1. A package, comprising:

-a sheet of one or more flexible film materials folded in a longitudinal direction to bring together first and second edges of the sheet, said edges being sealed to form a longitudinal back seam;

-a first end of the folded sheet is sealed by a first end seam and a second end of the folded sheet, located at the opposite end of the folded sheet with respect to the first end, is sealed by a second end seam to form a space for one or more articles, wherein the space is defined by the sealed first and second ends and a side wall formed by the folded sheet;

-an opening initiation point in at least one of the first and second end seams, the opening initiation point configured to provide an initiation point for tearing the flexible film material to form an opening extending from the first end seam to the second end seam and traversing the side wall of the package;

-at least one tear control element configured to guide a tear starting from an opening initiation point along a longitudinal direction of the package from the first end seam to the second end seam and across the side wall upon application of a tear force,

-said at least one tear control element is formed in said one or more flexible film materials that contribute to the formation of a folded or foldable sheet, and

-wherein the tear force is directed towards the tear control element and away from the rear seam.

2. The package of claim 1, wherein the opening initiation point is located between the back seam and the tear control element.

3. The package of any of the preceding claims, wherein the tearing force acts in a direction that is not parallel to a plane comprising the longitudinal axis of the package and perpendicular to the end seam.

4. A package according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said tearing force is directed substantially in a direction transverse to said longitudinal direction of the package.

5. A package according to any preceding claim wherein at least a portion of the flexible film material forming or to be formed into the foldable sheet has been modified, for example by a modification process, to produce at least one tear control element in the material.

6. A package according to any preceding claim wherein at least a portion of the flexible film material forming or to be formed into the foldable sheet has been configured, for example by seam formation, to reveal at least one tear control element in the sheet or finished package.

7. A package according to any preceding claim wherein the tear control element has been formed onto the sheet without the addition of a further tear strip of the same or a different film material and without the use of any adhesive or other additive.

8. A package according to any preceding claim wherein the tear control element is a longitudinal seam in the sheet or a portion thereof.

9. A package according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the sheet material consists of at least two strips of flexible film material joined to each other by a longitudinal seam, and wherein at least one of the strips is made of a different material, preferably a breathable material, than the material of the other strips.

10. The package according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tear control element consists of a local interruption in the sheet material, preferably the interruption is formed by a local treatment of the flexible film material of the sheet material, such as a heat treatment, a mechanical treatment, an ultrasonic treatment, an ultraviolet treatment or any combination thereof.

11. A package according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least a portion of the sheet or strip is made of a breathable material, such as a paper material.

12. A package according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the package comprises two tear control elements, whereby the entire side of the package or at least a portion of the side wall of the package is configured to be completely or partially separated upon tearing the package, thereby creating an opening, wherein the size of the opening is larger than the corresponding size of the product to be placed in the package.

13. Package according to claim 12, wherein the tear control elements are located at corresponding positions on both sides of the package and on the same side of the back seam, extending from substantially the same point in the first end seam or from two points in the first end seam which are immediately adjacent to each other, preferably such that the elements are substantially congruent.

14. The package of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the package encloses a disposable laboratory consumable, such as one or more pipette tip racks or a stack of such racks.

15. A method of making a package, the method comprising:

-folding a sheet of flexible film material in a longitudinal direction to bring first and second edges of the sheet together and sealing said edges to form a longitudinal back seam;

-sealing a first end of the folded sheet by a first end seam and a second end of the folded sheet at an opposite end of the folded sheet with respect to the first end by a second end seam to form a space for one or more articles, wherein the space is defined by the sealed first and second ends and a side wall formed by the folded sheet;

-providing an opening initiation point in at least one of the first and second end seams, the opening initiation point being configured to provide an initiation point for tearing the flexible film material to form an opening extending from the first end seam to the second end seam and traversing the side wall of the package;

-providing at least one tear control element constituted by a flexible film material of the sheet of material and configured to guide a tear starting from an opening initiation point along a longitudinal direction of the package from the first end seam to the second end seam and across the side wall upon application of a tearing force,

-wherein the tear force is directed towards the tear control element and away from the rear seam.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the tear control element is formed by making a longitudinal seam in the flexible film material.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the tear control elements are formed by local treatment of the flexible film material of the sheet, for example by heat treatment, mechanical treatment, ultrasonic treatment, uv treatment or any combination thereof.

18. The method of any of claims 15-17, wherein the tear control element is a locally treated region having an elongated shape extending from a first end seam to a second end seam.

19. A method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, comprising joining at least two strips of flexible film material to one another by a longitudinal seam to form the sheet.

20. A method according to any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein the package is prepared using a flow-packaging process, and wherein at least two strips of flexible film material are first joined by a longitudinal seam to form a sheet which is supplied to the flow-packaging process to prepare the package.

21. A package manufactured by a flow-through packaging process, the package comprising at least one additional longitudinal seam different from a longitudinal back seam of the package, the additional longitudinal seam being configured to guide tearing of the package.

Background

When packaging products requiring a high and controlled level of purity or sterility, attention is paid not only to the product package itself, but also to the manufacturing and opening processes thereof. The packaging must keep the product free from contamination throughout the logistics chain. The end user should take the product from the package without any risk of contamination until the end use.

Generally, the purity of a product requiring a controlled level of purity is guaranteed by packaging the product in a package made of plastic film. Such a package prevents contamination of the product located within the package. Such packages are for example manufactured by flow-wrap, shrink-wrap and TFFS (thermoforming-filling-sealing) methods. In flow-packing and shrink-packing methods, a bag is formed around the product. In the TFFS process, a packaging substrate having a desired shape is molded, a product is placed on the substrate, and finally a film is sealed to the substrate to close the package.

These methods all have disadvantages. For example, in shrink wrap films there are holes through which air can escape from the bag during manufacture. These holes obviously expose the product to a risk of contamination.

In the TFFS method, the formation of the package substrate imposes a limitation on the size of the package, such as its depth relative to the area. Packages made by the TFFS method typically take up more space than pouch packages. If the substrate is formed of a hard film, the packaging waste takes up a large amount of space.

Flow-packaging is a very widely used method for packaging products requiring controlled purity and sterility levels. The main drawback of this method is that the package is difficult to open in a controlled manner. Typically, flow-wrap bags include an opening initiation point in one of the seams from which tearing of the bag begins. It is easy to tear the opening, but the opening may develop in an uncontrolled manner in all directions, depending on the tearing force and the direction of use. In the worst case, only one small corner separates upon the first tearing action, thus requiring further attempts to tear the bag.

It is known to attach a tear strip to the film material of the package. Such tear strips are typically made of a plastics material and are adhered to the film material of the package. The purpose of the tear strip is to allow a user to grasp an end of the tear strip located in the seam of the package and tear the tear strip away from the film material so that the film material is also torn away below the tear strip. A disadvantage of such tear tapes is the limited strength of the glued joint between the tear tape and the film material. The force required to tear the film material underneath the tear strip is relatively large, especially if the package is made of a multilayer laminate film to ensure good barrier properties; the tear strip may be separated but the film remains unopened.

Another disadvantage of the tear tape is that the adhesive used to attach the tear tape to the film material is located inside the package, which obviously exposes the product to a potential source of contamination.

It is known to use oriented plastic film materials that tend to tear in a certain direction. Such a film will tear in a controlled manner if the tearing force is directed in the direction of the desired tear line. However, if the tear force deviates from the desired longitudinal tear line, the film tends to resist tearing and appears very tough.

It is also known to perforate the packaging film material to control tearing of the package. Such perforations may be created, for example, by laser and mechanical means, such that only a portion of the film thickness is pierced, thereby preserving the barrier properties of the film. Such perforations provide better control of tearing if the tearing force can be directed along the perforation. However, if the tearing force is transverse relative to the perforation, the tear tends to deviate from the intended path of the perforation and become uncontrolled.

Packages comprising perforations are more susceptible to mechanical strain imposed during shipping than packages made from uniform films. In particular, pressure variations can be problematic because under low pressure conditions the package can swell and easily tear at the perforations.

If the flow-pack type package does not include any tear control mechanism, the user needs to maintain control of the contents when opening the package, especially if the contents comprise separate portions. This lack of control when opening the package often results in contamination of the contents.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome at least some of the disadvantages of known packages.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention is defined by the features of the independent claims. Specific embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a package comprising: a sheet of one or more flexible film materials folded in a longitudinal direction to bring first and second edges of the sheet together, the edges being sealed to form a longitudinal back seam; a first end of the folded sheet is sealed by a first end seam and a second end of the folded sheet, located at an opposite end of the folded sheet from the first end, is sealed by a second end seam to form a space for one or more articles, wherein the space is defined by the sealed first and second ends and a sidewall formed by the folded sheet; an opening initiation point in at least one of the first and second end seams, the opening initiation point configured to provide an initiation point for tearing the flexible film material to form an opening extending from the first end seam to the second end seam and traversing the sidewall of the package; at least one tear control element configured to direct a tear from an opening initiation point along a longitudinal direction of the package from the first end seam to the second end seam and across the sidewall upon application of a tear force, the at least one tear control element having been formed into the flexible film material that facilitates formation of a folded or foldable sheet, and wherein the tear force is directed toward the tear control element and away from the back seam.

Various embodiments of the first aspect may include at least one feature from the following list of items:

the opening initiation point is located between the back seam and the tear control element.

The tearing force acts in a direction which is not parallel to the plane comprising the longitudinal axis of the package and perpendicular to the end seam.

Said tearing force is directed substantially in a direction transverse to said longitudinal direction of the package.

At least a portion of the flexible film material forming or to be formed into the foldable sheet has been modified (e.g. by a modification process) to create at least one tear control element in the material.

At least a portion of the flexible film material forming or to be formed into the foldable sheet has been configured (e.g. by seam formation) to reveal at least one tear control element in the sheet or finished package.

The tear control elements have been formed onto the sheet without the addition of a further tear strip made of the same or a different film material and without the use of any adhesive or other additive.

The tear control element is a longitudinal seam in the sheet or a portion thereof.

The sheet material consists of at least two strips of flexible film material joined to each other by a longitudinal seam.

At least one of said belts is made of a material different from that of the other belts, said different material preferably being a breathable material.

All the belts are made of the same material.

The tear control elements consist of localized interruptions in the sheet, preferably formed by localized treatment of the flexible film material of the sheet, for example by heat treatment, mechanical treatment, ultrasonic treatment, ultraviolet treatment or any combination thereof.

At least a portion of the sheet or strip is made of a breathable material, for example a paper material.

The package comprises two tear control elements, each located on one side of the package, whereby the entire side of the package is configured to be separated when the side wall is torn from both sides of the package.

The package comprises two tear control elements, whereby the entire side of the package or at least a part of the side wall of the package is configured to be completely or partially separated upon tearing the package, thereby creating an opening, wherein the size of the opening is larger than the corresponding size of the product to be placed in the package.

The tear control elements are located at corresponding positions on both sides of the package and on the same side of the back seam, extending from substantially the same point in the first end seam or from two points in the first end seam which are immediately adjacent to each other, such that the elements are substantially congruent.

The one or more items in the formed space are disposable laboratory consumables, such as one or more pipette tip racks or a stack of such racks.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of making a package according to the first aspect, the method comprising: folding a sheet of flexible film material in a longitudinal direction to bring first and second edges of the sheet together and sealing the edges to form a longitudinal back seam; sealing a first end of the folded sheet material by a first end seam and a second end of the folded sheet material at an opposite end of the folded sheet material from the first end by a second end seam to form a space for one or more articles, wherein the space is defined by the sealed first and second ends and a sidewall formed by the folded sheet material; providing an opening initiation point in at least one of the first and second end seams, the opening initiation point configured to provide an initiation point for tearing the flexible film material to form an opening extending from the first end seam to the second end seam and traversing the sidewall of the package; providing at least one tear control element configured to direct a tear starting from an opening initiation point along a longitudinal direction of the package from a first end seam to a second end seam and across the sidewall upon application of a tear force, the at least one tear control element having been formed into the flexible film material that facilitates formation of a folded or foldable sheet, and wherein the tear force is directed towards the tear control element and away from the back seam.

Various embodiments of the second aspect may include at least one feature from the following list of items:

the tear control element is formed by making a longitudinal seam in the flexible film material.

The tear control elements are formed by local treatment of the flexible film material of the sheet, for example by heat treatment, mechanical treatment, ultrasonic treatment, uv treatment or any combination thereof.

The tear control element is a locally treated area having an elongated shape extending from the first end seam to the second end seam.

The method comprises connecting at least two strips of flexible film material to each other by a longitudinal seam to form the sheet.

Placing disposable laboratory consumables, such as pipette tips on a rack, in the formed space.

The package is prepared using a flow packaging process, and wherein at least two strips of flexible film material are supplied in the process and joined by a longitudinal seam to form a folded sheet.

THE ADVANTAGES OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The core of the invention is to control the opening event of the package by tearing, especially when using a force transverse to or at least deviating from the desired tear line. Said control is achieved by making a longitudinal area or seam in the packaging film material, which area or seam exhibits different mechanical properties than the surrounding areas of said area or seam. In this way, when a tearing force is applied to the area or seam, tearing occurs along the longitudinal direction, which is the desired tear line.

The invention allows packages with reliable barrier properties, especially against contaminating particles and microorganisms.

The present invention provides an easy-to-open package.

The invention is particularly advantageous in packaging pipette tips for use in automated liquid handling devices. In such applications, the user manually unpacks the tip and loads the tip into the liquid handling device. With the invention, the manual opening action can be performed in a controlled manner and the risk of contamination is low.

The invention reduces the manufacturing steps and saves thin film materials. The manufacturing process of the package of the invention is simple and fast. There is no need to attach a separate tear strip. The use of such tapes or adhesives or other chemicals always presents a risk of contamination, which can now be avoided by the present invention.

Drawings

Fig. 1A to 1F show perspective views of a package of one embodiment of the present invention in a closed configuration.

Fig. 2A to 2C show perspective views of a package of one embodiment of the present invention when opened.

Figures 3A to 3D show a package of another embodiment of the invention in a closed configuration and in perspective view when the package is opened.

Detailed Description

The present invention provides a solution for storing articles having a controlled purity level within a flexible plastic package and controllably manually opening the package with minimal disruption to the purity level of the articles.

The present invention facilitates opening the package and provides a good user experience. The package can be reliably opened by a single tearing action and, upon tearing, the package is opened to a desired extent.

The present invention provides an advantageous opening mechanism for flow packages that exhibits reliable barrier properties.

Embodiments of the present technology provide for preventing the situation where only a small portion of the package (e.g., only one corner) is torn off. Advantageously, the opening mechanism of the present invention ensures that the tearing occurs along a substantially straight tear line from one end seam to the other.

In a preferred embodiment, the direction of the tearing force is offset or not parallel to the longitudinal direction of the package (e.g. the direction of the longitudinal back seam or the longitudinal axis of the package) in three dimensions. For example, the deviation may be at least 10 °. In one embodiment, the deviation may be up to 90 °.

In one embodiment, the tear force direction forms an angle of 50 ° to 90 °, more preferably 80 ° to 90 °, with respect to the desired tear line.

In one embodiment, the tearing force acts in a direction non-parallel to a plane including the longitudinal axis of the package and perpendicular to the end seams.

The packaging material may be made of plastic film, paper film material, Tyvek, or any other material suitable for flow packaging processes. Preferably the packaging material consists of a flexible film.

Preferably the flexible film material itself is capable of protecting the contents of the package from contamination. This avoids the use of any additional protective packaging material.

Preferably the flexible film material of the sheet is not shrinkable, even when heated.

Preferably the flexible film material does not include any holes or perforations through the material prior to the manufacture of the package. Such holes or perforations are susceptible to mechanical stresses applied during transport.

Preferably the flexible film material is not a shrink wrap film.

An exemplary package structure and method of making a package will now be described:

first, a sheet of flexible film material is folded in a longitudinal direction to bring first and second edges of the sheet together and the edges are sealed to form a longitudinal back seam. Then, a first end of the folded sheet is sealed by a first end seam and a second end of the folded sheet, located at an opposite end of the folded sheet from the first end, is sealed by a second end seam to form a space for one or more articles. The first and second end seams are horizontal, i.e. substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the back seam and the package. The space is defined by the sealed first and second ends and a sidewall formed by the folded sheet. The longitudinal sides of the package do not include side seams; the packaging material is only folded there.

An opening initiation point is provided in at least one of the first and second end seams, the opening initiation point configured to provide an initiation point for tearing of the flexible film material to form an opening extending from the first end seam to the second end seam and traversing the sidewall of the package. Thus, the package can be opened from the side by separating a portion of the sheet by tearing in the longitudinal direction.

The opening initiation point may be formed at any stage during the formation of the package around one or more articles.

The package comprises at least one tear control element configured to guide a tear starting from an opening initiation point along a longitudinal direction of the package from a first end seam to a second end seam and across the side wall upon application of a tear force, wherein the tear control element is made of a flexible film material of the sheet of material.

In some embodiments, the opening initiation point is a cut or a printed mark.

Preferably, the opening initiation point indicates a preferred point in the first end seam for initiating tearing.

In one embodiment, at least one tear control element has been formed in the one or more flexible film materials that facilitates forming a folded or foldable sheet.

In one embodiment, at least one tear control element is formed by processing the flexible film material forming or to form a portion of the sheet. Such treatment may include altering the tearability of the film material, in particular improving its tearability. In one embodiment, a seam is formed.

In one embodiment, at least a portion of one or more flexible film materials forming or to be formed into a foldable sheet is modified to create at least one tear control element in the material. Such modification may mean that at least a portion of the foldable sheet has undergone a modification treatment.

In one embodiment, at least a portion of the flexible film material forming or forming the foldable sheet is configured to present at least one tear control element in the sheet or formed package. Such construction may include, for example, forming a seam.

In one embodiment, the one or more tear control elements are not in the form of attachable elements other than the foldable sheet forming the package. For example, the tear control element is not in the form of a strip made of a different film than the film forming the foldable sheet.

Preferably the tear control element is a longitudinal seam in the sheet of material.

In some embodiments, the tear control element is a longitudinal seam in the flexible film material or a portion thereof.

In other embodiments, the tear control elements are formed by locally treating the flexible film material of the sheet. The topical treatment may be heat treatment, mechanical treatment, ultrasound treatment, ultraviolet treatment, or any combination thereof. The topical treatment may include any method that is capable of altering the tear properties of the flexible film material, preferably making it more tear resistant.

In some embodiments, the tear control elements are formed so as not to attach any outer material (e.g., tape or tear strip) to the sheet forming the package.

In some embodiments, the tear control elements are formed so as not to attach any adhesive or material that is different or separate from the material that is foldable to form the package to the sheet forming the package.

In a preferred embodiment, the opening initiation point is located between the rear seam and the seam or region serving as a tear control element, and the tear force is directed away from the rear seam.

Preferably the tear control element is configured to divide the package into two parts, preferably in a ratio of 10:90 to 40: 60.

As a result of tearing the package, it is preferred that the product within the package can be removed without any obstruction by the folded film material of the package. It is therefore advantageous that an opening of a size larger than the corresponding size of the product inside the package is created on the side wall of the package by said tearing.

In one embodiment, the at least two strips of flexible film material are joined to each other by a longitudinal seam to form the sheet.

In one embodiment, three strips of flexible film material are joined to one another by longitudinal seams to form the sheet. The longitudinal seams comprise a longitudinal back seam and two further longitudinal seams serving as two tear-controlling elements, one on each side of the package. Preferably the tear control elements are congruent and extend from the same point in the end seam.

In one embodiment, three strips of flexible film material are joined to one another by longitudinal seams to form the sheet. Preferably the intermediate strip is formed from a breathable material and is configured to be torn open on opening of the package.

In one embodiment, at least one of the bands is made of a different material than the other bands.

In one embodiment, at least a portion of the longitudinal seam between the two strips of flexible film material forms a tear control element.

In some embodiments, at least a portion of the sheet (e.g., one of the strips or a portion thereof) is made of a breathable material, such as a paper material, Tyvek, or a porous material.

A gas-permeable package or a package comprising a gas-permeable material provides significant advantages in that it reduces the transport strain on the package in case of fluctuations in ambient pressure and/or temperature, such as during air transport or radiation sterilization.

The gas permeable packaging material may also gas sterilize the product in the package.

In the context of this document, the term "breathable material" means breathable material through which air can pass but through which contaminating particles and the like are filtered and prevented from passing.

The gas permeable material should preferably have sufficient filtration properties so as not to impair the purity of the product. Suitable breathable materials with good filtration properties include Tyvek and medical paper.

Tyvek is an advantageous material because Tyvek is a breathable material that provides a barrier sufficient to prevent contamination of the contents of the package while still preventing expansion of the package. Tyvek consists of HDPE fibers. Its porous fibrous structure allows gases and vapors used in sterilization processes to permeate through the material while the material still provides a good microbial barrier.

In one embodiment, disposable laboratory consumables (e.g., pipette tips in a rack) are packaged in the package. Other consumables that may be stored in the packages of the present invention include microplates, microtubes, and any other laboratory equipment that requires a purity-controlled package.

The package is preferably prepared using a flow-packaging process.

Suitable flexible plastic materials include: polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), polyolefins, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and laminates including a variety of different film materials.

In a preferred embodiment, at least two elongate strips of flexible film material are joined by a longitudinal seam to form a sheet. The sheet is then supplied to a flow-packaging process to form a package. For example, one of the strips may be formed of a flexible plastics material, while the other strip is formed of a breathable plastics or paper material, such as Tyvek.

Preferably, the tear control element is arranged such that the strip of breathable material is torn off. This can be achieved by using a seam between the breathable material and another flexible film material of the rest of the package as a tear control element.

Alternatively, the strip of breathable material and the further strip of flexible material of the sheet material are torn when the pack is torn.

In another alternative, the portion that separates from the package when the package is torn is made of a material other than a breathable material.

The regions of breathable material may have any shape, size or location in the sheet. However, it is preferred that the opening initiation point and the region of breathable material are separated from each other, for example by a longitudinal seam. It is preferred that the opening initiation point is located outside the breathable material, as paper materials and Tyvek are not easily torn and dust may be generated when torn.

In one embodiment, the package comprises two tear control elements, each located on one side of the package, whereby the entire side of the package is configured to be separated when the side wall is torn from both sides of the package. Preferably the side to be separated comprises a breathable material of a foldable sheet for forming a package.

In one embodiment, the package comprises two tear control elements and, when torn along the two tear control elements, an opening is created in a side wall of the package. Preferably the size of the opening is larger than the corresponding size of the product in the package so that the product can be removed unimpeded. The separate or partially separate portion of the sidewall preferably comprises or consists of a breathable material.

In one embodiment, the tear control elements are located at respective positions on both sides of the package, extending from the same point in the first end seam, such that the elements are substantially congruent.

In some embodiments, the preferred manner of tearing is indicated by one or more printed indicia (e.g., finger-shaped indicia) on both sides of the opening initiation point (e.g., cut). In this way, the user can be guided to grasp and tear the package in an optimal manner.

In one embodiment, at least one end seam includes a shaped edge, such as a cut or serrated edge, along a portion or the entire length of the end seam. The preferred area of the end seam for initiating tearing may be visually indicated by a guide element, such as one or more printed indicia. On a guided basis, the user can then select a particular cut located within the indicated preferred area as the opening starting point.

Fig. 1A to 1E show a fluid-packing type package 10 of one embodiment of the present invention in a closed configuration. The package is made of a sheet material which has been folded and closed by a back seam 11 and two end seams 12, 13. The sheet is formed from two different film materials 14, 15 such that the longitudinal seams 16, 17 joining the films function as tear control elements. In fig. 1B, some of the folds in the formed package 10 are indicated by reference numeral 20 to better illustrate the structure of the package, including the seams and folds.

As shown in fig. 2A to 2C, when a user starts tearing the package 10 from the opening initiation point 18 (shown by the two arrows) with a tearing force directed away from the rear seam 11 and towards the longitudinal seams 16, 17, the tear naturally propagates towards one side of the package (the portion formed by the film material 15). As the tear propagates to the seams 16 and 17 between the two film materials 14, 15, the seams 16 and 17 act as effective tear control and guide elements so that the tear is guided to continue longitudinally along the seams 16 and 17 toward the other end of the package (i.e., the end seam 13).

It is desirable to open the entire side of the flow-pack type package from the first end seam 12 to the second end seam 13. The entire portion of the package made from the second film material 15 is separated and the product 19 controllably remains at least partially wrapped by the first film material 14. Thereafter, the product 19 (which may be a stack of suction cups) is easily removed manually, and the opened package does not exhibit any film corners or film folds that might interfere with the removal of the product from the package.

Fig. 3A to 3D show the form of the package of another embodiment of the present invention when the package is opened. In this embodiment, the tear control elements are illustrated by lines 31, 32, which lines 31, 32 may, for example, comprise or define localized treated areas of film material that are more tear resistant than the surrounding film material. In this embodiment, the tear is guided along lines shown at 31 and 32. The flexible film material 34 extending between the threads 31 and 32, or at least the longitudinal sub-areas adjacent the threads 31, 32, are preferably treated to have a better tear resistance than the flexible film material 33.

It is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments of the invention are not limited to the particular structures, process steps, or materials disclosed herein, but extend to equivalents thereof as would be recognized by those ordinarily skilled in the relevant arts. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting.

In the description, "one embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" appearing in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

For convenience, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositional elements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list for use herein. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, unless otherwise indicated, no single member of such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on its presence in a common group. Furthermore, various embodiments and examples of the invention may be referred to herein along with alternatives to the various components thereof. It is to be understood that these embodiments, examples and alternatives are not to be construed as actual equivalents of each other, but are to be considered as independent and autonomous representations of the invention.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided, such as lengths, widths, shapes, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.

While the above examples illustrate the principles of the invention in one or more particular applications, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications in form, usage and implementation details can be made without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the claims set forth below.

The verbs "comprise" and "comprise" are used herein as open-ended limitations that neither exclude nor require the presence of unrecited features. The features recited in the dependent claims are mutually freely combinable unless otherwise explicitly stated. Furthermore, it should be understood that the use of "a" or "an" (i.e., singular forms) herein does not exclude a plurality.

Industrial applicability

The invention is at least applicable to packaging items requiring a controlled level of purity, such as pipette tips.

List of acronyms

TFFS thermoforming-filling-sealing

PE polyethylene

PP polypropylene

PET polyethylene terephthalate

LDPE low density polyethylene

HDPE high density polyethylene

PVC polyvinyl chloride

List of reference numerals

10 packaging

11 rear joint

12. 13 end seam

14 first film material

15 second film material

16. 17 longitudinal seam

18 opening starting point

19 products of

20 fold

31. 32 tear control element

33 film material

34 thin film material.