JPH0648473A - Foaming container for refrigeration and cold insulation - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a foaming container for use for refrigeration and cold insulation which, when fresh fish or fruits and vegetables are stored therein for refrigeration or cold insulation, prevents the collection of the water and drip oozing out from the refrigerated contents on the bottom of the container to avoid the impregnation therewith of the contents and maintains and improves the air tightness and cold insulation function of the container. CONSTITUTION:A container body 10 is provided in the interior of its bottom wall 14 with a plurality of passages 24, each of which has a plurality of holes 22 communicating with the interior surface of the bottom in order for the water and drip oozing out from the refrigerated contents to be collected in the passages 24 and thus separated from the contents. On the other hand, the water and drip collected in the passages 24 are frozen to improve the cold insulation function of a foaming container 12 for use for refrigeration and cold insulation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a freezing / cooling foam container, and more particularly, a freezing / cooling apparatus for freezing or refrigerating a pre-cooled object in a foam container. The present invention relates to a foam container for keeping cold.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, foam containers made of foam resin have been used for the transportation of fresh foods such as fresh fish and fruit vegetables from the viewpoints of lightness, heat insulation and supply stability. Has come into wide use. In particular, in order to maintain the freshness of fresh food products, it is preferable to freeze the fresh food products or cool them to a low temperature and then transport them while maintaining their condition. Excellent foam containers are used.

The foam container used for freezing and transporting fresh fish will now be described. As shown in FIG. 12, one example thereof is a foam container that is composed of a plurality of container bodies 3 in which a bottom 1 and a side wall 2 are integrally molded of foam resin, and a lid (not shown). The lower container body 3 is sealed by stacking the lower container bodies 3 and the uppermost container body 3 is covered with a lid so that the container body 3 can be sealed. Pre-frozen fresh fish 4 is put in the container body 3, or fresh fresh fish 4 is put in the container body 3 and the fresh fish 4 is frozen and frozen in the container body 3 and kept cold so as not to be thawed. Was. By the way, when the fresh fish 4 is thawed in the container body 3 or when the fresh fresh fish 4 is put in the container body 3, a drip such as blood juice flows out from the fresh fish 4 into the container body 3, or Since the drainage and the like adhering to the container accumulates in the container body 3, the drip and the adsorbent 5 made of a water-absorbent polymer that absorbs the drainage are laid on the bottom 1 of the container body 3.

However, when the blood juice is adsorbed on the adsorbent 5, the blood juice can be seen from the outside, so that the appearance is poor and the commercial value of the fresh fish 4 is reduced. Also,
Since the fresh fish 4 is placed in contact with the adsorbent 5 that has adsorbed blood juice or the like, the fresh fish 4 is discolored or its freshness is reduced at the contact portion. Moreover, since the adsorbent 5 is used, there is a problem that the cost is high and it takes time to lay the adsorbent 5 on the bottom 1. Further, if the amount of the drainage or the like adhering to the fresh fish 4 itself is very large and the amount of adsorption of the adsorbent 5 is insufficient, the drainage will be frozen in the state of being accumulated at the bottom of the container body 3, The frozen drainage liquid will damage the fresh fish 4.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, the container body 6
There is also used a foaming container in which a drainage hole 8 is provided in the bottom 7 and a drip such as drainage or blood juice is poured out from the drainage hole 8 to the outside. However, although this foaming container solves the above-mentioned problems caused by blood and drainage, it has a problem that airtightness and cold insulation are deteriorated. That is, the drainage hole 8
Since the outside air flows into the container body 6 via the, the frozen fresh fish 4 is easily thawed, and the water vaporized from the surface of the frozen fresh fish 4 goes out from the drain hole 8 to the outside. As a result, the surface of the fresh fish 4 may be discolored or dried.

[0006] Therefore, the present inventors can eliminate the drip and the like so that the frozen object such as fresh fish or the object to be kept cold does not come into direct contact with the drip or drainage flowing out from them, and the airtightness is obtained. As a result of intensive studies to obtain a freezing / cooling foam container having heat-retaining and cold-retaining properties, the present invention has been achieved.

[0007]

The gist of a foam container for freezing / cooling according to the present invention is a foam container in which a container body composed of a bottom and a side wall is integrally formed of foam resin. A water retaining means having an opening opening to the inner surface of the bottom is built in the bottom of the container body.

In this freezing / cooling foam container, the water retaining means is one or a plurality of empty chambers formed in the bottom of the container body.

In the freezing / cooling foam container, the water retaining means is a means for retaining water by using the adhesive force of one or more water formed on the bottom of the container body.

Further, in such a freezing / cooling foam container, a cold storage agent is disposed in a part or all of the water retaining means.

Further, in such a freezing / cooling foam container, a cold storage means is built in the container body of the foam container or a lid covering the container body.

[0012]

In the freezing / cooling foam container of the present invention, the water retaining means is built in the bottom of the container body, and the water retaining means is opened to the inner surface side of the container body. Therefore, when putting frozen objects such as fresh fish and cold-insulated objects such as fruits and vegetables in the container body of the foamed container, the water etc. adhering to them was not accumulated at the bottom of the container body but was built into the bottom. It will accumulate in the water retention means. As a result, frozen objects are not soaked in water etc. inside the container body, so it is possible to prevent deterioration or spoilage, and in the case of fresh fish, the blood juice from it enters the water retention means. Since it is almost invisible from the outside, there is a sense of cleanliness and the product value is high.

Here, the water retaining means is a vacant chamber which is formed integrally with the bottom of the container body and is capable of accumulating water or the like, and is formed by a recessed portion or a groove, or a vacant chamber formed by fitting another member. Each of them is provided with an opening so that a liquid such as water flows from the inside of the container body into the empty chamber. Further, the water retaining means can be constituted by means capable of retaining water by utilizing the adhesive force of water or the adhesive force and surface tension. That is, the slit-shaped or dot-shaped pores formed in the bottom of the container body are used to retain water by utilizing the capillary phenomenon, or the liquid is accumulated in the pores due to the adhesive force and surface tension of the liquid. You can keep water.

Further, a known cold storage agent may be provided in a part or all of the water retention means built in the bottom of the container body, and the cold storage agent may be frozen to improve the cold retention property.

Next, the freezing / cooling foam container according to the present invention is provided with a lid body which is placed on either the bottom or side wall of the container body or the container body, in addition to the water retaining means provided on the bottom of the container body. The cold storage means can be built in, and the freezing / cooling foam container can be kept cold for a long period of time by this cold storage means.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a freezing / cooling foam container according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 is a container body of a freezing / cooling foam container 12 according to the present invention.
0 is covered with a lid (not shown) to be hermetically sealed. In this container body 10, a bottom 14 and a side wall 16 are integrally formed of foamed resin. The container body 10 and the lid are formed of expanded polystyrene resin, expanded polyolefin resin such as expanded polyethylene or expanded polypropylene, expanded resin obtained by expanding a copolymer of styrene and ethylene or propylene, expanded polyurethane, or the like. The expanded polystyrene resin is the most preferable in terms of cost. Further, the container body 10 and the lid may be formed of a single body of these foamed resins,
For example, aluminum vapor-deposited film is laminated or inserted inside or inside a foam container to improve heat insulation and airtightness, or one in which a foamed resin body is laminated or inserted inside or inside a cardboard box. May be. Further, these may be extruded polystyrene foam, so-called polystyrene paper by vacuum forming method, or polypropylene cardboard.

The opening of the container body 10 is constructed so that the convex strip 18 formed on the end of the side wall 16 and the concave strip formed on the lid are fitted and sealed. In addition, a concave strip 20 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the bottom 14 of the container body 10. When a plurality of container bodies 10 are stacked and used, the convex strip 18 of the lower container body 10 and the upper container body 1 are used.
It is configured so that the recessed streak 20 of 0 is fitted to seal the lower container body 10. The container body 10 is formed into a size capable of accommodating several fish arranged side by side according to the size of the fish to be stored, such as fresh fish such as sea bream or flatfish or salted fish such as salt mackerel. It is needless to say that the fitting relationship between the convex stripes and the concave stripes formed on the container body and the lid body may be opposite to that of the above-described embodiment.

Inside the bottom 16 of the container body 10, there are formed a plurality of recesses 24 having an opening 22 that opens to the inner surface thereof. Through the openings 22, the recesses 24 are drip-dried or drained of fish blood or the like. It is formed so that the liquid collects. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 2B, the concave portion 24 has a substantially spherical shape, and the maximum diameter of the concave portion 24 is formed to be larger than the diameter of the opening 22 so that a large amount of liquid is accumulated inside. Is configured. The recessed portion 24 having such a shape is integrally molded at the same time when the container body 10 is molded, and the mold for the recessed portion 24 is released by elastically deforming the foamed resin of the opening 22.

Foam container 1 for freezing / cooling having the above structure
In FIG. 2, first of all, an object to be frozen such as salted fish such as salt mackerel and fresh fish is put in the container body 10. Drainage of water or the like adhering to the object to be frozen or drip such as blood juice flowing out from the object to be frozen flows through the bottom 14 of the container body 10 and into the recess 24 from the opening 22. When the drip or the like flows into the concave portion 24, the frozen object and the drip or the like are placed in a separated state. After that, the container body 10 is placed in a freezer without being hermetically closed, and the frozen object is frozen. The frozen object is frozen in a state where it is separated from the drip and the like, while the concave portion 2
The drip etc. accumulated in 4 are also frozen at the same time. After the object to be frozen is frozen, the foam container 12 for freezing / cooling
When the container is carried out from the freezer, the container bodies 10 are stacked and the uppermost container body 10 is covered with a lid to seal the container body 10.

As described above, the upper opening of the container body 10 is sealed by the covered lid and the bottom 14 of the container body 10, and the inside of the container body 10 is kept cool and airtight, and is frozen inside. The object is prevented from so-called freezing and burning, and is hardly affected by fluctuations in the outside temperature, and is kept at a substantially constant temperature. Further, since the liquid such as the drip is frozen in the recessed portion 24 formed in the bottom 14 of the container body 10, this frozen liquid is stored in the container body 10.
It will increase the heat insulation effect inside. Further, the inside of the foam container 12 is kept airtight, but even when the humidity inside the container 12 is lowered, the frozen drip or the like evaporates from the recessed portion 24 to replenish the water, and the frozen object Does not dry out.

When a frozen object to be frozen is put in the foam container 12 as described above, when the frozen object is thawed and drip or drainage such as blood juice flows out, The drip is the bottom 1 of the container body 10.
The object to be frozen does not flow into the recessed portion 24 formed in No. 4 and dipped in the container body 10 or the like. Therefore, thawing of the frozen object is not promoted, and it does not decompose or discolor. Further, since blood and the like flows into the concave portion 24 in this way, on the surface,
Almost no blood is visible, and it is possible to maintain a clean appearance.

Although one embodiment of the freezing / cooling foam container according to the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention can be implemented in other forms.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the freezing / cooling foam container 26 according to the present invention has a container body 28 having a plurality of bag-shaped grooves 34 having slit-shaped openings 32 formed in a bottom 30 thereof. May be. The bag-shaped groove 34 may have a circular cross-section, or may have an oval shape as shown in FIG. 3 (a), or may have an angled bottom as shown in FIG. 3 (b). It may be bottle-shaped and is not limited in any way. By forming the bag-shaped groove 34 in the bottom 30 in this way, it is possible to set a large amount of water retention and reduce the area in which the object to be frozen or the object to be cooled contacts the drip or drainage. , The maintenance of quality is ensured.

Further, in the above embodiment, the bag-shaped groove 34 is integrally formed at the same time when the container body 28 is formed, and the groove 34 is formed.
Since the molding die is removed by utilizing the elasticity of the foamed resin, there is a limit to the size ratio of the groove 34 and the opening 32 that can be integrally molded. Therefore, when a larger amount of water retention is set in the container body, it is possible to use a separate member.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), a slit-shaped or dot-shaped opening 40 is provided in the bottom 38 of the container body 36, and a bag-shaped groove 42 as a water retaining means is built in the bottom 38. It is also possible. As shown in FIG. 2B, such a water retaining means first forms a slit-shaped or dot-shaped opening 40 and a long groove-shaped recess 41 in the bottom 38 of the container body 36, and separates the recess 41 into the recess 41. , A container 44 made of resin or the like is fitted and joined to form a bag-shaped groove 42 as shown in FIG. In such a configuration, the container body 36 can be reinforced by forming the container 44 from a hard resin or the like. Further, with such a configuration, in the work of molding the container body 36, the mold release is facilitated and the workability is improved.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a long groove-shaped concave portion 49 is provided inside the bottom 48 of the container body 46, and the cover member 50 is fitted into the concave portion 49 to serve as a water retaining means. The groove 52 may be formed. The cover member 50 is provided with a slit-shaped or dot-shaped opening 54, and the drip or the drainage is configured to flow through the opening 54. Further, it is preferable that the cover member 50 is fitted into the recessed portion 49 so as to form the groove 56. By forming the groove 56, drip and the like can be efficiently collected and poured into the bag-shaped groove 52. Become.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to provide a water retaining chamber 62 consisting of one chamber on the bottom 60 of the container body 58. In this way, almost the entire area of the bottom 60 is kept in the water retention chamber 6
By setting the number to 2, the drip and the like can be accumulated without being biased, and when the drip and the like accumulated in the water retention chamber 62 is frozen, the entire area of the bottom 60 can be uniformly kept cold.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), a plurality of pores 68 are provided in the bottom 66 of the container body 64, and the pores 68 are made to retain water such as drip by utilizing a capillary phenomenon. It may be configured as follows. The pores 68 are not limited to dot-shaped holes but may be slit-shaped holes, and are not limited in any way. Here, the pores 68 may be formed to have the same diameter as shown in FIG. 8B, but may be provided with an enlarged diameter portion 70 as shown in FIG. 8A. By providing the expanded portion 70,
It is possible to prevent the drainage of water or the like outside the container body 64 from being sucked up by the capillary phenomenon. Further, instead of the dot-shaped or slit-shaped pores 68, FIG.
As shown in (b), the water absorbing member 72 may be arranged to retain water. As the water absorbing member 72, a bundle of fibers arranged in one direction or a porous body is used.

Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the fine pores 68 are constituted by slits or pores having a gap that causes a capillary phenomenon. However, due to the adhesive force of water and the surface tension, water is introduced into the fine pores 68. It is also possible to set the diameter of the pores 68 to a large value so that they can be held. By forming the pores 68 in this way, when a liquid such as water is stored in the container body 64, the liquid in the container body 64 is discharged to the outside through the pores 68 due to the gravity of the liquid. On the other hand, when the liquid disappears from the bottom 66 of the container body 64 to the upper part, the liquid is retained in the pores 68 by its adhesive force and surface tension. When the substance to be frozen is frozen in such a state, the liquid in the pores 68 is also frozen, and the pores 68 are closed, so that the airtightness inside the container body 64 is maintained.

Various embodiments of the freezing / cooling foam container provided with the water retaining means according to the present invention have been described above.
The water retention means can be appropriately configured. Further, by freezing the liquid such as water accumulated by the water retaining means, it becomes possible to keep the frozen object or the object to be cooled in the container main body for a long period of time. By disposing the cold storage agent, it becomes possible to keep cold for a longer period. As the cold storage agent, known ones can be used, and those harmless to humans and animals are particularly preferable. The cool storage agent may be directly disposed in, for example, the recessed portion 24 shown in FIG. 1 or the bag-shaped groove 34 shown in FIG. 2, but it is disposed so that the cool storage agent does not leak outside by surface treatment. May be. Further, only the cool storage agent may be frozen in advance, and the frozen cool storage agent may be disposed in the recess 24 or the like, without any limitation.

It is also possible to construct the water retention means and the cold storage means separately. For example, as shown in FIG.
In the bottom 76 of the container body 74, a bag-shaped groove 80 having an opening 78 opened on the upper surface is incorporated as a water retention means, and a cool storage chamber 82 containing a cool storage agent is provided separately from the bag-shaped groove 80. It is possible to configure it. Also,
As shown in FIG. 10, it is also possible to provide one water retention chamber 88 in the substantially central portion of the bottom 86 of the container main body 84 and to provide the cold storage chamber 90 in the outer peripheral portion. In addition, the cold storage chamber can be built in the side wall.

Furthermore, in order to improve the cold insulation of the freezing / cooling foam container, as shown in FIG. 11, it is possible to dispose a cold storage chamber 94 in the lid 92 that closes the opening of the container body. By providing the cool storage chamber 94 in the lid body 92, the inside of the container body can be cooled from the upper portion and kept cool, and thus can be kept cold for a long time.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above drawings. For example, the foam container shown in the above-mentioned embodiment shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a container body having a conventional shape, but the present invention is a state in which a plurality of foam containers are bound with a string or the like, and the frozen object is stored in the container. The present invention is also applicable to a foam container having a ventilation port developed so that the liquid can be frozen, and is not limited at all.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, an example in which fresh seafood including salted fish such as salt mackerel and fresh fish is stored in a foam container and frozen is described. However, the foam container for freezing / cooling according to the present invention. Can also be applied to cold storage containers.
Here, the cold-storage container is a container for cooling fruit vegetables and the like to maintain their low temperature state in order to maintain the freshness of the fruit vegetables and the like when shipping the fruit vegetables and the like to the market. The shape of such a cool container is set according to the type of fruit and vegetables to be put therein, and the shape and size are not limited in the present invention. In the method of cooling the object to be kept cold such as fruits and vegetables stored in the cold container, the object to be kept cold is brought into direct contact with cold air, or by making a pressure difference between the inside and outside of the container to bring it into contact with cold air that has been forcibly sucked Alternatively, there is a method of exposing the object to be cooled to a reduced pressure to evaporate water from the surface of the object to be cooled to remove latent heat, but other than that, a frozen regenerator is provided in the reserving means, or a regenerator is provided. It is also possible to freeze the lid body in a freezer and to keep the container body cool by sealing the container body with the lid body.

Further, the strength of the freezing / cooling foam container may be enhanced by molding only the side wall of the container body with foam beads having a low expansion ratio. Further, not only changing the expansion ratio, but also changing the type of foamed resin, for example, the side wall of the container body is made of a polystyrene / polyethylene copolymer resin foam, and the bottom of the container body is made of another foam such as polystyrene. It may be integrally molded using a known partial two-layer molding method. By doing so, the foam of polystyrene and polyethylene copolymer resin, which has high flexibility and is difficult to break, but has the property of being easily deformed, and the characteristics of polystyrene foam, which has the property of being hard and difficult to be deformed, but having the property of being easily broken It is possible to obtain a high-strength freezing / cooling foam container provided with. It should be noted that the combination and mixing ratio of the foamed resin can be appropriately set in consideration of the use and cost of the freezing / cooling foaming container, and are not limited to the above examples.

Various embodiments of the present invention have been described above.
The freezing / cooling foam container according to the present invention can be configured by appropriately combining the above-mentioned embodiments. Other,
When a partition plate for partitioning the inside of the foam container for freezing / cooling is used, the present invention can be applied to the partition plate, etc., within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.
The present invention can be implemented with various improvements, modifications and changes based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0038]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION Since the container body of the foaming container for freezing / cooling according to the present invention has a built-in water-retaining means having an opening opening to the inner surface side, the frozen objects such as fresh fish and fruits and vegetables, etc. The water adhering to the object to be kept cold or the juice flowing out from the fresh fish or the like is stored in the water holding means through the opening, and the object to be frozen or the like is not immersed in the liquid such as water. Therefore, when the frozen object is frozen, it is not frozen in ice, and the object to be kept cold is not submerged in cold water. There is nothing to do. Further, by freezing the water or the like stored in the water retention means together with the frozen object, it is possible to improve the cold insulation effect, and not only can it be kept cold for a long period of time, but also while keeping the temperature in the foam container at a low temperature state. It is possible to leave it exposed to the open air for hours.

Further, the cold storage effect can be further enhanced by disposing the cold storage agent in a part or all of the water holding means of the foaming container for freezing / cooling according to the present invention. Further, by incorporating a cold storage means for storing cold in which a cold storage agent or the like is provided in the bottom or side wall of the container body of the freezing / cooling foam container or the lid body that covers the container body, foam having a cold insulation function is provided. The container can be constructed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a main part of a container body of a foaming container for freezing / cooling according to the present invention, FIG. 1 (a) is a fragmentary perspective view of the main part, and FIG. 1 (b) is a recessed part which is a water retention means FIG.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a main part of another embodiment of the container body of the freezing / cooling foam container according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 (a) and (b) are both the refrigeration and
It is a figure which shows the bag-shaped groove which is a water retention means of the container main body of the foam container for cold preservation.

FIG. 4 (a) is a front sectional view showing another embodiment of the container body of the freezing / cooling foam container according to the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional explanatory view for explaining the method for manufacturing the container body of the foam container for freezing / cooling shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a front sectional view showing another embodiment of the container body of the freezing / cooling foam container according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front sectional view showing still another embodiment of the container body of the freezing / cooling foam container according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 (a) is a front sectional view showing still another embodiment of the container body of the freezing / cooling foam container according to the present invention.
(b) is an explanatory view showing an enlarged main part of the container body shown in FIG.

8 (a) and 8 (b) are cross-sectional views of a main part showing still another embodiment of the container body of the foam container for freezing / cooling according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a front sectional view showing still another embodiment of the container body of the foam container for freezing / cooling according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a front sectional view showing still another embodiment of the container body of the freezing / cooling foam container according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a front sectional view showing an embodiment of a lid of a foam container for freezing / cooling according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a front cross-sectional view showing an example of a container body of a conventional freezing / cooling foam container.

FIG. 13 is a front cross-sectional view showing another example of the container body of the conventional foaming container for freezing / cooling.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 28, 36, 46, 58, 64, 74, 84; container body 12, 26; freezing / cooling foam container 14, 30, 38, 48, 60, 66, 76, 86; bottom 16; side wall 22, 32, 40, 54, 78; opening 24; recessed portion (water retaining means) 34, 42, 52, 80; bag-like groove (water retaining means) 62, 88; water retaining chamber (water retaining means) 68; pore (water retaining) Means) 72; Water absorbing member (water retaining means) 82, 90, 94; Cool storage chamber 92; Lid

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A foam container in which a container body composed of a bottom and a side wall is integrally formed of foamed resin, and a water retention means having an opening opening to an inner surface of the bottom is built in the bottom of the container body. A freezing / cooling foam container. 2. The freezing / cooling foam container according to claim 1, wherein the water retaining means is one or a plurality of empty chambers formed at the bottom of the container body. 3. The refrigerating machine according to claim 1, wherein the water retaining means is a means for retaining water by utilizing the adhesive force of one or more water formed on the bottom of the container body.
Foam container for cold storage. 4. The refrigerating / cooling foam container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a cool storage agent is provided in a part or all of the water retaining means. 5. The refrigerating / cooling foam container according to claim 1, wherein the container body of the foam container or a lid covering the container body has a built-in cold storage means.