JP2002218862A - Low-temperature water tank for live fish transportation - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To develop an apparatus for transporting live fishes by a simple, small-sized container while keeping their lives. SOLUTION: Water in a cooler box thermally insulated by a heat insulating material is kept at a low temperature by cooled air and simultaneously oxygen is supplied to water. Further a heat conduction plate to be cooled by a Peltier element is immersed in water in the container and the temperature is dropped to make the live fishes in a torpid state in water. Consequently, the consumption of oxygen is extremely controlled, the existence of the live fishes are maintained and their freshness is retained. When the live fishes are returned to normal- temperature water, the live fishes recover activity in an original state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water tank for transporting a small amount of raw fish, wherein the water temperature in the tank is kept low, and the raw fish falls into a hibernation state to minimize the momentum thereof, thereby maintaining the freshness of the fish. The present invention relates to a low-temperature water tank for transporting raw fish.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to transport raw fish from a fishing port or aquaculture ponds to a consuming area, a method has been adopted in which a large water tank with an oxygen supply device is installed on a car carrier and the raw fish is filled with seawater to swim the fish. Was.

[0003] Raw fish transported using such a large aquarium is intended for fish markets and large restaurants, and small users, especially ordinary households, have hardly received raw fish. . However, it is well known that among fish caught in fishing ports, there are many fish that can be enjoyed locally but are not compatible with general markets, and there is a potential for purchasing such fish if they are available alive. There is no doubt that there are many consumers.

[0004] Recently, with the development of the expressway network and the increase of courier services, the production site is directly connected to the home, so that fresh agricultural products and the like can be easily obtained in household units. Similarly, realization of such a home delivery for raw fish is awaited.

[0005]

There is no other way to transport fish alive than by using the above-described large transport tank, and it has been almost impossible to obtain raw fish at home. . In order to achieve this, it is necessary to develop one or several living tanks.

Further, in a conventional aquarium, raw fish are constantly consuming energy due to swimming in the water, and no matter how oxygen is supplied to the water, the vitality and freshness of the fish are deteriorated. , Its commercial value will also decrease. In order to prevent the deterioration of the quality of raw fish, the fish in the transport tank should be in a state close to the so-called hibernation state, and their movements should be extremely restricted, and furthermore, the fish body should not be damaged by vibration during transportation. It is necessary to develop a transport tank that makes this possible.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an insulated container (hereinafter referred to as an insulated container) having an insulating structure such as a normal cooler box containing raw fish. The raw fish is put together with water into the water, and air cooled at a low temperature is blown into the water, and the water temperature is kept at 10 ° C. or lower, preferably 5 ° C. or lower at the same time as oxygen is supplied. It is a simple method of transporting raw fish by means of hibernation.

[0008] According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first aspect is provided.
One end or one surface of the heat conductive metal plate cooled by the cooling device is immersed in the water in the cold storage container to further lower the water temperature, whereby the water temperature is 10 ° C., preferably 5 ° C. Keeping below, the raw fish will go into hibernation and their survival and freshness will be better preserved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the transport container can be more easily carried by using an electronic cooling device as a cooling device, and power is supplied from a battery mounted on an automobile. This also enabled the transport of raw fish at the level of private vehicles.

In the invention according to the fourth aspect, the volume of the live fish in the container is reduced by inserting a buffer block into the cool box to minimize the amount of water. This makes it easier to maintain the water temperature for hibernation with the low-temperature air.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the volume of the live fish in the container can be reduced and the amount of water can be minimized by using a variable volume hollow body as the buffer block. The hollow body is filled with any one of ice, ice water, air, and the like.
Thereby, a desired water temperature can be more easily obtained, and
Will be maintained.

In the invention according to claim 6, air supplied to the water in the low-temperature tank for transporting live fish is passed through a refrigerant cooled by an electronic cooling device or the like, so that the air in the tank for transporting live fish is provided. Cooling was made more efficient.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a low-temperature aquarium for transporting live fish according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a central cross-section showing a low-temperature aquarium for transporting raw fish according to the first embodiment. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state in which a buffering block and raw fish are put in a low-temperature water tank, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a low-temperature water tank for transporting raw fish of Example 2, and FIG. 5 is an electric wiring of components in FIG. FIG. 6 and FIG. 6 show an electronic cooling / heating element (hereinafter referred to as a Peltier element).
7 is a cross-sectional view of a low-temperature water tank showing a third embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the lid in FIG. 7 as viewed from above.

The low-temperature water tank for transporting live fish according to the present invention is a heat-insulated and cool container having a heat-insulating structure usually called a cooler box, or an equivalent cool-insulated container. Water (fresh water or salt water suitable for fish's habitat) is filled here, and further, raw fish is put therein. In addition, the structure is such that the cooled air that has passed through the air cooling cylinder is discharged into the water.

Water and raw fish are put into this low-temperature tank for transporting raw fish, and low-temperature air is discharged from the air cooling cylinder into the water, thereby lowering the water temperature to the hibernation temperature of the fish, maintaining the temperature, and maintaining the temperature in the water. It supplies oxygen. In addition, raising the typical hibernation temperature of the fish, the tie is 3-4 ° C (freezing point temperature -1.2 ° C),
4 ℃ (-1.5 ℃), horse mackerel, mackerel, sardines 7-8 ℃
(-1.2 ° C), salmon is 0 to -1 ° C (-2.2 ° C).
℃), flounder is 0-0.5 ° C (0--0.5 ° C),
Snow crab is 0-1 ° C (-2.2 ° C), carp is 0-0
1 ° C (-1 ° C), crucible 0-1 ° C (-0.7 ° C),
0-1 ° C for eels (-2 ° C), 2-3 ° C for prawns
(-2.2 ° C), scallop is 0-1 ° C (-2 ° C)
Therefore, the water temperature is adjusted according to each fish species. Therefore, when the cooling air becomes insufficient in capacity, the temperature of the water is lowered by adding an electronic cooling device to the low temperature water tank for transporting the raw fish, the raw fish is hibernated, the movement is stopped, and the energy is reduced. It minimizes wear. Hereinafter, the embodiment will be specifically described.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of a low-temperature water tank 1 for transporting raw fish according to the first embodiment. A cold container 2 which is a main body of the water tank 1 is made of a heat insulating material such as foamed plastic. It is. At the bottom of the container 2, an intermediate portion 10a
The air pump P is connected to the other end of the air pipe 10 in which the tip 10b of the air pipe 10 arranged to pass through the air cooling cylinder 20 is inserted. It should be noted that a bubble discharge hole 1 is formed on the tip 10b of the air discharge pipe 10 on the circumference.
0c is set for one or more.

An intermediate portion 10a of the air discharge pipe 10
The air cooling cylinder 20 into which is inserted is not particularly limited in its structure. It is sufficient that the air cooling cylinder 20 has an ability to cool the air continuously discharged into the above-mentioned cooling container 2 to 10 ° C., preferably 5 ° C. or less. is there. The air cooling cylinder 20 shown in FIG. 1 will be described as an example. The main body is a metal container 20a that is made of a good heat conductive material such as aluminum,
This container 20 is filled with a refrigerant M such as ethylene glycol. A Peltier element 5 is attached to one surface of the container with its cooling side in contact with the other surface, and the other part is covered with a heat insulating material 20b. A middle part 10 of the air discharge pipe 10
a is inserted. The Peltier element 5 is connected to a power source such as a battery (not shown), and the temperature of the refrigerant M is controlled by an attached temperature sensor and temperature control device (neither is shown but FIG. 6 can be referred to). At a predetermined temperature. Although not shown, the metal container 2 is simply put in a separate heat-insulating container.
It is also possible to cool the refrigerant by accommodating Oa and dry ice together, thereby cooling the air.

It is desirable that the air discharge pipe 10 is a good heat conductive pipe made of aluminum or the like, and that the intermediate portion 10a is formed in a spiral or meandering shape and stored in the refrigerant M. Thereby, the pipe 1
The air within 0 is more reliably cooled, and the water temperature can be easily controlled by the air discharged from the bubble discharge hole 10c at the pipe tip 10.

As described above, the temperature of the water W in the cool container 2 is lowered by the cooling air, but it is necessary to further lower the temperature depending on the type of fish. Therefore, it is reasonable to minimize the amount of water W in the cold storage container in order to make the cooling more reliable. For that purpose, the buffer block 3 is inserted into the cold storage container 2 ( (Figure 3) The strategy was adopted. As the buffer block 3, a flexible block such as a foamed plastic is mainly used. By inserting the block 3, the fish body is not damaged by the vibration of the container, and the oxygen concentration in the water by the cooling air is also improved, so that the living environment of the raw fish is improved.

The cushioning block 3 in FIG. 1 is an accordion-like bag formed of a soft sheet such as plastic as shown in a perspective view in FIG. 2, and air or water is injected from an injection nozzle 3n. Is used for any volume. Further, when water is injected into the bag, the buffer block 3 is frozen by a refrigerator or the like and inserted into the cold storage container 2 to further lower the water temperature in the container, thereby stabilizing the hibernation temperature. It is easy to maintain, and even if the ice melts, it does not mix with the salt water in the cold storage container 2 and thus maintains the living environment of the fish.

As shown in FIG. 3, the buffer block 3 to be inserted into the cool container 2 is desirably attached to the front, rear, left and right of the fish body. In actual use, the accordion type block 3 and the fish body are connected to each other. It is desirable that the space be divided by a block of foamed plastic. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, reference numeral 9 denotes a lid, but since cooled air is always discharged into the cool container 2, a slight gap is provided in fitting with the cool container, or air is removed. It is desired to open the hole.

(Embodiment 2) The apparatus shown in FIG. 4 is provided with a device for further cooling the water filled in the cooling container 2. That is, openings 2b, 2b sufficient for inserting and attaching the Peltier element 5 are provided on the two to four side walls of the cold storage container 2, and the openings 2b, 2b,
Heat conductive plates 4 and 4 (for example, an aluminum plate or a copper plate) are attached so as to close liquid-tight 2b from the inside.

The heat conducting plate 4 has the openings 2b, 2b
The Peltier element 5 inserted from above is attached with its low-temperature side end face in close contact with the Peltier element 5, and the blower 6 is attached directly to the high-temperature side end face of the Peltier element 5 or to a fin 5f (FIG. 6) protruding from the end face. Air is blown from the air to cool it.

The cooling container 2 shown in FIG. 4 is further provided with a temperature sensor 7 for measuring the water temperature in the cooling container 20.
Is mounted at an appropriate position, and it is possible to maintain a predetermined water temperature together with the temperature controller 8.

These electric components, that is, the Peltier element 5, the blower 6, the temperature sensor 7, the temperature controller 8, and the air pump P are connected by a circuit C as shown in FIG. 5, for example, and are connected to a power supply.

As the power source, a battery B (FIG. 2), which is mainly loaded in an engine room of an automobile and used for starting an engine and turning on a headlight, is used. Of course, a separate battery for use in the aquarium 1 may be used.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment shown in FIG. 7 will be described. FIG. 7 shows a case where a normal cooler box is used as a cool container of the main body. Lid body 12 that fits and covers main body 11 excluding its lid (not shown)
Is formed by lining a heat insulating material 13 such as foamed plastic, and has a depression 13a formed in the center of the inside thereof, and a ventilation opening 13b extending from one side of the lid 12 to the opposite side is formed in the depression 13a. It is formed by crossing.

A fin 15f is attached to the high-temperature side end surface of the Peltier element 15, and a heat-conducting plate 14 is adhered to the other low-temperature side end surface. Most of the plate 14 is formed in an appropriate shape such as being distorted so as to be submerged in the container body 11.

The Peltier device 15 thus formed is inserted into the depression 13a on the back surface of the lid until the fin 15f intersects with the ventilation port 13b, and the side surface of the Peltier device 15 is liquid-tightly covered. It is attached to the back surface of the lid 12 via a flange portion 16a of the cylindrical body 16. The fin 15f is connected to the ventilation port 1 as shown in FIG.
3b is cooled by air from a blower fan 17 previously installed in one opening, and is exhausted to the other opening. The temperature sensor 10 is hung from the back of the lid.

As described above, the lid 12 of the third embodiment is fitted and covered by replacing the lid with a box provided with a heat insulating material called a normal cooler box to form the low temperature water tank 1 for transporting raw fish. . In this case, most of the heat conductive plate 14 is submerged in the container.

Embodiments 1 to 3 having the above configuration
The low-temperature aquarium 1 for transporting raw fish is wired as shown in FIG. Pre-cooled water and raw fish are put in the water tank 1 and the lid 9 is used in the first and second embodiments.
However, in the third embodiment, the lid 12 is fitted and covered. Then, a DC power supply from the automobile is connected. In the first embodiment, the air that has passed through the cooling cylinder 20 is sent into the water. In the second and third embodiments, the temperature of the water in the water tank is further cooled by conduction from the Peltier element 5 and is previously determined by the temperature controller 8. Temperature, for example 2 ° C. Further, the cooled air is subsequently discharged into the water in the container, and the predetermined temperature is maintained by the temperature controller. The water temperature in this water tank is desirably set to a temperature at which the raw fish loses athletic ability. Although described above as 2 ° C., it is necessary to appropriately adjust the temperature in relation to the area where fish live.

[0032]

The low-temperature aquarium for transporting live fish according to the present invention employs a method of preventing a rise in water temperature by passing cooled air through the water in the aquarium. The air also supplied oxygen at the same time, and the survival of live fish was more reliable.

In the first to third embodiments, since the water tank itself is a cooler box having a heat insulating structure, the water once cooled to the set temperature by the Peltier element does not easily rise. Therefore, a large amount of energy is not required to maintain the temperature, and a battery mounted on an automobile can be used.

According to the third embodiment, the lid 12 of the present invention is attached to the commercially available cooler box during transportation by car.
Is fitted to cover the living fish to survive, and when getting off, the fish can be replaced with the original lid and carried. The courier keeps the lid 12 in the car, transports the live fish at a low temperature in combination with an inexpensive cooler box, and delivers it to the delivery destination together with the inexpensive cooler box, so that a profitable home delivery is possible. Become.

Since the temperature of the water in the aquarium is set to a temperature at which the raw fish loses their ability to exercise, the raw fish placed in the container is extremely restricted in their ability to exercise, and the amount of oxygen consumption is also extremely high. And the exhaustion of physical strength or vitality is prevented. That is, the freshness of the raw fish is maintained.

Further, by inserting the buffer block into the cold storage container, the amount of filling water is reduced, so that it is easy to maintain a predetermined water temperature by sending cooling air into the water, and at the same time, to supply oxygen. Can be done.

By forming the buffer block into a hollow bag, the water filled therein can be frozen and inserted into the low-temperature tank for transporting raw fish, and even if the ice melts, Do not mix with water. Therefore, for example, the salt water in the tank is not desalinated, and the living environment of the fish is not destroyed.

[0038] By maintaining the freshness of the raw fish by the low temperature box of such a small container, it is possible to transport a small amount of the unit, and the courier service can be increased and its utilization can be opened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a central sectional view of a low-temperature water tank for transporting live fish according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a buffer block.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state in which a buffer block is loaded in a low-temperature tank for transporting raw fish according to the present invention, and raw fish are allowed to swim there.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a low-temperature water tank for transporting raw fish according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an example of a wiring diagram of electric components attached to a low-temperature water tank for transporting live fish.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a Peltier element mounting portion in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a central cross-sectional view of a low-temperature water tank for transporting live fish according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a top perspective view of the lid in FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Low-temperature water tank for live fish transport 2 Container 3 Buffer block 4 Heat conduction plate 5 Peltier element 6 Blower 7 Temperature sensor 8 Temperature controller 10 Air pipe 11 Main body 12 Lid 13 Heat insulation material 14 Heat conduction plate 15 Peltier element 16 Ventilation fan 20 Air cooling cylinder

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yasunobu Nabeshima 2-6-1, Sumiyoshibashi-cho, Sakai-shi, Osaka 72) Inventor Masanori Shimoda 25-8 Isojima Chaya-cho, Hirakata-shi, Osaka F-term (reference) 2B104 CA09 EC01 EC20 3L044 AA04 BA01 CA02 FA03 KA04

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A container for transporting raw fish, wherein cooled air at a temperature of 10 ° C. or less is introduced into water in a cool container. 2. An end of the heat conductive metal cooled by the cooling device is attached to a side wall in the cool box or is immersed in water in the box.
A container for transporting raw fish as described. 3. The container according to claim 2, wherein the cooling device is an electronic cooling device. 4. The container for transporting raw fish according to claim 1, wherein a buffer block is inserted into the cool box. 5. The container according to claim 4, wherein the buffer block is a bellows-like variable volume hollow body. 6. An air cooling device for a live fish transporting container, characterized in that an intermediate portion of an air pipe is immersed in a refrigerant cooled by an electronic cooling element or dry ice and air is passed through the pipe.