JPH0233950B2 - KAITOSOCHI - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a multi-stage shelf for storing frozen products,
and a group of carts with an insulated structure in which ventilated defrosting carts having openings at the front and rear are connected in a duct shape, or
A thawing device that heats, humidifies, and circulates the circulating air inside the thawing cart is connected to a thawing chamber that stores the carts, and a control chamber equipped with a pair of valves and fans that can switch the wind direction in forward and reverse directions. The present invention relates to a thawing device in which a thawing unit and a refrigeration unit for cooling the air in the thawing chamber are installed separately.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, this type of defrosting device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 57-138880 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-28461), which was previously proposed by the applicant.
As shown in , the defrosting trolleys are connected in a duct-like manner to form an air circulation passage, and a perforated plate is equipped with a refrigerator evaporator that can be operated in forward and reverse directions, a heater for auxiliary heating, and a heat exchanger for air-liquid contact. The air can be ventilated through the type humidification tower and the wind direction reversal room/straightening room, and the temperature and humidity of the air is adjusted by the circulation fan installed in the ventilation pipe between the humidification tower and the wind direction reversal room. The air was supplied from the humidifying tower into each thawing truck, and return air was supplied from each truck to the humidifying tower, so that the frozen foods in each thawing truck were thawed one by one with circulating air.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, according to the conventional thawing device, a heat pump type heat exchanger for thawing and cold storage and a heat exchanger for gas/liquid contact are incorporated in the humidifying tower serving as the thawing means. The structure has become more compact and equipment costs have increased, and since the circulation fan that supplies conditioned air inside the thawing truck and the blower fan that adjusts the air in the humidifying tower are the same, In order to obtain an air volume commensurate with the capacity, a fan with high static pressure and a large air volume is required, and since the humidifying tower is based on a heat pump type heat exchanger, antifreeze is used as a cooling/heating medium, making the control circuit complicated. Maintenance was also complicated, and it was also a problem from a food hygiene perspective. Moreover, the wind direction reversing means used to obtain uniform thawing also requires a reversing damper whose valve is operated by a large driving means such as a hydraulic device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made to solve the above-described drawbacks of the prior art, and it enables air to be circulated between the adjustment chamber connected to the defrosting cart, and the defrosting means. A two-line air circulation path is formed to supply the air conditioned by The present invention provides a defrosting device equipped with a pair of forward/reverse switchable valves and a fan.

Specifically, a thawing store with an insulated structure that stores a thawing cart inside, or a thawing cart with an insulated structure, an adjustment room connected to the thawing store or the thawing cart, and a circulating air of the thawing store or the thawing cart. It consists of a refrigeration unit for cooling, a thawing means consisting of a heating/humidifying tower having a water sprinkling means and a water tank in a gas/liquid contact area, and a pair of ducts having a circulation fan that communicates the thawing means with a regulating chamber, The present invention is characterized in that a partition wall between the adjustment chamber and the defrosting cart or the defrosting store is provided with a wind direction switching means that can switch the wind direction in forward and reverse directions.

In this case, the wind direction switching means comprises a shutter-type valve that can be opened and closed in forward and reverse directions and a corresponding fan, and the shutter-type valve opens by the wind pressure of the fan and closes by its own weight. The refrigeration unit may be installed on the roof of the thawing chamber or the roof of the adjustment room, or the thawing chamber may be divided into two through a partition wall provided in the center.
It is also possible to form a ventilation path for circulating air by arranging two rows of thawing carts in the thawing warehouse and connecting a wind direction reversing cart with a heat-insulating structure without a partition at the rear end.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example according to the present invention will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings. 1 to 3 are schematic configuration diagrams showing an embodiment according to the present invention,
1 is a thawing chamber with heat insulation, and this thawing chamber 1
Inside, a defrosting trolley 2 having openings at the front and rear and provided with multi-stage storage shelves is stored in a duct-like manner connected in the front and rear direction.

Here, when the thawing cart 2 is stored in the thawing warehouse 1, the duct-shaped passage inside the thawing cart 2 and the thawing cart 2
A ventilation path for circulating air is formed with the upper space 1a. An adjustment chamber 3 is connected to one end in the longitudinal direction of the thawing chamber 1, an opening 4a in the partition wall 4 that communicates with the thawing cart 2, and a wind direction switching means at a position communicating with the upper space 1a of the thawing chamber 1. 5 is installed.

The wind direction switching means 5 includes valves 6a, 6b such as shutters that open and close in forward and reverse directions, and corresponding fans 7a, 7b.
By rotating alternately, it is possible to reverse the wind direction.

Further, on the roof of the adjustment room 3 or the thawing store 1, a freezing unit 8 such as a cooler is installed to keep the inside of the thawing store 1 cold. One or more units may be installed to ensure sufficient capacity to cool the circulating air.

Further, the adjustment chamber 3 is connected to a thawing means 9 that sends warm and humid air for thawing. The heating/humidifying tower 10 and the adjustment chamber 3 of the thawing means 9 include a suction duct 11 having an air suction port 11a, and an air blowing port 12a.
A circulation fan 13 is installed in the suction duct 11.

In addition, the heating/humidifying tower 10 has a water storage tank 1 at the bottom.
4, a certain amount of pure water is always stored, and a heater is installed to heat the water. Water is sucked up from the water tank 14 via a water pump 15, and a watering pipe 1 installed above
Water is sprinkled through the water sprinkling holes 6, and the circulating air is heated and humidified by passing through a gas-liquid contact section 17 consisting of a humidifying porous plate, etc. The circulating air heated and humidified here is The mist is sent from the ventilation duct 11 into the adjustment chamber 3 through a mist eliminator 18 provided in the air.

Figures 4 and 5 show the thawing cabinet 1 according to the present invention.
These are a top view and a side view showing an application example in which the heating/humidifying tower 10 is divided into left and right sides by a central partition wall 1b and arranged in two rows in parallel, and the heating/humidifying tower 10 is configured to blow air to each independent thawing chamber 1. , with the aim of increasing its size.

Moreover, FIGS. 6 and 7 are schematic configuration diagrams showing another embodiment according to the present invention, in which the thawing chamber is abolished and the thawing cart 2 whose periphery is made of a heat insulating material is directly connected to the adjustment chamber 3. That's what happens.

That is, the above-mentioned defrosting storage cart 2 is formed with ventilation passages 2a and 2b for circulating air divided into upper and lower parts, and an opening 4a formed in the partition wall 4 of the adjustment chamber 3 is also divided into two upper and lower parts, 2 is this opening 4a
and are connected at a constant interval. Furthermore, a wind direction reversing trolley 19 that does not have a partition wall and is surrounded by a heat insulating material is connected to the rear end of the thawing trolley 2, and has the function of reversing the direction of air blowing from the upper stage 2a or the lower stage 2b in the thawing trolley 2. are doing. Furthermore, valves 6 such as shutters that open and close in forward and reverse directions are installed at the top and bottom of the opening 4a formed in the partition wall 4 of the adjustment chamber 3, respectively.
A wind direction switching means 5 is installed which includes fans 7a and 7b corresponding to the fans 7a and 7b. In this case, there is no problem even if the wind direction switching means 5 is installed only above or below the opening 4a.

FIG. 8 is an example of application of the embodiment shown in FIG. This is the case where a wind direction reversing truck 20 without a partition wall is connected to the rearmost portion.

9 and 10 are a top view and a side view showing a schematic configuration of another embodiment according to the present invention, in which thawing carts 2 are arranged in two rows in a thawing warehouse 1 connected to an adjustment chamber 3. The system is constructed so that two rows of defrosting carts can be used as one circulating air flow path to blow air without using a wind direction reversing cart or the like at the rear end. In this embodiment, the refrigeration unit 8 is installed at the rear of the adjustment chamber 3.

Next, the defrosting and cooling operations performed by the defrosting device configured as described above will be explained.

First, the items to be thawed are stored on the shelf of the thawing cart 2,
A large number of them can be connected and stored in a duct-like manner in the defrosting chamber 1 using appropriate guides or connectors, or they can be stored directly in the adjustment chamber 3.
It is connected to an opening 4a provided in a partition wall 4.

Next, when performing defrosting work, the heater of the defrosting means 9 is turned on to warm the pure water in the water tank 14, and the water pump 15 is activated to start sprinkling water upward, and the circulation fan 13 is rotated. When the process starts, circulating air adjusted to a predetermined temperature and humidity is sent into the adjustment chamber 3 via the ventilation duct 12.

The adjusted air in the adjustment chamber 3 is supplied by the fan 7a or 7.
b Shutter valve 6a or 6 is activated by rotation of either
b is pushed open by wind pressure, and the air is blown into the thawing cart 2 and circulated. In this case, the valve on the fan side that is stopped is always closed by the wind pressure from the rotating fan.

If the above-mentioned ventilation in a certain direction is carried out for a certain period of time, uneven thawing will occur in the thawing cart 2 due to temperature differences, so the rotation of the fans 7a and 7b is switched by a timer or other switching device, and the direction of ventilation of the circulating air is changed. is reversed, and thawing is done evenly to prevent uneven thawing.

Next, after the desired thawing operation is completed, it is necessary to keep the inside of the thawing chamber 1 or the thawing cart 2 at a constant low temperature, but in this case, the thawing heater is stopped and the circulation fan 13 is turned on as appropriate. As it rotates,
A freezing unit 8 such as a cooler provided separately from the thawing means 9 is operated to maintain a cold state at a constant low temperature.

In addition, in the above-mentioned defrosting operation, if the heater in the defrosting means 9 is switched to operate in multiple stages,
At first, the thawing temperature is rapidly lowered, and after thawing is completed, all heaters are stopped and the circulation pump 13 is operated while only the water pump 15 is operated intermittently to maintain humidity. Thus, the items to be thawed in the thawing cart 2 are maintained at a predetermined humidity, and a separately provided refrigeration unit 8 is operated to keep them cool.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Since the thawing means is used only for heating, its structure can be simplified, it can be manufactured at low cost, and maintenance is also easy.

(2) Since a freezing unit separate from the thawing means is used for cooling and cold storage, the operation can be quickly shifted from thawing to cold storage, and the time required for thawing fresh foods can be shortened.

(3) Since the thawing means uses heated pure water, it is hygienic, and the control circuit is simpler than in the past, making operation easier and automatic operation possible.

(4) The circulation fan that blows hot and humid air in the thawing means should be a fan with a small air volume and high static pressure, and the fan that blows air from the adjustment room into the thawing compartment and thawing cart should be a fan with a large air volume and low static pressure. It is possible to make the necessary downsizing depending on the installation location.

(5) Since the speed of the air blown into the thawing chamber or thawing cart can be increased, a high thawing speed can be obtained even at relatively low temperatures (small temperature difference with the food), and temperature unevenness in the air can be reduced. Small and uniform thawing.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thawing device showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the schematic configuration of FIG. 4 to 5 are top and side views showing a schematic configuration of an application example according to the present invention, FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an applied example of FIG. 6, and FIGS. 9 and 10 are a schematic top view and side view showing still other embodiments according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Thawing warehouse, 2... Thawing cart, 3... Adjustment room, 4... Partition wall, 4a... Opening, 5... Wind direction switching means, 6a, 6b... Valve, 7a, 7b... Fan , 8... Freezing unit, 9... Defrosting means, 1
0...Heating/humidifying tower, 11...Suction duct, 12
...Blower duct, 13...Fan, 14...Water tank, 15...Water pump, 16...Water pipe,
17... Gas-liquid contact part, 18... Mist eliminator, 19, 20... Wind direction reversing trolley.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A thawing warehouse with an insulating structure that stores a thawing cart therein, or a thawing cart with an insulating structure, an adjustment chamber connected to the thawing store or the thawing cart, and circulation of the thawing box or the thawing cart. It consists of a refrigeration unit that cools the air, a thawing means consisting of a heating/humidifying tower having a water sprinkling means and a gas-liquid contact water storage tank, and a pair of ducts having a circulation fan that communicates the thawing means with a control chamber. A thawing device, characterized in that a partition wall between the adjustment chamber and the thawing cart or the thawing store is provided with a wind direction switching means capable of switching the air blowing in forward and reverse directions. 2. The wind direction switching means is composed of a shutter-type valve that can be opened and closed in forward and reverse directions and a corresponding fan, and the shutter-type valve is configured to open by the wind pressure of the fan and close by its own weight. A thawing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3. The thawing device according to claim 1, wherein a refrigeration unit for cooling the circulating air of the thawing warehouse is installed on the roof of the thawing warehouse. 4. The thawing device according to claim 1, wherein a refrigeration unit for cooling the circulating air of the thawing warehouse is installed on the roof of the adjustment room. 5 The above-mentioned defrosting carts are arranged in two rows in a thawing warehouse that is divided into two through a partition wall provided in the center, and a wind direction reversing cart with an insulating structure without a partition is connected to the rear end to create a ventilation path for circulating air. The thawing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the thawing device is formed by: