JPH10101134A - Packaging container for food and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely seal with a sealing material and prevent occurrence of a space between the sealing material and the inside after sealing, by making deformable a part of the side wall or the bottom of a box-shaped container body with an opening, with external forces. SOLUTION: A deformable part 6 which is exchangeable to a raised bottom condition expanded inward or a lowered bottom condition expanded outward, is formed at the bottom of the container case 4 of the container body 2. The volume is increased to stuff food in the lowered condition of the bottom. After heat-sealing by a sealing material, an external force is applied on the bottom to push up the bottom and return the deformable part 6 to the raised condition. In this way, even when food of the same volume with the volume in the raised bottom condition as a normal condition is stuffed, a room is brought by the increased volume and the food level becomes lower than the opening edge. And hence, sealing defects brought by the viscous liquid of the food on heat- sealing can be prevented. And after returning to the raised bottom condition, since the space between the sealing material 3 and the contents is elimated, the sealing material does not become clouded with moisture.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a mushroom, bean sprouts,
The present invention relates to a packaging container for containing foods such as strawberries and a method for packaging foods using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, edible mushrooms, vegetables and fruits, livestock meat,
Some perishables such as seafood, such as maitake mushrooms,
Strawberries, hams, etc. are placed in a plastic transparent box-shaped packaging container to cover their weak points, and the top opening is covered with a transparent seal, which not only ensures quality, Stacking is possible because of the box-shaped packaging container, which facilitates handling in the distribution process and facilitates display.

[0003] On the other hand, nameko and sprouts, which are a kind of edible mushrooms, are generally sold in a transparent packaging bag. Therefore, nameko and bean sprouts are displayed without being piled up in large numbers.

[0004]

Problems such as nameko and bean sprouts can be piled up in a transparent box-shaped packaging container, which increases convenience in the distribution process and during display. Above is difficult. That is,
When the nameko and bean sprouts are filled in a box-shaped packaging container and then covered with a transparent sealing material and heat-sealed, the mucus of the lick gets into or adheres between the sealing material and the opening flange portion of the container, The thin roots of the bean sprouts tend to adhere to the sealing portion at the opening edge of the container and cause poor sealing.

[0005] In order to eliminate the sealing failure, the difference is eliminated to some extent by providing a height difference so that a space is formed between the opening edge of the container and the contents without filling the container until it is full. be able to.

[0006] However, if the contents such as nameko are not full or almost full, when displayed, the consumer's willingness to purchase may be reduced. In other words, if the contents are almost full, there is a psychological satisfaction and the purchase will be enhanced. However, if the contents are not full and there is a space between the contents and the sealing material, psychological satisfaction will be obtained. Is difficult to give to the buyer.

Further, if a space is created between the sealed transparent sealing material and the tanning, it is difficult to see the nameko as compared with the case where the tanko is in close contact with the back surface of the transparent sealing material, and the transparent sealing material is exposed to moisture from the inside. There is a problem that it becomes cloudy and difficult to see.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and does not impair the reliability of the operation of filling the food with the content and then sealing with the sealing material, and furthermore, the space between the sealing material and the content after the sealing. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a packaging container which is difficult to produce, and which allows the contents to be easily seen, and a packaging method using the same.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed to achieve the above object, and the food packaging container according to the first aspect of the present invention has a side wall or a bottom portion of a box-shaped container body having an opening. Can be converted into a first state that bulges inward and a second state that bulges outward, and maintains one of the first state and the second state as long as no external force is applied. A deformed portion having a shape-retaining property is formed.

In this packaging container, when the deformed portion is converted into the first state, the volume decreases, and when converted into the second state, the volume increases.

In the food packaging container according to the second aspect, the bottom of the container main body can be converted into a first state as a raised bottom and a second state as a lowered bottom, and an external force is applied. A deformed portion having a shape-retaining property for maintaining one of the first state and the second state unless otherwise provided is formed.

This packaging container has a small volume when the bottom of the container body is in the raised bottom state, and has a large volume when the bottom is in the lowered bottom state.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a food packaging method according to the present invention, wherein the food is packed by lowering the bottom of the container body in the food packaging container, and then filling the opening of the container body with a sheet-like seal. After the material is covered and the sealing material is heat-sealed to the opening edge of the container main body, the bottom of the container main body is changed to a raised bottom state.

That is, when packing food, the bottom of the container body is lowered to the bottom state to increase the volume, and even if a predetermined amount of food is packed, the mucus of the food contaminates the opening edge of the container body. To avoid this, after the food is packed, the container is returned to the raised bottom state to reduce the volume so that the container body in the raised bottom state is filled with food.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the food packaging method, the bottom of the container body in the food packaging container is lowered to the bottom state, the atmosphere is reduced in pressure, and the food is packed. A sheet-like sealing material is placed over the opening of the container, and the sealing material is heat-sealed at the opening edge of the container body. Thereafter, the reduced pressure state of the atmosphere is released to the atmospheric pressure, and the pressure difference between the internal pressure and the atmospheric pressure is released. Is used to change the bottom of the container body to a raised bottom state.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3, a packaging container 1 of the present embodiment includes a transparent plastic box-shaped container main body 2 and a plastic transparent and air-permeable sheet-like sealing material 3 functioning as a lid material for the main body. Consists of

The bottom of the container body 2 can be changed into a lowered bottom state and a raised bottom state, and has a shape retaining property of maintaining one of the lowered bottom state and the raised bottom state unless an external force is applied. A part 6 is formed.

That is, the container body 2 has a rectangular box shape as a whole having an opening on the upper surface, and a storage case portion 4 for containing food and an outward flange forming an opening edge of the opening. The bottom of the storage case part 4 is provided with a deformable part 6 which can be converted into a raised bottom state (first state) bulging inside and a lowered bottom state (second state) bulging outside. Are formed.

In the case of this embodiment, the deformed portion 6 of the container body 2
Is molded in advance so as to exhibit an upwardly convex (small volume) raised bottom state (first state) when the storage case portion 4 is molded. The upwardly convex deformed portion 6 has a rectangular base surface and is formed in a trapezoidal longitudinal section (FIG. 2). When a force is applied from above, the deformed portion 6 bends at the outer ridge line 7 and the inner ridge line 8 of the trapezoid. The direction is reversed, and it is formed so as to be deformable from a first state convex upward (FIG. 2) to a second state convex downward (FIG. 1). However, the deformed portion 6 may be formed in advance as a mounting polygonal pyramid having a trapezoidal cross section based on a polygon or a circle other than the above. In short, any shape may be used as long as it can be converted into the first state bulging inward and the second state bulging outward. In particular, when the base surface has a shape without corners, for example, a circle,
When the state is changed, the stress is not concentrated due to the absence of the corners, and the state is distributed almost uniformly over the entire length of the inner and outer ridge lines. Therefore, the state can be changed smoothly without overload.

According to the packaging container 1 having the above-described structure, when filling the container body 2 with food, as shown in FIG. If the volume is increased by deforming the food into the normal state, even if the same amount of food as the normal volume in the normal raised bottom state (first state) is packed, there is room for the increased amount of food, and Is lower than the opening edge. Therefore, even if a predetermined amount of nameko is put into the container body 2 and the upper opening is covered with the sealing material 3 made of transparent plastic, it is possible to prevent the mucus and the like of the nameko from being attached to the flange portion 5. For this reason, even when the package body 2 is heat-sealed with the sealing material 3 at the flange portion 5, there is no inconvenience such as poor sealing due to the mucus of food adhered to the flange portion 5.

After the heat sealing, when the deformed portion 6 is returned to a raised bottom state (the first state in FIG. 2) by applying a force to the bottom from below and from the outside to raise the deformed portion 6 upward, the increased volume is obtained. Is reduced to the normal volume, so that the food (nameko) is pushed up and adheres to most of the transparent plastic sealing material 3. Therefore,
There is almost no space between the transparent sealing material 3 and the contents, for example, licking, and the inconvenience that the transparent sealing material is cloudy from the inside due to moisture and difficult to see is avoided, and the contents are sufficiently packed from the outside. It will be seen as a state. Further, when the content nameko comes into close contact with the back surface of the sealing material 3, the air layer between them disappears, so that the content nameko can be directly seen through the sealing material 3 and the nameko can be seen clearly.

When packing the food in the container body 2, it is desirable to fill the food so that the center portion is slightly raised as shown in FIG. By doing so, the level of food near the opening edge (near the side wall) is further reduced, adhesion of mucus and the like can be more reliably prevented, and when the deformed portion 6 is returned to the first state, The food comes into close contact with the back surface of the sealing material 3 to make it easier to see from the outside.

When the sealing material 3 is heat-sealed, the level of the food is lower than the opening edge, so that there is a little air inside, so that the deformed portion 6 is returned to the first state and the sealing is performed at the time. Although the material tends to bulge upward, if the air-permeable sealing material 3 is used, the air inside the sealing material 3 will be removed with the lapse of time after the end of the heat sealing.
And the sealing material 3 returns to a substantially flat state.

Next, FIG. 4 shows a food packaging method using the packaging container 1. Here, a description will be given by taking as an example an edible mushroom mushroom as a food. First, as shown in FIG. 4A, the container main body 2 is prepared. At this time, the bottom of the storage case portion 4 is shaped in advance during the molding of the container body 2 so that the deformed portion 6 is in a first state (FIG. 2) in which the deformed portion 6 is projected upward, that is, swells inward.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the tip of the injection pipe 9 for filling the mushroom is inserted into the container body 2 from above, and the tip of the injection pipe 9 is inserted into the storage case 4. By pushing down the bottom, the deformed portion 6 is converted (reversed) into a second state in which the trapezoidal ridge lines 7 and 8 are convexly curved downward, that is, outwardly bulging outward.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4 (c), the injection pipe 9 is slightly raised to discharge the nameko 10 from the tip thereof, and a predetermined amount of the nameko 10 is filled in the storage case portion 4. At this time, since the storage case part 4 is in a state of being convex (large in volume) downward, the nameko 10 does not overflow, and does not become full. It fits in the storage case part 4 leaving a margin from the edge. Therefore, the flange portion 5 of the container body 2 is
The disadvantage of being contaminated with zero mucus is avoided.

After the content of the nameko (mushroom) 10 has been placed in the storage case 4 in this manner, the opening is then covered with a transparent sealing material 3 as shown in FIG. Is sealed by the heat seal 11 at the flange portion 5. This heat seal 11 is performed favorably because no food mucus or the like adheres to the flange portion 5.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4 (e), after heat sealing, the deformed portion 6 is raised upward by applying an external force 12 from below to the bottom of the storage case portion 4 by an air cylinder or the like. To the first state. As a result, the volume of the storage case portion 4 is reduced (the volume is small), and the contents of the nameko 10 are pushed up and adhere to the transparent plastic sealing material 3. Therefore, it is possible to see the nameko directly through the sealing material 3 without passing through the air layer, so that not only the nameko looks clear but also the state that the contents are sufficiently clogged. Further, since there is no air layer between the sealing material 3 and the nameko 10, the inconvenience that the transparent sealing material 3 is clouded by moisture from the inside and is difficult to see is avoided.

Strictly speaking, when returning to the first state of upward convexity (small volume), the air inside is somewhat pressed down, and the sealing material 3 tends to expand. However, since an air permeable material is used as the seal material 3, the internal air escapes to the outside after a required time has elapsed, and the seal material 3 is completely adhered to the food inside.

In the above embodiment, the bottom is pushed down by the injection pipe 9, but the state may be changed by pressing with a member separate from the injection pipe such as an air cylinder.
The bottom state changing step and the filling step may be performed separately.

Further, the inside of the decompression chamber (the depressurized state in which the atmosphere is lower than the atmospheric pressure) is filled with the contents and heat sealing of the sealing material 3 is performed. The bottom portion may be returned to the first state in which the bottom is convexed upward by a pressure difference from the pressure in the packaging container 1.
This eliminates the need for equipment such as an air cylinder that pushes the bottom back to the first state. In addition, since the sealing material 3 has air permeability, the pressure in the packaging container 1 also becomes the atmospheric pressure as the required time elapses, so that the sealing material 3 does not bend unnaturally.

In the embodiment described above, the case where the deformed portion 6 is formed at the bottom is described. However, the deformed portion according to the present invention is not limited to the one formed at the bottom, and is formed, for example, at the side wall of the storage case 4. You may. Further, the number of the deformed portions may be single or plural.

The food stored in the packaging container according to the present invention is not limited to nameko, but may be other food such as sprouts or oysters.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, even food that could not be packaged using a box-shaped packaging container such as nameko and bean sprouts can be packaged in the box-shaped packaging container. So that they can pile up, as well as protect weak foods,
Convenience during distribution process and display is enhanced. And
The following effects are obtained during and after the packaging process.

According to the food packaging container of the first aspect, the part of the side wall or the bottom of the container main body can be converted into the first state bulging inside and the second state bulging outside. Since a deformed portion having a shape-retaining property for maintaining one of the first state and the second state as long as no external force is applied is formed, the internal volume is increased by changing the state of the deformed portion. Or smaller. Therefore,
If a predetermined amount of food is put in the second state having a large volume, the put food does not fill up to the opening. For this reason, when closing the opening, it is possible to avoid that the food in the inside hinders the sealing, and it is possible to securely seal. And
When the deformed part is converted to the first state to reduce the internal volume,
The food contained in the container increases in appearance and appears to be full or almost full, so that consumers can be motivated to purchase.

According to the food packaging container of the present invention, the bottom of the container main body can be converted into the first state as the raised bottom and the second state as the lowered bottom, and the external force is applied. Since the deformed portion having the shape-retaining property of maintaining one of the first state and the second state is formed unless the first state is added, for example, the bottom of the container body is shaped in advance as the first state of the raised bottom, and the food is formed in advance. Can be used to change the shape to the second state of the lowering bottom only when packing. That is, when packing the food, it is possible to prevent the mucus and the like of the food from contaminating the opening edge of the container body by increasing the volume by setting the bottom down state,
Then, after the food is packed, the volume is reduced by returning to the first state of the raised bottom, whereby a space is prevented from being formed between the sealing material and the content, and the content can be maintained in a state in which the content is easy to see. Further, when the deformed portion is formed at the bottom, the deformed portion is easily pressed by mechanical means to change the state, and the suitability when using the automatic packaging device is good.

According to the food packaging method of the third aspect,
The food is packed with the bottom of the container body in the food packaging container lowered to the bottom state, and then the sheet-like sealing material is covered over the opening of the container body and the sealing material is heat-sealed to the opening edge of the container body, and then the container is opened. Since the bottom of the main body is changed to the raised bottom state, when packing food, the bottom of the container main body is lowered to the bottom state and the volume is increased, and even if a predetermined amount of food is packed, the mucus etc. of the food will be reduced. Almost no contamination of the opening edge of the container body. Therefore, the workability of packing the food is good. Also, after filling the food, it is returned to the raised bottom state to reduce the volume, so that a state in which the food is fully filled in the container body in the raised bottom state appears, and thus the space between the transparent sealing material and the contents is displayed. A space is prevented from being formed in the space, and a state in which the contents are easy to see is maintained.

According to the food packaging method of the present invention, the bottom of the container body in the container is lowered to the bottom state, and the food is packed with the atmosphere reduced in pressure. A sheet-like sealing material is placed over the opening of the container, and the sealing material is heat-sealed at the opening edge of the container body. Thereafter, the reduced pressure state of the atmosphere is released to the atmospheric pressure, and the pressure difference between the internal pressure and the atmospheric pressure is released. As a result, the bottom of the container main body is changed to the raised bottom state, so that it is not necessary to return the bottom.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a food packaging container in a state in which food is filled in a second state in which a deformed portion bulges outward and sealed with a sealing material.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a food packaging container in a first state in which a deformed portion is bulged inward after food is filled and sealed with a sealing material.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a container main body of the food packaging container.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a food packaging method of the present invention;
(A) is a cross-sectional view in a raised bottom state in which the deformed portion swells inward, (b) is a cross-sectional view in a lowered bottom state in which the deformed portion is pushed down by an injection pipe, and (c) is a mushroom injected from the injection pipe. FIG. 4D is a cross-sectional view in a state in which the sheet-like sealing material covering the opening is heat-sealed, and FIG. 4E is a cross-sectional view in a state in which the deformed portion is returned to the raised bottom state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Packaging container 2 Container main body 3 Sealing material 4 Storage case part 5 Flange part 6 Deformation part 7 Outer ridge line 8 Inner ridge line 9 Injection pipe 10 Nameko 11 Heat seal 12 External force

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A part of a side wall or a bottom part of a box-shaped container body having an opening is convertible into a first state swelling inside and a second state swelling outside, and an external force is applied. A food packaging container characterized by forming a deformable portion having a shape-retaining property for maintaining one of the first state and the second state as long as the state is not added. 2. The container according to claim 1, wherein said first container has a raised bottom.
Can be converted into a state and a lowered second state,
A food packaging container characterized by forming a deformable portion having a shape-retaining property for maintaining one of the first state and the second state as long as no external force is applied. 3. A food packing method wherein the bottom of the container body in the food packaging container is lowered and the food is packed, and then the opening of the container body is covered with a sheet-like sealing material, and the sealing material is heated on the opening edge of the container body. A method of packaging food, wherein after sealing, the bottom of the container body is raised to a bottom state. 4. A food packaging container wherein the bottom of the container body is lowered to the bottom state, the atmosphere is reduced in pressure and the food is packed, and then the sheet-like sealing material is placed over the opening of the container body in the reduced pressure state. The sealing material is heat-sealed to the opening edge of the container body, and then the depressurized state of the atmosphere is released and returned to the atmospheric pressure, and the bottom of the container body is raised to the bottom state due to the pressure difference between the internal pressure and the atmospheric pressure. A food packaging method characterized by causing the food to be packaged.