JP6253090B2 - Frozen confectionery manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a frozen confectionery manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to a frozen confectionery manufacturing apparatus in which a frozen confectionery raw material is produced by cooling a frozen confectionery raw material with brine in a brine tank while moving a mold filled with the frozen confectionery raw material in the brine tank. It is.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus that freezes a frozen dessert raw material while moving a mold filled with the frozen dessert raw material in a brine tank has been widely used.
Then, the cooled brine is supplied to the brine stored in the brine tank from the brine supply pipe disposed in the brine tank through a brine jet formed of a large number of small holes formed in the brine supply pipe. A frozen confectionery manufacturing apparatus has been proposed and put into practical use (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  By the way, in this frozen confection manufacturing apparatus, in order to improve cooling efficiency, it is necessary to increase the speed (heat transfer amount Q) at which heat is transferred from the brine to the frozen confectionery raw material in the mold.

This heat transfer amount Q is proportional to the surface area of the solid (mold) that receives heat and the temperature difference between the solid (mold) and the medium (brine), and is expressed by the following equation.
Where Q = h · A · (Tw−Ta)
h = Nu · k / L
Nu = 0.664 · Re ^1/2 · Pr ^1/3
h: Proportional constant (thermal conductivity coefficient) (W / (m ² · K))
A: Surface area (m ² )
Tw: Mold surface temperature (K)
Ta: Brine temperature (K)
Nu: Nusert number
k: Thermal conductivity of fluid (W / (m · K))
L: Plate length in the flow direction (m)
Re: Reynolds number (= U · L / ν) (U: flow velocity, ν: kinematic viscosity coefficient)
Pr: Prandtl number (= η · Cp / k) (η: viscosity coefficient, Cp: specific heat)
It is.
From the above formula, in order to improve the heat transfer amount Q, it is necessary to increase the fixed surface area A and the heat conduction coefficient h other than the temperatures Tw and Ta.
If the brine to be used is not changed among the parameters for determining the heat conduction coefficient h (the kinematic viscosity coefficient ν and the viscosity coefficient η do not change), the parameter that can be changed is the flow velocity U.
Therefore, in order to increase the speed (heat transfer amount Q) at which heat is transferred from the brine to the frozen dessert material in the mold, it is necessary to increase the flow rate U of the brine hitting the mold.

In order to increase the flow velocity U of the brine hitting the mold, for example, it is conceivable to increase the flow rate (circulation amount) of the cooled brine supplied from the brine supply pipe through the brine outlet.
However, in the method of simply increasing the flow rate of brine, in the experiment conducted by the present applicant, for example, when the flow rate of brine is 100 L / min, the temperature of the frozen dessert raw material in the mold supplied at room temperature is −16 ° C. In order to reduce the freezing time to about 400 seconds in the case of a brine tank equipped with a brine outlet whose freezing time is about 550 seconds, the flow rate of brine must be increased by 5 times or more. There is a problem that the equipment becomes larger and the energy consumption increases.
Further, in this case, the flow rate of the brine is greatly increased, so that the brines supplied through the adjacent brine outlets of the brine supply pipe interfere with each other, thereby inhibiting the flow of the brine and increasing the width direction. There has been a problem that temperature unevenness is likely to occur in the cooling temperature of a mold having a plurality of lined bag portions.

  In addition, since the brine has a high viscosity, it is difficult to maintain the initial velocity at the brine outlet composed of a large number of small holes up to the vicinity of the mold. To cope with this, the brine outlet is placed close to the mold. When arranged in such a way, there is a problem that the flow of brine is biased, and temperature unevenness is likely to occur in the cooling temperature of the mold having a plurality of bag portions arranged in the width direction.

  By the way, in view of the problems of the conventional frozen confectionery manufacturing apparatus, the present applicant previously formed a slit-shaped brine jet opening that opened across the width direction of the brine tank orthogonal to the moving direction of the mold. A frozen confectionery manufacturing apparatus was proposed in which a plurality of the brine supply pipes were arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the brine tank (see Patent Document 2).

  This frozen dessert manufacturing device prevents the occurrence of temperature unevenness in the cooling temperature of the mold having a plurality of bag portions arranged in the width direction of the brine tank by uniformly hitting the brine with a high flow velocity against the mold surface. In addition, the cooling efficiency can be increased.

JP 2011-67198 A JP 2013-201917 A

  By the way, although the frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 2 has the above-mentioned advantages, the flow path length of the slit-shaped brine jet formed in the brine supply pipe is limited by the wall thickness of the brine supply pipe. Therefore, it is difficult to impart directivity to the brine ejected from the brine ejection port, and therefore it is particularly difficult to increase the flow rate of the brine hitting the mold surface without increasing the flow rate of the brine.

  In view of the problems of the conventional frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus, the present invention provides a plurality of lines arranged in the width direction of the brine tank by uniformly hitting the brine with a large flow velocity against the mold surface without increasing the flow rate of the brine. It is an object of the present invention to provide a frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus capable of preventing the occurrence of temperature unevenness in the cooling temperature of the mold having the bag portion and improving the cooling efficiency.

In order to achieve the above object, a frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention includes a brine supply pipe in which a brine jet port for supplying cooled brine is formed in a brine stored in a brine tank, and the inside of the brine tank is brined. In the frozen confectionery manufacturing apparatus in which the frozen confectionery raw material is frozen by moving a mold filled with the frozen confectionery raw material in the longitudinal direction of the tank, the brine outlet forming portion of the brine supply pipe is formed in the brine supply pipe The thickness of the brine outlet forming portion of the brine supply pipe is determined by configuring the brine outlet and the plate-like member formed with the brine outlet fixed to the opening edge of the brine outlet. By making the wall length of the other part of the pipe larger than the wall thickness of the other part of the brine supply pipe, Characterized in that so as to have directivity in brine ejected from the ejection port.

  Moreover, the said brine jet nozzle can be made into the slit shape opened over the width direction of the brine tank orthogonal to the moving direction of a mold.

  In addition, the brine outlet can be formed in a range in which the direction of the brine is obliquely upward from vertically upward.

  According to the frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the thickness of the brine outlet forming portion of the brine supply pipe is formed larger than the thickness of the other part of the brine supply pipe, and the flow length of the brine outlet is supplied to the brine By making it larger than the wall thickness of the other part of the pipe, it is possible to give directivity to the brine ejected from the brine outlet, so that the flow velocity of the brine hitting the mold surface is increased without increasing the brine flow rate. be able to. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of temperature unevenness in the cooling temperature of the mold having a plurality of bag portions arranged in the width direction of the brine tank by uniformly hitting the brine with a high flow velocity on the surface of the mold. In addition, the cooling efficiency can be increased.

And the brine jet formation part of the said brine supply pipe is comprised with the brine jet formed in the brine supply pipe, and the plate-shaped member which formed the brine jet outlet fixed to the opening edge part of this brine jet As a result, an existing pipe material can be used for the brine supply pipe, and the manufacture of the apparatus can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

  Further, the brine outlet is formed in a slit shape that opens across the width direction of the brine tank perpendicular to the moving direction of the mold, so that the brine is planarized from the slit-like brine outlet. And the brines supplied through the adjacent brine outlets of the brine supply pipe as in the conventional frozen confectionery manufacturing apparatus configured with a large number of small holes formed in the brine supply pipe. Since there is no interference, and the resistance received from the brine stored in the brine tank is small, it is easy to maintain the initial velocity at the brine outlet to the vicinity of the mold, and the flow of brine is not easily biased. In combination with this, it is possible to prevent temperature unevenness from occurring in the cooling temperature of the mold having a plurality of bag portions arranged in the width direction of the brine tank. It is possible, the cooling efficiency can be further improved.

  In addition, by forming the brine outlet in a range in which the direction of jetting the brine is obliquely upward from vertically upward, the brine can be uniformly applied to the bottom surface or front surface or back surface of the mold. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of temperature unevenness in the cooling temperature of the mold having a plurality of bag portions arranged in the width direction, and to further improve the cooling efficiency.

It is the whole schematic diagram of the notch which shows one Example of the frozen confectionery manufacturing apparatus of this invention. It is XX sectional drawing of FIG. It is YY sectional drawing of FIG. It is a perspective view explaining the brine supply part of the frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus. The brine supply pipe | tube of the frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus is shown, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is an AA sectional view of (b), (d) is B part of (c). It is an enlarged view. It is a perspective view of the mold of the frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus. It is a graph which shows the result of the cooling test of the same frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus and the conventional frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the frozen confectionery manufacturing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 to 6 show an embodiment of the frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
The frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a brine tank 2 including a brine supply pipe 30 in which a brine jet 3 for supplying brine cooled by the brine cooling means 5 to the brine stored in the brine tank 2 is provided, and a plate A mold 4 (see FIG. 6) that is filled with a frozen dessert material provided with a plurality of bags 41 in the shape of a frozen dessert on the shaped member 40, and an endless conveying means 6 that is attached so as to bridge the mold 4; The raw material filling means 7 for filling the bag portion 41 of the mold 4 with the frozen dessert material before the brine tank 2 and the frozen dessert takeout means for taking out the frozen frozen dessert from the bag portion 41 of the mold 4 when the mold 4 comes out of the brine tank 2 8 and so on.
Further, the frozen confectionery manufacturing apparatus 1 is provided with a stick inserter (not shown) for inserting a stick into the frozen confectionery raw material partially frozen while moving in the brine tank 2.

The brine tank 2 cools the mold 4 in the brine tank 2 by the brine cooled by the brine cooling means 5 being supplied and ejected from the brine outlet 3 formed in the brine supply pipe 30, and the brine tank The brine whose temperature has increased in 2 overflows from the weir 20 and is circulated to the brine cooling means 5.
The brine circulated to the brine cooling means 5 is cooled and supplied to the brine tank 2 from the brine outlet 3 formed in the brine supply pipe 30 again and jetted.
Thereby, the brine in the brine tank 2 always maintains a predetermined temperature (for example, −35 ° C.) so that the frozen dessert material in the bag portion 41 of the mold 4 can be cooled and frozen.

In this case, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the brine supply pipe 30 in which the brine outlet 3 is formed is a portion of the brine supply pipe 30 in which the brine outlet 3 is formed (in this specification, “brine jet outlet The wall thickness t of the other portion of the brine supply pipe 30 is formed to be larger than the wall thickness t0 of the other portion of the brine supply pipe 30. I try to make it bigger.
Thereby, since the directivity can be given to the brine ejected from the brine ejection port 3, the flow rate of the brine hitting the surface of the mold 4 can be increased without increasing the flow rate of the brine.

In this embodiment, in order to form the thickness t of the brine outlet formation portion larger than the thickness t0 of the other portion of the brine supply pipe 30, the brine outlet formation portion of the brine supply pipe 30 is It consists of a brine outlet 3a formed in the brine supply pipe 30 itself, and a plate-like member 3P in which a brine outlet 3b fixed to the opening edge of the brine outlet 3a is formed, and the meat of the brine outlet forming portion The thickness t is set to be the sum of the thickness t0 of the other part of the brine supply pipe 30 and the thickness t1 of the plate-like member 3P.
Here, the thickness t of the brine outlet forming portion that becomes the flow path length of the brine outlet 3 is 2 mm or more, preferably 2.5 mm or more (in this embodiment, 3 mm). In accordance with this, the thickness t1 of the plate-like member 3P is set (in this embodiment, 2 mm).
Further, the plate-like member 3P is fixed to the brine outlet formation portion of the brine supply pipe 30 by welding, but in order to facilitate the alignment of the two brine outlets 3a and 3b, the brine supply pipe In order to reduce the energy loss of the brine when passing through the brine outlets 3a and 3b, the brine outlet 3a formed in the 30 itself is slightly larger than the brine outlet 3b formed in the plate-like member 3P. By forming a round R on the connection side of the brine outlet 3b formed in the plate-like member 3P, the two brine outlets 3a and 3b are gently connected.
Thereby, a ready-made pipe material can be used for the brine supply pipe 30, and simplification of apparatus manufacture and cost reduction can be achieved.

  The plate-like member 3P can be obtained by forming the brine outlet 3b in a plate-like material, but a thin plate-like (bar-like) is formed at the opening edge of the brine outlet 3a formed in the brine supply pipe 30 itself. It is also possible to form by directly welding the material of).

The brine outlet 3 formed in the brine supply pipe 30 provided in the brine tank 2 has a slit shape opened across the width direction of the brine tank 2 orthogonal to the moving direction of the mold 4, and the length of the brine tank 2 A plurality of brine supply pipes 30 are provided at intervals in the direction.
In this case, the slit-shaped brine outlet 3 formed in the brine supply pipe 30 is preferably 80% or more of the dimension in the width direction of the brine tank 2 (the dimension between the opposing weirs 20), more preferably, It is formed so as to cover 90% or more.
Thereby, since the brine ejected from the brine ejection port 3 is ejected in a planar shape from the slit-shaped brine ejection port 3, the brine ejection port is constituted by a large number of small holes formed in the brine supply pipe. The brine supplied through the brine outlets adjacent to the brine supply pipe do not interfere with each other as in the conventional frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus, and the resistance received from the brine stored in the brine tank 2 is small. In addition, it is easy to maintain the initial velocity at the brine outlet 3 to the vicinity of the mold 4, and in addition to the fact that the flow of brine is less likely to be biased, a plurality of bag portions 41 aligned in the width direction of the brine tank 2 are formed. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of temperature unevenness in the cooling temperature of the mold 4 provided, and to improve the cooling efficiency.

The brine supply pipe 30 is located below the mold 4 moving in the brine tank 2 and across the width direction of the brine tank 2 orthogonal to the moving direction of the mold 4 and, as shown in FIG. A plurality of them are arranged at intervals P in the longitudinal direction.
Thereby, the supply amount of the cooled brine to the brine outlet 3 formed in each brine supply pipe 30 can be easily adjusted.
In this case, the longitudinal interval P in which the brine supply pipe 30 is arranged is an equal interval, for example, an interval of 100 mm to 400 mm, preferably an interval of 200 mm to 300 mm (in this embodiment, an interval of about 250 mm). It is arranged.
In this manner, by arranging the brine supply pipe 30 with the interval P in the longitudinal direction, the brines supplied through the adjacent brine jets 3 do not interfere with each other, and the movement direction is Brine can be uniformly applied to the molds 4 arranged at equal intervals of 50 to 70 mm (63.5 mm in this embodiment), and provided with a plurality of bag portions 41 arranged in the width direction of the brine tank 2. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of temperature unevenness in the cooling temperature of the mold 4 and improve the cooling efficiency.
In addition, the interval P in the longitudinal direction in which the brine supply pipe 30 is disposed, that is, the interval between the brine outlets 3 is equal throughout the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the brine tank 2. It is possible to adjust the cooling state of the frozen confectionery raw material filled in the bag portion 41 of the mold 4 by setting it narrow on the entry side of 4 and wide on the exit side, or vice versa.

The slit width a of the brine outlet 3 is, for example, 1 mm to 3 mm (in the present embodiment, about 1 mm to 3 mm) so that a predetermined initial velocity of the brine can be obtained and a high-viscosity brine can be smoothly ejected. About 2 mm).
In addition, as shown in the present embodiment, the slit length is one continuous slit extending over substantially the entire length of the brine supply pipe 30, and in order to maintain the strength, the connection portion is partially provided. It can also be formed in a typical shape or an oval shape.

The brine supply pipe 30 is connected to the brine cooling means 5 via the brine supply mother pipe 31.
More specifically, a connecting port 30a is formed in the brine supply pipe 30 to be connected to the brine supply ports 31a formed in the two brine supply mother pipes 31 arranged over substantially the entire length of the brine tank 2 in the longitudinal direction. The brine supply pipe 30 is horizontally arranged so as to span the two brine supply mother pipes 31.
Note that the brine supply pipe 30 can be arranged horizontally, for example, in a mountain shape with a raised central portion.

The brine ejection port 3 is formed in the brine supply pipe 30 so that the ejection direction of the brine is vertically upward.
As a result, the brine ejected at the shortest distance from the brine ejection port 3 to the mold 4 hits the mold 4, minimizing a decrease in the ejection speed of the brine, and improving the cooling efficiency.

Further, the brine outlet 3 is formed in the brine supply pipe 30 so that the brine jet direction is vertically upward, and as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3, the brine jet direction is obliquely upward. It can also be formed.
The angle α in the case of forming obliquely upward (clockwise and counterclockwise angle α when the vertical upward direction shown in FIG. 3 is 0 degree) is the distance from the brine outlet 3 to the mold 4, the viscosity of the brine, etc. However, considering the distance until the brine ejected from the brine outlet 3 reaches the mold 4, it is usually 45 degrees or less, preferably 30 degrees or less. More preferably, the angle is set to about 5 to 15 degrees.
Thereby, the brine can be uniformly applied to the front surface or the back surface of the mold 4, and temperature unevenness occurs in the cooling temperature of the mold 4 including the plurality of bag portions 41 arranged in the width direction of the brine tank 2. Can be prevented and the cooling efficiency can be improved.
In addition, the ejection direction of the brine is the same in the entire length of the brine tank 2, and is different between the entrance side (right side in FIG. 1) and the exit side (left side in FIG. 1) of the mold 4 of the brine tank 2. Can be. For example, on the entrance side of the brine tank 2, the brine hits the back side of the mold 4 in the moving direction of the mold 4 so that the brine tank 2 is vertically upward in the vicinity of the center of the brine tank 2. On the exit side, the brine can hit the front side of the mold 4 in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the mold 4.

Further, the brine outlet 3 is formed with an interval L of 10 mm to 100 mm from the lower end of the mold 4.
The interval L can be as close as possible to the mold 4 because the brine is ejected in a planar shape from the brine ejection port 3 formed in a slit shape, preferably 10 mm to 70 mm, more preferably 10 mm. By setting it to ˜50 mm, it is possible to minimize a decrease in the speed of the brine and improve the cooling efficiency.
In addition, a drive mechanism (not shown) that moves the brine outlet 3 up and down can be provided so that the interval L can be changed according to the mold 4 that is changed according to the shape of the frozen dessert.
And by providing a drive mechanism, the space | interval L can also be set to the value which an operator seems to be optimal during the driving | operation of the frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus 1. FIG.

  Next, when the frozen dessert is manufactured using the frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus 1 using the brine supplying pipe 30 provided with the plate-like member 3P in which the brine ejection port 3b is formed in the brine supplying pipe 30 (Example 1: Brine) Example 2: Without the provision of the plate-like member 3P forming the brine outlet 3b, and the example 2: the brine ejection direction is obliquely upward (α = 30 degrees) facing the moving direction of the mold 4 , A cooling test comparing the case where the frozen dessert was produced using the frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus using the brine supply pipe 30 constituted by the brine outlet 3a formed in the brine supply pipe 30 itself (comparative example) Based on FIG. 7, the results of performing the time for cooling the frozen confectionery raw material at normal temperature to −16 ° C. (referred to herein as “cooling time”) at a brine temperature of −35 ° C. ± 0.5 ° C. Explain The

Here, the mold 4 is moved intermittently in the brine tank 2 by the conveying means 6. In the cooling test, 25 cycles · 185 L (flow rate of brine (circulation amount)) / min and 25 cycles · 451 L (flow rate of brine (circulation amount)) / min.
Moreover, the brine tank 2 used for experiment used the thing of the dimension of 1850 mm in the longitudinal direction, and the dimension of the width direction of 490 mm (surface area of about 1 m ² ).
Note that the cooling time was measured by reciprocating the mold 4 in the longitudinal direction of the brine tank 2 from the relationship of the dimensions in the longitudinal direction of the brine tank 2.

  As shown in FIG. 7, Examples 1 and 2 confirmed that the cooling time can be shortened by several% to tens of% compared to the comparative example.

  As mentioned above, although the frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus of this invention was demonstrated based on the Example, this invention is not limited to the structure described in the said Example, The structure is suitably changed in the range which does not deviate from the meaning. Is something that can be done.

  The frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus of the present invention cools a mold having a plurality of bag portions arranged in the width direction of the brine tank by uniformly hitting the brine with a large flow velocity against the mold surface without increasing the flow rate of the brine. Since temperature unevenness can be prevented from occurring in the temperature and cooling efficiency can be improved, the frozen dessert material is cooled by the brine in the brine tank while the mold filled with the frozen dessert material is moved in the brine tank. Therefore, it can be suitably used for a frozen confectionery production apparatus that produces frozen confectionery.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus 2 Brine tank 20 Weir 3 Brine jet 3P Plate-shaped member 3a Brine jet 3b Brine jet 30 Brine supply pipe 31 Brine supply mother pipe 4 Mold P Brine supply pipe interval a Slit width t Brine jet formation Thickness of the part t0 Thickness of the other part of the brine supply pipe t1 Thickness of the plate member

Claims (3)

The brine stored in the brine tank is provided with a brine supply pipe in which a brine outlet for supplying cooled brine is formed, and the mold filled with the frozen dessert material is moved in the brine tank in the longitudinal direction of the brine tank. In the frozen confectionery manufacturing apparatus that freezes the frozen confectionery raw material, the brine outlet forming portion of the brine supply pipe is fixed to the brine outlet formed in the brine supply pipe and the opening edge of the brine outlet. The thickness of the brine outlet forming portion of the brine supply pipe is made larger than the thickness of the other part of the brine supply pipe. By making the flow path length of the outlet larger than the wall thickness of the other part of the brine supply pipe, the brine ejected from the brine jet outlet has directivity. Ice confection producing device, characterized in that had Unishi. Wherein the brine spout is ice confection producing device according to claim 1, wherein over the width direction of the brine tank perpendicular to the moving direction of the mold, characterized by comprising the opened slit shape. The brine spout ice confection producing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ejection direction of the brine is characterized in that it is formed in a range that diagonally upward from vertically upward.

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