JPH0516931A - Packaging method for container for food such as lunch box - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a packaging method for containers for food such as lunch boxes, etc., by which chopsticks can be automatically attached to a container while packaging said container, and which is suitable for high speed automatic processes at a factory. CONSTITUTION:The tip of a first band-shaped film 2, which is folded into a V shape and the tip of a second flat band-shaped film 9 are adhered to each other, and at the same time, the tip side is located in such a manner that the tip side strides across the advancing direction of a container 1. Wooden split type chopsticks 6 are fed in the first band-shaped film with specified intervals, on the way to be pulled out. Both films are pulled out accompanying with the advancing of the container, and wound around the side wall surfaces of the container. A ring shaped film which covers the whole periphery of the side wall surfaces of the container is formed by adhering and cutting a rear end location of both films by a pair of sealers 11, 12, and by heating said ring- shaped film, the upper and lower ends join a lid body and the bottom part of the container, and the split type chopsticks are also integrated with the container.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of packaging a container containing food such as a bento box, and more particularly to a method of enclosing chopsticks when packaging such a container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, sushi and various bento boxes have been sold over the counter, and the demand for them is increasing year by year.
Since such bento boxes are often eaten at work, outdoors, etc., they are usually sold with bent chopsticks added. As such an additional means, disposable chopsticks are directly attached on the container of the lunch box (the upper surface of the lid) through a rubber band or an adhesive tape at the store by hand.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional chopstick mounting method, since the work is performed manually, the processing speed is limited. For example, in the case of mass production in a factory or the like. Not applicable to.

Further, in the conventional means, chopsticks are attached in a later step, which requires two steps of packaging the container and attaching chopsticks, which not only complicates the work but also exposes the split chopsticks on the outside of the container. In addition, the disposable chopsticks are weakly attached to the container, so that the disposable chopsticks easily come off the container. And the disposable chopsticks that are removed from the container,
May fall to the floor or the ground.

Further, since the disposable chopsticks are attached to the surface of the container separately from the container, the disposable chopsticks project upward. Then, for example, when a plurality of containers are purchased together, the containers for the bento boxes in the bag are piled up, but it is difficult to stack them neatly in a stable state due to the unevenness of the container top surface due to the disposable chopsticks.

The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to automatically attach chopsticks to a container such as a bento box and package such a container in a factory or the like. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of packaging a container containing food such as a bento suitable for high-speed automatic processing.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the method for packaging a container containing food such as a bento box according to the present invention, a heat-shrinkable band-shaped film is pulled out, and while it is being pulled out. The chopsticks are attached at predetermined positions on the inside of the strip-shaped film, while the container formed by attaching the lid to the upper opening of the container main body containing food such as bento is conveyed at predetermined intervals and the path of the container is set. The band-shaped film is positioned so as to be engaged with a predetermined position of the container across, and the band-shaped film is wound around the side wall surface of the container main body along with the transportation of the container, and integrally bonded at the rear side in the traveling direction. The ring-shaped film is cut to form a substantially ring-shaped film, and then the ring-shaped film is heat-shrinked so that the film including at least the upper edge of the ring-shaped film. The arm predetermined portion and so as to close contact with the predetermined portion of the lid rim and the container body is mounted on the upper opening of the container body.

[0008]

As described above, the heat-shrinkable band-shaped film on which the chopsticks are attached is wound around the container at a predetermined position, and the band-shaped film is heat-shrinked to be brought into close contact with the container. As a result, the chopsticks are surely attached and integrated with the container regardless of the size and shape of the container. Further, since the above chopstick mounting step can be performed in a series of operations at the same time as the packaging work of covering and wrapping the periphery of the container body and the lid with the band-shaped film, it can be applied in high-speed automatic processing in a factory.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of a packaging method for a container containing food such as a bento box according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention. That is, the container 1 including the container main body 1a in which food such as a bento is stored and the lid 1b attached to the upper opening of the container main body 1a is intermittently moved at a predetermined interval in a predetermined direction (arrow direction in the drawing). Have been transported to. Then, on the rear side in the traveling direction, there is arranged a raw film 3 around which a relatively wide first strip-shaped film 2 having heat shrinkability is wound. Then, the first strip-shaped film 2 is drawn out from the original film 3, and immediately after that, it is formed in a substantially V (U) shape with the upper part opened by the forming device 4. The molding machine 4 includes a pair of guide blocks 4 for preventing the first strip-shaped film from expanding outward.
a, 4a, and three block bodies of a forming block 4b having a substantially V (U) -shaped vertical cross section and arranged between the guide blocks 4a, 4a to determine the forming shape of the first strip-shaped film 2. There is.

The V-shaped first strip-shaped film 2'passing through the molding machine 4 is supplied with the disposable chopsticks 6 inside during the transportation. The supply timing of the disposable chopsticks 6 is synchronized with the conveying interval of the container 1, and when the disposable chopsticks 6 are supplied into the first band-shaped film 2 ′, they are located at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of the side wall surface on one side of the container 1. Is adjusted.

On the other hand, a flat second strip-shaped film 9 is pulled out from the separately arranged relatively thin heat-shrinkable film 8 in synchronization with the transport of the container 1. The pulled out second strip-shaped film 9 and the first
It is conveyed in parallel with the belt-shaped film 2 '. The leading ends of the first and second strip-shaped films 2 ', 9 are heat-sealed and connected, and are located so as to straddle the traveling direction of the container 1 located at the leading end.

As a result, when the container 1 advances, the container 1
The front side wall surfaces of the first and second strip-shaped films 2'and 9 come into contact with each other, and by biasing them forward, both films 2'9 are pulled out in synchronization with the container 1 and conveyed.

Then, as shown in the figure, when the rear side wall surface of the container 1 at the tip is located in front of the sealing device 10 for heat-sealing the first and second strip films 2 ', 9,
The transportation of the container 1 is temporarily stopped. In this state,
The second strip-shaped films 2'and 9 cover the front side of the container 1 and the three-sided side walls on both sides, and as shown in FIG. It is designed to project from the end. Then, when such a state is schematically shown in a plan view, it is as shown in FIG.

Next, when both sealers 11 and 12 are moved forward by operating a cylinder or the like, first, the first sealer 11 located on the first strip-shaped film 2'side comes into contact with the film surface and stops. However, since the second sealer 12 on the opposite side advances as it is, the second sealer 12 advances while pushing the second strip-shaped film 9 as shown in FIG. And the second
The sealer 12 moves forward until both sealers 11 and 12 come into contact with each other as shown in FIG. Then, the strip-shaped films 2 ', 9 are
Since pressure is applied while heating at 12, both films are heat-sealed and integrated. At the same time, the seal portions of both films 2'and 9 are cut by a cutter built in both sealers 11 and 12, so that the side wall surface of the container 1 is separated from the rear strip films 2'and 9. A ring-shaped film 14 for covering is formed (see FIG. 3D). In this example, the first strip-shaped film 2'is located on one side wall surface of the container body and the second strip-shaped film 9 is located on the three side wall surfaces. The joint site of is not limited to this and can be located at any position.

Then, the ring-shaped film 14 and the container 1 are heated by passing through a heating device such as a shrink tunnel (not shown). Then, the ring-shaped film 14
Heat-shrinks and shrinks in the vertical and horizontal directions. Along with this, the upper and lower edges of the ring-shaped film 14 bend inward while shrinking, and come into close contact with the bottom of the container body 1a and the lid 1b.

A specific package 15 manufactured by carrying out this embodiment is as shown in FIGS. That is, the lower end edge 14a of the ring-shaped film 14 is bent inward as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 and is in close contact with the peripheral portion of the bottom of the container body 1a. However, of the ring-shaped film 14, the lower edge of the first strip-shaped film on which the disposable chopsticks 6 are mounted is not arranged on the bottom side. That is, in this example, since the split chopsticks 6 are located at the lower edge of the band-shaped film, the lower edge cannot go around to the bottom side.

The upper edge 1 of the ring-shaped film 14
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, 4b is also bent inward and is in close contact with the entire periphery of the lid 1b. As a result, the ring-shaped film 14 has a substantially U-shaped vertical cross section, and the container body 1a and the lid body 1b are locked at the upper and lower edges 14a and 14b thereof to prevent the lid body 1b from coming off. .. Furthermore, since the central portion of the ring-shaped film 14 is also contracted in the vertical and horizontal directions as described above,
The locking force is increased.

In this embodiment having such a structure, since the film material is not present in the central portion of the lid 1b and is exposed to the outside, the lid 1b is formed by using a transparent plastic film, for example. In this case, since the contents can be seen well, it becomes easy to visually check the contents of the stored bento.

Further, in this example, the disposable chopsticks 6 are the container body 1a.
Since it is attached along the side wall surface on one side,
Since the upper surface of 1 has only the flat lid body 1b, a plurality of packaging bodies 15 can be easily stacked. Moreover, since the side wall surface is inclined, the attached disposable chopsticks 6 do not project outward from the side edge of the lid 1b.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the disposable chopsticks 6 are simply loaded into the strip-shaped film 2 ', but
After being loaded on the strip-shaped film 2 ', it is desirable that a line seal or a dot seal be applied to a predetermined position of the strip film 2' (for example, the upper side of the disposable chopsticks 6 or the outer side of the front and rear ends). That is, by adopting such means, the band-shaped film 2'is pulled out in synchronism with the movement of the container 1 and intermittently moves, so that the inertial force generated when the stop 7 is started causes the split chopsticks 6 to move within the band-shaped film 2 '. This is because it is possible to more reliably prevent the moving chopsticks 6 from moving out of position and causing the split chopsticks 6 to jump out of the film when the ring-shaped film 14 is finally torn to open the lid 1b.

Further, in this embodiment, since the disposable chopsticks 6 are included in the first band-shaped film 2 ', it is hygienic to use the disposable chopsticks which are not housed in a bag as the disposable chopsticks. There is no problem at all, and of course you can use regular disposable chopsticks in a bag. Further, in the case of using the disposable chopsticks contained in a bag, the bag and the first band-shaped film 2'may be directly adhered to each other for the purpose of preventing the positional displacement of the disposable chopsticks.

FIG. 7 shows the essential parts of the second embodiment of the present invention. In the present example, unlike the above-described first embodiment, the lower end edge 20a of the first strip-shaped film 20 is also attached to the bottom portion of the container body 1a in advance by a point seal or The line sticker prevents the disposable chopsticks 21 from being positioned below a predetermined position, and the lower edge 20a that is applied when heated is wrapped around the bottom side to be in close contact. As a result, in the manufactured package, the film adheres to the entire circumference of the bottom portion 1a of the container body, so that the binding force between the container body 1a and the lid body 1b is further improved. The rest of the configuration and operation are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, so the description thereof will be omitted.

As a method of bringing the film into close contact with the entire circumference of the bottom portion as described above, in addition to the method of sealing the lower end edge of the first strip-shaped film as in the second embodiment, for example, bending is performed. The thickness of the disposable chopsticks to be inserted may be made thicker than the distance between the formed film facing surfaces. That is, since the disposable chopsticks do not fall to the lowermost end of the strip-shaped film, the same effect as above can be obtained.

FIG. 8 shows the essential parts of a third embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the first strip-shaped film 26 formed in the substantially V-shape in the above two examples also uses a single narrow film. Then, the disposable chopsticks 27 are bonded to the predetermined positions on the inner surface of the first strip film 27. In this example, the disposable chopsticks 27 are in a bag, and the bag and the first band-shaped film 26 are bonded and integrated.

Specifically, for example, when the material of the bag is paper, it is carried out via a pressure sensitive adhesive, and when it is made of a film material such as vinyl, it is integrated by any means such as pressure sensitive or heat sensitive. Can be promoted. Other configurations and operations are the same as those in the above-described embodiments, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 9A shows a vertical sectional view of a side surface portion of a package manufactured by carrying out the fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, in this example, the upper edge of the heat-shrinkable band-shaped film 32 is closely attached so as to surround the periphery of the engaging portion 30 between the container body and the lid. That is, only the upper edge side of the strip-shaped film 32 is in close contact with the upper peripheral edge of the container body and the peripheral edge of the lid body, thereby suppressing the detachment of the lid body.

In order to manufacture a package having such a structure, a strip film 32 having a relatively wide width is used and a sufficient space (length) is provided from the upper edge of the disposable chopsticks to the upper edge of the strip film. It is sufficient to carry out a winding work or the like on the container.

As a result, as shown in the figure, the lower edge of the band-shaped film 32 does not adhere to the bottom of the container body, and although this state is not shown, the entire circumference of the bottom can be adopted. .. Incidentally, in order to prevent the lid from coming off more reliably, it is of course possible to use a configuration in which a part or all of the lower edge of the strip-shaped film 32 is in close contact with the peripheral edge of the bottom of the container body.

FIG. 3B shows a modified example, in which the form of the container used is different. That is, as shown in the figure, the ridge portion 3 protruding upward on the peripheral edge of the lid 33.
A container in which 3a is formed is used. Then, in addition to the steps of the fourth embodiment, the upper edge of the strip film 34 is set at a position sufficiently higher than the upper end surface of the container (lid 33). As a result, when heat is applied, the uppermost edge portion 34a of the strip-shaped film 34 wraps around the upper surface of the ridge 33a to cover and adhere it. With such a configuration, the lid 33 is more reliably prevented from coming off.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, an example in which disposable chopsticks are used as the chopsticks to be loaded in the package has been described.
Of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and any chopsticks can be used. Further, in each of the above-described examples, the two strip-shaped films are connected by sealing the ends thereof, but the present invention is not limited to this, and chopsticks are attached at predetermined intervals. Using a single strip-shaped film (regardless of flat sheet shape, V-shape, etc.), the tip side of the strip-shaped film is wrapped around the side wall surface of the container, and the tip portion of the strip-shaped film is located on the rear side. Various modifications can be made such that a ring-shaped film is manufactured by abutting and integrating with a site and then heat-treated.

[0031]

As described above, in the method for packaging a container containing food such as a bento box according to the present invention, the heat-shrinkable band-shaped film with chopsticks attached is wound around a predetermined position of the container and Since the film is brought into close contact with the container by heat-shrinking, the chopsticks can be surely attached regardless of the size and shape of the container. Further, since the chopstick mounting step can be performed in a series of operations simultaneously with the packaging operation for covering and wrapping the periphery of the container body and the lid with the band-shaped film, high-speed automatic processing in the factory becomes possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of an apparatus suitable for carrying out a first embodiment of a method for packaging a container containing food such as a bento according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a package manufactured by carrying out the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a package manufactured by carrying out the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a package manufactured by carrying out the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a main part of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a main part of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view showing a package manufactured by carrying out the fourth embodiment of the present invention. (B) is sectional drawing which shows the packaging body manufactured by implementing the modification.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 container 1a container body 1b, 33 lid 2, 2 ', 9, 20, 26, 32, 34 strip film 6, 21, 27 split chopsticks (chopsticks)

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A heat-shrinkable band-shaped film is pulled out, chopsticks are attached to predetermined positions inside the band-shaped film in the middle of pulling out, and a container body containing food such as bento is While transporting the container with the lid attached to the upper opening at predetermined intervals, the belt-shaped film is positioned so as to engage with the predetermined position of the container across the path of the container, and to transport the container. Along with this, the band-shaped film is wound around the side wall surface of the container body, and integrally bonded at the rear side in the traveling direction and cut to form a substantially ring-shaped film, which is then heated by heating the ring-shaped film. The periphery of the lid, which is shrunk and the film predetermined portion including at least the upper edge of the ring-shaped film is attached to the upper opening of the container body, and the predetermined portion of the container body Storage containers methods packaging food lunch like that, characterized in that is brought into close contact position.