JP7784961B2 - Standing Pouch - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a stand-up pouch.

Stand-up pouches are packaging materials for holding liquid products such as liquid detergents, liquid soaps, shampoos, and liquid seasonings. Examples of stand-up pouches include those that have a pouch body made of a flexible sheet and a pouring body protruding from the pouch body. The bottom of the pouch body is a gusset portion folded inward. Therefore, when a product contains contents in a stand-up pouch, the bottom expands and the product can stand on its own.
Stand-up pouches are widely used as containers for refill products. When refilling, the contents are poured out of the stand-up pouch and filled into a regular container such as a bottle.

The above-mentioned stand-up pouches are in demand for large contents (large-capacity products). As capacity increases, the upper part of the stand-up pouch sinks, causing bending and pinholes to form in the body of the pouch. These pinholes come into contact with the outer cardboard box when the pouch is loaded into the outer cardboard box during manufacturing, and during transportation, and the friction causes pinholes to form, resulting in leakage problems.

For this reason, it is essential that the above-mentioned standing pouches are configured to be less prone to bending at the top. For example, as in the standing pouch disclosed in Patent Document 1, by providing a seal portion that extends downward from approximately the center of the top seal, excluding both the left and right sides, it is possible to increase the strength of the center and reduce bending.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-271943

The standing pouch described in Patent Document 1 has a capacity of 600 to 800 mL, which cannot be considered a large capacity. Large-capacity standing pouches are prone to the above-mentioned bending due to the heavy weight of the liquid composition, but Patent Document 1 does not mention any configuration that would reduce bending or pin angles to accommodate large volumes.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a standing pouch that can suppress bending even when it has a large capacity.

The present invention has the following aspects.
[1] A pouch body having a seal portion where the peripheries of two opposing flexible films are sealed, the pouch body having a substantially rectangular shape in front view and an interior serving as a storage chamber, and a gusset portion provided at the bottom of the pouch body, wherein the pouch body has a corner cutting portion that slopes upward at one corner adjacent to the upper edge, and the seal portion has a first side seal portion and a second side seal portion that are disposed at the widthwise edge of the pouch body and extend in the vertical direction, an inclined seal portion that extends from the first side seal portion located on one side in the width direction to the upper edge along the slope of the corner cutting portion, and a top seal portion that is disposed between the inclined seal portion and the second side seal portion located on the other side in the width direction and that is disposed along the upper edge, a first portion disposed from the other end of the inclined seal portion in the width direction to a position distant from the second side seal portion, extending downward from the top seal portion and where the flexible film is sealed; and a second portion positioned between the first portion and the second side seal portion in the width direction and where the flexible film is unsealed, wherein the value represented by L2/L1 is 0.10 or more and 0.28 or less, where L1 is the maximum length of the top seal portion in the width direction and L2 is the minimum length of the second portion in the width direction.
[2] A standing pouch for containing 1,100 to 2,400 mL of a liquid composition, comprising: a pouch body having a seal portion where the peripheral edges of two opposing flexible films are sealed, the pouch body having a substantially rectangular shape in front view, the pouch body having an interior serving as a storage chamber; and a gusset portion provided at the bottom of the pouch body, wherein the pouch body has an upwardly sloping corner cut portion formed at one corner adjacent to the upper edge, the seal portion comprising: a first side seal portion and a second side seal portion disposed at the widthwise edge of the pouch body and extending in the vertical direction; an inclined seal portion extending from the first side seal portion located on one side in the width direction to the upper edge along the slope of the corner cut portion; and a top seal portion located at the upper edge between the inclined seal portion and the second side seal portion located on the other side in the width direction, and a pouring body welded to the inclined seal portion and protruding from the pouch body, wherein the inclined seal portion is provided at the bottom of the pouch body. a third section extending downward from the top seal section and sealing the flexible film, the third section being positioned from a position away from the other end of the diagonal seal section in the width direction to a position away from the second side seal section; a fourth section in which the flexible film is unsealed and positioned symmetrically in the width direction between the first section and the first side seal section and between the first section and the second side seal section; and a fifth section in which the flexible film is unsealed and positioned at the center of the top seal section in the width direction, the fifth section having a dimension in the width direction that gradually decreases from the lower end of the third section toward the top, wherein the lower end of the third section has a straight section extending in the width direction, and wherein, where L1 is the maximum length in the width direction of the top seal section and L4 is the minimum length in the width direction of the fourth section, the value represented by L4/L1 is 0.10 or more and 0.21 or less.
[3] The standing pouch according to [1] or [2], wherein the maximum length of the pouch body in the width direction is 200 to 220 mm, and the maximum height of the pouch body is 280 to 350 mm.
[4] The standing pouch according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the thickness of the flexible film in the trunk portion of the pouch body is 140 to 240 μm.
[5] The standing pouch according to [4], wherein the flexible film in the body portion is composed of three to four layers including polyethylene.
[6] The standing pouch according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the filling rate of the liquid composition in the storage chamber is 40 to 75% by volume.

The present invention provides a standing pouch that can suppress bending even when it has a large capacity.

1 is a front view showing a first embodiment of a standing pouch of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the periphery of a top seal portion 34 in FIG. 1 . FIG. 10 is a front view showing a second embodiment of the standing pouch of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of the periphery of a top seal portion 34 in FIG. 3.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the standing pouch of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.
The following embodiment shows one aspect of the present invention, does not limit the present invention, and can be modified as desired within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention. In addition, in the following drawings, the scale and number of each structure are different from the actual structure to make each configuration easier to understand.

<First embodiment of standing pouch>
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a first embodiment of a standing pouch 1 of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1 , the standing pouch 1 has a pouch body 10 that is generally rectangular in front view, and a pouring body 20 .

The pouch body 10 is made by sealing the peripheries of two opposing flexible films (front film 12, back film 14), forming a top edge 13, a first side edge 15, a second side edge 17, and a bottom edge 19 around the periphery. That is, a sealed portion 10a is formed around the periphery of the pouch body 10. A storage chamber 11 for storing a liquid composition or the like is formed inside the pouch body 10. The first side edge 15 is a side edge located on one widthwise side of the pouch body 10 (the left side in FIG. 1). The second side edge 17 is a side edge located on the other widthwise side of the pouch body 10 (the right side in FIG. 1). In the following description, one widthwise side may be simply referred to as the "left side," and the other widthwise side may be simply referred to as the "right side."

The pouch body 10 has a bottom 16a folded into the storage chamber 11 to form a gusset portion 16. The bottom 16a has a folded edge 16b formed on the upper edge 13 side. The side edges of the bottom 16a are sandwiched and sealed between the front film 12 and the back film 14. The lower edge of the bottom 16a is sealed to both the front film 12 and the back film 14. The form of the gusset portion 16 is not limited to this.
Before being filled with the contents (liquid composition), the upper edge 13 of the standing pouch 1 is not sealed and is open.

In a front view, a straight corner cutting portion 18 is formed at the upper end of the pouch body 10. The corner cutting portion 18 is formed at the corner formed by the upper edge 13 and the first side edge 15 adjacent to the upper edge 13. The corner cutting portion 18 is inclined upward (i.e., toward the upper edge 13).
The corners of the pouch body 10 are formed with arc-shaped corner cuts at three corners except for the corner where the corner cut portion 18 is formed.

The dispensing body 20 is provided in the corner cut portion 18. The base end 22 of the dispensing body 20 is sandwiched and fixed between the front film 12 and the back film 14 at the inclined seal portion of the seal portion 10a (described below) located in the corner cut portion 18. The dispensing body 20 protrudes from the pouch body 10.

The front film 12 is not particularly limited as long as it is flexible and can be sealed with the back film 14 and the film of the bottom 16a, and any known film can be used.
The front film 12 may be, for example, a multi-layer laminate film having at least an outer layer and an inner layer.

Examples of the outer layer include biaxially oriented polyester film, biaxially oriented polyamide film, and oriented nylon (ONY). Examples of the inner layer include films made of heat-sealable resins such as low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), polypropylene, and metallocene polyethylene. The multilayer laminate film may include a gas barrier film such as an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer film, aluminum foil, or a film vapor-deposited with an inorganic material such as silicon oxide (e.g., aluminum-deposited polyethylene terephthalate, hereinafter abbreviated as aluminum-deposited PET). Each component of the multilayer laminate film includes environmentally friendly materials.
Examples of environmentally friendly materials include biomass plastics made from plants, recycled plastic materials made from recycled products and waste materials from manufacturing processes, and biodegradable plastics.

The flexible film in the trunk portion of the pouch body 10 is preferably made up of three to four layers including polyethylene.
If the flexible film has fewer than three layers, the standing property will be poor, resulting in a poor appearance, which is not preferred. If the flexible film has more than four layers, the cost will increase, which is not preferred. By using a three-layer flexible film, it is possible to contribute to cost reduction. By using a four-layer flexible film, it is possible to enhance the bending suppression effect.

The layer configuration of the three-layer laminate film is preferably ONY/aluminum-vapor-deposited PET/LLDPE, PET/ONY/LLDPE, ONY/aluminum/LLDPE, PET/PET/LLDPE, or PET/aluminum-vapor-deposited PET/LLDPE, and more preferably ONY/aluminum-vapor-deposited PET/LLDPE, PET/ONY/LLDPE, or ONY/PET/LLDPE.
The layer configuration of the four-layer laminate film is as follows: PET/aluminum-deposited PET/ONY/LLDPE, PET/aluminum/ONY/LLDPE, PET/PET/ONY/LLDPE, ONY/aluminum-deposited PET/ONY/LLDPE, ONY/aluminum/ONY/LLDPE, ONY/PET/ONY/LLDPE, ONY/aluminum-deposited PET/PET/LLDPE, ONY ONY/aluminum/PET/LLDPE and ONY/PET/PET/LLDPE are preferred, and PET/aluminum-vapor-deposited PET/ONY/LLDPE, PET/aluminum/ONY/LLDPE, PET/PET/ONY/LLDPE, ONY/aluminum-vapor-deposited PET/ONY/LLDPE, ONY/aluminum/ONY/LLDPE and ONY/PET/ONY/LLDPE are more preferred.
The layer structure is indicated in order from the outer layer onwards, i.e. "ONY/aluminum-deposited PET/LLDPE" means that the outer layer is ONY, the inner layer is LLDPE, and the intermediate layer between the outer and inner layers is aluminum-deposited PET.

The thickness of each layer of the multilayer laminate film is determined taking into consideration the capacity of the pouch body 10, the composition of the liquid composition to be contained, etc. The thickness of each layer of the multilayer laminate film is preferably 10 to 30 μm for the outer layer, 10 to 60 μm for the middle layer, and 80 to 200 μm for the inner layer.
The total thickness of the front film 12 (total thickness) is preferably 140 to 240 μm, more preferably 160 to 240 μm.

The layer structure, thickness of each layer, and overall thickness of the back film 14 are the same as those of the front film 12. The layer structure, thickness of each layer, and overall thickness of the back film 14 may be the same as or different from those of the front film 12.

The thickness of the flexible film in the trunk portion of the pouch body 10 is preferably 140 to 240 μm.
If the thickness of the flexible film is less than 140 μm, bending will occur easily and standing properties will be poor, resulting in poor appearance, which is undesirable. If the thickness of the flexible film is more than 240 μm, costs will increase, which is undesirable.
By setting the thickness of the flexible film in the trunk portion of the pouch body 10 to 140 to 240 μm, bending can be suppressed and appearance can be ensured without increasing costs.

The two-layer structure of the bottom portion 16a is preferably ONY/LLDPE or aluminum-deposited PET/LLDPE, and more preferably ONY/LLDPE.
The layer structure of the three-layer bottom portion 16a is preferably ONY/ONY/LLDPE, PET/ONY/LLDPE, or PET/PET/LLDPE, and more preferably ONY/ONY/LLDPE.
The thickness range of each layer is selected depending on the volume and composition of the liquid contained, and the outer layer is 10 to 30 μm, the intermediate layer is 10 to 80 μm in total, and the inner layer is 80 to 200 μm, with the total thickness being preferably 140 μm to 240 μm, more preferably 160 μm to 240 μm.

The maximum height H of the pouch body 10 (the distance from the bottom edge 19 to the top edge 13) is preferably 280 to 350 mm. If the height H is equal to or greater than the above-mentioned lower limit, the pouch body 10 can have a larger internal capacity. If the height H is equal to or less than the above-mentioned upper limit, it can be more easily displayed on a product shelf.

The maximum widthwise length W of the pouch body 10 (the distance from the first side edge 15 to the second side edge 17) is preferably 200 to 220 mm. If the width W is equal to or greater than the above-mentioned lower limit, the height H of the pouch body 10 can be reduced while still increasing the capacity. If the width W is equal to or less than the above-mentioned upper limit, bending of the upper edge 13 can be more effectively prevented when the liquid composition product is placed upright.

The fold width D of the bottom portion 16a is preferably 50 to 70 mm, and more preferably 55 to 65 mm. The fold width D is the distance from the lower edge 19 to the folded edge 16b of the bottom portion 16a.

The seal portion 10 a has a first side seal portion 31 , a second side seal portion 32 , an inclined seal portion 33 , a top seal portion 34 , and a first portion 35 .
The first side seal portion 31 is formed along the first side edge 15 and extends in the vertical direction. The second side seal portion 32 is formed along the second side edge 17 and extends in the vertical direction. The inclined seal portion 33 extends from the upper end of the first side seal portion 31 to the upper edge 13 along the inclination of the corner cutting portion 18. The right edge of the inclined seal portion 33 extends in the vertical direction and is perpendicular to the upper edge 13. The pouring body 20 is welded to the inclined seal portion 33.

The top seal portion 34 is located between the inclined seal portion 33 and the second side seal portion 32 and is arranged along the upper edge 13. The top seal portion 34 is the area that forms the opening at the upper edge 13 of the standing pouch 1 before it is filled with the contents (liquid composition). In manufacturing the standing pouch 1, the inclined seal portion 33, first side seal portion 31, and second side seal portion 32 are pre-sealed to form the contents, and then the upper edge 13 is sealed to form the top seal portion 34. The top seal portion 34 is sealed by overlapping with the inclined seal portion 33 and the second side seal portion 32 so as to eliminate gaps at the boundaries between the top seal portion 34 and the inclined seal portion 33 and between the top seal portion 34 and the second side seal portion 32. However, in this embodiment, the top seal portion 34 is defined as being formed in the widthwise range between the inclined seal portion 33 and the second side seal portion 32, regardless of the overlap.

The first portion 35 is positioned from the right end of the inclined seal portion 33 to a position away from the second side seal portion 32, and extends downward from the lower end 34a of the top seal portion 34. The seal pattern of the first portion 35 is not particularly limited, but can be, for example, vertical and horizontal lines, wavy lines, dashed lines, or a grid pattern. Furthermore, the entire surface of the first portion 35 does not need to be sealed; for example, as long as the outer contour is sealed, the inside of the outer contour may not be sealed.

The second portion 36, in which the flexible film is not sealed, is located to the right of the first portion 35. In other words, the second portion 36, in which the flexible film is not sealed, is located between the first portion 35 and the second side seal portion 32 in the width direction.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the top seal portion 34 and its surroundings.
2, the right edge of the first portion 35 is inclined at an angle θ1 with respect to the line at the position 34a of the lower end of the top seal portion 34. The left edge of the first portion 35 is inclined at an angle θ2 with respect to the line at the position 34a of the lower end of the top seal portion 34. The left and right edges of the first portion 35 are inclined so that the width dimension decreases downward.

The angle θ1 is preferably equal to or greater than 50° and equal to or less than 90°. If the angle θ1 is outside the above range, the effect of suppressing bending of the pouch body 10 may be affected.
The angle θ2 is preferably equal to or greater than 70° and equal to or less than 90°. If the angle θ2 is outside the above range, the effect of suppressing bending of the pouch body 10 may be affected.
In addition, in the first portion 35 and the second portion 36, stress concentration can be alleviated by providing R-chamfering at the points where the outer contours intersect.

The maximum widthwise length of top seal portion 34 is L1, and the minimum widthwise length of second portion 36 is L2. Minimum length L2 is the distance from the intersection of a straight line forming the right edge of first portion 35 and a straight line at position 34a of the lower end of top seal portion 34 to the right edge of top seal portion 34.
The value represented by L2/L1 is preferably 0.10 or more and 0.28 or less, and more preferably 0.14 or more and 0.18 or less.
The maximum length L1 is, for example, 143 to 165 mm.
As an example, the minimum length L2 is preferably 14.3 to 46.2 mm, and more preferably 20.0 to 29.7 mm.

When the maximum height of the first portion 35 is H1, the value expressed by H1/L1 is preferably 0.07 or more and 0.21 or less, and more preferably 0.105 or more and 0.175 or less.
The maximum height H1 is preferably 10 mm or more and 35 mm or less, and more preferably 15 mm or more and 29 mm or less.
The functions and effects of the first portion 35 and the second portion will be described later.

The seal width of the first side seal portion 31 and the second side seal portion 32 is preferably 3 mm or more and 12 mm or less, and more preferably 5 mm or more and 10 mm or less. The seal width of the top seal portion 34 and the inclined seal portion 33 is preferably 3 mm or more and 15 mm or less, and more preferably 5 mm or more and 12 mm or less.

The outlet body 20 may be any member that communicates the inside and outside of the storage chamber 11 and that can outlet the liquid composition in the storage chamber 11 .
The pouring body 20 may have a cylindrical or polygonal pouring tube and a lid that closes the tip of the pouring tube.

Examples of the injection body 20 include molded bodies made of polyolefin resins such as polyethylene and polypropylene.

The opening diameter of the dispensing body 20 is determined appropriately depending on the physical properties (e.g., viscosity) of the liquid composition to be contained, and is, for example, 8.5 to 21 mm.

The length of the injection body 20 (distance from the base end to the tip) is preferably, for example, 18 to 30 mm.

The size of the dispensing body 20 is preferably such that it fits within the area enclosed by the tangent line of the first side edge 15 adjacent to the corner cut portion 18 and the tangent line of the top edge 13. That is, the preferred position of the tip of the dispensing body 20 is closer to the second side edge 17 than the first side edge 15, and closer to the bottom edge 19 than the top edge 13. When the standing pouch 1 is fed into the filling machine, the side edges of the standing pouch 1 are aligned by abutting them against the guides. If the size of the dispensing body 20 fits within the above area, the dispensing body 20 will not abut against the guides, making it easier to align the standing pouch 1.

<Method for manufacturing a standing pouch before filling with a liquid composition>
The standing pouch 1 is manufactured according to a conventionally known method for manufacturing a standing pouch. For example, the front film 12 and the back film 14 are overlapped, a film forming the bottom portion 16a is folded between the two films, the pouring body 20 is sandwiched between the two films at the corner cut portion 18, and the edges of the overlapped films are sealed to form the sealed portion 10a other than the top seal portion 34 and the first portion 35, thereby obtaining the standing pouch 1.

<Liquid composition>
Examples of liquid compositions contained in the pouch body 10 include liquid detergent compositions, liquid fabric softener compositions, liquid bleach compositions, liquid toothpaste compositions, mouthwash compositions, liquid disinfectant compositions, liquid seasonings, etc. Examples of liquid detergent compositions include liquid detergent compositions for clothing, liquid bathroom detergent compositions, liquid toilet detergent compositions, liquid dish detergent compositions, etc. Among these, liquid detergent compositions, liquid fabric softener compositions, liquid toothpaste compositions, mouthwash compositions, and liquid bathroom detergent compositions are preferred.

The viscosity of the liquid composition at 25°C is preferably, for example, 1 to 200 mPa·s. In the case of a liquid dentifrice composition, a mouthwash composition, or a liquid bathroom cleaner composition, the viscosity at 25°C is usually 1 to 10 mPa·s. In the case of a liquid fabric cleaner composition or a liquid fabric softener composition, the viscosity at 25°C is usually 10 to 200 mPa·s.
In the case of liquid toothpaste compositions, mouthwash compositions, and liquid bathroom cleanser compositions, the viscosity was measured after 1 minute using a TVB-10 viscometer (manufactured by Toki Sangyo Co., Ltd.) with an M1 rotor set at 60 rpm (including water).
In the case of a liquid detergent composition for clothing and a liquid fabric softener composition, the viscosity was measured at the 10th rotation at 30 rotations per minute using a No. 1 rotor of a BH type viscometer (manufactured by Toki Sangyo Co., Ltd.).
300 mL of the sample (liquid composition) was measured in a 300 mL tall beaker, and the temperature of the sample (liquid composition) during measurement was always 25° C. The sample temperature may be adjusted, for example, by using a constant temperature circulating water bath (manufactured by AS ONE Corporation) to adjust the temperature at 25° C. for 3 hours.

The standing pouch 1 is a container used to store 1100 to 2400 mL of a liquid composition. That is, the standing pouch 1 is a container with an internal volume (filling volume) of 1100 to 2400 mL. The internal volume of the standing pouch 1 is 1100 to 2400 mL, and preferably 1200 to 2100 mL.
A capacity of less than 1100 mL is undesirable because consumers perceive the volume as small compared to the size of the container. A capacity of more than 2400 mL is not suitable for the container size and results in a lack of productivity. Many standing pouches 1 are filled with a liquid composition by gripping the first side seal portion 31 near the inclination start point with a zipper, filling the liquid composition from above, and then sealing the top with a sealer. Therefore, if the capacity exceeds 2400 mL, the liquid composition inside may rise to the top seal portion 34 when the first side seal portion 31 is gripped with the zipper, potentially causing a seal failure.

The filling rate of the liquid composition in the storage chamber 11 is preferably 40 to 75% by volume, and more preferably 50 to 70% by volume.
If the filling rate is less than 40% by volume, consumers will perceive the container as having a small volume relative to its size. Furthermore, the filling volume will be small, resulting in unnecessary packaging costs and increased costs. If the filling rate exceeds 75% by volume, the filling volume will no longer be appropriate for the container size, resulting in a lack of productivity. Furthermore, as mentioned above, if the filling rate exceeds 75% by volume, when the first side seal portion 31 is gripped with a zipper, the liquid composition inside may rise to the top seal portion 34, causing a seal failure.

The above-mentioned filling rate is a value calculated by the following formula.
Filling rate (volume %)=(filling amount of liquid composition)/(full amount of storage chamber)×100

In the above formula, the full amount is the maximum volume of the storage chamber 11. The full amount of the storage chamber 11 in this embodiment is, for example, 1200 to 2340 mL.
When the maximum length W of the pouch body 10 is 200 mm and the maximum height H is 290 mm, the full filling amount is, for example, 2300 mL. In this case, the filling amount of the liquid composition is 920 to 1725 mL.
When the maximum length W of the pouch body 10 is 200 mm and the maximum height H is 340 mm, the full filling amount is, for example, 2800 mL. In this case, the filling amount of the liquid composition is 1120 to 2100 mL.
When the maximum length W of the pouch body 10 is 220 mm and the maximum height H is 340 mm, the full filling amount is, for example, 3400 mL. In this case, the filling amount of the liquid composition is 1360 to 2550 mL.

<Method for producing standing pouch 1 from liquid composition filling>
The liquid composition is filled into the pouch body 10 of the standing pouch 1 using a device such as a pouch filling and packaging machine, and then the top seal portion 34 and the first portion 35 are sealed.
In a pouch filling and packaging machine or the like, both side edges of the pouch body 10 are gripped with grippers to hang the standing pouch 1, and the liquid composition is filled from the opening at the top end.
The standing pouch 1 thus obtained has the bottom 16a pressed downward and the gusset portion 16 expanded, so that it can stand upright on its own.

<Post-process after manufacturing of standing pouch 1>
The manufactured stand-up pouch 1 undergoes subsequent processes of inspection in a puncture inspection machine, a caser lateral feeding process, a V-shaped bucket transfer process, a loading process, and a box erection process before being packaged in an exterior cardboard box. In the inspection process, the stand-up pouch 1 is laid on its side and transported by a conveyor, and pressure is applied from above sequentially from the bottom edge 19 to the top edge 13, and the presence or absence of abnormalities in the stand-up pouch 1 (poor sealing, pinholes) is inspected using, for example, image processing.

In the caser horizontal feeding process, a pusher pushes the standing pouch 1, which is laid horizontally, onto the caser conveyor. The standing pouch 1 is conveyed horizontally with the first side edge 15 and second side edge 17 extending in the width direction of the conveyor. In the V-shaped bucket transfer process, multiple standing pouches 1 (e.g., three pouches) are transferred by a robot or the like in a horizontal position supported by the conveyor with the first side edge 15 on top and the second side edge 17 on the bottom. In the loading process, multiple standing pouches 1 laid horizontally are pushed into an exterior cardboard box with a partial overlap in the width direction and loaded. At this time, the exterior cardboard box is placed with the bottom open horizontally, and the standing pouch 1 is pushed into the opening of the exterior cardboard box from the top edge 13 side. The outer cardboard box containing the standing pouch 1 is then turned from its horizontal orientation to an upright position in the box erection process and then sealed.

During the puncture inspection in the subsequent process, the internal pressure increases when pressure is applied to the lower edge 19, which tends to cause bending at the upper edge 13, where bending strength is relatively low. The top seal portion 34 of a standing pouch 1 placed horizontally is prone to bending due to being pushed down by the pusher during the caser lateral transport process. Furthermore, the pouch body 10 is supported horizontally by the conveyor with its second side edge 17 below during the V-shaped bucket transfer process, and is pushed in with a partial overlap across the width during the loading process. This applies a bending force that folds the pouch body 10 in half widthwise along a fold line parallel to the first side edge 15 and the second side edge 17. Furthermore, because the left side of the top seal portion 34 is connected to the inclined seal portion 33 and the right side of the top seal portion 34 is connected to the second side seal portion, both ends of the pouch body 10 have high bending strength. Therefore, if first portion 35 were not provided, the top seal portion 34 would be pushed by the pusher and bend at the widthwise center, where the bending strength is weakest. The body portion of pouch body 10 would then bend with the bending force acting on the widthwise center, starting from the bending caused by the sinking. When the bending occurs along the widthwise center in a plan view from the top edge 13 side, the pin angle protrudes the greatest amount from the center position of stand-up pouch 1. Therefore, when stand-up pouch 1 is pushed into the exterior cardboard box during the loading process, when the exterior cardboard box is erected during the box erection process, and during transportation after packaging, the pin angle may rub against the exterior cardboard box, causing liquid leakage.

In contrast, this embodiment has a first portion 35 extending downward from the top seal portion 34 at the widthwise center of the top seal portion 34, and a second portion 36 located between the first portion 35 and the second side seal portion 32 in the widthwise direction and where the flexible film is not sealed. The inclusion of the first portion 35 increases the bending strength at the widthwise center. Therefore, the top seal portion 34 bends when internal pressure increases during a puncture test, and sinks when pushed by a pusher, at a position offset from the widthwise center. As a result, the bending and pin angle are also positioned at a position offset from the widthwise center, thereby reducing the amount of protrusion of the pin angle from the center of the stand-up pouch 1. This reduces the risk of the pin angle rubbing against the exterior cardboard and causing liquid leakage. Even if a pin angle is created by bending, the intersection angle of the fold lines at the bent portion tends to increase, and the pin angle changes from a sharp angle to a blunt angle, thereby reducing liquid leakage.

Furthermore, by having the unsealed second portion 36, bending due to increased internal pressure during puncture testing and sinking when pushed by a pusher are more likely to occur at the right end position in the width direction where the second portion 36 is located, where the bending strength of the top seal portion 34 is low and the amount of pin angle protrusion from the center position of the standing pouch 1 is small. On the other hand, if the second portion 36 is located only in a position close to the second side seal portion 32, the intersection between the top seal portion 34, which has high bending strength, and the second side seal portion has a greater influence, and the above-mentioned sinking and bending may occur closer to the center in the width direction.

If the value expressed by L2/L1 described above is less than 0.10, the second portion 36 is close to the second side seal portion 32, and the intersection of the top seal portion 34, which has a high bending strength, and the second side seal portion has a large effect, which may cause the sinking and bending described above to occur closer to the center in the width direction.If the value expressed by L2/L1 described above is more than 0.28, the minimum widthwise length of the unsealed second portion 36 is large, and the sinking and bending described above may occur closer to the center in the width direction.
In this embodiment, by setting the value expressed by L2/L1 to 0.10 or more and 0.28 or less, the sinking and bending occur at a position shifted from the center in the width direction, and the amount of protrusion of the pin corner can be reduced, which prevents the pin corner from rubbing against the exterior cardboard and causing liquid leakage.
The ratio represented by L2/L1 is 1100 to 2400 mL of liquid composition stored in the standing pouch 1 having a spout, and therefore, bending is likely to occur in the center of the upper edge 13. Therefore, it was found that by providing a second portion 36 having a specific width on the opposite side of the pouring body 20 in the width direction, it is possible to obtain both the effect of suppressing bending due to sideways tilting and the effect of suppressing pin angles due to bending.

If the value expressed by the above-mentioned H1/L1 is less than 0.07, the bending suppression effect is adversely affected, and if it exceeds 0.21, the appearance is deteriorated.
In this embodiment, by setting the value expressed by H1/L1 to 0.07 or more and 0.21 or less, it is possible to improve the effect of suppressing bending and the appearance.

As described above, the standing pouch 1 of this embodiment can suppress bending and leakage even when the pouch is sized to hold a large volume of 1,100 to 2,400 mL.

<Second embodiment of standing pouch>
Fig. 3 is a front view showing a second embodiment of the standing pouch 1 of the present invention. Fig. 4 is an enlarged front view of the periphery of the top seal portion 34 in Fig. 3.
In these figures, the same elements as those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in Figure 3, the stand-up pouch 1 of this embodiment has a third portion 35A and a fourth portion 36A. The third portion 35A is arranged to extend in the width direction from a position away from the right end of the inclined seal portion 33 to a position away from the left side of the second side seal portion 32. The lower end of the third portion 35A has a linear portion 38A extending in the width direction. By having the linear portion 38A at the lower end of the third portion 35A, the area of the third portion 35A is wider than when the linear portion 38A is not included, and the bending strength is increased.
The third portion 35A extends downward from the top seal portion 34 and is a portion where the flexible film is sealed. The seal pattern of the third portion 35A is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, vertical and horizontal lines, a wave pattern, a dashed line pattern, a grid pattern, etc. The entire surface of the third portion 35A does not need to be sealed; for example, as long as the outer contour is sealed, the inside of the outer contour may not be sealed.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the maximum height of the third portion 35A is H3, the value expressed by H3/L1 is preferably 0.07 or more and 0.21 or less, and more preferably 0.07 or more and 0.175 or less.
If the value represented by H3/L1 is less than 0.07, the effect of dispersing the bending of the pouch body 10 is reduced. If the value represented by H3/L1 is more than 0.21, the appearance is deteriorated.
By setting the value represented by H3/L1 to 0.07 or more and 0.21 or less, it is possible to improve the effect of dispersing bending and the appearance.
The maximum height H3 is preferably 10 mm or more and 35 mm or less, and more preferably 10 mm or more and 29 mm or less.

The third portion 35A has a fifth portion 37 where the flexible film is not sealed. The fifth portion 37 is located at the center of the top seal portion 34 in the width direction. The fifth portion 37 has a symmetrical, approximately triangular shape whose width dimension gradually decreases from the lower end of the third portion 35A toward the upper side.

Figure 4 is an enlarged front view of the periphery of the top seal portion 34. As shown in Figure 4, the edges forming the fifth portion 37 intersect at an angle θ3. The angle θ3 is preferably greater than or equal to 80° and less than or equal to 120°. If the angle θ3 is outside this range, it may affect the effectiveness of suppressing bending of the pouch body 10.

When the maximum height of the fifth portion 37 is H2, the value expressed by H2/L1 is preferably 0.10 or more and 0.18 or less, and more preferably 0.12 or more and 0.14 or less.
If the value represented by H2/L1 is less than 0.10 or exceeds 0.18, the effect of dispersing the bending of the pouch body 10 will be reduced.
The upper end of the fifth portion 37 is below the position 34a of the lower end of the top seal portion 34. In other words, the third portion 35A is also provided at the center position in the width direction.

The fourth portion 36A is arranged symmetrically on both sides of the third portion 35A in the width direction. The fourth portion 36A is an unsealed portion of the flexible film. The fourth portion 36A is arranged between the third portion 35A and the first side seal portion 31 in the width direction, and between the third portion 35A and the second side seal portion 32 in the width direction.

When the minimum length of the fourth portion in the width direction is L4, the value expressed by L4/L1 is preferably 0.10 or more and 0.21 or less, and more preferably 0.14 or more and 0.18 or less.
The definition of the minimum length L4 is the same as that of the minimum length L2.
In this embodiment, by setting the value expressed by L4/L1 to 0.10 or more and 0.21 or less, the sinking and bending occur at a position shifted from the widthwise center, and the amount of protrusion of the pin corner can be reduced, thereby suppressing the pin corner from rubbing against the exterior cardboard and causing liquid leakage.
As an example, the minimum length L4 is preferably 14.3 to 30.0 mm, and more preferably 20.0 to 25.7 mm.

The ratio represented by L4/L1 above is because the standing pouch 1 contains 1100 to 2400 mL of liquid composition and has a pouring body 20, which means that bending is likely to occur in the center of the upper edge 13. Therefore, it was discovered that by providing a fifth portion 37 in the center of the upper edge 13 and providing fourth portions 36A with a specific width on both the left and right sides of the third portion 35A, the bending is dispersed, thereby suppressing pin angles caused by bending.

The present invention will be described in detail below using examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following description.

(Materials used)
<Standing pouch>
In each example, the following three samples were used:
The materials of each component of the standing pouch in each example are shown below.
[Sample 1]
- Injection body: Inner diameter 8.7 mm, length 22 mm, material: high-density polyethylene (HDPE).
- Front and back films (3 layers): ONY 15 μm / aluminum vapor-deposited PET 12 μm / LLDPE 150 μm.
- Bottom (2 layers): ONY 25 μm/LLDPE 150 μm.
- Maximum length W = 200 mm x maximum height H = 340 mm x bottom fold width = 60 mm.
- Width of first and second side seal portions: 7.5 mm.
-Top seal width: 8.0 mm.
- Maximum length of top seal part L1: 143 mm.
・Full volume: 2800mL.
[Sample 2]
- Injection body: Inner diameter 8.7 mm, length 22 mm, material: high-density polyethylene (HDPE).
- Front and back films (3 layers): ONY 15 μm / aluminum vapor-deposited PET 12 μm / LLDPE 150 μm.
- Bottom (2 layers): ONY 25 μm/LLDPE 150 μm.
- Maximum length W = 200 mm x maximum height H = 290 mm x bottom fold width = 60 mm.
- Width of first and second side seal portions: 7.5 mm.
-Top seal width: 8.0 mm.
- Maximum length of top seal part L1: 143 mm.
・Full capacity: 2300mL.
[Sample 3]
- Injection body: Inner diameter 8.7 mm, length 22 mm, material: high-density polyethylene (HDPE).
- Front and back films (4 layers): PET 12 μm / aluminum vapor-deposited PET 12 μm / ONY 15 μm / LLDPE 180 μm.
- Bottom (3 layers): ONY 25 μm/ONY 15 μm/LLDPE 180 μm.
- Maximum length W = 220 mm x maximum height H = 340 mm x bottom fold width = 65 mm.
- Width of first and second side seal portions: 7.5 mm.
-Top seal width: 8.0 mm.
- Maximum length of top seal part L1: 165 mm.
・Full capacity: 3400mL.

(Examples 1 to 12, Comparative Examples 1 to 8)
Stuffing pouches were prepared according to the specifications in Tables 1 to 3.
Examples 1 to 4, 9, and 11 and Comparative Examples 3 and 4 are stuffing pouches having the first and second portions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 described in the first embodiment.
Examples 5 to 8, 10, and 12 and Comparative Examples 5 to 7 are stuffing pouches having the first and second portions shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 described in the second embodiment.
Comparative Example 1 is a stuffing pouch having no first or second portion.
Comparative Example 2 is a stuffing pouch having no second portion and having a first portion provided across the entire width of the top seal portion.
Comparative Example 8 is a stuffing pouch in which the fifth portion is not provided, unlike Example 6.

As a result of various investigations, it was found that pinholes are easily formed in liquid compositions with a viscosity of 1 to 10 mPa·s at 25°C. Therefore, the prepared standing pouches were filled with water, which has the lowest viscosity (viscosity of 1 mPa·s at 25°C), as the content according to the specifications in the table, and an evaluation was carried out.
The angle θ1 was set to 70°.
The angle θ2 was set to 70°.
The angle θ3 was 130° in Comparative Example 7, and the third portion had a shape without a straight portion at the lower end, and was 90° in other examples.
The first portion in the first embodiment and the first portion in the second embodiment both have a full-surface seal pattern.
The resulting standing pouches were evaluated for the presence or absence of bending due to being laid on their side and the incidence of pin angles due to bending, and the results are shown in the table.

(Evaluation method)
<Whether or not the item is bent when it falls to its side>
In the manufacturing process of stand-up pouches, they are transported in a horizontal position, and in the casing process, they are loaded into the outer cardboard box in a horizontal position. Bending in the horizontal position affects the ease of forming a pin angle when the outer cardboard box is finally inverted upright. Therefore, we evaluated whether strong bending occurs on the upper edge when a stand-up pouch is placed in a horizontal position simulating the above-mentioned puncture inspection.
Specifically, with the standing pouch laid on its side, a load of 10 kg was applied to the lower edge of the body material of the standing pouch, and an evaluation was performed (n=5) to see whether bending occurred on the upper edge.

<Evaluation Criteria>
⊚: Neither sinking nor bending of the upper edge side occurred in any of the five times.
◯: The upper edge side sunk slightly in all five times, but there was no bending.
△: Bends with the upper edge sinking were observed in 4 or more out of 5 cases.
×: Strong bending with the upper edge sinking was observed in 4 or more out of 5 times.
The evaluation results were rated as "A" and "B" as good (OK), and "C" and "D" as bad (NG).

<Rate of pin angles due to bending>
In order to check whether or not pin angles that lead to leakage are likely to form, an evaluation was carried out using a method that simulates the casing process.
For Sample 1, six standing pouches were inserted into the outer cardboard box (H-BOX) from the side where the pouring body was attached, and the pouches were turned upside down over a period of 3 to 5 seconds, and the number of pouches that developed pin angles due to bending was counted. Even if multiple pin angles developed in one standing pouch, the standing pouch with a pin angle was counted as one pouch. One set of six pouches was checked 10 times, and the pin angle incidence rate % (pin angle incidence rate = number of bags with pin angles / 60 × 100) was calculated and evaluated.
Sample 2 was evaluated in the same manner as Sample 1, except that one set of four bags was checked 15 times.

<Evaluation Criteria>
5: Incidence rate is 0%.
4: Incidence rate is greater than 0% and less than 5%.
3: Incidence rate is 5% or more but less than 10%.
2: Incidence rate is 10% or more but less than 25%.
1: Incidence rate is 25% or more.
The evaluation results (scores) of "5", "4", and "3" were considered good (OK), and the evaluation results of "2" and "1" were considered bad (NG).

As shown in Tables 1 to 3, Examples 1 to 4, 9, and 11, which contained 1,100 to 2,400 mL of liquid composition and had a value expressed as L2/L1 of 0.10 or more and 0.28 or less, and Examples 5 to 8, 10, and 12, which had a value expressed as L4/L1 of 0.10 or more and 0.21 or less and had a straight portion extending in the width direction at the lower end of the third portion, received a good rating of "Good" or better for the presence or absence of bending due to sideways tilting, and a rating of "3" or more for the incidence of pin angles due to bending.

In contrast, Comparative Example 1, which had a shape that did not have the first and second parts, was rated as "X" for the presence or absence of bending due to sideways tilting, and was rated as "1" for the incidence of pin angles due to bending, resulting in a poor evaluation in both evaluations.
Comparative Example 2, which did not have a second part and had a first part provided across the entire width of the top seal part, was rated as "△" for the presence or absence of bending due to sideways tilting, and was rated as "2" for the incidence of pin angles due to bending, resulting in a poor evaluation in both evaluations.
In Comparative Example 3, where the value expressed by L2/L1 was 0.07, the presence or absence of bending due to sideways tilting was rated as "△", and the incidence of pin angles due to bending was rated as "2", resulting in a poor evaluation in both evaluations.
In Comparative Example 4, where the value expressed by L2/L1 was 0.245, the presence or absence of bending due to sideways tilting was rated as "△", and the incidence of pin angles due to bending was rated as "2", resulting in a poor evaluation in both evaluations.
In Comparative Example 5, where the value expressed by L4/L1 was 0.07, the presence or absence of bending due to sideways tilting was rated as "△", and the incidence of pin angles due to bending was rated as "2", resulting in a poor evaluation in both evaluations.
In Comparative Example 6, where the value expressed by L4/L1 was 0.245, the presence or absence of bending due to sideways tilting was rated as "△", and the incidence of pin angles due to bending was rated as "2", resulting in a poor evaluation in both evaluations.
In comparison example 7, in which the lower end of the third portion does not have a straight portion extending in the width direction, the presence or absence of bending due to sideways tilting was rated "X", and the incidence of pin angles due to bending was rated "1", resulting in a poor evaluation in both evaluations.
Comparative Example 8, which does not have the fifth portion, was rated as "Fair" for the presence or absence of bending due to sideways tilting, and was rated as "2" for the incidence of pin angles due to bending, resulting in poor evaluations in both evaluations.
From these results, it was confirmed that the effects of the present invention can be achieved by applying the present invention.

In addition, when the liquid composition was replaced with water and liquid composition A (liquid laundry detergent composition Top Super NANOX, viscosity (25°C) = 180 mPa·s, manufactured by Lion Corporation) or liquid composition B (liquid fabric softener composition Soflan Premium Deodorizer Fresh Green Aroma, viscosity (25°C) = 100 mPa·s, manufactured by Lion Corporation) was filled into the stand-up pouches used in Examples 2-3 and 6-7 to produce liquid composition products, the results were similar to those of Examples 2-3 and 6-7 described above.

The above describes preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to these examples. The shapes and combinations of the components shown in the above examples are merely examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements, etc., without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1...Standing pouch, 10...Pouch body, 10a...Seal portion, 11...Storage chamber, 12...Front film (flexible film), 13...Top edge, 14...Back film (flexible film), 16...Gusset portion, 16a...Bottom portion, 18...Corner cut portion, 20...Dispenser body, 31...First side seal portion, 32...Second side seal portion, 33...Sloped seal portion, 34...Top seal portion, 35...First portion, 35A...Third portion, 36...Second portion, 36A...Fourth portion, 37...Fifth portion

Claims (6)

a pouch body having a seal portion where the peripheral edges of two opposing flexible films are sealed, the pouch body having a substantially rectangular shape in front view and an interior serving as a storage chamber, and a gusset portion provided at the bottom of the pouch body, the pouch body having an upwardly sloping corner cut portion formed at one corner adjacent to the upper edge, the seal portion having a first side seal portion and a second side seal portion disposed at the widthwise edge of the pouch body and extending in the vertical direction, an inclined seal portion extending from the first side seal portion located on one side in the width direction along the inclination of the corner cut portion to the upper edge, and a top seal portion located between the inclined seal portion and the second side seal portion located on the other side in the width direction and disposed along the upper edge, and a pouring body welded to the inclined seal portion and protruding from the pouch body, the pouch body being used to contain 1100 to 2400 mL of a liquid composition,
a first portion that is disposed from the end of the inclined seal portion on the other side in the width direction to a position spaced apart from the second side seal portion, extends downward from the top seal portion, and seals the flexible film;
a second portion of the flexible film that is positioned between the first portion and the second side seal portion in the width direction and is not sealed;
The maximum length of the top seal portion in the width direction is L1,
When the minimum length of the second portion in the width direction is L2,
A standing pouch, wherein the value represented by L2/L1 is 0.10 or more and 0.28 or less. a pouch body having a seal portion where the peripheral edges of two opposing flexible films are sealed, the pouch body having a substantially rectangular shape in front view and an interior serving as a storage chamber, and a gusset portion provided at the bottom of the pouch body, the pouch body having an upwardly sloping corner cut portion formed at one corner adjacent to the upper edge, the seal portion having a first side seal portion and a second side seal portion disposed at the widthwise edge of the pouch body and extending in the vertical direction, an inclined seal portion extending from the first side seal portion located on one side in the width direction along the slope of the corner cut portion to the upper edge, and a top seal portion located at the upper edge between the inclined seal portion and the second side seal portion located on the other side in the width direction, and a pouring body welded to the inclined seal portion and protruding from the pouch body, the pouch body being used to contain 1100 to 2400 mL of a liquid composition,
a third portion that is disposed from a position spaced apart from the other end of the inclined seal portion in the width direction to a position spaced apart from the second side seal portion, extends downward from the top seal portion, and seals the flexible film; and
a fourth portion in which the flexible film is not sealed, the fourth portion being symmetrically disposed between the third portion and the first side seal portion in the width direction and between the third portion and the second side seal portion in the width direction;
a fifth portion of the flexible film that is not sealed and is located at a center of the top seal portion in the width direction, and whose dimension in the width direction gradually decreases from the lower end of the third portion toward the upper side;
a lower end of the third portion having a linear portion extending in the width direction,
The maximum length of the top seal portion in the width direction is L1,
When the minimum length of the fourth portion in the width direction is L4,
A standing pouch, wherein the value represented by L4/L1 is 0.10 or more and 0.21 or less. The maximum length of the pouch body in the width direction is 200 to 220 mm,
The maximum height of the pouch body is 280 to 350 mm.
The standing pouch according to claim 1 or 2. The thickness of the flexible film in the body of the pouch body is 140 to 240 μm.
The standing pouch according to claim 1 or 2. The standing pouch according to claim 4, wherein the flexible film in the body portion is composed of three to four layers including polyethylene. The filling rate of the liquid composition in the storage chamber is 40 to 75% by volume.
The standing pouch according to claim 1 or 2.