Packaging containers

Abstract

In a packaging container consisting of a container and a lid, the food can be held between the fingers through the sides of the container. [Solution] In a packaging container 1 consisting of a container 2 and a lid 3, the container 2 is characterized by having a concave surface 222 that protrudes inward from the outside on a part of the long side surface 22. The container 2 may have concave surfaces 222 on each of the opposing long side surfaces 22, or a concave surface 22 at the center of the long side surface 22 in the longitudinal direction, or an upward-facing protrusion 211 directly above the concave surface 22.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging container composed of a container body and a lid body.

Background Art

[0002] Food sold and taken home is packaged in a resin film in units of one or a certain number, or stored in a packaging container (Patent Document 1). The packaging container disclosed in Patent Document 1 is composed of a container body and a lid body that form an outer shape adapted to the food to be stored (triangular rice balls), and a pair of first engaging members and second engaging members are provided on the flange and the top of the lid body, respectively (Patent Document 1, Claim 1). A large number of packaging containers containing food can be connected by their respective first engaging members and second engaging members, so that they do not move and collide with each other, and the occupied area required for storage or transportation can be reduced (Effect of the Invention in Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a packaging container composed of a container body and a lid body, it is possible to hold the container body with the lid removed and have the food remaining in the container body, and eat the food. When eating the food while holding the container body, it is desirable to be able to pinch the food with fingers through the side surface of the container body so that the food does not fall out of the container body. However, in the packaging container disclosed in Patent Document 1, the side surface of the container body is a uniform flat surface, and when pinching with fingers, the fingers slip and deviate from the side surface that deforms, and the food cannot be stably pinched. Therefore, in a packaging container composed of a container body and a lid body, the structure of the container body was studied so that the food can be pinched with fingers through the side surface of the container body.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The result of the study is a packaging container consisting of a container and a lid, characterized in that the container has a concave surface on a part of its side that is convex from the outside inward. The concave surface on a part of the side is a recess that is easier to grip with a finger compared to the side surface, and can be a flat or curved surface as long as it is recessed when viewed from the side. The container may have the concave surface on either the long side or the short side, but it is preferable to have concave surfaces on each of the opposing sides. It is preferable that the concave surfaces on each of the opposing sides are in the same position on each side.

[0006] Furthermore, the container may have a concave surface at the center of its longitudinal direction on each side. If concave surfaces are provided on each of the opposing sides, the concave surfaces will be located at the center of the longitudinal direction on each of the opposing sides. In addition, the container may have an upward-facing convex portion directly above the concave surface. The convex portion adds a space for inserting a finger into the container. If a convex portion is provided directly above a concave surface, the concave surface may be provided only on the side, or it may be provided continuously from the side to the convex portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The packaging container of the present invention has a concave surface on a part of its side that makes it easy to hook a finger onto, so that even if the side of the container held between the fingers deforms, the finger will not slip off the concave surface. As a result, the food contained in the packaging container of the present invention can be held securely between the fingers. Thus, the packaging container of the present invention is suitable for providing food that is to be taken out and consumed outdoors. In addition, since the food can be held between the fingers through the side of the container, the packaging container of the present invention also has the advantage of allowing for hygienic consumption of the food.

[0008] In the present invention, if the packaging container has concave surfaces on each of the opposing sides of the container, the two fingers holding the food will not slip off the concave surfaces, allowing the food to be held more stably. Furthermore, if the packaging container has a concave surface at the longitudinal center of the side of the container, the weight balance of the food held by the fingers will be improved, allowing the food to be held more stably. In addition, if the packaging container has an upward-facing convex portion directly above the concave surface, it will be easier to place the fingers inserted into the convex portion against the concave surface to hold the food, allowing the food to be held more stably. In particular, if the concave surface is provided continuously from the side to the convex portion, it will be easier to place the fingers against the wide concave surface to hold the food, allowing the food to be held more stably. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a front view of an example of a packaging container to which the present invention is applied, showing the lid opened from the container. [Figure 2] This is a plan view of the packaging container in this example, showing the lid opened from the container. [Figure 3] This is a left side view of the packaging container in this example, showing the lid opened from the container. [Figure 4] This is a right-side view of the packaging container in this example, showing the lid opened from the contents. [Figure 5] This is a perspective view of the packaging container in this example, showing the lid opened from the contents. [Figure 6] This is a cross-sectional view AA in Figure 1. [Figure 7] This is a front view of the packaging container in this example, showing the lid closed over the container. [Figure 8] This is a left side view of the packaging container in this example, showing the lid closed over the container. [Figure 9] This is a perspective view showing the packaging container in this example with the lid closed over the container and the rice ball inside. [Figure 10] This is a perspective view showing the packaging container in this example, with the lid opened from the container and the rice ball held inside. [Figure 11] This is a perspective view showing the packaging container in this example, with the lid opened from the container and the contents being held with fingers placed in the recessed area. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the figures. As can be seen in Figures 1-5, the present invention is applied to a packaging container 1 for storing, for example, a triangular rice ball 4 (see Figure 9 below). The packaging container 1 in this example is a roughly rectangular parallelepiped with an open top, and is a resin integral molded product in which a container 2 for placing the triangular rice ball 4 and a container 2 with an open bottom and a V-shape when viewed from the front, covering the upper half of the triangular rice ball 4 are connected by a hinge 11. The packaging container 1 may also be a two-part product in which the container 2 and the lid 3 are separate, as can be seen in Patent Document 1, although it is not shown in the figures.

[0011] The container 2 has a flange portion 21 surrounding its open top surface. The flange portion 21 is a joining portion that fits into the flange portion 31 of the lid 3 from the inside to join the lid 3, and is also a structural portion that is responsible for maintaining the shape of the container 2. In this example, the container 2 has opposing long side surfaces 22 and short side surfaces 23, and a pair of concave surfaces 222 are provided at the longitudinal center of the flat, rectangular label surfaces 221 that are provided on each of the opposing long side surfaces 22. A label sticker (not shown) containing information about the triangular rice ball 4 is affixed to the label surface 221.

[0012] In this example, container 2 has an upward-facing protrusion 211 on the upper surface of the flange portion 21, which is directly above the concave surface 222, and whose upper surface is a gently sloping arc-shaped circumferential surface. The protrusion 211 not only adds a space to the container 2 for inserting a finger placed on the concave surface 222, but also forms an uneven structure on the upper surface of the flange portion 21, thereby increasing the rigidity of the flange portion 21 and improving the shape retention of container 2. As can be seen in Figures 1 and 6, the concave surface 222 in this example is a vertically elongated curved surface that is convex from the outside to the inside of the protrusion 211, with a size that is continuous from the label surface 221 provided on the long side surface 22 to the inner surface of the protrusion 211, and is convex from the outside to the inside when viewed from the front, in the shape of a teardrop.

[0013] The lid 3 is provided with a flange portion 31 surrounding the open lower surface. The flange portion 31 is a joint portion for fitting the flange portion 21 of the container body 2 from the outside to join the container body 2, and is also a structural portion responsible for maintaining the shape of the lid 3. The lid 3 of this example has opposing long-side side surfaces 32 and short-side side surfaces 33 spanning the hypotenuse of the long-side side surfaces 32, and a pair of convex surfaces 322 are provided at the central position in the longitudinal direction of the flat triangular label surfaces 321 provided on each of the opposing long-side side surfaces 32 when viewed from the front. The label surface 321 is pasted with a label seal (not shown) describing the information of the triangular rice ball 4.

[0014] The hinge 11 connecting the container body 2 and the lid 3 has a three-dimensional structure formed by a curved surface that narrows in width from front to back. In the state where the lid 3 is opened from the container body 2 (see Fig. 1), it has a cross-sectional arc shape that opens upward, and in the state where the lid 3 is closed to the container body 2 (see Fig. 7 below), it has a cross-sectional shape that is slightly circular with a narrow opening portion. The hinge 11 of this example is formed so as to have a substantially circular cross-section in its normal state and biases the lid 3 in the closing direction. The lid 3 opened from the container body 2 opens due to its own weight but does not hang down from the container body 2, and a state where it can be easily closed (see Fig. 1) is maintained.

[0015] In this example, when the lid 3 is closed to the container body 2, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the flange portion 31 of the lid 3 is fitted and joined to the flange portion 21 of the container body 2 from the outside to be sealed. At this time, the convex portion 211 provided on the flange portion 21 of the container body 2 fits inside the convex surface 332 formed on the label surface 321 of the lid 3 and does not interfere with the long-side side surface 32 of the lid 3. Also, if the convex portion 211 provided on the flange portion 21 of the container body 2 fits inside the convex surface 332 of the lid 3, the convex portion 211 can suppress or prevent the long-side side surface 32 from deforming inward.

[0016] In this example, the lid 3 forms the long-side side surface 32 and the short-side side surface 33 close to the triangular rice ball 4 to be stored, and the label surface 321 provided on the long-side side surface 32 is also made as thin as possible. The convex surface 322 provides a non-interference space so that when the lid 3 is closed on the container 2, the convex portion 211 provided on the flange portion 21 of the container 2 does not hit the long-side side surface 32 of the lid 2. From this, for example, if the interval between the opposing long-side side surfaces 32 is sufficiently large and the convex portion 211 provided on the flange portion 21 of the container 2 is accommodated inside without interfering with the long-side side surface 32, the convex surface 322 may not be necessary.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 9, the packaging container 1 in this example stores the triangular rice ball 4 and is provided for sale. On the label surface 221 of the container 2 and the label surface 321 of the lid 3 respectively, a label seal (not shown) with information on the triangular rice ball 4 is pasted. If the label seal with information on the triangular rice ball 4 is a single piece that wraps around the label surface 221 of the container 2 and covers the label surfaces 321 in front of and behind the lid 3, it can also indicate that the lid 3 is unopened.

[0018] When the packaging container 1 storing the triangular rice ball 4 is in the state where the lid 3 is opened, as shown in FIG. 10, by placing a finger (for example, the thumb and index finger) 51 on the concave surface 222 (the outline is shown in thick line) provided on the long-side side surface 22 of the container 3 and sandwiching the triangular rice ball 4, the triangular rice ball 4 can be held by the hand 5 and eaten. As shown in FIG. 11 (the triangular rice ball 4 is not shown), the finger 51 sandwiching the triangular rice ball 4 is placed on the concave surface 222 (the outline is shown in thick line) and does not shift, so it can be stably held by the hand 5. Thereby, the packaging container 1 storing the triangular rice ball 4 is suitably used, for example, in a scene where the triangular rice ball 4 is eaten while walking.

[0019] Furthermore, since the triangular rice ball 4 is held between the fingers 51 via the concave surface 222, it can be eaten hygienically even if the hands 5 are dirty. The triangular rice ball 4 can also be stored hygienically by closing the lid 3 again and storing it in the packaging container 1 after partially eating it. The ability to eat and store the triangular rice ball 4 hygienically is an effect of the present invention, which allows the triangular rice ball 4 to be eaten and stored while still in the packaging container 1. In particular, because the packaging container 1 of the present invention has shape retention properties, it also has the advantage of preventing the shape of the stored triangular rice ball 4 from collapsing compared to packaging film. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0020] 1 Packaging container 11 Hinge 2. Condition 21 Flange section 211 Convex part 22 Long side side 221 Label side 222 Concave 23 Short side view 3 Lid 31 Flange section 32 Long side side 321 Label side 322 Convex 33 Short side view 4 rice balls 5 moves 51 fingers

Claims

1. In a packaging container consisting of a container and a lid, The container has a concave surface on part of its side that protrudes from the outside inward. A packaging container characterized by the following features.

2. The structure has concave surfaces on each of its opposing sides. The packaging container according to claim 1.

3. The container has a concave surface located at the center of the longitudinal direction on its side. The packaging container according to claim 1.

4. The structure has an upward-facing protrusion directly above a concave surface. The packaging container according to claim 1.

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