Patent ID: 6251489
Filing Date: 2001-06-26
Classification: A61B,A61L,B32B,B65B,B65D,Y10T

Abstract:
A flexible, steam-sterilizable pouch package comprising:a flexible, steam-permeable non-woven lower barrier web;a flexible impermeable plastic upper web; anda flexible, plastic intermediate web having an interior steam-permeable region;said intermediate web being bonded to said upper web by a permanent line heat seal located peripherally outside said steam-permeable region, said permanent line heat seal defining limits of a cavity between said upper web and said intermediate web for receiving an object to be sterilized, said permanent line heat seal extending less than fully peripherally around said permeable region whereby a heat seal-free region of said permanent line heat seal provides an access opening for inserting an item to be sterilized into said cavity;said intermediate web being bonded to said barrier web such that, when the pouch is fully sealed, steam can penetrate into said cavity only by passing first through said barrier web and thereafter through said steam-permeable region of said intermediate web;one of said intermediate and upper webs being a multi-layer web having a first heat sealable layer selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, polypropylene copolymers, and mixtures thereof, and a core layer bonded thereto selected from the group consisting of polyisobutylene-modified high density polyethylene (RMHDPE) and a blend of RMHDPE with polypropylene or polyproplene copolymer, and the other of said intermediate and upper webs being heat sealed to the heat sealable layer of said multi-layer web by said permanent line heat seal;the bond strength of said permanent line heat seal being stronger than the bond strength between said first heat sealable layer and said core layer of said multi-layer web, and the bond strength between said first heat sealable layer and said core layer of said multi-layer web being greater than the tear strength of said first heat sealable layer of said multi-layer web whereby a delamination failure peel seal is present between said intermediate and upper webs in the region of at least a portion of said permanent line heat seal.