JPH01167002A - Content filling for plastic container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve operational conditions on filling a content and to obtain a fine appearance without reducing the strength at a heat-seal part, by providing an extrusion, which can be formed with an opening with a large size enough to contain the content by cutting off the extrusion and has a shape retainability, at the bottom outer face or the container body. CONSTITUTION:A neck part 4 with a discharge outlets 3 of the content, which can be opened by a cap 2, is formed at the upper part of a container body 1 and a ridge-form extrusion 6 is formed at the bottom face 5 of the container body 1 during its molding, when the extrusion 6 is cut off along a given breaking line 7 parallel to the bottom outer face 5 of the container body 1, for instance, a required size opening with a shape retainability can be obtained. The container 1 fitted with the cap 2 at the neck part 4 is transferred to a filler to position a nozzle 9 of the filler against the opening 8 and the content is discharged from the nozzle 9, measuring the volume. After the content of fixed quantity is filled in the container 1, the ridge-form extrusion 6 is sealed by heating and cut off by a heated cutter in parallel to the profile of the bottom outer face 5 of the container body 1. The cut face has a smooth and fine appearance with luster.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention relates to a method for filling plastic containers such as tubes and bottles mainly for containing paste or liquid cosmetics, food and drink products, medicines, etc. It is.

[Conventional technology]

Plastic tubes and bottles conventionally used as containers for pasty products and some liquid products are generally manufactured by blow molding. In this case, the empty container itself before being filled with contents is obtained with a contents removal port formed at the top and an open bottom, and the contents removal port is closed with a cap etc. and supplied to the filling machine. The product is packaged in a container by heat-sealing the filling opening.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in the conventional heat-sealable plastic container as described above, for example, in the case of a plastic tube as shown in FIG. 6, in order to provide sufficient strength to the heat-sealed portion 62 at the bottom of the tube 61,
A bead portion 63 is formed along the outer edge line, but in this case, a bulge portion 64 is formed at both ends of the build portion 63 after heat sealing. There are often gaps left at the joints of the filling ports. Such a bead portion 63 impairs the aesthetic appearance and becomes a major drawback, especially in the case of a product where it is desirable to give a sense of luxury. Therefore, when the bulge 64 is removed,
Not only will the number of man-hours increase, but the strength of the surrounding area will decrease, leading to leakage of the contents.

In addition, in the case of small-diameter tubes, a small-diameter nozzle must be used to fill the contents, but narrow nozzles slow the filling speed, making it difficult to fill especially paste-like products with relatively high viscosity. It is.

On the other hand, flat or other irregularly shaped tubes or bottles have narrow openings at the bottom or do not retain their shape (internal stress acts in the closing direction), so they cannot be filled without special jigs or operations. There was a problem in that it was difficult to fill things and the workability was poor.

This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide good workability during filling (and to provide strong heat-sealed parts) regardless of the hardness or softness of the contents or the size and shape of the container body. To provide a method for filling contents of a plastic container, which can ensure excellent aesthetic appearance without damaging the contents.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the method of filling a plastic container with contents of the present invention includes forming a contents outlet in the upper part of the container body, and cutting a predetermined cutting line on the outer surface of the bottom to form a contents-retrieval opening that is sufficient for filling the contents. A protrusion is formed so as to obtain an opening having a suitable size and shape retention, and after the content is filled through the opening with the content outlet closed, the remaining part of the protrusion is heat-sealed. At the same time, it is cut along the contour line of the outer surface of the bottom part.

[Effect]

In the method for filling the contents of a plastic container of the present invention configured as described above, a protrusion is integrally formed on the outer surface of the bottom of the container during container molding, and the jig can be used as long as the protrusion is cut along a predetermined cutting line. Since the opening is large enough to hold the contents without using a container, it is easy to fill the container regardless of the shape or size of the container body. By heat-sealing the cut remaining portion and simultaneously cutting along the contour of the outer surface of the bottom, a beautiful finish can be ensured without compromising the strength of the heat-sealed portion or increasing the number of man-hours.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the method for filling a plastic container according to the present invention is applied to a semi-rigid plastic bottle will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

In this embodiment, a neck portion 4 having a contents outlet 3 that is opened and closed by a cap 2 is formed at the upper end of the container body 1 during molding, and a ridge-shaped protrusion is formed on the bottom outer surface 5 of the container body 1. 6 is formed. (The figures in the accompanying drawings are drawn upside down to emphasize the bottom side where the container is filled with contents). These neck portion 4 and protrusion portion 6 are integrally molded together with the container body 1 by blow molding. The protrusion 6 is formed in such a way that, when cut along a predetermined cutting line 7 parallel to the bottom outer surface 5 of the container body 1, an elongated opening 8 of a predetermined size that has shape-retaining properties is obtained. Ru.

In this embodiment, in order to fill the plastic container with contents, the protrusion 6 is cut along the cutting line 7 as described above, the opening 8 is opened, and the container with the cap 2 attached to the neck 4 is placed in a filling machine. The nozzle 9 of the filling machine is positioned relative to the opening 8 and the contents are allowed to flow out of the nozzle 9 under metering. Once a predetermined amount of content has been filled in this manner, the ridged protrusion 6 is heat-sealed as shown in FIG. 4, and at the same time the bottom of the container body 1 is sealed as shown in FIG. It is cut parallel to the contour line of the outer surface 5 by thermal force or the like. Of course, the cut surface shown with reference numerals may be flush with the outer surface of the bottom portion. If the resin is cut while it is molten during heat sealing, the cut surface after hardening will have a glossy, smooth and beautiful appearance, and no special finishing process such as polishing will be required.

In addition, in this invention, the protrusion 6 on the outer surface of the bottom of the container body 1 and the opening 8 for filling the contents formed by cutting the protrusion 6 are not limited to the ridge shape and elongated shape as in the above embodiments. It can be made into any shape as required. For example, in the case of a small-diameter plastic tube, a protrusion with a long or circular opening with a length or diameter larger than the diameter of the tube is formed by cutting to fit the nozzle on the filling machine side. In the case of flat or other irregularly shaped tubes or bottles, the protruding portion may be cut to form an opening having shape retention properties in accordance with the shape and dimensions of the nozzle.

It goes without saying that if the nozzle of an existing filling machine does not fit into the opening for filling the contents of the plastic container formed as described above according to the present invention, a suitable nozzle adapter can be used.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the method for filling the contents of a plastic container according to the present invention, an opening having sufficient size and shape retention for filling the contents can be formed by cutting the plastic container when molding the container. Since the protruding part is provided on the outer surface of the bottom integrally with the container body, after filling the contents through this opening, the remaining part of the protruding part is heat-sealed and at the same time cut along the outline of the outer surface of the bottom, the container body can be removed. shape of the part,
The filling operation can be performed with high efficiency regardless of the size, and an aesthetically pleasing finish can be ensured without sacrificing the strength of the heat-sealed portion.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a plastic container used in an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line -1, and Fig. 3 is a front view showing the state in which the contents are filled. , 4th
The figure is a cross-sectional view showing the state after heat sealing, FIG. 5 is a front view showing the finished state of the heat-sealed protrusion after cutting, and FIG. 6 is a heat-sealed part of an example of a plastic container according to the prior art. It is a front view showing the shape of. 1. Container body, 2. Cap, 3. Contents outlet, 4. Neck, 5. Bottom outer surface,
6. Protrusion, 7. Cutting line, 8. Opening, 91# nozzle. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] A content outlet is formed at the top of the container body, and
A protrusion is formed on the outer surface of the bottom so that when cut along a predetermined cutting line, an opening having sufficient size and shape retention for filling the contents is obtained, and when the contents removal port is closed, the protrusion is opened from the opening. A method for filling a plastic container with contents, characterized in that after filling the contents, the remaining portion of the protruding portion is heat-sealed and simultaneously cut along the contour line of the outer surface of the bottom.