JPH07327824A - Food processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate steam or smoke generated from the surface of heated liquid (hot water or oil) in a liquid bath without using a canopy or a duct, in a food processing device which makes processes such as heating food with the heated liquid in the liquid bath. CONSTITUTION:The device has a duct-type air vent 6 and a fan 9 (air flow generation mechanism). The air vent 6 runs from a jet 7 from which steam or smoke generated from the surface of the heated liquid 4 inside a liquid bath 3 is horizontally blown, to an inlet 8 of such steam or smoke as blown out of the jet 7. And the fan 9 is to make air flow from the inlet 8 to the jet 7 inside the air vent 6. In addition, a shower 11 is installed to jet out cooling liquid (such as water) to promote liquefaction of the steam or smoke inside the air vent 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a food processing apparatus, and more particularly to a food processing apparatus for heating foods, frying foods, etc. with a heated liquid in a liquid tank.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, noodles, especially udon and buckwheat, are boiled once due to advances in food freezing technology and storage technology, and they are packed, for example, one meal at a time, frozen and stored in fast food stores, schools, factories, Providing to consumers, students, students, workers, and office workers in cafeterias of companies is becoming popular.

These frozen noodles are opened at a fast food store or the like, and the packs are opened one by one, placed in a colander made of wire mesh, boiled, and placed in a container such as a bowl to be provided to consumers. Specifically, a heat source is arranged at the bottom of the hot water tank, and the water in the hot water tank is boiled into hot water by this heat source.
The noodles for two meals were placed in a colander, and the colander was put in the boiling water for an appropriate time to boil the noodles.

Further, in order to save labor in dipping food in a liquid and to eliminate variations in dipping time, automation of dipping work is being promoted. A proposal is made by the applicant company of the present application in Japanese Patent Application No. 5-288589. Further, when making a large amount of fried food, it has been practiced for a long time to put oil in an oil tank, heat the oil, and then add foods such as fish and vegetables to the heated oil and fried. In the past, it has often been practiced to provide a canopy above the hot water tank or the oil tank for discharging steam or oil smoke, and to exhaust the canopy from the canopy to the outside through a duct.

[0005]

By the way, in the conventional food processing apparatus, steam or oil smoke generated from hot water or oil in the liquid tank is removed from the canopy above the liquid tank through a duct. There was a problem. When boiling buckwheat etc. with boiling water in the liquid tank, there was a problem that the surface of the liquid tank could not be seen due to steam. In particular, in food processing equipment such as the above-mentioned automated food processing equipment, the dipping treatment automatically progresses rapidly, so if an abnormality occurs, the processing will continue as abnormal and a large number of defects will occur. However, the material may be wasted, and
There is also the danger of fire. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor it from time to time.

However, according to the conventional food processing apparatus in which steam is discharged from the canopy above the liquid tank through the duct, a large amount of steam generated from the liquid surface of the hot water completely covers the liquid tank,
Make the inside of the liquid tank completely invisible. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to monitor. In particular, in order to meet the demands for automation and labor saving, it is in the stage of being considered to enable monitoring by, for example, a monitoring camera, but the problem that the condition of the surface of the liquid tank cannot be monitored by steam is solved. Without it, a surveillance system using surveillance cameras cannot be realized at all. Also, in the case of food processing equipment that makes fried foods with oil, the canopy and ducts get dirty due to oil smoke,
There is a problem that oil and fat components adhere to these inner surfaces.
Therefore, it is necessary to frequently clean the canopy and the inner surface of the duct. This is because if a large amount of oil and fat components are left attached to the inner surface of the duct, it is easy for a fire to spread through the duct to the building with the food processing equipment, for example, the entire building, causing a fire. is there. However, frequent cleaning of the ducts in the building increases the maintenance cost of the building.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and makes it possible to remove steam or oil smoke generated from a heated liquid surface in a liquid tank without using a canopy or a duct. The purpose is to

[0008]

A food processing device according to claim 1 is a suction port for sucking steam or oil smoke from a spray port for laterally blowing steam or oil smoke generated from the surface of a heated liquid in a liquid tank. And an air flow generating means for creating a flow of air from the suction port side to the blowout port side.

A food processing device according to a second aspect is the food processing device according to the first aspect, wherein the air flow generating means is a fan provided in the air flow passage. Claim 3 is the food processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A shower for ejecting a cooling liquid for promoting the liquefaction of steam or oil smoke is provided in the air flow passage.

[0010]

According to the food processing apparatus of the present invention, steam or oil smoke generated from the heated liquid surface in the liquid tank is blown laterally by the air blown from the outlet of the air flow passage to blow the steam or the blown steam. Since the oil smoke is sucked into the air passage from the suction port, steam or oil smoke does not cover the surface of the liquid tank. Therefore, it is possible to visually check the state of the liquid surface without providing a canopy and duct, eliminate the risk of fire through the canopy and duct, and prevent an increase in maintenance costs due to cleaning, etc. The condition of the tank can be easily monitored. Of course, monitoring with a monitoring camera is also possible.

According to the food processing device of the second aspect, since the air flow passage is a fan, a strong flow of air can be reliably maintained and the steam or oil smoke generated from the liquid surface of the heated liquid is air-generated. It can be surely sucked into the flow passage. Therefore, steam or oil smoke can be more reliably prevented from leaking to the outside. According to the food processing apparatus of claim 3, since the shower for ejecting the cooling liquid is provided in the air flow passage, steam or oil smoke can be liquefied in the air flow passage, and the air blown out from the air outlet can be discharged. It is possible to reduce the amount of steam or oil smoke contained. Therefore, steam or oil smoke generated from the liquid surface can be effectively prevented from returning to the liquid surface as it is, and steam or oil smoke can be more reliably prevented from leaking to the outside.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The food processing apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. 1 and 2 show one embodiment of the food processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a sectional view and FIG. 2 is a plan view. In the figure, 1 is a housing of a food processing apparatus,
Reference numeral 2 is its foot, and 3 is a liquid tank provided in the housing 1, in which, for example, hot water 4 is put. Reference numeral 5 is a heating means for heating the hot water 4. For example, a pipe through which steam is passed is passed through the hot water 4, and the hot water 4 is heated by high-pressure high-heat steam passing through the pipe.
Is designed to be heated. Needless to say, other means such as an electric heater may be used as long as the hot water 4 can be heated.

6 is a duct-shaped air flow passage, 7 is its outlet, and 8 is an inlet, and the outlet 7 is located just above one side of the liquid tank 3 having a rectangular planar shape. It is formed vertically with the side facing the side facing. The suction port 8 is also vertically formed in a direction facing the inside of the liquid tank 3 just above the three sides (the U-shape when viewed from above) except where the blow-out port 7 is present. The size t in the vertical direction of the blowout port 7 is made considerably smaller than that T of the suction port 8 so that the pressure of the jetted air is increased. The air flow passage 6 is formed so as to connect the blowout port 7 and the suction port 8 through the side and the lower side of the liquid tank 3.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a fan provided inside the air flow passage 6, which creates a flow of air in the air flow passage 6 from the suction port 8 side toward the blowout port 7 side. 1
2 is a basket to put the boiled noodles. However, when the fan 9 rotates, the air flows as shown by the arrow a in FIG. 1, and the air is ejected from the blowout port 7 with a strong pressure. The direction of the jetted air is substantially horizontal as shown by the arrow b, and is the direction toward the inside of the liquid tank 3. That is,
The air horizontally and strongly passes on the liquid surface of the liquid 4. Then, this air is sucked into the suction port 8 located on the above three sides of the U-shape when viewed from above the liquid tank 3 as shown by an arrow c. Accordingly, an air circulation path is formed on the outer side of the liquid tank 3 so as to pass through the duct-shaped air flow passage inside 6 and above the liquid 4 liquid level.

Therefore, the steam generated upward from the surface of the liquid (hot water) 4 changes its direction to a horizontal direction by the air that strongly flows horizontally above the liquid surface as shown by an arrow d in FIG. Then, the air is forcibly sucked into the suction port 8 together with the air. Therefore, there is no fear that steam generated from the surface of the liquid 4 will leak out of the liquid tank 3. Reference numeral 10 denotes a partition plate, which has a role of making the path through which air complicates to make the contact area with the air wider and at the same time effectively cooling the air through the shower (11) described below. Fulfill Reference numeral 11 is a shower for ejecting a cooling liquid (for example, water). By ejecting a cooling liquid such as water against air containing steam inside the air flow passage 6 as shown by an arrow e in FIG. The steam is cooled to liquefy, that is, water.

In this way, the path through which the air flows is complicated to increase the contact area with the air, and the shower 1
To liquefy the steam contained in the air by providing 1
This is because steam is effectively prevented from returning to the surface of the liquid 4 as it is, and steam is more reliably prevented from leaking to the outside. If the steam in the air passing through the air flow passage 6 is not liquefied at all, the amount of steam in the air passing through the circulation path described above may increase gradually, and the state of the surface of the liquid tank 3 may become difficult to see due to the steam. It is preferable to provide means for promoting the liquefaction of steam in this way. In addition, 12 is a basket which puts the boiled noodles.

Although the above embodiments apply the present invention to a food processing apparatus for boiling noodles, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a food processing apparatus for frying food. In this case, it is oil that is put in the liquid tank 3,
It is oily smoke that is generated upward from the surface of the liquid 4 and is sucked into the suction port 8 by the air. In this case, in the food processing device, the oil and fat components gradually adhere to the inner surface of the duct-shaped air flow passage 6 due to use, but it is extremely easy to remove the oil and fat components as compared with the case of cleaning the duct of the building. Of course, there is no danger that a fire in a food processing unit will spread through the duct to the entire building. Therefore, it is very safe.

[0018]

According to the food processing apparatus of the present invention, the air flow from the outlet for laterally blowing off steam or oil smoke generated from the surface of the heated liquid in the liquid tank to the suction port for sucking the steam or oil smoke. A passage and an air flow generating means for forming an air flow from the suction port side to the blowout port side are provided in the air flow passage. Therefore, according to the food processing apparatus of claim 1, the steam or oil smoke generated from the heated liquid surface in the liquid tank is blown laterally by the air blown from the outlet, and the steam or oil smoke blown away is sucked from the inlet. Since it sucks into the air flow passage, steam or oil smoke does not cover the liquid surface. Therefore, the state of the liquid surface can be visually recognized without providing the canopy and the duct. This means that the food processing device can be used without a canopy or duct, and therefore the present invention is applied not only to stationary food processing devices but also to mobile food processing devices. be able to. Therefore, the risk of fire through the canopy and the duct can be eliminated, and the maintenance cost due to cleaning can be eliminated, and the condition of the liquid tank can be easily monitored. Of course, monitoring with a monitoring camera is also possible.

The food processing apparatus according to claim 2 is characterized in that the air flow generating means is a fan provided in the air flow passage. Therefore, according to the food processing device of claim 2,
Since the air flow passage is a fan, a strong flow of air can be reliably maintained, and steam or oil smoke generated from the liquid surface of the heated liquid can be reliably sucked into the air flow passage. Therefore, steam or oil smoke can be more reliably prevented from leaking to the outside.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the food processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, a shower for jetting a cooling liquid for promoting the liquefaction of steam or oil smoke is provided in the air flow passage. Therefore, according to the food processing apparatus of the third aspect, since the shower for ejecting the cooling liquid is provided in the air flow passage, steam or oil smoke can be liquefied in the air flow passage, and the air blown out from the blowout port can be liquefied. The amount of steam or oily smoke contained therein can be reduced. Therefore, steam or oil fumes generated from the liquid surface can be effectively prevented from returning to the liquid surface as they are, and steam or oil fumes can be more reliably prevented from leaking to the outside, and the safety is very high. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of a food processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the above embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Liquid tank 4 Heated liquid 6 Air flow passage 7 Blow-out port 8 Suction port 9 Air flow generating means (fan) 11 Shower a Air flow in the air flow passage b Air blown from the blow-out port c It is sucked into the suction port Generated air d Steam (or oil smoke) emitted from the heated liquid surface e Cooling liquid (eg water) ejected from the shower

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A food processing apparatus for treating food such as heating with a heated liquid in a liquid tank, wherein steam or oil smoke generated from the surface of the heated liquid in the liquid tank is laterally moved. An air flow passage from the blow-off port to blow off steam or oil smoke to the suction port, and an air flow generation means for creating an air flow from the suction port side to the blow-out port side in the air flow channel. Food processing equipment characterized by 2. The food processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air flow generating means is a fan provided in the air flow passage. 3. The food processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a shower for ejecting a cooling liquid for promoting the liquefaction of steam or oil smoke is provided in the air flow passage.