JP6854142B2 - Fruit shipping box - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fruit transport box provided with a container body made of foamed synthetic resin, which houses a fruit packaging container for packaging fruits such as strawberries.

Conventionally, containers using plastic trays or urethane foam trays have been widely used for accommodating and transporting perishable fruits such as strawberries. In these containers, vibrations and shocks generated during transportation are easily transmitted directly to fruits such as strawberries, and the fruits may be damaged by contact between fruits or between containers. Therefore, various ideas have been made regarding the structure of the transport container for perishable fruits.

For example, a collective packaging container that does not need to be assembled and is lightweight, does not easily transmit vibrations and shocks during transportation to packed trays such as stored strawberries, and has good cooling efficiency during cooling is also disclosed. For example, see Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2015-40050

When the fruit transport box as described above is transported by truck or the like, it is premised that a cold storage vehicle is used in order to suppress damage to the fruit due to temperature. However, until fruits such as strawberries are displayed from the production area to the store, they go through various distribution processes including packing and transportation processes, and in that process, there is a period when they are placed in an environment where cooling equipment is not equipped. It can be. However, for example, in the collective packaging container described in Patent Document 1, since a through hole for ventilation is formed in the bottom plate, the cooling efficiency is high in an environment equipped with cooling equipment such as a cold storage vehicle, while cooling is performed. In an unequipped environment, the fruits are easily damaged by the warm outside air.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fruit transport box capable of maintaining high cold insulation and preventing fruit such as strawberries from being damaged.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a fruit transport box provided with a container body made of foamed resin in which a fruit packaging container is housed, and the container body is a box-shaped body having an opening on a single lead surface. and a has a plurality of housing compartments refrigerant 13A and the fruit packaging container is accommodated, the plurality of accommodating compartment have a vent passage which communicates the internal space of each other, constituting the container body Of the vertical surfaces, at least both side plates orthogonal to the opening have a plurality of partition walls erected horizontally from the inner wall surface of the both side plates, and the plurality of partition walls are spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction. By dividing the internal space of the container body into a plurality of compartments, the plurality of storage compartments are formed, and the cold storage agent is stored in the uppermost storage compartment divided by the partition wall portion. The storage compartment in which the cold storage agent is housed has a mounting piece erected from the inner wall surface of the back plate toward the opening for mounting the cold storage agent, and has the same as the above-mentioned container. A gap is provided between the mounting piece and the partition wall portion attached to the mounting piece .

In the fruit transport box, among the vertical planes constituting the container body, the back plate facing the opening projects from the inner wall surface of the back plate toward the opening, and the fruit is inserted through the opening. It has protrusions that come into contact with the packaging container, and a plurality of the protrusions are provided in each of the storage compartments at predetermined intervals in the horizontal direction, and are provided between the fruit packaging container and the inner wall surface of the back plate. It is preferable to form the ventilation flow path.

Te said fruit shipping container odor, an end of the partition wall that faces located at the same horizontal plane is preferably spaced apart from each other.

In the fruit transport box, it is preferable that the partition wall portion is not provided on a part of the inner wall surface of the back plate.

According to the fruit transport box according to the present invention, since the plurality of storage compartments provided in the container body have ventilation channels that communicate with each other in the internal space, the air cooled by the cold storage agent flows through the ventilation channels. Since it flows into the storage compartment, it is possible to maintain a high degree of cold insulation in the storage space inside the fruit transport box, and it is possible to prevent the fruits such as strawberries from being damaged.

(A) is a perspective view showing a configuration in which a container main body of a fruit transport box according to an embodiment of the present invention and a lid member attached to the container main body are separated, and (b) is a lid member attached to the container main body. The perspective view which shows the structure. A perspective view of the container body forming the fruit transport box. (A) is a front view of the container body, (b) is a rear view of the container body, (c) is a top view (or bottom view) of the container body, and (d) is a left plate view of the container body. (A) is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3 (a), FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along line BB, and FIG. 3C is a sectional view taken along line CC. (A) is a perspective view of the container body, and (b) is an enlarged view of the D region of (a). (A) is a perspective view of a fruit packaging container used for a fruit transport box, (b) is a top view, and (c) is a front view. The perspective view which mainly shows the back surface of the lid member used for a fruit transport box. (A) is a front view of a container body containing a fruit packaging container, (b) is a sectional view taken along line EE of (a), and (c) is a sectional view taken along line FF. (A) and (b) are perspective views of the fruit transport box in which the two container bodies are connected before assembly, and (b) is a perspective view after assembly.

A fruit transport box according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the fruit transport box 1 includes a foamed resin container body 2 in which a fruit packaging container 3 in which fruits such as strawberries are packaged is housed. The container body 2 is a box-shaped body having an opening 20 on a single vertical surface, and here, a fruit packaging container 3 and a cold storage agent 4 for cooling the inside of the container body 2 are housed in the container body 2. Shall be. Further, in the present embodiment, the lid member 5 is fitted into the opening 20 of the container body 2, and the container body 2 and the lid member 5 form a storage space for storing the fruit packaging container 3 and the cold storage agent 4. To.

As shown in FIG. 2, the container body 2 is provided with a plurality of partition walls 22a to 22c on the inner wall surface 21a of the side plates 21 which are vertical faces constituting the container body 2 and are orthogonal to the opening 20. There is. The partition walls 22a to 22c divide the internal space of the container body 2 into a plurality of compartments, thereby forming a plurality of storage compartments 2A to 2D in which the fruit packaging container 3 is accommodated. Of the four storage compartments 2A to 2D, the cold storage agent 4 is stored in the uppermost storage compartment 2A, and the cold storage agent 4 or the fruit packaging container 3 (cold storage agent 4 in the example) is stored in the lowermost storage compartment 2D. The fruit packaging container 3 is housed in the storage compartments 2B and 2C between the two. Here, the storage space in the container main body 2 is divided by three rows of partition walls 22a to 22c to form four storage compartments 2A to 2D, but the partition walls have four or more rows and storage compartments. May be 5 or more.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the fruit packaging container 3 is horizontally inserted into the storage compartments 2B and 2C from the opening 20, and both edges of the fruit packaging container 3 are locked to the partition walls 22a to 22c. Will be done. In the fruit transport box 1 of the present embodiment, the lid member 5 is fitted into the opening 20 as shown in FIG. 1 (b) in a state where the fruit packaging container 3 and the cold storage agent 4 are housed in the container body 2. .. The fruit transport box 1 can also accommodate the fruit packaging container 3 and the cold storage agent 4 by fitting the openings 20 of the two container bodies 2 to each other without using the lid member 5 (FIG. 9 described later). reference).

The container body 2 is substantially rectangular when viewed from the front, and is chamfered so that the corners on all sides are rounded. The container body 2 is a molded body of a foamed synthetic resin. For example, particles for foaming a thermoplastic resin are filled in a mold, heated, and foamed to be integrally molded. The thermoplastic resin may be, for example, a styrene-based resin, or a composite resin obtained by mixing a styrene-based resin with another resin such as an olefin-based resin.

The cold storage agent 4 is a cooling means that can be repeatedly used by freezing it before use. Examples of the cold storage agent 4 include a bag containing water and a highly water-absorbent resin (gelling agent) such as sodium polyacrylate or a thickener such as gum and an inorganic salt, and a polyethylene container-encapsulated product. In addition, a combination thereof and the like can be mentioned. The melting point of the cold storage agent 4 is, for example, −15 ° C. to -1 ° C.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 (a) to 3 (d) and FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (c), the container body 2 has a rectangular bottom plate 23a (FIG. 2, FIG. 3 (c)), side plates 21 (FIG. 3 (d)) and back plates 24 (FIG. 3 (b)) erected around the bottom plate 23a, and top plate 23b (FIG. 1 (FIG. 1)) facing the bottom plate 23a. a)) and. The outer shape of the side plate 21 is a substantially rectangular shape in which the vertical side is longer than the horizontal side (FIG. 3 (d)). The side plate 21 has a symmetrical shape, and in the illustrated example, only the left side plate 21 is shown. Further, the outer shapes of the bottom plate 23a and the top plate 23b are the same (FIG. 3 (d)).

The opening 20 is formed by the peripheral edge of the four sides of the side plates 21, the bottom plate 23a, and the top plate 23b, which are opposite to the back plate 24 (see FIG. 2). On the peripheral edge of the opening 20, outer protrusions 20a projecting outward from the inside are provided at diagonal positions of one of the openings 20, and the inside projecting from the outside. The protruding corners 20b are provided at other diagonal positions of the opening 20, respectively. The outer protrusion corner portion 20a and the inner protrusion corner portion 20b are each L-shaped in a plan view.

A guide groove 20c that fits with the convex guide protrusion 50d formed on the lid member 5 is formed on the inner wall portion of the outer protrusion corner portion 20a (see FIGS. 1, 4 (b) and (c)). .. Further, a guide protrusion 20d that fits with the concave guide groove 50c formed in the lid member 5 is formed on the outer wall portion of the inner protrusion corner portion 20b.

As shown in FIG. 3B, a band 5 hung from the outside is hung from the outside at a corner portion sandwiching the ridgeline between the outer wall surface 24b of the back plate 24 and the bottom plate 23a or the top plate 23b (see FIG. 9B described later). A plurality of recesses 24c for locking the two are formed. Further, the outer wall surface 24b of the back plate 24 is provided with an arrow 24e for clearly indicating the vertical direction of the fruit transport box 1 and a concave handle portion 24d. With these configurations, the workability of accommodating the fruit packaging container 3 in the fruit transport box 1 and the transportability of carrying the fruit transport box 1 can be improved.

As described above, of the vertical planes constituting the container body 2, at least the side plates 21 orthogonal to the opening 20 have a plurality of partition walls 22a to 22c erected in the horizontal direction from the inner wall surface 21a of the side plates 21. Has been done. That is, the partition walls 22a to 22c are cantilevered with respect to the inner wall surface 21a. The protruding length of the partition walls 22a to 22c from the inner wall surface 21a may be long enough to hold the fruit packaging container 3. However, as shown in FIG. 6 described later, when the outer edge side of the fruit packaging container 3 is formed as an inclined surface, at least the upper surface and the lower surface forming the horizontal flat surface of the fruit packaging container 3 can be held. The partition walls 22a to 22c preferably have a protruding length of at least 40 mm or more.

The ends of the partition walls 22a to 22c that are located on the same horizontal plane and face each other are separated from each other at predetermined intervals. The separation distance between the facing partition walls 22a to 22c is preferably 150 mm or more. In this way, the protruding lengths of the partition walls 22a to 22c are secured to a certain extent, the facing partition walls 22a to 22c are separated from each other, and the fruit packaging container 3 is held by such partition walls 22a to 22c. , The fruit packaging container 3 is suspended in the air. As a result, it becomes difficult for vibrations and shocks during transportation to be transmitted to the fruit packaging container 3, and it is possible to appropriately prevent the fruits such as strawberries packaged in the fruit packaging container 3 from being damaged.

The partition walls 22a to 22c extend from the inner wall surface 21a of the side plate 21 to the inner wall surface 24a of the back plate 24, respectively (see FIG. 2). That is, the partition walls 22a to 22c are formed so as to have an L-shape in a horizontal cross-sectional view together with the partition walls 22a'to 22c' on the back plate 24 side (see FIGS. 2 and 4B). ). By erecting the partition walls 22a'to 22c' from the back plate 24 side as well, the container body 2 can stably hold the three sides of the fruit packaging container 3.

Further, the partition wall portions 22a'to 22c' are not provided on a part of the inner wall surface 24a of the back plate 24. Specifically, of the partition walls 22a'to 22c'positioning on the same horizontal plane and facing each other, at least the ends of the partition walls 22b'and 22c' are separated from each other at predetermined intervals. Therefore, in a state where the fruit packaging container 3 is not housed in the storage compartments 2B to 2D, the storage compartments 2B to 2D communicate with each other.

On the lower surface of each of the partition walls 22a to 22c, pressing portions 25a to 25c extending downward to press and fix the upper surface of the fruit packaging container 3 to be placed are formed (FIGS. 2 and 3 (a)). reference). The pressing portions 25a to 25c suppress the movement of the fruit packaging container 3 in the vertical direction and give appropriate elasticity to the contained fruit packaging container 3, so that vibrations and impacts during transportation cause the fruit. It is possible to prevent the transmission to the packaging container 3.

Further, the accommodation compartments 2A to 2C have a ventilation flow path that communicates with each other in the internal space. Specifically, of the vertical planes constituting the container body 2, the back plate 24 facing the opening 20 projects from the inner wall surface 24a of the back plate 24 toward the opening 20 and comes into contact with the fruit packaging container 3. It has a protruding portion 26 (see FIGS. 2, 3 (a) and 4 (a) to 4 (c)). A plurality of protrusions 26 are provided at predetermined intervals in the horizontal direction for each of the accommodation compartments 2A to 2D, and two protrusions are provided in the present embodiment. Therefore, even when the fruit packaging container 3 is housed in the storage compartments 2B to 2D, the fruit packaging container 3 does not come into contact with the inner wall surface 24a of the back plate 24, and a ventilation flow path 27 is formed between them. The amount of protrusion of the back plate 24 of the protrusion 26 with respect to the inner wall surface 24a may be, for example, about 1 to 10 mm. If the protruding amount of the protruding portion 26 is too large, the size of the fruit packaging container 3 that can be accommodated is limited, and if it is too small, the opening area required for the ventilation flow path 27 to pass cold air cannot be secured.

A storage compartment in which the cold storage agent 4 is housed, in the present embodiment, the uppermost storage compartment 2A is erected from the inner wall surface 24a of the back plate 24 toward the opening 20 for mounting the cold storage agent 4. It has a mounting piece 28. The cold storage agent 4 is in a frozen solid state at the time of packaging, but since it melts and becomes soft with the passage of time, it cannot be retained only by placing both edges on the partition walls 22a and 22a'. Therefore, by providing the mounting piece 28 having a certain horizontal area, the softened cold storage agent 4 is stably held. Further, a gap 28a is provided between the mounting piece 28 and the partition wall portion 22a attached to the mounting piece 28. Therefore, the cold air cooled by the cold storage agent 4 can flow from the gap 28a to the lower storage compartment 2B.

Of the corners formed by the one side plate 21 and the top plate 23b, a notch 29a is provided at the corner on the opening 20 side. Further, the inner protrusion corner portion 20b forming a diagonal edge of the peripheral edge of the opening 20 is provided with a ventilation hole 29b for communicating the accommodation space in the container main body 2 and the notch portion 29a. Some types of fruits generate mature hormones such as ethylene gas, and if the inside of the container body 2 is completely sealed, the fruits may be over-ripened and cause deterioration such as putrefaction. Therefore, in the fruit transport box 1 of the present embodiment, by providing the notch 29a and the ventilation hole 29b, the air (gas) in the container body 2 can be discharged to the outside of the container, and the deterioration of the fruit can be suppressed.

Further, the cutout portion 29a and the ventilation hole 29b are also formed in the corner portion formed by the other side plate 21 and the bottom plate 23a. Therefore, the gas inside the container body 2 can be discharged to the outside of the container from two locations near the top plate 23b and the bottom plate 23a. Further, the corners formed by the side plate 21 and the top plate 23b or the bottom plate 23a are all chamfered so as to be rounded, and the notch 29a is formed in the vicinity of the chamfered corners, so that a plurality of corner portions are formed. Even if the fruit transport boxes 1 are juxtaposed or loaded without gaps, the notch 29a is not blocked by the side plate 21, top plate 23b or bottom plate 23a of the adjacent fruit transport boxes 1, and the container body is effectively used. The gas inside 2 can be discharged to the outside of the container.

As shown in FIG. 6, the fruit packaging container 3 is, for example, a container having a rectangular parallelepiped shape in a plan view in which a lower member 31 and an upper member 32 are combined. The lower member 31 has a tray portion 31a having an open upper portion and a flange portion 31b provided on the upper edge of the tray portion 31a. For example, a polyethylene (PE) film (not shown) molded into a strawberry fruit shape is arranged in the tray portion 31a, and the PE film is locked to the flange portion 31b so as not to come into contact with the bottom surface of the tray portion 31a. Fruits such as strawberries are suspended in the air. The bottom surface of the tray portion 31a is a flat surface, and the side surface connecting the bottom surface and the flange portion 31b is inclined in a tapered shape. The upper member 32 is a cover having an opening at the lower side, and is fitted into the inner edge of the flange portion 31b of the lower member 31. The upper surface of the upper member 32 is a flat surface, and the side surface from the upper surface toward the lower opening is inclined in a reverse taper shape. The shape of the fruit packaging container 3 may be any shape as long as it is housed in the storage compartments 2B to 2D of the container body 2 and held by the partition walls 22a to 22c, and is not limited to the shape shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the lid member 5 is formed in a shape corresponding to the opening 20 of the container body 2. The lid member 5 has a substantially rectangular lid plate 51 in front view thereof, an outer protrusion corner portion 50a provided on the peripheral edge of the lid plate 51 and protruding outward from the inside of the lid plate 51, and an outer protrusion corner portion 50a from the outside. Also has an inner protrusion 50b, which protrudes inward. The outer protrusion corner portion 50a is provided at one diagonal position of the lid member 5, and the inner protrusion corner portion 50b is provided at each other diagonal position of the lid member 5. The outer protrusion corner portion 50a and the inner protrusion corner portion 50b are each L-shaped in bottom view.

A guide groove 50c that fits with the convex guide protrusion 20d formed on the container body 2 is formed on the inner wall portion of the outer protrusion corner portion 50a. Further, a guide protrusion 50d that fits with the concave guide groove 20c formed in the container body 2 is formed on the outer wall portion of the inner protrusion corner portion 50b. By fitting the guide grooves 20c and 50c and the guide protrusions 20d and 50d, the container body 2 and the lid member 5 can be connected to maintain good airtightness of the fruit transport box 1.

Further, inside the outer protrusion corner portion 50a, a protrusion portion 52a provided at a predetermined distance from the outer protrusion corner portion 50a is provided. The ridges 52a are provided along two sides of the L-shaped outer protrusions 50a in bottom view, and the vent holes 29b of the container body 2 are provided at the corners of the ridges 52a that are orthogonal to each other (FIG. A ventilation hole 52b is provided so as to face (see 5 (b)). When the lid member 5 is attached to the opening 20 of the container body 2, the inner protrusion 20b of the container body 2 fits between the outer protrusion 50a and the protrusion 52a. That is, since the outer protrusion corner portion 50a and the protrusion portion 52a sandwich the inner protrusion corner portion 20b, the lid member 5 is firmly connected to the container body 2 and the lid member 5 can be attached to the container body 2 without applying a band from the outside. It can be prevented from coming off. Even if the ridge portion 52a is in close contact with the inner protrusion corner portion 20b, since the ventilation hole 52b is provided, the ventilation hole 29b of the container body 2 is not blocked, and the gas in the container body 2 is used as a container. It can be released to the outside.

In the fruit transport box 1 configured as described above, since the partition walls 22a'to 22c' are not provided on a part of the inner wall surface 24a of the back plate 24, the fruit packaging container 3 is contained in the storage compartments 2B to 2D. In the uncontained state, the containment compartments 2B to 2D communicate with each other. Then, on the inner wall surface 24a of the back plate 24, protrusions 26 that come into contact with the fruit packaging container 3 inserted through the opening 20 are provided at predetermined intervals. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C, even when the fruit packaging container 3 is housed in the storage compartments 2B to 2D, the fruit packaging container 3 does not come into contact with the inner wall surface 24a of the back plate 24. A ventilation flow path 27 (hatched portion in the figure) is formed between them. As a result, the air cooled by the cold storage agent 4 flows into the storage compartments 2B to 2D through the ventilation flow path 27, so that the cold insulation of the storage space in the fruit transport box 1 can be maintained high. Therefore, in the distribution process of fruits such as strawberries, the accommodation space can be maintained at a low temperature for a long period of time even if the fruit is placed in an environment where the cooling equipment is not equipped, and the fruits can be hard to be damaged. it can.

Further, since the fruit packaging container 3 housed in the storage space inside the fruit transport box 1 is housed in the storage compartments 2A to 2D partitioned by the partition walls 22a to 22c, the fruit packaging containers 3 are stored in each of the fruit packaging containers 3. There is no contact, and the fruit packaging container 3 itself can be in a state of being half-floated in the air. Therefore, the fruit transport box 1 can appropriately prevent fruits such as strawberries packaged in the fruit packaging container 3 from being damaged by vibration or contact during transportation.

As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the fruit transport box 1 can be fitted with two container bodies 2 with the openings 20 facing each other. Therefore, by fitting the guide groove 20c of one container body 2 with the guide protrusion 20d of the other container body 2 and fitting one guide protrusion 20d into the guide groove 20c of the other container body 2, 2 Two container bodies 2 can be connected. As a result, the fruit transport box 1 can obtain a storage space for accommodating the fruit packaging container 3 and the cold storage agent 4 only by the container body 2 without using the lid member 5. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9B, the fruit transport box 1 has a long width in the connecting direction between the two container bodies 2, so that the unconnected end of one of the container bodies 2 is connected from the outside. When a force is applied, the connecting portion is likely to come off. Therefore, by locking the band 5 in the recess 24c, the two container bodies 2 can be firmly connected.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. In the above embodiment, the ventilation flow path 27 is formed along the inner wall surface 24a of the back plate 24, but if the ventilation flow path 27 communicates with a plurality of accommodation compartments 2A to 2D, the ventilation flow path 27 is formed. The configuration is not limited to the above, and may be provided, for example, on the inner wall surface 21a side of the side plate 21 or on the opening 20 side (or the lid member 5 side). Further, it may be formed on a plurality of inner surfaces of the vertical plane forming the container body 2. Further, the fruits contained in the fruit transport box 1 are not limited to strawberries, and the fruit transport box 1 is also applicable to other delicate agricultural products such as peaches, pears, apples, melons, grapes and loquats. can do.

1 Fruit transport box 2 Container body 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D Storage compartment 20 Opening 21 Side plate 21a Inner wall surface of side plate (vertical facing)
22a, 22b, 22c, 22a', 22b', 22c' Partition wall 24 Back plate 24a Inner wall surface of back plate (vertical facing)
26 Protruding part 27 Ventilation flow path 28 Placement piece 28a Gap 3 Fruit packaging container 4 Cold storage goods

Claims (4)

A fruit transport box equipped with a foamed resin container body that houses a fruit packaging container.
The container body is a box-shaped body having an opening in a single vertical plane, and has a plurality of storage compartments for storing a cold storage agent and the fruit packaging container.
Said plurality of receiving compartments, have a vent passage which communicates the internal space of each other,
Of the vertical planes constituting the container body, at least both side plates orthogonal to the opening have a plurality of partition walls erected horizontally from the inner wall surface of the both side plates.
The plurality of partition walls are provided at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction, and by dividing the internal space of the container body into a plurality of compartments, the plurality of storage compartments are formed.
The cold storage agent is stored in the uppermost storage compartment separated by the partition wall, and is stored in the uppermost storage compartment.
The storage compartment in which the cold storage agent is housed has a mounting piece erected from the inner wall surface of the back plate toward the opening for mounting the cold storage agent.
A fruit transport box characterized in that a gap is provided between the above-mentioned mounting piece and the partition wall portion attached to the mounting piece. Of the vertical planes constituting the container body, the back plate facing the opening protrudes from the inner wall surface of the back plate toward the opening and comes into contact with the fruit packaging container inserted through the opening. Has a part
A plurality of the protrusions are provided in each of the storage compartments at predetermined intervals in the horizontal direction, and the ventilation flow path is formed between the fruit packaging container and the inner wall surface of the back plate. The fruit transport box according to claim 1. End of the partition wall that faces located at the same horizontal plane, fruit transport box according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that spaced apart from each other. The fruit transport box according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the partition wall portion is not provided on a part of the inner wall surface of the back plate.

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