JP7630911B2 - Lid for packaging container and packaging container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a lid for a packaging container that is attached to a container body on which food is placed, and to the packaging container.

Traditionally, lids for packaging containers that hold foods such as boxed lunches and prepared foods sold at supermarkets and convenience stores have been selected taking into consideration the type of food and the shape of the container itself. However, when the lid was changed, the way it was attached to the container itself (how the lid was closed) also had to be devised. In other words, depending on how each lid was closed, there was a risk that the lid would not close completely, or that the lid or container itself would bend or break.

In some cases, the container holder of a packaging container is stacked on top of the lid of another packaging container. For example, a technology has been disclosed in which a lid has a rounded corner that bulges outward in an arc shape on part of the peripheral wall extending downward from the outer edge of the top surface, and a concave surface that is recessed inward in a concave shape near the corner where the top surface and the rounded corner intersect, so that when stacked, the rounded corner and the concave surface function together to increase the strength of the lid against vertical loads (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2018-140787 A

However, Patent Document 1 does not describe how an operator closes the lid. In other words, the lid is fitted to the container body by an engagement portion formed at a predetermined position on the hanging surface portion that hangs down from the outer edge of the flange portion, and since it is unclear which part of the lid the operator applies force to attach it to the container body, there is a concern that the same problems as with conventional methods may occur depending on how the lid is closed, or that it may take a long time to close the lid.

In particular, with lids with high top surfaces like those in Patent Document 1, the degree and location of pressure can easily affect the lid. For example, the top surface is large and easy for an operator to apply pressure to, but depending on how well it is closed, not only the top surface but also other parts can easily bend or break. Also, although the flange portion is easy for an operator to grasp because it comes into contact with the container body, it is difficult to close unless pressure is applied to each engaging part. In response to these issues, the inventors used their ingenuity to arrive at a lid structure that is less likely to bend or break when stacked and attached, and is easy to attach to the container body.

The object of the present invention is to provide a lid for a packaging container and a packaging container that is strong enough to withstand stacking with other container bodies, and that can be easily attached to the container body with minimal force and in the shortest amount of work by an operator.

That is, the lid of the packaging container in the present invention comprises a top surface portion, a side wall portion which extends downward from the peripheral edge of the top surface portion and is inclined and has a corner portion, a flange portion which extends outward from the lower edge of the side wall portion, and a fitting wall portion which hangs down below the outer peripheral edge of the flange portion, the side wall portion having a convex protrusion which protrudes outward from the first side wall portion and the second side wall portion adjacent to the corner portion and is gently inclined, the upper end of the protrusion is located between the upper and lower edges of the side wall portion, the lower end of the protrusion is located outside the inner peripheral edge of the flange portion, and the upper end of the protrusion is located between the upper and lower edges of the side wall portion and the lower end of the protrusion is located outside the inner peripheral edge of the flange portion. The end face shape from the end to the lower end is linear, the fitting wall portion has a fitting portion approximately directly below the outer peripheral edge of the flange portion adjacent to the lower end of the protrusion , and further includes a sidewall step portion hanging downward from the peripheral edge of the top surface portion and having corner portions scattered circumferentially, the sidewall portion extends downward and slopes from the lower edge of the sidewall step portion, the sidewall step portion has a corner cutting portion that is sloped at the corner portion, the slope angles of the corner cutting portion and the protrusion are approximately equal, and the lower end of the corner cutting portion and the upper end of the protrusion are continuous and approximately flush .

In addition, the lid body of the packaging container in the present invention comprises a top surface portion, a side wall portion which extends downward from the peripheral edge of the top surface portion and is inclined and has a corner portion, a flange portion which extends outward from the lower edge of the side wall portion, and a fitting wall portion which hangs down below the outer peripheral edge of the flange portion, the side wall portion having a convex protrusion which protrudes outward from the first side wall portion and the second side wall portion adjacent to the corner portion and is gently inclined, the upper end portion of the protrusion is located between the upper and lower edges of the side wall portion, the lower end portion of the protrusion is located outside the inner peripheral edge of the flange portion, the end face shape from the upper end to the lower end of the protrusion is linear, the fitting wall portion has a fitting portion in a direction approximately directly below the outer peripheral edge of the flange portion adjacent to the lower end of the protrusion, and the radius of curvature of the protruding front lower end portion which is the arch-shaped lower end portion which forms the lower end of the protrusion is 4 to 7 mm.

It is also preferable that the lid of the packaging container further includes a flange step portion that is inclined upward from the lower edge of the side wall portion, the flange portion extends outward from the upper edge of the flange step portion, and the lower end of the protrusion is located beyond the flange step portion and outside the inner peripheral edge of the flange portion.

It is also preferable that the fitting wall portion has a wide fitting portion located close to the lower end of the protrusion.

Furthermore, the packaging container of the present invention is characterized by comprising a lid body for the packaging container and a container body that fits externally with the fitting portion of the lid body.

The lid of the packaging container according to the present invention is strong enough to withstand stacking with other container bodies, and is also expected to be easily attached to the container body with a minimum of force and in the shortest amount of work by the worker. In other words, the minimum external force applied to the top surface from the palm and fingertips of the worker is easily transmitted to the flange portion via the protruding portion, so the lid can be easily fitted to the container body without bending or breaking, and it is expected that the lid can be easily attached.

1 is a perspective view of a packaging container in which a lid is positioned above a container body in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged front perspective view of a corner portion of the lid body. 3 is an enlarged end view of the lid body taken along line AA in FIG. 2. FIG. 13 is a plan view of another lid according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged front perspective view of a corner portion of the lid body.

Hereinafter, a packaging container in one embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, also referred to as "the packaging container") will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 4.
In addition, in the figure, when there are a plurality of identical parts, only one part is numbered, and the overlapping parts may be omitted. For convenience of explanation, certain parts and leading lines are shown by dashed lines or imaginary lines (two-dot chain lines).

<Overview of packaging containers>
As shown in FIG. 1, the packaging container C includes a lid C1 having a generally rectangular, box-like dome shape in plan view, and a container body C2 having the same shape as the lid C1 in plan view and covered by the lid C1.
The planar shapes of the lid C1 and the container body C2 may be square, circular, or elliptical. The lid C1 may be a hemispherical dome shape. The sizes of the lid C1 and the container body C2 are not limited. Foods to be packed in the packaging container C include sushi, salads, bento lunches, side dishes, etc., and are not limited.

<Overview of the lid>
As shown in Figure 1, the cover body C1 includes a top surface portion 1, a side wall step portion 2 that hangs continuously downward from the peripheral edge of the top surface portion 1, a side wall portion 3 that extends continuously downward and slopes from the lower edge of the side wall step portion 2, a flange step portion 4 that slopes continuously upward from the lower edge of the side wall portion 3, a planar flange portion 5 that extends continuously outward from the upper edge of the flange step portion 4, and a fitting wall portion 6 that hangs continuously downward from the outer peripheral edge of the flange portion 5.
The shapes of the top surface 1, the side wall step 2, the side wall 3, the flange step 4, and the flange 5 in a plan view may be the same as that of the cover C1, or may be square, circular, elliptical, etc. The sizes and dimensions of the top surface 1, the side wall step 2, the side wall 3, the flange step 4, and the flange 5 are not limited.

<Overview of the container body>
As shown in FIG. 1, the container body C2 comprises an unnumbered bottom on which food is placed, unnumbered concave legs extending downward from positions corresponding to corners of the peripheral edge of the bottom in order to raise the bottom above the ground surface of a fixture or the like on which the container is placed, an unnumbered body flange extending outward from the peripheral edge of the bottom and the outer peripheral edge of the legs, and an unnumbered fitting portion provided on the peripheral edge of the body flange to fit with the lid C1.

<Description of the top surface>
As shown in FIG. 2 , the top surface 1 has a long side portion 11 , a short side portion 12 , and a top surface corner portion 13 that is continuous with the long side portion 11 and the short side portion 12 .
The long sides 11 and the short sides 12 may be straight or curved. The angle of the top surface corners 13 may be inclined at 45° with respect to the long sides 11 and the short sides 12, or may be inclined at another angle.

<Description of side wall step>
2, the side wall step portion 2 is a portion that fits inside the legs of the container body when the container body of another packaging container is placed on the lid body C1, and has a long side wall step portion 21 corresponding to the first side wall step portion, a short side wall step portion 22 corresponding to the second side wall step portion, and a planar corner cutting portion 23 formed in an inclined manner at a position corresponding to a corner portion scattered in the circumferential direction formed by the long side wall step portion 21 and the short side wall step portion 22. The upper edge of the side wall step portion 2 corresponds to the peripheral edge of the top surface portion 1.
There is no limitation on the height of the side wall step portion 2. The long side wall step portion 21 and the short side wall step portion 22 may be flat or curved.

<Description of side wall>
2 , the side wall portion 3 has a planar long side wall portion 31 corresponding to the first side wall portion, a short side wall portion 32 corresponding to the second side wall portion, and a convex protruding portion 33 that protrudes outward from the long side wall portion 31 and the short side wall portion 32 and is gently inclined at a position corresponding to a corner portion formed by the long side wall portion 31 and the short side wall portion 32. The upper edge of the side wall portion 3 corresponds to the upper edge of the side wall step portion 2.
The side wall 3 may be inclined at an angle of 5° to 30° with respect to the vertical, more preferably at an angle of 7° to 25°, and even more preferably at an angle of 10° to 25°. The long side wall 31 and the short side wall 32 may be flat or curved.

<Explanation of flange step>
As shown in FIG. 1 , the flange step portion 4 forms a groove portion of a predetermined height and width between the side wall portion 3 and the flange portion 5 , and is inclined upward from the lower edge of the side wall portion 3 .
According to this configuration, the flange step portion 4 and the fitting wall portion 6 sandwich the body flange portion of the container body C2, so that the fitting force of the lid body C1 to the container body C2 can be increased.

<Explanation of the flange part>
As shown in FIG. 1, the flange portion 5 is a portion that faces the main body flange portion when the lid body C1 is attached to the container body C2.
As shown in FIG. 2 , the flange portion 5 has a flange inner peripheral edge 51 which is also the boundary with the flange step portion 4 , and a flange outer peripheral edge 52 which is also the boundary with the fitting wall portion 6 .

<Explanation of corner cutting>
3, the corner cutting portion 23 has a corner cutting upper end 23a which is a part of the peripheral edge of the top surface corner portion 13 in a plan view, a straight corner cutting side portion 23b which is a boundary portion between the long side wall step portion 21 and the short side wall step portion 22 and is inclined downward, and a corner cutting lower end 23c which is formed so that each of the corner cutting side portions 23b is continuously formed in an arc shape. In other words, the corner cutting portion 23 is formed in a substantially semicircular and planar shape by the corner cutting upper end 23a, the corner cutting side portion 23b, and the corner cutting lower end 23c. The end face shape from the corner cutting upper end 23a to the corner cutting lower end 23c is straight.
With this configuration, it is expected that the external force transmitted from the top surface corner portion 13 will be easily concentrated from the corner cutting upper end portion 23a through the corner cutting side portion 23b to the corner cutting lower end portion 23c.
The corner cutting side portion 23b may be curved, and the corner cutting lower end portion 23c may be linear.

<Explanation of protrusion>
As shown in FIG. 3 , the protruding portion 33 has a linear protruding first boundary portion 33a which is a boundary portion between the long side wall portion 31 and the short side wall portion 32 and slopes downward; a protruding side portion 33b which is a triangular portion in front view and is formed in a flat shape extending outward from the first protruding boundary portion 33a; a linear protruding second boundary portion 33c which is a boundary portion between each of the protruding side portions 33b and slopes downward more gently than the first protruding boundary portion 33a; a protruding front portion 33d which is a rectangular portion in front view and is formed in an arch shape extending outward from each of the protruding second boundary portions 33c; a protruding upper end portion 33e which is formed by an arch-shaped upper end portion that is a part of the protruding front portion 33d; and a protruding lower end portion 33f which is formed by a linear lower end portion which is a part of the protruding side portion 33b and a protruding front lower end portion 33fa which is an arch-shaped lower end portion that is a part of the protruding front portion 33d. The protruding upper end 33e is located between the upper edge and the lower edge of the side wall portion 3, specifically, at the lower edge of the side wall step portion 2, and the protruding lower end 33f is located at the flange portion 5. The end face shape from the protruding upper end 33e to the protruding lower end 33f is linear. In other words, in a front view of the protruding portion 33, the protruding first boundary portion 33a, the protruding side portion 33b, the protruding second boundary portion 33c, and the protruding front portion 33d are continuous from the protruding upper end 33e to the protruding lower end 33f, and protrude outward from the long side wall portion 31 and the short side wall portion 32 as they approach the protruding lower end 33f. The width of the protruding front portion 33d is not particularly limited, but may be 7.0 to 13.0 mm, more preferably 9.0 to 11.0 mm, or may be 7.0 to 15.0 mm, 8.0 to 14.0 mm, or may be 9.0 to 14.0 mm. The radius of curvature of the protruding front lower end portion 33fa may be 6.5 to 10 mm, preferably 7.5 to 9 mm, and more preferably 7.5 to 8.5 mm, which is larger than the radius of curvature of the protruding upper end portion 33e, and therefore the protruding portion 33 is formed in a fan-shaped shape.
With this configuration, it is expected that the external force transmitted from the corner cutting lower end 23c will be easily transmitted from the protruding upper end 33e to the protruding lower end 33f via the protruding side portion 33b and the protruding front portion 33d. In detail, since the protruding front lower end 33fa protrudes onto the flat portion of the flange portion 5, the force applied to the top surface portion 1 during closing is directly transmitted to the four corners of the flange portion 5, and the fitting wall portions 6 located directly below the four corners can be smoothly fitted together.

<Description of the relationship between the corner cutting portion and the protruding portion>
4, the corner cutting lower end 23c of the corner cutting portion 23 and the protruding upper end 33e of the protruding portion 33 are continuous and substantially flush with each other. The inclination angle of the corner cutting portion 23 and the inclination angle of the protruding portion 33 with respect to the top surface 1 are substantially equal and are 30 to 50 degrees with respect to the vertical.
The portion that continues in a substantially flush shape may be a dot or a line having a predetermined width. In other words, the boundary portion between the corner-cut lower end 23c and the protruding upper end 33e, excluding the portion that continues in a substantially flush shape, may be stepped.
With this configuration, it is expected that the external force transmitted from the corner cutting lower end 23c will be more easily transmitted to the protruding upper end 33e.

<Description of the relationship between the protrusion and the flange step>
As shown in FIG. 3 , a front lower end 33 fa of the lower protruding end 33 f extends beyond the flange step portion 4 and is positioned outside the inner peripheral edge 51 of the flange portion 5 .
Furthermore, even if the apex of the protruding front lower end 33fa reaches the flange outer peripheral edge 52, in other words, even if the distance between the apex of the protruding front lower end 33fa and the flange outer peripheral edge 52 is zero, if the protruding front lower end 33fa has a shape (e.g., arch-shaped) that has a portion that protrudes onto the flat portion of the flange portion 5 except for the apex, the force applied to the top surface portion 1 will not be transmitted to the four corners of the flange portion 5, but the ratio of the distance from the flange inner peripheral edge 51 to the flange outer peripheral edge 52 to the distance from the apex of the protruding front lower end 33fa to the flange outer peripheral edge 52 may be 10:1 to 10:9, preferably 5:1 to 5:4, and more preferably 3:1 to 3:2. If the above ratio is less than 10:1 or more than 10:9, there is a risk that the external force transmitted to the protruding front lower end 33fa will be less likely to be transmitted to the fitting wall portion 6. The distance from the apex of the protruding front lower end 33fa to the flange outer peripheral edge 52 is not particularly limited, but may be 1.5 to 5 mm, and is preferably 2.0 to 3.5 mm. If it is less than 1.5 mm, the apex of the protruding front lower end 33fa will float when the lid is closed, creating a gap between the flange and the apex, which will impair the design. If it exceeds 5 mm, there is a risk that external forces will not be transmitted easily.

<Description of fitting wall part>
As shown in FIG. 1, the fitting wall portion 6 is fitted onto the outside of the flange portion of the container body C2.
As shown in Figure 2, the fitting wall portion 6 has a long fitting wall portion 61, a short fitting wall portion 62, and a corner-cut fitting wall portion 63 which is cut at positions corresponding to the corner portions scattered around the circumference formed by the long fitting wall portion 61 and the short fitting wall portion 62.
3, the long fitting wall portion 61, the short fitting wall portion 62, and the corner fitting wall portion 63 each have a wide fitting portion 61a, 62a, 63a in a position close to the protruding lower end portion 33f. In other words, the fitting portions 61a, 62a, 63a are provided in a planar shape on the fitting wall portion 6 so as to surround the protruding lower end portion 33f. The width of the fitting portions 61a, 62a is wider than the width of the protruding lower end portion 33f, and the width of the fitting portion 63a is wider than at least the width of the protruding front lower end portion 33fa.
The widths of the fitting parts 61a, 62a, and 63a may be the same or different, and are not particularly limited, but are preferably 10 to 28 mm, and more preferably 18 to 25 mm. Also, it is preferable that the fitting part 62a formed on the short fitting wall part 62 is longer than the fitting part 61a formed on the long fitting wall part 61.
According to this configuration, external forces are easily transmitted to the fitting portions 61a, 62a, 63a that are provided so as to follow the shape of the protruding lower end portion 33f, so that it is expected that the protruding lower end portion 33f will be easily fitted into the container body.

The lid C1 and container body C2 in this embodiment may be formed by thermoforming a synthetic resin sheet, for example, by sheet molding such as vacuum molding, hot plate pressure molding, vacuum pressure molding, and double-sided vacuum molding. As the synthetic resin sheet, for example, a polyester resin such as polyethylene terephthalate, a styrene resin such as polystyrene, or an olefin resin such as polypropylene may be used, and a single-layer or multi-layer sheet may be used. As the resin, for example, a foamed resin is preferably used because it is lightweight and has heat insulating properties. Furthermore, the front or back of the sheet may be covered with a synthetic resin film, and if the front is covered, printing may be performed. There is no particular limit to the thickness of the synthetic resin sheet, but it may be 0.25 to 0.45 mm.

Next, with reference to Figures 5 and 6, the parts of the lid of another packaging container in one embodiment of the present invention that differ from the lid of the packaging container described above will be described, and a description of the equivalent parts will be omitted. For ease of reference, the parts or portions in Figures 5 and 6 that correspond to those shown in Figures 2 and 3 are numbered with 100 added to the numbers in Figures 2 and 3.

As shown in FIG. 5, the side wall portion 300 has a convex protrusion 330 that protrudes outward from the long side wall portion 310 and the short side wall portion 320 at a position corresponding to the corner portion and is gently inclined.

As shown in FIG. 6, the radius of curvature of the protruding front lower end 330fa may be 4 to 7 mm, preferably 4.5 to 6.5 mm, and more preferably 5 to 6 mm, and is equal to or less than the radius of curvature of the protruding upper end 330e, so the width of the protruding portion 330 remains the same.

C1 Lid C2 Container body 1 Top surface 2 Side wall step 23 Corner cutting portion 23a Corner cutting upper end 23b Corner cutting upper end 23c Corner cutting lower end 3, 300 Side wall 31, 310 First side wall (longitudinal side wall)
32, 320 Second side wall portion (short side wall portion)
33, 330 Protruding portion 33a Protruding first boundary portion 33b Protruding side portion 33c Protruding second boundary portion 33d Protruding front portion 33e, 330e Protruding upper end portion 33f Protruding lower end portion 33fa, 330fa Protruding front lower end portion 4 Flange step portion 5 Flange portion 6 Fitting wall portion 61a, 62a, 63a Fitting portion

Claims (4)

The housing has a top surface portion, a side wall portion that is inclined and extends downward from a peripheral edge of the top surface portion and has a corner portion, a flange portion that extends outward from a lower edge of the side wall portion, and a fitting wall portion that hangs down below an outer peripheral edge of the flange portion,
the side wall portion has a convex protrusion that protrudes outward from the first side wall portion and the second side wall portion adjacent to the corner portion and is gently inclined,
an upper end of the protruding portion is located between an upper end edge and a lower end edge of the side wall portion, and a lower end of the protruding portion is located outside an inner peripheral edge of the flange portion;
The end face shape of the protruding portion from the upper end to the lower end is linear,
the fitting wall portion has a fitting portion substantially directly below an outer peripheral edge of the flange portion adjacent to a lower end portion of the protruding portion,
The top surface portion further includes a sidewall step portion having corners that hang down from a peripheral edge of the top surface portion and are scattered in a circumferential direction,
The side wall portion is inclined and expands downward from a lower end edge of the side wall step portion,
The side wall step portion has a corner cutting portion that is inclined at the corner portion,
The inclination angles of the corner cutting portion and the protruding portion are substantially equal,
The lower end of the corner cutting portion and the upper end of the protruding portion are continuous and substantially flush with each other.
A lid for a packaging container.
The housing has a top surface portion, a side wall portion that is inclined and extends downward from a peripheral edge of the top surface portion and has a corner portion, a flange portion that extends outward from a lower edge of the side wall portion, and a fitting wall portion that hangs down below an outer peripheral edge of the flange portion,
the side wall portion has a convex protrusion that protrudes outward from the first side wall portion and the second side wall portion adjacent to the corner portion and is gently inclined,
an upper end of the protruding portion is located between an upper end edge and a lower end edge of the side wall portion, and a lower end of the protruding portion is located outside an inner peripheral edge of the flange portion;
The end face shape of the protruding portion from the upper end to the lower end is linear,
the fitting wall portion has a fitting portion substantially directly below an outer peripheral edge of the flange portion adjacent to a lower end portion of the protruding portion,
A lid for a packaging container, characterized in that the radius of curvature of the protruding front lower end portion, which is the arch-shaped lower end portion forming the lower end portion of the protruding portion, is 4 to 7 mm .
The side wall further includes a flange step portion inclined upward from a lower end edge of the side wall portion,
The flange portion extends outward from an upper end edge of the flange step portion,
3. The lid for a packaging container according to claim 1, wherein a lower end of the protruding portion is located outside an inner peripheral edge of the flange portion, beyond the flange step portion. A packaging container comprising: a lid for a packaging container according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ; and a container body that fits externally with a fitting portion of the lid.

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