JPH0243112B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention provides raw noodles, suitably sliced kamaboko,
This relates to equipment for drying foods such as carrots, onions, other legumes, and grains.

It is known that if foods such as raw noodles, potatoes, or beans are rapidly dried by applying superheated steam at 120 to 300°C, they become dried products with good flavor.

This is because rapid drying of food does not destroy the ingredients of the food and preserves its freshness and flavor. As the noodles expand, β
Much of the lees becomes pregelatinized, making it easier to reconstitute and taste better (Special Publication No. 56-26382). Of course, in this case, in order to obtain a high-quality dried food, it is necessary to adjust the processing conditions such as drying temperature and drying time to the most suitable conditions according to the type of food and the amount to be processed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and is provided with an air-permeable feed conveyor passing through the drying chamber, and a presser device provided above the feed conveyor, and furthermore, the drying chamber is connected to the feed conveyor. It is divided into several heating chambers according to the conveyor's travel route, and each heating chamber is connected alternately with an inlet pipe for blowing up the processing medium from below and an inlet pipe for blowing it down from above. The present invention is also an apparatus for drying foods, etc., characterized in that in at least the heating chamber of the first chamber, the processing medium is blown up with such force that the material to be dried floats up.

In other words, when the processing medium is blown onto the material to be dried in this way, the material is loosened, so even if the material is slightly sticky and easily adheres to each other or to the retainer, such as boiled noodles, the entire material will be blown up. By dividing the drying chamber into several heating chambers, the optimum processing conditions can be constantly adjusted according to the degree of dryness of the material to be dried. You can get it. Also,
When heated steam is used as the treatment medium, when it comes into contact with the material to be dried, moisture first condenses on the surface of the material. Therefore, preferential dehydration of only the surface layer of the material is suppressed, and the entire material is heated almost uniformly, and when the moisture content reaches the evaporation temperature, it is rapidly dried.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained based on illustrated embodiments.

In the figure, numeral 1 is a drying chamber, 2 is a feed conveyor, and 3 is a presser conveyor. The feed conveyor 2 is a conveyor that allows the material to be dried to pass from one side of the drying chamber 1 to the other at a predetermined speed, and as described later, sprays a processing medium onto the material to be dried from above and below. Because of this, ventilated conveyors are used. Of course, there are no particular limitations on the material or type of this material; for example, when the material to be dried is conveyed in the retainer 5, a chain conveyor or roller conveyor is used; If the material is to be transported on a tray, a net conveyor, tray conveyor, or the like is used. The heating chamber 1 is divided into several heating chambers 6 according to the traveling path of the material to be dried.
The heating chamber is divided into sections a to 6g, and a processing medium is supplied to each heating chamber independently. In the figure, superheated steam and outside air are used as processing media, and the superheated steam is blown up from below in the heating chamber 6a of the first chamber.The following is an example in which a chamber in which the steam is blown down from above and a chamber in which it is blown up from below are arranged alternately. This is what is shown. That is, the odd-numbered heating chambers 6a, 6c, ... 6g have superheated steam feed pipes 7 at the bottom.
is connected to the upper part of the exhaust pipe 8, while in the even-numbered heating chambers 6b, 6d...
An inlet pipe 7 is connected to the upper part, and a discharge pipe 8 is connected to the lower part. One method is to release the superheated steam once supplied to the heating chamber 6 into the atmosphere as it is, but from the point of view of energy saving, it is desirable to reheat this exhaust gas and recycle it. The figure shows an example of this, in which each exhaust pipe 8 is connected to the inlet pipe 7 to form a circulation path passing through the heating chamber 6, and a heater 9 and a blower 10 are interposed in this path to keep the exhaust gas at an appropriate temperature. It is returned to the heating chamber 6 as superheated steam.

Incidentally, reference numeral 11 is a steam supply pipe, which is connected to a boiler (not shown) and mainly supplies steam to the heating chamber 6 at the start of work. Of course, if this dryer uses hot air instead of superheated steam, a hot air generator would be connected to the steam supply pipe 11 instead of the boiler. Reference numeral 12 is a drain pipe that drains excess water discharged together with the exhaust gas to the outside of the system. Reference numeral 13 is an air supply duct, and 14 is an exhaust duct. This uses outside air as a processing medium, and air supply duct 1
3 is connected to the heating chamber 6 instead of or together with the feed pipe 7, and a heater and an air cleaner are attached thereto, although not shown. On the other hand, a blower 15 is attached to the exhaust duct 14. still,
In the figure, the outside air is blown up from the bottom to all the heating chambers 6, but it is also possible to alternately turn the outside air upside down, as in the case of heating steam.

The holding conveyor 3 suppresses the scattering of the material to be dried by the processing medium blown up from below in the drying chamber 1, and is formed using a net conveyor. Therefore, this device is not necessarily necessary when the material to be dried is conveyed in the retainer 5 and the retainer 5 is equipped with a breathable lid to prevent the contents from scattering. do not have.

Here, the outline of drying the material to be dried will be explained. First, a processing medium at a predetermined temperature is fed into each of the heating chambers 6a to 6g of the drying chamber 1 to adjust the indoor temperature. In this case, in the first heating chamber 6a on the entrance side of the drying chamber 1, the processing medium is blown up from below, and in particular, the strength is adjusted so that the material to be dried is blown up with such force that the material to be dried is slightly lifted. Next, the material to be dried is placed in the retainer 5, placed on the feed conveyor 2, and sent into the drying chamber 1. The material to be dried reaches the heating chamber 6a of the first chamber, where it is sprayed with the medium to be dried from below and floats up slightly.Then, the material passes through each of the heating chambers 6b to 6g sequentially and is dried, and finally after the drying chamber 1. It is expelled from the end. Here, it is important to spray the processing medium from below in the heating chamber 6a of the first chamber to slightly lift the material to be dried. That is, within the retainer 5, spherical materials tend to be packed close together, flaky materials tend to be stacked, and materials with wet surfaces or surfaces such as boiled noodles tend to be packed tightly. The glue-like material easily adheres to other materials and to the inner surface of the retainer 5. Therefore, in this type of material, there are parts between the materials that cannot come into contact with the processing medium, which causes uneven drying of the material to be dried, slowing down the drying speed as a whole, causing scorching, or causing the materials to dry. However, by blowing the processing medium up against the material to be dried, the materials are loosened, each comes into contact with the processing medium, and is evenly dried. Although it is preferable to use superheated steam as the processing medium, it may vary depending on the type, temperature, and air volume of the processing medium in each heating chamber 6a to 6g, as well as the type and amount of material to be dried, the degree of drying, etc. It is adjusted accordingly. For example, when the material to be dried is wet, it is preferable to use hot air rather than superheated steam as the processing medium in the heating chamber 6a of the first chamber, and the dried food is left in the machine at a high temperature. If it is inappropriate to discharge the heat to the outside, it is desirable to use cold air as the processing medium in the rear heating chamber. Of course, in this case, the rear heating chamber does not necessarily need to be provided with a circulation path including the heater 9. Further, reference numeral 4 is an exhaust chamber which allows the processing medium overflowing from the drying chamber 1 to be dissipated into the atmosphere rather than into the working chamber, and prevents outside air from entering the drying chamber 1.

As described in detail above, the present invention divides the drying chamber into several heating chambers and supplies the processing medium to each chamber independently, and at least in the first heating chamber, the processing medium is heated to such an extent that the food to be dried is slightly lifted. It blows up with strength. Therefore, many types of foods can be dried under optimal conditions without uneven drying or scorching.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figure is a schematic side view showing one embodiment of the present invention. 1; Drying chamber, 2; Feed conveyor, 3; Presser conveyor, 4; Exhaust chamber, 5; Retainer, 6a to 6g;
heating chamber, 7; inlet pipe, 8; discharge pipe, 9; heater,
10; Blower; 11; Steam supply pipe; 12; Drain pipe; 13; Air supply duct; 14; Exhaust duct.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A ventilated feed conveyor is provided in the drying chamber so as to pass through the feed conveyor, and a holding device is provided above the feed conveyor, and the drying chamber is further divided into several heating chambers according to the traveling path of the feed conveyor. Each heating chamber is constructed by alternately connecting an inlet pipe for blowing the processing medium up from below and an inlet pipe for blowing it down from above, and at least in the first heating chamber, the processing medium is A device for drying foods, etc., characterized in that it blows air up with enough force to lift drying ingredients.