JPH02104266A - Freezing method and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To freeze a freezing object in a short time by contacting the lower surface of a bag-shaped belt containing a cold brine with the upper surface of a freezing object placed on a transfer belt and, at the same time, freezing the lower face of the freezing object from the side under the belt. CONSTITUTION:A freezing object 5 is charged through a product-feeding port 10 of a freezing apparatus and introduced into a freezing zone 12 in a state sandwiched between a steel belt conveyor 1 and a flexible belt conveyor 21. The lower surface of the freezing object 5 is cooled by the direct contact with the conveyor 1 and, at the same time, the upper surface of the object 5 is frozen by contacting with a cold brine receiving part 22a of a flexible belt 22 cooled with cold brine 26.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in a freezing method and apparatus suitable for freezing products such as foods.

Conventionally, there has been a device of this type as shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an endless steel belt made of a single piece of stainless steel with a smooth surface. The moving speed of the steel belt 1 is controlled by the speed control of the variable speed motor, which is driven by a pulley 3, and the freezing time is adjusted. Reference numeral 2 denotes a pulley that applies a constant tension to the steel belt 1, and is disposed on the side of the product supply port lo.

A brine tank 4 is in contact with the lower surface of the steel belt 1, and products to be frozen 5 are arranged on the upper surface thereof. Sara 1ζ
A cooling fin coil 6 and a fan 7, which are air blast devices, are arranged on the upper part, and an air circulation path is formed by an air distribution duct 8.

These freezing zones 12 are housed within a heat insulating tunnel 9 to prevent heat from entering from outside.

Cold brine 13 is supplied from a separately installed brine refrigerator to the brine tank 4 via a cold brine tank 14, and is returned and circulated through a cold brine outlet]5.

Also, refrigerant is supplied to the cooling fin coil 61 from an externally installed refrigerator through the refrigerant inlet 16, returns to the refrigerant outlet 17, and circulates.

Next, the operation will be explained. Freezer product supply port 10
When the frozen product 5 enters the freezing zone, it enters the freezing zone together with the steel belt l moving at a constant speed.During this time, the frozen product 5 is subjected to contact freezing via the steel belt 1, which is cooled by the brine liquid in the brine tank 4. It is done.

On the other hand, for the upper surface of the frozen product 5, the air inside the insulation tunnel 9 is circulated and cooled by the cooling fin coil 6 and the fan 7, which receive refrigerant from a separately prepared external refrigerator, and the air is blasted from the air distribution duct 8. Freeze.

The frozen product 5 that has been completely frozen in this way exits the heat insulating tunnel 9 and is transported to the next process.

Conventional freezing equipment is configured as described above, so the bottom surface of the frozen product is rapidly frozen by contact freezing, but since the top surface is directly blown with cooling air, the frozen product suffers dryness and slows down the cooling rate. Freezes slowly and slowly, which can easily lead to a decline in product quality.

Furthermore, since this device employs two methods, brine cooling and air blast cooling, it requires two refrigerators, which has the drawback of high initial cost and high running cost.

This invention was made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional products, and it makes it possible to freeze products in a short time to prevent product quality deterioration, and also to simplify the structure and reduce costs. The purpose of this invention is to provide a freezing method and device that measures the

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Second
In the figure, a flexible belt conveyor 21 is placed above the steel belt conveyor 1.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the flexible belt conveyor 21. The flexible belt conveyor 21 has a pair of drive pulleys 24 fixed to a rotating shaft 24a at a predetermined interval, and a pair of drive pulleys 24 fixed to a rotating shaft 25a at a predetermined interval. A pair of guide belts 23 are wound approximately parallel between a pair of tension boots 1725, and a cold brine 26 is disposed between the pair of guide belts 23 and has a roughly U-shaped cross section. The brine receiver connects the side edge of the bag-shaped flexible belt 22, on which the portion 22a is formed, to the guide belt 2.
It is configured by attaching it to 3. The flexible belt conveyor 22 is formed by gluing together a thin rubber film that has excellent tensile strength, elasticity, flexibility, and airtightness at low temperatures, and a base fabric that serves as a reinforcing material. This can be achieved by reducing the thickness. The guide belt 23 is made of a flexible belt material and is integrally molded with the flexible belt 22.

The lower side of the flexible belt conveyor 21 is filled with a cold brine 26, so that the minimum liquid level necessary for contact freezing of the products 5 to be frozen can be maintained. The cold brines 13 and 26 are externally installed brine refrigerators (
(not shown), is supplied to the brine tank 4 and the flexible belt conveyor 21 from the cold brine port 27, and is circulated back to the brine refrigerator from the cold brine outlet 28.

The steel belt conveyor 1 and the flexible belt conveyor 21 are driven by the same drive device, and each conveyor maintains the same speed.

Although FIG. 2 shows a case where only the freezing zone is surrounded by the heat insulating tunnel 9, it is naturally possible to insulate the entire device.

Next, the operation will be explained. Freezer product supply port 10
When the frozen product 5 enters the frozen sea 2.2, the frozen product 5 is sandwiched between the steel belt conveyor 1 and the flexible belt conveyor 21. During this time, the lower surface of the product to be frozen 5 is directly contacted with the steel belt conveyor 1 and cooled, and the lower surface of the flexible belt 22 is cooled by the cold brine 26. Since the cold brine receiver of the flexible belt 22 is in close contact with the cold brine receiver, the heat conduction is conducted. is done quickly. That is, even if the shape and dimensions of the frozen product 5 change, the flexible belt 22 deforms as shown in FIG. Since heat conduction is carried out in this state, the product to be frozen 5 can be quickly frozen on both the upper and lower surfaces. In particular, in the case of meat, it is possible to quickly freeze the surface of the meat, thereby maintaining the freshness and improving the quality of the meat during the distribution process. The flexible belt conveyor 21 is driven by a drive pulley 24 and a tension pulley via a guide belt 23, and since the force for rotating the flexible belt 22 does not directly act, there is no fear of tearing the flexible belt 22. When the frozen product passes through the freezing zone 12 and reaches the product take-out section 11, the steel belt conveyor 1 is rotated by the pulley section 3, so that the product naturally leaves the steel belt conveyor 1 and moves to the next process.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case of continuous quick freezing of meat was explained, but the same effect can be achieved in freezing prepared frozen foods such as seafood and vegetables.

Hereinafter, as described in (a) above, according to this invention, since the product to be frozen is configured to be frozen by contact from both sides, it is possible to quickly freeze the surface of the product to be frozen in a uniform state, thereby maintaining the freshness of the frozen product.
and improve quality. Furthermore, the equipment has become more compact, reducing heat intrusion from the outside.
This has the effect of simplifying insulation construction.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view showing a conventional freezing device, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view showing a freezing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. In the figure, l is a steel belt conveyor, 4 is a brine tank, 13 is a cold brine, 21 is a flexible belt conveyor, 24 is a drive pulley, and 26 is a cold brine. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) By bringing the lower side of the bag-shaped belt containing cold brine into contact with the upper side of the frozen product on the conveyor belt, and by freezing the lower side of the frozen article from below the conveyor belt, A freezing method characterized by freezing the surface of the product from above and below at the same time. (2) Rotate the bag-shaped belt in the transport direction of the frozen items while bringing the lower side of the bag-shaped belt containing the cold brine into contact with the upper side of the frozen items on the conveyor belt, and A freezing method characterized in that the surface to be frozen is simultaneously frozen from above and below by freezing the lower surface side from below the conveyor belt. (3) By making the central part of the first belt conveyor slack so that the cross-sectional shape is approximately U-shaped, the lower central part of the first belt conveyor is used as a cold brine storage part, and the lower part of the first belt conveyor is A second belt conveyor for conveying the frozen products is disposed so that it can be cooled from below, and cold brine is stored in the storage section so that the lower surface of the storage comes into contact with the upper surface of the frozen products. A freezing device consisting of: