JP3542952B2 - Storage container for fragile foods such as tofu - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a storage container for fragile foods such as tofu.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, tofu has been sold in a packed state filled with water, and a user who has purchased the tofu is refrigerated and stored in a refrigerator after returning to home. Usually, a sales container packed with tofu is composed of a box container formed by molding a hard plastic sheet into a box shape, and a covering film that covers the upper opening of the box container and is fixed by heat sealing.
[0003]
Therefore, at home, after opening the pack by peeling off the covering film from the box-shaped container, the tofu is taken out and served for meals, but the surplus tofu is put into a general-purpose food storage container filled with water, and again. Return to the refrigerator and store refrigerated.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, there are the following problems with fragile foods such as tofu.
[0005]
First, there is a problem that it is difficult to remove the tofu from the opened pack, and the tofu often collapses.
[0006]
Secondly, it is difficult to put the remaining tofu in a general-purpose food storage container again when cutting the tofu after removing it from the pack with a kitchen knife or the like, and in this case, the tofu will be broken down There is a fear.
[0007]
Third, even if the excess tofu can be fortunately put into a general-purpose food storage container without collapsing, it is difficult to remove the tofu again from such a container. There is a danger of
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention mainly provides a storage container for fragile food such as tofu, which solves the first to third problems.
[0009]
Therefore, the present invention is configured as a means by a container body having an upper opening shape, an intermediate bottom plate housed in a bottom wall of the container body, and a lid body that covers the upper opening of the container body almost freely. A storage container for storing the fragile food by placing the fragile food on the midsole plate 3, wherein the midsole plate is composed of a support plate that supports the bottom of the fragile food and hand pieces provided on both sides of the support plate. The support member is pivotally supported between a position where the handpiece stands upright with respect to the support plate and a position where the handrest protrudes outside the support plate. In such a manner that the midsole plate can be stored in the container main body only in the closed state.
[0010]
In the embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable to provide a stopper means for restricting rotation of the handpiece from the standing position toward the inside of the support plate. Further, it is desirable to form a through hole in the support plate of the midsole plate.
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The following embodiment describes a container for storing typical tofu as a fragile food, but the present invention is not limited to tofu, such as pudding and jelly-like confectionery, etc. Should be understood to be widely applicable to
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 1, the storage container has a deep container main body 1 that is open at the top and is suitable for storing a generally rectangular parallelepiped tofu F, and a support plate 8 that is stored on the bottom wall 2 of the container main body 1. And an inner bottom plate 3 comprising a pair of support pieces 9 and 9, and a lid 4 for covering the upper opening of the container body 1 so as to be substantially hermetically sealed. In addition, the support plate 8, the support piece 9, and the lid 4, which constitute the container body 1, the middle bottom plate 3, are integrally formed of a plastic material, and the container body 1 and the middle bottom plate 3 have flexibility. The lid 4 is formed of a relatively soft plastic material having elasticity, while being formed of a relatively hard plastic material.
[0013]
The container main body 1 forms a raised wall 5 (see FIG. 2 (B)) which gradually rises toward the center in a substantially circular region excluding the corners located at the four corners of the bottom wall 2 and is located near the opening edge. In addition, the reinforcing ribs 6 are provided around the outer surface of the peripheral wall, and handles 7, 7 are provided to project outward from the reinforcing ribs 6 forming two opposing sides.
[0014]
The midsole plate 3 is composed of a substantially rectangular support plate 8 for supporting the bottom of the tofu F, and hand pieces 9, 9 provided on both sides of the support plate 8. Are pivotally connected between a position standing on the support plate 8 and a position lying prone to the outside of the support plate 8.
[0015]
The support plate 8 includes an edge wall 10 whose peripheral edge is bent downward, and is formed on two opposing sides to form a notch-shaped concave portion 11 for fitting the handle pieces 9, 9. The edge wall 10 extends over the entire circumference of the support plate 9 and forms a control wall 10a at the recess 11 (see FIG. 2). Further, a large number of through holes 12 are formed in the support plate 8 in a scattered manner over almost the entire surface.
[0016]
The supporting piece 9 has a configuration in which an edge frame 14 that protrudes in a rib shape on both front and back surfaces or on one surface is provided around a substantially rectangular flat plate portion 13. 11, a pivot shaft 15 (see FIG. 2) protruding inward from the edge wall 10 forming both ends of the concave portion 11 is fitted into a boss 16 formed on the edge frame 14. ing. Therefore, in the case of the illustrated example, the handle 9 is pivotally attached to the support plate 8 about the pivot shaft 15 so as to be freely rotatable. It may be formed integrally and provided with a thin hinge for pivotally supporting the support pieces 9, 9 with respect to the support plate 8 between a standing posture and a prone posture. A large number of through holes 12a are formed in the flat plate portion 13 of the support piece 9 in a scattered manner over almost the entire surface.
[0017]
The handle pieces 9, 9 are rotatable with respect to the support plate 8 via a pivot shaft 15, but constitute stopper means 17 for limiting the rotation angle by the edge frame 14 and the control wall 10a. I have. That is, as shown in FIG. 2A, the side edges of the edge frame 14 abut on the control wall 10a in a state in which the support pieces 9, 9 are erected on the support plate 8, whereby the support pieces 8 A stopper means 17 is provided to prevent the pair 9, 9 from rotating from the standing position toward the inside of the support plate 8 (the pair of gripping pieces 9, 9 in the direction in which the standing upper ends approach each other). . Although not shown in the drawing, the opposite side edge of the edge frame 14 is brought into contact with the control wall 10a in a state where the handle pieces 9 and 9 are turned 180 degrees and hung downward from the support plate 8. A similar stopper means is constituted.
[0018]
Therefore, in the illustrated embodiment, the configuration is shown in which the handle pieces 9, 9 are rotatable by 180 degrees between the upright posture and the hanging posture, but the present invention places the support pieces 9, 9 in the upright position. The purpose of the rotation restriction is to prevent the hand pieces 9, 9 from coming into contact with the side surface of the tofu F placed on the support plate 8 as described later. This does not prohibit the hand pieces 9 and 9 from being in the standing posture inclined slightly inward from the vertical posture. Therefore, it is to be understood that the term “standing” described in this specification has a meaning that has an acceptable range for such a purpose. The purpose of the present invention is to make the handle pieces 9 and 9 rotatable outward from the standing position so that the handle pieces 9 and 9 are deployed on substantially the same plane as the support plate 8 as described later. It is not necessary to turn to the hanging posture as shown in the figure because the prone position lies. Therefore, in short, the pivoting pieces 9 and 9 are prevented from turning inward from the standing position in a broad sense as described above by the stopper means 17, and the standing position and at least the prone position outside are determined. What is necessary is just to be rotatable between.
[0019]
Further, with respect to the relationship between the midsole plate 3 and the container main body 1, the midsole plate 3 is configured to be able to be stored in the container main body 1 only in a state where the support pieces 9, 9 are erected on the support plate 8. That is, as shown in FIG. 2 (B), the handle pieces 9 and 9 are in a relationship of being brought close to the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the container body 1 in the upright state, and therefore, the midsole plate 3 is stored in the container body 1. In this state, the handle pieces 9, 9 are restrained by the peripheral wall of the container body 1 and are prevented from rotating in the prone direction. In addition, the support plate 8 of the midsole plate 3 is provided with legs 18 projecting from the lower surface near the corners at the respective corners. It is stored in a floating state.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 1, the lid 4 is provided with a shape retaining property by a concave portion 19 formed on the upper surface of the center portion, and a knob 21 is formed from a part of the peripheral edge portion 20 fitted to the opening edge of the container body 1. Is protruding. As shown in FIG. 2 (B), in a state where the lid 4 is covered on the upper opening of the container body 1, the peripheral portion 20 and the opening edge of the container body 1 are sealed by the sealing portion 22. Seal the inside of the container. In this case, it is preferable that the sealing portion 22 is intended to be completely sealed, but it is sufficient that the sealing portion 22 is generally in a sealed state.
[0021]
When storing the tofu F based on the above-mentioned embodiment, first, when taking out a commercially available packed tofu, it is opened by peeling off the covering film from the box-shaped container, and then the middle bottom plate is placed at the opening of the box-shaped container. 3, the support plate 8 and the box-shaped container are held and the opening is turned downward while holding the support plate 8 and the box-shaped container, and the box-shaped container is retracted upward. Placed on Therefore, if the handle pieces 9 and 9 are turned upright in this state, as shown in FIG. 2 (A), the tofu F is placed on the support plate 8 and the desired handle pieces 9 and 9 are used. It is portable to the place.
[0022]
When the tofu F taken out of the pack needs to be immediately cut with a kitchen knife or the like for edible use, the support plate 8 is placed on a cutting board or other work surface via the leg 18 as shown in FIG. Then, if the handle pieces 9, 9 are turned outward and turned down to lie down on the work surface, a free space is formed upward. F can be cut freely with a kitchen knife or the like. At this time, since the support plate 8 is fixed to the work surface by the legs 18 in a floating state, the moisture flows down to the work surface through the through holes 12.
[0023]
When preserving the uncut tofu F taken out of the above-mentioned pack and placed on the support plate 8 or when preserving a part of the surplus tofu F after the above-mentioned cutting, the standing hand piece 9, 9, the support plate 8 on which the tofu F is placed may be inserted into the bottom wall 2 from the upper opening of the container body 1 and stored. Although the container body 1 is filled with water in advance, since the support plate 8 has a large number of through holes 12, the container body 1 enters the container body 1 without receiving the resistance of water. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2 (B), the container main body 1 may be covered with the lid 4 and placed in a refrigerator for refrigerated storage. In this state, since the inner bottom plate 3 has the through holes 12, 12a opened in the support plate 8 and the handle pieces 9, 9, the water filled in the container body 1 can flow, and the tofu F Can be floated. In addition, since the hand pieces 9 and 9 are prevented from turning inward by the stopper means 17, the tofu F is not arbitrarily tilted inward to damage the tofu F.
[0024]
As described above, the midsole plate 3 is configured to be able to be stored in the container body 1 only in a state where the support pieces 9, 9 are erected on the support plate 8. Therefore, in the state of being stored in the container main body 1, the support pieces 9, 9 are always kept in the upright posture, and do not fall down. Therefore, when the tofu F after refrigerated storage is used for food, when the lid 4 is removed from the container body 1, the upper end portions of the holding pieces 9, 9 held in the upright posture always face the upper opening of the container body 1. By holding the upper end portions of the hand pieces 9 and 9 with a fingertip or the like, the tofu F and the midsole plate 3 can be pulled out from the container body 1. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2 (C), the support plate 8 is fixed to a work surface such as a cutting board, and the hand pieces 9 and 9 are turned outwardly, and the tofu F is removed. What is necessary is just to cut on the support plate 8 with a kitchen knife or the like.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, (1) an operation of opening the pack to take out the tofu F, (2) an operation of cutting the tofu F taken out of the pack in a fixed state, and (3) storing the tofu F Either the operation of storing the tofu F in the container body 1, the operation of removing the tofu F after storage from the container body 1, or the operation of cutting the tofu F taken out of the container body 1 in a fixed state. In this case, since the fingertip of the user does not directly touch the tofu F, there is no danger that the fragile tofu F will be broken down, and the storage container suitable for fragile food such as tofu F can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which a container body, an intermediate bottom plate, and a lid are disassembled.
FIGS. 2A and 2B show a use state of one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 2A is a half cut sectional view showing a state in which a tofu is supported by an insole plate and a handpiece is erected, and FIG. FIG. 4C is a half-section view of the container showing the storage state, and FIG. 4C is a half-section view showing a state in which the tofu is supported by the midsole plate and the hand piece is laid down.
[Explanation of symbols]
F Tofu (fragile food)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Container main body 2 Bottom wall 3 Middle bottom plate 4 Lid 8 Support plate 9 Hand piece 12 Through hole 17 Stopper means

Claims (3)

A container body 1 of the upper opening shaped, a bottom plate 3 in which is housed in the bottom wall 2 of the container body 1, substantially sealed freely consists lid 4 for lidding an upper opening of the container body 1, a fragile food F It is a storage container that is stored by being placed on the midsole plate 3,
The midsole plate 3 is composed of a support plate 8 that supports the bottom of the fragile food F, and hand pieces 9, 9 provided on both sides of the support plate 8, and the hand pieces 9, 9 are attached to the support plate 8. It is pivotally supported between a standing position and a prone position outside the support plate so as to be rotatable,
A storage container for a fragile food , wherein the middle bottom plate 3 can be stored in the container body 1 only when the support pieces 9 are erected on the support plate 8. 2. The container for storing fragile food according to claim 1, further comprising stopper means for restricting rotation of the handle pieces from the upright position toward the inside of the support plate. The storage container for a fragile food according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a through hole (12) is formed in the support plate (8) of the midsole plate (3).

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