JP2014015051A - Production method of tube made from flexible material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an accessory (4) that improves finish of a head subjected to overmolding, and allows a unit (2) to be easily removed from a molding die for the unit (2).SOLUTION: In a production method of a tube (1) that is made from a flexible material and includes a skirt (3) and a head (10), a unit (2) formed of the skirt (3) and an accessory (4) is arranged or produced by an injection process, the accessory (4) closing one end of the skirt (3) perfectly or partially and having an injection point, then the accessory (4) is cut perfectly or partially, then the cut part is removed, then the head (10) is subjected to overmolding on any region thereof that remains by once removing the cut part of a part of the unit (2) formed of the skirt (3) and the accessory (4).

Description

  The present invention relates to a procedure for producing a tube made of a flexible material of the kind used for cosmetics, creams, etc., consisting mainly of a skirt and a head and comprising labels and other decorative elements.

  The prior art includes flexible materials and a skirt (typically open at both ends, a cylinder) and head (close one end of the skirt and generally a threaded area or cap or other closure). There are a number of known procedures for manufacturing tubes with components that include other suitably shaped regions that can be adapted to connect members. One of the most widely used procedures so far is to produce a tube skirt by continuous tube extrusion, then cut this tube to obtain the required length of skirt, and then the head above It involves overmolding over the skirt. Another known method is described in WO05072931A1, which produces a tube as a result of the following method: a label-decorated tube skirt is produced by a first injection method with in-mold labeling. Over-molding the head of the tube over the skirt with a second injection method; then capping the tube; optionally adding other decorative elements; This second method proposed in WO06082255A1 aims to improve the result of head overmolding. There are other known tube manufacturing methods in which the entire tube (skirt and head) is injected simultaneously with a single injection method and machine.

  The present invention aims to provide a procedure for manufacturing tubes made of flexible material that overcomes some of the disadvantages found in prior procedures due to limitations in the machines used or currently available. . For example, the inventive procedure aims to improve the result of head overmolding onto the skirt of the tube.

WO05072931A1 WO06082255A1

  The object of the present invention is to provide a procedure for manufacturing a tube made of a flexible material and comprising a skirt and a head, the skirt being generally circular in shape, elliptical or of constant thickness or A variable, other cross-section prism, the skirt forming the body of the tube and its opposing face open, and the head closing at least one of the open faces of the skirt The head optionally includes elements for discharging the contents of the tube and for connecting a cap or other closure member. The procedure consists of the following steps: manufacture of the skirt appendage unit in the injection procedure, placing the appendage at one end of the skirt and partially or completely closing the end and this or these The injection point is located within the appendage; complete or partial cutting of the appendage and removal of the cut part; this over any area of the skirt appendage unit remaining after removal of the cut part Including overmolding the head, i.e. overmolding the head over the area where the head is cut or onto some other area (e.g., the opposite end of the cut).

  The appendage may be clamped or held in place so that the skirt appendage unit can be removed from the mold after its manufacture by an injection procedure. This attachment should be cut at a later stage and is therefore disposable, so there is no problem holding this unit by this attachment, and this skirt (the most important part of this skirt attachment unit) The risk of being contaminated when holding is avoided. Thus, there is no need to clean or replace the tool to keep several units in succession; a single tool may be used instead. Another advantage that this appendage provides is the fact that it acts as a stopper for the sleeve inserted inside the tube during the cutting operation inside it, thereby facilitating the cutting operation.

  The appendage may take various shapes and sizes depending on the function it should perform (clamping, acting as a stopper, etc.). The detailed description and drawings of the present invention illustrate several embodiments of this appendix.

  The procedure of this invention provides a better finished tube than can be obtained with other known procedures. This improved finish is obtained primarily as a result of placing the injection point of the skirt on an appendage coupled to the skirt, in other words, separating the injection point from the tube label.

  The inventive procedure for manufacturing the skirt appendage unit preferably also includes an in-mold labeling process for supplying a label to the skirt. In this special case, the fact that this or these injection points (hereinafter referred to as single points) are located on this appendage causes them to move away from this skirt and thereby during this in-mold labeling process. Prevent possible problems such as label wrinkling, movement, fading, etc. This was done by a machine that is currently available (which makes it difficult to inject this skirt with a label by in-mold labeling because the injection point of the skirt is very close to or above the label) Provide a better tube finish obtained by the procedure of WO05072931A1.

  The inventive procedure offers several advantages over the document WO06082255A1. First, because the appendages of the present invention can be made less thicker than the semi-head of WO06082255A1, which should generally be thicker and stiffer than the skirt so that the head can be overmolded thereon. Cycle time (and hence cost) has not been demonstrated. Secondly, the fact that the injection point is located on the appendage and thus away from the label is the most important area of the tube, the equality of material to be achieved in the area of the skirt and label. Enables a smooth flow. Moreover, the final appearance of the tube is improved by eliminating steps that may sometimes appear in the tube produced according to the technique disclosed in document WO06082255A1. The present invention also makes it possible to manufacture the head in a different color than the skirt, which is impossible in the prior art because the semi-head (which is the same color as the skirt) is not completely hidden or buried by this head. To do. The present invention also makes it possible to produce tubes of different cross-sections (elliptical, circular, etc.) using the same skirt; all that is necessary to achieve this is to fully deform and accommodate this skirt. Overmolding the head.

  The present invention also provides several advantages over tube manufacturing procedures where the entire tube (skirt and head) is injected by a single operation and an injector. First, the procedure of the present invention allows the production of different sized containers in a simple manner (the length of the skirt and hence the volume of the tube can be changed by simply moving the cutting point). It is necessary to obtain a head with different properties (mechanical, physical / chemical, etc.) from the skirt, and like a flexible nozzle, applicator, solid base for metering pumps, etc. It also makes it possible to use different materials for the skirt and head, as required for certain applications.

The details of the invention can be seen in the accompanying non-limiting figures.
An example of the procedure of the present invention is shown. An example of the cutting stage is shown. 1 shows a first example of an appendage. 2 shows a second embodiment of an appendage. 3 shows a third embodiment of an appendage. 4 shows a fourth embodiment of an appendage.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the inventive procedure for producing a tube (1) made of a flexible material and comprising a skirt (3) and a head (10), the skirt (3) being roughly A prism of circular, elliptical or other cross-section, which forms the body of the tube (1) and opens its opposing face, and the head (10) is the open face of the skirt (3) The head (10) optionally includes an element (7) for discharging the contents of the tube and for connecting a cap (6) or other closure member. . The procedure of the present invention is at least:
Producing a unit (2) formed by a skirt (3) and an appendage (4), placing the appendage (4) at one end of the skirt (3) and closing the end partly or completely; And an injection stage (13) in which this or these injection points of this unit (2) are located on said appendage (4);
-Cutting this appendage (4) completely or partially, in other words at least part of this appendage (4) and optionally even all of this appendage (4) and even part of the skirt (3) It should be noted that the cutting step (14), which also cuts and removes the cut part; this figure shows an embodiment in which the entire appendage (4) and part of the skirt (3) are cut;
An overmolding step (15) in which the head (10) is overmolded on any part of the part of the unit (2) that is formed by the skirt (3) and the appendage (4) after the cut part is removed. including.

  In the example of this figure, the procedure ends with a capping step (16) in which the tube (1) comprises a cap (6). This capping step (16) is optional.

  The appendage (4) may be made in any shape and size that completely or partially closes the end of the skirt (3). This appendage (4) may even be a tube head. In other words, the procedure of this invention involves injecting the entire tube (skirt and head), cutting at least part of this head (optionally even all of the head and even part of the skirt), and then another head Overmolding over this remaining portion. This latter embodiment would make it possible to produce different tubes (with different heads) using the same batch of tubes with the same head.

  The injection step (13) for producing the unit (2) formed by the skirt (3) and the appendage (4) also includes an in-mold labeling step for supplying the label (5) to the skirt (3). preferable. In this special case, the invention provides for the label (5) during the injection of the unit (2) where the injection point is remote from the label (5) and thereby is formed by the skirt (3) and the appendage (4). This is particularly advantageous because it prevents the occurrence of defects.

  This appendage (4) may show a wall made up in various shapes to allow it to perform its function (as a gripping and holding element, to act as a stopper, etc.).

  When using alternative printing or decoration techniques (such as silk screen printing, hot stamping, offset printing, etc.) instead of or in addition to in-mold labeling, the entire surface of the final skirt (3) is thanks to this invention It can be printed. As shown in FIG. 2, this printed the unit (2) formed by the skirt (3) and the appendage (4), and then cut a part of the appendage (4) and the skirt (3) This is achieved by cutting so that the printed decoration on the skirt (3) reaches the edge (11) of the skirt (3).

  Figures 3 to 6 show four examples of attachments (4). FIG. 3 shows an appendage (4) in the form of a lid that closes one end of the skirt (3). The lid comprises a series of windows (7) to reduce material waste. FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment in which the appendage (4) also includes a protrusion (8). FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment in which the appendage (4) also includes a lid with a window (7) and a protrusion (8). FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment in which the appendage (4) is a conical cover with a window (7). In addition to these four embodiments, the attachment (4) can be completely or partially covered with the end of the skirt (3) with or without a window (7) and with or without a protrusion (8). You may make other shapes.

  Another object of the present invention is that instead of manufacturing the unit (2) formed by the skirt (3) and the appendage (4) by an injection procedure, the procedure according to the present invention is pre-manufactured by another procedure. And providing a procedure similar to the previous, comprising a unit (2) formed by an appendage (4).

1 Tube 2 Unit 3 Skirt 4 Accessories 5 Label 6 Cap 7 Window 8 Projection 10 Head

Claims (4)

In a procedure for manufacturing a tube (1) made of a flexible material and comprising a skirt (3) and a head (10), this skirt (3) is roughly circular, elliptical or other cross-section A prism, which forms the body of the tube (1) and whose open face is open, and the head (10) is a cover that closes at least one open face of the skirt (3); 10) is a procedure for producing the tube (1) optionally having an element (7) for releasing the contents of the tube and for connecting a cap (6) or other closure member. The following stages:
Producing a unit (2) formed by a skirt (3) and an appendage (4), placing the appendage (4) at one end of the skirt (3) and partially or completely closing the one end; And an injection stage (13) in which this or these injection points are located on said appendage (4);
A decoration stage in which the unit formed by the skirt (3) and the appendage (4) is decorated by means of printing or decoration techniques;
A cutting step (2) in which the appendage (4) and part of the skirt (3) are removed so that the decoration on the remaining part of the skirt (3) reaches the edge (11) of the skirt (3) 14);
An overmolding step (overmolding the head (10) on the area of the part (2) formed by the skirt (3) and the appendage (4) that remains after removing the cut part ( 15)
The head (10) is overmolded on the cut area of the unit (2) formed by the skirt (3) and the appendage (4).   The manufacturing procedure according to claim 1, characterized in that the injection step (13) comprises in-mold labeling, whereby the label (5) is fed to the skirt (3). In a procedure for manufacturing a tube (1) made of a flexible material and comprising a skirt (3) and a head (10), this skirt (3) is roughly circular, elliptical or other cross-section A prism, which forms the body of the tube (1) and whose open face is open, and the head (10) is a cover that closes at least one open face of the skirt (3); 10) is a procedure for producing the tube (1) optionally having an element (7) for releasing the contents of the tube and for connecting a cap (6) or other closure member. The following stages:
-Providing a unit (2) formed by a skirt (3) and an appendage (4), the appendage (4) being placed at one end of the skirt (3), said one end being completely or partially And providing stage in which this or these injection points are located on said appendage (4);
A decoration stage in which the unit formed by the skirt (3) and the appendage (4) is decorated by means of printing or decoration techniques;
A cutting step (2) in which the appendage (4) and part of the skirt (3) are removed so that the decoration on the remaining part of the skirt (3) reaches the edge (11) of the skirt (3) 14);
An overmolding step (overmolding the head (10) on the area of the part (2) formed by the skirt (3) and the appendage (4) that remains after removing the cut part ( 15)
The head (10) is overmolded on the cut area of the unit (2) formed by the skirt (3) and the appendage (4).   4. Manufacturing procedure according to claim 3, characterized in that said injection step (13) comprises in-mold labeling, thereby supplying a label (5) to said skirt (3).