JP2020188861A - straw - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a straw capable of reducing a used amount of a coloring agent, and achieving various color variations, and having a higher quality and a more excellent function than a conventional paper-made straw.SOLUTION: A straw of a multilayer structure is obtained by laminating materials having different physical properties and hues. The multilayer straw has at least a first layer comprising a first material, and a second layer comprising a second material having different physical properties and/or hue from those of the first material. The layer structure of the straw may comprise three layers or more without being restricted to two layers. Since the straw is composed of a composite material (material of the multilayer structure with two layers or three layers or more), various hues can be presented due to overlapping of colors when materials having different hues are laminated. When the materials having different physical properties are laminated (for instance, using paper in the first layer and resin in the second layer), the used amount of plastic is reduced as the entire straw, and accordingly, environmental pollution is suppressed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a drinking straw used when drinking a beverage, and externally, relates to a multi-layered straw (multi-layered straw) formed by laminating two or more kinds of materials.

(First issue)
A "drinking straw" is generally known as an instrument used when drinking a beverage, and is consumed in large quantities not only at home but also at restaurants and the like. And, various color variations are prepared for such drinking straws.
In order to manufacture straws of various colors in this way, it is necessary to prepare a special colorant (pigment, etc.) for each color of the straw in advance. For example, in order to produce straws of 10 kinds of colors, it is necessary to prepare colorants of 10 kinds of colors.
However, as the number of color variations of straws handled increases, the types of colorants to be prepared also increase, and there is a problem that labor and manufacturing cost increase accordingly.

(Second issue)
In recent years, the number of disposable products (short-life products) has increased, the amount of waste has increased, and plastic waste that has deviated from the waste treatment route such as landfill and incineration has expanded environmental pollution. In particular, attention is focused on marine pollution, which leads to the destruction of marine ecosystems.
On the other hand, "drinking straws" are generally known as appliances used when drinking beverages, and are consumed in large quantities not only at home but also at restaurants. Most of them are disposable plastic straws, and environmental pollution caused by such plastic straws is regarded as a problem.
Therefore, as a measure against environmental pollution by disposable plastic straws, "paper straws" that replace plastic straws are being studied.
However, paper straws have problems such as low strength, easy breakage, and easy deterioration over time. In addition, paper straws have low airtightness due to the minute gaps between the fibers of the paper, so when sucking the beverage, the gas around the straw is sucked, and the beverage at the tip of the straw is sufficiently sucked up. There was a problem such as not being able to do it.

In view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a straw that enables various color variations while reducing the amount of the colorant used.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an environment-friendly straw that is higher in quality and functionally superior to the paper straws that have been conventionally studied.

The above purpose is a straw made by laminating materials having different physical properties and / or colors.
at least,
The first layer made of the first material and
A second layer made of a second material having different physical properties and / or colors from the first material,
Achieved by a straw with.

In the straw, the other layer that covers either the first layer or the second layer may be formed of a translucent resin material.

Further, in the straw, either one of the first layer and the second layer may be formed of a paper-containing material and the other may be formed of a resin material.

Further, in the straw, the content of the paper component as a whole may be in the range of 10% to 60% in total.

Further, in the straw, one of the first layer and the second layer is made of a resin containing paper in the range of 10% to 60%, and the other is a homogeneous resin (homo, block or copolymer may be used). ) May consist of.

The straw according to the present invention is a straw having a multi-layer structure in which materials having different physical properties and colors are laminated. This multi-layered straw has at least a "first layer" made of a first material and a "second layer" made of a second material having different physical properties and / or colors from the first material. ing. The layer structure of the straw is not limited to two layers, and may be three or more layers.
In this way, when the straw is composed of a composite material (a material having a multi-layer structure of two layers or three or more layers), when materials having different colors are laminated, various colors are expressed by overlapping colors. Will be possible. That is, in the past, color expression was solely dependent on colorants (pigments, etc.), but according to the present invention, color mixing due to overlapping colors in the vertical direction is used instead of relying solely on colorants. As a result, various colors can be expressed, and the absolute amount of the colorant used can be significantly reduced.
Further, when materials having different physical properties are laminated (for example, when a paper material is used for the first layer and a resin material is used for the second layer), the amount of plastic used for the straw as a whole is reduced. Therefore, environmental pollution is suppressed. In addition, by using a resin material for either layer, the drawbacks of paper straws such as "insufficient strength", "easiness to deteriorate over time", and "low airtightness" are complemented by the resin material. Therefore, the quality can be maintained for a long time, and the straw can be finished with a quality that can withstand actual use.

Further, in the straw according to the present invention, the other layer covering either the first layer or the second layer is formed of a translucent resin material.
By forming the layer to be coated with the translucent resin material in this way, the color of the first layer passes through the second layer, and the color of the first layer overlaps with the color of the second layer. Color mixing occurs. Therefore, in addition to reducing the amount of colorant used, it is possible to express richer colors.

Further, in the straw according to the present invention, one of the first layer and the second layer is made of a material containing paper, and the other is made of a resin material.
As a result, the amount of plastic used that causes environmental pollution is reduced as a whole straw, and the drawbacks of paper straws such as "insufficient strength", "easiness to deteriorate", and "low airtightness" are achieved. Can be complemented by a resin material.
In other words, by adopting a material containing paper in a part of the multi-layer structure, it is possible to suppress environmental pollution by disposable straws, and straws that are superior in quality and functionality to conventional paper straws. Can be provided.

Further, the straw according to the present invention is configured so that the content of the paper component as a whole is in the range of 10% to 60%. The reason for setting the content of the paper component in such a range is that if it is less than 10%, it is difficult to claim that it is environmentally friendly and the effect of reducing plastics is small, and if it exceeds 60%, extrusion molding is difficult. This is because the degree is high.

Further, in the straw according to the present invention, one of the first layer and the second layer is made of a resin containing paper in the range of 10% to 60%, and the other is a homogeneous resin (either homo or block). It may consist of a copolymer).
For example, PP and PE seem to be integrated because they are different resins, but they are not actually integrated. Therefore, in the case of non-homogeneous resins, a resin such as EVA, which acts as an adhesive to both resins, is required in the intermediate layer in order to integrate them.
Therefore, it is desirable that the first layer and the second layer (in the case of a three-layer structure, the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer) are homogeneous resins.

Further, in the straw according to the present invention, either one of the first layer and the second layer in the multilayer structure completely covers the other.
Specifically, for example, when the second layer is formed on the first layer, the entire surface of the first layer is covered with the second layer.
In the above example, when the second layer covers the "whole surface" of the outer peripheral surface of the first layer, the strength and airtightness of the straw are improved, and a functionally excellent straw can be provided.

It is sectional drawing which shows an example (in the case of a two-layer structure) of the multi-layer structure of the straw of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows another example (in the case of a three-layer structure) of the multi-layer structure of the straw of this invention.

The straw according to the present invention is a straw having a multi-layer structure formed by laminating materials having different physical properties and / or colors, and at least the first layer made of the first material and the first material have physical properties and / Or has a second layer made of a second material having a different color. Materials with different physical properties include materials with different raw materials, as well as materials with the same raw material but different hardness.

The layer structure of the straw may be a two-layer structure as illustrated in FIG. 1, a three-layer structure as illustrated in FIG. 2, or a structure having four or more layers (not shown).

In the case of the two-layer structure illustrated in FIG. 1, the inner first layer is formed into a tubular shape, and the outer second layer is formed so as to cover the tubular first layer. In the case of homogeneous materials, the inner first layer and the outer second layer are in close contact with each other and are integrated so as not to be separated. The inner first layer and the outer second layer have different physical properties and / or colors. That is, the inner first layer and the outer second layer are formed of raw materials having different physical properties and one or both colors.

In the case of the three-layer structure illustrated in FIG. 2, the intermediate second layer is formed so as to cover the inner first layer formed into a tubular shape, and the outer third layer has an intermediate second layer. It is further formed to cover. In the case of a homogeneous material, the inner first layer, the intermediate second layer, and the outer third layer are in close contact with each other and are integrated so as not to be separated. The inner first layer and the intermediate second layer have different physical properties and / or colors. Further, the second layer in the middle and the third layer on the outer side have different physical properties and / or colors.

In the case of the two-layer structure of FIG. 1, the outer second layer covering the inner first layer may be formed of a translucent (including colored translucent) resin material. This makes it possible to express various colors by utilizing the color mixing caused by the overlapping of colors in the vertical direction.

In the case of the three-layer structure of FIG. 2, the intermediate second layer covering the inner first layer and the outer third layer covering the second layer are translucent (including colored translucent). It may be formed of a resin material. As a result, by assigning the three primary colors to the first to third layers and setting the color density of each layer appropriately, it is possible to realize various color variations by utilizing the color mixing due to the overlapping of the three primary colors in the vertical direction. become.

It is also possible to form any one layer with a material containing paper and the other layer with a resin material.

Further, the outer layer is formed so as to completely cover the inner layer. The case of covering the entire surface means a mode in which almost the entire outer peripheral surface of the layer located inside is covered.

Examples of the raw material for each layer constituting the straw having a multi-layer structure include a paper-containing material and a resin material.

The material containing paper includes not only a material composed of paper (that is, paper) but also a paper-blended resin (resin containing paper).

For resin materials,
・ "Biomass plastic", which is a plastic made from biomass (plants, etc.),
・ "Biodegradable plastic", a plastic that is decomposed by microorganisms in the natural world,
・ Plastic "petroleum-based plastic" made from petroleum resources,
Is included.

Specific examples of biomass plastics include bio-polyolefins (eg, PE, PP).

Specific examples of biodegradable plastics include
・ Polylactic acid,
・ Starch resin,
・ PHA,
Aliphatic polyesters (eg PBS, PBSA),
・ Fragrant polyester (eg PBAT),
And so on.

As a specific example of petroleum-based plastic,
·polyethylene,
·polypropylene,
·PVC,
And so on.

Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described.

(Comparison example)
A straw with a single-layer structure similar to a conventional general straw was molded.
Paper-blended PP (PP = polypropylene) was used as the molding material.

When I drank a beverage using a straw with a single layer structure made of this paper-blended PP,
Air leaked through the entangled fibrous gaps in the paper, making it impossible to suck up the target beverage and not functioning as a straw.

(Example 1)
A straw having a two-layer structure as shown in FIG. 1 was formed.
The inner layer (first layer) is molded with paper-blended PP,
The outer layer (second layer) that completely covers the outer peripheral surface of the inner layer was formed of plastic (PP).

When I drank a beverage using this two-layered straw, the inner layer made of paper-blended PP was covered with plastic, so airtightness was ensured, air did not leak during inhalation, and the target beverage was sufficiently ingested. I was able to suck it up. Therefore, the function as a straw could be fulfilled without any problem.

(Example 2)
A straw having a two-layer structure as shown in FIG. 1 was formed.
The inner layer (first layer) is molded from plastic (PP),
The outer layer (second layer) that completely covers the outer peripheral surface of the inner layer was formed of paper-blended PP.

When a beverage was sucked and drunk using this two-layered straw, the inner peripheral surface of the outer layer made of paper-blended PP was covered with plastic (PP), so airtightness was ensured and air did not leak during drinking. , I was able to suck up the target beverage sufficiently. Therefore, the function as a straw could be fulfilled without any problem.

(Example 3)
A straw having a two-layer structure as shown in FIG. 1 was formed.
The inner layer (first layer) is molded from biodegradable plastic,
The outer layer (second layer) that completely covers the outer peripheral surface of the inner layer was formed of biomass plastic.

When the beverage was sucked using this two-layer structure straw, the target beverage could be sufficiently sucked up, and the function as a straw could be fulfilled without any problem.

It was also found that biodegradable plastics are expensive and the decomposition rate cannot be adjusted, so coating with a non-biodegradable raw material can delay the decomposition.
By using plant-derived biomass plastic for the outer layer that covers the inner layer, it can be said that the straw is environmentally friendly from the viewpoint of reducing C02.

From the above-mentioned results, according to the present invention, different materials can be used in each layer for solving problems such as marine pollution of plastics in recent years, so that the amount of plastics used can be reduced.

Claims (5)

A straw made by laminating materials with different physical properties and / or colors.
at least,
The first layer made of the first material and
A second layer made of a second material having different physical properties and / or colors from the first material,
Straw with.
The other layer that covers either the first layer or the second layer is made of a translucent resin material.
The straw according to claim 1.
The straw according to claim 1, wherein either one of the first layer and the second layer is made of a material containing paper, and the other is made of a resin material.
The overall content of the paper component of the straw is 10% to 60%.
The straw according to claim 3, characterized in that.
The straw according to claim 3, wherein either the first layer or the second layer is made of a resin containing 10% to 60% of paper, and the other is made of a homogeneous resin.