JPH0764371B2 - Container for keeping freshness of vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc. - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a container for maintaining freshness of vegetables, fruits, flowers and the like.

[Prior Art] Since it is difficult to maintain the freshness of vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc., at present, the method of shipping the vegetables the next day after harvesting them is generally used. And as a transportation method at that time, vegetables,
A method of transporting fruits, flowers, etc. in a cardboard box, a plastic case, etc. by a transportation means such as a truck, a ship, or an airplane, and packing vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc. in a cardboard box, a plastic case, etc. Alternatively, there is known a method of storing in a container with a refrigerator and transporting it by transportation means such as a truck, a ship, and an airplane.

The former method cannot be expected to have any freshness-preserving effect. In the latter method, a heat insulating material is provided on the wall surface of the container to maintain freshness, and pre-chilled vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc. are loaded and transported.

By the way, in the conventional cold-storage container, heat from the outside is cut off, but breathing is not suppressed because no special treatment is applied to vegetables, fruits, flowers and the like. Therefore, the product temperature rises, which promotes further breathing and promotes aging.

On the other hand, since the container has a relatively good airtightness and the respiratory volume is large as described above, the carbon dioxide concentration in the container rapidly rises. Therefore, if it is transported or stored for several days, the carbon dioxide gas will cause discoloration, resulting in a significant loss of commercial value. The results of the experiment, the CO ₂ concentration by breathing in example 24 hours was observed to rise to 10% or more, when depending on material CO ₂ concentration of about 15% is considered a failure emerges.

Therefore, the cold storage container that is usually used has almost no freshness-keeping ability, and the shelf life is only 2 to 3 days. Therefore, the transportation of containers from remote areas was limited to land and air routes that can be transported in a short time. Furthermore, the refrigerator-equipped container has a high cost, and depending on the item, there is a problem in that it cannot be actually used in terms of cost.

In order to solve these problems, Japanese Patent Application No. 61-76689
In the invention described in the specification and Japanese Patent Application No. 61-82328, a container body is provided with a selective gas permeable film, vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc. are housed therein and, after cooling in vacuum, carbon dioxide gas and We proposed a container that can be transported by enclosing nitrogen gas up to atmospheric pressure.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] According to the container that is partially provided with the selective gas permeable film proposed above, the shelf life is certainly extended, and the freshness of vegetables, fruits, flowers and the like is maintained to some extent. It is effective, but even with such a container, when the inside of the container is evacuated during the vacuum cooling operation, the welded parts of the wall members and frame members that make up the container body are welded from those cavities. The air that has accumulated in those cavities leaks through, and when gas is replaced, the gas concentration does not reach the desired level, the gas distribution is not uniform, and the container is not an airtight structure. There was a problem that it was difficult to maintain the desired gas concentration in the container after the introduction.

The present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional container as described above, a vegetable having a better freshness retention ability,
The purpose is to provide a container for keeping the freshness of fruits and flowers.

[Means for Solving Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a container that accommodates vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc., cools them in vacuum, and then seals carbon dioxide gas and nitrogen gas to atmospheric pressure In a container for freshness preservation of vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc., in which an opening having a certain area is provided in a part of the main body and a selective gas permeable film is attached to this opening, according to the present invention, the container main body is hermetically sealed. It has a structure and is characterized in that the voids in the wall member and the frame member that form the container body are communicated with the inside of the container body.

[Operation] In the container for keeping freshness of vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc. according to the present invention configured as described above, after the vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc. are stored, they are uniformly cooled by vacuum cooling.
At this time, since the voids that may leak into the container inside the wall members and frame members that make up the container body communicate with the inside of the container, the air accumulated in such voids is also discharged cleanly. Can be done. In this way, by enclosing carbon dioxide gas and nitrogen gas to atmospheric pressure from under reduced pressure with no residual air and maintaining airtightness, gas can be efficiently generated even in vegetables, fruits or flowers that have places where gas does not easily go around. The ethylene layer that permeates uniformly and surrounds the surface of vegetables, fruits, etc. is removed, and the entire interior of the container can be gas-substituted with a desired gas concentration and a uniform gas distribution.

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a container for keeping freshness of vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc. according to the present invention, and 1 is a container body, for example, an inner wall member 2 and a metal plate which can be made of a metal plate to which a waterproof plywood is attached. And an insulating member (not shown) made of, for example, a foamed hard urethane material, which fills the space 4 between them. Openings 5 are provided in opposite side wall portions of the container body 1, and a perforated plate 6 is attached to the inside of each opening 5 as shown in the drawing, and a perforated plate 7 similar to the perforated plate 6 is provided on the outside.
Further, the selective gas permeable membrane 8 is attached in an overlapping manner via a seal member (not shown). The size of each opening can be appropriately designed according to the volume of the container body 1, the number of openings to be provided, the opening ratio of the perforated plates 6, 7, and the like.

Communication holes 9 are provided in the meat wall member 2, and these communication holes allow the space 4 between the inner wall member 2 and the outer wall member 3 to communicate with the inside of the container body 1. Thus, when the inside of the container is vacuum-cooled, the air accumulated in the space 4 between the inner wall member 2 and the outer wall member 3 can be discharged cleanly.

A frame body 10 is attached to the bottom of the container body 1, and the frame body 10 is provided with an insertion port 11 that can be accessed by a lifting transfer device such as a forklift when moving the container. Although shown, it may be preferably provided on the four front, rear, left and right sides of the frame 10. This frame 10 and insertion port 11 structure makes it easy to put the container in and out of the vacuum processing chamber for vacuum cooling and gas replacement, and to unload and unload the container during transportation. This can also be done, which also allows the container body to be handled without distortion, especially if the container is large, and the risk of damage to the selective gas permeable membrane 8 provided in each opening 5. It can bring about the effect that it can prevent. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 12 is a floor plate which can be made of fireproof plywood, and a communication hole 13 is provided at a position corresponding to the communication hole 9 in the inner wall member 2.

Although not shown in the drawings, the container main body 1 is provided with a door for inserting and removing a transported material such as vegetables, fruits, and flowers, and an outer frame as a reinforcing member if necessary, and the door is airtight. Any structure can be designed as long as it can be held.

FIG. 2 shows a modified example of the structure of the container body. In this case, in order to increase the rigidity of the container body, a reinforcing member such as a U-shaped cross section or a hollow prismatic member or a frame member 15 is provided inside the outer wall member 14. It is welded, and its end 16 is left open so that the air trapped in the inner space is discharged to the outside when the container is cooled in vacuum.

By the way, in the illustrated embodiment, the opening 5 is formed in the container body 1.
Although they are provided on the side wall portions facing each other, they can be provided on the top wall portion if necessary, and the position and the number of the openings 5 can be appropriately selected according to need. Further, instead of providing an air vent hole in the inner wall member, the inner wall member itself may be made of a porous material through which air can pass.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, in the container for freshness preservation according to the present invention, since the container itself is airtight and the inside wall of the container is open, the vacuum treatment is performed. Sometimes residual air remains inside the container,
The desired gas concentration may not be reached due to the gas replacement operation,
The gas distribution does not become non-uniform, and good freshness retention characteristics can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view schematically showing a main part of an embodiment of a container for keeping freshness of vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc. according to the present invention.
The figure is a schematic partial view showing a modified example of the container of FIG. In the figure 1: Container body 2: Inner wall member 3: Outer wall member 4: Space 9: Communication hole 15: Reinforcing member or frame member 16: Open end

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A container, which accommodates vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc., is cooled in vacuum, and is filled with carbon dioxide gas and nitrogen gas up to atmospheric pressure, is provided with an opening having a certain area, In a container for keeping freshness of vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc., in which a selective gas permeable film is attached to this opening, the container body has an airtight structure, and the empty space in the wall member and frame member forming the container body. A container for keeping the freshness of vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc. characterized by communicating the place with the inside of the container body.