Cryovac, Inc.

Tom Bonner

Thomas Duane Kennedy

H Walker Stockley

Janet W Rivett

Richard M Dayrit

Robert A Odabashian

Diana L Huerta

Mendy W Mossbrook

Rodney R Hodgson

Richard Keith Watson

A heat-shrinkable bag has a means for initiating a manual tear that can be propagated to open the bag and allow a product to be readily removed therefrom, without the use of a knife or scissors or any other implement. The bag is made from a heat-shrinkable multilayer film having a Peak Load Impact Strength of at least 50 Newtons per mil. The means for initiating tearing results in a first tear in the first side of the bag, and a second tear in the second side of the bag. The first tear and the second tear are each capable of being manually propagated through a heat seal and across the bag, or down the length of the bag, with the tear being capable of being manually propagated through and to an opposite bag edge, so that the product inside a package can be readily removed from the bag. A process for making a package and manually opening the package, comprises placing a product inside the bag, sealing the bag closed, shrinking the film around the product, manually initiating and manually propagating the first and second tears, and readily removing the product from the bag.

Bag made from high-strength heat-shrinkable film exhibiting directional tear, and process utilizing same

A packaging article has tear initiators for initiating a manual tear that can be propagated to open a package and allow a product to be readily removed therefrom, without the use of a knife or scissors or any other implement. The packaging article is made from a heat-shrinkable multilayer film having at least one layer containing an incompatible polymer blend, and/or a layer containing an inorganic filler, and/or a layer having a high Young's modulus. The film also has a Peak Load Impact Strength of at least 50 Newtons per mil, The tear initiators can be used to generate a manual machine direction tears to open the package, with the manual machine direction tear being capable of propagating in the machine direction to the opposite edge of the packaging article. A process for making a package and manually opening the package is also disclosed.

Easy opening packaging article made from heat-shrinkable film exhibiting directional tear

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Greer, SC, United States of America

Tom Bonner