JP2001301734A - Expandable metal container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a metal container in which no coated layer applied to inner and outer surfaces of the container or a printed layer with the outer surface printed is cracked or peeled even when the metal container is squeezed to a predetermined shape and then, restored to an original shape, and no metal of the container material eluates into the content. SOLUTION: This seamless metal container comprises a cylindrical barrel portion of the metal container and a bottom portion integrated with the barrel portion, the metal container is formed of metallic material with the inner and outer surfaces thereof covered with a synthetic resin, and the barrel portion is formed of an expandable bellows realizing the expandable metal container.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a metal container for beverages such as juice cans and beer cans, and more particularly, to a metal container which can be easily crushed into a predetermined shape during transportation or after use, and The present invention relates to a metal container that can be easily restored to a shape.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as metal containers of this type in consideration of disposal, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. Hei 6-92341 and Hei 8-217.
046, actual open flat 7-26314, etc., there were metal containers with bellows-shaped irregular beads all around the body of the container, but there were elastic metal containers intended for both easy crushing and resilience. Did not.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional example of an empty container before filling with contents. For example, in the figure, 1 is a metal container for accommodating beverages, etc., 2 is a container body, 3 is a container bottom, Is a flange portion, and 5 is a neck portion. Both the container body 2 and the container bottom 3 are made of steel or aluminum, and the inner surface of the container is generally coated with a paint to maintain the quality of the contents. The outer surface of the container is printed with a pattern or the like for the purpose of decoration.
Generally, an aluminum easy-open lid is attached to the upper portion of this type of container by winding it around the flange portion 5.

[0004]

However, when such a container is transported from a container maker to a filling maker for filling contents such as beverages, it is very bulky and inefficient in transporting. When the container is expanded and contracted, the paint and ink on the inner and outer surfaces are peeled or cracked, and there is a risk that metal as a material of the container is eluted into the contents.

Further, after the contents are taken out, they are often left as they are, and in recent years, they have become a social problem as one of the pollutions of garbage. The government is working hard to collect empty cans, and various measures have been taken.
There was a major problem that the efficiency of transportation was poor and the cost for disposal was high. Also, with the conventional container shown in FIG.
Even when crushed and discarded, it is hard to crush into a shape that reduces the bulk, and it is often discarded in the shape before use due to trouble and the like. This is due to the fact that the container itself was not originally manufactured in consideration of disposal after use.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and crushes a container manufactured by a container manufacturer to reduce the volume, efficiently transports the container to a filling manufacturer, and expands the volume to the original size. It is an object of the present invention to provide a metal container capable of restoring and filling the contents and then attaching a lid to the upper part of the container.

Another object is to prevent peeling and cracking of the paint layer on the inner surface of the container and the printed layer on the outer surface of the container when processing a bellows-shaped bead on the container body and when expanding and contracting the container. Still another object of the present invention is to prevent the metal of the container material from being eluted into the contents due to peeling or cracking.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a container which can be easily crushed into a predetermined shape by a method such as stepping on a leg after taking out the contents to reduce the volume.

[0009]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a seamless metal container comprising a cylindrical container body and a container bottom formed integrally with the container body, The metal container is made of a material whose inner and outer surfaces are coated with a synthetic resin, and the body of the container has a bellows shape which can be extended and contracted. Further, the synthetic resin covering the inner and outer surfaces of the material of the metal container is formed of a thin film of polyethylene terephthalate, and the extendable bellows shape of the container body is a continuous arc-shaped bead shape. The present invention relates to an elastic metal container.

[0010]

First, as shown in FIG. 3, a container manufactured by a container manufacturer presses the container in the height direction with the upper flange portion and the lower bottom portion of the container interposed therebetween, and the bellows formed in the container body portion Is crushed, the container body is shrunk and the volume is reduced to be packed and transported to a filling maker. Next, the filling manufacturer stretches the crushed container before filling the contents, restores the original volume, fills the contents, attaches the lid, and seals. In addition, used containers used by consumers are:
Again, the upper and lower portions of the container are sandwiched and crushed to reduce the volume of the container, which facilitates collection and transportation after collection, and enables disposal for disposal.

[0012]

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an empty container according to an embodiment of the present invention. The container 1 is a seamless metal container, and includes a body portion 2, a bottom portion 3, a flange portion 4, and a neck portion 5. Both inside and outside surfaces of the container are covered with a synthetic resin. A bellows-like uneven bead 6 that is continuous in the circumferential direction of the body portion is formed on the body portion 2 from above to below. The shape of the bead 6 can be considered to be arc-shaped, triangular or the like in cross section. Preferably, the cross section is processed to form a circular arc. The bead 6 can be easily formed by various means (not shown) such as pressing with a pair of grooved rolls provided inside and outside the container.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the container 1 is pressed from above and
To reduce the height of the container. Usually, the height of the container in the compressed state is about half the height of the original container.

The sectional structure of the body of the container is, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 4, formed by closely adhering an inner synthetic resin film 8 and an outer synthetic resin film 9 to a container material 7. As the container material, steel and aluminum are mainly used, and as the synthetic resin, polyethylene terephthalate is most preferable from the viewpoint of food hygiene, but other resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyolefin can also be used. .

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the trunk portion is formed in an elastic bellows shape, the height of the container can be easily crushed, or the container can be stretched and restored to its original state. To provide a container which can be packed in a container with a reduced volume and can be transported from a container manufacturer to a content filling manufacturer, and which can be efficiently collected and disposed of as an empty can with a reduced volume. be able to.

Further, since the inner and outer surfaces of the container are covered with a synthetic resin, when the body of the container is processed into a bellows shape, when the container is crushed or stretched to restore the original shape, or when the paint is applied. Cracking and peeling of the generated paint can be prevented, and exposure of the metal to the contents and damage to the outer printing surface can be prevented.

Furthermore, since the present container is a seamless metal container, the beading of the body can be simplified and the container can be easily expanded and contracted as compared with a conventional container having a seam in the longitudinal direction of the body. Has advantages.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of a conventional container shape.

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the container shape of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the container of the present invention is crushed into a predetermined shape.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional shape of a material of the container of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Container 2 Body 3 Bottom 4 Flange 5 Neck 6 Uneven bead 7 Container material 8 Container inner synthetic resin coating 9 Container outer synthetic resin coating

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A seamless metal container having a cylindrical body and a bottom formed integrally with the body, wherein the metal container is made of a material whose inner and outer surfaces are coated with a synthetic resin, A stretchable metal container characterized in that the cylindrical body has a bellows shape that can be stretched. 2. The stretchable metal container according to claim 1, wherein the synthetic resin covering the inner and outer surfaces of the metal container is made of a thin film of polyethylene terephthalate. 3. The stretchable metal container according to claim 1, wherein the stretchable bellows shape of the trunk portion is a continuous arc shape.