JP7536446B2 - Blister container and display method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a blister container (hereinafter also referred to as a container) and a display method.

A commonly used method for displaying products at retail stores and the like is to provide a through hole in a container containing the product and suspend the container by inserting a rod-shaped support extending from a wall or shelf into the through hole. For example, a package disclosed in JP 2003-54628 A (Patent Document 1) is an example of a container suitable for such a display method, and has a circular through hole. In addition, a package disclosed in JP 2014-506547 A (Patent Document 2) has a similar through hole configured in a shape that has a wide portion and a roughly semicircular portion provided above the wide portion.

JP 2003-54628 A Special table 2014-506547 publication

In order to increase the appeal of products at the storefront, it is desirable for the products to be displayed with the front of the container, on which the product name and other information is printed, facing directly towards the customer. However, when a container with a through hole as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 is suspended from a cylindrical support, the container may vibrate when an external force is applied to the container, causing it to tilt. When this happens, it may become difficult for customers to see the front of the container.

Therefore, there is a need to develop containers and display methods that allow displayed products to easily maintain a forward-facing position.

A container according to one embodiment of the present invention is a container which is used by being suspended from a single cylindrical support, and which comprises a through hole portion having a thickness of 2 mm or less through which a cylindrical support can be inserted, an interdental cleaner, and a storage portion capable of housing the interdental cleaner , and which is characterized in that the through hole portion has a first portion through which the cylindrical support can be inserted, and a second portion connected to the first portion on the opposite side of the storage portion side of the first portion, the width of the boundary portion between the first portion and the second portion being smaller than the maximum opening dimension of the first portion in the width direction , and the weight is such that the boundary portion is maintained in contact with the cylindrical support .

Moreover, a display method according to one aspect of the present invention includes a storage step of storing the interdental cleaning tool in a container comprising an interdental cleaning tool, a storage section capable of storing the interdental cleaning tool , and a through hole section having a thickness of 2 mm or less and having a first part and a second part connected to the first part on the opposite side of the storage section side of the first part, wherein the width of the boundary part between the first part and the second part is smaller than the maximum opening dimension of the first part in the width direction , and a suspending step of inserting a cylindrical support into the first part and suspending the container on the single cylindrical support, wherein contact between the boundary part of the container and the cylindrical support is maintained during the suspending step.

According to this container and this display method, the container is suspended from the cylindrical support in a position where both ends of the boundary between the first and second parts of the through hole abut against the cylindrical support. When an external force is applied to the container and the container is tilted from a forward-facing position, the container is positioned at a higher position than the stable state, and its potential energy increases. A force (gravity) that attempts to return the increased potential energy to its original state acts on the container, and the container tries to return to a forward-facing position in which its potential energy is the smallest within its movable range. In other words, even if the container is tilted due to the application of an external force, it will naturally return to the forward-facing position which is the most stable in terms of potential energy. This makes it easier for the displayed product to maintain a forward-facing position.

As another configuration, it is preferable that the width of the boundary portion is 1.0 mm or more and 4.9 mm or less.

This method has the effect of stabilizing the position of the container for most cylindrical supports already installed in retail stores. This is because the diameter of the cylindrical supports used in retail stores is typically around 5 to 7 mm.

As another configuration, a part of the periphery of the through-hole portion is configured as a cut line provided in the base material of the container, and another part of the periphery of the through-hole portion is configured as a connecting part that connects a separation part that is separated from the base material by the cut line to the remainder of the base material, and the connecting part is preferably provided on the storage part side of the first part.

In this way, the connecting part is provided below the through-hole part and therefore does not come into contact with the cylindrical support, preventing the connecting part from sliding on the cylindrical support and tilting the container. In addition, the part cut off from the base material to provide the through-hole part does not separate from the container, which reduces the waste generated by the cut-off part and the effort required to dispose of the waste.

As another configuration, it is preferable that, when suspended from the cylindrical support, the vertical opening dimension of the through-hole portion is greater than the horizontal opening dimension of the through-hole portion.

In this way, it is unlikely that the through-hole portion will become engaged with the cylindrical support body at any location other than the boundary between the first and second parts. Therefore, by simply inserting the through-hole portion into the cylindrical support body and releasing the container, the product will be displayed facing forward.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of exemplary and non-limiting embodiments, which are given with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a through-hole portion and a separation portion of a container according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the periphery of the through-hole portion in the container according to the embodiment in an exhibited state. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a mechanism for stabilizing the display position of a container according to the present embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a modified example of the through hole portion; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another modified example of the through-hole portion; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of containers according to comparative examples 1 to 6. 1 is a perspective view of a container according to Comparative Examples 7 to 12.

Embodiments of the container and display method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Below, an example will be described in which the container according to the present invention is applied to a container 1 that can store a group of interdental cleaning tools Da and display them in a store.

[Container configuration]
First, the configuration of the container 1 according to this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the container 1 has a blister B made of a synthetic resin film (an example of a base material) having a thickness of 0.3 mm, and a sealing seal S that seals the back side of the blister B. The blister B is provided with a through-hole portion 2 and a storage portion 3. The container 1, which stores a group of interdental cleaning tools Da (stored objects) in the storage portion 3, is displayed by being suspended from a cylindrical support with the cylindrical support inserted into the through-hole portion 2. In the following description, the up-down direction is defined based on the orientation of the container 1 in the displayed state. In other words, the side of the container 1 on which the through-hole portion 2 is provided is defined as "upper".

The through-hole portion 2 is provided as a through-hole penetrating the blister B. Therefore, the thickness of the through-hole portion 2 is 0.3 mm, which corresponds to the thickness of the synthetic resin film constituting the blister B. The through-hole portion 2 also has a first portion 21 configured as a part of a circle with a radius R1 of 4.0 mm, and a second portion 22 configured as a part of a circle with a radius R2 of 2.5 mm. The second portion 22 is connected to the first portion 21 on the upper side of the first portion 21 (i.e., the opposite side to the storage portion 3 side). The overall opening dimension L of the through-hole portion 2 in the vertical direction is 9.2 mm, and the opening dimension in the horizontal direction is 8.0 mm, which corresponds to twice the radius R1. Therefore, the opening dimension in the vertical direction of the through-hole portion 2 is larger than the opening dimension in the horizontal direction of the through-hole portion 2.

The boundary 23 between the first portion 21 and the second portion 22 is defined as a line segment connecting two intersections 23a, 23b of a circle of radius R1 that defines the periphery of the first portion 21 and a circle of radius R2 that defines the periphery of the second portion 22. In this embodiment, the width W of the boundary 23 is 4.9 mm. In other words, the width W of the boundary 23 is smaller than the opening dimension in the width direction of the first portion 21, which is 8.0 mm (twice the radius R1), and more specifically, the width W of the boundary 23 is 61% of the opening dimension in the width direction of the first portion 21.

As shown in FIG. 2, the through-hole portion 2 is formed in a manner in which a cut line 24 is provided in the synthetic resin film that constitutes the blister B. Therefore, a part of the periphery of the first portion 21 and the entire periphery of the second portion 22 (a part of the periphery of the through-hole portion 2) are configured as the cut line 24. Since the cut line 24 does not form a closed curve, the separation portion 25 separated from the synthetic resin film by the cut line 24 is not completely separated, and is connected to the synthetic resin film body via the connection portion 26. Here, the connection portion 26 is provided on the lower side of the first portion 21 (i.e., the side of the storage portion 3).

The storage section 3 is formed by curving the synthetic resin film that constitutes the blister B, and forms a space capable of storing the interdental cleaning tool group Da. The back side of the storage section 3 is open, and after the interdental cleaning tool group Da is stored through the opening, the opening is closed by the sealing seal S.

[Display method]
Next, a description will be given of a method for displaying the group of interdental cleaning tools Da using the container 1. The display method according to this embodiment includes a storage step of storing the group of interdental cleaning tools Da in the container 1, and a suspending step of suspending the container 1 containing the group of interdental cleaning tools Da on a cylindrical support. Note that the method for storing the group of interdental cleaning tools Da in the container 1 in the storage step is as described above.

The container 1 containing the interdental cleaning tool group Da is suspended from a cylindrical support P that is installed on a retail store's product shelf or the like. More specifically, the container 1 is suspended from the cylindrical support P by inserting the cylindrical support P into the through-hole portion 2, with the through-hole portion 2 serving as a support for the entire container 1 (Figure 3).

Here, the diameter Dp of the cylindrical support P is 6.1 mm. In other words, the diameter Dp of the cylindrical support P is larger than the width W of the boundary 23 between the first portion 21 and the second portion 22. Due to the above-mentioned relationship between the diameter Dp and the width W, when the container 1 is suspended from the cylindrical support P, the container 1 is most stable when both ends 23a, 23b of the boundary 23 abut against the cylindrical support P.

[Stabilizing the display position]
Finally, we will explain why the display posture of the interdental cleaning tool group Da is stable when it is displayed using the container 1. As described above, when the container 1 is suspended from the cylindrical support P, it is stable in a posture in which both ends 23a, 23b of the boundary 23 abut against the cylindrical support P (FIG. 4(a)). At this time, the cylindrical support P abuts against the container 1 at two points Pa, Pb. The distance between the two points Pa, Pb is equal to the width W of the boundary 23. In addition, the straight line connecting the two points Pa, Pb is perpendicular to the axis X of the cylindrical support P.

Now, let us consider a case where some external force is applied to the container 1, causing the container 1 to tilt from the front (tilt angle θ) (Figure 4 (b)). At this time, the cylindrical support P abuts at two points Pc and Pd, and the distance between them is equal to the width W of the boundary 23. Here, the straight line connecting the two points Pc and Pd is tilted with respect to the axis X of the cylindrical support P, so the height Hb of the two points Pc and Pd, where the separation distance is equal to the width W, is higher than the height Ha of the two points Pa and Pb when the container 1 is in the front-facing position. Therefore, the container 1 is placed in a position higher than the stable state, and the potential energy increases. After that, a force (gravity) that tries to return the increased potential energy to its original state acts on the container 1, and the container 1 tries to return to the state in which the potential energy is the smallest within the movable range, that is, to the front-facing position. Therefore, even if the container 1 is temporarily tilted, it will automatically return to the front-facing position.

In this way, the container 1 can be maintained in a forward-facing position, i.e., a position that best displays the interdental cleaning tool group Da to the consumer.

[Modifications of the through hole portion]
Here, modified examples of the through hole portion will be described.

The through-hole portion 4 shown in FIG. 5 has a shape in which a circle with a radius of 4.0 mm and a circle with a radius of 1.5 mm are connected by two straight lines. That is, the first portion 41 is configured as a part of a circle with a radius of approximately 4.0 mm, and the second portion 42 is configured in a shape in which a triangle with a semicircle with a radius of 1.5 mm is joined to form a triangle. The width of the boundary 43 between the first portion 41 and the second portion 42 is 4.9 mm, as in the above embodiment.

When the container 1 having the through hole portion 4 shown in FIG. 5 is suspended from the cylindrical support P, if the container 1 tilts from the front-facing position, the distance between the contact point between the cylindrical support P and the container 1 becomes longer. That is, the position of the contact point on the container 1 becomes lower compared to when it is facing forward. At this time, since the position of the cylindrical support remains unchanged, the container 1 is in a higher position compared to when it is facing forward, and a force (gravity) acts to return the increased potential energy to its original position, and the container 1 tries to return to the state in which the potential energy is the smallest within its movable range, i.e., to the front-facing position. Therefore, in the same way as described in the above embodiment, the container 1 automatically returns to the front-facing position.

In the through hole portion 5 shown in FIG. 6, the first portion 51 is configured as part of a circle with a radius of 4.0 mm, and the second portion 52 is configured as a rounded rectangle with a width of 4.7 mm and a height of 2.5 mm. The width of the boundary 53 between the first portion 51 and the second portion 52 is 4.9 mm, as in the above embodiment.

In any of the above modified examples, when the container 1 is suspended on the cylindrical support P with the cylindrical support P inserted through the through-hole portion, the container 1 is stabilized in a position where the boundary between the first and second parts abuts against the cylindrical support P. Therefore, the effect of stabilizing the display position described above is achieved in any of the above modified examples. In this way, the shapes of the first and second parts of the through-hole portion in the present invention can be selected arbitrarily as long as the width of the boundary between the first and second parts is smaller than the opening dimension of the first part in the width direction.

Other embodiments
Finally, other embodiments of the container and the display method according to the present invention will be described. Note that the configurations disclosed in the following embodiments can be applied in combination with the configurations disclosed in other embodiments, as long as no contradiction occurs.

In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the blister B with the through-hole portion 2 was made of a synthetic resin film. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the through-hole portion can also be provided in a container made of a material such as paper, wood, or metal, as long as the thickness of the container is 2 mm or less.

In the above embodiment, the width W of the boundary 23 between the first part 21 and the second part 22 of the through-hole part 2 is 4.9 mm. However, the width of the boundary between the first part and the second part of the through-hole part is not particularly limited as long as it is smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical support that suspends the container. However, considering that the diameter of the cylindrical support used in retail stores is typically 5 to 7 mm, it is preferable that the width of the boundary between the first part and the second part is 1.0 mm or more and 4.9 mm or less. Also, considering that the first part can be inserted into the cylindrical support, if the width of the boundary between the first part and the second part is 80% or less of the opening dimension in the width direction of the first part, the width of the boundary between the first part and the second part is likely to be smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical support, so that the effect of stabilizing the display posture is more likely to be realized.

In the above embodiment, a configuration has been described as an example in which the separation portion 25 separated from the synthetic resin film by the cut line 24 is connected to the synthetic resin film body via the connection portion 26. Considering the generation of waste, the above embodiment is preferable, but is not essential to the present invention, so the present invention is not limited to the above configuration, and the through-hole portion may be formed in a manner that completely separates a part of the base material.

In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the opening dimension of the through-hole portion 2 in the vertical direction is larger than the opening dimension of the through-hole portion 2 in the horizontal direction. However, the relationship between the opening dimensions of the through-hole portion in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction is not particularly limited.

As for other configurations, it should be understood that the embodiments disclosed in this specification are illustrative in all respects and that the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art will easily understand that appropriate modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, other embodiments that are modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention are naturally included in the scope of the present invention.

The present invention will be further explained below with reference to examples. Note that the following examples do not limit the present invention.

For Examples 1 to 5 and the Reference Example, a container 1 having the shape shown in FIG. 1 was used. The thicknesses of Examples 1 to 5 and the Reference Example are as shown in Table 1. As described above, the container 1 has a through-hole portion 2 (FIGS. 1 and 2).

Container 1A with the shape shown in Figure 7 was used as Comparative Examples 1 to 6. The thicknesses of Comparative Examples 1 to 6 are as shown in Table 1. Container 1A is similar to container 1 except that a circular through-hole portion 2A with a radius of 4.0 mm is provided instead of through-hole portion 2. In through-hole portion 2A, separation portion 25A is connected to the synthetic resin film via connection portion 26A located above through-hole portion 2A. Comparative Examples 1 to 6 are examples of conventional containers.

Container 1B having the shape shown in FIG. 8 was used as Comparative Examples 7 to 12. The thicknesses of Comparative Examples 7 to 12 are as shown in Table 1. Container 1B is similar to container 1 except that, instead of through-hole 2, a circular through-hole 2B having a radius of 4.0 mm is provided. In through-hole 2B, separation portion 25B is connected to the synthetic resin film via connecting portion 26B located below through-hole 2A. Comparative Examples 7 to 12 are examples of conventional containers.

[Impact resistance test]
The containers of each of the Examples, Reference Examples, and Comparative Examples were suspended from a cylindrical support having a diameter of 6.1 mm in a front-facing position and allowed to stand still. Then, a strong impact was applied to the container, and the container was shook so as to tilt at about 60 degrees, and the time required for the container to stand still was measured. In addition, it was visually confirmed whether the container was in a front-facing position when it stood still. The above test was carried out six times for each of the containers of the Examples, Reference Examples, and Comparative Examples. Table 1 shows the number of times the container returned to a front-facing position out of the six tests, and indicators A to D, which represent the average value of the time required for the container to stand still. Indicators A to D respectively represent the following.
A: The average time until the ball stops is less than 10 seconds. B: The average time until the ball stops is between 10 and 20 seconds. C: The average time until the ball stops is between 20 and 30 seconds. D: The average time until the ball stops is 30 seconds or more.

[Displayability test]
The containers of the Examples, Reference Examples, and Comparative Examples were manually suspended on a cylindrical support having a diameter of 6.1 mm. After 20 seconds or more had elapsed since the container was released, the size of the angle (corresponding to θ in FIG. 4) formed between the container and the cylindrical support in a plan view was measured. The above test was performed six times for each of the containers of the Examples, Reference Examples, and Comparative Examples. Table 1 shows the range of the size of the angle measured in the six measurements. The measured value of the angle was a positive value when the container was tilted clockwise in a plan view, and a negative value when the container was tilted counterclockwise.

[Test results]
As shown in Table 1, in the impact resistance test, the container returned to the front orientation in all six tests in Examples 1 to 5 and the Reference Example. On the other hand, in Comparative Examples 1 to 12, there were cases in which the container did not return to the front orientation. In particular, the thinner the blister B, the more difficult it was to return to the front orientation (Comparative Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 7 to 9). Furthermore, the time required for the container to come to rest was less than 10 seconds (A) in all of Examples 1 to 6, whereas the time required for the container to come to rest was longer in the Comparative Examples in which the blister B was thin (Comparative Examples 1 to 4 and Comparative Examples 7 to 9).

In addition, in the displayability test, the container tilt was within the range of ±5° in all six tests for Examples 1 to 5 and the Reference Example. On the other hand, in Comparative Examples 1 to 12, there were cases where the container tilted significantly.

The above test results show that the problem of conventional containers (Comparative Examples 1 to 12) being prone to tilting is particularly pronounced when blister B is thin. Furthermore, it was found that Examples 1 to 5 can effectively prevent the container from tilting even when blister B is thin.

The present invention can be used, for example, in containers for storing small products such as interdental cleaning tools and displaying them in stores.

1: container 2: through hole portion 21: first portion 22: second portion 23: boundary 24: cut line 25: separation portion 26: connection portion 3: storage portion 4: through hole portion (modified example)
5: Through hole portion (modified example)
P: Cylindrical support B: Blister S: Sealing seal Da: Interdental cleaning tool group

Claims (5)

A blister container comprising: a through hole having a thickness of 2 mm or less through which a cylindrical support can be inserted; an interdental cleaner; and a housing portion capable of housing the interdental cleaner, the blister container being used by being suspended from one of the cylindrical supports,
The through hole portion is
A first portion through which the cylindrical support can be inserted;
a second portion connected to the first portion on a side opposite to the housing portion side of the first portion,
a width of a boundary portion between the first portion and the second portion is smaller than a maximum opening dimension of the first portion in the width direction;
A blister container having a weight such that the boundary portion is maintained in contact with the cylindrical support. 2. The blister container according to claim 1, wherein the width of the boundary portion is 1.0 mm or more and 4.9 mm or less. A portion of the periphery of the through hole portion is configured as a score line provided in a base material of the blister container,
the other portion of the periphery of the through hole portion is configured as a connecting portion that connects a separation portion separated from the base material by the cut line and a remainder of the base material,
The blister container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connecting portion is provided on the side of the first portion facing the container portion. The blister container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, when suspended from the cylindrical support, the opening dimension of the through-hole portion in the up-down direction is larger than the opening dimension of the through-hole portion in the left-right direction. a housing step of housing the interdental cleaning tool in a blister container comprising an interdental cleaning tool, a housing section capable of housing the interdental cleaning tool, and a through hole section having a thickness of 2 mm or less and including a first portion and a second portion connected to the first portion on the opposite side of the housing section side of the first portion, the width of a boundary portion between the first portion and the second portion being smaller than a maximum opening dimension of the first portion in the width direction;
and a suspending step of inserting a cylindrical support through the first portion and suspending the blister container on the cylindrical support.
The display method, wherein the suspending step maintains contact between the boundary portion of the blister container and the cylindrical support.

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