FR2463072A1 - Reclosable package for foodstuffs - has two=part closure strip ends held in peripheral heat seal - Google Patents

Abstract

Package e.g. for processed meat or cheese includes a semi-rigid thermoplastic web with a formed cavity and peripheral sealing flange, and a separable reclosable flexible thermoplastic two-part interlocked closure strip with rib and groove formations and each part sealed to the flange. The strip is adjacent and parallel to but spaced from the web edge, and has an indentation at each end. A flexible cover is peripherally heat-sealed to the flange to sealingly enclose prod. and strip and is also sealed to the strip. The indentations are pref. punched out and allow the strip ends to terminate in the peripheral seal in a continuous smooth seal. The package can be opened from one side, pref. along a perforated tear line, then opening the strip parts.

Description

The invention relates to a resealable packaging and, more particularly, a packaging for food products such as cured or sliced meats and cheeses, in which a vacuum is produced or that is filled with gas until it overflows and that we close tightly.

A significant amount of bacon cheese, frankfurters, sliced meal meats and other prepared meats are sold in packages formed from flexible thermoplastic materials. The freshness of the product inside the package depends to a large extent on the fact that the thermoplastic package is hermetically sealed and that there is a vacuum in it, and in some cases it has been completely filled with a gas.

However, in many cases, when purchasing a vacuum packaging of this type it happens that all of its contents are not used at the same time by the consumer. When the original seal has been opened and part of the product has been removed, it is difficult to close the packaging for satisfactory storage in a refrigerator; and, in order to preserve the contents in a state of freshness without loss of flavor and texture, it is often necessary to repack the product completely. To solve this problem, there are many known packaging models which offer means open and closed but many of these models have the disadvantage of requiring the printing of a long manual and often the thermoplastic packaging material is so rigid and solid that even a carefully studied closing device can be destroyed. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a solid and reliable means for closing and reclosing a thermoplastic package which has previously been vacuumed.

 Another object of the present invention is to provide a resealable package which can be made on a single machine in a continuous process rather than making the container on a machine and then filling, vacuuming and sealing on a other machine.

 Another problem encountered with reclosable packaging of the prior art is that of their manufacture at a commercially acceptable yield.

The installation of tabs, tear strips or the like, in combination with reclosure means such as pressure-sensitive adhesive strips requires extreme care in locating and aligning each of the components of the packaging and sealing must take place in a fairly precise manner in order to obtain a satisfactory product. It is therefore another object of the present invention to provide a resealable package which can be produced quickly and reliably. Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for quickly and reliably manufacturing a resealable package.

 Resealable packaging is more particularly described in the patents mentioned below.

 American patent NO 3,219,084 granted on November 23, 1965 in the name of Steven Ausnit and have described a process for the manufacture of containers with closure and reclosure bands in which a pair of bags or containers is formed which are initially connected to their top by a double joint fastener which is then broken to make two separate packages.

U.S. Patent No. 3,226,787 granted to Steven
Ausnit on January 4, 1966 describes an improved flexible closure structure for pockets or bags in which the structure is formed as a flexible sheet in one piece or as a pair of sheets being extruded from a single pair of heads. extruders shaped so as to form the elongated sheet with interlocking portions forming part of the sheet, laterally spaced and extending linearly. The interlocking and closing elements face each other so that they can be glued to the joint together by being pressed against each other without changing position.

 US Patent No. 3,380,481 granted on April 30, 1968 to OK Kraus describes a closed flexible elongated tube, in one piece having embedding elements forming an integral part thereof, arranged continuously and longitudinally to split , cut and close tightly to form closable and reusable pockets or bags.

US Patent No. 3,473,589 granted October 21, 1969 to Waldrop O. Gotz discloses a resealable material having releasable, flexible and pressure closable fasteners or fasteners extending the length thereof to form bags or the like to contain products such as perishable products.

 US Patent No. 3,780,787 granted to Tatsuro Uramoto on December 25, 1973 describes a bag having bands having profiles cooperating in the form of ribs and grooves joined together inside the mouth of the bag to close it and Adjacent reinforcement strips are provided as tear-off guide lines for tearing the top of the bag.

US Patent No. 3,784,432 granted January 8, 1974 & Takashi Noguchi describes a means and a method of attaching a closure profile to a plastic sheet.

US Patent No. 3,787,269 granted January 22, 1974 to Takashi Noguchi describes a means and method for attaching cooperating tapes & laminated plastic sheets.

US Patent No. 3,827,472, granted August 6, 1974 to Tatsuro Uramoto describes a flexible bag structure having interior profiles cooperating in rib and groove to close the top of the bag with means of tear tape ad3acents to tear the top of the airlock
American patent NO 3 853 871 granted on December 10, 1974 & Steven Ausnit describes a mechanism and a method for manufacturing a material for multiple plastic bags comprising closing and reclosing means.

 US Patent No. Re 28,968 of September 21, 1979 in the name of Kakuji Naito describes a resealable plastic bag having cooperating elements forming a single piece with the plastic of the bag, the elements being formed so that the bag opens easily from the outside but resists opening from the inside.

 US Patent No. 4,058,953 granted November 22, 1977 to Philip A. Sanborn, Jr. describes a packaging machine for forming, vacuuming and sealing thermoplastic packaging.

 According to a first embodiment, the invention is a reclosable package characterized in that it comprises first and second thermoplastic sheets, at least one of which is thermoformable and which form a cavity between them; and, a closure strip and a product enclosed between said sheets by a continuous peripheral seal, the product being housed in said cavity; and, one side of said closure strip being sealed to one of the sheets and another side being sealed to the other sheet, each end of said sheet ending so as to be adjacent to or in said peripheral seal so that said strip is between a part of said peripheral seal and said product, after which when said portion of the peripheral seal is broken or cut or torn the closure strip can be manually pulled and separated to give access to the product.

According to another embodiment, the invention is a reclosable package characterized in that it comprises a product; a sheet of a deformable thermoplastic material in particular comprising a cavity with a peripheral projection around the opening of said cavity, said cavity containing the product; a closure strip having a surface sealed to the deformable ply, said strip being adjacent and parallel but spaced from one end of said ply, a portion of the strip at each of its ends having a cutout or notch; and, a covering sheet sealed to the peripheral part of said deformable sheet so as to hermetically seal the product and the closure strip, the notch at each end of said strip providing a continuous smooth or even joint between said sheet covering; the deformable ply and the closure strip in the vicinity of said notches.

 The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a ref rmable packaging characterized in that it comprises the following steps: closing or sealing one side of a closure strip with a first thermoplastic sheet, enclosing a product between said first and a second thermoplastic sheet with the closure strip inside the closed space, sealing another side of said closure strip to said second sheet while the product and the strip are thus enclosed. The product and the strip are preferably enclosed within a peripheral seal, the ends of the closure strip ending in or adjacent to the peripheral seal.

The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a reclosable package characterized in that it comprises the following steps: using a sheet of deformable material, a covering sheet, and a closure strip; making a notch or cut in a part of said closure strip at separate intervals between them of a desired length corresponding approximately to the length of the container; advancing the deformable ply and the closure strip towards each other; sealing the lower surface of the closure strip to the deformable sheet longitudinally in the direction of movement of the deformable sheet; forming a cavity with a peripheral projection in the deformable ply so that the closure strip remains on a part of said peripheral projection; placing a product in said cavity; covering said product with said covering or covering sheet; creating a vacuum in the space between said layers; seal the webs together with longitudinal and transverse joints, a longitudinal joint being adjacent and parallel but spaced from the closure strip with the closure strip inside the periphery of the joint, and the transverse joints being formed through the strip closing where part of the strip has been scalloped or cut; and sealing the upper surface of the closure strip to the covering ply.

 The invention also relates to an apparatus for producing reclosable packages and characterized in that it comprises: separate means for containing a source of a deformable sheet, for advancing the latter, a recoil sheet and a closure strip towards each other; means for removing a portion of said closure strip, means for sealing the bottom surface of said closure strip to said deformable web; means for forming a cavity receiving a product in said deformable ply so that the deformable ply has or retains a peripheral projection; means for covering the cavity in the deformable ply with overlap plies; means for creating a vacuum in the space between the deformable and covering plies; means for sealing the covering and deformable plies with each other with longitudinal and transverse peripheral joints so as to enclose a product and a closure strip, the closure strip being positioned so that the transverse seal is formed through the space where part of the tape has been removed; and, means integral with the longitudinal sealing means for sealing the upper surface of the closure strip to the covering ply thereafter, when the container is separated between the closure strip and the adjacent longitudinal seal , the closure strip can be opened to access the product.

The invention, as well as other characteristics, details and advantages thereof, will appear more clearly on reading the description which follows, made with reference to the appended drawings in which
- Figure 1 is a schematic view of the apparatus which implements the method according to the present invention;
- Figure 2 is a perspective view of the means for forming a notch in a closure strip according to the present invention;
- Figure 3 shows the closure strip after a notch has been made;
- Figure 4 shows a top view and a side view of the closure strip, the notch having been made in the strip according to the present invention;
- Figure 5 is a top view of a package according to the present invention before it is separated from the adjacent package;
- Figure 6 is a sectional view of the sealing bars which seal the longitudinal central joint between the covering and deformable plies and the sealing bar which seals the closure strip to the upper ply;
- Figure 7 is a sectional view of a vacuum and sealing station showing the position of the sealing bars of Figure 6 relative to the cavities filled with the deformable sheet of 1'emba2wS of the present invention;
- Figure 8 is a sectional view of a portion of ltemballRpde the present invention showing the arrangement of seals or closure strips before the packages have been separated from each other; ;
- Figure 9 is a sectional view of a closure strip showing the perforations or notches or grooves for sealing the strip in the covering ply; and
- Figure 10 is a perspective view of a package according to the present invention.

 Referring mainly to FIG. 1, the apparatus and the method of the present invention will be described, as will the container or packaging produced by the method and the apparatus. The closure strip 1 which provides the reclosable system of the container of the present invention is supplied by a supply roller 2 and is brought to a closure, die-stamping and stamping assembly 3.

This assembly and stamping carried out at this station can be better understood by considering Figures 2, 3 and 4 in which the punches 18 are shown in a position for stamping the notch 19 in the strip of closure. In FIG. 2, the stamping operation has just started and in FIG. 3 the stamping step has been carried out and the result of this stamping or of the removal of part of the strip can be better understood by looking at the top view of the closure strip of FIG. 4.

The closure strip shown in the figures is a double strip which provides the closure element or strip 1 for two or more containers. The strip 1 comprises a male part or forming a rib 17 which fits or cooperates with the female part or forming a groove 16. As shown, there are two interlocking ribs which extend Ion itudinally over the ribbed part 17 which eidbattent force in the corresponding longitudinal grooves on the female part 16.

The present invention is not limited to a particular number of cooperating ribs or grooves since satisfactory closure strips can be made with a groove and a rib or with a certain number of grooves and ribs. The main criterion is that the rib and groove parts of the closure strip can be easily separated by the fingers of the person who purchased the container and that they can be easily closed.

 Referring again to Figures 2, 3 and 4 it should be noted that the grooved part or element 16 of the closure strip has a border or projection forming a single piece with the surface of the top of the closure strip and this provides an additional sealing surface between the groove 16 and the covering ply or the upper thermoplastic film. The projection or border which connects the rib portion 17 of the closure strip also provides a larger seal or sealing surface for sealing the deformable web or the lower thermoplastic film in addition to the connection of the two segments of the closure strip. .

It will be understood, of course, that the present invention can be implemented without there being two connected closure strips but to facilitate production and assembly it is economical to use the two closure strips connected side by side so that two or more containers can be made at the same time.

In addition, it is not necessary for the rib portion to be on the lower or upper segment of the closure strip since this will function properly in both cases.

As shown in FIG. 2, the border or projection portion of the upper segment of the closure strip 7 has been folded over by a folding member, not shown, so that the punches 18 can cut out the entire upper border and the interlocking elements in a single stroke and however leave enough material in the lower edge so that the strip is not too weak and that it does not break when it is brought towards the deformable sheet. The purpose of making 11 notch in the closure strip is thus to obtain for the container a united peripheral seal, quickly produced and reliable as will be more fully described below.

 Referring again to FIG. 1, the closure strip is brought from the stamping assembly 3 to the sealing section 4 of the closure strip where it meets the first thermoplastic sheet or the deformable sheet 5 which is supplied and brought from a feed roller 6, through a marking ration 7 and which passes through a pair of notching and perforating wheels 35 and on a roller to meet the closure strip 1 at the station 4 for sealing the strip The closing strip 1 and the deformable sheet 5 are both made of thermoplastic materials, the closing strip being preferably made of polyethylene or an ionomer and the deformable sheet being thermoformable and preferably of a laminate of nylon and polyethylene, this laminate, in some cases, will have multiple layers of these materials and, in addition, may have a gas barrier layer or layers of materials such as "S aran "or a hydrolyzed ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer. The closure strip 1 is heat sealed with the deformable web at the sealing station and the sealing means can be either a plate and a roller in which the roller presses the strip. against the heated plate when the closure strip 1 and the deformable sheet 5 pass over it or a heated roller can press the strip or the sheet against a bearing surface. Other preferred sealing means used consist of the combination of a heated plate and a support plate.

When the movement of the closure strip and of the deformable ply is stopped, the ply and the strip are pressed together between said plates after which the joint or sealing is carried out during the stop.

Continuous or discontinuous seals between two thermoplastic surfaces are both well known and within the reach of ordinary skill in the art.

The closure strip is sealed above the notched or perforated line 36 in the deformable ply 5 as shown in the sectional view of FIG. 9.

The notches or perforation lines 36 have been placed in the ply 5 by the notching or perforating wheels 35 whose position is indicated in FIG. 1. This pair of wheels (only one is visible in FIG. 1) simply cuts two lines of small holes in the deformable sheet when it passes between them and the support roller, a line of perforations being made for each container. Instead of perforating wheels with holes in the tablecloth, notching wheels can be used which notch, or print a line of notches which cuts and penetrates inside the surface of the tablecloth but does not completely cut this one .

This line of cuts can be continuous or discontinuous.

Referring again to FIG. 1, after the closure strip has been sealed to the deformable sheet at station 4, the deformable sheet moves to the shaping station 8 where cavities or pockets are formed in the sheet deformable. The deformable sheet is first blocked or tightened around the periphery of the shaping die, heated to its deformation temperature and pulled by the implementation of a pressure difference in the cavity of the die where it takes its shape and is cooled. Figure 7 shows a sectional view of the vacuuming and sealing station 38 and the pocket 28 closely resembles the shaping cavity of the shaping station 8. The pressure difference is applied through the orifices 40 to pull the deformable sheet into the cavity for thermoforming. Figure 7 also shows the position of the closure strip 1 at the sealing station. At this point the formed pockets 9 have been produced and the closure strip 1 is firmly sealed to the deformable sheet in the space between the pair of pockets 9 as shown in FIG. 9.

After leaving the shaping station 9, as shown in Figure 1, the bags are moved to the loading station 10 where the product is placed in the pockets. Almost any type of product can be packaged, but more precisely, the present invention is intended for food products such as sliced meat, products comprising bacon and meals for pre-cut breakfasts, lunches, cheeses and the like.

 After the product has been loaded into the pockets, the loaded pocket is then brought to meet the second thermoplastic sheet or the covering sheet 17 which is fed from a covering sheet feeding roller 12 and which passes to through a marking station 13 before being placed on the pockets to enclose the product and the closure strip between the first and the second thermoplastic sheet. The covering ply is also a thermoplastic sheet, preferably a laminate of nylon or polyester polyethylene, but having a gauge or a thickness or a weight less important than the deformable ply so that it cannot be considered in a way general like a deformable film because it will not easily relax. The covering sheet may also include a layer of a gas barrier material such as "Saran" or a hydrolyzed ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer and can be printed thereon. the brand of the particular container. The layers of polyethylene or ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer generally serve as sealing layers and sometimes an ionomer can be used for these layers.

When it is placed on the pockets filled with product 29, the covering ply 11 covers the pockets as it appears in FIG. 7. The assembly shown in FIG. 7 in a section view represents the station 38 for sealing, gas filling and vacuuming where the final seals of the container must be made. The peripheral joints are made along the zone 41 and the central joint is made between the pockets. In station 38 the sheets are clamped together between the outer wall 42 and the pocket 28 generally in the zone 41. The space between the two sheets 5 and 11 which contains the product in the cavity 9 can be evacuated according to the any of a number of different methods and the present invention is not limited to a particular method of vacuum packaging since many methods are available in the prior art. In fact, the vacuum or gas filling station 38 is truly a vacuum chamber and in certain methods the sheets can be kept separate by creating a vacuum above the covering sheet 11 at the same time as the vacuum is made through the orifices 40 towards the deformable ply to separate the two plies so that they can be evacuated through the separation. In other cases the peripheral zone 41 can be completely sealed and then the upper ply 11 is drawn against a vacuuming port containing a blade for slitting the upper film II so that the container can be evacuated through the slot before the latter is closed. In the preferred and illustrated embodiment, the upper sheet It is first slotted to serve as a vacuum orifice (see the arrows indicating the air flow) and this previously melted sheet is then finally closed by a sealing bar 30 when the central seal is made. In any case, after the container has been evacuated and filled with gas, if desired, the closing or final sealing takes place and this is shown in detail in the FIG. 6 where elastic sealing members 39 serve as a back-pressure support for the sealing bar 30.

At this point the lower or deformable sheet 5 has already been sealed to the closure strip 1 and when the sealing bar 30 is lowered, the peripheral seal is produced closing the evacuation slot (see FIG. 7) and the face of the central sealing bar makes the main central joint between the containers when it is pressed down while the sealing bar face of the closure strip 32 seals the upper surface of the closure strip 1 to the upper ply or covering 11. When this sealing step has been carried out, the zone seen in section in FIG. 6 is better seen by considering FIG. 8. The central seal or sealing 25 is indicated where the upper ply It is sealed at the projection or border between the closure elements, and the closure elements on the closure strip are sealed to the lower ply 5. The central line 21 indicates the cut line between the containers and line 32 is the line lo ng from which the container can be cut or else if a line of notches or perforations are placed along this line (see Figure 9) such as the perforations 36 then the container can be torn and opened along this line. This removes the external hermetic seal, which gives access to the closure strip and allows manual opening by grasping each edge that has been separated and pulling the closure strips on either side.

After they have been pulled from both sides they can be easily pressed against each other for reclosing.

Figure 5 shows a top view of a container with one end having been cut by the cutter 14 (see Figure 1) so that the cut parts are removed by the vacuum chamber 37 and the longitudinal cut line 21 appears in this figure as well as the transverse cut line 22 between the container seals. A tear notch 27 may be arranged in which the line of the perforations ends. A slot can be put in place of the notch. This provides a starting point for a tear line to effect tearing along the perforations 36 which are not shown in Figure 5 but which are shown in their positions The top of the closure elements 16 as shown in Figure 5 and the peripheral seal 24 which is the seal of the longitudinal outer end are also shown with the transverse seal 23 extending between each container.

The figure shows the notch 19 for each container joint and it can be seen that the notch 19 provides a continuous and smooth transverse joint. If the notch 19 did not exist then the continuous closure strip in this sector would present a significant amount of material which should be melted and pressed at this point in order to ensure the achievement of a perfect seal.

Applying sufficient and necessary energy to melt this mass of material in a short period of time is impracticable and maintaining the sealing bars in a support position for a sufficient period to melt the joint would require a process very long. These sealing problems are avoided by the use of a scalloped closure strip.

 From a practical point of view it is more economical to continuously manufacture a sealing strip and then to cut it out or cut out the parts which are not necessary. However, in certain cases, it would be possible to manufacture the notches in the closure strip, but, in doing so, such a closure strip would be limited to a container of a certain length, whereas in the case of the method of the invention, the punch can be set to work according to the exact length of the pocket. The configuration or design 26 of the pocket shown in Figure 5 can be changed in any machine using suitable dies. The finished container 15 is in the form illustrated in FIG. 10 and this container can be easily reopened and hermetically closed.

 Of course, the invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described and shown which have been given only by way of example. In particular, it includes all the means constituting technical equivalents of the means described as well as their combinations if these are executed according to the spirit and implemented in the context of protection as claimed.

Claims (28)

 1.- Resealable packaging characterized in that it comprises  a) a product; b) a tbermoplastic deformable sheet having a cavity with a peripheral border around the opening of said cavity, said cavity containing said product;  c) a closing strip having a sealed surface to said deformable sheet, said strip being adjacent and parallel but spaced from one end of the deformable sheet, a part of the strip at each end thereof having a notch; and  d) a covering ply sealed to the peripheral part of said deformable ply thus hermetically enclosing the product and the closure strip; the notch at each end of said strip allowing a continuous and smooth seal between said covering ply, the deformable ply and the closure strip in the vicinity of said notches. 2.- reclosable packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that said deformable sheet comprises a series of perforations forming a tear line parallel to said closure strip, said perforations being sealed by a part of said closure strip.  3. ~ Reclosable packaging according to claim 2, characterized in that each end of said tear line ends in a notch in the peripheral zone sealed on the opposite sides of said packaging.  4.- reclosable packaging according to claim 3, characterized in that said notches are parts of said closure strip which have been cut therefrom.  5.-reclosable packaging according to claim 1, characterized in that the closure strip comprises two separable closure elements made of a flexible thermoplastic material, one of said elements having at least one longitudinal protuberance which cooperates or mates by force-fitting in at least one longitudinal cavity provided in the other element.  6.- Resealable packaging, hermetically closed, characterized in that it comprises  a) a product;  b) a thermoplastic sheet, heat deformable, which can be heat sealed or closed and having a cavity and a peripheral border around the opening of said cavity, said cavity containing said product;  c) a heat-sealable covering ply sealed in a sealed manner to said border by a substantially rectangular peripheral seal having side and end seal segments and thus enclosing the product;  d) a closure strip having a sealed surface at the edge of the deformable ply and another surface comprising an edge forming an integral part of this surface sealed to the covering ply, said closure strip  1) being surrounded by said deformable and covering plies, and 2) extending along one side of said container over the entire height of the strip only between the end seal segments adjacent and parallel to the peripheral seal but being spaced from a side segment of the peripheral seal and the cavity of so that when at least one of said deformable covering plies is separated or cut between said closure strip and said side joint segment, the closure strip can be separated and said product or a part thereof can then be removed after which the strip can be closed to close the packaging.  7.-reclosable packaging according to claim 6, characterized in that said closure strip comprises a flexible thermoplastic material, heat sealable and two separable elements, an element having at least one protrusion s1 extending longitudinally along the cooperating strip and mates & forces with a longitudinal cavity provided in the other element.  8. Reclosable packaging according to claim 7, characterized in that said nappedéformable comprises a series of perforations to form a tear line, said tear line being parallel to said closure strip but being hermetically sealed by a part of said strip. 9. ~ Reclosable packaging according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that each end of said tear line ends in a notch in the opposite extreme joint segments of said packaging  10.- Resealable packaging characterized in that it comprises a) first and second thermoplastic sheets, at least one of which is thermoformable and has a cavity; and  b) a closure strip and a product enclosed between said plies by a continuous peripheral seal, the product being placed in said cavity and one side of said closure strip being sealed with one sheet and another side being sealed with another sheet, each end of said sheet ending adjacent to said peripheral seal so that said strip is located between a part of said peripheral seal and said product so that when said part of said peripheral seal is broken, removed or torn the closure strip can be manually removed and removed to give access to said product.  11.-reclosable packaging according to claim 10, characterized in that it comprises a line of notches adjacent to said closure strip along which a tear can be initiated to expose said closure strip, said line of notches ending in a notch intended to initiate the tearing. 12.-reclosable packaging according to claim 10, characterized in that it comprises a line of perforations covered by a portion of said closure strip along which a tear can be initiated to expose said closure strip, said line of perforations ending in a notch intended to initiate the tearing.  13.- Method of manufacturing a resealable packaging, characterized in that it comprises the following steps  a) sealing one side of a closure strip to a first thermoplastic sheet;  b) enclosing a product between said first sheet and a second thermoplastic sheet with said closure strip inside the space between the two sheets; and  c) sealing the other side of said closure strip to the second sheet, thereby enclosing the strip and the product. 14.- Method according to claim 13, characterized in that lton creates a vacuum in the space between said sheets. 15.- Method according to one of claims 13 or 14, characterized in that one of said sheets is thermoformable. 16.- Method according to claim 15, characterized in that a cavity is formed in the thermoformable sheet.  17.- Method of manufacturing a resealable packaging, characterized in that it comprises the following steps  a) sealing an eaté of a closure strip to a first thermoplastic sheet;  b) enclosing a product between said first sheet and a second sheet of a thermoplastic material with the closure strip between the two aforementioned sheets;  c) creating a vacuum in the space between said sheets which contains said product; d) sealing the first and second sheets together according to a continuous peripheral seal so that said closure strip and the product are within the perimeter of the seal with each end of said closure strip terminating so as to be adjacent to said peripheral seal thus placing the closure strip between the product and a part of said peripheral seal so that when said part of said seal is broken, the closure strip can be separated manually in order to access the product.  18.- Method according to claim 17, characterized in that at least one end of said strip ends in said peripheral joint. 19.- Method according to one of claims 17 or 18, characterized in that one of said sheets is thermoformable.  20.- Method according to claim 19, characterized in that forms a cavity receiving a product in said thermoformable sheet.  21.- Method of manufacturing a reclosable package made of thermoplastic materials, characterized in that it comprises the following steps a) using a deformable ply, a covering ply and a closure strip;  b) indenting part of said closure strip at intervals separated from each other by approximately the desired length of the package. c) bringing the deformable ply and the closure strip towards one another;  d) sealing the lower surface of the closure strip to the deformable strip longitudinally in the direction of movement of the deformable sheet;  e) forming a cavity with a peripheral border in said deformable ply so that said closure strip remains on a part of said peripheral periphery; f) placing a product in said cavity;  g) covering said product with said covering sheet;  h) create a vacuum in the space between said layers;  i) sealing the plies together with longitudinal and transverse joints, a longitudinal joint being adjacent and parallel but spaced from the closure strip with the closure strip inside the periphery of the joints, and the transverse joints being made at across the closure strip at a location where part of the strip has been indented and  j) sealing the upper surface of the closure strip to the covering ply. 22.- Method according to claim 21, characterized in that said closure strip is notched by cutting a part of the strip. 23.- Method according to one of claims 21 and 22, characterized in that each sealing step is carried out by hot sealing. 24.- Method according to one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that the cavity is formed by heating the deformable sheet and drawing the heated sheet in a mold.  25.- Method according to one of claims 21 to 24, characterized in that between steps c) and d) is perforated said deformable sheet to form a series of perforations and a tear line and in that in the step d) the closure strip is sealed to the deformable ply so that at least a portion thereof seals or closes said perforations.  26.- Method according to one of claims 21 to 24, characterized in that between steps c) and d) notches are made in said deformable sheet to form a tear line.  27.- Method according to claim 22, characterized in that the upper surface of said closure strip comprises a border element forming an integral part with it and in that before step b) said border element is folded at above the upper surface of said closure strip so that the border element is also removed with the cutting punch. 28.- Method according to one of claims 21 to 27, characterized in that the closure strip comprises two parallel closure elements connected by a border element integral with their lower surface, said surface being sealed with approximately the central line longitudinal of the deformable sheet in step d), so that steps c) to h) are carried out one after the other using the portions of the respective deformable and covering sheets on each side of said central line.  ? 9.- Apparatus for the manufacture of reclosable packagings, characterized in that it comprises  a) separate means for maintaining a source of deformable ply, and for advancing this ply, a covering ply and a closure strip towards each other;  b) means for removing part of said closure strip;  c) means for sealing the lower surface of said closure strip to said deformable sheet;  d) means for forming a cavity receiving a product in said deformable ply so that the deformable ply has a peripheral edge; e) means for covering the cavity in the deformable sheet with the covering sheet; f) means for creating a vacuum in the space between the deformable and covering plies; g) means for sealing the sheets together. covering and deformable with peripheral longitudinal and transverse joints by enclosing a product and the closure strip, the closure strip being positioned so that the transverse joint is formed through the space in which part of the strip has been removed ; and h) means integral with the longitudinal sealing means for sealing the upper surface of the closure strip to the covering ply so that when the packaging - is broken or open between the closure strip and the adjacent longitudinal seal, the closure strip can be opened to gain access to the product. 30.- Apparatus according to claim 29, characterized in that it comprises means for perforating the deformable sheet in order to form a tear line.  31.- Apparatus according to one of claims 29 or 30, characterized in that the means for removing part of said closure strip is a punch. 32.- Device according to one. of claims 29 & 31, characterized in that the means for creating a vacuum in the space between said layers is an empty chamber.