JP2016039864A - container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a container that prevents food from turning excessively soft in the lower side of the container and that heats the whole food evenly with proper moisture when food in the container is heated inside a microwave oven.SOLUTION: The container includes a container body 11 that has an upper opening 13 and a lid body 12 that covers the upper opening of the container body 11. The container body 11 is composed of an inner wall part 31 that defines the lid body 12 and a housing space 21 and of an outer wall part 32 that is arranged in the outer side of the inner wall part 31, with an inter-wall space 22 defined between the inner wall part 31 and the outer wall part 32. In the upper part of the inner wall part 31, there is formed a first opening part 23 that communicates the housing space 21 with the inter-wall space 22 while, in the lower part of the inner wall part 31, there is formed a second opening part 24 that communicates the housing space 21 with the inter-wall space 22.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

  The present invention relates to a container having a container body and a lid, and more particularly to a container for containing food.

  Currently, when food that has been cooked is stored at low temperatures in a freezer or refrigerator, a resin container having a container body and a lid is used conveniently.

  Specifically, for example, if you cook a large amount of food at once (for example, if you cook a large amount of rice at once), the portion that you do not eat at the time of the most recent meal is stored in small portions in a resin container. Stored at low temperature in a freezer or refrigerator. Then, at the next meal and after, only the portion to be eaten is taken out from the freezer or refrigerator together with the container. Food that has been cooked (eg, rice) taken out of the freezer or refrigerator is hardened by low-temperature storage and has a poor texture. You can eat it later. Note that many products are provided with a lid provided with a steam valve for releasing steam generated from food during heating to the outside.

  Patent Documents 1 to 4 disclose containers for cooking using a microwave oven.

Japanese Patent No. 4547399 Japanese Patent No. 3658917 Japanese Patent No. 3364435 Japanese Patent No. 3163168

  By the way, when food stored in a container is heated in a microwave oven, there is a problem that uneven heating tends to occur between the upper side and the lower side of the container, and the food becomes too soft on the lower side of the container. It was.

  As a result of intensive studies on this cause, the present inventors have obtained the following knowledge.

  That is, when food is put in a microwave oven together with the food, steam generated from the heated food can escape to the outside through the steam valve on the upper side of the container, but escapes to the outside on the lower side of the container. It cannot stay and stays. Therefore, the moisture is biased to the lower side of the container, and the food tends to contain excessive moisture on the lower side of the container. In addition, since the moisture is biased to the lower side of the container, the action of the microwave is increased on the lower side of the container, and the food is easily heated excessively. And the foodstuff becomes too soft on the lower side of the container due to the synergistic effect that the foodstuff tends to contain excessive moisture and is easily heated excessively. On the other hand, on the upper side of the container, the steam escapes to the outside through the steam valve, so that the food is easily dried. In addition, when the food is easily dried, the action of the microwave is reduced, and the food is not easily heated. And the foodstuff tends to become hard on the lower side of the container due to the synergistic effect that the foodstuff becomes easy to dry and is not easily heated sufficiently. Thus, it is considered that uneven heating tends to occur between the upper side and the lower side of the container.

  The present invention has been created based on the above findings. An object of the present invention is to provide a container that can be heated uniformly with appropriate moisture throughout the food, when the food is put in a microwave oven together with the food and the food is not too soft on the lower side of the container. It is in.

  The present invention includes a container body having an upper opening, and a lid that covers the upper opening of the container body. The container body includes an inner wall portion that defines an accommodation space together with the lid body, and An outer wall portion disposed on the outer side, and an inter-wall space is defined between the inner wall portion and the outer wall portion, and the accommodation space and the inter-wall space are disposed above the inner wall portion. A first opening and a second opening that communicate with each other are formed, and the second opening is located below the first opening.

  According to the present invention, when the food is put together with the container in the microwave oven and heated, the vapor generated from the food during heating flows out into the space between the walls through the second opening on the lower side of the storage space, and is stored. Staying in the space is suppressed. Moreover, the vapor | steam which flows out into the space between walls returns to the upper side of accommodation space through a 1st opening part. As the steam is circulated in the container in this way, it is suppressed that the food easily dries on the upper side of the container, and the food on the lower side of the container is suppressed from easily containing moisture, As a result, the food does not become too soft on the lower side of the container, and the whole can be heated uniformly with appropriate moisture.

  Preferably, the lower portion of the inner wall portion includes a lower peripheral portion in which the second opening is formed, and a lower central portion located inside the lower peripheral portion, and the lower central portion is , Protruding upward with respect to the lower peripheral edge. According to such an aspect, since the food is stored in a donut shape on the lower side of the storage space, the surface area of the food is increased, and heating unevenness between the center side and the peripheral side of the container is reduced. Can be done.

  Preferably, the lid body has a plurality of minute protrusions protruding downward. According to such an aspect, the steam generated from the heated food comes into contact with the lid and condenses, and then drops from each minute protrusion. Thereby, it is suppressed that it drops from concentration from one certain place of a cover body, and it can prevent that a water | moisture content is biased to the part right under the certain one place among the food accommodated in the accommodation space.

  According to the present invention, when a food is put together with the container in a microwave oven and heated, the food does not become too soft on the lower side of the container, and the whole can be heated uniformly with appropriate moisture.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a container according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the container main body and the lid body are separated from each other in the container of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the inner wall portion and the outer wall portion of the container main body are further separated from each other in the container shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a top view of the container of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the container of FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the container of FIG. 4 along the line BB. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion surrounded by an alternate long and short dash line labeled C in the container of FIG. FIG. 8 is a top view of the container body in the container of FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the lid of the container of FIG. 1 as viewed from below. FIG. 10 is a schematic view for explaining the movement of steam in the container of FIG. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5 and showing a container according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a top view of an inner wall portion for explaining a modification of the second opening in the container according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of the inner wall portion of FIG. FIG. 14 is a view corresponding to FIG. 13 and a sectional view of an inner wall portion for explaining a modification of the second opening in the container according to the second embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a container 10 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the container main body 11 and the lid body 12 are separated from each other in the container 10 of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the inner wall portion 31 and the outer wall portion 32 of the container main body 11 are further separated in the container 10 of FIG. 2. 4 is a top view of the container 10 of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the container 10 of FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of the container 10 of FIG. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion surrounded by an alternate long and short dash line labeled C in the container of FIG. FIG. 8 is a top view of the container body 11 in the container 10 of FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the lid 12 in the container 10 of FIG. 1 as viewed from below.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 9, the container 10 according to the present embodiment includes a container body 11 having an upper opening 13 and a lid body 12 that covers the upper opening 13 of the container body 11. The container body 11 and the lid body 12 are made of a material that can transmit microwaves of a microwave oven, and are made of a resin such as polypropylene, for example.

  Among these, the container main body 11 has an inner wall portion 31 that defines the accommodation space 21 together with the lid body 12, and an outer wall portion 32 that is disposed outside the inner wall portion 31. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an inter-wall space 22 is defined between the inner wall portion 31 and the outer wall portion 32.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the upper end portion of the inner wall portion 31 is provided with a ring-shaped flange portion 31 c protruding outward, and the upper end portion of the outer wall portion 32 c protrudes outward. A ring-shaped flange portion 32c is provided. A cylindrical support portion 32d is provided on the flange portion 32c of the outer wall portion 32 so as to protrude upward. The flange portion 31c of the inner wall portion 31 is supported on the support portion 32d of the outer wall portion 32. Yes. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, a first opening 23 and a second opening 24 that connect the accommodation space 21 and the inter-wall space 22 are formed.

  When the upper part from the middle in the height direction of the inner wall part 31 is referred to as an upper part, and the lower part from the middle in the height direction of the inner wall part 31 is referred to as a lower part, the first opening 23 is located above the inner wall part 31. Preferably, the second opening 24 is formed in a lower part of the inner wall part 31. When the inner wall 31 is divided into three in the height direction, a first opening 23 is formed in a portion above the middle portion sandwiched between both end portions, and a second opening is formed in a portion below the middle portion. More preferably, 24 is formed. When the scale (mark) indicating the amount of food stored is provided on the inner wall 31, the first opening 23 is formed at a portion above the scale (mark), and the scale (mark) It is preferable that the second opening 24 is formed in the lower part. In the illustrated example, the first opening 23 is formed so as to penetrate the flange portion 31 c of the inner wall portion 31 in the thickness direction. On the other hand, the second opening 24 is formed so as to penetrate the lower end portion (also referred to as a bottom portion) of the inner wall portion 31 in the thickness direction.

  Since the second opening 24 is formed on the lower side of the inner wall 31 in this way, the vapor generated on the lower side of the accommodation space 21 can flow out to the inter-wall space 22 through the second opening 24. It has become. Further, since the first opening 23 is formed on the upper side of the inner wall 31, the vapor in the inter-wall space 22 can flow into the upper side of the accommodation space 21 through the first opening 23. It has become.

  In the present embodiment, the lower part of the inner wall part 31 has a lower peripheral part 31a in which the second opening 24 is formed, and a lower central part 31b located inside the lower peripheral part 31a. The lower center part 31b protrudes upward with respect to the lower peripheral edge part 31a. Thereby, the food accommodated in the accommodation space 21 is arranged in a donut shape on the lower side of the accommodation space 21.

  In the illustrated example, the lower part of the outer wall part 32 also includes a lower peripheral part 32a that faces the lower peripheral part 31a of the inner wall part 31, and a lower central part 32b that is located inside the lower peripheral part 32a. Yes. The lower center part 32b protrudes upward with respect to the lower peripheral edge part 32a. Thereby, the height of the space 22 between walls is substantially equal between a peripheral part and a center part.

  A third opening 25 that communicates the accommodation space 21 and the inter-wall space 22 is formed in the lower central portion 31 b of the inner wall portion 31. When the pressure on the accommodation space 21 side is larger than the pressure on the wall space 22 side, the vapor in the accommodation space 21 flows out to the wall space 22 through the third opening 25. On the other hand, when the pressure on the accommodation space 21 side is smaller than the pressure on the wall space 22 side, the steam in the wall space 22 flows into the accommodation space 21 through the third opening 25.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the inner wall portion 31 and the outer wall portion 32 can be separated from each other. The inner wall portion 31 and the outer wall portion 32 are formed separately by, for example, injection molding.

  Next, the structure of the lid 12 will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the lid body 12 has a substantially disk shape, and a cylindrical portion 12 c is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the lid body 12 so as to extend downward. The lower end portion of the cylindrical portion 12 c can be fitted to the flange portion 32 c of the outer wall portion 32. With the lid 12 covered so as to cover the upper opening 13 of the container body 11, the lower end portion of the cylindrical portion 12 c is fitted into the flange portion 32 c of the outer wall portion 32, whereby the accommodation space 21 is sealed. It has become so.

  The lid body 12 includes a first annular portion 12a that faces the first opening 23, and a second annular portion 12b that is located adjacent to the inner peripheral side of the first annular portion 12a. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the second annular portion 12 b is inclined so that the height position of the outer peripheral end is higher than the height position of the inner peripheral end. Thereby, the vapor | steam which flows out into the storage space 21 toward the 1st annular part 12a from the 1st opening part 23 is induced | guided | derived downward along the inclination of the 2nd annular part 12b.

  In the illustrated example, an openable / closable steam valve 14 is provided adjacent to the inner peripheral side of the second annular portion 12b. The steam valve 14 has a steam hole that penetrates the lid 12 in the thickness direction, and a plug member that can be attached to the steam hole. The plug member is hingedly connected to the lower end portion of the cylindrical portion 12 c of the lid body 12. The steam valve 14 is closed by attaching the plug member to the steam hole. On the other hand, the steam valve 14 is opened by removing the plug member from the steam hole.

  As shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 9, the lid body 12 has a plurality of minute protrusions 16 that protrude downward. In the illustrated example, the microprotrusions 16 are provided in a region inside the second annular portion 12b and are positioned so as to be distributed at equal intervals. As a result, the water condensed by contact with the lid 12 can be dispersed and dropped from each microprotrusion 16.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, the lid body 12 is removed from the container body 11, and the upper opening 13 of the container body 11 is opened. And the cooked food (for example, rice) is put from the upper opening 13 of the container main body 11. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the lid body 12 is covered so as to cover the upper opening 13 of the container body 11, and the lower end portion of the cylindrical portion 12 c is fitted to the flange portion 32 c of the outer wall portion 32. Thereby, the storage space 21 of the container 10 is sealed in a state where food is stored. Thereafter, the contained food is put together with the container 10 in a freezer or refrigerator and stored at a low temperature.

  When eating the food contained in the container 10, the food is taken out of the freezer or refrigerator together with the container 10. And in the state which the steam valve 14 provided in the cover body 12 was open | released, it puts into a microwave oven and is thawed or reheated.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic view for explaining the movement of steam in the container 10. In FIG. 10, for convenience of explanation, the first opening 23 and the second and third openings 24 and 25 are collectively shown on the same cross section, but in actuality, as shown in FIG. It should be noted that the portion 23 and the second and third openings 24 and 25 are not formed on the same cross section.

  On the upper side of the storage space 21, a part of the steam generated from the food during heating flows out to the outside through the steam valve 14, and the pressure in the storage space 21 is suppressed from increasing excessively. As shown in FIG. 10, the vapor that contacts and condenses on the lid 12 is dispersed and dropped from a plurality of microprotrusions 16 provided on the lid 12.

  On the other hand, on the lower side of the storage space 21, the steam generated from the food during heating flows out to the inter-wall space 22 through the second opening 24 and is prevented from staying in the storage space 21. In FIG. 10, the code | symbol D has shown the direction through which vapor | steam flows.

  The vapor flowing out from the lower side of the accommodation space 21 through the second opening 24 into the inter-wall space 22 rises up the inter-wall space 22 and then returns to the upper side of the accommodation space 21 through the first opening 23. It is. As described above, the steam is circulated in the container 10, whereby the moisture is prevented from being biased to the lower side of the container 10. In the present embodiment, the steam flowing out from the first opening 23 toward the first annular portion 12a of the lid 12 is guided downward along the inclination of the second annular portion 12b. Steam circulation can be further promoted.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when food is put in the microwave oven together with the container 10, the steam generated from the food during heating passes through the second opening 24 on the lower side of the accommodation space 21. Therefore, it is suppressed that the gas flows out into the space 22 between the walls and stays in the housing space 21. Further, the vapor flowing out to the inter-wall space 22 is returned to the upper side of the accommodation space 21 through the first opening 23. By circulating the steam in the container 10 as described above, it is possible to prevent the food from being easily dried on the upper side of the container 10 and to allow the food to easily contain excessive moisture on the lower side of the container 10. As a result, the food does not become too soft on the lower side of the container 10 and can be heated uniformly with appropriate moisture throughout.

  Moreover, according to this Embodiment, since the lower center part 31b of the inner wall part 31 protrudes upward with respect to the lower peripheral part 31a, food is accommodated in donut shape in the downward side of the accommodation space 21, and food The surface area of becomes larger. Thereby, it can reduce that a heating nonuniformity arises between the center side and peripheral edge side of a container.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the second annular portion 12b of the lid body 12 is inclined so that the height position of the outer peripheral side end portion is higher than the height position of the inner peripheral side end portion. The steam flowing out from the first opening 23 of the portion 31 toward the first annular portion 12a into the accommodating space 21 is guided downward along the inclination of the second annular portion 12b. Thereby, the circulation of the vapor | steam in the container 10 can be accelerated | stimulated.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, since the plurality of minute protrusions 16 are provided on the lid body 12, the vapor generated from the heated food comes into contact with the lid body 12 and condenses, and then each minute protrusion 16. Disperse and drop from. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the concentration and dropping of droplets from a certain location of the lid 12, and to prevent moisture from being biased to a portion directly below the certain location in the food stored in the accommodation space 21. .

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the lower center portion 31 b of the inner wall portion 31 protrudes upward with respect to the lower peripheral edge portion 31 a, but this is not necessarily required, as shown in FIG. 11. Moreover, the lower center part 31b of the inner wall part 31 may be positioned at the same height position as the lower peripheral edge part 31a (second embodiment according to the present invention).

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, as shown in FIG.4 and FIG.5 and FIG. 11, although the 1st opening part 23 and the 2nd opening part 24 each had a round hole shape, it is not limited to this. . For example, as shown in FIGS. 12, 13, and 14, the second opening 24 may have a slit shape extending in the height direction along the inner wall portion 31.

  Next, specific examples verified by using the respective embodiments will be described.

  First, three test cups of rice (2013 Koshihikari polished rice from Niigata Prefecture) were prepared, and after 1 L of water was added and stirred by hand for 15 seconds, the rice was washed five times in total. It is repeated, put in a rice cooker (JKT-B100 made by Tiger Thermos), hydrated to "rice 3 scales" of rice cooker, soaked in water for 5 minutes, cooked by rice cooker, steamed for 15 minutes By doing, cooked rice (rice) was cooked.

  And as 1st Example, 150g of cooked rice immediately after cooking rice is accommodated in the container 10 by 1st Embodiment, and the container 10 is stored in the freezer for 24 hours, Then, the container 10 and the whole are put into a microwave oven. And heated at 500 W for 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

  And the heated cooked rice was analyzed by the following cooked rice taste analysis.

That is, a rice cooking taste meter STA1A manufactured by Satake Co., Ltd. is used, light is applied to the cooked rice, its reflectance and transmittance are measured, and the measured numerical values are analyzed based on human sensory data, An evaluation score was calculated for each item.
・ Taste value: Value indicating the overall evaluation of the deliciousness of rice. It is judged that it is glossy and close to transparent that gelatinization is well advanced and has a good taste.
・ Appearance: Value to see the shine of the appearance. The more the rice is cooked, the more bright it appears.
・ Hardness: Optically measures changes in protein content in rice grains.
-Stickiness: Optically measures the stickiness that changes depending on the amylose content.
・ Balancing degree: A value obtained by calculating stickiness / hardness and making it a coefficient.

  Each item is evaluated in 10 stages, and the higher the evaluation score, the better the sensory evaluation. The cooked rice taste analysis was performed 5 times, and the average score was calculated.

  Moreover, as a 2nd Example, the rice cooking taste analysis was performed on the same conditions as a 1st Example except the container 10 having been changed into the container 10 'by 2nd Embodiment.

  Moreover, as a 1st comparative example, the rice cooking taste analysis is performed on the same conditions as 1st Example except the point where the container 10 was changed into the commercial rice container (PS-AG96 rice preservation container by Ebisu Co., Ltd.). It was.

  As a second comparative example, cooked rice immediately after cooking was analyzed by cooking rice taste analysis.

The analysis results in the first example, the second example, the first comparative example, and the second comparative example are summarized in Table 1 below.

  From the above analysis results, the following was confirmed.

  That is, in the taste value indicating the comprehensive evaluation of the deliciousness of the rice, good values (large numbers) were obtained in the first example and the second example compared to the first comparative example and the second comparative example. Was confirmed. Therefore, it can be said that the cooked rice has become delicious by using the container 10 according to the first embodiment or the container 10 'according to the second embodiment. In particular, in the first example and the second example, obtaining better results than the second comparative example corresponding to freshly cooked food can be said to be a remarkable effect exceeding the range predicted from the technical level. Moreover, in the 1st Example and the 2nd Example, it was confirmed that the score in each item was the same. Therefore, it can be said that the difference in the shape of the bottom portion of the inner wall portion 31 has little influence on the sensory evaluation.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Container 11 Container main body 12 Cover body 12a 1st cyclic | annular part 12b 2nd cyclic | annular part 12c Cylindrical part 13 Upper opening 14 Steam valve 16 Microprotrusion 21 Accommodating space 22 Inter-wall space 23 1st opening 24 2nd opening 25 1st 3 opening 31 inner wall part 31a lower peripheral part 31b lower center part 31c flange part 32 outer wall part 32a lower peripheral part 32b lower center part 32c flange part 32d support part

Claims (3)

A container body having an upper opening;
A lid covering the upper opening of the container body;
With
The container body includes an inner wall portion that defines a storage space together with the lid, and an outer wall portion that is disposed outside the inner wall portion,
A space between the walls is defined between the inner wall portion and the outer wall portion,
The inner wall is formed with a first opening and a second opening communicating the housing space and the space between the walls,
The container, wherein the second opening is positioned below the first opening. The lower part of the inner wall part has a lower peripheral part in which the second opening is formed, and a lower central part located inside the lower peripheral part,
The container according to claim 1, wherein the lower central portion protrudes upward with respect to the lower peripheral edge. The container according to claim 1, wherein the lid body has a plurality of minute protrusions protruding downward.

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