JP7655366B2 - Container and method for manufacturing the container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a container that can hold a highly viscous liquid such as toothpaste, has a flexible container body, and can be pressed to pour out the contents or to shake out solids or powders.

Containers that hold highly viscous liquids such as toothpaste, butter, mayonnaise, ketchup, and adhesives have traditionally used extrusion containers that have a flexible body and can be pressed to dispense the contents. These mainly consist of containers made by cutting a circular extrusion tube into a shape that has a fused neck, or by rolling a laminated sheet and sealing the back to form a body to which a neck is fused, or thin-walled soft blow-molded containers, and are used in many food and non-food applications.

Methods for forming the neck include injection molding and compression molding. Known methods include fusing the neck to the body at the same time as molding, and fusing the molded neck in a separate process.
However, when attempting to fuse these necks to the end surface of the body, the fusion area is small, resulting in insufficient strength and causing problems such as the neck coming off the body when pouring.

Regarding this problem, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses the following:
In claim 1, a collapsible dispensing container is provided, which comprises a deformable body having low permeability, a head portion connected to one end of the body by a peripheral band, and a barrier member made of an impermeable material fixed to an inner surface of the head portion, the barrier member having a structure that is embedded in the head portion for fastening to the head portion,
In claim 2, we propose a foldable dispensing container comprising a deformable tube body with low permeability, a thermoplastic head including a peripheral band connected to one end of the body, and a barrier member made of an impermeable material fixed to the inner surface of the head and having a peripheral end facing the inner wall of the tube body end and spaced from the inner wall, wherein the peripheral band of the head has an annular protrusion located at the lower edge of the peripheral end of the barrier member.

Here, rather than fusing only to the end face of the body of the distribution container, the end face of the body is embedded in the head, or an annular protrusion is formed and fused to the inner surface of the tip of the body, thereby increasing the fusion strength between the body and the head.
At this time, the premise of this dispensing container is that the head structure is composed of a neck portion having a screw portion and a chest portion, and the chest portion is conical in shape. Dispensing containers known as so-called tube containers or extrusion containers generally have a chest portion with an inclined conical shape like this, making it easier to pour out the contents while ensuring fusion strength.
However, when the chest portion has a cone-shaped inclined surface, there is a problem that about 5 to 10 percent of the content remains when poured.

Special Publication No. 46-5985

Therefore, the objective of this invention is to obtain a container that maintains high fusion strength between the body and head while leaving less than 5% of the contents remaining when the entire contents are poured out.

The container of the present invention has a flexible body and is pressed to pour out the contents. The container has an opening that can be opened by breaking and removing a closing plate formed at the periphery of the weak part, a spout consisting of a cylindrical side wall formed around the periphery of the opening and a fused flange that can be fused to the body, and a cap that fits onto the side wall of the spout and can be opened and closed freely. The periphery of the spout is formed of a fused flange with a smooth flat inner surface, the thickness of the body is less than 200 μm, the body covers the outer periphery of the fused flange and is fused by bending it inward at a right angle, the surface of the fused flange to which the body is fused is flat, the body can be crushed into a flat state, and the outer diameter of the cap and the outer diameter of the fused flange are approximately the same.

In the container of the present invention, the spout has a shape in which the inner surface is a smooth plane, so that a flat fusion surface can be formed, and therefore the fusion strength between the body and the head can be increased.
Furthermore, by making the spout have a shape with a smooth, flat inner surface, there is no gap below the head where the contents can accumulate, and the only gap is inside the neck that forms the threaded portion, so that the amount of contents remaining when the contents are poured out to the last drop can be extremely small.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the container of the present invention with the hinge cap open. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the spout and its vicinity showing the process of pulling up the pull top of the upper lid and opening the closure plate of the container of the present invention. FIG. 1A to 1C are vertical cross-sectional views of the spout and its vicinity in the container of the present invention when the container is opened and when the hinge cap is closed after opening. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the container of the present invention in a state in which the contents have been poured out to the last. FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of the container of the present invention in which a barrier film is fused to the inner surface of the spout.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the container of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a container 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention with a hinge cap 4 open.
The container 1 of the present invention is composed of a thin-walled, highly flexible and malleable body 2, a rigid spout 3 fused to one end of the body 2, and a hinge cap 4 which is fitted onto the spout 3 by screwing or capping.
The contents of the container 1 can be poured out by pressing the flexible body 2 .

The body 2 is formed from a cylindrical sheet having at least the innermost layer thereof a sealant layer 23. The body may be a tube extruded into a pipe shape by a profile extrusion method, or may be a body formed by partially overlapping the left and right ends of a rectangular or square film to form a cylindrical shape and fusing the vicinity of the joined ends.
The body 2 has a spout 3 and a spout fused portion 21 formed at the upper end, and at the lower end, after the contents are filled, the sealant layers 23 are joined together to form a bottom seal portion 22, thereby forming the container 1.
The body 2 used in a typical tube container is about 400 μm thick and is formed from a stiff sheet or tube, but the body 2 used in the container of the present invention is a thin, soft body having a thickness of 300 μm or less, preferably less than 200 μm.
This makes it easier to push and bend the spout fusion portion 21 inward at a right angle, making it easier to fusion-bond the body portion 2 to the spout 3.
For this reason, it is desirable that the body 2 not only use a sealant layer 23 as the innermost layer, but also that the outermost layer 24 be made of a resin material similar to the sealant that is thermoplastic and highly fusible, or that it have a laminated structure including a biaxially oriented crystalline resin layer with high shrinkage properties.

The spout 3 is formed of a closing plate 31 formed at its periphery with a weak portion 311, a central opening 310 that can be opened by breaking the closing plate 31, a cylindrical side wall 32 formed around the periphery of the opening 310, and a fusion flange 33 that can be fused to the body 2.

A pull ring 312 is firmly fixed to the outside of the closure plate 31 via a support 313. The pull ring 312 is pulled up and the closure plate 31 is torn off from the spout 3 to form an opening 310 that can be opened.
Incidentally, the opening means is not limited to the above-mentioned method, and other methods may be used.

The side wall 32 also has a locking portion 321 that fits with the cap body 41 of the hinge cap 4. Instead of this locking portion 321, a screw thread (male thread) for screwing may be provided. In that case, a corresponding screw thread (female thread) must be provided on the cap body standing side wall 411, and the outer surface of the cap body outer wall 412 must be treated with a non-slip treatment such as a knurl.

The fusion flange 33 is formed as a flange having a uniform thickness, with a smooth, flat inner surface.
The sealant layer 23 of the innermost layer of the body 2 is fused to the outer surface of the fusion flange 33 .
At this time, when the body portion 2 covers and fuses the outer peripheral edge of the fusion flange 33, the shape of the container is stabilized and the spout 3 can be fused to the body portion 2 more firmly.
In addition, since the inner surface of the fused flange 33 is smooth and flat, the amount of remaining content is reduced, and the inner surfaces of the front and back sides of the body 2 are brought into close contact with each other, and the inner surface of the body 2 is brought into close contact with the inner surface of the fused flange 33. In this way, the remaining content is only left in the spout portion surrounded by the side wall 32, making it possible to keep the remaining amount very small.

The hinge cap 4 is composed of a cap body 41 that fits into the spout 3, and a top cover 42 that can rotate via a hinge 43 at one end of the outer periphery of the cap body 41.

The cap body 41 has a pouring hole 410 in the center, a body inner ring 413 on the inner side of the pouring hole 410, a cap body inner wall 411 on the outside thereof, and a cap body outer wall 412 further outside.
The main body inner ring 413 and the cap main body inner wall 411 sandwich the side wall 32. The locking ring 4111 of the cap main body inner wall 411 locks with the locking portion 321 of the side wall 32 from the outside, and the main body inner ring 413 abuts from the inside, forming a strong fit between the spout 3 and the cap main body 4. A pouring ring 414 and a lid locking ring 415 are provided on the outer surface side of the cap main body 41.

The top lid 42 of the hinge cap 4 has a top lid top plate 421, a top lid side wall 422 hanging down from the periphery of the top lid top plate 421, and a top lid inner ring 423 hanging down from the center of the top lid top plate 421, and a hinge 43 is provided at the lower end of the top lid side wall 422 and connected to the cap body 41.
When rotated via hinge 43, top cover inner ring 423 fits into pouring hole 410 and abuts against pouring ring 414 to provide a tight seal.
In addition, the top lid side wall 422 is provided with a top lid locking portion 4221 which is locked to the lid locking ring 415 of the cap body 41, thereby enabling the top lid 42 to be held in the closed state.

FIG. 2-1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the container of the present invention in an unopened state.
When the container is unopened, such as when it is on sale at a storefront, the closure plate 31 is connected to the spout 3 .
At the same time, the top lid inner ring 423 is inserted and fitted into the inner tip of the pouring ring 414 while abutting it, the top lid engagement portion 4221 of the top lid side wall 422 engages with the lid stop ring 415, and the top lid 42 fits into the cap body 41, covering and closing the pouring hole 410.

FIG. 2-2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the first step in opening the container of the present invention.
The top lid 42 is pulled upward by hooking a finger or the like on the flange 424. At this time, the top lid locking portion 4221 is disengaged from the lid locking ring 415, so that the top lid 42 can be rotated about the hinge 43 to open it.
At the same time, the upper cover inner ring 423 that has been fitted around the pouring ring 414 that forms the periphery of the pouring hole 410 is removed from the pouring hole 410, and the pull ring 312 is exposed.

FIG. 3A is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a process of opening the closure plate 31. As shown in FIG.
A finger is hooked on the pull ring 312 inside the spout hole 410 and pulled upward to open the closure plate 31. Since the closure plate 31 is surrounded by a thin-walled weak portion 311 on the periphery, when the pull ring 312 is pulled up strongly, the weak portion 311 breaks, and only the area where the closure plate 31 was located opens from the spout 3, making it possible to open the bottle.
In this state, by placing fingers on the front and back of the thin, highly flexible body 2 and applying pressure to shorten the distance between them, the contents can be poured out through the pouring hole 410.

FIG. 3-2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which the hinge cap is closed after opening.
When the cap is opened, the spout 3 where the closure plate 31 was located is opened, but when the top lid 42 is rotated via the hinge and the lid stop ring 415 is engaged with the top lid engagement portion 4221, the top lid inner ring 423 is inserted into the inner surface of the tip of the pouring ring 414 of the pouring hole 410, making it possible to seal the spout again.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which the content 5 has been poured out to the last.
When the contents 5 are poured out to the last drop, the front and back inner surfaces of the thin, highly flexible and malleable body 2 come into close contact with each other. At this time, the body 2 near the spout 3 comes into close contact with the inner surface of the spout. In the container of the present invention, the inner surface of the spout is a fused flange made of a smooth flat surface, so that the inner surface of the body 2 can be brought into complete contact with the inner surface of the spout 3.
Therefore, the remaining amount of the contents 5 remaining inside the container 1 is only inside the pouring hole 410, so that the remaining amount can be made very small.
The body 2 may be perpendicular to the inner surface of the spout I in order to push out the contents 5 more strongly, but by pressing it parallel to the inner surface of the spout II, it is possible to reliably push out the contents 5 in the body 2 to the end.
By pressing the body against the inner surface of the spout in this manner, it is possible to ensure that less than 5 percent of the contents remain.

The body of the container of the present invention is a thin, soft body having a thickness of 300 μm or less, preferably less than 200 μm, and uses a sealant layer as the innermost layer.
As an example embodiment, the body may be a single extruded tube made of low density polyethylene, linear low density polyethylene, medium density polyethylene, etc., but it may also be a very thin configuration, such as a total thickness of 85 μm, consisting of low density polyethylene (thickness 30 μm)/adhesive/biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (thickness 25 μm)/adhesive/low density polyethylene (thickness 30 μm) from the inside.
In addition, the structure from the inside is low-density polyethylene / adhesive / saponified ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer / adhesive / low-density polyethylene,
The film may be a laminated film having a structure such as low density polyethylene/adhesive/biaxially oriented polyamide film/adhesive/low density polyethylene, and these films may be laminated together using a dry lamination machine or an extruder lamination machine.
In this case, a thin yet strong body portion can be obtained, and the body portion of a laminated tube is formed by forming the sheet into a rectangular shape, rolling it into a cylindrical shape, and overlapping and fusing both ends.

In addition, from the inside, the composition is low-density polyethylene / maleic anhydride-modified low-density polyethylene / saponified ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer / maleic anhydride-modified low-density polyethylene / low-density polyethylene,
The body portion may be formed directly into a tubular shape using a co-extrusion profile extruder having a structure such as low-density polyethylene/maleic anhydride-modified low-density polyethylene/polyamide/maleic anhydride-modified low-density polyethylene/low-density polyethylene, or a film extruded using a co-extrusion inflation molding machine having such a structure may be formed into a laminate tube.

The spout is made of a resin that is easily fused to the sealant layer used in the body and has the rigidity to fit into the cap body of the hinge cap, and is molded using an injection molding die and injection molding machine.
The resin used for injection molding the spout may be low-density polyethylene, linear low-density polyethylene, medium-density polyethylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, or the like.

A film having a barrier property may be fused to the inner surface of the spout 3 to give the spout 3 a barrier property. Fig. 5 shows an example in which a barrier film 34 is fused to the inner surface of the spout 3 before the body 2 is fused to the spout 3.
As shown in FIG. 5, the barrier film 34 may be fused after the spout 3 is molded, but a film with high barrier properties may be inserted on the inner surface when the spout 3 is molded to make the spout have barrier properties.
FIG. 5 shows a state in which a film fragile portion 341 is provided by scanning a laser beam so that the barrier film 34 is cut at the periphery of the closure plate 31 at the same time as the closure plate 31 is broken.
Examples of films with high barrier properties include low-density polyethylene/adhesive/saponified ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer/adhesive/low-density polyethylene,
Low density polyethylene/adhesive/biaxially oriented polyamide film/adhesive/low density polyethylene,
Low density polyethylene/aluminum foil/low density polyethylene,
The above configurations can be considered. These can also be obtained by inserting them into the inner surface of the spout and molding them.
If a film is fused to the entire inner surface and a film fragile section 341 is provided by scanning laser light on the film at the fragile section, when the pull ring 312 is pulled up, the fused barrier film 34 also breaks at the periphery of the closure plate 31, resulting in a container with high barrier properties.

The hinge cap is manufactured by injection molding a resin that is easy to mold into a hinge.
The resin to be used may be polypropylene, ethylene-propylene copolymer, or the like.
As in the hinge cap of FIG. 1, the hinge is molded in a straight state, and then immediately after molding, the hinge is bent to align the molecular direction and make it less likely to break when opening and closing.

The container of the present invention, as described above, combines a thin-walled, highly flexible body with a flat spout having a smooth, planar inner surface, which increases the fusion strength between the body and the spout and allows the contents to be poured out almost to the last drop, leaving only a small amount remaining.
Furthermore, since the spout can be made by laminating a film with high barrier properties, the present invention has great merits such as being able to provide a container with excellent storage properties.

1 . . . Container 2 . . . Body 21 . . . Spout fusion portion 22 . . . Bottom seal portion 23 . . . Sealant layer 24 . . . Outermost layer 3 . . . Spout 31 . . . Closing plate 311 . . . Weak portion 312 . . . Pull ring 313 . . . Support 32 . . . Side wall 321 . . . Locking portion 33 . . . Fused flange 34 . . . Barrier film 341 . . . Film fragile portion 4 . . . Hinge cap 41... Cap body 410... Spout hole 411... Cap body inner wall 4111... Locking ring 412... Cap body outer wall 413... Body inner ring 414... Spouting ring 415... Lid stop ring 42... Top lid 421... Top lid top plate 422... Top lid side wall 4221... Top lid locking portion 423... Top lid inner ring 424... Flange 43... Hinge 5... Contents

Claims (3)

A container having a flexible body and capable of pouring out the contents by pressing the body,
The spout has an opening that can be opened by breaking and removing a closing plate formed at a peripheral portion by a fragile portion, a side wall formed in a cylindrical shape around the opening peripheral portion, and a fusion flange that can be fused to a body portion, and a cap that fits into the side wall of the spout and can be opened and closed freely.
The periphery of the spout is formed of a fused flange having a smooth inner surface,
The wall thickness of the body is less than 200 μm,
The body portion covers the outer peripheral edge of the fusion flange and is bent inward at a right angle to be fused,
The surface of the fusion flange to which the body portion is fused is flat,
the body portion is collapsible into a flat state;
A container, characterized in that the outer diameter of the cap and the outer diameter of the fusion flange are approximately the same. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that the spout and the cap are fitted together by screwing or by plugging. A method for manufacturing a container having a flexible body portion and capable of pouring out contents by pressing the container, comprising the steps of:
The container has an opening that can be opened by breaking and removing a closing plate whose periphery is formed by a fragile portion, a spout that includes a cylindrical side wall formed around the periphery of the opening and a fusion flange that can be fused to the body, and a cap that fits into the side wall of the spout and can be opened and closed freely,
The periphery of the spout is formed of a fused flange having a smooth inner surface,
The thickness of the body is 200 μm or less,
The body portion is bent inwardly at a right angle to cover the outer peripheral edge of the fusion flange and fused to the flat surface of the fusion flange;
the body portion is collapsible into a flat state;
A method for manufacturing a container, characterized in that the outer diameter of the cap and the outer diameter of the fused flange are approximately the same.