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Food packaging laminatesRelated Patent Categories: Food Or Edible Material: Processes, Compositions, And Products, Packaged Or Wrapped Product, Package Containing Separate Noncoated Or Laminated Interior Inedible Solid MaterialFood packaging laminates description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070243293, Food packaging laminates. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/433,027, filed Nov. 26, 2003, which was the National Stage of International Application No. PCT/EP01/12879, filed Nov. 7, 2001, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/253,903, filed Nov. 29, 2000, all of which are incorporated herein. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The invention relates to a flexible packaging. Specifically, this invention relates to a laminate, the use of the laminate in the packaging of food, drinks, medicine and toys, methods of producing such laminates, methods of packaging articles and a corresponding package. [0003] It is well known to package food in wraps, bags, pouches etc. made of laminates. Preferred materials for food packaging often consist of a first substrate, such as a film, which is generally thin and transparent, but can be printable, and a second substrate which can be another, (often thicker) film, a metal foil, a metalized film etc. [0004] Whereas in the past, such film-to-film and film-to-foil laminations were often produced using volatile organic solvent-based laminating adhesives, environmental and regulatory restrictions have in the more recent past caused the industry to use waterborne adhesives, especially polyurethane dispersions and acrylic emulsions. [0005] Examples of polyurethane dispersions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,494,960, 5,532,058, 5,861,410, 5,907,012 and 5,834,554. U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,012 are specially suitable for indirect food contact and U.S. Pat. No. 5,834,554 for direct food contact packaging. [0006] Recently, the laminating industry has begun to investigate into solvent-free two-component reactive adhesives. Although some of these are applied at elevated temperatures, these are not hot melt adhesives. [0007] Also the food industry has begun to use similar laminates, as food packaging materials. Such laminates are produces using reactive, generally polyurethane-based laminating adhesives. [0008] However, film-to-film and film-to-foil laminates using solvent-free reactive laminating adhesives, even including two-component polyurethane laminating adhesives, may lead to problems specifically in food. In some cases, solvent-free reactive laminating adhesives may retain relatively high levels of monomer, unless they are very carefully cured. Such careful curing requires time and energy expenditure. Whereas in many applications of laminated materials, such monomer contamination does not present a problem, this is not true in the food industry, since the monomers may migrate into the food, which is not acceptable. [0009] Specifically, the use of reactive polyurethane adhesives has in some cases been found to lead to contamination of the packaged food with unreacted isocyanates and carcinogenic aromatic amines (probably formed by reaction of adhesive components with moisture from the food). [0010] Thus, food packaging materials may release volatile and/or migratable contaminations which result from the adhesives used in manufacturing such materials. [0011] This problem is, as far as the food industry is concerned, acerbated by the need for just-in-time production and delivery, such restraints actually promoting the use of not fully cured laminates. [0012] Food as mentioned herein includes any item, whether edible or not, that are intended to be brought into contact with the body of a mammal, especially put into people's mouth, such as food items, drinks, medicine and baby toys. Mammals in this context include humans. Contact with the body means the possibility of undesired contamination of the body by volatiles and/or migratables as defined above. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0013] The present inventors have invented a laminate that overcomes these problems in the prior art. [0014] The invention specifically provides a laminate for use in food packing. The laminate can be based on a laminate of a (conventional) film material and a second (conventional) substrate, using a hot melt (solvent-free) laminating adhesive, which is substantially free from volatile and/or migratable contaminants, especially monomeric or oligomeric isocyanates and aromatic amines. [0015] Another aspect of the present invention is to identify the use of such flexible laminating materials in food packaging and a corresponding method of packaging food items. The laminate can be a film-to-film and film-to-foil laminate, suitable for typical food packaging uses, using solvent-free non-reactive hot melt laminating adhesives. Such laminates are substantially free from volatile contaminants, especially migratable isocyanates and aromatic amines. They can be produced with the properties necessary for food packaging uses, if the laminating adhesive is applied as a pre-formed film to the first substrate, prior to laminating to a second substrate. [0016] Lamination can be done either in-line or off-line. For off-line laminating, a substrate is preferably pre-coated with a hot melt adhesive, and this pre-coated film is later laminated to a second substrate by heat sealing. In-line lamination of the two films can be done directly in the nip, or in a second nip (the laminating station) using a release-roller in the first nip to squeeze out any entrapped air between the first film and the extruded ("pre-formed") adhesive film. Entrapped air can also be squeezed out using this same technique for off-line lamination. [0017] Such pre-formed adhesive films can be generated using non-contact coating methods. Thus, film-on-film laminates using solvent-free hot melt adhesives can be produced, by non-contact coating of the adhesive onto one of the films and then contacting and, in case, nipping the two films. A corresponding disclosure can be found in Applicant's earlier application PCT/EP98/01588, incorporated herein by reference, especially where the coating method, the selection of film and other substrate materials and the selection of adhesives is concerned. [0018] The present invention further relates to a method of forming a laminate for food packaging comprising: [0019] a) positioning a slot nozzle at least 0.5 mm spaced away from a first substrate and advancing said first substrate along a path; [0020] b) applying a non-reactive hot melt adhesive to a surface of said first substrate from said slot nozzle; [0021] and [0022] c) mating a second substrate with the adhesive bearing surface of said first substrate to form a laminate that has reduced contamination of packaged goods by volatile and/or migratable organic materials. [0023] Preferably, the adhesive is applied directly to said first substrate surface, i.e. it does not contact anything solid between the point in time when the adhesive leaves the slot nozzle and the point in time when the adhesive first contacts the substrate. However, in some applications, it may be advantageous that the adhesive is applied from the slot nozzle to a transfer device such as a roller or transfer tape, and is then coated onto the substrate surface from said roller or tape. Also in such methods, the slot nozzle will preferably not be in contact with the transfer device. In such cases, the nozzle will be positioned spaced at least 0.5 mm away from the surface of said transfer device, and may of course be much more distanced from the substrate. [0024] Lastly, the invention is concerned with methods of packaging articles which are intended to come into contact with mammalian bodies, especially humans, and among these specially with items for ingestion and mouth contact, such as food, drink, medicine and toy items such as baby toys, and with correspondingly packaged such articles. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Continue reading about Food packaging laminates... Full patent description for Food packaging laminates Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Food packaging laminates patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Food packaging laminates or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Segmented pizza crust system Next Patent Application: Methods, capsule and apparatuses for the production of foamed drinks Industry Class: Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Food packaging laminates patent info. 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