JP2003137227A - Formwork and sealer including the formwork - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a formwork which can deal with a diversity of containers with various forms and sizes and is excellent in cost, labor, storage, management or the like in joining a lid with a flanged container with an upper part opened. SOLUTION: The formwork comprises two parallel sides of at least one of opposite sets, and has at least one fixing device to move along the two parallel sides of the formwork for fixing the container and a means for holding the fixing device at a predetermined position.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mold for joining a lid to a flanged container containing contents such as food, and a container sealing device equipped with this mold.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a material for sealing a container containing food or the like, a plastic flanged container and a plastic film or lid are generally used. These general sealing methods include, after putting the contents in a container, covering the opening of the container with a film or a lid and suspending the flange of the container on the frame of the sealing device, which is equivalent to the frame. There is a method of lowering the pressing plate from the upper surface to clamp or heat the flange to heat and seal the container and the lid. In the case of not heating, for example, in the case of sealing with an adhesive, a method is also known in which an adhesive or the like is applied to the flange of the container in advance and the container and the lid are pressed and sealed before sandwiching.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-189721 discloses an insulating base plate in which a heating element is arranged at the edge of several holes formed in a plate-like body, and the flange of the container is made to correspond to the plate-like body. Place the container, insert the contents, cover it with a backing (cover), convey it with a conveyor device, then lower the pressing plate from the top to clamp the flange, and the form of the heated sealing device Discloses a method of heat-sealing a container and a mount (lid). According to this method, several containers and lids can be sealed at once, and since the mount (lid) side is not heated, deformation such as distortion due to heat of the lid material does not occur,
It can be packaged nicely.

However, the method and apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-189721 require a mold in which a corresponding heating element is arranged for each of various containers having different sizes and designs. It takes a lot of money to make a dedicated mold for each container, and it takes time and labor to replace it, and it is difficult to store and manage it. Further, there is a problem in that it is a heavy burden both financially, in terms of personnel and location, and it is not possible to cope with more and more diversified types of containers in the future.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to deal with the sealing of containers of various shapes and sizes,
It is an object to provide a mold excellent in labor, storage, management, etc., and a sealing device equipped with this mold.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems As a result of earnest studies for achieving the above-mentioned object, the present inventor has moved along a pair of parallel two sides of a mold to fix the container. The present invention has been completed by finding that the above-mentioned problems can be solved when a mold provided with a fixture is used. That is, the present invention is as follows.

(1) A mold for accommodating and fixing a container for joining a lid to a flanged container having an open upper part, wherein the mold has at least one pair of two sides facing each other. Parallel, each side has a thickness for suspending a container flange, and within a form, having a thickness for suspending a container flange, moving along said two opposite parallel sides of the form And a mold having at least one fixture for fixing the container to the container and means for holding the fixture in place.

(2) A mold for accommodating and fixing a container for joining a lid to a flanged container having an open upper part, wherein the mold has at least one pair of two sides facing each other. Parallel, each side having a thickness for suspending the container flange, and within the form having a thickness for suspending the container flange, a partition parallel to the two opposite parallel sides of the form A plate and a formwork having at least one fixture for moving along two parallel sides of the formwork to secure the container, and means for holding the fixture in place. (3) A container sealing device comprising the mold according to (1) or (2) and a pressing plate corresponding to the mold on the upper part of the mold. (4) The container sealing device according to claim 3, further comprising a gas replacement device.

The present invention is described in detail below. In the conventional formwork, a formwork determined for each container is selected, and each time the moldwork is exchanged for use, while the present invention moves along two parallel sides of the formwork to fix the container. The feature is that a mold provided with at least one fixing tool (hereinafter, referred to as a moving fixing tool) is used. The formwork of the present invention is a formwork for accommodating and fixing a container for joining a lid to a flanged container. The formwork is parallel to at least one set of two opposite sides, each side having a thickness for suspending the flange of the container. Further, in the formwork there is at least one moving fixture having a thickness for suspending the flange of the container, and means for holding the moving fixture in place.

When a container is sealed using the mold of the present invention, after filling the container fixed in the mold with contents,
A sealing material is placed on the sealing material, and the sealing material is joined to the flange of the container suspended on the side of the mold to perform sealing. The flange in the present invention refers to overlapping flange-shaped portions when joining the lid to the container, and the flange joins the lid to the container. The flanged container in the present invention is a container having a flange at the opening, and it is sufficient that the contents can be put therein, and the material includes paper, wood, plastic, metal and the like. When the heating method is adopted as the sealing method, a container in which paper is laminated with plastic and a container made of plastic are preferable.

The lid in the present invention may be a film or a rigid lid as long as it covers the opening of the container. From the viewpoint of visually confirming the contents and the viewpoint of beauty, the material is preferably transparent and excellent in gloss, but is not limited to this. As the plastic used for the lid, generally, polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, polystyrene resin, methacrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyamide resin, polycarbonate resin, polyethylene terephthalate resin, polybutylene terephthalate resin,
Cellulose acetate resin, polyvinylidene chloride, saponified resin of ethylene vinyl copolymer and the like can be mentioned, and the lid generally has a single-layer or multi-layer structure made of the above resins.

The mold of the present invention is provided with a moving fixture in the mold so that a container is placed in the mold, and then the moving fixture is set in a pair of parallel two sides facing each other. Since the container in the mold can be fixed by moving the container in the horizontal direction along the line, even if the shape or size of the container is changed, the trouble of replacing the mold can be saved. Therefore, with a few formwork,
Since the molds of various sizes can be used in common, the labor and time required for replacement, the manufacturing cost of various molds, the burden of storage, etc. can be significantly reduced, and management becomes easy.

When the heating method is adopted as the sealing method,
It is common to incorporate a heating element into the mold itself for heating, or to heat the sheet formwork by heat transfer from the adjacent part of the formwork as a heating element. As a heating method, any generally known method may be used, and examples thereof include an impulse heating type, a heater heating type, and a high frequency heating type. The material used for the mold is a generally known material, as long as it does not interfere with the sealing function, any material may be used, and it is lightweight, excellent in workability and heat transfer, and is not easily worn. preferable. Specific examples thereof include metals such as iron, stainless steel and brass, ceramics, heat resistant plastics and the like, which may be used alone or in combination. In order to impart wear resistance and anti-seizure property, quenching treatment, surface plating treatment (eg, plating treatment using nickel-phosphorus-tungsten or titanium nitride treatment), and Teflon (registered A material that has undergone a surface treatment such as a trademark treatment may be used. Specifically, preferable molds include those obtained by quenching iron and coating the surface of the material with Teflon (registered trademark), and those obtained by subjecting brass material to the iron plating treatment.

The length of the side of the mold is 20 cm or more from the viewpoint of workability, the internal volume in the container, and control, and the processability, the internal volume in the container, the weight of the frame, control, and uniform sealing strength are obtained. From the viewpoint of the horizontality of the sealing surface, it is preferably 300 cm or less. More preferably 25 cm or more, 27
0 cm or less, more preferably 30 cm or more, 2
It is 50 cm or less. Further, the height of the mold is preferably 3 cm or more and 50 cm or less from the viewpoint of workability and the internal volume of the container. More preferably 5 cm or more, 4
5 cm or less, more preferably 7 cm or more, 40
cm or less.

The thickness of each side of the mold is sufficient to suspend the flange of the container. Specifically, from the viewpoint of workability and seal strength, the width is 3 mm or more, the mass of the mold and the parallelism. From the viewpoint of the property, it is preferably 50 mm or less. More preferably 4 mm or more and 45 mm or less,
More preferably, it is 5 mm or more and 40 mm or less. Since the moving fixture in the present invention is used by bridging two parallel sides of the frame body which is the outermost shell of the formwork, it is durable enough to withstand pressing so as not to bend due to pressing at the time of sealing. A material having strength is preferable, and a material having higher strength than the frame body is more preferable.

Since the moving fixture moves along a pair of parallel two sides of the mold which face each other and fixes the container, the container is continuously sealed while the flatness of the sealing surface is maintained. be able to. This makes it possible to seal the inside of the container in a hermetically sealed state, without selecting the contents.
Various contents can be packaged. In particular, in the case of food containing liquid or gas displacement packaging, if the components constituting the mold form a non-continuous seal without maintaining the flatness of the sealing surface, the liquid of the contents will be outside the container and packaging. The usefulness of a continuous seal is shown, as the leaking or displacing gas leaks.

When the containers are arranged vertically in a line in the mold to perform sealing, one container is first arranged in the mold and the first movable fixing device is used to set a pair of opposite sides of the mold. Fix the container by moving it parallel to. Next, the second container is placed in the mold, the second moving fixing tool is moved in parallel, and sandwiched and fixed between the second moving fixing tool and the first moving fixing tool. According to the invention of claim 2, when the containers are arranged side by side in the formwork for sealing, a partition plate having a thickness for suspending the flange of the container and parallel to two parallel sides of the formwork. The containers are arranged one by one via (hereinafter referred to as a partition plate). Then, the moving fixture is moved along two parallel sides of the mold which face each other, and is fixed by one side of the mold and the moving fixture.

When a plurality of rows of containers are arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions of the mold to perform sealing, the above methods are combined and carried out. The partition plate in the present invention is a plate assembled by vertically and horizontally squeezing square pieces in construction, that is, when two members are assembled, a cut is made in one material and the other material is inserted in this cut and assembled. It is a plate. In this case, the moving fixture in the mold moves along the two parallel sides of the mold and the partition plate parallel to the two sides.

An example of a mold having a frame body, a partition plate and a movable fixing tool is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows a formwork 16 in which a partition plate 1 is placed in the upper part of the frame body 3 to partition the frame body, and a moving fixture 2 having a notch corresponding to the partition plate is inserted. FIG. 2 shows a form in which two partition plates 1'are vertically arranged in the frame body 3 to partition the frame body, and a moving fixture 2'having a notch corresponding to the partition plate is inserted. FIG. 1 is a preferable structure because a simple and uniform pressing seal can be performed.

The means for holding the movable fixing tool in a predetermined position in the present invention is a fixing jig for screwing from the viewpoint of reducing labor required for replacement, time, manufacturing cost of various molds, and burden such as storage. Is preferred. FIG. 3 shows a fixing jig as an example of means for holding the movable fixing tool at a predetermined position. The fixing jig 17 can be fixed to the moving fixing tool by a screw passing through the screw hole 18. The structure is such that the partition frame is held in the concave portion of the main body and is screwed to the partition plate with a screw passing through the screw hole 19. It is preferable to use a butterfly screw for the screw passing through the screw hole 19 because it is not necessary to use a screwdriver or the like at the time of movement, the moving fixture can be easily moved, and it can be easily fixed again after the movement.

The sealing device according to the present invention comprises a mold according to the present invention and a pressing plate corresponding to the mold located above the mold, and is provided outside the mold and the pressing plate. May include a heating element. Although a plurality of containers may be sealed at once by using a sealing device or may be sequentially sealed one at a time, from the viewpoint of productivity, a plurality of containers are sealed at one seal. Is preferred. The sealing device provided with the gas replacement device in the present invention is a device provided with the gas replacement device in the sealing device so that the gas replacement packaging can be performed.

The sealing device provided with the gas replacement device enables hermetic packaging under a gas atmosphere suitable for the food, particularly when packaging the food. Keeping foods etc. in an inert gas prevents oxidation of fats and oils, preservation of active ingredients such as vitamins, prevention of decay due to fungus, fungus and yeast breeding, prevention of discoloration and discoloration of pigments, and prevention of aroma scattering. Etc. are effective. If a gas having a bacteriostatic action such as carbon dioxide is used, the preservability of food can be improved.

Any gas may be used as long as it is a generally known gas. For example,
Examples thereof include nitrogen, carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide gas), oxygen and argon, which may be used alone or in combination. Ozone and natural and synthetic antibacterial substances (for example, hinokitiol etc.) known to have fungicidal action against mold, fungi and yeast may be used. As a gas replacement method, a chamber method (a method of depressurizing the inside of the space once to make a vacuum in a certain closed space and then introducing a replacement gas for replacement),
Gas flush type (a method of flushing a certain space with a replacement gas and expelling the internal air with the replacement gas to replace it), etc., but the type and shape of the contents in the container, the desired packaging speed, gas replacement The optimum gas replacement method can be adopted depending on the rate, work space, etc.

An example of the mold of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 4 and 5 show a mold used when the flange of the sealed container has a rounded corner portion. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, container designs have diversified such that the corners of the container flange are rounded or angular. When sealing the rounded corners of the container flange, it is only necessary to change the shape of the flange corner shape adjusting component 4 provided in the moving fixture 2 and the frame 3. The flange corner shape adjusting component 4 is separately prepared as a jig as shown in FIG.
Even if fixed to the moving fixture 2 and the frame body 3 with the screw 5,
It may be made integrally with the moving fixture 2 and the frame body 3, but it is better to fix it by screwing etc. in the case of containers of the same size with different flange corner shapes, the shape of the corner part of the flange At the same time, only the flange corner shape adjusting component 4 is replaced, so that the shape of the container corner can be dealt with, which is preferable. FIG. 5 shows a form 16 'in which a partition plate 1, a cut corresponding to the partition plate, and a moving fixture 2 having a flange corner shape adjusting component 4 are inserted into the frame body 3.

6 or 7 is a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped container 7 or a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped container 7 in which the mold 16 'shown in FIG.
It is a perspective view at the time of sealing using a rectangular parallelepiped container 7'having a longer side. As shown in these figures, the movable fixture 2 allows the same mold to be used for the rectangular parallelepiped container 7 and the rectangular parallelepiped container 7 ′ having a side longer than 7.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship of the essential parts of the sealing device when sealing is performed using the container and film in the mold and device of the present invention. A is an upper sealing device composed of a mold 16 ′ having the same structure as the lower sealing device (D) and a mold stand 6 ′ having no heating function, B is a film, C is a flanged container, and D is , A lower sealing device composed of a mold 16 ′ and a mold stand 6 having a heating function. When performing sealing, the frame 3 and the moving fixture 2 of each of the upper sealing device (A) and the lower sealing device (D)
And adjust so that the sealing surfaces of the partition plate 1 can face each other,
The upper sealing device (A) and the lower sealing device (D) are moved up and down to hold the flange of the container 7 and the film 8 between the upper sealing device (A) and the lower sealing device (D). . When the lengths of the containers are different, the moving fixtures 2 in the molds of the upper sealing device (A) and the lower sealing device (D) are moved in the horizontal direction to form a mold corresponding to the length of the container. To do.

If the mold is simply fixed to the mold base 6 and the mold base 6'with screws or the like, the mold can be easily removed, which is preferable for the convenience of management work and mold replacement work. FIG. 8 shows an example in which a lower sealing device (D) having a mold table 6 having a heating function and an upper sealing device (A) having a mold table 6 ′ having no heating function are used. Even if both the device (A) and the lower sealing device (D) have the mold table 6 having a heating function, the mold table 6 ′ having no heating function
Even if it has, it suffices if it can be sealed.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing the positional relationship of the essential parts of the sealing device when the film of FIG. 8 is replaced with a rigid lid. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a flanged container and a lid having rounded corners. FIG. 11 shows
It is an example when the form and the apparatus used in FIG. 9 are equipped with a gas replacement device. The chamber 10 is located in the upper and lower parts of the upper sealing device (A) and in the lower part of the lower sealing device (D) in a state that it is divided into two parts.

The sealing is performed by the following procedure. The upper and lower chambers 10 are combined and hermetically sealed. At this time, the sealing surfaces of the upper sealing device (A) and the lower sealing device (D) are held so as not to contact each other. Next, chamber 1
In the closed space of 0, the air in the chamber 10 is discharged through the gas discharge pipe 13 connected to the discharge port 14, and the desired gas is further discharged through the gas introduction pipe 12 connected to the introduction port 11. Is introduced into the chamber 10, and the chamber 10
The gas inside is replaced. When the gas inside the chamber 10 is discharged, the inlet 11 is closed to reduce the pressure inside the chamber 10, and then the outlet 14 is closed to introduce the replacement gas into the chamber 10 through the inlet 11. In the case of replacing the gas inside the chamber 10 through the outlet 14 while introducing the replacement gas through the inlet 11, the inside of the chamber 10 is replaced by the gas flush type. Finally, when the upper sealing device (A) and the lower sealing device (D) are completely brought into close contact with each other, the container and the rigid lid are sealed, and gas replacement and sealing in the container are completed.

In the case of FIG. 11, the discharge and introduction of the gas of the gas replacement device used the discharge port 14 and the introduction port 11 which are the respective openings, and the gas discharge pipe 13 and the gas introduction pipe 12 which were the respective pipes. However, even with an opening that also serves as the discharge port 14 and the introduction port 11 and a pipe that also serves as the gas discharge pipe 13 and the gas introduction pipe 12, there is no problem if the gas can be discharged and introduced. Further, the position, number and place of the openings for gas replacement may be appropriately selected depending on the size of the container to be replaced and the gas replacement rate, and are not limited to those shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 12 shows a gas displacement package that does not use the chamber 10. In this case, an opening for gas replacement may be directly formed in the frame body 3, and as long as gas replacement can be performed, there is no problem as a sealing device provided with a gas replacement device.

[0031]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032]

EXAMPLE An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10. Two types of polypropylene rectangular parallelepiped containers that have the same corner shape, short side length and height, but different long side lengths for the container flange (short side 100 mm x long side 140 mm x height 1
00mm, hereinafter referred to as A type container, short side 100mmX
(Long side 240 mm × height 100 mm, hereinafter referred to as B type container) is prepared, and the B type container is sealed next to the A type container. First, as shown in FIG. 5, a flange corner shape adjusting component 4 is created in accordance with the shape of the corner portion of the container flange, and is screwed to the moving fixture 2 and the frame body 3 of the mold to form the form. 16 'was created. This mold was fixed to the upper part of the mold base 6 in which the heating element was embedded, and the lower seal device (D) of FIG. 9 was obtained. Similarly, the same mold 16 'was fixed to the lower part of the mold base 6'in which the heating element was not embedded, to obtain an upper sealing device (A).

Next, an actual packaging test of an A type container was conducted using this apparatus. As shown in FIG. 6, slide the movable fixing tool 2 in the mold of the upper sealing device and the lower sealing device, adjust and fix so as to fit into the A-shaped container, and fix.
As shown in Figure 9, cover the container with a rigid lid and
Four containers were simultaneously sealed at 80 ° C. for 2 seconds. Sealing speed is 10 times / minute (40 pieces / minute in packs)
And 20 times / minute (80 packs / minute in the number of packs), 1000 packings each were made at each sealing speed. continue,
The container is changed to a B-shaped container, and as shown in FIG. 7, the movable fixing tool 2 in the molds of the upper sealing device and the lower sealing device is slid to be adjusted and fixed to fit the B-shaped container. Then, as in the case of the A-type container, 1000 actual packages were made at two different sealing speeds. A total of 4,000 packages made by changing the container and the sealing speed were examined, and the sealing was completed, and the working time when changing the container was about 10 minutes by one person. .

[0034]

Comparative Example In addition to the drawings used in the examples, FIGS.
4 shows an example in which the container is changed by using the conventional technique. In place of the form 16 'of FIG. 9, the form 15 of FIG. 13 is used for sealing the A container, and the form 15' of FIG. 14 is used for sealing the B container. Was performed in the same manner as in the example. When changing the mold for A type container to the mold for B type container only, remove the wiring for the heating device attached to the mold stand 6 shown in FIG. 13, remove the entire parts shown in FIG. 13 from the sealing device, Further, the mold 15 and the mold base 6 shown in FIG. 13 are removed. This work was performed for the upper and lower sealing devices, and then the mold 15 of FIG. 13 was replaced with the mold 15 ′ of FIG. 14, the sealing device was assembled, and wiring for the heating device was performed. . in this way,
In the conventional replacement of the formwork, it took about two hours with two persons to attach and detach the formwork, and the productivity was extremely poor.

[0035]

By using the formwork of the present invention and the sealing device equipped with this formwork, it is not necessary to replace the formwork even if the shape and size of the container are changed, and the moving fixture can be installed. Since the length of the mold can be adjusted by moving the mold in the horizontal direction, it is possible to reduce the labor and time required for replacement, the manufacturing cost of various molds, and the burden of storage and management.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a mold of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing another example of the mold of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a fixing jig as a means for holding the movable fixing tool of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the mold in FIG. 1 showing a state in which a flange corner portion shape adjusting component with a moving fixture is attached to the mold.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the mold when the flange corner shape adjusting component is mounted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a mold showing a state in which the container is mounted in the mold.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a mold showing a state where a container having a long long side is mounted in the mold.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship among a container to be sealed, a film-like lid, and a mold in the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship between a container to be sealed, a rigid lid, and a mold according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a container sealed by the mold of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship between a mold and a gas replacement device.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship between a mold and another gas replacement device.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of a mold and its mold base in the conventional technique.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing another example of a mold frame and its mold base in the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 'partition plate 22 'moving fixture 3 frame 4 Flange corner shape adjustment parts 5 screws 6 6'type stand 7 7'container 8 films 9 rigid lid 10 chambers 11 entrance 12 gas inlet pipe 13 Gas exhaust pipe 14 outlet 15 15 'Prior art form (mold) 16 16 'formwork 17 Fixing jig 18 screw holes 19 screw holes

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A mold for accommodating and fixing a container for joining a lid to a flanged container having an open upper part, the mold being parallel to at least one pair of two sides facing each other. , Each side has a thickness for suspending the container flange, and has a thickness for suspending the container flange in the formwork, moving along the two opposite parallel sides of the formwork. At least one fixing device for fixing the container
And a formwork having means for holding the fixture in place. 2. A mold for accommodating and fixing a container for joining a lid to a flanged container having an open upper part, the mold being parallel to at least a pair of two sides facing each other. , Each side has a thickness for suspending the flange of the container, and has a thickness for suspending the flange of the container in the formwork, which is a partition plate parallel to the two parallel sides facing each other. And a mold having at least one fixture for moving the container along two parallel sides to secure the container, and means for holding the fixture in place. 3. A container sealing device comprising the mold according to claim 1 or 2 and a pressing plate corresponding to the mold on the upper part of the mold. 4. The container sealing device according to claim 3, further comprising a gas replacement device.