KR20100034139A

KR20100034139A - Timer sensor which gradually change color upon exposure to steam and its application

Info

Publication number: KR20100034139A
Application number: KR1020080093124A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 유종완
Original assignee: 유종완
Priority date: 2008-09-23
Filing date: 2008-09-23
Publication date: 2010-04-01

Abstract

The present invention relates to a discoloration timer sensor using a material that changes color due to hydration reaction when exposed to water vapor and its application. The timer sensor may be provided in a state attached to one side of the cover portion or the main body of the disposable food container containing the contents that can be cooked by hot water. In this case, the consumer can easily check the elapsed time after the hot water is poured into the main body containing the contents that can be cooked by the hot water through the discoloration process of the discoloration timer. There is an advantage that you can eat foods cooked at the right time without your preference.

Description

TIMER SENSOR WHICH GRADUALLY CHANGE COLOR UPON EXPOSURE TO STEAM AND ITS APPLICATION

The present invention relates to a timer sensor that changes color over time when exposed to water vapor, and a food container with the timer sensor.

The general structure of disposable food containers such as cup noodles and instant soup soup is to seal the body of the container made of a material such as styrofoam with a cover. The consumer may open the whole or one side of the cover portion of the food container and inject hot water into the main body containing the contents, and then ingest the contents together with the broth as it is cooked by the hot water for a predetermined time.

Disposable food container according to the prior art has a problem that it is difficult to check the cooking state of the contents from the outside, typically, the consumer to input the hot water and wait for a predetermined time to ingest the contents. Accordingly, consumers have no choice but to check the cooking state indirectly using a product such as a separate watch.

However, it is cumbersome to check the progress of the cooking time using a separate clock, so most consumers do not check the cooking time in detail and open the lid of the food container to check the cooking state with the naked eye and then consume the contents. However, the confirmation of the cooking state by the naked eye is very inaccurate, there is a problem that the contents are ingested in a less ripe or too much ripe state.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, when cooking by putting hot water into the body of the one-time food container containing the contents, without checking the elapse of a predetermined time required for cooking using a separate clock, the food container By checking the discoloration state of the timer sensor attached to one side of the to facilitate the identification of the cooking time.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a discoloration timer sensor consisting of an outer moisture-proof layer located at the top, an inner moisture-permeable layer located at the bottom, and a discoloration layer positioned between the outer moisture-proof layer and the inner moisture-permeable layer. When the inner moisture-permeable layer is exposed to water vapor, discoloration proceeds in the discoloration layer as the exposure time elapses, which can be observed with the naked eye through the outer moisture-proof layer.

Alternatively, the outer moisture-proof layer may be made of transparent plastic or glass as a transparent film or thin plate.

In another method, the inner moisture-permeable layer may be one selected from the group consisting of a porous plastic film, a moisture-permeable foam sheet, a cloth, paper, and a combination thereof.

In another method, the discoloration layer is composed of a discoloration material and a matrix space, wherein the discoloration material is selected from the group consisting of inorganic materials, organic materials, and combinations thereof, which discolor as the hydration proceeds when exposed to water vapor. One, the matrix space may be a space filled with nitrogen or air, or a space filled with an organic or inorganic material serving as a binder to form a coating layer.

In another method, the discoloration material may be silica gel or copper sulfate crystals on which cobalt compounds are adsorbed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a main body capable of storing contents that can be cooked by hot water, a cover part attached to seal the inside of the upper part of the main body, and the discoloration timer coupled to one side of the main body or the cover part. It provides a food container including a sensor.

Alternatively, after pouring hot water into the main body containing the contents, it is possible to determine whether the proper time required for cooking the contents by observing the discoloration state of the discolored layer through the external moisture-proof layer of the timer sensor. have.

The timer sensor according to the present invention is composed of an outer moisture barrier layer, a discoloration layer, and an inner moisture barrier layer. When the inner moisture barrier layer is exposed to water vapor, discoloration proceeds in the discoloration layer as the exposure time elapses. It can be visually observed through the external moisture barrier. In the case of the food container with the timer sensor, the consumer can easily check the elapsed time after the hot water is poured into the main body containing the contents that can be cooked by the hot water through the discoloration process of the discoloration timer. As a result, the consumer has the advantage of eating foods cooked at a time appropriate to their preferences without time measurement by a separate clock.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a color change timer sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the timer sensor 1 is composed of an outer moisture barrier layer 3, a color change layer 9, and an inner moisture barrier layer 11. The discoloration layer 9 includes a discoloration material 5 and a matrix space 7. The thickness of each layer and the size of the discoloration material 5 in the drawings are exaggerated or reduced to help the understanding of the invention.

The outer moisture barrier layer 3 is made of a transparent material so that the discoloration layer 9 can be visually observed, and blocks the discoloration layer 9 from moisture in the air, and also through the inner moisture barrier layer 11. The water vapor reached in 9) is blocked from being released into the atmosphere. The external moisture barrier layer 3 may be a soft or hard film or plate made of transparent plastic or glass.

The matrix space 7 of the color fading layer 9 may be an empty space through which air can move through the internal moisture barrier layer 11. Alternatively, the discoloration layer 9 may be made of a very thin coating layer, in which case the matrix space 7 may be filled with an organic or inorganic material serving as a binder forming the coating layer.

The discoloration material 5 may be made of an inorganic material or an organic material that undergoes hydration when exposed to moisture such as water vapor. The discoloration material 5 may be located in the matrix space 7 composed of an empty space or a coating layer as particles having a diameter of at least micrometers that are visible to the naked eye. Alternatively, the discoloration material 5 may be evenly dispersed at the molecular or nanoparticle level which is not visible to the naked eye in the discoloration layer 9 formed of a thin coating layer. Examples of the discoloration material (5) include blue silica gel or cobalt sulfate crystals on which cobalt compounds are adsorbed. In the case of blue silica gel, it becomes blue in the dried state but turns red when it is hydrated by absorbing water vapor in the air, and copper sulfate crystals are colorless in the dried state, or they turn blue when they form a hydrate by absorbing moisture. .

The inner moisture permeable layer 11 is made of a material through which water vapor can pass, and is configured to support the discoloration layer 9. The material constituting the inner moisture permeable layer 11 may be a porous plastic film, a moisture-permeable foam, a cloth, paper, or a combination thereof. The inner moisture barrier layer 11 may act as a visual background of the color change layer 9 observed through the outer moisture barrier layer 3. The color of the inner moisture permeable layer 11 may be formed as one of white, black, and various color colors, or as a mosaic of the colors thereof, thereby forming a background color to clearly observe the color change of the discolored layer 9. It is desirable to.

In the state where the internal moisture permeable layer 11 of the discoloration timer sensor 1 is exposed to water vapor, the discoloration layer 9 may be hydrated to the extent that the discoloration state can be clearly observed with the naked eye through the external moisture barrier 3. The time is determined by various factors including the material and thickness of the inner moisture permeable layer 11, the composition of the matrix space 7, the chemical composition of the discolored material 5 used in the discolored layer 9, the particle size, and the like. Is determined.

By appropriately adjusting the various elements, it is possible to observe the discoloration state occurring in the discoloration layer 9 between 1 minute and 5 minutes after the internal moisture permeable layer 11 is exposed to water vapor.

First, with respect to the inner moisture-permeable layer 11, when the inner moisture-permeable layer 11 is a porous polypropylene film or a porous polytetrafluoroethylene film of hydrophobic material, the rate of discoloration is higher than that of the hydrophilic nonwoven fabric or cellulose filter paper. Is faster. In addition, if the inner moisture-permeable layer 11 is made of a laminate of multiple layers or increases in thickness, the speed of discoloration becomes slow.

In relation to the matrix space 7, the matrix space made of a gel or solid binder material slows the discoloration rate as compared with the matrix space made of empty space through which water vapor can freely enter and exit.

With regard to the discoloration material 5, the speed of discoloration depending on the chemical composition as well as the particle size is greatly affected. The difference in discoloration rate according to the size of the discoloring material (5) was qualitatively confirmed by the following experiment. Specifically, a test timer sensor was prepared by dispersing and dispersing the blue silica gel particles on a filter paper, and attaching a transparent adhesive tape on top of the filter paper and the blue silica gel particles. The timer sensor was exposed to water vapor generated by hot water in a cup, and the shortest time that the color of the discoloration layer 9 was changed to a level that was clearly measurable to the naked eye was measured. According to the experimental results, it was clearly observed that blue silica gel having an average particle diameter of about 1 mm turned red within 30 seconds of being exposed to water vapor, but blue silica gel having an average particle diameter of 3 mm was not visible until after about 10 minutes. It can be seen that discoloration to a level that can be confirmed.

When the discoloration timer sensor 1 is attached to each one-time food container containing various kinds of contents, the time taken until the contents are cooked to a level sufficient for food intake after pouring hot water is included in the food container. It should be considered that depending on the type of can vary between 1 minute and 5 minutes. In the case of the food container having the discoloration timer sensor 1 according to the present invention, the various factors affecting the time required for the discoloration of the timer sensor 1 to a level that can be clearly observed after exposure to water vapor. By combining them properly, they have the advantage that they can be properly applied to various foods.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the food container with a color change timer sensor. In the drawings, the thicknesses of the main body, the cover, the timer sensor, etc. are exaggerated or reduced in order to facilitate understanding of the invention.

2, the food container 21 is composed of a main body 23 and the cover portion 25. The main body 23 having a cross section of various shapes including a circle or a quadrangle is made of a lightweight insulating material such as styrofoam and may store contents 27 such as instant noodles or instant soup.

One side of the lid portion 25 is removed, and the discoloration timer sensor 29 having the structure as described above is attached to the space by appropriate attachment means. In this case, the outer moisture-proof layer of the color change timer sensor 29 is exposed toward the outside of the food container 21, the lower moisture-permeable layer is attached to be exposed toward the inside of the main body (23). Alternatively, the color change timer sensor 29 may be attached to the upper side of the main body 23 as well as the cover 25. Even in this case, a predetermined portion of the main body 23 should be removed so that the lower moisture-permeable layer of the timer sensor 29 is exposed toward the inside of the main body 23.

When the consumer pours hot water into the main body 23 containing the contents 27 for instant cooking, the timer sensor 29 is exposed to the steam 33 generated from the hot water 31, the time after exposure. As time passes, the color change of the timer sensor 29 proceeds. The consumer can identify the discoloration state with the naked eye to know the elapsed time after pouring the hot water 31, thereby indirectly grasping the cooking state of the contents 27 occurring inside the main body 23.

The method of using the product using the food container 21 with the timer sensor 29 is as follows; The main body 23 containing the contents 27 is stored in a sealed state with the lid 25 attached thereto. When a consumer purchases the product and wants to cook it immediately, the user opens one side of the cover part 25 from the main body 23 and injects an appropriate amount of hot water of 90 ° C. or higher into the main body 23, and then the cover part again. Cover 25.

The water 31 introduced into the main body 23 generates steam 33 having a high partial pressure as a high temperature state close to the boiling point of the water. The water vapor 33 penetrates the color change layer through the lower moisture permeable layer of the timer sensor 29 exposed to the internal space of the main body 23 to hydrate the color change material and discolor. The consumer can easily estimate the elapsed time after the hot water is poured into the main body for cooking by checking the progress of discoloration through the external moisture-proof layer of the timer sensor 29 exposed to the outside.

As a result, in consideration of the elapsed time after pouring the hot water 31, which may be estimated from the discoloration of the timer sensor 29 attached to the lid 25 or the main body 23, the consumer at the desired time point The cover 25 may be fully opened to consume contents and broth cooked according to preference.

In addition, when the appearance or color of the timer sensor 29 is configured in a trademark and other aesthetic shape, the advertisement and design synergy effect of the product using the food container 21 with the timer sensor 29 is implemented. There is an advantage to help.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the food container with a color change timer sensor.

Claims

External moisture barrier located at the top;

Inner permeable layer located at the bottom; And

Discoloration timer sensor consisting of a color change layer positioned between the outer moisture-proof layer and the inner moisture-permeable layer.

The method of claim 1,

The outer moisture-proof layer is a transparent film or a thin plate, color change timer sensor, characterized in that made of transparent plastic or glass.

The method of claim 1,

The internal moisture permeable layer is a color change timer sensor, characterized in that one selected from the group consisting of a porous plastic film, moisture-permeable foam sheet, cloth, paper, and combinations thereof.

The method of claim 1,

The discoloration layer is composed of a discoloration material and a matrix space,

The discoloration material is one selected from the group consisting of inorganic materials, organic materials, and combinations thereof, which discolor as the hydration progresses when exposed to water vapor,

And the matrix space is a space filled with nitrogen or air, or a space filled with an organic or inorganic material serving as a binder to form a coating layer.

The method of claim 4, wherein

The discoloration material is a timer sensor, characterized in that the cobalt compound adsorbed silica gel or cupric sulfate crystals.

The method of claim 1,

Discoloration timer sensor is characterized in that the discoloration in the discoloration layer progresses as the exposure time when the internal moisture-permeable layer is exposed to water vapor, which can be observed with the naked eye through the external moisture-proof layer.

A main body capable of storing contents that can be cooked by hot water;

A cover part attached to the top of the main body to seal the inside thereof; And

Food container comprising a color change timer sensor of claim 1 coupled to one side of the main body or cover.

The method of claim 7, wherein

After pouring hot water into the main body containing the contents, it is possible to determine whether the proper time required for cooking the contents by observing the discoloration state of the discoloration layer through the external moisture barrier of the timer sensor. Food containers.