JP2000279281A - Food preservation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a food preservation system capable of preserving foods sanitarily in an exposed condition. SOLUTION: A storage chamber 7 open at its front face is constructed within a main body 4 and a rack 16 is installed in the storage chamber. Clean air from an air purifying means is forced out toward a lower opening from air outlets 12, 19 formed respectively in the end of the rack and the upper open edge of the storage chamber, to form air curtains. An auxiliary air outlet 25 from which clean air is forced out toward the air curtain formed from above is formed in the front portion of the rack.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a food preservation system suitable for displaying, storing, and preserving food such as bread and prepared food in an exposed state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, foods such as freshly baked bread and prepared foods are displayed in a state where the foods are exposed, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-256883, so that the scent of the foods drifts around them. Therefore, a sales form that promotes a customer's willingness to purchase is adopted.

[0003]

However, when the food is displayed on a shelf or the like in an exposed state, the food is directly exposed to the outside air. Therefore, microorganisms contained in the dust in the air adhere to the food, causing a problem in hygiene. In addition, when the food is displayed in an exposed state, the food gradually dries and the quality and flavor deteriorate. Furthermore, when foods such as bread and prepared foods are displayed in an exposed state, they are immediately cooled to room temperature by an in-store environment, for example, air-conditioning or the like, and there is a problem that a freshly prepared warm state is impaired.

Therefore, it is conceivable to sell bread in a transparent plastic bag or the like.
It became impossible to make the scent of food drift around, and there was a problem that stores that appealed to fresh bakery could not actually adopt it because they could not promote their customers' willingness to purchase.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional technical problems, and has as its object to provide a food preservation system which can store food in a hygienic condition in an exposed state.

[0006]

That is, in the food storage system of the present invention, a storage room which opens to the front is formed in the main body, and a shelf is provided in the storage room, and the clean air from the air cleaning means is provided. Are blown toward the lower opening from the outlet formed at the tip of the shelf and the upper edge of the opening of the storage chamber, thereby forming air curtains. An auxiliary outlet for blowing clean air toward the air curtain is formed.

A food storage system according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the storage room is set to have an environment of 100,000 or less dust per cubic foot by the air cleaning means.

[0008] In a third aspect of the present invention, in the above food preserving system, the air purifying means comprises a HEPA filter and a blower for circulating air through the HEPA filter.

According to the present invention, a storage chamber opening to the front is formed in the main body, and a shelf is erected in the storage chamber.
By blowing clean air from the air purifying means from the outlet formed at the tip of the shelf and the upper edge of the opening of the storage room toward the opening below, in the food storage system constituting the air curtain, In the front part, the auxiliary air outlet that blows clean air toward the air curtain from above is formed, so the air curtain by clean air formed in each of the openings of the storage room partitioned by the shelf is placed on the storage room side. Can be pushed back by the clean air from the auxiliary air outlet, and the intrusion of dust from the outside due to turbulence at the lower portion of the air curtain can be effectively prevented.

[0010] Then, since the storage room is made to have an environment of 100,000 or less dust per cubic foot by the air cleaning means, dust is prevented from adhering to food stored in the storage room in an exposed state, or , The food can be stored extremely hygienically.

A food storage system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is configured such that the main duct is provided at the back of the main body, the main duct through which the clean air is supplied from the air cleaning means, and the main duct is provided at the rear end. Composed of a lower duct in the shelf, the front end of which communicates with the outlet, and a shelf above the lower duct of the shelf, the rear end of which communicates with the main duct, and the front end of which communicates with the auxiliary outlet. And a duct.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above, the main duct is provided at the back of the main body and is supplied with the clean air from the air purifying means, and is formed in the shelf, and the rear end is provided at the main duct. Composed of a lower duct in the shelf, the front end of which communicates with the outlet, and a shelf above the lower duct of the shelf, the rear end of which communicates with the main duct, and the front end of which communicates with the auxiliary outlet. Since the duct is provided, the configuration of the duct is extremely simplified, so that the occurrence of ventilation loss and a rise in cost can be avoided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the food preservation system according to the above, wherein the air flowing through the main duct is supplied to the communicating portion between the lower duct in the shelf and the upper duct in the shelf and the main duct. And a guide member for guiding the vehicle.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above, the air flowing through the main duct is supplied to the communicating portion between the lower duct in the shelf and the upper duct in the shelf and the main duct by the lower duct in the shelf and the upper duct in the shelf. Is provided, the clean air flowing in the main duct can be smoothly introduced into the upper and lower ducts in the shelf by the guide member, and can be blown out from the outlet at the front end and the auxiliary outlet. This allows a stable and powerful air curtain to be constructed.

The food preservation system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the upper outlet is configured with an air curtain outside the lower outlet.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above, the upper outlet is formed with an air curtain outside the lower outlet, so that the air is blown out from each outlet. It is possible to prevent the air curtain by the clean air from being disturbed by colliding with the lower shelf or the like.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the food storage system described above, the outlet blows clean air toward the outside of the outlet of the shelf immediately below.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above, the outlet is configured to blow clean air toward the outside of the outlet of the shelf immediately below, so that the outlet of the storage chamber is blown from above. The more air curtains are formed, the more the outer air curtains are sequentially arranged, so that the air curtains are more stable and the intrusion of dust into the storage chamber is more effectively prevented or suppressed.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view of a food display device 1 as an embodiment of a food storage system to which the present invention is applied.

The food display device 1 according to the embodiment is a bread showcase installed in, for example, a fresh bakery shop, and has an outer case 2 and a substantially U-shaped cross section provided at an upper portion inside the outer case 2. From partition plate 3 to body 4
A storage chamber 7 having an opening 6 on the front surface is formed in the partition plate 3.

This partition plate 3 is provided inside the outer case 2 with a space therebetween, and between the back surface 3A and the top surface 3B and the outer case 2 is a series of main plates extending from the back surface 3A to the outside of the top surface 3B. A duct 8 is configured. A machine room 9 is formed in the outer case 2 below the partition plate 3, and a front surface of the machine room 9 is closed by a panel 11 so as to be openable and closable.

The lower end of the main duct 8 on the rear side of the back surface 3A of the partition plate 3 communicates with the inside of the machine room 9 and the top surface 3B
An outlet 12 is formed at the front end of the main duct 8 on the upper side of
It is open to the lower opening 6. In addition, a honeycomb material 13 for rectification is mounted in the outlet 12. Further, the corner of the outer case 2 where the main duct 8 is bent from the rear side of the rear surface 3A to the upper side of the top surface 3B is curved at a predetermined curvature to form a curved portion 2A.

In the storage room 7, shelves 16, 16 are vertically provided in two stages. The interior of each shelf 16 is hollow, and
A lower duct 17 in the shelf is formed on the lower side, and an upper duct 23 in the shelf is formed on the upper side, and the rear ends of the upper and lower ducts 17 and 23 in the shelf are partitioned by the partition plate 3. Through the back surface 3A of the main duct 8.
A guide member 18 is attached to the upper edge of the rear end opening of the upper and lower ducts 17 and 23 in the shelf, the guide member 18 projecting toward the main duct 8 while its tip is lowered. The upper guide member 18 projects to the main duct 8 side larger than the lower guide member 18.

An outlet 19 is formed at the front end of the in-shelf lower duct 17 of the upper shelf 16, and an outlet 21 is formed at the front end of the in-shelf lower duct 17 of the lower shelf 16. Each is open to the lower opening 6. And
The honeycomb material 13 for rectification is also provided in these air outlets 19 and 21.
Is attached.

In this case, the shelf 1 above the outlets 19 and 21
The corner at the front end of the upper surface 6 is curved so as to prevent or suppress the turbulence of the air curtain descending from above as described later. The outlet 12 is directed toward the front of the shelf 16 immediately below, that is, toward the outside of the outlet 19, and the outlet 19 is directed to the front of the shelf 16 immediately below,
That is, it is directed toward the outside of the outlet 21.

The upper duct 2 in each of the shelves 16, 16
Auxiliary air outlets 25 are formed at the front ends of the nozzles 3 and 23, respectively, and are opened diagonally forward and upward. In addition, each shelf 1
A discharge port 24 communicating the main duct 8 and the storage chamber 7 is formed on the back surface 3A located on the upper back of each of the spaces inside the storage chamber 7 partitioned by 6 and 16.

On the other hand, in the machine room 9 at a position corresponding to a position below the main duct 8, a suction type blower 26 is mounted by a fan casing 27.
The HEPA filter 28 is disposed on the suction side of the pump 6. Further, suction ports 29, 29 are formed above and below the panel 11 and communicate with the inside of the machine room 9.
A pre-filter 31 coarser than the HEPA filter is attached inside 9.

Further, a suction port 32 is also formed at the front end of the bottom surface 3C of the partition plate 3 serving as a lower edge of the opening 6 of the storage chamber 7, and communicates with the inside of the machine chamber 9. A similar pre-filter 31 is attached. The machine room 9
The inside is partitioned by the fan casing 27 into the suction ports 29 and 32 side and the main duct 8 side.

At the four corners of the bottom surface of the main body 4, wheels 36 for movement are attached, so that the food display device 1 is movable.

Next, reference numeral 41 denotes a general-purpose microcomputer which constitutes a control device of the food display device 1. The input of the microcomputer 41 receives an output of a dust sensor 42 for detecting the number of dust in the storage chamber 7. ing.

The output of the microcomputer 41 is connected to a motor 26M of the blower 26 via an inverter circuit (not shown), and the rotation speed of the motor 26M is adjusted by the inverter circuit.

The operation of the above configuration will now be described. On each of the shelves 16, 16 and the bottom surface 3C of the storage room 7, for example, freshly baked bread is put on a tray and stored and displayed in an exposed state. When the microcomputer 41 operates the motor 26M at a predetermined rotation speed via the inverter circuit by the microcomputer 41, the blower 26 sucks air from the lower front and discharges it to the upper rear.

By operating the blower 26, each suction port 2
Outside air is sucked from 9, 29, and 32 into the machine room 9 via the pre-filter 31. The suction from the suction ports 29, 29 can prevent dust soaring from the floor in front of the food display device 1 from heading toward the storage room 7. Then, when passing through the pre-filter 31, relatively large dust in the air is captured by the pre-filter 31.
The outside air thus entered into the machine room 28 enters the HEPA filter 28 provided therein, where fine dust and bacteria are captured.

The air thus purified by passing through the pre-filter 31 and the HEPA filter 28 is
The air is blown up into the main duct 8 by the blower 26. A part of the clean air rising in the main duct 8 is taken into the upper and lower ducts 17 and 23 in each shelf by the guide members 18 and 18.

At this time, since the upper guide member 18 protrudes into the main duct 8 larger than the lower guide member, the amount of air entering the upper and lower ducts 17 and 23 in each shelf becomes substantially uniform. Also,
Part of the clean air rising in the main duct 8 is about 0.1 m /
At the speed of s, the liquid is discharged from the discharge ports 24 on the back surface 3A into the storage chamber 7 on each shelf 16 and the bottom surface 3C.

At this time, since the discharge port 24 is located above the space between each shelf 16 and the bottom surface 3C, the discharge port 24
・ The clean air discharged from is blown out above the freshly baked bread. As a result, the dust in the air above the bread is blown off to prevent the dust from adhering to the bread, and the drying is prevented from being promoted by blowing the air directly onto the bread.

Then, the remaining clean air flows in a forward direction along the main duct 8 and flows therethrough.
From 9 and 21, clean air is blown toward the lower opening 6. Then, the blown clean air is finally sucked into the machine room 9 from the suction port 32, whereby an air curtain of the clean air is formed in the opening 6. Then, the invasion of dust from the opening 6 into the storage chamber 7 is prevented or suppressed by the air curtain.

In this case, the air curtain is mounted on each shelf 16, 1
6 and the bottom surface 3C. In addition, due to the directivity of the outlets 12, 19, and 21 as described above, the outlet 1
The clean air blown out from 2 forms an air curtain outside the outlet 19, and the clean air blown out from the outlet 19 forms an air curtain outside the outlet 21. Accordingly, a triple air curtain is finally formed in the opening 6.

Since a relatively small amount of clean air is blown out from the auxiliary air outlet 25 toward the front upper opening 6, the lower part of the air curtain descending from the upper side is pressurized outward. Receive. On the other hand, when the air curtain from the outlet 12 is disturbed, the air curtain attempts to enter the storage chamber 7 from the front end of the upper shelf 16. Further, when the air curtain from the outlet 19 is disturbed, the air curtain attempts to enter the storage room 7 from the front end of the lower shelf 16.

However, since the air curtain is pushed back by the clean air from the auxiliary air outlet 25, it is possible to effectively prevent the intrusion of dust from the outside due to the turbulence below the air curtain.

On the other hand, based on the output of the dust sensor 42, the microcomputer 41 determines the number of rotations of the motor 26M by the inverter circuit when the number of dusts in the storage chamber 7 is more than 100,000 per cubic foot (set value). It is raised to increase the amount of air blown by the blower 26. Thus, the outlets 12, 19, 21 and the discharge ports 24 are provided in the storage chamber 7.
A large amount of clean air is supplied from the apparatus.

When the number of dust drops below the set value, the microcomputer 41 returns the rotation speed of the motor 26M to the initial value. Thereby, the microcomputer 4
1 controls the number of dusts in the storage room 7 to 100,000 or less per cubic foot.

As described above, since the interior of the storage room 7 of the food display device 1 has an environment of 100,000 or less dust per cubic foot, freshly baked bread or the like stored in the storage room 7 in the exposed state is used. It is possible to prevent or suppress dust from adhering to foods, and to store such foods extremely hygienically.

Since the pre-filter 31 is provided on the suction side of the HEPA filter 28, clogging of the HEPA filter 28 due to relatively large dust can be prevented, and the replacement cycle of the HEPA filter 28 can be extended. Will be able to

The outlet 12 for blowing clean air,
Since 19 and 21 are respectively formed at the tip of each shelf 16 and the upper edge of the opening of the storage room 7, an air curtain made of clean air is formed in each of the openings 6 of the storage room 7 defined by the shelf 16. 6 Disturbance of the air curtain is reduced as compared with the case of blowing out only from the upper edge.

Further, since the honeycomb material 13 is attached to each of the outlets 12, 19, and 21, the outlets 12, 19,
The clean air blown out from 21 is rectified by the honeycomb material 13, so that an air curtain with less disturbance can be configured. Further, the clean air flowing through the main duct 8 is smoothly introduced into the ducts 17, 17 by the guide members 18, and is blown out from the outlets 19, 21 at the front end.

Further, since the upper corner portion of the outer case 2 is formed as a curved portion 2A, the clean air rising in the main duct 8 is smoothly turned forward and the decrease in the flow velocity is suppressed. Since the upper air outlets constitute air curtains outside the lower air outlets, the air curtains by the clean air blown out from the respective air outlets 12, 19, and 21 are connected to the lower shelf 16, 16 can be prevented from being disturbed by colliding.

The outlets 12 and 19 are located on the shelf 1 immediately below.
Since the clean air is blown out to the outside of the outlets 19 and 21 of the chambers 6 and 16, a triple air curtain is formed in the opening 6 of the storage chamber 7 in such a manner that the air blows upward from the top in order. And the air curtain becomes more stable.

The air that is blown out from each of the outlets 12, 19, and 21 and forms an air curtain at the opening 6 is recovered from the inlet 32, so that the cleanliness of the air is further improved and the air is further improved. The curtain also stabilizes.
In addition, since the main body 4 is provided with the moving wheels 36, the food display device 1 can be freely moved in the store, and it is possible to improve the sales effect by the mobile selling method.

Although the embodiment has been described in the case where freshly baked bread is displayed in a bakery, the present invention is also effective when displaying hot prepared foods in a supermarket or the like.

[0051]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, a storage chamber opening to the front is formed in the main body, a shelf is provided in the storage chamber, and the clean air from the air cleaning means is supplied to the shelf. In the food storage system constituting the air curtain by blowing out from the outlet formed at the tip of the opening and the upper edge of the opening of the storage chamber toward the lower opening, the front of the shelf has an air curtain from above. Auxiliary outlets for blowing clean air toward the storage chamber are provided, so that the air curtains formed by the clean air at each of the openings of the storage compartment defined by the shelves attempt to enter the storage compartment side. It can be pushed back by the clean air from the outside, and it is possible to effectively prevent the intrusion of dust from the outside due to the disturbance of the lower portion of the air curtain.

The air purifying means makes the storage room an environment of less than 100,000 dust per cubic foot, so that dust is prevented from adhering to the food stored in the storage room in the exposed state. , The food can be stored extremely hygienically.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above, the main duct is provided on the back of the main body and is supplied with clean air from the air purifying means, and is formed in the shelf, and the rear end is provided on the main duct. Composed of a lower duct in the shelf, the front end of which communicates with the outlet, and a shelf above the lower duct of the shelf, the rear end of which communicates with the main duct, and the front end of which communicates with the auxiliary outlet. Since the duct is provided, the configuration of the duct is extremely simplified, so that the occurrence of ventilation loss and a rise in cost can be avoided.

According to the invention of claim 5, in addition to the above, the air flowing through the main duct is supplied to the communicating portion between the lower duct in the shelf and the upper duct in the shelf and the main duct by the lower duct in the shelf and the upper duct in the shelf. Is provided, the clean air flowing in the main duct can be smoothly introduced into the upper and lower ducts in the shelf by the guide member, and can be blown out from the outlet at the front end and the auxiliary outlet. This allows a stable and powerful air curtain to be constructed.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above, the upper outlet is formed with an air curtain outside the lower outlet, so that the air is blown out from each outlet. It is possible to suppress the air curtain due to the clean air from being disturbed by colliding with a lower shelf or the like.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above, the outlet is configured to blow clean air toward the outside of the outlet of the shelf immediately below, so that the outlet of the storage chamber is blown from above. The more air curtains are formed, the more the outer air curtains are sequentially arranged, so that the air curtains are more stable and the intrusion of dust into the storage chamber is more effectively prevented or suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical side view of a food display device as an embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Food display apparatus 2 Exterior case 3 Partition plate 4 Main body 6 Opening 7 Storage room 8 Main duct 9 Machine room 11 Panel 12, 19, 21 Air outlet 13 Honeycomb material 16 Shelf 17 Shelf lower duct 18 Guide member 23 Shelf upper duct 24 Discharge port 25 Auxiliary outlet 26 Blower 26M Motor 28 HEPA filter 29, 32 Suction port 31 Pre-filter 36 Wheel 41 Microcomputer 42 Dust sensor

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Toshiyuki Tamura 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Hideo Aoki 2--5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Masakazu Sakata 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka F-term in Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (reference) 3B110 AA00 CA00 EA04 EA06

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A storage chamber having an opening on the front side is formed in a main body, a shelf is erected in the storage chamber, and clean air from an air cleaning means is supplied to a tip of the shelf and an upper edge of the opening of the storage chamber. In the food storage system, each of which constitutes an air curtain by blowing out from the formed outlet toward the lower opening, an auxiliary outlet for blowing clean air toward the air curtain from above is provided at the front of the shelf. The food preservation system characterized by having formed. 2. The food preservation system according to claim 1, wherein the storage room is set to have an environment of 100,000 or less dusts per cubic foot by the air cleaning means. 3. An air purifying means, comprising: a HEPA filter;
3. A blower for flowing air through the HEPA filter.
Food preservation system. 4. A main duct, which is formed on the back of the main body and to which clean air from the air cleaning means is supplied, and is formed in a shelf,
A rear end communicates with the main duct, a front end communicates with the outlet, and a lower duct inside the shelf is formed in the upper shelf of the lower duct inside the shelf.A rear end communicates with the main duct, and a front end communicates with the main duct. 4. The food storage system according to claim 1, further comprising an upper duct in a shelf communicating with the auxiliary outlet. 5. A guide member which guides air flowing through the main duct to the lower duct in the shelf and the upper duct in the shelf is provided at a communicating portion between the lower duct in the shelf, the upper duct in the shelf, and the main duct. The food preservation system according to claim 4, characterized in that: 6. The air outlet located at the upper side constitutes an air curtain outside the air outlet located at the lower side. 5. Food preservation system. 7. The air outlet for blowing clean air toward the outside of the air outlet of a shelf immediately below the air outlet. Item 6. The food preservation system according to Item 6.