Packaging container

Abstract

To provide a packaging container in which a lid body is prevented from falling off during transportation or the like and the lid body can be removed by a simple operation when eating.SOLUTION: A packaging container includes a container body (20) including a side wall portion (21) for storing a content, an inner cylinder portion (23) erected and connected to an upper portion of the side wall portion (21), and a container-side flange (24) annularly connected to an upper end of the inner cylinder portion (23), and a lid (10) including a cap portion (11) capable of storing the content, a fitting cylinder portion (12) connected to a lower end of the cap portion (11) and provided to be fittable to the inner cylinder portion (23), and an annular lid-side flange (13) extending on a side surface of the fitting cylinder portion (12) and covering the container body (20). A lock mechanism L for preventing the fall-off of the lid body 10 from the container body 20 is provided between the lid side flange 13 and the container side flange 24 oppositely arranged in the axial direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging container for packaging frozen snacks and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a packaging container for soft serve ice cream, which includes a container body (cone cup) 1 that contains a cone and a lid (overcap) 2 that covers the soft serve ice cream on the cone from above, and when the lid 2 is placed on the container body and fitted to the lid 2, a plurality of inward protrusions 8 on an annular step 7 at the bottom of the lid 2 engage with a lid locking portion 6 on the top of the container body 1, thereby maintaining a tightly fitted state. In this packaging container, the plurality of inward protrusions 8 on the annular step 7 at the bottom of the lid 2 engage with a lid locking portion 6 on the top of the container body 1, thereby preventing the lid 2 from easily falling off the container body 1 during transportation, etc. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 5-13977 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the packaging container described in Patent Document 1, when removing the lid 2 to eat the soft serve ice cream, the lid 2 is pulled away from the container body 1 so that the inward protrusion 8 on the lid 2 can climb over the lid locking portion 6 on the container body 1. At this time, if, for example, the space between the lid 2 and the container body 1 is frozen, it is necessary to use a greater force to pull the lid 2 away from the container body 1, but at this time, there is a risk that the lid 2 will come off the container body 1 with too much force, causing the soft serve ice cream to slip out of the container body 1. Therefore, there is a need for the development of a packaging container that can be removed with a simpler operation.

[0005] The present invention aims to solve the problems of the conventional technology described above by creating a packaging container that prevents the lid from falling off during transportation, etc., and allows the lid to be removed with a simple operation when eating. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] Among the means for solving the above problems, the main means of the present invention is: a container body including a side wall portion for accommodating contents, an inner cylindrical portion provided upright and connected to an upper portion of the side wall portion, and a container-side flange provided annularly and connected to an upper end of the inner cylindrical portion; A packaging container having a cap portion capable of accommodating contents, a fitting cylindrical portion connected to the lower end of the cap portion and capable of fitting into the inner cylindrical portion, and a lid body having an annular lid-side flange extending from a side surface of the fitting cylindrical portion and covering the container body, A locking mechanism for preventing the lid body from falling off from the container body is provided between the lid side flange and the container side flange, which are arranged opposite each other in the axial direction.

[0007] The main means of the present invention is to lock the lid body attached to the container body simply by rotating it in one direction, and to release the locked state and remove the lid body by simply rotating it in the opposite direction and gently pulling it apart, a simple operation.

[0008] Another means of the present invention is the above-mentioned main means of the present invention, plus the following: the locking mechanism is formed with an insertion hole and a locking protrusion provided on one of the lid side flange and the container side flange, and a locking claw provided on the other flange, which is arranged to be able to enter and exit the insertion hole when the lid body is rotated circumferentially, and which has a locking protrusion that locks the locking protrusion. With the above means, the locking mechanism can be made simple in structure.

[0009] Another means of the present invention is any of the above means plus an engaging step provided around the outer boundary between the cap portion and the fitting cylindrical portion, which enables engagement with the lower end of the fitting cylindrical portion. With the above means, it is possible to achieve delivery in a state where a plurality of lid bodies are stacked in the height direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] In the present invention, the lid can be prevented from falling off during transportation, and can be removed by the simple operation of rotating the lid. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a half cross-sectional view of a packaging container for soft serve ice cream showing an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1(a) is a plan view of the cover, and FIG. 1(b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1(a). [Figure 3] 1(a) is a plan view of the container body, and FIG. 1(b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 1(a). [Figure 4] 1A and 1B show a locking mechanism, in which FIG. 1A is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an unlocked state, and FIG. 1B is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a locked state. [Figure 5] 1(a) is a partial cross-sectional view of the lid body showing the stacked state, and FIG. 1(b) is a partial cross-sectional view of the container body showing the stacked state. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a half cross-sectional view of a packaging container for soft serve ice cream showing an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2(a) is a plan view of the lid body, Figure 2(b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view in the direction of the arrows II-II in Figure 2(a), Figure 3(a) is a plan view of the container body, Figure 3(b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view in the direction of the arrows III-III in Figure 3(a), Figure 4 shows the locking mechanism, Figure 4(a) is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the unlocked state, and Figure 4(b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the locked state. In the following, the direction along the container axis O will be referred to as the axial direction, the vertical direction, or the height direction, the direction perpendicular to the container axis O will be referred to as the radial direction, and the direction circumferentially around the container axis O will be referred to as the circumferential direction.

[0013] As shown in Figure 1, this packaging container 1 is a member for containing contents such as so-called soft serve ice cream, which is a cone having an approximately conical or truncated conical shape with spiral-shaped ice cream stacked on top of it, and is composed of a cap-shaped lid body 10 and a container body 20 for containing the contents.

[0014] The lid body 10 is formed by injection molding of a transparent or translucent synthetic resin, and is integrally formed with a substantially conical cap portion 11 capable of containing the contents, a short cylindrical fitting portion 12 connected to the lower end of the cap portion 11, an annular lid side flange 13 extending radially outward from the side of the fitting portion 12, and an outer cylindrical portion 14 suspended from the outer peripheral end of the lid side flange 13. An engaging step 15 is provided around the outer boundary between the cap portion 11 and the lid side flange 13.

[0015] As shown in Figure 2(a), through holes 16 that penetrate in the axial direction are drilled at a plurality of positions (six positions in this embodiment) on the lid flange 13, spaced at predetermined intervals of an angle θ (60 degrees in this embodiment). As shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b), a locking claw 17 that is bent in a substantially L-shape (also called a "claw shape") from one end to the other in the circumferential direction of the through hole 16 is provided on the underside of the lid flange 13. A locking protrusion 17a that protrudes toward the underside of the lid flange 13 is formed at the tip of the locking claw 17.

[0016] 1, the container body 20 comprises a conical side wall 21 tapering from top to bottom to accommodate the contents, an inner cylindrical portion 23 extending upright from the top of the conical side wall 21 via an annular step 22, and a container-side flange 24 extending annularly from the upper end of the inner cylindrical portion 23 to the outside in the radial direction, all of which are integrally formed by injection molding of synthetic resin. The inside of the inner cylindrical portion 23 forms an open end 20A into which a cone is inserted. The inner diameter of the inner cylindrical portion 23 is formed to be approximately equal to the outer diameter of the mating cylindrical portion 12 of the lid body 10, so that when the lid body 10 is attached to the open end 20A of the container body 20, the mating cylindrical portion 12 of the lid body 10 can be fitted into the inner cylindrical portion 23.

[0017] As shown in Figure 3(a), insertion holes 25 penetrating in the axial direction are drilled at a predetermined angle θ (60 degrees in this embodiment) at multiple positions (six positions in this embodiment) on the container-side flange 24. As shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b), on the underside of the lid-side flange 13, at the other circumferential end of the insertion holes 25, a locking projection 25a protruding downward is formed.

[0018] In the above embodiment, the thickness of the lid 10 and the container body 20 is 0.6 mm for the lid 10 and 0.7 mm for the container body 20, but this is not limited to this. Polypropylene (PP) can be used as the synthetic resin, but polyethylene (PE) may also be used. The lid 10 may be made of PP and the container body 20 of PE. The thickness can be selected appropriately taking into consideration the transparency of the packaging container 1 and its impact resistance at low temperatures.

[0019] The effects of the packaging container having the above structure will be described below. In the packaging container 1, the lower side of the contents (not shown) is placed in the container body 20, and then the lid 10 is placed over the contents to accommodate the upper side of the contents. Then, the packaging container 1 can be set in a closed state by attaching the fitting tubular portion 12 of the lid 10 to the open end 20A of the container body 20. At this time, the fitting tubular portion 12 of the lid 10 fits into the inner tubular portion 23 of the container body 20, and the lower end of the locking claw 17 on the lid 10 side rests on the container-side flange 24.

[0020] In this state, the container body 20 is grasped and fixed with one hand, while the lid body 10 alone is rotated in one circumferential direction with the other hand. As a result, the locking claws 17 slide circumferentially on the container-side flange 24 and enter the corresponding insertion holes 25, respectively, so that the lid-side flange 13 is stacked and positioned opposite the container-side flange 24 (see FIG. 4(a)). Further rotation of the lid body 10 causes the locking claws 17 to move within the insertion holes 25, as shown in FIG. 4(b), so that the locking protrusions 17a on the locking claws 17 move over and lock the corresponding locked protrusions 25a on the container-side flange 24 in one circumferential direction, thereby achieving a locked state. In this embodiment, the locking protrusions 17a and the locked protrusions 25a are provided at multiple (six) circumferential positions, thereby preventing the lid body 10 from easily falling off the container body 20 during transportation, etc. In this way, the locking protrusion 17a and the locked protrusion 25a form a locking mechanism L that prevents disengagement.

[0021] Next, to remove the lid 10 and open the packaging container 1, the lid 10 is rotated in the opposite direction (the other circumferential direction) to the above. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4(a), the locking protrusions 17a move in the opposite direction over the corresponding locked protrusions 25a, releasing the respective locks, and each locking mechanism L can be set to an unlocked state. In the unlocked state, the locking claws 17 are set in a positional relationship in which they face each through-hole 16 in the up-down direction. Therefore, when the lid 10 is gently pulled away from the container body 20 in the axial direction, the locking claws 17 come out of the insertion holes 25, allowing the lid 10 to be easily removed (open state).

[0022] In particular, even if the space between lid 10 and container body 20 is frozen, rotating lid 10 can break the freeze, making it possible to easily remove lid 10. As a result, in the present invention, lid 10 can be pulled away from container body 20 with a light force, eliminating the risk of the contents falling out of container body 20 as soon as lid 10 is removed from container body 20, as was the case in the past.

[0023] In this way, the packaging container 1 of the present invention can be locked simply by rotating the lid 2 attached to the open end 20A of the container body 20 in one direction, and can be released from the locked state and removed by a simple operation of rotating it in the opposite direction and gently pulling it apart. Moreover, in the present invention, locking and unlocking can be achieved with a small amount of rotation, just enough to disengage the locking protrusions 17a from the locked protrusions 25a.

[0024] FIG. 5(a) is a partial cross-sectional view of the lid body showing the stacked state, and (b) is a partial cross-sectional view of the container body showing the stacked state. The lid body 10 and container body 20 that make up the packaging container 1 are formed by injection molding synthetic resin as described above, but it is preferable that the lid body 10 and container body 20 after molding are delivered stacked together, with each lid body 10 and each container body 20 stacked, rather than in a separate state.

[0025] As shown in Figure 5(a), when the upper lid body 10 is placed on the lower lid body 10, the lower cap portion 11 is accommodated within the upper cap portion 11, and at the same time, the lower end portion 12a of the lower fitting tube portion 12 engages with the upper engagement step portion 15, so that the lid bodies 10 can be delivered stacked in multiple layers.

[0026] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 5(b), when the upper container body 20 is placed on the lower container body 20, the upper conical side wall portion 21 is accommodated inside the lower conical side wall portion 21, and at the same time, the lower end portion 23b of the upper inner tube portion 23 can be placed on the upper end portion 23a of the lower inner tube portion 23, so that the container bodies 20 can be delivered stacked in multiple layers.

[0027] The configuration and effects of the present invention have been described above in accordance with the examples, but the present invention is not limited to the above examples. For example, in the above embodiment, the shape of the packaging container 1 is described as a lid body 10 having a cap portion 11 having an approximately conical shape and a container body 20 having a conical side wall portion 21, but the shapes of the lid body 10 and the container body 20 are not limited to this.

[0028] In the above embodiment, the locking mechanism L is described as having a locking claw 17 with a locking protrusion 17a on the lid side flange 13 and an insertion hole 25 and an interlocking protrusion 25a on the container side flange 24, but the locking mechanism L may also be such that a through hole and an interlocking protrusion are provided on the lid side flange 13 and a locking claw with an interlocking protrusion is provided on the container side flange 24.

[0029] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a soft serve ice cream with a cone was described as an example of the contents to be contained in the packaging container 1, but other frozen sweets such as ice cream or sherbet may also be used, or contents other than frozen sweets may also be used. [Industrial Applicability]

[0030] The present invention can be used in a wider range of applications in the field of packaging containers. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1: Packaging container 10: Lid 11: Cap part 12: Fitting cylinder part 12a: Lower end of fitting cylinder 13: Lid flange 14: Outer cylinder 15: Engagement stepped part 16:Through hole 17: Locking claw 17a: Locking protrusion 20: Container body 20A: Open end 21: Conical side wall 22: Annular step 23: Inner cylinder 23a: Upper end of inner cylinder 23b: Lower end of inner cylinder 24: Container side flange 25: Insertion hole 25a:Locked protrusion L: Locking mechanism O: Container axis θ: Placement angle

Claims

1. a container body (20) including a side wall (21) for accommodating contents, an inner cylindrical portion (23) standing upright and connected to the upper portion of the side wall (21), and a container-side flange (24) annularly connected to the upper end of the inner cylindrical portion (23); A packaging container having a cap portion (11) capable of accommodating contents, a fitting cylindrical portion (12) connected to the lower end of the cap portion (11) and provided so as to be able to fit into the inner cylindrical portion (23), and a lid body (10) having an annular lid side flange (13) extending from the side of the fitting cylindrical portion (12) and covering the container body (20), A packaging container characterized in that a locking mechanism (L) is provided between the lid side flange (13) and the container side flange (24) that are arranged opposite each other in the axial direction, to prevent the lid body (10) from falling off from the container body (20).

2. 2. The packaging container according to claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism (L) is formed by having an insertion hole (25) and an engaging protrusion (25a) provided in one of the lid side flange (13) and the container side flange (24), and a locking claw (17) provided on the other flange, the insertion hole (25) being movable in and out of the insertion hole (25) when the lid body (10) is rotated circumferentially, and having a locking protrusion (17a) that locks the engaging protrusion (25a).

3. 3. A packaging container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an engaging step (15) is provided around the outer boundary between the cap portion (11) and the fitting cylindrical portion (12), enabling engagement with the lower end (12a) of the fitting cylindrical portion (12).

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