JP2001114317A - Food preserving container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a lid body aritightly fittable to an opening of a container main body alternately with its surface and reverse side and to make the capacity of a container variable. SOLUTION: While a stepped groove 22 having a sloped surface 22a in an inverted taper as seen from the bottom side is formed at the inner circumferential surface at an opening of a container main body 2, a flange 23 projecting toward the outside is connected to the edge of the opening of the container main body 2. A first fitting part 32a corresponding in shape to the stepped groove 22 and fittable airtightly into the stepped groove 22 in elastic deformation, and a second fitting part 31a formed so as to become an inverted taper against the outer circumferential edge of the flange 23 and fittable airtightly to the flange 23 in elastic deformation, are provided at a lid body 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a food storage container, and more particularly, to a food storage container suitable for storing food in a refrigerator, wherein both sides of a lid can be fitted to the container body. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a refrigerator, foods such as rice, side dishes and various seasonings can be roughly classified into two methods, refrigerated storage and frozen storage. Either way, if you put it in the refrigerator as it is, it will smell inside the refrigerator and the food may dry or discolor. I have.

[0003]

According to the wrap film, the food to be preserved can be wrapped with good airtightness while letting out air. For this reason, the wrap film is used regardless of whether it is frozen or refrigerated, but it takes time and effort to wrap and peel, and the refrigerator is cluttered and difficult to organize.

In this respect, the container can be easily opened and closed, and can be stored neatly in the refrigerator. However, when storing in a container, the first problem is the size (internal volume) of the container.

[0005] For example, when the remaining rice or the like is put into a large container for freezing and preservation, the heat transfer efficiency is deteriorated due to the presence of many air layers in the container. It takes. Further, water contained in air is condensed, and the water droplets adhere to food, which is not preferable.

On the other hand, when vegetables and the like are to be stored in a container and refrigerated and stored, if the contents exceeding the inner volume of the container are stored, a compression mark or the like is formed on the surface and the surface is easily damaged, and the appearance is poor. turn into.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to allow both the front and back surfaces of a lid to be airtightly fitted to a container body. Another object of the present invention is to provide a food storage container that can change the internal volume according to the amount of food to be stored.

[0008] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides
The upper surface is open, in a food storage container including a container body in which food such as cooked rice is stored, and a lid that covers the opening of the container body, an inner peripheral surface of the opening of the container body is provided. A step groove having an inclined surface that is reversely tapered when viewed from the bottom side of the container body is formed over the entire circumference, and an outwardly projecting flange is formed over the entire circumference at the opening edge of the container body. A first fitting portion, which is continuously provided, and the lid body has a shape that matches the shape of the step groove, and can be fitted airtightly with elastic deformation in the step groove;
A second fitting portion which is formed so as to have an inverse taper with respect to the outer peripheral edge of the flange, and which can be fitted airtightly with elastic deformation to the outer peripheral edge of the flange; The first fitting portion fits in the step groove when one surface is placed on the container body with one surface as a back surface. 2
The fitting portion is fitted to the outer peripheral edge of the flange.

According to this configuration, even if the lid is on the front side,
Moreover, it can be airtightly covered with respect to a container main body also as a back side. Therefore, by making one surface of the lid convex outward and the other surface concave accordingly, the same container can be used for both a small container and a large container having good airtightness. can do.

In addition, a concave portion is provided in the center of the bottom surface of the container main body, the concave portion being recessed toward the inside of the container main body, and a convex portion which enters the concave portion is formed in the central portion of the lid body. It is one of the features of the present invention that the concave portion and the convex portion are fitted when the food storage containers are stacked, and according to this, a plurality of food storage containers are stacked. During storage, it is possible to prevent the containers from shifting or moving.

In the present invention, the container body and the lid are formed of a heat-resistant soft synthetic resin. According to this, even if there is a reverse tapered portion, the resin can be easily molded.

[0012]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view when the food storage container according to this embodiment is used with its lid turned upside down, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view when the lid is used with its lid turned upside down, contrary to FIG. FIG.

The food storage container 1 includes a container body 2 having an open upper surface, and a lid 3 that covers the opening of the container body 2. In this embodiment, the container body 2 is shown as a rectangular box, but may be cylindrical or elliptical.

The container body 2 and the lid 3 are both formed of a heat-resistant soft synthetic resin such as polypropylene, for example. The container body 2 has a storage portion 21 of a predetermined depth for storing foods (not shown). I have. A recess 24 is formed in the center of the bottom surface of the storage section 21 and is recessed from below into the storage section 21 (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

At the inner peripheral edge of the opening of the container body 2, a step groove 2 is formed.
2 are formed over the entire circumference. This step groove 2
As shown in the enlarged sectional view of FIG. 3, reference numeral 2 includes an inclined surface 22a having an inverse taper when viewed from the bottom side of the container body 2. In this embodiment, the inclination angle θ of the inclined surface 22a is about 9 ° with respect to the vertical surface.

At the edge of the opening of the container body 2, that is, at the upper end of the inclined surface 22a, a flange 2 is bent substantially at right angles to the inclined surface 22a and projects outward.
3 are integrally provided over the entire circumference. in this case,
The free end side of the flange 23 is bent substantially in an L-shape so as to be lower by one step.

In this embodiment, the lid 3 includes three surfaces having different heights in a stepwise manner when viewed from the container body 2 side. That is, as shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 2 and the use state diagram of FIG. 6, when the lid 3 is on the front side, the position of the flange 30 formed on the outermost periphery will be described as a reference. A first convex surface 31 which is one step higher than that is formed in an annular shape with a predetermined width.

On the inner side of the first convex surface 31, a second convex surface 32 having a predetermined width is formed so as to be higher by one step and to enter the container body 2. Further, a third step higher than the third step is provided inside the second convex surface 32.
A convex surface 33 is formed. Thus, the lid 3 is provided with the first to third convex surfaces 31 to 33 having different heights in a stepwise manner.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the cover 3 turned upside down. Between the first convex surface 31 and the second convex surface, the shape of the step groove 22a matches the shape of the step groove 22a. First fitting portion 32 that can be fitted airtightly with elastic deformation in groove 22a
a is formed.

The outer peripheral edge of the flange 23 on the side of the container body 2 is also formed between the flange 30 and the first convex surface 31 so as to have an inverse taper. Second fitting portion 3 that can be fitted airtightly
1a is formed.

Next, an example of use of the food storage container 1 will be described. According to the food storage container 1, the lid 3 is
The front and back surfaces can be fitted airtightly to the container body 2. First, the case where the lid 3 is used upside down will be described with reference to FIG.

This is an example of use suitable for frozen storage.
A food to be stored, for example, rice S1, is placed in the storage section 21 of the container body 2. At this time, the rice S1 may be packed slightly larger than the volume of the storage section 21.

Then, the lid 3 is turned over so that the convex surfaces 31 to 33 face downward, and a force is applied to cover the opening of the container body 2. As a result, the first fitting portion 32a is airtightly fitted into the step groove 22 of the container body 2 while being elastically deformed, and the first convex surface 31 is in close contact with the flange 23 of the container body 2 in a planar manner.

In this case, before an airtight fit is achieved,
Since the rice S1 is appropriately compressed by the second convex surface 32 and the third convex surface 33, a part of the air present therein is discharged to the outside of the container. Therefore, it can be said that it is suitable for frozen storage.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the food storage container 1 has an inner volume that is reduced by covering the container body 2 with the lid 3 so that the convex surfaces 31 to 33 face upward. Can be used larger.

In this case, instead of the first fitting portion 32a, the second fitting portion 31a is fitted airtightly to the outer peripheral edge of the flange 23 of the container body 2. Therefore, it is possible to store the vegetables S2 and the like having a relatively large volume without being compressed by the increased internal volume, which is suitable for refrigerated storage of the vegetables S2 and the like.

In any of the usage examples, the food storage containers 1 can be stacked neatly without any deviation. That is, in the case of the use example of FIG. 5, the bottom portion of the container main body 2 of the food storage container 1 stacked thereon enters the anti-convex surface side of the lid 3 of the food storage container 1 therebelow, causing a shift. Absent.

In the case of the use example of FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 7, the food storage container under the food storage container 1 is placed in the recess 24 of the container main body 2 of the food storage container 1 stacked thereon. Since the third convex surface 33 of the first lid 3 is fitted, no displacement occurs.

In the above embodiment, the objects S1, S2
Although rice and vegetables are assumed to be used, soups such as curry may also be stored, and the storage is not particularly limited. Further, the food storage container 1 can be used as a lunch box or the like, and its use is not limited to frozen storage or refrigerated storage.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Both the front and back surfaces of the lid can be airtightly fitted to the opening of the container body. In addition, the size of the internal volume can be changed accordingly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a first combination example of a container body and a lid of a food storage container according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a second combination example of the container main body and the lid of the food storage container.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the container body.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the lid.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a first use example of the food storage container in a partial cross section.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a second use example of the food storage container in a partial cross section.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a state where the food storage containers are stacked.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Food storage container 2 Container main body 21 Storage part 22 Step groove 22a Inclination surface 23 Flange 3 Lid body 31 1st convex surface 31a 2nd fitting part 32 2nd convex surface 32a 1st fitting part 33 3rd convex surface S1, S2 Storage object

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3E006 AA02 BA02 CA01 DB05 3E067 AA11 AB01 BA10A BB16A BC07A CA17 EA18 EE50 3E084 AA05 CA03 CC03 DA03 DC03 EA10 EC03 FA09 FC01 GA08 GB12

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A food storage container having an upper surface that is open and has a container body in which food such as cooked rice is stored, and a lid that covers an opening of the container body. A step groove having an inclined surface that is reversely tapered when viewed from the bottom side of the container body is formed on the entire inner peripheral surface, and protrudes outward at an opening edge of the container body. A flange is provided continuously over the entire circumference, and the lid body has a first fitting portion that conforms in shape to the step groove and can be fitted airtightly with elastic deformation in the step groove. A second fitting portion which is formed to have an inverse taper with respect to the outer peripheral edge of the flange, and which can be fitted airtightly with elastic deformation to the outer peripheral edge of the flange; When it is covered on the container body with one side as the back, When the one fitting portion is fitted in the step groove, and when the one surface is covered with the one surface facing up on the container body, the second fitting portion is fitted to the outer peripheral edge of the flange. And food storage container. 2. The food storage container according to claim 1, wherein the lid has one surface side swelling outward and the other surface side concave accordingly. 3. A concave portion is provided in the center of the bottom surface of the container main body, the concave portion being recessed toward the inside of the container main body, and a convex portion which enters the concave portion is formed in a central portion of the lid body. The food storage container according to claim 1, wherein the concave portion and the convex portion are fitted when the food storage containers are stacked. 4. The food storage container according to claim 1, wherein said container body and said lid are made of heat-resistant soft synthetic resin.