Storage box
A storage box of the present invention has a container main body 2 and a lid 3. At least three adjacent surfaces of the side surface parts of the container main body 2 are formed by a woven fabric cloth 8 including two woven fabrics 6 facing at an interval and a large number of intermediate threads 7 distributively arranged and coupling the woven fabrics. Thereby, the storage box has sufficient shape retainability and is excellent in storage performance.
The present invention relates to a foldable storage box used for transporting commodities such as food.
BACKGROUND ARTA convenience store and a supermarket or the like handle multi-item foods, such as confectioneries including ice cream and chocolate, frozen foods, chilled foods and packed lunches. Commodities such as foods are contained in a storage box such as a cold insulation box or a heat insulation box so as to maintain quality, and are transported to each store by a truck such as a dry van.
For example, as described in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2002-302163, storage boxes made of styrene foam are used in many applications. Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. H10-287372 discloses a foldable assembled cold insulation box obtained by combining foam and an insulation sheet. Further, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2002-2828 discloses a foldable cold insulation box formed in such a manner that a cushioning sheet having a large number of air enclosed chambers is pasted on and covered with an aluminum foil.
While, for example, the storage box made of styrene foam, described in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2002-302163 is excellent in shape retainability, and loading such as stacking in the truck is possible, such a problem exists that the storage box occupies the same capacity as the time of use even when the storage box is not used for transporting commodities, and the space in the truck cannot be efficiently used. In that respect, the storage boxes described in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application Nos. H10-287372 and 2002-2828 can be folded when the storage boxes are not used for transporting the commodities. Thereby the storage boxes are excellent in storage performance, and the effective volume in the truck can be efficiently used. However, those storage boxes do not have sufficient rigidity for loading such as stacking in the truck at the time of transporting in the same manner as the above storage box made of styrene foam, and the effective volume in the truck at the time of transporting cannot be efficiently used.
The number of articles of the commodities to be transported has increased with the recent increase of convenience stores and the like, and the improvement in the transport efficiency of the commodities is desired. Therefore, the market desires a storage box which excels in shape retainability, has sufficient rigidity for loading such as stacking at the time of transporting, and excels in storage performance so that the storage box can be folded when the storage box is not used.
A large-sized storage box excellent in both shape retainability and storage performance is desired at the time of transporting a large number of commodities at once by freight car or aircraft or the like other than vehicles such as trucks.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a storage box excellent in shape retainability and storage performance.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTIONA storage box of the present invention comprises a container main body and a lid, wherein at least three adjacent surfaces of side surface parts of the container main body are formed by a woven fabric cloth including two woven fabrics facing at an interval and a large number of intermediate threads distributively arranged and coupling the woven fabrics.
According to the above constitution, when the woven fabrics are expanded by introducing air into the woven fabrics, the intermediate thread restrains the expansion of the woven fabrics facing one another, and thereby the container main body comes to have a high rigidity. When the storage box is not used, the storage box can be folded by releasing air. The effective volume in a truck can be efficiently used as well as allowing the storage box to be stored in a small space when the storage box is dropped off from the truck and stored at the time of not using the storage box. The storage box in which air is discharged becomes extremely light weight, and the storage box can be easily carried. Herein, in order that the storage box has sufficient shape retainability, the entirety of container main body and lid do not need to be formed by the woven fabric cloth, and at least adjacent three side surface parts of the side surface parts may be formed by the woven fabric cloth.
Herein, the storage box may be provided with a cover member for covering the entire surface of the container main body and lid. According to the above constitution, the woven fabric cloth forming the side surface parts of the storage box is unexposed to the outside. The woven fabric cloth is not damaged while transporting the commodities, and internal air does not leak. The heat retaining property and cold retaining property at the time of transporting the commodities requiring cold insulation or heat insulation are also improved by the cover member.
A storage box of the present invention comprises a sheet-shaped container main body, a lid, and a woven fabric cloth including two woven fabrics facing at an interval and a large number of intermediate threads distributively arranged, and coupling the woven fabrics, arranged inside of the sheet-shaped container main body and lid, and forming at least three adjacent surfaces of the side surface parts of the container main body.
According to the above constitution, when the air is introduced into the woven fabrics and the woven fabrics are expanded, the expansion of the woven fabrics facing one another is restrained by the intermediate thread, and thereby the woven fabrics come to have high rigidity. When the storage box is not used, the storage box can be folded by releasing air. The effective volume in a truck can be efficiently used, and the storage box can be made extremely lightweight. Since the woven fabric cloth is arranged inside the sheet-shaped main part and lid, the woven fabric cloth is unexposed to the outside. The woven fabric cloth is not damaged while transporting the commodities, and internal air does not leak.
Herein, at least three adjacent surfaces of the side surface parts formed by the woven fabric cloth may be communicated with one another. According to the above constitution, the rigidity of the container main body is improved by introducing the air into the container main body, and the container main body can be made to obtain sufficient endurance even if the storage box is loaded. The injection work of the air can be easily performed.
A seal member may be provided at the circumferential part of the container main body. According to the above constitution, the sealability at the time of capping is improved and the heat retaining property in the container is improved.
An abrasion resistant material for preventing the abrasion of a bottom surface may be attachably/detachably provided. According to the above constitution, the bottom surface of the storage box can be prevented from being damaged by abrasion, particularly when heavy commodities are transported. When the abrasion resistant material is worn out, the worn out abrasion resistant material can also be replaced with a new abrasion resistant material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
In
As shown in the partial sectional view of the side surface part 5 of the container main body 2 of
The woven fabric cloth 8 is a three-dimensional woven fabric composed by two woven fabrics 6 and 6 facing one another, and a large number of intermediate threads 7 coupling the woven fabrics 6 and 6 at a suitable space and distributively arranged on the entire surface of the woven fabric 6. The intermediate thread 7 is composed by warps or wefts of the woven fabric, or both warps and wefts. The intermediate thread 7 is woven at a density of 1 to 5/cm2, and preferably 2 to 3/cm2 almost uniformly on the entire surfaces of the woven fabrics 6 and 6. The intermediate thread 7 may be connected to the woven fabrics 6 and 6 by sewing together without being woven into the constitution of the woven fabrics 6 and 6.
Although the thickness between the woven fabrics 6 and 6 of the woven fabric cloth 8 is optional, the thickness is preferably 5 to 8 cm. Thus, the heat insulation property in the storage box 1 is improved, and the heat retaining property of the contained commodities such as foods is improved. Herein, the woven fabrics 6 and 6 and the intermediate thread 7 are preferably composed by the same kind of thread, and as the thread of the woven fabrics 6 and 6 and intermediate thread 7, threads composed by natural fibers or synthetic fibers such as cotton fibers, rayon fibers, nylon fibers, polyester fibers and polypropylene fibers is used.
The surface of the woven fabric cloth 8 is covered with a cover body 9. The cover body 9 is adhered to or welded to a surface material fixedly stuck to the surfaces of the woven fabrics 6 and 6 of the woven fabric cloth 8. The surface material is made of a synthetic resin coated on or adhered to the surfaces of the woven fabrics 6 and 6. As the synthetic resin used for the surface material, a resin having gas impermeability such as a vinyl chloride resin, an olefin resin and a urethane resin can be used. Particularly, the urethane resin is preferable. As the urethane resin, polyurethane elastomer is preferable. The polyurethane elastomer is advantageously excellent in elastic modulus, load bearing capacity, mechanical strength, oil resistance, chemical resistance and abrasion resistance. Thus, polyurethane formed in a sheet shape may be pressurized and adhered on the woven fabrics 6 and 6 so as to apply a polyurethane layer to the woven fabrics 6 and 6 as the surface material.
As shown in
The foaming material or the like is also provided in the circumferential part 13 (see
Thus, since the container main body 2 and the lid 3 are formed by the woven fabric cloth 8 including two woven fabrics 6 and 6 facing at a predetermined interval and a large number of intermediate threads 7 distributively arranged and coupling the woven fabrics at a suitable space, the container main body 2 and the lid 3 are expanded by introducing air into the woven fabric cloth 8. At this time, since the expansion is restrained by a large number of intermediate threads 7 distributively arranged, the rigidity of the container main body 2 and lid 3 is improved, and the container main body 2 and the lid 3 have sufficient strength even if loading such as stacking is performed at the time of transporting.
As described above, since the bottom surface part 4 and the side surface parts 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d are connected and the container main body 2 is integrally formed, the container main body 2 can be expanded and contracted by providing an intake/exhaust port 19 of air on any one surface of the side surface parts 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d or the bottom surface part 4. Thus, since the five surface of the bottom surface part 4 and the side surface parts 5a 5b, 5c and 5d are communicated with one another, the rigidity of the container main body 2 is improved by introducing the air into the container main body 2, and the container main body 2 can be made to obtain sufficient endurance even if the storage box is loaded. The injecting work of the air into the container main body 2 can also be easily performed.
As shown in
As shown in
A storing member (not shown) capable of storing a heat insulator can be provided in the cold insulation sheet 17. A net-like bag body or the like can be used for the storing member. Thus, since the heat insulator can be stored, the heat retaining property in the storage box 1 can be improved.
As shown in
Since the container main body 2 can be constituted by supplying and discharging air, other than to use for transporting the commodities or the like as shown in the above embodiment, the container main body is produced in a larger size, and the container main body can be set and used at the required place when needed such as during the hot summer months. The container main body 2 can be folded and stored when the container main body 2 is not needed.
When a hole or the like is opened in the woven fabric cloth 8 according to the shapes of the commodities stored in the storage box 1, and the environment or the like where the storage box 1 is used, the woven fabric cloths 8 forming the surfaces may be uncommunicated with one another. In this case, even if the hole is opened in a part of the woven fabric cloth 8, the whole air in the woven fabric cloth 8 does not come out.
Next, the second embodiment of the present invention is described. Although the bottom surface part 4 and side surface parts 5 constituting the five surfaces of the container main body 2, and the lid 3 are all formed by the woven fabric cloth 8 in the storage box 1 of the first embodiment, at least three surfaces of the side surface parts of the container main body may be formed by the woven fabric cloth 8 so as to secure the shape retainability of the storage box. For example, as shown in
Next, the third embodiment of the present invention is described. Although the lid is provided at the upper surface side of the container main body in the above first embodiment, the lid does not always have to be provided at the upper surface side. For example, as shown in
Next, the fourth embodiment of the present invention is described. In a storage box 1C of the fourth embodiment, the entire surface of the container main body 32 and lid 33 having substantially the same constitution as the container main body 2 and lid 3 (see
As shown in
The container main body 32 and the lid 33 are formed by the woven fabric cloth 8 comprising two woven fabrics 6 facing at an interval and a large number of intermediate threads 7 distributively arranged and coupling the woven fabrics in the same manner as the container main body 2 and lid 3 of the first embodiment. The interior spaces of four side surface parts and bottom surface part of the container main body 32 are communicated with one another. A inlet 35 for injecting air into the woven fabric cloth 8 is formed on one side surface of the four side surface parts.
As shown in
As shown in
An abrasion resistant material for preventing abrasion of the bottom surface is provided on the bottom surface of the cover member 34. Therefore, the cover member 34 covering the bottom surface can be prevented from being damaged by abrasion, particularly at the time of transporting the heavy commodities. Herein, for example, an abrasion resistant material made of high-density polyethylene and PP (polypropylene) can be used. As shown in
Since the entire surface of the container main body 2 of the storage box 1C is covered with the cover member 3, the woven fabric cloth 8 forming the side surface parts 2a to 2d of the container main body 2 is unexposed to the outside. The woven fabric cloth 8 is not damaged while being transported, and internal air does not leak. The heat retaining property and cold retaining property at the time of transporting the commodities requiring cold insulation or heat insulation are also improved by the cover member 3.
Next, the fifth embodiment of the present invention is described. As shown in
The sheet-shaped main body 50 and the lid 51 are of the same kind as the cover member 34 (see
The storage box of the present invention described above can be applied at the time of containing commodities other than the commodities such as foods requiring cold insulation or heat insulation. The present invention can be applied not only to a storage box loaded into a truck but also to a storage box loaded into other transportation means such as aircraft, a freight car or a vessel.
Further, the storage box of the present invention can be used by itself. In addition, the storage box can be loaded into an existing freight container and aircraft container or the like, and can be used at the time of performing cold insulation or heat insulation transportation or the like. Even in this case, the foldable storage box can be efficiently arranged in the container by effectively utilizing the feature of the foldable storage box of the present invention.
Claims
1. A storage box comprising:
- a container main body; and
- a lid,
- wherein at least three adjacent surfaces of side surface parts of the container main body are formed by a woven fabric cloth including two woven fabrics facing at an interval and a large number of intermediate threads distributively arranged and coupling the woven fabrics.
2. The storage box according to claim 1, further comprising a cover member for covering the entire surface of the container main body and lid.
3. A storage box comprising:
- a sheet-shaped container main body;
- a lid; and
- a woven fabric cloth including two woven fabrics facing at an interval and a large number of intermediate threads distributively arranged and coupling the woven fabrics, arranged inside of the sheet-shaped container main body and lid, and forming at least three adjacent surfaces of the side surface parts of the container main body.
4. The storage box according to claim 1, wherein at least three adjacent surfaces of the side surface parts formed by the woven fabric cloth are communicated with one another.
5. The storage box according to claim 1, further comprising a seal member provided at the circumferential part of the woven fabric cloth.
6. The storage box according to claim 1, further comprising an attachably/detachably provided abrasion resistant material for preventing the abrasion of a bottom surface.
7. The storage box according to claim 2, wherein at least three adjacent surfaces of the side surface parts formed by the woven fabric cloth are communicated with one another.
8. The storage box according to claim 3, wherein at least three adjacent surfaces of the side surface parts formed by the woven fabric cloth are communicated with one another.
9. The storage box according to claim 2, further comprising a seal member provided at the circumferential part of the woven fabric cloth.
10. The storage box according to claim 3, further comprising a seal member provided at the circumferential part of the woven fabric cloth.
11. The storage box according to claim 2, further comprising an attachably/detachably provided abrasion resistant material for preventing the abrasion of a bottom surface.
12. The storage box according to claim 3, further comprising an attachably/detachably provided abrasion resistant material for preventing the abrasion of a bottom surface.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 28, 2004
Publication Date: Jul 6, 2006
Inventor: Katsuo Kita (OSAKA)
Application Number: 10/543,553
International Classification: B65D 81/38 (20060101);