JP3322657B2 - Banana container - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to the transportation of bananas,
The present invention relates to a banana container suitable for storage and aging.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Bananas are mainly imported from the Philippines, Costa Rica, Taiwan and the like. The bananas are harvested in a suitable period, and further ripened by the ripening process to become edible. Bananas are disinfected and washed immediately after harvesting, then packaged in perforated polyfilm bags to prevent transpiration and stored in cardboard boxes. Then, the cardboard boxes are palletized and transported to the port. During sea transport, it is cooled to 13.5 ° C in the hold. In Japan, they are fumigated immediately after landing and delivered to importers. Importers
Once put in the warehouse, fill the diluted ethylene gas through the through hole provided on the short side wall of the cardboard box,
Aging (coloring) over 4-5 days while adjusting to ~ 20 ° C
I do.

[0003] Then, in the cardboard box for banana transportation,
As shown in FIG. 6, a cardboard box having through holes on the upper and lower surfaces and the short side surface is used. That is, the cardboard box 1
A rectangular bottom through-hole 5 formed in the center by being surrounded by the end surfaces of the bottom plates 2 and 3 when the bottom plate 2 on the short side and the bottom plate 3 on the long side are folded; When the cover plate 7 and the cover plate 9 on the long side are folded, the cover plate 7 is provided with a rectangular cover through-hole 10 formed in the center by being surrounded by the end faces. Further, the short side wall is provided with a handle hole 11 at the upper center and a small hole 13 at the lower end corner.

[0004] Bananas are stored in a cardboard box having the above structure, and are stored in a row in a hold and stacked up and down in a plurality of stages. In the hold, during the sea transportation, the air blown up from below the cardboard box passes through the bottom through hole 5 of the cardboard box 1 to the upper through hole 10 to cool the contained banana to 13.5 ° C. .
The bottom through-hole 5 and the top through-hole 10 are ventilation holes for circulating air inside the cardboard box in the hold.

In order for an importer to mature in a warehouse, cardboard boxes stacked in two stages in an aging room are arranged in two rows at regular intervals, and diluted ethylene gas is sent from the outside of the cardboard box. The method of sucking from between is adopted. The handle holes 11 and the small holes 13 function as ventilation holes for circulating the diluted ethylene gas in the cardboard box.

[0006]

However, the above-described conventional cardboard box transportation method has the following problems. That is, bananas need to be cooled immediately after harvesting in order to maintain freshness. However, there is a problem that cardboard boxes have rather a heat retaining property and a poor cooling effect. In addition, since the cardboard box has a hygroscopic property, the pressure resistance decreases during transportation and may be crushed in the lower part,
In particular, it may be further collapsed by pitching and rolling during marine transportation, and the side walls and the bottom may swell, causing the stored bananas to rub against each other, causing damage.

Further, the cardboard box has poor air permeability, and causes uneven coloring and aging during aging. Corrugated cardboard has low strength, the position of the opening for ripening is restricted, and ventilation is poor because it is not provided at the position of use. If a large number of through holes are provided in order to improve the air permeability, the strength is reduced and it cannot be used. Furthermore, cardboard boxes are complicated to assemble and are disposable, which cannot be reused.Thus, they will be discarded as a huge amount of garbage. Waste of resources leads to the destruction of the global environment and is a major social problem. In addition, the cardboard box is not only troublesome to dismantle but also may be injured.When transshipping, the inside is almost invisible, so it is handled messyly, and the soft flesh and epidermis after maturation are removed. The result is even worse.

The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and provides a banana container which maintains the quality of bananas, is easy to handle, is excellent in aging, transportation efficiency and workability.

[0009]

The present invention has the following configuration to achieve the above object. That is, the banana container of the present invention has a flat rectangular bottom plate and a height of 150 mm.
A short side wall having four side walls of about 200 mm
Is foldably connected to the bottom plate via a hinge,
The side wall on the side provides a hinge between the height adjustment unit provided on the bottom plate.
Assembleable container foldably connected via
And, a rectangular through-hole is drilled substantially at the center of the bottom plate,
A groove is provided on the edge of the bottom plate along the height adjusting portion,
The side wall has ventilation holes at the upper and lower ends.
The ventilation hole at the upper end is 35 mm from the upper end of the side wall to the inner surface height of the side wall.
%, And the vent hole at the lower end is 40% from the upper surface of the bottom plate.
mm, and on the short side wall, the upper center
And vent holes in the lower corners and molded with synthetic resin
It is characterized by the following. The opening ratio of the ventilation hole is determined by the area of the side wall.
Is preferably 2 to 10%. Also the long side
The ventilation hole provided on the side wall has multiple small holes continuously
Can be

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a banana container according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The container 20 is a synthetic resin container integrally molded and has a rectangular bottom 21 and four side walls 23 to 26. In the illustrated embodiment, the bottom 21 has a short side 370 × a long side. 570m
m, and the height of the side wall is 160 mm. Side wall 2
Of 3 to 26, the side walls 23 and 25 are the long side walls,
The side walls 24 and 26 form the short side walls, respectively.

The side walls 23 to 26 can be folded inward onto the bottom plate 21 via hinges provided between the side walls 23 and 26, and the final folded shape is shown in FIG. ing. The short side walls 24, 26 are freely bendable by hinges 27 provided between the inner lower end and the bottom plate 21, and the long side walls 23, 25 are provided on the inner lower end and the bottom plate 21. It is bendable by a hinge 30 provided between itself and the height adjustment unit 29. The height adjusting portion 29 has the same thickness as the side walls 24 and 26 so that the long side walls 23 and 25 are horizontally placed on the short side walls 24 and 26 when the long side walls 23 and 25 are folded inward. Or, it is formed to be slightly higher.

In order to convert the folded state shown in FIG. 5 to the expanded body shown in FIG. 1, first, the long side walls 23, 25 are first raised to the upright position, and then the short side walls 24, 26 are similarly formed. What is necessary is just to raise to the upright position with respect to the bottom plate 21.
The side walls 23 to 26 are locked to each other at a position where the side walls 23 to 26 are upright. One example of this locking mechanism is shown in FIG. That is, in the illustrated embodiment, the locking holes 31 are formed in the edge surfaces of the opposed short side walls 24 and 26, and the locking holes 31 are formed in the inner end surfaces of the edges of the long side walls 23 and 25.
Is formed. When the side wall is raised and assembled, the hook 33 is inserted into the corresponding locking hole 31.
The side walls are locked together by the insertion of This lock is releasable and can be in the folded state shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a rectangular through hole 34 is formed in the center of the bottom plate 21, and a height adjusting portion 29 is formed on a side edge in the longitudinal direction. And a groove 36 is provided between them. The through holes 34 are for circulating cold air in the hold during sea transportation,
It is straddled by the curved arch of the stored banana, and the size is made difficult for the banana to hit. In the illustrated embodiment, it is formed to have a length of 400 mm and a width of 40 mm. The groove 36 is for storing dew water and the like in order to prevent the banana from being stained by dew water and sap. Therefore, the upper surface of the bottom plate 21 may be a horizontal surface, but is preferably a curved surface with a slightly higher central portion. Although the groove 36 is provided at the longitudinal edge of the bottom plate 21, the groove 36 may be provided at the lateral edge, or may be provided at the entire peripheral edge.

The height of the side walls 23 to 26 is 150 to 200 m
m, ventilation holes 35 and 37 and ventilation holes 39 and 40 are provided at the upper end and the lower end, respectively. In the height direction of the side wall, the central portion is formed as a smooth surface so as not to be damaged even if the banana comes into contact, and the height H at which the ventilation holes 35 and 39 are provided.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a range where contact with the banana is small, for example, within 35% of the height of the inner surface of the side wall from the upper end, and the height H2 at which the vent holes 37 and 40 are provided is provided within 40 mm from the upper surface of the bottom plate.
The height of the side wall is set to 155 to 170 mm from the viewpoint of workability and loading efficiency in the hold, ease of handling, and the like.
Preferably, it is provided within 5 mm. As described above, one of the features of the present invention is that the positions where the ventilation holes are provided are limited to the upper and lower portions of the side wall.

[0015] The opening ratio of the vent hole is as a whole
It is 2 to 10% of the side wall area. If it is less than 2%, air permeability is poor and sufficient aging conditions cannot be obtained, and if it is more than 10%, there is a problem in aging conditions such as drying of bananas.

Of the vents 35 and 39, the vent at an intermediate position in the longitudinal direction can also serve as a handle. The ventilation holes 35 and 37 and the ventilation holes 39 and 40 are provided in consideration of the circulation efficiency of the internal air, but the shape, size, and the like are not particularly limited. If the position of the ventilation hole is within 35% of the height of the inner surface of the side wall from the upper end of the side wall and within 40 mm from the upper surface of the bottom plate, and the opening area is within the range of 2 to 10%, the small holes are formed continuously. Or a single slit-shaped long hole, or a combination thereof.

Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment, the side walls 23
26 are formed on the upper end surface of the base plate 26 and the outer peripheral edge of the lower surface of the bottom plate 21. That is, the upper surfaces of the end portions of the side walls 23 to 26 forming the corners of the container 20 are formed as convex portions 41, and concave portions 43 are formed inside the convex portions. The convex portion 41 and the concave portion 3 can be formed in an appropriate combination. In the outer peripheral edge of the lower surface of the bottom plate 21, a concave portion 45 is formed at a corner portion, and a convex portion 47 is formed inside the concave portion 45. The convex portions 41 and the concave portions 45 and the concave portions 43 and the convex portions 47 are respectively formed at corresponding positions in the vertical direction, and when stacked in the same direction, fit together to prevent collapse of the load.

A notch 49 is provided on the lower surface of the bottom plate 21. The notch 49 prevents the slip and prevents a stable stack even when the container 20 is stacked and the upper container is stacked while changing the direction of the upper container in a direction perpendicular to the lower container. The side wall is formed in such a size that the side wall fits in a position where the upper end of the side wall abuts. The recess 45 is the bottom plate 2
In the case where the lower peripheral edge of the lower part 1 is formed by notching, the convex part 47 is formed.
Is formed on the same plane as the lower surface of the bottom plate 21. Therefore, the notch 49 is formed by a groove provided in the lateral direction. However, when the notch 49 is formed by projecting the convex portion 47 from the lower surface of the bottom plate 21, Since the recess 45 is flush with the lower surface of the bottom plate 21, the notch 49 can be formed by providing a recess in a part of the projection 47.

The container 20 is preferably an assemblable box that can be folded when not in use, but the assembling mechanism is not limited, and a known assembling mechanism can be applied.
Further, the container 20 may be a nesting-structure container that can be reduced in volume by fitting the lower part of the upper container to the upper opening of the lower container in addition to the freely assembling box.

[0020]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention has a through hole at the center of the bottom plate, so that cool air can circulate smoothly and cool rapidly. It is particularly effective for cooling in the hold. Moreover, since a groove is formed between the edge of the bottom plate and the side wall, the freshness can be maintained without condensed water or sap contaminating the banana. In addition, the ventilation holes in the side walls are provided at the upper and lower portions where the bananas are less likely to come into contact with each other, so that they are not scratched. Combined with this, there is little rubbing between the bananas and no damage due to pitching and rolling during marine transportation. Further, since the opening ratio of the ventilation holes is set to 2 to 10%, sufficient aging conditions can be obtained. Further, since the upper part is open, the air permeability is extremely good, and since the contents are visible, the handling is careful and it is effective in maintaining the quality.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a banana container according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view in a longitudinal direction.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view in a lateral direction.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing a state where two side walls are locked to each other.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a folded state.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory perspective view of a conventionally used cardboard box.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory sectional view showing a stored state of a banana.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Cardboard box 2: Short side bottom plate 3: Long side bottom plate 5: Bottom through hole 7 Short side cover plate 9: Long side cover plate 10: Top through hole 11: Hand hole 13: Small hole 20: Container 21: Bottom plate 23-26: Side wall 27: Hinge on short side 29: Height adjustment part 30: Hinge on long side 31: Locking hole 33: Hook 34: Through hole 36: Groove 35, 37, 39, 40: Through Pores 41: convex portion 43: concave portion 45: concave portion 47: convex portion 49: concave portion

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65D 85/34 B65D 6/08 B65D 6/24 B65D 21/02 B65D 81/26

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A flat rectangular bottom plate having a height of 150 to 200
mm and four side walls, and the short side wall is hinged.
Is foldably connected to the bottom plate via the long side
The wall is folded via the hinge between the height adjustment part provided on the bottom plate.
An assemblable container that is foldably connected.
Then, a rectangular through hole is drilled at the approximate center of the bottom plate,
A groove is provided on the edge along the height adjusting portion, and the long side
The wall is provided with ventilation holes at the upper end and the lower end.
Ventilation hole is within 35% of the inner wall height from the top of the side wall
And the vent hole at the lower end is 40 mm or less from the upper surface of the bottom plate.
Inside, and on the short side wall, the upper center and lower
A banana container characterized by having ventilation holes at the corners and molded from synthetic resin. 2. The opening ratio of the ventilation hole is determined based on the area of the side wall.
The banana container according to claim 1, wherein the content is 2 to 10% . 3. The ventilation hole has a plurality of small holes on the long side wall.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the holes are provided continuously.
The banana container according to the item.