Container for cold insulation

Abstract

To maintain the quality of a cold insulation article by keeping the cold insulation material in constant contact with the surface of the cold insulation article without shifting sideways in a delivery process when the cold insulation article and the cold storage material are stored in a container for cold insulation and provided for delivery.SOLUTION: A container 1 for cold insulation comprises a container 2 having side plates 23, 24 foldably connected to the periphery of a bottom plate 21, and a cold storage material 4 inserted into the container 2 assembled into a box shape. The inner surfaces of the side plates 24, 24 facing each other across the bottom plate 21 of the container 2 are provided respectively with recesses 24b, 24b extending downward from the upper ends of the inner surfaces, and the cold storage material 4 is inserted into the container interior 2 by engaging a portion of its periphery in the aforementioned recesses 24b and 24b, allowing the cold storage material 4 to move only in the vertical direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a structure of a refrigerated container having a refrigeration function used for delivering refrigerated or frozen goods. [Background technology]

[0002] Refrigerated containers equipped with refrigeration functions are widely used for the delivery of various refrigerated or frozen goods, such as when delivering fresh or frozen foods sold at online supermarkets to customers who have placed orders, when delivering semi-prepared foods prepared at a chain restaurant's cooking center to affiliated stores, or when delivering medicines that need to be stored or maintained at low temperatures.

[0003] In conventional refrigerated containers, when frozen goods are delivered, as shown in Fig. 13, frozen goods 101 are placed inside container 100, and cooling storage material 102 is placed on top of frozen goods 101, and container 100 is often transported with a lid closed. When fresh foods and frozen foods are delivered simultaneously, a partition plate is installed inside the refrigerated container to divide it into two storage spaces, a refrigerated space and a freezer space, and fresh foods are transported in the refrigerated space, and frozen foods and cooling storage material are transported in the freezer space (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2000-203662 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When transporting frozen goods in a refrigerated container, it is essential to keep the refrigerant material in contact with the surface of the frozen goods at all times so that the temperature of the frozen goods does not rise during delivery. However, as shown in the figure above, if the refrigerant material 102 is simply placed on the frozen goods 101, the refrigerant material 102 may shift sideways due to the shaking or impact that the refrigerant container receives during the process of loading the refrigerant container into a vehicle by hand or during transportation by vehicle, and may come off the surface of the frozen goods 101 or fall off to the side of the frozen goods 101, resulting in insufficient insulation of the frozen goods 101 and a deterioration in quality.

[0006] Furthermore, when a partition plate is installed inside a refrigerated container to separate the refrigerated space from the freezer space, simply installing the partition plate inside the refrigerated container with its peripheral portion in contact with the inner surfaces of the bottom, side and cover plates of the refrigerated container will allow ventilation between the two spaces through small gaps that are formed between the peripheral portion of the partition plate and the inner surface of the refrigerated container, causing a drop in temperature in the refrigerated space and a rise in temperature in the freezer space, which may degrade the quality of the items stored in each space. In this case, if grooves are provided on the inner surfaces of the side plates facing each other across the bottom plate of the refrigerated container and the sides of the partition plate are engaged with the grooves, the partition plate can be maintained in an upright position inside the refrigerated container and gaps are less likely to form between both sides of the partition plate and the inner surfaces of both side plates of the refrigerated container, but small gaps will form between the upper and lower ends of the partition plate and the inner surfaces of the bottom and cover plates of the refrigerated container, and ventilation between the two spaces will be unavoidable through these gaps. When the inside of a refrigerated container is divided into two spaces by a partition plate, the divided spaces need to be sealed from each other in order to prevent deterioration of the quality of the items stored in each space during delivery.

[0007] In addition, when placing refrigerated goods in containers for delivery by online supermarkets and the like, when assembling a folded container, the short side panels that have fallen onto the bottom panel are forcefully pulled upward, or when a container containing goods is lifted by grasping the upper part of the short side panels, a load is applied to the short side panels that stand upright on the bottom panel, causing them to open further outward, and the short side panels may come off. At delivery centers, there is a demand to shorten the lead time from when an order to ship goods is given to loading the goods onto a delivery vehicle or handing them over to a delivery company, and therefore containers are easily handled roughly during shipping operations, and it is desirable for the containers to have a structure that is less likely to be damaged even if they are roughly handled.

[0008] In view of the problems associated with the conventional technology, the present invention aims to enable the storage material to be stored in a cold storage container together with the cold storage goods for delivery while being constantly in contact with the surface of the cold storage goods, to make it difficult for air to circulate between the partitioned spaces when the inside of the container is divided by partition plates, and to reduce the load on the axis of the container when the side plates are opened and the container is stood up. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, the refrigeration container of the present invention comprises: The container has a bottom plate having a storage surface that is rectangular in plan view, side plates that stand along the periphery of the bottom plate and are attached to the four sides of the bottom plate so as to be able to be folded from the standing position onto the bottom plate, and a cover plate that is attached to the upper end of each of the side plates that are assembled into a box shape by standing each side plate on the bottom plate, and each of the plates is provided with a container filled with a heat insulating material and a cold storage material that is inserted into the container assembled into the box shape, At least one pair of side plates opposed to each other across the bottom plate of the container are provided with recesses extending downward from upper ends of the inner surfaces of the side plates, The cold storage material is configured so that a part of its outer periphery is engaged with a recess formed in each of the inner surfaces of the pair of side plates and inserted into the container.

[0010] With the above-described cold storage container, the cold storage item can be placed inside the container assembled into a box shape, the cold storage material inserted into the container is then placed on top of the item, and the container can be delivered in a sealed state by covering it with a lid plate. The cold storage material is inserted into the container by engaging its outer periphery with a recess provided on the inner surface of the opposing side plate across the bottom plate, and is guided by the recess to be kept horizontal inside the container and is positioned so that it can only move up and down, but cannot move back and forth or left and right. Therefore, the ice storage material can be kept in constant contact with the surface of the refrigerated goods stored in the ice storage container, and even if the ice storage container is shaken or impacted during delivery, the ice storage material will not shift sideways and become detached or fall off from the surface of the refrigerated goods, and the quality of the refrigerated goods can be maintained by properly cooling the refrigerated goods with the ice storage material.

[0011] In the cold storage container having the above-mentioned configuration, a pair of convex parts protruding outward can be provided on two opposing sides of the cold storage material, and each convex part can be provided to engage with a concave part provided on the inner surface of the side plate of the container. In this case, a plurality of concave parts can be provided on the inner surface of the side plate of the container so as to correspond in position to the convex parts provided around the cold storage material when the cold storage material is inserted into the container.

[0012] The above-mentioned cold storage container may further include a heat insulating partition plate that divides the inside of the box-shaped container into two storage spaces, and the partition plate may be arranged so that its outer periphery fits into grooves formed on the top surface of the bottom plate, the inner surface of the side plate, and the bottom surface of the cover plate of the container, and is installed inside the container. In this case, a cold storage material may be inserted into one or both of the storage spaces divided by the partition plate.

[0013] With this, the inside of the container can be divided into two spaces by a partition plate, one space can be used to store refrigerated goods and the other space can be used to store frozen goods and cold storage materials, and goods with different cooling temperatures can be delivered while being simultaneously maintained at appropriate temperatures. The partition plate is installed inside the container by fitting its outer periphery into grooves formed on the upper surface of the bottom plate, the inner surfaces of the side plates, and the lower surface of the cover plate of the container, so that the inside of the container can be divided into two sealed spaces without allowing air to circulate between the divided spaces.

[0014] Furthermore, in the refrigerated container having the above-mentioned configuration, the bottom plate of the container is provided with a support portion having a stepped portion that is raised along both short sides and on which the lower end of the short side plate rests and a receiving portion that engages with the outer surface of the short side plate that stands on the stepped portion, The two long side plates are attached by having shafts provided at the lower parts of both sides rotatably connected to bearing parts provided at the base parts of both supports, and the two short side plates are attached by having shafts provided at the lower parts of both sides rotatably connected to bearing parts provided on both sides of the step part, At least one protruding piece is provided on the step of the support portion, and a vertically elongated groove into which the protruding piece is engaged is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end of each of the short side plates. It is preferable that the protruding piece is provided so as to engage with the recessed groove at a position where the short side plate stands vertically on the step portion, thereby restricting the rotational displacement of the short side plate.

[0015] According to this, the operation of assembling the folded container into a box shape can be performed by lifting the fallen short side plate while rotating it upward, placing its lower end on the step of the support part to make it stand up, and after both short side plates are erected, lifting both long side plates that have fallen onto the bottom plate while rotating it upward to make them stand up along both side edges of the bottom plate. A vertically long groove is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end of each short side plate, and a protrusion that engages with the groove is provided on each step, and when the short side plate stands up vertically on the step, the protrusion engages with the concave groove, so that the protrusion engaged with the concave groove functions as a stopper that restricts the rotational displacement of the short side plate with respect to the short side plate whose lower end rotates on the step, and at the same time, it also functions to buffer the load applied to cause the short side plate standing up on the step to open further outward, thereby reducing the load applied to the axis of the short side plate during the assembling operation of the container, and making the short side plate less likely to be damaged. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of components of an embodiment of a refrigeration container according to the present invention. [Diagram 2] (A) is an external view of the container in an assembled state with the cover plate removed, and (B) is an external view of the container in a folded state. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is an external view showing a state in which side plates are removed in order to explain the support portions provided on the bottom plate. [Figure 4] 1A is a longitudinal sectional view of a main portion of a short side panel, and FIG. 1B is a longitudinal sectional view of a main portion of a bottom panel. [Diagram 5] 1A is a schematic cross-sectional view of the short side panel placed on the step of the support part, in which (A) shows the short side panel folded up, and (B) shows the short side panel standing up. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is an external view showing the state where the side plates are removed in order to explain grooves provided on the upper surface of the bottom plate and the inner surfaces of the side plates. [Figure 7] (A) is an external view showing the state when the partition plate is installed inside the container with the side plate removed, and (B) is a schematic cross-sectional view. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9]FIG. 13 is an external view showing a state in which a side plate is removed in order to explain an aspect in which a cold storage material is inserted into a container separated by a partition plate. [Figure 10] 10(A) is a schematic transverse sectional view of the main part of FIG. 9, and FIG. 10(B) is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the main part of the same in a state where a cold storage material is placed on the cold storage article. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is an external view showing a state in which a side panel is removed in order to explain an embodiment in which two cooling storage materials are inserted into the container. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment of inserting a cooling storage material into a container. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a conventional cold storage container in which a cold storage material is stored. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] The present invention will be described in detail below based on preferred embodiments. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. The embodiments are merely examples, and can be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0018] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a cold storage container according to one embodiment of the present invention. The cold storage container 1 of this embodiment is composed of a container 2 with a synthetic resin lid, a partition plate 3 made of synthetic resin that is installed inside the container 2 to divide the internal space of the container 2, and a cold storage material 4 that is stored in the space divided by the partition plate 3 when the goods to be kept cold are frozen goods.

[0019] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the container 2 is a folding container having a bottom plate 21 having a storage surface 21a that is rectangular in plan view, short side plates 23, 23 and long side plates 24, 24 that stand along the periphery of the bottom plate 21 and are attached to the four sides of the bottom plate 21 so that they can be folded from the standing position onto the bottom plate, and a cover plate 25 that is attached to the upper end of each of the side plates that are assembled into a box shape by standing each side plate on the bottom plate. As shown in FIG. 1, when the container is assembled into a box shape with an opening at the top, a lid plate 25 is attached to the upper end of each side plate to seal the inside of the container, and with the lid plate 25 removed, the side plates are folded down onto the bottom plate 5 in the order of both long side plates 24, 24 and then both short side plates 23, 23, so that the container 2 can be folded up small as shown in FIG. 1(B). The lid plate 25 can then be placed over the folded short side plates 23, 23, and the container 2 in its folded state can be stored or transported.

[0020] Each of the plates that make up the container 2, the bottom plate 21, the short side plates 23, 23, the long side plates 24, 24, and the cover plate 25, is formed by injection molding, blow molding, or the like, and has its hollow interior filled with insulating material such as urethane foam or polystyrene foam to form a member with enhanced insulating performance.

[0021] In detail, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the bottom plate 21 of the container 2 is raised along both short sides, and is provided with supports 22, 22 each having a step 22a on which the lower end 23a of the short side plate 23 rests and a receiving portion 22b with which the outer surface 23b of the short side plate 23 standing on the step 22a engages, and both long side plates 24, 24 are attached by having shafts (not shown) provided on the lower parts of both sides rotatably connected to bearings (not shown) provided at the bases of both supports 22, 22, and both short side plates 23, 23 are attached by having shafts 23c, 23c (see Figure 5(B)) provided on the lower parts of both sides rotatably connected to bearings 22c, 22c provided on both sides of the step 22a, respectively.

[0022] As shown in Figure 4(A), the outer periphery of the lower end portion 23a of the short side panel 23 is curved with a diameter half the thickness of the side panel, and groove portions 23d, 23d are formed by vertically recessing the surface at two locations on the outer periphery along the width direction of the lower end portion 23. Also, as shown in the same figure (B), the step portion 22a of the support portion 22 on which the lower end portion 23a of the short side plate 23 rests is provided with a curved concave cross section, and the edge of this step portion 22a is provided with upwardly protruding projections 22a1, 22a1 that engage with the groove portions 23d, 23d of the short side plate 23.

[0023] The protrusions 22a1, 22a1 provided on the step 22a are fitted into the grooves 23d, 23d provided on the outer circumferential surface of the lower end 23a of the short side plate 23, and as shown in FIG. 5(A), the protrusions 22a1 engage with the grooves 23d in a state in which the short side plate 23 is tilted by approximately 90° so as to overlap with the bottom plate 21. In order to assemble the container 2 into a box shape from this state, the tilted short side plate 23 is rotated upward and lifted, and the lower end 23a is placed on the step 22a of the support part 22 to stand it up, and the step 22a is then lifted up. The protrusion 22a1 is provided so as to engage with the concave groove 23d when the short side plate 23 is in a position where it is upright vertically on 2a. By engaging the protrusion 22a1 with the concave groove 23d when the short side plate 23 is in an upright position, the protrusion 22a1 functions as a stopper that restricts the rotational displacement of the short side plate and also functions to cushion the load that tends to cause the upright short side plate 23 to open further outward, thereby reducing the load applied to the axis of the short side plate 23 during the assembly operation of the container 2.

[0024] The partition plate 3 is a rectangular plate made of a material having the same insulating properties as the other plates that make up the container 2. It is installed inside the container 2 to divide the inside of the container into two sections, thereby creating two item storage spaces with different cooling temperatures.

[0025] In detail, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, the partition plate 3 is installed inside the container 2 with its outer periphery fitted into a groove 21a formed in the center of the upper surface of the bottom plate 21, grooves 24a, 24a formed on the inner surfaces of both longitudinal side plates 24, 24, and a groove (not shown) formed on the underside of the cover plate 25. By fitting the entire periphery of the partition plate 3 into the grooves on the inner surface of the container, air circulation is prevented between the spaces partitioned by the partition plate 3, and the two spaces are configured to be mutually sealed spaces.

[0026] The cold storage material 4 is formed by filling a cold storage agent into a plate-shaped storage container having a rectangular shape in a plan view, the container being slightly smaller in size than the opening of the item storage space of the container 2 partitioned by the partition plate 3. The cold storage material 4 is cooled for a predetermined time in a freezer, and then stored and sealed in the container 2 to cool the items stored inside the container.

[0027] In detail, as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, a pair of projections 41, 41 protruding outward are provided near the corners of the two opposing sides of the cold storage material 4, and on the other hand, recesses 24b, 24b extending from the upper end to the lower end of the inner surface are provided on the inner surface of both longitudinal side plates 24, 24 of the container 2, into which the projections 41, 41 engage. As shown in Figs. 9 and 10, when a cold storage product G is placed in the container 2 assembled into a box shape and the cold storage material 4 is placed on it, the four projections 41 provided on the outer surfaces of the corners of the cold storage material 4 are engaged with the recesses 24b provided on both longitudinal side plates 24, 24, respectively. The cold storage material 4 inserted into the container 2 is guided by the recesses 24b and kept horizontal inside the container and can only move up and down. Therefore, the cold storage material 4 can be constantly in contact with the surface of the cold storage product G without being displaced laterally during the delivery process, and the quality of the cold storage product G can be maintained.

[0028] In Figures 9 and 10, the inside of the container 2 is divided into two by a partition plate 3, and a cold storage material 4 is stored in one of the storage spaces together with the refrigerated goods G. However, if the inside of the container 2 is not divided by a partition plate 3, as shown in Figure 11, two cold storage materials 4,4 may be inserted into the container 2 in the same manner as described above so that the entire storage space of the container is cooled by the cold storage materials 4,4. In addition, the container 2 and the cold storage material 4 may be formed to have sizes different from those described above, and as shown in Figure 12, the outer peripheries of the two opposing sides of the cold storage material 4 may be engaged with recesses 24b, 24b provided on the inner surfaces of both longitudinal side plates 24, 24 of the container 2 so that the cold storage material 4 can be inserted into the container 2.

[0029] The configuration of the cold storage container, the shape of the container, the partition plate, and the cold storage material described and illustrated above are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the configurations and shapes described and illustrated, and other appropriate configurations and shapes are possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1 refrigerated container, 2 container, 21 bottom plate, 21a groove portion, 2 support portion, 22a step portion, 22a1 protrusion, 22b receiving portion, 22c bearing portion, 23 short side plate, 23a lower end portion, 23b outer surface, 23c groove portion, 24 long side plate, 24a groove portion, 24b recess, 25 cover plate, G refrigerated item

Claims

1. a container comprising a bottom plate having a storage surface that is rectangular in plan view, side plates that stand along the periphery of the bottom plate and are attached to four sides of the bottom plate so as to be able to be folded from the standing position onto the bottom plate, and a cover plate that is attached to the upper end of each of the side plates that are assembled into a box shape by standing each side plate on the bottom plate, and each of the plates is filled with a heat insulating material; A cold storage container comprising: a cold storage material inserted into the box-shaped container; At least one pair of side plates opposed to each other across the bottom plate of the container are provided with recesses extending downward from upper ends of the inner surfaces of the side plates, The cold storage container has a configuration in which the cold storage material is inserted into the container by engaging parts of its outer periphery with recesses formed in the inner surfaces of the pair of side plates.

2. 2. The cold storage container according to claim 1, wherein a pair of outwardly protruding protrusions are provided on two opposing side edges of the cold storage material, and each protrusion is configured to engage with a recess provided on the inner surface of the side plate of the container.

3. 3. A cold storage container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, further comprising a partition plate having thermal insulation properties which divides the inside of the container assembled into a box shape into two item storage spaces, the partition plate being installed inside the container by fitting its outer periphery into grooves formed on the upper surface of the bottom plate, the inner surface of the side plate and the lower surface of the cover plate of the container, and configured so that a cold storage material can be inserted into one or both of the item storage spaces divided by the partition plate.

4. The bottom plate of the container is provided with a support portion that is raised along both short sides and has a step portion on which the lower end of the short side plate rests and a receiving portion with which the outer surface of the short side plate standing on the step portion engages, The two long side plates are attached by having shafts provided at the lower parts of both sides rotatably connected to bearing parts provided at the base parts of both supports, and the two short side plates are attached by having shafts provided at the lower parts of both sides rotatably connected to bearing parts provided on both sides of the step part, At least one protruding piece is provided on the step of the support portion, and a vertically elongated groove into which the protruding piece is engaged is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end of each of the short side plates.

3. The container for storing cold storage according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is configured to engage with the groove at a position where the short side plate stands vertically on the step portion, thereby restricting rotational displacement of the short side plate.

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