Heat-sealable, laminated package

Claim 1

A package comprising: a. a laminate sheet material including: (1) a metal foil highly impervious to air and water vapor; (2) a puncture resistant outer material laminated to one major surface of said metal foil; and (3) a heat-sealable plastic inner film laminated to the major surface of said metal foil opposite said outer material, said heat-sealable plastic inner film including (a) sealed portions forming a pouch of said laminate sheet material, said pouch having at least one interior wall and at least one exterior wall, and said sealed portions providing stiffened portions highly impervious to air and water vapor, and (b) unsealed portions comprising said interior wall of said pouch; and b. means for facilitating tearing of said sheet material along a predetermined path across said pouch, said means comprising: (1) at least one length of heat-sealable, polymeric, tear resistant strip material laminated across said interior wall of said pouch to provide another stiffened portion of said pouch and having a first end portion sealed to and extending between said sealed portions of said pouch to highly preclude the passage of air and water vapor between said sealed portions and said first end portion of said length of strip material; (2) said pouch having two closely-spaced stiffened portions on opposite sides of said predetermined path at least one of which includes the length of tear resistant strip material; and (3) cut means at one end of said predetermined path for facilitating tearing said pouch along said predetermined path between said two closely-spaced stiffened portions.