IL42811A

IL42811A - Chiller apparatus and method of chilling products

Info

Publication number: IL42811A
Application number: IL42811A
Authority: IL
Original assignee: Chemetron Corp
Priority date: 1973-07-23
Filing date: 1973-07-23
Publication date: 1976-09-30
Also published as: IL42811A0

Claims

42b » > 2 WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. · An apparatus for fast freezing with a cold gas comprising : a longitudinal housing having passages at the ends thereof, the interior of said housing having continuous concave side walls a top panel, and a bottom channel joining said side walls; conveyor means for moving products to be frozen through said housing interior via said passages; means for supplying a cold gas into said housing interior; and means for directing the cold gas upon the products and toward said bottom channel, said last mentioned means dividing the gas into substantially two currents, each current moving upwardly along a side wall toward said top panel for repeated application to the products to freeze same,

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which each side wall is substantially semicircular in configuration and wherein at least one of said side walls is hinged to said housing to form a door.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 in which said top panel and said bottom channel have a convex configuration and extend toward each other and in which said one side wall comprises a pair of doors hinged to said housing at said top panel and said bottom channel respectively,

4. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising door seals consisting of strips of polyester resin about 0.014 inches thick. 42811/3

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said gas directing means is a fan, and having a fan shaft extending through said top panel, and a truncated conical shroud around said shaft and joined to said panel at the larger end.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said side walls, top panel, bottom channel, and ends are fiber reinforced resin shells 0.075 inches to 0,090 inches thick and are filled with layers of pre-cast cellular insulation.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising structural support members for said housing located remote from said interior.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said gas directing means is a plurality of fans disposed in spaced relation along the length of the housing and means to adjust the velocity of the cold gas from one fan relative to the velocity of the gas from an adjacent fan.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the velocity adjusting means includes means to vary the rotational speed of the fans.

10. The method of reducing the temperature of a product by means of the apparatus claimed in all or any of the preceding claims comprising the steps of passing the product on a conveyor through a housing from the housing inlet to the housing outlet, directing a cold gas in the form of a stream at the product, said stream having 428 Π 2 about 500 feet per minute, dividing the stream into two currents, guiding each current along a curved path within said housing, and combining said two currents into a stream for repeated direction at the product.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the stream of cold gas has a velocity from about 500 to about 2,500 feet per minute.

12. The method of claim 10 in which the cold gas is directed in a plurality of streams, and increasing the velocity of the streams, sequentially from near the inlet to near the outlet of the housing.

13. The method according to claim 12 wherein the velocity of the streams is increased from about 500 feet per minute near the inlet to about 2,500 feet per minute near the outlet of the housing.

14. Apparatus for fast freezing substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

15. Freezing method substantially as hereinbefore described. COHEN ZEDEK & SPISBACH P.O.Box 33116 TEL-AVIV, ISRAEL Attorneys for Applicant