JP2001138403A - Method for manufacturing resin container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing a container which enables easy fabrication of a container showing excellence in transparence of the container wall, sanitariness, heat deformation resistance and heat breakage resistance. SOLUTION: A method for manufacturing a container includes a process of cutting an extruded resin pipe into pipes of predetermined length and sealing each of the cut end openings with a capping material by heat-welding the capping materials to both cut ends.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a resin container, and more particularly, to the performance of the container wall, for example, the performance of the container wall.
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a resin container which is easy to manufacture and process a resin container having excellent transparency, hygiene, heat deformation resistance, heat destruction resistance, and the like. Accordingly, the present invention relates to a method for producing a resin container for a food or a medical product or the like, which requires hygiene. The present invention further provides a production method capable of imparting a simple and excellent gas barrier property or a water vapor barrier property to the container wall, wherein the container wall is required to have such barrier properties. The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a medical container such as an ampule, a vial, a syringe, an infusion container, a dialysate container, or the like, containing a food or carbonated beverage, or a food container or a readily degradable drug or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a resin container having a shape-retaining property is manufactured by injection molding, blow molding, air pressure molding or the like. Such a resin container is used not only in the food field but also in the field of medical containers. Food containers and medical containers are desired to be transparent without surface roughness on the container walls. In addition, it is desired that resin containers for foods and the like are easy to be arranged and stored during transportation, and that the inside is not contaminated as much as possible during manufacture (sanitary). Some food containers and medical containers are subjected to retort sterilization or high-pressure steam sterilization together with their contents. Therefore, it is desired that the resin container wall has heat resistance, and has heat deformation resistance and heat destruction resistance.

[0003] Among the foods stored in containers, there are easily deteriorated foods which are easily deteriorated by oxygen. Further, beverages contained in containers include those containing carbonic acid, such as beer and cola. Among the drugs contained in the container, there are easily degradable drugs which are easily degraded by oxygen or the like. Among the drugs contained in the container, there are easily degradable drugs that absorb moisture and are easily degraded like lyophilized products. Usually, the container wall of the resin container is easy to transmit gas such as oxygen and water vapor. For this reason, when accommodating the easily deteriorated food, the carbonated beverage, and the easily deteriorated drug in the resin container, it is desired that the resin container wall has a gas barrier property or a water vapor barrier property.

[0004]

By the way, in the conventional method of manufacturing a resin container, the conventional injection molding or blow molding requires time and labor for designing and maintaining the molding dies, and unless the dies are increased in parallel, It takes time to form each shot. In particular, injection molding takes time. Further, in the case of the container formed by the blow molding method, since the surface of the container wall is easily formed, the transparency required for the container wall may be adversely affected. Also, the appearance, that is, the design property is deteriorated. Further, in the case of a container having a shape-retaining wall which retains its shape by the blow molding method, cracks and the like are likely to occur during heating in high-pressure steam sterilization because of the strain history and the like in the molded wall. Therefore, it is inferior in heat deformation resistance and fracture resistance.
In the case of injection molding, the jig enters the container at the time of processing, so that there is a problem in hygiene.

[0005] As described above, the container containing the easily deteriorated food or easily deteriorated drug requires a barrier property on the container wall. In order for the resin container wall to have a gas barrier property or a water vapor barrier property, it is necessary to provide these barrier resin layers on the resin container wall. When such a barrier resin layer is applied to the resin container wall, it is almost impossible with an injection molding method. Further, in the blow molding, the thickness of the resin wall itself is not uniform, so that the barrier layer is not uniform in the resin container. For this reason, in the blow molding, the resin container is formed with a sufficiently large thickness, which also determines the rate of the processing cycle. At present, a medical container is provided with a double outer packaging in order to prevent deterioration of the contained medicine or to maintain the outer wall of the medical container aseptically, thereby giving the outer packaging a barrier property. However, such conventional double outer packaging is costly and it is nearly difficult to detect leaks in the package. Therefore, it is desired that such a resin container having a high barrier property can be easily manufactured. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a resin container which can easily process a resin container having excellent transparency, hygiene, heat deformation resistance, and heat destruction resistance of the container wall. Another object of the present invention is to provide an excellent method for producing a resin container for a food or a medical product requiring hygiene. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a resin container which can easily provide a simple and excellent gas barrier property or water vapor barrier property to the container wall.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a resin container manufacturing method, wherein an extruded straight pipe is cut into a predetermined length, and lid materials are heat-welded to both ends of the cut straight pipe. The object is achieved by providing a method for manufacturing a resin container, wherein the opening at the cut end is sealed with a material.

The resin material of the resin container according to the present invention includes polyolefin resin, vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride resin, polyester resin, polyvinyl alcohol resin, polyacrylonitrile resin, polyacrylic resin, and polyamide resin. And other general-purpose resins. Further, the resin container may be formed in a single layer or a multilayer. In particular, an inexpensive resin that is highly safe for medical use or food and has high versatility is desirable. As such a resin, a polyolefin resin is desirable, for example, low, medium, high-density polyethylene, a lower olefin resin such as polypropylene, in particular, a transparent, heat-resistant cyclic polyolefin, or two or more of these. And copolymers.

In the method for producing a resin container according to the present invention, the container is produced directly from an extruded straight pipe. The pipe is extruded as it is from the extruder. However, if necessary, it may be extruded while blowing air or the like into the formed pipe within a range that does not cause surface roughness or deformation of the pipe. In addition, the extrusion may be performed using not only one kind but also two or more kinds of resins, and the pipe wall may have a single-layer or multi-layer structure. Each layer may be formed from a single resin, or may be formed from a blend resin. The straight pipe may have a shape-retaining wall that keeps its shape completely, or may have a shape-retaining wall that can return to its original shape even if it is slightly deformed or bent. The cross section of the straight pipe is not limited to a circle, but may be an ellipse, a triangle, a rectangle, or the like. The straight pipe has a wall thickness of 0.2 mm or more and 10.0 mm or less, particularly 1.0 mm or less.
It is desirable to perform extrusion molding in the range of mm to 8.0 mm. Below the above range, the mechanical strength of the body wall as a resin container, particularly as a medical container, is weak. If it exceeds the above range, it may take time and effort to perform the cutting described later.

The extruded straight pipe is cut into a predetermined length. Examples of the cutting method include a cutting method using a cutting blade, a melting method using a molten laser beam, and a cutting method using a jet fluid from a high-pressure fluid nozzle. As a cutting method, a cutting method using a jet fluid from a high-pressure fluid nozzle is desirable as described later.

A lid material is thermally welded to both ends of the cut straight pipe, and the lid material seals the opening at the cut end. In addition to heat-welding the lid material, there is a method using an adhesive, etc.In the case of bonding with an adhesive, it takes time to apply the adhesive, and the adhesive may adversely affect the contents. is there. The heat welding temperature between the lid member and the straight pipe depends on the resin used for the straight pipe and the lid member, but is desirably equal to or higher than the steam sterilization temperature in the case of high-pressure steam sterilization.

According to the method of manufacturing a resin container according to the present invention, since the container body uses an extruded straight pipe, only primary molding is required. In conventional injection molding, blow molding, etc., mold adjustment and the like are troublesome at the time of maintenance, and personnel are required.However, in the above manufacturing method, since only primary extrusion molding is required, design changes are required. It is easy and does not require mold adjustment. In the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present invention, first, the straight pipe is a temporary work, and does not require a molding die or the like. Therefore, complicated design and maintenance of the molding die are not required. Since the shot time and the like applied to the mold do not become rate-determining, there is no waiting time in the machining line, and the program can be easily set. Since the straight pipe of the above manufacturing method is an extruded product itself, the wall surface of the container to be formed does not become rough. The transparency and design of the container wall are sufficiently maintained. Unlike the blow molded product, the straight pipe manufactured by the above method does not have a strain history on the molded wall. Therefore, even when the resin container is heated by retort sterilization or high-pressure steam sterilization, thermal deformation, cracks such as cracks, and the like do not occur. That is, the extruded straight pipe does not have internal strain due to heat history or the like unlike blow molding, injection molding, and inflation molding, and does not have a rough surface.
It is possible to provide a container wall which is less likely to cause dimensional deformation and cracking at the time of steam sterilization exceeding 00 ° C. and is excellent in transparency and design. Since the jig and the like do not enter into the straight pipe of the above manufacturing method, contamination in the container wall is avoided as much as possible, and the resin container has high hygiene.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the first aspect, a recessed portion into which the cut end of the straight pipe can be inserted is formed on a peripheral edge of the lid member. The inner surface of the concave portion and the side wall surface of the opening at the cut end are heat-welded to attach the lid material to the opening. By forming a concave portion on the peripheral edge of the lid member, a central portion excluding the peripheral edge portion of the lid member can be arranged in the straight pipe. For this reason, the heat sealing means can be partially inserted into the open end of the straight pipe. Then, heat sealing can be performed between the inner heat sealing means and the outer heat sealing means with the straight opening end portion sandwiched from the side surface via the concave ridge portion on the peripheral edge of the lid material. For this reason,
The lid member can be attached to the opening of the straight pipe, and the opening can be reliably sealed. For this reason, it can withstand high-pressure steam sterilization sufficiently. In addition, the concave ridge portion of the lid member can be easily formed by air pressure molding. In this case, it is desirable that the lid member is a resin laminate or a laminate including aluminum foil or the like. It is preferable that the outer layer of the lid member be made of a material that can withstand higher temperatures than the inner layer that is the thermal bonding layer. Even when the temperature of the sealing means is equal to or higher than the melting temperature of the straight pipe and the inner layer, the outer layer does not melt, so that the inner and outer heat sealing means do not adhere to the outer layer surface. Thus, it is not necessary to remove the means from the sealing surface after cooling, such as an impulse seal. For this reason, reliable thermal bonding can be performed, and the thermal bonding time can be shortened. This is due to poor heat bonding due to retort sterilization or high-pressure steam sterilization (poor sealing).
Will be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the first or second aspect, after the lid is attached to the opening, steam sterilization is performed at a temperature higher than 100 ° C. It is characterized by the following. As described above, the container wall of the resin container manufactured by such a method maintains transparency even after the high-pressure steam sterilization, and is excellent in heat-resistant destruction.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the manufacturing method according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the straight pipe is cut with a jet fluid from a high-pressure fluid nozzle. When the straight pipe is cut into a predetermined length with a jet fluid from a high-pressure fluid nozzle, the fluid from the nozzle may be a liquid, or a mixture of a liquid and a gas, and water is mainly used as the liquid. In some cases, alcohol or the like can be used. It is preferable that the density of the liquid is lower than the density of the resin of the pipe to be cut, because the cutting chips are precipitated in the waste solution after cutting, so that contamination in the clean room can be prevented as much as possible. If necessary, the fluid may be mixed with a solid powder to make a cutting liquid if necessary. However, if it is a food or medical container described below,
It is desirable that such solid powder does not cause contamination of the cutting surface. It should be noted that the cutting chips are washed away by the force of the fluid from the nozzles with little adhesion. However, in consideration of the safety of the medical container and the like, it is desirable to easily heat the cut surface of the pipe. If the heat treatment is performed, the cutting chips that are wetted by the liquid and are likely to adhere again are blown off from the cut surface or melted in the cut surface, so that the cutting chips do not adversely affect the subsequent processing steps.

The cutting speed of the straight pipe is 2 mm
/ Sec or more, particularly preferably 5 mm / sec or more.
With the cutting speed, when the straight pipe is extruded, the batch processing step can be eliminated, and the cutting process can be performed directly in accordance with the extrusion molding speed. That is, the extruded product is subjected to primary cutting, and a straight pipe having a predetermined length can be obtained by a single cutting process at the same time as the extrusion molding without secondary processing, thereby improving workability. it can. The jet pressure of the fluid at the high-pressure fluid nozzle is preferably in the range of 100 bar to 1000 bar. In particular, from 300 bar to 5
It is preferably in the range of 00 bar. If the injection pressure is lower than the above range, the cutting ability is inferior, and even if the cutting width of the straight pipe is made as small as possible, the cutting of the pipe becomes insufficient. On the other hand, if the injection pressure is higher than the above range, the operating energy is disadvantageously lost. The cutting width of the straight pipe, that is, the maximum outer diameter in the cutting jet direction of the straight pipe is 100 mm or less,
In particular, it is desirable to be 50 mm or less. If the outer diameter in the cutting jet direction is more than the above range, the cutting speed is inferior, which is not preferable.

The straight pipe can be cut by a cutting method using a cutting blade or a laser beam cutting method, in addition to the cutting method using the high-pressure fluid. In the cutter method using a cutting blade, the cutting portion of the straight pipe must be temporarily deformed and cut in a crushed state. For this reason, the wall thickness of the straight pipe wall must have a flexibility of 1 mm or less, and the pipe must return to its original diameter after deformation. Further, when the straight pipe is deformed at the time of cutting, cracks such as distortion and distortion may occur on the wall. Further, in the fusing method using a laser beam, drawdown or the like may occur on the cut surface. In addition, since the cutting speed is limited, it is difficult to perform cutting while extruding a straight pipe. During the process of extruding and cutting a straight pipe, there is a batch processing of the pipe, and the line design cannot be made smooth.

When a straight pipe, which is an extruded product, is cut to a predetermined length as described above, when a fluid is cut from a high-pressure fluid nozzle, irregularities are formed on the cut surface by conventional laser cutting or mechanical cutting. No distortion, no distortion, no drawdown. A lid material or the like can be directly heat-welded without performing secondary processing on the cut surface of the straight pipe. In addition, since the cutting speed is high, unlike the conventional thermal laser cutting or mechanical cutting, the flow operation from extrusion to cutting and heat welding of the lid material is facilitated. In addition, the cutting debris and the like are forcibly flowed in the direction of ejecting the fluid and do not adhere to the cut surface, and the cut surface and the inside maintain the cleanliness preferable for food and medical containers.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a resin container manufacturing method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein a gas barrier layer or a water vapor barrier layer is formed on the straight pipe. Extrusion molding. In general, when a gas barrier property or a water vapor barrier property is imparted to a resin wall, three to five different layers of different resins are extruded. Although such multilayer formation can be performed by blow molding, there is a problem that it takes time and effort to control the processing to ensure the barrier property. In this regard, if the straight pipe is formed by the primary processing, it is very easy to control the processing. In the case of the straight pipe before cutting, it can also be provided by laminating a vapor-deposited layer of an inorganic or metal such as aluminum or silicon oxide, or a foil layer on the outer surface. In this case, since the pipe is treated while it is long, it can be easily applied without soiling the inside of the pipe.

The gas-barrier straight pipe has a layer of a gas-impermeable material that is substantially impermeable to oxygen and the like. The oxygen permeability of a gas-barrier straight pipe is 12 cc / m ² · day · atm (temperature: 2
5 ° C.) or less, especially 5.5 cc / m ² · day · atm
(Temperature: 25 ° C.) or less, and 0.3 cc / m ² · da
It is desirable that the temperature be not more than y · atm (temperature: 25 ° C.). As a specific gas barrier layer, a resin layer having a high gas barrier property such as polyvinylidene chloride, polyester, nylon, ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, a fluororesin, or aluminum, silicon, carbon,
It has an earth layer metal such as magnesium, titanium, silver, gold or the like, or a vapor-deposited layer or a foil layer of an oxide thereof. The water vapor barrier straight pipe may be a layer of a non-permeable material that is substantially impermeable to water vapor. The moisture permeability of a straight pipe is 2.6 ~
0.2 g / m ² · day (Temperature: 40 ° C., 0-90% R
H). In particular, when the water vapor permeability is 1.0
0.1 g / m ² · day (temperature: 40 ° C., 0-90%
RH). The water vapor transmission rate that does not substantially transmit water vapor is less than 0.1 g / m ² · day (temperature: 40 ° C., 0-90% RH). A specific layer as a material that is impermeable to water vapor has a metal layer such as an aluminum foil. Specific water-impermeable layer of water vapor, polyvinylidene chloride, polytetrafluoroethylene,
It has a resin layer of poly (trifluoroethylene), hydrochloric acid rubber, polyethylene, polypropylene or the like. Further, the resin layer has an evaporation layer in which an earth metal or metal such as aluminum, silicon, carbon, magnesium, titanium, silver, and gold, or an oxide thereof is evaporated. Note that a wall material having a metal layer or some wall materials having a vapor deposition layer may lose transparency.

The above-mentioned resin container produced by the above-mentioned method for producing a resin container can contain easily deteriorated food or a beverage having a carbonated component. The above-mentioned resin container can contain the easily degenerate drug. Since a jig or a mold does not substantially enter the straight pipe, it is desirable as a food container or a medical container. As a food container,
Demand is expected for these plastic cans, and examples of medical containers include ampules, lyophilization vials, syringes, infusion solution containers, and dialysate containers. In particular, it is expected as a preferable method for producing a resin container subjected to retort sterilization or high-pressure steam sterilization or a resin container requiring gas barrier properties or water vapor barrier properties. That is, the seal safety by high pressure steam sterilization etc. is high,
This is because a gas barrier property or the like can be easily imparted to the container wall.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a molding process of a straight pipe in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a cutting process and a heat treatment process of a straight pipe in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a cutting device used in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a manufacturing process of the lid member in the manufacturing method of the resin container according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a step of thermally welding a lid material to a straight pipe in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an ampule in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of another ampule in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment. FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a process showing another attachment method when the lid material is thermally welded to the straight pipe in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9 is a process schematic diagram showing another method for cutting a straight pipe in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment.

First, an ampule 71 obtained by the method for manufacturing a medical container according to the embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the ampule 71 is formed by a trunk portion made of a straight pipe 2 cut by a method of an embodiment described later. 72, a lid member 73, and a lid member 74 in which a discharge port 75 is formed.
The ampoule 71 contains a drug 76 which is easily deteriorated by oxygen in a liquid-tight manner. The body portion 72 made of the straight pipe 2 is a rectangular pipe having a length of 80 mm, and its cross-sectional outer width and vertical outer diameter width are each 28 mm.
And the width of the inside diameter and the width of the inside diameter are each 20 mm. The straight pipe 2 is formed by multi-color molding, and the inner wall of the wall of the body 72 is made of polyethylene (hereinafter, referred to as PE).
The intermediate layer is composed of an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (hereinafter, referred to as “intermediate layer”).
Called EVOH. ), And the outermost layer is PE. The oxygen permeability of the wall of the body 72 is 0.5 cc / m ² · 24 hr (20 ° C.
60% RH) or less.

The lid member 73 and the lid member 74 are formed by pressure-forming a ribbon-shaped polyethylene sheet 31. Also,
The oxygen barrier auxiliary sheet 32 having an aluminum foil is laminated on the lid 73 and the lid 74, respectively.
The lid member 74 is formed with a discharge port 75 which can be opened in advance, and the discharge port 75 is opened at the same time as the aluminum foil auxiliary sheet 32 is peeled off. The oxygen permeability of the oxygen-barrier auxiliary sheet 32 is 0.1 cc / m ² · 24 hr (20 ° C. · 6
0% RH) or less. In use, the discharge port 75 is opened by peeling off the auxiliary sheet 32 of the lid member 74, the injection needle is directly inserted into the discharge port 75, and the drug solution is injected into the syringe.

Next, a method of manufacturing the ampoule 71 will be described with reference to FIG.
5 will be described in detail. Straight pipe 2 described above
Is molded by the extruder 1. As shown in FIG.
The extruder 1 comprises a main body 3 having a screw, a screw control motor 4, a material supply hopper 5, a discharge head 6, a sensor 7, and a line speed control motor 8. The sensor 7 includes a thickness measuring device using an ultrasonic wave, and a signal from the sensor 7 is analyzed by a controller or the like, and controls the screw control motor 4 and the line speed control motor 8. Extruder 1
Is a multi-layer molding, and the discharge head 6 is of a simultaneous merging type. The straight pipe 2 having a substantially rectangular cross section is discharged from the discharge head 6 at a speed of 20 mm / sec. During extrusion molding, the vertical and horizontal inner diameters of the rectangular pipe are 2 mm.
0 mm, and the vertical and horizontal outer diameters are formed to be 28 mm. Also, at the time of extrusion forming, the pipe 2 is formed into a multilayer, the innermost layer is PE, the intermediate layer is EVOH, and the outermost layer is PE.

As shown in FIG. 3, the straight pipe 2 from the discharge head 6 is pushed directly into the line of the cutting device 11. The cutting device 11 comprises a high-pressure fluid nozzle 12 from which an aqueous solution 13 is jetted at a pressure of at least 100 bar. The injected aqueous solution 13 is discharged together with the crushed waste into the opposed waste tank 14. Cutting device 1
One high-pressure fluid nozzle 12 is provided so as to be movable in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, and as shown in FIG.
Instead of cutting the pipe 2 at a right angle,
It moves obliquely downward in synchronization with the moving speed of the straight pipe 2. The high-pressure fluid nozzle 12 operates in an approximately figure-eight locus, and the moving straight pipe 2 is cut exactly at right angles to the length direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cut straight pipe 2 is supplied to an alignment conveyor 21 where the straight pipe 2 is cut.
1 includes drive rollers 22, 22, a belt 23 bridged between the rollers 22, and a unit receiver 24 formed on the belt 23. The straight pipes 2 are arranged and mounted on the unit receiver 24 and transported. Sorting conveyor 21
, A heat treatment tunnel 25 is formed, and hot air is blown into the heat treatment tunnel 25 from a hot air jet nozzle 26.

As shown in FIG. 4, the lid member 73 and the lid member 74 are formed from a ribbon-shaped polyethylene sheet 31, and the oxygen barrier auxiliary sheet is a ribbon-shaped aluminum foil sheet 32.
Formed from The polyethylene sheet 31 is overlapped with the aluminum foil sheet 32 by a nip roll 33 and laminated by a press forming and sealing device 34. The press forming and sealing device 34 includes upper and lower pressing mold members 35 and 36 and an impulse seal ribbon 37. The superposed ribbon-like sheets 31 and 32 are depressed by pressing mold members 35 and 36, leaving the peripheral edges of the respective lid members 73 and 74. The peripheral edges of the polyethylene sheets 31 and the aluminum foil sheet 32 are separated by an impulse seal ribbon 37. Possible thermal bonding. In addition, since the cover member 74 has a discharge port 75 formed therein, the polyethylene sheet 31 is perforated at predetermined positions at predetermined intervals by the perforating devices 38 of all the stages of the nip roll 33. Further, the polyethylene sheet 31 and the aluminum foil sheet 32 at the peripheral portion of the discharge port 75 are thermally bonded so as to be peelable.

As shown in FIG. 5, a processed polyethylene sheet 31 and an aluminum foil sheet 32 are arranged on the cut end face of the cut straight pipe 2 aligned, and each sheet 31, 3
The end opening surface is aligned with the second depression. The peripheral portions of the lid members 73 and 74 are thermally bonded to the cut surface of the pipe 2 by the heat sealing device 40. A cutter 41 is provided at a stage subsequent to the heat sealing device 40, and the cutter 41
The sheets 31 and 32 are cut to produce an ampoule 71, and a high-pressure steam sterilization process is performed as necessary. still,
Before the lid member 74 is thermally bonded, a chemical solution 75 is filled in a nitrogen atmosphere. In addition, the aluminum foil auxiliary sheet 32 in the lid member 74 is thermally bonded to the polyethylene sheet 31 so as to be peelable. The width of the polyethylene sheet 31 and the aluminum foil sheet 32 in the cover member 74 is formed to be longer than the end diameter of the straight pipe 2, and the extending portion is formed as a peeling portion 78 of the auxiliary sheet 32.

In the method for manufacturing a medical container manufactured as described above, the cutting speed of the straight pipe 2 is high,
In addition, the cut surface can be made accurately. Further, there is no risk of scattering of cutting chips and the like which are particularly problematic in a clean room as a medical container. Extrusion alone can provide an almost complete molded body of the container. It does not take much time to produce one by one as in blow molding or injection molding. Unnecessary burrs and the like unlike blow molding or injection molding do not occur. Unlike the blow molding, the container wall does not become brittle to high-pressure steam sterilization, and the transparency is sufficiently maintained. There is no difficulty in making the container wall a multilayer structure as in injection molding. There is no need to design and maintain molding tools. In the case of the above-mentioned manufactured ampoule 1, outer packaging or the like is not required. In addition, if the ampoule 1 is inspected for leakage, the outer packaging is not required, and the barrier property against oxygen and the like is guaranteed.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of another ampule in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment. FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a process showing another attachment method when the lid material is thermally welded to the straight pipe in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment. The manufacturing method of the ampoule 81 shown in FIG. 7 is different from that of the ampoule 71 shown in FIG. 6 in the following points. The straight pipe 82 is made of an amorphous polyolefin (ZEONEX:
(Zeon Corporation) is formed by extrusion molding with a thickness of 4 mm. The lid material 83 and the lid material 84 which are laminated with aluminum foil are formed with concave ridges 85 on the periphery.
Is inserted into the end 86 of the straight pipe. FIG.
As shown in (1), when the lid 83 and the lid 84 are welded to the straight pipe 82, the lid 83 and the lid 84 are first held by the inner heat sealing means 87. The end 86 of the straight pipe 82 is inserted into the concave portion 85 of the lid 83 and the lid 84, and is tightened by the outer heat sealing means 88 to weld the inside of the concave 85 and the end 86 of the straight pipe 82.

The ampoule 71 constructed as described above was filled with the chemical solution 89 and subjected to high-pressure steam sterilization at a temperature of 121 ° C. As a result, the straight pipe wall 82 had no cracks or other cracks and was excellent in transparency. When a container blow-molded with the same resin was subjected to the same high-pressure steam sterilization treatment, cracks and the like were found on the container wall, and clouding was observed. Further, even in the steam sterilization treatment at a temperature of 121 ° C., no breakage of the seal or the like was observed at the heat welded portion between the straight pipe 82 and the lid members 83 and 84. Lid material 8
Heat sealing means 87, 88 for mounting 3, 84, etc.
Can be kept in a substantially continuously heated state, and it can be seen that the reliable thermal bonding and the thermal bonding time can be greatly reduced. Even after high-pressure steam sterilization, no cracks or the like are generated on the container wall, and the design is not impaired.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a process showing another method for cutting a straight pipe in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment. If the straight pipe 91 is thin and elastically deformable, it can be cut using a cutting blade. That is, a straight pipe 9 used for a food container
Numeral 1 is made of polyethylene having a thickness of 0.6 mm, has a rectangular cut section, and is an elastically deformable wall. That is, the straight pipe 91 is elastically deformable up to the state of the wavy line. The straight pipe 91 is cut into a pipe 9 with a cutting blade 93.
The one opening 92 can be deformed and cut. In each of the above embodiments, the present invention is applied to a medical container such as an ampoule and a general food container.However, the present invention is not limited to this.The medical container may be applied to a vial, a prefilled syringe, an infusion container, or the like. If a food container has a barrier property, it can be applied to carbonated beverages.

[0033]

As described above, in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present invention, the extruded straight pipe is cut into a predetermined length, and lid materials are heat-welded to both ends of the cut pipe. Since the opening at the cut end is sealed with a lid,
The manufacturing process of a resin container excellent in transparency, hygiene, heat deformation resistance, and heat destruction resistance of the container wall can be easily performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a molding process of a straight pipe in a method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a straight pipe cutting step and a heat treatment step in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a cutting device used in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a step of manufacturing a lid member in the method of manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a process when a lid material is thermally welded to a straight pipe in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an ampule in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of another ampule in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a step showing another attaching method when the lid material is thermally welded to the straight pipe in the method for manufacturing the resin container according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a process showing another method for cutting a straight pipe in the method for manufacturing a resin container according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Extrusion molding machine 2 Straight pipe 3 Molding machine main body 4 Screw control motor 5 Discharge head 11 Cutting device 12 High-pressure fluid nozzle 21 Alignment conveyor 25 Heat treatment tunnel 31 Polyethylene sheet 32 Aluminum foil sheet 40 Heat sealing device 71 Ampoule 73, 74 Cover material

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme coat ゛ (Reference) B29L 22:00 B65D 1/00 CF term (Reference) 3E033 AA07 BA13 BA14 BA19 BA21 BA23 BB08 CA07 CA16 CA18 DA06 DA08 DD05 FA10 GA02 3E067 AA03 AB81 BA01B BA01C BB14B BB14C BB15B BB15C BB16B BB16C BC03B BC03C CA05 CA06 CA16 CA17 EA06 EC36 4F207 AG08 AH55 KA01 KW23 KW41 4F211 AC03 AD05 TAD08 AD08 TAD08 AG08 AG AG08 AH55 WA06 WA15 WA53 WA63 WA83 WB01 WC01 WK01 WW38

Claims (6)

[Claims] In a method for manufacturing a resin container, an extruded straight pipe is cut into a predetermined length, and lid materials are heat-welded to both ends of the cut straight pipe, and the cut ends are opened with the lid material. A method for producing a resin container, characterized in that the container is sealed. 2. A ridge portion into which a cut end of the straight pipe is inserted is formed on a peripheral edge of the lid member, and an inner surface of the ridge and a side wall surface of an opening of the cut end are heat-welded. The method for manufacturing a resin container according to claim 1, wherein the lid member is attached to the opening by an opening. 3. After the lid material is attached to the opening, the temperature is set at 10 ° C.
The method for producing a resin container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein steam sterilization is performed at a temperature higher than 0 ° C. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said straight pipe is cut with a jet fluid from a high-pressure fluid nozzle.
4. The method for producing a resin container according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein a gas barrier layer or a water vapor barrier layer is formed on the straight pipe. 6. The method for manufacturing a medical container according to claim 5, wherein said easily deformable drug is stored in said resin container.