JPH0445171B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a food storage container, and more specifically, to a food storage container that heat-processes the food in the storage container and then seals and stores the heat-treated food as it is. Regarding storage containers.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as a method for preserving food such as cooked food at home or in the snack cafe business, a method of storing the food in an airtight container has been used.
However, when airtight containers are made of plastic, they are often sensitive to heat and cannot store food immediately after cooking.Since food is stored after it has been cooled, bacteria can accumulate during that time and the shelf life of the food will be limited even if the container is sealed. There was a problem with it being short. There are also airtight containers made of heat-resistant materials, but they require cooking in another container and then transferring to an airtight container, which introduces bacteria, so the cooking time will take longer than the above case.
After all, there was a limit to the shelf life of storage.

Therefore, a food preservation method has been proposed that allows food to be easily hermetically stored at home and for a long period of time, and is known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 142955/1983.

This device closes the container containing food with a lid, heats it in a pressure cooker to sterilize the food, and infiltrates paraffin from a paraffin reservoir provided between the container and the lid. The container is then sealed, and the sterile food is hermetically preserved.

Furthermore, the lid is provided with a bursting type safety valve that ruptures itself to release the pressure when the pressure of the container rises abnormally during the heat sterilization.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, if the gap between the lid of the container and the container is sealed by natural penetration of paraffin as in the above-mentioned conventional method, once the sterilization has been achieved, the area around the gap It requires a special operation to put paraffin into the paraffin reservoir, which is inconvenient to use.

Furthermore, the safety valve is of a bursting type and cannot be restored once it has worked, so it cannot be stored sealed after sterilization.

Furthermore, even if it can be stored in a sealed container without abnormal pressure increase,
When food is taken out and eaten during storage, there is a risk that the paraffin may be mixed in, which poses a food hygiene problem, and it is inconvenient that food must be handled with great care to avoid contamination.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a storage container that is suitable for repeated use, convenient to use, and safe.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A container body, a lid for sealing the opening of the container body, a supporting means for pivotally supporting the lid to open and close the rear part of the container body, and a support means for pivoting the lid to the rear part of the container body, and The base is pivotally supported, and the locking piece is hinged to the front part of the lid, and the exhaust box is connected to the outside from the container body, which is sealed by the lid. A one-way valve that allows ventilation from the inside of the container body to the outside, consisting of a valve opening and a valve body that closes the valve opening from the outside by biasing a spring, and a valve body that protrudes from the valve body of the one-way valve. The exhaust box is characterized by being equipped with an operating rod that protrudes to the outside so that it can be manually operated from the exhaust hole at the upper end of the exhaust box.

(Function) According to the above structure of the present invention, the lid body can be opened and closed centering on the pivoting part to the container body by the support means at the rear part, but the locking piece can be pivoted to the container body at the base part. By rotating the latching piece around the branch, hooking the latching piece that is hinged in the middle of the latching piece to the front part of the lid body, and pulling the lid body toward the closing side, the latching piece is The lid body was pressed strongly against the opening of the container main body without difficulty by a lever action having a ratio between the distance from the pivot part to the hinge connection part of the latching piece and the length from the pivot part of the latching piece to the operating end. The lid can be brought into the closed state, and the lid body can be moved into the strong force by operating beyond the dead point caused by the displacement of the hinge connection between the locking piece and the latching piece with respect to the pivot position of the locking piece. It can be held in the closed state, and by rotating the locking piece in the opposite direction to the above, it is possible to release the strong holding in the closed state and return the lid to the openable and closable state.

In addition, when food is stored in the container body and placed in the strongly closed state as described above and placed in a heated atmosphere such as a pressure cooker for sterilization, the valve body of the one-way valve that increases the pressure inside the container body The valve is opened outward from the valve port at a set pressure corresponding to the spring force of the spring acting on the valve body, and the internal pressure is released to the outside through the exhaust box, so there is no risk of explosion or situations where reuse is impossible due to abnormal pressure. The necessary sterilization can be achieved satisfactorily without incurring sterilization. When the container is stored after sterilization, the pressure inside the container body decreases as the temperature drops, but the lid remains in the strongly closed state as described above, and is pressed from the outside against the valve opening by the spring of the one-way valve. The valve body located in the container is pressed more firmly against the valve opening by the reduced pressure, which prevents outside air from entering the container body through the exhaust box, so that the food inside the sterilized container body is not exposed to the outside air. It is possible to firmly prevent contact and enable long-term effective storage.

Furthermore, when removing stored food, etc., the one-way valve can be opened by manually pulling out the operating rod that protrudes from the exhaust hole at the top of the exhaust box to the outside, pulling the valve body away from the valve opening, and opening the container body. When the inside is communicated with the atmosphere, the reduced pressure inside the container can be released, so the strong closed state of the locking piece of the lid can be released simply by an operation involving a lever action opposite to the above. , the lid can be opened without difficulty.

(Example) The present invention will be specifically described below based on an example shown in the drawings. First, the configuration of the storage container 1 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. An annular recess 3 is formed on the upper outer periphery of a bottomed cylindrical container body 2 made of transparent or translucent pressure- and heat-resistant glass, and a support ring 5 is fitted into this annular recess 3 via a cushioning material 4. Reference numeral 6 denotes a metal lid for closing the opening at the upper end of the container body 2, and a gasket 7 fitted on the outer periphery of the lower part is pressed against the upper edge of the container body 1 to seal the inside of the container body 2. There is. An annular groove 8 formed on the outer periphery of the lid 6 is fitted with an attachment ring 9 for attaching the lid to the support ring 5 so that the lid can be opened and closed. A support portion 10 is formed on one side of the support ring 5 in the diametrical direction, and a mounting portion 11 to which a well-known lock 12 is attached is formed protruding from the other end of the support ring 5. A pivot rod 13 is suspended, and its lower end is rotatably supported by the support portion 10, and an engagement portion 14 to be engaged with the lock 12 is formed protruding from the other side.

The lock 12 consists of a locking piece 12a whose base is pivotally supported on the mounting portion 11, and a locking piece 12b whose base is hingedly connected in the middle of this locking piece 12a.

The lid 6 can be opened and closed by pivoting to the container body 1 at its rear by supporting means, but by rotating the locking piece around the pivot to the container body at its base, it opens and closes itself. By pulling the lid 6 toward the closing side while hooking the latch piece that is hinged in the middle to the engaging portion 14 at the front of the lid 6,
The lid 6 is attached to the container by a lever action having a ratio between the distance from the pivot portion of the locking piece 12a to the hinge connection portion of the locking piece 12b and the length from the pivot portion of the locking piece 12a to the operating end. It is possible to forcefully press the opening of the main body 1 into the closed state, and the locking piece 1 can be moved to the pivot position of the locking piece 12a at this time.
The lid body 6 can be held in the strongly closed state by the operation beyond the dead point caused by the displacement of the hinge connection portion between the latching piece 2a and the latching piece 12b,
By rotating the locking piece 12a in the opposite direction, this strong holding in the closed state is released and the lid body 6 is released.
It can be returned to the state where it can be opened and closed freely.

In such a closed container, a one-way valve 15 is attached to the lid 6 to allow ventilation from the inside to the outside. As shown in detail in FIG. 2, this one-way valve 15 includes an exhaust box 17 which also serves as a spring holder and which is installed in a mounting hole 16 formed in the lid 6, and a mounting hole 16 at the bottom of this exhaust box 17. Penetrating small diameter portion 17
a: a nut-shaped valve body 19 that is screwed onto the outer periphery and has a valve port 18 formed on its lower surface; a valve body 20 that abuts the valve port 18 from inside the exhaust box; and this valve body 20.
and a spring 21 that lightly presses the valve toward the valve port 18. The exhaust box 17 has an open bottom surface,
An exhaust hole 17b is bored in the upper surface. An operating rod 22 projects upward from the valve body 20, and its upper end projects from the exhaust hole 17b so that it can be operated manually. Moreover, the upper end of the valve body 19 and the lid body 6
A gasket 23 for sealing is interposed between the lower surface of the holder and the lower surface of the holder.

Next, a method of using the storage container 1 will be explained with reference to FIG. 4. First, as shown in FIG. 1A, a cooked or uncooked food 24 is placed in a storage container 1, and then placed in a pressure cooker 25 serving as a heating pressure vessel. Water 26 is put into the pressure cooker 25, and the storage container 1 is placed on a grating 27 to prevent it from being immersed in this water, and heated with steam so that the temperature and pressure can be easily controlled. Make it.

Next, place the pressure cooker 25 on the stove 28 and
When heated on ^the stove 28 as shown in FIG.
The temperature reaches ~115°C, and this superheated steam heats the inside of the storage container 1 to almost the same state with a time delay, and as a result, the food 24 inside the storage container 1
are heat sterilized and, if uncooked, cooked at the same time.

Next, after performing a heat treatment for a required time of, for example, about 10 to 30 minutes, as shown in FIG.
Turn off the heat and open the inside of the pressure cooker 25 to the atmosphere. Then, as the pressure in the pressure cooker 25 decreases, the pressure in the storage container 1 becomes relatively high, so the one-way valve 1
5 is opened and the air and water vapor inside are released to the outside. When the pressure inside the storage container 1 approaches atmospheric pressure,
The one-way valve 15 is closed and is completely sealed from the outside.

Thereafter, when the storage container 1 is cooled, the water vapor inside is condensed, and the inside of the storage container 1 becomes a so-called vacuum or negative pressure. Also, due to this, one-way valve 15
Pressure is applied to further improve sealing. Therefore, the food 24 inside can be hermetically stored under negative pressure and in a sterile state. In addition, the storage container 1 is taken out from the pressure cooker 25 at an appropriate time and stored in an appropriate place.
Store for a long time, for example as an emergency food. When opening the storage container 1 and taking out the food 24, the lid 6 can be easily opened by pulling up the operating rod 22 of the one-way valve 15 to release the vacuum inside to the atmosphere.

In the storage container 1, the container body 2 is made of pressure- and heat-resistant glass so that the contents can be seen.
Although the cover body 6 is made of metal, it can be made of materials such as pressure-resistant and heat-resistant glass, metal, enamel, and heat-resistant synthetic resin.

Furthermore, the one-way valve 15 is not limited to the above-mentioned configuration, and may have any configuration, such as one using a ball, for example.

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention has the above-described structure and function, and stabilizes the lid body in a strong closed state by rotating the locking piece together with the locking piece. Since it can be easily released, it is possible to easily accomplish the series of operations of sterilizing food by heating while cutting off contact with the outside air, then storing the food, and then removing and eating the food when necessary. It is convenient to use and has no food hygiene problems due to its closed structure.

Moreover, the abnormal pressure increase during heat sterilization can be eliminated by the action of the one-way valve, making it possible to reuse the product, thereby ensuring safety in use without impairing repeated use.

Furthermore, the one-way valve is opened by external operation using an operating rod protruding from the valve body, and even if the pressure inside the container body is reduced during sealed storage after heat sterilization, it can be easily communicated with the atmosphere. Since the lid can be opened easily, the convenience of use can be guaranteed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention, with Figure 1 being a vertical sectional front view of a storage container, Figure 2 being an enlarged vertical sectional view of a one-way valve, and Figure 3 being a perspective view of the storage container. , FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the implementation process of the method. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Storage container, 2...Container body, 6...Lid, 7...Packing, 12a...Locking piece, 12b
... Latching piece, 15 ... One-way valve, 17 ... Exhaust box, 17b ... Exhaust hole, 18 ... Valve port, 20 ...
Valve body, 21... spring, 22... operating rod.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A container body, a lid that seals the opening of the container body, a support means that pivots the lid to the rear of the container body so that it can be opened and closed, and a base that is pivoted to the front of the container body and that supports itself. a locking piece that is hinged to the front part of the lid body;
It consists of a valve port provided in an exhaust box that communicates from the container body sealed with a lid to the outside, and a valve body that closes this valve port from the outside by the bias of a spring, allowing ventilation from the container body to the outside. 1. A storage container comprising: a one-way valve, and an operating rod protruding from the valve body of the one-way valve so as to be manually operable from an exhaust hole at the upper end of an exhaust box.