JP2981775B2 - Insulated food containers - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an insulated food container used not only as a food container but also as a container for cooking food by pouring boiling water and eating the food after cooking. More specifically, the present invention relates to an insulated food container used for instant noodles, instant yakisoba, other instant foods, etc., which are cooked by pouring hot water.

Background Art Containers for instant foods such as instant noodles and instant yakisoba, which are filled with boiling water and cooked, or containers for foods that are desirable to be eaten while hot, have conventionally been made with foamed synthetic resin molded bodies. At the opening edge of the cylindrical container body,
It is known that a paper lid covered with aluminum is heat-sealed to hermetically close its opening.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show such a container. This container has a bottomed cylindrical container body 1 made of a foamed synthetic resin molded body having a body wall portion 12 extending from a bottom wall portion 11, and is thermally fused releasably to an opening edge 13 of the container body 1. Closed by its opening
The cover 2 has a sheet-like cover 2 and a tongue 21 for opening and closing operation is continuously provided on the outer peripheral portion of the cover 2. Further, a flange 15 is provided on the outer periphery of the opening edge 13 of the container body 1.

In this container, the food F, which is the
During storage and storage in a store, the container body 1 is sealed by the lid 2 because the lid 2 is in close contact with the opening edge 13 by heat welding as shown in FIG. On the other hand, when cooking the food F, the tongue piece 21 is held by hand and the heat-welded portion between the lid 2 and the opening edge 13 is partially peeled off to open the food F.
Open 14 and pour boiling water into the container body 1 from there,
As shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 14, the tongue piece 21 is bent with a fingertip or a nail and hooked on the flange 15 of the container body 1 to cover the opening 14 with the lid 2 until cooking is completed. After the cooking is completed, the lid 2 is peeled off to open the opening 14, so that the cooked food is eaten.

In the above-mentioned conventional container, since the container body 1 is made of a foamed synthetic resin molded body, the temperature of the hot contents such as food after cooking is caused by the heat insulating property of the foamed synthetic resin. This is preferable because it hardly reaches the hands and the contents hardly cool.

Conventionally, the container body 1 as described above is manufactured by a bead foam molding method, and therefore, a bent tongue piece is used.
As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the flange 15 used for hooking the 21 must be solidly formed, and in such a very thick flange 15, there is nothing thereafter. It could not be reshaped.

However, if the flange portion 15 is solid as in the related art, even if the folded tongue piece 21 is hooked on the flange portion 15 as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. The tongue piece 21 often comes off the flange portion 15 as the lid 2 warps due to the hot air of 100, and when the tongue piece 21 comes off the flange portion 15 like this, the lid 2 is shown by a solid line in FIG. As a result, the opening 14 opens, and heat and steam escape from the opening 14 so that food cannot be cooked sufficiently.

 The present invention has been made in view of the above situation.

The present invention provides a heat-insulating food container made of a foamed synthetic resin molded body, but instead of a conventional flange portion, forms a storage space having an opening through which a tongue of a lid can be inserted while being folded in from below. It is an object of the present invention to provide a folded piece that can be filled with hot water so that the opening of the container body after that can be securely sealed with a lid.

Another object of the present invention is to use the elastic restoring force of the tongue and the elasticity of the folded-back tongue for the tongue of the lid inserted in the storage space between the folded-back part and the body wall of the container body. The purpose is to be able to hold it more securely so that it does not come off.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a heat-insulating food container that can secure a large heat-welded area when a lid is closely adhered to an opening edge of a container body by heat welding.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION A heat-insulating food container according to the present invention has a bottomed cylindrical container body made of a foamed synthetic resin molded body having a body wall portion extending from a bottom wall portion, and is detachable at an opening edge of the container body. In a heat-insulating food container having a sheet-like lid that is in close contact with and covers the opening thereof, and a tongue for opening and closing operation provided on the outer periphery of the lid,
The container is folded back from the entire periphery of the opening edge of the container body toward the outside of the body wall, and can be inserted into the outer surface of the body wall while folding the tongue of the lid from below. With a folded piece that forms a storage space with an opening,
That is.

Since the heat-insulating food container configured in this manner is made of a foamed synthetic resin molded body, even if the bottom wall is put on the hand or the body wall is held by hand, the temperature of the hot contents is increased. Is difficult to reach.

In addition, when the tongue of the lid was inserted with a fingertip or a nail into the storage space between the body wall of the container body and the folded piece, the inserted tongue surrounded the edge of the folded piece. Since the hook is trapped in the state, the tongue piece does not come off from the piece part even if the lid is going to be warped by the hot air, and the opening of the container body is securely covered by the lid.

Further, the folded piece portion is continuously provided in a folded shape from the entire periphery of the opening edge of the container body toward the outside of the body wall portion, and a lid is provided between the folded piece portion and the body wall portion. The storage space has an opening that can be inserted while folding the tongue piece from below, so that the storage space becomes a space where an air layer can be stored, and the heat insulation that the air layer stored in that space exhibits Due to the nature, even when the folded piece is thin, it is difficult for the temperature of the hot contents to be transmitted to the surface of the folded piece. Therefore, it is difficult to feel the heat when eating or drinking the contents by attaching the mouth to the folded piece. In addition, since the user can eat or drink the contents with the folded back portion attached to the mouth, there is no danger of feeling uncomfortable or cutting the lips and causing injury.

It is desirable that the above-mentioned folded piece is folded inward toward the outer surface of the body wall. More preferably, the above-mentioned folded piece portion is connected to the opening edge of the container main body, and an annular flange portion protruding radially outward of the opening edge portion, and is provided continuously with the annular flange portion to have a curved cross section. In such a case, it is preferable that an annular flat portion is provided on the outer surface of the annular flange portion.

When this configuration is adopted, the tongue inserted into the storage space between the body wall of the container body and the folded piece is hooked around the edge of the folded piece in a state surrounding it, and the lid is heated by hot water of hot water. Even when the tongue piece is bent upward, the above-mentioned effect that the tongue piece does not come off from the folded piece portion and the opening of the container body is securely covered by the lid is more remarkably exhibited. In addition, the outer surface of the annular flange can be used as a heat welding portion with the lid. In this case, if the outer surface of the annular flange is an annular flat portion, a large heat welding area is secured. To improve the tightness,
The lid allows the opening of the container body to be reliably sealed for a long period of time.

In the heat-insulating food container of the present invention, the curled portion is desirably thinner than the body wall or the annular wall of the container body. Specifically, the foamed synthetic resin molded body is formed as a foamed polystyrene resin molded body. It is desirable to keep the thickness of 1.5 mm or less.

When the thickness of the curled portion is reduced in this manner, the curled portion, which is a synthetic resin foam layer, has appropriate elasticity. And if the curl part has a moderate elasticity, when the tongue of the lid is folded into the gap between the curl part and the body wall part of the container body, the curl part is less likely to be damaged,
When the tongue piece is folded into the gap, the folded tongue piece and the curled portion come into pressing with each other due to the restoring force of the tongue piece and the elasticity of the curl portion. The container is securely held in the gap so as not to come off with the body wall of the container body.

The heat-insulating food container of the present invention is integrally made of a foamed synthetic resin molded article. In general, when a foamed synthetic resin is bent and curled, the molding speed is increased because the thinner the foamed synthetic resin, the better the moldability. On the other hand, the greater the thickness of the foamed synthetic resin, the lower the moldability. So
If the thickness is too large, bending becomes impossible. Therefore, in the present invention, the preferable thickness of the curled portion is set to 1.5 mm or less. When the thickness of the curled portion is determined in this way, there is an advantage that the curled portion can be formed by bending. Further, since the curled portion has a curved cross section, a certain shape-retaining strength is secured by its own shape. Therefore, it is desirable that the lower limit of the thickness of the curled portion is 0.3 mm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a heat-insulating food container according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a state before cooking of the heat-insulating food container according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the heat-insulating food container according to the present invention is being cooked.

 FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial sectional view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of a main part of a heat-insulating food container according to a modified example of the present invention during cooking.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a molding step of an intermediate molded body in the method for producing a heat-insulating food container according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view specifically showing a molding step of an intermediate molded body in the method for producing a heat-insulating food container according to the present invention.

 FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view of the intermediate molded body.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a step of forming a skirt portion into a curl portion.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an initial stage of a process of forming a skirt portion into a curl portion.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an intermediate stage of the process of forming the skirt portion into the curl portion.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the final stage of the step of forming the skirt into a curl.

FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a conventional heat-insulating food container.

FIG. 14 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a conventional heat-insulating food container is being cooked.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION As shown in FIG. 1, a heat-insulating food container A according to the present invention.
Has a bottomed cylindrical container body 1 and a sheet-like lid 2 covering the opening of the container body 1, and a tongue piece 21 for opening and closing operation is provided on an outer peripheral portion of the lid 2.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the container main body 1 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape in which a body wall portion 12 extends from a bottom wall portion 11, and the body wall 1 extends from the entire periphery of the opening edge portion 13. A folded piece 3 is connected to the outside of the portion 12 in a folded shape, and the tongue piece 21 of the lid 2 is inserted between the folded piece 3 and the outer surface of the body wall portion 12 from below. A storage space V having an opening S that can be inserted in a letter shape is formed. The bottomed cylindrical container body 1 and the folded piece 3 are integrally formed of a foamed synthetic resin, for example, a foamed polystyrene resin.

As shown in FIG. 4, the folded piece portion 3 is connected to the opening edge 13 of the container body 1 and protrudes outward in the radial direction of the opening edge 13, and is connected to the annular flange 31. And a curl portion 32 having a curved cross section. An annular flat portion 33 is provided on the outer surface of the annular flange portion 31. This flat portion 33 is
Is used as a fusion-bonding surface for thermal fusion. The annular flange 31 has a thickness equivalent to that of the body wall 12 of the container body 1.

The cover 2 is formed by lining a metal foil layer such as an aluminum foil on printed paper, and forming a heat-sealing layer on the metal foil layer with a synthetic resin film or the like. The heat welding can be performed at the overlapping portion of the flat surface 33 and 31.

The heat-insulating food container A is beneficially used for storing instant foods such as instant noodles cooked by pouring hot water, and foods and drinks which are preferred to be eaten or drunk while hot.

As shown in FIG. 2, the opening 14 of the container body 1 containing the food F is provided.
Is sealed with the lid 2, the lid 2 is superimposed on the flat surface 33 of the annular flange portion 31, and the overlapping portion is heated and both are heat-welded. When the opening 14 of the container body 1 is sealed with the lid 2, the tongue 21 of the lid 2 projects as shown in FIG.

When cooking food F, hold tongue piece 21 by hand and
And the flat surface 33 of the annular flange 31 was partially peeled off, and an opening 14 was opened as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 3, and hot water 100 was poured into the container body 1 from there. Then, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tongue piece 21 is hooked on the curl portion 32 by inserting the tongue piece 21 into the storage space V from below through the opening S in a reverse V-shape with a fingertip or a nail. Keep it.

By doing so, the tongue piece 21 inserted into the opening S
Is hooked around the edge 34 of the curled portion 32 forming the folded piece portion 3 so that the lid 2 is
Tongue piece 21 is curled 32
Not come off. Therefore, during cooking with hot water, the opening 14 of the container main body 1 is surely kept covered by the lid 2, and sufficient cooking is performed.

When eating or drinking the food F after cooking, the tongue piece 21 hooked on the curl portion 32 is removed, the lid 2 is peeled off, and the opening 14 is opened.

In the heat-insulating food container A described above, the portion held by the hand is mainly the body wall portion 12 of the container body 1. Therefore, the body wall portion 12 is required not only to have a heat insulating property that makes it difficult for the temperature of the hot contents to be transmitted to the hand, but also to have a strength that does not easily collapse when grasped by hand. Is done.
The thickness of the torso wall portion 12 that can fully meet this requirement is 1.8 to 3.5
mm, and if the body wall 12 is set to this thickness, even if the body wall 12 is held by hand, the heat of the content is not so much transmitted to the hand, and the body wall 12 is grasped by hand. But it doesn't easily collapse.

The thickness of the curl portion 32 is thinner than the annular flange portion 31 and the body wall portion 12
1.5mm or less. Therefore, the heat insulating property exhibited by the curl portion 32 is smaller than that of the annular flange portion 31 and the body wall portion 12. However, since the storage space V is formed between the folded piece portion 3 formed by the curl portion 32 and the annular flange portion 31 and the body wall portion 12 of the container body 1, the storage space V is accumulated in the storage space V. The air layer exhibits heat insulation. Therefore, even if the curled portion 32 is as thin as 1.5 mm or less, the temperature of the hot content is hardly transmitted to the surface of the curled portion 32. Therefore, when eating or drinking hot contents with the mouth attached to the curl portion 32, it is difficult to feel the heat. In addition, since the user can eat or drink the contents by attaching the mouth to the folded back portion 3, there is no danger of feeling uncomfortable or cutting the lips and causing injury.

In the above description, the folded piece portion 3 is formed by the annular flange portion 31 and the curl portion 32.
As shown in FIG. 5, the entire folded piece 3 may be formed to have a curved cross section. Even in such a case, as shown in FIG. Body wall 12 of body 1
The tongue piece 21 can be reliably hooked on the folded piece 3 by being inserted into the storage space V between the two while being folded in an inverted V-shape from below. In FIGS. 4 and 5, the tongue piece 21 folded into the storage space V in an inverted V-shape is indicated by reference numeral 22.

As described above, the container body 1 of the heat-insulating food container A
Is made of a foamed polystyrene resin molded body, and the thickness of the curled portion 32 described in FIG. 4 is 1.5 mm or less.
When the thickness of the curl portion 32 is reduced in this manner, the curl portion 32, which is a synthetic resin foam layer, has an appropriate elasticity, and when the tongue piece 21 is inserted while being folded into the storage space V, In addition, the curl portion 32 is not easily damaged. Further, when the tongue piece 21 is folded into the storage space V, the folded tongue piece 21 and the curl portion 32 are combined with the restoring force of the tongue piece 21 and the curl portion 32.
Due to the elasticity of the tongue, the tongue piece 21 is securely held in the storage space V so as not to come off by the curl portion 32 and the body wall portion 12. The same can be said for the one described in FIG.

Next, a method of manufacturing the container body 1 in the above-described heat-insulating food container A will be described with reference to FIGS.

In this manufacturing method, a rolled foamed synthetic resin sheet as shown in FIG. 6, for example, a foamed polystyrene resin sheet 6, is used as a raw material. Also, this manufacturing method
Forming a foamed synthetic resin intermediate molded body 7 by molding a foamed polystyrene resin sheet 6 as a raw material;
After the intermediate molded body 7 is punched from the expanded polystyrene resin sheet 6, the step of molding the curled portion 32 is included.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 8 denotes a molding device. In this molding device 8, after the foamed polystyrene resin sheet 6 is heated to a temperature at which it can be molded, the foamed polystyrene resin sheet 6 thus heated is molded into the intermediate molded body 7 using a molding die. As shown in FIG. 7, the molding die includes a male die 81 and a female die 82. Expanded polystyrene resin sheet 6
Is fed between the male mold 81 and the female mold 82, and then is deep drawn by closing the male mold 81 and the female mold 82. The intermediate molded body 7 formed by the deep drawing is thereafter punched out of the expanded polystyrene resin sheet 6 into a single product.

FIG. 8 shows an intermediate molded body 7 of a foamed synthetic resin obtained by punching. This intermediate molded body 7 is suitable for molding the heat-insulating food container A described in FIG. As can be seen from this figure, the intermediate molded body 7 is formed from the bottom wall 11 to the body wall.
A container body 1 having a cylindrical shape with a bottom and extending from the container body 1;
An annular flange portion 31 is provided continuously with the opening edge portion 13 and protrudes radially outward of the opening edge portion 13, and a skirt portion 35 extending from the annular flange portion 31 in the direction along the axis. The skirt portion 35 is thinner than the annular flange portion 31 and the body wall portion 12.

The curl portion 32 is formed by molding the skirt portion 35 of the intermediate molded body 7 described in FIG.
9 to 12 illustrate the steps of forming the curled portion 35. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 9 denotes a roll as a forming die, and the roll 9 has a spiral groove 91,
Moreover, the groove 91 has a groove width W gradually narrowing from the beginning to the end. In addition, the roll body 9 is heated to a predetermined temperature. Accordingly, when the intermediate molded body 7 is fed between the roll body 9 and the guide 92 provided opposite thereto while rotating the roll body 9 as shown by the arrow R in FIG. After the skirt portion 35 is taken into the groove portion 91 of the roll body 9, the skirt portion 35 is rolled in the groove portion 91 by the rotation of the intermediate molded body 7 following the rotation of the roll body 9, and while being heated, The skirt portion 35 is sequentially fed from the wide side to the narrow side of the groove width W as shown by the arrow B, and the skirt portion 35 is formed into a curled section 32 during the interval.
FIG. 10 shows an initial stage in which the skirt portion 35 is taken into the groove portion 91 of the roll body 9, and FIG. This shows an intermediate stage in which the skirt portion 35 is slightly bent in a curved shape. FIG. 12 shows the final stage when the skirt portion 35 feeds the groove portion 91 of the roll body 9 from the wide side to the narrow side of the groove width W. In this final stage, the curl portion 32 has a desired shape. Molded.

When the manufacturing method described above is adopted, the thickness of the expanded polystyrene resin sheet 6 is desirably 0.3 to 3.5 mm. If the expanded polystyrene resin sheet 6 is too thick, the skirt 35 of the intermediate molded body 7 cannot be made thin.

As described above, since the thickness of the curled portion 32 of the heat-insulating food container A is desirably 1.5 mm or less, the skirt portion 35 also needs to be finished to a thickness of 1.5 mm or less. When the skirt portion 35 of the intermediate molded body 7 is curled as described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12, as the skirt portion 35 is thinner, the moldability is improved, so that the molding speed can be increased. The moldability decreases as the skirt portion 35 becomes thicker. Skirt 35
In order to finish the sheet with a thickness of 1.5 mm or less, it is useful to increase the productivity by increasing the thickness of the expanded polystyrene resin sheet 6 to 3.5 mm or less. But 0.3mm
When a thinner expanded polystyrene resin sheet 6 is used, the expanded polystyrene resin sheet 6 may be broken during the deep drawing described with reference to FIG. The expanded polystyrene resin sheet 6 desirably has an expansion ratio of 1.5 to 12 times.

In the above description, although the foamed polystyrene resin sheet 6 is used as the foamed synthetic resin sheet as the raw material,
It is also possible to use other types of foamed synthetic resin sheets, for example, foamed polystyrene resin sheets, as the raw material.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the heat-insulating food container of the present invention, since the container body is made of a foamed synthetic resin molded body, the temperature of the hot contents is hardly transmitted to the hand. Also, when cooking the contents with hot water, the tongue of the lid can be securely hooked so that it does not come off the folded part, so that the lid does not open during cooking and sufficient cooking is performed Can be made.

In particular, if the thickness of the curl portion is set to be as thin as 1.5 mm or less, the curl portion, which is a synthetic resin foam layer, will have an appropriate elasticity, so the tongue of the lid is attached to the curl portion and the container body. When folded into the opening between the torso wall portion, the curl portion is less likely to be damaged, and when the tongue piece is folded into the opening, the tongue piece is elastically deformed by the curl portion and the body wall of the container body. The opening is securely held in the opening so that the opening does not come off.

Further, an annular flange portion that is connected to the opening edge portion of the container body and protrudes radially outward from the opening edge portion, and a curl portion that is connected to the annular flange portion and has a curved cross section is provided. When an annular flat portion is provided on the outer surface of the annular flange portion, a large heat welding area between the lid and the flat portion is secured to enhance the sealing property, and the lid opens the container body for a long time. Can be reliably sealed over the entire area.

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bottomed cylindrical container main body made of a foamed synthetic resin molded body having a body wall portion extending from a bottom wall portion, and is detachably adhered to an opening edge of the container main body to cover the opening. In a heat-insulating food container having a sheet-shaped lid and an opening / closing tongue provided on the outer periphery of the lid, the heat-insulating food container is folded from the entire periphery of the opening edge of the container body to the outside of the body wall. And a tongue of the lid can be inserted between the folded piece and the outer surface of the body wall while being folded in an inverted V-shape from below. A storage space having an opening capable of holding the inverted V-shaped folded portion together with a restoring force is formed, and the inside of the folded piece portion is positioned such that the edge of the folded piece portion is close to the outer surface of the body wall portion. And the outer edge of the folded piece portion and the outside of the body wall portion facing the edge portion of the folded piece portion. Heat-insulating container, characterized in that the opening is formed between the. 2. A folded piece portion is provided continuously with an opening edge of the container body and protrudes outward in the radial direction of the opening edge, and a cross-sectionally curved shape is provided continuously with the annular flange portion. The heat-insulating food container according to claim 1, comprising a curl portion to be formed. 3. The heat-insulating food container according to claim 2, wherein an annular flat portion is provided on an outer surface of the annular collar portion. 4. The heat-insulating food container according to claim 2, wherein the curl portion is thinner than the body wall of the container body. 5. The heat-insulating food container according to claim 2, wherein the curl portion is thinner than the annular flange portion. 6. The heat-insulating food container according to claim 2, wherein the foamed synthetic resin molded body is a foamed polystyrene resin molded body, and the thickness of the curled portion is 1.5 mm or less.