CA1145724A - Bag for vacuum packaging of meats or similar products - Google Patents

Bag for vacuum packaging of meats or similar products

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Publication number
CA1145724A
CA1145724A CA000363096A CA363096A CA1145724A CA 1145724 A CA1145724 A CA 1145724A CA 000363096 A CA000363096 A CA 000363096A CA 363096 A CA363096 A CA 363096A CA 1145724 A CA1145724 A CA 1145724A
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CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
bag
panel
layer
heat
panels
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.)
Expired
Application number
CA000363096A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Deane E. Galloway
Keith D. Lind
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Primerica Inc
Original Assignee
American Can Co
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 American Can Co filed Critical American Can Co
Priority to CA000363096A priority Critical patent/CA1145724A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1145724A publication Critical patent/CA1145724A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Abstract

BAG FOR VACUUM PACKAGING OF
MEATS OR SIMILAR PRODUCTS

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A multi-layer laminated meat package is disclosed which has a panel of the bag adapted for clear sight of the meat inside and another portion of the bag which has a boneguard panel constructed to resist puncture when drawn firmly over protruding bones in the meat. The bag is adapted to be evacuated after insertion of the meat so as to be drawn tightly over the meat, and to have the open end of the bag thereafter heat sealed together to complete the package. In addition, all interior surfaces of the bag are formed of heat sealable materials such that the completed package can be post heated after insertion of the meat to seal areas of the bag which have been drawn together during the evacuation.
Embodiments of the bag are disclosed which have more than 50% of the surface of the bag covered by a boneguard panel.
Boneguard panels which include a relatively thick layer of foamed plastic are also disclosed.

Description

~ B/~CKGROIJND O~ THE INVEN~ION 119~724 1. Field o~ the Invention This invention pertains generally to the field of heat sealable bags adapted for packaging meats and similar products, and particularly those which are adapted to be evacuated to draw the bag tightly around the meat product before the bag is sealed.
2. Description of the Prior Art Cuts of meat are often packaged in plastic bags which -are evacuated and heat sealed before delivery to the customer.
Such packaging is particularly common with so called primal cuts of meat such as roasts and rib sections. TypicaLly, such cuts of meats have substantial portions of bone remaining in them, and often the bones will protrude away from the meat itself. This can present a problem when evacuating the meat package, since sharp bones can puncture the walls of the bag.
In conventional vacuum packaged meats, a puncture of the bag wall will release the vacuum packaging on the meat and allow air to migrate around the bag, resulting in dete-rioration of the meat from contact with the air and con-siderable leakage of the fluids contained in the bag with the meat. This problem has been minimized by utilizing a post sealing treatment which involves heating the sealed package to cause heat sealable inner surfaces of the bag walls to seal together where these walls have been drawn together during the evacuation process. A bag sealed in this manner is mechanically held tight to the meat and will not generally separate from the meat if a portion of the bag is punctured. However, there will be drainage of fluid from 114S~24 the meat package and localized introduction of air into the package which can damage the meat.
Various types of boneguard inserts have been used with packaging of this nature. A conventional boneguard is a wax im-pregnated cloth or plastic insert which is hand placed over the exposed bone before the meat is inserted-in the package. These inserts do not seal to the inner surface of the outer bag layers.
Additional boneguard structures include separate layers of plas-tic which-are sealed into the bag to cover those areas which will be exposed to the protruding bones. These structures have suffered from various limitations, including relative high cost of labor and materials involved in placing the inserts prop^rly into the bag, and locating the meat so that the bone abuts the insert. In addition, the inserts often have not adequately pro-tected the bag from the effects of protruding bones, so that punctures are still possible.
SU~.AR~ OF THE INVENTION
The bag of the invention is adapted for the packaging of meat having bone protrusions and includes at least one gener-Z0 ally rectangl~lar outer panel and at least ore smaller, generallyrectangular inner panel which is heat sealed to the inner sur-faces of the outer layer and provides a guard against bone pro-trusions. The outer panel is formed as a coextrusion of an in-ner layer of thermoplastic heat sealable material, and an outer layer of plastic materia1 which is not affected by heat se?~ling temperatures, such as nylon. The outer layer also provides structural strength to the package and preferably acts as a moisture and gas barrier. The inner boneguard panel is formed of a plas~ic material having outer surfaces which are hcat seal-able to allow 114S'^~24 sealing to the inner surfaces ~f the outer panel. The boneguardpanel provides cushioning -~gainst an~ bones that may protrude from the meat being packaged.
In each of the embodiments disclosed, the inner bone-guard panel is sealed to inner surfaces of the outer panel or panels at at least two side heat seals which run the length of the package, and alons a back edge ~eat seal wh.ch closes the back end of the bag. The bag is so constructed that after in-sertion of a meat product into the bag, the front edges of the bag may be sealed together by pressing the front edges of the bag together under heat and pressure. All facing surfaces of the inner and outer panels at the front edge of the bag are formed of heat sealabIe material and will seal well together when heat-sealing bars are applied to the outside surfaces of the package.
All of the outer surfaces of the outer layer are formed of a ma-terial which is not affected by the temperature of the heat sealing bars.
The ir.ner boneguard panel may comprise a multi-layer coextruded lamlnate which has outer layers composed of heat sealable plastic resin and a core layer of plastic resin which has been foamed to give it greater thickness and cushioning ef-fect. It has been found that the foamed layer greatly reduces thc likelihood of a bone puncturins the boneguard panel, since the cushing effect of the foam tends to naturally spre~d any strain applied by a sharp piece of bone to a small area of the boneguard.
.~11 inner surfaces of the bag are heat sealable so that the bag is well adapted to a bag heating process after evacuation and sealing of the bag so as to firmly seal together adjoining surfaces of the bag which have been drawn to~ethe during evacuation of the bag.

Further ohjects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from -the following detailed description taken ln conjunction with the accompanying drawings~ showing preferred embodiments of a bag for the . 5 pac.~aging of meat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a meat packaging bag in accordance with the invention showing the open front end thereof.
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a meat package in accordance with the invention with a meat product inserted therein, the package having been evacuated and sealed.
Fig. 3 is a view looking at the open front end of the bag shown in Fig. 1, with portions of the bag being broken away in the view to show only the essential features thereof.
Fig. 4. is a view of an alternative embodiment of the bag shown in Fig. 1, looking at the open front end of the bag in a view equivalent to that shown in Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the back edge heat sealed layers of the bag of Fig. 1.
Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the layers of the bag of Fig. 1 as taken at one of the side heat seals, with the layers being spaced slightly apart to better show the various layers.
Fig. 7 is a front end view of an alternative embodiment of a bag in accordance with the invention wherein the outer panel is formed as a contlnuous tube.

~14S724 ~ ~
Fig. 8 is a front end view of another embodiment of the bag of the lnvention utilizing a single rectangular outer panel.
Fig. 9 is a front end view of another embodiment of the invention utilizing two outer panels and three inner bone-guard panels, Flg. 10 is a front end vlew of another embodiment of the bag of the invention utilizing a single rectangular outer panel.
Fig. 11 is a front end vlew of an alternative embodiment of the bag of the invention wherein one of the two panels forming the bag incorporates a unitary multi-layer boneguard structure.
Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the boneguard panel of the bag of Fig. 11.
Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative construction for the boneguard panel of the bag shown in Fig. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIO~

With reference to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of a heat sealable meat packaging bag in accordance with the inventlon ls shown generally at 10 ln Fig. 1, The major structural layers of the bag are shown ln somewhat exaggerated thickness in Fig. 1, and include a generally rectangular outer protectlve panel 11, a second rectangular outer panel 12, and an lnner rectangular boneguard protective panel 13.
The bag shown ln Flg. 1 is open at lts front so as to allow insertlon of a meat product therein. The three panels forming the bag are heat sealed together along their side :~ ~ 5724 edges at side heat seals 14 and 15, and at their back edges at a heat seal 16.
The meat product is inserted into the o~en front of the bag 10, the bay is evacuated, and the front edges 17, 18, and l9 of the layers ll, 12 and 13 respectively, are pressed together to seal the evacuated bag tightly about the meat product. A cross~sectional view through a packaged meat product is shown in Fig. 2, wherein the bag is illustrated tightly drawn about a meat product 20. As lllustrated by the view of Fig. 2, the act of evacuating the inside of the ¦ bag draws the bag tlghtly against all of the surfaces of the meat product. The bag will thus be in contact with any protruding bones on the product. It has now been recognized, as a part of the present invention, that many meat products have protruding bones which extend over greater than 50% of the surface of the meat product, or in which the protruding bones are spaced apart in a manner so as to require a pro-tective layer which encompasses more than 50~ of the surface of the product. The bag lO is so designed to provide pro-tection against protruding bones in meat packages having this characteristic. Thus, the generally rectangular second outer panel 12 and the inner boneguard protective panel 13, which is substantially the same size and shape, are larger than the first outer panel ll. A preferred ratio is 60% of the surface area covered by the second outer panel 12 and 40% by the first outer panel ll. It is not necessary that the boneguard protective panel 13 ex~end entirely around the periphery of the bag since bone protrusions will not cover the entire surface of the product. It is desirable to cover less than the entire surface area of the bag with the ~one-guard si ce the boneguard panel may tend to obscure the view ~ !

of the meat product inside. Moreover, since it is not neces-sary to have a boneguard layer around the entire periphery of the bag, to do so would add additional cost to the bag strl~cture without pro~iding additional advantage.
In order to ohtain the bag structure shown in Fig. 1, the two parallel side edges o~ the ~irst outer panel 11 must be substantially equal in length to the two parallel side edges of the second outer panel 12, as well as to the two parallel side edges of the inner boneguard panel 13. These equal length side edges are sealed together at the lateral edge seals 14 and 15.
In order for more than one half of the bag to be covered by the boneguard 13, the remaining two front and back parallel edges of the boneguard panel 13 and the second outer panel 12 must be substantially longer than the remaining two front and back paral-lel edges of the first outer panel 11. Afte~ formation of the lateral heat seals 14 and '5, 'he back edge heat seal 16 is formed by pressing the back edges of each of the panels 11, 12 and 13 together under heat and pressure.
The side edge seals 14 and 15 are shown in the partial front view of Fig. 3, wherein the thicknesses of the various panels have been exaggerated for purposes of illustration. In order to provide the heat seals 14 and 15, it is necessary that the inner surfaces of the outer panels 11 and 12 be heat seal-able, as must the surfaces of the boneguard protective panel 13, since these respective surfaces will be facing one another at the time that the heat seals are made. The outer surfaces of the outer panelc 11 and 12 are formed of a plastic material wh;ch is not affected b~ the temperatures required to make the heat seals.
~t the remainder of the bag surface, the second outer panel 12 and the` boneguard panel 13 are not sealed to one ` ~ ~14~724 another. Thus, when a vacuum is applied to the open front end of the bag 10, any air between the panels 12 and 13 will be drawn out so that no pockets of air will be trapped between these panels.
S A partial cross-sectional view through the heat seal area 16 is shown in Fig. 5, which particularly shows a section through the portion of the heat seal 16 which includes the lateral edge heat seal 15. As shown, a portion of the boneguard panel 13 is folded over at the edge of the bag and sealed to itself before terminating at the side edge at which it ~eets and is sealed to the first outer panel ll.
The second outer panel is similarly folded over and sealed at the heat seal area 16. The heat and pressure applied at the seal area 16 causes the second outer panel 12 to be sealed to the boneguard panel 13 at all areas along the heat seal at which they adjoin. In addition, the first outer panel ll is sealed to the boneguard panel 13 at all areas along the heat seal 16 at which these panels adjoin. Thus, it will be observed that all surfaces which define the interior end of the bag 10 at the back end oP the bag are heat sealed together to form an air tight seal at the back end of the bag.
The structure of the back heat seal 16 in the area of .
the side seal 14 is the mirror image of the structure shown in Pig. 5. It should again be noted that the layer thicknesses are exaggerated for illustration.
An alternative construction for the bag of Fig. 1 which utilizes only a single outer panel is shown in front view in Fig. 4. The construction of the bag 21 shown in Fig. 4 is substantially identical to that of the bag lO shown in Fig.
1 except that the single rectangular outer panel 22 extends around one of the equal length side edges of the rectangular ll~S724 boneguard panel 23 at one of the heat seals 24. The outer panel 22 extends to the other heat seal 25 at which area it seals the other side edge of the boneguard panel 23 between the side edges of the outer panel.
Again, it is preferred that the boneguard panel 23 cover less than the total surface area of the bag but more than 50% of the surface area. This is accomplished by locating the first heat seal 24 at a position less than half-way around the periphery of the bag from the heat seal 25. The side edges of the outer panel 22 and of the bone-guard panel 23 are substantially equal in length, while the front and back edges of the outer panel extend for the entire periphery of the bag while the front and bac~ edges of the boneguard panel are substantially shorter. A ~ortion of the outer panel 22 is folded over one of the side edges of the boneguard panel 23 at the heat seal 24 such that the inner surfaces of the outer panel adjoin the outer surfaces of the boneguard panel at the areas of the heat seal. These respective surfaces are formed of heat sealable material such that when the heat seal clamps apply heat and pressure at the seal area 24, a seal will be formed.
The back edge heat seal (not shown) is substantially the same as the heat seal 16 of the bag 10. The seal 25 is identical to that shown in Fig. S for the seal 15 and the back edge seal at the location of the heat seal 24 is virtually identical to that shown in Fig. 5 except that the outer panel 22 extends around the boneguard panel. Other- ¦
wise, the back edge seals between res?ective inner surfaces for the bag 21 are identical to those for the bag 10.
Various materials are suitable for formins the bags 10 and 21. Generally, the layers that form the outer surfaces of the outer ?anels 11, 12 and 22 must be able to withstand ~ -10-the sealin~ temperatures at which heat seals are lormed at the inner surfaces of these materials withoul melting. Typical ma-terials which would provide such good outer layer ~ualities are nylon and polyesters. However,since these materials do not form good heat seals, it is necessary to laminate thereto an inner layer of a material which will adhere well ~o the protective outer layer. For example, a material such as onomer, such as is sold under the name Surlyn, is suitable for coextruding with a nylon outer layer. The ionome~ layer has the capacity of form-ing good heat seals at moderate heat sealing temperatures, andis also adapted to provide good seals to itself during the post heating treat-nent after the bag has been eyacuated 2nd the front edges have been sealed together.
The inner boneguard panels 13 and 23 may be formed of a solid film of heat sealable plastic 5UC~ as ionomer or a variety of other plastics, or they may be forr.led as a multi-layer laminate. If a laminated film is utilized, the outer surfaces of the laminate must be capable of forming good heat seals. It is preferred that the surfaces of the inner panels be co~patible in heat sealing characteristics with the inner surfaces of the outer panels so that seals are formed between these surfaces durin~ the post heat treatment. Thus, the materials of hese respective surfaces should soften sufficiently to form heat seals at similar temperatures.
An alternative multi-layer bone~uard panel structure is shown in Fig. 6, which is a cross sectional view through the heat seal area 15 with the various layers of the package being shown slightly separated for purposes Or clarity. The first outer panel 11 is formed of an outer l~ye- 31 of plastic mater-ial which is not affected b~ heat sealing temperatures and aninner layer 32 of heat sealable thermoplastic material. Sim--l~rly, the second outer panel 12 is formed of an outer protec-tive layer 34 of plastic material not affected bv heat sealing temperatures and an inner heat sealable thermoplastic layer 34. As indicated ahove, examples of materials of which the outer pro-tective layers can be formed include nylon and polyest~r, where-as the inner layers may be formed of such materials as ionomer r ethylene vinyl acetate and other materials adapted to adhere to the outer layers, Typical thicknesses for the outer layer are in the range of 1~2 to 1 mil. (12 to 25 r.licrons) and the inner heat sealable layers 32 and 35 would be of similar dimen-sions. The boneguar~ panel 13 is formed of two separa'e coex-truded multi-layer structures, which are thereafter pressed to-gether. Each of the multi-layer structures include a central relatively thick core layer of foamed the mplastic material 37 and outer layers of heat sealable ~lastic film 38 and 39. The double multi-layer construction may be formed easily by blown filnl coextruding the outer heat sealable layers about an inner core of a foamed material into the typical tube formed by hlo~7n coextrusion, and thereafter collapsing the tube to press the ~alls of the tuke together to form the double layer construction 13 shewn in Fig. 6.
In accordance with the present invention, it has been discovered that highly desirable bone cushioning characteristics are obtained by a mult~-layer sandwich structure such as that shown in Fig. 6, which inclu~es a centrzl core of foamed plas-tic material bet~leen layers ofheat sealable thermoplastic with which the foamed layer is coextruded, Examples of materials of which such structures have been constructed include ionomer ("etal salt neutrali~ed polvmer obtained from ~uPont ~orporation urder the name Surlyn), ethylene vinyl acetate and combina~ions thereof. For example, the layers 37, 33 and 39 have been formed as a blown film coextrusion of a 12 mil thick layer of ionomer foam between 1/2 mil to 1 mil thick layers of ionomer, and a 12 114572~
mil thick ethylene!viny~ acetate foam between an outer layex of ionomer and an inner layer af ethylene vinyl acetate each be-tween 1~2 to 1 mil thic~. Foaming of the core material was ob-tained by incorporating, at a level of 7% to 1~% by weight of the core, a foaming agent consisting essentially of 90% low den-sity polyethylene carrier and 10% azodicarbonamide as a blowing agent, which is obtained from the Ampacet Corporation as Ampacet 10104. Ionomer is a preferred outer layer since it will adhere well to itself and to the a~joining surfaces of the outer panels during the post-sealing heat treatment ~rocess.
As an alternative, a single coextrusion of layers 37, 38 and 39 may be utilized as the bonequard layer, in which case the foam layer 37 would preferably be 20 to 30 mils thick.
~ odified bag embodiments in accordance with the pre-sent invention are sho~m in Figs. 7 - 11.
In Fig. 7, a meat package is shown ir front elevation view at 40 which includes a continuous tubular outer panel 41 and an inner boneguard panel 42 whose side edges are heat sealed to the inner surface of the tubu'ar outer panel at heat seals 43 and 44. The side edges are equal in length to the length of the outer tube and the heat seals 43 and 44 run their length.
The outer panel 41 is a tubular blown coextrusion of the type des-cribed above for the layers 11 and 12 of the bag 10, and has an inner surface layer formed of a layer Oc heat sealable thermo-plastic material and a heat resistant outer surface layer. The rectangular boneguard panel 42 is formed aS described above for the boneguard layer 13 and has surfaces composed of a heat seal-able thermoplastic material. As is apparent fr~m the view of Fig. 7, the facing inner surfaces of the panels forming the bag are heat sealable so that the ends can be easily heat sealed by pressing t~em between a heat sealing bar under heat and pressure.
The facing back edges of the panels are heat sealed together (not shown) to form the completed open ended bag.

, . . .
,.

ll'~S7Z4 Another construction of a bag in accordance with the invention is shown generally at 5Q in Fig. 8. The bag 50 is formed of a single rectangular outer panel 51 and an inner rectangular boneguard panel 52 which is sealed at one side edge in a heat seal 53 between the two side edges of the outer panel 51. The other side edge of the boneguard panel 52 is sealed at a heat seal 54 to the inner surface of the outer layer 51 at a position intermediate the side edges of the outer panel. The side edges of the inner panel are equal in length to the side edges of the outer panel, while the front and back edges of the inner are substantially shorter than the front and back edges of the outer panel. The back edge of the inner panel is heat sealed along the folded over back edge thereof, with the remainder of the folded over back edge being heat sealed to itself. The structure of the outer panel 51 can be formed as described above for the outer panel 11, and the boneguard panel 52 can be formed as described above for the boneguard panel 13. Again, all facing inner surfaces of the various layers are heat sealable so that the open end of the bag can be heat sealed after the meat product has been inserted into the bag.
Another embodiment of a bag in accordance with the invention which has more than 50~ of its surface area covered by a boneguard panel is shown generally at 60 in Fig. 9. The bag 60 includes a first rectangular outer panel 61, a second rectangular outer panel 62, a first rectangular inner boneguard panel 63~ and a pair of smaller rectangular inner boneguard panels 64 and 65. All of the panels have front, back and side edges, with all of the side edges of equal length. The side edges of panels 61, 62 and 63 are heat sealed together as well as the outer side edges of panels 64 and 65 at heat seals 66 and 67. In addition, the inner side edges of inner short panels 64 and 6~ are heat sealed to the inner surface of the upper outer panel li'~5724 61 which they face at heat seals 68 ,~nd 59 respectively. The outer panels 61 and 62 ~Xe formed as described above for the outer panel 11, and the boneguard panels 63, 64 and 65 are form-ed as described above for the boneguard panel 13. All facing surfaces at the'back edges of'the respective panels are heat sealed together to form the open ended b~g.
~ noiher embodimen~ of the bag is shown generally at 70 in Fig. 10. The bag 70 includes a single reçtangular outer panel 71 which has the inner surfaces of the side edges thereof sealed togethex in a heat seal 73 which runs the length of the bag. A single rectangular inner boneguard parel 72 is sealed to the inner surfaces of the outer panel 71 at heat seals 74 and 75 at posit~ons spaced on either side of the heat seal 73.
The length'of the front and back edges of the inner boneguard panel 72 is preferably selected to be somewhat greater than half of the length of the front and back edges ~f the outer panel 71 so that the boneguard covers more than 50% of the surface area of the bag. The structure of the outer panel 71 corresponds to the structure described above for the outer panel 11, and the structure of t,he honeguard panel 72 corresponas to that of the boneguard panel 13. All facing surfaces at the back edges of the fwo'panels are heat sealed together to form the open ended bag.
Another embodiment of a bag in accordarce with the invention is shown generally at 80 in Fig. 11. The bag 80 con-sists of a first rectangular panel 82 and a second rectangular panel 81, which also acts as a boneguard panel. The panels 81 and 82 have the inner surfaces at their siae edges sealed to-gether at heat seals 83 and 84. Each of the panels has front back and side edges, with the side edges being equa]. in length.
It is preferred that the length of the front and back edges of the boneguard panel 81 be greater than that of the first panel il45724 82 so that the boneguard panel covers more than 50% of the surface area of the ~ag.
The shorter outer panel 82 is preferably formed with a structure similar to that of the outer panel 11 of the bag 10.
The boneguard outer panel 81, however, incorporates a mu]ti-layer construction which provides g~od boneguard protective qualities. A first example of this structure is showr. in Fig.
12 and compri~ses an outer ~ayer 86 which is not affected by heat sealing temperatures, a co~e layer 87 of foamed plastic, and an inner heat sea]able thermoplastic layer 88. For example, nylon in a thickness of 1 to ~ mils may be utilized for the outer layer 86, foamed ionomer in a thickness range of 20 to 30 ~ils may be utilized for the intermediate or core layer 87, and the inner heat sealable layer 88 may be formed of ionomer in a thickness of 1/2 to 2 mils. Ionomer is a preferred mater-ial for contact with nylon in coextrllsions because of its abili-ty to adhere to the nylon layer.
An alternative structure for the boneguard panel 81 is shown in Fig. 13. The structure ~3 includes an outer protec-tive layer 90 of material not affected by heat sealing tempera-tures, tw^ intermediate layers 91 and 92, a central core layer 93 of foamed plastic, and an inner layer 94 of heat sealable thermoplastic material. The preferred thicknesses for the layers 90, 91, 92 and 94 would be in the range of 1/2 to ~ mils, whereas the foamed core layer 93 would have a thickness of 20 to 30 mils.
A suitable material for the three layers 92, 93 and 94 is iono-mer, and the intermediate layer 91 may be for~ed of a ~aterial which has good adhesion to both nylon and ionomer, such as a polyolefin modified by the addition of functional groups there-to as sold under the trader.~ark "Plexar" by the Chemplex Companyand as disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,087,587 and 4,087,588.
In both of the boneguard structures shown in Figs. 12 and 13, the outer boneguard layer incorporates in a single uni-tary multi-layer structure both the relatively strong contain-ment structure provided by the nylon layer and the cushioning effect provided by the intermediate core layer 87 of foamed ~lastic. It is seen that the inner surfaces of the boneguard structures shown in Figs. 12 and 13 both have layers of heat sealable material so as to allow heat seals to be made at the surfaces.
In all of the embodiments described above, all fac-n ing surfaces of the various panels at the front of the bag are heat sealable. Thus, the bag can be closed ~y pressin~ the front edges of the bag panels together under heat and pressure after the product has been inserted.
It is understood that the invention is not confined to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces all such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (33)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:-
1. An open ended bag adapted for the packaging of meat having bone protrusions, comprising:
(a) two outer rectangular panels each having front, back and side edges with the side edges of each panel being equal in length, the front and back edges of one of the panels being substantially longer than the front and back edges of the other panel, each of said outer panels being formed of an inner layer of a thermoplastic heat sealable material and an outer layer of plastic material which is not affected by temperatures required to seal the heat sealable material;
(b) an inner boneguard panel with surfaces of heat sealable thermoplastic material and having front, back and side edges which are substantially equal in length to those of said larger outer panel, said inner panel being secured at its side edges and along one of its back edges between said two outer panels by heat seals formed along said side edges and by a heat seal formed along the entire length of the back edge of -the smaller outer panel, and with the portions of the back edges of the larger outer panel and the inner panel extending outwardly from the back edge of said smaller outer panel being folded over and heat sealed together, whereby an open ended bag is formed to allow insertion of a meat product therein, with the bag having an inner panel of additional protective material extending over more than 50% of the inner surface of the bag, and whereby all facing surfaces of said three panels at the open front end of the bag are heat sealable so that the bag may be closed by pressing the front edges of the bag panels together under heat and pressure after the product has been inserted.
2. An open ended bag adapted for the packaging of meat having bone protrusions, comprising:
(a) an outer rectangular panel with front, back, and side edges which is formed of an inner layer of a thermo-plastic heat sealable material and an outer layer of a plastic material which is not affected by temperatures required to seal the heat sealable material;
(b) an inner rectangular boneguard panel with surfaces of heat sealable thermoplastic material and having front, back, and side edges, the side edges of said inner panel being substantially equal in length to the side edges of said outer panel while the front and back edges of said inner panel are substantially shorter than the front and back edges of said outer panel, one of the side edges of said inner panel being secured between the heat sealable surfaces of the side edges of said outer panel in a heat seal formed along the length thereof, the other inner panel side edge being heat sealed and secured in a fold formed along the length of said outer panel from its front edge to its back edge, and a heat seal formed along the back edge of said outer panel which is folded together to bring facing back edges of said inner and outer panels into contact, thereby forming a closed back end for the bag with the opposite end of the bag being open to allow insertion of a meat product therein and with the bag having an inner panel of additional protective material, and whereby all facing surfaces of said inner and outer panels at the open front end of the bag are heat sealable so that the bag may be closed by pressing the front edges of the bag panels together under heat and pressure after the product has been inserted.
3. The bag of Claim 2 wherein the length of the front and back edges of said inner panel is substantially greater than one half of the length of the front and back edges of said outer panel, whereby more than 50% of the surface area of the resulting bag is covered by the protective inner panel.
4. An open ended bag adapted for the packaging of meat having bone protrusions, comprising:
(a) an outer rectangular panel with front, back, and side edges and formed of an inner layer of heat sealable thermoplastic material and an outer protective layer of a-plastic material which is not affected by temperatures required to seal the heat sealable material;
(b) an inner rectangular boneguard panel with surfaces of heat sealable thermoplastic material and having front, back and side edges, the side edges of said inner panel being substantially equal in length to the side edges of said outer panel while the front and back edges of said inner panel are substantially shorter than the front and back edges of said outer panel, one of the side edges of said inner panel being secured between the heat sealable surfaces of said side edges of said outer panel in a heat seal formed along the length thereof, and the other of said side edges being heat sealed to the inner surface of said outer panel at a position intermediate the side edges of said outer panel, the back edge of said inner panel being heat sealed between the heat sealable inner surfaces of said outer panel along the folded over back edge thereof, with the remainder of the folded over back edge of the outer panel being heat sealed to itself, whereby an open ended bag is formed which allows insertion of a meat product therein with the bag having an inner panel of additional protective material, and whereby all of the facing surfaces of said inner and outer panels at the open front end of the bag are heat sealable so that the bag may be closed by pressing the front edges of the bag panels together under heat and pressure after the product has been inserted.
5. An open ended bag adapted for the packaging of meat having bone protrusions, comprising:
(a) an outer rectangular panel with front, back and side edges and formed of an inner layer of heat sealable thermoplastic material and an outer protective layer of a plastic material not affected by temperatures required to seal the heat sealable material, the side edges of said outer panel having the heat sealable inner surfaces thereof heat sealed together along the length of the side edges;
(b) an inner rectangular boneguard panel with surfaces of heat sealable thermoplastic material and having front, back, and side edges, the side edges of said inner panel being substantially equal in length to the side edges of said outer panel while the front and back edges of said inner panel are substantially shorter than the front and back edges of said outer panel, the side edges of said inner panel being heat sealed to the inside surface of said outer panel at positions spaced on either side of the position at which the outer panel is heat sealed together, said outer and inner panels being heat sealed together along the folded over back edges thereof to thereby form an open ended bag adapted to the insertion of a meat product therein with the bag having an inner panel of additional protective material, and whereby all of the facing surfaces of said inner and outer panels at the front end of the bag are heat sealable so that the bag may be closed by pressing the front edges of the bag panels together under heat and pressure after the product has been inserted.
6. An open ended bag adapted for the packaging of meat having bone protrusions, comprising:
(a) a continuous outer panel formed as a tube of an inner layer of heat sealable thermoplastic material and an outer layer of plastic material which is not affected by temperatures required to seal the heat sealable material;
(b) an inner rectangular boneguard panel with surfaces of heat sealable thermoplastic material and having two parallel side edges substantially equal in length to the length of said tubular outer panel and which are heat sealed to the inner surfaces of said outer panel at spaced positions along the inner periphery of said outer panel, said outer and inner panels being folded together and heat sealed at one end along the end edges thereof to thereby form an open ended bag into which a meat product can be inserted with the bag having an inner panel of additional protective material, and whereby all of the facing surfaces of said inner and outer panels at the front opening of the bag are heat sealable so that the bag may be closed by pressing the front edges of the bag panels together under heat and pressure after the product has been inserted.
7. An open ended bag adapted for the packaging of meat having bone protrusions, comprising:
(a) two rectangular outer panels having front, back and side edges and each being formed of an inner layer of heat sealable thermoplastic material and an outer layer of plastic material that is not affected by temperatures required to seal the heat sealable material;

(b) a first rectangular inner panel having front, back and side edges which are substantially equal in length to the front, back and side edges of said outer panels and having surfaces of heat sealable thermoplastic material;
(c) a pair of smaller rectangular inner panels which have surfaces of heat sealable thermoplastic material and front, back and side edges, said pair of inner panels being smaller than said first inner panel, the side edges of each of said smaller inner panels being substantially equal in length to the side edges of said outer panels and said first inner panel, the side edges of said first inner panel and the side edges of one each of said smaller inner panels being heat sealed between the heat sealable surfaces of said outer panel side edges, the other side edges of said smaller inner panels being heat sealed to the inner surface of the outer panel which they face to thereby form an open ended bag into which meat product can be inserted with the bag having inner panels of additional protective material, and whereby the facing surfaces of all of said inner and outer panels at the front edges of said bag are heat sealable so that the bag may be closed by pressing the front edges of the bag panels together under heat and pressure after the product has been inserted.
8. An open ended bag adapted for the packaging of meat having bone protrusions, comprising:
(a) a first rectangular bag panel with front, side and back edges and formed of an inner layer of heat sealable thermoplastic material and an outer layer of plastic material not affected by temperatures required to seal the heat sealable material;

(b) a second rectangular bag panel with front, back and side edges with the side edges being substantially equal in length to the side edges of said first panel, said second panel being formed of a coextrusion of a first layer of heat sealable thermoplastic material, a second layer of foamed heat sealable thermoplastic material, and an outer layer of plastic material which is not affected by temperatures required to seal the heat sealable material, said first and second panels having their inner surfaces heat sealed together along their side and back edges thereby forming an open ended bag into which meat product can be inserted with the bone resistant second panel covering a portion of the surface of the bag, and whereby the facing surfaces of the first and second panels at the front of the bag are heat sealable so that the bag can be closed by pressing the front edges of the bag panels together under heat and pressure after the product has been inserted.
9. The bag of Claim 8 wherein the front and back edges of said second panel are substantially longer than the front and back edges of said first panel and wherein the back edges of said first and second panels are heat sealed together such that portions of said second bag panel are folded over and sealed together along the back edge, whereby an open ended bag is formed having more than 50% of its surface area covered by the bone resistant second panel.
10. The bag of Claim 1, wherein said inner panel is formed of a coextrusion of a first layer of heat sealable plastic resin, an intermediate layer of foamed plastic resin, and an outer layer of heat sealable plastic resin.
11. The bag of Claim 10 wherein said first layer, intermediate layer, and outer layer are formed of an ionomer resin.
12. The bag of Claim 10 wherein said first layer is an ionomer resin film, said intermediate layer is foamed ethylene vinyl acetate resin, and said outer layer is ethylene vinyl acetate resin film.
13. The bag of Claim 1, wherein said inner panel is a laminate of identical coextrusions of a first layer of heat sealable plastic resin film, an inter-mediate layer of foamed plastic resin, and an outer layer of heat sealable plastic resin film.
14. The bag of Claim 13 wherein said first layer, intermediate layer, and outer layer are formed of an ionomer resin.
15. The bag of Claim 13 wherein said first layer is an ionomer film, said intermediate layer is foamed ethylene vinyl acetate resin, and said outer layer is ethylene vinyl acetate resin film.
16. The bag of Claim 1, wherein said outer panels are formed of a coextrusion of an outer layer of nylon film and an inner layer of ionomer resin film.
17. The bag of Claim 8 or 9 wherein said first bag panel is formed of an inner layer of ionomer resin film and an outer layer of nylon film.
18. The bag of Claim 8 or 9 wherein said second bag panel is formed of an inner layer of ionomer film, a second layer of foamed ionomer resin, and an outer layer of nylon film.
19. The bag of Claim 8 or 9 wherein said second bag panel includes first and second intermediate layers between said layer of foamed heat sealable material and said outer layer, said first layer of heat sealable material being ionomer resin film, said second layer of foamed material being foamed ionomer resin, said first intermediate layer being ionomer resin film, said second intermediate layer being a film of a polyolefin resin modified by the addition of functional groups thereto having a high affinity for nylon, and said outer layer being nylon film.
20. An open ended bag adapted for the packaging of meat having bone protrusions, comprising:
(a) first and second outer rectangular panels each having front, back and side edges and formed of an inner layer of thermoplastic heat sealable material and an outer layer of a plastic material which is not affected by tem-peratures required to seal the heat sealable material, the side edges of each of said outer panels being of the same length, and said first and second outer panels being heat sealed together along the back and side edges thereof;
(b) an inner rectangular boneguard panel having front, back and side edges with the side edges thereof being sub-stantially equal in length to the side edges of said outer panels, said inner boneguard panel being formed of a co-extrusion of a first layer of heat sealable plastic resin, an intermediate layer of foamed plastic resin, and an outer layer of heat sealable plastic resin, and wherein said inner panel is heat sealed to said first and second outer panels at least along its back edge thereby forming an open ended bag into which meat product can be inserted with the bag having an inner panel of additional protective material, and whereby the facing surfaces of all the said inner and outer panels at the front edges of said bag are heat sealable so that the bag maybe closed by pressing the front edges of the bag panels together under heat and pressure after the product has been inserted.
21. The bag of Claim 20 wherein said first layer, intermediate layer, and outer layer of said inner panel are formed of ionomer resin.
22. The bag of Claim 20 wherein said first layer of said inner panel is an ionomer resin film, said intermediate layer is foamed ethylene vinyl acetate resin, and said outer layer is ethylene vinyl acetate resin film.
23. The bag of Claim 20 wherein said outer panels are formed of a coextrusion of an outer layer of nylon film and an inner layer of ionomer resin film.
24. The bag of Claim 1, 3, or 4 wherein the boneguard panel covers about 60% of the surface area of the bag.
25. The bag of Claim 1, 2, or 4 wherein the surfaces of the boneguard panel are compatible in heat sealing characteristics with the inner surfaces of the outer panel and form heat seals at similar temperatures so that these respective surfaces will seal together during a post heat treatment.
26. The bag of claim 2, 4 or 5 wherein said inner panel is formed of a coextrusion of a first layer of heat sealable plastic resin, an intermediate layer of foamed plastic resin, and an outer layer of heat sealable plastic resin.
27. The bag of claim 6 or 7 wherein said inner panel is formed of a coextrusion of a first layer of heat sealable plastic resin, an intermediate layer of foamed plastic resin, and an outer layer of heat sealable plastic resin.
28. The bag of claim 2, 4 or 5 wherein said inner panel is a laminate of identical coextrusions of a first layer of heat sealable plastic resin film, an intermediate layer of foamed plas-tic resin, and an outer layer of heat sealable plastic resin film.
29. The bag of claim 6 or 7 wherein said inner panel is a laminate of identical coextrusions of a first layer of heat sealable plastic resin film, an intermediate layer of foamed plastic resin, and an outer layer of heat sealable plastic resin film.
30. The bag of claim 2, 4 or S wherein said outer panels are formed of a coextrusion of an outer layer of nylon film and an inner layer of ionomer resin film.
31. The bag of claim 6 or 7 wherein said outer panels are formed of a coextrusion of an outer layer of nylon film and an inner layer of ionomer resin film.
32. The bag of claim 5, 6 or 7 wherein the surfaces of the boneguard panel are compatible in heat sealing characteris-tics with the inner surfaces of the outer panel and form heat seals at similar temperatures so that these respective surfaces will seal together during a post heat treatment.
33. The bag of claim 20 wherein the surfaces of the boneguard panel are compatible in heat sealing characteristics with the inner surfaces of the outer panel and form heat seals at similar temperatures so that these respective surfaces will seal together during a post heat treatment.
CA000363096A 1980-10-23 1980-10-23 Bag for vacuum packaging of meats or similar products Expired CA1145724A (en)

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Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102011051193A1 (en) 2011-06-20 2012-12-20 Nordenia Technologies Gmbh Side gusseted bag for packaging of lumpy and granular bulk goods
EP2803478A2 (en) 2014-09-02 2014-11-19 Mondi Consumer Packaging Technologies GmbH Plastic multilayer film
EP2815879A2 (en) 2014-09-02 2014-12-24 Mondi Consumer Packaging Technologies GmbH Polyethylene coextrusion film
CN112041238A (en) * 2019-04-04 2020-12-04 花王株式会社 Sheet for container

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102011051193A1 (en) 2011-06-20 2012-12-20 Nordenia Technologies Gmbh Side gusseted bag for packaging of lumpy and granular bulk goods
EP2537770A1 (en) 2011-06-20 2012-12-26 Nordenia Technologies GmbH Bag packaging for packaging lump or granular bulk goods
US8741405B2 (en) 2011-06-20 2014-06-03 Mondi Consumer Packaging Technologies Gmbh Package
EP2803478A2 (en) 2014-09-02 2014-11-19 Mondi Consumer Packaging Technologies GmbH Plastic multilayer film
EP2815879A2 (en) 2014-09-02 2014-12-24 Mondi Consumer Packaging Technologies GmbH Polyethylene coextrusion film
US9944045B2 (en) 2014-09-02 2018-04-17 Mondi Consumer Packaging Technologies Gmbh Coextruded polyethylene film
CN112041238A (en) * 2019-04-04 2020-12-04 花王株式会社 Sheet for container
EP3738903A4 (en) * 2019-04-04 2021-01-13 Kao Corporation Sheet for container
US11198549B2 (en) 2019-04-04 2021-12-14 Kao Corporation Sheet for container
US11738928B2 (en) 2019-04-04 2023-08-29 Kao Corporation Sheet for container

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