JP5030903B2 - Container and container manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a container and a method for manufacturing the container, and more particularly to a technique for enabling wireless communication between the inside and the outside of the container.

In Patent Document 1, a repeater is incorporated in the wall of a container that blocks electromagnetic waves, and the ID tag information is read / written outside the container by relaying the radio waves of the ID tag existing inside the container. It is described as making it possible.
In Patent Document 2, a manhole cover can be placed on the lid receiving part of a cast iron manhole via an electrically insulating member so as to enable efficient transmission of radio waves from a radio in the manhole to the ground. Are listed.
Patent Document 3 describes a container used for transporting organs and medicines having a function of adjusting the temperature of contents.
JP-A-8-48337 JP-A-11-61867 JP 2001-524657 A

  In the method described in Patent Document 1, since it is necessary to incorporate a repeater on the wall surface of the container, the structure of the container becomes complicated. Moreover, since it is necessary to provide a repeater for every container, manufacturing cost also increases. Furthermore, in the case of a container that requires airtightness, it is necessary to consider that the airtightness is not impaired by providing a repeater.

  On the other hand, since the method described in Patent Document 2 relates to manholes, it cannot be applied as it is to containers that require hermeticity. Further, according to the same document, since the radio wave absorber is provided on the inner wall surface of the manhole, it cannot be applied to a container composed entirely of a conductive material.

  The present invention has been made with the above as a background, and an object thereof is to provide a container capable of performing wireless communication between the inside and the outside, and a method for manufacturing the container.

The main invention of the present invention for solving the above problems is as follows:
A container,
A conductive cylindrical body having one end open;
A conductive lid attached to the main body to close the opening;
A conductive attachment for attaching the lid to the main body;
An insulating packing interposed between the lid portion and the main body portion, and
A radio wave transmitter housed inside the container,
The main body and the lid are energized by the wearing tool,
A slot is formed by the packing, the main body portion, the lid portion, and the mounting tool,
Power is supplied to the main body part or the lid part by radio waves emitted from the radio wave transmission part,
The slot functions as a slot antenna that converts the supplied power into radio waves.
According to the present invention, it is possible to perform wireless communication between the inside and the outside of the container while ensuring the hermeticity and thermostatic property of the container. The status can be monitored.

  In addition, the problems disclosed by the present application and the solutions thereof will be clarified by the embodiments of the present invention and the drawings.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the container which can perform radio | wireless communication between the inside and the exterior, and the manufacturing method of a container can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Container configuration>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container 10 described as the first embodiment. A container 10 shown in the figure is a thermostat used for transporting articles such as cells, organs, and medicines. The container 10 includes a conductive cylindrical main body portion 11 having one end opened, a lid portion 12 attached to the main body portion 11 to close the opening of the main body portion 11, and one for attaching the lid portion 12 to the main body portion 11. Two or more attachments 13 are provided. The main body 11, the lid 12, and the mounting tool 13 are all made of a conductive material such as metal (for example, stainless steel (SUS304) having a thickness of 0.8 [mm]).

  Three attachments 13 for attaching the lid 12 to the main body 11 are provided on the side surface of the main body 11 of the container 10. Each mounting tool 13 includes a pedestal part 131, a locking part 132, and a lever part 133 for fixing the mounting tool 13 to the main body part 11.

  One end (upper end) of the main body 11 is opened, and the entire main body 11 has a substantially cylindrical shape. One end (lower end) of the lid portion 12 is opened, and the entire lid portion 12 has a flat cylindrical shape slightly larger in diameter than the main body portion 11. An annular convex portion 121 is formed on the upper surface of the lid portion 12 along the periphery thereof. As will be described later, when the lid portion 12 is attached to the main body portion 11, one end of the locking portion 132 is locked to the convex portion 121.

  2A is a cross-sectional view of the container 10 showing a state where the lid portion 12 is detached from the main body portion 11, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the container 10 showing a state where the lid portion 12 is attached to the main body portion 11. is there. As shown in these drawings, a packing 21 made of an insulating material is provided at a peripheral edge 113 on the opening side of the main body 11. The packing 21 is made of silicon rubber, which is highly flexible and elastic and easily deformed.

  When the lid portion 12 is attached to the main body portion 11, the lever portion 133 of the attachment tool 13 is operated to be tilted to the bottom surface side of the main body portion 11. By this operation, the locking portion 132 is pulled downward to compress the packing 21, and the lid portion 12 is attached in close contact with the main body portion 11. Thereby, the inside of the container 10 is blocked from the outside, and the inside of the container 10 is in a sealed state.

  The inner peripheral surfaces of the main body portion 11 and the lid portion 12 are processed into mirror surfaces in order to prevent heat from entering and exiting the container 10 due to heat radiation.

  Vacuum heat insulating materials 24 and 25 are laid on the inner peripheral surfaces of the main body portion 11 and the lid portion 12 except for the portion where the packing 21 is provided. The outer diameter of the vacuum heat insulating material 25 on the lid portion 12 side substantially matches the inner diameter of the packing 21, and the vacuum heat insulating material 25 on the lid portion 12 side fits inside the packing 21 when the main body portion 11 is fitted with the lid portion 12. Combined.

  Each of the vacuum heat insulating materials 24 and 25 is obtained by sealing the periphery of a fibrous core member for maintaining the shape with a film and evacuating the inside. The core member is formed by high-pressure compression of multilayered glass wool fibers (particularly oriented glass wool). The film material is formed by molding a synthetic resin into a thin film.

  As shown in FIG. 2A or FIG. 2B, two heat storage containers 22 are arranged side by side inside the container 10. These heat storage containers 22 are filled with a latent heat storage material (sodium phosphate, paraffin, water, etc.).

  Between the two heat storage containers 22 inside the container 10, a storage container 23 for storing articles conveyed by the container 10 is disposed. The storage container 23 has an upper lid portion and a box portion having substantially the same shape. The mating surface of the upper lid portion and the box portion is covered with a stretchable film (not shown).

  Articles conveyed by the container 10 are held in a space formed by the film. A heat storage material (not shown) is provided in a space formed between the upper surface of the membrane and the upper lid portion and a space formed between the lower surface of the membrane and the box portion. The heat storage material is, for example, a latent heat storage material (sodium phosphate, paraffin, water, etc.). In order to prevent unevenness in the storage container 23, the latent heat storage material may be subdivided into plastic bags or the like.

Here, according to the law of heat conduction (Fourier's law), the amount of heat released from the wall per unit time is Q [J / s], the temperature difference between both sides of the wall is Δt [K], and the wall area is A. When [m ² ], the wall thickness is δ [m], and the wall thermal conductivity is λ [W / mK], the following equation holds.

  Therefore, the heat quantity Q is obtained from the above equation where the surface area of the vacuum heat insulating materials 24 and 25 is A, the thickness of the vacuum heat insulating materials 24 and 25 is δ, and the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the container 10 is Δt, and this is monitored by the container 10. If integrated with time, the amount of heat to be stored in advance in the heat storage container 22 and the storage container 23 can be obtained.

  A radio wave transmitter 26 is provided at a predetermined position inside the container 10. A sensor is attached to the radio wave transmission unit 26. The sensor measures the state (temperature, humidity, etc.) inside the container 10, and the radio wave transmission unit 26 emits a radio wave carrying the measurement value output from the sensor. The sensor and the radio wave transmission unit 26 may be integrated, or a space between them may be connected via a cable or the like.

  The radio wave emitted from the radio wave transmission unit 26 is sent out of the container 10 by the following mechanism. That is, first, a radio wave emitted from the radio wave transmission unit 26 (hereinafter, referred to as a radio wave R1) travels through the space inside the container 10 and reaches the inner periphery of the main body 11 and the inner periphery of the lid 12. Then, free electrons in the material of the main body part 11 or the cover part 12 vibrate and a current flows through the main body part 11 or the cover part 12. That is, electric power is supplied to the main body 11 or the lid 12 by the radio wave R1.

  Here, the main body 11, the lid 12, the packing 21, and the mounting tool 13 constitute a slot antenna. That is, in the state where the lid portion 12 is mounted on the main body portion 11, a uniform annular gap is formed between the lid portion 12 and the main body portion 11 by the packing 21, and this gap is partitioned by the mounting tool 13. A slot is formed. On the other hand, the inside of the container 10 can be regarded as a waveguide (cavity) formed behind the slot.

  Thus, since the container 10 of this embodiment itself functions as a slot antenna, the power supplied by the radio wave R1 emitted from the radio wave transmission unit 26 is converted into the radio wave R2 by the slot antenna, and the container 10 10 is efficiently sent to the outside.

上式において、ｃ[ｍ／ｓ]は光速度、πは円周率である。上式によれば、例えば、周波数ｆが２．４５[ＧＨｚ]である場合、半径ｒは０．０４７[ｍ]以上に設定する必要がある。 According to the operating principle of the slot antenna, the length of the long side of the slot, that is, the distance on the circumference of the container 10 between the adjacent mounting devices 13 is about ½ of the wavelength of the radio wave emitted from the radio wave transmitter 26. (Half wavelength) is preferable. Furthermore, in order to transmit the radio wave R2 from the slot antenna, it is necessary to consider a so-called cutoff frequency. That is, the cylinder formed by the main body 11 and the lid 12 is regarded as a waveguide, the radius of the container 10 (the radius of the main body 11 or the lid 12) is r [m], and the radio wave emitted from the radio wave transmitter 26 If the frequency of f is [Hz], the radius r and the frequency f must satisfy the relationship of the following equation in order to transmit the radio wave R2 from the slot antenna.

In the above equation, c [m / s] is the speed of light, and π is the circumference. According to the above equation, for example, when the frequency f is 2.45 [GHz], the radius r needs to be set to 0.047 [m] or more.

  Although the length of the short side of the slot is determined by the thickness of the packing 21, the thermal conductivity λ of the silicon rubber used as the packing 21 is 0.149 to 0.167 [W / mK], and the vacuum heat insulating material 24, It is preferable that the orientation glass wool used as the material of 25 is higher in thermal conductivity than 0.0017 [W / mK] and the amount of the packing 21 is as small as possible. For this reason, for example, when it is necessary to set the length of the short side of the slot to 1/100 or more of the wavelength in order to transmit the radio wave R2 from the characteristics of the slot antenna, the thickness of the packing 21 is the minimum value. It is preferable to set to about 1/100 of a certain wavelength. However, since it is necessary to consider the amount compressed between the main body 11 and the lid 12, the thickness is actually set to be slightly thicker than 1/100 of the wavelength. Further, if the packing 21 is made too thin, the packing 21 is deformed / damaged by the pressure of the main body 11 and the lid 12, and the adhesion between the main body 11 and the lid 12 is impaired. When determining the thickness, the adhesiveness of the packing 21 is also taken into consideration.

<Receiver configuration>
When receiving the radio wave transmitted from the slot antenna, the radio wave receiving unit 27 inputs a measurement value included in the received radio wave to the information processing apparatus 30. FIG. 3A is an example of hardware of the information processing apparatus 30 that uses information received by the radio wave receiver 27. The information processing device 30 includes a central processing unit 31 (CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc.), a main storage device 32 (RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory)), an auxiliary storage device 33 (hard disk, etc.), a user An input device 34 (such as a keyboard or a mouse) that accepts operation inputs, an output device 35 (such as a liquid crystal monitor), a communication interface 36 (NIC (Network Interface Card) that realizes communication with other devices), a USB device (USB : Universal Serial Bus) etc.

  FIG. 3B shows functions and data of the information processing apparatus 30. As shown in the figure, the information processing apparatus 30 includes a data acquisition unit 311, a data analysis unit 312, and a warning generation unit 313 as functions. Further, the information processing apparatus 30 manages the monitoring database 314. Each of the above functions is realized by a hardware function of the information processing apparatus 30 or when the central processing unit 31 of the information processing apparatus 30 executes a program stored in the main storage device 32.

  The data acquisition unit 311 acquires data describing the measurement value included in the radio wave emitted from the radio wave transmission unit 26 included in the radio wave R2 received from the radio wave reception unit 27, and monitors this data. Store in database 314. The data analysis unit 312 compares the data stored in the monitoring database 314 with the threshold value stored in advance in the monitoring database 314 or the like. The warning generation unit 313 outputs warning information to the output device 35 in accordance with the result of the data analysis unit 312 comparing the data with a threshold value.

  As described above, in the container 10 according to the present embodiment, the structure itself of the container 10 functions as a slot antenna. Therefore, the radio wave emitted from the radio wave transmission unit 26 provided inside the container 10 Can be efficiently sent to the outside. Therefore, for example, the radio wave receiving unit 27 provided outside the container 10 can reliably receive the radio wave emitted from the radio wave transmitting unit 26, and the internal state of the container 10 can be grasped outside the container 10. It becomes possible.

  FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a container 50 described as the second embodiment. The container 50 is a thermostatic device and includes a hollow main body 51. The main body 51 is made of a conductive material such as metal (for example, stainless steel (SUS304) having a thickness of 0.8 [mm]).

  FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the container 50. An opening 52 is provided in a part of the main body 51, and an insulating packing 53 is fitted into the opening 52 so as to close the opening 52. The packing 53 is made of silicon rubber.

  A vacuum heat insulating material 54 is laid on the entire inner peripheral surface of the main body 51 except for the periphery of the opening 52. The vacuum heat insulating material 54 is the same as that in the first embodiment. The inner peripheral surface of the main body 51 is processed into a mirror surface to prevent heat from entering and leaving the container 50 due to heat radiation.

  As in the first embodiment, two heat storage containers 22 are arranged one above the other inside the container 10, and these heat storage containers 22 are filled with a latent heat storage material (sodium phosphate, paraffin, water, etc.). ing. Between these heat storage containers 22, a storage container 23 for storing articles conveyed by the container 10 is disposed. At a predetermined position inside the container 50, a radio wave transmission unit 26 with a sensor similar to that of the first embodiment is provided.

  The radio wave emitted from the radio wave transmission unit 26 is sent out of the container 10 by the following mechanism. First, the radio wave R <b> 1 emitted from the radio wave transmission unit 26 travels inside the container 10 and reaches the inner periphery of the main body unit 51. Then, free electrons in the material of the main body 51 vibrate, and a current flows through the main body 51. That is, electric power is supplied to the main body 51 by the radio wave R1.

  Here, the structure including the main body 51, the opening 52, and the packing 53 constitutes a slot antenna. That is, the opening 52 functions as a slot, while the main body 51 can be regarded as a waveguide (cavity) formed behind the slot.

  Thus, since the structure itself of the container 50 of this embodiment functions as a slot antenna, the power supplied by the radio wave R1 emitted from the radio wave transmission unit 26 is converted into the radio wave R2 by the slot antenna. It is efficiently sent out of the container 50.

  As described in the first embodiment, according to the operating principle of the slot antenna, the long side of the slot, that is, the length of the long side of the opening 52 is the wavelength of the radio wave emitted from the radio wave transmitter 26. About 1/2 (half wavelength) is preferable. In order to transmit the radio wave R2 from the slot antenna, it is necessary to consider the cutoff frequency. As in the first embodiment, the length of the short side of the slot needs to be determined in consideration of the characteristics of the slot antenna and the thermal properties of the container 50. In this embodiment, since the packing 53 needs to close the opening 52, the thickness of the packing 53 is determined according to the shape of the opening 52.

  As described above, in the container 50 of the second embodiment, the structure itself of the container 50 functions as a slot antenna, so that the radio waves emitted from the radio wave transmission unit 26 provided inside the container 50 are 50 can be efficiently sent to the outside. Therefore, for example, the radio wave receiving unit 27 provided outside the container 50 can reliably receive the radio wave emitted from the radio wave transmitting unit 26 so that the state inside the container 50 can be grasped outside the container 50. Become.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described concretely based on the embodiment, it is not limited to this and can be variously changed in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

  For example, the state measured by the sensor is not limited to temperature and humidity. For example, the impact, acceleration, and speed applied to the containers 10 and 50, the atmospheric pressure inside the containers 10 and 50, the illuminance, and the containers 10 and 50 are accommodated. There may be other states such as pressure applied to the article, strain, twist, and inclination of the containers 10 and 50. Further, the unique ID or the like of the monitoring target may be notified to the outside of the containers 10 and 50 on the radio wave emitted from the radio wave transmission unit 26.

  Further, the case where the radio wave receiving unit 27 receives the radio wave emitted from the sensor-equipped radio wave transmitting unit 26 has been described above. For example, the first radio wave with a measurement instruction is transmitted from the reading device 27 to transmit the radio wave. The unit 26 may receive the first radio wave, measure the state in the containers 10 and 50 according to the measurement instruction, and output the second radio wave carrying the measurement value to the radio wave receiving unit 27. . That is, in this case, the aforementioned slot antenna also functions as a receiving antenna.

It is a perspective view of the container 10 demonstrated as 1st Example. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the container 10 showing a state where the lid portion 12 is detached from the main body portion 11. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the container 10 showing a state where the lid portion 12 is attached to the main body portion 11. 3 is an example of hardware of the information processing apparatus 30. This is the function and data of the information processing apparatus 30. It is a perspective view of the container 50 demonstrated as 2nd Example. It is sectional drawing of the container 50 demonstrated as 2nd Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Container 11 Main body part 12 Cover part 13 Mounting tool 131 Base part 132 Locking part 133 Lever part 21 Packing 22 Heat storage container 23 Storage container 24 Vacuum heat insulating material 25 Vacuum heat insulating material 26 Radio wave transmission part 27 Radio wave receiving part 30 Information processing apparatus 311 Data acquisition unit 312 Data analysis unit 313 Warning generation unit 314 Monitoring database

Claims (14)

A conductive cylindrical body having one end open;
A conductive lid attached to the main body to close the opening;
A conductive attachment for attaching the lid to the main body;
An insulating packing interposed between the lid portion and the main body portion, and
A radio wave transmitter housed inside the container,
The main body and the lid are energized by the wearing tool,
A slot is formed by the packing and the mounting tool,
Power is supplied to the main body part or the lid part by radio waves emitted from the radio wave transmission part,
The slot, the main body, and the lid function as a slot antenna that converts the supplied power into radio waves.
A container characterized by. The container according to claim 1,
The container characterized in that the length of the long side of the slot is about ½ of the wavelength of the radio wave output from the radio wave transmitter. The container according to claim 1,
The container, wherein the radio wave transmission unit emits radio waves including a measurement value of a sensor that measures a state inside the container. A container according to claim 3,
The state is at least one of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, illuminance inside the container, impact applied to an article accommodated in the container, acceleration, speed, and inclination of the container. Container. The container according to claim 1,
The container, wherein the radio wave transmitting unit outputs a radio wave carrying an identifier for identifying an article accommodated in the container. The container according to claim 1,
A radio wave receiver is housed inside the container,
The radio wave receiving unit receives a first radio wave sent from the outside of the container by the antenna,
The container, wherein the radio wave transmission unit outputs a second radio wave in response to the radio wave reception unit receiving the first radio wave. The container according to claim 1,
The mounting tool is a clip that mounts the lid on the main body,
A heat insulating material is laid on the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion and the lid portion,
The heat insulating material includes oriented glass wool,
The packing is made of silicon rubber,
The container characterized by the inner peripheral surface of the said main-body part and the said cover part being processed into the mirror surface. A hollow conductive main body having a slot formed on its side surface;
Insulating packing provided in the slot to seal the inside of the main body,
A radio wave transmitter housed inside the main body,
Electric power is supplied to the main body by radio waves emitted from the radio wave transmitter,
The container, wherein the slot and the main body function as a slot antenna that converts the supplied power into radio waves. A container according to claim 8,
The container characterized in that the length of the long side of the slot is about ½ of the wavelength of the radio wave output from the radio wave transmitter. A container according to claim 8,
The container, wherein the radio wave transmission unit emits radio waves including a measurement value of a sensor that measures a state inside the container. A container according to claim 8,
The container, wherein the radio wave transmitting unit outputs a radio wave carrying an identifier for identifying an article accommodated in the container. A container according to claim 8,
A radio wave receiver is housed inside the container,
The radio wave receiving unit receives a first radio wave sent from the outside of the container by the antenna,
The container, wherein the radio wave transmission unit outputs a second radio wave in response to the radio wave reception unit receiving the first radio wave. It is a manufacturing method of the container according to claim 1, Comprising:
A container manufacturing method, wherein a cut-off frequency of the slot antenna is set by setting a shape of the main body or the lid. It is a manufacturing method of the container according to claim 1, Comprising:
A characteristic of the slot antenna is set by setting a thickness of the packing.

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