JPH0242156Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) The present invention is a thawing device, in particular, a thawing device in which frozen food is placed inside the thawing device body, and warm air at a predetermined temperature is flowed around the frozen food to thaw it. Regarding the decompressor that performs.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 57-50875, a thawing device that blows warm air onto frozen foods to thaw them has been used. A method has been proposed in which the surface temperature of frozen food is maintained at a constant temperature by detecting the surface temperature of the food and controlling the temperature of hot air according to the detected temperature.

(Problem that the invention aims to solve) However, this type of device circulates hot air that reaches a temperature of 70°C, so the temperature at the end of thawing becomes too high and the taste deteriorates significantly. It was unsuitable for defrosting. For this reason,
In Japanese Patent Application No. 60-143335 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-3776), the inventors of the present invention directly detected the temperature of the hot air with a first temperature sensor to determine the temperature of the hot air below 20℃. While thawing while maintaining a relatively low predetermined temperature,
We have proposed a thawing device that detects the surface temperature of frozen food with a second temperature sensor and ends thawing when the surface temperature reaches a predetermined temperature. However, in this device, the hot air temperature is 20
Since the temperature is maintained at a constant temperature below °C, and the completion of thawing is judged by the surface temperature of the frozen food, it is possible to thaw frozen food for raw consumption in a relatively short time without degrading the quality. Thawing frozen foods does not require high-quality, complete thawing;
It has become clear that thawing can be done in a shorter time because half-thawing is sufficient.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides, as a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, circulation within the defrost body through the defrost body 1 and around the frozen food placed within the defrost body. The thawing end control device 2 consists of a hot air generating means 3 that generates hot air, a hot air control device 20 that maintains the temperature of the hot air at a predetermined temperature, and a thawing end control device 25.
5 includes a temperature sensor 22 for detecting the surface temperature of the food to be thawed, a thawing end reference temperature setting means 26 for setting a plurality of reference voltages corresponding to the thawing end temperature according to the thawing food, and a thawing end reference temperature setting means 26 for setting a plurality of reference voltages corresponding to the thawing end temperature according to the food to be thawed. It is characterized by comprising a changeover switch 28 that selects the reference voltage of the means according to the food to be thawed, and a comparator 29 that compares the detected voltage of the temperature sensor with the selected reference voltage and determines the completion of thawing. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a decompressor that

In an embodiment of the present invention, the hot air control device includes a plurality of temperature setting means for setting the temperature of the hot air according to the food to be thawed, and the changeover switch or other independent switch means sets the temperature of the hot air according to the food to be thawed. The temperature can be switched to warm air. In another embodiment, the hot air control device includes an air volume setting means for controlling the air volume depending on the food to be thawed, and is switched by the changeover switch or other independent switch means.

(Function) This invention basically reduces the temperature of the warm air circulating inside the thawing device when thawing frozen foods for raw consumption.
Defrosting is performed while maintaining a predetermined temperature within the range of ~20°C, but in the case of frozen food for cooking, a half-thawed state that can be processed is sufficient, so the set temperature at which thawing ends can be changed using a switch. Therefore, when the surface temperature of the thawed object reaches a predetermined temperature, which is lower than when thawing frozen food for raw consumption, the thawing is considered to be completed and the operation of the thawing device is stopped, thereby shortening the thawing time. It is something. In addition, in the case of frozen food for cooking, it is not necessary to maintain the quality as much as in the case of frozen food for raw consumption, so the set temperature and/or set air volume of the warm air circulating in the thawing device can be changed by means of a switch. This is intended to further shorten the thawing time.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the decompressor according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the figure, 1 is a thawing main body, 2 is a lid, 3 is a hot air generating means, 4 is a mounting table on which an object to be thawed 27 is placed, and the thawing main body 1 has both side walls 5 and a bottom wall 6.
A heat insulating material 7 is filled or attached to provide heat insulation properties. A back insulation material 9 is disposed at a predetermined interval behind the partition wall 8 of the defroster body 1, and a hot air generation chamber 10 is provided between the back insulation material 9 and the partition wall 8.
A defrosting chamber 11 surrounded by a partition wall 8, both side walls 5, and a lid 2 is formed in front of the defrosting chamber 11.

This thawing chamber 11 has an air intake port 12 formed at the top of the partition wall 8 and an air supply port 13 formed at the bottom thereof.
It is connected to the hot air generation room 10 by.

A duct 16 is disposed inside the hot air generation chamber 10, and a fan 1 for generating airflow is installed above the duct 16.
4. For example, a cross-flow fan 14 is also provided with a heater 1 below the fan 14 for heating the air flow.
5 are arranged respectively. The heater 15 includes a heat sink 17 attached to the duct 16, and a heat sink 17 attached to the duct 16.
The heater 18 is attached to the fan 1.
Together with 4, it constitutes the hot air generating means 3. Below the heat sink 17 is a thermostat 19 for overheating prevention.
However, in the vicinity of the air supply ports 13, hot air control means 20 are arranged, respectively, for turning on and off energization of the heater 18 according to the temperature of the hot air.

The lid body 2 includes plates 2a and 2b made of a transparent material, such as transparent glass or plastic.
It has a double wall structure consisting of plates 2a and 2b.
Rib 2c formed or attached along the edge of
It has heat insulation properties by forming an air layer 2d between both plates 2a and 2b, or it has heat insulation properties by forming a transparent thick plate or a transparent hollow molded product, and has a thawing device on one end side. It is hinged to the main body 1 so as to be openable and closable.

A cylindrical temperature sensor housing 21 is integrally formed on the bottom wall 6 of the defroster main body 1, and the inside thereof is filled with a heat insulating material 7a. temperature sensor 2
2 is attached to a heat-sensitive plate 23 made of a material with good thermal conductivity, for example, aluminum, and by fitting the heat-sensitive plate 23 into the temperature sensor housing 21, it is placed in a recess formed at the top of the heat insulating material 7a. will be established. The heat-sensitive plate 23 has a certain area in order to increase the contact area with the frozen food and reduce measurement errors. It protrudes upward, so that when the object to be thawed is placed on the mounting table 4, it will surely come into contact with it. In addition, in consideration of drips flowing out from the items to be thawed during thawing, a drip tray 24 is installed at the bottom of the thawing chamber 11.
are removably arranged, and a wire-mesh-like or lattice-like mounting table 4 on which the object to be thawed 27 is placed is arranged at a predetermined distance from the receiving tray 24.

The hot air control means 20 is composed of, for example, a thermal reed switch, and is connected in series with the heater 18 together with a thermostat 19 that prevents the temperature of the heat sink 17 from overheating. Turn the power to the heater 18 on and off to set the temperature of the air circulating inside the defroster body to 10 to 20 degrees.
A preset temperature within the range of 0.degree. C. is maintained at 15.degree. C. in this example.

As shown in FIG. 3, the thawing end control device 25 includes a temperature sensor 22 connected in series with a resistor R ₁ to detect the surface temperature of the object 27 to be thawed, and a resistor R _{2 .}
and resistor R ₃ or resistor R ₄ connected in series with the resistor.
a thawing end reference temperature setting means 26 for setting a reference voltage corresponding to the thawing end temperature; a changeover switch 28 for selecting a reference voltage by switching the resistor connected to the resistor _R2 ; and the temperature sensor 22.
The detected voltage and the selected reference voltage are input,
It consists of a comparator 29 that determines whether defrosting is complete, and a switch circuit 30 that releases the heater circuit in response to a signal from the comparator 29. This switch circuit 30
is AND gate 31, transistor Tr and relay
The normally closed contact _{of relay Ry 2 is} inserted into the heater circuit. In addition, the power transformer
PT, diode D, resistor R, capacitor C and Zener diode ZD are defrost termination control device 2
5 constitutes the DC power supply circuit. AND gate 31 operates after a time constant determined by resistor R ₄ and capacitor C ₁ has elapsed.

When thawing frozen foods for raw consumption using the defroster configured as described above, set the switch to the raw side,
When the frozen food 27, which is the object to be thawed, is placed on the mounting table 4, the surface of the heat-sensitive plate 23 protrudes slightly above the surface of the mounting table 4, so that the frozen food is brought into close contact with the surface of the heat-sensitive plate 23 due to its own weight. Furthermore, since the inside of the temperature sensor housing 21 is filled with the heat insulating material 7a, the surface temperature of the object to be thawed can be reliably detected without being affected by the external temperature.

When the start switch SW of the defroster is pressed, the fan 14 driven by the motor M rotates to generate an airflow, which is heated by the heater 15 and has a relatively low temperature (15°C). The hot air flows from the hot air generation chamber 10 through the air inlet 13 into the lower part of the thawing chamber 11 and cools the frozen food 27 on the mounting table 4.
from bottom to top at low speed (usually 2 to 3 m/sec)
is set to ), it absorbs cold energy from the frozen food 27, becomes cold, enters the hot air generation chamber 10 again through the air intake port 12, and is reheated, repeating the cycle and circulating in the thawing device. Note that when the start switch SW is pressed, relay Ry ₁ closes its normally open contact and holds itself, keeping the heater circuit in the on state.

During thawing, if the frozen food 27 is thawed and drips, etc. flow out, the drips fall into the drip tray 24. When the surface temperature of the frozen food reaches the thawing end reference temperature (in this example, 6° C.), the surface temperature of the frozen food 27 is compared via the heat sensitive plate 23 because the detected voltage from the temperature sensor 22 reaches the reference voltage. The switch circuit 3 is activated by the output from the switch 29.
0 is activated and the normally closed contact of the relay Ry ₂ is released, so the power supply to the heater 18 and the fan drive motor M is stopped, and thawing is completed. By the way, it took 58 minutes to defrost tuna for raw consumption (80 x 80 x 20 mm, 150 g), and it was completely satisfactory when eaten raw.

After thawing, place the mounting table 4 and drip tray 24.
In order to clean the dirt adhering to the temperature sensor housing, it is sufficient to lift the mounting table 4 and the drip tray 24 upward to separate them from the temperature sensor housing and take them out.

In addition, when thawing frozen food for cooking, operate the changeover switch 28 to connect resistor R ₂ to resistor R ₄ ,
When the start switch SW is pressed, thawing occurs in the same way as for frozen food for raw consumption, but in this case, the reference temperature at which thawing ends is lower than when resistor R ₂ is connected to resistor R ₃ . For example, 4
Since the temperature is set at ℃, thawing ends when the set temperature is reached. At the end of this thawing, the frozen food is in a semi-thawed state, and this semi-thawed state is such that, for example, sliced meat can be separated into individual pieces, and rolled squid can be cut into pieces with a knife. By the way, it took 29 minutes to thaw a rolled squid (180g).

In the above embodiment, the temperature and air volume of the hot air are kept constant and the thawing end reference temperature is switched between two stages to perform thawing according to the object to be thawed. Alternatively, defrosting may be performed according to the object to be defrosted by switching the defrosting end reference temperature and the temperature and/or air volume of the hot air in multiple stages. For example, in order to switch the temperature of the hot air, a thermal reed switch that turns on and off at a higher temperature is connected in parallel with the thermal reed switch 20 via a switch means, and the switch means is switched on and off at a higher temperature. If the food to be thawed is a frozen food for raw consumption, the temperature of the hot air is maintained at a predetermined temperature within the range of 10 to 20℃, and if the food to be thawed is a frozen food for cooking, the temperature of the hot air is maintained at a predetermined temperature within the range of 10 to 20℃. The temperature may be maintained at a predetermined temperature within the range of 20 to 30°C.

(Effect of the invention) As is clear from the above explanation, according to the invention, the thawing end temperature or the thawing end temperature and the temperature and/or air volume of the warm air can be switched by a switch depending on the type of the object to be thawed. By this,
It is possible to satisfy the mutually contradictory demands of maintaining the quality of thawed food and shortening the thawing time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a defroster according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view thereof, and FIG. 3 is an electric circuit diagram of the defroster of FIG. 1. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Thaw main body, 2... Lid body, 3... Warm air generation means, 4... Mounting table, 5... Side wall, 6... Bottom wall, 7... Insulating material, 8... Partition wall, 9... Back insulation material, 10... Warm air generation chamber, 11... Thawing chamber, 1
4...Fan, 18...Heater, 23...Thermosensitive plate, 22...Temperature sensor, 24...Drip tray, 25...Control device, 26...Defrosting end reference temperature setting means, 27...Thawing object (frozen food),
28... Selector switch, 29... Comparison means, 30
...Switch circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] (1) A defroster body 1, a warm air generating means 3 for generating warm air that circulates within the defrost body passing around the frozen food disposed within the defrost body. , a hot air control device 20 that maintains the temperature of the hot air at a predetermined temperature.
and a thawing end control device 25, which sets a temperature sensor 22 that detects the surface temperature of the food to be thawed, and a plurality of reference voltages corresponding to the thawing end temperature according to the food to be thawed. a thawing end reference temperature setting means 26 for setting a thawing end reference temperature, a changeover switch 28 for selecting a reference voltage of the thawing end reference temperature setting means according to the food to be thawed, and a voltage detected by the temperature sensor compared with the selected reference voltage. A decompressor comprising a comparator 29 for determining the completion of decompression. (2) The thawing device according to claim 1, wherein the hot air control means includes temperature setting means for setting the temperature of the hot air according to the food to be thawed. (3) The defroster according to claim 2, wherein the temperature setting means is interlocked with the changeover switch. (4) The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hot air generating means includes a fan and a heater, and the hot air controlling means controls the air volume according to the food to be thawed.