JP2588372Y2 - Combination device - Google Patents

Abstract

An assembling device for forming a releasable bond between two adjacent surface elements (3, 4) comprises at least two connecting members (1, 2), respectively one male (1) and one female (2), placed in facing relation to each other for reciprocal engagement when said surface elements (3, 4) are assembled together. At least one of the surface elements (3, 4) is prepared from a sheet or film material, e.g. thermoformable material, a portion of which is embossed to provide at least said male connecting member (1), wherein said male connecting member (1) has a closed periphery. The female connecting member (2) may also be provided by an embossed portion of a sheet or film material or may, e.g., comprise a surface element having holes extending through the thickness thereof. Methods for manufacturing the connecting members are also disclosed. <IMAGE>

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for connecting at least one male and one female, each of which is positioned opposite each other so as to complement each other when the face members are assembled together. A combination device for forming a decomposable connection between two adjacent face members with elements. The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing the device.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many devices of the type described above already exist, especially in the field of packaging. All of these types of closure devices that are used for packaging and that can be opened and closed again to prevent their contents from contacting the outside atmosphere,
It comprises a connecting element that is extruded simultaneously with the packaging film or sheet, or is first injection molded and then secured to the packaging sheet or film by gluing or welding.

[0003] When connecting elements are extruded with a sheet or film, these connecting elements are made along the edges of the sheet and then folded to place the connecting elements together. Formed from ribs.
The folded sheet is then welded laterally to create a bag that separates by tearing along the weld line. This well-known closure system can only be formed during extrusion of the sheet. It is difficult to store the material in the form of large rolls because the ribs are too thick. This is because the volume of a ribbed roll of a length of film or sheet is significantly larger than the corresponding volume of a rib or unrolled film or sheet of the same length. It is therefore difficult for packers to make bags starting from sheet material for packaging and must use individually prefabricated bags. This is why such bags are not commonly used for internal air-conditioned packaging, because they use sheet materials to form bags directly around the product to be packaged using automation. This is because they do not fit well.

This is the reason why the material to be protected from air and moisture is packaged in a sealed bag with a weld connection. This type of closure allows the conditioned product to be safely stored until the bag is opened. Since such bags cannot be resealed, many of the unconsumed products are no longer protected and degrade quickly. It is true that an inexpensive and simple solution to this problem, performed by light and effective technical means, has not yet existed to date.

The purpose of the invention is to clarify such a solution.

[0006]

For this purpose, the present invention provides:
Embodiment 1 has a combination device for forming a releasable bond between adjacent face members according to embodiment 1.
A method of manufacturing this device according to embodiments 16 to 19 is also an object.

The main advantages of this combination device are:
It is a manufacturing benefit that can be manufactured at any time from a simple film or sheet material without the need for additional materials. For example, it can be formed at the same time as the film or sheet material is manufactured, or later at a convenient time. This makes it possible, for example, to make a bag which can be opened and sealed again for the packaging of the product, without requiring more production costs than ordinary bags with welded seams of the type used to date. Since the sheets are not locally too thick and the connecting elements interlock complementarily, the sheet on which the connecting elements are formed can be easily rolled and stored. Also, as will be seen below, it should be appreciated that the use of this combination device is not limited to bag closure.

[0008]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings illustrate, schematically, by way of example, some of the combination devices contemplated by the present invention.

[0009] The combination device shown in FIG. 1 is used for the films or sheets 3 and 4 to be combined together.
Male and female connecting elements 1 and 2 are provided respectively.
The seat 3 is provided with a row of male connecting elements 1 and the seat 4 is provided with a row of female connecting elements 2. The distance between the male connecting elements in the row corresponds to the distance between the female connecting elements. As can be seen in this example, the connecting elements 1 and 2 of the female are formed by shaping or embossing the sheets 3 and 4, respectively. Preferably, the sheet is a thermoformable polymer, and the embossing is preferably performed by thermoforming using a method which will be elucidated in detail below. Sheets 3 and 4
May be thin, for example between 40 and 100 μm. It is noted that the connecting elements 1 and 2 preferably have mutually complementary cross-sectional dimensions which mesh together and fit together. When separating the surfaces, the sheets 3 and 4 are pulled together so that the connecting elements of the female are in turn disassembled. During disassembly, the male and female connecting elements are displaced out of alignment and resist the disengagement of the combination, creating a wedge effect between the surfaces on each side of the connecting element and distortion in the sheet surface. Receive deformation. This effect enhances the holding return pressure resulting from the unassembled pull. The combination effect explains why the coupling strength of the combination device is so effective. This combination of two sheets along a row of combining elements, under ambient pressure,
For example, it is close enough to form a suitable barrier to protect its contents from external influences.

[0010] In this disclosure, the term "sheet"
It should be understood to include any flexible material of any given thickness.

The combined resistance to sheet separation and the ability to seal in the lines of the connecting means, as shown in FIG. 2, shows that two parallel rows of connecting means 5 and 6 are connected by one row of connecting elements in the other row. This can be increased by placing them alternately with respect to the connecting elements of the rows. The total friction area is increased, and thus the force separating sheets 7 and 8 from one another is also increased. In both rows 5 and 6, the connecting means are provided in a rectangular shape, so that the staggered shape also improves the tightness.

It is clear that the combination device does not provide perfect tightness and it is desirable in some cases to want to achieve an impermeable seal, ie vacuum packaging. For this reason, the two sheets 3 and 4 forming the bag are closed off by a weld S outside the line of the connecting element. These elements are, for example, the same as and parallel to those of numbers 1 and 2 in FIG. To empty the bag, the sheets 3 and 4 are cut between the welding line S and the lines of the coupling elements 1 and 2 so that the inside of the bag can be approached. Thereafter, the bag can be closed again using the coupling element, and the contents of the bag are protected until completely used.

The variant shown in FIG. 4 comprises connecting elements 9 and 10 of a frustoconical or frusto-pyramidal female, respectively. In this variant, the coupling element is preferably used in combination with a pressure-sensitive adhesive covering the joining surface of the female sealing elements 9 and 10. This type of adhesive is, for example, Elvx (Elv) sold by DuPont.
ax) may be an ethylene / vinyl acetate polymer.

FIGS. 5a and 5b show the thickness of the embossed wall 13 with the female connecting element 14 formed by the opening 11 provided in the wall 12 and the male wall having the male connecting element 14. FIG. Here is an example of a change that is larger than the above. A ring-shaped flange 14 a is provided on the front face of each connecting element 14, and its cross section is slightly larger than the size of the opening corresponding to the female element 11. The distance between the face of the sheet 13 with the male element 14 and the flange 14a substantially corresponds to the thickness of the wall 12, so that when the sheet 13 is assembled after pressing against the wall 12, the opening 11 As shown in FIG. 6, the flange 14 that is temporarily deformed when passing through
The surface of the wall 12 which is a certain distance away from the surface adjacent to the sheet 13 is pushed and stopped. This combination of modes improves the resistance to separation of the walls 12 and 13 because the locking action is due to the gripping of the male element 14 within the female element 13 rather than as a result of frictional resistance.

In the modification shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the combination of the sheets 15 and 16 is almost the same as that of FIGS. The only difference is the thickness of the sheets 15 and 16, both of which are the same, ie of the order of about 40-100 μm. Since the axial length of the opening 17 forming the female for fixing the element is greater than the thickness of the sheet, the sheet 16 is stamped to provide a wall 16a in alignment with the opening 17 obtained by punching. You. afterwards,
When a fixing element 18 similar to that shown at 14 in FIGS. 5 and 6 is pushed into the opening 17, its annular flange 18a secures itself at the outlet of the hole formed by the wall 16a. I do.

The variants of FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are of particular interest for packaging powdery contents. This is because, when the powder is removed from the bag, a portion of it may enter into a hollow female connecting element of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and prevent subsequent closing of the bag. In the case of the openings shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, it does not fill the portion of the powder female.
When the sheet of the wall 12 is of a material that is not thermoformed, i.e. of a relatively strong material, the opening 1 without deformation of the base layer
It is advantageous to have one.

A modification of FIG. 9 is a print (pri) of a cross section of a polygon (square in this example) forming a female element.
nt) shows the adaptation of the cylindrical male element 19 into 20. The use of a differently shaped male element than the female element facilitates the evacuation of air when both elements are pressed together. In this regard, the female element may be cylindrical and the male element may have a polygonal cross-section that matches the circle of the female element. In these two variants, the respective dimensions of the cross-section of the two connecting elements of the female are chosen so that some deformation thereof can be ensured when they fit together.

The use of the combination device described above is not limited to bag closure, but may be adapted to other types of containers as shown in FIG. 10, where the combination device functions as a female connecting element. 1 shows a tray 21 having a rim 22 in which a number of openings 23 are formed. A sheet 24 for closing the tray 21 embossed on the edge to form the connecting element 25 of the male is also provided.

Since some force is required to fit the female connecting elements, the thickness of the sheet used to form the female embossment must be sufficient to resist the force. No. If the material of the sheet is too thin, the sheet 26 can be folded back on itself, forming a connecting element in that part as shown in FIG. 11 to increase its resistance.

As indicated previously, at least the connecting element of the male is formed by embossing a sheet material made of an essentially thermoformable polymer. The easiest way to emboss is to heat the area to be embossed to the molding temperature, align this area with a stamping master having a recess with the desired embossed shape, and place the sheet into the sheet motherboard. It is sufficient to push down on the side of the mold, which is sufficient to advance the softened sheet material into the hollow part of the matrix, and further comprises cooling the area of the molded sheet and removing it from the matrix. This method is simple and fast. In some cases, suction advancing the softened thermoformable material into the matrix may be replaced using a punching operation that deforms the material and advances it into the matrix.

FIGS. 1 to 4 and 9 show the female connecting means.
5, the opening is punched in the case of FIG. 5, and the opening is stamped in the case of FIG. 7, that is, the deformation and the punching are performed simultaneously.

It is also possible to combine different molding methods for making the present connecting elements, for example a combination of vacuum forming and mold stamping.

In a further variant, the connecting element embossed can also be produced by cold-forming a deformable sheet material.

The combination device disclosed herein is not limited to using sheet material to form bags or tray lids as shown in FIG.
The elements of the device to be combined can be in the form of a strip 31 of a width slightly larger than the width of the embossed part, after which the strip can be welded or glued to the surface 32 to be combined with another. For example, a paper bag can be provided with this type of system.

The strip material having female connecting elements is
Strip 31 with holes first punched in the surface to be glued
May be similar to This strip material with female elements can also be formed from a strip having a thickness greater than the thickness of the strip 31. Finally, a system is also possible in which a simple opening of the sheet, similar to the opening 11 of FIG. 5, cut directly into the surface to be combined with the strip of male elements fits the male element.

The sheet material used to make at least the elements may be in the form of a simple film or a multi-layer, that is to say a multi-layer comprising a polyolefin multi-layer of another combination of one or more different polymers. It is either layered. Thus far, embodiments of the combination device have been shown as comprising a number of coupling elements arranged in at least one row. In other cases, as shown in FIG. 12, there is only one long male element 27, which fits within the complementary female element 28. Due to the cross-sectional profile of the elements 27 and 28 which are widened, a trapping action occurs towards them. Due to the widespread presence, the contour is temporarily distorted during repeated attachment and detachment.

In the variant of FIGS. 13 and 14, the female elements 29 and 30 have mutually complementary shapes and are formed by elements of circular cross section with frustoconical portions 29a, 30a. When the mushroom-shaped stud 29b of the male element 29 is pressed into the socket 30b of the female element 30, the pressure causes the tip 29b to contract and pass through the narrowed neck portion 30c of the female element, The combination shown in FIG.

By separating the face members, at least in the form of sheets or films, it is possible to combine a heat-reactive adhesive which can finally separate the combined face members with any of the variants described above. . This type of blockade is commonly known as a "peel seal" and is available from DuPont under the trade names Surlyn and Byna.
This can be achieved by mixing the two components marketed under l).
The proportions of the components in the mixture depend on the properties required later.

For bonding, one of the surfaces to be joined is coated with a suitable mixture of Surlyn and Bynel and combined with the other surface, after which the combination is heated. In the present invention, the heating step is advantageously combined with the thermoforming of the embossing connecting element. This type of fixation can replace the weld line S in FIG. In order to separate the two face members combined, the adhesive force between them must be overcome. Thereafter, both face members can be closed by a well-fitting female connecting element.

As mentioned in the above description, this combination device requires that the pouch, bag can be closed, the flexible lid can be securely fixed on a container of somewhat stiff material, and that a separable joint is required. It is useful as a fixing means in all instruments to be used.

The embodiment of the present invention will be described as follows.

1. Two adjacent face members with one male and one female at least two connecting elements, respectively, positioned opposite each other to complement each other when the face members are assembled together A combined device forming a separable connection therebetween, wherein at least one of the face members is made of a sheet or film material, a portion of which is embossed to form at least the male connection element. The combination device, wherein the male connecting element has a closed perimeter.

2. 2. The device according to embodiment 1, wherein the female connecting element is also formed by an embossed portion of the sheet or film material.

3. 2. The device according to embodiment 1, wherein each adjacent face member comprises a number of connecting elements.

4. 4. The device according to embodiment 3, wherein the female connecting element comprises a face member having a hole extending through its thickness.

5. The device according to embodiment 1, wherein the cross-section of the connecting element of the female has a substantially complementary dimensioned conforming shape.

6. The outer contour of the cross-section of the connecting element's female cross-section is one circular and the other polygonal,
The device according to embodiment 1, wherein the dimensions of such contours generate frictional forces with the mutual combination of the connecting elements of the female.

7. The device according to embodiment 1, wherein the embossed portion has side surfaces, at least a portion of which is perpendicular to the surface of the formed face member.

8. Embodiment 3. The device according to embodiment 2, wherein the embossed portion has side surfaces, at least a portion of which is perpendicular to the surface of the formed surface member.

9. Embodiment 1 in which the cross-sectional dimension of the male connecting element is farther from the face member than at the base.
By device.

10. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the connecting elements form an array of multiple parallel rows on each of said face members.

11. 11. The device according to embodiment 10, wherein the connecting elements of one row are staggered with respect to adjacent rows.

12. 2. The device according to embodiment 1, wherein the face member having at least the connecting element is of a thermoformable material.

13. Embodiment 13. The device according to embodiment 12, wherein the face member of the thermoformable material in at least the embossed portion comprises a number of layers.

14. Embodiment 13. The device according to embodiment 12, wherein the face member of the thermoformable material in at least the embossed portion comprises multiple layers of at least two different polymers.

15. Embodiment 4. The device according to embodiment 3, wherein the face member provided with at least the connecting elements is in the form of a strip added to another face.

16. A method of manufacturing a connecting element of a device according to embodiment 1, comprising heating at least one area of the thermoformable polymer sheet to its softening temperature;
Place the heated area so that the contour to be applied to the surface is aligned with the matrix formed by a concave copy, press the sheet against the matrix, and apply a negative pressure to the sheet from the matrix side. Is sufficient to match the contour of the matrix, including at least cooling the embossed area of the sheet below its thermoforming temperature, and removing the sheet from the mold.

17. A method for manufacturing a connecting element of a device according to embodiment 1, wherein at least one area of the thermoformable polymer sheet is heated to a softening temperature, and the contour to be imparted to said surface is formed by a concave copy. Placing the heated area between the shaped master and the stamp having a convex contour corresponding to the concave contour of the master, advancing the stamp into the mold to deform the heated material, Cooling the mold below its thermoforming temperature, removing the stamp from the mold, and removing the embossed area of the sheet from the mold.

18. 18. The method according to embodiment 17, further comprising the step of applying a negative pressure to the heated sheet from the matrix side when the heated sheet is between the matrix and the stamp.

19. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the method comprises punching a hole through the thickness of the female connecting element.

20. 2. A method for manufacturing a connecting element of a device according to embodiment 1, comprising cold forming the connecting element from a deformable material.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a combination device.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a modification of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another modification of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the contour of the closing element of the combination device.

FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of another modification of the contour of the closing element, shown in an unassembled state and in an assembled state, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of another modification of the contour of the closing element, shown in an unassembled state and in an assembled state, respectively.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of another modified example of the contour in the same state as FIG. 5 and FIG. 5;

8 is a side sectional view of another modified example of the contour in the same state as FIG. 5 and FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of still another modification of the contour.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an application of a closure device for a flexible container.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a modification of the connection element of the device.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of still another modification of the device.

FIG. 13 is a side sectional view of the last modification of the contour of the closing element, shown in uncombined and combined states, respectively.

FIG. 14 is a side sectional view of the last modification of the contour of the closing element, shown in uncombined and combined states, respectively.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of one particular use of the device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 sheet 4 sheet 5 connecting means 6 connecting hand 7 sheet 8 sheet

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A 56-8904 (JP, U) JP-A 1-128547 (JP, U) JP-A 1-55252 (JP, U) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) F16B 5/07 B65D 33/18 B65D 33/25

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A combination device for forming a separable connection between two adjacent surface elements in a packaging container, comprising a plurality of male and female connecting members, at least said male connecting member being closed. Having a perimeter and at least one surface coated with a thermo-reactive or pressure-sensitive adhesive
Wherein a plurality of male and female coupling members are positioned in an interfacing relationship to inter-engage in at least one substantially linear row and are used to form the packaging material. A combination device characterized by being formed on said surface element simultaneously from two separate rigid or semi-rigid sheets of a moldable polymer.