Abstract: A storage bag for food products with a venting structure to expel excess air trapped inside the bag after the bag has been closed or sealed. After the excess air is removed, the venting structure is covered and sealed to prevent air from re-entering the bag or other objects from entering the bag.

Abstract: An adherent sheet material and method of making including at least one adhesive, non-raised region protected from inadvertent adherence to a contact surface. This adherent sheet material also including a film having a front face and back face, wherein the front face has a plurality of collapsible, non-adhesive protrusions extending outwardly from the front face and adhesive, non-raised region disposed between the protrusions. Also, a substrate is bonded to the back face of film. An adherent sheet material including a contact adhesive protected from inadvertent adherence to a contact surface. This adherent sheet material also including a film having a front face and back face, wherein the front face has a plurality of collapsible, non-adhesive protrusions extending outwardly from the front face and adhesive, non-raised region disposed between the protrusions.

Abstract: A storage bag for food products with a venting structure to expel excess air trapped inside the bag after the bag has been closed or sealed. After the excess air is removed, the venting structure is covered and sealed to prevent air from re-entering the bag or other objects from entering the bag.

Abstract: The present invention provides a process which in a preferred embodiment includes the steps of.

Abstract: A substance delivery system has a three dimensional structure with outermost surface features and spaces for containing a substance. The substance has a level below the outermost surface features such that the substance is protected from inadvertent contact with external surfaces. The substance remains protected until the three dimensional structure is sufficiently deformed into a substantially two dimensional structure and the substance is thereby exposed to contact an external surface without compliance of the external surface being necessary. Deforming is preferably achieved by a compression force, wherein the outermost surface features of the three dimensional structure deform in a direction of the compression force.

Abstract: A method for making a flexible film having pressure sensitive adhesive protected from inadvertent adherence. The method coats a forming screen with an interconnected layer of pressure sensitive adhesive and places a piece of flexible film in contact with the layer of adhesive. The layer of adhesive preferentially adheres to the piece of flexible film. The forming screen has a plurality of recesses therein. The coating step applies the layer of adhesive without bridging the recesses. Another step forms the piece of flexible film to create a plurality of protrusions extending into the recesses. The plurality of protrusions are registered with the interconnected layer of pressure sensitive adhesive by virtue of using the same screen to transfer adhesive and to form protrusions. The forming screen may be wrapped around a rotating drum and the piece of flexible film may be a portion of a continuous web of flexible film. Preferably, the plurality of protrusions are conical, with a base diameter of 0.

Abstract: The present invention provides a process which in a preferred embodiment includes the steps of.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a high speed embossing and adhesive printing process, said process comprising the steps of (a) applying an adhesive to a conformable heated glue application roll; (b) applying said adhesive to a first patterned embossing roll, having an outer surface, which is engaged with a second patterned embossing roll having a complementary pattern to said first embossing roll; (c) passing a web of sheet material between said first and second embossing rolls at a tangential line speed to simultaneously emboss said web and apply said adhesive to said web, such that said adhesive forms an adhesive pattern between embossments; and (d) applying a renewable release agent to the outer surface of the first patterned embossing roll.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for creating amorphous patterns based on a constrained Voronoi tesselation of 2-space that can be tiled. There are three basic steps required to generate a constrained Voronoi tesselation of 2-space: 1) nucleation point placement; 2) Delauney triangulation of the nucleation points; and 3) polygon extraction from the Delauney triangulated space. The tiling feature is accomplished by modifying only the nucleation point portion of the algorithm.

Abstract: A semi-enclosed, substance delivery applicator comprising: (a) a three-dimensional structure having outermost surface features and spaces between the outermost surface features for containing a substance, the substance having a level internal to the outermost surface features such that the substance is protected from inadvertent contact with external surfaces, the three-dimensional structure forming at least a portion of a semi-enclosed applicator body having at least one opening and an internal cavity; and (b) a substance, having substantial resistance to flow prior to delivery to a target surface, occupying the spaces of the three-dimensional structure, the substance remaining protected until the three dimensional structure is sufficiently deformed into a substantially two dimensional structure and the substance is thereby exposed to contact a surface of an object without compliance of the surface being necessary, the substance having an effective viscosity upon activation which permits the substance to be

Abstract: The present invention provides a process which in a preferred embodiment includes the steps of: (a) applying a hot melt adhesive to a heated roll rotating at an initial tangential speed; (b) milling the adhesive to a reduced thickness and accelerating said adhesive through a series of metering gaps between a plurality of adjacent heated glue rolls; (c) applying the adhesive to a conformable glue application roll rotating at a tangential line speed which is higher than the initial tangential speed; (d) applying the adhesive to a first patterned embossing roll which is engaged with a second patterned embossing roll having a complementary pattern to the first embossing roll, the embossing rolls being heated; (e) passing a web of sheet material between the first and second embossing rolls at the tangential line speed to simultaneously emboss the web and apply the adhesive to the web, such that the adhesive forms an adhesive pattern between embossments; (f) transferring the web from the second embossing roll to th

Abstract: A method of making a gas permeable material having a diffusive gas permeability at 0.21 atmosphere diffusive driving force in the range of about 0.5.times.10.sup.5 cm.sup.3 /100 square inches/day to about 2.times.10.sup.5 cm.sup.3 /100 square inches/day. The method comprises the step of coating a pattern of spots of a gas impermeable material onto a porous substrate, followed by a step of enlarging the pattern of spots to cover greater than about 95% of the porous substrate such that the gas permeability occurs only through openings between the pattern of spots. The gas impermeable material is preferably a hot melt adhesive and the porous substrate is preferably a nonwoven. The step of enlarging the pattern of spots includes smearing substantially circular spots into oblong spots as the pattern of spots is printed onto the porous substrate until the oblong spots partially overlap. The smearing is achieved by operating a printing screen at a surface speed higher than a draw rate of the porous substrate.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for making a seamless apertured belt comprising the steps of: (a) providing a strip of material having two opposing ends and having a length at least equal to a finished belt length; (b) providing an aperture pattern having a length substantially equal to the finished belt length, the pattern including a plurality of two-dimensional geometrical shapes, the pattern having opposing end edges which can be tiled together; (c) removing a pre-determined portion of each end of the pattern and joining the pre-determined portions to one another along the opposing end edges to form a re-etch pattern; (d) forming apertures in the strip corresponding to the two-dimensional geometrical shapes in the pattern, the strip remaining free of apertures in regions near each end comprising fusion zones; (e) fusing the ends of the strip to one another such that the fusion zones form a common fusion zone; and (f) forming apertures in the common fusion zone corresponding to the re-etch pattern.

Abstract: A method of making a gas permeable material having a diffusive gas permeability at 0.21 atmosphere diffusive driving force in the range of about 0.5.times.10.sup.5 cm.sup.3 /100 square inches/day to about 2.times.10.sup.5 cm.sup.3 /100 square inches/day. The method comprises the step of coating a pattern of spots of a gas impermeable material onto a porous substrate, followed by a step of enlarging the pattern of spots to cover greater than about 95% of the porous substrate such that the gas permeability occurs only through openings between the pattern of spots. The gas impermeable material is preferably a hot melt adhesive and the porous substrate is preferably a nonwoven. The step of enlarging the pattern of spots includes smearing substantially circular spots into oblong spots as the pattern of spots is printed onto the porous substrate until the oblong spots partially overlap. The smearing is achieved by operating a printing screen at a surface speed higher than a draw rate of the porous substrate.

Abstract: A substance delivery system has a three dimensional structure with outermost surface features and spaces for containing a substance. The substance has a level below the outermost surface features such that the substance is protected from inadvertent contact with external surfaces. The substance remains protected until the three dimensional structure is sufficiently deformed into a substantially two dimensional structure and the substance is thereby exposed to contact an external surface without compliance of the external surface being necessary. Deforming is preferably achieved by a compression force, wherein the outermost surface features of the three dimensional structure deform in a direction of the compression force.

Abstract: A composite material for controlling oxygen flux into a thermal cell comprises a bottom sheet formed to have a pocket. The bottom sheet is impermeable to oxygen. A plurality of particles is placed in the pocket. The plurality of particles reacts exothermally when exposed to oxygen. A top sheet is sealed to the bottom sheet at a flange around the pocket to enclose the plurality of particles such that the particles cannot fall out of the pocket. The top sheet has a substrate which is highly permeable to oxygen. The substrate is coated with an oxygen permeable silicone based elastomer to a thickness which regulates an oxygen flux into the pocket when the top sheet is exposed to oxygen. The composite material further comprises an oxygen impermeable barrier film bonded to the top sheet by pressure sensitive adhesive for preventing exposure of the top sheet to oxygen until the body warmer is intended to be used.

Abstract: A method for making a flexible film having pressure sensitive adhesive protected from inadvertent adherence. The method coats a forming screen with an interconnected layer of pressure sensitive adhesive and places a piece of flexible film in contact with the layer of adhesive. The layer of adhesive preferentially adheres to the piece of flexible film. The forming screen has a plurality of recesses therein. The coating step applies the layer of adhesive without bridging the recesses. Another step forms the piece of flexible film to create a plurality of protrusions extending into the recesses. The plurality of protrusions are registered with the interconnected layer of pressure sensitive adhesive by virtue of using the same screen to transfer adhesive and to form protrusions. The forming screen may be wrapped around a rotating drum and the piece of flexible film may be a portion of a continuous web of flexible film. Preferably, the plurality of protrusions are conical, with a base diameter of 0.