Fuse bead for a game and method for producing a fuse bead for a game

Abstract

A fusible play bead comprising a water-soluble resin and two or more pigments as coloring agents, the water-soluble resin comprising polyvinyl alcohol as the principal component and comprising 3% by weight of polypropylene, and two or more colors appearing to blend together on a surface without intermingling. Abstract figure: Figure 2

Description

Title of the invention: PLAY FUSE BEAD AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A PLAY FUSE BEAD Technical field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a game fuse bead and a method of producing a game fuse bead. State of the prior art

[0002] Recently, toys called play beads have been created for playing with beads, such as small resin spheres or tubular resin bodies, which are fused together to create various decorative and other bodies. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a play fuse bead where the beads can be fused together simply by spraying a liquid such as water to create combinations of beads of various shapes. List of quotes Patent document

[0003] Patent Document 1: JP2013-143986A Summary

[0004] In the play bead disclosed in the above-described patent document 1, beads of different colors are provided, thereby producing a decorative article having a color-rich pattern. In order to further enhance the playfulness of this type of play bead, there is a demand for a bead having a marbled pattern color where two or more colors appear to blend without intermingling.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a play fuse bead having a marbled pattern color and having an excellent appearance, as well as a method for producing such a play fuse bead.

[0006] A play fuse bead according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises a water-soluble resin and two or more pigments as coloring agents, the water-soluble resin comprising polyvinyl alcohol as a main component and comprising 3% by weight of polypropylene, and two or more colors appearing to blend on a surface without intermingling.

[0007] A method for producing a play fuse bead according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes preparing a water-soluble resin comprising polyvinyl alcohol as a main component and 3% by weight of polypropylene, dividing the water-soluble resin into two or more parts, and mixing each of the two or more pigments of different colors into each of the parts of the resin. in order to form two or more types of colored pellets having different colors, and injection molding the two or more types of colored pellets with a mold, while mixing the two or more types of colored pellets.

[0008] The present disclosure makes it possible to provide a play fuse bead having a marbled pattern color and having an excellent appearance, as well as a method for producing such a play fuse bead. Brief description of the drawings Fig.#lA and#lB

[0009] [Fig. 1A] is a front view illustrating the appearance of a game fuse bead according to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, and [Fig. 1B] is a front view illustrating the appearance of a game fuse bead according to a second aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.#2

[0010] [Fig.2] is a photograph showing the appearance of a game fuse bead according to a third aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig.#3A and#3B

[0011] [Fig.3A] and [Fig.3B] are schematic views showing a method for producing the game fuse bead according to the second aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Fig.3A] is a plan view of a molded product which is provided with game fuse beads, and [Fig.3B] is a side view of the molded product which is provided with game fuse beads. Fig.#4

[0012] [Fig.4] is a schematic view illustrating the appearance of a sample used for a strength test of a game fuse bead according to an example. Fig.#5

[0013] [Fig.5] is a schematic view of a test device used for the resistance test of the game fuse bead according to the example. Description of the embodiments

[0014] As used in the present disclosure, the terms "a / an" and the like have the meaning "one or more". The expressions "two or more colors appear to mix on a surface without intermingling", "appear to mix" and the like do not mean that two or more colors mix to form a different color, but that two or more colors form patterns such as waves, spots, stripes and cracks on the surface in a random manner.

[0015] An embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in [Fig.1A], a game fuse bead (hereinafter referred to as "first bead 10") according to a first aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure is a spherical bead having a particle diameter of about 5 mm. As shown in [Fig.lB], a game fuse bead (hereinafter referred to as "second bead 20") according to a second aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure is a substantially star-shaped bead having a size of about 5 mm. As shown in the photograph of [Fig.2], a game fuse bead (hereinafter referred to as "third bead 30") according to a third aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure is a spherical bead having a particle diameter of about 5 mm.

[0016] The surfaces of the beads 10, 20, and 30 have two or more colors that appear to blend on the surface without intermingling. As shown in [Fig. 1A], on the surface of the first bead 10, for example, a yellow portion 10Y in yellow, an orange portion 10O in orange, and a brown portion 10B in brown appear to blend. As shown in [Fig. 1B], on the surface of the second bead 20, for example, a yellow portion 20Y in yellow, a yellow-green portion 20YG in yellow-green, and a green portion 20G in green appear to blend.

[0017] As shown in the photograph of [Fig. 2], on the surface of the third bead 30, a light blue portion 30L in light blue, a violet portion 30P in violet, and a blue portion 30B in blue appear to blend together. In this way, on the surfaces of the beads 10, 20, and 30, three different colors of similar hue appear to blend together without intermingling to give a so-called "marble pattern" color. It is therefore possible to provide a play fuse bead having an excellent appearance.

[0018] The beads 10, 20, and 30 are made from a synthetic resin that is colored by mixing a water-soluble resin with two or more pigments as coloring agents, and are formed by injection molding using a mold. The water-soluble resin contains polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the main component and 3% by weight of polypropylene (PP). This makes it possible to provide each of the beads 10, 20, and 30 with sufficient solder strength. In this specification, the expression "containing as the main component" means containing 50% by weight or more of the component relative to the total amount. In other words, each of the beads 10, 20, and 30 according to the present embodiment is made from a water-soluble resin containing at least 50% by weight or more of polyvinyl alcohol relative to the total amount.Examples of pigments include Red Food Color No. 3 (Erythrosine) and its aluminum lakes, Blue Food Color No. 1 (Brilliant Blue FCF) and its aluminum lakes, Blue Food Color No. 2 (Indigo Carmine) and its aluminum lakes, Yellow Food Color No. 4 (Tartrazine) and its aluminum lakes, Yellow Food Color No. 5 (Sunset Yellow FCF) and its aluminum lakes, Titanium Dioxide, Vegetable Carbon, Gold Luster #120608, Silver Luster #120602, Silver Luster #120601, and others.

[0019] A method for manufacturing the beads 10, 20 and 30 will now be described. A water-soluble resin containing polyvinyl alcohol as the main component and containing 3% by weight of polypropylene relative to the total weight is first prepared (resin forming process). The water-soluble resin containing polypropylene has less fluidity, thereby preventing the intermingling of three types of colored pellets which will be described later. In addition, the low polypropylene content prevents excessive decrease in the solder strength, thereby maintaining sufficient solder strength.Then, the prepared water-soluble resin is divided into three parts, and three pigments of different color (for example, at the time of producing the first 10 beads, three colors yellow, orange and brown) are mixed in each part to form three kinds of pellets of different color (mixing process).

[0020] The three types of colored pellets are then injection molded while being mixed by means of a special mold (molding process). This injection molding is carried out at a temperature between 145°C and 165°C. In particular, a cooler is used for the molding machine to maintain the temperature in the molding machine within this temperature range. By performing injection molding in such a temperature range, polyvinyl alcohol, which is very hydrophilic and soluble in hot water, melts easily, while polypropylene melts with difficulty and retains its hardness. Thus, polyvinyl alcohol and polypropylene do not intermix. In the injection molding described above, changing the mixing ratio of the three types of colored pellets makes it possible to change the intensity of each color in the bead produced.

[0021] In the present disclosure, Figures 3A and 3B are schematic views of a molded product 50 that is removed from the mold after performing the above-described injection molding by means of a special mold in the process of producing the second bead 20. Hereinafter, with respect to the molded product 50, a portion corresponding to the mold coil is designated as a coil portion 52S, a portion corresponding to the mold channel is designated as a first channel portion 511, a second channel portion 52L (a side close to the coil portion 52S is designated as the first channel portion 511), a portion corresponding to the mold entrance is designated as an entrance portion 52G, and a portion corresponding to each molded second ball 20 is designated as a second ball portion 20M.A portion of the second channel portion 52L on the distal end side (the side away from the first channel portion 5 IL) is designated as a second channel distal end portion 52L1. .

[0022] The molded product 50 illustrated in Figures 3A and 3B is an example, and as shown in the drawing, a large number of second ball portions 20M are molded in only once by injection molding. In the example shown in [Fig. 3A], 240 second bead parts 20M are molded at one time by injection molding.

[0023] As shown in [Fig. 3B], in the molded product 50, a length S1 of the coil part 52S is, for example, 40 mm, and is shorter than the length (e.g., 50 mm) of the coil part of a molded product that is molded during the production process of a colorless marble-patterned game fuse bead of the prior art. By using a mold where the length S1 of the coil part 52S is shorter than in the production method according to the prior art, the residence time of the three types of colored pellets in the mold can be reduced compared to the production method according to the prior art. Therefore, this can prevent the colored pellets from mixing.In other words, this prevents the colored pellets from combining and intermingling evenly.

[0024] As shown in [Fig.3A], in the molded product 50, a diameter S2 of the second channel distal end portion 52L1 is larger than the diameter of the other portion of the second channel portion 52L and the diameter of the first channel portion 5IL. Using a mold whose diameter S2 of the second channel distal end portion 52L1 is larger than the diameter of the other portion of the second channel portion 52L and the diameter of the first channel portion 5IL compensates for the lack of fluidity of the water-soluble resin that constitutes each colored pellet at the distal end portion of the mold channel, and this makes it possible to avoid the occurrence of partial underfilling (called "short shot") in the second ball portion 20M.

[0025] As shown in [Fig. 3A], in the molded product 50, a diameter S3 of the inlet portion 52G is, for example, 1 mm, which is 20% or more of the diameter (about 5 mm in the present embodiment) of the second ball 20 to be produced. The use of a mold whose diameter S3 of the inlet portion 52G is greater than or equal to 20% of the diameter of the second ball 20 to be manufactured compensates for the lack of fluidity of the water-soluble resin that constitutes each colored pellet at the origin of the inlet into the mold, thereby reducing the crossing of the colored pellets.

[0026] After injection molding is performed using the special mold described above, the second bead portions 20M are cut from the molded product 50 demolded, and the second beads 20 are produced. In the second beads 20 produced in this manner, intermingling of each colored pellet is prevented during injection molding, thereby providing a marbled pattern color where the three colors appear to blend without intermingling. Thus, the present embodiment makes it possible to provide a method for producing a game fuse bead having a marbled pattern color and having an excellent appearance.

[0027] The embodiment of the present disclosure described above makes it possible to provide a game fuse bead according to the following aspects.

[0028] A play fuse bead according to the first aspect is a play fuse bead which is formed by mixing a water-soluble resin with a pigment which is a coloring agent, the water-soluble resin comprising polyvinyl alcohol as a main component and comprising 3% by weight of polypropylene, and two or more colors appearing to mix on a surface without intermingling.

[0029] In this configuration, polypropylene is contained in the water-soluble resin, so that the fluidity of the water-soluble resin is reduced and the colors appearing on the surface of the game fuse bead cannot intermingle during the production process of the game fuse bead. In addition, the low polypropylene content of the water-soluble resin prevents excessive decrease in the solder strength, thereby maintaining sufficient solder strength. Therefore, a game fuse bead having a marbled pattern color and having an excellent appearance is provided.

[0030] The embodiment of the present disclosure described above makes it possible to provide a method for producing a game fuse bead according to the following aspects.

[0031] A method for producing a game fuse bead according to a first aspect is a method for producing a game fuse bead which is formed by mixing a water-soluble resin with a pigment which is a coloring agent, the method comprising: a resin forming process of preparing the water-soluble resin which contains polyvinyl alcohol as a main component and which contains 3% by weight of polypropylene; a mixing process of dividing the water-soluble resin into two or more parts and mixing pigments of different colors in each of the parts to form two or more types of colored pellets of different colors; and an injection molding process molding the two or more types of colored pellets while mixing the two or more types of colored pellets by means of a mold.

[0032] According to this production method, a small amount of polypropylene contained in the water-soluble resin reduces the fluidity of the water-soluble resin, thereby preventing the two or more types of colored pellets from intermingling during the molding process. It is therefore possible to produce a play fuse bead having a marbled pattern color and having an excellent appearance.

[0033] In the method for producing a game fuse bead according to a second aspect, during the molding process, the mold used comprises a coil portion having a length greater than or equal to 30 mm and less than or equal to 40 mm.

[0034] In this manufacturing method, in the mold used the length of the part corresponding to the coil of the molded product is less than the length (for example 50 mm) of the coil portion of the molded product that is molded in the production process of the colorless marbled pattern game fusible bead of the prior art, thereby reducing the residence time of the two or more types of colored pellets in the mold compared to the manufacturing method of the prior art. Thus, the two or more types of colored pellets can become even less intertwined during the molding process, thereby efficiently producing a game fusible bead having a marbled pattern color and having an excellent appearance.

[0035] In the method for producing a game fuse bead according to a third aspect, during the molding process, the mold used has a diameter of a distal end portion of a channel portion that is larger than a diameter of the other portion of the channel portion.

[0036] In this production method, during the molding process, the lack of fluidity of the water-soluble resin of the two or more types of colored pellets is compensated at the distal end portion of the mold channel, thereby preventing the occurrence of partial underfilling in the play fuse bead of the molded product, so as to efficiently produce a play fuse bead having an excellent appearance.

[0037] In the method for producing a game fuse bead according to a fourth aspect, during the molding process, the mold used has a diameter of an entered portion that is greater than or equal to 20% and less than or equal to 30% of a diameter of the game fuse bead to be produced.

[0038] In this production method, during the molding process, the lack of fluidity of the water-soluble resin of the two or more types of colored pellets is compensated at the mold inlet origin, thereby reducing the crossing of the two or more types of colored pellets. It is thus possible to efficiently produce a game fusible bead having an excellent appearance.

[0039] In the method for producing a game fuse bead according to a fifth aspect, in the molding process, the injection molding is carried out in a temperature range of 145°C to 165°C.

[0040] In this manufacturing method, during the molding process, polyvinyl alcohol melts easily, while polypropylene melts with difficulty and remains hard. Therefore, polyvinyl alcohol and polypropylene cannot intertwine, and a play fusible bead having a marbled pattern color and having an excellent appearance can be efficiently produced.

[0041] Although the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications may be made without departing from its scope. For example, in the embodiment described above, a bead A play fuse bead where three different colors of similar hue appear to blend without intermingling and a method for producing the play fuse bead are given as an example. However, the number of colors appearing on the surface of the play fuse bead is not limited to three, and the color combinations are not limited to colors of similar hue. It is possible to produce a play fuse bead where two or four or more colors appear on the surface. In this case, during the blending process, colored pellets are formed in a number corresponding to the number of colors that are to appear on the surface of the play fuse bead to be produced. Examples

[0042] In the examples, samples were prepared by welding fifteen second balls 20 of three types each having a different polypropylene content in the water-soluble resin and a tensile test was carried out on each sample by means of a measuring instrument to measure the tensile strength at the time of rupture, and the difference in the weld strength due to the difference in the polypropylene content was checked.

[0043] In a first sample (hereinafter referred to as "Example 1"), the polypropylene content was set at 3% by weight relative to the total amount of the water-soluble resin, as in the embodiment described above. In a second sample (hereinafter referred to as "Comparative Example 1"), the polypropylene content was set at 4% by weight relative to the total amount of the water-soluble resin. In a third sample (hereinafter referred to as "Comparative Example 2"), the polypropylene content was set at 6% by weight relative to the total amount of the water-soluble resin. The samples all contain polyvinyl alcohol as the main component of the water-soluble resin, the content of which is identical.

[0044] A water-soluble resin having a polypropylene content of less than 3% by weight relative to the total amount of water-soluble resin was not included in the samples according to the present example, because it was expected that the fluidity of the water-soluble resin could not be sufficiently reduced.

[0045] The samples 20S prepared according to Example 1, Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2 are illustrated in [Fig. 4]. The sample 20S was prepared by pouring water onto the fifteen second balls 20 to weld the fifteen second balls 20 in the shape illustrated in [Fig. 4], and then allowing the fifteen second balls 20 to dry completely for 48 hours. In this sample 20S, an annular portion 20S1 was provided in a portion of the sample 20S to facilitate the tensile test.

[0046] The tensile test was carried out by means of a measuring instrument 100, model number AWF-100, manufactured by Aiko Engineering Co., Ltd. As shown in [Fig. 5], in the tensile test, for the specimens 20S according to Example 1, Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, one end of a rope 110 was passed through the ring portion 20S1 and the other end of the rope 110 was hooked to a hook portion 100a of the measuring instrument 100. Then, the measuring instrument 100 was pulled in a direction DI away from the specimens 20S with the positions of the specimens 20S being fixed, and the tensile strength of the specimens 20S was measured by reading a scale 100b of the measuring instrument 100 at the time of breaking of the specimens 20S.

[0047] After performing the tensile test on the 20S samples as described above, in Example 1, the value of the scale 100b of the measuring instrument 100 at the time of failure of the 20S samples was 500 g. In Comparative Example 1, the value of the scale 100b of the measuring instrument 100 at the time of failure of the 20S samples was 90 g. In Comparative Example 2, the value of the scale 100b of the measuring instrument 100 at the time of failure of the 20S samples was 40 g.

[0048] The results of the above test showed that the second beads 20 used in Example 1 had a weld strength five times or more higher than that of the second beads 20 used in Comparative Example 1, and a weld strength twelve times or more higher than that of the second beads 20 used in Comparative Example 2. These results confirmed that for the game fuse bead, sufficient weld strength can be ensured by setting the polypropylene content of the water-soluble resin of the game fuse bead at 3% by weight relative to the total amount of the water-soluble resin. They also confirmed that setting the polypropylene content of the water-soluble resin at more than 3% by weight resulted in a rapid decrease in the weld strength of the game fuse bead.

Claims

Claims

1. A play fuse bead, comprising: a water-soluble resin; and two or more pigments as coloring agents, the water-soluble resin comprising polyvinyl alcohol as a main component and comprising 3% by weight of polypropylene, and wherein two or more colors appear to blend on a surface without intermingling.

2. A method for producing a play fuse bead, comprising: preparing a water-soluble resin containing polyvinyl alcohol as the main component and 3% by weight of polypropylene; dividing the water-soluble resin into two or more parts and mixing each of two or more pigments of different colors into each of the parts of the resin to form two or more types of colored pellets having different colors; and injection molding the two or more types of colored pellets with a mold, while mixing the two or more types of colored pellets.

3. A method of producing a game fuse bead according to claim 2, wherein, when injection molding, the mold has a length of a coil portion greater than or equal to 30 mm and less than or equal to 40 mm.

4. A method of producing a game fuse bead according to claim 2, wherein, when injection molding, the mold has a larger diameter of a distal end portion at one channel portion than a diameter of the other portion at the channel portion.

5. A method for producing a game fuse bead according to claim 2, wherein, when injection molding, the mold has a diameter of an entered portion greater than or equal to 20% and less than or equal to 30% of a diameter of the game fuse bead.

6. A method of producing a game fuse bead according to any one of claims 2 to 5, in which the injection molding is carried out at a temperature of 145°C to 165°C.

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