阅读说明：本技术 容器成型装置、容器成型方法、容器以及使用该容器的即时食品包装方法 (Container forming apparatus, container forming method, container, and instant food packaging method using the container ) 是由 李炳国 宋熙在 赵京植 车圭焕 于 2019-06-13 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种容器成型装置、容器成型方法、容器以及使用该容器的即时食品包装方法。容器成型装置是一种通过热成型用于形成容器的容器成型装置,包括：底成形部,用于形成容器的底部分；侧成形部,从底成形部延伸为向上倾斜并且配置成形成容器的侧部分的一部分；第一模具件,配置为向上提起并对容器加压以分离和取出所成型的容器；以及第二模具件,设置在第一模具件外部,并且配置为形成除侧部分的该一部分之外的容器的其余部分。(The invention provides a container forming device, a container forming method, a container and an instant food packaging method using the container. A container forming apparatus for forming a container by thermoforming, comprising: a bottom forming portion for forming a bottom portion of the container; a side forming part extending from the bottom forming part to be inclined upward and configured to form a part of a side portion of the container; a first mold member configured to lift and pressurize the container to separate and remove the formed container; and a second mold member disposed outside the first mold member and configured to form a remaining portion of the container except the one portion of the side portion.)

1. A container forming apparatus for forming a container by thermoforming, comprising:

a first mold piece comprising: a bottom forming portion for forming a bottom portion of the container; and a side forming part extending from the bottom forming part to be inclined upward and forming a part of a side portion of the container, and the first mold member is lifted upward to press the container, thereby separating and taking out the container in which molding is completed; and

a second mold member disposed outside the first mold member and forming a remaining portion except the portion of the side portion.

2. The container forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the side portions of the container comprise: a first side surface extending from the bottom portion to be inclined upward and having a first slope with respect to a bottom surface of the bottom portion; and a second side surface extending to be inclined upward from the first side surface and having a second slope with respect to the bottom surface, an

The side forming portion of the first mold member is formed to be inclined at the first slope.

3. The container forming apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first slope is configured to be more gradual than the second slope.

4. The container forming apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second mold member comprises

A first inclined surface inclined at the first slope relative to a reference surface of the bottom form, the reference surface being at the same angle as the bottom surface, and the first inclined surface forming the first side surface with the side form; and

a second inclined surface extending from the first inclined surface, inclined at the second slope with respect to the reference surface, and forming the second side surface.

5. The container forming apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first side surface comprises: a first region that is a region continuous from the bottom portion; and a second region located above the first region, wherein, in a cross section perpendicular to the bottom portion, a length of the first region is shorter than a length of the second region, an

The side forming portion of the first mold piece forms the first region and the first inclined surface of the second mold piece forms the second region.

6. The container molding apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second mold member is spaced outwardly from the first mold member at a predetermined interval.

7. The container molding apparatus of claim 5, wherein the side portion further comprises a stepped portion located between the first region and the second region and gradually protruding in a circumferential direction of the first side surface, and

the first inclined surface is disposed to be spaced apart from the side forming part at a predetermined interval to form the stepped portion.

8. The container forming apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a drive member configured to drive the first mold member upwardly; and

a guide configured to guide vertical movement of the first mold piece.

9. The container forming apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a third mold member disposed on an upper side of the second mold member and including a skirt-forming portion forming a skirt of the container and a flange-forming portion forming a flange of the container.

10. The container forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the third die member further includes a cutting portion provided outside the flange forming portion to cut the container formed thereon.

11. A method of forming a container comprising:

a heating step of heating the sheet to form a container;

a thermoforming step of press-fitting a heated sheet in a first mold member and a second mold member, the first mold member forming a portion of a bottom portion and a side portion of the container, and the second mold member being disposed outside the first mold member and forming the remaining portion except for the portion of the side portion, and bringing the heated sheet into intimate contact with the first mold member and the second mold member by injecting compressed air and vacuum suction to form the bottom portion and the side portion; and

a taking-out step of separating and taking out the container in which the molding is completed from the second mold member by raising the first mold member upward.

12. The container molding method according to claim 11, wherein in the thermoforming step, a stepped portion is gradually protruded from the side portion through a gap between the first mold piece and the second mold piece.

13. A container comprising:

a bottom portion;

a side portion formed to be inclined upward from the bottom portion and including a stepped portion gradually protruding in a circumferential direction of an outer circumferential surface of the side portion; and

an upper end portion provided at an upper side of the side portion and provided with a flange.

14. The container of claim 13, wherein the side portion comprises: a first side surface extending from the bottom portion to be inclined upward, inclined at a first slope based on the bottom surface of the bottom portion, and formed with the stepped portion; and a second side surface extending from the first side surface to be inclined upward and inclined with respect to the bottom surface at a second slope greater than the first slope.

15. A method of packaging an instant food product comprising:

preparing a container;

placing the instant food into the container;

sealing the container; and

the cooling of the container is carried out by cooling the container,

wherein the container comprises:

a bottom portion;

a side portion formed to be inclined upward from the bottom portion and including a stepped portion gradually protruding in a circumferential direction of an outer circumferential surface of the side portion; and

an upper end portion provided at an upper side of the side portion and provided with a flange.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a container forming apparatus, a container forming method, a container and an instant food packaging method using the container, and more particularly, to a container forming apparatus, a container forming method, a container and an instant food packaging method using the container, which improve poor mold release.

Background

Generally, plastic molding methods are largely classified into blow molding methods, injection molding methods, and thermoforming methods. Among them, the thermoforming method is a method of forming a cooling molded product by heating and softening a plastic sheet of thermoplastic resin to deform the plastic sheet by an external force.

The thermoforming method includes pressure forming using compressed air, vacuum forming using vacuum air, and pressure vacuum forming using both compressed air and vacuum air. Recently, in order to improve the precision of molding, pressure vacuum molding using both pressure and vacuum has been widely used.

In pressure vacuum molding, a plastic sheet is cut and taken out of a mold at the time of molding, and forming is performed at high speed. Therefore, the pressure vacuum molding apparatus needs to be manufactured in a structure that is easily released from the mold, and cooling is important. In particular, in the case of forming a thin sheet, since there may be a problem such as chipping at the time of taking out, a structure for easy taking out is required.

Conventionally, a small-sized demolding device for discharging a container (which is a molded product) from a mold for thermoforming is manufactured on a bottom-contacting surface of the container. However, according to the conventional method, the container is not easily taken out during continuous production, and there is a problem that poor mold release such as a large amount of breakage of the bottom surface of the container occurs.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a container molding apparatus, a container molding method, a container, and an instant food packaging method using the same, which can facilitate removal by pressing a side portion of the container to be involved at the time of removal, and improve poor mold release such as breakage of a bottom surface of the container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container forming apparatus, a container forming method, a container and an instant food packaging method using the same, which can minimize product defects due to shrinkage deformation of the container by increasing the strength of side portions of the container.

To achieve the object, according to the present invention, a container forming apparatus for forming a container by thermoforming includes: a first mold member including a bottom forming portion for forming a bottom portion of the container and a side forming portion for extending from the bottom portion to a portion that is inclined upward and forms a side portion of the container, and being lifted upward to press the container to separate and take out the container in which molding is completed; and a second mold member disposed outside the first mold member and forming a remaining portion except a portion of the side portion.

Further, according to the present invention, a container forming method includes: a heating step of heating the sheet to form a container; a thermoforming step of press-fixing the heated sheet in a first mold member to form a part of the bottom portion and the side portion of the container, and press-fixing the heated sheet in a second mold member disposed outside the first mold member and to form the remaining portion except the part of the side portion, and the heated sheet is brought into intimate contact with the first mold member and the second mold member by injecting compressed air and vacuum suction to form the bottom portion and the side portion; and a taking-out step of separating and taking out the container in which the molding is completed from the second mold member by lifting up the first mold member.

Meanwhile, according to the present invention, the container includes a bottom portion, side portions, and an upper end portion. The side portion is formed to be inclined upward from the bottom portion and includes a stepped portion projecting stepwise in a circumferential direction of an outer peripheral surface thereof, and an upper end portion is provided at an upper side of the side portion and provided with a flange.

Meanwhile, according to the present invention, an instant food packaging method includes preparing a container, putting instant food into the container, sealing the container, and cooling the container, wherein the container includes a bottom portion, a side portion formed to be inclined upward from the bottom portion and including a stepped portion protruding stepwise in a circumferential direction of an outer circumferential surface thereof, and an upper end portion provided at an upper side of the side portion and provided with a flange.

According to the present invention, in the container forming apparatus and the container forming method, the first mold member as the mold release has a structure formed by including not only the bottom portion of the container but also the side portion of the container to press the side portion of the container to be involved in the taking out. Therefore, when the container is taken out, it is possible to make the taking out easier by further increasing the pressure and improve poor mold release such as crushing of the bottom surface of the container.

Further, according to the present invention, since the stepped portion protrudes from the side portion of the container, the strength of the side portion of the container is enhanced, thereby minimizing product defects due to shrinkage deformation of the container.

Drawings

According to the present invention, in the container forming apparatus and the container forming method, the first mold member as the mold release has a structure formed by including not only the bottom portion of the container but also the side portion of the container to press the side portion of the container to be involved in the taking out. Therefore, when the container is taken out, it is possible to make the taking out easier by further increasing the pressure and improve poor mold release such as crushing of the bottom surface of the container.

Further, according to the present invention, since the stepped portion protrudes from the side portion of the container, the strength of the side portion of the container is enhanced, thereby minimizing defects of the product due to shrinkage deformation of the container.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the embodiments described below are examples suitable for understanding the technical features of the container forming apparatus, the container forming method, the container, and the instant food packaging method using the container according to the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to and applied to the embodiments described below, or the technical features of the present invention are not limited to the described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the technical scope of the present invention.

Fig. 1 and 2 illustrate a container 10 formed by a container forming apparatus 100 and method thereof according to the present invention. Fig. 3 to 6 show a container forming apparatus 100 according to the present invention, and fig. 7 shows a comparative example of the container forming apparatus 100 according to the present invention. Fig. 8 shows a flow chart of a container forming method according to the invention.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, a container 10 according to the present invention includes a bottom portion 20, side portions 30 and an upper end portion 40.

The bottom portion 20 may be formed in various shapes as long as it can be seated on the ground. When the container 10 is placed on the ground, the portion in contact with the ground may be defined as the bottom surface of the bottom portion 20. Further, inclined portions may be formed on the inner and/or outer portions of the bottom surface contacting the ground, but when the inclined portions differ from the slopes of the side portions 30, such inclined portions may be included in the bottom portion 20. For example, the bottom portion 20 may include a slightly sloped portion at the connection of the bottom surface with the side portions 30, but this portion is opposite to the slope of the side portions 30 and is configured as a portion of the bottom portion 20.

The side portion 30 is formed to be inclined upward from the bottom portion 20, and includes a stepped portion 33 that gradually protrudes in a circumferential direction thereof. Specifically, the side portion 30 may be a sidewall connected to the bottom portion 20 to form an accommodation space for accommodating contents therein. The side portion 30 may be formed to be inclined, and the stepped portion 33 may be protruded in a bar shape along an outer circumferential surface of the side portion 30. Here, the stepped portion 33 may be formed adjacent to the bottom portion 20. The stepped portion 33 protrudes from the side portion 30 to reinforce the rigidity of the side portion 30 of the container 10.

The upper end portion 40 is provided on the upper side of the side portion 30, and is provided with a flange 41.

Specifically, the upper end portion 40 may include a skirt 42 extending upward from the side portion 30 and a flange 41 connected to the skirt 42. If the angle of the skirt 42 with respect to the bottom surface is larger than the angle of the side portion 30 with respect to the bottom surface, the angle thereof is not limited. For example, the skirt 42 is at 90 ° or more, specifically 94 ° to 99 °, and more specifically 96 ° to 97 °, to an extension line formed by extending the bottom surface in the outer direction of the container.

Here, the side portion 30 may include a first side surface 31 and a second side surface 35 disposed in a vertical direction. The first side surface 31 extends to be inclined upward from the bottom portion 20, is inclined at a first slope based on the bottom surface of the bottom portion 20, and is formed with a stepped portion 33. The second side surface 35 extends from the first side surface 31 to be inclined upward, and may be inclined with respect to the bottom surface at a second slope greater than the first slope.

The container 10 may be a container manufactured by thermoforming, and in particular, may be a container manufactured by pressure and/or vacuum. For example, the container 10 may be a container manufactured using the container forming apparatus 100 described below.

Referring to fig. 3 to 6, the container molding apparatus 100 according to the present invention is based on forming the container 10 by thermoforming, and includes a first mold member 200 and a second mold member 300.

Specifically, the container forming device 100 according to the present invention may manufacture a container by thermoforming, and more specifically, may form a container by pressure vacuum forming. That is, the sheet may be formed by being brought into close contact with the first and second mold members 200 and 300 by injecting compressed air and vacuum suction. However, the thermoforming method applied to the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be formed by, for example, injecting at least one of compressed air and vacuum suction.

First mold member 200 includes a bottom forming portion 210 for forming bottom portion 20 of container 10 and a side forming portion 230 for extending from bottom forming portion 210 to be upwardly inclined and for forming a portion of side portion 30 of container 10. The first mold member 200 is lifted upwardly to squeeze the container 10 to separate and remove the container 10 formed therein.

Specifically, referring to fig. 3 and 6, the first mold member 200 may include a bottom forming part 210 and a side forming part 230. Bottom forming portion 210 may form bottom portion 20 of container 10 and may be configured to correspond to the shape of bottom portion 20 of container 10 to be formed.

The side forms 230 may form a lower portion that is part of the side portions 30 of the container 10, and the side forms 230 may extend from the bottom form 210 to be upwardly inclined. That is, the first mold member 200 may form a portion of the bottom portion 20 and the lower portion of the side portion 30 of the container 10.

Further, referring to fig. 4, the first mold member 200 may be configured to be lifted upwardly. Specifically, when the molding of the container 10 is completed, the first mold member 200 is lifted upward to press the container 10, thereby separating and taking out the container 10 from the second mold member 300. That is, the first mold member 200 may serve as a mold release for ejecting a molded product in which molding is completed.

The second mold member 300 is disposed outside the first mold member 200 and forms the remaining portion except for a portion of the side portion 30. Here, the second mold member 300 may be a cavity mold together with the first mold member 200.

Specifically, the second mold member 300 may be disposed about the periphery of the first mold member 200 to form the side portion 30 of the container 10. That is, the second mold member 300 may form the side portion 30 of the container 10 together with the side forming part 230 of the first mold member 200. More specifically, an upper portion of the side part 30 may be formed, which is a portion of the side part 30 other than a portion of the lower portion formed by the side forming part 230. In fig. 3, H1 and H2 (not shown) are vacuum air holes for vacuum suction for bringing the sheet material into close contact with the first mold piece 200 and the second mold piece 300.

As described above, in the container molding apparatus 100 according to the present invention, the first mold member 200 as the demolding member has a structure formed to include not only the bottom portion 20 of the container 10 but also the side portion 30 of the container 10 to press the side portion 30 of the container 10 to be involved in taking out the container 10. Therefore, when the container 10 is taken out, it is possible to promote the taking out by further increasing the pressure and improve poor mold release such as crushing of the bottom surface of the container 10.

Specifically, as a comparative example shown in fig. 7, when the first mold member 200 is disposed to press only the bottom portion 20 of the container 10, an appropriate pressure is not applied to the container 10, so that the container 10 may be difficult to take out and breakage of the bottom surface of the container 10 may occur. In particular, in the case of forming thin sheets, the bottom of the container 10 may break when the narrow surface of the bottom of the container 10 is squeezed. Thus, it may be advantageous to squeeze the side portions 30 that can accept relatively large forces. Thus, according to the present invention, the first die member 200 presses the side portion 30 of the container 10 to be involved, thereby improving such poor mold release.

Further, according to the present invention, when the container 10 is taken out, the first mold piece 200 and the second mold piece 300 are separated from the side portion 30 of the container 10 so that the parting line P (see the stepped portion 33 in fig. 1 and 2) can be formed on the side portion 30 of the container 10. In the parting line P formed on the side portion 30 of the container 10, the stepped portion 33 is formed in the form of a finely protruding rib to reinforce the strength of the side portion 30 of the container 10.

Therefore, it is possible to minimize the shrinkage deformation of the container 10 during the product packaging and distribution of the container 10.

Specifically, the container 10 for packaging food such as sterilized rice is sealed and packaged with the food in a hot state, and may be subjected to a natural or forced cooling process. At this time, as the hot air is cooled, air contraction occurs, so that the internal pressure of the container 10 may become a negative pressure state lower than the external pressure. Therefore, when negative pressure is applied, the thin portion or the portion subjected to excessive force of the container 10 may easily contract and deform, and particularly, the side portion 30 of the container 10 often contracts and deforms. Therefore, in the container 10 according to the present invention, a rib (stepped portion) is formed on the side portion 30 of the container 10 by the parting line P to reinforce the strength of the side portion 30 of the container 10, thereby minimizing product defects due to such shrinkage deformation.

Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, the side portions 30 of the container 10 to be involved in removing the container 10 are squeezed, thereby minimizing the defects that occur on the bottom portion 20 of the container 10 when the container 10 is removed at the angle of the skirt 42. Specifically, the skirt portion 42 is configured at an angle as described above, and is a portion having an inverted conical structure, and is applied with a lot of force when the container 10 is taken out, and particularly, in the case of molding a container such as for instant food using a thin sheet, the deformation rate of the bottom portion is high when the bottom portion 20 is pressed.

However, when a small area of the bottom portion 20 is squeezed when the container 10 is removed, stress may concentrate to increase the defect rate. Thus, according to the present invention, the force applied to the bottom portion 20 may be distributed over a bulk area as a result of squeezing the bulk area of the bottom portion and squeezing the side portion 30 including the inclined surface when removing the container 10. Therefore, according to the present invention, even in the case of forming a container having the skirt portion 42 of the reverse tapered structure using a thin sheet, it is possible to minimize deformation of the bottom portion 20.

Meanwhile, as described above, the side portion 30 of the container 10 may include the first side surface 31 and the second side surface 35, the first side surface 31 extending from the bottom portion 20 to be inclined upward and having a first slope with respect to the bottom surface of the bottom portion 20, and the second side surface 35 extending from the first side surface 31 to be inclined upward and having a second slope with respect to the bottom surface. Further, the side forming part 230 provided in the first mold member 200 may be formed to be inclined at a first slope.

Here, the first slope and the second slope may be the same as or different from each other, and more specifically, the first slope may be set to be more gradual than the second slope. Thus, the first mold member 200 presses a portion of the side portion 30 of the container 10 at the bottom with a gentle slope. Therefore, even if the first die member 200 presses the side surface of the container 10, there is an advantage in that the upper end portion 40 of the container 10 is not broken.

Further, the inclination angle of the side portion 30 of the container 10 is not limited and may be set, for example, at about 15 ° or more with respect to the bottom surface. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the inclination angle may be adjusted to various angles if damage to the upper end portion 40 can be prevented when the first die member 200 presses the container 10.

Meanwhile, referring to fig. 3 and 4, the second mold member 300 may include a first inclined surface 310 and a second inclined surface 320.

The first inclined surface 310 is inclined at a first slope with respect to a reference surface of the bottom forming part 210 at the same angle as the bottom surface, and may form the first side surface 31 together with the side forming part 230. Further, the second inclined surface 320 may extend from the first inclined surface 310, be inclined at a second slope with respect to the reference surface, and form the second side surface 35.

Referring to fig. 2, the first side surface 31 disposed on the side portion 30 of the container 10 may include a first region 31a and a second region 31 b. The first region 31a is a region continuous from the bottom portion 20, and the second region 31b may be located above the first region 31 a. Further, in a cross section perpendicular to the bottom portion 20 (see fig. 2), the length of the first region 31a may be shorter than the length of the second region 31 b.

Further, the side forming part 230 of the first mold member 200 forms the first region 31a, and the first inclined surface 310 of the second mold member 300 may form the second region 31 b. Therefore, the first mold member 200 and the second mold member 300 may be separated between the first region 31a and the second region 31b when the container 10 is taken out.

More specifically, the side portion 30 further includes a stepped portion 33, and the stepped portion 33 is located between the first region 31a and the second region 31b, and may be gradually protruded in a circumferential direction on an outer circumferential surface of the first side surface 31. That is, the stepped portion 33 may be formed on the parting line P at which the first mold element 200 and the second mold element 300 are separated. Here, since the length of the first region 31a is shorter than the length of the second region 31b, the stepped portion 33 may be formed adjacent to the bottom portion 20.

Meanwhile, the second mold member 300 may be spaced outwardly from the first mold member 200 at a predetermined interval. More specifically, the first inclined surface 310 may be spaced apart from the side forming part 230 at a predetermined interval (see d of fig. 5).

Accordingly, since the first mold member 200 and the second mold member 300 are disposed to be spaced apart from each other, it is possible to prevent abrasion due to the lifting operation of the first mold member 200 when taking out the container 10. In addition, since the size of the stepped portion 33 formed on the parting line may be further increased by the distance d between the first mold member 200 and the second mold member 300, the strength of the side portion 30 of the container 10 may be further enhanced.

Here, the distance d between the first mold member 200 and the second mold member 300 may be variously applied, and may be set to, for example, about 0.3 mm. However, the distance d between the first mold member 200 and the second mold member 300 is not limited thereto, and may be adjusted to various sizes if the distance can prevent wear due to the lifting operation.

Meanwhile, the present invention may further include a driving member (not shown) and a guide 500.

The driving member drives the first mold member 200 upwardly. The type of the driving member is not limited as long as it can drive the first mold member 200 upward. For example, the first mold member 200 may be driven by a cam member or air pressure, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The guide 500 may guide the vertical movement of the first mold member 200. The guide 500 may be provided in the form of a guide shaft like the illustrated example, but is not limited thereto.

Referring also to fig. 3, the present invention may further include a third mold member 400.

The third mold piece 400 may include a skirt-forming portion 420 and a flange-forming portion 410. In addition, the third mold part 400 may further include a cutting member 430. A skirt-forming portion 420 is provided on an upper side of the second mold member 300 to form the skirt 42 of the container 10, and a flange-forming portion 410 may form the flange 41 of the container 10.

In addition, a cutting member 430 may be provided outside the flange forming part 410 to cut the container 10 in which the forming is completed.

Hereinafter, as another aspect of the present invention, a container forming method will be described with reference to fig. 3 to 6 and 8.

The container molding method according to the present invention includes a heating step (S110), a thermoforming step (S130), and a taking-out step (S170).

In the heating step (S110), the sheet to be molded into the container 10 is heated.

In the thermoforming step (S130), the heated sheet is press-fixed in the first mold member 200, a portion of the bottom portion 20 and the side portion 30 of the container 10 is formed, and the heated sheet is press-fixed in the second mold member 300 disposed outside the first mold member 200, and the remaining portion other than the portion of the side portion 30 is formed, and the heated sheet is brought into intimate contact with the first mold member 200 and the second mold member 300 by injecting compressed air and vacuum suction to form the bottom portion 20 and the side portion 30.

Specifically, when a sheet having a predetermined thickness is heated at a temperature suitable for forming, the sheet may be first press-fixed into the first mold member 200 and the second mold member 300 using a plug. Further, by injecting compressed air, the sheet may be brought into close contact with the first mold member 200 and the second mold member 300. At this time, the sheet may be brought into close contact with the first and second mold members 200 and 300 by vacuuming the first and second mold members 200 and 300 by vacuum suction. Accordingly, the bottom portion 20 and the side portions 30 of the container 10 may be formed. In the thermoforming step (S130), the upper end portion 40 of the container 10 may be formed by the third mold member 400.

In the cutting step (S150), the container 10 in which the molding is completed may be cut. The cutting step (S150) may be performed before or after the taking out step (S170). Hereinafter, a case where the cutting step (S150) is performed before the taking-out step (S170) is described as an example, but is not limited thereto, and the cutting step (S150) may be performed before or simultaneously with the taking-out step (S170).

In the taking-out step (S170), the first mold member 200 is lifted up, and the container 10 in which the molding is completed is separated from the second mold member 300 and taken out.

Specifically, in the taking-out step (S170), when the container 10 in which the molding is completed is cut, the container 10 may be taken out. Referring to fig. 4, when the first mold member 200 is lifted up, the container 10 may be separated from the second mold member 300, and the separated container 10 may be taken out. A series of thermoforming steps including the heating step (S110), the thermoforming step (S130), the cutting step (S150), and the taking-out step (S170) can be performed at high speed in a short time.

Meanwhile, in the thermoforming step, the stepped portion 33 may gradually protrude from the side portion 30 through a gap between the first mold piece 200 and the second mold piece 300.

Hereinafter, as still another aspect of the present invention, an instant food packaging method using the container will be described.

The instant food packaging method using the container according to the present invention includes preparing the container, putting the instant food into the container, sealing the container, and cooling the container.

The type of the instant food applied to the present invention is not limited as long as it needs to be cooled during the packaging process, and for example, the instant food may include instant rice, instant soup, instant porridge, etc., but is not limited thereto.

In the sealing of the container, the means and method of sealing the container are not limited, and various materials and methods may be applied. For example, the upper end of the container may be sealed using a lead film.

In the cooling of the container, the cooling temperature to be applied is not limited as long as the temperature is lower than the temperature of the instant food in which the instant food is put into the container.

According to the present invention, in the container forming apparatus and the container forming method, the first mold member has, as the mold release, a structure that forms not only the bottom portion but also the side portion of the container to squeeze the side portion of the container to be involved in taking out the container. Therefore, at the time of taking out the container, it is possible to promote the taking out by further increasing the pressure and improve poor mold release such as crushing of the bottom surface of the container.

Further, according to the present invention, since the stepped portion protrudes from the side portion of the container, the strength of the side portion of the container is enhanced, so that product defects due to shrinkage deformation of the container can be minimized.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the spirit and scope of the present invention are not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains without changing the subject matter of the present invention disclosed in the appended claims.