JP7199695B2 - Kelp warming device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a kelp warming device for warming kelp stored in a dry state after harvesting.

After harvesting, kelp is dried and stored. Kelp is traded at a high price in the central portion in the longitudinal direction (L1 (leaf) portion in FIG. 1), and has a low commercial value and a low price at both ends in the width direction (L2 (red leaf) portion in FIG. 1). Since kelp is traded in a dry state, both ends in the width direction are usually cut off in the process until it is commercialized. Almost the entire dried kelp is wavy and wrinkled in the longitudinal direction, and when cutting both ends in the width direction, it is necessary to smooth out wrinkles in advance from the viewpoint of cutting workability. Since kombu is damaged when wrinkles are smoothed out in a dry state, the kombu is usually softened by heating or moistening it before wrinkles are smoothed out.

As a conventional method for heating kelp, for example, heat generated by an oil burner or an electric heater, or far-infrared rays generated by a far-infrared heater may be directly applied to the kelp to heat it. As a conventional method for moistening kelp, for example, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-310937) has been proposed. In the technique of Patent Document 1, kelp is placed in a box equipped with a water tank and an oil burner or an electric heater for heating the water in the water tank, and the kelp is humidified by moisture evaporated from the water tank. Further, as a method of heating kelp to smooth out wrinkles, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-66554), for example, has been proposed. In the technique of Patent Document 2, wrinkles are smoothed out while heating dried kelp by wrinkle-smoothing means having an iron roller.

For example, the method of heating kelp by directly applying heat from an oil burner or an electric heater, and the method of heating kelp K with far infrared rays that reach directly from a far-infrared heater, are difficult to control temperature, and the kelp may burn. , there is a risk that the kelp will be too dry and cause hardening or breakage, and the energy consumption is extremely large. For example, a conventional heating device using an oil burner has an output of about 15 kW to 20 kW. Moreover, in these methods, workers are directly exposed to high temperatures, so the work environment for stretching kelp, which is usually performed in summer, is poor. In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the water in the container on the entire floor is evaporated by the heat of the oil burner or the electric heater, it is difficult to appropriately control the humidity, and the kelp may become over-humidified. . The over-moistened kombu must be dried again, which reduces its quality and wastes energy. In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, sufficient heating is not performed, and wrinkles cannot be effectively smoothed out, and there is a risk of damaging the kelp. Also, devices using this technology are structurally complex.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-310937 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-66554

An object of the present invention is to provide an energy-saving kelp warming device capable of warming and softening kelp without deteriorating the quality of kelp or worsening the working environment.

The present invention provides a kelp warming device for warming dried kelp. The kelp heating device includes a heat-generating part for warming kelp, a housing for accommodating kelp inside, a sensor for detecting the temperature inside the housing, and a heating element based on information from the sensor. and a control unit for controlling the operation of The heating part has a heating element that emits electromagnetic waves for heating the kelp. The housing is configured to reflect electromagnetic waves from the heating element at least on the entire inner surface. In this way, the housing reflects electromagnetic waves on the inner surface and is constructed so that there is no substance other than kelp that absorbs electromagnetic waves. It can be effectively heated in a short time. In addition, research by the inventor of the present application has found that dried kelp can be sufficiently softened by heating it to a temperature of about 70 ° C to 150 ° C. Therefore, heat generation Allows the body to operate at low power.

In one embodiment, the heating element is preferably a far infrared heater. In addition, the housing may have a layer that reflects electromagnetic waves over the entire inner surface, or the material of the housing itself may reflect electromagnetic waves. In one embodiment, the material of the housing can be aluminum, and the layer formed on the entire inner surface of the housing can also be a layer of aluminum. The heating part preferably has a reflector on the opposite side of the heating element facing the seaweed. Preferably, the controller controls the heating element so that the temperature of the seaweed is 70°C to 150°C.

In one embodiment, the kelp warming device preferably further includes a humidifying section capable of humidifying the inside of the housing so that the kelp can be prevented from drying out. The degree of humidity that can prevent drying of the kelp is preferably adjusted so that the amount of saturated water vapor obtained from the temperature inside the housing is reached.

In one embodiment, the housing preferably has a size corresponding to the size of the kelp to be accommodated therein, and is provided with a kelp inlet at least on the upper surface. In addition, it is preferable that the case has a port for carrying out kelp on the side thereof.

According to the present invention, a large amount of kelp can be effectively heated and softened with less energy without adversely affecting the surrounding work environment and without degrading quality, so yield can be improved and work costs can be improved. This contributes to a reduction in waste, a reduction in the work burden on workers, and a higher profit for workers.

1 is a schematic diagram of kelp heated by a kelp warming device according to the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a kelp warming device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which the upper surface and side surfaces are opened in the kelp warming device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a heat generating portion of a kelp warming device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a humidifying section of a kelp warming device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a kelp warming device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. 2(a) is a perspective view including the front and right sides of the kelp warming device 1, and FIG. 2(b) is a perspective view including the left side and back of the kelp warming device 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the lids corresponding to the upper surface and the front and the lid corresponding to the right side of the kelp warming device 1 are both open. A kelp warming device 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as the device 1) includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 10. As shown in FIG.

The housing 10 is designed to accommodate the kelp K in its internal space, and has dimensions corresponding to the size of the kelp K to be accommodated. The housing 10 is preferably slightly longer than the length of the tangle K, slightly wider than the width of the tangle K, and preferably has a height capable of accommodating about 20 to 30 tangles K stacked.

The housing 10 is provided with a loading port 10i for loading kelp K from the top surface 10a to a position corresponding to a wide side surface (front) 10b. The carry-in port 10i can be opened and closed by a carry-in port cover 12 having an L-shaped cross section formed by connecting the long sides of two plate-like bodies 12a and 12b at right angles. The inlet cover 12 has one plate-like body 12a whose long side 12a1 is connected to a wide side surface (rear surface) 10c of the housing 10 by, for example, a hinge. 10i is open. The carry-in lid 12 forms part of the housing 10 when closed.

A heat-generating section cover 12e is attached to the outer surface of the plate-like body 12a of the inlet cover 12 to house the heat-generating section 20 (details of which will be described later). The plate-like body 12 a is provided with two openings 12 d for taking in the electromagnetic waves radiated from the heat generating section 20 inside the housing 10 . It is preferable that the plate-like body 12b of the inlet cover 12 is provided with a handle 12c for operating the inlet cover 12 on its outer surface.

The position where the inlet 10i is provided is not limited to the position corresponding to the wide side surface 10b from the top surface 10a, but may be a position corresponding to the wide side surface 10c from the top surface 10a. Alternatively, only the position corresponding to the upper surface 10a may be opened and this opening may be used as the inlet 10i. In this case, the inlet cover 12 may be a plate-like body that closes the opening 10i instead of having an L-shaped cross section.

The housing 10 is provided with an outlet 10o for taking out the heated kelp K at a position corresponding to a narrow side surface (right side surface) 10d. The carry-out port 10o can be opened and closed by a carry-out port cover 13 composed of a plate-shaped body 13a. One side 13a1 of the plate-like body 13a of the outlet cover 13 is connected to the bottom surface 10f of the housing 10 by, for example, a hinge. By opening the outlet cover 13 downward, the outlet 10o is opened. It's becoming The outlet lid 13 forms part of the housing 10 when closed. It is preferable that the plate-like body 13a of the outlet cover 13 is provided with a handle 13b for operating the outlet cover 13 on its outer surface.

The position at which the carry-out port 10o is provided is not limited to the position corresponding to the narrow side surface 10d, and may of course be the position corresponding to the narrow side surface (left side surface) 10e. Alternatively, when the carry-in port 10i is provided at a position corresponding to the upper surface 10a, the carry-out port 10o may be provided on the wide side surface 10b or 10c.

The housing 10 and the loading port lid 12 and the loading port lid 13 that constitute a part of the housing 10 are all made of a material that reflects electromagnetic waves from the heating element 21 of the heating unit 20 . This material may be any material as long as it can appropriately reflect the electromagnetic waves radiated from the heating element 21 according to the type of the heating element 21 . For example, when a far-infrared heater is used as the heating element 21, the material of the housing 10 is preferably aluminum.

The space in which the kelp K is placed is surrounded by the housing 10, the inlet lid 12 and the outlet lid 13, and the housing 10, the inlet lid 12 and the outlet lid 132 are made of a suitable electromagnetic wave reflecting material such as aluminum. , the electromagnetic wave radiated from the heating element 21 is effectively reflected without being absorbed by the entire inner surface of the housing 10, the inlet lid 12, and the outlet lid 13, and the reflected electromagnetic wave is arranged in the space K absorbed by and converted to heat. Therefore, compared to the case of heating the kelp K only by heat transfer from the heat source or the case of heating the kelp K only by the electromagnetic waves directly arriving from the electromagnetic wave generating source, the output of the heating element 21 cannot be made too high. (that is, with low energy consumption), without causing deterioration of the quality of kelp K (for example, burning of kelp, hardening or breakage due to overdrying), and effectively heating kelp K to about 70 ° C to 150 ° C. can be heated to In addition, since the electromagnetic wave from the heating element 21 does not leak out of the housing 10, the kelp K can be heated without degrading the working environment.

FIG. 4 shows part of the heat-generating part 20 included in the device 1 . As shown in FIG. 3, the device 1 is provided with two heat generating units 20 shown in FIG. The heating unit 20 includes a heating element 21 connected to an external power source (not shown), and a reflector 22 for reflecting electromagnetic waves radiated in a direction opposite to the position of the tangle K toward the tangle K. have In the apparatus 1, the heat generating part 20 is attached to the outer surface of the plate-like body 12a of the inlet cover 12, and the electromagnetic wave from the heat generating body 21 is directed to the inside of the housing 10 from the opening 12d provided in the plate-like body 12a. be radiated.

The heating element 21 is not limited as long as it can appropriately heat the kelp K. However, since it has the property of radiating electromagnetic waves with wavelengths that are effectively absorbed by the kelp K and converted into heat, far-infrared rays are used. A heater is preferred. In the apparatus 1, two rod-shaped far-infrared heaters arranged in series are used as the heating element 21, but the present invention is not limited to this. More than one far-infrared heater may be arranged in parallel and used. In the device 1, the heat generating part 20 is attached to the entrance cover 12, but it is not limited to this, and may be attached to the wide side surface 10c of the housing 10, for example.

In the device 1, the housing 10 surrounding the space in which the kelp K is placed, the inlet lid 12, and the outlet lid 13 are made of a material (e.g., aluminum) that reflects electromagnetic waves (e.g., far infrared rays). Electromagnetic waves radiated from (for example, a far-infrared heater) are reflected by the inner surface of the housing 10 or the like, and are directly absorbed by the kelp K without waste, so that the kelp K can be effectively warmed in a short time. Therefore, in the apparatus 1, a far-infrared heater with an output of about 1.5 kW to 2.0 kW, for example, can be used, and the energy consumption can be greatly reduced compared with the conventional apparatus.

The output of the heating element 21 , that is, the set temperature can be adjusted by the temperature control knob 24 . A temperature sensor 23 is preferably provided at any suitable location inside the housing 10 . The device 1 includes a control section (not shown) for appropriately controlling the output of the heating element 21 based on the information from the temperature sensor 23 . The controller can be a device such as a thermostat, or can be software executable by a general-purpose personal computer.

The reflector 22 is provided on the opposite side of the heating element 21 from the side facing the kelp K. As shown in FIG. In the device 1, as shown in FIG. 4, the reflector 22 can reflect the electromagnetic wave emitted from the heating element 21 in the direction opposite to the position of the tangle K toward the tangle K. Thus, the cross-sectional shape of the heating element 21 in the direction transverse to the length direction is preferably a U-shape with the kelp K side widened. The heating element 21 is arranged inside the U-shape. The material of the reflector 22 is not limited as long as it can appropriately reflect the electromagnetic waves radiated from the heating element 21 according to the type of the heating element 21. 12 and the outlet cover 13 are preferably made of the same material.

The kelp K inside the housing 10 may be dried by heating. As the dried kelp deteriorates due to hardening and breakage, it is preferable to properly humidify the inside of the housing 10 in order to prevent the kelp from being overdried. In the device 1 , a humidifying section 30 is provided on the inner surface of the narrow side surface 10 e of the housing 10 .

FIG. 5 shows a humidifying section 30 used in the device 1. As shown in FIG. The humidifying section 30 has a heater 31 connected to an external power source (not shown) and a tank 32 containing water. Although the heater 31 is not limited, for example, a thin silicon rubber heater can be used. The tank 32 has a thin plate-shaped inner space, and water can be stored in this inner space. The heater 31 is sandwiched between the tank 32 and the inner surface of the side surface 10e of the housing 10, and is in surface contact with the tank 32, so that the water in the tank 32 can be heated over a wide area. Therefore, by using the humidifying section 30, it is easy to appropriately control the amount of evaporation. Preferably, the tank 32 is fixed to the side surface 10e and provided with a protective plate 32a on the top to prevent the silicon rubber heater from being splashed with water when water is supplied to the tank 32. As shown in FIG.

The heater 31 is operated by an operator, for example, by turning on/off a switch (not shown) to directly turn on/off the heater 31 so that the inside of the housing 10 is maintained at approximately the saturated vapor pressure. , etc.), or a humidity sensor may be placed in the housing 10 to automatically operate or stop based on the information from the humidity sensor. The output of the heater 31 may be an output that evaporates the water in the tank 32 so that the inside of the housing 10 can be humidified while being maintained at approximately the saturated vapor pressure. By humidifying the inside of the housing 10 to approximately the saturated vapor pressure, evaporation of water from the kelp K can be minimized and overdrying of the kelp can be prevented.

In the device 1, the humidifying section 30 is provided inside the housing 10, but the configuration is not limited to this. For example, the humidifying unit 30 is provided outside the housing 10, and the humidified air generated by the humidifying unit 30 is sent into the housing 10 from a supply port provided on, for example, a narrow side surface 10e of the housing 10. good too.

1 kelp warming device 10 housing 10a upper surface 10b front (wide side)
10c back (wide side)
10d right side (narrow side)
10e left side (narrow side)
10f bottom surface 10i inlet 10o outlet 12 inlet cover 12a, 12b plate 12a1 long side of plate 12a 12c handle 12d opening 12e heating unit cover 13 outlet lid 13a plate 13b handle 20 heating unit 21 heating element 22 reflection Body 23 Temperature sensor 24 Temperature control knob 30 Humidifier 31 Heater 31a Protective plate 32 Tank

K Kelp L1 Leaf L2 Red leaf R1 Kelp root R2 Root

Claims (10)

A kelp warming device for warming dried kelp,
a heating unit having a heating element that emits electromagnetic waves for heating the kelp;
a housing that accommodates kelp inside and is configured to reflect electromagnetic waves from the heating element on at least the entire inner surface;
a sensor for detecting the temperature inside the housing;
a control unit that controls the operation of the heating element based on information from the sensor ;
a humidification unit for humidifying the inside of the housing to a humidity that can prevent the heated kelp from drying out;
Kelp warming device with The kelp warming device according to claim 1, wherein the heating element is a far-infrared heater. 3. The kelp warming device according to claim 1 , wherein the housing is made of aluminum, or a layer of aluminum is formed on the entire inner surface of the housing . The kelp warming device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the heat-generating part has a reflector provided on the side opposite to the side facing the kelp of the heating element. The kelp warming device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the controller controls the heating element so that the temperature of the kelp is between 70 degrees and 150 degrees. The water vapor amount in the housing humidified by the humidifying unit is adjusted to a saturated water vapor amount obtained from the temperature in the housing according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . Kelp warming device. The humidifying unit has a tank containing water and a heater for heating the water in the tank,
The kelp warming device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the inside of the device is humidified by steam generated by heating the water in the tank with the heater. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the tank has a flat plate-shaped inner space for containing water, and the heater heats the water in the tank by being in surface contact with the tank outside the tank. Kelp warming device. 8. The housing according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the housing has a size corresponding to the size of the kelp to be accommodated therein, and is provided with a kelp inlet on at least the upper surface thereof. Kelp warming device. 10. The kelp warming device according to claim 9, wherein the housing has a kelp outlet on the side thereof.

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