JP2016220635A - Vacuum freeze drying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum freeze drying apparatus capable of easily applying appropriate vacuum freeze drying processing to various kinds of food materials and cooking methods without requiring professional knowledge.SOLUTION: A vacuum freeze drying apparatus comprises a drying chamber, cooling means, decompression means and heating means, and control means for controlling each means, and the control means comprises: storage means for storing allowable heating temperature corresponding to each of types of food materials and cooking methods of objects to be dried in advance; allowable heating temperature determination means for acquiring allowable heating temperature stored in the storage means corresponding to the types of food materials and the cooking methods of an object to be dried housed in the drying chamber, and determining allowable heating temperature of the object to be dried; and heating control means for controlling the heating means such that the temperature of the object to be dried housed in the drying chamber becomes allowable heating temperature determined by the allowable heating temperature determination means or less.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum freeze-drying apparatus.

  Conventionally, as a method for producing egg soup products using a vacuum freeze-drying method, a step of charging egg soup products into a drying chamber of a vacuum freeze-drying machine, and a pressure below a predetermined pressure at which the egg soup products can be freeze-dried in a drying chamber And vacuuming the egg soup product so that the surface temperature of the egg soup product does not exceed the range of about 55 ° C. to about 60 ° C., the maximum temperature of the heating shelf is about 85 ° C. to about 230 ° C. or less. A first drying step in which the internal temperature of the egg soup product is heated by the radiant heat until the internal temperature of the egg soup product becomes substantially equal to the surface temperature, and the surface temperature of the egg soup product ranges from about 55 ° C to about 60 ° C. A second drying step in which the egg soup product is dried by heating until the water content of the egg soup product is 3% by weight or less, and the egg soup product that has been freeze-dried in the first and second drying steps is vacuum-frozen. Dryer drying Those with a step of taking out from is known (e.g., see Patent Document 1).

  Moreover, the monosaccharide and / or disaccharide is more than 5 parts by weight, and 45 parts by weight or less, and the amino acid is 0.05 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the solid content of the sweet potato paste prepared by crushing the heat-treated sweet potato. After mixing at a ratio of at least 1 part and less than 1 part by weight, adjusting the moisture value of the mixture to more than 50% and less than 90%, the mixture is heated and dried with a drum dryer so that the cooking value becomes a specific value. A method of making powder from powder is also conventionally known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2000-139427 A JP 2012-000046 A

  However, in the conventional vacuum freeze-drying apparatus (or drum dryer) shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the temperature at the time of drying is specialized for specific foods such as egg soup products or sweet potato powder and cooking methods. And the drying time is set. For this reason, for example, no consideration is given to dealing with a wide variety of foods and cooking methods in cooking at home. Setting an appropriate drying temperature and drying time in vacuum freeze-drying processing requires knowledge, skill, etc. so that the flavors of various foods and cooking methods are not impaired. However, it is extremely difficult to apply an appropriate vacuum freeze-drying process to various foods and cooking methods without losing the flavor or the like.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and appropriate vacuum freeze-drying treatment is easily performed for each type of food and cooking method without requiring specialized knowledge. It is possible to obtain a vacuum freeze-drying apparatus that can be used.

  In the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus according to the present invention, a drying chamber for storing the material to be dried, which is a food material, and a cooling step for cooling the material to be dried in the drying chamber to solidify moisture contained in the material to be dried. A cooling means for performing, a decompression means for performing a decompression step for decompressing the drying chamber to a pressure lower than a preset pressure, and the drying chamber in the drying chamber being decompressed by the decompression means. A heating means for performing a drying process for heating the product and sublimating the solidified water contained in the material to be dried, and a control means for controlling the cooling means, the decompression means, and the heating means, The control means includes a storage means for preliminarily storing a heatable temperature corresponding to each type of food to be dried and a cooking method, and depending on the type of food to be dried and the cooking method stored in the drying chamber. , The heatable temperature determining means for obtaining the heatable temperature stored in the storage means and determining the heatable temperature of the object to be dried, and the temperature of the object to be dried contained in the drying chamber is the heatable temperature. Heating control means for controlling the heating means so as to be equal to or lower than the heatable temperature determined by the determination means.

  In the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus according to the present invention, there is an effect that an appropriate vacuum freeze-drying process can be easily performed without requiring specialized knowledge for each kind of food and cooking method. .

It is a figure which shows typically the basic composition of the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure explaining the outline of the vacuum freeze-drying process of the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the temperature history of the cooling process of the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the temperature history of the drying process of the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a front view which shows an example of the display part and operation part with which the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention is provided.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are simplified or omitted as appropriate. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 to 6 relate to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a basic configuration of a vacuum freeze-drying apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus. 3 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the vacuum freeze-drying process of the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus, FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the temperature history of the cooling process of the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus, and FIG. 5 is the drying process of the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus. FIG. 6 is a front view illustrating an example of a display unit and an operation unit included in the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus includes a drying chamber 1. The drying chamber 1 is for accommodating a material to be dried 100 that is a food material. The drying chamber 1 can hermetically seal the material to be dried 100 therein.

  The vacuum freeze-drying apparatus includes a vacuum apparatus 20. The drying chamber 1 communicates with the machine chamber 30 through an air path. The vacuum device 20 is connected to the drying chamber 1 via the machine chamber 30. Therefore, the vacuum apparatus 20 can discharge the air in the drying chamber 1 to the outside of the drying chamber 1 through the machine chamber 30 to reduce the pressure in the drying chamber 1. In this way, the vacuum device 20 constitutes a decompression unit that decompresses the interior of the drying chamber 1 so as to be equal to or lower than a preset pressure.

  The vacuum freeze-drying apparatus includes a refrigeration cycle circuit. The refrigeration cycle circuit includes a first heat exchanger 31a, a second heat exchanger 31b, an expansion valve 33, a compressor 34, and the like. The first heat exchanger 31 a is disposed in the machine room 30. The compressor 34 compresses the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle circuit. The second heat exchanger 31b exhausts the heat of the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 34 to the outside. The expansion valve 33 expands the refrigerant that has passed through the second heat exchanger 31b. The first heat exchanger 31 a cools the air in the machine room 30 with the refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve 33.

  The cold air generated by being cooled by the refrigeration cycle circuit is sent into the drying chamber 1 by the fan 35 provided in the machine chamber 30. The cold air sent into the drying chamber 1 freezes the water vapor in the drying chamber 1 and cold traps it. The vacuum freeze-drying device includes a defrost device 40 that removes water vapor in the drying chamber 1 by melting the ice thus cold trapped.

  Further, the cold air generated by being cooled by the refrigeration cycle circuit is rapidly sent into the drying chamber 1 by the fan 35 provided in the machine chamber 30, and the object to be dried 100 in the drying chamber 1 is rapidly cooled. To do. In this way, the refrigeration cycle circuit and the fan 35 including the first heat exchanger 31a and the like cool the object to be dried 100 in the drying chamber 1 and solidify the moisture contained in the object to be dried 100. The cooling means to make is comprised.

  In the drying chamber 1, a heating device 50, a temperature sensor 61, a moisture sensor 62, a tray 70 and an airflow control plate 71 are provided. The heating device 50 is for heating and drying the object to be dried 100 in the drying chamber 1. The heating device 50 is preferably configured to heat moisture contained in the object to be dried 100 from both outside and inside of the object to be dried 100.

  Specifically, for example, the heating device 50 is a heater, a microwave (915 MHz to 2450 MHz) heating device, a high frequency (4 MHz to 80 MHz) generator, a convection grill, an electromagnetic induction (IH) heating device, or a combination thereof. Although it can be configured, it is not limited to these examples. The heating device 50 is a heating unit that heats the object to be dried 100 in the drying chamber 1 and sublimates the solidified water contained in the object to be dried 100.

  The tray 70 is a flat plate member on which the object to be dried 100 is placed in the drying chamber 1. The temperature sensor 61 is for measuring the temperature of the object to be dried 100 placed on the tray 70 in the drying chamber 1. The moisture sensor 62 is for measuring the moisture content of the object to be dried 100 placed on the tray 70 in the drying chamber 1. As the moisture sensor 62, for example, a capacitance type or a heat drying type can be used, but the moisture amount detection method is not limited thereto. The airflow control plate 71 is attached to an outlet portion of an air passage that leads from the machine room 30 to the drying room 1. The airflow control plate 71 is for preventing the cold air from the machine room 30 from directly hitting the object to be dried 100 on the tray 70.

  The decompression means (vacuum device 20), cooling means (compressor 34, etc.), defrost device 40, and heating means (heating device 50) configured as described above are controlled by the control device 90 shown in FIG. That is, the control device 90 is a control unit that controls the cooling unit, the decompression unit, and the heating unit. In FIG. 2, the defrost device 40 is illustrated as including a cooling means such as the compressor 34.

  The control device 90 controls the cooling means, the decompression means, and the heating means, and causes the process from Step 1 to Step 4 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 explains the relationship between the temperature and the atmospheric pressure in the drying chamber 1 in Step 1 to Step 4. First, prior to these steps, an object to be dried of one or more kinds of ingredients is placed on the tray 70 in the drying chamber 1 and the door of the drying chamber 1 is closed.

  Step 1 is a cooling step. The cooling process is a process in which the object to be dried 100 in the drying chamber 1 is cooled by a cooling means to solidify moisture contained in the object to be dried 100. This cooling process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows an example of a temperature history in the cooling process of the present embodiment.

  Depending on the method of passing through the ice crystal generation temperature zone in the cooling step, the ice crystals may become large and destroy the cell tissue, leading to a decrease in taste and texture. Therefore, in the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus according to the present invention, the cooling means is controlled so that the temperature history shown in FIG.

  That is, first, as described above, the control device 90 monitors the temperature of the object to be dried 100 with the temperature sensor 61 while controlling the air flow control plate 71 so that the cold air from the machine room 30 does not directly hit the object to be dried 100. While performing detailed control of the cooling state. And the to-be-dried object 100 is made into a supercooled state, and the surface and the inside of the to-be-dried object 100 are frozen immediately.

  By doing so, it is possible to uniformly disperse and form fine ice crystals in the material to be dried 100 and to suppress the destruction of the cell tissue. Further, since the surface and the inside of the object to be dried 100 are solidified almost simultaneously by performing the supercooling freezing, only the surface of the object to be dried is frozen, and the process proceeds to the next decompression step before the moisture in the inside is solidified. Can be prevented. And the fall of the restoring property at the time of addition by collapse (foaming shrinkage phenomenon in which steam drying occurs due to insufficient freezing) can be suppressed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when step 1 is completed, the process proceeds to step 2. Step 2 is a decompression step. The depressurizing step is a step of depressurizing the inside of the drying chamber 1 to be equal to or lower than a preset pressure by the depressurizing means. The pressure set in advance as the pressure reduction target in this pressure reduction process is 4.58 Torr or less, which is the triple point of water. Or in order to perform the drying process of the following process at a lower drying temperature, you may preset the pressure made into the pressure reduction target below 1 Torr. In addition, it is desirable to lock automatically so that the door of the drying chamber 1 cannot be opened during decompression, that is, from the start of the decompression step of Step 2 to the completion of the atmospheric pressure return step of Step 4.

  When step 2 is completed, the process proceeds to step 3. Step 3 is a drying step. In the drying step, the drying object 100 in the drying chamber 1 is heated by the heating means in a state where the pressure in the drying chamber 1 is reduced after the decompression process, and the solidified moisture contained in the drying object 100 is sublimated. It is a process to make.

  In order to control the heating device 50 in the drying process, in the vacuum freeze-drying device according to the present invention, the control device 90 as the control means includes a storage unit 91, a heatable temperature determining unit 92, and a heating unit as shown in FIG. A heating control unit 93 is provided. The memory | storage part 91 has memorize | stored beforehand the heatable temperature corresponding to each of the kind of foodstuff of the to-be-dried object 100, and a cooking method. The heatable temperature is a heating temperature at which characteristics such as taste, flavor, nutrients, and color of the object to be dried 100 do not change.

  The heatable temperature determining unit 92 determines the heatable temperature of the to-be-dried object 100 according to the type of food and the cooking method of the to-be-dried object 100 accommodated in the drying chamber 1. The determination of the heatable temperature is specifically performed as follows. That is, first, the heatable temperature determination unit 92 acquires the heatable temperature stored in the storage unit 91 corresponding to the type of food and the cooking method of the material to be dried 100 accommodated in the drying chamber 1. Then, the heatable temperature determination unit 92 determines the heatable temperature acquired from the storage unit 91 as the heatable temperature of the object to be dried 100.

  The heating control unit 93 controls the heating device 50 that is a heating unit. At this time, during the heating of the object to be dried 100 by the heating device 50, the heating control unit 93 confirms the detection result of the temperature of the object to be dried 100 by the temperature sensor 61 as needed. The heating control unit 93 controls the heating device 50 so that the temperature of the object to be dried 100 accommodated in the drying chamber 1 is equal to or lower than the heatable temperature determined by the heatable temperature determination unit 92.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of temperature changes in the drying chamber 1 and the object to be dried 100 when the heating control unit 93 controls the heating device 50 in this way. As shown in the example shown in FIG. 5, when the drying process is started, the heating control unit 93 performs heating by the heating device 50, and the internal temperature (temperature in the drying chamber 1) increases. As the internal temperature rises, the surface temperature and the internal temperature of the object to be dried 100 also rise. At this time, since the heat applied by the heating device 50 is transmitted from the surface of the object to be dried 100 to the inside, the surface temperature is maintained higher than the internal temperature.

  And before the surface temperature of the to-be-dried object 100 reaches a heatable temperature, the heating control part 93 weakens the heating by the heating apparatus 50 so that the surface temperature of the to-be-dried object 100 becomes substantially constant at a temperature below the heatable temperature. To. Thereafter, the heating control section 93 further weakens the heating by the heating device 50 so that the internal temperature of the object to be dried 100 becomes substantially constant at a temperature equal to or lower than the heatable temperature. In this way, the process of heating the object to be dried 100 until the surface temperature and the internal temperature of the object to be dried 100 are kept at a constant temperature below the heatable temperature is primary drying. Further, after the primary drying is completed, secondary drying is performed in which the surface temperature and the internal temperature of the object to be dried 100 are maintained in a constant state.

  When the moisture content in the material to be dried 100 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined amount set by the secondary drying, the heating control unit 93 stops the heating by the heating device 50 and ends the drying. In this way, the heating control unit 93 controls the heating device 50 so that both the surface and the inside of the object to be dried 100 do not exceed the heatable temperature of the object to be dried 100.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus according to the present invention includes a display unit 80, an operation unit 81, and a sound source 82. An example of the configuration of the display unit 80, the operation unit 81, and the sound source 82 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, in this example, the display unit 80, the operation unit 81, and the sound source 82 are intensively provided on the operation panel of the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus.

  The display unit 80 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display. The display unit 80 can display various information regarding the operation and state of the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus. Here, the operation unit 81 employs a touch panel type. Therefore, in this example, the touch panel serves as both the display unit 80 and the operation unit 81, and the display unit 80 and the operation unit 81 are integrally formed. Note that the operation unit 81 may be configured with various buttons, switch dials, and the like instead of the touch panel, and may employ a voice input method. Further, the display unit 80 and the operation unit 81 may be provided separately.

  The sound source 82 is a sound ringing device such as a speaker. The sound source 82 emits a sound that informs the user that all the steps of vacuum freeze-drying have been completed and the object to be dried 100 is ready to be removed from the drying chamber 1. The sound to be activated at this time may be an alarm sound or a voice message. Further, the sound source 82 may sound a warning sound when there is an abnormality in the apparatus, a warning sound when the object 100 or the apparatus body is hot, or the like.

  The operation unit 81 is an input means for inputting the type of food and the cooking method of the object to be dried 100 accommodated in the drying chamber 1. In addition, each of the combination of the kind of foodstuff and a cooking method is expressed as "menu" here. If the menu is specified, the type of ingredients and the cooking method are determined. Therefore, the user of the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus operates the first operation unit 81a of the operation unit 81 and designates a desired menu, thereby easily selecting the type of ingredients and the cooking method of the object 100 to be dried. Can be entered.

  And the heatable temperature determination part 92 determines as the heatable temperature of the said to-be-dried object 100 based on the kind and cooking method of the to-be-dried object 100 input by the operation part 81 which is an input means. In other words, the heatable temperature determination unit 92 sets the heatable temperature stored in the storage unit 91 corresponding to the type of food and the cooking method of the object 100 input by the operation unit 81. Determine as heatable temperature.

  In addition, the operation unit 81 serving as an input unit can input a plurality of types of ingredients and cooking methods for the object to be dried 100 accommodated in the drying chamber 1. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the user can specify a plurality of menus at a time using the operation unit 81 (first operation unit 81a). Then, the heatable temperature determination unit 92, when the types of ingredients and the cooking method of the plurality of objects to be dried 100 are input by the operation unit 81 (when a plurality of menus are specified), The lowest thing among the heatable temperatures memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 91 corresponding to the kind and cooking method of the to-be-dried material 100 is determined as a heatable temperature.

  Specifically, when the menu A and the menu B are freeze-dried at the same time as in the example shown in FIG. 6, if the heatable temperature of the menu A is 40 ° C. and the heatable temperature of the menu B is 60 ° C., the heatable temperature The determination part 92 determines 40 degreeC which is the heatable temperature of the menu A as the heatable temperature in this vacuum freeze-drying process. And the heating control part 93 controls the heating apparatus 50 so that 40 degreeC which is the heatable temperature of the menu A is not exceeded.

  The heating control unit 93 controls the drying temperature of the drying process so that the temperature of the object to be dried 100 is equal to or lower than the heatable temperature, and also controls the drying time of the drying process. Specifically, the drying time of the drying process is determined according to the drying temperature as the time necessary for the moisture content of the object to be dried 100 to be equal to or less than a predetermined amount set in advance. At this time, when the types of ingredients and the cooking method (menu) of the plurality of objects to be dried 100 are input to the operation unit 81 serving as input means, the heating control unit 93 performs the input of the plurality of these objects to be dried. The drying time of the drying process is changed in accordance with the drying temperature so that the moisture content of the food 100 of the food 100 having the maximum moisture content is equal to or less than a predetermined amount set in advance. Let

  At this time, in the drying process, the heating control unit 93 confirms the moisture content or moisture content of the material to be dried 100 from time to time by the moisture sensor 62. And the heating control part 93 corrects drying time according to the measured value of the moisture content of the to-be-dried object 100. FIG. For example, the drying process is terminated and the process proceeds to the next process. At the beginning of the drying process, control is performed so that heating is performed until the set drying time. However, the moisture sensor (electric capacity type, heating If the moisture content or water content is below the specified value in a shorter time than the initial drying time by correcting the drying time from the measurement results by any method such as a drying type, shorten the drying time. Finish the drying process and move on to the next process. Conversely, if the moisture content or water content does not fall below the specified value in the initial drying time, the drying time is extended so that the next process is not performed with insufficient drying.

  Note that it is possible to input at least one or more of the drying temperature, the drying time, and the moisture content of the object to be dried in the drying process by the operation unit 81 as an input means. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the drying temperature and the drying time in the drying process can be input by the second operation unit 81 b of the operation unit 81. And the heating control part 93 controls the heating apparatus 50 which is a heating means based on the drying temperature, the drying time, and the moisture content of the to-be-dried material input by the operation part 81 which is an input means.

  Or the operation part 81 which is an input means may select and input any one of drying time and the moisture content of a to-be-dried object. And the heating control part 93 is based on the one input by the operation part 81 among the drying time and the moisture content of the to-be-dried object, and the other (one which was not input) of the drying time and the to-be-dried object moisture content. You may make it control and the heating apparatus 50 which is a heating means.

  Here, when the user can input the drying temperature by the operation unit 81, the drying temperature input by the operation unit 81 as an input unit exceeds the heatable temperature determined by the heatable temperature determination unit 92. In some cases, the notification control unit 94 included in the control device 90 controls one or both of the display content of the display unit 80 and the sounding content of the sound source 82, and the input drying temperature is the temperature at which the object to be dried 100 can be heated. The user is informed that it exceeds the limit. In other words, the display unit 80, the sound source 82, and the notification control unit 94 that controls the display unit 80, the drying temperature input by the operation unit 81 serving as input means exceeds the heatable temperature determined by the heatable temperature determination unit 92. The notification means for notifying the user of that fact is configured.

  In addition to such notification contents, the display unit 80 normally has, for example, the type and cooking method (ie, menu) of the food to be dried 100 and the drying process as shown in FIG. Various information such as temperature (drying temperature) and time (drying time) can be displayed. Further, the display unit 80 displays the time until all the steps of vacuum freeze-drying are completed, the time when all the steps are completed, and the object to be dried 100 can be taken out, the temperature in the drying chamber 1 and the object to be dried 100, the object to be dried You may make it display the moisture content of the thing 100, or the moisture content.

  In addition, information regarding these menus (types of ingredients of the object to be dried 100 and cooking method), the heatable temperature of the objects to be dried and the drying time corresponding to each menu is stored in the storage unit 91. Then, the user can operate the operation unit 81 to select a desired menu, thereby pulling out information related to the menu from the storage unit 91 and displaying it on the display unit 80.

  In addition, although the memory | storage part 91 was demonstrated above as what is incorporated in a vacuum freeze-drying apparatus, it is not restricted to this. For example, the storage unit 91 may be provided in a server or the like outside the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus, and the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus and the server or the like provided with the storage unit 91 may be communicably connected via a communication network or the like. Further, the storage unit 91 of the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus or the server may be accessible from a terminal such as a smartphone via a communication network or the like. And you may enable it to update the information memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 91 from a terminal.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the drying step in step 3 is completed, the process proceeds to the atmospheric pressure return step in step 4. The atmospheric pressure return step is a step of introducing outside air into the drying chamber 1 and returning the pressure in the drying chamber 1 to the outside pressure. When the pressure in the drying chamber 1 returns to the external pressure, the entire process of vacuum freeze-drying is completed, and the control device 90 automatically unlocks the door, and the object 100 to be dried is displayed by the display unit 80, the sound source 82, and the like. The user is informed that it may be removed from the drying chamber 1.

  In addition, although the structure of the single unit of the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus was demonstrated above, you may make it incorporate a vacuum freeze-drying apparatus in another apparatus. As another apparatus incorporating the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus configured as described above, for example, a refrigerator is suitable. In this case, it is preferable that the ice making room is used as the machine room 30 and the switching room is used as the drying room 1 by connecting the ice making room and the switching room of the refrigerator by an air passage. By doing in this way, it becomes unnecessary to newly install a room only for a vacuum freeze-drying apparatus in a refrigerator. Furthermore, it is possible to make ice without supplying water by cold trapping the water sublimated from the material to be dried in the vacuum freeze-drying process on the ice-making tray in the ice-making chamber which is the machine room 30.

  In the vacuum freeze-drying apparatus configured as described above, the control device 90 that controls the cooling means (refrigeration cycle circuit and fan 35, etc.), the decompression means (vacuum device 20), and the heating means (heating device 50) includes: In accordance with the storage unit 91 that stores in advance the heatable temperature corresponding to each of the types of ingredients and the cooking method of the dried product 100, and the types of ingredients to be dried 100 and the cooking method stored in the drying chamber 1, The heatable temperature determining unit 92 that acquires the heatable temperature stored in the storage unit 91 and determines the heatable temperature of the object to be dried 100, and the temperature of the object to be dried 100 accommodated in the drying chamber 1 are A heating control unit 93 that controls the heating device 50 so as to be equal to or lower than the heating possible temperature determined by the heating possible temperature determination unit 92.

  For this reason, even those who do not have knowledge about vacuum freeze-drying in general households and those who are not yet skilled in heating temperature control, do not deteriorate the taste, flavor, nutrients, etc. A suitable vacuum lyophilization process can be easily applied to each of the methods.

  In addition, an operation unit 81 that is an input unit for inputting the type of food and the cooking method of the object to be dried 100 accommodated in the drying chamber 1 is provided, and the heatable temperature determination unit 92 is input by the operation unit 81. By determining the heatable temperature stored in the storage unit 91 corresponding to the type of food and the cooking method of the dried object 100 as the heatable temperature of the dried object 100, Appropriate vacuum freeze-drying can be performed by specifying the type and cooking method.

  In addition, a plurality of types of ingredients and cooking methods for the object to be dried 100 accommodated in the drying chamber 1 can be input by the operation unit 81 as input means, and the heatable temperature determination unit 92 is input by the operation unit 81. The lowest thing is determined as a heatable temperature among the types of ingredients of the plurality of dried objects and the heatable temperature of the cooking method. In addition, the heating control unit 93 has a predetermined amount in which the moisture content of the food to be dried is the maximum among the types of ingredients and the cooking method of the plurality of materials to be dried input by the operation unit 81. The drying time of the drying process is changed according to the drying temperature so as to be as follows. By doing in this way, a vacuum freeze-drying process can be performed at once without deteriorating taste, flavor, nutrients and the like for a plurality of food types and cooking methods.

  It is possible to input a drying temperature, a drying time, and a moisture content of an object to be dried in the drying process by an operation unit 81 that is an input unit, and a heating control unit 93 inputs a drying temperature, a drying time, and an object to be dried that are input by the operation unit 81. By controlling the heating device 50 based on the moisture content of the product, the user can finely set the drying temperature, the drying time, and the moisture content of the material to be dried according to necessity or preference.

  At this time, if the drying temperature input by the operation unit 81 exceeds the heatable temperature determined by the heatable temperature determination unit 92, the input is performed by notifying the user to that effect. It is possible to notify the user that there is a risk that the taste, flavor, nutrients, etc. of the ingredients may be impaired at the drying temperature, and prompt the user to input an appropriate drying temperature. In addition, in the operation unit 81 which is an input means, only one of the drying time and the moisture content of the material to be dried can be selectively input, and the other which is not input is automatically determined so that the user The drying process can be performed so as not to exceed the heatable temperature while following the desired.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Drying chamber, 20 Vacuum apparatus, 30 Machine room, 31a 1st heat exchanger, 31b 2nd heat exchanger, 33 Expansion valve, 34 Compressor, 35 Fan, 40 Defrost apparatus, 50 Heating apparatus, 61 Temperature sensor 62 Moisture sensor, 70 tray, 71 airflow control board, 80 display unit, 81 operation unit, 81a first operation unit, 81b second operation unit, 82 sound source, 90 control device, 91 storage unit, 92 heatable temperature Determining unit, 93 heating control unit, 94 notification control unit, 100 to-be-dried object

Claims (7)

A drying chamber for storing the food to be dried;
A cooling means for cooling the object to be dried in the drying chamber and performing a cooling step for solidifying moisture contained in the object to be dried;
Decompression means for performing a decompression step of decompressing the drying chamber below a preset pressure;
A heating unit for performing a drying step of heating the material to be dried in the drying chamber and sublimating the solidified water contained in the material to be dried in a state where the pressure in the drying chamber is reduced by the pressure reducing unit;
Control means for controlling the cooling means, the pressure reducing means and the heating means,
The control means includes
Storage means for preliminarily storing the heatable temperature corresponding to each of the types of ingredients to be dried and the cooking method;
According to the kind of ingredients and cooking method of the to-be-dried object accommodated in the said drying chamber, the heatable temperature memorize | stored in the said memory | storage means is acquired, The heatable temperature which determines the heatable temperature of the to-be-dried object A determination means;
A vacuum freeze-drying apparatus comprising: a heating control unit that controls the heating unit such that a temperature of an object to be dried housed in the drying chamber is equal to or lower than a heatable temperature determined by the heatable temperature determination unit. An input means for inputting the type of food to be dried and the cooking method stored in the drying chamber;
The heatable temperature determining means uses the heatable temperature stored in the storage means corresponding to the type of food to be dried and the cooking method input by the input means as the heatable temperature of the food to be dried. The vacuum freeze-drying apparatus according to claim 1 to be determined. The input means is capable of inputting a plurality of types of ingredients and cooking methods of the objects to be dried housed in the drying chamber,
The heatable temperature determining means heats the lowest one of the heatable temperatures stored in the storage means corresponding to the types of ingredients to be dried and the cooking method inputted by the input means. The vacuum freeze-drying apparatus according to claim 2, which is determined as a possible temperature.   The heating control means has a maximum moisture content of the to-be-dried object among a plurality of to-be-dried food types and cooking methods input by the input means, and the moisture content is equal to or less than a preset specified amount. The vacuum freeze-drying apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the drying time of the drying step is changed according to the drying temperature. The input means can input a drying temperature, a drying time, and a moisture content of an object to be dried in the drying step,
The vacuum freeze-drying apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the heating control unit controls the heating unit based on a drying temperature, a drying time, and a moisture content of an object to be dried input by the input unit.   The vacuum freeze-drying according to claim 5, further comprising notification means for notifying a user when the drying temperature input by the input means exceeds the heatable temperature determined by the heatable temperature determination means. apparatus. The input means can selectively input either the drying time or the moisture content of the material to be dried.
The vacuum freeze-drying apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the heating control means determines the other of the two based on one of the two input by the input means and controls the heating means.

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