JP7794433B2 - container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a container suitable for storing food, for example.

Simple containers have been proposed in the past that consist of a frame-shaped base and a synthetic resin container body with a recess for storing food or other items. The container body is dropped onto the base body, and the engaging recess on the upper outer edge of the container body engages with the upper edge of the base body (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent No. 6632489

The present invention relates to an improvement over the simple container described in Patent Document 1, and provides a container that allows the engaging recess of the container body to be easily engaged with the upper edge of the base body, simplifying assembly work, and also making it easy to design a base body that exhibits high strength.

The gist of the present invention will be explained with reference to the attached drawings.

The device comprises a base body 1 having a frame shape in a plan view, and a container body 2 made of synthetic resin that is housed and assembled within the base body 1.
The base body 1 has a plate-shaped thin portion 3 on its upper edge,
The container body 2 is integrally formed with an engagement recess 4 having a groove-like recessed shape extending upward on the outer periphery thereof, and the container body 2 is assembled to the base body 1 by inserting and engaging a thin-walled portion 3 on the upper edge of the base body 1 into the engagement recess 4 while accommodating the container body 2 within the base body 1 ;
The base body 1 is made up of stacked plate materials 5, and these plate materials 5 are stacked with their positions shifted vertically, so that the upper edge is formed as the thin-walled portion 3 equivalent to one plate material 5, which is a container characterized by this.

The base body 1 has the thin portion 3 provided around the entire upper edge thereof,
2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the container body has the engagement recesses formed on the entire outer periphery thereof.

Furthermore, the container according to claim 2 is characterized in that the thin-walled portion 3 is provided around the entire periphery of the base body 1, excluding the corners of the upper edge.

The base body 1 is made of folded paper material 5 that is folded in half so that the folded edge side is at the bottom and the opposite folded edge side is at the top, and this paper material 5 is folded with the position of the upper folded edge shifted up and down, so that the upper edge is configured as the thin portion 3 equivalent to one sheet of paper material 5. This relates to a container described in any one of claims 1 to 3 .

The container according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is characterized in that the base body 1 has a folded edge 6 and is configured to be foldable into a flat state via this folded edge 6.

As the present invention is configured as described above, the thin-walled upper edge of the base body makes it easy to insert and lock this thin-walled portion into the engaging recess of the container body, facilitating the assembly of the base body and container body. Furthermore, since the base body can be designed to be thick except for the upper edge (thin-walled portion), it is easy to design and realize a high-strength base body, resulting in a container with excellent practicality.

Furthermore, in the present invention and the invention described in claim 4, the upper part is thin (thin part) and can be easily inserted and locked into the engagement recess, and the base body below this thin part is thick and exhibits high strength, making it possible to easily cut out the base body with a simple structure, resulting in a container with an even more practical configuration.

Furthermore, in the inventions described in claims 2 and 3, the engagement between the thin portion on the upper edge of the base and the engaging recess in the container body is more stable, thereby stably maintaining the assembled state of the base and container body (completed container state). In particular, when configured as described in claim 3, even container bodies with corners can easily have the thin portion inserted and engaged into the engaging recess, facilitating the assembly of the base and container body, resulting in a container with an extremely practical configuration.

In the invention described in claim 5 , the base body can be folded into a flat state, so that the container is not bulky and is more practical in construction, suitable for storage, transportation, etc.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional side view showing the assembly structure of the base body and the container body of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a folded state of the base body of the present embodiment.

The optimal embodiment of the present invention will be briefly explained below, showing its operation based on the drawings.

The container body 2 is placed inside the base body 1, which is frame-shaped in plan view. The thin-walled portion 3 on the upper edge of the base body 1 is inserted and locked into the engagement recess 4, which is a groove-like recess extending upward along the outer periphery of the container body 2. This assembles the container body 2 to the base body 1, completing the container of the present invention.

In this case, because the upper edge of the base body 1 is a thin-walled portion 3, this thin-walled portion 3 can be easily inserted and locked into the engagement recess 4, facilitating the assembly of the container body 2 and base body 1.

Furthermore, the base body 1 can be designed to be thick except for the thin portion 3 at the upper edge, making it easy to ensure the strength of the base body 1.

Specific examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The container of this embodiment is composed of a foldable base body 1 that forms a rectangular frame when opened in plan view, and a container body 2 that is integrally molded from a thin synthetic resin. The lower part of the container body 2 is placed on top of the base body 1, and the outer periphery of the container body 2 is placed over the upper edge of the base body 1, thereby assembling the base body 1 and the container body 2 (see Figures 1 to 3).

The base body 1 in this embodiment is composed of overlapping plate materials 5. More specifically, the base body 1 is composed of a horizontally long strip of paper material 5 (plate material 5) that is made by folding a hard cardboard approximately 1 mm thick in half, so that the folded edge is at the bottom and the opposite folded edge is at the top. The base body 1 may also be made of synthetic resin.

The folded state of the paper material 5 is maintained by adhesive or other fastening means, and both longitudinal ends of the paper material 5 are connected by connecting means to form a frame (annular) shape, with the annular paper material 5 being folded at multiple points to form a rectangular frame in plan view.

In addition, the means for connecting both ends of the paper material 5 can be, for example, a configuration in which a glue tab is provided on both ends or one of the ends of the paper material 5, and the both ends are glued via this glue tab, or a configuration in which both ends of the paper material 5 are adhered with adhesive tape such as paper tape or vinyl tape (in this case, for example, as described below, if both ends of the paper material 5 are cut at a 45-degree angle in plan to the outer surface of the paper material 5, the 45-degree end faces of both ends can be brought together and then easily taped together), or other connecting means can also be used.

The paper material 5 (cardboard) that makes up the base 1 has an exterior sheet 7 attached to at least the outer surface, which has waterproof, durable, decorative properties, etc. Three predetermined locations have been cut out to form vertical grooves, leaving the exterior sheet 7. The cut-out cardboard sections, where only the exterior sheet 7 remains, and the connection between both ends of the paper material 5 form foldable edges 6. The base 1 is configured to be foldable into a strip-like shape as shown in Figure 5 via these four fold edges 6, and when the paper material 5 is unfolded to form the rectangular frame-shaped base 1, these four fold edges 6 become the corners of the rectangular base 1, as shown in Figure 2.

Furthermore, at two folded edges 6A located on one diagonal of the rectangular frame-shaped base 1, the paper material 5 at these folded edges 6A is cut into a relatively wide vertical groove, allowing the two sides of the paper material 5 adjacent to these folded edges 6A to bend in directions greater than or less than 90 degrees in a planar view via these folded edges 6A.

Furthermore, one of the two fold edges 6 located on the other diagonal of the rectangular frame-shaped base 1 (fold edge 6B, which is the connection between both ends of the paper material 5) is not shown in detail, but both ends of the paper material 5 at this fold edge 6B are formed into end faces shaped to form a 45-degree angle in plan with respect to the outer surface of the paper material 5.When folded at this fold edge 6B so that the 45-degree end faces adjacent to fold edge 6B meet, the two sides of the paper material 5 adjacent to fold edge 6B form an angle of 90 degrees in plan.From this 90-degree state, it is possible to bend the two sides of the paper material 5 adjacent to fold edge 6B via fold edge 6B in a direction expanding the angle to more than 90 degrees in plan, but bending it to an angle less than 90 degrees in plan is difficult due to the 45-degree end faces colliding with each other.

Furthermore, at the folding edge 6C located diagonally from this folding edge 6B, the paper material 5 at this folding edge 6C is cut into a vertical groove that is narrower than the folding edge 6A, and the cut edge is cut into a shape that forms a 90-degree angle with the outer surface of the paper material 5 in a planar view. When the angle between the two sides of the paper material 5 adjacent to this folding edge 6C is approximately 90 degrees in a planar view, one edge of the paper material 5 adjacent to this folding edge 6C will come into contact with the other edge, or both edges will come into contact with each other. From this 90-degree angle, the two sides of the paper material 5 adjacent to this folding edge 6C can be bent in a direction that expands the angle beyond 90 degrees in a planar view, but bending it to an angle less than 90 degrees in a planar view is difficult, as one edge of the paper material 5 adjacent to this folding edge 6C will come into contact with the other edge, or both edges will come into contact with each other.

In other words, the folding edges 6B, 6C are limited to a bending range of approximately 90 degrees between the unfolded state of the base body 1, where the angle between the two sides of the paper material 5 adjacent to the folding edges 6B, 6C is 90 degrees, and the folded state of the base body 1, where the angle between the two sides of the paper material 5 adjacent to the folding edges 6B, 6C is 180 degrees. Therefore, when folding the unfolded base body 1, it can only be folded in a direction that increases the angle between the two sides of the paper material 5 adjacent to the folding edges 6B, 6C to 90 degrees or more. Conversely, when unfolding the folded base body 1, once the angle between the two sides of the paper material 5 adjacent to the folding edges 6B, 6C reaches approximately 90 degrees in plan view, it cannot be folded any further in a direction that reduces the angle (so that the base body 1 cannot be folded beyond the unfolded rectangular frame state).

Folded edges 6B and 6C may have the same configuration as folded edge 6A, or folded edge 6B may have the same configuration as folded edge 6C, or folded edge 6C may have the same configuration as folded edge 6B.

In addition, this base body 1 has a plate-shaped thin portion 3 on its upper edge.

Specifically, the folded paper material 5 is folded with the position of the upper folded edge offset vertically (so that the folded edge (top edge) of the outer part of the paper material 5 is positioned lower than the folded edge (top edge) of the inner part of the paper material 5), so that the entire upper edge is configured as the thin part 3, which is the thickness of one sheet of paper material 5, and the part below this thin part 3 is essentially the thickness of two sheets of paper material 5, ensuring strength.

Furthermore, the base body 1 has the thin-walled portion 3 around its entire periphery, excluding the corners of the upper edge. More specifically, the corners (four corners) of the base body 1 are configured as non-material portions 8 where the thin-walled portion 3 has been removed, and the illustrated non-material portion 8 is removed so that the edge (removed edge) of the adjacent thin-walled portion 3 forms an inclined edge that moves away from the corners of the base body 1 (the folded edge 6) as it moves upward. The removal depth and width of this non-material portion 8 are set and configured according to the dimensions and shape of the engagement recess 4 of the container body 2, which will be described later.

The container body 2 of this embodiment is made of a thin material made of synthetic resin, such as polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and is formed into a box-like shape that is open at the top and has a rectangular shape in plan view that is roughly the same as the outer shape of the base body 1 when unfolded, as shown in Figures 1 to 3. The shape of this container body 2 is not limited to this embodiment, and various shapes can be used in plan view, such as a hexagon, octagon, drum, gourd, or circle, or any of these variations, and it is easy to prepare base bodies 1 of shapes that correspond to these various container body 2 shapes.

The container body 2 has a flange-like protrusion around the entire outer periphery, which is integrally molded with a groove-like recess facing upward. This recessed flange forms an engaging recess 4 into which the thin-walled portion 3 of the base body 1 can be inserted and locked.

Furthermore, this engagement recess 4 is formed in a rectangular frame shape that is the same as the base body 1 (thin-walled portion 3) in a plan view. The container body 2 is assembled to the base body 1 by dropping the lower part of the container body 2 into the base body 1 and inserting and locking the thin-walled portion 3 that runs along almost the entire periphery of the upper edge of the base body 1 into almost the entire periphery of the engagement recess 4, thereby completing the container of this embodiment. At this time, the container body 2 may be fixed to the base body 1 in an assembled state, for example, by applying adhesive to the thin-walled portion 3.

Furthermore, when assembling the container body 2 to the base body 1, as mentioned above, the corners of the base body 1 are the solid portions 8, where no thin portions 3 exist. Therefore, the thin portions 3 are inserted and engaged in locations other than the engaging recesses 4 at the corners (four corners) of the container body 2, facilitating the assembly of the container body 2 to the base body 1. Specifically, in a container body 2 with engaging recesses 4 that is integrally molded from synthetic resin, the engaging recesses 4 at the corners must be rounded rather than right-angled in plan view to facilitate easy removal during demolding. However, when a thin portion 3 that is right-angled in plan view is inserted and engaged into the rounded engaging recess 4 at the corner, the thin portion 3 is likely to come into contact with and interfere with the engaging recess 4 at the corner, creating insertion resistance and potentially hindering the assembly process. However, in this embodiment, in which the corners of the base body 1 are the solid portions 8, such an obstacle does not arise.

Furthermore, this container body 2 is formed in a shape that allows multiple bodies to be stacked and nested. In other words, the container of this embodiment is shipped with the base body 1 and container body 2 separated, but in this case, multiple base bodies 1 folded into a strip shape and multiple stacked container bodies 2 can be transported and stored in a compact manner.

Note that the present invention is not limited to this example, and the specific configuration of each component can be designed as appropriate.

1 Base body 2 Container body 3 Thin-walled portion 4 Engagement recess 5 Plate material/paper material 6 Folded edge

Claims (5)

The container is made of synthetic resin and is assembled into the base in a frame-like shape in plan view.
The base body has a plate-shaped thin portion on an upper edge thereof,
The container body has an engagement recess formed integrally with the outer periphery thereof, the engagement recess being recessed upward like a groove, and the container body is assembled to the base body by inserting and engaging a thin portion of the upper edge of the base body into the engagement recess while the container body is housed within the base body ,
The container is characterized in that the base body is made up of stacked plate materials, and the plate materials are stacked with their positions shifted vertically, so that the upper edge is formed as the thin portion equivalent to one plate material . The base body has the thin portion provided around the entire upper edge thereof,
2. The container according to claim 1, wherein the container body has the engagement recesses formed on the entire outer periphery thereof. A container as described in claim 2, characterized in that the base body has the thin-walled portion around its entire periphery, excluding the corners of the upper edge. The container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the base body is made of folded paper material that is folded in half so that the folded edge side becomes the bottom and the opposite folded edge side becomes the top, and the paper material is folded so that the position of the top folded edge is shifted up and down , so that the upper edge is configured as the thin portion equivalent to one sheet of paper material. 5. The container according to claim 1 , wherein the base body has a folded edge and is configured to be foldable into a flat state via the folded edge.