JP5076948B2 - Insulating container and method of manufacturing the insulating container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper heat insulating container (paper cup) and a method for manufacturing the same.

  The heat insulating container is used for hot beverages such as coffee and instant foods such as ramen, soup and miso soup. The heat insulating container has a heat insulating structure that blocks the temperature of the contents so that it can be easily held by hand. Some of the outer peripheral surfaces of the heat insulating containers are printed with various patterns, characters, symbols, patterns, POS barcodes, and the like.

As one of the heat insulating containers, there is a technique in which a thermoplastic resin layer is laminated on both sides of a paper layer and a thermoplastic resin layer on an outer peripheral surface is foamed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In this case, foaming of the thermoplastic resin layer immediately below the printing layer is suppressed more than foaming of the thermoplastic resin layer to which the printing layer is not applied, resulting in unevenness on the outer peripheral surface and lowering smoothness. For this reason, there is a problem that deformation, distortion, blur, and the like are generated in the printing applied to the outer peripheral surface, the appearance is impaired, and visibility is lowered. Further, in recent years, additional information is increased and the pattern is complicated in the POS barcode, and there is a possibility that reading errors by the barcode reader frequently occur due to deformation of the POS barcode.
Japanese Patent No. 3414978 Japanese Patent No. 3408156

  An object of the present invention is to provide a heat insulating container having a smooth outer peripheral surface and a method for manufacturing the heat insulating container.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat-insulating container including a barrel member and a bottom member. The barrel member includes (a) a cylindrical paper layer and (b) thermoplasticity on the inner peripheral surface of the paper layer. A resin layer, (c) a foam heat insulating layer on the outer peripheral surface of the paper layer, (d) a first printed layer disposed on a part of the outer peripheral surface of the foam heat insulating layer, and (e) a foam heat insulating layer There is provided a heat insulating container including a second printed layer disposed on another part of the outer circumferential surface and having an outer circumferential surface continuous with the same surface as the outer circumferential surface of the first printed layer.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, (a) preparing a paper layer containing moisture in which the first thermoplastic resin layer is laminated on the back surface and the second thermoplastic resin layer is laminated on the surface; (B) a step of forming a first printed layer on a part of the surface of the second thermoplastic resin layer; and (c) a first printed layer on the other part of the surface of the second thermoplastic resin layer. And (d) a body member including a paper layer, first and second thermoplastic resin layers, and first and second printed layers. Manufacturing a heat-insulating container including a step of forming into a cylindrical shape, (e) a step of joining the body member to the bottom member, and (f) a step of foaming the second thermoplastic resin layer using moisture by heating. A method is provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the manufacturing method of the heat insulation container which has a smooth outer peripheral surface, and a heat insulation container can be provided.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic, and the relationship between the thickness and the planar dimensions, the ratio of the thickness of each layer, and the like are different from the actual ones. Therefore, specific thicknesses and dimensions should be determined in consideration of the following description. Moreover, it is a matter of course that portions having different dimensional relationships and ratios are included between the drawings.

  Further, the following embodiments exemplify apparatuses and methods for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the technical idea of the present invention is the material, shape, structure, The layout is not specified as follows. The technical idea of the present invention can be variously modified within the scope of the claims.

(Insulating container)
As shown in FIG. 1, the heat insulating container according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a cylindrical body member 1 and a bottom member 2 joined to the body member 1. The upper end of the trunk member 1 is wound outward, and the lower end of the trunk member 1 is folded back inward. The peripheral edge of the bottom member 2 is bent outward. The folded portion at the lower end of the body member 1 and the bent portion at the periphery of the bottom member 2 are joined.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the body member 1 includes a tubular paper layer 10, a thermoplastic resin layer (first thermoplastic resin layer) 11 on the inner peripheral surface of the paper layer 10, and a paper layer. 10, a foam heat insulating layer (second thermoplastic resin layer) 12 on the outer peripheral surface, first printed layers 14a, 14b, 14c disposed on a part of the outer peripheral surface of the foam heat insulating layer 12, and foam heat insulating 2nd printing layer 15a, 15b which is arrange | positioned in the other part on the outer peripheral surface of the layer 12, and has the outer peripheral surface which follows the same surface as the outer peripheral surface of 1st printing layer 14a, 14b, 14c. .

  Here, the “same surface” does not mean that it is strictly flat, but means a surface that is smooth enough to read characters, barcodes, and the like without any problem by a reader.

The thickness of the paper layer 10 is about 250 μm to 350 μm. As the paper layer 10, paper having a basis weight of about 150 g / cm ^{2 to} about 350 g / cm ² can be used.

  The thickness of the thermoplastic resin layer 11 is about 10 μm to 40 μm. The thermoplastic resin layer 11 prevents the liquid that is the content from penetrating into the paper layer 10, and allows moisture contained in the paper layer 10 to evaporate directly from the paper surface to the atmosphere during the heat treatment in the manufacture of the heat insulating container. To prevent.

  The thickness of the foam heat insulation layer 12 is about 100 μm to 1000 μm. The foam heat insulating layer 12 is obtained by foaming and expanding a thermoplastic resin by utilizing evaporation of moisture contained in the paper layer 10 by heat treatment at the time of manufacture, so that the heat of the contents is not transmitted to the outside. Have As a material of the thermoplastic resin layer 11 and the foamed heat insulating layer 12, thermoplastic resins such as polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, polyester resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polystyrene resin and the like can be used.

  Further, if a thermoplastic resin having a melting point higher than that of the foam heat insulating layer 12 is used as the thermoplastic resin layer 11, the moisture in the paper layer 10 evaporates from the inner peripheral surface during the heat treatment for foaming the foam heat insulating layer 12. It is possible to prevent foaming of the foamed heat insulating layer 12 without foaming the thermoplastic resin layer 11. For example, when a polyethylene resin is used as the material for the thermoplastic resin layer 11 and the foam heat insulating layer 12, a medium density polyethylene resin (MDPE) is used as the thermoplastic resin layer 11, and the low melting point of the foam heat insulating layer 12 is lower than that of MDPE. It is preferable to use a density polyethylene resin (LDPE).

  The first printing layers 14a, 14b, 14c and the second printing layers 15a, 15b have the same level of the surface. The thicknesses of the first print layers 14a, 14b, 14c and the second print layers 15a, 15b are about 0.5 μm to 2 μm, respectively. The first print layers 14a, 14b, 14c and the second print layers 15a, 15b may be transparent, and may display white or various colors. A combination of the first print layers 14a, 14b, 14c and the second print layers 15a, 15b constitutes characters, symbols, figures, patterns, and the like. The position, size, range, and the like of characters, symbols, figures, patterns, and the like configured by the first print layers 14a, 14b, and 14c and the second print layers 15a and 15b can be set as appropriate.

  The first print layers 14a, 14b, 14c and the second print layers 15a, 15b suppress the breakage of the foam heat insulating layer 12 during the heat treatment for foaming the foam heat insulating layer 12, and the first print layer. 14a, 14b, 14c and the second print layers 15a, 15b themselves have such flexibility that no cracks are generated.

  The materials of the first printing layers 14a, 14b, 14c and the second printing layers 15a, 15b include urethane resin, butyral resin, alkyd / nitrified cotton copolymer, polyamide, acrylic, acrylic and rosin copolymer In addition to a solvent containing a resin component such as coalescence or chlorinated polyolefin, in the case of color, an ink further containing a pigment or a coloring dye can be used. The first printing layers 14a, 14b, 14c and the second printing layers 15a, 15b may be made of the same material or different materials.

The bottom member 2 includes a paper layer 20 and a coating resin layer 21 disposed inside the paper layer 20. The thickness of the coating resin layer 21 is about 30 to 50 μm, and LDPE or the like can be used as the material of the coating resin layer 21. As the material of the paper layer 20, similarly to the paper layer 10 of the body member 1, the basis weight 150g / cm ² ~350g / cm ² about the paper can be used. In addition, the laminated structure and shape of the bottom member 2 shown in FIG. 1 are examples, and are not particularly limited.

  According to the heat insulating container according to the embodiment of the present invention, the outer peripheral surfaces of the first print layers 14a, 14b, 14c and the second print layers 15a, 15b are continuous on the same surface (the surface levels are the same). Therefore, the outer peripheral surface is smooth. For this reason, the visibility of the patterns, characters, symbols, patterns, etc. constituted by the first printing layers 14a, 14b, 14c and the second printing layers 15a, 15b is good, and a POS barcode reading error is prevented. Can be prevented.

(Method of manufacturing an insulating container)
Next, an example of the manufacturing method of the heat insulation container which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated with reference to FIGS.

(A) First, a basis weight 150g / cm ² ~400g / cm ² or so, providing a paper layer (sheet) 10, including the thickness of the moisture of about 250Myuemu～350myuemu. The water content of the paper layer 10 is preferably about 5% to 10%, and more preferably about 7% to 8%. If the water content is less than 5%, the foamed heat insulating layer to be laminated in the subsequent step may be insufficiently foamed to obtain a sufficient heat insulating effect. If the water content exceeds 10%, the outer peripheral surface of the foam heat insulating layer may burst.

  (B) Next, the first thermoplastic resin layer 11 of about 10 μm to 40 μm is laminated on the back surface of the paper layer 10 by an extrusion coating method or a lamination method. Further, a second thermoplastic resin layer 12 having a lower melting point than the first thermoplastic resin layer 11 is laminated on the surface of the paper layer 10 by an extrusion coating method or a lamination method. The thickness of the second thermoplastic resin layer 12 depends on the thickness (basis weight) of the paper layer 10, and here the thickness of the second thermoplastic resin layer 12 is about 15 μm to 100 μm. When the thickness of the second thermoplastic resin layer 12 is less than 15 μm or exceeds 100 μm, the second thermoplastic resin layer 12 is difficult to foam during the heat treatment. In addition, although the case where the 1st thermoplastic resin layer 11 and the 2nd thermoplastic resin layer 12 were laminated | stacked on the paper layer 10 of what is called an uncoated paper was demonstrated, the 1st thermoplastic resin layer 11 is formed in the back surface of the paper layer 10. FIG. Are laminated in advance, or a single-coated paper is disposed as the paper layer 10 so that the coating layer comes to the first thermoplastic resin layer 11 side, or the second thermoplastic resin layer 12 is formed on the surface of the paper layer 10. You may prepare the laminated body which laminated | stacked beforehand, and the laminated body which laminated | stacked the 1st thermoplastic resin layer 11 and the 2nd thermoplastic resin layer 12 previously on the back surface and the surface of the paper layer 10, respectively.

  (C) Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the first printed layers 14 a and 14 b and the second printed layer of about 0.5 μm to 2 μm are formed on the surface of the second thermoplastic resin layer 12 by gravure printing or the like. 15a is formed so that the surface is continuous on the same surface. Note that the positions, sizes, ranges, and the like of the first print layers 14a and 14b and the second print layer 15a are not particularly limited.

  (D) Next, the first thermoplastic resin layer 11 is laminated on the back surface of the paper layer 10, and the second thermoplastic resin layer 12, the first printed layers 14 a and 14 b, and the second on the front surface of the paper layer 10. As shown in FIG. 4, a fan-shaped or belt-shaped body member (blank) 1 is punched out from the laminated body in which the printed layers 15a are laminated.

  (E) Separately, a paper layer 20 is prepared, and a coating resin layer 21 is laminated on the surface of the paper layer 20 by an extrusion coating method or a laminating method. A laminate in which the coating resin layer 21 is previously laminated on the surface of the paper layer 20 may be prepared. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the circular bottom member 2 (blank) is punched out from the laminate of the paper layer 10 and the coating resin layer 21.

  (F) Next, using a cup molding machine, the body member (blank) 1 is formed into a cylindrical shape, the upper end of the body member 1 is bent outward, and the lower end of the body member 1 is folded back inward. Further, the periphery of the bottom member (blank) 2 is bent. And the heat insulation container is shape | molded by joining the folding | returning part of the lower end of the trunk | drum member 1, and the bent periphery of the bottom member 2 by thermocompression bonding.

  (G) Next, using a heating means such as hot air, infrared rays, far-infrared rays, microwaves, and high frequencies, the molded heat-insulating container is allowed to stand still or sent by a conveyor, about 100 to 200 ° C., about 1 minute to Heat for about 7 minutes. Thereby, the water | moisture content contained in the paper layer 10 evaporates to the 2nd thermoplastic resin layer 12 side, and makes the 2nd thermoplastic resin layer 12 foam with this water | moisture content. The second thermoplastic resin layer 12 expands to a thickness of about 3 to 12 times the thickness before heating. At this time, since the second thermoplastic resin layer 12 is covered with the same thickness by the first printing layers 14a and 14b and the second printing layer 15a, the second thermoplastic resin layer 12 is covered on the entire surface. It expands with a uniform thickness and becomes a foam heat insulation layer 12.

  According to the method for manufacturing a heat insulating container according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the second thermoplastic resin layer 12 expands with a uniform thickness, the outer peripheral surface of the heat insulating container after foaming is smoothed. Can do.

  As a result, the pattern, characters, symbols, patterns, etc. constituted by the first print layers 14a, 14b and the second print layer 15a are not deformed, distorted, blurred, or pinholes, and have good visibility. It becomes possible to realize a heat insulating container capable of preventing an error in reading a barcode.

  In the manufacturing method described above, an example of heating in a state of being molded into a heat-insulating container has been described. However, before punching out the body member (blank) 1, the body member 1 is heated in the form of a plate to be second thermoplastic. After the resin layer 12 is foamed, the body member (blank) 1 may be punched out, and the body member 1 and the bottom member 2 may be joined and molded.

  Further, before the body member (blank) 1 is formed into a cylindrical shape, the body member (blank) 1 is heated to foam the second thermoplastic resin layer 12 and then the body member 1 and the bottom member 2 are joined. May be molded.

(First modification)
As shown in FIG. 6, the heat insulating container according to the first modification of the embodiment of the present invention is between the foam heat insulating layer 12, the first printed layers 14a and 14b, and the second printed layer 15a. The difference from the structure shown in FIG. 2 is that the base printed layer 13 is further provided.

  The thickness of the base print layer 13 is about 0.3 μm to 2 μm, and the material of the base print layer 13 is a urethane resin or a butyral resin as in the first print layers 14a and 14b and the second print layer 15a. Copolymers of alkyd / nitrified cotton, polyamide, acrylic, copolymers of acrylic and rosin, chlorinated polyolefins, and the like can be used. For example, the first print layers 14a and 14b display colors, the second print layer 15a is transparent, and the base print layer 13 can display a color different from that of the first print layers 14a and 14b. Other structures are substantially the same as those of the heat-insulating container according to the embodiment of the present invention, and a duplicate description is omitted.

  When manufacturing such a heat insulating container, after forming the second thermoplastic resin layer 12, the underprint layer 13 is formed on the surface of the second thermoplastic resin layer 12 by gravure printing or the like. Thereafter, the first print layers 14a and 14b and the second print layer 15a may be formed on the surface of the base print layer 13 by gravure printing or the like.

  According to the first modification of the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of printing by providing the base printing layer 13.

(Second modification)
The heat insulating container according to the second modification of the embodiment of the present invention has a feature that a barrier layer 16 is provided between the paper layer 10 and the first thermoplastic resin layer 11 as shown in FIG. This is different from the structure shown in FIG.

  The thickness of the barrier layer 16 is about 5 μm to 50 μm, and the material of the barrier layer 16 is an inorganic material such as kaolin clay used as a coat layer of single-coated paper, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), aluminum foil or the like. It can be used. Other structures are substantially the same as those of the heat-insulating container according to the embodiment of the present invention, and a duplicate description is omitted. In the case of manufacturing such a heat insulating container, the barrier layer 16 may be laminated on the surface of the paper layer 10 by a laminating method or the like.

  According to the second modification of the embodiment of the present invention, the barrier property is further improved by further providing the barrier layer 16, and evaporation of water vapor from the inner surface side can be prevented. In this case, even if a material having a melting point lower than that of the foamed heat insulating layer 12 is not used as the thermoplastic resin layer 11, only the foamed heat insulating layer 12 can be foamed without foaming the thermoplastic resin layer 11.

(Third Modification)
In the third modification of the embodiment of the present invention, LDPE irradiated with an electron beam (EB) may be used as the material of the thermoplastic resin layer 11 instead of MDPE. LDPE irradiated with EB is cross-linked and its melting point is increased. For this reason, water vapor | steam can be interrupted | blocked similarly to MDPE. When manufacturing such a heat insulating container, LDPE may be laminated as the thermoplastic resin layer 11 on the inner peripheral surface of the paper layer 10 and irradiated with EB.

  According to the third modification of the embodiment of the present invention, since LDPE can be used as the thermoplastic resin layer 11 instead of MDPE, it is possible to realize a heat insulating container having a smooth and inexpensive surface after foaming. Become.

(Other embodiments)
As described above, the present invention has been described according to the embodiment. However, it should not be understood that the description and drawings constituting a part of this disclosure limit the present invention. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

  For example, the shape of the heat insulating container body can be a so-called cup shape, a bowl type or a lunch box shape. Also, the first print layers 14a, 14b, 14c and the second print layers 15a, 15b are shown, but on the same surface as the first print layers 14a, 14b, 14c and the second print layers 15a, 15b. A plurality of other print layers having a continuous outer peripheral surface may be further provided.

  As described above, the present invention naturally includes various embodiments not described herein. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is defined only by the invention specifying matters according to the scope of claims reasonable from the above description.

It is the schematic which made a part which shows the heat insulation container which concerns on embodiment of this invention into the notch cross section. It is principal part sectional drawing of the heat insulation container which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the trunk | drum member for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the heat insulation container which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the bottom member for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the heat insulation container which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the heat insulation container which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing of the heat insulation container which concerns on the 1st modification of embodiment of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing of the heat insulation container which concerns on the 2nd modification of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Body member 2 ... Bottom member 10 ... Paper layer 11 ... Thermoplastic resin layer (1st thermoplastic resin layer)
12 ... Foam insulation layer (second thermoplastic resin layer)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 ... Base printing layer 14a, 14b, 14c ... 1st printing layer 15a, 15b ... 2nd printing layer 16 ... Barrier layer 20 ... Paper layer 21 ... Coating resin layer

Claims (7)

A heat insulating container including a trunk member and a bottom member,
The trunk member is
A tubular paper layer,
A thermoplastic resin layer on the inner peripheral surface of the paper layer;
A foam insulation layer on the outer peripheral surface of the paper layer;
A first printed layer disposed on a part of the outer peripheral surface of the foam heat insulating layer;
A second printed layer having an outer peripheral surface that is disposed on another part of the outer peripheral surface of the foam heat insulating layer and that is continuous with the same outer peripheral surface of the first printed layer. Insulating container.   The heat insulating container according to claim 1, further comprising a base printed layer between each of the foam heat insulating layer and the first and second printed layers.   The heat insulating container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thermoplastic resin layer is made of a material having a melting point higher than that of the foam heat insulating layer.   The heat insulating container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a barrier layer between the paper layer and the thermoplastic resin layer.   The heat insulating container according to claim 4, wherein the thermoplastic resin layer and the foam heat insulating layer are made of the same material. Providing a paper layer containing moisture in which the first thermoplastic resin layer is laminated on the back surface and the second thermoplastic resin layer is laminated on the surface;
Forming a first printed layer on a portion of the surface of the second thermoplastic resin layer;
Forming a second printed layer having the same surface as the first printed layer on the other part of the surface of the second thermoplastic resin layer; and
Forming a cylinder member including the paper layer, the first and second thermoplastic resin layers, and the first and second printed layers into a cylindrical shape;
Joining the body member to the bottom member;
And a step of foaming the second thermoplastic resin layer using the moisture by heating. The insulating container according to claim 6, further comprising a step of forming a base printing layer on a surface of the first thermoplastic resin layer before the step of forming the first printing layer. Production method.

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