US5032209A — Heat sealing of semicrystalline quasi-amorphous p…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 64 words

A process for heat sealing two articles together, said process comprising providing at least one polymeric article comprising a semicrystalline polymer having on at least one surface thereof areas having thicknesses of at least 5 nm of the same polymer in a quasi-amorphous state, and then heating said at least one surface of said polymeric article while it is in contact with another article.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 64 words

A process for heat sealing two articles together, said process comprising providing at least one polymeric article comprising a semicrystalline polymer having on at least one surface thereof areas having thicknesses of at least 5 nm of the same polymer in a quasi-amorphous state, and then heating said at least one surface of said polymeric article while it is in contact with another article.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 38 words

The process of claim 1 wherein at least 1% of said at least one surface is quasi-amorphous and the atom/atom, oxygen/carbon ratio of the quasi-amorphous areas is the same or greater than that ratio in the semicrystalline polymer.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 28 words

The process of claim 1 wherein said areas have a depth of at least 10 nm and comprise from 50 to 100% of said at least one surface.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 23 words

The process of claim 1 wherein said at least one polymeric article is in the form of a layer, sheet, film or coating.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 40 words

The process of claim 1 wherein said areas comprise 30 to 100 percent of said at least one surface and the atom/atom, oxygen/carbon ratio of the quasi-amorphous areas is the same or greater than that ratio in the semicrystalline polymer.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 19 words

The process of claim 4 wherein said areas comprise 50 to 100 percent of said at least one surface.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 23 words

The process of claim 1 wherein the pressure is applied between said at least one polymeric article and said another article during heating.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 38 words

The process of claim 6 wherein the quasi-amorphous area has a thickness of at least 5 nm and the atom/atom, oxygen/carbon ratio of the quasi-amorphous areas is the same or greater than that ratio in the semicrystalline polymer.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 17 words

The process of claim 1 wherein the quasi-amorphous area has a thickness of at least 10 nm.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 18 words

The process of claim 7 wherein the quasi-amorphous area has a thickness of between 20 and 100 nm.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 54 words

The process of claim 7 wherein the quasi-amorphous area has a thickness of between 20 and 250 nm and said another article also comprises a polymeric article comprising a semicrystalline polymer having on at least one surface thereof areas having thicknesses of at least 5 nm of the same polymer in a quasi-amorphous state.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 54 words

The process of claim 8 wherein the quasi-amorphous area has a thickness of between 20 and 250 nm and said another article also comprises a polymeric article comprising a semicrystalline polymer having on at least one surface thereof areas having thicknesses of at least 5 nm of the same polymer in a quasi-amorphous state.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 54 words

The process of claim 4 wherein the quasi-amorphous area has a thickness of between 20 and 250 nm and said another article also comprises a polymeric article comprising a semicrystalline polymer having on at least one surface thereof areas having thicknesses of at least 5 nm of the same polymer in a quasi-amorphous state.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 41 words

The process of claim 7 wherein said quasi-amorphous area has a thickness in the range of 5 to 10,000 nm and the atom/atom, oxygen/carbon ratio of the quasi-amorphous areas is the same or greater than that ratio in the semicrystalline polymer.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 52 words

The process of claim 7 wherein said quasi-amorphous area has a thickness in the range of 20 to 500 nm and has an optical density, in the absence of dyes or pigments, which differ from that of the semicrystalline polymer by less than 0.1 in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 73 words

The process of claim 7 wherein said quasi-amorphous area has a thickness in the range of 20 to 250 nm and has an optical density, in the absence of dyes or pigments, which differ from that of the semicrystalline polymer by less than 0.1 in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum and the atom/atom, oxygen/carbon ratio of the quasi-amorphous areas is the same or greater than that ratio in the semicrystalline polymer.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 22 words

The process of claim 7 wherein said semicrystalline polymer contains at least 0.05% by weight of a radiation absorbing dye or pigment.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 43 words

The process of claim 7 wherein said semicrystalline polymer contains at least 0.05% by weight of a radiation absorbing dye or pigment and the atom/atom, oxygen/carbon ratio of the quasi-amorphous areas is the same or greater than that ratio in the semicrystalline polymer.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 30 words

The process of claim 1 wherein said semicrystalline polymer comprises a polymer selected from the group consisting of poly(vinyl chloride), poly(vinylidene chloride), polytetrafluoroethylene, nylon, polyurethane, polyester, polyolefin, and copolymers thereof.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 30 words

The process of claim 7 wherein said semicrystalline polymer comprises a polymer selected from the group consisting of poly(vinyl chloride), poly(vinylidene chloride), polytetrafluoroethylene, nylon, polyurethane, polyester, polyolefin, and copolymers thereof.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 82 words

A process for heat sealing two articles together, said process comprising providing at least one polymeric article comprising a semicrystalline polymer having on at least one surface thereof areas having thicknesses of at least 5 nm of the same polymer in a quasi-amorphous state, and then heating said at least one surface of said polymeric article while it is in contact with another article, wherein said heating is to a temperature above Tg for the polymer and said areas crystallize upon cooling.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 82 words

A process for heat sealing two articles together, said process comprising providing at least one polymeric article comprising a semicrystalline polymer having on at least one surface thereof areas having thicknesses of at least 5 nm of the same polymer in a quasi-amorphous state, and then heating said at least one surface of said polymeric article while it is in contact with another article, wherein said heating is to a temperature above Tg for the polymer and said areas crystallize upon cooling.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 92 words

A process for heat sealing two articles together, said process comprising providing at least one polymeric article comprising a semicrystalline polymer having a crystallite orientation said article having on at least one surface thereof areas having thicknesses of at least 5 nm of the same polymer in a quasi-amorphous state wherein heating of said quasi-amorphous areas returns them to the same crystallite orientation of the semicrystalline polymer, and then heating said at least one surface of said polymeric article while it is in contact with another article to seal said two articles.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 92 words

A process for heat sealing two articles together, said process comprising providing at least one polymeric article comprising a semicrystalline polymer having a crystallite orientation said article having on at least one surface thereof areas having thicknesses of at least 5 nm of the same polymer in a quasi-amorphous state wherein heating of said quasi-amorphous areas returns them to the same crystallite orientation of the semicrystalline polymer, and then heating said at least one surface of said polymeric article while it is in contact with another article to seal said two articles.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 38 words

The process of claim 22 wherein at least 1% of said at least one surface is quasi-amorphous and the atom/atom, oxygen/carbon ratio of the quasi-amorphous areas is the same or greater than that ratio in the semicrystalline polymer.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 38 words

The process of claim 22 wherein said at least one polymeric article is in the form of a layer, sheet, film or coating and said heating provides said areas with the same crystallite orientation as said semicrystalline polymer.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 23 words

The process of claim 23 wherein said at least one polymeric article is in the form of a layer, sheet, film or coating.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 52 words

The process of claim 22 wherein said quasi-amorphous area has a thickness in the range of 20 to 500 nm and has an optical density, in the absence of dyes or pigments, which differ from that of the semicrystalline polymer by less than 0.1 in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 52 words

The process of claim 23 wherein said quasi-amorphous area has a thickness in the range of 20 to 500 nm and has an optical density, in the absence of dyes or pigments, which differ from that of the semicrystalline polymer by less than 0.1 in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Claim 31

Dependent Claim 52 words

The process of claim 24 wherein said quasi-amorphous area has a thickness in the range of 20 to 500 nm and has an optical density, in the absence of dyes or pigments, which differ from that of the semicrystalline polymer by less than 0.1 in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Claim 32

Dependent Claim 52 words

The process of claim 25 wherein said quasi-amorphous area has a thickness in the range of 20 to 500 nm and has an optical density, in the absence of dyes or pigments, which differ from that of the semicrystalline polymer by less than 0.1 in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Claim 33

Dependent Claim 16 words

The process of claim 24 wherein the crystallite orientation of said semicrystalline polymer is biaxial orientation.

Claim 34

Dependent Claim 16 words

The process of claim 28 wherein the crystallite orientation of said semicrystalline polymer is biaxial orientation.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1994-07-15	1995-01-14	1995-07-16	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1998-07-15	1999-01-14	1999-07-16	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2002-07-15	2003-01-14	2003-07-16	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Heat sealing of semicrystalline quasi-amorphous polymers

Abstract

Inventors

Bibliographic Details

Claims Analysis

References Cited (Backward Citations)

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Assigned Categories & Tags

Assign Category Tag