JP3223685U - Paper straw that can be bent into a U-shape - Google Patents

Abstract

A paper straw having improved flexibility and capable of being bent into a U-shape. SOLUTION: At least a part of a paper substrate formed on a cylinder includes highly stretchable paper and highly water-resistant paper, and the cylinder is circumferentially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. It has a plurality of irregularities, and the interval between the irregularities is 2 mm or less. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper straw that can be bent into a U-shape.

  Many of the straws in general are made of plastic. Efforts to reduce plastic straws are underway as they cause environmental problems. As an alternative, straws produced using paper as a raw material have attracted attention.

  In view of this situation, as a consideration for the environment, pressure to reduce the use of plastic products is increasing socially. As part of this effort, efforts are being made to reduce plastic straws. In other countries, several global food and beverage chains have announced that they will abolish plastic straws. Similarly, there are restaurants in Japan that have discontinued the provision of plastic straws, and companies that have started to consider the abolition in the future.

  However, the straw is not useless, and if a plastic straw is not used, a mechanism or alternative to supplement it is required. When a beverage is sold at a restaurant, it is often provided with a straw. In the case of provision that is supposed to be taken away, such as take-away, the container needs a lid, but if there is a straw, you can drink without removing the lid from the container. Moreover, it can prevent that makeup, such as a lipstick, collapses by drinking through a straw. Furthermore, in recent years, posting good-looking photos to SNS has become established as a daily pleasure. The effect of straws on composition and balance cannot be neglected in beverage photos.

  Paper straws have attracted attention as an alternative to conventional plastic straws. Paper straw is decomposed by the action of microorganisms existing in nature. Therefore, even if it is not properly processed and flows into the natural world, adverse effects on the environment can be reduced.

  However, many paper straws currently in circulation have a straight cylindrical shape and do not have a mechanism for bending and using them. Some products are processed so as to have bellows-like irregularities in a part of the cylinder, and the straw can be gently bent at the irregularities. However, the degree of bending that can be achieved by this is limited, and there is room for improvement.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a straw characterized in that a part of a tubular body is formed in a bellows shape and flexibility is imparted to the portion. This straw describes that the material may be oil-immersed paper. It is not specified how much the straw in this device can be bent. However, there is room for improvement in terms of a mechanism for enabling bending with higher usability.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 48-037182

  For a sick person or a person with a disability, a straw that can be bent may be indispensable in daily life. For example, if you spend most of your day lying down due to illness, you cannot use a straight straw without waking up. However, if it is a straw that can be bent, it is possible to drink a drink while lying on the bed. Alternatively, even a person with weak arm muscles and inconvenience in lifting a container containing a drink can drink the drink more comfortably with a bent straw.

  However, paper straw products currently in circulation have room for improvement in this respect. Some products are provided with bellows-like irregularities so that they can be bent, but the bendable range is only about 45 ° to 60 °.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a paper straw that has improved flexibility and can be bent into a U-shape.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes, as at least a part of a paper substrate formed on a cylinder, paper having high stretchability and paper having high water resistance, and the cylinder is on the circumference. A paper straw having a plurality of projections and depressions perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and having a pitch of 2 mm or less is provided.

  When bending a cylindrical straw, one of the curved surfaces must be compressed and the opposite curved surface must be extended. When the cylindrical body has irregularities on the curved surface, the base material itself is not compressed or elongated, but the macro physical shape taken by the base material can be deformed and the straw can be bent more easily. That is, the uneven portion can be deformed with a smaller force, both in terms of compression and tension, compared to a smooth surface.

  However, not all of the applied compression and tension forces are consumed by the macro irregularities on the cylinder. Some of the force is consumed to compress and stretch the substrate itself. That is, it is used to bring about changes at a micro level, such as the spacing between the fibers constituting the substrate.

  The paper substrate used in the present invention includes highly stretchable paper. In the present specification, the term stretchability refers to the property that the material itself is stretched with a smaller force and that it is difficult to return to the original state even when the force is stopped. By including highly stretchable paper, the elongation of the substrate itself accompanying bending can be achieved with a smaller force. Further, there is an advantage that the bent state is easily maintained.

  The bendable straw generally bends only at the concavo-convex portions, and the other portions remain linear. If a portion other than the concavo-convex portion is bent, the cylindrical shape is crushed and the cross-sectional area is reduced, resulting in inconvenience for drinking. The reason why the bending of the conventional paper straw is insufficient is that the interval between the irregularities is large. When the unevenness interval is large, the length of the unevenness necessary to bend the straw by the same angle increases. Therefore, the bendable angle is limited. The paper straw according to the present invention has irregularities with a narrower interval than the conventional paper straw. This allows bending at a larger angle compared to conventional paper straws.

  As discussed above, the paper straw according to the present invention has the advantage that it can bend at a larger angle and is easily maintained in a bent state.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a paper straw according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the U-shaped concept.

  Hereinafter, a paper straw according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The paper straw according to the present invention includes highly stretchable paper and highly water-resistant paper as at least a part of the paper substrate. The stretchability of the paper can be controlled by moisture content, fiber direction, addition of additives, surface processing, and the like. Further, the water resistance of the paper can be controlled by adding an additive, impregnation treatment, compounding with a water resistant material, or the like. However, as a straw material used for drinking, it is necessary that the ingredients do not elute in the beverage and are harmless to the human body. Depending on the desired straw characteristics, the required properties of the paper substrate can vary.

  As for the shape of the paper substrate, for example, a three-layer tape-like substrate can be used. Among them, a substrate having high stretchability and a substrate having high water resistance can be selected as a part. A paper excellent in both stretchability and water resistance may be used. Further, the number of layers of the paper substrate can be arbitrarily changed, and should be appropriately selected according to the desired characteristics of the straw.

  The unevenness on the cylinder in the present invention means a concave portion or a convex portion. In addition, the shape may be any shape such as a rectangular or triangular cross section. The irregularities are provided in a substantially parallel shape in a shape that makes one round of the circumference of the cross section on a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the cylinder. The unevenness on the cylinder can be provided by, for example, pressing from the inside and the outside of the cylinder using a pair of molds having unevenness corresponding to each other.

  That the interval between the concaves and convexes is 2 mm or less means that the distance from the end of the concave portion or convex portion to the end of the adjacent concave portion or convex portion is 2 mm or less. The number of unevenness provided may be arbitrary, but if the number of unevenness is small, sufficient bending may not be obtained. The degree of bending caused by one unevenness can vary depending on parameters such as the thickness and elasticity of the substrate and the width and depth of each unevenness. However, the paper straw in the present invention has a sufficient number of irregularities to bend the straw into a U shape.

  “U-shaped bending” means that one end of the straw can be bent by 150 ° or more from a linear initial state while maintaining a sufficient cross-sectional area to be used for suction. That is, it means that θ in FIG. 2 is 150 ° or more.

In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, It can change variously based on the meaning of this invention, and they are not excluded from the range of this invention.

Claims (1)

As at least a part of the paper substrate formed on the cylinder, the paper includes a highly stretchable paper and a highly water-resistant paper, and the cylinder has a plurality of irregularities perpendicular to the longitudinal direction on the circumference. A paper straw having an interval of the unevenness of 2 mm or less.

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