JP2005178789A - Vacuum-precooling foamed container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum-precooling foamed container having a simple structure and excellent performance for transportion while maintaining freshness in a normal pressure condition with fruits and vegetables stored in the foamed container with a lid closed, and then vacuum-precooled under a vacuum state, which is easily evacuated in a vacuum state and can prevent movement of the cold air inside the container after the pressure return as far as possible. <P>SOLUTION: In the foamed container comprising a container body and a lid to be fitted thereto, a through hole is formed from an upper end face to a lower end face of a side wall corner part, and a vent groove or a vent hole is formed to communicate the through hole with an outer side of the container body. A channel is formed to communicate a part in a vicinity of a corner part of a bottom part in the foamed container body with the through hole, and an upper end of an inlet on the container inner side of the channel is lower than a lower end of an outlet 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 has been an increasing demand for keeping vegetables, fruits, etc. (hereinafter referred to as “fruit vegetables”) as fresh as possible, and storing and transporting them for a longer time and further away.

  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 in order to maintain a more reliable freshness by carrying out a higher degree of pre-cooling. In carrying out this vacuum pre-cooling, the most improved method is to attach a suitable amount of moisture to the surface of the fruits and vegetables, or to store the fruits and vegetables, etc. If there is moisture adhering to the surface of the fruit and vegetable by storing it in a vacuum, it volatilizes it, and furthermore, by the latent heat of evaporation by volatilizing a part of the water contained in the surface layer part of the fruit and vegetable Cooling. 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.

  In the foam container used in this most improved vacuum pre-cooling, it can be easily vacuum 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 once It is desirable to make it as difficult as possible to replace the cold air inside the foam container with the external air. Thus, in the most improved vacuum precooled foam container, it is necessary to clear advanced technical problems that contradict each other.

  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 the ice water well and prevent deterioration of the contained material 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 by a water seal structure using a liquid seal.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 3, it is easy to discharge the melted ice water by the drain holes drilled in the bottom four corners of the box body and the holes penetrating vertically on the side peripheral wall of the box body, and the ice water wets the outer wall surface of the container. The idea of a hygienic container 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. However, with these technologies, ice is used to cool the inside of the container, but because there are through holes provided for draining the ice melt, it is more susceptible to outside air. There is a problem that it is not suitable for time storage.
JP-A-4-352673 (pages 1-6) JP-A-6-92374 (pages 1-9, especially FIG. 6) Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 53-12718 (pages 1 and 2) JP 2003-40341 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 applicant has a different structure, and it is easy to evacuate the inside of the container at the time of depressurization. The aim is to provide a new container that very well meets the mutually contradictory requirements of preventing movement 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 of the side wall corner to the lower end surface, and further communicating the through hole with the outer surface of the container main body. A vent hole or a vent hole is provided, 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 upper end of the inlet port on the container inner side of the water guide hole is a through hole. A vacuum-cooling foam container configured to be lower than the lower end of the outlet outlet on the side.
(2) The foamed container for vacuum cold insulation as described in (1), wherein a ventilation groove is provided on a fitting surface between the container main body and the lid.
(3) The foamed container for vacuum cold insulation according to (1), wherein the ventilation groove is provided on a fitting surface between the outer bottom portion of the container main body and the lid of another container in contact with the outer bottom portion.
(4) The vacuum-cooled foam container according to (1), wherein the vent hole extends from the through hole to the outer surface of the container body through the corner of the side wall.
(5) The foamed container for vacuum cold insulation as described in any one of (1) to (4), wherein a water reservoir is provided in the vicinity of the corner of the bottom of the foam container main body.
(6) The water guide hole allows the through hole and the water reservoir to communicate with each other, and the presence of water in the water reservoir causes the through hole and the inside of the container to be in a water-sealed state (1) to (5) The foaming container for vacuum cold preservation of any one.
(7) The foaming container for vacuum cold insulation as described in any one of (1) to (6), wherein the water level of the water reservoir is lower than the position of the bottom of the container.
(8) The foamed container for vacuum cooling / retaining according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein the center part of the inner bottom part of the foam container main body is high and is gradually formed lower toward the vicinity of the corner of the container main body inner bottom part. .
(9) The foamed container for vacuum cold insulation as described in any one of (1) to (8), wherein a plurality of concave shapes and / or convex shapes are formed on the inner bottom of the foamed container body.

  Regardless of the simple structure, excellent operability during vacuum pre-cooling is obtained, and after vacuum pre-cooling, the movement of cold air inside and outside 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, for example, in-mold molding of a foamable polystyrene resin is preferable from the viewpoints of characteristics, cost, and the like.

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

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the foam container 1 is composed of 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 corresponding ridge or groove, but a combination of grooves and ridges on one side and a ridge that fits on the other side. And the fitting form of combining concave stripes is also possible. In FIG. 1, the ridge 5 is arranged on the container body 2, and the ridge 6 is arranged on the lid 3.

  In the present invention, the corner portion 11 of the side wall 10 of the container body 2 is provided with a through hole 14 penetrating from the upper end surface 12 to the lower end surface 13 thereof, and the ventilation groove for communicating the through hole 14 with the outer surface of the container body. Or a vent is provided. As a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the fitting surface between the container body 2 and the lid body 3 is provided with a ventilation groove 4 on the outer surface of the container body 2 from the upper end of the through hole 14. The ventilation groove 4 may be provided with a groove on the container body 2 side on the fitting surface between the container body 2 and the lid body 3 or may be provided with a groove on the lid body 3 side. Further, both the container body 2 and the lid body 3 can be provided with a groove.

  As another embodiment, a vent groove 4 ′ communicating with the outer surface of the container main body 2 from the outer bottom of the container main body, which is the lower end of the through hole 14, can be used (see FIG. 9). In this case, the ventilation groove 4 ′ may be provided only in the outer bottom portion of the container body, or may be provided in the lid of another container that contacts the outer bottom portion of the container body. In addition, it is naturally possible to provide the ventilation groove 4 ′ in both the outer bottom portion of the container main body and the lid body of another container that contacts the outer bottom portion. Note that the ventilation means for exhaust and return pressure is not limited to the fitting surface.

  As yet another embodiment, a vent hole 16 extending from the through hole 14 to the outer surface of the container body is provided. The shape is not limited as long as a hole for venting from the through hole 14 through the side wall corner to the outer surface of the container is provided. FIG. 6 illustrates a ventilation hole 16 provided horizontally at the middle position between the upper end surface 12 and the lower end surface 13 of the through hole 14 and near the upper end surface. Of course, the vent 16 need not be horizontal. In FIG. 7, the air holes 16 that are inclined upward from the intermediate position near the upper end surface of the through hole 14 toward the upper end surface 12 are illustrated. In short, if the lid is closed, the upper end surface 12 of the through hole 14 is closed by the lid 3, and the lower end surface 13 of the through hole 14 is closed by the upper surface of the lower lid 3 by stacking the containers. Therefore, some holes are required to communicate the through hole 14 with the outside of the container. Therefore, the shape and position are not limited as long as the purpose is met. However, it is preferable to provide the position closer to the upper end surface 12 because the position goes upward if the cold air temperature in the container rises.

  These ventilation grooves 4, 4 'and ventilation holes 16 are arranged inside the container via the water introduction holes 17 and the through holes 14 for exhausting the air in the container under reduced pressure during vacuum precooling and venting at the time of return pressure. And allow ventilation. Then, after the pressure is restored, that is, in the distribution process such as transportation and storage of the container after being taken out of the vacuum precooling chamber, the groove has a large ventilation resistance that can prevent the distribution of the outside air into the container as much as possible. That is, the magnitude of the ventilation resistance varies depending on the relationship between the diameter and length of the groove or hole, but generally the shape of the groove or hole is not particularly limited.

  Further, in the present invention, a water introduction hole 17 communicating with the vicinity 8 of the corner of the inner bottom 7 of the container body 2 and the through hole 14 is provided.

  Further, in the vicinity of the corner 8 of the inner bottom 7 of the foam container main body 2, it is preferable to provide a water reservoir 9 in preparation for when the amount of water is large, as will be described later. The water reservoir 9 can be omitted because the water does not stay in the inner bottom 7 when the amount of water is small. Most of the water sprinkled to maintain the freshness or freshness of fruits and vegetables before pre-cooling the vacuum evaporates under reduced pressure. As will be described later, the accumulated water is accumulated in the water reservoir 9 to seal the water guide hole and enter a water-sealed state. 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, the water reservoir 9 is preferably near the corner 8 of the inner bottom 7 of the container body 2 in order to collect the remaining retained water. In addition, the water reservoir 9 is recessed below the level of the inner bottom portion 7 of the container body 2 and the water level of the water reservoir 9 is preferably lower than the central portion of the inner bottom portion of the container body to collect less residual water. 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 inner bottom portion 7 of the container body 2 is gradually inclined from the center toward the four corner portions 8 so that the remaining water flows down toward the corner portion 8 or the water reservoir portion 9 and accumulates. Is the most preferred embodiment. Accordingly, it is naturally possible to provide a groove or the like in the inner bottom portion 7 as appropriate. If a large amount of water stays in the inner bottom portion 7 of the container body 2 even after the vacuum precooling, the inner bottom portion 7 is appropriately provided with a concave shape, a convex protrusion or a depression, and the fruits and vegetables are immersed in excess water. It is also possible to freely adopt a structure that prevents deterioration.

  The above has been described about the case where the accumulated water accumulates in the water reservoir 9 in the inner bottom 7 after the vacuum pre-cooling and seals the water guide hole, thereby producing a water-sealed state. I write. That is, when it is predicted that a water-sealed state will not be achieved, it is preferable that the diameters of water guide holes 17 and vent holes 16 described later be made narrower than when a water-sealed state is achieved. By doing so, it is effective because the ventilation resistance can be increased and the cold air movement inside the container after the decompression can be prevented very well.

Further, the water guide hole 17 is provided below the lower end of H ₂ outlet upper end H ₁ of inlet opening into the interior of the container body 2 is opened to the through hole 14 side, in particular the upper end H ₁ inlet Most preferably, it is provided below the level of the inner bottom 7. 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 this invention which has the water conveyance hole 17, the vent hole 16, the through-hole 14, etc. as mentioned above is not specifically limited, For example, it described in FIGS. 3-5 of Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2003-40341 It can be manufactured by a method using a molding core having a movable pin.

  In addition, since the drainage hole and the water conveyance hole described in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2003-40341 are provided for the purpose of draining ice decontamination efficiently, the hole cross-sectional area required for the purpose of drainage, a hole diameter, etc. are required. is necessary. However, in the present invention, the water guide hole 17, the vent groove 4, the vent hole 16, the through hole 14 and the like can be exhausted under reduced pressure, and after the return pressure, the air replacement should be as small as possible. Even if the hole cross-sectional area and the hole diameter are so small that it is difficult to drain, drainage and return pressure under reduced pressure are possible. For this reason, by reducing the hole cross-sectional area and diameter, the groove cross-sectional area and the groove width and depth, it is possible to increase the airflow resistance after the return pressure, so that a very favorable effect can be obtained.

Thus, if the hole cross-sectional area and the hole diameter of the water guide hole 17, the vent groove 4, the vent hole 16, and the through hole 14 are reduced, especially if the cross-sectional area, diameter, width, and depth of the water guide hole 17 are reduced, Even if the water guide hole 17 is not in a water-sealed state, very good ventilation resistance can be obtained. Here, the diameter of the water guide hole 17, the ventilation groove 4, the ventilation hole 16, the through hole 14, etc., and the width and depth of the groove may be reduced. The purpose can be achieved simply by reducing the value of. From the viewpoint of ventilation resistance, the cross-sectional area of the holes and grooves such as the water guiding hole 17, the ventilation groove 4, the ventilation hole 16, and the through-hole 14 can be generally described as the hole cross-sectional area can be increased if the length of these holes is long. For example, it is 90 mm ² or less, preferably 80 mm ² or less, and more preferably 50 mm ² or less. However, the balance between the ease of manufacture and airflow resistance, practically preferably 20 to 80 mm ² in, 30 to 50 mm ² is more preferable. Among them, the water guide hole 17, the ventilation groove 4, the hole of the ventilation hole 16, and the cross-sectional area of the groove may be the same as those of the through hole 14, but are preferably further reduced.

  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 and the through holes 14, the ventilation grooves 4, or the ventilation 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. It is possible to satisfactorily prevent the movement of cold air inside the container and the dissipation to the outside of the container. The same applies to the case where the cross-sectional area of the ventilation groove 4 or the ventilation hole 16 is sufficiently small.

  In the drawings describing the embodiment of the present invention, the water reservoir 9, the through hole 14, the ventilation groove 4 (or the ventilation hole 16), the water introduction holes 17 and the like are provided at the four corners of the container. Of course, this is the most preferred embodiment. However, when there are special circumstances, it is not always necessary to provide the four corners.

  In addition, the ventilation groove 4 shown in FIG. 8 does not go straight from the upper end surface 12 of the through-hole 14 to the outer surface of the container body 2 as shown in FIG. An example of a structure in which the fitting surface is refracted and provided parallel to the side wall for a certain distance from the upper end of the through hole 14 and opened to the outer surface of the container at a position away from the upper end surface 12 of the through hole 14 by a certain distance. ing. The ventilation groove 4 can also be formed with a groove on the container body 2 side on the fitting surface between the container body 2 and the lid body 3 or can be provided with a groove on the lid body 3 side. Further, both the container body 2 and the lid body 3 can be provided with a groove.

  FIG. 9 shows that the fitting surface between the container main body and the lid body is not provided with a ventilation groove, but the ventilation groove is formed between the outer bottom portion of the container main body and the lid body of another container in contact with the outer bottom portion. An example provided between them is shown.

It is a schematic diagram of the cross section of the container which shows one embodiment of this invention. (Cross sectional view in the FF direction in FIG. 2) 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 near the inner 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. It is a schematic diagram of the cross section of the container which shows the other embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the cross section of the container which shows the other embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic diagram which shows the top view which looked at the container main body which is another embodiment of this invention from the top. It is a schematic diagram of the cross section which shows the state which accumulated the container of the other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container 2 Container main body 3 Lid 5 Protrusion 6 Concave 4, 4 'Ventilation groove 7 Inner bottom part 9 Water reservoir part 10 Side wall 12 Upper end surface 13 Lower end surface 14 Through-hole 16 Vent hole 17 Water introduction hole

Claims (9)

  A foamed container comprising a lid fitted to the container main 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 a ventilation groove for communicating the through hole with the outer surface of the container main body, or A vent hole is provided, and a water guide hole is provided to communicate between the vicinity of the corner of the inner bottom portion of the foam container body and the through hole. The upper end of the inlet on the container inner side of the water guide hole is the lower end of the outlet on the through hole side. A vacuum-cooled foam container configured to be lower than the above.   The vacuum container for cold insulation according to claim 1, wherein a ventilation groove is provided on a fitting surface between the container body and the lid.   The vacuum container for vacuum and cold insulation according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation groove is provided on a fitting surface between an outer bottom portion of the container main body and a lid body of another container in contact with the outer bottom portion.   2. The vacuum-cooled foam container according to claim 1, wherein the vent hole extends from the through hole to the outer surface of the container body through the side wall corner.   The vacuum container for cold insulation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a water reservoir is provided in the vicinity of the corner of the bottom of the foam container main body.   In any one of Claims 1-5 which made this through-hole and the container inside into a water-sealed state by this water-conducting hole making this through-hole and this water reservoir part communicate, and making water exist in this water reservoir part. The foamed container for vacuum cold preservation as described.   The foam container for vacuum cold preservation according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the water level of the water reservoir is lower than the position of the bottom of the container.   The foamed container for vacuum cold insulation according to any one of claims 1 to 7, 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 a corner near the bottom part of the container main body inner part.   The foam container for vacuum cooling according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein a plurality of concave shapes and / or convex shapes are formed on the inner bottom portion of the foam container main body.

Images