FLEXIBLE CONTAINER

Abstract

A flexible container includes a tray made of silica gel. The tray is integrally formed with at least one placement cavity with an opening at its top portion. A peripheral flange extends outward from a peripheral edge of the tray. The peripheral flange continuously surrounds the peripheral edge of the tray, and the peripheral flange is embedded with a reinforcing ring. A cross-section of the reinforcing ring has a longitudinal length greater than a lateral length. The invention adopts the reinforcing ring with its cross-section having the longitudinal length greater than the lateral length as a frame reinforcing element, and the reinforcing ring is embedded in the peripheral flange extending outwardly from the edge of the tray.

Claims

1. A flexible container, comprising a tray made of flexible material, wherein the tray is integrally formed with at least one placement cavity having an opening at a top portion thereof, a peripheral flange extends outward from a peripheral edge of the tray, the peripheral flange continuously surrounds the peripheral edge of the tray, the peripheral flange is embedded with a reinforcing ring, and a cross-section of the reinforcing ring has a longitudinal length greater than a lateral length.

2. The flexible container according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing ring has a rectangular cross-section.

3. The flexible container according to claim 1, wherein horizontal projections of side surfaces of the reinforcing ring and side surfaces between upper and lower surfaces of the tray at least partially overlap.

4. The flexible container according to claim 3, wherein a top surface of the reinforcing ring is higher than the upper surface of the tray, and a bottom surface of the reinforcing ring is lower than the lower surface of the tray.

5. The flexible container according to claim 4, wherein a distance between the top surface of the reinforcing ring and the upper surface of the tray is equal to a distance between the bottom surface of the reinforcing ring and the lower surface of the tray.

6. The flexible container according to claim 3, wherein a top surface of the reinforcing ring is lower than the upper surface of the tray and higher than the lower surface of the tray; a bottom surface of the reinforcing ring is lower than the lower surface of the tray.

7. The flexible container according to claim 3, wherein a top surface of the reinforcing ring is higher than the upper surface of the tray; a bottom surface of the reinforcing ring is lower than the upper surface of the tray and higher than the lower surface of the plane of the tray.

8. The flexible container according to claim 3, wherein a bottom surface of the peripheral flange is lower than the lower surface of the tray, and the peripheral flange is spaced a distance from the placement cavity so that the tray is formed with a gripping surface portion between the peripheral flange and the placement cavity.

9. The flexible container according to claim 8, wherein a number of the placement cavity is even, each placement cavity is distributed in an array, the tray is in a rectangular structure, and a width of the gripping surface portion of one of opposite sides of the tray is smaller than a width of the gripping surface portion of the other one of the opposite sides.

10. The flexible container according to claim 1, wherein a protruding rib extends upwardly from an edge of the opening of the placement cavity of the tray, and the protruding rib continuously surrounds the opening of the placement cavity and is integrally formed with the tray.

11. The flexible container according to claim 10, wherein a protrusion height of the peripheral flange is greater than a protrusion height of the protruding rib.

12. The flexible container according to claim 1, wherein the tray is formed by injection molding.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an overall structure of a flexible container according to Embodiment 1 of the invention.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an overall structure of the flexible container according to Embodiment 1 of the invention.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a reinforcing ring according to Embodiment 1 of the invention.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an edge portion of the flexible container according to Embodiment 1 of the invention.

[0023] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an edge portion of a flexible container according to Embodiment 2 of the invention.

[0024] FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an edge portion of a flexible container according to Embodiment 3 of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the patent. In order to better illustrate these embodiments, certain parts of the drawings may be omitted, enlarged or reduced, and do not represent dimensions of an actual product. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that certain well-known structures in the drawings and descriptions thereof may be omitted. A positional relationship described in the drawings is for illustrative purposes only and is not to be construed as limiting the patent.

[0026] The same or similar reference numerals in the drawings of the embodiments of the invention correspond to the same or similar parts. In the description of the invention, it should be understood that if there are the terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “long”, “short”, etc., the orientation or positional relationship indicated is based on the drawings. The orientation or positional relationship of is only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, it does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, the terms describing the positional relationship in the drawings are only for illustrative purposes and cannot be understood as a limitation of the patent. Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above-mentioned terms according to specific situations.

[0027] In the following, the technical solutions of the invention will be further described in detail through specific embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1

[0028] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, this embodiment provides a flexible container including a tray 1, wherein the tray 1 is in a rectangular structure. The tray 1 is provided with six placement cavities 2 for food molding. Each placement cavity 2 is distributed in an array and has a top portion formed with an opening. At the same time, the tray 1 and the placement cavity 2 are made of silica gel, and the two are integrated by injection molding.

[0029] Specifically, an edge of the rectangular tray 1 includes opposite long sides 11 on both sides and short sides 12 on both sides, and the long sides 11 and the short sides 12 are in contact with each other by a fillet transition. In this embodiment, the position between the corresponding long sides 11 of the tray 1 and an edge of the placement cavity 2 forms a lateral gripping surface portion 10. The position between the corresponding short sides 12 and the edge of the placement cavity 2 of the tray 1 forms a longitudinal gripping surface portion 10. A width of the lateral gripping surface portion 10 is smaller than a width of the longitudinal gripping surface portion 10, that is, the longitudinal gripping surface portion 10 on an opposite side of the tray 1 forms a larger transition plane as a gripping area, which is convenient for users to grip the area with fingers to transfer the container.

[0030] Further, a peripheral flange 3 extends outwardly from a peripheral edge of the tray 1, and the peripheral flange 3 continuously surrounds the peripheral edge of the tray 1, and a reinforcing ring 4 made of metal is embedded in the peripheral flange 3, and the reinforcing ring 4 is disposed around the edge of the tray 1. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the reinforcing ring 4 is an annular vertical iron. A cross-section of the reinforcing ring 4 is rectangular. The cross-section of the reinforcing ring 4 has a longitudinal length E1 and a lateral length L1, wherein E1 is greater than L1. A use of the reinforcing ring 4 increases a thickness of the container frame in a vertical direction and effectively reduces torsion in the vertical direction. Especially for a large-size food container with one placement cavity 2, a frame size is relatively large. Due to an increase in torque, it is easier to twist an iron frame. Since the thickness of the reinforcing ring 4 in the vertical direction is increased, a pressure exerted by the torsion of the reinforcing ring 4 in the vertical direction is increased, a torsion resistance of the food container is enhanced, and a stability of the food container can be effectively improved.

[0031] At the same time, a top surface of the reinforcing ring 4 is higher than an upper surface of the tray 1, and a bottom surface of the reinforcing ring 4 is lower than a lower surface of the tray 1. Preferably, a distance between the top surface of the reinforcing ring 4 and the upper surface of the tray 1 is equal to a distance between the bottom surface of the reinforcing ring 4 and the lower surface of the tray 1. The reinforcing ring 4 is embedded in the peripheral flange 3 at the edge of the tray 1, so that a strength of the peripheral flange 3 is increased, and at the same time, a traction effect of the reinforcing ring to upper and lower sides of the tray is equal, while the strength and stability of the container are satisfied. At the same time, the peripheral flange 3 protrudes with respect to the upper and lower surfaces of the tray 1. A lower portion of the peripheral flange 3 and the gripping surface portion 10 forms an approximately “inverted L” type gripping area. Through the formed “inverted L” type gripping area, fingers can firmly grip the gripping surface portion 10 of the tray 1 during transportation, and increase a contact area with the tray 1. The lower portion of the peripheral flange 3 also functions as an anti-skid function, thereby avoiding the fingers from slipping off the edge of the tray 1, thereby greatly enhancing the stability of the grip. Since the tray 1 of the silica gel container is made of silica gel, the tray 1 has a tendency to shrink inward, and each of the placement cavities 2 of the tray 1 has a large weight, which also makes a main body portion as a whole have a tendency to sink. Therefore, by embedding the reinforcing ring 4 in the peripheral flange 3 horizontally connected with the tray 1, strength of the outer edge portion horizontally connected with the tray 1 is increased. When the placement cavity 2 sinks and the plane of the tray 1 shrinks inward, the peripheral flange 3 provides sufficient strength to resist the sinking and shrinkage of the main body, and maintain the structural stability of the flexible container.

[0032] This embodiment uses the annular vertical iron to solve the problem of insufficient torsion resistance of the existing cake mold. The reinforcing ring 4 is embedded in the peripheral flange 3, and a height of the top surface of the reinforcing ring 4 is higher than that of the upper surface of the plane of the tray 1, and a height of the bottom surface of the reinforcing ring 4 is lower than that of the lower surface of the plane of the tray 1. In this way, the strength of the peripheral flange 3 connected to the plane of the tray 1 is increased, so that the supporting force for preventing the main body of the placement cavity 2 in the tray 1 from shrinking and sinking can be provided, and the structure of the container is kept stable. At the same time, the lower portion of the peripheral flange 3 and the gripping surface portion 10 form the “inverted L” type, forming the gripping area for convenient use.

[0033] Further, a protruding rib 5 extends upwardly from an edge of the opening of the placement cavity of the tray, and the protruding rib 5 continuously surrounds the opening portion of the placement cavity 2 and is integrally formed with the placement cavity 2. Due to the material characteristics of the silica gel, a thicker portion generates a large internal tensile force, which will cause traction effect on a thinner portion. The protruding rib 5 is the thicker portion to a plane near the opening of the placement cavity 2 and a flexible wall of the placement cavity 2, and generates a certain upward tensile force to the plane near the opening of the placement cavity 2 and the flexible wall of the placement cavity 2, thereby avoiding deformation of the placement cavity 2 due to the tensile force in other directions, and facilitating stability of the structure of the opening of the placement cavity 2 and the flexible wall of the placement cavity 2.

[0034] It is worth noting that a protrusion height of the peripheral flange 3 is greater than a protrusion height of the protruding rib 5, which prevents the protruding rib 5 from being worn during a stacking process of multiple containers.

Embodiment 2

[0035] As shown in FIG. 5, this embodiment also provides a flexible container having a structure similar to that of Embodiment 1, except that a top surface of a reinforcing ring 4 in this embodiment is lower than an upper surface of a tray 1 and higher than a lower surface of the tray 1. A bottom surface of the reinforcing ring 4 is lower than the lower surface of the tray 1. This embodiment is also a particular way of arranging the reinforcing ring 4 in such a position that the reinforcing ring 4 is embedded in a peripheral flange 3 so that a rigidity and a stability of the peripheral flange as a whole are enhanced, the tray 1 is provided with sufficient support to avoid shrinkage and sinking, and a top surface of the peripheral flange 3 is equal to or slightly higher than the upper surface of the tray 1, so that the tray 1 has a higher flange below an edge thereof, thereby raising a grip.

Embodiment 3

[0036] As shown in FIG. 6, this embodiment also provides a flexible container having a structure similar to that of Embodiment 1, except that a top surface of a reinforcing ring 4 in this embodiment is higher than an upper surface of a tray 1. At the same time, a bottom surface of the reinforcing ring 4 is lower than the upper surface of the tray 1 and higher than a lower surface of the tray 1. This embodiment is also a particular way of arranging the reinforcing ring 4 in such a position that the reinforcing ring 4 is embedded in the peripheral flange so that a rigidity and a stability of the peripheral flange as a whole are enhanced, the tray 1 is provided with sufficient support to avoid shrinkage and sinking, and a bottom surface of the peripheral flange 3 is equal to or slightly lower than the lower surface of the tray 1, so that the peripheral flange 3 has a higher flange above an edge of the tray 1, and the reinforcing ring 4 can be applied to baking tray products to prevent liquid overflow.

[0037] Obviously, the above-mentioned embodiments of the invention are merely examples for clearly illustrating the invention, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the invention. Other variations or variations may be made to those of ordinary skill in the art based on the foregoing description. All embodiments need not be, and cannot be, exhaustive. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of protection of the invention as claimed.