JP2005219816A - Sealing method and apparatus for glass bottle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve both of sealing function and easy opening function by preventing decrease in the sealing strength of a glass bottle and also reducing variations of sealing strength. <P>SOLUTION: Moisture adhering on the top face of the mouth part of the glass bottle is removed before sealing by applying dry air on the mouth top face of the glass bottle to improve both of the sealing function and easy opening function. By applying ionized air together, effects of an organic substance, a carbonate generated by aeration or the like can be removed to improve sealing strength further. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a glass bottle sealing method and a glass bottle sealing device using the method, in which the sealing adhesive strength and the variation in the sealing adhesive strength are improved when the mouth portion of the glass bottle is sealed with a sealing material.

  Conventionally, a cap with a sealing material (a synthetic resin film adhesive layer laminated on the lower surface of an aluminum foil) is attached to the mouth of the glass bottle and heated at high frequency, and the sealing material is applied to the top of the mouth. A high-frequency heating seal that seals and seals a synthetic resin film or a sealing material (having a synthetic resin film adhesive layer on the back surface) placed on the mouth of a glass bottle and heated from the front side of the sealing material A heat seal is known in which a synthetic resin film is welded and sealed. Conventionally, when these seals are applied to the mouth of the glass bottle, no special treatment has been performed on the top of the mouth of the glass bottle.

  In high-frequency heat seals, heat seals, etc., if there is a portion with low seal strength, the seal is likely to fail. Since the failure of the seal must be avoided, the overall strength of the seal must be increased by applying strong high frequency. Then, there is a problem that a portion with extremely strong sealing strength is generated, and it is difficult to open the sealing member. Furthermore, the sealing strength may be reduced due to moisture or organic matter adhering to the glass bottle, weathering of the glass, and the like, which may impair the sealing performance. The present invention eliminates moisture, organic matter, carbonates generated by weathering, etc. adhering to the top surface of the mouth of the glass bottle before sealing, thereby preventing a decrease in seal strength and reducing variations in seal strength. The problem is to improve both the ease of opening and the ease of opening.

  The present invention is a glass characterized in that after the top surface of the mouth portion of the glass bottle is treated with dry air, a sealing material having an adhesive layer on the back surface is attached to the mouth portion of the bottle and heated while being pressed. This is a bottle sealing method. The treatment with dry air can be realized by blowing hot air on the top of the bottle mouth with a dryer or the like. As a result, the water adhering to the top of the mouth of the glass bottle is removed, and therefore, when the mouth is sealed after the treatment, the sealing adhesive strength is increased.

  Moreover, the process by dry air and the process by ionized air can be used together. In the treatment with ionized air, corona discharge, plasma discharge, ultraviolet irradiation, electron beam irradiation, ion irradiation, etc. are performed on the top of the mouth of the glass bottle, so that the vicinity of the mouth becomes a high energy state and the air is ionized. This is realized by acting on the top of the mouth.

By applying treatment with ionized air,
(1) Moisture on the glass surface is removed,
(2) Impurities (weathering substances, organic substances) on the glass surface are removed.
(3) Very small irregularities at the molecular level are formed on the glass surface.
(4) The chemical properties of the glass surface change,
Therefore, it can be inferred that if the mouth is sealed after this treatment, the sealing adhesive strength is increased. Further, since moisture and impurities adhering to the glass surface cause variations in seal adhesive strength, removal of these also reduces variations in seal adhesive strength. Therefore, when the treatment with dry air and the treatment with ionized air are used in combination, the seal strength can be further increased.

  The present invention also includes a conveying means for conveying a glass bottle, a dry air processing means for treating the top of the mouth of the glass bottle with dry air in the conveying means, and a mouth portion of the glass bottle provided on the downstream side thereof. And a sealing means for sealing the glass bottle.

  According to this apparatus, since the mouth of the glass bottle is sealed within a relatively short time after the top surface of the mouth of the glass bottle is treated with dry air, the sealing adhesive strength is increased. Moreover, since the process with dry air is performed with respect to the glass bottle currently conveyed by the conveyance means, a process can be automated easily. Prior to sealing the mouth, the glass bottle is filled with the contents, but this filling step may be before or after treatment with dry air.

  In the apparatus of the present invention described above, by providing ionized air treatment means for performing treatment with ionized air from the upper part of the conveying means to the top of the mouth of the glass bottle on the downstream side of the dry air treatment means for performing treatment with dry air, A treatment with dry air and a treatment with ionized air can be used in combination.

  When the mouth top surface treatment of the present invention is performed prior to the sealing step, the sealing adhesive strength of the glass bottle is improved and the variation in the sealing adhesive strength is reduced. Therefore, it is not necessary to make the seal adhesive strength excessively strong by applying a high frequency or the like, and the sealing member can be easily opened. In addition, since the factor that lowers the sealing adhesive strength is removed by the treatment of the present invention, it is possible to almost completely prevent the occurrence of incompletely sealed defective products.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a glass bottle sealing device of the present invention. This apparatus can implement the sealing method of the present invention. This apparatus is composed of glass bottle conveying means 6 such as a conveyor, dry air processing means 3, content filling means 4, and sealing means 5. The glass bottle G transported on the transport means 6 in the direction of the arrow removes moisture by blowing dry air (hot air) onto the top of the mouth from the dry air processing means 3 using a dryer or the like. Applied. The content filling means 4 is arranged on the downstream side, and the content is filled inside the bottle at this portion. A sealing means 5 such as high-frequency heating is disposed on the downstream side, and a seal and a lid are attached to the mouth of the bottle in this portion.

  FIG. 2 is an example in which ionized air processing means is further provided in the apparatus of FIG. That is, ionized air processing means 9 for performing corona discharge processing, plasma discharge processing, ultraviolet irradiation processing, electron beam irradiation processing, ion irradiation processing, or the like is provided between the dry air processing means 3 and the content filling means 4. The ionized air treatment means 9 performs ionized air treatment on the top of the mouth of the glass bottle G. The dry air processing means 3 or the ionized air processing means 9 can be provided between the content filling means 4 and the sealing means 5.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of ionized air processing by corona discharge processing. The corona discharge means comprises a corona discharge device main body 1 comprising a high frequency oscillator 7 and a high voltage transformer 8, and a metal thin blade-like electrode 2 connected thereto. When the mouth of the glass bottle G passes directly under the blade-like electrode 2, corona discharge is performed between the blade-like electrode 2 and the top of the mouth of the glass bottle G, and ionized air is formed on the top of the mouth. Processing is performed. The gap between the blade-shaped electrode and the top surface of the glass bottle mouth is 0.5 to several mm.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the seal adhesive strength of a glass bottle that has been subjected to corona discharge treatment on the top of the mouth and that is not. Under three humidity conditions of 85%, 53% and 0%, 8 glass bottles were allowed to stand for 2 hours, and the top of the mouth of each of the 4 bottles under each humidity condition was subjected to corona discharge treatment. The corona discharge treatment was performed using the apparatus shown in FIG. 3 with the input voltage of the high-frequency transmitter 7 being 140 V, the current being 6 A, and the bottle mouth portion being passed under the blade-like electrode 4 four times. The remaining four glass bottles under each humidity condition were not subjected to corona discharge treatment. These glass bottles were sealed by high-frequency heating, and the seal adhesive strength was measured. The measurement of the adhesive strength of the seal is performed at four locations for each bottle, and the average value and the variation are shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the seal adhesion strength is higher when the corona discharge treatment is performed than when the corona discharge treatment is not performed. In addition, the corona discharge treatment has a relatively small inclination of the graph, and is not easily affected by humidity. In addition, since the seal strength increases as the humidity decreases, it can be seen that if moisture is removed by treatment with dry air before corona discharge treatment (treatment with ionized air), the seal strength is further improved. . Moreover, since the seal strength differs by about 1.5 to 2 times between 0% and 85% humidity, it is considered that the effect when the treatment with dry air is performed alone is also similar.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the plasma discharge process. The plasma discharge means is a plasma generator 10 including a high-voltage transformer 11, an air blow 12, and an opposing wire electrode 13. The plasma generator 10 applies a high-frequency voltage of the high-voltage transformer 11 to the opposing wire-type electrode 13 to bring the air into an ionized state (plasma) in the initial discharge state of the arc discharge, and then blow air between the electrodes 13. To blow out plasma.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the sealing adhesive strength of a glass bottle that has been subjected to plasma discharge treatment on the top of the mouth and that that is not. Four glass bottles were allowed to stand for 2 hours under three humidity conditions of 80%, 58%, and 0%, respectively, and the top surface of the mouth of each of the two bottles under each humidity condition was subjected to plasma discharge treatment. The plasma discharge treatment was performed with the apparatus shown in FIG. 5, and the top surface of the mouth of the glass bottle was irradiated with plasma for about 5 seconds. Plasma discharge treatment was not performed on each of the remaining two glass bottles under each humidity condition. These glass bottles were sealed by high-frequency heating with the same sealing material as described above, and the seal adhesive strength was measured. The measurement of the adhesive strength of the seal is performed at four places in each bottle, and the average value and the variation are shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the seal adhesion strength is higher when the plasma discharge treatment is performed than when the plasma discharge treatment is not performed. Further, since the seal strength increases as the humidity decreases, it can be seen that if moisture is removed by treatment with dry air before plasma discharge treatment (treatment with ionized air), the seal strength is further improved. . Further, when the humidity is 0% and 80%, the seal strength is different by about 1.4 to 1.7 times, so that the effect when the treatment with dry air is performed alone is considered to be the same.

It is explanatory drawing of the sealing apparatus of the glass bottle of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the sealing apparatus of the glass bottle of this invention, and is a case where dry air processing and ionized air processing are used together. It is explanatory drawing of the ionized air process by a corona discharge process. It is explanatory drawing of the seal | sticker adhesive strength of what is not performed with the glass bottle which performed the corona discharge process to the opening | mouth top surface. It is explanatory drawing of a plasma discharge process. It is explanatory drawing of the seal | sticker adhesive strength of what is not performed with the glass bottle which performed the plasma discharge process to the opening | mouth top surface.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Corona discharge apparatus main body 2 Blade-shaped electrode 3 Dry air processing means 4 Contents filling means 5 Sealing means 6 Conveying means 7 High frequency oscillator 8 High voltage transformer 9 Ionized air processing means 10 Plasma generator 11 High pressure transformer 12 Air blow 13 Wire type electrode G glass bottle

Claims (2)

  A method for sealing a glass bottle, comprising: applying a sealing material having an adhesive layer on the back surface to the mouth of the bottle after heating the top surface of the mouth of the glass bottle, and heating while pressing the bottle. . A transport means for transporting the glass bottle; a dry air treatment means for treating the top of the mouth of the glass bottle with dry air in the transport means; and a sealing means provided on the downstream side for sealing the mouth of the glass bottle. A glass bottle sealing device characterized by comprising:

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