Packages, packaging systems, methods for packaging, and apparatuses for packaging

Abstract

The present invention relates to vacuum packaging and vacuum packaging techniques. Embodiments of the present invention include bales and packages comprising a sealed chamber having an internal volume at a pressure less than ambient atmospheric pressure. In various embodiments of the present invention, the internal volume of the package comprises a bulk material, a bulk fiber material, fibers or fibrous materials. Also disclosed are methods for packaging, packaging systems and apparatus for packaging.

1 . A method of baling a fiber material, comprising: 
 forming a bottom sheet by lap seaming together two pieces of multi-layer packaging material;    forming a top sheet by lap seaming together two pieces of multi-layer packaging material;    placing a mass of fiber material on the bottom sheet;    placing the top sheet on the fiber material;    subjecting the mass of fiber material between the top sheet and the bottom sheet to compression;    sealing the edges of the bottom sheet to the edges of the top sheet to obtain a sealed bale of fiber material;    evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material to obtain an internal pressure of less than 101 kilo PASCALs; and    releasing the compressed mass of fiber material from the compression to obtain a finished bale.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the mass of fiber material is substantially cuboidal in shape.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fiber material comprises cellulose acetate tow.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the evacuating of air from the sealed bale of fiber material results in an internal pressure from about 40,000 to about 92,000 Pa.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the evacuating of air from the sealed bale of fiber material results in an internal pressure from 50,000 to 70,000 Pa.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fiber material in the finished bale has a substantially uniform density throughout its mass.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the density of the fiber material in the finished bale is greater than it would be in the absence of the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the density of the fiber material in the finished bale is from 1.1 to 1.5 times greater than it would be in the absence of the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the weight of the finished bale is greater than would be the weight of a finished bale of the same volume baled without the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the weight of the finished bale is from 1.1 to 1.5 times greater than would be the weight of a finished bale of the same volume baled without the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the flatness of the finished bale is increased in comparison to the flatness of a finished bale baled without the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the finished bale comprises a substantially cuboidal shape and the height of the center of a top wall is less than 3 cm greater than the height of an edge of the top wall.  
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising surrounding the finished bale with a shrink wrap material.  
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of subjecting the mass of fiber material between the top sheet and the bottom sheet to compression comprises compressing the mass of fiber material between a top platen having a positive embossed portion and a bottom platen having a negative embossed portion so as to facilitate interlocking of finished bales when stacked.  
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material of which the bottom sheet is formed comprises one or more of: polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene vinyl alcohol polymer, nylon, mylar, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate glycol, polyimides, or polyamides.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material of which the top sheet is formed comprises one or more of: polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene vinyl alcohol polymer, nylon, mylar, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate glycol, polyimides, or polyamides.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material of which the top sheet and the bottom sheet are formed comprises a moisture barrier layer.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material from which the bottom sheet and the top sheet are formed is provided with a heat sealable material on at least a portion thereof, and wherein the lap seams by which the pieces of multi-layer packaging material are joined to form the bottom sheet and the top sheet are formed by heating the heat sealable material of each piece to thereby join the pieces directly to one another using a single lap seam.  
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the heat sealable material comprises a low density polyethylene.  
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material from which the bottom sheet and the top sheet are formed is provided with a heat sealable material on at least a portion thereof, and wherein the lap seams by which the pieces of multi-layer packaging material are joined to form the bottom sheet and the top sheet are formed by heat welding opposing edges of a sealing strip to adjacent edges of each of the pieces to be joined.  
   
   
       21 . A bale of fiber material, made by a process comprising: 
 forming a bottom sheet by lap seaming together two pieces of multi-layer packaging material;    forming a top sheet by lap seaming together two pieces of multi-layer packaging material;    placing a mass of fiber material on the bottom sheet;    placing the top sheet on the fiber material;    subjecting the mass of fiber material between the top sheet and the bottom sheet to compression;    sealing the edges of the bottom sheet to the edges of the top sheet to obtain a sealed bale of fiber material;    evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material to obtain an internal pressure of less than 101 kilo PASCAL's; and    releasing the compressed mass of fiber material from the compression to obtain a finished bale.    
   
   
       22 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the mass of fiber material is substantially cuboidal in shape.  
   
   
       23 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the fiber material comprises cellulose acetate tow.  
   
   
       24 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the evacuating of air from the sealed bale of fiber material results in an internal pressure from about 40,000 to about 92,000 Pa.  
   
   
       25 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the evacuating of air from the sealed bale of fiber material results in an internal pressure from 50,000 to 70,000 Pa.  
   
   
       26 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the fiber material in the finished bale has a substantially uniform density throughout its mass.  
   
   
       27 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the density of the fiber material in the finished bale is greater than it would be in the absence of the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       28 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the density of the fiber material in the finished bale is from 1.1 to 1.5 times greater than it would be in the absence of the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       29 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the weight of the fiber material in the bale is greater than would be a finished bale of the same volume baled without the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       30 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the weight of the finished bale is from 1.1 to 1.5 times greater than would be a finished bale of the same volume baled without the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       31 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the flatness of the finished bale is increased in comparison to the flatness of a corresponding volume of fibers baled without the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       32 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the finished bale comprises a substantially cuboidal shape and the height of the center of a top wall is less than 3 cm greater than the height of an edge of the top wall.  
   
   
       33 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the process further comprises surrounding the finished bale with a shrink wrap material.  
   
   
       34 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the step of subjecting the mass of fiber material between the top sheet and the bottom sheet to compression comprises compressing the mass of fiber material between a top platen having a positive embossed portion and a bottom platen having a negative embossed portion so as to facilitate interlocking of finished bales when stacked.  
   
   
       35 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material of which the bottom sheet is formed comprises one or more of: polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene vinyl alcohol polymer, nylon, mylar, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate glycol, polyimides, or polyamides.  
   
   
       36 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material of which the top sheet is formed comprises one or more of: polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene vinyl alcohol polymer, nylon, mylar, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate glycol, polyimides, or polyamides.  
   
   
       37 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material of which the top sheet and the bottom sheet are formed comprises a moisture barrier layer.  
   
   
       38 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material from which the bottom sheet and the top sheet are formed is provided with a heat sealable material on at least a portion thereof, and wherein the lap seams by which the pieces of multi-layer packaging material are joined to form the bottom sheet and the top sheet are formed by heating the heat sealable material of each piece to thereby join the pieces directly to one another using a single lap seam.  
   
   
       39 . The bale of  claim 38 , wherein the heat sealable material comprises a low density polyethylene.  
   
   
       40 . The bale of  claim 21 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material from which the bottom sheet and the top sheet are formed is provided with a heat sealable material on at least a portion thereof, and wherein the lap seams by which the pieces of multi-layer packaging material are joined to form the bottom sheet and the top sheet are formed by heat welding opposing edges of a sealing strip to adjacent edges of each of the pieces to be joined.  
   
   
       41 . A method of baling a fiber material, comprising: 
 placing a mass of fiber material on a bottom sheet comprised of a multi-layer packaging material;    placing a top sheet comprised of a multi-layer packaging material on the fiber material;    subjecting the mass of fiber material between the top sheet and the bottom sheet to compression;    sealing the edges of the bottom sheet to the edges of the top sheet to obtain a sealed bale of fiber material;    evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material to obtain an internal pressure of less than 101 kilo PASCALs; and    releasing the compressed mass of fiber material from the compression to obtain a finished bale.    
   
   
       42 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the mass of fiber material is substantially cuboidal in shape.  
   
   
       43 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the fiber material comprises cellulose acetate tow.  
   
   
       44 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the evacuating of air from the sealed bale of fiber material results in an internal pressure from about 40,000 to about 92,000 Pa.  
   
   
       45 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the evacuating of air from the sealed bale of fiber material results in an internal pressure from 50,000 to 70,000 Pa.  
   
   
       46 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the fiber material in the finished bale has a substantially uniform density throughout its mass.  
   
   
       47 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the density of the fiber material in the finished bale is greater than it would be in the absence of the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       48 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the density of the fiber material in the finished bale is from 1.1 to 1.5 times greater than it would be in the absence of the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       49 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the weight of the finished bale is greater than would be the weight of a finished bale of the same volume baled without the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       50 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the weight of the finished bale is from 1.1 to 1.5 times greater than would be the weight of a finished bale of the same volume baled without the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       51 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the flatness of the finished bale is increased in comparison to the flatness of a finished bale baled without the step of evacuating air from the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       52 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the finished bale comprises a substantially cuboidal shape and the height of the center of a top wall is less than 3 cm greater than the height of an edge of the top wall.  
   
   
       53 . The method of  claim 41 , further comprising surrounding the finished bale with a shrink wrap material.  
   
   
       54 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the step of subjecting the mass of fiber material between the top sheet and the bottom sheet to compression comprises compressing the mass of fiber material between a top platen having a positive embossed portion and a bottom platen having a negative embossed portion so as to facilitate interlocking of finished bales when stacked.  
   
   
       55 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material of which the bottom sheet is formed comprises one or more of: polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene vinyl alcohol polymer, nylon, mylar, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate glycol, polyimides, or polyamides.  
   
   
       56 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material of which the top sheet is formed comprises one or more of: polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene vinyl alcohol polymer, nylon, mylar, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate glycol, polyimides, or polyamides.  
   
   
       57 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material of which the top sheet and the bottom sheet are formed comprises a moisture barrier layer.  
   
   
       58 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material from which the bottom sheet and the top sheet are formed is provided with a heat sealable material on at least a portion thereof, and wherein the bottom sheet and the top sheet are fin seamed together by heating the heat sealable material of each sheet to thereby join the sheets to form the sealed bale of fiber material.  
   
   
       59 . The method of  claim 58 , wherein the heat sealable material comprises a low density polyethylene.  
   
   
       60 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the multi-layer packaging material from which the bottom sheet and the top sheet are formed is provided with a heat sealable material on at least a portion thereof, and wherein the bottom sheet and the top sheet are lap seamed together by heat welding the heat sealable material of each sheet to thereby join the sheets to form the sealed bale of fiber material.