Patent ID: 6996950

Claim:
A method for sealingly connecting a peripheral member onto a closed pouch wherein the pouch has been previously filled with product and sealed to form a sealed enclosure retaining the product therein, the method comprising: providing a flexible, multilayer pouch comprising an inner sealant sealed to form a closed enclosure with the product contained therein, and an outer sealant forming at least one external face of the pouch, wherein the outer sealant is adjacent to the inner sealant at a location where the peripheral member is to be connected and has a melting point that is lower than that of the inner sealant; providing the peripheral attachment member comprising at least one sealant that has a melting point or seal initiation temperature that is lower than the melting point or seal initiation temperature of the inner sealant of the pouch and that has sealing characteristics that are compatible with the outer sealant layer of the pouch, positioning the sealant of the peripheral attachment member in contact with the outer sealant at at least one sealing interface area, applying sealing energy at the sealing interface area to provide an intimate seal between the peripheral attachment member and the outer sealant of the pouch, and releasing or removing the sealing energy before the melting point or the seal initiation temperature of the inner sealant is achieved.