JPH07104090B2 - How to cool food in the refrigerator - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for cooling foodstuffs in a refrigerator, which is particularly suitable for a vacuum cooking method.

[0002]

[Background Art and Problems] Recently, a vacuum cooking method for preserving food materials, freezing for re-cooking, and a new cooking method has attracted attention. The vacuum cooking method is to store the food in a vacuum pack, and particularly, in the cooling process of the food required in the cooking process, the growth of various bacteria is suppressed and the freshness, taste, and
Since it is necessary to maintain the nutritional value and the like, a refrigerator for rapidly cooling the heat-treated food at high temperature (60 to 80 ° C.) is required.

This type of refrigerator is usually a water cooler,
Ice-cooled refrigerators, freezers, etc. are used, but any of the refrigerators has a function of simply maintaining the cooling temperature at a set temperature, so that the vacuum cooking method that requires rapid cooling, suppression of germs, preservation of freshness, etc. It is unsuitable, and an optimal cooling method for the refrigerator is required for the vacuum cooking method.

In view of such background art, the present invention is a refrigerating cabinet capable of suppressing the propagation of various bacteria in food materials and maintaining optimum freshness, taste, nutritional value and the like, while performing optimum rapid cooling in a vacuum cooking method. The purpose of the invention is to provide a method for cooling foodstuffs.

[0005]

According to the method for cooling foodstuffs in a refrigerator according to the present invention, a surface temperature T of foodstuffs F is detected by a temperature sensor 2.
s and / or the internal temperature Ti is detected, and until the surface temperature Ts reaches the first set temperature Ta set to the temperature just before the freezing temperature of the food F, it is rapidly cooled by cold air lower than the set temperature Ta. And the surface temperature Ts is controlled to be maintained at the first set temperature Ta after the surface temperature Ts reaches the first set temperature Ta. In this case, it is desirable that the direction of the cold air be reversed at a predetermined cycle Pc. Further, it is possible to measure the cooling time Xp from the start of cooling until the internal temperature Ti reaches the first set temperature Ta, and to cool other identical food materials by time control using the cooling time Xp.

On the other hand, in a method of cooling foodstuffs in a refrigerator according to another embodiment of the present invention, the surface temperature T of the foodstuffs F is detected by the temperature sensor 2.
s and the internal temperature Ti are detected, and until the internal temperature Ti reaches the second set temperature Tb set to the freezing temperature of the food F, rapid cooling is performed by cold air having a temperature lower than the set temperature Tb, and the internal temperature Ti is set. After Ti reaches the second set temperature Tb, the surface temperature Ts is controlled to be maintained at the second set temperature Tb. Also in this case, it is desirable to reverse the direction of the cold air at the predetermined cycle Pc.
Further, from the start of cooling, the internal temperature Ti is the second set temperature Tb.
It is possible to measure the cooling time Xq until the temperature reaches, and perform cooling for the other same food material by time control using the cooling time Xq.

[0007]

According to the food cooling method of the refrigerator according to the present invention,
First, as the target cooling temperature, the first set temperature Ta which is the temperature immediately before the freezing temperature of the food F is set. Then, initially, rapid cooling is performed with cold air having a temperature lower than the set temperature Ta, and the heat-treated food material F is cooled at once. By the way, since there is a time difference between the cooling temperatures of the surface and the inside of the food F, even if the surface temperature Ts reaches the set temperature Ta,
The internal temperature Ti does not reach the set temperature Ta. On the other hand, it suffices if the internal temperature Ti can be cooled all at once until it reaches the set temperature Ta, but on the other hand, the surface temperature Ts becomes lower than the set temperature Ta, and the surface of the food F freezes, which adversely affects freshness and taste. Therefore, it cannot be adopted.

Therefore, in the present invention, the surface temperature Ts is monitored by the temperature sensor 2, and rapid cooling is performed with cold air until the surface temperature Ts reaches the set temperature Ta, and after the surface temperature Ts reaches the set temperature Ta. Controls the surface temperature Ts to be the set temperature Ta at least until the internal temperature Ti reaches the set temperature Ta.

Further, if the cooling time Xp from the start of cooling until the internal temperature Ti reaches the set temperature Ta is measured, the subsequent cooling of the same food material does not have to detect the internal temperature Ti, but is controlled by a time control by a timer or the like. I can do it.

By such a cooling method, the entire foodstuff F can be rapidly cooled without freezing the surface of the foodstuff F, and particularly, ideal cooling in the vacuum cooking method can be performed. The above cooling method is based on the chilled treatment.

On the other hand, in the case of the frozen process, the second set temperature Tb which is the freezing temperature of the food F is set as the target cooling temperature. Then, initially, rapid cooling is performed with cold air having a temperature lower than the set temperature Tb until the internal temperature Ti reaches the set temperature Tb, and the heat-treated food F is frozen at a stretch. At this time, the surface temperature Ts is the set temperature Tb.
Even when the internal temperature Ti reaches the set temperature Tb, the internal temperature Ti does not reach the set temperature Tb. Therefore, the internal temperature Ti is monitored and the cooling process is continued until the internal temperature Ti reaches the set temperature Tb. Then, when the internal temperature Ti reaches the set temperature Tb, the surface temperature Ts also reaches the set temperature Tb, so the surface temperature Ts is continuously monitored and the surface temperature Ts is controlled to be the set temperature Tb.

Further, if the cooling time Xq from the start of cooling until the internal temperature Ti reaches the set temperature Tb is measured, the subsequent cooling of the same food material does not have to detect the internal temperature Ti, but is controlled by a timer or the like. I can do it.

By such a cooling method, the whole food material F can be surely and quickly frozen, and in particular, ideal freezing treatment in the vacuum cooking method can be performed.

By reversing the direction of the cold air at a predetermined period Pc, it is possible to prevent the food F located near the outlet of the cold air from being overcooled and to make the cooling speed uniform throughout the food.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the principle structure of a refrigerator for carrying out the food cooling method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

The refrigerating box indicated by reference numeral 1 is provided with an opening / closing door 11 on the front surface of the heat insulating case 10 and a cooling chamber 12 in the front part inside thereof. Further, the cooling chamber 12 is provided with a plurality of trays 13 ... And the food F to be cooled is placed on the trays 13. On the other hand, the refrigerator 1 is provided at the rear of the heat insulating case 10.
4 and a pair of upper and lower blower fans 15u and 15d. On the other hand, a control unit 16 having a computer function is provided on the upper part of the heat insulating case 10, and the control unit 16 allows the refrigerator 14 to operate.
It also controls the operation of the blower fans 15u and 15d. Further, the cooling chamber 12 is provided with a temperature sensor 2, and the temperature sensor 2 is connected to the control unit 16 via a cord 2c.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 3, since the foodstuffs F are packed in a vacuum pack 20 and stored in the refrigerator 1,
The temperature sensor 2 can be formed in a pin shape as shown in FIG. That is, the temperature sensor 2 has a pin-shaped internal sensor portion 2i having a pointed tip, and a cylindrical surface sensor portion 2s provided on the outer periphery of the rear portion from an intermediate position of the internal sensor portion 2i.
The temperature sensor is provided at each of the tips of the internal sensor 2i and the surface sensor 2s.

Therefore, at the time of temperature detection, the air leakage prevention seal 21 is attached to the surface of the vacuum pack 20, the internal sensor portion 2i of the temperature sensor 2 is inserted into the foodstuff F from above, and the tip portion thereof is near the inner center of the foodstuff F. And the tip of the surface sensor unit 2s is brought into contact with the surface of the vacuum pack 20. Thereby, the internal temperature Ti of the foodstuff F is measured by the internal sensor portion 2i, and the foodstuff F is measured by the surface sensor portion 2s.
The surface temperature Ts of each can be detected. Further, even when the temperature sensor 2 is inserted by the air leakage prevention seal 21,
Even after the removal, the vacuum pack 20 is prevented from leaking air.

In order to apply the temperature sensor 2 to various foods, for example, a plurality of detachable and replaceable temperature sensors 2 having different internal sensor portions 2i are prepared and used selectively. Good. Further, the surface sensor unit 2s may be configured to be slidable with respect to the internal sensor unit 2i, and the relative position of the surface sensor unit 2s with respect to the internal sensor unit 2i may be variable. Furthermore, the internal sensor portion 2i and the surface sensor portion 2s may be configured as separate independent sensor bodies, and the temperature sensor 2 can be configured in various forms. In addition, for simplicity, a dummy food material or the like may be prepared to indirectly detect the temperature.

Next, how to use the refrigerator 1 including the food material cooling method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the refrigerator 1, the first set temperature T is set in advance.
a and the second set temperature Tb are set. The first set temperature Ta is a temperature immediately before the freezing temperature of the food F, for example, -1
℃ is set, and the differential at this time is -2
Set to ~ 0 ° C. The second set temperature Tb is the freezing temperature of the food F, and is set to, for example, -20 ° C, and the differential at this time is set to -21 to -19 ° C. The set temperatures Ta and Tb are examples, and are arbitrarily selected in consideration of the type and size of the food F, the freezing point, and the like.

On the other hand, in the case of vacuum cooking, the food F is packed in the vacuum pack 20 and the vacuum pack 20 is fired as it is. And, the vacuum pack 20 which has finished burning
Is immediately housed in the refrigerator 1, the temperature sensor 2 is set, and the cooling (freezing) process is performed according to the method of the present invention. In addition, after burning is completed, the refrigerator 1
The temperature of the foodstuff F housed in is in the high temperature state of about 60 to 80 ° C.

In the cooler 1, the refrigerator 14 and the blower fans 15u and 15d are operated to send cold air having a wind speed of about 5 to 7 m / s to the cooling chamber 12 at a temperature of about -40 ° C., and the food F is rapidly cooled. To cool at once. In this case, one of the blower fans 15u and 15d is normally rotated, the other is reversely rotated, or one is operated and the other is stopped, and the blower direction is reversed at a predetermined cycle Ps as shown in FIG. 1C. Note that, in FIG. 2, the positive direction of the air blowing direction is an arrow H1, and the opposite direction is an arrow H2.
Indicate.

Next, a specific control method will be described.
First, in the case of the chilled treatment, the control unit 16 monitors the surface temperature Ts from the start of cooling, and the surface temperature Ts is set to the set temperature −1 ° C. as shown by the temperature characteristic shown by the solid line curve Ns in FIG. Surface temperature Ts is -1 ° C.
Feedback control is performed so as to maintain. That is, FIG.
At point Sa, the refrigerator 14 is stopped when the surface temperature Ts reaches −2 ° C., and the refrigerator 14 is activated when the surface temperature Ts reaches 0 ° C. In addition, the temperature control in this case can be performed by, for example, energizing the defrosting heater in the refrigerator 14 or switching the refrigerant circuit.

On the other hand, the control unit 16 monitors the internal temperature Ti as shown by the solid curve Ni in FIG.
When i reaches the set temperature of −1 ° C., for example, a buzzer is sounded to notify, and the blower fans 15u, 15
The process of lowering the rotation speed of d is performed. Also, from the start of cooling
The cooling time Xp until reaching 1 ° C. is measured by a timer or the like. Thus, by measuring the cooling time Xp, it is not necessary to detect the internal temperature Ti in the subsequent cooling of the same food material. That is, the control unit 16 controls the internal sensor unit 2
Only the surface temperature Ts obtained from s is monitored, and when the surface temperature Ts reaches -1 ° C, the surface temperature Ts is controlled to be -2 ° C, and the cooling time Xp is continued until it elapses. Good.

On the other hand, in the case of the frozen process, the control unit 16 monitors the internal temperature Ti from the start of cooling. Then, as shown by the temperature characteristic shown by the phantom curve Mi in FIG. 1A, until the internal temperature Ti reaches the set temperature −20 ° C.,
The food F is frozen at a stretch by cold wind with a wind speed of 5 to 7 m / s at around -40 ° C. When the internal temperature Ti reaches −20 ° C., the control unit 16 obtains the surface temperature T obtained from the surface sensor unit 2s as the temperature characteristic shown by the phantom line curve Ms in FIG.
Based on s, feedback control is performed so that the surface temperature Ts becomes −20 ° C. That is, at point Sb in FIG.
When the internal temperature Ti reaches −20 ° C., the refrigerator 14 is stopped, the refrigerator 14 is started when the surface temperature Ts reaches −19 ° C., and the refrigerator 14 is started when the surface temperature Ts reaches −21 ° C. Control to stop.

On the other hand, the control unit 16 measures the cooling time Xq from the start of cooling until the internal temperature Ti reaches −20 ° C. with a timer or the like. In this way, if the cooling time Xq is measured, the internal temperature T will be reduced in the subsequent cooling of the same food material.
There is no need to detect i. That is, from the start of cooling, the freezing process by continuous cold air is performed for the cooling time Xq, and after the cooling time Xq has elapsed, the surface temperature Ts is monitored and the surface temperature T
Feedback control may be performed so that s becomes −20 ° C.

The embodiment has been described in detail above.
The present invention is not limited to such an embodiment,
The detailed configuration, method, numerical values, etc. can be arbitrarily changed without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0030]

As described above, the method for cooling foodstuffs in the refrigerator according to the present invention detects the surface temperature and / or the internal temperature of the foodstuffs and sets the surface temperature to a temperature just before the freezing temperature of the foodstuffs. Until the set temperature is reached, rapid cooling is performed with cold air at a temperature lower than the first set temperature, and after the surface temperature reaches the first set temperature, the surface temperature is maintained at the first set temperature. Control, and until the internal temperature reaches the second set temperature set to the freezing temperature of the food,
In addition to performing rapid cooling with cold air at a temperature lower than the second set temperature, after the internal temperature reaches the second set temperature, the surface temperature is controlled to be maintained at the second set temperature. In addition to suppressing the growth of various bacteria, the freshness, taste, nutritional value and the like can be maintained, and the optimum rapid cooling in the vacuum cooking method can be performed, which is a remarkable effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a characteristic diagram of temperature and cold air direction of each part by a food material cooling method according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a principle configuration diagram of a cooling cabinet capable of implementing the same food material cooling method,

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a temperature sensor and foodstuff that can carry out the same foodstuff cooling method;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Refrigerator 2 Temperature sensor F Food

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. The temperature sensor detects the surface temperature and / or the internal temperature of the food, and until the surface temperature reaches a first set temperature set to a temperature immediately before the freezing temperature of the food,
It is characterized by performing rapid cooling with cold air at a temperature lower than the first set temperature, and controlling the surface temperature to keep it at the first set temperature after the surface temperature reaches the first set temperature. How to cool food in a refrigerator. 2. The method for cooling foodstuffs in a refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the direction of the cold air is reversed at a predetermined cycle. 3. The cooling time from the start of cooling until the internal temperature reaches the first set temperature is measured, and the other same food material is cooled by time control using the cooling time. The method for cooling foodstuffs in a refrigerator according to claim 1. 4. A cool air having a temperature lower than the second set temperature until the surface temperature and the internal temperature of the food are detected by a temperature sensor and the internal temperature reaches a second set temperature set to the freezing temperature of the food. The method for cooling foodstuffs in a refrigerator, wherein rapid cooling is performed by the method, and after the internal temperature reaches the second set temperature, the surface temperature is controlled to be maintained at the second set temperature. 5. The method for cooling foodstuffs in a refrigerator according to claim 4, wherein the direction of the cold air is reversed at a predetermined cycle. 6. The cooling time from the start of cooling until the internal temperature reaches the second set temperature is measured, and the other same food material is cooled by time control using the cooling time. The method for cooling foodstuffs in a refrigerator according to claim 4.