JP3722370B2 - Umezuke drying method and Umezuke drying equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an umezuke drying method and an umezuke drying apparatus, and more particularly, to a method capable of producing high quality umeboshi by shortening drying time and uniform drying.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The conventional method for producing umeboshi includes a first pickling step of pickling with 1.2 to 2.0 kg of salt with respect to 10 kg of fully-ripened plum, and a soil drying step of drying the ume that has undergone this first pickling step. , The exposure process of exposing the plum after the soil drying process to running water, the drying process of drying the plum after the exposure process, and 1.8 liters of sake for 10 kg of the plum after the drying process And a second dipping step of dipping in pickled juice in which 300 to 500 grams of water sugar or the like is dissolved, and a second drying step of drying the plum after completion of the second dipping step (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-7-255371 [0004]
The said drying process is what is called soil drying, ie, sun drying, and the plum spread | treaded on the tray is exposed to sunlight, and is dried. This sun-drying takes a long drying period of one week in summer. Furthermore, there is a problem that drying cannot be expected in rainy weather, and it depends on the weather, and uneven drying occurs on the lower side and upper side of the umeboshi placed on the tray.
[0005]
Therefore, in the above drying step, the production of white dried plums is performed by irradiating raw plums with a dryer that emits far-infrared rays and drying the drying temperature in 4-5 hours under the internal temperature of the dryer of 60 ° C. or higher. A method is provided. By this drying method, the drying time is shortened from one week of sun drying to 4 to 5 hours (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
[0006]
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-28055
However, even when using the drying method of irradiating the raw ume with a dryer that emits far-infrared rays, there is a problem that uneven drying occurs on the lower and upper sides of the ume spread on the tray, and uniform drying cannot be obtained. Therefore, there remains a problem that a high quality uniform plum dried product cannot be obtained. Moreover, even if raw plums are irradiated with a dryer that emits far infrared rays, the heating time for drying is as long as 4 to 5 hours, and the problem of low productivity of plum dried from raw plums remains.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made based on such points, and its object is to provide a umezuke drying method and an umezuke drying apparatus that can produce high quality umeboshi by shortening the drying time and uniform drying. There is to do.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the method of drying plum pickles according to claim 1 of the present invention is a step of blowing air adhering to the surface by spraying air from above and below the plum pickles being transported in the dryer body, A step of irradiating the umezuke group with far-infrared rays, and a step of discharging heated air from the one side to the other side and the other side to the one side for the umezuke group and discharging the absorbed air to the outside of the dryer main body. It is characterized by comprising.
[0010]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an umezuke drying apparatus comprising: (a) a dryer body in which a first drying chamber and a second drying chamber are formed in series; and (b) an umezuke group attached to the dryer body in the first drying chamber. And a transfer means for sequentially transferring the second drying chamber, and (c) the plum pickles arranged on the inlet side of the first drying chamber or the inlet side of the first drying chamber in the dryer body Spraying means for spraying air from above and below by blowing air from above and below, (d) far-infrared rays arranged at the top of the first drying chamber and the second drying chamber in the main body of the dryer to irradiate the umezuke group with far-infrared rays Heater, (e) any one of the air picked up and heated by the blower and electric heater arranged in the first drying chamber from one side to the other side or one side from the other side to the pickled plum group First air intake / exhaust means for discharging air absorbed in the direction (F) The air sucked and heated by the blower and the electric heater disposed in the second drying chamber is circulated in the opposite direction to the first drying chamber with respect to the plum pickled group, and the absorbed air is discharged. And an intake / exhaust means.
[0011]
The umezuke drying apparatus according to claim 3 is the umezuke drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transfer means places the umezuke group on a mesh tray and transfers the mesh tray by a breathable conveyor. It is characterized by.
[0012]
That is, in the case of the umezuke drying method of the present invention, the umezuke group is transferred to the umezuke group by a process of blowing air adhering to the surface by spraying air from above and below the umezuke group transferred by the transfer means in the dryer body. The adhering moisture is removed, and the air flow is passed from above and below the mesh tray. And by the process of irradiating the far-infrared ray from a far-infrared heater to the said umezuke group, the water | moisture content inside a umezuke group is rapidly extracted, and it dries softly uniformly. At the same time, heated air is circulated from one side to the other side and from the other side to the one side to the plum pickled group, and the absorbed moisture is discharged to the outside of the dryer main body, and adheres to the surface of the plum pickled group. Moisturized citric acid-containing moisture is circulated laterally from one side to the other side and from the other side to the one side, and is uniformly absorbed and dried by passing warm air over the upper and lower surfaces of the plum pickled group. The air stream that has absorbed moisture is discharged out of the dryer body.
[0013]
Moreover, in the case of the umezuke drying apparatus of this invention, the said umezuke drying method can be implemented rationally. That is, the pickled plum group is sequentially transferred through the first drying chamber and the second drying chamber by the transfer means. And the water | moisture content adhering to the umezuke group is removed by injecting air from the upper and lower sides by the spraying means arrange | positioned in the entrance side of the 1st drying chamber in the said dryer main body, and the entrance side in the 2nd drying chamber.
[0014]
In addition, the far-infrared heaters disposed at the tops of the first drying chamber and the second drying chamber irradiate far-infrared rays to the ume-zuke group, so that the ume-zuke group is extracted early and moisture is uniformly dried. The Further, the first intake / exhaust means disposed in the first drying chamber and the second intake / exhaust means disposed in the second drying chamber allow the one side to be formed on the other side by the blower and the electric heater, and The air flow from the other side to the one side is switched and circulated, and the absorbed air is discharged to the outside.
[0015]
Further, at that time, as the transfer means, it is considered that the pickled plum group is placed on a mesh tray, and the mesh tray is transferred by an air-permeable conveyor. Thereby, conveyance and drying can be implemented simultaneously in the state which spread the umezuke group on the mesh tray. In other words, the plum pickles are placed on a mesh tray, and can be supplied and discharged to the dryer simply and hygienically, and can be reliably transferred and dried in the dryer.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the umezuke drying method and the umezuke drying apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the umezuke drying apparatus 100, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are a plan view and a front view of the umezuke drying apparatus 100.
[0017]
The umezuke drying apparatus 100 of the present invention is formed of a first drying chamber L1 and a second drying chamber L2 formed by a dryer body 10 in series. In the first drying chamber L1 and the second drying chamber L2, a chain conveyor C as a transfer means is provided, and the mesh trays S1 and S2 are arranged in two right and left rows, and the plum pickles group U is placed thereon. It is charged from the charging unit 1 and is sequentially transferred through the dryer body 10. Then, the pickled plum groups U on the mesh trays S1 and S2 dried in the dryer body 10 are sequentially carried out from the carry-out unit 3. The unloading unit 3 includes a gear motor GM of a drive unit that drives the transfer means C, and sensors 5 and 7 that detect unloading of the mesh trays S1 and S2.
[0018]
On the side of the drying apparatus 100, two sets of intake / exhaust systems A1, A2 and outside air processing units B1, B2 are provided. A first intake / exhaust means K1 is configured among the intake / exhaust system A1, the outside air processing unit B1, and the first drying chamber L1. A second intake / exhaust means K2 is configured among the intake / exhaust system A2, the outside air processing unit B2, and the second drying chamber L2. Detailed configurations of the intake / exhaust systems A1 and A2 and the outside air processing units B1 and B2 are shown in FIGS. That is, the intake / exhaust systems A1 and A2 include sirocco fans F1 and F2, and cool air is circulated in the summer with the intake ducts D2 and D4 connected to the first drying chamber L1 and the second drying chamber L2. A spot air conditioner SE is connected.
[0019]
In addition, outside air processing units B1 and B2 are provided above the intake and exhaust systems A1 and A2. The outside air processing units B1 and B2 are provided with blowers B0 and B0 that suck the outside air E0 and blow out fresh air E1 and E2 to the blowing ducts D1 and D3. The intake ports for the outside air E0 of the blowers B0 and B0 are provided with a pre-filter PF, and between the outlet ducts D1 and D3, a baffle plate BF, a neutral filter NBS 60%, and a high-performance filter DOP 99%. ing.
[0020]
As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 6, in the two sets of intake / exhaust systems A1 and A2 and the outside air processing units B1 and B2, the upstream intake / exhaust system A1 is connected to the first drying chamber L1 by an intake duct D2. It is connected to the lower part of the back side. The outside air processing unit B1 is connected to the upper part on the back side of the first drying chamber L1 by a blowout duct D1. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 7, the rear-side intake / exhaust system A2 is connected to the lower portion on the front side of the second drying chamber L2 by an intake duct D4. The outside air processing unit B2 is connected to the upper part on the front side of the second drying chamber L2 by a blowout duct D3.
[0021]
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 6, five blowers MF1 are provided in the upper part on the back side of the first drying chamber L1, and three in the upper part on the front side of the first drying chamber L1. Two electric heaters H1 are provided. The upper room provided with the blower MF1 and the electric heater H1 and the room provided with the chain conveyor C are partitioned by a ceiling plate T. The fresh air E1 blown from the blowout duct D1 is sent from the left side to the right side in FIG. 6 in the first drying chamber L1, where it is heated to be heated air, which is then moved downward to the chain conveyor C. It is set as the structure distribute | circulated from one side (right side) to the other side (left side) in a certain part. That is, the heated air is circulated in a direction transverse to the traveling direction of the chain conveyor C to pass through the upper and lower sides of the umezuke group U, and the upper and lower surfaces of the umezuke group U are evenly dried. Then, the air E3 that has absorbed moisture containing citric acid from the plum pickled group U is sucked from the intake duct D2 by the sirocco fans F1 and F2 of the intake / exhaust system A1 and discharged to the outside.
[0022]
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 7, the front side of the second drying chamber L2 includes five blowers MF1, and the first drying chamber L1 has a rear side upper portion thereof. Three electric heaters H1 are provided. The upper room provided with the blower MF1 and the electric heater H1 and the room provided with the chain conveyor C are partitioned by a ceiling plate T. The fresh air E2 blown from the blowout duct D3 is sent from the right side to the left side in FIG. 7 in the second drying chamber L2, where it is heated to become heated air, which is then moved downward to the chain conveyor C. It is set as the structure distribute | circulated from the other side (left side) to the one side (right side) in a certain part. That is, the heated air is circulated in a direction transverse to the traveling direction of the chain conveyor C to pass through the upper and lower sides of the umezuke group U, and the upper and lower surfaces of the umezuke group U are evenly dried. The air E4 that has absorbed moisture containing citric acid from the plum pickled group U is sucked by the sirocco fans F1 and F2 of the intake / exhaust system A2 from the intake duct D4 and discharged to the outside.
[0023]
In other words, each of the first air intake / exhaust means K1 disposed in the first drying chamber and the second air intake / exhaust means K2 disposed in the second drying chamber includes five blowers MF1 disposed on the side portions in the dryer body. , MF2 and three electric heaters H1, H2 arranged in the dryer main body, the first drying chamber from one side to the other side, and the second drying chamber from the other side to the one side. The heating air is circulated in the opposite direction to each other and passed from above and below the umezuke group U, and the top and bottom surfaces of the umezuke group U are evenly dried.
[0024]
Further, a spraying means FD is provided on the inlet side in the first drying chamber L1 and on the inlet side in the second drying chamber L2. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 8, the spraying means FD has a pair of upper and lower spray ducts connected to the draining fans WF1 and WF2 via the draining fan duct WFD. As shown in FIG. 8, the pair of upper and lower blowing ducts are arranged facing the upper and lower sides of the chain conveyor C in the first drying chamber L1. As a result, the air in the impression room is sucked by the draining fans WF1 and WF2, and the compressed airflows E5 and E6 are blown out from the pair of upper and lower blowing means FD so that the moisture adhering to the surface of the umezuke group U is forcibly blown off. The water is removed and the moisture is discharged to the outside together with the air circulating in the first drying chamber and the second drying chamber.
[0025]
Further, a plurality of far infrared heaters EH1 and EH2 are provided on the chain conveyor C in the first drying chamber L1 and the second drying chamber L2 in the dryer main body 10, and the pickled plums on the mesh trays S1 and S2 It is configured to irradiate U with far-infrared rays, extract moisture from the inside of the plum, and dry it softly. . Note that two sterilization lamps 20 are provided above the first drying chamber L1 and the second drying chamber L2 in the dryer body 10, and ultraviolet rays are radiated to the air circulating through the first drying chamber L1 and the second drying chamber L2. Is sterilized to sterilize bacteria and the like attached to the surface of the Umezuke group U, which is a drying target.
[0026]
The method of drying pickles according to the present invention will be described based on the above configuration. First, the dried plum pickles are prepared by immersing raw plums in a soaking solution for a predetermined time. These are placed on the mesh trays S1 and S2 and placed in the dryer body 10 as a plum pickled group U. Compressed from above and below by the step (ii) of blowing the first drying chamber L1 and the step (ii ') of blowing the second drying chamber L2 with respect to the pickled plum group U transferred by the transfer means C in the dryer body 10 Air is jetted to blow off moisture adhering to the surface, and the air flow passes above and below the mesh trays S1 and S2. In addition, the umezuke group U arranged on the mesh trays S1 and S2 is heated from the inside by the step (b) (b ′) in which the umezuke group U is irradiated with far infrared rays from the far infrared heaters EH1 and EH2. Internal moisture is extracted early and dried softly.
[0027]
In addition, the air E3 that has absorbed moisture by flowing the heated air E1, E2 from one side to the other side and from the other side to the one side with respect to the plum pickled group U by the discharging step (c) (c ′). E4, and this is discharged out of the dryer body 10. As a result, the Umezuke group U arranged on the mesh trays S1 and S2 is efficiently dried by circulating warm air from above and below both surfaces, and the air that has absorbed moisture including citric acid is removed from the dryer body. 10 is discharged outside.
[0028]
Further, these steps will be described in detail. The pickled plum group U on the mesh tray that is sequentially transferred from the first drying chamber L1 to the second drying chamber L2 in the dryer main body 10 by the transfer means C is the first drying chamber. The water attached to the pickled plum group U on the mesh trays S1 and S2 is compressed by the blowing step FD (b) by the blowing means FD connected to the draining fan WF2 of L1 and the draining fan WF2 of the second drying chamber L2. It is blown away by the airflows E5 and E6. The compressed air flows E5 and E6 pass from above and below the mesh tray. The compressed air flows E5 and E6 are discharged to the outside together with the circulating air in the drying chambers L1 and L2.
[0029]
Further, in the steps (c) and (c ') of discharging the air that has absorbed moisture, fresh air E1 is circulated from one side by the intake / exhaust system A1 in the first drying chamber L1 shown in FIG. In the second drying chamber L2 shown, fresh air E2 is circulated from the other side by the intake / exhaust system A2. Now, the Umezuke group U arranged on the mesh trays S1 and S2 evaporates the water adhering to the surface of the plum as fresh air E1 and E2 circulates from one side and the other side, and is uniform from both the upper and lower sides. It is dried.
[0030]
Furthermore, the plum pickles group U arranged on the mesh trays S1 and S2 by the irradiation of the far-infrared heaters EH1 and EH2 are accelerated and dried softly because the internal moisture is extracted at an early stage. Moreover, as a transfer means, since the mesh trays S1 and S2 in which the umezuke group is placed on the mesh tray are transferred by the conveyer C having air permeability, the umezuke group U is stored in the mesh trays S1 and S2. Supply and discharge to the dryer can be performed easily and reliably, and transfer within the dryer by the chain conveyor is also performed reliably. Moreover, various germs adhering to the pickled plum group U are sterilized by irradiating the air with ultraviolet rays from the sterilizing lamp 20 provided in each drying chamber.
[0031]
Thus, the pickling group U on the mesh trays S1 and S2 moving in the dryer main body 10 is automatically dried by the transfer means C to the optimum dry state in 15 to 17 minutes regardless of the weather condition. Therefore, the drying time can be shortened, and high quality dried plums can be efficiently produced by uniform drying.
[0032]
Moreover, according to the umezuke drying apparatus 100 of this invention, the said umezuke drying method can be implemented rationally. That is, the implementation of drying by the pickled plumbing drying apparatus 100 will be described. In the first drying chamber L1 and the second drying chamber L2 formed in series, the pickled plum group U on the mesh trays S1 and S2 is passed by the transfer means C of the mesh tray. At this time, the ume pickled group U on the mesh tray is subjected to the surface of plum by spraying means FD including spraying ducts connected to draining fans WF1 and WF2 provided on the inlet side of the first drying chamber L1 and the second drying chamber L2. The water adhering to is forcedly blown off by the compressed air flow E5, E6. The first intake / exhaust means K1 and the first intake / exhaust means K2 provided in the first drying chamber L1 and the second drying chamber L2 provide fresh air E1, E2 to the pickled plum group U on the mesh trays S1, S2. In the first drying chamber L1 and the second drying chamber L2, drying is performed by flowing from one side to the other side and from the other side to the one side, and the moisture-absorbed air E3 and E4 is discharged to the outside air and dried. .
[0033]
Since the far-infrared heaters EH1 and EH2 are provided in the first drying chamber L1 and the second drying chamber L2, far-infrared rays U are irradiated to the pickled plum groups U on the mesh trays S1 and S2 by the far-infrared heaters EH1 and EH2. As a result, the umezuke group arranged on the mesh tray is extracted early, and the whole umezuke is uniformly and softly dried. And the germs adhering to a umezuke group are sterilized by the ultraviolet irradiation to the air by the germicidal lamp 20.
[0034]
Next, the results of drying umezuke using the umezuke drying apparatus 100 will be described. Drying conditions were a room temperature of 40 ° C. and a far infrared heater temperature of 270 ° C. Further, a mesh tray having a size of 640 mm × 640 mm was used, and a plate on which umezuke before drying was placed was arranged in two rows and placed in a drying chamber having a length of 8020 mm. The drying rate was 2 percent and the drying time was 15 minutes. As a result, the dried umezuke was of high quality having a soft dry state similar to ordinary umeboshi dried in the sun. From this result, according to the present invention, the pickled plum is automatically dried to the optimum dry state in 15 to 17 minutes regardless of the weather conditions, and the drying time can be shortened, and high quality plum pickled by uniform drying. Turned out to be able to produce. Specifically, by the apparatus of the present invention, the mesh trays S1 and S2 are continuously fed in two rows, whereby a drying process of 3600 kg can be performed per day.
[0035]
In addition, the umezuke drying method of this invention and the umezuke drying apparatus used for this are not limited to the umezuke drying apparatus 100 of the said 1st Embodiment, The change in the range of the summary is arbitrary. For example, since the spraying means FD is disposed at two locations on the inlet side in the first drying chamber L1 and the second drying chamber L2, the moisture adhering to the surface of the plum is blown off twice and reliably processed. The However, this spraying means FD may be arranged in one place only in the first drying chamber L1. Also by this, it is possible to perform the drying process by blowing off the moisture of the plum surface in the first drying chamber L1.
[0036]
Further, as a drying means using warm air, a first air intake / exhaust means arranged in the first drying chamber and a second air intake / exhaust means arranged in the second drying chamber are made by a blower and an electric heater. The air flow from the side to the other side and from the other side to the one side is switched and circulated, but this causes the hot air to flow at least once from the left and right reverse directions. In this case, the order may be reversed, and at least the first intake / exhaust means and the second intake / exhaust means only need to exist. For example, the first intake / exhaust means and / or the second An apparatus configuration in which one or a plurality of intake / exhaust means are arranged or a drying method may be used.
[0037]
Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the transfer means C is a breathable chain conveyor C1, but as shown in FIG. 10, the mesh trays S1 and S2 are placed on the two rails C2 and transferred. It is good also as a structure. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, the transfer means C may be a net conveyor C3. The net conveyor C3 may be provided with a partition S5, and the pickled plum groups U may be directly arranged and transported and dried. According to this embodiment, the mesh tray is omitted.
[0038]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the umezuke drying method and the umezuke drying apparatus of the present invention, it is automatically dried in an optimal drying state in a short time of about 15 to 17 minutes regardless of the weather condition, and the drying time is shortened. High quality plum pickles can be produced by uniform drying.
[0039]
In addition, when the umezuke group is placed on a mesh tray as a transfer means and the mesh tray is transferred by a breathable conveyor, the transport and drying in the state where the umezuke group is spread on the mesh tray are ensured at the same time. Can be implemented.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention and is a perspective view of an umezuke drying apparatus.
FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the present invention and is a plan view of an umezuke drying apparatus.
FIG. 3 shows a first embodiment of the present invention and is a front view of an umezuke drying apparatus.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the specification of an outside air processing unit according to the first embodiment of this invention.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an intake / exhaust system and an outside air processing unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the first drying chamber according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a second drying chamber according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the first drying chamber, showing the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an air-permeable conveyor showing the transfer means.
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the rail conveyor showing the transfer means.
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a breathable net conveyor showing transfer means.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Input part 3 Unloading part 10 Dryer main body 20 Sterilization lamp 100 Plum pickle dryer A1, A2 Intake / exhaust system B1, B2 Outside air processing unit C Conveying means C1 Chain conveyor C2 Rail C3 Net conveyor D1, D3 Outlet duct D2, D4 Intake duct E1, E2 Fresh air E3, E4 Moisturized air E5, E6 Compressed air flow EH1, EH2 Far-infrared heater H1, H2 Electric heater FD Spraying means K1 First intake / exhaust means K2 Second intake / exhaust means WFD Draining fan duct WF1, WF2 Draining fan L1 1st drying chamber L2 2nd drying chamber S1, S2 Net tray U Plum pickled group (I) (I ') Step to blow off water (B) (B') Step to irradiate ultraviolet rays (C) (C ') Process of draining moisture

Claims (3)

A step of blowing off the water attached to the surface by injecting air from the upper and lower with respect Umezuke group to be transferred to the dryer body, a step of irradiating far infrared to the Umezuke group, heated air to Umezuke group A method of drying the pickles , comprising the step of circulating the air from one side to the other side and from the other side to the one side and discharging the absorbed air to the outside of the dryer main body. (A) a dryer main body in which a first drying chamber and a second drying chamber are formed in series; and (b) a transfer means that is attached to the dryer main body and sequentially transfers the pickled plums through the first drying chamber and the second drying chamber. And (c) air is sprayed from above and below the moisture that is disposed on the inlet side of the first drying chamber in the main body of the dryer or is disposed on the inlet side of the first drying chamber and the second drying chamber and adheres to the umezuku group. Spraying means for blowing away, (d) a far-infrared heater arranged at the top of the first drying chamber and the second drying chamber in the main body of the dryer to irradiate far-infrared rays to the pickled plum group, and (e) the first drying chamber. The air sucked and heated by the air blower and the electric heater arranged on the side is circulated in one direction from one side to the other side or from the other side to the one side with respect to the plum pickled group, and the absorbed air is discharged. a first suction and exhaust means, disposed in (f) the second drying chamber Characterized by comprising a second suction and exhaust means for discharging air which has moisture absorption is circulated in the opposite direction to the said first drying chamber air sucked-heated against Umezuke group by the blower and electric heater Umezuke drying equipment. 3. The umezuke drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transfer means places the umezuke group on a mesh tray and transfers the mesh tray by a conveyor having air permeability.

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