JPH02139309A - Method for reforming curl of blister package and apparatus for reforming curl - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce generation of curls due to age by a method wherein after a blister package is cooled by blowing cool air to it or winding a cooling roll on it, etc., it is curved in a direction opposite to a curl of the blister package. CONSTITUTION:A thermoplastic resin sheet 1 is wound around a feed reel 2. A blister package 1B is fabricated by heat-sealing a seal box 15 on the side of an opening of a sheet 1. The blister package 2B passes between two cones 26 of a cooling means 21 while cool air is blown to both faces of the blister package 1B. The cooled blister package 1b is sent to a curving means 22. At this curving means 22, the package 1B is curved in a direction opposite to a curl of the package 1B by making the package 1B pass through interposed between a rotary driving drum 28 and a roller 31.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a continuous thermoplastic resin film, sorting type (
Hereinafter, it may simply be referred to as a thermoplastic resin sheet. ) - For example, this problem occurs in a blister package manufactured by supplying an item to each pocket in a row of open pocket groups and then sealing the open side of the pocket containing the item with metal foil. The present invention relates to a curl straightening method for straightening curls and a curl straightening device for realizing the method.

[Prior Art] Recently, blister packaging such as FTP packaging has been widely used for packaging tablets, capsules, pharmaceuticals, confections, and the like. This blister packaging, especially FTP
Conventionally, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has been used as a thermoplastic resin sheet for packaging, but polypropylene (PVC) has excellent moisture resistance, low production costs, and is hygienic.
It is being replaced by P).

Conventionally, blister packaging has been done as follows. The thermoplastic resin sheet fed out from the feeding reel is formed into a plurality of pockets as a row of pocket groups by a molding means. After a packaged object such as a tablet is supplied to each of these pockets from a packaged object supply means, it is sent to a sealing means consisting of a seal roll and heat-sealed with metal foil (aluminum foil) to produce a blister package. . This blister package is sent to a punching means and punched into a suitable size to form a unit package.

By the way, in the blister package, due to natural cooling after heat sealing, a shrinkage rate occurs on the thermoplastic resin sheet side due to the so-called bimetal effect due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficient or contraction rate between the thermoplastic resin sheet and the aluminum foil. However, there is a problem in that the blister package curls with the pocket side facing inward. In particular, when using a PP sheet as a thermoplastic resin sheet, it is necessary to raise the pocket group formation temperature and the heat noll temperature, and also because the thickness of the sheet is relatively thin, curling of the blister package may occur. It becomes noticeable. In addition, since PP is a crystalline resin, it contracts as crystallization progresses over time, whereas aluminum foil does not expand or contract, so this also creates a bimetallic effect, causing curling with the PP sheet inside. .

To solve this problem, the blister package after heat sealing and before punching is wound around rolls arranged in a staggered manner, and this applies a stretching force to the blister package to curve the curl in the opposite direction and correct it. There is a technique (Conventional Example 1) to do this. In addition, we focused on the fact that curling is caused by the bimetallic effect of the aluminum foil and PP sheet, and developed a technology (conventional example ■) in which a sealant layer is attached to the aluminum foil, and the shrinkage of the sealant layer causes the aluminum foil to also shrink. be. Furthermore, when stacking and packaging a predetermined number of the unit packages, a technique of stacking and fixing the unit packages while heating them (Conventional Example III)
Furthermore, there is also a technique (conventional example (2)) in which the blister package is reversely warped to prevent curling.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, according to Conventional Example I, when a non-crystalline resin sort such as PVC is used as the thermoplastic resin sheet, the packaged items are supplied into the pockets of this sheet and heat-sealed with aluminum foil, and then Although it is effective immediately after straightening the curl in high-speed in-line, it has the problem that the curl returns as the blister package cools down over time. be. In addition, conventional example (2) is still at a stage of practical application. Furthermore, in Conventional Example ■, heating after heat sealing has a great effect in eliminating problems with stacked packaging, but it is not intended to permanently prevent curling.
There is a problem that the curl returns over time. Furthermore, in Conventional Example (2) as well, curling that occurs over time is not always corrected sufficiently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method and device for straightening a blister package that can reduce curling over time.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A method for straightening a blister package according to the present invention supplies an object to be packaged to each pocket in a row of pockets opened on one side of a continuous thermoplastic resin film or sheet. After that, the opening side of the pocket containing the item to be packaged is sealed with metal foil to correct curls that occur in the manufactured blister package. Alternatively, the blister package is cooled by winding a cooling roll or the like, and then the blister package is curved in a direction opposite to the curl direction of the blister package (the direction in which the pocket side is inward). shall be. Here, the thermoplastic resin film or sheet may be a polypropylene film or sheet.

Further, the curl straightening device for a blister package according to the present invention supplies the packaged article to each pocket of the row of pocket groups opened on one side of the continuous thermoplastic resin film, Sheet 1-II, and then The opening side of the pocket containing items is covered with metal
A device for straightening curls that occur in a blister package manufactured by sealing with Ji ti+, comprising a cooling means and a bending means, the cooling means for straightening the blister package by using, for example, a cold air supply device, a cooling roll, etc. , and the curving means is configured to curve the blister package in a direction opposite to the direction of the curl of the blister package.

Here, the curving means includes a rotary drive drum whose peripheral surface is made of a hard elastic material and has a recess corresponding to the pocket of the blister package, and a part of the hard elastic material on the peripheral surface of the rotary drive drum. The blister package may be provided with a rolling roll that bites into pressure contact with the rotary drive drum and allows the blister package to pass through while being held between the rotary drive drum and the rotary drive drum.

[Effect]

In the present invention configured as described above, the blister package is cooled in advance before the blister package is bent to straighten the curl, so the temperature drop of the blister package after straightening the curl is reduced, and the temperature of the blister package is reduced. No more curling over time.

In particular, when the thermoplastic resin film or sheet is a crystalline resin polypropylene film or sheet, curl correction is performed in the same state of shrinkage as when crystallization progresses over time due to cooling. This prevents curling over time.

Moreover, if the blister package is curved by passing the blister package between the rotary drive drum and the rolling roll while being sandwiched, the blister package can be bent by appropriately determining the diameter and pressing force of the rolling roll. You can reliably correct body curls.

[Example] Examples of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. Here, in each embodiment, the same or similar constituent parts are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation will be omitted or simplified.

Figure 1 shows the schematic configuration of a blister packaging machine.

In this figure, a continuous thermoplastic resin film or sheet (thermoplastic resin sheet) is made of polypropylene, and this thermoplastic resin sheet 1 is wound around a feed reel 2. The thermoplastic resin sheet 1 fed out from the feed reel 2 is sent to a perforation forming means 3. This perforation forming means 3 first forms a vertical perforation in the longitudinal direction of the sheet 1 between a vertical perforation roll 4 and a roll 5 in contact therewith, and then forms a vertical perforation on the sheet 1 by using a horizontal perforation roll 6. Horizontal perforations are formed in the width direction.

The sheet 1 is sent from the perforation forming means 3 to the forming means 7. The forming means 7 comprises a blister forming drum 8 on which a plurality of concave blisters are aligned and arranged on its circumferential surface and rotates at a speed corresponding to the traveling speed of the sheet 1, and a blister forming drum 8 which is disposed opposite to the circumferential surface of the drum 8. The heater 9 forms a plurality of pockets IA (see FIG. 2) in the sheet 1 by suctioning the interior of the blister while the sheet 1 is attached to the circumferential surface of the drum 8. .

The sheet 1 is sent from the forming means 7 to the packaged object supply means IO. This packaged material supply means lO
1 supplies a packaged object 12 (see FIG. 5) such as a tablet sent from a hopper 11 to each pocket IA of the sheet I via a supply roller 13.

The packaged articles 12 are supplied to each package 1A and sent to the sealing means 1'4. On the other hand, the sealing foil 15, which is a metal foil, is made of single JIF 1% aluminum, etc., or aluminum foil whose surface has been anchor coated, or furthermore, aluminum foil, polyethylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, etc. It is made of a multilayer material made of an unsaturated carboxylic acid or its derivative and an adhesive resin such as a modified polyolefin, and is wound around a seal foil delivery reel 16. The printing pitch of the seal 7B15 is checked by a phototube 17, and the amount of the seal 7B15 is fed out from a reel 16 while the feed amount is adjusted by the operation of a braking device 18, and sent to the sealing means 14.

This sealing means 14 includes a pair of sealing rolls 14A,'
14B, and a blister package IB is manufactured by heat-sealing a seal 7615 to the opening side of the sheet 1 using these rolls 14A and 14B.

This blister package IB is sent through a tension roller 19, a guide roller 20, a cooling means 21 and a bending means 22 to a trimming mechanism 23 which is a punching means, and the blister package IB is punched out by this trimming mechanism 23. The unit package IC shown in FIG. 5 is to be molded. Below the trimming mechanism 23 is a conhair 24 for carrying out the unit packaged IC, and on the exit side of the trimming mechanism 23 is the unit packaged IC.
Winding wheels 25 for winding up the blanks from which C has been punched out are arranged.

As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2, the cooling means 21 includes two cooling cones 26 that are arranged opposite to each other with the blister package IB in between.
6 are each connected to a cold air supply source (not shown) and configured to blow cold air onto both sides of the blister package IB.

Here, the temperature of this cold air is preferably 20~O''C1,
The temperature is set so that the surface temperature of the blister package IB sent to the bending means 22 is 25-0°C, preferably 20-10°C. When the cold air temperature is higher than the above temperature, prevention of curling over time is not sufficient, while when the cold air temperature is lower than the above temperature, dew condensation will occur on the blister package IB, which is undesirable. The cooling length of the blister package IB is determined in relation to the running speed of the package IB passing between the cones 26, and if the running speed is high, the cooling length needs to be increased. In addition, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to blow cold air from both sides of the blister package IB, and the cold air may be blown from either the pocket IA side or the seal IBM 15 side. However, it is not necessary to blow the cold air from both sides. By spraying, the blister package IB is efficiently cooled.

The bending means 22 includes a rotary drive drum 28 that is pivotally supported by two plate-shaped frames 27 (only one is shown in FIG. 2). The structure includes a cylinder body 30 made of urethane rubber. On the circumferential surface of this cylinder 30, as shown in an enlarged view in FIG.
Recesses 30A corresponding to the recesses 30A are arranged in alignment in the circumferential direction and in the axial direction (not shown).

A stainless steel rolling roll 31 is pressed against the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 30 of the rotary drive drum 28, and this roll 31 is
It comes into pressure contact with the rotary drive drum 28 while partially biting into the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 30 . Further, two support rolls 32 that prevent the roll 31 from being bent are brought into contact with the roll 31, and these rolls 31 and 32 are pivotally supported by a candle body 33, and this block body 33 is supported by the frame 27. The window portion 27A supports the rolls 31, 32 and the rotary drive drum 28 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, that is, in the direction in which the rolls 31, 32 and the rotary drive drum 28 move toward and away from each other.

Between this block body 33 and the lower edge of the window portion 27A, the block body 33 is placed upward (rolls 31 and 32 are rotated by the rotating drive drum 2).
A spring 34 is interposed to urge the spring 34 in the direction away from the
On the other hand, a switching mechanism 35 is interposed between the block body 33 and the window portion 27A. This switching mechanism 35 includes a cam roller 36 that is pivotally supported by the block body 33, a semicircular cam 37 that contacts this roller 36, a lever 38 that rotates this cam 37, and a cam 37 that is pivotally supported. The cam block 3 that comes into contact with the upper edge of the block body 33
9. When the arc portion of the cam 37 comes into contact with the cam roller 36, the block body 33 is pushed down against the biasing force of the spring 34 (in a direction that brings the rolls 31 and 32 closer to the rotary drive drum 28) and is used for rolling. roll 3
1 is pressed against the rotary drive drum 28, and on the other hand, when the chord part of the cam 37 comes into contact with the cam roller 36, the block body 33
is pushed upward by the biasing force of the spring 34, and the pressing of the rolling roll 31 against the rotation drive drum 28 is released. Further, a positioning screw 40 whose tip abuts against the cam block 39 is screwed into the upper part of the frame 27, and by adjusting the screwing amount of this positioning screw 40,
The relative position between the rolling roll 31 and the rotary drive drum 28 is adjusted via the switching mechanism 35 and the block body 33.

Here, the cooling means 21 and the bending means 22 constitute a blister package straightening device 41 of this embodiment.

In the blister packaging machine constructed in this way, the thermoplastic resin sheet l is fed out from the feed reel 2 and sent to the forming means 7 via the perforation forming means 3 with perforations formed in the vertical and horizontal directions. In this forming means 7, a plurality of pockets IA are formed in the sheet 1 by a blister forming drum 8 and a heater 9, and then the sheet 1 is sent to a packaged object supplying means 1O. The object to be packaged 12 is supplied to each box 1-IA.

The sheet 1 containing the packaged items 12 in each pocket 1A is sent to the sealing means 14, and on the other hand, the sealing foil 15 unwound from the seal fti Mk delivery reel 16 is also sent to the sealing means 14. These sheets 1 and seal t515
is a pair of seal rolls 14A.

The sealing foil 15 is heat-sealed to the opening side of the sheet 1 by 14B, thereby manufacturing the blister package IB.

This blister package IB passes between the two cones 26 of the cooling means 21, during which cold air is blown onto both sides of the blister package IB. Cooled blister package I
B is sent to the bending means 22. In this bending means 22,
By passing the package IB while being held between the rotary drive drum 28 and the rolling roll 31 that partially bites into and presses against the circumferential surface of the cylinder 30 made of urethane rubber of the rotary drive drum 28. , the package IB is curved in a direction opposite to the curl direction (bokeh) of the package IB (direction in which IA is turned inward).

Thereafter, the blister package IB is sent to a trimming mechanism 23, and the unitant package IC punched out by the trimming mechanism 23 is carried out by a conveyor 24, while the punched waste is taken up by a take-up reel 25.

According to this embodiment, the sheet 1 and the seal r
Blister package IB manufactured by sealing & 15
Since the blister package IB is cooled in advance before being bent to straighten the curl, the temperature drop of the blister package IB after straightening the curl is reduced, and curling of the blister package IB over time is eliminated. In particular, even if the sheet 1 is a polypropylene sheet, the occurrence of curling over time can be reduced because curl correction is performed by the same shrinkage as when crystallization progresses over time due to cooling.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the cooling means 21 is configured to include a cooling cone 26 that blows cold air onto the blister package IB, so that the temperature of the cold air can be easily adjusted and the blister package IB can be properly cooled and extended. By doing so, it is possible to reliably prevent curling. Further, the bending means 22 is connected to the rotary drive drum 2.
8 and the rolling roll 31, the curl of the blister package IB can be reliably corrected by appropriately determining the diameter and pressing force of the rolling roll 31.

1111■ Next, a second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment is the first
The configuration of the cooling means 21 is different from the embodiment, and the other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment.

That is, the cooling means 21 of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. The cooling temperature of this cooling roll 42) is
20 to 0°C, preferably 15 to 5°C, and set so that the surface temperature of the blister package IB sent to the bending means 22 is 25 to 0°C, preferably 20 to 10°C. be done. In FIG. 4, the blister package IB is exposed to the cooling roll 42 from its seal F&15 side.
However, in this embodiment, the blister package IB may be cooled only on the pocket IA side by the cooling roll 42. Furthermore, a plurality of cooling rolls 42 may be prepared, and the blister package IB may be cooled by the cooling roll 42. The blister package IB may be cooled from both sides.

In the second embodiment configured in this way, the sheet 1 and the sill foil 15 are sealed by the same process as in the first embodiment to produce a blister package IB, and then the cooling roll of the cooling means 21 is This blister package IB is placed on the circumferential surface of 42.
The blister package IB is cooled by attaching the blister package IB. Thereafter, as in the first embodiment, the cooled blister package IB is sent to the bending means 22, and the blister package IB is bent by the bending means 22 to correct the curl.
Furthermore, the unit packaging body I is trimmed by the trimming mechanism 23.
Mold C.

The second embodiment also has the same effects as the first embodiment.

Next, an experimental example will be explained in order to confirm the effects of the first and second embodiments.

Experimental conditions ■ Thermoplastic resin sheet Idemitsu Purelay MG-200 (polypropylene) 0.2
5m+* (thickness) x215 am (width) x300
m (length) ■Blister packaging machine Idemitsu MD-550 (indirect heating special drum vacuum forming method)
■ Nine molds for the blister forming drum ■ Seal foil Aluminum foil for CPP (manufactured by Nippon Foil) ■ Molding conditions Molding speed 5 m/sin Sealing temperature 210°C The results of experiments conducted under conditions of over 210°C are shown in the table below. Shown in 1,
Here, the curl amount in Table 1 is shown in FIG. 6 (a
+b) (Peng)/2.

Table 1 According to Table 1, it can be seen that when the blister package was cooled by a cooling roll or by regular spraying, the amount of curl was small even after a long time after punching out the unit package. In particular, it can be seen that the effect of blowing cold air is remarkable according to -.

In the above example, a polypropylene sheet was used as the thermoplastic resin sheet 1, but in the present invention, a sheet other than this, such as a polypropylene-based or polyvinyl chloride-based composite sheet, is used for Bliss packaging. It can also be applied to

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention as described above, there is an effect that curling occurs less over time.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the second embodiment, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a unit package punched out from a blister package, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the unit package is curled. .

1...Thermoplastic resin film, sheets, IA...
Pocket, IB...Blister package, IC...Unit package, 7...Forming means, 8...Blister forming drum, 14...Sealing means, 15...Metal V3 type seal Foil, 21... Cooling means, 22... Curving means, 26... Cooling cone, 28... Rotating drive drum, 31... Roll for rolling, 41... Straightening device, 4
2...Cooling roll.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) After supplying the object to be packaged into each pocket of a row of pockets opened on one side of a continuous thermoplastic resin film or sheet, the open side of the pocket containing the object is covered with metal foil. A method for correcting curls that occur in a blister package produced by sealing, the method comprising: cooling the blister package produced by sealing the thermoplastic resin film, sheet, and metal foil; A method for straightening a curl of a blister package, comprising: bending the blister package in a direction opposite to the direction of the curl of the blister package. (2) The method for straightening curls in a blister package according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic resin film or sheet is a polypropylene film or sheet. (3) After supplying the object to be packaged into each pocket of the row of pockets opened on one side of the continuous thermoplastic resin film or sheet, the open side of the pocket containing the object is covered with metal foil. An apparatus for straightening curls that occur in a blister package produced by sealing, a cooling means for cooling the blister package produced by sealing the thermoplastic resin film, sheet, and metal foil; A curl straightening device for a blister package, comprising a bending means for bending the blister package in a direction opposite to the direction of the curl of the blister package. (4) In claim 3, the bending means includes a rotary drive drum whose peripheral surface is made of a hard elastic material and has a concave portion corresponding to the pocket of the blister package; A blister package comprising: a rolling roll that partially bites into a hard elastic body on the circumferential surface, presses against the rotational drive drum, and allows the blister package to pass through the rotational drive drum while being held therebetween. Curl straightening device.