JPH0551088U - Heat sterilizer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide a heat sterilizer capable of performing heat sterilization with a heat pump for low electric power and easily controlling heating and cooling of a fluid. A heating and sterilizing apparatus comprising a heating unit 10 for heating and sterilizing a fluid and a cooling unit 13 for cooling the heated fluid, the heating and cooling being performed by a heat pump 30.
A hot water circulation path 22 for circulating hot water between the heat radiating section 31 and the heating section 10 of the heat pump, and a hot water pump 2 for sending hot water heated by the heat radiating section to the heating section while circulating the hot water in the hot water circulating path.
3, a cold water circulation path 33 for circulating cold water between the heat absorption section and the cooling section of the heat pump, and a cold water pump 34 for sending the cold water cooled by the heat absorption section to the cooling section while circulating the cold water in the cold water circulation path.
In the flow path between the heating unit and the cooling unit, a heat exchanger 12 is provided, which causes the fluid before passing through the heating unit to exchange heat with the fluid passing through the heating unit and then passes through the heating unit.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a heating and sterilizing apparatus including a heating unit for heating and sterilizing a fluid and a cooling unit for cooling the heated fluid, and performing heating of the heating unit and cooling of the cooling unit by a heat pump.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Conventionally, liquid foods such as milk and fruit juice have been heated at a predetermined temperature for a certain period of time for sterilization and then filled in a container at a high temperature. However, there is a problem in that the taste and flavor are deteriorated when the food is filled in the container at a high temperature. Therefore, there has been proposed a heat sterilizer that heats and sterilizes food and then immediately cools it so as not to lose the taste and flavor of the food.

As such a heat sterilizer, one shown in FIG. 5 is known (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-182950).

In FIG. 5, 1 is a heating unit for heating a fluid 5a which is a liquid food such as milk or fruit juice, 2 is a cooling unit for cooling the heated fluid 5b, and 3 is a heat pump. A heat radiating portion 4 of the heat pump 3 heat-sterilizes the fluid 5 a passing through the heating portion 1 by the heat radiation of the heat radiating portion 4. Reference numeral 6 denotes a heat absorbing portion of the heat pump 3, which cools the heated fluid 5b passing through the cooling portion 2 by the heat absorption of the heat absorbing portion 6. Reference numeral 7 is an expansion valve, and 8 is a compressor.

[0005]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In such a heat sterilizer, since the heat of the heat pump 3 is used to heat the low temperature fluid 5a to a high temperature, a heat pump for high power is required. Since the generated heat is only used in the heating section, there were problems such as low effective use of heat.

Further, if the temperature of the fluid 5a is low, the temperature may not rise to a temperature at which the fluid 5a can be sterilized by the heating unit 1, and there is a problem that sterilization cannot be performed sufficiently. Further, if the temperature of the fluid 5a is high, the temperature of the fluid 5b becomes too high, and there is a problem that the taste and flavor are deteriorated.

In order to solve this problem, the heat pump 3 may be controlled according to the temperatures of the fluids 5a and 5b. However, when the heat pump 3 is controlled to increase the heat radiation amount of the heat radiation unit 4, the heat absorption amount of the heat absorption unit 6 increases, so that only the temperature of the fluid 5a is increased while keeping the temperature of the fluid 5c constant. On the contrary, there is a problem that it is difficult to control only the temperature of the fluid 5c while keeping the temperature of the fluid 5b constant, and it is very difficult to control the temperature.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to be able to perform heat sterilization with a heat pump for small electric power and to easily control heating and cooling of a fluid. It is also to provide a heat sterilizer that can effectively utilize heat.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a heating section for heating and sterilizing the fluid and a cooling section for cooling the heated fluid in a flow path of the fluid, and heating and cooling the heating section. A heat sterilizer for cooling a part with a heat pump, which circulates between the heat radiating part and the heating part of the heat pump, heats hot water in the heat radiating part, and heats the fluid in the heating part with the hot water. And a hot water pump that sends hot water heated in the heat radiating section to the heating section while circulating the hot water in the hot water circulating path, circulates the heat absorbing section and the cooling section of the heat pump, and cools water in the heat absorbing section. A cooling water circulation passage for cooling and cooling the fluid of the cooling portion with the cooling water; a cooling water pump for sending the cooling water cooled by the heat absorbing portion to the cooling portion while circulating in the cooling water circulation passage; and the heating portion, Between the cooling unit The road, the feature in that a heat exchanger through the heating section after heat exchange with the fluid passing through the heating section in front of the fluid through the heating portion.

[0010]

[Action]

 With this configuration, the hot water heated by the heat radiating unit is sent to the heating unit by the hot water pump and circulates in the hot water circulation path, and the warm water flowing to the heating unit heats the fluid. Go In addition, the fluid before passing through the heating section in the heat exchanger is heat-exchanged with the fluid passing through the heating section and then passed through the heating section.

On the other hand, the cold water cooled in the heat absorbing portion is circulated in the cold water circulation path while being sent to the cooling portion by the cold water pump, and the cold water cools the heated fluid flowing to the cooling portion. Go

[0012]

【Example】

 An embodiment of the heat sterilization apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, 10 is a heating unit provided in the flow path 11, for example, sake (fluid) flowing into the heating unit 10 is heated to 60 degrees to sterilize it. A heat exchanger 12 heat-exchanges the heated sake with the unheated sake flowing into the exchange coil 12a to raise the temperature of the unheated sake and lower the temperature of the heated sake. It is a thing.

Then, the sake whose temperature has risen in the exchange coil 12a flows into the heating unit 10. 13 is a cooling unit for cooling the heated sake to a predetermined temperature (20 degrees), and 14 is a filling unit for charging the cooled sake into a container (not shown).

S 1 is a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the sake that has been heated by the heating unit 10, and S 2 is a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the sake that has been cooled by the cooling unit 13.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a hot water tank, and the hot water tank 21 and the heater 10 a of the heating unit 10 are communicated with each other by a hot water circulation path 22, and hot water of the hot water tank 21 is circulated through the hot water circulation path 22 by a hot water pump 23. It is adapted to be sent to the heater 10a of the heating unit 10. In addition, the hot water tank 21 and the heater 24a of the cleaning unit (sub-heating unit) 24 for cleaning the container are communicated with each other by a hot water circulation passage (sub-hot water circulation passage) 25, and a hot water pump (sub-hot water pump) 26 is used for the warm water tank 21 The hot water is sent to the heater 24a of the cleaning section 24 while circulating in the hot water circulation path 25.

The heater 24a of the cleaning unit 24 heats the cleaning water to 70 degrees and cleans the container with the heated cleaning water. S5 is a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the washing water.

As shown in FIG. 2, the hot water tank 21 is connected to a heat releasing portion 31 of the heat pump 30 by a communication pipe 27. The radiator 31 is provided with a condenser 31a of the heat pump 30. The heat released from the condenser 31a heats the hot water flowing into the radiator 31. 28 is a hot water pump that circulates the hot water in the hot water tank 21 to the heat radiating section 31, and the hot water heated in the heat radiating section 31 is sent to the hot water tank 21 by this circulation, and the hot water in the hot water tank 21 is from 75 degrees to 80 degrees. To be enhanced.

Reference numeral 32 denotes a cold water tank. As shown in FIG. 1, the cold water tank 32 and the cooling coil 13 a of the cooling unit 13 are connected to each other by a circulation path 33, and a cold water pump 34 is provided to cool the cold water tank 32. Cold water is sent to the cooling coil 13a of the cooling unit 13 while circulating in the circulation path 33.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cold water tank 32 is connected to a heat absorbing portion 36 of the heat pump 30 by a communication pipe 35. The heat absorbing section 36 is provided with an evaporator 36a of the heat pump 30, and the cold water flowing into the heat absorbing section 36 is cooled by the heat absorption of the evaporator 36a. Reference numeral 37 is a cold water pump for circulating the cold water in the cold water tank 32 to the heat absorbing section 36. By this circulation, the cold water cooled in the heat absorbing section 36 is sent to the cold water tank 32, and the temperature of the cold water in the cold water tank 32 is 10 degrees Celsius or higher. It is kept at 15 degrees.

Reference numeral 36b denotes an evaporator connected in parallel to the heat absorbing portion 36, which absorbs heat from the outside air by flowing the refrigerant of the heat pump 30 to the evaporator 36a by switching the electromagnetic switching valve 38. In this case, cooling of cold water is not performed. 39 is a blower fan.

Reference numeral 31b denotes a condenser connected in parallel to the heat radiating unit 31. By switching the switching valve 41 to flow the refrigerant of the heat pump 30 to the condenser 31b, the heat released by the condenser 31b is released to the outside air. To dissipate heat. In this case, the warm water is not heated. 42 is a blower fan, 43 is a pressure reducing valve, 44 is a liquid receiver, 45 is a compressor, S3 is a hot water sensor for detecting the temperature of hot water in the hot water tank, and S4 is a cold water sensor for detecting the temperature of cooling water. ..

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system for controlling the pumps 23, 26, 28, 34, 37 and the electromagnetic switching valves 38, 41 based on the temperatures detected by the sensors S1 to S5. It is a figure.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 50 denotes a control device including a microcomputer, which controls the hot water pump 23 and the cold water pump 34 so that the temperatures detected by the sensors S1 and S2 are 60 degrees and 20 degrees, respectively. Adjust the circulating hot water volume and cold water volume.

Further, the control device 50 switches the electromagnetic switching valves 41 and 38 so that the temperatures detected by the sensors S3 and S4 are 75 degrees to 80 degrees and 10 degrees to 15 degrees.

Next, the operation of the heat sterilization apparatus of the embodiment configured as described above will be described.

First, the heat pump 30 and the pump are operated to raise the hot water in the hot water tank 21 to 75 to 80 degrees and cool the cold water in the cold water tank to 10 to 15 degrees. After that, the hot water pump 23 and the cold water pump 34 are operated to circulate the hot water in the hot water tank 21 while sending it to the heater 10a of the heating unit 10, and the cold water in the cold water tank 32 to the cooling coil 13a. Then, sake is made to flow into the flow path 11a.

The sake that has flowed into the flow path 11 a flows into the heating section 10 via the exchange coil 12 a of the heat exchanger 12. In the heating unit 10, the sake is heated by the heater 10a. The heated sake flows into the heat exchanger 12 and is heat-exchanged with the sake passing through the exchange coil 12a.

The sake passing through the exchange coil 12a is heated to 20 to 50 degrees and flows into the heating section 10, where it is heated to 60 degrees by the heater 10a and sterilized. The sterilized sake is heat-exchanged in the heat exchanger 12 to lower its temperature. The temperature-decreased sake flows into the cooling unit 13 and is cooled to 20 degrees by the cooling coil 13a.

The cooled sake flows into the filling section 14 and is filled in a container (not shown). The container is previously sterilized and cleaned by the cleaning unit 24.

By the way, since the sake to be heated by the heater 10a of the heating unit 10 is heated to 20 to 50 degrees by the heat exchanger 12, it is necessary to heat the sake to a temperature of 60 degrees to perform heat sterilization. The amount of heat can be small and does not require a large amount of electric power to heat. Also, since the temperature of the sake cooled in the cooling unit 13 is lowered in the heat exchanger 12, it does not require a large amount of electric power to cool it to 20 degrees. Therefore, the heat pump 30 may be a small one for small electric power. By the way, compared with the case where the heat exchanger 12 is not installed, a heat pump with a small electric power of about 1/3 or less may be used.

Further, for example, when the temperature of the cooling water rises from 10 degrees to several degrees and as a result, the temperature of the sake cooled in the cooling section 13 becomes higher than 20 degrees, the control device 50 causes the cooling water pump 34 to rotate. The power is increased to increase the amount of cold water flowing through the cooling coil 13a to cool the sake to 20 degrees. At this time, since the control device 50 only needs to increase the rotational force of the cold water pump 34, it has no effect on the heating of the heating unit 10.

On the contrary, when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 21 drops from 80 degrees to several degrees, and as a result, the temperature of the sake heated in the heating section 10 becomes 60 degrees or less, the control device 50 causes the hot water pump 23 to rotate. To raise the amount of hot water flowing to the heater 10a to maintain the heating temperature of sake at 60 degrees. At this time as well, the control device 50 only increases the rotational force of the hot water pump 23, and therefore has no effect on the cooling of the cooling unit 13.

As described above, since the temperature control of the heating unit 10 and the temperature control of the cooling unit 13 can be performed independently of each other, the temperature control can be easily performed.

When the temperature of the cold water in the cold water tank 32 falls within the range of 10 to 15 degrees and the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 21 drops to 75 degrees or lower, the heat pump 30 performs the independent heating operation. That is, the electromagnetic switching valve 41 is switched to flow the refrigerant into the condenser 31a, and the condenser 31a radiates heat to the hot water to raise the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 21 from 75 degrees. At this time, the refrigerant that has passed through the condenser 31a and has been cooled is decompressed and expanded by passing through the pressure reducing valve 43, and then is made to flow to the evaporator 36b by the electromagnetic switching valve 38 and the blower fan 39 is driven. The evaporator 36b absorbs heat into the outside air to evaporate the refrigerant. Then, the evaporated refrigerant is sent to the compressor 45.

When the hot water temperature of the hot water tank 21 exceeds 80 degrees, the operation of the heat pump 30 is stopped. Thereby, the hot water temperature of the hot water tank 21 can be lowered to 75 to 80 degrees while keeping the cold water temperature of the cold water tank 32 at 10 to 15 degrees.

On the other hand, when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 21 is within the range of 75 to 80 degrees and the temperature of the cold water in the cold water tank 32 rises to 15 degrees or higher, the heat pump 30 performs the independent cooling operation. .. That is, the electromagnetic switching valve 41 is switched to flow the refrigerant to the condenser 31b, and at the same time, the blower fan 42 is driven to radiate the heat of the condenser 31b to the outside air to prevent the temperature rise of the hot water in the hot water tank 21. At this time, the refrigerant that has cooled by passing through the condenser 31b is decompressed and expanded by passing through the pressure reducing valve 43, and then is made to flow to the evaporator 36a by the electromagnetic switching valve 38, and heat is absorbed from the cold water by the evaporator 36a. To evaporate the refrigerant. Then, the evaporated refrigerant is sent to the compressor 45. As a result, the cold water in the cold water tank 32 is only cooled.

When the cold water temperature of the cold water tank 32 becomes 10 degrees or lower, the operation of the heat pump 30 is stopped. As a result, the cold water temperature of the cold water tank 21 can be raised to 10 to 15 degrees while keeping the hot water temperature of the hot water tank 21 at 75 to 80 degrees.

When the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 21 is lowered to 75 degrees or lower and the temperature of the cold water in the cooling tank 32 is raised to 15 degrees or higher, the heat pump 30 performs the heating / cooling simultaneous operation. That is, the electromagnetic switching valve 41 is switched to cause the refrigerant to flow into the condenser 31a and radiate heat to the warm water in the condenser 31a, thereby raising the temperature of the warm water in the warm water tank 21 to 75 to 80 degrees.

At this time, the refrigerant cooled by passing through the condenser 31 a is passed through the pressure reducing valve 43 to be depressurized / expanded, and this refrigerant is caused to flow to the evaporator 36 a by the electromagnetic valve 38. Then, the evaporator 36a absorbs heat from the cold water to evaporate the refrigerant. Thereby, the cold water in the cold water tank 32 is cooled, and the temperature of the cold water is cooled to 10 to 15 degrees. The evaporated refrigerant is sent to the compressor 45.

When the cold water temperature of the cold water tank 32 drops to 10 degrees, the electromagnetic switching valve 38 is switched to allow the refrigerant to flow to the evaporator 36b, and the heat pump 30 is moved to the independent heating operation.

On the contrary, when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 21 exceeds 80 degrees, the electromagnetic switching valve 41 is switched to allow the refrigerant to flow to the condenser 31b, and the heat pump 30 is shifted to the cooling independent operation.

As described above, since heating and cooling can be performed at the same time by operating one heat pump 30, efficient operation is possible and energy consumption of input power can be reduced.

Further, since the hot water in the hot water tank 21 is sent to the cleaning unit by the pump and used for heating the cleaning water, the heat radiated from the heat pump can be effectively used. In addition, it is very convenient because hot water can be supplied to other places simply by pulling a pipe from the hot water tank 21.

Although the example of the one-stage compression heat pump is shown in the embodiment, the heat pump for heating / cooling the hot water to about 75 to 80 ° C. and the cold water to about 10 to 15 ° is used for the temperature of the evaporator and the condenser side. The difference is so large that a single-stage compression heat pump cannot actually handle it. In order to deal with this, two-stage compression of a low-stage compressor and a high-stage compressor is performed to raise the condensation temperature.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a two-stage compression heat pump that uses the same refrigerant for the low-stage refrigeration cycle and a high-stage refrigeration cycle, or a dual compression heat pump that uses two different refrigerants. To respond.

Further, when the hot water is 60 degrees or less, the application of the single-stage compression heat pump is sufficient.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the food is sterilized by heating has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is needless to say that it can be used for sterilization of the nutrient solution for cultivation.

[0049]

【effect】

 As described above, the present invention is provided with the hot water circulation path, the cold water circulation path, the heat exchanger, etc., so that the heat pump has about 1/3 or less of the heat pump compared to the case where the heat exchanger is not installed. It may be for a small electric power, and the temperature control of the heating part and the temperature control of the cooling part can be performed independently of each other, so that the temperature control can be easily performed. Moreover, since the hot water is circulated in the sub-heating section, the heat can be effectively used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a heat sterilization apparatus according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a heat pump,

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the heat sterilizer.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment,

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a conventional heat sterilization device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Heating Section 11 Flow Path 12 Heat Exchanger 13 Cooling Section 22 Hot Water Circulation Path 23 Hot Water Pump 30 Heat Pump 31 Heat Dissipation Section 33 Cold Water Circulation Path 34 Cold Water Pump

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Kunihiro Amimoto 2086-4 Ono, Kagawa-cho, Kagawa-gun, Kagawa Prefecture

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A heating section for heating and sterilizing the fluid and a cooling section for cooling the heated fluid are provided in a flow path of the fluid, and heating of the heating section and cooling of the cooling section are performed by a heat pump. A heat sterilization device for performing the heat radiating part of the heat pump and the heating part, heating the hot water in the heat radiating part, and heating the fluid of the heating part with the hot water, and the heat radiating part. A hot water pump that sends hot water heated in the heating section while circulating the hot water in the hot water circulation path, circulates the heat absorbing section and the cooling section of the heat pump, cools cold water in the heat absorbing section, and cools the cold water in the cold water. A cold water circulation path for cooling the fluid in the cooling section, a cold water pump for sending the cold water cooled by the heat absorption section to the cooling section while circulating the cold water in the cold water circulation path, and a flow path between the heating section and the cooling section. Before passing through the heating section Heat sterilization apparatus characterized in that a heat exchanger through the body to the heating section after heat exchange with the fluid passing through the heating section. 2. A hot water tank for storing hot water heated by the heat radiating section, and a cold water tank for storing cold water cooled by the heat absorbing section, wherein the hot water pump circulates the hot water in the hot water tank and the cold water pump. The heat sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein the cold water in the cold water tank is circulated. 3. A sub-heating unit that heats something other than the fluid, a sub-hot water circulating path that circulates the sub-heating unit and the heat radiating unit of the heat pump, and hot water heated by the heat radiating unit. The heat sterilizer according to claim 1, further comprising a sub-hot water pump that circulates in the circulation path.