WO2024127737A1 - Gable-top paper container - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention addresses the problem of providing a gable-top paper container which is easy to deform and is less apt to return to the original shape. Provided is a gable-top paper container formed from a paper base which comprises raw paper and thermoplastic resin layers formed on both the front and back surfaces of the raw paper and satisfying all of the following requirements (a) to (c), wherein the opening-side body panel has at least one transverse ruled line in an upper portion thereof and the region surrounded by the upper sides (top-portion transverse folding lines) of the body panel and by the transverse ruled line can be deformed, when pushed inward, so as to expand the space into which fingers are to be put.　(a) The raw paper has a basis weight of 230 g/m2 to 350 g/m2. (b) The transverse ruled line portion of the paper base has a yield angle, in the 0-90° range, of 70° or less. (c) The paper base has a thickness of 280-600 μm.

Description

Gable top carton

The present invention relates to a gable-top paper container.

2. Description of the Related Art Gable-top paper containers have been used conventionally as paper containers for containing liquid contents such as milk and juice.
A gable top paper container generally consists of a paper base material with thermoplastic resin layers on both the front and back sides, and has four body panels, the edges of which are joined by vertical seal panels to form a square cylindrical body. A pair of gable roof forming panels facing each other and having an outer top seal panel at their upper parts, and a pair of gable wall forming panels facing each other and having an inner top seal panel at their upper parts, one of which serves as a pouring outlet and can be opened, are connected to the upper ends of the body panels. The pair of gable wall forming panels are folded between the pair of gable roof forming panels, and the outer top seal panel and the inner top seal panel are heated and sealed in predetermined positions to form a gable top.

Such gable-top paper containers may be drunk by inserting a straw into a pre-machined piercing hole, but in recent years, there has been a growing need for environmentally friendly containers, and there is a demand for reducing the use of straws, which are derived from petroleum resources. In order to pour the contents of such gable-top paper containers without using a straw, a finger is inserted into the space between the pair of gable roof forming panels, the body panel, and the gable wall forming panel, and the finger is placed on the gable wall forming panel and then spread to the left and right, peeling away the heat-sealed opposing surfaces of the outer top seal panel and the inner top seal panel on the opening side, and then the gable wall forming panel folded between the pair of gable roof forming panels is pulled out, and folded back from the top horizontal fold line at the boundary with the body panel connected via the top horizontal fold line to the outside to open the pouring outlet. However, when users have large hands, when the paper container is small, or when the height of the top of the gable roof type is lowered to save space, the space formed between the body panel and the gable wall forming panel is narrow, making it difficult to hook the fingers on the gable wall forming panel and making it difficult to open the container. There is also the problem that visually impaired people cannot tell which side of the gable roof forming panel is the opening. Furthermore, there are concerns about hygiene, such as the risk of touching the area near the opening side with their hands before opening the container.

In order to solve these problems, the applicant has proposed in Patent Document 1 a paper container in which the gable wall forming panel that is pulled out when the paper container is opened and the body panel on the opening side that is connected to this gable wall forming panel have horizontal lines on the upper side, and the area between the upper edge (top horizontal fold line) of the body panel and this horizontal line can be pushed inward, thereby deforming the container to expand the space for inserting fingers.

JP 2021-147100 A

The paper container described in Patent Document 1 can be easily opened by deforming as designed to make more room for inserting fingers. However, since the horizontal lines are deformed to form a mountain fold on the outside of the container and are not deformed by hooking fingers, there are cases where the container does not fold as designed, or where the fold is insufficient and returns to its original shape when the fingers are removed. In addition, some children, elderly people, and people with disabilities in their fingers may have difficulty in deforming the container.
The present invention aims to provide a gable-top paper container that is easily deformed and does not easily return to its original shape. It also aims to provide a container that has an antibacterial layer near the opening, and a paper container that makes it easy to identify the opening side.

The means for solving the problems of the present invention are as follows.
1. The present invention is formed from a paper substrate that includes a base paper and a thermoplastic resin layer laminated on both sides of the base paper and satisfies all of the following (a) to (c):
A gable-top paper container, characterized in that the body panel on the opening side has at least one horizontal crease on the upper side, and the area between the upper edge (top horizontal fold line) of the body panel and the horizontal crease can be pushed inward to deform so as to expand the space for inserting fingers.
(a) the basis weight of the base paper is 230 g/ ^m2 or more and 350 g/ ^m2 or less;
(b) the yield angle of the horizontal line portion of the paper base material from 0° to 90° is 70° or less;
(c) The thickness of the paper base material is 280 μm or more and 600 μm or less.
2. The gable-top paper container according to 1., further comprising a vertical crease in the region.
3. The gable-top paper container according to 1. or 2., wherein the width of the body panel on the opening side is 40 mm or more and 65 mm or less.
4. The gable-top paper container according to any one of 1. to 3., wherein the internal bond strength of the paper base material is 15 N·cm or more and 50 N·cm or less.
5. (d) The gable-top paper container according to any one of 1. to 4., characterized in that the stiffness of the paper base material in the container longitudinal direction is 3 mN·m or more and 25 mN·m or less.
6. The gable-top paper container according to any one of 1. to 5., characterized in that an antibacterial layer is provided at least in the area between the upper edge (top horizontal fold line) of the body panel and the horizontal crease.
7. The gable-top paper container according to any one of 1. to 6., characterized in that a point marking portion is provided in the center of the upper edge (top horizontal fold line) of the body panel or in the vicinity thereof.
8. The gable-top paper container according to 7., wherein the point indicating portion is formed by embossing.

The gable-top paper container of the present invention has at least one horizontal line at the top, and the area between the upper edge (top horizontal fold line) of the body panel and the horizontal line can be pushed inward to deform the container so as to expand the space for inserting fingers.
The gable-top paper container of the present invention can be easily deformed by pressing in the area between the upper edge (top horizontal fold line) of the body panel and the horizontal lines, which allows for a larger space for inserting fingers more reliably, and the deformed portion is less likely to return to its original shape, making it easier to maintain the deformed shape. Furthermore, when the drinking spout is pulled out and the horizontal lines are folded back to the other side, the folded back portion is less likely to return to its original shape, making it easier to maintain the deformed shape. The gable-top paper container of the present invention, which has vertical lines in addition to horizontal lines, can be easily bent and deformed at the lines as designed, making it easier to enlarge the space for inserting fingers more reliably.
The gable-top paper container of the present invention can be opened more easily than conventional gable-top paper containers, even by children, the elderly, people with disabilities in their hands, etc. The gable-top paper container of the present invention has a larger space for inserting fingers, and therefore can be suitably used as a small gable-top paper container.
The gable-top paper container of the present invention, which has an antibacterial layer near the opening, is hygienic because the areas that are touched by the hands during opening are antibacterial treated. The gable-top paper container of the present invention, which makes it easy to tell which side has been opened, allows even the elderly and visually impaired to easily tell which side has been opened.

1 is a diagram showing a gable-top paper container according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a plan view showing a carton blank for forming a gable-top paper container according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a modified gable-top paper container according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a carton blank for forming a gable-top paper container according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a carton blank for forming a gable-top paper container which is a third embodiment of the present invention.

"Gable-top paper container"
FIG. 1 shows a gable-top paper container (hereinafter, also referred to as a paper container) which is a first embodiment of the present invention.
The gable-top paper container, which is a first embodiment example, is formed from a carton blank 1 shown in Fig. 2. The carton blank 1 has four body panels 5, 6, 7, and 8 connected via body vertical fold lines 2, 3, and 4. When the paper container is formed, the four body panels 5, 6, 7, and 8 are joined at edge portions 11 of the body panels 5 to a vertical seal panel 10 connected to the body panel 8 via a body vertical fold line 9 to form a rectangular cylindrical body portion 12.

A pair of gable roof forming panels 15, 16 facing each other and having outer top seal panels 13, 14 at their upper parts are connected to the upper ends of the body panels 6, 8 via top horizontal fold lines 17, 18. In addition, a pair of gable wall forming panels 22, 23 facing each other and having inner top seal panels 19, 20 at their upper parts are connected to the upper ends of the body panels 5, 7 via top horizontal fold lines 24, 25. One of the gable wall forming panels 22, 23 serves as the pouring outlet and is opened, and in the first example, the gable wall forming panel 23 is the gable wall forming panel on the opening side that serves as the pouring outlet 21.

The gable roof forming panels 15, 16 are formed with guide fold lines 26, 27 on the opening side of the gable wall forming panel 23 for guiding the folding of the gable roof forming panels 15, 16 when opened.
The gable wall forming panels 22, 23 are formed with folding lines 28, 29, 30, 31 for folding the gable wall forming panels 22, 23. In addition, approximately triangular surface portions 32, 33 surrounded by the folding lines 28, 29, 30, 31 and the top horizontal fold lines 24, 25 are formed.

When forming a gable-top paper container, a pair of gable wall forming panels 22, 23 are folded between a pair of gable roof forming panels 15, 16, and the outer top seal panels 13, 14 and the inner top seal panels 19, 20 are heated and sealed at the specified positions. This forms the gable top (gable roof) type top 34 of the gable top paper container as shown in FIG. 1. A space 35 is formed in the formed gable top type top 34, which opens between the pair of gable roof forming panels 15, 16, the opening side body panel 7, and the opening side gable wall forming panel 23. The approximately triangular surface portion 33 formed on the gable wall forming panel 23 is located on the inner side of this space 35. This space 35 is for placing fingers on the opening side gable wall forming panel 23 when opening the gable top paper container.

Bottom-forming panels 40, 41 are connected to the lower ends of the body panels 5, 7, and inner panels 42, 43 are connected to the lower ends of the body panels 6, 8. The inner panels 42, 43 are folded inside the bottom-forming panels 40, 41 and their abutting surfaces are glued together to seal the bottom of the cylindrical body 12 and form the bottom 44 of the paper container.

A horizontal line 37 is formed above the body panel 7 on the opening side. The horizontal line 37 is formed in a downward curve connecting the intersection 36 or a position near the intersection 36 between the upper ends of the body vertical fold lines 3, 4 on both sides of the body panel 7 and the ends of the top horizontal fold line 25. In the present invention, the shape of the horizontal line 37 is not particularly limited as long as it can achieve the effects of the present invention, and it can be an arc shape, a V-shape, a W-shape, a shape consisting of three or more straight lines and/or curves (such as a part of a polygon), etc., and it can also be a divided discontinuous line. In addition, both ends of the horizontal line 37 need only be near the intersection 36 of the body panel 7 on the opening side, and do not have to reach the body vertical fold lines 3, 4 or the top horizontal fold line 25.

The horizontal crease 37 causes the body panel 7 to be folded inwards from the horizontal crease 37. By folding the body panel 7 inwards from the horizontal crease 37, the area of the body panel 7 between the top edge (top horizontal fold line 25) and the horizontal crease 37 is pushed inwards. The approximately triangular surface portion 33 also recesses inwards following the movement of the top horizontal fold line 25 of the top edge of the body panel 7, widening the space 35 and making it easier to insert fingers into the space 35, making it easier to insert fingers into the space 35 and open the gable-top paper container.

A vertical crease 39 is formed above the body panel 7 on the opening side. In the gable-top paper container of the present invention, the vertical crease 39 is optional and may not be present, but it is preferable to have the vertical crease 39. The vertical crease 39 is formed in the widthwise center of the body panel 7, with the horizontal crease 37 at its lower end, passing through the top horizontal fold line 25 and extending to the vicinity of the apex 38 of the approximately triangular surface portion 33. By forming the vertical crease 39 in addition to the horizontal crease 37, the vertical crease 39 can be induced to make a valley fold when the horizontal crease 37 is mountain-folded, that is, the upper edge of the body panel 7 (top horizontal fold line 25) can be induced to bend inwardly of the paper container, and the area of the body panel 7 between the upper edge (top horizontal fold line 25) and the horizontal crease 37 can be more reliably pushed inwardly. The shape of the vertical crease 39 is not particularly limited as long as it can achieve the effects of the present invention, and may be a straight line, a curved line, a shape consisting of two or more straight lines and/or curves (such as a part of a polygon), or a broken discontinuous line. In addition, when the vertical crease 39 is formed, it is sufficient that the vertical crease 39 is formed at least partially between the horizontal crease 37 and the top horizontal fold line 25, and the lower end of the vertical crease 39 does not have to reach the horizontal crease 37, and may extend beyond the horizontal crease 37, and the upper end of the vertical crease 39 does not have to reach the top horizontal fold line 25, and may extend beyond the top horizontal fold line 25 to the middle of the approximately triangular surface portion 33. Furthermore, multiple vertical creases 39 may be formed, and when multiple vertical creases 39 are formed, it is preferable to form them so as to be symmetrical with respect to the center line in the width direction of the body panel 7.

(Paper base material)
A gable-top paper container is formed from a base paper and a paper substrate having a thermoplastic resin layer laminated on both sides of the base paper. In view of the difference in strength between the MD and CD directions of the paper substrate resulting from the orientation direction of the pulp fibers (to prevent the occurrence of bulging of the body, etc.) and the ease of forming creases, it is preferable that the CD direction of the paper substrate is the container length direction and the MD direction is the container width direction. In this specification, the container length direction and width direction respectively mean the vertical (up and down) direction and horizontal direction when the gable-top paper container of the present invention is upright.
The base paper is obtained by making a paper stock containing pulp, further fillers, various auxiliaries, etc. The paper substrate of the present invention may have one or more functional layers between the base paper and the thermoplastic resin layer, such as an adhesive layer, a filling layer, an ink-receiving layer, a water-resistant layer, an oil-resistant layer, a water vapor barrier layer, a gas barrier layer, etc.
The pulp constituting the base paper is not particularly limited, but preferably contains softwood kraft pulp (NKP) or hardwood kraft pulp (LKP), and more preferably contains softwood kraft pulp. The weight ratio of NKP to LKP (N/L ratio) is preferably in the range of 30/70 to 100/0. The paper container of the present invention is manufactured by folding the paper base material, etc., but if the weight ratio of LKP is greater than 70, cracks may easily occur during folding. If cracks occur, the appearance may deteriorate, and further, the thermoplastic resin layer may be destroyed and liquid may ooze out.

Thermoplastic resin constituting the thermoplastic resin layer can be any heat-sealable resin without any particular restrictions, and examples of such resins that can be used include low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), polyester resin (PET), ethylene methacrylic acid copolymer resin (EMAA), ethylene methyl acrylate copolymer resin (EMA), ethylene acrylic acid copolymer resin (EAA), ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer resin (EVA), styrene acrylic acid ester copolymer resin, polylactic acid resin (PLA), and copolymer of 3-hydroxybutyrate and 3-hydroxyhexanoate (PHBH), etc.

In the present invention, the paper substrate satisfies all of the following (a) to (c).
(a) the basis weight of the base paper is 230 g/ ^m2 or more and 350 g/ ^m2 or less; (b) the yield angle of the horizontal ruled portion of the paper base material from 0° to 90° is 70° or less; (c) the thickness of the paper base material is 280 μm or more and 600 μm or less.

The paper base material used in the present invention has (a) a base paper basis weight of 230 g/ ^m2 or more and 350 g/ ^m2 or less. By having the base paper basis weight within this range, the paper has excellent folding properties and shape stability. The basis weight of the paper base material is measured in accordance with JIS P8124:2011. The base paper basis weight is preferably 240 g/ ^m2 or more, more preferably 250 g/ ^m2 or more, and is preferably 340 g/ ^m2 or less, and more preferably 330 g/ ^m2 or less.

The paper base material used in the present invention has (b) a yield angle of 0° to 90° of the horizontal line portion (the bending angle at which the bending load reaches its maximum value when the bending load is measured within the range of 0° to 90° when the paper base material is formed with the line and folded with the line as the axis of rotation) of 70° or less. Here, the paper is elastically deformed when folded up to the yield angle, but is plastically deformed when folded beyond the yield angle. This is a phenomenon in which the inter-fiber bonds of the paper base material break before and after the yield angle, making it impossible to elastically deform to return to the original shape. In the shape of the paper container of the present invention after being pressed with a finger, the bending angle of the horizontal line 37 relative to the vertical direction is deep in the center of the width of the body panel 7 (angle θ1 in Figure 3) and becomes shallower toward the ends in the width direction (angle θ2 in Figure 3), and is approximately 50° to 70°. Therefore, when a paper base material with a yield angle of 70° or less is pressed with a finger to deform it, at least the widthwise center of the horizontal lines 37 undergoes plastic deformation, making the horizontal lines 37 more likely to fold along the lines. In addition, when the horizontal lines 37 are folded, the interfiber bonds have already been broken, and the paper base material is creased along the horizontal lines, making it difficult to return to its original shape. The yield angle of the paper base material is preferably 60° or less, and more preferably 55° or less. The lower limit of the yield angle of the paper base material is preferably 20° or more, and more preferably 30° or more. The yield angle of the paper base material can be adjusted by the type of pulp used, the fiber length, the freeness, and the internal bond described below.

The paper substrate used in the present invention has a thickness of (c) 280 μm or more and 600 μm or less. If the thickness exceeds 600 μm, the repulsive force when trying to fold becomes stronger, and the force required for folding increases (it becomes difficult to fold). In addition, the thicker the paper is, the larger the strain generated on the mountain fold side of the paper substrate (strain occurs on the mountain fold side due to stretching) and the strain generated on the valley fold side (strain occurs on the valley fold side due to compression) when folded at the same angle, so that the shear force due to the strain in the opposite direction acts strongly near the center of the thickness direction of the paper substrate, making it easier for peeling (fiber-to-fiber bond breakage) to occur inside the paper layer. Therefore, it also has the aspect that it is easy to crease and difficult to return to its original state. If the thickness is less than 280 μm, the small strain makes it difficult to crease and easy to return to its original state after pressing. The thickness of the paper base material is preferably 300 μm or more, more preferably 320 μm or more, and is preferably 560 μm or less, more preferably 520 μm or less.

The paper base material used in the present invention preferably has a maximum bending load value (value of bending load at yield angle, hereinafter also referred to as yield value) measured in (b) of 60 cN or less. If the yield value is 60 cN or less, the paper base material can be deformed with a small force, so that the vertical lines 39 provided above the body panel 7 on the opening side can be easily pressed inward. The yield value is more preferably 55 cN or less, and particularly preferably 50 cN or less. If the yield value is too low, when the vertical lines 39 provided above the body panel 7 on the opening side are pressed inward, the parts other than the lines may bend, and the expected space 35 may not be obtained. Therefore, the yield value is preferably 20 cN or more, and more preferably 25 cN or more.

The yield angle and yield value of the paper base material can be adjusted by the basis weight of the base paper and the paper base material, the type of pulp, freeness, internal bond strength, score height (depth of the crease), etc. For example, the shorter the fiber length of the pulp, the smaller the yield angle and yield value, making it easier to bend, but if the proportion of short fibers increases too much, the crease is more likely to crack. Therefore, by containing 30% to 80% by weight of softwood pulp relative to the total pulp, it becomes easier to achieve the desired yield angle of the present invention. In addition, the lower the freeness of the pulp, the stronger the bonds between the pulps, so that when folded, it is less likely that the fibers will slip between them, and the yield angle and yield value tend to be larger. On the other hand, if the freeness is too high, the bonds between the pulps are weak, making it difficult to obtain stiffness with the same basis weight. Therefore, by having the freeness of the pulp be 400 ml to 650 ml (CSF), it becomes easier to achieve the desired yield angle of the present invention.

The internal bond strength of the paper base material used in the present invention is preferably 15 N·cm or more and 50 N·cm or less. If the internal bond strength of the paper base material is 15 N·cm or more, the stiffness of the paper base material is high, so when the paper base material is folded along the crease line, it is easy to make a crease. If the internal bond strength is 50 N·cm or less, the inside of the paper layer at the folded part is easily destroyed, and as a result, it is easy to make a crease (forming defects are also less likely to occur), and when the paper is folded back again, it is easy to fold along the crease line. The internal bond strength of the paper base material is more preferably 18 N·cm or more, even more preferably 20 N·cm or more, and more preferably 45 N·cm or less, and even more preferably 40 N·cm or less. The internal bond strength of the paper base material can be measured in accordance with "Paper and paperboard - Internal bond strength test method - Part 2: Internal bond tester method" specified in J. TAPPI No. 18-2:2000.

The internal bond strength of the paper base material can be adjusted by adjusting the pulp raw material used for the paper base material. The pulp raw material for the base paper of the present invention preferably contains 30% by weight or more of softwood kraft pulp (NKP) in the total raw pulp. The internal bond strength of the paper base material can also be adjusted by the degree of beating of the raw pulp fibers of the paper base material, and it is preferable that the disintegration freeness of the raw pulp be 400 ml or more and 650 ml or less (CSF). The degree of beating of the pulp fibers can be expressed by the Canadian Standard Freeness (CSF) specified in JIS P8121-2:2012.

The paper base material used in the present invention preferably has a stiffness in the vertical direction of the container (d) of 3 mN·m or more and 25 mN·m or less when no lines are added. If the stiffness is 25 mN·m or less, the paper container can be deformed with less force and is more likely to fold along the lines. If the stiffness is less than 3 mN·m, the container will not fold along the lines, and only the area around the area pressed with the finger may be depressed, resulting in an unstable size and shape of the space 35. The stiffness is more preferably 4 mN·m or more, more preferably 5 mN·m or more, more preferably 20 mN·m or less, and even more preferably 15 mN·m or less.

(Antibacterial layer)
Fig. 4 shows a carton blank 1 for forming a paper container having an antibacterial layer 45, which is a second embodiment. The same components as those in the carton blank shown in Fig. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
In the paper container of the present invention, the body panel 7 is folded from the horizontal crease 37 by pressing with a finger, and the area of the body panel 7 between the top edge (top horizontal fold line 25) and the horizontal crease 37 is folded inward, but this area is touched by the finger and is likely to be contaminated by germs. In addition, since this area is close to the mouth, there is a possibility that germs may enter the mouth when drinking directly. To prevent this, it is hygienic to provide an antibacterial layer 45 at least in the area between the top edge (top horizontal fold line 25) and the horizontal crease 37 of the body panel 8.

The antibacterial layer 45 is provided by printing a mixture of an antibacterial agent and an adhesive binder on the outer surface of the gable wall forming panel 23, or by spray painting, coating, or laminating a masterbatch of the antibacterial agent.
As the antibacterial agent, a known antibacterial agent can be used, but a metal-based antibacterial agent such as a silver-based inorganic antibacterial agent, a copper-based inorganic antibacterial agent, or a zinc-based inorganic antibacterial agent is preferable because it has excellent antibacterial performance. Among the metal-based antibacterial agents, a silver-based inorganic antibacterial agent is particularly preferable because it is highly safe for food. Specifically, for example, antibacterial varnishes such as "Rab Coat W-101" and "Rab Coat U-6501" manufactured by Sakata Inx Corporation can be used. The antibacterial varnish may be a water-based ink or a UV-curable ink. Also, a known adhesive binder is used as the adhesive binder.

The antibacterial layer 45 may be provided in the area between the top edge (top horizontal fold line 25) of the body panel 7 and the horizontal crease 37, and is preferably provided so as to extend to at least one of the gable wall forming panel 23 or the body panel 7, and is even more preferably provided on the gable wall forming panel 23, which is closer to the drinking spout. Note that the body panel 7 may have an antibacterial layer provided on its entire surface, but in terms of preventing the growth of germs at the drinking spout, this can be achieved and is also economical if it is provided on the surface above the lowest point of the horizontal crease 37.

(visual effects, tactile effects)
5 shows a carton blank 1 for forming a paper container having a point display section 46 near the intersection of the top horizontal fold line 25 and the vertical line 39, which is a third embodiment. The same components as those in the carton blank shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
The point display section 46 is a mark indicating a place (push point) to be pushed in order to transform the paper container of the present invention into a desired shape. By pushing the point display section 46, the paper container of the present invention can be folded along the lines and reliably transformed into a desired shape. The point display section 46 is not particularly limited as long as its presence can be recognized, and examples of the point display section 46 include embossing and printing, and embossing is preferable because even a visually impaired person can operate it.
The point display portion is provided at or near the center of the top horizontal fold line 25, straddling the approximately triangular surface portion 33 and the body panel 7, or at either the approximately triangular surface portion 33 and the body panel 7. In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the point display portion 46 is provided at the center of the top horizontal fold line 25, straddling the approximately triangular surface portion 33 and the body panel 7.
The shape of the point display portion 46 is not particularly limited, and for example, it can be designed to bring out the design effect of the paper container. In addition, it is also effective to provide universal design for visually impaired people by adding a tactile effect such as Braille to indicate the opening and pushing points.

The gable-top paper container of the present invention can be used as a container for storing liquids such as beverages such as milk and juice, edible liquids such as seasonings such as soy sauce and vinegar, and oils, and non-beverage liquids such as shampoo, conditioner, kitchen detergent, and laundry detergent. The gable-top paper container of the present invention can be easily enlarged to provide a large space for fingers, making it suitable for use as a small paper container with a small space for fingers before deformation, and is suitable for use as a gable-top paper container with a body panel width on the opening side of 40 mm to 65 mm.

The present invention will be specifically explained below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. Unless otherwise specified, parts and percentages in the examples indicate parts by weight and percentages by weight, respectively.

[Example 1]
The paper substrate used was a double-sided polyethylene-coated base paper (standard basis weight: 313 g/ ^m2 ) manufactured by Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co., Ltd. The polyethylene coating thickness was 16 g/ ^m2 on the front side (surface exposed to the outside, non-glossy surface) and 26 g/ ^m2 on the back side (surface facing the inside of the container, non-glossy surface).
When preparing the gables for evaluation described below, a paper base material was used so that the longitudinal direction of the container was aligned with the CD direction.

[Example 2]
The paper substrate used was a double-sided polyethylene-coated base paper (standard basis weight: 285 g/ ^m2 ) manufactured by Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co., Ltd. The polyethylene coating thickness was 14 g/ ^m2 on the front side (surface exposed to the outside, non-glossy side) and 24 g/ ^m2 on the back side (surface facing the inside of the container, glossy side).
When preparing the gables for evaluation described below, a paper base material was used so that the longitudinal direction of the container was aligned with the CD direction.
[Example 3]
The paper substrate used was a double-sided polyethylene-coated base paper (standard basis weight: 256 g/ ^m2 ) manufactured by Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co., Ltd. The polyethylene coating thickness was 15 g/ ^m2 on the front side (surface exposed to the outside, non-glossy surface) and 24 g/ ^m2 on the back side (surface facing the inside of the container, non-glossy surface).
When preparing the gables for evaluation described below, a paper base material was used so that the longitudinal direction of the container was aligned with the CD direction.

[Comparative Example 1]
The paper substrate used was a double-sided polyethylene-coated base paper (basis weight standard value: 420 g/ ^m2 ) manufactured by Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co., Ltd. The polyethylene coating thickness was 16 g/ ^m2 on the front side (surface exposed to the outside, non-glossy surface) and 26 g/ ^m2 on the back side (surface facing the inside of the container, non-glossy surface).
When preparing the gables for evaluation described below, a paper base material was used so that the longitudinal direction of the container was aligned with the CD direction.
[Comparative Example 2]
When preparing the gable for evaluation described below, the same paper substrate as in Comparative Example 1 was used, except that the paper substrate was used so that the container length direction was the MD direction.
[Comparative Example 3]
When preparing the gable for evaluation described below, the same paper substrate as in Example 3 was used, except that the paper substrate was used so that the container length direction was the MD direction.
[Comparative Example 4]
The paper substrate used was a base paper (manufactured by Westlock, basis weight standard value 215 g/ ^m2 ) coated on both sides with polyethylene. The polyethylene coating thickness was 16 g/ ^m2 on the front side (surface exposed to the outside, non-glossy surface) and 26 g/ ^m2 on the back side (surface facing the inside of the container, non-glossy surface).
When preparing the gables for evaluation described below, a paper base material was used so that the longitudinal direction of the container was aligned with the CD direction.

The obtained paper substrate was subjected to the following evaluations. The results are shown in Table 1.
(Evaluation method)
Yield angle and yield value Lines were formed on a paper base material to form a gable-top paper container having the shape shown in Fig. 1. In this paper container, the size of the opening side body panel was 6 cm wide and 7 cm high.
A rectangular sample 20 mm wide x 70 mm long was cut from the center of the width of the open-side body panel where the creases were formed, with the creases extending in the width direction. The sample was bent perpendicular to the longitudinal direction from 0° (before bending) to 90° using a bending stiffness tester BST-α (Asahi Research Institute, Ltd.), so as to bend along the creases, and the bending load was measured.
The measured angle was plotted on the horizontal axis and the bending load (cN) on the vertical axis, and the angle showing the maximum value was taken as the yield angle, and the maximum value was taken as the yield value. The measurement was performed three times, and the average value is shown in Table 1. For specimens with a yield angle exceeding 70°, the bending load value at 70° is shown in the yield value column in Table 1.
- Internal bond strength
According to the internal bond tester method of JAPAN TAPPI No. 18-2:2000 (Paper and paperboard-Internal bond strength test method-Part 2), one side of the sample was attached to a fixed table with double-sided tape, an L-shaped metal fitting was attached to the other side, and after pressing and adhering for a certain period of time, an impact was given to the L-shaped metal fitting with a hammer, and the amount of work required to peel the sample together with the L-shaped metal fitting was measured.

- Container vertical stiffness The bending moment in the vertical direction of the container was measured according to the bending resistance measurement method specified in JIS P8125-2:2017 (Paper and paperboard-Bending resistance test method-Part 2: Taber type testing machine method).
The paper substrate used in each Example and Comparative Example was soaked in water for 12 hours, squeezed with fingers in both MD and CD directions, and the laminate on the surface was peeled off under water to prepare a sample. The above sample, with a bone dry pulp weight of 24 g, was torn by hand into a square of about 2 cm square, and water was added to make it 1200 g (pulp concentration 2%).
This was disintegrated in a standard disintegrator according to the pulp disintegration method specified in JIS P8220-1 (2012), and the Canadian Standard Freeness (CSF) was measured according to the method specified in JIS P8121-2 (2012).

Ease of pressing: The paper base material was formed with lines so as to have the shape shown in FIG. 1 and then molded.
A silicone finger (contact area 10 x 14 mm) was used to press the push point, which is the intersection of the top horizontal fold line and the vertical crease line, at a 45° angle (until the moment the paper began to bend), and the force (N) applied to the silicone finger was measured. Evaluation was based on the following criteria.
◯: applied force is 16 N or less. ×: applied force is more than 16 N. Difficulty in returning to its original shape. The paper base material was formed with lines so as to have the shape shown in FIG. 1 and then molded.
The push point was pressed at an angle of 45° with a silicone finger (contact area 10 × 14 mm) (until the horizontal lines were bent by 70° at the maximum angle), and the pressed area was visually observed after the finger was released and evaluated according to the following criteria.
○: The horizontal lines remain bent and do not return to their original state. △: Immediately after releasing your finger, the lines remain bent, but gradually return to their original state. ×: Immediately after releasing your finger, the pressed part returns to its original shape.

・Easy to open (shape stability)
A gable-top paper container having the same shape as that used for measuring the yield angle and yield value was molded.
A silicone finger (contact area 10 x 14 mm) was used to press the push point at a 45° angle (until the horizontal lines were bent 70° at the maximum angle), then the finger was inserted into the space between the gable roof forming panel, the opening side body panel and the gable wall forming panel, the finger was placed on the gable wall forming panel and spread it to the left and right, the heat-sealed opposing surfaces of the top seal panel were peeled away from each other, and the folded gable wall forming panel was pulled out.
The state of the pouring outlet when pulled out was visually observed.
1: The pouch folds normally along the lines, and can be opened as expected. 2: The drawer section is soft and folds along the shape of your fingers, and also creases. 3: The drawer section folds along a part other than the vertical lines.

1 Carton blanks 2, 3, 4 Body vertical fold lines 5, 6, 7, 8 Body panel 9 Body vertical fold line 10 Vertical seal panel 11 Edge 12 Cylindrical body 13, 14 Outer top seal panel 15, 16 Gable roof forming panel 17, 18 Top horizontal fold lines 19, 20 Inner top seal panel 21 Spout 22, 23 Gable wall forming panel 24, 25 Top horizontal fold lines 26, 27 Guide fold lines 28, 29, 30, 31 Folding fold lines 32, 33 Approximately triangular surface portion 34 Gable top type top 35 Space 36 Intersection 37 Horizontal crease line 38 Vertex 39 Vertical crease line 40, 41 Bottom forming panel 42, 43 Inner panel 44 Bottom of paper container 45 Antibacterial layer 46 Point display portion

Claims (8)

The present invention is formed from a paper substrate comprising a base paper and a thermoplastic resin layer laminated on both sides of the base paper, and satisfies all of the following (a) to (c):
A gable-top paper container, characterized in that the body panel on the opening side has at least one horizontal crease on the upper side, and the area between the upper edge (top horizontal fold line) of the body panel and the horizontal crease can be pushed inward to deform so as to expand the space for inserting fingers.
(a) the basis weight of the base paper is 230 g/ ^m2 or more and 350 g/ ^m2 or less;
(b) the yield angle of the horizontal line portion of the paper base material from 0° to 90° is 70° or less;
(c) The thickness of the paper base material is 280 μm or more and 600 μm or less. The gable-top paper container of claim 1, further comprising vertical lines within the region. The gable-top paper container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the width of the body panel on the opening side is 40 mm or more and 65 mm or less. The gable-top paper container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the internal bond strength of the paper base material is 15 N·cm or more and 50 N·cm or less. (d) A gable-top paper container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the stiffness of the paper base material in the container longitudinal direction is 3 mN·m or more and 25 mN·m or less. The gable-top paper container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that an antibacterial layer is provided at least in the area between the upper edge (top horizontal fold line) of the body panel and the horizontal crease. The gable-top paper container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a point display part is provided at or near the center of the upper edge (top horizontal fold line) of the body panel. The gable-top paper container according to claim 7, characterized in that the point display portion is formed by embossing.