JP4801973B2 - Joule heating device and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a Joule heating technique in which a food or drink having fluidity is heated by Joule heat while being continuously conveyed as an object to be heated.

  To heat foods and drinks with low viscosity such as juice and soup, and fluid foods and drinks such as pasty foods with high viscosity such as honey, jam and miso For example, as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a joule heating device has been developed that energizes food and drink itself and heats the food and drink with Joule heat.

As described in the above publication, the Joule heating device that heats electricity while continuously flowing food and drink is provided with a pair of tubular members that guide food and drink, that is, a heating pipe, and the heating pipe. A joule heating unit including the electrode is provided, and the food and drink are energized from the electrode while the food and drink are allowed to flow through the flow path of the tubular member. A single heating pipe is usually provided with a plurality of pairs of electrodes, and a Joule heating unit includes a type constituted by a single heating pipe and a plurality of food and drink to heat food and drinks to a predetermined sterilization temperature in a plurality of stages. There is a type constituted by the heating pipe.
Japanese Patent No. 2821087 Japanese Patent No. 2840014

  Such a joule heating device has a recovery tank, that is, a product tank, for storing a predetermined amount of food and drink that are continuously heat-treated, and the product tank directly stores the food and drink heated by the joule heating unit. There are cases where the heated food and drink are accommodated after being cooled by the cooling unit. The food and drink in the product tank are conveyed to the packaging unit, and the food and drink are packaged and shipped in the packaging unit.

  For example, a joule heating device for producing soup has a packaging unit for aseptically filling a soup transported from a product tank into a resin bag. The packaging unit is designed to be loaded with cartridges containing a predetermined number of bags, and after all of the loaded bags are used, the cartridge containing the bags needs to be loaded into the packaging unit. In that case, it is necessary to stop or stop the delivery of the product from the product tank. Similarly, when the packaging unit fails, it is necessary to stop the delivery of the product from the product tank until the failure repair is completed. In this way, in the joule heating device that cooks or sterilizes food and drink by joule heating while continuously transporting food and drink, there is a case where carrying out the food and drink after the heat treatment from the product tank is suspended. In order to keep the Joule heating unit operating even when the carry-out is stopped, a relatively large product tank is conventionally provided. As a result, food and drink can be continuously supplied to the joule heating unit at a steady flow rate, and the food and drink can be supplied from the joule heating unit to the product tank even in the state where the carry-out of the product from the product tank is stopped. it can.

  There are various types of food and drink that are heat-treated by the joule heating device. When heating food and drink as well as the soup products described above, feedback control is performed on the power supplied to the electrodes based on the temperature after the food and drink are heated so that the food is heated to a predetermined sterilization temperature or higher. If the amount of food or drink supplied from the joule heating unit to the product tank is reduced when the product is not taken out from the product tank, it becomes a disturbance of feedback control to the electrode. The supplied power greatly fluctuates up and down, and a portion that is not heated to a predetermined sterilization temperature may occur. If the food or drink is not heated to a predetermined sterilization temperature, it must be discarded. When the supply amount of food and drink supplied from the hopper or the like to the joule heating unit is changed, the product may not be heated to a predetermined temperature, and the production yield of the food and drink is reduced. Therefore, in the past, it was necessary to keep the processing conditions of the Joule heating device constant and to increase the size of the product tank in consideration of the time during which unloading from the product tank was stopped due to replacement of parts in the packaging unit or failure repair was there.

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to reduce the flow rate of food and drink in the Joule heating unit when the food and drink from the product tank is stopped.

  Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to downsize a product tank that accommodates food and drink heated by a Joule heating unit.

  An object of the present invention is to prevent the food temperature from being lowered below a predetermined temperature even when the flow rate of the food and drink in the Joule heating unit is smaller than that in the steady state.

  The joule heating device of the present invention includes a joule heating unit that energizes a flowable food and drink conveyed in a flow path with an electrode to heat the food and drink with joule heat, and a supply that supplies the food and drink to the joule heating unit. A pump, a product tank for storing food and drink after being heated by the joule heating unit, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the food and drink heated by the joule heating unit, and a power supply unit for supplying power to the electrodes And a steady processing mode for supplying food and drink from the supply pump to the joule heating unit at a steady flow rate, and a resting flow rate that is smaller than that in the steady processing mode when stopping the delivery of food and drink from the product tank. Mode switching means for switching to a pause processing mode for supplying food and drink to the joule heating unit; and the steady processing mode. Under the pause processing mode, the power supplied to the electrode is feedback controlled based on the detection signal from the temperature sensor, while the steady processing mode is switched to the pause processing mode and supplied from the supply pump. Under the pause transition process in which the flow rate of the food and drink to be gradually reduced from the steady flow rate to the pause flow rate, the sleep transition power is supplied to the electrodes without reading the detection signal from the temperature sensor, and the power is open-looped. And control means for controlling.

  The joule heating device of the present invention is switched under the stationary processing mode from the pause processing mode and under a steady transition process in which the flow rate of food and drink supplied from the supply pump is gradually increased from the pause flow rate to the steady flow rate. Without reading a detection signal from the temperature sensor, a steady transition power is supplied to the electrode to control the power in an open loop.

  The joule heating device of the present invention is characterized in that the rest transition power is a constant rest power.

  The joule heating device of the present invention is characterized in that the rest transition power is gradually reduced from stationary power to rest power according to a gradually decreasing flow rate of food and drink.

  The joule heating device of the present invention is characterized in that the steady-state transition power is a constant steady-state power.

  The joule heating device of the present invention is characterized in that the steady transition power is gradually increased from resting power to steady power in accordance with a gradual increase in food and drink.

  The control method of the joule heating device of the present invention includes a joule heating unit that heats food and drink with joule heat by energizing a flowable food and drink conveyed in a flow path with an electrode, and supplies the food and drink to the joule heating unit. Supply pump, a product tank for storing food and drink after being heated by the joule heating unit, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the food and drink heated by the joule heating unit, and a power supply unit for supplying power to the electrodes A joule heating device control method comprising: a steady processing mode for supplying food and drink at a steady flow rate from the supply pump to the joule heating unit; and when the food and drink from the product tank are suspended. A pause processing mode for supplying food and drink to the joule heating unit with a pause flow rate lower than that in the steady processing mode. In the feedback control step of feedback-controlling the electric power supplied to the electrode based on the detection signal from the temperature sensor, the operation mode is switched from the steady processing mode to the pause processing mode by the operation of the mode switching means. When gradually reducing the flow rate of food and drink supplied from the supply pump from the steady flow rate to the rest flow rate, the electrode is opened by supplying rest transition power to the electrode without reading the detection signal from the temperature sensor. And a pause transition process control step for loop control.

  The control method of the joule heating device of the present invention is configured such that the flow rate of food and drink supplied from the supply pump by switching from the pause processing mode to the steady processing mode by operating the mode switching means is changed from the pause flow rate to the steady state. When the flow rate is gradually increased, a steady transition processing control step of supplying steady transition power to the electrodes and performing open loop control on the electrodes without reading a detection signal from the temperature sensor is provided.

  The joule heating device control method of the present invention is characterized in that the rest transition power is set to a constant rest power.

  The joule heating device control method of the present invention is characterized in that the rest transition power is gradually reduced from stationary power to rest power according to a gradually decreasing flow rate of food and drink.

  The joule heating device control method of the present invention is characterized in that the steady-state transition power is a constant steady-state power.

  The joule heating device control method according to the present invention is characterized in that the steady-state transition power is gradually increased from resting power to steady-state power in accordance with a gradual increase in food and drink.

  According to the present invention, when a food product is being carried out from a product tank containing food heated by the Joule heating unit, the food processing product is supplied to the Joule heating unit at a steady flow rate. The food and drink transported from the product tank has a pause processing mode for supplying food and drink to the joule heating unit at a flow rate lower than the steady-state flow rate when the food and drink from the product tank is stopped. When unloading food or drink from the product tank is stopped or paused, such as when a failure or part replacement work occurs in a packaging unit that wraps food, the Joule heating unit uses a lower flow rate than normal. Food can be supplied, and the amount of food and drink supplied to the product tank can be reduced. Thereby, a product tank can be reduced in size.

  According to the present invention, at the time of the pause transition process in which the steady process mode is switched to the pause process mode, a constant pause power is supplied to the electrodes, or the pause power is gradually reduced according to the gradually decreasing flow rate of food and drink. At the same time, the open-loop control of the electric power prevents the food and drink from being lower than the predetermined heating temperature in the pause transition process.

  According to the present invention, at the time of steady transition processing that is switched from the pause processing mode to the steady processing mode, a constant steady power is supplied to the electrodes or the steady power is gradually increased according to the gradually increasing flow rate of food and drink. At the same time, since open-loop control of the electric power is performed, the food and drink are prevented from being lower than the predetermined heating temperature in the steady transition process.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the overall system configuration of the Joule heating apparatus of the present invention. This Joule heating device 10 is used for heat-treating food and drink having fluidity such as cheese as a material to be heated, and food and drink prepared in a fluidized state in advance are put into the food and drink. A hopper 11 that accommodates a fixed amount, and a joule heating unit 13 that heats food and drink continuously supplied from the hopper 11 via a supply pipe 12 to a predetermined sterilization temperature. A supply pump 14 for supplying the food and drink to the joule heating unit 13 is provided.

  A cooling unit 16 is connected to the joule heating unit 13 by a connecting pipe 15a, and the food and drink heated by the joule heating unit 13 are sent to the cooling unit 16 and cooled. A product tank 17 is connected to the cooling unit 16 by a connecting pipe 15 b, and the food and drink heated by the joule heating unit 13 are cooled by the cooling unit 16 and then stored in the product tank 17. The product tank 17 is connected to the packaging unit 19 by a transport pipe 18, and the food and drink in the product tank 17 is transported to the packaging unit 19 by a transport pump 20 provided in the transport pipe 18. The packaging unit 19 includes a type in which the product is packaged with a resin film, the product is injected into a resin bag, or the product is injected into a container such as a bottle or a can. It is packaged and shipped every fixed amount.

  The joule heating unit 13 has four heating pipes 22 from the first stage to the fourth stage which are formed in a flow path inside and connected in series by a connecting pipe 21, and are supplied from the hopper 11. The food and drink supplied to the joule heating unit 13 by the pump 14 is heated to the sterilization temperature. For example, when making cheese into the food and drink which is a to-be-heated material, it heats to about 85-98 degreeC. The joule heating unit 13 shown in FIG. 1 has four heating pipes 22, and an object to be heated that has passed through the final stage heating pipe 22 is held at a final heating end temperature for a predetermined time in a hold pipe 23 as a heat insulator. It is supplied to the cooling unit 16 later. The joule heating unit 13 is not composed of the four heating pipes 22 as shown, but is composed of any number of the heating pipes 22 according to the type of food or drink that is to be heated and the transport flow rate. Can do.

  The cooling unit 16 includes four cooling pipes 25 in which flow paths are formed and connected to each other in series by connecting pipes 24, and an object to be heated after heating is a flow path in each cooling pipe 25. It is conveyed to. An outer pipe 26 is attached to the outside of each cooling pipe 25, and a cooling chamber 27 to which a cooling medium is supplied is formed between the cooling pipe 25 and the outer pipe 26, and each cooling chamber 27 has a chilled water generator. The cooling water, that is, the chiller generated by 28 is supplied as a cooling medium through the pipe 29. The food and drink continuously flowing in the cooling pipe 25 are indirectly cooled by the cooling pipe 25 cooled by the cooling medium and conveyed to the product tank 17. An auxiliary pump 30 is attached to the connection pipe 24 in order to adjust the pressure of food and drink flowing through the cooling unit 16. Note that the number of cooling pipes 25 constituting the cooling unit 16 can be arbitrarily set.

  The joule heating apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a joule heating unit 13, a cooling unit 16, and a product tank 17, and includes a food and drink manufacturing system that accommodates a predetermined amount after cooling sterilized and heated food and drink. It is composed. However, when the cooling unit 16 is not used, the joule heating unit 13 is directly connected to the product tank 17 by the connecting pipe 15a.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing one of the four heating pipes 22 constituting the Joule heating unit 13, and the heating pipe 22 includes a plurality of ring-shaped electrodes 31 and a plurality of cylindrical bodies 32 disposed therebetween. The flow path 33 which guides the food / beverage which is a to-be-heated material is formed in the inside. Each electrode 31 is formed of a conductor such as titanium or stainless steel, and each cylindrical body 32 is formed of an insulator such as a resin. The inflow side and the outflow side joint portions 34, 35 is attached. A power supply unit 36 is connected to each electrode 31 via a cable, and a high-frequency current is supplied from the power supply unit 36 so that the pair of electrodes 31 adjacent to each other in the flowing direction of the object to be heated have opposite polarities. Supplied. In addition, the number of the electrodes 31 provided in each heating pipe 22 shown by FIG. 1 is arbitrarily set according to the kind of heating object, heating temperature, etc.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the joule heating device 10 including the hopper 11 to the packaging unit 19 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the four heating pipes 22 constituting the joule heating unit 13 shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by symbols “a” to “d” from the upstream side to the downstream side, and each of the heating pipes 22 a to 22 d. Electric power is supplied to the electrode 31 from the power supply unit 36. The power supplied to the respective electrodes 31 from the power supply unit 36 may be made different for each of the heating pipes 22a to 22d, and the two upstream heating pipes 22a and 22b and the two downstream heating pipes 22c, The power supplied to 22d may be different from each other.

  The connection pipe 15a connected to the outlet of the final stage heating pipe 22d is provided with a temperature sensor 37 for detecting the heating end temperature of the food and drink heated by all the heating pipes 22 and flowing out from the joule heating unit 13. The detection signal of the temperature sensor 37 is sent to a control unit 38 as control means. In addition, you may make it attach the temperature sensor 37 to the exit side edge part of the heating pipe 22d.

  An operation panel 39 is connected to the control unit 38, and the operation conditions of the Jill heating apparatus 10 such as the type of the object to be heated, the power supplied to each electrode 31, and the processing mode for the object to be heated are input. An operation switch 39 is provided on the operation panel 39. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 39a is a mode changeover switch to the steady processing mode, and reference numeral 39b is a mode changeover switch to the pause processing mode. When the changeover switch 39a in the steady processing mode is operated by the operator, food and drink are supplied from the supply pump 14 to the joule heating unit 13 at a steady flow rate, and the changeover switch 39b in the pause processing mode is operated by the operator. From the supply pump 14, food and drink are supplied to the joule heating unit 13 at a resting flow rate that is smaller than the steady flow rate.

  The control unit 38 is provided with a microprocessor CPU that calculates control signals, a ROM that stores control programs, arithmetic expressions, map data, and the like, and a RAM that temporarily stores data. Control signals are sent to the supply pump 14, the transport pump 20, the auxiliary pump 30, and the power supply unit 36, respectively.

  FIG. 4 is a time chart showing a processing mode when food and drink are heat-treated by the joule heating device 10 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a time chart showing temperature changes of the food and drink when the food and drink are heat-treated. is there. As shown in FIG. 4, the joule heating device 10 of the present invention operates in a steady processing mode in which a product after heat treatment is conveyed from the product tank 17 to the packaging unit 19, and replacement of parts in the packaging unit 19. Like the case where it is stopped, it has a pause processing mode for stopping or pausing the transportation of food and drink from the product tank 17. In the steady processing mode, food and drink are supplied from the hopper 11 to the joule heating unit 13 by the supply pump 14 at a steady flow rate, for example, 1200 l / h. The food and drink are supplied at a flow rate at rest, for example, a flow rate of 600 l / h, that is, a flow rate that is one-half of the steady flow rate. In the steady processing mode, steady power, for example, 1000 V, for example, 1000 V is supplied to the electrode 31 from the power supply unit 36 as a reference value for steady power. Hour power, for example, 500 V, that is, half of the steady power is supplied as a reference value.

  In this way, in the pause processing mode, the flow rate is reduced from that in the steady state so that the product tank 17 does not fill up in a short time, so that it is possible to secure time for parts replacement in the packaging unit 19, and the reduced flow rate is supported. As a result, the power supplied to the electrode 31 is also reduced, and as a result, the food and drink are brought to a predetermined sterilization heating temperature or higher. In each of the steady processing mode and the pause processing mode, the power supplied from the power supply unit 36 to the electrode 31 is feedback-controlled based on the detection signal from the temperature sensor 37. Therefore, in the steady processing mode, when the heating end temperature of the food and drink of the joule heating unit 13 is higher than the set temperature with the steady state power as the reference power, the power is reduced, and conversely, the heating end temperature can be lower than the set temperature. If the power is increased, the power is feedback controlled. Thereby, the heating temperature of food and drink is maintained at a temperature equal to or higher than the desired sterilization temperature. Similarly, in the pause processing mode, power is feedback-controlled according to the change in the heating end temperature of the food and drink with the resting power as the reference power, and the heating temperature of the food and drink is equal to or higher than the desired sterilization temperature in the steady processing mode. The temperature is maintained. As described above, in any of the steady processing mode and the pause processing mode, the sterilization heating temperature required for commercialization is achieved by feedback-controlling the power supplied to the electrode based on the detection signal from the temperature sensor 37. It is prevented that the temperature becomes lower than that. As a control operation in this feedback control, a proportional differential (PD) operation or a proportional integral differential (PID) operation is used.

  Switching from the above-described steady processing mode to the pause processing mode is performed by an operator operating a changeover switch 39a as a mode switching means provided on the operation panel 39. Similarly, from the pause processing mode to the steady processing mode, It is switched by the operator operating the switch 39b as the mode switching means. The switching from the steady processing mode to the pause processing mode is performed, for example, when the carry-out of the product from the product tank 17 is stopped because the parts are exchanged in the packaging unit 19. The switching to the steady processing mode is performed, for example, when the replacement of the parts or the like is completed and the delivery of the product from the product tank 17 is resumed.

  In FIG. 4, for example, when the operator operates the changeover switch 39a of the operation panel 39 to switch from the steady processing mode to the pause processing mode at the time point A, the flow rate of food and drink is paused from the steady flow rate instantaneously. Without switching to the hourly flow rate, the flow rate is gradually decreased over a predetermined pause processing transition time T1. Similarly, for example, at time C, when the operator operates the changeover switch 39b of the operation panel 39 to switch from the pause process mode to the steady process mode, the flow rate is paused over a predetermined steady process transition time T2. Increase gradually from the hourly flow rate to the steady state flow rate. In FIG. 4, symbol B indicates a point in time when the pause transition process is finished and switched to the pause processing mode, and symbol D indicates a point in time when the steady transition process is finished and switched to the steady processing mode. The pause process transition time T1 is set to about 180 seconds, for example, and the steady process transition time T2 is set to about 120 seconds, for example.

  In each transition processing mode, when power is feedback controlled based on the detection signal from the temperature sensor 37 as in the steady processing mode and the pause processing mode, the operation gain of the feedback control system increases as shown by the broken line in FIG. For this reason, the heat treatment temperature of the food or drink is greatly fluctuated by the joule heating unit 13, and the food or drink may be at a predetermined sterilization temperature or lower.

  In the sleep transition processing mode in which the steady flow mode is shifted to the pause processing mode while gradually decreasing the flow rate, the sleep transition power is supplied without reading the detection signal from the temperature sensor 37, and the power is controlled by the open loop control. Is done. When open control is performed during this transition, the heating temperature of the food and drink is slightly higher than that in the conventional steady processing mode, but is prevented from being lower than the predetermined heating set temperature.

  Similarly, in the steady transition processing mode in which the flow rate is gradually increased and the transition from the pause processing mode to the steady processing mode is performed, the steady transition power is supplied without reading the detection signal from the temperature sensor 37, and the power is subjected to open loop control. Done. When the open loop control is performed during this transition, the heating temperature of the food and drink is slightly higher than that in the previous pause processing mode, but is prevented from being lower than the predetermined heating set temperature.

  6A and 6B are time charts showing control patterns of rest transition power and steady transition power, respectively. In FIG. 6, time points A to D correspond to time points A to D in FIG. In the control pattern shown in FIG. 6A, when the steady processing mode is switched to the rest processing mode (time point A), a constant rest power, for example, 500 V is set as the rest transition power, and the electrodes are Constant power is supplied until the hibernation transition process is completed. Similarly, when the pause processing mode is switched to the steady processing mode (time point C), a constant steady state power, for example, 1000 V is set as the steady state transition power, and the electrodes are constant until the steady state transition process is completed. Power is supplied.

  On the other hand, as a control pattern shown in FIG. 6B, when the steady processing mode is switched to the rest processing mode (time point A), the rest transition power is made to correspond to the gradually decreasing flow rate of food and drink in the rest transition processing. Reduce gradually from constant power to resting power. Thereby, electric power is supplied to an electrode so that it may fall gradually corresponding to the flow rate change of food and drink. Similarly, when the rest processing mode is switched to the steady processing mode (time point C), the steady transition power is gradually increased from the rest power to the steady power corresponding to the gradually increasing flow rate of the food and drink in the steady transition processing. . Thereby, electric power is supplied to the electrodes so as to gradually increase almost corresponding to the flow rate change of the food and drink.

  As described above, if the sleep transition power is lower than that in the steady process and the transition process is completed and the sleep process mode is set, the sleep power is set in FIG. The power may be constant as shown, or the power may be changed as shown in FIG. Similarly, if the steady-state power is higher than that during the pause process and the steady-state power is set when the transition process ends and the steady-state processing mode is set, the steady-state transition power is shown in FIG. Thus, the power may be constant, or the power may be changed as shown in FIG. As a pattern for changing the power, the power may be changed step by step without gradually changing as shown in FIGS. 6 (A) and 6 (B).

  FIG. 7 is an algorithm showing the heat treatment procedure for food and drink by the joule heating device 10 of the present invention. The product is obtained by replacing parts of the packaging unit 19 under the condition that the food and drink are heat treated in the steady processing mode. When it is determined in step S1 that the operation of the joule heating device 10 has been switched from the steady processing mode to the pause processing mode by operating the changeover switch 39a of the operation panel 39 in order to stop the delivery of the product from the tank 17 The flow rate of the supply pump 14 is gradually reduced from the steady-state flow rate to the rest-time flow rate, reading of the signal from the temperature sensor 37 is stopped, and the operation of the joule heating device 10 is switched from the feedback control process to the open loop control process. (Steps S2 to S4).

  If it is determined in step S5 by a timer, a flow meter, or the like that the flow rate of the supply pump 14 has reached the stationary flow rate from the steady flow rate due to the gradual decrease processing of the pump flow rate executed in step S2, the temperature sensor 37 is reached. The operation of the joule heating device 10 is switched from the open loop control process to the feedback control process (steps S6 and S7).

  Next, the replacement and repair of the parts in the packaging unit 19 are completed, and the operator operates the changeover switch 39b of the operation panel 39 to resume the delivery of the product from the product tank 17 to change from the pause processing mode to the steady processing mode. When it is determined in step S8 that the operation of the joule heating device 10 has been switched, the flow rate of the supply pump 14 is gradually increased from the rest flow rate to the steady flow rate, reading of the signal from the temperature sensor 37 is stopped, and The operation of the joule heating device 10 is switched from the feedback control process to the open loop control process (steps S9 to S11).

  If it is determined in step S12 by a timer, a flow meter, or the like that the flow rate of the supply pump 14 has reached the steady flow rate from the rest flow rate by the gradual increase process of the pump flow rate executed in step S9, the temperature sensor 37. The operation of the joule heating device 10 is switched from the open loop control process to the feedback control process (steps S13 and S14).

  As described above, the joule heating device 10 of the present invention has a steady processing mode in which food and drink are heated by the joule heating unit 13 at a steady flow rate, and in addition to this, the joule heating unit 13 feeds food and drink at a flow rate smaller than the steady flow rate. In order to stop the delivery of food and drink from the product tank 17, the amount of heated food and drink supplied to the product tank 17 is small when the rest processing mode is set. Therefore, the time until the product tank 17 becomes full can be lengthened. Thereby, the capacity | capacitance of the product tank 17 can be made small, the size of the joule heating apparatus 10 including the product tank 17 can be reduced, and the joule heating apparatus 10 can be installed in a narrow installation place. Further, in the present invention, in the sleep transition processing for shifting from the steady processing mode to the sleep processing mode and in the steady transition processing for shifting from the sleep processing mode to the steady processing mode, open loop control is performed without feedback control of power. By switching to, the desired quality of heating can be ensured without the food or drink falling below the predetermined sterilization temperature.

  FIG. 8A is a longitudinal sectional view showing another specific example of the Joule heating unit, and FIG. 8B is a transverse sectional view of FIG. 8A. The heating pipe 22 constituting the joule heating unit 13 includes a tubular member 41 having a quadrangular cross section in which a flow path 33 for guiding food and drink that is a heated object is formed. The tubular member 41 is formed of an insulating material such as resin, and two plate-like electrodes 31 are attached to the inner surface of the tubular member 41 so as to face each other, and a power supply unit 36 is connected to each electrode 31 by a cable. Has been. At both ends of the tubular member 41, joint portions 34, 35 on the inflow side and the outflow side are attached.

  FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing still another specific example of the joule heating unit 13. The heating pipe 22 constituting the joule heating unit 13 includes a tubular member 42 having a circular cross section in which a flow path 33 for guiding an object to be heated is formed. The tubular member 42 is formed of an insulating material such as a resin. Plate-like electrodes 31 are attached to both end faces of the tubular member 42 so as to face each other, and a power supply unit 36 is connected to each electrode 31 by a cable. At both ends of the tubular member 42, joint portions 34, 35 on the inflow side and the outflow side are provided. In this type of heating pipe 22, the tubular member 42 may have a square cross section.

  FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing still another specific example of the joule heating unit 13. The heating pipe 22 constituting the joule heating unit 13 has a tubular member 43 having a circular cross section in which a flow path 33 for guiding an object to be heated is formed, and both ends of the tubular member 43 are closed by end plate portions 44. The tubular member 43 is formed of an insulating material such as a resin including the end plate portion 44. A cylindrical electrode 31 a is fixed to the inner surface of the tubular member 43, and both ends of the rod-shaped electrode 31 b disposed at the center of the tubular member 43 are fixed by end plate portions 44. A power supply unit 36 is connected to both cylindrical and rod-shaped electrodes 31 a and 31 b by cables, and inflow and outflow side joint portions 34 and 35 are provided at both ends of the tubular member 43.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the joule heating unit 13 has a plurality of heating pipes 22, but the joule heating unit 13 may be formed by one heating pipe 22. Moreover, if the joule heating apparatus 10 of this invention is the food / beverage which has fluidity | liquidity, it will not be restricted to what was mentioned above, It can apply to the heating of various food / beverages.

It is the schematic which shows the system whole structure of the Joule heating apparatus of this invention. It is an expanded sectional view which shows one of the four heating pipes which comprise a Joule heating unit. It is a block diagram which shows the control circuit of a Joule heating apparatus. It is a time chart which shows the processing mode in the case of heat-processing food and drink with a Joule heating apparatus. It is a time chart which shows the temperature change of food and drink when food and drink are heat-processed. (A) and (B) are time charts showing control patterns of rest transition power and steady transition power, respectively. It is an algorithm which shows the heat processing procedure of the food / beverage by the joule heating apparatus of this invention. (A) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the other specific example of a heating unit, (B) is a cross-sectional view of (A). It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the other specific example of a heating unit. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the other specific example of a heating unit.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Joule heating apparatus 11 Hopper 12 Supply pipe 13 Joule heating unit 14 Supply pump 16 Cooling unit 17 Product tank 18 Conveyance pipe 20 Conveyance pump 22 Heating pipe 31 Electrode 36 Power supply unit 37 Temperature sensor 38 Control unit (control means)
39 Operation panel 39a, 39b selector switch (mode switching means)

Claims (12)

A Joule heating unit for heating the food and drink with Joule heat by energizing the fluid food and drink conveyed in the flow path with electrodes;
A supply pump for supplying food and drink to the joule heating unit;
A product tank containing food and drink after being heated by the joule heating unit;
A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the food or drink heated by the joule heating unit;
A power supply unit for supplying power to the electrodes;
A steady processing mode for supplying food and drink from the supply pump to the Joule heating unit at a steady flow rate, and a food and drink with a rest flow rate that is less than the steady processing mode when stopping the delivery of food and drink from the product tank. Mode switching means for switching to a pause processing mode for supplying to the Joule heating unit;
Under the steady processing mode and the pause processing mode, the power supplied to the electrode is feedback controlled based on a detection signal from the temperature sensor, while the steady processing mode is switched to the pause processing mode. Under the pause transition process in which the flow rate of food and drink supplied from the supply pump is gradually reduced from the steady flow rate to the pause flow rate, the sleep transition power is supplied to the electrodes without reading the detection signal from the temperature sensor. A joule heating device comprising: control means for open-loop control of electric power.   The joule heating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flow rate of the food and drink supplied from the supply pump is gradually increased from the pause flow rate to the steady flow rate by switching from the pause treatment mode to the steady treatment mode. Then, the Joule heating device is characterized in that the steady transition power is supplied to the electrodes and the power is subjected to open loop control without reading the detection signal from the temperature sensor.   The joule heating device according to claim 1, wherein the rest transition power is a constant rest power.   The joule heating device according to claim 1, wherein the rest transition power is gradually reduced from stationary power to rest power according to a gradually decreasing flow rate of food and drink.   The joule heating device according to claim 2, wherein the steady transition power is a constant steady-state power.   The joule heating device according to claim 2, wherein the steady transition power is gradually increased from resting power to steady power in accordance with a gradual increase in food and drink. A Joule heating unit that energizes a fluid food or drink conveyed in the flow path with an electrode and heats the food by Joule heat, a supply pump that supplies the food to the Joule heating unit, and is heated by the Joule heating unit. A method for controlling a joule heating device having a product tank for storing food and drink after heating, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the food and drink heated by the joule heating unit, and a power supply unit for supplying power to the electrodes. ,
A steady processing mode for supplying food and drink from the supply pump to the Joule heating unit at a steady flow rate, and a food and drink with a rest flow rate that is less than the steady processing mode when stopping the delivery of food and drink from the product tank. In the pause processing mode in which the Joule heating unit is supplied, a feedback control step of feedback-controlling the power supplied to the electrode based on a detection signal from the temperature sensor;
When the flow rate of food and drink supplied from the supply pump by switching from the steady processing mode to the pause processing mode by the operation of the mode switching unit is gradually reduced from the steady flow rate to the pause flow rate, from the temperature sensor A control method for a joule heating apparatus, comprising: a pause transition process control step of supplying a pause transition power to the electrode and performing open-loop control of the electrode without reading the detection signal.   In the control method of the Joule heating device according to claim 7, the flow rate of food and drink supplied from the supply pump by switching from the pause process mode to the steady process mode by the operation of the mode switching means from the pause flow rate. When the flow rate is gradually increased to a constant flow rate, the module has a steady transition processing control step of supplying a steady transition power to the electrode and controlling the power in an open loop without reading a detection signal from the temperature sensor. Control method of heating device.   8. The joule heating device control method according to claim 7, wherein the rest transition power is set to a constant rest power.   The joule heating device control method according to claim 7, wherein the rest transition power is gradually reduced from stationary power to rest power according to a gradually decreasing flow rate of food and drink.   The joule heating device control method according to claim 8, wherein the steady transition power is a constant steady state power.   9. The method for controlling a joule heating device according to claim 8, wherein the steady transition power is gradually increased from resting power to steady power in accordance with a gradual increase in food and drink.

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