Rice ball packaging film
The laminated packaging film with a strip-shaped printed layer and anti-slip surfaces addresses the issues of uneven thickness and manufacturing complexity in conventional films by enabling easy opening and smooth winding, enhancing efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2025004064U
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-11-25
- Publication Date
- 2026-01-23
- Estimated Expiration
- 2035-11-25
AI Technical Summary
Conventional packaging films for rice balls with groove-shaped half-cuts result in uneven thickness due to raised portions, leading to wrinkles and sagging when wound into rolls, and require additional cutting and sealing tapes for easy opening, increasing manufacturing complexity and costs.
A laminated packaging film with a base layer and sealant layer, featuring a continuous or intermittent strip-shaped printed layer alongside a laser-cut notch for easy opening, and anti-slip surfaces on the groove, eliminating the need for additional tapes and reducing thickness variations.
The film opens easily along the groove without unintended tearing, maintains strength outside the groove, and prevents wrinkles during winding, thus simplifying manufacturing and reducing costs.
Smart Images
Figure 0003254394000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging film for packaging rice balls. [Background technology]
[0002] In rice balls with large fillings and weak rice adhesion, there is a problem of the rice crumbling when the nori sheet is pulled out. Also, with regular pillow packaging, there are gaps inside the bag, which increases the risk of the rice crumbling during distribution and display in stores.
[0003] To solve these problems, packaged rice balls are widely available, with the front of the rice ball positioned in the center of a plastic film wrapping, and the excess portion of the wrapping film folded over and fixed to the edges and back of the rice ball (Patent Document 1).
[0004] In the above case, it is common to tightly wrap the rice ball in a single piece of packaging film and provide the packaging film with a tab, cutting tape, and sealing tape to make it easy to open. However, this method requires the cutting tape and sealing tape to be attached to the packaging film, which can lead to uneven thickness within the film, reducing winding and manufacturing efficiency.
[0005] In this regard, the applicant of the present application has filed a patent application for the prior art shown in Figures 6 to 10 (Patent Document 2). This prior art is a packaging film in which the front of a rice ball B is positioned in the center of packaging film 1 made of plastic film (see Figures 6 and 7), and excess portions of the packaging film are folded over and fixed to the end faces and back face of the rice ball, and the packaging film is made of a laminated film of two or more layers including at least a base layer 1A and a sealant layer 1B, and a groove-shaped half-cut portion 2 is provided near the center of the packaging film by cutting out all but the seal layer 1B, and anti-slip pads 3,3 for opening are provided across the half-cut portion.
[0006] According to the prior art, the strength of the packaging film 1 is reduced at the groove-shaped half-cut portion 2, so as shown in Figure 9, when opening, the packaging film can be easily torn to the left and right by pinching both sides of the half-cut portion with fingers U and pulling left and right at the half-cut portion. In this case, the strength of the packaging film outside the half-cut portion is maintained, so it will not tear in an unintended direction. Meanwhile, since anti-slip pads 3, 3 for opening are arranged across the half-cut portion, placing your fingertips on these pads will prevent your fingers from slipping, allowing you to perform the above operation smoothly. [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-279114 [Patent Document 2] Utility Model Registration No. 3199717 [Patent Document 3] Patent application 2025-000004 DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0007] The packaging film 1 of the prior art described above is obtained by cutting out a long film for packaging that has groove-shaped half-cut portions formed in advance. This long film for packaging is wound around a supply roll and then unwound and used.
[0008] The half cuts 2 are made at the stage of the long packaging film, and are realized by grooves made by cutting the base layer 1A using the heat of a laser beam irradiated from a laser marker applied to the packaging film 1 to create melting action. In this case, the heat generated during cutting melts the corners of the cut areas, resulting in raised portions 5, 5 on the surface of the base layer (see Figure 10). Meanwhile, the long packaging film must be wound onto a supply roll before use, and the raised portions 5, 5 create convex portions on the surface of the packaging film, increasing the film thickness at these locations. When wound into a roll, the roll surface is pressed only against these increased portions, resulting in uneven pressing and causing wrinkles and sagging in the film. [Means for solving the problem]
[0009] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a packaging film for rice balls that solves the problems of the conventional and prior art technologies described above. The packaging film for rice balls is made by positioning the front of the rice ball in the center of a packaging film made of plastic film, and folding and fixing the excess parts of the packaging film over the end faces and back face of the rice ball, and the packaging film is made of a laminated film consisting of at least two layers, a base layer and a sealant layer made of a different material, and a notch extending along the entire length of the film is made near the center of the base layer by laser processing to create a groove on the surface of the packaging film for easy opening, and the packaging film is characterized in that a strip-shaped printed layer is provided on the surface of the base layer or between the base layer and the sealant layer so as to be located on both sides of the groove.
[0010] The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that the strip-shaped printed layer in the packaging film for rice balls is arranged continuously or intermittently over the entire length of the packaging film.
[0011] The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that the packaging film for rice balls has anti-slip treatments on both sides of the grooves on the surface of the base layer to facilitate opening. [Effects of the Invention]
[0012] According to the present invention, the strength of the packaging film for rice balls is reduced at the easy-open groove, so when opening the film, simply pinch both sides of the groove with your fingers and pull left and right, and the film will tear to the left and right along the groove, making it easy to open. In this case, the strength of the film outside the groove is maintained, so it will not tear in an unintended direction. Therefore, cutting tape or sealing tape for easy opening is not required, reducing manufacturing costs.
[0013] On the other hand, since a strip-shaped printed layer is provided on the surface of the base layer or between the base layer and the sealant layer, the thickness of the printed layer increases the thickness of the film at this location. Therefore, when the film is wound into a roll at the long length stage before being cut into packaging film for rice balls, not only the increased thickness of the film due to the raised corners of the grooves but also the increased thickness due to the thickness of the printed layer is pressed against the film, eliminating uneven pressing and the inconvenience of wrinkles and sagging in the film.
[0014] In addition, according to the device described in claim 3, a non-slip opening surface is arranged across the easy-to-open groove, so by placing your fingertips here, your fingers will not slip and you can perform the above-mentioned task smoothly. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view of the rice ball packaging film of the present invention in a packaged state. [Figure 2] Same as above, cross-sectional view. [Figure 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a long film wound into a roll before being cut into packaging films for rice balls. [Figure 5] FIG. [Figure 6] 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the use of a packaging film according to the prior art; [Figure 7] Same as above, perspective view. [Figure 8] Same as above, plan view. [Figure 9] Same as above, plan view. [Figure 10] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a prior art packaging film. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] Specific examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The packaging film for rice balls of the present invention is a packaging film for rice balls that is made by positioning the front of the rice ball in the center of packaging film 11 made of plastic film, and folding and securing the excess portions of the packaging film over the end and back faces of the rice ball to form a packaging film for rice balls. The packaging film is made of a laminated film consisting of at least two layers: base layer 11A and sealant layer 11B made of a different material from the base layer. A notch extending along the entire length of the film is made near the center of the base layer by laser processing to form easy-open groove 12 on the surface of the packaging film. In the packaging film, strip-shaped printed layers 14 are provided on the surface of the base layer or between the base layer and the sealant layer so as to be positioned on both sides of the groove.
[0017] Here, a 15 μm thick OPP film (Futamura Chemical AF642) is used as the base layer 11A, and the printing layers 14, 14 are gravure printed with transparent ink (Toyo Ink LP Bio, Medium) at a width of 5 mm or more and a thickness of 0.5 to 2 μm (Figures 2 and 3).
[0018] As the sealant layer 11B laminated on the back surface of the base material layer 11A, a 20 μm thick LLPPE film (Futamura Chemical LLXMTN) is used here.
[0019] The grooves 12 are made by cutting the base layer 11A to widths of about 0.2 to 0.5 mm with a CO2 laser marker. In the drawings, reference numerals 15, 15 indicate raised portions that are created when the corners of the cut portions are melted by the heat generated during cutting (Figs. 2 and 3). The grooves 12 are made to extend in the full length direction of the base layer 11A of the film, and the pair of strip-shaped printed layers 14, 14 are printed so as to sandwich the grooves.
[0020] The pair of strip-shaped printed layers 14, 14 may be disposed continuously or may be disposed intermittently as shown in FIG.
[0021] Furthermore, anti-slip surfaces 13, 13 for opening may be provided on the surface of the base layer 11A, straddling the groove 12. These anti-slip surfaces 13, 13 are provided to prevent the fingertips from slipping when the fingers pinch both sides of the groove 12 with their fingers and pull left and right to open the package, and an area large enough to perform this function is required. The anti-slip surfaces 13, 13 can be applied by gravure printing or by applying a resin such as anti-slip varnish using hot melt, but it is preferable to apply the anti-slip varnish by gravure printing to prevent uneven thickness during winding. Here, the anti-slip surfaces 13, 13 are illustrated as being provided in the center of the top and bottom of the packaged rice ball, but of course they may be positioned offset to the top or bottom of the packaged rice ball. [Explanation of symbols]
[0022] 11. Rice ball packaging film 11A Base material layer 11B Sealing layer 12 grooves 13 Anti-slip
Claims
1. A packaging film for rice balls is produced by positioning the front of the rice ball in the center of a packaging film made of plastic film, and folding and fixing the excess portion of the packaging film over the end and back faces of the rice ball, the packaging film being made of a laminated film consisting of at least two layers, a base layer and a sealant layer made of a different material, and a notch extending along the entire length of the film is made by laser processing near the center of the base layer to form a groove on the surface of the packaging film for easy opening, and the packaging film is characterized in that strip-shaped printed layers are provided on the surface of the base layer or between the base layer and the sealant layer so as to be located on both sides of the groove.
2. 2. The packaging film for rice balls according to claim 1, wherein the strip-shaped printed layer is disposed continuously or discontinuously over the entire length of the packaging film.
3. 3. The packaging film for rice balls according to claim 1, wherein an anti-slip surface for opening the film is provided on both sides of the groove on the surface of the base layer.