WO2023145221A1

WO2023145221A1 - Stackable metal cup

Info

Publication number: WO2023145221A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/043201
Authority: WO
Inventors: 健村瀬; 章太田中; 信宏篠島; 江利華佐藤
Original assignee: 東洋製罐株式会社
Priority date: 2022-01-25
Filing date: 2022-11-22
Publication date: 2023-08-03
Also published as: JP7342981B2; TW202330358A; JP2023155313A; JP2023108496A

Abstract

A stackable metal cup 1 includes: a body section 3 that has a hollow shape opened at the upper portion and has an inner diameter D of the upper end that is greater than the outer diameter of the lower end, the body section being shaped so as to incline from the top to bottom; and a bottom section 7 provided with a ground-contacting portion 5 that is continuous with the lower end of the body section 3 via a curvature region R. An upper region A1 has a height of 70%-100%, where the height H from the ground-contacting portion 5 to the upper end is 100%, and the upper region includes at least one inflection point α at which the angle of inclination of the body section 3 relative to a vertical plane changes.

Description

stackable metal cup

The present invention relates to stackable metal cups that can be stacked and stored.

Traditionally, paper and plastic cups were widely used as cup-shaped vessels for drinking. This is because vessels molded from these materials are lightweight, easy to mold, inexpensive, and suitable for disposable use. However, in recent years, metal cups have been attracting attention from the environmental point of view such as resource depletion and garbage problems. This is because metal cups have higher strength and durability than cups made of paper or plastic, are suitable for repeated use, and can greatly reduce the depletion of resources and the generation of waste.

By the way, such metal cups are often used for drinking alcoholic beverages such as beer, for example, and have the size of so-called small to large mugs. In order to hold it, it has a configuration in which the inner diameter of the opening at the upper end is set larger than the outer diameter of the bottom. A metal cup having such a shape has two or three steps in the middle of the body portion, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. In addition, as described in Patent Document 2, in order to make the inner diameter of the opening at the upper end larger than the outer diameter of the bottom portion, the trunk portion can be formed as a tapered inclined wall. About two steps are formed on the body wall (inclined wall). In any form of the metal cups, when a plurality of cups are stacked, the body walls are prevented from coming into close contact with each other, so that the stacked metal cups can be smoothly taken in and out.

That is, in the metal cups of Patent Documents 1 and 2, since a step is formed in the barrel wall, the outer surface of the barrel wall of the upper cup that is stacked and the barrel of the lower cup that holds it are separated. A space is formed between the inner surface of the cup and the inner wall of the cup, and the portion where the cups are in close contact with each other is greatly reduced.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2015-506842 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-155121

By the way, with the development of metal processing technology in recent years, it has become possible to achieve ultra-thin metal cans such as aluminum cans by drawing and ironing. Resource saving has been achieved. However, while such thinning of the body wall brings about the advantages as described above, it also brings about a problem that the strength is lowered, the metal cup is easily deformed, and stackability is impaired.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a stackable metal cup that effectively prevents deterioration of stackability due to deformation of the metal cup.

According to the present invention, the body has a hollow shape with an open top, the inner diameter of the upper end is larger than the outer diameter of the lower end, and the shape slopes downward from the top; A stackable metal cup having a bottom portion with a grounding portion connected to the lower end via a curvature portion,
Assuming that the height H from the grounding portion to the upper end is 100%, the upper region A1 having a height of 70% to 100% has at least one inflection point α where the inclination angle with respect to the vertical plane of the trunk changes. A stackable metal cup is provided comprising:

The following aspects are preferably employed in the stackable metal cup of the present invention.
(1) At least one inflection point α at which the inclination angle of the body portion changes is formed in the lower region A2 having a height of 40% or less.
(2) The tilt angle difference Δθ defining the inflection point α is 25 degrees or less.
(3) At least four inflection point portions α at which the inclination angle of the body portion changes are formed in the intermediate region A3 between the upper region A1 and the lower region A2.
(4) The inflection point α is an intersection of a reference vertical wall having an inclination angle of 2 degrees or less with respect to the vertical plane and an inclined wall having an inclination angle difference Δθ with respect to the reference vertical wall.
(5) The tilt angle difference Δθ defining the inflection point α formed in the intermediate region A3 is the tilt defining the inflection point α present in the upper region A1 and the lower region A2. It must be smaller than the angular difference Δθ.
(6) The tilt angle difference Δθ defining the inflection point α formed in the intermediate region A3 is 10 degrees or less.
(7) The height H from the grounding portion to the upper end is in the range of 90 to 150 mm, and the inner diameter of the upper end of the opening is in the range of 65 to 95 mm.

In the metal cup of the present invention, the inner diameter of the upper end of the body is set larger than the outer diameter of the lower end as a whole, thereby ensuring stackability. The inflection point .alpha. caused by the change in inclination angle (that is, the difference in inclination angle) increases the resistance of the body wall to the pressure from the circumferential direction and suppresses the shape change. That is, in the present invention, one or more such inflection point portions α are formed in the upper region A1 (the region whose height is 70% to 100%). For this reason, the upper end of the metal cup is difficult to deform. For example, even if the lower portion is deformed, the shape of the upper end of the opening is not deformed, so stackability is not impaired. This is the greatest advantage of the present invention.

In addition, in the metal cup suitable for the present invention, one or more inflection point portions α as described above are also formed in the lower region A2 (the region where the height is 40% or less). That is, the lower region A2 is also less likely to be deformed, and in addition to the upper end portion of the opening, the lower end portion is also less likely to be deformed. In short, since the shape of the upper portion and the lower portion, which are most important for ensuring the stackability, are hardly deformed, the stackability is more stably ensured.

Furthermore, in the most preferred form of the present invention, four or more inflection point portions α as described above are also formed in the intermediate region A3 between the upper region A1 and the lower region A2. The angle difference Δθ that defines such an inflection point α is smaller than the angle difference Δθ between the upper region A1 and the lower region A2, and is a level difference that can be slightly felt by touch, for example. That is, the intermediate area A3 is a portion where the metal cup is frequently gripped. Since this region is the portion where deformation occurs most frequently, it is better to provide many inflection point portions α. The inflection point portion is large enough to be clearly recognized as a step. Gender is lost. Also, when stacked, the cups that are stacked on top of each other may rattle, which may impair the stability of the stack. Therefore, in the intermediate region A3, an inflection point α is formed by a slight angle difference that is difficult to recognize as a step, thereby improving the strength while preventing the above inconvenience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The schematic sectional side view which shows an example of the metal cup of this invention, and the partial expanded sectional view of a trunk|drum. A partially enlarged photograph of an intermediate region A3 showing an example of the metal cup of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the metal cup of the present invention, indicated generally by 1, comprises a body 3 and a bottom 7 with a grounding portion 5. As shown in FIG. A curled portion 9 is usually formed at the upper end of the body portion 3 so that sharp edges are not exposed to the outside. Also, the lower end of the trunk portion 3 is connected to the ground portion 5 via the curvature portion R. As shown in FIG.
Although the bottom portion 7 may be flat, it usually has a dome-shaped depression in the central portion, and the peripheral edge of the dome-shaped depression serves as the grounding portion 5 . With such a configuration, the metal cup 1 has high resistance to buckling.
The body portion 3 forms a hollow portion 10 with an open upper end, which is closed by a bottom portion 7 to accommodate a liquid such as a beverage, depending on the application.

In the above-mentioned metal cup 1, in order to ensure stackability, the opening diameter D at the upper end of the hollow portion 10 (that is, the inner diameter at the upper end of the body portion 3) is larger than the outer diameter d at the lower end, and gradually increases downward. Inclined.

The metal that is the constituent material of the metal cup 1 may be various metals or alloy materials, such as aluminum, copper, iron, or alloys containing these metals, tin-plated steel sheets such as tinplate, It may be a surface-treated steel plate such as an aluminum plate subjected to a chemical conversion treatment. In general, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, aluminum alloys, etc. are suitable, and aluminum or its alloys are particularly suitable from the viewpoint of lightness and workability.
Furthermore, the inner surface of the metal cup 1 may be laminated with an organic resin coating. Organic resin coatings include coatings derived from paints such as acrylic paints, urethane paints, silicon paints, and fluorine paints, and thermoplastic resins such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which are resistant to corrosion and harsh. It is provided to suppress surface roughness during molding. Of course, the organic resin coating may also be formed on the outer surface.

Such a metal cup 1 can be molded using, for example, a thin metal base plate (the inner surface and the outer surface may also be coated with the above-described organic resin). .
For example, when an organic resin film is formed, punching, drawing, redrawing and ironing are performed, and doming is performed on the bottom almost at the same time, followed by heat treatment of the trimmed portion (preventing film peeling), trimming, and curling. , a redrawing process in which the side wall is inclined, a heat treatment process (resin strain removal and wax removal), outer surface printing, heat treatment, and the like are performed.
In addition, when the organic film resin is not formed, punching, drawing, redrawing and ironing are performed, doming is performed on the bottom almost at the same time, trimming, washing and drying, curling, and sidewalls are inclined again. Drawing process, outer surface printing, heat treatment, etc. are performed.

In the metal cup 1 as described above, the thickness of the center portion of the bottom portion 7 corresponds to the thickness of the base plate used for molding the cup 1, and varies depending on the use of the cup 1, but is generally 0.10 to 0.10. It has a thickness of 50 mm, and the thickness of the body portion 3 and the height H of the cup 1 (the height from the ground contact portion 5 to the upper end of the body portion 3) vary depending on the degree of rigoring, and the squeezing rate is gradually increased. As the ironing process is performed in multiple stages, the thickness of the body portion 3 is reduced and the height H is increased. Especially in recent years, this thinning has become remarkable, and the metal cup 1 of the present invention has the following form so as to be able to cope with such thinning.

As shown in FIG. 1, the trunk portion 3 has many portions where the inclination angle (angle with respect to the vertical plane) changes. α is produced. When the angle difference Δθ is large, the inflection point α is clearly visible as a step. Such an inflection point α exhibits resistance to stress from the circumferential outer surface of the trunk portion 3 of the metal cup 1 and effectively suppresses deformation of the trunk portion 3 .
In the following description, the term "tilt angle" means an angle with respect to a vertical plane unless otherwise specified.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 1, the reference vertical wall has an angle of inclination to the vertical plane of 2 degrees or less, in particular 1 degree or less, preferably 0.5 degrees or less (i.e. the angle of inclination is approximately zero). 3a and an inclined wall 3b having an angle difference Δθ from the reference vertical wall 3a are alternately connected to form a plurality of inflection point portions α. In this case, the inclination angle of the reference vertical wall 3a is smaller than the angle difference Δθ. The angular difference Δθ (that is, the angular difference from the reference vertical wall 3a) is in the range of 25 degrees or less, and the angular differences Δθ forming the plurality of inflection point portions α may be uniformly the same, Different values may be used provided that the tilt angle is 25 degrees or less.

In the present invention, the inclination angle of the body portion 3 with respect to the vertical plane and the angle difference Δθ with the vertical wall 3a are, of course, on the condition that the opening diameter D at the upper end of the hollow portion 10 is larger than the outer diameter d at the lower end. However, if it is set larger than necessary, the outer diameter d of the lower end becomes smaller than necessary, or the number of inflection point portions α (steps) is limited. Furthermore, the flatness of the outer surface of the body portion 3 is impaired, and the printability and label pasting properties are impaired. From this point of view, the inclination angle (angle with respect to the vertical plane) of the trunk 3 is set to 7 degrees or less, and the angle difference Δθ is set to 5 degrees or less, particularly 1 degree or less, most preferably 0.5 degrees or less. preferably. Thereby, the number of inflection point portions α can be appropriately increased. For example, it is undesirable to form an inflection point with a horizontally recessed recess.

The metal cup 1 provided with the body portion 3 having the inflection point α as described above has an upper region A1 whose height is 70% to 100% when the height H of the body portion 3 is 100%. , a lower area A2 whose height is 40% or less of H, and an intermediate area A3 between these areas A1 and A2. In the present invention, the inflection point α due to the angle difference Δθ is distributed in each of these regions.

First, in the upper region A1, at least one, preferably two to four inflection point portions α are formed due to the angle difference Δθ of the inclination angle of the body portion 3. As shown in FIG. As a result, the strength of the upper region A1 can be increased, deformation of the upper end portion of the hollow opening 10 can be effectively suppressed, and stackability can be ensured.

Also, in the lower region A2, it is desirable to form at least one, preferably three to five inflection point portions α caused by the angle difference Δθ of the inclination angle of the trunk portion 3. As a result, not only the upper region A1 but also the lower region A2 can be strengthened, deformation of the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the hollow opening 10 can be effectively suppressed, and stackability can be ensured more reliably. . That is, when stacking, not only the receiving of the metal cup 1 but also the insertion of the metal cup 1 can be performed smoothly.

The angle difference Δθ between the upper region A1 and the lower region A2 is set to 25 degrees or less as described above.
In FIG. 1, the reference vertical wall 3a having a very small inclination angle (or zero inclination angle) with respect to the vertical plane and the inclined wall 3b having an angle difference Δθ with respect to the reference vertical wall 3a are alternately connected. However, as long as the angle difference .DELTA..theta. may have been In this case, an inflection point α is also formed between the tapered wall and the inclined wall 3b and between the tapered wall and the reference vertical wall 3a.

Furthermore, in the present invention, it is optimal to form at least 4, preferably 6 to 10 inflection point portions α caused by the angle difference Δθ of the inclination angles also in the intermediate region A3. That is, the metal cup 1 is most often used for drinking alcoholic beverages such as beer. Therefore, the portion of the middle area A3 is the portion that is most strongly gripped and easily deformed. Therefore, in order to strengthen this portion, it is preferable to form the above number of inflection point portions α. In addition, since the intermediate region A3 has a large area, if this portion is flat, when the metal cups 1 are stacked, the region where the upper and lower cups 1 that are overlapped will be in close contact with each other. is likely to decline. It is preferable to form a large number of inflection point portions α in order to avoid such deterioration in stackability.

By the way, referring also to FIG. For this reason, this portion is very frequently printed or a label or the like is affixed. Therefore, high smoothness is required in this area. From this point of view, it is preferable that the angle difference Δθ in the inclination angle in the intermediate region A3 is smaller than that in the upper region A1 and the lower region A2. In particular, it is desirable to be 1 degree or less, most preferably 0.5 degree or less. As can be understood from FIG. 2, the inflection point α due to such a small angle difference indicates a slight step that can be recognized by touch. It is inferior to the inflection point part α in the area A2. However, even an inflection point α due to such a small angle difference is sufficient in terms of ensuring stackability, and moreover, setting a large number of inflection point portions α (adjacent inflection points This is the most preferable mode because it is possible to increase the strength to some extent by reducing the distance between the portions α.

As described above, the metal cup 1 of the present invention described above is often used in place of a mug for drinking beer, so the height H is in the range of 90 to 150 mm, and the upper end of the opening Most preferably, the inner diameter is in the range 65-95 mm, especially 70-90 mm.
In the above example, the curled portion 9 is formed at the upper end, but a horizontal flange or the like is formed instead of the curled portion 9, and after containing food etc., a lid material is provided by heat sealing or the like and used. You can also In this case, when the used cup is used repeatedly, it is advantageous for its storage.
Also, after the metal cup 1 is filled with a beverage or the like, it may be used as a can with a lid attached. The lid member may be any type such as a stay-on tab lid made of metal, a laminated sheet, a screw lid, or the like.
When the lid member is used as a stay-on tab lid and is seamed to the upper end of the barrel, the upper end of the barrel of the container may be trimmed for seaming and then flanged to form a planar portion. .
When the lid member is adhered to the upper end of the barrel by heat or the like as a laminated sheet, the upper end of the barrel of the container may be shaped to have a planar portion in order to secure the adhesion area. As the sheet composed of a laminate, a laminate having a layer made of an adhesive such as a known sealant film, a lacquer type adhesive, an easy peel adhesive, or a hot melt adhesive is employed as the heat adhesive layer. be able to.
When the lid member is screw-fixed to the upper end of the barrel, the upper end of the barrel of the container may have threads, and a spout-equipped lid member having a separate screw thread for screw-fixing the screw lid. may be seamed around the upper end of the body of the container. By matching the attachment form of the lid member, the efficiency of storing and transporting the container portion can be improved regardless of the type of lid member.

1: Metal cup 3: Body part R: Curvature part 5: Ground part 7: Bottom part 9: Curl part 10: Hollow space α: Inflection point part

Claims

It has a hollow shape with an open upper part, the inner diameter of the upper end is larger than the outer diameter of the lower end, and the body has a shape that slopes downward from the top, and the lower end of the body has a curved part. A stackable metal cup having a bottom portion with a continuous ground portion,
Assuming that the height H from the grounding portion to the upper end is 100%, the upper region A1 having a height of 70% to 100% has at least one inflection point α where the inclination angle with respect to the vertical plane of the trunk changes. A stackable metal cup comprising:
The stackable metal cup according to claim 1, wherein at least one inflection point α where the inclination angle of the body changes is formed in the lower region A2 whose height is 40% or less.
The stackable metal cup according to claim 1, wherein the inclination angle difference Δθ defining the inflection point α is 25 degrees or less.
The stackable metal cup according to claim 1, wherein at least four inflection point portions α where the inclination angle of the body portion changes are formed in an intermediate region A3 between the upper region A1 and the lower region A2.
2. The inflection point α according to claim 1, wherein a reference vertical wall having an inclination angle of 2 degrees or less with respect to a vertical plane and an inclined wall having an inclination angle difference Δθ with respect to the reference vertical wall intersect. Stackable metal cup.
The inclination angle difference Δθ that defines the inflection point α formed in the intermediate region A3 is all the inclination angle difference Δθ that defines the inflection point α that exists in the upper region A1 and the lower region A2. 5. The stackable metal cup of claim 4, which is smaller than.
The stackable metal cup according to claim 6, wherein the inclination angle difference Δθ defining the inflection point α formed in the intermediate region A3 is 10 degrees or less.
The stackable metal cup according to claim 1, wherein the height H from the grounding portion to the upper end is in the range of 90 to 150 mm, and the inner diameter of the upper end of the opening is in the range of 65 to 95 mm.