which is contained in a compartment of the package object of the present invention.
  • any arrangement of the one or more portions and/or items of the one or more product(s) in the sealed compartments of the present multi-compartment package is intended to be within the scope of the present invention - i.e. different items or portions of one product, each one singularly enclosed in a sealed compartment such as sterilized bandages or slices of ham; different items or portions of two or more products each one singularly enclosed in a sealed compartment such as slices of cheese / slices of ham / slices of salami each one packaged in a different compartment; different items or portions of a single product, more than one item or portion being enclosed in a sealed compartment such as two sterilized patches in the same compartment; different items or portions of two or more products, more than one item or portion of different products being enclosed in the same compartment such as a sterilized bandage and a plaster together in the same compartment etc.
  • internal film refers to a plastic film of the package wherein one of its surface is in contact with the product(s) enclosed in a first compartment and the other surface is in contact either with the product(s) of a second compartment or with the surface of another internal film.
  • the term "film” includes flexible plastic webs, regardless of whether it is a film or a sheet or a laminate.
  • the film used in the package object of the present invention has a thickness from 100 ⁇ m to 5 ⁇ m; more preferably from 60 ⁇ m to 7 ⁇ m, even more preferably from 40 ⁇ m to 10 ⁇ m.
  • the outer films and the internal film(s) have the same thickness, however they may also be of different thickness.
  • the phrase "which seals the films in stack together" when referred to the peripheral circumferential continuous seal means that all or, in alternative, some of the films in stack are sealed together while some others may be glued.
  • the package may be assembled by stacking the sealed compartments and by gluing them together, as described for instance in a third variant of the manufacturing process of the present package.
  • the crystallinity induced in the sealing area of each single independent compartments is sufficient to confer a suitable rigidity to the final frame after assembly of the package by gluing.
  • frame means the rigid peripheral circumferential continuous partially crystallized edge obtainable by sealing the outermost and internal plastic film(s) of the package to each other in stack.
  • rigid refers to the flexural rigidity of the frame. Independently of the test method adopted to evaluate the rigidity of the frame, in the present context “rigid” means that the frame obtained by sealing the outermost and internal plastic film(s) of the package to each other in stack has a rigidity higher than the rigidity of the same stack of outermost and internal plastic film(s) before sealing.
  • Flexural resistance to bending can be measured for instance by Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) according to ASTM 4065 or with a dynamometer in line with ASTM D790 and can be expressed in N/m 2 as resistance of the frame to bending.
  • DMA Dynamic Mechanical Analysis
  • Rigidity requirements of the present package may change depending on the products packaged, its final use and destination etc... However the skilled person is able to select both crystallizable polymer(s) and optimal sealing conditions in order to impart to the package the stiffness required by the intended use.
  • the stack of outermost and internal plastic film(s) before sealing is rather flexible.
  • the at least partial crystallization of the films induced by heat and pressure in correspondence of the sealing area forms the frame and imparts a rigidity which is higher than the rigidity of the starting stack of films.
  • the frame depending on the level of crystallization induced, on the thickness and width of the sealing area etc.., may still be partially flexible or semi-rigid, but it has to be understood that its rigidity is always higher than the rigidity of the starting stack of films before sealing.
  • sealing refers to the bonding of plastic films obtainable by application of all those sealing techniques which are able to induce an at least partial crystallization of the crystallizable polymer(s) of the films along the sealing area, such as for instance hot bar sealing or ultrasonic welding techniques.
  • crystallizable when referred to polymers, plastic films or sheets, means that the polymer, the film or sheet comprising the polymer can crystallize under sealing conditions, e.g. upon heating and/or compression.
  • crystalized or crystalline polymer As used herein, the terms "crystallized or crystalline" polymer, resin, polyester etc.. refer to homopolymers and copolymers, compounded formulations or recyclates, having a definite melting temperature.
  • crystallizable polymer(s) refers to polymer, homopolymers, copolymers, blends, compounded formulations or recyclates, resins, etc able to crystallize at the sealing conditions adopted during the sealing step.
  • suitable crystallizable polymers are crystallizable polypropylene(s) homo- or copolymers, high density polyethylenes (HDPEs), medium density polyethylenes (MDPEs), polyesters, biodegradable polyesters such as polylactic acids (PLAs), polyamides such as PA6, preferably added with nucleating agents, polystyrenes (PS), more preferably crystallizable polyesters, and their blends.
  • polymer or polypropylene or polyethylene or polyester (based) when referred to the film or film composition means that the film is a mono- or multilayer film comprising at least 30% by weight, with respect to the total weight of the film, of a crystallizable polymer or polypropylene or polyethylene or polyester, preferably of a crystallizable polyester, more preferably at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% or 95%.
  • crystallizable polyester a polyester able to crystallize at temperatures typically ranging from 140°C to 220°C - temperatures generally adopted in the sealing stage of the manufacturing process - is meant.
  • the phrase "the polymer is at least partially crystallized” refers to a polymer which is at least partially crystalline.
  • at least partially crystalline polymer refers to a polymer, preferably a polyester, which has a percentage of crystallinity higher than 15%, preferably higher than 20%, more preferably higher than 25%, even more preferably higher than 30%.
  • the melting temperature of the polymer(s) and their crystallinity can be evaluated by Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) or by other equivalent procedures well known in the art.
  • DSC may be used to determine the degree of crystallinity of thermoplastic polymers through the measurement of the enthalpy of fusion (measurable following ASTM E793) and its normalization to the enthalpy of fusion of a 100 % crystalline polymer (see B. Wunderlich, Thermal Analysis, Academic Press, 1990, pp. 417-431 ).
  • the crystallinity of the crystallizable polymer(s) before the sealing step is substantially uniform across the whole film(s).
  • the crystallinity of the crystallizable polymer in correspondence of the sealing area i.e. in correspondence of the frame, is higher than the crystallinity of the same polymer in areas other than the sealing area.
  • “Higher than the crystallinity of the same polymer in areas other than the sealing area” means that the difference in the percentage of crystallinity of the polymer(s) of the frame with respect to the polymer(s) of the other parts of the present package is at least 5% preferably higher than 8%, more preferably higher than 10%
  • the phrases “seal layer”, “sealing layer”, “heat seal layer”, and “sealant layer”, refer to an outer layer involved in the sealing of the film to itself, to another film and/or to another article which is not a film.
  • peelable referred to a film or a sheet means that the films sealed to each other provide for a seal which is strong enough to guarantee the hermeticity of the package during its lifecycle but which can be easily opened by tearing apart by hand the two films that were joined by the seal.
  • each peelable film when peelable films are used, each peelable film is capable of forming a seal, under the application of heat and/or pressure, to a surface layer of another film of the package and the seal is breakable without fracture of the film.
  • a method of measuring the strength of a peelable seal also referred to as "peel strength" is described in ASTM F-88-00. Acceptable peel strength values generally range from 200 g/25 mm to 850 g/25 mm, from 300 g/25 mm to 830 g/25 mm, from 350 g/25 mm to 820 g/25 mm, from 400 g/25 mm to 800 g/25 mm.
  • EVOH refers to ethylene/vinyl alcohol copolymer.
  • EVOH includes saponified or hydrolyzed ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymers with a degree of hydrolysis preferably at least 50%, and more preferably, at least 85%.
  • the EVOH comprises from about 28 to about 48 mole % ethylene, more preferably from about 32 to about 44 mole % ethylene.
  • machine direction herein abbreviated “MD” or longitudinal direction “LD” refers to a direction “along the length” of the film, i.e., in the direction of the film as the film is formed during extrusion and/or coating.
  • TD transverse direction
  • crosswise direction refers to a direction across the film, perpendicular to the machine or longitudinal direction.
  • orientation ratio and “stretching ratio” refer to the multiplication product of the extent to which the plastic film material is expanded in the two directions perpendicular to one another, i.e. the machine direction and the transverse direction.
  • the overall film has an orientation ratio of 3*3 or 9:1.
  • heat-shrinkable refers to the tendency of the film to shrink upon the application of heat, i.e., to contract upon being heated, such that the size of the film decreases while the film is in an unrestrained state.
  • low heat-shrinkable As used herein, the phrases “low heat-shrinkable,” “low heat-shrink” or simply “low shrink films” and the like, refer to films with a free shrink in both machine and transversal directions, as measured by ASTM D 2732, lower than 10 % at 140 °C, more preferably lower than 5%.
  • polymer refers to the product of a polymerization reaction, and is inclusive of homo-polymers and co-polymers.
  • homopolymer is used with reference to a polymer resulting from the polymerization of a single monomer, i.e., a polymer consisting essentially of a single type of mer, i.e., repeating unit.
  • copolymer refers to polymers formed by the polymerization reaction of at least two different monomers.
  • copolymer is inclusive of terpolymers, random co- or terpolymers, block co- or terpolymers, and graft co- or terpolymers.
  • polyolefin refers to the polymer or co-polymer resulting from the polymerisation or copolymerisation of unsaturated aliphatic, linear or cyclic, straight or branched, hydrocarbon monomers that may be substituted or unsubstituted. More specifically, included in the term polyolefin are film-forming homo-polymers of olefin, co-polymers of olefin, co-polymers of an olefin and an non-olefinic co-monomer co-polymerizable with the olefin, such as vinyl monomers, and the like.
  • polyethylene homo-polymer polypropylene homo-polymer, polybutene homo-polymer, ethylene-alpha-olefin co-polymer, propylene-alpha-olefin co-polymer, butene-alpha-olefin co-polymer, ethylene-unsaturated ester co-polymer, ethylene-unsaturated acid co-polymer, (e.g., ethylene-(C 1 -C 4 )alkyl acrylate or methacrylate copolymers, such as for instance ethylene-ethyl acrylate co-polymer, ethylene-butyl acrylate co-polymer, ethylene-methyl acrylate co-polymer, ethylene-methyl methacrylate co-polymer, ethylene-acrylic acid co-polymer, and ethylene-methacrylic acid co-polymer), ionomer resin, polymethylpentene, etc.
  • the first object of the present invention is a tray-less multi-compartment package of individually sealed compartments comprising
  • the present package is a multi-compartment package comprising at least two compartments in stack, each compartment comprising at least a portion or a item of at least one product.
  • the present package is a bi-portion package comprising two compartments in stack.
  • the present package is a more than two i.e. tri or more- portion package comprising more than two compartments in stack.
  • the total number of compartments depends, inter alia, on the thickness of the product contained, i.e. the greater is the thickness of the product and the lower is the number of compartments of the package object of the present invention.
  • Internal plastic films are positioned between two subsequent portions of product(s) in the stack and are sealed, preferably peelably sealed, to each other along the frame.
  • the packages are advantageously provided with a tab facilitating the opening.
  • each internal film is in common between two adjacent compartments (as shown in Fig. 2A for a bi-compartments package) and the removal, one after the other, of the films -i.e. first an outer film and then the next internal film(s) - provides for the direct opening of each compartment.
  • the package is obtained by alternating the films and the products to be packaged in this order, up to the desired number of compartments is obtained.
  • the package object of the present invention generally comprises from 2 to 20 compartments, preferably from 2 to 10, more preferably from 2 to 5.
  • the number of films required for the package according to the present invention preferably ranges from at least n+1 to at most 2n, being n the number of compartments desired.
  • the package preferably comprises from 3 to 20 films.
  • the films can be hermetically sealed to each other by a single sealing step at the end of the stacking operation with an appropriate sealing bar which induces the partial crystallization of the sealing area, as represented in Figs. 7A and 7B .
  • the sealing bar when suitably shaped, may also thermoform the sealing area, thus further increasing the rigidity of the frame.
  • films with lower orientation ratios will be preferably selected.
  • a first sealed compartment, containing the product can be added with alternated product/film or film/product/film sequences in stack, each new added sequence being sealed progressively, as represented in Figs. 8A and 8B .
  • each compartment comprising two films and a portion of product may be sealed separately and then, the stacked compartments, sealed/glued together in subsequent steps, as represented in Figs. 9A and 9B .
  • the internal plastic film(s) (6) and the outermost plastic films (5) of the package according to the first object of the present invention are sealable and peelable films which allow the easy opening of each compartment and/or the easy detachment of each single compartment.
  • the peelable films comprise a peelable coating or a peelable sealant.
  • the outermost films and the internal film(s) used in the present package may be the same or different, preferably they are the same.
  • the outermost films used in the package object of the present invention may be transparent, opaque, colored by pigment additives or may have printing thereon or stickers or labels depending on the desired end use.
  • one of the two outermost films (5) is printed; in this case the packaging machine can house two rolls: one for the printed outermost film and the other for the non-printed films of the package.
  • the machine can be provided with an in-line printing system, as those commercialised for example by DIGI and a second roll of material is not needed.
  • the internal films (6) of the film used in the package object of the present invention are transparent.
  • the film used in the package object of the present invention has a thickness from 100 ⁇ m to 5 ⁇ m; more preferably from 60 ⁇ m to 7 ⁇ m, even more preferably from 40 ⁇ m to 10 ⁇ m.
  • the present multi- compartment packages allow for a significant reduction of packaging material with respect to the weight of the product packaged therein.
  • the shape of the frame and that of the (pre)-cut films according to the present invention are not limited.
  • they can independently be rectangular, round, oval, triangular or in general polygonal or they can follow the shape of the packaged product, thus having a better pack appearance and becoming more attractive for the consumer.
  • the package (1) can have for example a rectangular shape as showed in Figure 1 .
  • Each portion of the product (2) is enclosed in a respective sealed compartment.
  • the sealing step provides the package with a rigid frame (3) formed by the superimposed and heat-crystallized films.
  • the package is advantageously provided with a tab (4) for the easy peeling of the film(s).
  • Figures 2a and 2b show cross section views along the line A-A of the package of Figure 1 representing two different embodiments (1A and 1 B), each one comprising two outer films (5) and one or two internal films (6) respectively.
  • Figure 2a illustrates embodiment 1A in which only one internal film is interposed between the two products in stack while Figure 2b illustrates embodiment 1 B in which two films are interposed.
  • Figures 3A-3B and 3C-3E show the mechanism of opening of the packages illustrated under Figures 2A and 2B , in particular, they are cross-section views along the diagonal line B-B of said packages as disclosed in Figure 1 .
  • Figs. 3A - 3B show the opening of the package 1A having a single internal film (6) (embodiment A). By pulling one of the outermost films in correspondence of the tab (4), the respective compartment is directly opened and the content exposed for prompt use while the remaining package is still sealed.
  • Figs. 3C-3E show the opening of the package 1 B having of two internal films (6) (embodiment B).
  • the respective sealed compartment is detached: both the compartments are still sealed and the content still packaged in independent packages for a later use.
  • the package is advantageously designed such as to have an aperture (7) allowing hanging up the package to a vertical display.
  • the package is advantageously designed such as to have a hook (8) allowing to hang up the package to a vertical display.
  • MAP Modified atmosphere packaging
  • gas-flushing and “compensated vacuum”.
  • the compartments of the present multi-compartment package are under vacuum, thus advantageously extending the shelf-life of the enclosed perishable food products (vacuum packaging). In that case, air is removed from the compartments before sealing, then the compartments are hermetically sealed without any gas flushing or compensation.
  • the films comprise crystallizable polymer(s), namely polymer(s), homopolymer(s), copolymer(s), blends, compounded formulations or recyclates, resins which can crystallize at the sealing conditions adopted during the sealing step, i.e. upon heating and/or compression.
  • Crystallizable polymers are for instance crystallizable polypropylene(s) homo- or copolymers, high density polyethylenes (HDPEs), medium density polyethylenes (MDPEs), polyesters, biodegradable polyesters such as polylactic acids (PLAs), polyamides such as PA6, preferably added with nucleating agents, polystyrenes (PS), more preferably crystallizable polyesters, and their blends
  • the amount of the crystallizable polymer in the films of the present package with respect to the total weight of the films is at least 30% by weight, preferably at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% or 95%.
  • the package according to the first object of the present invention comprises polyester-based films each one having the same thickness and composition.
  • the films of the present package may be of different thickness and/or composition.
  • the crystallizable polyester resins preferably used for the present invention are able to crystallize upon heating, i.e. at temperatures - typically ranging from 140°C to 220°C - generally adopted in the sealing stage of the manufacturing process.
  • Crystallizable polyester resins preferably used for the present invention are able to crystallize under heating and/or under compression - e.g. by setting the sealing machine at temperatures typically ranging from 140°C to 220°C, preferably 170 to 200°C and/or at a pressure generally ranging from 2 to 8 bar, preferably 4 to 7 bar - temperature and pressure settings generally adopted in the sealing stage of the manufacturing process.
  • the films are mono- or multilayer films, preferably peelable films, each comprising at least 30% by weight, with respect to the total weight of the film, of a crystallizable polyester resin preferably at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% or 95%.
  • the percentage of crystallinity of the crystallizable polymer preferably of the crystallizable polyesters and/or copolyesters, will be higher than 15%, preferably higher than 20%, more preferably higher than 25%, even more preferably higher than 30% in correspondence of the sealing area, after the sealing step.
  • the percentage of crystallinity of the polyesters and co-polyesters suitable for the invention is evaluated by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), as known in the art (see B. Wunderlich, Thermal Analysis, Academic Press, 1990, pp. 417-431 ).
  • DSC Differential Scanning Calorimetry
  • Polyesters are polymers containing ester groups in their backbone chain obtained from the reaction of a diol with a diacid. In homopolyesters only one species of diol and of diacid are employed, while in co-polyesters at least one of the carboxylic acids or of the diols is used in combination of at least two species.
  • Suitable crystallizable polyesters for the films of the present package include homo-polyesters, such as poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate), poly(1,2-propylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene 2,5-dimethyl-terephthalate), poly(butylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene isophthalate), poly(ethylene 5-t-butyl-isophthalate), poly(butylene 2,6-naphthalate), and the like homopolymers, and co-polyesters where the diacid component is still mainly based on aromatic diacids such as terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, alkyl substituted-terephtahlic acid, alkyl-substituted isophthalic acid.
  • homo-polyesters such as poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate), poly(1,2-propylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene 2,5-dimethyl-terephthalate), poly
  • Suitable crystallizable homo-polyester and co-polyester resins are typically characterized by a high melting point (Tm), such as a Tm higher than 220 °C, preferably higher than 230 °C.
  • Tm high melting point
  • Example of crystallizable biodegradable polyesters are: polyglycolide (PGA) and its copolymers with caprolactone, lactide or trimethylene carbonate, polylactide (PLA), poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and poly(ethylene succinate), poly(butylene adipate-co-terephtalate (PBAT).
  • PLA polylactide
  • PLA poly(lactide-co-glycolide)
  • PBS Poly(butylene succinate)
  • PBAT poly(ethylene succinate), poly(butylene adipate-co-terephtalate
  • a suitable PLA is commercialized for example under the trade name of NatureWorks® by CargillDow.
  • a suitable PBAT is sold as Ecoflex® by BASF, Eastar Bio® by Eastman Chemical, Origo-Bi® by Novamont.
  • a multi-compartment package according to the present invention substantially made of crystallizable biodegradable polyester(s) will be particularly preferred as even more eco-friendly.
  • Polyesteramides may also be used such as those commercialised by Bayer under the trade name BAK®.
  • the crystallizable polymers films suitable for the package according to the first object of the present invention consist of two layers, a base layer and a sealing layer.
  • crystallizable polymers are crystallizable polyester resins.
  • Suitable crystallizable polyester resins for the base layer are those described before.
  • the crystallizable polyester resin of the base layer is blended with an amorphous polyester resin.
  • Said amorphous polyester is characterized by a Tg value lower than 115°C, preferably lower than 95°C, even more preferably lower than 85°C.
  • the amount of said amorphous polyester in the base layer of the film of the present package is generally at most 70% by weight with respect to the total weight of the base layer, preferably at most 50% by weight, even more preferably at most 40%.
  • Suitable amorphous polyester resins are those deriving from an aliphatic diol and/or a cycloaliphatic diol with one or more dicarboxylic acids, preferably an aromatic dicarboxylic acid.
  • Preferred amorphous polyesters are copolyesters of terephthalic acid with an aliphatic diol and a cycloaliphatic diol, particularly ethylene glycol and 1,4-dicyclohexanedimethanol.
  • the preferred molar ratios of the cycloaliphatic diol to the aliphatic diol are in the range from 10:90 to 60:40, preferably in the range from 20:80 to 40:60, more preferably from 30:70 to 35:65.
  • PETG Eastar® 6763 sold by Eastman (glass transition temperature 81°C, density 1.27 g/cc) and Embrace sold by Eastman Chemical, (glass transition temperature 70.6°C, density 1.32 g/cc).
  • the whole film or, if present, said base layer will consist of one or more suitable crystallizable homo- and/or co-polyesters blended with up to preferably about 10 % of a masterbatch containing conventional additives dispersed in a (co)polyester matrix, additives known in the art as nucleating agents, which favor the crystallization process during the sealing step.
  • Suitable nucleating agents are for instance those listed in Table 1 of the Literature Review by H. Zhou available at the internet address www.crd.ge.com as 98CRD138.
  • Particularly preferred nucleating agents are inorganic compounds such as talc, silicate, clay, titanium dioxide, and the like. These compounds may be used in an amount lower than 5 % by weight, typically in an amount of 1-2 % by weight on the total weight of the film or base layer.
  • Other preferred nucleating agents are certain compatible polymers such as fluoropolymers (PTFE) that can be blended with the polyester of said film or layer (a) in an amount of up to e.g. 5-8 % by weight.
  • PTFE fluoropolymers
  • nucleating agents particularly suitable for crystallizing polyesters which can be used in the present application are: (i) alkali metal salts of organic acids, e.g. carboxylic acid; sodium, lithium, potassium benzoates (see D. Garcia, Heterogeneous nucleation of PET, J. of Polymer Science - Polymer physics edition, Vol 22, 2063-2072, 1984 and R. Legras, C. Bailly, M. Daumerie, V.
  • nucleating agent that can be used in the present invention suitable for crystallizing polypropylenes are the compounds supplied by Milliken under the trade name of Millad.
  • the amount of nucleating agent generally depends on the type of polymer used. According to the conventional practice, the nucleating agent is generally used in an amount of from 2% to 5%, more preferably from 2.5% to 4%, even more preferably of about 3%.
  • the nucleating agents have a particle size not higher than 10 microns.
  • the base layer may have a thickness between about 10 and 90 ⁇ m, more preferably between about 15 and 60 ⁇ m, even more preferably between about 20 and 35 ⁇ m.
  • the heat-sealable layer can comprise at least a first amorphous polyester resin and optionally a further polyester resin.
  • Said amorphous polyester is characterized by a Tg value lower than 115°C, preferably lower than 95°C, even more preferably lower than 85°C.
  • Suitable amorphous polyester resins are those deriving from an aliphatic diol and a cycloaliphatic diol with one or more dicarboxylic acids, preferably an aromatic dicarboxylic acid.
  • Preferred amorphous polyesters are copolyesters of terephthalic acid with an aliphatic diol and a cycloaliphatic diol, particularly ethylene glycol and 1,4-dicyclohexanedimethanol.
  • the preferred molar ratios of the cycloaliphatic diol to the aliphatic diol are in the range from 10:90 to 60:40, preferably in the range from 20:80 to 40:60, more, preferably from 30:70 to 35:65.
  • Specific examples of particularly preferred amorphous polyester are PETG Eastar® 6763, sold by Eastman (glass transition temperature 81 °C, density 1.27 g/cc) and Embrace sold by Eastman Chemical, (glass transition temperature 70.6°C, density 1.32 g/cc).
  • a blend of two or more amorphous polyesters is also suitable for the heat sealable layer of the films of the present package.
  • polyesters can be added in the sealant layer.
  • Such polyester can be those deriving from an aliphatic diol, preferably ethylene glycol and one or more aromatic dicarboxylic acid, preferably terephthalic acid.
  • Polyethylene terephthalate and its copolyesters are preferred. Specific examples include Eastapak Copolyester 9921 sold by Eastman and Ramapet N180 sold by Indorama.
  • the amount of the first amorphous polyester in the heat-sealable layer of the film of the present package is preferably at least 30% by weight with respect to the total weight of the heat-sealable layer, preferably at least 50% by weight, even more preferably at least 60% by weight.
  • the amount of the further polyester in the heat-sealable layer of the film of the present package is generally at most 70% by weight with respect to the total weight of the heat-sealable, preferably at most 50% by weight, even more preferably at most 30%.
  • the internal film(s) (6) and the outermost films (5) of the package according to the first object of the present invention are made of peelable films thus allowing the easy opening of each compartment and /or its separation from the others.
  • the films are peelable crystallizable polyester-based films.
  • Peelability can be imparted to the films by admixing further resins in the sealant layer, usually from 3 to 40% by weight, more frequently 10 to 25% by weight of an appropriate thermoplastic resin.
  • Suitable thermoplastic resins that contribute to lowering the sealing strength of a polyester sealant layer of a film are polyethylens, polyamides, polystyrenes, in particular styrene-butadiene block copolymers, ionomers, ethylene/unsaturated carboxylic acid copolymers, like ethylene/(meth)acrylic acid copolymers and ethylene/cyclic olefin copolymers, like ethylene/norbornene copolymers.
  • the thickness of the heat-sealable layer is generally between about 5 and 40% of the thickness of the base layer.
  • the heat-sealable layer may have a thickness of up to about 25 ⁇ m, preferably up to about 15 ⁇ m, more preferably between about 0.5 and 10 ⁇ m, and more preferably between about 0.5 and 7 ⁇ m.
  • Additional layers can be present in the film of the present invention.
  • an outer layer can be present, having a thickness up to about 25 ⁇ m, preferably up to about 15 ⁇ m, more preferably between about 0.5 ⁇ m and 10 ⁇ m, and even more preferably between about 0.5 ⁇ m and 7 ⁇ m.
  • the outer layer is the outermost layer of the structure.
  • the polyester resins suitable for the composition of the outermost layer are selected among the list of crystallizable polyester resins reported above.
  • the crystallizable polyester films useful for the package according to the first object of the present invention comprise at least two layers: the sealant and the base layer.
  • the crystallizable polyester films comprise at least three layers: the sealant, the base layer and the outer layer.
  • the same crystallizable polyester resin is used for the base and the outer layer.
  • Preferred resins are Eastapak Copolyester 9921 sold by Eastman and Ramapet N180 sold by Indorama.
  • the same amorphous polyester resin is used in the base layer and in the sealant layer.
  • Preferred resins are PETG Eastar® 6763 sold by Eastman and Embrace sold by Eastman Chemical.
  • the crystallizable polyester is preferably present at a percentage in weight ranging from 50 to 70% with respect to the total weight of the film and the amorphous polyester is preferably present at a percentage in weight ranging from 25 to 35% with respect to the total weight of the film.
  • the films of the present package can further comprise a gas-barrier layer, which may be medium or high barrier to gases, especially to oxygen, depending on the product to be packaged.
  • a gas-barrier layer which may be medium or high barrier to gases, especially to oxygen, depending on the product to be packaged.
  • intermediate barrier film refers to a film having an oxygen transmission rate (OTR) lower than 200 cc/sqm/day, preferably lower than 100 cc/sqm/day at 100% RH and 23°C.
  • OTR oxygen transmission rate
  • the multilayer film object of the present invention can comprises at least a high gas-barrier layer and can exhibit an oxygen transmission rate (OTR) lower than 50, preferably lower than 30, more preferably lower than 20 cc/m 2 day bar at 23°C and 100% relative humidity.
  • OTR oxygen transmission rate
  • the OTR of plastic films can be measured following ASTM D3985.
  • gas-barrier resins and their blends suitable for the barrier films are for example, ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers (EVOH), polyamides and acrylonitrile-based copolymers.
  • EVOH ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers
  • polyamides polyamides
  • acrylonitrile-based copolymers ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers
  • tie layers to improve interlayer adhesion, may be present.
  • Tie layers may be disposed between the respective layers in case where a sufficient adhesion is not ensured between adjacent layers.
  • the adhesive resin may preferably comprise one or more polyolefins, one or more modified polyolefins or a blend of the above. Specific, not limitative, examples thereof may include: ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, ethylene-(meth)acrylate copolymers, ethylene- alpha -olefin copolymers, any of the above modified with carboxylic or preferably anhydride functionalities, elastomers, and a blend of these resins.
  • One or more of the layers of the film of the present invention may contain any of the additives conventionally employed in the manufacture of polymeric films.
  • agents such as pigments, lubricants, anti-oxidants, radical scavengers, oxygen scavengers, UV absorbers, odour absorbers, thermal stabilisers, anti-blocking agents, surface active agents, slip aids, optical brighteners, gloss improvers, viscosity modifiers may be incorporated as appropriate.
  • slip and/or anti-blocking agents may be added to one or both of the outer layers.
  • the additives may be added in the form of a concentrate in a polyester carrier resin.
  • slip agents may be added by coating, for instance by plasma coating or by spraying (e.g. with a Weko equipment). The amount of additive is typically in the order of 0.2 to 5% by weight of the total weight of the layer.
  • the films (5 and/or 6) of the present package can be mono-layer films; in this case, suitable crystallizable polyester resins, optionally blended to amorphous polyesters, are the same - both in terms of kind and percentages - as the ones for the base layer listed above.
  • the monolayers films suitable for the present packages are sealable, preferably the monolayers films are also peelable.
  • the films can be coated, either during or after their manufacturing, with well known suitable compositions.
  • Typical coating composition and method are for examples described in WO9619333 , WO0154886 , WO2011083342 .
  • the coating composition can be applied to the film by any suitable conventional technique, for example by spraying, dip coating, roll coating, bead coating, reverse roller coating or slot coating, impregnation.
  • the grammage of the applied coating layer is typically in the range from 0.1 to 5.0 g/m 2 , more frequently 0.3 to 3.0 g/m 2 , and particularly 0.5 to 2.0 g/m 2 .
  • the thickness of the coating layer is typically in the range from 0.3 to 10 ⁇ m, more preferably 0.5 to 5.0 ⁇ m, and particularly 1.0 to 2.0 ⁇ m.
  • the coating can be applied onto one surface of the film or onto both the surfaces.
  • the surface to be coated may advantageously be subjected to a chemical or physical treatment in order to improve the bond between that surface and the applied coating layer.
  • One of the preferred treatments is to expose the surface to be coated to a high voltage electrical stress accompanied by corona discharge.
  • the substrate may be pre-treated with an agent known in the art to have a solvent or swelling action on the film.
  • suitable agents include halogenated phenols dissolved in an organic solvent, as a solution of p-chloro-m-cresol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4,5- or 2,4,6-trichlorophenol or 4-chlororesorcinol in acetone or methanol.
  • Such coatings can also be applied to a multilayer film. In this case there is no need to impart peelability to the film by adding - in the sealant layers - resins having low compatibility with the resin of the sealant layer.
  • the films of the present package are low-shrink films as defined above.
  • These films have no or negligible shrink at temperatures below 140°C.
  • the shrink (in each direction) is generally at most 15% at temperatures below 100°C, below 120°C, and even below 140°C.
  • the shrink in each direction does not exceed 15% over the common heat-sealing temperature range of polyester films, namely in the range of from 140 to 200°C.
  • the shrink generally does not exceed 15% (in each direction) at 180°C, at 160°C, and even at 150°C.
  • these films can be manufactured by coextrusion, extrusion coating, and/or lamination of preformed cast films, followed by mono- or biaxial orientation and, optionally, by an annealing or heat-setting step, or they may be prepared by lamination of preformed films of which at least part of them have been mono- or bi-axially oriented.
  • coextrusion equipment are used, where each resin is extruded through an extruder and all the layers are joined into the extrusion die.
  • flat die is used.
  • the film of the present invention is, preferably, also oriented.
  • a tubular or, preferably, flat film orientation process can be used to produce a biaxially oriented film.
  • the flat film is oriented with a tenterframe apparatus.
  • Another possible tubular process suitable for manufacturing the films of the present package is the "hot blown" process.
  • the film-forming thermoplastic resins are extruded through a T-die and rapidly quenched upon a chill roll to ensure that the resins are quenched to the amorphous state.
  • Orientation is then, optionally, effected by flat stretching, simultaneously or sequentially, the quenched extrudate at a temperature above the glass transition temperature of the thermoplastic resins.
  • a flat, quenched extrudate is firstly oriented in one direction, usually the longitudinal direction, i.e. the forward direction through the film stretching machine, and then in the transverse direction.
  • Longitudinal stretching of the extrudate is conveniently carried out over a set of rotating rolls (MDO), which rotate at different speeds. At least one of the first pairs of rolls is heated, for example by inner circulation of hot oil.
  • Transverse stretching is usually carried out in a tenter apparatus (TDO), which comprises a certain number of heating zones and suitable stretching means.
  • TDO tenter apparatus
  • the polymers for the various layers are fed to separate extruders.
  • the melts are extruded through a multilayer T-die and quenched over a chill roll.
  • Longitudinal stretching (MDO) of the extrudate is conveniently carried out at a temperature range from 60 to 120°C, preferably from 70 to 100°C.
  • the temperatures of the film are in the range from 90° C (preheating zone) to 130° C (stretching zone), preferably from 90°C (preheating zone) to 110°C (stretching zone).
  • the longitudinal stretching ratio is in the range from 2.0:1 to 5.0:1, preferably from 2.3:1 to 4.8:1.
  • the transverse stretching ratio is generally in the range from 2.4:1 to 6.0:1, preferably from 2.6:1 to 5.5:1.
  • a flat, quenched extrudate is simultaneously oriented in both the longitudinal and in the transverse direction through a simultaneous tenter apparatus.
  • Said extrudate is fed to the pre-heating zone of a simultaneous tenter apparatus, with or without a prior passage through an IR heated oven.
  • the temperature of the oven in said pre-heating zone, the length thereof and the time spent by the traveling web in said zone (i. e. the web speed) can suitably be varied in order to bring the film up to the desired temperature for bi-axial orientation.
  • the orientation temperature is comprised between about 90 °C and about 140 °C and the temperature of the pre-heating zone is kept between about 90 °C and about 150 °C.
  • the film is clipped but it is not yet stretched.
  • the resulting hot, optionally irradiated, and clipped film is directed to the stretching zone of the simultaneous tenter.
  • Any simultaneous stretching means can be used in said zone.
  • the clips are propelled throughout the opposed loops of the tenter frame by means of a linear synchronous motor.
  • a suitable line for simultaneous stretching with linear motor technology has been designed by Bruckner GmbH and advertised as LISIM line.
  • An alternative line for simultaneous stretching of the extruded flat tape is the Andritz line, based on a pantograph, equipped with two separated monorails on each side of the orientation unit.
  • the configuration of the tenter can be varied depending on the stretching ratios desired.
  • the temperature in the stretching zone is kept close to the selected orientation temperature.
  • annealing is carried out at a temperature of from 130 to 220° C, the temperature depending on the desired shrink. Subsequently, the film is wound up in a customary manner.
  • the film is transferred to a cooling zone where generally air, either cooled or kept at the ambient temperature, is employed to cool down the film.
  • the temperature of said cooling zone is therefore typically comprised between about 20° C and about 40° C.
  • the edges of the film, grasped by the clips and not oriented, are trimmed off and the obtained bi-axially oriented, heat-shrinkable or heat-set film is then wound up, with or without prior slitting of the film web to the suitable width.
  • the second object of the present invention is a method for manufacturing the multi-compartment package of the present invention, such a method comprising the steps of:
  • Figs 7A and 7B illustrate the first method for manufacturing embodiment 1A and, respectively, embodiment 1 B of a three compartment package according to the present invention.
  • steps iii) (stacking) and iv) (sealing) of the present manufacturing process are represented, being the other steps of i) providing the films, optionally pre-cut, ii) providing the products and, v) optionally cutting the stack of films to provide the final package are also meant to be included.
  • the first method of manufacturing the present package disclosed above is preferably used.
  • the outermost films, the internal film(s) and the products are alternated and stacked up to the desired number of compartments is obtained, then all the films in stack are sealed and cut.
  • the films may also be pre-cut before the stacking step; in this case the further cutting step can be optional.
  • the films are heat crystallized thus forming the rigid frame of the package.
  • the sequence of films and products to be stacked is : "film / (product / film) n ". being n an integer number higher than 1 representing the number of compartments desired.
  • the sequence of films and products in stack is: "film /(product / film) n>2 ", wherein the products and the films can be the same or different.
  • two adjacent compartments share the same internal film and the compartments are opened preferably one after the other in the same order they have in the package.
  • each compartment has its own internal films, namely there are two internal films between each couple of adjacent products in stack.
  • the sequence of films and products to be stacked is:
  • This embodiment 1 B allows the consumer to detach sealed compartments, in the meanwhile keeping each portion still packaged and to open them, later and independently.
  • the bonding between adjacent compartments may be suitably weakened, for instance by imparting higher peel properties to the surfaces of the films directly involved in said bonding.
  • the bonding between the films of adjacent compartments will be weaker than the bonding within the films of each compartment (intra-compartment bonding) thus allowing a clean detachment of each sealed compartment and avoiding untimely opening of the same.
  • a different bonding may also be obtained for instance by selecting different means for intra- and inter-compartments bonding, such as sealing vs gluing etc.
  • the preferred manufacturing process will be according to the third embodiment of said process. If the strength of the bonding imparted by gluing is lower than those conferred by sealing, the detachment of each still sealed compartment will be facilitated.
  • a first compartment is made by stacking in sequence a film, a product and a film and by sealing the stacked films; afterwards, a new stack of a product and one / two film(s) - arranged as "product / film” for manufacturing the package of embodiment 1A or as "film / product / film” for embodiment 1B - is added onto the first compartment previously manufactured and the thus formed stack of films and products are sent again to the sealing station, were the films are sealed, crystallized and cut if needed.
  • Each new product to be packaged is added - covered by one or sandwiched between two film(s) - to the package already made in the previous steps, up to the desired number of compartments is obtained.
  • This stepwise process has the advantage of repeating the sealing/crystallizing step several times thus providing the multi-compartment package with a more rigid frame. A higher rigidity may be advantageous in case of heavier or more delicate products. This process may also be preferred when there is the need to alternate different products.
  • Gluing steps may be carried out, for instance, as described below for the third manufacturing method.
  • Figs 8A and 8B illustrate this second method for manufacturing embodiment 1A and, respectively, embodiment 1 B of a three compartment package according to the present invention.
  • steps c and f) (stacking), d) (sealing) and g) (their repetition) of the present manufacturing process are represented, being the other steps of a) providing the films, optionally pre-cut, b) providing the products and, e) optionally cutting the stack of films to provide the final package are also meant to be included.
  • the sequence of components in the final package is "film/ (product/film) n " for embodiment 1A or "(film/product/film) n " for embodiment 1B being n the total number of compartments (n>1).
  • two or more pre-made compartments are joined together by sealing or, in alternative, by gluing.
  • Figs 9A and 9B illustrate this third method for manufacturing embodiment 1A and, respectively, embodiment 1 B of a three compartment package according to the present invention.
  • steps C) stacking a film, a product and a film
  • D) (sealing)
  • G) (stacking each new compartment onto the previous one(s), optionally placing a product in between) and H) (sealing or gluing) of the present manufacturing process are represented, being the other steps of A) (providing the films, optionally pre-cut), B) (providing the products), E) (optionally cutting the stack of films), F) (manufacturing at least another compartment), to provide the final package are also meant to be included.
  • the pre-made compartments may be sealed or glued simultaneously in stack or added and sealed /glued stepwise, one after the other.
  • a multi-compartment package according to embodiment 1A may be manufactured.
  • the compartments are preferably joined together by sealing rather than by gluing to prevent undesired product contaminations.
  • gluing refers to placing a discrete or continuous layer of an adhesive, preferably along the frame, onto at least one of the facing surfaces of two adjacent compartments to be glued and joining the compartments by applying a pressure sufficient to let them adhere to each other.
  • adheresive is used herein to indicate any material that enables the adhesion of two compartments to each other.
  • the thickness of the layer of adhesive can be comprised between 0.2 and 10 ⁇ m, more preferably from 0.5 to 5 ⁇ m , still more preferably from 1 to 3 ⁇ m.
  • suitable adhesives may be the aqueous dispersions sold by Paramelt under the trade name of Aquaseal or the compositions described in WO2005021638 or in WO2009055275 under the code DPOD 8501.
  • the so called "cold seal” materials may be used, as those supplied for example by Fabrico (division of EIS), Basic Adhesive, Printpack Inc.
  • HMPSA hot melt pressure sensitive adhesives
  • Systems for applying hot melt adhesives are e.g. hot melt handguns, roll coaters, benchtop extruders, automatic extrusion, fiberization system.
  • the adhesive layer has to be deposited onto the external surfaces of the compartments to be joined, preferably along the frame.
  • the layer of adhesive can be discrete or continuous along the frame.
  • the adhesive may be applied along the frame as described, for instance, in WO2011083342 .
  • the pre-made compartments are joined by gluing.
  • gluing conditions and adhesives in such a way to obtain inter-compartments bonding weaker than the intra-compartment bonding, thus facilitating the removal of each still sealed compartment.
  • the methods of manufacturing the present package described above may be implemented with suitable packaging machines such as tray lidding and thermoforming machines with contour sealing and cutting.
  • suitable machines that can be adapted to run the process of the present invention include for instance Multivac 400 and Multivac T550 by Multivac Sep. GmbH, Mondini E380, E390 or E590 or Trave by Mondini S.pA, Ross A20 or Ross S45 by Ross-Reiser, Meca-2002 or Meca-2003 by Mecaplastic, the tray lidding machines manufactured by Sealpac, Ulma Taurus and Ulma Scorpius supplied by Ulma Packaging, Ishida QX and the like machines.
  • Thermoforming machines are suitable for the process described above, without significant modifications. Especially in case of food products to be packaged, a slicer can be advantageously added in order to slice the product.
  • an additional conveyor carrying the weighted product(s) to the stacking zone can also be advantageously provided.
  • the product(s) can be positioned onto the belt carrying the films and the stacking of films and products is repeated up to the desired number of compartments is achieved.
  • the stacked films and products are carried to the thermoforming zone, where sealing, crystallization and cutting occur.
  • a pre-cutting unit to pre-cut the film is advantageously provided in order to cut the films from the roll at a measure suitable for the package.
  • the cutting of the package is performed after the sealing step.
  • the cutting of the package is performed at the same time of the sealing step.
  • the cutting blade will be shaped in such a way to provide the tab when cutting the films, as known to the person skilled in the art.
  • the packaging machine has to provide the housing for more than one roll of films.
  • Sealing is preferably carried out by means of a heated frame by setting the machine at temperatures, in case of polyester based films, of from 140 to 220°C, 170 to 200°C and at a pressure of 2 to 8 bar, 4 to 7 bar. Sealing times are typically in the order of 0.01 to 2.0 seconds, more frequently 0.5 to 1.0 seconds.
  • sealing techniques such as ultrasonic welding may also be used, providing that they are able to induce an at least partial crystallization of the films along the sealing area.
  • lower sealing temperatures are generally selected, for instance in the range of 120 to 180°C providing that the selected temperatures are suitable for at least partially crystallizing the polymers under the operational sealing conditions.
  • the sealing bar can have different shapes such as to obtain, for example, a flat or a thermoformed area where the films are sealed to each other, the thermoformed option being preferred, as it provides for a higher rigidity of the frame.
  • Such sealing bars are commercialized by packaging machine suppliers.
  • Figs. 6 A-E illustrate cross-sections of some suitable sealing bars.
  • the sealing bar profile can be flat or rounded.
  • the sealing bar has a thermoforming profile, as shown in Figs. 6A or 6E , namely the bar will seal the films along the sealing area in the meanwhile imparting a desired shape to the at least partially crystallized frame, further increasing its rigidity.
  • the profile of the sealing bars illustrated in Fig. 6A or 6E there will be areas where, upon sealing, a higher pressure will be applied onto the stacked films and, correspondingly, a higher degree of crystallization will be imparted to the frame.
  • the width of the sealing area of the package i.e. the width of the frame, is from 1 mm to 20 mm, preferably from 2 mm to 15 mm, still more preferably from 3 to 10 mm.
  • the dimensions, in terms of area extension, of the packaged product are not limited, provided that they do not exceed the dimensions of the cut films, and allow a suitable frame to be formed.
  • the film dimensions can be adjusted according to the product dimensions and to the needed width of the frame.
  • the width of the frame has to be sufficient to confer the suitable stiffness to the package, depending inter alia on the total weight of the packaged products and on the package dimensions.
  • the multi-compartment package object of the present invention may be particularly useful for the storage of products which are thin and flexible such as sliced food products or medical product like surgery gloves, sterilized wipes, beauty wipes, patches, gauzes, strips or soaked plasters or bands.
  • the package object of the present invention is used to store sliced food products such as cheese and processed meat.
  • Other possible thin or sliced foods comprise fish and meat carpaccio, smoked fishes, piadina, crepes disks ready to be filled, sweet and salt dough ready to be cut and/or cooked in the oven or fried or filled with a stuffing and then cooked. It is also possible to insert different food products in the same package in order to allow the consumer to have in a single package a specific combination of food products.
  • the three layers were then distributed through a flat die, having a multi-manifold system.
  • the melt out of the die was quenched onto a chill rolls; electrostatic pinning was applied to increase the contact between melt and chill roll kept at 19°C.
  • the so formed cast film was then biaxially oriented.
  • the stretching was done simultaneously on a tenterframe, at ratios of 3.8:1 in both MD and TD directions, and at temperatures of 98°C in the preheating zones and 96°C in the stretching zones.
  • the film was annealed at a temperature of 200°C.
  • a machine Mondini Tray Lid E380 was used to manufacture 30 packages according to the present invention; Sealing conditions applied were: 190°C, 1 sec, 5 bar.
  • Each package contained 4 compartments for a total of 5 films; one slice of cooked ham was packaged in each compartment and each slice of cooked ham was about 1 mm thick. Five films were superimposed in stack, alternating them with the products, to obtain four compartments.
  • each package was provided with a tab (4).
  • the main dimensions of the rectangular package were 160 mm (width) x 205 mm (length), the sealing width was 5 mm and the distance between the two closest opposite seals was 135 mm.
  • the packages were judged acceptable in terms of rigidity of the frame by three panelists: in fact only a slight bending of the packages due to the weight of the products was observed. In addition, the packages were manually opened and the opening was really smooth due to the peelability of the films.
  • the multi-compartment flexible package object of the present invention does not require a supplemental tray.
  • the package is sufficiently rigid as such, thanks to the partial heat-induced crystallization of the crystallizable polymer in correspondence of the sealing area.
  • the present package in use is not or is only slightly bent and remained substantially flat during its handling.
  • the absence of an additional tray allows a significant reduction of plastic material as well as of manufacturing and disposal costs.
  • the partially crystallized area - which appears as a peripheral circumferential continuous rigid frame - is obtainable during conventional sealing of the package and advantageously does not require additional sealing or forming operations or equipment.
  • the multi-compartment package object of the present invention provides for at least the same advantages of conventional multi-compartment packages, for instance:
  • the present package is a really "green” product: in fact not only it requires a significantly lower amount of plastics but it can be easily recycled, when made of a single plastic material, or it may also be bio-degradable if composed of biodegradable polyesters, i.e. a multi-compartment package much more eco-friend with respect to conventional multi-compartments packages currently on the market.

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Claims (17)

  1. Verpackung (1) ohne Tray und mit mehreren, einzeln versiegelten Fächern, Folgendes umfassend:
    i) zwei äußerste Folien (5),
    ii) mindestens zwei übereinandergeschichtete Produkte (2),
    iii) mindestens eine innere Folie (6), die zwischen den mindestens zwei übereinandergeschichteten Produkten angeordnet ist,
    iv) eine periphere, zusammenhängende Umfangsversiegelung, welche die übereinandergeschichteten Folien miteinander versiegelt und mindestens zwei versiegelte, übereinandergeschichtete Fächer begrenzt, wobei jedes Fach mindestens ein Produkt der mindestens zwei übereinandergeschichteten Produkte umschließt,
    dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Folien ein kristallisierbares Polymer umfassen und das kristallisierte Polymer in Bezug auf den Versiegelungsbereich wenigstens teilweise kristallisiert ist und somit einen peripheren, zusammenhängenden , biegesteifen Umfangsrand (3) bereitstellt.
  2. Verpackung nach Anspruch 1, eine innere Folie umfassend, die zwischen zwei benachbarten Produkten angeordnet ist.
  3. Verpackung nach Anspruch 1, zwei innere Folien umfassend, die zwischen zwei benachbarten Produkten angeordnet sind.
  4. Verpackung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 3, zwischen 2 und 20, bevorzugt zwischen 2 und 10, bevorzugter zwischen 2 und 5 Fächer umfassend.
  5. Verpackung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 4, wobei das kristallisierbare Polymer aus der Gruppe ausgewählt wird, die aus kristallisierbaren Polypropylen(en) Homo- oder Copolymeren, Polyethylenen mit hoher Dichte (HDPEs), Polyethylenen mit mittlerer Dichte (MDPEs), Polyestern, Polyamiden, Polystyrolen (PS), vorzugsweise kristallisierbaren Polyestern, und Mischungen daraus besteht.
  6. Verpackung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 5, wobei die Menge des kristallisierbaren Polymers bzw. der kristallisierbaren Polymere in den Folien in Bezug auf das Gesamtgewicht der Folien mindestens 30 Gew.-%, vorzugsweise mindestens 50 %, 60 %, 70 %, 80 %, 90 % oder 95 % beträgt.
  7. Verpackung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 6, wobei das kristallisierbare Polymer einen kristallisierbaren Polyester oder eine Mischung aus kristallisierbaren Polyestern darstellt, die bei Versiegelungstemperaturen von 140 °C und 220 °C kristallisieren.
  8. Verpackung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 7, wobei das kristallisierbare Polymer einen kristallisierbaren Polyester oder eine Mischung aus kristallisierbaren Polyestern darstellt, gekennzeichnet durch einen Schmelzpunkt (TM) von über 220 °C, vorzugsweise von über 230 °C.
  9. Verpackung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 8, wobei das kristallisierbare Polymer, vorzugsweise der kristallisierbare Polyester, in Bezug auf den Versiegelungsbereich nach der Versiegelungsstufe einen Kristallinitätsprozentsatz von über 15 %, bevorzugt von über 20 %, bevorzugter von über 25 %, am bevorzugtesten von über 30 % aufweist.
  10. Verpackung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 9, wobei das kristallisierbare Polymer eine Mischung aus mindestens einem kristallisierbaren Polyester und mindestens einem amorphen Polyester darstellt, wobei der amorphe Polyester einen Tg-Wert von weniger als 115 °C, bevorzugt von weniger als 95 °C und bevorzugter von weniger als 85 °C umfasst und der amorphe Polyester in der Mischung höchstens 70 Gew.-%, bevorzugt höchstens 50 Gew.-% und bevorzugter höchstens 40 Gew.-% aufweist.
  11. Verpackung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 10, wobei die Folien versiegelbare und peelbare, kristallisierte Kunststofffolien, vorzugsweise versiegelbare und peelbare, kristallisierbare Folien auf Polyesterbasis darstellen.
  12. Verpackung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 11, wobei die prozentuale Differenz der Kristallinität des Polymers bzw. der Polymere des Randes in Bezug auf das Polymer bzw. die Polymere der anderen Verpackungskomponenten mindestens 5 %, bevorzugt mehr als 8 %, bevorzugter mehr als 10 % ausmacht.
  13. Verpackung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 12, wobei das prozentuale Verhältnis zwischen dem Gewicht des Verpackungsmaterials in Bezug auf das Gesamtverpackungsgewicht weniger als 15 %, bevorzugt weniger als 10 %, bevorzugter weniger als 7 Gew.-% beträgt.
  14. Verfahren zur Herstellung der Verpackung (1) mit mehreren Fächern nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 13, das folgende Schritte umfasst:
    i) Bereitstellen von zwei äußersten (5) und mindestens einer inneren (6), wahlweise zuvor zugeschnittenen, kristallisierbaren Folien;
    ii) Bereitstellen von mindestens zwei zu verpackenden Produkten (2);
    iii) Übereinanderschichten einer äußersten Folie, des Produkts bzw. der Produkte, der inneren Folie bzw. den inneren Folien - zwischen den Produkten und der inneren Folie bzw. den inneren Folien abwechselnd - und der weiteren äußersten Folie, bis die gewünschte Anzahl an Fächern erreicht ist;
    iv) Versiegeln und gleichzeitiges Kristallisieren der Folienschichten entlang eines peripheren, zusammenhängenden Umfangsversiegelungsbereichs, wodurch ein peripherer, zusammenhängender, biegesteifer Umfangsrand (3) bereitgestellt wird, sowie
    v) gleichzeitiges oder nachträgliches, wahlweises Zuschneiden der Folienschicht rings um den Rand herum, wodurch eine Verpackung mit mehreren Fächern bereitgestellt wird.
  15. Verfahren zur Herstellung der Verpackung (1) mit mehreren Fächern nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 13, das folgende Schritte umfasst:
    a) Bereitstellen von zwei äußersten (5) und mindestens einer inneren (6), wahlweise zugeschnittenen, kristallisierbaren Folien;
    b) Bereitstellen von mindestens zwei zu verpackenden Produkten (2);
    c) übereinandergeschichtetes Anordnen einer äußersten Folie, eines Produkts und einer inneren Folie;
    d) Versiegeln und gleichzeitiges Kristallisieren der Folienschichten entlang eines peripheren, zusammenhängenden Umfangsversiegelungsbereichs, wodurch ein peripherer, zusammenhängender, biegesteifer Umfangsrand (3) bereitgestellt wird;
    e) gleichzeitiges oder nachträgliches, wahlweises Zuschneiden der Folienschicht rings um den Rand herum, wodurch das erste Fach der Verpackung bereitgestellt wird;
    f) Anordnen eines Stapels von "Produkt/Folie" oder von "Folie/Produkt/Folie" auf dem in den Schritten c) bis e) gebildeten Fach;
    g) Wiederholen von Punkt d) bis f) für jedes neue Fach, bis die gewünschte Anzahl an Fächern erreicht ist, wodurch die Verpackung mit mehreren Fächern bereitgestellt wird.
  16. Verfahren zur Herstellung der Verpackung (1) mit mehreren Fächern nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 13, das folgende Schritte umfasst:
    A) Bereitstellen von zwei äußersten (5) und mindestens zwei inneren (6), wahlweise zuvor zugeschnittenen, kristallisierbaren Folien;
    B) Bereitstellen von mindestens zwei zu verpackenden Produkten (2);
    C) übereinandergeschichtetes Anordnen einer Folie, eines Produkts und einer Folie;
    D) Versiegeln und gleichzeitiges Kristallisieren der Folienschichten entlang eines peripheren, zusammenhängenden Umfangsversiegelungsbereichs, wodurch ein peripherer, zusammenhängender, biegesteifer Umfangsrand (3) bereitgestellt wird;
    E) gleichzeitiges oder nachträgliches, wahlweises Zuschneiden der Folienschichten rings um den Rand herum, wodurch das erste Fach der Verpackung bereitgestellt wird;
    F) Herstellen mindestens eines weiteren Fachs, die Schritte A bis E befolgend;
    G) Übereinanderschichten des ersten und des neuen Fachs bzw. der neuen Fächer, wobei wahlweise weiterhin ein Produkt zwischen benachbarte Fächer platziert wird;
    H) Versiegeln oder Verkleben des ersten und des weiteren, neuen Fachs bzw. der weiteren neuen Fächer, und zwar gleichzeitig oder, bei mehr als zwei Fächern, schrittweise nacheinander, bis die gewünschte Anzahl an Fächern erreicht ist, wodurch die Verpackung mit mehreren Fächern bereitgestellt wird.
  17. Verfahren nach einem der Ansprüche 14 bis 16, wobei die Folien kristallisierbare Polyesterfolien darstellen und die Versiegelungsstufe(n) bei einer Temperatur von 140 bis 220 °C, vorzugsweise bei 170 bis 200 °C und/oder bei einem Druck von 2 bis 8 bar, vorzugsweise von 4 bis 7 bar durchgeführt wird bzw. werden.
EP13154221.9A 2013-02-06 2013-02-06 Verpackung mit mehreren Fächern ohne Ablage mit starrem Rahmen Active EP2765092B1 (de)

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EP13154221.9A EP2765092B1 (de) 2013-02-06 2013-02-06 Verpackung mit mehreren Fächern ohne Ablage mit starrem Rahmen
ES13154221.9T ES2554997T3 (es) 2013-02-06 2013-02-06 Paquete multicompartimento sin bandeja con marco rígido
NZ617719A NZ617719A (en) 2013-02-06 2013-11-13 Multi-compartment tray-less package with a rigid frame
AU2014200194A AU2014200194B2 (en) 2013-02-06 2014-01-13 Multi-compartment tray-less package with a rigid frame
US14/171,105 US20140216975A1 (en) 2013-02-06 2014-02-03 Multi-Compartment Tray-Less Package With a Rigid Frame

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US20140216975A1 (en) 2014-08-07
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NZ617719A (en) 2015-02-27
AU2014200194B2 (en) 2016-12-22

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