JP5740923B2 - Method of enclosing gas in a packaging bag - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of enclosing a gas such as air or an inert gas at a pressure equal to or higher than atmospheric pressure together with a stored item in a packaging bag.

  A method has been used for a long time to prevent oxidation of the contents by storing the contents in a pouch made of soft packaging material into a bag shape and then replacing the air in the container with an inert gas such as nitrogen gas. ing. For the purpose of merely preventing the contents from being oxidized, it is not necessary to increase the pressure in the container to be higher than the outside, so that filling and packaging can be performed with relatively simple equipment.

  However, articles such as hard tennis balls that have a high internal pressure and cannot be replenished with air from outside are pressurized into cans to prevent internal air from leaking after production. It is necessary to store in a sealed state.

  Conventionally, as a method for filling these pressurized sealed containers, it has been generally performed that both the contents and the container are placed in a pressurized chamber, and filling and sealing operations are performed in the pressurized chamber. The pressurization chamber equipment is a very large equipment, and therefore there is a problem that the cost required for packaging becomes large.

  The packaging method of a hard tennis ball described in Patent Document 1 is made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and vaporizes at room temperature and normal pressure such as dry ice together with the hard tennis ball inside the packaging material. In this method, after the vaporizable substance to be inserted is sealed and the packaging material is sealed, the vaporizable substance is vaporized to bring the inside of the packaging material into a pressurized state.

  The tennis ball storage body described in Patent Document 2 includes a cylindrical storage portion made of an airtight sheet material based on a synthetic resin, and a bowl-shaped bottom portion formed inside one end of the storage portion. A sealing portion at the other end of the storage portion that seals the storage portion in which the tennis ball is stored and filled with a predetermined internal pressure, and a leg portion that constitutes one end portion of the storage portion and supports the upright storage portion. This is a tennis ball storage body configured to include.

  The tennis ball storage body described in Patent Document 2 uses an airtight sheet material instead of a conventional metal can or plastic container, so it is not bulky at the time of disposal, is easy to open, and has a low manufacturing cost. It has the feature of being inexpensive.

Japanese Patent No. 3584001 Japanese Patent No. 3940827

  According to the method described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to manufacture a package body whose inside is in a pressurized state with relatively simple equipment. However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, when the pressure inside the package is set to a specific value, it is necessary to strictly control the amount of the vaporizable substance inserted into the package. However, it is inherently difficult to accurately weigh substances that vaporize at room temperature.

  Even if it is assumed that the amount of the vaporizable substance can be accurately controlled, there is no problem if the packaging container has a constant internal volume such as a metal can, but the packaging container is like a soft packaging pouch, When the shape is easy to change, and therefore the internal volume at the time of sealing is likely to fluctuate, there is a problem that the variation in the internal pressure after sealing becomes large, and it is difficult to stabilize the quality as a package. is there.

  In addition, since the tennis ball storage body described in Patent Document 2 needs to be prepared in advance with a bowl-shaped part as a bottom, it is expensive compared to a normal pouch, and the inside is in a pressurized state. Therefore, there is a problem that a special pressure filling device such as the pressure chamber is required.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention relates to a method of sealing a gas having a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure together with a stored item in a packaging bag using a soft packaging material, and can be implemented with simple equipment and has a stable internal pressure. We propose a way to get a body.

As means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a method for enclosing gas in a packaging bag, characterized by comprising the following series of steps.
1. A step of forming a packaging bag having an upper opening by facing the sealant layers of a laminate having at least a base material layer having gas barrier properties and a heat-sealable sealant layer, facing each other and heat-sealing the periphery.
2. The process of holding the packaging bag on both sides with a chuck and filling the stored items from the upper opening.
3. Inserting an air nozzle having a flat cross section from the upper opening, and pinching the upper opening together with the air nozzle with a pinch provided with an elastic body to form an airtight state.
4. The process of enclosing the gas pressurized above atmospheric pressure from the air nozzle inside the packaging bag.
5. A step of removing the air nozzle while pinching the opening with a pinch, and then pinching the lower part of the pinch with a seal bar having a temperature equal to or lower than the softening temperature of the packaging bag. Here, the heating method of the seal bar is an impulse seal method, and the seal bar includes a cooling mechanism.
6. Heating the seal bar to heat seal the upper opening, then cooling the seal bar below the softening temperature of the packaging bag and then opening the pinch, seal bar and chuck.

  The invention according to claim 2 is a method of enclosing gas in the packaging bag according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the packaging bag is a standing pouch shape.

The invention described in claim 3 is the method of enclosing gas in the packaging bag according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the stored item is a tennis ball.

  The packaging body obtained by the method of enclosing gas in the packaging bag according to the present invention comprises a laminate having at least a base material layer having gas barrier properties and a heat-sealable sealant layer. Since the package bag is formed by enclosing the package and a gas at a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure in a packaging bag that is heat-sealed, the enclosed gas is not leaked, and the internal pressure is maintained over a long period of time. Can be held.

  Further, according to the method of the present invention, the gas is injected after the opening portion of the packaging bag is pinched with the air nozzle by the pinch provided with the elastic body to make the airtight state. Pressure is easily possible.

  Further, the air nozzle is removed while the opening of the packaging bag is pinched with a pinch provided with an elastic body, the lower part of the pinch is pinched with a seal bar, and heat sealing is performed, so that gas leakage is kept to a minimum.

  When heat-sealing the upper opening, it is sandwiched between seal bars that have been preliminarily lower than the softening temperature of the packaging bag, then the seal bar is heated to heat-seal the upper opening, and then the softening temperature of the packaging bag Since the pinch and the seal bar are opened after cooling below, the packaging bag pressurized by the heat of the seal bar is not deformed or torn and stable heat sealing can be performed.

  The method of enclosing gas in a packaging bag according to the present invention can further exert its effect by making the packaging bag into a standing pouch shape. Further, it can be suitably used as a method for producing a pressure package of a tennis ball.

  According to the gas sealing method of the present invention, it is not necessary to use expensive equipment such as a large pressurized chamber, and a package with stable internal pressure can be produced with simple equipment.

FIG. 1 (1)-(6) is explanatory drawing which showed each process in the method of sealing gas into the packaging bag based on this invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of a packaging bag used in the method of the present invention. FIG. 3 (1) is a schematic view showing a state in which an air nozzle is inserted into an upper opening of a packaging bag and is sandwiched between pinches provided with an elastic body in the method of the present invention. FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the AA ′ cross section of FIG. FIG. 4 (1) is a schematic view showing a state where the air nozzle is removed after gas is sealed in the packaging bag from the state shown in FIG. 3 (1). FIG. 4B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the BB ′ cross section of FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an example of a package obtained by the method of the present invention. FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic diagrams showing examples of the shape of the tip of the air nozzle.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 (1)-(6) is explanatory drawing which showed each process in the method of sealing gas into the packaging bag based on this invention. In addition, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the case where a packaging bag is a standing pouch shape is shown.
The method for enclosing gas in a packaging bag according to the present invention is characterized by comprising the following series of steps.
1. As shown in FIG. 1 (1), the laminate having at least a base material layer having gas barrier properties and a heat-sealable sealant layer is opposed to each other, and the periphery is heat-sealed to open the upper opening. The process of shape | molding the packaging bag (2) which has a part (3).
2. As shown in FIG. 1 (2), the process of holding the packaging bag on both sides with the chuck (12) and filling the stored item (15) from the upper opening.
3. As shown in FIG. 1 (3), the air nozzle (13) having a flat cross section is inserted from the upper opening, and the upper opening is sandwiched between the air nozzle (13) by a pinch (8) provided with an elastic body. And air-tight process.
4. As shown in FIG. 1 (4), a step of enclosing a gas (14) having a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure from the air nozzle (13) inside the packaging bag.
5. As shown in FIG. 1 (5), the air nozzle (13) is removed with the pinch (8) sandwiching the opening, and the lower part of the pinch (8) is then moved to a temperature lower than the softening temperature of the packaging bag. The process of pinching with a seal bar (11).
6. As shown in FIG. 1 (6), after the seal bar is heated to heat seal the upper opening to form the top seal part (4), the seal bar is cooled below the softening temperature of the packaging bag. Then, the process of opening the pinch, seal bar and chuck.
By the above process, the package (1) in which the stored item (15) and the gas (14) having a pressure equal to or higher than the atmospheric pressure are enclosed is obtained.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of a packaging bag (2) used in the method of the present invention.
The packaging bag (2) shown in FIG. 2 is a so-called standing pouch, and a bottom tape (7) is inserted between the front and back laminates so that the sealant surface is folded outward, and the bottom The seal portion (6) is formed in a ship bottom shape, and the side seal portion (5) is formed. When the shape of the packaging bag (2) is a standing pouch shape, the packaging bag is round and easy to swell, so it is most suitable for the method of the present invention.

  The shape of the packaging bag (2) used in the method according to the present invention is not particularly limited to these, and bags having various shapes such as a three-side seal bag, a joint seal bag, and a gusset bag can be used.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the process shown in FIG. 1 (3) in more detail. FIG. 3 (1) shows an air nozzle (in the upper opening of the packaging bag (2) in the method of the present invention. It is the schematic diagram which showed the state which inserted 13) and pinched | interposed with the pinch (8) provided with the elastic body (10). FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the AA ′ cross section of FIG.

  An air nozzle (13) having a flat cross section is inserted from the upper opening of the packaging bag (2), and the upper opening is sandwiched with the air nozzle (13) by a pinch (8) provided with an elastic body (10). The process to perform is shown.

  The pinch (8) has a function of strongly sandwiching the opening of the packaging bag (2) between two elastic bodies (10) as a set of two parts, each having an elastic body (10) attached to a metallic holder (9). By appropriately designing the material of the elastic body (10), it is possible to ensure airtightness even when the opening of the packaging bag (2) is sandwiched with the air nozzle (13) having a flat cross section.

  As the elastic body (10), a soft material having a rubber hardness (JIS K 6253) of about 20 to 50 in terms of durometer (A) may be used. As a material of the elastic body (10), natural rubber, urethane rubber, silicon rubber, thermoplastic elastomer, or a sponge in which these are foamed can be used, even if the hardness is low.

  The air nozzle (13) has a flat cross section so that airtightness can be easily secured when inserted into the opening of the packaging bag (2) and sandwiched between the pinches (8). In addition, reinforcing ribs may be provided as shown in FIGS. 6 (1) and (2) so as not to be crushed when pinched by the pinch (8). In addition, as shown in FIG. 6B, the airtightness can be easily ensured by adopting the spindle-shaped cross section. The air nozzle is made of metal or high strength plastic.

FIG. 4 (1) is a schematic view showing a state in which the air nozzle (13) is removed after the gas (14) is sealed in the packaging bag (2) from the state shown in FIG. 3 (1). FIG. 4 (2) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the BB ′ cross section of FIG. 4 (1).
When a gas (14) having a predetermined pressure equal to or higher than the atmospheric pressure is press-fitted from the air nozzle (13) in an airtight state, the packaging bag (2) is inflated and inflated. At this time, even if the air nozzle (13) is removed while the opening of the packaging bag (2) is sandwiched between the pinches (8) provided with the elastic body (10), the elastic body (10) works. Since the airtight state is always maintained, there is very little leakage of the gas (14).

  Since the air nozzle (13) is pulled out from the upper opening of the packaging bag while being sandwiched between the pinches (8), it is desirable that the outer surface of the air nozzle has a good slidability. If the air nozzle is made of metal, it is effective to perform chrome plating or fluorine resin processing after polishing to a mirror surface. If the air nozzle (13) is made of plastic, it is effective to use a material with good slipperiness such as ultra-high molecular polyethylene resin, nylon resin, polyacetal resin.

  Subsequently, the lower part of the pinch (8) is pinched by the seal bar (11) having a temperature equal to or lower than the softening temperature of the packaging bag, with the opening of the packaging bag (2) being pinched by the pinch (8). Further, the seal bar (11) is heated to heat-seal the upper opening, and after cooling the seal bar (11) below the softening temperature of the packaging bag while sandwiched, the pinch (8) and the seal bar (11) And release the chuck (12).

  When the packaging bag (2) is sandwiched between the sealing bars (11), the temperature of the sealing bar is set to be equal to or lower than the softening temperature of the packaging bag. Or it may burst in some cases.

  Also, the reason for cooling the temperature of the seal bar below the softening temperature of the packaging bag before opening the seal bar (11) after forming the top seal part is the same, and when the seal bar is opened in a high temperature state, This is because there is a risk that the top seal portion of the packaging bag will open due to the internal pressure of the gas.

  It is desirable that the seal bar (11) has a structure that allows rapid heating and cooling. As a method for heating the seal bar, a method called an impulse seal method in which high power is applied for a very short time to instantaneously heat the heating plate is most suitable. The seal bar (11) preferably includes a cooling mechanism.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the package (1) obtained as described above. The opening part of the packaging bag is closed by the top seal part (4), and the stored item (15) and the gas (14) are enclosed.

  The laminate used for the packaging bag (2) used in the method according to the present invention has at least a base layer having gas barrier properties and a sealant layer. As the base material layer, a structure including a base film and a gas barrier layer, a structure including a base film, an intermediate layer, and a gas barrier layer are used.

As the base film and intermediate layer, olefinic resins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polystyrene resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyvinylidene chloride resin, polyvinyl alcohol resin, ethylene / vinyl alcohol copolymer resin, polyacrylonitrile resin, polyamide Resin, acrylic resin based on acrylic acid ester or methacrylic acid ester, polyester resin such as polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polyacetal resin, fiber base such as acetyl dicellulose, acetyl tricellulose A stretched or unstretched film made of a thermoplastic resin such as a derivative or a polycarbonate resin can be used.

  Most preferably used as the base film is a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin film or a biaxially stretched film of polyamide resin (nylon 6) from the viewpoints of printability and post-processing suitability. The thickness of the base film is suitably about 5 to 35 μm depending on the material.

  As the gas barrier layer, a metal foil such as an aluminum foil, an aluminum vapor-deposited film, a metal oxide vapor-deposited film, a film obtained by vapor-depositing a simple substance or a composite such as a nitride or fluoride can be used. As the metal oxide, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, zirconium oxide, tin oxide, magnesium oxide, or the like is used.

  As a base material of the vapor deposition film used for the gas barrier layer, polyester film such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate (PC) film, polyethersulfone (PES) film, polyarylate film, polyethylene, polypropylene For example, a polyolefin film such as a cycloolefin film, a cycloolefin film containing a cyclic cycloolefin, a polystyrene film, a polyamide film, a polyvinyl chloride film, a polyacrylonitrile film, and a polyimide film are used. These films can be uniaxially stretched, biaxially stretched, or unstretched films, but those having mechanical strength and dimensional stability are preferred.

  The vapor deposition thin film is formed by a known vacuum process such as vacuum vapor deposition, sputtering, or plasma vapor deposition.

  As thickness when using aluminum foil, about 6-12 micrometers is suitable. In the case of a vapor deposition thin film, it is about 5-300 nm.

  As the gas barrier layer, in addition to the above, a PET film coated with polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) resin, stretched nylon (ONY) film, and stretched polypropylene (OPP) film can be used. Polyvinylidene chloride resin, ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) resin, synthetic polymer polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) resin, and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) resin films can be used.

  As the sealant layer, a thermoplastic resin having a melting temperature lower than that of the base material layer is selected. Examples include polyethylene resins such as low density polyethylene (LDPE), medium density polyethylene (MDPE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), polypropylene resins, ethylene / vinyl acetate copolymers, Examples thereof include ethylene / acrylic acid copolymers, ethylene / acrylic acid ester copolymers, ionomers, unstretched polyester resins, and the like. In particular, a polyethylene resin is preferably used. The thickness of the sealant layer is suitably about 30 to 120 μm.

  Each of these layers is bonded with a laminate resin or an adhesive. The laminate resin is selected from LDPE, MDPE, HDPE, LLDPE, and mixtures thereof. The laminate resin may contain additives such as a slip agent, an antistatic agent, an antifogging agent, an ultraviolet absorber, and an antioxidant as long as the adhesiveness with the base material layer is not hindered. Further, inorganic fillers such as calcium carbonate, silica, titanium oxide and talc, pigments and the like may be added.

As a kind of gas sealed in the package according to the present invention, air, nitrogen, carbon dioxide gas, oxygen, helium and the like are arbitrary according to the application. When used as a storage container for tennis balls, air or nitrogen gas is used as the gas, and the pressure is preferably about 110 to 190 kPa. Hereinafter, based on an Example, the package concerning the present invention is explained concretely.

A standing pouch having the shape shown in FIG. 2 was prepared using a laminate having the following layer structure.
Layer structure of laminate: 25 μm PET film / silicon oxide vapor deposition / stretched nylon / LLDPE
(Bottom tape): Dimension of packaging bag: Height 345mm / width 130mm
Four tennis balls were stored in this packaging bag, an air nozzle was inserted into the upper opening, and the entire upper opening was pinched to establish an airtight state. As the elastic body used for the pinch, silicon rubber having a rubber hardness (durometer A value) of 40 and a thickness of 10 mm was used.

  After injecting nitrogen gas from the air nozzle inserted into the upper opening and adjusting the pressure inside the packaging bag to 120 kPa, the air nozzle is removed, and the lower part of the pinch is sealed with the impulse seal method, and the top seal Part was formed. When the temperature of the seal bar fell below the softening temperature of the laminate, the seal bar and the pinch were opened to obtain the intended package. Even if this package was stored for 60 days, the internal pressure was maintained at 120 kPa or higher, and it was found that it could be used as a storage container for tennis balls.

  The package according to the present invention is suitably used as a container for an article that is preferably stored under pressure, such as a tennis ball, and protects easily damaged items such as dolls and sailboat models. It can also be applied as a container or as a simple cylinder for oxygen or helium gas. Moreover, it can also be set as the liquid container by which the volume of an empty container can be made very small by filling the drink and inert gas which are easy to oxidize, and making it look like a bottle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Packaging 2 ... Packaging bag 3 ... Upper opening part 4 ... Top seal part 5 ... Side seal part 6 ... Bottom seal part 7 ... Bottom tape 8 ... Pinch 9 ... Holder 10 ... Elastic body 11 ... Seal bar 12 ... Chuck 13 ... Air nozzle 14 ... Gas 15 ... Storage

Claims (3)

A method for enclosing gas in a packaging bag, comprising the following series of steps.
1. A step of forming a packaging bag having an upper opening by facing the sealant layers of a laminate having at least a base material layer having gas barrier properties and a heat-sealable sealant layer, facing each other and heat-sealing the periphery.
2. The process of holding the packaging bag on both sides with a chuck and filling the stored items from the upper opening.
3. Inserting an air nozzle having a flat cross section from the upper opening, and pinching the upper opening together with the air nozzle with a pinch provided with an elastic body to form an airtight state.
4. The process of enclosing the gas pressurized above atmospheric pressure from the air nozzle inside the packaging bag.
5. A step of removing the air nozzle while pinching the opening with a pinch, and then pinching the lower part of the pinch with a seal bar having a temperature equal to or lower than the softening temperature of the packaging bag. Here, the heating method of the seal bar is an impulse seal method, and the seal bar includes a cooling mechanism.
6. Heating the seal bar to heat seal the upper opening, then cooling the seal bar below the softening temperature of the packaging bag and then opening the pinch, seal bar and chuck.   The method for enclosing gas in a packaging bag according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the packaging bag is a standing pouch shape. The method for enclosing gas in a packaging bag according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the stored item is a tennis ball.

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