JP2011006073A - Liquid beverage container - Google Patents

Abstract

When a liquid beverage container is filled with the liquid of the contents and then the container is sealed, the gas in the container headspace reduces its volume due to a decrease in temperature, oxygen consumption, etc. An object of the present invention is to provide a container for a liquid beverage that can prevent dents.
A container main body having a body portion made of a laminated material mainly made of paper, a bottom plate and a top plate having a drinking mouth portion, and a tab having flexibility for covering and adhering and sealing the drinking mouth portion. Liquid beverage container for filling and sealing the contents, and sealing the mouthpiece in a state where the bottom plate of the container bottom is decompressed from below and temporarily inflated outside after filling the contents A container for liquid beverages characterized by the above.
[Selection] Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a container for liquid beverages having a mouth portion sealed with a tab tape, which contains contents such as fruit juice beverages, tea, liquid soup, etc., and in particular, the side of the container during storage by means of sealing at the time of filling. The present invention relates to a container for liquid beverages that does not cause dents.

  In recent years, liquid paper containers with a mouthpiece covered with an opening tab have been widely used for reasons such as easy disposal after use in the field of liquid foods such as fruit juice, tea and liquid soup. Yes. Examples of the shape of the liquid paper container include a cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. 4 and a rectangular tube shape as shown in FIG.

  These paper containers are filled with sterilized fruit juice or liquid beverage food from the opening (3) serving as a mouthpiece provided on the top plate (2), and then the tab material (4) on the upper surface of the opening (3). ) To obtain a liquid paper container filled with the contents.

  Opening is performed by a pull-top method in which the tab material (4) is peeled off from the container to expose the drinking mouth portion, and the content liquid is poured out after the tab material is peeled off (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). .

  In many cases, such a liquid paper container is filled with contents such as beverages by using a sterile filling machine.

In filling with an aseptic filling machine, a liquid paper container is sterilized, and a predetermined amount of liquid of the contents sterilized by instantaneous heating is filled at room temperature.
Then, an inert gas such as nitrogen is blown into a space formed in the upper part of the container to expel air and replace oxygen and nitrogen, and at the same time, the opening is sealed with a tab material.

  Since the liquid level is lower than the top plate surface so that the liquid of the contents filled at this time does not spill, a head space with a certain volume or more is always created in the upper part of the container.

When the liquid of the contents is filled at room temperature, the gas in the head space is not affected by temperature during storage at room temperature, but is decompressed due to contraction due to cooling during storage at refrigeration.
In addition, oxygen in the air that could not be driven out even at room temperature storage may be absorbed and consumed by vitamin C or the like, resulting in a reduced pressure state.

  If the inside of a liquid paper container is depressurized during storage, a dent will appear in the container's easy-to-dent part (mainly the body), which not only detracts from aesthetics but also makes it difficult to handle during transportation or opening. End up.

  For example, if a liquid paper container is filled with the contents of the liquid and then the container is simply sealed without any special treatment, the gas in the container headspace may be reduced in temperature or consumed oxygen during storage or transportation. If the volume is reduced due to the cause, a part of the container may dent and the cosmetic properties may be impaired.

In Patent Document 1, to solve this problem, a deformed portion is given to the body of a container having a circular cross section made of paperboard, aluminum foil or plastic before hot filling, or is deformed beforehand in the process after hot filling. Of the liquid container that is finally cooled to cause volume shrinkage, and the container body is deformed into a cross-sectional shape corresponding to the deformation due to the volume shrinkage. Manufacturing methods have been proposed.

  As described above, there is a method of dealing with a decrease in the air volume by applying deformation, but this makes it easy to deform the outer shape due to the temperature change of the contents, and it is difficult to maintain the cosmetics. In addition, the cylindrical shape cannot be maintained in a state where the contents are filled.

JP 59-74003 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-2464

  The present invention was made to solve such a problem of the prior art, and after filling the liquid of the contents in the liquid paper container, the gas in the container head space is sealed when the container is sealed, It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid beverage container capable of preventing a part of the container from being recessed by reducing its volume due to a decrease in temperature or oxygen consumption.

  The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a container body including a body portion made of a laminate material mainly composed of paper, a bottom plate and a top plate having a drinking mouth portion, and covers and adheres to the drinking mouth portion, and is sealed. A liquid beverage container for filling and sealing the contents, wherein the bottom plate of the container bottom is decompressed from below and temporarily inflated to the outside after filling the contents. The container for liquid drinks characterized in that the drinking mouth is sealed.

  According to the container for liquid beverage according to claim 1 of the present invention, a container main body including a trunk portion made of a laminate material mainly composed of paper, a top plate having a bottom plate and a drinking mouth portion, and the drinking mouth portion. A liquid beverage container for filling and sealing the contents, comprising a tab material having flexibility to cover, adhere and seal, and the bottom plate at the bottom of the container is decompressed from the bottom after filling the contents to the outside By sealing the drinking mouth part in a temporarily inflated state, the gas in the container head space is prevented from denting part of the container by reducing its volume due to temperature drop or oxygen consumption. Became possible.

  After filling the container, the inner volume of the container is temporarily increased by deforming the bottom plate to the outside of the container, and the volume of the container head space is increased. Due to the elasticity, the internal pressure of the gas in the head space portion is increased, and as a result, for example, the shrinkage of the gas in the head space portion due to a decrease in temperature during refrigeration is reduced.

  This deformation of the bottom of the container is performed by decompressing the bottom plate from the lower part with a suction device after filling the contents. At this time, since the bottom surface is temporarily deformed to the outside, the water surface of the contents is lowered, so that the volume of the head space when sealed is temporarily increased.

  After the tab material is bonded to the top plate, if the suction by the suction device from the lower part is released in this state, the volume of the gas in the head space decreases because the bottom of the container tries to return to its original shape due to its elasticity. As a result, the internal pressure increases.

  Thus, according to the liquid beverage container of the present invention, when the container after filling is sealed, the container after sealing is temporarily evacuated by partially evacuating the container to increase the internal volume of the container. Even if the internal pressure of the internal headspace increases and the internal pressure decreases due to temperature drop during refrigeration or oxygen consumption during storage, it is possible to prevent deterioration of cosmetics and ease of handling due to the concave side of the container. .

It is a figure which shows an example of the container for liquid drinks concerning this invention. (A) is a front view (B) is a schematic diagram of a vertical section. It is a figure which shows an example of the formation method of the container for liquid drinks. (A) A step of forming a cylindrical part molded into a cylindrical shape. (B) A step of forming a container by bonding the top plate and the bottom plate in which the opening is formed to the body portion. (C) A step of filling the contents from the opening. (D) A step of sealing the tab material. It is a figure which shows an example of the conventional cylindrical paper-made liquid container. It is a figure which shows an example of the conventional square tube-shaped paper liquid container. It is a figure which shows a part of manufacturing process of the conventional container for liquid drinks. (A1) Nitrogen gas blowing process, (A2) Drinking part sealing process with tab material, (A3) Discharge process of container with contents It is a figure which shows a part of manufacturing process of the container for liquid drinks of this invention. (A1) Nitrogen gas blowing process, (B) Deformation process by decompression of bottom plate, (A2) Drinking part sealing process by tab material, (A3) Discharge process of container with contents

  The container for liquid drinks of this invention is demonstrated with reference to drawings along one Embodiment. The shape of the paper liquid container according to the present invention is not limited to the cylindrical shape shown in the figure, and various shapes such as a rectangular tube shape, a cup shape, and a conical shape can be used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, for example, the liquid beverage container of the present invention has a top plate (2) having a trunk (6) made of a paper-based laminate material, a bottom plate (5), and a mouthpiece (3). A liquid beverage container for filling and sealing the contents, comprising a container body provided with a tab material (4) having a flexibility for covering and adhering and sealing the drinking mouth part, It is a container for liquid drinks in which the mouthpiece (3) is sealed in a state where the bottom plate (5) at the bottom of the container is decompressed from below after filling the contents (9) and temporarily inflated outward.

  That is, the volume of the gas in the head space is temporarily increased by decompressing the bottom plate (5) at the bottom of the container after filling the contents (9) and temporarily inflating it outward.

  By sealing the drinking mouth (3) in this state and eliminating the reduced pressure state, the bottom plate (5) returns to its original shape by its own elasticity, the volume of gas in the head space decreases, and the inside of the head space is reduced. The gas pressure increases.

  The increase in the gas pressure in the head space causes the effect of the liquid beverage container of the present invention.

  Next, an outline of an example of a method for forming a liquid beverage container according to claim 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, a laminated material mainly composed of paper is molded into a cylindrical shape by a molding machine to form the body (6) (FIG. 2 (a)).

  Next, the top plate (2) and the bottom plate (5) in which the opening portion (3) serving as the drinking portion is formed in the laminated material mainly composed of paper are completely bonded to the trunk portion (6) (FIG. 2B). )).

  In this state, while filling nitrogen gas from the nitrogen nozzle, liquid food such as fruit juice, tea, and liquid soup are filled (FIG. 2 (c)).

  Next, the suction device is pressed from the bottom of the bottom plate (5) to reduce the pressure, and the bottom plate is temporarily deformed into a convex shape downward. At this time, the liquid level (8) of the contents (9) descends and the volume of the head space portion (11) increases.

  Finally, a cylindrical liquid beverage container is created by sticking the tab material (4) from the outside of the container so as to cover the whole drinking part (3) with the liquid level (8) lowered. (FIG. 2 (d)).

  The above steps will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 for the steps after the stage where the filling of the contents is completed.

  FIG. 5 shows a process for discharging a container containing contents (A3) from a nitrogen gas blowing process (A1) after filling a liquid container into a cylindrical liquid beverage container through a mouthpiece sealing process (A2) with a tab material. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the respective vertical cross-sections of the manufacturing process of a conventional liquid beverage container.

  FIG. 6 shows a nitrogen gas blowing step (A1) after filling the liquid of the contents into a cylindrical liquid beverage container, a deformation step (B) of the bottom plate by decompression, and a mouthpiece sealing step (A2) by the tab material. ) Shows a schematic diagram of each vertical cross section of the manufacturing process of the container for liquid beverage of the present invention, which reaches the discharging process (A3) of the container with contents.

  The process after filling the contents of the conventional liquid paper container is a nitrogen gas blowing process as shown in A1 of FIG. 5, and the nitrogen nozzle ((3) is not yet sealed by the tab member (4)). The air in the container headspace section (11) is replaced with nitrogen gas by nitrogen gas blown from 10).

  At the same time, a sealing unit (12) for heat-sealing the tab material (4) to the top plate (2) to seal the drinking portion (3) approaches from above the top plate (2).

  Next, the sealing unit (12) heated in the mouthpiece sealing process as shown in A2 of FIG. 5 is further lowered, the tab material (4) is brought into intimate contact with the top plate (2), and the mouthpiece is sealed with heat. Seal part (3).

  Next, the liquid paper container filled with the contents and sealed in step A3 in FIG. 5 is discharged and discharged to the next step such as stacking or packing.

  On the other hand, the process after filling the contents of the liquid paper container of the present invention is a nitrogen gas blowing process as shown in A1 of FIG. 6, and the drinking mouth (3) is not yet sealed by the tab material (4). The air in the container headspace part (11) is replaced with nitrogen gas by nitrogen gas blown from the nitrogen nozzle (10) in the state.

  At the same time, a sealing unit (12) for heat-sealing the tab material (4) to the top plate (2) to seal the drinking portion (3) approaches from above the top plate (2). Along with this, a suction device (14) for depressurizing the bottom plate (5) at the bottom of the container from the lower side and temporarily inflating it outward approaches from the lower side.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, the gas in the space between the rubber packing (16), the bottom plate (5), and the rubber packing for tightly adhering to the lower periphery of the leg portion (7) from below and maintaining airtightness. The suction device (14) provided with a tube (15) for sucking the pressure into the pressure-reduced state is pressed against the leg (7) and brought into close contact with the pump (not shown) so that the bottom plate is convex downward Temporarily deform. As a result, the liquid level (8) of the contents (9) is lowered by an amount corresponding to the volume increased by the deformation of the bottom plate (5).

  As the liquid level (8) is lowered, the volume of the head space portion (11) existing between the liquid level (8) and the top plate (2) increases.

  Next, in the drinking mouth portion sealing process as shown in A2 of FIG. 6, the heated seal unit (12) is further lowered, and the tab material (4) is brought into close contact with the top plate (2) to be heat-sealed for drinking. After sealing the mouth (3), the suction of gas by the lower suction device (14) is released.

  As a result, the head space portion (11) sealed with the drinking mouth portion (3) in a state where the volume is increased acts on the bottom plate (11) acting in a direction to return to the original state even when the suction by the suction device (14) is released. Due to the elastic force of 5), the gas volume of the head space portion (11) is reduced and the pressure of the gas is increased from the atmospheric pressure, and the liquid paper container filled with the contents (9) and sealed is completed.

  Next, in the process as shown in A3 of FIG. 6, the liquid paper container having a high gas pressure in the head space portion (11) filled with the contents and sealed is discharged and discharged to the next process such as stacking or packing. To do.

  The liquid paper container of the present invention produced by the above steps shown in FIG. 6 has a higher internal pressure of the gas in the head space than the atmospheric pressure, compared to the conventional liquid paper container produced by the process of FIG. The volume shrinkage due to the temperature drop is small, and the volume is hardly reduced due to oxygen consumption in the contents.

  Here, the top plate, the bottom plate, and the body portion used in the present invention will be described. The material used for the top plate, the bottom plate and the body is a laminated material mainly composed of paper, and the constituent materials used other than paper include synthetic resin layers such as polyethylene film and polyester film, gas barrier films, etc. What laminated | stacked two or more layers with the adhesive agent is used.

As the paper, any paper that is usually used for liquid containers can be used, but a paperboard having a basis weight of 50 to 500 g / m ² is desirable in view of processability and shape retention.

  The synthetic resin is used for heat sealing, for stabilizing the moisture content of the paper material, for preventing dirt from the outside and for mitigating the impact, and for preventing the contents from penetrating into the paper material. A synthetic resin layer and / or a film of ˜100 μm is frequently used.

  The synthetic resin is preferably a polyolefin resin such as polyethylene, or a polyester resin such as polyethylene terephthalate or 2,6-polyethylene naphthalate.

  The gas barrier film is used for enhancing the storage stability of the contents, and examples thereof include a vapor deposition film obtained by depositing an inorganic oxide such as silicon oxide or aluminum oxide on a plastic film, an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer film, and the like.

  The plastic film used for the vapor-deposited film of the gas barrier film is preferably a 10-100 μm polyethylene terephthalate film, and the inorganic oxide vapor-deposited layer preferably has a thickness of 10-100 nm.

  The layer structure of the above-mentioned laminated material may be a common structure for the top plate, the bottom plate, and the body part, or may be different, and is used according to the actual situation such as the storage stability of the contents and the container shape. That's fine.

  In addition, the tab material (4) is a laminated material mainly composed of paper like the top plate and the trunk, but it can be attached to the top plate and peels off from the top plate with an appropriate strength. For example, it is desirable to use a non-stretched polypropylene resin of a low peel strength type in which an appropriate amount of a high density polyethylene resin and a low density polyethylene resin is blended with a polypropylene resin, and a sticking method by heating is desirable.

Hereinafter, the liquid beverage container according to the present invention will be described in more detail with specific examples.
<Example 1>

<Laminated materials for top plate, bottom plate and trunk>
Paper material for laminating material: basis weight 320 g / m ²
Synthetic resin layer 1: Biaxially stretched polyethylene terephthalate film with a thickness of 12 μm Synthetic resin layer 2: Low density polyethylene gas barrier film with a density of 0.920 g / cm ³ : Polyester film having a silicon oxide thin film deposited on the synthetic resin 1 is used It was.

  A polyurethane-based adhesive is used as an adhesive for adhering each layer, and a laminated material having a structure of (resin outer) synthetic resin layer 2 / paper material / synthetic resin layer 1 / gas barrier film / synthetic resin layer 2 (inner container) ( A) was obtained.

<Laminated material for tab material>
Paper material for laminating material: basis weight 83 g / m ²
Synthetic resin layer 1: Biaxially stretched polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 12 μm Gas barrier film: Polyester film peeled by depositing a silicon oxide thin film on the synthetic resin 1: Thickness obtained by blending high density polyethylene resin and low density polyethylene resin An unstretched polypropylene film having a thickness of 35 μm was used.

  A polyurethane-based adhesive was used as an adhesive for adhering the respective layers to obtain a laminated material (B) having a structure of (peel outer side) peel layer / gas barrier film / paper material / synthetic resin layer 1 (container inner side).

<Creation of containers for liquid beverages>
Using the laminate material (A) obtained above and the laminate material for tabs (B), the paper container manufacturing machine and the liquid filling machine shown in FIG. 1 through the steps shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. A liquid beverage container (C) according to claim 1 of the present invention was obtained by filling 200 ml of water in a cylindrical paper container having a diameter of 53 mm and an internal volume of 235 ml.

<Comparative Example 1>
Using the laminate material (A) and the laminate material for tabs (B) obtained above, the paper container making machine and the liquid filling machine were used in the steps as shown in FIGS. A liquid beverage container (D) in which 200 ml of water was filled in a 235 ml cylindrical paper container was obtained.

<Evaluation>
When the appearance of the container after refrigerated storage for 1 day was evaluated in the liquid beverage container (C) obtained in Example 1, no abnormality was observed. In the liquid beverage container (D) obtained in Comparative Example 1, a significant dent was observed in the trunk.

  It mainly relates to the sealing method after filling paper liquid beverage containers. Even if the air in the container headspace may decrease due to physical or chemical reaction such as temperature drop or oxygen consumption after filling, It can be used for a liquid paper container filled with a soft drink or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Container for liquid drinks 2 ... Top plate 3 ... Opening part (drinking part)
4 ... Tab material 5 ... Bottom plate 6 ... Body part 7 ... Leg part 8 ... Liquid surface 9 ... Contents 10 ... Nitrogen nozzle 11 ... Head space part 12 ... Seal unit 14 ... Suction device 15 ... Tube 16 ... Rubber packing

Claims (1)

  A container main body having a trunk portion made of a paper-based laminated material, a bottom plate and a top plate having a drinking mouth portion, and a tab material having flexibility to cover and adhere to the drinking mouth portion and to be sealed And a liquid beverage container for filling and sealing the contents, wherein the mouthpiece is sealed in a state in which the bottom plate of the container bottom is decompressed from below and temporarily inflated outside after filling the contents. A container for liquid beverages.

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