METHOD FOR SEALING THE TAIL OF A TUBE CONTAINER AND ASSOCIATED PRODUCT

Abstract

METHOD FOR SEALING THE TAIL OF A TUBE CONTAINER AND ASSOCIATED PRODUCT The invention relates to a method for sealing the tail of a tube container and a product thereof, which simultaneously performs a tail seal and a coating of an end surface of an intermediate layer material of the tube container, so as to protect the intermediate layer material. The tail sealing method comprises the following steps: (1) placing a tube body (11) in a tail sealing machine (2); aligning a left mold (21) and a right mold (22) of the tail sealing machine (2) with an end opening of a tube tail of the tube body (11), and then closing the left mold (21) and the right mold (22) against each other;surfaces of the left mold (21) and the right mold (22) opposite each other, each having a pressure portion (23), which is configured to press against the end opening of the tube tail of the tube body (11); a first protruding edge (24) being disposed horizontally along a lower edge of each pressure portion (23); (2) fusing together two sides of the end opening of the tube tail of the tube body (11) with high pressure by the left mold (21) and the right mold (22) of the tail sealing machine (2); an overflow portion being formed at a tail portion of the tube tail by molten material from the tube body (11) pushed towards the tail portion of the tube tail by the first protruding edges (24); (3) after cooling of the tube tail, cut off the overhanging part on the tail part of the tube tail with a cutting tool, thus completing a tail sealing process;the cutting tool making the cut at a position higher than one end of the tube body (11) corresponding to the tube tail. Figure to be published with the abbreviation: Figure 3;

Description

Title of the invention: METHOD FOR SEALING THE TAIL OF A TUBE CONTAINER AND ASSOCIATED PRODUCT FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of tube container processing technology and, more particularly, a method for sealing the tail of a tube container and an associated product.

[0002] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] A tail sealing method in the prior art includes the steps of first injecting a content (e.g., a cosmetic product, toothpaste, etc.) into a tube container, then fusing together two sides of an end opening of the tube container under high pressure by heating techniques; the tail seal of the tube container is achieved after cutting irregular overflow fusion materials formed at one end of a tube tail of the tube container with a cutting tool.

[0004] Due to improvements in technology in the industry and constantly evolving product demands, materials currently used to manufacture tube containers are no longer limited to plastic, but to an increasing diversity of raw materials; for example, some manufacturers have started to manufacture tube bodies using eco-friendly paper, which is more environmentally friendly by reducing the amount of plastic used.As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a tube body 11' made of eco-friendly paper comprises at least a first plastic film 111' as its outermost layer, a second plastic film 112' (or an aluminum foil) as its innermost layer, and a layer of eco-friendly paper 113' between the first plastic film 111' and the second plastic film 112'; when the tail-sealing process of the prior art is used, after cutting the irregular overflow melting materials formed at an end portion of a tube tail 12' (consisting of a heat-fused portion and an overflow melting portion), one end of the eco-friendly paper layer 113' is directly exposed from the tube tail 12'.As tube containers are typically filled with cosmetics, toothpaste, and so forth, which are usually used and stored in bathrooms or other humid environments, an exposed end of the 113' eco-paper layer is likely to be affected by moisture; subsequently, the 113' eco-paper layer inside the 11' tube body may become moistened, discolored, and even deteriorated, thus leading to a deterioration in the quality of the tube container whose tube tail can easily split; at the same time, the 113' ecological paper layer which is moistened and discolored also affects the appearance of the tube container, and leads to a poor user experience.

[0005] BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a method for sealing the tail of a tube container and a product thereof, which simultaneously performs a tail seal and a coating of an end surface of an intermediate layer material of the tube container, so as to protect the intermediate layer material.

[0007] To this end, the present invention relates to a method for sealing the tail of a tube-shaped container, comprising the following steps:

[0008] Step 1: Place a tube body in a tail sealing machine; align a left die and a right die of the tail sealing machine with an end opening of a tube tail of the tube body, then close the left die and the right die against each other; opposite surfaces of the left die and the right die each have a pressure part, which is configured to press against the end opening of the tube tail of the tube body; a first protruding edge is arranged horizontally along a lower edge of each pressure part;

[0009] step 2: fuse together two sides of the end opening of the tube tail of the tube body with high pressure by the left mold and the right mold of the tail sealing machine; an overflowing part is formed at a tail part of the tube tail by molten material from the tube body pushed towards the tail part of the tube tail by the first protruding edges;

[0010] Step 3: After cooling the tube tail, cut off the overhanging part on the tail portion of the tube tail with a cutting tool, thus completing a tail sealing process; the cutting tool making the cut at a position higher than one end of the tube body corresponding to the tube tail.

[0011] Advantageously, a second projecting edge is arranged horizontally along an upper edge of each pressure part.

[0012] Preferably, a position of each second protruding edge is higher than said end of the tube body corresponding to the tube tail; and each second protruding edge defines a stepped part formed on each of the two sides of the tube tail; the stepped parts position and guide the cutting tool.

[0013] Advantageously, in step 3, said position at which the cutting tool makes the cut is at half a height of the overhanging part.

[0014] The present invention also relates to a tube-shaped container, made according to the tail-sealing process as described above; in which the tube body the tube container includes a layer of plastic film as its outermost layer, an anti-corrosion layer as its innermost layer, and an eco-friendly paper layer between the plastic film layer and the anti-corrosion layer; the tube tail has one end of the eco-friendly paper layer which is covered.

[0015] Advantageously, the anti-corrosion layer is a plastic film or an aluminum foil.

[0016] By adopting the above technical solutions, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0017] 1. The left and right molds of the tail sealing machine present invention each comprise a first protruding edge; the first protruding edges cause the molten material from an outer layer of the tube body to overflow towards the tail portion of the tube tail during a high-pressure melting process; then, the overflow portion is formed on the tail portion of the tube tail to cover an end surface of the eco-friendly paper layer; consequently, the eco-friendly paper layer inside the tube body is isolated and protected from an external environment.

[0018] 2. The tube tail as formed has a positioning and guiding function during cutting, which prevents the eco-friendly paper layer of the tube body from being cut or exposed after the cutting process, thus protecting the eco-friendly paper layer from moisture during use.

[0019] 3. The present invention does not require any modifications to a formation process existing tube body, nor the use of additional quantities of material for the tube body; instead, the first protruding edges of the present invention reshape a portion of the tube body material to form the overhanging portion of the tube tail, thus the present invention can be directly used to perform a tail sealing process for existing tube containers made of multilayer composite materials. Brief description of the drawings

[0020] [Fig. 1] is a structural view of a prior art tube container containing ecological paper;

[0021] [Fig.2] shows an enlarged view of part A of [Fig.1];

[0022] [Fig.3] shows a perspective view of one embodiment of the process of tail sealing of the present invention prior to a mold closing process;

[0023] [Fig.4] shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the tail sealing process of the present invention after a mold closing process;

[0024] [Fig.5] shows a structural view of an embodiment of the tail sealing process of the present invention after a mold closing process;

[0025] [Fig.6] shows an enlarged view of part B of [Fig.5];

[0026] [Fig.7] shows a structural view of an embodiment of the sealing process of tail of the present invention during a cutting process;

[0027] [Fig.8] shows an enlarged view of part C of [Fig.7];

[0028] [Fig.9] shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a product of the tail sealing method of the present invention;

[0029] [Fig. 10] shows a structural view of an embodiment of the product of the tail sealing process of the present invention;

[0030] [Fig. 11] shows an enlarged view of part D of [Fig. 10]. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0031] As shown in Figures 3 to 11, the present invention relates to a method for sealing the tail of a tube container, comprising the following steps:

[0032] Step 1: As shown in Figures 3 and 4, place a tube body 11 formed with a tube head 13 and filled with contents in a tail sealing machine 2; align a left die 21 and a right die 22 of the tail sealing machine 2 on an end opening of the tube body 11 opposite to an end of the tube body 11 formed with the tube head 13, then close the left die 21 and the right die 22 against each other; opposite surfaces of the left die 21 and the right die 22 each have a pressure part 23, which is configured to press against the end opening of the tube body 11; a first protruding edge 24 is arranged horizontally along a lower edge of each pressure part 23;

[0033] Step 2: as shown in Figures 5 and 6, fusing together two sides of the end opening of the tube body 11 with high pressure by the left mold 21 and the right mold 22 of the tail sealing machine 2; an overhanging part 121 is formed at a tail part of a tube tail 12 by the molten material of the tube body 11 pushed towards the tail part of the tube tail 12 by the first protruding edges 24;

[0034] Step 3: as shown in Figures 7 and 8, after cooling the tube tail 12, cut the overhanging part 121 at the tail part of the tube tail 12 with a cutting tool 3, thus completing a tail sealing process and obtaining a tube container 1 as illustrated in [Fig.9]; the cutting tool 3 making the cut at a higher position than one end of the tube body 11 opposite the end of the tube body 11 formed with the tube head 13.

[0035] Embodiments of the present invention are as follows:

[0036] A second projecting edge 25 is arranged horizontally along an upper edge of each pressure part 23; the second projecting edge 25 is designed to increase a height of the overhanging part 121 formed once the tube body 11 has been pressed by the left die 21 and the right die 22, so that the cutting carried out in step 3 is more convenient, while allowing higher degrees of defect tolerance during cutting and preventing product defects.

[0037] In addition, a position of each second projecting edge 25 is higher than said end of the tube body 11 opposite the end of the tube body 11 formed with the tube head 13; and each second projecting edge 25 defines a stepped part 122 formed on each of the two sides of the tube tail 12; the stepped parts 122 are convenient for positioning and guiding the cutting tool 3, thus increasing the efficiency and accuracy of the cut made by the cutting tool 3.

[0038] In step 3, said position at which the cutting tool 3 makes the cut is at half a height of the overhanging part 121.

[0039] As shown in Figures 9 to 11, a product of the tail sealing process is a tube container 1; the tube body 11 of the tube container 1 comprises a layer of plastic film 111 as the outermost layer thereof, an anti-corrosion layer 112 as the innermost layer thereof, and an eco-friendly paper layer 113 between the plastic film layer 111 and the anti-corrosion layer 112; the tube tail 12 has one end of the eco-friendly paper layer 113 which is covered.

[0040] In addition, the anti-corrosion layer 112 is a plastic film or an aluminum foil.

[0041] In addition, the tube body 11 is not limited to three layers of materials; the eco-paper layer 113 comprises at least one layer of eco-paper; or the eco-paper layer 113 may be made of other materials which require protection against corrosion and moisture.

[0042] Thanks to the above solutions, the left mold 21 and the right mold 22 of the tail sealing machine 2 of the present invention each have a first protruding edge 24; the first protruding edges 24 push the molten material from an outer layer of the tube body 11 to overflow towards the tail portion of the tube tail 12 during a high-pressure melting process; then, the overflow portion 121 is formed at the tail portion of the tube tail 12 to cover an end surface of the eco-friendly paper layer 113; consequently, the eco-friendly paper layer 113 inside the tube body 11 is isolated and protected from an external environment; the tube tail 12 as formed has a positioning and guiding function during cutting, which prevents the eco-friendly paper layer 113 of the tube body 11 from being cut or exposed after the process of cut, thus protecting the ecological paper layer 113 from moisture during use; the present invention does not require modifications to an existing tube body 11 forming process, nor the use of additional quantities of material for the tube body 11; instead, the first protruding edges 24 of the present invention reshape a portion of the tube body 11 material to form the overhanging portion 121 of the tube tail 12, so the present invention can be directly used to perform a tail sealing process for existing tube containers made of multilayer composite materials.

Claims

1. Demands A method for sealing the tail of a tube container (1), characterized in that it allows the covering of an end surface of an intermediate layer material of the tube container (1) so as to protect the intermediate layer material and that it comprises the following steps: step 1: place a tube body (11) of the tube container (1), comprising a layer of plastic film (111) as its outermost layer, an anti-corrosion layer (112) as its innermost layer, and an eco-friendly paper layer (113) between the plastic film layer (111) and the anti-corrosion layer (112), into a tail sealing machine (2); align a left mold (21) and a right mold (22) of the tail sealing machine (2) with an end opening of a tube tail (12) of the tube body (11), then close the left mold (21) and the right mold (22) against each other; surfaces of the left mold (21) and the right mold (22) opposite each other each having a pressure part (23), which is configured to press against the end opening of the tube tail (12) of the tube body (11);a first projecting edge (24) being arranged horizontally along a lower edge of each pressure part (23); step 2: fusing together two sides of the end opening of the tube tail (12) of the tube body (11) during a high-pressure melting process with high pressure by the left mold (21) and the right mold (22) of the tail sealing machine (2); an overflowing part (121) being formed by overflowing towards a tail portion of the tube tail (12) of molten material from the plastic film layer (111) of the tube body (11) pushed towards the tail portion of the tube tail (12) by the first protruding edges (24), the overflowing part (121) being formed at the tail portion of the tube tail (12) to cover an end surface of the eco-friendly paper layer (113), such that the eco-friendly paper layer (113) inside the tube body (11) is isolated and protected from an external environment; Step 3: After cooling the tube tail (12), cut off the overhanging portion (121) on the tail portion of the tube tail. tube (12) with a cutting tool (3), thus completing a tail sealing process; the cutting tool (3) making the cut at a position higher than one end of the tube body (11) corresponding to the tube tail (12).

2. Tail sealing method according to claim 1, characterized in that a second projecting edge (25) is arranged horizontally along an upper edge of each pressure part (23).

3. A tail sealing method according to claim 2, characterized in that a position of each second projecting edge (25) is higher than said end of the tube body (11) corresponding to the tube tail (12); and each second projecting edge (25) defines a stepped part (122) formed on each of the two sides of the tube tail (12); the stepped parts (122) positioning and guiding the cutting tool (3).

4. Tail sealing method according to claim 1, characterized in that, in step 3, said position at which the cutting tool (3) makes the cut is at half a height of the overhanging part (121).

5. Tube container (1), made according to the tail sealing process according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the tube tail (12) has one end of the ecological paper layer (113) which is covered.

6. Tube container (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the anti-corrosion layer (112) is a plastic film or an aluminum foil.

Images