JP2006507997A - Relief valve for packaging container - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a relief valve (10, 10a, 40) for a packaging container (5), which relief valve consists of a support (11, 11a, 50) and a diaphragm (22, 22a, 48). . The support (11, 11a, 50) is provided with recesses (15, 15a, 42). The diaphragms (22, 22a, 48) cover the recesses (15, 15a, 42) and allow the generated gas to flow out of the through holes (19, 20, 44).

Description

  The present invention relates to a relief valve for a packaging container.

  The relief valve described in German Patent No. 3147321C2 has a cup-shaped or cap-shaped support, which has an annular flange region as a side wall, and the flange region is It is designed to be coupled to the inner surface of the strip for forming the packaging container. The diaphragm is arranged at the base of the support so that the edge of the diaphragm has play with respect to the support. The diaphragm can be tightened toward the base of the support by an appropriate pressing member. Thus, the known relief valve requires three components, and in particular, the assembly of the diaphragm and the pressing member into the support body is complicated.

  In a relief valve according to the invention having the configuration as claimed in claim 1, the relief valve consists exclusively of two components and can therefore be produced economically.

  Advantageous configurations of the relief valve according to the invention are described in the dependent claims. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the recess has the shape of at least two circles partially overlapping each other. Such a specially shaped recess provides a particularly good response characteristic of the relief valve, i.e. the relief valve already opens, for example, with an overpressure of 2 mbar.

  It is also possible to form the recess in the form of a trade name or a protected trademark, which gives a good discrimination effect of the relief valve. More preferably, a predetermined gap (interval) is provided between the upper surface of the valve diaphragm and the upper surface of the edge region of the support. Thereby, even when the packaging containers are in close contact with each other, it is possible to guarantee a reliable flow of gas to the opening of the packaging container. By forming the diaphragm in the form of a strip, a particularly simple shaping of the diaphragm and the formation of a gas flow path to the opening of the packaging container are achieved.

Next, the present invention will be described in detail based on the illustrated embodiment. In the drawing
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a relief valve according to the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of a diaphragm used in the relief valve of FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 4 is a plan view of another relief valve according to the present invention,
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a relief valve according to the present invention in the form of being bonded to a packaging container by an adhesive;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a packaging container provided with a relief valve.

  1 and 2 show a first relief valve (pressure release valve) 10. The relief valve 10 has a support 11 made of plastic, in particular polyethylene, which is preferably manufactured by injection molding. In the embodiment, the support body 11 has a circular shape as seen in a plan view, but may have another shape, for example, a square shape. The support 11 is formed as a flat cup-shaped object and has an annular edge region 13 which is elevated with respect to the central region 12 as is apparent from FIG. The upper surface of the edge region 13 has a single annular ridge 14 which is substantially triangular when viewed in cross section. Such a shape of the raised portion 14 makes it possible to couple the relief valve 10 or the support 11 to the packaging container by ultrasonic welding (or another heat sealing means). On the other hand, it is also possible to provide a plurality of ridges 14 which are advantageously arranged concentrically with each other. A recess 15 is provided in the central region 12, which has the shape of a contour drawn by two circles 16, 17 partially overlapping each other. The recess 15 is lowered from the surface 18 of the central region 12 by approximately 0.2 mm. In an advantageous embodiment, the support 11 is provided with through-holes 19 and 20 at the center points of the circles 16 and 17, respectively. The diameter of the through holes 19 and 20 is, for example, 1 mm. The recess 15 is positioned and arranged at the center with respect to the support 11.

  A diaphragm 22 is partially stretched on the upper surface 18 of the central region 12. The diaphragm 22, shown separately in FIG. 3, has a shape adapted to the inner contour 23 of the edge region 13, in this case provided with straight edges 24, 25 on both opposite sides, respectively. It is. The diaphragm 22, also made of plastic, preferably polyester, has a thickness of at most approximately 0.1 mm and is based on the material of the diaphragm (polyester with a sealable covering) and in the central region of the support 11 Twelve top surfaces 18 are sealed.

  The arrangement of the diaphragm 22 within the inner contour 23 of the support 11 is performed such that the edges 24, 25 are perpendicular to the center point axis 26 passing through the center points of the circles 16, 17. This creates areas 27 and 28 without diaphragm between the edges 24 and 25 and the inner contour 13 of the support 11, respectively.

  FIG. 1 also shows two opposite sealing areas 31, 32 through which the strip-shaped diaphragm 22 and the surface 18 of the support 11 are joined. As can be seen from the drawing, the sealing areas 31, 32 extend from the region outside the edges 24, 25 to the arcuate contours 33, 34 of the diaphragm 22, respectively.

  Between the upper surface 18 in the central region of the support 11 and the diaphragm 22, a sealing liquid, particularly silicon oil, is provided. Further, as apparent from FIG. 2, a predetermined distance a is provided between the upper surface of the elastic diaphragm 22 and the upper surface of the edge region of the support 11.

  The relief valve 10a shown in FIG. 5 differs from the relief valve 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in the following points, that is, an annular adhesive layer 37 is applied to the upper surface of the edge region 13a of the support 11. It is. The adhesive layer 37 is used to connect the relief valve 10 a and the inner surface 2 of the packaging strip 3 in place of the triangular raised portion 14 in the relief valve 10. The packaging strip 3 is a component part of a packaging container (not shown in FIG. 5) used for, for example, coffee packaging. A plurality of openings 4 are provided in the packaging strip 3 inside the edge region 13. As is generally known, the opening 4 is generated when the relief valve 10a is attached to the wrapping material 3 or after the attachment, for example, using an appropriate piercing device. In this case, the number of the openings 4 The size may vary depending on the use case.

  Describing the function of the relief valves 10 and 10a, the gas generated in the package first enters the through holes 19 and 20 based on the overpressure of the gas. The gas overpressure acts in the recess 15 on the side of the diaphragm 22 facing the recess, so that when the internal pressure is sufficiently high, the diaphragm 22 lifts between the sealed area 31 and the sealed area 32, A passage extending from the recess 15 to the non-diaphragm areas 27 and 28 is formed, through which the gas is led between the upper surface 18 of the central region of the supports 11 and 11a and the diaphragm 22. From the non-diaphragm areas 27, 28, the gas reaches the surroundings through the opening 4 of the packaging strip 3 of the package. When the overpressure in the package disappears, the passage is closed again, and the sealing liquid applied between the diaphragm 22 and the upper surface 18 of the central region of the supports 11 and 11a is sealed against the surroundings, that is, the atmosphere. This causes an effect, so that air does not reach the inside of the package. It is clear from experiments that the recesses 15 defined by the two circles 16 and 17 partially overlapping each other are particularly low, for example allowing an opening pressure of 2 mbar, ie a very low excess in the package. The relief valves 10 and 10a are opened by pressure, and the overpressure in the package is extinguished.

  A suitable arrangement of the relief valves 10, 10a to the packaging container 5 is shown in FIG. The rectangular hexahedron-shaped packaging container 5 shown in FIG. 6 and used, for example, for coffee packaging is manufactured from a piece of packaging strip using a suitable packaging container manufacturing apparatus known per se. The filled packaging container 5 has a sealed top closure 6 and a sealed bottom closure 7 below the packaging container. In the illustrated embodiment, the relief valve 10 is mounted on the inner surface of one side wall 8, and the circular contour 9 formed by ultrasonic welding between the relief valve 10 and the packaging material and the opening 38 of the side wall 8 can be seen from the outside. Yes.

  FIG. 4 shows another relief valve 40. The relief valve 40 differs from the aforementioned relief valves 10 and 10a in that a recess 42 is formed in the shape of a designed anchor mark 43. The shape of the anchor mark 43, which is a protected graphic trademark, allows the manufacturer of the relief valve 40 to be identified from the outside. Three through holes 44 are provided in the recess 42 in the central region of the relief valve 40. The non-diaphragm areas 45, 46 lie outside the diaphragm 48 parallel to the axis 47 passing through the three through holes 44. The diaphragm 48 is bonded to the upper surface of the support 50 between the lateral region of the strip-shaped diaphragm 48 and the coupling areas 51 and 52 outside the recess 42, that is, the diaphragm 48 is connected to the through hole 44. In the region between the non-diaphragm zones 45, 46, it is not coupled to the support 50, so that gas is allowed to escape to the non-diaphragm zones 45, 46.

  The above-described relief valves 10, 10a, 40 can be variously modified without departing from the scope of the present invention, and the gist of the present invention is that the relief valves 10, 10a, 40 are composed only of two components. That is, it consists of supports 11, 11a, 50 and diaphragms 22, 48, both components (support and diaphragm) being joined together to prevent loss, (Relief holes) 19, 20, 44 are provided with recesses 15, 42, which are covered with the diaphragms 22, 48. As another example, the diaphragms 22, 48 may be bonded to the supports 11, 11a, 50 by bonding instead of using ultrasonic welding. Furthermore, the recesses may be formed in various shapes in order to achieve as low an opening pressure as possible.

Top view of relief valve Sectional view along the II-II line of FIG. Plan view of the diaphragm used in the relief valve of FIGS. 1 and 2 Top view of another relief valve Cross section of yet another relief valve Perspective view of packaging container with relief valve

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Packing belt material, 4 Opening part, 5 Packaging container, 6 Top closing part, 7 Bottom closing part, 8 Side wall, 9 Contour, 10, 10a Relief valve, 11 Support body, 12 Central area | region, 13 Edge area | region, 14 Raising Part, 15 recessed part, 16, 17 circle, 18 surface, 19, 20 through hole, 22 diaphragm, 24, 25 edge, 26 center point axis, 27, 28 area, 31, 32 sealing area, 37 adhesive layer, 40 escape Valve, 42 recess, 43 anchor mark, 44 through-hole, 45,46 area, 47 axis, 48 diaphragm, 50 support, 51,52 coupling area

Claims (9)

  Relief valve (10, 10a, 40) for the packaging container (5), which consists of two components and includes one support (11, 11a, 50) of cup-like rigidity The support has a raised annular edge region (13, 13a), the upper surface of which is a packaging strip (3) that forms the inner surface (2) of the packaging container (5). ), At least one escape hole (19, 20, 44) for gas in the central region (12) of the support, and one valve diaphragm (22, 22a, 48) The valve diaphragm closes the relief hole (19, 20, 44) of the support (11, 11a, 50) to a predetermined overpressure in the packaging container (5), and It forms a passage for the gas that flows out when the pressure is exceeded. The outflowing gas is packaged through at least one opening (4, 38) provided in the packaging strip (3) of the packaging container (5) inside the edge region (13, 13a). In this case, the valve diaphragm (22, 22a, 48) is coupled to the support (11, 11a, 50) so as not to be lost. Relief valve for a packaging container, characterized in that at least one recess (15, 15a, 42) is provided in the region of the relief hole (19, 20, 44) in the region (12).   The recess (15, 15a) has a shape formed by at least two circles (16, 17) partially overlapped with each other, and a relief hole (19, 20) is formed at the center point of each circle (16, 17). The relief valve according to claim 1, wherein:   Relief valve according to claim 1, wherein the recess (42) has the shape of a trade name or a protected trademark (43).   The valve diaphragm (22, 22a, 48) is coupled to the support (11, 11a, 50) on at least two opposite sides inside the edge region (13, 13a) of the support (11, 11a, 50). A predetermined gap (a) is provided between the upper surface of the valve diaphragm (22, 22a, 48) and the upper surface of the edge region (13, 13a) of the support (11, 11a, 50). 4. A relief valve according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which allows gas to flow into the opening (4, 38) of the packaging container (5).   The support (11, 11a, 50) is formed as a rotationally symmetric flat object, and the valve diaphragm (22, 22a, 48) has straight edges (24, 25) on opposite sides. The relief valve according to claim 4, wherein the relief valve is formed in a strip shape.   The valve diaphragm (22, 22a, 48) is an area (31, 32, 51, 52) connected to the support (11, 11a, 50), and an edge region of the support (11, 11a, 50) ( 13, 13 a) and the valve diaphragm (22, 22 a, 48) is an area that is not coupled to the support (11, 11 a, 50) and is the edge of the support (11, 11 a, 50) 6. Relief valve according to claim 5, wherein the relief valve is spaced apart from the region (13, 13a) so as to create a flow-through for the gas.   For mutual ultrasonic welding between the support (11) and the wrapping strip (3) on the upper surface of the support (11) in the bonding area with the packaging container (5) or wrapping strip (3) Relief valve according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one ridge (14) is formed which is annular.   The relief according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein an adhesive layer (37) is applied to a bonding region with the packaging container (5) or the packaging strip (3) on the upper surface of the support (11). valve.   Relief valve according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the recess (15, 15a, 42) has a depth of approximately 0.2 mm with respect to the central region (12) of the support.

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