JP5246860B2 - Rapid heat treatment apparatus and nozzle for rapid heat treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a food conveyance heat treatment apparatus for performing heat treatment by blowing a heat treatment gas such as cold air, hot air, hot air, etc. on food placed on a conveyance belt, and a hollow cylindrical heat treatment spray nozzle used in the apparatus. .

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a cooling device and a heating device for heat-treating food placed on a conveyor belt, a heated or cooled gas jet is applied to the food and the boundary layer of the food surface is swept by the impact force of the collision jet Retreating, there is a food transfer heat treatment device that promotes heat transfer between the gas and the food and performs processing such as freezing, cooling or heating.

For example, the food conveyance processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-52969) includes means for conveying and supporting food in the container, and a plurality of duct means connected to a plenum (pressure chamber). And a heat treatment such as freezing that is directed so as to vertically apply a gas jet to the food on the transport support means through a nozzle provided in the duct means.
The duct means has a structure in which the cross section gradually becomes smaller in the direction away from the plenum (perpendicular to the conveying direction) and is supported by being attached to a plenum formed of a thin plate.

  Patent Document 2 (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-13495) is provided so that cold air in a pressure chamber is blown from above the object to be processed placed on an endless conveying belt having air permeability, An apparatus for freezing an object to be processed by cold air from a cold air jet nozzle is disclosed. In this apparatus, a jet flow nozzle provided in communication with and supported by a mounting flange portion of a pressure chamber is provided with two slit-shaped nozzle ports provided on the bottom wall of a square pipe, and the jet flow is received from the nozzle port. It sprays on the processed material.

Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-103232) discloses a cooling device in which jet nozzles for jetting cold air to cooked rice of a net conveyor are provided opposite to the upper and lower surfaces of the conveyor.
The jet nozzle is supported by a vertically moving chamber communicating with a flexible air supply pipe from the cooler, and the jet nozzle can be brought into and out of contact with the conveyor as the chamber moves up and down. Therefore, maintenance such as cleaning of the jet nozzle and washing of the net conveyor is facilitated.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-52969 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-13495 JP-A-8-103232

  Patent Document 1 has a structure in which a duct means provided with a nozzle is gradually reduced in cross-section in a direction away from a plenum, and is attached to and supported by a plenum composed of a thin plate. Therefore, the vibration of the impeller means for supplying the pressurized gas to the plenum is transmitted to the duct means, and the gap between the means for conveying and supporting the food and the nozzle for vertically applying the jet flow should be kept uniform in the direction away from the plenum. It becomes difficult to do so, and uneven cooling occurs in this direction. Further, since the duct means has a tapered structure, the inside of the duct and the nozzle cannot be easily cleaned.

In Patent Document 2, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a square pipe-shaped hollow nozzle 100 in which a nozzle port 100a for forming a two-slit jet flow j is provided on the bottom wall is a mounting flange of the pressure chamber 101. The unit 102 is attached in a cantilever structure that is firmly supported and communicated. The gaps Y ₁ ′ and Y ₂ ′ in the direction away from the pressure surface of the belt surface of the airless endless conveying belt 103 on which the object to be processed f is placed and the two slit-shaped jet flow nozzles are made uniform. Since there is no adjustment function for Y ₁ ′ = Y ₂ ′, the gap becomes Y ₁ ′> Y ₂ ′ or Y ₁ ′ <Y ₂ ′.

  Therefore, unevenness in cooling occurs in the belt surface width direction on the object to be processed f placed on the endless conveyance belt surface having air permeability. Further, since it is necessary to secure a sufficient working space for mounting the square pipe-shaped hollow nozzle 100 provided with the nozzle port 100a for forming the jet stream j of the cold air at the flange portion 102, each of the square pipes is provided. The degree of freedom of the cooling device is limited, for example, the interval X ′ cannot be reduced. Further, the inside of the hollow nozzle 100 could not be easily cleaned.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a configuration that facilitates maintenance by allowing the jet nozzle to be brought into and out of contact with the net conveyor as the chamber supporting the jet nozzle moves up and down. No means for uniformly adjusting the gap between each jet nozzle in the direction away from the chamber is disclosed.

  As described above, Patent Documents 1 to 3 do not disclose a means for eliminating cooling unevenness in the axial direction of the hollow nozzle, but also simplify the assembly of the hollow nozzle provided with the nozzle port and provide flexibility in layout. At the same time, no means or configuration for facilitating maintenance such as easy cleaning is disclosed.

In view of the problems of the prior art, the present invention eliminates heat treatment unevenness by a hollow nozzle and improves heat exchange efficiency in a heat treatment apparatus using a conveyer belt and spraying heat treatment gas on an object to be treated on the conveyer belt. An object of the present invention is to realize a heat treatment gas spraying means for improving the heat treatment effect and uniform heat treatment gas spraying.
It is another object of the present invention to increase the degree of freedom of the hollow nozzle in the layout of the food conveyance heat treatment apparatus, simplify the assembly, and facilitate maintenance work such as cleaning.

In order to achieve such an object, the rapid thermal processing apparatus of the present invention comprises:
A heat treatment chamber, an endless conveyance belt installed in the heat treatment chamber, a heat treatment gas supply duct disposed in the heat treatment chamber, and a direction connected to the heat treatment gas supply duct and intersecting the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt In a rapid thermal processing apparatus provided with a hollow cylindrical heat treatment gas injection nozzle that adds an impact jet of heat treatment gas to a workpiece on the conveyor belt from a nozzle port,
An attachment mechanism for attaching the base of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle to the heat treatment gas supply duct so that the tip of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle can swing in a direction approaching or separating from the belt surface of the conveyor belt;
An adjustment mechanism for locking the front end of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle to a fixed frame disposed adjacent to the transport belt and adjusting the distance between the front end and the belt surface of the transport belt;
By adjusting the distance between the front end portion of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle and the belt surface by swinging the front end portion of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle by the adjustment mechanism, the distance between the nozzle port of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle and the belt surface is reduced. The heat treatment gas injection nozzle is configured to be uniform from the base to the tip.

In the rapid thermal processing apparatus of the present invention, the mounting mechanism can swing the base of the thermal processing gas injection nozzle in a direction in which the tip of the thermal processing gas injection nozzle approaches or separates from the belt surface of the conveyor belt to the thermal processing gas supply duct. Attach as shown. In addition, the distance between the tip of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle and the conveyor belt surface can be adjusted by the adjusting mechanism, so that the distance between the nozzle port of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle and the conveyor belt surface can be adjusted by the heat treatment gas injection. It can be made uniform from the base to the tip of the nozzle.
Therefore, it is possible to eliminate unevenness in heat treatment in the direction intersecting with the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt, increase the heat exchange efficiency, and improve the heat treatment effect. Therefore, the installation area of the conveyor belt can be reduced, the heat treatment apparatus can be downsized, and the amount of heat treatment gas can be saved.

  In the rapid thermal processing apparatus according to the present invention, the mounting mechanism is provided in the thermal processing gas supply duct and is provided with a thermal processing gas supply port having a size capable of inserting a base of the thermal processing gas injection nozzle, and an upper end of the base end of the thermal processing gas injection nozzle. An upper flange projecting upward, a lower flange projecting downward from the lower side of the base end, and having a smaller projection width than the upper flange, and a heat treatment gas between the lower flange at a position closer to the tip than the lower flange The lower edge of the supply port, and a lower protrusion projecting downward with a space capable of being inserted. The upper flange and the lower flange are inserted into the heat treatment gas supply port, and the lower edge of the heat treatment gas supply port Is located between the lower flange and the lower protrusion, and the upper flange is locked to the upper edge of the heat treatment gas supply port by the weight of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle.

  In such a configuration, the upper flange is first inserted into the heat treatment gas supply duct from the heat treatment gas supply port. Next, the heat treatment gas injection nozzle is raised until the ceiling surface of the base portion contacts the upper edge of the heat treatment gas supply port, and the lower flange is inserted into the heat treatment gas supply port. Then, the lower edge of the heat treatment gas supply port is positioned between the lower flange and the lower protrusion, and the upper flange is locked to the upper edge of the heat treatment gas supply port by the weight of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle.

As a result, a simple attachment mechanism that does not require a coupler can be realized, and a hollow cylindrical heat treatment gas injection nozzle can be attached to the heat treatment gas supply duct with one touch, so that the heat treatment gas injection nozzle can be easily attached. .
Further, since the heat treatment gas injection nozzle by the upper flange and a lower flange is supported, the distal end portion of the heat-treatment gas injection nozzle is swingable up and down, allowing height adjustment of the front end portion of the heat-treatment gas injection nozzle.

Further, as in Patent Document 2, since a flange or the like is not disposed outside the heat treatment gas supply duct toward the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt, the configuration of the nozzle can be simplified, and the degree of freedom of nozzle opening is widened. Therefore, the interval between the heat treatment gas injection nozzles can be narrowed.
Accordingly, since the degree of freedom of the arrangement of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle and the degree of freedom of the heat treatment action can be expanded, the installation area of the conveyor belt surface subjected to the heat treatment action can be reduced, the heat treatment apparatus can be downsized, and the amount of heat treatment gas can be reduced. You can save.

  Further, in the rapid thermal processing apparatus of the present invention, the adjustment mechanism is disposed adjacent to a screw hole provided at a tip portion of the thermal treatment gas injection nozzle, a male screw portion screwed into the screw hole, and the conveyor belt. A fixing member having a hook for locking to the fixing frame, and screwing the male screw portion and the screw hole and locking the hook to the fixing frame to thereby fix the tip of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle. It is preferable that the distance between the front end portion of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle and the belt surface of the conveyance belt can be adjusted by fixing and adjusting the screwing degree of the male screw portion and the screw hole.

  By adopting such a configuration, an adjustment mechanism having a simple configuration using a fixed frame disposed adjacent to the conveyance belt can be realized. Moreover, since the distance between the tip of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle and the conveyor belt surface can be adjusted by the adjusting mechanism, the distance between the nozzle port of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle and the conveyor belt surface can be adjusted from the base of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle to the tip portion. Can be uniform. Therefore, heat treatment unevenness in the width direction of the conveyor belt surface can be eliminated, and the heat treatment effect can be improved.

Further, in the rapid thermal processing apparatus of the present invention, an opening is provided at the tip of the thermal processing gas injection nozzle so that the cleaning liquid can be supplied into the thermal processing gas injection nozzle, and a shielding plate that shields the cleaning opening is provided detachably. Good.
Thus, when the apparatus is in operation, the cleaning opening is shielded, so that the heat treatment gas does not leak from the cleaning opening, and there is no possibility of reducing the amount of heat treatment gas sprayed onto the workpiece. In the maintenance operation, the shielding plate can be removed, and the cleaning liquid can be supplied into the heat treatment gas injection nozzle from the cleaning opening, which facilitates the cleaning operation.

  In the rapid thermal processing apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of rapid thermal processing apparatus nozzles can be densely arranged along the transport direction of the transport belt. Then, the heat treatment gas is ejected from the vicinity of the conveyor belt toward the belt surface of the conveyor belt disposed below from the nozzle port of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle, and the heat treatment gas flow is made to collide with an object to be processed such as food. The heat treatment gas flow is densely sprayed on the surface of the transport belt, and forms a film flow that is in close contact with the surface of an object to be processed such as food in the width direction of the transport belt surface. Therefore, unevenness in heat treatment in the width direction of the conveyor belt surface can be eliminated, and the heat exchange efficiency between the object to be processed such as food and the heat treatment gas can be improved, and the heat treatment effect can be improved.

  In addition, the rapid thermal processing apparatus nozzle can be easily mounted on the heat treatment gas supply duct, and it is not necessary to take a large space for assembly and cleaning of the hollow nozzle. The accuracy of this is also reduced, and assembly is facilitated. At the same time, since the heat exchange efficiency between the heat treatment gas and the object to be treated can be improved, the heat treatment speed of the food can be increased. Therefore, since the conveyance path | route in the heat processing chamber of to-be-processed objects, such as a foodstuff, can be shortened, the installation area of a heat processing apparatus can be reduced.

Moreover, the hollow-shaped rapid thermal processing apparatus nozzle of the present invention is used for the rapid thermal processing apparatus of the present invention,
An attachment mechanism for attaching the base of the nozzle body to the heat treatment gas supply duct so that the tip of the nozzle body can swing in a direction approaching or separating from the conveyor belt;
The front end of the nozzle body is locked to a fixed frame disposed adjacent to the transport belt, and an adjustment mechanism that enables the distance between the front end and the transport belt surface to be adjusted,
By swinging the tip of the nozzle body with the adjusting mechanism and adjusting the distance between the tip and the conveyor belt surface, the distance between the nozzle opening and the conveyor belt surface is made uniform from the base to the tip. It is composed.

  In the nozzle for rapid thermal processing apparatus according to the present invention, the mounting mechanism is provided in the thermal processing gas supply duct and is provided with a thermal processing gas supply port having a size capable of inserting a base portion of the nozzle body, and upward from the upper side of the base end of the nozzle body. A projecting upper flange, a lower flange projecting downward from the lower side of the base end and having a smaller projecting width than the upper flange, and a heat treatment gas supply port between the lower flange at a position closer to the tip than the lower flange The lower edge of the heat treatment gas supply port is inserted into the heat treatment gas supply port, and the lower edge of the heat treatment gas supply port is formed in the lower part. It is good to comprise between a flange and a lower processus | protrusion, and a top flange is latched by the upper edge of a heat processing gas supply port with the dead weight of a heat processing gas injection nozzle.

By adopting such a configuration, as described above, a simple attachment mechanism that does not require a coupler can be realized, and a hollow cylindrical heat treatment gas injection nozzle can be attached to the heat treatment gas supply duct with one touch. Installation of the gas injection nozzle becomes easy.
Further, since the heat treatment gas injection nozzle by the upper flange and a lower flange is supported, the distal end portion of the heat-treatment gas injection nozzle is swingable up and down, allowing height adjustment of the front end portion of the heat-treatment gas injection nozzle.

  Further, in the nozzle for rapid thermal processing apparatus of the present invention, the adjustment mechanism is disposed adjacent to a screw hole provided at a tip portion of the nozzle body, a male screw portion screwed into the screw hole, and the conveyor belt. A fixing member having a hook for locking to the fixed frame, and fixing the tip by screwing the male screw portion and the screw hole and locking the hook to the fixed frame; It is preferable that the distance between the leading end portion and the belt surface of the conveyor belt can be adjusted by adjusting the screwing degree of the male screw portion and the screw hole.

  By adopting such a configuration, an adjustment mechanism having a simple configuration using a fixed frame disposed adjacent to the conveyance belt can be realized. Thereby, since the distance between the tip of the nozzle body and the conveyor belt surface can be adjusted, the distance between the nozzle opening and the conveyor belt surface can be made uniform from the base to the tip of the nozzle body. Therefore, heat treatment unevenness in the width direction of the conveyor belt surface can be eliminated, and the heat treatment effect can be improved.

According to the rapid thermal processing apparatus of the present invention, the thermal processing chamber, an endless conveying belt led in the thermal processing chamber, a thermal processing gas supply duct disposed in the thermal processing chamber, and the thermal processing gas supply duct are connected. A rapid thermal processing apparatus provided with a hollow cylindrical heat treatment gas injection nozzle that is disposed in a direction intersecting with the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt and applies a shock jet of heat treatment gas to an object to be treated on the conveyance belt from a nozzle opening An attachment mechanism for attaching the base portion of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle to the heat treatment gas supply duct so that the tip portion of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle can swing in a direction approaching or separating from the belt surface of the transport belt; The front end of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle is locked to a fixed frame arranged adjacent to the transport belt, and the distance between the front end and the belt surface of the transport belt is adjusted. And a control mechanism that allows, by adjusting the distance between the tip and the belt surface of the heat-treatment gas injection nozzle to oscillate the tip of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle by the adjusting mechanism, the heat treatment gas injection Since the distance between the nozzle port of the nozzle and the belt surface is uniform from the base part to the tip part of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle, it is in close contact with the surface of the object to be processed such as food in the width direction of the conveying belt surface. A membrane flow can be formed.

Therefore, it is possible to eliminate uneven cooling in the width direction of the conveyor belt surface, increase the heat exchange efficiency between the object to be processed such as food and the heat treatment gas, and improve the heat treatment effect. Therefore, since the heat treatment rate of the object to be treated can be increased, the transfer path of the object to be treated in the heat treatment chamber can be shortened, and the installation area of the heat treatment apparatus can be reduced.
In addition, the mounting mechanism having a simple and low-cost configuration allows the heat treatment gas injection nozzle to be easily attached to the heat treatment gas supply duct with one touch, and the adjustment mechanism makes it easy to adjust the height of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle. Become.

According to the nozzle for rapid thermal processing apparatus of the present invention applied to the rapid thermal processing apparatus of the present invention, the base of the nozzle body can be swung in the direction in which the tip of the nozzle body approaches or separates from the transport belt. The mounting mechanism attached to the heat treatment gas supply duct and the tip of the nozzle body are locked to the fixed frame adjacent to the conveyor belt, and the distance between the tip and the belt surface of the conveyor belt is adjusted. An adjustment mechanism that allows the nozzle body to swing, and the distance between the tip and the belt surface is adjusted by swinging the tip of the nozzle body. Since the distance between the nozzle port and the belt surface is uniform from the base to the tip of the nozzle body, it is in close contact with the surface of the object to be processed such as food in the width direction of the conveyor belt surface. It is possible to form a flow, it is possible to eliminate the cooling unevenness in the width direction of the conveyor belt surface, increasing the efficiency of heat exchange with an object to be processed with a heat treatment gas such as food, it can improve the heat treatment effect.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to specific examples unless otherwise specifically described. Only.

  An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a spiral freezer will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a spiral freezer according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view taken along line AA in FIG. In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an endless conveying belt 12 made of a net and having a large number of mesh-like pores is spirally arranged inside a freezer 10 that can form a sealed space. And the spiral moving part 14 which injects the low temperature air below 0 degreeC with respect to the food f mounted on the conveyance belt 2 conveyed in the arrow a direction at predetermined intervals, and freezes rapidly is formed.

  The endless conveying belt 12 has an inlet conveying path 12 a led from the entrance / exit 10 a of the freezer 10 to the inside of the freezer 10, and forms a conveying path 12 b that rises spirally by the spiral moving unit 14. The spiral ascending path 12b forms an S-shaped inversion path 12c that forms an S-curve at the upper end and reverses, and then forms a spiral descending path 12d that descends spirally between the spiral ascending paths 12b. To do. And it is arrange | positioned under the inlet conveyance path 12a from the lower end of this spiral descending path 12d, and forms the outlet conveyance path which is not shown in figure which goes out of the freezer 1 through the entrance 10a.

  The spiral moving portion 14 in which the spiral ascending path 12b and the spiral descending path 12d are formed includes a straight line portion 14a located at the center and arc portions 14b at both ends, and has a shape close to an ellipse when viewed from above. . The endless transport belt 12 constituting the spiral moving unit 3 is supported by a support column 16 and is disposed in a non-contact manner with a distribution duct 26 and a hollow nozzle unit 30 serving as a rapid thermal processing apparatus nozzle, which will be described later.

  In FIG. 2, a refrigeration unit 20 is disposed inside a central straight portion 14 a located at the center of the spiral moving unit 14. The refrigeration unit 20 is composed of a conventionally known refrigeration device that constitutes a refrigeration cycle. Prepare. The air c cooled by the heat exchanger 24 is supplied to the distribution duct 26. The distribution duct 26 is disposed between the refrigeration unit 20 and the central straight portion 14a of the spiral moving unit 14, and is hollow inside to form a passage for the cooling air c.

  A large number of cylindrical hollow nozzle portions 30 protruding in a comb-teeth shape from the distribution duct 26 are provided. The structure of the hollow nozzle part 30 is demonstrated based on FIGS. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion B in FIG. In FIG. 3, the hollow nozzle part 30 is hollow inside and has a square cross section. The hollow nozzle portion 30 communicates with a cooling air supply port 28 formed in the distribution duct 26 at the base portion 34. The conveyor belt 12 is supported by the support device 13 and is moved in the direction of arrow a while sliding on the support device 13 by a driving device (not shown).

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the hollow nozzle portion 30 has a height that is shortened toward the distal end portion 36, and is 2 from the distal end portion 36 to the vicinity of the base portion along both side edges of the bottom wall 30b. A slit-like nozzle opening 30d is provided. And it is comprised so that the cooling air c may be ejected vertically toward the conveyance surface of the conveyance belt 12 arrange | positioned below from the nozzle opening 30d.

  FIG. 8A is a development view of the hollow nozzle portion 30. In FIG. 8A, the hollow nozzle portion 30 is configured by combining an upper housing composed of a ceiling wall 30 a and a side wall 30 c, a bottom wall 30 c, and a blind plate 44 provided at the distal end portion 36. A protruding side 30e protruding downward is formed on the side wall 30c, and a protruding side 30f protruding downward is also formed on the bottom wall 30b. The protruding side 30e and the protruding side 30f are provided with a spacer 30g interposed therebetween. By joining facing each other, two slit-shaped nozzle openings 30d are formed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the base portion 34 of the hollow nozzle portion 30 is supported by the cooling air supply port 28, and the tip portion 36 of the hollow nozzle portion 30 is supported by the support member 18 that is stretched horizontally on the column 16. The The cooling air c ejected from the nozzle port 30d becomes a collision jet that collides with the food f.
As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling air c after being sprayed on the food f is received in a return flow path (not shown) provided in the distribution duct 26 and a circulation duct to form a circulation flow b returning to the refrigeration unit 10. To do.

  As shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 8, a base 34 to which the hollow nozzle portion 30 is connected to the distribution duct 26 has an upper flange 38 that can be loosely fitted into a cooling air supply port 28 formed in the distribution duct 26. A lower flange 40 and a protruding plate 42 are formed. Thereby, as will be described later, the base 34 of the hollow nozzle portion 30 can be connected to the distribution duct 26 with a single touch, and the mounting of the hollow nozzle portion 30 becomes easy.

At the base end of the hollow nozzle portion 30, an upper flange 38 is provided on the ceiling surface, and a lower flange 40 is provided on the bottom surface. Widthwise length of the hollow nozzle 30 of the upper flange 38 and lower flange 40 are identical, as shown in FIG. 6, the protruding width Z ₁ of the upper flange 38 is configured larger than the protrusion width Z ₂ of the lower flange 40 ing. Further, a projecting plate 42 projects from the bottom surface on the tip side of the lower flange 40 in parallel with the lower flange 40.

As shown in FIG. 8, the protruding width of the protruding plate 42 is formed to be larger than the protruding width of the lower flange 40, and the length of the hollow nozzle portion 30 in the width direction is configured such that the lower flange 40 is longer than the protruding plate 42. Yes. Further, the space S between the lower flange 40 and the protruding plate 42 is dimensioned so that the lower edge 26b of the cooling air supply port 28 can be loosely fitted.
As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of cooling air supply ports 28 are formed at equal intervals in the distribution duct 26 on the side where the hollow nozzle portion 30 is attached along the conveyance direction a of the conveyance belt 12.

The procedure for attaching the base 34 of the hollow nozzle 30 to the distribution duct 26 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the upper flange 38 is fitted into the cooling air supply port 28, and then raised until the ceiling wall 30 a of the hollow nozzle portion 30 contacts the upper edge portion 26 a of the cooling air supply port 28, and the lower flange 40 is supplied with cooling air. Insert into mouth 28.
After the lower flange 40 is inserted into the cooling air supply port 28, the connection is completed by lowering the bottom wall 30 b of the hollow nozzle portion 30 until it contacts the lower edge portion 26 b of the cooling air supply port 28.

  As described above, the base 34 of the hollow nozzle portion 30 can be attached to the cooling air supply port 28 with a single touch, and the base 34 of the hollow nozzle portion 30 and the cooling air supply port 28 drilled in the distribution duct 26 are loosely attached. In order to adjust the ejection direction of the slit-shaped nozzle port 30d, it can swing both horizontally and vertically.

Next, the configuration of an adjustment mechanism that supports the height of the tip portion 36 of the hollow nozzle portion 30 in an adjustable manner will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 5, 7, 9, and 10.
As shown in FIG. 7, the distal end portion 36 of the hollow nozzle portion 30 is shielded by a blind plate 44 provided in a direction perpendicular to the ceiling wall 30a, the bottom wall 30b, and the side wall 30c. A hole 46 is formed in the center of the blind plate 44. By supplying the cleaning liquid from the hole 46 during maintenance work, the inside of the hollow nozzle portion 30 can be cleaned without disassembling the hollow nozzle portion 30.

  An adjustment device 50 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 is attached to the distal end portion 36 of the hollow nozzle portion 30. The adjusting device 50 is a round bar having a U-shaped fixing member 52, a horizontal bar 54 installed between both side portions 52b of the fixing member 52, a hook 60 at one end, and a male threaded portion 62 at the other end. 58. A through hole 56 for mounting the horizontal bar 54 is formed in both end portions 52 b of the fixing member 52. The horizontal bar 54 is fixed to the through hole 56 with a bolt 64 and a washer 66, but is rotatable with respect to the fixing member 52.

  A female screw hole 68 is formed at the center of the horizontal bar 54, and the male screw part 62 of the round bar 58 is screwed into the female screw hole 68. The relative position of the round bar 58 with respect to the horizontal bar 54 is variable according to the threading degree of the male threaded portion 62, and the relative position can be moved in the direction of the arrow d. Further, since the horizontal bar 54 is rotatable, the round bar 58 is rotatable in the direction of arrow e. The position of the round bar 58 in the direction of arrow d is fixed by the nut 70.

  Bolt insertion holes 48 are formed in the central portion 52a and the blind plate 44 of the fixing member 52, respectively, and the central portion 52a is joined to the blind plate 44 with a coupling bolt (not shown). As a result, the cleaning hole 46 formed in the blind plate portion 44 is shielded, so that the low-temperature air c does not leak from the cleaning hole 46 during the operation of the spiral freezer according to the present embodiment.

  In such a configuration, the support member 18 is stretched horizontally on the support 16 disposed adjacent to the transport belt 12, and the hook 60 is hung on the support member 18 to fix the distal end portion 36 of the hollow nozzle portion 30. Next, the ejection direction of the nozzle port 30d is adjusted. That is, the horizontal direction is adjusted by moving the hook 60 horizontally along the support member 18, and the vertical direction is the state where the hook 60 is hung on the support member 18, and the female screw of the male screw portion 62 of the round bar 58. The degree of screwing into the hole 68 is adjusted. Thus, the distance of the hollow nozzle portion 30 to the belt surface of the conveyance belt 12 can be made uniform from the base portion 34 to the tip portion 36, and the nozzle port 30d can be directed to the food f on the conveyance belt 12 at a right angle. it can.

  By such an operation, uneven cooling in the width direction of the conveyor belt is reduced, and uniform cooling is possible. Further, it is possible to form a collision jet that vertically collides the jet of the low-temperature air c ejected from the nozzle port 30 d toward the food f on the transport belt 12. As a result, the laminar flow on the food surface can be destroyed and the low-temperature air c can be brought into close contact with the food f, so that the heat exchange efficiency can be improved and the cooling effect can be improved.

  With such a configuration, the cooling air c ejected from the hollow nozzle portion 30 and colliding with the food f forms a film flow in close contact with the surface of the food f due to the Coanda effect, and can cool the food f with high heat exchange efficiency.

  In addition, a simple attachment mechanism that does not require a coupler can be realized, and the hollow nozzle portion 30 can be attached to the distribution duct 26 with a single touch, so that the hollow nozzle portion 30 can be easily attached. Since it is necessary to mount a large number of hollow nozzle portions 30 in one spiral freezer, the manufacturing time and manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced as a whole by facilitating the mounting of the hollow nozzle portions 30.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, since it is not necessary to form a protrusion such as a flange on the side wall 30c of the hollow nozzle portion 30, the interval X between the cooling air supply ports 28 shown in FIG. It becomes possible to narrow as much as possible. This eliminates the need for a large maintenance space for the assembly and cleaning of the hollow nozzle 30, which increases the degree of freedom in layout, reduces the accuracy during assembly, and facilitates assembly. At the same time, since the heat exchange efficiency between the cooling air c and the food f to be processed can be improved, the heat treatment rate of the food f can be increased. Therefore, since the conveyance path | route in the freezer 10 of the food f can be shortened, the installation area of the freezer 10 can be reduced.

  In addition, since the cleaning hole 46 is provided in the distal end portion 36 of the hollow nozzle portion 30, the fixing member 52 is removed during maintenance, and the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning hole 46 to the inside of the hollow nozzle portion 30. The inside of the part 30 can be easily cleaned. Further, during the operation of the spiral freezer, since the cleaning hole 46 is shielded by the fixing member 52, the freezing process of the food f is not hindered.

  According to the present invention, when heat treatment is performed on an endless conveyance path for moving an object such as food, the heat treatment efficiency of the food is increased in a limited installation space, and the assembly of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle is facilitated. The degree of freedom in layout can be expanded.

It is a top view of the spiral freezer which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention apparatus. It is a cross-sectional side view which follows the AA line in FIG. It is the B section enlarged view in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the cooling air supply port 28 which concerns on the said embodiment. It is sectional drawing which follows the CC line in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the attachment procedure of the hollow nozzle 30 which concerns on the said embodiment. It is the perspective view seen from the upper direction of the hollow nozzle 30 which concerns on the said embodiment. (A) is a development view of the hollow nozzle 30 according to the embodiment, (b) is an enlarged front view of an E portion in (a), and (c) is a side view as viewed from the F direction in (b). FIG. It is a perspective view of the fixing device 50 which concerns on the said embodiment. It is sectional drawing which follows the GG line in FIG. It is a perspective view of the conventional rapid thermal processing apparatus. (A) is sectional drawing which follows the HH line in FIG. 11, (b) is the front view seen from the I direction in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Freezer 12 Endless conveyance belt 16 Support | pillar 18 Support member (fixed frame)
26 Distribution duct (heat treatment gas supply duct)
26a Upper edge portion 26b Lower edge portion 28 Cooling air supply port 30 Hollow nozzle portion (heat treatment gas injection nozzle)
32 Nozzle port 34 Base 36 Tip 38 Upper flange 40 Lower flange 42 Projection plate 46 Cleaning hole 50 Adjusting device 52 Fixing member (shielding plate)
56 Round bar 60 Hook 62 Male thread 68 Female thread hole f Food

Claims (7)

A heat treatment chamber, an endless conveyance belt provided in the heat treatment chamber, a heat treatment gas supply duct disposed in the heat treatment chamber, and a direction connected to the heat treatment gas supply duct and intersecting the conveyance direction of the conveyance belt In a rapid thermal processing apparatus provided with a hollow cylindrical heat treatment gas injection nozzle that adds an impact jet of heat treatment gas to a workpiece on the conveyor belt from a nozzle port,
An attachment mechanism for attaching the base of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle to the heat treatment gas supply duct so that the tip of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle can swing in a direction approaching or separating from the belt surface of the conveyor belt;
An adjustment mechanism for locking the front end of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle to a fixed frame disposed adjacent to the transport belt and adjusting the distance between the front end and the belt surface of the transport belt;
By adjusting the distance between the front end portion of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle and the belt surface by swinging the front end portion of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle by the adjustment mechanism, the distance between the nozzle port of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle and the belt surface is reduced. A rapid heat treatment apparatus characterized by being configured to be uniform from a base portion to a tip portion of a heat treatment gas injection nozzle. The mounting mechanism is provided in the heat treatment gas supply duct and is provided with a heat treatment gas supply port having a size into which the base of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle can be inserted, and an upper flange projecting upward from the upper side of the base end of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle A lower flange that protrudes downward from the lower side of the base end and has a smaller protruding width than the upper flange, and a lower edge of the heat treatment gas supply port is inserted between the lower flange at a position closer to the distal end than the lower flange A lower protrusion projecting downward with a possible interval, and
The upper flange and the lower flange are inserted into the heat treatment gas supply port, the lower edge of the heat treatment gas supply port is positioned between the lower flange and the lower protrusion, and the upper flange is placed on the upper edge of the heat treatment gas supply port by the weight of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle. The rapid thermal processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rapid thermal processing apparatus is configured to be engaged with a portion. The adjustment mechanism includes a screw hole provided at a tip portion of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle, a male screw portion that is screwed into the screw hole, and a hook that is engaged with a fixed frame disposed adjacent to the conveyance belt. A fixing member,
The tip of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle is fixed by screwing the male screw part and the screw hole and locking the hook to the fixed frame, and the screwing degree of the male screw part and the screw hole is adjusted. The rapid thermal processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the tip of the thermal processing gas injection nozzle and the belt surface of the transport belt is adjustable.   2. The heat treatment gas spray nozzle according to claim 1, further comprising an opening at a front end portion of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle capable of supplying a cleaning liquid into the heat treatment gas injection nozzle and a detachable shielding plate for shielding the cleaning opening. Rapid heat treatment equipment. In the hollow cylindrical heat treatment gas injection nozzle used in the rapid thermal processing apparatus according to claim 1,
An attachment mechanism for attaching the base of the nozzle body to the heat treatment gas supply duct so that the tip of the nozzle body can swing in a direction approaching or separating from the conveyor belt;
An adjustment mechanism that allows the tip of the nozzle body to be locked to a fixed frame that is disposed adjacent to the conveyor belt, and that allows the distance between the tip and the belt surface of the conveyor belt to be adjusted;
By adjusting the distance between the tip portion and the belt surface by swinging the tip portion of the nozzle body by the adjustment mechanism, the distance between the nozzle port provided on the nozzle body and the belt surface is changed from the base portion of the nozzle body. A rapid thermal processing apparatus nozzle characterized by being configured to be uniform up to the tip. The mounting mechanism is provided in the heat treatment gas supply duct and is provided with a heat treatment gas supply port having a size into which the base of the nozzle body can be inserted, an upper flange projecting upward from the upper side of the base end of the nozzle body, and the base end A lower flange projecting downward from the lower side of the upper flange and having a projection width smaller than that of the upper flange, and a space at which the lower edge of the heat treatment gas supply port can be inserted between the lower flange at a position closer to the tip than the lower flange. And having a lower protrusion protruding downward,
The upper flange and the lower flange are inserted into the heat treatment gas supply port, the lower edge of the heat treatment gas supply port is positioned between the lower flange and the lower protrusion, and the upper flange is placed on the upper edge of the heat treatment gas supply port by the weight of the heat treatment gas injection nozzle. The rapid thermal processing apparatus nozzle according to claim 5, wherein the nozzle is fastened to the portion. The adjustment mechanism includes a screw hole provided at a tip portion of the nozzle body, a male screw portion that is screwed into the screw hole, and a fixing member that is hooked to a fixing frame disposed adjacent to the transport belt. And consists of
By fixing the distal end portion by screwing the male screw portion and the screw hole and locking the hook to the fixing frame, and adjusting the screwing degree of the male screw portion and the screw hole, 7. The rapid thermal processing apparatus nozzle according to claim 5, wherein a distance between the tip portion and a belt surface of the conveyor belt is adjustable.

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