Multilayer structures, packages, and methods of making multilayer structures

Abstract

Multilayer structures, methods of making the same and packages made therefrom are provided. The multilayer structures are useful for packaging bone-in meat or other like products. More specifically, the multilayer structures have sufficient rigidity and strength to contain bone-in meat or other like products. In addition, multilayer structures can easily seal to themselves or to other structures. Moreover, the multilayer structures are biaxially oriented and heat-shrinkable.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]Multilayer structures, methods of making the same and packages made therefrom useful for packaging products, such as bone-in meat, cheese and other like products are provided. More specifically, the present invention relates to multilayer structures, methods of making the same, and packages made therefrom useful for bone-in meat packaging, cook-in packaging, shrink film packaging, packaging for case ready meats, hot-fill applications, pet food, retort or lidding, and other like packaging. The multilayer structures are coextruded and have sufficient durability, strength, tear resistance and puncture resistance. In addition, the present invention relates to multilayer structures, methods of making the same, and packages made therefrom useful for packaging that is biaxially oriented so as to be heat-shrinkable around products.BACKGROUND[0002]It is generally known to utilize thermoplastic multilayer structures, such as films, sheets or the like, to package products....

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides multilayer structures, methods of making them, and packages made from them that are used for packaging various products, such as bone-in meat, cheese, and other similar products. These structures have sufficient durability, strength, tear resistance, and puncture resistance. Additionally, the invention provides multilayer structures that can be used for packaging that is biaxially oriented and can heat-shrink around products. These structures are ideal for packaging products that have bony protrusions or similar components that may easily tear or puncture other structures.

Problems solved by technology

When bone-in meat products are packaged and / or shipped, the protruding bones often can puncture or tear the packaging materials.

This puncturing or tearing of the packaging material by the protruding bones can occur at the initial stage of packaging or at the later stage of evacuation of the packaging, which may expose the bone-in meat products to moisture or other atmospheric conditions, thereby having deleterious effects on the bone-in meat product.

However, the formation of coextruded multilayer structures having these properties is difficult without laminating the structures to provide double-walled structures and / or laminating or otherwise adhering patches to the structures.

Laminating structures together to form double-walled structures or otherwise adhering patches to the structures requires multiple complicated processes, thereby requiring additional time and money.

This requires the use of large quantities of fairly expensive polymeric materials to provide the protection against puncture and tearing.

These patches, while allowing the use of less thermoplastic material, can be unsightly in that the surface of the films are interrupted by the patches.

In addition, the lamination process of adding the patches to the films can cause decreased optical characteristics, in that patches can become hazy or yellow.

Moreover, the areas of the patches also suffer from decreased optical properties due to the thicknesses of the patches and the patches tend to interfere with the shrink characteristics of the structures.

In addition, many coextruded structures having the durability and strength to package bone-in meat have sealability problems.

If a structure is too thick, the sealing bars will have difficulty in transferring an adequate amount of heat to the heat-sealing layers to melt the heat-sealing layers of the structures to provide adequate heat-seals.

Inadequate heat-seals cause leaks, thereby exposing products contained within packages made from the structures to moisture or other atmospheric conditions, which may deleteriously affect the products.

In addition, thicker structures tend to have a decrease in optical properties compared to relatively thinner structures.

Thicker structures, therefore, tend to have an increase in haze, thereby contributing to a decrease in the clarity of the structures.

In addition, thicker structures tend to be more difficult to orient.

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