JP2009249024A - Beverage can - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a beverage can capable of being easily twisted and crushed even by a consumer with a weak physical strength. <P>SOLUTION: In the beverage can 1 having a tubular body tube part 5, a top plate part 6 clogging the upper end side of the body tube part 5 and having a spout 11, and a bottom plate part 7 clogging the lower end side of the body tube part 5, the body tube part 5 has a cross section of a pentagonal to dodecagonal shape made by forming ridgelines 14 and curved surfaces 13 by turns, and each ridgeline 14 is preliminarily given an initial twist θ of not less than 10 degrees from the top plate 6 to the bottom plate 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a beverage can made of aluminum or steel filled with beverages such as coffee and juice, and more particularly to a beverage can suitable for crushing small by human power after drinking.

  Conventionally, a wide variety of beverages such as coffee, tea, and juice have been sold in metal aluminum cans and steel cans. Generally, this type of beverage can is formed in a cylindrical shape whose upper and lower end surfaces are closed by a top plate portion and a bottom plate portion, and an annular convex portion is provided around the outer peripheral edge of the top plate portion by caulking the top plate portion. Has been. And a drinking mouth that is closed by a palate is provided on one side in the diameter direction of the top plate portion, and a finger-hanging member for opening the drinking mouth on the upper surface on the other side in the diameter direction of the top plate portion Etc. are arranged.

  This beverage can is intended only for stuffing beverages, but it is necessary not to be easily deformed by impact, pressure change, and temperature change during transportation. For this reason, it is common that a certain intensity | strength is provided with respect to the drink can.

  By the way, as for this drink can, how to process a used empty can efficiently has been a problem conventionally. In particular, when empty cans were transported to a processing facility, it was necessary to improve the transport efficiency by reducing the volume by crushing them.

  However, in such a metal beverage can, the decisive form of a can that is easy to be crushed as compared with a PET bottle has not yet been devised. For example, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), it is easy to crush a beverage can in the cross-sectional direction of the container, but it is difficult to say that the method is excellent in volume reduction. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7 (b), if the container can be crushed in the vertical direction, the volume reduction can be improved, but it cannot be easily crushed by human hands. By thinning the metal thickness of the beverage can, or by introducing initial irregularities to make it easy to buckle, it can be easily crushed, but the strength of the beverage can itself decreases, It also becomes a factor that reduces transportability and handling.

  In recent years, in order to crush an empty aluminum can into a certain shape with the force of a hand, a beverage can provided with a plurality of gentle spiral folds at equal intervals on the cylindrical part of the can or a spiral unevenness provided Beverage cans have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In the disclosure techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2, when the surface of the cylindrical portion is folded according to the folds and irregularities formed in the beverage can, and the upper and lower surfaces are twisted closer, the result is that the can can be moved vertically without using a tool. It can be made into a fixed shape that is easy to handle, such as squashed.

In addition, an aluminum can intended to be compressed and crushed while twisting with the force of a hand without providing such folds or irregularities has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 3). In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3, a plurality of straight marks having the same inclination angle are printed at equal intervals on the surface of a cylindrical portion of an aluminum can. A recess is formed along the mark so that it can be compressed while twisting.
Registered Utility Model No. 3008711 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-194279 JP 2002-029537 A

  However, in the conventional disclosed technology described above, although it is possible to compress and crush by twisting by human hand, it is crushed even if consumers with small arm strength such as women and children twist this. There were many cases where it was not possible. The reason may be that the torsional strength when the beverage can is torsionally buckled has not been quantitatively studied based on the torsional force on the can of consumers with low arm strength.

  Specifically, using a large deformation elasto-plastic analysis technique based on the finite element method, a torsional strength analysis was attempted on the can illustrated in Patent Document 1, and a typical outer dimension (diameter 65 mm, In the case of having a height of 120 mm and a plate thickness of 0.1 mm, the torsional strength ratio was about 0.90.

  In the same way, the can of the form shown in Patent Document 2 was evaluated by analysis, but the torsional strength ratio by applying the invention of Patent Document 2 was about 0.85.

  Although it is considered that the above analysis results vary somewhat depending on the method of determining the analysis conditions and the outer dimensions of the target can, the torsional strength ratio of the can is at most 0 in the shape improvement shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2. It can be judged that it is from .80 to 0.70.

  On the other hand, the torsional strength when each of the general beverage cans of the above dimensions, to which the inventions disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are applied, is made of steel and aluminum, respectively, is 23152 N · mm, 8123 N · Therefore, even if the torsional strength ratio of the can can be reduced to 0.70 by each invention, it is 5000 N · mm, which is a range that can be crushed by manpower even in the case of aluminum. It cannot be reduced to the following. In order to make the torsional strength 5000 N · mm or less, the torsional strength ratio must be at least 0.62 or less, and in order to be able to be sufficiently crushed even in the case of steel, the torsional strength ratio should be It is necessary to reduce it to 0.22 or less.

  Furthermore, in order to be able to be crushed more easily, it is considered that the torsional strength is preferably 3000 N · mm or less, but for that purpose, the torsional strength ratio must be at least 0.37 or less. Furthermore, in order to be able to be easily crushed even in the case of steel, it is necessary to reduce the torsional strength ratio to 0.13 or less.

  In the finite element analysis, Young's modulus E and Poisson's ratio ν were set to E = 205 GPa and ν = 0.3 for steel, and E = 70.3 GPa and ν = 0.35 for aluminum, respectively.

  In addition, in Patent Document 3, since a form that can specify the torsional strength is not clearly described, the torsional strength cannot be evaluated by analysis. However, after using the can, a tool is used to reduce the torsional strength to the consumer himself. The shape processing is promoted, and the torsional strength ratio cannot be stably reduced.

  The “torsional strength ratio” defined in the present application indicates the ratio of change in torsional strength due to the shape of the barrel portion on the side surface of the can. For example, the twist strength of a general cylindrical can that is not devised is 10000 N · mm, whereas the twist strength when the shape is devised on the barrel portion on the side of the can is 7000 N · mm. In the reduced case, the torsional strength ratio is defined as 0.70.

  The present invention has been devised in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a beverage can that can be easily crushed even by a consumer with low arm strength. is there.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a beverage can to which the present invention is applied has a cylindrical barrel portion, a top plate portion that closes the upper end side of the barrel portion and is provided with a drinking mouth, and the barrel portion. In the beverage can having the bottom plate portion that closes the lower end side of the portion, the body cylinder portion is formed in a 5 to 12 square cross section by alternately forming a ridge line and a curved surface, and each ridge line from the top plate portion to the above The initial twist is applied in advance so that the initial twist angle θ up to the bottom plate portion is 10 ° or more.

  Furthermore, in order to enjoy the effect of the invention more efficiently, the curved surface provided in the barrel portion is formed with a ridge line formed by further bending the curved surface into two.

  In the beverage can to which the present invention is applied, the body tube portion is formed into a 5-12 square cross section by alternately forming a ridge line and a curved surface, and the initial twist angle θ from the top plate portion to the bottom plate portion is 10 with respect to the ridge line. An initial twist is applied in advance so that the angle is greater than or equal to °. For this reason, the torsional strength ratio in the beverage can to which the present invention is applied can be reduced to 0.62 or less, and the torsional strength can be adjusted to be more suitable for consumers with small arm strength.

  Hereinafter, as the best mode for carrying out the present invention, a beverage can suitable for crushing by hand after drinking will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a beverage can 1 to which the present invention is applied closes a cylindrical barrel portion 5, a top plate portion 6 that closes an upper end side of the barrel portion 5, and a lower end side of the barrel portion 5. And a bottom plate portion 7. Incidentally, FIG. 1 (a) shows an example when the beverage can 1 is made of steel, and FIG. 1 (b) shows an example when the beverage can 1 is made of aluminum. When the beverage can 1 is made of steel, the beverage can 1 may have a diameter of 65 mm, a height of 120 mm, a plate thickness of 0.05 to 0.18 mm, and a case where tin plating is applied. Moreover, when the drink can 1 is made of aluminum, it may assume a diameter of 65 mm, a height of 120 mm, and a plate thickness of 0.07 to 0.15 mm.

  The top plate 6 is provided with a drinking mouth 11 and is provided with a ring-shaped tab 12 for opening it. When a beverage is packed in the beverage can 1 and sealed, the lid is closed with respect to the drinking mouth 11, and a notch is formed around the lid. It is important to keep the top plate portion 6 and the bottom plate portion 7 substantially circular in cross section for manufacturing and strength reasons.

  The body cylinder portion 5 has a cross section of 5 to 12 squares by alternately forming ridge lines 14 and curved surfaces 13. The curved surface 13 is arranged in the vertical direction from the top plate portion 6 to the bottom plate portion 7. Incidentally, the meaning of the curved surface 13 includes a flat surface in addition to a general curved surface. A ridge line 14 is formed between the adjacent curved surfaces 13. As a result, the barrel portion 5 has a form in which the curved surface 13 and the ridgeline 14 are provided in a so-called spiral shape.

  Incidentally, it is desirable that the curved surfaces 13 have the same shape and the same size as each other, and accordingly, the ridge lines 14 are preferably formed to be parallel to each other. This is to apply a uniform force in the circumferential direction to the barrel portion 5 at the time of twisting to be described later.

  2A and 2B are diagrams for three-dimensionally explaining only the barrel portion 5 having a hexagonal cross section. FIG. 2A is a plan view and FIG. 2B is a perspective view. Show.

  The cross-sectional hexagon 31 shown by hatching in FIG. 2 is the cross-section of the joining interface with the bottom plate portion 7 in the barrel 5, and the cross-section hexagon 32 without hatching is the trunk cylinder 5 shows a cross section of the bonding interface with the top plate 6 in FIG.

  Here, pay attention to one ridge line 14a. The ridge line 14 a is initially twisted from the top plate portion 6 to the bottom plate portion 7. That is, the position U of the ridge line 14a in the hexagonal section 32 and the position D of the ridgeline 14b in the sectional hexagon 31 are shifted by an angle corresponding to this initial twist. An initial twist angle corresponding to this initial twist is defined as θ. As shown in FIG. 2A, the initial twist angle θ is defined as an angle between a line connecting U and the center of the hexagons 31 and 32 and a line connecting D and the centers of the hexagons 31 and 32. It can also be defined.

  In the present invention, the initial torsion angle θ in the barrel portion 5 and whether this is constituted by an n-shaped cross section (n is an integer of 5 to 12) were examined as described below. In this examination, the height of the beverage can 1 is 120 mm, the diameter is 65 mm, the plate thickness of the barrel portion 5 is 0.1 mm, the plate thickness of the top plate portion 6 and the bottom plate portion 7 is 0.2 mm, and the material is tin-plated. As an example, the result of assuming steel that has been subjected to steel is 85 to 200 mm for the height of the beverage can 1, 50 to 80 mm for the diameter, and 0.05 to 0.18 mm for the plate thickness of the barrel portion 5. In addition, we evaluated aluminum in addition to steel, and analytically confirmed that there was a similar tendency.

  There are mainly two types of molding methods for one food and drink can, and they are classified into a three-piece can and a two-piece can.

  The three-piece can is composed of three parts: a top plate portion 6, a barrel portion 5, and a bottom plate portion 7. For forming the barrel portion 5, a rectangular metal plate cut to a predetermined size is bent into a cylindrical shape, and the cut surfaces of the metal plate facing each other are bonded or welded to form a cylindrical shape. Then, after performing cylindrical outer surface correction processing, the bottom plate portion 7 is joined, and after filling the beverage as the contents, the top plate portion 6 is joined, and the can beverage is completed. In this three-piece can, the shape improvement based on the present invention can be performed before the rectangular metal plate is bent into a cylindrical shape, or before and after the outer surface correction processing.

The two-piece can is composed of two parts, a cup portion in which the barrel portion 5 and the bottom plate portion 7 are integrally formed, and the top plate portion 6. A cup part is comprised by the metal processing method by drawing molding called cupping molding and / or handling molding, and after filling the drink used as the contents in this cup part, the top plate part 6 is joined and it completes as a can drink. . In this two-piece can, the shape improvement based on the present invention can be performed at the time of cupping molding or after cupping molding.
Bonding, welding, and winding are used for joining the barrel portion 5 and the bottom plate portion 7 in the three-piece can and the two-piece can, and joining the barrel portion 5 and the top plate portion 6 in the two-piece can.

  In this examination, as shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the beverage can 1 is held with both hands and the force of Fa is applied with one hand and the force of Fb is applied with the other hand. At this time, Fa and Fb are forces opposite to each other, and a twisting force acts on the beverage can 1.

  This document describes the case where Fa is clockwise and Fb is counterclockwise. However, the initial twist angle can be determined assuming that Fa and Fb are opposite to each other. Of course included in the invention.

  FIG. 4 shows the relationship of the torsional strength ratio with respect to the number of corners in the barrel portion 5. Here, the torsional strength ratio represents the ratio of the torsional strength of the beverage can 1 to the torsional strength of a conventional cylindrical beverage can of the same form and material. The result of FIG. 4 is a calculated value using a large deformation elasto-plastic analysis technique by a finite element method, and shows a case where the initial twist angle θ = 0.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the torsional strength ratio tends to decrease as the number of corners decreases. A clear tendency of strength reduction is seen when the number of corners is 12 or less, and the torsional strength is about 0.9 or less. If the number of corners is reduced, the torsional strength ratio can be reduced accordingly. On the other hand, considering that the top plate portion 6 and the bottom plate portion 7 are kept in a circular shape, from the viewpoint of having consistency therewith. It is difficult to configure this with four or fewer corners.

  For this reason, it is desirable that the barrel portion 5 has a cross section of 5 to 12 squares by alternately forming the ridge lines 14 and the curved surfaces 13.

  In addition, it is desirable that the upper limit of the number of corners of the barrel portion 5 is 10 from the viewpoint of further reducing the torsional strength. As a result, the torsional strength ratio can be suppressed to 0.8 or less. Further, from the viewpoint of improving the manufacturability, it is desirable to set the lower limit of the number of corners of the barrel portion 5 to 6. That is, by further reducing the torsional strength ratio, even a consumer with a small arm force such as a woman or a child can easily twist this, and to improve manufacturability, It is desirable that the barrel portion 5 has a cross section of 6 to 10 squares.

  FIG. 5A shows the relationship of the torsional strength ratio with respect to the initial torsional angle θ in the barrel portion 5. This figure shows the case where the cross section is a 10-sided cross section, and shows how much the twist strength can be further reduced by applying the initial twist when there is no initial twist (θ = 0 °). is there.

  To make the effect of the invention easier to understand, the vertical axis in FIG. 5 (a) is the ratio of the torsional strength of the beverage can 1 to the torsional strength of a conventional cylindrical beverage can of the same form and material. As shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (b), as the initial twist angle θ is increased, the ratio of the conventional cylindrical beverage can to the twist strength tends to decrease. When the initial twist angle θ is configured to be 10 ° or more, the twist strength ratio can be 0.62 or less. When the initial twist angle θ is set to 30 ° or more, the twist strength ratio can be set to 0.37 or less. Further, when the initial twist angle θ is set to 50 ° or more, the twist strength ratio can be set to 0.22 or less, and the twist strength more suitable for the consumer can be adjusted. Note that even if the initial twist angle θ is 60 ° or more, the twist strength ratio is unlikely to decrease.

  Thus, in the beverage can 1 to which the present invention is applied, the trunk portion 5 is formed into a 5 to 12-square cross section by alternately forming ridge lines and curved surfaces, and the top plate portion 6 to the bottom plate portion 7 with respect to the ridge line 14. The initial twist is given in advance so that the initial twist angle θ up to 10 becomes 10 ° or more. For this reason, the torsional strength ratio in the beverage can 1 to which the present invention is applied can be reduced to about 0.62 or less, and the torsional strength can be adjusted to be more suitable for consumers with small arm strength.

  In the present invention, which can be easily crushed by the majority of consumers, it can be expected that most of the empty cans after use will be in a reduced volume state, which improves transport efficiency when transporting to a processing facility. Can also be achieved.

  FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the beverage can 1 to which the present invention is applied. The beverage can 1 is an example in which the ridge line 18 is formed by further bending the curved surface 14 into two parts with respect to the barrel portion 5, and the same components and members as those in FIG. Therefore, the description below is omitted.

  By providing such a ridge line 18, when a twisting force acts on the can, plate bending deformation to the outside of the curved surface 13 is easily induced, and as a result, the torsional strength of the can can be further reduced. it can. For example, in the form shown in FIG. 6, the torsional strength ratio with respect to the case where there is no ridge line 18 is approximately 0.45 to 0.5 by providing the ridge line 18 although it varies somewhat depending on the difference in the diameter, height and thickness of the can. 65. In particular, when the volume is about 350 ml, the diameter is 65 mm, the height is 120 mm, and the body cylinder portion 5 is a decagonal section, the torsional strength ratio with respect to the case where there is no ridgeline 18 is almost not affected by the plate thickness. When the initial twist angle is changed, the twist angle ratio changes as shown in FIG. 5 (c). In this configuration, when the initial twist angle θ is set to 10 ° or more, the twist strength ratio can be set to 0.37 or less. When the initial twist angle θ is set to 27 ° or more, the twist strength ratio can be set to 0.22 or less. In addition, when the initial twist angle θ is configured to be 45 ° or more, the twist strength ratio can be 0.13 or less, and the twist strength can be adjusted to be more suitable for consumers with small arm strength. It becomes.

  The torsional strength (torque) of the conventional cylindrical beverage can made of steel having a volume of about 350 ml, a diameter of 65 mm, a height of 120 mm, and a plate thickness of 0.1 mm is about 23152 Nmm. On the other hand, when the barrel portion 5 having a height of 100 mm has a decagonal cross section, the initial twist angle is 45 °, and the ridgeline 18 arranged diagonally is provided on the curved surface 13 as shown in FIG. The torsional strength can be reduced to 2963 Nmm, which is about 0.128 times that of the conventional product, and it can be sufficiently twisted by hand.

  The torsional strength (torque) of the cylindrical beverage can of the conventional product made of aluminum in Example 1 and the body size is about 8123 Nmm. On the other hand, when the barrel portion 5 having a height of 70 mm has a dodecagonal cross section and an initial twist angle of 54 °, the twist strength can be reduced to 2217 Nmm, which is about 0.273 times that of the conventional product. It becomes possible, and even a consumer with a small arm strength can be sufficiently twisted by hand.

  The torsional strength (torque) of the conventional cylindrical beverage can made of steel having a volume of about 190 ml, a diameter of 50 mm, a height of 100, and a plate thickness of 0.14 mm is about 39000 Nmm. On the other hand, the barrel portion 5 having a secondary moment of height of 95 mm has an octagonal cross section, an initial twist of 54 °, and a ridge line 18 arranged diagonally on the curved surface 13 as shown in FIG. In this case, the torsional strength can be reduced to 4680 Nmm, which is about 0.12 times that of the conventional product, and can be twisted by hand.

It is a perspective view of a beverage can to which the present invention is applied. It is a figure for demonstrating three-dimensionally only the trunk cylinder part made into the hexagonal cross section. It is a figure for demonstrating torsional force Fa and Fb which act with respect to the drink can to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the relationship of the twist strength ratio with respect to the number of angles in a trunk cylinder part. It is a figure which shows the relationship of the twist strength ratio with respect to the initial twist angle (theta) in a trunk cylinder part. It is a figure which shows other embodiment of the drink can to which this invention is applied. It is a figure for demonstrating the problem of a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Drinking can 5 Body cylinder part 6 Top plate part 7 Bottom plate part 11 Drinking mouth 12 Ring-shaped tab 13 Curved surface 14 Ridge lines 31, 32 Hexagonal section

Claims (2)

In a beverage can having a cylindrical barrel portion, a top plate portion that closes the upper end side of the barrel portion and a drinking mouth, and a bottom plate portion that closes the lower end side of the barrel portion,
The trunk portion is formed in a 5 to 12 square section by alternately forming a ridge line and a curved surface, and an initial twist angle θ between each ridge line from the top plate portion to the bottom plate portion is 10 ° or more. A beverage can characterized by having an initial twist applied beforehand. The beverage can according to claim 1, wherein the curved surface provided in the barrel portion is formed with a ridge line by further bending the curved surface into two.

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