JP2686700B2 - Smoked ham manufacturing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the control of smokehouses used in the production of smoked ham.

[0002]

2. Prior Art and Problems to be Solved In the ham manufacturing process, ham is filled in a predetermined amount so that it is wrapped in a thin film, and then a certain amount of the semi-finished ham wrapped in this thin film is put into a smokehouse. Bring in, dry, steam,
A predetermined process such as cooling is performed. When processing in a smokehouse, it is desirable that the quality of ham processed in the smokehouse has little variation throughout and that the yield is not reduced as much as possible.

In this respect, the conventional ones are not satisfactory in terms of quality variations and yields. In addition, the cooling process is performed after the steaming process, but the conventional method has a low cooling efficiency, which not only adversely affects the yield, but also consumes a large amount of energy for cooling and is high in cost. There was a problem.

In view of such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for producing smoked ham having excellent cooling efficiency. Furthermore, the present invention aims to provide the production of smoked ham with a good product yield.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the apparatus of the present invention comprises a smoke house containing semi-finished ham products, a heating means for heating the air in the smoke house to a predetermined temperature, and the heating means. Ventilation drying means for applying heated air evenly for a predetermined time in order to dry the ham semi-finished product, smoke introducing means for applying smoke to the ham semi-finished product in the smoke house, and ham half in the smoke house The steam injection means for injecting steam onto the product and the mist introduction means for introducing water mist into the smoke house to inject toward the semi-finished ham product.

Alternatively, the method according to the present invention carries a predetermined amount of ham semi-finished products into a smokehouse, heats the air in the smokehouse, and circulates the heated air to evenly apply the ham semi-finished products. Ventilation and drying, smoke is introduced into the smokehouse to be applied to the semi-finished ham, and water mist is introduced into the smokehouse to be applied to the surface of the semi-finished ham to be evaporated and cooled.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a predetermined amount of the semi-finished ham wrapped in a predetermined amount of thin skin material is carried into the smokehouse. In the smokehouse, first, the ham semi-finished product is dried. This drying is ventilation drying by circulating the air in the smokehouse with a recirculation fan and blowing so that the air is evenly applied to the semi-finished ham products. In this case, a heater is arranged at the inlet of the suction side of the fan to maintain the air temperature at a predetermined high temperature. It is also desirable to provide a vane in the air circulation path and switch the air passage to make the air flow uniform throughout the smoke house.

This drying is carried out in order to prevent the smoke on the surface from being absorbed by the moisture on the surface in the subsequent smoke step, and to reduce the effect of the smoke step. Is the purpose. In this case, it is desirable that the drying be performed as quickly as possible. This is because if the drying time becomes long, another problem arises in that the water content inside is evaporated and the yield deteriorates. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the temperature and humidity are controlled in the drying step so as to achieve a predetermined temperature gradient, and the amount of heat supplied to the heating means and the amount of steam supplied to the smokehouse to achieve the set humidity. Controlled.

The ham semi-finished product in the smoke house, which has undergone the predetermined drying process, is then subjected to the smoke process. In this process, the smoke generated by the smoke generator is introduced into the smoke house and applied to the ham semi-finished product. The reason why this smoke treatment is performed is to add a unique color, scent, and taste to the product by the smoke to improve the texture, and to improve the shelf life of the product by attaching the organic oxide. The smoke components dissolve in the water on the surface of the semi-finished ham and gradually penetrate inside. If the humidity in the smoke house is too low, the smoke components are less likely to dissolve, so it takes time to obtain a predetermined smoke effect. On the other hand, if the humidity is too high, the smoke component dissolves in the moisture on the surface but does not dissolve inside the product and stays on the surface, not only the desired smoke effect is not obtained, but also the color of the product surface becomes uneven. The problem arises. Therefore, it is desirable that the humidity in the house during the smoke process is kept within a predetermined range.

The ham semi-finished product that has been smoked is then subjected to steaming. Steaming is by applying the steam introduced in the house to the semi-finished ham,
This is done to heat the semi-finished ham product and at the same time to add a certain amount of water to the semi-finished ham product. in this case,
It is necessary to control the change in internal temperature of semi-finished ham products. Further, since steam is lighter than air and thus tends to stay in the upper part of the house, it is preferable to appropriately convect the internal air with a fan or the like.

Next, a cooling step is performed. In this step, a water mist is introduced into the smokehouse and is applied to the surface of the semi-finished ham product to evaporate, whereby the semi-finished ham product is rapidly cooled by removing latent heat of vaporization from the semi-finished ham product. With this cooling, the semi-finished ham product at about 84 ° C. after steaming can be cooled to about 60 ° C. in about 15 minutes.
In this way, by performing rapid cooling by latent heat of vaporization,
Evaporation of water during cooling can be prevented, and the yield of products can be favorably maintained. In addition, the burden on the cooler can be reduced as compared with the case where the semi-finished ham product after steaming is directly cooled by the cooler in the cooling chamber.

[0012]

1 to 5, a smokehouse 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a chamber 2 for containing and processing semifinished ham products. In the present example, semi-finished ham products (not shown) are loaded on a truck in a predetermined amount, carried into the smoke house 1 and set in two rows in the chamber 2. The smoke house 1 is provided with doors 1a and 1b which are open on both sides facing each other, and a trolley loaded with semi-finished ham products introduced into the chamber 2 from one side is taken out from the other side after processing. In the center of the chamber 2, water mist is sprayed toward the two rows of semi-finished ham products 4
A pair of mist nozzles 3 is provided. Mist nozzle 3
Is connected to both the water supply line 5 and the air line 4, and produces a mist in a sprayed state. In addition, a steam pipe 6 extending downward along the inner wall surface of the smoke house is arranged in the chamber 2. A duct pipe 12 for circulating the air in the chamber 2 is provided above the smoke house 1, and a recirculation fan 13 is provided in the duct pipe 12. Further, an exhaust duct 14 for exhausting the air in the chamber 2 is provided, and an exhaust fan 15 is provided in the exhaust duct 14, and its rotation speed can be controlled via an inverter 16. .

The suction side duct pipe of the recirculation fan 13 is provided with a heater 17 having a large number of steam pipes. The outlet side of the duct pipe is provided on the side opposite to the suction side, and as shown in FIG. 3, the outlet duct is branched into three directions and is provided at the central portion 12a and both side portions 12b. There is a hood 18 at this exit
Is installed. The hood 18 is provided with a plurality of nozzles 19 for blowing recirculation air from above the chamber 2 to below. The nozzles are arranged in two rows in the front and rear side by side at regular intervals in the lateral direction of the chamber 2. The nozzle length is different before and after. The front and rear nozzles 19 are arranged so as to be located between nozzles in different rows. The central duct 12a is provided with two short nozzle rows and two nozzle rows. The nozzles 19 in the row closer to the semi-finished ham product in the chamber 2 are longer.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 6, a switching flap 20 is provided for switching the outlet duct. The switching flap 20 is provided at the entrance of the side duct of the exit duct. The switching flap 20 is connected to a drive motor 22 by a link mechanism 21. The switching flap 20 opens and closes via the link mechanism 21 in response to the rotation of the drive motor 22, whereby the circulating air from the recirculation fan 13 is selectively introduced into the central outlet duct 12a or the side duct 12b and blown out. Blow out from the mouth. In this case, the outlet of the circulating air changes with time, so that the convection of the air in the chamber 2 is promoted and a uniform processing state is obtained. As shown in FIG. 7, in the air pipe 4, a regulator 23 for adjusting the air pressure to a predetermined pressure, a mist separator 24 for separating mist in the air, a micro mist separator 25 for removing fine mist, and other dust. A filter 26 for removing the air, a pilot valve 27 for adjusting the flow rate, an opening / closing valve 28 used when replacing the pilot valve 27, a pressure gauge 29, and the like are attached. In addition, the water pipe 5 includes a pressure gauge 30, an opening / closing valve 31, a strainer 3
2, the pilot valve 33 and the like are attached. Any commercially available mist nozzle 3 can be used.

An outside air introducing duct 34 for introducing outside air, that is, fresh air, is provided near the suction side of the duct pipe in the upper part of the smoke house. The outside air introducing duct is provided with a damper 35 for adjusting the flow rate. The smoke house 1 is provided with a dry bulb temperature sensor 36 and a wet bulb temperature sensor 37 for detecting the temperature and humidity inside the chamber. An automatic water supply 38 for the wet bulb temperature sensor 37 is provided. This device is provided with a water tank 39 attached to the outside of the smoke house 1, and an internal water tank 41 attached to the inside of the chamber wall surface of the smoke house 1 and communicating with the outside water tank by a communication pipe 40 at the lower part. . A wet cloth 42 that covers the wet bulb is immersed in the internal water tank 41. A water pipe for supplying water is arranged in the external water tank 39, and a float type on-off valve 43 is attached to the tip thereof. As a result, the float 4 floats on the water surface when the water surface drops below a predetermined level.
3a descends as the water surface drops and opens the valve. As a result, a predetermined amount of water is supplied to the water tank 39. When water is supplied, the float 43a rises as the water surface rises,
The valve closes when raised to a predetermined position. By repeating this operation, the water surface of the water tank 39 can be kept substantially constant. Since the water tank 39 communicates with the internal water tank, the water surface of the internal water tank is also kept substantially constant.
That is, a system for automatically supplying water to the wet bulb cloth 42 is configured.

A smoke generator 44 for generating smoke is installed near the smoke house 1. The smoke duct 45 from the smoke generator 44 is connected between the heater 17 of the duct pipe 12 of the smoke house and the recirculation fan 13. The smoke duct 45 is provided with a smoke damper 46 that controls introduction of smoke from the smoke generator 44 into the smoke house 1. As a result, the smoke generated in the smoke generator 44 is introduced to the suction side of the recirculation fan 13 and is introduced into the chamber from the outlet duct through the outlet duct by the recirculation fan 13 and is blown to the semi-finished ham product. . In this case, a predetermined number of semi-finished ham products mounted on two carts are sprayed from both sides.

Further, another water supply line 47 extending into the chamber 2 is provided. The line 47 is further provided with a line 48 that branches to extend into the duct 12. A plurality of spray nozzles are attached to the tip of the line 47 extending into the chamber 2, and the chamber 2 and the duct 12 are attached.
Water can be supplied inside. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a cleaning agent line 49 that descends along the inner surface in the vicinity of substantially the center of one side wall of the smoke house is arranged. A vertical pipe 7 that is branched from the central cleaning agent line 49 and extends horizontally to both sides of the smoke house 1 and a vertical pipe 8 that extends to both sides of the mist nozzle 3 below the central portion are provided. Above each vertical pipe 7,8,
Middle and lower horizontal pipes 9, 10 and 11 are provided,
The horizontal pipes 9, 10 and 11 are provided with wash water outlets at predetermined intervals. The cleaning agent line 49 is connected to the water pipe 47 to form a common line. As a result, the water and the cleaning agent can be introduced by the switching operation through the lines 47 and 48 as required, and the smoke house can be cleaned.

Next, the temperature and humidity control of the smoke house 1 will be described. In order to control the temperature and humidity of the chamber 2 of the smoke house 1, the opening of the steam amount control valve 50 to the heater 17, the rotation speed of the exhaust fan 15, the opening of the adjustment damper 35 of the outside air introduction duct, and the steam line The opening of the adjustment valve 51, the air to the mist nozzle 3, the opening of the water control valves 27 and 33, the opening of the control valve 52 of the water supply line 47, etc. are adjusted.

The target values of the temperature and humidity of the chamber 2 are preset as a control pattern according to the process and the elapsed time according to the amount and type of semi-finished ham products to be processed. As shown in FIG. 9, in the apparatus of this example, a controller 53 configured by using a computer is configured, and the controller 53 selects a predetermined control pattern according to a case to be processed, and follows the control pattern. The temperature and humidity are controlled by controlling the target valve and motor.

In this case, PID control is performed based on the deviation between the detected temperature and humidity obtained based on the wet-bulb temperature and dry-bulb temperature in the chamber 2 and the target temperature and humidity at the relevant point in the control pattern. . In the drying process, mainly the amount of steam to the heater 17 is controlled to control the temperature, and the opening degree of the adjustment damper 35 of the outside air introduction duct and the exhaust fan 15 are controlled.
The humidity is controlled by adjusting the rotation speed of.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a target temperature and a target humidity that change stepwise with time are set, and the steam amount to the heater 17 and the exhaust fan 15 of the exhaust fan 15 are set so as to achieve the target temperature and humidity. The rotation speed and the opening degree of the adjustment damper 35 of the outside air introduction duct 34 are adjusted. Next, in the dry smoke step, the smoke damper 46 provided in the smoke duct 45 is opened and the smoke from the smoke generator 44 is introduced. The temperature and humidity adjustments are continuously performed so as to achieve a predetermined temperature characteristic or humidity characteristic. In this drying smoke process, the target temperature in the chamber 2 is maintained at about the same level as in the drying process, but the center temperature of the semi-finished ham product is still low, and therefore tends to rise.

In the humidifying / smoking process, since the humidity is set to be slightly high, in addition to the control of the heater 17, the exhaust fan 15, and the adjusting damper 35, the steam line 6 and the water supply line 47 are connected. Water is supplied. In this way, the high set target humidity is quickly achieved. Further, in the steaming process, steam is introduced from the steam line 6 to cook or cook the semi-finished ham by the heat of the steam.
At this stage of steaming, the humidity is not substantially controlled, but the temperature of the chamber 2 is mainly controlled by controlling the steam amount of the heater 17 and the steam from the steam line 6.

Following the steaming process, a cooling process is performed. In the apparatus of this example, the introduction of steam is stopped, the valves 27 and 33 are opened to generate mist, and mist cooling is performed. On the surface of the semi-finished ham product and in its vicinity, the sprayed mist evaporates, so that the latent heat of vaporization is taken from the semi-finished ham product. As a result, it is possible to cool from about 84 ° C. to 58 ° C. in a short time, for example, in about 15 minutes. As a result, the post-treatment process can be easily performed, and the load in the subsequent cooling process can be reduced, so that the rapid treatment can be performed. Further, the load on the device can be reduced, and the operating cost can be reduced.

With this, the processing of the semi-finished ham products in the smoke house 1 is completed, and the ham semi-finished products are carried out by the cart. In the smoke house 1 of this example, a storage tank 54 for a cleaning agent is installed below the chamber 2. Cleaning of the smoke house 1 is periodically performed when a predetermined number of steps are completed. In this case, the water supply line 47 is switched to the cleaning agent line 49, and the cleaning agent is introduced into the chamber 2 or the duct 12 to shower-clean the inside. The waste water that has cleaned the inside of the chamber 2 is collected in the storage tank 54, filtered by the strainer 55, and then collected from the cleaning agent recovery line 56. As a result, the cleaning agent can be reused and the economical efficiency can be improved.

[0025]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, in the production of smoked ham, a water mist is introduced into a smokehouse and applied to the surface of the semi-finished ham product to rapidly remove the latent heat of vaporization from the semi-finished ham product to rapidly produce the semi-finished ham product. Can be cooled. By performing the rapid cooling by the latent heat of vaporization as described above, it is possible to prevent the evaporation of water during cooling and improve the yield of products. In addition, the burden on the cooler can be reduced as compared with the case where the semi-finished ham product after steaming is directly cooled by the cooler in the cooling chamber.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flow sheet of a smoke house control system according to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a partial cross section of the smoke house,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of the smokehouse shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of the smokehouse shown in FIG.

5 is a view of the smoke house shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a branched state of the duct pipe,

[Fig. 7] Piping diagram around the mist nozzle,

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of an automatic water supply device for a wet bulb temperature sensor,

FIG. 9 is a control system diagram of the device of this example,

FIG. 10 is a graph showing an example of a temperature / humidity control result.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 smoke house, 1a, 1b door, 2 chamber 3 mist nozzle, 4 water supply line, 5 air line, 6 steam line, 7, 8 vertical piping, 9, 10, 11 horizontal piping, 12 duct piping, 13 recirculation fan , 14 exhaust duct, 15 exhaust fan, 16 inverter, 17 heater, 18 hood, 19 nozzle, 20 switching flap, 21 link mechanism, 22 drive motor, 23 regulator, 24 mist separator, 25 micro mist separator, 26 filter, 27 pilot Valves 27, 28, 31 Open / close valve, 29, 30 Pressure gauge, 32 Strainer, 33 Pilot valve, 34 Outside air introduction duct, 35 Damper, 36 Dry bulb temperature sensor, 37 Wet bulb temperature sensor, 38 Automatic water supply device, 39 Water tank , 40 communication pipe, 41 internal water tank, 42 wet cloth, 43 float type on-off valve, 43a float, 44 smoke generator, 45 smoke duct, 46 smoke damper, 47 water supply line, 48 line, 49 cleaning agent line, 50 control valve, 51 adjustment valve, 52 control valve, 53 controller, 54 storage tank, 55 strainer, 56 cleaning agent recovery line.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Takushi Ujiie 961-1 Shinotsu, Shiraoka-cho, Minamisaitama-gun, Saitama Prefecture

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A smoke house containing a semi-finished ham product, a heating means for heating the air in the smoke house to a predetermined temperature, and an air heated by the heating means for circulating the semi-finished ham product. Ventilation drying means to apply air evenly for a predetermined time, smoke introduction means to apply smoke to the ham semi-finished product in the smoke house, steam injection means to spray steam on the ham semi-finished product in the smoke house, and water in the smoke house An apparatus for producing smoked ham, comprising mist introduction means for introducing mist and spraying it toward semi-finished ham products. 2. A semi-finished ham product is carried into a smoke house in a predetermined amount, the air in the smoke house is heated, and the heated air is circulated and evenly applied to the semi-finished ham to be dried by ventilation, and then smoked. A method for producing smoked ham, comprising: introducing into a smokehouse to expose the ham semi-finished product, introducing a water mist into the smokehouse, applying it to the surface of the semi-finished ham product, and evaporating it to cool.