JP7507721B2 - Spout pouch - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a spout pouch.

2. Description of the Related Art Spout pouches are known as containers for powdered or liquid foods, beverages, chemicals, cosmetics, medicines, and the like.
The spout pouch comprises a pouch in which a product is contained, and a spout that is joined to the pouch and forms an opening for dispensing the product.
The spout has a cylindrical portion to which a cap is removably attached and through which a product passage passes, and a joining portion provided at an end of the cylindrical portion and to which a pouch is joined.
The joined portion includes a cylindrical portion and a pair of protruding portions protruding from both sides of the cylindrical portion.

JP 2020-117241 A

The present inventors conceived of storing a plurality of solid or gel-like products of approximately uniform size in such a spout pouch and distributing them on the market.
In this case, the inventors have considered forming the product passageway large enough for one product to pass through, so that the purchaser can easily take out a desired amount of product from the spout pouch.
However, it was found that if the size of the product passage is made large enough for a single product to pass through, the product may become clogged at the spout.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a spout pouch that can accommodate multiple solid or gel-like products of approximately uniform size and from which a desired amount of the products can be easily removed without clogging.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, one embodiment of the present invention is a spout pouch comprising a pouch and a spout joined to the pouch to form a product removal opening, the spout having a tubular portion through which a product passage opened and closed by a cap passes, and a joinable portion provided at the end of the tubular portion and joined to the pouch, wherein the pouch contains a plurality of products of approximately uniform size, the product passage is formed with a cross-sectional shape large enough to allow one of the products to pass through, and the outline of the joinable portion cut by a plane perpendicular to the passage axis of the product passage is formed to be large enough that two of the products cannot be placed side by side on the plane inside the outline.
Moreover, one embodiment of the present invention is a spout pouch comprising a pouch and a spout joined to the pouch to form a product removal opening, the spout having a tubular portion through which a product passage opened and closed by a cap passes, and a joinable portion provided at the end of the tubular portion and joined to the pouch, wherein the pouch contains a plurality of products of approximately uniform size, the product passage is formed with a cross-sectional shape large enough to allow one of the products to pass through, and the outline of the joinable portion cut by a plane perpendicular to the passage axis of the product passage is formed to be large enough to allow a plurality of the products to be arranged in an approximately straight line inside the outline on the plane, including the product that is located almost entirely within the product passage.
Moreover, one embodiment of the present invention is a spout pouch comprising a pouch and a spout joined to the pouch to form a product removal opening, the spout having a tubular portion through which a product passage opened and closed by a cap passes, and a joinable portion provided at the end of the tubular portion and joined to the pouch, wherein the pouch contains a plurality of products of approximately uniform size, the product passage is formed with a cross-sectional shape large enough to allow one of the products to pass through, and the outline of the joinable portion cut by a plane perpendicular to the passage axis of the product passage is formed to be large enough to allow a plurality of products to be arranged around the product that is located almost entirely within the product passage on the plane inside the outline.
Furthermore, one embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the two films that constitute the pouch are joined to the joined portion, and a passage having a contour corresponding to the contour of the joined portion cut by the plane is provided on an extension of the axis of the product passage at the location of the two films that constitute the product storage space directly below the spout.
Moreover, one embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the joined portion includes the cylindrical portion and a pair of protruding portions protruding from both sides of the cylindrical portion.
In addition, one embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the product has a spherical shape.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, clogging of products at the spout can be suppressed, products can be smoothly removed one by one from the product aisle, and this is advantageous in terms of easily removing a desired amount of products.
Furthermore, if the joinable portion is composed of a cylindrical portion and a pair of protrusions on either side of the cylindrical portion, the product passage is located in the center of the joinable portion, which is advantageous in improving the appearance of the spout pouch.
Furthermore, making the product spherical in shape is advantageous in terms of making it easier to dispense a desired amount of product.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a spout pouch containing a product. FIG. 2 is a side view of a spout pouch containing a product. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a spout portion of the spout pouch. 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along plane P1 in FIG. 3; FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along plane P2 in FIG. 3; and FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view taken along plane P3 in FIG. 3, showing two products overlapping in the axial direction of the product aisle and the products being pushed out of the product aisle. 1A is a plan view of the spout, FIG. 1B is a front view of the spout, FIG. 1C is a bottom view of the spout, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the pouch adjacent to the end face of the joined portion of the spout, illustrating the state in which the end face of the joined portion is clogged with product. This is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the pouch close to the end face of the joined portion of the spout, illustrating the state in which two products are arranged in a straight line inside the contour of the joined portion, including a product that is entirely located within the product aisle. This is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the pouch close to the end face of the joined portion of the spout, illustrating the state in which three products are arranged in a straight line inside the contour of the joined portion, including a product that is entirely located within the product aisle. This is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the pouch close to the end face of the joined portion of the spout, illustrating the state in which three products are arranged in a straight line inside the contour of the joined portion, including a product that is almost entirely located within the product aisle. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the pouch adjacent to the end face of the joined portion of the spout, illustrating the state in which three products are jammed at the end face of the joined portion of the spout. This is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the pouch adjacent to the end face of the joined portion of the spout, showing seven products arranged in contact with each other around a product that is located almost entirely within the product aisle, inside the contour of the joined portion. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the pouch adjacent to the end face of the joined portion of the spout, illustrating the state in which three products are jammed at the end face of the joined portion of the spout. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the pouch adjacent to the end face of the joined portion of the spout, illustrating the state in which four products are jammed at the end face of the joined portion of the spout. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the pouch adjacent to the end face of the joined portion of the spout, illustrating the state in which five products are jammed at the end face of the joined portion of the spout.

(First embodiment)
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the spout pouch 8 comprises a pouch 12 in which a product 10 is contained, and a spout 14 joined to the pouch 12 .
The product 10 contained in the pouch 12 is a solid or gel-like food, chemical, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, or the like of approximately uniform size; in this embodiment, the product is a spherical, gel-like deodorant made by absorbing fragrances, plant extracts, surfactants, inorganic salts, solvents, stabilizers, water, and the like into polyacrylate, which is a type of water-absorbent resin.
The pouch 12 is a portion that forms a storage space 1201 in which the product 10 is stored, and various types of pouches that are conventionally known, such as a flat bag type, a standing type, a gusset type, or a pillar type, can be used.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a standing pouch 12A formed of a pair of side films 16 and a bottom film 18 joined between the bottoms of the pair of side films 16 is employed.

As shown in FIG. 1 , when the standing pouch 12A containing the product 10 is stood up on a flat surface, the standing pouch 12A has a pair of bottom edges 1202, a pair of vertical edges 1204 standing up from both sides of the base edges 1202, an upper edge 1206 connected to the upper end of one of the pair of vertical edges 1204, and an inclined edge 1208 connecting the upper end of the other of the pair of vertical edges 1204 to the end of the upper edge 1206.
The pair of bottom edges 1202 are formed by bonding a pair of side films 16 and a bottom film 18 together, and the vertical edge 1204, the top edge 1206, and the inclined edge 1208 are formed by bonding a pair of side films 16 together.
As shown in FIG. 2, the distance between the pair of side films 16 gradually increases from the upper edge 1206 downward.

As shown in FIG. 1, the spout 14 is located at the center of the length of the inclined side 1208 .
The pair of side films 16 and the bottom film 18 can be made of various conventionally known synthetic resin materials, paper, or a mixture of paper and synthetic resin, but in this embodiment, a transparent synthetic resin film is used so that the desired amount can be easily removed and so that the remaining amount of product 10 can be easily seen.

The spout 14 is a portion that forms a product removal opening, and various conventionally known synthetic resin materials such as polyethylene that is easy to mold can be used for the spout 14.
As shown in FIG. 5, the spout 14 has a tubular portion 20 and a joining portion 22 to which the pouch 12 is joined.
A product passage 24 is formed through the interior of the tubular portion 20, and the product passage 24 is formed in a circular cross-sectional shape large enough to allow a single product 10 to pass through, and the product passage 24 opens into an external opening 24A at one end face of the longitudinal end of the tubular portion 20.
In this embodiment, the deodorant which is the product 10 has an outer diameter of 14 mm, and the inner diameter of the product passage 24 is 16 mm.
Two hexagonal plate-like flanges 2002, 2004 are formed in the middle of the longitudinal direction of the tubular portion 20, and a male screw 2008 is formed in the portion of the tubular portion 20 above one of the flanges 2002 to which a cap 2006 (see Figures 1 and 2) is detachably attached.
In addition, the cap 2006 may be any cap that opens and closes the external opening 24A of the product passage 24, and is not limited to being screwed together via a male screw 2008 as in the embodiment, and various conventionally known structures such as a rubber stopper may be used.
The joined portion 22 is provided at a longitudinal end 20A of the tubular portion 20 immediately below the other flange 2004.

The joined portion 22 is composed of a longitudinal end portion 20A of the tubular portion 20 and a pair of protrusions 26 protruding in a V-shape from both sides of the longitudinal end portion 20A of the tubular portion 20, and is formed symmetrically with respect to the tubular portion 20.
As shown in Figure 5 (C), the cylindrical surface 2010 forming the outer peripheral surface of the longitudinal end portion 20A of the tubular portion 20 and a pair of curved surfaces 2602 forming the outer peripheral surfaces of a pair of protrusions 26 form the joining surfaces 2202 of the joining portion 22 to which the inclined edges 1208 of the pair of side films 16 are joined.
Furthermore, at an end face 2012 of the longitudinal end 20A of the tubular portion 20, i.e., at an end face 2012 of the joined portion 22, the product passage 24 opens as an internal opening 24B.
As shown in FIG. 1 , with the edges of the inclined sides 1208 of a pair of side films 16 constituting the pouch 12 abutted against the other flange 2004, the inclined sides 1208 of the pair of side films 16 are attached, i.e., joined, in an airtight and liquid-tight manner to the joining surface 2202 of the joining portion 22 by various conventionally known means such as adhesion or fusion.

The outline of the joined portion 22 cut by a plane P1 perpendicular to the aisle axis 2402 of the product aisle 24 shown in Figure 3 is larger than the outline of one product 10 because the product aisle 24 is located there, as shown in Figure 4 (A), and is formed to a size such that two products 10 cannot be placed side by side on the plane P1 inside the outline.
In addition, the portion of inclined edge 1208 of side film 16 joined to cylindrical surface 2010 becomes cylindrical surface 1210 having a shape corresponding to cylindrical surface 2010, and the portion of inclined edge 1208 joined to a pair of curved surfaces 2602 becomes a pair of curved surfaces 1212 having a shape corresponding to the pair of curved surfaces 2602.
Therefore, in the portion of the pouch 12 directly below the spout 14 when cut along a plane P2 perpendicular to the extension of the passage axis 2402 of the product passage 24 shown in Figure 3, since a cylindrical surface 1210 and a pair of curved surfaces 1212 are positioned opposite each other on a pair of side films 16, as shown in Figure 4 (B), inside the pouch 12 on the extension of the product passage 24, an passage 1220 of a size such that two products 10 cannot be placed side by side on the plane P2 shown in Figure 3 perpendicular to the extension of the passage axis 2402 of the product passage 24 is formed extending from the end face 2012 of the joined portion 22 along the passage axis 2402 of the product passage 24.

In addition, in a portion of the pouch 12 slightly away from the spout 14 when cut along a plane P3 perpendicular to the extension of the passage axis 2402 of the product passage 24 shown in FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. 4(C), the pair of curved surfaces 1212 are smaller and the outline is slightly larger than the outline shown in FIG. 4(B), but inside the outline, an passage 1222 is formed that is large enough that two products 10 cannot be placed side by side on the plane P3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the standing pouch 12A contains a large number of spherical products 10, and the distance between the pair of side films 16 gradually increases from the top edge 1206 to the bottom.
On the other hand, since the inclined edges 1208 of the pair of side films 16 are joined to the joining surface 2202 of the joining portion 22 of the spout 14, a cylindrical surface 1210 having a shape corresponding to the joining surface 2202 and a pair of curved surfaces 1212 are formed at a portion of the pouch 12 on the extension of the passage axis 2402 of the product passage 24, away from the end face 2012 of the joining portion 22, as shown in Figures 1, 4 (B) and (C).
The cylindrical surface 1210 and the pair of curved surfaces 1212 are located at a position recessed toward the inside of the pouch 12 compared to a portion of the side film 16 that is at the same height from the bottom of the pouch 12 and away from the inclined edge 1208 .
Therefore, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, at the portion of the side film 16 surrounding the extension of the passage axis 2402 of the product passage 24 away from the end face 2012 of the joined portion 22, a concave surface 1604 is formed that is recessed toward the inside of the pouch 12 compared to the portion of the side film 16 at the same height from the bottom of the pouch 12, and a cylindrical surface 1210 and a pair of curved surfaces 1212 are located at the center of this concave surface 1604, and the pair of curved surfaces 1212 and the concave surface 1604 are connected by a connecting surface 1214.

The cylindrical surface 1210 and the pair of curved surfaces 1212 disappear at a first distance from the end surface 2012 of the portion to be joined 22, and the concave surface 1604 disappears at a location further away than the first distance from the end surface 2012 of the joining portion.
Furthermore, when the cylindrical surface 1210 and the pair of curved surfaces 1212 disappear at a location a first distance away from the end face 2012 of the joined portion 22, the contour of the portion of the pouch 12 located on an extension of the passage axis 2402 of the product passage 24 gradually becomes larger along the concave surface 1604.
Although it depends on the thickness and softness of the pair of side films 16 and the capacity of the products 10, for example, if the height of the pouch 12 is approximately 25 cm and the width of the pouch 12 is approximately 15 cm, passages 1220, 1222 are formed inside the pouch 12 up to a portion of the pouch 12 that is approximately 1.5 cm to 2 cm away from the end face 2012 of the joined portion 22 on the extension of the passage axis 2402 of the product passage 24, and beyond the end face 2012 of the joined portion 22, the outline of the portion of the pouch 12 on the extension of the passage axis 2402 of the product passage 24 gradually becomes larger along the concave surface 1604, until it becomes large enough to line up multiple products 10, and after passing the concave surface 1604, it assumes a similar shape to the portion of the pair of side films 16 other than the concave surface 1604.

According to the spout pouch 8 of this embodiment, when the cap 2006 is removed from the cylindrical portion 20 and the pouch 12 is tilted so as to raise the bottom of the pouch 12 relative to the spout 14, the product 10 moves inside the pouch 12 and reaches the end face 2012 of the spout 14, and since the product passage 24 is formed with a cross-sectional shape large enough to allow a single product 10 to pass through, the products 10 are removed one by one from the product passage 24 to the outside of the pouch 12.
In this case, as shown in FIG. 4(A), the outline of the joined portion 22 cut by a plane P1 perpendicular to the aisle axis 2402 of the product aisle 24 is formed to be large enough that two products 10 cannot be placed side by side on the plane P1 inside the outline.
Therefore, near the internal opening 24B of the product aisle 24 of the spout 14, as shown in Figures 4 (B) and (C), in the passages 1220, 1222 between the opposing cylindrical surface 1210 and a pair of curved surfaces 1212, the two products 10 overlap in the direction of the passage axis 2402 of the product aisle 24, and the products 10 are pushed out into the product aisle 24.
In other words, as shown in Figure 6, there is no risk of two products 10 being fitted side by side between a cylindrical surface 1210 and a pair of curved surfaces 1212 facing each other at the end face 2012 of the joining portion 22, causing the products 10 to become stuck at the spout 14.
Therefore, the products 10 can be smoothly taken out one by one from the product passage 24, and the desired amount of products 10 can be easily taken out.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the first embodiment, the outline of the joinable portion 22 cut by the plane P1 perpendicular to the aisle axis 2402 of the product aisle 24 was formed to be large enough that two products 10 could not be lined up on the plane P1 inside the outline, whereas in the following embodiment, the outline of the joinable portion 22 cut by the plane P1 perpendicular to the aisle axis 2402 of the product aisle 24 is formed to be large enough that two or more products 10 can be lined up on the plane P1 inside the outline, which is different from the first embodiment.
In the following embodiments, the same parts and members as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted or simplified, and the following description will focus on the differences from the first embodiment.
As shown in Figures 7 to 9, the outline of the joined portion 22 cut by a plane P1 (see Figure 3) perpendicular to the aisle axis 2402 of the product aisle 24 is formed to a size that allows multiple products 10 to be arranged in an approximately straight line, including products 10 that are almost entirely located within the product aisle 24 on the plane P1 inside the outline of the joined portion 22.

In FIG. 7, two products 10 are arranged in a substantially straight line while being in contact with each other, and in FIGS. 8 and 9, three products 10 are arranged in a substantially straight line while being in contact with each other.
In the first embodiment and the embodiment shown in Figure 8, the outline of the joined portion 22 cut by a plane P1 perpendicular to the aisle axis 2402 of the product aisle 24 is formed in a shape that is symmetrical with respect to the product aisle 24, but in the embodiments shown in Figures 7 and 9, it is not formed in a shape that is symmetrical with respect to the product aisle 24.
7 to 9, when multiple products 10 are arranged in a substantially straight line while touching each other, three products 10 do not need to be in contact with each other and may be arranged with gaps between them, so long as substantially the entirety of one product 10 is located within the product aisle 24. In this case, if the three products 10 are arranged with gaps between them, the imaginary line connecting the centers of the three products 10 may be a curved line.
Since the second embodiment includes the contour of the joining portion 22 along which the products 10 are arranged in a curved line, the term "approximately straight line" includes not only the products 10 being arranged in a straight line, but also the case where the products are arranged in a curved manner as described above.
In the second embodiment, a plurality of products are arranged in a substantially straight line so that almost the entirety of each product 10 is located within the product aisle 24, so that the products 10 can be smoothly removed from the product aisle 24 one by one.
In addition, reference numeral 1610 in the drawing indicates a portion of the side film 16 having a shape corresponding to the joining surface 2202 of the joining portion 22 , and reference numeral 1230 indicates a passage formed by the portion 1610 of the side film 16 .
7 to 9 show cases where two or three products 10 are arranged in a substantially straight line, the same applies to cases where the number of products 10 is four or more.
Even in the second embodiment, as shown in Figures 6 and 10, the products 10 do not become stuck side by side between the opposing portions 1610 of the side films 16 at the end face 2012 of the joined portion 22, and the product 10 does not become stuck at the end face 2012 of the spout 14.
Therefore, the products 10 can be smoothly taken out one by one from the product passage 24, and the desired amount of products 10 can be easily taken out.

Third Embodiment
Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the third embodiment, the contour of the joinable portion 22 cut by a plane P1 (see Figure 3) perpendicular to the aisle axis 2402 of the product aisle 24 is formed to a size that allows multiple products 10 to be arranged around a product 10 that is located almost entirely within the product aisle 24 on the plane P1 inside the contour of the joinable portion 22.
In FIG. 11, seven products 10 are arranged in contact with one another, but as long as almost the entirety of one product 10 is located within the product aisle 24, the seven products 10 do not need to be in contact with one another and may be arranged with gaps between them.
In the third embodiment, since a plurality of products 10 are arranged around one product 10 located in the product aisle 24, the products 10 can be smoothly removed one by one from the product aisle 24.
As shown in Figures 12 to 14, in the third embodiment, the products 10 do not become stuck side by side between the opposing portions 1610 of the side films 16 at the end face 2012 of the joined portion 22, and the product 10 does not become stuck at the end face 2012 of the spout 14.
Therefore, the products 10 can be smoothly taken out one by one from the product passage 24, and the desired amount of products 10 can be easily taken out.

In this embodiment, the case where the shape of the product 10 is spherical has been described, but the shape of the product 10 is not limited to a sphere and may be a cube, polyhedron, etc. However, forming the shape of the product 10 into a sphere as in the embodiment is advantageous in terms of smooth removal of the product 10 since the product 10 has no corners.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, the case where the product 10 contained in the pouch 12 is a deodorant has been described, however, the product 10 is not limited to chemicals such as deodorants, and it goes without saying that the product 10 may be solid or gel-like food products, chemicals, cosmetics, medicines, etc. of approximately uniform size.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the pouch 12 is of a standing type, but the pouch 12 may have any of various conventionally known structures, such as a flat bag type, a gusset type, or a pillar type.
Furthermore, the outline of the joined portion 22 cut by the plane P1 perpendicular to the passage axis 2402 of the product passage 24 does not need to be formed symmetrically with respect to the product passage 24; however, if the joined portion 22 is given a symmetrical shape by the tubular portion 20 and the pair of protrusions 26, the product passage 24 will be located in the center of the joined portion 22, which is advantageous in improving the appearance of the spout pouch 8.

8 spout pouch 10 product 12 pouch 12A standing pouch 1201 storage space 1202 bottom edge 1204 vertical edge 1206 top edge 1208 inclined edge 1210 cylindrical surface 1212 curved surface 1214 connection surface 1220, 1222, 1230 passage 14 spout 16 side film 1604 concave surface 1610 part 18 bottom film 20 tubular portion 20A end of tubular portion 2002, 2004 flange 2006 cap 2008 male thread 2010 cylindrical surface 2012 end surface 22 joined portion 2202 joined surface 24 product passage 2402 passage axis 24A external opening 24B internal opening 26 protrusion 2602 curved surfaces P1, P2, P3 flat surface

Claims (3)

The pouch has an interior space for storing a product , and a spout that is joined to the pouch and forms a product outlet,
The spout is a spout pouch having a cylindrical portion through which a product passage opens and closes with a cap, and a joining portion provided at an end of the cylindrical portion and joined to two films constituting the storage space ,
The pouch contains a plurality of uniformly sized products;
The product passage is formed with a cross-sectional shape large enough to pass one of the products,
the contour of the joined portion cut along a plane perpendicular to the passage axis of the product passage is formed to be of a size such that two of the products cannot be arranged side by side on the plane inside the contour ,
By joining the two films to the joined portion, a passage having a contour corresponding to the contour of the joined portion is formed by the two films in the storage space immediately below the spout, the passage extending along the passage axis of the product passage on an extension of the product passage,
a cross-sectional shape of the passage formed extending to the storage space directly below the spout, cut along a plane perpendicular to an extension line of the passage axis of the product passage, is formed to be of a size such that two of the products cannot be placed side by side on the plane perpendicular to the extension line of the passage axis of the product passage;
A spout pouch characterized by: The joined portion includes the cylindrical portion and a pair of protruding portions protruding from both sides of the cylindrical portion.
2. The spout pouch according to claim 1 . The product has a spherical shape.
3. The spout pouch according to claim 1 or 2 .

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