JPH045914B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to an apparatus for rapidly freezing objects to be frozen by immersing them in frozen brine.

Conventional technology In recent years, the use of freezing fresh food has expanded significantly, and in order to maintain its taste and freshness, rapid freezing methods, which cool the food from room temperature to -40°C to 50°C all at once, have become popular. It's coming. However, problems with such cold air freezing devices have been that the mechanical equipment and running costs are enormous. Therefore, recently, as an alternative to this, a method of rapidly freezing the object by directly immersing the object in a frozen brine solution has attracted attention.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in this type of apparatus, the object to be frozen is immersed in the frozen brine liquid and moved in one direction, so there are the following problems. In order to obtain the immersion time necessary for freezing, it is necessary to lengthen the tank for the frozen brine solution, resulting in an increase in the size of the apparatus. In addition, the items to be frozen are placed in plastic bags to prevent them from coming into direct contact with the frozen brine, but the air that accumulates inside these bags tends to shift upward during immersion, resulting in different degrees of freezing between the upper and lower parts of the items. There was a fear that this difference would make it difficult to uniformly freeze the entire object to be frozen.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the problems of the conventional art, the present invention provides an apparatus for rapidly freezing an object to be frozen by immersing it in a frozen brine solution and in the air. A continuous quick freezing device is provided in which a conveyor is provided so as to straddle the frozen brine and move in reverse in the frozen brine solution, and a plurality of mesh baskets for storing objects to be frozen are provided on the conveyor along the moving direction. It is a feature.

According to this method, the items to be frozen are stored in a mesh basket in the air, and the conveyor is driven to move the mesh basket and immerse it in the frozen brine solution. Furthermore, when this conveyor is driven, the mesh basket is turned upside down during dipping, and then moves back to continue dipping, so that the items to be frozen are immersed for a predetermined period of time and rapidly Freezing takes place. In this way, the mesh basket is moved back and forth through the frozen brine solution to freeze it. Therefore, compared to the conventional apparatus that moves only in one direction, the length of the frozen brine liquid tank can be shortened, and as a result, the entire apparatus can be made smaller.

In addition, because this reversal turns the frozen item upside down, even if air has accumulated in the bag enclosing the frozen item, the position of this accumulation changes, unlike the conventional method. will be uniformly frozen throughout.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained based on examples.
1 to 4 are diagrams showing one embodiment of the present invention.

First, the configuration will be described. A freezing tank 3 insulated by a heat insulating material 2 is disposed within a refrigeration system frame 1, and a freezing brine liquid 4 is filled in the freezing tank 3. The freezing tank 3 is also provided with an outlet 21 and an inlet 22 that communicate with a heat exchanger (not shown) installed outside the apparatus, and the frozen brine liquid 4 is exchanged with the heat exchanger through the outlet 21. The liquid is then allowed to flow into the freezing tank 3 from the inlet 22 again. Note that this heat exchanger can also be provided in the freezing tank 3 to perform direct heat exchange within the freezing tank 3. Further, in the upper part of the refrigeration apparatus frame 1, a frozen object input port 1a is formed, and an input port opening/closing lid 1b for opening and closing the input port 1a is provided.

A conveyance device 6 for conveying the frozen object 5 and immersing it in the frozen brine liquid 4 is provided within the refrigeration apparatus frame 1 . Specifically, in this conveying device 6, a conveyor chain 7 is installed on a drive sprocket 8 provided in the frozen brine liquid 4 and an installation sprocket 9 provided in the air (outside the frozen brine liquid 4). At the same time, the conveyor chain 7 is bent by a plurality of guide sprockets 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d so as to be immersed in the frozen brine solution 4 for a predetermined length, so that the conveyor chain 7 straddles between the frozen brine solution 4 and the air. It is arranged as follows.

A connecting sprocket 11 is provided coaxially with the driving sprocket 8, and a motor side sprocket 13 is provided on the drive shaft of the motor 12, and the motor side sprocket 13 and the connecting sprocket 11 are connected by a chain 14. connected. The driving force of the motor 12 is now transmitted to the conveyor chain 7 through the drive sprocket 8 and the like.

Further, the conveyor chain 7 includes objects to be frozen 5.
A plurality of mesh baskets 15 for accommodating the chain are arranged at regular intervals along the chain movement direction. As shown in FIG. 2, this mesh basket 15 has a plurality of storage sections 15 for storing objects to be frozen 5 adjacent to each other along the chain width direction.
A is formed, and a mesh basket lid 15b is provided to open and close this storage section 15a. This lid 1
5b, as mainly shown in FIGS. 3 and 4,
While being biased in the closing direction by a spring 15c, a latch 15d is provided at the tip, and furthermore, this lid 1
A guide member 15e is fixed to the upper surface of 5b. Further, the mesh basket 15 is rotatably provided with a stopper piece 15f in which a locking notch 15h is formed to engage and release the latch 15d, and the stopper piece 15f is supported by a spring 15g as shown in the arrow in FIG. direction (lock direction).

A closing rod 18 as shown in FIG. 3 is disposed at position a in FIG. By sliding, it is set so that it is pushed by the closing rod 18 and the mesh basket lid 15b is closed. In addition, at position b in Fig. 1 (freeze cycle end position), as shown in Fig. 4,
An opening rod 19 is disposed, and as the mesh basket 15 moves, a stopper piece 15 is attached to the upper end 19a of the rod 19.
The net cage lid 15b is set to be opened when f comes into contact with the net cage lid 15b. The closing rod 18, the guide member 15e of the net basket lid 15b, etc. are used to close the net basket 1.
A closing means for automatically closing the mesh basket 15b at a predetermined position is provided, and an opening means for automatically opening the mesh basket 15b at a predetermined position is provided using an opening rod 19 or the like.

Furthermore, below the freezing cycle end position b,
A chute 20 is provided, and the chute 20 is set to receive the frozen object 5 that has fallen from the mesh basket 15 and send it out of the apparatus as shown by the arrow in FIG.

Next, the operation of the continuous rapid freezing device having such a configuration will be explained.

Below the to-be-frozen material input port 1a, a mesh basket lid 15 is provided.
b is in an open state by the biasing force of a spring 15c, and in this state, the objects to be frozen 5 are stored side by side in the plurality of storage sections 15a of the mesh basket 15. And motor 12
As a result, the conveyor chain 7 is driven in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 via the sprocket 8, the chain 14, etc., and the mesh basket 15 is moved. When this net basket 15 approaches position a,
As shown in FIG. 3, the lower end 18a of the closing rod 18
slides in contact with the guide member 15e of the mesh basket lid 15b. Now, as the net basket 15 moves,
The mesh basket lid 15b is gradually closed by being pressed by the closing rod 18, and when this rod 18 reaches the highest part of the guide member 15e, the latch 1 of the mesh basket lid 15b is closed.
5d pushes the stopper piece 15f open against the biasing force of the spring 15g, and opens the stopper piece 15f.
is inserted into the locking notch 15h, and then the stopper piece 15f is returned by the spring 15g, thereby locking the latch 15d into the locking notch 15h. Then, the contact between the closing rod 18 and the guide member 15e also ends. In this way, the mesh basket 15 containing the frozen items 5 begins to be immersed in the frozen brine solution 4 with the lid 15b closed.

The mesh basket 15 continues to move to the right in Figure 1,
When the drive sprocket 8 is reached, the mesh basket 15, which has been located above the conveyor chain 7, is reversed and is placed below the conveyor chain 7. And in this state,
This time, it moves towards the left side in Figure 1. Due to this reversal, the air accumulated in the plastic bag that had wrapped the object to be frozen 5 moves upward and changes its position. As a result, unlike the conventional method, the entire object to be frozen 5 is uniformly frozen.

When the inverted mesh basket 15 passes the guide sprocket 10c, it changes its movement diagonally upward to the left, escapes the frozen brine liquid 4, and exits into the air. Here, a device (not shown) collects the frozen brine liquid 4 to which the plastic bag surrounding the object to be frozen 5 is attached.

When the mesh basket 15 passes the guide sprocket 10d and reaches position b in FIG. 1, the upper end 19a of the opening rod 19 comes into contact with the stopper piece 15f of the mesh cage 15, causing the stopper piece 15f to stop the spring 15g. It is rotated against the biasing force, and the latch 15d
and the locking notch 15h are disengaged. Then,
The mesh basket lid 15b is opened by the biasing force of the spring 15c, and the frozen object 5, which has been completely frozen, falls downward and is taken out in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 by the guide of the chute 20. Note that a conveyor may be provided in place of this chute 20 to take out the frozen object 5 from the machine. Such operations are repeated in sequence, and the plurality of objects to be frozen 5 are rapidly frozen in succession.

In this way, the mesh basket lid 15b can be automatically opened and closed using the closing rod 18, the opening rod 19, etc. when it reaches the predetermined positions a and b, and at position b, Since the mesh basket 15 is upside down, when the mesh basket lid 15b is opened, the frozen object 5 that has been frozen falls and can be automatically taken out with a simple mechanical structure, improving work efficiency. This will be a huge improvement.

Note that by changing the size of the mesh basket 15, it is possible to freeze various objects to be frozen.

Effects of the invention As explained above, according to this invention,
While immersed in the frozen brine solution, freezing can be carried out by reversing the mesh basket midway through the frozen brine tank, reducing the length of the frozen brine tank compared to conventional one-way flow. The length can be halved and the device can be made more compact.
In addition, by turning the bag over halfway, the position of the air accumulated in the bag enclosing the object to be frozen changes, which has the practically beneficial effect of uniformly freezing the entire object to be frozen.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Each figure shows an embodiment of the continuous quick freezing device of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the outline of the device, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are respectively FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing details at positions a and b in FIG. 1; 4... Frozen brine liquid, 5... Material to be frozen, 7...
...Conveyor chain (conveyor), 15...Mesh basket, 15b...Mesh basket lid, 18...Closing rod (closing means), 19...Opening rod (opening means).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An apparatus for quickly freezing an object by immersing it in a frozen brine solution, which straddles the frozen brine solution and the air, and moves inverted in the frozen brine solution. 1. A continuous quick freezing device, characterized in that a conveyor is provided, and a plurality of mesh baskets for storing objects to be frozen are provided on the conveyor along the moving direction. 2. Closing means for automatically closing a lid provided on the mesh basket before the mesh basket is turned over; 2. The continuous quick freezing device according to claim 1, further comprising an opening means for automatically opening the container.