JP7264604B2 - Sealed container and vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed container - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a sealed container comprising a container body and a lid, and more particularly to a sealed container for enclosing gas therein. It also relates to a vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed container.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a sealed container for storing food or the like, an inert gas or the like is enclosed in the container in order to prevent the food from deteriorating. For example, the sealed container described in Patent Document 1 is composed of a container body and a lid, and the container is sealed by bringing the flange portion of the container body and the flange portion of the lid into close contact with each other. When the gas is sealed in the container, first, the lid is attached so that the gas outflow prevention portion, which is formed to hang down from the inside or outside of the flange portion of the lid, surrounds the opening of the container body. Cover the container body. Next, a gas injection nozzle is inserted from the outside into a gas injection nozzle insertion opening formed in the gas outflow prevention portion to introduce gas into the container. After that, the gas injection nozzle is pulled out from the gas injection nozzle insertion port, and the flange portion of the container body and the flange portion of the cover are brought into close contact to seal the container.

However, in the sealed container described in Patent Document 1, if the lid is not kept floating from the container body, the gas injection nozzle insertion opening formed in the gas outflow prevention portion will be blocked and the gas injection nozzle will be blocked. The gas injection nozzle cannot be inserted into the insertion port. Therefore, there is a problem that gas cannot be sealed in the container unless means for holding the lid in a floating state is separately used.

Patent No. 3485443

Therefore, in view of the above problems, the present invention provides a sealed container capable of sealing gas inside the container without using means for holding the lid in a floating state, and a vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed container. do.

In order to solve the above problems, a sealed container according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a lid-side fitting portion, a lid body having a lid-side sealing surface formed outside the lid-side fitting portion, a container and a container body having a container-side sealing surface formed outside the container-side fitting portion, wherein the lid-side fitting portion fits inside the container-side fitting portion, and the A sealed container in which the lid-side sealing surface and the container-side sealing surface are in close contact with each other, wherein the lid-side fitting portion and the container-side fitting portion are internally fitted to the lid, wherein the A lid-side abutment part is formed to abut against a part of the container-side fitting part, and the lid-side fitting part is formed with a ventilation part that opens outward and communicates the inside and the outside of the lid. In the stage before the lid-side fitting portion and the container-side fitting portion are internally fitted, the ventilation portion is kept open outward by the lid-side abutting portion, The lid-side sealing surface and the container-side sealing surface are closed when they are in close contact with each other.

According to the above characteristics, the state before the lid-side abutting portion abuts against a part of the container body, and the lid-side fitting portion of the lid body and the container-side fitting portion of the container body are internally fitted; That is, it is possible to maintain a state in which the lid body is slightly lifted from the container body. Therefore, gas can be sealed inside the sealed container using the ventilation part without using a device for holding the lid in a floating manner as in the prior art.

Further, the sealed container according to claim 2 of the present invention includes a lid-side fitting portion, a lid having a lid-side sealing surface formed inside the lid-side fitting portion, a container-side fitting portion, a container body having a container-side sealing surface formed inside the container-side fitting portion; In the sealed container in which the container-side sealing surface is in close contact with the lid, the container-side fitting portion is attached to the lid before the lid-side fitting portion and the container-side fitting portion are externally fitted to each other. A lid-side abutting portion is formed in contact with a part of the lid-side fitting portion. In a stage before the lid-side fitting portion and the container-side fitting portion are externally fitted together, the lid-side abutting portion maintains the opening toward the outside, and the lid-side sealing surface and the container-side fitting portion are kept open toward the outside. It is characterized in that it is closed when it comes into close contact with the container-side sealing surface.

According to the above feature, the state before the lid-side abutting portion abuts against a portion of the container body, and the lid-side fitting portion of the lid body and the container-side fitting portion of the container body are externally fitted; That is, it is possible to maintain a state in which the lid body is slightly lifted from the container body. Therefore, gas can be sealed inside the sealed container using the ventilation part without using a device for holding the lid in a floating manner as in the prior art.

Furthermore, a vacuum gas replacement method according to claim 3 of the present invention is a vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed container, wherein the sealed container is arranged in an airtight sealed chamber, and the container side fitting portion a step of bringing the lid-side abutting portion into contact with a part of the sealing chamber to pre-fit the lid-side fitting portion and the container-side fitting portion together; a step of extracting the air in the sealed container to the outside of the sealed chamber through the ventilation section by extracting the air to the outside of the chamber;
By injecting the replacement gas into the sealed chamber, the sealed container is filled with the replacement gas through the vent, and the lid side fitting portion and the container side fitting portion are performed. a step of fitting and bringing the lid-side sealing surface and the container-side sealing surface into close contact with each other to seal the lid body and the container body.

According to the above feature, the sealed container is placed inside the sealed chamber in an airtight state, and the lid-side fitting portion of the lid and the container-side fitting portion of the container body are fitted together, that is, the state of the stage before the lid. The air in the sealed container can be replaced with the replacement gas through the ventilation part that communicates the inside and the outside of the sealed container while maintaining a state in which the gas is slightly floating from the container body, and the sealed container can be sealed. Therefore, it is not necessary to insert a gas injection nozzle into the inside of the sealed container as in the prior art, which simplifies the gas replacement process.

According to the sealed container of the present invention and the vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed container, gas can be sealed inside the container without using means for holding the lid in a floating state.

1 shows a lid of a hermetic container according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, where (a) is a plan view of the lid, (b) is a side view of the lid, and (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A. 1 shows a container body of a sealed container according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, where (a) is a plan view of the container body, (b) is a side view of the container body, and (c) is a BB cross-sectional view. 1 is a side view of a sealed container according to Embodiment 1 arranged inside a sealed chamber; FIG. (a) is a cross-sectional view of CC in FIG. 3, (b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the part indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 4 (a), and (c) is a cross-sectional view shown in FIG. In the figure, it is sectional drawing of the state in which the cover body was shifted with respect to the container main body. 1 is a side view of a sealed container according to Embodiment 1 arranged inside a sealed chamber; FIG. (a) is a cross-sectional view along line D-D in FIG. 5, and (b) is a cross-sectional view enlarging the portion indicated by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 6(a). Fig. 10 shows a lid of a sealed container according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, where (a) is a plan view of the lid, (b) is a side view of the lid, and (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE. The container main body of the sealed container according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention is shown, (a) is a plan view of the container main body, (b) is a side view of the container main body, and (c) is an FF sectional view. Fig. 8(a) shows the sealed container according to the second embodiment arranged inside the sealed chamber, and (a) shows the lid body shown in the EE cross-sectional view of Fig. 7(c); It is in a state placed on the container main body shown in the F-F sectional view. 9B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the portion indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 9A, and FIG. It is in a mated state.

100 lid body 130 lid-side fitting portion 131 lid-side abutment portion 140 lid-side sealing surface 150 ventilation portion 200 container body 230 container-side fitting portion 240 container-side sealing surface 300 sealed container

Each embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present specification, the term “upward” refers to the upward direction in the vertical direction when the sealed container is placed on a horizontal surface with the opening surface of the container body facing up. is the downward direction in the vertical direction.

<Embodiment 1>
First, FIG. 1 shows a lid body 100 of a sealed container 300 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 1(a) is a plan view of the lid 100, FIG. 1(b) is a side view of the lid 100, and FIG. 1(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA. As shown in FIG. 1, the lid 100 has a shallow plate shape with a downward opening, and includes a top plate 110 that is rectangular in plan view and side walls 120 that continue downward from the top plate 110 . A convex lid-side fitting portion 130 is provided at the lower end of the side wall 120 , and a flat plate extending horizontally from the upper end of the lid-side fitting portion 130 is provided outside the lid-side fitting portion 130 . A lid-side sealing surface 140 is provided. The side wall 120 , the lid-side fitting portion 130 , and the lid-side sealing surface 140 are provided continuously over the entire circumference of the lid body 100 in the circumferential direction.

In addition, a ventilation portion 150 is formed in the lid-side fitting portion 130 as if a portion of the lid-side fitting portion 130 is largely cut away. The ventilation part 150 is configured to communicate between the inside and the outside of the lid body 100 , and is adjacent to the lid-side sealing surface 140 and located inside the lid-side sealing surface 140 . Further, the ventilation part 150 is provided near the center of each side of the lid body 100, and a total of four ventilation parts 150 are provided in the entire lid body 100. As shown in FIG. In addition, in FIG. 1C showing the AA cross-sectional view, the ventilation part 150 that communicates between the inside and the outside of the lid body 100 is arranged on the front side, and the lid side fitting part 130 is arranged on the back side thereof. It is

In addition, the lower end of the lid-side fitting portion 130 is a part of the container main body 200 before the lid-side fitting portion 130 is fitted to the container-side fitting portion 230 of the container body 200 as described later. It becomes the lid side contact portion 131 that contacts the end portion of the side fitting portion 230 . Note that the lid-side fitting portion 130 is a portion formed to protrude from other portions, and is a so-called undercut portion. By using the undercut portion of the lid-side fitting portion 130 as the lid-side contact portion 131 , the lid-side contact portion 131 does not need to be provided separately on a part of the lid body 100 .

In addition, although the ventilation part 150 is provided near the center of each side of the lid 100, it is not limited to this. It can be installed in any place. Also, the number and shape of the vents 150 are not limited to the vents 150 shown in FIG. 1, and can be provided arbitrarily. Also, the lid-side sealing surface 140 has a shape that matches the surface shape of the container-side sealing surface 240 so as to be in close contact with the container-side sealing surface 240 of the container body 200 . Further, the lid-side sealing surface 140 is a flat surface, but is not limited to this, and may be of any shape such as a curved surface as long as it can be in close contact with the container-side sealing surface 240 of the container body 200 . can.

Next, FIG. 2 shows the container body 200 of the sealed container 300 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 2(a) is a plan view of the container body 200, FIG. 2(b) is a side view of the container body 200, and FIG. 2(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB. As shown in FIG. 2, the container body 200 has a shallow dish shape with an upward opening, and includes a rectangular bottom wall 210 in a plan view, legs 211 projecting downward from the bottom wall 210, and legs 211 extending downward from the bottom wall 210. and sidewalls 220 formed to rise from 211 . Further, a recessed container side fitting portion 230 is provided at the upper end of the side wall 220, and a flat shape extending horizontally from the upper end of the container side fitting portion 230 is provided outside the container side fitting portion 230. container-side sealing surface 240 is provided. The side wall 220 , the container-side fitting portion 230 , and the container-side sealing surface 240 are continuously provided along the entire circumference of the container body 200 in the circumferential direction.

Further, the container side fitting portion 230 is configured so that the lid side fitting portion 130 of the lid body 100 can be internally fitted. Further, the container-side sealing surface 240 has a shape that matches the surface of the lid-side sealing surface 140 so that the lid-side sealing surface 140 of the lid body 100 can be in close contact with the container-side sealing surface 240 .

Note that the lid body 100 and the container body 200 according to the first embodiment are made of a sheet-like material having a thickness of about 0.1 to 1.0 mm that can be sheet-formed (for example, vacuum forming, air pressure forming, hot plate forming). Materials used for the lid body 100 include A-PET, transparent biaxially oriented polystyrene (central OPS), Alternatively, polypropylene (PP) can be used, and A-PET, filled polypropylene (PPF), or polystyrene (PS) can be used as the material of the container body 200 . In addition, although the lid 100 and the container body 200 are rectangular in plan view, they can be appropriately changed to arbitrary shapes such as a polygon in plan view and a substantially circular shape in plan view.

Next, a vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed container 300 of the present invention according to Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. 3 is a side view of the sealed container 300 arranged inside the sealed chamber 500, FIG. 4(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 3, and FIG. ) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the portion indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 4C, and FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of the cross-sectional view of FIG. It is a diagram.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4(a) and (b), the sealed chamber 500 is a device that has a box-shaped space large enough to accommodate the sealed container 300, and the inside of which can be airtight. In the vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed container 300 , first, the sealed container 300 is arranged on the mounting section 510 of the sealed chamber 500 . Contents (not shown) such as food are stored inside the container body 200 , and the lid body 100 is put on the container body 200 so as to cover the opening of the container body 200 . Note that FIG. 4C shows a state in which the lid body 100 is shifted from the container body 200 and placed thereon, which will be described later in detail.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 4B, the lid-side contact portion 131 of the lid body 100 is in contact with the end portion 231 of the container-side fitting portion 230, which is a part of the container body 200. The lid 100 is slightly lifted from the container body 200 so that the lid 100 does not fit into the container body 200 any further. That is, when the lid-side abutting portion 131 of the lid 100 abuts against a portion of the container body 200 , the lid-side fitting portion 130 of the lid 100 is internally fitted into the container-side fitting portion 230 of the container body 200 . The state of the previous stage is maintained.

In this state, the lid-side fitting portion 130 is not fitted to the container-side fitting portion 230 , so the ventilation portion 150 formed in the lid-side fitting portion 130 is closed by the container-side fitting portion 230 . It is exposed above the container-side fitting portion 230 without any holes. Therefore, the inside and the outside of the sealed container 300 are in communication with each other through the ventilation part 150 . The inside of the sealed chamber 500 is filled with the air X, and naturally the inside of the sealed container 300 is also filled with the same air X. This air X is, for example, the same as the air around the work place in which the closed chamber 500 is installed. It is

Next, the air X inside the closed chamber 500 is extracted to the outside. Specifically, if the air X is extracted to the outside of the closed chamber 500 by a discharge pipe 520 connected to a vacuum pump or the like, the inside of the closed chamber 500 is in an airtight state. It becomes a vacuum. Furthermore, the air X inside the sealed container 300 is also extracted to the outside of the sealed chamber 500 via the ventilation section 150 . Then, the inside of the sealed container 300 is also in a vacuum state.

Next, the replacement gas Y is injected into the closed chamber 500 . Specifically, in order to prevent food from spoiling, a replacement gas Y such as an inert gas such as nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide is introduced into the sealed chamber 500 through an introduction tube 530 connected to a gas supply. Send it inside. Then, since the inside of the sealed chamber 500 is in an airtight state, the inside of the sealed chamber 500 is gradually filled with the replacement gas Y. As shown in FIG. Furthermore, the replacement gas Y is also sent into the sealed container 300 through the ventilation part 150, and the sealed container 300 is filled with the replacement gas Y. As shown in FIG.

Next, the lid 100 is pushed toward the container body 200 by a pressing device (not shown) arranged inside the closed chamber 500, and as shown in FIGS. The portion 130 is internally fitted into the container-side fitting portion 230 of the container body 200 .

When the lid 100 is placed on the container body 200, as shown in FIG. As shown in 4(c), the lid 100 may be placed obliquely with respect to the container body 200 in some cases. In the state shown in FIG. 4C, one side (right side in the drawing) corner of the lid body 100 enters the container body 200, and the lid side fitting portion 130 on the one side fits into the container side fitting portion 230. Although they are fitted, the corner of the other side (the left side in the drawing) of the lid 100 floats upward, and the lid side contact portion 131 of the other side contacts a part of the container body 200. ing. Therefore, even when the lid 100 is placed obliquely with respect to the container body 200, the lid-side fitting portion 130 of the lid 100 does not fit on the other side (left side in the drawing) of the lid 100. Thus, the state of the stage before being internally fitted into the container-side fitting portion 230 of the container body 200 is maintained. In this state, since the lid-side fitting portion 130 is not fitted to the container-side fitting portion 230 on the other side, the ventilation portion 150 formed in the lid-side fitting portion 130 is not connected to the container-side fitting portion. It is exposed above the container side fitting portion 230 without being closed by 230 . Therefore, the inside and the outside of the sealed container 300 are in communication with each other through the ventilation part 150 . Therefore, the air X in the sealed container 300 can be replaced with the replacement gas Y through the exposed ventilation part 150 . After that, if the lid 100 is pushed toward the container body 200 by a pressing device (not shown) arranged inside the closed chamber 500, the lid-side fitting portion of the lid 100 is opened as shown in FIGS. 130 is internally fitted into the container-side fitting portion 230 of the container body 200 .

5 is a side view of the sealed container 300 arranged inside the sealed chamber 500, FIG. 6(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. 5, and FIG. ) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion indicated by a dashed line.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the lid-side fitting portion 130 of the lid body 100 is internally fitted into the container-side fitting portion 230 of the container body 200, the lid-side sealing surface 140 is pressed against the container by the upper contact device 550. The side sealing surfaces 240 are respectively pressed by the lower contact device 540, and the lid side sealing surface 140 and the container side sealing surface 240 are brought into close contact and heated. Then, the lid-side sealing surface 140 and the container-side sealing surface 240 are heat-sealed to each other, and the sealed container 300 is sealed with the replacement gas Y enclosed therein. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6(b), since the ventilation part 150 is completely closed by the lid-side sealing surface 140 and the container-side sealing surface 240 on the outside of the ventilation part 150, the sealed container 300 is closed. The replacement gas Y inside does not leak to the outside from the ventilation part 150, and the sealed state is maintained.

As described above, according to the sealed container 300 of the present invention, the lid-side abutting portion 131 abuts against a part of the container body 200, and the lid-side fitting portion 130 of the lid 100 and the container-side fitting portion of the container body 200 are fitted. The state before the mating portion 230 is internally fitted, that is, the state in which the lid body 100 is slightly lifted from the container body 200 can be maintained. Therefore, gas can be sealed inside the sealed container 300 using the ventilation part 150 without using a device for floating and holding the lid 100 as in the prior art.

3 to 6, in the vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed container 300 of the present invention, the sealed container 300 is arranged inside the sealed chamber 500 in an airtight state, and the lid body 100 is fitted on the lid side. The inside and outside of the sealed container 300 are separated while maintaining the state before the mating portion 130 and the container-side fitting portion 230 of the container body 200 are internally fitted, that is, the state in which the lid body 100 is slightly lifted from the container body 200. The air X in the sealed container 300 can be replaced with the replacement gas Y through the communicating ventilation part 150, and the sealed container 300 can be sealed. Therefore, it is not necessary to insert a gas injection nozzle into the inside of the sealed container 300 as in the prior art, and the gas replacement process is simplified.

Further, according to the vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed container 300 of the present invention, there is no need to use a device for holding the lid 100 in a floating state or a gas injection nozzle. Therefore, the vacuum gas replacement apparatus that implements the vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed container 300 of the present invention does not need to have a device for holding the lid 100 in a floating state or a gas injection nozzle, and the structure is simplified and manufactured. Costs can also be reduced.

Furthermore, according to the vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed container 300 of the present invention, the lid 100 and the container body 200 can be used. The stored items can be stored with a sense of volume, and even when stacked, the stored items can be prevented from being crushed.

Moreover, according to the sealed container 300 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. The end portion 231 is also an inclined surface, and both inclined surfaces have shapes corresponding to each other. Therefore, the lid 100 is stably placed on the container body 200, and the state before the lid-side fitting portion 130 of the lid 100 and the container-side fitting portion 230 of the container body 200 are fitted can be stabilized. and can be reliably maintained.

In the sealed container 300 of the present invention, the vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed chamber 500 shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 is used. You can also use it. For example, when the sealed container 300 is placed in a chamber that is not airtight, the lid-side contact portion 131 contacts a part of the container body 200, and the lid-side fitting portion 130 of the lid body 100 and the container body 200 are separated. The state before the container-side fitting portion 230 is fitted, that is, the state where the lid 100 is slightly lifted from the container body 200 is maintained. Then, a gas injection nozzle is inserted into the vent portion 150 exposed from the lid-side fitting portion 130 to inject the replacement gas Y into the sealed container 300 in the same manner as in the prior art. After that, the gas injection nozzle may be extracted from the ventilation part 150 and the lid-side fitting portion 130 of the lid body 100 may be fitted into the container-side fitting portion 230 of the container body 200 to seal the sealed container 300 .

When using this conventional gas replacement method, a gas injection nozzle is used as in the conventional method, but the lid 100 can be held in a floating state by the lid-side abutting portion 131 of the present invention. Since there is no need to use a device for holding the gas, the process of gas replacement and the structure of the device for performing gas replacement can be simplified.

Further, the vacuum gas replacement apparatus for carrying out the vacuum gas replacement method of the present invention explained with reference to FIGS. , means for injecting replacement gas Y into the sealed chamber 500 and means for fitting the lid 100 and the container body 200 together to seal them. The means for extracting the air X inside the closed chamber 500 to the outside is composed of the vacuum pump and the discharge pipe 520, but is not limited to this, and other existing means can be used as long as the air X can be extracted to the outside. means may be adopted. Also, the means for injecting the replacement gas Y into the closed chamber 500 is composed of the gas supply device and the introduction pipe 530, but is not limited to this. existing means of Further, the means for fitting and sealing the lid body 100 and the container body 200 is composed of a pressing device for pressing the lid body 100 toward the container body 200, a lower contact device 540 and an upper contact device 550. However, it is not limited to this, and other existing means may be adopted as long as the lid 100 can be pressed toward the container body 200 to seal the lid 100 and the container body 200 .

Further, in the sealed container 300 of the present invention, the lid-side sealing surface 140 and the container-side sealing surface 240 are brought into close contact with each other by the lower contacting device 540 and the upper contacting device 550, and are heated and heat-sealed. 140 and the container-side sealing surface 240 are welded to seal the sealed container 300, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a means capable of sealing by bringing the lid-side sealing surface 140 and the container-side sealing surface 240 into close contact with each other. Any means can be adopted. For example, an adhesive is applied between the lid-side sealing surface 140 and the container-side sealing surface 240, and the lid-side sealing surface 140 and the container-side sealing surface 240 are adhered in close contact with each other, whereby the sealed container 300 is sealed. May be sealed.

Further, in the sealed container 300 of the present invention, the lid-side contact portion 131 of the lid-side fitting portion 130, which is the undercut portion of the lid body 100, is in contact with a part of the container body 200, but this is not the only option. If the lid-side abutting portion 131 abuts against a portion of the container body 200 and the lid-side fitting portion 130 is fitted to the container-side fitting portion 230, the pre-stage can be maintained. Other configurations may be employed. For example, if the lid-side contact portion 131 that protrudes downward is formed on a portion of the lid-side sealing surface 140, the lid-side contact portion 131 contacts a portion of the container-side sealing surface 240, and the lid-side fitting is performed. The stage before the portion 130 is fitted to the container-side fitting portion 230 can be maintained. The lid-side contact portion 131 protruding from the lid-side seal surface 140 may be removed when the lid-side seal surface 140 and the container-side seal surface 240 are brought into close contact with each other, or the lid-side contact portion 131 may be accommodated. A concave portion may be formed in the container-side sealing surface 240, and the lid-side abutment portion 131 may be accommodated in the concave portion to bring the lid-side sealing surface 140 and the container-side sealing surface 240 into close contact with each other.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a sealed container 300A according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described. The configuration of the sealed container 300A according to Embodiment 2 is basically the same as the configuration of the sealed container 300 according to Embodiment 1, except that the lid 100A is fitted onto the container body 200A. Detailed description of the same configuration is omitted.

First, FIG. 7 shows a lid body 100A of a sealed container 300A according to the second embodiment. 7(a) is a plan view of the lid body 100A, FIG. 7(b) is a side view of the lid body 100A, and FIG. 7(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line EE. As shown in FIG. 7, the lid 100A has a shallow plate shape with a downward opening, and includes a rectangular top plate 110A in a plan view and side walls 120A continuing downward from the top plate 110A. A flat cover-side sealing surface 140A extending in the horizontal direction is provided at the lower end of the side wall 120A. Further, a recessed lid-side fitting portion 130A is provided outside the lid-side sealing surface 140A. The side wall 120A, the lid-side fitting portion 130A, and the lid-side sealing surface 140A are provided continuously over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction of the lid body 100A.

In addition, a ventilation portion 150A is formed in the lid-side fitting portion 130A as if a portion of the lid-side fitting portion 130A is largely cut out. The ventilation part 150A is configured to communicate between the inside and outside of the lid body 100A, and is adjacent to the lid-side sealing surface 140A and positioned outside the lid-side sealing surface 140A. Further, the ventilation part 150A is provided near the center of each side of the lid 100A, and a total of four ventilation parts 150A are provided in the entire lid 100A. In addition, in FIG. 7(c) showing the E-E sectional view, the ventilation part 150A that communicates between the inside and the outside of the lid body 100A is arranged on the front side, and the lid side fitting part 130A is arranged on the back side thereof. there is

Further, the inward protruding portion of the lid-side fitting portion 130A is formed in the container body 200A at a stage before the lid-side fitting portion 130A is externally fitted to the container-side fitting portion 230A of the container body 200A, as will be described later. It becomes the lid side contact portion 131A that contacts the end portion of the container side fitting portion 230A that is a part. Note that the lid-side contact portion 131A of the lid-side fitting portion 130A is a portion that protrudes inward, and is a so-called undercut portion. By using the lid-side abutment portion 131A as the undercut portion of the lid-side fitting portion 130A, the lid-side abutment portion 131A need not be separately provided as a part of the lid body 100A.

Next, FIG. 8 shows a container body 200A of a sealed container 300A according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 8(a) is a plan view of the container body 200A, FIG. 8(b) is a side view of the container body 200A, and FIG. 8(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line FF. As shown in FIG. 8, the container body 200A has a shallow dish shape with an upward opening, and includes a rectangular bottom wall 210A in plan view, leg portions 211A projecting downward from the bottom wall 210A, and leg portions 211A. and sidewalls 220A formed to rise from 211A. A horizontally extending flat container-side sealing surface 240A is provided at the upper end of the side wall 220A, and a convex container-side fitting portion 230A is provided outside the container-side sealing surface 240A. The side wall 220A, the container-side fitting portion 230A, and the container-side sealing surface 240A are provided continuously over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction of the container body 200A.

Further, the container side fitting portion 230A is configured so that the lid side fitting portion 130A of the lid body 100A can be externally fitted. Further, the container-side sealing surface 240A has a shape that matches the surface of the lid-side sealing surface 140A so that the lid-side sealing surface 140A of the lid body 100A can be in close contact.

Next, with reference to FIG. 9, a vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed container 300A according to the second embodiment will be described. 9(a) shows the sealed container 300A arranged inside the sealed chamber 500, and the lid body 100A shown in the E-E cross-sectional view of FIG. 7(c) is shown in FIG. ) is placed on the container main body 200A shown in the F-F cross-sectional view of FIG. 9(b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the part indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 9(a), and FIG. 9(c) shows the state shown in FIG. It is in a state of being externally fitted to the container main body 200A. The structure of the sealed chamber 500 shown in FIG. 9 is the same as the structure of the sealed chamber 500 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b), the sealed container 300A arranged inside the sealed chamber 500 has a lid side contact portion 131A of the lid body 100A which is a part of the container body 200A. It abuts on the end portion 231A of the joining portion 230A, and the lid 100A is slightly lifted from the container body 200A so that the lid 100A does not fit into the container body 200A any further. That is, when the lid-side contacting portion 131A of the lid 100A contacts a part of the container body 200A, the lid-side fitting portion 130A of the lid 100A contacts the container-side fitting portion 230 of the container body 200A.
The state prior to external fitting to A is maintained.

In this state, since the lid-side fitting portion 130A is not fitted to the container-side fitting portion 230A, the ventilation portion 150A formed in the lid-side fitting portion 130A is blocked by the container-side fitting portion 230A. The inside and outside of the sealed container 300A communicate with each other through the ventilation part 150A. The inside of the sealed chamber 500 is filled with the air X, and naturally the inside of the sealed container 300A is also filled with the same air X.

Next, the air X is extracted to the outside of the sealed chamber 500 through a discharge pipe connected to a vacuum pump or the like. Since the inside of the sealed chamber 500 is in an airtight state, the air X inside the sealed container 300A is extracted to the outside of the sealed chamber 500 through the ventilation section 150A, and the inside of the sealed container 300A becomes in a vacuum state. Next, the replacement gas Y is sent into the closed chamber 500 through an introduction pipe connected to a gas supplier. Since the inside of the sealed chamber 500 is in an airtight state, the replacement gas Y is filled into the sealed container 300A through the ventilation section 150A.

Next, the lid 100A is pushed toward the container body 200A by a pressing device arranged inside the sealed chamber 500, and as shown in FIG. It is externally fitted to the container side fitting portion 230A of the main body 200A. Furthermore, since the lid-side sealing surface 140A and the container-side sealing surface 240A are heat-sealed in close contact with each other, the sealed container 300A is sealed with the replacement gas Y enclosed therein. In addition, the vent portion 150A is closed by the lid-side sealing surface 140A formed inside the lid-side fitting portion 130A and the container-side sealing surface 240A formed inside the container-side fitting portion 230A closely contacting each other. Therefore, the replacement gas Y inside the sealed container 300A does not leak to the outside from the ventilation part 150A, and the sealed state is maintained.

As described above, according to the sealed container 300A of the present invention, the lid side contact portion 131A contacts a part of the container body 200A, and the lid side fitting portion 130A of the lid body 100A and the container side fitting portion of the container body 200A are engaged. It is possible to maintain the state before the mating portion 230A is externally fitted, that is, the state in which the lid body 100A is slightly lifted from the container body 200A. Therefore, gas can be sealed inside the sealed container 300A using the ventilation part 150A without using a device for floating and holding the lid 100A as in the prior art.

Furthermore, as described with reference to FIG. 9, in the vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed container 300A of the present invention, the sealed container 300A is arranged inside the sealed chamber 500 in an airtight state, and the lid-side fitting portion 130A of the lid 100A is and the container-side fitting portion 230A of the container body 200A are externally fitted, that is, while maintaining the state in which the lid body 100A is slightly lifted from the container body 200A, the ventilation that communicates the inside and outside of the sealed container 300A. The air X in the sealed container 300A can be replaced with the replacement gas Y through the portion 150A, and the sealed container 300A can be sealed. Therefore, it is not necessary to insert a gas injection nozzle into the sealed container 300A as in the prior art, which simplifies the gas replacement process.

Although the sealed container 300 of the present invention according to Embodiment 1 is of an internal fitting mode, and the sealed container 300A of the present invention according to Embodiment 2 is of an external fitting mode, the present invention is not limited to this. The sealed container of the invention may be in the form of an inner-outer fitting having both inner-fitting and outer-fitting features.

In addition, the sealed container of the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and various modifications and combinations are possible within the scope of the claims and the scope of the embodiments. Combinations are also included in the scope of the right.

Claims (3)

a lid body having a lid-side fitting portion and a lid-side sealing surface formed outside the lid-side fitting portion;
A container-side fitting portion and a container body having a container-side sealing surface formed outside the container-side fitting portion,
A sealed container in which the lid-side fitting portion is internally fitted into the container-side fitting portion, and the lid-side sealing surface and the container-side sealing surface are in close contact,
The lid is formed with a lid-side abutting portion that abuts against a part of the container-side fitting portion at a stage before the lid-side fitting portion and the container-side fitting portion are internally fitted together,
The lid-side fitting portion is formed with a ventilation portion that opens outward and communicates between the inside and the outside of the lid,
At a stage before the lid-side fitting portion and the container-side fitting portion are internally fitted together, the ventilation portion is kept open outward by the lid-side abutting portion, A sealed container characterized by being closed when the sealing surface and the container-side sealing surface are in close contact with each other. a lid body having a lid-side fitting portion and a lid-side sealing surface formed inside the lid-side fitting portion;
A container-side fitting portion and a container body having a container-side sealing surface formed inside the container-side fitting portion,
A sealed container in which the lid-side fitting portion is externally fitted to the container-side fitting portion, and the lid-side sealing surface and the container-side sealing surface are in close contact,
The lid is formed with a lid-side abutting portion that abuts against a part of the container-side fitting portion in a stage before the lid-side fitting portion and the container-side fitting portion are externally fitted,
The lid-side fitting portion is formed with a ventilation portion that opens outward and communicates between the inside and the outside of the lid,
Before the lid-side fitting portion and the container-side fitting portion are externally fitted, the ventilation portion is kept open toward the outside by the lid-side abutment portion, and is open to the lid side. A sealed container characterized by being closed when the sealing surface and the container-side sealing surface are in close contact with each other. A vacuum gas replacement method using the sealed container according to claim 1 or 2,
The sealed container is arranged in an airtight sealed chamber, and the lid-side abutting portion is brought into contact with a part of the container-side fitting portion so that the lid-side fitting portion and the container-side fitting portion are engaged. a step prior to mating;
a step of extracting the air in the sealed chamber to the outside of the sealed chamber so that the air in the sealed container is also extracted to the outside of the sealed chamber through the ventilation section;
filling the sealed container with the replacement gas through the vent by injecting the replacement gas into the sealed chamber;
a step of fitting the lid-side fitting portion and the container-side fitting portion, and bringing the lid-side sealing surface and the container-side sealing surface into close contact with each other to seal the lid and the container body; A vacuum gas replacement method comprising:

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