JP2994024B2 - Container molding equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: Object of the Invention (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a container forming apparatus for thermoforming a packaging container having a flange portion from a plastic laminate.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, a plastic packaging container filled with fruits, jelly liquid and the like, and the packaging container is sealed with a lid material is known.

Among them, the plastic packaging container has a container body and a flange provided at an upper end opening of the container body, and is formed by thermoforming a plastic laminate. On the other hand, the lid is heat-sealed to the flange of the packaging container.

Further, an annular seal portion protruding upward is formed in an annular shape on the flange portion of the packaging container to improve the heat sealing property with the lid material and the easy peel property.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) In general, a container forming apparatus that forms a packaging container by thermoforming a laminate includes a plug holder having a plug and a cavity for receiving the plug. Among these, the container body of the packaging container is formed along the inner surface of the cavity opening, and the flange is formed by being pressed between the peripheral edge of the opening of the cavity and the lower end of the plug holder. Further, the annular seal portion of the flange portion is formed simultaneously with the thermoforming of the laminate, but a precise molding method has not yet been established for the annular seal portion.

By the way, when thermoforming a plastic laminate,
In order to improve the transparency and glossiness of the packaging container, the laminate may be subjected to solid-state pressure molding.

The solid-phase pressure forming is to heat the laminate to a temperature equal to or lower than the melting point and perform thermoforming.

However, when the laminate is heated and molded at a low temperature equal to or lower than the melting point, it becomes more difficult to accurately mold the annular seal portion.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a container forming apparatus capable of forming an annular seal portion of a packaging container flange with high precision.

[Configuration of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention relates to a plug holder provided with a plug for pressing a plastic laminate, and the laminate between an opening for receiving the plug and an end of the plug holder. And a cavity formed with an opening periphery for pressing the package. The container forming apparatus thermoforms a packaging container having a flange portion from the laminate. Forming an annular concave portion into which the annular convex portion enters the body, and bringing the cavity closer to the plug holder, the laminate is pressed between the end of the plug holder and the peripheral edge of the opening of the cavity, and the flange portion is pressed. Molded, and at the same time, an annular seal portion is formed between the annular convex portion and the annular concave portion, the plug presses the laminate into the cavity opening, and the laminate is moved along the cavity opening. A container forming apparatus wherein a container body is formed in close contact.

(Operation) According to the present invention, the laminate is pressed between the end of the plug holder and the periphery of the opening of the cavity to form a flange, and at the same time, the gap between the annular recess and the annular protrusion is formed. An annular seal is formed. Further, the plug presses the laminate into the cavity opening, and the laminate comes into close contact along the cavity opening to form the container body.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention is described with reference to drawings.

1 to 4 are views showing one embodiment of a container forming apparatus according to the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a packaging container filled with fruits, jelly liquid and the like and a lid material for sealing the packaging container will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the packaging container 2 is filled with the fruit 4 and the jelly liquid 5, and the packaging container 2 is closed by the lid 3.

The packaging container 2 includes a container body 2a and a flange 2b provided on a peripheral edge of an upper end opening of the container body 2a. on the other hand,
The lid 3 includes a flange 3a that is heat-sealed to the flange 2b of the packaging container 2 and a drop lid 3b. In addition, the flange 2b of the lid 3 is attached to the flange 2b of the packaging container 2.
In order to improve the heat-sealing property, an annular seal portion protruding upward is formed in an annular shape.

Packaging container 2 is made of polypropylene (PP) / adhesive layer (AD)
/ Ethylene / vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) / Adhesive layer (AD) / Polypropylene (PP) formed by thermoforming and keeping the haze at 30% or less. For this purpose, the packaging container 2 is subjected to solid-state pressure forming by heating to a temperature lower than the melting point of the polypropylene of the laminate, for example, 140 to 150 ° C.

On the other hand, the lid member 3 is made of, for example, a gas-barrier laminate of a PP / AD / EVOH / AD / sealant layer, and is more flexible than the packaging container 2. The lid 3 is heat-sealed with the sealant layer facing the flange 2b side of the packaging container 2.

Next, a container forming apparatus for thermoforming a packaging container will be described.
This will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a container forming apparatus 10 includes a plug holder 11 having a plug 12 for pressing a plastic laminate 20.
And a cavity 15 for receiving the plug 12.

The plug 12 is attached to the plug holder 11 so as to be able to move up and down. The plug holder 11 is connected to a mold heater 13 for heating the plug holder 11 to a predetermined temperature.

On the other hand, the cavity 15 has an opening 15a for receiving the plug 12.
And an opening edge 15b at the upper end of the opening are formed, and the opening edge 15b
The laminate 20 is pressed between the plug holder 11 and the plug holder 11. An annular projection 18 is provided on the opening periphery 15b to protrude upward, and an annular projection is provided at the lower end of the plug holder 11.
An annular convex portion 17 into which is inserted is formed. The annular convex portion 18 and the annular concave portion 17 form the annular seal portion 7 on the flange portion 2b.

In addition, on the upstream side of the container forming apparatus 10, the upper heater 21a
And a lower heater 21b.

Next, the operation of the container forming apparatus having such a configuration will be described.

First, a plastic laminate 20 having a layer configuration as described above
Is heated by the heater 21. In order to perform the solid-phase pressure forming, the heating temperature is set to a temperature equal to or lower than the melting point of the polypropylene of the laminate 20, for example, 140 to 150C.

Next, the heated laminate 20 is transferred to the container forming apparatus 10. Thereafter, the cavity 15 rises and approaches the plug holder 11, and the laminate 20 is pressed and held between the lower end of the plug holder 11 and the opening peripheral edge 15b of the cavity 15. In this case, the lower end of the plug holder 11 and the opening
The flange portion 2b of the packaging container 2 is formed between the annular seal portion 7 and the annular seal portion 7 between the annular convex portion 18 and the annular concave portion 17.

Next, the plug 12 descends from the plug holder 11 side and the laminated body
20 is pressed, and compressed air is supplied to the upper surface of the laminate 20. In this case, the laminated body 20 comes into close contact with the inner surface of the opening 15a of the cavity 15, and the container body 2 of the packaging container 2
a is molded.

According to the present embodiment, since the laminate 20 is pressed between the annular convex portion 18 and the annular concave portion 17 to form the annular seal portion 7, the solid-state compressed air is heated and molded at a low temperature equal to or lower than the melting point of polypropylene. Even in the case of molding, the annular seal portion 7 can be molded accurately and reliably. Therefore, the heat sealing property between the flange 2b of the packaging container 2 and the flange 3a of the lid 3 can be improved. In addition, the packaging container 2 having excellent transparency and glossiness can be obtained by solid-phase pressure molding, and the use of a laminated material containing EVOH having excellent gas barrier properties and fragrance retention properties can similarly provide gas barrier properties and protective properties. The packaging container 2 excellent in fragrance can be obtained.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the container body can be accurately formed by the plug holder and the cavity. Further, the laminate is pressed between the end of the plug holder and the peripheral edge of the opening of the cavity to form a flange, and at the same time, the annular seal portion can be accurately formed between the annular concave portion and the annular convex portion. For this reason, the heat sealing property between the flange portion of the packaging container and the lid member that seals the packaging container can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an embodiment of a container forming apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of FIG. 1 showing an annular convex portion and an annular concave portion, and FIG. It is a side sectional view showing a packaging container and a lid material filled with jelly liquid,
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG. 2 ... packaging container, 2a ... container body, 2b ... flange
3 ... lid material, 4 ... fruit, 5 ... jelly liquid, 10 ... container forming device, 11 ... plug holder, 12 ... plug, 15 ...
Cavity, 15a ... opening, 15b ... opening periphery, 17 ... annular concave part, 18 ... annular convex part.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plug holder provided with a plug for pressing a plastic laminate, and a peripheral edge of an opening for pressing the laminate between an opening for receiving the plug and an end of the plug holder. And a cavity formed by thermoforming a packaging container having a flange from the laminated body, wherein an annular convex portion is provided around the opening of the cavity, and the annular convex portion enters the plug holder. When an annular recess is formed and the cavity is brought closer to the plug holder, the laminate is pressed between the end of the plug holder and the peripheral edge of the opening of the cavity to form a flange, and at the same time, the annular projection is formed. An annular seal is formed between the annular recess and the plug presses the laminate into the cavity opening, and the laminate closely contacts the cavity opening to form the container body. Container forming device, characterized in that.