Patent Grant
7156556
The present invention relates to a stand-up (or self-standing)pouch provided with a pleat on the lower edge of at least a front face portion and rear face portion or the lower edge of an entire peripheral face portion, which is formed by folding a part of packaging material in a three-ply strip-form and adhering the inner surfaces of the folded part, and which conceals a bottom face portion to give the impression of a tightly sealed package, and also relates to a package body, a feed roll of packaging material having a pleat, and manufacturing methods therefor.
A stand-up packaging pouch disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-070947, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-227801, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-310248, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-310276, and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-349013 is a so-called “Doyen Pak” type packaging pouch having a form in which a side heat seal is applied to the two side edges of the front face portion and the two side edges of the rear face portion to form a seam, in which, when the pouch is opened out three-dimensionally, a twofold bottom gusset opens out laterally to produce a bottom face portion shaped like a ship's bottom, and in which pleats are formed at the edge of the front face portion and bottom face portion and at the edge of the rear face portion and bottom face portion to thereby conceal the bottom face portion. A “Doyen Pak” type packaging pouch, however, has a particular ship's bottom form with side seals on both sides and no side face portions, and is therefore clearly different in form to a packaging pouch having an rectangular bottom.
Stand-up packaging pouches disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-286758, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-153852, and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-272634 also have an identical bottom portion to a Doyen Pak form.
Stand-up packaging pouches described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-185740, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-229646, and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-309345 are manufactured in a flattened pouch form, having a front face portion, a rear face portion, side face portions, and a bottom face portion, and having side heat-seals applied in a pinch form to the edges of the front face portion and the edges of the side face portions or side heat seals applied in a pinch form to the edges of the rear face portion and the edges of the side face portions. When opened out into three dimensions, the lower portions of the side heat seals reach the side edges of the bottom face portion, extending in a horizontal direction. This stand-up packaging pouch is not provided with hems (creased edges) or pleats on the edge between the front face portion and bottom face portion or the edge between the rear face portion and bottom face portion, and as a result, the bottom face portion is poorly defined, the outward appearance is unpleasant, and the stand-up quality is poor.
An indefinite outer shape container disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-031110 is a packaging pouch formed by inserting a rectangular mandrel into a flattened pouch to form a prismatic (prism-shaped) tube, forming a rectangular bottom face, applying a bottom seal to triangular ears formed on both sides, and severing the ear portions, whereby a heat seal portion extending horizontally outward at the lower end of the side face portions can be formed. This heat seal portion extends horizontally outward in a flange form, thereby inhibiting the attainment of a design having a clear-cut outline and causing an obstruction between adjacent pleats which disturb one another when the pouches are packed and displayed.
A side-gusseted flat-bottomed pouch disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-206385 is manufactured into a flattened pouch having a front face portion, a rear face portion, and side gussets. A regular mandrel is inserted to form a prismatic tube and a rectangular bottom face is formed, whereupon a heat seal is applied to the two side edges of the bottom face with the prismatic tube flattened into a T shape so as to close the side gussets. In so doing, a packaging pouch having pleats formed on the edge between the front face portion and bottom face portion and the edge between the rear face portion and bottom face portion is manufactured with a heat seal portion extending horizontally outward from the lower end of the side face portions. This heat seal portion extends horizontally outward in a flange form, thereby inhibiting the attainment of a design of a clearly defined shape and causing an obstruction between adjacent pleats which disturb one another when the pouches are packed and displayed.
An example of a side-gusseted flat-bottomed pouch shown in
This pleat is not folded into a pinch form, and therefore the edge of the flattened tube and the edge of the inserted bottom face portion rarely match perfectly. Further, when heat sealing is performed creases occur in various locations, giving a pleat with an unpleasant appearance and an incomplete peripheral heat seal such that the pouch is totally inappropriate for use as a liquid container.
According to a conventional vertical form-fill-seal method, a packaging material is issued from a packaging material feed roll, hooked onto a former, and folded into a tubular form so as to be wrapped substantially once around a packaged product filling tube which extends through the inside of the former. The two edges of the packaging material are then overlapped into a pinch pleat form or heat sealed into an envelope seal to form a packaging tube and the packaging tube is lowered under the packaged product filling tube, whereupon a product to be packaged is filled into the packaging tube downward through the packaged product filling tube and a bottom heat seal and top heat seal are applied to the packaging tube below and above the packaged product.
The packaging tube is manufactured into a vertical pillow package body with a rectangular bottom by abutting the packaging tube at the top and bottom in the side face direction with butting rods to thereby form a bottom gusset and a top gusset while a double heat seal comprising a bottom heat seal and a top heat seal is applied. The two edges of the packaging material which is wrapped substantially once around the packaged product filling tube are heat sealed to form a packaging tube and ribs are formed at four sides of the tube.
However, the vertical pillow package body with a rectangular bottom which is manufactured by this conventional form-fill-seal method cannot have a pleasing appearance.
In a horizontal form-fill-seal method, a packaging material is issued from a packaging material feed roll and hooked onto a former to be folded into a prismatic tunnel tubular form, whereupon the two edges of the packaging material are overlapped into a pinch form or heat sealed with the front and rear surfaces overlapped to form a packaging tube. Products to be packaged which are transported by an import conveyor are dispatched into the former at predetermined intervals, whereupon a double end seal is applied to the packaging tube between packaged product and packaged product and the packaging tube is cut between the double heat seal.
Prior to the sealing operation of the end sealers during the application of the double heat seal, the butting rods abut the packaging tube in the center of height on the two sides of the end sealers in the direction of packaging material motion to thereby form gussets, and thus the packaging tube is manufactured into a gusseted horizontal pillow package body.
Thanks to the gussets of the gusseted horizontal pillow package body manufactured by this conventional horizontal form-fill-seal method, the width of the packaging tube is not extended when the packaged product is a lens-attached camera, for example.
However, in this gusseted horizontal pillow package body, the gusset-inserted end seal is usually in pinch pleat form and therefore the package body is not placed on a shelf by inclining the end seal horizontally and rotating the package body 90 degrees such that the horizontally inclined end seal forms a bottom face portion. If the packaged body is placed thus, the bottom face portion having a horizontally inclined end seal causes the front face side and rear face side to become rounded. As a result, the package body lacks a stable stand-up quality and does not give the impression of a tightly sealed package.
The present invention has been invented in consideration of the aforementioned points, and it is an object thereof to provide a stand-up packaging pouch and a package body provided with a pleat which is formed by folding a part of a packaging material in a three-ply strip-form and adhering the inner surfaces of this folded part and which is provided on at least the lower end of the front face portion and rear face portion or the lower end of the peripheral face portion of the packaging pouch or the package body to conceal a bottom face portion of them, in which the pleat is unlikely to crease and has a pleasing appearance, and particularly in which the pleat is formed in the same plane as the front face portion and rear face portion, or the peripheral face portion, thereby giving the impression of a tight package (i.e., a package having a clear-cut outline), in which the pleat does not appear to be independent, and which may be used as a liquid container due to the complete sealing property of the pleat portion. The present invention comprises the following.
(1) A stand-up packaging pouch which is manufactured in a three dimensional form by hermetically connecting the two edges of a packaging material having a pleat, which extends in an orthogonal direction to the longitudinal direction of the pouch and is formed by folding a portion of the packaging material in a three-ply strip form and adhering the inner surfaces of this folded portion, to thereby form a prismatic tube with angular corners or a prismatic tube with rounded corners having a front face portion, right and left side face portions, and a rear face portion, and by constructing a bottom face portion by folding the lower portion of the tube, wherein the pleat is positioned in the same plane as the front face portion, right and left side face portions, and rear face portion, and extends towards the lower end of the tube such that the bottom face portion and rear face portion of the pleat form a substantial right angle at the upper end of the rear face portion of the pleat, whereby the pleat conceals the bottom face portion.
(2) The stand-up packaging pouch according to the above (1), wherein heat seals are applied in a pinch form to the edge between the front face portion and the side face portions and the edge between the rear face portion and the side face portions to form ribs.
(3) A stand-up packaging pouch provided in a flattened state in which at least a front face portion and a rear face portion are constituted by a packaging material having a pleat which extends in an orthogonal direction to the longitudinal direction of the pouch and is formed by folding a portion of the packaging material in a three-ply strip form and adhering the inner surfaces of this folded portion, and which is provided with side gussets at both sides or one side thereof to form side face portions and has been subjected to a bottom heat seal or a top heat seal, wherein when the stand-up packaging pouch is opened out into a three dimensional state, filled with a product to be packaged, and the opening thereof is sealed, the pleat is provided at least at the edge between the front face portion and a bottom face portion and at the edge between the rear face portion and the bottom face portion in the same plane as the front face portion and rear face portion such that the bottom face portion and rear face portion of the pleat form a substantial right angle at the upper end of the rear face portion of the pleat, thereby concealing the bottom face portion when seen from the direction of the front face portion or rear face portion.
(4) The stand-up packaging pouch according to the above (3), wherein ribs are formed on the two side edges of the front face portion and the two side edges of the rear face portion.
(5) The stand-up packaging pouch according to any one of the above (1) through (4), wherein the pouch is manufactured from a packaging material having the two pleats, the two pleats being positioned on the lower end and upper end of at least the front face portion and rear face portion.
(6) The stand-up packaging pouch according to any one of the above (1) through (4), wherein the pouch is manufactured from a packaging material having the three pleats, the three pleats being positioned on the lower end, upper end, and in an intermediate position of at least the front face portion and rear face portion.
(7) A package body which is formed by filling the stand-up packaging pouch according to any one of the above (1) through (4) with a product to be packaged and sealing the stand-up packaging pouch.
(8) A stand-up packaging pouch which is manufactured in a flattened state from a packaging material having a pleat which extends in an orthogonal direction to the longitudinal direction of the pouch and which is formed by folding a portion of the packaging material in a three-ply strip form and adhering the inner surfaces of this folded portion, and is formed by bending this packaging material such that a horizontal cross section of the bent packaging material forms a loop, closing the two edges of the rear face portion by applying a heat seal thereto to form a flattened tubular form, and applying a top heat seal or a bottom heat seal, wherein when the stand-up packaging pouch is opened into a three dimensional form, filled with a product to be packaged, and the opening thereof is sealed, the pleat is formed in the same curved plane as the peripheral face portion such that the bottom face portion and the rear face portion of the pleat form a substantial right angle at the upper end of the rear face portion of the pleat, whereby the pleat conceals the bottom face portion.
(9) A package body which is constituted by a packaging material having a pleat which extends in an orthogonal direction to the longitudinal direction of a packaging pouch and which is formed by folding a portion of the packaging material in a three-ply strip form and adhering the inner faces of this folded portion, and is formed by bending this packaging material into a loop such that the horizontal cross section forms a flattened circle, closing the two edges in the direction of width by applying a heat seal thereto to form a tubular pouch, filling the tubular pouch with a product to be packaged, and applying a bottom heat seal on the lower end and a top heat seal on the upper end such that the pleat is provided on at least the peripheral edge of the bottom face portion to thereby form a face which extends from the peripheral face portion such that the bottom face portion and rear face portion of the pleat form a substantial right angle at the upper end of the rear face portion of the pleat, whereby the pleat conceals the bottom face portion.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a pleated packaging material feed roll and a manufacturing method for a pleated packaging material feed roll, this feed roll being hooked onto a pouch forming machine or a form-fill-seal machine to continuously mass-produce a pleated flattened pouch or a pleated pillow package body.
(10) A feed roll of packaging material having a pleat which is constituted by a packaging material having a heat sealing property on at least an inner face thereof and on which pleats are formed at a predetermined pitch, extending in a strip form in an orthogonal direction to the direction in which the packaging material is issued, wherein each pleat is formed by folding a portion of the packaging material in a pinch form and heat sealing the inner faces of the folded portion, and is provided in a position spaced by a predetermined distance required to form a pouch bottom face portion in the direction of issuance of the packaging material apart from a predetermined cutting position at which the packaging material is cut in an orthogonal direction to the direction of issuance during pouch manufacture.
(11) A manufacturing method for a pleated packaging material feed roll, comprising:
A further object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method for a pleated vertical pillow package body using a vertical form-fill-seal method in which a pleat is suspended around the periphery of the bottom face portion to conceal the bottom face portion such that pleated packaging bodies which can stably stand up and which give the impression of tight packaging can be continuously mass-produced.
(12) A method for manufacturing a pleated vertical pillow package body, comprising:
(13) A method for continuously manufacturing a stand-up pleated vertical pillow package body, comprising:
(14) The manufacturing method for a pleated vertical pillow package body according to the above (12) or (13), comprising:
A further object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method for a pleated horizontal pillow package body according to which, by producing a horizontal pillow package body and rotating the completed and severed package body 90 degrees such that the pleat is suspended around the periphery of the bottom face portion to thereby conceal the bottom face portion, a pleated package body having a stable self-standing quality and giving an impression of tight packaging can be obtained.
(15) A manufacturing method for a horizontal pillow package body, comprising:
a) is a perspective view of a stand-up packaging pouch seen from above the rear face.
a)–(f) show horizontal sections of certain locations of the vertical form-fill-seal machine required for describing the manufacturing process.
a)–(d) show a sealing process for horizontal pillow packaged bodies having a pleat.
A stand-up packaging pouch and package body according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described above in (1) and the package body described above in (7).
a) is a perspective view of a stand-up packaging pouch seen from above the rear face.
This stand-up packaging pouch is formed by folding a single sheet of packaging material to form a prismatic tube form having a front face portion 1, a right side face portion 2, a left side face portion 3, a rear face portion 4a extending from the right side face portion 2, and a rear face portion 4b extending from the left side face portion 3, abutting the edges of the rear face portions 4a, 4b so that no gap exists therebetween, sealing the inner side of the rear face portions 4a, 4b by applying a three-ply connecting tape 5 comprising a double-sided sealant film and performing heat sealing to connect the rear face portions 4a, 4b and form a prismatic tube, inserting a bottom gusset 6 in the lower portion of the two side faces of the prismatic tube to align the lower portions of the front and rear faces, and applying a bottom heat seal 7 such that the edges form a pinch pleat to thereby form a bottom face portion 8.
c) is a front view of the outer face side of a packaging material used to manufacture the stand-up packaging pouch.
As shown in
In
Thus the pleat 9 can be formed easily and favorably to obtain a pleat 9 with a pleasing appearance and no likelihood of creasing. Since the pleat 9 is positioned on the lower edges of the front face portion 1, right side face portion 2, left side face portion 3, and rear face portions 4a, 4b and in the same plane as the front face portion 1, right side face portion 2, left side face portion 3, and rear face portions 4a, 4b, the pleat 9 does not appear to be independent therefrom and thus an impression of a tightly sealed package is obtained. Moreover, since the pleat 9 is not formed by heat sealing the edges of two sheets of film in a pinch form, but rather is formed by folding back the packaging material F and adhering the inner surfaces of the folded back part together, no seams exist, and thus complete hermetic sealing can be ensured, making the pouch suitable for use as a liquid container.
The packaging material F used for manufacturing the stand-up packaging pouch is constituted by the following laminated film, for example.
In
The pleat 9 has a two-ply adhered part (two adhered layers), and the outer faces of the three-fold strip-form part are not adhered. The pleat 9 is inclined downward.
It is preferable that heat sealing be used as the adhesion method for making a two-ply adhere part in the packaging material F to form the pleat 9. However, an adhesion method using an adhesive may also be applied. In order to form the pleat 9 by heat sealing, at least the inner face of the packaging material F must be constituted by a sealant film. Note that the packaging material F may be constituted by a sealant film alone.
Next, a preferred example of a method for forming the pleat 9 will be described.
Packaging material is placed on a flat plane having a linear gap with the inner surface side of the packaging material facing upward. A thrusting plate, not shown, which is positioned directly above the linear gap, is thrust into the packaging material to form a valley fold of an appropriate depth. Once the upper surface of the packaging material on the two sides of the valley fold portion has been pressed onto the flat plane, the thrusting slope is raised upward to its original position and a pair of heat sealing bars provided on the lower side of the thrusting slope are closed to form the valley fold portion into a butt-seal. The butt-seal is then removed, as a pleat, from the gap in the flat plane and inclined sideways to form the strip-form three-ply part.
To form the prismatic tube in
The reason for employing a three-layer film constituted by oriented film laminated on both sides with a sealant film as the connecting tape 5 is to insure the heat seal between the connecting tape 5 and the rear face portions 4a and 4b extending from the right side face portion 2 and the left side face portion 3 respectively, and to insure the bottom heat seal 7. Note that an identical material to the sealant film on the inner surface layer of the packaging material F is selected as the sealant film of the connecting tape 5.
When forming a polygonal bottom, the upper end (base end) of the pleat 9 is aligned with the lower end of the prismatic tubular mandrel such that the pleat 9 is suspended below the prismatic tubular mandrel. In so doing, the periphery of the polygonal bottom matches the lower end of the prismatic tubular mandrel and thus a slightly inclined hipped bottom face portion 8 inserted with a bottom gusset 6 can be formed. The pleat 9 is suspended therebelow all around the periphery. The length of the pleat 9 may be set freely at the design stage. If the pleat 9 is made long, then the bottom face portion 8 remains unseen on the inside of the pleat 9 even if the hipped bottom face portion 8 sags.
g) is a perspective view showing the stand-up packaging pouch in sealed form.
By filling the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
The following modified examples may be applied to the stand-up packaging pouch of
The stand-up packaging pouch may be manufactured from packaging material with two pleats such that the two pleats are positioned on the lower edge and upper edge of at least the front face portion and rear face portion. Alternatively, the stand-up packaging pouch may be manufactured from packaging material with three pleats such that the three pleats are positioned on the lower edge, in an intermediate position, and on the upper edge of at least the front face portion and rear face portion.
As shown in
A stand-up packaging pouch and package body according to a second embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described in above in (1) and (2) and the package body described above in (7).
a) is a perspective view of the stand-up packaging pouch seen from above the rear face.
In contrast to the stand-up packaging pouch of
Accordingly, the pleat 9 is suspended around the entire periphery and conceals the bottom face portion 8.
Note that the pleat 9 is held on the inside of the inclined side of the vertical heat seal 13.
The stand-up packaging pouch shown in
The stand-up packaging pouch of
Since the stand-up packaging pouch of
When a vertical-type form-fill-seal machine is used, pleats are made at equal intervals in a continuous supply of packaging material, whereupon the packaging material is led between a former and a drop-down type product filling tube and folded into a prismatic tubular from. The prismatic tube is then completed by center sealing the edges, whereupon the prismatic tube is suspended below the product filling tube, the top face portion having a bottom gusset is formed, and the prismatic tube is filled from above with a product to be packaged. Then, the bottom face portion having a top gusset is formed, the top heat seal is applied and cut, and thus the packaged form as shown in
A stand-up packaging pouch and package body according to a third embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described above in (3) and the package body described above in (7).
a) shows a perspective view of the stand-up packaging pouch.
The stand-up packaging pouch of this embodiment is manufactured as a flattened pouch and opened out into three dimensions when being filled.
As shown in
This stand-up packaging pouch is characterized in that the side gussets formed by folding the right side face portion 2 and left side face portion 3 in two extend to the lower edge of the pouch in flattened form, in that the pleat 9 is provided in a position removed from the base end of the pouch in flattened form by a substantially equal distance to the width L of the fold in the side gussets, and in that when the pouch is opened out into three dimensions, ear-pocket shaped triangular bottom gussets 6 are formed on both sides of the part below the pleat 9, and thus this part opens out laterally to form the bottom face portion 8 with the pleat 9 suspended around the entire periphery to conceal the bottom face portion 8.
The noteworthy characteristics of this flat pouch with a pleat and side gussets are the provision of the pleat 9 and the novel three way gusset comprised in the pouch due to the provision of the pleat 9.
Conventionally, a gusset indicates an inward twofold folding.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 59-74065 discloses a conventional flat pouch with a three way gusset. In this flattened pouch, a continuous flat tube having side gussets is formed, whereupon a bottom heat seal is applied and the periphery thereof is cut. The bottom portion of the pouch is then opened out into three dimensions and folded inward in two to form a bottom gusset. As a result, multiple folds are formed at the part where the bottom gusset interferes with the side gussets such that when the pouches are stacked, the bottom portion side becomes markedly bulky, creating an inconvenience in that the pouches cannot be stacked horizontally.
In the stand-up packaging pouch according to this embodiment, the pleat 9 is provided, and thus when the pouch is opened out in three dimensions, the part below the pleat 9 opens out laterally to form the bottom face portion 8. Hence the gusset in this case may be referred to as an outward-folding type bottom gusset in contrast to the conventional inward-folding type bottom gusset, and is advantageous in being concealed inside the pleat 9, in that the fold overlap between the bottom gusset and side gussets is not multiple, and in that the inconvenience caused by the marked bulkiness of the bottom portion side when the pouches are stacked, leading to the inability to stack the pouches horizontally, is absent.
d) is a perspective view of pleated packaging material which is used for manufacturing the stand-up packaging pouch seen from the inner face side.
To manufacture this stand-up packaging pouch, the packaging material F (identical to the packaging material shown in
To seal the pouch, the flattened pouch is opened out in three dimensions as shown in
As opposed to the stand-up packaging pouch of
A stand-up packaging pouch and package body according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described above in (3) and (4) and the package body described above in (7).
a) shows a perspective view of the stand-up packaging pouch, and
Similarly to the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
The constitution of this stand-up packaging pouch is characterized in comprising four ribs 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d as well as the pleat 9.
The difference between this stand-up packaging pouch and the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
The difference between this stand-up packaging pouch and the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
This difference relates to the fact that the former are manufactured, stacked, and bundled by a package maker and then sold to a food manufacturing company to be opened out into three dimensions, filled with a product, and sealed at the opening by a form-fill-seal machine, whereas the latter are mechanically folded and formed from sheet-form packaging material by a form-fill-seal machine in a food manufacturing company and then filled with product and sealed at the opening there and then.
d) is a perspective view of pleated packaging material which is used for manufacturing the stand-up packaging pouch. This packaging material is identical to the packaging material shown in
To manufacture this stand-up packaging pouch, the packaging material F with the pleat 9 shown in
To seal the pouch, the flattened pouch is opened out in three dimensions as shown in
As a modified example of the stand-up packaging pouches according to the embodiments as shown in
In this pouch, the tube is turned over such that the product to be packaged is filled into the opened bottom face. The part above the pleat is then closed and a bottom heat seal is applied to form a bottom face portion, whereupon the resultant package body is returned to its original position. This modified example is included in the stand-up packaging pouch described in the aforementioned (3) and (4) and the package body described in the aforementioned (7).
A stand-up packaging pouch and package body according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described above in (3) and (4) and the package body described above in (7).
a) shows a perspective view of the stand-up packaging pouch.
Similarly to the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
The constitution of this stand-up packaging pouch is characterized in comprising the pleat 9, in that the two corners of part below the pleat 9 are cut off at substantially 45 degrees, and in comprising the four ribs 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d.
This stand-up packaging pouch differs from the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
Since triangular corner parts are cut out on the lower portion of the flattened pouch, when this stand-up packaging pouch is opened out into three dimensions, no triangular pockets are formed on the bottom face portion 8, as shown in
The pleat 9 is formed as an upper extending edge of the peripheral surface, and therefore clearly defines the bottom face portion from the peripheral surface, giving an impression of clear tight folding.
A stand-up packaging pouch according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described in (4) and (5) and the package body described in (7).
a) shows a perspective view of the stand-up packaging pouch,
Similarly to the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
This stand-up packaging pouch differs from the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
d) is a perspective view of pleated packaging material which is used for manufacturing the stand-up packaging pouch. This packaging material is characterized in comprising the pleat 9 and the pleat 15. The pleat 9 and the pleat 15 are inclined in opposite directions.
To manufacture this stand-up packaging pouch, the packaging material F with the pleats 9 and 15 shown in
When packaging a product, the flattened pouch is opened out in three dimensions as shown in
As a modified example of this stand-up packaging pouch, the ribs 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d may be provided as shown in the stand-up packaging pouch of
A stand-up packaging pouch according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described in (4) and (5) and the package body described in (7).
a) shows a perspective view of the stand-up packaging pouch.
Similarly to the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
The constitution of this stand-up packaging pouch is characterized in comprising the pleats 9, 15 and the four ribs 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d.
This stand-up packaging pouch differs from the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
As a modified example of this stand-up packaging pouch, the pouch may be formed identically to the stand-up packaging pouch having the same bottom portion as shown in
A stand-up packaging pouch according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described in (6) and the package body described in (7).
a) shows a perspective view of the stand-up packaging pouch, and
Similarly to the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
This stand-up packaging pouch differs from the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
c) is a perspective view of pleated packaging material which is used for manufacturing the stand-up packaging pouch. The constitution of this material is characterized in comprising the pleats 9, 16, 15. The pleats 9, 16, 15 are inclined downward.
To manufacture this stand-up packaging pouch, the packaging material F with the pleats 9, 16, 15 shown in
To seal the pouch, the flattened pouch is opened out in three dimensions as shown in
The pleat 16 adds accent and variation to the sealed form. By providing a notch (a slit indicating a tearing start-point) on the pleat 16, the pouch may be opened at an intermediate point.
As a modified example of this stand-up packaging pouch, the pouch may be formed having the same bottom form as that of the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
A stand-up packaging pouch according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described in (4) and the package body described in (7).
a) shows a perspective view of the stand-up packaging pouch, and
The stand-up packaging pouch of this embodiment is manufactured as a flattened pouch and opened out into three dimensions when sealed.
This stand-up packaging pouch is not manufactured by folding a single sheet of packaging material, but rather is manufactured by overlapping four sheets of packaging material, a front face portion 1 formed with a pleat 9a, a rear face portion 4 formed with a pleat 9b, a right side face portion 2 with a gusset folded therein, and a left side face portion 3 with a gusset folded therein, as shown in
The right side face portion 2 and left side face portion 3 of this stand-up packaging pouch have no pleats, and connecting tape is not used.
It is preferable that a single sheet of packaging material cut in half along its width following the insertion of a pleat be used as the front face portion 1 formed with the pleat 9a and the rear face portion 4 formed with the pleat 9b to prevent the pleats 9a, 9b from being misaligned.
As a modified example of this stand-up packaging pouch, the pouch may be formed having the same bottom form as that of the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
A stand-up packaging pouch according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described in (5) and the package body described in (7).
a) shows a perspective view of the stand-up packaging pouch, and
The stand-up packaging pouch of this embodiment is manufactured as a flattened pouch and opened out into three dimensions when being filled with a product to be packaged.
This stand-up packaging pouch is not manufactured by folding a single sheet of packaging material, but rather is manufactured by overlapping separate sheets of packaging material, a front face portion 1 formed with pleats 9a, 15a, a rear face portion 4 formed with pleats 9b, 15b, a right side face portion 2 with a gusset folded therein, and a left side face portion 3 with a gusset folded therein, as shown in
This stand-up packaging pouch differs from the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
As a modified example of this stand-up packaging pouch, the pouch may be formed having the same bottom form as that of the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
A stand-up packaging pouch according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described in (6) and the package body described in (7).
a) shows a perspective view of the stand-up packaging pouch, and
The stand-up packaging pouch of this embodiment is manufactured as a flattened pouch and opened out into three dimensions when being filled with a product to be packaged.
This stand-up packaging pouch is not manufactured by folding a single sheet of packaging material, but rather is manufactured by overlapping separate sheets of packaging material, a front face portion 1 formed with pleat 9a, 16a, 15a, a rear face portion 4 formed with pleats 9b, 16b, 15b, a right side face portion 2 with a gusset folded therein, and a left side face portion 3 with a gusset folded therein, as shown in
This stand-up packaging pouch differs from the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
As a modified example of this stand-up packaging pouch, the pouch may be formed having the same bottom form as that of the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
A stand-up packaging pouch according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described in (3) and the package body described in (7).
a) shows a perspective view of the stand-up packaging pouch.
The stand-up packaging pouch of this embodiment is manufactured as a flattened pouch and opened out into a triangular prism form when sealed.
This stand-up packaging pouch is not manufactured by folding a single sheet of packaging material, but rather is manufactured by overlapping three separate sheets of packaging material, a front face portion 1 formed with pleats 9a, 15a, 16a, a rear face portion 4 formed with pleats 9b, 15b, 16b, and a side face portion 2a with a gusset folded therein, as shown in
This stand-up packaging pouch differs from the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
A stand-up packaging pouch and package body according to a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described in (8) and the package body described in (9).
a) shows a perspective view of the stand-up packaging pouch.
The stand-up packaging pouch of this embodiment is manufactured as a flattened pouch as shown in
This stand-up packaging pouch is manufactured by folding the packaging material F having a pleat 9 as shown in
To seal the pouch, the upper portion of the stand-up packaging pouch is opened, the pouch is filled with a packaged product, and a top heat seal 11 is applied. When the pouch is filled with a packaged product, the part below the pleat 9 opens out laterally. When the two edge parts of the bottom heat seal 7 are folded inside to form parallel triangular ears, a bottom face portion 8 with both ears folded in is formed as shown in
Note that the bottom face portion 8 may be formed as shown in
A stand-up packaging pouch and package body according to a fourteenth embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described in (8) and the package body described in (9).
a) shows a perspective view of the stand-up packaging pouch.
As shown in
This stand-up packaging pouch is manufactured by folding the packaging material F having a pleat 9 as shown in
To seal the pouch, the stand-up packaging pouch is turned over, and the bottom portion which faces upward is opened and filled with a product to be packaged. The part below the pleat 9 is then closed laterally and a bottom heat seal 7 is applied to form the bottom face portion 8. When the surplus portions of the two edge parts of the bottom heat seal 7 are folded inside to form parallel triangular ears, a bottom face portion 8 with both ears folded in is formed as shown in
A stand-up packaging pouch and package body according to a fifteenth embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
This embodiment comprises the stand-up packaging pouch described in (8) and the package body described in (9).
a) shows a perspective view of the stand-up packaging pouch.
As shown in
This stand-up packaging pouch is manufactured by folding the packaging material F having pleats 9, 15 as shown in
To seal the pouch, the upper portion of the stand-up packaging pouch is opened, the pouch is filled with a packaged product, and a top heat seal 11 is applied to thereby form the upper face portion 12. When the pouch is filled with a packaged product, the part below the pleat 9 opens out laterally. When the two edge parts of the bottom heat seal 7 are folded inside to form parallel triangular ears, a bottom face portion 8 with both ears folded in is formed as shown in
As shown in
This stand-up packaging pouch differs from the stand-up packaging pouch shown in
A package body according to a sixteenth embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
a) is a perspective view of pleated packaging material.
As shown in
This stand-up packaging pouch is, as shown in FIG. (b), manufactured by wrapping packaging material F formed with a pleat 9 as shown in
To fill the pouch with a product to be packaged, the stand-up packaging pouch is turned over, and the bottom portion which faces upward is opened and filled with the packaged product. The part below the pleat 9 is then closed laterally and a bottom heat seal 7 is applied to form the bottom face portion 8. When the surplus portions of the two edge parts of the bottom heat seal 7 are folded inside to form parallel triangular ears, a bottom face portion 8 with both ears folded in is formed as shown in
The package body of (9) may be formed by applying either the bottom heat seal or the top heat seal first and applying the remaining top heat seal or bottom heat seal following filling of the packaged product. The package body of (9) also includes a package body which is filled with the product by a form-fill-seal machine. When the pouch shown in
Next, a manufacturing method for a feed roll of packaging material having pleats will be described with reference to
In this manufacturing method for a feed roll of packaging material having pleats, a feed roll R1 of packaging material having an inner layer which is to become the inner surface of the pouch and is constituted by a sealant film, for example packaging material constituted by a laminated film of OPP and CPP, is mounted on an unwinder. The packaging material F1 which is issued from this feed roll R1 is hooked onto a guide roll 21, passed between a packaging material issuing roll 22 and a freely rotating nip roll 23, hooked onto a first dancer roller 24 and guide rolls 25, 26 successively, and then passed through a pleat forming device 27 where a pleat h is formed. Then, the packaging material F2 having pleats is passed through pleat inclining means 28 where the pleat h is inclined upstream, passed between a packaging material transferring roll 29 and a freely rotating nip roll 30 so as to be pressured from both sides, and successively hooked onto a second dancer roller 32 and guide rolls 33, 34. The packaging material F2 having pleats is then rewound as a feed roll R2 onto a core which is attached to a winder.
This manufacturing device for pleated packaging material is designed such that the packaging material issuing roll 22 is driven at increasing and decreasing speeds by a servo motor 35 whereby the first dancer roller 24 rises and falls within the upper limit and lower limit of a longitudinal range and the packaging material F1 is continuously issued from the feed roll R1. The packaging material transferring roll 29 is intermittently driven by a servo motor 36 so as to intermittently issue the packaging material F1 at an equal pitch to the length of a pouch. The winding shaft of the winder which axially supports the core is driven at increasing and decreasing speeds by a servo motor 37 such that the second dancer roller 32 rises and falls within the upper limit and lower limit of a longitudinal range and the pleated packaging material F2 is wound onto the core.
The pleat forming device 27 is constituted by upstream side and downstream side gap forming plates 27a, 27b adhered to the lower face (outer face) of the packaging material F1, pleat forming heat sealers 27c, 27d which correspond to the lower side of the gap forming plates 27a, 27b, packaging material pushing plates 27e, 27f which are provided in correspondence with the upper side of the gap forming plates 27a, 27b and which hold down the packaging material F1 toward the gap forming plates 27a, 27b, and a pleat folding plate 27g which is provided above the packaging material F1 in correspondence with the gap between the gap forming plates 27a, 27b and which folds a pleat by descending through the gap.
In this embodiment, the pleat h is formed during a stoppage in the intermittent motion of the packaging material F1. First, the packaging material pushing plate 27f descends to hold down the packaging material F1 toward the gap forming plate 27b, then the pleat folding plate 27g forms a pleat by descending to push the packaging material F1 into the gap between the gap forming plates 27a and 27b, then the packaging material pushing plate 27e descends to hold down the packaging material F1 toward the gap forming plate 27a, whereby the pleat folding plate 27g returns to its original raised position, then the pleat forming heat sealers 27c, 27d are closed to apply a heat seal to the pinch-pleated portion of the packaging material F1 and thereby form the pleat h, and finally the pleat forming heat sealers 27c, 27d are opened, the packaging material pushing plates 27e, 27f return to their original raised position and the packaging material F1 can continue to move.
Note that an operating sequence in which the pleat folding plate 27g descends and performs pleat folding initially, whereupon the packaging material pushing plates 27e, 27f descend to hold down the packaging material F1 and the pleat folding plate 27g rises may also be implemented. Also note that the heat seal may be an impulse heat seal.
As means for forming pleats, a means comprising a plate having a plurality of air nozzles arranged facing downward in series in the direction of the packaging material width, is suspended facing downward on the packaging material roll at the gap part such that a folded pleat is formed by blowing out high pressure air, or a means which is provided with aspiration means on the lower portion of the gap which aspirate the packaging material by adsorbing and holding the packaging material on the gap portion and reducing the pressure in the space formed by the gap plate and the packaging material to thereby form a folded pleat, may be employed in place of the pleat folding plate described above.
In the pleat inclining means 28, an upper and lower pair of flat plates is provided such that a gap of 1.5 mm to 3.0 mm, for example, is formed, and the pleat h is inclined upstream by means of friction resistance. This means is not limited thereto, however, and alternatively the pleat h may pass between a pair of rotary free rolls which contact one another, for example. Even without the pleat inclining means 28, the pleat h is inclined in the opposite direction to the direction of motion, but if the pleat h were to be inclined in the direction of motion, the location of the pleat may cause a defect in the manufactured pouch, and therefore the pleat inclining means 28 is provided to ensure that the pleats are inclined in the same direction.
When the manufacturing method for a pleated packaging material feed roll shown in
In the feed roll R3, the formation position of the pleat h is removed from cut marks K by a dimension A. This dimension A is required for forming the bottom face portion of a polygonal bottom pouch. Note that the cut marks K are elements which may be arbitrarily provided.
More specifically, the pleated packaging material F2 passes between the packaging material transferring roll 29 and the freely rotating nip roll 30 and then, in order to wind the feed roll R3, hooked onto guide rolls 38, 39 and wound as the feed roll R3. A support plate 40 which contacts the inner surface side of the pleated packaging material F2 is provided between the guide rolls 38, 39, and when the pleat h arrives at a predetermined position on the support plate 40, winding of the feed roll R3 is briefly halted and a lifting plate 41 is caused to slide by a dimension B along the upper face of the support plate 40 in the direction of movement of the packaging material to thereby lift the pleat h and incline the pleat h in the opposite direction. The base portion of the inclined pleat h is then pressed down by a heater 42 heated to between 80 and 100° C., for example, such that the packaging material can maintain the pleat h inclined in the opposite direction, whereupon the packaging material is wound as packaging material F3 having a pleat h which is inclined in the direction of winding. The lifting plate 41 performs a box motion, rising and then returning to its original position.
It is further preferable to cool the pleat h in a cooling device after inclining the pleat h in the direction of motion in order to prevent the pleat from standing up.
When the device for folding back the inclination direction of a pleat is used, the pleat inclining means 28 is unnecessary.
Next, a process for manufacturing a pleated flattened pouch in pouch units from a pleated packaging material according to the present invention will be described with reference to
c) is a perspective view showing the tube opened into a prismatic tubular form.
A flattened pouch P1 with a pleat as shown in
When the pleated flattened pouch P1 shown in
The pouch is filled with a packaged product, and a top heat seal 51 is applied to form a hipped upper face portion with a top gusset as shown in
As shown in
The symbol R3 indicates a feed roll for the packaging material F3 having pleats. The symbol 54 indicates a packaging material issuing roll which is driven at increasing and decreasing speeds by a servo motor, not shown, in order to feed the pleated packaging material F3 from the feed roll R3 in conjunction with a freely rotating nip roll 55. The pleats h which are formed in the packaging material F3 are inclined in the direction of issuance (see
The symbol 56 is an accumulator which functions to reduce the issuing resistance against the pull of the downstream side packaging material F3 by placing two integrally connected dancer rollers 56a, 56b on the packaging material F3 that is issued from the packaging material issuing roll 54 such that the packaging material F3 meanders past these dancer rollers 56a, 56b vertically as seen from the side, thereby stably feeding the packaging material F3.
The symbol 66 indicates a former, the symbols 57a, 57b indicate bending guides, the symbols 58a, 58b indicate film guide rollers, the symbol 59 indicates a bar-type back-sealing heat sealer, and the symbols 60a, 60b indicate freely rotating side gusset-inserted folding rolls. The symbol 61 indicates a packaging material retracting roll which is provided in an upper and lower pair and is designed to grasp the side gusseted flattened tube part and pull the tube part downstream by feeding the packaging material at an equal arrangement pitch to the pleats. The symbols 62a, 62b are rib-forming heat sealers. The symbol 63 is a bottom heat sealer which is provided in an upper and lower pair so as to grasp the side gusseted flattened tube part and apply a bottom heat seal. The symbol 64 indicates a packaging material retracting roll which is provided in an upper and lower pair and is designed to grasp the side gusset inserted flattened tube part and pull the tube part downstream so as to intermittently feed the packaging material at an equal arrangement pitch to the pleats in synchronization with the aforementioned packaging material retracting roll 61. The symbol 65 is a cutter. A connecting tape T which is issued from a connecting tape feed roll, not shown, is mounted on a former 66 so as to seal the edges of the packaging material F3 together from the inside thereof.
Next, a manufacturing method for a pleated flattened pouch will be described.
The packaging material issuing roll 54 issues the pleated packaging material F3 from the packaging material feed roll R3, and the packaging material retracting rolls 61, 64 issue the packaging material intermittently in lengths equal to the total dimension of the pouch height, the dimension required to form the bottom face portion from the pleat to the bottom heat seal (which is preferably a substantially equal dimension to the dimension of the side gusset fold), and the required dimension for the bottom heat seal. The pitch of the pleat h which is formed in the pleated packaging material F3 is equal to the total dimension of the pouch height, the dimension required to form the bottom face portion from the pleat to the bottom heat seal, and the required dimension for the bottom heat seal.
Next, the pleated packaging material F3 is folded into a flattened tube by the former 66, and the edges of the packaging material F3 are connected by heat sealing using the bar-type back-sealing heat sealer 59 and via the connecting tape T. In the section from A—A to B—B in
Next, at G—G in
In
At I—I in
By omitting the folding step of side gussets and the heat sealing step of forming the ribs in the pouch manufacturing device of
Further, it is assumed that former 66 is constituted by a plate in which the downstream side is square and the upstream side is trapezoid.
The pleated flattened pouch P2 shown in
In this case, the distance from the pleat h to the bottom heat seal 48 may be determined freely.
To fill the pouch with a product to be packaged, as shown in
Note that it is not absolutely necessary to form a top gusset.
In this pleated flattened pouch and the package body thereof, since the pleat h is suspended from the peripheral edge of the bottom face portion 50 and the pleat h forms an extension of the peripheral surface portion on an identical plane thereto, the pleat alone does not appear to be independent and thus an impression of a tightly sealed package is obtained. Further, since the pleat h conceals the bottom face portion 50, the pleated flattened pouch achieves a stable self-standing quality.
A manufacturing process for a pleated flattened pouch P3 shown in
As shown in
To fill the pouch with a product to be packaged, the upper portion of the pleated flattened pouch is opened as shown in
In this pleated flattened pouch, the pleat h lies in the same plane as the front face portion 43 and the rear face portion 44 and therefore the pleat alone does not appear to be independent therefrom. As a result, the bottom face portion 50 is concealed and a stable, stand-up prismatic pouch with a polygonal bottom is obtained.
The packaging material F1 used for manufacturing the pleated packaging material F3 of the present invention is constituted by a similar laminated film or the like as the packaging material F used in the description of the first embodiment, for example.
In order to form the pleat h using a heat seal, the packaging material F1 has an inner surface constituted by a sealant film, as is understood from the aforementioned examples of laminated film. Note that the packaging material may be constituted-solely by sealant film.
A reinforced pleat h is comprised in the feed roll for the pleated packaging material according to the present invention. More specifically, the pleat is formed by folding the inner surface of the packaging material into a pinch form and applying a heat seal, but a strip-form or twofold reinforcing material may be interposed between the twofold pinch pleat to form a three-ply, four-ply or greater pleat. The reinforcing material has a double-sided heat sealing quality and is therefore integrated with the pleat h formed in the packaging material F1 upon lamination.
As a method for attaching the reinforcing material, the reinforcing material is issued from a reinforcing material feed roll on the upstream side of the pleat-forming device shown in
When reinforcing material is used, an anti-buckling force can be attained even if the packaging material F1 is thin, and thus a stable standing quality is achieved.
A single layer packaging material or laminated packaging material having a double-sided heat sealing property may be used as the reinforcing material. For example, LDPE, LLDPE, CPP, double-sided heat seal type OPP, OPP or paper coated with a heat sealing agent on both sides thereof, PE/PET/PE, PE/OPP/PE, PE/paper/PE, CPP/PET/CPP, CPP/OPP/CPP, CPP/paper/CPP, and so on may be used.
The pleat-forming device shown in
To describe a specific constitution for ensuring a box motion, when the pleat folding location of the packaging material F1 corresponds to the gap between the gap forming plates 27a, 27b which are in an upstream standby position, all of the constitutional elements of the pleat-forming device 27 are set in motion synchronously with the running of the packaging material F1, and during this synchronous motion the pleat is formed and the pleat-forming heat seal is applied. Once the pleat has been formed, the gap forming plates 27a, 27b return to the upstream standby position.
When a packaging pouch or package body is produced by a pouch forming machine or a form-fill-seal machine using the pleated packaging material feed roll of the present invention, the pleat of the pleated packaging material which is issued from the feed roll must be attached to the former of the pouch forming machine or form-fill-seal machine in the inclined state in an opposite direction to the direction of issuance so that the pleat does not catch upon the former. When the pleat of the pleated packaging material issued from the feed roll is inclined in the direction of issuance, as is the pleat in the pleated packaging material feed roll manufactured by the device shown in
Next, the vertical form-fill-seal machine illustrated in
Packaging material F4 which is issued from a packaging material feed roll R is hooked onto a guide roll 71 and then drawn through a packaging material issuing roll 72 which is driven at increasing and decreasing speeds by a servo motor, not shown, and a freely rotating nip roll 73. The packaging material F4 is then hooked onto a dancer roller 74 and then hooked onto guide rolls 75, 76.
The dancer roller 74 functions to lightly and fixedly maintain issuing resistance against the pull of the downstream side packaging material F4. When the dancer roller 74 falls to the lower limit position, the packaging material issuing roll 72 reduces the amount of film issued, and when the dancer roller 74 rises to the upper limit position, the packaging material issuing roll 72 increases the amount of film issued.
The packaging material F4 then passes through a pleat-forming device 77 where the inner surface thereof is heat sealed into a pinch form to thereby form a pleat h which extends in an orthogonal direction to the running direction of the packaging material F4. The packaging material F4 then passes through pleat inclining means 78 which incline the pleat h rearward of the direction of motion.
The pleat-inserting device 77 is constituted by upstream side and downstream side gap forming plates 77a, 77b adhered to the lower face (outer face) of the packaging material F4, pleat forming heat sealers 77c, 77d which correspond to the lower side of the gap forming plates 77a, 77b, packaging material pushing plates 77e, 77f which are provided in correspondence with the upper side of the gap forming plates 77a, 77b and which hold down the packaging material F4 toward the gap forming plates 77a, 77b, and a pleat forming plate 77g which is provided on the upper side of the packaging material F4 between the gap of the gap forming plates 77a, 77b and which forms a pleat by descending through the gap.
The pleat h is formed during a stoppage in the intermittent motion of the packaging material F4. First, the packaging material pushing plate 77f descends to hold down the packaging material F4 toward the gap forming plate 77b, then the pleat forming plate 77g forms a pleat by descending to push the packaging material F4 between the gap in the gap forming plates 77a, 77b, then the packaging material pushing plate 77e descends to hold down the packaging material F4 toward the gap forming plate 77a, whereby the pleat forming plate 77g returns to its original raised position, then the pleat forming heat sealers 77c, 77d are closed to apply a heat seal to the pleated pinch portion of the packaging material F4 and thereby form the pleat h, and finally the pleat forming heat sealers 77c, 77d are opened, the packaging material pushing plates 77e, 77f return to their original raised position and the packaging material F4 can continue to move.
Note that an operating sequence in which the pleat forming plate 77g descends and performs pleat folding initially, whereupon the packaging material pushing plates 77e, 77f descend to hold down the packaging material F4 and the pleat forming plate 77g rises may also be implemented.
In the drawing, a pair of freely rotating rolls are used as the pleat inclining means 78, but these means are not limited thereto, and instead an upper and lower pair of flat plates may be provided such that a gap of 1.5 mm to 3.0 mm, for example, is formed to allow the passage of the packaging material F4 while inclining the pleat h toward the upstream side.
Next, the packaging material F4 is hooked onto a guide roll 79 and then hooked onto a collar portion 80a of a former 80, passed through a gap between a tubular portion 80b with a C-shaped cross section which is opened at the front side of the former 80 and a packaged product filling tube (i.e., a tube for filling a product to be packaged) 81 which extends through the inside of the tubular portion 80b as shown in FIG. 26(a), and wrapped substantially once around the packaged product filling tube 81. The packaging material F4 is then bent such that the two edges thereof abut at the front side of the packaged product filling tube 81, and three-ply connecting tape T which is constituted by double-sided sealant film and which is issued from a reel W around which the connecting tape is wound passes through the front side of the packaged product filling tube 81 so as to seal the inside of the two edges of the packaging material F4. Then, with the packaged product filling tube 81 as a pedestal, a central heat seal bar 91 applies pressure between the two edges of the packaging material F4 and the connecting tape T to apply a heat seal as shown in
Note that the pleat h in the packaging tube H is inclined upward, and is therefore able to pass through the gap between the tubular portion 80b of the former 80 and the packaged product filling tube 81.
Next, as shown in
Each of the pleats h is inclined upward. The pitch with which the pleats h are provided is an equal length to the total dimension of the pouch height, the dimension required to form the bottom face portion from the pleat to the bottom heat seal (which is preferably a substantially equal dimension to the dimension of the side gusset fold), and the required dimension for the bottom heat seal. The film feeding device feeds film intermittently in equal lengths to the pitch with which the pleats h are provided.
Next, as shown in
While the double heat seal is being applied to the packaging tube H by the horizontal heat sealers 87, 87, a predetermined amount of a product to be packaged is poured into a hopper 90, descends through the packaged product filling tube 81, and is charged above the horizontal heat sealers 87, 87. When the horizontal heat sealers 87, 87 open, film feeding is performed by the belts 84, 84 on the film feeding device. The sealing cycle is repeated in this manner.
The severed vertical pillow package body P is formed with the pleat h at its upper end, and hence the two side faces of the vertical pillow package body are supported by a vacuum support and rotation means 88. Following severance, the package body is turned upside down such that the pleat h is provided on the lower end, and then placed on a conveyor 89 to be transported.
Note that since the severed vertical pillow package body P is turned upside down such that the pleat h is provided on the lower end, the top heat seal and bottom heat seal are reversed in the package body when compared with a normal vertical form-fill-seal method.
In this pleated vertical pillow package body P, at the part below the pleat h, a bottom gusset is formed in triangular pocket form on both sides such that the part opens out laterally to form a bottom face portion. The pleat h is suspended substantially from the peripheral edge of the bottom face portion and the pleat h is formed in the plane of the front face portion, right side face portion, left side face portion, and rear face portion, and thus the pleat h does not appear to be independent therefrom. As a result, a stable stand-up pouch with a polygonal bottom with a bottom face portion concealed behind the pleat h, thus giving the impression of a tightly sealed package, is obtained.
The peripheral scope of the invention pertaining to a pleated vertical pillow package body will now be described.
In the vertical form-fill-seal machine shown in
The closing of the two edges of the packaging material F4 at the front side of the packaged product filling tube 81 using the vertical form-fill-seal machine which is capable of manufacturing the pleated vertical pillow package body shown in
In the case of an envelope seal, by cutting the outside part of the double edge of the inner side pleat h into the required form, cutting the inside part of the double edge of the outer side pleat h into the required form, and then overlapping and heat sealing these edge parts, the sealed parts of the inner side pleat h And the outer side pleat h is like a pleat of a single sheet form. Further, the position at which the two edges of the packaging material in the horizontal direction are closed together may be in the vicinity of the edge between the right side face and the rear face portion, for example, rather than in the center of the rear face portion. These examples of modification may be realized by slightly modifying the vertical form-fill-seal machine shown in
The feed roll R which is attached to the vertical form-fill-seal machine which is capable of manufacturing the pleated vertical pillow package body shown in
The packaging material F4 used in the manufacture of the pleated vertical pillow package body is constituted similarly to the packaging material F4 used in the description of the first embodiment, for example, by a laminated film or the like.
In order to form the pleat h using a heat seal, the packaging material F4 has an inner surface constituted by sealant film, as is understood from the aforementioned examples of laminated film. Note that the packaging material may be constituted solely by sealant film.
Next, a manufacturing method for a pleated horizontal pillow package body according to the present invention will be described with reference to
In
The feed roll R1 for the pleated packaging material F5 is hooked onto a guide roll 101 and then pressured between a packaging material issuing roll 102 which is driven at increasing and decreasing speeds by a servo motor, not shown, and a freely rotating nip roll 103 so as to be drawn therethrough. The packaging material F5 is then hooked onto a guide roll 104, a dancer roller 105, a guide roll 106 and a meandering correction roll 107.
The dancer roller 105 functions to lightly and fixedly maintain issuing resistance against the issuance of the downstream side pleated packaging material F5. The packaging material issuing roll 102 is rotated by a servo motor so as to reduce the amount of film issued when the dancer roller 105 falls to the lower limit position and to increase the amount of film issued when the dancer roller 105 rises to the upper limit position.
Next, the feed roll R1 of the pleated packaging material F5 which is hooked onto the meandering correction roll 107 is hooked onto a former 108 with a C-shaped cross section opened at the upper face so as to be covered thereby from bottom to top, is pushed by guide members 109, 109 to be folded into the inner face side of the former 108 at the inlet to the former 108, and moves without diverging from the inner face of the former 108. The two edges of the packaging material are abutted at the center of width by the upper face of an anvil plate 110 which is horizontally suspended so as to plug a slit in the inner surface of the former 108 from the inside, and a three-ply connecting tape T, which is constituted by a double-sided sealant film and is issued from a reel W wound with this connecting tape T, is led to the upper face of the anvil plate 110 via guide rolls 111, 112, 113, 114, 115 to underlay the two edges of the packaging material and seal the gap therebetween. A heat seal roll 116 then pressures the two edges of the packaging material F5 onto the connecting tape T with the anvil plate 110 as a pedestal to form a heat seal, whereby the edges of the packaging material F5 are sealed and a packaging tube H is formed.
Note that the pleat h1 of the pleated packaging material F5 is inclined rearward of the direction of motion, and therefore the packaging material F5 can be bent smoothly without the pleat h1 catching at the inlet of the former 108 when the packaging material F5 is folded. Inclining the pleat h1 of the pleated packaging material F5 rearward of the direction of motion is preferable but not necessary, since even if the pleats h1 incline towards the direction of forwarding of the packaging material F5, the packaging material F5 can be bent smoothly without being caught at the inlet of the former 108 when the packaging material 5 is folded.
As a rule, the pitch with which the pleats h1 are provided is an equal length to the total dimension of the pouch height, the dimension required to form the bottom face portion from the pleat to the bottom heat seal (which is preferably a substantially equal dimension to the dimension of the side gusset fold), and the required dimension for the bottom heat seal.
An import conveyor 117 on the upstream side of the former 108 moves products to be packaged A1, A1, . . . , which are placed on and supplied from a lane table 117c by applying pressure thereon using transportation claws 117b which are annexed at a constant pitch to an endless chain 117a, for example, such that the products to be packaged A1, A1, . . . , are transported to the inlet of the former 108 and fed into the packaging tubes H1 formed inside the former 108 at a predetermined pitch so that each product to be packaged is positioned in a required position between the pleats h1.
The packaging tubes H1 formed in the former 108 are then pulled and conveyed by a packaging material pulling belt conveyor 118 having a vacuum function which is provided on the lower side of the former 108 at a halfway point on the downstream side thereof, and then transported by a transporting shuttle conveyor 119, and are finally transported by a transporting shuttle conveyor 121 which is provided downstream of a box motion type end seal cutting device 120.
The end seal cutting device 120 is designed to perform a box motion in which heat sealers 120a, 120b gradually move closer to one another from an opened state correspondingly to the motion of the packaging tube H1 so as to be positioned between adjacent products. The heat sealers 120a, 120b mesh at the center of height of the packaging tube H1 to apply a double heat seal thereon. The heats sealers 120a, 120b then gradually move synchronously with the packaging tube H1 such that a cutter 120c installed in one of the heat sealers 120b cuts the center of the double heat seal, whereupon the heat sealers 120a, 120b separate from one another and return upstream.
The conveyors 119, 121 are constituted by shuttle conveyors in order to correspond to the box motion of the end seal cutting device 120. When the lower heat sealer 120a rises a gap is opened and the position of this gap varies synchronously with the movement of the heat sealer 120a, and when the end seal cutting operation is complete and the lower heat sealer 120a falls, the gap is closed. Note that the end seal cutting device may be of a rotary heat seal cutting type.
A pair of gusset forming butting claws 122a, 122b are provided to the end seal cutting device 120. When the aforementioned double heat seal is applied, this pair of gusset forming butting claws 122a, 122b butt the packaging tube H1 in the center of height on the two sides of the heat sealers 120a, 120b in the direction of delivery of the packaging material in advance of the closing operation of the heat sealers 120a, 120b to form a gusset.
By means of the aforementioned procedures, the packaging pouch is completed. When the severed package body is rotated 90 degrees, the pleat is suspended from the periphery of the bottom face portion, thereby concealing the bottom face portion to provide a pleated horizontal pillow package body with a stable self-standing quality and which gives the impression of a tightly sealed package.
To describe this process briefly, the pleated packaging material F5 is used as shown in (a), this pleated packaging material F5 being formed by providing a packaging material having an inner surface constituted by a sealant film with a pleat h1 which extends in an orthogonal direction to the longitudinal direction of the pouch and is formed by folding a portion of the packaging material in a three-ply strip form and adhering the overlapping inner surfaces of this folded portion such that the outer face side of the pleat h1 hangs down. Then, as shown in (b), the pleated packaging material F5 is folded into a prismatic tube form having a front face portion, rear face portion, right side face portion, and left side face portion, whereupon the two edges of the packaging material are abutted in the center of the rear face portion, a three-ply connecting tape T constituted by a double-sided sealant film is applied to the inside of the abutted rear face portion to form a seal, and a heat seal is applied to the connecting tape T on the two edges of the packaging material to form a pleated prismatic tube. Once the prismatic tube has been filled with a product to be packaged (not shown), gussets are inserted into the side portions 123 below the pleat h1 while a bottom heat seal is applied thereto, as shown in (b), and similarly, gussets are inserted into the two side portions of the opposite side while a top heat seal is applied thereto, and thus a pleated gusseted-horizontal pillow packaging pouch formed with a bottom heat seal 124 and a top seal 125 is completed as shown in (c). By rotating this packaging pouch 90 degrees and forming the surface to which the bottom heat seal 124 has been applied into a bottom face portion as shown in (d), the pleat h1 is suspended around the entire periphery, thereby concealing the bottom face portion and the bottom heat seal such that a packaging pouch with a stable self-standing quality is obtained.
The peripheral scope of the present invention will now be described.
The embodiment described above illustrates forming, filling, and sealing of upside-down pillow type horizontal pouches, but this invention also includes horizontal forming, filling, and packaging of standard pillow type pouches. Further, in this embodiment a feed roll with a preformed pleat is used, but pleating may be performed in-line. Also in this embodiment, a heat seal is applied to a strip-form sealing tape along the inside of the two edges of packaging material to form a packaging tube in a prismatic tunnel form, but the packaging tube may be formed in a prismatic tunnel form by applying a pinch type heat seal to the two edges of the packaging material or by means of a direct heat seal in which the inner surface of one of the edges is adhered to the outer surface of the other edge to form a so-called “envelope seal”. This embodiment illustrates an example in which gussets are formed, but gussets do not have to be formed since the part below the pleat may be concealed inside the pleat by folding without forming gussets. The width of the pleat (the length of the overlapping adhered part in the direction of issuance of the packaging material) may be increased or decreased. When a feed roll with wide pleats is used, the maximum width of the pleat is determined as a rule such that the length from the base end of the pleat to the end seal is kept shorter than half of the width of the side face portions. Thus when a feed roll with wide pleats is used, the inside of the pleat forms an empty raised bottom, allowing the completed horizontal pillow package body to be displayed on a shelf in a multi-level stacked form.
The pleated packaging material F5 is constituted by a similar laminated film to the packaging material F1 used in the first embodiment.
In order to form the pleat h1 using a heat seal, the packaging material F5 has an inner surface constituted by a sealant film, as is understood from the aforementioned examples of laminated film. Note that the packaging material F5 may be constituted solely by a sealant film.
As described above, the stand-up packaging pouch and package body of the present invention are constituted with a pleat which is provided at least on the lower end of a front face portion and a rear face portion or on the lower end of a peripheral face portion so as to conceal a bottom face portion and which is formed by folding a portion for the pleat of a packaging material in a three-ply strip form and adhering the inner surfaces of the folded portion. Since a flat packaging material is manufactured into a pouch following the formation of the pleat, there is no likelihood of the formation of creases in the pleat, and as a result a packaging pouch with a pleasing appearance is obtained. The pleat is positioned as an edge which extends from the front face portion or peripheral face portion, thereby being formed in the same plane as the front face and rear face portions or the entire peripheral face portion which does not appear independent therefrom, and as a result, a tight packaging form is produced so that a package body with a highly attractive appearance can be manufactured. Moreover, the sealing quality of the pleat is ensured, and therefore the package body may be favorably used as a container for liquids.
The pleated packaging material feed roll of the present invention is capable of continuously mass-producing pleated flattened pouches or pleated pillow packaging bodies by setting a pleated packaging material feed roll onto a pouch manufacturing machine or a form-fill-seal pouch machine. More specifically, the pleated packaging material feed roll of the present invention is provided with an inclined pleat, the inner surfaces of which are adhered in pinch form, and thus the feed roll can be set onto a pouch manufacturing machine or form-fill-seal machine no differently to a packaging material without a pleat. The pleated packaging material is then successfully bent and formed into a packaging tube and manufactured into a pouch no differently to packaging material without a pleat, and thus pleated flattened pouches or pleated pillow packaging bodies can be continuously mass-produced. In the pleated packaging material feed roll of the present invention, the width of the pleat can be determined arbitrarily, and if the width of the pleat is increased, the space which is surrounded by the pleat when a package body is formed can be increased such that a plurality of packaging bodies can be displayed in stacked form.
According to the manufacturing method for a pleated vertical pillow package body of the present invention, a pleat with no likelihood of creases and a pleasing appearance is obtained, and since the complete sealing quality of the pleat part is ensured, pleated vertical pillow packaging bodies can be continuously mass-produced for use as liquid containers.
Further, since the downstream side of the packaging material is not stretched when the pleat is formed, the dimension of the interval between pleats can be set accurately, and thus when the manufacturing method for a pleated vertical pillow package body is implemented, the packaging bodies are produced in a uniform size.
Moreover, the width of the pleat (the length of the pleat in the direction of motion of the packaging material) can be set at a desired dimension, and thus if a thick, strong packaging material is used to form a pouch and the width of the pleat is increased, vertical pillow packaging bodies which can be displayed in stacked form can be mass-produced.
Further, according to the manufacturing method for a pleated horizontal pillow package body of the present invention, pleated horizontal pillow packaging bodies may be continuously mass-produced using a pleated packaging material by a horizontal form-fill-seal process, and since the complete sealing quality of the pleat part is ensured, these packaging bodies may be applied as liquid containers.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-392280 | Dec 2001 | JP | national |
| 2002-017259 | Jan 2002 | JP | national |
| 2002-034407 | Feb 2002 | JP | national |
| 2002-057941 | Mar 2002 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP02/13487 | 12/25/2002 | WO | 00 | 4/15/2004 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO03/055760 | 7/10/2003 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050069230 A1 | Mar 2005 | US |
