JP7095720B2 - Agricultural product freshness maintenance device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for maintaining the freshness of agricultural products.

Conventionally, it is important to maintain the freshness of flowers, fruits and vegetables (hereinafter, also simply referred to as agricultural products) immediately after harvesting as much as possible in order not to reduce the commercial value of agricultural products in the market.

In general, agricultural products begin to deteriorate immediately after harvesting due to various deterioration factors such as respiratory deterioration due to respiratory nutrient consumption, putrefaction deterioration due to the growth of microorganisms such as molds and germs, and dry deterioration due to a decrease in water content due to transpiration.

Among such deterioration factors of agricultural products, for example, for respiratory deterioration, the agricultural products are kept at a low temperature by a cooling device such as a cool box or a refrigerator to suppress breathing, and for spoilage deterioration and dry deterioration, for example. A vaporization type humidifier fills the storage room with gaseous water (saturated steam) to eliminate liquid water that becomes a hotbed for mold and germs, and suppresses evaporation of agricultural products to maintain the freshness of agricultural products. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-275301

By the way, vegetables of agricultural products stored in the storage room include, for example, leafy vegetables such as Japanese mustard spinach and spinach, root vegetables such as radish and carrot, and fruit vegetables such as cucumber and eggplant. Among them, it is known that it is preferable to appropriately add liquid water to fruit vegetables in order to prevent drying deterioration.

That is, since agricultural products with different moisturizing conditions are stored together in the storage room, the above-mentioned conventional freshness-maintaining device imparts gaseous water to leafy vegetables and root vegetables among agricultural products to cause drying deterioration. However, it was not possible to impart liquid water to fruit vegetables, and there was a risk of promoting drying deterioration.

To deal with these problems, it is conceivable to install a mist-type humidifier in the storage room and constantly spray liquid water into the storage room, but the liquid water adhering to the walls of the storage room and the surface of agricultural products will be present. It remained as a hotbed for mold and germs for a long period of time, and there was a risk of promoting putrefaction and deterioration of agricultural products.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the gaseous water and the liquid water are appropriately selected and imparted from the steam generation chamber according to the type of agricultural products stored in the storage chamber. Agricultural products that can achieve moisturizing conditions suitable for individual types of agricultural products, suppress deterioration factors of agricultural products as much as possible, and maintain the freshness of agricultural products as much as possible even in a relatively long-term storage state. It is an object of the present invention to provide a freshness preserving device.

The freshness-maintaining device for agricultural products according to the present invention communicates the agricultural product storage chamber kept cooled at about 0 ° C. to 15 ° C. and the saturated steam generation chamber, and flows the saturated steam generated in the saturated steam generation chamber into the agricultural product storage chamber. It is configured to be able to remove various deterioration factors of agricultural products such as fruits and vegetables stored in the agricultural product storage room, and the saturated steam generation chamber has a steam generation case, an air suction mechanism for taking in air, and an air suction mechanism. It is composed of a porous filter block provided in communication with the above and a sprinkling mechanism for sprinkling water on the porous filter block, and the porous filter block forms a porous sheet in a corrugated manner and maintains a constant interval. In addition to being configured by stacking a large number of sheets, there is a case where the waveforms of the laminated porous sheets are arranged in the same phase and arranged in the same direction filter pattern, and the phase is shifted by about 1/2 of the waveform amplitude. It is characterized in that the direction of the waveform can be changed between the case of configuring the different direction filter pattern in which the valley and the peak are arranged in anti-phase in order so as to face each other and the case of configuring it.

In addition, the freshness-maintaining device for agricultural products according to the present invention is also characterized in the following points.
(2) The sprinkling mechanism for sprinkling water on the porous filter block absorbed in the saturated water vapor generation chamber is connected to the drain circulation device separately arranged on either the inside or the outside of the agricultural product storage chamber, and the drain circulation device is used. , The drain pipe arranged in the drain case, the outside air blowing mechanism for blowing high temperature outside air to the drain pipe, and the cooling drain from the cooling device used for cooling the agricultural product storage room to flow into the drain pipe. From the drain flow passage, the drain collection tray for collecting the dripping drain generated from the outside air on the outer circumference of the drain pipe, and the drain collection tray, which is arranged at the bottom of the drain case and below the drain pipe. It consists of a drain water pipe for sending the collected drain to the watering mechanism of the porous filter block in the saturated water vapor generation chamber.
(3) The temperature of the water collecting drain when sending the water collecting drain to the watering mechanism that sprinkles water to the porous filter block in the saturated steam generation room is about 10 to 45 ° C higher than the temperature in the agricultural product storage room. By maintaining the saturated water vapor pressure, the saturated water vapor generation chamber can be rapidly humidified.
(4) When the saturated steam generated in the saturated steam generation chamber flows into the agricultural product storage chamber from the saturated steam flow passage, the inflow form of the saturated steam into the agricultural product storage chamber is set to the upper and lower three-layer flow, and the intermediate layer flow is By making the humidity lower than that of the upper and lower layers of high humidity, it is configured to suppress the dew condensation in the agricultural product storage room as much as possible and avoid the dew condensation phenomenon on the floor and wall surface of the agricultural product storage room.

According to the present invention, the saturated steam generated in the saturated steam generation chamber is communicated between the agricultural product storage chamber kept cooled to about 0 ° C to 15 ° C and the saturated steam generation chamber, and flows into the agricultural product storage chamber into the agricultural product storage chamber. In the freshness maintenance device of agricultural products configured to be able to remove various deterioration factors of agricultural products such as stored fruits and vegetables, the saturated steam generation chamber has a steam generation case, an air suction mechanism for taking in air, and air suction. It is composed of a porous filter block provided in communication with the mechanism and a sprinkling mechanism for sprinkling water on the porous filter block, and the porous filter block forms a porous sheet in a corrugated shape and maintains a constant interval. In addition to being configured by stacking a large number of sheets, the phase is shifted by approximately 1/2 of the waveform amplitude when the laminated porous sheet is configured in the same-direction filter pattern in which the directions of the waveforms are arranged in the same phase. The direction of the water vapor is configured to be a different direction filter pattern arranged in anti-phase so that the valley and the mountain face each other, and the agricultural product storage room (hereinafter referred to as “agricultural product storage room”). Gaseous water and liquid water are appropriately selected and applied from the saturated steam generation chamber (hereinafter, also simply referred to as steam generation chamber) according to the type of agricultural products stored in the storage chamber). The effect of achieving moisturizing conditions suitable for each type of agricultural product, suppressing deterioration factors of agricultural products as much as possible, and maintaining the freshness of agricultural products even in a relatively long-term storage state. There is.

That is, in a porous filter block in which a large number of porous sheets in a steam generation chamber are formed into a corrugated shape and laminated at a constant interval, the directions of many waveforms of the porous sheets are ordered in the same phase. In the same-direction filter pattern arranged in the same direction, the inflow air flowing between the porous sheets causes a ventilary effect, and the liquid water impregnated in the porous filter block is forcibly drawn out and vaporized step by step. By doing so, gaseous water, that is, air containing saturated water vapor (hereinafter, simply referred to as water vapor-containing air) is efficiently generated.

As a result, the air in the agricultural product storage room can be replaced with water vapor-containing air to create a saturated steam atmosphere with a relative humidity (RH) of 90% or more and 100% or less, and the convection of the water vapor-containing air creates a saturated steam atmosphere in the storage room. It is possible to evaporate liquid water such as dew condensation, suppress evaporation of agricultural products as much as possible, and prevent spoilage deterioration and dry deterioration of agricultural products without leaving liquid water adhering to agricultural products. Can be done.

On the other hand, in the different direction filter pattern in which the phase of the porous sheet is shifted by approximately 1/2 of the waveform amplitude and the direction of the waveform is arranged in opposite phase so that the valleys and peaks face each other. , The inflow air flowing in from the upstream side maximizes the wind pressure at the peaks and valleys of the porous sheets, and pushes the liquid water impregnated in the porous filter block directly to the downstream side. It is possible to efficiently generate liquid water, that is, mist. As a result, it is possible to directly impart liquid moisture to agricultural products and the like in the agricultural product storage room, for example, fruits and vegetables, to prevent drying deterioration.

Further, according to the invention of claim 2, the sprinkling mechanism for sprinkling water on the porous filter block absorbed in the saturated water vapor generation chamber communicates with a drain circulation device separately arranged on either the inside or the outside of the agricultural product storage chamber. Along with the continuous installation, the drain circulation device includes a drain pipe arranged in the drain case, an outside air blowing mechanism for blowing high-temperature outside air to the drain pipe, and a cooling device used to cool the agricultural product storage room into the drain pipe. A drain flow passage for circulating the cooling drain from the water, and a drain pipe located at the bottom of the drain case and below the drain pipe to collect the dripping drain generated from the outside air on the outer circumference of the drain pipe. Since it is composed of a drain recovery tray and a drain water pipe for sending the collected drain from the drain recovery tray to the watering mechanism of the porous filter block in the saturated water vapor generation chamber, the water collected drain obtained from the outside air by the drain circulation device. Can be used for watering the porous filter block, and has the effect of saving water from the water source supplied to the watering mechanism.

That is, even in a water shortage environment such as on a ship or on a vehicle where a certain water source cannot be secured such as a water supply facility, the drain discharged from the cooling device of the storage room is used as a cooling medium in the drain pipe through the drain flow passage. The outside air that comes into contact with the outside of the drain pipe is rapidly cooled to drain the gaseous water contained in the outside air and make a phase transition to liquid water, and the same liquid water is recovered as a dropping drain. It can be used for watering by sending water to the watering mechanism, and has the effect of being able to be used for imparting liquid or gaseous water to agricultural products.

Further, according to the invention of claim 3, the temperature of the water sprinkled from the sprinkling mechanism to the porous filter block in the saturated steam generation chamber is maintained at a temperature higher than the temperature in the agricultural product storage chamber by about 10 to 45 ° C. By increasing the saturated water vapor pressure, it is possible to rapidly humidify the saturated water vapor generation room. The internal environment of the storage chamber can be changed to a saturated steam atmosphere as soon as possible by the saturated steam generation chamber, and there is an effect that the prevention of drying deterioration of agricultural products can be steadily prevented.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, when the saturated steam generated in the saturated steam generation chamber flows into the agricultural product storage chamber from the saturated steam flow passage, the inflow form of the saturated steam into the agricultural product storage chamber is divided into three upper and lower layers. In addition to making it a flow, the middle layer flow has a lower humidity than the upper and lower layer flows with high humidity, so that dew condensation in the agricultural product storage room is suppressed as much as possible and the dew condensation phenomenon on the floor and wall surface of the agricultural product storage room is prevented. Since it is configured to avoid it, it is possible to keep the storage room in a saturated vapor atmosphere at all times by the high humidity upper and lower layer flow and prevent the drying deterioration of agricultural products, and the liquid moisture is evaporated by the low humidity intermediate layer flow. It has the effect of preventing the decay and deterioration of agricultural products without allowing liquid moisture such as dew condensation, which is a hotbed for the growth of mold and germs, to stay in the storage room.

It is a system diagram which shows the schematic structure of the whole of the freshness maintenance apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic side view which shows the structure of the freshness maintenance apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is an external perspective view which shows the structure of the saturated steam generation chamber which concerns on this invention. It is a side view which shows the internal structure of the saturated steam generation chamber which concerns on this invention. It is a front view which shows the internal structure of the saturated steam generation chamber which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the porous filter block which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic partially enlarged plan view which shows the structure of the same direction filter pattern of the porous filter block which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic partially enlarged plan view which shows the structure of the different direction filter pattern of the porous filter block which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the same direction filter pattern of the porous filter block which concerns on another Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the different direction filter pattern of the porous filter block which concerns on another Example. It is an enlarged vertical sectional view which shows the structure of the filter phase change mechanism which concerns on another Example. It is an external perspective view which shows the structure of the drain circulation apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the internal structure of the drain circulation apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic side view which shows the form of the saturated water vapor flowing into the agricultural product storage room from the saturated water vapor generation chamber which concerns on this invention.

The gist of the present invention is that the saturated steam generated in the saturated water vapor generation chamber is communicated between the agricultural product storage chamber kept cooled to about 0 ° C. to 15 ° C. and the saturated steam generation chamber, and flows into the agricultural product storage chamber into the agricultural product storage chamber. In the freshness maintenance device of agricultural products configured to be able to remove various deterioration factors of agricultural products such as stored fruits and vegetables, the saturated water vapor generation chamber has a water vapor generation case, an air suction mechanism for taking in air, and air suction. It is composed of a porous filter block provided in communication with the mechanism and a sprinkling mechanism for sprinkling water on the porous filter block, and the porous filter block forms a porous sheet in a corrugated manner and maintains a constant interval. In addition to being configured by stacking a large number of sheets, the phase is shifted by approximately 1/2 of the waveform amplitude when the waveforms of the laminated porous sheets are arranged in the same phase in the same direction filter pattern. Agricultural products characterized in that the direction of the waveform is configured to be a different direction filter pattern arranged in anti-phase so that the valleys and peaks face each other, and the waveform can be changed to. The purpose is to provide a freshness preserving device.

In addition, the sprinkling mechanism for sprinkling water on the porous filter block absorbed in the saturated water vapor generation chamber is connected to the drain circulation device separately arranged on either the inside or the outside of the agricultural product storage chamber, and the drain circulation device is used. A drain pipe arranged in the drain case, an outside air blowing mechanism for blowing high-temperature outside air to the drain pipe, and a drain for circulating the cooling drain from the cooling device used for cooling the agricultural product storage room into the drain pipe. It is disposed at the bottom of the drain case and the drain pipe, and is located below the drain pipe. It is also characterized by being composed of a drain water pipe for sending the collected drain to the watering mechanism of the porous filter block in the water vapor generation chamber.

In addition, the temperature of the water sprinkled from the sprinkling mechanism to the porous filter block in the saturated steam generation chamber is maintained at a temperature higher than the temperature in the agricultural product storage chamber at about 10 to 45 ° C to increase the saturated steam pressure and saturate. It is also characterized by enabling a rapid humidification state in the steam generation chamber.

Further, when the saturated steam generated in the saturated steam generation chamber flows into the agricultural product storage chamber from the saturated steam flow passage, the inflow form of the saturated steam into the agricultural product storage chamber is set to the upper and lower three-layer flow, and the intermediate layer flow is high. It is also characterized by the fact that the humidity is low compared to the upper and lower layers of humidity, so that dew condensation in the agricultural product storage room is suppressed as much as possible and the dew condensation phenomenon on the floor and wall surface of the agricultural product storage room is avoided. Has.

Here, the agricultural products stored in the freshness-maintaining device according to the present invention are intended for all crops harvested by agricultural methods, and for example, flowers, fruits, leafy vegetables, root vegetables, and fruit vegetables. Can be mentioned. As mentioned above, these agricultural products have different optimum moisturizing conditions.

That is, in the freshness maintaining device according to the present invention, even if agricultural products composed of a plurality of different crops are confused and stored in the same storage room, deterioration factors such as rotting deterioration and drying deterioration that occur in the agricultural products after harvesting occur. As a moisturizing condition corresponding to the above, it is provided with a configuration in which gaseous water generation and liquid water generation can be appropriately selected as needed, and it is intended to maintain the freshness of agricultural products.

The storage room may be a refrigerating / refrigerating facility having an internal space for storing agricultural products, and may be, for example, a transport container or a truck having a refrigerating / refrigerating function.

The internal volume of the storage room is not particularly limited, but for example, the internal volume is about 1400-1500 m ³ for large ones, about 500-700 m ³ for medium-sized ones, and about 10-50 m ³ for small ones. Can be adopted. Further, if the height of the storage chamber is about 3 to 7 m, convection air can be easily circulated in the refrigerator. In the case of a large storage room, two or more saturated steam generation rooms, which will be described later, will be installed in order to quickly bring the storage room into a saturated atmosphere with a relative humidity of 90 to 100%.

The temperature of the storage room varies depending on the type of agricultural products to be stored and stored, but it is set to about 0 to 15 ° C, which is an appropriate storage temperature range that is almost common to various crops.

The saturated water vapor generation chamber may be installed in a place where the generated water vapor-containing air can easily convection in the entire storage room. For example, the saturated water vapor generation chamber may be placed on the floor surface of the storage chamber or arranged on a wall surface or a ceiling surface. May be.

Further, the air inflow mechanism of the saturated steam generation chamber may be any one that generates an air flow that realizes a wind speed that can pass through the porous filter block, and the wind speed is, for example, 0.5 m / s to 7.0 m / s.

If the wind speed of the airflow by the air inflow mechanism is slower than 0.5 m / s, the air flowing into the saturated water vapor generation chamber cannot pass through the porous filter block, and if it is faster than 8.0 m / s, the porous filter block will open. There is a risk of damage due to wind pressure.

Therefore, by adopting an air inflow mechanism that causes a wind speed of 0.5 m / s to 8.0 m / s, more preferably 2.0 m / s to 6.5 m / s, the same-direction filter pattern described later and the air inflow mechanism can be used. Inflow air can pass through the porous filter block of the different direction filter pattern, and water vapor-containing air containing gaseous moisture can be generated, or mist-containing air containing liquid moisture can be generated.

Further, the amount of saturated water vapor generated from the saturated water vapor generation chamber, that is, the amount of water vapor-containing air generated, may be such that the relative humidity in the storage chamber can be 90 to 100% in about 5 to 40 minutes.

That is, the amount of water vapor-containing air generated is determined by the relationship between the air volume q (Nm ³ / min) by the fan and the internal volume V of the storage chamber. In this embodiment, the relationship between the air volume q by the fan and the internal volume V (m ³ ) of the storage chamber may be approximately 0.004 ≦ V / q ≦ 0.5.

In addition, the porous filter block has a structure that expands the surface area as much as possible. That is, by setting the surface area of the porous filter block to 1.0 to 3.0 m ² , more preferably 1.5 to 2.8 m ² , the amount of water absorbed and retained and the chance of contact between the same water and the flowing air are increased, and the circulating air is increased. It is possible to generate water vapor-containing air according to the flow velocity and the number of times water vapor-containing air is replaced in the storage chamber.

The material of the porous filter block, that is, the material of the porous sheet may be hydrophobic fiber and / or hydrophilic fiber as long as it can retain water, and may be, for example, cotton, linen, pulp, silk, chloride. Any one of vinyl, nylon, rayon, polyester, polypropylene, acrylic, vinylon, zeolite, silica gel, activated charcoal and the like, or a composite fiber thereof can be adopted.

Hereinafter, the freshness-maintaining device for agricultural products (hereinafter, simply referred to as a freshness-maintaining device) according to this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an overall schematic configuration of a freshness-maintaining device, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of a freshness-maintaining device, and FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are saturated steam generation chambers, respectively. Front side and back side external perspective views showing the configuration, FIGS. 4 and 5 are side views and front views showing the internal configuration of the saturated water vapor generation chamber, respectively.

In the following, "dry air" is intended to be air that has been cooled in the storage chamber and has not yet passed through the saturated steam generation chamber. In addition, the air in which gaseous moisture (water vapor) is added to the "dry air" taken into the saturated water vapor generation chamber is called "moist air", and the relative humidity including the "saturated air" in this moist air. Air having a value of 90% or more and 100% or less is referred to as "water vapor-containing air". Further, the air in which liquid moisture (mist) is added to the "dry air" taken into the saturated water vapor generation chamber is referred to as "mist-containing air". The air taken into the saturated water vapor generation chamber 2 includes not only "dry air" but also "moist air", "water vapor-containing air", and "mist-containing air".

[1. Schematic configuration of freshness maintenance device]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the freshness maintaining device A communicates the agricultural product storage chamber 1 and the saturated steam generating chamber 2 which have been cooled and maintained at about 0 ° C to 15 ° C, and is used in the saturated steam generating chamber 2. It is configured to be able to remove various deterioration factors of agricultural products N such as fruits and vegetables stored in the agricultural product storage room 1 by flowing the generated saturated water vapor (water vapor-containing air G3) and mist (mist-containing air G4) into the agricultural product storage room 1. is doing.

The storage room 1 is installed in a rectangular storage room main body 10 having a predetermined space in which the agricultural product N can be placed and stored, and in the storage room main body 10, and has an appropriate storage temperature range (about 0 to 15 ° C.) for the agricultural product N. ), And a cooling device 11 for cooling. The cooling device 11 is vertically installed on the ceiling surface of the back side wall portion facing the carry-in / carry-out door 12 of the storage chamber main body 10.

A door 12 for loading and unloading agricultural products N is provided on one side of the storage chamber main body 10 so as to be openable and closable, and a saturated water vapor generation chamber 2 is installed in the rear part of the storage chamber 1 near the door 12 for loading and unloading. ..

The saturated steam generation chamber 2 is used for the dry air G1 under the saturated steam pressure in the suitable storage temperature range (about 0 to 15 ° C.) of the agricultural product N according to various filter patterns 5A and 5B of the porous filter block 5 described later. , It is configured to generate water vapor-containing air G3 by applying gaseous water, or to generate mist-containing air G4 by applying liquid water droplets, that is, mist.

The saturated steam generation chamber 2 is provided in a steam generation case 3, an air suction mechanism 4 for taking in air, a porous filter block 5 provided in communication with the air suction mechanism 4, and a porous filter block 5. A water sprinkling mechanism 6 for sprinkling water is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 3A to 5, the water vapor generation case 3 has a vertically long box shape having a predetermined space, and various types for generating water vapor-containing air G3 and mist-containing air G4 inside thereof. A functional member is arranged. In addition, four casters 30 that make the saturated steam generation chamber 2 movable are attached to the four corners of the bottom of the steam generation case 3.

The dimensions of the steam generation case 3 can be appropriately selected according to the desired size of the saturated steam generation chamber 2. For example, it is convenient to set the height to about 60 to 130 cm, the width to about 40 to 80 cm, and the depth to about 30 to 50 cm. It is preferable from the viewpoint of steaming efficiency. The dimensions of the steam generation case 3 of this embodiment are a height of about 120 cm, a width of about 80 cm, and a depth of about 40 cm.

The air suction mechanism 4 has an air suction hole 41 formed on one side of the case for sucking the air outside the steam generation case 3 into the steam generation case 3, and for discharging the air inside the case to the storage chamber 1. It is composed of an air discharge hole 42 formed on the other side surface of the case and a blower fan 43 provided on the air discharge hole 42 side.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the air suction hole 41 is formed so as to penetrate the upper half of the case back surface 31 as one side surface of the case in a rectangular window shape.

Specifically, the case back lid 31a that can be attached to and detached from the back opening of the case is used as the case back 31, and the air suction hole 41 is the opening area of the upper half of the case back lid 31a with respect to the area of the case back 31. Is formed by opening so as to be about 1/4 to 1/3.

Further, the air discharge hole 42 is formed so as to penetrate the upper half of the case front 32, which is the other side surface of the case, in a rectangular window shape so as to correspond to the air suction hole 41 as shown in FIG. 3 (a). There is.

Specifically, the air discharge hole 42 has an opening area narrower than the opening area of the air suction hole 41, and the opening area of the upper half of the case front 32 is about 1/5 to 1 / of the area of the case front 32. It is formed by opening so as to be 4. A plurality of strip-shaped blower guides 42a are erected in the air discharge hole 42 at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction, so that the blower direction can be adjusted.

Further, the blower fan 43 is provided at a position on the front side of the air discharge hole 42 inside the steam generation case 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the blower fan 43 has a columnar hub 44 having a built-in drive unit 44a and rotationally driven, and a propeller provided around the outer periphery of the hub 44 at predetermined intervals and rotating integrally with the hub 44. It is composed of 45 and. As shown in FIG. 3A, the drive unit 44a is connected to a switch 46 provided near the air discharge hole 42 on the front surface 32 of the case so that the drive unit 44a can be stopped and driven.

Although the details of the porous filter block 5 will be described later, the position inside the steam generation case 3 at a position where the air suction hole 41 is substantially closed between the air suction hole 41 and the air discharge hole 42 and behind the blower fan 43. The block surface is arranged at the position so as to face the air suction hole 41 and the air discharge hole 42.

At the upper and lower positions of the porous filter block 5, a sprinkling mechanism 6 for supplying water to be impregnated in the porous filter block 5 is arranged.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the watering mechanism 6 includes a water storage tank 60 arranged at the bottom 33 of the case at a position below the porous filter block 5, and a watering pipe 61 arranged at an upper position of the porous filter block 5. And a circulation pipe 63 for pulling up and circulating water from the water storage tank 60 to the sprinkler pipe 61 via the water pump 62.

The water storage tank 60 has a bottomed box shape with an upper opening, and stores water supplied to the porous filter block 5 in a predetermined volume, and also receives and stores excess water flowing down the porous filter block 5. The storage capacity of the water tank 60 is about 2 to 4 L.

At the bottom of the water storage tank 60, a drainage hole 60a for draining the water in the water storage tank 60 is provided to the outside of the steam generation case 3. A water level adjusting cylinder 60b having a height lower than the peripheral wall height of the water storage tank 60 is erected on the upper edge of the drainage hole 60a, and water is stored in communication with the water level adjusting cylinder 60b on the lower edge of the drainage hole 60a. A drainage pipe 60c for draining excess water in the tank 60 is continuously provided, and it is possible to prevent the stored water in the water storage tank 60 from overflowing and keep the water level constant.

A water supply pipe 60d for supplying water to the water tank 60 by connecting to a water supply source at the base end is arranged above the water tank 60. A water stop valve for supplying and stopping water is provided in the middle of the water supply pipe 60d so as to be openable and closable in conjunction with the floating and sinking operation of the float 60e in the water storage tank 60.

The sprinkler pipe 61 is an elongated pipe having one end closed and connected to the circulation pipe 63 at the base end and extended parallel to the upper end surface of the porous filter block 5, and is a plurality of elongated pipes along the longitudinal direction at the lower part of the outer periphery. The sprinkler hole is pierced.

The circulation pipe 63 is erected by being connected to a water pump 62 placed on the inner bottom of the water tank 60 at the base end. As shown in FIG. 3A, the water pump 62 is connected to a switch 64 provided near the air discharge hole 42 on the front surface 32 of the case.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a porous filter block 5 is fitted and installed on the inner surface of the case back surface 31 (case back cover 31a) so as to seal the air suction hole 41 provided in the case back surface 31. A filter installation unit 34 for this purpose is provided.

The filter installation portion 34 is a strip frame body that is bent in a U-shape with an upper opening in front view along the outer shape of the porous filter block 5, and is formed so as to project inward from the back surface 31 of the case. The bottom of the filter installation portion 34 is formed by penetrating a plurality of drain holes for discharging excess water supplied from the sprinkling mechanism 6 and not impregnated into the porous filter block 5 to the water storage tank 60.

[2. Porous filter block configuration]
Next, the configuration of the porous filter block 5 will be described in detail. 6 (a) and 6 (b) are perspective views showing the configurations of the porous filter block in the same direction filter pattern and the different direction filter pattern, and FIGS. 7 and 8 show the same direction filter pattern and the different direction of the porous filter block. It is a schematic partially enlarged plan view which shows the structure of a direction filter pattern.

In the porous filter block 5, a large number of porous sheets 50, 50'are formed in a corrugated manner and laminated at regular intervals, and a large number of porous sheets 50, 50' are laminated on the corrugated upper end surface from the watering mechanism 6. In addition to serving as a watering receiving surface, the corrugated rear surface of the porous sheet 50 arranged on the most upstream side of the porous sheets 50 and 50'is configured as an air receiving surface for air flowing in from the air suction hole 41.

The porous sheet 50 constituting the porous filter block 5 has the same shape and size, and is repeatedly folded in the left-right longitudinal direction by alternately repeating mountain folds and valley folds, and has a plurality of mountain portions 51 and a plurality of valleys. It is formed in a wave shape (pleated shape) having a constant amplitude and having a portion 52.

The porous sheet 50 is formed by blending and knitting hydrophobic fibers and hydrophilic fibers, and has a large number of micropores between the fibers that are intricately woven together.

The porous sheet 50 of this embodiment has dimensions of about 4 to 7 m in width, about 35 to 40 cm in height, and about 0.5 to 2.0 mm in thickness, and has a mixing ratio of vinyl chloride and poorly soluble pulp as a material of about 1: 1. The porosity is about 15 to 55 vol%, and the pore diameter of the micropores is about 10 to 900 μm.

On the surface of the porous sheet 50, corrugated wires 53 formed in a wave shape having the same constant amplitude as the porous sheet 50 are continuously provided along the left-right longitudinal direction of the porous sheet 50, and the corrugated surface of the porous sheet 50. The shape is maintained. The material of the corrugated wire 53 may be any material as long as it has excellent shape retention, and is, for example, made of resin or metal.

The porous filter block 5 has a virtual rear plane 55 formed by a plurality of valleys 52 in the waveform of the porous sheet 50 on the upstream side in the air flow direction, and a plurality of peaks in the waveform of the porous sheet 50'on the downstream side. A large number of porous sheets 50, 50'are arranged in the front-rear direction so as to be in surface contact with the virtual front plane 54'formed by the portions 51'.

Further, the form of the porous filter block 5 is a co-directional filter pattern in which the corrugated directions of a large number of laminated porous sheets 50, 50'are arranged in the same phase in order as shown in FIG. 6 (a). As shown in FIG. 6 (b), the phase of 5A is shifted by approximately 1/2 of the waveform amplitude, and the direction of the waveform is ordered in opposite phases so that the valley portion 52 and the mountain portion 51'face each other. There is an arranged different direction filter pattern 5B.

As shown in FIG. 7, the porous filter block 5 of the same-direction filter pattern 5A has the phase of one porous sheet 50 in phase with the phase of the other porous sheet 50'in a plan view, and the facing surfaces of each other are opposed to each other. A blower space S1 having a substantially serpentine shape in a plan view is formed between them.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the porous filter block 5 of the same-direction filter pattern 5A has a plurality of peaks 51 of the porous sheet 50 on the upstream side and a plurality of peaks of the porous sheet 50'on the downstream side. The portions 51'are opposed to each other, and the plurality of valley portions 52 of the porous sheet 50 on the upstream side and the plurality of valley portions 52'of the porous sheet 50'on the downstream side are opposed to each other with the porous sheet 50 on the upstream side. A blower space S1 having a substantially serpentine shape in a plan view is continuously formed between the porous sheet 50'on the downstream side and the porous sheet 50'. The width of the ventilation space S1 (the width between the facing surfaces of the two porous sheets 50 and 50') is about 5 to 15 mm.

Further, in the porous filter block 5 of the different direction filter pattern 5B, as shown in FIG. 8, the phase of one porous sheet 50 is substantially 1 in the left-right direction with respect to the phase of the other porous sheet 50'in a plan view. It is formed by partitioning a plurality of closed spaces S2 having a substantially diamond shape in a plan view between the facing surfaces of each other so as to be out of phase with each other by shifting by 2 amplitudes.

Specifically, the porous filter block 5 of the different direction filter pattern 5B confronts a plurality of valley portions 52 of the porous sheet 50 on the upstream side and a plurality of peak portions 51'of the porous sheet 50'on the downstream side. The plurality of peaks 51 of the porous sheet 50 on the upstream side and the plurality of valleys 52'of the porous sheet 50'on the downstream side are opposed to each other so that the porous sheet 50 on the upstream side and the porous sheet 50 on the downstream side are in contact with each other. A plurality of closed spaces S2 having a substantially diamond-shaped plan view are formed between the quality sheet 50'and the quality sheet 50'.

Further, the porous filter block 5 is configured to be freely changeable and adjustable between the case of being configured in the same-direction filter pattern 5A and the case of being configured in the different-direction filter pattern 5B.

That is, the porous filter block 5 is a virtual rear side of two or more porous sheets 50, 50'that can be separated from each other so as to enable each morphological change between the isodirectional filter pattern 5A and the different direction filter pattern 5B. While maintaining the surface contact state between the plane 55 and the virtual front plane 54', one of the porous sheets 50'is translated and the porous sheets 50 and 50'are relatively in phase and opposite to each other. It is provided with a filter phase changing mechanism 56 that displaces the attitude.

As shown in FIGS. 6A to 7, the filter phase changing mechanism 56 supports one of the porous sheets 50 in a large number of porous sheets 50, 50 ′ constituting the porous filter block 5. The phase of the other porous sheet 50'is the same phase and the opposite phase with respect to the phase of the sheet fixing portion 57 that stationaryly fixes the other porous sheet 50'and the other porous sheet 50'. It is composed of a seat moving portion 58 that is displaced and moved to.

The seat moving portion 58 may be any as long as it slides for approximately 1/2 minute of the waveform amplitude, and may be composed of, for example, a rack and pinion mechanism, a slide rail mechanism, a rotary shaft mechanism, or the like. Further, the seat moving unit 58 is controlled by the control unit so as to intermittently slide for about 1/2 of the waveform amplitude.

In particular, in the filter phase changing mechanism 56 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 7, the above-mentioned filter installation portion 34 is separated into each of the porous sheets 50 and 50'in the front-rear direction, and the filter installation portion is divided. The latter half of the 34 is a seat fixing portion 57, and the front half of the filter installing portion 34 is a seat moving portion 58.

Specifically, the filter phase changing mechanism 56 is provided in the filter installation portion 34 having a U-shaped strip frame body having an upper opening in front view as shown in FIGS. 4, 6 (a) and 6 (b). The latter half of the case, which protrudes inward from the back surface 31 of the case and is integrated with the case, is configured as a sheet fixing portion 57 in which the porous sheet 50 on the upstream side is fitted and fixed, and the front half is the porous sheet 50 on the downstream side. The sheet moving portion 58 is configured to slide the phase of the porous sheet 50 on the downstream side by approximately 1/2 of the waveform amplitude in the left-right direction with respect to the phase of the porous sheet 50 on the upstream side by fitting'. ..

Further, the seat moving portion 58 adopts a so-called rack and pinion mechanism, and has a rack laid on the inner bottom surface of the steam generation case 3 and a U-shaped opening that slides left and right along the rail. It consists of a seat mounting frame and a drive pinion that is vertically mounted on the lower bottom surface of the seat mounting frame and meshes with a rack to drive rotation.

Further, as another embodiment, the porous filter block 500 may be configured in a substantially columnar shape as shown in FIGS. 9 (a) to 10 (b). 9 (a) and 9 (b) are perspective views and side views showing the configuration of the porous filter block according to another embodiment in the same-direction filter pattern, and FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b) are other. FIG. 11 is a perspective view and a side view showing the configuration of the porous filter block according to the embodiment in the different direction filter pattern, and FIG. 11 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing the configuration of the filter phase changing mechanism according to the other embodiment.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 9A to 10B, the porous filter block 500 alternately has mountain portions 511 and valley portions 512 extending radially in the radial direction around the axis at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. A large number of porous sheets 510, 510'that are formed into a corrugated shape and have a perfect circular shape in the front view are arranged side by side on the coaxial center in the front-rear direction.

In the porous sheet 510, the mountain portions 511 and the valley portions 512 are alternately extended in the radial direction so as to equally divide the central angle of the circle, and are formed into a wavy shape having a constant amplitude in the circumferential direction.

The porous filter block 500 is a co-directional filter in which the corrugated directions of the laminated porous sheets 510 and 510'are arranged in the same phase in order as shown in FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b). In the case of configuring the pattern 500A and as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the valley portion 512'and the mountain portion 511 are mutually shifted in the direction of the waveform by shifting the phase by approximately 1/2 of the waveform amplitude. It is possible to change the case where the different direction filter pattern 500B is arranged in order of opposite phase so as to face each other.

In the same-direction filter pattern 500A, the porous filter block 500 has the phase of one porous sheet 50 in the circumferential direction as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, and the phase of the other porous sheet 50'. A blow space S1 having a substantially serpentine shape around the outer circumference is formed between the facing surfaces of each other in the same phase as the above.

Further, in the different direction filter pattern 500B, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the phase of one porous sheet 50 is circumferentially oriented with respect to the phase of the other porous sheet 50'. A plurality of substantially diamond-shaped closed spaces S2 are formed between the facing surfaces of each other so as to be out of phase with each other by shifting by approximately 1/2 amplitude.

Further, the filter phase changing mechanism 560 that allows the same-direction filter pattern 500A and the different-direction filter pattern 500B to be changed and adjusted so as to penetrate the axial centers of a large number of porous sheets 510 and 510'as shown in FIG. It is composed of a filter phase changing shaft 561 that axially adheres the porous sheets 510 and 510'around the circumference.

The filter phase changing shaft 561 has an inner hollow outer shaft 562 and an inner shaft 563 that is rotatably provided in the outer shaft 562 and is driven and rotated, and the tip of the outer shaft 562 is a porous sheet on one side. The seat fixing portion 570 is fixedly supported and immovable, and the tip portion of the inner shaft 563 exposed on the tip side from the tip portion of the outer shaft 562 is used as the other porous sheet 510'with the inner shaft 563. The seat moving portion 580 is configured to be integrally rotatable and fixed to move the phase. The inner shaft 563 is connected to the drive rotary motor at the base end.

Further, the air suction mechanism 4 discharges the water vapor-containing air G2 from the air discharge hole 42 to the porous filter block 5 with the same direction filter pattern 5A at a wind speed of 0.5 m / s to 7.0 m / s. The different direction filter pattern 5B is configured to discharge and generate mist-containing air G3 at a wind speed of 1.5 m / s to 8.0 m / s.

In the same-direction filter pattern 5A, if the wind speed is slower than 0.5 m / s, the evaporation vaporization of water is not performed properly, and if the wind speed is faster than 7.0 m / s, the amount of air for the evaporation amount of water becomes too large and the water vapor is vaporized. There is a possibility that the contained air G2 cannot be properly generated.

Further, in the different direction filter pattern 5B, the liquid water impregnated in the filter cannot be blown off at a wind speed slower than 1.5 m / s, and there is a risk of causing an abnormality in the device at a wind speed faster than 8.0 m / s. There is a possibility that the contained air G3 cannot be properly generated.

In the freshness maintaining device A configured as described above, the saturated water vapor generation chamber 2 generates water vapor-containing air G3 and mist-containing air G4 as follows.

That is, in the saturated water vapor generation chamber 2, when the porous filter block 5 is set to the same direction filter pattern 5A by the filter phase changing mechanism 56, the porous sheet 50 on the upstream side is the air suction mechanism 4 as shown in FIG. First comes into contact with the dry air G1 taken in from the air suction hole 41.

The dry air G1 is shunted by the mountain portion 51 of the porous sheet 50 on the upstream side and becomes the left and right airflows flowing toward the valley portion 52.

The two air currents flowing from the two adjacent mountain portions 51 and 51 into the valley portion 52, respectively, become a contraction in which the wind pressure and the wind speed increase toward the valley portion 52 that gradually narrows, and the same contraction flow becomes the valley portion. It merges at 52 to form a complicated swirling flow with the wind pressure as the maximum pressure, and the vicinity of the filter wall is a negative pressure.

That is, the dry air G1 which has become a contracted flow or a swirling flow along the wall surface of the porous sheet 50 forcibly draws the liquid water infiltrated into the porous sheet 50 from the porous sheet 50 by the Venturi effect and evaporates it. ..

Next, the dry air G1 is unbearably supplied from the upstream side in the flow direction to maximize the wind pressure, passes through the inside of the porous sheet 50 centering on the valley portion 52, and is relative to the ventilation space S1 in the same direction filter pattern 5A. It becomes moist air G2 with increased humidity. The relative humidity of the moist air G2 is about 70 to 80%.

As in the case of the porous sheet 50 on the upstream side, the moist air G2 goes straight to the valley portion 52 of the porous sheet 50'on the downstream side without losing the flow velocity in the ventilation space S1 and is more efficient due to the Venturi effect. Causes a typical water evaporation effect.

That is, the moist air G2 generates a complicated swirling flow with the wind pressure as the maximum pressure at the valley portion 52'of the porous sheet 50'on the downstream side in the ventilation space S1, and the porous sheet 50 is generated by the Venturi effect of the swirling flow. 'Forcibly vaporize the liquid water while making sufficient contact with the liquid water infiltrated inside to increase the relative humidity.

Next, the moist air G2 passes through the inside of the porous sheet 50'on the downstream side centering on the valley portion 52' where the wind pressure is the maximum pressure, which is unbearably supplied from the upstream side in the flow direction, and in the saturated steam generation chamber 2. The water vapor-containing air G3 has a relative humidity of about 90 to 100%.

As described above, in the same-direction filter pattern 5A of the porous filter block 5, the venturi effect is superimposed by the dry air G1 from the upstream side to the downstream side based on the laminated double filter structure, and the liquid moisture is combined with the liquid moisture. It is possible to generate water vapor-containing air G3 having a relative humidity of about 90 to 100% by increasing the contact opportunity of the water vapor as much as possible and dramatically improving the water vapor generation efficiency.

Further, in the saturated water vapor generation chamber 2, when the porous filter block 5 is set to the different direction filter pattern 5B by the filter phase changing mechanism 56, the valley portion 52 of the porous sheet 50 on the upstream side is formed as shown in FIG. Proceeding toward it, as described above, a complicated swirling flow with the wind pressure as the maximum pressure is generated at the valley portion 52.

When the dry air G1 passes through the valley portion 52 of the porous sheet 50 on the upstream side and the mountain portion 51'of the porous sheet 50'on the downstream side facing the valley portion 52, the liquid state infiltrated into both sheets. Water is physically and forcibly blown out of the seat by wind pressure.

Specifically, the liquid water carried in the innumerable micropores in the valley portion 52 and the mountain portion 51'of the porous sheets 50 and 50'is replaced with the dry air G1 to allow the particle size of the micropores. It is pushed downstream of the outside of the sheet while being held, and innumerable liquid droplets of water are generated together with the dry air G1 passing through the sheet.

In other words, the dry air G1 in the different direction filter pattern 5B immediately passes through the porous filter block 5 via the valley portion 52 on the upstream side and the mountain portion 51'on the downstream side facing each other, and thus the wind pressure. This results in water droplets, that is, mist-containing air G4 containing mist, without obtaining a contact opportunity to vaporize the liquid water drawn from the sheet. The relative humidity of the mist-containing air G4 is about 70 to 80%, which is substantially the same as that of the moist air G2.

As described above, in the different direction filter pattern 5B of the porous filter block 5, the dry air G1 flowing from the upstream side to the downstream side is immediately passed by the wind pressure, and the infiltrated liquid water is scattered in the flow direction. It is possible to generate mist-containing air G4 having a relative humidity of 70 to 80%.

[3. Configuration of drain circulation device]
Next, the configuration of the drain circulation device 7 for generating the water collecting drain used for watering the watering mechanism 6 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 12 is an external perspective view showing the configuration of the drain circulation device, and FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view showing the internal configuration of the drain circulation device.

The sprinkling mechanism 6 for sprinkling water on the porous filter block 5 absorbed in the saturated water vapor generation chamber 2 is communicated and connected to the drain circulation device 7 separately arranged on either the inside or the outside of the agricultural product storage chamber 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the drain circulation device 7 of this embodiment is attached to the upper part of the outer wall of the storage chamber 1.

The drain circulation device 7 further cools the drain generated inside the cooling device 11 with the cooling operation of the cooling device 11 and uses it as a refrigerant (cooling drain), cools the outside air with the same refrigerant, and condenses the water vapor in the outside air. The liquid water thus obtained is configured to be used as a water collecting drain W3 for watering the porous filter block 5.

That is, as shown in FIG. 13, the drain circulation device 7 includes a drain pipe 71 arranged in the drain case 70, an outside air ventilation mechanism 72 for blowing outside air to the drain pipe 71, and agricultural products in the drain pipe 71. A drain flow passage 73 for circulating a cooling drain R1 (indicated by a alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 13) from a cooling device 11 used for cooling the storage chamber 1, and a drain pipe 71 arranged at the bottom of the drain case 70. A drain recovery tray 74 for collecting the dropped drain W2 generated from the outside air on the outer periphery of the drain pipe 71, and a porous filter block 5 in the saturated water vapor generation chamber 2 from the drain recovery tray 74. It is composed of a drain water pipe 75 for feeding the water collecting drain W3 to the water sprinkling mechanism 6 of the above.

The drain case 70 has an internal hollow box shape, and an outside air blowing mechanism 72 is provided inside the drain case 70.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the outside air ventilation mechanism 72 is provided at the lower part of one side wall of the case, and is provided at the outside air suction port 72a for taking in the outside air into the case 70 and the outside air taken in at the upper part of the one side wall of the case. It is composed of an outside air discharge port 72b for discharging the outside air to the outside of the case 70, and a blower 72c provided at a predetermined position inside the case for blowing the outside air to the drain pipe 71 and sucking and discharging the outside air inside and outside the case. There is.

Further, on both sides of the inside of the drain case 70, two left and right drain flow passages 73, 73'are provided along the inner side wall.

The left and right drain flow passages 73 and 73'are a flow path in which the drain R1 generated by cooling the drain discharged from the drain discharge port of the cooling device 11 by the cooling drain generation unit 76 is circulated in the drain pipe 71. be. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 13, a circulation pump 77 for recirculating the cooling drain R1 is provided in the middle of the drain flow passage 73'.

The temperature of the cooling drain R1 generated by the cooling drain generation unit 76 may be a temperature lower than the temperature of the outside air taken into the case by the outside air blowing mechanism 72, and is substantially the same as the room temperature in the storage chamber 1, for example, about 0. It is ~ 15 ° C.

Further, the cooling drain R1 as a refrigerant is a liquid that cannot be directly used as watering in the saturated steam generation chamber 2, for example, industrial wastewater discharged from a facility where a freshness maintaining device A such as a container, a truck, or a ship is installed. , Low temperature seawater, or contaminated water containing oil or organic solvent components can be used.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 13, the cooling drain generation unit 76 is a portion of the drain flow passage 73 communicated between the cooling device 11 and the drain circulation device 7 and arranged inside the saturated water vapor generation chamber 2. The drain from the cooling device 11 circulating in the drain flow passage 73 can be cooled by the cooling air in the room.

The cooling drain generation unit 76 is not particularly limited as long as the drain generated and discharged by the cooling device 11 can be made lower than the outside air temperature, and as another embodiment, the drain is distributed in the cooling device 11. The middle part of the drain flow passage 73, which is composed of a part of the path 73 that is internally passed through, or in which a cooling device for drain cooling is separately arranged between the cooling device 11 and the drain circulation device 7. It may be configured by interposing in.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 13, the drain flow passages 73 and 73'are connected to the drain outlet of the cooling device 11 outside the case 70 at the start and to the start of the drain pipe 71 inside the case 70 at the end. The drain flow passage 73 for supplying the cooling drain R1 that supplies the cooling drain R1 to the drain pipe 71 is connected to the end of the drain pipe 71 at the start end, and is connected to the middle part of the drain flow passage 73 for supplying the refrigerant at the end to exchange heat. The cooling drain R1 is circulated by the refrigerant recovery drain flow passage 73'that recovers the subsequent drain R2 (indicated by a broken line in FIG. 13) to the cooling drain generation unit 76.

A plurality of drain pipes 71 (three in this embodiment) are provided between the two drain flow passages 73 and 73'for supplying and recovering the refrigerant arranged on both sides inside the case 70 at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. It is connected to each drain flow passage 73, 73'.

That is, as shown in FIG. 13, the drain pipe 71 is provided between the drain flow passages 73 and 73'in the upper part of the inner space of each case 70 so as to be substantially horizontal and communicated with the drain flow passages 73 and 73'. ing.

The drain pipe 71 has a drain pipe main body 71a that communicates with two drain flow passages 73 and 73'at both ends and circulates a cooling drain, and a plurality of annular rings that are externally fitted and fixed along the longitudinal direction of the drain pipe main body 71a. It is a so-called bellows-shaped fin tube composed of the fins 71b of the above.

The drain pipe 71 is made of a metal having high thermal conductivity, and is made of, for example, iron, copper, or stainless steel. Further, the fin 71b forms the outer peripheral edge of the annulus in a sharp shape.

Further, the drain collection tray 74 arranged at the bottom of the drain case 70 is an upper opening box type as shown in FIG. 13 and forms a water storage space inside, and the collected water is collected on one side wall thereof. A drain water supply pipe 75 for supplying water to the water sprinkling mechanism 6 is connected and connected.

That is, the drain water supply pipe 75 is communicated with the drain collection tray 74 at the beginning and also with the water storage tank 60 of the water sprinkling mechanism 6 at the end, and is interposed between the drain collection tray 74 and the water sprinkling mechanism 6.

The drain circulation device 7 having such a configuration generates the water collecting drain W3 as follows. That is, the outside air is sequentially taken into the drain case 70 by the outside air blowing mechanism 72 in the drain circulation device 7, and the same outside air is blown to the drain pipe 71.

In the drain pipe 71, a cooling drain R1 is circulated in which the drain discharged from the cooling device 11 is cooled and generated by the cooling drain generation unit 76 so as to be lower than the outside air temperature (0 to 15 ° C.).

That is, the drain pipe 71 cools the fins 71b having an expanded possible contact area with the outside air by the endothermic reaction of the cooling drain R1 flowing in the drain pipe main body 71a, and exchanges heat between the outside air and the cooling fins 71b. conduct.

At this time, on the surface of the cooling fins 71b, the water vapor of the outside air is rapidly cooled and agglomerated dew condensation phenomenon occurs. That is, the outside air is drained through the cooling drain pipe 71.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the dew condensation formed on the surface of the cooling drain pipe 71 (fin 71b) flows down to the fin 71b, gathers, and becomes a dripping drain W2 that falls below the fin 71b, and the dripping drain W2 is generated. Water is collected in the drain collection tray 74 and used as the water collection drain W3.

Finally, a certain amount of water collected and stored in the drain collection tray 74 is supplied to the water storage tank 60 of the watering mechanism 6 via the drain water pipe 75, whereby the porous filter block 5 is sprinkled with water. Can be offered to.

When the drain of the cooling device 11 is used as the cooling drain R1, the cooling drain R1 can also be used for watering the porous filter block 5 from the watering mechanism 6. That is, a second drain water supply pipe is provided in the middle of the refrigerant recovery drain flow passage 73', and the refrigerant recovery drain flow passage 73'and the sprinkler mechanism 6 are communicated with each other via the second drain water supply pipe. You can also.

As described above, the water collecting drain W3 obtained from the outside air by the drain circulation device 7 is used for watering the porous filter block 5, and there is an effect that water from the water source supplied to the watering mechanism 6 can be saved.

[4. Configuration that enables rapid humidification]
Next, a configuration for increasing the saturated steam pressure to bring the inside of the saturated steam generation chamber 2 into a rapidly humidified state will be described.

The freshness maintaining device A maintains the temperature of the water sprinkled from the sprinkling mechanism 6 to the porous filter block 5 in the saturated steam generation chamber 2 to a temperature higher than the temperature in the agricultural product storage chamber 1 by about 10 to 45 ° C. By doing so, the saturated steam pressure is increased to enable a rapid humidification state in the saturated steam generation chamber 2. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the freshness maintaining device A includes a rapid humidification mechanism 8 that enables the inside of the saturated steam generation chamber 2 to be rapidly humidified.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rapid humidification mechanism 8 is connected to the water storage tank 60 and the sprinkler pipe 61 to heat the hot water supply pipe 80 for supplying hot water to the sprinkler pipe 61 and the stored water W1. It is composed of a hot water generating heater 81 for generating hot water having a temperature higher than the temperature in the storage chamber 1 by about 10 to 45 ° C.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the hot water supply pipe 80 has a start end communicated with the middle portion of the circulation pipe 63 of the sprinkler mechanism 6 and an end communicated with the base end of the sprinkler pipe 61 of the sprinkler mechanism 6.

That is, the hot water supply pipe 80 has the circulation pipe 63 branched in the middle portion and is interposed between the water storage tank 60 and the sprinkler pipe 61 so as to run in parallel with the circulation pipe 63.

At the branch portion of the circulation pipe 63, that is, at the start end of the hot water supply pipe 80, a flow path of water sent through the water pump 62 of the water storage tank 60 is sent to either the circulation pipe 63 or the hot water supply pipe 80. A switching valve 82 for switching is provided.

The hot water generation heater 81 is interposed in the middle of the hot water supply pipe 80, heats the stored water W1 sent from the water storage tank 60, and is about 10 to 45 ° C higher than the room temperature of 0 to 15 ° C in the storage chamber 1. It produces hot water at a temperature of about 10-60 ° C.

As the hot water generation heater 81, for example, an electric heater whose water temperature can be adjusted can be adopted. As shown in FIG. 3A, the hot water generation heater 81 and the switching valve 82 are connected to the switch 81a on the front surface of the case 32 to enable operation / stop and flow path switching. The hot water generation heater 81 of this embodiment may be installed inside the water storage tank 60.

When the hot water generated by the rapid humidification mechanism 8 having such a configuration is used for watering the porous filter block 5, saturated water vapor is rapidly generated in the saturated water vapor generation chamber 2.

That is, the flow path of the stored water W1 from the water storage tank 60 of the sprinkler mechanism 6 is switched from the circulation pipe 63 to the hot water supply pipe 80 by the switching valve 82, and the water supply pump 62 is used by the hot water generation heater 81 in the middle of the hot water supply pipe 80. The stored water W1 that is sequentially pumped up is heated to generate hot water at about 10 to 60 ° C.

The hot water is sent to the sprinkler pipe 61, sprinkled on the sprinkling receiving surface of the porous filter block 5, and is vaporized by the low-temperature dry air G1 blown to the porous filter block 5.

That is, the sprinkling of the porous filter block 5 of the same-direction filter pattern 5A is maintained at a water temperature of about 10 to 60 ° C., which is about 10 to 45 ° C. higher than the temperature of about 0 to 15 ° C. in the saturated steam generation chamber 2, and steam. Since the pressure is high, the dry air G1 evaporates as quickly as possible to generate the water vapor-containing air G3.

The rapid humidification mechanism 8 is not always operated, and the inside of the storage chamber 1 is in a low humidity state at the start of humidification in the agricultural product storage chamber 1 or when the water vapor of the agricultural product storage chamber 1 is lost due to opening / closing work. It is preferable to use it when rapid humidification is required in some cases.

Further, as another embodiment, the rapid humidification mechanism 8 is provided with a hot water supply pipe 80 provided with a hot water generation heater 81 in the middle portion outside the steam generation case 3 of the saturated steam generation chamber 2 and the hot water supply pipe 80. It is also possible to connect and connect the water storage tank 60 of the water sprinkling mechanism 6 via the water sprinkling mechanism 6.

In this way, when the inside of the storage room 1 has a low humidity atmosphere such as the initial operation of the equipment or the loss of saturated steam due to the work of putting in and taking out agricultural products, the internal environment of the storage room 1 is changed as quickly as possible by the saturated steam generation room 2. It can be restored and maintained in a saturated steam atmosphere, and has the effect of making it possible to prevent the drying deterioration of agricultural products.

[5. Configuration that enables the generation of three laminar flows]
Next, a configuration will be described in which dew condensation in the storage room 1 is suppressed as much as possible to avoid the dew condensation phenomenon on the floor surface and the wall surface of the agricultural product storage room. FIG. 14 is a schematic side view showing the form of saturated water vapor flowing from the saturated water vapor generation chamber into the agricultural product storage chamber.

When the saturated steam generated in the saturated steam generation chamber 2 flows into the agricultural product storage chamber 1 from the saturated steam flow passage, the freshness maintaining device A sets the inflow form of the saturated steam into the agricultural product storage chamber 1 as an upper and lower three-layer flow. At the same time, the intermediate laminar flow CF is configured to have a lower humidity than the high humidity upper and lower laminar flows UF and DF.

That is, in the freshness maintaining device A, in the air suction mechanism 4 arranged in the saturated steam generation chamber 2 described above, the rotation shaft of the blower fan 43 is placed at the center of the rectangular window-shaped air discharge hole 42 formed on the other side surface of the case. By arranging it, it consists of an upper and lower layer flow UF consisting of an air flow of water vapor-containing air G3 whose relative humidity has increased at the time of blowing in the central portion of the air discharge hole 42, a DF and the same upper and lower layer flow UF, and an air flow having a lower relative humidity than the DF. It is configured to generate an intermediate layer flow CF.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, the air suction mechanism 4 measures the diameter cross-sectional area of the columnar hub 44 having the rotation axis C2 of the blower fan 43 with respect to the opening area of the rectangular window-shaped air discharge hole 42. It is formed so as to be about 1/5 to 1/4, and the rotation axis C2 of the hub 44 is arranged at the opening center C1 in the front view of the air discharge hole 42, and the rear surface of the hub 44 is placed on the front surface of the porous filter block 5. The blower fan 43 is arranged so as to face substantially each other, and the air discharge hole 42 is configured to be substantially closed by the blower fan 43.

In the saturated water vapor generation chamber 2 having such a configuration, the water vapor-containing air G3 generated by passing through the porous filter block 5 of the same-direction filter pattern 5A is swirled by the air suction mechanism 4 to form a three-flow layer from the air discharge hole 42. It is discharged by the formed air flow.

That is, the airflow of the water vapor-containing air G3 when being blown to the air discharge hole 42 by the air suction mechanism 4 is the central airflow passing near the vicinity of the hub 44 of the air suction mechanism 4 and the propeller 45 supported around the hub 44. It is divided into the outer peripheral airflow that passes near the surrounding area.

Further, the outer peripheral surface of the hub 44 of the air suction mechanism 4 is heated by the heat generated by the rotational drive of the built-in drive unit 44a. The heat generation temperature of the outer peripheral surface of the hub 44 is about 50 to 70 ° C.

That is, the central airflow of the water vapor-containing air G3 flowing along the hub 44 is subjected to the heating and evaporating action of the hub 44 in a high temperature state, and the relative humidity is reduced from about 90 to 100% to about 50 to 80%. It becomes a laminar flow CF and is discharged from the central portion of the rectangular window-shaped air discharge hole 42.

On the other hand, the outer peripheral airflow passing near the propeller 45 on the outer side in the radial direction of the hub 44 is a high-humidity upper and lower layer flow UF that maintains a relative humidity of about 90 to 100% without being affected by the heating and evaporating action of the hub 44. , DF and is discharged from the upper and lower parts of the rectangular window-shaped air discharge hole 42.

As described above, the high humidity upper and lower layer currents UF and DF can keep the inside of the storage chamber 1 in a saturated steam atmosphere at all times and prevent the drying deterioration of agricultural products. In addition, the middle layer flow CF, which has a lower humidity than the upper and lower layer flows UF and DF, evaporates the liquid water adhering to the floor surface and wall surface of the agricultural product storage room 1 near the saturated steam generation room 2, and molds and germs. It is possible to prevent the decay and deterioration of agricultural products without causing liquid water such as dew condensation, which is the breeding of the mold, to be permanently present in the storage room 1.

[6. Performance test of freshness maintenance device]
Hereinafter, the test of the ability to generate water vapor-containing air by the saturated water vapor generation chamber of the freshness maintaining device will be described. In this test, one saturated steam generation chamber was installed in a small agricultural product storage chamber with a relative humidity of 25%, 3 to 5 ° C, and a capacity of about 33 m ³ in a substantially sealed state. The change over time in relative humidity from 90% to 100% relative humidity to a saturated steam atmosphere was measured with a humidity measuring device.

As the experimental group of the saturated water vapor generation room communicating with the agricultural product storage room, the verification group A in which the porous filter block was juxtaposed and built in, and the verification group B in which the porous filter block was not provided were used.

In the verification zone B, only the blower fan was operated, and the water pump to the sprinkler pipe was stopped. In each verification group, the wind speed was kept constant, and the relative humidity in the storage room was measured every minute from the operation of the device with a humidity measuring device. The results are shown in Table 1.

According to Table 1, in the verification group A, the relative humidity in the storage room began to increase significantly as compared with the verification group B immediately after the operation of the apparatus in the same direction filter pattern. The relative humidity in the storage room reached about 90% (indicated by the broken line in Table 1) about 13 minutes after the equipment was put into operation, and reached 100% about 20 minutes after the equipment was put into operation. After 20 minutes, the relative humidity was maintained at 100%.

Looking at water consumption, about 310-330 g per hour was vaporized. In other words, it was found that the verification group A has a humidifying capacity of 310 to 330 g / h in an environment of 3 to 5 ° C.

Calculated from these results, the amount of water required for the saturated steam generation chamber to create a saturated steam atmosphere with a relative humidity of 90 to 100% in an environment of 3 to 5 ° C is, for example, an internal volume of 1400. A large storage room 1 of ~ 1500 m ³ weighs about 9000 g ~ 9400 g, and a medium-sized storage room 1 with an internal volume of 500 ~ 700 m ³ weighs about 4000 g ~ 4400 g.

In addition, when switching to the different direction filter pattern, the mist-containing air containing mist-like fine water droplets is about 0.1 m from the air discharge hole of the saturated water vapor generation chamber at a wind speed of 1.5 m / s to 8.0 m / s. It was confirmed that it scatters about 2.0 m. The size of the scattered mist water droplets was about 0.1 to 1.0 mm.

On the other hand, in the verification group B, although the relative humidity increased, the value was significantly lower than that in the other verification groups. That is, in the verification group B, the upward gradient of the relative humidity was unstable, and the maximum relative humidity remained around 65%.

Furthermore, the humidity recovery ability of the verification group A was verified when the water vapor-containing air escaped to the outside of the room when the door of the storage room was opened and the indoor humidity decreased. The cooling system was stopped and the loading / unloading doors of the storage room were opened until the indoor temperature reached 13 to 17 ° C, which is almost the same as the outside temperature. Next, the loading / unloading door of the storage room was closed, the verification section A was operated, and the change over time in the relative humidity was measured by a humidity measuring device. The results are shown in Table 2.

According to Table 2, the door was opened to a room temperature of 13 to 17 ° C, and after the door was closed, the relative humidity in the storage room where the verification zone A was operated started to gradually decrease from 100%, and about 15 minutes later. It was around 90%. However, the relative humidity thereafter turned to a linear rise, reaching 95% about 17 minutes after the door was closed and 100% about 22 minutes later.

Looking at the amount of water consumed, about 2400-2500g was vaporized per hour. In other words, it was found that the verification group A has a humidifying capacity of 2400 to 2500 g / h in an environment of 13 to 17 ° C.

From these results, the amount of water required for the saturated steam generation chamber to create a saturated atmosphere with a relative humidity of 90 to 100% in an environment of 3 to 5 ° C is, for example, an internal volume of 1400 to 1500 m ³ . The large agricultural product storage room weighs about 18300g to 18700g, and the medium-sized agricultural product storage room with an internal volume of 500 to 700m ³ weighs about 8000g to 8400g.

As described above, according to the freshness maintaining device according to the present invention, the saturated steam generation chamber can fill the agricultural product storage chamber with steam-containing air having a relative humidity of 90% or more in a short time to create a saturated steam atmosphere and maintain the same atmosphere. It has been shown.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately select and apply gaseous water and liquid water from the saturated steam generation chamber according to the type of agricultural product stored in the agricultural product storage chamber. It has the effect of realizing moisturizing conditions suitable for each type of agricultural product, suppressing deterioration factors of agricultural products as much as possible, and maintaining the freshness of agricultural products even in a relatively long-term storage state. ..

A ... Freshness keeping device, 1 ... Agricultural product storage room, 10 ... Storage room body, 11 ... Cooling device, 12 ... Carry-in / out door, 2 ... Saturated steam generation room, 3 ... Steam generation case, 30 ... Caster, 31 ... Case back, 32 ... Case front, 33 ... Case bottom, 34 ... Filter installation part, 4 ... Air suction mechanism, 41 ... Air suction hole, 42 ... Air exhaust hole, 43 ... Blower fan, 44 ... Hub, 45 ... Propeller, Porous filter block ... 5, Porous sheet ... 50, 50', Yamabe ... 51, 51', Tanibe ... 52, 52', Corrugated wire ... 53, Filter phase change mechanism ... 56, Sheet fixing part ... 57, Seat moving part ... 58, sprinkler mechanism ... 6, water storage tank ... 60, sprinkler pipe ... 61, water supply pump ... 62, circulation pipe ... 63, drain circulation device ... 7, drain case ... 70, drain pipe ... 71, outside air ventilation mechanism ... 72, drain flow passage ... 73, 73', drain recovery tray ... 74, drain water supply pipe ... 75, cooling drain generator ... 76, circulation pump ... 77, rapid humidification mechanism ... 8, hot water supply pipe ... 80, hot water generation Heater ... 81, Dry air ... G1, Moist air ... G2, Water vapor-containing air ... G3, Mist-containing air ... G4, Cooling drain ... R1, Upper and lower layer flow ... UF, DF, Intermediate layer flow ... CF

Claims (4)

Fruits, vegetables, etc. stored in the agricultural product storage room by flowing the saturated steam generated in the saturated steam generation room by communicating the agricultural product storage room cooled and maintained at about 0 ° C to 15 ° C and the saturated steam generation room. In the freshness maintenance device of agricultural products configured to be able to remove various deterioration factors of agricultural products
The saturated water vapor generation chamber
A case for steam generation and
An air intake mechanism for taking in air and
A porous filter block that communicates with the air suction mechanism,
Consists of a sprinkling mechanism that sprinkles water on the porous filter block,
Moreover, the porous filter block is composed of a large number of porous sheets formed in a corrugated manner and maintained at a constant interval, and is also configured.
When the waveforms of the laminated porous sheets are arranged in the same phase in order, and when the filter pattern is configured in the same direction.
A case where the phase is shifted by about 1/2 of the waveform amplitude and the direction of the waveform is arranged in an orderly opposite phase so that the valley and the mountain face each other, and the case where the different direction filter pattern is configured.
Agricultural product freshness preserving device characterized by being configurable to. The sprinkling mechanism for sprinkling water on the porous filter block absorbed in the saturated steam generation chamber is connected to the drain circulation device separately arranged on either the inside or the outside of the agricultural product storage chamber, and is also connected.
The drain circulation device is
The drain pipe arranged in the drain case and
An outside air ventilation mechanism for blowing high temperature outside air to the drain pipe,
A drain flow passage for distributing the cooling drain from the cooling device used for cooling the agricultural product storage room into the drain pipe, and
A drain collection tray that is placed at the bottom of the drain case and below the drain pipe to collect the dripping drain generated from the outside air on the outer circumference of the drain pipe.
A drain water pipe for sending the collected drain from the drain recovery tray to the watering mechanism of the porous filter block in the saturated steam generation chamber,
The freshness-maintaining device for agricultural products according to claim 1, which is characterized by the above. Saturated steam generation The temperature of the water sprinkled from the sprinkling mechanism to the porous filter block in the chamber is maintained at a temperature higher than the temperature in the agricultural product storage chamber at about 10 to 45 ° C to increase the saturated steam pressure and generate saturated steam. The freshness-maintaining device for agricultural products according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the room can be rapidly humidified. When the saturated steam generated in the saturated steam generation chamber flows into the agricultural product storage chamber from the saturated steam flow passage, the inflow form of the saturated steam into the agricultural product storage chamber is set to the upper and lower three-layer flow, and the intermediate layer flow has high humidity. A claim characterized by being configured to suppress dew condensation in the agricultural product storage room as much as possible and avoid the dew condensation phenomenon on the floor surface and wall surface of the agricultural product storage room by making the humidity lower than that of the upper and lower layer flow. The freshness-maintaining device for agricultural products according to any one of Items 1 to 3.

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