JPH0725787U - Frozen dessert feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Objective] The present invention has an object to obtain a frozen dessert supply device capable of constantly supplying a frozen dessert with fine texture, softness, and high commercial value. According to the invention, a casing 1 in which a cooler 2 is attached to the outer periphery and a frozen dessert made of syrup and carbon dioxide gas is contained, and a syrup and a carbon dioxide which are rotatably provided in the casing 1 In a frozen dessert supply device including stirring blades 5a and 5b for mixing and stirring gas, the thermistor 20 provided in the casing 1 for detecting the temperature in the casing 1 and the temperature obtained by a signal from the thermistor 20 are The control circuit unit 21 integrates a time equal to or less than a predetermined value, and when the predetermined time is exceeded, hot gas is introduced into the cooler 2 to thaw the frozen dessert in the casing 1.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a frozen dessert supply device for producing and supplying a frozen dessert (a syrup, a beverage prepared by mixing raw materials of carbon dioxide gas and frozen).

[0002]

[Prior art]

 FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a frozen dessert feeding device (Japanese Patent Application No. 5-191177) filed by the applicant of the present invention. A cooler 2 is attached to the outer peripheral portion of a horizontally placed cylindrical casing 1. ing. An end plate 3 is attached to the end of the casing 1. A pouring cock 4 is attached to the end plate 3. Inside the casing 1, a stirring shaft 6 having stirring blades 5a and 5b is rotatably supported. An extension shaft 7 surrounded by a collar 8 is connected to the stirring shaft 6, and a mechanical seal 9 is provided around the extension shaft 7. The extension shaft 7 is connected to the first coupling 10a of the stirring torque detector 11. A second coupling 10b is arranged so as to face the first coupling 10a. A torsion coil spring 12 is interposed between the first coupling 10a and the second coupling 10b. The second coupling 10b is connected to the output shaft 30 of the drive motor 13. The first coupling 10a, the second coupling 10b, the coil spring 12, and the optical rotation angle detection mechanism (not shown) constitute the stirring torque detection unit 11.

Next, the operation of the frozen dessert supply device having the above configuration will be described. Carbon dioxide and syrup raw materials are supplied into the casing 1. While stirring these raw materials in the casing 1 by the stirring blades 5a and 5b, they are cooled by the cold heat from the cooler 2 which is a component of the refrigerating apparatus, and a frozen dessert is manufactured. Once the frozen dessert is made, the ice sticks to each other unless stirring is continued, and when it is drunk, it feels gritty in the mouth, reducing the commercial value. Therefore, after being manufactured, the stirring blades 5a and 5b are constantly stirred until the frozen dessert is served for drinking. The rotational force of the stirring blades 5a and 5b at that time is obtained by the rotational force of the output shaft of the drive motor 13. That is, the output torque of the drive motor 13 is transmitted to the second coupling 10b and further transmitted to the first coupling 10a via the torsion coil spring 12 to rotate the stirring shaft 6. If the stirring torque value is constant, the rotational (torsion) displacement of the torsion coil spring 12 is constant, and the torque value detected by the stirring torque detection unit 11 is constant.

On the other hand, when the viscosity of the mixture in the casing 1 fluctuates, for example, when the viscosity increases and the stirring torque increases, the torque transmitted via the torsion coil spring 12 also increases, and the torsion coil spring 12 Torsional displacement. As a result, the relative positions of the first coupling 10a and the second coupling 10b are displaced, and the displacement angle is detected by the optical rotation angle detection mechanism. If the displacement exceeds a predetermined value, the refrigerator including the cooler 2 is cooled. The operation of the equipment is stopped. Due to this cooling stop, the ice content of the frozen dessert melts out, the viscosity decreases as the proportion of the low-concentration syrup amount occupying in the casing 1 increases, and when the stirring torque detection unit 11 detects a torque of a predetermined value or less, The operation of the refrigeration system is restarted.

As described above, the quality of frozen desserts is controlled by the stirring torque value that is proportional to the viscosity, paying attention to the fact that the viscosity increases as the water content in the syrup freezes as the cooling progresses. The operation of the refrigeration system is ON / OFF controlled by the torque detection signal from the stirring torque detection unit 11.

By the way, at the beginning of the production of frozen desserts, when the operation of the freezing device is stopped, the desired frozen desserts having fine texture, softness, and viscosity are maintained. However, when the refrigeration system is in the OFF cycle, some of the fine ice particles in the casing 1 are melted into water, but this water does not melt during the ON cycle and the OFF cycle. As it re-freezes as a nucleus, large ice particles will be formed. Thus, as the ON-OFF cycle of the refrigeration system is repeated, the diameter of the ice particles becomes larger, and the number of ice particles decreases accordingly. In other words, as the ON-OFF cycle of freezing operation is repeated, the surface area of the ice particles per unit weight decreases, and as a result, the contact resistance between the ice particles and the syrup decreases, and the viscosity remains constant while the amount of ice is constant. Will be reduced.

When the refrigeration operation is in the ON cycle, although the predetermined amount of ice is formed, the viscosity does not reach the set value, and the refrigeration operation originally has to shift to the OFF cycle. The freezing operation is continued, the amount of ice increases (the amount of syrup decreases), and the temperature of the frozen dessert falls below a predetermined value (eg, -6 ° C). FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the temperature of the frozen dessert decreases with time. FIG. 5 is a relationship diagram between the time when the frozen dessert is actually sold and the temperature of the frozen dessert. The temperature of the frozen dessert increases at each point A, B, C and D. This is because the syrup at room temperature in the sub tank (not shown) is replenished in the casing 1 at that time.

In this way, when the end point of the ON cycle of the freezing operation is controlled by the stirring torque value that increases with the increase of the viscosity, the temperature of the frozen dessert at the end point of the ON cycle increases as the ON-OFF cycle is repeated. , The pressure of frozen desserts, the texture of the tongue, etc. also change. Therefore, when the pouring cock 4 is opened after the ON-OFF cycle is repetitively repeated and the ON cycle of the freezing operation is completed, it is necessary to sell a product that has a fine texture, is soft, and is far from the characteristics of frozen desserts. In order to avoid this, a hot gas is flown into the cooler 2, the frozen dessert is thawed into a liquid state, and the frozen dessert supply device is restarted to manufacture the frozen dessert.

[0009]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In the conventional frozen dessert feeding device configured as described above, the operator visually observes the frozen dessert to determine the timing of defrosting, but the timing is not fixed by the operator, and therefore, the frozen dessert having a constant quality is demanded by the consumer. There was a problem that could not be supplied to.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a frozen dessert supply device capable of supplying frozen desserts that are soft and have a high commercial value even after repeated ON-OFF cycles of freezing operation. To aim.

[0011]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The frozen dessert supply device of the present invention integrates the temperature detection unit provided in the casing for detecting the temperature in the casing and the time when the temperature obtained by the signal from the temperature detection unit is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and the predetermined time And a control circuit section for causing hot gas to flow into the cooler to thaw the frozen dessert in the casing.

[0012]

[Action]

 The control circuit section of the frozen dessert feeder of the present invention integrates the time when the temperature obtained by the signal from the temperature detecting section is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, and when the temperature exceeds the predetermined time, hot gas flows into the cooler, Thaw the frozen dessert in the casing.

[0013]

【Example】

 An embodiment of this invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention. Note that the same or corresponding portions as those in FIG. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the figure, a thermistor 20, which is a temperature detection unit for detecting the temperature of a frozen dessert, is provided in the casing 1. The thermistor 20 is connected to the control circuit unit 21. Based on the signal from the thermistor 20, the control circuit unit 21 integrates the time during which the frozen dessert becomes a predetermined temperature or lower, and when the integrated time exceeds the predetermined time, one of the heating means in the refrigerating device 15 A hot gas valve (not shown), which is a component, is opened to allow hot gas to flow into the cooler 2 to thaw the frozen dessert in the casing 1.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the control of the refrigeration system. First, the temperature of the frozen dessert is detected by the thermistor 20 which has detected the temperature inside the casing 1 (step S1). The temperature signal at that time is sent to the control circuit unit 21, and the control circuit unit 21 integrates the time for the frozen dessert of -6 ° C or less and judges whether or not the predetermined time α has been exceeded (step S2, S3). While the accumulated time does not exceed, for example, α = 5 hours, the refrigerating apparatus 15 continues normal operation (step S4). That is, if the value from the stirring torque detection unit 11 exceeds the torque upper limit value, the refrigerating apparatus 15 is stopped, and if the value is equal to or less than the torque lower limit value, the refrigerating apparatus 15 is driven, and the continuous operation of the refrigerating apparatus 15 is performed. When the accumulated time exceeds 5 hours, the power of the frozen dessert feeder is turned off and then turned on again (step S5), whereby the hot gas valve (not shown) in the freezing device 15 is opened and the cooler 2 is cooled. The hot gas flows into the interior of the casing 1, and the thawing operation for thawing the frozen dessert in the casing 1 is started (step S6). Then, after the predetermined thawing time has elapsed, the frozen dessert in the casing 11 is completely thawed. Thereafter, the freezing device 15 is resumed in normal operation, and is cooled by the cold heat from the refrigerator 2 while being stirred by the stirring blades 5a and 5b in the casing 1, and the frozen dessert is remanufactured.

In the above embodiment, the operator starts the thawing operation by turning the power of the frozen dessert feeder OFF and ON, but of course the thawing operation may be started automatically. Good. The start of the thawing operation may be notified to the operator by a lamp, a horn, or the like. Further, although the description has been given of the case where hot gas is allowed to flow into the cooler as the heating means, it is not limited to this, of course, and the electric heater is attached to the casing and the electric heater is energized to thaw the frozen dessert in the casing. You may do so.

[0016]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, according to the frozen dessert supply device of the present invention, the temperature detection unit provided in the casing for detecting the temperature in the casing and the time obtained when the temperature obtained by the signal from the temperature detection unit is equal to or less than the predetermined value It has a control circuit section that integrates hot gas into the cooler and thaws the frozen dessert in the casing when the predetermined time is exceeded. It has the effect that it can be kept constant, and that frozen desserts with fine texture, softness and high commercial value can always be supplied.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the control of the refrigeration system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional frozen dessert supply device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between an elapsed time and a temperature of a frozen dessert in the frozen dessert supply device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship between an elapsed time and a temperature of a frozen dessert during one operation of the frozen dessert supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Casing, 2 ... Cooler, 5a, 5b ... Stirring blade, 6 ... Stirring shaft, 11 ... Stirring torque detection unit, 15
..Refrigerator, 20..Thermistor (temperature detection unit),
21 ... Control circuit section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A casing having a cooler attached to the outer periphery thereof and containing a frozen dessert made of syrup and carbon dioxide, and a syrup and carbon dioxide which are rotatably provided in the casing and are mixed and stirred. In a frozen dessert supply device including a stirring blade, a temperature detection unit provided in the casing for detecting the temperature in the casing, and a temperature obtained by a signal from the temperature detection unit are integrated for a time equal to or less than a predetermined value. And a control circuit unit for thawing the frozen dessert in the casing by a heating means when a predetermined time is exceeded.