JP7519872B2 - Refill container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a refillable container capable of holding liquid.

Conventionally, refill containers are known for refilling liquids inside dedicated containers that contain liquids such as cleaning liquids. These refill containers need to be constructed at a lower cost than dedicated containers, so a liquid storage space is formed between a top sheet and a back sheet that are made by overlapping flexible films (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The refill container described in Patent Document 1 has a folded section in which the sealant layers of a top sheet and a back sheet, each having a base material and a sealant layer, are opposed to each other and bonded around the periphery, and a planned opening line is provided in this folded section. The top sheet and back sheet connected to the folded section are bonded to each other at a spout seal section that extends vertically inward from the lateral adhesive section of the folded section, and further have an adhesive section that bends from the spout seal section and extends outward at an angle. A linear outflow path is ensured by the folded section where the sealant layer is folded and the spout seal section.

JP 2011-148505 A

However, in the refill container described in Patent Document 1, the adhesive area that is bent and inclined outward from the pouring outlet seal acts as a barrier, making it easy for the liquid to stagnate before it flows into the outflow path, leaving room for improvement in terms of increasing the pouring speed.

Therefore, there is a demand for a refill container that can increase the injection speed with a simple configuration.

A refillable container according to one aspect of the present invention is a refillable container comprising a rectangular top sheet and a rectangular back sheet forming a storage space capable of storing liquid between the top sheet and the rectangular back sheet, and comprising a first side adhesive region and a second side adhesive region formed by bonding a pair of side portions of the top sheet and the back sheet, and a cut-out portion in which a liquid pouring port is formed by cutting one end of the first side adhesive region, wherein the top edges of the top sheet and the back sheet leading to the liquid pouring port are formed in a straight line, and the first side adhesive region faces the top edge and is inclined in a straight line so as to move away from the top edge as it moves away from the liquid pouring port. The present invention has a curved region consisting of a first straight portion and a second straight portion that is bent from an end of the first straight portion opposite the liquid pouring port and extends in a straight line toward the outside, the upper edge of the top sheet and the upper edge of the back sheet are not bonded, and when a virtual vertex located on the innermost side of the curved region and a side edge of the top sheet and the back sheet that is perpendicular to an apex perpendicular line passing through the virtual vertex on the outermost side of the first lateral adhesive region are defined as a virtual outer edge, the length of the base of the curved region is greater than or equal to one-third and less than or equal to one-half of the length of the virtual outer edge of the top sheet and the back sheet .

In this refill container, the top edges of the front sheet and back sheet leading to the pouring port are formed in a straight line, and a curved region is provided with a first straight portion that is inclined in a straight line so that it moves away from the top edge the further it is from the pouring port. This reduces the flow path area leading to the pouring port as it approaches the pouring port, increasing the pouring speed and allowing for rapid refilling of liquid. Moreover, the simple configuration of providing a curved region makes it possible to increase the pouring speed, and therefore the container can be manufactured at low cost.

In addition, the bent region has a second straight portion that is bent from the end of the first straight portion opposite the inlet and extends linearly outward, so that the liquid in the storage space can be converged to the inlet via the inclination of the first straight portion. Furthermore, if the length of the base of the bent region is set to be between one-third and one-half of the length of the imaginary outer side, the liquid at the bottom of the container can be smoothly guided to the inlet. The ratio of the length of the base is set to one-third or more in order to smoothly guide the liquid at the bottom of the container from the second straight portion to the inlet via the inclination of the first straight portion to increase the inlet speed, and is set to one-half or less in order to prevent the bent region from becoming too large and reducing the liquid storage capacity.

In this way, we have been able to provide a refill container that can increase the injection speed with a simple configuration.

As another configuration , it is preferable that the angle between the imaginary outer side and the first straight line portion is equal to or greater than 30 degrees and equal to or less than 60 degrees.

In this way, the injection speed can be further improved by setting the angle between the imaginary outer edge and the first straight section. This angle is set to 30 degrees or more so that the length of the first straight section is not excessively long, and is set to 60 degrees or less to ensure a moderate inclination gradient of the first straight section and increase the injection speed.

As another configuration, it is preferable that the angle between the virtual outer edge and the second straight line portion is greater than or equal to 20 degrees and less than or equal to 50 degrees.

In this way, by setting the angle between the imaginary outer edge and the second straight portion, the liquid at the bottom of the container can be smoothly guided to the pouring port. This angle is set to 20 degrees or more so that the length of the second straight portion is not excessively long, and is set to 50 degrees or less so that the second straight portion does not become a barrier causing liquid to stagnate.

In another configuration, it is preferable that the boundary between the first straight portion and the second straight portion is sharp.

In this way, if the boundary between the first straight portion and the second straight portion is sharp, it is easy to form the refill container, since it is only necessary to cut a triangle from the rectangular sheet.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a refill container according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front view of the refill container according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a front view of a refill container according to a second embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front view of a refill container according to Comparative Example 1. FIG. 11 is a front view of a refill container according to Comparative Example 2. FIG. 13 is an enlarged front view of a refill container according to another embodiment (1).

Below, an embodiment of a refill container according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a refill container X containing a liquid such as a cleaning liquid will be described as an example of a refill container. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, refill container X is formed of a multi-layer film in which films containing synthetic resins are laminated. In the following description, the upper side of the paper in Figure 2 may be referred to as the upward direction, and the lower side of the paper may be referred to as the downward direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refill container X has a top sheet 1 and a back sheet 2 that forms a storage space S between the top sheet 1 and the back sheet 2 that can store liquid. This refill container X is used when there is no liquid or only a small amount of liquid inside a dedicated container Y made of a hard resin or the like, by tilting the refill container X so that the liquid pouring port 3 faces the mouth 4 of the dedicated container Y, and transferring the liquid in the storage space S to the dedicated container Y.

The top sheet 1 and the back sheet 2 are both made of the same material and are formed of a multilayer film made by laminating films containing synthetic resin. In this embodiment, the multilayer film is made of PE (polyethylene)/aluminum/PET (polyethylene terephthalate) from the inner layer to the outer layer, and the upper edge 15 of the upper region 1A where the liquid inlet 3 is formed is formed by folding back the multilayer film. The material of the multilayer film is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a combination of at least two of PE and aluminum, or PE and PET.

2 and 3, the refill container X in this embodiment is formed in a rectangular shape with a length (top and bottom) of 110 mm and a width (left and right) of 65 mm (L = 110 mm x D2 = 65 mm) when viewed from the front. In other words, the refill container X has a rectangular top sheet 1 and a rectangular back sheet 2 that forms a storage space S capable of storing liquid between the top sheet 1 and the back sheet 2. This refill container X has a first side adhesive region 11 and a second side adhesive region 12 formed by bonding a pair of side parts of the top sheet 1 and the back sheet 2 by heat welding or the like, a bottom adhesive region 13 formed by bonding the bottom parts of the bottom of the top sheet 1 and the back sheet 2 by heat welding or the like, and a cut-out portion 14 in which the liquid pouring port 3 is formed by cutting one end of the first side adhesive region 11.

As described above, the upper region 1A of the refill container X is formed by folding back a multilayer film, and therefore the upper edge 15 is not glued, ensuring a flow path leading to the liquid inlet 3. The upper edges 15 of the top sheet 1 and back sheet 2 leading to the liquid inlet 3 are formed in a straight line parallel to the bottom adhesive region 13. With this configuration, a storage space S for storing liquid is formed in the inner region surrounded by the upper edges 15, the first side adhesive region 11, the second side adhesive region 12, and the bottom adhesive region 13. When transferring the liquid in this storage space S to the dedicated container Y, the cut-out portion 14 of the refill container X is removed to open the liquid inlet 3 (see also FIG. 1).

The first side adhesive region 11 has a bent region 5 consisting of a first straight portion 51 that faces the upper side 15 and is inclined in a linear manner so as to move away from the upper side 15 as it moves away from the inlet 3, and a second straight portion 52 that is bent from the end of the first straight portion 51 opposite the inlet 3 and extends linearly outward. The bent region 5 according to this embodiment is sharpened at the boundary between the first straight portion 51 and the second straight portion 52, and is formed as a straight band with a width of about 5 mm. The first side adhesive region 11 is formed as a straight band with a width of about 5 mm that is all parallel except for the bent region 5. The second side adhesive region 12 and the bottom adhesive region 13 are formed as straight bands with a width of about 5 mm that are all parallel. The bent region 5 is formed by heat welding the first straight portion 51 and the second straight portion 52 to form a straight band, and then removing the triangular removal portion 16, so that the bent region 5 is composed of a pair of oblique sides excluding the base. Due to this configuration, the bent region 5 according to this embodiment is easy to mold.

The shortest distance D1 between the virtual vertex P1 at the innermost side of the bend region 5 and the first virtual outer side La (an example of a virtual outer side that is a side edge of the top sheet 1 and the back sheet 2) that is at the outermost side of the first lateral adhesive region 11 and perpendicular to the apex perpendicular line Lv passing through the virtual vertex P1 is at least one-fifth and not more than one-half (1/5≦D1/D2≦1/2) of the shortest distance D2 between the first virtual outer side La and the second virtual outer side Lb that is at the outermost side of the second lateral adhesive region 12 and parallel to the first virtual outer side La. In this embodiment, since the first lateral adhesive region 11 and the second lateral adhesive region 12 are formed as straight bands, the first virtual outer side La and the second virtual outer side Lb coincide with the respective outer sides.

1, when the liquid in the storage space S flows toward the inlet 3, the liquid flows along the second straight section 52 and then the first straight section 51 while the flow path area is gradually reduced. If D1/D2 is set to 1/5 or more, the liquid injection speed increases. On the other hand, if D1/D2 is too large, the liquid in the storage space S at the bottom of the container will not flow easily to the upper region 1A, and it will also be difficult to store an appropriate amount of liquid in the storage space S at the bottom of the container. Therefore, it is preferable to set D1/D2 to 1/2 or less. In other words, the ratio of D1/D2 is set to 1/5 or more to properly secure the flow path leading to the inlet 3, and to 1/2 or less to smoothly converge the liquid in the storage space S to the inlet 3 and to secure the liquid storage amount. In the example of FIG. 2, D1 = 25 mm, D2 = 65 mm, and D1/D2 = 5/13. In the example of Figure 3, D1 = 22.95 mm, D2 = 65 mm, and D1/D2 = approximately 0.35.

The length L1 of the base of the bent region 5 is greater than or equal to one-third and less than or equal to one-half (1/3≦L1/L≦1/2) of the length L (first imaginary outer side La) of the first imaginary outer side La of the top sheet 1 and the back sheet 2. Here, the base of the bent region 5 refers to the base when the first straight portion 51 and the second straight portion 52 of the bent region 5 are regarded as the hypotenuse of a virtual triangle.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the liquid in the storage space S flows toward the inlet 3, the liquid flows along the second straight section 52 and then along the first straight section 51 while the flow path area is gradually reduced. If L1/L is set to one third or more, the liquid injection speed will increase. On the other hand, if L1/L is set too large, it becomes difficult to accommodate an appropriate amount of liquid in the storage space S at the bottom of the container, so it is preferable to set L1/L to one half or less. In other words, the ratio of L1/L is set to one third or more in order to smoothly guide the liquid from the second straight section 52 to the inlet 3 via the inclination of the first straight section 51 into the storage space S at the bottom of the container and increase the injection speed, and is set to one half or less so that the bent region 5 does not become too large and the liquid storage capacity does not decrease. In the example of FIG. 2, L1 = 44 mm, L = 110 mm, and L1/L = 2/5. In the example of Figure 3, L1 = 49 mm, L = 110 mm, and L1/L = approximately 0.45.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the angle A between the first imaginary outer side La and the first straight portion 51 is 30 degrees or more and 60 degrees or less. The angle B between the first imaginary outer side La and the second straight portion 52 is 20 degrees or more and 50 degrees or less. The angle A is set to 30 degrees or more so that the length of the first straight portion 51 is not excessive, and is set to 60 degrees or less to ensure a moderate inclination gradient of the first straight portion 51 and increase the liquid injection speed. The angle B is set to 20 degrees or more so that the length of the second straight portion 52 is not excessive, and is set to 50 degrees or less so that the second straight portion 52 does not become a barrier and liquid does not stagnate. In the example of Fig. 2, the angle A is set to 55 degrees, and the angle B is set to 35 degrees. In the example of Fig. 3, the angle A is set to 55 degrees, and the angle B is set to 25 degrees. By setting D1/D2, the angle A, and the angle B to the above values, the length L1 of the base of the bent region 5 along the first imaginary outer side La is 44 mm in the example of FIG. 2, and 49 mm in the example of FIG. 3.

The cut-out portion 14 has a notch 14a formed in the first straight portion 51 at a position about 10 mm from the first imaginary outer edge La, and by breaking in the vertical direction from this notch 14a, a liquid inlet 3 is formed that is approximately parallel to the straight band of the first side adhesive region 11. This cut-out portion 14 may have a cut line 31 that becomes the liquid inlet 3 when cut. This cut line 31 may be a thin line, perforation, a group of scars, etc. that is formed continuously from the notch 14a formed in the first straight portion 51 and parallel to the straight band of the first side adhesive region 11. By forming a straight band in the first side adhesive region 11, the liquid at the bottom of the container can be smoothly guided along the second straight portion 52 and the first straight portion 51 to the liquid inlet 3. In addition, the cross-sectional area of the liquid inlet 3 is minimized by the cut line 31 that is parallel to this straight band, so the liquid that flows through the inclined first straight portion 51 of the bent region 5 is forcefully ejected from the liquid inlet 3, further improving the liquid inlet speed.

Below, we will explain a comparative experiment of the injection time using the refill container X according to this embodiment shown in Figures 2 and 3 and the refill container according to the comparative example shown in Figures 4 and 5.

Examples 1 to 3 have almost the same shape as the refill container X shown in FIG. 2, with L1=44 mm, L=110 mm, and L1/L=2/5. By varying the position of the virtual vertex P1, Example 1 has D1=25 mm (D1/D2=5/13), Example 2 has D1=32 mm (D1/D2=approximately 1/2), and Example 3 has D1=16 mm (D1/D2=approximately 1/4). As a result, in Examples 1 to 3, the angle A between the first virtual outer side La and the first straight line portion 510 is 55 degrees, 59 degrees, and 35 degrees, respectively, and the angle B between the first virtual outer side La and the second straight line portion 520 is 35 degrees, 49 degrees, and 20 degrees. Example 4 is the refill container X shown in FIG. 3 itself.

4 and 5, the refillable containers in Comparative Examples 1 and 2 are formed in a rectangular shape with a length (top and bottom) of 110 mm and a width (left and right) of 65 mm when viewed from the front, similar to the above-mentioned embodiment, and a first straight portion 510 corresponding to the above-mentioned first straight portion 51 extends perpendicularly from the first side adhesive region 11. In addition, the refillable containers in Comparative Examples 1 and 2 have D1 = 25 mm, D2 = 65 mm, so D1/D2 = 5/13, L1 = 44 mm, L = 110 mm, so L1/L = 2/5, and the angle A between the first imaginary outer side La and the first straight portion 510 = 90 degrees. In addition, in Comparative Example 1, the angle B between the first imaginary outer side La and the second straight line portion 520 is 25 degrees, and in Comparative Example 2, a straight line parallel to the first lateral adhesive region 11 is provided at the intersection of the first straight line portion 510 and the second straight line portion 520, and the angle B between the first imaginary outer side La and the second straight line portion 520 is 28 degrees.

10 ml of water was placed in each of the refillable container X of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 (Examples 1 to 3), the refillable container X of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3 (Example 4), and the refillable containers of Comparative Examples 1 and 2 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and the notch was broken in the vertical direction. The refillable container X was then rotated 135 degrees, and the time required for all of the content liquid to move to the empty dedicated container Y shown in FIG. 1 was measured three times. The average value is shown in Table 1.

As shown in Table 1, the refill container X shown in FIG. 2 (first embodiment) and FIG. 3 (second embodiment) in this embodiment has a liquid injection speed that is about 1.8 times faster than that of Comparative Example 1 and about 1.7 times faster than that of Comparative Example 2. Comparing Example 1 and Comparative Example 1, it can be seen that, although L1/L and D1/D2 are similar, Example 1 has a significantly increased liquid injection speed by providing a bent region 5 in which the first straight portion 51 is inclined and the inclination angle of the second straight portion 52 is increased. Comparing Example 4 and Comparative Example 1, it can be seen that, although the inclination angle of the second straight portion 52 is similar in Example 4, the liquid injection speed is significantly increased by providing a bent region 5 in which the first straight portion 51 is inclined. Comparing Examples 2 to 3 and Comparative Example 2, it can be seen that, even if the filling density of the contents is changed by setting D1/D2 near the upper and lower limits between 1/5 and 1/2 in Examples 2 to 3, the liquid injection speed is significantly increased by providing a bent region 5 in which the first straight portion 51 is inclined. In addition, in Comparative Example 2, a straight line parallel to the first side adhesive region 11 was provided at the intersection of the first straight line portion 510 and the second straight line portion 520, which slightly improved the pouring speed compared to Comparative Example 1, but it was proven that providing the bent region 5 as in Examples 1 to 4 had a more significant effect. In this way, by providing a bent region 5 having a first straight line portion 51 that is inclined linearly so that the flow path area expands from the pouring port 3 toward the inside, it is understood that the flow path area leading to the pouring port 3 decreases as the flow path approaches the pouring port 3, thereby increasing the pouring speed and enabling the liquid to be refilled quickly. Moreover, since the pouring speed can be improved by a simple configuration such as providing the bent region 5, it can be manufactured at low cost.

[Other embodiments]
(1) As shown in Fig. 6, the intersection of the first straight portion 51 and the second straight portion 52 may be formed in an arc shape. As described above, Comparative Example 2 in which a straight line parallel to the first lateral adhesive region 11 is provided at the intersection of the first straight portion 510 and the second straight portion 520 has a slightly improved liquid injection speed compared to Comparative Example 1. Therefore, it is expected that the liquid injection speed will also be slightly improved in this embodiment.
(2) The substance contained in the refill container X in the above-described embodiment can be any liquid, such as a cleaning liquid or water.
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the multilayer film is laminated and bonded by heat welding or the like, but the multilayer film may be folded back and bonded by heat welding or the like. In addition, the bonding method is not limited to heat welding, and may be bonding by an adhesive or the like.

The present invention can be used for refillable containers that can hold liquids.

1: Top sheet 2: Back sheet 3: Liquid inlet 5: Bend region 11: First side adhesive region 12: Second side adhesive region 14: Cut-out portion 51: First straight portion 52: Second straight portion A: Angle B between first imaginary outer side and first straight portion: Angle L between first imaginary outer side and second straight portion: Length L1 of imaginary outer side on top sheet and back sheet: Length La of base of bent region: First imaginary outer side (imaginary outer side)
Lv: Vertical line P1: Virtual vertex S: Storage space X: Refill container

Claims (4)

A refillable container comprising a rectangular top sheet and a rectangular back sheet that defines a storage space capable of storing liquid between the top sheet and the back sheet,
A first side adhesive region and a second side adhesive region formed by adhering a pair of side portions of the top sheet and the back sheet;
A cutout portion is provided at one end of the first side adhesive region to form a liquid injection port,
The upper sides of the top sheet and the back sheet leading to the liquid pouring port are formed in a straight line,
the first side adhesive region has a curved region including a first straight portion that faces the upper side and is inclined linearly so as to move away from the upper side as it moves away from the liquid pouring port, and a second straight portion that is bent from an end of the first straight portion on an opposite side to the liquid pouring port and extends linearly outward ,
The upper edge of the top sheet and the upper edge of the back sheet are not bonded to each other,
A refillable container in which the length of the base of the bent region is greater than or equal to one-third and less than or equal to one-half of the length of the imaginary outer edges of the top sheet and back sheet when the side edges of the top sheet and back sheet that are perpendicular to the imaginary vertex at the innermost side of the bent region and the apex perpendicular line passing through the imaginary vertex at the outermost side of the first side adhesive region are defined as imaginary outer edges. 2. The refillable container according to claim 1, wherein the angle between the imaginary outer side and the first straight portion is greater than or equal to 30 degrees and less than or equal to 60 degrees. The refill container according to claim 2, wherein the angle between the imaginary outer edge and the second straight line portion is 20 degrees or more and 50 degrees or less. A refillable container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the boundary between the first straight portion and the second straight portion is sharp.

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