JP3069060B2 - Retort pot - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a retort pot that heats and sterilizes (or, in some cases, heats and cooks) foodstuffs in a sealed container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various retort pots have been used. The retort pot, which heats by injecting steam into the pot, has features such as easy temperature control and short heating time. There is a disadvantage that the enclosing container is easily ruptured by internal pressure. In order to prevent the rupture of such a container, there is a type in which pressurized air is sent together with steam into the kettle to maintain the pressure, but the air impedes the transfer of heat from the steam to the food ( Airlock), thermal efficiency will be poor,
Uneven temperature may occur in food. There are also hot water spray type and hot water immersion type retort pots. In these retort pots, even if pressurized air is sent, there is no danger of air lock, but the required power of the hot water pump is large and running cost is high.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a retort kettle having a high heat efficiency by combining steam heating and hot water heating.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A steam heating tube is arranged at the bottom of a heating tank for receiving a hermetically packaged food, thereby heating and boiling boiling water in the heating tank. In the heating tank, there is provided a spray device for injecting the heated stored water to the food from a lateral direction. A pressurized tank that communicates with the heating tank is provided above the heating tank.

[0005] According to this means, the stored water stretched to the bottom of the heating tank is heated by the steam pipe, and the steam rises uniformly from the surface of the water, thereby creating an ascending airflow, and the air in the heating tank is moved upward. Remove to pressurized tank. In this way, the air that disturbs the heat transfer is expelled, and the food is heated so as to be steamed by the rising steam, so that efficient heating is possible.

[0007] Usually, foods placed in a closed container are arranged in many trays, so that foods and air in a deep place are not easily heated. In this apparatus, hot water is sprayed from the lateral direction, so that food and air in a deep place can be efficiently heated with hot water. As the hot water to be sprayed, the pool water at the bottom of the heating tank heated by the steam pipe is used, so that the structure is simple and the manufacturing cost of the apparatus is low.

[0008] If steam condenses during cooling and the pressure in the tank drops sharply, the sealed container containing the food may burst due to the internal pressure. Since air is supplied from the tank, a rapid pressure drop is unlikely to occur.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIGS. 1-3, a heating tank 10 for receiving food in a sealed bag to be sterilized by cooking.
Is a cylindrical pressure vessel having a volume of about 4 cubic meters. A door 11 is provided at one end of the heating tank 10, and a pair of right and left rails 13 is provided in the tank so that a truck 12 loaded with food can be carried.

A steam heating pipe 15 is provided at the bottom of the heating tank 10.
Is provided so that the stored water 16 stretched shallowly in the heating tank is heated and finally boiled. Reference numeral 17 denotes a steam supply valve. A spray device for injecting hot water toward food is provided. That is, a number of spray nozzles 18 are arranged in a row facing each other in the heating tank. Pump 19
, The stored water 16 of the heating tank heated by the steam pipe 15,
The water is sucked up from a water collecting pipe 20 connected to the bottom of the tank and is sent to the nozzle 18 under pressure. Hot water is sprayed from the nozzle toward the food. The injected hot water returns to the bottom of the heating tank again.

A pressure tank 21 is provided on the heating tank 10. The pressurized tank 21 is also a cylinder type, and the heating tank 10
Has a volume of about 7/10. The center of the heating tank 10 and the pressurizing tank 21 are connected by a communication pipe 22. An air supply valve 23 is provided in the pressurized tank 21 so that compressed air can be introduced from an air tank (not shown). Reference numeral 25 denotes a pressure relief valve.

During operation, the food packed in a sealed bag is placed on the tray 26, loaded on the cart 12, and carried into the heating tank. Heating tank 1 to the extent that steam heating pipe 15 is immersed
Then, the water is filled to 0 and steam is sent from a boiler (not shown) to the steam heating pipe 15 to heat the stored water 16 (A in FIG. 4). When the temperature of the stored water 16 reaches a temperature suitable for cooking (for example, about 70 ° C.), the pump 19 is started to start spraying the stored water 16 from the spray nozzle 18 toward the cart 12 on which the food is placed. Steam is continuously supplied to the steam heating pipe 15 to increase the temperature of the stored water (FIG. 4B). In this way, the food receives the hot water spray and the temperature gradually rises, whereby the food is cooked. On the other hand, the air in the heating tank is heated by the hot water spray and the steam rising from the stagnant water, and the temperature gradually rises and expands.
As the specific gravity decreases, it rises and is driven into the upper pressurized tank. Thus, the air in the heating tank is reduced, and is replaced by steam.

[0013] Thus, finally, the temperature of the food is raised to about 115 to 125 ° C, which is the temperature at which the heat-resistant bacteria are killed, and the pump 19 is stopped. Thereafter, the stored water is continuously heated by the steam pipe, and the temperature is maintained by the steam rising from the stored water (C in FIG. 4). As described above, the air in the heating tank is expelled to almost the upper pressurized tank and almost filled with steam, so that there is no risk of air lock and the temperature of the food is kept uniform.

Thus, for example, after maintaining for about 15 minutes,
This time, the process proceeds to the cooling step (D in FIG. 4). The supply of steam to the steam pipe 15 is cut off, water is supplied to the pump 19 from the outside, and water is jetted from the nozzle 18 to lower the temperature of the food.
When water is sprayed, the vapor in the tank condenses at once, and the pressure tends to drop rapidly, but since the air is supplied from the pressurized tank to the heating tank through the communication pipe, a sudden pressure drop is prevented be able to. In the cooling step, compressed air is introduced into the pressurized tank 21 from an air tank (not shown) through the air supply valve 23 to prevent an excessive pressure drop that would cause the sealed bag to burst. In this way, the temperature of the food is lowered to near normal temperature while gradually reducing the pressure in the tank, and the food is taken out of the tank.

[0015]

According to the present invention, the stored water stretched to the bottom of the heating tank is heated by a steam pipe, and steam rises from the surface of the water, thereby driving air with poor heat transfer to the pressurized tank. Therefore, the food can be efficiently heated. If steam condenses during cooling and the pressure in the heating tank begins to fall, then the air is supplied from the pressurized tank, so that a rapid pressure drop is unlikely to occur, and there is little risk that the closed container for food will burst. In addition, since the spray device that sprays hot water toward the food from the lateral direction is provided, the food and the air in the recess can be efficiently heated by the hot water. As the hot water to be injected, the pool water at the bottom of the heating tank heated by the steam pipe is used, so that the structure is simple and the manufacturing cost is low.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a retort pot.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a heating tank.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the retort pot.

FIG. 4 is a chart showing temporal changes in food temperature and pressure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Heating tank 15 Steam heating pipe 16 Reservoir 18 Nozzle 19 Pump 21 Pressurized tank 22 Communication pipe

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A 8-238 (JP, A) JP-A 5-276907 (JP, A) JP-A 61-124363 (JP, A) (58) Investigation Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A47L 27/08 A23L 3/10

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A heating tank for receiving a hermetically packaged food, a steam heating pipe disposed near the bottom of the heating tank for heating stored water stretched to the bottom of the heating tank, A spray device for injecting stored water into the food from a lateral direction, and a spray device provided at an upper portion of the heating tank so as to communicate therewith.
The heating, which is displaced by steam rising from the reservoir
A retort pot consisting of a pressurized tank that receives the air in the tank .