JP2024049838A - Exothermic laminate suitable to cooling state and heater - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a heater which includes a laminate that is a chemical exothermic laminate that generates heat energy by utilizing a reaction between an exothermic agent and water and in which an operation of causing heat generation is easy and sure.SOLUTION: There are provided a water bag which stores water in a bag with a water impermeable property and an easy-to-tear property and an exothermic agent bag which stores a chemical exothermic agent that generates heat with contact with water in a bag-like container, the bag-like container of the chemical exothermic agent is a metal film-made container with a water impermeable property and an easy-to-tear property, the chemical exothermic agent is stored in a state of being divided to the left and right via a blank region in the metal film-made bag-like container, a string body for tearing of the water bag and the exothermic agent bag is wound so as to across the upper side and the lower side of the blank region, and a freezing preventive agent is contained in water stored in the water bag.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a heat generating laminate suitable for cold storage and a heating device, and in particular to a heat generating laminate used to generate thermal energy by utilizing a chemical reaction that occurs upon contact between a heat generating agent and water placed in close proximity, which is particularly suitable for cold storage, and a heating device in which the heat generating laminate is housed in a box.

In recent years, the use of heat generating systems that generate heat through a chemical reaction between granular or powdered heat generating agents and water has been promoted for heating or warming various foods and beverages such as boxed lunches, cooked foods, emergency food, sake, and hot water for preparing infant formula. That is, when it is difficult to use heating appliances that use flammable gas or electrical energy, such as while traveling or during a disaster, and it is desired to heat or warm foods such as boxed lunches, cooked foods, and emergency food, or beverages such as hot water for preparing infant formula, a heating device is prepared in which a heat generating agent such as quicklime and water are separately placed in bags and placed close to each other in a water-resistant container such as a dish, and when necessary, the cooked food to be heated is placed on the heating device, and thermal energy is generated by bringing the heat generating agent and water set in the heating device into contact with each other, and this thermal energy is used to heat or warm the desired food or beverage.

Various types of heating devices and exothermic compositions that can be used to realize the above-mentioned heat generating system have been considered so far.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a heating container in which a laminate consisting of a heat generating agent bag containing a heat generating agent, a water bag containing water, and a support plate (plate) is combined with a string (breaking string) for breaking and ripping open both the heat generating bag and the water bag to form an integrated set, and this set is housed inside the container. When using this heating container to heat a lunch box or cooked food, the lunch box or cooked food is placed on the heat generating device, and the breaking string is pulled at the desired time to break and ripping open both the heat generating bag and the water bag, and this ripping operation brings the heat generating agent and water into physical contact, causing an exothermic reaction.
In this patent document, a film made of a synthetic resin such as polyethylene is described as an example of the material for the bag that contains the heat generating agent and water.

Patent document 2 also discloses a heating device with a similar configuration to the heating device disclosed in patent document 1, and describes the use of a heating agent pack in which a nonwoven bag is filled with a heating agent as the heating agent bag.

Patent document 3 also discloses a heating device that has a similar configuration to the heating device disclosed in patent document 1 and utilizes a similar chemical reaction. In this heating device, a protective sheet is placed on the top surface of the container of the heating device to prevent contact with food ingredients with residual heat generating agent, which is likely to be scattered when the heat generating agent bag breaks and opens, and rise with the water vapor generated by the reaction between the heat generating agent and water, causing contamination of food ingredients placed above.

Patent document 4 discloses an improved heat generating laminate of the heating device disclosed in patent document 1, in which the heat generating agent bag is composed of an inner heat generating agent bag in which the heat generating agent is contained in a water permeable bag, and a moisture resistant outer bag in which the inner heat generating agent bag is unevenly distributed on one side along an edge fixed to a support plate, and the cutting position of the heat generating agent bag by the breaking string is set so as not to overlap with the position of the inner heat generating agent bag within the moisture resistant outer bag.

JP 11-292155 A Patent Publication 2007-275170 Patent Publication 2010-68846 Patent Publication No. 2018-42605

As can be seen from the contents of the above prior art documents and the explanation so far, many heating devices that utilize heat generated by known chemical reactions have a structure in which a water bag, a heat generating agent bag containing granular or powdered heat generating agent in a bag-shaped container, and a support plate are stacked in any order, and a heat generating laminate including a single breaking string hung across the top and bottom of the heat generating agent bag and water bag is contained in a square dish-shaped box with an open top. It was also common to have a laminate in which one side of each bag is fixed to the support plate so that the water bag and heat generating agent bag can be easily broken (opened).

However, it is known that the various heating devices using the heat generating laminates known so far have the following problems.
As described in Patent Document 1, in a heat generating agent bag in which a heat generating agent such as powdered or granular quicklime is contained in a bag made of a synthetic resin film, the heat generating agent contained in the bag is deactivated due to moisture absorption at an early stage because the bag made of a normal synthetic resin film exhibits moisture permeability, and the storage period during which the heat generating function of a normal heat generating agent bag can be maintained is short, about one month. For this reason, it is likely to be insufficient as a heating device stored for use in an emergency. In addition, when the water bag and the heat generating agent bag are simultaneously broken and torn open by pulling the string, in addition to the force (pulling force) for breaking and tearing the film-like sheets forming each of the water bag and the heat generating agent bag, a force for loosening the lumps of powdered or granular heat generating agent packed in the heat generating agent bag is also required, which causes a problem that it is difficult for elderly people and children who do not have strong arm strength to reliably pull the breaking string.

The same tendency is seen with the heat generating agent pack described in Patent Document 2, which contains a heat generating agent in a nonwoven fabric bag.

The heating device described in Patent Document 4 is provided as an improved version of the heating device described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, but detailed investigation by the inventor of the present invention has revealed that, although the configuration described in Patent Document 4 in which a heat generating agent is contained in a water-permeable inner bag and this heat generating agent inner bag is housed in a moisture-resistant outer bag improves the preservation of the heat generating agent, the heat generating agent inner bag is unevenly distributed to one side within the moisture-resistant outer bag, so that the position where the single breaking string that is hung across the top and bottom of the heat generating agent bag and the water bag is restricted, and as a result, it becomes difficult to simultaneously break the heat generating agent bag and the water bag using the breaking string.

The inventors of the present invention conducted research aimed at solving the various problems described above, and discovered that many aspects of the heat generating laminate and heating device described below can be significantly improved by using the heat generating laminate and heating device described below as a heat generating laminate and heating device that improves on the insufficiencies that appear in the heat generating laminate and heating device described in Patent Document 4. They arrived at the invention described below and previously filed (August 4, 2022) as Patent Application No. 2022-124769.

The invention filed as the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-124769 is an invention of the following heating device and heat-generating laminate.
Heating device
A heating device comprising a heat generating laminate, the inside of which is a square dish-shaped box with an open top, and a water bag, which is made of a water-impermeable and easily tearable bag containing water, and a heat generating agent bag, which is a bag-shaped container containing a chemical heat generating agent that generates heat on contact with water, stacked together via a support plate with an opening between the bags and fixed to the support plate, and one end of which is fixed to a support body and the other end of which is wound around the front and rear of both the upper and lower surfaces of the water bag and around the front and rear of both the upper and lower surfaces of the heat generating agent bag, and a string for tearing the water bag and the heat generating agent bag is attached, the string being pulled out from the front of the box,
This heating device is characterized in that the bag-shaped container for the chemical heat generating agent is a container made of a water-impermeable and easily tearable metal film, the chemical heat generating agent is contained inside the bag-shaped container made of metal film in a state where it is divided into left and right halves with a blank area between them, and a string for tearing the water bag and the heat generating agent bag is wound around so as to straddle the upper and lower sides of the blank area.

A heat generating laminate comprising a water bag, which is made of a water-impermeable and easily tearable bag containing water, and a heat generating agent bag, which is a bag-shaped container containing a chemical heat generating agent that generates heat on contact with water, and which are stacked and fixed to a support via a support plate having an opening interposed between the bags, and further comprising one end of the water bag fixed to the support plate and the other end of the water bag wrapped around the front and rear of both the upper and lower surfaces of the water bag and around the front and rear of both the upper and lower surfaces of the heat generating agent bag, and a string for tearing the water bag and the heat generating agent bag pulled out from one side of the support plate,
This heat generating laminate is characterized in that the bag-shaped container for the chemical heat generating agent is a container made of a water-impermeable and easily tearable metal film, the chemical heat generating agent is contained inside the bag-shaped container made of metal film in a state where it is divided into left and right halves with a blank area between them, and the tearing string for the water bag and the heat generating agent bag is wound around so as to straddle the upper and lower sides of the blank area.

The inventors of the present invention have further studied the practicality of the heating device and heat-generating laminate described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-124769. As a result of the study, it has been found that although there are no particular problems with the practicality of the above-mentioned heating device and heat-generating laminate, there are cases in which their storage stability needs to be improved.

For example, in order to use the above-mentioned heating devices and heat-generating laminates at gatherings, trips, banquets, etc. where many people gather to eat, or in order for restaurants to serve hot food and drinks to many people at almost the same time, it is desirable to have many sets or pieces of heating devices and heat-generating laminates on hand. However, the inventors' investigations have revealed that there is a problem in that the activity of the chemical substances contained in the heat-generating laminates tends to decrease over time due to contact with moisture such as humidity.

To solve the above problems, it is desirable to refrigerate (store in a cool place) the heating device or heat-generating laminate; however, in the heating devices and heat-generating laminates used up to now, the water used to generate heat from the chemical heat generating agent tends to freeze during refrigeration, and it has been found that there is a limit to how much improvement in preservation can be achieved by refrigeration. After considering and studying the problems that can arise from such cold storage, the inventors have found that it is effective to prevent or inhibit freezing by adding an antifreeze agent such as salt to the water placed inside the heat-generating laminate and contained in a water bag.

Therefore, the present invention of the heating device and heat-generating laminate is as follows.
(1) Heating device
A heating device comprising a heat generating laminate, the inside of which is a square dish-shaped box with an open top, and a water bag, which is made of a water-impermeable and easily tearable bag containing water, and a heat generating agent bag, which is a bag-shaped container containing a chemical heat generating agent that generates heat on contact with water, stacked together via a support plate with an opening between the bags and fixed to the support plate, and one end of which is fixed to a support body and the other end of which is wound around the front and rear of both the upper and lower surfaces of the water bag and around the front and rear of both the upper and lower surfaces of the heat generating agent bag, and a string for tearing the water bag and the heat generating agent bag is attached, the string being pulled out from the front of the box,
This heating device is characterized in that the bag-shaped container for the chemical heat generating agent is a container made of a water-impermeable and easily tearable metal film, the chemical heat generating agent is contained inside the bag-shaped container made of metal film in a state where it is divided into left and right halves with a blank area between them, the water bag and the string for tearing the heat generating agent bag are wound around so as to straddle the upper and lower sides of the blank area, and the water contained in the water bag contains an antifreeze agent.

(2) A heat generating laminate comprising a water bag, which is made of a water-impermeable and easily tearable bag containing water, and a heat generating agent bag, which is a bag-shaped container containing a chemical heat generating agent that generates heat on contact with water, and which are stacked and fixed to a support via a support plate having an opening interposed between the bags, and further comprising one end of the water bag fixed to the support plate and the other end of the water bag wrapped around the front and rear of both the upper and lower surfaces of the water bag and around the front and rear of both the upper and lower surfaces of the heat generating agent bag, and which is pulled out from one side of the support plate and has a string for tearing the water bag and the heat generating agent bag,
This heat generating laminate is characterized in that the bag-shaped container for the chemical heat generating agent is a container made of a water-impermeable and easily tearable metal film, the chemical heat generating agent is contained inside the bag-shaped container made of metal film in a state where it is divided into left and right halves with a blank area between them, the water bag and the tearing string for the heat generating agent bag are wound around so as to straddle the upper and lower sides of the blank area, and the water contained in the water bag contains an antifreeze agent.

The heat-generating laminate of the present invention is easier to operate to generate heat than conventional heat-generating laminates, and also has improved cold storage properties, making it significantly more convenient when attached to a heating device intended for cold storage.

1 is a plan view (top view) of a heating device equipped with the heat generating laminate of the present invention. In order to facilitate understanding of the layer structure of the heat generating laminate, the plan view is drawn with a part of the porous film attached to the upper surface of the heating device removed. In addition, in order to avoid complexity, a part of the string for tearing the water bag and the heat generating agent bag is omitted. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the heating device shown in FIG 1 as seen from the right side surface, and the cross-section as seen from the left side surface has substantially the same shape. 2 is a plan view (top view) for clarifying the location of the inner bag containing the heat generating agent arranged in the divided regions contained in the heat generating agent bag of the heating device shown in Fig. 1. Note that this plan view is drawn with a part of the heat generating agent bag cut away.

Next, the heat generating laminate and heating device of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 is a plan view (top view) of a heating device equipped with the heat generating laminate of the present invention.

The basic structure of the heating device 1 of the present invention is a heating device with a heat generating laminate in which a water bag 3, which is made of a water-impermeable and easily tearable bag containing water, and a heat generating agent bag 4, which is a bag-shaped container containing a chemical heat generating agent that generates heat when it comes into contact with water, are placed on a support plate 5 with an opening between the bags, and one end is fixed to the support plate 5, and the other end is wound around the front and rear of both the upper and lower surfaces of the water bag 3 and around the front and rear of both the upper and lower surfaces of the heat generating agent bag, and a string 5 for tearing the water bag and the heat generating agent bag is attached, which is pulled out from the front side of the box 2. The top surface of the dish-shaped box 2 is usually covered with a porous plastic film to prevent the water bag 3 and the heat generating agent bag 4 contained inside from falling off, and to efficiently raise the heat energy generated by the heat generating reaction.

The square dish-shaped box 2 with an open top that houses the heat generating laminate of the present invention is preferably a water-resistant container made of synthetic resin that is generally used in conventional heating devices of the same type. However, even though it is called a dish-shaped box, there is no particular limit to its depth. Also, thick paper or cardboard with improved water resistance can be used.
It is preferable that a notch is formed on the edge along the opening surface of the box 2 to allow the string (breaking string) 6 to be pulled out to the outside. However, this notch is not necessarily required, and instead of the notch, a hole may be provided in the front side surface (side wall) of the box 2.

It is preferable to provide a recess or a V-shaped depression on the bottom surface of the square dish-shaped box body 2 in order to collect water that diffuses to the bottom surface of the box body due to the breakage of the water bag.

The water bag 3 and the heat generating agent bag 4 are stacked and fixed to the support plate 5 with an opening between them. The water bag 3 and the heat generating agent bag 4 are preferably fixed by joining the rear edge of the water bag 3 and the rear edge of the heat generating bag together by sandwiching the rear edge of the support plate.

The water contained in the water bag 3 may be ordinary tap water or industrial water, but it is necessary to add an antifreeze agent such as salt or ethylene glycol to the water. The amount of antifreeze agent added can be determined appropriately taking into consideration the cooling conditions of the heat-generating laminate and the heating device. As an example, the amount of antifreeze agent added to the water can be in the range of 5 to 30% by weight, and particularly in the range of 10 to 20% by weight. What is necessary is that the fluidity of the water is not significantly hindered under the planned cooled storage conditions such as the planned cooled storage temperature and cooled storage period.

As the heat generating agent, it is preferable to use known quicklime or a strong heat generating agent made by adding a heat enhancing agent such as metallic aluminum powder to quicklime. The heat generating agent is usually in the form of known powder or granules, but it may also be in the form of a chipped or plate-shaped compact.

The main structural features of the heat-generating laminate of the present invention are: i) the bag-shaped container for the chemical heat-generating agent is a container made of water-impermeable, easily tearable metal film; ii) the chemical heat-generating agent is contained inside the bag-shaped container made of metal film in a state where it is divided into left and right halves with a blank area between them; and iii) the string for tearing the water bag and the heat-generating agent bag is wound around so as to straddle the upper and lower sides of the blank area.
The blank area is positioned so that the heat generating chemical is approximately in the center of the pouch.

The water-impermeable, easily tearable metal film container that contains the heat generating agent is usually a bag made by joining the four edges of two sheets of aluminum foil. The chemical heat generating agent to be incorporated into the heat generating laminate is then divided into roughly equal portions in advance, each portion packed into a water-permeable inner bag made of nonwoven fabric or the like, and then placed on the left and right sides of the water-impermeable, easily tearable metal film bag (outer bag) for the chemical heat generating agent. Note that the "left and right" arrangement in this case refers to the positional relationship between the left and right sides of the string so as not to overlap with the string set in the heating device, and is based on the direction in which the string is pulled. Also, the left and right arrangement does not need to strictly match the direction in which the string is pulled.

Figure 3 is a plan view showing a typical positional relationship in which the heat generating agent is packed in each of the two inner bags (4a, 4b) and arranged separately on the left and right sides with a blank area provided inside the outer bag 4 made of metal film.

As can be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the heat generating laminate 1 is usually housed in a dish-shaped (there is no particular limit to the depth, and materials such as synthetic resin or cardboard are used) waterproof container 2.

In this heat generating laminate 1 housed in the dish-shaped water-resistant container 2, pulling out or pulling out the string 6 toward the front of the water-resistant container causes the water bag and the heat generating agent bag to break or split, causing water to flow from the water bag into the container, which then comes into contact with the heat generating agent exposed in the heat generating agent bag through similar breakage or splitting, starting the generation of heat, i.e., thermal energy, and then realizing continuous heat generation.

As described above, in the heat generating agent bag used in the heat generating laminate of the present invention, a water-permeable inner bag in which the heat generating agent is contained in a water-permeable bag such as nonwoven fabric is prepared (note that heat generating agent packs in which the heat generating agent is contained in a water-permeable bag such as nonwoven fabric are commercially available as components of heat generating laminates or as heat generating agent packs for other purposes), and this heat generating agent inner bag is placed inside a separately prepared moisture-resistant outer bag (a bag in which the permeation of water vapor is significantly suppressed, for example, a metal layer is formed on the surface of a metal film or synthetic resin film by means of deposition or the like) that is larger than the heat generating agent inner bag, approximately equally on the left and right. Note that it is preferable to set the cutting position of the heat generating agent bag by the breaking string so that it does not overlap the position of any of the heat generating agent inner bags placed inside the moisture-resistant outer bag.

By configuring the heat generating agent bag of the heat generating laminate 1 as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the water bag and the moisture-resistant outer bag of the heat generating agent bag can be easily and reliably broken and opened by pulling the breaking string 6, even with a relatively weak pulling force. In addition, if the heat generating agents arranged separately on the left and right sides are packed in inner bags made of nonwoven fabric or the like, even if the heat generating agent bag (outer bag 4) is broken or opened, the heat generating agent inner bag containing the heat generating agent in the water-permeable bag will not break or open, and the heat generating agent will remain contained in the water-permeable bag, so the heat generating agent is less likely to scatter outside the water-permeable bag or rise with the rise of water vapor. This effectively prevents contamination of the food to be heated by heat generating agent residue, which is a common problem with conventional heating devices.

1 Heat generating laminate 2 Square dish-shaped box with an open top 3 Water bag containing water containing antifreeze 4 Heat generating agent bag (outer bag)
4a Heat generating agent inner bag 4b Heat generating agent inner bag 5 Support plate 6 Breaking string

Claims (11)

A heating device comprising a heat generating laminate, the inside of which is a square dish-shaped box with an open top, and a water bag, which is made of a water-impermeable and easily tearable bag containing water, and a heat generating agent bag, which is a bag-shaped container containing a chemical heat generating agent that generates heat on contact with water, stacked together via a support plate with an opening between the bags and fixed to the support plate, and one end of which is fixed to a support body and the other end of which is wound around the front and rear of both the upper and lower surfaces of the water bag and around the front and rear of both the upper and lower surfaces of the heat generating agent bag, and a string for tearing the water bag and the heat generating agent bag is attached, the string being pulled out from the front of the box,
This heating device is characterized in that the bag-shaped container for the chemical heat generating agent is a container made of a water-impermeable and easily tearable metal film, the chemical heat generating agent is contained inside the bag-shaped container made of metal film in a state where it is divided into left and right halves with a blank area between them, the water bag and the string for tearing the heat generating agent bag are wound around so as to straddle the upper and lower sides of the blank area, and the water contained in the water bag contains an antifreeze agent. The heating device according to claim 1, in which the chemical heat generating agents arranged in the left and right compartments inside the bag-shaped container are each housed in a water-permeable or water-soluble bag. The heating device according to claim 1, wherein the heat generating agent bag containing the chemical heat generating agent is made of aluminum foil. The heating device according to claim 1, wherein the chemical heat generating agent is a mixture of quicklime and metallic aluminum powder. The heating device according to claim 1, in which the water bag that contains the water is made of a plastic film with a metal vapor-deposited surface. The heating device according to claim 1, in which the dish-shaped box is made of plastic. A heat generating laminate comprising a water bag, which is a water-impermeable and easily tearable bag containing water, and a heat generating agent bag, which is a bag-shaped container containing a chemical heat generating agent that generates heat on contact with water, and a support plate having an opening between the bags, which are stacked and fixed to a support, one end of which is fixed to the support plate, and the other end of which is wound around the front and rear of both the upper and lower surfaces of the water bag and around the front and rear of both the upper and lower surfaces of the heat generating agent bag, and which is pulled out from one side of the support plate,
This heat generating laminate is characterized in that the bag-shaped container for the chemical heat generating agent is a container made of a water-impermeable and easily tearable metal film, the chemical heat generating agent is contained inside the bag-shaped container made of metal film in a state where it is divided into left and right halves with a blank area between them, the water bag and the tearing string for the heat generating agent bag are wound around so as to straddle the upper and lower sides of the blank area, and the water contained in the water bag contains an antifreeze agent. The heat generating laminate according to claim 7, wherein each of the chemical heat generating agents separated and arranged on the left and right sides of the heat generating agent bag is housed in a water-permeable or water-soluble bag. The heat generating laminate according to claim 7, wherein the chemical heat generating agent is a mixture of quicklime and metallic aluminum powder. The heat generating laminate according to claim 7, wherein the heat generating agent bag containing the chemical heat generating agent is made of aluminum foil. The heat generating laminate according to claim 7, wherein the water bag that contains the water is made of a plastic film with a metal vapor-deposited surface.

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