JP3070008B2 - Side dish container - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a container for preparing prepared foods which can be stored or transported by hermetically storing prepared foods. More specifically, the present invention relates to a packaged food prepared after cooking until the prepared food is opened for eating or the like. The present invention relates to a side dish container that can easily determine the presence or absence of unauthorized opening on the way.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, prepared foods provided at hotels, restaurants, school meals and the like are cooked before serving them. However, in the case of side dishes that have received a large amount of orders in advance and the menu is fixed, it is inefficient to cook before serving, so cook a large amount of side dishes in advance and store them in a container. There is a case where a method of sequentially opening and taking out the food at the time of serving is adopted.

[0003] However, in the case of such a method of storing prepared foods in a container, as frequently occurs recently,
During storage of the container or during transportation to a remote place, there is a case where mischief is caused by mixing foreign substances or poisons, thereby causing harm to human life. Further, since the container is stored for a long time in a state where the prepared food is put therein, bacteria may be grown depending on the structure of the container. However, it is difficult to prevent the former problem in particular from the conventionally used containers, and measures are urgently required.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to open the package in the middle of the process of storing and storing the prepared food before using it for the next eating or cooking. An object of the present invention is to provide a container for ready-to-eat food that can easily confirm the fact of opening and can prevent an accident due to the contamination of toxic substances. It is another object of the present invention to provide a container for prepared foods that can prevent the growth of bacteria.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a side dish container comprising a container body and a lid for sealing the inside of the container body through a seal portion. or appearance vacuum of one-way valve and the inner gas releasing
And a decompression display section that allows the user to view the decompression display section.
The flexible sheet of elastic material will bend and deform under reduced pressure.
The main part of the lid is made of a transparent or translucent material.
Also serves as a see-through portion that allows the inside of the container body to be seen through the material.
In a knitted configuration and all of the container components are at least 10
For a temperature of 0 ° C and a negative pressure of at least 900 hPa
It is characterized by having heat resistance and pressure resistance that do not deform .

When the inside of the container of the present invention is stored in a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state) lower than the atmospheric pressure via a one-way valve provided on the lid, the reduced pressure state is displayed on a reduced pressure display section of the lid. . However, once the lid is opened, the depressurized state is released, and the depressurized state is not displayed on the depressurized display section even if the lid is closed again. Therefore, when the table is opened for serving or the next cooking after storage for a long period of time, it is possible to check whether or not the lid has been opened halfway by checking the decompression display section. It is possible to prevent accidents caused by the incorporation of toxic substances and the like.

[0007] In addition, when a high-temperature ready-to-eat prepared food is sealed in the container of the present invention, the remaining air inside is released from the one-way valve by an inert gas which evaporates and evaporates from the prepared food, and the gas inside the container is removed. With the subsequent cooling, the volume is reduced, the internal pressure is automatically reduced to the atmospheric pressure or less, and the reduced pressure display section displays the reduced pressure state. Therefore, by checking the decompression display portion as described above at the time of serving after storage or at the next cooking, it is possible to know whether or not the lid has been opened halfway, and to prevent an accident associated with the incorporation of toxic substances etc. as described above. be able to.

[0008] In addition, when the container of the present invention is filled with high-temperature prepared food immediately after cooking, even if bacteria are mixed in the container, the container dies at a high temperature exceeding the surviving temperature and is capped until the next eating or cooking. As a result, invasion and growth of new bacteria can be prevented. In addition, the residual gas inside is released to the outside from the one-way valve by the inert gas that evaporates and evaporates from the prepared food, so that the remaining oxygen decreases, and the corrosion due to oxidation of the prepared food is delayed, so that long-term storage is possible. .

[0009]

1 and 2 show a stainless steel hotel pan as a side dish container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

This hotel bread is substantially rectangular in plan view, and has a structure in which a lid 2 is detachably attached to the container body 1. The lid 2 is provided with a seal portion 6 on the inner surface of the outer peripheral edge. When the seal portion 6 is attached to the container main body 1, the seal portion 6 comes into close contact with the opening of the container main body 1 to seal the inside of the container.
On the surface of the rectangular lid 2, a reduced-pressure display unit 3, a see-through unit 4, and a one-way valve 5 are provided in a line.

When the inside of the container body 1 sealed with the lid 2 is in a reduced pressure (negative pressure) state lower than the atmospheric pressure, the reduced pressure display section 3 is bent inward to display the reduced pressure state. Means. As shown in detail in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the decompression display section 3 is configured by attaching a flexible sheet 10 to a through hole 7 provided in the lid 2 from the inside. To fix the flexible sheet 10 to the lid 2, the outer periphery of the flexible sheet 10 is held down by the stationary ring 9, and the screw 11 penetrates between the stationary ring 8 and the stationary ring 9 arranged on the front side of the lid 2. The screw 11 is fixed by tightening the screw 11.

The flexible sheet 10 is formed of an elastic sheet, and when the inside of the container is reduced in pressure from the atmospheric pressure, the flexible sheet 10 curves inward as shown in FIG. 3 (B). When the reduced pressure state is released, the flexible sheet 10 is restored to the flat state as shown in FIG. 3A by the elastic recovery force of the flexible sheet 10 itself. Therefore, when it curves inward, it indicates that the inside of the container is in a reduced pressure state, and when it is flat, it indicates that the reduced pressure is in a released state.

In the decompression display section 3, one of the fixed rings 8, 9 arranged vertically is omitted if the flexible sheet 10 can be attached so that the sealing property can be maintained. You may. Further, in order to improve the sealing property of the flexible sheet 10, the flexible sheet 10 may be bonded to the lid 2 with an adhesive, or packing may be used. However, the fixing method using the fixing ring and the screw is preferable as a fixing method for the flexible sheet 10 made of an elastic material, and can extend the service life even when the internal pressure becomes a strong negative pressure, and This facilitates replacement work when the sheet 10 has deteriorated.

The flexible sheet 10 is made of an elastic material. More preferably, the elastic material has excellent elastic recovery, bending fatigue resistance and heat resistance. Examples of such a material include a silicone rubber film. The decompression display section 3
When the prepared dish is a solid and does not adhere to the soup, the sheet need not be a sheet as shown in the figure, and a structure such as a bellows may be used.

The see-through portion 4 is provided for confirming the type and storage state of the prepared food in the container body 1, and is not necessarily required to be attached. As shown in detail in FIG. 4, the see-through portion 4 has a structure in which a see-through plate 13 is attached to a through hole 12 provided in the lid 2 from the inner surface side. Transparent board 13
Is fixed to the cover 2 by passing a screw 15 through a fixing ring 14 arranged on the upper surface side of the cover 2 and tightening the screw 15. As the material of the see-through plate 13, a transparent or translucent material is used. For example, a transparent resin such as an acrylic resin, a polystyrene resin, and a polycarbonate resin or glass can be used.

The one-way valve 5 automatically discharges the internal gas to the atmosphere when the internal pressure in the container is higher than the atmospheric pressure, and prevents automatic air flow in the reverse direction. It is. However, this does not apply to forcibly deforming by applying an external force, such as by picking with a hand.

As shown in FIG. 5, the one-way valve 5 has a valve body 16 made of an elastic material such as rubber or elastic resin. The valve body 16 is configured by pressing an elastic material so as to sandwich the ventilation slit 17 from both sides and forming a V-shaped opening 17 a at the inner end of the slit 17.

The valve body 16 is provided with a through hole 18 provided in the lid 2.
Is fixed from the back side by a fixed ring 19, and a screw 21 is passed between the fixed ring 19 and a fixed ring 20 arranged on the front side of the lid 2, and the screw 21 is tightened. Fixed. When the internal pressure of the container body 1 is higher than the atmosphere, the valve body 16 discharges the internal gas to the outside by expanding the slit 17 by the internal pressure applied to the inner opening 17a.

However, even if the external pressure (atmospheric pressure) becomes larger than the pressure in the container, the slit 1
Since the elastic members on both sides of 7 act toward the slit 17 side, they do not open, and air does not flow back toward the inside of the container. Rather, as the difference between the reduced internal pressure and the external pressure increases, the pressure of the atmospheric pressure acting on the elastic members on both sides of the slit 17 increases, so that the sealing performance is further improved.

When the inside of the container is at a negative pressure as described above, the lid 2 cannot be easily removed from the container body 1 by the pressing action of the atmospheric pressure. Therefore, when removing the lid 2, the slit 1 of the valve body 16 protruding outside the lid 2
It is preferable that the periphery of 7 is picked up with a finger, and the slit 17 is forcibly deformed and opened so that outside air can be introduced into the container. Since the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the container is eliminated by this operation, the pressing action of the atmospheric pressure on the lid 2 is eliminated, and the lid 2 can be easily removed.

As the one-way valve used in the present invention, the one-way valve made of the above-mentioned elastic material has a simple structure and is advantageous, but is not necessarily limited to this. A one-way valve (check valve) having a simple structure may be used.

In the side dish container of the present invention, it is important that the inside of the container body 1 can be maintained in a stable reduced pressure state for a long period of time. Therefore, the space between the container body 1 and the lid 2 must be maintained in a good sealed state.

FIGS. 6A and 6B correspond to FIGS.
The sealing part of the side dish container of the present invention shown in (B) is enlarged and shown. The illustrated seal portion 6 is provided along the inner peripheral surface of the lid 2 having a rectangular shape in plan view, and includes a fitting portion 23 and a crimping portion 24. Both the fitting portion 23 and the crimping portion 24 are made of an elastic material such as rubber or elastic resin. Preferably, the elastic hardness of the fitting portion 23 is
Should be higher than that of

Although the fitting portion 23 has a rectangular shape in plan view along the shape of the lid 2, its longitudinal section is formed in a tongue shape. The upper surface of the tongue-shaped cross section is adhered to the back surface of the lid 2,
An extended end extending downward contacts the inner peripheral surface of the opening of the container body 1. Since the fitting portion 23 comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the container body 1 to generate a strong frictional force, the lid 2 is firmly attached to the container body 1.

On the other hand, the crimping portion 24 is formed in a tube shape having a vertical cross section in an annular shape, and is held on the outer surface of the fitting portion 23 so as to contact the upper edge 25 of the opening of the container body 1.
When the fitting portion 23 is pushed down together with the lid 2, the pressing force causes the crimping portion 24 having a tubular cross section to be squashed flat and to be in close contact with the upper edge 25 of the opening. In particular, by contacting the curved surface of the upper edge 25 of the opening, the adhesion is improved, and the sealing performance can be further improved. When the pressure inside the container body 1 is reduced, the sealing portion 6
Moves downward, so that the sealing performance is further improved.

The seal portion used in the container for side dish of the present invention is not necessarily limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 6, but may be, for example, a configuration as shown in FIGS. 7 (A), 7 (B) and 7 (C). You can also.

The sealing portion 6 shown in FIG. 7A has a structure in which the entire edge of the lid 2 is formed of a sealing portion 6 including a fitting portion 23 and a crimping portion 24. The seal portion 6 in FIG.
4 'is integrally molded from the same elastic material as the fitting portion 23, such as rubber or elastic rubber. 7 (C), the crimping portion 24 ″ is formed in a rib shape instead of a tube shape, and is integrally formed from the same elastic material as the fitting portion 23, such as rubber or elastic rubber. is there.

In the illustrated embodiment described above, the decompression display unit 3 and the see-through unit 4 are each composed of a part independent of the lid 2 and are attached to the lid 2. However, the reduced-pressure display unit may be made of a transparent or translucent elastic material so that the reduced-pressure display unit also functions as the see-through unit. Further, the main part of the lid, preferably the entire lid, may be made of a transparent or translucent material, so that the lid itself also serves as a see-through part. These modifications can reduce the manufacturing cost.

Further, in the present invention, all the constituent members such as a container body, a lid, a reduced pressure display unit, a see-through unit, a one-way valve, etc., which constitute the container, have a temperature of at least 100 ° C. and a negative pressure of at least 900 hPa. It is preferable to use a material having heat resistance and pressure resistance that does not deform.
In particular, the container body and the lid are preferably made of stainless steel, which is advantageous not only in heat resistance and pressure resistance but also in sanitary management.

According to the above-described side dish container of the present invention, when the inside is depressurized (negative pressure state) lower than the atmospheric pressure through the one-way valve provided on the lid, the depressurized state is displayed on the depressurization display section of the lid. It is displayed, and once the lid is opened, the reduced pressure state is released, and the reduced pressure state is not displayed on the reduced pressure display unit even if the lid is closed again. Therefore, when opening for serving etc. after storing for a long period of time, if the above-mentioned decompression display part is checked, it can be determined whether the lid has been opened in the middle and it is checked in advance for the presence of toxic substances etc. It is possible to prevent an accident caused by the mixing of the water.

As a method for bringing the inside of the container into a negative pressure state,
There is a method of forcibly suctioning by connecting a suction device to a one-way valve, or forcibly applying a negative pressure by putting the entire container in a decompression chamber,
When enclosing a side dish in a high temperature state, the state can be automatically reduced to a reduced pressure state (negative pressure state). In other words, when the prepared food is put into the container body while it is in a high temperature state and sealed with a lid, the inert gas evaporating and volatilizing from the prepared food discharges the residual air inside to the outside through a one-way valve. . Thereafter, when the container is cooled, the internal pressure is reduced because the volume of the internal gas is reduced, and the container is automatically brought into a negative pressure state lower than the atmospheric pressure.

When the prepared food container prepared for school lunch or the like enters the above-described reduced pressure state, it is displayed on the reduced pressure display section. Therefore, if the lid is opened due to mischief or the like during transportation, the decompression is released at that point, and the decompression display section displays the decompression release state even if the lid is closed again. Therefore, if the decompression display section is checked when opening for lunch, it is known whether or not the lid has been opened due to mischief during transportation or the like, so that the presence or absence of toxic contamination can be inspected.

When the prepared food immediately after cooking is placed in a container body while the food is in a high temperature state and sealed with a lid, an inert gas evaporating and volatilizing from the prepared food removes residual air inside through a one-way valve. Since it is released to the outside, the oxygen concentration in the container is reduced, the oxidation of the prepared food is suppressed, and corrosion hardly occurs. Therefore, the storage period of the prepared food can be extended. Also, if you put the prepared food in a high temperature state, the bacteria in the container will die,
Thereafter, the hermetically sealed state is maintained, so that invasion and growth of new bacteria can be suppressed.

The side dish container of the present invention can be used not only for storing hot foods but also for storing cold foods such as salads.

[0035]

EXAMPLE 1 Using a 1/2 hotel pan with a lid as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, beef, onion, carrot and potato were immersed in the broth of the container body, and the heating temperature was 90 ° C. To obtain a primary food of meat potato. Next, the hotel bread with the primary food put therein was sealed with a lid at a temperature of 90 ° C., and the inside air was suctioned to 800 hPa.
Under reduced pressure. At this time, the decompression display section was curved inward, and was in the state of FIG.

Next, the hotel bread was placed in a cooling room maintained at a temperature of 6 ° C., cooled to 6 ° C. and stored. While the storage at the temperature of 6 ° C. was continued for 14 days, the display on the reduced pressure display section of the lid maintained the curved state of FIG. 3B, and the negative pressure was 740 hPa or less.

As a result of opening the hotel bread containing the primary food after the above 14 days and conducting a taste test and a bacterial test,
The taste of the food does not change from the taste at the time of cooking, and the result of the bacterial test shows that the number of general viable bacteria is 2.0 × 10 ² or less and the number of E. coli is 1.2 × 10 ² or less. The number was perfectly fine.

Example 2 A curry containing beef, potatoes, onions and carrots was cooked using two of the hotel breads used in Example 1. Curry mixed with beef, potato, onion, and carrot was boiled at about 100 ° C. in two ホ テ ル hotel breads, respectively, to obtain a seasoned primary food. Next, while the hotel bread containing the primary food was at a temperature of 90 ° C., a lid with a one-way valve was attached to make the hermetically sealed state.

Next, the two sealed hotel pans are placed in a cooling room controlled at a temperature of 4 ° C., and secondary cooking is performed by slow cooling. Got food. At this time, the internal pressure of each hotel pan was reduced (negative pressure) of about 800 hPa.

[0040] The above two hotel breads are kept at a temperature of 4 ° C.
And maintained at a reduced pressure of about 800 hPa, respectively, and continued storage. 170 hours and 240 hours after the start of slow cooling when the storage was inserted into the cooling chamber, the lid was opened and taken out, and a taste test and a bacterial test were performed. Was. As a result, both of the two hotel breads had substantially the same viable cell count and E. coli count as in Example 1, and had no problem in eating. The taste was almost the same as that of the primary food, and maintained a delicious state.

[0041]

As described above, according to the side dish container of the present invention, when the inside is depressurized (negative pressure state) lower than the atmospheric pressure via the one-way valve provided on the lid, the depressurized state is changed to the lid. Is displayed on the decompression display section, and once the lid is opened, the decompression state is released, and the decompression state is not displayed on the decompression display section even if the lid is closed again. Therefore, when opening for serving etc. after storage for a long period of time, if the decompression display section is checked, it can be determined whether or not the lid has been opened halfway, and the presence of toxic substances etc. is inspected in advance, so toxic substances etc. It is possible to prevent an accident caused by the mixing of the water.

When a high-temperature side dish immediately after cooking is enclosed, the residual air inside is released from the one-way valve by an inert gas which volatilizes and evaporates from the side dish, and the gas inside the container is cooled with subsequent cooling. As a result, the internal pressure is automatically reduced to the atmospheric pressure or less, and the reduced pressure display section displays a reduced pressure state.
Therefore, it is possible to check whether the lid has been opened halfway through the decompression display, as described above, for example, when serving for long periods of storage, and to prevent accidents caused by the incorporation of toxic substances, etc. Can be.

When high-temperature prepared foods immediately after heating and cooking are enclosed, even if bacteria are mixed in the container, they die at a high temperature and are capped until the next eating and cooking. Invasion and proliferation can be prevented. In addition, the residual gas inside is released from the one-way valve to the outside by the inert gas that evaporates and evaporates from the prepared food, so that the remaining oxygen decreases, and corrosion due to oxidation of the prepared food is delayed, so that long-term storage is possible. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a side dish container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a decompression display unit in FIG. 2,
(A) is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state at the time of non-pressure reduction, and (B) is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state at the time of pressure reduction.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a see-through portion in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the one-way valve in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing a seal portion in FIG. 2;
(A) is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state before the lid is crimped, (B)
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state after pressure bonding.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are longitudinal sectional views showing other embodiments of the seal portion applied to the food container of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container main body 2 Lid 3 Decompression display part 4 Transparent part 5 One-way valve 6 Seal part 7,12,18 Through-holes 8,9,14,
19 fixed ring 10 flexible sheet, 11, 15, 2
Reference Signs List 1 screw 13 see-through plate 16 valve element 17 slit 17a V-shaped opening 23 fitting portion 24 crimping portion 25 upper edge of opening

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kazuya Sakurai 131 Noda, Noda-cho, Toyohashi-shi, Aichi (56) References JP-A-50-32516 (JP, A) JP-A-4-367469 (JP, A (Japanese) Sho-62-80875 (JP, U) Sho-kai (Japanese) Sho 61-1554851 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65D 81/20 B65D 51/16 B65D 51 / twenty four

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A consists of a lid for the internal sealed state via the seal portion to the container body and the container body, viewed from the exterior of the vacuum of the one-way valve and the inner gas releasing internal gas lid
And a reduced pressure display unit for the authorization capability provided elastic the vacuum display unit
The flexible sheet of material is bent and deformed under reduced pressure
The main part of the lid is made of transparent or translucent material
Also functioned as a see-through portion allowing the inside of the container body to be seen through
And all of the container components are at least 100 ° C
Temperature and negative pressure of at least 900 hPa
A side dish container that does not have heat resistance and pressure resistance . 2. The side dish according to claim 1, wherein the one-way valve is formed by pressing an elastic material from both sides across a slit for ventilation and providing a V-shaped opening at an inner end of the slit. container. 3. The sealing portion includes a fitting portion of an elastic material that is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the opening of the container body, and a crimping portion of the elastic material disposed between the fitting portion and the opening of the container body. The container for prepared dishes according to claim 1 or 2 . 4. The container body and the container body via a seal portion.
And a lid that seals the inside.
One-way valve that releases air and the reduced pressure of the internal gas
And a decompression display section for making the decompression display section transparent.
Alternatively, the interior of the container body can be seen through a translucent elastic material.
A side dish container that also serves as a see-through part that makes it possible . 5. A flexible sheet made of an elastic material, wherein said reduced pressure display portion is formed of an elastic material.
5. The device according to claim 4, wherein said member is curved and deformed under reduced pressure.
A container for prepared dishes according to the above . 6. All of the container components are at least 100 ° C.
Temperature and negative pressure of at least 900 hPa
6. The heat-resistant and pressure-resistant described in claim 4 or 5,
Prepared foods for the container of the placement.