JP2001017140A - Immersion type freezing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an immersion type freezing apparatus capable of suppressing binding and deformation of materials to be frozen even when a water-rich and soft material to be frozen is frozen and freezing the material to be frozen in good shape and loosen state. SOLUTION: A groove-like guide part 2 composed of plural grooves 6 in the direction perpendicular to advancing direction of a material A to be frozen is installed in the bottom of an immersing tank 1 and a conveying means 5 for successively conveying the material A to be frozen in a groove of the groove-like guide part 2 to the following groove is installed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an immersion-type freezing apparatus, and more particularly to an immersion-type freezing apparatus suitable for freezing a food having a large amount of water on its surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a general freezing apparatus for freezing food, a food placed on a conveyor is passed through a tunnel or a refrigerator which is cooled at a low temperature, so that the food is deprived of heat and frozen. However, in this method, when freezing foods having a high moisture content on the surface, for example, foods such as raw oysters, scallops, and shiratama, the moisture on the food surface is frozen on the conveyor,
Conveyor and food are bound. In this state, if the food is forcibly peeled off from the conveyor, the shape of the food may be lost. To avoid this, the conveyor surface is sometimes covered with a sheet made of fluororesin or the like. However, also in this case, since there is a difference in the freezing speed depending on the portion of the food, another inconvenience occurs that the upper surface which is easily exposed to the cool air has not been frozen, even if the upper surface has been completely frozen. In addition, foods may be bound together.

In order to solve such problems, an immersion type freezing apparatus has been devised in which an object to be frozen such as food is put into an immersion tank filled with a freezing refrigerant such as liquefied nitrogen and frozen.
A conventional immersion freezing apparatus is formed such that a conveyor on which an object to be frozen is placed passes through an immersion tank.

[0004]

However, even in this case, if the objects to be frozen are simply put into the immersion tank, the objects to be frozen may be bound to each other. In order to do so, it is necessary to put the objects to be frozen into the immersion tank separately, and there is a problem that the apparatus becomes large for a predetermined processing amount.

[0005] Furthermore, the introduced food is deformed by its own weight and freezes while conforming to the shape of the upper surface of the conveyor, making it difficult to make the shapes uniform. For example, food that has fallen into the groove between the plates of the conveyor will have the shape of the groove. In particular, in the case of soft foods such as raw oysters, scallops, and shiratama, the lower part was deformed and the original shape could not be maintained.

Further, since a conveyor is provided from the bottom of the immersion tank to the take-out section, a large amount of freezing refrigerant is required for pre-cooling when starting up the apparatus, and the evaporation loss during operation is also large.

Therefore, the present invention provides an immersion type freezing method that can suppress the binding and deformation of the objects to be frozen and freeze the objects in a good shape in a loose shape even when the material to be frozen is frozen with a large amount of water. It is intended to provide a device.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an immersion freezing apparatus for immersing an object to be frozen in a refrigerant for freezing in an immersion tank to freeze the object. At the bottom of the immersion tank, a groove-shaped guide portion comprising a plurality of grooves in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the frozen object is provided, and the frozen object in the groove of the groove-shaped guide portion is placed in the next groove. It is characterized in that a transport means for sequentially transporting is provided.

[0009]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an immersion type freezing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a sectional front view, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an operation state. First, an immersion-type freezing apparatus includes an immersion tank 1 for storing a freezing refrigerant C such as liquefied nitrogen, a groove-shaped guide 2 provided at the bottom of the immersion tank 1, and a starting end of the groove-shaped guide 2. And a discharge conveyor 4 for discharging the frozen material B from the terminal end of the groove-shaped guide portion 2, and a feeding conveyor 3 for discharging the frozen material B from the terminal end of the groove-shaped guide portion 2. It is formed by a conveying means 5 for conveying from the start end to the end.

The groove-shaped guide portion 2 is formed by providing a plurality of rows of semicircular arc-shaped grooves 6 having an axis in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the frozen object A at equal intervals. Is set in accordance with the size of the frozen object A, and is generally formed larger than the frozen object A.

The conveying means 5 includes a groove 6 of the groove-shaped guide portion 2.
The delivery plate 7 provided corresponding to the installation state of the
A pair of guide plates 9, 9 are installed above the first and second delivery plates 7 of the transporting means 5 so as to expand upward. . By providing such guide plates 9 and 9, it is possible to guide the frozen object A dropped from the charging conveyor 3 so as to fall into the first row or the second row of the grooves 6.

The connecting member 8 is supported by supporting means 10 such as a plurality of rotating arms and a rotating disk provided on the side wall of the tank. The supporting means 10 includes a driving means such as a motor provided outside the tank. A power transmission means 12 such as a rod or a chain is connected to the source 11. That is, by operating the drive source 11, the transporting means 5 is formed so as to be able to perform a circumferential motion or a circular motion corresponding to the bottom shape of the groove 6.

Next, with reference to FIG. 2, a state in which the transporting means 5 transports the frozen object A from the start end to the end of the groove-shaped guide portion 2 will be described.

FIG. 2A shows a state in which the frozen object A has fallen into the first row of grooves 6a.
Falls into the groove 6a in accordance with the position of the guide plates 9, 9, ie, the positions of the first and second sending plates 7a, 7b. Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (B), the delivery plate 7a descends from the starting end of the groove 6a along the bottom surface by the circumferential movement of the conveying means 5, and further, as shown in FIG. 2 (C). When the delivery plate 7a moves along the bottom surface of the groove 6a,
The object A to be frozen is pushed along the bottom surface of the groove 6a in the direction of the next groove 6b. Then, as shown in FIG.
When the delivery plate 7a reaches the ridge between the adjacent grooves 6a and 6b, the frozen object A is moved by the delivery plate 7a to the next row of grooves 6b.
And naturally falls into the next row of grooves 6b by gravity.

In this manner, the frozen object A is placed in the first row of grooves 6.
The feed plate 7a conveyed from a to the next row of grooves 6b passes above the first row of grooves 6a as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2), the position returns to the initial position, that is, the position shown in FIG. The frozen object A falling from the charging conveyor 3 is shown in FIG.
When the guide plates 9, 9 exist at the positions (C) to (E), they fall into the grooves 6b in the second row.

The transport means 5 carries out the above-described circumferential movement to sequentially transport the frozen object A in each groove into the next groove, and the frozen object A in the terminal groove. (Frozen material B whose surface is frozen) is transferred to the discharge conveyor 4.

As described above, the frozen object A falling into the groove 6
Are sent to the grooves 6 in sequence by the sending plate 7, so that the frozen object A can be frozen while moving, so that the lower surface is not deformed or the shape of the transport device is not attached. In addition to being able to freeze in a uniform shape, it is possible to prevent the objects to be frozen from adhering to each other.

The shape of the groove 6 is not limited to the above-mentioned semicircular shape, but may be a parabolic shape or an asymmetric U-shape. Further, the groove 6 and the delivery plate 7 may be formed of a blind-shaped member without being formed of a plate-shaped material.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The outer dimensions are 1.6 m in length, 1.0 m in width, and 0.5 m in height, and the immersion part is 1.3 m in length, 0.7 m in width,
At the bottom of the immersion tank with a maximum depth of 0.3m, effective width 0.6m,
Ten rows of semicircular grooves having a pitch of 75 mm were provided. In addition, the exit side (next row side) of the groove was formed into a shape having a straight inclined surface to facilitate the delivery of the frozen object. All equipment materials were stainless steel, and liquefied nitrogen was used as a refrigerant for freezing.

The cycle of the conveying means was 1 second, and fresh oysters were thrown in at a rate of 300 pieces per minute. As a result, good surface freezing was confirmed in a dipping time of about 10 seconds. Approximately 100% frozen shape
With respect to the oysters, an elliptic frozen product having a length of about 5 to 7 cm without bending or crushing was obtained. In addition, the amount of liquefied nitrogen used was reduced by about 20% as compared with the conventional apparatus.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even if the food has a large water content and is easily deformed, the food can maintain its original shape and be efficiently frozen in a rose shape without binding the foods. Further, the amount of the refrigerant for freezing can be reduced, and the start-up time of the apparatus can be shortened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional front view showing an embodiment of an immersion freezing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation state of the immersion type freezing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Immersion tank, 2 ... Groove guide part, 3 ... Conveyor for charging,
4 ... Conveyer for discharging, 5 ... Conveying means, 6 ... Groove, 7 ... Sending plate, 8 ... Connecting member, 9 ... Guide plate, A ... Frozen object

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An immersion type freezing apparatus for immersing an object to be frozen in a freezing refrigerant in an immersion tank and freezing the object, wherein a plurality of objects in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the object to be frozen are provided on the bottom of the immersion tank. An immersion type freezing apparatus, comprising: a groove-shaped guide portion formed of a groove; and a transporting means for sequentially transporting a frozen object in a groove of the groove-shaped guide portion into a next groove.