JP2000346527A - Open cold chamber - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To keep freshness of food when the food is processed at a low temperature by forming a frame by connecting the bottom portions of a first side panel and a second side panel through a bottom panel and blowing cooling air into the frame. SOLUTION: The outer surface of a frame consists of a first side panel 1, a second side panel 2 and a bottom panel 3. An inner cooling air circulating path 4 is formed between the panels 1, 2, 3 which consist the outer surface and panels 35, 36, 37 which consist the inner surface. Air is sucked from a cold storage space into the path 4 through an air sucking port 12. The air is cooled by a refrigerating machine 9 which is accommodated in a lower frame 6, and the resultant cooled air is supplied to the inner cooling air circulating path, followed by blowing the cooled air into the cold storage space through a cooling air blowing port 11. Thus freshness of food can be maintained when the food is processed at low temperature.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an open cold chamber capable of processing a food while keeping the food at a low temperature while ensuring an appropriate temperature environment for an operator. The present invention relates to an open cold chamber that can be carried out.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A working room for processing food has a temperature of 10 ° C. or less.
For example, a low-temperature environment of about 0 ° C. to 5 ° C. is required. For example, in meat processing, a room temperature of 1
Processing is performed while transporting the food kept at a low temperature using a conveyor or the like provided with a refrigerated environment placed in the room at 5 ° C to 20 ° C. At the time of processing, on a processing table arranged on at least one of the left and right sides of the conveyor, a worker takes out the food, processes it, and returns it to the conveyor. However, in order to maintain the freshness of food, the temperature around the food on a conveyor or processing table must be kept at about 5 ° C or less, which requires large-scale air conditioning equipment and is problematic in terms of energy saving. was there.

Therefore, for example, heat insulating plates are provided above and below the conveyor, and the left and right sides of the conveyor are separated by air curtains, so that the refrigerated space is limited to a small size, and then the low-temperature food processing apparatus having processing tables on the left and right sides. A device has been proposed (JP-A-10-271945). Further, as a desirable embodiment, there has been proposed a method of blowing air at a relatively high temperature to a processing table to maintain an appropriate temperature for an operator and maintain food freshness. According to this device, it is possible to satisfy the maintenance of an appropriate temperature for the worker and the maintenance of the freshness of the food.

[0004]

The use of the low-temperature food processing apparatus described above makes it possible to maintain the freshness of food and ensure an appropriate temperature environment for workers in meat processing and the like. However, since the air curtain entrains the surrounding air, there is still a large energy loss, and the energy saving is insufficient. Also, standing on the side of the conveyor, the worker's hand repeats the operation of piercing the upper and lower air curtains or performs processing work in the air curtain, so that this operation is inevitable to burden the operator. .

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an open cold chamber for low-temperature food processing that can maintain freshness and consumes less energy and is easy for workers to work.

[0006]

An open cold chamber according to the present invention is an open cold chamber which surrounds a conveyor for transferring food from both sides and has an open upper part, and opposes a first side panel and a second side panel. ,
A frame having a bottom panel connecting the bottoms of the first side panel and the second side panel; and cool air supply means for blowing cool air into the frame.

[0007] With the above configuration, the open cold chamber is open at the top, so that an operator can be in a room that has been kept at a suitable temperature and reach out to process cold food or the like from above. it can. Even if the supply amount of cold air is not so large, the inside of the frame is sufficiently frozen,
The amount of surrounding air involved can be reduced. Further, since the warm air goes upward and the cool air goes downward, the inside of the frame is efficiently kept at a cool temperature. As a result, it is possible to ensure an appropriate temperature environment for the operator, ensure food hygiene, and reduce the size of the refrigerator and save energy. In addition, since a strong ceiling and pillar structure for holding the conveyor and the heat insulating plate are not required, it is possible to reduce the facility construction cost together with the downsizing of the refrigerator.

The open cold chamber is provided with a first inner side panel, a second inner side panel, and an inner wall surface between the bottom of the first inner side panel and the second inner side panel provided inside the frame. , An inner cold air circulation path formed between the inner panel, the side and bottom of the frame, and the inner cold air provided at the top of the first inner side panel. It is desirable to further include a cool air outlet for blowing cool air from the circulation path into the frame, and an air suction port provided on the second inner side panel for sucking air from the frame into the internal cool air circulation path.

With the above configuration, it is possible to provide a cooling coil in the internal cool air circulation path or to send cool air from the refrigerator installed outside the frame to the internal cool air circulation path on the first side panel side. For this reason, since the cool air circulating through the wall portion inside the frame is blown out from the first side panel side, the distance for drawing the cool air from the refrigerator to the first side panel is reduced, and the heat generated when the cool air is drawn from the refrigerator is reduced. Losses can be minimized.

Further, since the cool air is blown out from the upper portion of the first side panel, the atmosphere rises, and the cool air having a higher specific gravity than the atmosphere moves into the frame, thereby contributing to the cooling of foods and the like. Therefore, since the amount of entrained air is small, the amount of supply of cool air can be reduced, and a large energy saving effect can be obtained. It goes without saying that the refrigerator can be downsized.

The above-mentioned open cold chamber has a second
It is desirable to further arrange a cooling coil for cooling the sucked air in the internal cool air circulation path between the side panel and the second inner side panel.

[0012] The air discharged from the exhaust port to the internal cool air circulation path,
The cool air whose temperature has risen a little in the frame is efficiently cooled by the cooling coil, thereby further increasing the cooling on the second side panel side and the bottom panel side and reducing the load on the refrigerator. Further, since the cooling coil is attached to the side part and there is room for the cold air having a large specific gravity cooled to about 0 ° C. to be pushed downward, the energy required for circulation can be reduced. As a result, the refrigerator can be reduced in size, and the manufacturing cost and the operating cost can be reduced.

[0013] In the above-mentioned open cold chamber, it is desirable to further arrange a fan for enhancing the suction from the air suction port in front of the cooling coil.

[0014] The cooling efficiency of the cooling coil can be increased by the fan, and energy saving can be further promoted. Further, it is possible to quickly reach the target refrigeration temperature in the unsteady operation such as at the start of operation.

In the above-mentioned open cold chamber, the rotation axis of the fan has a cross section orthogonal to the side surface and the bottom surface.
It is desirable to be arranged obliquely from a direction parallel to the side surface.

By tilting the axis of the fan, the thickness of the internal cool air circulation path formed between the fan and the second side panel can be reduced. If the thickness of the cooling coil is set to be small, the thickness of the internal cool air circulation path can be made small.
As a result, when the worker standing on the side of the frame processes the workpiece placed in the frame surrounded by the internal cool air circulation path, it is not necessary to lean excessively and the burden on the waist and the like is reduced. Can be reduced.

In the above-mentioned open cold chamber, a plurality of cooling coils are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the second side panel, and each cooling coil is partitioned by a partition plate orthogonal to the side surface and the bottom surface. desirable.

As described above, by partitioning between the cooling coils by the partition plate, the cooling efficiency is improved, and further energy saving can be promoted. Further, the time required to reach the target refrigeration environment state from the start of operation can be shortened. The longitudinal direction refers to a direction orthogonal to the above-described cross section orthogonal to the side surface and the bottom surface. The same applies to the following description.

The above-mentioned open cold chamber is provided with a lower frame for mounting a frame, which is smaller than the bottom panel in a plan view, below the bottom panel, and the lower frame has an internal cold air circulation path. It is desirable that a refrigerator for supplying cool air is housed therein, and warm air, which is exhaust gas of the refrigeration cycle, is exhausted from the refrigerator to outside the lower frame.

One advantage of mounting the refrigerator on the lower frame is that:
This is to make effective use of the dead space. Another advantage is that the toes can be placed under the frame so that the body leans on the frame to reduce the fatigue of the worker. Still another great advantage is that warm air, which is exhaust gas in the refrigerating cycle of the refrigerator, is blown to the feet, fingers, etc. of the worker, so that the temperature environment of the worker is maintained more favorably. Another advantage is that refrigerant can be introduced from the refrigerator into the internal cool air circuit without having to circulate the refrigerant over long distances.

In the above-mentioned open cold chamber, one of the side and the bottom of the frame is separated by a separating portion along the longitudinal direction, and the frame portion composed of the side and the bottom is separated by the separating portion. A first unit and a second unit that are integrated into one unit, and the first unit and the second unit are approached from both sides of the conveyor so as to associate the separation unit, and a lower frame including wheels. It is desirable to be attached to a conveyor by being connected on the lower frame and mounted on the lower frame.

The three members of the first side panel, the second side panel, and the bottom panel are integrated into two units, and each of the two units is assembled from the side on the lower frame. Therefore, the open cold chamber can be easily attached to an existing conveyor by associating the units from both sides with the conveyor in the middle, in addition to the effect of the smooth movement by the wheels. As a result, there is no need for a strong ceiling or pillar structure for attaching a conveyor, a heat insulating material, or the like, and it is possible to reduce equipment construction costs. In addition, since each unit can be separated, maintenance such as cleaning is easy, so that it is possible to maintain good hygiene.

In the above-mentioned open cold chamber, the first side panel is separated along the longitudinal direction of the side surface, and the separated portions are connected to each other by a hinge, and the upper first side panel portion is formed. Is desirably arranged to rotate outside the frame.

By dividing the first side wall panel into two parts and connecting them with hinges, the upper panel is structured to fall outward.
The suspended bottom plate can be easily removed for cleaning, and perfect cleaning can be easily performed in daily work by making full use of water and a brush.

In the above-mentioned open cold chamber, it is desirable that a part for closing the open upper part of the frame is further provided.

In the part of the frame where no work is being performed, leaving the upper part open causes energy loss. For this reason, in the non-working part, for example, it is possible to further promote energy saving by using a closing part closed by a closing material such as a winding type thin film.

[0027]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of an open cold chamber according to Embodiment 1.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the open cold chamber shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 1, this open cold chamber is mainly a frame 10 which is an open-top refrigerator.
And a lower frame 6 on which the frame body 10 is mounted. A caster 31 for facilitating movement is attached to the lower frame. The outer surface of the frame body 10 is constituted by the first side panel 1, the second side panel 2, and the bottom panel 3, and the first inner side panel 35 and the second inner side panel 37
And the inner bottom panel 36 form an inner surface. The inner bottom panel 36 extends between the bottoms of the first inner side panel 35 and the second inner side panel 37. The first side panel 1 is divided into two parts, connected to each other by hinges 5, and arranged such that an upper panel part is turned outward. In addition, a drain hole 15 is provided in the bottom panel 3, and a gentle slope is provided toward the drain hole. The bottom panel 3 is divided into a first bottom panel 7 and a second bottom panel 8, and a connecting portion 33 is provided at the boundary. The first bottom panel 7 is integrated with the first side panel 1 to form a first unit 21, and the second bottom panel 8 is integrated with the second side panel 2 to form a second unit 22. Therefore, the above-described connecting portion 33 is also a connecting portion between the first unit and the second unit.

The internal cool air circulation path 4 is composed of the panels 1, 2, and 3 forming the outer surface and the panels 35 and 3 forming the inner surface.
6 and 37, and has a cool air outlet 11 for blowing cool air into the refrigerated space and an air inlet 12 for sucking air from the refrigerated space. Also, five fans 13 along the longitudinal direction in the internal cool air circulation path on the side of the second side panel,
The same number of cooling coils 14 as a pair with a fan is provided. A refrigerator 9 is housed in the lower frame 6, and cool air cooled by the refrigerator is supplied to an internal cool air circulation path (a supply path is not shown). In addition, a caster 31 is attached to the lower frame so as to facilitate movement.

Referring to FIG. 2, lower frame 6 has discharge port 45 for discharging warm air, which is the exhaust gas of the refrigerating cycle in refrigerator 9, drain pad 44, thermometer 41, and timer 4
2 and a temperature control thermo 43.

Next, the above-mentioned operational characteristics and the functional effects related thereto will be described. First, since the upper part of the open cold chamber is open, the worker can process food only by reaching his / her hand to a cooled food or the like from the upper part in a room kept at an appropriate temperature. For example, the conveyor 20 can be inserted into the frame, the lunch box can be placed on the conveyor, and the work of putting the lunch box on the sufficiently cooled lunch box can be performed while the worker is in an appropriate temperature environment. In FIG. 1, cold air flows from a cold air outlet 11 to an air inlet 12.
However, since the inside of the frame is sufficiently frozen even if the air volume is not so large, the amount of entrained ambient air can be reduced. Further, since the warm air goes upward and the cool air goes downward, the inside of the frame is efficiently kept at a cool temperature. As a result, it is possible to maintain an appropriate temperature environment for the worker, secure the sanitary condition of the food, reduce the size of the refrigerator, and save energy. Also,
Since there is no need for a strong ceiling or pillar structure for mounting a refrigerator, a conveyor, a heat insulating wall, and the like, it is possible to reduce equipment construction costs.

In FIG. 1, the cooling coil 14 and the fan 1
One advantage of arranging 3 on the side is that the specific gravity is 0 ° C.
Because there is room for cold air cooled down to the bottom,
The point is that circulating energy can be saved. Also,
Another advantage is that even if food debris etc. falls on the bottom panel, if there is nothing on the bottom panel, maintenance such as cleaning can be easily done, and it is very preferable from sanitary management. It is.

The advantage of making the axis of the fan oblique is to avoid a situation in which the operator has to lean out excessively and have to reach into the frame. That is,
As shown in FIG. 3, the widths of the first upper handrail 27 and the second upper handrail 28, which are extensions of the first side panel and the second side panel, are all reduced as much as possible to reduce the burden on the worker's waist and the like. To do that. As a result, the burden is reduced even in a long-time operation, and the operation is facilitated.

One advantage of providing a lower frame 6 having a smaller planar dimension than the frame at the lower portion of the frame 10 and mounting the refrigerator 9 on the lower frame is that dead space can be effectively utilized. is there. Another advantage is that, as shown in FIG. 3, the toes can be placed under the frame so that the body leans on the frame, thereby reducing the fatigue of the worker. Still another great advantage is that warm air, which is exhaust gas in the refrigerating cycle of the refrigerator 9, is blown to the feet or fingers of the worker,
The temperature environment of the worker can be more favorably maintained.

The advantage that the above-mentioned panel is divided into the first unit 21 and the second unit 22 is that the conveyor 20 is mounted in the frame body and the surroundings of the conveyor are set in a cold and hot environment, for example, a work for filling in a lunch box. It is possible. Further, the above-described unit can be disassembled to facilitate cleaning and maintenance.

The structure in which the first side wall panel is divided into two parts and connected by a hinge, and the upper panel is tilted outward, so that perfect cleaning can be easily performed in daily work by making full use of water and a brush. That's why. In this case, it is desirable to make the space between the lining plate and the bottom panel large enough to receive the tip of the brush.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a storage portion of the cooling coil of the open cold chamber. In FIG. 4, a storage room for a cooling coil (not shown) is partitioned by each partition plate 34. By partitioning each cooling coil with a partition plate, the cooling efficiency of the cooling coil is increased, and energy saving can be further promoted.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 5 is a front sectional view showing a state in which two conveyors are mounted on two open cold chambers according to the present invention. FIG. 6 shows a side view of FIG. Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, since the food on the conveyor needs to be kept at a low temperature, the width of the conveyor is limited to the frame 10.
Must be narrower than the inside width. In addition, for supporting the conveyor, the length of the space between the support stands 18 of the conveyor needs to be equal to or slightly longer than the length of the open cold chamber. It is desirable that the height of the support stand can be adjusted by the height adjuster 19. There is a gap between the open cold chambers corresponding to the thickness of the support stand, but it is desirable to close this gap with a heat insulating material from the viewpoint of energy saving.

With the above configuration, the required number of conveyors can be connected, and the worker can work in a health-friendly environment while keeping the food in a cold environment.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments of the present invention disclosed above are merely examples, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Not something. The scope of the present invention is:
It is indicated by the description of the claims, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the description of the claims and all modifications within the scope thereof.

[0041]

According to the present invention, energy can be saved.
An open cold chamber capable of maintaining the freshness of food while ensuring an appropriate temperature environment for the worker can be provided. This open cold chamber incorporates a structure that pursues hygiene management and a structure that does not place a burden on each part of the worker's body, making it possible to manage food hygiene and ensure a good working environment for workers. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an open cold chamber according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the open cold chamber shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a working posture of a worker in an open cold chamber shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a cooling coil housing section of the open cold chamber shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an open cold chamber according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the open cold chamber shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st side panel, 2nd side panel, 3 bottom panel, 4 internal cold air circulation path, 5 hinges, 6 lower frame, 7
1st bottom panel, 8 2nd bottom panel, 9 refrigerator, 1
0 frame, 11 cold air outlet, 12 air inlet, 13
Fan, 14 cooling coil, 15 drain hole, 16 upper roll of conveyor, 18 support stand, 19 height adjuster, 20 conveyor, 21 first unit, 22
2nd unit, 27, 28 upper handrail, 31 caster, 33 connecting part, 34 partition plate, 35 first inner side panel, 36 inner bottom panel, 37 second inner side panel, 41 thermometer, 42 timer, 43 temperature control Thermo, 44 drain pad, 45 exhaust port

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masahiro Yamamoto 3-5-1, Nihonbashi-honmachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Joint building Daikin Plant Co., Ltd. First Division F-term (reference) 3L045 AA06 BA02 CA02 DA01 EA01 GA07 HA03 KA03 PA04

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An open cold chamber which surrounds a conveyor for transferring food from both sides and has an open upper part, wherein a first side panel (1) and a second side panel facing each other.
(2) and a frame (1) having a bottom panel (3) connecting the bottoms of the first side panel and the second side panel.
0), and cool air supply means (9, 1) for blowing cool air into the inside of the frame.
1, 12 and 14). 2. A first inner side panel (35), a second inner side panel (37), and the first inner side panel (37) provided inside the frame body.
An inner bottom panel (36) forming an inner wall surface between the bottoms of the inner side panel and the second inner side panel; these inner panels (35, 36, 37); 2) and a bottom portion (3), an internal cool air circulation path (4) formed between the first internal surface panel (35), and from the internal cool air circulation path to the frame body. A cool air outlet (11) for blowing cool air; and an air inlet (12) provided on the second inner side panel (37) for sucking air from the inside of the frame into the internal cool air circulation path. The open cold chamber according to claim 1, comprising: 3. A cooling coil (14) for cooling the sucked air is provided in the internal cool air circulation path (4) between the second side panel (2) and the second inner side panel (37). 3. The open cold chamber according to claim 2, further comprising: 4. The open cold chamber according to claim 3, further comprising a fan (13) arranged on the air inlet side of the cooling coil (14) for enhancing suction from the air inlet. . 5. The open cold according to claim 4, wherein a rotation axis of the fan is arranged obliquely oblique from a direction parallel to the side surface in a cross section orthogonal to the side surface and the bottom surface. Chamber. 6. A plurality of cooling coils (14) are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the second side panel (2), and a partition plate (34) orthogonal to the side surface and the bottom surface for each cooling coil.
The open cold chamber according to any one of claims 3 to 5, which is partitioned by: 7. The frame body, which has a dimension smaller than the bottom panel in a plan view under the bottom panel (3).
A lower frame (6) for mounting the (10) is provided, and a refrigerator (9) for supplying cool air to the internal cool air circulation path (4) is housed in the lower frame, and the warm air, which is the exhaust gas of the refrigeration cycle, is The open cold chamber according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the air is exhausted from the refrigerator to the outside of the lower frame (6). 8. A side part (1, 2) and a bottom part of the frame body.
Either of (3) is separated by a separating portion (33) along the longitudinal direction, and the frame portion composed of the side portions (1, 2) and the bottom portion (3) is integrated by the separating portion, respectively. The first unit (21) and the second unit (22) are separated from each other, and the first unit and the second unit are approached from both sides of the conveyor (20) so as to associate the separation unit. The open cold chamber according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the open cold chamber is attached to the conveyor by being connected on the lower frame provided with wheels (31) and mounted on the lower frame. 9. The first side panel (1) is separated along a longitudinal direction of the side surface, and the separated portions are connected to each other by a hinge (5), and an upper first side panel is provided. An open cold chamber according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the part is arranged to rotate outside the frame. 10. The open cold chamber according to claim 1, further comprising a closing part for closing an open upper part of the frame body.