Lid holder member and lid holder kit using the same

Abstract

To provide a lid pressing member capable of pressing the lid of a cup food with a simple structure. [Solution] The present invention is a lid holding member 2 that holds down the lid L of a cup food product F from above, and includes a ring-shaped portion 21 formed to be inserted onto the outer periphery of a bottomed cylindrical container 3, a loop portion 22 made of an elastic material attached to one end of the ring-shaped portion 21, and a hook portion 23 attached to the other end of the ring-shaped portion 21 for hooking the elastically stretched loop portion 22. With this configuration, the lid L of the cup food product F can be held down simply by hooking the loop portion 22 onto the hook portion 23.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a lid holder for holding the lid of a cup food product and a lid holder kit using the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Cup foods, which are processed so that they can be easily consumed by simply pouring hot water over them, are widely available as emergency food or preserved food. To prepare such cup foods, the user typically lifts the lid partially, pours hot water over the food, hooks the lid tab onto the edge of the container, or attaches the tab to the edge of the container using a sticker that comes with the cup food, and then closes the lid again and holds it for a predetermined period of time.

[0003] However, with the above method, the closed lid often opens again due to the steam pressure of the hot water. Therefore, in order to ensure that the lid is closed, a cup noodle holder is known that includes a main body that contains the cup food into which hot water has been poured, and a lid body that is attached to the main body while holding down the lid of the cup food (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4182493 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the cup noodle holder described above requires a coil spring and plate to tightly fit the lid of the cup food to the lid body, as well as a locking mechanism to lock the lid body in a predetermined position relative to the main body, making the structure complex.

[0006] The present invention aims to solve the above problem and to provide a lid holder that can hold the lid of a cup food product with a simple structure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is a lid holder for holding down the lid of a cup food from above, and is characterized by comprising a ring-shaped portion formed to be inserted into the outer periphery of a bottomed cylindrical container, a loop portion attached to one end of the ring-shaped portion and made of an elastic material, and a hook portion attached to the other end of the ring-shaped portion for hooking the elastically stretched loop portion.

[0008] It is preferable that the loop portions extend radially from two spaced connection portions of the ring-shaped portion so that the distance between them increases, and then curve inward, so that the distance between them decreases as they move away from the ring-shaped portion.

[0009] In addition, the lid holding kit of the present invention comprises the above-mentioned lid holding member and an insulated container that holds cup food and has a vacuum insulation structure, and is characterized in that the insulated container has a circumferential groove on its outer periphery into which the ring-shaped portion is inserted. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to this invention, the lid of a cup food can be held in place with a simple structure, simply by hooking the loop part onto the hook part. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a lid holder kit according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 4A and 4B are a plan view and a side view of a lid holding member constituting the lid holding kit. [Figure 3] 4A and 4B are a side view and a cross-sectional side view of the heat-retaining container constituting the lid holder kit. [Figure 4] 10A and 10B are perspective views showing the operation when the lid holding kit is used. [Figure 5] 10A and 10B are plan views showing the use of the lid holding kit and a comparative example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] A lid holding kit according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in Fig. 1, the lid holding kit 1 comprises a lid holding member 2 for holding down the lid of a cup-type food from above, and a thermal container 3 for containing the cup-type food. The lid holding member 2 has a ring-shaped portion 21 (indicated by dots) formed to fit around the outer periphery of the thermal container 3, a loop portion 22 attached to one end of the ring-shaped portion 21, and a hook portion 23 attached to the other end of the ring-shaped portion 21.

[0013] 2(a) and 2(b), the hoop-shaped portion 21 is formed in the shape of a circular belt. The loop portion 22 is composed of a single band-shaped member with a portion of its elliptical shape missing when viewed from above. The loop portion 22 extends radially from two connection portions 22a, 22b, which are spaced a few centimeters apart on the hoop-shaped portion 21, so that the distance between them increases, and then curves inward, narrowing as it moves away from the hoop-shaped portion 21. A flat-shaped tab 24 is provided at the end of the loop portion 22 farthest from the hoop-shaped portion 21. As will be described later, the tab 24 serves as a handle when hooking the loop portion 22 onto the hook portion 23, and has multiple protrusions 24a on both sides to prevent slipping. The hook portion 23 has one cylindrical portion 23a standing upright from the outer surface of the ring-shaped portion 21 in the opposite direction to the loop portion 22, and a disk portion 23b provided at the tip of the cylindrical portion 23a and having a larger diameter than the cylindrical portion 23a.

[0014] The loop portion 22 is made of an elastic material (e.g., silicone) and is elastically stretchable. The loop portion 21 and the hook portion 23 are preferably made of the same material as the loop portion 22 and are formed integrally with the loop portion 22 by, for example, injection molding, but may also be formed as separate members made of inelastic plastic or the like.

[0015] As shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b), the thermal insulation container 3 is formed in a generally cylindrical shape with a bottom, with the opening 31 being wider than the bottom 32, and has a vacuum insulation double structure including a vacuum layer (hatching of the cross section is omitted in Figure 3(b)). The thermal insulation container 3 also has a circumferential groove 33 near the opening 31 on its outer periphery, into which the ring-shaped portion 21 is inserted (see also Figure 1). The ring-shaped portion 21 is attached in close contact with the circumferential groove 33.

[0016] Next, a method of using the lid holder kit 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to Figures 4(a) and 4(b). First, as shown in Figure 4(a), a container C of cup food F is placed in a thermal container 3, and the lid L of the cup food F is partially lifted up by holding the lifting opening P. Then, hot water is poured into the container C from the lifted up part.

[0017] 4(b), the opening P is hooked onto the edge of the container C, and while holding the tab 24 and pulling it so that the loop portion 22 hooks onto the lid L, the elastically stretched loop portion 22 is hooked onto the cylindrical portion 23a from below the disk portion 23b. At this time, since the tab 24 is provided with the protrusion 24a, the fingers gripping the tab 24 do not easily slip, making it easy to hook the loop portion 22 onto the hooking portion 23. When the loop portion 22 is hooked onto the hooking portion 23, the loop portion 22 is sandwiched between the disk portion 23b and the ring-shaped portion 21, and the loop portion 22 presses down on the lid L from above, preventing the lid L from opening unintentionally.

[0018] 5(a), connecting portions 22a and 22b are spaced apart by several centimeters, and the loop portion 22 has a shape in which the distance between connecting portions 22a and 22b is large, the ends are curved, and the distance becomes narrower on the tab 24 side, so that the loop portion 22 hooked on the hook portion 23 extends in an inverted V shape on the lid L. As a result, a wide area (indicated by dots) of the lid L is held down by the loop portion 22, and therefore, even if the opening P of the lid L is misaligned from the position of the hook portion 23, the lid L can be effectively prevented from being turned up from the opening P.

[0019] 5(b), for example, in the case where the connection portions 22a and 22b are arranged close to each other and the loop portion 22 is linear (comparative example), the loop portion 22 hooked on the hook portion 23 extends almost parallel on the lid L. Therefore, only a narrow region (indicated by dots) of the lid L is held down by the loop portion 22, and if the opening P of the lid L is misaligned from the position of the hook portion 23, the lid L cannot be sufficiently prevented from being turned up from the opening P.

[0020] When eating the cup food F cooked in hot water, the procedure is reversed from the above, that is, the loop part 22 is elastically stretched downward by holding the tab 24 to remove it from the hook part 23, and after removing the loop part 22 from the lid L, the lid L is completely removed from the container C. The container C may be removed from the thermal insulation container 3, but by leaving it in the thermal insulation container 3, it can be kept warm for a long period of time.

[0021] As described above, with the lid holding kit 1, the lid holding member 2 has a very simple structure, and can hold the lid L of the cup food F simply by hooking the loop portion 22 onto the hook portion 23. Furthermore, since the loop portion 22 is provided with the tab 24, the operation of hooking the loop portion 22 onto the hook portion 23 is easy to perform, providing good operability. Furthermore, since the cup food F cooked in hot water is kept warm in the thermal insulation container 3, it can be maintained piping hot for a long period of time. Furthermore, since the ring-shaped portion 21 is inserted into the circumferential groove 33, the ring-shaped portion 21 does not unintentionally shift position when the loop portion 22 is elastically stretched, for example.

[0022] The lid holder kit according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified in various ways. For example, the insulated container is not necessarily provided, and the lid holder member may be used alone. In this case, the ring-shaped portion of the lid holder member is inserted directly onto the outer periphery of the cup food container. Furthermore, the tab is not necessarily provided, and the configuration may be without a tab, and the shape of the tab is not limited to a flat one, and may be, for example, ring-shaped. [Explanation of symbols]

[0023] 1 Lid Holder Kit 2 Lid holder 21 Crescent 22 Loop section 23 Hook 24 Picking 3 Thermal container 33 Circumferential groove F Cup Food C (cup food) container L (cup food lid)

Claims

1. A lid holding member that holds down the lid of a cup food from above, a ring-shaped portion formed to be fitted onto the outer periphery of a bottomed cylindrical container; a loop portion made of an elastic material and attached to one end of the loop portion; a hook portion attached to the other end of the ring-shaped portion for hooking the elastically stretched loop portion.

2. The lid holding member according to claim 1, characterized in that the loop portions extend radially from two spaced connection portions of the ring-shaped portion so that the distance between them increases, and then curve inward, so that the distance between them decreases as they move away from the ring-shaped portion.

3. The lid pressing member according to claim 1 or 2; a heat-retaining container that contains cup food and has a vacuum insulation structure; The lid holding kit is characterized in that the insulated container has a circumferential groove on its outer periphery into which the ring-shaped portion is inserted.

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