JP2009019790A - Stirring freezing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stirring freezing device capable of freezing, in particular, granular food and the like in a parted state without mechanically stirring it, and simplifying its structure, with respect to the freezing device continuously charging products such as food to the freezing device and taking out the product after termination of freezing. <P>SOLUTION: This stirring freezing device has a first conveyor having a freezing compartment in a heat insulating tunnel and conveying granular food from a carry-in port, a second conveyor disposed at a lower part of the first conveyor and conveying the granular food to a carry-out port at a speed lower than that of the first conveyor, and a plurality of injection nozzles disposed at intervals in the direction intersecting with the conveying direction of the first and second conveyors, at a lower part of belt going-portions of the first and second conveyors. A wind velocity of the first injection nozzles is higher than that of the second injection nozzles so that the conveyed granular food is floated by the cold air jetted from a lower part, and the first injection nozzles are disposed at equal intervals so that the floated granular food can return to the belt going-portion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is a freezing device capable of continuously feeding a product such as a food into a freezing device and taking out the product after the freezing is completed, and particularly stirring and freezing that stirs granular food and the like in a rose shape It relates to the device.

In recent years, freezing devices for freezing granular foods such as cooked rice and minced vegetables have been used as demand for frozen foods increases.
For example, a refrigeration processing chamber having a cooling air outlet for introducing and cooling air at the lower part and an exhaust port at the upper part, and a large number of ventilation holes through which the cooling air passes at the bottom part. And a round dish-shaped processing container placed in and out of the cooling air outlet, and provided in the freezing processing chamber so as to be movable up and down, and around an automatic axis substantially concentric with the processing container on the cooling air outlet. In addition, a freezing apparatus including a loosening mechanism having a loosening roller that extends in a radial direction so as to be rotated about the rotation axis is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  As a result, the processing object in the processing container is mechanically scraped sequentially by a loosening roller that rotates while rotating in the processing container almost concentrically, and all the processing objects in the processing container are forcibly made efficient. It can be loosened evenly by scraping well, and the rose is frozen by exposing each grain to the cooling air while further promoting the roseting by the blowing force of the cooling air blown from the bottom of the processing container. Is something that can be done.

Further, conventionally, the first conveyor belt in the step of applying vibrations to the conveyor belt to separate the granular foods, freezing the surfaces with cold air from below, and preventing mutual joining, and then the central part of the granular foods A two-stage freezing apparatus having a second conveyor belt in the process of freezing to a maximum is also known.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-153943

  In the configuration as in Patent Document 1, in the configuration, the object to be processed in the processing container is sequentially unraveled while being scraped up by a swirling unwinding roller, and is also unraveled while being scraped from above by the unwinding roller. Even if it is a sticky rice, it is possible to make it evenly rose evenly, but if the granular food freezes in a certain lump, it is mechanically forced to loosen. When stirred by the action, the granular food may be broken, and the commercial value is lowered.

  Further, in the conventional technique in which the conveyor belt is vibrated to separate the granular foods and freeze the surface, an element that imparts vibration to the conveyor belt must be provided separately, and the structure cannot be simplified. Further, since the granular food is mechanically vibrated, the granular food may be damaged by the friction between the granular food and the conveyor belt.

  Therefore, the present invention solves such problems, and is a freezing device that can continuously put products such as food into the freezing device and take out the products after freezing, It is an object of the present invention to provide an agitation freezing apparatus that freezes granular food and the like in a rose shape without mechanical agitation and simplifies the structure.

  In order to solve the above problem, the stirring and freezing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a first conveyor belt having a freezing chamber in a heat insulating tunnel and conveying granular food from a carry-in port, and Located below the first conveyor belt and in a position parallel to the extension of the first conveyor belt, the granular food falling from the first conveyor belt is automatically received and lower than the first conveyor belt. It has a second conveyor belt that transports it to the carry-out port at a speed, a cold air recovery port that collects the cold air in the freezing chamber, and a cold air collecting means that sucks and collects the cold air in the freezing chamber, and heat exchange of the cold air for cold air A cool air recovery chamber to be sent to the means, a cool air heat exchange means for cooling the cool air from the cool air recovery chamber, a cool air supply chamber for supplying the cool air from the cool air heat exchange means to an injection nozzle, and the plurality of injections Nozzle The granular food that is transported by securing a gap in the direction intersecting the transport direction of the first and second conveyor belts below the belt moving portion of the first and second conveyor belts. So that the air speed of the first injection nozzle below the first conveyor belt is larger than the air speed of the second injection nozzle below the second conveyor belt, so that the air is floating. The first injection nozzles are arranged at equal intervals so as to return to the belt moving part.

According to invention of Claim 1 which concerns on the stirring freezing apparatus of this invention, when a granular food is conveyed to the position of a 1st injection nozzle in a 1st conveyor belt, it will be 2nd from many through-holes in a conveyance belt. Since cold air having a higher wind speed than the jet nozzle is ejected, the granular food floats upward. Further, since the first injection nozzles are provided at equal intervals along the longitudinal direction of the freezing chamber, no cold air is ejected in the region between the adjacent first injection nozzles. Is returned onto the conveyor belt.
By repeating this floating and returning process, the granular food can be agitated in a rose shape without making it into a fixed lump joined together, and it can be frozen with only a frozen part on the surface part. Can do.
Accordingly, the granular food can be formed into a rose shape without mechanical stirring, and only the surface portion can be frozen. Therefore, the granular food is not damaged and the commercial value is not lowered.
Furthermore, since a mechanical stirring structure is not provided, the structure can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced as compared with the conventional product.
In the second conveyor belt, the granular food is conveyed at a lower speed than the first conveyor belt, so that it can be frozen to the center so as not to have a boundary part between the unfrozen part and the frozen part. .

  Hereinafter, an agitation freezing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an overall simplified front view of a stirring and freezing apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an overall simplified front view of the stirring and freezing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention cut in the longitudinal direction. FIG. 3 is an enlarged end face simplified view of the stirring and freezing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention cut along line AA in FIG. FIG. 4 is a simplified enlarged end face view of the stirring and freezing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention cut along line BB in FIG. FIG. 5 is a simplified diagram showing a state in which the surface of the object to be frozen is frozen in advance and the inside is not frozen. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the first and second injection nozzles in the stirring and freezing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  An embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The basic structure of the stirring and freezing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the freezing apparatus (Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-205191) invented and implemented by the applicant.

  An embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The agitation freezing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a freezing chamber 6, a cold air recovery port 7, a blower 8, a cold air recovery chamber 9, a cold air supply chamber 10, a first conveyor belt 11, and a second conveyor belt in an insulated tunnel 1a. 12, a cool air heat exchange means 13, a plurality of first injection nozzles 14 and a second injection nozzle 15.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the heat insulating tunnel 1a has a substantially rectangular cross section. A door portion 1b that opens to the front is provided in front of the agitation freezing apparatus 1, and the door portion 1b is opened so that inspection, cleaning, and the like in the heat insulating tunnel 1a can be performed.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inner side of the heat insulating tunnel 1 a is divided into a freezing chamber 6, a cold air recovery chamber 9, and a cold air supply chamber 10 by a partition wall provided along the longitudinal direction. The freezing chamber 6 is provided on the left side in FIGS. 3 and 4 with the inside of the heat insulating tunnel 1a partitioned by a partition wall. The cold air supply chamber 10 is provided on the right side of the freezing chamber 6 in FIGS.

  The cold air recovery chamber 9 is provided above the freezing chamber 6 and on the left side of the cold air supply chamber 10 in the figure. As will be described later, the freezing chamber 6, the cold air recovery chamber 9, and the cold air supply chamber 10 each have a communicating portion, and the cold air is the freezing chamber 6, the cold air recovery chamber 9, and the cold air supply chamber 10. Is forced to circulate.

  The freezing chamber 6 is a section in which the granular food F to be transported is frozen by cold air. As shown in FIG. 2, the freezing chamber 6 is continuous from one end to the other end in the longitudinal direction in the heat insulating tunnel 1a. On one end side in the longitudinal direction of the freezing chamber 6, a carry-in port 1 c for supplying the granular food F into the freezing chamber 6 is provided. On the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the freezing chamber 6, a carry-out port 1 d for taking out the granular food F from the freezing chamber 6 is provided.

  The first conveyor belt 11 includes a conveyor belt 11a having a belt forward movement portion 11b and a belt backward movement portion 11c, a driving pulley 11d, a driven pulley 11e, and a motor (not shown) for operating the driving pulley 11d. The belt 11 a is provided for transporting the granular food F in the freezing chamber 6. As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyor belt 11 a is constructed so as to penetrate the inside of the freezing chamber 6 from the carry-in port 1 c of the freezing chamber 6 to the central portion of the stirring freezing device 1. In addition, the positional relationship between the drive pulley 11d and the driven pulley 11e can be any drive side.

  The second conveyor belt 12 includes a conveyor belt 12a having a belt forward movement portion 12b and a belt backward movement portion 12c, a driving pulley 12d, a driven pulley 12e, and a motor (not shown) for operating the driving pulley 12d. The belt 12 a is provided for transporting the granular food F in the freezing chamber 6. As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyor belt 12 a is positioned below the first conveyor belt 11 so as to have two stages, and is disposed at a position parallel to an extension line of the first conveyor belt 11. At a position where the granular food F falling from the conveyor belt 11 can be automatically received, it passes through the freezing chamber 6 from the central portion of the stirring freezing device 1 to the carry-out port 1d of the freezing chamber 6. It is erected. In addition, the positional relationship between the drive pulley 12d and the driven pulley 12e can be either on the drive side. The second conveyor belt 12 operates at a lower speed than the first conveyor belt 11.

The conveyor belts 11a and 12a are endless and are formed of a thin steel plate made of stainless steel having a large number of through holes and high thermal conductivity. The diameter of the through hole is selected according to the size of the granular food F to be conveyed. Moreover, the said conveyor belts 11a and 12a are not restricted to a stainless steel plate, According to the said granular food F to be conveyed, it can also replace with belts made from resin.
Moreover, in the said conveyance belt 12a, since it mentions later, the said granular food F is not floated by cold air, Therefore It is not necessary to have many through-holes like the said conveyance belt 11a.

  The cold air recovery chamber 9 is a section that recovers the cold air in the freezing chamber 6 and sends the cold air to the heat exchanger 13 for cold air. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a cold air recovery port 7 is provided on the left side of the cold air recovery chamber 9 at a position separated from the cold air supply chamber 10. The cold air recovery port 7 is provided to connect the cold air recovery chamber 9 and the freezing chamber 6 so as to recover the cold air in the freezing chamber 6 into the cold air recovery chamber 9. A blower 8 serving as cold air collecting means is provided inside the cold air collection port 7, and the cold air in the freezing chamber 6 is collected in the cold air collection chamber 9 by the blower 8. The supply chamber partition wall 2 between the cold air recovery chamber 9 and the cold air supply chamber 10 is formed with the recovery chamber communication hole portion 3 that allows the cold air recovery chamber 9 and the cold air supply chamber 10 to communicate with each other.

  The cold air heat exchanging means 13 is a portion for exchanging heat with air using a refrigerant to cool the air. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cool air heat exchanging means 13 is provided in the cool air recovery chamber 9 and between the cool air recovery port 7 and the cool air supply chamber 10. The cold air recovered by the blower 8 from the cold air recovery port 7 comes into contact with the cold air heat exchanging means 13 and is cooled by exchanging heat with the refrigerant. The cold air collected by the blower 8 and cooled by the cold air heat exchanging means 13 enters the cold air supply chamber 10 from the recovery chamber communication hole portion 3 that connects the cold air recovery chamber 9 and the cold air supply chamber 10. Sent. Moreover, although the said heat exchange means 13 for cold air was installed in the heat insulation tunnel 1a, you may install in the exterior of the heat insulation tunnel 1a.

  The cold air supply chamber 10 is a portion that takes in the cold air cooled by the cold air heat exchanging means 13 and supplies it to the first injection nozzle 14 and the second injection nozzle 15. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cold air supply chamber 10 is provided on the right side of the freezing chamber 6 along the longitudinal direction of the freezing chamber 6. The freezing chamber partition 4 that partitions the cold air supply chamber 10 and the freezing chamber 6 is provided with a freezing chamber communication hole 5 that communicates with the first injection nozzle 14 and the second injection nozzle 15. A plurality of freezing chamber communication holes 5 are provided, and are arranged at equal intervals along the longitudinal direction of the freezing chamber 6 in two stages, ie, the first injection nozzle 14 side and the second injection nozzle 15 side. ing. The freezing chamber communication hole 5 is provided slightly below the belt forward movement portion 11b in the transport belt 11a and slightly below the belt forward movement portion 12b in the transport belt 12a.

  The first injection nozzle 14 is a portion that sends the cold air from the cold air supply chamber 10 in the width direction of the conveyor belt 11a and injects the cold air toward the belt moving portion 11b of the conveyor belt 11a. The second injection nozzle 15 is a portion that sends the cold air from the cold air supply chamber 10 in the width direction of the conveyor belt 12a and injects the cold air toward the belt moving portion 12b of the conveyor belt 12a. .

  FIG. 6 shows the first injection nozzle 14 and the second injection nozzle 15, but the first injection nozzle 14 and the second injection nozzle 15 have substantially the same shape, and both of them are the injection unit main body 14a. , 15a, jetting slits 14e, 15e, and cool air guide spaces 14f, 15f. The first injection nozzle 14 and the second injection nozzle 15 are composed of cross-sectional right members 14b and 15b, cross-sectional left members 14c and 15c, and lid members 14d and 15d, which are formed by bending a thin stainless steel plate, respectively. Has been. These are welded to form jet main parts 14a and 15a, jet slits 14e and 15e, and cool air guide space parts 14f and 15f of the first jet nozzle 14 and the second jet nozzle 15. One end of each of the ejection unit main bodies 14a and 15a is an opening, and the other end is closed by lid members 14d and 15d.

The injection unit main bodies 14a and 15a are portions that communicate with the cold air supply chamber 10 and guide the cold air to below the conveyor belts 11a and 12a. As shown in FIG. 6, the inside of the injection unit main bodies 14 a and 15 a is a space for guiding cold air.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the ejection unit main bodies 14 a and 15 a have a length that straddles the conveyor belts 11 a and 12 a in the width direction. A flange portion 17 for attaching to the freezing chamber partition wall 4 is formed at one end (opening side) of the injection portion main bodies 14a, 15a.

The ejection slits 14e and 15e are portions for injecting cold air toward the lower surfaces of the belt moving portions 11b and 12b of the conveyor belts 11a and 12a. The ejection slits 14e and 15e formed away from the ejection unit main bodies 14a and 15a are formed to be in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction of the conveyance belts 11a and 12a, and the conveyance belt 11a, Cold air is injected in a direction that intersects the conveying direction of 12a.
Further, since it is not necessary to inject cold air from the freezing compartment partition wall 4 to the conveying belts 11a and 12a, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the injection slits 14e and 15e are provided with a closing portion 14g, 15g is provided. As a result, it is possible to inject only a portion requiring cold air, and the thermal efficiency is also good.

  The cold air guide spaces 14f and 15f guide the cold air from the jet main bodies 14a and 15a to the jet slits 14e and 15e, and the cold air jetted from the jet slits 14e and 15e is in a state close to a laminar flow. It is a part to do. As shown in FIG. 6, the cold wind guide spaces 14f and 15f are provided between the jetting main bodies 14a and 15a and the jetting slits 14e and 15e. The width of the cold air guide space portions 14f and 15f is substantially the same as the width of the ejection slits 14e and 15e.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the first injection nozzle 14 and the second injection nozzle 15 are provided below the belt moving portion 11b of the conveying belt 11a and the belt moving of the conveying belt 12a. It is located below the portion 12b and is provided in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the conveying belts 11a and 12a, and is provided at equal intervals in the conveying direction of the conveying belts 11a and 12a. The flange portion 17 in the first injection nozzle 14 and the second injection nozzle 15 is fixed to the freezing chamber partition 4. Further, the other ends of the first injection nozzle 14 and the second injection nozzle 15 are supported on the sides of the conveying belts 11a and 12a.
Further, the first injection nozzle 14 is set to have a higher wind speed than the second injection nozzle 15. Although details will be described later, the granular food F can be floated on the first conveyor belt 11.
At this time, the granular food F is floated on the first conveyor belt 11, but the granular food F is not floated on the second conveyor belt 12. Therefore, the second spray nozzles 15 need not be provided at equal intervals. However, it can also be frozen using a cooling device other than the second injection nozzle 15.

  The hopper 16 has inclined plates 16a and 16b, is installed at both ends in the width direction of the first conveyor belt 11 and the second conveyor belt 12, and protrudes upward from the both ends. The inclined plates 16a and 16b face each other, and the widths of the inclined plates 16a and 16b widen upward, the tip of the inclined plate 16a abuts against the wall surface of the heat insulating tunnel 1a, and the tip of the inclined plate 16b is the heat for cold air. It abuts on a gantry on which the exchange means 13 is installed. Accordingly, the granular food F does not spill from both ends of the first conveyor belt 11 and the second conveyor belt 12.

Next, the operation of the stirring and freezing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The granular food F supplied from the carry-in entrance 1c is transported by the first conveyor belt 11, so that only the surface portion is frozen while being stirred in a rose shape.
Specifically, when the granular food F is transported to the position of the first injection nozzle 14, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, cold air is ejected from the through holes to the transport belt 11a. Therefore, the granular food F floats upward.
In addition, in the region between the adjacent first injection nozzles 14, cold air is not ejected, so the granular food F is returned onto the transport belt 11 a.
By repeating this buoyancy and reversion process, the granular food F can be stirred in a rose shape without making it into a fixed lump joined together. Furthermore, in the first conveyor belt 11, for example, the granular food F is transported at a transport distance of 2.6 m in 30 seconds and is transported at a speed about 6 times higher than that of the second conveyor belt 12. As shown in FIG. 5, it is frozen so that it has a frozen portion F2 on the surface portion and an unfrozen portion F1 on the center portion.

In this way, the granular food F which is stirred in a rose shape and has the frozen portion F2 only on the surface portion is moved to the second conveyor belt 12 below.
In the second conveyor belt 12, for example, the granular food F is transported at a transport distance of 2.6 m in 3 minutes, and the granular food F is transported at a lower speed of about 1/6 than the first conveyor belt 11. The Moreover, since the wind speed of the second spray nozzle 15 is set lower than that of the first spray nozzle 14, the granular food F does not float upward, and cold air is concentrated and sprayed.
Since it is conveyed to the vicinity of the carry-out port 1d in this state, it can be frozen to the center so as not to have a boundary portion F3 between the unfrozen portion F1 and the frozen portion F2.

According to the stirring and freezing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the first spray nozzles 14 are provided at equal intervals along the longitudinal direction of the freezing chamber 6 in the first conveyor belt 11. Therefore, when the granular food F is transported to the position of the first injection nozzle 14, since the cold air is ejected from the many through holes to the transport belt 11a, the granular food F is floated upward, In the area between the adjacent first injection nozzles 14, no cold air is jetted out, so the granular food F is returned onto the transport belt 11 a.
By repeating this buoyancy and return process, the granular food F can be stirred in a rose shape without making it into a fixed lump joined together, and it has a frozen portion F2 only on the surface portion. Can be frozen.
Thereby, since the granular food F can be made into a rose shape without mechanical stirring and only the surface portion can be frozen, the granular food F is not damaged and the commercial value is not lowered.
Furthermore, since a mechanical stirring structure is not provided, the structure can be simplified and the cost can be reduced as compared with the conventional product.
Further, in the second conveyor belt 12, the granular food F is conveyed at a speed that is about 1/6 lower than that of the first conveyor belt 11, and the second injection nozzle 15 is the first injection nozzle. Since the wind speed is set to be smaller than 14, the granular food F does not float upward, and cold air is concentrated and sprayed.
Since it is conveyed to the vicinity of the carry-out port 1d in this state, it can be frozen to the center so as not to have a boundary portion F3 between the unfrozen portion F1 and the frozen portion F2.

1 is an overall simplified front view of a stirring and freezing apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is the whole simplified front view which cut | disconnected the stirring freezing apparatus 1 which concerns on Example 1 of this invention in the longitudinal direction. It is the expansion end surface simplified drawing which cut | disconnected the stirring freezing apparatus 1 which concerns on Example 1 of this invention by the AA line of FIG. It is the expansion end surface simplified drawing which cut | disconnected the stirring freezing apparatus 1 which concerns on Example 1 of this invention by the BB line of FIG. It is a simplified diagram showing a state in which the surface of the object to be frozen is first frozen and the inside is not frozen. It is sectional drawing of the 1st and 2nd injection nozzle in the stirring freezing apparatus 1 which concerns on Example 1 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Stirring freezing apparatus 1a Heat insulation tunnel 1b Door part 1c Carrying-in entrance 1d Carrying-out outlet 2 Supply chamber partition 3 Collection room communication hole 4 Freezing chamber partition 5 Freezing chamber communication hole 6 Freezing chamber 7 Cold air recovery port 8 Blower 9 Cold air recovery chamber 10 Cooling air supply chamber 11 First conveyor belt 11a Conveying belt 11b Belt forward moving part 11c Belt backward moving part 11d Driving pulley 11e Driven pulley 12 Second conveyor belt 12a Conveying belt 12b Belt forward moving part 12c Belt backward moving part 12d Driving pulley 12e Followed Pulley 13 Cold air heat exchanging means 14 First injection nozzle 14a Injection section main body 14b Cross-section right side member 14c Cross-section left side member 14d Cover member 14e Injection slit 14f Cold air guide space section 14g Closed section 15 Second injection nozzle 15a Injection section main section 15b Cross section Right member 15c Cross-sectional left member 15d Lid member 15e Injecting slit 1 f cold air guiding space part 15g closure 16 hopper 16a, 16b inclined plate 17 flange F granular food F1 unfrozen portion F2 frozen portion F3 boundary

Claims (1)

Has a freezing chamber in an insulated tunnel,
A first conveyor belt for conveying granular food from the carry-in port;
It is located below the first conveyor belt and in a position parallel to the extended line of the first conveyor belt, and automatically accepts the granular food falling from the first conveyor belt, so that it is lower than the first conveyor belt. A second conveyor belt that transports to a carry-out port at a low speed;
A cold air recovery port for collecting the cold air in the freezing chamber;
Having cold air collecting means for sucking and collecting the cold air in the freezing chamber,
A cool air recovery chamber for sending the cool air to the heat exchanger for cool air;
Cold air heat exchange means for cooling the cold air from the cold air recovery chamber;
A cold air supply chamber for supplying cold air from the heat exchange means for cold air to the injection nozzle described later;
The plurality of spray nozzles are disposed below the belt moving portions of the first and second conveyor belts,
A gap is provided in a direction crossing the conveying direction of the first and second conveyor belts,
The wind speed of the first injection nozzle below the first conveyor belt is made larger than the wind speed of the second injection nozzle below the second conveyor belt so that the granular food to be conveyed floats in the cold air jetted from below. ,
An agitation freezing apparatus, wherein the first injection nozzles are arranged at equal intervals so that the granular food that has floated returns to the belt forward movement portion.

Images