Lid and container

Abstract

To provide a lid and a container that can decrease the number of manufacturing processes.SOLUTION: There is provided a resin-made lid 100 which is fitted to a container body and has a code 110 on its top surface, which is formed of an uneven surface, wherein a character constituting the code 110 is formed of bottom surfaces of recessed parts and top surfaces of projection parts, thereby eliminating the need to attach a label having various information printed to the container body.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a lid and a container.

Background Art

[0002] For containers such as beverages and foods, various information must be displayed based on laws such as the JAS Law, the Food Sanitation Law, the Health Promotion Law, and the Food Labeling Law according to the contents. Therefore, generally, a label printed with various information is attached to the container body (a paper-like label is pasted or a film-like label is wound).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a lid and a container that do not necessarily require a label to be attached to the container body.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The present invention employs the following means to solve the above problems.

[0006] That is, the lid of the present invention is a resin lid attached to the container body and having a code on the top surface, wherein the top surface is composed of a concavo-convex surface, and characters constituting the code are formed by the bottom surface of the concave portion and the upper surface of the convex portion.

[0007] According to the present invention, since various information can be read by a code, it is not necessary to attach a label printed with various information to the container body.

[0008] It is preferable that both the corners and the corners of the plurality of polygonal cells included in the symbol constituting the code are formed by curved surfaces having a curvature radius of 0.2 mm or more. By adopting such a configuration, the durability of the mold for molding the resin lid can be enhanced. Note that the symbol is preferably a two-dimensional symbol.

[0009] It is preferable that a light element pattern is formed by the bottom surface of the concave portion, and a dark element pattern is formed by printing on the entire upper surface of the convex portion. By adopting such a configuration, the occurrence of printing defects can be suppressed.

[0010] Further, the container of the present invention a container body, a resin lid attached to the container body and having a code on its top surface, is a container comprising the top surface of the lid is formed by an uneven surface, and characters constituting the code are formed by the bottom surface of the concave portion and the upper surface of the convex portion, and it is characterized in that no label is attached to the container body.

[0011] And the information read from the code preferably includes all the information that is obligatorily displayed according to the contents accommodated in the container body.

[0012] In addition, the above-described configurations can be adopted in combination as much as possible.

Effects of the Invention

[0013] As described above, according to the present invention, it is not always necessary to attach a label to the container body.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014] ​

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a mode for carrying out this invention will be illustratively and in detail described based on examples. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, etc. of the components described in this example are not intended to limit the scope of this invention only to those, unless otherwise specifically described.

[0016] (Example) With reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, the lid and container according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of a container according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the lid is shown in a schematic cross-sectional view, and a part of the cross-section of the container body is shown by a dotted line. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a lid according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a side view of the lid, and (b) is a plan view of the lid. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a mold for molding a lid according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing the mold in a clamped state. FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an upper mold for molding a lid according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a bottom view of the upper mold, and (b) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the upper mold. Note that the AA cross-section in FIG. 4(a) corresponds to the cross-sectional view of the upper mold in FIG. 3 and the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4(b).

[0017] <Container> Referring to FIG. 1, an example of a container to which the lid according to this embodiment is applied will be described. The container 1 shown in FIG. 1(a) is a general PET bottle for beverages, and includes a container body 10 made of PET and a resin lid 100 detachably configured at the mouth portion (neck portion) of the container body 10. On the inner peripheral surface of the lid 100, there is provided a female thread 101 that screws into the male thread provided on the outer periphery of the mouth portion of the container body 10. And a cord 110 is provided on the top surface of the lid 100.

[0018] The container 1X shown in FIG. 1(b) is a squeeze container for seasonings and the like that is stored for a relatively long time, and includes a container body 10X and a resin cap unit 100X attached to one end of the container body 10X. The container body 10X is made of a resin material or the like and has flexibility. The cap unit 100X integrally includes a cylindrical nozzle portion 100A attached to the mouth portion of the container body 10X, a lid 100B that opens and closes the opening 103 at the tip of the nozzle portion 100A, and a hinge portion 102. By inserting the opening and closing plug portion 104 provided on the lid 100B into the opening 103 as shown by the dotted line in the figure, the opening 103 can be closed, and by removing it from the opening 103 as shown by the solid line, the opening 103 can be opened. And a cord 110 is provided on the top surface of the lid 100B.

[0019] Thus, a cord 110 is provided on the top surface of the lids 100 and 100B provided on the containers 1 and 1X according to this embodiment. According to the "JIS Handbook" Information Security·LAN·Barcode·RFID 2022 Japan Standards Association, "code" is defined as "a collection of rules that associate the elements of the first set with the elements of the second set." In this embodiment, the information read from the cord 110 includes all the information that is obligatorily displayed according to the contents contained in the container bodies 10 and 10X. Of course, information other than the information that is obligatorily displayed according to the contents may also be included.

[0020] In the present invention, either a one-dimensional symbol or a two-dimensional symbol can be applied as the symbol constituting the code 110. According to the above JIS Handbook, a "one-dimensional symbol" is defined as "data obtained by combining a symbol character and features required by a specific symbol system, represented by an image. The symbol character and features are integrally formed in a single row and integrated to be readable. The features include a quiet zone, a start character, a stop character, a data character, a check character, and other auxiliary patterns, etc." Also, a "two-dimensional symbol (1)" is defined as "a symbol that represents data in a mechanically readable form, and is a set of polygonal or circular cells forming a regular pattern that can be read by optical scanning. Note: The content of the two-dimensional symbol (1) includes the content of the following two-dimensional symbol (2).". Also, a "two-dimensional symbol (2)" is defined as "a 2D symbol: an optically readable symbol that requires analysis in both horizontal and vertical directions to completely read the information. Note: There are two types of two-dimensional symbols, a matrix symbol and a multi-row symbol." Also, a "matrix symbol system" is defined as "a collection of regular pattern polygonal elements or circular elements represented for reading by an image scanning system." Also, a "multi-row symbol system" is defined as "a barcode symbol system composed of two or more symbol character columns adjacent in the vertical direction." Also, an "element" is defined as "a single bar or a single space in a one-dimensional symbol, or a polygonal or single circular cell in a matrix symbol." Also, a "character" is defined as "a constituent unit of a set of elements used to configure, represent, or control information." Further, a "symbol character" is defined as "a physical representation of a code word by a pattern of light and dark elements."

[0021] Note that the containers 1 and 1X shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are merely examples of the containers to which the lid of the present invention is applied, and the present invention can be applied to various containers to which a resin lid is applied.

[0022] <Cover> Referring to FIG. 2, the cover according to this embodiment will be described in detail. Here, in the cover 100 used for the container 1 shown in FIG. 1(a), the case where the symbol constituting the code 110 is a QR code (registered trademark), which is a type of two-dimensional symbol, will be described as an example. Knurls 105 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cover 100. And in this embodiment, the top surface of the cover 100 is composed of a concavo-convex surface, and characters constituting the code 110 are formed by the bottom surface of the concave portion and the upper surface of the convex portion. And in the elements constituting the characters, a light element pattern 111 is constituted by the bottom surface of the concave portion, and printing is performed on the entire upper surface of the convex portion to constitute a dark element pattern. The dark element pattern is formed by a plurality of polygonal cells 112. In FIG. 2(b), an enlarged view of one polygonal cell 112 is also shown.

[0023] Generally, the polygonal cells for forming the element pattern are printed on a plane, and the angles of the corners and the corners are printed to be 90°. In contrast, the corners and the corners of the polygonal cell 112 according to this embodiment are configured to be curved lines in the planar shape. As described above, since the top surface of the cover 100 is composed of a concavo-convex surface, and characters constituting the code 110 are formed by the bottom surface of the concave portion and the upper surface of the convex portion, the corners 112a and the corners 112b of the polygonal cell 112 are composed of a curved surface. Note that the corners 112a and the corners 112b of the plurality of polygonal cells 112 included in the symbol constituting the code 110 are all curved surfaces. The radius of curvature of this curved surface is set to be clearly different (0.2 mm or more) from the angles of the corners and the corners of a general polygonal cell in the planar shape (the shape as viewed from above as shown in FIG. 2(b)).

[0024] <Manufacturing method of the cover> Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a method for manufacturing the lid 100 according to this embodiment will be described. The lid 100 according to this embodiment is manufactured by a molding process and a printing process performed after the molding process. In addition, if necessary, a post-treatment process for removing burrs and the like after the molding process may be included. FIGS. 3 and 4 show the molds used in the molding process. This mold includes an upper mold 500 and a lower mold 600. In each figure, the mold is shown simply, and runners, gates, and the like are omitted. Also, in the illustrated example, a single-cavity mold is taken as an example, but a mold capable of molding a plurality of molded products simultaneously can also be adopted.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 3, material is supplied to the cavity C formed in the state of mold clamping, and a molded product, which is an intermediate product of the lid 100, is molded. The lid 100 according to this embodiment is composed of a resin material such as PET, PP, PE, polypropylene, or nylon. As the molding method, die pressing or injection molding can be preferably used.

[0026] On the inner surface forming the cavity C in the upper mold 500, a cord forming uneven portion 510 for forming the cord 110 of the lid 100 and a knurl forming uneven portion 520 for forming the knurl 105 are provided. These cord forming uneven portion 510 and knurl forming uneven portion 520 can be formed by engraving (stamping).

[0027] In the uneven portion 510 for code formation of this embodiment, the flat portion 511 plays a role of forming the bottom surface of the concave portion on the uneven surface of the lid 100, and the concave portion 512 formed by engraving plays a role of forming the convex portion on the uneven surface of the lid 100. As described above, since the corners 112a and the corners 112b of the plurality of polygonal cells 112 in the lid 100 are all composed of curved surfaces, the corners 512a and the corners 512b of the plurality of concave portions 512 are also all composed of curved surfaces. Of course, the radius of curvature of this curved surface is also equal to the radius of curvature of the corners 112a and the corners 112b of the polygonal cell 112 in the planar shape. Note that the corners 512a and the corners 512b correspond to the portions connecting the side surfaces in the concave portion 512. In this embodiment, as shown in the enlarged view of the concave portion 512 in FIG. 4(b), the corner 512c connecting the bottom surface and the side surface in the concave portion 512 is also composed of a curved surface. In this embodiment, the radius of curvature of the curved surface of this corner 512c is set to 0.2 mm or more. Further, the corners of the flat portion 511 are also composed of curved surfaces.

[0028] Using the mold configured as described above, a molded product, which is an intermediate product of the lid 100, is molded by injection molding or the like. Needless to say, the molded product has the dents 105 and the uneven surface that will become the code 110 formed thereon. And after the post-treatment process of removing burrs or the like as necessary is completed, printing is performed on the entire upper surface of the convex portion on the uneven surface. The printing method is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to adopt an offset printing method. The lid 100 is manufactured by the above manufacturing process.

[0029] <Advantages of the lid and the container according to this embodiment> In this embodiment, since the top surface of the lid 100 is formed by an uneven surface, characters constituting the code 110 are formed. If all the information that must be displayed according to the contents contained in the container body is included in the information read from this code 110, there is no need to attach a label printed with various information to the container body. Along with this, the number of manufacturing processes can also be reduced. However, in the present invention, containers with labels attached to the container body are not necessarily excluded.

[0030] Also, in this embodiment, the corners and corners of the plurality of polygonal cells 112 included in the symbols constituting the code 110 are all formed by curved surfaces with a radius of curvature of 0.2 mm or more. Along with this, the corners 512a and corners 512b of the recesses 512 constituting the code-forming uneven portions 510 of the upper die 500 for molding the lid 100 are also formed by curved surfaces. Therefore, wear of the corners 512a and corners 512b can be reduced, and the durability of the mold can be enhanced.

[0031] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in the uneven surface constituting the top surface of the lid 100, a light element pattern is constituted by the bottom surface of the recess, and printing is performed on the entire upper surface of the convex portion to constitute a dark element pattern. Generally, a code is provided by performing printing on a plane. In this case, various printing methods such as offset printing, laser printing, and inkjet printing can be adopted. However, when printing on the plane of a resin molded product, printing defects such as voids and spots are likely to occur regardless of which printing method is adopted. On the other hand, in the case of this embodiment, since printing may be performed on the entire upper surface of the convex portion, for example, by performing printing using the offset printing method, high-speed printing can be enabled while suppressing the occurrence of printing defects. In addition, by setting the height of the convex portion to about 0.3 mm to 1 mm, it is possible to suppress printing from being performed on the recess.

[0032] (Others) Although not particularly shown, as described above, a one-dimensional symbol (such as a barcode) can also be applied as the symbol constituting the code 110. Even in this case, by making the corners of the bar-shaped rectangle (bar) into curved surfaces, the durability of the mold can be enhanced. Also, regarding the point that the entire upper surface of the convex portion is printed to form the dark element pattern, it is the same as in the case of the two-dimensional symbol.

[0033] In the above embodiment, the case where the light element pattern is formed by the bottom surface of the concave portion and the dark element pattern is formed by printing on the entire upper surface of the convex portion on the uneven surface constituting the top surface of the lid 100 has been described. However, the bottom surface of the concave portion may be printed to form the dark element pattern, and the light element pattern may be formed by the upper surface of the convex portion. In this case, for example, printing can be performed on the bottom surface of the concave portion by inkjet printing. Even in this case, the occurrence of printing defects such as voids and spots can be suppressed compared to the case of printing on a flat surface.

[0034] Also, if it is possible to read the code without printing on the uneven surface constituting the top surface of the lid 100, printing may not be performed.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0035] 1, 1X: Container 10, 10X: Container body 100: Lid 100X: Cap unit 100A: Nozzle part 100B: Lid 101: Menage 102: Hinge part 103: Opening 104: Opening and closing plug part 105: Nar 110: Code 111: Light element pattern 112: Polygonal cell 112a: Corner 112b: Corner 500: Upper mold 510: Concave and convex portions for code formation 511: Flat portion 512: Concave portion 512a: Corner 512b: Corner 512c: Corner 520: Concave and convex portions for flare formation 600: Lower mold C: Cavity

Claims

1. A resin lid attached to a container body and having a code on its top surface, wherein the top surface is composed of a concavo-convex surface, and characters constituting the code are formed by the bottom surface of the concave portion and the upper surface of the convex portion. The lid is characterized by this.

2. The lid according to claim 1, wherein corners and edges of a plurality of polygonal cells included in symbols constituting the code are each composed of a curved surface with a radius of curvature of 0.2 mm or more.

3. The lid according to claim 2, wherein the symbol is a two-dimensional symbol.

4. The lid according to claim 1, wherein a light element pattern is constituted by the bottom surface of the concave portion, and a dark element pattern is constituted by printing on the entire upper surface of the convex portion.

5. The lid according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein information read from the code includes all information for which display is obligatory according to the contents accommodated in the container body.

6. A container comprising a container body, and a resin lid attached to the container body and having a code on its top surface, wherein the top surface of the lid is composed of a concavo-convex surface, and characters constituting the code are formed by the bottom surface of the concave portion and the upper surface of the convex portion. At the same time, the container body is not attached with a label. The container is characterized by this.

7. The container according to claim 6, wherein information read from the code includes all information for which display is obligatory according to the contents accommodated in the container body.

Images