JP3247950U - A heating device ideal for heating food and beverages - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a heating tool that utilizes chemical heat generation, which generates thermal energy by the reaction of a heat generating agent with water, and improves the safety of the operation that generates heat without compromising the operability of the operation that generates heat. [Solution] The heating tool 10 includes a rectangular dish-shaped container 13 with an open top surface covered with a sheet-like lid, a partition wall 24 with an opening formed inside the dish-shaped container to allow water to flow in and out, a water bag 12 housed on one side of the partition wall, a heat generating agent bag 11 housed on the other side of the partition wall, a water bag pressing and fixing plate 14 housed and arranged on the top surface of the water bag inside the dish-shaped container, and a long-length opening tool 16, one end of which is fixed to the front end of the water bag pressing and fixing plate and the other end of which allows the sheet-like lid and the water bag to be torn almost simultaneously. The tip of the long-length opening tool is fixed (temporarily fixed) to the water bag pressing and fixing plate by a fixing method set so as to be easily detached from the water bag pressing and fixing plate. [Selected Figure] Figure 2

Description

This invention relates to a heating device that is used to heat (including warm) food and beverages safely and reliably, without involving flames or electrical energy, by utilizing thermal energy generated by a chemical reaction between an exothermic substance and water.

A heating system that uses thermal energy generated by a chemical reaction between a granular or powdered exothermic substance (heat generating agent) and water is known as a heating system used for heating or warming lunch boxes, cooked foods, emergency food, sake, etc., or for preparing hot water for preparing infant formula. This heating system is used to heat lunch boxes, cooked foods, etc., especially in situations where heating using flammable gas or electrical energy is difficult, such as during travel or when a disaster occurs. Specifically, a heating device is prepared in advance in which a heat generating substance (e.g., quicklime) that has the property of generating heat when in contact with water and water are separately contained in bags and placed close to each other in a dish-shaped water-resistant container, and when heating or warming is required, the heat generating agent is brought into contact with the water to generate thermal energy in the heating device and perform the desired heating or warming.

There are various types of heating tools that can be used to implement the above heating system, but one of the most useful heating systems is the heating system that uses the heating tool described in Patent Document 1 below.

Patent No. 5362244 (JP 2009-248981)

Patent document 1 discloses an invention of a heating tool that utilizes thermal energy generated by a chemical reaction between a heat generating agent and water, and includes drawings showing a typical configuration example of the heating tool. The present invention is an invention to provide a heating tool that can be said to be an improved version of the heating tool disclosed in Patent document 1.
Therefore, in order to understand the present invention, it is effective to first understand the heating tool disclosed in Patent Document 1 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as the "heating tool to be improved"). For this reason, "Figures 1 to 3" of the drawings attached to Patent Document 1 are attached to this specification as they are as they are as Figures 1 to 3, and the specific configuration of the heating tool to be improved is explained. Note that in Figures 1 to 3 of the drawings attached to this specification, some of the "reference numerals" have been changed from those in Patent Document 1 for the sake of simplicity of explanation.

In the attached drawings, Figures 1 to 3, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the specific configuration of the heating tool to be improved, Figure 2 is an exploded view showing the overall configuration of the heating tool, and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the heating tool to be improved shown in Figure 1.

As can be seen in Figures 1 to 3, the heating device 10 to be improved is a heating device configured by accommodating a heat generating agent bag 11, in which a heat generating agent is filled in a water-permeable or water-soluble bag, and a water bag (easily tearable water bag) 12, in which water is filled in an easily tearable bag, lined up along the length of a rectangular dish-shaped watertight container (a dish-shaped container which is a molded product of a water-impermeable material such as plastic) 13 with an open top, and covering the top of the containers with an easily tearable film 15 via a water bag pressing and fixing plate 14. The upper side of the easily tearable covering film 15 that covers the opening surface of the watertight container 13 is provided with a long string-like opening tool 16 that can tear the covering film and the water bag 12 almost simultaneously, and is used to heat the food or other object to be heated (not shown) placed on the heating tool. The opening tool 16 extends in the length direction of the watertight container from the side of the pull tab 16a set on the left end side of each figure (the side where the pulling operation to tear the covering film and the water bag is performed). The front end of the string-like opening tool 16 is extended in an unfixed state to the vicinity of the end face in the length direction of the covering film 15 (the right end face in each figure), and its tip is extended to the vicinity of the front end of the covering film 15 on the upper surface of the watertight container, and then guided into the inside of the watertight container 13 through a hole or slit 15a formed on the front end side of the covering film 15.

The front end of the string-like opening tool guided into the watertight container is then bent downward, and then extended in the opposite direction between the covering film 15 and the water bag pressing and fixing plate 14 to the left in the figure, then folded back downward at the front end of the water bag pressing and fixing plate 14, then extended along the underside of the water bag 12 to the rear end of the water bag, then folded back upward again at the rear end of the water bag, and then extended to pass between the upper surface of the water bag and the lower surface of the water bag pressing and fixing plate, and guided to the front end 14a of the water bag pressing and fixing plate. Next, the string-like opening tool is passed through a slit formed in the front end 14a of the water bag pressing and fixing plate. A knot is made at the tip of the string-like opening tool passed through the slit, and the tip of the string-like opening tool is firmly fixed to the water bag pressing and fixing plate by this knot.

The interior of the watertight container 13 is divided into an area housing the heat generating agent bag 11 and an area housing the water bag 12 by a partition plate 24 with a water passageway that allows water released when the water bag is torn to quickly flow into the area housing the heat generating agent bag 11.

The water bag 12 inside the heating tool is fixed in place by a water bag pressing and fixing plate 14 arranged on its upper surface, pressing it against the bottom surface of the watertight container 13.

In addition, in [0057] of the [Detailed Description of the Invention] of Patent Document 1, it is stated that "by providing one or more openings in the support plate (i.e., the water bag pressing and fixing plate), high-temperature steam generated in the region containing the heat generating agent is not blocked by the support plate and can smoothly diffuse to the outside of the watertight container (dish-shaped container)." The openings in the support plate described here are not shown in "Figures 1 to 3" of Patent Document 1, but the inventor of the present invention thought that the openings in the support plate would be useful for improving the practicality of the heating device and conducted repeated experiments to confirm this. As a result, it was confirmed that by providing an elliptical, circular, or rectangular opening with an area of approximately 1/8 to 1/3 of the area of the support plate near the center of the support plate (the water bag support plate (water bag pressing and fixing plate) shown in Figures 1 to 3 of the attached drawings of Patent Document 1), high-temperature steam generated in the heat generating agent storage area quickly rises and diffuses through the opening in the support plate, which is extremely effective in accelerating the heating of food to be heated, such as boxed lunches, placed on the top surface of a dish-shaped container.

Although there is no specific description in Patent Document 1, a detailed look at its attached drawings, "Figs. 1-3" (which correspond to Figs. 1-3 of the attached drawings in the present specification), reveals that the end (front end) of the long string-like opening tool (string) is designed so that it will not come off the water bag pressing and fixing plate when the water bag and the sheet-like lid are torn apart almost simultaneously, but as mentioned above, after being tied together in a "knotted ball" shape, it is fixed in place by being sandwiched in the slit formed in the front end of the water bag pressing and fixing plate.

The above-mentioned invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 was created with the involvement of one of the inventors of the present invention, and the invention can also be expressed as follows:

A dish-shaped container that is surrounded by walls and has an open top, and is a molded product made of a water-impermeable material; a partition wall with a passageway inside the dish-shaped container that allows water to flow in and out; a water bag that is made by storing water in an easily tearable bag housed on one side of the partition wall; a heat generating agent bag that is housed on the other side of the partition wall and contains a powdered or lump-shaped heat generating agent that generates heat when it comes into contact with water, packed in a water-permeable or water-soluble bag; an easily tearable sheet-like lid that covers the top of the opening of the dish-shaped container; a water bag pressing and fixing plate that is housed and positioned above the water bag and below the easily tearable sheet-like lid in the dish-shaped container; a heating device that has a front end that is fixed to the water bag pressing and fixing plate and a rear end that is wound around both the front and back of both the upper and lower surfaces of the water bag, and is attached with a string (long opening tool) that is pulled out from the front wall of the dish-shaped container to tear both the water bag and the sheet-like lid almost simultaneously.

The inventor of the present invention considered that the heating device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is useful as a heating device particularly suited to heating boxed lunches and pre-cooked foods, as it has a simple structure and is relatively easy to manufacture. The inventor also considered that it is particularly suited to use as a heating device for boxed lunches, such as makunouchi bento, which is a plate-shaped container in which a variety of ingredients are placed in designated positions.

The inventor of the present invention actually produced a prototype of the heating tool described in Patent Document 1 and conducted detailed studies to determine whether there were any problems that were likely to occur when the heating tool was actually used. As a result of the studies, the inventor found that the heating tool disclosed in Patent Document 1 had problems that were likely to occur when actually used.

The problem that the inventor of this invention found is that while performing the operation to generate heat using the heating tool described in Patent Document 1 is not difficult for someone who is familiar with the operation of generating heat using the heating tool, it is not necessarily easy for someone who is not accustomed to the operation to perform the heating operation of the heating tool reliably and safely.

That is, as can be easily understood from the above explanation and drawings, in order to realize the heating tool generating heat, the heating tool is usually first housed and secured in a box with an open top (a box made of cardboard or the like with holes on the side through which a string can be passed), and then the food to be heated, such as a boxed lunch, is placed on the top surface of the boxed lunch to create a stack, and then, with the stack placed on a table or the like, the user pulls the string (a long opening tool) attached to the heating tool towards the front through a hole in the wall on the front side of the box.

By pulling the string toward you, first the sheet-like lid on the top of the heating tool is cut open, and then, or almost simultaneously, the water bag inside the heating tool is also cut open, releasing water from the water bag into the inside of the heating tool. The water released from the water bag quickly passes through a passage formed in the partition wall between the water bag fixing area and the heat generating agent bag storage area and comes into contact with the heat generating agent bag, resulting in the desired heat generation.

As mentioned above, the operation to cause the heating tool to generate heat is simply to pull the string (long opening tool) attached to the heating tool forward through a hole in the front wall of the box, which should not be a particularly difficult operation. However, according to the inventor's consideration, it is not necessarily easy for someone who is not familiar with the operation to generate heat from a heating tool to determine how much force and how far to pull the string (long opening tool).

In other words, for many people, the operation of starting heat generation using the heating tool disclosed in Patent Document 1 is not an operation that is performed on a daily basis, so for those who are not accustomed to starting heat generation using a heating tool, the operation of starting heat generation with the heating tool is performed by first reading the explanation of the operation method for generating heat that is described in the heating tool or its instruction manual, understanding the method, and then pulling the string (long opening tool) toward the front. However, when starting heat generation, the operation of pulling the string toward the front is easily performed too weakly and slowly out of caution, in which case the sheet-like lid covering the surface of the heating tool and the water bag are not torn apart quickly, and as a result, the contact of the water flowing out of the water bag with the heat generating agent bag becomes too slow, which can cause problems such as heat generation being difficult in the expected short time.

On the other hand, if the string (long opening tool) is pulled toward the front with too much force and too fast, the sheet-like lid on the surface of the heating tool and the water bag are torn quickly, but the force used in the tearing operation is forcibly stopped after it reaches the fixed position of the string tip set at the front end of the water bag pressing and fixing plate. On the other hand, since the heat generating agent that starts to generate heat by reacting with water has the property of rapidly solidifying during the heat generating reaction, the front end of the water bag pressing and fixing plate (the end on the side where the heat generating agent bag is placed) is likely to cause deformation in the form of an upward curl at the side of the water bag pressing and fixing plate where the heat generating agent bag is placed (the front part of the long opening tool). In such a case, the entire heating tool where heat has been generated may be significantly deformed, such as curling. If significant deformation occurs in the water bag pressing and fixing plate inside the heating tool, the high-temperature steam generated inside the heating tool will be more likely to leak in a direction different from the specified direction, which could pose a risk of burns to the person who is causing the exothermic reaction using the heating tool.

As described above, the inventor of the present invention has determined through investigations that it is desirable to make some improvements to the heating tool described in Patent Document 1 so that the operation that causes heat generation in the heating tool can be performed safely and reliably even by people who are not accustomed to handling the heating tool.

The inventors of this invention conducted extensive research to find improvements to solve the problems they found in the process of identifying problems with the use of the heating tool described in Patent Document 1, and as a result, they discovered that making the following improvements to the heating tool to be improved would be effective.

The tip (front end) of the long-shaped opening tool provided in the heating tool to be improved is fixed to the water bag pressing and fixing plate under conditions such that even after the sheet-like lid and the easy-tearable water bag are torn almost simultaneously and opened by pulling the long-shaped opening tool, the pulling operation can be continued without increasing the force, and the tip (front end) of the long-shaped opening tool can be easily removed when necessary. In other words, the problem is solved by temporarily fixing the tip (front end) of the long-shaped opening tool to the water bag pressing and fixing plate so that it can be easily removed when necessary. One example of temporary fixing is a method of simply making a cut (slit) in the front end of the water bag pressing and fixing plate and inserting the tip of the long-shaped opening tool into the slit. However, with this method, the tip of the long-shaped opening tool may easily come off the slit at the end of the water bag pressing and fixing plate, so it is preferable to form two slits close to each other and wrap the tip of the opening tool around the strip-shaped area formed by the slits.

Therefore, a specific example of the configuration of the present invention can be described as follows.
a dish-shaped container which is a molded product of a water-impermeable material and is surrounded by a wall and has an open top; a partition wall provided inside the dish-shaped container and having a passageway to allow water to flow in and out; a water bag arranged on one side of the partition wall and containing water in an easily tearable bag; a heat generating agent bag arranged on the other side of the partition wall and containing a powdered or lump heat generating agent which generates heat upon contact with water in a water-permeable or water-soluble bag; an easily tearable sheet-like lid which covers the top of the opening of the dish-shaped container; a water bag pressing and fixing plate arranged above the water bag and below the easily tearable sheet-like lid inside the dish-shaped container; a heating device having a front end (terminal end) fixed to the water bag pressing and fixing plate and a rear end which is wound around both the front and rear of the upper and lower surfaces of the water bag and is then pulled out from the front wall side of the dish-shaped container and is attached with a string (long opening tool) which can tear both the water bag and the sheet-like lid almost simultaneously,
A heating tool characterized in that two slits are formed at positions close to each other on the front end of the water bag pressing and fixing plate, and the end of a long-shaped opening tool is inserted into the slits in such a way that the end of the end is wrapped around the strip-shaped portion formed by the two slits.

The heating device of the present invention is easy to operate to generate heat, similar to conventional heating devices such as the heating device described in Reference 1, and the safety of the operation to generate heat is significantly improved.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the heating tool (preceding heating tool) shown in FIG. 1 of the cited document 1. FIG. 2 is an exploded view clarifying the configuration of the heating tool (pre-heating tool) in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the heating tool (pre-heating tool) of FIG. 1 . 1 is a plan view (top view) showing an enlarged view of the portion where the elongated opening tool, which is a characteristic part of the heating tool of the present invention, is fixed (temporarily fixed) to the water bag pressing and fixing plate. FIG.

As described above in this specification, the heating tool of the present invention is an improved version of the heating tool disclosed in Reference 1, and this improvement relates to the method (temporary fixing method) used to fix the tip of the long opening tool (string) provided in the heating tool to the water bag pressing and fixing plate. In consideration of this point, the explanation of the heating tool as a whole, other than the temporary fixing mode of the long opening tool (string), is considered to be sufficient from the explanation of the heating tool described in Reference 1 and the explanation given above in this specification, so it will not be repeated.

Figure 4 is a plan view (top view) showing an example of the state in which the tip of the long opening device (string) of the heating device of the present invention is temporarily fixed to the water bag fixing plate.

In Fig. 4, in the heating tool of the present invention, two slits are formed near the front end (puller end) 14a of the water bag pressing and fixing plate 14 provided inside the heating tool, and the tip 16d of the long opening tool (string) is fixed (temporarily fixed) by being wound around the strip-shaped portion 14c formed by the two slits. It is preferable that the end of at least one of the two slits is cut obliquely as shown in the figure. This is effective in facilitating the work of winding and fixing (temporarily fixing) the tip of the long opening tool (string) around the strip-shaped portion 14c formed by the two slits, and also has the advantage that the tip of the temporarily fixed long opening tool (string) can be smoothly removed.
In addition, it is desirable that the tip of the long opening tool is not provided with any obstacle or expanding portion (e.g., a knot) that would prevent the opening tool from passing through the two slits formed at the end of the water bag pressing and fixing plate.

In addition, as explained above, the temporary fixation of the tip of the long opening tool (string) in this invention means that even after the sheet-like lid and the easy-tear water bag are opened almost simultaneously by pulling the long opening tool, the long opening tool (string) is fixed under conditions such that it can be easily detached from the water bag pressing and fixing plate by continuing the pulling operation without applying any particularly strong force.

In the heating device of this invention, the temporary fixation of the long-shaped opening tool near the two slits provided near the front end of the water bag pressing and fixing plate does not necessarily have to be in the form shown in Figure 4, but as described above, it is necessary that the long-shaped opening tool is fixed under conditions such that it can be easily detached from the water bag pressing and fixing plate by continuing the pulling operation of the long-shaped opening tool without applying any particular force even after the sheet-like lid body and the easy-tearable water bag are opened almost simultaneously by the pulling operation of the long-shaped opening tool.

10 Heating tool 11 Heat generating agent bag 12 Water bag 13 Watertight container 14 Water bag pressing and fixing plate 14a Front end portion 14c of water bag pressing and fixing plate Strip-shaped portion for temporarily fixing string-shaped opening tool 15 Covering film 15a Slit 16 Long opening tool (string)
16a: Pull tab of string-shaped opening tool (string body) 16d: Tip of long opening tool (string body)

Claims (4)

A dish-shaped container made of a water-impermeable material, surrounded by a wall and with an open top; a sheet-like lid made of a water-impermeable material covering the open top of the dish-shaped container; a partition wall provided inside the dish-shaped container with an opening that allows water to flow in and out; a water bag containing water in an easily tearable bag housed on one side of the partition wall; a powdered or lumpy heat generating agent that generates heat on contact with water and is housed in a water-permeable or water-soluble bag housed on the other side of the partition wall; a water bag pressing and fixing plate that is located above the water bag in the dish-shaped container and has an extended portion that covers part of the upper side of the heat generating agent bag; a water bag pressing and fixing plate having one end that presses the water bag A heating tool with a long opening tool for tearing both the water bag and the sheet-like lid attached, which is fixed to the extension of the fixing plate and has the other end wrapped around the front and back of both the upper and lower surfaces of the water bag and the upper and lower surfaces of the heat generating agent bag, and is pulled out from the front of the dish-shaped container, and the tip of the long opening tool is fixed to the extension of the water bag pressing and fixing plate by a fixing method set so that the long opening tool can be easily detached from the water bag pressing and fixing plate by continuing the pulling operation after the pulling operation of the long opening tool has performed the function of cutting the sheet-like lid and the water bag. The heating tool according to claim 1, in which two slits close to each other are formed in the extended portion of the water bag pressing and fixing plate for temporarily fixing the long-shaped opening tool, and the tip of the long-shaped opening tool is fixed in a manner that it is wrapped around the strip-shaped portion formed by the two slits. The heating tool according to claim 1, in which two slits close to each other are formed in the extended portion of the water bag pressing and fixing plate for temporarily fixing a long-shaped opening tool, and the long-shaped opening tool does not have an expansion part at its tip that prevents the opening tool from passing between the two slits. A heating tool according to at least one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a rectangular, circular, or elliptical opening is formed on the upper surface of the water bag pressing and fixing plate.