JP2000300155A - Method and apparatus for humidification in air- conditioned breadmaking chamber - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable humidification to be carried out by simple composition without being affected by the air in an air-conditioned breadmaking chamber. SOLUTION: An air-conditioned breadmaking chamber having a holding chamber 4 holding dough is equipped with a temperature controller 10 controlling temperature within the chamber 4, a humidity controller 11 controlling humidity within the chamber 4 and a circulator 12 for equalizing both temperature and humidity within the chamber 4. The humidity controller 11 comprises an atomizer 16 forming humidification mists, an inflow orifice 23 supplying air circulating within the chamber into the atomizer 16 and a humidification orifice 25 supplying the mists from the atomizer 16 into the chamber. The orifice 23 in the humidity controller 11 is opened on the upstream side of air flow B circulating through the circulator 12 in the chamber and the orifice 25 is opened on the downstream side of the orifice 23 for the air flow B. Difference between pressures at the orifice 23 and the orifice 25 sends the mists from the atomizer 16 into the chamber to conduct humidification.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for controlling the humidity in a baking temperature and humidity control chamber for thawing, aging and fermenting frozen dough.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one of devices for efficiently providing freshly baked bread in stores and the like, there is a so-called bread-making temperature and humidity control cabinet. In this method, frozen bread dough is thawed for a predetermined time in a refrigerator so that the bread can be baked at a desired time, and then aging for improving the fermentation state and a proofer for actual fermentation are sequentially performed. It is.
According to this, for example, a series of processing such as thawing, aging, and proofing of frozen bread dough can be automatically performed in advance at night when no workers are present, so that workers can immediately start baking bread from the early morning. Becomes possible.

[0003] In such a bread temperature control cabinet,
In order for thawing and fermentation to be performed favorably without impairing the quality of the dough, it is important to maintain not only the temperature but also the humidity in an appropriate state according to the type and process of the dough. For this reason, the temperature in the storage room for storing the dough (that is, the temperature in the storage) is stored in the temperature control chamber for bread making.
Temperature adjusting means for adjusting the temperature, humidity adjusting means for adjusting the humidity in the accommodation room (that is, the humidity in the refrigerator), and circulating means including a fan or the like for equalizing the temperature and humidity.

[0006] Of these, as the humidity control means, conventionally, for example, a configuration as shown in FIG. 6 has been adopted. That is, a space 102 for storing equipment is formed in the upper part of the bread and humidifier 101, and a humidifier (usually an ultrasonic humidifier) 116 is provided in or near the space 102.
And a fan 131 for sucking outside air through a filter 130 is provided at one end of the fan 131. Also, the humidifier 116
Is connected to one end of a humidifying duct 118, and the other end 118b of the humidifying duct 118 is exposed inside the refrigerator. Then, a mist is generated in the humidifier 116 while the outside air is sucked into the humidifier 116 through the filter 130 by the fan 131, and the air containing the mist is supplied to the storage chamber 104 side through the humidification duct 118. . FIG.
Numeral 103 indicates a tray for placing the dough, and numeral 105 indicates a fan for air circulation.

[0005]

However, the following problems have been encountered in the humidity control means provided in the above-described conventional temperature control cabinet for bread making.

In addition to a circulating means (fan 105 and the like) for circulating the air in the refrigerator, a fan 131 for supplying fine mist generated by the humidifier 116 to the housing chamber 104
In addition, a drive control device and the like for the fan 131 are required, and the number of components increases accordingly, the structure becomes complicated, and the running cost as well as the initial cost increases.

[0007] A filter 130 is provided at the inflow port of the outside air for sucking outside air, and such a filter 130 and the like also need to be periodically cleaned or replaced, and maintenance work is troublesome. .

Since the mist is sent into the storage using the sucked outside air, the humidity in the storage room 104 is affected by the absolute humidity of the outside air. For example, in the winter season when the absolute humidity is low, humidification tends to be insufficient, and in the rainy season or the like, humidification tends to be excessive. Therefore, it is difficult to keep the inside of the refrigerator at the optimal humidity for the dough.

The fan 131 is arranged near the mist generating section of the humidifier 116 in order to increase the air blowing efficiency of the fan 131 on the humidifier 116 side and to form the humidity adjusting means compact. As a result, the fine mist generated by the humidifier 116 adheres to the peripheral surface of the humidifying duct 118 or the like due to the strong wind pressure of the fan 131, or the fine mist contacts and disappears (mist particles). Since the diameter becomes large, the mist becomes difficult to send in a good mist, and the humidification efficiency deteriorates accordingly.

[0010] In the temperature and humidity control cabinet for baking, an airtight structure is adopted as a whole, though there is a slight gap in the periphery of the door packing, for example. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the wind pressure of the fan 131 in order to send the mist into the closed storage. However, when the wind pressure is increased and a strong wind is sent, the same problem as described above occurs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention addresses the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and has as its object to provide a humidifying method for a bread-making temperature and humidity control cabinet capable of humidifying the inside of the cabinet efficiently and efficiently with a simple structure. And a humidifier. In other words, there is no need for a dedicated device such as a fan for sending mist into the refrigerator, and therefore the number of parts is small, maintenance is easy, and it is possible to efficiently humidify the interior without being affected by outside air. It is an object of the present invention to provide a humidifying method and a humidifying device in a bread-making temperature and humidity control cabinet.

[0012]

A humidifying method and a humidifying apparatus according to the present invention are applied to, for example, a bread-making temperature and humidity control cabinet 1 as shown in FIG. This bread and humidifier 1
As shown in FIG. 2, a storage chamber 4 for storing bread dough is formed in a refrigerator, and a temperature control means 10 for controlling the temperature in the storage chamber 4 and a humidity in the storage chamber 4 are controlled. Humidity adjusting means 11 and circulating means 12 provided at one side of the chamber to form an airflow B circulating in the chamber to equalize the temperature and humidity in the accommodation chamber 4 (specifically, the shaft). Flow fan 15 etc.).

In the humidifying method according to the present invention, the inlet 23 for the spray mechanism 16 is provided on the upstream side of the airflow B in the bunching apparatus 1 and the humidifying method according to the present invention. While a part of the airflow B flows into the spray mechanism 16, a humidification port 25 is provided downstream of the airflow B having a lower pressure than the inflow port 23 in the refrigerator, and the humidification formed by the spray mechanism 16 from the humidification port 25. A configuration is adopted in which the humidity in the storage chamber 4 is adjusted by causing the mist to flow out into the storage.

Further, the humidifying device according to the present invention is characterized in that the bread-making temperature and humidity control cabinet 1 as described above is configured as follows. That is, the humidity control means 11 includes a spray mechanism 16 that forms a mist for humidification, an inflow opening 23 facing the inside of the refrigerator so that an airflow B circulating in the refrigerator flows into the spray mechanism 16, The humidifying mist formed by the spray mechanism 16 has a humidifying port 25 which is open toward the inside of the refrigerator so as to flow out into the refrigerator. The inflow port 23 and the humidification port 25 are disposed on the upstream and downstream sides of the airflow B circulating in the storage, respectively, and the mist formed by the spray mechanism 16 is supplied to the inflow port 23 side and the humidification port 25 in the storage. A configuration is used in which the air is fed into the storage using the pressure difference between the air and the side.

The fine mist formed by the spray mechanism 16 is smoothly fed into the storage by the pressure difference.
Normally, an air flow B circulating in the refrigerator with the circulation means 12 interposed therebetween
The inflow port 23 is arranged on the upstream side (ie, high pressure side), and the humidification port 25 is arranged on the downstream side (ie, low pressure side). In this case, the inflow port 23 and the humidification port 25 constituting the humidity control means 11 are connected to the air supply port 24 and the air intake port 2 of the circulation means 12.
6 can be arranged in each vicinity.

However, if there is a certain pressure difference between the inlet 23 and the humidifier 25 of the humidity control means 11, the fine mist formed by the spray mechanism 16 can be sent into the refrigerator. Therefore, the positions of the inflow port 23 and the humidification port 25 of the humidity control unit 11 are not necessarily limited to positions sandwiching the circulation unit 12. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, an inflow port 23 is provided at the most upstream side of the airflow B circulating in the refrigerator, that is, at a position close to the air outlet 24 of the circulation means 12.
Further, a humidifying port 25 may be provided on the downstream side in the storage.

In addition, at least one of the inflow port 23 and the humidification port 25 of the humidity control means 11 has a guide 28 for adjusting the air volume.
By adjusting the amount of air flowing into the inflow port 23 with the guide 28, the amount and state of the mist fed from the spray mechanism 16 into the refrigerator may be adjusted (see FIG. 5). ).

[0018]

In the baking temperature and humidity control cabinet 1 according to the present invention, the air in the cabinet is circulated by the operation of the circulating means 12 including the axial fan 15 and the like. The airflow B in the refrigerator formed by the circulation means 12 has the highest pressure near the air outlet 24 of the axial fan 15 of the circulation means 12 on the upstream side, and the pressure decreases toward the downstream side. , In the vicinity of the air inlet 26 which is the most downstream side.

Therefore, as described above, the inflow port 23 is opened upstream of the circulating airflow B in the storage, and this inflow port 23 is opened.
When the humidification port 25 is opened on the downstream side in the refrigerator, a pressure difference is generated between the inflow port 23 and the humidification port 25, and a part of the circulating airflow B in the refrigerator is transmitted from the high-pressure inflow port 23. The mist generated by the spray mechanism 16 flows into the spray mechanism 16, flows out of the humidifying port 25 having a low pressure into the refrigerator, and humidifies the air in the storage chamber 4.

At this time, if the inflow port 23 of the humidity control means 11 is in the vicinity of the air inlet 24 of the circulation means 12 and the humidification port 25 is in the vicinity of the air inlet 26, the inflow port 2 is
Since the pressure difference between 3 and the humidifying port 25 is the largest,
The amount of air flowing from the inflow port 23 to the humidification port 25 increases.

As exemplified in FIG. 5, the humidity control means 11
A guide 28 for adjusting the air flow is provided near the inflow port 23 forcibly, and a part of the airflow B circulating in the refrigerator is forced to flow into the spray mechanism 16 or the guide for adjusting the air flow is provided near the upstream side of the humidifying port 25. The pressure can be reduced by generating a turbulent flow in the vicinity of the humidifying port 25 by providing a turbulent flow. That is, in the case where the air volume adjusting guide 28 as described above is provided, the air volume flowing from the inflow port 23 to the humidification port 25 is increased, or the air volume is adjusted so as to obtain an optimal state for mist feeding. Can be adjusted.

[0022]

According to the present invention, the inlet 23 of the spray mechanism 16 is opened on the upstream side of the circulating airflow B in the refrigerator, and the humidifying port 25 is opened on the downstream side.
The mist is supplied from the spray mechanism 16 into the refrigerator by the pressure difference between the humidifier and the humidifier, and the mist generated by the humidifier is pushed into the refrigerator as in the related art. It is possible to eliminate a dedicated device or component such as a fan used only for the purpose. As a result, the number of parts can be reduced, the structure can be simplified and the whole apparatus can be made compact, and the initial cost as well as the running cost can be reduced.

The mist is fed from the spray mechanism 16 into the refrigerator by utilizing the pressure difference in the refrigerator in which a circulating air flow is formed. Since a filter which is necessary for feeding is unnecessary, maintenance such as regular cleaning and replacement of this type of filter is not required. As a result, the operation efficiency can be improved and the burden on the operator can be reduced. In addition, since the humidification is performed by using a part of the airflow B circulating in the refrigerator, the humidification can be performed without being affected by the humidity of the outside air and can be performed without excess or deficiency throughout the four seasons. Humidity can be kept in an optimum state for the dough.

Since the humidification is performed by using a part of the air flow B circulating in the refrigerator, the fine mist is not broken by the wind pressure of the powerful fan as in the prior art, and is generated by the spray mechanism 16. The fine mist that has been made can be easily supplied to the inside of the refrigerator and quickly diffused in the refrigerator. This can prevent humidification unevenness and improve humidification efficiency.

The mist is supplied from the spray mechanism 16 into the refrigerator using the airflow B circulating in the refrigerator having the closed structure, that is, utilizing the air circulation in the refrigerator. The humidification efficiency is better than the conventional method in which the mist is pushed into the closed storage.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a humidifying device in a bread maker according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a temperature and humidity control cabinet for baking,
FIG. 2 is a partially cut-out vertical front view, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional plan view. Reference numeral 1 in the drawing indicates the entire bread making temperature and humidity control cabinet.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bread and humidification control cabinet 1 is provided with a device storage section 2 for storing a control device (not shown) for controlling the temperature and humidity. Below, a storage room 4 for storing a plurality of trays 3... 3 for placing dough is formed. Vent passages 5 and 6 through which an airflow B described later passes are formed on both left and right sides of the storage chamber 4. In the example shown in the drawing, the accommodation chambers 4 are formed vertically in two chambers, and the tray entrances 4a formed on the entire surface side of the accommodation chambers 4 are openable and closable doors 36, 36, respectively.
(See FIG. 3). In each accommodation room 4,4,
A plurality of tray receivers 7 for receiving the tray 3 are provided on the left and right side wall portions, and rectifying plates 8.9 forming air passages 5.6 are provided on side portions of the tray receiver 7.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, on the right side of each of the storage chambers 4, a temperature control means 1 for controlling the temperature in the refrigerator.
0, humidity adjusting means 11 for adjusting the humidity in the refrigerator, and circulating means 12 for circulating the air in the refrigerator to make the temperature and humidity uniform. Among them, the temperature control means 10 is mainly constituted by a heat exchanger 13 installed in the ventilation path 6 on the right side of the storage chamber 4. The circulating means 12 is composed of a partition wall 14 mounted above the heat exchanger 13 across the ventilation path 6 and an axial fan 15 provided on the partition wall 14. An airflow B circulating in the refrigerator is formed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4, the humidity adjusting means 11 has a spray mechanism 16 installed on the side of the equipment housing 2 and a part of the airflow B flows into the spray mechanism 16. And a humidifying duct 1 for supplying humidifying mist generated by the spray mechanism 16 to the inside of the refrigerator.
8.

The spray mechanism 16 simultaneously supplies the humidifying mist to the upper and lower storage chambers 4, 4 and is the same as the known ultrasonic humidifier shown in the conventional example. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a water storage tank 19 having an upper opening, an ultrasonic vibrator 20 provided at the bottom thereof,
Lid plate 21 attached to upper opening of water storage tank 19
And four connecting ports 22 are provided in the cover plate 21. The inflow ducts 17 for allowing a part of the airflow B circulating in the refrigerator to flow into these connection ports 22,
One ends of the humidifying ducts 18 that supply the humidifying mist to the storage chambers 4 are connected to each other.

In addition to the above configuration, in the present invention,
Inflow ducts 17 and humidification ducts 18
Are disposed on the air blowing side and the air suction side of the circulating means 12 (specifically, the axial flow fan 15) disposed in the ventilation path 6. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the air inlet 23 to each of the inflow ducts 17 is formed by the axial fan 15 in the ventilation path 6, in other words, the axial fan 15. A humidifying port 25 provided at or near the uppermost stream side of the airflow B and serving as an outlet for humidified air from each humidifying duct 18 is located on the air inlet 26 side of the axial fan 15 in the ventilation path 6, in other words, the axial fan 15 is provided on the most downstream side or near the air flow B formed by the air flow B. Then, the air in the ventilation path 6 reaches the spray mechanism 16 from the inflow port 23 through the inflow ducts 17 and is humidified there, and then passes through the humidification ducts 18 into the ventilation path 6 from the humidification port 25. It is being discharged.

According to such a configuration, the inflow duct 1
7 is provided with an airflow B formed by the axial fan 15.
Of the humidification duct 18 is located at or near the most downstream side of the airflow B formed by the axial fan 15, while the humidification port 25 is located at or near the most upstream side of Is higher than the pressure on the humidifying port 25 side. Therefore, due to the pressure difference generated between the inflow port 23 and the humidification port 25, a part of the airflow B circulating in the refrigerator is
It flows into the spray mechanism 16 from the high pressure inlet 23 through the inflow duct 17, and further flows out from the low pressure humidifier 25 through the humidification duct 18 into the ventilation path 6 with mist generated by the spray mechanism 16. . Then, the air with the mist, that is, the humidified air circulates in the storage as the airflow B as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, so that the inside of each accommodation room 4 is satisfactorily humidified.

As described above, according to the present invention, the mist is sprayed from the spray mechanism 16 into the refrigerator using the differential pressure generated between the blower port 24 side and the blower port 26 side of the axial fan 15 in the ventilation path 6. Since the air is supplied to humidify the air in the storage chamber 4, it is not necessary to provide an axial fan for sending the mist into the refrigerator or a filter attached to the outside air introduction part on the humidifier side as in the related art. Will be. As a result, the number of parts can be reduced, the structure can be simplified, the apparatus can be made compact, troublesome maintenance can be eliminated, and the initial cost and running cost can be reduced.

Even if the mist is not pushed into the hermetically closed chamber by the wind pressure of a powerful fan as in the prior art, the slight differential pressure in the air passage 6 as described above is used, in other words, the circulation in the chamber. Spray mechanism (humidifier) using part of airflow B
Since the mist can be supplied from the chamber 16 without difficulty, the fine mist generated by the vibrator of the spray mechanism 16 reaches the inside of the chamber without breaking and quickly spreads. Therefore, humidification is not generated, and humidification is performed efficiently.

In the present invention, humidification is performed by using an air flow B circulating in the refrigerator instead of introducing the outside air to push the mist into the refrigerator having a closed structure. It is possible to perform accurate humidification without excess or deficiency throughout the four seasons. Therefore, regardless of the level of the humidity of the outside air, it becomes easy to always maintain the inside humidity in a state suitable for bread dough.

As shown in FIG. 5, an inlet 23 of the inflow duct 17 is opened near the air outlet 24 of the axial fan 15, and a step motor 27 is provided downstream of the inlet 23.
An air flow adjustment guide 28 that is rotated and oscillated by the above may be provided so that a part of the circulating airflow B in the refrigerator is forced to flow into the inflow port 23. In this way, the humidifying duct 1
The humidification port 25 of 8 can be opened near the accommodation room 4 together with the inflow port 23. And the air volume adjustment guide 2
By simply swinging the nozzle 8, the amount of air flowing into the inflow port 23 can be adjusted, and the supply speed of the mist into the refrigerator can be adjusted.

Although not shown, a guide for adjusting the air volume is provided near the upstream side of the humidifying port opened to face the airflow B circulating in the refrigerator, and a turbulent flow is generated near the humidifying port to generate pressure. May be reduced. Also in this case, the amount of air flowing from the inlet to the humidifier, and thus the speed of supplying the mist into the storage, can be adjusted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall appearance of a bread and humidity control cabinet.

FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away vertical front view of a storage chamber portion of a bread-making temperature and humidity control cabinet.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional plan view of a storage chamber portion of the bread-making temperature and humidity control cabinet.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a humidifying device of the bread-making temperature and humidity control cabinet.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional front view of a main part showing another embodiment of the bread and humid temperature control cabinet.

FIG. 6 is a partial longitudinal sectional front view showing a humidifying device in a conventional bread making temperature and humidity control cabinet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1 Bread making temperature and humidity control chamber 3 Tray 4 Storage room 10 Temperature control means 11 Humidity control means 12 Circulation means 16 Spray mechanism 23 Inlet 24 Vent port 25 Humidifier port 26 Suction port 28 Air volume adjustment guide B Airflow (circulating airflow)

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A temperature in a storage chamber 4 for storing bread dough is adjusted by a temperature adjusting means 10 and a humidity is adjusted by a humidity adjusting means 11, and an air flow B circulating in the refrigerator is formed by a circulating means 12. In a humidification method in a bread making temperature and humidity control chamber in which the temperature and humidity in the storage chamber 4 are made uniform, an inlet 23 to the spray mechanism 16 is provided on the upstream side of the airflow B in the chamber. A part of the airflow B flows into the spray mechanism 16 from the inlet 23, and a humidifying port 25 is provided downstream of the airflow B having a lower pressure than the inlet 23 in the refrigerator.
6. A humidification method in a bread making temperature and humidity control cabinet, wherein the humidification mist formed in 6 is allowed to flow out into the cabinet to adjust the humidity in the accommodation room 4. 2. A storage chamber 4 for storing bread dough is formed in a refrigerator, and a temperature control means 10 for controlling the temperature in the storage chamber 4 and a humidity control means 11 for controlling the humidity in the storage chamber 4. And a circulating means 12 provided on one side of the refrigerator for uniformizing the temperature and humidity in the storage chamber 4. , A spray mechanism 16 for forming a mist for humidification, an inflow opening 23 facing the inside of the refrigerator so that an airflow B circulating in the refrigerator flows into the spray mechanism 16, and a humidifier formed by the spray mechanism 16. A humidifying opening 25 facing the inside of the refrigerator so that the mist flows out into the refrigerator, and the inflow port 23 and the humidifying opening 25 are provided upstream and downstream of the airflow B circulating in the refrigerator. Each is arranged, the mist formed by the spray mechanism 16, A humidifying device for a bread-making temperature and humidity control cabinet, wherein the humidifier is configured to be fed into the cabinet by a pressure difference of air between the inflow port 23 side and the humidification port 25 side in the cabinet. 3. The hot and humidifier for baking according to claim 2, wherein the inflow port 23 and the humidification port 25 are respectively arranged upstream and downstream of the airflow B circulating in the refrigerator with the circulation means 12 interposed therebetween. Humidifier in the control cabinet. 4. A humidifying device in a temperature and humidity control cabinet for bread making according to claim 2, wherein an air volume adjusting guide is provided on at least one of the inlet 23 and the humidifying port 25 of the humidity adjusting means 11. 5. An inflow port (23) is a blow port (24) of the circulation means (12)
The humidifying device according to claim 3, wherein the humidifying port (25) is disposed near the air inlet (26) of the circulating means (12).