JP3331457B2 - Connecting container - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a connected container in which a plurality of unit containers for storing daily necessities such as foods, medicines, stationery and the like are connected.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a composite container formed by integrally molding a plurality of unit containers has been used as a container for storing foods such as egg tofu and pudding. This aims at ease of handling and labor saving by connecting a plurality of small items at a packing stage, a transportation stage, and the like, and at the same time, at the retail stage, can be easily divided into one or more unit containers. .

[0003] As described above, since such a composite container is generally used in a compositely connected state in the manufacturing stage, the packing stage, the packing and the transportation stage, it is necessary to prevent the composite container from being easily separated at the connecting portion. Due to handling problems, it is necessary to have a structure in which the connecting portion is not easily bent. Conventionally, as a means for separating the connecting portion of the composite container, since the flange portions of the adjacent unit containers are usually integrally formed, this is performed by cutting this portion with a knife or scissors.

[0004]

However, in the case of the conventional composite container, tools such as knives and scissors are required to separate the container into one or a plurality of unit containers. There was a problem. For this reason,
At the sales stage, since only the number required by the consumer cannot be easily separated, it is necessary to separate the composite container into one or more unit containers in advance, which has been a rather time-consuming operation. Separating the composite container into individual unit containers in advance eliminates any difference from a general single container, and a composite container that is easier to handle when not purchased when multiple units are purchased. Had the effect of negating the effect of the angle.

[0005]

In view of the above problems, the present inventor has accomplished the present invention as a result of intensive studies, which is characterized by having a flange around the upper end. In a plastic molded product container of a form in which the storage portions are stored in each unit container connected in a plurality of planes by connecting the flange portions with the connection portion, and then a film is attached to the upper surface of the flange portion and packed. The flange of the unit container is formed thicker than the main body of the unit container, and the connecting portion is folded and separated by rotating at least one unit container with respect to the other unit container around the connecting portion. In this case, the flange is formed so as not to protrude from the upper and lower surfaces of the flange portion and to have a thickness equal to or greater than the thickness of the unit container body.

Here, the "unit container" as used in the present specification is a unit container body forming a space surrounded by a peripheral wall and a bottom surface, and a flange portion thicker than the unit container body around the upper end thereof. Having the following. The storage items are stored in the space of the unit container body. The unit container main body may have a closed structure, or may be formed in a whole or a part in a mesh shape, a lattice shape, a linear shape, or the like. Packing of the unit container is performed by sticking plastic, paper, cellophane, or the like on the upper surface of the flange portion. Usually, a laminate film or the like is stuck to the flange portion by high-frequency welding. In this case, vacuum packing may be performed as necessary.

[0007] The shape of the unit container body is not particularly limited, and may be a general square, a triangle, a circle, a sphere, a polygon, a fruit such as a banana, a food such as sausage, an animal, or the like. The shape may be taken. The material is also not particularly limited, and may be a plastic molded product such as a plastic such as polypropylene or polyethylene, or a degradable plastic that decomposes in soil. However, it is preferable to use a material which can be broken and broken by simply rotating the unit container about the connecting portion.

[0008] The items stored in the unit container include:
Food products such as tofu, natto, pudding, yogurt, jelly, dried plums, vegetables, fruits, etc. Tools, such as screwdriver sets, thumb tacks, zem clips, erasers, stationery and other daily necessities, and pharmaceuticals.

The "connecting portion" refers to a portion for connecting and fixing the flange portions of adjacent unit containers to each other in a planar manner. The cross-sectional shape of the connecting portion is rectangular or dotted. In the present invention, the connecting portion may be provided on the entire opposed flange portion of the adjacent unit container, or may be provided partially. In order to divide at the connecting portion, the connecting portion is broken and broken without using a cutter or the like as in the related art. In order to do this, it is necessary to make the thickness of the connecting portion at least equal to or greater than the thickness of the unit container body. The thickness of the peripheral wall and bottom surface of the unit container body molded of plastic is usually about 0.8 mm, and by making it thicker, the connecting portion of the connecting container is curved and the rigidity as the connecting container is reduced. In addition to the above, the connecting portion can be easily broken and hardly cut when the connecting portion is hardly bent. Generally, the thickness of the connecting portion is 1.0 mm to 2.0 mm
The degree is preferred.

It is necessary that the connecting portion does not protrude from the upper and lower surfaces of the flange. This is to prevent interference when a plastic film is adhered to the flange while a plurality of unit containers are connected, and to hinder the lower surface of the flange from being supported by a mold or the like when the plastic film is adhered. This is in order not to become. For this reason, the thickness of the flange portion of the unit container needs to be equal to or greater than the thickness of the connecting portion as well as the thickness of the unit container body.

The plastic film to be attached to and packed in the connecting container according to the present invention is usually attached to the entire connecting container and then cut or perforated at each connecting portion so that it can be separated at the connecting portion. To For this reason, in the connecting container of the present invention, the connecting portion is 0.5 mm or more from the flange of the unit container.
It may be provided at a position lowered by about 1.0 mm to provide a space for a cutter or the like for cutting the plastic film. Of course, a cutter or the like can be inserted without providing such a room, and a plastic film pre-perforated can also be used. Therefore, the structure is not limited to such a structure.

As described above, the connecting portion is partially provided at a plurality of places such as the entire flange portion on one side of the unit container or two or three places on one side. In addition to the flat plate structure, a groove may be provided in a divided portion. The shape of the groove is, for example, a wedge shape or a rectangular shape. However, in this case, a groove is provided on the back surface side in the direction along the flange portion of the connecting portion so that at least one unit container is rotated upward about the connecting portion with respect to the other unit containers and separated therefrom. You may do so. This is effective in preventing the connection container according to the present invention from being easily separated at the connection portion such as during transportation.

Further, by providing projecting portions on the side surface of the unit container and making these projecting units face each other between adjacent unit container bodies, the unit container can hardly be rotated downward about the connecting portion. Good. In other words, a general unit container is formed in a tapered shape with a narrow bottom surface and a wide opening side, and a flange is present around the unit container. This is because the side may bend downward or break at the connecting portion depending on the weight of the storage item. Therefore, by providing the projecting portion on the side surface of the unit container, the degree of freedom to bend downward can be reduced, and unexpected breakage can be prevented.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show an example of an embodiment of a connecting container 1 according to the present invention, in which two unit containers 2 made of polypropylene are connected at two places by a connecting portion 3. FIG. is there. The unit container 2 is provided with a flange 5 thicker than the unit container body 4 around the upper end of the unit container body 4 composed of a peripheral wall and a bottom surface. In the unit container 2 shown in this example, the thickness of the unit container body 4 is 0.8 mm, and the thickness of the flange 5 is 1.6 mm. The thickness of the connecting portion 3 is the same as the thickness of the flange portion 1.6.
mm and 5 mm in length. In this example, two unit containers 2 are connected, but a plurality of unit containers 2 connected vertically and horizontally, such as four, may be used.

As the shape of the connecting portion 3, a groove 6 may be provided on the back side as shown in FIG. If the groove 6 is provided on the rear surface side as described above, the unit container 2 can be easily broken and divided by rotating the unit container 2 upward with the groove 6 as a center. It is possible to distinguish how to handle when there is no case. Further, when the laminated film 7 is stuck on the upper surface of each flange 5 of the connection container 1 as shown in FIG. The connecting portion 3 may be provided below the upper surface of the flange portion 5 so as not to interfere with the connecting portion 8. Further, as shown in FIG.
May be provided.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show another embodiment of the connecting container 1 according to the present invention, in which a projecting portion 10 is provided on the side surface of the unit container 2. FIG. The protrusions 10 are interposed between the adjacent unit container bodies 4 so as to oppose each other as shown in the figure, and prevent the unit container 2 from bending downward. In this example, one protruding portion 10 is provided at the center from the flange portion 5 of the unit container 2 to the side surface, but two or more protruding portions may be provided.

[0018]

As described above, the connection container according to the present invention is provided with the flanges around the upper end, and the flanges are connected to each other at the connection portion to be housed in the unit containers connected in a plurality of planes. After storing an object, in a plastic molded product container in a form of sticking and packing a film on the upper surface of the flange portion, the flange portion of the unit container is formed thicker than the unit container body, and the connecting portion is By rotating at least one unit container with respect to the other unit containers about the connecting portion as a center, the unit container is folded and separated from each other, without projecting from the upper and lower surfaces of the flange portion, and Since the unit containers are formed to have a thickness equal to or greater than the thickness, a plurality of unit containers are integrated at a predetermined interval to increase the efficiency of storing the stored items in each unit container, and simplify packing and transportation. In addition, it is easy to handle a large number of commodities, so that distribution costs are reduced, and merchandise management and display of commodities are simplified.

In addition to having such a function as the connecting container, the separating function, which is a characteristic of the connecting container, is formed by breaking the connecting portion by hand, so that the separation is extremely easy, and the connecting function is very easy. There is an advantage that the labor of separating in advance can be omitted. Also, by providing a groove on the back side of the connecting portion, or by providing a projecting portion on the side surface of the unit container body,
It is possible to prevent unexpected breakage of the connection part,
This has an extremely useful effect in practical use.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing an example of an embodiment of a connecting container according to the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a transverse sectional view of FIG.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are partial cross-sectional views showing another example of the embodiment of the connecting portion, respectively, and FIG. 2C is a partial plan view showing still another example of the embodiment of the connecting portion. .

FIG. 3A is a sectional view showing another example of the embodiment of the connection container according to the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connection container 2 Unit container 3 Connection part 4 Unit container main body 5 Flange 6 Groove 7 Laminate film 8 Cutter 9 Neck 10 Projection

Continuation of the front page Examiner Yoshiaki Tamura (56) References JP-A-8-140485 (JP, A) JP-A-8-337248 (JP, A) JP-A 5-89216 (JP, U) JP-A 6 -85234 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65D 1/04 B65D 1/26 B65D 85/30 B65D 85/50 B65D 85/72

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A flange is provided around an upper end portion, and the flanges are connected to each other by a connecting portion, so that a storage object is stored in each unit container connected in a plurality of planes, and then a film is formed on the upper surface of the flange. In a container of a plastic molded product in a form of sticking and packing, the unit container is located between adjacent unit container bodies.
Protruding parts are installed at positions facing each other on the side
Are those digits, with the flange portion of the unit container is formed thicker than the unit container body, it is rotated about the connecting portion the connecting portion of at least one unit container to other units container The connecting container is formed so as not to protrude from the upper and lower surfaces of the flange portion and to have a thickness not less than the thickness of the unit container body. 2. The connection container according to claim 1, wherein the connection portion is provided with a groove on a back surface side in a direction along the flange portion.