LAMINATED MATERIAL AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME

Abstract: The invention relates to a laminated material (16) which comprises a carrier layer (1) of paper or cardboard and an out­ side layer (2) of extruded polythene applied to one side of the carrier layer (1). To the other side of the carrier layer (1) is ap­ plied a first binder layer (3) of polythene and a layer (4) of alu­ minium foil paced against the binder layer (3). A second binder layer (7) of EAA is provided for the bonding together of the alu­ minium foil (4) with an inner polythene layer (6) which has been produced by blowing and which has a substantially higher modulus of elasticity and strength than the slot-extruded poly­ thene layer (2). The invention also relates to a method for the manufacture of the laminate (16) by making use of the heat content of the first slot-extruded binder layer (3) of polythene for heating up the second binder layer (7) of EAA to such a temperature that an effective bonding on the aluminium foil (4) is obtained.

Description: The present invention relates to a mechanically strong and heat-sealable laminated material for packaging purposes which has good oil-resistance properties and is of neutral taste. In packaging technique laminated material of a complex composition is frequently used so as to take advantage of the best properties of the different single materials and to combine them to give the optimum combination for the particular kind of package or the particular product which is to be packed. Thus it is known that paper, cardboard or rigid foamed plastic sheet are excellent materials for providing a package with a rigidity which is such that the material by folding can be formed to packing containers of lasting shape which provide a good mechanical protection for the goods enclosed. However, it is well known that paper and cardboard are neither water nor grease resistant or air-tight, so that the paper material often has to be combined with other material layers which have the desired qualities. The laminates produced in this manner can be relatively complex in their build-up owing to the fact that a great number of layers are included in the same laminate, which means that the laminate will be expensive to manufacture since the laminate has to be built up successively layer by layer. It is also known that plastic material can be coextruded so as to achieve on the one hand better material adhesion and to be able on the other hand to produce a plastic film containing two or more different plastic layers in one and the same manufacturing operation. In the present case it is desired to build up a packing laminate which has a carrier layer of paper, cardboard or e.g. polystyrene foam, which implies that packages manufactured from the laminate can be formed by folding to a lasting shape and that a good mechanical protection is imparted to the contents. Moreover the laminate should be liquid-tight so as not to absorb moisture or liquid which may come into contact with the outside of the package and the package should have an inside which is liquid-tight and which can be heat-sealed by bringing together plastic layers which can be fused together with the help of heat and pressure to a mechanically strong union. Furthermore the inner plastic layer which is in direct contact with the contents should have a low characteristic taste level in cases where the contents are constituted of foodstuffs. The inner plastic film should be sufficiently strong and tough and tough to withstand the stresses on the material occasioned by the fold-forming without causing the plastic material to split. Furthermore the laminate should include a gas barrier, that is to say a layer which prevents the passage of gas, and as such a layer of aluminium foil can preferably be used. Thus a number of different material layers are to be joined to one another and this is done with the help of different binder layers. From DE-A-2946739 it is shown a packaging material with a carrier layer of paper or cardbooard having a further layer of aluminium foil. It is described how the aluminium foil is laminated to the carrier layer by means of a slot-extruded layer of molten plastic and that the aluminium layer applied on the carrier layer is further covered with an extruded layer of thermoplastic material. The present invention is further concerned with the manufacturing method of laminated web material possessing a layer of aluminium foil and a layer of thermoplastic synthetic resin material on the inner and external surfaces, respectively of the substrate. Conventionally, when manufacturing such a lamited web material (laminated paper), broadly speaking, there are used two methods. The first method is called dry laminating method, in which after applying adhesive to laminated material (subsubstrate) such as a film made from synthetic resin and the like and drying the same, such a subsubstrate is pasted to the surface of the substrate or other laminated material. Another method, as shown in fig 6, is called extrusion laminating method, in which a thin film of synthetic resin material, melted at the temperature as high as 300 o C, is injected from an extrusion die A;104;109 and a layer of plastic material is formed on the surface of the aluminium foil 102 as well as on the paper or cardboard web 101. The laminated web material which is manufactured in the conventional way by slot-extrusion will have an unreasonably abnormal smell which will deteriorate the flavor of goods packed in the material, such an improper deterioration being more frequently found whenever it is packaged for longer preservation or at higher temperature. That is because, for type manufactured by the dry laminating method, for example, there exists a layer of adhesive between the aluminium foil located on the inner surface of a packaging container and a layer of synthetic resin material and said adhesive is eluted. On the other hand, what emplies the extrusion laminating method causes oxidative product (carboxyl group) in the synthetic resin material, by itself, forming a layer of synthetic resin material, said product is led to outbreak of the abnormal smell and deterioration of the flavor. Namely, in order to form the packaging container to be filled with the drink, the container by itself is required to have sufficient strength as well as there is such a necessity that the synthetic resin material with which the inner surface of the aluminium foil is laminated is firmly adhered to the aluminium foil so that the container may not be deformed, a leakage of the drink to be packaged being prevented. In order to adhere firmly the synthetic resin material to the aluminium foil, however, in the case of polyethylene resin, for example, it, reaching the high temperature over 300 o C, is needed to be injected. The synthetic resin material which is injected at the high temperature sticks closely to the surface of the aluminium foil and gets in contact with the air for relatively longer time before forming a thin coated layer thereon, resulting in a great number of oxidative product. Reversively, if the temperature of the synthetic resin material becomes lower to prevent the outbreak of the oxidative product, the adhering strength gets more weaker, the workability of the container comes to be worse. The oxidative product existing in the layer of syntethic resin material is gradually eluted into the goods to be packaged and, particularly under the situation of higher temperature, a degree of being eluted is increased. For this reason, the package using the laminated web material manufactured by the conventional method cannot be heated and possesses such a defect that here is a difficulty in preserving the food sensitive to the taste and flavor for a long time. The present invention, which is created in light of the foregoing points, is in a position to adapt the synthetic resin film to be firmly adhered to the surface of the aluminium foil as well as aims at the manufacturing method of laminated web material for packaging the food which reduces the outbreak of oxidative product to extreme extent. The present invention suggests a rational method for the manufacture of such a material as well as the material itself whose characteristics are evident from the enclosed claims. In the following the invention will be described with reference to the enclosed schematic drawing wherein Fig. 1 shows how the different material layers are joined to one another, Fig. 2 shows a schematic picture of the manufacturing process and, Fig. 3 shows how a blown film comprising polythene and EAA is produced. Fig. 4 is a schematic view illustrating the manufacturing process of the laminated web material which includes the method of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a sectional view illustratively exemplifying the finished laminated web material for packaging the food; and Fig. 6 is a schematic view illustratively exemplifying the manufacturing process performed by the conventional manufacturing method. The laminate in accordance with the invention may consist of several different material combinations, and in the following a material combination suitable for the manufacture of packages for liquid foodstuffs is indicated. The build-up of a laminate in accordance with the invention is evident from fig. 1 which shows how a carrier layer 1 of paper or cardboard, coated beforehand with a polythene layer 2 is passed over a cylinder 8 and down into the so-called "nip" between the co-operating pressure and cooling cylinders 9 and 8. An aluminium foil web 4 whose with substantially corresponds to the web 1 is also guided in between the said cylinders. Also introduced between the aluminium foil web 4 and the carrier layer 1 is a slot-extruded plastic film which is manufactured in such a manner that plastic material is melted and pressed out through a die with a linear slot (slot extrusion). The warm plastic film 3, not yet solidified, is then compressed with the help of the cylinders 8 and 9 between the carrier layer 1 and one side of the aluminium foil 4, a mechanical bond ensuing between the plastic material 3 and the carrier layer 1 and between the plastic material 3 and the aluminium foil 4, at the same time as the plastic film 3 cools down and becomes stabilized. In the case considered here, however, a coextruded film 5 manufactured beforehand comprising two plastic layers, namely a plastic layer 7 of the EAA type (usually described by its English name ethylene acrylic acid) and a plastic layer 6 consisting of blown polythene is also introduced between the cylinders 9 and 8. As the plastic layers 6 and 7 are coextruded they have good adhesion to each other and the problem consists in creating good adhesion also between the outer blown plasic layer 6 and the aluminium foil 4 in one and the same laminating operation. In the case described here the aluminium foil layer 4 is bonded to the carrier layer 1 with the help of the slot-extruded plastic film 3 and in this lamination the bulk of the heat content in the extruded plastic film 3 is given off to the aluminium foil 4 since aluminium foil is a much better heat-conducting material than the paper material in the carrier layer 1. At the same time as the plastic film 3 cools down and is stabilized the aluminium foil layer 4 is thus heated and the heat from the plastic layer 3 is transferred to the EAA layer 7 of the coextruded plastic film 5 which has a sealing temperature of appr. 93 o C. Since the extruded plastic film has to be heated to at least 300 o C to allow it to be extruded it has a relatively large heat content which has to be dissipated. If the temperature and the thickness of the extruded plastic layer 3 are chosen correctly sufficient heat for the achievement of a seal will be transferred to the EAA layer 7 which is raised thereby to a temperature exceeding 93 o C and is made to melt therefore along its surface facing the aluminium foil layer 4 and after cooling is bonded to the aluminium foil layer 4. In one and the same lamination operation the whole laminate combination has thus been produced with the exception of the carrier web 1 having been coated beforehand with plastic in a special process and the film 5 having been manufactured through coextrusion and blowing in a separate process. Great economic advantages can be obtained by rationalizing in this manner the laminate manufacture in that the extrusion of two separate lamination layers is avoided by utilizing the heat from the only extruded lamination layer 3 for heating the surface layer 7 of the coextruded film to sealing temperature. The normal method for manufacturing a laminate in accordance with the invention consists in carrying out the plastic coating of the aluminium foil layer 4, that is to say the inside layer of the laminate as a separate slot-extrusion. It has been found, however, that polythene has to be extruded at minimum 300 o C if a good adhesion on the aluminium foil is to be achieved and that at this temperature the material will be polar-oxidized which means that it cannot be heat-sealed if it is in contact with liquid or if the material is moistened in any way. Modern packaging methods involve sealing through a liquid column so that a polar material on the inside of the package can not be used for such seals. This problem has been solved by extruding a further polythene layer at a lower temperature outside the polythene layer which has been extruded at high temperature and if this extrusion is carried out at a temperature remaining below 290 o C the outermost polythene layer will not be polar but can be heat-sealed in the presence of liquid. There are appreciable differences in the mechanical characteristics, however, between a polythene layer which has been slot-extruded by causing the plastic material to melt and pressing it out through a slot-shaped die, and a polythene layer which has been manufactured as a so-called blown film (that is to say the polythene material after melting is pressed out through an annular die to form a tubing which is inflated with the help of a compressed gas so that the diameter of the tubing is substantially enlarged). The differences in the manufacturing process involve among other things that the plastic in the blowing process can be extruded at a temperature of 140-180 o C whereas in the corresponding slot-extrusion temperature is approx. 250-325 o C. Through the subsequent blowing of the tubing an orientation effect is achieved on the plastic material which is thus molecular-oriented and so acquires substantially improved mechanical strength characteristics. The modulus of elasticity among other things is doubled in principle, since it is approx. 200 MPa for a blown polythene film whilst the corresponding modulus of elasticity for a slot-extruded polythene film is approx. 100 MPa. Moreover the rupture strength of the blown film is substantially higher in longitudinal as well as in transverse direction of the film (the blown film has strength values which are approx. 15-30 % better). Another very considerable advantage is that the blown film gives off appreciably less taste which is of particular importance in the packaging of foodstuffs. The sealing characteristics of the blown film are exceptional. Especially for packages of warm products or products which are to be heated in their package, e.g. beverages, it has been found that blown polythene film exercises a substantially smaller taste effect upon the product than slot-extruded polythene film. A packing laminate with inside layer of blown polythene film thus offers considerable advantages over the slot-extruded polythene coating used up to now. These advantages are most pronounced in the packaging of taste-sensitive foodstuffs and especially those foodstuffs which are intended to be heated inside their package. This is the case, for example, in vending machines of certain non-returnable packages for beverages of the type of coffee or tea where the package is delivered by the machine with heated contents. As has been pointed out the mechanical properties of a blown polythene film too are substantially superior to the corresponding properties of a slot-extruded polythene film. This advantage can be made use of in particular in those packages which are manufactured from a tube which has been formed from a plane web of packing laminate. In packages of the said type, which are converted to parallelepipedic containers, a relatively comprehensive folding processing is required in the course of which triangular, doublewalled lugs are formed at the corner points of the package which are folded in against the package body and are sealed to the same. In this folding process "double foldings" occur at a great number of points where several layers of plastic material are involved which means that the plastic layers are subject to appreciable stretching and tensile stresses. Such stresses often may cause inside layers of the package to split or in any case be damaged so that small leakages can be produced as a result of which the contents of the package in liquid form may penetrate through the inner plastic layer and possibly cause delamination of the layers making up the laminate, or may be absorbed by the fibrous paper portion of the carrier which would then become wet and completely lose its mechanical strength. In so-called aseptic packages, where the contents consist of a sterile liquid, such a leakage causes infection of the contents whose sterility would then be lost. This problem of splitting or damaged plastic layers at the points of folding can be practically eliminated if a blown polythene film is used as an inside layer, since the blown polythene film has better tensile strength and expansion properties than a slot-extruded film and a modulus of elasticity which is twice as high. The high modulus of elasticity also means that the inside layer can sustain mechanical shocks better, e.g. when a package is dropped. It can be said, therefore, that a laminate of the type which is manufactured according to Fig. 1 has great advantages but that the blown polythene film has to be produced in a separate operational phase. To make it possible to manufacture the laminate in such a manner that it is not substantially more expensive than laminate with slot-extruded plastic layers used at present, a rational coating process is required and such a process is described with reference to Fig. 2 where a magazine roll of carrier material consisting of paper, cardboard or polystyrene foam is designated 11. A web 1 of carrier material is reeled off the magazine roll 1 and is passed over guide rollers to a coating station where the web 1 is introduced into the so-called "nip" between pressure cylinders 14 and 13, the cylinder 13 being cooled. A molten plastic film 2 of polythene is extruded with the help of the extruder 12 through a slotlike die and is applied to the web 1 over its whole width. This polythene film 2 is extruded at a relatively high temperature (approx. 300 o C) so that good adhesion should be obtained on the paper web 1 and since the plastic film 2 is to constitute the outside coating of the packing laminate, and thus only act as an outer moisture protection, the coating can be a relatively thin one of e.g. 5-20 g/m². The molten plastic film 2 is stabilized through cooling with the help of the cooling cylinder 13, and the resulting laminate forms a web 15 consisting of the carrier layer 1 with its outer coating 2 of polythene film. The web 15 is conducted to a second coating station where the web 15 is introduced between the pressure and cooling cylinders 8 and 9 together with a slot-extruded plastic film 3 which is pressed out from the extruder 10. Into the nip between the cylinders 8 and 9 is also introduced an aluminium foil 4 and a blown film, coextruded beforehand in a manner which will be described later, consisting of an outer layer of polythene and an inner layer of EAA (ethylene acrylic acid). The molten plastic film 3 pressed out from the extruder 10 is intended to constitute the lamination layer or binder layer between the aluminium foil 4 and the non-coated side of the web 15. When the web 15 and the aluminium foil 4 are pressed together with the help of the cylinders 8 and 9 and take up between them the molten polythene layer 3, the aluminium foil layer 4 will be effectively bonded to the carrier layer 1 of the web 15. The plastic layer 3 will be cooled down with the help of the cooling cylinder 9 and the heat discharged from the plastic film 3 will pass at the same time through the aluminium foil layer 4 which is heated and by means of heat conduction transfers thermal energy to the EAA layer of the blown film 5. The EAA layer, which has a sealing temperature as low as approx. 93 o C, will be heated to softening and will be bonded to the aluminium foil layer 4 when the two webs are pressed together between the cylinders 8 and 9. The thermal energy will be discharged thereafter to the cooling cylinder without the outer polythene layer of the film being heated appreciably, since the polythene layer of the blown film 5 rests in direct contact with the surface of the cooling cylinder. In the manner which has been described above the web 15, the aluminium foil 4 and the coextruded blown film 5 are laminated in one and the operation with the help of the slot-extruded polythene film 3. The finished laminate 16 subsequently is rolled up on a magazin roll 17. As mentioned earlier a blown coextruded plastic film manufactured beforehand comprising a layer of polythene and a layer of EAA is required for the production of the laminate 16. This film is manufactured in the manner as shown in Fig. 3 wherein two so-called extruders 20 and 21 are both coupled to a coextrusion die 22. To the extruder 20 is fed EAA in the form of granules or powder and the plastic material is melted in the extruder with the help of heat whilst it is extruded at the same time by means of one or more screws so that a high pressure is imparted to the molten plastic mass. The same occurs in the extruder 21 where polythene is melted and pressed under high pressure against the extruder die 22. In the extruder die 22 the two molten plastic materials are conducted into separate annular channels, essentially parallel with one another, later to be joined together again at, or in the proximity of, the annular opening of the die 22, as a result of which the two plastic materials form an extruded seamless tubing 24 one side of which presents an EAA layer whereas the other side presents a polythene layer. By means of compressed air supplied to the extruder die 22 the tubing 24 formed is inflated in such a manner that its diameter is substantially increased. To stabilize the tubing and check the diameter cold air is blown against the outside and/or inside of the tubing, e.g. with the help of an annular cooling arrangement 23. The plastic material, thinned out through the expanding blowing and having been given a certain molecular orientation too is cooled so as to become stabilized. The tubing 24 filled with compressed gas is passed upwards towards two co-operating pressure rollers 26 between which the tubing is flattened. The flattening cannot take place before the inside layer of EAA has been stabilized or cooled down to such an extent that the temperature is well below the sealing temperature of the material, since otherwise the inside of the tubing would be sealed together during the flattening. The tubing 24 and its inside layer of EAA are cooled down, however, at the same time as the tubing 24 is conducted upwards and is introduced between converging guide plates 25 towards the co-operating rollers 26. The flattening tubing 24 is designated 27 and is passed from the flattening rollers towards the cutting device 28 where cutting discs cut off the edge portions of the flattened tubing to form two separate webs 31 and 32 which are rolled up on magazine rolls 30 and 29 respectively. The webs 31 and 32 thus consist of a blown coextruded plastic films, one side of which is consistuted of polythene and the other side of which is consistuted of EAA. This coextruded film is used for producing the laminate and is designated 5 in Fig.2. It is possible within the scope of the concept of the invention to use material combinations other than those mentioned above. For example a carrier layer of rigid foamed plastic, e.g. polystyrene foam, can be used instead of paper or cardboard. The outer plastic layer of the laminate, as well as the inner blown plastic layer, instead of being consistuted of polythene, may consist of some other polyolefin, e.g. polypropene which is coextruded with EAA or Surlyn, and the extruded first binder layer instead of polythene may be consistuted of e.g. combinations of LDPE (low density polyethylene) or LLDPE (linear low density polyethylene),EAA, Surlyn and LDPE or Surlyn and LDPE or Surlyn alone. The thermoplastic material used for forming the second binder layer may be described as a bonding plastics, the most important representatives of which are carboxylic acid copolymers or partly neutralized carboxylic acid copolymers. Of these EAA today is the most commonly used polymer. The description of the formation and action of a second embodiment of the present invention will now be made in conjunction with Fig. 4,5 and 6. Conventionally, as shown in Fig. 6, in order to combine the substrate 101 with the aluminium foil 102 as one unit, the method in which the melted synthetic resin material 103 is injected from the die 104 so that said substrate 101 and said aluminium foil 102 are pressurized to be interposed by a pair of rollers 105 and 106 so that they may be adhered to each other has been conducted. In that case, even if the synthetic resin material, which is activated at high temperature, contains a great number of oxidative product, because it is apart from the content to be packaged by the aluminium foil, there may be no apprehension of eluting the oxidative product into the content to be packaged. From that view, the present invention, as shown in Fig. 4, employs such an arrangement in which at the same time of injecting the thin film of melted synthetic resin material 103 between the substrate 101 and the aluminium foil 102, the thermoplastic synthetic resin film 107, which is separately made, is supplied to the opposite surface of the aluminium foil 102 (the surface of the aluminium foil not being adhered to the substrate) so that said substrate 101, said melted synthetic resin material 103, said aluminium foil 102, and said synthetic resin film 107 are pressurized to be interposed by a pair of rollers 105 and 106, whereby said melted synthetic resin material pastes the aluminium foil to the substrate and, at the same time, said synthetic resin film is deposited to the inner surface of the aluminium foil by the heat of said melted synthetic resin material. One of good points of the laminated web material lies in the probability of using the paper, employed as a substrate, on the surface of which an optional printing is performed. In that case, it is general that the surface to be printed, i.e. the external surface of the substrate is coated with the synthetic resin material. The embodiment illustrated by Fig. 4 puts a light upon the process of applying the coating to the external surface of the substrate 101 and treating the inner surface thereof. A roll of wound substrate 101 is consecutively fed out by guide roller 108 and as the first process, the melted synthetic resin material 110 is injected from the die 109 to the external surface of the substrate so that they are applied to each other by a pair of rollers 111 and 112, thereby forming a layer of synthetic resin material 110 on the external surface of the substrate 101. The resultant substrate 101 is consecutively supplied to the following process of laminating the inner surface thereof. When the substrate 101 is supplied to a pair of rollers 105 and 106, while being wound around the guide rollers 113, the aluminium foil 102 is supplied on the substrate 101 in such a way that they put each over other, while the synthetic resin film 107 is also supplied on the aluminium foil 102, and, at the same time, the melted synthetic resin material 103 is injected from the die 104 to the part between the substrate 101 and the aluminium foil 102. As the synthetic resin material 103, the polyethylene which is melted, for example, at over 300 o C fitted to the deposition of the aluminium foil to the substrate is employed. Thus, when the synthetic resin material of high temperature is injected between the aluminium foil 102 and the substrate 101, its heat is conducted through the aluminium foil at once and is transferred to the external surface of the aluminium foil, namely the synthetic resin film 107 serving as the internal surface of container, whereby the temperature of the surface of said synthetic resin film 107 is increased for a moment so that its surface is softened. After that, they are pressurized to be interposed by the rollers 105 and 106, so said substrate 101, said aluminium foil 102, and said synthetic film 107 are firmly adhered one to another, thereby finishing the web material possessing such a laminated structure as shown in Fig. 2 so that its roll is wound on and on. A pair of rollers 105 and 106, called a nip roller, have one roller 105, made of metal, served as a coolening roller, while another roller 106, made of rubber served as an applying roller. For this reason, the time taken for pressurizing said substrate 101, said melted synthetic resin material 103, said aluminium foil 102, and said synthetic resin film 107 to be interposed by the rollers is extremely short, during the period of which the synthetic resin film is deposited to the surface of the aluminium foil and at the next moment the synthetic resin film is coolened by the roller 105, so no occasion of giving rise to a great number of oxidative product within itself takes place before its temperature becomes lower. The method of depositing the synthetic resin film in accordance with the present invention can reduce the outbreak of the oxidative product to extreme extent for the following reason, as compared with the conventional method of injecting the melted synthetic resin material on the surface of the aluminium foil which is pasted to the substrate in advance: Namely, the state of high temperature needed for depositing the synthetic resin material to the surface of the aluminium foil is as short as a moment and in contrast with the conventional method in which the temperature of the surface of the aluminium foil is lower, the effective temperature required for the deposition getting lower than the temperature of the synthetic resin material by itself, the effective temperature according to the present invention becomes higher. In other words, although the conventional extrusion laminating method has a necessity of increasing the temperature of the synthetic resin material as highly as possible, the present invention produces the same effect that the depositing process is executed at higher temperature than the temperature of the surface of the synthetic resin film which is actually heated, thereby realizing as firm deposition as possible. As the synthetic resin film supplied to the surface of the aluminium foil, a blown film, molded at the lower temperature, which gives no rise to oxidative product is used and is subject in its quality to option, depending on the application mode including the kind of the food to be packaged. In that case, the quality of the synthetic resin film may preferably have its temperature at which it is heated by the synthetic resin material of high temperature being injected between the aluminium foil and the substrate reached the softening temperature fitted to the depositon. There is available for use the blown film which injects over two kinds of synthetic resin materials from one die, employing the multilayer structure. If such a film is used and, for example, as shown in Fig. 5, its combination with optional synthetic resin material 7 such as polyethylene of lower density 107' for the surface facing the aluminium foil and polyethylene of higher density 107'' for the surface facing the food is performed, the resultant quality getting more superior in terms of both the factors such as the depositing strength to be substrate and the preservation of the food, the laminated web material for packaging of higher quality may be obtained. Although the foregoing embodiment tentatively puts a focus upon the laminated web material as the substrate of which so-called laminated paper is used, such a variation that as the substrate by itself, the synthetic resin material, for example polyethylene web material or expandable synthetic resin material, is optionally used may be put in practical use. According to the manufacturing method of web material for packaging the food of the present invention, there is no worry that the layer of synthetic resin material laminated to the inner surface of the aluminium foil is eluted through the synthetic resin film, because the layer of such an adhesive as conventionally needed under the dry laminating method does not exist. Furthermore, because the layer of synthetic resin material facing the food is not exposed to high temperature for a long time similary to the conventional extrusion laminating method, there is extremely scarcely opportunity of giving rise to the oxidative product. For this reason, although what is manufactured by the conventional method causes the influence from the oxidative product in the adhesive and the synthetic resin material to change the taste and the flavor, the web material which is manufactured by the method according to the present invention can reduce the influence of the container upon the food to the limit. In other words, it does not change the quality of the food, can maintain better preservation state of the food as long as possible, and, at the same time, it is extremely effective in packaging the food sensitive to a slight change in smell and taste, for example, liquor and various kinds of table luxuries. The higher the temperature of the oxidative product becomes, the markedly the change in taste and flavor caused by the oxidative product take place. For this reason, although it is in all respects impossible that this kind of laminated web material manufactured by the conventional method packages and heats for example milk and coffee for marketing them, what is packaged by the web material manufactured by the method of the present invention does not cause the taste and flavor to be changed, even if it is heated, and is durable enough to be marketed, thereby producing the effect of satisfactorily meeting various needs for sales mode. Furthermore, according to the method of the present invention, because the aluminium foil and the synthetic resin film, which are not being changed their quality, are more firmly deposited each to other than the conventional method, the strechability higher enough to stand bending made at the packaging of the food can be maintained, no crack takes place around such a bent point, resulting in reinforcing the strength of the package itself so that there is reduced such a possibility as the package is deformed or damaged in transit. The further characteristics of the method according to the present invention simplifies the manufacturing facilities, reducing the manufacturing cost. Namely, the method of the present invention, when coating the surface of the aluminium foil with the synthetic resin material, does not need a new thermal source and injection device which are needed in the case of the conventional extrusion laminating method and is not required to install the applying and drying process of the adhesive which is needed in the case of the dry laminating method utilizing effectively the heat of the synthetic resin material which is melted at higher temperature, being injected between the aluminium foil and the substrate so that the synthetic resin film may be deposited to the surface of the aluminium foil. Through application of the invention it is possible to manufacture in a rational and inexpensive manner a laminate with properties which in many cases are superior to the properties of the laminates produced up to now in that the inside of the laminate can be constituted of a blown polythene film instead of a slot-extruded film.

Claims: Mechanically strong and heat-sealable laminated material for packing purposes which has good oil-resistance properties, comprising a rigid foldable carrier layer (1;101), a layer (2;110) of thermoplastic applied to one side of the carrier layer (1;101), a first binder layer (3;103) of thermoplastic applied to the other side of the carrier layer, a layer (4;102) of aluminium foil placed against the first binder layer of thermoplastic, characterized by a second binder layer (7;107') of a bonding thermoplastic of low sealing temperature applied to the surface of the aluminium foil (4;102) and a layer (6;107'') of blown thermoplastic film attached to the second binder layer (7;107'). A laminated material in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the carrier layer (1;101) is constituted of paper, cardboard or rigid foamed plastic, that the said outside layer (2;110) on the carrier layer (1;101) is constituted of polythene, that the said first binder layer (3;103) is constituted of polythene, that the said second binder layer (7;107') is constituted of EAA (ethylene acrylic acid) and that the inside layer (6,107'') of the laminate is constituted of blown polythene. A laminated material in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the inside layer (6;107'') of blown thermoplastic material has a substantially higher modulus of elasticity and strength than the slot-extruded outside layer (2;110). A method for the manufacture of laminated material wherein a carrier material web (1;101) of paper or cardboard, coated beforehand with an outside layer (2;110) of polyethylene, is laminated in a known manner to an aluminium foil (4;102) by means of an extruded first binder layer (3;103) of polyethylene, the said carrier material web (1;101) and the aluminium foil web (4;102) being brought together between co-operating pressure cylinders (8,9;105,106), characterized in that between the said pressure cylinders (8,9;105,106) is also introduced a blown coextruded web (5;107), one side of which, facing towards the pressure cylinder (9;106), presents a polyethylene layer (6;107'') and the other side of which, facing towards the aluminium foil (4;102), presents a second binder layer (7;107') of EAA (ethylene acrylic acid), the heat content in the extruded first binder layer (3;103) of polythene being adapted so that on the one hand the binder layer (3;103) attaches itself to the carrier layer (1;101) as well as to the aluminium foil layer (4;102) and that on the other hand the thermal energy in the first binder layer (3;103) is transferred by heat conduction through the aluminium foil layer (4;102) to the EAA coating (7;107') of the coextruded layer (5;107) which is heated to a temperature exceeding 93 o C when the EAA layer (7;107') is pressed against the aluminium foil layer (4;102) by means of the pressure cylinders (8,9;105,106) in order to create a mechanically strong laminate union.

Inventors: ANDERSSON, THORBJOERN, Andersson, Thorbjörn 
Applicants: AB TETRA PAK
Application year: 1985
Main classification: B32B15
IPC codes: B32B15, B32B27