JP7697674B2 - Hanging device mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an attachment structure for a hanging device attached to a packaging container that is used in a suspended state, such as an intravenous drip container.

Packaging containers for holding liquids come in a variety of shapes, but those used for infusions, in which liquid medicine is injected into the body in small amounts, have a hanging device attached to their bottom, and when actually administering an infusion, this hanging device is hung from a stand or the like, and the neck of the packaging container faces downward. An example of such a packaging container shape is shown in Figure 5. The packaging container in this figure has a hanging device attached to the bottom of the main body that holds the liquid, and the main body is molded as a single unit using thermoplastic synthetic resin as the material. Note that in the figure, the neck is shown facing downward, and the flat bottom is located at the top. However, when the packaging container is stored or transported, the bottom faces downward, so it can be placed stably on a packaging box, table, etc.

The bottom of the main body in Fig. 5 is not simply flat, but has a step that is recessed toward the inside of the main body inside the outer edge of the bottom, with the fulcrum shaft protruding from the center of this step. The sling is manufactured separately from the main body and is a ring made by connecting both ends of a U-shaped pull strap. It is usually stored in the step of the main body, but the pull strap is raised when in use. A shaft hole is formed in the center of the sling to fit the fulcrum shaft, and after the fulcrum shaft is fitted into the shaft hole, the tip surface of the fulcrum shaft is heated and pressed to form a flange, which makes it impossible for the sling to be detached from the main body. A hinge is formed near the base of the pull strap, so that not only can the pull strap be raised, but the sling can also swing freely around the fulcrum shaft.

Packaging containers like those shown in Figure 5 have been widely used, and related technological developments have been made for some time, such as in the patent documents listed below. Patent document 1 discloses a method for manufacturing a container with a hanging device used in hospitals and other facilities when administering infusions to patients. This container is made of a thermoplastic synthetic resin, and has a protrusion formed on its bottom, as well as an opening formed in the hanging device. After the protrusion is fitted into the opening, the tip of the protrusion is melted and pressed, making the part larger in diameter than the opening, and the hanging device is fixed to the container.

The following Patent Document 2 discloses a method for manufacturing a container with a hanging device that has high breaking strength and can reliably prevent the hanging device from falling off. Like Patent Document 1, this document also has a structure in which the hanging device is attached to the bottom surface of the container body, but a pin-shaped protrusion is formed on the bottom surface of the container body, and an axial hole is formed in the hanging device for inserting the protrusion. After the protrusion is inserted into the axial hole, the tip of the protrusion is melted without applying pressure, which causes the protrusion to expand naturally, allowing the hanging device to be locked. Incidentally, the method of melting the protrusion is assumed to be combustion using a torch or the like.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-64734 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-291541

A sling like the one in Figure 5 must be attached firmly so that it does not come off the main body accidentally, and as a result, the flange and the sling may become welded over a wide area, which may restrict the free swinging of the sling. If the sling is hung on a stand or the like in this welded state, the swinging of the main body will be restricted, which may cause problems with the visibility of the label and the routing of the connected infusion tube. To prevent this from happening, a strong twist can be applied to the sling when the strap is raised to break the weld, but this can damage the fulcrum shaft or flange, causing the sling to come off the main body.

By leaving a small gap between the brim and the hanging tool, it is possible to prevent the hanging tool from becoming fixed to the main body. However, in that case, the hanging tool will be able to move freely within a certain range, and there is a risk that the tip of the pull strap may protrude from the bottom of the main body. If the hanging tool protrudes from the bottom of the main body when filling the main body with liquid, it is expected that it will get caught on the conveyor guide or the like, causing problems such as stopping the production line. Therefore, it is desirable to fix the hanging tool to a fulcrum shaft or the like.

The technology disclosed in the aforementioned Patent Document 2 allows the hoisting device to be attached without loosening, and does not cause problems such as stopping the production line when filling with liquid. Moreover, this technology prevents the hoisting device from being attached too tightly, making it highly convenient. However, Patent Document 2 assumes that the protrusions will be burned with a torch, which makes it difficult to adjust the power of the flame and requires the introduction of fuel into the production line, raising safety issues.

The present invention was developed based on these circumstances, and aims to provide an attachment structure for a sling that can fix the sling to the main body, preventing it from accidentally protruding outside, while also allowing it to swing freely when in use.

The invention described in claim 1 for solving the above problem is an attachment structure for a hanging device comprising a main body for containing various liquids and a hanging device for suspending the main body, the hanging device being contained in a step formed in the bottom of the main body and a fulcrum shaft protruding from the step, the hanging device being formed with a cylindrical body that protrudes in a direction away from the main body, the inside of the cylindrical body being an axial hole into which the fulcrum shaft is fitted , the tip of the fulcrum shaft being formed with a flange that covers the tip of the cylindrical body and extends around the tip , and the flange and the tip of the cylindrical body are welded together.

The present invention specifies the structure of the location where the hanging tool is attached to the main body of a packaging container consisting of a main body and a hanging tool. The main body is a hollow container that contains various liquids, and has a neck at its top that serves as an outlet for the liquid, with the opposite side of the neck forming the bottom. Therefore, when the packaging container is stored or transported, the bottom is placed on a packing box or table, but when in use, it is turned upside down, so that the hanging tool faces upward and the neck faces downward. Additionally, the main body is assumed to be molded from a thermoplastic synthetic resin.

The hanging device is a part used to suspend the main body; it is attached near the center of the bottom of the main body and is a ring with an open interior so that a finger or rod can be inserted. The hanging device also has some sort of hinge formed into it to make it bendable; normally the entire hanging device is tilted down to fit along the bottom of the main body, but when in use the part beyond the hinge is raised and a rod or similar material extending from the stand is inserted inside. Additionally, a step is formed in the bottom of the main body to accommodate the hanging device.

The fulcrum shaft is a rod-shaped section that protrudes from approximately the center of the step at the bottom of the main body, but is not hollow. The hoist is formed with an axial hole for fitting the fulcrum shaft. The structure of fitting the fulcrum shaft into the axial hole and forming a flange at the tip of the fulcrum shaft to attach the hoist is widely known in the past, but the present invention is characterized in that the hoist is formed with a cylindrical body into which the fulcrum shaft is fitted, so that the inside of the body naturally becomes the axial hole. The cross section of the fulcrum shaft is usually circular to allow the hoist to swing, but it can be any other polygonal shape.

The cylinder is a cylindrical part that protrudes from the surface of the sling, but it does not protrude on both the front and back of the sling; rather, it protrudes from the connection point with the adjacent part and in a direction away from the main body. Therefore, when the fulcrum shaft is fitted into the shaft hole, the tip of the fulcrum shaft protrudes from the cylinder. Then, after heating the tip of the fulcrum shaft protruding from the cylinder, the fulcrum shaft is pressed with a pin or the like to form a flange and attach the sling to the main body. This heating also welds the flange to the cylinder, so that the sling is fixed to the main body. In this state, the sling and fulcrum shaft are housed within the step at the bottom of the main body.

In this way, by heating the fulcrum shaft and forming a flange to cover the tip of the cylinder, the flange and the cylinder are welded together, and the sling is fixed to the main body. The area of the welded surface between the flange and the cylinder is nearly equal to the area of the tip of the cylinder, so it does not increase without limit. Furthermore, this welded surface is limited to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder at most. Therefore, if part of the sling is raised and twisted prior to actual use, a large torsional moment acts on the welded surface, and the weld is easily pulled apart. In addition, by restricting the area of the welded surface, no excessive torsional moment acts on the flange or fulcrum shaft when the weld is pulled apart, preventing damage to the flange or fulcrum shaft.

The invention described in claim 2 specifies the shape of the cylinder, and is characterized in that the cylinder is tapered from its base to its tip. If the thickness of the cylinder is increased, the welding surface between the flange and the cylinder will inevitably become wider, making the effect of the cylinder unclear. Conversely, if the thickness of the cylinder is reduced, there is a risk that the flow of molten resin will be insufficient during molding. The invention described in claim 3 relates to an outer ring, and is characterized in that the hanging tool has a cylindrical outer ring that surrounds the cylinder on the outside of the cylinder, and the amount of protrusion of the outer ring in a direction away from the main body is equal to or greater than the amount of protrusion of the cylinder in a direction away from the main body.

Therefore, by making the cylinder into a tapered shape as in this invention, the thickness of the base part of the cylinder is increased, so that when the main body is molded, the molten resin flows smoothly into the base part of the cylinder, and the cylinder is finished into an accurate shape. In addition, the area of the tip face of the cylinder is reduced, and the welded surface with the flange is also reduced. In addition, in this invention, the base part of the cylinder is strengthened, so when the welded flange and cylinder are peeled off, twisting of the cylinder is suppressed, and this peeling is induced at an early stage.

As in the invention described in claim 1, in the mounting structure for the sling, a fulcrum shaft is formed at the bottom of the main body, and a cylinder is formed in the sling for fitting the fulcrum shaft. After fitting the fulcrum shaft into the cylinder, the fulcrum shaft is heated to form a flange to cover the tip of the cylinder, and the flange and the cylinder are welded together, and the sling is fixed to the main body. This prevents part of the sling from accidentally protruding from the bottom of the main body, and avoids problems such as stopping the production line.

The area of the welded surface between the brim and the cylinder is almost equal to the area of the tip surface of the cylinder, so it does not increase without limit. Furthermore, this welded surface is limited to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder at most. Therefore, if a part of the hanging tool is raised and twisted prior to actual use, a large torsional moment acts on the welded surface, the weld is easily torn off, and the hanging tool can swing freely, without causing problems with the visibility of the label or the routing of the connected infusion tube. In addition, in this invention, since the area of the welded surface between the brim and the cylinder is limited, when the weld is torn off, no excessive torsional moment acts on the brim or fulcrum shaft, and damage to the brim or fulcrum shaft can be prevented.

In addition, in the present invention, when forming the flange, the fulcrum shaft can be heated using a halogen spot heater or the like. This allows electricity to be selected as the energy source, and makes burning with a torch unnecessary, which is also excellent in terms of safety and the working environment. In addition, by pressing the fulcrum shaft with a pin or the like after heating it, the amount of pressing can be precisely controlled, and compared to burning with a torch, variation between products is suppressed, resulting in improved quality.

As in the invention described in claim 2, by making the cylinder taper from its base to its tip, when molding the main body, the molten resin flows smoothly into the base of the cylinder, and the cylinder is finished to an accurate shape. In addition, the area of the tip face of the cylinder is reduced, and the area of the welded surface with the flange is also reduced. In addition, in this invention, the base of the cylinder is strengthened, so that when the weld between the flange and the cylinder is peeled off, twisting of the cylinder is suppressed, and this peeling is induced at an early stage.

1A and 1B are a perspective view and a longitudinal sectional view showing a specific example of a mounting structure for a hanging device according to the present invention, illustrating the process of mounting the hanging device to the main body of a packaging container. This is a perspective view showing the state in which the sling is attached to the main body of Figure 1, and here the main body is depicted as a whole. Note that in the lower left of the figure, the main body and the like are depicted in half. This is a perspective view showing an example of the shape of the cylinder, in which the cylinder simply protrudes from a flat central band. Note that the main body is shown in half at the bottom of the figure. The present invention relates to a method for attaching a tapered tubular sling to a main body, and a method for attaching the sling to the main body. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the shape of a conventionally used packaging container, in which the hanging tool is hung on a stand or the like and the neck is directed downward to allow the liquid inside to flow out.

Figure 1 shows a specific example of the mounting structure of a hanging device 21 according to the present invention, depicting the process of mounting the hanging device 21 to the main body 11 of a packaging container, and on the right side of the figure, a vertical cross section around the axial hole 23 is shown. This main body 11 is made by molding synthetic resin into a hollow shape, has a roughly rectangular cross section, and can contain various liquids inside. However, in this figure, the bottom of the main body 11 faces upwards, and only the area near the bottom of the main body 11 is depicted.

The bottom of the main body 11 is not simply flat, but forms a step 12 inside the outer edge of the bottom that is recessed toward the inside of the main body 11, and houses the entire suspender 21 within it. Therefore, the suspender 21 does not protrude from the bottom of the main body 11, and the bottom of the main body 11 can be placed stably on a packing box, table, etc. And at the center of the step 12, a fulcrum shaft 13 that protrudes outward is formed. The fulcrum shaft 13 in this diagram has a circular cross section, but is not hollow.

The sling 21 is used to suspend the main body 11 from a stand or the like, and because both ends of the U-shaped pull strap 25 are tied together with the central strap 28, the whole is in the shape of a ring resembling the letter "D", and when suspending, a finger or rod is inserted inside. In addition, near the boundary between the central strap 28 and the pull strap 25, a locally thinned hinge 22 is formed, and the pull strap 25 beyond the hinge 22 can be raised from the main body 11. However, in order to prevent the pull strap 25 from rising up accidentally, the thickness of the hinge 22 is adjusted so that it does not deform freely before use. In addition, a cylindrical tube 24 is formed in the middle of the central strap 28 to fit the fulcrum shaft 13 of the main body 11, and the inside of this is called the shaft hole 23, which passes through the tube 24.

A cylindrical outer ring 26 is formed outside the tube body 24, surrounding the tube body 24, and about half of the outer edge of the outer ring 26 is integrated with the central band 28. The outer ring 26 and the tube body 24 are also integrated via a connecting plate 27. As shown in the vertical cross section, the connecting plate 27 is connected to the lower end face of the upper and lower end faces of the tube body 24 that faces the main body 11, and the tube body 24 protrudes from the connecting plate 27 in a direction away from the main body 11. However, it does not protrude beyond the outer ring 26.

As shown in the upper left of Figure 1, the main body 11 is turned upside down and the suspender 21 is placed above the bottom of the main body 11. The suspender 21 is then brought close to the main body 11 and the fulcrum shaft 13 is fitted into the shaft hole 23, causing the fulcrum shaft 13 to protrude from the tip surface of the cylinder 24 as shown below. However, at this stage, the suspender 21 can be removed from the fulcrum shaft 13. Therefore, as shown on the right side of the figure, the tip of the fulcrum shaft 13 is locally heated with a halogen spot heater or the like, and the fulcrum shaft 13 is pressed with a forming pin P to form a disk-shaped flange 14. The flange 14 has a larger diameter than the shaft hole 23, preventing the suspender 21 from coming off.

The flange 14 pressed by the forming pin P spreads out horizontally into a mushroom shape, and in addition to covering the tip surface of the cylinder 24, it hangs down slightly from the tip surface of the cylinder 24 and surrounds the outer periphery of the cylinder 24. At that time, the contact surface between the flange 14 and the cylinder 24 is heated to cause welding, and the suspender 21 is fixed to the main body 11. However, if a certain degree of external force is applied to the suspender 21, this welding is pulled off, and the suspender 21 becomes free to swing relative to the main body 11. Moreover, since the welding surface is necessarily limited to the outer periphery of the cylinder 24, the welding is easily pulled off. In addition, since this pulling off occurs at an early stage, the flange 14 and the fulcrum shaft 13 are not damaged by shear load. The flange 14 is also accommodated in the step 12 of the main body 11, so it does not interfere with the storage of the packaging container.

Figure 2 shows the state in which the sling 21 is attached to the main body 11 in Figure 1, and here the entire main body 11 is depicted. The opposite side of the sling 21 of the main body 11 is the neck 16, to which an infusion tube or the like is connected. The sling 21 can also raise the pull cord 25 at the end from the hinge 22, allowing the main body 11 to be hung from a stand or the like. When the pull cord 25 is raised, if the sling 21 is twisted, the weld between the flange 14 and the cylindrical body 24 is pulled apart, and the main body 11 and the sling 21 can swing freely relative to each other around the fulcrum shaft 13. Normally, the sling 21 is hung on a stand or the like, so that the main body 11 can swing freely.

Figure 3 shows an example of the shape of the cylindrical body 24. As long as the cylindrical body 24 is cylindrical and protrudes in a direction away from the main body 11, the configuration of its periphery can be freely determined, and as shown in this figure, the cylindrical body 24 may simply protrude from a flat central band 28. However, if the flange 14 protrudes from the bottom of the main body 11, the main body 11 cannot be placed in a stable state. For this reason, the step 12 at the bottom of the main body 11 is deep enough to accommodate the flange 14 with ease.

Figure 4 shows the process of attaching the sling 21, with its tapered tubular body 24, to the main body 11, with a vertical cross section around the shaft hole 23 drawn on the right side of the figure. In this figure, the basic structure of the main body 11 and the sling 21 is the same as in Figure 1, but it differs in that a thick section 29 is formed at the base of the tubular body 24. As described above, the tubular body 24 needs to have a reduced weld surface with the flange 14, and the thickness of the tubular body 24 is also reduced. However, this means that when the sling 21 is molded, the molten resin cannot flow to the tip surface of the tubular body 24, and the finished shape may not be accurate.

In this figure, the outer diameter of the base of the cylinder 24 is increased to form a cone-shaped thick section 29, which allows the molten resin to flow smoothly to the tip surface. The thick section 29 has an appearance that resembles a fillet formed at the boundary between the connecting plate 27 and the cylinder 24, which inevitably improves the strength of the cylinder 24. Therefore, when the pull strap 25 of the sling 21 is raised and twisted, twisting of the cylinder 24 is suppressed, and the weld between the flange 14 and the cylinder 24 is pulled apart at an early stage.

The thickened portion 29 is limited to the base of the tube 24, and beyond that the tube 24 is a simple cylinder of the same diameter. Therefore, even if the outer edge of the flange 14 pressed by the forming pin P hangs down from the tip surface of the tube 24, the contact area between the flange 14 and the tube 24 does not increase significantly. The tapered shape of the tube 24 can be freely determined. Therefore, as shown in this figure, the thickened portion 29 can be conical, or it can be stepped, with a smaller diameter cylinder extending from the end of a larger diameter cylinder.

Reference Signs List 11: Main body 12: Step 13: Pivot shaft 14: Flange 16: Neck portion 21: Suspension tool 22: Hinge 23: Shaft hole 24: Cylinder 25: Pull band 26: Outer ring 27: Connection plate 28: Central band 29: Thick portion P: Molded pin

Claims (3)

The device comprises a main body (11) in which various liquids are contained, and a hanging device (21) for hanging the main body (11),
The suspender (21) is accommodated in a step (12) formed in the bottom of the main body (11), and a fulcrum shaft (13) protrudes from the step (12).
The suspender (21) is formed with a cylindrical body (24) that protrudes in a direction away from the main body (11), and the inside of the cylindrical body (24) is an axial hole (23) into which the fulcrum shaft (13) is fitted .
A flange (14) is formed at the tip of the fulcrum shaft (13), the flange (14) covering the tip of the cylindrical body (24) and projecting outward from the tip .
The mounting structure for the sling (21) is characterized in that the flange (14) and the tip of the cylindrical body (24) are welded together. The mounting structure for the sling (21) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cylinder (24) is tapered from its base to its tip. The suspender (21) has a cylindrical outer ring (26) on the outside of the cylindrical body (24) and surrounding the cylindrical body (24),
3. An attachment structure for a hanging device (21) as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the amount by which the outer ring (26) protrudes in a direction away from the main body (11) is greater than or equal to the amount by which the cylindrical body (24) protrudes in a direction away from the main body (11).

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