JP2022028740A - Transportation method and refrigeration method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transportation method capable of refrigerating a refrigeration object with improved appropriateness.

SOLUTION: In a transportation method, a refrigeration object 1 is transported in a container 5 together with ice 3 at a temperature of -100°C or less.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

COPYRIGHT: (C)2022,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present disclosure relates to a transportation method and a cold storage method for transporting a cold storage object such as fish and shellfish.

A transportation method is known in which both an object to be kept cold and ice are stored in a container and transported. Patent Document 1 proposes to arrange a water absorber on the bottom or inner wall of the container in order to prevent water from leaking out of the container. Patent Document 1 cites a cloth bag containing a highly water-absorbent resin and a urethane sponge as water-absorbent bodies. Further, Patent Document 1 proposes to provide a contact prevention member in order to prevent ice from coming into direct contact with a cold insulation object. Patent Document 1 cites a sheet made of paper or polyethylene as an abutting prevention member. Further, Patent Document 1 also proposes that the contact prevention member is made of a heat insulating material in order to prevent the object to be kept cold from being too cold and freezing. Patent Document 1 cites styrofoam as a heat insulating material.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-90983

A transport method and a cold insulation method capable of keeping the object to be cooled more preferably cold are desired.

In the transportation method according to one aspect of the present disclosure, both the object to be kept cold and ice at -100 ° C. or lower are housed in a container and transported.

In one example, a water-absorbent substance capable of absorbing water is interposed between the cold insulation object and the ice.

In one example, the water absorbent is a flexible sheet made of a porous material.

In one example, a flexible sheet made of a water-impervious material and thinner than the water-absorbent material is interposed between the cold insulation object and the water-absorbent material.

In the cold insulation method according to one aspect of the present disclosure, both the cold insulation object and ice at −100 ° C. or lower are contained in a container.

According to the above method, the object to be kept cold can be kept cold more preferably.

The perspective view for demonstrating the transportation method which concerns on embodiment. Sectional drawing for demonstrating the transportation method which concerns on embodiment.

(Outline of transportation method)
1 and 2 are perspective views and cross-sectional views for explaining the transportation method according to the embodiment.

The transportation method according to the embodiment is to transport the object 1 to be cooled while keeping it cold. The object to be kept cold is kept cold by being housed in a container 5 (7 and 9) together with a plurality of ice pieces 3. Further, for example, a water-impervious sheet 11 and a water-absorbing sheet 13 are interposed between the ice 3 and the cold insulation object 1. The cold storage object 1 may be housed in the container 5 alone or in a plurality of containers 5, but in FIGS. 1 and 2, one cold storage object 1 may be stored in order to facilitate the illustration. Only object 1 is shown.

(Cold object)
Examples of the cold storage object 1 include fresh foods, organs for transplantation, and vaccines (organs for transplantation or containers containing vaccines). The term cold storage is commonly used for food products, but as can be understood from the above examples, the cold storage object is not limited to food products in the present disclosure. Examples of fresh foods include fresh fish (fish and shellfish), meat (meat), and fruits and vegetables. In FIGS. 1 and 2, fish is taken as an example of the object to be kept cold.

(container)
The container 5 may be any material and structure as long as it can accommodate both the cold insulation object 1 and the ice 3. For example, the material of the container 5 may be resin, wood, metal, paper or a combination thereof. Examples of the material made of resin include foamed plastic typified by Styrofoam. Examples of the case where a plurality of materials are combined include a case where a member (material) for the purpose of ensuring strength and a member (material) for the purpose of heat retention are overlapped in the inner and outer directions of the container 5.

In the examples of FIGS. 1 and 2, the container 5 having a box body 7 having an open upper part and a lid body 9 closing the upper opening of the box body 7 is taken as an example. The lid 9 is fixed to the box 7 by, for example, a part thereof fitting into the opening of the box 7. Such a box body 7 and a lid body 9 may be made of any of the materials exemplified above, but are made of, for example, styrofoam.

In addition, the container 5 may be, for example, a cooler box in which the lid 9 is connected to the box 7 by a hinge structure. Further, for example, when the transportation distance is short, or when the cold storage object 1 is simply kept cold without being transported, the container 5 may be configured only by the box body 7.

(ice)
The term ice is used herein to refer to solid water, not solids of low molecular weight substances other than water, such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide or methane. However, the water does not have to be pure and may be, for example, seawater, salt water, tap water, or water containing other impurities or additives.

The ice 3 has a temperature of −100 ° C. or lower (for example, about −120 ° C.) at least when the cold insulation object 1 and the ice 3 are housed in the container 5. Such ice at −100 ° C. or lower can be produced, for example, by using an “ultra-low temperature chiller cold wave” manufactured by ADD Co., Ltd. This ultra-low temperature chiller can cool the supplied gas (for example, air, Freon gas, liquid nitrogen or argon gas) to a temperature of about −130 ° C. by using a multi-stage evaporator and a mixed refrigerant. Then, for example, ice having a temperature of −100 ° C. or lower is produced by flowing a gas cooled by the chiller through a flow path provided in an ice making container (not shown) in which water is stored or a flow path around the ice making container. can do.

The lowest temperature measured on Earth is said to be around -90 ° C in Antarctica. Therefore, there is no ice below -100 ° C in nature. As a result, even if the cold storage object 1 and the ice are both contained in the container 5 in a frigid region, the transportation method of the present embodiment is not unintentionally already implemented.

A plurality of ice cubes 3 are formed in an appropriate size according to the size and shape of the cold insulation object 1 and are arranged around the cold insulation object 1. Such ice 3 is formed, for example, by crushing ice formed in a relatively large ice making container (not shown). Of course, a plurality of ice cubes 3 having an appropriate size may be produced from the beginning by providing a partition in the ice making container.

(Immersion sheet)
The water-impervious sheet 11 is a flexible sheet made of a water-impermeable material. The water-impervious sheet 11 is in direct contact with, for example, the cold insulation object 1. Since the water-impervious sheet 11 is flexible, its shape is changed according to the shape of the cold insulation object 1, and the water-impervious sheet 11 is generally in close contact with the cold insulation object 1.

Further, the water-impervious sheet 11 covers the entire cold insulation object 1. In FIGS. 1 and 2, two water-impervious sheets 11 are provided so as to sandwich the cold insulation object 1 in the vertical direction. The cold insulation object 1 may be wrapped by one water-impervious sheet 11, or the cold insulation object 1 may be housed in a bag formed by the water-impervious sheet 11. When a plurality of cold insulation objects 1 are housed together in the container 5, the plurality of cold insulation objects 1 may be covered with a common impermeable sheet 11 or individually covered with a plurality of impermeable sheets 11. May be.

As the material of the water-impervious sheet 11, for example, resin can be mentioned. That is, the water-impervious sheet 11 may be made of a resin film such as a food wrap film. The thickness, strength, and the like of the water-impervious sheet 11 may be appropriate. For example, the water-impervious sheet 11 may be as thin as possible as long as its strength is secured to some extent. For example, the thickness of the geomembrane sheet 11 may be less than 1 mm or less than 100 μm. The thickness of the food wrap film is generally 10 μm to 20 μm. Of course, the water-impervious sheet 11 may be thicker than the thickness exemplified here.

(Water absorption sheet)
The water absorption sheet 13 is a flexible sheet made of a material capable of retaining water (in another aspect, allowing water to pass through). The water-absorbing sheet 13 is, for example, in contact with the water-impervious sheet 11 on the cold insulation object 1 side and in contact with a plurality of ice 3 on the opposite side. Since the water-absorbing sheet 13 is flexible, its shape is changed according to the shape of the cold-insulating object 1 (water-impervious sheet 11), and the shape of the water-absorbing sheet 13 is changed with respect to the cold-insulating object 1 (via the water-impervious sheet 11). It is almost in close contact.

Further, the water absorption sheet 13 covers the entire cold insulation object 1. In FIGS. 1 and 2, two water-absorbing sheets 13 are provided so as to sandwich the cold insulation object 1 in the vertical direction, similarly to the water-impervious sheet 11. The cold insulation object 1 may be wrapped by one water absorption sheet 13, or the cold insulation object 1 may be housed in a bag formed by the water absorption sheet 13. When a plurality of cold insulation objects 1 are housed together in the container 5, the plurality of cold insulation objects 1 may be covered with a common water absorption sheet 13, or may be individually covered with the plurality of water absorption sheets 13. May be good. The specific embodiment in which the water-absorbing sheet 13 covers the cold insulation object 1 may be the same as or different from the specific embodiment in which the water-impervious sheet 11 covers the cold insulation object 1.

Examples of the material of the water absorbing sheet 13 include a porous material such as a sponge, paper, cloth and cotton. These materials, for example, absorb and / or retain water by capillarity, and discharge more water to the outside than can be retained (water flows out of the water absorber due to gravity or the like). Examples of the material of the sponge include a resin such as urethane. The thickness, strength, and the like of the water-absorbing sheet 13 may be appropriate. For example, the water-absorbing sheet 13 is thicker than the water-impervious sheet 11. Further, for example, the thickness of the water absorbing sheet 13 is 1 mm or more and 10 mm or less. Of course, the water absorption sheet 13 may be thicker than the thickness exemplified here.

(Action)
As described above, in the transportation method of the present embodiment, both the cold storage object 1 and the ice 3 having a temperature of −100 ° C. or lower are housed in the container 5 and transported. In other words, in the transportation method of the present embodiment, the storage step of accommodating the cold storage object 1 and the ice 3 having a temperature of −100 ° C. or lower together in the container 5 and the cold storage object 1 and the ice 3 are housed together. It has a transfer step for transferring the container 5. The ice 3 may be at −100 ° C. or lower in the storage step, and does not necessarily have to be −100 ° C. in the transfer step.

In the above-mentioned transportation method, for example, it takes a long time for the ice 3 to melt as compared with the case where ordinary ice (for example, −10 ° C. to −20 ° C.) is used. As a result, for example, the object to be kept cold can be kept cold for a long time. From another point of view, the amount of ice required for transportation can be reduced. As a result, the weight to be transported can be reduced, and the transportation cost can be reduced.

Further, in the present embodiment, a water-absorbent material (water-absorbent sheet 13) is interposed between the cold insulation object 1 and the ice 3.

Therefore, the ice 3 does not directly cool the object to be cooled, but the water generated by melting the ice 3 permeates the water absorption sheet 13, and the water cools the object 1 to be cooled. As is well known, the temperature of water is basically 0 ° C. or higher. Therefore, the ice 3 can bring the cold object 1 closer to 0 ° C. while reducing the possibility that the cold object 1 freezes. As a result, for example, when the cold insulation object 1 is a fresh fish, the quality can be kept better.

Further, in the present embodiment, the water-absorbent material (water-absorbent sheet 13) is a flexible sheet made of a porous material.

Therefore, for example, the pores of the porous body secure a flow path for the water produced by melting the ice 3 from the ice 3 to the object to be cooled. Further, since the water absorption sheet 13 is in close contact with the cold insulation object 1 due to its flexibility, the length of the above-mentioned flow path is defined by the thickness of the water absorption sheet 13. As a result, for example, the temperature adjustment of the cold insulation object 1 is facilitated.

Further, in the present embodiment, a flexible sheet (water-impervious sheet 11) made of a water-impervious material and thinner than the water-absorbent sheet 13 is interposed between the cold insulation object 1 and the water-absorbent sheet 13.

Therefore, for example, the water absorption sheet 13 can be brought into close contact with the cold insulation object 1 to improve the cold insulation effect while reducing the possibility that the water exuded from the water absorption sheet 13 permeates the cold insulation object 1.

In the above description, the technology of the embodiment is regarded as a transportation method, but the technology of the embodiment may be regarded as a cold insulation method. In the cold storage method, transfer (transfer step) is not an indispensable requirement, and a storage step may be performed in which both the cold storage object 1 and the ice 3 having a temperature of −100 ° C. or lower are stored in the container 5.

(experiment)
Ice at about -120 ° C was prepared using an ultra-low temperature chiller manufactured by ADD Co., Ltd. This ice and relatively perishable fresh fish such as horse mackerel and mackerel were housed in a container 5 as described in the embodiment. The container 5 was made of Styrofoam. The water-impervious sheet 11 was a commercially available food wrap film. The water absorbing sheet 13 was a urethane sponge having a thickness of about 5 mm. Then, as described above, the container 5 containing the fresh fish was transported from Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture to Okinawa Prefecture. The transportation was carried out by land and air, and it took about two days to get closer to the situation expected when the project was actually carried out. Further, as a comparative example, the same experiment was conducted on ice using normal ice (-20 ° C to -10 ° C) instead of ice at −120 ° C.

As a result, when normal ice was used, all the ice had melted when it arrived at the destination, and the fresh fish was damaged. On the other hand, when ice at −120 ° C. was used, the ice remained and the fresh fish was not damaged. In addition, when the fresh fish was frozen, changes such as whitening of the eyes occurred, but such changes did not occur. Freezing suppression is an effect of the water absorption sheet 13.

From the above experiments and other experiments, it was found that ice below -100 ° C takes 48 hours to completely melt. On the other hand, ordinary ice melts in about 18 hours. That is, it was found that ice at -100 ° C or lower can exert a cooling effect in about three times as long as normal ice. An experiment was also conducted in which the dry ice was cooled to −100 ° C. or lower, but the effect of prolonging the time during which the cold insulation effect could be exhibited was hardly obtained.

The fact that the time that the cold insulation effect can be maintained is about three times as long means that the amount of ice required to maintain the cold insulation effect for a predetermined time can be reduced to one-third. Therefore, for example, when 3 kg of ordinary ice is used for transporting 10 kg of fresh fish, if ice of −100 ° C. or lower is used instead of ordinary ice, the amount of ice can be 1 kg. That is, the transport weight is reduced by about 15%. As a result, transportation costs can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may be implemented in various embodiments.

In the embodiment, a plurality of ice pieces smaller than the object to be kept cold were used. However, for example, a container may contain an object to be kept cold and one piece of ice that is relatively large (for example, larger than the object to be kept cold). Even in this case, for example, ice at −120 ° C. can prolong the cold insulation and / or reduce the amount of ice.

Further, in the embodiment, the entire object to be cooled was buried in a plurality of ice cubes. However, for example, the cold storage object may be located above, below, or beside one or more ice pieces without being buried in the ice, or the cold storage target may be buried in a single piece of ice. Alternatively, only a part of the object to be kept cold may be buried in one or more ice cubes. The positional relationship between the object to be cooled and the ice may be appropriately set depending on the type of the object to be cooled or the type of fish.

The container may have a cooling function such as a refrigerator. The inventor of the present application conducted an experiment in which fresh fish (specifically, horse mackerel) was stored in a refrigerator having a cold storage temperature of 2 ° C. together with ice at about −120 ° C. Even in this case, the fresh fish was not damaged even after 2 days had passed. In the case of normal ice, damage occurs in 2 days.

Further, for example, the container may be configured so that the water produced by melting the ice is not stored around the object to be kept cold. For example, the container may be raised by a plate having holes so that water can be stored under the plate, or a water absorbent may be provided at the bottom of the container. It should be noted that such a configuration does not contradict the configuration in which the water-absorbent material (water-absorbent sheet 13) is interposed between the ice and the object to be cooled.

The water-absorbent material (water-absorbent sheet 13) and the water-impervious sheet may not be provided. For example, ice at −100 ° C. may come into direct contact with the object to be cooled. Conversely, in addition to, or in place of, the water-absorbent material and the geomembrane sheet, an appropriate member may be placed in the container. For example, a water-impervious heat insulating material may be interposed between the object to be cooled and the ice. The insulation may or may not be flexible. Further, a cushioning material may be interposed between the object to be cooled and the ice. The cushioning material may be, for example, a large one that covers the object to be cooled, or a relatively small one that is arranged in a plurality or a large number around the object to be cooled.

The water-absorbent material is not limited to a sheet-like material, and is not limited to a material having flexibility. For example, the water-absorbent material may be a rectangular parallelepiped in which a space having a shape similar to the shape of the object to be cooled is formed. Further, for example, as a water-absorbent material, a large number of small pieces made of a water-absorbent material may be arranged around the cold-retaining object, or a large number of small pieces may be placed around the cold-retaining object so as to exhibit water absorption by the gap between the small pieces. It may be placed in.

1 ... cold insulation object, 3 ... ice, 5 ... container, 7 ... box body, 9 ... lid body, 11 ... water-impervious sheet, 13 ... water-absorbing sheet (water-absorbent material).

Claims (5)

A transportation method in which an object to be kept cold and ice at -100 ° C or lower are both stored in a container and transported. The transportation method according to claim 1, wherein a water-absorbent substance capable of absorbing water is interposed between the cold insulation object and the ice. The transportation method according to claim 2, wherein the water-absorbent material is a flexible sheet made of a porous material. The transportation method according to claim 3, wherein a flexible sheet made of a water-impervious material and thinner than the water-absorbent material is interposed between the cold-insulated object and the water-absorbent material. A cold insulation method in which both the object to be kept cold and ice at -100 ° C or lower are stored in a container.

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