JP4800088B2 - Manufacturing method of package - Google Patents

Description

The present invention includes a spout member having an open ended cylindrical portion, a method of manufacturing a package to inspect the welded portion of the film with spout member having a was welded film on the tip of the opening of the tubular portion.

Conventionally, various containers such as cans, paper containers, pouches (soft packaging bags), bottles and the like are known as packaging containers for food and drinks and medical supplies. It is often used because of its excellent performance and volume reduction at the time of disposal. In order to make it easy to put out the contents in the pouch, there is a spout (spout port) in which a plastic molded product having an open cylindrical portion is fixed to the pouch.
When such a container is filled with contents and sterilized by retort or boiling, etc., the cap screwed on the spout tends to loosen due to thermal expansion, moisture penetrates between the cap and the screw of the cylinder part, As time passes, various germs may propagate and sanitaryness at the tip of the tube may be impaired. In order to ensure hygiene even if moisture enters between the screws, an inner seal in which a film is welded to the tip of the opening of the cylindrical portion is provided.

  In a container equipped with a spout sealed with an inner seal, if a defect such as a pinhole or a crack occurs in the inner seal part, even if the contents do not leak, germs permeate the pinhole and the sanitary property is impaired. The inspection of these defects is extremely important because it causes.

As a method for inspecting a spout or a pinhole in a seal portion, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses that the rubber is used for inspecting a plastic bottle in which a conductive content is sealed and a rubber stopper is hermetically provided in an opening. A method is described in which a DC high voltage is applied between an electrode in close contact with the stopper and an electrode in contact with the side of the bottle, and the electrode is connected to the discharge current detector after the voltage application is stopped. An inspection method is also described in which a DC high voltage is applied between an electrode brought into close contact with a heat seal portion of a packaging bag in which retort food or the like is sealed and an electrode brought into contact with a side portion of the packaging bag. According to this method, when there is a defect, the electrode and the contents can be energized, and the contents are charged by the application of a DC high voltage, so the discharge current is detected by the discharge current detector. It can be determined that there is a defect.
JP 09-222420 A

  As a method for inspecting the inner seal portion, for example, when using the method according to Patent Document 1, it is necessary to inspect after filling and sealing the conductive content, so the inner seal portion cannot be inspected before filling. . Moreover, this method has a problem that not only the packaging bag but also the contents are discarded when a defective product is detected, which is not rational. Therefore, when inspecting the inner seal portion, there is only a method of inspecting by visual observation, but visual inspection is inferior in efficiency and reliability.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a packaging body capable of reliably and easily inspecting a welded portion of a film-attached spout member in which a film is welded to the tip of an opening of a cylindrical portion . It is an object to provide a manufacturing method.

As a result of intensive investigations to solve the above problems, the inventor of the present invention can perform an inspection using the discharge phenomenon even when the region to be inspected is separated from the opposing electrodes. As a result, the present invention has been made. That is, the present invention includes a spout member having an open ended cylindrical portion, have a said being welded to the tip of the opening of the tubular portion the film, the film with the front end of the cylindrical portion is formed by closed with said film the spout member is prepared, for inspecting the welded portion between the a tip of the cylindrical portion film, placed second electrode around the weld portion with placing the first electrode in the interior of the tubular portion And after determining the presence or absence of a defect based on the current value and / or voltage drop value when a voltage is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode, the spout member with film after the inspection is A method for manufacturing a package is provided, wherein the package is welded and sealed to an opening of a container filled with contents .
The first and / or second electrode may be composed of a conductive brush.
A divided electrode can be used as the second electrode, and the welded portion can be surrounded by the divided second electrode.
After the tube portion is surrounded by the divided second electrode, or in a direction along the tube portion while the tube portion is surrounded by the divided second electrode. It can be made to move to approach or contact the welding part.
Further, a third electrode is installed on the film side of the welded portion, and the presence or absence of a defect is determined based on the current value and / or the voltage drop value when a voltage is applied between the first electrode and the third electrode. It can be determined.

In the manufacturing method of the package of this invention , it is also possible to weld and seal the said spout member with a film on the opening part of the container with which the content was filled on the filling line.
Moreover, it is also possible to test | inspect the welding part of the said spout member with a film on a filling line.

According to the present invention, it becomes possible to inspect the inner seal welded part of a molded product with a film, for example, a spout member with an inner seal, before the attachment to the pouch. Efficiency and reliability can be improved.
When the first and / or second electrode is made of a conductive brush, it is easy to follow the shape of the molded product, and the hair tip can be easily brought close to the welded portion, so that an inspection error is unlikely to occur and the hair tip is sharp. The strength is increased, and the inspection can be performed without increasing the reference voltage.
When the divided electrode is used as the second electrode and the welded portion is surrounded by the divided second electrode, the work of arranging the second electrode close to the welded portion can be easily performed. it can.
After the tube portion is surrounded by the divided second electrode, or in a direction along the tube portion while the tube portion is surrounded by the divided second electrode. For example, when the tab is extended from the inner seal, the tab can be lifted by the second electrode to bring the second electrode closer to the weld.
Further, a third electrode is installed on the film side of the welded portion, and the presence or absence of a defect is determined based on the current value and / or the voltage drop value when a voltage is applied between the first electrode and the third electrode. When judging, the inspection of the film can be performed together with the inspection of the welded portion.
When the spout member is welded and sealed to the opening of the container filled with the contents on the filling line, and the spout member is inspected on the filling line by the method for inspecting the molded article with film Since online inspection, filling and sealing can be carried out as a series of processes, productivity can be greatly improved.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings based on the best mode.
As shown in FIG. 1, the inspection method of the present invention welds a molded product 6 with a film in which a film 5 is welded to the tip 4 of the opening 3 of the cylindrical portion 2 of the molded product 1 having an opened cylindrical portion 2. This is a method for inspecting the part 7.
Here, as the molded product 6 with a film, for example, a product obtained by welding a plastic film 5 that closes the opening 3 as an inner seal to a molded product 1 that becomes a spout of a pouch (soft packaging bag) can be cited.

  Here, as the molded product 1, for example, a product molded by injection molding using a thermoplastic resin or the like can be used. Examples of the thermoplastic resin include polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene.

  Further, the film 5 for closing the opening 3 of the cylindrical portion 2 of the molded product 1 is not particularly limited, but is a laminate including a sealant on at least one side, for example, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), A polyolefin resin layer such as ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) or cyclic polyolefin is used as the innermost layer (sealant) and stretched such as biaxially stretched nylon film, biaxially stretched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, and biaxially stretched polypropylene film. Use a laminate film with a film as a base material, and an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, a vapor deposition layer of metal or an inorganic compound (for example, ceramic such as silica), or a metal foil such as aluminum foil as an intermediate layer if necessary. Can do.

The procedure of the inspection method for the molded article 6 with a film according to the present invention will be described as follows.
First, the first electrode (internal electrode) 11 is installed inside the cylindrical portion 2, and the second electrode (external electrode) 12 is installed around the cylindrical portion 2. These electrodes 11 and 12 are not necessarily in contact with the welded portion 7, but the discharge voltage increases as the distance between the electrodes increases. From the viewpoint of suppressing the applied voltage, the electrodes 11 and 12 are contacted or contacted. It is preferable to make them approach.

The first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 are connected to a power source so that the first electrode 11 is a negative pole (-pole) and the second electrode 12 is a positive pole (+ pole). A high voltage of direct current, alternating current or pulse is applied between the electrodes 12. The polarity may be reversed. When a predetermined voltage is applied, if the welding is good over the entire circumference of the tip 4 of the opening 3, insulation between the inside and outside is maintained by the tube portion 2 and the film 5, and can withstand discharge due to voltage application. (Between the electrodes 11 and 12 is not energized). On the other hand, if there is a defect in the welded portion 7, an air discharge occurs in the gap, a large discharge current flows instantaneously, and the applied voltage decreases rapidly.
Therefore, the applied voltage (reference voltage) that does not discharge in the case of a non-defective product and the discharge voltage (reference voltage) in the case of a defective product and the current that flows when a reference voltage is applied to the non-defective product (reference current) are examined in advance. Measure the voltage and current when the reference voltage is applied between the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 and the electrodes 11 and 12 are energized, and the determination criteria or higher are determined. It is determined that the welded portion 7 is defective when the voltage decreases or when a current higher than the determination standard flows. This makes it possible to reliably and easily determine the quality of the welded portion 7.
Note that either current or voltage may be used, but both may be measured and determined. Further, when a voltage is applied between the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12, it may be determined by measuring the current when the film or molded product is charged or discharged. . When the film or molded product has a metal layer, the current when the film or molded product is charged or discharged becomes large, and if it is confusing with the discharge current due to a defect, the measured current is applied to the voltage. You may compare using the integral value integrated with time. In addition, even when measuring the voltage drop, the discharge stops when the voltage drops, so the voltage dropped due to the discharge due to the defect is recovered instantaneously and discharged again and repeats the voltage drop. You may compare using the integrated value which integrated the voltage with the voltage application time.

  The shape of the second electrode 12 is preferably such that the distance between the welded portion 7 and the second electrode 12 is extremely small and can be maintained constant. For example, if the cylindrical portion 2 is cylindrical, the outer side of the cylindrical portion 2 Examples thereof include a metal plate having an inner diameter slightly larger than the diameter. The second electrode 12 is preferably separable. In this case, by surrounding the welded portion 7 with the divided second electrode, the operation of placing the second electrode 12 close to the welded portion 7 can be easily performed.

  When a conductive brush in which bristles made of a conductive material such as metal are bundled in the shape of a brush is used as the first and / or second electrode 12, it is easy to follow the shape of the molded product and the tip of the hair can be easily welded. This is preferable because inspection errors are unlikely to occur and the hair tip is sharp, so that the electric field strength is high and the inspection can be performed without increasing the reference voltage.

In the present invention, it is also possible to perform pinhole inspections such as film breakage and cracks due to heat and pressure when the film 5 is welded together with the quality determination of the welded portion 7. In this case, electrodes may be provided on both sides (front side and back side) of the film 5 in the thickness direction so that the film 5 is sandwiched between these two electrodes.
That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the third electrode 13 is installed on the film 5. The third electrode 13 may have the same polarity as the second electrode 12 or may be different. When the polarities are the same, these electrodes may be integrated. Then, a voltage is applied between the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 at the same time as or before or after the voltage is applied between the first electrode 11 and the third electrode 13. The quality determination by the first electrode 11 and the third electrode 13 is performed in the same manner as the quality determination by the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12. In the inspection of the film 5, since the distance between the electrodes is small, the applied reference voltage can be lowered as compared with the inspection of the welded portion 7.

When an inner seal is provided in the molded product, in order to facilitate opening, the film 5 for closing the opening 3 is located at a position protruding from the tip 4 of the opening 3 of the cylindrical portion 2 as shown in FIG. The tabs 8 and 8 may be extended. In this case, the tab 8 may hang down around the tube portion 2 due to heat at the time of welding or chamfering of the outer end 4 of the tube portion 2 (the state of the tab 8 shown in FIG. 3A). The film 5 may be interposed between the second electrode 12 and the inspection may be uncertain.
Therefore, as the second electrode 12 disposed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 2, a plurality of, for example, two electrodes 12, 12 forming a part of an arc along the circumference of the cylindrical cylindrical portion 2 is used. It is preferable to use it. And these two electrodes 12 and 12 are arranged in the middle position of the cylinder part 2 (position below the tab 8 of the film 5), the cylinder part 2 is enclosed, and then as shown in FIG.3 (b) By moving the two electrodes 12, 12 in the direction along the tube portion 2 toward the tip of the tube portion 2 (upward in FIG. 3), the tabs 8, 8 are lifted by these two electrodes 12, 12. The operation of arranging the second electrodes 12 and 12 in the immediate vicinity of the welded portion 7 becomes easy. As long as the tab 8 can be lifted, the electrodes forming a part of the plurality of arcs may be moved upward while enclosing the cylindrical portion 2.

  The spout member of the present invention is inspected by the method for inspecting a molded article with a film of the present invention. The spout member having a cylindrical portion whose tip is closed with a film can be used as a spout by being welded to an opening of a container made of a soft packaging bag. It is preferable that a cap is attached to the spout member from above the inner seal by screws or fitting.

  For example, if the flexible packaging bag is a flat bag or a gusset bag, an opening for filling is provided at a position opposite to the opening for fixing the spout member, and the filling port is closed and sealed by welding or the like after filling. In the case of a self-supporting bag or a square-bottom bag whose bottom can be opened, it is preferable to weld and seal the spout member to the filling port after filling. In any of these cases, the contents can be filled with the spout member closed with the inner seal. Even when sterilization treatment such as retort sterilization and boil sterilization is performed after filling the contents, leakage and contamination of the contents can be prevented because the sealing performance of the inner seal is confirmed by inspection. In addition, the cap screwed to the spout member is loosened due to thermal expansion during sterilization treatment, moisture enters between the cap and the screw of the tube part, and germs grow over time and sanitaryness at the tip of the tube part is impaired. Can be prevented.

  Since the inspection according to the present invention can be carried out by a simple device, it can be incorporated into a sealing device for welding an inner seal to the spout member or a capper for attaching a cap to the spout member with an inner seal. Furthermore, it can be incorporated into parts feeders and part of the filling line, and when filling the contents, it is welded and sealed to the opening of the container filled with the contents while inspecting the spout member online. be able to. Specifically, the apparatus necessary for the inspection according to the present invention is incorporated into a part of the filling line, and the spout member is inspected, and those determined to be defective are discharged from the supply line, and the non-defective spout member is replaced by the parts. Supply a non-defective spout member supplied with a feeder or with a parts feeder that incorporates the equipment required for inspection according to the present invention, for example, into a top-sealing section of a rotary filling machine A member can be arrange | positioned and it can replace with a top seal and can weld a spout member and can seal a flexible packaging bag. Thereby, productivity can be greatly improved. The operations of the molded body with film, electrode, power supply, etc. during inspection can be performed manually, semi-automatically, or fully automatically. In the inspection of a molded article with a film, it is preferable to use a data logger for measuring voltage and current.

An inner seal film obtained by dry-laminating a 12 μm biaxially stretched PET film with a 50 μm PE film at the tip of the opening of the cylinder part of the PE spout member having an outer diameter of 22 mm and a thickness of 0.5 mm. By welding, a non-defective sample of a spout member with an inner seal (molded product with a film) shown in FIG. 1 was produced.
A defective sample was prepared by interposing a 0.16 mm diameter thread between the tip of the opening of the spout member with an inner seal and welding with the inner seal film.

(Test Example 1)
A high-voltage generator that operates with a single-phase 200 V AC power supply and generates a DC high voltage of 5 to 25 kV was used as the power supply. The first electrode is made from a metal round bar slightly thinner than the inner diameter of the tube portion of the spout member, and the second electrode is a metal plate with an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the tube portion of the spout member And made. The first electrode is connected to the high-voltage output terminal (-pole) of the power supply device and installed inside the cylindrical portion, and the second electrode is connected to the ground terminal (+ electrode) of the power supply device and around the welded portion. installed. The distance between the electrodes was 3 mm.
When setting the reference voltage, a high DC voltage was applied between the first electrode and the second electrode without any spout member, and the current was applied at about 10 kV when the voltage was gradually increased. Therefore, when the reference voltage was set to 20 kV, 10 non-defective samples with good film adhesion were set between the electrodes and a high voltage start signal was input and tested, the reference voltage was not energized in any sample. Rose to. In addition, in order to confirm that the non-defective samples were not broken by the application of the reference voltage, the samples were reinspected, but all were non-defective products.
On the other hand, when 15 defective samples welded with yarns were welded in the same manner, energization was conducted at a maximum voltage of 15 kV, a minimum of 10.5 kV, and an average of 12.3 kV. The voltage was measured by measuring the output voltage of the high voltage generator. Therefore, if a reference voltage is set to 20 kV and a voltage drop of 5 kV or more is used as a determination criterion, it is possible to determine whether the product is non-defective or defective depending on whether or not the voltage drop when energized is below the determination criterion. I understand that.

(Test Example 2)
The first electrode was produced in the same manner as in Test Example 1, and a conductive brush was used for the second electrode. The first electrode was connected to the negative pole of the power supply device and installed inside the cylindrical portion, and the second electrode was connected to the positive pole of the power supply device and installed around the cylindrical portion.
Based on Test Example 1, when the reference voltage was set to 20 kV and 15 defective samples welded with the yarns were welded, energization was performed at a maximum voltage of 12 kV, a minimum of 6 kV, and an average of 9.8 kV.
From this, it can be seen that if the reference voltage is set between 15 kV and 20 kV, it is possible to determine whether the product is non-defective or defective, depending on whether or not the voltage drop when energized is below the reference voltage. In addition, it can be seen that the reference voltage can be set low by using a conductive brush.

  From the above test examples, it was shown that it is possible to reliably inspect the welding failure of a molded article with a film in which a film is welded to a cylindrical portion with a simple apparatus.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention can be utilized for the test | inspection of the spout member with an inner seal, and the packaging container to which this was welded. The packaging container is not particularly limited, and can be applied to a tube container or the like in addition to a flexible packaging bag. Also, the contents of the packaging container are not particularly limited, and various liquids, powders, granules, viscous materials and the like are exemplified.

It is sectional drawing explaining the 1st form example of the inspection method of the molded article with a film which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing explaining the 2nd form example of the inspection method of the molded article with a film which concerns on this invention. It is drawing explaining the 3rd form example of the inspection method of the molded article with a film which concerns on this invention, Comprising: (a) is the front which shows the state which installed two electrodes so that a cylinder part might be enclosed under a tab FIG. 4B is a front view showing a state where the two electrodes are moved upward and the tab is lifted by the two electrodes.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Molded product, 2 ... Cylindrical part, 3 ... Opening part, 4 ... Tip of opening part, 5 ... Film, 6 ... Molded product with film, 7 ... Welding part, 8 ... Tab, 11 ... 1st electrode, 12 ... 2nd electrode, 13 ... 3rd electrode.

Claims (7)

A spout member having an open ended cylindrical portion, possess a is welded to the tip of the opening of the tubular portion film, the leading end of the cylindrical portion is prepared spout with a film comprising closed by said film ,
In order to inspect the welded portion between the tip of the tubular portion and the film, a first electrode is installed inside the tubular portion, a second electrode is installed around the welded portion, and the first electrode After determining the presence or absence of defects based on the current value and / or voltage drop value when a voltage is applied between the second electrode ,
A method for producing a package, wherein the spout member with film after inspection is welded and sealed to an opening of a container filled with contents . The method for manufacturing a package according to claim 1, wherein the first and / or second electrode is made of a conductive brush. The method for manufacturing a package according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a divided electrode is used as the second electrode, and the welded portion is surrounded by the divided second electrode. After the tube portion is surrounded by the divided second electrode, or in a direction along the tube portion while the tube portion is surrounded by the divided second electrode. The method for manufacturing a package according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the package is moved to a position close to or in contact with the welded portion. Further, a third electrode is installed on the film side of the welded portion, and the presence or absence of a defect is determined based on the current value and / or the voltage drop value when a voltage is applied between the first electrode and the third electrode. The method for manufacturing a package according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the determination is made . The method for producing a package according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the spout member with film is welded and sealed to an opening of a container filled with contents on a filling line. The method for manufacturing a package according to claim 6 , wherein a welded portion of the spout member with film is inspected on a filling line.

Images