HK1103289B

HK1103289B - Heat-insulating container and apparatus for producing the same

Info

Publication number: HK1103289B
Application number: HK07107246.0A
Authority: HK
Inventors: 奥下正隆; 山田一树; 平井裕一; 望月洋一; 远藤宪一
Original assignee: 大日本印刷株式会社
Priority date: 1997-08-28
Filing date: 2007-07-06
Publication date: 2010-02-26

Description

Heat-insulating container and apparatus for manufacturing the same

The present application is a divisional application entitled "insulated container and apparatus for manufacturing the same", filed on 27/8/1998 and having application number 200410100050.3.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a paper-made heat-insulating container and an apparatus adapted to manufacture at least a part of the container, and the container functions to make instant food edible by injecting boiling water therein.

Background

Since the paper-made heat-insulating container is mainly used for containing instant noodles, a container in the form of a paper cup surrounded on the outside by heat-insulating bellows is treated so that narrow projections and grooves are alternately provided in the longitudinal direction of the cup.

In japanese patent laid-open No. h8-113274, there is disclosed an insulated container in which the sectional shape thereof is changed so that the total area of the concave portion on the outer surface of the container is reduced and the total area of the flat portion thereon is increased. Such containers have already been put into use.

In japanese patent laid-open nos. h4-45216 and h8-104372, there are disclosed heat-insulating containers in which heat-insulating members are subjected to a corrugation process or an embossing process, so that no irregular structure is formed on the outer surface of the container.

In japanese utility model laid-open No. h4-45212, a design is disclosed in which thermal insulation performance is achieved by a gap formed between the double walls of a cup body.

The above container having a cup surrounded by heat insulating bellows has a problem that the container has an unnecessarily large thickness regardless of the cross section of the heat insulating member, even at the upper end of the cup which is not in contact with a human hand. The convex-concave portions on the outer surface of the container become an obstacle to advanced design of the container, and may obscure or obscure images, patterns, and the like printed on the surface thereof, thereby causing other problems.

In order to solve the problem in the appearance of the container, a design is disclosed in temporarily published japanese utility model patent No. h49-87479 and temporarily published japanese utility model patent No. h4-45216, that is, the container is surrounded with an additional liner and a paper sheet. The container obtained according to the above design has uneconomical problems, leading to high manufacturing costs, and also causes problems in terms of appearance, i.e., the heat-insulating container may have an irregular bottom, and narrow raised and depressed or embossed portions may be seen from the bottom, and sanitary problems occur, i.e., dust or liquid may infiltrate into the gaps of these portions.

Fig. 43 shows a sectional view of the heat insulating container 50 disclosed in japanese utility model patent No. h4-45212, which was temporarily published. The heat insulating container 50 is formed by inserting a paper cup body 51 into a sleeve 55, and integrally joining the cup body 51 and the sleeve 55 together at the upper and lower end contacts thereof, wherein the cup body 51 includes a bottom plate 52 and a side wall 3b 3, the side wall 3b 3 has a top 54 curled outwardly, and the sleeve 55 has a portion 56 curled inwardly at the lower end thereof. By adopting the thickness of the curled portion 56 of the sleeve 55, a heat insulating space is formed.

This heat-insulating container 50 does not use any special heat-insulating member and thus has no defect caused by the heat-insulating member. However, when the cup body is held by hand at the middle of the side wall of the sleeve, the sleeve 55 is easily bent inward, thereby reducing the heat insulating space and thus deteriorating the heat insulating performance.

In addition, there has been proposed a container in which a cup sleeve is provided at the outer periphery of a cup body, for example, containers disclosed in japanese utility model laid-open No. s52-97282, and japanese patent laid-open No. h 4-201840. The containers disclosed in these documents have outwardly projecting ribs and the sleeve is bonded to the ribs.

However, in this structure, since the rib has a circular or triangular cross section, only the ridge portion of the rib comes into contact with the sleeve, so that the bonding area between the rib and the sleeve is reduced, resulting in insufficient bonding strength. Since the position of the rib varies depending on the type of container, it is necessary to adjust the adhesive application position depending on the position of the rib, making the preparation work for the process cumbersome. In particular, if the rib is used as a Peter line indicating a proper level of liquid to be filled into the container, the position of the rib is constantly changed according to the product enclosed in the container, and thus the above problem is more serious. Also, if the peter line is adjacent to the curled portion of the cup body, the distance between the sleeve and the cup body is reduced, and resistance during the bonding process is increased, thereby causing assembly errors.

Furthermore, there is a need to provide an apparatus that can efficiently manufacture containers. In particular, it is preferable that the processing of the sleeve is completed without changing the mandrel, and the sheet blank as the sleeve material is crimped onto the mandrel. Moreover, there is a need for a properly and efficiently assembled sleeve and cup.

Moreover, there is a particular need for a device that facilitates the processing of ribs on the side walls of the cup body. In japanese patent No. h4-97833, which is temporarily published, a rib processing apparatus is disclosed in which an expandable chuck is inserted into a cup body, and the chuck is expanded outward in the cup body at a predetermined position to make the cup body to an outward width, thereby forming ribs.

However, since the devices disclosed in the above documents are all formed by machining the ribs on the side wall of the cup body at once over the entire periphery of the cup body, it is necessary to apply a relatively large force, such as a wedge or the like, to the side wall using a force-amplifying device even if the ribs are small. It is difficult to form large ribs. Further, since the chuck is driven in the cup, a part of the chuck driving mechanism must be disposed in a narrow space in the cup, so that the mechanism structure becomes complicated. Moreover, moving the chuck in and out relative to the cup wastes a lot of time, and as a result, it is difficult to machine the ribs efficiently.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a paper-made heat-insulating container having stable heat-insulating properties, a high level of design, a high degree of freedom in printing on the outer surface of the container, and a low manufacturing cost.

In order to achieve the above object, the heat insulating container of the present invention comprises:

a paper cup body with a bottom, an inner surface of the cup body being coated with a polyolefin resin, and an outward curled portion being formed at an upper opening end portion of the cup body, at least one horizontal rib being formed on a side wall of the cup body such that the horizontal rib protrudes outward from the side wall; and

a paper cup holder in the shape of an inverted truncated cone, wherein the lower end of the cup holder is provided with an inward bending part;

the cup body and the sleeve are integrally combined with each other such that the upper end of the sleeve is combined with the outer periphery of the side wall of the cup body at a position adjacent to the outwardly curled portion of the cup body, and the inner side surface of the inwardly curled portion of the sleeve is combined with the outer periphery of the lower end of the side wall of the cup body.

Any number of horizontal ribs may be formed so as to extend continuously along the entire periphery in the circumferential direction of the cup body side wall, or intermittently.

An insulating bellows may be disposed between the sleeve and an upper portion of the sidewall of the cup body.

According to the above invention, it is possible to provide a paper-made heat insulating container which is excellent in design, has stable heat insulating performance, a smooth outer surface, a high-class appearance, and shows a large degree of freedom in printing.

The container has a suitable rigidity so that the sidewall can be prevented from being bent, and thus the container can be easily held in the hand, with the result that the safety required for the container in which boiling water is injected and the convenience food contained therein becomes edible can be improved.

Further, the rise of material cost and manufacturing cost can be avoided, and therefore, the heat insulating container can be produced at low cost.

The heat-insulating container of the present invention is made of paper so that waste treatment can be easily performed without separate treatment. And the volume of the container is easily reduced at the time of waste treatment, so that the container of the present invention has excellent waste treatment performance. The container of the invention is easy to recycle. Therefore, the present invention is advantageous in reducing the negative impact on the environment.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an insulated container having an optimized structure in which a sleeve is securely fixed to a cup body.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an insulated container comprising:

a cup body having a sidewall and a cup bottom at one end of the sidewall, the sidewall having an outwardly convex rib extending in a circumferential direction thereof and an outwardly curled portion at the other end of the sidewall; and

a cup sleeve arranged at the outer side of the side wall and a space is reserved between the cup sleeve and the side wall, the cup sleeve and the side wall are bonded together in a bonding area defined near the outward curled part of the cup body,

wherein the outwardly projecting ribs are only provided in the area away from the adhesive area.

According to the above container, since the outwardly protruding rib is not in the adhesion region, the sleeve and the side wall of the cup body can be brought into contact with each other in a wide range, so that the adhesion region is enlarged, thereby improving the adhesion strength between the sleeve and the cup body. The adhesive area is always provided in the vicinity of an outward curled portion formed on the outer periphery of the opening end portion of the cup body so as not to change the position of applying the adhesive regardless of the position of the outwardly projecting rib.

The sleeve has an inwardly curled portion at one end thereof, which is contactable with an outer periphery of one end of the side wall.

The cup body side wall has an inwardly projecting rib extending in a circumferential direction thereof. Inwardly projecting ribs may be included in the bond area, thereby increasing the rigidity of the cup without reducing the bond area. The inwardly projecting ribs serve as indicator lines to indicate the proper level of liquid to be poured into the cup. A rib serving as Peter wire may be provided in the bonded region so as to approach the outward curled portion.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an insulated container comprising:

the cup body is provided with a side wall and a cup bottom positioned at one end of the side wall; and

the cup sleeve is arranged on the outer side of the side wall, a space is reserved between the cup sleeve and the side wall, and the cup sleeve is bonded with the side wall;

wherein ribs indicating the proper level of liquid to be poured into the cup are provided on the side walls and project inwardly from the side walls.

In this case, the adhesive area is kept sufficiently large by including a rib as a Peter line.

a cup body having a side wall and a cup bottom at one end of the side wall, and having an outwardly curled portion at the other end of the side wall; and

the cup sleeve is arranged on the outer side of the side wall, a space is reserved between the cup sleeve and the side wall, and the cup sleeve and the side wall are bonded together in a bonding area defined by the position, close to the outward curling part of the cup body, of the cup body;

wherein the side walls are provided with inwardly projecting ribs included in the adhesive area.

In this case, the bonding area is kept sufficiently large by extending it towards the bottom of the cup body beyond the inwardly projecting rib.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing apparatus which can efficiently and rationally manufacture an insulated container.

In order to achieve the above object, there is provided a manufacturing apparatus for coupling a sleeve to an outer periphery of a cup body to manufacture a heat insulating container, comprising:

a sleeve forming part for bending the blank paper into a cylinder shape and bonding two ends of the blank together to process a sleeve; and

an assembling part for combining the cup sleeve on the periphery of the cup body;

wherein the assembly part includes:

rib machining means for machining ribs on the side wall of the container;

an adhesive applying device for applying an adhesive to the side wall of the cup body on which the ribs have been machined; and

and a sleeve transfer device for placing the sleeve formed by the sleeve forming part on the periphery of the cup body to which the adhesive has been applied.

According to the above manufacturing apparatus, the rib is formed on the cup body, and the adhesive is applied to the cup body in the assembling portion while the cup sleeve is formed from the blank in the sleeve forming portion. Then, the produced sleeve is placed on the outer periphery of the cup body to which the adhesive is applied so as to be bonded together, and since necessary processing for producing the container is simultaneously performed in two parts, the container can be efficiently and rationally produced.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a manufacturing apparatus for coupling a sleeve to an outer periphery of a cup body to manufacture a heat-insulated container, comprising:

a cup holder for fixing the cup holder;

a cup holder to which the cup body is fixed; and

a driving device which can rotate the cup holder and the cup holder along respective certain circulation paths;

wherein along the circulation path of the sleeve holder, the apparatus has a bending device for winding the web-like blank around the sleeve holder and joining both ends of the wound blank to each other, and a sleeve ejection device for removing the sleeve from the sleeve holder;

a rib processing device for processing ribs on the side wall of the cup body placed on the cup holder; an adhesive applying device for applying an adhesive to the side wall of the cup body on which the ribs are formed, and a sleeve transferring device for receiving the sleeve thrown by the sleeve throwing device and placing the received sleeve on the outer periphery of the cup body on which the adhesive is applied; and

the driving means drives the sleeve holder and the cup holder in such a manner that the cup body to which the adhesive is applied is fed to the sleeve delivery means at the same time as the sleeve on the sleeve holder is fed to the sleeve ejection means.

In this apparatus, a blank is wound on a sleeve holder to form a sleeve, and the prepared sleeve is removed from the sleeve holder and thrown into a sleeve transfer apparatus according to the circulation of the sleeve holder. On the other hand, after the ribs are machined on the cup body and the adhesive is applied, the cup body is fixed on the cup holder and is thus fed into the sleeve transfer device. The formed sleeve is then placed over the periphery of the cup with the adhesive applied to bond the two together. Since the necessary processing for manufacturing the container is performed simultaneously in two parts, the container can be efficiently and rationally manufactured.

An end curling device for processing a curled portion at one end of the sleeve may be provided on the circulation path of the sleeve holder.

A sleeve holding device is provided on the circulation path of the cup holder, and the sleeve holding device pushes the sleeve placed on the cup body by the sleeve transfer device toward the cup body to align the sleeve with respect to the cup body.

The apparatus also includes a blank supply device for supplying the blank to the bending device, the blank supply device having an adhesive applicator for applying adhesive to one end of the blank.

A closing means is provided on the circulation path of the sleeve holder for pressurizing both ends of the blank overlapped by the bending means. The closure may be provided with a heater to promote adhesion between the cup and sleeve.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a sleeve forming apparatus which can efficiently process a sleeve of a heat insulating container, and particularly can perform an operation of winding a material around a mandrel and an operation of processing an end curled portion of the wound material without changing the mandrel.

In order to achieve the above object, there is provided a sleeve forming apparatus for processing a sheet-like blank into a sleeve for use as an outer package of a heat insulating container, the apparatus comprising:

a mandrel having a rod insertable into the sleeve, the rod having a length shorter than the sleeve;

a bending device capable of winding the blank around the mandrel in such a manner that one end portion of the blank to which the adhesive is applied is positioned below the other end portion of the blank to form a bonding line;

a primary sealing device for pushing the bonding wire against the mandrel;

a secondary closing device for pressing the end of one of the bonding wires protruding from the mandrel by means of a pair of pliers;

an end curling device for pressing a projecting portion of the blank projecting from the mandrel toward the mandrel to form a curled portion of the sleeve; and

and the cup sleeve ejection device is used for removing the cup sleeve from the core rod.

According to the above-described sleeve forming apparatus, since a part of the material wound around the mandrel protrudes from the mandrel, a sleeve curled portion can be processed for the sleeve fixed to the mandrel. The ends of the bond line may be pressurized by the secondary closure device so that the bond line is more securely bonded together.

The sleeve forming apparatus further includes a blank supply device for supplying the blank to the bending device and applying the adhesive to one end portion of the blank.

This glass holder forming device still includes:

a conveyor rotatable along a predetermined circulating path and having mandrel bar mounting portions provided along the circulating path with a predetermined gap left therebetween, each of the mandrel bar mounting portions having a mandrel bar mounted thereon; and a driving device for moving the conveyor step by step corresponding to a pitch between the mandrel mounting portions so as to feed the mandrels step by step onto each mandrel mounting portion corresponding to a plurality of positions defined along the circulation path; and the bending device, the auxiliary closing device, the end-curling device, and the sleeve-ejecting device are distributed over the locations in such a way that, with the movement of the conveyor, the mandrel is fed to the bending device, the auxiliary closing device, the end-curling device, and the sleeve-ejecting device in the order stated.

The primary closure device may move along a circular path with the mandrel.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a sleeve forming machine for forming a sleeve for use as an outer package for an insulated container from a sheet stock, the machine comprising:

a conveyor that can be rotated cyclically along a predetermined cyclic path;

a plurality of mandrels arranged on the conveyor so as to leave a predetermined gap between the mandrels in a circulating direction of the conveyor;

drive means for moving the conveyor step by step, corresponding to the pitch between the mandrels, so as to feed each mandrel step by step to a position corresponding to a plurality of positions defined along the circulation path;

a blank supplying device for supplying a blank to a selected bending position and applying an adhesive to one end portion thereof;

a bending device capable of winding the blank on the mandrel in such a manner that the one end portion of the blank is positioned below the other end portion of the blank to form a bonding line;

a closing device for pressing the two ends of the blank forming the bonding line against each other; and

and a sleeve ejection device provided at a selected ejection position among the plurality of positions, the ejection device being located just in front of the bending position in the circulation direction to remove the sleeve from each mandrel.

According to the sleeve forming machine, the mandrel holding the prepared sleeve is sent to the sleeve throwing device each time the conveyor is moved by a certain amount. The operation of the bending means and the operation of the sleeve throwing means are performed simultaneously with each other, with the result that the sleeve can be processed with high efficiency.

Each mandrel has a body portion which can be inserted into the sleeve and which has a length shorter than that of the sleeve, and wherein the closing means comprise primary closing means for pushing the bonding wire against each mandrel and secondary closing means; the auxiliary closing means are pressed by a pair of pliers against the end of one of the bonding wires projecting from each mandrel.

The auxiliary closing means is disposed at an auxiliary closing position selected from a plurality of positions between the bending position and the ejection position.

An end crimping device for processing a crimp portion at a projecting portion of the blank projecting from each mandrel is provided at least one end crimping position selected from a plurality of positions between the auxiliary closing position and the ejection position.

The positions include at least two end crimping positions, each of which has an end crimping device disposed thereon.

The sleeve ejection device removes the sleeve from each core rod by pressing a roller, which rotates about an axis perpendicular to the axis of each core rod, against the sleeve fixed to each core rod.

The conveyor includes a rotatable platform rotatable about a predetermined axis.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an assembling machine which can combine a sleeve and a cup body efficiently and correctly.

In order to achieve the above object, there is provided an assembling machine for joining a sleeve to an outer periphery of a cup body to manufacture an insulated container, the assembling machine including:

a conveyor that can circulate along a predetermined circulation path;

a cup holder mounted on the conveyor, to which the cup body is fixed, and having a rotating portion rotatable about its own axis;

a driving device for moving the conveyor to feed the cups step by step with respect to respective positions defined on the endless path;

a holder driving means provided at a driving position selected from a plurality of positions at which the holder driving means is connected to a rotating portion of the cup holder so as to rotate the cup holder;

an adhesive applying device provided at an applying position selected from a plurality of positions located forward of the driving position in a circulating direction of the conveyor, the adhesive applying device being capable of applying an adhesive on an outer periphery of the cup body; and

a sleeve transfer device disposed at a transfer position selected from a plurality of positions located in front of the application position in the circulation direction, the sleeve transfer device being capable of placing the sleeve on the cup body.

According to the above-described assembling machine, when the cup holder holding the cup body is fed to the holder driving means, the rotating portion of the cup holder can be driven to rotate by the holder driving means. Thus, different machining may be performed, and it is preferable that the member extending in the circumferential direction of the cup body, such as a rib, is machined by the rotation of the cup body. If the cup is fed into the adhesive applying device while being kept rotated by its own inertia, the adhesive can be applied to the outer periphery of the cup without driving the cup holder. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide any driving means for rotating the cup holder in the adhesive applying device. Furthermore, there is no need for any drive means for rotating the cup holder in the conveyor. As a result, the structure of the assembling machine is simplified.

The rotating portion of the cup holder may have a disk-shaped rotation input portion coaxial with the cup body, and the holder driving means may include a rotation output portion and a driving power source for rotating the rotation output portion.

The adhesive applying device has a nozzle for spraying an adhesive to the outer periphery of the cup body.

The cup holder has an abutting portion which can be brought into contact with an inner side surface of the side wall of the cup body, and the holder driving means includes an urging mechanism which can press a predetermined cam member against the abutting portion to clamp the side wall therein, thereby processing the side wall.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assembling machine for coupling a sleeve to an outer circumference of a cup body to manufacture an insulated container, the assembling machine including:

a cup holder capable of fixing the cup body in a turnover posture in a vertical direction;

a cup holder transfer device capable of placing the cup holder on the outer periphery of the cup body fixed to the cup holder from the upper side; and

a sleeve fixing device having a jig contactable in an axial direction thereof with an end of a sleeve placed on the cup body, the sleeve fixing device being capable of pressing the jig toward the cup body so that the sleeve and the cup body are properly arranged with each other in the axial direction thereof;

wherein the clamp has an alignment member engageable with the sleeve to move the sleeve in a radial direction of the sleeve to align it with the cup body before the clamp depresses the sleeve.

According to the assembly apparatus, if the sleeve is placed on the cup body in a misaligned manner, the sleeve is moved in a radial direction by the aligning member so as to be aligned with the cup body.

The alignment feature includes a pin disposed about an axis of the cup on the cupholder.

Each pin is supported by a holder body of the holder so as to be movable in a vertical direction, and a lower end portion of each pin is formed with a tapered and rounded portion capable of contacting a lower end of a side wall of the cup body surrounding a bottom of the cup body.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a rib processing apparatus for processing a rib on a side wall of a cup body, which reduces a force applied to the cup body during processing and simplifies a structure thereof. Preferably, the rib-processing apparatus can process the outwardly projecting ribs by an operation on the outside of the cup body, and can make the processing more efficient by omitting the operation of moving in and out of the cams or the like with respect to the cup body.

In order to achieve the above object, there is provided a rib processing apparatus for processing a rib on a side wall of a cup body so that the rib extends in a circumferential direction of the side wall, the rib processing apparatus including:

male and female mould members disposed opposite each other with the side walls disposed therein, the male mould member having a projection on a portion thereof opposite the female mould member to form the concave surface of the rib, the female mould member having a recess on a portion thereof opposite the male mould member to form the convex surface of the rib;

a radial direction driving means for moving at least one of the female mold member and the male mold member in a radial direction of the cup body so that the male mold member and the female mold member can move toward and away from each other;

and a circumferential driving means for effecting relative rotation between the cup body and at least one of the male mold member and the female mold member to change a portion of the side wall which is circumferentially sandwiched between the male mold member and the female mold member.

According to the above rib processing apparatus, it is possible to process the ribs gradually in the circumferential direction of the cup body with the relative rotation between the cup body and the male or female mold member. Therefore, the force applied to the cup body during the machining can be reduced as compared with the case where the entire rib is machined at once.

The rib processing device further includes a cup holder which can rotate about its own axis while supporting the cup body from the inside; the cup holder may be provided with one of a male mold member and a female mold member, the other of the male mold member and the female mold member being disposed at an outer periphery of the cup body, the radial direction driver driving the other of the male mold member and the female mold member in a radial direction of the cup body, and the circumferential direction driving means rotating the cup holder.

The female mold member and one of the female mold members provided on the cup holder extend continuously over the entire circumference of the side wall of the cup body. In this case, the side wall of the cup body is clamped by moving a male or female mold member disposed outside the cup body in a radial direction, and in this case, the ribs are machined by rotating the cup body. Here, it is not necessary to drive the cam member in the radial direction inside the cup, and it is only necessary to drive the cam member located outside the cup in the radial direction. Therefore, the structure of the apparatus can be simplified.

A roller rotatable about an axis parallel to the cup is provided on the outer periphery of the cup as the other of the male and female mold members.

The rib machining device further includes a stopper for preventing the cup body from rising upward from the cup holder.

The male mold member is disposed on the inside of the cup body and the female mold member is disposed on the outside of the cup body.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rib processing apparatus for processing a rib on a side wall of a cup body so that the rib extends in a circumferential direction of the side wall, the rib processing apparatus including:

a cup holder rotatable about an axis of the cup body in a state in which the cup body is fixed from an inner side of the cup body; a rotation driving mechanism for rotating the cup holder; and an urging mechanism provided on one side of the cup holder, the urging mechanism having an urging roller rotatable about an axis parallel to the cup body, and a driving power source reciprocally moving the urging roller in a radial direction of the cup body;

wherein one of a groove for processing a convex surface of the rib and a projection for processing a concave surface of the rib is provided on an outer periphery of the pushing roller, and the other of the groove and the projection is provided on the cup holder, the latter position in a direction parallel to an axis of the cup holder coinciding with a position of the one of the groove and the projection provided on the pushing roller.

In this apparatus, ribs are gradually formed on the side wall of the cup body in the circumferential direction of the cup body by fixing the cup body from the inside by the cup holder, pressing the push roller toward the side wall so as to sandwich the side wall between the groove of the push roller and the projection of the cup holder, and rotating the cup body holder together with the cup body fixed thereto. Therefore, the force applied to the cup body during the processing can be reduced as compared with the case where the entire rib is processed at once. Since only the urging roller is driven in the radial direction without driving any member in the cup body in the radial direction of the cup body, the structure can be simplified. Since the urging roller can rotate about its axis, friction between the roller and the cup side wall can be reduced.

The rib processing apparatus further includes a conveyor that conveys the cup holder through a plurality of processes, wherein the rotary drive mechanism and the urging mechanism are provided at an intermediate position in a conveying path of the conveyor.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of machining a rib extending in a circumferential direction of a cup body on a side wall of the cup body, including the steps of:

clamping a portion of the side wall of the cup body by a male mold member and a female mold member, the male mold member having a projection on a portion thereof opposite to the female mold member so as to form a concave surface of the rib, the female mold member having a recess on a portion thereof opposite to the male mold member so as to form a convex surface of the rib; and

relative rotation is effected between the cup body and at least one of the male and female mold members to vary the location on the sidewall that is circumferentially sandwiched between the male and female mold members.

In this process, the ribs are gradually formed on the side wall of the cup body in the circular direction of the cup body in the same manner as described above. Therefore, the force applied to the cup body during the processing can be reduced as compared with the case where the entire rib is processed at once.

In the above-described process, the cup body is held from the inside thereof by a cup holder rotatable about the axis of the cup body, the cup holder having one of a male mold member and a female mold member, the other of the male mold member and the female mold member being pressed against the side wall from the outside of the cup body, thereby sandwiching the side wall between the male mold member and the male mold member, and in this case, the cup holder is rotated.

When the side wall is gripped by the male and female members, the bottom of the cup body is pressed downward toward the cup holder.

Drawings

Other objects, features and other aspects of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1A to 1D are schematic views showing the structure of an insulated container of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A-2B are bottom views of cup bodies of insulated containers of the present invention;

fig. 3A to 3C are sectional views each showing an insulation space ensured by horizontal ribs in the heat-insulated container of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic views each showing a horizontal rib in the heat insulating container of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an insulated container produced by the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a simplified process of container manufacture;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the container shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the manufacturing apparatus;

FIG. 9 is a left side view of the manufacturing apparatus;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing the structure of a main closing means provided in a manufacturing apparatus and its surroundings;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the blank supplying apparatus provided in the manufacturing apparatus taken along line XI-XI of FIG. 8;

fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the blank feed device taken along line XII-XII of fig. 8;

fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the blank supply apparatus taken along line XIII-XIII in fig. 8;

fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the blank supplying apparatus taken along line XIV-XIV of fig. 8;

fig. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the blank supply apparatus taken along line XV-XV of fig. 8;

fig. 16 is a view showing in detail the structure of a bending apparatus provided in a manufacturing apparatus;

fig. 17 is a view showing the structure of the bending apparatus as viewed from the side indicated by an arrow XIII in fig. 16;

fig. 18 is a view showing a detailed structure of the auxiliary closing means provided in the manufacturing apparatus;

fig. 19 is a view showing the structure of the auxiliary closing means as seen from the side indicated by the arrow XIX in fig. 18;

fig. 20A and 20B are views showing a closing action of the auxiliary closing means;

fig. 21 is a view showing a detailed structure of a bending apparatus provided in a manufacturing apparatus;

fig. 22 is a view showing the structure of the bending apparatus as viewed from the side indicated by an arrow XXII in fig. 21;

fig. 23 is a view showing the structure of the bending apparatus as viewed from the side indicated by an arrow XXIII in fig. 21;

fig. 24 is a view showing a detailed structure of a sleeve throwing-out apparatus provided in the manufacturing apparatus;

fig. 25 is a view showing the structure of the sleeve throwing-out apparatus as viewed from the side indicated by an arrow XXV in fig. 24;

fig. 26 is a view showing a detailed structure of a cup supply apparatus provided in the manufacturing apparatus;

fig. 27 is a view showing the detailed structure of the cup feeder as viewed from the side indicated by an arrow XXVII in fig. 26;

fig. 28 is a view showing a detailed structure of a rib processing device provided in the manufacturing device;

fig. 29 is a view showing the detailed structure of the rib machining device when viewed from the side indicated by the arrow in fig. 28;

fig. 30 is an enlarged view showing a main part of the rib machining device;

fig. 31A to 31C are views illustrating a method of processing a rib used as a Peter line by the rib processing device shown in fig. 28;

fig. 32 is a view showing a detailed structure of an adhesive applying apparatus provided in a manufacturing apparatus;

fig. 33 is a view showing a detailed structure of a sleeve transfer device provided in a manufacturing apparatus;

fig. 34 is a view showing the detailed structure of the cup holder delivery device as viewed from the side indicated by an arrow XXXIII in fig. 33;

fig. 35 is a view showing a detailed structure of a sleeve holder provided in a manufacturing apparatus;

FIG. 36 is a view showing the detailed structure of the sleeve holder as viewed from the top as indicated by arrow XXXVI in FIG. 35;

fig. 37A to 37C are views showing a processing in which the sleeve and the cup body are aligned with each other by a jig provided in the sleeve fixture;

FIGS. 38A to 38H are views of different forms of the container shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 39 is a view of another embodiment of a manufacturing apparatus in which a primary closure device and a secondary closure device are integrally formed as one apparatus;

fig. 40 and 41 are views showing different types of rib processing devices;

fig. 42 is a view showing other types of rib processing devices; and

fig. 43 is a sectional view of a conventional heat insulating container.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1A to 1D are schematic views of the structure of the heat-insulating container of the present invention.

The heat insulating container 1 of the present invention comprises a paper cup body 2, a paper cup holder 3 in the form of an inverted truncated cone, as shown in fig. 1A, the cup body 2 including an outwardly curled portion 2c at an upper portion of a side wall 2a and horizontal ribs 2d, 2d at a middle portion of the side wall 2a and provided with a cup bottom 2b, and the paper cup holder 3 including upper and lower open ends and formed at a lower end thereof with an inwardly curled portion 3 a. As shown in fig. 1C, the upper end portion of the sleeve 3 is joined to the outer periphery of the side wall 2a of the cup body 2 adjacent to the outwardly curled portion 2C by an adhesive. The inner surface of the inward curled portion 3a formed at the lower end of the sleeve 3 is also bonded to the outer periphery of the lower end (forming the bottom) of the side wall 2a of the cup body 2 by an adhesive. The cup body 2 and the sleeve 3 are thus integrally joined together, thereby forming the insulated container of the present invention.

Horizontal ribs 2d, 2d are formed on the side wall 2a of the cup body 2, protrude outward, have the effect of increasing the strength of the cup body 2, and form a space for heat insulation. Further, a single horizontal rib may be formed, or three or more horizontal ribs may be formed. The positions of the horizontal ribs 2d, 2d can be determined in consideration of the strength balance of the cup body 2. However, as shown in fig. 1C, it is preferable to provide a horizontal rib at a position where the horizontal rib can also serve as the Peter line X (the Peter line is a line indicating an appropriate level of boiling water to be poured into the cup body 2).

In the heat-insulating container 1 of the present invention shown in fig. 1C, the horizontal ribs 2d, 2d support the side wall 3b of the sleeve 3, unlike the conventional heat-insulating container 50 shown in fig. 43, whereby the design prevents the side wall 3b of the sleeve 3 from being bent inward when the middle portion of the side wall 3b is held by hand. Therefore, it is also possible to maintain a sufficient space volume for the heat insulating container, and to obtain excellent heat insulating performance.

In the heat-insulating container 1 of the present invention, the horizontal distance of the heat-insulating space is gradually increased toward the bottom of the container 1, and a sufficiently good heat-insulating property can be obtained between the bottom and the middle portion of the container 1. However, a portion of the top end of the container 1 near the outwardly curled portion 2c has a decreased heat insulating property. In order to prevent the deterioration of the heat insulating property of the top end of the container 1, another embodiment of the heat insulating container 1 according to the present invention is also proposed as shown in fig. 1D. More specifically, in the heat-insulated container 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention, the upper portion of the cup body is surrounded by the heat-insulating bellows 9 made of paper, the heat-insulating bellows 9 having narrow projections and depressions spaced apart from each other. In this embodiment, the upper portion of the sleeve 3 is engaged with the cup body side wall 2a in the vicinity of the outwardly curled portion 2c by the heat insulating bellows 9.

In the case of the instant food contained in the heat-insulated container 1 of the present invention (shown in fig. 1C and 1D), the container shown in fig. 1C may be employed in the case where approximately half the container volume is used to contain the instant food to be filled with boiling water, such as instant miso soup, instant western soup, etc. While the container shown in fig. 1D may be employed in a case where almost the entire container volume is used to contain instant foods requiring the injection of boiling water, such as chinese style instant noodles, etc.

Fig. 2A and 2B are bottom views showing an insulated container cup of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 2A, each of the horizontal ribs 2d, 2d formed in the center of the cup body extends continuously along the entire outer periphery of the side wall 2A. And as shown in fig. 2B, each of these horizontal ribs extends intermittently in the circumferential direction of the side wall 2a.

If the continuous horizontal ribs 2d, 2d and the intermittent horizontal ribs 2d, 2d are equal in number to each other, although the latter is apparently inferior in the function of preventing the sidewall 3b of the sleeve 3 from bending, the latter enlarges the heat insulating space and makes it possible to communicate the upper and lower heat insulating spaces with each other, so that the hot air can easily move in the entire area of the heat insulating space, maintaining the uniform temperature distribution, and as a result, improving the heat insulating performance.

When each of the horizontal ribs 2d, 2d is intermittently formed in the circumferential direction of the side wall 2a to form the depressions 8, it is more preferable to divide the horizontal ribs 2d, 2d into four or eight parts in the circumferential direction of the side wall 2a and to maintain the ratio of the total length of the groove 8 to the entire circumferential length to 30%.

Fig. 3A to 3C are sectional views showing horizontal ribs of the heat insulating container of the present invention.

In view of the enlargement of the heat insulating space, the horizontal rib 2d formed on the cup body 2 preferably has a sharp shape as shown in fig. 3A. And the manufacture of the horizontal ribs 2d in such a shape requires excellent workability of the paper used for the manufacture of the cup body 2. While the horizontal ribs 2d having gentle curves can be easily manufactured without being restricted by the handling performance of the paper sheet used, as shown in fig. 3B. However, in this case, the contact area of the two side walls 2a, 3b is increased, and the heat insulating space is reduced, thereby deteriorating the heat insulating performance, which causes a problem disadvantageously.

Therefore, in view of the heat insulating property and the handling property to be described later, it is most preferable that the horizontal rib 2d has a cross section as shown in fig. 3C obtained by combining the characteristics of the cross-sectional shape of the horizontal rib 2d as shown in fig. 3A and 3B.

Fig. 4A and 4B are schematic views showing an insulation space secured by a horizontal rib in the heat-insulating container of the present invention.

In the process of manufacturing the heat insulating container 1 of the present invention, the horizontal ribs 2d, 2d may be in contact with the side wall 3B of the sleeve 3 as shown in fig. 4A, or may not be in contact with the side wall 3B as shown in fig. 4B.

When the horizontal ribs 2d, 2d are not in contact with the side wall 3b of the sleeve 3, the temperature of the outer surface of the heat-insulating container 1 is so low that the heat-insulating container 1 can be held by hand even after the completion of the soaking process of the convenience food in the boiling water poured into the container, although slight bending of the side wall 3b of the sleeve 3 is caused. This is because the condition that the horizontal rib 2d does not contact the side wall 3b causes the expansion of the heat insulating space, and the up-and-down circulation of air easily occurs between the two side walls 2a, 3b, whereby the uniform heat distribution can be formed.

The heat-insulating container 1 of the present invention has a capacity of 200 to 500 cc. When the paper cup body 2 having a capacity within the above-mentioned range is processed using a conventional paper cup processing apparatus, it is preferable to use a basic weight of 160g/m²To 300g/m²Paper within the range. Generally, the inside surface of the paper for making the cup body is coated with a thermoplastic resin to a thickness of 20 to 80 μm. The inner surface of the paper sheet may be coated with, for example, a polyolefin resin such as a low density polyethylene resin, a medium density polyethylene resin, a high density polyethylene resin, a linear low density polyethylene resin, or the like, by an extrusion coating method.

The thermoplastic resin layer produced serves to improve the forming property of the cup, ensure the sealing property of the cup lid (not shown) heat-sealed by the heat-sealing method, provide excellent forming property to the horizontal rib 2d, and additionally protect the object contained in the container.

With regard to the paper used for the cup holder 3, it is required to have both excellent printing property and forming property of the bent portion. More preferably, the sleeve 3 is made of coated fiber board with a basis weight of 230g/m²To 350g/m²In the range of 160g/m, or using a basis weight of²To 250g/m²Cardboard manufacture within the scope.

If the basis weight of the paper is below the lower limit of the above range, the rigidity of the sleeve 3 may be significantly reduced, and at high temperatures, the sleeve 3 may be severely bent, which may result in very poor thermal insulation properties. If the basis weight of the paper is higher than the upper limit of the above range, the formability of the inwardly curled portion 3a may be deteriorated and the material cost for making the sleeve 3 may be increased, causing a disadvantage in spite of the increased rigidity of the sleeve.

When the material from which the sleeve 3 is made is subjected to a resin coating treatment or a resin impregnation treatment, rigidity, compression resistance, collapse resistance, and the like can be improved, thereby protecting the object contained in the container from external force applied thereto during distribution of the container.

The heat insulating container has not only stable heat insulating performance as a whole but also sufficient rigidity to prevent the container from being bent, thereby improving safety and reliability of the eating container in which boiling water is injected to make the convenience food contained in the container edible and which is held by hand when eating the convenience food. These properties are regarded as particularly important factors for elderly, disabled and children, as well as essential factors for the requirements of unprotected goods (barrier-free foods).

The heat insulating container of the present invention is made of paper so that waste treatment can be easily performed without separate treatment. The volume of the container is easily reduced during waste disposal, since the container is suitably rigid, i.e. it can be collapsed by hand. The container of the present invention has excellent waste disposal properties while having less harmful effects on the environment than other conventional heat-insulating containers using foamed plastics as a heat insulating material.

In addition, no uneven portion is formed in the side wall of the heat insulating container 1 of the present invention, in other words, the side wall has a smooth outer surface. The inwardly curled portion 3a of the sleeve 3 is located at the bottom of the container and exhibits a suitable curvature. Thus, the thermally insulated container 1 has the perfect design of a cup-shaped container. The gap formed between the side wall 2a of the cup body 2 and the side wall 3b of the sleeve 3 at the bottom of the container is closed by the inward curled portion 3a to prevent dust or foreign matter from entering the space formed between the side walls 2a, 3b and to prevent liquid absorption at the end of the paper from which the cup body 2 is made. The heat-insulating container 1 of the present invention can be kept sanitary and clean.

The sleeve 3 has a large degree of freedom in printing and is therefore not limited by not only conventional printing processes such as flexographic printing, gravure printing, flexographic printing, etc., but also conventional processes such as brushing, embossing, etc., which are performed after the printing process is completed. As a result, these printing and handling characteristics, together with the smooth outer surface of the container as described above, may provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

Furthermore, a paint layer may be applied to the surface of the side wall 3b and/or the inwardly curled portion 3a of the sleeve 3 to prevent these portions from wetting and becoming unclean.

The following describes a method of manufacturing the heat insulating container 1 of the present invention.

First, a circular truncated cone-shaped tubular member is formed by machining a fan-shaped paper sheet blank by a cup forming machine. Subsequently, the bottom plate 2 is fed to a cup forming machine and subjected to seaming, thereby forming a cup bottom. Then, an outward curled portion is formed at the upper opening end of the tubular member, and the horizontal ribs 2d, 2d are worked, thereby preparing the cup body 2.

The step of processing the horizontal ribs 2d, 2d may be performed in an on-line state of the cup forming machine or in an off-line state of the cup forming machine. More specifically, the horizontal ribs 2d protruding outward from the cup body 2 can be formed in such a manner that the formed cup body 2 without the ribs 4 is placed in a cavity of a mold having grooves corresponding to the horizontal ribs 2d, and the mold is press-molded with a large force against the inner side surface of the cup body 2 by rollers located in the vicinity of the grooves, which are subjected to a force of an expander, while rotating the cup body 2.

In this case, when the roller is pressed over the entire circumferential surface of the cup body 2, horizontal ribs 2d, 2d may be formed as shown in fig. 2A, which continuously extend over the entire circumference of the cup body 2. When the roller is molded only on some separated portions in the circumferential direction of the cup body 2, horizontal ribs 2d, 2d each extending intermittently in the circumferential direction of the cup body 2 as shown in fig. 2B may be formed.

After finishing the processing of the horizontal ribs 2d, the cup body 2 is pulled out of the forming cavity of the mold. The horizontal rib 2d having the upper portion with a gentle curve as shown in fig. 3C allows the cup body 2 to be more easily pulled out from the forming cavity than the horizontal rib 2d having the sharp-shaped portion as shown in fig. 3A, and thus has excellent forming performance.

The horizontal ribs 2d may be processed by a rolling process using a female die and a male die.

On the other hand, the sleeve 3 may be prepared by first printing a pattern, a logo, an image, etc. on a cut or rolled cardboard or a coated fiber cardboard, then punching the paper into a fan-shaped paper sheet blank, subjecting the thus-produced fan-shaped paper sheet blank to a bonding process using a cup forming machine to form a cup body having a reverse circular truncated cone shape, and curling a lower peripheral edge of the formed cup body to form an inwardly curled portion.

The cup body 2 is put into the sleeve 3, and the upper side contact portion and the lower side contact portion of the cup body 2 and the sleeve 3 are bonded to each other by an adhesive, thereby completing the preparation of the heat insulating container 1 of the present invention. The bonding step of the lower contact portion of the cup body 2 and the sleeve 3 may be omitted under certain requirements.

The heat-insulating container 1 of the present invention prepared in the above-described manner has a stackable property so that a plurality of containers 30 can be supplied to a user's hand in a stacked state.

An example of the heat insulating container of the present invention is described below.

Examples of the heat-insulating container of the present invention can be prepared according to the following manner:

detailed data of the cup body 2

Capacity: 400cc

Inner diameter of upper end of side wall: 80mm

Bottom outside diameter: 66mm

Height: 90mm

Materials: basis weight of 280g/m²Paper with a polyethylene layer having a thickness of 20 μm

Number of horizontal ribs: 2

Detailed data of the sleeve 3

Inner diameter of inward curled portion: 66mm

Thickness of inward curled portion: 2.5mm

Inner diameter of upper end of side wall: 89mm

Height: 88.5mm

Materials: basis weight 230g/m²Paper with printing layer and painted layer

Respective upper and lower ends of the cup body 2 and the sleeve 3 are bonded to each other by an acrylic latex type adhesive, whereby the cup body 2 and the sleeve 3 are integrated with each other.

In addition, as shown in fig. 43, an insulating container 50 as a comparative sample was also prepared, which is similar to the sample of the present invention except that the insulating container 50 did not have the horizontal ribs 2 d.

240cc of boiling water having a temperature of 95 c was injected into each sample so that the level of the boiling water reached the Peter line. After 2 to 3 minutes had elapsed, the middle portion of each sample was held by hand to perform tactile detection of the temperature on the outer surface of each sample. The above tactile examination revealed that the samples of the present invention have significantly better thermal insulation properties than the comparative samples, the former having a lower outer surface temperature than the latter, and thus the samples of the present invention can be held continuously without feeling high temperature.

The tactile detection is performed in two states, i.e., a state of holding the sample strongly, and a state of holding the sample gently. In testing the samples of the present invention, the heat felt in the hard grip state was approximately the same as the temperature felt in the soft grip state. While a greater heating power was felt in the hard grip state than in the soft grip state when testing the comparative samples.

An example of the heat-insulating container manufacturing apparatus will be described in detail below.

Fig. 5 shows an example of an insulated container prepared by the manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, and fig. 6 shows a general process of preparing a container. The container 1 shown in fig. 5 is the same as that shown in fig. 1C, comprising a cup body 2 and a sleeve 3. The cup body 2 is formed in a truncated cone shape having a side wall 2a and a bottom 2 b. At the periphery of the open end of the cup body 2, an outward curled portion 2c is formed, and after the above structure is formed, two horizontal ribs 2e, 2f are formed on the side wall 2a so as to protrude outward in the radial direction of the container 1, respectively. Each horizontal rib 2e, 2f is used to reinforce the cup body 2 and the upper rib 2f is used as Peter line, indicating the appropriate level of the injected object (e.g. boiling water). The lower rib 2e is larger than the upper rib 2 f. The projecting amounts of the ribs 2e, 2f are predetermined so as not to contact the inner side wall of the sleeve 3. The material of the cup body 2 is, for example, a basic weight of 150g/m²To 400g/m²At least on the inner surface of the cup body 2, with a coating, for example polyethyleneA layer to improve heat resistance and water resistance of the cup body 2.

The sleeve 3 serves to improve the thermal insulation of the container 1. As shown in fig. 6, the sleeve 3 is produced by tapering a fan-shaped paper sheet blank 3', connecting both ends 3C, 3C thereof to each other, and processing an inwardly bent portion 3a at a lower side end thereof. The container 1 is prepared by the steps of applying the adhesive 4 in a predetermined adhesion region (indicated by a hatched portion in fig. 6) BD of the cup body 2, assembling the cup body 2 and the sleeve 3 together, and adhering the upper end portion 3f of the sleeve 3 and the side wall 2a of the cup body 2 to each other. The material of the sleeve 3 is, for example, 150-400g/m in basis weight²The paper of (1). Since the sleeve 3 is not in contact with either cold water or hot water, the sleeve 3 can be left out of the coating unlike the cup body 2.

Next, an apparatus for manufacturing the container 1 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 7 to 37.

Fig. 7 to 9 show the structure of a manufacturing apparatus 10 according to the present invention, fig. 7 being a plan view, fig. 8 being a front view, and fig. 9 being a schematic left side view. As shown, the manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a sleeve forming part 20 and an assembling part 30. In the sleeve forming part 20, the sleeve 3 is processed from a blank 3' as shown in fig. 6, and in the assembling part 30, the sleeve 3 and the cup body 2 are assembled and adhered to each other.

The sleeve forming part 20 and the assembling part 30 have rotating platforms 21, 31, respectively. Both the platforms 21, 31 are supported by the main body 11 of the manufacturing apparatus 10 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis. The main body 11 is a base portion on which the respective elements of the manufacturing apparatus 10 are mounted. The main body 11 is composed of a combined steel member and is horizontally installed on the floor FL of the factory. The main body 11 has a motor 12 (shown in fig. 8 and 9) serving as a driving power source at a lower portion thereof. The sprocket 13 is mounted on the output shaft of the motor 12. The rotation of the sprocket 13 is transmitted to the sprockets 15, 16 by the chain 14, and the rotation of the sprockets 15, 16 is transmitted to the stages 21, 31 by the transmission mechanisms 22, 32, respectively. The ratio of the rotational speeds from the motor 12 to each of the rotating platforms 21, 31 is equal to each other. Thereby, the stages 21, 31 are driven synchronously. The movement of the platforms 21, 31 is intermittent, i.e., the platforms 21, 31 are repeatedly rotated and stopped, and the angle of one rotation is set to 45 degrees. As shown in fig. 7, the rotation directions of the stages 21, 31 are set counterclockwise, respectively.

In the transmission mechanism 22, the rotation of the sprocket 14 is input to a motion conversion mechanism (not shown) accommodated in the gear case 22b, and converted into rotation of the drive shaft of the rotating platform 21 (refer to fig. 10). In the transmission mechanism 32, the rotation of the sprocket 16 is transmitted to the sprocket 32f through the sprocket shaft 32a (which may be integrated with the sprocket 16), the sprocket 32b mounted on the end of the sprocket shaft 32a, and the chain 16, and then the rotation of the sprocket 32f is input to a motion converting mechanism (not shown) accommodated in the gear case 32f and is converted into the rotation of the drive shaft (also not shown) of the rotary platform 31. The details of these drive mechanisms 22, 32 may vary.

On the outer periphery of the rotating platform 21, eight mandrels 23 serving as cup holder are provided, which mandrels 23 are separated from each other by an equal angle (45 degrees) in the circumferential direction of the platform 21. Each mandrel 23 has a body piece 23a which, as it extends towards its end, decreases in diameter, forming a conical outer circumferential surface. The axial direction of the body piece 23a of each mandrel 23 coincides with the radial direction of the rotating platform 21. On the outer circumference of the rotating platform 31, eight cup holders 33.. 33 are provided, which are at equal angles (45 degrees) from each other in the circumferential direction of the platform 31. Each cup holder 33 supports the cup body 2 in an inverted state in the vertical direction. The details of which will be described below.

During the manufacture of the container 1, the rotating platforms 21, 31 are driven intermittently at 45-degree angular intervals, which are equal to the angular intervals at which the mandrels 23.. 23 and the cup holders 33.. 33 are set. Thus, each mandrel 23 stops step by step at the eight positions a1 to A8 defined on the outer circumference of the rotary platform 21, while each cupholder 33 stops step by step at the eight positions B1 to B8 defined on the outer circumference of the rotary platform 31. That is, the mandrel 23 makes a circular motion along an annular path formed on the outer periphery of the platform 21, and the cup holder 33 makes a circular motion along an annular path formed on the outer periphery of the platform 31. Thus, the motor 12, the sprocket 13, the chain 14, the chains 15, 16, the platform 21, the transmission mechanism 22, the platform 31, and the transmission mechanism 32 are combined together as a driving means for the sleeve holder and the cup holder.

As shown in fig. 7, the sleeve-forming portion 20 is provided with a bending means 200 at a position a1 as a bending position, an auxiliary closing means 240 at a position A3 as an auxiliary closing position, end curling means 260, 260 at a position a4 as an end curling position, and a sleeve-throwing means at a position a7 as a throwing position. On one side of the crimping apparatus 200, a blank supply apparatus 100 is provided. On the other hand, the assembly portion 30 is provided with the cup supplying means 300 at position B1, the rib processing means 320, 320 at positions B2, B3 serving as driving positions, the adhesive applying means 340 at position B4 serving as applying position, the sleeve transferring means 360 at position B5 serving as transferring position, and the sleeve fixing means 380 at position B6. Each time when the rotating platform 21, 31 stops rotating through 45 degrees, each device performs the appropriate treatment that has been designed here. In the sleeve forming section 20, a primary seal 220 is provided in association with each mandrel 23. It should be noted that the primary closure device 220 is illustrated only at positions A2 and A8 in FIG. 7, and the illustration of the device 220 at each of the other positions is omitted.

Fig. 11 to 15 show the blank supplying apparatus 100 in detail. The device 100 is used to feed blanks 3' as shown in fig. 6 one by one onto a position a 1. As shown in fig. 7 and 12 to 15, the apparatus 100 comprises a pair of guide rails 101, 101 and guides 102, 103, said guide rails 101, 101 supporting from the lower side both ends of the blank 3 'for guiding the blank 3', said guides 102, 103 being arranged for the purpose of placing a middle portion of the blank 3 'therebetween to prevent the blank 3' from being suspended or lifted. As shown in fig. 7, the guide rails 101, 101 guide the blank 3 'in a direction parallel to one end 3c of the blank 3'. In order to align the center of the billet 3' and the center axis of the mandrel 23 in the vertical direction at the position a1, the guide rails 101, 101 are inclined from the direction of the center axis of the mandrel 23 at the position a 1.

As shown in fig. 7 to 8, the blank supplying apparatus 100 is provided with a blank transfer assembly 110 for transferring a blank 3 ' to one end (left-hand side in fig. 7) of each guide rail 101, first and second chain conveyors 120, 140 (refer to fig. 8) for feeding the blank 3 ' along the guide rails 101, and an adhesive applicator 170 for applying an adhesive to an end 3c of the blank 3 ' supported on the guide rail 101.

As shown in fig. 12, the blank transfer assembly 110 includes a blank holder 111 having a vertically extending stem 112. The stems 112 are arranged along the profile of the blank 3' with appropriate spacing between each stem. At the lower end of each rod 112, an enlarged portion 112a is provided, which prevents the blanks 3 'from falling off, a number of blanks 3' being stacked on the enlarged portions 112a.. 112a and being accommodated in the space surrounded by the rods 112.. 112. Below the billet holder 111, a billet-pulling element 113 is provided. The blank drawing member 113 is connected to a piston rod 114a of a pneumatic cylinder 114 mounted on the main body 11 to be movable up and down. The blank pulling element 113 is provided with a plurality of suction cups 115.

When the billet drawing member 113 is driven to move upward, the suction cups 115 come into contact with the billet 3 'at the lower end of the billet holder 111, and at the same time, air is sucked from the suction surface of each suction cup 115, thereby sucking the suction cup 115 onto the billet 3'. After that, the billet drawing member 113 is driven to move downward, the billet 3' sucked on the suction cup 115 moves over the enlarged portion 112a and is drawn out from the lower portion of the billet holder 111. Thereafter, the blank pulling member 113 continues to move downwards, thereby engaging both ends of the blank 3 'with the guide rails 101, while the air suction from the suction cups 115 is suspended, thereby releasing the suction cups 115 from the blank 3'.

As shown in fig. 12 to 15, the chain conveyors 120, 140 include two chains 121, 141 arranged along the guide rails 101, respectively. The chains 121, 141 are provided with nails 121a, 141a which can engage the blanks 3 'to transmit the feed force from the chains 121, 141 to the blanks 3'. As shown in fig. 7 and 11, the first chain conveyor 120 is provided at one end thereof with sprockets 122, 122, and the sprockets 122, 122 are fixed to a sprocket shaft 123 to be rotatable therewith. A sprocket shaft 123 is rotatably supported by the main body 11, and one end of the shaft 123 is connected to a sprocket 125 via a clutch 124. As shown in fig. 7 and 8, the sprocket 125 is connected to a motor 130 mounted on the main body 11 through a transmission 131. The transmission mechanism 131 transmits the rotation of the pulley 130a fixed to the output shaft of the motor 130 to the intermediate shaft 134 via the belt 132 and the pulley 133 (see fig. 14), and the mechanism 131 also transmits the rotation of the intermediate shaft 134 to the sprocket 125 via the sprocket 135 and the chain 136 (see fig. 7 and 8). Various modifications may be made to the details of the transmission 131.

As shown in fig. 13, the first chain conveyor 120 is also equipped with sprockets 126, 126 at the other end. Each sprocket 126 is mounted on a sprocket shaft 142 so as to be rotatable relative to the sprocket shaft 142, and the sprocket shaft 142 is rotatably supported on the main body 11 (see fig. 7). Therefore, the chains 121, 121 can be moved with the rotation of the motor 130 regardless of the rotation of the sprocket shaft 142. The blanks 3' conveyed on the tracks 101, 101 by the blank transfer assembly 110 are transferred to the second conveyor 140 in correspondence with the movement of the chains 121, 121.

The second chain conveyor 140 is equipped with sprockets 143, 143 fixed to a sprocket shaft 142 so as to be rotatable together with the shaft 142. The sprocket shaft 142 is connected to the drive shaft 21a of the rotary platform 21 via a transmission mechanism 150 (see fig. 10). Thus, the chains 141, 141 move a predetermined distance corresponding to the 45 degree angle through which the platform 21 is rotated. Thereby, when the mandrel 23 is brought to the position A1, simultaneously one blank 3' is fed to the lower side of the mandrel at the position A1. The transmission mechanism 150 transmits the rotation of the sprocket 21b attached to the drive shaft 21a of the rotary table 21 to the material feeder 100 via the chain 151, the sprocket 152, the intermediate shaft 153, the pair of bevel gears 154 and 155, and the intermediate shaft 156 (see fig. 7 and 8), and the mechanism 150 also transmits the rotation of the intermediate shaft 156 to the sprocket shaft 142 via the pair of bevel gears 157 and 158, the intermediate shaft 159, and the pair of bevel gears 160 and 161 (see fig. 13 and 14). Various modifications may be made to the details of the transmission 150.

As shown in fig. 7, 14 and 15, the adhesive applicator 170 includes a tank 171 containing a liquid adhesive, an immersing roller 172 immersed in the adhesive in the tank 171, and an applying roller 173 in contact with the immersing roller 172. The immersion roller 172 may rotate with the intermediate shaft 134 of the first chain conveyor 120. The applying roller 173 is connected to the intermediate shaft 134 via a pair of gears 175, 176 and a gear shaft 177, and can rotate together with the intermediate shaft 134. The application roller 173 is arranged in such a way that the outer circumferential surface of the application roller 173 can be brought into contact with one end 3c of the blank 3' supported on the guide rails 101, 101. Therefore, if the motor 130 is started to rotate, the dipping roller 172 and the applying roller 173 rotate with the motor 130, so that the adhesive in the groove 171 is transferred to the one end portion 3c of the blank 3' through the outer circumferential surfaces of the dipping roller 172 and the applying roller 173.

Fig. 16 and 17 show the crimping device 200 in detail. The apparatus 200 bends the blank 3' transferred to the a1 position by the blank supply apparatus 100 to wind it around the mandrel 23. The apparatus 200 includes a support member 201, a linear movement guide assembly 202 for connecting the support member 201 to the main body 11 and allowing it to move in the vertical direction, a pneumatic cylinder 203 for driving the support member 201 to move in the vertical direction, a pair of pneumatic cylinders 205, 205 mounted on the support member 201 and pivotable about pins 204, 204 as fulcrums. The linear motion guide assembly 202 is a known device having a linear guide 202a and a slider 202b slidable on the linear guide.

On the end of the piston rod 205a of each pneumatic cylinder 205, a fixing member 206 is provided that can pivot about a pin 207. A fixed member 206 is connected to the support member 201 so as to be pivotable about a pin 208 as a fulcrum, the fixed member 206 being further provided with a blank bending weight 210. The bending piece 210 is formed with a concave surface 210a that is bent along the outer circumferential surface of the core rod 23.

The fixing member 206 can move within a predetermined range around the pin 207 according to the reciprocating motion of the piston rod 205a of the pneumatic cylinder 205. When the blank 3' is just transferred by the blank feeding device 100 to the a1 position, as shown by the broken lines in fig. 16, each piston connecting rod 205a is in its retracted position and the fixtures 206, 206 are moved away from each other. After the blank 3 ' is brought to the position a1, the support 201, the pneumatic cylinder 205, the fixing member 206 and so on are driven to move upward together, whereby the blank holder 211 mounted on the support 201 comes into contact with the blank 3 ' and thereby pushes the blank 3 ' onto the mandrel 23. Slippage, shifting, etc. of the blank 3' relative to the mandrel 23 during crimping is thus avoided. Then, as shown by a solid line in fig. 16, the piston rods 205a of the pneumatic cylinders 205 are extended, so that the fixing members 206 are pivoted upward to approach each other. Blank 3' in position a1 is thus engaged with blank crimping block 210 and is thereby rolled up and pressed onto mandrel 23 (see fig. 16). At this time, both ends 3C, 3C of the blank 3' are overlapped with each other to form a connecting line 3d (see fig. 6). Each action of each fastener needs to be adjusted so as to place one end 3C inside the other end 3C, the one end to which the adhesive is applied. This adjustment is made by, for example, changing the position of the pins 207, 207 in such a way that the end 3C with the adhesive is first pushed towards the mandrel 23 and then the other end 3C is pressed against it.

After completion of the curling process of the blank 3', the fixing member 206 is driven by the pneumatic cylinder 205 to the position shown by the broken line in fig. 16 in preparation for the next rotation of the turntable 21, while the support member 201, the pneumatic cylinder 205, the fixing member 206, etc. are driven downward together by the pneumatic cylinder 203. When the turret 21 is rotated again to move the next mandrel 23 to position a1 and a new blank 3 'passes to position a1, the support 201 etc. is again driven upwards by the pneumatic cylinder 203 and the fixing member 206 is driven upwards to wind up the blank 3'. The billet bending compact 210 may be changed according to the size of the mandrel 23. The position of each fixing member 206 in the vertical direction can be adjusted by the pneumatic cylinder 203 as necessary.

The bonding wire 3d of the blank 3' crimped on the mandrel 23 is pressed against the mandrel 23 and heated by the main closing device 220. As shown in fig. 10, the main closing means 220 includes a pneumatic cylinder 221 provided above the mandrel 23, and a presser piece 222 fixed to a movable portion 221a of the pneumatic cylinder 221. The pneumatic cylinder 221 is mounted on the rotating platform 21 by a sprocket 223. Accordingly, the pneumatic cylinder 221 and the pressing block 222 may move together with the core rod 23 according to the rotation of the platform 21.

The movable portion 221a of the pneumatic cylinder 221 may be driven in the vertical direction. The compact 222 is inclined along the outer circumferential surface of the core rod 23, and the length of the compact 222 is substantially equal to the length of the core rod 23. The compact 222 is provided with a heater (not shown) so that the compact can be heated to a suitable temperature, for example 100 c, to promote bonding between the two ends 3c, 3c of the blank 3'.

When the bending portion 200 curls the blank 3' over the mandrel 23 at the position a1, the movable portion 221a is retracted upward, and the compact 222 is held at a position spaced from the mandrel 23. After the bending section 200 curls the blank 3 'on the mandrel 23 with the blank bending compact 210, the movable portion 221a of the pneumatic cylinder 221 moves downward, and the heated compact is pressed against the joining line 3d of the blank 3' before the blank bending compact 210 is removed from the mandrel. Thereby, the bonding wire 3d is pressed and heated so as to promote adhesion therebetween.

The heating and pressing by the compacts 222 are continued until the time when the core rod 23 reaches the position a 7. After the mandrel 23 reaches the position a7, the movable portion 221a of the pneumatic cylinder 221 moves upward, and the presser piece 222 also moves away from the mandrel 23.

After the joining line 3d of the blank 3 'is pressurized by the main closing device 200, the blank 3' is fed from the position a1 to the position a2 with the rotation of the platform 21 and is brought into the auxiliary closing device 240 with the next rotation of the platform 21 (refer to fig. 7, 18 and 19).

The auxiliary closing means 240 serves to pressurize and heat one end portion of the bonding wire 3d protruding from the mandrel 23 to promote adhesion thereto. That is, in the manufacturing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the rod body 23a of the mandrel 23 is shorter than the billet 3' crimped thereon. The reason for this is that when the blank 3' is curled to form the curled portion 3a (refer to fig. 6) at the lower end of the sleeve 3, it is not necessary to change the mandrel 23. If the rod body 23a of the core rod 23 is equal to or greater than the length of the blank 3 ', the rod body 23a protrudes from the end of the curled blank 3 ' so that the curled portion 3a cannot be processed without removing the blank 3 ' from the core rod 23. On the other hand, if the mandrel 23 is shorter than the billet 3 ', one end of the billet 3' protrudes from the mandrel 23, so that the pressing piece 222 of the main closing means 220 cannot be used to press the portion 3 e. Therefore, the auxiliary closing means 240 is added to pressurize and heat the protruding portion 3 e.

As shown in fig. 18 and 19, the auxiliary closing means 240 includes a base 241 mounted on the main body 11 of the manufacturing apparatus 10, a pneumatic cylinder 242 mounted on the base 241, a support 243 fixed to a movable portion 242a of the pneumatic cylinder 242, a pneumatic cylinder 244 mounted on an upper end of the support 243, and a pair of nippers 245, 245 fixed to a movable portion (not shown) of the pneumatic cylinder 244. The movable portion 242a of the pneumatic cylinder 242 reciprocates in a direction indicated by an arrow Y slightly inclined from the horizontal direction. The inclination of the moving direction of the movable portion 242a with respect to the horizontal direction corresponds to the inclination of the outer circumferential surface of the rod 23a with respect to the center line thereof. On the other hand, the pincers 245, 245 are driven opposite each other in a direction indicated by the arrow Z, slightly inclined from the vertical direction. Each of the pincers 245 is heated to an appropriate temperature by a heater (not shown) accommodated therein. The heating temperature of the pincers 245 is higher than that of the pressing block 222 of the main closing means 220. For example, the pliers 245 are heated to about 180 ℃ and the briquette 222 is heated to about 100 ℃.

Fig. 20A and 20B illustrate the operation of the forceps 245. When the platform 21 rotates, the movable portion 242a of the pneumatic cylinder 242 shown in fig. 18 is in the retracted position. While each pincer 245 is held in the position shown in figure 20A. At this time, there is a gap between the two nippers 245, 245 that can receive the bonding line 3d of the blank 3'. When the platform 21 is rotated and the mandrel 23 is moved from the position a2 to the position A3, the movable portion 242a moves toward the rotating platform 21 and each of the pincers 245 moves to a position overlapping the bonding line 3d of the blank 3'. Next, the nippers 245, 245 are driven by the pneumatic cylinder 244 and brought close to each other, so that the bonding wire 3d is sandwiched between the nippers 245, 245 as shown in fig. 20B. Thereby, the adhesive applied at the bonding line 3d is heated so as to promote adhesion therebetween. After the bonding wire 3d is heated and pressurized by the nippers 245, 245 for a predetermined time, the nippers 245, 245 return to the position shown in fig. 20A, so that the platform can perform the next rotation.

As shown in fig. 18 and 19, the base 241 has a fixed portion 241a and a movable portion 241b, and the movable portion 241b is mounted on the fixed portion 241a so as to be movable in the vertical direction so as to adjust the position of the nippers 245 in the vertical direction according to the position of the blank 3' bonding line 3 d. A vertically extending adjustment bolt 246 is rotatably mounted on the fixed portion 241a, while its upper portion is screwed into the movable portion 241 b. When the bolt 247 connecting the fixed portion 241a and the movable portion 241b together is loosened, the adjusting bolt 246 is rotated, and the movable portion 241b moves in the vertical direction, whereby the vertical position of the nippers 245 is changed.

The blank 3' processed by the auxiliary closure 240 is fed with the rotation of the platform 21 to the end crimping device 260 at position a4 and with the next rotation of the platform 21 to the end crimping device 260 at position a 5. Each of the end curling devices 260 is used to process a curled portion 3a of the sleeve 3 (refer to fig. 6).

As shown in fig. 21 to 23, the end curling device 260 includes a base 261 mounted on the main body 11 of the manufacturing apparatus 10, a pneumatic cylinder 262 mounted on the base 261, a movable plate 264 mounted on the upper end of the base 261 by a pair of linear motion guide assemblies 263, and a motor 265 mounted on the upper surface of the movable plate 264. The piston rod 262a of the pneumatic cylinder 262 is movable in a direction parallel to the central axis of the mandrel 23 at the positions a4 and a5, and the guide rail 263a of the linear motion guide assembly 263 extends in a direction parallel to the moving direction of the piston rod 262 a. The movable plate 264 is supported on the sliders 263b.. 263b of the linear motion guide assembly 263 and is connected to the piston rod 262a of the pneumatic cylinder 262 through the connection plate 266.

On the output shaft 265a of the motor 265, a coupling 267 is mounted, which rotates together with the output shaft, and a disc mold 268 is detachably mounted on an end surface of the coupling 267 by bolts 269. The die 268 is coaxial with the output shaft 265a, and is formed with a groove 268a for machining the curled portion 3a on an end surface thereof so that the die 268 can rotate about an axis thereof. These dies 268 and output shaft are also coaxial with the core rod 23.

The die 268 is moved in the axial direction of the core rod 23 in accordance with the movement of the piston rod 262a of the pneumatic cylinder 262. When the platform 21 rotates, as shown in fig. 21, the piston rod 262a of the pneumatic cylinder 262 is retracted and the die 268 is held in a position away from the projection 3e of the blank 3'. The motor 265 is driven whether or not the platform 21 is rotating.

When the rotation of the platform 21 is stopped, the piston rod 262a of the pneumatic cylinder 262 moves toward the mandrel 23, and the die 268 contacts the projection 3e of the blank 3' while rotating around its axis. At this time, the projecting portion 3e is inserted into the groove 268a of the mold 268, and is curled inward along the outer shape of the groove 268 a. After the die 268 contacts the blank 3' for a predetermined time, the piston rod 262a of the pneumatic cylinder 262 is retracted and the die 268 is also returned to the position shown in fig. 21. Each time the mandrel 23 moves to the positions a4 and a5, the dies 268, 268 are repeatedly driven forward and backward to machine the convex portion 3e into the curled portion 3d of the sleeve 3.

It should be noted that the curled portion 3a is processed only to half at the position a4, and is processed to be completed at the position a 5. The reason why the processing of the curled portion 3d is divided into two steps is that a larger curled portion 3d can be formed without forced processing. The amount of movement of the mold 268 and the shape of the groove 268a are different from each other at the position a4 and the position a 5.

Thus, the sleeve 3 was prepared by the above-described processing at the position a1 to the position a 6. At position a7, the prepared sleeve 3 is transferred to the assembly portion 30 by the sleeve ejector 280.

As shown in fig. 24 and 25, the cup housing ejecting device 280 includes a support 281 fixed to the main body 11 of the manufacturing apparatus 10, a motor base 283 mounted on the support 281 through a linear motion guide assembly 282, a pneumatic cylinder 284 mounted on the support 281, a motor 285 mounted on an upper end of the motor base 283, and a roller 286 mounted on an output shaft 285a of the motor 285. The linear motion guide assembly 282 has a vertically extending guide rail 282a, and a motor base 283 is connected with a slider 282b of the linear motion guide assembly 282. The pneumatic cylinder 284 has a movable portion 284a connected to a lower end of a motor base 283, whereby the motor base 283 can be moved in a vertical direction in response to the movement of the movable portion 284a of the pneumatic cylinder 284. An output shaft 285a of the motor 285 extends in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the mandrel 23 at the position 7.

As the platform 21 rotates, the movable portion 284a of the pneumatic cylinder 284 retracts downward and the roller 286 moves away from the mandrel 23. The output shaft 285a of the motor 285 rotates in a counterclockwise direction (as indicated by arrow CCW) in fig. 25 regardless of whether the platform 21 is rotated. After the platform 21 is rotated and the sleeve 3 on the mandrel 23 is moved to the position a7, as described above, the press block 222 is removed from the mandrel 23, and the movable portion 284a of the pneumatic cylinder 284 is driven upward and presses the outer circumferential surface of the roller 286 against the sleeve 3 on the mandrel 23, as shown by the broken line in fig. 25. Accordingly, in response to the rotation of the roller 286, the sleeve 3 is removed from the mandrel 23 and thrown in the direction of the assembly portion 30 indicated by the arrow F. The ejected sleeve 3 is received by the sleeve transfer device 360. Details regarding the sleeve transfer device will be described in detail below. After the roller 286 is held in the lifted position for a predetermined time, the movable portion 284a of the pneumatic cylinder 284 is returned to the position shown by the solid line in fig. 25, so that the platform 21 can be rotated next.

Fig. 26 and 27 show details of cup supply assembly 300. The apparatus 300 for transferring the cup body 2 in an overturned posture to the cup holder 33 at the position B1 includes a base plate 301 disposed above the position B1 so as to be horizontally supported on the main body 11 of the manufacturing apparatus 10, and a motor base 302 disposed above and in parallel with the plate 31. A through hole 303 coaxial with the axis of the cup holder 33 at the position B1 is formed in the base plate 301, and the inner diameter of the through hole 303 is larger than the outer diameter of the cup body 2 at the curled portion 2 c. Around the through hole 303, rods 304.. 304 (see fig. 9) are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the hole 303. The rod 304 surrounds a space in which the plurality of cups 2 are stored in a turned-over posture in the vertical direction. All the elements of the cup body 2 stored in this space except the ribs 2e, 2f have been finished.

On the base plate 301, six pulleys 305a.. 350f are provided. The motor 306 is mounted on the motor base 302, and the pulley 305a is fixed to an output shaft 306a of the motor 306 so as to be rotatable therewith. The other pulleys 305b.. 305f are mounted on pulley shafts 307.. 307 so as to be rotatable therewith, and each pulley shaft 307 is rotatably supported on the base plate 301. Between the pulleys 305a to 305f, a belt 308 extends so that the pulleys 305a to 305f rotate together with the output shaft 306a of the motor 306. Two pulleys 305b and 305f each adjacent to the pulley 305a and a pulley 305d disposed on the opposite side of the through hole 303 of the opposite pulley 305a are connected to rollers 309. A spiral groove 309a is formed on an outer circumferential surface of each roller 309.

Rollers 309 protrude slightly inward in the radial direction from the outer circumference of the through-hole 303, and the plurality of cups 2 stored between the rods 304 are supported from the lower side by the rollers 309. When the output shaft 306a of the motor 306 is driven in a predetermined direction, the curled portion 2c provided at the lowermost end portion of all the cups 2.. 2 is engaged with the groove 309c of the roller 309 and is transferred downward in correspondence with the rotation of the roller 309. Thereby, one of the cups 2 is ejected from the space between the rods 304 and placed on the cup holder 33. Each time the platform 31 is rotated through 45 degrees, the roller 309 is repeatedly driven by a predetermined angle to feed the cup 2 to the cup holder 33 moved to the position B1.

The cup body 2 placed on the cup holder 33 is moved to the rib working device 320 at the position B2 with the next rotation of the platform 31, and is moved to the rib working device 320 at the position B3 with the further rotation of the platform 31.

Fig. 28 and 29 show the rib machining means 320 in detail. Each device 320 processes a rib 2f or 2e in cooperation with the cupholder 33. As shown in fig. 30, the cup holder 33 includes a vertically extending support shaft 40 mounted on the outer periphery of the platform 31, a nut 41 fixed to a threaded portion 40a of the support shaft 40 and fixing the support shaft to the platform 31, a rotating cylinder 43 rotatably fixed as a rotating portion to the outer periphery of the support shaft 40 by bearings 42A, 42B, a washer 44 fixed to the outer periphery of the rotating cylinder 43 so as to be coaxial therewith, cams 45, 46, and a cover 47. A driven wheel 43a is formed at the lower end of the rotating cylinder 43, and the driven wheel 43a is a rotation input portion coaxial with the support shaft 40. The washer 44, the cams 45, 46 and the cover 47 are detachable from the rotating cylinder 43, and the cams 45, 46 are coupled with the rotating cylinder 43 using the fixing screws 48, 49 so as to rotate together with the rotating cylinder.

The molding members 45, 46 are used to machine the ribs 2f, 2e, and have flanges 45a, 46a formed on the outer peripheries thereof. Each flange 45a, 46a functions as a pressing portion and is coaxial with the rotating cylinder, and the outer peripheral portion of each flange is processed into a circular shape. A cup bottom supporting portion 47a is formed at an upper end portion of the lid 47 so as to support the cup bottom 2b of the cup body 2 from the inside thereof. When the cup bottom 2b is brought into contact with the cup bottom supporting portion 47a, the flanges 45a, 46a are brought into contact with the inner side surface of the side wall 2a almost at the positions where the ribs 2f, 2e are formed, respectively. Thereby, the outer periphery of each flange 45a, 46a functions as a pressing portion. The thickness of each flange 45a, 46a, i.e., the dimension in the vertical direction in fig. 30, can be adjusted according to the width of each rib 2f, 2 e. The vertical position of the flanges 45a, 46a can be adjusted by changing the thickness of the gasket 44. If the width of the ribs varies according to the type of cup body 2, it is preferable to prepare a plurality of types of master members each corresponding to a different type of rib, and to mount on the rotating cylinder 43 one type of master member corresponding to the rib to be machined on the cup body 2.

As shown in fig. 28 and 29, the rib processing device 320 includes a rotation driving mechanism 321 for rotating the cup body 2 and the cup holder 33, a pressing mechanism for pressing the cup body 2 against the cam members 45, 46 at the time of rotation to process the cup bodies 2f, 2e, and a stopper mechanism 336 for preventing the upward movement of the cup body 2 during the processing.

The rotation driving mechanism 321 includes four levers 322.. 322 installed on the main body 11 of the manufacturing apparatus 10, a motor base 323 installed on the upper end of the lever 322, and a motor 324 installed on the motor base 323. The motor 324 has an output shaft 324a projecting upward, and a drive wheel 325 as a rotation output portion mounted on the shaft 324 a. When the cup holder 33 moves to the position B2 or the position B3 in accordance with the rotation of the platform 31, the driving wheel 325 comes into contact with the driving wheel 43a of the cup holder 33, thereby rotating the rotary cylinder 43 in accordance with the rotation of the output shaft 324a of the motor 342. When the platform 31 rotates, the driven wheel 43a moves away from the driving wheel 325, thereby interrupting the transmission of rotation between the driving wheels 43a, 325. When the platform 31 stops after rotating through a predetermined angle (i.e., 45 degrees), the driven wheel 43a of the next cup holder 33 comes into contact with the driving wheel 325, thereby enabling transmission of rotation therebetween.

As shown in fig. 30, the pushing mechanism 330 includes four rods 331.. 331 vertically extending from the motor base 323, a bracket 332 mounted on the rods 331, a pneumatic cylinder 333 mounted on the bracket 332 as a driving power source, a holder 334 fixed to a piston rod 333a of the pneumatic cylinder 333, and a pushing roller 335 rotatably mounted on a shaft portion 334a of the holder 334 through bearings 334a, 334 a. The outer circumferential surface of the roller 335 is inclined along the side wall 2a (refer to fig. 6) of the cup body 2 to form a tapered surface in which a substantially semicircular groove 335a is formed. At position B2, the groove 335a of the pusher roller 335 is complementary in shape to the outer periphery of the flange 45a, and at position B3, the groove 335a of the pusher roller 335 is complementary in shape to the outer periphery of the flange 46 a.

The bracket 332 is mounted on the rod 331 in such a manner that the vertical position of the bracket 332 can be adjusted along the rod 331. At the position B2, the position of the bracket 332 is adjusted so that the groove 335a and the flange 45a of the pressing roller 335 are located at the same position in the vertical direction, and at the position B3, the position of the bracket 332 is adjusted so that the groove 335a and the flange 46a of the pressing roller 335 are located at the same position in the vertical direction.

The stopper mechanism 336 includes a bracket 337 mounted on an upper end portion of the rod 331, a pneumatic cylinder 338 mounted on an end portion of the bracket 337 as a driving power source so as to be oriented downward, and a stopper plate 339 rotatably coupled to a piston link 338a of the pneumatic cylinder 338 through a bearing 339 a. When the piston rod 338a of the pneumatic cylinder 338 moves downward, the stopper plate 339 comes into contact with the bottom 2b of the cup body 2, thereby preventing the rise of the cup body 2 during the processing of the ribs 2f, 2 e.

The operation of the rib machining apparatus 320 at the position B2 is as follows. When the platform 31 stops after rotating a predetermined angle, the cup 2 is fed to the position B2, and the drive wheel 325 and the drive wheel 43a of the cup holder 33 contact each other, thereby rotating the rotary cylinder 43 of the holder 33 and the cup 2 about the axis of the holder 33. In this condition, the pneumatic cylinder 338 of the stopper mechanism starts operating to bring the stopper plate 339 into contact with the bottom 2b of the cup body 2, and at the same time, the piston rod 333a is extended to move the pressing roller 335 toward the side wall 2a in the direction indicated by the arrow in fig. 31A. As a result, the pressing roller 335 comes into contact with the side wall 2a, and as shown in fig. 31B, the side wall 2a is pressed inward. Accordingly, the side wall 2a is sandwiched between the groove 335a and the flange 45a, and the side wall 2a is elastically deformed, thereby forming the rib 2f as the Peter line. At this time, since the cup body 2 and the flange 45a are rotating, the position where the pressing roller 335 and the side wall 2a contact each other is changed in accordance with the rotation sequence thereof, whereby the rib 2b is gradually formed in the circumferential direction of the cup body 2. Therefore, the force required to machine the ribs on the cup body 2 can be reduced as compared with the case where the entire ribs are machined at once. Moreover, since the roller 335 rotates about its own axis with the rotation of the cup body 2, the friction between the roller 335 and the side wall 2a can be reduced, thereby reducing the load applied to the cup body 2 during the processing of the ribs.

After the push roller 335 rotates around the cup body 2 one or more times, the piston rod 333a retracts, thereby separating the push roller 335 from the side wall 2a, as shown in fig. 31C. The other portion of the side wall 2a, except the portion once sandwiched between the groove 335a and the flange 45a, elastically returns to its original shape by itself, whereby the rib 2b, which is a Peter line, protrudes from the side wall 2a around the entire cup body 2. At the same time as the pushing roller 335 is moved away, the stopper plate 339 of the stopper mechanism 336 is also pulled upward. Therefore, the pressing mechanism 330 functions as a radial direction driving means, the pressing roller 335 functions as a female die, each flange 45a, 46a functions as a male die, and the stopper mechanism 33 functions as a stopper means.

The cup 2 with the machined rib 2B is taken to the position B3 with the next rotation of the platform 31. At position B3, the pushing mechanism 330 and the stopper mechanism 336 are driven to machine the rib 2e on the side wall 2a in the same manner as described above. The operation of the pressing roller 335 and the flange 46a to the side wall 2a is similar to that shown in fig. 31A to 31C, and therefore, the detailed description thereof is omitted.

The cup body 2 in which the ribs 2e have been machined is sent to the adhesive applying apparatus 340 (refer to fig. 7) at the position B4. When the cup 2 moves from the position B3 to the position B4, the drive wheel 43a is disengaged from the drive wheel 325, and the transmission of rotation therebetween is interrupted. However, the rotating cylinder 43 also rotates at the position B4 for a certain time due to its own inertia.

As shown in fig. 32, the adhesive applying device 340 has a spray gun 341 and can spray the adhesive 4 to the side wall 2a (see fig. 6). The spray gun 341 sprays the adhesive 4 for a predetermined time each time when the cup body 2 is fed to the position B4 through the stage 31. Due to the rotation of the cup body 2 at the position B4, the adhesive 4 ejected from the spray gun 341 can be uniformly applied to the bonding area BD of the cup body 2 (refer to fig. 6).

The cup 2 having the adhesive 4 applied at the position B4 is sent to the sleeve transfer apparatus 360 provided at the position B5. Fig. 33 and 34 show the sleeve transfer device 360 in detail. The sleeve transfer device 360 is used to receive the sleeve 3 thrown from the sleeve forming part 20 and transfer the sleeve 3 to the cup body 2. The apparatus 360 includes a support 361 mounted on the main body 11 of the manufacturing apparatus 10, a drive shaft 362 supported on the support 361 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis, and an index plate 363 fixed to one end of the drive shaft 362. The drive shaft 362 is connected through a pair of bevel gears 364, 365 to the intermediate shaft 153 which serves to transmit rotation from the rotary platform 21 to the charge feeder 100. When the platforms 21, 31 are rotated through 45 degrees, the drive shaft 362 and indexing disk 363 rotate through 90 degrees in the counterclockwise direction (as indicated by arrow CCW) shown in fig. 33.

The indexing disk 363 has four support plates 366 on its outer circumference. Each support plate 366 is formed with a through hole 366a, and the sleeve 3 is fixed in the through hole 366 a. The axis of the through hole 366a extends in the radial direction of the indexing disk 363, and the through hole 366 is tapered, i.e., the diameter of the through hole gradually decreases in the direction toward the center of the indexing disk 363.

Each support plate 366 rotates 90 degrees around the center of the indexing disk 363 every time the indexing disk 363 rotates 90 degrees, so that each support plate 366 stops at the position C1 to the position C4 one by one. The position C1 to the position C4 are provided on the right-hand side, the upper side, the left-hand side, and the lower side of the index plate 363, respectively. At position C1, the through hole 366a of the support plate 366 is arranged coaxially with the mandrel 23 at position a7 in the sleeve-forming portion 20, and at position C4, the through hole 366a is arranged coaxially with the cup holder 33 at position B5. Thus, the sleeve 3 removed from the mandrel 23 by the roller 286 at the position a7 (see fig. 25) is inserted into the through hole 366a of the support plate 366 at the position C1. Further, the sleeve 3 sent to the position C4 falls from the supporting plate 366 onto the cup holder 33 located below the supporting plate 366, and the sleeve 3 is placed on the outer periphery of the cup body 2.

As shown in fig. 34, in the vicinity of the index plate 363, pneumatic cylinders 371, 374 are provided. The pneumatic cylinder 371 is supported on the main body 11 by rods 369.. 369 and the bracket 370, while the pneumatic cylinder 374 is supported by the bracket 370 by the attachment bracket 373. The pneumatic cylinders 371, 374 have movable portions 371a, 374a, each of which is downwardly extendable, and push plates 372, 375 are fixed to the movable portions 371a, 374a, respectively. Each time the indexing disk 363 rotates through 90 degrees, each movable part 371a, 374a is driven downwards at least once, pushing the sleeve 3 downwards in position C2, C4. Therefore, the sleeve 3 is pushed into the through hole 366a of the support plate 366 at the position C2 to align the sleeve 3 with the axis of the through hole 366a, and the ejection of the sleeve 3 from the hole 366a is ensured at the position C4.

The cup 2 surrounded by the sleeve 3 is carried with the next rotation of the platform 31 to the sleeve holder 380 at position B6. Fig. 35 and 36 show the sleeve retainer 380 in greater detail. The sleeve holder 380 includes a post 381 mounted on the main body 11, a bracket 382 mounted on an upper end of the post 381, a pneumatic cylinder 383 suspended from an end of the bracket 382, and a holding jig 385 connected to a piston link 383a of the pneumatic cylinder 383 by a support rod 384.

As shown in detail in fig. 37A, the fixation clamp 385 includes a disc-shaped clamp body 386 and six pins 387. All of the pins 387 cooperate to function as alignment means. The clamp body 386 is fixed in such a manner that its axis is coaxial with the cup holder 33 at the position B6. A lower recess 386a is formed on a lower portion of the holder body 386, and a tapered surface 386b and a step 386c are formed at a periphery of the lower recess 386 a. The pin 387 is fixed to the clamp body 386 so as to be movable in a vertical direction. At the upper end of each pin 387, a ring 388 is provided to prevent the pin 387 from falling off the clamp body 386, and a flange 387a is also formed on the pin 387 to prevent the pin 387 from being thrown upward through the clamp body. A tapered portion 387b is formed at the lower end of the pin 387. Alternatively, the lower end of the pin 387 may be rounded instead of the tapered portion 387 b.

While the platform 21 rotates, the gripper body 386 is held above the pneumatic cylinder 383 as shown in fig. 35. At this time, as shown in fig. 37A, the pins 387 are in the lower positions by the own weight, and the tapered portions 387b protrude downward from the clamp bodies 386, respectively. When the cup 2 surrounded by the sleeve 3 is carried by the platform 31 from the position B5 to the position B6, the chuck body 385 is driven to reciprocate at least once in the vertical direction by the pneumatic cylinder 383. Therefore, as shown in fig. 37A, if the sleeve 3 is placed on the cup body 2 in a wrong alignment state, the tapered portion 387b of the pin 387 comes into contact with the curled portion 3a from the inside thereof with the downward movement of the jig 385, whereby the curled portion 3a is moved in the radial direction thereof by the pin 387, thereby ensuring the alignment of the cup body 2 and the sleeve 3 with each other.

When the jig 385 moves downward to a predetermined position, the tapered portion 387a contacts the inner side surface of the side wall 2a at its lower end (upper end in fig. 37C). In this case, due to the obstruction of the side wall 2a, the pin 387 cannot move inside the side wall 2a even if the jig 385 is continuously driven downward, and therefore the pin 387 moves upward relative to the jig body 386. On the other hand, the curled portion 3a of the sleeve 3 is in contact with and thus aligned with the tapered surface 386b of the holder body 386, and it is pushed down by the stepped portion 386 c. As a result, the inner side surface of the upper end portion 3f of the sleeve 3 is brought into contact with the adhesion region BD (refer to fig. 6), whereby the cup body 2 and the sleeve 3 are firmly adhered together.

The fixing clamp 385 moved down to the position shown in fig. 37C is pulled up again by the pneumatic cylinder 383 to be separated for the next rotation of the platform 31. At the beginning of the pull-up clamp 385, the pin 387 only contacts the lower end of the sidewall 2a and is not pressingly inserted inside the sidewall 2a. Therefore, there is no fear that the cup body 2 is pulled from the upper side of the cup holder 33 together with the pin 387.

The sleeve 3 and the cup body 2 are assembled together through the above-described process, and the manufacture of the container 1 is completed. The finished container 1 is brought with the next rotation of the platform 31 to position B7 and with another rotation of the platform 31 to position B8. As shown in fig. 7, a guide tube 50 is provided above the cup holder 33 at a position B8. The container 1 is fed into the conduit 50 by means of compressed air flowing from an aperture (not shown) in the upper end of the cupholder 33.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments. For example, the container 1 may be modified into the form shown in fig. 38A to 38H. Fig. 38A shows an example in which the rib 2f serving as the Peter line is omitted from the cup 1 shown in fig. 5; fig. 38B shows another example in which the rib 2e is instead inwardly projected unlike that shown in fig. 38A; fig. 38C shows a further example in which the rib 2e is omitted from the cup 1 of fig. 5; fig. 38D shows a further example in which the rib 2f of fig. 38C is changed to protrude inward. In addition, fig. 38E shows a further example in which the rib 2f of fig. 5 serving as the Peter line is modified so as to protrude inward; fig. 38F shows a further example in which the rib 2e in fig. 5 is modified so as to protrude inward; fig. 38G shows a further example in which both ribs 2f, 2e project inwardly. In addition, fig. 38H shows still another example in which the adhesion area BD is extended from the adhesion area BD shown in fig. 5, including the rib 2f serving as the Peter line. The Peter line can be positioned closer to the curled portion 2c of the cup body 2, and in this case, if the rib 2f as the Peter line is not included, it is difficult to secure a sufficiently large adhesion area BD. In this case, the design becomes an effective design as shown in fig. 34H. In the case of fig. 34D and 34G, the adhesive area BD may include Peter lines.

In the above embodiment, no operation is performed in the position a6 of the sleeve-forming part 20 and the position B7 of the assembling part 30. However, if necessary, appropriate operation processing may be set on the position a6 and the position B7. For example, container 1 may be inspected at position B7 to eject a defect-free container at position B8. The number of locations may vary. For example, if the curled portion 3a of the sleeve 3 can be formed in one step, one device 260 can be omitted and the number of positions of the sleeve-forming portion 20 can be reduced. If the ribs 2f, 2e are formed at common positions, the number of positions of the assembly portion 30 can be reduced. Conversely, the number of positions may be increased to increase the number of other processes necessary to manufacture the container 1. As long as the supply of the sleeve 3 and the supply of the cup 2 to the sleeve transfer device 360 are synchronized with each other, it is not necessary to unify the indexing angle, i.e., the driving angle, of the stages 21, 31 with each other.

In the above embodiment, the rotary platform 21 functions as a sleeve conveyor, and the sleeve forming section 20 is a sleeve forming machine. The sleeve conveyor is not limited to a rotating platform but may instead be a variety of configurations that encircle the mandrel along a predetermined path. The sleeve forming machine is not limited to embodiments that are integral with the assembly machine. The sleeve forming part 20 and the assembling part 30 may be devices independent of each other. If it is not necessary to provide the curled portion 3a on the sleeve 3, the rod 23a of the core rod 23 may be extended to be equal to or greater than the length of the sleeve 3, whereby the auxiliary closing means 240 may be omitted. As shown in FIG. 39, the primary closure device 220 and the secondary closure device 240 are formed as one piece. In the device 220 of fig. 39, the length of the pressing piece 222 is equal to or greater than the length of the bonding line 3d of the blank 3'. When the presser piece 222 is pressed against the bonding wire 3d, the bonding supporter 224 is located inside the protruding portion 3e to support the bonding wire 3d from the inside thereof. The binding support 224 may be driven by a mechanism similar to that used to drive the forceps 245 in figure 20.

In the above embodiment, the rotating platform 31 functions as a cup conveyer, the assembling portion 30 functions as an assembling machine, and the rotation driving mechanism 321 functions as a holder driving device. The cup conveyor is not limited to a rotating platform, but may instead be a variety of structures that encircle the cup holder along a predetermined path. The assembly machine is not limited to the above-described embodiment in which it is integrally formed with the sleeve forming machine. Each processing including processing of the ribs 2e, 2f can be performed using cup rotation provided by the holder driving means.

Fig. 40 to 41 show different types of rib machining devices 320. In these drawings, elements corresponding to those in fig. 28 to 30 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The devices 320A, 320B shown in fig. 40 and 41 are identical to each other, except for the difference in the position of the pushing mechanism 330 in the vertical direction. That is, the mechanism 330 in fig. 40 is used for machining the rib 2f, and the mechanism 330 in fig. 41 is used for machining the rib 2 e. The support shaft 40 is rotatably fixed to the rotating platform 31 by a bearing 42. The flanges 45a, 46a and the cup bottom support portion 47a are integrally formed on the support shaft 40.

Fig. 42 shows a different rib-forming device 320. In fig. 42, two pressing rollers 335, 335 are provided on opposite sides of the cup body 2 in the radial direction of the cup body 2 so as to cancel each other out the pushing forces applied to the cup body 2 from the rollers 335 in the radial direction, thereby preventing the biasing and deviation of the cup body 2.

If the groove 335a is formed on the outer periphery of the flange 45a or 46a and a projection complementary to the groove 335a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the roller 335, an inwardly projecting rib 2f or 2e as shown in fig. 38B and 38D to 38H may be machined. If the space in the cup body 2 is sufficiently large, the pressing roller 335 may be disposed inside the cup body 2 while the fence is disposed outside the cup body 2. In this case, the inwardly projecting ribs may be formed by forming grooves 335a in the rollers 335 and by forming projections complementary to the grooves 335a on the moulding provided on the outside of the cup 2. Instead, the outwardly projecting ribs may be formed by forming 335a on a molding provided on the outside of the cup body 2, while forming complementary projections with the grooves 335a on the rollers 335.

The rib-forming apparatus of the present invention may be used to form ribs on different containers. The ribs formed by the apparatus of the present invention are not limited to the form surrounding the container, i.e., ribs partially extending in the circumferential direction of the container as shown in fig. 2B may be formed by the apparatus of the present invention. Such a partial rib may be formed, for example, by intermittently removing the roller 335 from the cup 2 during relative rotation of the roller 335 about the cup 2.

The heat-insulating container according to the present invention can be used as a container used when instant foods and the like are put on the market. The manufacturing apparatus, sleeve forming machine, assembling machine, rib processing apparatus and respective processing processes of the present invention can be used to prepare various containers.

Claims

1. An insulated container comprising:

a paper cup body having a side wall and a bottom at one end of the side wall, and having an outwardly curled portion at the other end of the side wall; and

a paper cup holder in the shape of an inverted truncated cone, wherein the lower end of the cup holder is provided with an inward curled part;

the paper cup body and the sleeve are integrally coupled to each other such that the upper end of the sleeve is coupled to the cup body at a coupling area adjacent to the curled portion of the cup body, and the inward curled portion of the cup holder is in contact with the outer circumference of the lower portion of the sidewall of the cup body, thereby forming an insulating space, the insulation space gradually increases toward the bottom of the container, at least two horizontal ribs are formed on the side wall of the cup body, so as to protrude radially outwardly of the receptacle, an upper one of the horizontal ribs being formed at a position close to below the coupling region to show a proper water level of the injected object, at least one remaining horizontal rib being formed at a position lower than the upper horizontal rib, the at least one remaining horizontal rib is slightly larger than the upper horizontal rib, and the at least one remaining horizontal rib protrudes by an amount determined not to contact the inner surface of the sleeve.

2. The insulated container of claim 1, wherein the at least one remaining horizontal rib is a lower rib formed at a middle portion of the cup body, the lower rib being slightly larger than the upper horizontal rib.

3. The insulated container of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least two horizontal ribs extend continuously around the entire periphery of the cup body side wall.

4. The heat-insulating container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least two horizontal ribs extend intermittently in a circumferential direction of the cup body side wall.

5. The heat-insulating container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the at least two horizontal ribs is formed to have a cross section of a shape between a sharp-end shape and a gentle shape.

6. An insulated container comprising:

the paper cup body and the sleeve are integrally combined with each other such that the inwardly curled portion of the sleeve contacts the outer circumference of the lower portion of the side wall of the cup body, thereby forming an insulation space which gradually increases toward the bottom of the container, the upper portion of the cup body is surrounded by a thermal insulation paper corrugated member having alternately narrow protrusions and depressions, the upper portion of the sleeve is combined with the side wall of the cup body near the outwardly curled portion of the cup body by the thermal insulation paper corrugated member, and at least one horizontal rib is formed on the side wall of the cup body so as to protrude below the thermal insulation paper corrugated member radially outwardly of the container.