JPH06327449A - Vacuum cooler - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the cooling efficiency of a material to be cooled in a vacuum cooler. CONSTITUTION:In a vacuum cooler wherein a can 1 for storing a material to be cooled is installed, the can 1 is connected through a suction route 4 to a water sealing type vacuum pump 2 and a cold trap 3 is inserted in the midst of the suction route 4, to improve the cooling efficiency of the material to be cooled put in the can 1, the cold trap 3 is inserted into a water sealing supply route 5 to send sealing water to the water sealing type vacuum pump 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a vacuum cooling device for vacuum-cooling food that has been cooked by heating.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a vacuum cooling device as shown in FIG. 3 is known as a device for cooling cooked food in a short time. This vacuum cooling device has a structure in which a can body 21 for containing an object to be cooled, a vacuum pump 23 are connected to the can body 21 via a suction passage 22, and a cold trap 24 is inserted in the middle of the suction passage 22. Has become. Then, the object to be cooled (for example, a lunch box for lunch) is housed in the can body 21, and the vacuum pump 23 is driven to reduce the pressure in the can body 1, thereby saturating the water contained in the object to be cooled. It evaporates at a temperature and removes latent heat from the object to be cooled for cooling. The cold trap 24 is provided between the can body 1 and the vacuum pump 23, and increases the efficiency of vacuum cooling by condensing the negative pressure steam in the suction passage 22.

FIG. 4 shows a vacuum cooling device in which a cooling medium is supplied to the cold trap 24 for heat exchange in order to further improve the cooling efficiency of the object to be cooled of the vacuum cooling device shown in FIG. That is, the refrigerator 25 is provided, and the cooling medium is supplied from the refrigerator 25 into the cold trap 24 through the cooling circulation path 26 to further accelerate the condensation of the negative pressure vapor sucked from the can 21. . 27 in the figure
It is a circulation pump.

By the way, in the conventional structure shown in FIG. 3, when the inside of the can body 21 is in a low vacuum region, the pressure loss becomes large in the suction passage 22 between the can body 21 and the cold trap 24, so that the vaporized vapor is evaporated. However, there is a problem in that the temperature of the object to be cooled slows down. Therefore, as a means for increasing the flow rate of the vaporized vapor, the suction passage 2 is used.
It is conceivable to increase the pipe diameter of 2 or to provide a refrigerator 25 as shown in FIG. 4 and supply the cooling medium to the cold trap 24 from the refrigerator 25.
In either case, the apparatus becomes large and the equipment cost is high, and also an assembly defect occurs.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum cooling device having a simple structure, low cost, and improved cooling efficiency.

[0006]

That is, according to the present invention, a can body for accommodating an object to be cooled is provided, and a water-sealed vacuum pump is connected to the can body via a suction passage, and the suction passage is provided in the middle of the suction passage. A vacuum cooling device having a cold trap inserted is characterized in that a sealing water supply passage for supplying sealing water to the water sealing vacuum pump is inserted into the cold trap.

[0007]

According to the present invention, since the sealing water supply passage is inserted into the cold trap for heat exchange, the condensation of the sucked negative pressure vapor can be promoted and the cooling efficiency of the object to be cooled in the can can be improved. .

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of a vacuum cooling device A embodying the present invention, in which 1 is a can for containing an object to be cooled, 2 is a water-sealed vacuum pump, 3 is a cold trap, and 4 is a cold trap.
Is a suction passage, and 5 is a sealing water supply passage for supplying sealing water to the water-sealed vacuum pump 2 according to the present invention, which is inserted into the cold trap 3 to exchange heat with negative pressure steam. There is. In the figure, 6 is a sealed water supply unit (well water, tap water, and other industrial water), 7 is a constant flow valve, and 8 is a solenoid valve. In the figure, 9 is a check valve inserted in the suction passage 4. In the figure, 10 is
It is an exhaust and drainage channel of the water-sealed vacuum pump 2. Also, 11 in the figure
Is an air supply path for introducing air into the can body 1, and a filter 12 is provided at the tip end thereof and an electromagnetic valve 13 is inserted in the middle thereof.

Next, the operation of the vacuum cooling device A of the present invention will be described. First, after the object to be cooled is housed in the can body 1 and the door is closed and sealed, the water-sealed vacuum pump 2 is driven by a signal from a controller (not shown). At this start, the air supply passage 11
Solenoid valve 13 is closed and solenoid valve 8 is open. By driving the water-sealing vacuum pump 2, the pressure in the can body 1 gradually decreases, and at the same time, the cold trap 3 also exchanges heat with the sealing water in the sealing water supply passage 5 to lower the temperature. Then, when the pressure in the can body 1 becomes equal to or lower than the saturation pressure of the water contained in the object to be cooled, the water evaporates from the object to be cooled, and the latent heat of vapor accompanying the evaporation gradually lowers the temperature of the object to be cooled. Reach the vacuum area. On the other hand, the negative pressure steam sucked by the drive of the water-sealed vacuum pump 2 exchanges heat with the sealed water in the cold trap 3 to promote condensation, and as shown in FIG. 2, the conventional technique (the heat exchange device shown in FIG. 3) is used. There is no)) to improve the cooling efficiency of the object to be cooled.

Then, when the object to be cooled is cooled to a predetermined temperature, the controller stops the operation of the vacuum pump 2, closes the electromagnetic valve 8 of the sealing water supply passage 15, and turns on the electromagnetic valve 13 of the air supply passage 11. Clean air is introduced into the can body 1 through the open filter 12, and when the pressure inside the can body 1 is restored, the door is opened and the object to be cooled is taken out to complete the cooling.

[0011]

According to the present invention, since the sealing water supply passage is inserted into the cold trap to exchange heat with the negative pressure steam sucked from the can body and accelerate the condensation of the negative pressure steam, the object to be cooled can be cooled. The efficiency can be improved as compared with that without the conventional heat exchange device. Further, since the water supply path of the water-sealed vacuum pump is shared with the heat exchanger, the structure is simple, the equipment cost is low, and it is economical.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of a vacuum cooling device embodying the present invention.

2 is a diagram comparing the cooling temperature and the cooling time of the object to be cooled in the vacuum cooling device of FIG.

FIG. 3 Conventional vacuum cooling device (without heat exchange device)
FIG.

FIG. 4 Conventional vacuum cooling device (with a heat exchange device)
FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A ... Vacuum cooling device 1 ... Can body 2 ... Water-sealed vacuum pump 3 ... Cold trap 4 ... Suction device 5 ... Sealing water supply passage

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A can body 1 for containing an object to be cooled is provided, and a water-sealed vacuum pump 2 is connected to the can body 1 via a suction passage 4.
In a vacuum cooling device having a cold trap 3 inserted in the middle of the suction passage 4, a water sealing supply passage 5 for supplying sealing water to the water sealing vacuum pump 2.
Is inserted in the cold trap 3.