JPH0317677Y2 - - 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 a thawing device that blows hot air onto frozen foods to thaw them, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-50875, when thawing frozen foods by blowing warm air on them, A method has been proposed in which the surface temperature of the frozen food is maintained at a constant temperature by detecting the surface temperature of the frozen food and controlling the hot air temperature according to the detected temperature.

However, because this type of device circulates hot air that reaches a temperature of 70°C, the temperature at the end of thawing becomes too high and the taste deteriorates significantly, making it difficult to produce frozen foods for raw consumption. It was not suitable for defrosting. Therefore, in the specification of Japanese Patent Application No. 60-143335, the present inventors directly detected the temperature of the hot air with the first temperature sensor and determined the temperature of the hot air within the range of 10 to 20℃. While thawing while maintaining a low predetermined temperature, the surface temperature of the frozen food is detected by a second temperature sensor, and the surface temperature is 5.
We have proposed a thawing device that finishes thawing when a predetermined temperature within the range of ~10°C is reached.
However, with this device, the hot air temperature is maintained at a constant temperature of 20℃ or less, and the completion of thawing is determined based on the surface temperature of the frozen food, so it can be frozen for raw food in a relatively short time without degrading the quality. Although food can be thawed, it is not necessary to fully thaw high-quality frozen food for cooking; a partially thawed state is sufficient, so thawing can be done in a shorter time. has become clear.

(Means for Solving the Problems) As a means for solving the problems, the present invention provides a defroster body 1, a fan that generates an air flow circulating within the defrost body, and a heater that heats the air flow. and a hot air control device 20 that controls the hot air generation device. Hot air temperature control means for turning on and off electricity to the heater according to the air temperature;
The present invention provides a thawing device comprising a set temperature changeover switch for switching the set temperature of the hot air temperature control means.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the hot air temperature is set to a first set temperature within the range of 10 to 20°C and a second set temperature within the range of 20 to 30°C by the hot air temperature control means, The temperature can be changed to either the first set temperature or the second set temperature using the changeover switch.

In another embodiment, the hot air control device is provided with air volume setting means for setting the air volume of hot air according to the food to be thawed, and a changeover switch for switching the air volume setting value of the air volume setting means. Preferably, the air volume changeover switch switches the air volume according to the hot air temperature set by the hot air temperature control means.

(Function) Basically, the present invention uses a changeover switch to set the temperature of the warm air circulating in the thawing device to a set value according to the purpose of thawing, that is, the temperature suitable for thawing frozen food for raw consumption ( ) and a temperature suitable for thawing frozen foods for cooking (usually set to a predetermined temperature within the range of 20 to 30°C). By switching to , it is possible to perform thawing according to the type and purpose of the object to be thawed.

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

This thawing chamber 11 is connected to the hot air generating chamber 10 through an air intake port 12 formed at the upper part of the partition wall and an air supply port 13 formed at the lower part thereof.

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 a duct 16, and a heat sink 17 attached to the duct 16.
7 and a heater 18 attached thereto, and together with the fan 14 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, a hot air control device 20 is provided, which turns on and off the power supply to the heater 18 according to the temperature of the hot air.

The lid body 2 includes plates 2a, 2 made of a transparent material, for example, transparent glass or plastic.
It has a double 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 inserted into the recess formed at the top of the heat insulating material 7a. will be placed. 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 thawing object during thawing, a drip tray 2 is installed at the bottom of the thawing chamber 11.
4 are removably arranged, and a wire mesh-like or lattice-like mounting table 4 is arranged at a predetermined distance from the receiving tray 24 on which the object to be thawed 27 is placed.

To simplify the configuration, the hot air control device 20 is composed of two hot air temperature control means (for example, a thermal reed switch) 20a and 20b.
and the heater 18 via a changeover switch 28. These hot air temperature control means 20
a and 20b turn on and off electricity to the heater 18 at a preset temperature depending on the temperature of the air warmed by the heater 15, and maintain the hot air temperature at a constant temperature; The control means 20a maintains the temperature of the warm air circulating within the thawing device body at a predetermined temperature within the range of 10 to 20°C (15°C in this embodiment),
The other hot air temperature control means 20b controls the hot air temperature from 20 to
Predetermined temperature within the range of 30°C (25°C in this example)
Those that maintain this will be adopted.

In order to prevent excessive thawing, the thawing device according to the present invention includes a thawing end control device 25 that determines that thawing is complete and stops thawing when the surface temperature of the object to be thawed reaches 0 to 10°C. As shown in FIG. 3, this thawing end control device 25 includes a temperature sensor (for example, a thermistor) 22 connected in series with a resistor _R1 to detect the surface temperature of the object 27 to be thawed, and a resistor.
Defrosting end reference temperature setting means 26, which is made up of a series circuit of R ₂ and resistor R ₃ and sets a reference voltage corresponding to the defrosting end temperature, receives the detection voltage of the temperature sensor 22 and the reference voltage, and sets the defrosting end temperature. It consists of a comparator 29 that makes a decision and a switch circuit 30 that releases the heater circuit in response to a signal from the comparator 29. This switch circuit 30 is mainly composed of an AND gate 31, a transistor Tr, and a relay Ry ₂ , and the normally closed contact of the relay Ry ₂ is inserted into the heater circuit. In addition, the power supply truster PT, diode D, resistor R, capacitor C, and Zener diode ZD constitute the DC power supply circuit of the defrosting completion control device 25, and the AND gate 31 is activated after a time constant determined by the resistor _R4 and the capacitor _C1 has elapsed. do.

When thawing a frozen food for raw consumption using the thawing device configured as described above, a warm air temperature control means 20a is connected in series to the heater 18, and the changeover switch 28 is set to the raw consumption side to set the hot air temperature to 15°C. After placing the frozen food 27, which is the object to be thawed, on the mounting table 4, press the start switch SW of the defroster, and the motor M will start.
The fan 14 driven by the rotating fan 14 generates an air flow, which is heated by the heater 15 and becomes warm air with a relatively low temperature (15°C), which is then released from the hot air generation chamber 10. Thawing chamber 11 via port 13
, flows around the frozen food 27 on the mounting table 4 from bottom to top at a low speed (usually set at 2 to 3 m/sec), and takes away cold energy from the frozen food 27, making it cold. The air then 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. For this reason, the temperature inside the defroster is maintained at 15°C. Note that, at the same time as the start switch SW is pressed, the relay Ry ₁ closes its normally open contact and maintains itself, so even if the start switch SW is released, the heater circuit is maintained 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. In addition, since the surface of the heat-sensitive plate 23 protrudes slightly above the surface of the mounting table 4, the frozen food will be pushed up by its own weight onto the heat-sensitive plate 2.
Since the temperature sensor housing 21 is in close contact with the surface of the object 3 and 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.

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.

By the way, tuna for raw consumption (80 x 80 x 20 mm, 150
It took 58 minutes to thaw g), and when I ate it raw, it was completely satisfying.

In addition, when thawing frozen food for cooking, switch the changeover switch 28 to the cooking side and set the hot air temperature to 25°C.
The hot air temperature control means 20b is set to
When the start switch SW is pressed after connecting in series to the
Because the temperature of the warm air circulating in the thawing device, and therefore the temperature inside the thawing device, is maintained at 25° C. by the action of 0b, thawing is completed in a shorter time than when thawing a frozen food for raw consumption. By the way, 180g of sliced meat
When I thawed it, it finished thawing in 29 minutes.

In the above embodiment, the volume of hot air is kept constant and the temperature of the hot air during thawing is switched between two stages depending on the type of the object to be thawed, so that thawing is performed according to the object to be thawed. The temperature of the warm air may be switched in multiple stages, and the air volume as well as the temperature of the warm air may be switched in multiple stages.

(Effects of the invention) As is clear from the above, according to the invention, the temperature of the hot air circulating in the thawing machine or the air volume of the hot air as well as the temperature of the hot air can be switched depending on the type of the object to be thawed. By switching the method, appropriate thawing can be performed depending on the type of thawed food.
It is possible to satisfy the mutually contradictory demands of maintaining quality and shortening thawing time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

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, 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, 20...Hot air control device, 20a, 20b...Hot air temperature control means,
23... Heat sensitive 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...Comparing means, 30...Switch circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A decompressor main body 1, a hot air generating means 3 consisting of a fan that generates an air flow circulating within the decompressor main body, and a heater that heats the air flow; It consists of a hot air control device 20 that controls a hot air generating means, and the hot air control device sets the hot air temperature to a thawing temperature corresponding to the food to be thawed, and turns on electricity to the heater according to the hot air temperature. - A thawing device comprising a hot air temperature control means that is turned off, and a changeover switch 28 that switches the set temperature of the hot air temperature control means. (2) The hot air temperature set by the hot air temperature control means is a first set temperature within the range of 10 to 20°C, and 20°C.
The defroster according to claim 1, wherein the second set temperature is within the range of ~30°C. (3) The scope of the utility model registration claim, wherein the hot air control device is provided with an air volume setting means for setting the air volume of hot air according to the food to be thawed, and a changeover switch for switching the air volume setting value of the air volume setting means. The decompressor described in item 1.