JP2000211617A - Method and device for attaching strip for displaying unopened plug of bottle container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a device capable of attaching a strip to display the unopened plug condition of a cap of a bottle container in an extremely easy manner. SOLUTION: A hot air or hot steam moving passage is formed by a hollow heating box 10, side surfaces opposite to each other of the heating box are communicated with a generation source of the hot air or hot steam, a through hole 26 through which a tip cap 2 of a bottle container 1 with a cylindrical heat shrinkable film 4 covered thereon and a neck part continuous thereto can be inserted in the heating box from a lower part of the heating box is formed in the heating box, a guide cylindrical wall 12 with a large number of air holes 13 are cut therein is provided in the heating box above the through hole, a cylindrical shutter member 14 is freely elevated/lowered along the guide cylindrical wall, and the shutter member is moved in the direction of the tip cap from the neck part side of the bottle container when the tip part of the bottle container 1 is located inside the cylindrical shutter member 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for attaching a strip for indicating that a bottle container of beer or the like is not opened.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, crimes involving toxic substances in food and drink have frequently occurred, and manufacturers have been struggling with this measure. For a plastic bottle or the like that employs a screw-type cap, it has long been devised that the cap cannot be opened by rotation unless the unused seal is cut. However, for a glass bottle container such as beer or cola using a crown cap, a means for displaying an unopened state is not particularly employed.

[0003]

In a crown cap, once it is opened by opening the cap, the lower end of the crown cap is deformed outward and cannot be normally closed again. However, it is not impossible to re-close, and it can be easily re-closed by applying heat or using a clamping tool such as pliers.
When the cap is re-closed in this manner, it is extremely difficult to recognize that the crown cap has been re-closed.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and its purpose is particularly suitable for bottle containers made of bottles such as beer and cola using a crown cap.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus capable of extremely easily applying a strip indicating the unopened state of the cap of various bottle containers.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, in the method of the present invention, a short cylindrical heat-shrinkable film is formed so as to surround a mouth cap at the tip of a bottle container and a neck following the cap. Then, the film is sequentially heated from the neck portion side to the cap side, and the film is tightly coated on the neck portion and the cap by heat shrinkage. As a result, the heat-shrinkable tubular film can be tightly covered with the tip cap from the neck portion of the bottle container in a wrinkle-free state as if squeezed upward from below, and when the cap is opened. This makes it impossible to open the film without breaking the film, and the consumer can see at a glance that the film has not been opened.

In the case where the container is a bottle container and the cap is a crown cap, and the film is formed so as to cover the periphery of the upper surface of the crown cap from the mouth and neck, the film is formed on the outer periphery of the crown cap. It is possible to provide an unprecedented novel tampering prevention means that can be easily and reliably displayed in such a manner as to bite into the jagged portion at the lower end and to easily and reliably display the unopened state of the crown cap.

In the apparatus according to the present invention, an air-tight cylindrical shutter member is provided in the hot air or hot steam moving passage so as to be movable in a direction intersecting the passage, and the inner diameter of the shutter member is short. A mouth cap at the end of a container such as a bottle covered with a heat-shrinkable film was formed so as to be larger than the outer diameter of the neck portion following the cap, and the end of the container was positioned inside the cylindrical shutter member. Sometimes, means for moving the shutter member from the neck side of the container toward the mouth cap is provided. As described above, the apparatus of the present invention can perform the above-described method with a very simple configuration including the moving path of hot air or hot steam, the shutter member, and the means for moving the shutter member.

In the above apparatus, preferably, the passage for moving the hot air or the hot steam is formed by a hollow box, and the opposing side surfaces of the box are communicated with a source of the hot wind or the hot steam, and are connected to the box. Forming a through-hole capable of inserting the mouth cap at the end of a container such as a bottle covered with the heat-shrinkable film and the neck following this into the box from below the box,
An airtight cylindrical shutter member surrounding the tip of a container such as a bottle inserted into the box body is provided on the outer periphery of the upper portion of the through hole. Thereby, the hot air or the hot steam is guided by the box and moves efficiently in a laminar flow, and the insertion position and the insertion depth of the tip of the container such as a bottle are specified by using the through holes on the lower surface of the box. The lower position of the cylindrical shutter can be defined by the lower surface of the box.

Preferably, in the above apparatus, a hot air supply pipe is connected to each of the opposed side surfaces of the box, and a hot air recovery pipe is connected to an upper surface of the box, and the hot air supply pipe and the hot air recovery pipe are connected to each other. The pipe communicates with the pipe through a heater and a blower so that the hot air circulates, a plurality of the through holes are formed in the lower surface of the box, and a large number of air holes are provided in the box above the through holes. Is provided, and the cylindrical shutter member can be moved up and down along the guide cylindrical wall. Thereby, the unopened display strip can be simultaneously attached to many bottle containers by efficiently using the hot air.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a basic configuration of the present invention. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a bottle container, and a crown cap 2 is attached to a tip end portion of the bottle container and is closed. In the present invention, a tubular film 4 made of a heat-shrinkable resin, which is formed in a short tubular shape in advance, is covered so as to surround the crown cap 2 at the tip of the bottle container 1 and the neck 3 below it. Since the diameter of this cylindrical film is formed sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the neck portion 3 immediately adjacent to the crown cap, it is loosely fitted to the neck portion of the bottle container by being dropped from above the bottle container, and the tapered shape of the bottle container is formed. Will be supported below the neck or above the shoulder. It is important that when the cylindrical film 4 is loosely fitted as described above, its upper end occupies a position above the top surface of the crown cap 2.

A heating box (box) 10 which constitutes the apparatus of the present invention is provided above the bottle container 1, and the left and right outer walls of the heating box 10 communicate with a heating air supply source to supply hot air therein. The introduction pipes 11 and 11 to be introduced are attached. Circular through holes 10a and 10b are respectively formed in the upper surface and a part of the lower surface of the heating box 10 so as to face each other, and a cylindrical guide tube wall is formed so as to connect the inner peripheral surfaces of the upper and lower through holes. 12 is formed in the heating box 10. A large number of through holes 13 or slits are formed in the guide cylinder wall 12, and the inner diameter of the guide cylinder wall 12 is formed larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical film 4.

A shutter cylinder 14 having an airtight wall is fitted on the inner peripheral surface of the guide cylinder wall 12 so as to be slidable up and down. The shutter cylinder 14 has a lower large-diameter part 14a, an upper small-diameter part 14b, and a tapered part 14c therebetween. The inner diameter of the large-diameter part 14a is formed larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical film 4, The length of the large-diameter portion 14 a in the vertical direction is about の of the height of the guide cylinder wall 12. The upper end of the shutter cylinder 14 is mounted in a circular opening 15 a of the support plate 15, and one end of the support plate 15 is coupled to the tip of a piston rod 17 of an air cylinder 16 fixedly provided. When the piston rod 17 is extended by driving, the shutter cylinder 14 moves down with respect to the guide cylinder wall 12, and conversely, when the piston rod contracts, the shutter cylinder 14 moves up with respect to the guide cylinder wall 12.

In using the apparatus of the present invention, FIG.
As shown in (a), first, the piston rod 17 of the air cylinder 16 is extended to lower the lower end of the shutter cylinder 14 to the lower end of the guide cylinder wall 12. Then, in this state, the bottle container 1 into which the tubular film 4 is loosely fitted as described above.
Is inserted into the guide cylinder wall 12 from below the heating box 10, and the lower end of the cylindrical film is completely
4 to be inserted. At this time, the heating air is continuously introduced into the heating box 10 through the pipes 11 and 11 in advance, but the upper end of the bottle container 1 in which the tubular film 4 is loosely fitted is covered with the shutter tube 14 and Since heated air does not enter inside, the internal tubular film 4 is not thermally contracted. In addition, in order to minimize the thermal influence at this time, it is preferable to form the shatter tube 14 from a material having excellent heat insulating properties. The heated air introduced into the heating box passes through the through hole 13 above the guide cylinder wall 12, enters the inside, and is discharged outside through the outer periphery of the upper small diameter portion 14 of the shutter cylinder 14.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the shutter cylinder 14 is gradually raised with respect to the guide cylinder wall 12 while the piston rod of the air cylinder 16 is gradually contracted. When the shutter cylinder 14 starts to rise, the heated air blows out through the through-hole 13 below the guide cylinder wall 12 to cover the mouth and neck of the bottle container 1 located in the guide cylinder wall 12. 4 is blown downward, and the tubular film in that portion is shrunk to adhere to the neck of the bottle. When the shutter cylinder 14 is gradually raised in this way,
Since the through-hole 13 of the guide cylinder wall, which serves as a blow-out hole for the heated air, gradually expands from below to above, the heated air is blown sequentially from below to above the tubular film 4 to move the tubular film upward from below. Heat shrink sequentially. As a result, the cylindrical film starts from the neck of the bottle container 1 and covers the outer periphery of the crown cap 2 at the mouth and a part of the top surface thereof by heat shrinking in a ring shape.

Thereafter, the piston rod 17 of the air cylinder 16 is extended again to lower the shutter cylinder 14 to close the through-hole 13 of the guide cylinder wall 12 and the bottle container 1
Is moved downward from the guide cylinder wall 12 to complete the process of attaching the cylindrical film 4 to the crown cap 2 of the bottle container 1. By repeating the same operation as described above, the application of the tubular film 4 to the crown cap 2 of the bottle container 1 can be sequentially repeated.

In the bottle container 1 in which the cylindrical film 4 is adhered to the crown cap 2 by heat shrinkage as described above, the cylindrical film partially bites into the jagged portion on the outer periphery of the lower end of the crown cap. Because of the close contact, the crown cap cannot be opened without breaking the film, and consumers can still open the bottle container by looking at the tubular film adhered to such a crown cap. You can visually know that it is a new one that is not plugged.

FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) show an example in which the above-described embodiment is applied to a practical apparatus. A tubular film is simultaneously applied to the caps of many bottle containers by heat shrinkage. Fig. 2 shows an apparatus for performing the above.

In the apparatus shown in FIG. 3, the inlet tube 1 protrudes from the left and right side walls of the heating box 10 which is relatively flat and rectangular.
One ends of heated air supply pipes 18 and 18 are attached to 1 and 11, respectively. The upper part of the heating box is formed in a truncated pyramid shape, and a hot air recovery pipe 19 is attached to the top. The other ends of the heated air supply pipes 18 open to a heater box 20 having a heater therein, and the upper surface of the heater box 20 communicates with the recovery pipe 19 via a blower 21. The blower 21 is driven by a motor 22 fixed on a base. Therefore, by driving the heater and the blower, hot air is supplied from the heater box 20 to the heated air supply pipes 18, 1 and 2.
8 and through the introduction pipes 11 and 11 to enter the inside of the heating box from the left and right sides, and the recovery pipe 1 at the top of the heating box
9, a circulation path is formed to enter the blower 21 and return to the heater box 20 therefrom.

Inside the heating box 10, an introduction pipe 11,
A partition plate 24 is attached at a level higher than 11, and the partition plate has 16 circular through holes 25 in the illustrated example.
A similar through-hole 10b is formed on the lower surface of the heating box so as to face the through-hole 25. The partition wall 24 corresponds to the upper surface of the heating box 10 in the above embodiment, and the through hole 25 corresponds to the through hole 10a formed in the upper surface of the heating box in the above embodiment. A cylindrical guide tube wall 12 that connects the vertically opposed through holes 25 and 10b is provided, and a large number of through holes 13 or slits are formed in the guide tube wall over the entire wall surface. A shutter cylinder 14 is provided in each guide cylinder wall 12 so as to be able to move up and down by the same configuration as in the above embodiment.

Below the heating box 10, a bottle container elevating frame 28 is provided.
In this embodiment, 16 bottle containers 1 are arranged so as to be located directly below the through holes 10b on the lower surface of the heating box 10. A heat-shrinkable tubular film 4 similar to that of the above embodiment is loosely fitted to the upper end of each bottle container 1 in advance.

Next, the operation will be described. First, all the shutter cylinders 14 are at the lowered position by operating the air cylinder. When the heater and the blower 21 are driven in this state, hot air is supplied from the heater box 20 to the heated air supply pipe 18. , 18 through the inlet pipes 11, 11 and into the inside of the heating box, then hot air passes through the through hole 13 in the upper part of the guide cylinder wall 12, passes through the outer periphery of the shutter cylinder, and passes through the recovery pipe 19 above the housing A circulation flow such as returning to the heater box 20 is formed. In this state, the lifting frame 28 containing the bottle containers 1 is raised, and the lifting of the lifting frame 28 is stopped at a predetermined position where the lower end of the cylindrical film 4 loosely fitted to the upper end of each bottle container 1 enters the heating box 10. I do.

Next, all the shutter cylinders 14 are gradually raised via the support plate 15 by operating the air cylinder. As a result, as described in the above embodiment, the heated air flows through the through hole 1 below the guide cylinder wall 12.
3, the tubular film 4 covered on the mouth and neck of the bottle 1 located in the guide cylinder wall 12 is thermally contracted sequentially from below to above. As a result, the cylindrical film loosely fitted in all the bottle containers starts from the neck of each of the bottle containers 1 and covers the outer periphery of the crown cap 2 at the mouth and a part of the top surface thereof in an annular manner by heat shrinkage. I will be. After that, the shutter cylinder 14 is lowered again by operating the air cylinder 16, and the through-hole 1 of the guide cylinder wall 12 is
3 is closed and the elevating frame 28 of the bottle container 1 is moved down to move the upper ends of all the bottle containers downward from the guide cylinder wall 12 so that the process of applying the tubular film 4 to the crown cap 2 of the bottle container 1 is completed. finish.

The above description is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this. The feature of the present invention is that a cylindrical heat-shrinkable film loosely fitted to the tip of a bottle container is sequentially heated from the neck to the cap, and other points are various as follows. Changes are possible. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The container of the present invention is applicable to various bottle containers comprising a mouth portion, a neck portion, a shoulder portion, and a torso portion and having a cap on the mouth portion. The cap is applicable to caps of any shape other than the crown cap. In the embodiment of the present invention, heated air is used as a heat source, but this may be used as heated steam.

[0024]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the heat-shrinkable cylindrical film covers the tip cap from the neck of the bottle container in a tightly wrinkle-free manner as if it were squeezed upward from below. When the cap is opened, it is impossible to open the film without breaking the cap, and the consumer can see at a glance that the cap is not opened.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the film is closely attached so as to bite into the jagged portion at the lower end of the outer periphery of the crown cap, and an unopened state of the crown cap can be easily and reliably displayed. Can be provided.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the method can be carried out with a very simple structure including a moving passage for hot air or hot steam, a shutter member, and a means for moving the shutter member.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the hot air or the hot steam is guided by the heating box and moves efficiently in a laminar flow, and the front end of the container such as a bottle is utilized by utilizing the through hole on the lower surface of the heating box. The insertion position and the insertion depth can be specified, and the lower position of the cylindrical shutter member can be defined by the lower surface of the heating box.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the unopened display strip can be simultaneously attached to many bottle containers by efficiently using the hot air.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an apparatus for performing a method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a method of the present invention performed by the apparatus of the present invention in the order of steps.

3A and 3B are diagrams showing a case where the present invention is applied to an actual apparatus, wherein FIG. 3A is a front view and FIG. 3B is a plan view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bottle container 2 Crown cap 3 Neck 4 Heat-shrinkable cylindrical film 10 Heating box 12 Guide cylinder wall 13 Through hole 14 Shutter cylinder 16 Air cylinder 18 Heated air supply pipe 19 Hot air recovery pipe 20 Heater box 21 Blower

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A short tubular heat-shrinkable film is placed so as to surround a mouth cap at the tip of a bottle container and a neck portion following the cap, and the film is heated sequentially from the neck side to the cap side. And applying said film to said neck and said cap in close contact with each other by heat shrinkage. 2. The bottle according to claim 1, wherein said container is a bottle container, said cap is a crown cap, and said film is formed so as to cover from said neck portion to a peripheral edge of an upper surface of said crown cap. A method of attaching the unopened display strip of the container. 3. An air-tight cylindrical shutter member movable in a direction intersecting with the passage of hot air or hot steam, wherein the inner diameter of the shutter member is a short cylindrical heat-shrinkable film. Is formed so as to be larger than the outer diameter of the mouth cap at the end of a container such as a bottle and the neck following the neck, and the shutter is closed when the end of the container is positioned inside the cylindrical shutter member. A device for applying an unopened display strip of a bottle container, comprising means for moving a member from the neck side of the container toward the mouth cap. 4. The hot air or hot steam moving passage is formed by a hollow box, and opposing side surfaces of the box communicate with a hot air or hot steam generating source. A mouth-cap at the tip of a container such as a bottle covered with a film and a neck following the neck are formed with a through-hole which can be inserted into the box from below the box, and the box is formed on the outer periphery of the upper part of the through-hole. 4. The apparatus for attaching a bottle container unopened display strip according to claim 3, further comprising an air-tight cylindrical shutter member surrounding a front end portion of a container such as a bottle inserted into the body. 5. A hot air supply pipe is connected to each of the opposed side surfaces of the box, a hot air recovery pipe is connected to an upper surface of the box, and a heater and a blower are connected to the hot air supply pipe and the hot air recovery pipe. A cylindrical shape having a plurality of through holes formed in the lower surface of the box, and a plurality of air holes formed in the box above the through holes; 5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said guide cylinder wall is provided, and said cylindrical shutter member is movable up and down along said guide cylinder wall.