HK1162009A - Method of forming a pouch - Google Patents

Description

Method for forming bag-shaped body

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application serial No. 11613661 filed on 20.12.2006, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference; this application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application serial No. 12200376 filed on 28.8.2008, which claims priority to provisional application 60969232 filed on 31.8.2007, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety; and this application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application serial No. 12236555 filed on 24/9 of 2008.

Background

The present invention relates to a method of forming a pouch for dispensing viscous material.

The adhesive material may include sealants, glues, adhesives, glazes, caulks, grouts, and glue combinations. Generally, such viscous materials are packaged, stored or commercialized in paperboard containers or plastic dispensers or cartridges suitable for loading into extrusion equipment such as caulking guns. These viscous materials include silicone sealants and caulks for construction and construction applications. Some of these compositions are known as Room Temperature Vulcanizable (RTV) compositions. They may include moisture-curable polyorganosiloxane polymers, fillers, and condensation cure catalysts. When used as sealants, these compositions may be packaged in moisture impervious tubes and applied to a substrate by extrusion from the package tube.

There are difficulties associated with these containers. For example, some materials are sold in cartridges for loading into caulking dispensers or guns. Dispensers or guns are additional items that must be purchased, stored, cleaned, and maintained as part of the caulking process. The dispenser or gun may be cumbersome and difficult to operate, especially in the confined spaces of buildings that are being built. In addition, dispensing equipment may require significant hand force, which increases the challenge of dispensing and laying clean sealant beads.

In one method, a quantity of sealant is pressed directly from the dispensing tube or cartridge into the fracture to seal the area when dry. Generally, the dispensing tube or cartridge will contain more material than is necessary for a particular sealing operation. Some unused tube portion is typically left after dispensing the desired amount. The dispensing tube with the unused portion is discarded or saved for future use. Disposal is uneconomical and may be highly undesirable for environmental reasons. There is currently no known recycling process available for the various sealant compositions on the market.

If the container with residual sealant is not discarded, it will have to be capped to preserve the material for future use without solidifying. The encapsulant may include volatile components that will evaporate to solidify the residual material. Other sealants may solidify from exposure to atmospheric oxygen. And unless the container is properly reclosed, residual material will be lost.

Some dispensing containers are sold with snap-fit beads (snap-fit beads) and grooves or threads that engage the spout to provide a secure fit of the container body. These lids are frangible pieces that are easily broken or otherwise damaged by over-tensioning. Alternatively, the snap-fit bead and groove may not provide a permanent reclosing fit until the tube is subsequently required for a caulking job. Some rogue capping devices include the insertion of a nail into the tube opening for plug-type reclosure. Alternatively, the container lid may be sold with a plug member to provide this function. However, in general, these solutions do not prevent the contents from solidifying for more than a certain short time.

Other reclosing methods include wrapping the container tips with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, securing with rubber tape and enclosing the entire container in a sealable plastic package. But generally these mechanisms do not work because the package is broken or contains sufficient air to dry the tube contents. Also, the foil or wrap cannot be tightly and densely wrapped around the tube and nozzle without air gaps.

There is a need for containers of viscous materials, such as pouches, that overcome the waste problem and the difficulty of using existing dispensers. And a method of forming the pouch is required.

Brief description of the invention

The present invention provides a method of forming a dispenser for viscous material that can be used to prepare pouches that overcome existing waste problems, cost, and difficulty of use. In one embodiment, a method of forming and filling a pouch comprises: forming opposing walls of the membrane; sealing the opposing walls of the film together to form at least one pouch; filling the interior of the at least one pouch with a flowable material through an opening in the upper portion of the at least one pouch; forming an extrusion-shaped region (extruded-shaped region) of a top seal closing the opening of the at least one pouch; and supporting the pouch with a foldable flat sheet that is stiffer than the pouch, the flat sheet being foldable or rolled to compress the pouch and force the flowable material out through the press-out region.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a front view of a package;

FIG. 2 is a rear view;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view through the package of 3-3 of FIG. 2;

fig. 4 and 5 are a schematic perspective view, front view and rear view of the package;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view through A-A of the package of FIG. 2; and

fig. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are schematic perspective views of the use of the package.

Detailed Description

The term sealant as used herein includes all kinds of caulks including silicone, latex and acrylic caulks; a filler compound; adhesives or cementitious materials such as mortar, concrete and cementitious restoratives and crack filling compounds; a packing compound; trough, flashing, skylight or fish box joints or sealant compounds; butyl or rubber sealants, cement and quicklime; roof cement; panels and construction adhesives; glazing compounds and joint compound; a groove and lap sealant (lap sealant); silica gel-based refractory bricks, masonry and ceramic crack fillers and cement; an organosilicon-based glue; glycol-containing latex glazing compounds, and the like.

One preferred sealant is an organopolysiloxane Room Temperature Vulcanizable (RTV) composition. The room temperature vulcanizable silicone elastomer composition may include a silanol terminated matrix polymer or elastomer, a reinforcing and/or extending filler, a crosslinking silane, and a curing catalyst. These RTV compositions are prepared by mixing a diorganopolysiloxane having reactive end groups with an organosilicon compound having at least three hydrolyzable reactive groups per molecule. Known RTV compositions are widely used as elastic sealing materials for applications including: gaps between various joints such as gaps between joints of building materials, joints between a structure and building materials of a building, joints between a bathtub and a wall or a floor, cracks of tiles in a bathroom, gaps in a bathroom such as gaps around a washbasin and gaps between a washbasin support plate and a wall, gaps between kitchen sinks and their vicinities, gaps between panels in automobiles, trains, airplanes, ships, gaps between prefabricated panels in various electric appliances, machines, and the like. The room temperature vulcanizable silicone sealant can therefore be used in a wide variety of caulking and sealing applications.

Features of the present invention will become apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description, which illustrate by way of example, and not by way of limitation, preferred embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of a viscous material dispenser according to the present invention. The dispenser is in the form of a package 110. Fig. 2 is a view of the package 110 from the rear. The package 110 includes two thin sidewalls of plastic or foil film, a top film 112 and a bottom film 114. As shown in fig. 3, the films 112, 114 may be heat sealed or otherwise joined together along an edge 116 to form a pouch 118 having a first sealed end 120 and a second sealed end 122 forming an extruded shape tip 128. Alternatively, the top film 112 and the bottom film 114 may be derived from a single film that is folded into the shape of the pouch 118. The membrane material may be impermeable or only slightly permeable to water vapor and oxygen to ensure product life. Preferably, the material has a permeability rating of 1 or less. Suitable film materials include plastic films such as low density polyethylene or other thermoplastic materials or foil film materials. The top film 112 of the package 110 includes a crease 126 running longitudinally along the package 110 from the second closed end 122 toward the first closed end 122. Crease 126 facilitates longitudinal folding of package 110, as described below. Crease 126 may be a line or score that is pressed, folded, creased.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of package 110 showing pouch 118 containing sealant 124. The top film 112 may be pleated (not shown) to allow for increased volume of encapsulant 124. As described below, the package 110 forms a crease 126 in the middle to allow folding. The nozzle tip 128 is formed by the respective tapered ends of the top and bottom membranes 112, 114. The nozzle tip 128 may be a heat-sealed seal that may be opened by tearing or cutting with a scissors or knife or simply by the pressure of the sealant 124 expanding and then exiting the nozzle tip 128. Or in one embodiment, the nozzle tip 128 may be closed by embossing in a zigzag pattern to provide an easily torn opening.

The portion 130 of the dispenser facing the first sealed end 120 may comprise a harder or thicker material to impart increased structure and strength. For example, the portion 130 may comprise a multi-layer laminated film identical to the film of the remainder of the dispenser. Alternatively, portion 130 may comprise a different film that is denser than the film of the remainder of the dispenser.

Fig. 4, 5 and 6 illustrate embodiments of the present invention. Fig. 4 and 5 are schematic perspective views of the package 10 from the front and back, and fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view through a-a of the package of fig. 4 and 5. Fig. 4 is a front view of the package 10. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the package 10 viewed from the back. Fig. 3 is a sectional side view of the package 10. The dimensions of the package 10 may vary, but in some embodiments may be about 20cmx15cm or less.

The package 10 includes a pouch 12 of plastic or foil film, a rigid plate 14 containing a material that is harder or thicker than the film of the pouch 12, and a spout-forming region 16 on the rigid plate 14 side of the pouch 10. The region 16 comprises a molding material having a thickness and hardness intermediate between the material of the membrane 12 and the material of the pouch 14. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the region 16 is a trapezoidal shape with oblique sides from the hard material side wall 14 toward the pouch tip end 20, which forms a tapered nozzle when folded or rolled with the hard flat plate 14.

As shown in FIG. 6, the pouch 12 may be heat sealed or otherwise supported to the flat plate 14. The first sealed end of the pouch 12 forms a press-out tip 20. In fig. 4, 6 and 8, the stiffer plate 14 has a crease 26 which may be a crease or score running along the longitudinal axis of the stiffer plate 14 from the tip 20 to the second sealed end 22. As described below, crease 26 is marked on the surface of panel 24 to facilitate longitudinal folding of package 10. The crease 26 may be a pressed, folded, creased, embossed line or score. Crease 26 may generally run longitudinally along the long axis of package 10 from one end of package 10 toward tip end 20.

The package 10 further includes a semicircular tear strip 30 to facilitate opening at the tip 20. The top film 12 may be pleated 28 to allow for increased sealant 24 volume.

The crease 26 facilitates longitudinal folding of the relatively stiff panel region against the pouch 12, compressing the pouch 12 and forcing the sealant 24 out of the interior of the pouch 12. The harder plate 14 includes a hard or compliant surface configured to form a compressive surface (crimping compression surface) of support relative to the pocket 12 when folded by a force applied to opposing regions of the hard plate 14, as described below. The stiffer plate 14 may be a plate comprising any material that is stiffer or harder than the material of the pouch 12. The region 16 on the rigid flat panel 14 side of the package 10 comprises a profiled strip of thickness and rigidity intermediate between the material of the pouch 12 and the material of the flat panel 14.

Suitable materials for the pouch 12 include single layer, coextruded or laminated films or foils. Preferably, the material has a permeability rating of 1 or less. Suitable film materials include plastic films such as low density polyethylene or other thermoplastic or foil film materials such as polypropylene, polystyrene or polyethylene terephthalate. The foil is a thin flexible metal sheet or sheet, such as aluminum foil. In one embodiment, the film is a polyethylene and biaxially oriented polypropylene coextruded film. Aluminum foil is a preferred pouch 12 film material. Suitable foils can be derived from aluminum and are prepared as thin sheets less than 0.2mm/0.008in thickness, although much thinner gauges as low as 0.006mm can be used. Suitable foils may include laminates with other materials such as plastic or paper.

The pouch 12 material may be impermeable or only slightly permeable to water vapor and oxygen to ensure the useful life of the contents. For example, the film may have less than 10 g/day/m²Water vapor transmission rate (MVTR, ASTM D3833). In one embodiment, the MVTR of the film is less than 5 g/day/m²And preferably less than 1 g/day/m²And most preferably less than 0.5 g/day/m². The pouch 12 film may have various thicknesses. The film thickness may be from 10 to 150. mu.m, preferably from 15 to 120. mu.m, more preferably from 20 to 100. mu.m, even more preferably from 25 to 80 μm and most preferably from 30 to 40 μm.

The stiffer panel 14 comprises a substantially rigid substrate having a crease 26 that imparts a fold or a substantially conformal substrate that can be rolled or folded relative to the pouch 12. The rolling or folding compresses the pouch 12 causing the sealant 24 to be forced out of the interior of the pouch 12 through a nozzle formed at the tip end 20. The material of the stiffer plate 14 is substantially rigid and less compliant than the material of the top membrane 12. In the present application, the term "hard" refers to having physical properties of being hard and resistant to bending. In one embodiment, the base material 14 is stiffer as measured according to the Taber stiffness method, such as the ASTM D1044Taber test.

The flat panel 14 may comprise any suitable rigid or semi-rigid material, such as cardboard (cardstock), paperboard, corrugated board (corrugated board) and any wood-based type of paper or rigid or semi-rigid plastic sheet. Card stock is a suitable relatively hard material. Card material thickness is typically described in pounds. The pound weight is the weight of 500 20 "x 26" sheets. In the united states, card material thickness is typically measured in dots or mils, which results in sheet thickness in thousandths of an inch. For example, a 10pt. stiffer plate is 0.010 inches thick; 12pt. was 0.012 inches.

The flat plate 14 may comprise a combination of cardboard, typically two flat sheets of paper and an internally grooved corrugated medium. Additional suitable harder flat materials include hard paper, cardboard, pasteboard, or paperboard, including corrugated paperboard and polyethylene such as 0.0015 inch high density polyethylene. The harder plate 14 may comprise a substantially rigid material, such as a thermoplastic material, for example ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene). One preferred flat sheet 14 material is paperboard of 10 mils or 0.010 inches thick or greater.

Corrugated fiberboard is the preferred material for the flat sheet 14. Corrugated fiberboard has two main components: a liner sheet and a media. Both can be made of heavy paper (heavy paper) called container board. The backing board is a flat facing (facing) that adheres to the media. The media is typically corrugated material in the shape of an inner trough. Corrugated board can be one medium glued to one flat liner sheet, a medium between two liner sheets, and even three liner sheets with two media in between. The channel media forms a stiff arched column that can resist bending and pressure from all directions. Corrugated board has been found to function particularly well as a flat board to support the sealant-filled pouches, helping to compress the sealant, as described below with reference to fig. 5-9.

In an embodiment, the pouch 12 comprises a multi-layer polymer laminate and an aluminum layer having a thickness of about 0.0045 to about 0.0065, preferably about 0.0055 inches. The region 16 comprises High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) having a thickness of about 0.012-0.018 inches, preferably about 0.015 inches. The stiff material 14 comprises a corrugated fiberboard having a thickness of about 0.045-0.060 inches, preferably 0.050-0.055 inches. Suitable pouch 12, plate 14 and region 16 materials may satisfy the conditions: the material of the flat plate 14 is harder than the material of the pouch 12 and the material of the region 16 is harder than the material of the pouch 12 and the flat plate 14.

Fig. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are schematic perspective views illustrating the use of the package 10. In fig. 7, the package 10 is held in one hand while being opened with the other hand by tearing the strip 30 as shown. In the case of using an adhesive material such as a caulk, the package 10 may be grasped by hand with the pouch 12 side up, as shown in fig. 8. The thumb 32 and second finger 34 are located at opposite edges 36, 38 of the stiffer panel 14. The index finger 40 presses against the pouch 12 toward the crease 26 to begin folding the stiffer panel 14. The package 10 begins to fold along the crease 26 with the force applied to the opposing edges 36, 38 by the thumb 32 and the second finger 34. As shown in FIG. 8, folding may be facilitated by the user applying the length of the index finger 40 to the pouch 12 while applying lateral force via the thumb 32 and second finger 34. In this example, the stiffer panel 14 comprises a substantially rigid material having a flat surface underneath the pouch 12 that supports the pouch 12 when the stiffer panel 14 is folded along the crease 26, as shown in FIG. 9.

As shown in fig. 9 and 10, the folding causes the sealing compound 24 to pass upwardly from within the pouch 12 through the first sealed end 20 in the shape of a tip, as shown in fig. 9. Initially, the sealant 24 may be contained within the pouch 12 of the package 10 and the forming area 16 will be flat and free of the sealant 24. But when the package 10 is folded and the package 10 is compressed as shown in fig. 9, the sealant is forced into the area 16. The region 16 expands and forms an extruded tip shape. The substantially rigid structure formed by the over-folding of both sides of the package 10 may be securely held and manipulated to force the controlled sealant bead 44 out of the area 16, as shown in fig. 10 and 11. Region 16 is shaped to allow sealant to fill the remaining tip and flow out of the tip. Region 16 may be shaped to be approximately the size of a bead, such as 1/8 inches in diameter. The user can further adjust the bead size by the applied pressure and speed, as shown in fig. 10 and 11. Once the sealant 24 is applied and the pouch 12 is free of material, the empty package 10 may be discarded, as shown in FIG. 12.

The following examples are illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

Example 1

The package samples were evaluated to determine the design for dispensing the viscous material.

The sample was made of clear polypropyleneA package, thin (< 1mm) black polypropylene and polyethylene sheets, and an acrylic resin film (< 1 mm). The sheet is formed and heat sealed into package shape as follows: the oversized top and bottom rectangles with triangular ends were first cut and the sheet was heat sealed together with the triangular ends on one side to form the nozzle. Some packages are formed with gusset panels (gussets). The gusset is formed by folding the film on the side and bottom of the package.

After forming, excess material is cut from the package. Each package is filled with material and then heat sealed to form a seal. The package has a length of about 4cm to 20cm, a width of about 2cm to 15cm and a thickness (filled with material) of about 0.5cm to 2 cm. The package is filled with an acrylic caulk or silicone sealant.

The panel of aggregated evaluators evaluated each package from a sequence of 20-30. The integrity of the contents of the package was evaluated, as well as the ease and control of material compression. In the evaluation, a small group visually and tactilely observed each package before dispensing the material. The panelists then fold each package to compress its contents. The panel observed the ease of pressing the control material beads onto the test cardboard. The panel also observed any failures in package integrity.

Packages for dispensing acrylic caulk and silicone sealant were evaluated. The panel practiced multiple dispensing for each constructed package. The panel then approved the package selected for the next step of evaluation. The process is repeated using successful packages configured according to the characteristics of the successful packages from the previous evaluation run.

The panel identified a package design that was not completely filled with material, did not form a circular hole for pressing out a uniform bead, and was not flexible enough to be completely filled. Some extrusion failures were addressed by changing the nozzle angle and package length for subsequent evaluation runs. Some leading wheel designs are observed to be so thin that fine control is required to dispense a continuous smooth bead of material. This is solved by: (1) making one surface of the package from a stiffer plastic sheet, and (2) varying the user interaction to fold the package along the length of the crease provides even stiffer dispensing structures.

Some designs are annotated as having a film that is too thin. With these packages, the material resists sliding within the package, thus making it difficult to completely express the package contents. This problem is addressed with packages of gusset design to increase package volume while maintaining or reducing the internal package surface area.

A creased semi-rigid plastic backing for a package is determined to be the best design to hold the desired amount of material and to be easily folded for dispensing. The package was generally sized (7cmx 5cm) so that the material could be completely extruded by manipulating the package with one hand. The dispenser nozzle was selected to have a longer (2cm) and narrower (1cm) nozzle to allow the package to be squeezed without nozzle deformation. And the package design chosen has gussets on the sides, increasing bulk while minimizing the internal surface area so that the material can be dispensed by one finger compression.

Example 2

The resulting design was tested for functionality by others on behalf of a consumer panel. 10 design packages were distributed among 6 persons in the panel. Each person is instructed to force material out of the package according to the step of manually pressing the package with one hand using an index finger to fold the package longitudinally along the crease and force the sealant out of the package nozzle.

The designer rated the clique to observe the extrusion process and recorded the comments of the panel. Consumer panel responses were photographed to collect use and review of the packages.

The group approved the proposed design. The following panel reviews of the design were recorded: "this is really good! I are looking for it ". "I consider this to be a surprising type. I can only say that it is good thing ". "very easy to use. I like it to my beads. Feel like i have many controls ". "I have liked it and I will tell you why. Since you can really handle the pressure. You can do many, or you can do a bit ". "you solve the problem that most people do not need huge amount of [ joint compound ] at home. "Once you use these, you can already see in my first turn, you are quite professional".

This example illustrates the expected commercial success of a viscous dispenser according to the invention.

Example 3

This example describes a series of repeated evaluations of the package samples to determine the best harder material.

First, a range of materials including paperboard, plastic sheet, and corrugated fiberboard were evaluated for production performance. Sample paperboard thicknesses of about 0.010 "to 0.100"; high density polyethylene sheet (HDPE) thickness of about 0.005 "to 0.100"; and the corrugation of the corrugated fiber board is from B groove to N groove.

User evaluation determined that paperboard having a thickness of less than about 0.080 "did not have sufficient rigidity for acceptable dispensing and" ease of use ". Thicker paperboard produced improved performance results but was evaluated as unacceptable due to the feeling of bulkiness. Thinner HDPE samples with a thickness below 0.040 "were evaluated as unacceptable due to insufficient stiffness. Thicker HDPE samples show improved performance but increase cost.

The performance of corrugated fiberboard is best in the E and F slot ranges. The alphabetical designation relates to slot size or refers to the number of slots per linear foot. The E slot has 90+/-4 slots per linear foot and a slot thickness of 1/16 inches, and the F slot has 128+/-4 slots per linear foot and a slot thickness of 1/32 inches. The corrugated fiberboard packages of the E-flute and F-flute have a one-hand use dispensing percentage of about 80% and greater. The E-groove corrugated fiberboard also received the best "easy to use" evaluation.

Example 4

Another series of tests was performed to determine the best performing package in terms of sealant bead shape. Standard beads are defined as sealant deposits having a circular cross-section.

The first tested packages had only top film pouches and thicker bottom material side walls. The thicker material side walls are folded to form the nozzle. However, the nozzle formed by the folded side walls is soft and forms an uneven bead. The bead cross-section will start with a thin horizontal diamond (horizontal diamond). Then later in the distribution, the bead cross-section will form in unacceptably thin vertical diamonds (vertical diamonds). Furthermore, the top film will form sharper folds and creases in the nozzle, making the cross-section more non-uniform.

In the experiment of this example, a semi-rigid material was added to one of the side walls near the tip end of the package. In these embodiments, the semi-rigid material bends in a controlled manner into a substantially U-shaped extrusion (U-expressing shape) as the stiffer material sidewalls are folded along their longitudinal axes to compress the pouch. The U-shaped extrudate ensures that half of the cross-section is more uniform and rounded and the edges of the flexible side walls are restricted to provide a uniform and rounded extrudate bead.

Example 5

HPDE was chosen as a cost-acceptable material for the top film pouch. HDPE was found to adhere to the stiff foldable sidewall material. In the extrusion test, the HDPE material was fitted with a U-shaped extrusion to form beads of the desired cross-section. The optimum HDPE was determined by a series of experiments on 0.005 "to 0.030" thick HDPE. The 0.015 "thickness was found to have the best performance over the range of materials forming the bead cross-section.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, the invention is capable of modification and variation and is therefore not to be limited to the precise details of the examples. The present invention includes variations and modifications that fall within the scope of the following claims.

The claims (modification according to treaty clause 19)

1. A method of forming and filling a pouch comprising:

forming opposing walls of a flexible membrane;

sealing the opposing walls of the film together to form at least one pouch;

filling the interior of the at least one pouch with a flowable material through an opening in the upper portion of the at least one pouch;

forming a top-sealed extruded region closing the opening of the at least one pouch; and

the filled pouch is supported by a foldable flat sheet that is stiffer than the pouch, and which can be folded or rolled to compress the pouch and force the flowable material out through the press-out region.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the relatively stiff panel comprises a crease which is a pressed, folded or scored line marked into the surface of the panel to facilitate longitudinal folding of the package.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the stiffer panel comprises a crease extending along the pouch between the two sealed ends to facilitate folding or rolling of the stiffer panel, and wherein the crease is a dividing line between regions of the stiffer panel configured to form a bearing compression surface relative to the seal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a film material and the harder plate comprises a material that is harder than the film material.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the harder plate comprises a substantially conformal base that can be rolled or folded relative to the pouch.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a film material and the relatively stiff plate comprises a material that is substantially rigid and less compliant than the film pouch material.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the harder plate comprises cardboard, card stock, fiberboard or a thermoplastic material.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the relatively rigid plate comprises 8pt. cardstock material.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a multi-layer polymer and aluminum layer laminate having a thickness of about 0.0045 to about 0.0075.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a multi-layer polymer and aluminum layer laminate having a thickness of about 0.0060 inches.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said relatively stiff flat sheet comprises paperboard having a thickness in excess of 10 mils (0.010 inches).

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the stiffer flat plate comprises a corrugated fiberboard having a thickness of about 0.045-0.065.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the relatively stiff plate comprises fluted corrugated media sandwiched between flat sheets of paper.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the relatively stiff plate comprises a corrugated fiberboard having a thickness of 0.50 to 0.60 inches.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a film that is substantially impermeable to water vapor and oxygen.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a membrane having a permeability rating of 1 or less.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a plastic or foil film material.

18. The method of claim 1 including a semicircular tear strip to facilitate opening at the first sealed end.

19. The method of claim 1, comprising filling the pouch with a sealant.

20. The method of claim 1, comprising filling the pouch with a sealant comprising an RTV composition.

21. The method of claim 1, comprising filling the pouch with a sealant comprising a silicone component comprising a mixture or reaction product of: (i) a polysiloxane polymer having hydrolysable substituents, and (ii) a multifunctional silicon compound having two or more hydrolysable substituents.

22. The method of claim 1, comprising filling the pouch with a sealant comprising a polysiloxane component comprising a mixture or reaction product of: (i) a polysiloxane polymer having hydrolysable substituents, and (ii) a multifunctional silicon compound having two or more hydrolysable substituents.

23. The method of claim 1, comprising filling the pouch with a sealant comprising a polysiloxane component comprising a mixture or reaction product of: (i) a polysiloxane polymer having hydrolysable substituents, and (ii) a multifunctional silicon compound having two or more hydrolysable substituents.

24. The method of claim 1, comprising an elongated pouch having a longitudinal axis and an interior, the pouch comprising a first seal forming a downstream end of the pouch and a second seal forming an upstream end of the pouch, a dispensing extension in the shape of a tip extending to the upstream end seal, the dispensing extension extending outwardly and having a flow passage in fluid communication with the interior of the pouch.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a transparent film material.

Claims (25)

1. A method of forming and filling a pouch comprising:

forming opposing walls of the membrane;

sealing the opposing walls of the film together to form at least one pouch;

filling the interior of the at least one pouch with a flowable material through an opening in the upper portion of the at least one pouch;

forming a top-sealed extruded region closing the opening of the at least one pouch; and

the pouch is supported by a foldable flat sheet that is stiffer than the pouch and is foldable or rolled to compress the pouch and force the flowable material out through the press-out region.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the relatively stiff panel comprises a crease which is a pressed, folded or scored line marked into the surface of the panel to facilitate longitudinal folding of the package.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the stiffer panel comprises a crease extending along the pouch between the two sealed ends to facilitate folding or rolling of the stiffer panel, and wherein the crease is a dividing line between regions of the stiffer panel configured to form a bearing compression surface relative to the seal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a film material and the harder plate comprises a material that is harder than the film material.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the harder plate comprises a substantially conformal base that can be rolled or folded relative to the pouch.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a film material and the relatively stiff plate comprises a material that is substantially rigid and less compliant than the film pouch material.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the harder plate comprises cardboard, card stock, fiberboard or a thermoplastic material.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the relatively rigid plate comprises 8pt. cardstock material.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a multi-layer polymer and aluminum layer laminate having a thickness of about 0.0045 to about 0.0075.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a multi-layer polymer and aluminum layer laminate having a thickness of about 0.0060 inches.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said relatively stiff flat sheet comprises paperboard having a thickness in excess of 10 mils (0.010 inches).

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the stiffer flat plate comprises a corrugated fiberboard having a thickness of about 0.045-0.065.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the relatively stiff plate comprises fluted corrugated media sandwiched between flat sheets of paper.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the relatively stiff plate comprises a corrugated fiberboard having a thickness of 0.50 to 0.60 inches.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a film that is substantially impermeable to water vapor and oxygen.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a membrane having a permeability rating of 1 or less.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a plastic or foil film material.

18. The method of claim 1 including a semicircular tear strip to facilitate opening at the first sealed end.

19. The method of claim 1, comprising filling the pouch with a sealant.

20. The method of claim 1, comprising filling the pouch with a sealant comprising an RTV composition.

21. The method of claim 1, comprising filling the pouch with a sealant comprising a silicone component comprising a mixture or reaction product of: (i) a polysiloxane polymer having hydrolysable substituents, and (ii) a multifunctional silicon compound having two or more hydrolysable substituents.

22. The method of claim 1, comprising filling the pouch with a sealant comprising a polysiloxane component comprising a mixture or reaction product of: (i) a polysiloxane polymer having hydrolysable substituents, and (ii) a multifunctional silicon compound having two or more hydrolysable substituents.

23. The method of claim 1, comprising filling the pouch with a sealant comprising a polysiloxane component comprising a mixture or reaction product of: (i) a polysiloxane polymer having hydrolysable substituents, and (ii) a multifunctional silicon compound having two or more hydrolysable substituents.

24. The method of claim 1, comprising an elongated pouch having a longitudinal axis and an interior, the pouch comprising a first seal forming a downstream end of the pouch and a second seal forming an upstream end of the pouch, a dispensing extension in the shape of a tip extending to the upstream end seal, the dispensing extension extending outwardly and having a flow passage in fluid communication with the interior of the pouch.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the pouch comprises a transparent film material.