Patterned Microwave Interactive Material Lamination

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for forming patterned microwave energy interactive materials in laminates for microwave packaging rely on chemical etching or deactivation, which can be costly and inefficient.

Innovation Solution

A method involving the cutting and removal of portions of microwave energy interactive material during lamination processes to create patterns without chemical etching or deactivation, with the option to fine-tune patterns using additional techniques like chemical deactivation or etching, and positioning this material between a barrier layer and a substrate to obstruct holes.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If chemical etching or deactivation is used to form patterns in microwave energy interactive material, then manufacturing precision can be achieved, but production cost increases and productivity decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepattern formation precisionVSAvoidproduction efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The microwave energy interactive material is laminated to the substrate beforehand, creating a compound laminate structure. This preliminary action allows the material to be in place before pattern formation, enabling subsequent removal processes to be more efficient and less costly than traditional chemical etching methods performed on already-formed patterns.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Portions of the microwave energy interactive material are selectively removed from the compound laminate to create the desired pattern. This extraction approach replaces expensive and time-consuming chemical etching processes with a more efficient mechanical or thermal removal method performed on the laminated structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Manufacturing precision

If chemical etching or deactivation is used to form patterns in microwave energy interactive material, then manufacturing precision can be achieved, but production cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepattern formation precisionVSAvoidproduction cost
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The microwave energy interactive material is laminated to the substrate beforehand, creating a compound laminate structure. This preliminary action allows the material to be in place before pattern formation, enabling subsequent removal processes to be more efficient and less costly than traditional chemical etching methods performed on already-formed patterns.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Portions of the microwave energy interactive material are selectively removed from the compound laminate to create the desired pattern. This extraction approach replaces expensive and time-consuming chemical etching processes with a more efficient mechanical or thermal removal method performed on the laminated structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Productivity

If microwave energy interactive material is removed during lamination processes, then productivity and cost-effectiveness improve, but process complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveproduction efficiencyVSAvoidprocess complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The lamination and pattern formation processes are merged into a single integrated workflow. By laminating the microwave energy interactive material to the substrate first and then removing portions during the same process sequence, the patent combines what would traditionally be separate operations into one efficient process flow, reducing overall complexity despite the additional lamination step.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP2739464B1Systems and methods for forming laminates with patterned microwave energy interactive material
Publication Date: 2017.11.29 GRAPHIC PACKAGING INTERNATIONAL LLC
  • EP2739464B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2739464B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP2739464B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

Portions of microwave energy interactive material may be cut and removed during intermediate steps in a lamination processes, so that remaining microwave energy interactive material in a resultant laminate is arranged in a pattern. Regarding the removal of the portions of the microwave energy interactive material, a compound laminate may be delaminated into parts, and one of the parts may be a sacrificial laminate that includes the removed portions of the microwave energy interactive material.