JP2001288075A - Ultrathin-walled soft capsule - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problems of conventional capsule having thick wall and heavy capsule weight inadequate for the use required to quickly release the content such as a bathing agent and necessitating a large amount of the capsule material to increase the cost and a long time for the drying of the capsule. SOLUTION: The wall thickness F of the capsule 3 is set to <=0.15 mm and the bonding face 5 of the capsule 1 is tapered to increase the width W of the bonding face 5. As an alternative, the area of the bonding face is increased by providing the capsule with a flange for forming a bonding face.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to soft capsules used in the fields of pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs, cosmetics, health foods, general foods such as seasoning oils, and miscellaneous goods such as paint bullets and adhesives. In particular, the present invention relates to a soft capsule manufactured by bonding by pressure and heat sealing while punching two capsule films using two punching dies called a punching method, that is, by hot-cutting and heat bonding.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a soft capsule manufactured by a conventional punching method has a film thickness of 0.6 to 2.0 mm immediately after the capsule is formed, and a film thickness of 0. 2 mm after drying.
3 to 1.0 mm. By the way, the function of the soft capsule is to store the contents stably when no water, heat, pressure or the like acts, and to release the contents by dissolving or breaking the capsule film when they act.

[0003] However, the conventional soft capsules described above have a large thickness of the capsule film, and thus may not be sufficiently used especially when a quick release of contents such as a bathing agent is required. Further, when the film is thicker, the amount of the film material used increases, and the cost of the film material increases, and the drying time after the capsule is formed becomes longer, thereby causing an increase in the processing cost of the capsule.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, according to the present invention, the rapid dissolution and easy destruction of the capsule film are improved by making the film thickness as thin as possible without impairing the stability during storage and distribution. An object of the present invention is to provide an ultra-thin soft capsule. Another object of the present invention is to provide an ultra-thin soft capsule that can be manufactured by reducing the cost of the coating material and shortening the drying time after the capsule is formed.

[0005]

Conventionally, a punching die 37 shown in FIG. 7 is used to bond the outer end of the capsule film 33 by the pressure at the time of punching the capsule. The width W of 35 is smaller than the thickness F of the capsule film 33. For this reason, if the film thickness dimension F is too small, the area of the adhesive surface 35 becomes too small and the adhesive force is weakened, so that the formulation property is deteriorated. It tends to break easily. In particular, when the contents include powders and granules, the above-mentioned tendency becomes remarkable because the powders and granules are easily bitten into the adhesive surface during capsule molding.

Based on the above findings, the inventor of the present invention has conducted intensive studies and has made various efforts to increase the width of the bonding surface to ensure a satisfactory degree of adhesive strength while maintaining the thickness of the capsule film. It has been found that the above-mentioned problems can be solved by reducing the dimensions as much as possible, and the present invention described below has been proposed.

[0007] The invention of claim 1 is an ultrathin soft capsule characterized in that the thickness of the capsule film is 0.15 mm or less. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ultrathin soft capsule according to the first aspect, wherein the adhesive surface of the capsule is inclined.

A third aspect of the present invention is the ultrathin soft capsule according to the first or second aspect, wherein the capsule is provided with a flange forming an adhesive surface. The invention according to claim 4 is the ultrathin soft capsule according to claim 3, wherein the width dimension of the flange is 0.5 mm or less. The invention of claim 5 is the invention of claim 3 or 4
3. The ultrathin soft capsule according to item 1, wherein the thickness dimension of the flange is maximum at a portion in contact with the capsule film.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (Manufacturing Method of Capsule) The soft capsule according to the embodiment of the present invention is based on a punching method. After the contents are filled using a punching die, the capsule is punched and the two films are adhered to each other. It is manufactured by drying. In addition, the punching die includes a rotary die of a cylindrical die, a reciprocating die of a flat die, a sealer type or a liner type that performs molding, filling, bonding, and cutting almost simultaneously, and filling, bonding, and cutting after molding. For various methods such as a Norton method, an Accorgel method (for powder and granules), and the like.

(Dimension and Shape of Capsule) Three types of capsules will be described below. The adhesive surface 5 of the capsule film 3 of the round soft capsule 1 shown in FIG. 1 is inclined at an inclination angle θ (> 0 °) with respect to a horizontal plane (passing through the central axis of the capsule 1). Further, the inner surfaces (which come into contact with the inner solution) of the capsule coating 3 are also bonded to each other to form the bonding surface 5. For this reason, the width dimension W of the bonding surface 5 is larger than that in the case where the bonding surface 5 is formed on the horizontal plane of the capsule as shown in FIG. 7, and as a result, the bonding surface 5 is larger.

The thickness F of the capsule film 3 is 0.15 mm or less at the maximum. In the present specification, the film thickness dimension F means the shortest dimension between a point on the outer surface and a point on the inner surface of the capsule coating 3. This capsule 1
Is manufactured by press-bonding and heat-bonding using a pair of dies 7 and 9 (of a predetermined tooth height dimension T) shown in FIG.
Note that the capsule 11 shown in FIG. 3 is immediately after molding, and shrinks by drying to become a capsule 1 having a similar shape.

A round soft capsule 11 shown in FIG.
Is formed with a flange 15. This flange 15
And the film thickness portion of the capsule film 13 continuous with the adhesive surface 1
5 is made. The flange 15 is inclined, and its thickness dimension A is maximum at a portion in contact with the capsule film 13. The maximum value of the thickness dimension A is preferably 0.5 mm
It is as follows. The width H of the flange 15 is 0.5 m.
m or less. The capsule 11 is manufactured by press-bonding and heat bonding using a mold 19 (having a predetermined tooth height dimension T) shown in FIG. Note that the capsule 17 shown in FIG.
Is immediately after molding, and shrinks by drying to form a capsule 11 having a similar shape.

The round capsule 21 shown in FIG. 5 has a flange 25 formed thereon. The flange 25 and the film thickness portion of the capsule film 23 continuous with the flange 25 form an adhesive surface 25. The thickness A of the flange 25 is constant, and is preferably 0.5 mm or less. The width H of the flange 25 is preferably 0.5 mm or less. The capsule 21 is manufactured by pressing and heat bonding using a mold 29 (having a predetermined tooth height dimension T) shown in FIG.
The capsule 27 shown in FIG. 6 is immediately after molding, and shrinks by drying to become a capsule 21 having a similar shape.

(Raw Materials for Capsule Coating) The basic raw materials for the capsule coating to be used are conventionally used gelatin, cellulose, cellulose derivatives, pullulan, carrageenan, agar, alginic acid, polyvinyl alcohol and the like. Conventionally used plasticizers such as glycerin and sorbitol, sweeteners, flavoring agents, preservatives, coloring agents, release agents and the like are appropriately added to the basic raw materials as needed.

(Raw material of the contents) The contents to be sealed in the capsule may be any as long as they have fluidity and do not affect the solubility of the capsule film. It is encapsulated in various forms such as liquids, suspensions, pastes, powders, and granules. Specific examples include pharmaceuticals, health foods, seasoning oils, seasoning extracts, various nutrients, taste components, flavors, mouth fresheners, bath additives, confectionery and the like. The ultrathin soft capsule of the present invention has a remarkably improved fast-solubility, and is useful as a drug, a health food, a seasoning oil capsule, a mouth freshener, a bathing agent, etc., which are expected to have a rapid effect. Further, the soft capsule of the ultra-thin film of the present invention,
The frangibility is greatly improved, and it is useful as a paint bullet capsule and a tube-type capsule used as a container, which are expected to have feasibility.

(Overall Shape of Capsule) The shape of the portion of the capsule that does not include the flange is round, oval,
Various types such as oblong type and tube type can be used. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above description.

[0017]

EXAMPLES As described below, samples of the soft capsules of the present invention were prepared and evaluated. 1. Preparation of capsule 100 parts by weight of gelatin as a soft capsule coating liquid,
Glycerin (30 parts by weight) and water (80 parts by weight) were prepared by a conventional method. The content was liquid soybean oil. A commercially available rotary mold type automatic soft capsule molding and filling machine (liner type) was used.

FIG. 2
The three types of punching dies, ie, the die 7 and the die 9 shown in FIG. 7, the die 19 shown in FIG. 4, and the die 37 shown in FIG.
It was manufactured under the following molding conditions.

[0019]

[Table 1]

As shown in Table 1, a plurality of target film thicknesses F were set. In addition, the tooth height dimension T of the mold 9 and the mold 19 is set to 0.1.
It was adjusted to 2 mm. The tooth height T of the mold 37 is 0.9 mm when the target film thickness F of the dried capsule is 0.45 mm, and the target film thickness F is 0.05 mm.
In the case of 0.10 mm and 0.15 mm, it was adjusted to 0.2 mm.
It became 3 or 2. Also, anticipating the shrinkage ratio after drying,
Immediately after molding, the film thickness of the undried capsule film was adjusted to be twice as large as 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, and 0.3 mm, respectively. The contents were all 300 mg in weight.

2. Evaluation of Capsule Formulation Using a mold 37 having the conventional shape shown in FIG. 7, the thickness F of the capsule film after drying was 0.05 mm and 0.10 mm.
When the pressure-bonding heat bonding was attempted by adjusting the pressure so as to be as follows, the capsule film could not be bonded. Further, when the film was manufactured so that the film thickness F was 0.15 mm, there was a part adhered, but the yield was 1.3%, which was far below the level of practical use. . On the other hand, when press-bonding heat bonding was attempted using the mold 7 and the mold 9 shown in FIG. 2 and the mold 19 shown in FIG. 4, the obtained capsule (product of the present invention) had a yield of 98% or more Had sufficient formulation properties.

Solubility Time from when each capsule is put in water at 37 ° C. until the content enclosed in the capsule starts to release (dissolution time)
Was measured according to the test method of the Japanese Pharmacopoeia method to evaluate the solubility. The results were as shown in Table 2.
In addition, the dissolution time in Table 2 shows the range of the dissolution time indicated by each of the six samples.

[0023]

[Table 2]

Breaking Strength The breaking strength was evaluated by examining the load when each capsule was broken and the contents enclosed in the capsule leaked out using a Monsanto hardness meter. The results were as shown in Table 3. In addition, the breaking strength in Table 3 shows the range of the breaking strength indicated by each of the six samples.

[0025]

[Table 3]

From the above results, as compared with the conventional soft capsule, the soft capsule of the present invention has a dissolution time of 1/2 or less while ensuring the formulation property to the extent that the stability during storage and distribution is not impaired. It can be seen that the quick-dissolving property of the capsule film was enhanced and the fragility was also enhanced. In addition, the drying time during production is 15 to 15 in the case of a conventional soft capsule.
The drying time was shortened to 4 to 8 hours in the case of the soft capsule of the present invention, compared to 24 hours.

[0027]

The ultra-thin soft capsules of the present invention have remarkably improved quick-dissolving properties, and are useful as pharmaceuticals, health foods, seasoning oil capsules, mouth fresheners, bath additives, etc., which are expected to have a rapid effect. is there. Further, the ultra-thin soft capsule of the present invention has remarkably enhanced easy destruction property, and is useful as a paint bullet capsule expected to be easily destructible and a tube type capsule used as a container. Further, since the ultrathin soft capsule of the present invention has a reduced thickness, the raw material cost of the film is reduced to 、 or less and the drying time is also reduced to 1 hour.
/ 2 or less, so that the processing cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a soft capsule according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along a line BB.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a mold used for manufacturing a soft capsule according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a soft capsule according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane BB.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a mold used for manufacturing a soft capsule and a soft capsule immediately after molding according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 (A) is a perspective view of a soft capsule according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane BB.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a mold used for manufacturing a soft capsule and a soft capsule immediately after molding according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a mold used for manufacturing a conventional soft capsule and a soft capsule immediately after molding.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Capsule 3 Capsule coating 5 Adhesive surface 7, 9 Die 11 Capsule 13 Capsule coating 15 Flange 19 Die 21 Capsule 23 Capsule coating 25 Flange 29 Die

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An ultra-thin soft capsule, wherein the capsule film has a thickness of 0.15 mm or less. 2. The ultra-thin soft capsule according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive surface of the capsule is inclined. 3. The ultra-thin soft capsule according to claim 1, wherein a flange forming an adhesive surface is formed on the capsule. 4. The ultrathin soft capsule according to claim 3, wherein the width of the flange is 0.5 mm or less. 5. The ultra-thin soft capsule according to claim 3, wherein the thickness dimension of the flange is maximum at a portion in contact with the capsule coating.