JPH0223585Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention mainly relates to a cold storage container for pre-cooling and shipping vegetables.

[Prior art and its problems] In general, when shipping and transporting raw vegetables such as strawberries, carrots, lettuce, spinach, and broccoli to long distances, these vegetables are stored in containers such as insulated shipping boxes. Pre-cooling by vacuum cooling is performed in this state. This pre-cooling of vegetables by vacuum cooling varies depending on the type of vegetables, but
For example, in the case of strawberries, the atmosphere in the cooling chamber is gradually reduced from a normal pressure of 760 mmHg over a period of about 8 to 10 minutes, and finally the pressure is reduced to about 30 mmHg, and the cooling temperature is reduced to 1 to 100 mmHg. The temperature is maintained at 2°C, and this state is maintained for cooling for about 15 to 20 minutes, and after this cooling, the pressure is returned to normal pressure within a very short time of 2 to 3 minutes or less. Also, in the case of relatively hard vegetables such as carrots, the cooling time in the vacuum state is increased.

Conventionally, when pre-cooling vegetables by vacuum cooling, containers containing vegetables are stacked in a cooling chamber with their lids removed as shown in Figure 7, or they are stacked on top of each other with their lids removed, or the side walls of the container bodies are stacked together as shown in Figure 8. Containers with an opening at the top were stacked with lids on and the opening was left open to accommodate the pressure reduction action in the cooling chamber and the pressure increase action to return the pressure to normal pressure.

However, in either case, the lid of the container or the lid of the mouth part must be attached and removed manually, making the work required for the pre-cooling process such as loading and unloading into the cooling room extremely troublesome. It was hot.

Therefore, in order to make it possible to pre-cool vegetables with the lid on and to simplify the work of transporting vegetables into and out of the cooling chamber, the applicant has provided a ventilation hole in the upper part of the container such as the lid, and the ventilation hole We proposed a container made of synthetic resin foam in which a valve body made of an elastic material is attached to the outside of the part, and the vent hole can be opened and closed by the outward elastic deformation of the valve body. 60−
No. 15092, Jitsugan No. 174084).

However, when the valve body that opens and closes the vent is provided on the outside of the container as described above, when the pressure in the cooling chamber is reduced, the valve body bulges and deforms outward, the vent opens, and the pressure reducing action is performed without problems. However, when the pressure is increased to return to normal pressure after cooling, the valve body closes the vent hole, so the inside of the container cannot respond to the short-term pressure increase, and a pressure difference occurs inside and outside the container, causing the side wall of the container to It was sucked inward, causing excessive bending and deformation, and eventually cracking sometimes occurred.

After further consideration of the above issues,
In the vacuum cooling of vegetables, as mentioned above, the depressurization inside the cooling chamber takes a considerable amount of time, and as a result of the depressurization, the internal pressure of the container increases enough to prevent the fitting contact between the foam container body and the lid. The air inside the container is gradually discharged through small gaps between the mating contact parts, and there is no problem with depressurization even if there is no ventilation hole. When returning to normal temperature, the pressure in the cooling chamber is rapidly increased in a very short period of time, so a small amount of air flowing in through the gap between the fitting contact area between the container body and the lid cannot cope with the increased pressure, and the pressure must be reduced. It has been found that the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the container becomes large, causing the side wall of the foamed container to bend inward due to the external pressure, resulting in cracks and the like. In other words, in pre-cooling operations using vacuum cooling, vent holes are required in the container more when the pressure is increased to return to normal pressure after cooling than when the pressure is reduced.

In view of the above, the present invention has been developed as a cold storage container used for pre-cooling and shipping vegetables, which can cope with both depressurization and pressure increase in the cooling chamber during vacuum cooling even if the lid is left on, and the side wall of the container The object of the present invention is to provide a container that can prevent excessive deformation and cracking of vegetables, and is suitable for pre-cooling vegetables with the lid closed.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The cold storage container of the present invention to solve the above problems consists of a container body made of synthetic resin foam and a lid that can be fitted onto the container body. In addition to providing ventilation holes that communicate with the inside and outside of the container in the required areas,
A valve body made of a stretchable elastic material capable of closing the vent hole is attached to the inside of the region at one opposing side edge, and the vent hole is opened and closed by the inward elastic deformation of the valve body. It is characterized in that it can be provided.

[Function] In the case of the cold storage container of the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration, vegetables are stored in the container body and the lid is attached, and then the vegetables are carried into the cooling chamber for pre-cooling. When the pressure inside the cooling chamber is gradually reduced over time by vacuum cooling, the air inside the container gradually flows out through the small gap between the fitting contact area between the container body and the lid. It is discharged and the inside of the container is also evacuated. In this way, cooling is performed after a certain period of time while the vacuum is created and the cooling temperature is maintained at a predetermined temperature.

After this cooling, when returning to normal pressure, the pressure inside the cooling chamber is raised in a very short time, but as the pressure rises, the valve body made of an elastic material provided inside the upper part of the container is affected by the elastic force due to the external pressure. Against this backdrop, the central portion flexes and deforms in such a way that it bulges inward, opening the vent hole that had been blocked by the valve body, and as a result, air from outside the container passes through the vent hole and flows between the valve body and the container. The pressure inside the container quickly becomes almost the same as that of the cooling chamber, and there is no large pressure difference between the inside and outside, and therefore the pressure increase effect occurs rapidly in a fairly short period of time. The side wall of the container body does not bend excessively inward.

Furthermore, when the pressure returns to normal, the valve body returns to its original state with the vent hole closed due to the elasticity of the material, and even if the valve body is transported as is, warm outside air will not enter the container. Due to the heat insulation properties of the container itself, the cold state can be reliably maintained.

[Example] Next, an example of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 6.

In FIGS. 1 to 5, 1 is a container body made of synthetic resin foam, and 2 is a lid made of the same material as described above, which can be fitted onto the container body 1. As a structure for fitting the lid 2 to the container body 1, in the case of the figure, an upwardly projecting edge 1a is provided on the inner surface side of the upper end of the side wall of the container body 1, and the projecting edge 1a is provided on the peripheral edge of the lid 2. A fitting groove 2a is provided.

The inside of the upper wall 3 of the lid 2 is recessed in a required area approximately in the center, and a ventilation hole consisting of a relatively small-diameter through hole that communicates the inside and outside of the container is provided in the recess 4. 5 is provided. Furthermore, within the recess 4 is a plate-shaped valve body 6 made of rubber, soft synthetic resin such as polyethylene resin foam, or other stretchable elastic material that can close the vent hole 5 and is substantially flush with the inner surface of the container. It is fitted into the recess so as to be fixed to the lid body 2 at one opposing side edge, and the center part is bent inward due to the elasticity and stretchability of the material, and the original shape is The ventilation hole 5 is provided so that it can be opened and closed by the contraction and return action to the state shown in FIG. In addition to the case where the ventilation hole 5 is formed by a large number of small-diameter through holes as shown in the figure, one or several openings with a slightly larger diameter may be provided in the recess, and the total opening area is the same as that during pre-cooling. It may be set in consideration of breathability, etc.

The above-mentioned means for attaching the valve body 6 include fixing one opposite side edge with an adhesive or an adhesive tape while the valve body 6 is fitted into the recess 4, or the valve body 6 is expanded and contracted due to the material. As long as it can be attached so that it can be opened and closed by a screw, various other fixing means such as a stopper can be used.

Furthermore, a projection is provided on the upper surface of the upper wall portion 3 of the lid body 2 and/or the lower surface of the bottom of the container body 1 so as to maintain a gap for ventilation between the upper and lower containers A when stacked. In the case of the illustrated embodiment, rib-shaped projections 7 having an approximately L-shaped plan view for supporting the upper container A are provided at the four corners of the upper surface, and the projections 7 are provided at the four corners of the lower surface of the bottom. A projection 8 that fits into the container is provided so that when stacking containers, the upper container A can be supported and positioned by the rib-like projection 7 of the lower container A and stacked in a stable manner. In the case of containers that do not have the above-mentioned protrusions, the spacing may be maintained by some means such as interposing spacers between the upper and lower containers and stacking them during vacuum precooling.

The synthetic resin foams that are the constituent materials of the container body 1 and lid 2 include styrene resin foams such as polystyrene and copolymers mainly composed of styrene, polyolefin resin foams, and polyvinyl chloride resin foams. Other synthetic resin foams can be used, and in particular a non-foamed reinforcing skin layer can also be provided on the surface of the foam.

The cold storage container A of the present invention configured as described above is
This is used for pre-cooling and shipping refrigerated vegetables.When pre-cooling by vacuum cooling, vegetables B such as strawberries, spinach, lettuce, etc. are stored in the container body 1 and placed in the cooling chamber with the lid 2 covered. The containers are brought in and placed side by side or stacked in such a way that the required spacing is maintained between the upper and lower containers A and A as shown in FIG. As the pressure inside the cooling chamber is gradually reduced over time, the pressure inside the container becomes higher than that outside, and the valve body 6 made of an elastic material remains in a state where the vent hole 5 is blocked. Because the surface of the foam is relatively rough, there is a slight gap between the fitting contact portion of both the container body 1 made of resin foam and the lid 2 fitted thereon, and the container internal pressure may act to weaken the fitting contact, and as the pressure is gradually reduced over time as described above, the air inside the container is gradually exhausted from the gap between the fitting contact parts. The inside of the container is also depressurized.

In this way, the vacuum is reduced and the temperature is maintained at a predetermined cooling temperature, and the vegetables B are cooled for a certain period of time depending on the type of vegetables B stored therein. And after this cooling,
In order to return to normal pressure, the pressure inside the cooling chamber will be rapidly increased in a very short time, but during this pressure increase, the inside of the upper part of container A will be Due to the pressure difference, the provided valve body 6 made of an elastic material is bent and deformed so that the center part swells inward, and the vent hole 5 becomes open.
As the pressure in the cooling chamber increases, air quickly flows into the container, and a large pressure difference does not occur between the inside and outside of the container, so that the side wall of the container body does not deform excessively inward. Further, as the pressure inside the container becomes approximately the same as that in the cooling chamber, the valve body 6 returns to the state of closing the vent hole 5 due to the elastic force of the material, and the vegetables inside can be kept cool.

In the above implementation, the fitting structure of the lid body 2 to the container body 1 is formed so that the side wall can be bent outward due to the internal pressure of the container, and when the side wall is bent more than a certain level at the fitting contact area between the two, By providing a ventilation recess that communicates the inside and outside, the air inside the container can be more effectively discharged during depressurization.

In addition to the above-mentioned embodiments, the present invention can also provide a vent hole and a valve body that can open and close the vent hole in the upper side wall of the container body 1, and the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, in which a small opening 10 with a small plug 9 that can be freely attached and removed from the outside is provided on the upper side wall of 1, a ventilation hole 5 is provided in the area of the small plug 9, and a valve body 6 is placed inside in the same manner as described above. The figure shows the case where it is installed and configured. in this case,
Not only does the same effect as described above be achieved during pre-cooling work by vacuum cooling, but when checking the stored items inside during transportation, removing the small blocker 9 from the small opening 10 allows the small opening to be removed. The articles stored inside can be easily checked without opening the lid body 2 as a viewing window.

In addition, in any of the above cases, the valve body 6 is located in the recess 4.
A device that can close the vent hole 5 when fitted is particularly suitable for practical use, but it is not limited to this, and it is also possible to attach it to the inner surface of the container.

[Effects of the invention] As described above, according to the cold storage container of the present invention, when pre-cooling vegetables by vacuum cooling, the pressure reduction action takes a relatively long time in the cooling chamber even with the lid on, and the pressure is returned to normal pressure in a short time. In particular, the valve body installed at the top of the container can open the vent hole by bending and deforming due to the pressure difference inside and outside the container during the pressure increase, and can prevent sudden pressure increases. Since the action does not create a large pressure difference between the inside and outside of the container, the side wall of the foamed container does not bend or deform excessively or crack. Precooling by vacuum cooling can be suitably carried out without any inconvenience.

Moreover, since the vegetables can be pre-cooled with the container kept in the lid-covered state as described above, the work in the pre-cooling process such as loading and unloading into and out of the cooling chamber can be simplified. Furthermore, during normal times such as during transportation, the valve body made of an elastic material can reliably hold the vent hole closed due to its elastic force, preventing outside air from entering through the vent hole, so the container material is made of synthetic resin foam. Coupled with the excellent heat insulation properties, it is possible to maintain a cold state by pre-cooling well, and in turn, it is possible to keep stored vegetables in a fresh state for a long period of time and to protect them well.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention with the lid and container body separated, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the lid fitted, and Fig. 3 is when the precooling chamber is depressurized. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the container when the pressure is increased, FIG. 5 is a perspective view from below the bottom of the container body, FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another embodiment, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a precooling state using a conventional container. 1... Container body, 2... Lid, 3... Top wall,
4... recess, 5... ventilation hole, 6... valve body.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. Consisting of a container body made of synthetic resin foam and a lid that can be fitted onto the main body, a ventilation hole communicating with the inside and outside of the container is provided in a required area of the upper part of the container, and A valve body made of a stretchable elastic material capable of closing the vent hole is attached to the inner side at one opposing side edge, and the vent hole is provided to be openable and closable by the inward elastic deformation action of the valve body. A cold storage container that is characterized by its ability to 2. The required inner area of the upper part of the container is recessed,
The cold storage container according to claim 1, wherein the recess is provided with a ventilation hole, and the valve body is fitted into the recess. 3. The cold storage container according to claim 1 or 2 of the utility model registration claim, in which the ventilation holes are comprised of a plurality of through holes.