Refill packaging and refill sets for writing instruments

Abstract

To provide a refill package and a set of refills for writing instruments that eliminate plastics and suppress a rise in manufacturing costs.SOLUTION: The refill package is composed of a flat plate body 2 made of cardboard including a corrugated core 3 made of a paper base material, and liners 4 and 5 made of paper base materials affixed to both sides of the core. A linear space formed between the core and the liner is used as a refill storage chamber 8, and a refill L for a writing instrument is stored in the refill storage chamber. A refill opening 9 for the refill storage chamber 8 is formed at the end of the flat plate body 2. A label seal 10 covering the refill opening is stuck on the flat plate body 2 to seal the refill opening 9.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0005] , ,

[0001] This invention relates to a refill set including a refill package capable of accommodating a relatively large amount of a refill for a writing instrument and a refill case capable of accommodating the refills portioned from the package.

Background Art

[0002] For example, refills for mechanical pencils are provided by being accommodated in a resin-made refill case formed in an elongated shape in units of dozens. When the user uses up the refills, the resin-made refill case is discarded. However, in recent years, the problem of microplastics flowing into the ocean has attracted attention, and the momentum for efforts regarding global environmental problems has been increasing, such as refraining from using plastics on the premise of disposable use.

[0003] Therefore, several proposals have been made for refill cases made of paper for the purpose of environmental protection. Patent Document 1 discloses a refill case in which a disk-shaped bottom plate is attached to the lower end of a cylindrical main body made of a paper material, and a cylindrical lid made of a paper material having a top plate is rotatably attached to the upper part of the cylindrical main body. According to this refill case, by aligning the notch formed on the cylindrical main body side and the notch formed on the top plate of the lid, the refill accommodated in the cylindrical main body can be taken out through the notch.

[0004] Patent Document 2 discloses a refill case in which an inner case for accommodating a refill is inserted into an outer case so as to be vertically movable, and a lid that rotates and opens / closes is formed at the upper end of the inner case. In this refill case, a tongue piece that locks to a part of the outer case is provided at the upper end of the lid that rotates and opens / closes, and the lid is configured to open by the locking action of the tongue piece to the outer case as the inner case rises. And the outer case and the inner case are each formed by being bent using a paper material.

[0005] Patent Document 3 discloses a refill container comprising a rectangular inner case made of paper that houses the refills, and a rectangular outer case made of paper that covers the inner case. A lead removal opening is formed in the corner of the top panel of the inner case, and a hinged opening is formed in the outer case that can cover the top panel of the inner case. Therefore, by opening the hinged opening, the replacement lead can be removed from the lead removal opening of the inner case. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-23587 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-109492 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-180090 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] In the aforementioned paper-based refill cases, each is constructed by combining two or more components, such as an inner case and an outer case. Mass production of these requires automated machinery for folding and shaping the paper material that forms the inner and outer cases, which inevitably leads to increased manufacturing costs for refill cases. Furthermore, replacement leads for mechanical pencils are supplied in units of several dozen leads (for example, 40 leads) in a lead case, and once the leads are used up, the lead case is also discarded. Consequently, the lead cases are discarded without achieving sufficient usage to justify their manufacturing costs.

[0008] This invention was made in view of the aforementioned circumstances, and aims to construct a refill package capable of holding a relatively large quantity of refills for writing instruments using so-called corrugated cardboard in order to contribute to the reduction of plastic material, and to make it possible to transfer a single unit (for example, 40 refills) that has been separated from the refill package into a refill case for use. The goal is to provide replacement refill packages and sets for writing instruments that reduce plastic use while keeping manufacturing costs down. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The replacement lead package for a writing instrument according to this invention, which was made to solve the aforementioned problems, is characterized in that it is made of a flat corrugated cardboard body comprising a core formed in a corrugated shape from a paper base material and a liner made of a paper base material attached to both sides of the core, and a linear space formed between the core and the liner is used as a replacement lead storage chamber, and the replacement lead for the writing instrument is stored in the replacement lead storage chamber.

[0010] In this case, it is desirable that a replacement lead removal opening for the replacement lead storage chamber is formed at the end of the flat plate, and that a label sticker covering the replacement lead removal opening is attached to the flat plate.

[0011] Preferably, a portion of the lead storage chamber is provided with empty lead storage chambers that do not contain lead, and the lead is intermittently stored in the lead storage chambers, except for the empty lead storage chambers, as sets of multiple lead divided into smaller portions.

[0012] Furthermore, the flat plate is provided with a compression closure portion in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the flat plate, thereby closing off one side of the linear space that forms the replacement core storage chamber.

[0013] On the other hand, the replacement lead set for a writing instrument according to this invention is provided in a form that includes the aforementioned replacement lead package for the writing instrument and a replacement lead case capable of accommodating multiple replacement leads removed from the replacement lead package for the writing instrument.

Advantages of the Invention

[0014] The refill package of the writing instrument according to the present invention described above is composed of a flat plate made of cardboard with liners attached to both sides of the centrally formed wave. And, with the linear space formed between the centrally formed part and the liner as a refill storage chamber, it is provided in a state where the refill of the writing instrument is stored in the refill storage chamber.

[0015] Therefore, a certain amount of refills taken out in small portions from the refill package can be repacked and used in an existing refill case. So, even if the refill case for storing the refills in small portions is made of a resin material, it will not be discarded but will be continuously used.

[0016] <N Also, when not having the above-mentioned refill case, by obtaining a refill set including the above-mentioned refill package and the refill case, the same effect can be obtained. Thereby, it is possible to achieve plastic reduction and provide a refill package and a refill set for writing instruments that can suppress the increase in manufacturing costs.

Brief Explanation of Drawings

[0017] [Figure 1] It shows the refill package according to this invention, (A) is a front view, and (B) is a rear view. [Figure 2] It also shows the refill package, (A) is a perspective view seen from the front side, (B) is an upper end face view, and (C) is a lower end face view. [Figure 3] It shows an example of assembling the flat plate constituting the refill package, (A) shows the state before joining the centrally formed part and the liner, (B) shows the joined state, and (C) shows the state with a compression closing part etc. [Figure 4] It is a perspective view showing the state of filling the refill package with refills. [Figure 5] It shows a preferred embodiment of filling the refill package with refills, (A) is a perspective view, and (B) is a lower end face view of the refill package. [Figure 6] Shows the state of removing the refill from the refill package, (A) is a rear view, and (B) is a perspective view seen from the rear side. [Figure 7] Is a perspective view showing the state of refilling the refill case with the refill from the refill package, with the refill case in front. [Figure 8] Is also a perspective view showing the state with the refill package in front.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] The refill package and refill set of the writing instrument according to this invention will be described based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. First, FIGS. 1 to 6 show the refill package of the writing instrument, and FIGS. 1 and 2 show the external configuration of the entire refill package. This refill package 1 is composed of a flat plate body 2 formed by shaping cardboard made of paper into a rectangular shape. An example of each member constituting the flat plate body 2 made of this cardboard is shown in FIG. 3. The flat plate body 2 is composed of a middle core 3 formed in a wave shape by a paper base material as shown in FIG. 3(A), a front liner 4 made of a paper base material disposed on both sides of the middle core 3, and a back liner 5.

[0019] And as shown in FIG. 3(B), the front liner 4 and the back liner 5 are bonded together with the middle core 3 at the center, thereby forming the flat plate body 2 made of double-sided cardboard. Also, near one end (upper end) of the flat plate body 2, a compression closing portion 6 is formed in a direction crossing the wave pattern applied to the middle core 3 as shown in FIG. 3(C). This compression closing portion 6 is formed linearly in a state where the flat plate body 2 is compressed and recessed from both the front and back surfaces of the flat plate body 2.

[0020] In the formation of the compression closing portion 6, by shifting the positions of one set of concave and convex teeth and the other set of concave and convex teeth of the jigs facing each other vertically for forming the compression closing portion 6 in the linear direction, that is, arranging them so that the concave and convex face each other, it is possible to effectively impart concave and convex marks back and forth along the longitudinal direction of the compression closing portion 6. This makes it difficult for the outer liner 4 and inner liner 5, with the core 3 in the center, to peel off, and allows the shape of the compressed closure section 6 to be maintained over a long period of time. The compression closure section 6 closes off one side (upper part) of the replacement core storage chamber 8 with a number of linear spaces formed parallel to each other, which will be explained later.

[0021] Furthermore, a circular hanging hole 7 is formed through the upper center of the aforementioned compression closure section 6. This hole is used to hang the refill package 1 from a bar hook used for hanging products when displaying and selling it in stationery stores or the like. Furthermore, the compression closure section 6 and the suspension hole 7 can be formed simultaneously on the flat plate body 2.

[0022] Figures 4 and 5 show an example of a state in which replacement leads are stored in the replacement lead storage chamber formed within the flat cardboard body 2 described above, and an example of a preferred arrangement of the replacement leads stored in the replacement lead storage chamber. In this embodiment, the linear space formed between the corrugated core 3 and the front and back liners 4 and 5 is used as a replacement core storage chamber 8. In other words, when the replacement lead package 1 is suspended using the suspension hole 7, the numerous linear spaces arranged vertically in the region below the compression closure section 6 become the replacement lead storage section 8 [see Figure 5(B)]. Then, the lower end of the flat plate 2 in the suspended refill package 1 becomes the refill outlet 9, which also serves as the insertion opening for the refill L.

[0023] In this embodiment of the lead replacement package 1, a portion of the lead replacement storage chamber 8 is provided with empty lead replacement storage chambers that do not contain lead replacements L. The lead replacements L are divided into sets of multiple (for example, 40) mechanical pencil leads and are intermittently stored in the lead replacement storage chamber 8, excluding the empty lead replacement storage chambers (see Figure 5). In the illustrated example, four sets of refills L are housed in one refill package 1 (see Figure 4).

[0024] Returning to Figure 1, a label sticker 10 is affixed along the front side (front liner 4) to the back side (back liner 5) of the lead storage chamber 8, and this label sticker 10 seals the lead removal opening 9 formed at the lower end of the flat body 2. This prevents the four sets of lead L stored in the lead storage chamber 8 from scattering.

[0025] On the label seal 10, an unglued flap 10a is formed on the back side of the refill package 1 shown in Figure 1(B), corresponding to the storage positions of the four sets of refills L described above. Following this flap 10a, a strip-shaped glued release portion 10b surrounded by perforations is formed. The release portion 10b surrounded by perforations continues to the front side of the refill package 1, as shown in Figure 1(A). Therefore, the user can remove a set (40 refills) of refills L from the refill package 1 by pinching one of the flaps 10a formed on the label seal 10 and peeling off the release portion 10b. Figure 6 shows an example of removing the refill L from the right-hand set, with the refill package 1 facing downwards.

[0026] This allows a set of refills L, separated from refill package 1, to be repackaged into an existing refill case. Therefore, even if the refill case containing the separated refills is molded from a resin material, it will not be discarded but will be reused continuously.

[0027] Figures 7 and 8 show an example of providing the aforementioned refill package 1 and refill case 11 as a refill set, assuming that the user does not possess the aforementioned refill case. The refill case 11 shown in this example can accommodate a set of refills L (40 refills) separated from the refill package 1, and as shown in Figure 7, the width dimension W1 of the refill storage opening formed in the refill case 11 is set to be wider than the overall width dimension W2 of a set of refills L when they are separated and stored in the refill package 1 (W1 > W2).

[0028] The refill case 11 is attached to the cover member 11a such that the case body portion 11b on the back side can slide forward relative to the cover member 11a. When the case body portion 11b is slid forward, the tip of the case body portion 11b deforms so as to bend towards the back, causing the refill storage opening to open.

[0029] According to the aforementioned refill set, as shown in Figure 7, by positioning the refill case 11 diagonally below the refill package 1 and sliding the refills L from the refill package 1 to the refill case 11, and pouring them into the open refill storage opening, the entire set of refills L can be smoothly transferred to the refill case 11. Furthermore, the aforementioned refill case 11 has been previously filed by the applicant and is published as Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-96637.

[0030] As is clear from the above explanation, the replacement lead package and replacement lead set for writing instruments according to this invention make it possible to reduce plastic use and suppress rising manufacturing costs, thus achieving the effects and advantages described in the section on the effects of the invention above. In the embodiments described above, the replacement lead package 1 was explained based on an example in which a mechanical pencil lead is housed. However, the replacement lead package according to this invention is not limited to mechanical pencil lead; for example, a replacement lead for a ballpoint pen (ballpoint pen refill) can also be housed and exhibit similar effects. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1 Refill Package 2 flat plate 3. Middle 4 Front Liner 5 Reina 6 Compression closure section 7. Hanging holes 8. Replacement lead storage compartment 9. Refill dispenser 10 Label Stickers 10a Flap 10b Peeled area 11 Refill Case 11a Cover member 11b Case body L Refill

Claims

1. It is composed of a corrugated cardboard plate comprising a core formed in a corrugated shape from a paper substrate and liners made of paper substrates attached to both sides of the core, A replacement lead package for a writing instrument, characterized in that a linear space formed between the core and the liner is used as a replacement lead storage chamber, and a replacement lead for the writing instrument is stored in the replacement lead storage chamber.

2. The replacement lead package for a writing instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that a replacement lead outlet for the replacement lead storage chamber is formed at the end of the flat plate, and a label sticker covering the replacement lead outlet is attached to the flat plate.

3. A replacement lead package for a writing instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that a portion of the replacement lead storage compartment is provided with an empty replacement lead storage compartment that does not contain a replacement lead, and the replacement leads are intermittently stored in the replacement lead storage compartment, excluding the empty replacement lead storage compartment, as a set of multiple small replacement leads.

4. The replacement lead package for a writing instrument according to claim 1, characterized in that the flat plate body is provided with a compression closure portion in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the flat plate body, thereby closing one of the linear spaces that form the replacement lead storage chamber.

5. A writing instrument refill set characterized by comprising a refill package for a writing instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 4, and a refill case capable of accommodating a plurality of refills removed from the refill package for the writing instrument.

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