MXPA98010076A - Flexible polymer packaging bag with fault opening seal stamp feature - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a flexible polymer packing bag comprising: a pair of side walls, a pair of end walls, an upper wall and a bottom wall, said walls forming an interior space, said walls being composed of a polymer material having a selected thickness, a stack of articles contained in said interior space and having a stack direction, each of said articles comprises a front panel and a rear panel, a graph on one of said panels of each article, a window in one of said walls and having a periphery, said periphery framing at least essentially a part of said graph so that at least said part of said graph is visually perceptible through said window, a stamp in said upper wall, said seal comprises a pair of flange members which are joined together in selected areas thereof to form at least seal and at least one empty area, and a frangible line in said upper wall and intercepting said empty area

Description

FLEXIBLE POLYMER PACKAGING BAG WITH EASY OPEN END SEAL FEATURE Background of the Invention The present invention relates to flexible packaging bags for containing and distributing articles. More particularly, the present invention relates to a flexible packaging bag having an easy-opening end seal feature that allows the bag to be easily opened in a seal to distribute the articles therefrom.

Packaging bags made of flexible polymer materials have been used to pack various types of items, such as infant diapers, child's underpants, absorbent pants, women's care products, and garments. incontinent for adult These bags allow the packing of the items to create a cardboard type vision and a configuration that facilitates transportation and display on the retail shelves. The bags can include handles to facilitate the lie. in the bags, and include mechanisms to provide an access opening in the bag.

For those bags made of a flexible polymer material, the opening mechanism can prove difficult to operate manually, for example, to tear and open easily with the hands, and particularly difficult when it traverses or intersects a seal formed of the material of polymer. These seals are typically formed by ultrasonic bonding, heat bonding or the like, in order to melt the polymer materials together. These seals are relatively hard and rigid in nature compared to unbound polymer material. In those cases where the opening mechanism traverses or intersects a seal, it can be very difficult, if not impossible, for some users to manually operate the opening mechanism where it crosses the seal. In other words, the user can not or has difficulty in separating the seal where it finds the opening mechanism.

There are numerous reasons for the intersection of the opening mechanism with a seal. One of these reasons is that when manufacturing and packing, for example, filling the bag with articles requires that the articles be inserted in a particular manner or direction in order to provide a desired orientation of the articles in relation to the bag. Another reason is that when the articles are inserted through an opening in the bag that will eventually be closed and sealed to form a top panel or top wall and it is desired that the article be accessible and removed through the top wall or panel.

Another problem occurs if the size of the opening is very large. This may result in the bag no longer functioning as a means for desirably storing and transporting the articles. For example, if the opening is very large, the flexible polymer bag may begin to fold and lose its shape after a number of items have been removed.

Conversely, if the bag opening is very small, the articles may not be easily distributed through the opening due in part to the compressive forces exerted against the articles that keep them tightly packed together. Consequently, if only a small part of an item is available for the user to grab and pull from the bag through the opening, the user will have difficulty removing an item and in some cases will not be able to do so at all.

Synthesis of the Invention In response to the difficulties discussed and the problems encountered in the prior art, a flexible polymer packing bag having an easy opening end seal feature has been discovered.

In one form of the invention, a packing bag comprising a pair of side walls, a pair of end walls, an upper wall and a lower wall is provided. A seal is on one of the walls, and comprises at least one seal area and at least one weakened zone. A breakable line is on the wall and intersects the seal in the weakened area, so that the breakable line can be easily broken when it intersects the seal.

In another form of the present invention, there is provided a flexible polymer packing bag comprising a pair of side walls, a pair of end walls, a top wall, and a bottom wall. The walls form an interior space, and are composed of a polymer material having a selected thickness. A stack of items are contained in the interior space and have a stack direction, and each item comprises a front panel, a back panel, and a graphic on one of the panels. A window is in one of the walls and has a periphery that essentially frames at least a part of the graph. A seal is on the top wall and comprises a pair of flange members joined together in selected areas to form at least one seal area and at least one hollow area. A breakable line in the upper wall intersects the hollow area.

In still another form of the present invention, there is provided a packing bag comprising a pair of side walls, a pair of end walls, an upper wall and a lower wall, in which the walls form an interior space. A stack of items are contained in the interior space and have a stack address. A seal is on one of the walls, and comprises at least one seal area and at least one weakened zone. A breakable line in a wall intersects the seal in the weakened area so that the breakable line can be easily broken where it intersects the seal.

Brief Description of the Drawings The above-mentioned and other features of the present invention and the manner of achieving them will be more apparent, and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 illustrates a partially broken front view of an article having a graph on it; Figure 2 illustrates a front view of another article having a graph on it; Figure 3 illustrates a perspective view of one form of the present invention; Figure 4 illustrates a perspective view of a stack of articles; Figure 5 illustrates a fragmentary and enlarged cut away view of the circle area in Figure 3; Y Figure 6 illustrates a flexible packaging bag that has been opened to expose the interior space and the articles contained therein.

Description of a Preferred Incorporation Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a disposable absorbent training brief for a child which is representative of a type of article to be packaged in a desired orientation in relation to a packaging bag. The term "disposable" means that the training underpants are designed to be worn until they become soiled and then discarded, rather than being washed and reused. Examples of other suitable disposable absorbent articles that can be used with the flexible packaging bag of the present invention include, but are not limited to, disposable absorbent briefs, diapers, women's care products, incontinence products, Disposable costumes or similar. Hereinafter, when used with reference by way of example to the disposable training underpants, the term "component" may refer, but is not limited to all or a segment of a designated selected region, such as edges, corners , the sides or similar; the structural members such as the elastic strips, the absorbent pads, the panels or elastic layers, the layers of material, or the like; or a graph. The term "graphic" may refer to, but is not limited to, an image, design, pattern, symbology, clues, or the like.

A disposable absorbent article, such as a training underpants illustrated in FIGS. 1 or 2 can have multiple function-related and / or appearance-related components. Examples of components that are related to appearance include, but are not limited to graphics; the highlighting or enfase of the leg and waist openings in order to make the product more evident or visible; highlighting the areas of the article to simulate functional components such as elastic leg bands, elastic waistbands, simulated fly openings for boys, or frills for girls, highlighting product areas to change the appearance of product size; selectively placed wet indicators, back labels and front labels; and written instructions selectively placed in a desired location of the article.

Examples of functional components include, but are not limited to, waist elastics, leg elastics, breathable areas, fluid-repellent areas, wet-damp areas, adhesives, coatings, encapsulated inks , chemically sensitive materials, environmentally sensitive materials, heat-sensitive materials, moisture-sensitive materials, perfumes, odor control agents, dyes, fasteners, fluid storage areas, textured or engraved or similar. Referring now to Figure 1, there is illustrated a child-friendly training underpants 10 generally composed of a front panel 12, a back panel 14, a crotch panel 16 interconnecting the front and back panels 12 and 14 and a pair of elastic side panels 18. Each elastic side panel 18 is formed of two spaced apart elastic portions and are suitably joined, such as by ultrasonic joining, to form a non-resilient bonded side seam 20. With the construction of the side seams 20, an elastic side seam 20 is formed. waist opening 22, and leg openings 24. Side seams 20 may be constructed to be manually tear-open in order to allow the training underpants 10 to be disassembled manually by the caregiver, so that they can be easily removed from the child after bowel movement A more detailed description of the construction and design of the training underpants 10 can be found in U.S. Patent No. 4,940,464; whose contents are incorporated here by reference. A specific way of supplying the elastic side panels 18 is described in U.S. Patent No. 5,224,405 and U.S. Patent No. 5,104,116; both of which are incorporated herein by reference. The provision of side seams 20 can be achieved in the manner described in U.S. Patent No. 5,046,272 which is incorporated herein by reference.

The training underpants 10 further comprises a front waist elastic 26, suitably attached to the front panel 12, a rear waist elastic 28 suitably attached to the back panel 14, the leg elastics 30 suitably placed on the crotch panel 16, and a absorbent pad 32 positioned between an outer liquid-impermeable cover or a backing sheet 34 and an upper sheet or liquid-permeable liner 36. A graphic 38 is selectively positioned on the front panel 12, and as illustrated comprises a design of an " simulated fly opening "40 typical of underpants or clothing or male interior, along with a rainbow, a sun, clouds and cars. The graph 38 may be of any type of desired pattern, art feature, or the like and is placed in a selected location.

Figure 2 illustrates another training underpants 42 that can be typically worn by girls. This training brief 40 includes a graph 44 representative of the different types of appearance-related components that can be included in a disposable absorbent article. Figure 44 includes simulated waist waves 46, simulated leg waves 48, along with a rainbow, a sun, clouds, a car and a balloon. Again, any suitable graphics can be used to give the user and the caregiver a pleasing aesthetic and / or functional appearance. Charts 38 and 44 may be designed to be particularly attractive to a child and may help to encourage and reinforce the child's desire or interest in toilet training. In this case, it is desirable to display graphically 38 and 40 when the training underpants 10 and 42 are packaged in this flexible packaging bag visually and exactly for the child or caregiver.

Referring primarily to Figure 3, there is illustrated a flexible packaging bag 50 having a polyhedron shape defining or forming a polyhedron enclosure. Specifically, the bag 50 has a hexahydric shape that forms or defines a hexahydric enclosure having a bag length dimension 51, a bag width dimension 53 and a bag height dimension 55. The bag 50 is formed or defined by a pair of end walls 52, a pair of side walls 54, an upper wall 56 and a bottom wall 58. Each of the walls has a periphery, such as a periphery 62 for an end wall 52. The walls 52, 54, 56 and 58 define an interior space 60 (Figure 6) for containing a compressed stack 64 (Figure 4) of the articles, such as the training underpants 10. The term "compressed articles" or a similar terminology will mean that the stack of articles, such as the underpants 10 in Figure 4 are compressed inwardly by a compressive force on their front or back surfaces or panels, such as the front panel 12 and the back panel. r 14, in a direction parallel to the direction of the stack 66 (Fig. 4) so as to decrease the dimension of the length 68 (Fig. 4) of the articles not originally compressed. The compressed stack 64 also includes a width dimension 70 and a height dimension 72. The term "compression packed" or a similar terminology describes the condition or condition of the training briefs 10 after they have been compressed and have inserted into the bag 40. The term "expansion force" or a similar terminology refers to a generally equal force exerted by the compressed stack 64 in a generally opposite direction and parallel to the compression force and primarily against the end pads 52. Naturally, all the walls of the bag 50 experience some degree of tension.

The bag 50 may be composed of different materials, or may be composed of essentially the same type of material. Typically, the material is a polymer film which is flexible enough to assume a generally desired hexahedron shape when the bag 50 is filled with the training underpants 10. In addition, the material must have sufficient strength to contain and hold the underpants of training 10 or other items without breaking and without excessive bulging or stretching of the film material. In a specific embodiment, the film material may be composed of a polyethylene film or a film laminate having a thickness of about 2.25 mils. Other examples include a LDPE (low density polyethylene) film, a LDPE / LLDPE (linear low density polyethylene) film laminate, a LDPE / MDPE laminated film (medium density polyethylene), a LDPE film laminate / HDPE (high density polyethylene) or similar. A desired range of thicknesses is between about 1.5 thousandths of an inch to about 3.0 thousandths of an inch. A more desired range of thickness is between about 1.75 mils to about 2.5 mils. Naturally, the dimensions of the bag 50 will depend on the types of articles to be contained therein as well as the aesthetically preferred or desired form. A suitable bag and its method of construction are illustrated and described in U.S. Patent No. 5,282,687, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Continuing with reference to Figure 3, the bag 50 includes the upper gussets 100 (only one of which is illustrated in Figure 3) formed integrally with the walls 52, 54 and a mechanism or means for accessing the interior space 60 (FIG. 6) to distribute the training underpants 10 therefrom. The mechanism or means to access can be, by way of example, a breakable line 74 that is easily broken, and which can be placed or manufactured in any design, pattern or shape in any desired position or location on the bag 50 during the manufacture of the bag 50. As shown in FIG. illustrated in Figure 3, the breakable line 74 is partially located in a side wall 54, continues up and through the top wall 56, and then down along the opposite side wall 54 in the same manner as in the another side wall 54. This is also illustrated in Figure 6 where the breakable line 74 has been broken in order to provide an opening 76 for accessing and distributing the * training underpants 10. The breakable line 74 may, for example, be provided by partially cutting or otherwise slimming through the thickness of the bag material in a predetermined pattern providing a selected pattern of perforations along the sections desired or from the walls of the bag, providing a desired pattern of fatigue-tension weakening along a desired line of the bag or the like. As illustrated, the frangible line 74 is provided by a line of perforations in which there may be approximately 2-10 perforations per linear 2.54 centimeters. Both the manufacture and packaging of the bag 50 and the provision of a breakable line 74 can be achieved in any suitable manner well known in the art.

Referring now to Figure 5, this shows the part surrounded by Figure 3 in a slightly rotated manner for ease of description, and illustrates portions of the top wall 76, the frangible line 74 and a seal 104. As illustrated, the breakable line 74 and seal 104 intersect, by way of example, in upper wall 56. Breakable line 54, as illustrated in Figure 3, traverses the width dimension of bag 53 and is desirably perpendicular to seal 104. seal 104 comprises a first flange member extending longitudinally 108 and a second longitudinally extending flange member 110 which in this embodiment are formed by upper wall 56. In the manufacturing process, after which the compressed stack of articles 64 (figure 4) has been inserted into the bag 50, as described above, the walls 52 and 54 are properly bent to form the gussets 100 and the members The flange members extending longitudinally 108 and 110. The flange members 108 and 110 are turned outwardly, as illustrated in Figure 5, in order to join together properly, the term "union" when used to describe the relationship between two or more elements means that the elements can be connected together in any suitable manner such as by ultrasonic bonding, heat bonding, adhesive bonding or the like; the elements can be linked directly together, or they can have one or more elements interposed between them, all of which are connected together. The joint assembly of the flange members 108, 110 forms at least one seal area, and desirably forms two seal areas 116 and 118 having between them a weakened zone 102. It is in this weakened zone 102 that the breakable line 74 passes through or intersects the seal 104. The weakened zone 102 is designed and constructed so that it will easily be broken by hand, such as by way of example only in the same or similar manner as the breakable line 74. Thus , where possible, it may be desirable to form or fabricate the weakened zone 102 in the same manner as the breakable line 74, such as by way of example, only, by thinning, punching, cutting or the like. In addition, the weakened area 102 may also comprise a hollow area, for example, an area in which the flange members 108 and 110 are not joined together. Therefore, a hollow area 114 (FIG. 5) represents that part of the mutually facing surfaces of the flange members 108 and 110 that are not joined together, and it is that area over which or through which the breakable line 74 crosses. or intersects. The width 120 of the weakened zone 102 or the hollow area 114, generally depends on the accuracy in the alignment of the flange members 108 and 110 and the respective ends 73 and 75 of the breakable line 74. Generally speaking, the width 120 it is desirably less than about 10 millimeters, and more desirably less than about 5 millimeters.

Hereinafter, the description of the present invention will be made with reference to the hollow area 114, but it will be understood that the hollow area 114 is only an example of a weakened area 102 as described above. The crossing or intersection of the weakened line 74 and the hollow area 114 is important for the present invention to allow the bag 50 to be easily opened, as well as to allow easy removal of the articles compressed therefrom. If there is no hollow area 114, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the user to easily separate the breakable line 74 at the intersection with the seal 104, since the seal generally results in a rigid and hard mass of polymeric material. With the hollow area 114 in the seal 104, there is no joining of the flange members 108 and 110, and the separation of the breakable line 74 is easily achieved through the upper wall 56, since the only force required is that of breaking the weakened line 74. Even in those modifications of the weakened zone 102 in which a design other than a hollow area 114 is provided, for example, perforations similar to weakened line 74, the force required to tear through the weakened area 102 is such that it can easily tear. Although this description is made with reference to the breakable line 74 intersecting the seal 104 in the upper wall 56, a frangible line and a seal may intersect elsewhere depending on the design, manufacture and packaging of the particular bag.

Referring now primarily to Figure 4, each training pant 10 has been folded so that the elastic side panels 18 (Figure 1) are positioned inwardly between the front panel 12 and the back panel 14. As illustrated in Figure 4 , each training underpants 10 generally define the opposite side edges 78, a lower edge 80, an upper edge 82, the opposite face surfaces 84 (only one of which is illustrated in Figure 4) and a periphery 86. When the underpants are packed by compression in the bag 50, the lower edges 80 (as seen in figure 4) of the training underpants 10 make contact with the bottom wall 58, the upper edges 82 of the training underpants 10 make contact with the upper wall 56, the side edges 78 of the training underpants 10 make contact with the side walls of the bag 54, and the outermost surface 84 of the underpants The end of training tubes 10 contact the end walls 52. Note that the upper edge 82 of the training underpants 10 in FIG. 4 is associated with a waist opening 22 (FIG. 1).

Referring primarily to Figure 3, the bag 50 further includes a window 88 positioned or placed within a portion of the end wall 52. The window 88 includes a window periphery 90 having a shape that is essentially similar to the periphery of the window. the end wall 52. The window 88 at least essentially frames a component of the training underpants 10 contained within the bag 50. In Figure 3, the component framed by the window 88 is a part or segment of the graphic 38. , which is visually perceptible through the window 88. The training underpants 10 may also have another graphic on the back panel 14, and in this case, it may be desirable to have that graphic on the back panel 14 being visually perceptible to through the opposite end wall 52 from the end wall 52 having the window 88 framing the graph 38. In this case, the opposite end wall, for example, that wall of end not visible in figure 3, you can also have a window.

Depending on the type of articles to be contained in the bag 50, and the components of those items, it may be desirable to have a window on a different wall of the end walls 52. For example, in case a battery of If items are packed in a different orientation in the bag 50, then one of the side walls 54, or the top wall 56, or the bottom wall 58 may have a window to allow a component to be visually perceived therethrough. In either case, the desire to have a graph 38 visually perceived through the window 88, and in a desired orientation relative to the bag 50, is just an example of an article that requires packaging in a bag in a desired orientation. .

With reference to window 88 framing a component, such as graph 38, the term "framing", "essentially framing" or variations thereof, means that the periphery of the window surrounds or encompasses all or a portion of the component for visual exhibition. Within the context of this description, a component is visually perceptible if it is clear or essentially clear to the person who sees it. The term "clear" refers to the ability of the material to transmit the light that the component, or a part of it, can be seen as clearly as if there were no material between the component and the individual. For example, a material is "clear", "essentially clear" or similar when light passes easily through it, so that written or printed signs, graphs or the like located opposite the clear material can be seen by the eye without help. A material will generally be considered to be "clear," "essentially clear," or the like when it has a light transmission greater than about 50 percent, desirably greater than about 80 percent, and more desirably greater than about 90 percent. hundred. The light transmission of a material can be properly determined by the BYK Gardener as established in ASTM-D-2244-85.

Due to the need to have a graph 38 and 42 suitably oriented in the bag 50 in relation to the window 88 for desired display and / or viewing purposes, the manufacture and packaging of a bag 50 with the training underpants 10 can require that the bag be oriented so that the seal is located on the top wall with the breakable line. Due to this particular packaging and manufacturing requirement, the seal to intersect the breakable line, thus causing the problems described above with the tearing of a breakable line at its intersection with a seal. This particular problem is solved by the present invention.

A potential problem with the arrangement of the bags 50 on a shelf for retail purposes is that it may not be practical to orient the bags 50 so that the windows 88 are visible. In this case, for example, the bags 50 can be oriented on the shelf space so that one of the side walls 54 is visible. To overcome this problem and in order to draw attention to the end wall 52 and the window 88, a visual key 96 (Figure 3) is positioned or arranged in at least one of the side walls 54 of the bag 50. The key 96 can be a transparent or essentially transparent part of a wall and as illustrated in Figure 3, it has the shape of, for example, a light beam. It will be noted that for purposes of explanation and clarity, the visual key 96 does not show the side edges 78 (FIG. 4) of the individual training pants 10 contained therein. One purpose of the visual key 96 is to draw a user's attention to the end wall 52 so that a component such as a graphic 38 of an article, such as a training underpants 10 can be visually perceived. The visual key 96 can also serve as an indicator or meter of remaining product, so that the caregiver can easily determine the number of pants 10 remaining in the bag 50.

The visual key 96 may or may not be continuous with the window 88. In other words, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the visual key 96 and the window 88 form a closed circuit pattern or periphery. However, it may be desirable for manufacturing, printing or packaging purposes to have a visual key 96 and a window 88 provided as separate visibility areas. In the latter case, the visual key 96 still serves to draw attention to the window 88 and the graphic 38. Thus, the visual key 96 is visually associated with the window 88 to call the attention of the buyer, the user or the like to the window 88 and the graphic 38. The visual key 96 can be provided in the material of which the bag 50 is made in any suitable manner known in the art.

Even though the visual key 96 has been described as being transparent or clearly or essentially clear, a part of the wall may be a structure separated from a wall and does not require being clearly or essentially clear. Again, one purpose of the visual key 96 is to draw the attention of a user or another individual to the window 88. Therefore, depending on the design, configuration or the like, of a bag 50, the visual key 96 it can be provided with any design, desired configuration or the like suitable for this purpose.

Continuing with reference to Figure 3, the bag 50 may further include an accessory window 98 in the upper wall 56. The accessory window 98 allows at least a portion of the contents there, such as the training underpants 10 to be visually perceived. Accessory window 98 can be positioned or manufactured on any of the walls of bag 50, but it is desired that it be on top wall 56 so that the user can determine the number of training underpants 10 remaining in bag 50. As with window 88, accessory window 98 may be either clear or essentially clear.

With primary reference to Figures 3 and 6, the bag 50 is opened by breaking the weak line 74 to gain access through the opening 76 to the training underpants 10. Typically, the separation of the breakable line 74 is initiated by breaking a portion thereof and then propagating the tear or tear along the weakened line 74 through the top wall 56 and those parts of the side walls 54 within which the weakened line 74 is made. thereby breaking the weakened line 74, the user can insert a finger or thumb through the opening 76 in order to gain access to the training underpants 10. Thereafter, the user can grasp the upper part of a training underpants 10. and pulling it out of the bag 50, while the remaining training underpants 10 are kept within the confines or of the interior space 60. The breakable line 74 runs generally in a p-shape. erpendicular to the seal 104 in the upper wall 56 and is positioned in the upper wall 58, as measured from the end wall 52 having a window 88, by a distance that is generally at least about 10% of the dimension of length of the bag 51. The breakable line 74 then runs down the side walls 54 by a generally vertical distance, as seen in Figure 3, which is at least about 20% of the bag height dimension 55. Then, the frangible line 74 runs angularly, between about 30 degrees to about 60 degrees from the height dimension 55, towards the end wall 52 and terminates near the end wall 52, for example, no part of the breakable line 74 enters the end wall 52. Configured in this manner, the breakable line 74 provides an opening 60 that allows easy removal of a training underpants 10, and still helps to keep the remaining underpants 10 in the bag 50 while also maintaining the general shape of the bag 50.

Although this invention has been described as having a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that it is capable of further modifications. Therefore, it is intended to cover any variations, equivalents, uses or adaptations of the invention that follow the general principles thereof, and including such items of the present description as they fall or may fall within the known or customary practice in the art to which this invention belongs to and falls within the limits of the appended claims.

Claims (21)

What eme is claimed is:

1. A packing bag, comprising: a pair of side walls, a pair of end walls, an upper wall and a lower wall, a seal on one of the walls, said seal comprises at least one seal area and at least one weakened zone, and a breakable line in said wall and intersecting said seal in the weakened zone so that the breakable line can be easily broken where it intersects the seal.

2. The bag as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that said weakened zone is a hollow area in said seal.

3. The bag as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that said weakened zone is a thinned area in said seal.

4. The bag as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that said weakened zone is a line of perforations in said seal.

5. The bag as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that said wall has a thickness of between about 1.5 thousandths of an inch to about 3.0 thousandths of an inch.

6. The bag as claimed in clause 1, characterized in that said weakened zone has a width of about 1 millimeter or less.

7. A flexible polymer packing bag, comprising: a pair of side walls, a pair of end walls, a top wall, and a bottom wall; said walls form an interior space, said walls are composed of a polymer material having a selected thickness, a stack of articles contained in said interior space and having a stack direction, each of said articles comprises a front panel and a rear panel, a graph on one of said panels of each said article, a window in one of said walls and having a periphery, said periphery frames essentially at least one wall of said graph; a seal on said top wall, said seal comprises a pair of flange members being joined together in selected areas thereof to form at least one seal area and at least one hollow area, and a flange line in said top wall and intersecting said hollow area.

8. The bag as claimed in clause 7, characterized in that said breakable line extends through said top wall and at least partially inside each of said side walls.

9. The bag as claimed in clause 8, characterized in that said breakable line extends through said top wall in a direction generally perpendicular to that of the direction of the stack.

10. The bag as claimed in clause 9, characterized in that said hollow area has a width of about 10 millimeters or less.

11. The bag as claimed in clause 10, characterized in that said thickness of said polymer material is between about 1.5 mils to about 3.0 mils.

12. The bag as claimed in clause 7, further characterized by a visual key on another of said walls to draw attention to said window.

13. The bag as claimed in clause 12, characterized in that said visual key is at least essentially clear.

14. A packing bag, comprising: a pair of side walls, a pair of end walls, an upper wall and a lower wall; said walls form an interior space, a stack of items contained in said interior space and having a stack address, a seal in one of said walls, said seal comprises at least one seal area and at least one weakened zone, and a weakened line in said one wall and intersecting said seal in said weakened zone so that the breakable line can be easily broken where it intersects with said seal.

15. The bag as claimed in clause 14, characterized in that said wall is the top wall and said breakable line extends through said top wall and at least partially through each of said side walls.

16. The bag as claimed in clause 15, characterized in that said breakable line extends through said top wall in a direction essentially perpendicular to said stack direction.

17. The bag as claimed in clause 16, characterized in that said weakened zone is a hollow area in said seal.

18. The bag as claimed in clause 16, characterized in that said weakened zone is an area thinned in said seal.

19. The bag as claimed in clause 16, characterized in that said weakened zone is a line of perforations in said seal.

20. The bag as claimed in clause 16, characterized in that said one wall has a thickness of between about 1.5 mils to about 3.0 mils.

21. The bag as claimed in clause 16, characterized in that the weakened area has a width of about 1 millimeter or less. R E S U E N A flexible polymer packing bag with an easy opening end seal feature is provided to facilitate tearing through a molten seal. The bag has a pair of side walls, a pair of end walls, an upper wall and a lower wall, in which the walls form an interior space. A stack of items are contained in the interior space. A seal is on one of the walls and includes at least one seal area and at least one weakened zone. A breakable line to open the bag is on a wall and intersects the seal in the weakened area so that the breakable line can be easily broken where it intersects the seal.