JPH056785Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a microwave sterilizer used to sterilize sealed foods by irradiating them with microwaves.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as a means of sterilizing sealed foods using microwaves of this type, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-26949, the method for sterilizing sealed foods (hereinafter referred to as
The object to be sterilized is hermetically housed in a pressure-resistant container (hereinafter referred to as a retainer) made of a material that can transmit microwaves, and by placing such a retainer in the cavity and irradiating it with microwaves, the sterilized material inside the retainer can be sterilized. A device having a configuration capable of sterilizing sterilized substances has been proposed and put into practical use.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, in the conventional microwave sterilization means described above, in order to uniformly heat the object to be sterilized,
Interval irradiation methods, scanning methods, etc. are known, but especially in the microwave irradiation section, if microwaves are irradiated only from one direction, uneven heating will occur and uniform sterilization cannot be achieved.
Furthermore, when microwaves are irradiated in a stationary state, the irradiated surface is heated uniformly, but there is a problem that the heating efficiency is not good.

This invention was developed under the above circumstances.
The purpose is to provide a microwave sterilizer that can uniformly heat objects to be sterilized.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems, this invention
In a microwave sterilizer, a retainer made of a microwave-transmissible heat-resistant material and containing an object to be sterilized is conveyed through a cavity that is irradiated with microwaves through a waveguide. The structure is such that it can be reversed midway through. That is, a retainer with support shafts provided at both ends at points symmetrical positions with respect to the center, a retainer guide rail having a reversing part with a sliding surface higher than other parts and a reversing groove while conveying the retainer;
The problem was solved by providing a conveying section attached to a chain that drives an attachment that conveys the support shaft of the retainer in the conveying direction.

[Effect]

In the present invention, with the above structure, when the retainer reaches the reversing part, the support shaft of the retainer rides on the reversal surface, and the retainer body is in an inclined state, and the support shaft enters the rotation groove as it is, and the attachment By transporting the retainer body, the retainer body is easily reversed due to the movement of the center of gravity. The object to be sterilized can be heated uniformly by the rotation of the retainer while it is being conveyed inside the cavity.Moreover, the rotation of the retainer agitates the air in the cavity and creates a uniform temperature distribution in the atmosphere. It becomes possible to increase efficiency and perform effective sterilization.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained based on an illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a microwave sterilizer according to the present invention, in which 1 is a cavity, and 2 is a waveguide for irradiating microwaves into the cavity 1 from the ceiling. A retainer, which will be described later, is installed at the bottom of both sides of the cavity 1 in the horizontal direction
A conveying section 20, 20 for continuous movement is provided, and this conveying section 20 is composed of a guide rail 4 and a drive chain 5 running in parallel along the inside of the guide rail 4. The drive chain 5 is made of a heat-resistant material that does not cause microwave leakage, such as polyacetal,
Further, the retainer 6 may be made of Teflon (registered trademark), for example.
It consists of two heat-resistant plates 7 and 8 made of glass fiber-filled Teflon or ceramic that can transmit microwaves, and a storage part 9 formed by joining these two plates 7 and 8. This retainer 6 stores the object to be sterilized A, which is a sealed food.
At both ends of
0A, 10A, 10B, and 10B are provided protrudingly. In the inverted position, the guide rail 4 has an inverted portion 13 that is located outside the retainer body, has both sides inclined, and is provided with a high sliding surface 11 and an inverted groove 12.

The conveying section 20 has a structure in which attachments 21 that come into contact with the support shaft of the retainer 7 are attached to the drive chain 5 at regular intervals.

Here, when the attachment 21 is conveyed by the drive chain 5, it is conveyed along an attachment guide 22 that regulates the conveyance direction, and the position of the reversing part 13 of the guide rail 4 is lower than other parts. It's structured.

The attachment 21 is rotatably attached to the drive chain 5, and is attached to the drive chain 5 as shown in FIG.
As shown in b, a notch 24 is provided below the abutting surface on the abutting side, or an inclined part 25 is provided, so that only one of the support shafts of the retainer is pushed during reversal, and the other It has a structure that does not hit the supporting axis of the
Further, the structure has a notch 26 at the lower rear portion at approximately the same angle as the conveyance side of the reversing groove.

Next, the reversing mechanism will be explained with reference to the drawings.

First, as shown in FIG. 4a, when the retainer 7 is being conveyed horizontally, the retainer 7 is positioned on the guide rail 4, the attachment 21 is in contact with the lower support shaft 10B, and the retainer 7 is conveyed.

Then, as shown in FIG.
It hits the sliding surface 11, the support shaft 10A comes forward, the retainer 7 tilts, and at the same time the reversal groove 1 is moved as shown in c.
2, the attachment 21 keeps pushing the support shaft 10B and moves the center of gravity of the retainer 7,
Turn it over so that the support shaft 10B is in front.

At this time, the attachment 21 is located at the lower part of the attachment guide 22, as shown in FIG.

While repeating the above operation as many times as necessary inside the cavity, sterilize the cavity by irradiating it with microwaves.

Furthermore, a support shaft 10 provided at the side end of the retainer 7
A and 10B may not only be provided point-symmetrically apart from the center of the retainer as shown in FIG. 2, but may also be structured to be diagonally continuous as shown in FIG.

[Effect of idea]

As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, the retainer that is continuously conveyed inside the cavity is reversed during conveyance, so that the objects to be sterilized stored in the retainer can be heated uniformly. Moreover, it has the excellent effect of improving heating efficiency because the atmosphere inside the cavity can be made to have a uniform humidity distribution due to the agitation effect of the air inside the cavity as the retainer is reversed. be.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the microwave sterilizer according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a retainer reversing mechanism, and FIGS. 3 a and b are
Explanatory diagram showing the structure of the attachment, Figure 4a,
b, c, and d are explanatory diagrams showing the inverted state of the retainer, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the retainer. 1... Cavity, 2... Waveguide, 4... Guide rail, 6... Retainer, 10A, 10B...
Support shaft, 11...Sliding surface, 12...Reversing groove, 13...
...Reverse part, 21... Attachment.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A microwave sterilizer in which a retainer made of a microwave-transparent heat-resistant material containing an object to be sterilized is transported through a cavity into which microwaves are irradiated via a waveguide, the retainer having support shafts at both ends at positions point-symmetrical with respect to the center, a retainer guide rail having a sliding surface higher than other parts while the retainer is transported, and an inverted portion having an inverted groove, and a transport section having an attachment attached to a drive chain that abuts against the support shaft of the retainer and transports the retainer in the transport direction.