Packaged product, packaging apparatus and process for making such a packaged product

Abstract

A package comprising includes a base film, at least one closing film, and at least one product interposed between the base film and the closing film. The closing film is hermetically fixed to the base film at a sealing band with the product housed in a packaging seat defined between the closing film and the base film. Also described is a process for making the package described above.

1 . A package for foodstuff, comprising:
 at least one base film;   at least one closing film; and   at least one food product interposed between the base film and closing film;   wherein the food product is disposed on an abutment area of the base film, the closing film being tightly fixed to the base film at a sealing band extending as a closed-loop around the abutment area;   wherein the food product is housed in a packaging seat defined between the closing film and the base film and delimited, at the base film, by said sealing band;   wherein the base film is configurable in:
 at least one first operative configuration, in which the base film is disposed flat, and 
 at least a second operative configuration, in which the base film has a main sheet layer disposed below the food product and a plurality of auxiliary sheet layers extending from said main sheet layer and folded around said food product; and 
   wherein the base film comprises at least one paper layer and at least one plastic layer overlapped and coupled to the paper layer, wherein the abutment area of the food product is defined on the plastic layer, wherein the closing film is hermetically fixed to the plastic layer of the base film at the sealing band.   
     
     
         2 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein in the second operative configuration, the auxiliary sheet layers of the base film overlap the closing film. 
     
     
         3 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein the base film—in the second operative configuration—fully visually hides the closing film. 
     
     
         4 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein in the second operative configuration, the auxiliary sheet layers of the base film exhibit end edges reciprocally overlapped on and constrained to each other so as to block the package in said second operative configuration. 
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein—in the second operative configuration—the paper layer of the base film faces towards the outside of the package oppositely to the packaging seat for visually hiding both the plastic layer of the base film and the closing film. 
     
     
         7 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein the sealing band is contained inside a perimetral edge of the base film, the sealing band delimiting on the base film:
 an internal area extending radially towards the inside of the sealing band, in contact with the food product (P),   an external area disposed radially outside the sealing band and not covered by the closing film.   
     
     
         8 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein the sealing band is contained inside a perimetral edge of the base film, the sealing band delimiting on the base film an external area disposed radially outside the sealing band and not covered by the closing film. 
     
     
         9 . The package of  claim 8 , wherein the sealing band delimits an inner area of the base film, extending radially inwardly of the sealing band, in contact with the food product, the sealing band being radially interposed between the external area and the internal area. 
     
     
         10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein the base film has a number of through holes that are disposed at the sealing band and are closed by the closing film,
 said through holes being configured to allow:
 extraction of gas present between the closing film and the respective base film so that a vacuum sealing of the closing film is achieved at the respective base film, where the closing film is configured for intimately adhering to the surface of the food product to be packaged and to at least a portion of the base film, and/or 
 introduction of a gas between said closing film and the respective base film to define a modified atmosphere package. 
   
     
     
         12 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein the closing film is applied so as to form a vacuum package in which inside the packaging seat a pressure substantially lower than the atmospheric pressure is present (T=20° C. above the sea level), the closing film forming a plastic skin at least partly in contact with the food product and the base film. 
     
     
         13 . The package of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the paper layer of the base film exhibits at least 50% by weight, of organic material comprising one or more of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, lignin derivatives,   the plastic layer is overlapped on and coextensive to the paper layer and is coupled to the paper layer itself,   the closing film comprises at least one weldable layer facing the plastic layer of the base film, the weldable layer being of a plastic material heat-sealable to the plastic material with which the plastic layer of the base film is made;   wherein the closing film is tightly fixed to the plastic layer by heat-sealing at said closed sealing band.   
     
     
         14 . A packaging process for making the package of  claim 1 , the method comprising:
 moving at least one base film from a supplying station towards a packaging station, each base film being defined by a respective portion of a base continuous support or being defined by a respective discrete element;   positioning at least one food product at each base film;   moving at least one closing film from a respective supplying station towards the packaging station, each closing film being defined by a respective portion of a closing continuous support or being defined by a respective discrete element;   aligning each closing film with the respective base film so that the food product is disposed between the base film and the closing film;   fixing the closing film tightly to the respective base film for defining the sealing band and the packaging seat wherein the food product is housed; and   extracting the package from the packaging station.   
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 14 , wherein when each base film is defined by a portion of a base continuous support supplied by the respective supplying station, once after the step of fixing the closing film is performed, the base continuous support is transversally cut for separating each base film from the rest of the base continuous support and for defining a plurality of packages disconnected from each other. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 14 , wherein after the step of moving the closing film into the packaging station is performed, the closing continuous support is transversally cut for separating each closing film from the rest of the closing continuous support and for defining a plurality of packages disconnected from each other. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 14 , further comprising, at the packaging station:
 a step of heating the closing film at least before and optionally also and/or during the step of fixing said closing film, and   a step of extracting a gas present between the closing film and the respective base film for vacuum fixing the closing film to the respective base film wherein the closing film intimately adheres to the surface of the food product to be packaged and to at least one portion of the upper surface of the plastic layer of the base film.   
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 14 , wherein each base film exhibits a predetermined number of through holes, said through holes being:
 preformed when the base film is a preformed discrete element;   in-line made by a drilling tool active on each base film before the base film reaches the packaging station,   in-line made by a drilling tool active on each base film inside the packaging station.   
     
     
         19 . The process of  claim 18 , wherein at least one between the base continuous support and each base film is moved by a conveyor having an operative tract extending at the packaging station, and wherein the conveyor is configured for enabling a gas to flow through the thickness of the conveyor itself between an upper side and lower side of the operative tract, and wherein the step of extracting the gas comprises at least suctioning the gas through the through holes present in the base film and through the thickness of the conveyor. 
     
     
         20 . The process of  claim 14 , wherein after the package has been extracted from the packaging station, the base film is disposed at least in a first operative configuration, wherein the base film is disposed flat, and then in at least one second operative configuration, wherein the base film exhibits at least one main sheet layer disposed below said at least one product, and auxiliary sheet layers extending from said main sheet layer and folded around said food product so that the auxiliary sheet layers of the base film cover the closing film and the food product, and so that the paper material of the base film faces towards the outside of the package oppositely to the packaging seat for visually hiding both the plastic layer of the base film and the closing film. 
     
     
         21 . The process of  claim 20 , wherein each base film is defined by a respective discrete element, and wherein before the base film enters the packaging station, the main sheet layer and the plurality of auxiliary sheet layers are defined in each base film by one or more folding steps, wherein:
 the main sheet layer exhibits an upper surface having an area sufficient to house the food product and for defining with the closing film said sealing band, particularly wherein the sealing band extends along a perimetral side of the main sheet layer,   the auxiliary sheet layers, at least during the steps of fixing the closing film, are disposed in a rest configuration, folded below the main sheet layer oppositely to the food product.   
     
     
         22 . The process of  claim 21 , wherein
 the base film is positioned in the packaging station in the configuration in which it has the auxiliary sheet layers folded underneath the main sheet layer, the food product is positioned on the main sheet layer of the base film   the closing film is hermetically fixed, optionally heat sealed only to the main sheet layer so that the food product is hermetically closed between the base film and the closing film   thereafter, the base film, the food product and the closing film are brought out of the packaging station,   thereafter, the base film is placed in the second operative configuration with the auxiliary sheet layers folded around said food product.   
     
     
         23 . The process of  claim 20  comprising a step of blocking the base film at said operative configuration with the auxiliary sheet layers of the base film which exhibit end edges reciprocally overlapped on and constrained to each other. 
     
     
         24 . The process of  claim 14 , wherein after the step of fixing the closing film to the base film is performed and the base film is placed in said first operative configuration, the base film exhibits an upper surface having an overall area greater than an internal area of the surface portion delimited on the base film itself by an external perimetral edge of the sealing band. 
     
     
         25 . (canceled)