JP2000304441A - Freezer and drier with multipurpose specification - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a freezer and drier, which consists of a sealed tank, a cold trap fitted with a vacuum generator connected to the sealed tank, a track taken in and out of the sealed tank, plural sheets of heating shelf boards where heating media flow within, to be used for multipurpose such as vacuum drying, heat treatment including heat treatment and subsequent cooling treatment, etc. SOLUTION: The connection of a cold trap 4 in a sealed tank 1 is provided with a means 8 which is so arranged as to cut off the cold trap 4 from the sealed tank 1, while a track 10 is provided with plural sheets of heating shelf boards in multistage form. Furthermore, the sealed tank 1 is provided, within itself, with a means 40 for supplying fluid for heat treatment such as heating steam, heating water, cooling water or the like.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a freeze-drying apparatus for drying an object to be processed such as frozen food by heating it in a vacuum while keeping the object in a frozen state. The present invention relates to a multipurpose freeze-drying apparatus that can be used for various purposes such as cooling after heat treatment and vacuum drying of an object to be dried.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional freeze-drying apparatus has at least one opening and a closed door which can be opened and closed with respect to this opening, as described in, for example, JP-A-6-257941. A plurality of heating shelves configured to allow the heat medium heated inside to flow through the inside of the closed tank are provided in a multi-stage shape, and a trolley that can be put in and out of the closed tank through the opening is processed. A plurality of trays containing the objects are placed in a multi-stage manner, the cart is pulled into the closed tank, and each tray placed on the tray is inserted between each heating shelf in the closed tank, and in this state,
After the inside of the closed tank is subjected to high vacuum, by heating each of the trays with a heating shelf, the object placed therein is freeze-dried, while the water vapor sublimated from the object is subjected to steam,
It is configured to be guided into a cold trap connected to the closed tank and condensed on the surface of a cooling pipe provided therein.

[0003]

However, the conventional freeze-drying apparatus has a structure in which a plurality of heating shelves are provided in a multi-stage shape in a closed tank, so that the space in the closed tank is extremely large. Due to the narrowing, there is a problem that it is extremely difficult to perform cleaning work, inspection and repair of the inside of the closed tank and each of the heating shelves.

[0004] By the way, in various processing of food, in addition to the above-mentioned freeze-drying, a step of heat-treating food with heated steam or heated water for sterilization, sterilization or cooking, and a step of cooling water after the heat treatment. Or a step of cooling by vacuum or the like, or a step of vacuum-drying the food as it is without freezing may be required, but the conventional freeze-drying apparatus is used only for freeze-drying. With the configuration, when heat treatment, cooling after this heat treatment, or vacuum drying is required, a dedicated device must be separately installed for each.

An object of the present invention is to provide a versatile freeze-drying apparatus which can be used for heat treatment, cooling after the heat treatment, and vacuum drying of an object to be dried, in addition to the original freeze-drying. It is an important subject.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the technical object, the present invention provides a sealed tank having at least one opening and an openable and closable closed door for the opening. A freezing system comprising: a cold trap connected and having a built-in cooling pipe; a vacuum generator connected to the cold trap; a carriage inserted into and removed from the closed tank; and a plurality of heating shelves through which a heating medium flows. In the drying device, at the connection part of the cold trap in the closed tank, a means for separating the cold trap from the sealed tank is provided, while the cart is provided with the plurality of heating shelf plates in a multi-stage shape, A means for supplying a heat treatment fluid such as heated steam, heated water or cooling water to the closed tank is provided in the closed tank. "

[0007]

In this configuration, the cart is pulled out of the sealed tank, and a tray on which the frozen object is placed is placed on the upper surface of each heating shelf, and then the cart is drawn into the sealed tank. By closing the closed door body, making the inside of the closed tank a high vacuum, supplying a heating medium into each heating shelf plate and heating the processing object in each tray, the processing object is the same as the conventional one. Furthermore, the water vapor sublimated from the object can be freeze-dried while condensing on the surface of the cooling pipe in the cold trap.

In order to vacuum-dry the objects to be processed in the trays placed on the upper surfaces of the respective heating shelves of the cart without freezing, the carts are drawn into the sealed tank, and then the inside of the sealed tank is removed. In a state in which the degree of vacuum is lower than that in the case of freeze-drying, by supplying a heating medium into each heating shelf and heating the object to be processed, the object to be processed is vaporized from the object to be vaporized. It can be condensed on the surface of the cooling pipe in the cold trap, or can be vacuum-dried while being sucked by a water-sealed vacuum pump without being condensed by the cold trap.

On the other hand, when the object to be treated is subjected to heat treatment such as heat sterilization, the object to be treated is placed on the upper surface of each of the heating shelves in the carriage or placed on a separate carriage from the carriage. After the cold trap is separated from the closed tank, heated steam is supplied into the closed tank, or heated water is supplied so as to be sprayed on each of the objects to be processed. May be supplied fully until each object to be processed is immersed.

When cooling after the heat treatment, the supply of the heating steam or the heating water into the closed tank is stopped, and a low-temperature heat medium is flowed into each heating shelf plate of the bogie. It is sufficient to supply the cooling water to the closed tank in a full state or to spray the cooling water on the object to be processed.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the freeze-drying apparatus can be used for various purposes such as vacuum drying and heat treatment (autoclave) and cooling after this heat treatment in addition to the original freeze-drying. In order to perform the processing, it is possible to omit separately installing each dedicated device, and instead of providing a plurality of heating shelves in a multistage shape in a closed tank as in the conventional case. ,
By providing the carriage in and out of the closed tank in a multi-stage manner, cleaning, inspection, and repair of the inside of the closed tank and each of the heating shelves can be extremely easily performed.

By the way, as described above, when a plurality of heating shelves are provided on a carriage that is put in and taken out of the closed tank, a heating medium supply pipe and a heating medium are provided for each heating shelf in the carriage. Attaching and detaching of connecting and disconnecting the medium discharge pipe must be performed for each of the plurality of heating shelves, which requires a great deal of trouble.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, a supply header for distributing a heat medium to each of the heating shelves, and a heat medium discharged from each of the heating shelves are provided on the carriage. A discharge connection pipe connected to the discharge header, a supply connection pipe connected to the supply header, a heating medium supply pipe provided to protrude into the closed tank, and a heat medium supply pipe connected to the discharge header. It is proposed that each of the heating tanks is detachably connected to a heat medium discharge pipe provided in the closed tank so as to protrude into the closed tank. The connection and disconnection of the heat medium discharge pipe and the connection and disconnection of the heat medium discharge pipe can be performed simultaneously for a plurality of heating shelves combined in the supply header and the discharge header, which is necessary for the operation. Labor is can be greatly reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, a stop valve is provided at a connection portion of the supply connection pipe to the supply header and a connection portion of the discharge connection pipe to the discharge header. An air introduction valve is provided at a position adjacent to the stop valve in the supply connection pipe and the discharge connection pipe, while a supply valve is provided in the heat medium supply pipe, and a discharge valve is provided in the heat medium discharge pipe. Furthermore, by making a configuration in which a discharge pipe having a discharge valve is connected to a portion of the heat medium supply pipe on the downstream side of the supply valve, and a portion of the heat medium discharge pipe on the upstream side of the discharge valve, As will be described in detail in an embodiment which will be described later, disconnection of the connection of the heating medium supply pipe and the heating medium discharge pipe to each heating shelf in the carriage is performed in the supply connection pipe and the discharge connection pipe. Since it is possible to perform while releasing medium, when the detach is able reliably reduce the contamination by heat medium is generated.

Further, as set forth in claim 4, the closed tank is provided with a box which opens into the closed tank, and the supply connection pipe for the supply connection pipe and the discharge connection pipe in this box. And a detachable connection portion of a discharge connection pipe, and a connection outlet for taking out various wirings to the carriage outside the closed tank,
Furthermore, by providing the box with a lid that can open and close the opening into the closed tank,
By closing the opening of the box into the closed tank with the lid, the inside of the box can be separated from the closed tank,
In the heating process or the cooling process thereafter, the detachable connection part to the supply connection pipe and the discharge connection pipe and the connection outlet can be reliably prevented from being damaged.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

In this drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a horizontal cylindrical closed tank having both ends opened, and a closed door body 2 which is openable and closable is provided at openings at both ends of the closed tank 1, and A pair of left and right rails 3
Are provided so as to extend in the horizontal direction.

Reference numeral 4 denotes two cold traps connected to the closed tank 1 through a duct 5.
Inside both cold traps 4, a cooling pipe 6 through which a refrigerant cooled by a refrigerator (not shown) or the like is provided, and both cold traps 4 are provided with a vacuum pump 7 or the like. A vacuum source is connected.

The duct 5 has an on-off valve 8 as one example of a means for separating the cold traps 4 from the closed tank 1 and one of the cold traps 4. A switching valve 9 for switching is provided, and the closed tank 1 is further provided with:
A supply pipe 40 for supplying a heat treatment fluid such as heating steam, heating water or cooling water is connected to this.

Next, reference numeral 10 denotes a bogie that moves into and out of the sealed tank 1 along the two rails 3 and the rail 12 on the floor surface 11.
, A plurality of heating shelves 13 configured to flow a heated heat medium therein are provided in a multi-stage manner.

The carriage 10 is provided with a supply header 14 for distributing the heat medium to each of the heating shelves 13 and a discharge header 15 for collecting the heat medium discharged from each of the heating shelves 13. A flexible supply connection pipe 18 is connected to one supply port 16 provided in the supply header 14 via a stop valve 17, and a flexible connection pipe 18 is connected to one discharge port 19 provided in the discharge header 15 via a stop valve 20. The connecting pipes 21 for discharge are connected to each other, and pipe joints 22 and 23 are provided at the ends of the connecting pipes 18 and 21, respectively.
Air introduction valves 24 and 25 are provided at portions adjacent to 7 and 20.

On the other hand, on the left and right sides of the closed tank 1, there are provided boxes 26 and 27 which are open only in the closed tank 1, and one of the two boxes 26 and 27
6, a connection outlet 30 is provided for inserting the tip of a heat medium supply pipe 29 provided with a supply valve 28, and for drawing out various wires to the carriage 10 out of the closed tank 1. At the end of 29, a pipe joint 31 for detachably connecting the pipe joint 22 at the end of the supply connection pipe 18 is provided.

In the other box 27, a discharge valve 3 is provided.
While inserting the tip of the heat medium discharge pipe 33 provided with
A connection outlet 41 for drawing out various wirings to the carriage 10 out of the closed tank 1 is provided, and a pipe joint 23 at a tip of the discharge connection pipe 21 is detachably connected to a tip of the heat medium discharge pipe 33. A pipe joint 34 is provided.

The heat medium supply pipe 29 and the heat medium discharge pipe 33 are provided with a circulating pump 44, a heating and cooling unit 45,
Are connected so as to circulate the heat medium.

Further, a discharge pipe 36 having a discharge valve 35 is provided at a portion of the heat medium supply pipe 29 downstream of the supply valve 28, and a discharge pipe 36 of the heat medium discharge pipe 33 which is upstream of the discharge valve 32. A discharge pipe 38 provided with a discharge valve 37 is connected to each part.

The two discharge tubes 36, 38 are connected to the suction side of one discharge pump 39.

In this configuration, the carriage 10 is pulled out of the closed tank 1, and in this state, the tray A containing the frozen object A ′ is placed on the upper surface of the heating shelf 13, and then the carriage 10 10 is drawn into the closed tank 1.

The supply connection pipe 18 and the discharge connection pipe 21 are connected to the heat medium supply pipe 29 and the heat medium discharge pipe 33 in the boxes 26 and 27, respectively.
23, 31, 34, and stop valves 17, 2 for these supply connection pipe 18 and discharge connection pipe 21.
0, and both air introduction valves 24, 25 and both discharge valves 35,
After closing the closed door body 2 in the closed tank 1, the inside of the closed tank 1 is evacuated to a high vacuum, and then the supply valve 28 in the heat medium supply pipe 29 and the discharge valve 32 in the heat medium discharge pipe 33 are closed. By opening each, the inside of each heating shelf 13 in the carriage 10 is
Since the heating medium heated at 5 flows, and the tray A on the upper surface of each heating shelf 13 can be heated, the object to be processed A ′ placed in the tray A can be freeze-dried, The water vapor sublimated from the object A 'is
The freeze-drying can be performed by being guided into one of the cold traps 4 and condensing on the surface of the cooling pipe 6 provided therein.

When the freeze-drying of the processing object A 'placed in each tray A is completed, the heating medium supply pipe 2
9, the supply valve 28 and the discharge valve 32 of the heat medium discharge pipe 33 are closed, and after the vacuum is broken in the closed tank 1, the closed door body 2 is opened.
Is closed and the two air introduction valves 24 and 25 are opened, and the discharge valves 35 and 37 of both the discharge pipes 36 and 38 are opened, and the discharge pump 39 is operated. All of the heat medium in the connection pipe 21 can be discharged, and the supply connection pipe 18 and the discharge connection pipe 2
1 can be emptied.

Therefore, the connection pipe 18 for supply and the connection pipe 21 for discharge are connected to the heat medium supply pipe 29 and the heat medium discharge pipe 33.
Then, the carriage 10 is pulled out of the closed tank 1.

The two stop valves 17 and 20 and the two air introduction valves 24 and 25 are electromagnetic valves, and when the closed door 2 of the closed tank 1 is closed, remote control is performed from outside the closed tank 1. The opening / closing operation may be performed at a time.

Next, each heating shelf 1 in the carriage 10
In vacuum drying the object A 'in each tray A placed on the upper surface of the tray 3 without freezing, the carriage 10 is pulled into the closed tank 1, the closed door 2 is closed, and then the inside of the closed tank 1 is closed. Is heated to a lower degree of vacuum than in the case of freeze-drying, the heating medium is supplied into each heating shelf 13 to heat the processing object A '. Water vapor evaporating from the material is guided into one of the cold traps 4 and condensed on the surface of the cooling pipe 6 provided therein, or
Vacuum drying can be performed while suctioning with a water-sealed vacuum pump without condensation in the cold trap 4.

Each tray A placed on the upper surface of each heating shelf 13 of the carriage 10 in the closed tank 1
When the object to be treated A ′ is subjected to heat treatment (autoclave) such as heat sterilization, the carriage 10 is pulled into the closed tank 1, the closed door body 2 is closed, and the closed tank 1 and both cold tanks are closed. After closing the on-off valve 8 provided in the duct 5 connecting to the trap 4 and separating both cold traps 4 from the sealed tank 1, heating steam is supplied from the steam supply pipe 40 into the sealed tank 1, This is performed by supplying heated water so as to be sprayed on each of the objects to be processed, or by supplying heated water fully until each object to be processed is immersed.

At the time of this heat treatment, since both cold traps 4 are separated from the closed tank 1, heat load and pressure load can be prevented from being applied thereto. 2 and 4, lids 42 and 43 are attached to the opening into the closed tank 1 as shown in FIG.
By separating the inside of the closed tank 1 from the inside of the closed tank 6, 27,
Heat load and pressure load can be prevented from being applied to the pipe joints 31 and 34 and the connection outlets 30 and 41 in both boxes 26 and 27. In other words, the closed tank 1 for freeze-drying is connected to the pipe joints 31 and 34 and The connection outlets 30 and 41 and both cold traps 4 can be used for heat treatment (autoclave) without applying heat load and pressure load.

In this heating process (autoclave), a plurality of heating shelves 13 are provided in a multi-stage form without using a carriage 10. A trolley provided in a shape may be used, whereby the number of stages of the shelf plate can be made larger than the number of stages for freeze-drying.

When cooling after the heat treatment, the supply of the heating steam or the heating water into the closed tank 1 is stopped, and the heating shelf plates 13 in the carriage 10 are stopped.
Is connected to the heat medium supply pipe 29 and the heat medium discharge pipe 33 in the same manner as in the freeze-drying, so that the low-temperature heat cooled by the What is necessary is just to make the medium flow, supply the cooling water to the closed tank fully, or spray the cooling water on the object to be processed.

In particular, when cooling the object to be treated, if the object to be treated is hermetically packaged with a packaging material such as a film, such as a retort food, the closed tank 1
The cooling water is supplied from the cooling water supply pipe 47 so as to fill the cooling water so that the whole of the object is immersed therein,
Alternatively, the cooling water may be sprayed from an ejection nozzle (not shown) provided in the closed tank 1 to the object to be processed.
Discharge more.

In the above-described embodiment, the carriage 10 moves and travels along the rails 3 and 12 provided in the closed tank 1 and the floor surface 11, but the present invention is not limited to this. Needless to say, the truck 10 may be configured to move and travel along a ceiling rail provided on the ceiling of the closed tank 1.

In the above-described embodiment, the on-off valve 8 is used as a means for separating the cold trap 4 from the closed tank 1, but the on-off valve 8 is used as the means for separating. The present invention is not limited to this, and it is a matter of course that other means such as a configuration in which the cold trap 4 is disassembled and removed, and the opening on the closed tank 1 side is closed with a blind lid.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Closed tank 2 Closed door body 3 Rail 4 Cold trap 5 Duct 6 Cooling pipe 7 Vacuum pump 8 On-off valve 10 truck 13 Heating shelf board 14 Supply header 15 Discharge header 17, 20 Stop valve 18 Supply connection pipe 21 Connection pipe for discharge 26, 27 Box 30, 41 Connection outlet 28 Supply valve 29 Heat medium supply pipe 32 Discharge valve 33 Heat medium discharge pipe 35, 37 Release valve 36, 38 Release pipe 40 Supply pipe 42, 43 Lid

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A closed tank having at least one opening and a closed door capable of opening and closing the opening, a cold trap connected to the closed tank and containing a cooling pipe, and connected to the cold trap. A freeze-drying device comprising a vacuum generating device, a carriage which is put into and taken out of the sealed tank, and a plurality of heating shelves through which a heating medium flows, wherein a connection portion of the cold trap in the closed tank is sealed. Means for separating the cold trap from the tank are provided, while the carriage is provided with the plurality of heating shelves in multiple stages, and the closed tank is further provided with heated steam, heated water or cooling water in the closed tank. And a means for supplying a fluid for heat treatment. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the carriage is provided with a supply header for distributing the heat medium to each of the heating shelves, and a discharge header for collecting the heat medium discharged from each of the heating shelves. A supply connection pipe connected to the header, a heat medium supply pipe provided in the closed tank so as to protrude into the inside thereof, a discharge connection pipe connected to the discharge header,
A multipurpose freeze-drying apparatus, wherein the freeze-drying apparatus is detachably connected to a heat medium discharge pipe provided in the closed tank so as to protrude therein. 3. The supply connection pipe and the discharge connection pipe according to claim 2, wherein a stop valve is provided at a connection part of the supply connection pipe to the supply header and a connection part of the discharge connection pipe to the discharge header. The air introduction valve is provided at a position adjacent to the stop valve, a supply valve is provided at the heat medium supply pipe, and a discharge valve is provided at the heat medium discharge pipe. A freeze-drying apparatus of a multipurpose specification, wherein a discharge pipe provided with a discharge valve is connected to a downstream portion of the heat medium discharge pipe and a portion of the heat medium discharge pipe upstream of the discharge valve. 4. A container according to claim 2, wherein said closed tank is provided with a box which opens into said closed tank, and a supply connection pipe and a discharge connection to said supply connection pipe and a discharge connection pipe in said box. A detachable connection portion of a pipe and a connection outlet for taking out various wirings for the carriage out of the sealed tank are arranged. Further, the box is provided with a lid body capable of opening and closing an opening into the sealed tank. A multipurpose freeze-drying device characterized by being provided.