JP2019031295A - Tea bag manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a tea bag manufacturing method that achieves both laser cutting and welding and has high manufacturing efficiency, or a tea bag in which the loss of the contents is suppressed. A temporary fixing step of stacking two filters and temporarily fixing them so as to define a predetermined outer shape, and using a laser to cut and cut within 2 mm outside the temporary fixing positions of the two filters. A method for producing a tea bag, comprising a molding step of welding. [Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a tea bag manufacturing method using a laser processing technique.

  A tea bag contains a predetermined amount of tea leaves and powder in a package in advance, and tea can be extracted by simply immersing it in hot water or water, and is widely used because of its simplicity.

  Most of the outer shapes of conventional tea bags are rectangular or triangular pyramid from the viewpoint of ease of molding and extraction efficiency.

On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses a tea bag having a heart shape, a star shape, a shape imitating a fruit, and a shape imitating an animal as a tea bag having a unique shape.
In Patent Document 1, as a method of manufacturing such a unique shaped tea bag, a filter is sandwiched between a base and a mold, and cutting and welding are performed into a predetermined shape using a fusion cutting tool that emits ultrasonic waves. A method is disclosed.

However, the method described in Patent Document 1 has not yet been automated and needs to be performed manually, resulting in a problem of poor manufacturing efficiency.
In addition, the contact-type tool such as the fusion cutting tool described in Patent Document 1 causes the displacement and fraying of the filters to overlap, and it is difficult to simultaneously cut and weld into the exact shape as expected. There is a problem that there is.
Furthermore, the mold is expensive, and if a mold is prepared for each shape, a large cost is required.

  Ultrasonic welding can be welded at the same time as cutting the filter if it is straight and simple like the shape of a conventional tea bag, but it has a heart-shaped curve and a star-shaped tip. It is known that such a complicated shape cannot be welded or cut sufficiently and causes the outflow of the contents. In addition, since clean and accurate welding cannot be performed, it causes a shape defect.

  Patent Document 2 describes a method for manufacturing a tea bag having a specific shape, in which a filter is cut into a predetermined outer shape in advance, and the two filters are overlapped and sewn at a predetermined pitch so that tea leaves do not flow out. Yes.

However, as in the method described in Patent Document 2, if the filter is only sewn together with a thread, the large tea leaves will not flow out, but the fine powder will flow out, causing dirt and miscellaneous taste.
Furthermore, since the yarn loosens with time, there is no problem for personal manufacture and use, but it is not suitable for mass production.

Utility Model Registration No. 3116503 JP 2013-133108 A

  The inventors of the present invention have focused on laser processing technology in order to establish a tea bag manufacturing method that has higher manufacturing efficiency than the conventional one and that prevents the outflow of the contents.

  The inventors of the present invention have conducted extensive research on the assumption that the use of a laser processing technique can simultaneously cut and weld a filter and the processing speed is high, thereby improving the production efficiency.

However, contrary to expectation, it was difficult to achieve both cutting and welding of the filter only by using a laser processing technique.
In order to cut the filter cleanly, it is necessary to focus the laser. However, if the focus is narrowed, it was not possible to weld well, and it was found that there was a gap.
In clothes, etc., even if there are some unwelded parts, it will not be a big problem, but in tea bags, some gaps will cause the contents to flow out, so it is necessary to eliminate the unwelded parts completely. is there.
On the other hand, it was found that if the focal point is widened, welding can be performed without gaps, but it cannot be cut cleanly and becomes a distorted shape.

  In view of such a new problem, the present invention achieves compatibility between laser cutting and welding, a tea bag manufacturing method with high manufacturing efficiency, or a tea having a clean cut surface and suppressed content loss. It is an object to provide a bag.

The method for producing a tea bag of the present invention that solves the above problems is as follows.
Two or more filters are stacked and temporarily fixed so as to define a predetermined outer shape, and a laser is used to cut and weld the outside of the two or more filters within 2 mm from the temporary fixing position. A molding process is provided.
In the present invention, two or more filters are temporarily fixed, and two or more filters can be welded almost completely by cutting within 2 mm from the temporary fixing position with a laser.
According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve both cutting and welding of a filter by a laser, so that the manufacturing efficiency of tea bags is remarkably high, and not only rectangular and triangular pyramid shaped tea bags, but also heart-shaped and star-shaped A tea bag having a complicated shape such as a shape can also be easily manufactured.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the temporary fixing means in the temporary fixing step is stitching and / or ultrasonic welding.
By temporarily fixing with stitching and / or ultrasonic waves, the cut surface is cleaner, and the filter can be welded without gaps.

In the preferable form of this invention, the external shape of the tea bag to manufacture has a curved part, an acute angle part, and / or an obtuse angle part.
The present invention is particularly suitable for manufacturing a tea bag having a curved portion, an acute angle portion, and / or an obtuse angle portion.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a raw material inlet forming step is provided in which a cut is made in the filter to form a raw material inlet after the molding step.
After forming the tea bag, the raw material can be charged later by forming the raw material charging port. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the raw material from being shifted in the molding process, causing a difference between the target content and the actual content, and preventing the raw material from entering the temporary fixing gap and interfering with welding. be able to.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the raw material inlet has a size that allows a tablet-like raw material to be charged.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the method includes a step of sealing the raw material charging port after the raw material is charged.

  Moreover, this invention which solves the said subject is the tea bag manufactured by the method mentioned above.

According to the present invention, even a tea bag having a complicated shape can be easily and efficiently manufactured.
Furthermore, the tea bag manufactured according to the present invention has almost no loss of raw materials.

It is a figure which shows the filter after the temporary fix | stop process which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the range which can be cut | disconnected by the laser which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the tea bag which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the tea bag provided with the raw material insertion opening which concerns on this embodiment. It is a drawing substitute photograph which shows the welding degree by the difference in the cutting position by a laser. It is a drawing substitute photograph which shows the mode after putting a tea bag in the plastic bag which can be sealed, and shaking 10 times. It is the drawing substitute photograph of the experimental result which shows the loss | disappearance degree of the raw material by the difference in the cutting position by laser.

  Hereinafter, with reference to drawings, it explains in detail about the manufacturing method of the tea bag concerning one embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not restricted to this.

(1) Temporary fixing process The manufacturing method according to the present embodiment stacks the upper filter 10a and the lower filter 10b and temporarily fixes them in a heart shape (FIG. 1).

  The material of the filter 10 is not particularly limited as long as it is a material that can generally be used for a tea bag, and paper, non-woven fabric, nylon bag, polyester bag, plant-derived biodegradable fiber, and the like can be used. It is preferable to use a nylon bag.

In the present embodiment, the step of temporarily fixing to a heart shape is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and in addition to a general rectangular shape and a triangular pyramid shape, a curved portion, an acute angle portion and / or an obtuse angle object are included. A tea bag can be produced.
Here, in this specification, an acute angle part and an obtuse angle part mean the acute angle part and obtuse angle part in an internal angle.
For example, a tea bag having a star shape having a convex corner portion, a hexagon having a concave corner portion, a circular shape having a curved portion, or a composite shape thereof can be manufactured.

In addition, according to the present invention, a tea bag having a three-dimensional and more complicated shape such as folded origami can be manufactured.
Examples of the complicated shape in this case include a three-dimensional shape having 9 or more sides, preferably 10 or more, more preferably 12 or more, and still more preferably 14 or more. For example, a three-dimensional tea bag imitating characters, vehicles, animals, plants, buildings, sports equipment, handbags, shoulder bags, clothes, and the like can be manufactured. Specifically, a tea bag or the like having a shape imitating a three-dimensional crane produced by folding origami can be manufactured.
Normally, when trying to manufacture a three-dimensional and complicated shape tea bag using an extraction filter, the shape cannot be maintained well, or there are many unfused parts, and the loss of raw materials cannot be suppressed. According to the present invention, it is possible to manufacture a tea bag having almost no unwelded portion while maintaining a three-dimensional and complicated shape.

In the manufacturing method according to the present embodiment, the upper filter 10a and the lower filter 10b are stitched to be temporarily fixed so as to define a predetermined outer shape using a programmable sewing machine.
By using a sewing machine that can be programmed, the filter can be temporarily fixed so as to be quickly defined in a predetermined shape, and the manufacturing efficiency is further improved.
In the present embodiment, the process of temporarily fixing using a programmable sewing machine has been illustrated, but the filter may be sewn using a sewing machine that cannot be sewn and programmed.

In the present invention, two filters may be temporarily fixed by ultrasonic welding.
In ultrasonic welding, a gap having a curved portion, an acute angle portion, and an obtuse angle portion, such as a heart shape and a star shape, has a large gap and the raw material is washed away.
However, by using ultrasonic welding as a temporary fixing, it is possible to help both laser cutting and welding, and as a result, the manufacturing efficiency of the tea bag can be improved.

The ultrasonic welding machine used in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it can be generally used for welding a tea bag, and a sealer type or a pen type can be used.
Moreover, in this embodiment, although illustrated about the process of temporarily fixing two filters, the said filter may be two or more.
By using two or more sheets, the strength of the tea bag can be further increased.

(2) Molding process The manufacturing method according to the present embodiment includes a molding process of cutting and welding the outside within 2 mm from the temporary fixing position of the filter using a laser.
In FIG. 2, the figure which visualized the range which can cut | disconnect and weld the filter which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention is shown.

In this way, by setting the position where cutting is possible within 2 mm from the temporary fixing position, it is possible to weld with a clean cut surface and almost no gap by making it within a specific range. Efficiency can be improved.
The cutting position is preferably within 1.5 mm, more preferably within 1 mm, and even more preferably within 0.5 mm, and it is particularly preferable that the cutting is performed so as to trace over the temporary fixing position.

FIG. 3 shows heart-shaped tea bags 30a and 30b according to the present embodiment.
The tea bag 30a is cut and welded so as to trace over the temporary fixing 20.
Thus, by cutting and welding so as to trace the temporary fixing position, it is possible to cut more beautifully and to weld without gaps.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the filter is cut and welded using a laser so as to trace over the temporary tack 20.
By setting it as such a form, a filter can be cut | disconnected and welded more beautifully.

  The tea bag 30b is obtained by cutting and welding within 2 mm from the temporary fixing position.

As a laser used in the present invention, a solid laser and a gas laser generally used for processing and welding can be used, and a CO ₂ laser is preferably used.
The lower limit of the laser output is preferably 10 W or more, more preferably 15 W or more, and particularly preferably 20 W or more. The upper limit of the laser output is preferably 150 W or less, more preferably 140 W or less, and still more preferably 130 W or less.

(3) Raw material inlet forming step The manufacturing method according to the present embodiment is such that after the molding step, one of the upper filter 10a and the lower filter 10b is cut and a tablet-like raw material 60 is introduced. A step of forming a raw material inlet 50a having such a size that can be produced (FIG. 4).

  In recent years, in addition to tea leaves extracted with hot water and tea powder dissolved with hot water, tablet-shaped tea raw materials have appeared as tea raw materials. Tablet-shaped tea ingredients are useful for their convenience, without the need to measure the amount and the risk of powder scattering. However, many tablet-like tea materials need to be extracted in the same manner as tea leaves, and an extraction bag is required.

  According to the manufacturing method which concerns on this embodiment, the tea bag which can throw in the tablet-shaped raw material 60a can be manufactured.

  In the present embodiment, the step of forming a raw material inlet having a size capable of feeding a tablet-like raw material is exemplified, but in the present invention, the size of the raw material inlet 50 is not particularly limited. Moreover, the kind of raw material is not limited to the tea raw material 60b, but foods such as Chinese medicine, coffee, health food, instants (miso soup, sports drinks, soup, etc.), etc. A powdery material can be used. Further, by introducing miscellaneous goods such as aroma and potpourri, stones, ores, etc. and taking them in a bath, they can be used for miscellaneous goods having a hot spring effective use, deodorizers, deodorants and the like.

  As described above, by forming the raw material charging port after molding the tea bag, it is possible to prevent the raw material from entering the temporary fixing position during the temporary fixing step and hindering cutting and welding. Moreover, it can prevent that a difference arises from the target raw material content to the actual content by shifting the raw material from the predetermined range.

  In the present embodiment, the tea bag manufacturing method including the raw material inlet forming step is illustrated, but in the present invention, the raw material inlet forming step may not be provided, and the upper filter 10a and the lower filter 10b are provided with the raw material in advance. The tea bag 30 may be manufactured by performing the above-described temporary fixing process and molding process in a state of sandwiching.

(4) Step of Sealing Raw Material Input Port This embodiment includes a step of sealing the raw material input port 50a after the raw material 60a is charged into the tea bag 30a.
Examples of the sealing method include sewing with a sewing machine, welding with an ultrasonic welding machine, a small sealer machine, and the like.

In this embodiment, although the manufacturing method of the tea bag provided with a raw material input port welding process was illustrated, this invention is not limited to this, It is not necessary to provide a raw material input port welding process.
In such a form, it is possible to manufacture a tea bag in which a consumer can input one kind or two or more kinds of raw materials and enjoy a favorite tea and blend.

Test Example 1 (Evaluation of degree of laser cutting and welding with or without temporary fixing process)
Two nylon scissors filters were piled up and temporarily fixed using a programmable sewing machine so that the outer shape became a heart shape. Thereafter, using a laser processing apparatus (conditions: CO ₂ laser, laser output 20 W), a position within 1 mm outside from the temporary fixing position was cut and welded to manufacture a tea bag of Example 1.
Subsequently, the tea bag of the comparative example 1 was manufactured by the method similar to Example 1 except having cut | disconnected and welded the outer 3mm position from the temporary fix position.
Subsequently, without carrying out the temporary fixing step, the two nylon scissors filters were cut using a laser processing apparatus set to the same conditions as in Example 1 to produce a tea bag of Comparative Example 2. The results are shown in FIG.

The tea bag of Example 1 could be cut into a heart shape neatly, and the cut portion was almost completely welded, and there was almost no gap.
Although the tea bag of Comparative Example 1 could be cut cleanly into a heart shape, welding at the cut portion was incomplete and gaps were generated in some places.
Although the tea bag of Comparative Example 2 could be cut into a heart shape neatly, there was no welded portion at all.

  From this result, it can be seen that it is difficult to achieve both cutting and welding of two filters with a laser alone. Further, if the distance between the temporary fixing position and the cutting position is too far, welding becomes incomplete, but if the distance between the temporary fixing position and the cutting position is within a predetermined range, both cutting and welding can be achieved. It can be seen that the production efficiency is improved.

Test example 2
Tee of Example 2 in which two nylon glaze filters are stacked while sandwiching powdered tea ingredients, temporarily fixed using a programmable sewing machine, and the outer 0.5 mm position is cut and welded from the temporary fixing position. The tea bag of the comparative example 3 which cut | disconnected and welded the bag and the position of 3 mm outside from the temporary fix position was manufactured.
The tea bags of Example 2 and Comparative Example 3 were accommodated in a plastic bag that could be sealed, and the plastic bag in which the tea bag was accommodated was manually shaken 10 times to intentionally let out the raw material (FIG. 6). The powder raw material flowing out from the tea bag was allowed to stand on white paper, and the amount of the powdered tea raw material washed away was visually confirmed. The results are shown in FIG.

As is clear from FIG. 7, the amount of powdered tea raw material flowing out from the tea bag of Example 2 is extremely small as compared with the powdered raw material flowing out of the tea bag of Comparative Example 3.
From this result, it can be seen that by setting the distance from the temporary fixing position to the cutting position within a specific range, the cut portion is almost completely welded, and the outflow of the raw material can be suppressed.

  In Example 2, the raw material was confirmed to be washed away because the raw material was in the form of powder, and it was considered that some raw material was washed away through the filter mesh when shaken. Unless the operation | movement which shakes a tea bag like 2 is carried out, there is almost no loss of the raw material in the tea bag of Example 2. FIG.

  The present invention can be used in tea bag or package manufacturing techniques.

10 Filter 20 Temporary Fixing Position 21 Cutable Range 30 Tea Bag 40 Cutting Section 50 Raw Material Input 60 Raw Material

Claims (7)

A tea bag manufacturing method comprising:
A temporary fixing process in which two or more filters are stacked and temporarily fixed so as to define a predetermined outer shape;
A method for manufacturing a tea bag, comprising a molding step of cutting and welding the outside of the two or more filters within 2 mm from the temporarily fixed position using a laser.   The method for manufacturing a tea bag according to claim 1, wherein the means for temporary fixing in the temporary fixing step is sewing and / or ultrasonic welding.   The tea bag manufacturing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an outer shape of the tea bag to be manufactured has a curved portion, an acute angle portion, and / or an obtuse angle portion.   The manufacturing method of the tea bag as described in any one of Claims 1-3 provided with the raw material input port formation process which cuts into the said filter and forms a raw material input port after the said shaping | molding process.   The tea bag manufacturing method according to claim 4, wherein the raw material charging port has a size capable of charging a tablet-shaped raw material.   The method for manufacturing a tea bag according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising a step of sealing the raw material charging port after charging the raw material. The tea bag manufactured by the method as described in any one of Claims 1-6.