JP2005059899A - Foamed container for vacuum pre-cooling - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve problem that a foamed container for vacuum pre-cooling, which stores fruits and vegetables or the like in the foamed container, closes a lid, aims to vacuum-pre-cool them under reduced pressure, returns the pressure to normal, and carries them while maintaining the freshness, is expected to have a recent demand for a structure in which air discharge within the container is facilitated at the time of vacuum and, after the container is re-pressurized, the movement of the cool air within the container can be prevented to the utmost, and that foamed containers for vacuum pre-cooling having a simple structure and superb performance are not provided despite of various attempts tried to achieve this purpose. <P>SOLUTION: The foamed container for vacuum pre-cooling comprising a lid body to be engaged with the container body is provided with a water accumulating section near the bottom part corner section of the container body and with a through hole passing through from the upper end face of the side wall angle part to the lower direction. The foamed container is further provided with a communicating hole near the lid body angle part so as to communicate with the through hole provided on the container body and to pass through the lid body, and with a water introduction hole to communicate with the water accumulation section and the through hole, having the introduction port upper end of the container inner part side of the water introduction hole being constituted lower than the delivery port lower end on the through hole side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  In order to transport and store fruit vegetables and the like while maintaining their freshness, vacuum precooling is performed under reduced pressure, and the present invention relates to a foam container used for this.

  Recently, there is an increasing demand for keeping fruits and vegetables such as vegetables and fruits as fresh as possible, and storing and transporting them for longer periods of time.

  Conventionally, for this purpose, fruit vegetables and the like are stored, and after the temperature is lowered by forcibly blowing cold air into a foamed container that has been opened, the container is closed and transported and stored. There is a method called ventilation pre-cooling.

  Furthermore, there is a method called vacuum pre-cooling that performs high-level pre-cooling and maintains high freshness. Among the vacuum precooling methods, the most improved method is to store a foamed container that contains fruit vegetables and the like in a vacuum chamber with or without adhering moderate moisture to the surface of the fruit vegetables. If there is water adhering to the surface of the fruit vegetable by reducing the pressure, it is volatilized, and in addition, it is cooled by latent heat of vaporization by volatilizing a part of the water contained in the surface part of the fruit vegetable. After that, the cool air is filled into the space inside the container, the pressure is restored to normal pressure, and the container is transported and stored.

  The foam container used for the most improved vacuum pre-cooling can be easily pre-cooled under reduced pressure in a state where a plurality of foam containers are stacked with the lid closed, and after returning to normal pressure as much as possible There is a high degree of contradictory demand that it is desirable to replace the cold air inside the foam container with external air as much as possible.

  For this purpose, the applicant of the present invention, as shown in Patent Document 1, forms a narrow gap at the joint between the container body and the lid so that it can be ventilated under vacuum and has a subsequent ventilation resistance. A container provided with a ventilation path for the purpose of development has been developed, and this container has been widely used since it is extremely useful industrially.

  In addition, for transporting seafood and the like, it is common to use ice in a foamed container together with the objects to be stored. In order to drain this ice-melt water well and prevent deterioration of the containment due to submersion, as shown in Patent Document 2, a water guide hole having an inclined hole connecting the inside of the container side wall and the bottom of the container, and a vertical hole There has been an attempt to prevent the circulation of air inside and outside the container using a liquid seal by adopting a structure consisting of:

  On the other hand, Patent Document 3 describes a decrease in freshness of fish which makes it easy and hygienic to discharge the melted ice water by drain holes drilled in the bottom four corners of the box body and holes penetrating vertically on the side peripheral wall of the box body. An effective prevention is shown.

In addition, the invention of Patent Document 2 or Patent Document 3 is improved, and the mechanism of Patent Document 2 and the mechanism of Patent Document 3 are simply combined to drain the ice melt water in a water-sealed state, and the ice melt drained from the container. In order to prevent water from falling on the outer surface of the side wall of the container, a combination technique such as Patent Document 4 in which ice-melt water flows down a drainage hole penetrating up and down the container side peripheral wall is also disclosed.
Japanese Patent No. 3089493 (pages 1-6) Japanese Patent No. 2559591 (pages 1 to 9, especially FIG. 6) Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 53-12718 (pages 1 and 2) JP 2003-40431 A (pages 1 to 6)

  An object of the present invention is to meet the demand for storing and transporting fruit vegetables for a longer time and further away by keeping the freshness as much as possible by vacuum precooling without using ice. For this reason, the vacuum precooling container shown in Patent Document 1 and the like provided by the present applicants has a different structure, and it is easy to evacuate the inside of the container at the time of vacuum. The aim is to provide a new container that can satisfy the mutually contradictory requirements of preventing cold air transfer as much as possible.

This invention solves the said subject, Comprising: The structure described next is content.
That is, (1) a foamed container comprising a lid fitted to the container main body, provided with a through hole penetrating from the upper end surface to the lower end surface of the side wall corner, and further communicating with the through hole provided in the container main body In addition, a communicating hole is provided in the vicinity of the corner of the lid body so as to penetrate the lid body, and a water guide hole is provided for communicating between the vicinity of the corner of the inner bottom portion of the foam container main body and the through hole. A foam container for vacuum cold insulation, wherein the upper end of the inlet on the inner side of the container is lower than the lower end of the outlet on the through hole side.
(2) The foamed container for vacuum cold insulation as described in (1), wherein a water reservoir is provided in the vicinity of the corner of the inner bottom of the foamed container body.
(3) The water-conducting hole causes the through-hole and the water reservoir to communicate with each other, and water is present in the water reservoir so that the through-hole and the inside of the container are in a water-sealed state. Foam container.
(4) The vacuum-cooled foam container according to (2) or (3), wherein the water level of the water reservoir is lower than the position of the bottom of the container.
(5) The foamed container for vacuum cooling / retaining according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the center part of the inner bottom part of the foam container main body is high, and is gradually lowered toward the vicinity of the corner of the inner bottom part of the container main body. .
(6) The foamed container for vacuum cold insulation as described in any one of (1) to (5), wherein a plurality of concave shapes and / or convex shapes are formed on the bottom of the foam container main body.

  Regardless of the simple structure, excellent operability at the time of vacuum pre-cooling is obtained, and after the vacuum pre-cooling, the cool air movement in the container can be extremely effectively prevented, and the freshness of fruits and vegetables is maintained at a high level. Enables long-term storage and transportation from a distance.

  The foaming container in the present invention imparts foaming properties by impregnating a foaming agent into a synthetic resin such as a polystyrene resin such as polystyrene, a polyolefin resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene, or a polyurethane resin such as polyurethane, and so on. And a container made of a foamed synthetic resin obtained by foaming.

  In particular, a foamed polystyrene resin container obtained by in-mold molding of a foamable polystyrene resin is preferable from the viewpoints of characteristics and cost.

  Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the foam container 1 includes a lid body 3 that fits into the container body 2. This fitting structure is not particularly limited, and any known fitting structure that can ensure airtightness can be adopted.

  For example, concave / convex fitting is generally employed. That is, one of the container body or the cover body has a recess or protrusion, and the other cover body or container body has a shape having a protrusion or recess that fits into the recess or protrusion. Say. However, one is a groove or ridge, and the other is not limited to a ridge or groove, but a combination of a groove or ridge on one side and a ridge or groove that fits on the other. It is also free to combine. In FIG. 1, the ridge 5 is arranged on the container body 2, and the ridge 6 is arranged on the lid 3.

  And it is preferable to provide the water storage part 9 in the vicinity of the corner part 8 of the inner bottom part 7 of the foam container main body 2 in preparation for when the amount of water is large, as will be described later. The water reservoir 9 can be omitted because it does not remain on the inner bottom 7 when the amount of water is small. Before the vacuum pre-cooling, most of the water, etc. that was sprinkled to maintain the freshness of fruits and vegetables evaporates under reduced pressure. As will be described later, the accumulated water is stored in the portion 9 and sealed in the water guide hole. When this water-sealed state is achieved, after the vacuum pre-cooling, the cold air in the container is not diffused outside the container, and plays a role of preventing replacement with the external air.

  Therefore, it is preferable that the water reservoir 9 is closer to the corner 8 of the bottom 7 of the container body 2 to collect the remaining accumulated water. Moreover, it is preferable that the water reservoir 9 collects a small amount of residual water if it is recessed below the level of the bottom 7 of the container body 2. Furthermore, it is preferable to design the water reservoir 9 with an amount of water commensurate with the amount of retained water remaining in the container after vacuum precooling. Further, the bottom 7 of the container body 2 is gradually inclined from the center toward the four corners 8 so that the remaining water flows down toward the corners 8 or the water reservoirs 9 and accumulates. This is the most preferred embodiment. Of course, a groove or the like can be appropriately provided. If a large amount of water remains in the bottom 7 of the container body 2 even after the vacuum pre-cooling, the bottom 7 is appropriately provided with a concave shape, a convex protrusion or a depression, and the fruits and vegetables are soaked in excess moisture and deteriorated. It is also possible to adopt a structure that prevents this from occurring.

  The above has been described about the case where the accumulated water accumulates in the water reservoir 9 at the bottom 7 after the vacuum pre-cooling and seals the water guide hole, and there is no residual water. I write. That is, when it is predicted that a water-sealed state will not be achieved, it is preferable to make the diameter of the water guide hole and / or the through-hole 14 described below narrower than the case where the water-sealed state is achieved. . By doing so, the ventilation resistance can be increased, and the movement of the cold air inside the container after the decompression can be prevented very well, which is very effective.

  Further, a through hole 14 penetrating from the upper end surface 12 to the lower end surface 13 is provided in the corner portion 11 of the side wall 10 of the container body 2. On the other hand, when the lid 3 is fitted to the container body 2, the communication hole 16 is provided at a position communicating with the through hole 14, that is, in the vicinity of the corner 15 of the lid 3.

Furthermore, in the present invention, a water introduction hole 17 communicating with the water reservoir 9 and the through hole 14 is provided. The water introduction hole 17 is designed such that the upper end H _{1 of the} inlet opening opened on the inner side of the container body 2 is lower than the lower end H _{2 of the} outlet opening opened on the through hole 14 side. By designing in this way, when water accumulates in the water reservoir 9, the water can be sealed by the water introduction hole 17, the relationship between the inside of the container and the through hole 14 is cut off, and the cool air inside the container is dissipated outside the container. Can be prevented, and the vacuum precooled state can be maintained for a long period of time, and extremely good freshness maintenance can be achieved.

  Although the manufacturing method of the container of the present invention described above is not particularly limited, for example, it can be manufactured by a method using a molding core having a movable pin as described in FIGS. 3 to 5 of Patent Document 3.

  In addition, since the drainage hole and the water guide hole described in Patent Document 3 are provided for the purpose of draining ice decontamination efficiently, the hole cross-sectional area and the hole diameter necessary for the purpose of drainage are necessary. The through hole 14 and the water guide hole 17 of the present invention reduce the exhaust pressure under reduced pressure and the air displacement after the return pressure as much as possible, so that even if the hole cross-sectional area and the hole diameter are so small that the drainage is difficult, the reduced pressure is reduced. This is a preferable mode because drainage and return pressure can be performed in this manner, and the ventilation resistance after return pressure can be increased.

As described above, if the hole cross-sectional area and the hole diameter of the through hole 14 and the water guide hole 17 are reduced, particularly if the cross-sectional area and the diameter of the water guide hole 17 are reduced, extremely good ventilation is achieved even if the water guide hole 17 is not in a water-sealed state. Resistance is obtained. Here, with respect to reducing the hole diameters of the through hole 14 and the water guide hole 17, the whole can be made small, or the object can be achieved only by partially reducing the diameter. From the viewpoint of ventilation resistance, the hole cross-sectional area of the through hole 14 and the communication hole 16 cannot be generally described because the hole cross-sectional area can be increased if the length of these holes is long, but for example, about 90 mm ² or less, Preferably, it is about 80 mm ² or less, more preferably about 50 mm ² or less. However, the balance between the ease of manufacture and airflow resistance, preferably about 20 to 80 mm ² in practice, about 30 to 50 mm ² is more preferable. The hole cross-sectional area of the water guide hole 17 may be the same as or smaller than the through hole 14 and the communication hole 16.

  In order to use the vacuum precooling container of the present invention, fruit vegetables are accommodated in the foam container main body 2 and covered with the lid 3 without sprinkling or sprinkling a necessary amount of water on the fruit vegetables. In a vacuum chamber, vacuum precooling is performed under reduced pressure in a state where a plurality of containers 1 are stacked if necessary. At this time, the air in the container 1 is removed through the water guide holes 17, the through holes 14, and the communication holes 16, and the vegetables and the like are cooled by latent heat. Even if the water is accumulated in the water reservoir 9 and is in a water-sealed state by the water guide hole 17 during this pre-cooling, the water scatters and can be degassed under reduced pressure, so there is no problem. When the necessary pre-cooling is completed, cold air is introduced into the container 1 to restore the pressure. If it does so, the water | moisture content which remain | survives will accumulate in the water reservoir part 9, and it will be in the state which can be water-sealed by the water conveyance hole 17, and it will become possible to prevent the cool air movement inside a container favorably. Even if the water content of the water reservoir 9 is small and the water sealing state at the water guide hole 17 is not sufficient, the water guide hole 17 has a small area and has ventilation resistance similar to a capillary phenomenon. Therefore, the movement and dissipation of cool air inside the container can be prevented well.

  In the figure explaining the embodiment of the present invention, the water reservoir 9, the through hole 14, the communication hole 16, the water introduction hole 17 and the like are shown at the four corners of the container, respectively, which is the most preferable aspect. Of course it is. However, when there are special circumstances, it is not always necessary to provide the four corners.

It is a schematic diagram of the container cross section which shows one embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the top view which looked at the container main body which is one embodiment of this invention from the top. It is a schematic diagram which shows the top view which looked at the cover body which is one embodiment of this invention from the top. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged schematic view of the vicinity of the bottom corner of the cross section of the container body shown in FIG. 1. It is a schematic diagram of the cross section which shows the state which accumulated the container of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container 2 Container main body 3 Lid body 9 Water reservoir part 14 Through-hole 16 Communication hole 17 Water conveyance hole 1

Claims (6)

  A foam container comprising a lid that fits into the container body, provided with a through-hole penetrating from the upper end surface of the side wall corner portion to the lower end surface, and further communicating with the through-hole provided in the container body. A through hole is provided in the vicinity of the corner of the lid so as to penetrate, and a water guide hole is provided to communicate between the vicinity of the corner of the inner bottom of the foam container body and the through hole, and the introduction of the water guide hole to the inside of the container is provided. A vacuum-cooled foam container configured such that the upper end of the mouth is lower than the lower end of the outlet on the through hole side.   The foamed container for vacuum cold insulation according to claim 1, wherein a water reservoir is provided in the vicinity of the corner of the inner bottom part of the foamed container body.   The foam container for vacuum cooling and holding according to claim 2, wherein the water guide hole communicates the through hole and the water reservoir, and water is present in the water reservoir, thereby sealing the through hole and the inside of the container.   The foam container for vacuum cold insulation according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the water level of the water reservoir is lower than the position of the bottom of the container.   The vacuum container for cold insulation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a center part of the inner bottom part of the foam container main body is high and is formed to be gradually lower toward the vicinity of the corner of the container main body inner bottom part.   The foam container for vacuum cooling according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a plurality of concave shapes and / or convex shapes are formed on the inner bottom portion of the foam container main body.

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