Patent Publication Number: US-2018037362-A9

Title: Inner member for containing wound wrapping film and wrapping film product provided with same

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an inner member detachably provided to a film storage box, in which a wound wrapping film for wrapping food is stored, to enhance an easy handling operation of the wound wrapping film. The present invention also relates to a wrapping film product including the inner member. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Wound wrapping films for wrapping foods have been widely used (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The wound wrapping films each are, in general, stored in a film storage box made of paper and having a cutting blade. The wound wrapping film is pulled out of the box for a certain length as the tip end thereof is pinched by and pulled by fingers, and the wrapping film being pulled out is cut by the cutting blade for use. 
     PRIOR ART LITERATURE 
     Patent Literature 
     Patent Document 1: Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open Publication No. 5-13927 
     Patent Document 2: International Publication No. 2012/137383 
     Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-300525 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     The wound wrapping film for wrapping food is made of extremely thin transparent material, and thus handling operation of the film is often troublesome. For example, a wound wrapping film once pulled out of the box and used is often wound back by itself to the original place, causing the tip end of the film to attach to a body part (tubular part) of the film. In this case, it is necessary to pinch the tip end of the film to pull out of the box; however, finding the tip end of the film with eyes is considerably difficult and thus it takes considerable time in a pulling out operation of the film from the box. 
     In order to prevent such a wound back occurrence, a recently invented film storage box is provided at a front surface thereof with a glue surface on which the tip end of a wound wrapping film being pulled out is to be attached. 
     Unfortunately, the adhesiveness of the glue surface deteriorates as time passes, and the adhesive function of the glue surface is hence time limited. 
     The present invention has been accomplished in view of such problem, and it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an inner member that enhances handling operation of a wound wrapping film, for food, stored in a film storage box, and to provide a wrapping film product including the inner member. 
     Solution 
     The present invention will be described below with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 6 . An inner member  10  according to a first aspect of the present invention is detachably provided between a film storage box  30  and a wound wrapping film  20  stored in the film storage box  30 , for an easy handling operation of the wound wrapping film  20  to be used for wrapping food. The film storage box  31  comprises a box body  31  and a lid  32  integrally formed with the box body  31 . The box body  31  includes a front wall  31   a . The lid  32  includes a vertical lid part  32   a . The vertical lid part  32   a  covers an upper portion of a front surface of the front wall  31   a  and is provided at a lower end thereof with a cutting blade  33 . 
     The inner member  10  includes a body part  11 . The body part  11  includes an upper piece  11   a , a front piece  11   b  and a lower piece  11   c  for surrounding respectively an upper part, a front part and a lower part of the wound wrapping film  20 . Thus, the body part  11  is provided with a substantially U-shape cross section. The body part  11  further includes at a rear surface thereof a rear opening  11   d  through which the wound wrapping film  20  can pass through. The body part  11  further includes, at a rear end of the upper piece  11   a , a guide portion  12 . The guide portion  12  has a substantially circular cross section for allowing a smooth passage of the wrapping film  20 . The inner member  10  also includes a pinch part  13 . The pinch part  13  is swingably projected from an upper front end of the body part  11 . The pinch part  13  is positioned between the front wall  31   a  of the box body  31  and the vertical lid part  32   a  of the lid  31 . The pinch part  13  has a front surface  13   a  on which a front end  20   a  of the wrapping film  20  is to be positioned. 
     A wrapping film product  1  according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a wound wrapping film  20  for wrapping food. The wrapping film product  1  also includes a film storage box  30 . The film storage box  30  includes a box body  31  and a lid  32  integrally formed with the box body  31 . The box body  31  includes a front wall  31   a . The lid  32  includes a vertical lid part  32   a  that is provided at a lower end thereof with a cutting blade  33 . The film storage box  30  is configured to store the wrapping film  20 . The wrapping film product  1  also includes an inner member  10  detachably provided between the film storage box  30  and the wound wrapping film  20  for an easy handling operation of the wound wrapping film  20 . 
     The inner member  10  includes a body part  11 . The body part  11  includes, for surrounding an upper part, a front part and a lower part of the wound wrapping film  20 , an upper piece  11   a , a front piece  11   b  and a lower piece  11   c.  Thus, the body part  11  is provided with a substantially U-shape cross section. The body part  11  further includes at a rear surface thereof a rear opening  11   d  through which the wound wrapping film  20  can pass through. The body part  11  further includes, at a rear end of the upper piece  11   a , a guide portion  12 . The guide portion  12  has a substantially circular cross section for a smooth passage of the wrapping film  20 . The inner member  10  also includes a pinch part  13 . The pinch part  13  is swingably projected from an upper front end of the body part  11 . The pinch part  13  is positioned between the front wall  31   a  of the box body  31  and the vertical lid part  32   a  of the lid  31 . The pinch part  13  has a front surface  13   a  on which a front end  20   a  of the wrapping film  20  is positioned. 
     Advantageous Effects of Invention 
     The inner member  10  for a wound wrapping film includes the body part  11  that is configured by the upper piece  11   a  having the guide portion  12 , the front piece  11   b  and the lower piece  11   c . The inner member  10  also includes the rear opening lid at a rear surface thereof and the pinch part  13  swingably projected from an upper front end of the body part  11 . These arrangements allow an easy pulling out operation of the wrapping film  20  through the rear opening lid to the upper surfaces of the guide portion  12  and the upper piece  11   a  and the front surface  13   a  of the pinch part  13 . 
     In addition, the pinch part  13  is positioned between the front wall  31   a  of the film storage box  30  and the vertical lid part  32   a , so that a part of the wrapping film  20  placed on the front surface  13   a  of the pinch part  13  can be firmly pressed against the cutting blade  33  provided to the vertical lid part  32   a.    
     That is, the pinch part  13  functions to eliminate a gap between the front wall  31   a  and the vertical lid part  32   a , and two members of the pinch part  13  and the front wall  31   a  together (thus, having improved rigidity) support the wrapping film from the back side of the film. This enables a firm and pressed contact of the wrapping film  20  against the cutting blade  33  provided to the vertical lid part  32   a . As a result, it can readily provide a sufficient complete cut of the wrapping film  20  without any midterm cutting failure or interruption. 
     Furthermore, the pinch part  13  eliminates a gap between the front wall  31   a  and the vertical lid part  32   a  provided with the cutting blade  33 . Elimination of the gap prevents hooking of a finger that might otherwise be entered in the gap and hooked by the cutting blade  33 . This can provide improved safety. 
     The front end  20   a  of the wrapping film  20  after completion of the cutting operation naturally remains on the front surface  13   a  of the pinch part  13 . In order to pull out the wrapping film  20  remained on the front surface  13   a  of the pinch part  13 , a thumb T and an index finger F are used to allow pinching of the front end  20   a  of the wrapping film  20  and pulling out of the film  20  therefrom. This enables a very easy pulling out operation of the wrapping film  20 . 
     It should be noted that the pinch part  13  is configured to be swingable, so that the pinch part  13  can swing in any directions according to the directions to be pulled and that the wrapping film  20  can be pulled out more easily. 
     The wrapping film product  1  according the second aspect of the present invention includes the wound wrapping film  20 , the film storage box  30  provided with the cutting blade  33 , and the inner member  10  provided between the film storage box  30  and the wound wrapping film  20  and including the pinch part  13  positioned between the front wall  31   a  of the film storage box  30  and the vertical lid part  32   a . Thus, as described above, the inner member  10  can readily provide a proper and complete cutting of the wound wrapping film  20  through the entire portion of the film  20  without any midway cutting failure or interruption. 
     In addition, the pinch part  13  eliminates a gap between the front wall  31   a  and the vertical lid part  32   a , which prevents hooking of a finger by the cutting blade  33  provided to the vertical lid part  32   a , thereby improving the safety. Furthermore, the wrapping film  20  can be readily pulled out as the front end  20   a  of the film  20  is pinched together with the pinch part  13  to be pulled out. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a wrapping film product according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view along the line X-X in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an inner member for a wound wrapping film according an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic side view of the wrapping film product shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , wherein the wrapping film is being pulled out. 
         FIG. 5( a ) and ( b )  are enlarged side views of a principal part of the wrapping film product shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , wherein the wrapping film is being pulled out. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an inner member  10  for a wound wrapping film according to an embodiment of the present invention. A wrapping film product  1  provided with the inner member  10  is illustrated in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . The inner member  10  is aimed to enhance the handling operation of a wound wrapping film  20  arranged to wrap food and stored in a film storage box  30 . The film storage box  30  includes a box body  31  and a lid  32 . The box body  31  has a front wall  31   a . The lid  32  has a vertical lid part  32   a  that covers an upper part of a front surface of the front wall  31   a  and that is provided at a lower end thereof with a cutting blade  33  having a sawtooth waveform. 
     The inner member  10  can be detachably provided between the film storage box  30  and the wound wrapping film  20  and configured to include a body part  11  and a pinch part  13 . The inner member  10  may be made of any forming material, including and not exclusive, for example, paper or resin with a smooth surface. 
     The body part  11  is configured to surround an upper part, a front part and a bottom part of the wound wrapping film  20 , and includes an upper piece  11   a , a front piece  11   b  and a bottom piece  11   c , together forming a U-shape cross section. The body part  11  has at a rear surface thereof a rear opening lid that allows the wound wrapping film to pass therethrough. The upper piece  11   a  is provided at a rear end thereof with a guide portion  12  that has a substantially circular cross section and functions to allow an easy passage of the wound wrapping film  20 . The guide portion  12  and the upper piece  11   a  each have a smooth upper surface. 
     The pinch part  13  is configured to project from a front upper end of the body part  11  and is able to swing about the base portion of the pinch part  13  in an up-and-down direction. The pinch part  13  is disposed between the front wall  31   a  of the box body  31  and the vertical lid part  32   a  of the lid  32 . The pinch part  13  receives at a front surface  13   a  thereof a front end  20   a  of the wrapping film  20 . The front surface  13   a  of the pinch part  13  also has a smooth plane. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the wrapping film product  1  provided with the inner member  10  includes, in addition to the inner member  10 , a wound wrapping film  20  for wrapping food and a film storage box  30 . 
     The wound wrapping film  20  includes a tubular core  21  made of paper and a transparent wrapping film, the film having a length of 20 to 40 meters and wound around the core  21 . 
     The film storage box  30  includes a box body  31  and a lid  32 . The box body  31  includes a front wall  31   a , a bottom wall  31   b , a rear wall  31   c  and two side walls  31   d , which together form a longitudinal rectangular shape in a plan view. The lid  32  is integrally formed with the box body  31  and includes a horizontal lid part  32   b  and a vertical lid part  32   a . The horizontal lid part  32   b  covers an upper surface of the box body  31 . The vertical lid part  32   a  protrudes downward from the front end of the horizontal lid part  32   b  and covers an upper part of a front surface of the front wall  31   a . The vertical lid part  32   a  is provided with a cutting blade  33  at a lower end of the vertical lid part  32   a.    
     Similar to the film storage box  30 , the inner member  10  is made of paper and is, as described above, detachably provided between the film storage box  30  and the wound wrapping film  20 . The inner member  10  has a configuration similar to the one described abovementioned embodiment. The pinch part  13  of the inner member  10  has a length slightly greater than that of the vertical lid part  32   a  of the film storage box  30 , thereby allowing the cutting blade  33  to come to contact with the front surface  13   a  of the pinch part  13  (see  FIGS. 1 and 2 ). With such an arrangement, it becomes possible to readily cut a wrapping film  20 . 
     The effects of the inner member  10  for a wound wrapping film and the wrapping film product  1  in accordance with the abovementioned embodiment will be described below. 
     The wound wrapping film  20  is used in such a manner that first the wrapping film product  1  according to the embodiment is unsealed (or in the case where a wrapping film product commercially available is used, the wrapping film product commercially available is unsealed and the inner member  10  according to the embodiment is installed thereto), then the wrapping film  20  is pulled out in accordance with a predetermined operation. With this pulling out operation, the wrapping film  20  being pulled out smoothly passes through the rear opening  11   d , the guide portion  12 , the upper piece  11   a , and the front surface  13   a  of the pinch part  13 . 
     The wrapping film  20  being pulled out and passed through these components is cut in such a manner that the vertical lid part  32   a  of the film storage box  30  is press-pushed against the front wall  31   a  of the film storage box  30  so as to cut the film  20  by the cutting blade  33  provided to the lower end of the vertical lid part  32   a . In this instance, the pinch part  13  of the inner member  10  is positioned between the front wall  31   a  and the vertical lid part  32   a  of the film storage box  30 , and the wrapping film  20  is positioned on the front surface  13   a  of the pinch part  13 . Thus, the wrapping film  20  is firmly and stably held between the vertical lid part  32   a  and a combination of the pinch part  13  and the front wall  31   a.    
     Accordingly, the wrapping film  20  can be readily, properly and completely cut by the cutting blade  33  provided to the lower end of the vertical lid part  32   a  without any midway cutting failure or interruption. In addition, no gap is allowed to be formed between the vertical lid part  32   a  and the combination of the pinch part  13  and the front wall  31   a , which can prevent such an incidence that a finger accidentally enters a gap and is hooked by the cutting blade  33 . This can provide improved safety. 
     Thus cut wrapping film  20  has a front end  20   a  positioned between the vertical lid part  32   a  and the pinch part  13  (that is, the front end  20   a  is placed on the front surface  13   a  of the pinch part  13 ) (see  FIG. 2 ). In order to further pull out the wrapping film  20  in this condition, the lid  32  of the film storage box  30  is opened, and two fingers (thumb T and index finger F), for example, are used to pinch, together with the pinch part  13 , the front end  20   a  of the wrapping film  20  positioned on the pinch part  13  and pull them out together (see  FIG. 4 ). Here, the pinch part  13  is configured to be swingable, so that the pinch part  13  is swung into a position easily pinched. This allows an easier pinching operation. 
     Then, the wrapping film  20  and the pinch part  13  are together pulled. This pulling out operation allows only the wrapping film  20  to be readily pulled out since the pinch part  13  is unmovably secured to the body part  11  (see  FIG. 5 ) . Fora subsequent cutting operation, the lid  32  of the film storage box  30  is closed and the cutting blade  33  is used for cutting the film  20 , as described above. 
     After cutting, the front end  20   a  of the wrapping film  20  is positioned on the front surface  13   a  of the pinch part  13 , as described above. In addition, the wrapping film  20  is covered, at the upper part thereof, by the upper piece  11   a . Thus, even if the wrapping film  20  is slightly wound back accidentally, it becomes possible to surely prevent the front end  20   a  from being wound around the body part (tubular portion) of the wound wrapping film  20  and from being attached to the body part. 
     It should be noted that in this embodiment the inner member  10  is provided with the guide portion  12 , and the guide portion  12  has a smooth upper surface while the pinch part  13  has a smooth front surface  13   a  (upper surface). These arrangements allow an easy and smooth pulling out operation of the wrapping film  20 . 
     In addition, the inner member  10  is provided with the upper piece  11   b  and the lower piece  11   c  surrounding the front and lower portions of the wound wrapping film  20 , so that the wound wrapping film  20  can be stored in the film storage box  30  in a stable posture. 
     The inner member  10  for a wound wrapping film and the wrapping film product  1  including the inner member  10  provide the following effects. 
     (1) The inner member  10  is provided with the pinch part  13 , and the pinch part  13  is positioned between the front wall  31   a  and the vertical lid part  32   a  of the film storage box  30 . This arrangement allows an easy, proper and complete cutting operation of the wrapping film  20  by the cutting blade  33  without any midway cutting failure or interruption. 
     (2) The pinch part  13  of the inner member  10  is provided with the length that is slightly greater than that of the vertical lid part  32   a  of the film storage box  30 , and the cutting blade  33  is arranged to contact the front surface  13   a  of the pinch part  13 . This permits an easy cutting operation of the wrapping film  20 . 
     (3) The pinch part  13  being provided functions to eliminate any gap that will otherwise be formed between the vertical lid part  32   a  provided with the cutting blade  33  and the front wall  31   a . This configuration prevents the cutting blade  33  from adversely hooking a finger, thereby providing improved safety. 
     (4) The front end  20   a  of the wrapping film  20  is positioned on the front surface  13   a  of the pinch part  13 , so that the front end  20   a  can be readily pinched and pulled out. 
     (5) The inner member  10  is provided with the guide portion  12  with a circular cross section, thereby allowing an easy pulling out operation of the wrapping film  20  through the rear opening  11   d.    
     (6) The guide portion  12 , the upper piece  11   a  and the front surface  13  of the pinch part  13  each have a smooth surface, so that the wrapping film  20  can be smoothly and readily pulled out. 
     (7) The inner member  10  is provided with the front piece  11   b  and the lower piece  11   c , whereby the wrapping film  20  can be stored in the film storage box  30  in a stable posture. 
     REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
       1 : wrapping film product 
       10 : inner member 
       11 : body part 
       11   a:  upper piece 
       11   b:  front piece 
       11   c:  lower piece 
       11   d:  rear opening 
       12 : guide portion 
       13 : pinch part 
       13   a : front surface 
       20 : wrapping film 
       20   a : front end 
       21 : core 
       30 : film storage box 
       31 : box body 
       31   a : side wall 
       31   b : bottom wall 
       31   c : rear wall 
       31   d : side wall 
       32 : lid 
       32   a : vertical lid part 
       32   b : horizontal lid part 
       33 : cutting blade 
     F: index finger 
     T: thumb