JPH0139948B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a substance that is easily damaged by impact is sealed in a sealed container together with a cushioning material that expands due to reduced pressure and exhibits a buffering effect, and a gas absorbent that absorbs gas in the sealed container. The present invention relates to packaging for easily damaged substances and methods for manufacturing the same.

The purpose of this invention is to package fragile substances so that they will not be damaged, and to prevent them from being damaged during distribution, such as during truck transportation.

Conventionally, fragile substances are packaged by placing them in a container together with a cushioning material and covering it with a lid to prevent it from being damaged by impact or the like. However, when putting the lid on such a package, the contents bulge out from the mouth of the container, so the lid placed on top of it lifts up and must be pushed in to close the lid. It was difficult to mechanically process a large amount of material continuously. In particular, when filling cans, the sealing machine cannot be used to close the cans automatically and must be done manually, resulting in a very inefficient process.

The inventors of the present invention have studied to solve these drawbacks, and have put easily-damaged substances into a closed container together with a cushioning material that expands under reduced pressure and has a buffering effect, and a gas absorbent that absorbs the gas inside the closed container. They discovered that the problem could be solved by enclosing the material within the container, and completed this invention.

In other words, when a perishable substance is placed inside a sealable container, the cushioning material has not yet expanded, so the contents do not bulge out from the mouth of the container and the lid can be easily closed. . Moreover,
After the container is sealed, the gas inside the container is absorbed by the gas absorbent, and as the pressure inside the container becomes reduced, the cushioning material expands and exhibits a buffering effect, which protects fragile substances. Become. At this time, if the gas in the sealed container is replaced in advance with a gas compatible with the gas absorbent, more gas can be absorbed and the package can contain less gas in the sealed container.

The cushioning material used in this invention means that when the pressure is reduced,
It refers to a material that expands and exhibits a cushioning effect, such as a sealed bag containing a small amount of gas, a sponge containing discontinuous cells, etc. These cushioning materials have a small volume under normal pressure, but under reduced pressure, the gas inside the cushioning material expands and increases its volume, creating a cushioning effect like an air pillow. The void is filled with a cushioning material, which also has the effect of fixing the substance contained therein so that it does not move within the container.

Further, a gas absorbent refers to a substance that absorbs gas inside the container when the container is sealed, and a known gas absorbent is used depending on the type of gas inside the container. That is, when the gas in the closed container contains oxygen, for example, gallic acid, iron, aluminum,
If the oxygen absorbent is a mixture of a metal such as magnesium or a metal and an oxidation promoter such as salt or sodium hyposulfite, and contains carbon dioxide gas, it may contain an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal as it is, or an oxide, hydroxide, etc. As a gas absorbent, organic or inorganic acids can be used when ammonia gas is included. These gas absorbents can be used in the form of powder or solution, as they are, or in a suitable container, bag, etc., or attached to a holder, and if necessary, they can be packaged with a packaging material that allows gas to pass through the outer surface. Used as a cover.

Examples of easily damaged substances targeted by this invention include glass products, ceramics, plaster statues, artificial flowers,
It refers to materials that easily break when subjected to impact, such as dolls, and also includes easily damaged foods such as pies, tarts, biscuits, and rice crackers, as well as delicate precision equipment such as electrical appliances, and their parts.

This invention places a cushioning material that exhibits a buffering effect under reduced pressure and a gas absorbent that absorbs gas in the sealed container together with easily breakable substances in a sealable container.
If necessary, this is carried out by replacing the gas in the container with a gas compatible with the gas absorbent and sealing the container.

The container used here is one that can be sealed, prevents outside air from entering when sealed, and has enough strength to withstand even if the internal pressure is reduced. Containers made of metal, glass, plastic, etc. are used as such containers, and can containers are particularly suitable for large-scale processing. Closing the container can be done by any known method depending on the type of container, since the contents will not rise above the top of the container. That is, a device for capping a package that does not include a cushioning material, such as a bottle capping machine or a can seaming machine, can be used, and large-scale continuous processing is also possible.

To replace the gas in a container with a gas compatible with the gas absorbent, fill the container with the gas in the gas atmosphere and seal the lid. One method is to blow out the gas through a nozzle to expel the air inside the container, and at the same time fill the container with the gas and then close the lid.The other method is to remove the air in the container in a vacuum. It can also be carried out by a method in which the gas is then introduced and sealed.

Note that when an oxygen absorbent is used as the gas absorbent, it is possible to stably preserve substances that oxidize and substances to which attachment of microorganisms, insects, etc. is undesirable for a long period of time. Furthermore, when packaging such substances, the packaging can be made even more stable by replacing the gas in the container with a gas that does not cause oxidation, such as carbon dioxide.

Immediately after packaging, the packaging body obtained as described above has a weak cushioning effect because the cushioning material has not expanded, but as the gas inside the container is absorbed by the gas absorbent and the internal pressure decreases, the cushioning material expands. It begins to show a buffering effect. Therefore, after sealing the lid, it is desirable to leave it for a while so that the cushioning effect can be fully exerted. Furthermore, by adjusting the type, amount, etc. of the gas absorbent, the buffering effect can be adjusted and the most suitable effect can be obtained.

Next, the present invention will be explained by examples.

Example 1 A circular biscuit 1c, which is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the can, is placed in an empty can 1d together with a gas absorbent (1a: carbon dioxide absorbent) and a buffer material (1b: a bag containing a small amount of air) (Fig. 1). a) After replacing the gas in the can with carbon dioxide gas through the carbon dioxide gas chamber,
The lid of the can was closed using a sealing machine. At this time, since the contents did not rise above the top of the can, the can was easily sealed (Figure 1b). When this product was left for a while, the gas (carbon dioxide) inside the can was absorbed by the gas absorbent, the pressure inside the can decreased, and the buffer material expanded 1b'. This resulted in a package (Fig. 1c) that exhibited a cushioning effect and at the same time secured the biscuit.

Even when this package was transported by truck, not a single biscuit was damaged.

In addition, if a package is packaged in the same way with air inside the can without replacing the gas with carbon dioxide, the cushioning material will not expand even if left unattended, and approximately half of the biscuits will be reduced when transported by truck. Damage such as cracks was observed.

Example 2 A synthetic resin sponge cushioning material 2b having closed cells, a small pottery bowl 2c, and an oxygen absorber 2a are stacked one on top of the other in a cylindrical plastic container 2d with an airtight lid, and the container is left for a while after being covered. When left in the container, the oxygen in the container was absorbed, the pressure inside the container was reduced, and the cushioning material expanded, forming a package as shown in Figure 2. Even when this package was transported by truck, the small bowl was not damaged due to the effect of the cushioning material.

Example 3 A carbon dioxide absorbent 3a and bag cushioning materials 3b and 3b' are placed together with a tart plate 3c into a container body consisting of a dish-shaped plastic container body 3d and a circular plastic lid 3d' having the same diameter. The lid was placed in a carbon dioxide gas chamber, and the contact portion with the container body was sealed by heating and pressure bonding. When this product was left for a while, the gas inside was absorbed, and the cushioning material expanded, providing a cushioning effect and at the same time forming a package (Figure 3) that fixed the tart plate to prevent it from moving inside the container. . The internal tart dish of this product was not damaged during transportation.

A similar cushioning effect was obtained using cushioning material 3b' containing powder for feeling inside the bag for cushioning material.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a progress diagram of an example of filling biscuits into cans.
(a) A cross-sectional view when the empty can is filled with contents, (b) a cross-sectional view immediately after the lid is sealed, and (c) a cross-sectional view when the cushioning material is expanded after being sealed. 1a: gas absorbent, 1b: buffering material (before swelling), 1b': buffering material (after swelling), 1c: biscuit, 1d: can, 1e: can lid. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a cylindrical container filled with small ceramic bowls. 2a: Oxygen absorber, 2b: Buffer material, 2c:
Small bowl, 2d: Container. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an example of a tart dish packed in a dish-shaped container. 3a: carbon dioxide absorbent, 3b: buffer material, 3
b': Cushioning material (bag containing powder for feeling), 3
c: tart plate, 3d: container, 3d': lid of container.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Packaging for easily breakable substances, in which the easily breakable substances are sealed in a sealed container together with a cushioning material that expands under reduced pressure and exhibits a buffering effect, and a gas absorbent that absorbs gas in the sealed container. body. 2. In a sealable container, put a fragile substance, a cushioning material that expands under reduced pressure and exhibits a buffering effect, and a gas absorbent that absorbs the gas in the sealed container, and if necessary, convert the gas in the container into a gas absorbent. A method of producing packaging for fragile substances that is replaced with a suitable gas and hermetically sealed. 3. A method for producing a package for easily breakable substances according to claim 2, wherein a carbon dioxide absorbent is used as the gas absorbent and the gas in the container is replaced with carbon dioxide.