JP6963248B2 - Food cooling device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to, for example, a food cooling device that is optimal for cooling an object to be cooled such as soft food.

Conventionally, as a food cooling device, a method of injecting cold air (cooling source) obtained by compressing a refrigerant inside a refrigerating cooling tunnel with a compressor in a downflow is well known. In this method, since the cooling source of the compressor has a temperature of about −40 ° C. to −50 ° C., it is not possible to obtain cold air at a sufficiently low temperature for cooling the object to be cooled. Therefore, the cooling capacity is adjusted by increasing the amount of cold air ejected (air volume) and applying the cold air to the object to be cooled while stirring with a stirring fan provided inside the tunnel.

Further, a cooling device using a liquefied gas such as liquefied nitrogen as a cooling source is also well known (for example, Patent Document 1). Such an apparatus includes a tunnel portion having carry-in inlets and carry-out outlets at both ends, a belt conveyor for transporting an object to be frozen in the tunnel portion, a low-temperature liquefied gas supply mechanism for supplying low-temperature liquefied gas into the tunnel portion, and the like. The tunnel portion is provided with a gas flow meandering adjusting mechanism that causes the gas in the tunnel portion to meander in the longitudinal direction.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 09-154553

Since the cooling device that compresses the refrigerant with the compressor has a large air volume and becomes a strong wind, foods having a soft surface such as ice cream and pudding are easily deformed by the wind pressure. As a result, it is difficult to perform the cooling treatment because the food is deformed when it is cooled by strong wind power.

Since the food freezing device described in Patent Document 1 uses liquefied gas, the cooling temperature can be lowered, but the gas meandering adjustment mechanism has a configuration in which the gas inside the tunnel is stirred and meandered by a stirring fan. Therefore, there is a drawback that the air volume and direction become unstable. When cooling soft foods, if the air volume and direction are unstable, each food cannot be cooled evenly and stably, and as a result, the shape of the surface of the food to be cooled becomes rough and the quality of the food deteriorates. There was a problem of inviting.

An object of the present invention is to provide a food cooling device capable of uniformly and stably cooling an object to be cooled such as a soft food without being deformed and improving the quality of the object to be cooled. And.

The food cooling device according to the present invention is provided with carry-in inlets and discharge ports at both ends, and is for cooling the object to be cooled in a tunnel portion through which the object to be transported passes and a cooling space provided in the tunnel portion. In a food cooling device including a liquefied gas supply unit for supplying the liquefied gas of the above and a stirring means for stirring the low temperature gas generated from the liquefied gas supplied in the cooling space, below the stirring means, A baffle plate is provided to block the agitated low-temperature gas from flowing directly downward, and a partition wall for dividing the cooling space into upper and lower parts is provided below the baffle plate, and the low-temperature gas hitting the baffle plate is said to be the same. A plurality of communication passages communicating with the upper and lower spaces are formed on the partition wall so as to pass around the baffle plate and flow from the upper space to the lower space, and the liquefied gas supply part is in a pressurized state of the upper space. It is characterized in that the liquefied gas is supplied so that the low temperature gas flows from the upper space to the lower space through the communication passage while maintaining the above.

According to the food cooling device having such a configuration, since the baffle plate blocks the liquefied gas from flowing directly downward, the liquefied gas stirred by the stirring means does not directly flow toward the object to be cooled below. .. Moreover, since the liquefied gas that has passed around the baffle plate flows from the upper space to the lower space through a plurality of passages, it is possible to evenly eject (downflow) at each position, and it is possible to cover soft foods and the like. Even a cooled product can be cooled uniformly and stably without being deformed.

Further, in the food cooling device having the above configuration, the stirring means includes a stirring fan, and a means for controlling the supply amount of the liquefied gas to the cooling space so that the temperature of the cooling space becomes a set temperature, and the chain. It is desirable to further include a control device having a means for rotating the stirring fan at a set air pressure or a rotation speed according to a set air volume of the low temperature gas blown out from the passage.

According to the food cooling device having such a configuration, the temperature of the low temperature gas to be blown to the object to be cooled can be set to a set temperature suitable for the object to be cooled, and further, the low temperature gas has a wind pressure, an air volume, etc. suitable for the object to be cooled. Can be sprayed on the object to be cooled.

Further, in the food cooling device having the above configuration, it is desirable that the communication passage is composed of a plurality of communication pipes inserted in the partition wall in the vertical direction, and the baffle plate covers the communication pipe from above. ..

According to the food cooling device having such a configuration, since the baffle plate covers the communication pipes from above, it is possible to prevent the agitated liquefied gas from directly flowing into each communication pipe.

Further, in the food cooling device having the above configuration, the baffle plate includes a flat surface portion and a peripheral wall portion extending downward from the peripheral edge of the flat surface portion, and the upper end of the communication pipe is the lower end of the peripheral wall portion of the baffle plate. It is desirable that it be located above or at the same height as the lower end of the peripheral wall of the baffle plate.

According to the food cooling device having such a configuration, the liquefied gas that has passed through the baffle plate rises slightly and flows above the communication pipe, and the communication pipe near the peripheral edge of the baffle plate and the center of the baffle plate. A uniform amount of liquefied gas can flow into any of the communication pipes of the communication pipes located in the section.

Further, in the food cooling device having the above configuration, it is desirable that a gas circulation path for returning the liquefied gas in the lower space to the upper space is formed inside the tunnel portion.

According to the food cooling device having such a configuration, the liquefied gas in the lower space that has cooled the object to be cooled can be returned to the upper space through the gas circulation path, so that the gas can be effectively used. It can be expected to save energy.

According to the present invention, even an object to be cooled such as a soft food can be cooled uniformly and stably without being deformed. As a result, it becomes possible to manufacture a cooled product in which all the directions of the wind flow in the tunnel using the liquefied gas are downflowed and cooled.

It is a perspective view which shows the whole outline of the food cooling apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing front view of the food cooling apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing side view of the food cooling apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of a tunnel part. It is sectional drawing which shows the outline of the tunnel part. However, only the inner side surface is shown for the side wall portion, and only the lower surface is shown for the top wall portion. FIG. 5 is a sectional plan view taken along line XX of the tunnel portion shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the flow of cold air.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on the embodiments with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the food cooling device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a tunnel portion 2, a transport means 3, and a liquefied gas supply portion 5.

The tunnel portion 2 includes left and right side wall portions 20 and a top wall portion 21 connecting the upper portions of the side wall portions 20, and these side wall portions 20 and the top wall portion 21 are formed of a heat insulating wall. In the tunnel portion 2, a tunnel-shaped cooling space 24 having a carry-in inlet 22 and a carry-out outlet 23 is formed at both ends. Wall bodies 22a and 23a that can slide up and down are provided on the end faces of the side wall portion 20 and the top wall portion 21, respectively, and by adjusting the positions of these wall bodies 22a and 23a, the carry-in entrance 22 and carry-in The opening area of the outlet 23 can be adjusted.

At the lower part of the tunnel portion 2, the transport means 3 is arranged along the longitudinal direction from the carry-in inlet 22 to the carry-out port 23. In the present embodiment, the intermittent transport type transport means 3 is adopted, but the continuous transport type transport means 3 may be adopted depending on the object to be cooled. By driving the transport means 3, the food 6 as a object to be cooled, which is placed on the upper surface of the transport means 3, is transported from the carry-in inlet 22 to the carry-out port 23 in the tunnel portion 2.

The top wall portion 21 of the tunnel portion 2 is provided with a stirring fan device 10 (stirring means) for stirring the liquefied gas supplied into the cooling space. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the stirring fan device 10 includes a motor 11, a stirring fan 12, and the like. The motor 11 is fixed to the upper surface of the top wall portion 21, and the tip end side of the rotation shaft 11a of the motor 11 penetrates the top wall portion 21 and faces the cooling space 24 in the tunnel portion 2, and the rotation shaft 11a thereof. A stirring fan 12 is provided at the lower part of the above.

As shown in FIG. 5, inner walls 27 and 28 are provided inside the side wall portion 20 and the top wall portion 21, and a predetermined distance is secured between the inner surface 20a of the side wall portion 20 and the inner wall 27. Further, a predetermined distance is also secured between the lower surface 21a of the top wall portion 21 and the inner wall 28. In this way, the gas circulation path 29 is formed inside the side wall portion 20 and the top wall portion 21 by ensuring a predetermined distance between the side wall portion 20 and the top wall portion 21 and the inner walls 27 and 28. Has been done.

A baffle plate 13 is provided below the stirring fan 12. The baffle plate 13 is provided to block the gas in the tunnel portion 2 from flowing in the downward direction. The baffle plate 13 is formed of, for example, a non-breathable plate material such as synthetic resin or metal. The baffle plate 13 has a rectangular shape in a plan view, and includes a horizontal flat surface portion 13a and a peripheral wall portion 13b extending downward from the peripheral edge of the flat surface portion 13a.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, brackets 14 are projected laterally from the four corners of the baffle plate 13, and each bracket 14 is supported and fixed to a support piece (not shown) provided on the inner wall 27. There is. By installing the baffle plate 13 in this way, a gas flow passage 16 is formed between the baffle plate 13 and the inner wall 27. By providing the gas flow passage 16 around the baffle plate 13, the low-temperature gas heading downward by the stirring fan 12 hits the baffle plate 13 and flows along the upper surface of the baffle plate 13 and flows from the end of the baffle plate 13. It enters the road 16 and flows downward.

Below the baffle plate 13, a partition wall 25 is provided at a predetermined distance from the baffle plate 13. The cooling space 24 in the tunnel portion 2 is divided into an upper space 24a and a lower space 24b by the partition wall 25. A communication pipe 26 is inserted into the partition wall 25 at a predetermined interval as a communication passage that connects the upper space 24a and the lower space 24b. As shown in FIG. 6, this actual embodiment exemplifies 42 communication pipes 26 of 7 × 6 (7 along the transport direction A and 6 along the direction orthogonal to the transport direction). However, the number of communication pipes 26 and the cross-sectional shape of the opening are not particularly limited.

As shown in FIG. 5, the upper end 26a of each communication pipe 26 is located above the lower end of the baffle plate 13 (lower end 13c of the peripheral wall portion 13b), or is located at the same height as the lower end of the baffle plate 13. Is desirable. The upper part of all the communication pipes 26 is covered with the baffle plate 13.

A large number of ventilation holes 27a that communicate the lower space 24b and the gas circulation path 29 are formed in the lower portion of the inner wall 27. The ventilation hole 27a returns the low-temperature gas in the lower space 24b in the tunnel portion 21 to the upper space 24a via the gas circulation path 29 and circulates it.

The liquefied gas supply unit 5 includes a gas supply pipe 51 that supplies liquefied gas from a supply source 50 in which low-temperature liquefied gas such as liquefied nitrogen or liquefied carbon dioxide gas is stored, a control valve 52 that adjusts the supply amount, and a low temperature. A spray nozzle 53 that injects liquefied gas into the tunnel portion 2, a temperature sensor 54 that measures the temperature inside the tunnel portion 2, and a control device 55 that controls the opening and closing of the control valve 52 based on the detected temperature of the temperature sensor 54. It has.

The temperature of the cooling space 24 in the tunnel portion 2 is measured by the temperature sensor 54, the control valve 52 is opened and closed by the control device 55 according to the measured temperature, and the temperature of the cooling space 24 in the tunnel portion 2 is set in a preset range. The liquefied gas is supplied into the tunnel portion 2 so as to be. Further, the set temperature can be arbitrarily set by the control device 55 to be a temperature suitable for cooling the food 6.

In the control device 55, in addition to setting the temperature in the cooling space 24, the wind pressure (or air volume) of the low-temperature gas blown from the communication pipe 26 toward the food 6 can be set. Specifically, the control device 55 rotates the stirring fan 12 at a rotation speed according to the set wind pressure (or air volume).

Next, a case where the food cooling device 1 having the above configuration is used will be described.

First, the production of food using this food cooling device 1 is performed as follows. After the food 6 to be cooled is placed on the container 31 such as a container and a cup provided in the transport means 3 near the carry-in port 22, the transport means 3 is driven to drive the food 6 from the carry-in port 22 to the tunnel portion 2. It is introduced inside and intermittently transported in the transport direction (arrow A direction). The housing 31 is set at a predetermined interval so that each food 6 is located below the communication pipe 26.

Here, in the liquefied gas supply unit 5, the liquefied gas supplied from the supply source is injected from above from the spray nozzle 53 into the cooling space 24 in the tunnel portion 2 through the gas supply pipe 51 and the control valve 52.

The liquefied gas injected into the tunnel portion 2 by the spray nozzle 53 is vaporized to become a cold heat source gas (hereinafter, also referred to as “low temperature gas”), and flows downward by the stirring fan 12. Since the baffle plate 13 is provided in the upper space 24a, the low-temperature gas that hits the baffle plate 13 is blocked by the baffle plate 13 and does not flow directly downward, and the low-temperature gas hits the baffle plate 13 from above and is horizontal. The flow direction changes in the direction. The low-temperature gas flows along the upper surface of the baffle plate 13, flows into the gas flow passage 16 from the edge of the baffle plate 13, and flows downward.

The low-temperature gas that has passed through the gas flow passage 16 flows in any direction in the vertical and horizontal directions. When the upper end 26a of each communication pipe 26 is located at the same height as the lower end 13c of the baffle plate 13 or above the lower end 13c of the baffle plate 13, cold air in any direction is sent to the upper end opening of each communication pipe 26. Enters the communication pipe 26 in a uniform wind (wind pressure) state. Further, the low-temperature gas in each communication pipe 26 is ejected downward so that the ejection directions of all the communication pipes 26 are equal.

Here, the liquefied gas supply unit 5 supplies the liquefied gas so as to maintain the set temperature in the cooling space 24 while maintaining the pressurized state of the upper space 24a by controlling the opening and closing of the control valve 52. do. That is, in a state where the upper space 24a is a pressure space, the liquefied gas is transferred to the upper space 24a so that a low-temperature gas having a temperature suitable for cooling the food 6 flows from the upper space 24a to the lower space 24b via the communication pipe 26. Supply inside. By putting the upper space 24a in a pressurized state in this way, the wind pressure, the air volume, and the like of the low-temperature gas blown out from the communication pipe 26 can be made uniform. Further, the rotation speed of the stirring fan 12 is controlled by the control device 55, so that the wind pressure (or air volume) of the low-temperature gas blown from the communication pipe 26 toward the food 6 is a set wind pressure (or set air volume) suitable for the food 6. It becomes. As described above, in the food cooling device 1 according to the present embodiment, the wind pressure, air volume, etc. of the low-temperature gas blown from the communication pipe 26 are uniform, and the wind pressure, air volume, etc. can be set, so that some communication can be performed. It is possible to reliably avoid the occurrence of problems such as the wind pressure and air volume of the low-temperature gas blown out from the pipe 26 becoming high and the shape of the food being deformed.

Food 6 to be cooled is placed on the transport means 3 and is intermittently fed. For example, the transport means 3 is intermittently operated, and as an example, it is set to stop for 5 seconds and move for 1 second (set to 6 seconds), and 6 seconds x 7 (the number of communication pipes 26 in the transport direction A). It can be made to pass in 42 seconds. The low-temperature gas ejected downward from all the communication pipes 26 evenly and evenly hits the food 6 to exchange heat, and cools the food 6 to a predetermined temperature. In this way, since the air flow in the tunnel is downflowed in all the traveling directions in the cooling tunnel using the liquefied gas (low temperature gas), the food 6 can be cooled uniformly and efficiently.

A part of the low-temperature gas that has been cooled reaches the upper surface of the food 6 and the transport means 3 in the tunnel portion 2, then enters the gas circulation path 29 through the ventilation hole 27a and flows upward. The rising low-temperature gas returns to the upper side of the stirring fan 12 and is sent downward by the stirring fan 12 to perform the above-mentioned circulation motion. This circulation movement enables effective utilization of liquefied gas and enhances utilization efficiency of liquefied gas, so that an energy saving effect can be expected.

As described above, the food on the transport means 3 is frozen by heat exchange with the gas and being cooled in the tunnel portion 2. In addition, in this specification, freezing means either the case where the whole food is frozen or the case where a part of the surface of the food is frozen. The frozen food 6 is further moved along with the drive of the transport means 3 and is carried out from the carry-out port 23. The carried-out food is transported to the next process such as a sorting process and a weighing process.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Within the same and equal scope as the present invention, various modifications can be made to the above embodiments.

1 Food cooling device 2 Tunnel part 3 Transport means 5 Liquefied gas supply part 6 Cooled object (food)
10 Stirring fan device (stirring means)
12 Stirring fan 13 Interfering plate 13a Flat surface 13b Peripheral wall 16 Gas flow passage 20 Side wall 21 Top wall 22 Carry-in port 23 Carry-out outlet 24 Cooling space 24a Upper space 24b Lower space 25 Partition wall 26 Communication pipe (communication passage)
26a Upper end 26b Lower end 27, 28 Inner wall 27a Vent 29 Gas circulation path 55 Control device X Transport direction

Claims (4)

A tunnel part that has carry-in inlets and discharge ports at both ends and allows the transported object to be cooled to pass through.
A liquefied gas supply unit that supplies a liquefied gas for cooling an object to be cooled to a cooling space provided in the tunnel portion, and a liquefied gas supply unit.
In a food cooling device provided with a stirring means for stirring a low temperature gas generated from a liquefied gas supplied into the cooling space.
Below the stirring means, a baffle plate is provided to block the stirred low-temperature gas from flowing directly downward.
Below the baffle plate, a partition wall that divides the cooling space into upper and lower parts is provided.
A plurality of communication passages communicating with the upper and lower spaces are formed on the partition wall so that the low-temperature gas that hits the baffle plate passes around the baffle plate and flows from the upper space to the lower space.
The liquefied gas supply unit supplies the liquefied gas so that the low-temperature gas flows from the upper space to the lower space through the communication passage while maintaining the pressurized state of the upper space .
The food cooling device is characterized in that the communication passage is composed of a plurality of communication pipes inserted in the partition wall in the vertical direction, and the upper part of all the communication pipes is covered with the baffle plate. The stirring means includes a stirring fan.
A means for controlling the supply amount of the liquefied gas to the cooling space so that the temperature of the cooling space becomes the set temperature, and the stirring fan at a set wind pressure of the low temperature gas blown out from the communication passage or a rotation speed according to the set air volume. The food cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising a means for rotating the device and a control device having the means for rotating the food cooling device. A tunnel part that has carry-in inlets and discharge ports at both ends and allows the transported object to be cooled to pass through.
A liquefied gas supply unit that supplies a liquefied gas for cooling an object to be cooled to a cooling space provided in the tunnel portion, and a liquefied gas supply unit.
In a food cooling device provided with a stirring means for stirring a low temperature gas generated from a liquefied gas supplied into the cooling space.
Below the stirring means, a baffle plate is provided to block the stirred low-temperature gas from flowing directly downward.
Below the baffle plate, a partition wall that divides the cooling space into upper and lower parts is provided.
A plurality of communication passages communicating with the upper and lower spaces are formed on the partition wall so that the low-temperature gas that hits the baffle plate passes around the baffle plate and flows from the upper space to the lower space.
The liquefied gas supply unit supplies the liquefied gas so that the low-temperature gas flows from the upper space to the lower space through the communication passage while maintaining the pressurized state of the upper space.
The communication passage is composed of a plurality of communication pipes inserted in the partition wall in the vertical direction, and the obstacle plate covers the communication pipe from above.
The baffle plate includes a flat surface portion and a peripheral wall portion extending downward from the peripheral edge of the flat surface portion, and the upper end of the communication pipe is above the lower end of the peripheral wall portion of the baffle plate or the lower end of the peripheral wall portion of the baffle plate. food cooling device it is located at the same height as the. The food cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein a circulation path for returning the low-temperature gas in the lower space to the upper space is formed inside the tunnel portion.

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