JP2008285185A - Cold insulating container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cold insulating container which is durable and maintains a heat insulating characteristic for a long time, in a top open foldable cold insulating container which is stacked during the transportation of frozen food, refrigerated food, etc. <P>SOLUTION: This cold insulating container has a freely rotative side wall (2) on each of the four sides of a bottom panel (1). The container is so structured that when it is stacked in an assembled condition, the bottom face of the bottom panel (1) of an upper container engages with the top end of the side wall (2) of a lower container. The outer periphery of the bottom face of the panel (1) is provided with a seal material contacting the top end edge of the wall (2) of the lower container. Each corner of the bottom face of the panel (1) which is a part of the outer periphery is provided with a protrusion for protecting the seal material contacting the top end edge of the lower container in stacking. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cold storage container, and more particularly to an open top foldable cold storage container that is used in a stacked manner in the transportation of frozen foods, refrigerated foods, fresh foods, and the like.

  In regular delivery of frozen foods, refrigerated foods, fresh foods, etc., cold storage containers as so-called returnable containers that are collected and reused are used, but from the viewpoint of transport efficiency during container recovery, cold storage containers with a folded structure Many are also used.

As said cold storage container, for example, by connecting four side plate members (side walls) other than the lid to the four sides of the bottom plate member (bottom plate) by hinges provided on the respective lower end sides, each side plate member A “folding container” that can be folded inward has been proposed. In such a folding container, the bottom plate member and each side plate member are composed of a non-foamed foamed resin molded plate only in order to improve heat insulation and durability.
JP 2001-10635 A

In addition, as a container having a folding structure, the side walls are connected to the four sides of the bottom wall (bottom plate) so that the side walls can be tilted up and down, and a pair of opposing side walls are folded on the top surface of the bottom wall. An open top “folding container” has been proposed in which the side wall is folded. Such open top folding containers can be used by being stacked in multiple stages during transportation, so that they are excellent in handling and can save space.
JP 2002-332037 A

  In low-temperature transportation such as food, together with food, dry ice and reusable cold storage material are stored in a container, but from the viewpoint of reducing the loss of cold heat as much as possible and improving handling at the time of distribution, It is preferable to use a cold storage container having an open top folded structure made of a material excellent in heat insulation.

  By the way, the open top container is normally prevented from falling by the fitting structure between the upper end of the lower container (the upper end of each side wall) and the bottom plate of the upper container when stacked. In structural parts, there may be dimensional errors due to warping during molding, etc., and gaps are likely to occur in the stacked state, and when applied to low temperature transportation, cold heat in the container leaks through the gaps. There is.

  Therefore, a structure that reduces the outflow of air in the container and prevents the loss of cold heat by arranging a sealing material on the outer peripheral portion of the container bottom plate and sealing the gap is studied. However, in the operation of stacking containers, a part of the bottom plate of the upper container is hooked on the upper end of the container (the upper edge of the side wall) and the upper container is slid so that the containers are stacked. In addition, the sealing material attached to the bottom plate of the container slidably contacts the upper edge of the side wall, causing the problem of wear and damage. As a result, the heat insulation performance is significantly reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is an open top foldable refrigerated container that is used by being stacked in multiple stages in transportation of frozen food, refrigerated food, fresh food, and the like. An object of the present invention is to provide a cold-insulated container that is excellent in durability and that can maintain high heat insulation performance over a long period of time.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, in the assembled state, the bottom plate bottom surface of the upper container is fitted to the upper end of the side wall of the lower container so that it can be stacked up and down, and the containers are stacked. The sealing material provided on the outer periphery of the bottom plate bottom surface was brought into contact with the upper edge of each side wall of the lower container to prevent the leakage of cold air from the container. In the operation of stacking the containers, the protrusions provided at the corners on the bottom surface of the bottom plate are brought into contact with the upper edge of the side wall of the lower container so as to avoid the sliding contact of the sealing material.

  That is, the gist of the present invention is that a side wall is rotatably attached to each of four sides of a bottom plate having a square planar shape, and the bottom plate and each side wall are made of a non-foamed resin surface layer portion and a foamed resin. An open top foldable cold storage container composed of a resin molded body having an inner layer portion, and when the containers are stacked in an assembled state, the lower surface of the bottom plate of the upper container is the side wall of the lower container A sealing material that contacts the upper edge of the side wall of the lower container when the container is stacked in an assembled state is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the bottom plate bottom surface. The cold storage container is characterized in that a protrusion projecting downward from the outer peripheral portion is provided at each corner portion of the lower surface of the bottom plate that is attached along the outer peripheral portion.

  According to the cold storage container of the present invention, when stacking the containers, the protrusions provided at the corners on the lower surface of the bottom plate of the upper container are brought into contact with the upper edge of the side wall of the lower container, and the sliding contact of the sealing material with respect to the upper edge is performed. Since it can be avoided, there is no wear or damage of the sealing material, and high thermal insulation performance can be maintained over a long period of time.

  One embodiment of a cold container according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an assembled state of an example of a cold insulation container according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a method of folding the cold insulation container of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a folded state of the cold insulation container of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the shape of the bottom surface side of the bottom plate of the cold insulation container of FIG. FIG. 5 is a view showing the sealing material provided on the lower surface of the bottom plate and the protrusion for preventing damage to the sealing material in the cold insulation container of FIG. 1, and is a partial view seen along the line VV of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view.

  The cold storage container of the present invention is mainly a food to be controlled at a low temperature, for example, frozen food such as frozen meat, frozen fish, frozen confectionery, refrigerated food such as ham / sausage, fresh seafood, various prepared dishes, vegetables, fruits It is used for transporting fresh food such as, and when used, it can be stacked in multiple stages and is a top-open type foldable cold storage container with excellent heat insulation. As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, such a cold insulation container has side walls (not shown) on the four sides of a bottom plate (1) formed in a square shape (for example, a substantially rectangular shape) by a hinge or a shaft member (not shown). 2) is rotatably mounted.

  The cold insulation container of the present invention needs to have predetermined durability performance and heat insulation performance for handling during transportation and storage, and is preferably lighter. Therefore, the bottom plate (1) and each side wall (2) are formed of a resin molded body having a surface layer portion of non-foamed resin and an inner layer portion of foamed resin. That is, in the above cold storage container, each surface of the bottom plate (1) and each side wall (2), which is a molded body, is made of non-foamed resin, and each inside of the bottom plate (1) and each side wall (2) Consists of foamed resin.

  Various polyolefin is mentioned as resin which comprises the surface layer part and inner layer part of said molded object. Specifically, polyethylene or a blend of polyethylenes having different densities, or a random copolymer or block copolymer of polypropylene, polypropylene and other α-olefins, or a blend thereof, various kinds of polyethylene and polypropylene. And blends of these. Among these, in order to further integrate the surface layer portion and the inner layer portion of the molded product during production, it is preferable that 20% or more of the components of each polyolefin constituting the surface layer portion and the inner layer portion are the same component (polyethylene component or polypropylene component). .

  Examples of the molded body in which 20% or more of the components are composed of the same polyolefin include those in which the inner layer portion is composed of polypropylene and the surface layer portion is composed of a blend of polyethylene and polypropylene containing 20% or more of polyethylene. I can do it. In particular, a molded body in which the surface layer portion and the inner layer portion are made of polyethylene is lightweight and excellent in moldability and low temperature resistance. When the cold-reserving container of the present invention is applied to, for example, food transportation, the internal volume is usually about 10 to 25 liters. And each thickness of a baseplate (1) and a side wall (3) is set to 10-40 mm, and the thickness of a surface layer part is set to 0.5-2.5 mm.

  The cold insulation container of the present invention can be manufactured by various molding methods. For example, after preparing a plate-like foam molded body constituting the inner layer portion in advance, the foam molded body is placed between the split molds. The bottom plate (1) and the side wall including the hinge component, for example, are arranged and then clamped by extruding the resin constituting the surface layer portion into a sheet shape between both surfaces of the foam molded body and the mold molding surface. Each (3) is manufactured and manufactured by connecting the bottom plate (1) and the side wall (3).

  The specific structure of the cold storage container of the present invention is as follows. That is, in the cold storage container, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the bottom plate (1) is formed in a rectangular shape, for example, in a planar shape. As shown, a pair of side walls (2a) provided with a handle (3) on the front side are attached to each other so as to be rotatable by a hinge (not shown). A hinge is comprised by the hinge structure part formed in said 2 edge part of a baseplate (1), and the other hinge structure part formed in the lower end inner edge side of a side wall (2a). Thereby, one set of side walls (2a) can be folded inward as shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, another set of two parallel sides in the longitudinal direction of the bottom plate (1) is a rising portion that is raised upward by substantially the thickness of the side wall (2a). It has. Then, another set of side walls (2b) is attached to the rising portion so as to be opposed to each other by a hinge (not shown). The hinge is formed by a hinge component formed on the inner edge of another set of two sides of the bottom plate (1) and the other hinge component formed on the lower edge inner edge of the side wall (2b). Composed. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3, another set of side walls (2b) can be folded inward so as to cover the upper surface side of the side wall (2a) folded first. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the left and right ends of the side wall (2b) in the assembled state are provided with overhangs (27) that slightly protrude toward the adjacent side wall (2a).

  Moreover, as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, the stopper which latches a side wall (2a) at the time of assembling a container on the upper part of the right and left side edge part of each inner surface side of said 1 set of side wall (2b). (6) is provided. The stopper (6) is a tongue-like elastic deformation part formed so as to always protrude on the inner surface of the side wall (2b), and the amount of protrusion to the inner side of the container increases from the center in the width direction of the wall surface to the outer side. It is configured to gradually increase. Moreover, the stopper (6) is disposed at a position shifted from the left and right side ends of the side wall (2b) to the center side of the wall by a distance substantially corresponding to the thickness of the side wall (2a).

  When assembling the cold insulation container of the present invention, a pair of side walls (2b) in the longitudinal direction from the folded state as shown in FIG. 3 has its thickness abutted against the edge of the bottom plate (1) and orthogonal to the bottom plate. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, each pair of side walls (2a) in the short direction is caused to abut against the protruding portion (27). At that time, the stopper (6) is pressed by the side wall (2a) and sunk into the wall surface, and after the side wall (2a) is raised, the stopper (6) protrudes again and restricts the rotation to the inside (falling direction) of the side wall (2a). To do. Therefore, it can assemble to a container as shown in FIG. 1 by raising operation of each side wall (2a).

  In addition, although not illustrated, in the cold storage container of the present invention, the planar shape of the bottom plate (1) may be square. Further, the side walls (2a) and (2b) may be attached to the bottom plate (1) by thin hinges. Also in this case, the position of the hinge corresponding to each adjacent side of the bottom plate (1) is shifted up and down by the thickness of the side wall (2a), so that after the pair of side walls (2a) is folded, the other It can fold in the state which covers a pair of side walls (2b). In addition to the stopper (6), for example, the fixing means for the side walls (2a) and (2b) when assembled is provided at the upper corners of the side walls (2a) and (2b) in the assembled state. There are various types of latches.

  Since the cold storage container of the present invention is used by stacking a plurality of stages in the vertical direction, when the containers are stacked in an assembled state, the lower surface of the bottom plate (1) of the upper container is the side wall (2a), (2b) of the lower container The structure which fits to the upper end part of the is provided. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper edge of each side wall (2) in the assembled state is provided with a drop portion (22) provided inside the ridge line portion (21) in the length direction. It has a step structure. That is, at the upper edge of each side wall (2a), along the length direction, there is a ridge line part (21) having the highest height and a drop part (22) having a height lower than the ridge line part. Is provided. As shown in FIG. 4, the bottom surface of the bottom plate (1) has a two-stage structure in which the outer peripheral portion (11) is retracted to form a square bulging surface (12) when viewed from the bottom. That is, the bottom surface of the bottom plate (1) is formed of an outer peripheral portion (11) having a predetermined width and a bulging surface (12) protruding further downward than the outer peripheral portion.

  When the cold storage container of the present invention is stacked up and down in the assembled state, the bulging surface (12) of the lower surface of the bottom plate (1) of the upper container fits into the drop (22) of the side wall (2) of the lower container. It is comprised so that it may match, By such a fitting structure, it can pile up stably in multistage. Depth (22) depth of the upper end of the side wall (2) and the protruding amount of the bulging surface (12) on the bottom surface of the bottom plate (1), that is, the fitting depth of the bulging surface (12) with respect to the dropping portion (22) Is usually about 5 to 20 mm. Moreover, as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, a ridgeline part so that the protrusion (9) (refer FIG. 4) mentioned later may fit in the edge part of the upper end edge of each side wall (2b) in the assembled state. A recess (4) lower than (21) is formed.

  In the present invention, as a fitting structure between the bottom plate (1) of the upper container and the side walls (2a) and (2b) of the lower container when the containers are stacked, for example, the container is assembled. In the state, the bulging surface (12) on the lower surface of the bottom plate (1) of the upper container may be fitted into the side walls (2a) and (2b) of the lower container.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, in the cold storage container of the present invention, each side wall (2b) positioned on the upper surface side when folded is provided with a protrusion (24) and (25) is provided in a strip shape. The protruding portion (24) is provided along the left and right end portions on the front side of the side wall (2b) in the assembled state (the state shown in FIG. 1), and the protruding portion (25) is provided on the side wall (2b) in the assembled state. It is provided along the lower end portion on the front side. As shown in FIG. 3, when the side walls (2b) are folded, the regions inside the protrusions (24) and (25) form a receding surface (26) having a low height.

  Further, the four corners on the upper surface side in a state where each side wall (2b) is folded, that is, both corners on the lower end side on the front side of each side wall (2b) in the assembled state, are provided with a protrusion (24) and a protrusion (25). A gap is provided in which each end is separated and a projection (9) (see FIG. 4) described below on the bottom surface of the bottom plate (1) engages. Furthermore, a concave portion (5) that engages with the protrusion (9) may be provided in the gap portion.

  The cold storage container of the present invention is configured such that, when stacked in a folded state, the bulging surface (12) on the lower surface of the bottom plate (1) of the upper container is fitted to the receding surface (26) on the upper surface side of the lower container. With such a fitting structure, when transported and stored in an empty state, it can be stably stacked in multiple stages, and space saving can be achieved. The protrusion height of the protrusions (24) and (25), in other words, the depth of the receding surface (26) from the protrusions (24) and (25) is determined by the fitting of the bulging surface (12). It is said to be a good depth.

  In the present invention, in order to enhance the cold insulation effect, as shown in FIG. 4, the outer peripheral portion (11) of the bottom surface of the bottom plate (1) has a side wall (2) of the lower container when the containers are stacked in an assembled state. A sealing material (8) that comes into contact with the upper end edge of the outer peripheral portion (11) is provided along the length direction (each length direction of the four side portions) of the outer peripheral portion (11). The sealing material (8) contacts the ridge line portion (21) of the side wall (2) of the lower container when the refrigerated product is accommodated and stacked, and from the gaps between the upper and lower containers. It has a function of preventing cold air from leaking. The sealing material (8) is formed of a string-like molded body, and the cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the length direction can be designed to have an appropriate shape, but the adhesion to the upper edge of the side wall (2) is enhanced and the elasticity is maintained. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, it is formed in a mountain shape or a semi-elliptical shape whose width gradually becomes narrower toward the tip side (lower side in the state where the containers are stacked).

  Constituent materials for the sealing material (8) include nitrile rubber, butyl rubber, hydrogenated nitrile rubber, urethane rubber, fluorine rubber, chlorosulfonated polyethylene rubber, silicone rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, chloroprene rubber, acrylic rubber. And rubbers such as natural rubber (including hydrogenated products thereof), rubber foams and fluororesins.

  The sealing material (8) is formed of the elastic material as described above, and as shown in FIG. 5, the tip portion is exposed in the groove (11c) formed in the outer peripheral portion (11) of the bottom plate (1). It is embedded in the state. In that case, a part of the sealing material (8) corresponding to 50 to 80% of the height of the sealing material is embedded in the groove (11c). Specifically, when viewed in cross section as shown in FIG. 5, the height (H) of the sealing material (8) is usually about 3 to 12 mm, the width (W) is about 2 to 8 mm, and the outer peripheral portion ( The embedding depth (h) of the sealing material (8) with respect to 11) (depth of the groove (11c)) is 1.5 to 10 mm, and the protruding amount of the sealing material (8) on the outer peripheral portion (11) surface (= H -H) is 0.5 to 3 mm.

  The reason for specifying the amount of the sealing material (8) to be embedded is as follows. That is, when the embedding depth (h) of the sealing material (8) is larger than 80% of the height (H) of the sealing material, the deformation margin is small, and therefore the upper edge of the side wall (2). There is a possibility that the adhesion to the ridge line portion (21) is insufficient. On the other hand, when the above-mentioned embedding depth (h) is smaller than 50% of the height (H) of the sealing material (8), the protruding amount (= H−h) of the sealing material (8) is large. Therefore, since the height of the projection (9) for protecting the sealing material, which will be described later, becomes too high, deformation due to lack of thickness and rigidity is likely to occur, and damage is easily caused when external force is applied. .

  Furthermore, in the present invention, in order to prevent damage to the sealing material (8), as shown in FIG. 4, each corner portion on the bottom surface of the bottom plate (1), which is a part of the outer peripheral portion (11), A projection (9) for protecting the sealing material that projects downward from the outer peripheral portion (11) is provided. The protrusion (9) contacts the ridge line portion (21) of the side wall (2) of the lower container when the upper container is stacked so as to be displaced from the lateral direction, and is in contact with the ridge line portion (21). The direct contact of the sealing material (8) of the upper container is restricted. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the protrusion (9) preferably protrudes further downward (upward when viewed from the bottom) than the sealing material (8).

  The protrusion (9) needs to protrude at the corner of the bottom plate (1), but its shape is not particularly limited. The planar shape (shape when viewed from the bottom) of the protrusion (9) can be formed in a circle or various polygons, and the protrusion (9) illustrated in the figure is formed in a somewhat flat triangular prism shape. The protrusion height from the outer peripheral portion (11) of the protrusion (9) when viewed from the bottom, that is, the height from the outer peripheral portion (11) surface of the protrusion (9) in FIG. 5 is the protrusion of the sealing material (8). It is designed to be larger than the amount (= H−h). Specifically, the height of the protrusion (9) is usually 0.6 to 5 mm, preferably 1 to 3.5 mm.

  As described above, the cold storage container of the present invention has a structure in which the lower surface of the bottom plate (1) of the upper container is fitted to the upper ends of the side walls (2a) and (2b) of the lower container in the assembled state. ing. As illustrated in the figure, the upper edge of each side wall (2) is configured in a two-stage structure in which a drop part (22) is provided inside the ridge line part (21), and the bottom surface of the bottom plate (1) is the outer peripheral part ( 11) It has a two-stage structure in which a rectangular bulging surface (12) is provided inside. Thereby, the bulging surface (12) of the upper container can be fitted to the drop part (22) of the side wall (2) of the lower container and stacked up and down.

  In the operation of stacking the containers, usually, the upper end portion of the lower side container, in other words, the upper side container is placed on the upper end edge of the side wall (2) in a state where a part of the lower surface of the bottom plate (1) is hooked, Stack the upper container so that it slides from the side. At that time, at the position where the bulging surface (12) of the bottom plate (1) of the upper container can fit into the drop (22) of the side wall (2) of the lower container, The provided projection (9) contacts the ridge (21) of the side wall (2) of the lower container. That is, the protrusion (9) provided on the lower surface of the bottom plate (1) is in contact with the ridge line portion (21) of the side wall (2) of the lower container, and the ridge line portion (21) is sealed with the sealing material for the upper container. (8) restrict direct contact. Therefore, the sealing material (8) is not rubbed in the operation of stacking the containers up and down.

  In the state where the containers are stacked, the protrusion (9) is fitted in the recess (4) at the upper end of the side wall (2), and the sealing material (8) attached to the outer peripheral portion (11) of the bottom surface of the bottom plate (1) is in the lower stage. Since it contacts the ridge line portion (21) of each side wall (2) of the container, the gap between the upper and lower containers can be sealed, and the outflow of cold air from the container can be prevented.

  As described above, according to the cold storage container of the present invention, when the containers are stacked up and down, the bottom plate (1) of the upper container (1) and the protrusion (9) on the lower surface of the bottom container (1) are aligned with the ridge (21) of the side wall (2) of the lower container. (The upper edge of the side wall (2)) is brought into contact with the ridgeline portion (21) so that sliding contact of the sealing material (8) can be avoided, so that the sealing material (8) is not worn or damaged, and has high heat insulation over a long period of time. Performance can be maintained.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the assembled state of an example of the cold storage container which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the folding method of the cold storage container of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state by which the cold storage container of FIG. 1 was folded. It is a perspective view which shows the shape of the lower surface side of the bottom plate of the cold storage container of FIG. It is a figure which shows the sealing material provided in the lower surface of the bottom plate in the cold storage container of FIG. 1, and the protrusion for a sealing material protection, and is the fragmentary longitudinal cross-sectional view seen along the VV line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Bottom plate 11: Outer peripheral part of bottom plate lower surface 11c: Groove 12: Swelling surface of bottom plate bottom surface 2: Side wall 21: Ridge line part 22: Drop part 27: Overhang part 4: Recess 6: Stopper 8: Seal material 9: Protrusion H: Height of sealing material h: Depth of embedding of sealing material W: Width of sealing material

Claims (3)

  A resin molded body having side walls rotatably attached to four sides of a bottom plate having a square planar shape, and the bottom plate and each side wall having a non-foamed resin surface layer portion and a foamed resin inner layer portion. An open top foldable cold storage container composed of: a structure in which when the containers are stacked in an assembled state, the bottom plate lower surface of the upper container is fitted to the upper end of the side wall of the lower container A sealing material that contacts the upper edge of the side wall of the lower container when the containers are stacked in an assembled state is attached to the outer peripheral portion of the bottom plate lower surface along the outer peripheral portion; and A cold storage container, wherein each corner portion of the lower surface of the bottom plate, which is a part of the outer peripheral portion, is provided with a protrusion protruding downward from the outer peripheral portion.   The cold storage container according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion protrudes from the sealing material.   The cold insulation container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sealing material is embedded in a groove formed in an outer peripheral portion of the bottom plate.

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